Uchiha's Butterfly

A kimono-wearing man had his face embedded in a sandy beach by three Anbu masked shinobis. His body was kept restricted by three tanto blades aimed at his vitals before Utakata started thrashing about in their hold, a pair of feet walked in front of his eyes.

"Mei-sama ordered me to lead the Anbu team, why the heck are you following us?" the blue-haired jōnin lashed out at the Six-Tails jinchūriki.

"Anbu team or not, you may need help with S-rank criminal, Ao-san. And, I'm not someone that needs protection. My enemies should be wary of me, not the other way around." Utakata gave a quick explanation.

"*Sigh* That's insubordination. Your orders were to stay in the camp. The rebels can't lose you." Ao massaged his forehead at the difficult brown-haired man.

"Kaname-chan liked to say one thing - it's from her late friend: In the ninja world, those who don't follow the rules are sc.u.m, but those who abandon their friends are worse than sc.u.m. *Sigh* She fled too fast. I wanted to go with her, but I knew she would need even more help, that's the reason I followed you."

"Release him." Ao ordered loudly, "Utakata, I appreciate your willingness, but I need you to go back to the camp. Mei-sama will tear me a new one if you die on a simple retrieval mission."

An Anbu unit flickered towards them, calling out the blue-haired man name.

"What now, Moth?" Ao called out.

"We intercepted Team Rabbit. They are safe and sound."

"And what about Kaname Uchiha?"

"They did not want to speak to us about her. We're keeping the chūnins safe at the front of the formation. You may need to speak to them privately." Anbu answered.

"I'm going with you." Utakata walked towards him.

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"Utakata-san and Ao-san?! Thank the gods!" Izumi yelled out.

"Wait, Izumi-san." Torune stopped his teammate.

"Ao-san is pink, your favorite color?" Koji questioned the jōnin.

"*Growl* I will kill you, pipsqueak," Ao growled out.

"Yep, it's the real him." Koji acknowledged.

"Where is she?"

"It was a trap, Utakata-san. She needs help!"

"Girl, start from the beginning. I need to know what we're dealing with here."

"Unproductive, you will listen to our description of events, while Sensei is getting killed." Torune shot back, "In summary, five S-rank criminals against one wounded, poisoned and tired Konoha's kunoichi. Can we go now?"

"Five?! No, I need to know who I'm dealing with, kid. I can't just send people to die out there." Ao replied tersely.

"Whatever, you may stay here and watch Ao-san. Kids, I will help you. We can't let Kaname-chan die." Utakata squeezed the arm of a worried brown-haired kunoichi.

As in fear, the earth trembled below their feet, tens flocks of birds took flight away from the direction Team 7 came from.

The jinchūriki and three chūnins looked at each other eyes. With an unsaid understanding, they bolted towards the epicenter of the conflict with Ao hot on their tails.

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*BA-BUMP!!*

"My insects are frightened, they are trying to pull me away from here," Torune reported.

"Do you see this cloud?! Is it coming towards us?" Koji pointed at a growing pillar of black clouds.

"No..." Izumi explained, "... It's not a cloud, it's a sky-high expanding blazing black fire."

"Shit. Saiken, what do you think?" Utakata clicked his tongue.

*BA-BUMP!!!!*

'It somehow feels like Ninshū, but... NO!' the Bijū loudly exclaimed in his head, 'I'm taking over!'

"Hmm? Sure, go on." Utakata's body transformed into the Six-Tailed Beast.

"Everyone to me if you want to survive, now!" Saiken ordered, catching them in a cocoon between his tails.

"What is the meaning of this?! Do you plan to kill us now?" one of the masked Anbu shouted towards the Bijū.

"*Sigh* I don't have the time to deal with idiots, Kaname-chan will have a field day with you once she comes back... Brace for impact!" the chakra being alerted them.

The division of ninja heard numerous ballon-like pops, after a moment, their heads were filled by overwhelmingly loud *FWOOSH*.

