Chapter 1: 1.1-We got no innocence (School’s Out For Summer)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Part 1: Acceptance
“Are you nervous for the exam today, Naruto?”
“No, sir.” Naruto stood stiffly in front of the classroom. He wore his least broken jumpsuit. Everything of his body posture told the examiners that he was lying, except for the smile on his face.
“Let me get some facts straight. You entered the Academy when you were four years old, correct?”
Naruto nodded. “I’ve been a diligent student and I have participated in every optional extra-curricular training.”
“You’ve tried to graduate early twice now and both applications were denied.”
“I was confident that I had the course work under control. I was hoping to start early as a ninja to gain more experience than my peers.”
“And the reason it was denied?”
“Both times the committee thought I was ahead of the curve, but that I was not at the level yet that a graduate should be.”
“You appealed both decisions, but with limited success.”
“I had collected many precedents that supported my early graduation based on my early start. I’m hoping today I will be judged more fairly.”
“I should tell you not to worry. Today is more a formality than anything else. I can guarantee you that you will walk out of this classroom with a headband.”
“I understand. But there is more than just the headband I’m interested in. I want to be in the top 9.”
That made the examiner asking the questions shift uncomfortably. Beside him, Iruka-sensei sighed. “Naruto, we’ve talked about this.”
Naruto did not waver.
“We’ll see what the results of today are then. That’s the only thing that matters in determining whether you’ll get to work in the field or will have to settle with an administrative position. What’s your talent score?”
“It’s… it’s a 1.”
The examiner seemed like he wanted to argue, but Iruka touched his arm and pointed at the documentation. There was silence for close to a minute as he reaffirmed what Naruto had just said.
“Just a 1? I don’t think there’s been a 1 in the top 9 ever.”
“Not since the war.” Iruka confirmed.
Naruto was undeterred. “I am sixth highest in both combat and theory. Fifth in ninjutsu and overall score. I deserve the spot.”
“There’s more to it than just grades. How do you suppose to keep up with your teammates? The lowest other contender has a talent score of five. Won’t you get tired?”
“I can do it.”
“I am sure you believe that. I noticed you did not mention your jutsu score. How are you with the basic three?”
“I’m top with Henge and second with the Kawarimi.”
“And the clone?”
Nartuo tensed his fist. “Not important. My overall jutsu score is good.“
Iruku sighed. “Naruto has a success rate of 10 percent.”
“That’s not... very good. I can’t see how I can recommend top 9 with those numbers.”
“That’s bull!”
“Naruto...” Iruka warned.
“No, I did everything I was supposed to. This is just an excuse. The clone technique is the least important of the three. The illusionary clones can’t do anything but confuse an enemy. ‘Situational tactical advantage’. That’s all! I mastered the important ones.”
“I assure you we do not take this lightly. we are supposed to assess your current strength, but also your potential. The clone technique is not important by itself, but it has an important purpose. Do you know why?”
“No, sir.” Naruto bit the words.
Iruka stepped in. “You can figure it out, Naruto. You’re smart enough.”
Naruto wanted to object, but his second-favourite teacher had an effect on him. He breathed evenly and turned it over in his head. The three techniques and how he had learned them. How others had learned them. And how they had struggled with them.
It felt like he was sinking through the floor.
“Control thresholds.”
“Exactly. The henge technique that allows you to look like someone else cannot be overpowered. Excess chakra is used to compensate for bad control or expelled with smoke. The kawarami that lets you trade places with a nearby object has a lower threshold. I assume you struggled with it at the start? Extra chakra helps with the technique, but too much and the whole construct will collapse.”
“Bunshin has the lowest.” Naruto said. “That I can’t make clones means my control is not good enough.”
“You are capable.” The man said. “But you do not have the control required to function properly in the field. You will struggle to learn new techniques and you do not have the Talent to compensate for such a weakness. Not without sacrificing the other things you need to learn. My recommendation is that you be placed in administration.”
~*~
Naruto sat on a swing, idly staring into the distance. He had a headband in his pocket that he had not put on his head yet. It was the wrong colour. Generic black instead of Konoha Blue. He was afraid to wear it and show off his failure. The kids always put him down when he talked about his ambitions to be top nine.
He just wanted a jounin sensei and go on missions. Was that too much to ask? Apparently, it was.
The other kids were greeted by happy parents with enthusiasm and cheer. They were promised celebrations and they were hugged before they were cheerfully kissed on the top of their head. He heard many different plans being made. Finishing the Academy was a rite of passage and each clan had their own traditions.
Naruto should have graduated two years ago. The talent scores of that class were a lot lower and he had jumped on the chance. They had failed him on his taijutsu stances. He had won most of his matches, but they had confronted him on his lacklustre mastery of basic stances. He had spent a whole year fortifying his technique.
Then one year later he had tried again. The talent scores were even worse and he knew he would have been in the top three of graduates. He showed not only his skill, but also his ability to shore up his weaknesses. That should have been enough. But they held him back on his theoretical scores. Though he understood the material, he had trouble memorising the details. So he had spent a full year of torturous study.
He had prepared with the teachers. He knew by now that adults tended to find the smallest excuse to diminish him. He did not know why. Some adults just hated him as soon as they saw him. Some tried to avoid him. Most of them did something worse.
“Hey, buddy. Are you alright?”
Naruto cringed. He did not have the energy to deal with one of those right now. “I’m perfectly fine.”
“Did they hold you back a year? Is that why you’re sad?”
The man was middle-aged and Naruto had never seen him before. “I graduated.”
”That’s great! It’s just, I don’t see you wearing your headband. Don’t you want to put it on? Come on, it’s tradition.”
“They’re giving it to me later.” Naruto lied. “I need to get back inside soon to receive it.”
“Well, that’ll be nice then. Now how about a smile?”
“What?”
“Come on. You’d look much happier if you smile. You’d feel better too.”
Naruto looked at the man, memorising his features. Then he smiled at him. “Yeah, you’re right. I should head inside.”
“That’s a good lad. I’m proud of you.”
Naruto hopped off the stool and went back inside. His grimace returned.
It was the pity that annoyed him the most. Like he had not fought hard to get where he was. Like he had not earned it with blood, sweat and tears.
If he were in a better mood, he would have pulled a prank on the man right away. Iruka might have yelled at him for making trouble on the school grounds, but it was the only way he knew how to break the pattern and change people’s first gut reaction on how to treat him. He would seek the man out later and figure something out.
“I think you need a break.”
Naruto looked up. “Mizuki-sensei.”
“Come on.”
~*~
It was quiet on the roof. They had a view of the kids that had graduated and of a large part of the village. There was the Hokage monument looking over them. The monument he would be part of one day.
“You had my vote.” Mizuki said. He had a drink in his hand and offered one to Naruto. “You definitely had the grades.”
“I lack chakra control.” Naruto groaned. “How could I have missed that? Why didn’t anyone warn me?”
“It wouldn’t do much good. How much would training have helped you?”
“Not a lot.” Naruto admitted.
“Look, we didn’t want to blind-side you. We just worried telling you might make them ask about it. Best to avoid it altogether.”
Naruto sighed. “I just wanted this so bad.”
Mizuki draped his arm over Naruto’s shoulders. “I know. It isn’t fair. If they saw you in action just once, they’d change their mind.”
“That’s all I wanted. To get a real chance to prove myself. None of that useless chatter that doesn’t show off anything important .”
“I’m happy you agree. Because there’s one special way you could get exactly what you want.”
Naruto pushed the man away. “Are you flirting with me again, sensei?”
Mizuku hit Naruto on the back of the head. “That one time did not count, as I keep telling you.”
“But it was so meaningful! So romance! So love!”
“It was so inappropriate.” Mizuke rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I can understand your Henge fooling me into thinking you’re an adult when I’m drunk, but how did the doorman, the barman and every single ninja in that bar get fooled too?”
“There’s a reason it’s my specialty.” Naruto grinned.
He sighed. “Now I don’t want to tell you.”
“Yes you do. You like me too much.”
“You’re a little gremlin and I hate you.” Mizuki said, but he did it with a smile.
Naruto chuckled. There was a reason Mizuki was his favourite teacher. “What’s the alternative you tried to tell me about?”
Mizuku tried to keep up his fake anger, but he relented quickly enough. “You know the top 9 get recruited into teams led by jounin. Three of the village’s strongest shinobi. When these graduates work well on missions, they get promoted to chuunin, then Tobuketsu jounin and finally jounin. They’ll take on students of their own and continue the cycle.”
“Everyone knows that.”
“And you know the alternative path. Working in the administration. Work diligently and you’ll get access to more information. More skills. More responsibilities. You could get any position in power you want.”
“But not the very top ones. They’re reserved for ninja who are injured. Or for family or friends of whoever’s responsible for deciding who gets the job.”
“Hard-working people do get promoted.”
“Of course. Rarely, but often enough that it will seem possible. They’re not stupid.”
Mizuki shook his head. “The point is, these are the two tracks that are arranged by the village. Sometimes people from the field get injured and they are pushed into the administrative branch. Some people excel despite being placed in administration and get drafted to supplement a ninja team that has lost a member. It is all clean and orderly. Now let me ask you. Where do ANBU come from?”
The ANBU were the shadow ranks. They consisted of elite guards that took on secret missions and guarded the village without ever being seen. They wore masks to conceal their identity and they hardly ever spoke. They had stepped in whenever Naruto was under serious risk of attack, as they did for all citizens. Whenever a drunk citizen stormed towards him and threatened to hurt him, there was an anonymous saviour for him.
When he was little, he used to think they were his friends. He had been saved multiple times by a man in a dog mask. Naruto had drawn him a picture in gratitude. He had gone to Grandfather Hokage and asked it be given to the nice dog guardian. Jiji had told him he should not mention the ANBU to anyone, since their patrol routes had to be kept secret. He had not seen the dog mask ever since. It still frustrated Naruto. He should not have handed it over with that many flaws.
Naruto had never quite thought about where the ANBU came from. He hardly thought about them at all. That made it easier not to talk about them. The only exception was after particularly nasty attacks when he needed to get the experience off his chest. Mizuki was a patient listener and Naruto doubted Jiji’s warnings applied to a Konoha chuunin. “Aren’t they just recruited from higher skilled field ninja?”
“You’d think that. But there are a lot of ANBU necessary to keep this big village protected. It’s not enough to draft a few of our ninja into it. Especially since the ANBU don’t generate income like our higher skilled ninja do. And it’s too conspicuous. We do not have many ninja in this village. People pay attention to them. People would notice if they kept disappearing. The ANBU can hardly be a secret organisation if everyone figures out who they are.”
“You’re saying… they aren’t combat ninja?”
“Exactly.”
“Then where the hell do they come from?” Naruto had seen them in action. They could subdue civilians without ever being seen. That took stealth, but also a whole lot of strength. More than any of the administrators he had met.
“Now that’s the question. I know you’re already thinking about it.”
“It’s not clan mumbo-jumbo, is it?”
“No. You don’t need secret knowledge about clans to figure this out.”
There were three options if they were not combat ninja. ANBU could be contracted from outside the village. That guaranteed nobody knew who they were. But where would Konoha even start finding these people? The only people powerful enough to qualify would be missing ninja, known for backstabbing their own village and going rogue. Not great bodyguard material.
The second option was to recruit civilians from Konoha. But if there were civilians training to be ninja without going the administration or field routes, Naruto did not know about them. Which left the third and the most likely. Recruiting them from the administrators. But how could administrators get powerful enough to be an ANBU without ever getting designated as a combat ninja?
Naruto was thinking about this the wrong way. If it was impossible for Konoha to get fully trained ANBU, yet they existed nonetheless, they had to get trained at some point. Then all Konoha needed was potential ANBU candidates. So that was what Mizuki was implying.
“There has to be a third track. Another way to climb the ranks. ANBU would be at the top of that, with lower tiered training positions coming before that. And you’re mentioning it because I’m eligible. You’re telling me that I won’t have to settle as an administrator if I can start studying to be an ANBU.”
“Exactly, my favourite student.” Mizuki ruffled Naruto’s hair. “It’s a secret organisation and it’s surprisingly easy to get in. Most of the challenge is figuring out the possibility exists and learning the specifics of the test.”
“And they won’t keep me out on a technicality? They won’t claim I’m disqualified because you told me?”
“Ah, but I didn’t tell you.” Mizuki said. He went through his pockets and retrieved a small sheet of paper that he handed over. “You were investigating my office for information to extort me into supporting your bid for the top 9 and you happened to find this among my things.”
Naruto looked at it. It was in code, but not beyond Naruto’s ability to decipher. “I don’t sound particularly ethical in that scenario.”
“Trust me. They’d kind of like you for passing the test, but they’d love you for a willingness to uncover information and use it to better your own position. I’ve never been in ANBU, but I’ve heard the stories. They sabotage each other and call it training. They welcome cheating as long as nobody gets caught. They’re looking for people who thrive in chaos and subterfuge. You’d do amazing in there.”
“How do you even have this?”
“I’m supposed to give it to another of your classmates. But they aren’t nearly as qualified as you are.”
Naruto smiled as he looked over the requirements. “I just need to learn one technique from this ‘Forbidden Scroll’? That doesn’t sound too… oh. The Hokage’s office? Really?” Naruto sighed. “I can’t read the scroll there. So I have to steal it first and find somewhere secluded. I’m assuming I’ll be chased?”
“Of course. It’s not just about stealing the scroll. It’s about evading authorities and showing you can be calm under pressure. At least enough to learn a new technique.”
“Okay. This will all require some planning, but okay. I think I can do this. For the final part, I need to confide in a Konoha ninja and suggest a place to meet up. Can that be you even if we’re telling the bureaucrats that I stole this scroll from you?”
“It shouldn’t be a problem. Because obviously you confronted me once you found the paper. I was so surprised, but quickly agreed to become your confidant.” Mizuku chuckled. “Where do you want to meet?”
Naruto gave it some thought. “I can get into the Hokage tower. I can get the scroll. I can get out. I’ll have to figure some way to escape away from the tower. But I don’t know of any place in Konoha where the ANBU won’t find me. That means leaving the village.”
“That’s its own challenge.” Mizuki noted.
“I can do it.” Naruto said confidently. “We’ll meet at the old mine building east of Konoha. It’s abandoned and easily forgotten. It’s easy to see people approach and it’s easy to hide there.”
“Good boy. I’ll be there at midnight then.”
“Midnight.” Naruto confirmed.
Naruto left the roof with a spring in his step. Things were going to be all right.
~*~
“You can’t be here, Naruto.”
Naruto put on his saddest face. He was wearing the black forehead protector so the guard knew that he had not made it into the top nine. “I just want to talk with him.”
“We’ve discussed this. Repeatedly. The Hokage doesn’t have time outside of your scheduled visits.”
Naruto reached into his backpack. “I brought you muffins.”
The guard tensed. “Blueberry?”
“Like I’d forget they’re your favourites.” Naruto pulled out the pastries and handed them over.
The guard looked troubled, before he accepted them. “But this time is really the last, okay? Just because it’s graduation day.”
Naruto hugged the man. “You’re the best.”
“Yeah, yeah. Now shoo and don’t make me regret it.”
Naruto swallowed down the guilt that rose within him. He would make it up to him later. This was a test and he had to think about himself first. He had learned the guard rotations and their favourite bribes because he genuinely liked visiting the Hokage. That he abused that knowledge now was only a fair utilisation of his resources.
Sarutobi-Jiji was hard at work behind his desk when Naruto came in. “I said no visitors.”
“I couldn’t resist.” Naruto said.
Konoha’s Third Hokage lit up when he realised who it was. “And to what do I owe this pleasure?”
“I know you’re busy with all the delegations and I didn’t want to bother you. But today was the Academy graduation.”
The man smiled wider than Naruto had ever seen before. “I can’t believe it slipped my mind. Congratulations, Naruto-kun.”
“Thanks, Jiji. I didn’t make it into top nine, though.” He pouted. ”I thought you said you’d put in a good word.”
The Hokage chuckled. “I’d put in a good word if you didn’t prank anyone this year. So that went out the window after the first week.”
“I lasted more than a week! Nine days!” Naruto laughed. “But then your advisors started heckling you and I couldn’t let that stand!”
The Hokage laughed along. “I never quite figured out how you were able to give them the hiccups. You hadn’t gotten into their food supplies.”
“I had my ways.” Naruto smiled. “Anyway, I know you’re busy and all, but you also need to eat. I brought Ichiraku ramen.”
“I promised I would finish this.”
“But you also need a break.” Naruto insisted. “The paperwork can wait. I know those colours. All the red scrolls are already taken care of. You’re working on orange right now.”
“Orange is important too.”
“Not so important that it can’t wait till next week. Which means it can wait till you’ve taken your break.”
He had a large container to keep it all warm and two bowls which he set out on the desk. He was careful to divide the broth and the noodles equally. Old man Teuchi had balked at selling take-out ramen without any condiments, but it was important that it all went into the same warmth-isolated container. Not like he had a second container for condiments anyway.
“Dig in.” Naruto smiled, using his chopsticks and slurping a huge helping of his own bowl.
The Hokage still looked a bit worried, moving papers around so they wouldn’t get stained, but he joined in nonetheless. They chattered about the graduation process and how Naruto had prepared for it all. It was easy to lose track of time with one of the few parental figures in Naruto’s life.
Sarutobi rubbed his head. “You know, maybe the paperwork can wait till tomorrow. I should probably get some sleep.”
“You sure, Jiji? What will they say when they see you leaving this room?”
“It’s not my first time sneaking a nap in here. Never wondered why I have such a comfortable couch in the corner? It’s not because I care deeply about my guests.”
“Anything I can do to help?” Naruto asked, clearing up the bowls.
“No, but thank you. I should lock up before I go to sleep. It was nice seeing you and we should do this again once the ambassadors have left.”
“Don’t be silly. I can let myself out. Where do you keep the blankets? Is it in that coffer you won’t let anyone in?”
The Hokage took a step towards Naruto, but he was unsteady on his feet. “I shouldn’t be this tired.”
“It’s cause you work so late.”
“Naruto, I know my body. I know when I’ve been drugged. What did you do?”
“Nothing.” Naruto tried again, but he was fidgeting and his mask started to crack. “I was worried about how much you were wearing yourself out…” Even his other lie did not sound too convincing with Naruto’s nervousness so transparently on display.
“How did you even manage it? We ate the same food.”
“I coated your bowl.” Naruto said. “It’s just for a few hours.”
The Hokage tensed. He was clearly about to go into action.
Naruto didn’t have many weapons, but he did have one secret trick up his sleeve.
“Sexy no jutsu!” Naruto yelled out, his body transforming. Henge had always been his specialty. He gave the Hokage his most alluring look, showing off naked skin of a blonde woman nearly twice his real age.
The Hokage’s eyes went wide, his nose started to bleed, and then he passed out.
“I hoped to do this the easy way, Jiji. But it’ll all be worth it when you give me my ANBU mask.” Naruto said. He took a moment to put Sarutobi in a more comfortable position, so he wouldn’t wake up stiff. Naruto was happy enough that the old man had not been hit by anything on his way down. He hid a note on his body for the medic they would call with the name and dosage of the anaesthetic he had used. They would take care of him.
Right, he only had a bit of time. He had to hurry. He went straight to the room behind the Hokage’s desk and started pulling out big scrolls. They were clearly labelled, but it was such a mess that it took him precious moments to find the correct one.
He pulled out a much smaller sealing scroll and stored the larger scroll within. Then he hurried out of the office. He tried to look cool and collected as the guard greeted him.
“Had a good talk, Naruto-kun?”
“Yeah and I’m pretty sure he didn’t mind the distraction.”
“That’s good to hear. Now you’d better get back home and straight to bed.”
“Yes, sir.” Naruto smiled. He moved past the guard, but then hesitated. “Man, you’ve really been keeping him busy. I’ve never seen him look so exhausted. You should take better care of him. Promise me you’ll get him some tea soon?”
“I’ll take care of things.”
Good. The guard would not disrupt him immediately, but he would look in on the old man soon. Naruto walked off at his regular pace, which quickened as soon as he had rounded a corner. To get in, he had taken a slow and very secure path. Now to leave, he took a much more direct route. He knew the guard patrols. It should be safe. But running drew too much attention and he never knew what might be hiding in the shadows.
He was just climbing out of a window when the alarm sounded. They would be coming then. That was fine. He made a seal with his hands and felt his body transform again. He took the time to get this right, since he needed it to last.
He had debated with himself the best form to take. He knew the faces of a lot of random civilians and they would work. But civilians were slow and it was suspicious for any of them to be out so late at night. For ninja, he only knew his classmates and a few others. He had thought about using Mizuki’s face, but being too specific had too many risks. Mizuki was a known ninja and a lot of people knew where he was supposed to be.
The answer was quite simple in hindsight. There was an obvious choice if Naruto wanted to blend in, use the speed of a ninja, yet be a ninja that was only known by a tiny group of people.
He stood taller on the window’s ledge, his trademark orange replaced with the black and greys of the ANBU. He had changed his hair and had included a mask in his Henge. The only one he really knew by heart.
Then he was off. He knew his way through the dark alleys and the back parts of the village. He just needed to get to the Eastern gate. The distance was not that great. Of course, it felt a lot greater once ninja started moving all around him.
He was glad nothing happened. People were looking for orange and a big scroll, not an ANBU member. The few ninja who got close enough gave a cursory look and then moved on.
It was not until the gate that he ran into trouble. The gate itself was too heavily guarded of course. His destination was the maintenance door next to the gate. It was not locked on the village’s side and it had only a small lock on the other side. He had not expected to be approached just as he made for the door.
“I didn’t think you’d be on duty, Hound.”
Naruto stilled and did his best impression of the ANBU. He stood straight and stared stoically at the ninja. The mask had a beak and markings around the eyes that looked like feathers. Naruto remained silent. He had little other choice. He had never heard Hound speak and would not know how to emulate his voice.
“Come on, don’t be like that. I know you like the kid. There has to be a good explanation why he’d do something like this.”
Naruto stood still. Let the guy interpret that how he will.
“Look, I won’t tell. You go that way, I’ll go the other. Okay?”
Naruto had to do something. If he couldn’t speak, he could use his body language. Nodding might work, but it was also informal. The ninja in front of him clearly knew Hound and might ask more questions. But there was another option. He had only seen ANBU communicate with each other three times. They used a complicated language of hand signs which Naruto had found impossible to decipher. But there was at least some signs that he understood. Especially the one sign they used to respond to each other after much longer instructions. He had interpreted it to mean ‘understood’. He flashed the hand sign and hoped to god his hand would not tremble and give him away.
The other ninja used the same sign and then disappeared.
Naruto tried to keep his breathing steady as he slipped into the maintenance door and got out of sight.
The lock was as easy to pick as he remembered. He was out of Konoha. That just left one more transformation.
He used his normal size, but he transformed his clothes. The orange would stick out. He liked wearing it because it stuck out. But here he needed dark greens. He had included body paint in his transformation, making his skin brown and green. It was hard to make his hair an unnatural colour, so he had added a hood to his jumpsuit.
He slipped out of the gate and trod carefully for the first hundred yards. He looked around to be sure nobody had followed him and then he started running.
The hardest part was over. Naruto could cry. He had done it. Everyone said it was impossible for him to do anything. But he had done this. He had proven them all wrong. He was going to be ANBU.
His mind nagged at the encounter he had had. The bird ANBU had not sounded like he was trying to catch Naruto as part of a test or a game. He had sounded like there had been an actual crime.
Naruto pushed his doubts aside. He did not know the rules of this game. Mizuki was his favourite teacher. It would be fine.
~*~
It was hard to read with so little light, but he was not such a fool that he would openly broadcast his location. He had a small torchlight that he held in his mouth as he tried to make sense of the scroll.
Learning a technique was more difficult than he had thought. Which was a testament to the steep entrance requirements of the ANBU path. The first technique on the scroll was an advanced clone technique. He dismissed it as soon as he read the specifics. The minimal chakra requirements were out of this world. He had higher chakra stores than his classmates and probably more than most genin and he would still have to be crazy to try it.
The next was an advanced seal. Naruto had read about sealwork, but he had never pursued it seriously. He had not had the time. He knew how to store items and how to activate an explosive tag and that was enough to pass the Academy’s curriculum.
The next few were high level elemental jutsu, which required a basic training in elemental chakra. Naruto knew he had wind chakra from the few experiments he had done, but resources for more were just not available at his level. The one wind jutsu in the scroll was far beyond his ability to learn in the few hours he had.
It had to be deliberate, Naruto thought. Put all the big flashy jutsu in the beginning. Anyone stupid enough to try to learn those, or impatient enough not to check the whole scroll first, would fail the test by biting off more than they could chew.
Naruto passed over a genjutsu mastery technique. He passed over a taijutsu style of fighting that was so complicated that it required months of training to get the first forms down. He passed over a similar treatise on fighting with weapons that were not available to him.
Then came the studies on bloodline limits. Of course there was an easy option for clan members in here. A small ocular technique only Sharingan wielders could learn. A camouflage technique for the Hyuuga’s eyes. Intermediate instructions for other clan techniques. Naruto knew he was not Chouji and without the Akamichi basic training these instructions for body morphing were useless no matter how much the Multi-size jutsu resembled the henge.
Annoyingly, there was no information about how clans cultivated their talents. Nothing about their spirit guardians other than the same allusions Naruto had read about a hundred times before. The clans were so tight-lipped that their secrets were not even noted in a forbidden scroll of techniques.
Naruto’s hands were getting sweaty as he neared the end of the scroll. So far, there had been a reason to dismiss every single technique he had read about. He lacked resources or basic skills or a bloodline. This was supposed to be his chance to prove himself. Why was he dealing with the exact same unfair clan privilege that he had had to deal with his whole life?
And then there was the very last part of the scroll. Chakra control. Something that was impossible to improve in short amounts of time.
It was done. The scroll held nothing for him. He had failed.
Naruto swallowed. He had to change his thinking. He was supposed to learn something from this scroll. Maybe all the techniques were too advanced but if he learned something, anything at all, he could argue on technicalities. Adults loved pulling that crap on him. Why shouldn’t he return the favour?
His best bet was the chakra control. He would not be able to master any of the exercises, but they were exercises precisely because they gradually showed effect. The bunshin technique was fail or success. But something like the leaf floating they did as children became better the more he practiced it.
He started reading. The scroll mentioned tree walking as an exercise that could be learned in a few days. Water walking built from that as a next step. There was an exercise on air walking as a culmination. It sounded extremely cool and amounted to a double jump feature in real life.
Naruto was annoyed that so much of the space used was on the theory and known instances of air walking. It was pretentious bullshit.
This is pretentious bullshit.
Naruto laughed out loud. There was a little note written in different ink on the scroll.
Here’s some wisdom for this scroll. Non-traditional chakra control exercises, for when your chakra feels more like a stormy ocean than a calm lake.
Naruto was entranced. The writing was not at the technical level of the rest of the scroll, but it was clear and easy to understand. The exercises were simple even.
All his life, he had been judged for having trouble with his chakra control. All his life he had felt like a failure when others picked it up
Other people need to learn to draw from their lakes. That doesn’t work when you’re a lifeboat in a storm and the water keeps moving. You don’t need to worry filling your bucket with water from the waves. The waves are your enemy. They are too wild to tame. Focus on keeping your container still and let it fill itself. The crashing waves will make it rain.
He sat still and discarded all the chakra theory he had been taught his life. That his energy was something he had to harvest. That he had control about how much he took out and that it was just a matter of practice.
Instead, he meditated on the unrest of his chakra. He had always felt it. The chakra reserves he had built were unsteady and chaotic. He always thought the metaphor of the lake did not resonate with him because he was doing something wrong. But maybe it just did not apply to him.
He followed the instructions and he practiced gathering chakra passively. His chakra ebbed and waned. He had learned those patterns years ago so that he would know when to grasp for it. Now, he opened himself up for chakra that was offered and used those patterns to protect the chakra he took within. He knew how much he wanted. He just had to wait as it gathered itself.
Unfortunately, Naruto hated to wait. Time passing without hardly anything to do itched something terrible. He glanced around outside. Nobody was around. It should be fine.
He grabbed his cassette player from his bag and put on some headphones. He left one ear exposed to listen out for intruders and then pressed play. Listening to the songs he had heard a thousand times before soothed him better than anything else could. He went back to work.
The first time it took half an hour, because he kept losing the chakra he had stored when his chakra flared unexpectedly, like a strong wave capsizing his boat. He used the gathered chakra to create two bunshin replicas besides him and they looked nearly perfect. It was laughably easy when he did not have to wrestle with the control threshold.
The second time it took only fifteen minutes. His clones looked better.
He spent two hours like that, gathering up his chakra and using it to create clones. He had gotten better at protecting his chakra. He had also gotten better at passively gathering it. His chakra rained and he learned where it was raining hardest. At the end, he could gather his chakra within a minute.
More importantly, he had made dozens and dozens of clones. Not all of them had been perfect. He had been so focussed on the amount of chakra before, that he had never practiced the shape and size of them. He could work on that now. Because not even one clone had been a dud. His success rate was not at 10 percent anymore.
“Naruto?”
It was not his favourite teacher, but it was a close second. “Iruka-sensei.” Naruto beamed and pulled off his headphones. “I did it. I can show you what I learned and you’ll pass me.”
Naruto started concentrating to show off his new skill.
“Naruto, I…”
“Shhh. I need to concentrate.” Naruto held steady. He needed a little time, but he could do it now.
“Naruto, this is serious. I need to know what you are talking about.”
“The hidden third track. I know you’re not supposed to talk about it, but I found out from Mizuki-sensei. You don’t have to worry about me anymore. I passed!”
“Mizuki-san?” Iruka seemed very confused. “What exactly did he tell you?
Suddenly Naruto was pushed aside and where he had been, dozens of kunai were imbedded into the floor. Iruka had been hit with some of them but was standing protectively between Naruto and the source: Mizuki.
“This has gotten unexpectedly complicated.” Mizuki said.
Iruka gasped. “Mizuki tricked you into getting the scroll.”
“No... it’s an ANBU test. Tell him, Mizuki-sensei.”
“There’s no such thing, you idiot.”
Naruto swallowed as Mizuki put on the meanest snarl Naruto had ever seen. Naruto shook his head. “But you told me. How else could there be enough ANBU to protect the whole village?”
“There aren’t. There are maybe ten ANBU at any time.”
“No... they protect the villagers. Ten aren’t enough to do that!”
“They don’t protect the village. That’s the lie you’ve been told to protect the village’s biggest secret.”
“Mizuki, don’t!”
“You think you are just some random orphan? How wrong you are.”
“I don’t… I don’t understand.” Naruto’s hands were trembling. Mizuki, his favourite teacher, was looking at him as a predator. Like he wanted nothing more than to string Naruto up and cut him open.
“The reason that you are pitied. The reason that you are hated. The reason that people prefer to avoid you all together. And the reason I thought it would be useful to manipulate you. It’s all the same.”
“Mizuki!” Iruka warned again, pushing Naruto protectively behind him.
“Naruto, you’re the new container of the Demon Fox.”
“What?” That could not be true. Could it? Iruka’s pained silence was not reassuring.
“The fox that destroyed the village twelve years ago, that the Yondaime died to stop. He sealed it inside of you and that’s why the village won’t let you fight. You’re their secret weapon. One day they’ll send you out to fight and they’ll expect you to die so that you will release the demon in the enemy’s midst.”
Naruto looked for support at Iruka, but he only looked resigned. “You weren’t supposed to know. It would have been easier for you if you didn’t know.”
Mizuki smirked. “You thought training would solve your issues, but you’ll never learn control. The demon chakra mixes with your own and it poisons you. You think it’s a coincidence you have no talent? The demon destroyed it.”
“Why are you lying to me?!” Naruto asked in desperation. His eyes were wet with tears.
“You’re right. Why am I wasting my breath on a demon?” He flung out his arm and sent a large shuriken Naruto’s way.
Naruto was frozen. He could not move. He knew he needed to get away, but his muscles would not obey him. He just could not escape the mental image of his death causing the destruction of Konoha. Was that what all those ANBU had been thinking when they protected him? That he was a bomb that would go off if someone shook him hard enough?
He saw the shuriken getting closer and his mind halted. At least if he died, he was far away enough from the village that he would not kill all of Konoha’s citizens.
Iruka was suddenly over him, letting the shuriken sink into his back to protect Naruto. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you more.” He said. “At first I was afraid of you. But then I got to know you. And I was afraid if I got any closer, it would hurt too much when you’d be gone. I should have tried harder.”
Naruto scrambled away, running as fast as his legs could take him.
“He’s trying to flee with the scroll himself.” Mizuki said. “I’d be impressed if I wasn’t so pissed.”
“That’s not who Naruto is...”
The voices quieted as Naruto ran away. He dashed between the trees and tried to think clearly. It was clear that he had been tricked. But that hardly registered compared to being told he had the Nine-Tailed fox inside of him.
And all that paled to the fact that his favourite teacher was attacking him. He had almost died and if that was not an indication that Mizuki was lying for some reason…
Except, Iruka had confirmed it. And while he could think of few reasons where Mizuki would lie about this, he could think of even fewer where they both would. And it did explain so much. All the villagers that wished him harm, but never enough to kill him. Or that treated him with rubber gloves, like he was terminally ill.
And Naruto realised that none of Mizuki’s attacks would have been immediately lethal. Even the giant shuriken would have only let him bleed out over the course of hours. If Mizuki was as evil as he now appeared, he would find no issue with letting the demon attack the village while he got away.
His mind was going in circles and it took him effort to focus on his most immediate need. He knew Mizuki was faster than Naruto was. If Naruto just kept running, Mizuki would catch up. And he knew that if his teacher caught up with him, his chances to survive were close to zero. He needed to be smart about this.
Mizuki had seen the direction he had fled in. He had dashed towards Konoha, of course. If he got there, he could alert the guards and he would win. But it was too far away. He could not just head for the East gate. That was the most predictable course to take. The South gate was even further away. He had to weigh the advantage of taking a different direction with the extra time it would take to reach Konoha. Would Mizuki be able to track him? Then the shortest route was still his safest bet.
He was being stupid. He did not need to reach a gate at all. The Konoha walls were manned, especially after the alarm had sounded. He just needed to get to a wall. As much as his desire for safety compelled him, he ignored his instincts and diverted south by a few degrees.
As soon as he was out of line of sight for a ninja taking the direct path, he hid behind a tree and took a few moments to still his breath. He needed to transform. His orange jumpsuit stood out too much. He was breathing so hard even another genin could catch him. It took precious seconds, but slowly he got his breathing back under control. His heart drummed inside of him and it made it hard to focus.
He heard ninja rushing behind him and he suddenly became very aware that even if he had an escape plan, Iruku-sensei did not.
He made up his mind and set off to the fight, already gathering his chakra.
“Why are you fighting for him? He’s the one who killed your parents. He’s the one who destroyed the village!”
“He’s my student.” Iruka said. Naruto had to muffle a painful yell as he saw the state the man was in. He was collapsed against a tree, looking like he should have died three kunai ago. A small trail of blood was coming from the corner of his mouth.
Mizuki laughed. “Don’t you get it? He has the scroll now. He doesn’t need a teacher. The demon got the power he has been selfishly demanding for years. Did you know they almost passed him last year? The demon would have gotten into the top 9 and they were just going to let him.”
Iruka gasped. “You’re the one who leaked his weaknesses.”
“I just gave them some pointers on what questions to ask. Now that he has power in his grasp, don’t you think the demon will use it? He told you he had learned a technique already, didn’t he? What do you think he picked? The demon would pick something truly destructive, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, he would.”
Naruto’s eyes teared up further. Was that what Iruka really thought of him?
“The demon would, but Naruto’s not the demon. You spent so much time with him and you still don’t know him very well, do you? You think he wanted to be in Top 9 because he wanted to be powerful? Naruto just wanted to be acknowledged for his hard work. That’s all he’s ever wanted.”
“What would the demon care about that?”
“Naruto’s not the demon.” Iruka repeated. “Naruto’s my most determined student. And I am honoured to call him a member of the Hidden Leaf village.”
Mizuki stepped forward, but Naruto jumped in front of him. “You touch one hair on this man’s head and there will be hell to pay.”
“You’re not stronger than I am.” Mizuki snarked, jumping forward with his kunai held up. They met in the middle and Mizuki’s blade disappeared into Naruto’s body, passing through harmlessly.
Naruto’s bunshin shimmered and expelled, as Naruto attacked from a different direction, pushing a kunai into Mizuki’s torso.
Mizuki turned around and punched Naruto’s head just as the blade penetrated his skin. The chuunin cried out and grasped at the blade in pain. But the knife was too deep in his abdomen to remove. His other hand pointed a kunai aggressively at Naruto and seemed ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
Naruto jumped back. He was seeing double. The chuunin’s hit had really connected.
“Y-you can’t make clones.”
“I can now.” Naruto said. He tried to stand firm, but he was dizzy and it was hard to keep his balance.
Mizuki noticed the genin would not be able to dodge. He threw his kunai and it lodged into naruto’s shoulder.
Naruto’s body disappeared and in its stead was a wooden log. The real Naruto jumped from on top of a tree onto Mizuki, delivering as many punches as he could before Mizuki grabbed a hold of him and threw him against one of the nearby trees.
Naruto’s spine protested as Naruto got back up. He coughed up blood, which he tried to wipe away with his sleeve.
“You need to run, Naruto.” Iruka said. He was hurt and bleeding, but still thinking of his student first. “I can hold him off.”
“I already lost one of my favourite teachers today.” Naruto said, looking Mizuki in the eye. “I’m not losing another.”
“P-persistent brat.” Mizuki was breathing deeper.
The blood loss was affecting him. Naruto just needed to keep it up. This had just become about stalling him.
Mizuki drew another big shuriken and launched it at Naruto. It cleaved the genin in two, before Naruto’s body was just a cut log.
“Not attacking me again with a counter?”
Naruto’s body ached from his injuries and the escape. He clutched his belly and swallowed to keep down the sick. The Kawarami was uncomfortable and his body protested the second teleport. He needed time before he could attempt a third. This was taking too much out of him.
Naruto waited for his chakra like he had learned. It did not take too long. He had started earlier and held on to it even through the replacement technique.
And then he stepped back out with four copies next to him.
Mizuki looked incensed. “Those bunshin are useless.”
“It’s a situational tactical advantage.” Naruto said. “I saw you wince when you threw that Shuriken. I don’t know how many you have on you, but I know you can’t throw many more.”
“But if I do find you, you can’t do another Kawarami.”
“No. Two’s my limit.” Naruto admitted. “I’m willing to put my life on the line here. Are you?”
Mizuki just smirked. Instead of one of the big shuriken, he grabbed a couple of kunai from his pouch. He made to throw them all at once, but he winced at the pain in his side. He switched to only one blade in his hand.
Naruto held up his own kunai defensively. His clones did the same.
Mizuki made to throw his blade, when orange appeared from his blind side. He turned around immediately to address the demon’s sneak attack, ignoring the pain to throw all kunai at once at the new threat. The blades pierced through the orange fabric of a jumpsuit, with nobody inside.
Naruto and his clones used the distraction to get into Mizuki’s personal space. They pushed another kunai into the man’s torso and then punched and kicked and bit whatever they could get their hands on. Of the five, only one could do damage, but in the chaos there was enough confusion that Mizuki had trouble getting a hold of Naruto.
They struggled on the ground for minutes. Naruto knew he would not get another chance at this and tried to ignore all the damage Mizuki was causing him. Simply wrestling together was making Mizuki bleed.
Naruto’s bunshin shimmered and disappeared. The henge he had formed so that Mizuki would not notice his missing jacket had broken, the excess kunai that he had made the replica from scattered around the ground. Naruto had trouble hearing or seeing anything. There was so much pain that he could hardly think. He just had to push through it. Whatever he did, he could not stop.
“Naruto… you can stop now.”
Iruka’s hand was on his shoulder. The teacher had a limp in his step, but he was holding himself.
Naruto looked down at the unconscious form of Mizuki. Oh. He had won.
He stood up and tried to steady himself. He had a black eye and his hands were sore and mostly covered with blood. His own and Mizuki’s.
The adrenaline left him and he pushed his face into Iruka’s side, blubbering. “I was so worried for you.”
“That’s supposed to be my line, Naruto-kun.”
He sniffed a bit more, before letting go and rubbing at his eyes. “What’s going to happen to me now? I broke so many laws.”
“It’s okay. We know you were tricked. But I am going to need you to hand in that black headband.”
His graduation was being undone. “I… I understand.” He reached behind his head and undid the knot holding it in place. It fell into his hand and he stared at it. The Konoha symbol on metal. He had only worn it for one night, but he was going to miss it.
Iruka took the headband from Naruto’s hand and replaced it with his own. It took a while to sink in. Seeing the same symbol on the same metal, but this time attached to a long band of blue cloth.
“I’m overruling the decision.”
“I-I’m… top nine?”
“Well, I suppose it’s top 10 now. But yeah. They failed you on the bunshin and it’s…”
Naruto tackled Iruka in a hug. The night was far from over. They would have to do a lot of explaining. He knew his wounds would hurt more once the excitement fully wore off. And he would have to think about what it meant to be a demon container.
But for now, he was a graduate who had gotten all he had ever wanted. Life was good for a change. Naruto took the time to enjoy it.
Notes:
I wrote the first book in this series in November of 2019 as part of NanoWrimo. I then wrote the second early 2020, and the third for 2020's NanoWrimo. 200k words are already written and cover canon until the Time Skip. I'll be working on the fourth Arc this upcoming month and I'm super excited. And I hate that I haven't been able to talk to anybody about this. If you're at all interested, please do me a favour and leave a comment :) I'd love the excuse to talk more about this project.
I have not settled on an update schedule. I want to have a draft of the complete story before I fully commit to posting the earlier ones. I'm happy enough with the first 8-16 chapters or so though, so I've got some buffer.
Chapter 2: 1.2. Gimme just a little bit more (Just a little)
Summary:
Naruto meets Konohamaru and things happen that would be illegal outside of the Naruto universe (and probably inside of it too).
Notes:
Nanowrimo's over and the fourth arc of this story is drafted! I'm so happy. It's going to need heavy editing before it's anywhere near posting, but I'm happy it exists now. If nothing else it lets me plan out the rest of the story in more concrete terms. Total word count is currently around 260k and I think in the end it will be around 350k.
I'm planning on monthly updates for now and seeing how that goes :) enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“I refuse.” Naruto said.
“There’s nothing to refuse.” Iruka complained. “You just have to do it.”
“My face is still a mess. I don’t want to be registered like this.”
“It’s an order from the Hokage himself. Arguing with me won’t change anything.”
“Fine.” Naruto said. He got up and put his bandaged arms through his orange jacket. Iruka had patched it up for him, using mismatched shades of orange to cover the holes. His teacher had apologised for screwing up and had offered to buy him a new one. Like a new jacket would be better than this labour of love.
“So you’ll come with me to the picture office?”
“If arguing with you won’t help…” Naruto said, putting on his shoes. “Then I guess I’ll just have to go to the Hokage and argue with him.”
Iruka’s smile faded. “He’s a busy man, Naruto.”
“And right now he’s handling ninja registration. The picture is part of the registration progress. We can talk.”
Iruka sighed. “Fine, but I’m coming along. If you can’t convince him, which obviously you can’t, then I’m dragging you to the picture booth myself.”
As long as he got to yell at the Hokage first, that was fine. Naruto grabbed his weapon pack and they set off.
~*~
“Take the picture, Naruto.” The Sandaime said, hardly looking away from his paperwork. The chuunin besides him looked uncomfortable to be put in the middle of this. But they could blame the Sandaime for not being in his office as far as Naruto was concerned.
Naruto groaned. “Come on, Jiji. What’s so important about it that it can’t wait until tomorrow?”
“Your face won’t heal in a single day.” Iruka said.
“But then the doctor will have cleared me for using the Henge again.”
“Naruto.” Sarutobi said. “Your graduation is an unprecedented change in village protocol. It is being protested at almost every level of the administration, which I’m all fending off for you. This is in addition to the regular mayhem of the yearly registration shifts, finding a replacement teacher for the Academy and all the paperwork involved with your burglary.”
“Can I talk with you in private for a moment?”
“Naruto, I love you like a grandson, but I swear to the founders of Konoha that if you do not get out of my hair right now, I will send out a Hokage decree to close all ramen shops for three weeks.”
Naruto blanched. “You can’t do that.”
“Are you getting out of my hair?”
Naruto sighed, ready to comply, when a young boy stormed into the room.
“Stop avoiding me and give me the hat already!” The boy made it two steps, before falling on his face. “Who set a trap here!?”
Naruto could not help it, he snickered.
“So it was you!” The boy pointed. Behind him a man dressed in black motioned apologetically.
“You tripped over your own feet, brat.”
“I demand you apologise to me right now!”
Naruto did not need this right now. He raised his hands to apologise and the boy actually flinched. As much as the brat was being a loudmouth, he was only a little kid who had just slammed his face against the ground.
“I’m Sarutobi Konohamaru, the honourable grandson of the Hokage! You can’t attack me!”
Naruto lowered his hands. The boy looked a little disappointed at how easily his credentials had worked. Naruto recognised the feelings behind that look. This was a boy who was used to getting whatever he wanted. He could yell about anything and it would be given to him just because of his heritage. Naruto could not relate to that part. But he could relate to others holding back, because they did not see you. They saw something else and refused to look passed it.
When people looked at Naruto, they saw a demon. They saw a container that would lose his life when it was needed. They saw a kid they should treat with gentle hands. When they looked at this boy, they saw the same for different reasons.
That just made Naruto feel worse. He swatted the kid’s head. “I don’t care who you are, you don’t talk to the leader of the village like that.”
Konohamaru looked mortified as much as he was fascinated. “W-well… the senile old man should have retired by now! My talent score is a nine! It’s two points higher than his. I should be in that seat.”
Naruto grabbed Konohamaru’s shirt and lifted him up. The adults around the room tensed and got ready to interfere. Naruto only had eyes at the boy in front of him, who was getting increasingly afraid as Naruto stared at him. “What did you just say?”
“Let go of me!”
“You think you can take the Hokage in a fight?”
“Who cares about fighting?” Konohamaru protested. He was pulling on Naruto’s hand, but it did not give. Not with that little strength. For all the boy’s boasting, he did not even use any of the Academy’s standard techniques to escape from the grip. “My potential is higher than grandpa’s. I need to become Hokage as early as possible to become the best at it.”
“And what will you do if an enemy grasps you like this? When you can’t even defend yourself?”
“I-I’ll learn…” Konohamaru tried.
“You think talent’s worth so much? You have a higher talent score than me too, you know. I’m lower than the Hokage, but I still managed to render him unconscious a few days ago. Unlike what you’re capable of. How about you land one hit on me and I’ll let your comments slide?”
“Naruto.” Iruka warned.
Naruto held Konohamaru for a few more seconds. He saw the ninja looking at him like he was dangerous. He had not realised how much of his temper he had just lost. He masked his displeasure with a huge grin on his face, bringing out tickling fingers to Konohamaru’s exposed belly. “What a silly child you are.”
“Stop it!” Konohamaru giggled.
Naruto let go. Konohamaru landed on his bottom, crawling back towards his teacher. The ninja around his looked annoyed at Naruto now. That was much better than intimidated.
“I need to get my picture taken.” Naruto said, walking off with his hands in his pockets.
Konohamaru looked after him. “Nee, Ebisu-sensei. What’s that kid’s talent score? He said it was lower than the Hokage’s, but it’s still pretty high, right?”
“I’m not sure…”
“His score is a 1.” Iruka said. “But he just graduated as one of the best ninja of the year.”
Konohamaru did not know what to think about that.
~*~
Naruto was wandering the streets. His body itched to get to the training areas. He was falling behind on his peers every day he let his body rest. He wished he could just do something, but he knew he had to fight those instincts. When he was eight he had broken his arm. He had not been able to stand the two weeks of rest his doctor prescribed and had started training after a single week. He had exasperated the injury and added another month on the recovery.
It sucked to fall behind, but he had to listen to the doctors to prevent it from getting worse.
He heard giggling behind him and he had to suppress the urge to respond. The boy, Konohamaru, had been following him for a while. The Academy student tried to act sneaky, but he was giving off too many tells. Not the least of which was the constant giggling as if he was gloating all the way.
“The ‘best ninja’ has no idea I’m following him.”
Okay, too much. Naruto turned around and looked straight at him. “Going to try to land that hit?”
The boy startled, but then approached. “My teacher’s been hounding me. He has only half my talent and he doesn’t understand that I’m a lot stronger than he thinks.”
“What’s he got you on? Chakra control?”
“Yeah. It’s so frustrating. I can already perform a jutsu. Why do I need to work on my control, you know? So I told him I’m skipping his lessons till he promises to teach me something better.”
“You’re… skipping lessons.” Naruto rubbed at his eyes. “And what, goofing around?”
“Learning to draw, actually.” He said defensively. “I’m getting quite good at it.”
“I’m sure you’ll make a fine artist when you’re older.” Naruto said, turning to walk away.
“I-I don’t understand you.” Konohamaru admitted.
Naruto shrugged. “You wouldn’t be the first.”
“Someone said your talent score is a 1. They were lying, right?”
Naruto turned back at the boy and shook his head. “What of it?”
“How can you be telling me off then? My talent’s a nine. If I trained just one hour a week, I’d still be getting stronger faster than you.”
“You’re wrong.”
Konohamaru had to blink. “You don’t understand. That’s just how talents work. My talent score’s a nine. That means that I practice one hour and I get the benefit as if I’ve worked nine hours on it. You have to spend nine days practice getting the same results I get in one day.”
Naruto shook his head. “Why don’t you practice two hours?”
“That doesn’t work.” Konohamaru explained slowly, as if he were teaching a toddler. “It’s not healthy to learn any longer. And not possible either. You can only practice an hour each day. The rest gets taken care of by your talent. You waste any extra effort you put in.”
“And that’s how I win.” Naruto said.
Konohamaru looked confused.
“Let’s say you listen to your teachers and practice every day. I have classmates who do just that. You get nine hours of skill in each day, right? Say you wanted to get ten hours.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Humour me. How would you do that?”
“I guess… I’d have to practice for ten hours.” Konohamaru looked sick to his stomach.
“So for you, the difference between nine hours of skill and ten hours, is the difference between one hour of practice or ten. For me the difference is smaller. If I’ve already practiced nine hours, what’s another hour added to that? You can practice every single day, Konohamaru, and I will still be ahead of you.”
“Y-you can’t be serious. Nobody can practice that long each day.”
Naruto shrugged. “I was always behind on my classmates. I had to work as hard as I could just to keep up. It took work to get to eight hours of practice each day, the highest talent score my classmates have. But then, the next step wasn’t hard at all. And I started gaining on them again.”
“H-how long have you been practicing for ten hours a day?”
Naruto laughed. “I’ve passed 10 a while ago. Most days I get closer to fourteen.”
“Are you a machine?!” Konohamaru shook his head vigorously. “When do you even rest? Play games?”
“I gave all that up.” Naruto said. “Because I don’t want to be a good ninja. I want to be the best. I want to become stronger every single day until I can take the Hokage on in a fight. I won’t beat him with the promise of future potential or any other idle promise. I’ll prove myself to be the stronger one. I’ll become so strong that nobody can deny the seat should go to me.”
Konohamaru’s brain seemed broken.
“My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I will be the next Hokage.”
Konohamaru’s eyes were wide. Naruto had never seen his Hokage declaration have this much effect. Most people just started laughing at him. Konohamaru looked… he looked like he actually believed it could be true.
“H-how did you do it? How did you defeat grandpa?”
“My own technique. A variation of the henge.”
“T-teach me. Please.”
Naruto smirked. “I thought a talentless boy like me wasn’t worth your time?”
Konohamaru flinched and mumbled something, his face turning red.
“What was that?”
“I was wrong.” The boy said softly.
“Yes, you were.”
“I’m sorry about the things I said. I didn’t think it was possible to get strong without talent. But I still want to be the Hokage after grandpa and that means I need to be more like you.”
That startled Naruto. That was not the usual reaction from people realising the reality of his situation. It took a few seconds before the surprise turned into indignation. “And what do I get from this?”
“Wh-what?”
“You realise what you’re asking? First you wanted to dismiss me as nothing for having less talent, now you’re claiming my time as if it were nothing because you have changed your mind. Do you realise that every moment I’m teaching you, I’m not training myself?”
“You’re injured. You can’t train!”
“I can’t do anything physical. I was going to going to go to the library and do research.”
Konohamaru pouted. “Please, sempai? I don’t have an allowance yet, but I can do anything you want!”
“I want Ebisu.” Naruto said.
“Why’d you want that boring guy?”
“He’s a professional trainer. He’s being paid to tutor you and you’re not using it. So I’ll take him off your hands.”
“I need my training too...”
“I thought you found him boring? If you’re not using him, then why shouldn’t I?”
Konohamaru looked troubled. “He’s mine. I need him. Even if I don’t like what he’s teaching right now.”
Naruto huffed. “Well, I wasn’t talking about anything permanent anyway. I teach you today, and I want Ebisu for one day. And every day that you skip on training or can’t for some reason.”
“Deal.”
“Then let’s walk. Time’s a wasting.”
~*~
It felt nice to be on the training ground, even if he was not allowed to do much himself.
“What now?”
“Show me your henge.”
“Easy. Who do you want to see?”
Someone familiar so Naruto could judge how well it had gone. “The Third Hokage.”
Konohamaru made a hand seal and his body changed. Konohamaru wasted chakra. Naruto could tell by the amount of smoke. The smoke was thick too, which implied he was not using all of the excess he could to compensate for his control issues. It was obvious why Ebisu wanted him to improve there.
Sarurobi looked at Naruto with wide youthful eyes. “Impressive, right?” The hokage said in Konohamaru’s high-pitched voice.
“It’s passable. Currently at 45%.”
The boy rolled his eyes. “The Academy needs it at 40. It’s good enough.”
“Good enough to pass. Which isn’t how I’m judging it.”
“It’s good enough to fool others, then. Don’t be a stickler.”
“Konohamaru, you have the mole on the wrong side. That’s a basic mistake. The wrinkles are wrong. Most importantly, your posture and body language are off. Your own grandfather should be someone easy for you to get right. You need to work on your observation skills.”
“I’m the best in my class.” He looked childishly indignant, which looked very strange on the Third Hokage’s face.
Naruto sighed. “I’m not saying it’s not good compared to your peers. With your talent score, it’s easy to stay ahead of the people you’re in contact with. But this is your wake-up call. Better than your classmates is not going to be enough. The enemy won’t neglect these flaws because it isn’t fair to judge you outside of your class’ curve.”
Konohamaru lowered his look.
“Just, close your eyes for a second.”
Konohamaru listened.
“I want you to transform into me. But not right away. Really think about what I look like. Remember…”
“Can I dismiss the current Henge?” Konohamaru asked, slightly out of breath.
“Sure, but keep your eyes closed.” Naruto said. Had he not given permission for that yet? Teaching others had looked simpler than it really was. “Now, remember all the little details you can. Remember the first time you saw me and what stood out. Remember every time you looked at me and noticed something new. Got it? Then use the Henge now.”
There was more smoke and then a copy of Naruto stood before him. There were many little mistakes, but Naruto did not point them out.
“You know where it went wrong?”
Konohamaru nodded as he looked at the boy in front of him. Shades of colour were off. His weapons pouch was on the wrong side. Konohamaru took close to a minute staring between Naruto’s real body and his own flawed copy, taking note of all the details he had not been able to visualise with his eyes closed. Then he let the shape drop and fell back. He was sweating from the exertion.
If this were Naruto, he would have to keep repeating the exercise, but Konohamaru had more talent than he wanted to use.
“Next exercise. Transform into a naked woman.”
“WHAT?!”
“The sexy no jutsu relies on distraction and introducing an extremely graphic image at an unexpected moment. With good timing, you can even knock out a Hokage.”
“R-right.” Konohamaru concentrated as he got back up, but his posture was weakened. “Can we take a break?”
“I get it’s tiring for someone your age to do multiple techniques right after another and hold them for more than a few seconds. But I do need to know how far you can get. We’ll break after your attempt. Just hold it for a moment.”
The area around Konohamaru filled with smoke. And then in his place stood a taller woman. She seemed sweaty and a little misshapen. The breasts were uneven and the nipples were in the wrong location. She also had a penis. Which was not wrong per se, but Naruto assumed it was not an intentional choice.
There was more smoke and then Konohamaru fell back on the ground exhausted. “Ebisu... never... made me... thrice!”
Naruto nodded. “You haven’t seen a naked woman before, have you?”
Konohamaru blushed, hiding his face with his hands. “Where would I have?”
“Of course.” Naruto kneeled near Konohamaru and offered his back. “Get on. Careful for my shoulder.”
“I can... walk. If you... give me a minute.”
“We’re wasting time. And we have some distance to travel.”
Konohamaru huffed, but climbed on Naruto’s back anyway. The boy was very careful at first, taking several seconds to relax. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be doing anything physical?”
“I’m not supposed to exert myself. Carrying around an eight-year-old doesn’t count.” Naruto had to suppress a smile. Compared to his normal weight training, this was nothing.
The boy settled on Naruto’s back. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll need to do some research on what a naked woman looks like.”
“So like... a bath house?”
Naruto stumbled. “You think they’d like it if two boys walked in and asked to see some naked women?”
Konohamaru’s tried to bury his face into Naruto’s jumpsuit to hide his embarassment. “W-we could turn into women first.”
Naruto sighed. “I don’t really have time to get into how inappropriate that suggestion is.”
There was silence between them as they walked a few more steps.
“Actually, it’s going to bother me if I don’t.”
Naruto spent most of the way lecturing the boy on the importance of consent and bodily autonomy. He explained thoroughly why it was very wrong for him to suggest they trick women in order to gain access to their bodies, and even more wrong to then reproduce those bodies publicly without their knowledge.
Whenever Konohamaru looked like he was tuning Naruto out, he made sure to ask probing questions to make sure the information was actually sticking inside of his head.
“Now, the philosophical concept of ownership of someone’s body gets a little muddier when you get inspired by multiple bodies and then create your own amalgamation, but not muddy enough that you should feel comfortable in that ethical grey area.”
“I apologise, all right? Stop wasting my talent on all this.”
“The girls in your class are going to thank me when you don’t grow up as a pervert. Most of Konoha will, actually. We have far too many of them.”
Konohamaru pouted, finally taking in where they were. “Then where are we going? I thought the whole point was that we needed resources that were freely available, like the library?”
“Not visual enough.” Naruto said. “And still not a solution. Whichever woman consented to having the image of their naked body reproduced in print, did not extend that consent to us for displaying it publicly.”
Konohamaru groaned.
“You’ll understand tomorrow, when the words have sunk in. For now, we’re going to the women who helped me out.”
“You actually asked someone to see them naked?”
“Not like it was inappropriate. It’s their job, kind of.”
Konohamaru still sounded confused. “So like an art studio? With naked models? This doesn’t really look like the part of town to have establishments like that.”
Naruto smirked. He could feel the exact moment that Konohamaru realised they had walked into a brothel. He walked right up to the reception. “Hey, is Natsu available?”
The woman leaned in a little closer to whisper. “Just with a client at the moment, but you can wait in the back. I brought in apple pie today.”
“Score! Thanks madam!”
Konohamaru tried not to faint as he was placed on a chair in the back of a brothel. He had a plate with pie in front of him and started eating without thinking.
Naruto was amicably chatting with the women around them. They all wore expensive make-up and wore fancy kimono. Konohamaru had never seen such beautiful women in his life.
“Hey, Himiko. Got any new Shounen Jump trading cards?”
“Not a single fucking one. Those assholes are stacking the decks. Shitty company. Keep an eye out for me?”
“Always do.” Naruto smiled.
“Naruto!” Natsu came in and ran at Naruto for a hug. She looked much like the other women there, but her hair was long and ashy blonde. It was done up in a ponytail on the back of her head. “How’s my favourite little ninja?”
“Amazing. I got into top nine! But it’s a long story.”
“That’s awesome! I’m so proud of you kiddo.”
“And you know I have to tell you everything, because I used the Sexy no jutsu.” He beamed.
She lit up. “Did you make some geezers uncomfortable?”
“Incredibly!”
“Lovely. And who’s your little friend?”
Konohamaru swallowed. He gave a little wave. At least nobody recognised him here.
“A little punk who wants to learn the sexy technique.”
“Ah, but what about payment. If I just go around sharing my wily ways, that really takes the punch out and you won’t give me any more of your interesting stories.”
“Well, he’s the Hokage’s grandson and he’s in contact with stuffy people every single day.”
Natsu was sold.
~*~
They retreated into a separate room where Naruto told the whole story. Natsu snorted repeatedly. At one point she got bored listening normally and draped herself upside down on her chair by twisting one limb at the time. Naruto kept talking like she did it all the time. The ease with which she moved her body while keeping an impossibly precise balance, she probably did.
“... so then the Hokage was unsteady and about to shout for his guards. And boom, sexy lady right in his face.”
She squealed in delight. “Was there a nosebleed? Please tell me there’s a nosebleed!”
“With your body? Of course there was.”
She looked at Konohamaru then. “So, you came here to learn about the female body.”
Konohamaru’s face felt warm as he nodded, trying not to stumble over his words. “Naruto-sempai taught me that I needed to ask a woman if I was going to base a technique on her. So… can I, Natsu-san?”
“Very good. We’ll get started right away.” She said happily slipping off her kimono.
Konohamaru covered his eyes instinctively.
“You can look, silly.” She said.
Konohamaru peeked and saw the woman in front of him, now wearing nothing but a bikini. She was not actually naked.
Naruto chuckled at the confusion. “Konohamaru, we’re trying to teach you something, but you’re still only eight years old. There won’t be any nudity until you’re a teenager. Until then you’ll just have to use chakra smoke to make people think you’re not wearing anything.”
“R-right.”
Natsu twirled around, showing off the different angles of her curvy body. “You have a high talent score, right? Then you’ll just need to study my body a bit and try once.”
Konohamaru nodded and took in all the information he could. As much as he thought he would eventually get yelled at for coming here, while he was here he ought to take advantage of the opportunity.
After a few minutes, he made the hand sign and transformed into a decent copy of the woman.
“Hmmm, not quite at Naruto’s level, but it’ll have to do.”
Naruto nodded. “Drop the henge, before you pass out.”
Konohamaru was panting when he released it, but still standing. “I don’t understand why it’s so hard. I should have recovered from before.”
“It’s the size difference.” Naruto said. “Because you’re making yourself bigger, it takes more chakra and you feel more uncomfortable in a body that is not your own. It’s better not to use it in any combat situations unless you’ve practiced it a lot, like I have and like you will if you know what’s good to you.”
Natsu put her robe back on.
“Thanks for showing me, Nee-san.”
“You’re quite welcome, but don’t think we’re done yet. How much time do you have left with your talent?”
“About twenty minutes.” Konohamaru said. What else was there to learn?
“If you’re going to be using that body to shock people, I want you to use it well. Naruto, lead me off.”
“Gladly.” Naruto said, as he made a half turn towards Konohamaru and blew the boy a kiss. He froze the position.
“Notice the curve of Naruto’s back.” She began. “This is one of twenty subtleties of this position and we’re going to go through each one. And then you can try it.”
“You want to fill twenty minutes with… sexy poses?”
“Don’t be silly.” She grinned. “Sexy poses and pole dancing.”
~*~
Naruto and Konohamaru sat by the river side, snacking on a stick of dango. It was early in the afternoon and the sun felt nice on their faces.
“You sure he’ll find us here?” Naruto asked.
“Positive. This is one of Ebisu’s routes.”
Naruto hated to admit it, but he had fun. Though he regularly went to Natsu to catch up and get a refresher, there were a lot of basics he had forgotten the specifics of over the years. She was an actual expert in her field and Naruto was only imitating her.
“How’d you end up knowing those women?” Konohamaru asked.
Naruto shrugged. “It was all a long time ago. I think I was around six years old? I had trained for too long and made my way back home in the dark. There was a guy attacking a woman and I jumped in between. He was only a civilian, but he was still twenty years older than I was. I would have lost if the woman hadn’t helped me fend him off.”
“That was Netsu-san?”
“No. It was Himiko. She was grateful and brought me back to the brothel to bandage my wounds. The women there took a liking to me, Natsu most of all.”
“Why’s that?”
“Natsu isn’t just an erotic dancer. She is actually the brothel’s muscle. She spent a few years at the ninja Academy, but she didn’t graduate. It was her job to keep the other women save, but she was sick in her bed the night Himiko got attacked. She felt guilty that I got hurt doing her job and was convinced she had to pay me back somehow. Ever since, we’ve looked out for each other.”
Konohamaru nodded. “She was really nice. I’m glad I got to learn from her.”
“Yeah.” Naruto smiled. “Me too. Do you think you’re ready to go back to learning chakra control?”
“I didn’t get the point before, but I do now. I’m going to be the only Academy student able to do the Sexy no jutsu and I waste far too much chakra on the transformation. I need to be better than I am.” Konohamaru sighed. “But are you sure it has to be done with boring chakra exercises?”
“Not all training gets to be fun. The only way to become good at something is to keep doing it again and again. There’s no way around it. If you want to be the best ninja, you need to be the one who has done the most training.”
“I understand, Naruto-sempai.”
Their fun was interrupted when a man dressed in black appeared before them, looking exasperated to find them just sitting there. “Honourable grandson! I’ve been looking all over for you. Will you please, please take your lesson today before it’s too late?”
“I already used my talent time today.” The boy said. “Naruto taught me.”
The man gawked.
“And I promised my lesson time to him as repayment.”
“Y-you can’t just… you’ve already missed too many!”
“I know.” Konohamaru stood properly in front of his teacher and bowed. “I apologise for my absences, Ebisu-sensei. After today, I’ll do my best to follow your lesson plans.”
“Wh-what?”
“He’s a good kid if he wants to be.” Naruto noted. “Just needed some sense forced into him.”
The man in black blinked profusely. “Then I thank you for whatever you did.” He nodded. “Right, if we’re going to do this then I suggest we get started as soon as possible. We’ve only got an hour. What would you like my help with?”
“Nothing specific, especially since I’m not allowed to use chakra or exert my muscles until tomorrow.” Naruto said. “I want a second opinion on my lesson plan.”
“So… an intake?”
Naruto nodded. “Konohamaru promised me he’d send you my way whenever he’s unavailable to train. And considering we only have a little bit of time, I’m helped more with a proper plan I can work on by myself, than any small pointers on technique you can give me in an hour.”
Ebisu seemed to consider this. “Meet me at the training ground behind the library.”
“Can I come?” Konohamaru asked.
“You’re willingly coming along to another lesson?”
“It’s not like you’re teaching anything. I want to see Naruto’s lesson plan.”
“Fine.” Ebisu decided. “Though I’m very curious now what you spent your talent on today.”
Naruto and Konohamaru shared a look and telepathically decided they would never speak of the specifics. “Tips on henge.” Naruto said.
“Observation skills too.” Konohamaru added.
“Nothing untoward or scandalous.”
“N-nothing at all.”
The chuunin in front of them was experienced enough to know something was up, and smart enough not to ask any more questions. “Let’s just go.”
~*~
The training ground behind the library was more of a garden than an open space. There was a stone trail laid out and a brook running across it. Every part that was not kept empty, was filled with bushes or large trees.
Though the garden was often filled with Academy students, so close after graduation there were not many students who had decided to forgo celebrating. There was the Cherry blossom tree by the water where Sakura was reading. Because of course she was. And Naruto recognised a few more students scattered around the ground.
There were several places they could choose to sit and Ebisu brought them to the one furthest away from the library. The most secluded, which would have meant most quiet. But it was right next to the sozu.
“Can we go to the other side?” Naruto motioned.
“I like the sounds of the bamboo hitting the rock.” Ebisu said. “It’s calming.”
“It’s distracting.”
“Well, you’re the client.”
They moved to a clearing a little further away from the fountain. There was still sound all around him, but Naruto felt like he could handle it better. He could handle it even better if he could put on his headphones, though he doubted they would get rid of the sound completely here. This was why Naruto preferred to go inside the library and use a private room. The isolated walls helped immensely. He even had a favourite, the one in the basement. They had never gotten around to decorating it and it was completely barren. Naruto loved it.
“Show me what you’ve got.”
Naruto pulled out his notebook and took out the loose papers that were tucked in. He spread them over the wooden table in front of him. There were a few diagrams and graphs, but they were mostly lists.
Ebisu took a few minutes to go through it all and then he sighed. “I need to know who your regular trainer is.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know who made these plans, but I know they need some serious re-education. They are incomplete, inefficient and unclear. Who made them?”
“I know they can use a little work, okay? That’s why I’m asking you to look over them.”
“Look, Naruto. I just want a name. You clearly paid money to have these made and you deserve a partial refund. No professional trainer has an excuse good enough to put out work like this.”
Naruto huffed. “I made them myself.”
“You what?”
“I did it myself, okay? I didn’t have the money to have them made, so I looked up how to do it and then I made these. I mean, Iruka-sensei helped a little when I got stuck and when he had the time.”
Ebisu looked over them again. “You read The Complete Guide to Training Guides?”
Naruto nodded, petulant.
“That thing’s horrible to understand without prior knowledge.” Ebisu said. “I’m surprised you managed to get this far with only that resource. Do you have your notebook out? You’ll need to get The Training Guide Compendium and Training Graphs for Genin. They’re not up-to-date, but they’re a much better resource if you’re learning for the first time. A bit advanced, but it looks like you could handle if you got this far with the Complete Guide. If you want to make one for someone else though, you’ll have to request the Standards at the Hokage’s office. The rules themselves are too compact, but there is a supplement for the general population that explains the requirements extensively.”
Naruto scribbled along quickly. “I’ll check all that out.”
“Have you considered certification?”
“I’m not at that level.”
“Read those books and you will be. Now, moving on to the content. You still seem to be working on everything equally. Have you not chosen a specialisation yet?”
“I do not have any resources.” Naruto said. It was the trainers who held all the vital lessons. The closest he had ever gotten to specialisation techniques was the forbidden scroll. Which he was never to look at again, according to the Hokage, three ANBU and the Jounin commander. “Which means working on perfecting the basics.”
Ebisu shook his head. “You’re a genin now. You do have some choices.” He looked over the papers again. “You mentioned that you gave Konohamaru-kun pointers on the Henge, but I do not see anything but minimal practice time allotted to it.”
“There’s nothing more to learn.” Naruto said.
“Likeness?”
“Flawless after examination.” Naruto said. “Three repetitions if I only have casual observations.”
Ebisu looked sceptical at that. “You’re not exaggerating your own abilities just because I can’t test them, right?”
“I’m quoting the Academy test scores.” Naruto said.
“Volume manipulation?”
“Up to double my own size.”
“Chakra waste?”
“Less than 5 percent.”
“Less than 5? Then you’ve learned the chakra recycling techniques?”
“I had to. No matter how much I train, I can’t get a consistent amount of chakra with active retrieval. Before I learned to recycle, I sometimes lost double the chakra I had to.”
“Sensible.” Ebisu noted. “Have you tried shrinking?”
“You can’t condense matter like that.” Naruto said. “All the Academy books said so.”
“It requires the extended hand seal combination, first discovered by the Second Hokage. It’s uncomfortable and a little dangerous. I wouldn’t suggest it if you had not progressed this far already.”
“That would really expand the possibilities.”
“It’s only the start.” Ebisu said, taking a loose piece of paper and writing down close to a dozen books. “I can’t recommend you learn something drastically new without proper supervision in the beginning stages. But improvements on The Academy Three are safe and they will get you far. More importantly for you, these skills are common enough for the instructions to be widely available while rare enough to count as a specialisation.”
“Yes, sensei.” Naruto had never considered literally making his specialisation out of the basics.
“Then, on to taijutsu.”
They spent their time going over every small part of Naruto’s training list. Ebisu recommended a ton of books and they were all scribbled down in one long list. Especially when they talked about his theoretical knowledge. There were gaps in Naruto’s understanding and Ebisu expertly figured out where they were and how they could best be cured. He in particular recommended books on memorisation techniques.
Naruto could not demonstrate any techniques with his current injuries, but he did run through some kata. Ebisu complimented his form and pointed out the small areas that needed work. Ebisu easily demonstrated the correct way to do it and once again had plenty of recommendations ready to advance his skills.
When it came to Naruto’s control, he did not understand how the boy could have such a poor grasp on quantity control when he was able to use what he took so easily. Naruto explained it was because of the volatile nature of his chakra, alluding to his demonic passenger.
“I see… that’s quite unusual.” Ebisu stroked his chin, looking off into the distance. “It’s ingenious to use a passive collection method instead. Where did you say you picked that up?”
“It was written as a note on a scroll with high-level techniques.”
“I know that’s not where I read it.” Ebisu closed his eyes. He was silent for close to a minute as he racked his brain for the answer. Eventually he hit his hand with his fist. “Chakra poisoning. There are some rare substances that can poison not only your body, but your chakra itself. The best course of action is to wait for a trained medic. But if the team’s medic gets poisoned, they would have to be able to use their chakra to heal themselves. The principle was explained in a footnote. And it recommended another text to learn more about passive chakra collection: The basics of senjutsu: blending yin and yang with nature.”
Naruto stared at the man with big eyes. “How did you remember all that?”
“It’s my duty as a teacher to know how to help my students. I don’t know how much the book will help you though. Senjutsu is notoriously dangerous. Without a proper teacher who can dispel the nature chakra from your body, it is guaranteed to leave you petrified.”
“I’m not scared.”
“Different kind of petrified.” Ebisu clarified. “Turned to stone as if you prayed too intensely for your husband to return.”
“I’ll look into it. I prefer my body made of flesh, thank you, so I won’t attempt anything that potentially lethal.”
Ebisu looked over all the books again. “I might have overdone it a little. This looks like it’s close to a year of material.”
Naruto made a widely different estimate. “Thank you for all the help.”
“It was a nice break.” He admitted. He motioned to Konohamaru. “Teaching someone who values my presence.”
The boy had fallen asleep somewhere in the middle of theoretical discussions about pedagogy and was currently sleeping while using Naruto’s lap as a pillow.
“He just let his talent get to his head.” Naruto said. “I sometimes wish I had that luxury. I take it he doesn’t spend a lot of time around people outside his class?”
“He has two close friends in his class that he likes to spend time with. He’s isolated beyond that.”
“He needs to get to know more kids that are a little younger than he is.” Naruto said. “I think I motivated him a bit today, but he gets compliant.”
“Wouldn’t older kids work better?”
“He has the excuse that they’re older. But I think there are three clan kids in the class below him? They’ve got a rivalry going on and I think they’re almost at Konohamaru’s overall level. I know they’re better in some areas. If that doesn’t scare the boy, I don’t know what will.”
“I’ll make sure to introduce them to him.” Ebisu gently picked up Konohamaru. “It was nice meeting you, Naruto-kun.”
“You too, sensei.” Naruto gathered everything up and cracked his neck. “Now I think I should get started.”
~*~
The library’s basement was perfect. Naruto took in the silence and let himself calm down as he took out his bento and started on his late lunch. He had the list of all the recommended books in front of him and he was reorganising it on a new sheet of paper. The recommendations had come by category, but he needed them by order of importance.
After his lunch, he grabbed as many of the books as he dared and set down in the basement. The stack was large and it was all important. He took out his cassette player and switched it to songs without lyrics.
And then he indulged himself by starting on the one book that had not been on the list.
Kyuubi: The Nine-Tailed Demon fox.
If he was going to be the host of a demon, he should know more about it.
Notes:
Natsu's name and profession is a reference to the amazing 'An Invincible Summer' from Shanastoryteller, in which Natsu is the name of Naruto's female form in the sexy no jutsu (which Naruto uses almost permanently).
So, canon has Naruto dragging Konohamaru into a bath house to look at naked women and I don't want to say a brothel is good, just that it's better. And that Naruto was going to keep him safe and trusts the women who live there with his life.
(Also, he's very much looking forward to the moment where he can drop in casual conversation to the Hokage that his grandson went to a brothel at eight years old. He thinks he'll need to be at least a jounin before he can outrun the outrage, but the look on Jiji's face will be worth it!)Next update: January 2022.
Edit: If you still have questions about talent, check out this educational pamphlet that Konoha parents of the talented get.
Chapter 3: 1.3. Face of beast, face of clown (Masquerade)
Summary:
It's time for Naruto to meet his new team.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Naruto entered his apartment, sweaty and exhausted. He had woken up early and had decided he could use the extra time to run a double marathon instead of a single one. His shoulder still ached, as the doctor said it would for at least a month more. Mizuki had wounded him more seriously than a few nights of rest could heal.
It did not help that his cassette player had run out of battery life a few blocks from his home. Running was most enjoyable with music to help him dream away, but now he could only focus on the pain of his shoulder drumming with the impact of foot on ground.
Naruto put away his training shoes by the door, before walking into the apartment proper. His eye instantly fell on a bill he had placed on top of a closet in the hallway. It was not where it was supposed to be. He picked it up and put it near his desk with the other paperwork that he would look at next Sunday.
He took a quick look around to make sure nothing else was out of place. His couch was busted, but it had been that way when he got it. His wooden furniture was scratched up and had stains that no amount of cleaning could get rid of. But there were no reminders he had made himself in the inappropriate places. Nothing else that he knew he would forget if he left it out wrong.
The checking was supposed to alleviate the unease, but it did not work half as well as his books told him it would.
Naruto’s shower was freezing and it made him shiver. It felt nice on his sore muscles after his morning run. He used the fancy soap and the good shampoo. He did not want to smell sweaty when meeting his new team. Or when he was kicked back into administration, which was apparently still a possibility.
Both the Hokage and Iruka had stood up for him, but there was still resistance to a class with a top ten. And though the two men wanted Naruto in, they did not want to get rid of the girl who had placed ninth and had already received her blue headband. So they had made it a problem for the jounin to deal with.
Naruto dried himself off and got dressed. He debated wearing something black, but dismissed it quickly. He had not struggled to make his way to the top graduates, only to hide once he got there. He would be his normal boisterous self and take orange as his personal colour.
After breakfast he still had time left. He felt too much unrest to read and he had already exhausted his body. That left him sitting on his couch and crossing his knees in a meditative position.
He had made many assumptions about the demon when he had first been told about it. He had assumed it had made its first appearance when Konoha got destroyed. That was wildly inaccurate. The history of the Kyuubi was long and complicated. It had lived for many centuries, described in legends as a natural disaster. Over the years, its attacks became more vicious and more frequent no matter how many sacrifices were made in its honour. And it was named a demon.
Then ninja learned how to seal it up and it was only ever mentioned again in wars. It was like a resource, used and stolen again and again.
Naruto knew that the host had to die to release the Kyuubi. He knew each appearance meant the death of another ninja that had sacrificed themselves.
Another thing he had gotten wrong was the assumption that the demon would passively sleep within him. In one anecdote, Konoha had a perfect plan to trap it after it had been released. The demon showed clear prior knowledge and was able to injure dozens of Konoha ninja before it was captured again. At least it was still a success, according to the book. More enemies were hurt than allies, after all.
It also left the possibility that the Kyuubi was aware right now and seeing everything that Naruto was seeing. He felt like he had to check.
Stilling his mind was hard, but he had a lifetime of practice. The next step was supposed to be like rising above himself. That was significantly harder and he had not managed so far. Naruto felt like he was making progress, if slowly. He had a better sense of his chakra pathways in his body at the very least, of how they flowed through him and how they tangled. How his nodes prickled when he focused on them, eager to be used.
There were two great tangles he had difficulty with. The first was in his head, where the pathways shifted together with his thoughts. The more frustrated he got, the more those pathways rumbled and got away from him. The other was in his belly and it had the opposite problem. Where he could grasp the chakra, it held onto him tightly and threatened to never let him go again.
A timer went off, which meant Naruto had to leave. He picked up some books he needed to read and added it to his bag. He locked the apartment behind him and went on his way.
He did not live far from the Academy and it felt nice to see the gate again. He had many bad memories of the place, but it was still something uniquely familiar that he would be giving up.
His old classroom sounded busy before he entered it. After, it was silent.
There were some confused looks directed at him, for showing up wearing the blue hitai-ate. None of them said anything though.
“Hey everyone.” Naruto said with a big innocent smile as he sat down in his regular seat.
Sasuke and Sakura were off to the side. They were the year’s top graduates with almost perfect scores in every category and a total over 290. She had a firmer grasp on theory and he had a leg up in the physical tests. Their totals were tied. As was usual for them, they took the new development in stride and continued talking amongst themselves without any worry.
They looked differently out of their Academy uniforms.
Sasuke had hair as black as the crows his clan was famous for and it always demanded Naruto’s attention. It was clear he had it cut within the last few days. He wore a blue shirt the shade of the signature Uchiha colour, the clan icon of a fan embroidered on the back of the high collar. He wore white arm sleeves with that same blue highlight and a pair of white pants. Naruto had heard it was significant that Sasuke had chosen not to wear any red, but Naruto had not been able to find out why.
Sakura’s hair, pink like the cherry blossom she was named after, was framed no longer with a ribbon but with her hitai-ate. She had taken red as a clan colour and wore a qipao dress with the white circle that was her current clan symbol. Her bright green eyes always observed the world around her with patience and kindness.
With scores like they had achieved, it made sense of them to sit separately like they were better than the rest of them. It was hard to argue with the numerical evidence.
Ino was much nearer to him. She had done up her long blond hair in a ponytail for the day, wearing a purple dress. Naruto could tell she was extremely curious about what Naruto was doing there.
“What are you doing here?”
Naruto could not help but smile. Trust Ino to be direct. “They decided I should get a shot anyway.”
Chouji and Shikamaru were trying not to stare, but they visibly reacted as they listened in. Shikamaru had put his black hair up in a bun, while Chouji had tamed his wild brown hair with a modified forehead protector that wrapped over the middle of his head. Shikamaru wore his clan’s dark greys with the clan symbol painted on the back. He was also stubborn enough to be the only one in the class to wear his hitai-ate on another place than his head, having chosen to tie it around his upper arm instead. Chouji had his clan’s green as a jacket, the Akatsuki clan sign painted bright and big on his white shirt.
Ino tilted her head. “So that makes it… what, top ten?”
Naruto shrugged. “They didn’t tell me exactly what they had in mind.”
It was Chouji that broke the awkwardness. “Did you guys read the latest Shounen Jump?”
None of them seemed too worried. Ino was fifth in the ranking, Chouji seventh and Shikamaru eight. They were still guaranteed their spots.
There was one more group in the classroom. Shino and Hinata sat at the centre of it. They would have made top shinobi and top kunoichi any other year. They had no flaws in their techniques and they both had extensive help using their talents to their utmost abilities.
They were who Naruto thought of when he had warned Konohamaru not to let his guard down. Two people with a high talent who had realised too late how much it would hurt them in their Academy careers to skip days or to spend their talents on non-shinobi matters. They scored around 90% across the board, with a total over 270, and they would be versatile ninja that Konoha was lucky to be getting.
Naruto had gathered there was some expectation that they would be outperformed by Sakura and Sasuke because Hinata and Shino had larger clans, though Naruto had failed to figure out why that should be. Clans tended to get sensitive when Naruto asked questions about talent and none of the books he had read described anything that was not common knowledge. Naruto already knew that the Uchiha were of the crows and the Hyuuga of the owls. Yet those were the only kind of facts that Naruto could find.
With them was Kiba, just under Ino at sixth place of the year. What made him special was that he was the only one besides Sasuke who had gotten a perfect score on the physical tests. That made him better at taijutsu than Sakura and therefore the only one in class to get a better category score than one of the top two.
The dog boy caught Naruto staring and gave Naruto an accusing look. Naruto quickly looked another way. He felt his face flush. Kiba always brought out memories of the past he would much rather forget. He hoped they would not end up on the same team.
And then finally there was Hanabi, Hinata’s little twin sister. She was in ninth place. Where Naruto had great scores, but one flaw that had excluded him, Hanabi had decent scores across the board but no category she excelled at. She had landed sixth place for her ninjutsu skills, just under Naruto. Shikamaru had a lower physical score than she had and Kiba had a lower score on theory. Her final score was just over 200, which usually guaranteed a spot in the top nine and, depending on the year, a good shot for first place.
This year was different.
She was talking within her group, but she also gave frequent glares at Naruto.
Naruto honestly did feel bad for her. She was a branch member in a year full of heirs. She had something to prove much like Naruto had.
It even showed in how meticulously she had dressed. Though her hair was the same shade of black as Hinata’s, it had always been wilder. Yet she had clearly put effort in modelling it as close to her sister’s style as possible. They both wore fur-lined jackets with their clan’s beige colour. Hinata’s fur was white, signalling her as the higher ranked of the sisters. Sitting next to each other, it was easy to see how some could mistake them for identical twins. Their appearances were quite similar.
“Silence everyone.” Iruka came in, followed by two jounin that Naruto did not recognise. “Thank you all for being here on time. The jounin will now select their students in order of seniority. But since Kakashi is late, as usual, Asuma-san will have first pick.”
The man was massive. He had a smile on his face holding a cigarette and a beard that surrounded his chin. Naruto recognised the name as Sarutobi’s son, who had spent many years at the Daimyo’s court as an elite bodyguard. He had come back and there was speculation that he intended to make a bid for the Hokage’s seat.
He looked like he was contemplating his choice, but it had to be a show. The jounin were given files on each of the graduates. That meant he was showing respect by pretending to find this choice more difficult than it really was.
“I will take Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino.” He said.
He had decided on a team with three heirs then. It was a difficult challenge to balance the needs of three students, especially with a politically minded team. The history of these clans made the collaboration easier, without diminishing the esteem. It was a sensible choice.
“Your turn, Kurenai-san.”
She wore white clothes over a mesh shirt. Her black hair framed her face and she had red eyes. Naruto recognised the name vaguely. She was a new jounin and she had not been featured in any public reports yet.
“I’ll take Hinata, Shino and Kiba.”
Naruto did not know what to think of the selection. It was uncontroversial. Easy. It left Naruto with the uncertainty of what happened next, though at least the worst-case scenario had been avoided.
“Thank you both.” Iruka said. “That leaves four students who will be assigned to Kakashi-san.”
Hanabi raised her hand. “Does that mean the team will have four genin?”
“Possibly.” Iruka said. “That will be up to Kakashi.”
The jounin retrieved their teams and left the room.
“Kakashi should be here soon, but I’ll ask around.” Iruka said.
The four sat awkwardly apart from each other. Which was ridiculous. Naruto decided to make the first move, going towards Sasuke and Sakura and sitting with them. He had hardly sat down before Hanabi followed his lead.
“Sorry you guys weren’t picked.” Naruto said.
Sasuke shrugged. “We’re still ending up with the senior jounin, so that’s fine with me.”
“I don’t get why the other two passed up on you though.” Hanabi said. “Isn’t it traditional for the top ninja to be picked first?”
“Not always.” Sakura said. “But nineteen times in the last twenty classes. In this instance I suspect Asuma-san had other priorities. Kurenai seemed nice, but I think she didn’t want to bear the responsibility or scrutiny involved with picking us.”
“But now you’ve ended up with a branch member.” Hanabi said. “I apologise for that.”
“Or someone who’s clanless.” Naruto said. “Which I won’t apologise for, since it’s just a factual statement.”
“Why are you even here?” Hanabi asked. “You were rejected.”
“I was.” Naruto admitted. “But they were wrong. I should have been in fifth place based on my score alone.”
“I had the points too.” Hanabi argued. “Enough that in any other year I would have placed at least in top three.”
“It was a very competitive year.” Sakura said, diplomatically. “But Naruto, you didn’t answer the question. What happened between the graduation test and today?”
Naruto rubbed the back of his head. He was not allowed to tell the whole truth, but he had been given somewhat of a cover story. “It turned out Mizuki-sensei had provided the interview panel with unauthorised information about me. It broke with procedure and he got reprimanded.”
“I heard he was arrested for treason.” Sasuke noted.
“That’s only slightly related.” Naruto lied. “As part of the reprimand, they audited his administration and found some illegal dealings.”
“Mizuki was a respected ninja. He wouldn’t do something like that.” Hanabi said.
“I was there when they arrested him.” Naruto said. “He showed his true colours in the end.”
“Ninja can be good actors.” Sakura said. “Just a shame the Academy is going to lose him. He was one of the better instructors.”
Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “So yeah, to prevent a hassle they tutored me on my failing points and gave me another shot.”
“That would be the bunshin, right?” Hanabi smirked.
“Yeah. Even with the extra help I’m only decent at it.”
“Worst in the whole class, I recall.”
“That was before the tutoring.” Naruto protested. “Now it’s at an acceptable level.”
“Sure Naruto.” Hanabi rolled her eyes. “Because a few days made a huge difference.”
Nartuto stood up straight and glared at her accusingly. “Are you calling me a liar?”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t presume malice, but I maintain the factual inexactitude of your impetuous declaration.” She had the most wicked smile on her face as she recited the fancy words her Hyuuga instructors must have tutored her with, daring Naruto to respond.
Naruto did not miss a beat, stepping a little closer and into her personal space. “I reaffirm my statement as it was voiced, with a caveat for facts unknowable to my person, and demand you make a retraction and agree to a covenant against replicate offences.”
Naruto might not have any Hyuuga tutors, but he had supplemented his Academy education with all he needed to know to assert himself.
She growled, before pushing Naruto away from her. He missed his footing, turned around clumsily to try to regain his balance, only to crash right into Sasuke. They fell to the floor in a tangle of limbs, with Naruto on top of the Uchiha. With Naruto’s lips on Sasuke’s. Naruto immediately scrambled away.
The boys stared at each other, completely horrified what had just happened.
“I’m sorry.” Naruto said.
“You should be more careful.”
Naruto rubbed at his lips. Just a few years ago he would have been ecstatic if his pretty Uchiha classmate had kissed him, no matter the circumstances. He would have been happy to get a kiss from anyone. Now he could think of nothing but the irony on how long he had lectured Konohamaru on consent.
Hanabi was going to pay for pushing him. The Sexy no Jutsu during one of her fancy Hyuuga functions would do the trick.
“I’m sure we’ll see Naruto’s clones soon enough.” Sakura said, breaking the silence and urging everyone to pretend nothing had happened. “I wonder what our new sensei is like.”
“Hatake Kakashi.” Sasuke provided, trying to settle back into his seat. His hair was ruffled and he had never looked more lost in a classroom. “He’s an elite jounin.”
“The Hatake are of the dogs, right?” Sakura asked.
“Yes.” Sasuke said. “Kakashi is currently its only member.”
Hanabi leaned in. “I’ve heard that he graduated at age five after just one year in the Academy. His talent score must be off the chart.”
Sakura giggled. “I’ve heard he was taught by the Fourth Hokage and is a popular choice to become the Fifth.”
“He has a Sharingan.” Sasuke said. “And he has used it to copy over a thousand techniques.”
“I’ve heard he’s a giant pervert.” Naruto said. His mouth ached from where it had crashed into the Uchiha’s face and it was making him grumpy.
The others blanched.
“He has a reputation of being late and always carrying a porn book with him. Rumour has it that he’s using his talent to learn sexual techniques from it.”
There was a voice above them. “I see that I will not like any of you.” Kakashi hung over them, his feet secure on the ceiling. He had grey scruffy hair and a large part of his face was hidden. The lower half because of a cloth mask attached to his shirt, like a stretched-out turtleneck. His headband was crooked and covering one of his eyes. On his belt was a little orange book that had earned him his reputation.
Naruto’s face turned red. “H-hello, sir.”
“Meet me on the roof in five minutes.”
All four of them nodded, but the jounin had already disappeared.
They were screwed.
~*~
“Let’s start with introductions.” Kakashi said happily, as if nothing had happened before. “Your likes, your dislikes and your dreams for the future.”
“Why don’t you show us how’s it done, sensei?” Sakura asked.
“No problem. My name is Hatake Kakashi and I like a lot of things. I dislike people who presume to know me based on rumours. And my dream for the future is to be the Second Hokage.”
Hanabi tilted her head. “The second?”
“It’s about as likely as me accepting to be the Fifth.” Kakashi shrugged, before pointing at Sakura. “Now it’s your turn.”
“My name is Haruno Sakura of the panthers. I like reading and meeting new people. I dislike it when people are rude without good reason. My dream for the future is to cultivate my talent and create a prosperous new clan for Konoha.”
“You’re a genesis, aren’t you?” Kakashi asked. “First of your clan?”
She nodded. “My mother was blessed by the Panthers when she was pregnant with me. She and my father are both successful merchants and they were able to finance my lessons from an early age.”
“I see. Onto Sasuke-kun.”
“My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I tolerate Sakura, because she is the only one of my peers whom I consider competition. I dislike people who insist wasting time on pleasantries when we all have better things to do. My dream for the future is… justice for the Uchiha clan.”
Kakashi motioned for Naruto next.
“I’m Uzumaki Naruto.”
Sasuke rolled his eyes at the presumption.
“We’re doing formal introductions today, Naruto.” Kakashi said.
It was not fair. “You already know I don’t have a clan.”
Sasuke shook his head. “Yet the way you introduced yourself made you sound like you’re from a noble clan. Do it properly.”
Fine then. “I’m Uzumaki Naruto without a clan. I like taking care of my plants and listening to music and training to become stronger. I dislike people making assumptions about me or making me jump through hoops for no good reason. My dream for the future is to be Hokage.”
The other three kids groaned.
“What, it is!” Naruto pouted.
Kakashi moved on to the final student.
“My name is Hyuuga Hanabi. I like spending time with my sister and people who acknowledge me as more than just a branch member of the Noble clan. I dislike people who do not follow the rules. My dream for the future is to become strong enough that I can take some of the burden of Hinata’s shoulders.”
Kakashi took in the four children in front of him. It looked like he had several questions for them, which he all decided not to ask.
“I’m sure you all want to know how we are going to move forward, as the only proposed teams with four genin members that has ever existed.”
Eager eyes turned to him.
“We will hold a test tomorrow, at training ground 3. At the end of that day, I will tell the Konoha administration whom I’ve selected for my team. I expect to see you there at sunrise. I suggest you skip breakfast, unless you like the taste of bile.”
Kakashi disappeared without a trace. It was uncanny how good he was at that. Which left the four potential members of team 7 looking awkwardly at each other.
“Guess we’ll see each other tomorrow then.” Sakura said, before standing up and moving to one of the railings to jump off the roof.
Sasuke was next to go, using the railing as a stepping stone as he jumped down to a tree and further beyond that. Show-offs.
“Hey, Hanabi-chan, I’m sorry things are going like this. I hope there are no hard feelings no matter what happens tomorrow.”
She looked at him sharply. “I was promised a place in the top nine. I don’t know what kind of nonsense you pulled to get here, but I will not let you screw this up for me. My name is Hyuuga Hanabi of the owls. I like to show rambunctious pretenders exactly how much stronger I am than they are. I dislike you and everything you did to worm yourself into the top 10. And my dream for tomorrow is to crush you so badly that even the administration won’t take you anymore.”
She stormed off towards the stairway and made her way down.
Naruto swallowed. That could have gone better. But, he supposed, it could also have gone worse. He dreaded the test Kakashi would give them, but he also still had most of the day to train. His nerves had calmed considerably and he had recovered from his morning run. There was a lot he could do.
To start with, he would explore the Third Training Ground. He had only been there a few times before, but usually a genin team had already claimed it and Naruto had wasted the trip there for nothing. He knew it was larger and more isolated than the training grounds inside the village proper. It was also the perfect space to practice his new technique.
He could use every advantage he could get fighting against Hanabi. She was ranked lower than he was, but that was on the Academy scoring system. Hanabi had the Byakugan which gave her special eyesight and increased awareness around her. She also had probably learned some clan techniques that she could not use in the Academy spars and which would not have counted in her scores.
Naruto had no idea what Kakashi’s test would entail, but he doubted he would use the standard Academy examination rules to score them.
After six years trying to build up his basics to get into the group of Top Graduates, he now had to follow Ebisu’s advice and specialise.
He needed to be stronger. He needed a better Henge.
~*~
Naruto woke up early again the next morning. He took a lighter run and then made breakfast. It was early enough that it would all have digested by the time Kakashi tested them. What was left over, he boxed up for lunch.
It was hard eating before five in the morning, but Kakashi had made it clear they would need the energy. Skimping was not a choice.
He went through his kata in the apartment, using a mirror to check his form. He went through several chakra control exercises. The senjutsu book had been immensely helpful in that regard.
Nature chakra was all around everyone. Living things produced it simply by being. Some sensors could use that chakra to find any creature they wanted. Learning to see and use that chakra were advanced techniques, but the early preparations were easier. Before one learned to receive nature chakra, you had to learn to receive your own. There were several chapters on the nuances of that alone.
The most useful tool was a method of recycling that allowed the collected chakra to be returned to the body without spending it. It meant Naruto could practice retrieving chakra without exhausting himself before a battle with a jounin.
His bunshin’s looks still needed work, but he could practice that another time. The important part was that he got the timing right. He had gotten it down to fifteen seconds the day before, but he was back to twenty now when he tried it again a day later. Those five seconds mattered.
When he was confident he was back at that level, he tried another kind of meditation. He got no further with either the tangle in his head or the tangle in his belly. Just that ever-present feeling that if he got too close, it would grab hold of him and not let go. His timer let him know that it was time to leave.
He grabbed some reading material and went off to the bridge.
He was the second one there, Sakura leaning against a pillar with a book in her hands.
“Morning, Sakura-chan.”
“Morning, Naruto-kun.” She kept her eyes on her book, turning a page.
Naruto sat down beside her, taking out his own book.
“It never ceases to amaze me how much time you can spend on reading that kind of literature.” Sakura noted. “That one is especially dry.”
Naruto huffed. “You spend more time in books than I do.”
She smiled. “This is a thrilling science fiction story about lesbian space pirates that I’m reading to relax before a trying exam. You appear to be reading a textbook on genjutsu defence applications.”
Naruto shrugged. “Best way to relax is by preparing for the future.”
“What are you trying to do?”
“Access my mindscape.”
She lowered her book. “Whatever for? I know it’s not hard to learn access, but it takes more skill than even I have to permanently change the appearance and make it an appropriate defence.”
“I don’t need defence.” Naruto said. “I just want to have a look at it.”
“I see...” she closed her book fully. “Want to try together?”
Naruto shrugged. “I just wanted to read up on the theory. I’m having some trouble.”
“Can you describe it to me? I don’t mean to pry, but you’ve made me curious now.”
“Can’t see how it’d hurt. I’ve narrowed it down to my first or my sixth chakra point. One seems to flee whenever I get near, the other feels like it wants to trap me in place. I’m not sure which one of them I should focus on.”
She considered it for a moment. “You might have two mindscapes. It sounds like your head doesn’t want to behave until you know yourself better. That usually implies you need to wait until you’re older. The torso is your better bet. If I remember my chakra gates correctly, it probably requires your grounding.”
“My grounding?”
“You say that it’s trying to trap you? I think you need to let it. Svadhisthana can get blocked by fear. You need to ground yourself in courage. Surrender to the chakra point and I suspect it will lift you up into your mindscape.”
“What if it doesn’t let go?”
“Then I’m right here. I may not be an expert yet, but retrieving someone from themselves is child’s play.”
Naruto nodded. Not like he had been making much progress on his own. He got in a meditating position and focussed on his chakra.
He noticed Sakura had taken out her book again, but she was using one hand to hold his. Like a tether keeping him in place. It was calming.
By the time Sasuke and Hanabi arrived, he had tuned out too much to hear anything they said.
He finally found the tangle in his tummy and he surrendered to it. It felt menacing but he could tell it was still his own chakra. It grabbed him and then spread over his body. His ankles, his wrists. His whole body was submerged. Naruto turned up, wondering when he would ascend.
And then the chakra sunk him down.
His first instinct was to fight. He felt the void lurking below and it was hard to believe there would be anything left of Naruto if he entered it. But beyond it all he still felt Sakura’s hand. And he trusted her.
He let himself be taken.
~*~
His feet felt wet, standing in a layer of cold water that covered the concrete ground. There was no light, but he could still see around him, like the forest under a moon sky.
The walls were covered in symbols, rows and rows of them. None of them looked familiar.
Ahead of him were thick iron bars. A gate in its middle had a large scroll placed on it that said it was locked.
Beyond those bars was only darkness. Until the darkness stirred. There was a loud grumble and Naruto was assaulted with a wave of undiluted hatred.
It felt hard to breath, even as his logical mind told him he would not have to here. He was frozen in fear as two large eyes appeared behind the bars, glowing red in the dark.
Then the demon swiped at the metal and crashed its paw against it with a great explosive sound. Another wave of hate.
Naruto’s mind was filled with images of parents killing their children. Of diseases decimating entire villages. He saw Mizuki’s skull crushed in because Naruto had not stopped punching when Iruka told him to. He saw himself taking revenge against Hanabi for her comments and cackling wildly at how good it felt.
He saw misery and death.
He screamed.
~*~
Naruto gasped awake, breathing too hard and too shallowly.
Sakura had her hand on his shoulder and chest. “Breathe. I’m right here. You’re safe. You’re back.”
Naruto did not want to dwell on what he had seen. He was back. He needed to ground himself. Sakura helped a lot. The sunrise on the horizon helped too, just like the sounds of animals in the distance.
It took several minutes, but slowly he stopped hyperventilating. Feeling returned to him.
“It was a heavy one, huh?”
Naruto nodded.
“Do you have something to drink?”
Naruto moved sluggishly to his flask and stared at it.
Sakura opened it for him and then brought it to his lips.
Sasuke actually looked worried. “Did you break the dobe?”
“The exercise can be intense.” Sakura said harshly. “This isn’t an unusual first reaction.”
“I-I’m okay.” Naruto said.
“What was it like?” Sakura asked.
“Hard to describe.” Naruto hedged. “A little like a sewer. Very intense.”
Hanabi giggled. “Your mindscape is a sewer? Fitting.”
Sakura glared at her. “If he decides to share the form of his private mindscape, you’re not allowed to respond in ridicule. The First Hokage’s was the outhouse of his childhood home.”
Naruto stared into the distance. He was still shaking.
“I don’t think you should do that again while we’re waiting for Kakashi.” She said. “He could show up any time now. Or hours from now, if his reputation is to be believed.”
“Hours?!” Hanabi looked aghast. “Then what was the point of telling us to skip breakfast?”
“That’s not what he said.” Naruto noted. “He said he recommended we skip breakfast because he would make us work out. I woke up early so I could still eat a big breakfast and it would not be a problem.”
“It was basically an order.” Hanabi said. “Trust the class clown to ignore it.”
Sasuke shrugged. “I had a light meal.”
Sakura looked apologetic. “I think you’re the only one who didn’t eat at all this morning.”
“You think I could eat now?”
“It’s a gamble.” Sakura said. “You’d need time to let it digest or it would hurt more than it helped.”
Hanabi grabbed a lunch box from her backpack, but eventually decided against it.
“Didn’t your dietician help you?” Sakura asked.
“Didn’t have time to ask her.” Hanabi said. “She was working on Hinata’s meals.”
“Don’t you have your own dietician?” Sasuke sounded affronted. “The Hyuuga are wealthy enough.”
“It took long enough for my father to vet this one. Not many around who are versed in techniques of Hozen-ryori to his satisfaction.”
Sasuke sighed. “How often have they been unavailable for you?”
“She makes my meals every day.” Hanabi quickly said. “It’s just, only around once a week that I have a chance to discuss my specific program for the week.”
“That’s not good enough.” Sasuke said. “You need to demand more of her time.”
She shook her head. “Hinata comes first.”
Naruto leaned back against the wooden post as they continued the discussion. It was hard to care that Hanabi might get too little support from her dietician when Naruto had needed to figure everything out himself.
“Look, I understand that the two of you are in special positions, but there are other things to consider for me.” Hanabi said. “Hinata’s the heir and my duty is to support her.”
Sasuke did not look like he agreed. “And where does that leave your teammates?”
“You’re not even my teammates yet.”
“And if we will be? Will the team’s sake always be subservient to the needs and desires of your sister?”
“Not the team, just me.”
“If you’re a part of team 7, there’s no difference.” Sasuke said. “You’d hold us back.”
“Well, it’s either me or a talentless nobody.” Hanabi said. She glared at Naruto.
“At least I want to be on this team.” Naruto said. “I’d give it my everything. Not just what was left over from my sister’s scraps.”
“Don’t talk to me about family. You have no idea what it’s like.”
“No, I don’t suppose I do.” Naruto put away the book on mindscapes. He did not want to think about the demon inside of him any more than the demon that was talking to him.
“You’re hungry and it’s affecting your temper.” Sakura said. She reached into her pack and pulled out a small nutritional bar. “You’re going to eat something and wait on the left side of the bridge till you’ve calmed down.”
She gawked. “I’m not the one who’s the problem…”
“And you Naruto.” She seemed genuinely angry. “You don’t have the same excuse she does. It’s an unfortunate situation the two of you are in, but you’re going to apologise to her now.”
“She’s the one who started it!”
“You’re the one who escalated.” She said. “If you don’t apologise, I’ll have to ask you to wait by the right side of the bridge.”
Naruto rolled his eyes. “I’m not…”
“Apologise.”
Naruto took a deep breath. Then he grabbed his book and walked over to the other side of the bridge, away from the other three. He read better in silence anyway.
~*~
Kakashi did not show up in an hour. Not in two. Naruto caught them trash talking Kakashi after the third hour, trying to summon him like they had in the classroom.
It was not until the fourth hour that he finally showed up, asking them to follow him as if he had been perfectly on time. He ignored every protest the genin threw at him, simply waiting for them to finish berating him before changing the subject. It was infuriating and highly effective to get them positioned in the middle of the training ground for an explanation of the test.
“Today will be a test of combat prowess. Anything goes within the rules that I set out. But before we get to that. I’d like to get your opinions on something. Who do you think should be sent back to the administration branch?”
“Naruto, obviously.” Hanabi said.
Naruto joined in. “And I’d have to say Hanabi, of course.”
“What about you, Sakura?” Kakashi asked.
“I think it’s unfair of you to ask this. We’re having a test today precisely to determine which one of them deserves to be here.”
“Ah, but that will just answer which of them can perform better in my test. I’m asking for your opinion.”
“I think they’re both capable ninja in their own rights.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“I don’t…”
“Naruto should be sent back.” Sasuke said.
Naruto grimaced. “Teme.”
“Hanabi was promised a place with top nine first.” Sasuke said. “It’s most fair she gets the spot.”
“Yeah.” Sakura admitted. “I’m leaning that way too.”
“I see.” Kakashi said. “Well, on the bright side, there’s a chance both of them can join Team 7. I have three bells with me today. You will have an hour to retrieve them. At the end of the hour, whoever has a bell, will be a member of Team 7.”
“Then how could we both join?” Hanabi asked.
Sakura swallowed. “Sensei, you’re saying you’re not guaranteeing a spot for Sasuke and me?”
“I’m not.” Kakashi said. “I base my opinion of people on merit and nothing else.”
“So what’s the catch?” Sasuke asked. “You said you’d lay out the rules.”
“There are no rules to limit you. But I am a jounin of the Hidden Leaf Village. If you want to stand a chance stealing something I’ve decided to protect, you’d better come at me with intent to kill.”
Kakashi set a timer and put it down on a log between them.
“Begin.”
All four genin disappeared.
Notes:
Naruto gets his first glimpse of the Kyuubi. Sakura would be suspicious, but Naruto is not known for his genjutsu skills. The poor sweetheart having an adverse effect to going into his mindscape is just naive Naruto being Naruto.
I needed a tenth character and I chose to use Hanabi instead of somebody completely new. Hanabi is aged up to be a fraternal twin of Hinata, but still the younger sister. She's currently an obstacle for Naruto to overcome, but also a girl who works hard in the name of her sister and her clan.
Naruto is slightly obsessed with test scores, because he spent so much time fighting his way up into top 9. He can recite precise scores for every single one of the graduating genin, but he has trouble even remembering the names of anyone else he shared a classroom with. Besides Natsu who was there for Naruto, Ino was a friend as well. Which means that Naruto is used to hanging around Chouji and Shikamaru as well. It's going to be hard for Naruto to still spend time with them when there's no longer an Academy forcing them into the same room, but it's another move to soften the childhood Naruto's had at the Academy.
Sakura is powered up to be the same strength of Sasuke. Which we'll get to see in action next chapter when she gets to fight for a bell. Unlike canon where she gets the arc of realising she's not nearly as strong as her teammates, she gets to be Sasuke's mirror. Sasuke is the last member of the Uchiha clan, Sakura the first of hers. They are both strong rivals for Naruto to compete with and are both working under the pressure of their families.
As clarification, ninja are expected to introduce themselves as 'x of the y' where x is their name and y their clan animal. Sasuke, Kakashi and Hanabi are allowed to use only their name because it's assumed general knowledge what their clan animal is. Sakura has a brand new clan and does have to call herself of the panthers. Naruto not explicitly stating himself as clanless is impolite because he's claiming a higher status than he has akin to calling himself Doctor Naruto without a medical degree.
(Hanabi using her title 'Hanabi of the owls' later is used as an insult to Naruto. She's explicitly naming her clan animal to imply Naruto is so stupid he wouldn't even know that the Hyuuga have owls as their animals).
Chapter 4: 1.4. A man without conviction (Karma Chameleon)
Summary:
Bells are tested
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Naruto had shifted his colours. He was brown and green and hidden within the trees. He had his face pressed against rough bark as he observed the jounin and tried to come up with a plan.
Kakashi was just standing there and reading from his perverted book, seemingly content to let the genin come whenever they wanted. Time was wasting away and the longer that went by, the harder it would be for them to get the bells in time.
Naruto did not know where his potential teammates were. He presumed they were hiding and watching like he was. Just getting a bell seemed daunting, but it seemed even harder when he realised he needed to make sure Sasuke and Sakura would get one too. Both of them were skilled and able, but neither stood a chance to win against a jounin under normal conditions.
The man in front of them was faster and more skilled than any of them. He had more experience. It reminded him of his battle with Mizuki.
Which gave Naruto an idea.
They did not need to overpower him. They just needed to keep him busy long enough so that he would get so exhausted that the jounin started making mistakes.
They needed to use this time to attack him as often and long as possible. The worst thing they could be doing was leave him alone to read his porn in peace. Which was exactly what they had been doing.
He wondered if the others had reached the same conclusion. He doubted Sasuke was doing anything other than waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The Uchiha would have usually teamed up with Sakura, but Naruto had clearly seen them move in different directions at the start.
Sakura would be more willing to attack, but she would never make the first move. She wanted to see someone else fight Kakashi so that she had a better sense of what to expect.
Hanabi usually underestimated herself. If this was another test at the Academy, there was a good chance she would run down the clock thinking up possible plans of attack and dismissing them all for having a too low chance of success. But, she had something to prove now. She still would not act recklessly, but she would eagerly follow up after someone else had broken the ice.
Naruto sighed. If nobody else was going to do it, Naruto would have to be the one to make the first move.
Kakashi had read Naruto’s file. He knew the basics of what Naruto was capable of. There was a chance Naruto could surprise the jounin with a bunshin if his file had not been updated. There was a guarantee he could surprise him with an impossible henge. Both of those needed to be kept in reserve for when he had a plan to get the bells, instead of a general idea of what direction the fight needed to go in.
Right. Time to test the waters.
Naruto let his henge drop as he did the same, running as soon as his feet hit the ground. He noticed the other genin react, giving away their hiding places in surprise for just a fraction of a moment. The jounin just stood there as if nothing had changed, reading his book.
Naruto had a kunai grasped and held it in front of him as he charged, ready to throw it. He aimed for the jounin’s forehead, right under the forehead protector. If he could cut the skin there, the blood might temporarily blind him.
When he threw the blade, kakashi dodged without even looking simply by moving his head and letting the kunai fly by with not even an inch of space.
Naruto reached into his weapon pouch to throw a line of shuriken, which finally forced the jounin to act. Barely. Kakashi had a kunai out with his free hand and deflected the sharp projectiles that would have hit him, before tucking the kunai away again in the same fluid motion.
Naruto dove on top of him, with a kick to his abdomen. Kakashi stepped aside and took advantage of Naruto’s moment of imbalance to push him.
Naruto’s stance was good enough to recover from his stumble. Naruto shifted his footing and started the taijutsu match in earnest. It was one sided and not in Naruto’s favour.
Kakashi could single-handedly deflect every single hit aimed at him, grappling Naruto and pulling and pushing to take devastatingly effective advantage of Naruto’s weaknesses. All while his eyes stayed focussed on his book. To the others it must have looked like Kakashi was effortlessly destroying Naruto. But it was not effortless and Naruto needed to do something about the illusion Kakashi was crafting.
Naruto jumped back when he saw a chance. “You’re not reading. You haven’t turned the page once.”
Kakashi seemed unimpressed. “If you have attention to spare on my innocent hobby, perhaps you should direct it towards your taijutsu.”
“I didn’t need to.” He lied, holding up a fake henge bell in his hand.
Kakashi looked down to check on the bells and that was exactly what Naruto needed. He charged once more right at Kakashi, barrelling into his chest to try to topple him. Kakashi staggered, but recovered within a single step back. Naruto’s grasp at a real bell was rebuffed and the boy was thrown aside.
Kakashi finally put away his book, disappearing to Naruto’s blind spot behind him. He was making a hand seal and he was in a position to do some real damage.
“Hidden art: a thousand years of pain.”
Fuck no.
Naruto used a kawarami and let a log take the brunt of the attack. It cracked and flew off into the distance. That would have hurt.
Sasuke was next. He assaulted the jounin with a barage of kunai and shuriken, half of which had ninja string attached. Kakashi used his own Kawarami and Sasuke easily switched track.
Naruto had difficulty following all the motions at the speed they were fighting. When Sasuke saw an opening in the middle of a longer engagement, he inhaled air and then breathed out a big ball of flame. Sasuke had mastered his fire element just like the rumours said he had. And the speed with his he had created the fire implied he had been able to do it for a while. Fascinating.
Kakashi did not manage to get out of the way completely, but there was a water shield protecting his side that would have burned. Sasuke looked exhausted, but he still managed to follow through. He dived onto Kakashi’s side and made for the bells.
Kakashi grasped his arm and tackled him to the ground. With a few hand seals, he made the earth swallow Sasuke up until only the genin’s head remained visible.
