Chapter 9: Rise of the Kraken! Seven Swords Origin!

A/N: Sorry about the lack of updates guys. I have been extremely busy as of late, especially with personal life events and the start of college. I was able to get this written up just before the next semester started. Anyway, have a good read guys and girls.

Also, if you don't like the story, DO NOT READ IT. I'm tired of reading people's complaints because they don't like one or more of my ideas.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the ideas in my head.

Previously in the Fate of One: The Elements

A hooded figure ran along the coastline with several shadows following him. Above them, the clouds swirled around with lightning striking down from the heavens. Rain splashed against the covers that surrounded him while the wind battered his body.

"We are a few hours away from the Tomb," the shadow stated before turning to face the darkness.

"I can feel the aura of something big coming in this direction."

"I fear we may to be too late for the beast might be unleashed upon this world once more…"

"What is this beasts name?"

"The Kraken…"

Start of Chapter 9

"What are you talking about?" asked the hooded person as he stopped before turning towards the creature hidden in the shadows. "Who or what is the Kraken? Kami barely mentioned anything to me when we talked last."

"So you have not heard about it?" asked the shadow before looking towards the dark, thundering skies. "Very well. Let me tell you about the Legend. It is comprised of Ten Tales but we will focus on the first, the Tale of the Kraken."

"Back when times were young and the gods were new, ten beasts with unimaginable power roamed the land, causing destruction in their wake. Legend called them the Titans. One of these beasts was the Kraken, a being who controlled the element of water where no one else could compete against him. This Titan was stated to be thirty times larger than man with five claws on each of his hands while tentacles with unimaginable length pierced through the waters, attacking anything that dared near it. It had two pairs of eyes that held nothing but lust for devastation.

During the times of old, this Titan was capable of destroying cities in a matter of moments with a single wave of his arm, summoning the power of water to wash to wash them away while his tentacles consumed the citizens who tried to swim away. Many have recorded spotting the Kraken destroying a city by summoning a massive tidal wave to bury it underwater while others have seen it call forth a whirlpool that sucked a village below the depths, leaving the ruins to float along the surf.

But one day, the sun flashed red and the Titan rose from the depths of the sea before walking towards the coast. There, it unleashed Makai on the world as the large city that sat on the coast was brutally destroyed and thus, calling the rest of the Ten to him. It was then that they proceeded to attack using their respective elements. However, it wasn't as successful as one would be believe as it shrugged them off before commencing to attack them. The battle was ferocious as the nine attacked the Kraken the only way left: physically. Days went by until the final blow was struck, making the Kraken fall. It was then that the remainder of the Titans agreed and sealed him under an island. Legend foretells that the end of days will come when the water rises to flood the world. "

"Wait... Are you telling me that the Kraken is real and is sealed at a nearby island?" asked the figure incredulously. "But aren't they legends and myths like you said?"

"Myths and Legends have truth behind them, Naruto," replied the creature. "Unfortunately, this legend holds more truth to it than most. My mistress knew of their existence and with the threat of them being released, she knew that something had to be done."

"What about the nine others that you mentioned? I'm to assume that they are also Titans but what would their elements be? And how strong would they be?"

"They maybe just as strong, if not stronger, than the Kraken. As for their elements, I have heard that there were those who used the basic elements of Earth, Lightning, Air, and Fire. However, there is no knowledge of what elements the remaining Titans wielded. However..."

"However what?"

"Stories have been passed through the generations that one of them controlled Plasma."

"Plasma? I have never of that element before. Is it an element that you know, Plasmus?," muttered a confused Naruto as he continued on his trek with the Nightmare Wolf.

"Yes, my kind uses the element frequently but not to the extent that the Titan is able to. It allows us to level small mountains or create a rather small and narrow ditch. However, we mostly use it as a mass area attack to cause more damage and harm to our opponents. Did the Goddess state anything that would have helped us in our efforts?"

"I don't know... Or rather, I don't remember," mumbled the cloaked figure, rather embarrassed at such an action. "I've been fighting Loyalists for the past few days and I can only remember a few parts of our conversation. I know that I should remember more but there were so many things happening."

Silence took over as the group jumped from tree to tree with the wind pushing against their bodies and thunder roaring from above. The clouds were no more as they were replaced with a canvas of dark grey with streaks of white flashing through them. The rain pounded upon the exposed cloth, fur, and skin Lightning flashed in the dark skies above, providing enough light to reveal the face of the Naruto covered by the hood before the shadows took over again. The sound of the water crashing along the coastline echoed through the air as it mixed with the sounds of thunder. Wave after wave crashed alongside the coast rocks with little interval in between them while the trees swayed rather violently along the harsh winds. It didn't take long for one of them to be ripped off from the ground.

"Kitsune, are you sure you wish to continue?" asked the shadow as it looked towards the blonde covered in the cloth. "There may be a chance that we do not return, especially with where we are intending to travel towards."

"I have to do this. I will not allow a beast of that nature be released and allow it cause destruction where it could hurt those I care about," stated Naruto with a fire in his eyes. "And you know that my name is Naruto. Why can you not call me that, Plasmus. I would have thought that you and your clan would have learned that by now."

"I suppose that you could call it a bad habit," responded the Nightmare Wolf summon. "I suppose that I could defend myself by saying that it would be better to call you as such in order to prevent the revelation of your identity."

The black summon emerged from the shadows as it looked at the blonde boy once more before the soft sounds could be heard over the roar of the sea. Lightning flashed above the group once more, causing Naruto to look upwards before turning to his group and giving them a nod. In a matter of seconds, they rushed forwards through the thick forest. The minutes pass by before turning into hours as they weaved their way through the branches and tall parts of nature. As soon as they burst through a set of trees, a certain scent filled their noses, causing them to rush to the place of origin. The sight they saw caused them to widen in disbelief and shock.

"What is this?!" asked one of the Nightmare Wolves as they looked upon the scene with utmost disgust.

"What happened here?" muttered Naruto before he removed his mask to survey the field and knneling on the ground. All around them was sheer carnage that made the blonde sick. Blood was everywhere, mixing with the rain water to form large puddles of red. The dead carcasses littered the field, containing a mixture of beings ranging from animals to humans but it was the sheer quantity of them. They were just scattered everywhere with their blank eyes looking at random angles and the sight made Naruto sick while fueling the anger of the summons behind him.

"All of this life, just slaughtered and left here to rot... What sort of being would do such a thing?"

It caused murmurs to emerge from the group with Naruto walking alongside the field of corpses before hearing something or someone coming, causing his eyes to widen and to move behind cover. This action was spotted by the rest of the group as they hid in the shadows and darkness as the sounds remained soft. Naruto took this moment to start inching towards the source of the sound without making any sound. It didn't take them long to reach the source of the sound.

'A cave?' thought Naruto before spotting the light originating from within the structure. 'Looks like a fire. There are people here.'

"-to kill. I mean there were so many of them," stated a voice. "It wasn't just people. The wildlife seemed to want to kill us as well. At least there aren't many of them left, especially compared to how many of them there were when we first arrived here. Do you guys remember why we're here?"

"Didn't the Fourth mention something about a secret weapon?" asked another. "Maybe it's something that will end this war and will help us kill the Rebels. I mean did you hear that they have another shinobi? He was able to rip through our forces like they were nothing."

"Really? We've been here for a while then," said a third person.

"No one knows his name but what they know, he wore a Kitsune mask whenever our forces engaged him in combat," answered someone. "He's good with long range weapons and is basically a chakra battery, being able to use quite a bit of high ranking jutsus and apparently, he's rather skilled with a blade."

"Do you know if this secret weapon that the Mizukage wants us to find will be able to beat him? I mean the rebels have quite a quantity of strong shinobi like their leaders. This man just adds one more."

"To be honest, I never understand half the things that kid says, especially with all those cryptic riddles that he's been saying lately. But he's the boss, so we've got to do what we he says. I personally hope that we can fight some more. The ones we fought were a joke."

"Have you no respect for the dead?"

"What respect? They're dead. They wouldn't care what I say about them."

Hearing all this, Naruto couldn't help but become furious that many were killed just for the sake of this weapon that the Mizukage claimed that he had. His blood boiled at the lack of respect that the man had for those whom they had slain and killed. He moved from his vantage point along the outside of the cave before lashing out a devastating kick towards the nearest shinobi. It made impact, launching him towards the wall of the cave before following up with a jab at another. His targets were quickly disoriented from the hits but there were others within the confides of the cave.

"Water Release: Water Bullet!" shouted one of the remaining shinobi as he launched medium sized water balls towards the blonde. They never made their target as they were quickly sliced in half by a shadow that revealed to be a Nightmare Wolf, who released a feral roar. It was more of a call that caused the rest of the group to emerge from the shadows before jumping towards the Mist shinobi.

"W-What are they?!" asked one of the Mist shinobi with fear etched on his face.

"We are your executioner," growled one of the wolves before rushing forward and stabbing its large claws into the chest of the man. This action was followed by many of the other large black wolves as they killed the remaining shinobi with little effort. Many of them tried to resist by either moving backwards or draw weapons but they were too slow and mercilessly killed. This took a matter of minutes as Naruto's group found themselves surrounded by the dead bodies, illuminated by the light from the fire.

Naruto made his way out of the cave, feeling the rain batter the cloth that surrounded his body before heading towards the field of dead that was littered throughout the water covered opening. The feeling of all this death enclosed around his being and it just made him shutter before subconsciously calling forth Holy Chakra. However, it reacted differently than he expected it to as it started to build up in higher quantity, causing him to start to lose in control. It didn't take long for his control to slip, causing it shoot upwards towards the darkened clouds above.

'What just happened?' he thought to himself before spotting the light on the ground. It formed a trigram that surrounded his entire body. However, as quickly as it appeared, the sign disappeared but in its place was a person, or rather a woman that he recognized all too well, especially because he constantly saw her. Her pure white hair with light blonde highlights flowing behind her while her soft golden eyes looked at him with absolute happiness. She was currently wearing clothes that was a mixture between a dress and battle armor. She maintained an aura of calmness and kindness yet he could feel the power she wielded. The rain seemed to have little effect on her as it didn't even touch her.

"Hello again Naruto," she greeted while she moved towards the blonde. "It's nice to see you again."