"ARGH!" Saiken shouted in pain.

'Are you okay, what is going on, partner?'

'I will live, I just lost two tails worth of chakra. Do you remember what the basis is for ninjutsu, Utakata?'

'It's the blending of the body's strength and chakra.' he shot back.

'Now, do you remember what did I say for ninshū?'

"A peaceful ancestor of ninjutsu, a combination of chakra and spirit energy. Was it a ninshū attack? I thought it couldn't be used as a weapon?' he asked.

'No to both Utakata, ninjutsu is the weaponized form of ninshū, it doesn't mean it can't be used as a whip. But it wasn't the ninshū - it was a purely spiritual attack.'

'...I don't even know how to reply to that. What is the damage report, Saiken?'

'We were lucky, almost everything - all the way to the horizon was burned to a crisp. The evaporated water is coming back soon. I expect some massive tsunamis crashing into us in a moment. I will keep everyone protected until then.'

---------------

"Where are we?" Izumi inquired.

"We did not move an inch," Utakata assured.

"But we were on an island? As far as I can see, there is only water, are you sure about that Utakata-san?"

"Yes."

"Thanks, Utakata-san. Ultimately, it looks like you were right, I mostly saw what happened thanks to my dōjutsu." Ao bowed towards him.

"It doesn't matter, this fire came from the place we left Sensei in. We need to help her."

"Boy... Look around you. Nothing could survive that inferno. I'm sorry, but I doubt Kaname Uchiha is still alive." Ao chided Koji.

"I apologize, Ao-san, but you're clearly undervaluing Kaname-sensei's perseverance."

'Utakata, something dangerous is coming. It feels like a predator is watching us.' Saiken warned him.

'How do you know?'

'You humans lost the sixth sense. We, the Tailed Beasts, aren't easily scared, but even I got the goosebumps now.'

"Damnit! Protect each other, something, or someone dangerous even for a Bijū is drawing towards us!" Utakata took charge of the unit.

"Utakata-san, look at the sea surface!" Izumi yelled out.

Everyone turned their heads further south, there was a turbulent area of water that was closing to the group.

"Those are fish? Are they fleeing from something?"

"Ao-san, look closer. They're suffocating, they fight each other to take a breath." Izumi explained.

"Shouldn't they be able to breathe underwater?" one of the Anbus questioned her.

"It's not important!" Utakata interrupted them, "they're getting closer, prepare yourselves!"

Each ninja felt the wrongness of what's coming, as the fishes fighting for their survival drew nearer, the wind stilled. When the danger reached them, every shinobi dropped down on their knees, retching from the smell of hundreds of decomposing bodies.

"ABOVE US!" Ao shouted out.

Utakata noticed a long-haired human silhouette floating high over their heads and looking down upon them. After a quick deliberation, it slowly glided down, stepping on top of seawater in the middle of the group.

[AN: the OST for you: Naruto Shippuden OST 3 - Track 07 ( 3rd version )]

"-Sen..sei?" Torune asked unsurely.

It surely was Kaname Uchiha, her hair whitened, her forehead had two red horns protruding from it. Her skin was pale blueish, the willful eyes of her were replaced by void-like blackness. The movement of her broken, loose white-kimono clad body was somehow awkward - like it was a pawn in the hands of a skilless puppeteer.

She widely opened her mouth in a soundless scream. "Lifeforce... The Enemy," she spoke in two voices at the same time. Without moving her torso, with a pop of the broken spine, her head slowly turned 170 degrees towards the closest Anbu. "Death..." as she announced the man swooned on his knees and fell down facefirst breathless. With another sick crack, Kaname's head popped back in place.

"W-what are you?" another Anbu shouted at her, preparing his blade.

His movement was met with Kaname's head turning towards him, "Death..." with her word alone, she killed another ninja.

