Samurai Showdown With Kakashi

- I did it! - I shouted to the skies, as I couldn't help but laugh. Lai was no longer a threat, yet I felt like it wasn't over.

- He's insane. - Rakuma commented, shaking before his best friend's corpse. - Was he possessed as well? Please tell me that's what happened Renji. He's possessed by a beast too, right? I just didn't know because I was in a coma. Yes that has to be it. He... he... Lai! - Rakuma ran to Lai's corpse, removing the blade from his neck as he tried to clean it up. Renji looked at me in tears.

- I'll save you Rod. I don't care what Orochimaru did to you, I'll definitely help you out of i...

- That's not what's happening at all, guys. - Now how do I explain this without making them try to kill me? - Lai was not the man you knew him as. - Renji approached me hitting my c.h.e.s.t with the back of his hand. I fell back, as my vision became blurry and my entire body screamed. I suppose I was going to feel the aftermath of the speed blitz eventually.

- What are you talking about?! Lai was the best man in the entire Land of Iron, and you... you killed him. - I tried to lift my torso, sitting up while holding my weight in one hand.

- There's a lot about him you don't know. He deserved to die He... Ackk! - I spat out blood as Renji kicked me in the face. I fell down again.

- What are you talking about? Is this really you Rod? How can you say that without being possessed by some beast?

- He killed my parents! - I shouted, hoping to get some reason in him. Silence succeded that sentence, silence long enough to allow me to sit straight once more. I looked at Renji straight in the eyes. - He was the one who killed my mom and dad. It wasn't some wandering Uchiha, that was all an illusion to keep me from hating the samurai. Lai was...

- So? - Renji asked, almost in a mocking tone. I felt unrivaled rage within me, but I had to keep it inside. In my current state, getting angry might actually kill me. Renji proceeded. - Your father killed the previous samurai general. It's understandable he would have to kill him.

- Your father killed the past general? - Rakuma asked in total shock. - Doesn't that mean you're a Samunashi? How much did I miss? - Rakuma was lost for words as his injured head tried to make reason of the situation.

Renji's point was fair. My dad is a murderer. Being caught and killed by a guard isn't exactly unreasonable, and if that was it, I still would never forgive Lai, but I definitely wouldn't kill him. There was more to it, though.

- My mom did nothing wrong, Renji. Once she got into the battlefield to say one last goodbye to my dad, Lai stabbed right through her. She was innocent.

- She harboured a dangerous criminal. - How is he not getting it?

- He tortured Lin. Stabbed through het multiple times, and healed the injuries into scars, all to his enjoyment. She didn't even have any information to tell him, and he just kept torturing her. How many more lives do you think he had already tried to ruin before that? - Renji seemed doubtful for the first time in this discussion.

Thank god, at least I'm getting through to him. If he hates me after this, fine, as long as he doesn't try to kill me in a fit of rage, I should be fine. However, there was one factor I didn't take into account.

Inside Renji's own being another voice spoke. Kurama whispered in his ear:

"He's just coming up with excuses. Don't you see he's gone completely insane?", Renji answered back.

"But he's my best friend. He has to have a good reason for..."

"Best friend? And what does that mean exactly? Does it free him from any blame?", Renji now got a clear vision of the beast. A skeletal Kurama with white fur and skin on half its face. His entire body was made of other people's chakra, making him an ammalgamation of corpses. Renji was disgusted.

"I shouldn't be listening to you. Not after all you did."

"And yet here you are, agreeing to my advice."

"Shut up!"

From the real world something seemed weird. Renji was quiet for a bit, as if thinking to himself, and although justifiable for such a moment, it still felt oddly uncharacteristic. It almost felt like he was having an inside conversation. How would that be possib...

- Renji, stop. Don't listen to him! You know what he is! - Renji looked at me in fear, as the voiced within him creeped some more.

"Lai was your precious master, it is unforgivable for him to be killed as such."

"Get out of my head. I have you under control."

"And that's exactly why you're only listenning to what you truly feel."

Renji seemed to gain an understanding look. The scent of bloodthirst filled the air, something was about to happen, something I couldn't avoid.

Mifune was in a similar spot. His body surrounded in snakes, paralysis gas in the air. It was oddly familiar, and thankfully not nearly as deadly as the last time he was struck by gas. Orochimaru even commented:

- I bet those bandages on your head must hurt. You really don't live an easy life do you?

- It's never easy to deal with you ninjas. - Mifune tried to move himself. The poison seemed like it was about to dissipate, but various snakes still surrounded his body. He wondered. - Why don't you kill me Orochimaru? You will never get a better chance. - Orochimaru kept his gaze on the Naraka Path who seemed to discuss something with the freed Deva Path.

- I don't kill you, because you're worthless. There are way more interesting specimens in your land. Which reminds me, Pain! - The Paths looked at him. - Hurry up. What's taking you so long?

- There are samurai coming our way. We need to deal with them before leaving. So get over here.

- I already made my part of the deal. It's time for me to leave.

- If you want to die, sure, if not, get over here. - Around the Deva Path a forcefield of repulsive force started to form. Orochimaru quickly realised what it meant, as he hurried to get behind him.

Meanwhile, I was still in trouble.

- Renji, come on, you're stronger than this. If you want to kill me you can do it with your own hands, you don't need that stupid beast. - Kurama spoke inside Renji's mind.

"This must be hard for you Renji. Let me take full responsibilty.", Renji looked at me.

- There's things I don't allow myself to do, things only it is capable of. Killing my best friend is one of those things.