"Hello Kami-sama," he replied, earning him a look from the woman. "It is nice to see you again but may I inquire as to why you are here?"

"Business I am afraid. I can feel the power that we used to help seal the Tomb slowly dissipating and it has me worried. I can feel something surrounding the world around his and it has many of us worried, especially as the defilers near the Tomb. I fear what they may find."

"I may have an idea as to what it may be," stated Naruto, earning him the attention of the goddess in front of him. "The Nightmare Wolves have told me what might lay within the Tomb. They spoke of a beast called the Kraken, one of ten that were sealed many centuries ago."

"A-Are you sure that it was the Kraken that they said?" she asked rather worriedly, which earned her a nod. "I prayed that it wouldn't happen so soon but I had a feeling that with your appearance, something was going to happen. The Kraken... I have not heard that name in such a long time."

"What is your desire, mi lady?" asked the blonde shinobi.

"You must do everything you can to prevent the opening of the Tomb. If it is opened, I fear for the worst to come."

"Of course, I will do what I can mi lady."

"Be careful, Naruto. I fear that this will be one of the most dangerous thing you will have to do. Those who would wish to unleash such a beast to this world should be rid of this world. I have felt all of the life that they have taken in their crusade and you shall show those who did this my wrath. Go forth my Paladin."

Kami turned towards the field before starting to glow in a pure white aura and pointed her hand towards the wet field full of the dead. Light soon covered the entire opening, causing Naruto to turn around in order to prevent himself from being blinded. It soon died down, allowing him to look at the field. Before, it was covered by dead bodies of both animals and humans but now, it was clear of such items. The only evidence of them being there are the red puddles that contained a mixture of rain and blood.

"There. Those who have died have been sent to be judged whether they will ascend or descend," stated Kami before turning back towards Naruto. "I have kept you from your task long enough Naruto. It is time for you to continue on."

"Thank you for doing this, mi lady," replied Naruto with a bow. "You are far too kind and I also bid you a fond farewell."

The goddess looked at him once more with a small smile etched on her face before leaning towards him with her arms stretched out. He followed suit and closed towards her, allowing him to hug her. However, he was surprised when he received a peck on his cheek from the woman before she started to dissipate in a sparkle of light that slowly lifted towards the dark clouds. Naruto watched as they ascended above, not noticing the large Nightmare behind him. It took the large wolf placing his hand on the boy's shoulder to gain his attention.

"What has the Lady Goddess asked for us to do?" asked Plasmus as he looked at the covered blonde.

"We are to hunt down those who killed the innocent and prevent them from opening the Tomb," he replied with a sigh. "She fears what would happen if the Kraken is released from its prison. I hope that we won't be too late."

"It is a mighty task. Come, I will lead you to the Tomb like I have many other Paladins before you," stated Plasmus. "It is a place where many only wish to never to enter but must in order to preserve the peace and order that this world has, or whatever remains of it."

Plasmus moved forward, followed by the blonde boy and the rest of the group and it didn't take them long to start moving again. The trees flew as they moved through, not noticing as time flew as they focused on the goal at hand. Stealth was a key ting that they focused on as they moved on through, unknown that below them was a large camp of Loyalist shinobi, sleeping in their tents.

"Did you hear anything?" asked one of the guards. "I thought I heard a rustle."

"You must be hearing things," replied the other. "It's probably the rain or the wind. The weather has been crazy for the past few days."

"Whatever. I'm just saying that if it was someone, we are so dead..."

"It's nothing."

Up above them, the last of the group had sped past their location. It wasn't much later until they found themselves outside of the forest but rather looking from on top of a cliff. It viewed much of the place but the most prominent was the structure that stood proudly on top of a mountain. Naruto almost mistook it for part of the mountain if not for the immense detail and how out of place it was when compared with the mountain. Starting around midway, it was a rather large spire that reached the dark clouds above. The clouds above swirled around the tip as it produced massive amounts of lightning while the winds around them started to pick up to insane speeds.

"There is our destination," stated Plasmus as looked at towards. "That is the Temple of the Kraken, the Gateway to the Tomb and its prison. Many centuries ago, it was sealed away with powers that were beyond our understanding but now, these ignorant shinobi threaten its release."

"We should hurry. I would suspect that the Mizukage would want to release a Titan in order to end this war quickly, especially with the threat that I pose and the progress that the Rebellion has made. It needs to be stopped."

With a curt nod, they jumped off the edge, freefalling towards the ground before landing with a solid thump on the ground below. Unfortunately for them, they were not the only one in the area as they were quickly surrounded by a mass of people. Naruto and the wolves launched themselves forward in an attempt to escape through a small gap between the mass. It was all for not as they found themselves encircled by many Loyalist shinobi with many who had weapons in hand and ready to throw them in an instant.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here. A group of black dogs and a shinobi," sneered a voice behind the blonde boy. Naruto turned around to find himself looking above on a wooden makeshift catwalk. "I welcome you to our humble abode, however small it may be. My name is Hiroko, Commander of this force. Now please graciously inform me as to why you are where along as to why these... dogs are with you."

Hearing what the commander had said, the blonde could only glare at him while slowly tightening his fist. His companions could only snarl and growl at the man as they wished to slaughter this man for the insults he had directed at them, earning them reactions for the forces that surround them. Naruto could only clench his teeth as he quickly tried to think of a response for the man but one of the Loyalists that surrounded them decided to encourage them to think faster.

"I believe that the Commander asked you a question! I suggest that you answer him!" growled out one of the shinobi as he neared the mask wearing shinobi before shoving him a little forcefully. This earned reactions from the entire group. The Nightmare Wolves like Plasmus growled out loud as they grouped together before exposing their large claws. Naruto had grabbed the man who had shoved him and slammed on the ground with a kunai aimed over his throat. This caused many of the Loyalists to ready to cast their jutsus or throw their weapons.

However, someone was twitchy and launched a barrage of kunais at the group, causing many to do the same. His instincts pulsed through as he quickly claimed the life of the man that he had on the ground before drawing his black katana from its sheathe and using it to defect some of the incoming projectiles. Plasmus had stabbed a pair of Loyalists with his claws before using them as shields for the incoming projectiles. Many of the other wolves had followed suit but a few were caught without such a defense and were promptly injured from the weapons before hiding behind those who had such a shield. Naruto felt the flare of chakra, signifying the usage of jutsus but they were all stopped by a strong pressure of Killing Intent.

A man was clapping and it wasn't just any man, it was the commander of this unit. And his slow movement towards them allowed the blonde boy to examine him closely. He was of average height but the most prominent feature was that he wasn't wearing anything that would signify he would willingly go into combat based on the clean and cut dress clothes he had on. On his head was a mop of black hair while along his waist was a scabbard. It held a blade with a hilt that contained several blue gems on it, signifying that it was a ceremonial blade and probably was never used in combat. He had an aura of arrogance as he walked towards them and probably didn't like to lose on or off the battlefield.

"Bravo, I must commend you for your skills," stated Commander Hiroko before stopping his clap. "Your combat skills are nothing to look down upon, especially with how well you took down one of my men before deflecting several of these kunai. However, I wonder if you would be willing to join the Mizukage to fight against the treacherous rebels within our country. Your skills would be a great influence on the war and I assume that these... beasts are your pets. They are skilled and would no doubt be able to wreck havoc in the front lines."

"I fight and draw the blood of those who attack the righteous. I fight for the innocents who are slaughtered and killed by their oppressors because of their beliefs," replied Naruto as he placed his hand inside his pants pocket in order to draw one of the weapons he had hidden in his gauntlets. "You wish for me to fight for the Mizukage. Then tell me what he fights for and your purpose for being on this island? However, be warned that I will be able to tell if you are lying so it would be wise to state the truth."

"Our purpose of being here is to seek the aid of a powerful being who our Lord Yagura spoke about. He said that if we were to free it from its prison on this island, it will be able to end the pointless war against those who dare to go against him. Once we've reached the Temple, we will find this being and free it from its prison that lies under the depths of the ocean."

Naruto's hand tightened around the weapon that he had in his hand as he prepared for the chaotic fight ahead, especially with how many of them there were. This fight was going to be hard as he fought against people who believed that they were fighting for the right cause but they had caused so much death already. The Nightmares around him knew what he was planning as they slowly readied themselves for the fight. Naruto watched as the commander turned his back to him, allowing him to move his free hand to his mouth before biting it, allowing a bit of blood to run. This action wasn't seen by many but those that did were cautious. The others relaxed as the blonde took a knee.

"So what will your choice be? Will you be the Mizukage's friend or his enemy?" asked Hiroko before turning around to see the kneeling blonde and allowing a smirk to form on his face. "I would take it that you wish to serve him. That is a smart choice."

Unknown to the man, Naruto had other intentions as he readies for his next course of action while he conversed with the beings in his head.

'So who wants to get a shot on this creep and his men?' he asked mentally through their link. 'I'll only be able to summon one of you because of the limit on space."

'I'll go. This man is an insult to many of humanity with how much arrogance that airs out. I would love to kills this man,' stated Odin with a growl. 'Plus I have to get some fight. I haven't sparred you in a while, blondie. I need an outlet.'

'Looks like it's Odin,' thought Naruto before rolling his eyes. 'Just give me a second. You'll need to come in blades swinging with how many of them there are."

"Let us go," ordered the commander as he motioned with his hands towards his forces, not knowing the offensive that was about to happen. It didn't take long for many of the group to start dissipating and while those that were cautious lingered a little longer, they too started to leave, lowering their guard. It was this exact moment that Naruto struck. He drew his dagger from his pocket before stabbing it into the heart of the nearest Loyalist. Surprise occurred to quite a bit of the force but many were suspicious enough that they didn't fully drop their guard. It didn't help their comrades as they were quickly slaughtered by the Nightmare Wolves. Naruto sliced the jugular of another and threw the blade at an incoming shinobi before allowing wiping his blood on his palm before going through several seals and then slamming his hand on the ground.

"Summoning: Odin!"

The darkened rainy skies started to become bleak as the rain poured down with more ferocity to the point that some found it unbearable. Above in the land but below the clouds, a large dark punk trigram appeared was surrounded by a furious circle of lightning that made contact with the ground before launching itself back upwards. As soon as it reached the trigram, it launched towards the center of the circle before causing a large bolt to strike the earth. The lightning dispersed quickly to reveal Odin in all of his glory.

