Chapter 18: Did U Miss Me (2/2)

”So, what do we do here?” Tony, ”That guy was tearing us apart before Naruto showed up, we'll need a game plan if we're going to give him some backup.”

”He won't need it.” The group looked over at Natasha, the woman not bothering to return the favor as she continued, ”I told you, he's stronger than you think. He'll win.”

-x-

Slowly, Naruto picked himself up from the ground, sand spilling off his back as he got onto his hands and knees, looking up at the now huffing Desak, the man getting up himself, ”We've gotta destroy that sword and s.h.i.+eld. I mean…seriously.” He thought.

”I agree. A s.h.i.+eld that absorbs energy and a sword that negates it? f.u.c.king ridiculous.”

”The question is how. Jutsu are all out, and chakra enhanced strength is useless. So's Nature Chakra, and Six Paths Chakra. My entire a.r.s.enal is pretty much gone.”

”There is that.”

Naruto sighed, ”No, that's energy too.”

”True.”

A light bulb went off in Naruto's head, ”Got it!” He said aloud. Pulling up his s.h.i.+rt sleeve, Naruto revealed several seals tattooed to his forearm. With a quick application of chakra, a puff of smoke surrounded Naruto. As a gust of wind blew the smoke away, Naruto's new weapon was revealed.

Desak raised an eyebrow at the object in Naruto's hands, ”What a strange weapon.” He observed.

Naruto's smiled at the man opposite of him, his blood-stained teeth gleaming in the desert sun, ”Say h.e.l.lo to Kabutowari, or as its victims knew it by, 'Helmet Splitter.'” The Bluntsword, as it was also known, consisted of a single sided axe that was connected to a ma.s.sive hammer by a thick leather rope.

”Hmph, fine.” His yellow energy still covering him and his sword and s.h.i.+eld, Desak charged at Naruto. His charge was intercepted by two Shadow Clones popping into existence, both wielding a kunai rather than a matching Kabutowari. Quickly dispatching the first, Desak engaged in a quick standoff with the second, the clone using wind to keep his kunai from breaking under the Annihilator's strange energy. That standoff didn't last long however, as the clone gave Desak a defiant smirk.

”Boom.” It said.

BOOM!

The explosion didn't seem to faze the G.o.d Slayer, the man looking around for the real blonde with his s.h.i.+eld and sword at the ready. Left, right, and even behind, the Annihilator looked for his opponent. Catching something from the corner of his vision, Desak looked up quickly to find Naruto coming down on him, the axe half of Kabutowari about to come down on his head. Quickly raising his s.h.i.+eld, Desak caught the axe's blade, the sound of metal slamming into metal ringing across the desert. Naruto didn't seem to mind the block, if anything his smirk grew bigger.

”Kiri Blade Technique: Defense Breaker!”

With a mighty heave, Naruto slammed the hammer half of the weapon on the blunt end of the axe portion.

The sound of splitting metal and tearing flesh was heard soon after.

”AUUGH!”

Green blood sprayed across Naruto's face, his axes blade having just amputated Desak's hand at the mid-forearm.

”Humph!” Naruto grunted, getting a foot to the stomach, sending him rolling back from the now one- handed man.

Clutching his stumped arm, Desak watched, rage in his eyes, as his precious blood spilled onto the sand below. Looking at what was left of his s.h.i.+eld, the Slayer growled as he gazed at the cut in half piece of metal. Sliding it off his arm and throwing the now useless tool to the ground, Desak ground out, ”You have no idea how lucky you are that the Other ordered me to bring you in alive.”

Naruto charged forward, thinking to himself as he did, ”One down, one to go.”

”Be careful brat, he's different from before.” Kurama warned.

”Right.” Naruto thought back, coming onto Desak as he swung the hammer towards his knee cap. Quickly stepping away from the swing, the man swung his sword at the blonde's neck, said blonde's axe coming up to block it with the blunt backside. This kind of exchange continued for some time, with Naruto trying to use Defense Breaker to destroy Desak's sword, and the Annihilator strategically keeping the axe and hammer as far from each other as possible, this proving difficult with a single hand.

Finally, Naruto's combos proved too much for Desak. His hammer coming in for a gut shot, Desak used the flat side of his blade as a guard. Taking advantage of the opening, Naruto swung the axe straight at Desak's temple.