'Utakata, listen to me. I don't feel an ounce of chakra from her body, Kaname's heart isn't beating, she is not breathing neither. It's just a shell, with her looks, her voice is oozing in spiritual power, you need to run, take her students with you and retreat away from here!' Saiken spoke in his mind, as Utakata was standing between Kaname and her students.

"Guh, wait!" Izumi bolted around him, charging at Kaname.

*Slap*

The girl slapped the pale woman's cheek, making her take a step back, "Wake up, Sensei! You are stronger than that thing! I beg you, come back to us."

"*Growl*."

Koji joined Izumi, protecting his teammate with his own body, both chūnins felt their knees weakening as the blackness of their Sensei's eyes turn towards them.

"Worms," Kaname's hands kindled up in black flames, "Die- Mhm?!" her hands were stopped by a thick roll of ninja wire and a slimy appendage.

"It's a chance, finish it!" Ao wrongly assumed the weakness of their opponent. Five Anbus flickered around Kaname and impaled her body with multiple blades.

Sure of his victory, Ao sighed out, "Mission is a failure, but we survived. Let's go back to the camp."

"What?!" one of his subordinates shouted, seeing two of his teammates slump down on the ground. The steel blades in Kaname's body started rusting at an extraordinary speed, in just a moment they broke, falling off her body.

"Ao, run you fool!" Utakata roared fleeing from the battlefield with Kaname's students.

The blue-haired jōnin looked at his Anbu's lives being extinguished one after the other, "Damnit, retreat!" he ordered loudly, joining Utakata in fleeing from the battlefield.

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"That was unnecessary, Izumi-san. You almost lost your life out there." after the team of five people lost sight of Kaname, Torune chided his teammate.

"I know, alright?!"

"You as well, Koji-san, a second later, and both of you would die. Luckily Utakata-san was there to help us. Kaname-sensei taught us not to throw away our lives so easily, think before you act."

"Uh."

"It was dangerous, Torune-kun, but did you notice it as well?"

"Yes, Utakata-san. Sensei- UGH!" all of them felt the pressure coming from above, making them drop on their knees.

"Lifeforce." Kaname materialized in front of the team.

"What did you do with Kaname Uchiha, Fiend?!" Utakata inquired.

"It is. Dead." He noticed Kaname's body was now more purplish than before.

'Alarmingly, it's getting more and more control of her body. It could kill Izumi and Koji before, is there some of Kaname left in there? Did she stop it? Why is it calmly replying to all my questions?'

"Why are you hunting us?"

"You have chakra. Lifeforce must disappear." Kaname turned her head towards Ao, "De-"

"Wait! Answer my questions first!" Utakata interrupted the execution, walking towards the purple-skinned woman.

"..."

"Hmm, why did you not kill me, nor the kids behind me?"

"The body. It stopped itself. Lifeforce. Sooner or later, it will return to nothingness."

"We're the only ones you can't kill?"

"I do not. Kill. I return the world to its balance. You, I feel it's tainted lifeforce. In you. You must disappear." She pointed her hand at Utakata.

'Ugh, let me guess, Saiken, is it talking about you?'

'That would be a good guess, I believe.' The duo watched as Kaname's blade flew into its hand and instantly darkened down in black flames.

"Wait!" Koji jumped in front of Utakata, taking over the conversation. Torune silently gave Ao a nod, allowing the man to retreat.

"How to stop you?"

"Meaningless worm. Your words - they are empty as your future. I am the harbinger of demise. Nothing can stop me, I must return the being's lifeforce to where it belongs." Shinigami aimed the sword and took a swing.

Koji hissed in pain as the burning blade stopped a hair's breadth from his neck. He smirked, watching his Sensei. Her left hand halted the armed one.

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(PoV Kaname)

'Damnit, that's not the way I wanted to go. Observing Snake Bastard's face as the last one isn't on the top of my death plans. Where the heck am I? There is nothing but blackness here...'

Depending on the spot she flew by, she felt the time doing tricks around her, Kaname did not know how long she drifted through the void, was it minutes? Hours? Only emptiness was her companion.