Before he had a moment to rest, Sakura jumped in. She was joined by her bunshin, several on each side moving exactly as she was and indistinguishable from the original. She threw enough kunai that Kakashi had to work to dodge them, especially unable to tell which ones were real and not. One of the bunshins reached for the bells and Kakashi had to dodge. That’s when the real Sakura jumped in. Her first hit was not even fully blocked yet before she changed tack and attacked from a different angle. All with a single-minded strength and speed to complete her objective. Her unrelenting assault actually managed to push Kakashi further and further back. Until the jounin was stopped by an invisible wall between two trees.
Sakura used the confusion to make a grab for the bells, but Kakashi had other plans. He dove around Sakura to reverse their positions and then he kicked her in the stomach. She hit the same invisible wall and collapsed on the ground.
She was disoriented as she tried to get back up. When Kakashi put a finger to her forehead and put her under genjutsu, there was nothing she could do.
Kakashi spared a second glance at the ‘invisible wall’. He made a hand sign that Naruto recognised and soon emulated.
“Kai.”
Sakura had placed a genjutsu on the tree, so that it would escape everyone’s notice. While everyone else had been biding their time, she had managed to lay the groundwork for putting genjutsu on a jounin. There was a reason Sasuke and Sakura had scored at the top of the class.
Kakashi had a few moments to gather himself, which Naruto resented.
Come on, Hyuuga. Make your move already.
Hanabi finally charged with clones not unlike Sakura. But her clones moved freely. Naruto had always been jealous of her control of them. It was like they were elemental clones, thinking for themselves. They were not. Hanabi just micromanaged them all like a puppeteer.
They had surrounded Kakashi and attacked him from all sides.
That was Naruto’s chance. He slipped down and when he touched the ground he was wearing Hanabi’s form.
Hanabi and her clones did not throw kunai. That would give them away. Where Sakura had relied on the clones as a momentary distraction, they were Hanabi’s specialty and the core of her fighting style. They would be the meat of her plan to get a bell. It was dizzying how they kept shuffling their positions around the jounin as they got closer and closer.
She had to know when Naruto slipped in between them, but she could not say anything about it. She was too busy executing her attack. Most of her clones had blue glowing hands, most had an activated Byakuugan.
The Hyuuga fighting style circumvented armour with pinpoint precision attacks. Unless the opponent had a Byakuugan of their own, the most reliable way to defend was to evade.
So when Hanabi and her clones attacked with that style, Kakashi had no choice but to dodge them all. He countered where he could, testing which versions were real and which were fake. Until he countered and grasped the real Hanabi. She sent a clone with a kunai to penetrate his eye. It made him hesitate long enough that she could wrench her arm free. Her clones piled on further. Other clones jumped on and tried to blind him by pressing their bodies in his line of sight.
Soon Hanabi was switched up with her clones and she had another shot. It went much like the previous time, except her movement had gotten sloppier as her chakra reserves were starting to exhaust. Each hit was loaded with chakra that she expended even when she missed. She was having more trouble than Kakashi.
When the jounin managed to grab her again, he knew he had won from her.
But not from Naruto. He chose that moment to dash to his side and steal the bells. His fingers managed to brush it, when Kakashi responded faster than he had any right to. Part of that was Hanabi’s startled cry that Naruto might get the bells. Kakashi turned on the spot and threw Hanabi against Naruto in the process, making both kids tumble across the ground.
Naruto’s henge was expelled in a puff of smoke.
“You messed up my concentration, bastard.” She yelled at him, taking a swing.
Naruto easily rolled out of the way. She was far too tired to land a hit. “You messed up my chance to get the bells too. Guess we’re even.”
“He’s too strong.” Hanabi sighed. “We can’t do this.”
“We can’t.” Naruto cursed. There was too little time remaining to draw the fight out as Naruto had hoped. And Kakashi had too much stamina for them to take it slow. All four of them had tried to push Kakashi and all that effort had barely dented Kakashi’s precision. This was not working.
None of them could defeat Kakashi on their own. “Go wake up Sakura. She’ll know of some way to free the teme.”
“I don’t trust you, idiot.”
“And I don’t trust you.” Naruto said. “But that isn’t the problem.”
“Of course that’s the problem.”
Kakashi was dusting himself off. It was only a matter of time before he stopped being patient. Hanabi just had to listen.
“Sasuke and Sakura aren’t fighting together.” Naruto said. “Sakura could have jumped in to help the teme several times, but they’re both worried. They know that if the two of us team up, we’d only need the help of one of them to pass as a team.”
“That’s stupid. They both deserve a bell.”
“Right, we both agree on that. I know we have our differences, but we both respect that fact. Neither of us wants to be on the team if that means Sasuke or Sakura lose their spot. But the way things are going none of us will make it. And that’s not going to change until we make it change. All four of us need to work together to get the bells. And that means the two of us as well.”
“Kakashi won’t take four students.”
“The two of us will fight it out. After we get the bells.”
“That’s not fair.” She said. “I’m more tired than you are.”
“That’s about to change.” Naruto cracked his neck and got into a fighting stance. “I’ll make sure Kakashi’s attention is on me so you can gather everyone. Go.”
His plan had been to exhaust the jounin, like he had Mizuki. Naruto’s reserves were big for his age. Whenever he got stuck on theory or skills, stamina was the one thing he knew he could push further without thinking about it. And he knew he was far ahead of the curve. Even after Naruto had spent hours training his bunshin, he had been only a little behind Mizuki’s chuunin-level chakra pool. He had tried to weaken Mizuki over time. He had hoped to do the same with Kakashi.
The jounin had to have more stamina than a chuunin, but he was also facing four genin. There was no noticeable effect from the battles so far. Naruto had held back significantly, Sakura and Sasuke had gone for big moves without exhausting themselves and Hanabi had given it her all with her Hyuugi taijutsu.
Naruto kept putting off getting serious until Kakashi had weakened. He kept waiting for a moment to exploit so that he could take the bells and win.
That was beside the point now. No more holding anything in reserve. He had to give it his all. He had to make a dent in Kakashi’s reserves to give the others a chance.
Six years of Academy training. All his extensive studying since the examination to become something special. Time to show this man exactly what he was made of.
He dashed and he changed his shape.
He was Iruka-sensei, taller and with more confidence. Part of becoming Iruka was becoming the teacher. Somebody who had sparred for years and years and never made any mistakes. When he attacked with a kunai in his hand, he could hear himself explaining the actions to an audience. Proper position of the kunai. Raising the other arm to anticipate the counter. He focussed on doing things right that he never thought about as Naruto.
Kakashi was fast and even if he needed a moment to readjust to Naruto’s new height and technique, Kakashi had no trouble holding Naruto off. Naruto had not gotten any faster or stronger. His technique was not actually improved. Simply different enough to make Kakashi need to switch gears. The biggest effect of the henge had been increasing Naruto’s confidence. Being confronted with the huge gap between their skills quickly dwindled it.
Kakashi stretched out his hand and prepared to slam Naruto’s chest with an open palm. It was timed too well. Iruka’s body did not have time to dodge or parry. But Naruto was more flexible than that.
Konohamaru dodged under the strike. With child-like glee he ducked under the jounin’s legs and pushed him off balance along the way.
Kakashi turned around only to face the ANBU with the hound mask, who continued to methodologically attack and pry for weaknesses.
Naruto did not know why it unnerved the jounin to see the ANBU mask, but he would take any advantage he could. He managed to nick Kakashi’s shoulder and make him bleed, though the jounin’s body was replaced just a second later with a log.
Kakashi stood in the trees watching him.
He seemed cool and collected, but it was his second replacement within the hour. It had to have taken its toll.
The perfect time to catch him off guard. “Sexy no jutsu!”
Natsu took the perfect pose, her modesty only protected by smoke that was quickly dwindling. “Why don’t you stop staring at that book and come feel the real thing, sensei?”
Kakashi was completely unmoved. For all the village knew of the man, it seemed the rumour mill had missed him playing for the other team. Naruto was starting to regret not studying a male version of the sexy no jutsu.
Back to Hound then.
Kakashi looked down at Naruto, studying. If Kakashi wanted to take his time, so could Naruto.
Fifteen seconds was all it took for Hound to multiply.
Naruto and five clones swung shuriken and kunai at the jounin, making him keep his distance. Like Sakura, Naruto made him work for it. He kept changing positions with his clones when Kakashi could not see him, and barraged him with so many projectiles that he had no choice but to expend the effort dodging.
“Drop the form.” Kakashi said, a slight trembling in his voice.
Naruto was still Hound. He was still emotionless and putting his mission before all else. He was still fiercely loyal and protective beyond measure. Kakashi was the enemy and he was going down.
Naruto had never heard Hound speak. He did not know how to speak the sign language of the ANBU. He only had an idea of some concepts. He had used affirmative at the gate when he sneaked out to study the forbidden scroll.
He used a negative now. Something that would be a simple ‘no’ in the ANBU sign language. He was confident it would translate his intentions well enough.
Make me.
Kakashi wielded a kunai in front of him and held the clones’ eyes as he deflected every single projectile that came his way. When the first clang sounded, he started running and letting the fake dangers dissipate as they hit him.
He had memorised where each weapon had come from so that the moment he knew which Naruto was real, he could charge while deflecting only the blades thrown by the real Naruto. That was a scary amount of intellect.
Naruto was happy to have unbalanced him. He was less happy to have an angry jounin coming ever closer.
He leapt forward. Gone was the blank mask of the ANBU and now he wore the wrinkly face of the Third Hokage. He did not emulate any of the warmth his Jiji usually carried. Just the disappointment and anger. Just the responsibility to protect the village from anyone who would do it harm.
“You’re treating them too harshly.” Sarutobi said, aiming for the jounin’s neck.
Kakashi’s eye was cold as he deflected and kicked Naruto away.
Naruto flipped his body upright in the air, sliding back over the ground to slow himself, before charging again. “What would your sensei say?”
Kakashi kicked again and this time it was hard enough that Naruto flew through the air until he crashed against a tree. The gasp of pain that came from his lips was of a twelve-year-old boy. The henge dropped and Naruto had trouble getting back up. Part of him was being tested for Team 7. Part of him was back in the forest, fighting for Iruka’s life and his own.
“Stay down.” Kakashi warned.
If only his adrenaline would allow it. Naruto looked for Sasuke and Sakura, but they were nowhere to be found yet. And all would be lost if Kakashi took his eyes of Naruto and started looking for them. Naruto studied his opponent. The jounin’s breathing was deeper even if he tried to hide it. This was just like Mizuki. Naruto just needed to keep going.
Naruto’s left leg was going numb. He would not be able to run. Naruto would not be able to get up.
Naruto was not the one who needed to.
Sarutobi stood straight and proud. “Konoha will never stay down.”
The Third Hokage stepped forward slowly with all the confidence the position of his office demanded. He did not have to run. Kakashi had started this out while reading a book. That arrogance was only deserved when a jounin faced a genin, or when a kage faced a jounin.
“You disappoint me boy.”
Kakashi dashed forward and attacked. Naruto dropped the exploding tag he had been holding and used a kawarimi to get away.
He collapsed against a tree on the edge of the clearing. The form of Sarutobi poofed away and he winced at the pain of his leg. He knew he was not supposed to henge away his injuries, but it had only been for a few seconds and a few steps. How had it gotten this much worse?
He tried to summon the chakra for one more henge to camouflage himself, but it escaped him. He had to resort to pulling off his orange jacket and hiding it behind him. Naruto’s chakra was as close to depleted as it could be. He had nothing more to give.
He only hoped it was enough.
As the explosion cleared, Kakashi returned in Naruto’s line of sight. He even seemed singed, though that could have been Naruto’s optimism.
Before Kakashi could spot Naruto, the other genin attacked. Sasuke took point, attacking and spreading his ninja wire around. Sakura kept herself close, assisting with attacks when needed and layering genjutsu on the secondary traps that Sasuke was creating. Hanabi and her clones surrounded the fighting, each one ready to jump in when the opportunity presented itself.
Kakashi fought them off, but Naruto could see the toll the earlier fight had taken. The jounin was just a little slower to react, a little slower to move and a little slower to think. All three of the genin created opportunities for themselves so that Sasuke and Hanabi could dispel and see every wire and trap accumulating around the Training Ground, while denying Kakashi any such opportunity.
This was what a genin team could do if they worked together. Naruto could not wait until he could experience it. It was enough to make even an experienced jounin waver. Naruto could see the doubt creeping into Kakashi’s fighting. Was that way safe, or was it layered with wire? Could he escape there or not?
It was the third time that he hesitated before dodging to a side he thought was safe. Hanabi tried to jump him from that side, but she got tangled with invisible strings.
Kakashi dodged the other way and was stopped in his tracks by an invisible barrier. Sasuke was able to grapple him long enough for Sakura to get the bells.
It was over.
Hanabi grinned, dropping the act as she moved through the ‘invisible strings’ she had pretended were in her way.
The timer rang. They had been exactly on time.
Naruto could not be happier.
It had worked. They just had to work together.
He stood up and started limping to the others.
Sakura had the biggest smile on her face, staring at the bells like she could not believe it herself. Naruto had never seen her as happy.
And then she handed one bell to Sasuke.
And she handed the other to Hanabi.
“Thanks for saving us.” She said.
Naruto froze. They would see him if they looked, but they were too focussed on themselves and on Kakashi.
“I couldn’t defeat him on my own.” Hanabi said.
What?
“I guess you passed the test then.” Kakashi said.
Naruto took a few deep breaths. And then he limped as quickly as he could towards the group, preparing to protest. Preparing to ask what the hell was going on. Before he could say anything, his devastation took over and he tackled Hanabi to the ground. “You promised!”
“I didn’t.” She said, trying to push Naruto off her. “I never said I did.”
Sakura came over to help, trying to get them to stop fighting.
“Promised what, Hanabi?” Sasuke said pointedly.
“No promises!” She said. “Naruto had a suggestion, that was all.”
“I trusted you!” Naruto cried. His chest felt tight and it had little to do with all the abuse it had suffered under Kakashi’s taijutsu.
“What’s going on?” Sakura demanded. “Why are you attacking our teammate?
Naruto turned to her to explain, but no sensible sounds escaped him. He was crying and the tears covered his cheeks and lips. Three years of graduation committees screwing him over, but at least those had been adults. Not someone his own age, contributing to the hate he had to deal with every day.
When Sakura came to help Hanabi back up, Naruto did not stop them. He did not have the energy to keep expressing his fury.
“It was Naruto’s idea to work together.” Kakashi said. “He stayed behind to distract me and sacrificed the use of his leg to weaken me for you.”
“But Hanabi said…” Sakura looked at the other girl. “You said it was your realisation. Your idea to promise to work together and share the bells no matter what happened. When we saw Naruto use an impossible henge without any clear plan to get the bells, you said he was just being stupid and we should wait until he was done. But he was stalling for you. He was stalling for us!”
Hanabi looked guilty at the ground. “The rules of the test were clear. Whoever had the bells would be in the team, no matter what it took. I wasn’t going to keep lying. Just… just long enough to get the bell.”
“Hanabi?” Sakura looked hurt.
“I can’t go into the administration route. It’s just not an option.”
Sasuke sighed. “I don’t like it, but she has a point.”
“It’s a shame she still failed the test.” Kakashi said.
They all turned to him.
“Sakura was the only one who held any bells when the timer ran out. She’s the only one who passed.”
“No!” Hanabi cried out. She struggled away from Naruto to get to Kakashi. “We did everything you told us to do.”
“But not in time.” He said.
Sasuke clenched his fist. “So how do you decide who else is on Team 7?”
“I guess there won’t be a Team 7.” He said. “I can’t have a team with only one member.”
“We can figure something out.” Sakura pleaded. “We got the bells. We can find a fair way to fill out the team.”
Kakashi sighed. “Do you know why you failed?”
“I blame myself. We weren’t smart enough. We needed a better plan.” Sakura said.
“We weren’t strong enough.” Sasuke answered. “You wanted us to beat you and we couldn’t do it on our own. It was cheating for us to work together.”
“No. We should have attacked together from the start.” Hanabi tried. “It took us too long to realise we needed each other.”
Kakashi looked to Naruto. “What do you think?”
Naruto’s breathing was still unsteady. His throat was dry and it was hard to think. Hard to speak. He still had to try. He swallowed and took a sip from his canteen to stall.
It was easy to think how they could have done better. But that was not what Kakashi had asked them. He had asked why they had failed. Because this was a test and there were correct answers. Answers that other teams had found in order to create a team.
They had let themselves get distracted by thinking this was a special case because there were four of them. Kakashi had never guaranteed any of them a spot. This was a test for all of them.
But it was not about strength. The four of them together were stronger than other classmates. They were stronger than previous graduates. They were an exceptionally strong Academy class. Weaker students than they had made it to a genin team.
They could have been smarter. They acted foolishly by not attacking together from the start. Any of them who would have been close enough to get one bell, would have been close enough to grab three. They could have fought it out amongst themselves. Why hadn’t they?
They had been struggling on the bridge. They were just out of the Academy, where they had hardly ever talked with each other. There were bound to be problems when they were forced together so abruptly. They had all come to prove themselves and that attitude made it hard to make friends.
But it was something more. A feeling that had been building inside him ever since the test had started. Ever since Kakashi had laid out the rules.
“Our main problem… was that we let you divide us.”
“Correct.” Kakashi said. “You were in a situation with a clear enemy and clear potential allies. If it was this easy for me to drive a wedge, how easy will you make it for another enemy to drive a wedge between you and your teammates? I am worried.”
“We can do better.” Naruto said. “Let us try again.”
The others looked horrified at the idea. “We barely managed to get the bells once.” Sakura said.
“We understand what you’re saying, sensei.” Naruto said. “We can show you we understand if you just let us try again.”
“Hm.” Kakashi did not look impressed. “And why should I?”
“Nobody’s taught us this lesson before. But we’ve learned it now. Please give us an opportunity to show you we can be better.”
Kakashi looked off into the distance, his eye fixed in position. “Fine. We can try one more time after lunch. But I’ll make it harder now that you’ve had your first lesson. You’ll have to definitively show me you’ve changed.”
The four kids bowed in gratitude.
“But there is a matter of punishment.” Kakashi noted, looking at Hanabi.
“What?”
“You’re the one who betrayed the words of a comrade.” He moved swiftly as he took her under his arm and walked over to the wooden posts nearby. She was dumbfounded as he tied her to the pole. “You’re going to skip lunch and think about what you did.”
“But she’s the one who needs it most.” Sakura protested.
Kakashi looked over the other three. “You can always share your lunch with her if you feel sorry for her. But if you do, none of you will get another chance at the test.”
Sakura flinched. “I’m sorry, Hanabi.”
The Hyuuga looked defeated, resigning herself to her fate.
Kakashi took a moment to look at Naruto’s leg, kneeling beside him and pulsing chakra through it. “Aren’t you a henge specialist? Because this was a rookie mistake.”
“I just needed a few more seconds.” Naruto rubbed at his leg.
“And so you made a minor problem a major one. Rest your leg for the whole lunch. Or you will be in no state to fight after.”
Naruto nodded. He had other injuries that could wait and chakra that needed to recover. He had not been planning on doing anything but resting anyway.
“I’m going to check on the other teams.” Kakashi said. “See if your classmates managed to pass in a single round. I’ll be back in exactly an hour.” He set a timer nearby. “Once this goes, the test starts. I won’t wait until you’re finished eating to attack you.”
And then he was gone and it was just the four of them.
The three genin not tied to a pole hurried to grab their lunches. Naruto’s bento box was packed to the brim and stuffed with his favourite foods. He eagerly started eating. The other top graduates had done the same.
From the pole, Naruto could hear a growling stomach. Hanabi had been the only one of them to skip breakfast. Just like Naruto, she had pushed herself to exhaustion in her efforts. Without food, she would not have enough chakra to help.
There was a part of Naruto that delighted in that. She had taken advantage of Naruto’s trust to team up with Sasuke and Sakura. Naruto could now do the same and leave her behind. It only took three genin to take the bells. She had been right about one thing. The stakes here were too high to let sentimentality get in the way.
But then her stomach rumbled again and Naruto could not see anything but a hungry little girl.
“Here.” Naruto said, moving towards her and holding out food for her with his chopsticks.
“You can’t.” Sakura said. “The test…”
“We stand a better chance if all four of us can fight.” Naruto said. “That means eating and building strength.”
Sasuke took his own bento and went to stand beside Naruto. “He’s right. You can have some of mine as well, Hanabi.”
Sakura gave a quick look around, before she joined the boys. “If we’re quick, we can do it before Kakashi’s back.”
“I won’t eat.” Hanabi said. “I’m not supposed to.”
“You’ll drag us down if you don’t.” Sasuke warned.
“You’re hungry.” Naruto said. “Just have some.”
“Why are you offering? I betrayed you.”
“Well, I know what it’s like to be hungry and still have to fight. I’m not going to do that to you.”
She shook her head. “Go away, all of you. I don’t care what you three do, but I’m going to follow the rules.”
The three startled when there was a poof of smoke behind them.
“Maa, I thought I told you not to do this.”
Naruto’s hand trembled. Fuck.
“I have something to tell you, that I hope will make you better ninja in the long run. Use your talent to listen.”
He paused to let the clan members pay their fullest attention.
“Those who disobey the rules are trash.” He said, which made the three free genin crumble. Hanabi looked satisfied. Until Kakashi continued. “But those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.”
Hanabi’s face was still and resigned. “You wanted us to break the rule.”
Kakashi nodded. “I wanted to see what happened when I divided you again. Three of you got the point of the last test and Team 7 will consist of those three genin.”
Naruto’s happiness died on his tongue the moment he saw Hanabi’s expression. She cried and then she bawled. Naruto was reminded of his own reaction just a few moments earlier.
He had never realised winning could feel as much as losing.
Kakashi undid the ropes tying her down. “I’ve never seen an Academy graduate with such a mastery of the bunshin. You’re a capable ninja, Hanabi, and I look forward to seeing how you progress.”
Sasuke and Sakura spared an apologetic look at the girl.
Kakashi looked to his three new students. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning at the mission desk.”
Hanabi did not have the strength to stay standing. She collapsed against the wooden pole she had been tied to. Kakashi disappeared.
Sakura crouched down next to Hanabi. “I’m sorry it happened like this.”
“What am I supposed to tell my family?”
“That you tried. That you’ll keep trying.”
Hanabi hardly seemed to hear it.
“I need to go tell my parents the news. I’ll see you around, okay?”
Hanabi idly nodded as Sakura left.
“My family’s waiting as well.” Sasuke said. “It was good fighting with you, Hanabi. I’m sorry it was the last time.”
He patted her shoulder and then left her alone with Naruto.
“I’m sorry you didn’t get to crush me.” Naruto said.
She looked offended.
“I mean, I was looking forward to the fight.”
She sniffed. “You would have beaten me.”
“Probably.” Naruto said. “But it would have been nice to figure that out ourselves.”
She covered her face with her hands, rubbing at her eyes.
Something had been bothering Naruto. And he needed to know. “Did you really refuse the food just because you were afraid of breaking a rule?”
“I’m always supposed to follow the rules.” She said defensively.
“And that was all you were thinking about? The way you looked when you said no… it felt like there was something else going on.”
She sighed. Something of her shell seemed to break, like she was realising that the pretence did not matter anymore. “I was selfish before. I couldn’t be the reason again that Kakashi failed us.”
Naruto sat down beside her. “Grab your food. You’ll feel better when you’ve eaten.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“It’s the shock. Take a few bites, please. It’ll do you good.”
Hanabi numbly took out her bento. She looked at it with disgust, but still took a bite. And a second. And then she started really eating. She scoffed it down, even faster than Naruto would have been able to.
It was done before she really realised what she was doing.
“Some water too.”
She pulled out her canteen and took a few sips.
“Th-thanks.” She said. “I know it’s too late, but I’m sorry for what I did.”
Naruto gave a small nod to acknowledge the apology. “Why did you want it so bad, anyway?”
“Why did you?” She shot back.
Naruto rolled his eyes. “Forget I asked then.”
“I didn’t mean… god, I can’t help myself when I’m around you.” She took a few deep breaths and when she spoke again it was without the venom. “I really would like to know.” It took her a lot of effort, but she managed to squeeze out one more word. “Please.”
He glared at her, but decided she had asked nicely enough. “It’s bad enough being talentless, but I’m a clanless orphan as well. I’ve been on my own since I was a kid. People took pity on me and they would give me things if I asked for them and behaved. I stopped doing that when I saw how that made things worse.”
Naruto looked at his bento, that he had prepared himself from scratch. “I don’t know how... well, I guess at the time I didn’t know how... but people knew when I took their kindness. And they used it to deny me things. Shopkeepers wouldn’t allow me to buy ingredients because they had heard people had cooked for me. And at the Academy, nobody treated me like I belonged there because they heard I had only been allowed to enter it as a favour from one of the teachers. I failed the entrance exam by a few points.”
“But you entered a year early.” Hanabi said.
“Anyone else could have gotten away with it. But I got known as the kid who hadn’t gotten in on my own merit.” Naruto clenched his fist. “Look at the talentless kid. Isn’t it cute how he wants to be a ninja? What an inspiration. Showing us even people like him can be anything they want to be. Nobody saw me. Nobody believed I existed with my own goals. I needed something that nobody would give me for free. That everyone would acknowledge I had earned by myself.”
“I get that.” Hanabi poked at the little food that remained in her bento. “If I’m not strong enough, I might as well not exist.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s complicated. The Hyuuga clan have a measure…” She paused. “Wait… do you even know how a clan gets its power?”
“Just that you are gifted by your spirit animals.”
Hanabi nodded. “Right. But the problem is that the bigger the clan becomes, the weaker each particular member becomes. Sakura is so strong because she’s the only member of her clan, and Sasuke because he’s one of two remaining Uchiha. And in the bigger clans heirs get the strongest share, which is why Hinata is stronger than me.”
“Why make big clans then?”
“Talent likes to be cultivated. It likes to spread and grow. The Uchiha were stronger when there were many of them. And Sasuke would never have chosen to be alone just to get more talent.”
“I see.”
“But sometimes you need a single very strong ninja instead of many moderately strong ones. The biggest clans have found solutions for that. The Hyuuga… we brand all the branch members with a seal. The talent is spread and cultivated just like it wants. But when Hinata needs it she can take the gift back from us for as long as she wants. When she does, she’s stronger than Sasuke and Sakura combined.”
“She takes your talent?”
“That and more. Everything we know and have learned. Every feeling we’ve had and every dream for the future. She can only use a bit of it for herself, but she takes it all from us. And we are left aware without will. Trapped in bodies that won’t obey us.”
Naruto swallowed. “That sounds horrible.”
“She can choose who she drains and she’ll only do it to those who are too weak to fight with her. You want to know why I wanted the genin spot so badly? How I could justify what I did? Every night I dream of the day that Hinata will be forced to fight to her limits. The day she needs the Hyuuga’s full powers. And I imagine being near her and being made to lend my power. Dropping down and watching helplessly as she fights. As she loses. As she dies and I didn’t even get a chance to help because I wasn’t strong ehough to be anything but a talent battery.”
“Hanabi...“
“And I know what I did was wrong. Of course I did. I’ve never felt worse than when I was lying to Sasuke and Sakura. But I kept telling myself it was worth it. I could do this horrible thing if it made me a part of team 7. I could be a good person or I could be combat genin. But now I’m neither. I’m a bad person and I still can’t help my sister and…”
Naruto tackled her in a hug. “I forgive you.”
“What?”
“I don’t like what you did, but I understand it. And I forgive you.”
Hanabi grabbed tight onto Naruto and started sobbing again. Until the boy had said it, she had not known how badly she had needed to hear it.
Naruto stayed in place, supporting her, for as long as she kept crying. He petted her back and repeated to her that it was okay.
She eventually pulled back, taking another sip of water.
“What are you going to do now?” Naruto asked.
“I don’t know. I’ll have to go into administration. Exchange my blue headband for black. And then… I don’t know.”
“You could keep training.”
She huffed. “Father won’t let me use any more resources. I won’t have a trainer. No dietician.”
“Just like me.”
She chuckled. “I suppose so. Guess I’ll be a good comparison for you. Let you show off how much you’ve accomplished compared to someone else who’s got no resources.”
“No. You’re just like me. If I can do it, so can you.”
“You can’t be serious.” Hanabi gave him a piercing look. “I can finish the month, but then I won’t even have a training plan anymore. What am I supposed to do?”
“Make your own, like I do.”
“I wouldn’t know where to start.”
Naruto’s face turned stern. “I thought you wanted to protect your sister.”
“Of course I do.”
“Then why are you letting one setback get in the way?”
“I… I don’t…”
“This isn’t an easy path.” Naruto said. “But it’s not an impossible one either. You can still train. You can still get stronger. You can be ready the moment they need to fill in the ranks.”
“I can’t.” She cried. “Not on my own.”
“Who said anything about doing it on your own?”
She shook her head, even as the words sunk in. “I can’t ask that of you. I know how much you need to train to keep up with the rest.”
“I do need to do that. I can’t teach you like a professional would. But you can spar with me and you can read with me and you can learn techniques with me. It might hurt me a little, but it would help you a lot. And even if I won today, I feel responsible for what happened to you. Because of me, you lost your spot in the Top Nine.”
“But I’d need a lesson plan…”
“Forget the plan. I can make it if you need it so much. But it’s not important. Your decision is the only thing that matters.”
“What decision?”
“The same one I had to make when I first learned the unfairness of the world. Will you accept defeat and let the world destroy what you want to be, or will you go against the current and fight for what you deserve?”
“I’ll… I want to fight.”
“Say it.”
She sounded surer with every word that came from her mouth. “My name is Hyuuga Hanabi and I will fight to get what I deserve.”
Naruto smiled. “Welcome to the club of hard workers. The amenities suck, but at least we’ve got each other.”
Hanabi’s world had been shattered. She had lost everything that mattered to her. But there was hope. And a new friend.
“Yeah… I guess we do.”
Notes:
Next month: Chapter 1.5: A little peculiar (What’s going on). Where being a genin isn't quite what Naruto expected when Kakashi suddenly decides to give him homework. Will Team 7 be able to find a peaceful place to study and get a passing mark? Find out next time on Sundial in the Shade!
Kakashi sure had a strange reaction to seeing a random ANBU that Naruto used to know. What a strange mystery. I'm sure nobody can tell why this is. Naruto sure has no idea.
I've said Sakura was at Sasuke's level, but it was important to me to really show it in this chapter. Hanabi and Naruto had some success not being instantly defeated by Kakashi, but only by pushing themselves to their absolute limits. Sasuke and Sakura both are able to spar one-on-one with Kakashi and stand a decent chance (like canon Sasuke almost got the bells). Sakura has genjutsu and it follows 2 basic rules: she's able to trap people much weaker than her in complete illusions, and she's able to fool people no matter how strong if she's subtle. She couldn't just make a tree disappear when Kakashi was looking at it. But she could make it disappear when Kakashi’s focus was elsewhere.
I thought it was important that as fiercely hostile Hanabi has been so far, that it is clear that she had her reasons for being such a hard-ass about it. She had a lot to lose and she’s devastated that she’s not a combat ninja. Her father, who was already putting Hinata first in everything, will now be cutting Hanabi off completely from her tutors. But Naruto did his talking-no-jutsu, so they’re friends now. Speaking of Hanabi, I wanted to give her her own unique skill based on the Academy three. While most people have a bunshin that uses mirroring to disguise which one is real, she can move them freely. Just like Naruto had to practice for months/years to get his henge to the point that he could become larger (and now also smaller), so Hanabi had to practice to get control over those clones.
Kakashi is immune to the sexy no jutsu, so of course Naruto immediately assumes Kakashi is gay. I mean, Naruto’s right, but it’s still a rude assumption to make.
Chapter 5: 1.5. A little peculiar (What’s going on)
Summary:
Naruto has been a genin for a month and it's not quite what he had been expecting. Just as he thinks it can't get any worse, his sensei gives him homework. Shouldn't that have been over and done with now that he's out of the Academy?!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The restaurant was quiet this time of day. They were not very popular for lunch, which was why Naruto had chosen it. He was currently enjoying the tastiest dumpling he had had in years. It was going to be such a shame once the place was discovered and Naruto would have to find somewhere else.
“Can I have some of yours?” Hanabi asked.
Natsu grinned and simply stole a dumpling off Naruto’s plate before Naruto could give it to Hanabi. She was a kind thief though. She stole two, and flicked one right onto Hanabi’s plate.
Konohamaru giggled, quickly starting on his own food before Natsu could do the same to him.
“No fair.” Naruto pouted.
“You’re the one with special ninja training.” Natsu said. “Be quicker if you want to stop me.”
“It’s not like we’ve been doing anything special. We’ve sparred a few times, but mostly we’ve been doing missions.”
“Awesome stealthy ninja missions.” Natsu nodded.
“Not really.” Naruto shrugged.
“It’s still got to be better than what I’m doing.” Hanabi said. “I’m copying lab results to patients’ medical records. Not even anything interesting. Just mindlessly looking at one scroll and writing it down on the other.” She groaned.
“The first week we didn’t do anything but heavy lifting.” Naruto said. “The next three were spent supporting police officers to apprehend civilians. At least I’ve gotten my first pay check.”
“And we’re so grateful you thought of us.” Natsu smiled.
“Well, I do owe it all to the two of you.” Naruto smiled at the two women.
“Hey!” Konohamaru complained. “What about me?”
“You’ve crashed the party without an invitation.” Naruto smiled. “But I’m glad you’re here anyway. How’s this year’s Academy classes been so far?”
“Amazing.” Konohamaru beamed. “My friends were worried I wasn’t playing with them as much, but they’ve started to study with me. The rate we’re going, we’re almost a full year ahead on the rest.”
“In just a month?”
Konohamaru nodded eagerly. “We were already ahead a bit and we’re the only ones using our talents fully every day, even in the weekends. Ebisu can’t believe how hard I’m working.”
“Keep this up, and you might even catch up to me someday.”
“You better watch out.” The boy said. “I’ll beat you to the Hokage’s seat.”
“Only way you’re becoming Hokage before me is if I decided I’d like to be the Daimyo instead.”
Natsu giggled. “Isn’t that seat hereditary?”
“Just means it’d be even more of a challenge to get it.”
Konohamaru stuck his tongue out at him. “You’re not allowed to change your dreams. You’re my rival for the Hokage’s seat and that’s final.”
“Keep making that face and it’ll freeze that way.” Naruto said. “Oh, actually, that’d be a good thing. You’d have to spend a few days in the hospital and I’d get another session with Ebisu. I’m almost through the list he gave me anyway.”
That was not strictly true. Naruto had been skipping boring passages and skimming over the details for later study. People with talent might want to focus on one subject at a time, but Naruto had always found it easier to learn when he could multitask.
“That’s not true, is it?” Konohamaru asked Hanabi with some worry on his face.
“You’ve got nothing to worry about.” Natsu said. “Me and Hanabi will come visit you in the hospital every day until your face gets better.”
Konohamaru shrieked and Naruto could not help but chuckle. “How’ve you been, nee-san?”
“I’m progressing with my acrobat training.” She said. “The mistress says I’ll be allowed to perform soon.”
“We want to see.” Hanabi declared.
She smiled. “When I’m done with the routine. Not before. I don’t want to ruin the surprise.”
Naruto finished his plate and stood up. “We should do this again sometime, but I need to get training.”
“It feels like you just sat down.” Natsu complained. “You really shouldn’t eat so fast.”
“It’s either eating slowly on a training field, or quickly with my friends.” Naruto left the money on the table for them. “Which I really needed, so thanks for that.”
“We should do it again soon. Maybe after your next pay check?”
“I’m not sponsoring a lunch every month.” Naruto glared at her. “Freeloader.”
“You wound me to my core.” Natsu said with a grin.
“No work today?” Hanabi asked. “God I’m jealous of your luxurious field ninja ways.”
“Was pushing crates around all morning actually.” Naruto corrected her. “But this afternoon is just for me.”
~*~
The Third Training ground had become Naruto’s spot. Kakashi had a standing reservation on it so he could use it whenever he wanted. Since he never did, Naruto had a good place to work. He had hardly crossed the bridge when he took on Konohamaru’s form and started running. It was a fourteen second delay, but then four bunshin copies of him ran along with him.
It was uncomfortable keeping himself so small, but that was the point. He needed to get used to it until it became second nature. He needed his chakra to get used to being compressed in all directions. Naruto took a difficult path on purpose, distracting himself with obstacles and parkour. He was already capable of holding his shape nineteen out of twenty times if he ran normally, so it had become time to increase the challenge.
After fifteen minutes and at the edge of his limit holding both of the jutsu, he concentrated on the Kawarami and displaced himself nearby.
“Fuck.” Naruto panted, collapsing onto the ground.
Only one bunshin had made it and Konohamaru’s henge dropped after just a few seconds. He took a few moments to gather himself again. There was something so unnerving about techniques failing on him. It was so much worse than when he just cancelled them. The difference between getting soaked from standing under the shower or by standing under a waterfall.
When Naruto felt better, he continued his work on the Henge. Konohamaru’s form was easy, which made it good to practice with in combinations. But when he wanted to train his henge, he needed something more difficult.
He had been one of only a few people of his class who could increase his size with a henge to look like an adult. He was now the only one to shrink so that he could take on the shape of an eight-year-old. What he was trying next was even beyond that.
He took a few steadying breaths and concentrated fully on the shape he needed to become. With a poof of smoke his body disappeared and he took the shape of large wooden log.
His sight was muted, as were his other senses. It was claustrophobic and made the harrowing discomfort of changing his size feel like a slightly scratchy sweater. Instead of flesh, he was now something unliving. He had to hold his breath because there were no lungs to give him air.
He persisted and powered through it. He shifted to his regular form and the block of wood several times before he decided he had sufficiently warmed up and could continue. He had read about a ninja that had once transformed into a lockpick so that his teammates could break out of a jail cell. It had sounded so useful.
Turned out it wasn’t so easy. Becoming unliving was its own challenge and did not even begin to describe the trouble of making different shapes. Becoming a smaller human made intuitive sense. It was all just manipulating familiar human shapes. But simply making an angle or a curve in the transformation to wood was hard. Condensing his shape into something more compact was both more challenging and a whole other level of complex when he was not organic.
He went through the cycle of different angles first. Then the curves. Then came the compounded shapes. His best effort so far was a chair, slightly smaller in volume than he was. The legs of it were still too wide and he had trouble creating enough null space. At least the chair was starting to become more like metal as he condensed his matter. It would not do to become an object with all the weaknesses that lack of his mobility and senses implied, while keeping the weaknesses of the flesh in additional to that.
He had to stretch when he was done, muscles sore and aching.
He was not in any shape to continue physical exercises. His chakra needed more time to recover. Which left only one exercise he could do.
Naruto checked his mental list one more time, but nope, there really was nothing else left.
He settled against a tree and brought his awareness inwards. It had become easier over time to find the sewers in his stomach. He still needed complete calm, but once he had that, the way to the Demon was clear. It was like he had blazed a trail to the cell and now he just had to follow where he had gone before.
~*~
He stood his ground as the misery blanketed him. He breathed through it when the eyes opened and stared at him. The wave of hate was so intense that no matter how often he came there, it had expelled him every single time.
This time was different. He finally managed to bear through. Once he got over the shock of the wave, the continued exposure was liveable.
No matter how much the demon had resisted, this was it. Naruto took several steps forward, one after another, as if surprised that he was able to move in this place that was not a place.
Step by step, he got closer to the cell.
Fuck you. Now you’ll have no choice but to talk to me.
“S-stop kicking me out when I come here!”
The Demon got closer to the iron bars and Naruto could finally see more of its shape. He would call it a fox, but it was a perversion of the species. The joints were too crooked, the fur too matted in blood. Instead of teeth, its mouth was filled with hundres of iron spikes jutting out of its jaw.
“Treme, quod coram dominus es!”
“What?”
“Subplica et ado!”
Naruto’s heart sank. “I don’t understand you.”
The fox’s presence had never seen as large. “Ante mille annos erit os meum sordida lingua tua barbarica.”
It grinned and its metal spikes clanged against themselves, creaking as if it was an expression the face was not used to making.
“Cum morieris, omnem hominem quem amas tecum!”
Its laugh boomed and shook Naruto to his very core.
~*~
Naruto escaped his mindscape. His whole body was shaking.
“It’s okay. Breathe, Naruto.”
His eyes were still shut and he could not manage to open them yet. Whatever the demon did to his emotions, it spilled out to his body. He had never been exposed to it for so long. He thought he had already gotten used to it.
The calming hands on his chest and shoulder helped. They were grounding as he got his breathing back under control and a regular awareness returned to him.
He was happy Sakura…
His eyes shot open as he took in the adult next to him. He pulled away on instinct, scooting around the ground and grabbing onto his kunai.
“Good reaction. Though the delay should be worked on.” Kakashi noted from where he was kneeling on the ground.
“S-sensei?”
Kakashi stood up and brushed the dirt off his knees. “You shouldn’t do mindscape exercises on your own.”
“Are you offering to sit with me for them?” Naruto asked bitterly. Not all of the demon’s emotion influencing mojo had left his system yet.
Kakashi stared in silence.
“Didn’t think so.” Naruto shrugged. “I’ll be fine.”
“So be it. Do you know where my spoons are?”
Naruto shuffled in place. “Are they missing?”
“Yes. Imagine my surprise when I’m finished cooking my dinner and there’s nothing in the drawers but sporks.”
Naruto could well imagine that surprise. Naruto had been imagining it all the while he was breaking into Kakashi’s apartment. “Sporks are a kind of spoon.”
“I’m going to need them back.” Kakashi said. “Along with my forks.”
“The whole point of sporks is that you don’t need forks either.”
Kakashi shook his head. “Just so you know, I’m increasing the security so any potential thief shouldn’t break in again if they value their blood inside of their body.”
“It’s technically not stealing if your items get replaced instead of taken.” Naruto smirked.
“So, I didn’t see this mindscape training on your schedule.”
Naruto couldn’t help it and let out a laugh. Their sensei had demanded to see the plans on their first day as genin, before handing them back without a comment. Well, a comment on how Naruto needed better handwriting. He doubted the man remembered what had been on his.
“It’s a side-project.” Naruto said. “Something to work on while the rest of my body’s recovering.”
“How can I calibrate your training when I’m missing all the facts?”
“What training?” Naruto asked.
“That isn’t very nice.” Kakashi noted.
“Genuine question.” Naruto said. “Apparently you wanted to know something I didn’t think relevant. So I’m trying to understand better how you’re incorporating our regular training schedules, considering you’ve overseen four spars in total where you let us fight without offering any corrections, and have otherwise left us to our own devices.”
“I have my own work to take care of, Naruto.”
“More than the other jounin sensei? I do talk with my former classmates, you know. Asuma has a spar with his students every week to monitor their progress and Kurenai has taken over some of her team’s training time to prepare for missions. But it’s not an accusation. I’m asking for clarification. I’ve seen you a total of eight times since we became Team 7. How are you using the information that I give you, so that I can better determine the relevancy of what I share?”
“For an innocent question, you sure make it sound accusing.”
“Maybe I’m a little ticked off.” Naruto said. “I was hoping to get a little bit more help now that I was a genin. More than the bare minimum.”
“Well, it doesn’t ever become any easier.”
“No, don’t suppose it does.” Naruto admitted. He sighed, trying to push the last of the demon’s influence out of him. This was a private conversation with his teacher. It was an opportunity he should be making better use of after all the trouble he went through getting the man’s attention. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something. At the bell test, you seemed most freaked out when I wore the henge of an ANBU agent. Did you know him?”
Kakashi waved it off. “I’m a jounin. I know most ninja.”
“Ah. You know you can just tell me if you don’t want to say. I’m a big boy. I can handle it.”
“I guess I was just surprised you turned into him.” Kakashi said. “Hound hasn’t been active for a while.”
“He saved me a few times when I was younger. He disappeared when I tried to thank him, though. I mean, the drawing I made wasn’t that bad, I didn’t think.”
“You… you made a drawing?”
“Yeah. Handed it to the Hokage and everything. Jiji said he’d pass it on and I haven’t seen Hound since.”
“Naruto… Hound wasn’t assigned to guard you.”
Naruto nodded thoughtfully. “Guess you’re not into the secret. But I had a security force around me most of the time as a kid. Prepare to have your mind blown. You see, there’s this big secret…”
“No, I know about what’s inside of you.” Kakashi said. “I meant that Hound went against orders by guarding you while he was off duty. When the Hokage found out, he reprimanded Hound.”
Naruto winced. That was not what he had been expecting. “You mean I got him in trouble? Do you know if he’s alright now?”
“He… he was just reassigned. A drawing, really?”
“Yeah. It was silly and not any good. I suppose Jiji didn’t pass it along then, if Hound was breaking rules and everything.”
“No… what was it like?”
Naruto laughed. “It was silly. Get to know me a little better and I’ll show you some of the earlier drafts I keep at home. But you can’t make fun of them.”
“If you show me, I can get it to Hound. I’m sure he’d appreciate it.”
“Oh. Then I don’t see why not. Why does he care about me anyway?”
“He was friends with your mother.”
Naruto froze. “He knew my mom?”
“She was like family to him.”
“I see…” Naruto had a bad taste in his mouth. “And I suppose Hound had a good reason to never talk to me about her.”
“Orders.” Kakashi said. “Your mom’s pregnancy was a secret. She was supposed to raise you away from Konoha. But when she died… you could stay in Konoha as long as nobody knew who your mother was.”
Naruto clenched his fist. “I don’t think I’ll be apologising to him.”
“Naruto, he didn’t have a choice.”
“He did.” Naruto said. “You’re the one who taught it to us. I might not have had talent to spent on it, but I listened anyway. Those who break the rules are trash. But those who abandon their friends are worse.”
Kakashi stumbled. “That’s not…”
“Was that all?” Naruto asked.
Kakashi sighed, before rummaging through his clothes. “Not all, no.” He retrieved a scroll and handed it to Naruto. “I may not have a lot of time to spend with you, but I do take your training seriously.”
Naruto opened the scroll and felt a headache coming on. The characters written down almost seemed like they were moving. But when he concentrated, he could make out some text. All numbers.
“It’s encrypted.” Naruto said. “Any hints?”
“It is a description of a chakra exercise. And you’ll need the Uchiha scripts to decrypt it.”
“Any other rules for this exercise?”
“You have forty-eight hours. We’ll meet here again and I want to see a translated scroll.”
Naruto turned to Kakashi and the jounin had already disappeared.
“Okay then. Guess it’s off to Sasuke then.”
~*~
The Uchiha compound was on the edge of the village. Imposing, ancient and very much off limits.
They had been secluded as long as Naruto could remember, but since the Uchiha massacre they had been like a separate village.
Red sharingan eyes were trained on him as he approached. “Halt.”
Naruto raised his hands. “I’m here to see Sasuke.”
The guard looked sceptical. He had a large spear that he was keeping aimed at Naruto. “Sasuke-sama is not expecting anyone.”
“I’m his teammate. Our teacher sent me.”
The guard did not move. Very slowly he puckered his lips and created a sharp whistling sound. A small boy walked up, startling at the sight of a stranger held at spearpoint.
“Daisuke, go check on our heir whether he wants to see Uzumaki Naruto.”
“Yes, uncle Garu.” The boy ran away as quick as he had come.
“So, not a lot of visitors I take it?”
“Most are sensible enough not to show up unannounced.”
“Didn’t have much of a choice. Have you heard any of the stories about Kakashi?”
Though the man remained stoic, there was a clear wince in his expression. “There are no secrets in our family. I’ve heard enough.”
“Then you’ll understand that I can’t promise this’ll be the last time I show up without warning. I’m sorry.”
He nodded minutely. “And you’ll understand that I’ll have to keep reacting this way.”
“You’d prefer Sasuke failed his assignments because I wasted time to make an appointment?”
“Kakashi will make accommodations.”
“Oh, I see I’m not going to like you at all.” Naruto smirked. “I’d be sorry, but this isn’t precisely a comfortable position for me to be in.”
“You might be underestimating how uncomfortable we are here.”
“Well, not so uncomfortable that you went straight to stabbing me. I count that a win.” He shrugged.
The little boy returned then, Sasuke next to him. Sasuke looked different than usual, wearing a formal kimono and his hair done up in an elaborate clan appropriate style. This was not the Sasuke that could slice a man’s throat in a heartbeat, but one that could steal any suitor’s breath away. If that was his casual attire, it explained a lot about the boy. The Uchiha heir gave a quick look over his teammate.
“What’s the last thing I said to you?” He asked.
“That you hoped I would not slip on my face again because it made the floor too messy. I’d ask after your identity, but I doubt your guard here would have let an imposter through.”
Sasuke nodded. The spear was lowered and the guard’s eyes were black again. “Thanks, Garudo-san.”
“Of course, nephew. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”
Naruto followed his teammate onto the compound. He had never realised it was so big. There were over a hundred houses, with several facility buildings spread throughout. It all stretched in the distance. Most of it was boarded up and in clear disuse.
There were only about ten houses that seemed active, surrounding a large monument. It was a stone lantern with names carved into the side.
It was said the day after the massacre, the remaining Uchiha had created a large pyre. It had taken close to a week to cremate all the bodies and Sasuke had bore witness the whole time. They had kept the same flame burning and transferred it to the stone lantern in remembrance of those who had been lost. It was the gossip that had been constantly repeated for weeks after the incident as proof how dedicated Sasuke was. Naruto would have used other words to describe how Sasuke had looked at the time.
Sasuke’s whole clan had been destroyed that night. Naruto had never been able to find out why that happened. His questions were deemed uncomfortable and rude. And so Naruto still had no idea how Sasuke could have some remaining Uchiha relatives when the whole clan was supposedly destroyed.
Sasuke led Naruto to the largest building around, at a comfortable sitting space. He motioned for the boy to sit down and then took his own seat.
“Kakashi sent you on a mission?”
Naruto nodded. He took out the scroll and laid it out. “We need to decode this within forty-eight hours. The Uchiha texts are supposed to be the key.”
Sasuke looked it over. He looked a bit dizzy as he squinted at the scroll. It was making itself hard to get known. “I’ll take care of it then.”
Naruto rolled his eyes. “How much have you practiced decryption?”
“I’ll spend my talent on it tomorrow. That gives me the morning after to work on it.”
“Understanding codes is not the same as breaking them. Just give me the Uchiha texts and I’ll get started.”
He shook his head. “They’re secret. I don’t know how Kakashi used one to code this, but I won’t let you read them just to decode a homework assignment.”
“Together then. Even if it’s slower.”
“Fine.” Sasuke took another look at the scroll. “In the spirit of cooperation, I need you to take out a piece of paper and write the numbers down. I’ll recite them from the scroll.”
Naruto did as told. He had his pen ready and dutifully wrote down the numbers on a separate sheet of paper as Sasuke rad them out.
A woman came in and put two cups of tea on the table, one near Sasuke and one near him.
“Is this for me?”
“It’s important to stay hydrated, dear.” She smiled kindly.
“Uhm, can I have some sugar then?”
“One scoop has already been stirred in.”
“I drink it with two.”
“I know, but too much sugar isn’t good for a growing boy. Be glad I’m allowing the one. I’ll be back in a few minutes with an afternoon snack.”
Naruto stared after her. “Sasuke, why does your dietician know how I like my tea?”
He shrugged. “It’s aunty Jinko’s job to know. Did you get all the numbers?”
“I think so.” The last ones had been done mindlessly, but it was not like he had a lot of trouble doing multiple things at once.
“I want to double check. I’ll start from the beginning.”
Naruto listened and cursed under his breath how many mistakes he had made. After the second row was complete and a third of the numbers were wrong, Naruto threw down his pen on the table in frustration. “This can’t be right. You’re saying different numbers than before.”
“Yeah.” Sasuke sighed. “It’s changing as we look at it.”
Naruto groaned. “I hate genjutsu.”
Sasuke made the hand signal and tried to release a burst of chakra into his body. He smiled at the scroll, until his smile faltered a few seconds later. “It’s self-reinforcing. Maybe we can break it with something stronger.” Sasuke made a motion to break the scroll’s protections.
“No, wait.” Naruto shook his head. “We need Sakura for this. Should have realised from the start that Kakashi would make something that takes all three of us to break.”
“Of course.” Sasuke motioned for the little kid, who had apparently been eavesdropping from the hallway. “Daisuke, I need to you to run over to the Haruno’s shop.”
The boy squeaked, but then stepped into sight with an overly formal bow.
“Tell Sakura that Kakashi has a task for us and that we’re coming over.”
“Right away, Sasuke-sama.” The boy scurried off.
The woman from before walked in with trays of fruit and then immediately left, before emerging again with the same fruits in plastic containers. She put them on a table near the exit. “I’ll have Fu-san cancel the afternoon appointments then.”
“Yes, thank you.” Sasuke said.
“We’ll reschedule your massage for the end of the week.” She smiled. “You should still get the beneficial effects.”
“I’ll just go change and we can go.” Sasuke said.
The woman turned to Naruto. “Are you getting your nutrients in, dear?”
“It’s hard sometimes, ma’am, but I make do.” Naruto said. It was a little weird being alone in the room with her, but he was polite enough not to let it bother him. “I rely a lot on buying bulk when stuff’s on sale.”
“That’s very responsible of you. Are you taking your supplements?”
“I get enough from the food I’m eating. It’s varied enough and I put in the right amount of protein to support my muscle growth.”
“You’ve studied to be a dietician?”
“I’ve studied to be a bit of everything.” Naruto said. “Had to if I wanted to keep up. Have to admit I snuck a few glances at Sasuke’s lunch every once in a while for inspiration. I still regularly make natto omelettes.”
“That’s so kind of you. It was originally my sister’s idea, actually. She was more creative in the kitchen than I am, but I’m afraid she isn’t around anymore.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Yes…” She stood politely, her hands crossed over each other.
“Can I ask what happened?”
“A great tragedy.” She said. “That’s all that should concern you. We were lucky we survived that night without our clan completely eradicated. That we had one survivor. Young Sasuke is the hope and pride of our family. We love him very much.”
“I can see that.”
“Which is why it worries us that he’s on a team with somebody in your… condition.”
Naruto had a feeling she was not talking about his lack of talent.
“We can’t afford to let anything happen to him.” She said. “That means I want you to be careful not to let him get hurt. And you need to be especially careful for yourself as well.”
“I am aware.” Naruto said. “But I’m not planning to die.”
“It’s a dangerous game you’re playing.” The woman said and she sounded almost sad. “I’m hoping you will be kind to Sasuke and I hope you don’t become friends. It would make it harder for the both of you when the end inevitably comes.”
Naruto shifted uncomfortably on his feet. “I don’t even like the teme.”
“I don’t like you either, dobe.” Sasuke said automatically as he walked back in, wearing his ninja clothing. He checked himself once more in the mirror by the door, before grabbing a container of fruit and walking out.
“Guess that’s my cue.”
“I’ll see you tonight for dinner. And Naruto-kun, it was so nice meeting you. Make sure to eat your snack.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Naruto stuffed the plastic container in his backpack and moved out. He caught up with Sasuke and started walking besides him.
“My aunt doesn’t seem to like you.” Sasuke said. “Don’t take it too personally. She doesn’t approve of any of my friends.”
“We’re friends?”
Sasuke glared at him and did not even deign that question with a response.
They passed by the guardsman and set back off to the village proper. Their final teammate lived on one of the main streets, above one of the busiest shops in the Hidden Leave Village.
“Right, off to Sakura’s.”
~*~
There were dozens of shoppers browsing when Naruto and Sasuke stepped in. The Haruno seals were all hung up along the walls, signalling the pure quality work that they held in the scrolls and papers they sold. Everyone knew that it was the only place in town to buy seals if you wanted quality.
“You must be Sakura’s teammates.” A nice old man said. His hair was pink and every part of his body language screamed hospitality. It was unnerving how comfortable he forced Naruto to feel. “My little princess is just upstairs with her mother. Please follow me through here.”
He led them through the shop’s backroom where a large dojo had been set up. On the wall were several opened scrolls with fighting stances and there were several displays of different weapons. Before the dojo was a stairway. Sakura’s father motioned for them to go up, before he excused himself to attend to his customers.
The upstairs room was homely. There were artificial flowers around the room and dozens of picture frames featuring the full family. There were also a lot of books. Shelves had been built against the walls and still there were stacks of books overflowing on the floor.
Sakura sat in the middle of the room. She was reading and nursing a cup of tea, with two more cups already laid out before her.
“I see Daisuke told you we were coming?” Sasuke said as he sat down and drank his tea.
“He was quite kind to, yes. And quick too.”
Naruto took the final space and rolled out the scroll between them.
“Ah, intricate work this.” Sakura noted. “It’s a good thing you brought me into this.”
“What would have happened if we broke the genjutsu forcefully?”
She sputtered, having to set down her tea. “A small explosion, most likely. Enough to burn up the scroll and screw up the assignment. No, we have to be more careful than that.”
She put her fingers on the wooden roller and closed her eyes. Naruto was not sure what she was doing, but the scroll cleared up. “Thrice reinforced. Just my luck. You’ll have to copy it quickly. I can’t keep this up for more than a few minutes.”
Naruto and Sasuke took out paper and pen and efficiently started copying. When they were done, Sakura pulled back her fingers and groaned. “Suppressing genjutsu is more draining than I remember. Tell me you got everything at least?”
“We got it.” Naruto said. “Because it’s based on the Uchiha texts, that narrows the kind of code it can be significantly.”
“Do you think it’s a word or a letter cipher?”
“Considering the length, I’d think they correspond to words. Sasuke, are the texts varied enough to work as a comprehensive word repository?”
“They’re long enough, yes.”
Sakura smiled. “Then let’s get to work.”
Naruto tried different common cipher combinations and tested them with Sasuke. He asked for the syllable or word on a specific page or line. After a few tries, they had their first attempt of a translation for the first few sentences. And it was complete gibberish. Kakashi had not made it easy.
Sakura was looking for interesting patterns along the numbers. Anything that would give them hints, like repetitions of number combinations or whether the total amount of numbers meant anything.
Team 7 had not progressed much by the time they needed to break for dinner.
“We’ll pick this back up tomorrow.” Sakura said. “Sasuke, can we use your place?”
“I’ll tell them to expect you.” Sasuke said. “The red rooster howls at the full moon.”
Naruto sighed. “Fine, you wanna give us a password, we’ll give you one too. The First Hokage got an STD.”
Sasuke sighed. “I won’t repeat that tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll assume you’re under a henge and attack you.”
Sakura chuckled. “If you showed up tomorrow and actually said Naruto’s password, neither of us would believe it was you.”
Sakura walked them both to the back door. “Next time you visit, you can just enter through here. Just knock and someone will open it for you. Saves you having to go through the shop.”
The boys nodded and went on their way. They had just made it out of the alleyway when they were stopped.
“Ah, Naruto-kun. I was meaning to have a word before you left.” The woman said. She had long straight pink hair and it was clear who she was.
“Haruno-san.” Naruto nodded at her.
She motioned Sasuke to go through while she took Naruto behind a corner. Just out of the way of foot traffic so they would not be disturbed. Still public enough neither could attack the other without notice. It was the way a ninja preferred their privacy.
“You seem to get along well with my daughter.”
“She’s a nice girl.” Naruto said. “Hard not to get along with. In no small part thanks to your upbringing, I suspect.”
“Yes, we work hard to give Sakura the future she deserves. Which is why I am warning you now not to take advantage of her kindness.”
“Ma’am?”
“I’ve heard the stories.” She said. “You got into the Academy after you befriended Iruka and he gave you a pass. You were best friends with Mizuki-san. Did he really betray the village, or was that just some lie you concocted to manipulate your way into the top nine?”
Naruto swallowed. He was getting sick of this.
“Not to mention the final secret you’re hiding. They say it’s secure, but I can’t help but wonder if truly nothing can leak through.”
“That’s not…”
“No matter. I don’t know how you’ve managed to hold on for so long without any talent, but the eventual fall is inevitable. I won’t forgive you if you take Sakura with you.”
“I am not planning on failing.” Naruto said. “I should head back home for dinner. Build up my energy.”
“Right. It was nice meeting you.” She said. “I’ll trust to only hear good things from my daughter.”
Naruto backed off and headed away.
The encounter had left a nasty taste in his mouth. It was a good thing he had lied about heading straight home. That would give him some time to let the bad taste settle before he ate. There was one thing he wanted to check.
~*~
Naruto arrived at the library just in time. He only had a few minutes before it would close. He headed straight to the foreign languages. Just leafing through the most probable, he ascertained none of them were appropriate.
And then he found it.
The book was called Language of the Occult and it held exactly the kind of words the Kyuubi had used.
Beyond snippets, nobody has been able to decipher the language of the Tailed Beasts and a dictionary does not exist. It is one of the rare mysteries in the world. In this book I will document all the different scholars who have attempted to meditate on the meanings of the words and I will recount their life stories.
He skipped ahead, but the whole book was just speculation. Any time a Tailed Beast was quoted, it was without any context clue to what the beast could have meant. No human had ever spoken the language that the Kyuubi did.
Naruto took a deep breath. This was a setback, but not a major one. He was already planning on learning a new language in his spare time to talk to the creature inside of him. What difference was it if he needed to do it without any resources?
He banged his head against the library bookcase a few times.
His life just could not be easy, huh?
He checked out the only book that would be of use and went to his apartment. He was tempted to work on Kakashi’s scroll more, but he would not accomplish much without the Uchiha bastard to help him. Instead, he watered his plants, made his dinner, and settled down to get on with his reading list.
He had not lied when he said the Kyuubi was a side-project. He should not first be reading the book to help with the Kyuubi’s language. But it had caught his attention and he had learned a long time ago that when he got fixated on something, he had to ride out that wave. There was nothing else productive he could do when he got in these moods.
The book started simply enough.
So, you’ve found yourself faced with a person who seems intelligible enough, but speaks a language you do not understand at all. The import thing is not to panic. Panic will be interpreted as a sign of weakness or aggression and you will be killed. Smile as this potential enemy talks to you and assure it you mean no harm at all. Keep a kunai behind your back at all times in case you wish to harm your enemy anyway.
Sensible advice, really.
~*~
Naruto felt like it wasted most of the morning, meeting up as late as they did. He had already had his morning run, breakfast, two more training sessions and a library run before he arrived at the Uchiha compound.
The guard was expecting him this time and it made it a lot easier to get in. Garudo still was not Naruto’s favourite person, but Naruto had to grudgingly admit Garudo’s point what a difference an appointment could make. This time only Daisuke followed him in and escorted him to the Uchiha main house. Sasuke was reading books on ciphers when Naruto walked in.
“Still learning?”
Sasuke shook his head. “My trainer focussed on cyphers today. I’m just reading about practical applications.”
Right. It was not learning if it was just fiction. A lot of talented people skirted the rules like that.
Sakura arrived a few minutes later and they got back to it.
Progress was slow, but steady, as they eliminated possibilities. Sasuke’s aunt brought them water and tea and small snacks as they worked and Naruto was the only one who thanked her. The other two seemed oblivious to her presence.
Sasuke retreated for lunch and Sakura took out her Bento. Naruto ate his own, still pouring over the scroll.
The afternoon was broken with a short walk and a forced meditation. Both had been ordered by Fu, Sasuke’s valet, who liked to thoroughly make sure they were getting enough rest.
Not to say it was not effective. By the time they had to stop for dinner, they almost had a first sentence. Just a bit more tweaking and they could decrypt in earnest.
“Meet back here tomorrow?” Naruto asked.
Sasuke nodded absent-mindedly, still staring at the scroll.
“I’m afraid that’s impossible.” Fu said from the corner. The older Uchiha had his eyes fixated on a clipboard he was carrying. “We have the diplomats from Suna visiting tomorrow. They’ll understand your absence, but if you are on clan grounds you will be expected to entertain them.”
Naruto did his best not to groan audibly. Clan etiquette was too annoying.
“Perhaps you can finish this work at Haruno-san’s house?” The man said.
“Not an option either, I’m afraid.” Sakura said. “My parents are having a big sale as soon as my training’s finished. Even if we can make enough room for us to sit, it’ll be too loud to concentrate.”
Naruto nodded. “We can always go to the library. And there are a few bars that would let us work quietly.”
“Why don’t we just go to your place?” Sakura asked.
“Seems like the easiest solution.” Sasuke added.
Naruto grit his teeth. “I can’t think of a valid reason why we couldn’t.”
“Then it’s decided.” Sakura stood. “See you guys tomorrow.”
~*~
Naruto was fidgeting. He had gone on a much longer run than usual in the morning, but that still had not calmed him down. He had made snacks, which were waiting and ready in the fridge and had tried his best to get his apartment clean. He had done an extra load of laundry and had worn his nicest things. He had picked a few yellow leaves from his favourite plant in the corner. The Lemon Geranium was not getting enough sun and that was keeping the soil too wet for too long. He would fix that later. For now, it was all about damage control.
Still, the knock on the door came earlier than he would have liked.
At least Sasuke and Sakura had come together. “Come in.”
He could see their eyes travelling over everything and Naruto could see flaws where he had been ignoring them for years. There was a bit of flooring that was busted and that he had hidden by placing a basket on top of it. It did not fit in the small hallway and did not even fully hide the damage. How had he never noticed that before?
Sasuke and Sakura entered and followed Naruto into the living room. His desk was properly closed so neither of them would see his disorderly stack of papers he still had to process. He had tried to tidy his bookcase in the middle of the night, only to find out that he owed way too many books. He had tried to put some semblance of order in them, before sealing most of his older training books in scrolls. The only books still out were the ones he frequently referenced or books that he still needed to read.
He had a small working area for his weapons that had been cleaned up and all of his plants had been fussed over to make sure they were at their most presentable. Naruto opened the curtains, only to wince. He had completely forgotten. He had been sure it had been on his list. He quickly closed the curtains to hide his failure. “I’ll turn on a light.”
“Just open the curtains.” Sasuke rolled his eyes, walking over and doing it for his teammate. Naruto tried to stop him, but Sasuke was too fast and too eager to get started.
The windows were so dirty they were hard to look through. Naruto had not cleaned them in years now.
The team shared an awkward look between them.
Naruto’s face was red and he swallowed. “Perhaps it’s better if I just turn on a light.”
“I prefer the natural light.” Sakura said. “It’s actually better like this. Would be too bright otherwise.”
“I’m pretty sure my room would be ten times worse than this if I didn’t have cousin Momo to clean for me.” Sasuke said. “Come on, let’s work on the code.”
Naruto nodded. “Do you guys want something to drink?”
“Tea.” Sasuke said, but Sakura elbowed him. “Urf.”
“Why don’t you sit down. I’ll make us some tea.”
“I have snacks too, in the fridge.” Naruto added.
“I’ll get them.” Sasuke said.
Naruto sat down on the couch, his breathing harder than was probably necessary.
“Can’t you see he’s trying?” Sakura whispered.
Naruto blinked. They probably did not realise he could still hear them.
“Of course I can.” Sasuke replied. From the sound of it, he was taking things out of the fridge. “I just hadn’t expected… this.”
“It’s fine.” Sakura said. “He’s our teammate. We shouldn’t care what his apartment looks like.”
“It’s just… sad.” Sasuke said. “Did you see the weed in the corner? He can’t even afford a proper plant.”
“I know.”
Naruto tried to pay attention to the scroll. That way he could ignore it when the tea was brought in and his teammates returned. He just wanted to get to work and get it over with.
He took a sip of his tea and smiled. Two sugars. Right. They were trying too.
“Just don’t tell aunty Jinko I’m enabling you.” Sasuke said.
Naruto smiled and they really got started. Sasuke and Sakura were both stronger with another day’s talent put into decryption and their earlier work helped a lot.
Once they had figured it out, the translation was just busy work. Sasuke recited the words and they created a suitable translation together.
“That utter bastard.” Naruto concluded.
“At least he wasn’t lying about the contents.”
In front of them was a perfect copy of the Konoha Academy leaf floating technique. There were only a few misprints along the way. “To ensure we don’t cheat and grab the Academy text halfway through.”
They gathered the new translation and made their way to the training area. Kakashi was waiting for them for a change.
“You’re early.” Their sensei noted jovially.
Naruto rolled his eyes. That was their line. “We broke the code.”
“Excellent. Let me check your work.” He eyed the scroll and hummed approvingly. “Not a thing wrong that I can see.”
“What was the point of this?” Sasuke asked.
“Ma, it was training.”
Sakura shook her head. “You were clearly testing how well we’d cooperate. There was more than one test going on.”
“Of course. As ninja, you should always look underneath the underneath.” He handed the translated scroll back to Naruto.
“Then you need us for some secret decryption task.”
“Good guess, but I just needed to make sure you could spend time together in close proximity without killing each other.” He said. “We’re leaving on a c-rank mission this Monday.” He handed a Mission scroll to each of them.
“Wave country?” Sakura asked. “Seems a bit far for a first mission.”
“It’s just a simple escort mission.” Kakashi said. “A bridge builder who came to Konoha to gather medicine for his daughter.”
“We’ll prepare for travel.” Sasuke said.
“Good. No D-ranks until we leave. Concentrate on training and reading up on the mission details.”
The three genin nodded.
“Dismissed. Naruto, a final word.“ the two of them walked over to a nearby tree. Kakashi made sure nobody was listening in, before he turned back to the boy.
“Hound says hi.”
Naruto tried not to show a reaction on his face. “You spoke with him?”
“He’s been retired for years. But I know exactly who he is.” Kakashi said.
“I see… is he going to talk to me and tell me about my mom.”
“Neither of those will be possible.”
“Then I don’t quite see what all of this has to do with me. Can I go?”
Kakashi sighed. “I can’t tell you.”
“We’ve established that.”
“I’ll see you on Monday then.” Kakashi said. “Work on shrinking your inorganic form.”
“I’ll do that.” Naruto reached for his backpack and handed a small bundle over to Kakashi. “I came across some forks and spoons and thought you might like them.”
Kakashi opened the bundle and sighed. “These look exactly like the ones that went missing.”
“What a coincidence.” Naruto waved as he headed off.
“Naruto. Look underneath the underneath.”
Naruto looked back, but Kakashi had already left.
~*~
“Wait up.” Sakura said, trying to catch up to him.
“Sakura?” Naruto was sweaty and tired. He just wanted to get home.
“I was talking with Sasuke and we both agreed your apartment wasn’t really comfortable to stay in.”
“Right.” Naruto sighed. “Look, it was only a last resort to work there. Whenever we can, we’ll meet up at your place or Sasuke’s. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
Sakura waved him off. “That’s not what I meant. Just, it’s kind of sad.”
“I know it’s sad.” Naruto said. He had had this conversation a lot of times before. “I don’t have time to both clean and train so I have to pick one. I should have the energy to do both and…”
“It’s sad that you live in that apartment and we couldn’t see anything that makes it yours.”
“Huh?” Naruto tilted his head. “I have my books, my weapons and my plants. What else should I put up?”
“Gifts you’ve had from others. Something to remind you of pleasant memories. Things you bought for yourself just because you liked the way they looked. My mom always says it’s important to surround yourself with things that spark joy.”
“Oh…”
“Anyway, we felt you should have something more personal to put up.” She handed him a small package, wrapped up with a bow.
“What’s this?”
“Open it.”
Naruto clumsily undid the wrapping and revealed a picture frame. It was Team 7. He hardly remembered the picture being taken. But he remembered that expression on his face.
“Sasuke had just said something insulting to piss me off. I wanted to redo the picture. I thought we did.”
“You had a fake smile on the new one. Didn’t feel like you. Sasuke and I had this picture printed four times, so we can all have one.”
Naruto smiled. “Thank you.”
“We’re a team now. We should take care of each other.”
~*~
He was ready to get back to bed and it still nagged at him. The way Kakashi had talked to him. The longer he thought about it, the more it felt like there was something he was missing.
He went back to his desk and pulled out the translated scroll. The sixth word had been changed. It was common practice to change texts just slightly to ensure a student actually did the work when decrypting.
It was the very first sentence.
For this exercise, you will require a small green leaf.
For this exercise, you will need a small green leaf.
Naruto circled the word and took out the Academy text to compare. There were a total of eleven words that had been changed, spread across the text. None of them changed the meaning.
He circled each one in turn and read the sentence that produced.
Need silence, because secret. Female family is page 360 minus twelve.
Naruto pulled the ninja registry from his bookcase. He skipped to the correct page and almost dropped the book when he saw her.
Bright red hair and piercing blue eyes. She was wearing a mischievous grin that reminded Naruto too much of his own when somebody needed pranking. She was listed as clanless and talentless, but her specialty was a technique called ‘chakra chains’. She was listed as an administrative ninja that had failed numerous times to be accepted as a field ninja. Until her death twelve years ago.
Her name was Uzumaki Kushina and she was Naruto’s mother.
Naruto quietly closed the book and cleaned up after himself. The translated scroll would have to be destroyed to cover Kakashi’s tracks.
Naruto got under the covers of his bed. The picture frame was on his nightstand now so that his team could watch over him as he slept. He imagined Kushina would have liked them. He imagined how she would have smiled. How she would have held her son with pride when he told her he had become a field ninja.
Hey mom, guess I finally know what you look like now. I’m sorry they never gave you the chance you deserved. I’ll have to prove myself for the both of us.
Naruto fell asleep imagining his mother holding him. Something he had imagined so many times before, but it had never felt as tangible. He could almost feel her long red hair tickling his nose. Almost hear the chuckle as she told Naruto about the day she had had. Naruto imagined her voice, light and giddy and real.
He fell asleep lulled by the soft sound of Kushina whispering how much she loved him.
Notes:
Next month, Chapter 6: People just liked it better that way. It will be Naruto's first time leaving the village with a bridge builder who has absolutely zero surprises in store for Team 7, as I'm sure everyone is already aware.
This was a calm chapter after all the excitement from the bell test and all the excitement that's still to come. I'm trying not to dwell too much, but I thought it was necessary to establish Team 7 a bit better. And knowing I wanted to do that, I also believed this chapter needed to do a lot of things at once. We get to see how Sakura’s family built a dojo in their shop just to help Sakura get the most out of her training, and we got to see some of Sasuke’s surviving family.
Naruto’s had his first ‘conversation’ with the Kyuubi and of course his first reaction to ‘we don’t speak the same language’ is to decide he’ll just have to learn another language then. Naruto might be a bit smarter in this story, but he’s as foolhardily stubborn as ever once he’s set his mind to something.
We’ve also had Naruto asking about Hound and Kakashi getting psychic damage from the conversation. One important detail I’d like to point out is that Kakashi had already made the scroll with the homework assignment before Naruto prodded him. But Naruto’s prodding did motivate Kakashi to drop more hints. Cause really. No boy should go through life without even knowing what his mother looks like.
Chapter 6: 1.6. People just liked it better that way (Istanbul (Not Constantinople))
Summary:
Oh yeah! Naruto finally gets to be outside of the village! He can't wait to spend all day walking and building his endurance. He'll get to meet with their client who will be thrilled to have the best genin team to guard him, and see something of the world. It's not like a C-rank mission will actually contain any danger, right?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
They met at the village gate. Naruto had packed anything that seemed important and had spent the previous days buying supplies for anything he was lacking. It had taken a toll on his bank account, but it was unwise to take any chances when he was leaving the village.
Sakura and Sasuke were waiting for him. They both seemed better equipped than usual, light-weight armour fitted under their normal clothes. Naruto had wanted to get some too, but it had been outside of his budget.
“Looking forward to leaving the village?”
“I haven’t been out once in the last two years.” Sakura said. “Even then it was only to visit a ceremony one village over.”
“I was six the last time. We went to the capital to pay a diplomatic visit to the Daimyo.” Sasuke said. “I don’t remember it.”
“I’ve only ever been in the forests surrounding Konoha.” Naruto said. “Can’t believe I finally get to visit somewhere else.”
A gruff voice sounded behind them. “It’s not a vacation, brat.”
Naruto turned to the man. His hair was grey in a way that implied age and damaged pigment. He was drinking a bottle of booze that smelled strong enough that they could pick it up from a twenty feet distance. It looked like he had slept in his clothes and it had taken too much effort already to make it to the gate.
“None of you are inspiring a lot of confidence. How old are you?”
“Do you need us to demonstrate our competence?” Sasuke asked.
“We’re old enough to be official ninja of Konoha village, Tazuna-san.” Sakura said.
“I’ve got blisters that are older than you.” The old man dawdled.
Naruto got right in his face. “Do you need us to protect you or do you need help with your skin-care routine?”
“I don’t like you.” The man glared at Naruto.
“Great, we have something in common after all.”
“Ma, everyone.” Kakashi stepped between them, appearing out of nowhere. “Let’s be nice to each other. Tazuna-san, these are my favourite little students. Minions, this our esteemed client whom we will be escorting back home. I understand there’s some haste?”
“I couldn’t really leave home at all, but my daughter needed this medicine.” Tazuna said. “I need to get back as soon as possible to continue construction of my bridge.”
“You’re building a bridge?” Sakura asked as they set off. “That sounds fascinating.”
Sakura kept him talking about building techniques until the Konoha walls were far enough away that they could not see them anymore. It was further than Naruto had ever ventured and he was feeling strangely homesick already.
Naruto knew he needed to preserve his energy. He was used to long runs and intense exercise bursts, but it was different when they would be walking for a full day. Turned out he had not needed to worry quite as much. They took a break every two hours, where Sasuke and Sakura complained about their pace and tried to stretch the break even further.
Their feet hurt badly after they had broken for lunch and they were seriously considering calling it a day. Naruto was horrified, even more so when Kakashi agreed with them.
“Another day won’t hurt and it’s your first mission. I understand it’s overwhelming.”
Naruto rolled his eyes as Sasuke and Sakura settled in. They set up their tents, put more wood on the fire, and took out books their teachers had given them. Kakashi settled in with his porn book.
That left Naruto and Tazuna sharing an exasperated look. “That’s all they can take, really?”
Naruto shrugged. “They’re amazing in a fight, if that helps.”
“So this is what talent does to a person.”
“Don’t you have any talented people in your village?”
“My son-in-law was blessed with talent.” He said. “He passed away.”
“I’m sorry.” Naruto said. “That must have been hard.”
The merchant nodded. “I take care of his son, my grandson. The little kid inherited some of his dad’s talent but he is deathly afraid to use it. That others might come after him. The people who threaten us… they’re dangerous to us.”
“But that’s why you’ve got us to protect you, right?”
“I’m not sure you’ll be enough…”
“Nothing to worry about. We may look young, but short of a ninja there isn’t anyone who can challenge us.”
“Right.” Tazuna swallowed. “You’ll be fine. Shouldn’t you be using your talent like your teammates?”
“Ah, but I don’t have any talent.”
He blinked a few times. “Then how are you a ninja?”
“I got there the long way around.”
“Is that… even possible?”
“I’m proof that it is.” Naruto said. He made the hand seals and then Tazuna was looking into a mirror, every feature copied into the smallest detail. It was his own voice that continued. “Though I doubt a brat like you would believe me.”
The man blinked a few times, clearly impressed. “This is just uncanny.”
Naruto chuckled, letting the form melt away. “I’m going to scout around the camp. If these slowpokes are going to call it a day after I went through all the effort conserving energy, then I’ll need a different outlet.”
Naruto circled around them, jumping through trees and only stopping to lay the occasional trap. He snuck up on a small bird and hunted it down. Fresh meat. Score.
He got funny looks when he returned to the camp a few hours later.
“T-told you he’d tire out eventually.” Sakura said.
Sasuke hmphed. “What the hell are you eating, dobe, that you have this much energy to spare?”
“Enough, I guess.” Naruto shrugged. “How the hell did you think I kept up all these years without a talent?”
The two genin looked at each other like they had never really thought about it and that now that they were forced to, their brains were incapable of coming up with an answer.
“Well, I caught dinner.”
Sakura shook her head. “That’s kind of you, but we have our own.” She pulled out a large storage scroll and showed what it contained.
Naruto looked at them with jealousy. Those things had cooling effects, warming effects and preservation effects. Food could be put in stasis, basically, and consumed whenever they were required, just as nutritious as the moment it was sealed and at ideal serving temperatures.
“Didn’t you come prepared?” Sasuke asked.
Of course Naruto had. He had ration bars with him and protein powders and vitamin supplements. He had enough with him to survive and keep up his progress. That was not the same as the insanely expensive preparation levels of his teammates. Nor was any of his rations as satisfying as a freshly cooked meal.
“Your loss.” Naruto said. He plucked the feathers and then skewered the bird meat over the fire. He had enough condiments with him to give it taste.
Sasuke and Sakura were in for a rude awakening when they unsealed their own dinners. Though it looked delicious, though it was nutritious as hell, the taste was completely gone.
Sasuke shuddered. “I knew this, but I still somehow had not expected it.”
“At least now you’ve learned.”
“Don’t have the talent left.” Sasuke said, surprised with each bite that it was this disgustingly flavourless.
“Screw your talent. Just learn it.” Naruto said.
“That’ll screw up my whole schedule.” Sasuke said. It was getting painful to watch. “I can endure this.”
“And this is why I always keep a few seconds left over.” Sakura gloated. Her food was just as bad, but at least it was less of a surprise for her.
Tazuna nudged Naruto’s arm. “I don’t understand. Is he stupid or something?”
“Well, yeah. But in this case, he doesn’t want to learn anything useless. He’ll get eight hour’s study out of the material he covered in the hour he used. But talents get finicky if you overstretch them.”
“It’s just a tiny little bit of information.”
“Right. But it’s in excess to his limit. There was this one incident with a kid in my class, Chouji. He had spent his talent on Mathematics, but went over his talent limit to learn a single taijutsu stance. He did not spend more than a minute on the taijutsu, but the stance still ended up as more than half of his granted experience.”
“Sounds inconvenient.”
“It’s only a problem if you accidentally use up all of your time. For Sakura, keeping a few seconds in reserve won’t matter that much, but she can spend it on things like these.”
“You know a lot about talent for someone who doesn’t have any.”
Naruto shrugged. “All the ninja in my class had talent. I had to understand to interact with them. Wasn’t it the same for you and your son?”
“My wife raised him. I wasn’t around a lot, sadly. The bridge I am building now, I’ve studied for it my whole life. I was always away from the village, apprenticing whenever I could. Saving up the money and convincing investors to build one for my hometown.”
“What’s so important about this bridge anyway?”
“The waters are controlled by a single merchant overlord. We can’t cross the river unless he lets us. He much prefers to exploit us. He forces us to sell cheap and buy steep. Once we can transfer the goods ourselves, we can compete fairly.”
“Won’t the guy be pissed?”
Tazuna looked away. “He already is. But there’s not a lot he can do about it. Konoha is interested in the bridge being built and has assigned the four of you to protect me.”
Konoha did not hire itself out to competing clients, and other ninja villages would not risk war with Konoha over something so relatively trivial. This evil merchant could only hire thugs and Team 7 was well equipped to handle those.
After dinner, Naruto approached Sakura. “Do you think you could watch me?”
“Another mind scape exercise?”
“Yeah. It’s tricky to get used to it, so I’m hoping exposure helps.”
“I don’t see why not.”
Naruto smiled.
~*~
Naruto did not smile. The Kyuubi preferred to communicate in grunts and vague motions. Naruto tried to reproduce some of the words he had heard and the Kyuubi stared at him in bewilderment.
“Come on, I’m trying my best here. Work with me!”
The kyuubi just grinned. He had figured out Naruto wanted to communicate in the Demon’s language and had simply decided to stop talking.
“Fine. Be that way.”
Naruto let the mindscape fall away. Without the hate crashing over him, it was easier to get back. Two pairs of hands were on him as he returned. His team was helping him wake and it was unnerving how much it helped. Sakura and Kakashi both seemed worried about his wellbeing. Even Sasuke was sitting a little closer and spared worried glances his way.
“I’m okay.” Naruto said. “But thanks.”
“Do you need something to read to get your mind off it?”
“Nah, too wired to concentrate right now. I’m going to practice my Henge.”
“More training?” Sasuke said exasperated. “When do you even rest?”
“As infrequently as I can get away with.” He answered.
“How far have you gotten?” Kakashi asked.
“Been focussing on the shrinking.” Naruto said. He made the hand signs and was replaced with a toddler version of himself, flashing a peace sign.
“Impressive.” Kakashi said, ruffling Naruto’s baby blond hair. “How long can you hold it?”
“Ages!” Naruto beamed proudly, holding up all ten of his little fingers. “Ish fun!”
“And the inorganic transformations?”
Naruto sighed, before making a sign with his tiny hands.
He became a large scroll the size of Kakashi’s leg. He held it for just a few seconds. He swayed as he got his own body back. “Still makes me squirm. But I’ve got all the basics down.”
“Have you looked into animal shapes yet?”
Naruto shook his head. “Can’t properly conceptualise the anatomy. And I’m not supposed to practice it at all until I can get the inorganic form down to the size of a coin.”
“Keep up the good work.” Kakashi said.
Tazuna looked the kid over, clearly impressed. “You can just about turn into anyone, can you?”
Naruto thought he should have a little fun. He made a hand sign and became Sakura. He put on the widest smile. “That is so kind of you to say, Tazuna-san. But it’s not nearly as impressive as what you were telling me this afternoon. I really thought bridges made from iron would sink straight into the water!”
Sakura chuckled. “You’re unnervingly good at that.”
Naruto wore Kakashi’s face as he turned to her. “There is still much that needs to be improved. His grasp on the female form is far from what I’d expect.” He pointed at his orange book. “I should know!”
“That’s uncanny, Naruto-Kakashi-sensei!”
Kakashi sighed from across the camp. “That doesn’t sound like me at all. I’m much more likely to comment on his abysmal social skills.”
“I don’t know.” Sakura smiled. “Naruto really gets along with us. Sometimes I can’t even tell us apart.”
“Ma, you must learn to look underneath the underneath, Sakura-chan.” Naruto opened Kakashi’s porn book and showed the bottom of the last page where it was writen clearly in red crayon marker that Naruto was a poopyhead.
Sakura giggled lots.
Naruto took on the shape of Sasuke next, his hands in his pockets and putting on the holiest-than-thou expression he could. With just a bit of a smirk. “Now that I’m here, this mission is guaranteed to be a success.”
Sakura was having trouble breathing. “But Naruto-Sasuke-kun, Kakashi says we have to work together.”
“I’ll work together. With my left fist and my right.” He shook both of them in demonstration.
“Cut it out, dobe.” Sasuke complained.
“What, scared of a little competition?” Naruto taunted the boy. “Not so easy when there’s another Uchiha to compete against.”
Naruto lost his shape in a puff of smoke as Sasuke’s fist connected to his cheek. He tumbled back and regained his footing, ready to counter. But both Kakashi and Sakura were between them, Kakashi facing Sasuke and Sakura facing Naruto.
It had happened so suddenly that Naruto had not been able to react at all.
“That was tactless, Naruto.” She said.
“Go cool down.” Kakashi told the other boy, pointing Sasuke away from the camp.
Naruto rubbed at his cheek and then turned the opposite way. He felt like punching trees until his hands hurt more than his face. Until the physical pain overcame the guilt and anxiety he was feeling.
~*~
Naruto’s hands were sore and almost bloody and he did not feel a whole lot better.
He hunched against a tree and found his centre.
Naruto was fed up with everything. It was not his fault Sasuke’s family had a big tragedy. He kept thinking he was getting closer to the team and then it was all smashed up and ruined. One step forward and two steps back.
He was sick of it.
He went into his sewers and he stared the demon down.
“Listen up, you damned fox demon.” He said. “I didn’t ask for you to be inside of me and you didn’t ask to be trapped here either. Stop making this harder than it has to be and start talking.”
The demon made more of those weird motions that didn’t mean anything.
“Fine. Have it your way.” Naruto drew in a large breath and then he started singing. As loudly as he could. As off-key as he could.
The demon trashed.
“Subsiste!”
“See, you can talk. Isn’t that convenient.”
The Demon Fox growled.
Naruto held up a hand and pointed at himself. “Naruto.”
The fox stayed silent.
Naruto started his tune again and the fox bared his teeth, clearly getting ready to endure this as long as was needed.
Did he think Naruto would give up that easily? He pulled up his chakra and transformed. Inside his mind scape there was no mass to manipulate yet the technique worked just as easily. He managed to stretch himself taller and taller until he was just as tall as the demon was. And with an increase in height, also came an increased lung size. He stared the demon down and belted.
The demon looked defiant, until it finally turned away from the match and sighed.
Naruto pointed at himself again. “Naruto.”
The fox spat venom. And then he sounded, booming through the Sewers. “Kurama.”
“Nice to meet you, Kurama.” Naruto said, as flatly as he could.
It was not nearly as much as he wanted, but it was a start.
~*~
Kakashi was there when he came back to reality, standing nearby.
It was easier to come back with someone so near. Naruto feared he would get too used to it.
“Sasuke has calmed down considerably.” Kakashi said. “We should head back and get some sleep.”
“I’m not sure I’ve calmed down yet.”
“You’re not normally one to hold grudges.”
“He punched me, Kakashi-sensei. We’re on a mission. There’s no excuse for that.”
“Do you know what happened to him four years ago?”
“I know some Uchiha bastard thought they could become more powerful by killing the rest of the clan.”
“Not just some Uchiha. Sasuke’s brother. Do you know how he managed to sneak through an entire clan and kill so many people without drawing any alarm?”
Naruto shrugged.
“He was powerful.” Kakashi said. “But Itachi’s greatest weapon was the Henge.”
Naruto winced. “I didn’t know that.”
“Not many do.”
“Was it really… did Sasuke’s brother really kill the whole clan, most of the Uchiha family, just to get a little more talent?”
“It wasn’t just talent he received.” Kakashi said. What Itachi did, killing them the way he did… he ripped out the experiences the Uchiha had gathered with their talent and tried to take it for himself. He stole over a millennium of experience and got perhaps a decade of skill out of it. Sasuke, by sheer proximity, got maybe a year. Maybe the rest made it to their guardian spirits. Perhaps it was simply lost. Erased in a single evening.”
Naruto swallowed. “He left Sasuke though.”
“Yeah, he left Sasuke.” Kakashi said. “Marked and poisoned by the experience to train as hard as he possibly can. Like the Hyuuga, the Uchiha have a way to get more powerful even as they’ve spread their talent. The Uchiha way is both more permanent and efficient. The Uchiha heir can take the eyes of one other clan member, and claim all the skill they’ve ever earned.”
“Itachi left Sasuke alive… to incubate?”
“Yes. With less people in the clan, both of them have higher talent scores. Sasuke has the potential to grow stronger than any other Uchiha has in decades. Itachi will fight him then and try to take Sasuke’s eyes.”
“Then… isn’t Sasuke playing into his hands by training and getting stronger?”
“Perhaps, but he is gambling that when Itachi comes for him, he will be able to defeat him. As soon as Itachi dies, Sasuke will become heir in the eyes of the Spirit Guardian. And as heir, he can take Itachi’s eyes and all his strength. It’s his only chance to reclaim everything that his brother took from the clan.”
“That’s why he… that’s why he trains so hard.” Naruto said.
“Sakura has her parents to push her, and the responsibility to introduce her clan to the world. Hinata has the Hyuuga family, like Shino has the Aburame family pushing him. But Sasuke, he’s motivated by something darker.”
“It must be a big burden to carry around.”
“We all have our burdens. Yours isn’t any easier.”
Naruto grasped at his belly. “I saw this lady in the ninja registry book that shared my last name.”
“Oh?” Kakashi played the fool.
“Uzumaki Kushina. She was talentless like me. And I wondered… was that because she was a Jinchuuriki too?”
“Yeah, she was.” Kakashi said. “Not many people knew.”
“And she died the day I was born. Was it childbirth?” Naruto asked. Was my birth responsible for so many people dying?
“No. For one, because Kushina wasn’t pregnant at the time.” Kakashi said to keep up the charade. “For the other, Kushina was friends with many medical ninja who would have been able to treat her if there were complications during child birth. Her death… was an assassination.”
“By someone who wanted to release the Kyuubi?”
“There is no other explanation.” Kakashi said.
“Who was it?”
“I’ve been trying to figure that out for twelve years. To no effect.”
Naruto nodded. “We’d better go back, then.” He rummaged through his things and pulled out a small scroll which he handed to his sensei as they walked. “This does not change anything. I won’t forgive him until he’s actually talked to me. But I want to repay him too.”
Kakashi opened the scroll to see a drawing of the ANBU Hound, posing on the top of a building, drawn with big white wings and a halo. My guardian angel.
Kakashi rubbed at his eyes and was silent the entire way back.
~*~
Naruto got into the tent. Sasuke was turned away from him, hidden under the covers. Naruto settled down in his sleeping bag.
“I shouldn’t have hit you.” Sasuke said.
Was that... was that supposed to be an apology. “No, you shouldn’t have. Sorry I ticked you off. Anything I can do to make it up to you?”
“No.” Sasuke said, shrugging under the covers.
“Good night then.”
Naruto turned to the other side. He had exhausted himself enough, but it seemed hard to actually go to sleep.
“Did Kakashi tell you?”
“He told me a few things.” Naruto said. “I never knew it was your brother who was responsible.”
Sasuke sighed. “Nobody saw it coming.”
“What was he like?”
“I didn’t know him very well. He became an active ninja when he was still a toddler, encouraged to get strong quickly and help with the war. He was the Uchiha heir with all the responsibilities that entailed. When he was home, he still had many duties to attend to.”
“So you never saw him?”
“I snuck out sometimes to see him train. He was obsessed with getting stronger even then. But whenever I tried to talk to him, he dismissed me.”
“Ouch.”
“He didn’t want a brother, or a clan or a family. He just cared about himself.”
“Do you know why he wanted the power?”
“Same reason as everyone, probably.”
“I wonder what he wanted, that he was willing to betray his own family like that.”
“I’ve found it’s easier to think of him as someone without moral considerations.”
Naruto nodded. “You think you can deal with me using the Henge?”
“No.” Sasuke said. “But I’ll work on it.”
“Good. Then I’ll try not to make it harder for you than it has to be.”
~*~
“You’re up early.” Kakashi noted.
Naruto stretched his muscles, getting ready to use them. “Not any earlier than usual. You mind if I go for a run?”
“Will you be alright walking after?”
Naruto gave him a look. “Yeah, I think I’ll be fine.”
“Then have fun.”
Naruto walked around the camp, finding a relatively easy route, before picking up speed and starting to run properly. He made sure to stay in Kakashi’s range, so the jounin would not be worried. And then he let loose.
He had started his day running ever since Iruka had suggested it. Naruto tended to stay up late and be groggy in the morning. The hour that the Academy focussed on teaching was hard for everyone to follow, but much more so if a student was not fully awake. It was designed too hard to understand in one go, for kids to let their talents mull over.
The running made sense and he had started to like it a lot. It had felt like he was dying at first, but now it was just freeing. He was able to clear his head and let all his normal worries behind.
When he finished, he undressed and took a quick swim in the nearby river. The water was cold, but also very refreshing. He was definitely awake by the time he got back out and dried himself off.
“Good morning.” He said to the tiger that had decided to approach the water for a drink.
It ignored him.
He finished getting dressed at a leisure place, sneaking glances at the big cat every few seconds. It looked large and dangerous, even bigger than the tigers Naruto had met around Konoha.
“Try to stay away from my team, yeah? We’re not easy prey.” Naruto gave its head a quick pet, before moving off.
When he got back to the camp, Sasuke was running through taijutsu kata and Sakura was meditating by the remains of the fire. Kakashi was helping Tazuna pack everything up.
Naruto saw Sasuke avoiding eye contact with him and decided Sakura was the better bet to approach.
“Morning, Naruto.”
“I hope I didn’t disturb you.”
“It’s fine. Just a centring technique. Letting yesterday’s experiences settle in.”
“Is that really necessary?”
“It doesn’t hurt.” She said. “If for no other reason than to appreciate the gift that’s given to us each day.”
“Yeah, it’s good to stick to our normal routines when we’re away from home. Doesn’t feel quite right though in this new environment.”
“Tell me about it. I usually use the dojo for this. Just a room completely quiet while my breakfast is prepared. First time in years that I’m not waking up in my own bed. Also the first time in years that I don’t have to help setting up the shop. So there are definite advantages too.”
“It’s nice waking up without having to worry about my plants.” Naruto said. He loved the green touches to his apartment, but taking care of them took more time than he liked.
“Did you catch something for breakfast?”
Naruto shook his head. “There was a tiger and I didn’t want to disturb it.”
“A tiger?” Kakashi asked. “Did you manage to avoid it?”
“It didn’t bother me.”
“That’s good. We’ll have to go at a slower pace today. I’d rather avoid any bloodshed if it’s coming after us.”
“It was headed away. We’ll be fine.”
“Ah. I’d still like to give it a head-start before we risk attracting its attention. We’ll leave in half an hour.”
They sealed the tents away and put the scrolls in all the respective backpacks. The genin did what they could to erase all evidence they had stayed there, before Kakashi made another sweep and addressed anything they had missed. Naruto observed closely, while Sasuke and Sakura made notes to give their teachers.
Naruto clapped his hands. “Okay, Sasuke and Sakura, I’m going to ask for your bags.”
“What?”
Naruto held up his hands invitingly.
Sasuke shrugged and handed his over. Sakura followed with a bit more hesitation.
Naruto looped them over his forearms and made a hand sign. He looked the spitting image of the bridge builder, the bags smoothed out under his transformation as padding underneath the clothing. To help Sasuke, he had left a couple of clear mistakes in his disguise. He kept streaks of orange in the bridge builder’s clothes and items. Nothing that looked particularly out of place, but clear signals to his teammates just who he was.
“I’m making the journey like this, for as long as I can hold it. Got to do something to make it challenging.”
“Thanks, Naruto.” Sakura patted his arm.
Sasuke rolled his eyes and started walking. “Toss me my bag if anything happens.”
Like anything would. This was a glorified babysitting mission. What could go wrong?
~*~
Naruto was already looking for potential camping spots. They had stopped an hour for lunch and had then managed to continue for another two hours. It helped his teammates’ stamina that Naruto was carrying their things and it showed. He had less time to train, but the whole exercise of the day counted well enough, especially with his extra imposed handicaps.
Naruto’s mind was on stopping and building camp. He was thinking about how much he would be able to train and what he would concentrate on.
He was not counting on an attack at all.
Yet there were suddenly two ninja were behind them. They were charging so fast that Naruto hardly had any time to respond. The two held a chain between them and it was wrapped around Kakashi’s body before Naruto fully realised what was going on.
And then their jounin sensei was ripped apart.
Naruto tried to process. He recognised the headbands of the foreign ninja. They were from the Hidden Mist Village and the slash across their hitai-ate meant that they had defected. Missing ninja. Great. Naruto did not recognise them from the Bingo book, but he had not studied it excessively. He was not meant to run into foreign ninja on this mission.
Focus.
Tazuna had not even realised anything was wrong yet. The client’s protection was first. Naruto shoved him away from the threat, and jumped ahead. One of his teammates could protect the bridge builder and create some distance.
Naruto charged with a kunai held high. He was still in Tazuna’s form and it gave him height to attack the older opponents.
But the enemies seemed unfazed and simply prepared their chain.
It was eery how easily they manipulated that thing. Each end was attached to a gauntlet on mirrored sides of their bodies and by moving the gauntlet they created circular shapes in the air. Naruto needed to be caught in just one of those to lose a limb. Multiple and he would end up like Kakashi.
Kakashi, who was dead. Why did Naruto think he even stood a chance against these enemies?
There was no time for doubts. Naruto swiped at one of the Mist ninja, only to have him dodge to the side. The other one was circling around and bringing the chain around Naruto. Naruto dove under the chain to get out of the trap.
The ninja twisted the chain and it was suddenly lower than it had been. Just half a feet over the ground. Naruto exchanged his form for a toddler’s and rolled underneath it. Then he stood straight in Kakashi’s body, throwing kunai at the enemies.
He saw Tazuna a distance away, with Sakura and Sasuke both standing guard in front of the man. Neither seemed to be stepping forward to help. Why were they not backing him up?
One of the Mist ninja charged Naruto suddenly, gloved fist extended. There was no time to dodge or transform and the only option left was a Kawarami. The wood he left behind exploded in a rain of splinters.
Naruto had no time to rest in the tree he had ended up and dove straight on the Mist ninja that had stayed still. The enemy figured it out just in time and managed to turn the lethal attack into a small graze on the side of his arm. He was fast to counter and aimed his fist straight for Naruto’s torso.
Naruto slipped under his form as Konohamaru, dragging the kunai along the inside of the chuunin’s leg. The other one was waiting for him and it took all he had to replace himself with another log.
“Fucking fight me already.”
Naruto felt broken as he dived in again. One more sneak attack, this time on the one who had remained unhurt so far. The Mist ninja was too quick. He dove to the side and had one more chain attack prepared. The one who had been injured still participated too skilfully.
Naruto was about to be wrapped up just like Kakashi had been. This time the chain had so many loops that no amount of shrinking would get Naruto out of there. Naruto knew what was coming next and he did not have another replacement in him. Not so soon after two consecutive ones.
He had only one more option.
The two enemies pulled the chain taut and instead of the tearing of flesh, they were squeezing the life out of a thick iron rod.
Naruto felt like he was suffocating. He had not properly worked his way to this inorganic form. He had not taken a deep enough breath before. The pressure all over his metal body was insane and it was only because he was condensed that it was keeping all together. It stressed the material so much that it was begging Naruto for him to turn back into flesh. It would kill the boy, of course, but the organic matter of his cells was not smart enough to consider that.
There was no mouth to scream for help. No more chakra to meld to escape this.
It was the end.
At least the Kyuubi would have its revenge, Naruto thought bitterly.
“Die already so we can get to the fucking bridge builder.”
Naruto could feel he would not be able to hold on much longer.
And then he did not need to. Kakashi appeared out of nowhere to render the uninjured Mist ninja unconscious. With the bigger threat taken care of, the other one was the work but of a moment. The chain loosened and Naruto reformed, gasping for air.
He scrambled away from the chain and the enemy, towards his team and supposed safety. There were tears in his eyes and his gasps for breath had turned to hyperventilation. The more the adrenaline left his body, the worse everything started to feel.
He could have died.
He almost did.
“Naruto, are you alright?” Kakashi asked.
“Give me… give me a minute.” Naruto gasped. His head was spinning and it felt like any second now he would be back in chains, suffocating.
“Naruto.” Sakura said. “You’re having a panic attack. You need to…”
“I need a fucking minute.” Naruto bit at her.
Kakashi was dismantling the chain and tying the chuunin ninja up with rope. He was applying chakra suppressers to them. It felt better to see them this helpless. It made him calm down little by little.
But as the fear was going, there was another emotion overtaking him.
Kakashi turned to Tazuna. “I think you owe us an explanation. Why are there chuunin coming to kill you?”
“I didn’t… Gato was supposed to leave it be once Konoha got involved.”
“Gato… from the Gato company?” Kakashi asked. “The most powerful and wealthy merchant in the Land of Waves?”
Tazuna flinched. “You’ve heard of him.”
“Of course I have. Not, however, from the mission briefing. Why is Gato after you?”
“He’s exploiting the people in my country by preventing naval trade. He has a monopoly on everything and that’s not the only illegal trade he’s involved in.”
“The Hidden Mist village wouldn’t let that stand.”
“They tolerate Gato for the most part. He knows how to befriend them and be useful enough that they look the other way when it comes to his shadier business. I swear I didn’t know for sure he had missing nin on his side. I had only heard unreliable rumours.”
“He’s desperate to stop you, it seems.” Kakashi hesitated. “I wonder if these were the only ones.”
“Sensei.” Naruto said. “You let them attack us, tricked them into thinking you’d died… so you could figure out who they were after?”
“I needed to know.”
“How much longer would you have waited?” Naruto asked. Would you have left me die?
“About six seconds.” Kakashi answered. “I know your limit, even considering the improvisation, but I’m sorry I had to push you so close to it.”
Naruto nodded. His throat felt dry as he turned to the other genin. “And where were you two?”
“We needed to protect the client.” Sakura said.
“Both of you?”
“It was too dangerous to step in.” Sasuke said. “They were chuunin.”
“So you let me fight them alone?”
“We didn’t tell you to jump in, dobe.”
“We’re supposed to be a team.” Naruto said. “What good are you as bodyguards if you’re not prepared to fight.”
“We were weaker.” Sakura said. “It wasn’t safe.”
“The three of us together would have stood a chance.”
“We can’t just risk it.” Sasuke said. “We’re the last members of our clan. If anything happens to us…”
“Bullshit.” Naruto spat. “You think your life is more valuable than mine?”
Sasuke winced.
“Sakura, you think it’d be less sad if I died than either of you?”
She bowed her head, refusing to speak.
“You’re not that elitist. Either of you. Stop rationalising the choice and tell the truth. You were scared.”
“It was the smart thing to do.” Sakura said, but her voice was shaking and she had never sounded less sure of herself.
Sasuke shook his head.
Kakashi sighed. “I agree with Naruto.”
“Sensei?”
“This was your first battle. You panicked and that much I understand. But this can’t happen again. Not when your client needs you. And never when a teammate does. Understood?”
The two nodded.
“Naruto, I’m proud of you.” Kakashi said. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
He had not even had time to check. He felt around his clothes with his hands, until he found a tear in the side of his torso. When he touched the skin, his hand came away bloody.
“I’ll need it bandaged.” Naruto said. He would not be able to reach there.
“I’ll do it.” Sakura said. She helped Naruto take off his jacket and then started cleaning up the wound. “It’s better to stitch up the wound first. I’ve got some sedative with me.”
“Skip the sedative.” Naruto said.
“Are you sure?”
Naruto nodded.
“Tell me when it hurts too much, okay?”
Bit too late. “I’ve been in worse scraps.”
It was Sasuke who found the bottles on the Missing ninja’s bodies. He shared a look with Kakashi and then his teammates. “Poison.”
Kakashi grimaced. “Give them here.” He opened them both and took in the scent. “One’s the poison, the other the antidote. Naruto, you’ll have to drink this. Two small sips an hour until the effects are gone.”
Naruto nodded, taking the flask and swallowing two big swigs from it.
“What are you doing?” Sakura asked. “Overdosing on the antidote is just as bad as suffering from the poison.”
“I have a high metabolism.” Naruto said. The Kyuubi’s poisonous chakra neutralised antidotes and medicine, which meant Naruto had to take higher dosages more often. Naturally, it also strengthened poisons and increased the risk of infection. Because why should he ever get a break in anything?
Kakashi looked to his students. “What do we do now?”
Tazuna startled. “You can’t leave me unprotected. I have to get back to my daughter and grandson.”
“You’ve withheld information from us.” Kakashi said with a deadly cold in his voice. “Which nearly got one of my students killed. You are going to shut up now until we tell you that you can talk again, while I discuss this with the children who were put in danger.”
Sakura swallowed. “I don’t want to say it, but it would be too dangerous to go on.”
“She’s right.” Sasuke said. “We barely survived the encounter with two chuunin. Who knows what else could be sent after us?”
Naruto checked his bandages and put on his jacket. “Tazuna’s right though. He has the best chance if we stay with him.”
“We need to think about us too.” Sakura said.
“We are. But going back’s not an option.” Naruto said.
“We’re a day’s journey from Konoha.” Sasuke said as he realised just how far away they were. He sighed. “We can’t travel much further today, which means we’d only be putting meaningful distance between us and the enemy starting tomorrow. It’s optimistic to think we can make it in a single day. We’d have to stop halfway there. We’d be vulnerable the entire time.”
“But if Tazuna’s not with us…” Sakura tried.
“He will be killed for sure.” Kakashi said. “And it’s still dangerous for us. Missing ninja hold grudges.”
“Which means forward is the shortest route to safety.” Sakura grunted. “Relative safety.”
“Yes.” Kakashi looked at the road ahead. “Just another hour and we’re at the water where a boat is waiting for us. It will carry us the rest of the way and we’ll be in Tazuna’s village by nightfall. In a building we can properly secure. In a location where we have many allies.”
“And it’ll save my life.” Tazuna chimed in.
“There’s that too.” Kakashi admitted.
“Can we get a message to Konoha?” Sakura asked. “For back-up?”
He nodded. “Of course.” With a hand sign, he summoned one of his guardian spirits, a small dog. He wrote a message and secured it on the dog’s collar. “Please take this straight to the Hokage. I’m depending on you.”
The dog nodded. “I’ll be swift as the wind.”
It was the first time Naruto had ever seen a spirit animal. He had expected them to glow or have some weight in their presence. Instead it had looked like any normal dog. It would have reminded him about the Inuzuka, except their dogs only barked. And he was glad not to be reminded of them. He was not in the mood for spiralling negativity.
“Do you think they’ll send anyone?” Naruto asked.
Sakura and Sasuke seemed offended at the question, which is why they were so surprised at Kakashi’s shrug. “It’ll take two days for the message to get to them. Another day to find an available ninja team and brief them. Another few days to arrange travel documentation for all of them. And then they need to travel to us.”
“But… it’s an emergency.” Sakura said.
“It’s the risk we take when we travel to another country.”
“It’s not enough.” Sasuke said. “We need to take our chances and go back. There’s no other option.”
“Tazuna…” Naruto asked. “Just so we’re clear, how important is the medicine for your daughter?”
“She’s been growing more ill over the last few months. Without the medicine she won’t last a year.”
“And if you die, and your daughter dies because she did not receive her medicine, what happens to your grandkid?”
“H-he’d be left homeless. There’s no one in the village left who could take him. None that would have the food to spare.”
“He’d have to do something illegal to survive.”
“No. Never. That would mean going on Gato’s moral turf, dealing with Gato’s henchmen. He’d die before that. He’d live in the woods instead and try to hunt for himself. But that’s prohibited by Gato too. One of Gato’s men would get to him anyway and make an example out of him.”
“How many die when you don’t build your bridge?”
“Gato’s thugs kill every day. The hunger they’re responsible for is taking the life of dozens more. Not to mention all the people who are sick and can’t afford the medicine.”
“You’re right, Sasuke. There’s no other option. We have to go on.”
Kakashi turned to Sakura. “You’re the tie breaker.”
She looked at both her teammates in turn. “I understand you, Sasuke. You may be the last of your clan, but I’m the first of mine. I know that we have to be careful and that we can’t risk our lives needlessly. But we were also chosen by the spirits and we need to make them proud. I agree with Naruto. It’s dangerous, but if we’re not using our training to help others, what use is it being a ninja?”
Sasuke cursed under his breath. “Fine. I’ll change my vote then so it’s unanimous. It’s not like I’d be happier going home. Both options are rotten.”
“The life of a ninja.” Kakashi noted. “Then let’s move on, if everyone’s ready.”
Naruto gathered up his teammates’ bags. They had been dropped in the middle of the fight when he had lost his henge, but they seemed mostly undamaged. He did not think his chakra could handle it if he gathered them under another transformation, but his teammates could not handle the walk if they had to carry it.
He looped them around his arms again and set off. It looked weird. It felt weird. But he had done stranger things to train.
Together they marched forward.
They had never felt more tense.
~*~
When they reached the water, Naruto could cry out in joy. It was even a misty evening, which would hide them from the patrolling vessels.
“This mist… it’s too thick.” Kakashi said. He was looking around them carefully.
“Mist ninja.” Sakura noted. All of them had their kunai out, circling around the Bridge builder.
A booming chuckle brought them out of their state, all staring at the tree line where a beast of a man was perched wielding a sword the same monstrous size he was. He looked to be at least a head taller than Kakashi. “You’ve gone and made it challenging for me, Tazuna-san. As much of a challenge as three little lambs can be, at least.”
Kakashi tensed. “Momochi Zabuza. Demon of the Hidden Mist village.”
Sakura gasped at the name, her eyes going wide with fear. “He’s a jounin like Kakashi.”
“Ah, you’ve heard of me. I’m flattered the Copy-cat Hatake Kakashi knows my name. Tell me, how will you feel when I’ve killed your students?”
Killing intent flushed through the air.
Naruto had thought he would be used to it. He had been dealing with the Kyuubi almost daily, getting floored with its demonic malice. But coming from a human it was a whole other deal. Something new and terrifying to paralyse him.
“You will not touch them.” Kakashi said.
Zabuza chuckled, before fading into the mist. “How will you protect them when you can’t even see me?”
“Stay close to me.” Kakashi said.
“So many ways to kill someone in a single strike.” The missing ninja mused. “The human body is so weak. So easily pierced and slashed and fatally injured.”
One moment the voice was outside and taunting them. The other it was between them, big sword sticking out and ready to swing around and rip them apart. Naruto barely had time to blink before their sensei attacked.
It was hard to follow the speed. Kunai and sword seemed to spark in places where the two jounin had long vacated. Kakashi got killed, but he was just a log. Zabuza got killed, but he was just a water replacement. Another two replacements and then both jounin remained at some distance from each other. Neither had the safety of the Kawarami anymore. Not without seriously harming themselves.
They panted, looking at each other.
Zubuza made for the water and Kakashi followed him. The mist ninja was making signs and preparing for a water technique. Kakashi was going similarly quickly, sparks already forming over his body.
From the water spawned a giant water dragon, shooting off towards Kakashi. Kakashi’s lightning concentrated into a similarly huge dragon, meeting the attack in the middle. Neither had an elemental advantage, as the water touched electricity and disappeared into steam, and the electricity touched water and got absorbed. The dragons were weakened but not stopped by each other.
Kakashi shielded himself from the remains of the water dragon coming for him, but Zabuza seemed less capable of guarding against the thunder. He was spasming and seemingly defeated. Only to pop into nothing.
He reappeared behind Kakashi, extending his arm and encircling Kakashi in a bubble of water.
A fourth displacement? Zabuza had to be broken. He certainly looked the part, breathing heavily as he stared at the genin in triumph.
“A water prison technique.” Sasuke said. “As long as Zabuza doesn’t move, it’s practically impossible for Kakashi to get out.”
Zabuza slowly made hand signs with one hand and from the water appeared an identical clone, shaped from water. The way they were bloodthirstily looking, it told Naruto it was not an incorporeal one.
“Last chance to back off, kids.”
Naruto grasped his kunai tighter. A clone did not have the same strength as its creator. It could not move as fast, hit as hard, or take as much damage. It was not a jounin they were facing. Just an imitation of one.
He glanced at his teammates. Sakura and Sasuke trembled and seemed as scared as an hour before.
“We don’t run, do we?” He gave them a pointed look.
They swallowed, but then nodded in agreement.
Zabuza sighed. “You know you do not stand a chance.”
The enemy ninja could have ended it already. Which meant he was just bluffing. They could do this.
“Stay back, Tazuna-san.” Sakura said. And then she stepped forward.