Standing at a height of seventeen feet, the summon held a large two sided sickle blade that he knew all too well as a Zantetsuken, a weapon he hoped to master. The middle of the blade held a black color while the outside was shaded with a faded yellow color. On his other arm, he held a large rectangular shield that was black in color with a trim consisting of the same faded yellow on the edges. As Odin landed on the ground, he raised his shield to block several of the incoming projectiles before making a large swipe with his blade. It thoroughly sliced many of the incoming Loyalist shinobi along with several of the surrounding trees. The Zantetsuken whirled around as it sliced through several incoming shinobi and items but they were nothing compared to the summon's weapon.

"Kitsune, I'll handle most of them but you'll need to get the stranglers," stated Odin as he made another sweep with his blade before turning his attention to the oncoming aggressors. "Come and meet your demon!"

"Alright!" responded the blonde before drawing the black katana that was strapped to his back along with the long dagger that he had been given before his departure. He quickly stabbed the dagger into a closing shinobi before cutting another with the black katana. Blood soon started to spill to the ground and the rain soon started to mix with the red liquid, forming the puddles of blood that he had seen before. His actions were quick and precise in order to give those he killed swift deaths but for he wasn't able to, having to resort on making blows that were lethal and severe but made them suffer a little before their death. Odin was just slaughtering those who even dared to come close before calling forth his element.

"Feel my wrath, my prey! Lightning Release: Tempest of the Forgotten!" he roared before releasing the channeled energy from the tip of his blade. He reared his arm back before thrusting the blade into the air, causing a large quantity of electricity to shoot towards the sky. It caused many of the retreating Loyalists to look up at the light display and caused a few to stop fighting, resulting in them to get killed by either Naruto or the Nightmares. It didn't take long for the light to die down only to result to many bolts coming down from the heavens and striking those who attempted to flee. Odin raised his hand towards the darkened skies, causing even more lightning to rain down in a large area around him. Blood soon soaked the ground along with the sounds of anguish as many were electrocuted by the intense electricity.

Naruto, meanwhile, sliced through another attacking ninja while stabbing through the head of another. Death littered the ground around him and it sickened him on how much of it there was but he had to do it in order to survive. He pulled both of his blades out before spinning around and beheading an approaching shinobi that was trying to attack him from behind. The Nightmares just massacred those that they met as their claws remained bloody from the constant slashing and stabbing.

"Odin!" shouted Naruto, gaining the attention of the lightning summon as he made a large swipe with his weapon. "Let's finish this!"

The large summon nodded towards the boy before moving backwards, allowing the blonde to jump forward after slicing and cutting his way through several more bodies before reaching the large summon.

"Ready to end this whenever you are," stated Odin as he readied his weapon for the final assault. "Let us do this. Call forth my power and show it once more to this world."

"Let's do this!" shouted Naruto as he sheathes both of his weapons. "Summon: Odin: Storm Bringer!"

A large trigram appeared above Odin before it descended around the summon. The storm started to become more intense as the trigram soon started to descend around him, causing yellow particles to surround him before causing his large black shield to dissolve in such a manner. His Zantetsuken followed suit before encasing the summon in a sphere of light. Many of the Loyalists started to attack the sphere with whatever they had, weapons and jutsus alike but none were effective. With a burst of light, the sphere opened to reveal Odin with large wings on his back. His armor was much bulky when compared to his armor prior to the change. His shoulder plates were much larger and covered more of his arm and shoulder while the chest was much thicker. Along his wrists were gauntlets with large crystals on them.

"By grace of Kami, let thunder herald your arrival/ Come forth, sunderer of falsehood," chanted Naruto. "A name in blood, a pact of truth. Odin shall rise his bond eternal and unyielding."

"My weapon is light, my steed is thunder," started Odin as he raised his hand above him, his wings extending wide. "I am the keeper of truth. I am destroyer of corruption. Lightning Release: Ultimatus Maximus!"

Above his hand, a ball started to form using the yellow particles from before. Its expansion took only a matter of seconds as the ball expanded to the point that it was twice the height of the summon. With a loud roar, Odin flew up into the air before launching the ball towards the earth, allowing it to streak towards the land where many of the Loyalists tried to escape with hopes of living, not knowing that their attempts would be futile. Naruto jumped backwards, towards the heavily bloodied Nightmare Wolves before going through a string of seals. It helped that the area was clear of any aggressor since they were all running away from the massive ball. He completed it in a second before channeling his chakra.

"Holy Release: Shield of Argus the Defender!" shouted Naruto. In a split second, a large white dome covered the entire group in a white dome made out of white energy. As soon as it completed it's formation, the large ball made contact with the ground below, causing the creation of a large explosion that brightened the darkest days. Clouds were blown away by the sheer force of the attack, leaving a clear yet dark black sky. Much of the ground had been turned into a crater where nothing had survived the explosion or close exposure to the shockwave from the blast. All that remained is a small white sphere imbedded into the ground of the crater. Many of the trees that were not destroyed, were blown back and even ripped from the ground from the force of the explosion. Much of the light that emerged from the attack slowly dissipated. Odin left in a similar fashion as he dissolved in a large mass of particles that flew towards a trigram in the sky.

On a cliff a mile away from the explosion

Green vested shinobi rushed about as they watched the large explosion make contact with the ground before expanding and then slowly dissipating. Much of the storm above was cleared from the sheer force of the explosion. Quickly, several squads of shinobi formed as they raced towards the ledge of the cliff where one man watched with mild interest before pulling out a binocular from his pouch. Much of the initial impact zone was cratered and much of the surrounding trees were blown down. This allowed him to look at the scene from afar, especially with the help of his observation device.

Expecting to find little from the large zone he labeled as ground zero, surprise filled his face as he spotted the white sphere jutting out from within the crater. The dome dissipates to reveal a group of large wolf like figures but what captured his attention was a human being, a male that stood beyond the group wearing a cloak that covered most of his body but the hood had fallen to reveal a mask that he knew all too well. As soon as he removed the binoculars away from his face, his subordinates spotted the look.

"Sir, what is it?" questioned one of them. "Is there something wrong?"

"It seems that we are not alone here. The explosion and loses that we have endured here are caused by the infamous 'Marksman', the so called second coming of 'Jack the Ripper'," he answered, earning him a wide ring of whispers and shocked gasps.

"The Marksman is here?! Why?"

"We're all dead! I've heard what he's been able to do!"

"What do we need to do now?"

"Let's get out of here!"

"Quiet!" ordered the leader of the force with irritation from the whining that he was hearing from the shinobi that had surrounded him. "We will do as the Bingo book states and not provoke him. It may be the end of us if we even dare cross paths with someone who is able to eliminate a large quantity of our forces, especially from what the mission reports that I received stated. Tell the men to pack; we're going back to Kiri."

"But sir, what about our mission? The Fourth will not be pleased when he hears that we abandoned our mission of supporting his forces here," questioned another one of the Loyalists. "He did say that their mission would help end this war and would restore the country back to its former glory."

"If my hunch is true, and it most significantly is from what I have seen, then even attempting to complete this mission with that shinobi present on this island would lead us to our deaths! Did you not see the power that was generated from that single attack? The clouds parted at its whim and now look, the encampment of the forces we were to support is now a crater in the ground with no evidence of its existence. I know that majority of the forces were not present there but the entire camp was wiped in a matter of seconds. I would not risk such a chance, especially with how low the odds are."

Hearing this, the Loyalists could not but grudgingly agree with their commanding officer as they prepared to head back to their home country with hopes that the Mizukage would be lenient with his punishment, allowing them to continue fighting instead of dying almost instantly.

Crater

With the shield down, Naruto was able to move freely as he looked about to check on his allies but let out a sigh of relief as he spotted that none of them were gravely injured. Looking up above, the clear dark skies started to refill with clouds as if a mysterious force was dragging them back, bringing back the rain. Grimly, the blonde looked up towards the highest point of the temple, watching as the clouds continued to swirl and call forth lightning and thunder before turning towards the Nightmare Wolves.

"Naruto, we need to hurry to the Temple," stated Plasmus. "I fear that the protections may be dropping faster than we predicted, especially with how quickly the storm returned."

"I agree completely," replied Naruto before looking at the edge of the crater. "We need to get out of here first."

The Kitsune masked shinobi moved into his Earth stance before stomping the ground, channeling his chakra to his feet before he thrust out both of his palms and then dragging his foot around. Quickly, he pulled back of his hands after closing them in a first. The earth along the side of the crater wall pulled out, creating a make shift staircase for them to climb to the top. Naruto then turned towards them before nodding towards Plasmus. The group raced towards the staircase before swiftly climbing upwards towards the edge of the crater.

"Plasmus, you should take the lead," stated the Uzumaki, "You know the way to the temple better than me. I'll follow right behind you ready just in case something happens."

With a nod, the Nightmare boss summon took the lead in front of the Konoha ANBU before starting the run towards the Temple. Much of the initial land that they passed after reaching the top of the stairs was knocked down from the shockwave from the lightning attack that Odin had launched. Many of the leaves were burnt black or even missing with the most prominent detail being the large amounts of ash that were scattered and the amount of blackened areas. Quickly remembering about the summon, Naruto opened a link with those that lied within his mind.

'Hey guys,' he mentally called. 'Odin, how are you hold up? That was a massive attack that you used.'

'I'm doing fine blondie but that attack I used was way too charged with chakra,' stated Odin with a grunt. 'Even I felt part of that attack and I was the one who cast it. So, I won't be able to do much for a while, battling or training.'

'While Odin may be absent to being called, Exodus and I are willing and ready to fight,' added Bahamut. 'His injuries were a bit much, and while not serious, they were still plentiful enough for him to get an earful from Velena.'

'It's fine, I have enough chakra to summon either one of you while still being able to use some of my more powerful jutsus at hand,' stated Naruto. 'I didn't use much chakra during that fight but it did make me a little tired. However, I feel that there will be a fight coming and it will be a fight for our lives.'

'Well, just make sure to take care of yourself and to keep yourself safe. Prepare for the worst possible outcomes,' stated Exodus. 'It's better to be prepared, especially when you have Rei here. Remember what happened last time you forgot to be careful, she unleashed a godly amount of anger towards you but most of it was directed at me, Bahamut, and Odin and that was when you almost fell from a mild chakra exhaustion. I don't want to know what would happen to us if and when you get severe chakra exhaustion.'

