After I buried my pets near the cemetery, I place a flame rose that would never wither on their graves, then walked back into the destroyed village. "What's the point of even living anymore when all I do is lose people?" I asked myself.

I looked up towards the sky, letting a tear roll down my cheek. I had let my wings and tails out, not caring who saw them now. "I can't lose Pein. I have to be there by his side and protect him. I can't afford to lose any more people." I said to myself.

I put my wolf mask over my face before slowly levitating into the air and flew off to find Pein. It didn't take me very long to find him as I spotted him with Naruto and some toads. But why is the Chief Toad here when Jiraiya is dead? I hovered over Pein's clones as I saw Naruto throw a Rasen Shuriken at Pein.

Chikushodo won't be able to dodge that. "Look out!" I called. I flew down to her and tackled her out of the way. I looked back at the attack as it expanded. It expanded?! I slid arcoss the ground as I had hold of Chikushodo. I looked back at the other Pein.

Chikushodo got out of my hold and slammed her hand on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"

She summoned a bird and it dove at Naruto. He jumped on top of it, getting out of the way. He landed on the ground and looked over at Chief Toad. He and his subordinates were dealing with the four headed dog summonings as they had split themselves into separate bodies.

Chikushodo began to fight Naruto with her metal rod. They both skidded back and stared at each other. I want to help Naruto, but I also want to help Pein. What do I do? I shielded the eye holes of my mask as dirt was shot at me. When it died down, I lowered my hands a bit.

Where did Chikushodo go? I leaped over to Pein. "Sir, I can't find Chikushodo." I informed. He looked around, trying to find her and Naruto. I looked at Chief Toad when he let out a small burp. Are they... in his mouth?

The summonings poofed away. Chief Toad opened his mouth and Naruto came tumbling out along with Chikushodo. She lied on the ground, on her stomach, unmoving. "Chikushodo!" I teleported over to her, grabbed her body, and teleported back over to Pein.

I set her on the ground and checked her pulse. "She's dead, sir." I informed Pein. I looked over at Naruto, who was panting. "You've exhausted all your Sage Jutsu." Pein noticed. I stared at Naruto. What is he thinking now?

"Finally. Here's my chance. Nue, stay here." Pein commanded before charging at Naruto. I watched as Naruto took the giant scroll of his back and ran the other way. Chief Toad slammed his sword down on Pein, but missed as Pein jumped up and ran up his arm.

He jumped off his shoulder and continued to run towards Naruto. Chief Toad kept swiping at him like he was some kind of fly. Pein kicked off Chief Toad's head and landed a few feet in front of Naruto. Fukasaku jumped next to Naruto and told him give him the scroll.

Once Naruto did that, he began to fight Pein with close hand-to-hand combat. Fukasaku opened the scroll and slammed his hand on it. Naruto stood there as Pein ran at him with his rod. 'He's going to stab him!' I realized. "Naruto, move!" I called to him.

Why did I say that? Did I really want him to win this battle? I don't even know anymore. He blocked Pein's attack, breaking the rod to pieces. Whoa, how did he do that? I looked at his eyes. He's back in Sage Mode! But how? I thought he exhausted all his Sage Jutsu?

He fought Pein again with close hand-to-hand combat. Pein was able to keep up with him, then let his guard up when Naruto kicked the side of his face. Pein went flying back, sliding on the ground until he stopped in front of my feet. I looked down at him, then at Naruto.

"Incredible. Just how strong have you become, Naruto?" I mumbled.  He made two more clones and created his Rasen Shuriken. Once it was created, he threw towards Pein. "Sir, get up!" I urged him. He just lied there, staring at the attack.

What's he doing? Doesn't he know he's going to die if he doesn't move? "Pein!" I shouted at him, trying to get him to snap out of it. The other Pein jumped in front of him and sucked up the Rasen Shuriken. When the attack was completely absorbed, Pein stood up.

"Did you really think I was going to let myself get taken that easily, Nue? You think so little of your Leader." Pein said, his back turned to me. "I'm sorry for underestimating you, sir." I apologized.

I'm just glad he's not mad at me for calling him by his name. A smoke bomb was throw on the ground, blocking our view of Naruto, and a Rasen Shuriken was thrown at us. "It's useless." The big Pein said as he started to absorb the attack.