'Grah! Nothing to do here, at least give me something to stare at!'

The light exploded in front of her eyes, making her go blind for just a moment. Blinking away her disorientation, she found herself sitting on a porch in front of her lily pond. Her ears were assaulted by calming cries of frogs and cicadas.

'It's... home?'

She felt someone gently squeeze her arm and greet her with a voice full of love, "Hello, my Little Butterfly."

Kaname turned her head, the confidently smiling man was in his mid-twenties. His face had a clear resemblance to Ryuichi's, except those mischievous dark eyes and a small nose that Kaname saw last time in the mirror.

"Heh... Hi, Pops."

His eyebrows rose in astonishment, "Hmm, you guessed who am I?"

"Nope, I saw your portrait once. And me being dead, I thought I would get greeted by someone. It seems this dubious honor belongs to you, Pops. Well, you look good for being dead eighteen years."

"Thanks, Little Butterfly."

"Hmm, how do you know what nickname mom gave me? You were dead long before that."

"Let's just say, you have a nice fanbase on this side of the world, Kushina-chan just can't stop laughing at your jokes."

"Aunty? She is here?!"

"Haha, calm down. Kushina-chan is safe and sound, Minato-kun and her made a big blunder and split their souls. It's the reason they can't meet with the living."

"Split their souls... Hmm, I believe I know where are the parts of it sealed in. Wait, are you saying that I am alive? What are you talking about, Pops? I'm pretty sure that someone pulled the heart out of my body."

"*Sigh* her father sat next to her, "I should scold you for getting yourself in such a situation, Little Butterfly. I can't tell you everything I want, but let me explain what I can from the beginning. It's not the afterlife, the place we're in is something of a limbo, the front yard. Ages ago, the souls of the dead dissipated in the world, leaving behind only their anger and frustration. Those negative emotions lingered in the world of the living, causing wars and strife between the people, then came a powerful man, peacefully ending all the conflicts with his words and teachings. With years of study, he understood where all this maliciousness comes from. With his last breath, he created the afterlife letting the souls rest in peace. Without his guidance, the world once again plummeted down into strife. For almost three centuries, the ninja fought between each other, but without the lingering anger, the wars weren't as brutal as before, almost a century ago, the conflict stopped."

"The Warring States era. Do you want to say that the wars fought in the following years were less brutal?"

He nodded his head, "From what I know, entire clans were massacred over a single night, would you believe me that the overall yearly casualties in the second war, were similar in numbers to a single month during the Warring State Era?... Now, the creator of the afterlife is called many names, Great Grandfather, God, or as in Kushina-chan's case - Oyaji."

"Hagoromo?"

Asato snorted, "I can't deny or confirm, Little Butterfly, but you're as good at this as Sachi was. I told him that my girl is too smart for those games... Let's continue the story, in his own genius, Tobirama-san researched one jutsu after another, no one knew what was hidden behind the veil. Tobirama-san calls it the biggest mistake of his life, studying the ancient sealing scrolls of the Uzumaki, he released the Shinigami for the first time. No one knew where the maliciousness disappeared to - all the souls coming here were peaceful and content with their fate. Uzumaki's in their shrewdness sealed the leftover negative emotions, saving the world from future conflicts. The unfortunate releasing of the beast engulfed the Elemental Nations, once more putting the people at odds against each other, this was the beginning of the First Shinobi War. Tobirama-san, scared of what has he done, looked for a way to destroy the Shinigami once and for all. He researched tens of forbidden techniques, but everything he tried was for naught. He stopped popping them out after another mistake, as Tobirama-san summoned his dead brother, he cried the tears of sorrow, understanding that he created a weapon of innocent peaceful souls. A week later, he died in an ambush saving his students."

"The Edo Tensei? The move that Snake Bastard used to summon Maki?"

"Hmm, I'm sorry, it looks like you're even better at it than Sachi was, should I take credit for that?"