'Don't worry about it,' stated the blonde with a chuckle as he remembered the nine tailed vixen sealed within him, who probably was asleep for the night. 'Get rested Odin. And I hope that the fight won't be as bad as I believe it will be. Also, tell Rei when she wakes up that I will always be careful.'

'No problem.'

He shut the link between them, allowing him to fully regain his senses and thus allowing him to see that they were no longer surrounded by fallen trees but rather in an area where the trees were mildly packed. The density was reducing as they continued to move, signifying that they were increasing in altitude. With Plasmus leading the group, they quickly soared through the tree line, jumping from branch to branch while the storm above pelted them with rain. Naruto took a glance up above to find the dark clouds swirling at a slightly faster rate than before as they lingered above the large structure. The sight of the massive temple became more prominent as they progressed closer and closer, but the strong gales continued before being accompanied by a furious beating from the endless rain.

"There is the Temple," stated Plasmus as he looked up. "The entrance is close. I pray that we are not late and able to stop these fools from unleashing something in which they do not understand."

With a nod from the Kitsune masked shinobi, they ran up the slick edges of the mountain, using the tree branches until the amount of trees decreased to the point that they were no longer there. At that point, the wolves resorted to using their claws and ledges to climb while Naruto channeled chakra to his feet, allowing him to run up the mountain side. On occasion, large spurts of water would rush down from the side, forcing any member of the group to move off to the side. It was a dangerous climb upwards, especially with the large quantities of rocks that fell down, all of which were varying in size. Naruto climbed at the same speeds as the Nightmares in order to ensure their safety. A bright flash followed by a loud boom of thunder resonated throughout the rain while the rain pounded against them.

"Mudslide!" roared one of the wolves. "Move out of the way! Rocks are inbound!"

A large torrent of water fell from above, mostly mixed earth and soil. It was rather wide and was traveling downwards at a rate that much of the group wouldn't be able to move out of the way, no matter how hard they tried. Cursing under his breath, Naruto narrowed his eyes before running in front of them. Quickly, he stomped his foot on the mountain surface, causing a large slab of rock to rise in front of the group. The mudslide rushed towards the slab and because it was slanted outwards, it rushed over the heads of the group with the boulders following suit. However, the sheer force of the water was still felt as it made contact with several of the Nightmares, forcing them to stab their claws into the mountain for fear of being pulled downwards. It lasted for a handful of minutes before ending abruptly, causing the blonde to become suspicious.

"Where is the entrance?" questioned Naruto as he looked towards Plasmus.

"There! It shouldn't be too far from here," answered the summon.

"I'll meet you up there. I think there might be Loyalists up there. That mudslide was too convenient for my liking and it ended too suddenly."

"Very well, we will meet you up there."

With a grimace, Naruto ran his way around the large slab he created before rushing upwards. It didn't take him long to get to the point where he was ahead of the group and once he was there, he spotted a rather large ledge. Carefully, he slowed down to the point where his steps were silent before reaching the edge and making himself upright. At this point, he clearly spots the entrance to the large temple.

'That's a big door...,' thought Naruto before spotting that it was open and a large amount of light was peering out. 'Looks like they forgot to close the door.'

Suddenly, as he closed the distance between himself and the door, voices reached his ear and forced him to hide between several piles of rocks for cover. The voices quickly reached his location and the first detail he spotted was their green combat vests, identifying them as Loyalist shinobi. His ears tried to tune out the sound of the rain as he attempted to listen to their conversation.

"...guard. There were voices after that mudslide," said the first voice. "I bet you someone was there and made it past it. The commander did say for us to make sure that no one gets it."

"No one could have survived that mudslide," replied a second voice confidently. "With this storm going on and the boulders that we added in, there is no way that someone could have lived."

"Do you know where this storm came from anyway?" asked a third. "It's getting annoying, especially with how long it's been going on for."

"From what the Commander said, it's an effect from the ritual," answered a fourth. "More rain and storm means that the ritual is progressing well. I'll head in to tell the combat teams to get ready just in case someone did survive and is making their way up."

Their voices faded away before the sound of their feet clapping against a hard material reached his ears. Naruto took this moment to peek out and find that the surrounding area was clear before exiting his hiding spot and moving towards the door. Slowly, he inhales before passing the open door, ready for a fight as he drew four senbon needles. As he peered from behind the open door into the hallway, he spotted three of the four shinobi that he had listened to, all at varying distances. He placed one of the needles on the other hand.

As if time stood still, he let the remaining trio of needles fly towards the three guards, who slowly drew their weapons but were unable to get them up fast enough to block the lethal attack. The metal projectiles jarred all three bodies before they fell to the ground like a heap of flesh. Unfortunately, instead of one Loyalists, a pair of them arrived from an offside hallway. The first tried to draw their weapons, only to be instantly killed by the last senbon the blonde had in hand. The second tried to run away into the hallway.

"Intruder! There's an intruder in the caves!" shouted the guard. "It's him! It's Kit-"

"Shh... We don't need the whole place knowing who I am, now do we?" asked the blonde rhetorically as he tightened his hold around the shinobi's mouth, not allowing a single sound other than a muffled scream to exit. "I think that you need to rest just like your friend over there."

Naruto gestured towards the dead guard before stabbing them in the heart with a kunai. The body fell to the ground with a loud thump. With a sigh, the blonde could only prepare himself as he listened to the sounds of feet approaching him. He quickly pulls the white crystal that hung itself around his neck before channeling his chakra into it. As the people appeared from down the hallway, the crystal in his hand exploded in a gust of snow and ice that revealed a large white crystal like blade. Some were intimidated at the sight of such a large blade but many were not, resulting in them attacking him. Some charged towards him with their weapons at hand while others flew through several hand seals before calling out their attack.

"Water Release: Tri-Pulse!"

"Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!"

Several bullets and projectiles of water rushed towards the blonde while many others charged towards him. Naruto readied his blade before stabbing it into the ground.

"Soul Calibur Release: Frozen Heaven's First Coming!"

A sphere rose from the hilt of the blade before lashing out towards the incoming aggressors with swiftness. Many of the water projectiles were blown away, launching them towards the walls before freezing them solid. The Loyalists who charged towards him were blown back by a wave of bluish white, before being surrounded by snow. A few were frozen completely solid by the attack but many had ice covering a few parts of their bodies.

"C'mon! It's only one person!" rallied a shinobi, causing a large amount of his allies to nod. "We can take him easily!"

This rejuvenated their efforts as they start to throw projectiles at the Kitsune masked shinobi, causing him to rip his blade from the ground before spinning off to the side in order to take cover from the barrage. This allowed more of the Loyalists time to run towards him. However, their run was stopped short as a ball of pure black energy makes contact with one of them. A pair of black balls fly out again, striking two more and causing eyes to look towards the hallway to reveal a group of large black wolves that no one other than Naruto had seen before. This caused many reactions in the Loyalists but mostly nervousness as they prepared for the fight ahead by drawing weapons, whether they were swords or kunais.

"Kitsune, it seems that you require some help," stated Plasmus with a grin, earning him a chuckle from the blonde.

"Since you're here, might as well accept your help," answered the young shinobi with a small smile behind his mask. "But remember that we can't use anything that might bring the place down."

The Nightmares just chuckled, which sounded like growls to those all around before looking at the group of Loyalists that stood in front of them. With a roar, the many wolves from the group rush forward with intent to kill while a handful stayed behind to fire blobs of black energy that pierced the hail of weapons and caused much pain to their enemies. Naruto took this chance to rush forward with his blade ready before following the attacking Nightmares. Blood splattered the walls as their sharp claws easily pierced the skins of the human shinobi. Naruto stabbed the large blade into the chest of a nearby aggressor before ripping it out quickly and slashing through the body of another. Because of the sheer size of the blade, it exposed many of the innards and left them on the floor. Though the floors were dusty from the lack of exposure after centuries, it was being washed by the red blood of the fallen.

"Haven't you had enough?" grunted Naruto as he stabbed Soul Calibur into the gut of another stray shinobi before releasing in order to spin around and throw one of his throwing knives at another target. "I mean how many of you are there? You guys are endless it seems."

The carnage was gruesome and some of the Loyalists could only watch as their comrades could do nothing but inflict minor injuries on the intruders while they close towards those in the back. This caused many of them to run away from the fight with their tails tucked between their legs. While many had this option, not many were able to escape because of the fast movements by Plasmus and his followers. Naruto was able to pick off those who got farther than melee range with his senbon needles and throwing knives.

It didn't take long for the massacre to end with the entire hallway littered with the mutilated and maimed body parts of those they had killed in order to continue with their mission. Blood covered a large portion of the walls and soaked the entirety of the floor with the sheer quantity of bodies that covered it. With the lack of attackers and aggressors, it allowed them time to rest for a brief second. Naruto took this moment to will Soul Calibur to return to its smaller form, exploding in gust of snow to reveal the small crystal. Plasmus and many of the other wolves took this time to lick some of their wounds, which earned Naruto's curiosity as he watched them slowly heal.

"We are not normal summons as you can tell," answered Plasmus towards the unasked question that lingered in the mind of the blonde. "We can take many different types of wounds and some lethal ones but we can survive. The minor injuries that we endure can simply be healed by licking our wounds but anything serious will need treatment. And many of us cannot send ourselves back to our world out of whim but only after the completion of a mission."

"Can...Can you die?" asked Naruto hesitantly, which earned him a nod from the large wolf.

"We can but instead of passing on, we move on to the next life that is planned for us," answered Plasmus. "Many of us are reincarnations of those who lived long before but like every life, no one retains the memories of before but rather creates new ones that define who we are. Even though many of us are reincarnations, we are still blessed with life and allowing us to grow in quantity."

"I understand," stated Naruto softly before shaking his head and looking at the Nightmare beside him. "Ready to go? I don't know what's going to happen as soon as we get inside the room but I know that we have to stop them from opening the gate."

Receiving a nod from Plasmus, Naruto rushed through the first room of the temple, which was rather large. His arms were ready to draw his weapons with the rest of the group behind him ready to attack but they were greeted to an empty site where there was nothing but large crates that surrounded much of the room.

