Kushina landed on the cliffside, the wind softly blew her hair as she narrowed her blue eyes, staring into the distance. The ocean stretched out before her, waves crashed against the rocks below. The air was thick with the scent of sea salt and damp earth.
She had always loved this spot- the edge of the island where she could find peace away from the bustle of her clan. But today, there was no time for reflection. Her senses, sharpened by years of battle and Kurama's influence, were on high alert.
She saw an... island? It was a floating island, defying gravity as it hovered above the horizon. A city sprawled on its surface, its spires glinting in the sunlight, and strange carved heads jutted from its sides.
The sight sparked something in her memory- she had heard of something like this, the Land of the Sky. They hadn't gotten involved in the Second Shinobi War, and no one knew much about them, so they were mostly left alone, fading into the background. What could they be doing here, emerging now?
A disgusted expression appeared on her face as a thought occurred to her. She really hoped that they weren't here to form an alliance- there's no way the Uzumaki would lower themselves to ally with some small B-Tier force like this.
Akagakure was rising from the ashes of Uzushio, and she wouldn't taint it with desperate partnerships. But as she examined the malice radiating from the people on board, she could only feel hostility, a dark, seething energy that pulsed from each of them.
It confused her at first- she couldn't recall doing anything against them. Then again, these days, who wasn't her enemy? The Five Great Villages, rogue ninja, even the shadows of the Warring States era loomed.
A barrier of translucent yellow energy formed around Akagakure, shimmering like a dome of sunlight. This was their first line of defense against invaders- an experimental fuinjutsu barrier that blocked all attacks. It worked against both taijutsu and ninjutsu; it would need at least a Kage on the level of the Fourth Raikage or Ōnoki to penetrate.
Kushina watched as it solidified, the seals etched into the island's foundations activating with a low hum, their glow reflecting off the ocean waves. She had overseen its creation personally.
As the island hovered closer, an announcement started from its speakers, the voice booming across the water like thunder. "This is Ancor Vantian, of the Great Land of the Sky!"
Kushina snorted unconsciously. How pompous- per usual with these small villages, always overcompensating for their insignificance.
"With our technology," the voice continued, "the Five Great Hidden Villages don't stand a chance! Be honored, Akagakure, to witness our true power!"
She rolled her eyes, her lips curling in disdain. If they had a death wish, she'd grant it. Maybe there'd be something interesting on board the island. The floating fortress was intriguing. It could be useful for Akagakure's defenses, another tool to surpass Uzushio's legacy.
Not to mention the mass of malice in the core. Now that she focused harder, the immense malice she sensed earlier did not belong to a person. It was something darker, artificial, pulsing from the heart of the island.
Kurama's deep voice rumbled in her mind, sharp and alert: "This energy… it's almost like a Tailed Beast. A construct born purely from malice. Absorbing it would boost my power."
Kushina nodded with determination, her fists clenching at her sides. She'd seize this chance.
A large wave of ninja descended from the fortress. They had wings that made them capable of flight, their silhouettes dark against the sky.
They attacked the barrier using their kunai launchers, unique explosives, and ninjutsu. However, nothing so much as left a scratch. The barrier rippled like water under rain, absorbing the impacts with ease. To the barrier, this much was child's play. Kushina watched, her expression unmoved, as the attackers grew frustrated, their assaults intensifying but yielding no results.
But then Kushina felt it. A massive surge of energy gathered at the center of the island. That had to be their trump card. The potency of it actually worried her- it might be enough to breach the barrier.
It was time for her to move.
The dark red chakra of Kurama poured out from her, spreading in all directions like a tidal wave. It moved and twisted through the air, consolidating to form the large figure of a fox, its nine tails lashing behind it. This was her transformation, representing the full might of the Nine-Tails. A dense mass of chakra swirled in its throat, dark red and black.
The fortress fired its own beam of yellow energy. Her laser screamed through the air toward it, colliding in a clash of yellow and red, the impact sending shockwaves across the ocean, waves crashing wildly against the shores.
However, Kushina's beam easily overpowered theirs, the dark energy devouring the yellow beam like a predator. It didn't just stop at that- it continued forward, reducing half of the island to rubble in an instant, chunks of stone and metal raining into the sea with deafening crashes.