Naruto and Sasuke flanked her on her sides, so that they could move as one. Naruto was not sure how the jounin had walked over the water, but the three of them were confined to the land.
Zabuza’s clone did not move towards them, daring them to step forward, it was clear what to do.
Naruto’s record was one a second. Sakura could do three. Sasuke was the winner with three and a half shuriken per second. All of them aimed at the jounin clone who was too far away to effectively counter.
He still easily used his sword to shield himself. He let out a big sigh and then he charged.
Sasuke was the first to meet the jounin. Two kunai against a giant sword. Sasuke blocked the strike from slashing him in two, but was still pushed into the distance from the sheer impact of such a big chunk of metal crashing into him.
Sakura used the moment to slip behind Zabuza. She was in the perfect position to pierce his skin. Zabuza turned around quickly enough to grab her wrist and throw her after Sasuke.
That left Naruto. He ran to the enemy ninja and slid between his legs, trying to sweep his kunai along the jounin’s ankles. The sword blocked his knife and then it was moved to pierce him into the ground. Naruto rolled out of the way, before a kick threw him through the air and into his teammates.
Okay, not bluffing. Zabuza’s clone was strong enough to take them on like this. It would be so easy for Zabuza to finish them off now.
Instead, the clone rushed towards Tazuna, leaving himself open in his desperation to get to the client.
“Sasuke, stop him!”
Sasuke was the one who had most recovered from the impact and he quickly jumped in. He made the hand signs and blew fire in the jounin’s path, causing Zabuza to break his attack.
Fuck. Naruto needed too long to make his clones.
“Sakura, bunshin and attack.” He said. His hair became pink and he took on Sakura’s skin like a costume.
He attacked together with her and her clones. It was hard to stay in sync and they had never practiced this. But Naruto had seen her taijutsu patterns enough times to at least make it confusing. He knew her well enough to think like her and to attack like her.
Zabuza swung his sword and it dissipated one of Sakura’s clones. He punched the original and sent her flying. Naruto’s punch came as a surprise to him, but he rolled with it and sent Naruto after his teammate.
Zabuza grabbed Sasuke’s shirt and lifted him up in the air. Sasuke struggled helplessly as he clawed at the firm hand holding him. The sword was right there. It would be the work of a moment to cut him up. Instead Sasuke was tossed to the side, joining the Team 7 pile.
For all his talk of bloodlust, he did not actually want to kill a bunch of children.
They could use that. They just needed to stall and think of something.
They needed to keep Tazuna safe until they were able to free Kakashi.
Which meant defeating this water clone first.
Or did it?
Naruto stood up and was moving again. The fire was still going strong between the bridge builder and the ninja trying to kill him, buying the genin time. Naruto started to get an idea. Part of a start of one.
Naruto took the shape of Sasuke this time and moved with his clones. Sakura was protected between her clones and Zabuza was looking for her to have a double, not Sasuke. It meant he was paying more attention to Sakura. It meant he took Sakura out first. It meant he was not expecting it when he threw the original Sasuke away that Naruto was right there in front of him, throwing two kunai at the clone.
Zabuza dodged them easily. Good. That was the point.
The kunai soared through the air, straight at the original ninja keeping Kakashi prisoner.
The mist ninja chuckled, easily catching one kunai and using it to deflect the other.
“If you want to hurt me, you’ll have to try something bigger.”
Naruto was not able to do that, but Sasuke could. He looked to his teammate as his final plan took shape. It was going to suck.
He charged the clone and got kicked aside, right next to Sasuke.
“Be gentle.” Natuto said as he shrunk into the metal shape of a giant shuriken.
The battle got muted. He was vaguely aware of Sasuke and Sakura fighting the clone, while it tried to figure out whether Naruto had entered the battle as a boy or a girl. He was aware when Zabuza made his move on Sakura and threw her to the side.
He felt Sasuke brandishing him, the fingers of his hand entering his null space. It felt so uncomfortable and he had no lungs to groan in pain. He was back in the chains of two chuunin, choking the life out of him. He was back in the forest as Mizuki tried to kill him. He felt the panic rising and he had to remind himself that Sasuke would not keep squeezing him like this. He would let go soon.
He was thrown through the air and Sasuke had shown his brilliance again. He had not just thrown Naruto at Zabuza, he had thrown Naruto in the shadow of another giant shuriken Sasuke had also thrown.
The first shuriken was caught. Zabuza had taunted them to throw something bigger and wanted to show off. Naruto had been expecting Zabuza to dodge, not catch the shuriken. He was infinitely more grateful for Sasuke throwing the real thing first.
Naruto was aimed at the jounin’s legs.
Zabuza realised the deception in time and jumped over it, letting Naruto fly by harmlessly. That was fine. Naruto’s plan could deal with the dodging.
While still in the air, Naruto let his form come back. He held his breath, because the moment he breathed he was in trouble.
His mind was still the metal. He was the unfeeling steel. He had a kunai in his hand already and he threw it right into Zabuza’s back. Right into his blind spot.
But their enemy was not a jounin for nothing. He noticed in time to jump to the side, saving his own life even if he had to remove his arm from maintaining the water prison, freeing Kakashi in the progress.
Naruto crashed into the water and he tried to scramble back to dry land as quickly as possible. He was breathing again and his head was light. He felt dizzy and troubled. He only made it halfway before the panic overtook him. He was so glad that Sasuke and Sakura pulled him out of the water and put him against a tree.
The jounin were fighting on the water, but Naruto could not care less. His breathing was uneven and there were too many spots dancing across his vision.
“Breathe in, breathe out.” Sakura said. “You’re doing fine.”
“We’re here, dobe.” Sasuke said, holding Naruto’s hand. “You did good. You saved us.”
“Th-the clone.”
“Dismissed.” Sasuke said. “Zabuza needed the chakra.”
Slowly, Naruto’s awareness came back. He could see it when Kakashi and Zabuza used the exact same technique at the same time. He could see the panic in Zabuza’s eyes as he accused Kakashi of reading his mind. He saw as Kakashi pushed Zabuza passed his limit and flooded the jounin ashore. Kakashi came walking back, the eye he usually left covered now deeply red and spinning. Kakashi wielded a kunai and prepared to slit the enemy’s throat.
When suddenly another ninja was there, throwing senbon into Zabuza’s helpless form and doing the job for Kakashi.
The interloper wore a white mask, keeping his emotions from the Konoha ninja. His dress was foreign and his headband was unmistakably Hidden Mist. “Thank you for subduing my target for me. I’ve been after him for weeks.”
Kakashi breathed deeply. “Could have used your help a little earlier.”
“I’m just a chuunin, Kakashi-san.” The Mist ninja said. “I would have only been in the way.”
“Hidden Mist will owe us one.”
The ninja nodded in deference. “If everything checks out.”
“Naturally. Don’t suppose you carry any money on you for the bounty?”
“No.” The hunter said. “Especially since I made the killing blow.”
“Typical.” Kakashi said. “I hope we don’t run into each other again.”
“Likewise.” The hunter said, grabbing Zabuza and disappearing.
Kakashi limped back to the rest of the team. “Everyone alright?”
They nodded. Most of Naruto’s discomfort had left him. But when he tried to stand back up, he crumbled. “Fuck.”
The wound in his side had opened up again. He had torn his stitches.
“Lay still.” Sakura said, putting him on his back and tending the wound. She removed the previous bandages and cleaned everything up. “If I had any chakra to spare, I’d be tempted to use a medical jutsu to heal you. You really need to take it slow after this.” She said. And then she started sewing up the wound again.
Naruto grit his teeth and closed his eyes. He could handle the pain.
“The Mist hunter ninja acted suspiciously.” Sasuke said.
“He was. I doubt he was telling the truth.” Kakashi said.
“Then why did you let them go?”
“Because I’m only eighty percent sure I can made it to the boat without collapsing.” Kakashi said. “I wasn’t going to start a fight that you’d have to finish for me.”
Tazuna had gone around the fire, meeting the Team on the side of the water. “Was that… was that a missing jounin?”
Kakashi nodded. “Zabuza, defector from the Hidden Mist Village. To be contracted like this means that either Zabuza was very desperate, or Gato was very wealthy.”
“I can’t believe you all fought him. I can’t believe you won.”
Naruto looked at Sasuke, with a bruise forming around his arm and several scratches over his body. Sakura had a black eye and a bloody nose. He himself was still bleeding from his torso and probably other places as well. But part of him had not felt this good in his lifetime.
They had faced a jounin, the worst possible option, and they had survived. As a team.
“What does this mean for my protection?” Tazuna asked.
“We’re in even less of a state to travel.” Sasuke said. “We’re going to your house to rest.”
He sighed in relief. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you for what you’re doing.”
“Let’s start with a hot meal and a bath and we’ll go from there.” Naruto said.
~*~
Kakashi had been right. He had fainted on his way to the boat and it had taken the combined strength of Sakura and Sasuke to carry him the rest of the way. Chakra exhaustion.
Naruto remembered thinking in the bell test that he could tire Kakashi out enough to stand a chance. Turned out he was right. All he would have needed to do was goad him into using his Sharingan, a dozen high level ninjutsu moves and a low-level genjutsu.
“How the hell did you catch that it was a genjutsu anyway?” Naruto asked.
Sakura smiled. “Really, it’s like neither of you has even studied the basics of air-based chakra disruptions. Genjutsu is only dangerous for the person being directly affected, but you should still work on seeing through it when it’s affecting someone else.”
“And what was it?”
“A suggestion.” Sakura said. “To use a particular jutsu and particular taijutsu moves. It’s one thing to predict an enemy, another when you can just tell it what to do. And all of it was aided by the increased sight of his Sharingan.”
“It takes a fair amount of skill to use a Sharingan’s perception to increase the effectiveness of your genjutsu.” Sasuke noted. “It’s impressive how far he’s mastered it, considering he’s outside of the clan.”
“How did he even get a Sharingan?”
“There was an incident many years ago.” Sasuke said. “Where a branch member of the family died and gave his eye to Kakashi.”
“What happened?”
“The story is classified. I’ve tried asking Kakashi, but he won’t tell me.” Sasuke said. “My family members don’t know. They just know Kakashi got one. It’s why he keeps it covered most of the time. He can’t turn it off and it drains his chakra more than it would an Uchiha’s.”
“Silence.” The man working the boat said. He moved down low and quickly moved the vessel out of the way.
It took a few minutes before it became clear why he had warned them. A boat went by, with big flames on its deck. There were men looking over the water and searching for something to destroy. It took nearly fifteen minutes before they had fully passed.
“I shouldn’t have given you passage. They’ll be coming for me.”
“It’s for my daughter.” Tazuna said. “And Gato and his goons won’t matter for much longer. Once the bridge is built, I can pay you for all you’ve done for me and mine.”
“I’m not doing this for the money.” He said. “Promise me you’ll take care of my son if anything happens to me.”
“Of course.” Tazuna said. “Everything will change when the bridge is built. I swear it on my life.”
The boat keeper swallowed. “Then let’s go.”
The rest of the boat trip was quiet, dangers lurking in every corner. They took a longer route that was less patrolled, often manoeuvring between dangerously small passages. No ship could profitably make its way through those waters if it wanted to carry goods.
A smuggler had better chances. The crates in the boat made more sense now. Not enough to run a business, but enough for one to comfortably get by. Something told Naruto that Gato would be after this man for more than giving Tazuna safe passage.
When they finally made land a few hours later, Kakashi had come back to. He was sluggish and seemed feeble on his feet, but they could travel. They made it to a small house, in the middle of a large village.
It was night and few lights were burning. There were no people in the streets and it was eerily quiet. For someone like Naruto who was only used to the ever-busy city, it was a strange experience.
“I’m home.” Tazuna said as he entered the door.
His daughter had been sewing near the fire. She dropped her needle and fabric and rushed over to Tazuna, embracing him. “You’ve made it back.” She cried. “They said Gato had sent ninja to get you.”
“I got ninja of my own.”
She only then noticed her other guests. She bowed in apology. “Where are my manners? I can warm up the stew I made. Do you want anything to drink? Please, sit down all of you.”
“Sit down, madam.” Sakura said. “I believe you should take your medicine first.”
“Oh. You procured some?”
“I did.” Tazuna smiled. He set down his backpack and pulled out a wooden box. In it were several layers of cloth protecting a bottle of liquid. “Now Tsunami, the doctor said you need a teaspoon each day for a month.”
Sakura turned to the kitchen to grab a spoon and then pushed it in Tsunami’s hands. “It’ll be a few days before it starts to work. Finish the whole month even if you’re feeling better.”
“Where’s my grandson?”
“Inari’s in bed.”
“I shouldn’t wake him up.”
“Nonsense. He’ll be glad to see you.”
“Welcome back, grandfather.” Inari said. He was standing at the top of the stairs. “Given up on building the bridge yet?”
“Of course not.”
“Then I guess you won’t be around much longer.”
“You shouldn’t argue, Inari-kun.” Tsunami said. “Your grandfather just came home. Come and give him a hug.”
The boy ignored her and stepped out of sight.
“Maa, do you have a place for me to lie down?” Kakashi asked. His legs looked unsteady, like he was moments away from keeling over.
Naruto and Sakura helped him to a bed and brought him some of the stew. Kakashi ate only half of a portion, before he put it aside and promptly fell asleep.
They went into the kitchen where Tazuna was helping himself to a second serving. Sasuke was sitting down with his own prepared dinner from Konoha. Naruto joined the bridge builder with a bowl of stew and Sakura joined Sasuke.
“So you have… like… a personalised chef?” Tsunami asked.
“A dietician.” Sakura said. “Someone who knows our body mass, our training, and precisely calibrates our food intake to maximise results.”
“Don’t you just ever… eat because you feel like it?”
“There are cheat days, of course.” Sakura assured her. “I can never make it past a festival without having some dango. I just have to tell my dietician so she can account for the extra calories.”
“It sounds really… controlling.”
“Not really. We employ them so it’s not like they’re pressuring us or anything. They’re just doing their jobs.”
“How many clients do these dieticians have?”
“Just one.” Sasuke said.
“Though sometimes they cater to families.” Sakura added.
“Like Hanabi.” Naruto said. “A friend of ours. Her twin sister is the main client, but Hanabi gets whatever time is left.”
“Is that what it takes to fully utilise a talent? A whole other person dedicated to you exclusively?”
“More than one.” Sakura said. “Besides my dietician, I have my trainer. He makes the schedules and keeps track of how I use my talent. She teaches me what I need to know, or brings in other experts when needed.”
“And I also have my steward.” Sasuke said. “To help me manage my time and handle other appointments, like my physical therapist, my cleaners and whoever needs to see me on official business.”
“It sounds like the three of you have quite different lives than my own.”
“We’re among the top of the year’s graduates.” Naruto said. “You can’t afford to waste any time in an elite village where the competition is always just one step from taking your place.”
“I don’t think we can ever afford anything like that for Inari…” She said.
“That’s okay.” Sakura said quickly. “Any support you can give him would help.”
“It’s not your job to make him utilise his talent to its limits.” Naruto said. “Just be there for him as a mother.”
Sasuke nodded. “He just needs family.”
She sighed. “I’m not sure what he needs right now. The way he was talking to his grandfather… he seems to have given up all hope. He doesn’t think the bridge will ever be finished.”
“It will if we have anything to say about it.” Naruto said. “If he won’t hope by himself, we’ll just make reality better until he can’t help but feel hope again.”
She smiled. “You’re sticking around until the bridge is built then?”
“Tazuna said it would only be a week or two of construction. Kakashi will take a week to recover and its safer to go back over the bridge than by boat.”
“We hadn’t discussed this yet.” Sasuke said. “But it makes sense.”
Sasuke and Sakura finished their meals and sealed up the empty containers that remained. Naruto helped Tsunami with cleaning the dishes.
“I’ve got it.” She said.
Naruto shook his head. “You shared your food with me. Least I can do is help with the cleaning.”
“You seem pretty good at this. Does your dietician make you clean the dishes too?”
“Don’t have one.” Naruto said. “Had to figure it all out on my own.”
“I thought all the ninja kids had them?”
“Just the ones who want to maximise their talents. That didn’t really apply to me.”
“You didn’t want to maximise your talent?”
“I don’t have talent.” Naruto shrugged. “Which meant different rules applied.”
“Excuse me for asking, but how do you keep up with your teammates and all of those people helping them? How did you come to their level?”
“I work hard.” Naruto said. “I have to if I ever want to get stronger than my teammates and became Hokage.”
“That’s impossible.” It wasn’t Tsunami who had spoken, but the little Inari. The boy had a way of sneaking around. “We can’t go against the talented and win.”
Naruto turned to the boy, standing in the doorframe to the kitchen. He looked defiant and sure of himself. He also looked scared and a little sad.
“I’ve been fighting against stronger opponents all my life.” Naruto said. “That’s no reason to give up.”
The boy looked sick. “Until you fight someone who beats you so bad you can’t get up anymore.”
“Well, that just means I always need to get back up, right?”
The boy walked away.
“Pleasant kid.” Naruto said.
“His father died when he was little, trying to fight Gato.” Tsunami said.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“He’s convinced the same will happen to Tazuna.”
“Not while we’re around.” Naruto promised.
He finished the cleaning and went up to his bedroom. Sasuke and Sakura were both reading before bed.
“We didn’t actually prepare for a trip lasting more than five days.” Sasuke said.
Sakura nodded. “I have only one day spare. We’ll be in trouble after that.”
“It’s what the mission needs.” Naruto said.
“Right…” Sakura said, but she sounded unsure.
Naruto ought to do some reading too, but he had another task he wanted to get to first. He did not feel like dealing with his teammates.
He sat on his bed and retreated into himself.
~*~
“Hello, Kuruma.”
“Tantumne me visis, cum te homines frustrantur?”
Naruto grunted, though he took careful note of the words. He wanted to take things slow, but the fox had other ideas now that it was talking again. It had to be doing this on purpose.
“Te mori in catenas caedunt. Quomodo eos amicos vocas?”
Naruto ignored the demon, focussing on the space instead. The large sewer was not under his control. The symbols did not mean anything and they could not have been Naruto’s creation. He had read the paragraphs on manipulating his dreamscape. He knew what he was supposed to be able to do.
He had imagined a better scenery. The forests of Konoha, with a fence instead of a cage. He had imagined the sun shining down on them and the moon smiling kindly. He had imagined a space where he could talk with the demon and pretend it was a pleasant conversation they were having.
But the sewers did not budge.
He needed something to help him in his project, or it would take forever.
Fine, if not the walls, then the water at his feet. He concentrated and managed to have it take on a humanoid shape. He tried for more details, but it stubbornly remained water.
Back to basics then. He pointed at himself and then to the fox. “I am Naruto, you are Kuruma.”
“Ego Kuruma sum, tu Naruto es.”
The demon was hard to work with, but also smart when he wanted to be. It seemed to know what Naruto wanted to hear. Naruto repeated the words in his head. He tried them out. “Ego Naruto sum, tu Kuruma es.”
The demon nodded. Good, confirmation.
“You know this would go quicker if you also learned some Japanese.” Naruto said.
The beast, which had already looked frustrated and annoyed, now seemed genuinely offended.
“Or not.”
He would not be learning Japanese. If Naruto wanted to communicate, he had to learn the Demon’s tongue. And in order to talk, Naruto needed much more vocabulary.
“Hand.”
The fox grunted. He had worked along for a bit, but that was no real guarantee.
Naruto had a choice to make. He could stay antagonistic and demand the demon translate. It was the least he could do inhabiting his body and threatening to murder anyone around him when Naruto did die.
But there was a sense he had that it would be an exceedingly long and unsatisfactory road for the both of them. And Naruto had spent enough time being held captive that he did not want to put this creature through the same circumstances.
He bowed, deeply. The Saikeirei, the deepest bow, was imbedded into him at the orphanage and he deeply disliked doing it. If the fox had seen his life, he must have seen at least that much.
“All I want to do is talk to you, Kuruma.” Naruto said. “So that we can find a way to peacefully coexist. So that I can help you with something you want now, so that you will not kill my village later. I realise I’m not anyone special. I am just the kid you got stuck with. I’m sure others would have been better. But this is the situation we are in. Please, just work along with me here.”
The fox grunted again, but this time it raised one of its front legs in front of it. It dangled its paw, showing off the broken metal serving as claws as he did. “Pede.” It said.
Naruto got back up. He gestured from his shoulder to his wrist. “Arm.”
“Brachium.”
Naruto went over his body. And then he went over it again using the demon’s words. He had trained his memory, but it was still difficult. The demon often corrected his pronunciation.
Part of him wanted to laugh, getting language lessons from the Demonic Nine-tailed Fox that had destroyed Konoha on the day he had been born. He remembered the first time he had slipped into this world inside of him and had been ejected through pure malice.
Since then, he had figured out what the fox wanted of him. He wanted a show of deference. He had been insulted that Naruto had shown up demanding answers. As long as Naruto showed up willing to learn, they could get somewhere.
“I’m going to sleep now.” Naruto said at the end of the session. “Occulus… uhm…” He used his hands to mime his eyes being closed.
The fox grunted with frustration, though Naruto thought he could detect some small measure of amusement as well. “Securi dormite.”
Naruto nodded. “Securi dormite.”
~*~
It was strange to wake up and not have Sakura next to him to help him breathe. He opened his eyes and he was fine. It was still unsettling to go from mindscape to reality, but it was getting better. And it was nothing compared to being strangled as an iron rod, or having Sasuke’s fingers inside of him.
Ah, there came the hyperventilation.
Sakura rushed to his side. “You’re here, Naruto. Breathe.”
He did not have the strength to tell her that it was not his meditation that had triggered this episode.
God, this would really get in the way of his Henge training.
“I’m okay.” He said after a few minutes. Her presence helped so much. He really had to do something for her when this was done.
They settled back into their beds.
“Any insights on how long we’re staying here?” Sasuke asked.
“Yeah.” Naruto said. “Longer than you had prepared for. But we’ll figure something out.”
“Really?” Sasuke rolled his eyes.
“Really.” Naruto said. “We can do it.”
They could face chuunin, jounin, and even demonic foxes. They would be alright.
Notes:
Next month: The Thought alone is Killing me right now. Where Naruto learns to climb trees and Team 7 has some things to work through. It's also the 2nd to last chapter of part 1.
Sasuke has been trying to not freak out every time Naruto uses the Henge, but he loses it when there's talk about another Uchiha. With genjutsu no longer being explicitly linked to the sharingan, Itachi needed another specialty to make him unique and dangerous. The way he was able to kill an entire clan without getting caught, is that Itachi wore the faces of the most trusted and silently stabbed them in the back one by one.
Sasuke freezes up in the first battle, because unlike canon he has a family to live for, and they have instilled within him a healthy sense of self-preservation. In this setting I found it makes more sense for Naruto to be the one to actually fight, since he's the only one with experience in a real battle back from when he had to save Iruka.
Naruto turning into a giant shuriken was so iconic in canon and I knew I wanted the same solution in this battle. It also came out of nowhere and we don't see ninja turning into objects afterwards that I recall. So I wanted to expand that it's hard to do and deeply uncomfortable. Naruto is special for being able to turn into an object and it's a skill he has earned and will be retaining.
Kakashi uses a lightning dragon instead of the water dragon from canon because elemental specialisation is more restricted. He has lightning and earth, but not the others.
Kuruma realises Naruto wants to learn the Demon Tongue, and so refuses to say anything at all. He then gets strong-armed into talking, and decides to speak as quickly and full-sentenced as possible. I'm not making a habit of translating for the Kyuubi when Naruto doesn't understand him, but the first thing he says boils down to 'are you only going to visit me when the humans annoy you' and that's pretty much what Naruto's been doing.
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 7: 1.7. The Thought alone is Killing me right now (Hey ya)
Summary:
Naruto is still injured from his previous fight, but already needs to prepare for the next one. What a tough pickle! Team 7 knows it has a week to recover and is going to spend that time the best way they can. It's not like the stress of a strange environment and mortal danger could be affecting them.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Naruto obediently drew the water from the well and carried the bucket forward.
“Can’t you even take a second bucket?” Inari complained.
“Can’t you?” He challenged.
Inari had a smaller bucket with less water and it was still straining him to his limits to bring it all the way to his home. “I’m not a ninja.” He said.
“You also didn’t fight against three missing nin yesterday, brat.” Naruto’s side ached from even this little labour. He was being extremely careful, lest Sakura gave him another day of rest.
“Aren’t you ninja supposed to heal faster?”
They were, of course. A normal human would be confined to bedrest for at least a week. Sakura or Sasuke with the same injury would probably be able to sleep it off, given the right treatment. But Naruto had a demon inside of him. What would heal in hours for his peers, took days for him. “It’s complicated.”
The villagers they passed greeted them kindly enough. They all looked busy and sweaty and like they had more important places to be. It was true, if Naruto could believe Tsunami. All of them worked over sixty hours a week, just to put food on the table and make enough to trade other essentials from Gato.
Sakura had been chatting up all the merchants and getting a better grasp of the situation. She had performed on the Koto for them the night before, to bless the many trade contracts she was planning on drafting during her stay there. It was important to establish their assets and needs.
The village had an abundance of fish and some rare local fruits. There was a wild grain that was hard to cultivate and it could be turned into a tough bread for those who were desperate enough. It was a delicacy when mixed with regular flower, which the village could not afford. Rice and vegetables had to be bought off Gato. Medicines had such a mark-up that villagers ended up selling their own property when they got sick.
Tazuna had bought a boat ride to Konoha, had hired guards to protect him on the way there, had bought the medicine and had then hired Team 7 with the money that was left over.
All that had only been half the price Gato would have charged for the medicine.
It led to desperation and that is what he saw on the faces of the villagers behind smiling faces.
And it led to a frustrated genin.
“I can’t believe you see the state this place is in and decide to give up.” Naruto complained. “Don’t you want to fight?”
“Of course I do.” Inari said. “If I had even the faintest chance of winning, I would give it everything I got.”
“There’s always a chance.”
“No, not here.” Inari said. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’ve only been here a few days so you don’t get it yet.”
Naruto sighed. “Then feel free to enlighten me.”
“I can’t just…” Inari squirmed. “It’s none of your business.”
“I know what it’s like to not have anything. I know what it’s like when everything in the world is pushing you down. That shouldn’t make you give up. It should make you want to fight back even harder.”
“My dad… he tried to fight back. He was strong and he was filled with more determination than I had ever seen anyone have. It wasn’t enough. He stood up to Gato, demanded a better price… and Gato went after him. He… he killed him right in front of us. As slowly as he could manage. And every time dad tried to fight, Gato only made it worse.”
“Oh.”
“Nobody did anything.” Inari cried. “How can you talk about going up against the talented like it’s easy? Nobody else did anything when my dad stood against Gato. It wasn’t easy.”
“I never said it was easy.” Naruto said. “Just that it was the right thing to do. In my experience, the right thing isn’t always the easiest thing. The easiest thing would be to give up.”
“It’s not… that’s not so easy either. It doesn’t feel easy.”
“I guess you just have a choice to make.” Naruto said. “Would you rather risk your life making everything better, like your father would have done, or would you rather keep giving up?”
“I can’t… I can’t build towards anything.” Inari said. “Gato will take one look at whatever I’m doing and I’ll lose it all again.”
“Not if you stand your ground and keep yourself from losing it.”
“It’s not that simple. I’m not strong enough.”
“Now that’s something I can help you with.”
~*~
“Breathe.” Naruto said. “Focus on the energy going through your body.”
“I can’t feel anything.”
“You will. It’s inside of everyone. It’s what makes your blood flow. It’s what makes your fingers tingle in the cold. It’s what makes you a living being.”
Inari sighed. He dropped out of his meditation. “This is useless.”
“It takes most people a few days to find their chakra.”
“You want me to spend days still, just looking into myself?”
“Yes.” Naruto said. “Or you can use your talent for it.”
Inari grimaced. “You heard about that?”
“What’s your talent score?”
“We don’t have fancy tests here.” He accused. “But it’s around a three.”
A score of three in Konoha was considered just below the threshold where becoming a ninja was viable. Academy children were expected to have a score of at least four, but preferably five. Those with a score of two or three were considered the honorary talentless. The people who were considered better off pursuing a career where they’d learn talentless skills in talentless ways.
“I might as well not have it.” Inari said. “My dad thought I was special. He thought I’d save them. But it doesn’t do anything. It doesn’t help me.”
“Speaking as someone with no talent, I resent that.” Naruto said. “Do you know how much I would have killed for a score of even 2?”
“What’s the point of it?”
“I train at least ten hours each day, Inari. Usually more. But on days like these, where I’m injured, I can’t do anything. I’m lucky to scrounge together even an hour worth of physical training. And I fall behind again on those who have their talented days. A talent score of 3 won’t help you every day, that’s true. But it’s still a gift. On those days where it’s too cold or too hard to go outside, you just need to spend an hour doing anything to get further.”
“I don’t want to… I don’t want to use my talent. Not even then.”
“Then don’t use it.” Naruto said. “Make sure you never need to. Work more than three hours teaching yourself every single day, no matter what condition you’re in. And you can start by molding chakra.”
“It’s impossible.” Inari said, but the fight had gone out of his system.
“It’s only impossible to win if you never play.” Naruto patted the boy’s shoulder and then went back inside. He was supposed to help with cooking and then he would go back to the books he had brought. He had a day of physical training missing, which meant restructuring his entire schedule. He needed to work ahead on his theoretical work so that he had the space for it. Naruto was not even sure how much. He had not even finished readjusting his schedule to the trip. He was used to doing that behind his desk, with all his resources right next to him. He was finding it hard to sit down and crunch the numbers. And now with this injury added, Naruto did not know how far he was falling behind.
Every time he thought about adjusting his schedule, his mind froze up. And Naruto knew better than to force it. He just had to find other useful things to fill his time and hope for the best. All he could do was try.
He would never catch up on his teammates if he did not try.
~*~
The next day found Naruto in the middle of a grove of trees with his teammates and jounin sensei.
“Show Naruto how far you’ve gotten.”
Sasuke and Sakura each ran towards a tree, making it twenty feet off the ground before they slashed the tree’s bark and fell back down.
“That’s really cool.” Naruto admitted. He had seen other ninja walk off walls before and it had always been a trick he had wanted to learn.
“It’s a matter of tight chakra control around your feet.” Kakashi said. When he attached himself to the side of the tree, it was like gravity stopped mattering to him. “There’s no secret trick. It just requires a bunch of practice.”
“Well, there’s some secrets to it.” Sakura said. She launched into an explanation of the chakra theory that was quite fascinating. It would have taken Naruto a while to figure all of that out by trial and error alone.
“Thanks. Doesn’t sound too hard.” Naruto said. He gave it a running start and then let his feet touch the tree. He had the chakra properly concentrated there and he could even feel it stick to the tree’s surface. And then it all slipped away and he ended up falling on his face. He grunted as he got back up.
“Harder than it sounds, dobe.” Sasuke said with a smirk.
Sakura chuckled. “Sasuke-kun fell on his face tree times before he managed a proper run.”
Sasuke glared at her.
“Right.” Kakashi said. “I’ve asked Sasuke and Sakura to dedicate ten minutes of their daily training to build this skill. Do you know why?”
Naruto could guess. “You want us to be stronger in case Zabuza comes back. If you taught us a big or complicated technique, we would not be able to incorporate it into our fighting styles within a single week. So you’re settling on mobility and chakra control. That way you can have us fight the way we’re used to, with less wasted energy and with more options to dodge.”
“I want you to be able to hide.” Kakashi said.
“Oh.”
“If the worst happens, find an impossible spot to reach and get away. If we’re fighting on the bridge, hide on its underside. If we’re in a house, hide on one of its ceilings. Ninja are unusually aware of their surroundings, but there’s still an assumption of normalcy. We check the impossible places last. Let those few seconds save you if the worst happens.”
Naruto nodded.
The three of them got to work. Sakura and Sasuke improved marginally, but not by any noticeable leaps. Neither did Naruto.
“That’s it for me.” Sasuke said after his ten minutes were up. He cracked his neck. “I’m heading over to the village chief.”
Sakura groaned. “Again? What do you see in that guy?”
“He has fascinating ideas on local government reforms that the Uchiha clan could help with. Naruto, you want to come?”
“I don’t want to intrude on your date. I’ll stay on this a little longer.”
Naruto carried on. He had over an hour to work, just to catch up on Sasuke and Sakura’s lead. He was rather satisfied when he finally got to where his teammates had started that day. His side ached and his chakra pathways hurt. Kakashi had failed to warn them how intense this exercise would be.
He still pushed through and managed another twenty minutes before he had to stop. He had left a mark higher than Sakura or Sasuke had that day. He was ahead for now. And it felt good.
~*~
Inari looked dusty when he joined the team for dinner. Tsunami asked what he had been doing and he dodged the question.
“He’s trying.” Naruto said. He gave the boy a proud smile. Inari was trying and that was enough.
~*~
“What’s this?” Sasuke asked, offended. He was staring at Naruto’s tree, with the notch a feet above Sasuke’s and Sakura’s.
When Naruto just gave him a look like he was stupid, Sasuke made a dash for his own tree and created a new baseline, well above Naruto’s height. He grinned, satisfied. Talent had gifted him enough improvement in the skill to be ahead again.
Sakura reached the same height and they practiced from there. Ten minutes and it looked like they were so far ahead of Naruto he would never reach them. They packed up and went on to other duties.
It was fine. He just had to keep going with his training. A little over an hour to catch up to them. He did not stumble or fall as often and it did wonders for his chakra levels when his concentration was not interrupted every few climbs with a bad fall. Naruto managed another two hours of practice and he was halfway up the tree when that was done.
Take that.
~*~
Naruto was cleaning fish for Tsunami when Inari ran up to him with a big smile. He pulled Naruto away from the kitchen and dragged him into the garden.
“I can feel it.” He said, his voice shaking. “I did it.”
“Proud of you.” Naruto said and he meant it. Three days had to be a record, if not for the Academy students, then certainly for a civilian with no formal training to help him. Naruto picked up a leaf from the ground and put it in Inari’s hands. “Now use that energy to make this stick to your hand.”
“How?”
“Chakra likes being used. It’s your life force and it is restless inside of you. It will need to get used to it, but it will like helping you. You just need to practice.”
The boy nodded and got to work.
He complained loudly when Tsunami made him stop for dinner, but he begrudgingly sat down to eat. The leaf was on his lap the whole time. Something told Naruto he would be practicing in bed as well.
~*~
Sakura gasped when she saw Naruto’s tree and all the notches leading up to the halfway point.
Sasuke just glared. He ran up the tree and he did not make it as far as Naruto had. Naruto was truly and utterly ahead of him.
“How much of your training did you sacrifice for this?” Sasuke asked.
Naruto shrugged. His plan had been uprooted from the start with this entire mission. Unlike his teammates, who could spend an hour before travel to get their training in, he just used whatever time was available to him. He had been resigned from the start that his schedule would need improvisation. He had brought enough books and theory to spend the off-hours, but he also had not counted on the trip lasting two weeks.
This was an exercise Kakashi had told them to do. It was exciting and new. Naruto had been enthusiastic and had probably spent more time on it than he should have.
“I’m using a day for this.” Sasuke said and he started climbing.
Fuck the petty bastard.
Sakura smiled apologetically. “It’s probably a good thing. We don’t have too many prepared training days left. Not to fill two weeks. This will be a nice break.”
It was easier said than done. They climbed trees together for fifteen minutes. Naruto’s teammates were panting then, but they pushed on. Another five minutes left them sprawled out on the grass at the bottom of their trees.
Sasuke came unsteadily back on his feet, slowly making his way to Naruto. “You’re cheating.”
“You know I have a higher endurance than you do.”
“But you can’t… can’t just…” Sasuke grunted in frustration. “Endurance isn’t supposed to matter.”
“Well, it does here.” Naruto said. “You spent two days practicing the skill. That’s not the same as building endurance for it. You’ll do better tomorrow, now that you’ve exhausted yourself and some of your talent is put in fortitude.”
“How long are you going to practice this?”
Naruto turned it over in his head. “I should be about fifty minutes ahead right now. You’ll get 140 from your talents tonight. So at least ninety minutes to match your progress. Probably another hour or two after that, see how long I can keep it up.”
“This isn’t how it’s supposed to work.” Sasuke said. “You’re not supposed to be better than us.”
Naruto stilled. “We have our own specialties. I’ve been better with the Henge since before we even graduated.”
“That’s different.” Sasuke said.
“How?”
“It just is.” Sasuke’s face was bunched up, like he was ready to hit Naruto again.
Naruto got it. He was just the talentless loser that was supposed to struggle to keep up. “It was fine I was better at the transformation technique, because you would never learn it to the extend I have. You did not deem it important enough to specialise in. It was fine I was better as long as it was in a useless skill?”
Sasuke looked away, like he agreed with the words but it sounded stupid said out loud.
“Fuck you.” Naruto said.
“I don’t want you to keep practicing like this.” Sasuke said. “It’s unfair.”
“You want to talk to me about what’s unfair? After all these years of me putting in ten times the work you do?”
“Guys, I’m sure we can reach a compromise.” Sakura said. “How about Naruto just practices enough to keep up with us and then stops?”
Sasuke sighed, like he was giving up a whole lot. “I still won’t like it.”
“And that’s fine. But it’s what’s most fair to everyone.”
“No.” Naruto said, turning to her. “I don’t accept that.”
“Come on, Naruto. There are plenty of things you can work on that won’t upset Sasuke. What’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is that he has no right to ask this of me. And neither do you, Sakura.”
“I’m just trying…”
“I don’t care what you’re trying to do.” Naruto said. “You’re telling me to hold back my own development for your egos. How would you feel if I told you not to use your talent for a few days? Just till I could catch up.”
She flinched at the very notion.
“What are you going to do when I do surpass you some day? Are you going to insist I stop training until you’ve managed to catch up?”
“I’m just asking you to think of the team.” Sakura said.
Naruto took a deep breath to steady himself. “Were the two of you thinking of the team when you decided you’d spent your whole day’s talent on this exercise? Knowing I wouldn’t be able to keep up?”
“It’s not like it worked.” Sasuke said. “Which you must have known.”
“I didn’t.” Naruto said. “But I didn’t say anything. You know why? Because I’m used to this. I am used to talented people like you looking at me in pity and condescension. Of course you’re going to use more of your talent to gain another lead. Of course I would fall behind again and it would take time to catch up again. I am used to it. And if we’re going to be a team together, you’d better get used to it too. Because I am not going to stop working hard. You won’t be able to keep up with everything I become better at. Learn to deal.”
Sasuke’s fist was trembling, clutching at the dirty ground. He gave one last evil glare at Naruto before he walked off.
“You could have handled that better.” Sakura chided him.
“Fuck off.” Naruto said. “You’re just as bad.”
“Excuse me?”
“Just now, you wanted to resolve an argument and you made decisions that were not yours to make.”
“I was helping.”
“You made it worse. Just like that day on the bridge with Hanabi.” He asked. “When she and I got in a fight and you intervened. You told us to go into separate corners.”
“You were being unreasonable.”
“I was defending myself. And you sent me to a corner. Like you were my mother and you were disciplining your child.” Naruto said. “I can defend myself, I’ve been doing it my whole life. I don’t need your help if it comes at the price of my independence.”
“You need to cool down. We’ll talk later.”
Naruto groaned in frustration. “Have some common fucking decency and ask it like a question. You’re not my mother.”
“I’m not trying to be.”
“Yes you are. You forget that I’m better at it though.” Naruto made the hand signs for the henge. He took on Sakura’s mother’s shape and pointed at her. “I’m disappointed in you. Go to your room and think about what you’ve done.”
Sakura’s face was blank. She swallowed and then she turned around and left Naruto alone.
Naruto punched the dirt under him. Those privileged cry-babies could kiss his ass.
He practiced tree climbing until it was time to break for lunch. He ripped energy bars out of his backpack and ate. And then he continued practicing. His chakra pathways hurt, but spite got him through it. His side ached, but he knew his limits well enough that he could continue.
He pushed all his anger into training. He pushed all his hurt and sadness into it, so that all that mattered was climbing higher and higher.
The guilt, he pushed into it as well.
~*~
Dinner was quiet. Naruto stared at the food he had not helped making. He was afraid to use his spoon too quickly and show how much his hand would tremble from the exertion. He had to be deliberate and slow and it took up a lot of his attention.
He had not even noticed Inari’s absence until he showed up late. He was beaming at Naruto. The little sport had probably managed to make it stick. It took Naruto a lot to not take out his resentment on Inari and to return Inari’s enthusiasm with a smile.
Sakura gave one look at how friendly he was to the boy outside of Team 7 and then grabbed her food and moved into another room. Given the excuse, Sasuke did the same.
“You want to tell me what that’s about?” Kakashi asked.
Naruto shrugged.
“Let me try again. We are in a potentially hostile environment where the three of you are in danger if you cannot communicate, if not like friends, then at least on a professional level.”
Naruto grit his teeth. He looked at Tsunami and Tazuna and Inari and he felt extremely uncomfortable being forced to talk about what happened in front of them. “We had a fight.”
“Yes. Sakura mentioned something like that.”
Naruto’s muscles tightened. “If she already told you, why are you asking me?”
“Because I want to hear in your own words why you thought it was okay to tell both Sasuke and her to ‘fuck off’.”
Naruto’s eyes teared. Kakashi was using the tone adults liked to use when they were about to scold someone. “They told me to stop training.”
“I believe Sakura just told you to stop showing off. Naruto, you have to be more mature than this.”
Naruto could see where the conversation was going. He had been on this side often enough, with people telling him to grow up. Shopkeepers telling him he had to let others cut in line, caretakers telling him only other kids were allowed to cheat while playing games. It had always been horrible and he had always hated the talk. The difference was, he was not a child anymore. He had no obligation to meekly sit still.
“Inari, we’re going outside.” Naruto said. He stood up and took the bowl in front of him. He used both his hands to tilt it and down its contents quickly.
“Sit down.” Kakashi said. “I’m not done here.”
“You think it’s a good idea to antagonise your students in the middle of a dangerous mission like this?” Naruto asked, mockingly. “I’ll be outside and we can talk as soon as you’re willing to hear my voice as much as you’re eager to hear your own.”
Naruto grabbed Inari’s arm and dragged him along. The boy seemed surprised, but went along easy enough.
They made their way outside and then into the backyard. Into the forest.
“What are we going to be doing, Naruto-nii?”
“Punching things.” Naruto said. “Lots and lots of things.”
He hardly settled into an explanation. He just covered his hand in chakra and then punched at a tree. The bark exploded off in a satisfying cloud of dust.
Kakashi had chosen the setting deliberately. He could have taken Naruto to another room to talk. He could have gone to him while he was still training. Instead, he had waited to ambush him at the dinner table. Where Naruto would be more complacent with strangers present. Where he would have a harder time explaining himself because there were more eyes on him.
Kakashi had not wanted to solve the situation fairly. He had wanted to sweep it under the rug. He had wanted it most efficiently taken care of. And since Naruto was the one making a fuss, he was the one who was targeted. Him standing up for himself was seen as the problem.
He could understand where Kakashi was coming from. He was the leader of a mission and his need was to get this trouble taken care of in the most efficient way possible. That way involved pressuring a child to stop acting out, not dealing with the inequality in their team dynamic. Kakashi’s need was different from Naruto’s. And Naruto was sick and tired of having to give up everything to cater to the talented.
Inari cursed loudly, eyes watery as he rubbed his hand.
Naruto sighed. “It’s okay. It hurts when the chakra doesn’t let you go through.” He found a smaller stick and held it up for him. “But the pain does not defeat us. We keep trying.”
The boy nodded. He made a trembling fist and then he punched the twig right in two.
“Good. Again.”
The sticks kept getting thicker and Naruto could feel more and more of the boy’s chakra leaking through.
Then they tried the tree again and the bark cracked under Inari’s fist.
“Excellent.”
Inari stared at his hand, like he could not believe he had just done that. “I have super strength.”
“Practice for a few more years and you’ll have super strength.” Naruto corrected. “Want to punch more things?”
Inari really, really did.
~*~
Naruto sat against a tree. Inari had fallen asleep against him and he petted the boy’s back as he looked up at the sky. He really ought to go back, but they would want to talk. Naruto was not sure he was up to that yet. Even if it meant sleeping outside.
It was more surprising when Kakashi walked over to him than it should have been. He made his way across from Naruto, sitting down with a sigh.
“Fine.” Kakashi said, quiet enough not to wake the boy. “I’ll listen.”
Naruto stared at the moon and the stars overhead. “When I was young, there was an assigned reading time in the orphanage.”
He expected Kakashi to react in some way, but he just listened.
“Each Monday, the caretaker would take a new book and teach us. She would sit with us for an hour and then she would lead us all to playtime. One time, I managed to sneak the book with me. I hid in the corner and read the passages again. I spent a few hours of that Monday reading and thinking and processing what we had been taught that day about animal ecosystems. At dinner I was excited about what I had learned. I talked about it. One of the boys started crying.”
“The other kids needed to wait until bedtime to learn.”
“Yeah. The boy had a talent score of 6. He would go to bed and wake up knowing more about animals than I did. But I knew first and that was unfair.”
“You can’t have one incident affect you like this.”
“In the Academy, they wouldn’t let me stay longer to practice with the throwing dummies. It was restricted to an hour a day. The library has six different sections with books that can’t be checked out. Who needs to when you only need an hour to study them? The training grounds are moderated and they sent me away whenever someone with talent needs them.”
“I see…”
“Konoha wasn’t built for the talentless, sensei. I accepted that a long time ago. And I forge my own path. I learned to steal the books from the orphanage without talking about them. I made my own targets and bought my own practice shuriken. I learned to take notes while reading to study them later and to sneak out of Konoha when I needed to practice.”
Kakashi sighed. “We really weren’t there for you when you were little, were we?”
Naruto looked at the man sitting across from him. There was so little light to see, but he seemed sad and broken. “I managed.”
“I wasn’t upset that you stood up for yourself, Naruto.” Kakashi said. “I was upset that you got so angry about it. That you felt it better to push your teammates away. You could have come to me.”
“What are you doing while we’re training?”
“Hmmm?”
“You heard me.” Naruto said. “I know you’re still recovering your chakra. I know you’re taking it easy. You’re not protecting Tazuna, who is still making preparations to continue construction. You’re not reading or helping Tsunami. What are you doing that you can’t sit with us while we train?”
“I didn’t think you’d need me.”
“Right.” Naruto said. “You can’t complain we don’t come to you when you stay away.”
“I think we’ve had this conversation before.”
“Yes, we did. Last time we talked like this you told me the name of a female ninja.” Naruto said. Kakashi had told him who Naruto’s mother was. “In the most round-about way possible. You still don’t want to talk about it, miles away from any Konoha ninja who could overhear us.”
“It’s good practice to not speak our secrets aloud.” Kakashi said. “It’s dangerous to get into the habit of concealing secrets only when you know there might be people listening.
“There’s more going on. You said Hound knew Kushina and you keep defending his decision not to talk to me about it. Kakashi, did you know my mother too?”
Kakashi flinched. But then he nodded. “Did you know I grew up as an orphan too, Naruto?”
“You did?”
“My experience was more like Sasuke’s than yours. My mother died giving birth to me and my father died… in an incident… when I was still young. I was the sole heir of the Hatake clan and they needed soldiers for the war. I was taken care of and I did what I had to do to use my talent to its fullest. I told everyone that I was fine. That I would do my duty and that would be enough. Kushina was the only person who did not believe me. She tended to make friends with ninja who were lost and alone. She collected them and blinded them with her energy.”
“She was like family.”
“She was.” He said. “She was also good friends with my jounin sensei, the Yondaime.”
“Y-you were taught by Namikaze Minato?” Naruto’s mouth fell open.
“Haven’t I ever mentioned that before?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s classified.” Naruto said. He knew almost everything there was to know about his hero, the fourth hokage, and he had never been able to figure out who his students had been.
Kakashi shrugged. “Minato was brilliant. He had a talent score of over ten and he understood chakra theory beyond anyone before him. He was the heir of a singular clan. He was supposed to marry and have a child to conserve that genius.”
“The books say he did not want to marry.”
“He was to wed an Uchiha.” Kakashi said. “Someone from the branch family. His children would have the Sharingan and there would be a new doujutsu clan in Konoha. It had all been arranged. But there were two problems. Fist, he had no physical interest in procreation. Second, he loved Kushina.”
“He loved my mom?”
“Kushina loved him too. They were always spending time together. Their favourite hobby was hassling me. Telling me I needed to relax more. That I needed to have more fun. That I was still a kid and needed playtime more than I needed to read another semi-educational book.”
“I can’t imagine you overworking yourself.”
“I used to be a lot more serious.” Kakashi said. “Before I lost too many people.”
“So… what happened with Kushina and The Fourth?”
“They were caught spending time together and rumours started to form. Minato had no choice but to break off all contact. He loved Kushina, but he could not risk his whole career for her. Kushina was heartbroken. The two of them did not speak for over a year. And when she started dating again, she had relations with someone that looked like Minato. She never told me who it was. But there had been rumours and if she were to give birth to a blond child…”
“Everyone would think I was Minato’s kid.”
“Yeah.”
“I tried to check in on you sometimes when you were younger, but I was never allowed to approach you. Lest anyone realise you were Kushina’s. Lest anyone think you were the Fourth Hokage’s son. Lest you be put in danger.”
“Well, I know now.” Naruto said. “Why can’t you talk to me now?”
“I know I’m twelve years too late.” Kakashi said. “And that’s all that I can think of when I’m around you. That I should have come sooner. That what I did was not enough.”
“You would have done more if you could, right?”
“I think so… but when the Hokage made me stay away…” Kakashi sighed.
Naruto had heard that before, applied to a different ninja. He had thought the similarities were strange, but the two had been too separate in his mind to ever make the link. Their bodies were too different, but that had just been age.
Naruto slipped into the costume he only sometimes wore, the ANBU mask now resting on a face he had given a lot more definition.
Kakashi breathed deeper as he looked at Naruto’s new form.
Hound understood now why Kakashi had been so freaked out by it. God, the things he had said to Kakashi during the bell test. It could be straight out of his nightmares.
Naruto finally had a voice to give the ANBU, but it still felt strange to use it. “Not twelve years.” He said, using Kakashi’s voice. “You were there when it mattered for as long as you could.”
“You needed more from me.”
“Then give it now.” Hound said. “We can’t change the past. But you can be there in the future.”
“I don’t… I don’t know how.”
Naruto let the henge fall away. “You’ll figure it out.” He carefully laid Inari down so he could go over to his sensei. “We’ll figure it out together.” Naruto said. He wrapped his arms around the older man and held on tight. “I never got to say it, but thanks for all the times you were there for me. Thanks for saving me. Thanks for being my guardian angel.”
Kakashi wept and Naruto joined in.
Naruto was used to things being taken from him. He was used to having to fight to earn what he got.
He was also used to hanging on tight to those things he had earned and never letting go.
Kakashi was his now. And Naruto would never let go.
~*~
Kakashi carried Inari as they walked back. It was dark and it took most of their concentration just to move forward without stumbling.
“Do you think you can talk to them without getting angry again?” Kakashi asked.
“I think I can.” Naruto said, honestly. “But it’s nice to know I can go to you if I need to.”
Kakashi smiled. Progress.
The house was quiet when they arrived. Naruto had made it later than he had thought. They put Inari in his bed and then moved to the bedrooms.
“Take my bed tonight.” Kakashi said.
“You sure?”
“Yeah. You can talk with them tomorrow.”
~*~
Naruto had his morning run and he helped with breakfast.
Kakashi sighed when he came in. “Sasuke and Sakura went ahead to the trees to train.”
“I see…” Naruto said. He took a bite to eat.
“They’re still pretty upset.”
“Not as upset as they’re going to be.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I never stopped marking my progress yesterday. And I made it to the top.”
“Ah.” Kakashi turned to his own food. “You might want to start with Sakura today.”
~*~
Naruto had done other exercises first, so that the others would be gone by the time he went back to the trees. He had learned to run to the top and the next step was to take it slower. There was still a lot more work left to do.
It was Sakura who brought him lunch. “We need to talk.”
Naruto flinched.
Strangely, Sakura did too. “I mean, can we talk please? Kakashi told me to find you.”
“Thanks.” Naruto took the bowl and sat down somewhere. “You can join me.”
Sakura seemed tense as she took out her own lunch from the scroll and started eating.
“Did he say anything else?”
“He said I was too harsh.”
Naruto nodded. “But I guess I was too.”
Sakura’s eyes were down, trying to hide herself. “My parents used to fight a lot.”
“That sucks.”
“It really did.” Sakura said. “My mother wanted me to specialise in genjutsu. My dad wanted me to specialise in medical jutsu. Ever since I was little, they’d keep me awake with their yelling. They’d be quiet when I was in the room, but I could tell they had been fighting. The looks they gave each other, the silent treatment. Or when they did speak, it was harsher and with more venom.”
“They shouldn’t have done that.”
“No. They shouldn’t have. I tried to stop them a few times, but it never worked. When I joined the Academy, after they tested my talent score and they realised I was special… suddenly I had more people in my corner. I studied parenting techniques and I started using them on my parents.”
“I don’t think that’s what parenting skills are for.”
She shrugged. “It worked. I forced them to interact as adults and I made sure they understood that I made my own decisions.”
“Just like I need to make my own.”
Sakura sniffed. “Naruto, I can’t stand it when people argue around me. When you and Sasuke were fighting, I am a little girl again hiding in the corner of the room. I get uncomfortable and I do whatever it takes to make the fighting stop.”
“Oh.” Naruto had not known that about her.
“Can you promise you won’t fight around me anymore?”
“I don’t think I can.” Naruto said. “I’m going to keep sticking up for myself when I think it’s needed. But I can promise I’ll try to do it away from you. That I’ll give you a chance to move away. Can you promise not to parent me whenever you want me to do something?”
“I don’t think I can, either.” Sakura said. “It’s the way I’ve learned to deal with these situations and I can’t spend talent on learning any others. Not if I want to keep up with Sasuke and you. But I can try to keep it down. And to frame more things as a question. That’s precisely the kind of thing I keep those spare seconds of talent for.”
Naruto nodded. “I don’t have good experiences with people who try to teach me how I should act. I learned too late how many adults frame their dominance as lessons. I did not realise how many people had taken advantage of me when they taught important life lessons that just happened to be in their own self-interest. Whenever someone says I should do something a certain way, my first question is what’s in it for them.”
“Sometimes people just want to teach you because they want you to get better.”
“Perhaps if you pay them.” Naruto shook his head. “Though I think even then there’s an agenda.”
“Do you mind if I tell you some stories of altruism?”
“I wouldn’t mind. Just don’t expect to change my mind with them.”
Sakura smiled. “Are we good?”
“I’m good if you are.” Naruto said.
They shared the rest of their meal while Sakura described the hell of customer service in her shop, and how meaningful it had been when there were customers who meant well.
~*~
“You’re keeping your arm too high.” Naruto said. “Let it flow.”
“I’m trying.” Inari grit between his teeth.
Naruto adjusted the boy’s stance and understanding seemed to come over his face.
“Oh.”
“Chakra is a careful balance.” He performed the kata himself, from start to finish. Much more than he had shown Inari so far, but it was hard to resist. One movement begged to followed with the next. He had performed them so often that his body and chakra already knew where it was needed next. And it loved it. “Let it flow and naturally guide you.”
“This still doesn’t seem as useful as punching things hard.”
Naruto sighed. “Punch me.”
“What?”
“Go ahead then. If it’s so useful, try to hit me.”
Inari hesitantly pulled back his arm and swung. Naruto easily stepped to the side.
“There’s a flow to a fight.” He kept effortlessly moving away from Inari’s fist, using quick footwork and nothing else. He hardly had to turn his shoulders. “It’s not enough to know how your opponent will move. You have to feel it and then respond to it. Trust your chakra to know how to move.”
Inari panted, too many punches in and not a single hit. It had taken a lot out of him. “If you weren’t a ninja, I could have hit you.”
“If your enemy is weaker than you are, you don’t need tricks to win.” Naruto said. “Work on the kata I showed you. We’ll continue from there.”
~*~
Sasuke was meditating by the water. Naruto felt guilty breaking into that, but it was not like he had much of a choice. Naruto had been putting this off too long already. He sat down next to the Uchiha.
“Finding any peace?”
“I was.” Sasuke said. “Not so much anymore.”
Naruto stared out over the water. The mist made the distance blurry, but there was just enough light to see some trees in the distance. Just enough to know that home was still somewhere out there, far away from them.
“Not that kind of training anyway.” Sasuke said.
“Then what’s it for?”
“Awareness.”
“Like… chakra awareness?”
“No, it’s a way of stress relief. Though being relaxed does not help with learning faster, the presence of stress can distract and hamper progress by up to twenty percent.”
“Is there a point to this explanation?”
“No.” Sasuke sighed. “I’m just stalling from the conversation we should be having. The truth is, I don’t think the Henge is a useless skill.”
“You seem unfazed about my specialisation in it though.”
“I saw it coming.” Sasuke said. “I know Sakura’s better in theory than I am. I know Kiba’s better in taijutsu. I know you’re better in the transformation. Even if I didn’t deal with it well on the way here.”
“You punched me. And you told me there was nothing I could do to fix what I’d done.”
“No.” Sasuke pulled his knees to his chest. “You misunderstood. You asked if you could fix the situation and there really is nothing you can do. I’m too weak, responding like that to a Henge. I am still letting Itachi affect me too much. And I am weak now. I’m not used to being overtaken in a matter of days and I don’t like how angry it made me.”
“I just put more time in it than you did.” Naruto said. “What’s the big deal?”
Sasuke stared into the distance. “Itachi was better than all his peers when he was growing up. Not just on average. There was not a single area where someone was able to beat him. He delighted in practicing the specialisations of people his age and beating them in their own game while wearing their faces. If I can’t even manage to stay ahead in the general skills, how am I ever going to defeat him?”
“You have time.” Naruto said.
“You don’t understand…”
Naruto stayed quiet.
“Itachi murdered the clan and it gave me this high talent. If I can’t use it to become better, I’m failing everyone who died to give it to me.”
“That’s dumb.”
Sasuke glared at him.
“Your clan didn’t want to die.” He said. “And I’m pretty sure they didn’t want to burden you with this responsibility either.”
“I’m the clan heir now. I have to…”
“Itachi made you heir.” Naruto said. “It’s his fault.”
Sasuke huffed.
“You can’t just take the responsibility of an entire murdered family on your own shoulders.”
“It’s already happened.”
“Only as long as you let it.” Naruto could see his words were not getting through. “Sasuke, what’s the plan after you defeat your brother?”
“After?” Sasuke looked as if it had never occurred to him that something could come after.
“You’ve become stronger. You defeat him and take his eyes or whatever. What comes next?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“You’ll want to continue your line, of course.” Naruto prompted.
“I don’t see myself settling down with a wife.”
“There are alternatives. You don’t have to marry with a woman to become a father.”
“I don’t see me raising a child either.”
“Then what? What do you see yourself doing when all your goals are complete?”
Sasuke sighed. “What are you going to do when you’re Hokage?”
“That’s easy.” Naruto smiled. “I’m taking out the ever-growing shit list and I’m visiting every single one of them. There will be much mocking and rubbing into people’s faces. There will be some getting back at them with Hokage powers, if they did something bad enough.”
“And after that?”
“Live happily.” Naruto nodded. “Maybe I’ll meet someone to settle down with. I don’t have a talent to pass on so it’s not like it’s required. But I’ll have a house and I’ll have friends. I’ll show up at all the diplomatic functions and negotiate all the treaties I need to. I know how hard Jiji has to work as Hokage and it makes him miserable. But it won’t be the same for me. I’m used to working hard. Though I do think Jiji spends too much time with paperwork. I’ll probably get rid of it.”
“Paperwork is mandatory.”
“Not when I’m Hokage.” Naruto said. “I won’t make a lot of friends by insisting others take care of it, but I’ll find another way. Or I suppose I’ll make you do it.”
“You can’t order your old genin teammate around, just because you’re Hokage.”
“I could do whatever I wanted.” Naruto corrected. “Like make you jounin commander. Or captain of ANBU. Or another high position where I could still have you around all the time.”
“I don’t see myself leading Konoha, either.”
“Tough luck. Until you have your own vision of the future, I’m reserving a spot for you in mine. As soon as you’ve got something better, I’ll let it go.”
Sasuke sighed. “Just… couldn’t you have waited a few more days? When our food and schedules run out, Sakura and I will halt in our development. Obviously you’ll catch up then. I just wasn’t prepared it would be so much sooner.”
“Sasuke. We’re a team. I already told you we’ll figure something out together. You’re not going to be without a schedule.”
“I already asked Kakashi. He doesn’t know how to build a training schedule. It is not his expertise. He doesn’t know how to make a dietary plan.”
“I can do it.”
Sasuke looked sceptical. “You’re going to take up a job of feeding and training two genin, on top of your own crazy training schedule?”
“Don’t be daft.” Naruto said. “I won’t be your trainer or your dietician. But I can help you. We can put something together. Anything we can cobble together would be better than nothing.”
Sasuke looked like he really did not understand the boy. “You really weren’t trying to show off with the tree walking, were you?”
Naruto shook his head. “I’ve never been good at sitting still. The people at the orphanage hated me for it. It’s hard for me to pay attention to something and stay focussed.”
“But… I see you reading and training all the time.”
“I found ways to manage it. Schedules help and so does limiting distractions. This mission has been exceedingly rough, pulling me out of the way I’m used to doing things. So when Kakashi showed us something new and exciting, I couldn’t get my mind off it. When I get in those moods, I can try to do something else but my head won’t be in it.”
“You never mentioned anything at the Academy.”
“The Academy is a sink or swim kind of place. I had to find ways to adapt myself because the Academy wouldn’t make any accommodations. You know Iruka’s the only one who’d share a transcript of his lectures with me beforehand? It helped so much to be able to read along.”
“I’m sorry for blowing up.” Sasuke said.
“Me too.” Naruto said. “Though I think it had to happen sooner or later.”
“Yeah.”
“Want to meditate next to each other?”
“Are you going into an episode when you wake up?”
Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “Maybe. Does that change your answer?”
“No.” Sasuke smiled. He moved over a little so that their shoulders were touching. “Not really, dobe.”
Naruto looked inside of himself. If he could make friends with a vindictive demon, how hard could it be to make friends with Kuruma?
~*~
The bridge was impressive. It was a lot larger and sturdier than he had imagined.
“Wood won’t work for these large projects.” Tazuna said. “Metal is the way to go.”
There was a gap just over a hundred feet remaining. He could see the other side already.
“We need one more foundation in the water and then it’s just a matter of connecting everything.”
Naruto had bridge duty today. His job was to look over Tazuna while he worked and alert the rest of the team if anything suspicious happened.
Kakashi had gathered enough information to know Gato only had access to four missing ninja. Three had been defeated and the last had never done any actual fighting, as far as Kakashi could tell.
It would be too dangerous for them to attack, but Gato had other henchmen than ninja. Naruto was there in case any bandits got the wrong idea. And if there was a ninja presence after all, he could sound the alarm. They had fireworks prepared just for that eventuality.
He looked over all the material lying around and all the work that still had to be done. Right. He would not be bored here.
The men snickered when he asked them if he could help. “Just try to lift one beam.”
Naruto was always up for a challenge. He had seen the men walking around with two at a time, one under each arm. So he took three under each and started helping.
“Guess you really are a ninja.”
Naruto rolled his eyes. It hardly counted as a workout like this. His strength training was a lot more intense.
~*~
Inari sneezed and Naruto felt guilty. It was his fault for the most part that the boy had been pushing himself so hard and training outside this much.
“I’m not tired.”
“Tough. You need bedrest. At least for today.”
The boy huffed. “I can still work.”
“Work while sick and you’re out for a week instead of a few days.”
“I can still do something.” Inari pouted.
“You could use your talent.”
Inari made a face, but then his expression calmed. He was actually considering it.
Naruto picked a book from his collection and handed it over. “Be careful with this and put it away after an hour.”
“I can read more.”
“Be glad I’m giving you the hour when you should be resting.”
The boy sulked, but nodded.
~*~
This time Naruto did not feel guilty.
“It hurts.”
“I told you to stick to a single hour.”
“I did. But then I just... I thought I’d memorise some kata. You said knowing isn’t the same as understanding.”
“They’re separate things, yes.” Naruto said. “But your talent’s going to pick up on the fact that you were memorising chiefly as a way to improve your skill.”
The boy rubbed at his temples.
“It doesn’t like it when you try to trick it.”
“The one time I try to use it.” Inari complained.
“Did it help?”
Inari hesitantly nodded. “I didn’t have much concentration yesterday. I was convinced I didn’t understand half of what was on each page. But I understand it now. And… it’s like chakra. The talent likes being used. Even if it did give me a huge head ache.”
“Treat it better.” Naruto said. “And try again.”
The boy sighed, but he looked determined. “I will.”
~*~
“I need something to do on the bride.” Naruto said. “There’s only so much carrying around they need from me.”
“You could read.” Kakashi said.
“I can’t concentrate enough there. I need something physical to do. I tried training my henge, but even that’s not something I can keep doing an entire day.”
Kakashi considered it. He took a kunai and the placed it on the tip of his finger, balancing it. “How about this?”
Naruto rolled his eyes. “What’s that supposed to do.”
“Try to move it.”
Naruto poked the kunai softly, but nothing happened. He pushed it all the way until it was horizontal, but when Naruto released the pressure, it just went back in an upright position. “You’re using chakra to stabilise it.”
“With tree walking, you use chakra to stick your feet to the tree. With this, you use chakra to stick your weapon to your body. ”
Naruto nodded. “I’ll work on it.”
~*~
Naruto was out on his morning run. He would check back on Inari when he got back. He just hoped he had learned his lesson and that they would be able to keep training.
Except his one lap around the village had turned into two and that had turned into three. He ended up taking a dive in a nearby lake to freshen up before he returned.
And that was when the stranger stumbled onto him, just as he was getting out of the water. Naruto covered himself up, more for the stranger’s modesty than his own. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know anyone was out here.”
“Th-that’s alright.” Said a gentle voice. Naruto had trouble telling whether it was a man or a woman, which usually meant someone was deliberately being androgynous. They had long black hair and fair features. The clothes could have been feminine, but he was not up to date on Wave’s latest fashion trends.
Naruto had techniques to dry himself off, before he quickly redressed. “I’m Naruto.”
“Haku.”
“You’re pretty far out into the woods.” Naruto zipped up his jacket and faced the stranger, who finally seemed comfortable enough to look back.
“I was looking for medicinal herbs. I didn’t have any luck closer to the village.”
“Need a hand?” Naruto offered.
“That would be quite kind, thank you. I’m looking for gingko and echinacea.”
“I’ll have a look around. Can I ask which pronouns you prefer?”
They tilted their head. “I was born a boy. Boys have the pronouns he and him.” He sounded like it was the only option.
“That’s fine.” Naruto said. “Just, not everyone who is born a boy stays one for their whole life.”
They went searching and having an extra pair of eyes seemed to help in their pace.
“Do you help everyone you come across?”
“Not everyone.” Naruto said. “But if you’re looking for medicine, I assume it’s because someone’s sick. It seemed important.”
“I see.”
“Isn’t this a Gingko tree?”
Haku looked over. “Korean pine, I’m afraid.”
Naruto nodded and kept looking.
“You’re a ninja, aren’t you?”
Naruto smiled, the metal of his headband feeling heavy on his forehead. “I sure am. That’s my reason for being so far in the woods. Training.”
“But you already look so strong.”
“Trust me, I can be a lot stronger still.”
“It takes a lot of dedication to work so hard. I wonder… is there anyone precious in your life?”
He shrugged. “I have a few friends. Why?”
“I had a very bad childhood.” Haku said. “I was always weak and I don’t think my life had any worth at all. But then I met someone I could dedicate my life to. I don’t think you can become truly strong until you do it for someone else.”
Naruto was silent for a few moments. “I think… I believe the opposite. I found something I could dedicate my life to and only by fully dedicating myself to my dream, did I meet true friends.”
“Maybe you just haven’t found someone to dedicate yourself to.”
“Maybe…” Naruto hedged. “But I also think it’s dangerous. What would you do if that person ever left you?”
“He won’t leave me.”
“What if he dies?”
Haku froze. “Then I guess I’d go back to being useless.”
Naruto swallowed. “I think… the plants you’re looking for are right there in that clearing.”
Haku smiled. “It appears they are. Thanks for helping me.”
“I hope your precious person feels better soon.”
“I hope your training goes well and that you’ll become strong enough to fulfil your dream.”
~*~
The next day, Kakashi decided all four of them would accompany Tazuna. After a week of one chaperone per day, it stood out.
Naruto understood why. There was something in the air. More mist and less sun than the other days. The perfect day for the enemy to attack them.
Tazuna got to work like normal, trying not to let the atmosphere get to him.
And then they came. Walking in was better than a sneak attack for the Konoha side, Naruto supposed. Then again, if the Mist ninja had tried a sneak attack from the other side, they would have been defenceless in the water.
“Zabuza.”
“Kakashi.” The man stretched his arms and moved his sword threateningly. “It’s almost time for our rematch.”
“Took you long enough. I was getting bored.” Kakashi said, like he had been expecting a confrontation and was not just as shocked as the genin about the jounin being alive.
Next to Zabuza was another ninja in green kimono, wearing the mask of a Hunter ninja from mist. They had been working together from the start.
Naruto inched towards Tazuna. The bridge builder was their client and needed to be protected above all else. “Sasuke, you’re the fastest. You need to take him away.”
Sasuke shook his head. “I don’t know the way.”
Naruto cursed the bastard for not even taking half a minute of his talent to learn the village’s lay-out. “Sakura?”
“It has to be you.” She said. “It’s too dangerous to take him over the bridge itself. You’ll need to use the underside.”
Naruto cursed. He had not mastered tree walking to avoid the battles. “Will you two be okay?”
“We’ll have to be.” Sasuke said. He went with Sakura and they engaged the masked ninja together.
Naruto had his own job to do.
He grabbed Tazuna’s hand and then started running right off the side of the structure. The bridge builder looked at the water they would be crashing into and screamed. He held one hand over Tazuna’s mouth as he jumped from pillar to pillar.
He could hear kunai crashing against each other. He heard sparks and fire and groans of pain. He held on a little tighter as he hurried along.
And then he reached the beginning of the bridge. He found a nook that nobody would notice and then he put Tazuna down. “I need to get back.”
“I can’t get down here from myself.”
“We’ll win the fight and then we’ll get you. But I can’t stay away much longer. And you’re not safe anywhere else.”
He seemed to realise. “My family.”
“I’m sorry. They won’t hurt them as long as you’re alive. That’s what you need to focus on right now.”
The man nodded solemnly.
Naruto slung himself back on top of the bridge and started running back. It was too quiet. He could not hear what was going on.
He hoped they were okay. And he hoped Inari would be.
~*~
“Keep your hands off me!” Inari yelled, pulling away his arm.
The ruffian smirked, reaching for a knife from his belt.
“Just give me an excuse.”
“Calm down.” Tsunami said. She was still inside the house, terrified to come any closer. “We’ll come with you if you promise not to hurt us.”
“No!” Inari got into his stance. “We’re not going anywhere.” They were going to take them hostage to use them against grandpa. They wanted to hurt and kill him. He could not just let that happen.
“One more chance, kid.”
Inari stayed put.
“Fine.” He swiped at Inari and it was a lot faster than he had imagined. It was not a conscious decision to move back, but all instinct. And then he deliberately stepped forward and punched.
The man coughed and sputtered, before making another swipe.
Inari had not really gotten all the talk of flow, but he understood it now. His body remembered the kata and it remembered how to move and dodge and dance. He was able to land hit after hit on the man, while he was only nicked twice.
“Stop messing around.” The other bandit said.
“Not doing this on purpose.” The bandit panted, doing his best to corner Inari while more and more bruises formed over his body.
And then Inari stumbled, falling on his back. The bandit plunged his knife down, thoroughly frustrated. Tsunami screamed and Inari closed his eyes. He was going to die just like his dad. It was his worst fear come to life. And he was strangely okay with it. Somehow knowing he was dying to keep others safe was calming.
Instead of pain, there was just a rush of air and the bandit fell on his back. Another sound of quick movement and Inari heard the other one drop as well.
He opened his eyes and saw her.
“Where’s Naruto?”
Notes:
Next month: Looks like we’re alone now. Which is the last chapter of part 1 ans is where Zabuza and his mysterious companion attack the bridge. The fate of the whole village is on Team 7's shoulders. But no pressure.
Naruto can't help but see another small boy and instantly go into big brother teaching mode. In canon we have Naruto needing basic chakra concepts explained to him, for the sake of the audience. With a Naruto that is more capable, I wanted to flip that around and introduce some chakra concepts through Inari.
There's also conflict, and the immediate resolution of that conflict. The kids are trying to work together, but things were bound to boil over eventually. Hopefully they understand each other a little better now.
Chapter 8: 1.8. Looks like we’re alone now (Break the ice)
Summary:
Zabuza is back, just like we feared. This time we're prepared though and we're not going down without a fight!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Zabuza and Kakashi went from high-speed combat to standing apart and waiting for a new opportunity. After a few rounds of this, it seemed like Zabuza’s plan was to challenge Kakashi’s endurance. Their last match had proven that their skill level was too even.
Zabuza could not disengage while Kakashi was looking for any weakness to defeat the jounin. That kept Zabuza securely tied to Kakashi and unable to search for Tazuna.
The other Mist ninja had somehow trapped Sasuke and Sakura in a dome of ice mirrors. Naruto did not understand why they would not just walk out of the many openings, until the masked ninja shot out of one mirror and disappeared in another. The guy was fast and dangerous. Naruto’s teammates had barely been able to dodge those senbon.
It was obvious what Naruto had to do. He would be of little help inside the ice prison and he had no way to assist Kakashi if Naruto revealed his position. He had to stay hidden and away from the fight. One well-placed distraction could help Kakashi win the fight. One well-timed kunai could make all the difference.
Sasuke screamed as a barrage of senbon penetrated his arm and Naruto started running.
There was no plan, no thought at all, just rushing in to stand beside his teammates.
“Formation.” Sakura said.
They gathered in the centre, their backs to each other so they all watched a different section of mirror.
“Here!” Naruto yelled as soon as he spotted the masked ninja, dodging while Sakura and Sasuke turned that way and tried to get their kunai in the enemy.
The masked ninja disappeared in another mirror before they could do anything and Naruto had two cuts near his legs to show for it.
Sasuke groaned in frustration, showering the mirrors with flames. It was fruitless.
“The water is strong against fire.” Sakura noted.
“Well the wind part is supposed to be weak against it.”
“The strengths stack. Not the weaknesses.” Sakura snapped back.
They had limited options. Naruto looked at her hopefully. “Don’t suppose genjutsu will work?”
“He’s too strong for that.” Sakura said. “But I have another idea. Going to take some time.”
“Same for me.” Sasuke said.
Replacements were no use. The enemy specialised in chipping away at them one small needle at a time. The kawamari cost too much chakra to waste it on small needles.
That left two tools in their arsenal. Naruto started gathering the chakra.
Another pass over and another scrambling to avoid the worst of it. The masked ninja was throwing at least ten senbon every time he flew by and hitting with at least one.
“Get ready to multiply.” Naruto said. He could see the enemy get just a little bit tenser. But that was the beauty. Not like he could do anything about it.
Naruto was joined with four clones, just like his teammates. Fifteen genin in total, standing there and having a much better chance of avoiding hurt and catching the bastard. The bunshin was chakra efficient. Much more than it had to be to maintain these mirrors.
Except, when the Mist ninja flew past them again, he showered them in fifty needles instead of ten. All the bunshin shimmered away.
“What the hell?” Sakura said.
“He was holding back.” Sasuke said.
“Why?” Sakura demanded.
Another pass. Back to ten needles, a huge pain in the ass to dodge, but not impossible to avoid the worst of.
“He’s toying with us.” Sasuke said.
“No.” Naruto said. This was just like Zabuza. “He does not want to kill us.”
“I will if I have to.” The Mist ninja said through all mirrors at once. That voice sounded familiar.
“He wants to use us as leverage against Kakashi.” Sasuke said.
That could be one reason. Naruto had a feeling more was going on. But it was only slightly helpful to be up against someone who preferred to incapacitate instead of kill. Naruto doubted the enemy would expend too much effort sparing them if push came to shove.
Sasuke and Sakura made more clones. Easy enough to keep the enemy wasting more senbon. Naruto wondered how big a supply the enemy had. The ninja did not seem very worried, but it was hard to read anything into it with the mask.
Naruto was still too slow with the bunshin. He could not remake them as often as his teammates could. But Sasuke and Sakura were getting closer. Naruto could see it. They were growing faster and thinking up plans as well. The enemy noticed how they were dodging some of the senbon, and responded by targeted them worse than before.
They needed time and Naruto needed to give it to them. Naruto could not help by making as many bunshin. Which left only one other weapon available to him.
He grew larger and he stood straighter. His face was now covered and his hair a different colour. The kunai in his possession had become a large sword. And he had the voice down. Of course he did. He would never forget it. “So many ways to kill you.”
Sasuke and Sakura seemed unnerved, which was not the point. The enemy was affected more. The next volley was aimed more at him than the others. He tried to mimic how the big sword had moved. How was Zabuza able to wield it with such speed? His fake replica was already heavy and a pain in the ass to use. But it did cover a large area and was sturdy enough to shield him from some of the senbon.
Four of the needles penetrated his upper arm and he had to submerge himself in Zabuza’s mind to keep from crying out. Instead he smiled. “That all you got? Pathetic.”
Another pass then. Fifty needles all coming towards Naruto from unexpected angles. He felt like a human pincushion as he dropped to his knees.
“Naruto!” Sasuke yelled and something seemed to shift in Uchiha’s body.
Naruto followed the enemy with his eyes and stared at him while still holding Zabuza’s face. Pure spite was keeping the illusion together.
And Zabuza grinned.
The Mist ninja made a mistake. He went too slow. Was too eager to attack. Sasuke managed to intercept and got a kunai close enough to matter.
The enemy dodged, but he had to twist his body and slow down even further. It gave Sakura time to get to the mirror before the enemy did. She touched the ice and it exploded. The Mist ninja was blown away in a gust of wind.
Sasuke managed to throw a few more shuriken the Mist ninja’s way, which the enemy was only barely able to dodge before disappearing into another mirror.
Sakura was trembling, her arm shaking, but she pulled herself together. “Stripping water from ice chakra was more complicated than I thought.”
Sasuke looked at her with red eyes, his new Sharingan spinning. The spirit-gifted eyes of the Uchiha looked good on him. That he would be stronger and faster was good too. “You’re going to be all right?”
“Better once we defeat this punk.”
The enemy was in the mirrors. Instead of the stoic image from before, he was panting and looking desperate. Much better.
Naruto dropped Zabuza’s shape and half the senbon that had been embedded in his body dropped to the ground. There were wounds where the senbon had been and they were bleeding. Dropping a wounded form was not as bad as trying to hide injuries with a henge, but it was pretty close.
He was incapacitated on the ground, figuring out which muscles still obeyed him. The needles messed with his nervous system. He would have to pull them out to fix it, but that might do more damage than it would solve. He already had too many open wounds. And even his chakra system was messed up. Some from the needle’s effect, some from the damaged henge.
The masked ninja passed over again and focussed on the two new threats. Sakura was fast and eager to get to the mirrors. She was also smart enough to make feints and make it challenging. Sasuke was faster than he had been, sometimes moving before the enemy had started attacking. The Sharingan was such a huge cheat.
The tide of the battle had changed. Sasuke and Sakura were avoiding all the senbon and matched the Mist ninja in speed. They were landing more hits than they were getting. Naruto could see the battle stretch out to its logical conclusion. They would win.
The enemy could see that too and was too smart to let it happen.
Another pass-over, another fifty senbon. All aimed at Naruto.
Time seemed to freeze as he analysed what was being thrown at him. He knew how little he could move. He knew he would not be able to avoid the needles that would hit his chest and penetrate his heart. The needles that would reach his head and penetrate his skull. The others were all aimed for major arteries. He could only move a little. Not enough to avoid all the lethal projectiles.
He pulled at his chakra for a replacement, but his chakra did not listen. He tried to transform into a metal block, but his chakra did not listen.
It was the end.
And then there were Sasuke and Sakura on either side of him, too late to deflect the weapons but just in time to block them with their bodies. They were skewered and keeled over.
“NO!” Naruto screamed.
Sasuke was turning pale and had a pool of blood growing around him. Sakura was breathing wetly, like blood had gotten in her lungs.
Naruto looked at the ninja who was responsible and hated him with all of what he was. He had never felt such hate.
And then he felt it bubble to the surface, starting from his belly. Kuruma’s chakra was always present in his veins, but now he was drowning in it.
He had never felt more powerful.
The pain disappeared. His eyesight narrowed on the masked ninja. It felt like he had claws instead of fingers. He realised he ought to be worried, but the masked ninja consumed his mind. There was nothing he would not do to go after him.
He tried moving forward, but his muscles still disobeyed. He pulled at the needles that had held him down and tore them from his flesh. And then he ran towards the closest mirror and punched. He was sure he could feel it cracking under his force. Another time.
There was a wave of senbon that he had to jump back to avoid.
“Naruto.” Sakura said, grasping his pants tightly.
There. The mist ninja came out again.
Naruto kicked Sakura’s belly to make her let go and free him to chase the enemy. The needles did not hurt him and he could chase without worrying about them. Again and again he tried to go after the Masked ninja as he made passes. He was strong and fast and smart enough to catch the monster if he just kept trying.
But something nagged at him.
If he was really so fast and strong, why was he having more trouble than Sakura and Sasuke had?
And just like that, he remembered to look at them. To see Sakura in a worse state because he had kicked needles deeper into her abdomen. Realise how long it had been since he had started his rampage without helping them.
He forced the red chakra away and his mind cleared.
The pain was back, but he could get through it. He was dizzy and when he looked he realised how much blood he had lost.
They had lost. The moment Sasuke and Sakura had gone down, they had lost. And Naruto had been too angry to realise it.
“We surrender.” Naruto said. There was no option left. “Just let me take care of my teammates.”
The ice mirrors melted away and the masked ninja approached. “I accept. I can help.”
Naruto’s eyes teared up. This was not how he had wanted this first real fight to go.
“I’m sorry I had to do this.” The masked ninja said as he leaned over Sasuke’s body and started taking out needles. “I had my mission, same as you. But I don’t want anyone to die who doesn’t have to.”
The voice finally made sense. “You’re Haku. Were you scouting me when we met at the forest?”
“Just collecting medicine.”
Naruto swallowed. “I helped gather herbs for Zabuza’s recovery?”
“Nothing vital.” Haku said.
Naruto focussed on Sakura. “What do I do?”
Haku pointed at Sakura. “Remove the needles slowly and…”
“Not you, fuckface.” Naruto snapped. He caressed Sakura’s cheek. “You’re the team medic. What do I do?”
Sakura’s breathing seemed to steady somewhat. “L-left pocket.”
Naruto went through her things. He found three syringes.
“Green one.”
Naruto nodded and prepared it. He held it up and tapped it to make sure the air was in the top, before pushing out enough liquid that it came out. No air. That much he knew. He injected the needle into Sakura’s arm.
She grit her teeth as colour returned to her body. “Needles… from my arm.”
Naruto obediently removed those. There was some blood, but her muscles came free. She removed the needles from her other arm herself. Then she pulled out the needles from her chest and let a green glow follow in its wake. She coughed up blood, but then her breathing became better.
“Help me to Sasuke.” She said.
Haku was still working on him, but Sakura knew better. She pushed Haku aside and went right for the most damaging ones, her hands glowing green as she pulled out the needles and repaired the skin. Sasuke slowly opened his eyes, but he was too weak to speak.
“You can do more for him.” Naruto said. “Right?”
“No.” Sakura said.
“But you still have chakra.”
“I need that for you, idiot. Sit down.”
Naruto shook his head. If he sat down, he would not be able to get back up again.
“Now.” Sakura said, pulling him down. She did not normally have the strength to force him down, but his injuries made him too weak to resist.
Sakura started fiddling with his body. His orange jacket, now drenched in red, was put aside so she could more easily reach his skin. She pulled out some senbon, but mostly she focussed on the places where Naruto had ripped them out himself. Now that he was sitting still, he could really feel how much it hurt. He had done damage by being so reckless.
“What came over you?”
“I was angry.” Naruto said. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“You kicked me.”
Naruto swallowed. “That wasn’t me. There’s… there’s something I should tell you.”
“You’d better start talking.
Naruto glanced at Haku. “When we’re alone.”
Sakura kept going. She had saved a lot of her chakra for his treatment and Naruto had not understood how bad a state he had been in.
Haku smiled when the worst was over. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“No thanks to you. What now?”
“I’ll have to take one of you hostage.” He said.
“Take me.” Naruto said. Standing up was as hard as he had imagined it, and it took him several tries. He needed Haku to help him up before he stayed upright.
“No.” Sakura shook her head. “Not Naruto. He’s most injured. It’s more dangerous for him than for us.”
“That’s exactly why it has to be me.” Naruto said. If worst came to worst, Sakura and Sasuke had the best chance of getting away.
Sakura frowned. She reached for a senbon that was in Naruto’s upper arm.
“Leave that one.” Haku said.
“You said I could work on him to save him.” Sakura said. “If I don’t take care of that one he’ll bleed to death.”
“You’re bluffing.” Haku said. “That senbon is blocking chakra flow into the arm. You want to remove it to let him fight back.”
Sakura’s face betrayed her.
“You’re done.”
“I should still heal more.” Sakura protested.
“No. He’s out of danger from his current injuries.” Haku pushed Naruto tight against his body, with a senbon at his neck against his carotid artery, and then started dragging him towards the jounin’s fight. Zabuza started laughing when he realised and Kakashi took several moments figuring out why. The Chidori in his hands had narrowed his attention.
“Naruto.”
“Sorry, sensei. We couldn’t make it.”
Zabuza grinned. “Surrender and we can end this without further bloodshed.”
Kakashi lowered his sparking hand, going over his options. It was clear he was going to drop his technique eventually.
“If I surrender, you let my team go.” Kakashi said.
“And you’ll help me kill the bridge builder.” Zabuza said.
Kakashi grimaced. “Why would you need my help?”
“If I leave you alone here so that I can kill Tazuna, you will fight Haku. If I take Haku, we are burdened with carrying a hostage. No. You will stay by my side while your team waits.”
“You can’t!” Naruto shouted. He felt the senbon pressing harder against his skin. Naruto needed to get out, but there was no escape. His chakra system was too messed up to do a replacement. It was too messed up to do a henge. There was so much he could not do.
“Don’t be a hero.” Haku said. “That’s not your purpose here.”
It was useless to protest, Naruto knew. Kakashi was not the kind of person who would leave his team behind. Even if it meant betraying the mission. Even if it meant killing their client and dooming the village. Even if it meant Inari would never forgive them.
Naruto swallowed. He did not have his weapon pouch on his leg. That had been taken from him before Haku had taken him hostage. Taijutsu then? Haku had too tight a grip on him. Maybe he could pretend to faint? That would only buy him a single surprise attack. It would not be enough.
He needed enough chakra control to do a technique. And he did not have it. He needed the pathways in both his arms to finish his techniques, but on his right arm his control stopped at the senbon embedded at the upper arm. He was limited to the most basic chakra manipulations. If Naruto could escape, he could make it over the side of the bridge and use tree walking to run away. But that meant escaping first. Which Naruto did not have a plan for yet.
Inari came running down the bridge. “Stop!”
“What are you doing here?!” Naruto shouted at him.
Zabuza looked unimpressed. “It’s over, little kid.”
“Y-you can’t hurt my grandfather!” The boy pleaded to Kakashi. “He trusted you! We trusted you!”
“I have no choice, Inari-kun.” Kakashi sighed.
“Th-then you’ll have to go through me.” The boy took on a fighting stance, ready to face down two jounin.
“Is this a joke?” Zabuza asked. “I eat bigger things than you for breakfast.”
“Not you. Kakashi’s the one who’s betraying me. If you’re willing to kill my grandfather, you should be willing to kill me first.”
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
“You’re not going to be able to.” Inari said, though there was no confidence in his voice. “Naruto’s taught me a lot.”
“Not enough.” Kakashi lamented.
“More than my father taught me. More than you did. I’m not the same weakling you met before. I want to do this and I want to do this right. But if you want to stand a chance of winning, you’d better come at me with intent to kill.”
What?
“I can make it non-lethal.” Kakashi said.
“Use that lightning.” Inari demanded. “Scar me like you’ll scar my grandfather and spare me a world where he’s gone.”
Kakashi nodded. And then he started running at the boy.
Zabuza just chuckled. “Is this how easily a Konoha ninja strays from his morals?”
Inari stood proud. He held up a metal rod and was wearing rubber gloves. It seemed like he had a plan. But there was no way he would be able to pull it off.
Naruto did not understand what was happening. But he saw Kakashi going towards Inari and suddenly failure was not an option anymore. If all Naruto had was tree walking, he would have to defeat Haku with that.
“I’m getting dizzy.” Naruto complained, swaying on his feet.
“Stay still.”
“I lost too much blood.” Naruto bend his knees like he had lost the strength to stand.
Haku focussed on holding Naruto up, instead of pushing the senbon against Naruto’s neck. That was precisely the opening he had needed. He might not have any techniques, but Kakashi had taught him how to use tree walking to keep an object balanced against his skin without holding it. He might not have a weapon’s pouch, but his whole body was filled with needles.
Naruto regained his footing and pushed his right shoulder with the embedded Senbon against Haku’s Neck. He had to bite his jaw shut to keep himself from shouting out in pain as the needle went deeper into his own body first, before making Haku bleed.
Haku pushed Naruto away and pressed a hand against his neck. It was not bleeding enough to keep Haku down, but at least Naruto had an opening.
“Stop!” He shouted, already running for the bridge’s edge. He was going to be free and Kakashi would not be forced into doing anything.
But Naruto’s voice did not carry. Kakashi’s Chidori was overpoweringly loud and going just as quickly as when Naruto had still been held.
Kakashi came closer and closer to Inari. His ball of lightning chirped and it was deafening. It bypassed the metal easily and disappeared right into Inari’s chest.
Naruto froze. It felt like he could not breathe. Haku was already making a grab for him and Naruto needed to run. But he just stared at his sensei’s technique, waiting for the moment it would hit Inari’s skin.
And then it did. And then it moved through. Inari’s bunshin dissipated.
Inari was suddenly right by Naruto and Haku in a fighting stance. Haku tried to grab onto Naruto, but Naruto was still covered in needles like a pin cushion. Naruto moved his arm so that Haku would have to pierce himself with a needle if he wanted to actually go through with the grapple. Inari took the seconds given to him and pushed the masked ninja away with an overpowered punch.
Kakashi did not seem surprised to have hit a bunshin and turned around to charge for Zabuza instead.
Zabuza raised his sword, but it was too late. Kakashi had sped up and he had a clear path towards the enemy’s heart.
Haku tried to get up, but there was Inari again, using Haku’s prone state to get in more hits. Haku managed to stand up long enough to lodge a senbon in the boy’s arm, before another hit brought Haku down again.
Haku reached for his teammate futilely, breathing heavily from his place on the ground. Haku tried to get up again, but his legs would not obey him. “Wh-what did you do to me?”
Zabuza’s scream ran through the air and it chilled Naruto to his bones.
Naruto looked over the boy who had saved him. Naruto had never taught him the bunshin. And as Naruto really looked, he saw the flaws in the disguise. And he knew exactly who had really rescued him.
He tackled Inari in a hug and started crying. “Why are you here?”
“You were in trouble. Of course I came.” Inari’s body grew bigger until it was Hanabi hugging Naruto.
“It was dangerous and reckless.”
“Well, couldn’t let you have all the fun. Did you know they were going to wait four more days before they sent reinforcements? I couldn’t accept it.”
“Your timing was impeccable.” Kakashi noted, walking over. He swiped his hand in the air, trying to get rid of the gore.
“Well, thanks for getting the hint.” Hanabi said.
“H-he’s gone.” Haku cried. His face was blank and his body limp. As if he had given up completely.
Hanabi went over to tie him up. “Should I release his chakra points?”
“Leave them blocked for now. We’ll deal with him later.”
“Hanabi?” Sakura asked. She was limping over with Sasuke’s arm over her shoulder.
Hanabi smiled, dashing over to them to give an incredibly careful hug. “You guys are okay too!”
“Just barely.”
“We should get everyone back somewhere safe.” Kakashi said.
“Not so fast.” A deep voice yelled. The newcomer stood a distance away from them, dirty blond hair and sunglasses on. There were easily a hundred people in front of the man. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Gato.” Haku gasped.
“You failed me.” Gato said. “You and Zabuza both. But at least you were good for something, weakening Konoha’s ninja like this.”
“You don’t want to pick a fight with us.” Kakashi warned.
“Ah, but I do. What do you have left to fight with?”
“You’re an idiot.” Sakura said. She made sure Sasuke could stand on his own before she stepped forward.
“You have nothing left to win with.”
“No.” Sakura said. “We have nothing left to lose. Don’t you know that clans like mine are protected by spirit animals?”
He laughed. “And what’s the spirit animal that you can summon in this state? A little kitten?”
“Something like that. The most powerful ones are a lot easier to call, actually, when I’m in mortal danger.” Sakura made the hand seals and then the earth started trembling. The bridge shook as water crashed against the bridge again and again.
From the water arose a massive creature with a long body and mighty claws. The face was feline, but everything about it screamed dragon, even its long whiskers. When it opened its mouth, it showed off its many teeth and hungry throat. All directed at the group of bandits.
Naruto smiled. The tingle in his mind that was warning him was easily ignored when it was working for them. And Naruto did not want to miss the show.
“Run!” One man shouted, already turning tail.
Gato gave an angry sound at all those surrounding him. “We can fight this thing!”
In response, the dragon picked off one of the brave ones in front that had remained, throwing him high into the air with lightning speed and letting his mouth catch it. It chew and the sounds of breaking bones and the cries of anguish were horrifying. Too horrifying for anyone to realise that the man had not been there before the dragon had appeared.
The bandits fled as fast as they could.
Gato tried to stop them, but they trampled him. He fell to the ground and much like the man that had been eaten by a dragon, his bones broke.
Until all that remained on the bridge was this weak man, trying to crawl away with his beaten and bloody body.
The dragon brought its face to Gato. Its eye was half the size of the man. It stared, grinning. And then it roared.
Gato’s eyes rolled back as he lost consciousness.
And Sakura slumped, the dragon disappearing.
“Are you okay, Sakura?” Naruto asked. Genjutsu were not very chakra expensive, but with all her injuries it would have been taxing to keep it up for so many people.
“After all the battles we’ve been having against overpowered ninja who are immune to my specialisation, that felt really good.” Sakura said.
“Let’s get Tazuna and get out of here.”
~*~
It was gruelling work. Sakura gave directions and let Hanabi help in removing needles, before cleaning and dressing all the wounds. Sakura was gathering her strength and would use more healing jutsu whenever she had the chakra for them. The window was closing where her techniques could do more good than harm and only a fraction of the wounds had been closed. Mostly, it would be a matter of healing naturally over time.
Kakashi had sprawled out in a corner, paying attention but not moving. He was fighting just to stay awake at this point. Last time he had fought Zabuza, he had fainted soon after.
Tsunami was helping with warm water, while Inari was perched on Tazuna’s lap, refusing to let go of his grandfather.
After all the immediate work was done, Sakura and Hanabi were able to sit down and catch their breath.
“What happened in Konoha?” Kakashi asked. “What made you come here?”
“I was processing your dog’s report.” Hanabi said. “If you had still been in Fire Country, they would have sent reinforcements immediately. I asked around, but everyone was convinced if it was just chuunin, then you guys would be fine. They were not in a hurry at all.”
“So you just dropped everything and came here?”
She blushed. “I talked to Hinata about it first. She’s covering for me by pretending I’m sick.”
“It was against the rules.” Kakashi said. “You’ve jeopardised our treaties with Mist country by coming here without authorisation.”
She flinched. “I couldn’t just abandon my friends.”
Kakashi smiled. “I’m proud of you, Hanabi. You would have been a good member of Team 7.”
“And maybe you wouldn’t have kicked me after I’d saved your life.” Sakura grumbled.
Naruto grimaced. “There was more going on.”
“Right.” Sakura did not sound convinced.
Naruto looked at their teacher. “I want to tell them.”
“If you’re sure.” Kakashi said. “But choose carefully who you trust with this secret.”
Naruto nodded. “It’s a team 7 only secret. I’m sorry, Inari, Tazuna. I’ll have to ask you to give us the room for a bit. You too, Tsunami.”
“What about me?” Hanabi asked.
“You heard Kakashi.” Naruto said. “You’re an honorary member of Team 7. You deserve to know this too.”
The others left the room. The other ninja all turned to Naruto, giving him his time. Even Kakashi seemed willing to yield to him.
“What do you know about the Kyuubi?” Naruto asked.
“Nine-tailed demon who sometimes appears in ninja battles.” Sasuke said.
“Attacked Konoha twelve years ago until he was chased away.” Sakura added. “The fourth Hokage sacrificed himself to defeat him. What about it?”
“The kyuubi is a demon made out of chakra.” Naruto said. “And it’s possible to trap it. Konoha stored the demon in a container and let it loose in certain battles where it would do more damage to the enemy than to Konaha.”
“Then… why did it attack Konoha?” Hanabi asked.
“It was sabotage, most likely.” Naruto said. “An attack. Normally there are safety protocols in place and enough fallbacks to guarantee the Kyuubi can be recaptured without casualties. The Fourth had to improvise quickly and that’s why he died.”
“Naruto.” Sasuke said. “Why do you know all this?”
“Because a demon like that, you can’t store it in a scroll. You can’t keep that much chakra in a single seal or in any kind of object. You need something alive. I know all this because I’m the jinchuuriki of the Nine-tailed fox.”
“You… have a demon inside of you?” Sakura asked.
“When I go into my mindscape, I can see it.” Naruto said. “I can talk to it.”
“What does it say?” Kakashi asked, interested to hear this new information.
“I don’t speak its language.” Naruto shrugged. “I think it insults me a lot. I’m trying to learn more about it, since it’s sharing my body. So I can ask it… not to kill any Konoha ninja if it ever goes free.”
There was a silence in the room as everyone digested that information. Naruto had had a lot of time getting used to it. He could give his friends a few minutes if they needed it.
“When is it in danger of getting out?” Hanabi asked. “Like, should I stop hitting you so hard in spars?”
“No. That’s not a problem.”
“Are you sure? Do you have that much control?”
“Not control.” Naruto said. “But it won’t get out until I die.”
“Wait.” Sakura said. “You said Konoha released the Kyuubi in some battles.”
“Yes.” Kakashi confirmed. “If they need the Nine-tailed fox at some point, Naruto will be asked to go to a battle to be killed.”
They all drew back at that. “That isn’t fair.” Hanabi said.
“They can’t do that.” Sakura said.
“We won’t let them.” Sasuke clenched his fist.
“I’ve made my peace with it.” Naruto said.
“Fuck you.” Sasuke said. “You’re just going to listen if they tell you to die?”
“To sacrifice myself.” Naruto said. “Like any other mission. We’re always risking our lives for the client, for Konoha, for the villagers who live there.”
“There’s a difference between risking your life and throwing it away.” Sasuke said.
Naruto teared up. “It’s not like I’ll know! They’re not going to send me out to someplace and tell me to kill myself!”
They stared at him.
“They’ll probably be smarter than that.” Naruto tried to wipe away the moisture from his eyes. “They’ll just send me somewhere dangerous and say that they’ll expect me to do my best. They’ll just also expect my best to be not good enough.”
“A village that would ask something like this of you… it’s not a village you should have to follow.” Sasuke said.
“Konoha comes first.” Naruto said. “And it always will. But it’s another reason for me to become Hokage. I can’t be ordered to sacrifice myself if I’m the one giving all the orders.”
Sasuke planted his face in his hands and sighed.
“Did it leak out today?” Sakura asked. “Is that why…”
“It’s never happened before.” Naruto said. “But I was just so angry and desperate that I somehow pulled the demon’s chakra away from it. It made me feel strong and invincible. It made me angrier and poisoned me. I wanted revenge and it only made me weaker. I’m so sorry, Sakura.”
“It’s okay.” She said and it was the first time it sounded like she meant it. “You weren’t being yourself.”
Naruto cried into her shoulder, hugging her tightly.
“We won’t treat you any differently.” Hanabi said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“Hn.” Sasuke agreed, his hand on Naruto’s arm.
Naruto had the best friends he could ask for.
~*~
“That’s all I can do.” Sakura said. “Now we let the body heal itself the rest of the way.”
Naruto had an idea what that meant. “About four days for you guys. Two weeks for me.” It hurt to admit it. Two weeks would take him months to catch up on.
“Remember this well the next time you’re desperate.” Sakura looked over at Tsunami, who was portioning out their dinners. She could not talk directly about his furry little friend. “You shouldn’t destroy yourself while fighting.”
“I think I’ll remember, yeah.” Naruto groaned. “It’s going to be such a struggle.”
“About that…” Sakura said. “I wanted to offer you something. But I don’t know how you’ll take it.”
“What’s that?”
“I can ask my teacher to bundle my non-specialised skills into a single day. It won’t be tailored to your needs, but it can help you to sit in.”
Naruto’s eyes went wide. “You want to… share your teacher?”
“Kakashi’s been telling us we’re a team and I don’t feel like I’ve been helping you enough. You’ve gotten so far without professionals helping you. But it’s best for the team if you can get even stronger.”
“I agree.” Sasuke said. “I’ll ask my teacher to do the same.”
“That would be… amazing.” Naruto said. He stared in wonderment at his teammates. “Do you think… it would be okay if Hanabi came too?”
“Hanabi? Doesn’t she have her own teacher?” Sakura asked.
“He’s Hinata’s now.” Hanabi said. “My father doesn’t think administration ninja need the guidance.”
“But your bunshin has improved so much.” Sakura said. “It was making actual sounds. And your henge…” Something clicked as she looked at Naruto.
The boy rubbed the back of his head. “I thought you knew I’d been helping her. I mentioned it a few times.”
“Helping her is something different from taking over as her primary teacher.” Sasuke noted. “How have you been spending your time, Hanabi?”
The girl took out her training schedule. “It’s a bit messed up with the travel here.”
Sasuke looked it over. “There’s almost no fighting on here.”
“I can spar with Hinata sometimes, but it’s rude to use my talent when she can’t.”
“Naruto, you made this, right?” Sasuke asked.
Naruto nodded.
“I’ll donate an hour a week to this.” He said. “I don’t care if you use your talent when I can’t. It’d be a disgrace for the fourth member of team 7 to fall too far behind. And that goes for you too, Naruto. If you’re not sparring with a professional teacher, you need something to keep up on combat experience.”
“I agree.” Sakura said. “I can spare an hour too.”
“I have no way of paying you back.” Hanabi protested.
“Your company’s enough.” Sakura said. “I’ve missed you. And I think with today, we’re more in your debt than you’ll be in ours.”
~*~
Haku was tending Zabuza’s still body.
“We need to talk.” Kakashi said.
“I suppose we do.”
“I’m supposed to take you back to Konoha as a prisoner.” Kakashi said. “I’d prefer to let you go. But you’ll have to convince me that you’ll leave us alone. That you won’t come after us.”
“And how am I supposed to do that?”
“Let’s start with talking and see where that leads us. What are your plans for the future?”
“I don’t... Zabuza was the one who...”
“He was really important to you, wasn’t he?” Naruto asked.
Haku nodded. “He was the first person to ever acknowledge me. He saw use in me.”
“That doesn’t sound healthy.”
“I didn’t care.” Haku shrugged. “I had been nothing for so long, anything at all was better. I had a purpose finally.”
“We could give you a purpose in Konoha.” Kakashi said. “There aren’t many ninja who can use ice.”
Haku stayed silent.
“What was Zabuza’s plan?” Naruto asked.
“He wanted to collect money and resources. He wanted to overthrow the current Mist Kage. He wasn’t very good with words, but he let his actions speak loud enough. He wanted a better village.”
“Do you want to finish what he started?”
“It was his dream.”
“How about going to Konoha? What would Zabuza have wanted?”
Haku teared up again. “Not that. He hated Konoha almost as much as the Hidden Mist village.”
“You can do what you want now.” Sasuke tried. “You don’t have a master anymore.”
“Zabuza was never my master.” Haku said.
“But you would have done anything for him…” Sasuke said, confused.
Sakura smiled. “Did he know how much you loved him?”
“He... he never said anything.”
“He did to me.” Kakashi said. “His final words were a request that I would do right by you.”
“I just... I don’t know what to do.”
“You don’t want to go back to Konoha.” Naruto said. “Why don’t you continue Zabuza’s plans?”
“I can’t kill like he did. He did not mind the bloodshed like I do. I’m too weak.”
“You know, Zabuza did not want to kill us either.”
“He could have fooled me.” Sasuke said.
Naruto shot him a glare. “He didn’t. Just like you, he held back as long as he could.”
Haku shook his head. “I just have my senbon. He had the executioner’s sword. It’s a blade that can’t be wielded half-heartedly.”
“I’ve fought that blade multiple times now.” Kakashi said. “And there was an elegance to the way he used it. Heavy and deadly, but precise and deliberate.”
“I think Zabuza only killed when he had no other choice.” Naruto said. “Just like us.”
“Why are you saying this? Why do you want me to overthrow the Kage?”
“I don’t know if you’ll succeed.” Kakashi said. “I don’t know if you’ll make this country better, though I hope you do. But I do know that it’s hard to lose someone close to you. And it helps to do something they would have wanted. But only if you are behind it. If you can find a reason for yourself.”
Haku looked at the sword and carefully put a hand to the steel. “I want to continue our mission. I don’t want what we’ve already done to have been in vain.”
“Good. And as your first action as a free man, let me ask you. What do you think we should do with Gato?”
~*~
The man was tied up in a chair in the middle of an empty room. Team 7 had given him none of the accommodations they had for Haku.
“Hello, Gato.”
He looked up with a huff. One eye was swollen shut and the rest of him did not look any prettier. “How dare you show your face to me after you’ve failed so thoroughly? Don’t tell me you defected.”
“Would it matter?” Haku asked. “You’re in no position anymore to pay our fees.”
“This is why I’ve never liked ninja. You all think you’re so amazing.”
“I would like for us to be honest with each other.” Haku said. “Were you ever planning to pay us?”
The man smirked. “You figured it out? No. I would have stormed the bridge no matter which side had won. I would have killed all of you.”
“I see. That makes me feel better about this. Thank you.” Haku entered the room, dragging the executioner’s blade behind him.
“No, wait, wait!” The man pleaded. “You’ll destroy the country if you kill me. Konoha brats! Tell him.”
Kakashi stood beside Haku, supporting the decision. “Your exploitations end here.”
“No!!” Gato yelled. “There are many people dependent on me. My prices are high, but these people will starve without my business.”
“Gato, you thought you were so clever with your plan to hire Zabuza and me. Did you really think we did not suspect you might betray us? Did you really think we would not plan for it?”
“What?”
“We watched you like you watched us. We know how you’ve organised your business. We wanted to be able to take your place after we killed you.”
“There are people who are loyal to me. They’ll sabotage you.”
Haku shrugged, taking on Gato’s form with a Henge. It was already good. And with Naruto’s pointers over the next few days, it would become flawless. “As far as the world’s concerned, you survived the bridge. Your business will become gentler, its prices will become fairer. After you failed to stop the bridge’s completion, you turned another leaf. And now, your life ends.”
Haku lifted the blade higher and swung it around. It was a good thing Tazuna was not really using the room. It would take a while for the blood to be cleaned up.
~*~
“For a little while, I thought you were more than just a demon.” Naruto looked at the orange fur in his mind’s sewer, spotted with dirt and dried blood. He looked at the metal claws and teeth, covered in so much rust that they would have killed any real animal. He looked into the demon’s eyes, where he had imagined a semblance of understanding.
“Magis ostendit quantum!”
“You were nearly the death of me. And you nearly made me kill Sakura.”
“Quia tu, puer.”
“Shut up! You’re the reason I don’t have any talent! You’re the reason I don’t have my parents or a family! I thought I should get at least something in return. Just one thing and you can’t even do that right.”
“Vitae facilis est. Hoc debes scire.”
“There’s no use to you. I wish you had been destroyed. I wish nobody ever has to suffer the burden of carrying you again.”
“Relinquam, quales ante.”
“I do not need you, understand? I have real friends now. I can just stay away from here and never come back. They never try to hurt me. They actually care about me. So, I guess this is goodbye.”
The demon eyed him. It looked resigned.
“I needed to get that out of my system.” Naruto let out a large breath and scrunched up his fist. “But giving up really isn’t my way of doing things.” He looked at the fox and its imposing eyes. The creature had frightened him so much when they had first met. Fear of the unknown. “Neither of us likes the situation we’re in and neither of us can do anything about it. But I don’t care how long it takes. I will speak with you and make you my friend.”
“Naruto.” The fox sounded strange, the way he said Naruto’s name. “Tende, vulpeculus.”
Naruto’s face was still expressing his anger as he pointed at his limbs and repeated the words in the Demon’s tongue as he had been taught. “Okay, fuzzball. Let’s do this.”
~*~
Inari groaned. “That’s too long.”
“It’s my verdict, unless you want to make it even longer.” Sakura said.
“I didn’t hurt myself that badly did I?” Inari pouted. “I wanted to train more with Naruto before I left.”
“It’s a shame, but you really can’t.”
Naruto plopped down a few dozen pages in front of him. “At least I finished your lesson plan for the next year.”
~*~
Tazuna smiled at Naruto. They were outside, looking over the water. “I owe you and your team a great debt of gratitude.”
“It was our pleasure.” Naruto said. “We just hope you will be better off now.”
“The bridge is almost finished. I’m thinking of what to name it.”
Naruto’s mind went to Inari and the future the boy would have now. That Naruto had been able to prove the boy wrong when he thought everything was hopeless. “I think we should name it after Kaiza, Inari’s father.”
The bridge builder smiled. “That boy really means a lot to you, doesn’t he?”
“He’s a nice kid. I know this is what he would want.”
“He’s stubborn though. He’ll never admit that he appreciates it if we just tell him.”
Naruto shrugged. “Then you should tell him he gets to choose the name of the bridge. He’ll name it after his biggest hero.”
“I think he will.” Tazuna said.
~*~
It was weird to leave the village over the bridge instead of via the water. It had been an abstract piece of architecture for so long. But now it was material and under their feet. They would be the first to travel over it, but certainly not the last. Already merchants from the village were preparing to sell their wares directly to their customers. Word had gotten out and there were rumours that a lot of people would be coming to The Wave Country to do the same.
When they reached the end of the bridge, Inari and Tazuna were waiting for them.
“I guess this is goodbye, then.” Tazuna said.
“Thanks for your hospitality.” Sakura said.
Inari ran up to Naruto and hugged the boy tight. “I’ll practice every day. I promise.”
“I believe you, squirt.”
“Grandpa let me name the bridge, you know.”
“He did?” Naruto smiled at the bridge builder. “That’s nice of him. What name did you choose?”
“It’s the Great Uzumaki Naruto bridge.” Inari said.
Naruto’s voice caught. “What? You named it after me?”
“He named it after his hero.” Tazuna said. “Just like I thought he would.”
Naruto gave the boy a final hug. “You’re always welcome in Konoha.”
“And you’re always welcome in Wave.”
Naruto had teary eyes as they set off back to Konoha. He was leaving new friends behind, but his team was with him. Sasuke walked a little looser and seemed to be listening more as Sakura talked. Sakura looked less judgemental. Hanabi seemed to have more confidence in her step. And Kakashi seemed younger.
Team 7 had a long way to go, but Naruto felt confident they would get there as long as they kept working together.
His name was Uzumaki Naruto. He had no talent and no clan. He had a demon inside of him that made it harder to heal and did not make him any stronger. He had still earned his place in the top nine Academy graduates of Konoha. He had forced the top graduates to respect him and had pressured his lazy sensei to teach him. Not to mention getting a gigantic fox creature to teach him the demon’s tongue.
He was twelve years old and he had a bridge named after him. None of his talented class mates had that. Even the Fourth Hokage did not have anything named after him until his jounin days. He had finished an A-rank mission successfully weeks after his graduation. He was proving that hard work led to extraordinary results.
His name was Uzumaki Naruto and he would prove a ninja did not need talent to be the best.
End of Part 1
Notes:
Next month we're starting part 2: Endurance, all about the Chuunin Exams.
One of the big changes that was needed compared to canon was the scene where Naruto defeats Haku by relying on the Kyuubi's chakra. Naruto can't have that power as a fallback. Instead, if he lets teh Kyuubi's chakra possess him, he becomes berserked. Not stronger or faster, just so obsessed with 'fighting prey' that he loses all rational thought.
Sakura can't summon yet. She's just a genin. But boy was it fun for her to finally do some major genjutsu.
Chapter 9: 2.1 The mess you left (You oughta know)
Summary:
Sasuke and Sakura have been so much nicer since the Wave mission and it really feels like we're coming together as a team. Just in time too! The Chuunin exams should be starting any day now and I really think we're strong enough to get nominated.
Notes:
Here's a late birthday present from me to you :) managed to edit and post right before the celebrations this weekend.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Part 2: Endurance
Naruto was hanging on the side of a building. His legs were starting to hurt from the strain, but that was the point. They had learned to walk up walls. It would be a shame if he never used that ability. It was getting harder for him to exercise as much as he wanted, so he had to get smarter about the intensity. He did not have an infinite amount of time, unless he was fine staying a genin while Sasuke and Sakura got promoted. Like hell he would let that happen.
He did not know exactly when the chuunin exams would take place, only that Kakashi was supposed to decide whether they would be nominated or not. Though they had been talking more, the elusive dog-man refused to mention any kind of time frame. Naruto could not afford to slack off and end up falling short.
Naruto wanted to be the first ninja without talent to follow the Right Path, just like the Fourth Hokage had. Graduating as a field ninja from the Academy, being nominated and then passing his first chuunin exams, qualifying for Tokubetsu jounin at the first opportunity, and then passing his first jounin exam. No failures along the way, only running towards the top. Only the very best of Konoha’s ninja were able to make it through this Golden Path. And when it was time to designate a new Hokage, the council would first look at these Golden candidates.