It poofed and Naruto came bursting out. Talk about an epic moment! Naruto tackled him by his waist and pushed him to the ground. "Tricky bastard. You're the original?" The big Pein said as Naruto took him down.

Another Rasen Shuriken burst through the smoke, aiming at the original Pein. "There's no time to dodge this! You're done!" Naruto told him. Shit, he's right! I quickly got in front of Pein to prevent him from getting hit by the attack.

Just as the attack was about to hit me, it completely dispersed. "It seems my power has finally returned." Pein said. He repelled the Rasen Shuriken. "Just wait." Naruto said. I raised a brow. "Sage Jutsu: Rasengan Barrage!"

I turned around and saw the other Pein go down with Naruto on top of him. I smiled behind my mask. Way to go, you knucklehead. Although, he's not a knucklehead anymore. He's Naruto Uzumaki. "Two more left." Naruto announced.

I looked at the clone Naruto took down. "Looks like he's out, too." I mumbled. I looked back up and saw Naruto and his clone starting to attack; the real Naruto about to punch the absorbing Pein and the clone going to punch the real Pein.

"Nue, hold onto me." Pein ordered. I looked at him and did as he said, holding onto the back of his cloak. "Almighty Push!" Naruto and the clone were thrown back from us. The cloned poofed away and Naruto slid towards the two toads.

Chief Toad and his subordinates jumped at us and made their weapons come down on us. We jumped in the air, dodging the attack just in time. We kept jumping out of the way as the toads attacked us. I jumped on Chief Toad's arm and stared at him.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Nue? Why are you on the enemy's side?" Chief Toad demanded. "Not even a hopeless animal like you could understand my situation." I said. He tried to squish me with his hand, so I moved out of the way before that could happen.

I landed next to Pein, between the two toads. Where did Chief Toad go? I looked up as a shadow loomed over us. Oh, shit! "We've got you cornered! There's nowhere for you to run!" Chief Toad as he and his subordinates was about to attack us with their weapons.

Pein and I jumped in the air, in front of Chief Toad's face. He raised his arm at his sides. "Again! Almighty Push!" The three toads were blown away from us. Pretty far, if I may say. We gracefully landed on the ground and stared at Naruto.

Pein stepped forward. "I must say, you're truly strong, Naruto. This is the farthest that pain has ever been push." Pein praised. Naruto stared at us. "But no more. It's over. Universal Pull!" Pein put his hand out in front of him.

Naruto was pulled toward us. When he was close, the clone of Pein punched him in the stomach, then restrained him from behind. My shoulders tensed when Naruto got hit. "We end this right now." Pein said.

'Don't just stand there! Do something! Help him! He's your friend!' I urged myself. "Don't worry. I won't kill you, you precious Jinchuriki." Pein said as he stared at Naruto. "Ha! Did you really think you could hurt me with this move? You shouldn't underestimate Sage Mode and now it's my turn to-!"

He stopped talking, as if he was stabbed or something. "Yes, you're right. Sage Mode is troublesome." Pein said. I made my eyes glow purple and looked at Naruto. He's losing power? Why? How? Of course. It's the Pein clone. He's absorbing Naruto's power.

The orange shade around Naruto's eyes faded and it looked like he went limp in the clone's hold. "The Nine-Tails has now been captured." Pein said as he stared at Naruto. "We should start heading back to the base now that he's been captured." I informed.

"Not yet. I'm not done." I looked at Naruto as he was awake. I looked at him. "You're quite the stubborn one, aren't you?" Pein said in annoyance. "He's very persistent." I mentioned. Naruto closed his eyes as the Pein clone sucked up his Sage Mode.

"Seems you've accepted your fate." Pein stated. Naruto opened his eyes and smirked. I raised a brow as Pein's clone began to expand a little. "I guess you didn't know about this, but nature energy is really hard to control." Naruto explained. What is he talking about?

And then it hit me when Pein's clone started to look like a toad and turn into stone. "What is this?" Pein demanded. The Pein clone took up too much Sage chakra from Naruto and underwent petrified frog transformation. Don't even ask me how I knew that.

Naruto used all his strength and broke out of the stone frog-like Pein. "Sage Jutsu chakra. Seems it comes with its fair share risks." Pein said. "All right. We're finally down to just you." Naruto said through small pants. "Well... Unfortunately, that's not correct." Pein corrected him.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked. "These Peins are only puppets." Katsuyu explained to him. "She's saying there is someone else manipulating these Peins from the shadows. The real Pein. Even I don't know where he is." I admitted through my mask.