"This feels too weird and strange," muttered Naruto as he tried to sense if there was any source of life in the area before trying to see if there was any Genjutsu layering the surroundings. "We're not in a Genjutsu and it seems that there isn't anybody here. I felt nothing in the next room as well. This is too convenient for my liking."

"As much as I would like to take precautions on this, I fear that we must forgo it this one time and like you humans say: 'Not look a gift horse in the mouth,'" said Plasmus. "Every minute we waste, we risk the chance that the Titan is released from its prison."

"Agreed! Take the lead, Plasmus. You know this place better than I do."

Quickly, they broke out into a run as they moved through the hallways, tunnels, and stairways that led towards the top of the mountain at a pace faster than they were using when they ascended the mountain side. Constantly, Naruto flared his chakra, searching for any living being that was in the Temple but would find nothing, which made him worried. It took several minutes before the group found themselves outside of a large metal door about two and half stories high with intricate designs that include symbols that no one could understand.

"The guards had mentioned that they had started the ritual but I haven't found anyone who is alive during our climb up," asked Naruto.

"They may have been killed, butchered or massacred along the way," responded Plasmus. "But I could smell no blood, fresh or old. I fear that this may be a bad sign..."

"I agree."

"Whatever is behind this door, I have a feeling that we will be fighting."

"To the end then."

Naruto took a step back before channeling his chakra into the seals that were on his body, releasing all of them and allowing him to have full access to his speed and strength. He moves towards the door before giving it a mighty push. The metal door creaks open before allowing them entrance and they walked through, not knowing of what was about to occur. The room was rather large when compared to the other rooms that they passed but it was covered in black with large windows that reached the ceiling. The only source of light coming from the lightning storm, flashing constantly and allowing the group to see what the room held.

Along the walls were large scratch marks that ran a few meters before stopping. The floor was soaked to the brim with a pool of blood while dismembered bodies and maimed limbs were scattered all around the room. Many of the decorations and furniture that it once contained was destroyed and the remaining pieces were scattered about, leaving several large chunks half the size of the blonde. As the moved forward, each of their steps was followed by a small splash from the red liquid along with a soft creak from the wood.

Cautiously, Naruto drew his long dagger once more before the lightning flashed once more, allowing him to see a large stairwell with several more bodies laying on it. Plasmus spotted where the blonde was looking and sent several soft growls for the rest of the group to follow them. They slowly and softly climb up the steps, using the soft creaks of the wood from the force of the wind to cover their movements along with small noise from stepping in the blood.

As soon as they reached the next level, the lightning flashed to reveal an even bloody and more gruesome sight than the one from the floor below. More broken and maimed limbs filled the area, the smell was strong that it clogged the noses of many in the group. The carpet that coated the floor was drenched in blood while the rest of the furniture was destroyed in some sort of fashion. Another flash filled the room and there at the end was a medium sized wooden door. The storm outside grew louder and stronger as they moved towards the door. Naruto could feel his anxiety and nervousness slowly build as they moved closer and closer, ignoring the gore, death, and destruction that surrounded him. It didn't take them long to reach the door and with a nod towards Plasmus, the blonde drop kicks the door and sent it flying from its hinges. It falls with an undignified splat before Naruto and the group of Nightmares entered the room, ready to attack. They were greeted by a man that stood proudly before them with bloody hands along with priest like robes and a piercing glare that could and would kill if possible.

"Who dares to interrupt the resurrection of the Lord?" he hissed furiously. "Many centuries this has waited and you dare to interrupt. The Lord Kraken has deemed himself ready and shall rise once again to take this world under his thumb like he did many centuries ago."

"We shall not let the Titan rise!" roared Plasmus as he spat a series of black blobs at the man, only for him to disappear instantly and making the blast impact the ground where he once stood. "Where did you go, coward?"

"Coward am I?" asked a voice that echoed all around them. "Then what are you? You left the many battles that you were part of, abandoning your allies and leaving them to their deaths while you remained alive. I could hardly call the fights that you abandoned as a battle but rather a massacre, dying by the tens until no more of them remained alive. So what would you be if I am a coward? No, I am no coward. The true coward is you."

"Lies! I never abandoned my kin," growled Plasmus as rage filled his voice. "You claim to know what happened that day but you know nothing! I will stop your lies heretic and stop you from releasing the Titan."

"Are you sure that you are telling the truth? What do your allies think? Maybe you're just telling yourself that in order to rationalize it to yourself."

"No! It is the truth!" roared Plasmus before spotting the look that Naruto held in his eyes. "It was how I became the next boss summon for the clan. The previous head ordered for me to be taken away from the fight to ensure that the line of succession still remained. A few of the wolves here remember that day all too well."

"Speaks the truth Paladin. I, Avaron, was one of the wolves ordered by our previous leader to take him away from the fight," added the large Nightmare that moved forwards in order to stand beside the blonde shinobi. "But enough of the past, we must stop this mad man!"

"And now, your efforts are now for nothing as I shall finally be able to release my Lord from his eternal prison!" shouted the voice before reforming into the man that they were attacking before. "Come, my allies!"

Appearing from the shadows all around them, light suddenly exploded around from the many candles littered around the room. From the remaining shadows, several figures leapt out before surrounding around the blonde and his allies. The light from the candle revealed the defining green flak jacket that labeled them as Loyalists, which surprised them all. Quickly, Naruto drew his katana and long dagger with his eyes narrowed, ready for the fight to come.

"How did I not sense you?" questioned Naruto as he looked at the many Loyalists. "I should have been able to sense you, especially with how many of you there are."

"Your skills fail you here, Marksman," sneered one of the Loyalists closer to the front. "We were coated by the Titan's presence and masked our chakra. our very being from you in everything but sight."

"Now we can exact our revenge for our fallen comrades," exclaimed another. "With you out of the way and the Titan free for its prison for our Mizukage to command, this war will end soon! Those pitiful rebels will be able to do nothing!"

"You do not know what you are doing!" shouted Plasmus with a growl. "Releasing the Titan will bring forth more destruction than anyone will be able to control! He will not serve your Kage! He will serve no one! Everything will change-"

"Yes! Everything will change for the greater good! By bringing this Titan back to the world, he will grant us pardon and power that no one will be able to match!" crackled a Loyalist. "Kiri will become the stronger shinobi nation as the loyal right hand of the Titan and the Mizukage! No one will try and contest us and those rebels will die soon enough!"

"Enough! I believe that my master has been caged for far too long," growled the man. "Keep them away from me long enough to release him from his prison!"

With a nod and a war cry, the large quantity of Loyalists rushed towards the group with their weapons drawn. The Nightmares had started spitting out their black energy projectiles in a circle all around them in order to reduce the amount of aggressors rushing towards them but there were far too many, causing them to come close. At this point, their sharp claws lashed out and cut through the many bodies of flesh. Naruto, on the other hand, waited for them to close in before striking with his blades. The black katana was once more coated in blood as it sliced and maimed many bodies alongside the dagger that Naruto wielded.

"At the time that the moon is shadowed by the dark clouds..."

As soon as the man started to chant, a large yellow circle appeared on the ground with it being centered on where he stood. Along the perimeter were several smaller circles that contained the same unknown runes and symbols from earlier as they lined the outer edges. In the center of the large circle centered on the man, a large symbol appeared bellow him.

"We need to stop him!" shouted Naruto towards Plasmus over the constant clashes of metal and the gushing of blood along with the hacking of body parts. "If he finishes the ritual, then we will have to fight a Titan and I'm not sure if we'll come out alive if we do."

"Die scum! Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

The nearby window broke to allow the water access to the insides of the room before taking form of something akin to a dragon before launching itself towards the blonde and the Nightmare that stood beside him. Naruto felt something within him snap and sheathed both of his blades before calling forth Soul Calibur after pulling the crystal off from around his neck. With a roar, he thrust the blade forward and released a blast of white. As soon as it made contact with the water projectile, it quickly froze solid before being shattered into several pieces that varied in shapes and sizes.

"You will not get past us! Water Release: Tri-Pulse!"

"Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!"

"Water Release: Great Waterfall!"

"Water Release: Exploding Dragon Rush!"

'Get out of my way!" growled the Uzumaki as his began to shift into a deeper, more baritone like sound. "Wind Release: Typhoon's Barrier!"

From the mouths of several Loyalist shinobi, water shot out. Most of them came in the form of large balls and sphere like projectiles that flew at such a fast rate while the rest were large streams. However, Naruto made a large swipe with his crystal blade and formed a large dome made of wind that quickly expanded. The water was no match for the rotating gust as it was all blown away like it was nothing. Many were hit by the ricocheting water but none of it was lethal.

"The Imprisoned One shall rise from his cage..."

"No mercy for anyone who fights against the wishes of our Mizukage!" shouted a shinobi before flying through several seals. "Water Release: Twin Raging Dragon Bomb!"

"This will be the end! Take them down!" cried another. "Water Release: Water Trumpet!"

"Water Release: Storm Upheaval!"

The water that laid most of the floor started to move towards the area of the fight before lifting upwards to form two large spheres of water before it moved in an arc towards the blonde shinobi. Others thrust their hands towards the blonde as the large amount of water that wasn't being used in jutsus, condensed into a several streams of liquid that lunged towards their targets. Many of the remaining shinobi placed their hands to their face before blowing out a stream of highly pressurized water.

"Soul Caliber Release: Frozen Gates of Valhalla!"

A pure white beam rose from the sword as it was stabbed into the wooden floor before the temperature dropped to extremely cold temperatures. Instantly, water from the floor rose upwards before freezing and forming a large wall that blocked all of the incoming liquid projectiles. Cracks formed from the sheer pressure of the attacks but the ice held strong. With a grunt, Naruto felt his chakra surge as he pulled his blade up from the wooden floor before placing it on his shoulder with both hands wrapped around the hilt.

"Plasmus, get everyone down! We're pushing through!" shouted Naruto, prompting the large wolf summons to drop to the ground after disposing of their current opponents. "Soul Calibur Release: Infinite Ice Storm!"

The walls started to crack instantly, giving many of the Loyalist false hope of breaking through but it brought much surprise when the ice walls broke apart and the large pieces flying in the air before imbedding themselves into many of the shinobi. Several tried to strike the man within the circle but they never made it close, instantly being destroyed as soon as they neared him. With a swipe of Soul Calibur, the ice storm picked up as the many shards struck a majority of the Loyalists. In a matter of seconds, the majority of the forces laid on the ground dead from the neck breaking speeds the ice made impact while those that were fortunate to survive backed away.