Naruto wanted to be Hokage and that meant he had to be the very best. And that meant he needed to be ready for when Kakashi was going to nominate them. Because Kakashi was going to.
So back to it. Just sixty more sit-ups to go.
“I found you!”
Naruto looked up at the roof and found the boy waving at him. “Hey Konohamaru. What’s up?”
“Why the hell are you doing this?”
“It’s a workout for a lot of muscle groups.”
“Why are you thirty feet from the ground?”
Naruto shrugged. “Strangely enough, people kept bothering me when I did it low enough for me to hear their complaints. Was there anything you wanted?”
“Sensei told me to find you.”
That sounded like it could be serious. Naruto started walking up the side of the building, until he reached the roof and was back upright. “Is something wrong?”
“The opposite.” Konohamaru smirked. “He wants you to teach me to better use a henge.” The boy had a scroll ready to hand over.
Dang. “He wants to hire me as an expert? I can’t be the only one who can do a Henge.”
“But you’re the only one who’s also awesome and fun to learn from.” Konohamaru said. “I insisted he offer it to you.”
Konohamaru could have insisted till his kunai sharpened themselves, Ebisu would not have signed off on this unless he was personally convinced of Naruto’s merit. That was quite flattering.
And then there was the money. There was so much he could do with the extra pocket cash this assignment promised. Maybe he could even afford some tutoring on his emotional control.
“Do you have time for it?”
Naruto looked at his backpack. He was two books behind on his reading list and he had been planning on catching up. Spending time with Konohamaru and getting paid for it seemed like a lot more fun. “How often would I be teaching you?”
“It’s once a week for fifteen minutes. You can pick the day.”
That was without travel times. It would take about an hour from his schedule and it meant about two hours of preparation each week at a minimum. Most of which Naruto could do in his head while working out. “I think I can fit it in.”
Konohamaru’s grin could have lighted up the whole village. “This calls for celebration! Let me treat you to some dango.”
Naruto chuckled. “You got your allowance, brat?”
He nodded and held up his wallet.
“I think I’ll be getting enough of your money. I’ll pay for my own portion.” Naruto grabbed Konohamaru and then walked to the edge of the roof.
“What are you doing?!”
“You interrupted my training. So now I’m going to compensate.” Naruto had a tight grip on Konohamaru as he jumped from wall to wall, running with the added weight like it was no trouble at all.
Though Naruto tried to get them horizontal again for eating their snack, Konohamaru insisted they ate like normal people. Naruto reluctantly went along with that, since it did eliminate the risk of dropping the food he had just purchased. Just he wait though. Naruto would end up corrupting Konohamaru eventually.
Maybe Jiji could give Naruto some tips. Though the old man pretended to be responsible, his long hours running the village made him desperate for amusement. If Naruto were to ask him how the Hokage’s grandson could be corrupted, Jiji would make an exhausted face and complain about how Naruto would be the end of him someday. And then he would drop a few hints and hope Naruto delivered.
Actually, it had been too long since Naruto had dropped in on the Hokage. His training was keeping him too busy lately. Last time had been with the debriefing from Naruto’s accidental A-rank mission to Wave, where Jiji had gone through three pipes trying to keep his nerves collected enough to take it all in. Becoming Konohamaru’s tutor would be a nice excuse. And if Naruto tried his new transformation to get as close as possible to the Hokage without any of the guards catching him, a fun visit suddenly doubled as stealth training.
His belly full and his mood lifted, he figured it was as good a time as any to work on his special project.
“Run along squirt. I have more training to do.”
Konohamaru waved him off as Naruto went to find a secluded spot. The roof of a building was always a good choice and it gave Naruto another excuse to practice his tree walking in order to get there. With the sun on his face and a gentle breeze whispering past, Naruto’s mind followed his chakra to the coil at the belly that housed Naruto’s demon.
“Hey, Kuruma.”
The fox grunted, baring the metal scrap that functioned at his teeth. “Hello, Vulpeculus.”
Naruto suppressed the instinctive wince. Kuruma had been calling him by that word since Wave, but refused to tell him what it meant. He stalled by concentrating on the ground. With a bit of intense concentration and flawless visualisation, he made a stool form from the sewer’s floor. “How are you feeling?”
“Trapped.”
Naruto had been looking into permanently changing his mindscape, but as Sakura had once told him it was a long and frustrating process. He could already feel the stool slipping away from him as he seated himself. He was lucky if it lasted the entire conversation. Permanent alterations were a long way from possible.
“I work on it.” Naruto said.
“Am working.” The fox corrected.
Grammar was still hard to grasp, but Naruto felt like it was getting better judging by the frequency Kuruma corrected him. Or the fox had lost his patience.
“Any advice?”
“I have not seen it done before. The woman before you never bothered to try.“
“Can you tell me of her?”
The demon smirked, its metal teeth clanging against each other. “I can.”
But he would not. The demon was especially fond of that technicality. Naruto had hurt himself by prematurely hoping too many times. But he still had to try.
“What was she like?”
“Like all humans; she was annoying.”
“Can you tell me about the night she died?”
“I finally broke free and it was glorious. I killed three people before I could be stopped.”
The demon avoided answers that would satisfy Naruto. It always did that. He still had to try.
“Who released you?”
“You did. By being born.”
“Kakashi said there was something else going on.”
“The one who lays with dogs has an intellect as bad as his breath. His irrational affection for the bitch stops him.”
Naruto groaned. “Why can’t you ever be nice?”
“Why should I be?” Kuruma spat. “Your daily visits annoy me and your intellectus elementaris is embarrassing.”
Naruto glared at the fox. It had been on purpose to use words Naruto did not understand yet. “That seems like a good point to stop it for the day. See you tomorrow, Kuruma.”
“I hope you drown in your own blood, Vulpeculus.”
“And I hope you strangle yourself with your own tails!” Naruto waved with a big grin.
Naruto returned to the real world with a rumble in his stomach. He had to start preparing dinner. While everything was cooking, he grabbed his box of flashcards and went through the facts he was supposed to review for the day. It was just engaging enough to keep him busy while still able to pay attention to his food.
The food was ready and he sat down to eat alone. He had been hoping Kakashi would join him. It was Naruto’s turn, though it was always a coinflip whether Kakashi would actually show up. He would be mad about it, but Sasuke and Sakura told him Kakashi did it more often to them. And usually Kakashi had a pretty good reason to skip out. He was still an active jounin and missions did take precedence.
It also helped that Kakashi tended to make up his absences. Ever since the mission in the Land of Waves, Kakashi had been making more of an effort. He was still under orders technically not to spend time with Naruto outside of training, so he had come up with the perfect cover. He visited each of his students twice a week for a conversation over dinner. Officially it was to check how their training was doing, but usually it was just good conversations with veiled anecdotes about Naruto’s mother. And when Kakashi missed one of these dinners, he would be extra forthcoming for the next one.
Some people were accusing Kakashi of finally growing up and taking his teaching abilities seriously. Kakashi was always sure to ‘accidentally’ brag a little bit too loudly around them to the other teachers that he had found a way to never pay for his own food again.
Naruto repressed the urge to eat quickly as he sat down at the table and had his meal. At the orphanage, kids stole his food if he waited too long. But all the nutrition books said it was important to properly chew and take his time.
It was easier to slow down when he had people over for dinner. More fun too. Unfortunately, also more expensive. There was only so far his budget would stretch while still keeping enough money left over for specialty lessons. Kakashi not showing up was less fun, but it also meant he could save another portion for himself.
After finishing his meal, he packaged the leftovers and left the dishes to soak. He really was running late now. Which was also the perfect excuse for a different kind of training.
Halfway through his journey down the stairs, he dropped to all fours and continued the trip with more fur and a tongue hanging out of his muzzle.
The transformation into a fox still felt strange. It was a condensed form, but one with lungs and basic mammal anatomy. He was lighter on his feet and could dart between legs. But also, with all his clothes transformed into furry skin, it felt like he was streaking through the streets.
At least as an animal, nobody complained about his speed.
He arrived at the training ground just in time. He pounced Sasuke and started trying to lick happily at his face.
“Down!”
Sakura giggled. “We were starting to get worried, Naruto.”
Sasuke looked betrayed and motioned for Sakura to help him through frantic motions to keep Naruto off him.
“Just pet him and be done with it.”
Sasuke rolled his eyes, before scuffing up the fur between Naruto’s ears. “I fall for the fox disguise once and this is how you punish me.”
Naruto yipped happily, before moving back and stretching into his normal form. “You were the one who told me to.”
“It was a joke.” Sasuke complained. “I am so kicking your ass.”
“Try it, Teme.”
They drew kunai and then they were clashing. It took a good two minutes before Sasuke managed to sweep Naruto off his feet. Naruto was getting better.
“Your balance is off in the fifth step of the Dragon sequence.”
“I noticed.” Naruto said, swiping the dirt off his clothes. “I’ll do better next time.”
Sasuke looked around them. “Hanabi’s still not here.”
“Has anyone heard from her?” Sakura asked.
“I know she’s working today.” Naruto said. “I don’t see why she would be late. Maybe her boss is keeping her?”
“Normally she sends a message.” Sasuke said.
Sakura shrugged, loading up her palms with coloured powder. “It’s probably fine.”
So they continued.
Sakura was just as tough an opponent as Sasuke, adept at analysing Naruto’s weaknesses and exploiting them. She took advantage of the imbalance until Naruto fixed it and only then allowed him to rest.
The next match was against them both, this time using more than just taijutsu. Naruto could use his henge to dodge strikes and appear in unexpected places. Though his teammates had trouble dealing with his style, their own specialties were nothing to laugh at either. Sakura’s genjutsu was annoyingly difficult to detect and Sasuke’s balls of fire were impressive no matter how often he saw them.
They sparred until Naruto’s seven most vulnerable places were touched by coloured powders. He had only been able to land five of his hits on his teammates and only the easy ones.
“You’re leaving too many tells.” Sasuke said.
“I practice on keeping my intentions down, but they keep bleeding through into my fighting.”
“You’re not suppressing them enough.”
“I’m working on emotional control. More importantly, it seems Hanabi’s still not here.” Naruto noted as he brushed the powders off his clothes.
“She missed training altogether now.” Sasuke said.
“Should we check up on her?” Naruto asked.
“It might be best.” Sakura said. “But I have to be back at the shop.”
“And I have a family appointment.” Sasuke said.
Naruto shrugged. “I’ll tell her you guys said hi.”
“It won’t interfere with your training?” Sakura asked.
“Everything interferes with my training.” Naruto said. “I’m used to it. I’ll push my reading to tomorrow and try to move up some of tomorrow’s strength training.”
She smiled, before setting off with a wave. Sasuke joined her and left Naruto to go in the other direction.
He had been to the Konoha Hospital many times. There had been training mishaps, childish hijinks and the occasional attack from civilians who took personal and superstitious offense that he housed a demon.
More recently, he had visited Hanabi for lunch. And that showed him a whole different part of the hospital. Hidden away underground was a store of paperwork and background prep that dizzied Naruto.
He was lucky the tour had prepared him enough that he could now skip most of the labyrinth in his search and head straight to the medicine lab. The smell of it was awful, like always. Disinfected surfaces and chemical preservatives.
At least he could quickly find a friendly face. “Hey Kabuto. Have you seen Hanabi around?”
“She was going to the cafeteria for dinner, but it’s been a while.”
“She didn’t go home?”
“I’d hope not. She still has a pile of paperwork to go through on her desk.”
“I’ll go to the cafeteria then. Can I bring you anything?”
“I’m fine thanks. Just finishing these samples.”
Naruto sighed. “We talked about this, my dude. You need to eat if you want to keep those brain juices flowing.”
“My brain decided to be distracted this afternoon when it should have been working, so it’s not getting any food until it does as told.”
“Your brain is not a child that can be disciplined.”
“Exactly. My brain is not a child, and can therefore handle being without food a little longer than scheduled.”
“Just don’t skip dinner.”
“I’ll grab something to as soon as I’m finished.”
“Sure.” Naruto liked the guy, but he was thin as a stick. Naruto suspected that was the main reason he had been removed from his team. The others had eaten the normal six thousand calories a day and had made chuunin. Of course, that would have been fine if Kabuto made chuunin a year later than them or something. Instead, his teammates had been up for their jounin jackets when he failed another chuunin exam. If not for his physique, he had chuunin smarts written all over him.
The cafeteria was one floor up, a mixed area for administration and patients. Hanabi was nowhere to be found. When he asked one of the staff, they pointed him to a table in the corner. There were two trays there with half-eaten food. He wished he could just increase his sense of smell and track her scent like the tracking ninja Kakashi sometimes talked about. But even if Naruto could change into a fox’s shape, he did not have nearly the understanding of its anatomy yet for such improvements.
“Excuse me.” Naruto tried for a nearby table that had their food almost done. “Did you see what happened to the girl sitting here?”
“I think she went to powder her nose.”
“Thanks.”
He followed the directions to the ground floor bathroom. The ladies sign gave him a moment’s pause, but this was for a good cause. As Sakura, he entered the room.
Hanabi was nowhere in sight, but there was one stall in use. And Naruto heard crying coming from it. “Hanabi?”
“Sakura?” She sounded surprised to hear her.
“Naruto, actually. Are you okay?”
“Yeah... no… not really.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She hesitated. “I look like a mess.”
“You’ve seen me looking worse.”
“No, I mean... a Hyuuga can’t be seen like this.”
“Ah.” Naruto shrugged. “Well, if there’s anything I’ve taught you, it’s that you can look like anything you want.”
Hanabi was silent for a few more seconds, before the stall opened and she wore Natsu’s body. “L-let’s go to the roof.”
It was only a small trip, especially for ninja who could literally walk up walls. Their henge dropped when they confirmed they were alone.
Hanabi was not kidding. She looked awful. Her eyes were red from crying and she was even more unnaturally pale than usual.
“What happened?”
“You remember Jaku?”
“He’s the old guy who said hi to you last time we had lunch. Did he do something?”
She shook her head. “He’s in charge of the hospital administration in all but name. The previous director is a semi-active ninja, who often leaves Jaku in charge. He’s amazing at his job.”
“I didn’t realize he was that important.” Naruto filed the name and appearance away for future reference.
“Jaku often flies under the radar. The job is what’s important to him. Even as a kid he knew he would not make top 9, but he has spent all those years working hard to be the best administrator he can be.”
“And he did something to you?”
“He didn’t mean it. He’s been up for a promotion for years and this was supposed to be his time. And then at dinner his current boss searched him out to introduce him to the guy who’s going to have the job instead. A retired Hyuuga with no experience, but decades of reputation as a field ninja. Jaku got angry.”
“Ouch.”
“I tried to calm him down, but he thought I was taking my uncle’s side. I wasn’t, but it’s not like I could say that while my uncle was right there. Jaku said some really mean things to me. He said I would never understand what it means to work hard.”
“Like you said, he was angry. I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”
“He’s been supporting my training. He let me be flexible with my hours and he encouraged me to keep trying for a field promotion. He’s one of the good ones, Naruto. And I’m afraid what he’ll do tonight.”
“You think he might harm someone?”
“He used to have a drinking problem. And when he drinks, he can do stupid things. I’ve wasted too much time crying already. I should go find him.”
“Do you want me to help?”
“I can’t ask that of you.” Hanabi said. “I don’t know how long it’d take. I know how much you need to train.”
“You’re my friend, Hanabi. I won’t make you take care of this alone.” Naruto stood up and took advantage of the view to look for any nearby bars. “Any place he used to frequent?”
“I don’t know.” She said. “But Kabuto does.”
~*~
“No.”
“Come on, Kabuto. We need you. Jaku needs you.”
“I’ve pulled him out of enough bars to last me a lifetime. And I learned the hard way that you can’t coddle him when he’s like this.”
“These are unusual circumstances.”
“There’s always an excuse.”
Naruto stared him down. “He needs our help. What’s wrong with you?”
“Sometimes the best way to help is to let people experience the consequences of their own actions.”
“What a load of nonsense.” Naruto said. “It’s never wrong to help people. No matter what you think. No matter what excuse you’ve found to do nothing.”
“You have no idea how often I’ve helped him.” Kabuto said. “How many times must that man break his promises before everyone realises he is not to be trusted?”
Naruto kept staring. They did not have time for this.
Kabuto sighed. “I’m not going with you and I think you’re making a mistake.” He pulled out a piece of paper and started writing. “But I can tell you where to look. And I’ll help Hanabi by finishing her work.”
Hanabi tackled him with a hug. “I won’t forget this.”
“I’d hope so.”
~*~
Naruto sighed as they had to wait again for Hanabi’s henge. “I still don’t understand why you bother.”
“I’m a Hyuuga. I can’t be seen going into a bar like this.”
“I thought your father was already disappointed. What’s the difference?”
“It’s the difference between being ignored and being disinherited.” Hanabi replied. She was wearing Natsu’s form. The only reason she had not exhausted her chakra already was because she kept turning the transformation off outside of the bars. Even if that required a delay as they kept searching for a discrete location for her to make the change.
“Quick sweep.” Naruto said. “You go left and I’ll go right.”
“No need.” Hanabi said as they entered. Because Jaku was right there at the bar. Surrounded by empty glasses.
She went right for him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
He almost fell off the chair from fright. “Wh-what?”
“First you leave me during dinner and then you break your sobriety?”
“Hanabi?”
She swatted at his head. “Don’t use my name.”
He chuckled. “Wouldn’t want to tarnish your reputation. You spend all your time trying to make nice with the ninja in charge, but they will never accept you. It’s a game you cannot win.”
“I think you’ve had more than enough. Let’s get you back home.”
“I think he should stay right here.” A woman said. She was sitting next to him and had a drink in her hands.
She was objectively beautiful, with long black hair and a fair face. She wore a red lipstick that was so dark it almost seemed black. Naruto had a feeling he knew who she was and it sent dread to his stomach.
Hanabi stilled as she looked at her.
“Let’s just go.” Naruto said, reaching for the man’s arm.
“I don’t think so.” The woman moved between them and smirked. “I want to talk some more to this poor troubled soul.”
“And who are to do anything with him?”
“Elia.” She said as if the name meant anything. Naruto refused to acknowledge it.
“Nice to meet you Elia-san. Care to explain how you have any say about the goings-on of a hospital employee?”
Hanabi swallowed. “Naruto. That’s Elia-hime of the dragons. Eldest daughter of the Fire Nation Daimyo. Princess and second in line to the royal throne.”
“Of course she freaking is.” Naruto spat. Because with his luck, of course this happened. “Fire court has no authority in Konoha.”
She grimaced. “Cheeky little brat, aren’t you? Treat all your superiors like this?”
Naruto took that cue easy enough. “Are you a superior though? I think you’re just a civilian like everyone else here. And since I’m a genin, I outrank you.”
Hanabi sucked in a breath and pulled harder on Naruto’s sleeve.
“Well, as someone who’s supposed to be responsible, why don’t you let this man decide for himself whether he wants to stay or not. Do you want to go with the mean ninja, Jaku-san, or have another drink with me?”
“I enjoy your company more than theirs.” Jaku said.
“See, that settles it.”
“That settles nothing.” Naruto said. “He’s clearly inebriated and in need of help.”
“Who says I haven’t been helping?” Elia smirked.
Naruto noticed the pens on the counter, with a suspicious lack of paper to go with them. “What did you do?”
“What I should have done years ago.” Jaku said. “It would have saved me so much misery.”
Hanabi took his hands in hers. “Jaku, look at me. Tell me what you did.”
“I wrote it all down. I’m going to make them pay.”
She gasped. “You can’t just… Jaku. This is a mistake. You’re going to regret this in the morning.”
“No. I’ll finally be free.”
“Care to tell me what’s happening?” Naruto asked.
Hanabi bit her lip. “Jaku has been in administration for an exceptionally long time. He knows things that he shouldn’t. That nobody should.”
“Nobody ever pays attention to the guy doing the paperwork.” He said. “I have written down every secret that I have gleamed. And I’m having it published in the papers tomorrow for all to read.”
“They’ll call you a liar.”
“Not the way we wrote it.” Elia smirked. “I helped to make it sound believable.”
“That’ll be even worse. This will ruin you.” Hanabi said. “Your career as a ninja would be over.”
“My career of bootlicking and selling my boss’ bad decisions to my teams. I’ll be glad to be rid of it.”
“That’s the alcohol talking. You love your job. You love creating order out of chaos. And you know we’d be lost without you.”
There was a glimmer of hesitation on his face.
“If he was so invaluable, he should have been treated as such.” Elia said.
“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything about the Hyuuga replacing you. I promise I will tonight against my father. He won’t like it, but my sister will back me up. We can still salvage this.”
The man teared up. “What have I done? It’s too late. It’s already sent off.”
“We’ll make it right.” Naruto said.
“I don’t see why you’d bother. He...” Elia said.
“Enough out of you. I don’t know why you’re interfering, but your anger is not helping and it is not wanted.”
“You know nothing of my anger.” She said.
“Oh, please.” Everyone knew the story. “You think the world ended just because your little brother was made the heir? Get over it.”
“They took my birth right.” She spat out.
“Who cares what you were born to have? It’s what you take for yourself as you get older that’s actually important.”
“How dare you speak to me this way? I was promised a country. How am I to settle for anything less? How am I supposed to live with that?”
“The wrong answer is by going into random bars and ruining the lives of others. Come on, we should go.”
Hanabi nodded, before telling Jaku one more time to go home and sober up.
They had a publishing house to visit.
~*~
It was approaching midnight. Naruto would have to decide between a shorter night’s rest, or sleeping in and missing even more training.
“This is the place.” Naruto said. He knew the building well. Tucked between a few shops, it did not look like anything special. But this was where the Konoha newspaper was produced. At day it was filled with reporters writing stories and ninja censoring them. Right now it was mostly abandoned.
They had covered various accidents that had befallen Naruto when he had been assaulted. He had sent in corrections and they had pretended not to understand. He had offered to do an interview and they never responded. So he had found out where they were located to offer in person. That had not gone well.
Naruto knocked and it did not take long for the door to open a few inches.
“What do you want?” In the dark, it was hard to see anything but the eye peering through the opening. The voice sounded familiar though.
“There was something submitted this evening that needs to be withdrawn.” Naruto said.
“And you submitted it?”
“A close friend.” Hanabi admitted. “But it’s in everyone’s best interest it does not get published.”
The door closed and they could hear metal clanging before the door fully opened. It was one of their former classmates, Ayumi, a girl with average scores. They had never gotten along very well, though Naruto found it hard to remember why. In a year of class heirs all competing for top nine, she had been forgettable. He remembered her scores and her skills, but little of her personality.
“Tough luck.” Ayumi said. “It’s not going to happen.”
Naruto sighed. Nothing could ever be easy. “We’re kind of in a hurry here. What’s it going to take for you to change your mind?”
“Six thousand Ryou.”
Naruto blinked. “What do you need that kind of money for?”
Ayumi snarled. “What do you think? For training, of course.”
“You’re still training?” Hanabi asked.
“I won’t be stuck an administrator for ever. You know that with my scores, I would have made top nine if I had graduated last year.”
Barely. And that had been a particularly bad year. “What’ll you use the money for?”
“Specialisation training.” She said. “I’m sick and tired of doing the same old exercises and not seeing any results.”
“Shouldn’t you master the basics, first?”
She glared at him. “You think I’m lazy and impatient? Go to hell. I have to take every odd job I can get simply to get by. Do you know how many fences I’ve painted? How many rivers I’ve cleaned? And if I have to catch that damn cat Tora one more time, I will lose it.”
“I get it.” Hanabi said. “It sucks.”
Naruto nodded, resigned. “I thought you always did well in class when you were able to stay focussed. How about I give you some lessons?”
Ayumi huffed. “What’s a talentless loser going to teach me? How to cheat my way into the field ranks?”
Ah. That was why they had never gotten along. And he could see in the look of her eyes that there was no bargaining with her. There was only one way forward. “I’ll give you the money.”
Hanabi sucked in a breath. “You can’t be serious. You need that too!”
”Do you have the money?” Naruto asked and Hanabi ducked in herself, guilty. Her family was loaded, but that did not mean Hanabi was. “It’s this or Jaku gets fired. You want that?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then this is the only way.”
Naruto gave her the money and they waited in silence as she counted it out. When she was satisfied, she rolled her eyes and then led them inside into a big room with dozens of desks.
“The guy you’re talking about left this after the journalists were gone.” It was a thick envelope, still sealed. “Nobody will think it strange if it disappears now.”
Naruto took it and put it in his backpack.
“Come on.” Ayumi complained. “All that fuss and you won’t even show me what’s in it?”
“You got your money.” Naruto said. “That should be enough.” He turned to Hanabi. “You should check up on Jaku and take him home. I’ll take care of this.”
Hanabi nodded and set off. And while Ayumi’s eyes were on her, Naruto quickly scanned his backpack for something that would work. Ah, extra strong protein powder.
“Come on, let’s go.” Ayumi said.
Naruto nodded and pulled his backpack away, taking a stack of mail with it.
“You clumsy idiot!” Ayumi shouted, dropping on the ground to grab the mail.
“Sorry.” Naruto stepped away to the coffee machine while she was distracted and dropped the protein powder in with the ground beans. The weird taste should be enough to get Ayumi in trouble without getting her fired. “I’ll leave before I make it worse.”
“You do that!”
~*~
Hanabi and Naruto met back up at the training ground. There was a nice campfire going on behind them, with a thick stack of paper as kindling. Naruto turned to Hanabi as soon as she was close enough. “Is Jaku alright?”
“He’s in bed with a bucket next to him if he gets sick. I’ll tell his sponsor tomorrow so they can work it out.”
“Are you really going to talk with your dad about his position?”
“Yeah. I can dress it up in some bullshit. Like how they’re setting up a Hyuuga to fail because the position becomes impossible without Jaku’s support.”
“That’s good of you.”
“I owe it to him. And I owe it to the administration, considering how much I’ve been slacking there to train for field work. Jaku will be good for them. Look, I know you were saving that money for a trainer. I really wish I could repay you.”
“I know your wallet’s as tight as mine. Your dad still won’t pay for your supplies.”
“He thinks it’s a folly what I’m doing. That I’m just training to try to hide my failure at the Academy. That it’s impossible I’ll get in the field this way. That I’ll give up long before any results would come of it.”
“A lot of adults think a lot of things are impossible. It’s easier than imagining what could have been. Don’t worry about the money. I’ll find another way.”
“Sasuke might lend it to you.”
Naruto made a face and Hanabi giggled.
“Sorry I even suggested it.”
There was a poof of smoke and suddenly Kakashi was standing behind them. “And what are my little students doing out at night like this?”
“Roasting marshmallows.” Naruto said. “You need us for anything?”
“Just to tell you I’ve nominated you for the Chuunin exams.”
“All three of us?” Naruto asked.
“You’re ready.” Kakashi said. “I’d nominate you too, Hanabi, if I could.”
“I know.” She sighed. “Can’t nominate administrative ninja.”
“I don’t think that’s the rule exactly.” Kakashi said. “Now, seriously, nothing going on with you two?”
“There was a small incident.” Naruto admitted. “But we handled it. I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Looking forward to our next dinner then. Get some sleep. We’re meeting here tomorrow for the details.”
And then Kakashi was gone as quickly as he had come.
“Guess you guys are leaving me behind again.” Hanabi said.
“Not necessarily.” Naruto smiled. “You heard our sensei. He’d nominate you if he could. Which just means we have to figure out a way that he can.”
Hanabi frowned, thinking back to the Konoha rulebook. “Isn’t there a specification that you have to be a field ninja?”
“I’m confident it’s not that specific. You’ll have to build a solid case, but it should not be impossible.”
“I’ll have to look through the exact rules.” Hanabi checked the time. “And I should be going anyway. Still need to make my case for Jaku.”
“Good luck with your dad.”
Naruto doused the fire and made his way to his apartment. Only to be stopped when he was almost there.
There was something unnerving about her beauty illuminated under the moonlight. Too many shadows that made her face look unreal. “What did you think?”
“Of what?” Naruto leaned against a wall.
“The article, of course.” Elia said.
“Ah. I burned it without reading it.”
“Weren’t you... curious?”
“Of course I was. But Jaku would get in trouble with whatever I read. Simply knowing was dangerous, so I made sure we never did.”
“There will still be rumours.”
“We’ll head them off. We’ll downplay what Jaku wrote and make it a joke. He accidentally handed in his diary with the journalists instead of a serious article he had written about financial advice for elderly patients. How embarrassing.”
“You seem to have everything figured out.”
“Well somebody had to fix the mess you made.”
She glared. “I was hoping you’d apologise for your words earlier.”
“Which ones?”
“About my birth right. About losing it not being a big deal.”
Naruto shook his head. Naruto knew how unfair it was to have something taken from him that he was owed. He was supposed to have a mother, and he might even have had talent. Both were taken from him the night the Kyuubi attacked. “Not quite what I said. But fine. Tell me why it was a big deal.”
“Excuse me? Why should it fall on me to cure your ignorance?”
Naruto shrugged. “You came here because you wanted to change my mind. Normally that involves some kind of structured argument.”
“Are you making fun of me? Everybody already knows. It was one big public affair.”
“Which I’ve heard only one side of. Look, I’ve been on the receiving end of rumours and speculation. My experience is that hearsay is next to useless. So I’m only judging you on what you did tonight. And it looked to me you’re using your pain to hurt others. That’s never okay, and no loss is so severe that this behaviour is acceptable. If you want anything else from me, you’re going to have to educate me.”
She looked confused. “I should go. I’m not even sure why I came here.”
“You searched me out. I’m guessing that means you want to get it off your chest.”
She hesitated.
Naruto leaned against a nearby wall. He was tired and needed to sleep, but it was one thing to speak truth to power when she was a princess abusing her station to prey on an alcoholic, quite another to walk away from a conflicted girl.
Elia sighed. “You know, I miss music lessons the most. Every Friday we would sit in the gardens and I’d learn to play the flute. Sometimes the birds would join in. Hey! Don’t make a face.”
“Was I making a face?” Naruto was still smirking. He could not help it, thinking of a princess making music with the animals. “What made you give it up?”
“As heir I was expected to learn the seven noble arts. As the spare, I am forbidden. Continuing my practice would make it look like I’m trying to be better than my brother. Like I’m still training to take the throne. Before he was born, I knew what I was supposed to do and what I was supposed to be. Then they took everything I was, everything I enjoyed and everything I wanted to do, just because the dragons favoured my brother with more talent. Who am I when there is nothing left?”
“It’s tough to lose so much.” Naruto said. “But all you can do is pick yourself up and start over.”
“You don’t understand. I’ll never excel at anything. I’ve spent too much time on skills that are locked to me now. There’s nothing I can start working on and become an unparalleled master in.”
“Then just become good at something.”
She scoffed. “I was supposed to be the very pinnacle of perfection.”
“Look, I want to sympathise, but you have a talent score in the double digits.” Naruto said. “If you trained to be a ninja, you’d be unstoppable in a couple of months.”
“That’s not possible.”
“I know there’s a rule that disallows it. Traditions are meant to be broken.”
“Th-that’s not even remotely right. Nothing’s made to be broken. But I meant that I’m physically incapable of becoming a ninja. Like the rest of my family, I have a muscle disease that keeps me from physical exercises. I can walk, but that’s the extend of my abilities.”
“I didn’t realise. But my point still stands. Stop thinking so much. Just try to imagine yourself in twenty years. Where do you want to be? What do you want to be doing?”
“My brother will be the new daimyou. His wife will want me gone from the capital. I’ll make a fuss, but there won’t be much I can do. Which probably means I’ll have to marry one of the lower lords to stay close. If I can’t live at the palace, at least I’ll be able to visit.”
“What about leaving altogether? Your aunt married the daimyou of wind country, didn’t she?”
“The capital is my home. I grew up at the palace and I know the servants. It is my heritage and I would take my own life before I was forced to leave it.”
“Any other ways to stay in the capital? Didn’t your grandfather become a priest?”
“I’m too old.” She said. “I’ll be considered a threat if I stay too close, no matter the excuse.”
“So, marrying a lord is your only option if you want to stay. Got an eye on any of them?”
“The good ones are already taken. They won’t break their betrothals, especially for someone like me.”
“You’re a princess. Aren’t people lining up to propose?”
“They would be if I hadn’t lost my seven Skills. If I could still play my flute for a suitor, I’d have them grovelling at my feet.”
“It’s not a pretty path, but it looks like there’s a clear one all the same. You want to marry a lord and you want to marry a good one. So, just make sure a good one will pick you. Get the skills to make that happen.”
“It’s impossible. I’d have to start from scratch. It would take me years. And I would never be able to take a break from that one pursuit. I’d go mad.”
“You have years. And no, I don’t suppose you would be able to take a break. You’ll have to work hard every day reforging yourself.”
“I can’t do that.” Elia sighed. “Even if I could find the motivation. The moment I start working on a new skill, is the moment that I’ll be forced to admit that the old me is gone. I’m not ready to mourn my own death.”
Naruto did not know about royalty. He did not know about politics or siblings that would mean damnation. But he knew hard work. He was a genius at it. “If you have a moment, I’d like to show you something.”
Naruto looked whether anyone was watching them, before motioning her to follow him to his apartment. He unlocked his door and then went to a storage cabinet in the back. It took him a few minutes to find it, but then he brought it to the princess.
“I can’t touch that.”
“You don’t have to lose everything you were. You don’t have to let them define who you are.”
“If anyone ever hears about this…”
“They won’t. I’ll never tell a soul.”
Her fingers moved over the wooden instrument. It was just an old recorder Naruto had acquired in the early years of the academy. He had never been particularly good at it, but he had learned one or two songs and there were fun memories.
“I tried to specialise in poisons, when I was younger.” Naruto said. “Which meant reading up on plant care and soil compositions and all kinds of technical know-how. Any ninja can slip a poison in someone’s drink, but you need your own mixtures before it can be part of your fighting style. And you need to grow the plants before you can use them. I studied my ass off and after many failed attempts I was able to raise some stinging nettle. Which meant that I was allowed to start immunising myself against it. That backfired, hard. I was more rash than human at the time.”
“Did it get better?”
“It only got worse each time I tried to apply some to my skin. They told me that I was overly sensitive to it and wouldn’t build an immunity no matter how much I tried. But I had sunk too much time into my poison specialisation to give it all up. I refused. So I did what all the books said I should not. I skipped nettle and went straight to poison ivy. And I had an allergic reaction so bad that it landed me in the hospital. They said I could have died.”
Elia frowned.
“I had to give up specialising in poisons. There was no alternative. All the research and invested time would be wasted, I thought. Except, it was not.” He looked at the Lemon Geranium in the corner. “I like taking care of plants. It is one of the things that made me get into poisons in the first place. My favourite teacher gave me my first plant and I love it. It is not expensive or that hard to take care of. Some might even call it a weed. But it’s mine and I like it. Taking care of plants might not be useful for a ninja, but it’s relaxing and it’s fun. And suddenly my wasted time isn’t wasted anymore. You might not ever get to play the flute in public anymore, you might not ever be able to perform. But you can still play and enjoy yourself. And refuse to let your training be in vain.”
She grabbed the flute and put it in her hands. And then she brought it to her lips and started playing.
It was hesitant at first, as if she was expecting someone to break the door down the very moment she produced a sound. But nothing happened. And she could play a melody. Naruto could feel her chakra bleeding into the music. Something like genjutsu, but not for humans. He doubted she did it consciously.
When Naruto heard a sound just outside, Naruto went to open the window.
One by one, birds entered his apartment to listen to the princess play. And they joined along, just as she had said. It was mesmerising.
When she finally stopped, her cheeks were wet with tears. “I can’t believe I just did that.”
“You can have it, if you want. It was just collecting dust here, anyway.”
Elia shook her head. One of the birds had flown to her and rested on her finger. She looked at it, distracted. “I can’t be caught with it.”
“Then, if you ever need a bodyguard and ask for me, I’ll bring it along. They can’t blame you if they think it’s mine.”
“I’ll do that. But I think I’ll learn to play another instrument too. You were right. I shouldn’t waste the skills I’ve already learned, just because I can’t use them as I want to.” She sighed. “Why are you so nice to me? I almost helped your friend ruin himself.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m still angry about that. But you also looked like you needed the help.”
She smiled. “I can’t believe it. Hanabi-san mentioned something about you paying to have the article withdrawn. Six thousand ryou, right?”
Naruto tensed. “What about it?”
“Consider it my way of apologising and getting you in this mess.” She pulled the money from her wallet.
“I won’t accept your charity.”
“Like I said, it’s reparations. You’re going to be my preferred bodyguard later. So I need to stay on your good side.”
“I appreciate the gesture. But no.” Naruto said.
She grimaced. “Hanabi said you needed the money. What’s wrong?”
“In my experience, strangers don’t come into your life to give you something without expecting something greater in return. I don’t like being in someone’s debt.”
“That’s my experience as well. Yet you seem to defy conventions.” She thought about it a few moments. “You were offering to bring me the flute, right? Then consider this a down payment for flute rental.”
“Six thousand Kyou for flute rental?”
“A thousand Kyou for each time. If you still think that’s a steep price for a flute, consider that you’re bringing it halfway across the country for me.”
“This is ridiculous. Why would you pay me for something I was going to do anyway?”
“We’re more alike than you’d think.” She said. “I don’t like being in someone’s dept either. Though I imagine it’s easier if it’s a friend.”
“Yeah. It is.” Naruto smiled.
They shook hands and she left soon after. It took Naruto a little while to chase the birds away. Even though Elia and her magical music playing had stopped, they seemed to be under the illusion that Naruto would enjoy their company despite the great risk of bird shit on his furniture.
When Naruto was alone in his apartment, he retrieved a scroll from a hidden compartment in the back of the bookcase. He sealed the unopened envelope there. He had Jaku’s secrets and he had been telling the truth when he said he would not read them. People knowing about its very existence was a threat and that is why he had to pretend to burn it.
But he would be a fool of a ninja if he did not make precautions against friends betraying him. Jaku was a kind man who would never do that. But Naruto had thought that about Mizuki as well, before his once favourite teacher had almost killed him.
Naruto went to bed, humming Elia’s song. He needed his rest for the next morning if he wanted to catch up on all the training he had missed.
Notes:
Next month: Next mistake. Time for the chuunin exam arc! We get Hanabi's efforts to join the team, an introduction to a different Rock Lee, and the theory portion of the exam.
Chuunin exams will be inspired by canon, but with some significant changes in execution. I disliked the heavy emphasis on gimmicks and the high chance of mortality. Also, in this AU, there's an actual syllabus of all the material that needs to be known and learned in order to qualify as a chuunin. And so I felt that the exams needed to reflect how the proctors will be looking at a list of qualifications and checking off boxes. There will be a limit how many people can pass the first round, but after that everyone can pass in principle. Also, graduating chuunin are required the summoning technique, so that will be fun =D
I wanted to use this chapter to catch up on the team dynamic since Wave, and to show how Naruto's progressed. But also, I wanted a way to introduce a character close to the Daimyo. Which will be a secret tool in my writing box that'll be useful for later. And I wanted to give a glimpse of what Hanabi's life has been like, using her talent to train as a ninja while working a job that's expecting her to spend at least some talent on becoming better at what's in front of her. Including Ayumi and Jiro as two other administration genin. Oh, and that we're meeting Kabuto early isn't a bad thing either.
Elia is a disgraced Disney Princess who spent her childhood thinking she would be next in line of the throne, before her little brother was tested and shown to have a higher talent score than she did. And in a world where talent means everything (including the quality of divine blessing), that means she's out.
Ayumi is a glimpse into life as an administration ninja, much like Hanabi's, except without any clan support at all. Having improved the kind of missions field ninja get in this AU, the old D-rank missions had to go somewhere. And that's administration genin who need to make more money. While Hanabi complains about her situation, she's still being housed without charge and has a family network of specialists who can help her for free or with a discount. Ayumi is who Naruto would have been if he had failed his genin exam, which makes it easy for Naruto to empathise. She's also mean and prejudice, which makes it easy for Naruto to get over his good nature and get back at her.
Naruto didn't read the blackmail papers. The idea being that if her reads, for example, that Kurenai has a gambling problem, and then acts suspiciously reluctant if she ever asks him to borrow money, Kurenai will have reason to think her confidential information got out. Which will lead to Jiro and get him in trouble. It's safest for Naruto not to know anything, until he's going to need it. If he's going to need it.
Chapter 10: 2.2 Next mistake (Blank space)
Summary:
This is a dream come true! Not only does my team get to go to the Chuunin exams, but Hanabi might be able to go too. I've trained for this and I'm ready. Let's go kick some ass!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Hanabi arrived just as Naruto was getting back from his morning run. “So, it turns out that nobody bothered to write down any requirements for the chuunin exam participation until, like, extremely recently.”
Naruto smiled, climbing the stairs to his apartment while listening. This was not the first time he was dealing with Hanabi while she was in this mood. He removed his headphones so he could pay her his undivided attention.
“And even then they rushed it. Everyone knew what they meant, so why bother writing it down explicitly?”
“So there’s a loophole.”
“Indeed. In order to enter the Chuunin Exams, you don’t need to be in an official field team. You just need to be any team of three graduates under advisement from any jounin instructor.”
Naruto tossed his sweat-soaked clothes over a chair and headed into the bathroom. “That’s a major oversight.”
“I know, right?” Hanabi stood by the slightly open bathroom door, raising her voice so they could keep talking over the sound of the shower. “I mean, as long as they’re not chuunin already, I should be able to make my own team.”
“Got anyone in mind?”
“Kabuto, of course. He was so bummed he did not have a team yet and would not be able to join. He’ll be game. For the third, I’ll have to put out some feelers in the admin group.”
“Are there age restrictions?”
“In theory, no. But anyone who’s spent too long in admin will have resigned themselves to a career there. They will not be willing to risk their position.”
Naruto turned off the faucet and dried himself off. “You know there’s one person who jumps to mind. She should be getting specialisation training now that she can afford it.”
Hanabi grunted. “Nope. How are you even suggesting Ayumi after the way she treated you last night?”
“She’s a smart choice. Driven and eager. And it’ll be advantageous for you if she owes you one.”
“No.” Hanabi said. “She disrespected my friend. That’s a dealbreaker. I’m sure I can find someone else.”
Naruto came out wearing only a bath towel, making his way to his closet for new clothes. His face was flushing and it had nothing to do with the state of undress. “You can’t just dismiss everyone who treats me badly. There will be nobody left.”
“I’m not going to compromise on that.” Hanabi said. “Even if I did, it’s not good for my future team’s collaboration if I have to kick Ayumi’s stuck-up face every time she says something mean.”
“Okay then.” Naruto said, feeling something warm in his chest. “What do you need?”
“I’m going to have to offer them something as incentive.” She said. “They might not go for it otherwise. I’m just not sure what I could offer.”
“Money’s easiest, but you don’t have any to spare. Power is another, but we don’t know anything flashy they would be interested in. So that just leaves your Hyuuga name.”
She groaned. “I was afraid of that.”
Naruto chuckled, making his way to the kitchen to make them tea and breakfast. “We’ll go over it all. Start by who you think might say yes.”
~*~
Hanabi was sprawled out on Naruto’s floor. “It’s hopeless.”
“You might have to settle on my arch nemesis after all.” Naruto said. He was stirring a pot of curry and keeping an eye on the rice cooker. The appliance had a tendency to break down when he was cooking large portions.
“I tried everyone else.” Hanabi said. “After lunch, I didn’t even bother being subtle about it. Not a single genin wants to help.”
“No matter what you offered them.”
“Some didn’t even let me finish my pitch! I could have offered them a million Ryou and they still would have refused. They’re either too young and worried what a guaranteed failure at the exams will do for their chances to be selected as replacements for field ninja, or they’re too old and don’t care about the Chuunin exams at all.”
Naruto was wracking his brain for an unorthodox solution. “You just need someone for form, right? Maybe someone who’s been recently injured? If they’re in the hospital anyway, maybe they won’t mind as much.”
“I could check, but I think all current patients are at least chuunin level.”
“Shame. Maybe Konohamaru knows someone who graduated early.”
“Who should I know?” The little pipsqueek said from the living room.
“What did I say about knocking?” Naruto sighed.
There was silence from the other room for a few seconds before the boy softly knocked on the wooden frame by the kitchen door. “I’m here. May I come in?”
“Better.” Naruto gestured to a free chair.
The boy eagerly took a seat, happily rocking his legs. “Congratulations on the nomination, Naruto-nii.”
“Thanks, brat. I don’t suppose you know any recent graduates who would be willing to team up with Hanabi so she could get nominated too?”
“Not really. There was one guy who recently got a genin rank from Iruka-sensei, but that was just so he could get promoted from regular administration into a ninja administration job. He was like thirty years old.”
“Figured.” Naruto said. “But thanks anyway.”
“I’m never going to be Chuunin.” Hanabi groaned.
“Cheer up.” Natsu said, walking in. She easily settled at the table next to Hanabi. “You’ve got plenty of time.”
“Hey Natsu.” Naruto greeted.
Konohamaru pouted. “Why didn’t she have to knock?”
“Because I’m his big sister.” Natsu ruffled Konohamaru’s hair. “And he has long given up trying to teach me any manners.”
“I need to keep up with Hinata.” Hanabi said. “Her whole team’s been nominated too. It won’t mean the same if I make chuunin later than she does.”
Naruto stage whispered to Natsu. “And she wants to protect Hinata during the exams.”
“And after!” Hanabi protested. “If I’m chuunin, I can be called in as back-up for her team. I can get my own missions so that I’m stronger when I have to defend her. I can prove that I have what it takes to guard her.”
Natsu put her hand on Hanabi’s shoulder. “Well, I don’t understand the obsession with getting promoted, but I do get wanting to protect those close to you.”
Hanabi smiled. “I wish you could do the chuunin exams with me.”
Naruto stopped his stirring. “Why can’t she?”
“I’m not a good fighter, Naruto.” Natsu said. “I fight drunkards and perverts.”
“It would just be a formality.”
“She’s not a graduate though.” Hanabi said.
“That’s just a matter of having Iruka retest her. I mean, is that something you would want, Natsu-nee?”
“I’ve never cared for titles much. But if it’s for you guys, I don’t see the harm. But that’s assuming I’d be any better graduating the Academy tests now than I was back when I failed them.”
“We’ll train you. And I know how good you are.” Naruto said. “You’re almost there already.”
“Okay then.” Natsu smiled.
Hanabi’s anguish seemed to dissipate completely. “Holy crap. I’m going to the Chuunin exams.”
“Yeah.” Naruto said. “We all are.”
~*~
“I train Henge.” Naruto said, still regularly breaking his tongue on the strange sounds.
“How are you progressing?” The fox asked tiredly. He went along with the conversation for form.
“Good.” Naruto said, slowly choosing his next words. “Trying to become animal with Henge.”
“It is a cheap imitation and nothing like the real thing.” The demon smirked and it was so uncanny to see the metal sticking out of his jaw instead of fangs. Naruto found it hard to concentrate.
He was practicing conversations daily now and it helped a lot. He was nowhere near asking the important questions and being able to understand the answers. Mostly, he had learned that as long as Naruto stuck to basic questions and did nothing to provoke the fox, Kuruma was able to tolerate Naruto for a very long time. The fox could be a lot nicer than his appearance would suggest.
“Kuruma,” Naruto started, staring at the mess of a demon. “Why you look like that?”
“I’m a demon.” The fox said, simply.
“Do you always look like this?” Naruto asked. “I see drawings in old books. Do you look different from this before imprisonment?” Naruto really needed to get his tenses memorised.
The fox stared at the wall for a while. “I used to look different.” He said slowly. “Majestic.”
And for just a moment Naruto thought he could see something in Kuruma’s silhouette. A glimpse of history, or just something in his imagination. “What happened?”
The fox’s mood soured. “Leave me.”
Naruto wondered whether he should press, but in his moment of hesitation the fox sent a wave of hate his way that was strong enough to expel him.
It was a bad one. His vision was greyed and his breathing erratic. He was supposed to be able to handle it better, but it had been so unexpected.
The hand on his back helped. “It’s all right. I’m here.”
Kakashi did not do anything else. In the past he had tried to hold Naruto’s hands or even to hug him. Those gestures just led Naruto to feeling trapped and getting into a different kind of panic.
But like always, he eventually got his breathing under control. “Thanks.”
Kakashi stayed beside him, rubbing his back. “Did I ever tell you about the time I got a cold as a chuunin?”
Naruto grinned. “I don’t think so.”
“Understand, I was eight at the time. I had been a clean and orderly child and it had kept me healthy for most of my youth. But I had been on an undercover mission where I had to act my age and I had been assaulted by snot-faced brats.”
“Sounds horrible.”
“Words don’t do it justice.” Kakashi said. “I was miserable and with no idea what to do. I tried to get ready for training, but fell asleep on my couch half-dressed. My team came to check on me, convinced that if I was late for training, I had to be dead.”
Naruto snickered.
“I used to be very punctual, I’ll let you know. Anyway, since my sensei had other duties, he asked a friend of his to look after me. She made the loveliest tea I had ever tasted, especially to a parched kid running a fever. And she stayed by my side, however long I needed her.”
“That sounds lovely.”
“It was. Until I didn’t wake up and she had to carry me to the hospital. After years of training myself to near exhaustion each day, my body could not handle the amount of chakra I produced without expending it. Of course, my sensei’s friend instantly demanded to see my schedule.”
“Was she a planner?”
“Not at all. She suggested chakra exercises for half an hour a day.”
Naruto flinched. “Okay, not a good planner.”
“But she tried. She was just like that. As soon as she decided you were one of her precious people, she would do anything for you. Even if it was not something she was good at. At all.”
“What happened when you got better?”
“She made it her business to check on me every week. To see if I was eating well and taking care of myself. She would take one look at my cupboards and decide I was running low on important food groups.”
“Like ramen.”
“The most important one of all, according to her gospel. If there was one speck out of place, she would admonish me and spend a whole day cleaning. In hindsight, I think it was just an excuse for her to spend more time with me.”
“I doubt you would’ve let her if she did not give a good enough reason.”
“Point is, it’s okay to let others help you when you’re in need.”
Naruto smiled. Kakashi always added on these bogus morals to further mask the fact he was talking about Kushina. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Is Naruto okay?” Sakura asked.
Naruto sat up, rubbing at his head. “Yeah, just a nasty meditation.”
“Good.” She took her seat by her team. “Any progress on your mental exercises?”
“Haven’t been able to give it a try yet. I need to pick up a few more reference books and I’ve fallen behind on theory as it is.”
“You just don’t like to study.”
“Well, who in their right mind liked studying?”
Sakura gave him a look.
“Point stands.”
She chuckled. “We should hang out more. Maybe some of this particular brand of crazy will rub off on you.”
“Hasn’t worked so far. You seen Sasuke?”
“Right here.” The boy said, walking up to them. He had been working on his stealth. Impressive.
“I could hear you coming a mile away with those thunderous footsteps of yours.” Naruto said.
“Liar. I saw you startle. Still not able to hide your emotions?”
“I’ve been a bit busy.” Naruto said.
“With what?”
“With us.” Hanabi said. She had Kabuto and Natsu besides her. Natsu looked so weird wearing a forehead protector. Weird in a good way.
“I don’t understand.” Sasuke said. “Did you get assigned a field team?”
“We’ve made our own administration team.” Hanabi said. “Supported by the honourable jounin Hatake Kakashi to enter the chuunin exams.”
“Which is why we are all here.” Kakashi said. “One week from now, you are to report at nine in the morning at the chuunin examination office. You are excused from missions and regular work. I expect team 7 to continue their scheduled training while I whip this new team into shape each day from 11 to twelve. You are all welcome to help, of course.”
Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other, seemingly communicating telepathically. “We’ll help on Friday.” Sakura said.
“I’ll take Wednesday.” Naruto said. He had private lessons with Natsu in the evenings and he trusted Kakashi to take care of the rest.
“Then, let’s begin.”
~*~
It had been the week from hell. Naruto had cancelled most of his other plans and had focussed on nothing but his training. He was nervous and it kept him from properly sleeping. Theory was ten times more difficult to get through with his unfocussed mind. But he still managed to chip away at it. He had caught up as far as he could when he met with his team at the examination building.
They climbed the stairs until they saw the sign that they had arrived. Something tickled in the back of his head.
“You’re delusional if you think we’re letting you rookies through.” Some kid said, flanked on either side by minions.
They looked old. Late teenagers. Naruto did not recognise them and his teammates did not seem to either. That meant Naruto did not have to hold back. “Who the hell do you think you are saying that to us?”
“We’re three experienced genin who have taken this exam six times. We had to wait two years after graduation before we were allowed to try. And yet you punks think you are entitled to make an attempt fresh out of the Academy.”
“We’re more than capable of walking the Golden Trail.” Sasuke said.
“You’re toddlers asking to get your asses spanked. We have years on you babies. We can beat you easy.”
“Guys.” Sakura said.
“Why don’t you prove it?” Naruto snarled.
“Like we have anything to prove to a talentless loser, an heir to a has-been clan or a civilian playing at being clan.”
“Guys.” Sakura repeated. “Breathe.”
Naruto wanted to smash their faces in. But it was instinct to listen to Sakura and take a moment. And that was when he really identified the itching.
“For crying out loud.” Naruto said. He sent out the pulse of chakra through his system. “Kai.”
The genjutsu dispelled. They were at the wrong classroom. They were even on the wrong floor. And the three genin who had been goading them were actually chuunin. Naruto recognised them now, and it would have been a painful mistake to engage them. They carried themselves like veterans and Naruto had no trouble believing the rumours that these ninja would likely be tokubetsu jounin very soon.
The other team was still under, bar Kabuto. Hanabi was the first to break out a few seconds later. She put her hands on Natsu and saved her herself.
“You’re not supposed to, you know?” Kabuto said. “Part of the entry exam is to figure the illusion out yourself.”
“Like hell.” Hanabi helped Natsu away from the pair.
They went up another staircase and found the right room. But instead of getting to enter it, there was a strange ninja in green standing guard. He had the weirdest bob haircut and thick bushy brows. He wore a jumpsuit that even Naruto would not be caught dead in. “I’m looking for team 7.”
“What’s it to you?” Naruto asked.
“I want to challenge Uzumaki Naruto.”
“Let me guess. You want to keep me from the exam?” How did the weirdos keep finding him?
“No. I have a story to tell you. After we fight.”
Naruto looked at his teammates. Sakura shrugged. “We have time. It’s up to you.”
“Keep it to a spar.” Sasuke said. “You don’t know what the exams will ask of you.”
Naruto nodded. “Fine.”
~*~
There was a roof courtyard just a few hallways down. The boy got into position and made the sign of engagement. “Taijutsu only.”
“Fine.” Naruto made the appropriate sign and got ready for the attack.
It was like dancing. Neither of them put a lot of force in the blows, so it was all about speed and technique. The green boy had plenty to spare. Each movement grounded in Naruto’s mind just how efficient the other was. It was incredible. Naruto fumbled a stance a few minutes into the fight and immediately landed on his back for the effort.
“You’re good.” Naruto said.
“My talent score is 3.5.” The boy said.
And then it clicked. “You’re Rock Lee.”
Lee nodded. He had graduated and landed the ninth spot in the Academy just one year before Naruto had. His ninjutsu was barely passable, but his good scores on taijutsu boosted him up.
“No way you got this strong without extra training.”
“I have not used my talent in almost six years.” Lee acknowledged. “I took the long route to my strength. And it was all I could do to keep up with my peers. I’m still the weakest in the top nine of my class. I’m not ready to be a chuunin and neither are you.”
Naruto got up and dusted himself off. “You only practiced taijutsu, didn’t you?”
“It’s my specialisation.” Lee said. “It is recommended, if you do take the long path, to do it with something you love. So I picked this. And it has ruined itself. It has ruined being a ninja for me. It ruined my life. Everyone said it was hard, but I did not understand what I was putting myself through.”
“So this is a warning?”
“Each day is harrowing. You fall behind without meaning to, simply because you have other obligations than your training. Every day becomes another chip in your resolve to keep up with those who effortlessly keep their position.”
“If you hate being a ninja so much, why are you even here?”
Lee shrugged. “I’m hoping if I work together with my teammates, at least one of us can become chuunin. But no matter the results, I’m quitting as a ninja after this.”
“You just want the chuunin prestige.” Sasuke accused.
“I want to start a weapon shop with my girlfriend. If either of us gets a chuunin title, we get access to twice as much merchandise. And if not... guess we made the right choice giving it up.”
“And you’re content to end it like this?” Naruto asked.
“Of course not. But this last year has spent everything that was me and I have nothing more to give. You fought me. You’ve seen the skill I’ve gained in martial arts. Knowing that I had to give up everything to get this, do you think it was worth it? I look back on the past year with nothing but regret, thinking about how much happiness I’ve deprived myself while those with talent achieve better results in a fraction of the time.”
Naruto found it hard to respond.
“I understand wanting to become a ninja. I do. But think about what else you could be.”
“All I want is to become a ninja. No matter the cost. I’m still going to try, Lee. I can’t give up.”
“I thought you might say that. But I still had to say my piece.” He turned away. “The mistake is yours to make.”
~*~
The waiting area for the exams was insane. Naruto recognised some of the Konoha ninja from descriptions, but most were lost on him. Some of these ninja had waited years before their team could attempt their first exam. Some were busy with their tenth attempt. And then there were the chuunin. A little easier to recognise and clearly present with a genin teammate for moral support. Kabuto’s case, where a genin was removed from a chuunin team for failing to promote, really was the exception.
The foreign candidates were on the other side of the room, mostly keeping to their own tight-knit groups. There did not appear to be any chuunin among them. The journey would be too far for them. Not that they were needed. The jounin instructors looked plenty intimidating on their own.
Eventually they were ushered into a big classroom and it became clear that the first stage of the exam would be theoretical. Naruto cursed the founders.
“Take your seats.” A gruff older ninja said. He was obviously a jounin, but Naruto had never seen him before. “My name is Ibiki and I will be the proctor for this exam.”
Now that name was familiar. Leader of torture and interrogation. An expert at making people sweat and breaking them. Besides him was a chuunin, using hand signs as Ibiki talked.
“You will have two hours to complete this exam. The exam itself consists out of two sections. A portion of multiple-choice questions and a portion of essay questions. Each question indicates the amount of points that it is worth. Answer wrongly and twice that amount of points is deducted from your score. Around the room we have posted ninja who will watch out for any cheating. They will note any cheaters and deduct points. These deductions are exponential for repeat offenders. If your point total reaches zero due to cheating, you will be dismissed immediately. The thirty students with the highest score will be permitted to participate in the next round. Now, begin.”
Naruto turned over his bundle of sheets. The first thing he noticed was his name, printed in large font at the top of every page. If nothing else, it made him feel like he had truly earned a right to be there. He calmly went over all the questions and made an estimate how much he knew. Naruto quickly panicked.
The subjects were diverse and highly advanced. The essay questions especially required more thinking than writing.
Naruto grit his teeth and closed his eyes. He could do this. He had worked hard for this. And he would ignore all those people around him.
He did not have to henge into Iruka in order to impersonate him. To feel the calm of his favourite Academy teacher come over him. He just had to find his footing.
All around him he heard pencils marking answers on sheets and it was distracting him. He just had to take it one question at a time. Even if he had not studied all the material, he had studied most of it. The first one was about chakra elemental interplay. The name of the mechanism that amplified chakra interaction only in specific exterior conditions.
After all his memorisation, the answer was obvious. Unfortunately, only the first four questions Naruto knew the answer for immediately. Then came a question about the chemical make-up of Kunai alloys. He was not sure about the answer, but he was sure the other three answers were wrong. He made it through another two questions like that, until he reached questions where he really could not be sure between two possible answers. Since the scoring punished guesswork, that left him making small notes before skipping. And then came question 13. The name of a specific nobleman with only the father’s name and a sibling’s name given. Naruto was not even aware noblemen were on the curriculum. He had no clue and only a 25% chance of a good answer.
The questions continued like that, with Naruto sweating more and more from his lack of knowledge. His breathing deepened and his vision blurred. And all the while there was that incessant scratching all across the room that was making his skin itch.
Naruto was better than this. He was smarter than this. He would be doing so much better if only he could be in a quiet room. If only he did not have to listen to all this noise. Which made the solution seem trivially simple after he had thought of it. He did not have his ear plugs, but he did not need them. It was easy enough to use the henge to detach the ear canal from his brain and shut off all auditory input.
That solved one problem and it cleared his mind enough to notice something. Question nineteen was about the Henge. And it was a question Naruto could not answer. Because he had asked that question himself once and had been told in no uncertain terms that if he wanted to know this, he needed to become Chuunin.
The exams were unfair, but even then they would not ask questions to become a chuunin where only chuunin could possibly know the answers.
They were supposed to cheat. It only made sense with the loose penalties. They were being tested on how well they could cheat without getting caught. That was why the rules were so lenient for cheaters.
Naruto skimmed the questions again just in case. Yeah, starting from around question 13, it was all chuunin level material. He was sure of it now that he thought to look for it.
And then the open questions. Again, he could answer the first half easily. Just a few sentences were needed to explain his answer and it was done. The second half seemed easy enough, except for one terribly complicated thing. The sixth question asked for the trajectory calculations of a kunai. Easy. He had done it so often he could do it in his sleep.
But while it was storming with winds at 33 km per hour? He needed an extra formula for that and he was confident it was chuunin level. The other questions repeated the same trick. He missed one key insight to answer.
And then the tenth question. The question was left blank. Which heavily implied there was a trick involved. Naruto would worry about it later.
First, he had to cheat. He did not have Sharingan eyes like Sasuke. He did not have a genjutsu to hide his glances from the proctors. But he did have his own specialisation.
He closed his eyes and let himself transform further. He stretched like he was just stiff, and put his hands on the back of his head to hide the eye forming there. He looked behind him. His hair got in the way, but it also masked what he was doing.
When he opened his normal eyes again, one of them had been replaced with a replica. It was a bit dizzying seeing in such a wide radius. It was like some of the prey animals that he had experimented with. He preferred predators even if it was only for the eye placement. It was one of the reasons he had narrowed down his first animal to a fox.
He had not paid much attention to the guy behind him before. But now he had more time to look. He was a bit older, in his late teens. He also looked out of place, like this was the first time taking the exam. He was writing with purpose and had filled out a lot of answers already. Naruto started to copy the answer to the first question he had skipped, only to notice the answer was completely nonsensical. Either the guy behind him was an idiot, or…
Naruto chanced a look at the actual question and yeah, they were in a different order. Blindly copying answers was not the way to go. He had to take his time.
The exam proceeded slowly. The questions were difficult to read upside-down from this distance and the examinant behind him shuffled his papers around a lot. The guy was also taking his time figuring out he was supposed to cheat, if the nervous sweating was anything to go by. He had answered a lot of questions by simply knowing the answers, which was impressive by itself.
It took close to an hour to copy everything to his exam. It took time to read the man’s questions and answers and then to find those questions on Naruto’s own exam, especially since the man unknowingly refused to cooperate and often blocked the view. Strangely, Naruto could only find the questions from 13 onward. The final 12 of the guy’s test had been completely original and the easiest of the lot.
The essay questions were mostly taken care of. Naruto really was lucky that the guy behind him was so smart. For three out of four, the guy just knew the answer. Naruto copied what he needed to and then worked out the rest by himself. This whole test was vaguely set up and it would be just like the proctors to strike against him for cheating if he copied the answer word for word.
But after that, the man was confused and frustrated, stuck on what to do next. Book smart, but not clever enough to realise he should cheat. Naruto needed to look at another exam. If he could turn his head, that would be easiest. But if he did that, the Proctors would think he was trying to cheat on the people in front of him.
He stretched again, and covered the back of his head. He moved the eye to the left side, hoping for the best. There was a man in sunglasses and his papers appeared to be blank. No. Not blank. Covered in braille. Not a big help to Naruto. He moved his eye again, this time to the right. There was a woman he could see now. She was cheating by using a reflective kunai on her desk and reading the tests of others. If Naruto was not mistaken, a few proctors saw her and deducted points. But she got the answers and that meant Naruto did as well.
Strangely, after getting as many answers as he could, he still noticed that the woman had 12 easy original questions that did not overlap with Naruto’s. Naruto suspected it did not matter whom he would cheat off. Every ninja would have been given some original questions to test their own theoretical knowledge. It was not just about cheating in this test.
That also meant those questions were a lost cause. Answering them would do more harm than good and Naruto had cheated his way into a passing grade for sure. There simply was no use in trying to remember information he did not have. If he was really desperate he could try asking the fox, which would make for an amusing memory if nothing else.
No. All that remained, all that Naruto could still do, was address the mystery of the tenth question.
The paper was pure white where the question should be. When he ran his fingers over the paper, he did not feel any irregularities. There was no strange scent to the paper either. That ruled out a lot of ways to make the question invisible.
Encryption was the most sensible answer then. He went through the questions again, to see if anything stuck out. When it did not, he began to brute force it. First characters of questions, answers, correct answers, incorrect answers. He had a blank sheet of paper and still enough time.
But as the minutes dwindled, he knew he had to hurry. He turned his hearing back on and winced as the silence was replaced with clatter again. The proctor was giving a speech about how none of them deserved to be ninja and Naruto was grateful he had skipped most of it. No hints though.
He finally found something resembling a question by combing the second character of the correct answers of uneven questions. They asked him to name the ninja two seats behind him and one to the right. It took some acrobatics to manoeuvre his henge eye, but names were easier to read than anything else on a test paper.
He put down his pencil just as the proctor told everyone to stop.
The older ninja seemed pleased with himself. “I want all of you who left the tenth question open to stand up.”
Slowly kids all around the room started standing.
“You all failed. Leave the classroom.”
Naruto’s breathing deepened. He frantically looked to all the different faces and saw only one that looked familiar. Natsu gave Naruto a smile before she was off. She was the only one of the group of flunkees who was still in a good mood.
“Fu Gaoko. You did not answer the question either. Leave now.”
The boy hurried to stand, his bluff called out.
Ibiki waited until all the students had left and the doors were closed. “Scoring of this test requires you to divide it in three parts. The knowledge portion, the surveillance portion and the decryption portion. These three scores are then multiplied. In this way we have scored all your tests.”
Naruto looked down on his desk where his test was still lying. He did not know how they supposed to find out his score, just that apparently they already had.
“I will write down names from lowest score to highest. As you know, the top 30 students will be allowed into the next round. What you do not know is that those who hear their scores and fail, will be barred from the Chuunin exams for two years.”
“What?!” Naruto cried out and he was not the only one.
“Learning your score lets you work out what went wrong. We are not letting you retake the chuunin exams if you just focus on improving the areas where you lacked. A temporary ban forces you to work on all areas of your training. Of course, if you dare not risk it, you can always leave the classroom now.”
Naruto grit his teeth. He had answered a lot of the questions, but he had not done stellar on the knowledge portion. Multiplication of the three different scores meant that this flaw was amplified.
And then the first hand went up with a solemn sigh and a ninja walked out of the classroom. More and more ninja walked out until only fifty remained.
Naruto took a deep breath. A two-year delay was a lot to risk. But he had not come there to give up halfway through.
“Fine then. Let’s begin.”
He wrote down the first name and it was not Naruto’s. He heard a small sob leave the girl’s throat before she walked off.
And so it went. On and on with people leaving. The group got smaller and smaller until Naruto was shaking in his seat. There were still forty people in the room and he needed Ibiki to call out ten more names before his. His hearing became fuzzy and he could feel his heartbeat getting stronger. There was no way he had gotten enough points.
He was going to fail. He was going to fail and fall two years behind and Sakura and Sasuke would get a new team and he would never become Hokage.
“Uzumaki Naruto.”
His eyes were in tears and it made it hard to focus on the board.
“Congratulations.” The proctor said. “You ranked 32nd, but the ninja who ranked 31st and 28th left. Next is Hyuuga Hanabi, who ranked 30th.”
Naruto rubbed the tears out of his eyes. The whole mood in the classroom changed as the names called out now were all passed for the next round and all that was left was for them to hear their scores.
“In second place, Uchiha Sasuke with a perfect score.”
“Shouldn’t that be a shared first place then?” Sasuke asked.
The proctor grinned. “In first place with a score above the maximum, Haruno Sakura.”
Sasuke frowned. “How did you manage that?”
She smiled. “I don’t think I’m supposed to tell.”
“Damn right.” The proctor said. “The scores of these tests will play a factor in your final evaluation, if you make it that far. Those with low scores will have to show their meddle in the next rounds.”
“Are you done boring them, Ibiki?” There was a woman in the windowsill, suddenly. She had short black hair and wore fishnet clothes with a cloak over it. She used her grey eyes to look at the class like a predator evaluating her prey. Naruto recognised her as Anko, one of the Tokubetsu jounin that specialised in assassination through poisons.
“Just get on with it.” The examiner said.
She grinned. “Tomorrow you are going into the Forest of Death and you will journey to the centre. Pack appropriately. You will go in groups of three. If your whole team passed, which holy crap how did so many teams continue whole, you will be in a group together. Otherwise you’re grouped with the nearest scoring students. Ibiki?”
The proctor sighed and rubbed his eyes, before drawing on the board and indicating all the groups with linked lines. He isolated the teams, and it looked so strange how Naruto at the bottom got linked with the top 2. Hanabi and Kabuto got separated to both join a team with two strangers.
It seemed that all his former classmates had made it. Even Lee and his team had made it completely.
Naruto let out a big sigh. The first exam was over.
~*~
“I took over someone else’s body, obviously.” Ino said. “Didn’t you hear all the commotion when they accused me of napping like Shikamaru?”
Naruto chuckled. “Was a bit too busy. How did Mr Lazy even make it past this round?”
“I stole others’ exams with my shadows.” Shikamaru shrugged. “Replaced it with my own so we could exchange answers as long as they played along. I got the better part of the deal.”
“Gah, I would kill for your memory.” Naruto said. He had the uncanny ability to look at sheets of paper and memorise details with impeccable speed and accuracy. It was a clan technique that he refused to share. “How about you, Chouji?”
“I had to take perception drugs to improve my peripheral vision.” The boy said. “I’ll have a headache for the rest of the day.”
“Well, I’m glad you guys made it through. We should really catch up.”
“I’d love to.” Ino said. “I have so much gossip I need to share, it’s insane.”
“I’m grabbing a celebratory dinner with Sasuke, Sakura and Hanabi. You’re welcome to join.”
Ino frowned. “Another time. But congratulations again.”
“You know, you can’t be mad at Sakura forever.”
“I can damn well try.” Ino said defiantly. “Now I really need to be going.”
Naruto looked for his team and found them chatting. Hanabi and Kabuto were there, even Natsu too.
“Sorry I couldn’t get past the first round.” Natsu told him when he arrived.
“Don’t worry about it. You were amazing just for trying.”
“I knew some of the answers, but I was lost on most.”
“Yeah, you were supposed to cheat.” Naruto said.
“Shut up.” Natsu groaned. “You ninja are all crazy.”
He patted her shoulder. “Completely insane.”
“I wanted to grab some dinner together to celebrate. You coming?”
“Nah, I have work to do. But I hope you guys have fun.”
“That’ll be my cue as well.” Kabuto said. “I didn’t actually request any time off past today so I’ll have to work double while I still can.”
Hanabi shook her head. “You really need to work on your confidence level.”
“I just know my own limits.” Kabuto shrugged.
“So, dinner?” Naruto asked those that remained.
“Of course.” Sasuke said and Sakura nodded.
“Yeah, sure.” Hanabi smiled. “I think we deserve it.”
“I almost got team 10 to join us. But they wanted their own celebration.”
“Good.” Sakura said. “I would’ve hated to cancel.”
“Not you too.” Naruto groaned. “Seriously, what’s up between you guys? I thought you used to be friends.”
“Ino-pig never told you?”
“Always kept it vague. Never told me the whole story.”
“I guess that’s one thing she did right.” Sakura said bitterly.
“Maybe we can ask team 8 to join?” Sasuke said.
Hanabi tensed. “Nope.”
“I know it’s not a good idea.” Naruto agreed. No restaurant would survive Kiba and him in the same room. “But why do you have a problem with it? Did Shino say something tactlessly rude?”
“No... it’s Hinata. She didn’t like me bending the rules to attend the exam.”
“Oh.” Naruto slumped. That sucked. Hanabi usually had such a good relationship with her.
“It’ll be great with just us.” Sasuke said. “We don’t need anyone else intruding.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Naruto smiled. “Team 7 made it to the second round of the Chuunin exams. Let’s celebrate together.”
~*~
They had their drinks and their food in front of them, tucked away in a nice corner of the restaurant Naruto liked for these gatherings.
“So, I know you cheated.” Sakura said. “I know you cracked the tenth question. How was your score so low?”
Naruto shrugged. “Multiplication. I did not know the pure theory questions would hurt me so badly.”
“But those were easy.” Sakura complained. “They didn’t even include any extracurricular questions.”
“You can’t know that. We all had different questions.” Naruto pointed out.
“I had a look at your questions near the beginning.” She said. “I know exactly what they were.”
Naruto shuffled uncomfortably. “It’s not like I didn’t know at all. I just wasn’t sure enough to risk the point penalty.”
“But you’ve studied all the subjects, right?”
“I’ve been through most of it. But I have not memorised everything I needed to.”
Sakura groaned. “Hanabi, I suppose you had the same problem?”
“Kind of. I missed two questions. The tenth question also tripped me up. I think I only got partial points for it.”
Sakura shot a glance at Sasuke. “How is your theory?”
“I got a perfect score.”
“Yeah and you finished in half an hour. What did you do with the rest of your time?”
“Drafting letters for the ambassadors. Because I had a feeling I wouldn’t have time tonight.”
Sakura rubbed the frustration out of her eyes. “We’re going to need weekly study dates.”
Naruto blanched. “I’m sure that’s not necessary.”
“Apparently it is. Both of you are in a bad shape for the rest of the exam and that could have been prevented.”
“Why am I getting dragged into this?” Sasuke complained.
“Because you can help with the theory and you need your friends to drag you away from your official business before you go insane. Maybe if you hadn’t been so distracted, you would have realised the opportunity for extra points.”
Naruto huffed. “Where would we even do it?”
“My place would be good.” Sasuke said.
Naruto made a face.
“Maybe the library?” Hanabi said. “It’s central and we can get other materials as needed.”
“Sounds like a date.” Sakura smiled.
Naruto took a bite of his food to distract himself. He was grateful, but he could not help but feel like he had failed. It was luck that had let two higher ranking ninja bow out so that he could go to the next round.
He heard a laugh a few tables over and it sounded familiar. Really familiar. Naruto stood up and marched over there.
“Hello, Lee.”
He was sitting down together with a girl in a pink dress. Probably his teammate.
“You must be Naruto.” She said. “You made it to the second round. Congratulations.”
“You kept up with your talented teammates.” Lee said in fascination. “You’ve grown so much since the Academy.”
“I’m still far behind.”
“Less far than you were.” Lee said. “How?”
“I worked hard.”
“There has to be more to it than that. Who’s helping you?”
“I have my friends.” Naruto said. “And I have a jounin instructer same as everyone else.”
“That can’t just be all.” Lee grit his teeth. “You’re hiding something.”
“Lee.” The girl tried.
“I don’t know where you failed.” Naruto said. “But I’m not making the same mistakes.”
Lee stood up. “I’ve lost my appetite.” He stalked off.
The girl groaned. “He gets like this sometimes. I’m sorry about that.”
Naruto gave her a closer look. Her arms were rather muscular. He recognised the toning to be from weapons training and then he could place her. Her name was Tenten and she had a talent around 4. He never realised she had been placed on the same team as Lee and Neji. “I get that he’s frustrated, but I didn’t make him decide to quit.”
“It was his decision. It’s just… it’s a long story.”
Hanabi pulled on Naruto’s sleeve. “Your food is getting cold.”
He looked between Hanabi and Tenten, hesitating.
“I shouldn’t keep you.” Tenten said.
“Or you can just join us.” Sakura said. “You can’t make us curious like that and then not tell the whole story.”
“That works for me.” Hanabi said.
Naruto looked to Sasuke.
“It’s fine.”
They sat at their table and Tenten brought her own plate with her. “I’m not sure where to begin.”
“It’s okay. Take your time.” Naruto said.
“When we were first placed in a team, we got along terribly at the start. We’d only known each other from the academy. It’s nothing like being an actual team, as you probably found out too.”
“We had our difficulties.” Naruto admitted.
“We shared our goals when we started out. I wanted to be a medical ninja and help support my parents. Lee wanted to become a jounin to prove the Academy bullies wrong. Neji wanted to become stronger than the Hyuuga main branch.”
Hanabi rolled his eyes. “Is he still on that nonsense? He doesn’t have the talent.”
“None of us do.” Tenten said. “Lee’s talent is so low that he was almost kicked out of the Academy several times. Neji has the highest talent out of the three of us and it still pales in comparison to yours and Hinata’s. I’m between them. Good for someone from a disseminated clan, but nothing to write home about. We were all used to training the long way occasionally instead of using our talents. Then as we formed our team, it became the regular routine for us. We motivated each other and we helped ourselves through difficult times.”
“What changed?”
She shrugged. “It’s been coming for a long time. Being a ninja isn’t what we expected. But our lowest moment was the first chuunin exams. Even after working hard from the moment we graduated, our sensei did not recommend us. He thought we weren’t ready. We fought over it and it has not been the same since.”
“I remember Neji was really angry about it.” Hanabi said.
“He took it the worst. He was convinced we were holding him back and decided to train on his own. Unless there’s a mission, we don’t see him.”
“He used to be my hero.” Hanabi said. “A branch family member who could rival Hinata in strength. Some of the elders were disappointed in him for not getting recommended.”
“None of us were happy. I wanted to become chuunin so I could start paying back my parents. They invested massively into my education and as a genin I’m still costing them money. Lee once again got people asking him if it wasn’t better he quit being a ninja. He placed ninth in our class and you know it was a year of low scoring. There are half a dozen admin ninja who are hoping to get his spot.”
“But you kept at it.” Naruto said. “For a whole year since then.”
“Have you ever heard of the sunk cost fallacy?” Tenten asked.
“I have. You thought you had already invested too much time and money to quit.”
“The path of a field ninja is one of many gambles. We risk our lives every time we take on a mission. We buy our provisions and weapons in the hope that our commissions will cover the expenses. And yes, we risk our training so that we can become chuunin and earn a living. Do you know how many active genin there are? You saw how many of them took the chuunin exams, and there were still genin who could not attend. It’s a trap.”
“But what if you pass the chuunin exams?” Sakura asked. “Wouldn’t it have been worth it?”
“That’s what we kept thinking. Until two weeks ago when we were on a mission and a bandit almost killed us.”
“Did he have ninja training?”
“No. Just good aim and timing. Lee’s leg got injured and it set back his physical conditioning by weeks. He missed training times and there were serious concerns he would not be able to attend the Chuunin exams. We had a lot of time to think. To realise that this was not making us happy. We are put in life and death situations and even if we manage to become chuunin, it will only get worse from here.”
“It’s what you signed up for.” Sasuke said. “Why does it surprise you?”
“I’m not surprised. I’m just… I’m tired. That mission humbled us and showed us how far we are from where we should be. Every time we think we are crossing items of our requirements list, we find new skills to add to it. Better situational awareness. Practicing activating a kawarimi fast enough to block a surprise attack. We realised that it would be wisest to skip another Chuunin exam and wait another year. Because even if we could pass the exams, we don’t have the skills to work as chuunin.”
“I think you’re underestimating yourselves.” Naruto said.
Tenten sighed. “I don’t know anymore.”
Sakura tried to comfort her by placing a hand on her wrist. “You said you wanted to be a medical ninja, right?”
“I couldn’t progress fast enough.” Tenten said. “I got stuck on the jutsu to measure blood pressure. It was only eighty percent accurate and taking a week per increased percentage point.”
Sakura winced. “You can’t move on until that’s learned.”
“I know.” Tenten groaned. “And I needed a specialisation for the exams after graduating as a genin. I thought I only had a few months, before we learned we would be forced to take another year. So I started working on my own fighting style using weaponry. I’d always been fond of fighting with weapons and I have a great accuracy.”
“And that counts as a specialisation?” Hanabi asked.
“The way I do it, yeah, it does. I still look at medical jutsu when I can, but I can’t afford to spend my time on it. Not when it’s a secondary goal.”
“But you liked it, right?” Naruto asked. “What do you do for fun instead?”
“There isn’t much time for fun. I train and I rest and that’s about it.”
Naruto had a pensive look. He tried to ask something, but hesitation got in the way.
“He wants to see your training schedule.” Sasuke said.
“Hey!” Naruto protested.
“It’s true.”
“But it’s rude to just ask.”
Tenten shrugged. “It’s not like I’m using it for much longer anyway.” She reached into her bag and retrieved her small stack of papers.
Naruto went over them with a frown on his face. “You went to Otaku’s, didn’t you?”
“They’re the best at our price range.”
“He’s a traditionalist.” Naruto said. “Believes thoroughly in perfecting one task before moving on to the next. He’s also a big fan of dedicated talent spending. One subject per day. Which for you guys means spending at least eight hours doing the same thing. If you’re taking the long route, this is unsustainable.”
“You mean we could do it differently?”
“Just look here. Because he spends five days on physical training, he has to push all the theory into these two days. Nobody can concentrate that long on reading.”
“Uhm, I don’t have a trouble with theory days.” Tenten said. “The rest of the week is what kills me.”
Naruto looked it over again. It looked a little difficult, but not that tiring. “Still, if you break up physical training with two hours of studying each day, it becomes better to manage.” Naruto sketched it out.
“That… makes a lot of sense.”
“Honestly, if you have a schedule like this, I can’t blame you for quitting.”
Tenten smiled. “Thanks for your help, but this doesn’t change the amount of work we have to do. It doesn’t change my decision.”
“It’s worth a try.”
“I’ll have a go at it. But I’m burned out. We all are. It’s just too much work for a human mind to handle. I’m sorry Naruto. I know that’s not what you wanted to hear. Anyway, thanks for listening to me. I should get going. You guys enjoy your dinner.”
Tenten stood up and went to the owner to pay for her meal.
“It’ll be different for you.” Sakura said. “You’re not like them.”
“I guess.” Naruto said. “The success rate of field ninja taking the long route is extremely low. I knew that that coming in.”
“Knowing something and learning it are different things.” Sasuke said.
“Yeah.” Naruto sighed. “They are.”
He watched Tenten leave. Naruto had not often interacted with her in the Academy, but he had remembered the joy she radiated, the pride in her skills. It was so strange to see her walk around so blankly.
Naruto went back to his lunch, trying to comfort himself with the notion that it was the fault of her lesson plan and that Naruto would be able to do a better job. He refused to be just the next mistake.
Notes:
Next month: Heavy cloud inside my head. Let's go to the Forest of Death and have some fun.
To start, Kakashi’s anecdote about being sick was a reference to the fanfic Ear to the Wall by Vodkassassin, though there it’s Orochimaru making the tea, and it’s not just any regular cold but instead Kakashi time travelling into his older body and causing chakra overdose. It’s hilarious and adorable and you should check it out if you haven’t already.
I like the canon theory exam, but in thinking it through it has a few major flaws. The first is that making it all or nothing on the tenth question, means that everything else is irrelevant. The rest of the original exam is very action-heavy, so it’s a bit annoying that the one portion of theory (where Sakura could shine) instead boils down to a test of courage. The second is that the pass or fail gatekeeping in canon means the score of the first round isn’t taken into account later on.
Another thing is team 10. After Shikamaru gets his chuunin rank, how do Ino and Chouji get theirs? Chuunin Exams in canon is very heavily based around your own team and that seems very inefficient. So I was inspired by the Squid Games, where they use the night skirmish to get down to a multiple of ten participants after the first two games (and the dinner to get down to two). That is, using a top 30 means that they always know there will be exactly 10 teams passing to the second round and can prepare correspondingly. In canon, Anko had to prepare for any number of teams entering the forest which worked there, but not in the alternated form it’s going to take.
Lee has to be different from canon in this story, because everything he represents in canon is shifted onto Naruto. So instead he becomes the cautionary tale. It wouldn’t be Lee if he was not working hard and mastering taijutsu. But this is also a Lee who has fallen behind on everyone else, when he already graduated the Academy with lower scores. Part of what Tenten is talking about is like having on your list that you need to learn about Mathematical integration, only to realise your basic grasp on algebra isn’t good enough yet and you need to learn the basics again. Or in a ninja analogy, the Academy measured how often you could get a kunai on a 2 meter wide target from a distance of 20 meters, and Lee got a passing grade at 60%. But now for chuunin he’s supposed to be able to get a kunai on a 1 meter wide target from a distance of 40 meters. And it’s obvious that someone like Sasuke/Sakura who were able to get the easier target 100% of the time, it’ll be easier for them than Lee with his 60%. Because every skill is just barely good enough to move on, it takes a lot of effort to get to the proper level each time the requirements are increased.
Chapter 11: 2.3 Heavy cloud inside my head (Lemon Tree)
Summary:
We made it through one round of the chuunin exam, on for the next. Time to face the fabled Forest of Death! Which seems like a dramatic way to name a training ground that's supposedly mostly safe. I've heard stories, but Jiji always said they were just exaggerations to keep children away. And to make them eat their vegetables. Why their parents didn't just show them the nutritional research information is beyond me. It’s what won me over when I was a kid.
Notes:
Wow, this chapter did not want to be edited. Finally managed to finish and here it is. Technically it's still september, so it's still on time. Hope you enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Forest of Death looked big and ominous. The trees were nothing like the ones Naruto liked to train in. These were wild and infected with spiritual energy. A tall fence kept the forest contained and any innocent bystanders from walking inside.
Not that anyone from Konoha needed the extra warning. From the moment children could understand words, they were told to stay away from the Forest of Death and the spirit leak within. Despite Naruto’s curiosity, he had never been brave enough to get close enough to get a look at it. His nightmares had exaggerated how scary the place would be, but not by much.
“As you can tell, this is no ordinary training ground.” Anko said loudly, demanding their attention. “It is usually off-limits for anyone under the rank of Tokubetsu jounin, but aspiring chuunin should be able to survive a single trek to the centre. There are many dangers inside, the giant man-eating animals not even the worst example. If you are not prepared, this is a training ground that can take your life.”
She made sure it sunk in for the full group, before continuing.
“Each team will be paired up with a jounin, as posted on the board. For the purpose of this mission, they will be a client that you need to safely escort to the large tower in the centre of the forest. They will grade you on your performance. Make no mistake though. Even though they are there to increase your safety, you will automatically fail this stage of the exam if they have to step in.”
One of the candidates raised their hands and Anko gave him a nod.
“We did not prepare to feed a fourth person.”
“The jounin have their own food and supplies with them. They do not need to be provided with anything. Any more questions?” The candidates were quiet. “Good. Report to your gates and wait for the signal.”
The board made it clear which gate Team 7 would start at. Naruto wished Hanabi good luck, and then spared a moment to do the same to Lee and Tenten.
They started at gate 3 and Asuma was already there waiting for them. Son of the Third Hokage, who had spent years away from the village and only recently returned. Naruto had not seen him, other than when he had gone to the Academy to pick Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru as his team. He had a bear framing his face in the same black colour of his hair. He was smoking, though he put the cigarette out as soon as they got there. “I see you’re all here.”
“I see you are as well.” Naruto said, unable to hide some of the admiration. After getting used to Kakashi’s philosophy on punctuality, there was something unnerving about a jounin being on time for them.
“We have a few minutes before the test starts. Before we go in, I will have to inspect your supplies. You’re not going in unless you’re completely prepared for the journey.”
They nodded and unpacked what they had brought. Sasuke and Sakura had dinners with them for a few days, basic medical supplies and enough weapons to fight. They also had the books for their talent training. For camping, they had a full deluxe ninja gear with a tent that could be put up quickly and with extra security from traps and seal work, together with navigation equipment.
Naruto had to settle for ration bars and had sealed his own reading material in a scroll. He carried the essentials he needed and enough discount camping equipment to survive.
“Your rope is too thin.” Asuma said. “The recommended width is 12 millimetres.”
“But the minimum is 9. This rope is 10.”
Asuma shook his head. “This is not the kind of stuff to be stingy on. I’ll have to dock some points. Your canteen isn’t insulated either.”
Naruto grit his teeth. Insulated kept the water from freezing in the icy mountains or from becoming boiling hot in Suna’s desert. The insulated canteen was also ten times more expensive and not something he needed yet. Only B-rank missions could have extreme weather conditions. “Anything else?”
“These ration bars won’t hold you. You brought salt, so I’m assuming you have another source of food in mind?”
“I can forage and hunt.”
“Then I’ll need to see you cook your own meal at some point.”
“I can do it.”
“We’ll see. Pack up and get ready to move out.”
If Naruto stuffed his bag a little too forcefully, nobody commented on it.
“Do candidates ever fail the initial inspection?” Sakura asked.
“You’d be surprised.” Asuma sighed. “What are your thoughts on the mission?”
“It seems straightforward enough, despite the location.” Sasuke said. “If we’re pretending you’re a normal civilian, we’ll have to keep at a walking pace. How’s your stamina?”
“Nothing you’ll have to worry about. I’ll keep up as long as you want me to.”
“Then we’ll head as quickly as we can to the centre tower.” Sasuke said. “At a regular pace and walking for 5 hours a day, that would be a two-day journey.”
“We could go a lot faster if I carried Asuma.” Naruto mused.
“That would be a last resort.” Sakura said. “It’s safer if you have your hands free.”
“Agreed.” Naruto said. “I’ll be the trail; you guys take front.”
In the distance a large horn was blown and it was Asuma’s signal to unlock the gate. Once everyone was through, he locked it behind them.
It was difficult navigating through the forest. The trees had thick trunks and roots that shot out of the ground. The foliage limited their sight and they soon took out a compass to keep them on track.
As soon as Naruto realised the trees were not actually going to eat him as some bed time stories suggested, he was finally able to relax. Despite the width and height, these were just trees. This was just nature. And Naruto felt familiar there.
“Question for Sakura.” Asuma said. “If your compass broke, how would you navigate?”
“I’m memorising the trees as we walk by. It gives me a decent enough mental map that I should be able to get close enough to the centre to see a tower.”
“Sasuke? Different answer please.”
“I’d tell cardinal directions by using the moss on the trees. They indicate where the sun rises.”
“And Naruto?”
“I’d climb the trees regularly and search for the tower from there.”
“That’d cost a lot of energy.” Asuma said.
Naruto shrugged. “I have enough stamina that it wouldn’t be a problem.”
The man took a moment to seemingly memorise the answers. As much as he was pretending to be a civilian, he was also their proctor and evaluating them every step of the way.
Naruto felt himself getting sweaty. His first round had been disastrous and now he was struggling with the second. His preparation had been deemed inadequate and now these questions were killing him.
“There are three poisonous plants around us. Each of you identify one.”
Naruto almost tripped over his feet. What?
“Poison Ivy.” Sakura said, pointing.
Sasuke waited a moment but when Naruto did not say anything, he pointed out a different plant. “Black Bryony.”
Naruto blinked a few times.
Sakura put her hand on his arm. “You can do this.”
“Naruto, I still need to hear the last one from you. Unless you don’t know it?”
“I do.” Naruto said. “I’m just confused. I think you want me to point out the foxglove growing over there, since that’s the most obvious answer. But you missed something.”
“Is that so?”
Naruto nodded. “There are apples growing over there. The seeds contain amygdalin.”
“Not enough to be harmful.”
“Not from a single apple. But there are enough there that it would be easy to gather up enough for a lethal dose. Actually from the looks of it, these apples are a lot bigger than regular ones. About three times bigger. Extracting a poison from these would be trivial.”
Asuma looked at the boy. “Have you studied poisons?”
“Some.” Naruto said.
“I can give you bonus points for the apples.”
“How about the other five poisonous plants you missed?”
Asuma grinned. “Tell me.”
Naruto’s mood finally lifted. He could use a win.
It went on for a while. Asuma asked questions about the plants, about possible escape routes, about where animals might be lurking and what would be dangerous places to travel because enemies could have used it as a trap. It was better than Naruto thought it would be. Perhaps the exams would not be a complete loss.
When they stopped for lunch, Asuma observed them.
“I’ll take first shift.” Naruto said. He had his kunai out and surveyed the surroundings for possible attackers. They followed procedure to the letter. Naruto did not drop his guard to eat until both his teammates were finished. They kept chatter to a minimum so that those standing guard could more easily listen for disturbances.
When they looked at Asuma at the end, he smiled down on them.
This was turning into a good round.
They were able to travel for an hour after. Sakura and Sasuke had been working well on their stamina and it showed. They set up their camping spot for the evening and Asuma inspected their work. There were checklists for these tasks that they had all had to memorise in the Academy and Asuma went over the items one by one.
Was the fire properly walled in with stones? Was there enough room between the tents? Were the tents properly anchored into the ground? Were the supplies properly secured? Were the traps around the camp well-hidden enough to fool an enemy ninja?
Naruto had put up one trap he was particularly proud of. There was ninja wire hung between two trees with a bell attached to alert them about any intruders. That was standard. But Naruto had also littered the area in front of and behind the wire with crunchy shrapnel and covered it all with leaves. Anyone trying to step over the wire to avoid the trap would still step on the shrapnel and alert them that way.
“You enjoy doing this, don’t you?” Asuma asked Naruto as they sat down by the fire they had made.
“It’s familiar.” Naruto said. “I’ve spent a lot of time outdoors. There’s something soothing about being surrounded by nature.”
Asuma nodded. “It’s nice. Last time I did this, I had to escort chuunin candidates that couldn’t even tie their own shoes.”
“When was this, Asuma-san?” Sakura asked.
“Must have been eight years ago, just before I left the village. Not that the chuunin exams had anything to do with why I left.”
“I heard it was to join the Twelve Guardian ninja.”
“Something like that. I needed to get away and the Fire temple provided an opportunity. I became a guardian to the Daimyo a few months later.”
“What was it like?” Naruto asked.
“Are you considering joining?”
“I recently met the royal princess.” Naruto said. “She said she’d request me for future missions.”
“What?” Sasuke dropped out of the tree. “You met the princess?”
“It was during the Hanabi situation. I must have told you about it.”
Sakura snickered. “You never mentioned Elia-sama was involved. How could you leave that part out?”
“It’s still your shift, Sasuke.” Naruto motioned for the trees.
Sasuke glared. “We have a lot of traps and the immediate area is scouted and secure. I’ll make sweeps, but it’s not like I can hear anyone coming over your loud chattering.”
“Perhaps we should stop talking then.” Naruto said.
Asuma smiled. “It’s Sasuke-kun’s choice. But for the sake of my own sanity and amusement, I won’t subtract any points for having a conversation with me. Are you sure you could properly see anything coming?”
Sasuke’s eyes blinked red as he looked around. “At least three hundred feet around us is clear from predator animals. I’ll keep checking.”
“Then it’s fine as long as it’s still light out.” Asuma said. “And I would like to hear the story of how you met the Fire Nation’s princess.”
“Not that big of a story, really.” Naruto shrugged. “Hanabi and I went to a bar to talk with a friend and she was there and getting in our way. So I told her off a little and she got mad, so obviously we became friends.”
Sasuke shook his head, smiling. “I’d think there was more to the story, but this is basically how you operate.”
Asuma grinned. “Ino was right. You’re quite interesting, you know that?”
“I do my best.”
“I almost picked you for my genin team.” He said. “I thought Kakashi might be on time for something important and screw up the standard team formations to annoy Kurenai and me. I would have liked you on my team.”
“Why?” Naruto asked. The jounin would have gotten in trouble if he had picked Naruto without Hanabi and had further complicated the top 10 situation.
“I left the village because I was working for a system that I had lost faith in.” Asuma said. “Having the Hokage as my father is both a privilege and a burden. The longer I stayed, the more it became the latter rather than the former.” He took a long drag from his cigarette and exhaled slowly. “Every problem you see around you is linked in some way to the rule of the current village leader.”
“How so?” Naruto asked with a frown.
“The Academy is still using unbalanced kunai, because they do not have the funding to replace them, because the school board was not given enough money by the Hokage. There has not been a full clan summit in twenty years, because there were arguments over who should host, which the Hokage has not resolved yet in fear of making an enemy of the clans he did not select. There is a loophole in the trade agreements that allows foreign merchants to undercut Konoha businessmen by twenty percent, because the Hokage has not renegotiated the treaties.”
“The Third can’t be everywhere.” Sakura said.
“He has to choose where he focusses his attention.” Asuma said. “Which comes down to the same thing. I wanted to be better. I trained my whole life so I could become a better Hokage than my father was. And then one of my former teammates died and all my goals seemed far too small. Too petty. That was when I left. The monk who found me and convinced me to join the Thirteen guardian ninja, he was talentless like you Naruto.”
“He was?” Naruto perked up. “And he joined the royal guard?”
“At the monastery, it is believed you can find enlightenment through training. They find spiritual fulfilment in conditioning their minds and bodies. He spent all his time perfecting his martial arts. He did not have any of the skills we require of a ninja, but he could go toe to toe with me or any threat we faced as guardians. If there was one thing I could do as the new Hokage, it would be to lift the talent restrictions for the Academy and for the recently graduated.”
“There are no official restrictions.” Sasuke said.
“There is everything but. Naruto, you made it through the academy despite their talent-focussed structure, didn’t you?”
Naruto nodded. “It was hard to adapt the Academy’s lessons into something I could use, because of the way they taught it to us.”
“I would create a second track for the Academy. Something that those without talent or with lower talent scores can use. Something to prepare them as well for mental strain that is endured as a ninja taking the long road.”
“That would be very helpful.” Naruto said.
“I’d support it.” Sasuke said.
Sakura nodded her approval as well.
There was just one thing nagging at Naruto’s mind. “Have you brought up this idea with the village council yet?”
“Not yet, I’m afraid. I’m afraid they would use it as an excuse to block my nomination.”
“Or rather, you’re afraid to commit to anything while you are still negotiating clan heirs for their votes.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s just hard to judge a man’s worth by their words alone.” Naruto stood up and brushed his pants clean. Asuma was not the first to offer pretty promises. Though he was the first jounin targeting a different relationship than the one Naruto had with Jiji. “Careful, or someone might suspect you’re just pandering to two village heirs through their talentless friend. I’m going to go meditate.”
Asuma grimaced. “You want to be Hokage one day, don’t you?”
“What of it?”
“Then you should be more cognisant of the politics around you. In your eagerness to question my motives, you failed to consider that antagonising me could affect your grade.”
“Excuse me?” Naruto made a fist. From promising reforms to threatening him. How quickly some ninja could turn.
“Relax.” Asuma sighed. “I’m not the kind of person who gets offended and lets that affect his judgement. Just like I’m not the kind of person who goes around making empty promises. Please consider the possibility that some people are sincere when they express a desire to help.”
Naruto looked at the man. It was annoying how good political ninja were at sounding kind. “It’s too loud here for meditation. But I won’t go far.”
“Don’t go further than fifty feet.” Sasuke said.
Naruto nodded. He found a secluded place behind some trees and cleared his mind.
He made eye-contact with Sasuke, who nodded. It was easy to become calm with his teammates nearby, knowing they would protect him. And it had gotten easier overall to slip into his mindscape. Every time, it went faster and faster. He stood before the giant fox demon, though it was looking away and ignoring him.
“Salutare, Kuruma-sama.”
The fox exhaled, slowly turning its head towards Naruto. “I don’t feel like talking to you.”
“Tough luck.” Naruto said, smiling as he created a seat for himself and sat down comfortably. He started talking about the exam so far and about Asuma’s behaviour. How Naruto had been screwed over by his budget, but had regained some points with his own expertise. The fox remained silent for most of it, not even grumbling his responses like Naruto was used to. He only spoke up to correct the errors in Naruto’s Demon Tongue.
“And how are you doing, Kuruma?”
The fox shook his head, sighing. He still did not want to talk.
Naruto had other exercises to try then. He went to the wall opposite the jail cell and willed it to open. It creaked until finally a crack appeared in the middle. Naruto focussed his mind to widen it, shaping it slowly into a window. On the other side was what Naruto could see with his eyes. Naruto felt accomplished. Last time it had taken him twice as long to create this.
“I used to live in a forest like this.” Kuruma said. He had hardly moved, but he was looking past Naruto at the window. It was the first time Naruto had anything to show the fox other than the inside of his apartment or the roofs of Konoha buildings.
“The forest of death?”
“No.” The fox shook his head, rattling the iron embedded in his jaws and fur. “Nothing so small. The forest I speak of went from sea to sea. I protected it.”
“Protected it? How?”
The fox shrugged with his massive shoulders. “The largest threats were storms of light and shaking earth.”
“You were a fire fighter?” Naruto asked, sounding amused. He could not help but picture Kuruma running around with a large matoi, waving the flag for everyone to see. It did not fit the image he had of the fox.
“I was a god.” Kuruma replied. “And the forest was my domain.”
“What happened?”
“Humans happened. Multiplying and consuming like locusts. They would not learn respect. They only learned to fear me. And even that fear was not enough. They destroyed anything I could call my home. I could not sleep. I could not rest. It took everything I had to just survive. Until the humans finally won.”
“That’s when you were captured. Sealed into a human.”
“I bit the prison bars until my teeth fell out. I scratched at the walls until my paws were bloody and my claws were broken. I screamed to be let out until my voice stopped working. The humans had infected me with hate and then isolated me to let it ripen.”
Naruto’s mouth was open. Looking at the demon anew.
“I rotted in here. I never thought it possible.” Kuruma said. “It is humans who think something spoils once it loses its function. In nature nothing rots. It decomposes. Deterioration of one creature becomes food for another. In nature, I would have died and become the trees. But humans have tainted me too much. And so I rot away in this prison, waiting to be released once again, a demon of your own invention.”
Naruto imagined what the fox had looked like in its prime. Cleaned up from the blood and sewer water. Healthy teeth and recovered paws. He would like to see it. “We could change you back into what you were.”
The fox let out a tired laugh. “You can’t fix what has been broken. You cannot send the rain back into the sky. You can’t resurrect the dead.”
“But you’re not dead. You’re injured. And injuries can be healed. Dirt can be cleaned.”
“Your optimism tires me.”
Naruto ignored the beast, looking at the window. “You’re right that this place is stale and stagnant. That you need fresh air.”
Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated. He really wanted this to work this time. The fox was finally opening up and Naruto just needed to push him a little further.
He stepped forward and touched the glass. “Come watch this forest with me.” Naruto said. “And tell me all about yours.”
It was like diving into water. Cold and disorienting, trying to swim up while dragging something with him. He had to gasp for air when he was back in his body, a pressure in his head that felt like an extra presence.
“I can see.” Kuruma said as Naruto opened his eyes. The fox’s voice had travelled with him. After all this practice, he had finally managed it.
“And I can hear you. I don’t know long this will last.” Naruto responded. “So let me show you the open field just through here while I still can.”
It was just past a few trees, still well within Sasuke’s range. The light from the setting sun was barely filtering through the branches. It would be dark soon and he would need to stay closer to camp. The clearing itself was filled with flowers in different colours. Naruto recognised maybe half of them. Despite what its name would suggest, the Forest of Death was beautiful.
“I don’t like these.” Kuruma said. “None of them are spirit touched.”
Naruto went over them again. He stepped through the field and went to a little yellow dandelion. The stem had thorns on it and it seemed to move on its own when Naruto’s hand approached. “How about this one?”
“It barely counts.”
“Then what were your flowers like?”
“They had mouths that could eat a fully grown man and still be hungry. Some grew in the air like these grow in the dirt, lighting up the forest at night. There were trees so ancient that they had conversations in the wind.”
A little squirrel darted past. Naruto thought it looked cute.
“These are the same animals that you find outside of your Konoha.” Kuruma growled. “They aren’t even any bigger.”
“But there are bigger animals in here. I’d think we’d run into one at some point. I’ll try to keep the connection going long enough that you can witness one.”
“Something’s wrong with the punctum coitionis.”
“The what?”
Kuruma growled in irritation. “The touching point.”
“You mean the spirit leak?” Naruto looked around him. The forest was big, but there was supposed to be a small area that was the source of all the spiritual energy infecting nature here. “I would like to see it.”
“Then search for it.”
“I can’t. Not right now. I’m on a mission.”
“Did you show me a dying forest just to torture me?” Kuruma sounded agitated.
“We can go in the future. We’ll track down the leak and have a look later.”
Kuruma hesitated for a few seconds, before responding. “We’ll see.”
Naruto had little to lose promising that much. It would be difficult to convince a jounin to accompany him later, but worst came to worst, Naruto could go when he was a jounin himself. It never hurt to have more reasons to become stronger. “Would you know how to find it?”
“No. I do not see any of the signs. This close, there should be more spirit-touched guardians.” Kuruma said. “Your teachers exaggerated the danger of this forest.”
“They tend to do that. This is a training ground for jounin. They probably take out the worst threats regularly.”
“Already so little of this forest remains, and you humans still empty it further.”
Naruto could feel the uncomfortable hatred boiling up from within him. The hatred he usually only felt in the sewers. The hatred that threatened to tear him apart if he was not careful. “They didn’t know what they were doing.”
“They knew full well and did it anyway. I warned them enough times. I left their decaying corpses outside their villages and still they did not stop.”
“I would have listened.” Naruto said, holding onto a nearby tree to keep himself steady.
“You would have stayed with your humans and worked against me.”
“No.” Naruto held firm. “I would have respected your decree. I would have listened.”
Kuruma calmed down.
Naruto collapsed against the tree, sitting down on the ground and trying to breathe normally. He noticed a nightingale flying from branch to branch. “What were the birds like?”
“Majestic.” Kuruma said, “Some could predict the future. Some would sing irresistible songs. They would flock together in thousands.”
“I would have liked to see that.”
There was a strange feeling mixing with the Kyuubi’s chakra inside Naruto’s body. Kuruma sounded different when he spoke again. He had a lighter voice. “Vulpelculis… benigne.”
“What’s that word mean?” Naruto asked. “You’ve never used it before.”
“I’m just saying that it’s a good thing that Beard-face is here in case a real spirit-touched animal shows up. You wouldn’t stand a chance without him.”
Naruto would have responded to the banter, but there was a sudden weight in the air that made him seek out his teammates. Naruto’s legs were moving before he had given it any serious thought.
They were sitting around the camp, looking equally disturbed. “Stay close.” Sasuke said.
Naruto nodded, gathering around Asuma as they looked out into the forest. None of them spotted anything until the enemy was already descending upon them from above. Naruto shoved Asuma out of the way and then jumped to the side, narrowly missing the sword that had been trying to hurt him.
He took out a kunai and went in, aiming for the enemy’s neck. It appeared to be a female ninja with pale skin peeking behind her white mask. She was wearing a headband with the symbol of the hidden grass village.
She laughed as she stepped out of the way and easily dodged, before bringing the sword down at him again. Naruto became Konohamaru to dodge the strike, and then assumed Kakashi’s form for some height. His kunai was a short sword now and he aimed for the woman’s wrist.
She twisted away, switching hands on the sword and attacking again. The sword came within an inch of Kakashi’s face, when transparent ninja wire stopped her from pushing the sword any further. She was pulled back and trapped with no way to escape Sasuke’s fireball. Yet when the flames cleared only a wooden log remained inside the wires, now singed black and smouldering, while the ninja appeared behind Sasuke.
Sakura got between them to block the sword, which gave Sasuke enough time to turn around and sweep the woman’s legs. She stepped back to avoid him, only to be stopped by a tree Sakura had made invisible. Naruto used the moment of confusion to throw kunai her way. She dodged to the side, letting them embed themselves in the tree and break Sakura’s genjutsu. Her dodge brought her face right into Sakura’s waiting fist.
The mask cracked and the woman was sent flying against the dirt, rolling over the ground. Team 7 was about to finish the fight, when Asuma intervened. “That’s enough. Passing grades from all of you.”
“What?” Naruto asked, still panting. “This was part of the test?”
“A surprise attack, just as the sun is setting.” Asuma said, lighting another of his cigarettes. “You noticed the threat in time to prepare, kept me safe and performed admirably under pressure. Who do you suspect attacked you?”
It took them a few seconds to calm their breathing and think about it. Naruto’s body was still filled with adrenaline and he had to actively convince himself there was no danger. Something still felt wrong, no matter how calmly Asuma was addressing them now. It was hard to get out of survival mode.
Not to mention biting back the betrayal. Sure, they were testing how the team would react in a dangerous situation, and Naruto supposed there was no better way to do that than to simulate an enemy attack. That did not keep Naruto from instinctively plotting out revenge jump scares to get back at the organisers later.
“Forehead protector marked her as missing ninja.” Sakura said.
“Mask hid her features.” Sasuke added.
“But we did see white skin and black hair.” Naruto added. Scanning his knowledge of the BINGO book, there were no obvious candidates amongst the female ninja. But there was one amongst the men. “Orochimaru would fit and is known to assume a female gender at times.”
“And who is that?” Asuma asked.
“The legendary snake sage.” Sasuke said. “A missing ninja from Konoha.”
“Excellent. You can stand down for now. Of course your battle prowess will be further tested at the tower and…”
There was a sword sticking out of Asuma’s chest, run into him from behind. Asuma coughed blood, looked down at his wound, and then collapsed to the ground.
Behind him the woman was smirking, pulling her sword free and pointing it at the genin. “I wasn’t finished.”
Naruto trembled, trying to keep his kunai steady.
“You Konoha hypocrites really wanted someone to impersonate me for your little test? How blasphemous.”
“Y-you’re not supposed to be here.” Asuma said, trying to put pressure on the wound. “Kids, you need to run. This is not a drill.”
Orochimaru stared them down, and it felt like Naruto’s feet were stuck to the ground. He could feel the ninja’s killer intent washing over him, paralysing him in fear. Zabuza had used it to warn them, but for Orochimaru it seemed to be to humiliate them.
“What’s the rush? Let’s just talk.” Orochimaru pulled away her mask, showing her pointed yellow eyes and sharp fanged teeth. “I’m sure Konoha’s last member of the Uchiha clan and the little genesis have interesting things to tell me. Why don’t you kneel before me?”
Their knees were trembling, the fear a strong motivator to listen.
“Focus.”
“Kuruma?”
“This is not the first time you’ve faced killer intent, weakling.”
Naruto tried his hardest, but it flowed too strongly through his veins. Every attempt to overcome it drowned in the fear.
“Wh-why?” Sakura asked.
“To show some respect. I demand compensation for the ludicrous idea that I would ever hunt down children without a reason.”
“Like you did now?” Naruto asked.
“Ah, but now I do have a reason.” Orochumaru smirked. She pulled out half a dozen shuriken and made sure to show them off. They glistened by the light of the campfire, their sharp edges felt even from across the distance. “And wouldn’t you like to know what it is?”
Her wrist flicked and the shuriken sailed through the air. And Naruto could still not move.
He wished Kakashi was there. Their sensei had been hit by the exact same dose of killer intent by Zabuza and had channelled it into protectiveness. Their sensei was not there though.
But he could be.
Hound tackled Sasuke and Sakura to the ground, letting all three of their bodies fly under the shuriken’s path.
“Now that’s disappointing. You needed the team’s worthless luggage to save you?” Orochimaru dashed forward, sword outreached.
Sasuke met her in the middle, kunai out and parrying. Naruto wanted to jump in, but even Hound’s appearance had not fully quelled the fear building inside of him. Not when he saw Sasuke barely keeping up with the legendary snake sage.
He took a deep breath and reinforced the Henge. He focussed as much as he could on the outer appearance of Hound, so that he could more easily slip into the ANBU’s mind. Mission came first.
He dashed in and added his own kunai to the fight. Orochimaru had reach with his sword, but she had to defend against two genin instead of one. Hound’s taijutsu was the weakest. It would have been worse if Naruto had been forced to fight even a short month ago, but weekly sparring had made him improve in leaps and bounds.
Sakura had rushed to Asuma and had her hands glowing green over his chest. “Intended to have him bleed out. Avoided internal organs. I’ll need a minute to heal the worst of the damage.”
It was excruciating for Hound and Sasuke to buy her the time. Hound had never seen anyone move the way Orochimaru did. She would bend in unnatural ways and make the sword come for them in angles they never could have predicted. Each step in this battle carried the weight of life or death. Just a few inches could mean the difference between dodging and dying.
But then Sakura could join them and the tides turned. Instead of purely defending, they could attack as well. And working together, they were slowly forcing her back.
Orochimaru stumbled against an invisible tree and provided an opening. Hound and both his teammates used it. They saw the ninja’s smirk too late. Perhaps if they had seen it, they would have stopped themselves from making the fatal mistake.
Their kunai shredded the ninja’s skin, which popped like a balloon. An explosion of purple smoke covered them and blew them backwards. Sasuke and Sakura skidded over the ground, while Hound was stopped by a tree hitting his back. His spine took the brunt of it. He was lucky only his Henge snapped.
Naruto’s whole body spasmed. His vision was blurry, it was hard to breathe and none of his muscles would obey him. His teammates were not in any better shape, lying at the side.
Orochimaru had discarded her earlier body, which was now pinned hollow against the tree, like a snake’s old skin. There was still some smoke coming out of it, rolling menacingly away.
And then there was a landing, Orochimaru in his male form standing proudly between team 7 and the discarded husk. He stood strong and tall, judging them. “Disappointing display.”
Naruto wanted to say something, but he was choking on his own words. He felt his windpipe swelling. God damn poisons.
“He’s moving to Sasuke.” Kuruma said.
“I know. Fuck.”
Orochimaru had taken out a scroll, kneeling by Sasuke’s body. “You really think you’ll ever be able to catch up with your brother at this rate?”
Naruto grit his teeth. He felt like he was facing Mizuki again to keep Iruka safe. Like he was trying to keep Haku away from his teammates. This was what he had been training for, wasn’t it? So he could help when he was needed?
Yes, yes it was what he had been training for.
This is going to be dangerous.
The Henge was difficult and the poison resisted Naruto’s attempts to get concentrated. He had no familiarity with it, but he knew his own body enough to notice what was out of place. He pushed all of it into a kunai, forced his muscles to unswell and then used a Kawarimi to take Sasuke’s place.
He stood, brandishing his kunai, looking the bastard straight in the eye. “Don’t you dare touch Sasuke.”
Orochimaru looked annoyed. “I don’t want you.”
“Tough luck.”
“Naruto…” Sakura groaned from the distance, slowly getting up.
“Do you really think you even stand a chance?” Orochimaru asked. “You’re facing a god.”