Pein raised out his hand and Fukasaku fly towards him. I gasped when I saw Pein take a rod out of his sleeve. "No!" I shouted before shooting myself in front of the rod, protecting Fukasaku. I looked down as the rod pierced me through the heart.

I coughed up blood as my knees shook, my mask slowly falling off my face. "Nue-chan!" Naruto called, once my mask was off my face. I had Fukasaku in my hands, keeping him away from the rod. "Why do you do this, Nue?" Pein asked with a bit of shock in his voice.

"We've done... more than enough, haven't we? Please... No more deaths... No more pain..." I said before coughing up some blood. "Nue..." Fukasaku said in disbelief. I weakly smiled at him. "Are you alright?" I asked him.

"You stupid child!" Pein said before lifting me in the air with rod still impaled in me. I gasped then let out a cry of pain as the rod went further through my heart. "You bastard!" Naruto growled. "After everything I've done for you, you betray me? You ungrateful brat!" Pein yelled, angrily.

He threw me off his rod as I tumbled a few feet away from them, Fukasaku tumbling out of my hands. I kept tumbling until I slid on my stomach. "Nue!" Fukasaku hopped towards me. Shit... My body's not healing properly.

Was it because of Pein's power? It must have because I felt his chakra running through the rod.  I weakly lifted my head, looking at the toad in front of me. "You're not hurt... are you?" I asked, weakly.

"No, I'm fine! But you're wounded!" He said. "I'll be fine... Don't worry... about it..." I replied. "Nue, you... you risked your life to save me. Why?" Fukasaku asked. "Because... I think I'm done... hurting the ones I love." I explained, honestly.

"Hang in there, Nue. We'll get you fixed up. Ma!" He called for the female frog. I gently grabbed his hand and shook my head. "Please don't... Just let me die. It'll be okay. I promise." I said softly. "Nue.." He looked at me with teary eyes.

"Hey, come on. Don't start crying. This is... my punishment. I deserve it." I said, before coughing a little. "I'm... so tired..." I whispered as I struggled to keep my eyes open. I looked at Fukasaku while placing my hand on his cheek.

"Please... Tell Naruto... I'm sorry... for everything. I'm sorry for making all this... happen... I don't expect forgiveness. Then again... who can forgive... a murderer...?" I said before slowly closing my eyes. I let a tear escape as my eyes closed, my hand slipped off Fukasaku's cheek.

Fukasaku's POV

I stared at Nue as she laid lifeless on the ground. "Pa! Are you alright?" Shima called as she hopped over to me. "I'm fine." I said to her as her eyes landed on Nue. "The girl sacrificed herself to save me." I explained. "But why would she do that?" Shima asked.

"I think Nue... wants to come home." I said as I stared at her corpse. "Tell Naruto I'm sorry for everything." Nue's words rung in my ears. "You really wanted to protect the boy, didn't you, Nue? You would've done anything him." I realized.

"Nue... Oh my." Lady Katsuyu said as she appeared next to us. "Lady Katsuyu, please heal her." I pleaded. "Yes, right away." She said, then moved herself onto Nue's back. A hole was shown where Nue's heart was, where she was stabbed.

Once Lady Katsuyu was over Nue's wound, she began to heal her. What scared me was that Nue wasn't waking up. "Hang in there, kiddo." I said. 

Naruto's POV

"Why would you kill her! I don't understand! After everything she's done for you!" I yelled, angrily, at Pein as I was pinned to the ground by the metal rods. "Killing her was not my intention." Pein said. "Don't give me that! You tossed her away like trash!" I yelled at him.

He looked over at Nue. "If a puppet is no longer useful, there's no point in keeping it any longer." He said. "Nue was not your puppet! She's was a friend who was just scared! Were you just using her? Waiting to get rid of her at the right moment?! Nue looked up to you! How could you just kill her like that?!" I said, angrily.

"My goal is to create peace and have Nue live in a world where she can be free. Free from sorrow. Free from pain. Free from fear. A world where she will not be called such horrible things like monster or freak. A paradise. But I suppose..." He trailed off and looked at Nue.