"Now to for you to die!" stated Naruto as he pointed his blade towards the man within the circle, only for the light to brighten to the point that he had to cover his eyes.

"You are too late! They have distracted you long enough for me to complete the ritual! Now, my Lord, take your rightful place among the plains of reality!" screamed the man towards the air above while the lightning flashed furiously. "From the blood or your allies, rise again to take your seat of power! Destroy all who dare oppose you!"

From that point, the glowing continued to get brighter until no one could see but it didn't take long for the light to die down to reveal the bloodied man standing in the middle of his circle. He looked towards them with a grin on his face before extending his arms out while the circle around him pulsed.

"You are all too late!" he cried with glee. "My master is coming and he will des-"

During this, the man did not see the water rising up and wrapping around his feet before climbing his legs. Soon, it covered his torso and only then did he notice them but it was too late. The liquid lashed out and covered his entire body with his mouth open in a silent scream. Slowly, he drowned to death from the lack of air and becoming another corpse as the water left, causing it to fall with a loud thump. The circle pulsed some more but nothing happened.

"Something's not right here," stated Naruto as he tightened his grip on Soul Calibur while looking at the newly deceased man. "If what he said is true, then where is the Titan?'

"The Kraken is sealed away from water as any contact would give him power. We were only told that this Temple led to the prison and none of us dared to venture to it," stated the large wolf before his eyes widened. "So the only place it could be is the-"

Before Plasmus could finish his statement, the large yellow circle expanded outside of the room and unknowingly, encompassed the entire mountain. As soon as it reached that point, the entire mountain started to shake and before long, the entire island was shaking. Suddenly, the rain began to intensify along with the lightning and the thunder. And there it was.

"Finally! After a millennium of imprisonment, my time arrived. I. AM. FREE!"

"Move!" roared Naruto as he started to run. "Get out of here! It's going to bring the entire mountain down!"

The earth quickly shook as the center of the sculpted spire before the center broke, causing a stream of water to erupt. More of it started to fill the room as the floor beneath them cracked some more and Naruto knew that there wasn't much time left. Many of the remaining Loyalists looked at each other with a confused and fearful look, not knowing what was happening. They watched as Naruto and the Nightmares ran towards the closest exit out of the place: the window. Geysers erupted around them as they raced past them before reaching their goal.

"JUMP!" roared Plasmus as he dived through the glass, breaking it so that the others would follow suit.

Ba-bump.

Ba-bump.

Naruto could feel his heart beat as his body raced towards the opening that Plasmus had made. He could feel the water pulsing under him, wanting to escape from its confides below him and tempting to release from right underneath him.

Ba-bump.

It happened all too fast. As soon as he reached the window, his legs were already in the process of jumping him through without any hesitation.

Ba-bump.

Free falling down the mountain side, Naruto looked back at the top to spot the water to start to spill out from the windows in horrendous amounts. The sounds of creaking wood started to reach his ears over the rush of the wind and the thunder, causing him to continue watching as the large spire started to slowly expand. Suddenly, the top exploded before continuing downwards with pieces of wood falling downwards. The temple started to explode from the pressure and quantity of water that resided within, causing a large quantity of debris to fly out.

Naruto struggled to move Soul Calibur due to the gravity but was able to position the blade so that it was perpendicular to mountain before moving himself close to it. He spotted the ground below getting closer and closer by the second, causing him to stab the large blade into the rocky mountain side and slowly down his descent. However, the amount of forces that were around him caused the blade to be dragged downwards.

'Must... not...let...go,' he thought as the blade continued to slice along the mountain, drastically slowing his fall down until he stopped. He looked up to find the debris from the tower falling towards him along with large amounts of rock and with a savage roar, he punched the mountain side with his free hand. Doing so called forth a large wall to form above him, causing much of the incoming projectiles to deflect off. This provided him enough time to look down and see that most of the Nightmares were below him with their claws imbedded into the mountain. But something left him confused.

'Where is the water?' he questioned himself. 'Shouldn't there be like hundreds of liters of water pouring down?'

Risking it, he dropped the earthen shield before looking up to find that the only water falling down was from the rain. He looked down towards his allies and spotted them gesturing to head down towards the forest. With him having fallen more than two thirds of the way down, it was simple for him to descend the mountain side as he channeled chakra to his feet before running down after pulling out his crystal sword. It didn't take long for him to reach the bottom where he was greeted by the look that Plasmus held on his face.

"The Kraken has been released," whispered the large black wolf as he looked up towards the dark clouds with the rain splashing against his fur. "We have failed. One of the greatest threats to this world has been released. We had taken precautions but with the world reacting like this, I fear that it wasn't enough."

"Don't blame yourself Plasmus," said the Uzumaki before stabbing the blade into the ground. "We did all we could to try and stop its release into this world. Now I must do my job as the Paladin and stop it from causing damage to this world."

"It may be a daring task but we will assist you anyway that we can. But I fear that we must gather reinforcements if we wish to take the Titan," replied Plasmus, earning him nods from the other wolfs that surrounded him. Naruto While they conversed, they didn't notice the large swirling clouds up above moving at a faster rate nor the increased amount of lightning near the summit of the mountain.

Mountain Summit, Temple Ruins

The ruins of the temple laid scattered everywhere on the mountain summit, or rather what remained of the mountain. The water that had shot its way through the entire spire levitated itself towards the swirling clouds before a flash of lightning revealed a large yellow circle. The circle swirled with the clouds before suddenly flashing away, causing a large sphere of water to emerge before slowly descending towards the crater that once was the mountain top. During the descent, the sphere slowly shrunk until it reached the crater, where it started to take shape of a body: a human body. The water figure is slowly engulfed in a yellow aura that would blind most before dying away to reveal a human being. With the water nonexistent, cyan blue eyes finally opened themselves to stare into the world that it hasn't seen in so long.

"I am finally free," stated the being softly before roaring it out to the world. "I am finally free from that damn prison!"

Right below him, a large glob of water engulfed him before splitting apart and encasing his naked body. As it separated, it started to become large pieces of armor with the exception of one, which transformed into a large spear that was stabbed into the ground. Reaching towards the weapon, the spear rushed for the hand before raising it into the sky, causing a massive downpour to cascade down.

"It has been too long since this world has heard the name of an elemental Titan! Now, this planet will fall under my rule and bring forth a new era, one where I control all! The dawn of the Kraken is here!"

The body was built like that of man with short dark blue hair on his head and his face had a sharp shape to it with no amount of baby fat around it. His body had a slight build to it with some muscles showing. The armor on his body had a large trident emblem on it with a swirl as the background. Sensing something, he turned his gaze to another part of the island which supported a large crater.

"Hmmm... It seems that those guardians of those that dare to call themselves gods and goddesses of this mortal world," he mused to himself. "To ensure my rule, they must be eliminated for the greater good of this world. Ah, who am I kidding, this world will become mine to rule as I see fit!"

Letting lose a hysterical laugh, the man turned into liquid before splashing on the floor of the mountain and quickly descended down the rocky surfaces.

At the Crater

After around fifteen minutes of running, the group that consisted of Naruto and his allies reached the large crater that was once the location of the Loyalist forces before dropping down into it. It had been a good part of the hour that they had spent running towards the large crater and given the amount of fighting that they had taken part in, Naruto stopped in order for the whole group to catch a breath.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here."

Hearing the voice surprised the group, causing many of the large summons to jump and form a loose circle around Plasmus and Naruto. They quickly searched all around them but there was surprise when a small puddle they glanced over started to rise up from the ground. The liquid quickly reached the height of five feet eight inches before condensing into the form of a human wearing bulky armor.

"It seems that the so called guardians of my damned prison failed at doing their duty of keeping their prisoner locked away. It was a shame too. But now, I will have to kill all of you."

"Kraken, I feared your escape but for you to be here so quickly, I fear that the measures that we had taken were not enough," growled Plasmus as he walked through the small circle of Nightmares. "You say that you will slay us but you are wrong!"

"You think that, don't you, you pathetic mutt look alike!" spat the Kraken back at them. "Feel the wrath of a TITAN!"

All around the man, water swirled around him in massive amounts as he stretched his arms outward with his weapon pointing towards the skies above, causing the clouds to quickly darken some more and bringing forth more rain. With a feral grin plastered on his face, the titan then pointed his weapon at the group of fighters and launching several blasts of water.

"Move! Don't get hit from any of his attacks!" growled the Nightmare summon before jumping away from the incoming attacks. Many of the group members followed suit in order to dodge the incoming attacks.

"Don't have to tell me twice," grunted Naruto as he moved off to side. "Let's see if you can take this! Wind Release: Force of the Tornado!"

Wind swirled into a small ball that levitated above his hand as he moved from one spot to another, constantly moving to avoid being hit by the continuous streams of liquid that the water titan had called forth. Soon, the wind that started to swirl into a sphere had taken shape with a radius of about 15 centimeters and pulsing rather rapidly in random intervals. Naruto jumped into the air, dodging another stream of water before cocking his arm back.

"Catch this!"

The blonde thrust the small sphere out, launching it at the cyan haired man at neck break speeds. As the sphere flew, it started to expand out and formed something akin to a twister. Several of the remaining blasts of water launched towards the incoming twister, clashing with the fierce wind. Naruto dropped to the ground before forming a Dog hand seal. The twister like blast exploded, causing much of the water to explode outwards with the shockwave destroying the remaining shaped liquid.

"I applaud your ingenuity and strength for being able to stop my attacks, but that doesn't mean that you will live to see the light of tomorrow!" stated the titan with an arrogant tone in his voice as he waved his hand, causing the rain water to take shape and follow his movements. "Be assured! You will die!"

Swiftly, the water titan thrust his spear forward, aimed towards an unsuspecting Nightmare who was unable to block the incoming stab. The blade pierced through the wolf's head, causing blood to splatter in the surrounding area. Those that were close to the newly deceased jumped away in a hurry in order to receive the same faith. Unfortunately, the water had formed around his free hand before making a quick horizontal swipe in the air before following suit with his spear. The water lashed out and slashed through the several Nightmares that were attempting to escape.