“Well, you’re facing a demon.” Naruto stabbed the kunai forward.
Orochimaru dodged and grasped Naruto’s wrist, pinning it easily. Naruto flicked the kunai forward and held his breath. The moment it touched Orochimaru’s chest, the brittle metal fell apart and the poison smoke exploded out. It distracted Orochimaru enough for Naruto to step aside. He ran to his teammates.
Naruto had just enough time to jump out of the way, the sword appearing right where he had been.
“You’re far too slow, Vulpeculis.”
Naruto was mid-air when a literal snake caught him and wrapped him up. It slithered around his body and bound his arms to his torso and his feet together. And there was so much of the snake’s mass left that it easily kept Naruto balanced.
“I don’t have time for this.” Orochimaru snarled. “Squeeze.”
The snake constricted and Naruto gasped out in pain. And then the henge failed, all of the expelled poison finding its way back into his body together with the contiminents in the air that they had picked up since being expelled. His eyesight blurred.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
“I’m trying, Kuruma.”
Orochimaru stilled. “You’re talking to the demon?”
Had he said that out loud?
“Try harder!”
“Well, this could be a problem.” The snake ninja approached Naruto, stretching out his fingers. He slipped them under Naruto’s shirt and pulsated chakra. “It can’t be said I never do anything for Konoha.”
Naruto was not sure what happened, except that it felt like his chakra had gone dark. Like something important had gone missing.
“Get away from him!” Sakura came from the side, throwing kunai from Orochimaru’s blind spot. There were at least twenty of her. Some of that was the bunshin technique, and some of it was Naruto’s unfocussed vision.
“Ah, the genesis.” Orochimaru grinned. “I’m impressed how quickly you neutralised the poison. Though not even you could have gotten rid of it completely.”
Sakura’s shaking proved the point. Yet she stood and held more kunai ready in her grasp. “Stop the snake. Now.”
Orochimaru lazily signalled and the constricting stopped. Naruto wanted to breathe again normally, but he was still feeling the effect of the paralytic. He was trembling now that his muscles were free from the tight clutching.
“Leave us alone.” Sakura said.
“You can’t actually throw that kunai.” The snake ninja said. “Because then I’ll know which of you is real. So what is your plan here?”
“To go down screaming and fighting. To make you work for it.”
Orochimaru tilted his head. “Just another way affection for your useless teammate has made you weak. Is this what Konoha teaches its ninja now? Valuing the team over your own power?”
“Naruto’s my friend.”
“What need do you have for friends? You are the beginning of a whole new clan. You are a bit of magic that has seeped into this world and it is your duty to cultivate your gift so that it can be passed on.”
“My duty is to not be trash.”
“Well, such a shame you called for my attention before you got rid of all the poison. It made your bunshin sloppy. You left too many tells.”
The snake ninja seemed to disappear and then he was besides Sakura, hand wrapped around her neck and lifting her from the ground. All the bunshin disappeared and only one Sakura remained. She struggled, clawing at Orochimaru’s hand. And then the snake ninja took out the scroll again.
Naruto tried to escape, but his body would not work. His chakra would not mould properly, even more wild than usual, and he could only watch as Sakura was held up. He was passively gathering chakra for another Henge, like he would for a bunshin. It was far too slow. At this rate… it would take minutes.
“Can you calm down already?” He asked the fox, but Kuruma stayed eerily quiet.
Sakura caught a glimpse of the scroll and struggled even more. “Th-that’s…”
“You know some sealing, do you not? This is quite an interesting design. I’d love to get your thoughts on it sometime.”
“I-it’s a curse…”
“Ah, but all curses are blessings for the imaginative. When you are ready to leave this sentimentality behind you, I will be waiting to show you true power.”
The scroll unfurled completely, the ink coalescing into a shape, which then slithered over Orochimaru’s body, past his arm, to settle around Sakura’s neck. She screamed in pain, before her eyes rolled back and all the struggling stopped.
“Sakura…” Naruto groaned. He hoped to god that Sasuke would be able to do something.
But Sasuke was still unable to move from the poison. There was nothing Sasuke could do as Orochimaru kneeled next to him and unfurled the second scroll.
“You really should be thanking me.” The snake ninja said. “I’m going to provide you with a boon for your quest of vengeance. A taste of what I have to offer the talented that come into my service.”
Sasuke groaned, his jaws locked up and unable to respond.
Until the ink slithered onto his body and the cries were heart-breaking.
Naruto fought against the snake’s bindings. “What did you do to them?”
“Humans are such weak little creatures. The spirits give their blessings and humans so easily settle on the little they’ve been given.”
Naruto’s face paled further. “It is not the place of humans to mess with spirit blessings.”
Orochimaru chuckled. “I haven’t been human in a long time. Which lets me see things others can’t. With a little push, the spirit’s gift can be expanded. That is, if it doesn’t kill the recipient.”
“You bastard!”
“Now, what to do with you? I suppose I should kill you for your insolence. For a talentless brat like you, tainted by your prisoner beyond salvation, I’d just be putting you out of your misery. But I’m afraid your demon would crush the seeds I’ve sown before they can bear fruit.” He reached out to the snake wrapped around Naruto’s body and it withdrew completely.
Naruto collapsed to the ground, trying to crawl to his teammates. “Kuruma would kick your ass.”
“It’d be a small nuisance. But then again, it’s not in the nature of demons to attack those you want attacked. The Nine-Tailed fox would head straight to Konoha to flatten the village. I’d call it an improvement, but I do have plans with the place. Tell Sarutobi I’ll be coming to claim what he’s denied me for too long.”
There was a fluttering of leaves and then the man was gone.
It was silent under the trees, only the sounds of Sakura’s and Sasuke’s soft whimpering audible. It felt like an eternity before Naruto could shape enough chakra for a Henge. Naruto put all his effort into it, pushing as much of the poison out as he could and squeezing it into a container. It took far too long with the state his body was in. With the small amount of healthy tissue remaining, it was easier to become someone smaller.
He was Konohamaru as he scrambled for his teammates, An orb of liquid poison encased in metal around his belt. Naruto would fair badly once the Henge lifted, but at least this way he hoped to minimise the risk. Sakura and Sasuke were both shivering. “Wake up.” He tried, tears at the corners of his eyes. He felt too much like a child in this shape. “Help me.”
Neither of them would be able to.
Asuma.
The jounin was breathing, but just barely. Sakura had managed to close the wound, but too much blood had been lost. Too much internal damage still remaining that the man would have to heal by himself. Asuma was going to have to fight for his life and there was almost nothing Konohamaru could do.
Konohamaru needed to do something. But he needed company too. He knew it was selfish, but he was still afraid and he did not know if he could pull himself together without someone to talk to. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He tried to fall back and get Kuruma. He tried to get a voice to listen to, even if it would just be criticism.
Except there was nothing to sink into. Like the well had been boarded up. There was no way to go into himself. He felt Orochimaru’s seal now, curling around his belly and damming the chakra points. Orochimaru had done this to him to keep Naruto from talking to the fox.
He was truly and utterly alone.
~*~
Konohamaru checked Asuma’s bandages, holding up a flashlight to see. There had been a big risk of reopening the wound when moving him and he hoped the bandages had been enough to keep his chest steady. There did not appear to be any blood stains, which should be a good sign. Sasuke and Sakura were behind Asuma, burning up with fevers.
Konohamaru had gotten chilled cloths for their foreheads. There was little else he could do for them with his limited resources. Especially since his time was running out.
He had foraged for supplies. He had found a winter cherry plant and had crushed up the root. He added just enough water to make it edible and fed it to his teammates and then himself, before laying down besides them.
He also had chamomile oil. He had been gathering it with the hope of creating a trap with sleeping gas. The recipe could not be easier, simply adding the oil to a smoke bomb. But there had been far too little of it. He needed at least ten dosages for it to knock out a small dog. He had only managed to find three. It was not enough for use. But he could take one dose himself. It might not work on normal people, but thanks to the Kyuubi, Naruto was not normal.
He should be safe under the tree, hidden behind painted sheets and surrounded with ninja traps. He had moved most of the camping equipment there, so they could rest comfortably. It was all he could do.
He became Naruto again and the backlash knocked his breathe away. The poison moved from its separate container right back into his body with a vengeance. All the pain he should have been feeling came at once. Naruto cried out, before his muscles cramped up and coughing overtook him.
When the worst wave was over, he lay shivering on the ground. He had been able to keep himself from being sick and wasting the medicine. It should kick in and help soon.
Exhausted, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep through some of the agony.
~*~
Naruto dreamt of snakes and foxes playing dangerous games. He dreamt of drowning in sewers in his teammates’ blood. He dreamt of failing the Chunin exam and the penalty being death. He dreamt of a majestic fox turning into a demon.
And then he woke up.
His movements were sluggish, his muscles unwilling to listen. He went for his backpack and downed his canteen of water. He shoved rations into his mouth and calmed his stomach. He had a headache that felt like it could split him apart.
Sunlight was beginning to trickle inside his shelter, signalling the start of a new day. But none of his companions seemed ready for travel. Asuma was still unconscious and Naruto was worried about how long it had been. If Asuma had lost so much blood that he still could not wake up the morning after, that implied harrowing things. Sakura would know exactly what, but she was just as far gone.
Naruto stretched. He wanted to put on his headphones and run. To disappear from everything and focus on nothing but setting one foot in front of the other in rhythm with the music. To feel lousy from exhaustion instead of poison. Something told him that if he did end up running, it would not be by choice.
At least his chakra seemed to be working better again. His body had compensated for the enormous block around his belly, though it was clearly unhappy to do so. Reaching for the energy inside of him was harder than ever.
He was checking Sasuke’s vitals when he heard a sound just outside. One of the traps ringing softly. That could be the wind. Or it could be something completely different. Something a lot more dangerous.
He heaved himself up and went to the entrance. He peeked out and saw them. Two ninja from the Hidden village of sound. A girl with long hair and a green top, and a boy with a long yellow shirt. They both wore grey camouflaged pants and wore scarfs with the same fabric. They were also searching for something.
“Why don’t you just come out and save us the trouble?” The boy shouted.
“Zaku! Hush.”
“What’s the big deal? We triggered traps. They’re clearly hiding here and they already know we’re coming for them. Might as well speed this along.”
“What kind of a shitty ninja are you?”
“A pragmatic one, you hag. Orochimaru told us to be quick.”
Naruto saw an opportunity and took it. His chakra still did not like being manipulated, but the adrenaline helped to push through the discomfort. “Yet you failed at so simple an instruction.” He sneered as he stepped out.
It felt disgusting to wear the snake ninja’s skin. It was horrifying to have to think like the enemy that had attacked them just hours before. That smug conviction of superiority, always disappointed in the imperfections around him.
“What are you doing here, Lord Orochimaru?”
“You took so long that I took matters into my own hands. Like everything I have to do.”
“It was difficult to shake off our jounin instructor.” Zaku said. “We only managed now because Dosu is keeping the Konoha scum busy.”
“That’s no excuse. Not that it matters in the end. The children are dead.”
“All of them?”
“The Jinchuuriki is unconscious, obviously. Or did you see a giant demon fox thrashing the forest?”
“No… no, sir.” Zaku lowered his head.
“Be gone with you. I’ll worry about your punishment later.”
“What are we to say to Kakashi?” The girl asked.
“What do I care? Just leave, you disappointments.”
Suddenly a senbon trailed by Orochimaru’s head, string attached and held by the girl. There were bells attached and their ringing was having a paralytic effect on him. He was not able to move. Fuck.
She was eyeing him. “We were put under Gai’s escort, not Kakashi’s. What is my name?”
“You insolent brat. I should disembowel you for this.”
“What’s my name?”
“You dare speak to me in this fashion?”
Zaku put his hand on her arm. “Are you sure this is wise?”
“I trapped him with my genjutsu, idiot. Whoever that is, it’s not Lord Orochimaru.”
“It’s not? Then who…” His face changed at the sudden realisation. “The henge specialist.”
“God you’re slow.” She sighed.
“That’s not fair, Kin. You just caught me off guard.”
Naruto flushed his system with chakra, expelling the henge but also freeing him from the bells’ genjutsu. He got within a feet of Zaku, before the boy turned a hand towards him and shot out a bullet of air. Naruto was thrown back, skidding over the ground.
“We’re not here for you.” Kin said. “Just walk away and no harm will come to you.”
“Like hell.” Naruto stood back up, brandishing his kunai. His knees felt weak and there was little he could do. But he would not run.
He took a deep breath. Kin liked to pretend she was not affected, but she had hesitated attacking Naruto while he wore their leader’s face. It could only help to change back into Orochimaru. The bunshin would be useful, but there was no way he had the time to charge up the chakra for them. So he had to somehow defeat them in a weakened body, with only the replacement technique left.
Naruto could work with that.
He was Orochimaru again as he ran towards her. He visibly made the signs for the replacement technique. It broke the illusion of an elite missing nin charging her, since Orochimaru would never have to make the hand-signs. But he had to lay some groundwork.
She lazily threw some shuriken his way, before the image was replaced with a log. Orochimaru wasted no time continuing the attack from above, making the seals again. She threw shuriken again, already looking around for where Orochimaru would appear next. Her reflexes had taken over and she had failed to consider a feint.
Though bloodied by the wounds of shuriken, Orochimaru descended upon her and plunged a kunai down towards her neck. She moved just in time to make it end up in her shoulder instead. Zaku tried to push him off violently, but touched only log. Despite what Orochimaru had made them think, he was actually perfectly able to pull off a replacement technique without using hand signs. He was in the trees, away from them. He replaced the henge for camouflage, trying to disappear into the bark. The shuriken cuts were agitated, but he had survived worse.
“Fuck you!” Zaku was shooting air haphazardly around him into the trees, trying to luck out and catch Naruto’s hiding place.
“Stop it, idiot.”
“He cut you, Kin.”
“I know.” She snarled, one hand on her shoulder to limit the bleeding. “And we can spend a lot of time and effort finding him and making him pay. Or we search for the stationary and helpless prodigies and force him to come out to protect them. And then make him pay without wasting any time.”
“Oh.”
Naruto panicked and snuck his head out of his hiding place to look at them. They were searching and it would be mere moment before they noticed the entrance to the tree cover. He had used up his replacements and he had no idea what his chances were fighting them straight on except that they had to be low. The girl was injured at least, but so was he. And there were two of them against only Naruto.
And then their eyes fixated on the correct tree and Naruto ran out of time. He jumped towards Zaku, kunai outstretched. He was as quiet as he could be, but the enemy was still a ninja. Zaku turned around and blasted Naruto with air. No seals needed or anything, just straight out of tiny openings from the palms of his hands. How?
Naruto crashed into a tree and he felt his body protesting as he got back up. Zaku turned another gust of air on him and Naruto started running.
He threw kunai continuously, alternating between both his enemies while trying to stay ahead of the assault. He had to jump and walk up trees repeatedly to evade. He still did not have a plan, other than to keep them distracted. Normally Naruto had the advantage in endurance. Maybe that could be true once more.
Only a few minutes later, his muscles seized up. Naruto could not understand why. They were used to harder work-outs than this. And then he noticed the trail of ninja wire running past his ears. The bells were ringing again and they had taken possession of his body.
“Try not to let him dispel this time, hag.” Zaku said, loading the holes in his palms with blades.
“Took me by surprise before. Won’t happen again.” She said, a wicked grin on her face.
Naruto pushed the chakra through his system but nothing came of it. The genjutsu was too strongly assaulting his system, refusing to budge. There was nothing he could do as Zaku aimed his hands and shot straight at Naruto.
He closed his eyes and prepared. But then Zaku… missed? Naruto just heard clanging of metal against metal and when he opened his eyes again, there was a giant fire separating him from the two Sound ninja. The wire caught fire, dropping the bells as they snapped and freeing Naruto.
Sasuke soared over the heat and went straight for Kin, wielding a kunai and engaging. There were black markings on his skin that had even turned his eyes black. They radiated corrupted chakra and it made Naruto sick, but he had to admit it was effective. Sasuke had never moved so fast or so well. Kin had to scramble to get away.
Zaku could not help her either. Sakura was making sure of that. She was right in his face, pushing him back with a quick combination of taijutsu moves. She suddenly pulled back to prepare a stronger move. Zaku was too uneven on his feet to dodge so he had no choice but to raise his arms and black. She punched him and it pushed Zaku back several feet. Sakura stared at her fist, unbelieving.
That was all the opportunity Zaku needed to point his palm at her and shoot a gust of wind. Within a blink of an eye Sakura was next to him, redirecting his arm to shoot into the fire instead. His push of wind became a ball of fire and hurled straight at Kin. It was just the distraction Sasuke needed to sweep the woman off her feet and hit her head with the back of his kunai.
“Kin!” Zaku was looking at his teammate and not at Sakura.
That cost him dearly as she clasped the back of his head with her hands. His eyes rolled back and he fell unconscious. That was the fastest genjutsu Naruto had ever seen Sakura use. And it had to be incredibly potent to push past a chunin-candidate’s defences.
“Th-that was awesome!” Naruto said. He tried to get to them, but they turned to him with their weapons raised, staring with empty black eyes. “Sasuke? Sakura?”
Neither responded, seemingly undecided whether Naruto was an enemy or not.
“You guys need to calm down. Fight whatever’s making you act this way.”
The blackness in Sasuke’s eyes lessened. “Naruto?”
And then it was like a spell was broken. Slowly the black markings retreated to a single point on their necks. Colour returned to their eyes for a moment, before the eyes closed as they fell to their knees and toppled.
Naruto ran to Sakura first. It was a form of chakra depletion. Whatever that seal was, it messed with their bodies. Sasuke was in the same condition. No doubt that something that could give them this much power would come at a high cost.
The fire was dying down with no more chakra to feed on and the forest too humid to catch the flames. There was still smoldering and a large formation of smoke. If they stayed here, they were a sitting duck for anyone that wanted to find them. Kin and Zaku’s third teammate was somewhere around here and might want to check up on them when they did not return. That would be a good thing, except there was no guarantee the Konoha jounin would be with him. Not to mention the possibility of Orochimaru coming back.
Naruto was nauseous. His chakra stung from the earlier attempts to break out of genjutsu and his head was still spinning from his replacement techniques. His muscles were sore, he was cold and all he wanted was to get into his bed and rest.
Naruto was in no condition to travel.
But his team was in no position to stay.
He gathered up all their supplies and held onto them. He needed all the mass he could get. “Come on. Concentrate.”
Animals were tricky. They had different builds than humans and that meant there were a lot of finicky bits to keep track of. He took a lot of shortcuts by combining human anatomy with an animal’s. And larger animals were stranger still, because not all his cheats would work. A larger ear canal meant he could pick up more sounds, but also meant his physiology needed to change to compensate for that.
He made the hand seals and then he was a large fox, the height of two grown ninja stacked on top of each other. On his back was a saddle that could keep their unconscious jounin instructor and the two unconscious teenagers secure as he travelled. He even had two travel bags secured to the side to hold the equipment that was dangerous to transform into the henge.
He took a few careful steps, checking the strength of the construct. There were imperfections, like there always were, that strained under the weight. He compensated and then he dashed off.
He was faster on four legs, even with the added weight on his back. He could jump higher and avoid obstacles more nimbly. His eyesight was a little blurry from the distortion of his larger eyes, but he could see well enough to navigate. When he used chakra to climb the trees and get some height, he could see the tower in the distance and he knew exactly where he needed to go.
The forest did not seem so dangerous when he was speeding along just loud enough to scare away the spirit-touched animals that dwelled there. When the poisonous plants could be ignored and there was no need to find secure resting spots. What would have taken them all day, Naruto travelled in just over an hour.
And when he reached the tower, there were several ninja waiting for him, kunai wielded and ready to fight. “Identify yourself!”
Naruto released the Henge, panting as his human and material luggage dropped around him. “Uzumaki Naruto. We were attacked and we are in desperate need of medical attention.”
The two guards looked at each other, seemingly hesitating whether they could relax. “What kind of infected animal could have done this to you?”
“A snake.” Naruto said. “Orochimaru.”
The guards did not relax.
~*~
Naruto ate his soup. It helped. Just like the administration of medicine, the shower and change of clothes had. A medical ninja had fussed over him and made sure nothing was broken. They had tried to be nice and fix a small cut on Naruto’s arm, only to frown in confusion as it refused to close.
Not all medics were as experienced overcoming his tolerance to medical jutsu as Sakura was.
She was still unconscious, as was Sasuke. They were in beds next to his, cleaned and provided for. There were IV lines feeding into their veins and devices to monitor their vitals.
Asuma had been taken to another room altogether and they had neglected to update Naruto on his condition other than weak assurances at the beginning that they would do their best.
Their supervisor of the second round of the Chuunin Exams walked into the room. Anko stopped by Naruto’s bed but was looking at his teammates as she started talking. “They say you met him.”
Naruto did not need to guess who she meant. “Orochimaru attacked us.”
“What did he want?”
“He seemed to enjoy hurting us. He said something about showing Sasuke and Sakura a different path. He left a mark on them.”
Anko nodded. “His forbidden seal. Your teammates were strong to survive it.”
“They woke up in the forest once… to protect me. And they were stronger than they had ever been. Was that Orochimaru’s doing?”
Anko grimaced. “The seal functions like a dose of caffeine, giving a moment of increased clarity at the cost of your future energy levels. More power, more intelligence, more chakra. Even more talent.”
Naruto blinked. “How does that even work?”
“All the training you’ve ever done in your life, suddenly given another boost of awareness and contemplation. While the seal is active, you understand your own abilities to a greater extent than ever before.”
Naruto thought back to Sakura’s form. The way she had fought, it was like she had spent another year training her fighting skills.
“It’s an abomination. It’s like a baby finding mother’s milk insufficient and sucking the blood out of her tits. It’s demanding strength from the spirits that’s not ours to take.”
“So Orochimaru gave them a seal that could kill them or make them stronger? What does he get out of it?”
“Addiction. Use the seal enough, and you’ll need it to fight at normal strength. It’ll even degrade your talent.”
Naruto’s eyes went wide. One did not mess with someone’s talent.
“Orochimaru has given them a curse and only he has the cure. They will want to use this power. There will be desperate times when they feel no other choice. Until there’s no battle they can win without it. And then they will turn to Orochimaru for the next fix.”
“Can’t we block them from using it somehow?”
“I’m afraid that’s not an option either. The natural chakra it gathers will accumulate and overflow. Either forcing them to use the seal or petrifying them.”
“Right… because natural chakra can turn you to stone.” Naruto sighed. “I want to kill that fucking snake so badly.”
Anko grinned. “At least that we can agree on.” Her expression fell. “Are you going to stick by them?”
“Of course.”
“Even if they are changed? Even if they are tempted by Orochimaru?”
“They won’t be. I know them better than Orochimaru does. Sakura cares too much about the village and her parents. Sasuke has his responsibilities as clan heir that come before all else.”
“Perhaps. But you do not know the temptation.”
He turned to her with an accusing glare. “And you do?”
She faced him, tugging down her shirt to show the seal on her collar bone. “Yeah. I do.”
“Oh.” Naruto clasped at the sheets beneath his hands, diverting his gaze.
“Naruto!” Hanabi rushed over to him. “Are you all right, what happened?”
“We’re fine. There was an enemy attack, but we’re recovering.”
“What?”
“I’ll leave you two to catch up.” Anko said. “But just so you know, Asuma has woken up and will fully recover. He’s also given your team a pass for the second round, for what it’s worth.”
He was not supposed to care about that. He could have died and his teammates had been marked by one of Konoha’s worst missing ninja. But it somehow still brought him some satisfaction that at least it had been completely for nothing.
“The Third and final round will commence in 3 hours. At that point you can either participate or wait until the next exams.”
“Can’t you postpone it?” Hanabi asked. “They’re in no shape to prove themselves.”
“Postpone?” She made a face. “For the exams dozens of jounin and chunin ninja had to be relieved from mission duty and gathered in the same location. It can’t be postponed or rescheduled.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Perhaps not to Team 7, but it wouldn’t be fair for Konoha to rearrange everything around the needs of one team. Or one ninja. Weren’t you the administrative ninja that entered the exam on a technicality?”
Hanabi flushed.
“Thought so.”
Anko left and Naruto took a deep breath. He was still exhausted and not all the poison was out of his system yet. That would hardly change in just three hours’ time. He would be taking the exam with a handicap, but what else was new?
From the beds besides him, Sakura stirred. Hanabi was at her side immediately, while Naruto had a bit more trouble moving.
Sakura groaned in pain, but she was not awake yet.
“I’ll go get Kabuto.” Hanabi said. “He’ll want to help.”
Naruto nodded. They could use all the help they could get. They needed to be in shape as soon as possible. All three of them were going to be chunin. They had earned it. And Naruto would be damned if he let some snake bastard take that from them.
Notes:
Next month: "I'll be your animal". Where we have the third and final round of the Chuunin exams (instead of the extra elimination round). Are we excited to meet underpowered Gaara? =D
I've mentioned before I dislike the lethality of the Chuunin exams. So here the team is paired with a jounin safeguard who can step in if they're ever in real danger. Notice that a team of 3 almost-chuunin are expected to be able to survive the forest, while they're not allowed to enter alone until they have rokubetsu jounin rank. I like the jounin pairing better because it's safer, it's an extra chance for them to observe the candidates, and it allows a survival challenge to expand into different areas of expertise easily.
Orochimaru is gender fluid. In canon they have a girl disguise just for the chuunin exam, but any excuse to make a character more queer, I'm going to take. Orochimaru has an altered background, but the main beats should be familiar. He has no respect for ethics and of course in a world with talent and spirits, he's going to find a way to do monstrous things with them.
Two things that needed a lot of fixing before I felt like I could post, was the conversation with Kuruma and the conversation with Asuma. Asuma was less comfortable doing politics in the earlier draft, while Kuruma was too friendly too quickly. I'm hoping both came across better now. Asuma is perhaps genuine, but he's genuine in a way politicians can be. In that they sure wish for some great good outcome, but they're also willing to throw that cause under the bus if 'more important' goals can be reached. What Naruto's really failig to see here is the opportunity to convince Asuma into following through.
Kuruma is mostly surprised Naruto is still tollerating him, and actually working towards making Kuruma's life easier with providing a view and deliberately letting him show the world around them. I want to say protective nature spirit Kuruma is inspired by Princess Mononoke, but it's too long since I've seen that movie.
Chapter 12: 2.4 I'll be your animal (Bad Guy)
Summary:
Orochimaru was so scary. If I never have to see the Forest of Death again, it'll still be too soon. I'm so happy we escaped to safety. Now just to nail the last part of the exam and graduate. Wish me luck!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Naruto did not understand how Sakura could spend so long looking at a seal. Especially since she had already concluded that it was extremely simple. “Shouldn’t you go back to the forbidden seal that’s on your shoulder?”
“That’s so far out of my league it isn’t even funny.” Sakura said. “And I can’t look at it without getting so angry that it starts activating.”
“He called it a gift.” Sasuke said. “Something to make us stronger.”
“Orochimaru has cursed us.” Sakura said. “Twisted the connection to our guardian spirits.”
“We don’t have to use it. Not unless the situation is truly desperate.”
“Except we do.” Sakura sighed. “Even with the extra binding the medics can put on it, we’ll have to use it once every few months. It’ll destroy us.”
“I know.” Sasuke shook his head. “How can he think we’d ever go to him after this?”
“We’ll find a way to undo it. My parents will help.”
“Anko said nobody’s ever been able to undo Orochimaru’s seal.”
“That just means we’ll have an opportunity to be the first.” Sakura insisted.
Sasuke shook his head. “Have you ever even studied seals before?”
“Just to help around the shop, but the basic principles are easy enough to understand.”
“This seal does not look that simple.” Sasuke said.
“No, it’s not.” Sakura looked back to Naruto’s belly. “But we got to start somewhere. And this, this I can do.”
“So what have you figured out?” Naruto asked. “And when can I put my shirt back on?” They were in a small resting room with three beds and it was not as cold as outside. But the structure in the middle of the Forest of Death also was not something that was kept heated.
“So, the Kyuubi’s seal is very tight and I’m not touching that with a ten-foot pole. But it’s clear that Orochimaru just added what amounts to a very basic stopper. Your normal seal has all kinds of entrances to interact with your chakra system and he’s added a seal to plug them.”
“Can you pull it out?”
“It’s not a specific stopper. Mostly it’s just a generic five element seal that automatically fills in the holes. But there’s something strange about it. Sasuke, you want to look at this?”
“No thank you.”
Sasuke had been lying in his bed staring at the ceiling ever since Sakura had started her examination. Naruto knew he could be broody, but it was a bit much to sulk just because Sakura switched her attention to Naruto.
“Come on. I think there’s some Uchiha handywork in here.”
“We have very limited seal expertise in our clan.”
“That’s why it’s drawing my attention.”
Sasuke sighed, before coming over. He had to have stood up too fast, his head slightly pink as he looked over the inky scribbles on Naruto’s skin. “That does look strangely like the Uchiha signature.”
“Orochimaru must have studied it.” She grabbed Naruto’s waistband and tugged Naruto’s pants an inch lower to point out the bottom of the seal.
Naruto would be embarrassed, but she was the team’s medic and he trusted her.
“I don’t think it’s some kind of trap. It looks too simple for that. What do you think?” Sakura asked. “It looks to
Sasuke looked away, seemingly losing his interest. “It’s an elemental addition. You need fire chakra to remove the seal.”
“Ah, guess that means I can’t do it.”
“Could you, Sasuke?” Naruto asked.
“Not without a few weeks of study on seal theory. I have only the most rudimentary knowledge. It’s not useful for ninja missions.”
“And I’m not going to acquire the ability to use fire chakra anytime soon.” Sakura said. “You’ll have to ask Kakashi to hook you up.”
“I still don’t understand why the medics won’t fix it.” Sasuke said.
“And mess with the Jinchuriki’s seal?” Naruto laughed bitterly. “Even if they could, as far as they’re concerned it’s better that it’s locked up tight.” He dressed himself again, getting ready for the upcoming exam.
He rubbed over his belly, wondering what Kuruma was thinking. He wanted to visit and he truly hated Orochimaru for taking this away from him. If Kuruma blamed Naruto for this, then it would set back months of progress. Naruto would never forgive Orochimaru if this had messed with his only chance of convincing the fox to leave the other villagers safe if anything were to happen.
“It’s time.” One of the assistants called for them to follow.
There was a large room with a balcony surrounding them. At the head of the room was a sculpture of two large hands in the position of the Ram hand seal. And the Hokage stood in front of it, waiting for everyone to enter.
“Congratulations on making it through the Forest of Death.” The Sandaime said. “Each year we give our genin a chance to prove themselves and advance to the rank of chuunin. This is the time where we see how far your talent and training has taken you.”
Ibiki stepped up next to him. “The first round was to test your mind. Both your ability to reason and learn, and your ability to stand out through stress. A ninja with a weak mind has no place in Konoha’s higher ranks.”
“The second round was to test your body.” Anko said. “Your physical stamina and your awareness of your surroundings. No ninja can be a chuunin with a weak physique.”
“Which brings us to the third round.” The Hokage said. “For it is when mind and body are in balance that a ninja can perform jutsu and succeed in combat.
“Everyone line up.” Another high-ranking ninja called out. Naruto recognised him as Hayate, a tokubetsu jounin famous for his swordsmanship. “Show me the tiger stance!”
Naruto’s body seemed to move on its own. He had drilled himself on the stances so often that it was more reflex than decision to stand how he was supposed to.
Small projectiles flew through the air faster than Naruto could react to. They had gone past him and landed behind him on Kabuto, leaving a small paint stain on his uniform.
“Everyone covered in paint is out. You were either too slow or plain wrong. Please gather in the other room. Now, praying mantis.”
How had Kabuto gotten such a basic form wrong? Naruto assumed the new fighting stance, though he could feel the ache in his muscles. Two days of travel, including a sprint with three ninja on his back, had taken its toll. And suddenly he understood how the medical ninja had failed on such an easy test. If Naruto was having trouble with his stamina, it had to be impossible for the malnourished Kabuto.
They went through all the basic forms and taijutsu moves. They were then told to transform into the proctor with a Henge and to create Bunshin. Naruto anticipated the request and had built up enough chakra to perform it quickly enough. His charging time of two seconds ought to have been enough for a passing grade, but being prepared to do it instantly had the advantage of not risking his graduation on an ought.
When Hayate called an end to the exercise, more than half the participants had been eliminated. Naruto was happy to see Hanabi still standing spotless a few rows behind him. Sasuke and Sakura had performed flawlessly, obviously.
In fact, where most of the names had been unfamiliar when they had called out the results of the first round, now the fellow candidates were mostly familiar. His year’s top ten had all made it, together with Lee’s team. Besides the Konoha ninja, there was only one foreign team, three ninja from Suna.
Naruto had heard about them. The Three Sand Siblings, children of the kage of the Village Hidden in the Sand. The Third Hokage had spent a lot of time and effort accommodating them. Suna was an ally, mostly, and that meant they had to be given the respect that an ally deserved while putting in enough safety measures that the mostly friendly ninja would not be able to take advantage.
It had been the first time Naruto learned their names and he had taken the time to memorise them. Now he could finally attach faces to the names. The eldest was a blonde woman named Temari with a giant fan on her back. The middle was a man named Kankuro wearing purple paint and a costume covering most of his body. The black colour and animal shape signalled his specialisation as a puppeteer. Last was a red-headed boy named Gaara, with a giant gourd on his back and metal claws on his hands.
No ninja from other villages had made it. Though that was probably the effect of making survival training in a forest a part of this year’s criteria. A Konoha specialty.
“You have earned your way to an individual evaluation. Follow the proctor that calls your name.”
“Haruno Sakura.” Kuranai called out.
Sakura gave Naruto a friendly wave before she went with the woman.
“Hey, I heard you were attacked.” Lee approached him from behind. “Are you all right?”
“A little bruised.” Naruto said. He was not supposed to mention the Orochimaru incident in depth to anyone outside of Team 7. “Why are you asking?”
“Tenten showed me your remarks on our training schedule. I was impressed and wanted to thank you.”
“Are you still planning on quitting the field after this?”
“I have to admit this exam was more rewarding than I thought it would be. I had not expected the three of us to all make it to the final round like this.”
“You can always try out being a chunin first; see you how you like it.”
Lee shook his head. “We finalised the paperwork for our shop the morning before we went into the forest. We found the perfect place. A storefront where we can sell weapons and a dojo where we can demonstrate them. I even have my first students lined up.”
“And I suppose you’re still trying to convince me to give up like you’re doing.”
“I’m sorry for what I said before.” Lee sighed. “This hasn’t been an easy decision for me. I don’t want to feel like I’m giving up. But there’s nothing left of me to give. And I’m ready to stop feeling tired all the time. Ready to be happy. But I shouldn’t have tried to put you down. I’m hoping it won’t be the same for you.”
“Thanks, I guess.”
“Just remember that there’s no shame in taking things slower. When finishing the marathon is by itself a huge achievement, you shouldn’t feel like staying on the Golden Path is a requirement.”
Lee’s name was called.
“I’ll look up your shop after the exams.” Naruto said. “I’ll need to update my equipment when I’m chuunin.”
“I’d like that. Look for the shop by the river with the bright red chimney. You can’t miss it.” Lee said. “See you around.”
And then soon it was just Naruto left.
“Uzumaki Naruto.”
The man seemed laid back, a senbon between his lips. It had to be Genma, one of the Hokage’s bodyguards. Naruto had tried to approach him a few times when he wanted to bribe his way into the old man’s company, but Genma tended to shoot before Naruto got a chance to get close enough.
They went up several flights of stairs before they got to an empty room.
“In order to pass your individual examination, you would normally have to keep up in a fight with me for five minutes.” Genma said.
“Normally?”
“We are in a bit of a dilemma, I’m afraid. You encountered Orochimaru during the second round and survived. However, your proctor was unconscious for a long time and no matter the reason, the fact of the matter is that your second round was cut short.”
Naruto fidgeted. “What does that mean for me?”
“Under any regular circumstance, the second round would have been invalidated and participation in the third round would have been determined on the first round alone. Sasuke and Sasuke had perfect scores and would have been permitted.”
“While I scored lowest.”
“Yes. As a courtesy, we have let you come this far to see what the third round is like. That is not something all ninja get and you should be thankful for it. However, this is where it ends. It is close to impossible for you to pass the final round.”
Naruto swallowed. “What would I have to do, exactly?”
“The only way I see you passing the exam is by fulfilling all the optional chuunin criteria.” Genma said. “I’m sorry.”
Naruto’s heartbeat started to pick up. No. He was supposed to still have time. It was not fair they were asking this of him.
“How far along are you with your specialisation?” Genma asked.
“My Henge is at the fifth level.”
“That qualifies. How about your ability to conceal your lies?”
Naruto considered lying, but the whole problem was that he was unable to. The truth would have to do. “Not quite spotless.”
“There’s another option. Have you mastered your elemental affinity?”
“D-do you need to see a full mastery?” Naruto swallowed, trembling before the proctor. “Isn’t it enough to be able to create some degree of elemental chakra?”
“Show me.”
Naruto nodded. He took a few deep breaths, reached out his hand, and called upon his chakra. It pulsed through the room. It was one of his best pulses so far. He could actually see Genma’s hair moving from the release of wind.
“This is not good enough. The marks call for finished training. Is there anything more you can do?”
Naruto was screwed. His money had bought him the first lessons, but he was far from ready to demonstrate the skill. There was nothing he could show the man.
“Then I see little reason to continue.”
Naruto refused to let it end here. “I can’t just give up. At least let me fight you.”
“I’m not allowed to let you try if there’s no way for you to pass.”
Naruto quenched his fist. This would mean falling behind on Sasuke and Sakura. This would mean dragging them down when he was supposed to be proving he could catch up to them.
Failing was not an option.
“Just try to stop me.” Naruto rushed in, kunai in his hand.
Without barely a movement Genma shot his senbon forward. There was no wasted time, no more efficient way to throw it. Just it resting between his lips one moment and then coming towards Naruto the next.
But Naruto had been against an opponent before that used Senbon and he was not afraid. He became Zabuza, his kunai transformed into the giant sword. And he rushed forward without fear. Because he was back on the bridge in the land of Waves and Sasuke and Sakura were in danger. He was their only hope and he refused to let them down.
He grasped his sword tightly. It might only survive one hit. Therefore, he would better make that hit count.
“Fine. I’ll be serious then.”
Senbon rained around him, too fast to dodge. They cut his clothes and left scratches on his skin. But he was the demon from Mist and he refused to let mere needles bother him. The sword flung down, unrelenting. Genma managed to step out of reach just in time, but he was not expecting the follow-up swing.
Genma blocked with two Senbon that he held in a cross. He did not have the footing or handling to stop the sword, which hurled him across the room. Any chuunin hit like that would have been toast.
Genma righted himself in the air and landed gracefully, facing Naruto as he skidded backwards. “You have some strength, I’ll admit that.”
Zabuza did not speak. He just raised his sword up again, holding it out. It was a construction of kunai jammed together in a Henge and not nearly as sturdy as the real deal. Genma did not have to know that.
Genma whistled a low tune and it seeped into Zabuza’s muscles. It was paralytic genjutsu, like Kin had used. And he wasted no time following up the attack with an assault of senbon.
With a pulse of chakra, Naruto released the genjutsu first. He swung the massive sword and released the henge of it at the apex, letting the kunai be thrown with momentum into the hail of senbon. The heavier blades did well to parry and counterattack. Genma even had to jump back further to keep himself unharmed.
“And you think quickly on your feet. But you won’t see the next attack coming.”
Zabuza looked all around him. He needed to drop the rest of his Henge but Genma would use that moment to strike. He could not drop his guard for even a second.
And Genma was right. Naruto did not see it coming.
There was a huge explosion that blew Naruto back, throwing him against one of the walls.
The smoke was so thick he could not see anything. There were tremors all over his body as his henge tried to survive. Naruto had not seen that explosive tag coming and cursed Genma for concealing it so well.
Except, now that the ringing in Naruto’s ears was diminishing he could hear the sounds of fighting. Had someone else attacked Genma?
No. Genma had been caught in the explosion too. He was across the room, his arm twisted in an unnatural way and blood running over his forehead. “Wh-what was that?”
So it was not Genma’s explosion after all. In fact, Genma had been much closer to the exploding wall than Naruto had.
“Stop this at once!” A new voice sounded. A proctor?
Naruto had a handle on his Henge and he carefully dropped it. He stumbled towards the source of the explosion and tried to get a better look.
The smoke was still thick, but it was slowly dissipating. No wonder it was bad. One of the corners of the room had been blown open and was now an entrance to the two adjacent rooms. The fighting came from one of the other rooms.
Was there another attack on the exams? Who could be stupid enough to attack with so many jounin present? Naruto could think of a certain snake who possessed the unique combination of stupidity and capability to dare.
Naruto stepped with brown clothes and a transformed mask in front of his face to help him breathe. He had fashioned some stray equipment into his old goggles, hoping it would keep the dust from his eyes. He would not risk trouble seeing if there was going to be an actual fight.
He relaxed slightly when he saw there was no invading missing ninja in the other room. There was no snake summon. It was just the red-headed candidate from Suna, Gaara, and his proctor Hayate.
“What’s going on?” Lee called, coming in from the third room.
“I think it’s just their battle going a bit out of control. Maybe we should…”
Hayate screamed and when they looked they could see the blood dripping on the ground.
Gaara chuckled darkly. “You told me to fight to the best of my ability.”
“And then I told you to stop, Gaara!”
“Now how good would I be if I stopped fighting just because someone told me to stop?” He stepped forward, his hand reaching forward. The metal claw on his hand shined in the light.
It just took one moment. Where Hayate looked at the door instead of Gaara, and the Suna ninja rushed forward. The metal tore through the tokubetsu jounin’s clothing and left a bloody wound over his torso. Gaara grinned with eager bloodlust, clearly intending to finish the job. Why did that expression look so familiar?
It was Lee who jumped in with a sudden burst of speed and pushed the metal claws away when they tried to swipe again, delivering a kick to push Gaara back.
“You’re interfering.” Gaara snarled.
“You need to stand down.” Lee said.
Gaara just shot forward again. He swung wildly with his claw and Lee stepped back to dodge each swipe. It seemed like Lee should get the upper hand easily, but there was something feral and unpredictable about the way Gaara moved. Each time Lee should be going in for a counter, Gaara twitched and feinted and the moment passed before Lee could press it. How the genin could move so fast with a large gourd on his back, Naruto had no idea.
“Why aren’t the other proctors helping?” Hayate asked.
“Mine was out of the room.” Lee yelled. “He’s supposed to come back. Why didn’t he hear the explosion?”
“Soundproof rooms. They won’t know it was serious. Naruto, how’s Genma?”
Naruto looked behind him. His proctor was still on the ground, his eyes glassy. “Injured by the explosion.”
Genma had been a lot closer to the wall and it showed. He had tried getting up a few times, only to stumble back to the floor. The man needed medical attention. Part of Naruto wanted to see to his care. To move away from this fight that Lee clearly had under control. Another part could not help but think this was not the limit of Gaara’s ability, considering how he had managed to wound Hayate.
And there was something even deeper. An instinct telling him something was off. Something was wrong and he could not figure out what it was.
Get help or jump in with Lee? Could he afford to leave the fight alone to get enough help so that they could ensure a decisive victory? Or would turning away cost them the life of Hayate?
The longer he watched, the more likely it seemed that he could step out. And the more the feeling in his gut rose that he should not.
And then it happened.
In the middle of a dodge, Gaara pulled the stopper from his gourd and a clear liquid shot out as Gaara turned, covering the ground between him and Lee.
“Get back” Hayate wheezed as loudly as he could, already shielding his eyes.
The explosion was massive and it threw Lee across the room. Gaara was similarly thrown, seemingly uncaring about jostling a huge container of explosive that he just kept on his body for some fucking reason. When he got up there were burns on his arms, blistering away and completely ignored.
Yeah, easy choice. Naruto needed to help.
He stayed wide, throwing kunai to push Gaara back further away from Lee and give Lee time to get up.
Then when Lee pushed in again, Naruto was beside him. They had only fought each other once, but even that small fight had given Naruto a sense of the boy’s style. Where Gaara was feral and unpredictable, Lee worked methodically and with flexibility. It was the difference between Gaara preparing no next move so he could make any attack decently and Lee preparing six different moves to make different possible ferocious attacks.
Each one of Lee’s toned muscles tensed at the ready, seemingly used to these absurd feats no human should be able to perform, used to this endless abuse Lee put them through.
There was a randomness to Gaara. But Lee took the best course of action each time. Which meant Naruto could predict him. All he had to do was provide openings for the other boy.
Lure Gaara forward so Lee could push him off balance. Make Gaara move one way so that Lee could block the Suna ninja’s feet and try to trip him up. But Gaara remained stubbornly resistant. At least he was kept too busy to try
And then Naruto saw his opportunity. Gaara swiped at Lee and was not looking at Naruto.
He moved behind him, already growing larger. He had to rack his brain for the details, but he could remember the girl that had been with him. Temari’s blond hair and the hitai-ate she kept around her neck. The giant fan she kept on her back. Hers looked heavier than Naruto could make it with the material he still had on hand. But it only had to fool Gaara for a second.
Naruto had never heard her speak and even if it would have helped, it was not needed.
She gasped and looked horrified. When Gaara looked at her, he froze.
“Temari…”
Lee tackled the boy’s back, making him fall face-first against the floor.
Gaara thrashed violently, but Lee had a good hold on him. “Let me go!”
“How is he still conscious?” Naruto let Temari’s form drop away as he stepped forward to help.
Lee wrestled the metal claw away and Naruto kicked it for some more distance. The gourd was next. Naruto cut through the cloth strapping it to Gaara’s back and then pulled the thing away. Lee tied Gaara’s arms behind his back and they finally had a chance to breathe.
Naruto checked on where Gaara’s head had hit the ground. He expected a wound or the signs of a bruise, but instead he just saw cracked skin. It was like the Suna nin was dehydrated.
And then Gaara swung his head. The cracked skin crumbled and turned to sand, which would have been fascinating except that it had been flicked into Naruto’s eyes.
Naruto heard the fight picking back up even as he rubbed at his eyes frantically. He kept trying to open them and it kept failing. He did not have time for that. He used a henge to pull the sand out of the way and then looked back at the fight.
Gaara was dripping sand with every move. It had coated his entire body. Every inch of his skin protected with a shield of earth. If it was falling away now, at least they had a chance to keep him down.
Lee gave one particularly hard shove and slipped behind Gaara as he tried to regain his balance. He took a firm hold of the tied-up arms and kept him in place.
“Get help.” Lee said. “I’ll keep him here.”
“We should knock him out.”
“Go, Naruto. I’ve got it…”
It was like the world slowed down. Gaara twisted his body and his mouth connected with Lee’s neck. And then blood sprayed in all directions as Gaara sunk in his sharp teeth and cut through a major artery.
“Lee!”
Naruto threw a kunai and it made Gaara jump back to avoid it. He went right for his metal claw.
Naruto was on top of Lee, his hands pressed on the wound and trying to apply enough pressure to keep the genin from bleeding out.
Gaara was going to reach his claw and use it to free himself. He would be coming for Naruto any second. A Tokubetsu jounin had been defeated by the boy. Lee and Naruto had failed even working together after Gaara had been disarmed. Naruto stood no chance if he was alone and had to defend two bodies. If he had to fight while keeping pressure on Lee’s wound.
He could not use the replacement technique to get away. There was nothing suitable near the door to replace himself with. He could not use clones. That only left the Henge.
He was already under one that would leave him temporarily blind if it was broken. The second layer would make it worse, but there was nothing else he could do.
Naruto had to concentrate. He only had one chance to do this right. His only advantage was that he needed something that only needed to hold together for just a few moments. It did not need to be durable, even if it had to be as large as in the forest. As large, with far less material to work with.
He made sure his paw was on Lee’s neck when he formed. He made sure his fox face was looking straight at the threat in the room, his sharp teeth on full display.
And then he roared.
He had made his lungs as big as he could while still letting them function. He had lengthened the vocal cords and tried to create the lowest note he could.
He was not afraid to admit it sounded terrifying. All those sessions listening to Kuruma had paid off.
Yet Gaara blinked back, unimpressed. As if he had seen a demon shouting at him before.
“Is that supposed to scare me?”
“Don’t you have any idea of what I am?” Naruto tried to inject Kuruma’s venom into the voice. “Do you have any idea what I could do to you?”
“It isn’t monsters that scare me.” Gaara cut through the rope and attached the claw back on his hand. And then he went over to his gourd.
Naruto howled again. He howled until his eyes were wet with tears and his voice hoarse. Rubble fell from the damaged hole in the wall where it had vibrated out of place.
Gaara never hesitated as he went for the explosive.
“What’s going on?” It was Anko, coming into the room, and Naruto could not be more grateful.
He knew she would never believe him in this form. But if he dropped the Henge, the sand in his eyes would blind him too long. One more layer. One more risk. He could not leave any doubt. And so he became Genma. “The Suna kid attacked us! That gourd holds enough explosive to blow up the whole tower!”
Anko was on it, appearing between Gaara and the gourd to keep the Suna ninja away. And the door was open now. More people would be coming.
Naruto kept on the pressure as he pulled Lee away.
“How did you all lose to this kid?”
“He’s fighting to the death.” Naruto yelled back. “Not a shred of self-preservation in him.”
“Lethal force it is then.”
There was an expression that flew over Gaara’s face that Naruto could not place. “Try it.”
Naruto’s heart started beating faster. There was still something wrong. Something too familiar about Gaara’s expression. And a feeling like he had to figure this out before it was too late.
Anko kept her distance, shooting out senbon and kunai alike with so much speed that Gaara had to keep dodging. She was pressing her advantage and rounding him into a corner.
Why had Gaara attacked his proctor like this? Why was he out to kill? Was he just insane? He sure played the part. Why did he fight like he did not care about what happened to him? Why did he carry around so much explosives? He was not immune to it. The burns proved that. It was like he did not care at all about dying.
Anko kept up her assault, switching in hand seals to summon a snake that she sent to the enemy. It looked extremely venomous. Gaara tried to get away but the needles were in the way of every escape path. The boy was going to die.
And then there was that expression again. Like he had accepted death already. Like he had resigned himself to it a long time ago.
And then Naruto knew.
“He’s a jinchuuriki!” Naruto yelled.
“What?!” Anko signalled the snake to stop.
Gaara went for the snake and Anko had to close the distance to keep Gaara from provoking a bite. She dismissed the snake, but Gaara found it easy enough to switch target to her. And as fast as she had been with her ranged attacks, she was barely keeping up with Gaara so close to him.
It gave Gaara an opportunity to lodge one of the kunai out of the wall and throw it at his gourd.
Naruto replaced himself with the Gourd, holding out his own knife to deflect the projectile. He was panting, barely holding onto the henge. The replacement technique was hard enough without having to drag a genin with him that was on the verge of bleeding out.
“Some ranged support would be appreciated around now, Genma!”
“I’m Naruto!” Naruto said, because there was little point in hiding it.
She cursed.
There had to be a solution to this. Gaara was refusing to be captured, resorting to the cheapest tricks to keep himself free. But they had to hold back. They could not kill the boy.
Anko was clearly stressed to the most of her abilities. Wasn’t she an assassin? If she could not kill Gaara, she was locked out of her best abilities. There had to be some kind of weakness. Something they could exploit. God if he did not wish he had more help. Even Kuruma complaining in his head would have been better than nothing.
Gaara got another chance and sent another kunai flying to his gourd.
Naruto replaced himself again, grinding his teeth together and keeping the Henge together with hope, fixed breathing and a healthy dose of luck. His head was spinning. He could not keep doing this.
“Any bright ideas?” Anko called out.
Gaara was trying to die. But he would not commit suicide. He wanted to die at the hand of a Konoha ninja. Was there any way to use that?
They just did not have enough information. All they really knew was that Gaara was a jinchuuriki.
Naruto’s eyes widened. He should still have some… there. He applied it quickly.
He threw the smoke bombs as close to Gaara as he could. They exploded on impact with a purple haze. Gaara was moving back from it. The smoke would be wasted.
Naruto reached out his hand and pulsed wind energy. The slight breeze was just enough to push the smoke towards Gaara, even though it also thinned and spread over the whole room.
“The room’s way too big!” Anko complained. “The concentration is too low.”
It normally would be. Naruto held his breath as he counted down the seconds. Anko cursed as she moved away from the smoke and continued her fight, but Gaara slowed.
And then he dropped.
“How the hell did that work?”
Naruto could not explain it and risk breathing in the Chamomile oil. The dose was too weak for humans. But not Jinchuuriki. It counted as a poison. And if there was one thing that Jinchuriki had to deal with, it was a weakness to poisons.
That was of course when the other back-up arrived. Dozens of ninja filing into the room and trying to find the source of the problem. They took Lee out of Naruto’s hands and rushed him to the medics.
“Drop the henge.” Anko said. “I need to verify your identity.
Naruto shook his head. “Save Lee first. I’ll need help as soon as the technique is cancelled.”
The medics were hard at work. Lee was pale and unconscious. All bad signs.
But more medics kept coming and not all of them could focus on Lee. Genma and Hayate were already being looked after. Everything seemed fine. So when the medics expectantly looked to Naruto, he had no more excuse. Not with Anko looking at him so pointedly.
He let the layers unfold slowly. He felt the form of Genma, the form of the Kyuubi, the form of a Naruto that had clear eyes without sand. And then the layers unravelled and he screamed.
It took the medics half an hour to save his eyes.
~*~
“Will you need assistance getting back to the main area?”
Naruto shook his head. “I remember how we got here.”
Genma sighed. “At least let me walk with you.”
“I can’t stop you.” Naruto did not want to be bitter, but there was no way to prove himself like this. His proctor had been ordered to avoid activities for the rest of the day as his head healed and Naruto was in no position to fight. For all his talk, there was no way to avoid failing the Chuunin exam.
And as much as he blamed Gaara, Genma was the one in charge of making that decision.
Naruto went slowly. It would have been easier if he could see, of course, but he was not a ninja for nothing. The way sounds echoed around him gave him a rough intuition of the room’s lay-out and there were chakra signals lining the hallways. He had not practiced blind fighting since the academy and his difficulty navigating reminded him how rusty he had gotten. Another thing to add to his schedule.
At least the bandages were only for a few hours.
“I did not understand how you had managed to fight Orochimaru.” Genma said. “But I understand a little better now.”
“There was nothing I could do against the snake bastard.” Naruto said. “They were just toying with us.”
“You had more sense than most ninja I know. And you made it through.”
“Not that it mattered in the end. You already told me you can’t make me a chuunin with the third round invalidated as well.”
“That’s true. I can’t pass you. Still, after seeing what you did, I can’t see how I can just fail you either.”
Naruto perked up a little. Did that mean he would get another chance?
“My options will be limited hough.” Genma sighed.
Naruto jumped at the chance. “Speak to Asuma. The medics told me that he has recovered.”
“The second round was invalidated. He only witnessed your actions for one day.” Genma mused. “But I suppose it might be possible. I can’t promise anything.”
“Of course.”
Genma placed his hand on Naruto’s arm and stopped him. “Almost walked into the railing there.”
Naruto sighed, putting out his hand forward to see where the metal bar was. “Chakra isolated.” Just because ninja’s hands were too strong for the chakra conducting stuff, they had to make it a hazard for anyone who could not see.
“Yeah, they tend to trick you up.” Genma let go. “Follow the railing to the left and there’s a stairway in about sixty feet.”
Naruto nodded. “Thanks.”
“May I ask… you jumped into danger. Both in the forest and against the Suna Jinchuriki. Aren’t you worried about… about dying?”
Naruto doubted he was talking about Naruto’s own death. “I couldn’t just do nothing. And I trust my ability to pull through.”
“I see.”
“Of course it scares me, thinking I could die. But those are fears all ninja must come to grip with. Thinking about what could happen after… It’s always on my mind.”
“Your… death?”
Naruto shook his head. Genma would not understand. “Forget I said anything.”
The stairway was easy enough to travel down. He could follow it down and lead himself back to the main area. All the other kids were gathered and Naruto drifted to the front, to the three familiar signals that stood out like beacons.
“What happened?” Sakura asked, rushing over to him and putting her hands on his head.
“I’ll tell you later.” Naruto said. There were too many people around.
Sakura huffed, but the sound of the Hokage clearing his throat calmed her down. All the faces turned to the front of the room.
“You are in this room because your proctor has not failed you. Congratulations on making it this far. Normally this is where I proclaim that everyone in this room has passed the exam, but unfortunately…”
“Where is my brother?”
“Temari-san.” The Hokage said. “He is in the medical section after an incident during his exam.”
“Bullshit.” She said. “I want to see him.”
“And you will be taken to him shortly. Now kindly let me finish.” He sounded polite, but there was a heavy chakra in the air. Jiji was angry and he was not afraid letting it be known.
There was a pause, but Temari did not argue further.
“As I was saying, a stray explosion injured three students, only one of whom was able to join this session. The clean-up has interrupted many of the exams. As it stands, only five candidates have definitively passed. The rest will receive the results after deliberation.”
Naruto wondered who had passed. Sasuke and Sakura without question. Shino and Hinata made sense as well. Then perhaps one of the Suna ninja?
“As you should already be aware, passing this exam means that you will be ceremoniously receive your chuunin promotion one month from now, following which you are expected to show your battle prowess in a tournament against your fellow candidates. I cannot stress enough how important it is to prepare for this tournament, as this is where you will draw the attention of the instructors who can carry you from chuunin to jounin.”
Theoretically, yes. It was also a village-wide spectacle and would have been Naruto’s first chance to change the village’s mind about him. Maybe it could still be, if Genma got that stick out of his ass.
“Your jounin sensei will provide you with the details. For now, stand tall. For you have faced the challenges we put before you and made it through to the other end. And I am proud of each and every one of you.”
Naruto could not help but smile. Even if he had not passed, he had made it that far. An accomplishment onto itself. And no matter how much misfortune life threw his way, he was still going strong.
As the Hokage left his spot, the groups drifted to the exit. Naruto naturally followed.
Sasuke was holding his arm to help him along.
“I don’t need the help.”
“Don’t be an idiot.”
Naruto huffed, but did not move his arm away from his teammate.
“Naruto?” Tenten asked, walking besides him. “What happened to Lee?”
Naruto swallowed. “He got injured.”
“How bad was it? Do you think it’ll be long before he’s brought out?”
“I don’t know…”
“How bad was it? Don’t tell me the idiot got seriously burned? He hates blisters.”
“I think you should ask the jounin.”
“None of them will tell me anything. The way they’re talking, it’s like Lee was at death’s door. But that’s silly, right?”
Naruto did not know what to say.
“Right?”
“I… I did everything I could…”
“What happened?” Tenten asked accusingly.
“I’m not allowed to say.”
“Tell me, Naruto. What happened to my boyfriend?”
Sasuke stepped between them. “I think you’d better go talk to one of the jounin.”
She grunted in frustration, before moving away. Naruto was shaking as they moved on. He hated the chuunin exams. He hated this forest and the missing snake ninja that had been hidden within. He hated Suna and their Jinchuriki. His eyes burned and itched where tears were trying to form.
And they still had to go back through the forest too. How was he supposed to feel safe for that?
He heard the gasp before he was able to sense the chakra signal. But as soon as he knew he was there, he was running towards him. “Kakashi-sensei.” He wrapped his arms around the jounin and buried his face into his jounin jacket.
Sasuke and Sakura joined him on either side soon after.
“I came as soon as I heard. Are you okay?”
They were not. But they would be.
~*~
Their training ground sounded peaceful. Naruto wished he could look around and see it. After the forest, he just wanted to return to normalcy. Though that would have involved looking at the memorial stone and wondering whether a name would soon be added to it.
“I really had to push my mastery of the Byakugan to its limits.” Hanabi said. “I’m happy it counted as a specialisation.”
“What do you think your chances are?” Naruto asked.
“I think my proctor was about to pass me before the exam was interrupted. Not all of us were lucky enough to finish five minutes early.”
“We ticked all the boxes.” Sasuke said. “Wasn’t like there was much to talk about.”
“She passed me before I finished showing off my different skills.” Sakura chuckled. “By the time the active examination was suspended, we were discussing the particulars of chakra theory. I have a study date with my proctor next week to finish the conversation.”
Of course it had been effortless for them. Everything always was.
“I’ve got some good news.” Kakashi said. Everyone shifted to look at where he had appeared out of thin air. “Hanabi, you’ve officially passed the exam. After next month’s promotion, you will be a field ninja.”
Naruto could not help but smile. She had deserved it. “Congratulation.”
“I can’t believe it… how about Naruto?”
“Still being deliberated, I’m afraid. Now, let’s talk about the ceremony. You must wear a chuunin jacket, which can be purchased at any of the standard ninja supply stores. You must also carry your clan’s summon as you enter the arena. To that end, you will need to learn the summoning technique in the next month.” He made a combination of hand signs and then a chakra-filled dog appeared out of thin air.
It looked around and quickly ascertained why it had been summoned. “Demonstration?”
“Yup.”
It sighed, before dismissing itself.
“Sasuke, Hanabi, your clans will have the detailed instructions. Sakura, I will be working with you personally to contact your panthers.”
“I look forward to it.”
“And for Naruto?” Sasuke asked.
“I don’t know if I’ve passed yet.” Naruto said.
“I’ve got a good feeling.” Sasuke said. “What would Naruto have to do?”
“Ever since ninja without clans have been allowed to participate, the restrictions have been widened to allow any trained animal. The most common option involves adopting a dog from the Inuzuka. This is however quite expensive.”
“Of course it is.”
“Training an animal yourself would be cheaper, if you think you can handle it in a month.”
“I’ll think about it.” Naruto lied. No need to get into it and start a discussion. No need to think about it at all if Naruto had anything to do about it. He already had a different idea and he would have to consult his books to see if it would work.
“Then there’s a synchronised dance and some words that you’ll need to memorise. Detailed instructions are in these scrolls. There will be a practice session in two weeks.”
“Any missions?”
“Not until after the promotion.” Kakashi confirmed. “Which means you can use the upcoming time for training.”
“Do we really need a month to learn to summon?” Sasuke asked.
“The technique itself may not take you a full month, but not all summons are willing participants to our rituals immediately.” Kakashi said.
“How is Lee doing?” Naruto asked.
“Still undergoing surgery. I should head back and see if they’ve made any progress.”
“Before you go, can you look at my seal?” Naruto asked. “It’s not supposed to be difficult to release.”
“I’m afraid… I’ve been ordered to leave it alone.”
Naruto could not believe it. “What?”
“There are certain factions that believe it’s safer to keep the Kyuubi fully contained.”
“They can’t…”
“We’re fighting it. The Hokage and I both.”
Naruto sloped against the tree.
“I’m sorry.” Kakashi said and then he was gone.
Naruto’s hand drifted to his stomach. He had just learned how to share his sight with Kuruma. There was so much he had been planning on showing him. Naruto should probably be happy he would have an excuse not to subject himself to demonic chakra every day. But he just felt sad.
“This is not good.” Sakura said.
“It really isn’t.” Sasuke sighed. “Now we have to do something dangerous.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Naruto asked. He was tired and just wanted to go home.
“If Kakashi can’t undo it, we’ll just have to.” Sakura said.
“Obviously.” Sasuke added.
Sakura was already moving next to him, guiding him to lie on his back. “I’ve been thinking about it and I’m confident I can remove it safely if Sasuke provides the Fire chakra and Hanabi helps me figure out the final connections. Do you mind helping?”
“Of course not.” Hanabi said.
“Do you mind the risk?” Sakura asked Naruto.
“I trust you.” Naruto sniffed. He had the best friends.
~*~
Naruto let out a breath of relief as he made it into the familiar sewers. It smelled stale, but nothing else was out of the ordinary. Until he approached the cell and found the fox collapsed on the ground.
“Kuruma?”
The Kyuubi tried to get up, only to collapse on his paws again. “That damn snake.”
“Are you all right?”
“Do I look like I’m all right?!” The fox growled. “That cursed five elements seal.”
“You know about it?”
“It’s been used before. Each time more unpleasant than the last. One Jinchuriki thought it would be useful in taming me.”
Naruto let out a laugh. “They didn’t know you very well.”
“None of the Jinchuriki ever did.”
“Why did they stop using it?”
“It thoroughly starves me from chakra. How good is a weapon if it isn’t kept strong?”
Naruto thought he had read about that incident. There were reports of the Kyuubi appearing in the battlefield, but it was too brief to make a difference in the battle. It was assumed that the reports were false, because it was so unusual for the demon.
“I’ll leave you to rest soon.” Naruto said. “But there was something I needed to ask you first.”
“I don’t know anything more about the snake than you do.” Kuruma said.
Naruto shook his head. “I met another Jinchuriki. He has a tailed beast inside of him too.”
“Who was it?”
“I don’t know. The ninja was from Suna.”
Kuruma exhaled, thinking about it. “The desert people. They have Shukaku.”
“What was he like?”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him. He would be much changed by his imprisonment, just like I was.”
“I think the Jinchuriki is here to make Shukaku attack Konoha.”
Kuruma huffed. “He will be more interested in taking revenge on Suna. But if he’s anything like me, he will see no issue destroying Konoha before he goes.”
“That’s what I thought. I need to go rest. Do you want me to bring you along again?”
“To look at stone walls and smiling humans? Not interested.” Kuruma said. “Let me know when you’re back in a forest.”
Naruto nodded, though the way Kuruma was looking Naruto suspected the larger reason for refusing was his current state of decay. Naruto let himself fall back into consciousness.
~*~
Naruto hoped another cup of tea would help him calm down enough to sleep. It was close to sundown and there was still no news. At least he had been allowed to take off his bandages and take a proper shower. His vision was still blurry, but that was supposed to clear up in a few days.
As he looked out his apartment window, he could make out the Hokage monument in the distance, just barely able to see the four different faces cut into the stone. He knew the shops on the streets even if they were all blending together. His gaze kept being drawn to the district by the river.
“Feeling any better?”
“A bit.” Naruto smiled as Kakashi joined him. “Any news?”
“The chuunin deliberations took a long time, but…”
“I mean about Lee.”
“Ah.” Kakashi put his hand on Naruto’s shoulder. “His brain was deprived of blood for too long. The medics have managed to fix his body, but they don’t expect him to ever wake up again. I’m sorry.”
“Oh.” Naruto hated how close he was to tears. He did not even know the boy that well. What right did he have getting so hung up over it? “What will they do with Suna?”
“Suna pleads innocence and while we could press them, we’d only look like the fool. We have no evidence Gaara is a Jinchuuriki and Suna has no reason to release a tailed beast in the middle of the Forest of Death. If they wanted to do damage, there was much better moments to do it.”
“I know what I saw.”
“If you have a better explanation, then by all means. But for now we have no choice but to assume that Gaara’s actions were his alone.”
“Then what are they going to do with Gaara?”
“Unfortunately, there is very little we can do.”
“He put a Konoha genin in a permanent coma. He almost killed me and two proctors. What do you mean there is nothing we can do?”
“We have no authority to arrest him. The Kazekage refuses to take action against his son and is calling the whole incident an accident.”
“And Jiji is okay with this?”
“The Hokage is very much not okay with it.” Kakashi sighed. “Suna’s diplomats are calling us incompetent for having trouble with a genin.”
“He’s not any genin though. He’s a jinchuriki. One who wanted to set his tailed beast on Konoha. If you need evidence to prove that, I’ll testify myself!”
“It would have to be you. His seals were hidden when our medics checked him. But nobody would believe your testimony unless we reveal publicly that you’re a Jinchuuriki yourself. The Sandaime is not willing to go so far.”
“So that’s just it? A slap on the wrist and it’s over?”
“Would you rather we execute Gaara and let a demon loose on Konoha?”
“Of course not.” Naruto ground his teeth. He pointed at a shop in the distance. It had taken him ages to find it with his eyesight compromised the way it was, but he had. “You see the building across the bridge? With the yellow graffiti and the red chimney? That was going to be Lee and Tenten’s shop. It was going to be Lee’s dojo. That’s what Gaara destroyed.”
“You want to have revenge.”
“Damn right I do. Isn’t it right to make them pay? To show them what happens if they mess with Konoha?”
“A war then.”
Naruto wanted to object, but yes. “Isn’t there a point where avoiding war is more harmful? Where we have to act?”
“And you’re saying that point is one genin. That he is worth starting a Fourth Shinobi war.”
“That’s dramatic. I just mean that a war against Suna wouldn’t be the worst thing if it got us justice.”
“It might not be what you mean, but it is your position all the same.” Kakashi noted. “If we attack the land of Wind, the land of Earth will use the opportunity to invade a weakened Northern border. The land of Water will take advantage of our redirected navies to raid our eastern shores and blame pirates. The land of Lightning will attack the smaller countries while we are unable to defend them yet our treaties with these countries will force us into war with Lightning anyway. We have seen it happen again and again.”
“So your solution is to never risk war no matter what they do to us?”
“I’m not the one in charge. But the Hokage’s strategy is one that plays out in the long run. We cannot be seen as the aggressors of the next war, so we will retaliate in the same vein that Suna has attacked us. We will probably ‘lose’ a payment to Suna in a bandit raid in the future. The Konoha Jounin will receive orders that Gaara must be assassinated if ever encountered in isolation, without Suna able to link it back to us. It is a game of patience. One we can win better now that you’ve learned for us who Suna’s Jinchuriki is.”
Naruto sighed. Adults always had the luxury of time on their hands. Speaking of which, there was another piece of important information he needed. “What were the results of the chuunin exams?”
“As Genma already told you, you did not score enough points to pass. However, considering the circumstances, they did not think it was appropriate to fail you either.”
“How does that work?”
“If you had mastered an elemental technique, been able to lie without tells and had made unique steps towards your specialisation, that would have been worth enough points to let you pass. If you can manage to fulfil those conditions in the next months, you’ll be allowed to join the promotion ceremony. I’ll have to testify you have the ability and you’ll have to demonstrate it during the event itself.”
“And that’s all? Figure out a way to summon without being part of a clan, kill all emotions, finish learning to use Wind chakra and use it reliably in a technique, and innovate the Henge so I can use it in a way that nobody ever has before. Any other conditions thrown my way?”
“Don’t forget you need to perform a perfect dance in the opening ceremony. But since you didn’t officially pass, you’re not allowed to participate in the dance rehearsal.”
Naruto groaned. “I don’t suppose you can help me with anything?”
“Afraid not. Sakura needs all the attention I can afford to give. I wish I had better news for you.”
“It’s fine. I suppose it could have been a lot worse.”
Naruto looked out the window again, at a shop near the river with yellow graffiti and a red chimney.
Notes:
Next month: Men who need more than they get. The first of two chapters that together are a large training montage. Next month is also Nanowrimo and I'm looking forward to getting a first draft of part 5 of this story.
So, I understand why canon wants to do a big exam and then have a month of training time before a tournament. I just don't like logistically that everyone gets tested in order to enter a tournament, and then only the tournament scores count. So the tournament is turned into an exhibition match/graduation ceremony and most participants already know they've passed.
This chapter needed to introduce Gaara in a way that made him a threat, and I couldn't resist involving Lee in there. Gaara is a Jinchuuriki and it can't make him as overpowered as in canon, but I still wanted to make sure he would feel dangerous. Instead of sand he uses to crush his foes, he has his metal claws. He uses his gourd not to carry sand but to carry explosive material. And while he still has a shield of sand covering him, it's a learned ability and not something automatic.
Chapter 13: 2.5 Men who need more than they get (Boogie Wonderland)
Summary:
Okay, there's still a chance for me to be a chuunin! I just have to work harder than I've ever had to before. Let's do this thing!
(AKA 'We need a montage! (Montage!)')
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“So then you need to alter the connection to your clone.” Hanabi stood perfectly still, while her clone waved at Naruto. Not even the shadows dancing across their faces from the leaves overhanging them could be used to differentiate the real and the illusion.
“Right…” Naruto tried to change the connection with his bunshin, but nothing happened. “And how do you find that?”
“Pay a lot of attention as the bunshin’s being formed. There’s a whisper that lingers in the chakra.”
Naruto sighed. “I can’t properly concentrate on that, since it’s hard enough to gather the chakra for the technique. Can’t I learn to apply the henge without knowing how to independently move my clone?”
“Not in any way that I would know. I use the same principle that lets me move them to apply the transformation technique on them. I did tell you learning would be a long shot. It took me six months of experimentation to get the hang of it. And I still can’t use the henge on only the clone. Even with your acting skills, you can’t participate in the ceremony if you look the same as your spirit animal.”
“Isn’t there a faster way to learn?”
“Maybe? I had to figure it out on my own through the books. What do you think, Sakura?”
“It sounds like something that would require a ton of practice. And there isn’t another method of training that springs to mind.”
“I’ll have to ask Ebisu if I see him. Your method isn’t from a specialist? I thought you had your pick of Hyuuga tutors at your disposal as a kid.”
“Hinata always came first. If her instructor was sick or her schedule changed abruptly, I’d often be left with periods of time where I did not have any instruction. I could either let it go to waste, or study on my own. And I liked the bunshin. You’re never alone if you can make your own company.”
“That’s… actually quite sad.”
Hanabi made a face. “It’s a joke.”
“How’s the summoning process going?” Sakura asked.
“I’m practicing etiquette. Hinata has it worse since she’ll have to greet her summon as a clan heir. I just have to make a good first impression as a regular clan member.”
“What happens if you don’t?” Naruto could not help but wonder.
“I’ll have to make amends and there’s no saying it will be done in time that they’ll be willing to accompany me during the chuunin exhibition.”
Sakura winced.
“I’m sure you’ll be all right though. Our owls are extremely traditional and they have gotten used to the Hyuuga pandering to them. Your panthers will be happy enough that you’re making contact.”
“You’ve got this, Sakura.” Naruto said.
“Thanks guys. It’s just… I’m hoping Orochimaru’s seal won’t taint the meeting.” She rubbed at her neck, at the ink of a cursed seal.
There was a flurry of leaves as Kakashi appeared besides them. “Ready to get started?”
“Of course.” Sakura said.
“We’ll start with a trek to the nearby mountain range. The fresh air will do us good. And if not the air, then at least the ambient spiritual energy. I’ll meet you at the gate in half an hour.”
Sakura nodded and went on her way.
“Thanks for the help!” Naruto shouted after her, earning him a smile.
“I should head back too if I don’t want to miss our instructor.” Hanabi said. “Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
Kakashi watched her leave. “I’m sorry I can’t be of any more help, Naruto.”
“I know Sakura needs the guidance.”
“It’s not easy to contact a spirit guardian without clan resources. It’s not something I would wish on anyone.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re speaking from experience?”
“By the time I became chuunin, there wasn’t any family left to teach me. And we didn’t have any of the records the Hyuuga or Uchiha have kept.”
“That must have been hard.”
“I managed. I have a good relationship with my dogs now. And they like you too. You know, an Inuzuka dog really wouldn’t be a bad fit for you.”
Naruto shook his head. He tried to suppress the guilt he felt and wove Kakashi off. “I can’t afford it. I know the numbers. I’ll have to figure out something else.”
“And how is that going?”
“Pretty bad. I can’t use Hanabi’s trick of using a clone, which I was hoping for. The rules don’t specify it has to be an actual animal, just that it must appear like one.”
“Ah. That does sound frustrating. What made you think of using a bunshin henge combination?”
“I have to look like myself during the ceremony and I need a movable and breathing animal on my person. There’s actually a lot of judicial precedent, more than I thought.
“There should be. Not all clan children are able to learn summoning in time.”
“Yeah. Some managed with a trained dog, but a lot of them had to resort to different tricks. One kid who was good at chakra strings thought he could just bring a dead animal and animate it. Another thought he could paralyze an animal with genjutsu as he showed it around.”
“That couldn’t have worked for long.”
“They were hoping they wouldn’t be asked to perform the additional tests. But of course the proctors are going to press when someone’s so close to the edges of the rules. The animal under genjutsu could not follow some simple commands, and while the dead animal could appear to follow commands, not without the ninja itself moving as well.”
“It sounds like you’re making it hard on yourself by trying to find a work-around.”
“Life’s making it hard on me. I’m just rolling with it best I can.”
“Have you tried training an animal yourself?”
Naruto sighed. “No. It’s not going to work.”
“I don’t know you as someone who’s so quick to give up. What’s going on?”
“When I was little I spent a lot of time in the wilderness. I had read the safety guidelines and took proper precautions against wild animals. Yet they never troubled me. They always seemed friendly. I ran into a lion one time and instead of eating me, it cuddled up against me. Like it was a common house cat. So naturally I considered training an animal sidekick as a specialisation. No matter what species or animal I tried to approach, they refused to be domesticated. And the animals I tried to befriend turned against me. It was making me so miserably that I stopped.”
“You’re older than you were then. You could have better luck now.”
“It won’t work.” Naruto shook his head. “I saw it mentioned in my research into Kuruma. There’s something about his chakra that attracts wild animals. But it’s that same chakra that keeps them wild.”
“Which brings us back to an Inuzuka dog.”
Naruto’s hands twitched. He tried not to think about a red puppy. “I still don’t have the money for it.”
“What about your wind chakra tutor money?”
“If I could spend that on a dog, then maybe I’d get there. But just because I haven’t found a tutor yet who will take my money, doesn’t mean I can just redirect the funds. I’d be faced with another problem when the exam came around if I didn’t have a wind technique.”
“Still getting refusals?”
“There were plenty who wanted to show me the basics. But not so many that want to teach a Jinchuuriki more. It becomes a commitment if they teach me beyond the basics, I’ve heard. Which implies that any instructor would have to form a connection with the village demon that would scare away other students.”
“And your other projects?”
“Kuruma is providing some assistance to help me learn to suppress my emotions. And I’m still trying to get inspiration for a way to improve the henge. It’s hard to be original.”
“Well, originality is overrated.” Kakashi said. “As long as it’s not in any of the instructional books, it doesn’t matter if another ninja figured it out before you.”
“Except if it’s not in any of the instructional books, there’s no way to know how it was done. And recreating another’s technique is just as difficult as creating your own, without any of the credit due for the effort. It’s okay though. I’ll figure out how to everything that needs doing. I’ll just have to keep practicing.”
“Speaking of that, the team 7 training grounds have been lent out for the rest of the day. You’ll need to find somewhere else to train.”
Naruto groaned dramatically.
“There are plenty of other places. You should check out the Abashiri river. A bit of fresh air might do you some good.”
“Thanks.” Naruto said. “For the suggestion and the training advice.”
“I’ll drop in if I can.” Kakashi said.
“I know.” Naruto tried to smile. He knew Kakashi was doing everything he could. But there were no promises to give. Not when Kakashi needed to help Sakura invent an entire new way to communicate with spirits.
~*~
Kakashi had been right. The air was chilly and refreshing. There was also plenty of room in the trees and bushes around the river for him to meditate or run or practice his techniques. The only thing he would not be allowed to do was practice dangerous jutsu, of which he knew none, or practice his weapon throwing, which was not on the schedule for the day.
It was perfectly suited and Naruto would have been quite happy.
Were it not for an intruder in the space. An old man squatting in the bushes and looking at a bath house across the river. He appeared to be in his late sixties and was wearing some kind of red vest.
“Excuse me, sir?” Naruto asked as politely as it was possible to be considering the circumstances. “What in the actual fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“Quiet down, you. I’m gathering inspiration.”
Naruto shuddered at the way he said it. Like he had just fantasised about breaking several consent laws in his head. “Yeah, and you’re going to stop that right now or I will have to arrest you.”
“On what authority?” The man finally turned around and stood tall. He was more muscular and less old than Naruto had thought. It was just his large head of white hair that had added another twenty years wrongly on his estimate. There was also a blue Konoha head band on his forehead. A field ninja that age, that was rare.
“Fine, so I can’t arrest you. I can still report you to a superior officer. What’s your rank and registration?”
“Stop messing around kid and leave me alone. I’m a jounin and I have every right to be here.”
“And I’m sure those women would agree when I go tell them you’re peeping.” Naruto shook his head. ”No way you’re a jounin. I know of all the jounin stationed in the village.”
“Yeah, I just got back.”
It could not be. Surely not. But there was only one jounin in the books that was out of village and around that age. Naruto swallowed. The man matched the description as well. “You’re Orochimaru’s and Tsunade’s former teammate.”
That made the old man twitch. “I’m the legendary toad sage, Jiraiya.”
Oh yeah. That was the name. “All I’m seeing is a legendary pervert.”
Jiraiya sighed. “Unless you want to complain straight to the Hokage, I suggest you find another place to waste your time. Or come enjoy the view with me. It’s very stimulating.” He went back to squatting.
Naruto rolled his eyes. Yeah, he was going to have to put in the effort for this one. Jiji would not listen, but if he warned the bath house – and what were they going to be able to do about peeping ninja – then at least the women would have a chance to protect their modesty if they were so inclined. And the reduced traffic into the bath house would hopefully make the owner complain to the mercenary board, which did have enough influence on the Hokage to enforce penalties. In the meantime, just another misogynistic horror story to add to the pile.
And after all that, he still would not have a place to train. “Ugh. Last time I’m taking a suggestion from Kakashi.”
“Wait.” Jiraiya said, suddenly a lot more serious as he faced Naruto again. “You’re the Hatake’s brat?”
“You know my jounin instructor?”
“I’d say so. I was his sensei’s sensei. His grand sensei, if you will.”
“You taught the Fourth Hokage?”
“Damn straight. Taught him everything he knew. And seeing as he could not afford any specialist tutors, that’s saying quite a lot.”
Naruto was whirling with that bit of information. The Yondaime was basically Naruto’s hero and he had skills like none of his peers. And Naruto knew all of those skills. One of which immediately stuck out. “You… you helped him with his wind affinity?”
“That I did. I’d be welcome to show you some tricks, for old time’s sake.”
So that’s why Kakashi sent him there. That would help him so much.
“As soon as you apologise for calling me a pervert, of course.”
“So… you want me to lie.”
“I want you to show me some respect.”
“The thing with respect is that you have to earn it. Stop looking at naked women without their permission and I’ll stop calling you out for it.”
“Oh is that all?”
“It’s a start. Apologise to them and face the consequences and we’re on our way to respect.”
He waved the boy off. “This is perfectly harmless. They’re none the wiser and I get my research going.”
“It’s not right.”
“It’s flattering. I want to see their naked bodies because they’re so beautiful.”
Naruto felt like he was going to be sick. “I’m going to leave before I punch you.”
“I think I’ve changed my mind. I’ll still show you some wind chakra tricks, but only after you join me in some peeping. It’s good for a boy your age and I’ll have you hooked in no time.”
“I’m underage, Ero-sennin!”
“What a prude.”
Naruto’s blood boiled.
~*~
“What can I say?” Natsu shrugged. “Men are going to men.”
“Are you seriously telling me boys will be boys?”
“Well it’s true. This is hardly the worst thing I’ve seen a guy do. Hell, it isn’t the worst thing I’ve seen a guy do this week.”
Hanabi snorted. “Don’t get me started on my week. What is it about hospitals that makes adult men think it’s okay to lose their decorum?”
Naruto swirled the drink in his glass. He knew most of his interactions were with civilians that tried to be on their best behaviour and that tended to skew his perspective at times. “That doesn’t make it right.”
“Of course not, dummy. I just don’t see why it’s got you so upset. Especially since it’s been a few days since it happened.”
“He’s a ninja. He’s supposed to be better.”
“We both know ninja can be the worst.”
“Yeah. But he was so unrepentant. He was not even ashamed when I called him out. It sounds like he’s been doing this for years and he has no interest in stopping.”
“I think you should suck it up.” Hanabi said. “Jiraiya is a capable ninja and he will be able to get you through the chuunin exams.”
Naruto waved her off. “How’s your training going, anyway?”
“It’s slow, but it helps that we have family members that can already summon owls. Hinata and I have introduced ourselves to some of the more ill-tempered birds as practice. They’re harder to please, but they also have a reputation as such with the other spirit animals so it’s a lot more forgiving if we screw up.”
“What are the owls like?”
“They’re… finicky. They like to use long words and their permanent expression is the nobility scowl of disapproval. You know, where they look at you and make you think you should apologise for existing in their presence.”
“That sounds uncomfortable.”
“It’s hard work. But it’s all supposed to be worth it when they do smile at you. There’s nothing more loyal than an owl that you’ve managed to impress. And I am working hard. I’m taking every single resource that’s come my way and I’m not dismissing any of them for any reason at all.” Hanabi stared pointedly at Naruto.
“Nope.”
“Come on. He’s the Yondaime’s sensei. No matter his personality, that’s an impressive resumé.”
“Not him.” Naruto said. “Anyone but him.”
“I remember you having this conversation with me when I wouldn’t consider Ayumi as a possible teammate for the chuunin exams.”
“And I remember you putting your foot down and putting your morals above your ninja career.”
“I’m just saying, if you invited us for drinks to get the female perspective, we’re saying go for it.”
“Yeah.” Natsu said. “He’s still won if you let him compromise your training.”
“I didn’t invite you to lift my conscience on behalf of all women. I invited you to bitch and moan about a pervert, thank you very much.”
“Instead you’re getting reasonable advice.” Hanabi said. “If you wanted to gossip so badly, you should have invited Ino.”
“I miss her.” Naruto admitted. “She either would have had a dozen scandalous anecdotes at the ready about the guy or she’d have them before the day was out.”
“Ino was your former classmate right?” Natsu asked. “Didn’t you stay in touch?”
“There just isn’t any time.” Hanabi said. “But it would be useful. She stupidly good at gathering information. It’s her specialty.”
“I wouldn’t put it passed her to show up here in no time just cause we dropped her name.” Naruto grinned. “I think I see some blond hair now.”
They all looked as the team entered the restaurant. They saw the blond hair and smiled at the coincidence. And then they saw the head bands and exactly who they were.
Naruto stood up violently. “Just no.”
The three enemy ninja startled, their hands reaching for their weapons.
“You’re not welcome here.” Naruto said, staring into Gaara’s eyes.
“This is just a restaurant like any other in Konoha.” Temari said. “We’re not looking for trouble.”
“Then you’re going to leave. Now.”
“No.” Gaara said.
“Freaking ninja.” The barman grunted, signalling for the servers and clients to get out of the way.
“Gaara.” Temari cautioned, placing her hand in front of him. “Step down.”
“You escaped me before.” Gaara said. “Want to try again?”
“Naruto, we can just leave.” Hanabi urged. “Do you have any idea how much trouble it’d cause if we fight here?”
“You weren’t there.” Naruto said.
“You could get disqualified.”
Lee was in a worse position. And it was all because of the Sand ninja in front of him. “You weren’t there.” Naruto marched forward. “How many other lives did you want to ruin today?”
“The green boy should not have gotten in the way. It was his own fault for interfering.”
“Right, because then you would have hurt a Konoha chuunin instead. Like that’s any better. Don’t you have a conscience? Don’t you have any decency?”
“That proctor did ask me to do my best.”
“And who do you think you’re kidding with that?”
“It’s what he said.”
“Nobody’s buying it. I’m not buying it. Hell, I can see your own sister’s not buying it.”
“Temari?”
She looked away.
“We both know why you were using lethal force and it wasn’t because you wanted to hurt other people.”
“Can you blame me?”
“Gaara, stop this.” Temari said.
“I just want it to end.”
“That’s the kind of nasty shit that you need to see a psychiatrist for. Not attack enemy ninja in their village and piss off anyone who might know what you’re going through.”
“Leave me alone. You have no idea what my life has been like.”
“I can imagine it just fine, thank you.” Naruto said. “A lot better than you realise.”
Gaara’s eyes widened in realisation. “You’re like me.”
Naruto tried to keep his face blank. He was not supposed to let anyone know. But the way they were staring at him, he had failed utterly. “We’re both ninja. Except I would never do what you did. So, final chance. Leave this restaurant now or I’m kicking you out.”
The host gasped. “You’ll do no such thing. I will not stand for violence in my establishment.”
“He’s a criminal.” Naruto snarled.
“So are most ninja. And I serve them until they threaten violence. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Naruto grabbed his things and stormed off through the other exit. He was two blocks away before he noticed Hanabi and Natsu had stayed behind.
He sighed. At least things could not get any worse.
He heard thunder in the distance and then rain started to fall over his head. His life was fantastic.
“Hey kid.”
Naruto turned to the stranger. It was a twenty-something guy in civilian clothing. “What?”
“You really shouldn’t be getting this angry. It’s not good for you.”
Naruto swallowed heavily. He did not have the energy to deal with one of those right now. “Just leave me alone.”
“I’m only giving you some advice. No need to be an asshole.”
“You can take your dumb advice and…” Naruto saw the way the man tensed. How his body automatically shifted in a fighting stance. He was not wearing a head band, but he must have been a ninja at some point. Knowing Naruto’s luck, it was someone who had made it to chuunin and would in fact be able to overpower Naruto.
“And what?”
Naruto felt like he was a little kid again. Powerless as random adults around him decided what was best for him. As they punished him whenever he stepped out of their expectations.
He made his face blank and took a deep breathe. And then he took a proper look at the man who had accosted him. It was not a chuunin he was familiar with, but he had enough experience memorising the face so that he would be able to look it up later. “I apologise, sir. I let my emotions get out of hand, but that’s no excuse. I should have handled it better.”
“That’s quite all right. I think it’s the shop owner you owe the apology to.”
“I have an appointment with my sensei right now, but I promise I’ll apologise tomorrow.” Naruto threw in a smile. “Thanks, sir.”
“That’s quite all right.” The man smiled as he turned and walked off.
Naruto waited until the stranger was out of line of sight and then slumped against a nearby wall. He wondered if his strength training had gotten far enough that he could punch the ground without his hand getting more hurt than the ground would be damaged. Next chance he got he was going to the registry and comparing faces to find the guy’s address. Half a dozen rotten eggs hidden in his apartment would serve him right.
“Do you deal with that kind of stuff a lot?”
Naruto knew that voice. He rested the back of his head against the wall as he faced her. “Shouldn’t you be having lunch with your brother?”
“I don’t like the way he’s acting either.” Temari said. “He’s not usually like this.”
“Yeah, he seems like the kind of guy who’d be rainbow and sunshine most days.”
“I’m serious. I thought you’d understand. With your own… problem.”
“I do not understand.” Naruto said. “I do not understand why he is taking an exam so far. Why he decided to go into an allied village and tried to murder a peer. For what? The fun of it? The more I think about it, there wasn’t any strategic reason to go all out. I do not understand at all.”
“It’s…” Temari looked around her. The streets were empty. “Can we talk somewhere a little more private?”
Naruto was in no mood to entertain her. But how could he call himself a ninja if he said no to such an obvious offer of confidential information.
“Yeah, follow me.”
~*~
“Is this where you live?” Temari looked around disgusted. She took off her rain-soaked coat and hung it over a chair.
“Give me some credit. I wouldn’t give you the location of my apartment after knowing you for two minutes.” Naruto gestured around him. “This is an abandoned building.”
“And the bed?”
Naruto looked at the makeshift mattress in the corner, created out of old newspapers and torn coats. “This place isn’t much of a secret among the orphans. But they won’t come if someone’s already here.”
Temari dusted off an old crate and used it to sit down. She concentrated for a few moments with her eyes close, channelling chakra. “I guess it’s private enough.”
“It’s the most privacy we’re going to get. What did you want to tell me?”
“Gaara is acting rash and aggressive. It’s not like him. I apologise what happened to your friend. If it wasn’t for… what’s going on… this never would have happened.”
“You’re dancing around it.”
“It’s difficult to say out loud. I don’t want to admit it’s true.”
“What is it?”
“Gaara… he’s being sent on a mission.”
Naruto grimaced. Was that supposed to mean something?
“A Jinchuriki mission.”
Oh.
Oh! Naruto could suddenly place the anger a lot better. “They want him to die.”
“They need him to become a chuunin first. We’re not even supposed to know about it yet. But we’ve had our ears out and we know the order will come.”
Naruto was speechless. Mostly. “They want you to destroy Konoha?”
“What?” She blanched. “Of course not. There’s a target in the Land of Wind. I want your advice on how to deal with Gaara. There’s not much I can offer in return, I’m afraid.”
“I wouldn’t know…”
“Please. You’re the best chance I have. My brother and I are not getting through to him.”
“I can’t speak for him.” Naruto said. “That’s not remotely how this works. But I’ll try. How long has Gaara known he was a Jinchuuriki?”
“Almost as long as he can remember. Our father Rasa used the Ichibi about ten years ago when a group of bandits was becoming too aggressive. Afterwards, he sealed the demon into his youngest son.”
“His own child?”
“Suna isn’t as stable as Konoha. The Kazekage’s seat is always threatened by other factions inside the village. If he did not keep the Ichibi close, he feared the Jinchuuriki could be swayed by another group and he would lose his position through Kunai diplomacy.”
“What’s Kunai diplomacy?”
She took a kunai and mimed slitting her own throat.
“Ah. And you’re sure he would be able to go through with such an order?”
“He’s done it before. The previous Jinchuuriki was my older sister.”
Naruto felt like he would be sick.
“He’s been very protective of us, in his own way. All three of us share the same jounin instructor, our father’s most loyal friend. This is the first time in years we’ve been outside of his protection and it will only last from the moment we left his escort at the border into the Land of Fire until he comes to watch the exhibition matches.”
“Yes, he sounds like a stand-up guy. Very loving and caring as he orders the execution of his own children.”
“I’m not defending him.” Temari said. “Baki-sensei has acted more as a father for us just being our mentor than Rasa ever has.”
“Is Baki the one who taught Gaara how to fight?”
She scoffed. “Dear old dad never wanted Gaara to become a good ninja. Baki was ordered to only teach the basics. They thought training Gaara would be a waste of time.”
“The boy I fought had more than basic training behind him.”
“Gaara wanted to prove them all wrong.” Temari smiled. “Everyone who thought he was only useful as a container of a demon. He figured that if he became strong enough, he could survive any challenge they threw at him. He could do himself whatever they wanted the Ichibi to do.”
The way she talked, it was clear what had happened. “You were the one who taught him.”
“Kankuro and I did it together. We’d take turns creating distractions so the other could teach Gaara. And Gaara would spend any time he had alone practicing.”
“Something about this Jinchuuriki mission changed his mind about being able to survive it.”
“It came too soon.” Temari said. “We hoped to be jounin before he was activated. We hoped the mission would be less daunting. We hoped a lot of things.”
“So now he doesn’t see a way out. Why not just run away?”
“Would you?”
Naruto swallowed. He had told his friends that he was sure he would die if the order ever came because the order would be hidden. He would just be told to go on a mission like any other and he would die ignorant that his failure was exactly as planned. But the truth was, even if the Hokage told him exactly what was going to happen… how could he not go along with it? Jiji would not lightly make the decision. The situation would have to be truly desperate. “Not if my village needed me.”
“He can’t betray his village. That’s not the kind of person he is.”
“I think you might be wrong there.” Naruto said. “During the chuunin examination… the way he was fighting, it was like he did not care about dying at all. How can he be sent on his Jinchuriki mission if he’s already dead?”
She sighed. “I don’t understand it either. It’s why I want your advice. How does someone go from loving his village to hating it?”
“I don’t think he hates his village. I think he’s bitter. I think he resents his village for needing something that will cost so much to give. It’s one thing to know they might, and another to know they will.”
“What can we do to help?”
Part of him resented indirectly helping the enemy ninja that had done so much damage to him and his friends. But a larger part of him thought about being given the final mission and knowing the time with his friends had been cut short. And he thought about Sakura desperately asking for advice to a relative stranger because she was desperate. And he really wished she would get the help he would be giving now.
“Be there for him.”
“We’ve been trying. He keeps pushing us away.”
“I think that the more time he spends with you, the more he is reminded that soon he will not be able to. But it’ll be better than being alone. It’ll be better if he can look at his life before the end and have happy memories. Drag him along. Force him to engage. He might not like it, but I think it’s what he needs.”
“I’ll try that. Thank you, Naruto. If there’s anything I can do to pay you back…”
Naruto did not feel like he had been a lot of help. But nevertheless, there was one thing he could ask. “That giant fan you carry around… is that just for aesthetics or do you have a wind affinity?”
“It’s for wind jutsu, yes. Did you want me to teach you?”
“I want to hire you as a tutor.” Naruto said. “I thought getting the money for one would be enough, but it turns out a lot of Konoha ninja refuse to teach a Jinchuuriki.”
“I’ll do it.”
“That easy?”
“I need the money.” Temari said. “I haven’t gotten refusals from Konoha tutors, but I’m pretty sure they have been gouging the prices because we’re foreigners.”
“Then it’s a deal.”
The specifics were shockingly easy to figure out. Naruto had a budget for wind specialisation that he was willing to pay her, and she had a number of standards she made explicit she would follow. She left eager to follow Naruto’s advice on Gaara, and Naruto had a lesson to look forward to.
One thing that kept Naruto from leaving was an orange tabby cat that had found his way onto his lap. It was not unusual for stray cats to walk around these buildings, and especially not for one to land on Naruto for a quick nap.
And Naruto had just figured out how he was going to get his wind specialisation. Why not figure out his spirit animal as well.
“Hey. Would you like to be my ninja companion animal?”
The cat looked unimpressed.
“Would you like a free place to stay with guaranteed food and a warm lap to sit on whenever I’m studying?”
The cat meowed and that seemed to be it.
~*~
“Okay, sit.” Naruto said.
The cat stared at him.
“Come on. I’ve got this delicious treat for you. Just sit.”
The cat tilted its head in complete and utter confusion.
Naruto sighed and gave the treat away. The cat did gobble it up gratefully, so that was not the problem.
Naruto opened up a book on training cats, while the cat in question crawled onto Naruto’s lap and started purring.
~*~
“What are the fundamental principles of the Henge?” Naruto asked.
Konohamaru rattled them off. “Preservation of mass, preservation of integrity, preservation of damage, preservation of knowledge, preservation of life.”
“Exactly. So can you see why you’re having trouble holding a larger shape?”
“Not really, nii-san.”
“Let’s go into detail then. Explain the fundamentals.”
“Preservation of mass entails that the mass a priori must not exceed the mass a posteriori. The…”
“In your own words please.”
Konohamaru groaned. He always did that when Naruto forced him to think. “The new form can’t contain more mass than the original. That means you have to manipulate density if you want to be bigger or smaller than you were before. Removing anything in the new form makes it come back when you return to the old form. Damage sustained in the new form is present to the same degree or worse when returning to the old form. Though organic matter can be turned into inorganic matter, you can’t turn inorganic matter to organic matter. And you cannot learn anything new about a person or an object by using a Henge.”
“Thinking about those principles, how are you becoming bigger?”
“I’m adjusting the density of my body so that I can use the same mass over a bigger volume.”
“Isn’t that very taxing?”
“Of course it is. That’s why I’m asking for help.”
“And I’m helping. I’m just not going to give you the answer. Because then you’ll be just as stuck the next time you run into a problem. Come on, you’ve got this. Think this through.”
“It’s one of the fundamentals. You said it yourself. If I’m going to be taller, I will have to decrease my density.”
“So, assuming you do not want to decrease your density, what are other ways to get bigger?”
“There aren’t any. The books say I just have to keep practicing density manipulation.”
“It’s a good thing to practice. But I’m tutoring you from my own experience, not the books. And I’m looking for a better answer than simply practicing more of what you’re already doing.”
“It’s impossible.”
“Prove it to me. You’ve taken enough mathematics in the Academy to know how to do a formal proof. Formulate it.”
Konohamaru groaned again. He scratched his head. “It is impossible to become bigger using the same mass at the same density. It is impossible to use outside mass to transform in an organic body. Therefore, it is only possible to become bigger by decreasing density.”
“Why is it impossible to use outside mass?”
“Because of preservation of life. I can’t just use a bunch of kunai to make myself taller. The metal can’t be transformed into human flesh.”
“And why does it need to be transformed into human flesh?”
“Because…” Konohamaru grimaced. “You’re saying that I should… do what? Turn into an adult, except give that adult a prosthetic leg?”
“Ah, but that sounds pretty recognisable if the adult you’re turning into does not normally have a prosthetic anything.”
“But it feels like I’m on the right track.”
Naruto smiled. “You are. Try to be a little bit more creative.”
“I know grandma had her hip replaced when she fell. It’s made out of metal now. I could do that with all my bones.”
“And this is where I step in to tell you that metal poisoning is a thing.”
“So it’s a bad idea.”
“It’s an idea that put me in the hospital for three weeks when I tried it.” Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “And I don’t think Ebisu would appreciate it if I let you make the same mistake. The key is finding something protective to encase the metal with. Most plastics will do. I’ve brought some medical texts that contain useful passages.”
“You’ve been bringing those books along for three lessons now.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure when you’d get here. Better safe than sorry. When you practice this, be on the lookout for any of the symptoms indicating you haven’t sealed the bones correctly. And, especially in the beginning, don’t use the bigger forms for longer than a few minutes.”
Konohamaru swallowed. “This sounds like it would take a lot of concentration to form.”
“It does. It’s not as quick as messing with your density, but it’s a lot more stable. And it will allow you to become bigger than density manipulation alone would ever let you be able to.”
“I’ll work on it then. Is this what you’re presenting as your chuunin exam specialisation?”
“It wouldn’t count.” Naruto said. “The instructions aren’t explicit, but they’re in the books for anyone looking for it. No, I’ve decided on something different.” He paused for dramatic effect. “I’m working on creating extra arms.”
“For… a crab walk?”
Naruto shook his head. “There are a lot of battles where having more arms than your opponent would come in handy.”
“So you just… do what exactly?”
“I’ll show you.” Naruto made the hand signs. It took him close to a dozen seconds to finish visualising. And then he stood in front of Konohamaru, with four arms instead of two. His lower two arms hung limply besides his body. At least his jacket was easy enough to modify to accommodate the extra limbs.
“That’s… really creepy.”
“It’ll be better when I get them to move.”
Konohamaru poked one of the new hands carefully.
It was hard to blame his apprehension. They looked pale and sickly, especially the longer Naruto kept the transformation up. It was hard to attach the new arteries to his normal blood stream, so he usually did not bother.
“But if you’re going to use it in battle, isn’t that dangerous?”
“Depends on what an enemy wants to do to them. And if I’m in a position where they’re seriously hurting my arms, it won’t matter if they’re real or transformed.”
“I’m sure it’ll be awesome!” He looked at the arms again. “Once it’s improved, I mean.”
Naruto used a regular hand to ruffle the boy’s hair. “Thanks for the confidence.” He let the transformation drop. “I think Ebisu’s waiting for you. Better hurry along.”
~*~
The abandoned factory would have been a good meeting spot, but Temari had insisted they had to be in the open for this. So Naruto had introduced her to Training ground 7. They were kneeling opposite each other in front of the wooden pole Kakashi had tied Hanabi to. It seemed like ages ago now.
“How much do you know about gathering elemental chakra?”
“The basics. I’ve been guided through the first three steps.”
“So your teachers gave up just as it was getting interesting.”
“So I’ve been told.” The instructors had seemed enthusiastic about the next lessons, even as they told him they would never give them to him.
“Since we’re from different villages, I will not make you take the whole oath. But I need you to promise you will not share what I give you outside of an apprenticeship.”
“I promise to respect the knowledge you impart.”
“Promise me you will not attack me or mine with what I teach you.”
Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. “If I get past the chuunin examination ceremony, we could end up fighting each other. We probably will. We have the same affinity, after all.”
“That won’t be a problem. Friendly competitions do not count.”
“And if I need to defend myself?”
Temari grunted. “Promise me you will not attack me or mine with what I will teach you, unless we attack you first.”
“I will not use these techniques with hostile intent on you or your family without provocation.”
“Finally, promise me that you will do your best.”
“I always do.”
“Then hold my hands.”
Temari reached out and Naruto took a hold of each hand. Naruto could feel their chakra systems linking and then circulating.
“My chakra is yours to use. As long as I can take yours in equal measure.”
Naruto nodded. And then something changed. Her chakra became colder and it felt like it was cutting into him. “What’s that?”
“That’s wind chakra.”
The chakra he made himself was nothing compared to this. He had been so satisfied with the green colour and the slight breeze. But this… this was the essence of a tempest.
“Feel it. Trust it. It is in your nature to have chakra just like this.”
“It’s very intense.” The connection suddenly stopped. “I didn’t mean that it had to stop.”
Temari was flustered, breathing deeply and using her hands to stay steady.
“Are you alright?”
“Your chakra is more infested than Gaara’s.” Temari said. “I’ll need some time to get used to it.”
“I didn’t realise it would be so uncomfortable for you.”
“I’ll manage. What did you think of the wind chakra?”
“It felt powerful.”
“As general chakra is converted, it gains strength and loses versatility.”
“How do I make my own?”
“You’ll have to meditate on that. Think about what it means to you. You cannot create your own wind chakra until you know it. And you cannot know your wind chakra, until you know yourself.”
“That’s… really unhelpful.”
Temari grinned. “I’m here to guide you as a teacher, but nobody can walk this path for you.”
“I was hoping it’d be simpler than that. Can’t you just tell me what I need to do to change my chakra?”
“Nobody can tell you how you’ll be able to do it because it’s different for every person. But if it helps, you don’t actually change your chakra. You just convert it.”
“What’s the difference?”
“You’re not turning it into something that it’s not. Even as regular chakra and wind chakra are different, they are also the same.”
Naruto frowned.
“Look, I can let you feel my chakra as many times as you need. Which is probably very often. But it’s the meditation in between sessions that is most important.”
“How long did it take you?”
“Two weeks. But I did use my talent on it every day.”
Naruto cursed. “That barely leaves me any time to learn the affinity itself before the exam. I wanted to learn a wind technique as well.”
“I’ll teach you something if you progress quick enough. But yes, chances are low you’ll manage.”
“I’ll work hard anyway.”
~*~
“Your breathing’s shit.”
“It’s just hard to concentrate with a running commentary.” It was not like Naruto did not know he was failing. He could see his chest moving too rapidly in the mirror. He could see the flush on his skin. He could see his expression slipping. “Give me a minute.”
Kuruma grunted, but obliged.
Naruto imagined his happy place. He imagined running along the Konoha river in the morning with his favourite songs playing in his ears. He thought about the little clearing just outside of the village walls where he could watch the sun come up from the horizon. He thought about meadow glistening in the leaves and hearing the animals waking up. He thought about the tranquillity that came with nature existing without any humans in it.
When he looked in the mirror, he seemed calm enough.
“Hit me.”
The fox growled with a sadistic streak of pleasure. “The snake ninja was right to think you are worthless. Of course he was only interested in your teammates. What would a screw-up like you have to offer?”
That was one opinion. He would not be bothered by outside words.
“That’s why the dog man left you behind. He never really cared for you. He is just like all the others. Pretty words but then they leave you. Because the longer they know you, the more they see that all the villagers that attacked you over the years had been right. You’re not just the container. You’re the monster too.”
Naruto would not let it anger him. His breathing stayed normal. His expression blank. His emotions a complete secret.
“Why are you looking so angry?”
Naruto grunted. “You know I have a perfectly functional door, right?”
Sasuke was sitting on the window frame, halfway into Naruto’s bedroom and looking far more handsome than he had any right to. He looked like he just casually dropped in, in a way that could only have been produced with countless hours of practice. If Naruto did not know any better, he would swear Sasuke had spent at least a few weeks of his talent on dramatic poses.
The Uchiha grinned. “If you don’t want me coming in through the window, you shouldn’t leave it open.”
“It wasn’t open.”
“It was unlocked.” Sasuke said. “Which is the same thing for a ninja. And you didn’t answer the question. Why are you upset?”
“Emotion training, teme. And I was doing fine. What tell could you possibly deduce anger from?”
Sasuke shrugged. “Your lips were curved and your eyes more intense than normal. There was a tension in your shoulders and your fingers were a give-away. You always fiddle with your fingers when you’re upset.”
“I wasn’t fiddling.”
“You were suppressing a fiddle, which is basically the same thing.”
“So you think I’m upset when I fiddle my fingers, and you think I’m upset when I don’t. What am I supposed to do that you don’t think I’m angry?”
Sasuke strolled in and grabbed Naruto’s hands. He ran his fingers over the muscles. “There are micro expressions under the skin. You’re still trying to suppress the effects of the emotions, instead of the emotions themselves.”
Naruto pulled his hand back. “You can’t just turn off emotions you don’t like. That’s not how it works.”
“Sure it is.” Sasuke said. “You acknowledge their existence, realise it’s not in your best interest to feel them anymore, and then you dismiss them.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
“You won’t get there if you don’t practice. Didn’t you do any of the exercises?”
“You mean visualising killing a little puppy? I assumed they were jokes.” Naruto had only tried it once and he had had a panic attack. “You actually did them? That… that actually explains a lot about you.”
“You still have time for the exams to get it right. It’s only been two weeks.”
“Sure. As long as I finish my other projects in the same time too.”
“I thought you were making progress on wind chakra?”
“Creeping forward. I should have a technique down before the exams. Can I ask what it was like learning to use your fire chakra?”
Sasuke shrugged. “It was a long time ago.”
“Yeah, brag some more. You saying you don’t remember?”
“Of course I remember. It’s a rite of passage for the Uchiha.”
“To be able to spit fire?”
“To know yourself.” Sasuke shook his head, smiling. “Fire is a passion to achieve your goals. When a child knows himself enough to access his fire chakra, he knows what he wants with his life.”
“And what did you want?”
“At first I just wanted to make my father proud. He challenged me to master fire because he was angry with my bigger brother. Itachi had learned the element when he was a year younger than I was, so dad thought it was time. I practiced all night, but my fire would not burn any brighter just because I wanted it to.”
“You got there in the end, though.”
“It was somewhere in the cold night that I found it. Fire is passion, I had those in droves. Fire burns with spite, which I had enough of for Itachi. But fire also warms and nourishes. The more I failed, the more I realised what really mattered. My clan, my family, my village. I wanted to become strong to protect them. So then I did.”
“I have plenty of people I want to protect.” Naruto protested. He had learned that lesson a long time ago.
“It could be different for wind chakra.”
“I suppose.”
“Besides your chakra training, how’s the specialisation going?”
“The arms are trickier than I thought. I’ve figured out most of the biology, but I can’t map my nervous system to the arms. That was supposed to be the easy part so I could move on to redirecting chakra pathways.”
“You’re going to be pumping chakra into the arms?”
“I will have to if I want to fight with them. But it’s been such a challenge connecting the nerve system, that I’m even having trouble just moving control of a regular arm to a created one. That’s supposed to be easy. I do that all the time when I transform into an animal.”
Sasuke nodded. “I thought you were working on an alternative as well.”
“The chakra chains.” Naruto pulled up a book from a nearby closet. “There’s not an accurate record of how my… how my inspiration managed it.” No telling who was listening in. “There are enough descriptions of the effects that I thought I could attempt it. But she must have figured out a better trick to it. I can make the chains no problem.”
Sasuke’s eyes turned red. “Show me.”
Naruto held one hand above the other. Manifesting chakra was one of the easiest Academy tricks. A connection with an explosive tag to make it explode. A connection with a wooden log to perform the replacement technique. It was not complicated to find something and attach a single string to it. It took him less than an hour to figure out why Kushina had chosen to make a chain.
He gathered his chakra and produced small circles that interlinked as they left his hand. The circle was a stable shape and it connected each chakra string to itself. That kept the whole thing from falling apart as Naruto increased the length and only had one end of the chain attached to him.
Sasuke shook his head. “It’s nowhere near dense enough to manipulate matter. I wouldn’t even be able to see it without the sharingan.”
“If I compress the chakra, I can’t shape it. If I shape the chakra normally, I can’t get it any denser.” Naruto groaned. “I’m left with a chakra connection that’s hardly any stronger than a normal string, which takes longer to create and can’t do anything useful.”
“Right.” Sasuke’s eyes turned back to normal. “And your animal companion?”
“I hoped to get a wind clone going.”
“You’ve barely mastered the element itself.”
“It wouldn’t need to be perfect. Just good enough that it could Henge into a fox. But yeah, it seems the idea is out of the window with how long the basic process is taking. My alternative is… well, just watch. Natto!”
There was a meow from somewhere in the appartment, which was progress. The cat came over demanding a treat. And Naruto immediately reached into his pocket to give it. When Naruto gave him pets instead, he got angry and started scratching. He was normally harmless, but ever since Naruto had taught him to respond to his name with positive reinforcement, Natto had shown his wrath. Naruto had taught the cat that it would get a treat each time his name was called, and anything less was blasphemous betrayal.
“He’s cute.” Sasuke said.
“He’s a little snot.” Naruto said, picking the cat up and dropping him in his lap. “He’ll be older than Jiji before he ever obeys a command.”
“There’s still an Inuzuku dog. They’re already trained.”
“Too expensive.” Naruto hissed. How often did he need to repeat that a trained dog was not a solution before his teammates would let it go? “What are you even doing here?”
“If you’re not too busy, I wanted to ask your help.”
“What do you need?”
“I’ve been contacting my spirit animal. He doesn’t seem to like me very much.”
“That’s a bummer. What did you say to him?”
“Why do you assume I said anything wrong?”
“Cause you’re Sasuke. Did you insult his feathers or something?”
He sighed. “I was ready to give him a full speech. But… well, just see. You should get Natto out of the room though.”
The cat perked up at hearing his name and Naruto had to give him another treat, before pushing him out of the room and closing the door.
Sasuke bit his thumb and went through the hand signs. And then he went through more hand signs. And then even more. How freaking long was the combination for a summon anyway? Naruto did not remember Kakashi taking this long.
There was a poof of smoke and then appeared a crow in the room. Except not a normal crow. It was a little chick. His feathers still looked like hairs and it made him look like a little fluffy explosion.
“Oh my god, he’s so adorable.” Naruto beamed.
The crow squawked.
“I’m sorry, a very fierce bird. I’ve never seen anything stronger.”
It preened.
“I’m going to pick you up now for petting.”
The bird scooted a little back, but Naruto could tell it was just a token protest. The chick easily fit into his hand.
Naruto gently ran his finger over the bird’s head and body. “How has he been giving you trouble then?” He looked over to his teammate.
Sasuke seemed frozen in the room. “Of course my spirit animal likes you more than me.”
“Don’t be such a baby.” Naruto said. “Open your hand.”
“He pecked me last time I tried to hold him.”
“Ah, but this time he knows you’re just going to pet him, isn’t that right you smart little bird?”
The crow just tilted his head, which Naruto thought was answer enough. He put it in Sasuke’s open hand and helped him close his fingers.