Time seemed to slow down, the axe's blade creeping closer and closer towards Desak's skull. It never made contact.

”AUUUUUUUGH!” Desak screamed, a ma.s.sive amount of energy exploding outwards as he did, sending Naruto flying back from the force of it.

Naruto, on his back, groaned as he tried to gather himself.

”Naruto! NARUTO! Get up!” Kurama's warning came too late.

”FUUUUUCK!” Naruto screamed in pain, writhing in pain as Desak's great sword plunged into his stomach, pinning him to the ground in the process. Looking down, Naruto could only widen his eyes in shock at the blood pouring from the gaping wound, the energy surrounding the blade burning his skin like a blow torch.

Looking up at Desak, the warrior hovering above him, Naruto raised his hand in a rage, ”Chidori Spear!” He called out, reaching into his reserves to summon the lightning jutsu.

Naruto's eyes somehow managed to widen even further in dread as he looked at his hand, the jutsu never appearing, not even a spark, ”Wha…what?!”

”This blade is enchanted to negate any energy it comes into contact with. It was a gift from the very being that gave me my Amulet. While the s.h.i.+eld absorbs any kind of energy and converts it to the Amulet in the form of G.o.dly Energy, the sword negates that energy entirely. A handy thing to have against beings who rely on their energy for combat.” Desak grumbled, his G.o.dly Energy swirling around him violently, ”Look, even that form you took is gone.”

Looking down at himself, Naruto finally realized that his Six Paths Chakra Mode had disappeared, ”Kurama?” Naruto thought, ”KURAMA?!” He frantically screamed in his mind. And for the first time in a long time, there was no answer.

”If you're trying to channel that power, don't bother. As long as this blade is in contact with you like this, you're powerless.”

And for the first time in a long time, Naruto felt true fear.

His mind racing a mile a minute, the blonde tried to think of a way out from under the blade. He had no chakra. He was quickly bleeding out. His strength was leaving him even quicker. Before long, he was gonna pa.s.s out from either the pain or from blood loss. He needed to think. Think. Think. THINK.

But nothing came to him. Eventually, his mind began to slow down. His arms falling to his sides, his eyes drifting up the sky. And as he watched the blue sky, he saw a Quinjet fly overhead, just as patches of darkness began to encroach on his vision.

He was going to die.

-x-

”Oh my G.o.d…” Even with the mechanical tone to his voice, anyone could hear the shock in Tony's voice as he looked down at the sight bellow them. Naruto was down, a sword in his gut and Desak standing above him, defeated.

”Get down there!” Natasha ordered frantically, ”We have to save him!”

Clint didn't bother answering, having already begun to plunge the Quinjet down to the ground for a landing.

Steve clipped his helmet on as he ordered, ”Stark, Hawkeye, we're distraction. Widow, you're extraction. Get Naruto and get him out of here.”

Natasha nodded firmly in response.

Rogers looked over to Tony, ”Any chance Veronica is ready for action?”

”No, Bruce and I were in the middle of finis.h.i.+ng it up when this guy showed up. It's not battle ready yet.”

”d.a.m.n-” Steve was cut off by a violent bought of turbulence, the Quinjet shaking violently, ”What the h.e.l.l's going on up there?!”

Clint struggled to keep the jet stable as he shouted, ”I don't know! Something's going on with Naruto!”

Steve and Tony quickly walked over to see what Clint was talking about, the two of them shocked to their core at what they saw. Down below, Naruto was covered in a strange purple energy none of them had ever seen before, the force of it sending hurricane level winds their way. The energy rocketed up into the sky, parting any clouds that were in its path, blowing pa.s.sed the ozone layer on its way.

”We've got to back off!” Tony ordered.

”WE CAN'T!” Nat screamed back, holding on for dear life as she did.

”If we don't we're dead!”

Clint struggled with himself for a moment before cursing loudly, ”f.u.c.k!” Bringing the controls back, the dead shot pulled the Quinjet away from the ground.

-x-

Darkness. That was all Naruto could see when he opened his eyes. But this…this was a new kind of dark. This wasn't like in s.p.a.ce where he knew there were countless things there with him in the void. Here though…here he felt truly alone. There was no noise. No smell. Nothing. Just him as he floated along in the darkness. And then, echoing against the darkness, the sound of dripping water filled the void.