"You have not even seen my full power! Water Release: Multiple Water Clones!"

All around the armored being, the water started to take shape and form a massive amount of copies of the cyan haired man. With a savage grin, the Kraken pointed his weapon at the remainder of his opponents and causing his clones to charge towards them with an intent to kill them. Naruto readied himself for the fight ahead by drawing Soul Calibur in his hand, allowing its frosty power slowly coursing through his body.

"Soul Calibur Release: Arctic's Call!"

The blonde stabbed the large blade into the ground, causing is crack as ice appeared from the large amount white aura that currently engulfed him. The ice spread farther and farther, freezing much of the earth and any liquid that was within its range. Ice ran all around and froze the water clones in their place. Unfortunately, Kraken jumped out of the way as soon as the ice had passed his clones and started to encroach towards him.

"It seems that you have forgotten that water will freeze when the temperature is cold enough," stated Naruto with a satisfied grin etched on his face. "Now I've rendered your clones useless..."

"You would thing that would you," chuckled the Titan. "It seems that you have forgotten who I am! I am the Kraken! I am the Lord of Water! You think that freezing water will stop me?"

As he yelled this out to the world around him, the skies quickly started to thicken with lightning flashing all around them. Unknown to them, the sea around the island started to rock back and forth uncontrollably. Rain from above started to fall in large copious amounts to the point that earth below was being soaked to the point that puddles started to form. At this point, the proclaimed Lord of Water released a laugh.

"You've had your fun, boy. Now it's my turn to play!" he said with a savage grin before waving his free hand around. "Water Release: Dragon Assault!"

Water started to form all around the man as it takes forms of the many dragons with their yellow eyes staring intently at the small band of attackers. With a predatory grin, the titan gestured towards the group, causing the large amount of water dragons rushed forward with intent to kill. Each one made contact with the ground as they missed their intended targets. As each of the incoming high pressure water projectiles made impact with the ground, they plowed into the ground and created large puddles into the ground before rising up and forming another batch of water dragons that launched forward, constantly attacking and forming an endless attack. Water continued to plow into the ground as they narrowly missed their targets but an occasional attack would graze one and slow them down.

"We need to do something about the water! He constantly makes more of them and if this continues, then he will have more than enough to call forth a large enough attack that will surely hit us all!" growled Plasmus as he moved out of the way of another incoming projectile before finding himself alongside the Kitsune masked blonde. "Can you do anything about this?"

"Yeah! Give me a second!" grunted Naruto as he jumped away while his hands few through several hand seals as he delved into his pool of jutsus. "Judgment Release: Time Force Halt!"

A yellow aura covered the blonde before expanding and spreading all around him within before stopping just outside of the crater walls. He held his large white blade in his hand before charging forward towards the incoming water dragons that started to slow down as they rushed towards his allies. He jumped up and sliced through them, causing ice to crawl over the water as soon as the blade made passed through it.

"Well, it seems that we have a Time Manipulator," stated a voice behind him, causing the blonde to turn and reveal to be the Kraken in all of his glory. "It won't work. Your time manipulations are too weak if you could not tell. They have only affected the environment and my jutsu. They do not affect a Titan like me! However, you have the potential to become a worthy to join me in my quest to bring this world to a new era!"

"A new era? Do you expect me to believe all of that bullshit that you are saying?" Naruto asked incredulously. "I will fight for what I believe in and that is to protect this world from anyone who wishes or desires to bring harm to it and the people I care about like you!"

"Is that how narrow minded you truly are?" asked the Titan with a fierce look in his eyes. "When I bring this new era, the world will be in peace! No one will dare to oppose the rule of their leader because they will all fear me! Such a shame too. You would have been a strong ally to be at my side! No matter, all who oppose me shall die!

"Bring it on! You won't be able to use any of your elemental attacks, especially since they would all be slowed."

"I don't need to use my water attacks to take you down, you pathetic piece of flesh! Like I said, I won't have to use my full strength to defeat you and your group of mangy mutts."

The titan rushed forward as he launched a thrust with his spear at the Namikaze, who blocked it with his large blade before countering by pushing it back and swiping him. Swiftly, the blue haired man dodged it with ease before splitting his spear into half and then focusing his energy into them. Soon, the two ends covered in a light blue aura before forming two short swords. With fury, the Titan launched forward with insane speeds and made impact with Soul Calibur, breaking the blonde's concentration. All around, the yellow aura started to recede back to the blonde and causing time all around him to continue at a normal rate. The ice that had started to spread on the water sped up, consuming the liquid attack and caused them to fall to the frozen ground. With their blades locked together, the Titan and Naruto pushed against each other, hoping to gain the advantage over the other.

"I... feel myself... being pushed...," the blonde thinks to himself as he strained himself to prevent the Titan from winning. 'Can't let.. him win... Must protect... the others...'

Suddenly, the blonde found himself flying through the air as the being lashed out with a kick aimed at his exposed gut. The blonde paved a trench into the ground as he slowed to a stop before he slowly rose from the ground and spat out a glob of blood. Looking at the Titan, Naruto slowly stood up as he focused his chakra once more, matching the blue aura that the Titan was producing.

"Try taking this then! Chaos Release: Hell's Damnation!"

Suddenly, the blue aura that had covered the blonde previously receded almost instantly, only to be replaced by a dark purple aura as he sped through several hand seals before slamming his first on the ground. From the ground and the pools of water, a large black gate slowly rose with the blonde standing right on top of it.

"Open!" shouted Naruto as he held the Tiger hand seal. As soon as he said the word, the dark gates slowly opened to reveal black and dark red flames in the background. Soon, a loud roar echoed throughout the battlefield, stopping everyone, including the Titan, who had a curious look etched on his face. Naruto, who stood on top of the large gate, took a deep breath as he felt the rain batter his armor, clothes, and what exposed skin he had, before looking at the Kraken with a determined look on his face.

"Creatures of the Damned, I call upon you to aid me in my battle! Ascend from the fields of Hell to assist your summoner and his allies! I call upon the strong to defeat my enemies! I call upon the wise to strike their weakness! I call upon the cunning to outwit them! I call upon the hundreds and the thousands to rise up and take your blades!"

The cries of several are heard from the gate as several shapes appeared from the dark flames that at the background before they started crescendo until the cries turned into the roars. Soon, the figures emerged from the gates itself to reveal large amount of flaming creatures with a large variety of weapons. With a cry, the lumbered through the gate and moved forward towards their target. Narrowing his eyes, the Titan moved his hands, controlling the water dragons before launching them towards the large quantity of attackers.

"Attack and fulfill your purpose!"

With a savage war cry, the large army of the flaming undead charged forwards, clashing with the incoming quantity of water dragons. The dragons tore through the first few rows of the large army and thus causing the formation of steam from the impact of the water with the flaming bodies. Much to the anger of the Titan and the amusement of Naruto, those who fell from the constant bombardment of water reconnected themselves back together before continuing their charge. Kraken couldn't help but feel anger and he unleashed all of his fury, causing his aura to rage around him.

"I've had enough of this insolence! No more games!" he roared loudly to the point that the clouds above seemed to part. "Feel my true power!"

The blue aura became brighter and brighter as it continued to cover the water Titan to the point that it blinded everybody for a few seconds before everyone regained their sight. In front of them stood the man with a large blue circle right below him and with a savage cry, he slammed one of his glowing fists into the middle of the circle. Suddenly, the circle started to spin at a slow pace before gradually spinning faster as the light around him started to grow stronger and stronger until it again became unbearable.

"You have been a thorn in my side and I've had enough! See the face of power, my true form, and prepare to be destroyed!" he roared as he became liquid while the circle got bigger. "No one can and will ever be able to match my power!"

Soon, his liquid body started to grow bigger and bigger until it grew the same amount the circle did before extra features started to appear all over his body just as the liquid started to dissipate. From the back of his head, about a dozen tentacles stretched out, showcasing their length of about two meters while the total height of the Titan himself was slightly over five meters. His hands had transformed into claws while the armor he had worn merged with his skin, making it stronger and even appropriate with his current body. His eyes turned into black slits surrounded by a dark sapphire blue color while sharpened teeth showed themselves as he opened his mouth to let loose a roar.

"What-What is that?" asked a surprised Naruto before narrowing his eyes.

"That is his true form," responded Plasmus as he aided the remains of the Nightmare group. "It is the form that he used centuries ago when he fought against his brothers, though it was rumored that he was bigger than this..."

Suddenly, blue static started to appear from the seal before a large amount of it covered the Titan, shocking him completely. He tried to continue his growth but it was prevented by the same static force, thus halting him from growing and changing more. The force of the static was a bit much, forcing him to fall on to his knees.

"W-What is this?" growled the Titan angrily as he struggled a little to stand back up. "Why can I not turn to my original form? My power! It is severely weakened! Something has happened!"

"Of course something did happen, you overgrown squid," replied Plasmus menacingly at the large Titan, which earned him the attention of the being.

"What did you and those damn guardians do to me? ANSWER ME!" he roared furiously as he looked at the smirking Nightmare wolf.

"We divided a portion of your power," replied Plasmus. "Many of us knew that someday, someone would have the power and the ability to release you from the ancient prison, so we siphoned a segment of your power and divided it into several artifacts, which we sent away."

Shock and dread filled the Titan as he listened to the explanation before he stopped trying to grow, causing the seal around him to break and revert him back to his human like form with many of his extra features now gone. Kraken slowly stood up from his kneeling position, panting a little as he slowly shook off the pain from the electricity. His armor had returned along with his spear, which he twirled before readying himself. In front of him, the undead army slowly pushed forward as they attempt to kill their target. With a threatening growl, the Titan stood ready with his spear at his side.

"Fine! Let me show you a glimpse of my power!" stated the Kraken arrogantly as he twirled his spear before stabbing it into the ground. "Fall against the might of the Kraken! Water Release: Neptune's Guard!"

Utilizing every source of unfrozen water, the cyan haired man called forth a large amount of water made soldiers with weapons and with a satisfied smirk, he released a loud war cry before moving forward. The liquid army followed suit before breaking out into a charge while waving their weapons above them. Seconds later, the two large armies collided in the middle of the battlefield, akin to a small scale war. Water soldiers would receive blows but they would do nothing but pass through them, which allowed them to attack and eventually start to overwhelm the incoming army.