“Little tighter. You need to be gentle, but sure of yourself.”
Sasuke had been complaining about Naruto having trouble hiding his emotions, but Sasuke was radiating the anxiety. That hypocrite. Even as he started petting, it only became a little less.
“I didn’t know you’d get one this small.” Naruto said.
The crow turned his beak to Naruto, squawking in indignation.
“I just meant a bird this young. I’m sure you’ll grow into an excessively big and exceptionally strong bird when you’re older.”
“I’m clan heir in Konoha laws, but not in the spiritual ones. Itachi has the crows’ support. I don’t matter to them. Not truly.”
“This one seems pretty fond of you.”
“Thanks to you.” Sasuke said. “When Itachi summoned his first crow, it was one of the noble ones. They had a long talk and Itachi was even gifted with wisdom from the spirits. I knew it’d be different for me, but I had just hoped…” Sasuke sighed.
“You can still talk to him. He’s smart enough to understand, isn’t he?”
The crow chirped happily.
“It’s private.” Sasuke said.
“I can leave the room.”
“It’s your bedroom, dobe.” Sasuke said. “I just meant… don’t repeat what I say to anyone else.” He turned to the crow. “I know that it’s been a while since the crows last met a summoner. It’s just me and my brother, now. I don’t know what he’s been using you for. But I can’t imagine he treats you any better than he did the clan. My whole life has been about getting stronger and reclaiming the Uchiha name. About purging it from its biggest tragedy. And it’s about saving you too. I’ll free you from Itachi, no matter how long it takes. I promise.”
The crow nodded solemnly.
“I do not wish to be presumptuous, but may I give you a name for the material world?”
Again a nod.
“Then I name you Nozomu. And I will call on you when I need you, as you can call on me.”
Sasuke opened his hands and with a poof of smoke the little bird disappeared. “Thanks Naruto. You being here helped a lot.”
“It was no trouble. I hope you’ll have a good relationship with your animal. I have to admit, I’m a little jealous. I’ll never have anything like it.”
“What if I can’t save them?”
“I don’t think that’s possible. If there’s anyone who can do it, it’s you.”
“Itachi was stronger when he was my age. I sometimes feel like I’ll never catch up.”
“I know that feeling.” Naruto said. “There’s nothing to do but to keep trying.”
“I should probably head back before my family starts to worry.”
“Sasuke… what if I don’t make chuunin?”
Sasuke shrugged. “Why bother preparing for something as improbable as your failure?”
“I almost failed the exams themselves. I’m really struggling with the conditions. I’m worried I won’t make it in time.”
“Naruto, I have every bit of faith in you that you’ll figure something out.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because you’re the most creative and motivated ninja I’ve ever met.”
Naruto could not help but smile.
“And you know I’d be here for you more often if I could.” Sasuke said.
“I know you have your spiritual training and your clan duties.”
“It’s been really tough these last couple of weeks. I miss you a lot.” Sasuke said. “You and Sakura. I’ve been trying to arrange the marriage between Kurenai-san and Uncle Garu.”
“What’s there to arrange?”
“You’d be surprised. The Hokage is willing to give his blessing providing Kurenai’s mission availability is not affected. Uncle Garu is fine with anything so long as he can stay in the Uchiha compound. Kurenai has her own appartment that she would prefer to stay in. There’s a lot of arguments and meetings towards a marital arrangement that will work as a compromise.”
“I’m pretty sure I’d just elope if anyone made it that complicated for me.”
Sasuke shook his head. “They’re not marrying for love. They’re both loyal ninja and willing to accept a union for the betterment of the village and the family.”
“Is this because of Garudo’s eyes?”
“Yeah. Uncle Garu has the Sharingan and Kurenai is clan heir. Their children will have her connection to a small clan and his eyes. They’ll be stronger for it. But you can imagine the struggle it’s been to get them named Uchiha and have them live on the compound.”
“I can.” Naruto said. “But it’ll also be nice to have new life in those halls.”
“It’s not something we can postpone much longer. If uncle Garu was not buying me this time, they would have expected me to find a partner.”
“But you’re only a teenager.”
“I’m clan heir.” Sasuke said. “It’s not an issue anyway, thanks to uncle. I should head back there. But I’ll come check-up soon, okay?”
Naruto nodded. He had problems, but at least he was not almost being forced to choose a child bride.
He waved Sasuke off and was left alone in his room again.
All Naruto had to do was overcome some impossible challenges with little to no help. Much easier.
Actually, when he thought about it like that, it almost made Naruto laugh. Since when had he been troubled when people stopped helping him? Naruto did not usually wait around until people came to him. And if he needed help, there was actually a very easy solution to that. One that sure beat doing endless exercises that were getting him nowhere.
He went into the kitchen and started baking blueberry muffins, Natto at his feet begging for scraps.
~*~
“I come bearing a present.” Naruto said with a wide smile.
As much as the Hokage needed to get his work done, he could not resist. “Haven’t seen you in a while, Naruto.”
Just the kind inviting smile Naruto had been hoping for. Naruto had timed his visit to just after the Hokage had eaten, which is when he was least eager to go back to work and most craving a diversion. It was also at the end of the guard’s shift, when he was most likely to accept muffins as a bribe. “Hope you haven’t gone senile without me keeping you on your toes.”
“Yes, whatever would I do without having to check all my doors for erasers and all my drawers for confetti bombs?” Jiji laughed. “What’s my present?”
Naruto had wanted to bring some food, but that would just remind the old man of the ramen Naruto brought last time. So instead something else cool. “I found this at the market.”
Jiji accepted it with fascination. It was a wooden carving of the three wise monkeys. One covered his eyes, one his ears and the last his mouth. “It is well crafted.”
“An up and comer. I snagged this piece before they become famous and expensive.”
“You’ve always had a good eye for these things.” Jiji said. “Let me pour us some tea.”
Naruto beamed. He pulled his tea cup out of his bag and put it on the desk. He had been hoping this would happen.
Jiji laughed. “You do realise I have cups for entertaining guests?”
“No way. Tea doesn’t taste as good when served in other cups.” Naruto said. And it was mostly true. It just did not feel right to drink tea with Jiji and not use the cup Jiji had gifted him. It was old and chipped and had seen better days. Just like Jiji, Naruto always smiled to think.
“Congratulations on making it this far with the Chuunin exams. I’m winning a lot of bets because of you.” Jiji said, pouring the tea.
“You bet money I would make it?”
“No money yet, though perhaps I should. They always give you the worst odds, no matter how often you’ve proved them wrong. Though if I had known what awaited you in the Forest of Death, the odds would have been incalculable. It’s not an easy feat to face Orochimaru and leave alive.”
“He didn’t want to kill us. Not really.”
“If only it were that simple.”
“Gaara’s the one who actually got close.” Naruto said. “Kakashi-sensei said you’re going to let Suna get off scot-free.”
“What did he say exactly?”
Naruto repeated most of the conversation he had had with Kakashi. Including the talk of war.
Jiji took a long sip of his tea. “I see. Simplistic but accurate. I think you’re lacking a complete picture of the incident.”
Naruto made a face.
“Tell me, what do you think would have happened if Rock Lee and you had not stepped in?”
“Gaara would have killed his proctor.”
“And after Hayate had perished? What then?”
“I think… he would not have stopped. He would have kept going until someone killed him.”
“And released the Ichibi.” Jiji said.
“Yeah.” Naruto sighed. “I heard the Kazekage is going to send Gaara on a Jinchuriki mission in Suna. Gaara’s upset and wants it to end on his own terms.
“Ah, you’re better informed in that regard than I am.” Jiji nodded. “My own conclusion had been that if there was a bad place to release the Ichibi, it would have been in the middle of the Forest of Death, with enough of Konoha’s forces there that we could easily repel the attack, and possibly capture another tailed beast for our forces.”
“So what did I miss?”
“Just that while it’s not unreasonable to suspect Gaara is solely responsible, it is not assured. Perhaps Orochimaru had other plans and needed Gaara as a distraction. Perhaps someone wanted to eliminate Hayate and the rest was to cover up that motive. Perhaps Asuma was the target and they hoped to divert the medical team so that he might not survive his injuries. Or perhaps, there was someone who thought Konoha would benefit from acquiring the Ichibi.”
“Someone inside of Konoha? Who?”
The Hokage waved a tired hand to dismiss the issue. “There are as many suspects as there are citizens.”
Naruto went through all the possibilities. “How do you deal with that much uncertainty?”
“A large part of it is never committing to any one hypothesis. And to take the time to enjoy tea and good company, instead of dwelling on all the ways your allies could be your enemies.”
“And so nothing happens.”
“Without proof, we do not act rashly. We do not escalate. Gaara will be held responsible in the end. You must just have patience.”
One part of Naruto wanted to make suggestions. The other part thought of Temari, and how hurt she would be if something happened to Gaara. How eager she would be to retaliate towards Konoha just like Naruto wanted to retaliate for what had happened to Lee.
“Now, I don’t suppose you came here only to talk of politics, considering the heavy task you’ve been given.”
Naruto nodded. “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I’m following the exercises. I’m just not getting the results that I should.”
“Tell me about what you’re doing.”
And so Naruto started talking. He talked about his experiments to get an animal using ninjutsu and his attempts at getting Natto to listen. He talked about training for wind chakra and training to be able to tell a lie. About his training to do something new with the henge that had never been attempted before. And also, about how impossible it all felt. And when he was finally done, he seemed more relieved already, for having voiced his difficulty.
Jiji stood and went to walk over to the balcony. He stared over the village as he thought. It took him a few minutes, before nodding sagely. “It’s possible.”
“It is?” Naruto beamed. “What do I need to do?”
“Know yourself.” Jiji said.
Naruto waited for the rest of the explanation, which failed to come. “What?”
“Tell me who you are.”
“I’m Naruto.”
Jiji made a face.
Naruto sighed and tried again. “I’m a genin of Konoha, hopefully a chuunin soon. I’m without talent but keeping up with my teammates who are from powerful clans. I have a wind affinity. And I’m going to be Hokage one day.”
“Look inside of yourself and give me a deeper answer.”
“Something deeper than my dreams?”
“Let me give you an example. The first affinity I got was of Earth. As I trained under my own jounin sensei, I considered myself the foundation of the village. There is no village without the earth to build upon. Trees would have no roots, rivers no bottoms. It was in mastering my element that I learned I was not nearly so important. I read the poems of our writers, looked upon the paintings of our artists. I was necessary for them to function, but it was the art that had the meaning. I was not the heavy mountains that rise to be admired. I was the road, so that others could walk it. I am a facilitator.”
Naruto considered Jiji’s words carefully. It was just meditating for the wind element. He made everything quiet and searched. Who was he? He was supposed to be wind. And certainly Naruto could be annoying like a windy day. He could be relentless like the storm. And all his life he had felt like the leaf in one of his exercises, diving rapidly back and forth in his desperate attempts to stay afloat amongst the storm.
If he was the wind that Temari had showed him, he could just dodge out of this question. Something about that idea felt wrong. And Naruto tried to search for why.
There was a flash of red fur, and Naruto opened his eyes with heavy breaths.
“Take another sip of tea.” Jiji said.
“S-sorry…” Naruto drank and tried to forget.
“If you’re worried about the demon…”
“No. That’s not it.” Naruto said. He had long since gotten used to the sight of Kuruma’s fur and had accepted himself as Jinchuriki. “It’s something else.”
“Not all truths are good ones.” Jiji said. “My second element was fire and I searched for it after I lost my sensei. I thought it would be the passion I needed to become Hokage. I was desperately searching for something to pull me forward. And I realised later that I had been looking in the wrong place. It wasn’t passion that drove me, but jealousy.”
“Jealousy?”
“My teammate Danzo had always been a better fighter than I was. He made training seem effortless. I found my fire embracing how badly I wanted to beat him. And it was my mastery of fire that finally let me keep up. Even when he was injured and served the village only as adviser, he pushed me to do better as a politician. I can’t stand losing to him. And that was the fire I found. Petty, but effective. I could not grow as a person until I had admitted to it.”
“You’re saying… I need to accept the worst parts of myself.”
“I’m saying that you focus so much on what you should do, that you’ve lost sight of finding who you are.”
Naruto sighed. “I’m not sure that’s helpful.”
“I’m betting that it is.” Jiji said. “The worse your odds, the greater the chance you seem to pull through.”
Naruto considered the question carefully.
Who was he?
And why did that question make him so uncomfortable?
Notes:
Next month: Nature of the beasts. Which might be controversial. It'll be the second training chapter and then we're off to the chuunin exhibition matches.
Going to be short about this one. Props to RopeLion for making sure Naruto would get a pet. Originally Naruto would just dorp a line that he's never been able to tame a wild animal and that was going to be it. Naruto has named the cat 'Minato' for his favourite hero the Fouth Hokage, and then calls him 'Natto' because he's technically supposed to be a bit more subtle and avoid any possible connections with the Fourth, and also much more importantly it's a food like Naruto is.
NanoWrimo's going great so far, and I'm glad I had some extra time today to get this chapter out. Hopefully next month I'll be able to post an update being 50k closer to having this fanfic finished.
Chapter 14: 2.6 Nature of the beast (Dogs of War)
Summary:
Jiji says I need to know myself in order to become a chuunin. What does that even mean? I'm just Naruto. But even when I have no idea what I should be doing, I'll be working my ass of doing it. Perseverence is the next best thing to introspection!
Notes:
So, I was 4k short of finishing NanoWrimo, and then with the busy hollidays have not had any time or energy to write. Was planning on publishing this chapter last week, but then it just kept growing. I don't like to say that it needed fixing, but I had an unusual amount of optimisations on my to-do list and kept having more and more ideas for including more elements. Anyway, enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Temari was recovering from Kuruma’s chakra. Though they were pressed for time and Naruto wanted to go again, he knew he was already pushing her. She kept insisting she could handle herself, but with each declaration there was less force behind the statement. Naruto handed her his thermos with tea. They were due for a break anyway.
“Gaara actually stayed with us after we had dinner. It was a little awkward, but we’re getting closer.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“I just wish I could spend more time with him. But Kankuro and I have to work most days.”
“You’ve been working yourself to the bone.” Naruto noted. She had signed up for several freelance jobs to supplement the fee Naruto was paying her, and was still only barely able to avoid her own tutor. “Didn’t your father arrange travel expenses?”
She scoffed. “There wasn’t much to spare.” At Naruto’s confusion, she continued. “How much do you know about Suna’s economic situation?”
“Not much, I have to admit. I know that Suna’s our main import partner for clothing and medicinal plants.”
“We’re forced to trade with Konoha to get enough food. In the last peace deal Konoha took our most fertile lands and added them to the Land of Fire. And as long as we’re forced to buy our food, we aren’t in a position to haggle over the price.”
“Can’t you trade with the other countries?”
“We’ve tried several times. But none want to risk offending Konoha.”
“That sounds… untenable.”
“Huh.” Temari smirked. “I would think you’d be sticking up for your own village.”
Naruto shrugged. “It’s not like I can defend the position that it was okay to take your food and hold it hostage. I’d hope it was only temporary.”
“When the Kazekage arrives, he plans to bring it up with the Hokage.” Temari said. “Even if he has to get a bit… forceful.”
“The Sandaime doesn’t respond well to harsh words, but if you have enough leverage, it should be possible to make him change his mind.”
“What kind of leverage?”
“You have the moral high ground in a certain respect. Jiji can be stern, but he’s also fair. And what he wants most of all is lasting peace. So if you take steps in strengthening our alliance, he’ll be willing to budge. Perhaps offer some of your ninja techniques like the puppetry art. If the other teachers of Suna are anything like you, Konoha ninja would love to learn from them.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She said, though something in her expression was more guarded than usual.
“Are you really?”
She sighed. “No.”
“I’d be offended but I’m mostly just relieved I’m not the only chuunin candidate still having trouble getting away with lying.”
“I’m perfectly capable of lying.” Temari said.
“Doesn’t look like it to me.” Naruto laughed. “You wear your heart on your sleeve and I mean that as a compliment.”
“I’m not here to teach you emotional suppression, but if I were I would remind you that the best lies are hidden within truths. If you let people easily detect your little secrets, they’ll never suspect you’re hiding big ones. Do you understand?”
“I think so. But that also means that means you wanted me to pick up on offending you.”
Temari nodded. “I know you mean well, but your suggestion just now was to trade out our cultural heritage and betray the hard work our ancestors poured into giving us unique competitive skills in order to get out of a hostage situation.”
“Oh.” Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “When you put it like that…”
“However, it’s still an avenue we haven’t explored before. Perhaps an exchange of expertise where we teach some of our skills to you in exchange for Konoha teaching their skills to us. I’ll bring it up to my father and maybe it will help.”
Naruto nodded.
Temari handed back the thermos. “Okay, break’s over. How much progress have you made with the exercise I assigned you?”
Naruto shrugged. He picked up a leaf and let it float between his hands. It slipped away after just a few seconds and he had to chase after it. “I think I’m getting better at anticipating where it will end up.”
“Can you describe to me what you’re doing?”
“I’m concentrating on the leaf. The wind chakra keeps it in the air but it’s also blowing it away from me. So I’ve been doing all I can to try to keep that leaf as still as possible, like you showed me. It’s hard to find a balance where the wind is strong enough to keep it afloat while weak enough it doesn’t suddenly blow it away.”
Temari smiled. “I see.”
“Is there something I’m doing wrong?”
“Your grasp on wind chakra is getting better every day.” She said. “And more meditation will help.”
Naruto grunted. “Fine.”
Just like Jiji had said. It was no longer about doing anything different. Naruto needed to know himself to make any further progress.
~*~
Naruto took a deep breath as he thought about the cells in his body and built up an image of how he wanted them to be.
One moment he was there and he looked like himself. The other he had a third arm draped over his lap. As always, he needed a few seconds to get used to this. The arm looked like it had been amputated and Naruto was still not used to how unnerving it felt. But having something he could turn around allowed him to learn twice as quickly through observations so it had to be worth it. It was not even dangerous, most of the time.
He tried to bend his left arm and it was the new arm that actually moved. That meant he had been successful in transferring the nerves. But when his new hand grasped for a kunai, his new fingers failed him. He fumbled the kunai’s handle and accidentally dropped it. He had to scoot his feet away to avoid hurting himself and that made him drop the new arm in his moment of inattention.
It felt like his heart stopped from the pain. It felt like the kunai had missed his foot and landed blade first into his skull. He coughed up something that tasted of blood. Naruto dove for the arm before it could get worse and hugged it as close to his body as possible. Slowly the sweating calmed down, his vision returned and it started to feel like he could think again.
He cursed himself for getting careless. Detaching organic matter like this was not dangerous only as long as he avoided creating any distance between him and what he created.
It would be great if he could circumvent that limitation. Naruto made a mental note to look into the integrity principle. It would even be nice if he could just take measures to avoid the severity of such accidents in the future. While he got more information making a separate arm, it was safer to keep it attached to himself. Naruto was almost tempted to swing by the library to look up some books on the principle, but held himself back in time. He needed to focus on the problem at hand.
Besides, he did not have time for safe. This would have to do.
Then again, theoretically, if he did manage to break the integrity principle then it could also be the start of a whole new level of specialisation. Imagine if he could not just create extra arms to fight an enemy, but could make detachable hands that could wander around on their own.
Naruto shook his head again. He could work on these other problems later. He was already pressed for time as it was.
After Naruto had calmed down, he went back to concentrating on the new appendage. He tried to find as many mistakes as he could and then cancelled the form. At least he had been able to move the arm. That was more than he could a week earlier.
He tried to start a new visualisation, this one attached to Naruto’s skin as an extra precaution, but it was hard to focus. There were two men arguing nearby and they had been getting increasingly louder.
“…Na…to…”
Had one of them just used his name?
Naruto creeped closer.
“I just don’t understand how he can call himself a ninja and act so foolishly.”
“He’s still young.”
“That’s no excuse. He should’ve apologised by now.” Jiraiya grumbled.
“I’m asking you to please talk to him.” Kakashi said. “He’s in need of your expertise. There’s no other teacher in Konoha that will accept him.”
“If he’s in such desperate need, he can bite his pride and come find me. Did you know the things he said about me? He called me a pervert.”
“Were you peeping again?”
“That’s irrelevant. I’m a jounin and what I do in my own time is none of that genin’s business.”
“Naruto tends to speak his mind. Surely, the great Jiraiya-sama won’t let a childish temper bother him.”
“It’s not even the temper I’m worried about. You said he wanted to be chuunin, right? How does he even think to come close when he’s ignoring such an obvious resource right in front of him?”
Kakashi did not know what to say.
Naruto did. “You arrogant piece of shit.”
“Naruto.” Kakashi’s eye widened in surprise.
“You know nothing about me or my life.”
Jiraiya turned to him. Unlike Kakashi, he seemed unfazed by Naruto’s sudden appearance. “I know you’re letting a little disagreement stand in the way of critical lessons on chakra theory.”
“It’s called integrity and maybe if you stared at a book with the same intensity you stare at naked women you’d learn about it.”
“And where is your integrity getting you, boy?”
Naruto glared at the man. And then he let his chakra build. Just like he had practiced. He stared right into the old man’s eyes as he pushed all that chakra forward and created a strong breeze. It was taxing and it was not strong. But it was worth it to see the expression on Jiraiya’s face.
“You’ve found a teacher.”
“I’m going to be a chuunin.” Naruto said. “So if no teacher in Konoha would have me, I found one out of Konoha. And I didn’t need your help to do it.”
“I can still help.”
“No. I may not know exactly who I am yet, but I know what I’m not. I’m not your student.”
Naruto stalked off.
~*~
“Jump, you stupid cat!” Naruto shouted.
Natto just looked up at him, unimpressed, and licked his paw.
“Your anger is showing, Vulpesculi. Why should it listen to you?” Kuruma asked.
“Shut it. I am feeding it, giving it shelter and letting it cuddle against me whenever he wants. Least he can do in return is perform some tricks.”
“Typical human arrogance.”
Naruto did not feel like arguing, but it was not like his attempts to train Natto were bearing any fruit. He might as well practice the Demon’s Tongue. He sat down on one of his chairs. “Educate me, great and powerful Kuruma-sama. How am I wrong?”
“In the forest, that cat would be fed by mice. Are you so stupid to think it should obey their orders?”
“No, but…”
“The caves it hides in for shelter, are they above that cat in station?”
“I get what you’re saying, but…”
“When the cat rewards you with its trust, how dare you indignantly demand more?”
“I need something, Kuruma!” Naruto shouted inside his head. “Why can’t Natto just listen?!”
“You’re not asking the cat to listen. You’re telling it to obey. For humans both sound much the same.”
“Then what should I do? Wild animals won’t even follow me home. Natto is the closest thing I have to a tame pet.”
“Why do you need one anyway? To appease the other humans who have no respect?”
“It’s funny. If it were a spirit animal, they would never dare question me. They would not dare ask them to perform tricks in fear of offending them. But if it’s an animal, it needs to be one who obeys.”
“They wish to test your capacity for cruelty. You must destroy the free spirit in order to get the power you desire. Do you think that makes you strong?”
Naruto sighed. “No.”
Natto followed as Naruto went into the kitchen and opened up a can of food for him. The cat purred and rubbed against Naruto’s legs. It liked Naruto and had freely chosen to stay. And Naruto actually liked that much better than a pet who was being forced. It was not like Naruto agreed with the requirements of the chuunin exhibition.
Jiji’s assignment for Naruto was to know himself, and that was a difficult question to answer. Naruto was the kind of person who would march into the Chuunin exhibition by himself and demand he be allowed to participate. But that did not matter. Because the people in charge would not allow him unless he conformed. Naruto conforming was what had gotten him that far. He would go to any lengths to achieve his dreams of becoming Hokage, no matter what that meant.
Even if that meant mistreating an animal?
Red fur.
Naruto shook his head. He did not have time to think like this. He would wait another day. He would approach the training differently. He had to be doing something wrong. Maybe if he asked nicely, Natto would eventually do as told and no spirit had to be broken.
~*~
Naruto lost his balance, his shoulder hitting the ground of Training Field 7. He rubbed at the spot with a wince.
“Change your weight to the other foot a little earlier.” Sasuke said.
Hanabi demonstrated again.
“Right.” Naruto sighed, before getting back up and trying again. “How many steps are there to this stupid dance again?”
“Forty-two. Now from the top.”
Naruto groaned as he did his best to copy Hanabi. He made it past his previous mistake, but was face-down after just three more steps when he had to do a split in the middle of the air. “I hate this.”
Hanabi chuckled. “You’re not alone. I’d much rather be helping you with your other projects. It sucks that the first time we’ve been able to spend together has to be spent on this.”
“I was hoping we could rush through this, but it’s taking forever.” Naruto pouted.
“Everyone struggles with the grand jeté.”
“It’s tradition.” Sasuke added.
“Think of it as agility training.” Hanabi said. “If you’re able to make your way through this, you’ll be able to pull all kinds of crazy stunts in a fight.”
“Nope. Different muscles.” Naruto said. “What’s tripping me up are the weird embellishments that are inefficient for movement.”
“They look pretty though.” Sasuke smirked.
“Well, if it’s my job to look pretty…” Naruto put his hands together for a henge. He replaced his bulky jumpsuit with a tight orange speedo. He smoothed out all the scars and callouses on his skin and lengthened his hair enough that he could embellish it with flowers and pins. “Want to try again, honourable Hanabi-sama?”
Hanabi smiled as she gave a small bow. “I’d be delighted, Uzumaki-sama”
Sasuke spluttered and looked away with a red face. “You’re not taking this seriously at all.”
Naruto laughed. The stuck-up bastard was so fun to tease. “On the contrary. I’m trying to get into the mindset. If the audience wants to ogle me, why not give them exactly what they want?”
Hanabi chuckled. “One of the purposes of the chuunin exam is to get noticed. This would sure qualify.”
“Exactly.” Naruto beamed, starting up the steps again.
Sasuke tried to pay attention, but he seemed physically unable to take a half-dressed man seriously. He kept fidgeting.
Next time Naruto fell, Naruto had a smile on his face. “Were you watching closely, teme? Where did I go wrong?”
“Moved your right arm too late as counterbalance.”
Huh. He was more professional than Naruto gave him credit for. Still, the dancing was getting increasingly boring and this was the most fun he had had in weeks. And this was who Naruto was, surely? A prankster who enjoyed having fun. Maybe being silly would get him closer to his answers. At worst, he would only enjoy himself.
He dusted off the tiny bit of cloth he was wearing and started up again.
~*~
Naruto had trouble keeping his eyes open. Still, there was one more chapter to read and he would be damned if he put it off any longer. He was already in his pyjamas and nursing a cup of relaxing chamomile tea, Natto purring on his lap; he could sleep as soon as it was done. And if nothing else, he could multitask by reading the essential text while also trying to hide his boredom. His emotional suppression was far from perfect.
And then his window opened and Naruto had to sigh. “You have lousy timing, sensei.”
“I get that a lot.” Kakashi said. “But I wanted to talk to you. How are things progressing?”
“I’m getting closer every day.”
“It’s one week from the exhibition matches. What’s finished?”
Naruto stared at his tea.
“Your elemental training?”
“Temari says I’m almost there.”
“She’s been saying that for weeks. Your animal companion?”
“I’ll figure something out.”
“Henge specialisation?”
“It’s coming along. I just need to have a few very productive research days and I’m there.”
“And will you have those?”
“I’m hoping I do.”
“How’s your ability to lie?”
“Stopped working on it because it’s an idiot skill to have.” Naruto lied, but he could already feel the heat coming to his ears. He shook his head. “I don’t get why it’s so difficult for me.”
“Some people take longer. Or they need more help. Maybe there’s something else you can do. Have you considered drugs to eliminate your emotions?”
“They’d wear off too quickly.” Naruto said. “And I don’t want anyone saying I cheated my way to Chuunin. They want me to have the skill to lie. So I’ll get there. It shouldn’t be this hard.”
“Naruto.” Kakashi waited until he was sure Naruto was paying complete attention to him. “I’m starting to get worried.”
“I’ll be ready.” Naruto said. “I can do this.”
“I wish there was more I could do to help you, Naruto. I had hoped Jiraiya could take my place.”
Naruto scoffed.
Kakashi sat down on one of the chairs. “What do you know about him?”
“I know he’s a pervert. I know he taught the fourth Hokage and that he was teammates with Tsunade and Orochimaru.”
“Did you know his talent score is a 2?”
That startled Naruto. “That’s under the threshold. I thought I knew of all the exceptions.”
“It was a long time ago.” Kakashi said. “He was stubborn and hard-working and earned his spot in the top 9. The Sandaime saw something in him though, together with Orochimaru and Tsunade. Jiraiya found his place with them. Until the war happened and they faced Hanzo of the Salamander.”
“That was them?”
“Hanzo praised them for surviving him and named them the Legendary Sannin. The name would have stuck if the team had not fractured shortly after.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know exactly. But Orochimaru was forever changed. He became antagonistic and would refuse orders. Nobody was surprised when he became a missing ninja a month after the battle. Tsunade lost someone in the war and it broke her. She left the village too, be it with tentative permission. Jiraiya, with nobody keeping him in Konoha, started to travel the world. He sent back information and called himself a spy master.”
“I always heard Jiji sent him on that mission.”
“That’s what he likes everyone to think. That Konoha asked him to go on this path. He has tried to come back to Konoha numerous times, but he ends up leaving every time. He says it’s because the village cannot survive without its spy master, because then he can pretend that he did not run away to avoid his problems. That he became a book author just as a cover.” Kakashi reached for his belt and pulled out the book he always carried around with him. “Do you know what Icha Icha Paradise is about?”
“It’s marketed as porn.”
“Oh, it’s very much adult and unfit for teenage eyes.” Kakashi smirked behind his mask. “But it’s about a man that has never been loved, meeting a woman that changes his world forever and the man that she was engaged with. The woman is torn between the men and falls for both of them. It’s about her family struggling to accept a polyamorous relationship, but accepting two new sons in the end. There are arguments and problems, but in the book they always find each other again.”
“And every time they find each other, they have sex.”
“In increasingly graphic ways and with a lot more homo-erotic undertones than is plausible for an author that claims to be completely straight. That’s not the point. Jiraiya is a lonely man, Naruto. His escapism fantasy is characters finding a family and acceptance. He is also someone who is uncomfortable admitting this and cloaks all his insecurities in sex and misogyny.”
“That doesn’t excuse any of his behaviour.”
“Of course not.” Kakashi said. “Just because he’s looking for someone to enable him, doesn’t mean you should. I understand why you do not want to deal with him, but he does have a lot to offer. If you go to him and challenge him, he’ll respond to it.”
Naruto sighed. “How did the Fourth deal with this bullshit?”
“It was difficult.” Kakashi said. “He did not like talking about it, but it was hurtful whenever Jiraiya thought Minato’s absent sex drive was either a lie or a phase. Minato was often disappointed in his teacher and felt embarrassed. But after Jiraiya saved his life on a mission, Minato felt like he had to repay his teacher somehow. He made it his mission to make Jiraiya a better man. He even named Jiraiya as the godfather of his future children.”
Naruto blinked. “But he would never have any kids.”
“Which is probably the only reason he offered it. It was symbolic.”
“It doesn’t seem to have worked.”
“Jiraiya did not take Minato’s death well. He has reverted to his old habits. It was selfish of me, but I hoped you’d be a good influence on him.”
“You could’ve told me that from the start.”
“I didn’t want to pressure you. You had every right to turn away from him. I fully understand that decision. The only reason I’m telling you now is because you’re stuck and his help could be the difference between a chuunin promotion and another year as genin.”
Naruto grunted. “I really don’t want to. But I guess I can try.”
“That’s all I wanted. How’s your cat doing?” Kakashi reached out to pet Natto. Immediately the purring stopped and Natto fled away out of the kitchen. “He’s not listening any better?”
“I’m doing everything I should be doing according to the training books, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference.”
“I see.” Kakashi said. “On a different matter, your teammates asked if you could come to the Training grounds tomorrow after lunch. They seem to have a small opening in their schedule. \”
“Should be able to make it. What’s it about?”
“You’d have to ask them.” Kakashi tilted his head with the most suspicious kind of enjoyment and then disappeared.
It had to be something good then. Kakashi would not be teasing him if it was something he had to worry about.
~*~
“Okay, I’m here.” Naruto said, stopping his sprint at the Training Grounds. “What did you need…”
The whole of Team 7 was there, together with Hinata and Shino.
“We have a surprise for you.” Sakura smiled.
Oh no.
Naruto shuffled uncomfortably. “What is it?”
“We know you’ve been stressed out with the upcoming exams, so we all thought we’d pitch in and buy you a present.”
Oh god no.
“There really wasn’t any need for that.”
“Nonsense.” Sakura said. “You’re our friend and we care about you.”
There really was no getting out of it. “Thank you then. What did you get me?”
“Should be arriving any second now.” Sakura beamed. “Right, Hinata?”
She nodded. “It took some doing, but I can’t resist Hanabi when she asks me so nicely. Though none of it would have been possible without Shino.”
Shino gave a nod in greeting. “It’s been impressive seeing what you’ve managed to accomplish so far. I am driven by curiosity to see what else you can achieve with a little help.”
“Oh yeah?” Hinata chuckled. “Is that enough curiosity that I can keep my favours?”
“No.” Shino said. “The deal was already made.”
“It’s good to see you two.” Naruto said. “And I’m sorry these guys dragged you into this.”
“It was our pleasure.” Hinata insisted.
Naruto turned to his teammates. “I will find a way to pay you back for this.”
“Shut up.” Sasuke said. “We’ve been feeling guilty about how little we’ve been able to help. Let us do this.”
“We’ll feel better.” Hanabi said. “Though your surprise is running late.”
“Is it some kind of tutor?” Naruto asked.
“Better.” Sasuke promised. He turned to Hinata. “Assuming something hasn’t gone wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong. Kiba probably has a good reason for being late.”
“Kiba’s coming?” Naruto’s face fell.
“Of course. He’s bringing your present.”
Naruto’s heart was pounding. They wouldn’t. “What is the present?”
“Now that would ruin the surprise.” Sakura teased.
“I’m serious.” Naruto squeezed his hands into fists to keep them from shaking. “What did you do?”
Sakura flinched back. She seemed unsure how to respond.
“You said you were jealous of the animal bond.” Sasuke said.
“And that the obvious solution was just too expensive.” Hanabi added.
Naruto could feel his heart pounding. His vision narrowed. He had to get away from there, before…
But it was too late. Kiba was already walking up to them. Akamaru was in his normal place on the boy’s head and there was another pup in his arms. “Hinata didn’t mention you’d be the client.” He said.
“I didn’t know they were going to do this.”
“Deal’s off.”
The group started protesting, but Kiba’s glare shut them down.
“Why?” Hinata asked.
“The Inuzuka won’t deal with Naruto.”
Sakura stepped forward. “We know the two of you haven’t gotten along, but you have no grounds to refuse to sell. We made an oral contract.”
“Yamimaru isn’t some good in a community store. He’s a member of our family and we decide who gets to be his partner. Naruto doesn’t qualify.”
Naruto could see his teammates working themselves up to defend him.
Shino pushed up his sunglasses. “You should explain your reasoning, Kiba. Why? Because everyone here put a lot of work into making this happen and an explanation would clear up the confusion.”
Kiba turned to Naruto. “You want me to tell them?”
Narutos swallowed. “I don’t.”
“Naruto.” Hanabi said. “If it’s some kind of misunderstanding, then we can help.”
“It’s not… I made a mistake and it’s my fault.”
“A mistake?” Kiba tensed further. “You’re calling it a mistake?”
“This sure sounds like a misunderstanding.” Sakura said. “I’m positive that if we just sit down and talk things out…”
“I’m not sitting with that monster.” Kiba said.
“Who’re you calling a monster?” Sasuke said, drawing his kunai.
“He wasn’t talking about…” Naruto grunted, turning away. He could not mention Kuruma in front of the others. He could not mention what had really happened at all. “I can’t deal with this right now.”
“Yeah, just run away.” Kiba snarled. “That’s what you’re best at anyway.”
Naruto morphed into a fox and went as fast as his legs could take him.
~*~
Naruto’s tears had dried by the time Kakashi found him. He had climbed a tree to be in his happy place, some tall branches that had the perfect view of the sunrise. But the place was not the same so late in the day and there was no way to watch dusk as there was dawn.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Kakashi asked.
“I didn’t want to talk about it.” Naruto said. “I wanted to pretend nothing had happened.”
Kakashi settled down on the branch beside him. “I’m going to need to know the story. I can ask around if you’d prefer, but I’d rather hear it from you.”
Naruto bit his lip. “You’ll hate me.”
“I promise you I won’t. Whatever you did, it’s in the past now. Telling me about it will change nothing about who you are. And it will change nothing about what you’ve done to earn my respect.”
Naruto sighed. “Do you know about the Academy taijutsu tournament?”
“It’s an annual event, if I’m not mistaken.”
“When we were eight Kiba was slated to win the whole tournament, but I accidentally beat him.”
“Accidentally?” Kakashi quirked an eyebrow.
“He was completely trashing me, but I overloaded his heightened olfactory senses just as he was behind me.”
Kakashi needed only a few seconds to figure it out. “You farted?” He was too much of a smart bastard.
“Naturally Kiba called me a cheater and didn’t want anything to do with me.”
“And he’s been mad ever since?”
“No. I wish that was all. The Inuzuka invited me for a sleep-over a week later to clear the air. It was a lot of fun at first. They showed me the dog kennels. There was one dog, a red puppy called Akemaru, that took a liking to me and started following me around as I got a tour of the whole complex. Did you know they have several vet offices on their grounds? I guess you would, with your summons.”
“My summons do not require medical attention. And the Inuzuka and the Hatake have a difficult history in general. I wouldn’t be welcome.” Kakashi said. “I assume something else happened while you were there.”
“I had another argument with Kiba. He was still sour about losing. I can’t remember the exact insult he used leading up to it, but eventually he said that my parents didn’t even love me enough to leave me any talent before they died. And I remember saying that it did not matter what he said because the Inuzuka weren’t a real clan anyway.”
Kakashi tensed. “That’s a very sensitive issue for them.”
“I didn’t know all the specifics at the time, but I had heard the rumours. How they use real animals because they’re unable to summon. Kiba’s mom, who had been trying to smooth things over, told me I had to leave. I now think she meant to another room, but I understood at the time that she wanted me to leave the compound.”
“She wanted to de-escalate and talk to Kiba.”
“Yeah. But I went to the guest bedroom to retrieve my bag. That’s when it… when I…” Naruto’s eyes teared up. “Before I was allowed on the compound, they asked me if I was carrying any dangerous foods with me.”
“Dangerous?”
“For the dogs. Like chocolate or raisins. They had a whole list. I thought I was being clever when I said I didn’t have anything on the list with me. I did not understand what their intentions were and thought it was just another weird requirement. Like you cannot become genin without reading at least a hundred books about history. You can’t visit our special clan grounds if you own anything on this list.”
“You brought something else, then. And one of the dogs ate it?”
“I caught Akemaru as I went to get my bag. I was still working on a poison specialisation at the time and I had foraged some coriaria berries the afternoon before. The pup had eaten the whole batch. I panicked.” Naruto buried his face in his hands. “I grabbed my bag and ran.”
“What happened to the dog?”
“I should have taken him to Kiba’s mom. Or any of the multiple vet offices. The Inuzuka say Akemaru could have made it if he had been seen to sooner. Or even if they’d just known what poison he had eaten.”
“I see.” Kakashi said. “It died.”
“They tried to get me expelled from the Academy and the Hokage had to get involved. He did everything he could to cover for what I had done. He kept calling it a childish mistake and swore everyone to secrecy.”
Kakashi considered. “I have a question. Can you explain to me why you ran away?”
“I was a coward. Everyone was already mad at me and I didn’t want them to get more mad.”
“You, a coward?” Kakashi asked.
“I… I didn’t know what to do.”
“Kiba’s mother had told you to go and you didn’t want to disobey her.”
“It’s no excuse. I should’ve realised the dog’s life was much more important.”
“You should have.” Kakashi said. “Would you do the same thing again today?”
“Of course not.” Naruto balked. The mere thought of ever running away from someone in need again made Naruto angry.
“Then it was something you learned from. It is very tragic that you made a mistake that cost the life of an animal, but all children make mistakes.”
The tears started flowing more freely. “I killed him, sensei. He liked me and I screwed up and I killed him.”
“You are partially responsible, yes.” Kakashi said. “But so are the Inuzuka for not properly explaining why they have rules prohibiting you bring poisons. For leaving their dogs to roam around to eat out of stranger’s bags. Tsume-san is partially responsible for making you feel unsafe to go to her. It is probably the reason why the Inuzuka agreed to bury the story. They would sound weak for their inability to defend themselves against the mistake of a clanless Academy student. The Third Hokage most probably felt responsible for leaving you a lone orphan to deal with such a situation.”
“I feel more responsible than any of them.”
“Do you realise why Kiba is so angry with you?” Kakashi asked. “Perhaps he feels like you did something wrong, but he also feels guilty.”
Naruto scoffed. “He didn’t do anything.”
“He was childish about you winning, which lead to you staying over. He fought with you again, which lead to you running off without talking to them. But he finds it easier to blame you than accept his own responsibility. When tragedy happens, we all find a way to blame ourselves whether it’s consciously or not.”
“I… didn’t realise.”
“Have you tried apologising to him?”
“I wanted to, but… Jiji said it was better to move on. I wouldn’t even know what to say.”
“Sometimes a bad attempt is better than no attempt at all. But first, you should talk to your teammates.”
Naruto sighed. “I suppose. Do you know where they are?”
“They spent most of the afternoon looking for you, but I suppose they’re having dinner at the moment. Did you eat?”
Naruto shook his head.
“I’ll have my summons gather them at my apartment and we’ll pick up something to eat for you on the way.”
~*~
It was a strange way to be introduced to Kakashi’s apartment officially. Naruto had been there a few times, mostly to prank the man as punishment for avoiding Naruto, but Naruto had never been invited through the front door and allowed to sit at the kitchen table.
Every bit of furniture was the standard for these ninja apartments. Kakashi had changed nothing and the only sign that it was a home that was lived in, was the ninja equipment that was stored around the place.
“You don’t spend a lot of time in here, do you?”
“More than usual, now that I have a genin team. But old habits die hard. Every time I increased in rank, I moved somewhere else. It became such a hassle, that eventually I just stopped moving my things along with me. It’s also easier when you’re months away out of the village and you know there is nothing lost if your apartment gets broken into.”
“Did that happen to you a lot?”
“It’s happened a few times. It was worse during the war, when food and money was in short supply for all of Konoha’s citizens. But we’re not here to talk about me. Have your dinner. Your teammates will be here soon.”
Naruto ate the ramen they had picked up and the warmth did help him feel a little better.
Sakura, Sasuke and Hanabi arrived together, uncomfortably silent.
“I already heard the story.” Kakashi said, leaving the kitchen to make room. “I’ll be reading in my bedroom if I’m needed.”
“This is going to be hard for me. It feels like you’re going to hate me for this.” Naruto said, diverting his gaze. “Please don’t interrupt me until I’m done.”
Naruto took a deep breath and then he told them. His teammates had neutral faces on from start to finish, putting that emotion suppression training to good use, and simply listened.
When Naruto was done, he looked for their reactions.
“And that’s all?” Sasuke asked.
“Yeah, that’s all I wanted to say.”
“So where’s the part that’s supposed to make us hate you?” Hanabi asked.
And that was enough to start Naruto crying. Sakura was the first to reach out and wrap her arms around Naruto’s shoulders. Hanabi and Sasuke followed soon after. “Just like that?”
“Honestly I’m more mad about you breaking guest ettiquete.” Hanabi said. “If you had told me this story when we first met, I would have told you to stay away from the Hyuuga grounds. You don’t break things when you’re invited somewhere.”
“Akemaru was not a thing.” Naruto said.
“You know what I mean.” Hanabi said.
“Point is, we all did stupid things when we were younger. You were just eight years old.” Sasuke said. “When I was six, we had to bury my pet bunny after an incident with a stolen shuriken.”
He looked guilty at the admission, waiting for judgement, but none came.
“I once set our shop on fire trying to heat up my lunch. My dietician had told me to wait and I threw a tantrum about being hungry and then went around her back with zero cooking skills.” Sakura said. “I wish I could say I was six or eight at the time, but I was eleven.”
“I once tried to kill Hinata when I was three.” Hanabi said softly. “She had won from me and had this smug smile of her face. And I was consumed with a rage so terrible that I threw myself at her and knew I would be okay if my slapping killed her.”
“I’m sorry.” Sasuke smirked. “You tried to kill your sister by slapping her?”
“I had the desire, but none of the knowledge to follow through.” Hanabi said, her face flushing.
“It’s normal to harbour the desire to kill your siblings from time to time. Take it from someone who knows what it feels like when that desire becomes an actual goal. From someone who wishes killing a sibling was as easy as slapping them hard enough.”
“Thanks, Sasuke.”
“So what are you going to do now?” Sakura asked Naruto. “Do you think there is any way the Inuzuka will give you a ninken anyway?”
“It’s probably impossible.” Naruto said. “But I think… I need to deal with them anyway. I think… whenever I try to figure out who I am, I see Akemaru’s red fur. Leaving this unresolved is messing with my elemental chakra training.”
“If you want to get on their good side, clans traditionally want to be given an equal sacrifice.” Hanabi said. “Perhaps you could give up Natto?”
“Natto isn’t mine to give away.” Naruto said. “And I don’t think the Inuzuka of all clans would look kindly on me treating an animal like property.”
“You could make reparations in money.” Sakura said. “But I don’t think you’d be able to afford what they’d ask for.”
“I guess.” Naruto sighed. He looked to Sasuke.
Sasuke had his thinking face on. “There’s no rules that can tell you what to do here. My first instinct would be to go with Sakura’s or Hanabi’s suggestions, because that’s the way it goes between clans. But the Inuzuka are not an ordinary clan and you’re not an ordinary ninja. Your instincts are better than mine. What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know.” Naruto shook his head. “After it happened I just wanted to apologise, but Jiji kept saying that it would only show my weakness.”
“I think you were right to want to apologise. And I think that if you spoke from the heart, you would be able to achieve what even the Hokage thought impossible.” Sasuke said. “But I doubt they’ll accept a formal request for a meeting where you can do that.”
“Getting into places without an invitation is kind of my specialty.” Naruto said with a hint of a smirk. “And you know, there’s something else I’ve been wanting to do ever since it happened. It would get me in the Inuzuka compound.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Sakura asked.
“No.” Naruto said. “This is something I’ll have to do alone.”
~*~
The Inuzuka compound looked just as impressive as it always had. Just as intimidating.
“What’s your business?” The guard asked. Unlike Garudo had at the Uchiha’s district, she did not immediately point her weapon at him. She did not seem any friendlier though.
“I’d like to talk to Kiba, please.”
“What’s it regarding.”
“He’ll know.” Naruto said. “I suspect you do as well.”
She huffed, before signalling a messenger to fetch him. “I’m going to need to search you.”
“I’m not carrying…”
She glared.
“Fine.”
She went through his backpack first. “What’s this?”
“Harmless.”
“I’d rather not take the risk.” She was about to throw it out.
“Stop.” Naruto said. He was going to need that soon. He pulled the flowers from her hands and picked apart a few petals to stick them in his mouth. It was disgusting, but he swallowed it anyway. “Happy?”
She did not seem it as she searched his pockets and pouches next. “All clear.”
Kiba snarled as he came into view. “I already told you you’re not getting a dog from us.”
“That’s not why I’m here.”
“It’s too late for an apology.”
“That’s not why either.” Naruto showed the flowers. Even with the bite marks on some of the different colours, they were mostly intact. And their purpose was obvious.
Kiba nodded.
~*~
Naruto gently cleaned his hands and carried the pail. He did not perform the custom often, but Ino sometimes invited him to the Bon festival and taught him the proper actions. It helped steady him as he took the water and gently washed the grave.
“I’m sorry it has taken me so long to visit, Kiba.” Naruto said. “That it took me this long to face the consequences of my actions. I’m sorry about a lot of things.”
He placed the chrysanthemums along the grave.
“There are a lot of different colours.” Kiba noted.
“Pink is for remembrance.” Naruto said. “The purple for remorse. Yellow for penance.”
“What about the red ones?”
“I didn’t pick them for their meaning.” Naruto ran his fingers over the petals. He did not think about passion or love or jealousy. That’s not what he thought of when he saw them. “They remind me of his fur.”
Kiba huffed. “You didn’t even know him.”
“No.” Naruto said. “But I do think about him often. I needed you to know I haven’t forgotten. Can you… can you tell me about him?”
“Why should I?”
“Jiji used to keep telling me to pretend nothing had happened. That I’d move passed my mistake if enough time went by.”
“You’re still calling it a mistake.”
“Because that’s what it was.” Naruto said. “I will not disrespect you or Akemaru with excuses, but I won’t stand here and let you pretend that it was anything more. Please don’t accuse me again. I’m not here because I want to argue.”
“Then why are you here? Are you doing this because you think it will get you an Inuzuka dog?”
Naruto shook his head. “I’m doing this because I should show Akemaru respect. I didn’t mean what happened, but I was responsible. And even though the best time was right after it happened, the only worse time than today would be tomorrow. Kiba, I know there’s nothing I can do to make up for what I did. But I want to stop running away.”
Kiba was silent for a few minutes as Naruto prayed at the grave. And then he sat down beside him. “His fur was very pretty.” Kiba said. “Akamaru won’t admit it, but he was jealous of his brother’s colour.”
“I can imagine.”
Naruto had to relight the incense several times as Kiba told him all about a little puppy that was always eager to play and got into trouble every day. A puppy that was weary of strangers and it had kept him from bonding with any of the Inuzuka ninja. The only one he really liked was Kiba and he often begged his mom to let him have two ninken instead of one. Naruto listened and asked questions. Until the sun had set and Kiba was called away for other duties.
“Can I come back here?” Naruto asked. “To lay more flowers?”
Kiba put a hand on his shoulder. “His birthday was in December, on the twelfth. That’s the proper day to show your respect. Akemaru deserves more than just me visiting him.”
Naruto had hated coming there. He had hated feeling guilty and he had hated seeing Kiba and the other Inuzuka looking at him like he was a monster. But it had also released a tension inside of him that he had been carrying around for as long as he could remember.
It was late and he was supposed to go home to rest.
But he was not tired. In a way, he felt stronger than he had in years.
He felt like he finally knew himself.
~*~
It was dark under the trees. Naruto cursed as the leaf got away from him again. Something about the exercise felt wrong, more so now than ever. But he knew he had to keep doing it to learn the lesson that was at the tip of this tongue.
Chasing after the leaf made him feel helpless. The wind just carried it wherever and all Naruto could do was try to keep up. It felt like the chuunin exams where requirements and disasters introduced themselves in kind. Over the years Naruto had learned to survive by adapting to what life could throw at him. And he had become good at it.
But he did not like it.
He did not like how the winds of fate pushed him around and expected him to follow.
And deep down, he realised that there was power in rejecting that fate.
Jiji had asked him who he was. Something more fundamental than the obvious. And Naruto had found it. His whole life had been a compromise between his chaotic nature and the order that the village demanded of him. He had learned to be polite to the people who were rude to him. He had learned to mould himself to the expectations of others, so that the few things he would not compromise on could be achieved.
All his life had been spent learning how to bend, to be as flexible as the leaf.
And that was the problem. He was no leaf.
Trying to act like one had gotten him far, but his chakra saw through the act and wanted more. If Naruto wanted to master his wind, it was not enough to be flexible as the leaf. He needed to be true to his nature.
And his nature was wind. His nature was storm and gales and hurricanes.
No wonder he kept failing his leaf exercise. Naruto spent so much time focussing on controlling the air to keep the leaf afloat, so much time on limiting the bursts that blew it away. He was making his wind lesser, like he had made himself lesser. Every time he asked others what to do, he was making the problem worse. Because others telling Naruto what to do had been the problem all along.
From now on, he would no longer be the leaf that was helplessly carried on the wind. He would be the one doing the carrying. He was going to be the first Hokage without talent. He was going to be the fresh breeze that brought change. He did not want the leaf to stay still. He wanted it to move.
He closed his eyes and grasped for his chakra.
He always tended to go for the calmest chakra. But now he went for the wildest of it. Not the still water in the sea around him, not the rain that gradually fell. He gathered entire waves as they came down. Not by taming it. Not by telling it to become calm. By making it realise it could be even wilder. Temari had told him from the start. He did not need to change his chakra to become wind. His chakra just needed the wind to be unleashed.
It eagerly obeyed. He could feel the tempest within him. And when he brought it between his palms, there was real wind. The leaf still moved, but never out of his control. The winds demanded change and would not let it levitate still. The leaf had to move in increasingly complex and increasingly innovative ways. Naruto was in control of the chaos, but that did not make it order.
And as he mastered his air element, everything fell into place.
He knew himself now. He would never get rid of his emotions. He was too stubborn and the disorder of his element ran through his entire being. He had been trying so hard to become something he was not, using the methods of people who were nothing like him, that he had not realised it was impossible for him to be a Naruto without emotions. The wind could do much, but it would always be wind. And though Naruto was not able to suppress his emotions, he possessed the power to hide them all along. Let everyone call him a cheater for skipping a lesson they thought important. If Naruto got results, that was all that mattered.
He had been trying so hard to revolutionise the Henge, that he had made it too hard for himself. He had been too fixated on how cool it would be to surprise an enemy with an extra arm. There was no doubt in his mind that he would finish his research and create another arm eventually, but it would not be done before the exam.
That was okay. His mind was chaotic and filled with ideas. He had been trying so hard to temper the chaos and put all his effort on a single path. That was not who Naruto was. He needed to let his attention go to where it wanted. Controlled chaos, from all he had learned in the previous month, and then settle on an innovation that was less ambitious.
And his animal companion. While Natto was relaxing to be around, there was no way the cat would ever listen to Naruto to the extent that was required. All of Naruto’s ideas to use a bunshin had failed and with no more paths to follow, he had refused to accept there were no paths to victory. As long as he had refused to acknowledge the problem he could pretend that it did not exist.
Like the impassive leaf, he had been hoping for some external wind that would let him soar. But he had to face facts. He had hit a wall. He would not learn a clone before the exhibition matches. There was no easy fix. There was no simple solution.
Because it was an impossible problem.
Almost an impossible problem. He was wind and he could crash against this wall and take it all in, and then find the tiniest crack that would allow him through. Merely by fully accepting the problem, Naruto was already thinking of a solution. A solution that would not require him to learn any new techniques, just work impossibly hard perfecting the ones he already had.
And working hard, that was something Naruto could do.
Naruto punched the air with all the chakra he had built up, and watched with satisfaction at the mighty winds that blew. It felt like the world had shifted.
~*~
Naruto ran.
Naruto ate.
Naruto trained.
And every day his wind was stronger.
~*~
Jiraiya was exactly where Naruto expected him to be. His first peeping spot had been exposed and women had stopped going to that public bath, so he had migrated to another for a time. With him gone, women had come back and now so had he.
At least if he was talking to Naruto, he was not violating the women’s privacy.
“Oi, Ero-sennin.”
The old man turned around, a vein popping on his forehead. “I told you not to call me that.”
“And I told you I’m going to call it as I see it. Very easy solution if it bothers you so much. Stop being a pervert.”
Despite the reprimand, Jiraiya started to grin. “It’s only two more days before the chuunin exhibition matches, isn’t it? Are you finally ready to get on your knees and beg for my help?”
“I already know all I need to become a chuunin.” Naruto said. “I want to make that perfectly clear. I do not need to be here. And I will walk out the moment you say or do anything I find too inappropriate. However, I am curious to your perspective if you’d like to share it.”
“What happened to your assurance that you were not my student.”
“It’s strengthened. I found myself and I’m still not someone who can be your student. But I have enough teachers already. What I would like is another friend.”
“You want… to be friends?”
“You make it ridiculously hard to like you. But I was talking with Kakashi and he convinced me you can be a decent person if you try. And while I hate perverts, I like decent people. I’m complicated like that. As long as you’re putting in the effort, I will too.”
He huffed. “You think I’m so desperate for companionship?”
Yes. Because even though it was extremely easy to find Jiraiya, Naruto had never seen anyone else visit the man. Kakashi had only gone to argue and left as soon as he could. Jiji must have some connection with him as his former sensei, which had to be one of the only reasons it was tolerable for Jiraiya to stay in the village.
“It’s your choice.” Naruto shrugged. He turned to business hoping it would make the old man more tolerable. “I’m contemplating chakra integrity theory and methods to increase both reach and duration.”
“That’s not a beginner problem.”
“I’m not a beginner.” Naruto handed over his paperwork. “I’ve been practicing, of course.”
“But you’re looking for a work-around.”
“I’ve exhausted a lot of the obvious answers and I’m running out of ideas.”
“I thought you said you didn’t need me to become chuunin.” Jiraiya smirked.
“I don’t. I’ll manage either way.”
Jiraiya thought about it. “Did you consider a structure using a seal array?”
Naruto grimaced. “How would that even work?”
“Quite simply, I think.” Jiraiya took out a pen and started scribbling down some sketches. “Just need a connection between the two points and a proper tether. You’ll have to fill in the details yourself depending on the specific conditions you’re using this for.”
Naruto looked at all the different designs with confusion. Maybe Sakura could make sense of it, but he was at a loss. “I’m not following.”
“You should look into seal making.” Jiraiya said as he wrote down a long list of books. “These should get you started on the basic theory.”
“That won’t help me in time of the exams though.”
“Right, right.” He put the tip of the pen against his chin. “Without a seal, you are left with two ways to bridge a gap in your chakra control sphere. The first is material, which you’ve tried many variants of. The second is immaterial.”
“How could that possibly help?”
“It won’t be as secure or durable as a material connection, but there is power in the immaterial. I once faced an enemy that coated his senbon with his own blood. It allowed him some measure of control even after the weapons left his fingers.”
“I hadn’t thought of anything like that. How much chakra would such a connection support?”
“A blood connection will not have much throughput. You’d be better served with a chakra string. What did you say you needed it for?”
“I’m trying to improve my Henge and it’s easier to study my creations when I can turn them around in my hands and figure out what I’m doing wrong.”
“You’ll need a strong connection for that considering the risks. And if you ever want to use it in battle, you may have to combine several methods to avoid becoming a sitting duck.”
“I thought as much.”
“See? I have many wisdoms to offer. It’s not for nothing that when I visit Tea Country, women throw themselves at my feet in worship.”
Naruto had to suppress an eyeroll.
“Don’t look so sceptical. The women of tea country know their place and are used to serving men. When a respectable ninja visits, they see a chance for a strong husband who will give them a nice household to care for.”
“That’s not quite…” Naruto gritted his teeth.
“Literacy there is a lot lower. Take my word for it, kid. Everything started to go downhill when we allowed women to start reading.”
“Okay, I’ve reached my limit.” Naruto stood up and turned around. “Thanks for the help, Ero-sennin. Please work on your sexist and outdated world view. I’ll bring a list of feminist literature for next time.”
“No, you misunderstand. Obviously there are smart women who should read. It’s only most of them who should be thought more valuable skills.” Jiraiya protested behind him, but as much as Naruto was willing to put in an effort there were lines he had to draw.
Still, the jounin’s words on chakra theory had been thought-provoking. This had actually been, quite surprisingly, a useful visit.
~*~
“Sorry it’s taken so long.” Naruto said, dropping a bit of meat on the grill.
“We’ve both been busy.” Ino smiled. “I heard you finally apologised to the Inuzuka.”
“Not exactly. I just… I put flowers on Akemaru’s grave.” Naruto had found out a long time ago that withholding information from Ino was a fool’s errand.
“They seem to consider it an apology though. One of the Inuzuka actually stood up for you when the chuunin exam results were discussed at a recent clan meeting.”
“I’m offended they had to. Weren’t you there to defend my honour?”
“I can’t just blow my cover whenever I overhear something I don’t like. I’d never get any of the juicy details you buy me dinner to hear.”
“Is it so strange to believe I just enjoy your company?”
“We’re ninja now, Naruto. If you’re hanging out with people just for the fun of it, you are going to lag behind.”
“My sincerest apologies for being human.”
“I’ll kick it out of you one of these days. But first, presents.” Ino pulled several tapes out of her bag. “You’re going to love these tracks.”
“Score.” Naruto took them gratefully. “What do I owe you?”
“Treat me to the food and don’t skimp on the information and I’ll consider myself repaid. Though it would be better if you could get me some copies of new music.”
“You’re basically my only source, Ino.” Naruto laughed. And not for lack of trying. Naruto’s running music was considered too foreign and not suitable for a ninja with any kind of standing. It was dirt cheap though and nobody made a fuss if it got copied. “There aren’t many ninja who go outside of the village for missions, and even fewer who’d be able to hunt down new tracks that we’d actually like.”
“My dad’s still mad I can’t just listen to Gagaku. Like I haven’t seen him falling asleep during recitals, the hypocrite. But that doesn’t mean we’re alone. You need to work on your information network.”
“What do you think I’m doing buying you food?”
Ino cracked a smile.
The meat was browning nicely. Naruto flipped it and added some greens. “What do you know about the people from Suna?”
“The Kazekage arrived a few days ago. He was early to avoid ambushes and all official reports say he’s still on route. Other Suna ninja are coming into the village to watch the exhibition matches. Many more than you’d expect from just three new chuunin.”
“You’re suspicious they’re up to something?”
“There’s a meeting planned with the Hokage after the matches end. Nobody knows what it’s about, but it seems like all the Suna citizens have smuggled supplies along with their trip. The theory is that the Kazekage is planning on a bribe.”
“Get more leverage on their trade deal, perhaps?”
“Did Temari mention that to you?”
“Perhaps. Though I must ask. How the hell did you hear about her teaching me?”
“Well, I obviously know about your encounter with Jiraiya.”
“Obviously.”
“And the run-in at the restaurant where you accused the Kazekage’s son of assaulting a Konoha ninja without remorse.”
“Did you hear about him confessing?”
“Yes. Suna’s version is that he accidentally misspoke because a Konoha genin was antagonising him.”
Naruto sighed. “Politicians.”
“There were rumours that you had found a different wind chakra master. When Jiraiya drunkenly started complaining that she was not from Konoha, it only took a little more digging to find out it was Temari. If you did not want me to know, you should have hidden your tracks better.”
She made it sound so easy, just like she always did. Naruto knew she lived for these moments where she was better informed than who she was talking to.
“Like it would have helped.”
“If you had put in an actual effort, I would have respected your boundaries.”
“Liar.”
She never had. When Naruto was picked on by other kids, Ino would hound on him to give names. The children always got into trouble the days after. When Naruto stopped telling her because he felt bad for the bullies, she started finding out their identities without his help.
“The Sand siblings have otherwise been laying low. They seem to spend a lot of time together and they have a training ground reserved for the duration of their stay.”
“Are they all going to be promoted to chuunin?”
“We’ll have to see.” She pulled out a stack of white cards and laid them out on the table. With a touch of her chakra the names and attributes were revealed. “Temari and Kankuro have both been seen with their weasel summons and they did well enough at the dance recital. Gaara is keeping his summon a secret, which could have any number of reasons.”
“Like not having one.”
“What have you heard?” Ino leaned forward hungrily.
“He does not have any talent. Make of that what you will.”
“You know more about it. Is he not a blood relation of the Kazekage?”
His beef was done. Naruto picked it up and placed it on Ino’s plate as an apology. “I can’t say.”
She leaned back, taking the food instead of the information. It was guaranteed she would follow up on the hint. There was not an insignificant chance she would find out about Gaara’s status as a container and would connect the dots to deduce Naruto’s status as a Jinchuuriki.
He just knew something like this was going to happen. It was one of the reasons he had been putting off meeting up with her.
“How’s it been, training with Temari?”
“She’s nice and she knows what she’s talking about. It’s been more useful than the time I’ve spent with Konoha tutors, and certainly been more enjoyable. And you know, hard to hate someone from the blond hair club.”
“We do have all the fun.”
Naruto still remembered the first time they had met. When a few of the older kids were picking on him and would not tell him why. Eventually they settled on the excuse that they hated his ugly blond hair. Ino had intervened and decimated them with her words. Naruto had been so impressed and Ino said it was nothing.
If you can’t make someone cry within twenty words, you have no business calling yourself a ninja.
They had been inseparable ever since.
“How’s Asuma?”
“He’s doing better.” Ino said. “Should be back on active duty tomorrow, just in time to watch the chuunin ceremony. I don’t know what you did in the forest, but whenever I visit him he’s asking about you and your team. You made a good impression.”
“Is that really such a surprise?”
“Yes.” She chuckled. “God knows I love you, but you take getting used to. Remember when I first introduced you to Chouji?”
“I stand by it. He did look cute in that shirt and I blame our classmates for not mentioning it to him more often.”
“And Shikamaru?”
“He challenged me to a battle, so he was going to get punched.”
“He was sitting right in front of a Shogi board when he challenged you.”
“I thought that was his choice of weapon.”
“What was he going to do with it? Flick the pieces?”
“I’ve seen weirder tactics.”
Ino shook her head. “You’re hopeless. I don’t know how I survived the Academy with you in it.”
“You survived because I kept you on your toes. And you’re the only thing that made the Academy tolerable for me.”
“It sounds like you’re working up to ask me a favour.”
“I’m researching immaterial chakra connections to get over an instability problem.”
“I see. And you’re wondering if I had any ideas.”
“I know you can’t talk about your clan techniques, but if you could give any hint to where I could look next?”
“It’s not a big secret. The Yamanaka don’t make an active connection with our body possession technique, but we do require line of sight. And the precise mechanisms are gifted to us by our spiritual blessings.”
“Do you know how the Nara do it?”
“Another clan technique that allows them to use the connection of shadow.”
Naruto nodded. “So you’re all a bunch of cheaters.”
“We play with the hand dealt to us.” Ino pointed her chopsticks at Naruto. “We’re the same in that regard.”
“How’s a poor orphan like me supposed to keep up?” Naruto said. “You all can just copy from your parents while I…” Naruto trailed off.
Ino quirked an eyebrow.
“I think I have an idea.”
“Not sure how I did it, but you’re welcome.”
Naruto was eager to try it out, but there was a lot more meat to grill and a lot more catching up to do. “Do you have any new stories about customers from hell?”
“I never run out of those.”
~*~
Naruto felt weird walking in a formal kimono towards Training Field 7, especially in a kimono that was not orange. When Sakura had asked him for literally anything else, he had chosen a more subdued blue kimono with a Naruto swirl and a few foxes as decoration.
“You look dashing.” Hanabi said, catching up to him.
“So do you.”
Hanabi had gone for her clan’s white with purple accents. Her owl was on top of her head, taking him in. It was larger and older than Sasuke’s Nozomu, but not by much. A white barn owl with black and grey feathers.
“So this is the Naruto you mentioned.” It said.
“My trusted teammate, Mamoru-sama.”
“The one who beat you for a position on Team 7, if I recall correctly.”
“That was a long time ago.” Naruto said. “Before Hanabi became the fourth member through her own merit and hard work.”
“Indeed.” It said, its eyes fixed on Naruto.
Naruto felt a sudden urge to apologise, but he did not know why.
“He’s also the one who convinced me to participate in the Chuunin exams.” Hanabi said. “I wouldn’t be where I was without him.”
“It is my experience that those who have the capability to be your greatest assets, also have the risk of becoming your greatest detriment. Especially when it comes to someone who does not have a spirit to balance them.”
“I’m managing fine without.” Naruto insisted.
The owl gave another stare.
“We’re almost there.” Hanabi said.
The rest were already there. The circle was already drawn. Entering the Training Field felt like treading into a holy space.
“Are you sure you want us here for this?” Sasuke asked.
“I’m sure.” Sakura smiled. She was dressed as a priestess, with a white kosode around her torso and a red hakama tied at her waist. Both were meticulously decorated with pink peach blossom petals. She kneeled on the ground in the middle of a large circle.
Naruto swallowed. Even if he was dressed as fancy as his teammates, he felt out of place. They had donned the clothing that Naruto had to create with a Henge. “And me?”
“I wouldn’t dream of doing this without you. But… I’m not taking you away from your training, am I?”
“No. It’s finished. I just need to show Kakashi. It’s just a formality now.”
“I’m so glad to hear that.” Sakura said. “I want to hear all about it. As soon as we’re done here, okay?”
He was told precisely where to sit and in what way. Sakura took the central place and the rest of the team sat in the cardinal directions. Kakashi was North, the place of Winter’s mentor. Sasuke was South, Sakura’s oldest ally and Summer’s Fire. Hanabi sat to West, bringing the old Hyuuga clan reputation to the Fall. And Naruto has his place in the West, Spring’s fresh wind.
“This should be entertaining.” Kuruma said.
“Behave, or I won’t let you watch.”
Sasuke had gone for Uchiha blue with his clan’s fan on his chest and a Habi with a pattern of black feathers. Nozomu was in his lap. Even Kakashi was dressed up in his clan’s white and red colours. His summon Pakun was beside him, wearing a white and red vest instead of his regular blue.
Sakura took a ceremonial kunai and gently cut open the skin of her thumb. And then she made the hand signs one after another. She could have done it quickly, but it was all about showing the proper respect.
When she pushed her palm on the ground, there was an explosion of smoke. And then there was a young panther cub. It had bright pink eyes and its fur was matted with brown patches.
“I welcome you to this world.” Sakura said, bowing deeply. “Together with my four closest allies.”
“It is pleasant to meet you, summoner.” The panther said. There was something heavy in the voice and Naruto had to stifle his reaction to it. He had expecting something higher pitched. “You have matured well.”
“Thank you. My name is Haruna Sakura. Will you let me name you?”
“I already possess a name.” The panther said. “I am princess Mirai.”
“My apologies.”
“There is no need.” Mirai said. “I am the only of my kind with a name. I am curious, what name would you have given me?”
“I would have named you Hanami.”
“A fitting name for your summon. I will carry it back with me and ask which panther would like to bear the honour of it.”
“Are there many panthers?”
“Not anymore. I am the first new panther born in centuries. After our first ninja clan fell, our numbers greatly dwindled.”
“I will strive to keep you strong.”
“We are strong either way, child.” Mirai lifted her chin a little higher.
“Of course, princess.”
“Do not hesitate to call us if you require assistance. It has been a long time since we were able to visit the material world and it will be a pleasant experience for most of us.” The panther looked around the circle. “Who are these ninja you have called allies?” Her eyes stopped at their teacher.
“I am Hatake Kakashi of the dogs.”
The panther nodded. “Loyal and relentless.” She moved on.
“I am Hyuuga Hanabi of the owls.”
Another nod. “Supportive and wise.”
“I am Uchiha Sasuke of the crows.”
“Just and intelligent.” She turned to Naruto.
“I am Uzumaki Naruto.”
The panther’s eyes stayed on him, expectantly.
“… with the Kyuubi.”
Naruto could hear the fox’s smirk in the back of his head.
Mirai nodded. “Protective.” She went back to Sakura. “Your weapons are impressive. What are your intentions?”
“To become strong enough to keep my family and clan safe.” Sakura said. “To grow both in numbers and prosperity.”
“How noble.” The panther walked closer. “But what do you want specifically?”
“I don’t…”
“Your words are pleasant. But felines do not live solely for the sake of others. Name one thing you wish for yourself.”
Sakura scrunched the fabric under her hands. “I want to pay back my parents for their kindness and…”
“Not good enough.”
Sakura’s arm was shaking. “I want to become a strong ninja people will look up to.”
“You obtain strength to accomplish a goal. What is that goal, Sakura?”
“There’s nothing I…” Sakura stilled. “There’s one thing I want.”
“Tell me.”
“Revenge against Orochimaru of the snakes.”
Mirai smirked. “Dangerous of you to mention the snake’s corruption of our connection.”
Sakura remained determined. “He violated your gift without my permission and for that I want to make him pay.”
“It will not be easy. Is this truly your wish?”
“Yes.” Sakura said. “I oppose what he is and what he has done.”
“Very well then. The panthers will help you.” Mirai kneeled low. Her head touched the ground. “Call on us and we will help you as you will help us.”
Sakura joined the bow. “I swear it. My first summoning will be for my chuunin exam where I am expected to show off the strength of the panthers. And perhaps… one time before to practice the steps?”
“That is acceptable. Think of the early dawn when you summon, picture it in your mind and smell the morning dew. Kageriko will be glad to assist you. Is there anything else before I leave?”
“Can I ask… why did you choose me?”
“The spirits are not permitted to share our reasons. Just know that you’ve already proven worthy of our gifts.”
Sakura smiled and the panther disappeared. The other summons quickly followed.
“That was awesome.” Hanabi cheered. “You did it, Sakura!”
“I did.” Sakura let out a deep breath. She turned to Naruto. “Sorry that she put you on the spot like that.”
“It’s okay.” Naruto shrugged. “Kuruma was watching, so it did feel fairer to include him.”
“What did he think?”
“Pretentious snobbery, that princess. Acting high and mighty even though she left her real body in the spirit world.”
“He’s not a fan of spirits in general.”
“Now that we’re done here, we should celebrate.” Kakashi declared. “All my students are becoming chuunin after their very first exam. I’m so proud.”
“The other sensei managed it too.” Sasuke said.
“Yes, but I have four students instead of three. That’s fifty percent harder.”
“You didn’t even train me.” Hanabi complained.
“To be fair,” Naruto said, “Kakashi didn’t really train any of us.”
Kakashi started objecting while his students laughed and continued teasing him more. It was nice and Naruto did not realise how much he had missed it.
“You should all go ahead.” Kakashi said. “There is one more formality. And I’m curious to see how much Naruto has grown.”
“We’re curious too.” Sasuke said.
“The rest of you will have to wait until the matches.” Naruto laughed. “Can’t show all my cards to potential opponents, after all.”
~*~
“What do you think?” Naruto asked. He stood tall on the Training Ground, as if the problems that had been burdening him had been dropped away. Naruto always looked like that when he was channelling the wind.
Kakashi nodded and looked over the small fox sitting on Naruto’s shoulder. “Even with all that elemental manipulation, it’s fully intact. The fox looks like it would pass. Can you make it move?”
Naruto made the fox look up and blink a few times. It yipped at Naruto’s teacher. “It’s limited, but it should be enough once I perfect it.”
“And your emotional suppression?”
Naruto’s heart was pounding with excitement and he was beaming with pride. But Kakashi saw none of that. All he saw was a flat face and a steady pulse. “If you doubt me, I can always just take the next exam. It’s not like I care either way.”
Kakashi smiled. “I think you’re ready to become a chuunin.”
Just a few more days before the exhibition matches were over and Naruto’s life as a chuunin could really begin.
He could not wait.
Notes:
Next update in the first week of March: Dreams of war. Time to finally start the exhibition matches.
About this chapter, it needed to do a lot of things. Besides Naruto's self-discovery through the processing of past trauma, I wanted to show the slow progression of his different skills and leave things off better with Jiraiya. And we finally get to see spirit animals! I mean, we saw Sasuke's last time, but that does not count. And Pakkun has been mostly silent, so he doesn't count either.
If Sasuke sometimes behaves strangely, it is important to remember that Naruto is the POV and he is going to have blind spots in what he notices.
Thanks for reading and staying with this story. I'm very excited to show what else the chuunin exam arc has in store.
Chapter 15: 2.7 Dreams of war (Enter Sandman)
Summary:
I did it! They gave me four impossible challenges and I overcame all of them! I’m going to be chuunin and I’ll show the whole village how much I’ve grown. I fought tooth and nail to get in the Top 9 of my Academy class and I earned my field assignment like everyone else. And I’ll show them! Assuming I make it through the dance… and my fox is approved… and they don’t make up another ridiculous objection.
K-keep your fingers crossed for me, yeah?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The green chuunin jacket fit Naruto perfectly. There were more pockets than his jumpsuit and it felt lighter, even after all the equipment he had shoved into it. Perhaps it was just the weight off his shoulders. He was at the Konoha stadium, in the locker room reserved for chuunin graduates, minutes away from the chuunin exhibition ceremony, and none of the guards had turned him away as he got there.
“Are you ready?” Sasuke looked different in a chuunin jacket too. He wore a blue shirt under it with long sleeves and a normal collar. It was weird being able to see his pretty neck now that there was no funnel collar obscuring it.
“As ready as I’m going to be.”
“Did you practice the 37th step like you promised?”
“I did.”
“And you mastered it?”
“Of course.” Naruto said. It was even true in a way. He had perfectly mastered the move. It was only when he had to dance with a fox that he sometimes failed. “I’m not going to embarrass you, teme.”
Sasuke rolled his eyes. His jacket was still unzipped and the shirt underneath was so tight fitting that Naruto could see Sasuke’s abs. It was a little distracting, actually.
Naruto coughed to get Sasuke’s attention. “I’m not going out there, however, with a teammate that’s only half-dressed.”
“It’s one zipper.”
“Exactly. What’s keeping you?”
Sakura giggled. “Better listen to him, Sasuke. We should head out.”
“Hm.” Sasuke finally zipped up. “You’d better get out there with us. After all we’ve been through, I can’t imagine graduating without you.”
Naruto smiled. “Likewise, teme.”
Naruto did not have time to mediate and greet Kuruma. But it was becoming instinct to reach inside of himself and pull the kyuubi up. “Hey Kuruma, you want to go watch the exam? There’ll be humans fighting each other.”
“Pass. Wake me if people start dying.”
Classic Kuruma.
The other new chuunin were already standing in the hallway, lined up. Once Team 7 was in position, a nearby jounin signalled to the arena. And just a few minutes later, they were told to get their summons ready.
Most of the others were biting their thumbs and going through the hand seals. That gave Naruto time to concentrate. He imagined a fox, as simplified as he could. He drew in the spare material he had brought in his backpack and then transformed.
He botched up the chakra shaping on purpose, letting some smoke appear and cover what he had done exactly. And then he had a fox attached to his neck. Naruto made it look like it was sleeping, so that it would be easier to mimic.
“It’s so cute.” Hanabi said.
“As is yours.”
Hanabi’s barn owl looked offended. Which was also adorable on that heart-shaped head, framed with grey and black feathers. “I’m not cute.”
“He means it as a compliment, Mamoru-sama.”
Hinata pulled Hanabi back into place. “You need to pay attention. It’s starting.” Hinata’s owl was larger than her sister’s. The Snowy owl was also almost completely white with only the tiniest black markings on its back, as if someone had delicately drawn the lines in with a delicate brush. They looked like the Hyuuga clan symbol. Naruto wondered what had come first.
The music flared up and they went out on cue. Each of them two measures behind the last and lagging two movements in the dance.
Naruto almost stumbled when he got out of the hallway and saw how much larger the arena looked from the stage instead of the audience benches. Naruto had no official invitation for the event, but that had never stopped him. He had snuck in every year to see the chuunin fight, hoping to one day be on that stage. He kind of wished he had put in the effort to be early at least once and see other chuunin perform the preceding dance ceremony. It might have made him feel more comfortable now.
He could see the other kids using their summons to highlight the dancing. Sasuke’s small crow Nozomu often flew out when Sasuke pointed and returned within a measure. Kageriko, Sakura’s stunning black and white striped panther, walked besides her in step with the rhythm, embellishing some of the moves.
Naruto just focussed on keeping his fox in its place. It was hard enough to do the dancing without compensating for a constantly changing centre of mass. Naruto was not standing out as the best dancer, but he also was not standing out as the worst. Which was better than he had feared. Still, it was a relief Natsu had not been allowed to come watch. She would make so much fun of him.
Naruto was almost at the end when he had to stand still for the 37th step. He stood firmly on one leg and leaned forward, bringing his other leg up behind him. He had to be quick, or he would lose his place. In his haste, he overshot the split and tilted forward too much. His leg tensed and he shuffled forward half an inch to catch himself.
Naruto immediately stepped on like nothing had happened. Sasuke was staring at him when Naruto finally finished and had joined the other chuunin graduates before the stage. The proctor was waiting for them and had been looking like a hawk at all the performances.
Surely such a tiny misstep was not enough to fail him, was it?
When the music cut out, there was an applause around the whole stadium. They thought it was already over.
The proctors were discussing amongst themselves, often sparing a glance at Naruto. One of the proctors went to approach Gaara, who was holding a ferret made of sand. Another ninja held him back by holding his arm. And then there was a proctor coming for Naruto instead.
Please don’t fail me for missing one step. Please don’t…
“We’re going to need to evaluate your animal.”
Oh. Of course they were. Naruto took a deep breath as he layered his transformation, just like he had practiced. He let his left arm hang limply as he changed the neurons to connect with the fox’s body.
And then he made it look up, blink and yawn. The animal’s lungs did not do anything, because the biology was hard enough without having to work out gas exchange through the lung’s thin membranes.
“It appears alive. Somehow.” The proctor said. “What is it?”
“What does it look like?” Naruto challenged back.
The proctor sighed. He had to realise that it was not a real fox, but unless he could raise a specific objection he had no ground to fail Naruto. Naruto was hardly going to admit it was a Henge that Naruto was controlling like a puppet. That would make it too easy for them to pick out the weaknesses and do something crazy like ask to hold it.
When the proctor kept thinking, Naruto prompted him. “What do you need it to do?”
“Sit and offer a left paw.”
Naruto nodded. “Left paw, little kit.” He moved the fox to make it look like it was obeying.
“Make it move into your hand.”
“Come on.” Naruto held out his functioning hand. It was difficult to move the fox and keep it connected to his body, but it was no different than keeping a connection with transformed clothes. The fox’s paws only had a small point of impact with the rest of Naruto’s body, but it was enough.
“It’s clearly obedient.” The proctor said. “All right. Let’s…” Another ninja whispered something in his ear.
Naruto held back a breath.
“We want to hold the fox ourselves. Do you give permission?”
They had figured out it was a Henge. Naruto’s confidence faltered. “Do I really have a choice?”
“You’re free to forfeit the promotion.”
Of course. He grit his teeth. He did not want to give them the satisfaction of saying it out loud. He looked to Sasuke and his crow. To Sakura and her panther. To Hanabi with her owl. Perhaps he had been overly optimistic thinking he could make it through this ceremony with just a henge.
“I thought so.” The proctor said, turning away. “You’re dismissed.”
It was the end. All his training had been for nothing. He would be stuck with another year of being a genin. It had been one failure after another. His last hope had relied on luck. Of course it was going to fail. It was impossible to separate the fox and stay standing. Unless…
It was crazy.
But it might work.
“Wait.” Naruto grabbed the proctor’s arm. “Take the fox.”
“Excuse me?”
It would be excruciating, but it would be worth it. “As long as you’re gentle.”
“If this will bring you to harm…”
It took a few moments to solidify his chakra enough that it could attach to the animal. His chakra chains were still invisible and too weak to do anything. But they were a connection, nonetheless. Like Jiraiya had said, every bit helped. Naruto layered his third transformation, separating the fox fully from his body and paralysing the muscles of his face. He crafted an illusion of a normal beating heart to prepare for the upcoming lies.
“Judge by yourself.” Naruto took the man’s hand and put the fox slowly into it.
The proctor’s eyes widened. He was expecting it to be stuck like a henge should be. Even if the fox could be detached, they were expecting pain and discomfort. Instead, the henge masked Naruto’s pounding headache and the intrinsic panic of having a part of his biological body away from him.
“This shouldn’t be possible.” The new ninja mumbled. He eyed the fox and Naruto. “Kai.”
Nope. Not genjutsu. Flushing his system with chakra did nothing.
The proctor gently handled the fox. “As far as I can tell, it’s organic. Aren’t you in pain?”
“No.” Naruto lied. The only reason he could still speak was because of the chakra chains. Without them, he would have been screaming instead. “You have no grounds to question my abilities.” Naruto spoke calmly. His vision was getting hazy, but the ninja in front of him did not need to know this. His chakra chain was destabilising and Naruto could not let the urgency show in his voice. “Return my animal and let me continue.”
They spared one more look, before the fox was returned to Naruto’s hand.
“Do I pass?”
The proctors looked at each other. Naruto was becoming dizzy with the waiting. They needed to speak soon or he would lose consciousness.
“You pass.”
Naruto had a henge that could not display emotion. So nobody could see how big his smile was. That decision was final. It couldn’t be taken back.
Naruto was a chuunin.
He dropped the layers one by one. First he made the fox attach to him again, and he wanted nothing more than to collapse to his knee as the sweating and discomfort caught up to him. There were worried looks coming his way, but he needed to rebuild from scratch. So he let the final layers dissolve with smoke, hiding his body as the fox disappeared, and then was reformed in a new transformation by his neck. He could hide most of the shaking under the Henge as well.
He could feel three hands on his shoulder.
“Are you alright?” Sakura asked.
“Just need a second.” Naruto said. But having his teammates nearby helped. Despite everything, he could not help but smile. “I made it.”
“We’re glad.” Sasuke said. “We’re also going to kill you after all this is done.”
Sakura squeezed Naruto’s shoulder. “You scared us. How did you even do that?”
The proctor was urging everyone to be quiet.
“Henge.”
“That’s not… nobody can do that with a transformation technique.”
“They did tell me to revolutionise the Henge. What were you expecting?”
Their attention was drawn to the podium.
“In front of you are these year’s chuunin graduates.” The proctor yelled into the stadium. “They have been tested and they have proven their skills to the village and have shown reverence to our ancient laws. They have reached a milestone and are here today to share their work. They are here to introduce their abilities so you may know who is serving you. After their Academy graduation they received their ninja title. Today, they earn it.”
The crowd cheered loudly.
“You have seen them all perform the same task and you have seen them brandishing their clan animals. Next you will see them fight.” Five chuunin brought out a box and displayed them out in front of the proctor. Each one had a different colour. “Starting with our wind specialists.” He reached into the green box and pulled out two papers. “First is Hyuuga Hinata of the Owls versus Hyuuga Neji of the Owls.” He pulled out the other two. “That means secondly Suna’s Temari of the Weasels will face off against Uzumaki Naruto with the fox.”
Naruto gave a nod as he moved over to the proper staging area. The wind stage was surrounded with a vacuum trench to absorb wind chakra and keep it from harming the audience. Naruto’s first battle would be against his teacher, and then with one of the Hyuuga. Daunting battles, the both of them.
The rest of the matches were being drawn, which gave Naruto a chance to approach Temari. “I’m regretting we never got to spar before this. Would have been nice to seize up your abilities.”
“It’s considered bad luck for a teacher and student to fight in Suna.”
“That’s a shame. It would have been educational. Are you sure the student oath I gave you doesn’t apply for an exhibition match like this?”
“I wouldn’t be a good teacher if I denied you the chance to show off what I’ve taught you.”
“That’s good. I won’t hold back.”
Temari started to smile, but it faltered. “I’m sure we’ll give a good performance for everyone watching. There’s another tradition in Suna and it’s one I would not like to break. I will not use any wind techniques that I was unable to teach you.”
“Why’s that?”
“It would be dishonest, as if I am only able to beat my student by holding back in my teachings. Be warned though. That tradition does not limit me from using my fan, which merely increases the strength of my attacks. I do have a duty to show off Suna’s craft.”
Naruto eyed the metal fan on Temari’s back and gulped. It was as tall as she was. “I won’t underestimate you. I’m going to give it my all.”
“Does that include wearing Gaara’s face?”
“Maybe.” Naruto dodged. “Why?”
“I’d like to ask you not to. With everything that’s been happening, I… I wouldn’t like it.”
“That is the point of doing it. To unnerve you.” Naruto pointed out, but something about the way she was looking made Naruto feel sympathetic. “I have a suggestion.”
“What is it?”
“For Konoha ninja specialising in the Henge there is a tradition to show the faces of your teachers in the exhibition match. Most try to do it in combat, but with everything that’s been going on I haven’t had time to practice. And I have a feeling I won’t have the chance if you go full-out right from the start.”
“That sounds acceptable.” Temari said. “I’ll tell the proctor.”
Naruto nodded and she went to find the official.
Neji and Hinata were closer to the stage. Hinata’s back was straight and she seemed determined to do well. Neji next to her was more subdued.
Naruto could not help himself. “Hey Neji. Good luck with your fight.”
“Luck won’t have anything to do with it.” Neji snarled.
“Just trying to be nice.”
“We both know I don’t stand a chance in the upcoming fight. Just like you won’t in yours.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s the fate of those without talent to lose to those that have it. You barely made it through the opening ceremony. Neither of us have even a minuscule chance of winning.”
“Not with that kind of attitude.” Naruto looked confused. This was Lee’s teammate? This was someone who had spent a year of his life taking the long route?
“Not with any kind of attitude. I am fated to lose, as I have been from the moment I was born.”
“It isn’t so bad.” Hinata said. “I might be clan heir, but you have a year more experience than I do. I’m looking forward to a serious match.”
“We both know it won’t come to that.”
Hanabi came over. The final lots had been drawn and the proctor was taking the time to explain to the audience when each match would be taking place. That was information all the new chuunin had already gotten. “Are you okay, Hinata?”
“I’m fine, Hanabi. You should go to your own arena before you miss anything.”
“I got a lucky draw and went straight to the semi-finals. I have time.”
Neji moved away, but Hinata grabbed his arm. “We weren’t done yet.”
“We were.” Neji pulled his arm back. “A year of training for naught. How am I expected to win against an opponent that can wield the power of the combined Hyuuga clan against me?
Hinata flinched.
“Hinata wouldn’t do that.” Hanabi said. “This is just an exhibition match.”
Neji scoffed. “You’re telling me she wouldn’t activate the seal if I got the upper hand? That she would allow a branch member to win? In front of all these people? You’re delusional.”
“Hinata isn’t like that.”
“I guess we’ll see.” Neji said, walking onto the stage.
Hinata turned to Hanabi. “About what Neji said...”
“Don’t let him get to you. You’re amazing and you worked hard and you’re going to show everyone how amazing the Hyuuga heir is.”
“I am.” Hinata smiled. “Now go to your arena and show everyone you’ve earned your promotion.”
Hanabi preened. She gave Naruto an encouraging squeeze in his shoulder and then walked off.
Hinata and Neji gave a respectful bow, one deeper than the other, before the proctor signalled the start of the match. Their owls were sent off into smoke first. And then the two of them dashed towards each other.
Hinata brought an open palm forward and Neji pushed it to the side. He countered and Hinata turned into his attack, grabbing his arm and lifting Neji over her shoulder. Neji managed to twist in the air and push Hinata away. They landed some distance away and circled each other, facing away.
The Hyuuga taijutsu was a specialisation like few others. Their eyes allowed them to see all around them which meant their stances did not have to take line of sight into account. They also favoured chakra-covered palms in their style, with pinpoint attacks on pressure points as soon as they could make an opening.
When they faced each other again, there was a flurry of blows between them. Attempted and aborted grapples, dodged strikes and redirected jabs. Hinata had stopped putting chakra in her strikes, conserving energy. She was planning for the endurance battle. Neither was giving up much ground and the fight started to look repetitive. From the stands Naruto could hear the gasps from the Hyuuga audience. They could appreciate the intricacies of the techniques in a way Naruto couldn not.
Naruto turned to the other stages. At the earth stage, Kiba and Tenten were facing off. Kiba was fighting a taijutsu battle, trying to stay out of range of Tenten’s sword. She had a scroll wrapped around her torso. Just after Kiba blocked the sword, she let it drop and pulled a scimitar from her scroll to come at him from a different angle. Akamaru tried giving the boy an edge in the fight, but Tenten’s drake kept him occupied.
At the lightning stage, Shino and Kankuro were facing off. It was sometimes hard to make out their fight through the metal lightning rods around their arena. Both seemed to favour longer distance. Kankuro had a puppet between them, struggling to keep up with a dog-sized Kikaichu. The beetle-like insect was stronger than it appeared and did a good job fending off the poisonous puppet construct. It managed to cut through one of the chakra strings, but Kankuro attached it again just as quickly. Kankuro’s weasel tried getting around the fight towards Shino, but Shino expertly directed his non-summoned insects to block the path each time.
At the fire arena, Sasuke and Ino were sitting across from each other. They were watching the other matches and conversing about something. With one to three matches per stage, not all fights could be had at the same time. The fire match was postponed to coincide with the third round of matches.
Sakura and Shikamaru were in the same situation, though they had decided to spend the time playing shogi on a travel board. Naruto remembered that thing. Shikamaru always dragged it along with him to the Academy classroom and asked his classmates to play him in the recess. He lost as often as he won against most, but it did not seem to bother him. Without spending talent on learning, there was a constant fascination of figuring out the same logic with each game. Naruto missed playing with him. He had only been allowed half a dozen games, before he had become too good for Shikamaru to have any fun playing him.
On the wind stage, Hinata was panting. Even with her conserving her energy, she was in a bad spot. Neji’s talent was low, like Lee’s had been. He had spent the last year taking the long route, like Naruto was planning. Ninja with talent like Hinata never built up the same amount of stamina as someone who had to work full days to build up their skills.
Hinata broke back from the engagement and pulled out two kunai. They glowed green as she threw them at Neji. He tried to block them, but they were able to cut his own kunai in two. He dodged just in time to avoid having his torso meet the same fate.
“Do you concede?”
Neji shook his head.
Hinata brandished more kunai and threw them.
One moment Neji was standing still waiting for the projectiles to come, the next he was spinning and creating a dome of green chakra around him. “Fuinjutsu: Revolving Heaven.” The kunai caught the wind chakra and spun around Neji, until they were released right back at Hinata.
She jumped out of the way just in time.
Neji came back to a stop. “You’re not the only one who can use wind chakra, Hinata-sama.”
“Then it has come to this.”
Neji swallowed. “I suppose it has.”
Hinata’s eyes glowed faintly purple. Her black hair floated weightlessly, as if static electricity was forcing it apart, with a sheen that they had not had before. Hinata stood up and seemed more graceful than usual as she walked towards the boy. “You’ve done well by our clan. You should be proud.”
“I live to serve the Hyuuga.” Neji said, but it came out bitter.
When Hinata attacked again, she was faster. Neji’s own attacks were more easily predicted and more effectively countered. Whereas they had been evenly matched before, now Hinata pushed him back with every strike.
In the audience, among the Hyuuga, many hung back in their seats unconscious.
Neji still looked hopeful and Naruto could see why. Hinata’s skill had increased, but her muscles were still tired. She would have to finish the fight sooner than later and Neji took advantage of it. He baited her to make powerful finishing moves that he managed to barely dodge.
And then hinata lost her balance for a split moment. Long enough for Neji to take advantage of. He pushed two chakra charged fingers into her forehead. If Naruto remembered his anatomy correctly, that was the pressure point for the consciousness. She would be immobilised.
But Neji’s fingers stopped half an inch from Hinata’s skin. And then he fell on his knees, all the strength drained from his body. Hinata got up and pushed two fingers to his forehead and let him fall backwards. “I’m sorry, Neji. This is just how it has to be.”
“Winner: Hyuuga Hinata!”
She walked off the stage gently.
Naruto glared at her. “Hanabi was convinced you would not use the clan seal, but Neji never stood a chance. You were prepared to use it from the start.”
“My little sister does not understand how many people are looking at me today as a test of the Hyuuga strength.”
“Everyone saw that he was better than you. He would have won.”
“But in the end I had the victory.” Hinata said. “Which is all that matters.”
“Hanabi won’t see it like that.”
“What my sister thinks of me is a Hyuuga matter, Naruto without a clan.” She said annoyed.
The proctor called out to them. “Get into position. The next round is about to begin.”
Naruto had to go. “Today I’m Naruto with the fox. If you want me to mind my manners you should too, Hinata of the owls.”
Naruto made his way to the top of the tiled wind stage. It was cracked and weathered. It was the stage where the Fouth Hokage had made his debut as a chuunin. Naruto could only imagine how many other people had fought on this stage before him.
At the earth stage, Kiba was patching up a cut on his arm as Tenten celebrated her victory. Shino had clearly won his fight at the Lightning stage, but Kankuro was strangely active and his puppet was suspiciously intact. Naruto wondered how the match had been decided without Kankuro sustaining any damage.
He had other things to worry about though. Temari was a full head taller than Naruto was and did not have any of the sympathy on her face that he had gotten used to. She was also brandishing that giant fan beside her that looked tougher than steel.
“I’ll dismiss my summon.” She said.
Naruto nodded, letting the fox sleeping on his shoulder disappear with a puff of smoke. It was no match to Temari’s weasel and that would not have made for much of a spectacle. The two of them had to be especially aware of perception. Where the first round had three fights at the same time, this round only had two.
He looked over at the earth stage where Choji stood against… against Gaara. Naruto sent a prayer Choji’s way. According to Temari the Suna Jinchuriki had calmed down considerably. And even if he was willing to almost murder someone in a confined room with limited witnesses, there had to be a difference when a whole village was watching. There had to be.
“Fighters! You have agreed on additional rules due to the personal relation you share. Uzumaki Naruto with the fox wishes to pay homage to his teachers before the battle without being attacked, and Suna’s Temari of the weasels will respect this. No Henge will be used of either’s family, nor any wind technique that is not known to both. Do you both accept?”
“Yes.” Temari said.
“Yes.” Naruto nodded.
“Then, Naruto, whenever you’re ready.”
“My first teacher, who gave me my dream.” Naruto said, before he made the mental picture. He remembered the smell of tea and the laughter on a wrinkled face.
He wore the Third Hokage’s body and stood proud. The audience was paying attention to him, the orphan who had come from nothing. He turned to the Hokage balcony, which was too far away to see properly. But still he imagined Jiji smiling at him.
“My second teacher, who taught me how to laugh.” Naruto said.
He became Natsu in a transformation with too much smoke. His sexy no jutsu. He had included a swimsuit in the transformation, but still there was a large reaction in the crowd. This was another reason not to pay homage in combat. Much as Naruto liked the shock factor, it was difficult to win a fight while having so much skin exposed.
“My third teacher, who taught me to never give up.” Naruto said.
He was Iruka. Naruto found his Academy teacher in the stands and gave a friendly wave, the way Iruka would wave his students goodbye after each hard working day. The way he would wave Naruto goodbye after buying him ramen again, pretending all the free tutoring was something he did for all his students.
“My fourth Teacher, who taught me the value of teamwork.” Naruto said, becoming Kakashi.
“My teammates, who taught me the joy of it.” Naruto could not help but smile as he moved from Sakura to Hanabi to Sasuke.
“My students, who taught me responsibility.” Naruto said, wearing the face of Konohamaru and then of Inari.
“My last teacher is you.” Naruto said. He wore Temari’s face. “You taught me how to know myself. Thank you.”
Temari nodded. “Let’s have an honourable match.”
“Yes.” Naruto dropped the Henge and was himself again.
“Begin!” The proctor shouted.
Temari wasted no movement, swinging her fan forward and unleashing a storm of wind towards Naruto. The fan was as tall as she was, reinforced with steel and a paper stronger than most metals. It was crafted beautifully and a testament to Suna’s smiths, like Temari had promised it would be.
Not that there was much time to admire it. Naruto knew exactly how painful that technique could be. Flinking wind at an enemy was the simplest technique, but nonetheless effective. When Naruto did it, he could make an unsuspecting adult fall over. But Naruto had felt Temari’s wind chakra coursing through his veins over the last month and he had no intention of seeing how that strength would translate into this technique. Especially when enhanced by the war fan.
It was early in the fight, but he could take a risk. He replaced himself with one of the kunai Hinata had left on the stage, appearing behind Temari and rushing at her with a fist drawn back. Temari was fast enough to turn around and Naruto’s fist only hit the fan.
Yup, definitely strong as steel.
When she swung it around her like a large club, Naruto noticed her stance. She had to keep her legs wide to support the massive weight. Perfect. He became Konohamaru and ducked between her legs, running a kunai by her tendons.
She disappeared in smoke and appeared across the stage, a kunai dropping to the ground where she had just been.
She swung her fan again and this time there was no easy way to dodge.
Konohamaru stabbed the ground with a kunai so hard the entire blade went into the stage. And then he shrunk further down. He became the fox, his matter so condensed that it would be even harder than Temari’s fan. He bit down on the kunai and weathered the storm.
The wind was harsh and cutting. No doubt he would have been left bloody in his original body. As it was, his teeth ached and it felt like he might slip several times. But he would not give in. And eventually the wind subsided and he could let both transformations drop. It had been terrible, but not as bad as he had feared.
Naruto spit to the side, clearing the blood from his mouth. He could not do that again.
Temari was waiting to attack again. Even if she made it look effortless, nobody could produce wind chakra quickly enough to keep up the barrage continuously. This was Naruto’s chance.
He ran forward, his kunai wielded in front of him. Temari blocked quickly with her fan and countered. Her attack went lower this time, so a transformation would not save him. He had to jump back. As he did, he dropped a little surprise and a smoke bomb. It went off just as he got out of range. He barely avoided suffering a concussion from Temari’s fan.
Temari was unable to see from the smoke.
Naruto knew exactly what she would be doing next. He threw several kunai into the smoke to distract her and buy himself some time. He rushed back to the kunai he had firmly jammed into the stage. He should have done warm-ups. He hated doing this without properly stretching.
He took a deep breath and then he was a metal ring, fitted into the kunai’s handle.
Temari’s wind jutsu came first. Naruto could not see what was happening, but he could sense the wind natured chakra barraging the stage. And it cut off just as suddenly when his surprise activated.
Naruto jumped back into his normal form. The explosive tag he had landed between her feet had exploded and, though she had managed to jump out of the way, Temari’s legs were irritated and red.
One more time. Naruto called upon his own wind chakra for the final assault. He ran towards her and let expulsions of wind chakra behind him increase his speed. He pushed his elbow forward with wind and pushed the kunai forward. The fan blocked the blade, so Naruto took a page out of Tenten’s playbook and simply dropped it.
He twisted around the fan, moving into Temari’s personal space. And then he pushed with everything he had. The wind chakra was supposed to help, but she blocked too effectively. Too instinctually. Naruto could tell it had not been enough force to push her all the way over the edge.
And then it somehow was.
She had carelessly started an attack that had made her lose her footing. She had fallen off the stage and thereby she had lost the fight.
“Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!”
He must have looked confused. He had no idea how it had happened, but he tried to cheer as best he could.
Temari looked away when he tried to give her a smile. That was fine. He would not be in a good mood either if he had lost from a bad attack like that.
“Looks like we’ll be squaring off.” Hinata said.
“I suppose so.”
“I see that your unconventional fighting style has continued to evolve.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I imagined you would. You know, I’ve always respected you. My father thought you would not last a week as a genin, yet Hanabi tells me you’re thriving. I’m sure you’ll give us all a good show.”
On the earth stage, Choji was swatting at Gaara with a giant hand while the Suna ninja got ever closer to his enemy. The claw on his hand looked sharp and threatening and Naruto’s heart stopped when it went for Choji’s neck. Yet it stopped an inch before it would break skin. Gaara said something and Choji nodded. The proctor called the fight right after.
“Combatants. Get in position.”
It appeared like Hanabi had been trying to go to the Wind stage again, but the proctor there had kept her from leaving her side of the stadium. She had wanted to talk to Hinata. It was not hard to guess about what.
Naruto walked back onto the stage. “You think I’ll give you a good show, but you’re fully confident you’ll defeat me, aren’t you?”
“Like I said before, I cannot afford to lose here. Not as heir to the Hyuuga clan.”
“Not from a talentless loser.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“I know you didn’t say it.” Naruto said. “If you really respect me, try to beat me with your own strength.”
“I’m not a fool, Naruto.” She said. “I’m not going to handicap myself by denying me my greatest weapon.”
“So if I win even when you wield it? Like Neji almost did?”
“Neji is a year older than I am.”
Right. That was the only difference. “I can’t lose either.” Naruto said. “I’m going to be Hokage and I won’t get there if I keep losing battles.”
“It’s not the same. My father is depending on me to become a strong clan leader one day. I swore oaths to clan and family to become strong enough to protect them. I have people depending on me. I’m not like you. I didn’t decide for myself to be a ninja. It’s not a choice for me.”
“You’re saying you deserve to win because you’re forbidden from quitting, while I could?”
“Frankly, yes.”
The other stages were almost ready. All of them had fighters on them now. Four stages with members of Team 7. Kakashi would be proud. Naruto turned to the last stage and his breath caught. He had not realised…
Tenten stood against Gaara, fury in her eyes.
He turned back to Hinata. He had been so caught up with this clan bullshit, that he had lost sight of the very real dangers so close to him. “You’re right, we’re very different people if you think my path is any less worthy because I choose to walk it.”
“Hyuuga Hinata versus Uzumaki Naruto. Begin!”
Hinata charged and Naruto turned away from her. There were not many places to run, but he could keep his distance. He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the kunai coming towards him. He dropped down and continued as a decently sized fox. He had become small enough that he could more easily dodge, but large enough that he could outrun her. He did not dare make himself too small. That would defeat the purpose.
When Hinata realised she was not going to catch up, she got into the centre of the stage and focussed on throwing her kunai.
Naruto dodged and then turned back. He slipped back into his human form to talk. “Got tired of chasing me?”
“You’re trying to exhaust me.”
“Perhaps.” It was Naruto’s best bet to win. Neji had taken advantage of an opening even after she had powered herself up by going into that Hyper Hyuuga mode. “I thought you were going to use the strength of your family to defeat me.”
“It’s hardly an exhibition if I beat you right away.” Hinata said, but Naruto caught her glance to the earth stage.
Right. She did not want to risk taking Hanabi’s strength if Hanabi was still fighting in her own match. The seal was mostly accurate, but Hinata was unskilled in its use. So as much as Naruto wanted to drag this out, he actually stood a better chance if he made it quick. “You can’t beat me if you can’t catch me.”
“I don’t have to.” She threw another kunai.
Naruto dodged to the side and countered with a handful of shuriken. She used the blunt side of a kunai to deflect them, before throwing the kunai straight at Naruto.
She did have the upper hand like this. He did not know how much chakra it cost to charge the kunai with wind, but it had to be less exhausting that what Naruto had to do to dodge them. She could stay in place and deflect whatever he threw at her. Could he try the same trick to strengthen his own kunai? No, bad idea. An exhibition match was not the place to try out new experimental techniques.
“Neji was right, you know.” Hinata said. “He knows his place in the clan and has spent a year honing his skills so he can strengthen me in a crisis. That is his destiny as a member of the branch family.”
Naruto refused to be baited.
“Just like it’s my destiny to lead the Hyuuga. What’s your destiny, Naruto? Surely if the spirits intended you to be hokage, they would have gifted you some talent.”
Okay, there were limits. “Who cares about what the twice-damned spirits intended for me? I’m going to be Hokage, but not because I was born into the best clan or gifted with the best blood.”
“How? You’re not even able to fight a single Hyuuga.”
“Who says I can’t?” Naruto finally engaged. He pushed away Hinata’s open palm trying to stop him, following through with an attempted punch to her sternum. She pushed Naruto’s fist away and the dance began.
She was gifted and her taijutsu technique was more polished than he was used to. But Naruto had sparred with Hanabi enough to handle a Gentle Fist fighter.
If she was surprised that he was keeping up, she did not show it. She simply kept pushing and pressing. Naruto was slowly forced to move back even as he kept her from hitting him. It was just too risky to try anything that would expose himself when one hit could knock him out. He had a replacement technique, but only one.
“I’m going to be Hokage because I will have earned it.”
“By working the hardest? Don’t be naïve. You’re swimming against the current. It’s impressive, but the Hokage is the ninja who swam furthest, not hardest.”
“I’ll get the furthest.” Naruto kicked and it created some distance between them. “I’ll make it.”
“You’re delusional. You neither have the advantages required to survive the race until the end, nor the support that will carry you when you stumble.”
“I have my friends.”
“What are friends compared to family? What even is family compared to the clan? Do you know how they celebrated my scores being in the top 4? How pleased it makes them that I am a chuunin so soon after graduation?”
There was a large cheer across the stadium as Hanabi was declared the winner against Shino. Hinata grinned. Her eyes started to glow. This was the worst-case scenario.
“And how pleased they’ll be that you needed their help to defeat me.” Naruto tried.
“That I got a chance to show Konoha the full power of the Hyuuga.”
Naruto did not stand a chance. Luckily, that was when his best ideas came to him. And there was a way. Naruto was sure of it.
Hinata was preparing to power up.
Step one. Stall.
He made the hand signs and then transformed into Hanabi. “Do you know how much it hurts to be drained of my soul?”
“That’s low, Naruto.” Hinata glared.
“I didn’t get a choice. Dad forced me to get the Caged Bird seal. I was told to trust you and I did. Because you’d only ever use it in emergencies!”
“Stop it.” Hinata shook her head. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I looked up to you, nee-san! I was so convinced you’d fight with your own strength, but cousin Neji didn’t stand a chance from the start. Just like he said.”
Hinata breathed deeply, trying to focus.
“Have you ever even wondered what it’s like? To suddenly have your strings cut? To have someone else take years of hard work, all so that they can have a few days more experience? To watch through hollow eyes and listen through deaf ears, hoping you’ll deign to give us control back before we choke in our own spit?!”
“It’s for the clan.”
“This a friendly competition! You can’t even fight here with your own strength, how will you ever lead the clan?! If there’s ever a war, will you just rob every Hyuuga of their souls until it’s over?”
“Of course not!”
“You couldn’t even let Neji fight! How could you?”
“More is at stake!”
“More than our honour? More than the love you have for your own sister?”
“Enough!” Hinata’s body pulsed with chakra. Her eyes glowed once more and her hair floated in the wind. “Your deception isn’t working. Hanabi would never say these things to me.”
“I know.” Naruto said with Hanabi’s voice. “But that’s why I’m saying this for her.”
“You don’t know my sister half as well as you think.”
“Better than you.” Naruto said. “Nee-san, you’ve brainwashed me into worshipping the clan before all else. And that is why there are things I will never be able to say to you. Like how I accidentally revealed too much of the Byakuugan to Naruto in our spars, and he found a way to block it.”
That made her hesitate. “You lie.”
“I never told you, nee-san. I knew how the clan would punish me for this. Naruto promised to keep it a secret, but I don’t care to hold him to it. Not when you’re so comfortable breaking your own promises.”
“You spent four weeks getting to the chuunin level while the rest of us had already graduated. When did you have time to research cancelling out a bloodline?”
Hanabi huffed. “Like it’s hard to notice that the Byakuugan can’t see through everything.”
“It… it wouldn’t even matter. I’ll finish the fight now and won’t lose sight of you.”
“He only needs one chance to slip out of sight. We both know he has a replacement in reserve.”
“He’d want to keep it for the next match, surely.” Hinata said.
“Won’t do Naruto any good if he loses here.”
Hinata was going to respond, but then caught her tongue. “You’re stalling me. If you had a counter, you would have used it already.”
Of course he was. He needed the time to visualise. “Of course I’m not. Test me, if you’re so sure.” Naruto held a kunai firmly in front of him.
And Hinata rushed forward. She was impossibly fast. Her fingers were ready to jab, filled with chakra, right at his chakra point on the chest.
He was ready for her. He let her come close. And then he disappeared in a puff of smoke, a kunai dropping out of the air where he had just stood.
She was looking around in confusion. She was panicking. She needed to move just a bit more to the left. There!
Naruto dropped his transformation, going from arena tile to human, and sprung up, his fist connecting with her jaw. She fell backwards and Naruto jumped on top of her, kunai at her throat.
“You’re right. I don’t have a clan or a family that drives me to become the best. I don’t need any outside motivation. I’m doing this for me. And that’s enough.”
“Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!”
There was confusion in the stadium. There was applause, but it was scattered. The Hyuuga were dead silent and not just because a lot of them were just coming back from their hypo. The other clans were conflicted as well, Naruto could tell. It was one thing for him to beat a foreign ninja, but they had not been expecting him to prevail against an actual clan heir.
Naruto was now the final winner of the wind stage. That meant he would be allowed to fight on the centre stage in the final round, against the other four champions. Merely getting that far was an honour. And if he played his cards right, Naruto had a chance of winning the whole exhibition.
He helped Hinata to stand. She diverted her gaze and walked off.
Only to walk straight into Hanabi.
“I heard what Naruto said to you.” She said.
“It’s okay.” Hinata said, shaken. “I know none of it was true.”
“Hinata. Why did you use the seal today?”
“It was for the honour of the clan. You know this.”
“I do.” Hanabi said. “Just like I know that Naruto shouldn’t have said the things he said.”
“Exactly, I…”
“But he wasn’t wrong.”
Hinata froze.
“Every Hyuuga would give their life for the clan. For you, our clan leader. But that doesn’t mean you should just take it without a good reason.”
“I… I didn’t…”
“I’m sorry you lost to Naruto.” Hanabi said. “Next time don’t underestimate him.”
Hanabi walked off.
Or she would have, but something big rocked the earth. It rumbled from across the village and almost made Naruto lose his footing.
Something was seriously wrong.
He looked at the earth stage where the final battle of the round was taking place. It was littered with weapons now and two discarded scrolls. Tenten wielded a spear, apparently her last weapon, keeping her distance as she struck it against Gaara again and again. The sand that protected his skin was flying in every direction as Tenten looked like she was going berserk.
Naruto rushed towards the stage, Temari following suit. Whatever was happening, Naruto did not want it getting any worse.
Tenten finally had her opening and jabbed. The spear went an inch into Gaara’s abdomen. “I should kill you for what you did to Lee.” She cried.
“The fight is over.” The proctor said. He took a step towards her, but when Tenten tightened her grip, he kept his distance.
“It’s what you’d deserve.”
“He’s not worth it.” Naruto yelled to her. “You won’t feel any better.”
“Gaara!” Temari yelled.
The boy stayed perfectly in place, standing still with metal pushed into his body. He turned his head to look at her. “I love you, sister.”
Temari reached for him, but then stilled. She dropped her hand. Her eyes were wet as she replied. “I love you too.”
Gaara closed his eyes and stepped forward, letting himself be fully impaled. Tenten tried to pull the spear back, but it was too late. She had aimed for a vital spot to win and now Gaara’s aorta was ruptured.
When Gaara opened his eyes again, they were black. Naruto could feel the Ichibi coming.
“We have to stop this.” Naruto said. He looked for an adult that could help, but much more was happening that he had been aware of. Part of the audience had risen from their seats and started attacking spectating ninja. The proctors were too busy keeping their reserve troops from entering the field.
Naruto did not know what to do. But luckily Gaara’s sister did. Temari moved to his side. Kankuro had reached his brother too. Temari gave an apologetic glance to Naruto, before lifting Gaara up and jumping away. Into the forest. Away from medical help.
He looked around again. He should have realised. All the attackers wore Suna headbands.