Drip

”h.e.l.lo?”

Drip

”Where…am I?”

Drip

”…Kurama?”

Drip

”IS ANYONE HERE?!”

Drip

”…is this h.e.l.l?”

Drip

”No.”

Naruto jumped as he turned towards the voice that was surprisingly close to him. Forcing himself to turn around he came face to face with what was perhaps the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her porcelain white skin tone heavily contrasted with the dark void surrounding them, while her obsidian colored hair blended with it almost entirely. Draped around her 5'5 frame was what look like an evening gown made out of the universe itself, the fabric littered with twinkling stars and several cl.u.s.ters of spiraling galaxies.

Naruto looked into the woman's deep brown eyes, said orbs seemingly boring into his very soul, ”Who are you?” He demanded.

Taking a step on mid-air, the woman said, ”Who do you think I am?”

”Some kind of G.o.d, I'd have to guess.” Naruto admitted, taking into mind the powerful presence she gave off.

”Some have given me that t.i.tle, yes.” The woman said, taking another step forward, ”Though I am so much more. Hades, Yama, Anubis, Hela…so many have used my name to further themselves. I touch everyone, everywhere.” Now only several inches from the blonde Uzumaki, the woman slowly raised her hand, stopping just as it was about to touch Naruto's cheek, ”I am Death.”

Naruto could feel a chill roll down his spine, his voice a whisper as he said, ”The s.h.i.+nigami?”

Death smiled, ”That is one my avatars, yes.” Naruto jumped when he felt the woman place her other hand on his stomach, right on the seal that holds back Kurama, ”I can feel it, our connection.”

”Connection?”

”Remnants of my energy helps hold the beast at bay.” Death explained, a gentle smile on her face, ”I have been with you from the very beginning. You're such a stubborn boy, so set on avoiding me. And yet, here,” Her hand gently rested against his cheek, ”I can touch you now.” She purred.

It felt as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice cold water on his face, sweat building along his temple, ”I'm dying?”

”You are.”

”But…I can't. Not yet.”

”Why? Your friends are dead. Your family. Your home. How long do you think this façade you've put up will last?” Pressing up against him, she said, ”This mask you've put up…is pathetic. Wise cracking, devil may care. It's all a fiction.”

Annoyance began to fill Naruto's mind, though for some reason he couldn't move away from the beautiful woman, ”You don't know what you're talking abou-”

”You don't know whether you want to move forward or backward. Just that you can't stand still. You are a man filled with so much that I cannot comprehend. Pain, sorrow…you bury your thoughts deep inside. But you can't hide such things from me. Your mask is useless here.”

Naruto simply stared into the woman's eyes, his mild blank, incapable of saying a word. After a moment, he felt her hand move up his face, her thumb wiping something away from beneath his eye. It was then that he realized why.

He was crying.

And finally, the d.a.m.n broke. Tears began to flow freely, the woman in front of him pulling him down for a tight embrace. At first, Naruto struggled, choking on his sobs as he did, but soon caved in to the woman, returning the hug with all his might, ”I…I failed them. I failed them.”

”Yes…you did.”

”I miss them…I miss them so much it hurts.”

”I know.” She soothed, rubbing the back of his scalp.

His shoulders shook as he whispered, ”I just want to see them again.”

They were silent for several moments, nearly five minutes as Naruto began to calm down, his tears having dried up and left streaks down his face, the blonde resting his head on her shoulder.

Finally, Death broke the silence, ”Is that really what you want?”

”Yes.” Naruto answered without hesitation.

”Then all you have to do is give in to me, my beloved.”

Resting his hands on her shoulders, Naruto parted from Death, ”…what?”

”All you have to do, is give in to me. And then…and then you will see you precious people again.”

In that moment, Naruto could not help but feel ashamed of himself. Ashamed that he was truly thinking over the offer given to him. Ashamed that he was so close to give up. So close to breaking his nindo. His ninja way.

”…no.” Naruto finally answered, his voice a weak whisper, ”I want to…you have no idea how much I want to. But I can't. Not yet.”