"You will never take me down! Water Release: Tsunami Cannon!"

With the constant rain falling down from above, Kraken willed the liquid to him and formed a large ball of water before launching it forward. The large sphere of water sped faster and faster before making impact with the ground, slamming through a number of the undead that remained fighting and causing them to be expelled out of their bodies in order to return through the gate where they were summoned from. Many of the spirits had returned back because of the fact that their bodies had been destroyed beyond repair. Naruto could only watch in despair before spotting the large water ball make contact with the ground, causing a large wave to form and rise above the ground.

"Earth Release: First Defense!" Naruto called as he slammed both of his palms on the ground as soon as he spotted the wave emerge. Soon, a large earth dome formed over and around Naruto and his allies from the muddied ground, protecting them from the large wave of water. With no amount of light or knowledge, they didn't know that the large wall of water was almost on them, leaning forward before crashing down from above and striking the wet compact soil. From within their defenses, Naruto could feel the force of the impact before feeling that no one outside was moving. It was after him sending a pulse out that he turned and looked at Plasmus.

"Plasmus," the blonde called to the summon. "You get out of here. I'll deal with the Kraken in order to get you enough time to get out of here. I'll follow as soon as I feel that you get out."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Plasmus with a hint of worry in his voice.

"Yes I am. As soon as I drop the dome, I'll launch an attack in order to cover your escape. That should buy you enough time," explained Naruto. "Ready?"

Receiving a nod from the large black wolf, Naruto focused his chakra for a jutsu just as he disconnected himself from the dome shield, allowing it to lower and reveal a charging Titan. The blonde moved forward to engage, intercepting the man with his Soul Calibur. The two started to trade blows with each one being blocked by the other, not allowing either one of them to get an edge. During this clash, the Nightmares had jumped away and were making their way out of the area. It didn't take long for the blue haired Titan to notice this before placing a sneer on his face as he looked at his blonde opponent.

"It looks like your so called allies have abandoned you," stated the Titan arrogantly. "I will give you this offer once more, join me and become loyal to me. I shall grant you your heart's most desired wishes and make them reality."

As soon as he said that, Kraken pushed the Uzumaki back, sending him a few yards away before a smirking to himself as water formed a large wall behind me. Naruto looked him in the eyes before shifting towards the large wall that was behind him,

"I will bring your most desired wish to reality..." stated the Titan once more, but softer. As soon as he said that, the large wall of liquid started to shift and transform into a body, turning into a woman whom Naruto could easily recognize with all of his heart. The water quickly took shape before dissipating before revealing a woman with bright red hair and an hourglass figure covered by a red satin dress that hugged her curves. In front of him was Rei. The red haired woman walked towards him with a small, grateful smile on her face as she looked over the battered blonde in front of her. With almost all of his attention on her, he was barely able to defend himself from another strike.

"Don't fight against him, Naruto," she whispered to him. "Join him, and we will be together. Just like you wanted. We would be able to love each other outside of the seal and be together forever."

'NO!'

The voice rang inside the blonde's head, breaking him out of his trance enough to crouch down and allowed him to dodge the next attack.

'Naruto, don't believe him. It's all just an illusion,' stated Rei through their link. "Believe me on this, you must continue fighting. He will enslave all of us if you gave up. All of us."

A fire started to burn within the blonde's gut as the blaze rekindled in his eyes. He swiftly lifted his blade before blocking the series of strikes that the Titan had launched before countering with a heavy kick to his gut.

"What happened?" he asked angrily. "You were suppose to be..."

"Trapped in that world? Trust me when I say you will have to do better than that," growled Naruto. "You will not have this world. I will defend it to keep my precious people safe!"

"Fine! Then they shall die too! Right after you! Water Release: Twin Hurricane Tridents!"

Water gathered around the two enclosed fists of the blue haired man with the tips forming the familiar three points of a trident on each fist. Smirking, Kraken cocked his first hand back before letting loose the first attack before following suit with the second one with the intent of finally finishing the blonde shinobi. However, he wasn't expecting the blonde to counter with an equally strong jutsu.

"Earth Release: Mud Hydra Defense!"

The soaked dirt started to rise from the ground before forming six heads with yellow eyes that bore down at the water titan who stood not too far away. As soon as it was fully formed, the hydra let loose a torrent of mud that intercepted both of the incoming projectiles, causing them to explode. Naruto took this time to use his second jutsu.

"Summoning: Bahamut!"

Up above, the purple and red trigram appeared before quickly being broken as Bahamut shot through it and made impact with the ground, shielded by his purple wings. The wings parted, showing the summon in all of his glory with his weapons at hand, ready for the fight ahead.

"Is that all you have, Kraken?" taunted the blonde, hoping that he could make him angry enough to force him to make mistakes.

"You wish, human!" he growled out before channeling his energy. "Summoning Jutsu!"

A large cloud of smoke engulfed a good portion of the battlefield before it quickly blew away to reveal a rather large squid with extra features along with weapons and armor. Its large arms flailed around in a threatening manner before giving off a loud screech as it faced its three opponents.

"Bahamut, we've got a squid to fry! No holding back!" called Naruto as he looked towards his summon. "

"Feel my wrath! Dragon Fire Release: Dragon Intervention!"

In both of his hands, each one supported a small reddish orange ball that slowly pulsed with light as it slowly grew in size before launching them at the large squid that stood in front of him. The two projectiles lurched forward before swirling together when they met during their flight before making impact with the large squid summon. As soon as it made impact, the spiraling blast created a large explosion which launched the squid in the air before making it crash near his mud hydra, causing it to lash out with several blasts of mud. This prompted an engagement between the two while the Kraken watched with anger as he started to channel more and more of his energy.

"Bahamut, let's take flight!" called the blonde. The summon flew into the air, where a large trigram appeared. He broke through it, covering himself in a dark red fire before it exploded outwards to reveal a large dragon with three pairs of wings and large sickle like claws that were blood red. His whole body was covered in armor that was a mixture of black, red, and purple. He looped downwards, allowing Naruto to jump up and land on his back just as he passed underneath him.

"Feel my wrath!" he roared as he focused a large chunk of his energy into his hands before thrusting out towards the duo. "Water Release: Kraken's Wrath!"

He channeled energy to both of his fists before thrusting both of them forward, creating a large blue blast that rocketed towards the pair. However, they were ready for it.

"Dragon Fire Release: Final Apocalypse!"

"Fire Release: Solar Firestorm!"

A small white ball formed in front of Bahamut's mouth before gradually expanding in size. Meanwhile, Naruto had focused his chakra to both of his hands, forming two white balls that also expanded in size at a quick rate. All three of the charging attacks continued to expand until the two in the blonde's hands started to pulsate with light, signifying that it was ready. Naruto grunted to himself before launching the first of his pair before following suit with the second, allowing both of them to fly straight and true towards the incoming projectile. Bahamut fired his right after the blonde on top of him shot both of the pulsing attacks. Bahamut took a moment to watch the attack before shooting off in a different direction that would lead them away from the coming explosion, which held true. The impact from the one blue energy impacting the three white balls of fire created a massive explosion that engulfed a chunk of the island itself, allowing sea water to fall into the massive hole that was once covered by land.

"Bahamut... I put too much... in that last...one," muttered Naruto as he fought the darkness that started to encircle his vision. "Can you... please... take me to... Plasmus?... Going to... sleep..."

The blonde slumped against the back of the dragon, who continued his flight to the distance. Bahamut just continued on, not noticing the figure watching from down below. Made out entirely of liquid, the Kraken watched the large dragon fly off while he stood on top of the ocean.

"No one has peaked my interest in so long, but for you to do so... We will see each other again and when that time comes, only one of us will survive," stated the Kraken with an evil chuckle before slowly merging with the sea. "Let's play, guardian, let us play."

Unknown Location, Unknown Time Past

The young blonde found himself stirring from the darkness before allowing his eyes to slowly open before the bright light reached his eyes, forcing him to use his hand to cover it. Slowly but surely, his vision got use to the light but not as quick as he wished. He was situated below the trees as the light filtered through them and he could hear the sounds of chatter, which forced him to slowly sit up as he ignore the feeling of pain from his sore muscles. He was able to see several blobs of black as his eyes were not able to pick out specific pieces of detail that could help him identify it.

"Naruto, it's good to know that you're alright," stated one of the creatures in front of him.

"Uh… Who are you again?" Naruto asked as he rubbed his eyes in order to try and hasten the clearing of his vision.

"Ah… I believe that your eyes have not yet adjusted but you would know me as Plasmus," the voice said with a chuckle.

"Sorry about that Plasmus," muttered the blonde as his vision cleared, allowing him to see the Nightmare. "Where am I anyway? And what happened?"

"Your dragon summon had carried you to us and explained to us what had happened," Plasmus explained. "We had him follow us here, an isolated island that only few know of, and had him drop you off before disappearing into the skies."

"Ok," replied Naruto before a thought popped up. "You said that you had sealed a portion of the Kraken's portion, which prevented him from completing his transformation. What did you mean by that?"

"During the many centuries that we had guarded the Kraken, we slowly siphoned a portion of his power and stored them into artifacts," began Plasmus before receiving a nod from the blonde to show that he understood. "We entrusted them to the guardians before you and they scattered them around the world. From what we understand, some of them lie here but others are hidden in a world long before. I fear that the Kraken will go and retrieve his power before coming to finish us."

"But how will we defeat him?"

"Your predecessors had claimed to have experimented with one of the artifacts that we had give them, allowing it to have a special property and giving it sentience along with the ability to absorb certain energies-"

"Wait... Was this thing made out of blue scales?"

"Yes, it was a scale from the Kraken himself," stated Plasmus, surprised that the blonde knew about it. "How do you know that?"

"Because I know what the artifact is and who has it. The scale was transformed into a blade known as Samehada, a blade used by one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and the person who has it is Kisame Hoshigaki."

"That blade may be the only hope we can of stopping the Kraken."

"We need to get back to the rebellion then. Mei might know where Kisame is and hopefully, he might be able to help us. Plus, I have a feeling that the Kraken will make an appearance in the Civil War, especially since it's so close to a large amount of water."

"Then let us make haste."

A/N: Well that's it. No flames. Read and Review. Constructive reviews would be appreciated.