This had been planned.
“What’s going on?” Kiba asked.
“War.” Naruto said. “Bring all the chuunin candidates here.”
“We have to help them.” Kiba said, looking to the stands.
“We will. After.”
Kiba hesitated for just a second, before taking Akamaru and running to the other stages. Choji followed suit in the opposite direction.
They were losing time. Naruto wanted to run, but he had to be smart about this. He closed his eyes and pulled inside himself.
“Wake up, Kuruma.”
“What is it?”
“You need to see this.” Naruto did not have time to explain.
The other chuunin candidates gathered quickly, but they were arguing at the centre stage. Naruto had to go to them.
“We need to fight the enemies in the stands.” Shino said. “Why? There are many civilians there that could get hurt.”
“There are enough ninja there already. And those ninja are stronger than we are.” Chouji said. “We need to help the civilians escape the arena and get to a safe house.”
“Liste to me!” Naruto shouted. “Suna is going to unleash a tailed beast on Konoha.”
That drew gasps from the others. “We need to stop them.”
“So you’ll all come with me?”
“Of course.” Chouji said.
“No.” Sasuke said, apologetic. “If they’ve gone this far, this attack is larger than just the arena. I need to get to the Uchiha district.”
Naruto looked to him, fighting back the tears and burying it under a Henge. With a clear head he knew it was probably better for Sasuke to be away from him. But his refusal still hurt.
There was another big rumble. And then it appeared. A giant snake head appearing high over the walls of the arena, visible despite being a great distance away.
Sakura gasped. “That’s near the merchant district. I’m sorry, Naruto.”
Naruto winced. He looked around and he could see without the backing of Sasuke and Sakura, that the others were already hesitating. They wanted to back out and find their own families.
“This is bigger than any one clan.” Naruto said. “If we don’t pursue right now, the whole village is at risk.”
“We know.” Shikamaru said. “It’s precisely that the whole village is at risk that we can’t all help you with this one mission. There’s no use saving Konoha from a tailed beast if it gets destroyed by an invading army instead!”
“What’s the minimum you need?” Hanabi asked.
"Sakura..." Naruto turned to her.
I need you.
I can't do this without you.
You made me feel like I was family. Please choose me.
Naruto swallowed. He could see in her eyes that she had already made up her mind. And Naruto did have to admit his job would be easier if she was not there. "I need a medic. Get the first aid ninja to join me."
Naruto looked around the group. If he asked for too much, he would risk them leaving him alone. If he asked too little, the mission was doomed to fail. Who did he really need?
He needed a medic to save Gaara. And he would need someone to fight Temari and Kankuro.
He wanted to ask for Hanabi. To have one of his teammates by his side. But that was a bad match-up with either of the enemies they would be facing. He still wanted her. Naruto wanted all of them. It was not fair he would have to face the next challenge alone.
But if he had to choose just two…
"I need Shino and Ino."
They both still looked hesitant. Like they might refuse if Naruto let them stew on it. And they had wasted too much time already.
“Ino, I can give you information. I'll tell you everything you want to know. I'll be in your debt and make sure you won't regret this."
"Okay." Ino agreed.
"Shino, I... I..." Naruto had to wrack his brain. He had no leverage. He had nothing he could trade with. Nothing... except his friends. "Hanabi, can you persuade Shino to come with me?"
"The Hyuuga would owe you, Aburame."
“You extend your trust so easily?”
"I've learned that betting on Naruto is never a bad deal." She turned to Naruto. "Go give them hell. I wish I could help more."
“I know you need to help the Hyuuga. Keep Hinata safe.” He turned to the others. “All of you. Fight smart and quick, and if anything happens, it was a pleasure knowing you.”
Sakura ran over to the help post. Naruto checked his gear and told Ino and Shino as much as he could, while the others were planning their escape from the colosseum.
“Now we just need to wait for the first aid medic.”
“That would be me.” A new voice said.
Naruto had not known he was there. Thank god for small miracles. “Kabuto, I need you to come along.”
“I’m not a chuunin, Naruto.”
“I don’t care. You’re a good medic and every second we’re wasting here, they’re getting further away from us.”
The boy nodded.
“Everyone.” Naruto looked around. “Good luck. Don’t die.”
“For Konoha.” Ino said.
“For Konoha!” They chorused.
It was a small team to save the whole village, but Naruto had confidence in them.
“Why should I care that your village is under attack or what your former classmates think about it?” Kuruma asked.
“I thought you would want to know Shukaku might be released.”
“I care little of him.”
Damn that fox. Naruto did not want to explicitly say it. He sighed. “Kuruma, I’m telling you to stretch. Because I’m going to stop Shukaku, or I’m going to die trying. And then it will be up to you to finish the job.”
Notes:
Next update in the first week of April: Lost my way, I lost hope, forgot the dream. Naruto's going to try to save Gaara.
Lots to cover for this chapter.
The chapter title both foreshadows the start of the war, and the entering of Sandman Gaara as a central piece of the upcoming narrative.
I wanted to emphasise the connection to clan in this version of the chuunin exams, and make the summon an intrical part of the exhibition. They’re doing a traditional dance around the stadium, showing off their spirit animals (and therefore showing the village is blessed by the spirits for employing them), and then getting random lots. Pet peeve with canon: letting us know a month ahead of time who everyone will be facing, and then seeing very limited preparation to face that particular opponent. Naruto learns to summon frogs, and then uses that skill not at all. So if we’re not using training time to prepare for specific enemies, let’s just reveal that the day of.
I also wanted a match system that could easily accommodate different number of participants. All ninja get separated by elemental affinity. That also makes it easier for masters of specific affinities to know which stage to look at for future pupils. Each stage has its own little random tournament, leading to a maximum of 5 champions. The final round would have been the five of them facing off at the same time on the centre stage, but the attack happened before they could make that happen.
Probably had too much Dragonball influence with the stage where falling off is a forfeit as well. It does fit well into the general change of making the exam less lethal.
Also, feel free to correct me, but I’ve always found it a bit strange how much Neji is harping on destiny as a victim. Like, he firmly believes in the hierarchy of the clan when it comes to strength… but also fighting against Hinata. I’m just slightly confused how someone who wants to fight the system, believes so strongly in the absolute destinty of that system. So, moved much of canon Neji to Hinata, who is born with privilege and even abuses it. What’s left in Neji is someone bitter about how much he’s trained while destiny blocks him from being the greatest. (And therefore, someone who’s going to be inspired by Naruto breaking the system).
Small change, making Neji’s revolving heaven technique wind-based instead of advanced Hyuuga taijutsu, to fit more into the elemental theming of every stage. And to move away from the idea that the clan kids only focus on their clan techniques. I know it’s a shonen staple to have completely separate abilities, but it irks me nonetheless.
Temari’s strange behaviour can largely be contributed to knowing an invasion is coming. She’s been lying to Naruto for a while about this, leading up to her deliberate loss against Naruto in the first round. She saw a chance to get out of the tournament unharmed and she took it. And she didn’t have to do Kankuro’s mystery forfeit to do it.
Chapter 16: 2.8 Lost my way, I lost hope, forgot the dream (One more shot)
Summary:
Konoha is under attack! And even worse, Gaara is about to unleash the Ichibi. I can’t let that happen, no matter what. With only Ino, Shino and Kabuto on my side, I’ll have to do whatever it takes to stop Suna.
Notes:
This fanfic now has fanart! Thank you TausMagicalWindmill for creating a book cover inspired by Naruto's 'sigma grindset': The Sigma Male. If Naruto's dream of becoming Hokage doesn't pan out, it's good to know he can still make it as an author.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Can you locate Shukaku?”
“Tailed beasts aren’t magic.” Kuruma said. “I don’t see any more than you.”
Naruto fidgeted. He hated standing still. Especially when the mission was this important. He looked over the trees again, looking for any sign that Temari had passed through. Gaara was supposed to be bleeding out. Why could the Suna team not be careless enough to leave a trail of blood in their escape? Freaking professionals.
“This way.” Shino said, pointing deeper into the forest.
They were going as fast as they could even with the frequent stops to check where the Suna siblings had gone. “Kabuto, try to keep up.”
He was panting. “I don’t have your endurance.”
“Did you skip breakfast again?”
“I was up late working. I didn’t have time this morning.”
Naruto tossed him an energy bar from his bag. “We can’t afford to slow down.”
“At this pace, I won’t have any chakra left to heal the boy.”
“You can rest when we get to him.”
Kabuto bit down on the food and kept going.
There was another earthquake. Whatever had entered the village, it was doing serious damage. There was smoke rising up in the distance from so many districts that it was hard to tell if anything had been left standing. But just like his classmates defending their clans could not afford to get distracted by the possibility that a tailed beast would attack the village, Naruto could not afford letting himself be distracted by anything outside of his mission.
They each had their own jobs to do.
Naruto jumped from tree branch to tree branch. His impromptu team was unburdened by a prone body’s weight and that was their only advantage. The Sand siblings had a large head start on them.
“What happens if we’re too late?” Kabuto asked.
“We can’t afford to be.” Naruto said. “Failure’s not an option.”
“I saw the injury. Gaara’s bleeding out. Even if I repair the damage in time, there’s no guarantee he’ll survive the exsanguination.”
“We still have to try.” Ino said. “Worry about the blood he’s already lost after you’ve kept him from losing more.”
“I’m not a miracle worker.”
“Nobody’s asking you to be one.” Naruto said. “We just…” He saw them in the distance. It was time.
Ino and Naruto threw shuriken their way. Kankuro and Temari tried to dodge in different directions, forcing one of them to release their brother. A lot was communicated between their shared look and then it was the puppet master that caved, releasing his grip and moving to the side.
He landed facing the Konoha team, his puppet already moving back to attack them.
Naruto gave the signal. “Shino, you’re up.”
The Abarame’s bugs swarmed forward. They engaged the puppet and surrounded the puppeteer. However, Temari was rushing onwards and so would the rest of the team.
Kankuro snarled and extended the arm with his summon. “Stop them!”
His weasel cut his way through the bugs and went straight for Ino. She got her kunai ready, but a beetle-like insect intercepted the weasel. Summon versus summon, both equally matched.
“I’ve got this under control. Why? I have already beaten this opponent once before.”
Shino sent his mass of kikaichu closer to Kankuro.
The puppeteer laughed, his skin prickling with electricity and frying the bugs that had come too close. “You didn’t think I showed you all my cards, did you?”
Kabuto gasped at the brutal display of power. “He may need help.”
“He can do this.” Naruto said as he jumped past another branch and towards where Temari had fled. He had faith in Shino to defeat the puppeteer, or at the very least stall him. Just like his classmates had faith in Naruto to stop the tailed beast from escaping. Like Shino and Ino had faith that their clans would be able to hold out without their heirs there to protect them. They all had to have faith in each other, because the alternative was unacceptable.
The further they moved away, the softer the buzzing of bugs became. By the time they caught up to Temari, the sounds of fighting in the village overshadowed everything.
“There’s still time to save him!” Naruto yelled.
Temari seemed to hesitate, before she turned around. “Carry him deeper into the forest.” She told her weasel. It took over Temari’s duty and went on.
“Your brother doesn’t have to die!”
“Gaara didn’t choose to become Jinchuriki. He didn’t choose to be Suna’s greatest weapon.” She cried, brandishing her fan. “But he chose to sacrifice himself for us. I told him he didn’t have to. But he did! I’m not going to be like my father and take the choice away from him.”
She swung the fan and Naruto braced himself behind a tree. The sheer force of the winds cut the tree apart and he had to run further away from her to stay safe. Kankuro was not the only one who had been holding back in the exhibition matches.
Suddenly her abrupt defeat made more sense. She had forfeited to conserve her energy.
“Ready Ino?”
She nodded, taking a deep breath before stepping away from her cover. “Katon: Phoenix Flower jutsu!”
Small petals of flame blew from her mouth. The wind looked strong enough to blow them right back at Ino, but instead the petals of flame only picked up speed and size as they went straight for Temari. Temari had to jump out of the way as the tree she was standing on was incinerated.
“I’ll keep her busy!” Ino shouted. “Go!”
Naruto nodded, grabbing Kabuto and running on. Temari prepared to swing her fan and launch a massive wind jutsu in their escape path, but she had to stop the technique and block instead when Ino came right for her. Metal kunai clashed against metal fan in worryingly short intervals.
Naruto sent a prayer her way.
Temari had delayed them, but Naruto and Kabuto were faster than the weasel. When they caught up, Naruto threw a few kunai, one of which grazed the weasel’s fur. It was enough to make the summon disappear in a puff of smoke.
Naruto thought Gaara would crumble to the ground, but Gaara managed to catch himself. He stood, facing Naruto and Kabuto. “Don’t get any closer.” He brought the sharp tips of his metal claw to his neck. “Or I end it right away.”
Naruto stopped, holding up his hands. “Fine. Let’s just talk then.”
“I don’t have anything to say to you.”
“Yes you do.” Naruto said. “You’re using your sand and chakra to stop the bleeding. You’re keeping yourself alive. This isn’t the easy decision you’re pretending it is.”
Gaara shook his head. “Nothing’s easy about this.”
“Talk to me. Why are you doing this? Why are you taking your own life?”
“What do you care?” Gaara snarled. “I tried to kill your friend. I almost killed you.”
“And I hate you for it.” Naruto said. “But I don’t want you to die.”
“How does that make any sense?”
“You’re not my favourite person by far. But I see how much Temari cares about you. I listened to the stories she told me. She told me how badly you wanted to prove yourself to the village. What happened?”
“I got the order just before we left Suna.” Gaara’s face scrunched up and he looked down. “They need the Ichibi to attack Konoha. Everyone is depending on me. Today’s battle rests on my shoulders. I’m hardly a chuunin. They need the Ichibi for something I could never do. I’m strong enough to fight, but I’m not strong enough to come close to the Bijuu’s release. How could I even make the slightest difference with my own strength?”
“They shouldn’t have put any of that on you.”
“Konoha shouldn’t have forced our hand.” Gaara said. He looked Naruto in the eyes. “You did this to us.”
“We forced you into a bad peace deal. Big whoop. You could have just renegotiated.”
“You’re naïve. Konoha would never have given up their position.”
“Did you even try?”
“The Kazekage has done everything in his power…”
“I didn’t ask what your dad did.” Naruto said. “I asked about you.”
Gaara looked offended. “What was I supposed to do?”
“Anything.” Naruto said. “Kidnap a Konoha ninja. Steal our secrets and blackmail us. Hell, infiltrate our government and manipulate our politicians! You’re supposed to be a ninja! Figure out literally any solution other than blunt violence!”
“You would have us act against your village?”
“Anything would have been better than this.” Naruto gestured around him. “A full-on war. And even then I could have understood if you had simply fought along. But after all your big talk of becoming a ninja in your own right, you got scared and gave up.”
“There was nothing left to do. Even if there was… Suna needs me now. A surprise attack can only go so far. They need me to unleash the demon.”
“And what will that do? Shukaku will just as easily attack Suna ninja as Konoha.”
“That’s not true. The Suna know that it’s coming. They will get away.”
“You think Konoha will just let them flee from a giant tailed beast?”
“The… the escape routes must have been prepared ahead of time. And for those who can’t… the casualties will have been calculated in the plan. We’re still more prepared to face a tailed beast than Konoha is.”
“And if it kills Kankuro and Temari?”
Gaara gasped. He shook his head. “They’re too far away.”
“They were going to be right next to you as you died. As it is, they’re somewhere in this forest. Unconscious if they were beaten, getting even closer to you if they were not.”
“The weasels will get them out.”
“Which weasels? They were all dispelled with injuries. Will Kankuro and Temari have enough chakra to summon new ones? Weasels strong enough to carry them away?”
Gaara needed a moment. “My father. He’ll send them. He won’t let his heirs die.”
“He condemned you to death.” Naruto said. “Why would your siblings be any different?”
Gaara shook his head. “The demon can’t have them. It can’t.”
“Let us heal you, Gaara.” Naruto said. “Stop the killing. Stop the bloodshed. Give yourself a chance to become a Jinchuriki that does not need to die to save his village.”
“But the attack…”
“Do you know what happens if you die?” Naruto slowly grabbed a kunai and brought it to his neck. Time to finish this bluff by pretending he could do this. It troubled him how easy it was to pretend. “I go next.”
Kabuto gasped. “What are you talking about? Why would that help?
But Gaara hesitated. “You’d release the Kyuubi?”
Kabuto flinched. “You’re a jinchuriki?” And then the penny dropped. The realisation of what would happen after his death. “Naruto, you can’t. The village won’t survive it.”
“The village is already half-destroyed. The Kyuubi’s not interested in Suna’s left-overs. It will fight Shukaku and then run far away from humans.”
“Won’t you?” Naruto asked inside of himself.
“I will fight Shukaku over the right to kill the humans here, but you are in no position to negotiate any other concessions from me.”
Gaara looked so uncertain. “So if I die… it won’t even help Suna?”
“Killing yourself is always useless. But yes. You risk killing your siblings, you will not help the invasion. Whatever plan your father made, he did not count on me being right next to you. And worse of all, you’re breaking a promise to yourself.”
“Th-they’ll hate me for my cowardice.”
“Let them hate you. How is that any different from before?” Naruto said. “Everyone that’s looking at us just wants us to give up. We work hard to be recognised, but they don’t care. They hate us for even trying, they always have. They won’t be any happier with you killing yourself for the village. Are they happy a kunai is able to cut? Because that’s how they see you. Like a tool. You need to look to the people who see who you really are. Kankuro will be happy. Temari will be happy. Heck, I’ll be happy with you. Just… put down your glove. Let us heal you.”
Gaara sighed. He slowly lowered his metal claw and let it drop away from his hand, onto the ground.
Naruto rushed forward. “Lie down. You’ve done a good job keeping the pressure on it.”
“I wanted… I wanted time to say goodbye.”
“It helps.” Naruto put his hands on the wound. He kept the pressure on. Just like he had been taught. Just like he had had to do for Lee. It was just a stop-gap measure. Anything he could do until… “Kabuto?”
The genin was just standing there. He raised up his glasses. “I’m too exhausted. I’ll need to rest first.”
What? “You’re not too tired to do emergency work. You just need to patch him up enough so he doesn’t die while you rest. As long as you’re conscious, you can do that much.”
“How would you know? You’re a medic now?”
“I’m on the team with one. I’ve seen Sakura heal in worse shape than you are right now with lower stakes.”
“I’m not her.”
“No, you have years more practice. What’s really going on?”
Kabuto sighed. “I was hoping we’d get here too late.”
“What are you talking about? Heal him.”
He shook his head. “You’ve always been so naïve, Naruto. Did you ever consider why I never passed the chuunin exam?”
“What’s that got to do with anything?” Naruto asked.
“I never wanted to pass.”
“Why wouldn’t you…”
“You’re so slow. Let me spell it out then. It’s much easier to gather information in Konoha when I’m not constantly being sent out on missions.”
Naruto swallowed. “You’re a spy. You’re on Suna’s side.”
“Indirectly.”
“You’re not even going to deny it?”
“Not much need after this attack. I already relayed all the information I gathered. Just because you couldn’t see Suna trying the ninja means of getting around the treaty, doesn’t mean they didn’t. This attack is the culmination of years of work. I’m done and I don’t expect to stay in Konoha after this. But even if I did, I don’t expect either of you to be alive much longer to tell anyone.”
This could not be happening. “If not Suna, then who do you work for?”
“Orochimaru.”
Something inside Naruto broke. “That snake bastard?”
“I don’t expect you to understand.”
“And I won’t. It’s your fault.” Naruto’s mind was whirling with the implications. “It has to be. He was able to get to us in the Forest of Death because of your intelligence.”
“Can you really blame him? Leave two of Konoha’s isolated clan heirs in a single team. One of which is an Uchiha. If not this exam, then it would have been another time you were vulnerable. How was he supposed to resist?”
Naruto felt like his heart might rip out of his chest. He had to get his breathing back under control. He had to get this conversation back under control. “The situation has not changed. If Shukaku is released, Kuruma will fight him.”
“If you’re not outright bluffing about letting the Kyuubi loose, then the mayham still works in Suna’s favour. I suspect however that you were lying.”
“You were?” Gaara asked.
“I’m dead serious!” Naruto insisted. “You know what a bad liar I am. I wouldn’t bluff about something like this. I couldn’t.”
Kabuto grimaced. “Quite right. Still, Konoha has more to lose than Suna if the tailed beasts rampage. They’ll have to divert resources into sealing them. It still helps the cause. And unlike Gaara, I don’t care if his siblings end up paying the price.”
It felt like there was sand in his eyes again. The world was becoming blurry with his tears. Over the trees he could see bugs rising up in the distance. Shino was still fighting. A little closer was the forest fire, blazing larger and larger. Ino and Temari were still at it too. Nobody was coming for him.
He was all alone.
Nobody was going to help.
The village would be destroyed.
That was unacceptable.
Naruto steeled his nerves. “You care about what happens to the Suna ninja?”
Gaara nodded, but Naruto was staring at Kabuto.
“Do you?”
Kabuto let nothing show. “They’re on my side.”
“They’re fighting for you. You’ll be worse off if they lose.” Naruto’s hands trembled. There was so much staking on this. He needed to figure this out. Could he do it? “And you’re letting Gaara bleed out instead of attacking. You don’t like the risk of coming here to finish the job.”
“It’s not a risk. I just don’t want to waste the chakra. I may be needed as a healer later.”
Maybe. For all that he had pretended to be a genin, there would have been no time to effectively practice any chuunin skills. Not without tutors and private facilities. Kabuto was only human. There were limits to how much he could advance while maintaining his cover.
“Oi, Nyctereutes sordium.”
Kabuto raised an eyebrow. “What?”
But it was Gaara that answered in a booming and rotten voice. “Vulpes pariunt, quid vis?” He coughed after, eyes wide with panic. His voice returned to normal. “Wh-what’s that?”
“It’s the Ichibi.” Naruto said. “I can talk to it. De relinquam populum harenae in pace.”
“An insanire?”
“Stop this.” Kabuto said. “It won’t do you any good. The beasts can’t be reasoned with.”
“Solus recordati estis manu capiemini.” Naruto said.
“Solus sum.”
“Vulpes habes. Dicit et concordat.”
“Vadam magis ad infernum.”
“And you?” Naruto asked inside of himself.
“If I’m released, I’ll start by ripping Shukaku’s head off.”
Naruto turned to Kabuto. “When Shukaku’s released, he’ll only target the Suna soldiers. He’ll leave Konoha alone.”
Kabuto let out a laugh. “And you expect me to believe that? How the hell would you convince him to do that?”
“I’ve already convinced the Nine-tailed fox not to attack Konoha after it is released.” Naruto made his heart slow down. He made himself appear calmer. It was as easy as growing another pair of arms.
“You have done no such thing.”
“I have shown him Konoha through my eyes and he will not hurt it. He just wants to escape and be free. The tailed beasts know that they’ll be resealed if they stay too long. The only way they’ll get out of here is by working together.”
“Tailed beasts have never cooperated.”
Not since the time before they were sealed into ninja. Before the isolation and hatred had corrupted them. “Exactly. Which is why all sealing techniques work by taking on one tailed beast at a time. They’ll be guaranteed to escape if they work together. How would Orochimaru feel if Kuruma and Shukaku left? I don’t know what alliance he has with Suna, but instead of the two Jinchuriki they were expecting to have, Suna would be left with none.”
“You’re lying.”
“Look me in the eyes. You know how bad I am at lying. You know that I’m telling you the truth. They’ll team up. Kuruma will only help if Shukaku leaves Konoha alone. They’ll tear a path out of here with the blood of Suna soldiers.”
Gaara gasped. “Y-you said we’d keep them safe.”
“As long as you survive, everything will be good. But if you die…” Naruto turned to Kabuto. “I’ll tell them to be on the lookout for a snake. Orochimaru is powerful, but even he can’t stand up to the might of two tailed beasts working together.”
“Stop saying that. You’re making me gag.”
“Ne tibi non inmutatio mea.” Gaara snarled.
“Vigilate.” Naruto said. He turned to Kabuto with a snarl. “He’s asking if you’re fair game, Kabuto. And since you’re no longer allied to Konoha, you’re no longer protected. He says they’ll tear out your entrails and hang you with them.”
Kabuto pushed up his glasses again, delaying. “If I heal him, I’ll be betraying Orochimaru.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem. You seem to have plenty of experience betraying people.”
Kabuto clenched his jaw. He cursed as he kneeled besides the Suna boy and brought green hands down to cover the wound. Naruto scampered back.
“You were going to release me.”
“Only if Gaara died.”
“You lied to me.” Kuruma said. Hushed.
“As much as I hate your ugly mug, I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to it yet.”
“Some day I will make you pay for your insolence.” Kuruma’s voice lacked the usual venom. Or perhaps Naruto getting so close to losing his life and his village had put some perspective to it.
Naruto turned to Kabuto. He was working and it was dangerous to distract him. But it was more dangerous to give him a chance to think. “Was all of it a lie?”
“In this life you’ll find that ninja are the best actors.” Kabuto said. “And all great actors hide their lies behind truths.”
“Did you care for me? For Hanabi? Did you even care about Jaku?”
“You can’t make it through life if you don’t care about the people around you. But you can’t make it a life worth living if you don’t find a cause that’s bigger than yourself. Orochimaru gave me that purpose.” He lifted his hands off of Gaara. “He’ll live.”
“Good.” Naruto let out a sigh of relief.
And something about that made Kabuto still. He turned to Naruto suddenly. “It’s important that you find a cause and then work tirelessly to get to it. Hanabi, Jaku and you made it easier. Thank you for that.”
Naruto slowly walked closer. “You’re… welcome?”
“I wish we could have spent more time together. But I know how difficult your lack of talent makes that for you. We all have our own struggles. Yet you set so much of yours aside for us. I’ve always admired that about you.
Naruto did not trust where this conversation was going. “What’s your point?”
“Orochimaru isn’t so bad if you get to know him. He understands the spirits like no ninja ever has. I wish I could take you with me. If lord Orochimaru could give you talent, you would be unstoppable.”
“I’m plenty unstoppable now.” Naruto said. Was that the play? Was Kabuto trying to recruit him?
“So just imagine how strong you could be. How easy your life could become. You can’t tell me you’ve spent so much time around those teammates of yours and their immense talent, and have never felt envious?”
Naruto scrunched his face. “I haven’t.”
Kabuto’s eyes darted over Naruto’s body and something seemed to be confirmed. “I knew it. You’ve learned to lie.”
This was not good.
Kabuto grabbed a kunai and plunged it right towards Gaara’s body.
Naruto used his replacement technique. The last one he had. Suddenly Gaara was safe and Naruto was the one being attacked. Naruto held out his weapon to block, barely able to take the strength.
Kabuto twisted around and sent his kunai flying towards Gaara.
Naruto tried throwing his own kunai after it. But it was slower. It would not intercept in time. The moment Naruto realised this, he lunged after the kunai again, this time expelling a burst of pure wind chakra in its direction. It was crude. It was chakra-intensive.
But it worked.
Naruto’s kunai caught up and deflected Kabuto’s, knocking it off course.
“I can’t believe a brat like you learned to kill your emotions.” Kabuto groaned. He covered his hands in blue chakra, condensed and sharpened enough to work for surgery. The chakra scalpel that Naruto had only read about.
Naruto had to duck under Kabuto’s jab, dodging with all the speed he could muster. This was almost as bad as fighting a Hyuuga. With the added handicap that Naruto could not put any distance between him and the medic, for fear that his former friend would launch an attack on Gaara.
None of that conflict showed on his face, his henge holding strong. “People keep underestimating me.”
“Soon there won’t be much left to underestimate!”
Kabuto’s jabs were precise and focused on Naruto’s vital organs. Naruto did not have a full grasp of anatomy, but he knew that much. A single hit would have him bleeding out. Kabuto’s tireless dedication was on full display. How many days had he practiced this style of fighting, to make it this perfect?
No.
Not perfect.
Kabuto had two years on Naruto, but he had been splitting his attention. He had not only become a medic, had not only trained his combat stances, but had trained on information gathering and subterfuge. With so many things to focus on, something had to give. Even trying to hide his true skills, something authentic had to have shined through.
The weaknesses that Naruto already knew about.
Kabuto had not faked skipping meals. And he had not faked his weak stamina. Maybe he had exaggerated both, but they would have been impossible to fabricate consistently and realistically.
Naruto dodged out of the way of a strike that glanced his arm and left a clean cut at the top of his shoulder. Kabuto had overextended himself and Naruto needed to counter. But before Naruto could do anything, Kabuto was already following through.
Kabuto was being recklessly aggressive, even though he did not have the stamina to keep this up.
But a single glance at Gaara reminded Naruto that Naruto did not the time to keep this up either. Gaara was just stable enough not to die within the next few minutes. That was the time frame. The boy needed medical attention soon to survive.
Naruto needed to do more than defend.
And it was probably going to hurt.
Kabuto made a lunge with his right hand and Naruto reached beyond to grab Kabuto’s wrist. The Chakra Scalpel cut into his own wrist and he tried to bite through the damage. Kabuto went to stab at Naruto’s grapple with his left hand and Naruto grabbed Kabuto’s other wrist. He ignored more bleeding.
Normally this special taijutsu move would end with a hard headbutt. That was the way how it was taught in the academy and Kabuto was already shifting his weight to accommodate the blow. The medical ninja would try to do as much damage in a counter as possible.
Luckily, Naruto had something more effective at his disposal.
He drew metal from the kunai in his pouch for a Henge, replacing his hands with iron shackles. He would soon have no more strength in his arms, so he replaced his bones and joints with metal. He would be able to keep Kabuto in place. But that was not the whole point.
The point was that he no longer had to use his arms to do it. With a puff of smoke, because even with Naruto’s expertise it was not possible to do something this experimental without some wasted chakra, Naruto formed two new arms under his shirt, both armed with a kunai, and both stabbing right into Kabuto’s belly.
Kabuto tried to pull away but the metal around his wrists was strong.
Naruto’s kunai pierced Kabuto’s abdomen.
“Gah!” Kabuto shouted.
Naruto just needed to swipe sidewards and it would be done. Except Kabuto still had a trick up his sleeve. Even with his hands bound, he had his feet. Both of which were getting covered with the blue chakra that could cut through flesh. His kick did not have much technique. But then, it did not need to.
Naruto had no choice but to dispel his henge and jump back.
Kabuto was hunched. He pressed a hand to his belly and pulled it away covered in blood.
“You’re going to have to heal that.” Naruto said. “And you can if you run away now.”
Kabuto glanced at Gaara. His hand was reaching for his kunai pouch.
Naruto threw a kunai with blinding speed and full concentration. He just hoped Kabuto would not notice the blood on the kunai’s hilt from Naruto’s injuries. “I won’t let you do that.”
“Lord Orochimaru is going to regret letting you live.” Kabuto spat. He sighed and closed his eyes.
In that moment of inattention, Naruto rushed forward and punched Kabuto right on the nose. He could feel the satisfying crunch of bones breaking, before there was nothing of the genin left but a wooden log.
Naruto threw a kunai over Gaara’s position before he had even checked if Kabuto was there. He struck only air. The medic had been more sensible than that. Naruto scanned his surroundings. If Kabuto had transported anywhere close by, it wasn’t anywhere that Naruto could see.
Naruto rushed to Gaara’s side.
Gaara looked pale. He sat up slowly, breathing deeply through the pain his chest was still causing him. “You’re bleeding.”
Naruto wiped his hands on his chuunin jacket. “They’re just surface cuts. Not like your wounds were.”
“I can’t believe you can actually talk to the demons. Even if you were lying about some things, you actually spoke to them.”
“I taught myself. That’s not important. We need to get you to your siblings.”
“Can you teach me their language?”
“Sure. After this is over.”
“Can you teach me to make them listen too?”
As soon as he figured it out himself. “Of course.” Naruto looked around. There was no telling where Kabuto was. “After.”
“Right…” Gaara looked back towards his siblings in the distance. “They’re going to be disappointed in me.”
“They’ll be overjoyed you’re still alive. Now come on.” Naruto supported Gaara with his shoulder and started walking. “The sooner you’re back with your brother and sister, the sooner my friends can stop fighting them. And risk killing each other.”
Gaara nodded.
~*~
Shino and Kankuro were both panting. Their clothing had ripped and their knees looked weak. There was no telling which one of them would have fallen first.
“Stop! It’s over.” Naruto yelled out.
Kankuro looked like he might take advantage of the distraction, until he saw Gaara. And his face lit up. He rushed to his siblings, letting the puppet fall where it had been standing. “You’re okay.”
“We’ve done all we can do in the field. He’ll need a blood transfusion within the hour.” Temari said. “We need to get him to medical personnel.”
“Suna medics will be in the middle of the most dangerous fights.”
“Good luck figuring it out.” Naruto said. “Ino, Shino. We’re close to the Academy. We should secure the students on our way to your clan grounds.”
“Wait.” Temari said. “Gaara needs to go to the Konoha hospital.”
“They’ll never let us in.” Kankuro said. “But they will if we have three chuunin with us.”
“No.” Naruto shook his head. “Suna’s attacking us. We need to help Konoha.”
“If you don’t go with us, we’ll be attacked on sight. By Konoha ninja and Suna. All your efforts will be for naught if Gaara still dies.”
Naruto cursed. “Only one of us.”
“It’s safer if it’s three.”
“You’re getting one.” Naruto said. He turned to Ino and Shino, deliberating which of them would be best to escort the Suna siblings. He had to curse again as he realised the most logical option. “The two of you need to meet up with your families.”
“You are right. Why? Because it is our duties as heirs.”
Ino sighed. “I’m sorry Naruto.”
“Don’t be. You helped when it was needed of you. Go do your clan duties.”
They nodded and jumped off.
“Hospital’s this way.” Naruto said, starting up again.
“You’re going to vouch for us, right?”
“The two of you could do a lot of damage inside of a hospital.” Naruto said. “I’m helping, but I’m not stupid. You can wait outside the hospital while I bring Gaara in.”
“I don’t think that’s…” Temari’s attention was drawn to the side. “Suna reinforcements.”
“They must be checking out why the Ichibi wasn’t released.” Kankuro said.
“We’ll hold them off.” Temari said. She handed Gaara over to Naruto and brandished her fan. “I’m trusting you to keep him safe.”
“Of course I will. I gave you my word I would.” Naruto adjusted his grip on Gaara. With the three of them at a steady pace, they could have carried him normally. But Naruto alone needed to take additional measures. He needed to be faster to outrun these new enemies and that meant transforming. He should have brought his extra backpack with him. Even if it was only a short distance, it was much more comfortable if he had the extra material for padding instead of having to stretch himself out. It was already going to be uncomfortable with the cuts on his paws. Even if he bound them with the bandages from his emergency medical kit. It was tempting to leave the cuts out of his henge, but that would make the wounds even worse.
“If anything happens to my brother…” Kankuro said.
“No need to threaten me. I’m not eager to see my village destroyed.” Naruto started visualising. He did not need to be as big as in the Forest of Death. He just needed to be large enough to carry one teenager. The fur grew on his body as he twisted his bones and strapped Gaara to his back. He added a blanket to cover his appearance and added a red circle with the kanji for healing for completion’s sake. His voice was deep and grumbling from being stretched onto a large fox’s neck. “What’s his blood type?”
“AB.” Temari said.
Naruto huffed. “Figures.”
Naruto ran and he felt his mind shifting. Standing still had been hard for him. Even though he would rather be fighting, even though he wanted to guarantee his friends and fellow villagers were protected, this was the next best thing. Running as fast as he could towards a goal. Darting between trees and jumping over obstacles.
He could almost ignore the explosions in the distance and the taste of ash on his tongue.
There was fighting between the forest and the hospital as well. They were wary of a large fox passing by them, but too busy to engage him without reason. Especially when they saw which way he was heading and which character he bore.
The hospital itself was fortified. But there was no time for pleasantries. Naruto jumped over the fortifications and skidded into the front lobby. He was surrounded by ninja guards as he undid his henge.
“This boy needs to be treated.” He said.
“He’s Suna.” One of the guards said.
There was no time to waste. He looked around until he spotted the highest ranking guard. “Tatami-san. This is the enemy jinchuriki.”
All the guards took a step back. “And you brought him here?”
“He’s received emergency first aid, but he needs blood. The demon can be prevented from being released if a doctor sees him. Right now.”
“Stand down.” Iwashi signalled the other guards to go back outside and then called for a doctor. “Stay with him, Naruto. Keep two eyes on him at all times.”
Naruto carried Gaara into a treatment room. Immediately the boy was undressed and checked for vital signs.
Naruto recognised the doctor. Her name was Taji. She had been one of the few people in the hospital willing to treat his wounds when he was in the Academy. She had been alright, until she had suddenly demanded he leave the Academy or never see medical treatment again. Some people were like that. She had probably heard some rumour about Naruto buying his way in and figured she would take justice into her own hands.
Naruto had tested her on the ultimatum the next time he had broken an arm, but she had held true. Nobody else in the hospital seemed inclined to help either. Naruto had been treating his own wounds ever since.
Taji did not seem to make a point of it now, so Naruto would not either.
“We’re low on blood. Do you know his blood type?”
“It’s AB.”
“We don’t have any in reserve.”
Naruto pushed out his arm. “Draw mine.”
“We’ll need a lot.”
“I know.” Naruto had wanted to make a difference on the battlefield, but this would have to do. He would be in no shape to fight after this. But he had chosen his mission. And he would see it through until the end. “You’ll need to stitch up the wounds on my hands to keep me from losing any more blood.”
The doctor nodded and passed her chakra over Naruto’s skin. The resistance gave her trouble, but this was still the easiest solution.
The nurse helped him on a nearby bed and cleaned his arm. Attaching the actual needle was quicker than all the other things she had to do to prep the transfusion. She took the same amount of time setting everything up for Gaara. Then she activated a timer. It was counting down from twenty-five minutes. “I will be back in twenty minutes to remove everything. If the timer runs out and I haven’t been able to come back yet, you need to remove the needle yourself. Apply pressure and get someone as soon as possible.”
Naruto lay back. “Anything else?”
“Don’t call for assistance if you don’t need it.” The nurse said. “There aren’t any hands to spare.”
She left the two of them in an otherwise empty room. Naruto looked to Gaara.
Gaara looked tired, but at least there was some colour returning to him.
“Why did you do it?” Naruto asked. “What made you give up?”
“When I stopped thinking of it as giving up.” Gaara said.
“What do you mean?”
“We left Suna to go the Chuunin exams and they told me what would be needed of me. I was angry. So, so angry. By the time we got to Konoha, I did not care about Suna anymore. If it was going to be over for me, I wanted it to be over as soon as possible. I wanted someone from Konoha to kill me and get the waiting over with.”
“You wanted the chuunin proctor to kill you.”
“Temari and Kankuro did not approve. They reached out to me. Temari said you helped her with that. And the more time we spent together, the more I realised how much it would affect them if I fought Suna’s orders.”
“You did it for them.” Naruto realised. “This isn’t something they would ever want for you.”
“I know they would never ask.” Gaara said. “Ever since I can remember, they’re the only ones who have ever truly been there for me. And all I’ve ever been, is a burden. They had to train me for hours a day because I did not have the talent to learn by myself. They could not take missions outside of the village for fear of the elders that something would happen to me.”
“It’s worth it for family.”
“I didn’t always think so. And neither did they. When I was a toddler, someone took advantage of that. I had a mentor called Yashamaru who finally made me feel like I was worth something and like I could achieve my dreams. He gave me all the reassurance I could have hoped for and wedged me away from my family one compliment at a time.”
Naruto wished that story had a happy ending. But he had a sense of people like that. “You didn’t notice until it was too late.”
“He tried to kill me and steal the Ichibi. It would have been a political coup against my father. I only survived because my siblings saved me.”
“That’s what taught you to respect them?”
“No. Not respect. I still resented them and they still resented them. But I learned that no matter how bad things became or how ugly our relationship got, they would have my back. Love and respect did not come until later. It snuck up on me. They’ll be the ones to suffer for my insubordination.”
There was something sour on Naruto’s tongue as he looked at the boy and felt a form of sympathy that Gaara did not deserve. Not after what he had done to Lee. Naruto would have to leave as soon as he could, before this developed into something he could not return from.
“It’s not your job to end the suffering of everyone around you.” Naruto said. “You need to get that idea out of your head.”
“It’s objective fact their lives would be easier if I wasn’t there.”
“Perhaps easier. But duller. Less beautiful. And filled with grief.” Naruto said. “Besides, your live has value beyond what effect it has on others. Outside of what your family or village wants from you.”
Gaara nodded uneasily.
“I get wanting to help the people around you.” Naruto laid back. “But it’s supposed to be kindness, not obligation. The moment they start demanding that you give, is the moment you need to get out.”
“I betrayed my village today, Naruto. Would you so easily betray Konoha?”
Naruto considered it. “Never easily. I believe in the Third Hokage and the spirit of Fire that the village is built on. I believe Konoha is just and righteous. And I want to trust the people in command know what they’re doing most of the time. I wouldn’t attack another village, but Konoha just isn’t the kind of ninja village to order something like that.”
Gaara stared at him.
Naruto swallowed. He wondered if that was really true. All he had ever learned was how moral Konoha was. In the Konoha Academy. From Konoha books. From Konoha veterans. But he had no idea the kind of peace treaty had been imposed on Suna. He had no idea the damage Konoha had done to Kuruma’s forests.
Dread filled his stomach with what question Gaara would ask next. What avenue the boy would use to challenge Naruto further. Most of what he had been saying was filled with adrenaline and after effects of his Henge confidence. And he could not deal with all of that falling apart. Not when there were so many people to worry about and he was stuck in a room with the enemy’s weapon of mass destruction.
“Why do you turn into foxes?”
Naruto had to blink. That was not what he had been expecting. “I’m sorry?”
“You did it when we fought in the Chuunin exams. You did it again today. Don’t you have the demon fox inside of you?”
“He goes by Kuruma.”
“Don’t you hate him?”
Naruto shrugged. “We have a complicated relationship. He usually wants to kill all humans, I sometimes wish he didn’t exist. But we’re forced in the same body, so we have to make it work. We both know what it means to be alone.”
“The Ichibi took my talent away.” Gaara said. “I remember what it was like before. Like a dream.”
“That wasn’t the Ichibi.” Naruto said. “He did not choose to be sealed inside of you. It was your father that took your talent away.”
“My father did what was best for the village.”
“But not what was best for you. Don’t blame Shukaku for your dad’s betrayal.”
Gaara put a hand on his stomach. “You keep calling him that… is Shukaku its name?”
“It is. Youngest of the tailed beasts. Fierce protector of the dessert.”
“He’s never protected Suna or its people.”
“You’re not the dessert. And from what I’ve heard, Suna neither respects the desert nor its animals.”
“And Konoha is any better to the forests?”
“Of course not. It’s not like Kuruma likes us any better than Shukaku does you. We all have a lot of history to make up for. But it’s necessary if we ever want to live in truce with them.”
“Y-you truly believe we can be at peace with them?”
“They’ll never like us.” Naruto said. “But I think there are things we can do to make them stop hating us.”
“I can’t see how we could ever get there.”
There were cheers coming from outside. Naruto looked out the window and he could see the fires diminishing, the smoke clearing out. There was also an obvious lack of giant snake. It was hard to see from the distance, but it looked like Konoha was getting the upper hand. The invasion was as good as over.
“Piece by piece. Bit by bit.” Naruto said. “One day at a time.”
Notes:
Next update in the first week of May: ‘The falling rain’. Final chapter of the arc, dealing with the aftermath of Konoha’s invasion.
The chapter title refers to Gaara’s mindset, and is from the musical ‘Spies are Forever’, pointing towards Kabuto’s secret identity. Fun fact: my first draft used Scorpia’s Song from She-Ra, but that was both too obscure compared to the other chapter titles and too on-the-nose with the lyrics. Even better would probably have been a 007 song, but I’m not nearly as big a fan of James Bond as I am of Starkids.
Much like Mizuki’s betrayal in the very first chapter, I wanted Kabuto’s reveal as a spy to be meaningful by making him more of a friend and ally before. I’ve mentioned how I want this story to be a homage to Naruto as well as a retelling for people unfamiliar with canon, so I hope Kabuto’s betrayal worked for both.
More broadly, what I wanted with this arc was to have a resolution that didn’t focus on a fight. Naruto learned to lie and he was able to leverage that to resolve the conflict. Which was a fun idea at the time, but the more I looked at the chapter, the more I realised that the scene would be better served with an actual fight. So Kabuto sees through the lies in the end and attacks. And Naruto gets to win with his first case of using his Henge arms.
Chapter 17: 2.9 The falling rain (Children of the revolution)
Summary:
We stopped the Ichibi! Gaara is safe and the village is no longer under attack. I just hope all my friends made it through okay. The doctors told me I can’t leave the hospital yet, but that doesn’t mean I won’t find my own way to help out.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Naruto was getting sick of the smell of disinfectant. It felt like he could be doing more for the village than hanging around the hospital.
“Did you remember to bring an extra pudding?”
“Of course, miss.” Naruto placed the food tray in front of the older woman. “And an extra serving of fruit as well. You need to balance your diet better.”
“Ba!” She waved him off. “You need to stop listening to those meddling nurses.”
Naruto gathered a bit of trash from the room and wiped down a few surfaces while he was there. It was frustrating that he had been unable to fight by orders of the doctors. That he had to hear Suna’s horns of surrender while he was waiting outside of a hospital kitchen. That he could not even heroically help heal the critically wounded. That was not where he was needed.
For every mundane task he took over in the other sections of the hospital, he freed up time for a nurse to work on critical patients. Naruto was helping the sick and elderly, scared that if the fighting reached the hospital they would be too vulnerable to make it to a shelter. And that made it worth it to be there and show they were protected.
Naruto wanted to help by fighting. But at the moment, the village was in no need of warriors.
“Food’s delivered.” Naruto said to the coordinator.
“Right.” She crossed something off her list and scanned for something else to do. “There are more blood pressure tests starting in thirty minutes on the fourth floor. And you know the boy asked about you again. Are you going to talk to him?”
There was only one boy she could be talking about. “Maybe. Any news on my teammates?”
“You’ll have to check with medium care.” Another nurse tried to get her attention and she had to turn to her.
Naruto rushed over to the stairway, hopping up the steps and barging to the correct room. The receptionist knew him by then, and she smiled. That had to be a good sign. She pointed to a room to the side. Naruto ran over.
And then he was next to Sasuke, wrapping his arms around him.
“Get off me, dobe.”
“No. Hugging first.”
“Hmph.” Sasuke stopped pushing. “Doctor said I should be careful moving around.”
“That’s why I’m carefully hugging you.”
“Idiot.”
Naruto finally pulled back. Sasuke seemed mostly fine. A little paler than usual. “What happened?”
Sasuke swallowed. “The Uchiha compound was under attack. It was targeted specifically.”
“Orochimaru was behind the attack.”
“Well, yeah. The giant snakes were a bit of a giveaway. I didn’t have it easy, but at least I didn’t have to deal with those.”
“Did anyone get hurt?”
“Uncle Garu and I were able to get everyone to a safe house eventually. But we were both hurt doing it. It was just a broken leg for me. He’s still in the operating room.”
“Sounds like it was quite a fight.”
Sasuke rubbed at his neck. “I hate Orochimaru for what he did, but his seal was an asset when I had to fend off a seasoned chuunin.”
Naruto grit his teeth. Sasuke was not supposed to use it. “I wish I could have been there to help.”
Sasuke let out a laugh. “That’s my line. The whole time I was fighting, I was worried something might have happened to you. Don’t know why I bothered worrying. You kept a tailed beast from joining the invading army, and was still left with enough energy to feel guilty that you didn’t help anyone else.”
“Sue me. I don’t like seeing my teammate hurt. If you’d have gone with me, I wouldn’t have let any of your bones be broken.”
“That’s the problem. I might have been safe, but my family wouldn’t be.” Sasuke sighed. “And it’s not like you needed me.”
“In the end, I didn’t.” Naruto said. “But… you did make my job harder, Sasuke. The way you were so quick to say no, made it more difficult to get the others to help me. Even if you couldn’t come with me, I would have appreciated the help you could have given.”
Sasuke looked troubled. “I hadn’t considered that. But I had to be quick about it. If I didn’t…”
“I know. You wanted to help your family as quickly as possible.”
Sasuke looked to him, like there was something else he had been meaning to say. “Nobody would have been helped by a delay. Maybe the others would have been more willing to go with you if I hadn’t said anything. Maybe they would have taken longer to come to the same conclusion that clan comes first. I can’t change the way I act. You know that.”
“I know.” Naruto said. “Doesn’t mean I’m not owed an apology. I don’t often ask for help. You know that.”
“In clan politics, apologies are hollow if not connected to a promise to change.”
“I’d still like one.”
“Really?” Sasuke asked critically. “Knowing that I will do exactly the same thing next time?”
When he put it like that, Naruto had to frown. “I was hoping we wouldn’t anytime soon again be faced with an enemy village invading us while a tailed beast might get loose.”
“You know what I mean. I wish the world was such a nice place. But after what my brother did to me, I am no longer disillusioned. Last time there was an attack on the Uchiha, I was the only survivor of my clan. I can’t lose any more family, Naruto.”
“I know, but…”
“And you’re family too.” Sasuke said. “You’re my teammate and the only reason I left was because I had faith in your ability to follow through and survive.”
“I like having your faith, Sasuke. I’d just sometimes like your actual help.”
Sasuke sighed.
Naruto did not want to leave this like this. “I get to be a little bitter about this right? I know you had to protect your clan, but it feels like you didn’t take me seriously. If Shino or Hinata would have asked, you would have hesitated more. You would have spoken in their support.”
“You’re right.” Sasuke perked up. “And I think I can apologise now.”
“You can?”
“I’m sorry, Naruto.” Sasuke said. “I can’t change the way I behave towards people, but I can change the way I look at specific people. I’ll start thinking of you as a clan heir from now on and afford you’re the respect they are due.”
“That’s not quite what I had in mind…” Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “Won’t you get in trouble for that?”
“Your friendship is important to me. I’ll deal.”
“Then thank you. I’ll take it.”
“You’ve more than earned the position of clan heir anyway, and I’ll argue such to anyone who gives me trouble. You saved the village. And you did what had to be done to suppress Gaara, even though Gaara is your friend’s brother. It couldn’t have been easy to raise your weapons against him.”
“I actually talked Gaara out of it.”
Sasuke blinked several times. “I assumed you’d knocked him unconscious. Instead you convinced an enemy to just… surrender?”
“To be fair, most people prefer to be alive rather than dead. I just talked Gaara into not killing himself. It was easy.”
Sasuke laughed. He shook his head. “I’ll have to take your word for it. Do you know what state the rest of the village is in?”
“Just hearing rumours. The snake did a number on every district it passed. At least the Uchiha compound is further away from the part of the city most of the fighting was in.”
“Are Sakura and Hanabi okay?”
“One of the doctors mentioned Hanabi being rushed in for surgery. Sakura is alive, but they’re having problems transporting her to the hospital for some reason. I’m only getting snippets. Ino apparently took control of an enemy ninja and Suna didn’t realise until three squadrons were incapacitated. Kiba and Akamaru punched a guy’s puppet so hard that it knocked the puppeteer unconscious.”
“Casualty numbers?”
“Nothing official yet. Most of the people I talk to tell me that the civilians were able to make it to safe houses. The hospital staff is overworked dealing with all the injuries but fatalities seem to have been kept at a minimum. Suna did not have the numbers to send jounin against anyone but jouning, or chuunin against anyone but chuunin. Which reminds me of something.”
“Hm?”
“Wasn’t the kazekage supposed to sit with the Hokage during the exhibition matches? The Sandaime would not have liked another kage attacking his village. And the only one Suna would trust to handle a kage, is a kage.”
“It’s a shame it was so high up.” Sasuke said. “Would have been nice to see The Professor in action.”
“At least for as long as Suna was foolish enough to think they could handle Jiji. They must have gotten to some kind of arrangement in the end. I can’t believe Suna would have surrendered if Jiji had not forced their kage to with overwhelming strength. Do you need to stay here long?”
“About two days. If you get out before me, can you make sure the Uchiha district is still standing? I’m worried how it’s doing right now.”
“Yeah, no problem.” Naruto checked the time. It was almost time for those blood pressure tests. “I should get back to work.”
“Check in when you have a moment? I’m worried about uncle Garu and I’m not allowed to leave the bed. I’m going a bit mad here by myself. All the other Uchiha are still away and probably won’t even be allowed here. I would ask someone else, but…”
“I don’t need an excuse to spend time with you, teme.”
Sasuke smiled, relieved. “Thanks, dobe.”
~*~
Naruto walked back from the cafeteria, balancing a lunch tray as he tried to make his way to the roof.
He did not expect Taji-sensei to suddenly fall in step with him. “Walk with me.”
Naruto swallowed. He had been spared a lecture when he had brought in Gaara and had been able to avoid the doctor ever since. But it seemed his luck had run out.
Taji walked towards a coffee machine and made her selection. “Coffee, tea?”
“Tea, please.” Naruto said. These kinds of things were easier when he played along.
“It’s not going to be good.” Taji said. She put a tea bag in a cup and placed it under the machine. “The medical staff tends to drink anything with caffeine in it and admin know they can get us any cheap crap that barely qualifies as flavourful. Somewhere around our third consecutive shift, quantity becomes far more important than quality.”
Naruto nodded uneasily.
“Here.” Taji handed the tea over. “Were you headed somewhere to eat?”
“The roof.”
She nodded. “Away from other people. I’ll join you.”
They went up the stairs and Naruto settled on a small bench there. The weather was gray and it would probably start raining soon. He took a bite of his sandwich and wondered how loud this lecture was going to be if they needed to be isolated.
Taji sat down next to him, taking a sip of her coffee and surveying the village. “Do you know why I told you to quit the Academy?”
Naruto almost choked. There was direct, and then there was direct. He coughed up a storm and took a few heavy gulps of tea to get his breathing back under control. “Uhm, no?”
“You were in the hospital every other month.” She said. “You were destroying your body in order to get into the top nine. I couldn’t let that go in good conscience.”
“So instead I had to get there without you.” Naruto said. “And without the help of anyone else in the hospital.”
“Yes.” She said. “I got to read the medical reports of your mission to Wave. Even after graduation your proclivity to hurt yourself hasn’t diminished.”
Naruto breathed through the criticism. He had survived lectures worse than these. “The cuts I arrived with were shallow.”
Tachi shook her head. “You got those defending the village. You did your duty. And from what I heard, you went above and beyond.”
“Tachi-sensei?”
“What I’m trying to do, Naruto, is apologise.” She said.
Naruto’s jaw dropped. “What?”
“It is common knowledge that the talentless cannot keep up with the talented. Those without clans are always trailing behind the lucky few. Your determination as an Academy Student was fanatical and I felt like enabling you would only lead to more problems further along the line. Many have gotten hurt in the futile attempts to follow the Golden Path without talent. And then you proved me wrong.”
Naruto did not know what to say.
“Before the attack, I was in the stadium. I watched as you were declared a chuunin and then continued to fight the other graduates as their peer. I was wrong about you. I was wrong to deny you medical care during your training. And I was wrong to keep thinking ill of you. I’m sorry. You saved the village and it makes me regret ever doubting you.”
“Uhm…” Naruto was not sure how to handle this. “Thank you?”
“They’ve been talking of a generation of promise, that promises a revolution to Konoha’s strength. This village has been excited before about Academy graduates following the Golden Path, but never before has that reputation been solidified so starkly by the contributions made in our defence. This is a generation not just with promise, but with the Will of Fire the likes of which have not been seen in years. And you have proven to exist within that generation, not beside it.”
Naruto stared silently.
“I need to get back to my patients and that is all I wanted to say.” The doctor said, standing up. “Enjoy your lunch. And know that the hospital is once more open to you whenever you require it. If anyone give you trouble, report them to me. They will be dealt with.”
Naruto swallowed. He nodded.
She moved away and left him alone.
Naruto had always said he would become Hokage and force the village to acknowledge him. He just hadn’t realised simply working on that goal would already get him some results. He had shown the village what he could do on a stage. And they had actually seen him.
Naruto was still wrapping his head around it, when he heard a loud meowing trying to catch his attention.
“Hey, Natto.” Naruto smiled at the cat. It was good to see he was okay.
It seemed though that the cat had other concerns. It rubbed against Naruto’s ankles.
“Guess nothing stands between you and your food.” Naruto grabbed a final sandwich from his tray and then put the rest down on the ground for the cat. It immediately dived into the salmon flakes.
Naruto gave it a few pets. “Let’s hope Sakura and Hanabi are as unscathed as you are.”
~*~
It was a few hours later when Naruto found Sakura. Unlike with Sasuke, he did not dare jump onto the bed to hug her. Her face was ghostly white and she had a tube down her throat to keep her breathing.
“Sakura?”
Her hollow eyes turned to Naruto, before a bit of life returned to them. She slowly lifted a hand and then drew a tiny square in the air.
“You want a piece of paper to write on?”
Sakura pushed her hand aside to dismiss the interpretation. Then she pointed to the end of her bed.
“Right.” Naruto grabbed the chart and held it in front of her face.
She scanned the page greedily. She nodded, before bringing her hand to her chest. It glowed green.
“Are you sure you should be doing that?”
Sakura did not stop, focussing on her healing. But she did use her free hand to point to one part of the chart.
Right. Latest measurements showed she was out of the danger zone for chakra exhaustion. So she figured she might as well do this.
Sakura pulled out the tube next, healing her throat as she went. Her voice was still hoarse. “Th-thank you.”
“Let me get you some water.”
“No. Chart.”
“You want your own chart again?”
“No.” She pointed to the bed next to hers.
He was about to complain that she was hardly in a state to heal anyone else, when Naruto noticed the face of the man lying there. He looked familiar. And then he recognised with a gasp the woman who was in the next bed after that. “Your parents are here?”
“Please.”
Naruto gathered the charts and brought them to her. She looked over them quickly, turning the pages. Naruto brought her a glass of water. Her hands trembled as she accepted it.
“Are they alright?”
“They’re in a coma.”
“Did they hurt their heads?”
“It’s medically induced. Their brains are inflamed. The doctors think it’s a side-effect from the neurotoxin.”
“Wait, neurotoxin?”
“The giant snakes. There was poison in their blood that became airborne as they were attacked.” Sakura said. “They were trained to be deliberately careless, spreading their blood by sustaining as many wounds as possible.”
“That must have been horrible to go through.”
“It was. Had to constantly dodge their blood to avoid a direct dose. And my face was blue from holding my breath when I finally killed them.”
“You mean you defeated them? How did that happen?”
“I saw what they did to my parents.” Sakura rubbed her eyes. “That’s what happened. Is everyone else safe?”
“Sasuke’s fine. I don’t know about the others yet.” Naruto sat down on the bed. “How are you feeling?”
“I’ll live.” Sakura said. “There’s nothing permanent on my chart and I can heal the damage myself quicker than the medical staff can. A medic ninja always starts training on their own body first.”
“Is there anything I can get you?”
“Could you see if there’s any food around here? It’ll help my chakra stores.”
That was something Naruto could do. He made his way to the nurse’s station.
“The food cart is just being prepared. Haruno-san’s meal should be marked if you want to bring it to her sooner.”
“Thanks.”
“There was another request from the boy.”
Screw him. Naruto had Sakura to worry about.
~*~
It should not have been a surprise to find Hanabi in a hospital bed. It seemed to be the fate of all of Team 7’s members. But Naruto had still been hoping she would have been better off.
She was lying on her side, staring at a wall and hugging a pillow. There did not seem to be any medical equipment attached to her.
Naruto tried to enter the room, only to suddenly find a hand grasping his shoulder. “Halt.”
Having an activated Byakugan trained on him pushed him back to the chuunin exams and his first instinct was to attack. He tried his hardest to suppress it. “Just want to see my friend, sir.”
“The Hyuuga ward is closed for visitors.”
“No.” Hanabi said. “Let him in.”
Naruto pulled back his arm from the guard. He grabbed a chair by Hanabi’s bed and took a seat. “What took you so long to get here?”
“Hard to travel if you’re suffering from chakra exhaustion.”
Naruto grimaced. “That’s rough. Did you kick ass getting there?”
She hugged her pillow further and shook her head. “I was too late.”
“Don’t say that Hanabi-sama.” The guard said. “Half the Suna attackers were taken out by you personally.”
She shrugged.
Naruto took her hand. “Too late for what?”
Hanabi took a breath. And then another.
“Hanabi?”
“They were attacking the Hyuuga compound. We had only left a few fighters there. Most had come to the stadium to watch Hinata and me. Hinata tried to rally everyone together so we could go to the compound together.”
“How bad was it?”
“They knew their procedures. The Hyuuga guards at the compound had worked hard to evacuate as many of our family into the shelter as they could. They were struggling to hold back the attackers, beaten up and exhausted. And just as we arrived from the stadium to help, so did the Suna reinforcements. There was fighting on so many fronts. Hinata took Neji and me to fight their leader. It took the three of us working together to hold one jounin back.”
“Did you defeat him?”
Hanabi buried her face in the pillow. “Hinata should have been able to. It was my fault she couldn’t. I never should have taken the chunin exams.”
Naruto squeezed her hand. “What are you talking about?”
“I made everything complicated. I just wanted to fight next to her and I didn’t care about the consequences.”
“I’m sure you did your best, Hanabi.”
Her expression grew colder. “That was the problem. Hinata knew how much I wanted to prove myself. And that made her hesitate. She didn’t activate her seal. She didn’t draw on the strength of the other Hyuuga. She would have been strong enough if she had. She would have been fast enough. I shouldn’t have disobeyed the elders. I shouldn’t have let you talk me into taking the exams.”
“No.” Naruto became firm. “I didn’t talk you into anything.”
“I never would have done it if it wasn’t for you.” She wiggled her hand free from Naruto. “And the things you said to her…”
“She had to hear them.”
Hanabi looked at him with a fury in her eyes that Naruto had never seen. “You had no right. It wasn’t your place, Naruto. You can’t just keep storming around and doing whatever you like!”
“I…”
“It’s because of you that Hinata’s hurt!” Hanabi shouted. “You keep breaking traditions like they don’t matter. You went too far this time! And I’ll never forgive you!”
Naruto stared.
“Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?!”
Naruto opened his mouth. And then closed it again.
“I changed my mind. I don’t want you here.”
“Hanabi.”
“Leave me alone, you talentless loser!”
There was a hand on Naruto’s shoulder. The guard was instantly on him. “Our clan heir has told you to leave.”
Naruto stiffened. Hanabi had said Hinata was ‘hurt’. But few things short of death would make Hanabi the new clan heir so quickly. “What happened to Hinata?”
“Her soul’s been damaged.” Hanabi spat out. “Suna had a spiritual weapon. She’s not woken up since the attack and the doctors say she won’t be able to.”
The guard tugged on Naruto’s shoulder and he pushed the hand away. “Fine. I’m going.”
Naruto was hardly out of the room when he heard Hanabi start crying.
He could feel the sting in his own eyes too. But crying would not help him. He could not afford to waste time like that.
“It seems she’s finally wizened up.” The guard said.
Naruto turned to give a retort, but nothing came to him. So this is what it felt like to lose a friend.
Naruto passed the nurse’s station. “The boy…”
“Yeah, fine.” Not like he could get any angrier.
~*~
“Suna surrendered.” Gaara said. He was in a wheelchair, looking out of the window. His hair was as red as the blood he had on his hands.
“It appears so.”
“I fear something happened to the Kazekage. My father would not have surrendered under normal conditions.”
“The Sandaime’s not one to use lethal measures. But he can be persuasive when he wants to be.”
Gaara sighed. “I wanted to apologise.”
“I imagine you would.”
Gaara glared at Naruto. “This isn’t easy for me.”
“Nobody said it would be.”
“I was angry during the chuunin exams. Bitter. Wanted to go out fighting if I had to go out at all.”
“Right...”
“But then you saved me. I thought you hated me.”
“The two aren’t mutually exclusive.”
“I just wanted to thank you. It’s good to make a new friend.”
“We’re not friends.”
Gaara whinced. “Is it too soon?”
“You attacked my village.” Naruto said. “You injured my friends, wanted to unleash a tailed beast on us. Not to mention the actual friend you put into a coma.”
“I don’t understand. You gave me your blood.”
“I saved you because you needed saving. Because I’m a good ninja and I care for my village.”
“That’s something we have in common.”
Naruto had been able to see himself in Gaara before, as hard as it was. Now he just saw Sakura with a tube down her throat. He saw Hanabi crying because Suna harmed her sister.
Naruto turned to leave. “If only that was enough.”
~*~
Naruto’s muscles ached when he finally left the hospital. He had been allowed to sleep on a spare mattress next to Sasuke’s bed after all the day’s help. But the next morning they told him to go. Emergency protocols had lifted and with their numbers filled out with competent civilians, they needed all the room in the hospital they could get for actual patients.
The streets were strangely quiet. Normally merchants would be carrying goods up and down the streets. There would be people grocery shopping and children hurrying to the Academy. It was hardly surprising though. Even if they had carried away the wounded and dead, the blood stains had been left to clean later.
The further away Naruto got from the hospital, the more damage he saw afflicted to the buildings and streets. These were areas of the village that had been a lower priority to protect. He could see the soot marks of one hole in a building. Had to have been an explosive tag. One street was completely blocked off with the remnants of an earth jutsu. He had to go around it.
Kakashi had not described the fall-out like this. Naruto’s sensei had come to the hospital to check on his team and his friends. While a little chakra-depleted, he was uninjured. He had spent the invasion engaged with a jounin in the forest. He had wanted to keep the enemy from going after Naruto. And like the fight Zabuza and Kakashi had in Wave country, their jounin fight had used a lot of feints to gauge each other’s skills before either was willing to commit to an attack. Jounin did not stay alive for as long as they did by diving in recklessly.
In the end, that battle had drawn out until the horns of surrender had sounded. After that, Kakashi had been able to focus on carrying wounded to the hospital. With his dogs, he was the quickest to find the casualties. That meant he had seen a lot of the village and should have been able to prepare Naruto for what to expect. But it seemed Kakashi had downplayed everything.
Naruto had read about a lot of wars. He had read about the fights and the tactical decisions. The Academy had made him memorise famous battles and why they resulted in one side winning or losing. None of it had prepared him for everything that came after.
He glanced at the red-light district in the distance. It was mostly intact. Natsu had told him about the hell it had been there. There were no shelters nearby which meant everyone there had to travel through two other districts before they could be safe. Both heavily trafficked by enemies and allies alike to get to the strategic locations. She had been lucky to make it out with just the tendons of her ankle cut through. She had dragged herself between other injured and had covered herself in blood to stay undetected.
When he had heard her tell the story, it was not the first time he had wished he could have been fighting outside of the hospital instead of working as a gopher.
He desperately needed a shower. He needed to change into his workout clothes and go running. He wanted a hot meal and the comforts of his own bed. He wanted to make some tea and disappear with his favourite cup between his couch and his five thickest blankets.
Because even if he had heard from all his best friends, there were many more people he had not seen coming to the hospital. Which either meant they were completely fine, or so far gone that there had not been any point trying to save them. Or that they were coming in late. It would have been better for his anxiety if he had been allowed to stay in the hospital.
Or if he had been told to do anything, really. He had asked for a mission, of course, but there were no orders for him. He was supposed to figure something out for himself. It did not help that he was not officially a chuunin yet. The ceremony got interrupted before he could get his new rank. On the papers he was still a genin. And all genin had been told, as nicely as possible, to get out of the way of the real ninja.
Naruto turned the final corner. He stood in the middle of a road, blinking.
Where his apartment building should be was just a pile of rubble.
He was shaking as he took another step forward. He checked again, but he recognised all the other buildings that were still standing. His gaze turned back to the rubble, as if looking away could have made the reality change.
A large part of him wanted to cry. He did not listen to it.
Around him, drops of rain started to fall. The rain had started and it would only be getting worse from here.
He closed his eyes and took a deep steadying breath. He was looking for a purpose. Here it was.
~*~
“Over there.”
Naruto nodded, laying down the wooden beams where the construction worker needed them. “Anything new to cut?”
“They’re marked behind you.”
Looked easy enough. Naruto took the time to coat the saw in wind chakra and then started. There was something relaxing about using these skills to build instead of destroy. And by god Naruto would take any bit of relaxation he could at this point. At the very least, it was easier to coat metal in chakra when he was able to take the time for it. The fifty seconds it took was glacially slow in a battle, but more than sufficient for these applications.
“Naruto-nii!” Konohamaru ran into him with a hug. He was wearing a rain coat that was sprinkled with water.
“Hey, sport.” Naruto smiled. “What are you doing here?”
“Trying to find someone who can tell me what is going on. Were you outside during the attack?”
“I was. Didn’t see much either though.” Naruto said. “Isn’t Ebisu supposed to fill you in?”
“He was told to help clean up some situation at the Hokage tower. I’m all on my own.”
“Well, I don’t have any answers, but I can give you something to do.” Naruto showed Konohamaru the basic system.
“This feels like hard work.” The boy complained.
“You haven’t practiced much with chakra enforced strength yet, have you?”
“Just for punches.”
“This’ll be good practice in sustaining the effect. Not like there’s a lot of other things to spend your talent on today.”
Konohamaru got to work. He was hardly as fast as Naruto, but it still got done quicker thanks to the Academy student’s help. They went back to moving material right after.
“How long are we going to be doing this?” Konohamaru asked. “How much wood do they even need?”
“It’s for emergency shelters.” Naruto said. “For people who lost their homes in the attack.”
“Why can’t they stay in the bunkers?”
“Those things aren’t built to have beds or proper facilities. The rest of Konoha will get rebuild eventually, but we can’t have a homelessness problem on top of everything else.”
“Seems a little silly to put so much effort in a temporary solution. Why not just get straight to rebuilding the actual homes?”
“Because that would take too long.”
“Yeah, but there’s other temporary solutions too, right? People could just move in with family members that did not have their houses destroyed until then.”
“Not everyone has family to turn to.”
“Oh, maybe not. But there are plenty of people who’ll take in strangers at the moment too. You’d let some homeless people live in your apartment if they needed it, wouldn’t you?”
“I guess I would if I could.” Naruto said. “But you’re overestimating how many people are in the mood to trust strangers after an enemy village attacked our home. And it will be hard to find those that do with everything going on. The logistics people are too busy taking care of the wounded and dealing with the political aftermath. Everyone here wouldn’t be good at setting something like that up. But they’re very good and quickly putting up some walls and a roof.”
“I guess if you say so.”
~*~
It was weird walking into the Uchiha compound without a spear greeting him. He could just walk past the sentry walls and towards the buildings. Was there something wrong with Naruto that he missed being threatened by Garudo?
“Why are we going here, Naruto-nii?” Konoha walked close so they could both fit under Naruto’s scavenged umbrella.
“Sasuke asked me to check.” Naruto was happy there were no bodies. While Sasuke had saved all the Uchiha, there was no telling how brutal he had been towards the Suna ninja. And Ebisu would have chewed him out for exposing Konohamaru to that kind of scene. “We’ll be quick.”
Most of the doors were open. It was just a quick round to make sure everything was in order. It seemed the Suna ninja had not been interested in looting. Without the Uchiha there themselves, they had little reason to go through the residences. Naruto turned off any electrical appliances that had been left on and closed the doors behind him. There were a few windows left open that he closed too, so the rain would not be getting in.
The Uchiha would not return there until Sasuke was confident it was safe enough. Though Sasuke would recover quickly from the hospital and be able to protect them, with Garudo’s condition uncertain, it would be difficult to tell when that would be.
Sasuke’s house was in the worst state. The kitchen had been abandoned in the middle of food preparation. Half-cut vegetables had withered and the oven had been on for at least a full day. Naruto put food in the fridge where he could, and threw out the rest.
“The other houses are empty too.” Konohamaru said.
“Then there’s just one thing left to do.” Naruto went for the statue in front of the houses. Last time he had visited, the flame had been strong and proud. Now, it was just a whisper of what it had been.
He removed the ashes and placed logs on the fire. Enough that it would last for at least another day. Sasuke would be able to care for it from then.
“Where to next?”
~*~
There was something frustrating about Sakura’s house surviving the battle against giant snakes, while his own apartment had been destroyed even as far removed from the fighting as it had been.
He entered through the back door. It had been left unsecured, just as Sakura had said. The lock was easy to pick. It was eerily empty in the store house. He knew Sakura had tapped into the shop’s explosives to defeat the snakes, but this looked like she had thrown any scroll at them that had even a remote chance of hurting them.
“Are all of these scrolls?”
Naruto nodded. “Don’t touch them. They’re protected.”
Sakura’s parents had activated some of the security seals before they had left the shop for the shelter even if there had been no time to secure the rest.
Naruto made his way to the living room above the shop. He grabbed two blankets from the couch and sealed them. Sakura’s room was next. He went into her closet and gathered a change of clothes. Her desk had her current reading material. She would like that.
He activated the seal in the living area as he left.
It flared to life and he could feel it warning him.
“No worries. I’m leaving.”
He finished activating the other security seals in the shop and then left.
~*~
“We’re closed.” The woman said quickly, before smiling. “I’m sorry, didn’t realise it was you. And you brought your little buddy again.”
“Natsu asked me to check in.” Naruto said.
The woman gasped. “She’s alright?”
“Injured at the hospital, but fine.”
“Thank goodness. One of the girls thought she’d seen her on the street covered in blood.”
“It was the best way for her to hide.”
“Oh… I see. Anyway, you must be starving. We have some fresh pork buns coming out of the oven soon.”
Before Naruto had a chance to protest, he was being pulled into the backroom and seated at the main table. It was rare to see none of the women wearing make-up. Usually there were at least a few with their faces done in case a client showed up. It was a stark reminder of the state of the village when there was zero demand for the world’s oldest profession.
“We were so scared when we couldn’t find Natsu.” One of the younger girls said. “After they released us from the shelter, they wouldn’t tell us anything.”
“Patience. They’re making an announcement later tonight.”
“There are still other girls missing.” She complained. “I just want to know how they’re doing.”
“They won’t have that information anyway.” Naruto said. “It’ll take a few days to get everything sorted.”
“Then what’s the announcement for?”
“Probably just to inform us about the repercussions for Suna. Maybe a list of casualties from higher ranking ninja. Hopefully what the plans are for rebuilding.”
“We’re being kept in the dark.”
“We were attacked.” Naruto said. “Crucial personal may be injured or dead, which cripples our institutions. Not to mention records that may have been lost or destroyed with Suna’s interference. The Hokage just needs time to get the system back on track.”
Konohamaru took a bite of his pork bun. His eyes grew big as saucers. “This is delicious.”
“Might be hard to get a hand on meat for a while. Better to enjoy it while it still lasts.”
“I thought we imported our pork.” Naruto said. “Won’t those trade deals last?”
“Didn’t you hear? Nearby villages got caught up in the fighting too. Either by being in the way of Suna’s biggest weapons, or just from being looted as they retreated. No saying how long it’ll be before they’re recovered enough to trade food again.”
Naruto grimaced. That was why Konoha had been saved from the worst of the looting. Suna had opted for the defenceless villages instead while Konoha itself was distracted. “How bad was it?”
“I supposed we’ll hear tonight. Unless the nearby villages aren’t a priority either.”
They would be if the Konoha would need to ration food. “With Natsu in the hospital, do you have enough weapons to defend yourself?”
“We never do.” The woman said. “We just have an emergency box of kunai.”
Naruto nodded. “I’ll leave you with a few extra. Over the next few days, it’ll be better if everyone can keep a knife on them at all times.”
“Most wouldn’t know how to use it.”
“Konohamaru and I will teach them.” Naruto said. “Rudimentary lessons in about fifteen minutes. First I’ll lay a few traps around the perimeter. I’ll need someone to accompany me so at least one of you knows where they are.”
“Natsu can…” She halted. Then sighed. “I guess I’ll go with you then.”
~*~
His things were in relatively good shape, considering they had been buried in the rubble. His apartment had been on the top floor, so it was only covered by a roof.
“Is this something?” Konohamaru asked.
Naruto walked over with a smile. “Front panel of my desk. My papers should be around here. Look for an iron box.”
“Why’d you keep it in an iron box?”
Naruto shrugged. After the fire in his last apartment, he could not be too careful. It was just his most important papers anyway. He sometimes saw traces of his name in the ruined scraps of non-essential papers they dug through. Maybe if Naruto had gone earlier he could have gotten to them before they were soaked through from the drizzling rain. But now they were unsalvageable.
“Here!” Konohamaru was so happy as he presented it to Naruto.
“Yeah, that’s it.” Naruto opened it to make sure. His deed to the apartment was basically worthless, but it might be needed to claim his insurance if they decided to get difficult. And considering Naruto’s luck, they would.
His ninja registration was intact. He needed it to update his rank and it would have been a pain to replace.
There was a collection of his favourite drawings when he was little. Kakashi was in many of them either wearing the mask of a dog or the shape of one.
“What’s that, Naruto-nii?”
A note the size of a small postcard.
“An Academy assignment.” Naruto said. “On the values a ninja should have.”
His handwriting was atrocious as he mentioned honour and dedication. How a ninja needs to stay true to his word.
Most importantly, a ninja needs to help those who need it. When I’m genin, I want to be there for the helpless who do not have anything else. I’ll show them anyone can be strong, believe it!
“Why did you keep it?”
Naruto smiled. “First A I’d ever gotten.” He stood up and brushed some dirt of his pants. “Iruka-sensei was a slave-driver so it wasn’t easy. Next thing we’re looking for is my bookcase. Even if it broke, it should have protected the books and scrolls inside.”
They went on clearing rubble. Though Naruto’s mind stayed on the assignment.
~*~
They were looking at some different vegetables in the hastily set-up market, when a small black crow landed on Naruto’s shoulder.
He tensed immediately. “Is something wrong with Sasuke?”
The crow shook its head, cawing happily.
“Then what is it, Nozomu?”
It took some of Naruto’s hair in its beak and tugged at it repeatedly.
“You want me to follow?”
A happy caw.
“I guess we have enough anyway. Do you mind dropping our supplies off at the soup kitchen, Konohamaru?”
He gave a thumbs up, loading all of Naruto’s groceries on his back. “I’ll make it strength and endurance training! Should have just enough talent left for it.”
“Don’t pull a muscle.” Naruto smiled. “I’ll join you once I figure out what Sasuke wants.”
Naruto followed Nozumo’s directions towards the hospital. He automatically started heading towards Sasuke’s room, but Nozumo had other ideas. He led Naruto instead to another wing of the hospital. A place where long-term patients were stored.
Naruto dared not hope.
But then Nozumo pulled him inside of a room where Lee was lying in a bed. With open eyes and a smile on his face. “Hey, Naruto.”
“Lee.” Naruto’s mouth fell in surprise. “You’re awake.”
“That’s what the doctors tell me. Sorry for letting that Suna ninja get the drop on me. Didn’t mean to scare you like that.”
“You almost died.”
“But I didn’t. And I hear I’ve got you to thank for that.”
Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “I just got Anko’s attention. She’s the one who fought off Gaara.” He shook his head. “Did someone fill you in on what’s happened?”
“I’ve heard about the invasion. Not much else. Tenten is coming again later today to fill me in on the rest. As soon as she’s cleared from her own injuries for longer visits.”
Naruto was happy about that. “I’m sorry if it’s weird with me being here. We only met in the Chuunin exams. But you’ve been on my mind a lot.”
“Good things I hope.” Lee laughed and then he started coughing. He grasped for a glass of water besides his bed and had some trouble lifting it to his face for a drink.
“What did the doctors tell you?”
“The usual.” Lee said, waving it off even as Naruto could see how much it troubled him. “Muscle decay from being in the coma. No brain damage, so I can count myself lucky. I won’t know exactly how bad everything is until I start training again.”
“You’re still going to train?”
“I would like to. As much as I wanted rest, after a month of being forced into it, I want nothing more than to get started again. Tenten and Neji got their chuunin promotion. I’d like to get mine as well. Even if I’m in no rush.”
There was a disturbance from outside of the room. “No!” A woman yelled.
Naruto and Lee looked at each other with confusion.
But then the door to the room opened and it was clear what had happened. Who they had been trying to stop.
“I’ve come to apologise.” Gaara said.
Tenten was shouting in the distance, and it appeared like she was being restrained.
A doctor tried very hard to persuade her. “You’ll exasperate your wounds! Calm down!”
“You don’t understand! He tried to kill Lee!”
The door closed on its own and with it most of the sounds in the hall were dulled. Someone would be coming to them soon, surely.
Lee’s face had turned white. “Apologise?”
Gaara looked uncomfortably nervous. “I was out of line.”
“When you tried to kill him, you mean?” Naruto asked.
Gaara flinched. “I shouldn’t have done that.” He stepped forward. “I wanted…”
“Did you ask permission to come here?” Naruto asked, sternly. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I know you’re mad at me because of what I did to him.” Gaara said. “I want to be your friend, and that starts with apologising. I don’t know what else to do.”
“And you think that’s going to be enough?” Naruto asked.
“Naruto.” Lee put a hand on his arm. “Help me up.”
Naruto blinked, but then he helped Lee stand.
The boy was unsteady on his feet, but with Naruto’s support he took a few steps forward, until he was standing in front of Gaara. Naruto held on tightly, wanting to make sure Lee would not slip if he threw a punch or decided to slap the Suna ninja.
Instead, he held out his hand. “You were an interesting opponent to fight.”
Naruto almost dropped Lee from surprise. “Seriously?!”
Gaara stared at the hand dumbfounded, before taking it and shaking it. “Your taijutsu was impressive.”
“I would like a rematch sometime on friendlier terms. When I’m well enough to be a challenge.”
“I would like that.” Gaara said. “I’ll keep training.”
“Your form is chaotic, but effective in its unpredictability. I’m going to have fun finding counters for it. Don’t forget my name. I’m Rock Lee, Konoha’s taijutsu specialist.”
“I won’t forget it.”
Tenten finally burst into the room, only stopping when she saw the handshake.
“Go back to your room.” Naruto told Gaara. “Please.”
Gaara nodded and moved away.
Tenten stared after him, waiting until he was gone before rushing towards Lee. “The doctor told you not to put any stress on your legs! Go back to bed.”
Naruto panicked slightly, quickly carrying Lee back. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s just a little pain.” Lee said. “I’ve had worse.”
“You’re impossible.” Tenten chided him. “What was all that about?”
“I decided to forgive him.” Lee said simply, like it was that easy.
“Why?!” Tenten yelled. “After what he did to you?!”
“You’ve already avenged me.” Lee said. “He almost killed me and you almost killed him. We’re even.”
Tenten looked to Naruto, like he could any more follow the logic of the strange boy in front of him.
“Honestly, I don’t even remember much of what happened. Both of us were moving so fast that it was instinct. I haven’t met many people as interesting to fight as him. The only reason I know he took it to far, is from the stories you told me.”
“And that was enough to forgive him?”
“It’s not useful to hold a grudge.” Lee said. “And you didn’t see his expression as he apologized. He looked vulnerable and exhausted. I don’t like seeing that look in people.”
“Unbelievable.” Tenten let out a laugh.
Lee turned to Naruto. “You’re the reason he’s apologising. How do you know him?”
“It’s complicated.” Naruto said. “His sister gave me lessons and I helped him when he was in a rough spot. He’s been through a lot, but I couldn’t let him get too close. Not after what he’s done to you.”
“And that’s why he’s apologising to me. I see. Do you want to be friends with him?”
Naruto grimaced. Gaara was the only other Jinchuriki he had ever met. He was the only one who understood what it was like to be seen more as a weapon than a person.
“Naruto, I know what kind of damage Gaara can do without friends. And I know the kind of person you are. Being your friend will be good for him, I think.”
Naruto let out a sigh. “It’s good to see you awake. I hope you feel better soon. Let me know if you need a sparring partner. Maybe I finally stand a chance now.”
“I’ll hold you to that. But better make it soon. I’m planning to be back on my feet in no time.”
Naruto stepped out of the room and talked to the ninja in charge.
Gaara had been forcefully escorted back to his room and there were orders in effect to keep something like this from happening again. Naruto made his way back to Gaara’s room. The Suna ninja was at the window, looking out over the village. Not that he would be able to see much through the rain. There was a metal shackle attached to his wrist, with a chain leading to the bed.
“They don’t want you wandering around anymore?”
“Apparently I was supposed to ask before walking through the hospital.” Gaara said. “I had a speech prepared. But then you were there and… I could’ve handled it better. I can’t even apologise right.”
“You’re trying. That’s good.” Naruto walked beside him. The sun was just an hour or so from setting and it was already casting the village in a darker light. There were clouds forming in the sky. It looked like it was going to start raining soon. “I was out in the village today. Spoke to some people. Turns out my apartment got trashed in the attack as well.”
“Another something you want to blame me for?”
“I’m angry.” Naruto said. “But I shouldn’t have put it all on you. I’m sorry for that.”
“You shouldn’t have.” Gaara said, looking into the distance. “But I wouldn’t like to see my own village in such a pitiful state either.”
Naruto was glad Konohamaru had not followed him. The Academy student might have exploded at Gaara over a comment like that.
“I still don’t think we can be friends.” Naruto said. “Too much happened for that. I get that you were going through something exceedingly tough and that you acted out. But your actions harmed me. Your sand blinded me. Your sacrifice almost cost me my life. And your bitterness almost cost the life of one of my friends. He might have forgiven you, but I can’t just let it go.”
Gaara grasped the metal bar firmer.
“But I want to challenge you to change my mind.”
“I can’t undo what I’ve done.”
“I’m not asking you to. But a proper apology involves more than words. You said you were in my debt. It’s time you started paying it off. I know the doctors have cleared you out of here.”
“Yes. But the ANBU guard said I can’t go anywhere without an escort.”
“Yeah. That’s going to be me. Let’s go.”
~*~
“Can I have a little extra?”
Gaara’s face was like stone. “You have been allotted the same 250 millilitres of soup as everyone else.”
Naruto sighed, grabbing the ladle from Gaara’s hand and adding a bit more to the man’s bowl. “Enjoy.”
“Thank you.”
“You don’t have to be so precise.”
“We’re just going to give more to anyone who asks for it?”
“Not everyone.” Naruto said. “But he was one of the construction workers. He has been working all day doing a lot of physical labour in service of the village.”
“Everyone has a reason for wanting more. What use are the rules if they don’t apply to everyone?”
“Rules can be more oppressive if they’re applied without exception.” Naruto handed out bread rolls to the people passing by the line-up. “Enjoy your meal.”
“Like the rule that a Jin…” He looked around at how many people there were. “…that a ninja should sacrifice themselves when so ordered.”
“Yeah.” Naruto said. “We have value. So that order better come with a damn good reason. What reason did they give you?”
Gaara shrugged. He filled another bowl. “My father doesn’t like to explain his orders. He says that it would make him look weak if he gave the expression that he could be argued with.”
“Nice guy.”
Gaara stirred the ladle in the soup. The line was thinning and they would soon be ready to serve themselves. “Do you think they’ll ever forgive me for my disobedience?”
“It’s hard work to earn forgiveness.” Naruto said. “No matter how much you thought your actions were justified, you can’t help the outcomes. It won’t be easy. There will be no shortcuts. You need to decide who you want to be and do your uttermost best to become that person. Only time will tell whether that conviction will last.”
“Do you think I can do it?”
“Yeah.” Naruto smiled. “If there’s one thing we talentless ninja are good at, it’s working tirelessly.”
The sun had almost set. The clouds had formed thicker and were starting to release the rain. The tents kept them dry as they sat down with their own dinners. Konohamaru had already finished his food and waved them over. The boy tried to talk, but it was hard to hear what he was saying. The noise was like an itch on Naruto’s skin. He wondered how he would be able to survive the night in such big crowds.
He just hoped the little cot he had claimed would be comfortable enough. He had put up his picture of Team 7 in a broken frame next to a new pot of dirt with a cutting of his lemon plant. It was nowhere near as good as home, but it would do. Konohamaru had asked to spend the night with him and Naruto hardly felt like he could refuse. It was better than being alone. Tragedy had come over all of them and Naruto just needed to learn how to deal.
“Attention!” A chuunin yelled over the crowds. The dinner conversation died down and everyone went to face the new presence. “We would like to thank all the volunteers who have made this emergency shelter possible. Your hard work has been noticed and appreciated.”
There was a round of cheers that warmed Naruto’s heart.
“However, I have grave news that I must share with you now. The fighting yesterday was orchestrated by Orochimaru. He had manipulated the Kazekage into preparing his shinobi forces to attack Konoha in the event of failed negotiations. On the way to Konoha, the Kazekage was attacked and killed by Orochimaru.”
Gaara gasped. “My dad…”
The rest of the crowd was less interested in the state of a foreign leader.
“Orochimaru impersonated the Kazekage and ordered the Suna ninja to attack. When this trickery was discovered, Suna’s highest commanding officers sounded the horns of retreat.”
Naruto reached over to take Gaara’s hand and squeezed it. This had to be devastating for the boy and he would need support. “We should look for your siblings.”
Gaara nodded.
“Come on, Konohamaru.” They stood up and started making their way out of the shelter.
“Orochimaru, wearing the face of the Kazekage, sat by our Hokage as the attack began. The Sandaime heroically fought off the Legendary Snake ninja by himself to keep the village safe from harm. Sadly, he had to give up his own life to do so.”
Naruto stilled.
The whole shelter was silent. All they could hear was the sound of rain falling outside.
“Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Professor of shinobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure died as he lived. He dedicated his life to the village and we will all remember him with the highest dignity.”
Naruto was not sure why he was kneeling now. His legs had given out from under him and had dropped him in the mud. Konohamaru was on his side, clinging to his arm. Saying something that Naruto could not hear.
There was just a ringing as the world became too blurry to see right.
“Jiji.”
Naruto felt the tears come. He took a deep steadying breath. And then another. He tried for a third, but it hitched into a sob. And then he lost his control.
All he could do was cry.
~*~
It was deep at night. Naruto could feel the cold seeping through his whole body. Even though the rain was a light drizzle, Naruto’s clothes were soaked through. He should probably move. But it was like the strings were cut. The hard stone he was sitting on had grown uncomfortable to the point that he did not even register the pain anymore.
There were so many things he needed to do. So many training exercises he should be doing. He needed to sleep to recover his body and make it ready for physical training. He needed to eat. He needed to drink. He needed to help with the shelter and the clean-up and the construction. Anything would be better than sitting there.
But he could not leave.
“Thought I’d find you here.” Kakashi said.
Naruto barely managed a nod in greeting.
Kakashi stepped closer. He was holding an umbrella that was shielding him from the rain. He stepped next to Naruto so they were both protected. He looked out to Konoha with Naruto. The top of the Hokage monument had always been a good way to see the whole village. The top of the Sandaime’s head the best.
There were lanterns lit across the whole village. Some for utility, most for tribute.
“You need to get inside and warm up.” Kakashi said. “I can take you.”
“I want to sit a little longer.”
Kakashi stood still, considering. Then he nodded. “Okay.”
The rain pattered around them, like the clacking of a pipe against an ash tray. Like a thinking finger tapping against a desk. Like teacups clanking together on a tray.
“I won’t tell you that it’ll get better.” Kakashi said. “But you’ll be able to handle the pain with time.”
“He was basically my grandfather.” Naruto said. “My first teacher. I was going to be Hokage so he could finally retire. How do I just move on after this? After someone this important to me is gone?” Naruto asked.
“Tell me if you ever find out.” Kakashi said.
Naruto sighed. Kakashi had lost his family, his teammates and his sensei in separate tragedies. “How did you get through it?”
“Some will tell you that I never did get through it. Each person I lost had a piece of me in their heart, which they took with them as they died. There’s not much of me left.”
“Yet you kept going.”
“It’s not unlike training. No matter how much it tires us, or how much we would like to rest, we keep going. The only way ninja like us can keep going, is by our endurance. Nothing can stop us.”
“Us?”
“I know what I said. You’re not the kind of person who gives up.” Kakashi said. “And no matter how little you think remains of yourself, you’ll still find new pieces in others. Like a young student who seems to be dealing with loss just as well as his sensei does.”
Naruto let out a deep breath.
His name was Uzumaki Naruto. He had made it through the chuunin exams on his first chance after graduating. Even without the talent of a clan, he had found a way to make an animal companion and participate in the exhibition matches. Where he proceeded to show exactly what he was made of.
The invasion had taken so much from him. His apartment, a friend, and his Jiji.
But Kakashi was right. Naruto was walking the golden path and he had always known that was difficult. He had always known becoming Hokage was one of the hardest goals in Konoha. Naruto was not one to give up. No matter what happened.
He was going to be the Hokage, and someone who was going to be Hokage would be able to move past this. Learn to focus on the precious people still around him, instead of those he lost along the way.
Working through his grief would just be another thing to add to his training list. Something he would spend time on. And he had one advantage Kakashi did not. Naruto would actually learn from this. If this ever happened again, it would be easier.
His name was Uzumaki Naruto and he would endure.
Naruto nodded. He patted the stone he was sitting on, the head of Sarutobi, third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, named The Professor by those who respected him, the man who had given everything he was for the sake of the village. Goodbye, Jiji.
“Thanks for finding me.” Naruto said. Then he startled. “I was supposed to be looking after Gaara.”
“He’s back at the hospital. He came back by himself after you ran off.” Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder. “More importantly, are you all right now?”
No. But he would be.
Eventually.
End of part 2
Notes:
And that wraps up part 2. Next month (June) we’re moving into book 3 Loss, starting with ‘A drink they call loneliness’, which will mostly focus on everyone dealing with the fallout of the invasion during the Tsunade retrieval arc.
This final chapter of part 2 ballooned from its original conception. Quite a few scenes and details were added as I got a better sense of the story of part two and the elements I wanted to close out on. While part 1 was focussed on Naruto gaining the respect from his team, part 2 has been about showing his worth to the whole village.
In the first draft, I emphasised the endurance. Naruto keeps working hard for the chuunin exams and keeps going no matter what he faces. So I found it poetic to end on Naruto hearing the news about the Hokage and finally giving up. It was a powerful ending, but it left a sour note as I reread it. For one because these are supposed to be stand-alone books and I don’t want to leave it as a complete cliffhanger. For the other, while Naruto needs to be pushed over the edge of what he can handle, it was important for me to emphasise his endurance. Even when he loses something so foundational, he is going to make it through.
Chapter title comes from the weather, and from the reputation that the Konoha 10 are building as a fresh breeze through the village. A revolution of strength.Goading Hinata like Naruto did had consequences. But it’s his bad mood that’s making him think it’ll be the end of a friendship. He also managed to talk to Sasuke. Someone in the comments mentioned how big a deal it was that he immediately shut Naruto down. I hadn’t seen it that way until pointed out, so thanks! Now Naruto gets to call Sasuke out on it and they can grow a little closer as a team again.
Chapter 18: 3.1 A drink they call loneliness (Piano man)
Summary:
I... I can't believe Jiji is gone.
Farewell-
I pass as all things do
dew on the grass.
–Banzan
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Part 3: Loss
Naruto stood between the crowds of civilians. Rain was falling tirelessly in small droplets, slowly turning Naruto from wet to soaked. The podium was too far away to properly see any of the official procedure and the only reason he could hear the words being spoken was because of the megaphone being used.
“My father, Sarutobi Hiruzen of the apes, was a kind man who cared more for the village than anything else.” It was hard to recognise Asuma in the thick layers of black clothing he wore. He looked nothing like the strong jounin that had accompanied Team 7 into the Forest of death and was attacked by Orochimaru. Naruto wondered how much of the disconnect was grief and how much of it was Asuma’s attempts to hide the still healing wounds.
A woman near Naruto sobbed. “I can’t believe our Hokage is gone.”
“It’s alright.” A man put his hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get through this.”
Naruto thought about the first time he had met the old man. As a toddler he had snuck out of the orphanage and into the Hokage tower. From an unwary administrator, Naruto had borrowed a forehead protector and a chuunin jacket that was far too large. Naruto had to walk on his toes to keep the jacket from dragging along the ground. And then Naruto had burst into the mission desk demanding to get his daily chuunin mission.
The Hokage of the village had greeted Naruto with a bright smile on his face, asking why he had never seen such a clearly capable ninja before. Naruto’s face flushed red as someone yelled from beyond the walls that they were missing their clothes. But he was undeterred. He shouted that if the Sandaime did not remember seeing him before, then the Sandaime had to be going senile in his old age.
Iruka had blown a gasket, but the Hokage had just laughed loudly. “I’ve still got a few good years in me left, young man. Tell you what, if you’re so eager to get started as a ninja, I’m sure Iruka-san can help you with your Academy application.”
Naruto had beamed. “You mean it?”
“Konoha is a collaboration and we succeed because we work together. Everything we do, we do for each other. I see that spark in you, Naruto. You want to help. And that is the most important quality a ninja can have.”
“Thanks, mister Hokage-sama!”
“You know what? Call me Jiji.”
Naruto wished Sasuke was there with him, but as clean leader he was much closer to the stage among his fellow Uchiha. Hanabi was with the Hyuuga. Even Sakura had been given a place as the first member of a new clan. If Naruto’s chuunin paperwork had gotten through, he would have been able to stand with the ninja force without clans. He could have found Iruka to stand with him. Instead, he was just a civilian.
“I don’t like this game, Jiji.”
“Shogi illustrates many important lessons for a young ninja such as yourself and you will need to memorise the pieces to understand them.”
“But there are way too many rules! What’s the point of all these different pieces when the most important piece is also the weakest?”
“You’ll often find in battles that there’s a critical objective that is most important to you, the loss of which is unacceptable. After all, those who cannot defend themselves are the ones most deserving of your protection.”
Naruto was lucky then. His most important person was the strongest ninja in Konoha. And Jiji could protect himself easily.
“Sarutobi-sama leaves behind his son and grandson, both dear to him.”
Konohamaru had been inconsolable when he heard. Naruto had not been able to do anything for him except carry him to his parents. Now Konohamaru stood with the Sarutobi clan, the heir to what Asuma kept naming a great legacy. All Naruto could see was a boy that had lost his grandfather.
“Not today, Naruto. Too much paperwork.”
Naruto pouted. “Can’t you have anyone else do it for you?”
“This is important, I’m afraid. As much as I hate these duties, they must be performed.”
“Why don’t you retire and let someone else be Hokage, if you hate it so much?”
“Because the ninja I want to name my successor is still in the Academy.” Jiji smiled.
Naruto had a bitter taste in his mouth. Asuma was choosing his anecdotes carefully to praise his father and improve his standing as Hokage candidate. Stories Naruto had heard before. All the words of praise and remembrance were blending together.
“He can’t seriously think he’ll be elected.” One of the civilians said.
“He was the most promising ninja.”
“That was before Orochimaru attacked him. From what I’ve heard, it’s a miracle he’s standing without help. We need someone who is strong enough to face our enemies.”
“He did his best.”
“The ninja are here to protect us. If they can’t do that, what are they good for?”
“Asuma isn’t the only ninja in the village. The elders will find someone strong to take the Sandaime’s place.”
Naruto looked up to the Hokage monument. He had always imagined his own face next to the Yondaime’s, looking back to Jiji. Someone else was going to take his spot.
Naruto stepped out of his position and walked away from the service. He made it to an alleyway and he could finally start running. He needed to get away from people. And luckily there was a training ground nearby.
He found a tree to hide under and slumped. He realised belatedly that he was getting dirt all over the clothes he had borrowed from the Uchiha. He would have to wash them thoroughly in one of the laundromats before returning them. His own funeral clothes had been buried in the rubble of his apartment building together with most of his other possessions.
It was just too much. More than any person could be expected to bear.
“Naruto-nii?”
Naruto wiped the tears from his face. “Konohamaru. Shouldn’t you be back at the service?”
“They wanted me to say some words.” The boy said. He made his way over to Naruto and sat on the ground. “I can’t get the words out without…” Konohamaru sniffed. “What would I even say?”
“I don’t know.” Naruto could hardly give advice when he was struggling so much himself.
“I don’t want to cry anymore.”
Naruto did not either. They needed a distraction. And that, that Naruto was good at. “Want to hit something?”
Konohamaru looked at the trees. “It’s too wet for chakra punch exercises.”
“That’s okay.” Naruto could offer to teach him to compensate, but the boy did not look like he would be able to focus. “Hit me.”
“What?”
Naruto stood up and turned to face him, making the seal of confrontation.
Konohamaru caught on, getting opposite to him and making the same seal. And then he charged.
There was no technique in it. Naruto could see a dozen different ways to make Konohamaru trip and fall on his face. Instead, Naruto just blocked and countered. His own punch was pitiful. Sasuke would have demolished him for all his weaknesses. Even Konohamaru must have been able to see how to exploit it. But the boy just blocked.
Naruto would have described it as dancing, but there was no finesse in it. No coordination. Just grief and frustration expressed in its most ancient form. When Konohamaru’s arms got tired of reaching up, Naruto used a Henge to shrink to the boy’s size and shape. And they continued. Konohamaru seemed to be hitting harder now that he was fighting someone that looked like himself.
Konohamaru had been working on his stamina and it showed. Just a few months ago, the boy would have lasted minutes instead of the hours they managed now. When Konohamaru collapsed from exhaustion, he had managed to put a dent in Naruto’s reserves.
Naruto thought he felt pride, but it was hard to tell with his other emotions overwhelming him.
“He wasn’t supposed to die.” Konohamaru said. “He was supposed to retire and give the hat to you.”
Naruto faked a smile, hard as it was. “If you didn’t get there first, right?”
Konohamaru sighed. “Grandpa never had time for me. But it always made him smile when I said I would be Hokage one day. What’s the point if he isn’t here to see it, you know?”
Naruto did know.
And he wished he had an answer.
He let Konohamaru climb on his back and then found the Sarutobi family. He let Konohamaru walk the final bit himself to avoid any awkward questions, staying behind just to make sure the kid did not trip on the way there.
He really needed to get back to training. He had wasted so many hours already. There were books he needed to learn from, elemental chakra practice that needed perfecting, not to mention the development of his henge techniques. He was almost at the next stage of detaching parts of his body and once it was ready he was going to show Jiji and…
Naruto rubbed at his eyes and moved away. There was an alleyway nearby and if he hurried he would be able to fall apart without anyone seeing.
“Naruto?” A woman tugged on his shirt. Even without the make-up she usually wore around the brothel, she was unmistakable.
“Is everything alright, Himiko?”
“Natsu wants to speak with you. She has a favour to ask.”
“I’ll go find her at the hospital then.”
Himiko shook her head. “She’s back with us.”
“Already?”
The woman nodded.
Naruto frowned as he followed her. He did not have a good feeling about this.
~*~
“Hey there, sis.”
“Just the little brat I was looking for.”
Naruto made his way to her bed for a hug. That she had not gotten up herself was a bad sign.
“Thanks for coming.”
“Like I’d keep you hanging.” Naruto wrapped his arms around her. With everything that had happened, Naruto needed to cherish these moments. His Jiji was gone, but he still had the honorary sister whose tutoring had pulled him through the Academy. She had also gleefully volunteered to be the basis of his Sexy-no-jutsu. “Wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”
“There’s nothing more they can do. The tendons in my ankles are torn and the surgery has a waitlist so long they couldn’t even give me an estimate. Too many ninja were injured by Suna. The hospital’s a mess.”
“So you’re looking at months without being able to walk.”
“Or even years.” Natsu fidgeted with her blanket. “Our patrons don’t know it yet. We’re not reopening for another few days yet. But when they find out that the brothel’s designated bodyguard can’t protect the women working here…”
“You need someone else to protect them.” Naruto swallowed. “Natsu… with all my training…”
“I know.” Natsu said, though she did not look pleased.
Naruto wanted to help. He really did. But the brothel was too far out of his way to spend any significant time there. “I can go by here during my morning run. And there are some exercises I can try to do here instead of somewhere else. It won’t be enough.”
“Is there anyone you can ask for help? It doesn’t have to be constantly. We just need someone to check in on us. In a few days the reputation alone will act as a shield.”
All the ninja Naruto knew were swamped dealing with the aftermath of the invasion. “I don’t… I don’t know anyone.”
Her face fell.
“But I’ll ask around.” He grasped her hand. “We’ll find a way to make this work. I promise.”
Natsu smiled. “Knew I could count on you.”
~*~
“I understand that there’s a capacity problem.” Naruto grit his teeth. “I’m just asking if there’s anyone that can pass by. Show their face. On the way of doing their missions.”
Iruka sighed. “I really wish I could help. But there is too much to do at the moment. Half our fighting force is still injured, which means the other half has to work twice as hard. If I ask anyone, they’ll see it as an order for a group of people that are already stretched too thin. I fear anything else might break them.”
“It’s important to me.” Naruto said. “Natsu’s friends could be in danger. Natsu herself too.”
“I know you want to protect her. But the same dangers you’re describing are present all over Konoha. Our patrols are down and our police force is distracted. We have a duty to all the civilians.”
Naruto swallowed. “I understand.”
“I really am sorry.” Iruka sighed. “Look, I can bring these concerns to the board. Maybe we can alter some routes. And I can try to swing by myself after my shifts.”
“You can?”
“It’s a bit out of the way and I will not be able to stay there for long each time. I’ve only been going home to sleep.”
Naruto tackled his former teacher into a hug. “You are the most amazing person.”
“Try saying that again after your chuunin registration is done. I’m going to work you to the bone.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Are you going to ask anyone else to look into Natsu’s place?”
“I was going to ask Kakashi-sensei to call in some favours, if I can find him.”
“You’re in luck then.” Iruka waved across the busy room. “Get him this scroll, if you would.”
“Bringing work to sensei? That sounds dangerous. You’re lucky I owe you one.”
Iruka rolled his eyes, before shooing him off. There were a lot of other ninja to see to for an administrative ninja as important as Iruka.
Naruto darted through the room and made his way to Kakashi. The jounin looked even more tired than usual. “I was looking for you, sensei.”
“Funny coincidence.” Kakashi held up a scroll. And then he frowned when Naruto held up one of his own. He sighed before exchanging the two.
Naruto scanned the contents quickly. “We’re going out of the village?” He turned it over for details, but there were none. Just a vague directive to follow orders from their superior.
“And it seems I’ll have to be present for some interrogations. Scare tactic. This is why you wanted to see me?”
“I wanted to ask for help for Natsu.” Naruto said, before explaining the situation.
Kakashi took it all in. “I see. I know some genin who are dying for something to do. It’s not a long-term solution though. Once the chaos stops, they’ll get regular orders again.” He considered. “I can make sure they’ll at least wait until we’re back.”
“I’d appreciate that a lot.”
“Remember that. Because with me being away on Iruka’s urgent mission for the next few hours, I’ll have to rely on my appreciative student to gather up the rest of my team.”
“Do you know where they are?”
“Ah, how kind of your amazing teacher. Managing to find time in his busy schedule to provide you with a tracking exercise.”
Naruto sighed. “Can you at least tell me what kind of mission we need to prepare for?”
“We’ll be gone for a few weeks. Maybe more, maybe less.” The man shrugged.
“You don’t know? The mission said you would have more details.”
“No, it said our superior will.”
Naruto tilted his head. “Someone who outranks you? But you do know what we’ll be doing right?”
“I’ve heard rumours. Mostly that we’ll be searching for someone and that’s why we don’t know how long the mission will last yet.”
Naruto considered. They had not been out of the village since their mission to Wave. Naruto had been helping where he could in Konoha, but he was starting to run out of high-priority tasks that needed tending. As more civilians were released from the shelters, the amount of volunteers had skyrocketed. Naruto was supposed to catch up on his training schedule, but it had been hard to let go of the emergency mindset. Much as it felt he was running around helping the village, the truth was that the only responsibility on Naruto’s shoulder that he couldn’t transfer was Natsu. And Iruka and Kakashi’s friends would be taking care of it.
“It’ll be good for you.” Kakashi said. “Give you some time away to process. It’ll be good for all of us.”
“So, who are we looking for?”
“Someone who deserves to know what happened. And who we could really use back in Konoha right now.”
Naruto nodded. Things were falling into place. Naruto had already seen some of the jounin from the registry called back to the village, which left only a select few that Kakashi could be talking about. And there was only one that would be worth sending two elite ninja and a genin team after.
“Blonde?”
Kakashi had a pleased smile hidden behind his mask. “I can neither confirm or deny anything.” He said with that voice that meant he was very much confirming everything.
“Got it. I’ll gather the others. You can count on me.”
Kakashi ruffled Naruto’s hair. “I always do.”
~*~
Naruto checked the address again. It had to be wrong. But Fu had confirmed it several times. And as Sasuke’s secretary he was supposed to know exactly where Sasuke was.
Just… it was a bar. An average bar. The damage from the invasion had been minimal, but still present. Naruto could see a few windows that had been smashed in, temporarily boarded up with wood. One wall had crumbled and was secured with a tarp.
It was not the kind of bar an Uchiha heir would be found in, visited as it was by working class and non-ninja guards. And yet there Sasuke was. On a stage, behind a piano.
“Who are you and what did you do to my teammate?”
“The snake kills at midnight.” Sasuke just said, his hands moving on their own as he turned to look at Naruto. And that was the password they had agreed on last time they had met.
“And the moon sheds its tears of blood.” Naruto answered. “How do you know how to play the piano?” Naruto was no expert, but this kind of skill was not obtained casually. It would have taken hundreds of hours at the very least. That meant weeks of wasted talent.
“I can’t play. Just this song.”
“I don’t understand.”
Sasuke looked sad. “On the night of the massacre, this is one of the skills I got. Uncle Ongaku’s favourite song. He had hundreds of thousands of hours of piano practice cultivated with his talent and this is all that survived. Itachi might have a bit more of it, but I doubt it. He wasn’t interested in these kind of skills.”
Naruto put his hand on Sasuke’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
Sasuke wiped at his face. “He would have liked this place. It didn’t exist yet when he was alive, but it’s exactly the kind of place where he would have played. It felt appropriate to do something to honour someone in my family today.”
“We’re all dealing in our own way.”
Sasuke nodded. “I’m sorry about the Sandaime. I petitioned your inclusion on the stage. I know how much he meant to you and it’s a travesty they disrespected you the way they did.”
“Don’t feel too bad. If Kakashi couldn’t do it, I already knew you couldn’t either. Look, we have a mission and I’ll get to that. But you look like you need someone to talk with. Do you want to get a drink?”
Sasuke nodded. Naruto pulled him away from the piano and towards an isolated booth in the back. He picked up a bottle of sake from the bar and sat down with Sasuke. “I’m guessing this is about more than just the Hokage. Is Garudo-san okay?”
“Uncle Garu took a heavy hit. When the Suna ninja realised that he had a sharingan, they used a corrosive gas to blind him. The doctors were able to save his life and they could prevent more damage. But they could not restore the vision that’s been lost.”
“That’s terrible.”
“There weren’t supposed to be any more Uchiha casualties.” Sasuke said, nursing his drink. “I was supposed to protect them all.”
“Nobody predicted what happened. You can’t blame yourself. You did everything you could.”
“I wish I’d been able to do more. Even now, when I just want to be by uncle’s side, there’s too much to arrange.”
“You’re still doing clan politics?” Naruto gawked. “At a time like this?”
“I have no choice.” Sasuke said, frustrated. “Especially after an attack like this. The Uchiha have to look strong, to keep other clans from attacking us.”
“Who would want to do that?”
Sasuke gave a tired look. “Too many to name.”
“That’s so stupid. These are the times I’m glad I don’t have a clan to take care of. Is there anything I can help with?”
“I don’t know. It’s complicated.”
“Try me.”
Sasuke shrugged. “Well, with uncle Garu in the hospital, his proposed marriage with Kurenai is off the table. No matter how much I’ve tried to salvage it, her advisors are afraid she’ll be liable for his care if the Uchiha clan can’t continue to pay the hospital bills. Not to mention she was only entertaining the proposal as a favour to the Sandaime.”
Naruto tried to follow along. “So the engagement is falling apart. And you told me that engagement was important because it was the only thing keeping them off your own back. Does that mean you need to get married?”
“Yes. I am being forced to negotiate my own betrothal. There are half a dozen candidates that were selected for me.”
“So you need help picking one?”
Sasuke huffed. “If it was only that simple. I’m supposed to start a new Uchiha clan. Which means that I’ll be picking all of them, one as a wife and the others as concubines.”
“Oh yes, I can see how that could be a very troubling dilemma for you.”
Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Whomever I choose for the honorary position, her family will be in debt to me and the others will resent me for passing over their candidates. The clan leaders are all acting like peacocks, pretending the women they’ve brought forward are their clan’s best. Either I need a very solid argument why I’ve chosen one particular candidate over the others, or I will need to find a way to make concessions for all the different families that are passed over.”
“You’re not making it sound like they’ve actually offered their best.”
“Second or third children, or firstborn from branch families. None are in line to inherit any position of power. But calling the clans out on any of this is an insult nonetheless.”
“Have you considered choosing a wife based on characteristics that actually matter? Personality and abilities?”
“I’ve been told they’re all fair and kind women. They’ve all got perfectly adequate grades. Nothing outstanding, but also not lacking. The clan leaders won’t let me meet them until I’ve made my decision, citing ancient customs. Daisuke overheard one of them saying they were ‘shielding me from the folly of youth and hormones’. Fu won’t say anything either but I know he’s doing it for my own best interest. He’s spoken to all of them on my behalf to ensure they’re willingly going along with this.”
“Are you sure he was thorough? I’ve spent enough time around people with clans to know you’d happily marry someone just because your clan told you to. But I can’t imagine anyone willingly becoming a concubine without significant clan pressure.”
“They have their reasons. There is a certain prestige that comes with the position together with financial support. They may want to have children without a husband involving himself. I can’t speak to their specific reasons, though Fu implied one girl was playing for a different team and preferred an arrangement where she would be free to pursue her own lovers on the side.”
“How scandalous.”
“As long as they help the Uchiha clan reform, I do not judge.”
“Okay, I think I understand your problem. You can only choose one of them to be your wife. And you’re looking for some kind of political viewpoint that lets you convince the other clans she was a clearly superior choice, in order to avoid having to pay reparations to all the others. Which seems impossible in this group where you can only judge them on their identical political value.”
“That’s right.”
“Could you look outside of the group they’ve presented?”
“I’ve been contemplating that. If I could marry a clan heir, the families would have to concede her superiority as a candidate and back off. The problem would be finding one that was willing to come to an arrangement. I’ve put out some feelers and they’ve all come back negative. I can’t find a better candidate on my own. Hence being back to the drawing board and figuring out which girl I can choose with at least a flimsy excuse to minimise reparations.”