Everyone watching the conflict was stunned beyond belief. That level of power was... divine. Whispers spread among the Uzumaki guards, their eyes wide with awe at their leader's strength.
As the island fell into the ocean, half-submerged near the shores of Akagakure but still afloat, Kushina exited her transformation, her chakra shroud fading as she landed lightly on the beach. She regrouped with Akinari Uzumaki, who stood at the head of their force.
He had gathered their warriors near the shore- they were about 70 strong, including Nagato, Aina, and the others. It wasn't a large force, but its quality was exceptional, each member honed by survival and Kushina's training.
Kushina stepped forward, her foot pressing against the air itself. She rose higher, walking skyward. This was a technique Kurama taught her. It was lost to time because of how unwieldy it was- it's significantly harder and takes more chakra than the other form, which allows you to walk on water. But for Kushina, with her vast reserves, it was effortless.
She stood in front and above her clansmen, enhancing her voice with chakra so it boomed across the beach. "This insignificant nation couldn't even match the might of the Five Great Hidden Villages- let alone the Uzumaki! Their arrogance is their undoing!"
A chorus of agreement sounded from the crowd, their voices rising in a unified roar, fists pumping in the air.
"Let's show them the power of our clan! Invade their fortress! Leave no one alive!"
With a unified cry, the Uzumaki charged, sprinting across the water toward the wrecked Ancor Vantian. Kushina followed, her eyes fixed on the malignant presence inside.
----
Inside the fortress, the leader of the Land of the Sky, Shinnō, was running in a panic. He raced through the halls of Ancor Vantian as fast as he could, his footsteps echoing off the metal walls, the structure groaning from the damage.
He couldn't believe his nation got handled so easily! All it took was one attack, and his fortress, which could wipe the Hidden Villages off the map, was destroyed. He now understood the pain Konoha and Kumo went through, the humiliation of being crushed like an insect.
He should've targeted one of the other villages first- that would've been enough to prove their power.
But no! He had to go after the strongest to prove his nation's strength. Where did that get him? His dreams of conquest shattered in a single beam.
His nation was over. He knew that from the moment the Akakage fired that beam. The floating fortress, his pride, was now half-sunken.
However, it was not over yet! Not for him, at least. There was still the Zero Tails. If a Tailed Beast is what gives the Akakage all her strength, then he can use one too. With his Body Revival Technique, along with the Eight Gates, there's no way he'd die here!
His thoughts came to an end as he entered a chamber.
This was where his life's work, the Zero Tails, was contained. He wasted no time, activating his Body Revival technique. His body glowed as he instantly achieved a peak physique, his muscles bulging, veins pulsing with energy. With this, he had insane regenerative abilities and durability- it was even capable of activating the eight gates without side effects.
Then, he absorbed the Zero-Tails into himself, the dark entity writhing as it merged with his form, giving him a burst of yellow-gold energy that crackled around.
"With this power, I can take on anyone!" He laughed maniacally, his voice echoing through the crumbling halls. "Even Hashirama and Madara would be nothing before this!"
His body thrummed with the combined force of the Zero-Tails and his revived state, his skin glowing with an unholy aura.
'First gate, Gate of Opening!'
'Second gate, Gate of Healing!'
'Third gate, Gate of Life!'
...
'Eighth gate, Gate of Death!'
A chaotic aura of red blood was flaming around him, his hair standing on end, his eyes wild with power. His raw strength had ascended to the realm of Hashirama and Madara, the air distorting around him from the sheer energy.
"So you're the leader of this pitiful village," a voice called out from behind him, cold and mocking.
It was Kushina.
"Why is it that you small villages always overestimate yourselves? Shouldn't you know best how weak you truly are?"
Before, these words might've angered him, but with this power, Shinnō only smirked, brimming with confidence. "It's not over yet."
And without another word, he teleported- or at least, it looked like it. He was simply moving too fast, his body a blur as he closed the distance in an instant.
He appeared right in front of Kushina's astonished gaze and launched a punch, his fist wreathed in red energy.