Death smiled as she looked up at the blonde, ”Such a stubborn boy.” After a moment of hesitation, Death pushed herself up on her toes, pressing hers and Naruto's lips together. Separating, she whispered, ”Allow me to give you some a.s.sistance then.”

And all Naruto could see after was a sharp, never ending light.

-x-

”HUUUUGH!” Naruto gasped, his eyes flying upon only to cringe at the sudden intake of light. Looking around, Naruto could feel a vast amount of energy swirling around him. His eyes drifting to the sword that had been embedded in his stomach. Had been being the key word. The blade seemed to have shattered from the sudden burst of turbulent energy, leaving only the piece that was still in his midsection.

”-uto! NARUTO! Can you hear me?!”

”Yeah Kurama, I can hear you. You can stop screaming now.” Naruto grumbled out loud, turning over to his side with a pained grunt. Taking several breaths in and out to prep himself, Naruto used Magnet Release to pull the blade out, the sound of slicing flesh and flowing blood causing him to flinch, ”f.u.c.k that hurts!” He shouted.

”I'm healing it as fast as I can, but it's probably gonna scar.”

Slowly standing up, Naruto muttered, ”Of course it will.”

”What the h.e.l.l happened to you brat? You were comatose for like three minutes then all of a sudden you started releasing that weird energy. It stank of death and destruction.”

”I…don't know.”

”You know I can tell when you're lying brat.” Kurama said, an edge to his voice, ”I'll drop it for now, but I expect an explanation. You got that?”

Deciding to change the subject, Naruto thought, ”I think it's time we use it, Kurama.”

Kurama gave a savage smirk, ”It's about d.a.m.n time!”

”I'm gonna need a minute though. You have any idea where Desak is?”

”Yeah, he's taking on the Avengers a half mile away.”

”f.u.c.k.” Naruto cursed.

-x-

”Hawkeye, aim for the eyes! Tony, go for the back! I'll go for the knees!” Captain America ordered, throwing his trusty s.h.i.+eld with all his might into the behemoth of a warrior's knee cap. As he flung the s.h.i.+eld, Clint released several arrows he had notched back and Tony fired a heavy-duty missile from his armor. The arrows were the first to hit, bouncing off the glowing alien's face worthlessly. Cap's s.h.i.+eld was next, ricocheting of his knee back into the walking propaganda's arms. The rocket was the last to hit due to the distance between the one that fired it and the target, said target not even taking a step forward as the rocket exploded into his back.

Scoffing as the smoke parted around Desak, Natasha yelled out, ”That energy around him is protecting him! We need something that can penetrate it!”

”I got just the thing.”

Natasha jumped as she turned towards the voice that appeared next to her, her guns at the ready. Her eyes widened at who she saw, ”…Naruto?”

Naruto, his vest and jacket having been taken off leaving him bare chested, said, ”Natasha.”

”You…I thought…” Natasha stuttered, ”I thought you were-”

Naruto gave a gentle smile, ”I know. But I'm fine now.” Stepping pa.s.sed her he continued, ”You guys gotta get outta here. This is about to get ugly.”

”Uglier than it already is?” Natasha asked.

”Sadly.” Naruto admitted, ”I've got some clones prepping my next move, but it's about done. You guys need to leave. Now.”

”Alright, just don't die…again.” Natasha finally submitted, giving the blonde one last look as she pressed into her ear piece, ”Steve did you hear that?”

”Every word.” Captain said over the radio, ”Are you sure about this Widow?”

Natasha, her eyes still on Naruto, said, ”Yeah, if he says we should go, we need to go.”

”Got it. Clint, Tony, we're making a tactical retreat. Head for the Quinjet.”

Naruto, didn't bother listening in on their response, stepping toward Desak, the man still incased in his G.o.dly Energy. His stump of a hand seemed to have healed over, leaving an ugly scab where his hand had once been. In his other hand was his battle axe, the weapon prepped to go as he looked at the blonde, ”Welcome back, Maelstrom.”

Naruto gave Desak a questioning look, ”What, no more calling me a Celestial?” He asked, looking around the area to make sure Natasha and the others were retreating.

”No, you've proven to me you aren't one. There's no point in giving you such a t.i.tle. It's disappointing.”

