3 days have passed since Kabuto's attack on the village. On the advice of the White Council, Tsunade called a meeting with the 5 Kages. This war against the Bright Lord is not just about Konoha or the elemental nations, but about the future of Arda.
Tsunade called back all the shinobi on a mission to force them to rest and train. Because of all this commotion no one noticed the disappearance of several young people from the village.
Root base
What was once the root's headquarters, was now nothing more than a sight that would terrify any human who entered it. The Root's limbs were now just bloody bits of flesh. In the center of the room were engraved many symbols used in a ritual, a giant polygon with 8 sides occupied the largest part of the room, the blood of Danzo Shimura serving as ink. This place was chosen for a dark ritual, being already imbued with negative energy from all the despicable acts committed here.
Eight wooden posts were placed at each corner of the polygon and a ninth placed in the center. Attached to the central pillar was Kyubi's host, Naruto Uzumaki. On 4 of the eight poles, other acquaintances of Naruto were attached: Chôji, Shikamaru, Ino and Saï. They were all unconscious.
Khamul carefully checked every symbol, he couldn't afford any mistakes for what was to follow. Three more Nazgul entered the room, carrying a knocked out Kiba Inuzuka like a sack of potatoes.
Khamul approached one of his brothers, while the others tied their new catch.
Khamul: Will the White Council notice our movements?
Nazgul: No, they are too distracted with the preparation of the 5 Kage council and their plans for the war against the usurper.
Khamul: Fine. Bring back the last sacrifices, we'll perform the ritual tonight.
Akatsuki Hideout
''pounding sound''
In an underground forge, an event was happening that had not happened for millennia. The creation of a new ring of power.
Obito/Celebrimbor worked several days on this project. Although the Tailed Beasts are gone, his plans to take over the Empire have failed and Kabuto is dead, the Bright Lord is more than determined to take over Middle-earth. He knew that the White Council was preparing an army to face him very soon. His army was mighty, many powerful beings and creatures have sworn loyalty to him over the ages. The time to hide was over!
The reign of the Bright Lord has come!
Office of the hokage
The Three Immortals were discussing with the Hokage and Clan Leaders preparations for war.
Suddenly, they felt their rings pulse. A deep shiver ran through Galadriel's body.
As she felt fear, a real dread raced through her spine for she hadn't felt that power flow through her veins since the Third Age: the strength given to the wielder of a Ring of Power. Horror shot through her as she looked at Tsunade's Ring…but then she realized what it meant…another Ring of Power had been forged. Celebrimbor had succeeded!
However, apparently fate determined that was not enough for the men and women of Konoha as she then heard screams echoing throughout the village. Tsunade and the clan leaders could recognize them all. A dark pillar rose in the center of the village, in its center an explosion caused the main square to crumble, revealing the inside of the root base to the world.
Tsunade: Sakura! Naruto!
She rushed forward, followed by several fathers worried for their children, they ran through the village to find them in the ruins of Danzo's old base… all crucified against their hands by kunai. Their blood was collected by eight hooded and masked figures. All were singing in an ancient, dark language, unknown to today's world. The group attempted to save the teenagers, but the black fog caused illusions to anyone who entered it, propelling them out without knowing how. They could only watch in horror as the ritual unfolded before their eyes.The white council was too distracted by the power flowing through their rings to join the Shinobis
Naruto: Get away from my friends!
Coming out of unconsciousness, Naruto witnessed the torture of his companions. Being at the center of the ritual, he could see his friends mutilated. He had never felt so much hatred since Pain's attack. All the young people of his age with whom they had bonded were in front of him: Sakura, Chôji, Shikamaru, Ino, Saï, Kiba, Hinata and Shino.
He expected Kyubi's power to help him or at least unleash it, giving his friends the opportunity to flee… but nothing happened. Instead, he felt anticipation, excitement, and familiarity.
In his mental plane, Naruto stood in front of his prisoner's cage, his face showing his confusion.
Naruto: Kyubi, what's going on?
He then heard terrible moans from his friends, he looked up to see them all, pale and sickly looking at him.
Sakura growled: N-Naruto… run…
But the black fog affected her just as much as the others and she slowly returned to darkness.
Khamul: The time has come to bring our brother back.
It was then that he and the others began to chant, each placing their power in the seal that, unbeknownst to Naruto, had been created around him in blood.
Nazguls: By the blood of the Eight New Companions and the powers of the Dark Lord, rise from the dead and reign again among mortals!
The symbols inscribed with the blood of Naruto's eight comrades lit up an infernal red.
Khamul: By the blood of your brothers, returns Lord of the Nine. Take your place under the orders of the One!