She barely had time to activate her chakra shroud, the dark red mantle flaring around her like a shield, and she was blasted back.
She shot out of the fortress at blinding speed, crashing through the walls like they were made of paper- but it didn't stop there. She tumbled across the ocean, creating massive waves that crashed against the shores, until she finally hit the cliff wall with a giant explosion, leaving a dust cloud that billowed into the sky.
Shinnō chased after her, leaving craters in the ground with each step.
Outside the wreckage and the dust cloud, he stood.
Shinnō laughed. "Did you see that? With my power, no one can stand in my way! Not the Five Great Hidden Villages, and not you!"
"With the Zero-Tails, I'll take over this whole world! I am a God!"
"Shut up!" Kushina finally responded, her voice echoing from the dust cloud. She couldn't take much more of this megalomaniac's ramblings.
The dust cleared and revealed her. She was now in her Tailed Beast Form. Dark red chakra radiated off her, and nine tails extended from her back. Each one had a streak of gold running through them- the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
"You're impressive, but not even gods are invincible," she said, the blood from the earlier punch hissing away, evaporating against her chakra shroud. "My hatred made me what I am today- a demon of malice."
Her eyes burned with fury as her voice cut through the air like a blade. "And demons don't kneel before gods- they carve them apart!"
Kushina unleashed a torrent of dark red chakra, her nine tails lashing out. Shinnō charged, his red aura flaring as he swung his fist, the air distorting from the force. Kushina blocked with one tail, it's the red and gold clashed against his punch in a burst of energy that cracked the cliffside.
He held on for a moment, his regenerative abilities from the Body Revival Technique allowing him to push back, his muscles straining against her superior power. But it was futile- her tail coiled around his arm, the sealing chains sapping his chakra, weakening his hold.
Shinnō grunted, his power surging. He landed a glancing kick that sent Kushina skidding back a few feet. He pressed the advantage, his speed a blur as he unleashed a barrage of punches, each one exploding with red energy.
Kushina dodged most, her Tailed Beast Form's agility outmatching him, but one grazed her side, drawing a shallow cut that healed almost instantly. "Is that all?" she taunted, her voice booming.
With a roar, she whipped two tails forward; they wrapped around Shinnō's legs and slammed him into the ground. He bounced back with insane durability, regenerating the damage, but Kushina was already on him. A chakra-enhanced punch to his chest cracked ribs, and as he staggered, barely holding on, she sealed the deal with a Rasengan infused with Kurama's malice, drilling into his abdomen.
Shinnō's aura flickered, his life force fading as his raging chakra went out of control. He collapsed, gasping, his "godlike" power broken in moments.
She looked down at Shinno's rapidly dying body, his form changing to that of an old, withered man.
"Demons devour gods," she spoke. The Zero Tail was absorbed into her seal, the dark energy surging into her as a wave of malice that Kurama eagerly claimed.
Kurama materialized beside her, his fox form towering, eyes gleaming with amusement. He laughed derisively. "You talked down to this guy, yet he still punched you in the face."
Kushina's face turned red from a mixture of embarrassment and anger. "Be quiet! He just... surprised me, that's all!" She lightly punched him in the side, her fist bouncing off his fur. "If I had my Tailed Beast Form active from the start, he wouldn't have lasted a second, dattebane!"
Kurama chuckled, his tails swishing. "Keep telling yourself that, brat. But that energy... It's mine now. A nice boost."
Kushina smirked, the adrenaline fading as she surveyed the ruined floating island. The Land of the Sky's technology lay in tatters, but its secrets might still hold value for Akagakure. As her clansmen cheered from the shore, she felt the weight of her leadership- another threat crushed, another step toward the Uzumaki's unassailable future.
----
A/N: If you're surprised by Shinno's strength, know that I was too. But that's how it is in the movie. He said he could open all Eight Gates without any side effects. For some reason, tho, he just... chose not to against Naruto/ Sasuke.
Also, if you're wondering why he wasn't stronger, like Guy was with all Eight Gates, it's because Shinno didn't train his taijutsu like Guy did, so the boost in power was lesser, along with his control, and he didn't have the fighting experience either. Might Guy was just built different.