”Yeah, you've been picking me apart this whole fight. From your weapons that negate my abilities, to your overwhelming power, you're the most powerful person I've fought in a long time. But now, all you got is that power.” Naruto said, watching from the corner of his eye as the Quinjet lifted off the ground.

”This power is the energy I've absorbed from centuries of combatting beings who called themselves G.o.ds. Beings like the Asgardians that frequent this planet. I have more power in the hand you cut off than that pathetic form you took on.”

”Yeah, I noticed that. If I'm being honest with myself, it's very impressive. I took on a primordial G.o.d in that form after all. So, I guess I'll have to try something new.” Naruto said, his face filled with concentration. Feeling one of the clones' memories flood his brain, he closed his eyes in concentration. Feeling the energy his clone had gathered entering his body, Naruto breathed through his nose as power filled his body to the brim. Slowly, he opened his eyes, revealing they had turned into a dark purple, with the area around his eyes taking on a golden hue, with a matching dot in the center of his forehead.

Raising his hands, Naruto gave them a testing flex, ”I call this Cosmic Sage Mode.”

Desak looked at Naruto in clear shock, ”How are you able to use that power? Are the rumors of you being a Herald true?”

Naruto suddenly disappeared, the sand beneath him not even s.h.i.+fting after his sudden burst of speed. Desak didn't even have time to register he'd moved, not before he found a fist slamming into his face. A sonic boom reverberated off the blow, pus.h.i.+ng the two back from each other. Naruto landed on his feet after a quick flip. Desak hit the ground on his face, his body burying itself in a desert dune. Said dune exploded as the Annihilator zoomed into Naruto's comfort zone, the man now enveloped in even more energy. Naruto didn't seem to care, too busy looking up at the man as he tried to drive his raised axe down on his head.

CLANG!

Desak looked down at the blonde underneath him, his eyes scrunched up in disbelief.

Standing there, a single arm raised up, was Naruto. And in his hand was Desak's axe, the blonde having caught it in his hand by the blade.

”What?”

With a twitch of his hand, Naruto snapped the axe's blade head in half, rendering the weapon useless. Jumping back, Naruto quickly applying wind chakra to the blade. Seeing that it took to the energy like any other chakra blade, the blonde said, ”Just like I thought. The s.h.i.+eld absorbs energy, the sword negates energy, and the axe channels energy. A veryeffective trio.” Tossing the blade like a frisby, Naruto smirked in satisfaction when the wind covered blade flew into Desak's shoulder, flying through his body like a bullet, ”I took you on a.s.suming I had the advantage with all my different abilities. That almost got me killed.”

”Even without my weapons, I can still kill you. I've only tapped into half of my energy.”

Naruto's eyes narrowed, ”Of course.” He said sarcastically. Bursting forward, Naruto engaged the berserker in combat, each connecting punch, kick, knee, and elbow sending small shock waves throughout the desert plain.

Naruto smirked as he thought, ”He's landed three solid hits on me and I barely felt a thing! This is awesome!”

”This form will only last for ten more minutes brat, don't waste it.” Kurama warned.

”Right.” Naruto thought back, ”Chidori!” He screamed, a bundle of purple lightning surrounding his hand.

Desak didn't have the speed to swat away the attack, allowing Naruto's hand to plunge into his already wounded shoulder. Desak didn't even give a grimace, grabbing ahold of Naruto's forearm in a vice grip to keep him in place.

Quickly building up his energy, the G.o.d Slayer began to rain down blow after blow on Naruto, the blonde doing his best to deflect as many of the strikes as possible. But only being one handed proved too much of a handy cap for the Annihilator, the blonde dodging Desak's kicks and elbows with a surprising amount of swiftness. Slapping away one of said elbows, Naruto took advantage of the opening by bringing upon a barrage of punches of his own, each more punis.h.i.+ng than the last.

Bringing his fist back, Naruto began to gather Cosmic Energy into his hand. The closed fist now engulfed in a strange purple and yellow glow, Naruto gave a mighty battle cry as he plowed it into Desak's face, sending the giant man flying away from him. Gathering more energy around both fists, Naruto pointed in the still flying Desak's direction. Letting loose, the blonde fired twin energy blasts at the Annihilator.