Black blood flowed from the hoods of the Nazguls, moving like a snake and mixing with human blood on the ground.
[Minas Morgul-Theme]
A large green light rose in the sky. The entire village and beyond could see the dark green light and hear the menacing roar of the Kyubi. Naruto then let out his own terrible cry of pain and suffering as he watched, instead of a huge fox coming out of his belly… a hand covered in a clawed gauntlet took place over his hands. A crown of thorns formed on his forehead. Her body was changing.
His injured friends: Naruto!
Many other Shinobi were also arriving on the scene. Even Zetsu watched from afar, but the eight Nazgul surrounded the seal standing a few feet away from Naruto, as they continued to chant in the black speech.
At this point, Tsunade was filled with fear and confusion. The being crawling out of its seal was nothing like the famous Kyubi. But seeing his form made them fear more than anything before. He looked more like a demon than a fox.
The spectators attempted to step through the fog, but the illusions pushed them back.
Due to a powerful lightning, everyone was forced to close their eyes for several moments, the ground shook and the sky clashed with lightning. The lightning struck the fog and the green light faded, as they all looked to see that in the place of Konoha's hero was a being with dark armor and robes.
The Witch-King of Angmar himself.
Kurama's true form had finally been returned to him. He looked at the eight young people who had bonded with his former host.
Angmar in a low, threatening voice: Thanks to your bonds with Naruto, I am finally free. If you can survive the poison, you will be spared, but consider this the last act of mercy granted by my master.
The Witch-King then rose to his full menacing height and pushed Tsunade's fist away. He then grabbed her by the throat and pulled her closer, a black mist came from under her hooded helmet and was inhaled by the hokage. She was suddenly slumped over, darkness filling her eyes.
It was then that they heard screaming and running. People were closing in and the Nazgul knew they had to disappear to remain unknown to the White Council. So they called their mounts and disappeared into the night.
The fog lifted and when it did, the Shinobi were all horrified at the scene. The whole place felt like some demonic ritual, though they had no idea what it really was…until the White Council arrived.
Elrond: Everyone back off!
Elrond then rushed to the wounded first, calmly inspecting them…until it turned to worry…which then turned to horror. Each of them had their hands stabbed through the pillars with their own kunai. But that was easily dealt with.
What was concerning… were the wounds in their abdomens that reeked of death… the wounds had been inflicted by a Morgul Blade. To affirm this, the hilt of the blade has been left behind. To make matters worse, they were all suffering from the effects of the black fog.
Elrond: Gandalf! Galadriel! Get Athelas!"
Immediately they realized what was happening and grabbed the necessary ingredients. Elrond asked the doctor to untie the crucified Shinobi, which they did with great care.
It took several hours just to stabilize them, and several days for them to come out of the coma. When they finally did, a terrible truth was revealed to them. The whole group woke up as one, taking a deep breath as if they had just emerged from deep, dark water. In these black depths, they were forced to watch their friend transform into a creature of darkness. No matter how much they struggled, they could only helplessly watch this spectacle. Soon loomed a menacing monster of a man, clad in black armor, who seemed to be speaking in a dark language… but they understood him.
???: There's nothing for you here…only…death!
All: Naruto!
Soon nurses and doctors rushed into the coma ward and assessed the situation from their physical injuries. Gandalf and the others came to deal with demonic ailments that were beyond the skill of the doctors.
However, it took longer than expected, as they were constantly trying to get up while saying a full sentence. No one heard them because they were trying to process them.
Galdriel: Children, why are you so eager to rise up and fight once more?
Hinata: Ghostly silhouettes…monstrous men, crucified us…another came out of our blood, one like a mixture of the two groups. They took Naruto! The blood made him become like them!
This caused the White Council to put on a face of fear. They immediately looked at their rings, fearing the worst. As they tried to summon the power within their rings, they feared the worst. They breathed a sigh of relief as their rings of power were just as dead as they had been when Sauron fell.
The Dark Lord was not back, since his ring fell into the lava and since then the power of their own ring has also disappeared. The darkness was no longer their problem, it was the light that had become prideful and burned so brightly that it threatened to destroy everything it touched.
But if so… how did Celebrimbor summon Sauron's servants from beyond the Realm of Death?
Had he destroyed the first seal? If so, they would have felt the power unleashed, Sauron was too weak to hide it from them.
There was really only one answer… Celebrimbor had forged his own Master Ring of Power.
Uzugakure
Sauron observed the leader of the Nine kneeling before him. His most powerful servants have returned to his service. His armies are massive. His enemies kill each other. The result of millennia of planning showed their result.
Only one thing is missing.
The seal had to be broken! The battle for the throne of Arda will soon take place.