"Heaven can be her paradise, too." he finished. "Shut up! You killed my master and my sensei! And now my best friend! Hurt my friends! Destroyed my village!" My fingers clenched in the dirt. "After all of the horrible things you've done, don't you dare talk about peace and justice!" I shouted at him, angrily.

He stared at me, emotionlessly. I lowered my head down in exhaustion. "Then, tell me. What is your goal?" Pein asked me. "First, I'm gonna kill you! And then, I'm gonna bring peace to the ninja world!" I told him. "Oh, I see. That is noble of you. That would be justice. However..."

He walked on the side of me, then stopped. "What about my family? My friends? My village? They suffered the same fate as this village at the hands of you Hidden Leaf Ninja. How is it fair to let only you people preach about peace and justice when you couldn't even give that poor girl a chance to live her life here?" Pein asked, referring to Nue.

I looked at Nue's corpse, then at him. "What the hell are you talking about?" I demanded.

"Once, the Land of Fire and the Hidden Leaf had grown too big. To protect their national interests, they forced feudal clans to wage war against each other and profited from it. Otherwise, the people of the villages would have starved. As it happened, our little nation and its villages became the battlefield where the great nations waged their war. Each time they did, our nation was ravaged and laid to waste. After many such battles, the great nations stabilized. But our smaller nation suffered and it barely recovered." He explained.

I looked down, my eyes softening as I thought about it. "You and I are both seeking the very same thing. We both want to achieve the peace that Jiraiya-sensei envisioned. You and I are the same. We're both motivated by our desire for peace and justice. But justice that I have delivered against the Leaf Village is no different from what you are trying to do to me. Everyone feels the same pain and losing something dear. You and I both have experienced that pain. You strive for your justice and I strive for mine. We're both just ordinary men who've been driven to seek vengeance in the name of justice. And, if one comes to cold vengeance justice, such justice will only breed further vengeance and trigger a vicious cycle of hatred. Right now, we live in such a cycle. I know the past and can foretell our future. It is the same as our history. So we believe that human beings simply cannot understand each other and they never will. The shinobi world of ours is ruled by hatred and hatred alone." Pein explained, staring at me

I gritted my teeth while frowning. "So, Naruto, how would you confront this hatred in order to create peace?" Pein asked me. I didn't answer. "I want to know what your answer is." Pein commanded. I closed my eyes for a moment, then reopened them.

"I don't know. I don't have an answer." I said, finally. "But you see, that is why I formed the Akatsuki. To break the cycle of hatred. I can put an end to it. But I need the Nine-Tails. I must have his power in order to achieve that goal. I'll use the power of all nine beasts to create a tailed-beast weapon, many times stronger than the one that flattened this village. Strong enough to wipe out an entire nation instantly." he said.

Now that caught my attention. "A tailed-beast weapon?" I repeated. "I'm going to show the world what true pain is and stop all wars with the terror that pain will inspire. I shall lead the world down the road to stability and into peace." Pein announced.

"But if you do a cheap peace like that, then the whole thing is nothing but a big lie." I told him. "Human beings aren't the most intelligent of creatures. This is the only way that peace can be achieved. Of course after several decades, that pain woo will eventually fade in time. It will no longer act as a deterrent. Humanity will return to war again. This time, they, themselves will use the tailed-beast weapon against one another and we confirm what true pain is. And then for a time, peace will briefly be restored again. In the course of this endless cycle of hatred, be getting more hatred. This unbearable pain will be getting rise to momentary peace. That is my dream and my goal." Pein said.

I looked at Nue as Katsuyu was still healing her. "I'll protect everyone I care about or die trying! That's my ninja way!" Her voice rang in my ears as she sat that three years ago. Nue... I'm sorry. I couldn't sense your pain from the beginning.

Pein caught me looking at her and followed my gaze. "Nue was a daughter to me. The daughter I never had. All she wanted was to be understood, to be free while not having to fear humans. So much has happened to her and I wanted to help her. But this is the fate she chose." Pein said.

(Flashback)

"Ne, Nue-chan."

"Hmm?" Nue looked at me as she kicked her legs in the lake we were at. "What are you afraid of?" I asked. "What am I afraid of?" She repeated. "Yeah. What's your fear?" I asked. "Why do you ask?" She asked. "I'm just curious." I admitted.