- Are you seriously going to let it control you so you don't have to be at fault? You selfish bastard! Look... - Come on, find a reason to make him quit this. I'll try using his pride against him, the beast's pride. - I can barely move and I don't have any chakra left. Let me rest and I will give you a fair fight... and you can feast on my power if you win. - I don't want to settle this with a fight, but if I could beat him it might be easier to get him to reason. Unfortunately he barely needed to think before reaching a conclusion.

- I don't need your chakra, and neither does Kurama. - He's already calling it by its name. This is not good. - How dare you try to even bargain? - Renji put his hands on his head, as if it was about to blow. - You killed him. The one man who taught me everything. - White chakra started to emanate from his body. Inside his mind a voice spoke.

"Next time, ask before you deny someone's chakra, but I suppose I'm not willing to wait for him, after all, there's so much potential within you.", Kurama told Renji. "Let's work together here. Let's get revenge for Lai.", Kurama extended its decaying arm, closing his fist. Renji looked at the abomination's hand, with his head filled with doubt and hate. He raised his arm as well, bumping fists with the beast.

"Let's do this."

Renji's body began exuding a lot of white chakra that began to surround him. I wanted to stop it, but my body couldn't move. I wanted to ask Rakuma for help, but he was still too preocuppied with his best friend's corpse, he wouldn't help in this situation. The chakra gained shape, forming a coat around Renji's body, that only reached as far as his c.h.e.s.t. It wasn't complete. Rotten bones from the beast filled the place, extending the coat to his waist, as well as giving white fur pants. Unlike before, Renji's face stayed the same, only shinier from all the vivid chakra. No beastly look, no skull mask, and even worse, no chaos. His power was controlled. He observed me in piercing eyes, and in his own voice said:

- And me thinking I was the one controlled by a demon.

- Renji, can you just listen? Lai wasn't...

- SHUT UP! - He screamed. He was already way beyond reason. - You die here, and you die now! - Renji stepped forward ready to begin the slaughter, but a voice overtook his threathening demeanor, a voice shouting:

- Allmighty Push! - Tired of waiting, of enduring several months of confinement, the Deva Path chose to destroy any remaining obstacles in his way.

Moments before, Orochimaru and the Naraka Path stood behind him, and held on to his shoulder. He started floating in the air, trespassing the upper floors to reach the proper height. The samurai that planned to strike him by surprise, quickly followed, as one with a broken arm jumped to strike. Alizo even shouted:

- I'm not letting you get away so easily! - Pain looked at her, and, while devoid of emotion, answered:

- You should have. Allmighty Push! - Alizo was thrown against the wall, as well as the remaining samurai, that crumbled against the technique's pressure.

Me, Renji and Rakuma, who were right outside the building, got caught by its range. Renji was pushed away, as I tried to impale the ground with my swords. I held on to them as strongly as I could, but the pressure of the storm-like push, quickly slid my hands off them as I hit buidling after building with my body. After many stumbles, I finally stopped on the ground, to try and breathe, only to realise a house falling down. I moved to the side, feeling cracks around my bones and hearing screams from my muscles, as I slid down a hill of rubble. The house fell, leaving a fog of dust, through which I could barely see anything. Once it started to clear up, Renji's glowing white body became apparent.

- That was irritating. But now I truly get to do this, and Rakuma doesn't even have to watch. - A blade of chakra formed on his left arm, as it procedurely rose throught it, until it gained form on his hand, like a more controlled version of Renji's techniques.

I wanted to believe it was the beast that took over his mind and body once again, but only he would use his own techniques. He joined his rotten 9 tailed beast, and they now shared absolute power, while I'm here shivering from exhaustion. My whole body shook everytime I tried to move an arm. I just needed some rest, just a little so I can run away. I don't want to fight him like this. I just hope Lin made it away safe.

Renji kept moving forward slowly, observing his own chakra blade. He was admiring his new power, but such carelessness cost him. A huge ink-made dog bit him on his head, covering it completely with its mouth. Behind this animal, a short haired and green eyed beauty appeared with a smile, approaching me. She dust some of the dirt off my body, as she asked:

- So, how are ya doing? - Lin kept a smile on her face, which made a lot of the tension across my body dissipate.

- Not too well. Lai was a literal pain to deal with. You seem fine though... huh. - Lin hugged me, as she whispered.

- I'm so glad you didn't die against Lai. I believed you could beat him, but you do always tend to have bad luck.

- What? No, i don't. - Lin looked back, pointing at Renji who was on the ground trying to free his head from Inky's jaws.

- Your best friend is trying to kill you. I'd consider that bad luck.

- Fine, we should hurry though. Get Inky here, and we'll both ride him out of here.

- No. - She answered immediatelly, with a determined look.

- We have to run away. There's no point in fighting anymore.

- We can't run away, you're too heavy and... well... that. - She pointed at Renji, who cut through Inky's jaw, chopping it off completely. He grew his hand in size with his own chakra, pushing the dog away. I cursed to myself.

- Crap! - I tried to get up, but my body wouldn't listen. - I'll protect you, Lin. Try to get away. - Come on body, act now! Save her!

Before I could do anything, Lin put her hand on me, kissing my forehead. She got up, and took a stance against Lai.

- It's my turn, Rod.

- Wha... what are you talking about? I need to save y...

- It's my turn to protect you. - No, don't say that. - You defeated Lai for me. It's my turn to do the same for you. - No, you shouldn't be doing this. - I know he's your friend, so I'll try not to kill him, even though I doubt I could.

- No, Lin, you'll die. The way he is now, he might actually be more powerful than Lai was when I fought him. You can't do this.

- Just let me do it, ok? I'd like to help just once. Inky! - The dog got up, after being thrown, as its tongue waved around after he got his jaw cut off. Lin ordered. - We've defeated two titans, now it's time for a beast.