"Heh, you wish, Pops."

"You know the rest of the history. Donning the Shinigami Mask, your clone unintentionally created a contract between your soul and the Soul Reaper."

"Why me? I don't think I was the first one to try it on."

"I do not know. Maybe it's your power or your body's potential. Something made the Shinigami a perfect host out of you."

"How to stop him, he is most likely having fun with my body right now."

"*Tsk* I don't like how you made it sound like, Little Butterfly... Right now, your soul is used as a nourishment for the Soul Reaper."

"Can't I stay here with you, Pops?"

"I would love to, but we both know you're as stubborn as your old man is, not even talking about Sachi's willfulness. But be careful, I'm not sure if you can survive reclaiming the body in its current shape."

"Hmph, watch me."

"Always. Ah, one more thing, Little Butterfly."

"Yes?"

Kaname's body was glomped in a tight fatherly hug, "I'm sorry, I needed to do that at least once. I love you, and I'm proud of you, Little Butterfly. I have a little request, she knows, but tell your mom that I will wait for her here, and she is to make me wait for another century. Give a hug to your brother and my new in-law as well, I expect to watch my grandkids growing up from here."

"Will do, Pops. One question is all of this a dream or reality?"

"Hmm," he turned his head sideways in thought, "Both? You can leave through the front gate. Go kick a phantom's arse!" he lightly pushed her towards the gateway.

"Hah! See you later, Pops!"

"I hope not too soon, my daughter." he waved his hand.

-----------

Once again, Kaname floated in the black void. Three seconds later, she started hearing Utakata's and Koji's voices speaking to her, following the sounds she soon looked down at her monkey-haired student as her right hand swung the sword down aiming to decapitate him. Feeling some control over her left hand, she caught the wrist in the iron-like hold stopping the swing barely next to Koji's neck.

"Sensei!" her students shouted out.

'YOU! YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!' Kaname's mind trembled in a powerful voice.

She snorted, "No touching, he's one of mine, Shinigami." Kaname did a quick inspection of her body, countless critical wounds all over, her heart was visible, it was spewing grease-like substance that covered her body. Looking around, she winked at Izumi.

Rotating her hold on the right wrist, Kaname pushed the pressure point on the bottom of the palm. Involuntarily, making her right hand drop the katana, as it fell down, Kaname caught it in her left hand, rotated it around, and impaled her heart.

'NOOO! HOW?!' the Shinigami roared out.

"NOOOOO! STOP!" Izumi accompanied the Soul Reaper's cry of rage.

Kaname's hair tips quickly regained the black color, the pores of her skin released a black like droplets of sweat, in just a second, she started recovering her healthy skin color. Two red protrusions on her forehead turned to black mist and disappeared with the wind.

She coughed out blood, "Kaname 3, Soul Reaper 0." she snorted, falling on her back and coloring the water around her in red.

"No, no, no. Sensei! Why?" Izumi's hands lighted up in green healing chakra.

"*Cough* Don't cry." Kaname swiped the tears out Izumi's cheek, "We're ninjas, we endure." she replied, smiling calmly.

"Kaname-sensei." the two boys knelt next to her head.

"Ah, Torune-chan, Koji-chan. I'm sorry, we will have to move your training to a later date." her eyes turned towards Torune, "You will reach high, protect your teammates for me."

"... I will, Sensei."

"Snail Boy."

"Yes, Kaname-chan?"

"*Cough* Lead my students back to Konoha, can you do that for me?"

"Don't worry about them, I will keep them safe."

"Good..." Kaname's eyes closed.

"NO! I WILL NOT LET YOU LEAVE ME ALONE!" Izumi cried out, putting all of her chakra into the <Shōsen Jutsu> (Mystical Palm Technique).

Her student felt Kaname's life slipping out of her grasp, "No, no, no, no. NO!"

"Izumi-chan... Your eyes, they're bleeding?" Koji commented.