Nue's gaze when to the surface of the lake as she took her legs out of the water and pulled her knees to her chest. "My fear... is you." She confessed. "Me?" I repeated, feeling a little hurt. "It's not just you. It's everyone. Everyone in this village." Nue said.

"But why?" I asked. "Because I'm afraid what will happen to me. Every time I look at the villagers, all I see is hate in their eyes. I keep wondering if their plotting something to get rid of me. I don't belong in this village. I don't even belong in this world. I just wish there was someplace where I could just be free," Nue looked up towards the sky and closed her eyes.

"But if I leave this world, then I'll also leave behind my friends. And I don't wanna do that. You're my friend, Naruto, and I like you. A lot." Nue said, looking at me. I blushed at her comment. "Do you like me, Naruto?" She asked.

"Huh?! Oh, uh...!" I trailed off as I thought f a way to answer her question. "You hate me, don't you?" Nue said, sadly, as she rested her chin on her knees. "What? No, I don't!" I said. "You do. I can see it your eyes. I can also see the fear in your eyes every time you look a me." She said.

"No, Nue-chan! You got it all wrong! I'm not afraid of you! I'd never be afraid of you!" I said, grabbing her shoulders. Nue looked at me a bit startled. "With or without your wings and tails, I think you're the coolest person I ever met! Believe it!" I said before grinning at her.

Nue still had a bit of shock in her eyes until she smiled at me. "Okay. Then, let's swear on it." She said as she placed her hands on my wrists. "Swear on it?" I repeated, taking my hands off her shoulders. "Yeah. Let's swear that we'll always be best friends." Nue said.

"Okay." I agreed with a smile. "Here," Nue grabbed my hand, making me blush slightly. "At the same time we say, "I swear that we'll always be best friends,". Okay?" Nue said. "Yeah. Got it." I replied. At the same time, we said, "I swear that we'll always be best friends,".

Nue smiled at me and I smiled back. "Naruto, you know I can see you blushing, right?" Nue said. "Gah!" I tried to make my blush go away, but it only got worse. Nue giggled and stood to her feet. "Come on. Let's head back. Last one there's a rotten egg!" Nue called, running back to the village.

"Hey, wait! No fair! You didn't say go!" I called, chasing after her. Nue laughed as I tried to catch up with her.

(End of Flashback)

"Nue..." I whispered as I looked at her with guilt. I'm so sorry. I cried out when Pein pierced me with one of his rods. I could feel his charka flowing into me. "I've avoided any vital spots and kept them shallow. You will no longer be able to move on you own." Pein informed.

"Snap out of it, lad!" I looked over at Shima as she called to me. "No matter what he says to you, you must not listen to any of it! You are the Child of Prophecy! The savior for this whole world! Jiraiya-boy and Nue risked their lives for you because they believed in you. No! You're not allowed to lose, Naruto-boy! If you give up now, I won't forgive you, you hear me?!"

I gasped as she was blown away by Pein's power. "Loudmouthed frog." He muttered. "Bastard!" I snapped at him. "It's time we're on our way." Pein said as he reached for me. I saw something run at us from the corner of my eye.

Hinata! "I won't let you hurt Naruto anymore!" She said to Pein. "Reinforcements." Pein realized. "Why did you come out here? Just run! You can't win!" I told her. "No. I'm just being selfish now." Hinata said.

'What's that mean, Hinata? Don't put yourself in danger like this! Just go!" I commanded her.

"I'm here because I want to be. This time, I'm going to save you, Naruto." She said. I looked at her in shock. "I'd used to be such a crybaby. Always giving up before I even got a chance to start. I almost took the wrong path so many times, that I lost count. But you helped me find my way and take the correct path Naruto. I always chased after you, wanting to catch up, wanting to walk together with you forever. You've changed who I am, Naruto. Your smiling face saved me, Naruto. That's why, I'm not afraid to die here. If it means I can protect you." Hinata said.

I stared at her with my jaw hanging open. "Because I love you. I always will." She said softly. She got in a fighting stance as Pein took out another rod. They stared at each other for awhile until Hinata made the first move. She kicked off one of the rods.

She attempted to kick another rod but she was blown away. Hinata got back up and ran at me before she was blown over me. "Hinata!" I called out of worry. But she didn't give up. Hinata was going to try, no matter what. She's gotten stronger.

Hinata....

To be continued...