Desak, feeling the attack coming his way, fired his own energy beam into the other two, enveloping and overwhelming them both, causing a ma.s.sive explosion to erupt from the standoff.

But before Desak could right himself, Naruto appeared above him, ”Cosmic Release: Rasenshuriken!” Slamming the purple and yellow colored Rasenshuriken into Desak's chest, the Naruto clone smirked in satisfaction as it exploded, causing him to pop out of existence.

Naruto nodded as he felt the memories come back to him, all while he felt the power of Cosmic Sage Mode leave him. Nearly dropping to his knees in exhaustion, the ninja quickly created a Shadow Clone, only for it to pop and tell the other clone a mile away that he needed a hit. Still breathing heavy as the energy re-entered his body, Naruto thought, ”That's the last clone, I'll have to make another one-”

”No Naruto! This form takes more out of you than we thought! Your body can only take so many hits at a time, and that's when you're at your maximum. If you try and enter Cosmic Sage Mode for a third time, you might not be able to handle it.”

”Well s.h.i.+t.” Naruto thought, ”I guess I'll have to end it here the-”

Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by an explosion of energy, the shock wave shaking the ground enough for Naruto to almost loose his balance, ”Holy s.h.i.+t! I'm sure half the f.u.c.king planet felt that one!”

Yellow energy rocketed towards the sky, with a mighty roar accompanying it, stepping out of the crater his body had once been lying in, Desak skulked out with murder in his eyes, his teeth gritting to the point they were about to snap, each step cracking the stone and parting the sand beneath them.

The blonde saw the next attack coming, barely able to bend down to avoid the mighty back hand, and just agile enough to back flip away in time to avoid the incoming axe kick. Quickly finding himself on the defensive, Naruto eyed the necklace around Desak's neck, the gem glowing fiercely as he thought, ”I gotta destroy that gem around his neck, that's gotta be the source of his power!”

He wasn't able to come up with a plan though, his attention forced on Desak, the man putting all his effort into landing a brutal blow. Knowing he didn't have time to dance around, Naruto disappeared in a burst of speed.

”Sage Art: Earth Release: Rus.h.i.+ng Stampede!” Naruto called out, slamming his hand on the formation next to him. The formation quickly broke up into several large pieces, each one floating in the air for a few seconds before blasting off towards the seething Desak.

Energy practically leaking from his eyes, Desak countered with a large beam of energy firing off from his eyes, turning each piece of rock into rubble.

Trying to take a step forward, he frowned when he felt something thick wrap around his legs. Looking down, he scowled as a thick tendril of sand began to creep up his legs. Looking to Naruto, he saw that the blonde had a look of absolute concentration on his face, his arms raised up above his head, ”This won't hold me, boy.”

”I know.” Naruto admitted, ”I don't need it to hold you though.” Several clones popped into existence, using Magnet release to hover into the air as they began to add into the big Rasengan that had begun to form above the original.

”Just distract you.”

Desak blinked when he heard the blonde's voice right next to his ear, just before he felt a pair of arms wrap him in a full nelson and a pair of legs lock around his waist, ”Sage Art: Earth Release: Weighted Boulder Jutsu!”

The Annihilator's eyes widened in shock as what felt like the weight of the planet itself rested on his shoulders. The added weight brought him down to his waste in the sand, though the pesky grains of earth seemed to be doing its best to keep him up as much as possible. Pointing his rage at the Naruto in front of him he demanded, ”What have you done to me boy?!”

”Just a little jutsu that weighs you down. It takes a lot outta me to use since Earth Release is my worst element, but it's good enough to hold you down for a couple minutes.” The clone holding him explained, the real Naruto too busy forming his attack to answer, ”You almost done over there?”

”Yeah…I'm done.” Naruto grunted, sweat pouring down his face, ”Cosmic Release: Galactic Rasengan!” Looking up at the attack, Naruto couldn't help but smirk. In the center was a ma.s.sive Rasengan, the spiraling purple orb swirling at tremendous speeds. And rotating close to the center Rasengan was a cl.u.s.ter of elemental Rasengans, nine in total to be exact, each one using a Tailed Beasts' respective element.

Desak could only watch as the attack finally took shape, a look of astonishment on his face. Quickly realizing the danger of the attack in front of him, Desak dug into the lowest depths of his power. His veins pulsing and his muscles flexing from exertion, the Slayer finally let loose his power. His skin began to crack and peel as the G.o.dly Energy began to seep from his every pore, the entirety of his eyes now a glowing yellow. The Naruto clone began to struggle against the enraged monster in his grasp, his eyes shut tight as he tried to hold him for just a moment longer.

Knowing he only had seconds before Desak escaped and his Cosmic Energy left him, Naruto hurled the ma.s.sive attack at what was now a pillar of energy.

BOOM!

-x-

The Avengers covered their eyes from the light the attack's explosion gave off. Even from over ten miles away, the four felt the Quinjet shake violently from the aftershock.

His eyes still squinted shut, Stark asked, ”Was that our guy or the other guy?”

”Ours I hope.” Clint answered, fighting against the controls as he tried to pilot the s.h.i.+p higher in the air to avoid any more of what was going on bellow, ”That was like an atomic bomb went off or something.”

”He's lucky there aren't any villages nearby.” Rogers said, blinking away the spots that were now littering his vision, ”That explosion could take out a city, just image a little colony of villages.”

”The world government isn't going to like this, not at all.” Natasha said, worry dripping into her voice ever so slightly.

”They'll get over it.” Tony said.

-x-

As the smoke and dust began to settle, Naruto felt the last of his Cosmic Energy leave him. Dropping down to his hands and knees, Naruto had to fight to catch his breath. His arms and legs wobbling like jelly, it took all his might not to fall down all together.

”…He's still alive brat.”

”Yeah,” Naruto said in between breaths, ”I know.”

Stepping through the cloud of smoke and falling sand, Desak walked out of the crater Naruto had created. His armor was practically nonexistent, with only his shredded pants and dinged up leg guards keeping him from being completely nude. His body was littered with cracks, blood seeping from them at a steady stream, dripping to the sand beneath him. His G.o.dly Energy no longer surrounding him, the blonde could tell that he was on his last leg. As Desak began to stumble over to the downed Naruto, the ninja could see that the gem around his neck was heavily cracked, steam leaking off the stone.

”You damaged my Amulet. Never in all the time I've served under the Designate has that happened. It almost shattered from the power of that attack. She will surely punish me for my weakness.”

Naruto grimaced a he looked up, ”Why won't you just die already?”

”You almost succeeded in that endeavor, boy. But, it seems that you can't go on any longer.” Kicking Naruto in the stomach, he sent the blonde to the ground, ”I no longer care what Thanos wants. I'm killing you today. Here and now. Prey to your G.o.ds, boy, because you'll be visiting them soon.”

Crying out in pain, Naruto could barely move as the man got on top of him. Feeling his thick hands wrap around his throat, the blonde began to struggle against the G.o.d Slayer with what was left of his energy. Desak didn't let the punches and knees to the groin affect him, pressing his thumbs against Naruto's wind pipe, putting all his left-over strength into it choking the warrior below him to death.

”Gaghk!” Naruto gasped out, quickly feeling his air way cave in around Desak's fingers. And when it felt as though he was about to suffocate, a smirk spread across his face.

POOF!

Desak blinked in astonishment as the blonde underneath him exploded in a puff of smoke.

”Wh”

Desak was cut off mid-word when a hand burst from the sand below, said appendage covered in screaming lightning.

The sound of flesh tearing filled Desak's ears, the man looking down to see that the hand had pierced thought the Amulet's gem, blasting through it into the Annihilator's chest cavity, right where his heart was.

Looking into the eyes of exhausted looking blonde, he could only listen as the ninja whispered, ”…die.”

And so he did.

Collapsing lifelessly against Naruto's hand, the blonde quickly heaved him over so that he didn't land on top of him. Pulling himself out of the sand, Naruto barely made it out before he fell face first to the ground. Cursing, he looked up when he heard the sound of a jet engine above him.

”Just rest Naruto. You deserve it.” Kurama said with pride.

”…no, I don't.” Naruto muttered. His eyes fluttering shut, he tried to fight off the need to pa.s.s out for as long as he could. And as darkness slowly encroached on his vision, he heard a voice scream his name. And as Natasha blurred into view, a smile spread across his face as consciousness left him.

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