Naruto grinned. “Of course, there’s one more option.”
“What is it?” Sasuke looked desperate.
“You’re saying whomever you marry should be noticeably and objectively different from the other candidates. If not better politically, at least so different that nobody can argue with your choice.”
“You’re thinking I should do something wild, like find a girl who’s got a skill none of the others have. That might work, actually. Perhaps a dietician or planner.” Sasuke took a sip of his drink.
“Actually, I was suggesting you find a husband.”
Sasuke doused Naruto with his drink. The Uchiha coughed uncomfortably as he tried to get back his stature. “Excuse me?”
“How are they going to argue with that? Not like they put any boys up for you.”
“Of course they didn’t!”
“Just saying it’s something to consider.”
Sasuke was fidgeting. “Even if I wanted to do that, why would someone agree to be a what… decoy husband? How would you feel if Sakura asked you to be a decoy husband so that she could have a relationship with a woman?”
“I’d never go with that.”
“You see?”
“If Sakura goes after someone she actually loves, knowing her taste, they’re going to be super strong. That means three ninja in one household, and not a lot of children. That doesn’t work for me. I want at least four.”
Sasuke blinked a few times. “And that’s the only thing you see wrong with that arrangement?”
“Well yeah. Sakura’s my teammate. If she needed my help like that, of course I’d do it if I could. Just like I’m sure there are plenty of your male friends that would become your husband for you if you asked nicely and sweetened the deal.”
Sasuke’s face was turning that amusing shade of red again that meant Naruto should change the subject before he exploded.
At least Naruto had successfully been able to distract him. “Kakashi called us in for a mission. We’re supposed to meet him tomorrow.”
“I thought only chuunin were being deployed at the moment.”
“It’s a special mission out of the village. We’ll learn more after we leave.” Naruto handed over Sasuke’s copy of the scroll.
“I don’t like the idea of leaving my family behind in all this chaos.” Sasuke said, scanning the scroll. “But I suppose they’ll have to hold out without me. I see the Hyuuga have offered emergency services. I’ll contact them tonight and make the arrangements.”
“And at least it’ll give you an excuse to put off a decision about your betrothal.”
“Fu will want an answer as soon as I’m back, but it’s better than the few days I would have gotten otherwise. Thanks, Naruto.”
“Anytime.” Naruto took Sasuke’s hand and gave it a squeeze, before standing up to go. “We’ll talk more on the road. I don’t really understand the political elements of the decision, but I’m good at listening. As long as you don’t mind me training at the same time.”
“I’d like that.”
“Now… do you happen to know where I can find Sakura?”
~*~
“Thanks and come again!” Sakura shoved a bag into a customer’s hand and then went on to the next person. Her hair was dishevelled and there were bags under her eyes.
Naruto made his way through the crowd.
Sakura looked apologetic. “Sorry, sir, but there are no more explosive tags.”
Most of the people in the shop started shouting. “What is that supposed to mean?!”
“We are working on our supply.”
“If you don’t even have any explosive tags, what good is this shop?”
Sakura swallowed and retreated. “I don’t…”
“I have been a loyal customer for years. When I was still running D-rank missions and had barely any money to my name I was buying quality here and wouldn’t even think of going to one of your competitors. Is this how you treat the people who stuck by you all this time?”
“I…” Sakura looked like she was going to start crying.
Naruto took a step beside her and addressed the man. Despite his postering, he was a chuunin of little reputation. Too dangerous to piss off, not nearly dangerous enough to get away treating Sakura like that. “You’re making it very clear what kind of customer you are. You do understand that we’re living just a few days after a village-wide invasion? You understand that this has an effect on supply?”
“That is no excuse.” The ninja snarled.
“Ah, so you don’t understand. May I suggest you visit the hospital to have your head checked?”
The ninja gawked. “This kind of treatment is unacceptable for a business.”
“Then I suggest you leave.”
The man’s face turned red. “Now see here…”
“Complaining will not change the situation.” Naruto raised his voice, talking to the crowd. “Everyone here still waiting to ask for explosive tags, I suggest you spend your energy finding another shop for now.”
“Their product is trash compared to what we can get here.” The chuunin said. “I’m going on a mission tomorrow and I need Haruno tags!”
“At the moment there is nothing else to it.” Naruto looked unimpressed.
The customers turned to Sakura, who had taken the time to compose herself. “I apologise for the inconvenience, everyone! We will more than happily provide a service once we have our supply secured once more.”
Half the people in the store shovelled out, while the rest browsed with dissatisfied looks on their faces.
“Thanks for that.” Sakura said. She was still shaking.
“Emotions are running high. It’s normal that you’d be uncomfortable in such a situation.”
“It’s more than that. I’ve helped around the shop before, but usually when there’d be a costumer like that, my parents would take care of it. I’ve never had to handle it before.”
More people were leaving.
Sakura sighed. “We sold out on combat seals this morning. All that’s left is luxury seals. Decorations and complicated house wards that I don’t know how to promote. My parents would be disappointed in how much business we’re losing.”
“They’d know you were doing your best.”
“I shouldn’t have dipped into the store reserves for my fight. I threw out explosive tags like they were nothing.”
“It was a desperate situation and most jounin would’ve struggled bringing down a giant snake like that.”
Sakura looked unsure. The last customer who had been in the shop walked out and it was just the two of them. She sat down on a wooden stool, letting the exhaustion collapse her.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“You shouldn’t be burdened with my troubles. You have enough of your own. I can’t complain to you about my sick parents, knowing you just lost the Sandaime.”
Naruto shook his head. “I’m dealing and I want to help if I can.”
Sakura took a moment to collect herself. “By the time I arrived at the district, the area was littered with poisoned ninja who had gotten too close to the snake’s blood. My parents had tried to hide in their shop, but it had not protected them. I made my way to them and I…” She swallowed.
“I know how complicated it is to heal a poisoning.” Naruto said. It was one of the reasons the specialisation had appealed to Naruto in his youth. Not even a jounin medic could treat a poisoning on the field without specialised equipment. “I’m sure you did everything you could.”
It made Sakura flinch. She swallowed. “I couldn’t help my parents, but I could get the source of the poisoning away from them. I grabbed all the seals I could and let a year’s worth of work burn into nothing.”
“Sounds like you did exactly what you had to do. If you hadn’t, the shop might not even be standing today.”
“There’s not much difference like this.” Sakura said. She gestured around at the empty shelves.
“How long can you keep the shop open like this?”
“Maybe a month? It depends on when they start collecting rent. My aunt who normally minds the shop is interviewing seal masters so hopefully we’ll have some product to sell again. But we thrived on our reputation. I don’t know how much we’ll sell without my parents supervising.”
“How are your parents doing?”
“Terribly.” Sakura said. “Mom and dad are not improving and the doctors can’t fix the damage to their brains. It’s out of the specialists’ depth and also out of mine.”
Naruto was starting to sense a pattern. He checked that nobody else was around to hear. “I think… we’re going to find someone who can help.” Naruto handed her the scroll.
Her eyes were calculating as they moved over the scroll. “We’ll be looking for…”
“Someone classified.” Naruto said. “Probably her.”
Sakura’s face lit up. “I’ve always wanted to meet her.”
“Will you be alright leaving the shop?”
She nodded. “My aunt will manage it. She knew I’d be called on ninja duties soon. Hadn’t predicted it to be this soon though. Or for a mission that would last this long.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“It’s nice of you to offer, but I’ll be fine.” She put her hand on Naruto’s arm. “This helped. Thanks for lending me your ear. How are you holding up?”
“You know me. Just doing what needs to be done.”
“Of course. Let me know if there’s anything I can do. I’ll see you tomorrow, Naruto.”
“Tomorrow.”
~*~
“I told you to get out!”
Naruto’s face turned sour. If he could hear Hanabi through the wall, it was not a good sign at all. A door slid open and a Hyuuga family member scuttled out. Naruto tentatively knocked. “We have a mission.”
She sighed, but did not seem to dismiss him.
Naruto went into the room and closed the door behind him. It was fancy, well-decorated, and not like Hanabi at all. There were no pictures or training equipment. No books and no scrolls. Just delicately painted pots with flowers, and clear furniture. She was sitting at a low table with a tea set on top.
Hanabi looked like a porcelain doll in a press. Her hair was impeccable, her make-up so thick it was hard to see the bags under her eyes, and her posture was so straight that Naruto could not help but wonder if she had used a henge to replace her spine with a rod.
Her expression was stone as she looked at him.
Naruto imagined his own was much the same. He did know know whether he preferred this stoicism to the anger with which she had called him a talentless loser, but at least it made it easier to keep things professional. He tried for a neutral opening. “Did you get a better room from your chuunin promotion?”
“This room is reserved for the clan heir. They’re making me spend my time here.”
Naruto flinched.
“Hinata would take her meetings here and get private tutoring lessons. The elders cleared out her personal effects this morning, like they’re not expecting her to come back.”
“That sounds drastic.”
“She was wounded by a spirit weapon. There’s nothing the doctors can do. Her very soul got corrupted. Even the owls don’t know how to help her.”
Naruto swallowed.
He remembered vividly how he had taken Hanabi’s form in the chuunin exams to fight with Hinata. He had laid out the truth about the Hyuuga as he saw it to get her off her balance, mixed with the meanness to make it hurt. He had wanted to help Hanabi, but mostly he had wanted to win.
Hanabi said that Naruto’s words were responsible for Hinata ending in the hospital.
“There’s one person who may be able to help. And we’ve been tasked to find her.”
Hanabi looked over the scroll. “This is a mission for team 7.”
“And that’s you too.”
Hanabi sighed, but there was a touch of relief in her face. “I figured… I figured that would be over now.”
“You don’t have to be friends to be part of the team. And I don’t have to be your friend to see how much you need to get away from the village right now.”
She considered “It would be… good… to be away for a while.” She looked to the scroll. “You really think it’s possible that she’ll be able to cure Hinata?”
“If there’s anyone who can do, it’s her. She’s legendary for a reason.”
~*~
Naruto hid behind his temporary lodgings. He rested his head against a tree trunk and tried to calm himself. One more member of team 7 to talk to.
The fox was in his cage, resting. His wounds seemed less irritated. His eyes were filled with the same anger as the last time they had spoken. “Ave, Vulpesculi. I thought you were going to let me watch out of your eyes more. Or was that as much a lie as you spouted against my little brother?”
“I haven’t had a chance since the forest. I was helping in the hospital and then I had to build a new home because my apartment got destroyed. And… the Hokage died.”
“Am I supposed to care?”
“He was one of my precious people.”
“One less person for you to worry about then.”
Naruto swallowed. The fox was baiting him and he needed to refrain from biting. “You don’t seem surprised by the news.”
“Merely disinterested.”
“The books said you’re able to see what’s happening outside of my body even without me pulling you along. Is that true?”
The fox was silent for a few seconds, calculating. It grinned then, showing off the warped fang-like metal in his wounded gums. “Now you wish to speak of truth. I taught you the language of the Tailed Beasts and you used it to spin lies.”
“I’m not going to apologise for staying alive.” Naruto said. The deception had been needed to keep Gaara and Naruto from dying together. “I thought you’d admire a survival instinct.”
The fox grumbled in annoyance. “Perhaps I would be in a better mood if you hadn’t taken my chance to fight Shukaku together with my chance of freedom.”
“What’s your problem with your brother, anyway? Do you hate him?”
The fox huffed. “I do not hate the earth when I trample it. I do not hate the water when I drink it.”
“So it’s like… a compulsion or something.”
“Nothing so human. It’s natural instinct. It feels good to fight another tailed beast. I enjoy killing humans but you are so… squishy. Either I overpower you completely, or you seal me using your tricks.”
“So what I told Kabuto… you really would have never worked along with Shukaku?”
“You’re in luck the medic knew so little of tailed beasts. It is no use if your body can lie when you put so little thought in what leaves your mouth.”
“It worked though.”
The fox shrugged. “Your luck will run out one of these days. Sooner or later. And then I will have my release.”
“Will you spare my friends when you are free?”
The fox growled. “If your friends wish to be spared, they should just stay away when I am released.”
So that was not something to count on. Noted. He would have argued more, but the fox’s mood was already souring. “I’ll take you with me when I stop meditating.” He declared, already making the mental preparations. “There’s not much to see, but I found some wildflowers around that I thought might disappoint you less than usual.”
“Lovely.” The fox droned.
~*~
Kakashi was waiting a little distance from the wall. The section that had collapsed was being used as an additional entry point for ninja. With the main gate getting much more traffic than it normally would, it had only made sense.
“Hey sensei. You’re on time for once.”
“I’m actually eager to leave for a change. You will not believe how many missions Iruka tried to pawn off on me. He had the audacity to claim I’d have the time today, even though I very clearly had to be on time for this departure.”
Naruto chuckled. “So, who’s going to be leading the mission?”
“That’ll be me.”
Naruto felt an overwhelming urge to groan when he heard that voice. And he actually did once he had confirmed it was him. “Really, Ero-sennin is charge?”
“Hey! I told you not to call me that. Kakashi, you’d better get that brat under control or he isn’t coming.”
Kakashi gasped. “But Jiraiya-sempai, I am but a poor victim of my student’s crafty ways. I have no sway in his behaviour.”
The old man rolled his eyes. “We’d better get moving. Before I do decide to leave you behind.”
“Actually…” Naruto started.
Jiraiya ignored him and started walking. “We have a long way ahead of us. The longer we wait, the later we’ll arrive at our first destination.”
Naruto got in front of him. “We need to wait for the others to get here.”
“What others?”
“The rest of the team.”
Jiraiya gave Kakashi a look. “I told you I just needed Naruto, nobody else.”
“And I told you that I’d have to take this through the mission desk. And they decided to send the full team.” Kakashi grinned behind his mask.
“It’s supposed to be a stealth mission.”
“We’re going to be drawing attention anyway.” Kakashi shook his head. “Might as well have a cover story.”
“I wanted to have some quality time with Naruto.” Jiraiya said. “See if I can’t get him to loosen up a bit.”
“Another fine reason why we’re not letting you go out on your own. You might be a jounin, but Naruto would kill you within days.”
“Accurate.” Naruto nodded.
Jiraiya sighed. “I’m not paying for all of you.”
“I have a mission budget.” Kakashi said, patting a pouch on his belt. It rattled with coins.
“And how much longer are we supposed to wait?”
Naruto beamed. “I see them coming right now.” He waved over to the others. They were all wearing chuunin jackets, just like Naruto was. They would be heading out of the village for the first time as real ninja, even if the promotion wasn’t official yet. “We’re set to go.”
“Just one more.” Kakashi said.
Naruto took over the others’ backpacks and held them against his body. Hanabi hesitated before holding hers up, clearly frustrated that easing the weight off her would require an interaction with Naruto. She stepped away as soon as she could.
Naruto let himself grow so he looked more like an adult, styling his blond hair like Kakashi’s. “One more, sensei?”
The man motioned to a group that had been waiting nearby. And Naruto’s heart froze for a few seconds. He saw Temari and Kankuro. And they were saying goodbye to Gaara.
Kakashi nudged Naruto’s shoulder. “We can’t release him to Suna yet, and you’re the only one he’s had some decent interactions with.”
~*~
The way out of Konoha had been easy with the additional exit set up. They had their documentation checked and were quickly sent on their way. The trees were good cover from the sun and they enjoyed it shamelessly. They had to move uphill for the first part of the journey and the extra heat would have ruined their stamina.
Naruto’s team had improved, but not by that much.
They arrived at the top of the hill a few hours later and decided to stop for lunch. Sasuke, Sakura and Hanabi had their scrolls with food and they made a small circle to eat. Kakashi and Jiraiya made place for themselves by the side.
Naruto leaned against a tree, looking back at the village. He had seen a lot of the destruction already, but it was another thing to see it all laid out like that. Entire village blocks had been destroyed. Where there had been definition and variety once, now there was just a fuzzy blob of colours, blending together. He could trace the penetration of the walls and the paths of the invading giant snakes.
He had often seen Konoha from the top of the Hokage tower, from which it usually felt like home. Naruto missed that feeling.
“You look sad.” Gaara said.
Naruto turned to look at him. He was standing a few feet away, looking terrified. Naruto had been giving him the cold shoulder from the moment Kakashi had added him to the mission. He had been looking forward to a mission with his team and this changed things. “It’s just hard to see the village like this.”
“It’ll be better once we’ve returned.”
“Once I’ve had time to get used to the destruction?”
Gaara shook his head. “They’ll clean out the rubble in the next few days. The walls will be repaired. They will not be done, but within a few weeks it’ll look better.”
Naruto gave him a look. “You’re used to this?”
“I have seen Suna attacked several times. Raiders in the dessert like to hit the outposts that cannot be walled in. The aftermath never looks right at first, but what was built can be rebuilt.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Naruto forced himself to look away, retrieving a ration bar from his vest.
“I didn’t want to come, you know.” Gaara said. “It was not up to me.”
Naruto nodded. “I figured. I suppose it’ll be that way for you for a while.”
“I was already banned from most missions for my insubordination.” Gaara said. “They’re talking about limiting my time with my siblings now. Without my father protecting us…”
“That sucks.” Naruto looked at the bar in his hand, before breaking it in two and handing half over to Gaara. “But that insubordination is the reason you’re still alive. So it can’t be that bad. I wasn’t expecting you with us on this trip, but if nothing else, it’ll give me a chance to teach you some Ancient Tongue.”
Gaara took the food. “I’d like that.”
“Hey Naruto!” Sakura shouted. “We’re having trouble with a puzzle one of my nephews told me about. Come help us?”
“Sure.” He started towards her, only to halt when Gaara stayed frozen. Naruto rolled his eyes and then took Gaara’s hand and dragged him along.
They were on this mission together.
Notes:
Next update in August: Your First Mistake. Featuring Pottery and Hanabi.
This chapter required more editing than usual. I noticed I was adding a lot of exposition in places that was starting to feel clunky. So gone is the expanded story of Sasuke’s rebel uncle Ongaku who learned to play piano instead of becoming a ninja.
And boy howdy, does the next chapter require more editing (much like the ones after that). The whole of part 3 is meant to look into the characters dealing with what they’ve lost and moving forward. But my first draft was fun romp across Fire Country. And much as I like escapist fantasy, these damn kids have some talking to do. That relationship tag is there for a reason.
See you for the next one!
Edit: want to learn more about Uncle Ongaku? Read more here.
Chapter 19: 3.2 Your first mistake (Clay)
Summary:
It’s time for a road trip! Is Tsunade under this rock? Maybe behind that bush? Hiding in the trees? Time for some large scale hide and seek where Tsunade doesn’t know she’s hiding and we’re not able to tell anyone we’re seeking.
Notes:
Apologies for being late. Fun fact, when you've been very busy and see free time coming up, you're not magically relaxed/recovered enough to immediately work on writing projects again. Who knew?
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It felt weird being outside of the village. Not just because they had been confined to the city since the mission in wave. The roads looked different, often blocked by trees that had been pushed on them, or visibly damaged where explosive tags had been set off.
Team 7 had passed by three small towns that had been plundered. The towns had already received emergency aid from Konoha and had started their own repairs. They offered lodgings to sleep and fresh food and water. When asked if the villages needed any help, they had all pointed them to Nendo instead. The village they were already on their way of seeing.
Their main mission was to find Tsunade, legendary Slug sage and Jiraiya’s former teammate. She had been able to stay under the radar because the Sandaime had frequently implied Konoha knew exactly where she was and that the whole of Konoha would step in to assist her if she ever needed it. Her travelling had been described as an extended quest to better herself. If anyone found out Konoha needed to look for her to find her, that protection would be broken.
Kakashi had explained that they were visiting a number of villages as part of a restoration effort. The only thing peculiar about their mission as far as anyone was concerned was that it had begun before the chuunin paperwork was finished. Gaara’s presence was excused as regaining relations with their former ally, after the malicious deception by Orochimaru.
Team 7 was doing their best. Most of their day was filled with travel and rest. Gaara had trouble fitting in, but he was making the effort. Sakura and Sasuke were being professional, while Hanabi spent most of her time ignoring Naruto.
Nendo was their first real stop.
Situated by a river, Nendo was known as the place merchants could travel through before coming to Konoha. If they had trouble getting the paperwork to get into the hidden village, Nendo was the next best thing; there were dozens of merchants willing to take the goods of a visitor’s hands to take it the last of the way. It was a critical part of the country’s infrastructure.
Which was why the destruction of its bridge was so devastating.
“There used to be a bridge here?” Naruto could see only scorch marks.
Their guide nodded. “It caught fire and we were unable to get to it in time. Suna has completely separated us from the western side of the river.”
“I apologise on behalf of my colleagues.” Gaara said. “In their haste to retreat, they must not have understood the importance of this bridge. Are there no other routes?”
“The river runs deep and there are no natural crossing points. This is the closest place to wade through the river on foot, but no carriage can make the journey like this.”
“So you need help rebuilding.” Sasuke said.
“If only it were that simple. The previous bridge was a gift from Konoha and used sealwork to withstand weights beyond normal means. We have neither seal masters to repeat the trick, nor engineers to design a bridge secure enough to withstand the weight. Our scholars are doing their best at the moment to come up with a design.”
“That’s our next stop then.” Naruto said. “We have some experience with bridges.”
~*~
“That should be the final work order.” Sasuke said, handing it over to Sakura. She went over the list and then put it on the approve pile with a satisfied smile.
“Great, then I can finally leave.” Jiraiya stood up.
“You know we’ll search the village faster if we go together.” Kakashi said.
“There’s no need.” Jiraiya said. “If she’s here, I know exactly where she’s gone.”
“There are many places for a ninja to hide in a village this big.” Sakura said.
Jiraiya shook his head. “This place is special to us. We had our first mission out of the village here when we were genin. We were constantly bickering and Sarutobi-sensei made us spend the night in the same room. We yelled at each other, we started throwing punches and we practically tore the whole building down. Sensei had to use seals to keep us from escaping.”
“That… doesn’t sound like a pleasant memory. Why are you smiling?”
“Because at the end of that night, exhausted, we talked for the first time. We expressed our nindo, our way of the ninja. And we promised each other we’d always be there for each other. If she’s anywhere in Nendo, she’s in that inn.”
“Right.” Naruto said. “Then good luck with that.”
Jiraiya stalked off.
“I booked us a room there.” Kakashi said. “Though I promise not to lock you all in together.”
“Shouldn’t we at least take a look around the village?” Hanabi asked. “I know he’s supposed to be the Tsunade expert, but seems a waste to not even check.”
“We shouldn’t appear to be looking for anyone.” Kakashi said, calling the guide over. “But there’s no shame in keeping an eye out.” He handed the paperwork over. “How quickly can you get these orders done?”
“I’ll have to make the arrangements.” The man said. “You finalised these designs quickly.”
“I wish I could take the credit, but it’s Naruto here who was most able to help.”
“That’s the advantage of having no talent to worry about.” Naruto said. “I don’t have to be so careful what skills I pick up.”
“Well, I should have the first materials ready tomorrow morning.”
“We’ve heard you have a good shopping district here.” Sakura said. “We’ll keep ourselves busy.”
“Is that in the budget?” Naruto asked.
“We just got our chunin salaries.” Sakura reminded him. “Part of helping these villages is supporting their local economies.”
“I’d prefer to speak to the town’s mayor.” Sasuke said.
“He’s not taking any visitors at the moment. But if you’re going to the shopping district, I can arrange a tour of the Haniwa shop and introduce you to the family head.”
Hanabi gasped. “The Haniwa shop? That would be fantastic.”
Sakura smiled. “You’re a fan?”
“My family refuses to purchase anything other than Haniwa ceramics. I was hoping to visit their shop, but I didn’t think we’d get to actually meet any of the masters.”
“They’ll be happy to have you.” The man scrawled a quick note and then sent a messenger ahead of them. “They’ll need some time to prepare, of course. I suggest in the meantime that you browse our other establishments.”
~*~
“I didn’t know this place had a seal shop.” Naruto said.
“It won’t carry anything dangerous, but it’ll be nice to check it out.” Sakura said. “You coming?”
“I’ll skip.” Naruto shrugged. “There was a botanical shop around the corner.”
“Have fun.”
Naruto was surprised to see Sasuke following him. “Plants?”
“Got nothing better to do.” Sasuke said. “And I wanted to talk to you.”
“What about?”
“I mentioned some of your ideas to uncle Fu and aunt Jinko before we left Konoha and they said they had merit.”
“High praise from them as always.”
Sasuke rolled his eyes. “They’re going to scout for ninja with a decent amount of talent and with a skillset outside of the norm. And yes, possibly a man.”
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed for that one! Just imagine the scandal among all those Uchiha fangirls.”
“They’ll get over it.” Sasuke said. “They would have been troubled by my marriage no matter whom I picked. But it’s not their behaviour that’s troubling me. When Fu and Jinko figured there was a solution to the spousal problem in sight, they started talking about the wedding.”
“If you’re going to be married, there is supposed to be a wedding, yes.”
“There hasn’t been a wedding in the Uchiha compound since the massacre, when my niece married a merchant and there was a small ceremony. She wasn’t a strong clan member, but she was Uchiha nonetheless and that meant following the proper rituals even for her. Weddings are a big deal. Uncle Fu can help set up the ceremony, but they’ll need to be adapted for me since normally the clan leader officiates the wedding.”
“Which wouldn’t have been a problem if Garudo-san had gotten married instead and you could have been his officiant.”
“And then I could have found some solution for when it was my turn. But not for the first wedding in so many years. Eyes will be on the Uchiha and any breach in tradition will be scrutinised. It doesn’t help that this wasn’t what I imagined for my wedding.”
“How so?”
Sasuke sighed. “I wanted my father to be there.”
“I’m sorry. That must suck.”
“My wedding would have been the moment that I became a full member of the Uchiha family, and where my father as leader of the clan would officially give me my duties. Not clan heir, because I wasn’t the eldest, but another important position where I could take some of the burdens of the clan off his shoulders. Like my father was granted responsibility by his father, and his father from his father. So yeah. It sucks.”
“I don’t suppose somewhere in the Uchiha traditions there’s a clause for a situation like this one.”
“No. There’s not. But it would feel weird having any of my family members officiating. I’m supposed to take care of them. It sends the wrong message if they’re standing over me and declaring me married after making me promise to obey the Uchiha vows.”
Naruto could imagine that. The Uchiha were a stiff and formal bunch and he could see how Sasuke’s family would be too busy worshipping him to bind him to anything. “You think it would’ve been better if you had gotten married second?”
“Uncle Garu would have been an adult Uchiha by marriage. His wife would be a clan member with talent, even if not allied to the crows, making him clan by marriage. A clan member wielding the sharingan would have been the next best thing to a clan leader.”
“I thought Garudo was already part of your clan.”
“No.” Sasuke shook his head. “Itachi killed anyone with talent or a Sharingan. The only reason Uncle Garu was spared, was that he developed our bloodline after the massacre.”
Naruto turned it over in his head. “You could always ask Kakashi. He has a sharingan too.”
“I… hadn’t considered that.”
“I know if I were ever to get married, I’d love for him to officiate. He might be late for the ceremony, but he’s our sensei. That means something.”
Sasuke made a face. “You’re thinking about your own marriage for fun? Without anyone telling you to do so? Why?”
“I don’t let myself think about it that much.” Naruto shrugged. “In the Academy it quickly became clear that nobody with any talent would consider me a potential partner. Not unless I could prove myself first. So I ignored any feelings I had for my classmates and focussed on my training.”
“You liked people in our class that way?”
“We all spent a lot of time together.” Naruto smiled. “Of course I developed a crush or two.” Like that time Sakura and Sasuke were getting tested on their taijutsu and they managed to nail the most difficult Academy technique flawlessly, months before anyone else even got close. The whole class had observed with slack jaws and Naruto was no exception. “But I got over it.”
“I remember you telling me you want to have a family and kids after you become Hokage.”
“I don’t have anyone in particular in mind. But you know… Jiji always had the kindest smile on his face when he talked about his children and grandchildren.”
Sasuke nodded. “I understand.”
The plants in the shop were interesting, but none caught Naruto’s eye so badly that he would be willing to carry them with him across the Fire Nation. There were some lilies that he might want to come back for on his way back.
There was one big ugly red monstrosity of a carnivorous plant and Naruto just had to show Sasuke. “Doesn’t this remind you exactly of Ero-sennin?”
Sasuke tried to hide his laugh. “A little?”
“Striking image.” Naruto laughed, before pulling Sasuke out of the shop. It was about time they headed on to their next destination.
“Why do you call him that anyway?”
“What, besides him violating women’s privacy in bathhouses, insisting I need some sex which will then turn me into a misogynist, and his extensive arguments why the age of consent should be lowered?”
“Wait, what?”
“The main thing is that it annoys him when I pick on him and I’m hoping if I say it often enough that it’ll catch on.”
“I think you’re being unfair to him.”
“If you think I’m being too tough, you may need your own refresher of respect-women juice.”
“No, I just mean, Jiraiya-sama had it rough. He lost his clan in the war. His team was the first family he got. They were his reason for getting out of bed in the morning. When they left, it broke him.”
“If he was anything like this before they decided to leave, I understand why they would’ve wanted to get away from him.”
“I think he was in love with his teammate.”
Naruto made a face. “Tsunade? I’m pretty sure that was just an infatuation.”
“Perhaps. But it’s hard when you like someone like that on your team and you know it cannot work. The feelings won’t go away and friendship isn’t enough. But if you say anything about it and the other person doesn’t like you back, your team can break apart. Even if they do like you, the team can break apart if it doesn’t work out.”
“That’s a pessimistic view to take on things.”
“There are dozens of examples of exactly that happening in the Konoha ninja relationship protocols. I’m not making this up.”
Naruto shrugged. “Jiraiya should have said something when he still had the chance. Then maybe his teammates wouldn’t have left.”
Sasuke halted. “Naruto, I…”
“Hey, I see someone waving at us. I think we’re at the Haniwa place.” Naruto pointed towards the buildings. “See how the buildings are intact.”
“Right.” Sasuke followed Naruto’s gesture. “I’m also seeing the bodyguards stationed along the cluster of buildings. Not quite ninja, but trained with chakra.”
“They wouldn’t have been much challenge against Suna ninja. I wonder why Suna avoided them.”
Naruto and Sasuke made their way to a gate. It was securely set it up with a big horse on a banner flying above the entrance. “So happy you could make it. Though I was expecting more of you.”
“The others are on their way.”
“I’ll keep an eye on them. For now I’d suggest you step inside and take a look at our wares.”
Naruto nodded and stepped inside the large building. It was like a warehouse with partitions set up to differentiate between the different sections. They had vases in different sizes, all painted in meticulous detail. Some modest ones just had a single animal and a single phrase. The ones most prominently on display featured dozens of people and long texts. Each one was made of fine porcelain that looked so expensive Naruto was worried he would be paying off the dept the rest of his life if he broke even a single piece.
Another section featured plates and bowls for eating. They were arranged by colour and series. Another section had entire tea sets. Naruto had only seen such a set one time in a demonstration in the Academy. Back then it had been a second-hand set someone had donated to the Academy. Glancing at the prices, he was starting to doubt the authenticity of the Academy’s set.
The rest of the team arrived soon after and they looked at the displays together.
“This looks amazing.” Sasuke said. He was carefully eyeing a tea set with flames painted around the edges. It took a second for Naruto to realise they were not actually on fire and the brightness was just an illusion.
“One of my finest creations.” The man they had met earlier said. He had brought Sakura and Hanabi with him.
“How long did it take you to create them?”
“A few weeks for each piece. I do not settle on anything less than perfection for my wares.”
“Your reputation is well earned.”
Sakura let out a happy thrill as she found a similar tea set decorated in peach blossoms. “The flowers are so lifelike.”
“Much observation goes into my art. Are you interested in purchasing?”
“Definitely. Can I try them out?”
“Naturally.”
“This is a bit out of my price range.” Naruto said. “Do you have any individual cups?”
The man did not even look at him as he pointed Naruto in a direction.
He had to go all the way to the back before he found it. Individual pieces that were pretty, but not as accomplished as anything he had seen thus far. The price reflected that and that was good enough for him.
There was a boy sweeping the floor by a collection of teacups. Naruto was drawn to one with a small fox on it. It was not his style, but it looked serviceable for what he wanted. “Do you know if this one is for sale?”
“It is. That’s one of Maki’s. He’s one of the older apprentices and he’s got a great eye for detail. Do you like how it looks?”
“Very much.”
“It was designed by Grandmaster Mido after years of trail and error. The prototype is one of our most precious family treasures. What are you planning on using it for?”
“My teacup got destroyed in the attack on Konoha. I thought I could find a replacement.”
“Just a single cup?”
“The one that got destroyed… it was a gift from someone precious. I don’t normally buy things from a shop like this, but I figured it could be special like the old one was.”
“I see. I would suggest a different cup then. This one has been glazed too thinly to withhold hot beverages.”
“Oh… I didn’t know that was something to look out for.”
“It’s easy to overlook. But if it gets regular use, it will start decaying after a few months. You’ll want something better suitable for hot water like…” His eyes scanned the wall. “This one from Mitsuo with a design from Grandmaster Maya.”
It was a cup that looked exactly the same in Naruto’s eyes. Except it showed a frog instead of a fox. “That’s not quite my style. But I suppose it will do.”
The boy grimaced. “I don’t want to speak out of place, but I don’t think you should make your choice so easily.” He put the cup back on the wall. “Great care has been put in the creation of each one of these pieces. In each one you can find the personality of the Grandmaster’s design, and the unique embellishments from the students. If it’s only one piece you’re going to be buying, to replace something precious, I believe you should have something that speaks to you.”
“I’ve never had ceramics speak to me.”
“I’m sure we can find something. Just take your time and try to find something that sparks something inside of you.”
Naruto took another look at the wall. Whatever the boy was seeing, Naruto had a different experience. “Which ones are yours?”
The boy deflated. “I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I work here, but I’m not allowed to make anything.”
“Why…”
“Hagi! Why aren’t you sweeping?!” The man from before walked up in a panic.
“I was just helping…”
“You were bothering a customer?!”
Naruto waved his hands. “It’s quite alright.”
The man swatted Hagi over the head. “Go to the back and clean up!”
“Yes sir.”
Naruto’s face firmed. “Really, he was helping me.”
“Like that boy knows porcelain from clay. I’m quite happy to help you make a selection, but the tour is about to start.”
“Right…” Naruto put back the cup he was looking at and followed the man. The rest of his team joined him as they exited the warehouse through the side.
“Our family has been artisans before written record. We became blessed by the spirits twenty-one generations ago.”
“You’re a clan?” Naruto asked.
“Nothing as sophisticated as you ninja are used to. But it is our clan blood that has made us the very best at what we do.” The man walked into another warehouse. “All our clay is locally harvested and then brough to this building for storage.” He pointed out the different jars and how they differentiated the different kinds of clays they used in their creations.
Nearby, a few teenagers were taking clay from one jar to another.
The man caught Naruto looking at them. “We work only with the best product and we ensure that by meticulously working with the clay until all impurities are removed.”
“And how long does that take?”
“It’s a process that takes months. Most of the clay you see around you is in some stage of the process. The preparations are done by our students and our experienced artisans have to approve a jar each step along the way.”
They moved on to the next building. It contained four workstations, each featuring a young man at work. “My own work is done beyond those doors in isolation, next to the other Grandmasters who have been allowed to make designs. This however is where the students form the clay. Mitsuo, why don’t you show our guests what you are working on?”
The boy nodded, showing a reference picture of a large vase. “It is key to keep the thickness of the clay even throughout the entire height and circumference.”
The shape he was working on looked nearly identical to the picture. He had to be a decent way there already. The boy moved to work on it more, but then hesitated.
“What’s the problem?”
“I have run out of talent, Grandmaster Miyo.”
“A pity. Next time you’ll have to be faster.” He signalled one of the teachers over who took over for the final steps.
“I don’t understand. Why can’t he finish it himself?”
“It will be of lower quality than if one of us does it.”
Naruto wanted to object. The boy was supposed to learn by doing, but Naruto supposed that was not true if Mitsuo had talent.
The man sighed. “You were experimenting again, weren’t you?”
Mitsuo diverted his gaze. “I didn’t understand why the instructions told me to do it as written down.”
“You shouldn’t waste your time on such fruitless pursuits, lest of all your talent.”
He nodded. “I’ll clean myself up.”
They continued on to the furnaces. They had to keep their distance to manage the heat. And then they went to examine finished products. Another batch of teenagers was painting, though they did not seem very happy about it. When the man walked in, they sat a little straighter and pretended they were focussed fully on their work.
“Our students take shifts so they learn all parts of creation equally. This is our intermediate group. They are halfway through their training.”
“They’re quite skilled.” Sakura said. “How far away are they from making marketable products?”
The man went by one of the students and picked up a cup. He inspected it thoroughly before taking the back of a paint brush and tapping it harshly against the fragile bottom ridge. A small chip fell off, damaging the cup. “The calligraphy is unsteady.”
The boy grit his teeth. “I’ll do better next time.”
Naruto had to swallow. “You broke it.”
“This family is not difficult to please. We happily settle for perfection. It is how we have managed to build a name for ourselves.” He turned to Sakura. “These clan members have been creating ceramics since they were toddlers and it is a matter of just a few months before we will allow them to sell their first pieces, contingent on their current progression continuing at its current pace.”
“It is with your perfectionism that you have made yourself invaluable to this town.” Sasuke said. “It’s not just any merchant family that can negotiate tariffs as low as you have been able to.”
The man smiled. “Not quite as low as I’d like with Konoha.”
Naruto tuned them out as they made their political empty talk. He went over to the cup that had been chipped and turned to the boy that had created it. “Sorry about that.”
He shrugged. “It’s just a cup.”
“Yeah, but you spent so much time on it.”
“Whatever. I’m just working on getting my painting skills approved so I can finally move into my own room.”
Naruto looked at him confused.
“Us students all have to share communal rooms. I’m stuck with my younger brother and two nephews and they keep borrowing my stuff. When my shit gets good enough to sell, I can finally get a room of my own. It’ll be nice to finally get that old coot off my back with his constant nagging, but mostly I just want some privacy.”
“It sounds like you don’t want to train to become a potter.”
“Doesn’t matter what I want. Not like I can just leave. My family’s here.”
“It’s just, I was talking to someone earlier that seemed more enthusiastic. Hagi?”
The boy snorted. “Yeah, it’s a real irony that the one person who can’t become a potter wants it the most.”
“He mentioned something similar. Why can’t he work with clay?”
“He was cursed by the horse spirit. He doesn’t have any talent.”
Naruto made a fist and raised his voice. “And why would that matter?”
The boy got silent, looking over Naruto’s shoulder.
Naruto turned around and saw the old man standing there, looking down on him. “I would request you do not ask so disrespectfully about internal clan affairs.”
“I just want to know why he’s being treated differently from the others.”
“It should be clear why. He has no talent. He may become good with great effort, but he will never become great.”
Naruto snarled. “You mind repeating that?”
Sasuke coughed. “Sir, I should inform you that my teammate has kept up with our own progress despite being clanless himself.”
“I see.” He sighed. “Sakura-san, you seem to have a head for business. Can you explain to your friend?”
“I’m afraid this isn’t quite my specialty.”
“Fine then.” The man said. “The boy you were just talking to has been learning my craft for twelve years. With a talent score of 4, he takes just an hour’s attention of my day and fills the rest of his day with chores.”
“That’s just a difference of three hours. Hagi could make that up in his own time.”
“If he could manage it on top of the chores I require of all my students, which is doubtful.”
“Did you give him the choice?”
“I did not have to. During the past twelve years, the boy in front of me has cost me my time and my resources. I’ve shown you how good the clay is we work with. Letting someone practice with it is not cheap. What you’d be asking me to do, training a talentless boy, is investing four times the time and material. It already takes my students ten years to pay off their debts. Would you consign someone to forty years of labour?”
“No, but…”
“Forty years is a long time. And it is a risk this family cannot afford to take. I would kindly ask you to ask no more questions of these matters which have already been decided. That boy will never be a potter and there is nothing that will change that.”
Naruto glared at him. “I’m headed back to the inn. I’ll see you guys later.”
“Naruto, the tour isn’t finished yet.” Sakura said.
“You go on without me then.” Naruto stepped out of the workplace into the fresh air. He really needed some space to breathe. The problem with taking a moment to collect himself, was that he could still hear what was going on inside.
“I’m sorry for my friend. He’s unreasonable when it comes to his biggest flaw.” Hanabi said.
Naruto moved away. He did not think there was anything unreasonable about equality.
~*~
The inn was accommodating. With the bridge destroyed, they had less traffic than usual and they were more than happy to host Konoha ninja that were there to help them get back on their feet.
Unfortunately, that excluded a Suna ninja.
Naruto found Gaara in the shed where an emergency bed had been set up.
“I can talk to the owners. Get them to give you an actual room.”
“No. This is fine.” Gaara said. “I don’t want to upset them.”
“Well, then we can just sneak you into our room and you can sleep with us. Nobody has to know.”
“I don’t think Sasuke would approve.”
Naruto winced. “Did something happen? Are the two of you not getting along?”
“That’s not…” Gaara shook his head. “The two of us are fine.”
“Good.” Naruto sighed in relief.
“We’ve been talking. He understands why I had to follow my dad’s orders, though he’s glad I chose not to in the end. I think he wanted to make sure that I didn’t do anything bad while we’re on the trip. That I’d hurt you… or one of the others.”
“Sounds like him, yeah. Always paranoid.”
“He might not distrust me, but I doubt he’ll be comfortable sharing a room with me. And I’m fine here. I’ve had worse.”
“That’s good to hear, but also frustrating. There are too many people accepting unfair things around me. It would help if you were more distraught, so that I’d have an excuse to shout at someone until they changed for the better.”
“Oh.” Gaara said. “Do I need to demand I get designated a Suna diplomat and threaten to go on hunger strike until I am afforded all the amenities that implies?”
Naruto laughed. The boy actually looked serious. “No, but thanks for offering. How are you holding up without your siblings?”
“It’s hard.” Gaara admitted. “But it’s also good. Ever since I’ve been little, the three of us have been working together to shield me from my dad. It’s different now that he’s gone.”
“It must be somewhat of a relief.”
Gaara shrugged. “I don’t know. At least he was the familiar threat. We don’t know what’s waiting for us when we get back to Suna. And… despite everything, I did love him. Is it weird that I miss him?”
“From what you’ve told me about him, yes.”
“He wasn’t always like that. Before I became a Jinchuriki, he was a very loving father. I remember having nightmares and waking up in his arms. And I remember being sick and father demanding the village’s best healers see me right away. I could still see that love sometimes, when Temari or Kankuro got hurt. He did care for his children, in his own way.”
“You were his child too.”
“But he was also the kage, needing to be capable of sending me to my death. It was probably easier for him not to think of me as his son anymore. I don’t blame him for that.”
“You don’t? Because I totally would.”
Gaara shrugged.
“Well, I’m not good at untangling all of that, but I might be able to help with the loneliness a little bit. Do you want to try talking to Shukaku?”
“No, but I probably should.” He put away the book he had been reading on chakra shaping. “Best to bite the bullet.”
“Don’t worry. There’s only a small chance you’ll actually be able to meet with him. And an even smaller chance he won’t just immediately throw you out with such much venomous hate that you’ll throw up.”
Gaara glared. “What a relief.”
~*~
The whole team sat together at a large table for dinner. The village had gone all out, with many people offering food and services at the inn to accommodate the ninja helping them to the maximum of their capabilities.
There was something nice about the long table with the whole team collected around it. It had been a long day and it was nice to calmly sit down.
Jiraiya was the last to sit down. By the look on his face, he had no luck finding Tsunade. And had already started drowning the disappointment with Sake. “We should move on soon.”
“The bridge will take two weeks to finish.” Kakashi said. “According to the latest plans.”
“A full two weeks? Does it have to be sculpted out of marble?”
“We’re in no rush. And we’re here to help people.”
Jiraiya gruffed, but perked up a little when he had a few bites of the fresh bread.
“I like the tea cup.” Gaara said, picking it up.
“Oh yeah. That’s Haniwa craftsmanship.” Sakura said. “Looks nice, right?”
Naruto rolled his eyes. “They’re overrated.”
“The cups are perfectly fine.” Hanabi said with a glare. “Quiet down before someone actually hears you.”
“Who cares? I don’t mind people listening in on my justified takes.”
“That’s the whole problem.” Hanabi said.
“Guys.” Sakura sternly looked at her two teammates in turn. “Calm down. Eat your dinner.”
Naruto grit his teeth, swallowing the reply he had wanted to give.
Gaara was left blinking in confusion. “Did I do something wrong?”
“It’s complicated.” Sasuke told him. “Best to avoid the topic.”
Gaara looked to Naruto for guidance.
“Yeah, it’s for the best.”
They all took a bite of their food, saying nothing.
Until Hanabi said one more thing just under her breath. “Good to see you’re capable of it.”
“Gee, I’m capable. What a surprise.” Naruto said. “At least it’s no surprise you’re able to abandon someone in need.”
“It’s called having respect for a clan’s autonomy.”
“Is that how you defend your apathy?”
“Guys…” Sakura tried again, but this time it was to no avail. She turned to Kakashi, who shrugged and pulled out a book.
“Your problem, Naruto, is that you put your nose into others’ business, barely knowing what is going on before casting judgement!”
“I don’t like seeing others get hurt! Is that such a bad thing?”
“Stop that holier-than-thou attitude! Do you actually care about helping people? Or are you just desperate to feel like a hero?”
“It’s better than being desperate to sacrifice everything you are for a clan that doesn’t care about you!”
Hanabi looked struck. She tightened her fist. “I would do anything for my clan, and I’m tired of you pretending that’s a bad thing. Why are you even on this mission, Naruto? Everyone here had their lives uprooted by the attack, but you’re fine!”
Naruto shook his head. “Jiji…”
“We all lost our Hokage.” Hanabi said. “When’s the last time you even spoke to him?”
“Hanabi, that’s enough.” Sasuke said.
“No, he needs to hear this. I’m sorry for your loss, but you have no idea what any of us are dealing with.”
Naruto grabbed his plate and ate the rest in his room.
~*~
Naruto studied. When Sasuke joined him, he looked like a scared deer.
“I’m not going to bite.”
“Are you sure?” Sasuke asked. “Because I think Hanabi is still licking her wounds.”
“I know I pushed things too far during the Chuunin Exams.” Naruto said. “I can’t take that back. I don’t think things can be fixed between us at this point.”
“She’s still your friend.”
“We’re teammates. I’d give my life protecting her. But that doesn’t mean I have to like her.”
“You’re a very confusing guy sometimes.” Sasuke shook his head. “Are you alright? Is there anything I can do to help?”
Naruto sighed. “It’s not fun. But I’ll manage. If you really want to help, come explain this chakra theory to me.”
Sasuke looked over Naruto’s shoulder. “I can do that.”
~*~
Naruto stared at the wall. No matter how much he tried, sleep did not seem to want to find him.
“Are you still upset about Hanabi?”
“No.” Naruto said. He did not like what had happened, but there was an easy solution. They could have their dinners in split groups and the incident shouldn’t repeat itself. If only all his problems were that easy.
“What else is wrong?” Sasuke asked.
Naruto turned around. Sasuke was lying in his own bed and was looking at him. “Why would something be wrong?”
“You’re breathing like you’re worried about something.”
Naruto shrugged. “Don’t really feel like talking about it.”
“Well, it’s keeping me up.”
“My breathing is keeping you up?”
“Your worried breathing is keeping me up.”
Naruto sighed. “I just don’t like how they’re treating someone from their own family, just because of his lack of talent.”
“It’s not good, but often people have to do what their families want, what their clans want, even if they have other desires themselves.”
“He just wants to do what everyone else is doing, and they won’t even give him a chance.”
“It’s not that simple. They have a family to support and they can’t take on the risk of a student who’ll cost that much material to train.”
“He could practice with lower quality clay.”
“Would that work?” Sasuke asked. “I’m sure they’re teaching them like this for a reason. Why does it bother you so much anyway? You hardly talked to the boy.”
“Because I know what it’s like to want to do something and have everyone turn against you.”
“But it was different for you.” Sasuke said. “You had it a lot easier.”
“Excuse me?”
“Didn’t you?”
Naruto sighed. “I’m going to take a walk.” He stood up and grabbed his jacket. “I’ll let you sleep without my annoying breathing keeping you up.”
“That’s not what I said.”
Naruto hopped out of the window and landed gently on the ground. He would deal with Sasuke in the morning, when he was less tired and could communicate his thoughts without the overwhelming urge to rip the Uchiha’s head off.
He started walking. Then he went a little faster and that felt better. And then he was running.
He had missed this. With the rebuilding efforts, he had been compelled to skip his daily runs in favour of more productive work. He sped up even more and felt his heart beating faster. The roads were cleared this time of night.
The dark village was unlike Konoha with its many lights illuminating the street. Here, all the light to guide him came from the moon and stars, much more visible without all of Konoha’s light pollution getting in the way.
He was not sure where he was going, just that he wanted to be somewhere else than where he currently was.
When he entered the forests surrounding the village, he called up the fox to run with him. It hardly let its presence be known, content to settle in the back of his mind and observe. These forests were too calm for him, but it was nature nonetheless. And a lot better than staring at the prison’s walls for another night.
“Do you ever get tired?” Naruto asked. “Of the world being so unfair?”
“That would be admitting defeat. I let it become anger instead.”
Kurama had raged against the humans, trying to destroy everything that he considered evil. And then Kurama had been sealed inside of a human to have his anger thrash against his prison bars. Naruto was trapped by human laws and customs, which when broken would only get him locked away. “Sometimes I wish I could solve my problems just by getting angry.”
“Your weakness is that you don’t.”
Naruto could go to the warehouse. He could smash every piece of ceramics that the ‘master’ had ever created and part of him would feel good. If he destroyed enough, they would have to relax their standards and even Hagi would be allowed to help. “My strength is that I look beyond the instincts and desires, to see what comes next.”
Because the destruction would feel good to Naruto, but the chance it would actually help Hagi was minimal. And it wasn’t something Hagi would ever want. Not with the love he had shown for the cups made my students that he envied.
Naruto wanted to solve problems. He wanted to become Hokage one day, and nobody could achieve that by angering nearby villages, or acting on instincts along.
“That is the problem with you humans. Nobody knows the future. How often will you let the world take a bite out of you, rationalising that it’s the lesser of two evils? How much of you will be left in that future you are saving yourself for?”
“You don’t understand.”
“I do. But your ability to listen is just as lacking as your ability to keep your word.”
So it came back to that. To Naruto’s deception at the end of the Chuunin Exams that had saved the village. And Naruto. And Gaara. And all his friends. “I won’t apologise for wanting to stay alive. Nor for lying against an enemy. It’s not Shukaku’s trust I’m trying to earn.”
The fox snarled, before breaking the connection. He had apparently seen enough nature for the night.
Naruto should probably catch up on some of his other training while he was out there anyway. He was supposed to work on bringing up his wind chakra and he had fallen behind. His mood instantly soured at the prospect of ruining his run with work. He had earned a few minutes where he could just feel happy about himself.
When Naruto finally slowed down for a break, he estimated he had been running for over an hour. He had been sure to circle around often so he would stay close to the village. The river guided him in that, since he knew if he followed it, it would inevitably lead him back.
He went to his knees to wash his face in the stream. The cold water helped him cool down his face and wash some of the gathered sweat away.
It was peaceful out there on his own. Just the sound of water flowing by, a few insects chirping in the distance. He had attracted some birds as well with his run. They were content to watch from a distance.
There was something odd though. Just a little further down the river, there was a trail of smoke rising up into the air. Naruto gathered some water for his flask and then went to investigate.
There was a divot next to the river and there was some kind of furnace set up. Naruto would have assumed it belonged to the Haniwa family, but they would not deign to have something so improvised attached to their name. And they had no need for furnaces so far away from their main clan grounds.
It was hard to hear anything over the clattering of burning wood in the furnace, but when Naruto listened carefully he was able to discern some sounds coming from nearby. It sounded like a clay table being turned.
He followed it to find Hagi in a nearby cave. With hardly any light to see, he was working his hands over the clay and guiding it into its proper shape.
Naruto moved closer to see better, but he was not as quiet as he had hoped. His exhausted muscled had betrayed him.
Hagi jumped up and away from the table. “Who’s there?”
“I just saw the smoke and followed it.” Naruto said. “We talked this afternoon. I’m one of the ninja visiting the village.”
Hagi let out the breath he had been holding.
“What are you doing here?” Naruto asked. “I thought you said you couldn’t work with the clay.”
“I’m not supposed to. My family won’t let me. You’re not going to tell anyone about this, are you?”
“Absolutely not. Your secret’s safe with me. Did you build all this yourself?”
Hagi nodded. “They wouldn’t let me work on the camp grounds, so I had to make my own workshop. The furnace was harder to make, because it has precise specifications, but I found the instructions in our clan library and built it.”
“That’s incredible.”
“I’m nowhere near where I need to be.” He motioned towards the workstation. There was a clay cup, looking perfectly shaped. “I’m nowhere near the standards the master expects of us.”
Naruto stepped closer to take a look. He could see it if he really focussed. The cup was millimetres away from being a perfect circle. “Why are you working on this so late at night?”
“I can’t risk anyone from the village seeing the smoke. If my family finds out, they’ll destroy this place.”
“Isn’t that a bit extreme?”
“They’ve done it before.” Hagi said. “When I was six years old, I tried to make my own cup. I couldn’t get any quality clay, so I saved up my allowance to buy some of the unprocessed stuff. I did my best and tried to make something. Even though I couldn’t get permission to work in the official workshop, I got permission to use a workspace in one of the family homes that wasn’t being used. I was allowed to pick out some tools that were going to be thrown out. I even found an old broken furnace that I could fix and use. I failed many times to make something good, but with the last of my clay I was able to make something in the right rough shape. It was lacking in all manners, but I had proven I was able to work the clay and learn. I brought it to Grandmaster Miyo and he proceeded to point out every single flaw.”
“That must have been rough.”
“He gave me the honour of chipping it, like he would any student bringing him something to critique. And then he said he’d teach me if I was able to bring one that he could sell. I went to try again, only to find the tools I had gathered destroyed, my workplace repurposed and my furnace demolished.”
“Miyo did that?”
“Him, or one of the older students. I can’t imagine they considered me much of a threat, but they wanted me to stop nonetheless.”
“That’s horrible.”
“I learned to live with it. Every day I get to see my nephews make beautiful creations. They get to make these beautiful things and all I want is to join them. To maybe, some day, earn a place at a grandmaster’s workshop and take on my own full projects. But after my first cup failed, nobody would give me the tools they wanted to throw out so I had to sneak into the garbage to fish them out. I made my own workbench and created my own furnace out here. There’s a deposit of clay nearby that I’ve learned to harvest. Grandmaster Miyo must think I have forgotten his offer, but I have not. Every night I work to get closer to that goal.”
“It’s not fair that he’s making you go through so much more effort than the other kids.”
“I was not blessed by the horse.” Hagi said. “I cannot ask of them to take on the extra cost of teaching me. I value my clan too much for that. But I have worked every day of my life to make sure I can learn without being a burden to them. It has taken me years to get where I am today.”
“Can you show me how far you’ve gotten?”
Hagi nodded. “I’d be happy to. There are a few cooling right now.”
Naruto followed him out of the cave and back to the furnace. It was easy to miss in the dark of night, but there were small cups drying on the ground a short distance away. Hagi lit a torch and brought it to the cups. He cursed.
The shape was fine. Maybe not up to the master’s specification’s yet, but it looked better than what Naruto had seen the students make that afternoon. He had been told thickness was important and that was perfectly even. He could see what bothered the boy though. There were cracks forming all over the cup. Nothing to make it shatter, but enough that it would be tarnished in the eyes of the master potter.
“Again.” Hagi said. He picked up the cup and with a practiced motion brought it down on the stone ground just fast enough to make it chip at the bottom. “I really thought I had it down this time.”
“What happened?”
“The mixture isn’t right. I’ve tried all kinds of different combinations, but it isn’t working.” Hagi pulled out a notebook and went to the last page. With a pen he scratched out a possibility on the list. And then he tossed the book aside. “I can’t keep doing this.”
“You can’t let that man make you quit.”
“It’s not just him. I’ve been having doubts for a while. I’m coming to the age where it’s impossible to be apprenticed as a potter. My family’s talking about sending me away to one of the other artisan families. A family that works their craft without talent. They’d be used to teaching people like me.”
“How much time do you have?”
“I was supposed to go already, but the bridge broke down. I’ll be sent away once it’s repaired.”
Naruto picked up the notebook from the ground. He flipped through the pages. Many, many combinations had failed. And at each state Hagi had taken the time to note down a few key words on how they had broken and his thoughts on why. It was not that he had not been successful, just that after each solution came its own problem. It was not hopeless. And that was all Naruto needed to know.
He was not in the mood to sleep anyway.
“Then we still have a few days to save your dream.”
“We?”
“I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but I have two working hands and no talent I need to save for specific ninja lessons. I’ll learn what I need to help you.”
Hagi shook his head. “Why would you want to help me?”
“Because I’m a ninja. Helping is what we do.”
Hagi smiled. “There’s no guarantee it’ll work. I’m running out of pages in my notebook.”
“That’s fine. You can always get another notebook.”
Naruto would not have predicted his night going like this. He thought he would toss and turn and then sleep. Instead, Hagi was telling him how to extract clay from the ground. He was showing him the batches of clay he had prepared and the different things he was trying. Just by describing it, he was coming up with new ideas and figuring out new things to try. He had only seen creativity used like that on the ninja arts and it was fascinating to see an artisan working in his element.
It was too much to do in a single night, but they had a little more time. And it was the best Naruto had felt in days.
~*~
Naruto worked on the bridge, while he thought about Hagi’s cups and how to help. He wolfed down dinner and stole a quick nap before sneaking off.
“Where are you going?”
Naruto almost yelled, but his stoic ninja training kicked in right in time. “I’m just going to do some running.”
Gaara raised an eyebrow. He stepped out of the shadows from behind the shed. “This late at night?”
“I’m restless.”
“No.” Sasuke came out of the other corner, almost giving Naruto a heart-attack. “You’re tired. You stayed out all night yesterday and you’re planning on doing the same thing again.”
Naruto let out a frustrated grunt. “Look, it’s nothing nefarious. I’m just going out to help a friend.”
The two shared a look. “Hagi.”
“Yes, Hagi. Now do you mind? I need to get going.”
“You’re going to put the mission in jeopardy.” Sasuke said. “You’re the only one who can help with the bridge, which you won’t be able to do if you stay up all night.”
“Sasuke. Don’t.” Naruto sighed. “I already know you don’t approve. I’m doing this anyway.”
“You’re an idiot.” Sasuke said. “Just because I don’t agree with you, doesn’t mean I won’t support you. Let’s go.”
Naruto had to blink. “What?”
“Whatever you’re doing, it’ll be easier to do with two more sets of hands.”
Gaara nodded. “Lead the way.”
Naruto was speechless all the way to Hagi’s improvised workshop.
~*~
With the four of them working together, everything went much more smoothly. Sasuke could learn nothing of the craft, but he could memorise instructions and do the heavy lifting. Gaara and Naruto helped with anything that required a small amount of training, like correctly placing the cups into the oven.
And it left Hagi to form the clay into perfect cups. Each clay recipe variation was off, but with each attempt they got a little closer. He was one step closer to understanding where the cracks were coming from, and how to eliminate them.
And together, it didn’t feel impossible.
~*~
Naruto suppressed a yawn as he made corrections on one of the blueprints for the bridge. His head felt foggy on the limited amount of sleep he was getting, but it was better than it had been. Even if it was frustrating that it was taking longer than it should be.
“The first batch of lumber has been treated.” One of the workers said. “We need you to inspect it.”
“I thought Hanabi was in charge of that.”
“She said to go to you.”
Naruto took a steadying breath. He finished the final correction and handed the blueprint off, before moving to Hanabi’s section. She was peeling the bark off a log, lost in thought. “Is there something wrong with the work you were assigned?”
She startled. “Wh-what?”
“Wood production is your area.”
She blinked. “It would take me an hour to figure out what to look for. You could do that in minutes.”
“And they’re minutes I’m not doing my own job.”
“Do you think I like having to send them over to you? Some of us can’t spare the talent to learn frivolous details!”
“You’re a stuck-up clan brat, trying to load off the work the first time you need to get your hands dirty.” He waved her off. “I need to check in with Sakura.”
“What am I supposed to do with the wood now?”
“Figure it out!”
~*~
The days were busy and filled with people. The nights were private, but not lacking in work.
Hagi solved the cracks, which brought into stark focus how wrong the colours of his clay was, and how much the cup’s perfect shape melted in the heat. He found the mixture that created unbreaking ceramics, now he just needed to get them stable and evenly coloured.
Gaara had joined in with shaping cups. He enjoyed getting his hands dirty, and though he clearly lacked Hagi’s skill, they did not need perfect cups to test the variations in material.
And Hagi’s cups were far from perfect. But they were getting better with every batch.
~*~
Naruto went over the plans one more time. He had to rub at his eyes to be able to read all the comments. It was annoying how much of the work was just double and triple checking everything. The workers had their orders and everything was on track. But the tiniest miscommunication could set back the project for days or weeks.
He wanted to be carrying around heavy material, but everything was already by the river. He wanted to help with the cutting, but they were already so far ahead that the workers were almost spending more time making sure they had the right wood for the current job, that it would have taken to wait for the custom cutting.
Naruto hoped to find a few more tasks that could be done in parallel, but so far he had had no luck.
“Hey, can you help me with something?” Sasuke asked.
“God, yes.” Naruto packed up his things and started moving. “What do you need?”
“We think one of the storage crates has the wrong label, but we’re not sure.”
“You know, I’ve explained the storage system three times already.”
“Yeah, we know what it’s supposed to look like. But we don’t understand.”
Naruto shook his head. “You should take after Sakura and leave a few seconds of talent every day.”
“Why would I need to?” Sasuke smirked. “I’ve got you.”
The warehouse was one of the sturdier buildings in the village. It had a reinforced cellar that was sometimes used as a safe house. It was a big place that was hard to organize. Team 7 had been lucky so far that the raw materials for the bridge had all been put together on one of the far walls.
“It’s the last box. I’ll go grab the shipping paper for us to compare it with.”
Naruto nodded, heading towards the box. He thought he had a handle on the order already, but they kept shifting and it couldn’t hurt to have another look.
Someone else walked up to him, but it wasn’t Sasuke. It was Hanabi, staring at a piece of paper too intensely to realise Naruto was there. “Which wall were the bridge supplies again?”
“Right here.” Naruto said.
Hanabi looked up suddenly, her grip tightening. “I can come back later.”
“That might be best.”
There was a loud thud from the entrance. Naruto and Hanabi ran over only to see the door closed. There was a sound of a lock clicking.
“Hey!” Hanabi started pounding on the wood. “This isn’t funny! Let us out.”
“No.” Sakura said from the other side.
“The two of you need to work this out.” Sasuke said. “We’re not letting you out until you make up.”
“That’s not a good idea.” Naruto said, hitting the door hard. The hit was muffled, like it was being reinforced with chakra from the other side. Naruto sighed. “Gaara, why are you helping?”
“Don’t answer that.” Sakura said. “We all decided that what you need is to talk things out.”
“I can’t promise I won’t punch her!” Naruto shouted.
“Try me, Naruto, and I’ll punch right back!”
“You’re not getting out until you’ve made up.” Sakura said. “At which point I’ll heal any damage you’ve done to each other.”
“This is insane.” Naruto said. “We have a bridge to build!”
“And there’s three days before we need anything from the storehouse.” Sasuke said. “You’ve done great work. I’ll cover for you.”
Naruto grunted.
Hanabi leaned against the wall and let herself drop. “So we need to last three days and they’ll let us out.”
“Sounds like it.” Naruto said. It seemed easier than talking.
~*~
Naruto hung from the ceiling with chakra, pulling himself up repeatedly. The muscles on his stomach were aching, but in a good way. Sasuke and Sakura had left the theoretical books in the locked room with them, and Naruto had been trying to get through them. But it was so much easier to push his body to its limits and immediately feel the results.
Hanabi grunted as she closed her book with annoyance. “I need a teacher’s help for the next part on chakra training. It’s going to screw up my whole schedule.”
“What chapter are you on?”
“Chapter six.”
Naruto nodded. “I can do the guiding exercises with you.”
“Why?”
“You could be my worst rival, and I still wouldn’t let you waste talent. You’re still a Konoha ninja and a comrade.”
“I don’t get you. I wouldn’t do the same for you.”
“If you really think that, you don’t know yourself as well as you think you do.”
Hanabi groaned, but listened as Naruto helped summarise the lesson. It was an old book that needed to be rewritten. But nobody had been successful in getting a version that was more efficient than old prose supplemented with individual attention.
“Can you look at me while you talk?” Hanabi asked, annoyed. “And stop being upside down?”
“I’m sorry. Would you prefer to get help from one of the other potential teachers you’re locked in a room with? Perhaps one of the crates can explain chakra theory to you.”
“At least the crate would have a better personality.”
“Please tell me you have some sparring practice on your training schedule today.” Naruto said. “I really need the excuse to punch you.”
“Like you’d even be able to hit me.”
Naruto dropped from the ceiling. “You challenging me?”
Hanabi grabbed her schedule. “Five minutes of evasion training. If you can’t hit me in that time, I get a single clean hit on you.”
“Deal.”
~*~
Naruto’s face ached. He had won, technically. It was just hard to check time. Hanabi claimed Naruto’s hit landed outside of five minutes, Naruto insisted it was within. She had punched him back.
He had hoped it would release some tension. Make some of the anger less bad. But instead it just stayed simmering. Now he was angry and in pain.
And reading. To make everything even worse.
Just a few weeks ago, a sparring session like this would have been the highlight of his day. He would have splurged on some nice restaurant. Hanabi and him would have bickered about who had actually won for hours. It would have been fun.
But all of that was different now. And Naruto realised he didn’t even really know why. He knew Hanabi was angry after Hinata got hurt. But she had started yelling at Naruto before she could tell him what had happened.
And it wasn’t like they had a lot of other things to do together.
“You keep blaming me for what happened to Hinata.” Naruto said. “Can you at least tell me what actually happened?”
Hanabi shrugged. “Does it matter?”
“I’d like to know.”
Hanabi stared at an empty wall for a few moments, figuring out where to begin. “At first, I was amazed by what we were doing. We had arrived at the Hyuuga clan ground and we turned the battle around. A lot of my family would’ve been dead if we hadn’t gotten there in time. It was everything I had been training for. We were defeating genin like they were civilians, and chuunin like they were just out of the academy. And then the jounin showed up.”
“How did you fight him off?”
“Hinata took the lead. She knew the other Hyuuga were too injured to help, so she ordered all of them to retreat. It was just Neji and me supporting her. We pushed the jounin into a secluded area and cornered him. I had my bunshin protecting me, Neji had his ultimate defence. And Hinata kept her distance, throwing those wind-strengthened kunai. We were winning.”
“Winning against a jounin?”
“I couldn’t believe it either. But there was a reason that Suna ninja had made it to jounin. He pulled out the spirit weapon, a sword that made my soul shiver the moment he unsheathed it. Even the Suna jounin shuddered and he was supposed to be used to it. Neji and I hesitated from our fear. And Hinata stepped in before the jounin could take advantage of that. Even though she didn’t have any defences, she was the one locking blades with a weapon that could tear apart her spirit.”
“And that’s when she got injured?”
Hanabi stayed silent.
“Hanabi?”
Tears came to her eyes. “She fought so hard. And at no point did she activate the forbidden seal. Because she felt guilty about using it. Because we had put so much doubt into her head. The sword cut into her side and that was all that was needed to hurt her so badly.”
Naruto put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“At least I had my revenge a few seconds later. Hinata had immobilised the jounin’s arm and legs. Neji and I could subdue him.”
“Did she say anything? Before she lost consciousness?”
“Just that she was happy we weren’t hurt. Like that mattered at all.”
“So… she didn’t use the Hyuuga seal, because of what I said?” Naruto swallowed. “Hanabi… I never meant for that to happen.”
“Of course you didn’t.” Hanabi bit. “All you cared about was winning your chuunin match, no matter how much dirty laundry you had to air.”
Naruto sighed, lowering his head into his hands. “It really wasn’t my business.”
Hanabi punched Naruto’s shoulder. “It wasn’t. You’re a talentless loser and I never should’ve trusted you with Hyuuga secrets!”
“I’m so sorry!” Naruto said.
“Naruto!” Hanabi cried. “Fight back!”
“What?”
“I can’t be angry at you if you don’t fight back!”
“But… you’re right. It’s my fault.”
Her eyes were getting wet. “I can’t blame you if you’re going to be like this. I can’t stay angry.”
Naruto looked at her in confusion. “Why do you need to stay angry?”
“Because what else do I have?!” Hanabi stomped her foot. “I’m lost without Hinata. Everything I did, I did for her. All my training was so that I could be by her side. The only reason I’m able to get up in the mornings is because I’m filled with so much anger! What’s going to be left of me without that?”
Naruto stared at her. “You’re far stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
“I wish I shared your confidence.” Hanabi sighed.
“I’m serious. I may have screwed everything up, but…”
“But that’s the thing! You didn’t. Not really.” Hanabi wiped at her eyes with her sleeves. “You’re not a Hyuuga. You don’t have a responsibility to us. But I do. I keep thinking back how everything got so screwed up. Every choice I made since graduating the Academy has been to protect Hinata, and I can’t find my first mistake. Just a whole messed up tangle of coincidence. Even what you said to her… I was happy that you’d said it, when you did. I thought it was good for Hinata. That she would be a stronger heir for hearing these things I wanted to say but couldn’t. I was grateful for what you’d done.” She hiccuped. “I was grateful for what ended up injuring Hinata.”
“Sometimes bad things happen and it’s out of our control.”
“I know that. It still sucks.”
“That it does.”
“I wanted it to be your fault. It would be so much easier if it was your fault.” Hanabi let out a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have been letting it all out on you. I’m sorry.”
“You know, Sasuke told me that there’s no point in apologising if you aren’t going to change your behaviour.”
“I know. Which is why I’m going to have to find some way to put anger management into my training schedule. The way I behaved was unbecoming of…”
“That’s not what I meant.” Naruto said. “I meant, I want to apologize too. But I don’t feel I can do that until I’ve righted my wrong. We’re going to finish this mission. And we’re going to bring someone home who can heal Hinata. Okay?”
“You can’t promise me that.” Hanabi said. “We both know how small the chance is to find her.”
“And we both know that when I promise something, then I do everything in my power to keep my word.”
“Okay.” Hanabi smiled. “We’ll bring her back. And Hinata will be fine.”
“I hope that’s a good enough reason to get up in the mornings.”
“It is. And it’ll help us be okay again. I want us to be okay again.”
They hugged and it felt like a huge burden had been lifted of their shoulders. Naruto felt like he could breathe again normally for the first time in days. He had no idea his conflict with Hanabi had been affecting him that much.
“I’d love if we could find a different way to resolve our problems that didn’t involve this much yelling.” Naruto said.
“If you figure out a way, I’d love to hear it.” Hanabi said. “I just thought it was so unfair. I know it was mean of me to think it, but I just see Sakura struggling to run a shop without her parents, while her house is empty and unmanaged. Sasuke is needing to put out so many of his clan fires, that he feels more peace in bars than his own home. And I’m being thrusted into heir chambers with heir responsibilities. I feel a stranger in my own house. It didn’t seem fair that you came out of the invasion without losing the comfort of your own home.”
Naruto shook his head. “You assumed I hadn’t lost anything. And part of my own anger was from that assumption.”
She tilted her head in confusion.
“My apartment was destroyed in the invasion, Hanabi. I’m homeless.”
“No.” She shook her head. “The only property damage was… in just a few areas… was your neighbourhood hit?”
“The whole building was gone.” Naruto said. “Konohamaru helped me scavage.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Hanabi asked.
“We weren’t talking.”
“No, but… Sasuke and Sakura didn’t say anything either. Did you tell them?”
Naruto stayed silent.
“Naruto, I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t want your pity, Hanabi. I’ve had enough pity to last me a lifetime. I just figured… you’d all hear about it eventually, but by then I’d have a new place to live.”
“You’re an absolute idiot.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“I’m telling Sasuke and Sakura. And if that means you get offers to live with us, then you’re going to have to deal with it.”
“The shelter is fine until I get a new place.”
“I don’t think I’m the main one you’ll need to convince.”
Naruto groaned. “This is precisely why I didn’t want to say anything.”
“Tough. This is the way friends treat each other.” She said, hesitantly. Like she wasn’t sure Naruto would accept it. “You’d let us crash on your couch if we ever needed it.”
“Of course I would. But you can’t force me to be happy about it.”
Hanabi leaned against Naruto as they sat against the wall. “I suppose we should tell Gaara he can let us out.”
“Soon.” Naruto said. “They can take care of themselves for a while. Want to look over another lesson?”
Hanabi nodded. “Yeah.”
~*~
Naruto liked that they could eat dinner together again as a team. The smug smiles on Sasuke and Sakura’s faces, he could do without.
Kakashi’s face was even more insufferable.
“I thought you promised you wouldn’t lock us up in a room, sensei.” Naruto teased the jounin.
“Who says I had anything to do with it?” He asked with a gleam that clearly communicated he had played an integral part.
That was fine. Naruto would just have to pay special attention next time he was on laundry duty to accidentally mix something red in with all of Kakashi’s underwear.
~*~
It took them seven days.
Naruto worked on the bridge during the day and went to bed right after dinner. He would wake up in the middle of the night to help Hagi. He ‘borrowed’ reference books from the library and the Haniwa family’s secret vault. They read and they experimented and they figured it out together. The glaze was cooling faster than the clay and it was causing the ruptures. By altering the glaze and adjusting the temperatures, they had made something perfect.
Hagi was crying when he held the cup in his hands. He was checking the shape religiously. There was not a single flaw in it. The dimensions were exactly as they should be. The glaze had set evenly. Even with inferior paint and with everything working against him, he had done it.
“I-I just need to apply the saying on it and we’re done. I’ve practiced this a million times on broken cups.” Hagi took out the brush and then took a few steadying breaths. His hand went from shaking to perfectly still. He then proceeded to write in precise kanji on the side of the cup. Just a few simple characters ‘ichi-go, ichi-e’, one time, one meeting.
“You know, it’s funny.” Naruto said. “I kind of miss the imperfections.”
“What do you mean?”
“They were interesting. They felt raw. Like the cups did not even need to be painted to be beautiful.”
“Can I make a confession?” Hagi gently put the cup down. “When I got particularly frustrated with my inability to make something that would be up to the master’s expectations, I wasted time fooling around with the techniques I had developed. How to get the clay discoloured in the prettiest ways, to get the cracks forming in interesting patterns. I liked the ways those cups looked more than this one.”
“Maybe your master’s expectations aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.”
“I’ll be able to adjust those expectations if I’m ever in his position. And this cup is going to get me there. It’s beautiful just for that.”
When the ink had dried, they packaged it up delicately.
“I’m going to the compound.” Hagi said.
“Do you need us with you?” Sasuke asked.
“It would probably be better if I do this alone, but I’m not sure I’ll have the conviction to follow through if I do.”
“Go sleep.” Naruto told him. “You and Gaara have done enough. I’ll go with Hagi.”
“Good luck.” Gaara said.
And then Naruto and Hagi went to the Haniwa compound. And they moved to the workshop, where Grandmaster Miyo was waiting.
“What are you doing here?” He said, looking at Naruto. “Hagi, did you let him in?”
“I wanted him to be here for this.” Hagi said, taking the cup and gently unpacking it. “It took me almost twelve years, but I have the cup you requested.”
The master’s face went blank. “How did you manage to create this? You haven’t been using our workspace. Did you steal this clay?”
“I created my own place to work and harvested my own clay. I taught myself what I needed to know.”
The master lifted the cup up. He examined it from all sides. “The shape…” he started to object before frowning. “The colour…” but he moved it around and what he thought he had seen was just a trick of the light. “There’s no picture drawn.”
“This model does not have a picture.”
“I don’t understand.” He finally said. “How did you make this without stealing our clay?”
“I made my own.”
“How did you know how the purification process was to be done to make Haniwa clay?”
“I had to create my own process.”
“So this is not made with Haniwa clay?” He asked, putting the cup down.
“No…”
“A perfect cup cannot be made without perfect clay. Therefore, this is not a perfect cup.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“It’s made from the wrong clay.” The master simply said. “You have wasted enough of my time. You shall leave now.”
“If I can just borrow some clay then…”
“Haniwa clay is only to be used by Haniwa pottery students.”
“Then if you teach me how to make it…”
The master raised his voice. “The secrets of the process are only entrusted to the Haniwa pottery students. You boy must learn your place.”
Hagi stared at the ground, tears filling his eyes.
“This is bullshit.” Naruto said.
The students in the room gasped and a deadly silence draped the room. The master turned to the chuunin. “I beg your pardon?”
“You’re going to say no on a technicality? Hagi’s had it harder than any of you ever had. With no instructions, no resources and not even the proper clay, he created something that fits all of your criteria. Why are you refusing someone who so clearly wants to learn?”
“I already told you about the cost…”
“Nonsense. He’s taught himself enough that he’ll be cheaper to train than anyone else.”
“He has his chores.”
“He’s more than willing to do them and learn on the side. He’s already shown that. This has nothing to do with any of that. I can see it in your eyes. I saw it the first moment you talked about him. You have a personal grudge against him.”
“I have no grudge…”
“Whatever did he do to you that you’re treating him so unfairly?”
“He was cursed by the horse.” The master spat. “Our Spirit Guardian has given us our prosperity and talent. This boy was born in the year of the horse and we had great hopes. That he has no talent has to be a sign from the spirits. They refused him a place in the clan and we will not go against that.”
“Did you ever think that your spirits were so busy overloading him with creativity there was no room left for talent? That your spirits had such great plans for him as a unique artist that they wanted him to be different from everyone else?”
There was doubt on the students’ faces. Where they had looked only with derision so far, now there was a hint of sympathy.
The master however was unmoved. “I forbid it.”
“On what ground?” Naruto challenged. “You promised him you would make him a potter if he brought you a cup that could be sold. What would any client have against this cup? Why would any of them care what clay was used in creating it?”
The master turned the cup around in his hands again. “Fine then.” The master said. He grabbed a tool from a nearby workbench and sharply tapped the bottom edge of the cup, leaving a chip. “This cup can’t be sold. It’s been damaged.” He carelessly tossed it through the air and Hagi had to dive to the side to catch it. “What a pity it cannot be sold anymore.”
Naruto put his hand on Hagi’s shoulder. “Hagi…”
The boy ran out of the workshop.
“You’re no longer welcome on my estate, ninja.” The master said. “You were told to leave this alone. Pray that in my anger I do not report this to your superiors.”
Naruto flipped him off and then ran after the one that really mattered.
~*~
They were sitting by the self-made furnace on a make-shift bench. Hagi had the cup in his hand and was staring at it. “I hate it.”
“It’s not its fault that your master is a piece of shit.”
“I just… I just thought it would be different. I never expected him to easily accept me, but… I’ve worked so hard. Can’t he see my hard work in the cup? Can’t he see my blood, sweat and tears?”
“I think… that he has spent so much time obsessing about how things should be, that he is unable to see what they could be.” Naruto was reminded of their earlier conversation. “You said you had cups that you had worked on with your own techniques. Can I see them?”
“I destroy most of the cups that turn out wrong.” Hagi said. “But I’ve kept a few.”
They went into the cave and Hagi retrieved a wooden crate from the corner. It was lined with cloth and each cup was shielded likewise. Hagi unpacked them one by one and put them on the workbench.
They took Naruto’s breath away. They were nothing like the clean pieces that were shown in the shop. Each one was rich in gradients of colour, like staring from a distance at fall leaves that had lined the ground. Each had cracked, but in more controlled ways than the previous failures had. They reminded Naruto of the branches of a bush. Of dried earth in the summer.
Naruto swallowed.
He picked up one cup in particular. “Why does this one have streaks of bright orange?”
“There was some copper in a batch of clay that I amplified to bring out the colour.”
Naruto rand his fingers over the side. The cracks were subtle and he had to get close to really see them. They lined the outside and inside of the cup and right at the bottom…
“This is it.”
“This is what?”
“In the store, you were talking about finding a cup that resonated with me. This is it. This is the cup I want.” Naruto dug through his wallet.
“I don’t understand. It’s nothing like what Haniwa ceramics are supposed to be like. Why would you pay me for this?”
“Because you were right before. Because it’s beautiful. And no matter what that stuffy old geezer wants to say about it, I like it.” He knew what the cups had cost in the shop. He gathered up that and a little more to put on the table. “Unless you don’t want to sell it?”
“I do but… this isn’t just pity?”
Naruto shook his head. “I want this cup. It might not be perfect to the master, but it’s perfect to me.” He examined it further and realised there was just one thing odd. “You didn’t chip it.”
Hagi shrugged. “These were so ridiculously flawed, I never even considered showing them to master.”
“Can you chip it anyway?”
He made a face. “You want me to break it… on purpose?”
“I want something that will always remind me that it’s yours. Creating something that the Haniwa master would despise because he’s too closed-minded.”
“I can do that.” Hagi took a tool and gently created the chip.
“Sometimes broken things aren’t bad.” Naruto said. “Sometimes breaks are just part of the beauty.”
“You’re a strange boy, Uzumaki Naruto.” Hagi said. “I’m glad I met you before I finished my career in pottery. This was not what I expected, but it was a satisfying end nonetheless.”
Naruto shook his head. “This isn’t over. You did create a cup that could be sold, after all.”
“The master will not accept me as a pupil.”
“Why should that stop you?”
Hagi looked startled.
“You built your own equipment. You built your own furnace and you harvested your own clay. You never needed the master or the family.”
“I can’t… the Haniwara will never allow me to carry on with their name.”
“Then use your own. I know it’s scary and not what you had in mind. But you do not need to give up on your dreams because of one setback.”
Hagi hesitantly took the money from the bench and put it away in his pocket. “I’ve never sold anything before.”
“Let it be the start of a long and prosperous career.”
Hagi nodded. “They won’t know what hit them.”
~*~
“Are you going to disappear again tonight?” Sasuke asked.
“Nope.” Naruto said, popping the p. He grabbed another bowl from the centre of the table and poured the rice on his plate. After a full day of lugging material around for the bridge, he had worked up quite the appetite.
“Wait, Naruto was going somewhere?” Hanabi asked. “What were you doing?”
“Working on my back-up career in case being a ninja doesn’t work out.” Naruto said. “Pass the soy sauce.”
“No, but really.”
Naruto shrugged. “Nothing too special.” He smiled, looking at the cup in front of him. It was filled with a clear green tea and when he concentrated he could see the bottom through the liquid. He could see the cracks and right in the centre, the cracks that looked like the kanji for fox. “Just getting a cup for my tea.”
Notes:
Next update in February: Nature’s child. In which we check in on Sakura and visit a spirit leak.
It won’t surprise you that the original inspiration of this chapter was Kintsugi, which has become such an often repeated metaphor for dealing with loss that it’s become cliché. Still, I wanted to do something with ceramics and in my research came across two different views on what pottery should be, one of which is Hagi (which the character is named after) that embodies simplicity of pottery with beautiful cracks that are deliberately baked into the product. The Haniwa family (named after another type of pottery) represents the other side of the art that is more about smooth, uniform shapes, with detailed decorations.
One of the main goals of this chapter is to show how talent would work outside of ninja villages and how it would work into discrimination naturally from some legitimate reasons and many illegitimate ones.
This chapter got stuck on the scene with Hanabi, honestly. I’m still not a hundred percent satisfied, but I didn’t want to delay the update any longer. I hope it’s a satisfying resolution to their arguments.
Going to work hard in November to write the final parts of this story (book 6) during NanoWrimo, which should also be a huge help in the editing process. It’s so much easier for me to get the most relevant edits when I know for sure where we’re going, instead of just having a draft of the ending in my notes document.
That’ll give me December and January to work on the next chapter. I have a few sections that need scrapping and rewriting, and a few ideas that I still need to add. It’s one of the first in-depth looks into the spirit leaks, and was written before I had a better idea of how the spirit realm worked exactly and how much information Naruto would be allowed to receive about it at this point in the story.
Thanks for reading! And apologies that I haven’t gotten around to responding to comments. It’s on my list. Somewhere. Do know that I read every comment as it comes in and they’re a huge part of the motivation to keep coming back to this project.
Chapter 20: 3.3 Nature’s child (Born to be Wild)
Summary:
Do you think Tsunade is hiding in one of the hot springs? It might be good to check out all of them in order. Can't be too careful! Though it might be good to save the magical healing bird first.
Notes:
And we're back! Was hoping to do a ninja update in January, but boy was that optimistic. Needed the whole month to get this chapter finished. Hope you enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was more difficult to breathe in the higher altitude. Just a few day’s travel from their previous destination and team 7 had been going uphill most of the way. The mountain ranges had always looked so innocent on the maps of Fire nation. Naruto had accepted that they made it difficult for enemy ninja to quickly traverse the country, but he had not understood until the first dizzy spells had hit him and Kakashi told him it was normal.
“You’ll get used to it soon.” Kurama said from the back of his mind. “Your frail human body just doesn’t like having to work harder for its oxygen.”
“It better kick in soon.” Naruto looked to his friends. “If I’m getting tired, I can’t imagine what they’re going through.”
Naruto had put on his headphones half an hour earlier, only covering one ear so he would still be aware of his surroundings. The music helped him drift away from the aches in his muscles and the reluctance of his joints.
Until the music sputtered and dropped away.
“Great.” Naruto sighed. “Batteries are as depleted as we are.”
“Told you that you should’ve saved them for running.” Sakura said.
“Maybe there are new batteries where we’re going?” Naruto did the mental math. He should have just enough money for some new ones if he carefully budgeted the rest of his money. And there were absolutely no surprises for the rest of the mission.
“Only Konoha carries them.” Sasuke said. “Sorry.”
“Here.” Hanabi commanded, signalling Naruto to hand his playback machine over. When he did, she easily took out the batteries and rolled them around her hand, sparking with electricity. Then she put them back and handed the device to Naruto. “Try this.”
And it worked. “How?”
“It’s one of my chakra exercises to learn control. I think there’s about 20 minutes of charge in there now. I can do the rest when we make camp.”
Naruto’s eyes were wide. He had been fully prepared to spend the next weeks enduring long runs with only silence to distract him. This would be so much better. “I’m sorry, Sasuke. Sorry, Sakura. I have a new favourite teammate.”
Hanabi preened.
“Don’t worry, Sasuke.” Sakura smirked. “When the weather gets colder, your fire chakra will win Naruto back.”
Sasuke huffed. He turned to the adults instead of responding. “How much further is it?” He tried to hide how out-of-breath he was. He was not successful.
Jiraiya waved him off. “It should be just… there! I can see the watch towers in the distance.” The old ninja quickened his pace in excitement. “They have the best facilities here in all of Fire country.”
“And why do you think Tsunade will be here?”
“It holds memories.” Jiraiya said. “This is where we went after we’d just gotten our jounin promotions. Tsunade was always lecturing us on how we weren’t taking care of our bodies, so we decided these hot springs would be the perfect place to get pampered together.”
It certainly looked relaxing. Now that they were closer, they could see the large structures and the steam escaping to the air.
“So Orochimaru went here. He went here… willingly?”
“It was mostly his idea.” Jiraiya said. “He told us that most powerful ninja had been blessed by the waters here. At the time I really thought he wanted to do something nice for the team. But it was just an excuse so he could research the spirit leak. We caught him sneaking off after he kept skipping the leisure activities. Activities that he had planned for us to keep us busy. And when we confronted him, he told us what he was working on. He had the nerve to be disappointed by our lack of enthusiasm.”
“What were his plans?” Sasuke asked.
“He had always been resentful that he had been born without talent. We had become friends because we all had to work hard to get what we deserved. But he saw how much easier Tsunade had it with her talent compared to us. Orochimaru wanted what she had. He wanted to take his destiny into his own hands and forge a clan connection by his own power.”
Sakura scoffed. “Ludicrous. It doesn’t work like that. It’s not supposed to. What did you say to him?”
“Tsunade was the most offended. I never cared much for my clan’s history, but she was a Senju. She was the granddaughter of the founder of Konoha and the inheritor of the slug heritage. She thought it was sacrilege to take from the spirits what was supposed to be a gift. We fought a lot, but in the end he saw where we were coming from. He stopped his research and enjoyed the hotsprings with us, this time without the weight of a secret keeping us apart. And for years he would keep that promise.”
“He got his connection with the snakes in the end though.” Naruto said. “How did he do it?”
“Nobody knows.” Jiraiya said. “We think that he kept begging until they took pity on him. He’s never told us what it took. Considering how much of his sanity was taken in the transformation, it wasn’t a good deal.”
They arrived at the gates. There were some servants that looked up with a happy surprise that they had arrived and hurried to gather someone in charge. “Now, we’re here to help, not to talk about the past. Remember, we’re sent here just to help alleviate any damage that the retreating Suna ninja have done. We’re not looking for anyone, especially not a jounin that Konoha knows the precise location of according to all official records.”
The team nodded.
It was surprising just how serene the buildings were. They had been carved out of the same kind of stone that surrounded the hot springs, making it blend in its surroundings. Trees were cut back only directly next to the buildings’ walls, so that their top branches grew over the roofs.
“Ino is going to be jealous.” Sakura said. “She’s always wanted to go here.”
“How will she know? I thought you weren’t on speaking terms.” Naruto could not help but tease.
“Not normally. But for this I can make an exception.”
They were soon greeted by an old man. His hair was completely white. Both his hair and his beard came down to his waist, but he moved with the body of someone half his age. “I am so happy you have come. My name is Buro and I was the one who sent for you. Please, follow me.”
They were led into a building that looked traditionally made. It had sliding panels as a front door. The members of Team 7 took off their shoes and were led into a sitting room. They each took their place, with Buro taking the head of the table.
“We’re eager to learn the specifics of the mission.” Kakashi said. “Your request only mentioned that you needed help urgently.”
“It is a delicate matter. As you know, our onsen is widely visited for its rejuvenating qualities. We are blessed with a spirit-touched animal that imbues his otherworldly presence into the water.”
“It’s unusual to have a spirit-touched animal away from a spirit leak, isn’t it?” Sakura asked.
“The spirit leak is not far away. And our little benefactor came here naturally. When we noticed what it did to the waters, we offered it a place to stay indefinitely. It has been by our side for centuries without any problems. Until the Suna came.”
“What did the Suna ninja do?” Gaara asked. “Did they steal the bird?”
“Heaven forbid.” Buro said. “They rested in the hotsprings on the edge of our properties and then continued their retreat through the spirit leak when we chased them off. Ever since, our spirit-touched guardian has taken ill. We do not know how to treat it.”
“I can take a look at his physical body.” Sakura said. “Though my specialty isn’t animals.”
“That will be much appreciated. We can go right now.”
“One question first.” Jiraiya said. “Do you have any other visitors at the moment?”
“No. There were two Konoha chuunin that were staying with us until recently, but they left as soon as they heard about the invasion. How is Konoha?”
Jiraiya could not hide his disappointment. He had really been hoping for Tsunade to be there.
Kakashi stepped in. “Recovering steadily. The cost of minimising casualties was allowing the destruction of property. Everyone’s working hard on the repairs and will be in great need of relaxation in a few weeks. We hope your onsen will be available.”
“Yes. I truly hope you will be able to assist in this matter.” Buro took them along into another room. A small group of musicians were playing drums and a bamboo flute around a decorated shrine, with a bird cage at the centre. There was a heron inside with white feathers. Its eyelids were drooping from fatigue. Buro closed the door behind them and then unlocked the cage. “I’m sorry to disturb you during our worship, Great Heron. I know how much you appreciate the music. But there is a medic here for you.”
Sakura ran green hands over its body. She gently supported the bird’s weight as she looked at different parts of the body.
“Why do you keep your protector in a cage?” Naruto asked. “You said it chose to stay here.”
“Of course our guardian prefers to be in our care. It just has its… moments of unclarity.”
“I can’t find anything wrong with the body.” Sakura said. “Everything’s working as it should as far as I can tell.”
“I was afraid of that.” Buro said. “It seems this problem requires a more spiritually attuned solution. I trust you ninja can assist in this as well?”
Sakura nodded. “Kakashi-sensei?”
He considered. “I think your panthers have seniority here. But it will be best to gather them all.”
“All right.” She started making the proper hand signs and bit her thumb.
With a poof of smoke, the little panther princess appeared by her side. Sasuke had a crow perched on his shoulder and Hanabi an owl. Kakashi had a small dog and Jiraiya a small red toad.
“It is nice to see you again.” Mirai said. She looked around for the threat, quickly relaxing as she took in the room, quiet but for the music. She made eye contact with all of the other summons, straightening herself regally as she reaffirmed her status as the highest ranked. “Not quite combat related. Another demonstration? You could have summoned a lower panther for that.”
“Not quite.” Sakura said. She gestured to the bird. “We’re in need of spiritual counsel.”
Mirai walked over to the bird. “Spirit-touched, clearly. Do you want me to put it out of its misery?”
“We want it cured.”
Mirai shrugged. “You humans are such strange creatures, caring for corrupted souls like these. Very well then. Why isn’t it at a spirit leak?”
“It has occupied this location for years without issue, Mirai-sama.” Sakura said. “This illness only manifested recently.”
“How curious. Nothing has attacked the bird?”
“No.” Buro said. “The only threat was kept far from here.”
“The punctum coitionis.” Kurama said.
Naruto frowned. It took him a moment to place the term. He had only heard Kurama use it once before. “You think the ‘touching point’ got something to do with it?”
“But there was a threat.” Mirai pressed. “We should retrace its steps.”
“Did it go by the spirit leak?” Naruto asked.
Buro’s breath caught. “Yes… it did.”
Mirai’s fur bristled. “Then perhaps we should start there.”
~*~
“Can you feel it in the air?” Buro asked as he stepped forward. “It’s subtle, but you can tell where the leak starts.”
Sakura closed her eyes as she took her step. “I see what you mean.”
Naruto steadied himself and then took a similar step. Buro was right about it being subtle. The trees around them looked the same, but the sounds they made were sharper somehow. The wind felt more purposeful blowing against him. It was like static electricity building in the air. Just the smallest spark could set it off… or he was completely imagining it.
“Why is that human describing it as subtle?”
“It’s hard to feel the difference.”
Kurama hesitated. “That’s not how a punctum coitionis is supposed to feel.”
It was clear when they reached the centre. A shrine had been constructed in front of a tree that looked to have split in two. Between the two halves was a large diamond, glowing with light.
It was beautiful. Naruto had never seen one up close before.
“You seem to take good care of your conduit crystal.” Kakashi said. “How often do you leave offerings?”
“We visit every morning to thank the spirits and leave fresh offerings.” Buro showed the plates with food that had been offered.
It was the first lesson anyone learned when they had to deal with spirit leaks. Find the conduit crystal and make sure it does not come to harm. Back when people tried to close the leaks by destroying the conduits, they had witnessed first hand the punishment of the gods as delivered by explosions the size of Konoha. And a new leak had sprung up elsewhere anyway.
“Did the Suna ninja come through here?” Gaara asked.
“Not here. They just touched the edge of the blessed area. Over there.” Buro gestured them to follow.
“This isn’t right.” Kurama said. “The humans have defiled this cornerstone with their constructions. This is supposed to be raw nature at its wildest and they have tamed it like they have the heron.”
“I’m sorry it’s not what you were expecting.” Naruto told the fox. “But they care about this place in their own way.”
The fox grumbled as Naruto followed the others.
“They fell a tree?” Gaara asked.
“Outside of the area leaked with spiritual energy.” Buro said. “It just fell into the area. We cleared it out as soon as we saw.”
“And nothing else was touched?” Mirai asked. “They destroyed none of the shrines or any of the other places of worship?”
“We checked every single one. They are all intact.”
Mirai looked over the area. “I see no signs that would displease the gods into retribution.” She turned to the other spirits. “You four. Any ideas?”
“I have a name.” The owl said. “Mamoru.”
“As does my crow.” Sasuke said. “Nozomu. Even if it cannot speak yet it should be addressed with respect.”
The dog raised one paw. “Pakkun.”
“And I’m Gamakichi!” The toad chimed in.
The panther relented after a few moments. “Fine. I’ll pay more heed. Mamoru, do you have any ideas?”
“I have not visited a spirit leak before. Everything seems in place.”
“Pakkun?”
“Among the dogs are many fighters but no scholars. The place smells clean and that’s all I can tell you.”
“And Gamakichi?”
The toad managed a shrug. “I’m clueless.”
“Right.” Mirai shook her head. “The conclusion we can reach is that the desecration must be more subtle than we can detect.”
“What are you suggesting?” Sakura asked.
“We have certain rites we do in the spirit world. I do not know if they will help in this case, but it seems worth it to try.”
“Ask why there are no other spirit touched animals around.”
Naruto grimaced. He sighed. “Excuse me, Buro-san. Why aren’t there more spirit-touched animals around?”
“Oh, not to worry. We take care of them before they can get dangerous.”
“What do you mean?”
“We all know how large and dangerous spirit-touched animals can get. They would disturb the shrines or the people if left unchecked. So whenever we find an animal that has been infected, we cull it before it has a chance to grow dangerous. A large part of our duties each morning go into searching for any signs of infection in the animals and plants.”
Naruto fell to his knees, clutching his head.
“The utter hubris! How dare they?!”
“Calm down!” Naruto shouted.
Kurama just went on shouting and it was hard to understand him. He was talking too fast and using words Naruto had never heard him use before. They felt like insults.
Naruto had to push him away to find his own breathing again. When he got up, Sasuke had his hand on his shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
“Kurama doesn’t think it was smart the way the spirit leak is being handled.” Naruto said diplomatically.
“It is the way it has been done for generations.” Buro said. “Why only now would it cause trouble?”
“It doesn’t make a lot of sense.” Mirai said. “I don’t think we should listen to the demon when we have actual spirits here.”
“Does he have any experience with spirit leaks?” Sasuke asked.
“He… used to be the protector of one.”
“Perhaps you should go talk to him. See if he can tell you anything while we try Mirai’s approach.”
“Right.” Naruto nodded.
“Password is ‘Ninja flying at dusk’.” Sasuke said.
“I’ll join him.” Gaara said.
Naruto moved away with Gaara. Getting out of their way was probably the smartest thing to do.
Buro certainly seemed to think so. “Now if there are no more interruptions, I would very much like to learn more about the spirit’s ceremonies and take some useful steps.”
Naruto was already moving away, but he could still hear Sasuke’s final words. “Don’t be so quick to dismiss him. It wouldn’t be the first time Naruto’s surprised us with his insights.”
~*~
Naruto found a spot in the trees halfway back to the hot springs. He settled against the bark. “I’m going to meditate.”
Gaara seated himself a few trees over. “I’ll attempt to do the same.”
Naruto let himself drift into himself.
The rage was hard to move through, like the first times he had come to talk to Kurama. The fox was sulking in his cage, moving from one end to the other. Each step his metal claws scraped against the ground and he kicked up some of the water that always layered Naruto’s inner mindscape.
“You’re upset.” Naruto said.
The fox glared at him, not even deigning that statement with a confirmation.
“Can you tell me what they’re doing wrong?”
“I can’t begin to list it. They’re taking everything blessed by spiritual energy and destroying them.”
“You mean the spirit-touched animals and plants? Mirai called them corrupted.”
“I don’t care what the spirit baby calls it! The punctum coitionis is supposed to be filled with spirit life. What’s been done with it is an abomination.”
“I don’t understand.” Naruto said. “It’s been stable for hundreds of years.”
“That’s impossible.” Kurama said, though doubt covered his face. “They must be lying.”
“The hot spring did not survive on lies. They think they’re doing the right thing. I’ll be happy to correct them if you tell me what needs to happen instead.”
The fox snarled. “The humans must die. You must kill them.”
“I can’t do that.”
“You said you would help me rebuild the puncta coitionum.” Kurama said. “What good are you if you flinch at what must be done?”
Naruto took a steadying breath. “You are sure killing the humans will help?”
The fox nodded.
“So you’re telling me you’ve run into this problem of a sick spirit-touched animal before, and killing humans made it better?”
Kurama tilted his head. “Does this surprise you? I was a guardian for millennia. In my wars against the humans, they often tried to destroy what they did not understand. The only thing that cures the damage humans have done is time. Remove their influence and leave their corpses as a warning for any that might follow.”
“I can guarantee you that others will come to take their place.”
“Bah.” The fox turned away from Naruto. “You are just as useless as the others were. Just a human after all.”
“With all due respect, the way you’re suggesting we solve this problem is not going to work.” Naruto said. “It might have in the past, but not now. You’re right, I don’t want to kill them. But even if I did, I would not succeed. My teammates would stop me. I would be executed and you would be put in a different host. One that can’t understand you and won’t be able to fix the leaks.”
The fox gnarled.
“People know about this hot spring. They know the stories. If all the humans here died, new ones would come to take up their mantle. Our best bet of changing anything is to convince them. To use arguments and explain to them what the right way of doing things is.”
“The only right way is one where humans are not involved.” Kurama said.
“What’s the next best thing?”
“You mistake me for a human, vulpelculis. You think I will compromise? You think I will meet you somewhere in the middle? Humans are a poison on this planet and the only way to move on is by getting rid of you.”
“It’s a human that’s promising to help you now, Kurama.”
“I need no help from humans.” The fox snarled. “I am the Kyuubi, demon scourge of the dark forests. I will not be so weak as to ask for help. And no matter how much you prattle, you will never convince me otherwise.”
“I see. Well, if you can think of another way to fix this forest, I’ll be paying attention to your summons.” Naruto said. “But I can’t have you in my head while you’re this emotional. I can’t deal with that.”
Kurama growled in response.
Naruto released his meditation. He looked over to Gaara. “Any luck?”
Gaara’s eyes were open, but he was lost in thought. It took him a few moments before he registered the question. “I made it through the waves of hate. Even with everything you’ve told me, I wasn’t prepared to see the demon firsthand.”
“It takes some getting used to.” Naruto admitted. “Did he talk?”
“He did.” Gaara reached around until he grasped the paper he had prepared, quickly jotting down line after line of text. “I didn’t understand more than a few words. But I memorised the phonetics.”
“I’ll translate for you.” Naruto said. “But you’ll have to think about what you want to say back. You’re going to need to convince him to teach you the language if you want to make any headway on it after this mission. Memorising my cheat sheets will only get you so far.”
Gaara nodded, absent-minded. “I want to know his story. He was blind and emaciated. His underbelly was so swollen that the dried skin was cracked and broken. He looked hurt.”
“That’s what being sealed in humans does to the tailed beasts.” Naruto said. “They wither away in captivity.”
Gaara handed over the paper. “How did nobody see this? I studied our history. I know every instance that Shukaku was released against our enemies. How has nobody noticed the decline?”
Naruto did not have an answer. But he could guess. “It must have been slow. And nobody thought to write down descriptions and keep track.”
“He’ll hate that I pity him.” Gaara said. “But how can I not?”
Naruto looked at the recorded conversation. Though the spelling needed work, it was relatively easy to decipher. It was also clear where Shukaku had spoken and where Gaara had, simply by the broken grammar. Naruto’s attention was on what Shukaku had chosen for his first message to his Jinchuriki. There were at least half a dozen insults there that might cure Gaara of his pity. Naruto wasn’t sure whether translating them accurately would help establish trust, or whether it was better to omit them entirely.
But before he could decide, there was a pulling in his belly.
“One moment.” Naruto pulled Kurama up to his consciousness. “Are you going to behave?”
“Your insolence is no less annoying than before.” Kurama said. And then he laughed. “What are you holding?”
Naruto looked down at the translations. “I’m sure you already know.”
“The boy from Sand is eager to make a fool of himself. Make him speak in our tongue.” Kurama said. “If this is how he writes, I want to hear his clumsy attempts at communication.”
“He’s not your toy.” Naruto said back. “What did you call on me for? Do you know of another way we can fix the spirit leak?”
“No.” The fox said. “I don’t know another way. I do not know enough about the puncta coitionum to even think of one, but I realised you do not need that. I know that I’m correct. The Spirit Leak has been in decline for a long time no matter what they said. You just need to prove to them that they are wrong.”
“And how do we get that?”
“Must I do everything for you?”
Naruto shook his head. Even when the fox was trying to be helpful, there were big limits to what he would do. He looked to Gaara, who was studying the language packets that Naruto had made for him. “I think I have an idea.”
~*~
“Thank you for helping me find my way.” Naruto said, browsing through the shelves.
“It’s no trouble.” Yu said. He had run into the young woman as she was doing her rounds. “What did you say you were looking for?”
“Any records on the creation of this place.”
“That would be quite a long time ago.” She moved further into the back and pulled out some dusty scrolls. “I think we only have accounting figures from then. I can’t prove the story my parents used to tell me. I assume that’s why you’re looking through the records.”
“For now I’m just trying to get my bearings. Can you tell me about it?”
“Well, the story goes that a young soldier had been sent to fight in a war. He got wounded, but managed to escape on his horse. He rode into these mountains until he found shelter here. At the time, there was just a simple cabin where a medicine lady lived. She dressed his wounds and did her best to heal him. But the man was too injured. So she prayed to the spirits and they sent her the white heron.”
“The spirit-touched animal that blesses the waters?”
“The very one. It liked the soldier and would not leave its side. Whenever the medicine woman cleaned his wounds, the bird would first bless the bandages. And so, the soldier’s wounds healed. When he felt better and went to bathe in the natural hot spring, the heron blessed the waters and swam along next to him. In gratitude, the soldier vowed to stay here and protect the heron like it had protected him. He built his house here and cared for the bird. He built the onsen in honour of the heron.”
“When did the heron end up caged?”
Yu shrugged. “They don’t tell me that story.”
Naruto looked around the history books. Getting anything useful out of this would take months. He would need to try something different. “What other books do you have?”
“We have our written instructions on how to care for the buildings, the onsen and the spirit leak. All of them made in the last decade. We have reference books and language guides. And of course poetry and art.”
“Poetry?”
“Yeah. My family isn’t known for its creativity, but we have often hosted prominent writers. They often found this place inspiring and donated their work to us.” She moved to another section of the wall. “Here, this is my favourite.”
There was a painted picture of an old woman carefully lowering a soldier into the onsen. The Haron was drawn nearby, chasing off giant fish. The colours were off and the scales were patterned too distinctly for it to be a coincidence.
“Are those… spirit-touched fish?”
“Some versions of the story have these fish swimming in the onsen. That never made much sense to me. The water’s too hot for fish.”
“That does sound strange.” Naruto said. “Anyway, thank you for all your help.”
“It was my pleasure. I’ll tend to my other duties now if there was nothing else.”
“I was wondering if you’re one of the caregivers of the spirit leak. Your uncle mentioned that it’s tended every morning.”
She nodded. “I get up at first light and make the trip before breakfast. Did you want to check if I have followed all the procedures?”
“Something like that. Is it okay if I join you?”
“It would be no trouble. I will collect you from your room when it’s time.”
Naruto nodded and then turned his concentration to the reading. Naruto went over the poems. They had been ordered chronologically. Perhaps this would serve him better. He grabbed a selection from each shelve and sat down to read.
~*~
Naruto let out a big breath. His stomach hurt. It had been overfilled.
“Are you sure you don’t need anything else?” Yu asked.
“I can’t eat another bite.” Gaara said, even as he grabbed one of the last slices of candied lemon from the plate in front of him. He struggled to finish it.
“We are very thankful for the food.” Sakura said. “There aren’t many places that will cook according to our diet plans.”
“You aren’t the first ninja that visit.” Buro said. “Though I fear you may be the last if the Heron does not recover.”
“We are going to do our best tomorrow.” Sakura assured him. “Trust in the spirits.”
“We always do.”
Yu turned to Naruto. “Did you find what you were looking for in the archives?”
“I’m still looking.” Naruto said. There was more to go through than he had thought. He had managed to scope out the task and was confident he could get a lot done that night.
“I know that look.” Kakashi said. “Just don’t let it get in the way of your chuunin reading.”
Naruto diverted his gaze.
Hanabi sighed. “Don’t tell me you got further behind.”
“I’m going to catch up.” Naruto said. He had been doing chakra exercises in the library and was planning to do push-ups after dinner. It wasn’t as much as he had hoped to do, but that was always true during missions.
“Try to be back on schedule before we leave.” Kakashi said.
“You’re right. I should get back to it.” Naruto stood. “I’m going to my room.”
“I was hoping to discuss the ritual tomorrow.” Buro said.
Naruto hesitated.
“We can handle it, Buro-san.” Sasuke said. “The Panthers were clear about what was needed.”
“I suppose…”
“Go read, Naruto.” Sasuke said. “We’ve got things on this end.”
~*~
Naruto tossed another poem aside on his bedside cupboard and rubbed at his eyes. So far, he had only found three poems about the spirit leak. The rest were about water and healing and the existential experience of relaxation. He might have been better off just looking at the financial records.
He really needed to go to sleep if they were going to be up so early. But there were just a few more to go through and hopefully they would lead him to figuring out something useful.
There was a knock at the door. Sasuke entered. He looked to Naruto hesitantly.
“Ninja flying at dusk.”
Sasuke smiled. “It’s considerate that they’ve offered us separate rooms, but I’m going a bit crazy all by myself.”
“I know what you mean.” Naruto smiled. One of his favourite parts of missions outside of the village was getting to sleep with Sasuke nearby. “How did today go? I meant to ask during dinner, but the old guy hogged all the attention.”
“He’s worried about this place.” Sasuke said. “It’s his family work.”
“Even if something happened to the spirits, it would still be a good onsen.”
Sasuke shook his head. “Sakura looked into it. The facility is too far out of the way. Ninja and civilians make the trip because of the healing water. Without that to draw them in, they will struggle. And beyond that, Buto can’t be known as the family member that let their oasis of healing become a regular hot spring.”
“Point taken.”
“But yes, we’ve made decent progress. The panther helped us make preparations for a sacrifice tomorrow.”
“A sacrifice of what?”
“Fish. We’ll thank the gods as we light a controlled fire and then burn the fish while reciting our prayers. We’ll gather the ashes in a bowl and leave it on the main shrine.”
“And the spirit animals think this will help?”
“It can’t hurt to try. Did Kurama tell you anything?”
“The fox seems convinced the spirit leak’s been hurting for a long time now. I’m going through art and poems of visitors to see if I can find anything. So far, no signs of anything being wrong.”
Sasuke picked up one of the poems. “For each morning these brave souls tend the garden of spirits and in their hours of devotion find clarity through their work. Like lightning cleans a forest, they strike the heart clean of corruption.” He smirked. “Inspiring stuff.”
“That’s an old one. Here’s something more recent.” Naruto grabbed another sheet and handed it over.”
“Oh healing herron,
From sparking forest you hail,
Mend our broken hearts.”
“Yeah. Apparently the writer was madly in love with someone he could never be with. I can’t figure out the full story from the written text, but I’m hoping to find out from Yu tomorrow.”
“Do you think that’ll help?”
“No, but I’m curious.” Naruto looked around at the bed filled with papers. “Honestly, I’m not really sure what to do here. Kurama suggested the only solution was for all the humans to be killed so the spirit leak could heal on its own.”
Sasuke grimaced. “With the way you talk about him, it’s sometimes easy to forget he’s a demon at heart.”
“Don’t say that. This is a sore subject for him. The spirit leaks were supposed to be Kurama’s legacy, like the onsen is Buro’s. We haven’t been treating them right.”
“According to him.” Sasuke looked over the pages. “I wish there was more I could do to help you with it.”
“I’m happy with your company.” Naruto said. “Though I’ll need to turn in soon. So unless you’re planning on sleeping in my bed, you should probably head to your own room.”
Sasuke’s face was turning that lovely shade of red from indecent things being suggested. Just imagine what his uncle would say about the scandal of the Uchiha heir having a sleep over without getting an invitation approved by a council of elders first. Naruto could not help but grin.
“Good night, Naruto. Password is ‘broken hearts’.”
“Night.”
~*~
Yu held her pewter staff high and tapped it a few times to make the metal rings at the end clang. She chanted softly as the rings made their noise. “I thank the spirits for their prosperity and their grace.”
“Thank the spirits.” Naruto repeated.
Yu lowered her staff and bound the rings tight against the staff. “Now that we’ve arrived at the spirit leak, it is tradition to keep silence. We do not want to scare any animals away.”
“So you can kill them.”
“I prefer the term ‘culling’.” Yu said. “If it helps, there are no new spirit-touched animals more than once or twice a year. Most probably we will just find a few plants.”
Naruto nodded.
They followed the path and circled around the inside of the spirit leak. When leaves had fallen on the path, Yu gently removed them to the side. When there was a shrine, Yu replaced the offered food and cleaned the shrine’s surface with a cloth. There was just one small gathering of flowers where she picked one out that had turned transparent and luminescent.
“It’s pretty.”
“You can hold onto it if you like.” Yu said.
“Don’t you need to destroy it?”
“We’re actually not sure. Aunty Nana used to take care of that, but she passed away suddenly last year.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. We know she had a specific ritual that she performed, but she never wrote anything down. We’re keeping everything in a box in the warehouse, where it’s rotting in an air-tight container, until we can call in an expert. As long as it’s away from the spirit leak, it’s fine. It’ll look like a regular flower though.”
Naruto gently put the flower in his pack.
“That was it for the day.” Yu said.
“That could not have taken more than fifteen minutes.”
“It’s all because of daily maintenance. There was a storm a few years back and we couldn’t tend to our duties for three days straight. The fourth day it took us over an hour to put everything back in its place.”
“So you do this every morning?”
Yu nodded. “Right before breakfast. Once a week the elders and some of my younger family members join in. The elders to check on how I’m doing and the younger so they can learn. Did I do everything right? That’s why you came along, to see how I was doing?”
“I’m not sure.” Naruto said. “Nothing seemed out of place.” He took another look around the place. “Wait, what’s that?”
Naruto walked over to a nearby tree. At its base was a collection of rocks, that had been arranged with purpose.
“That’s just baa-chan’s. She doesn’t like to use the regular shrines and prays at that one instead.”
“Why’s that?”
“You can ask her. She should be getting here any second now. I need to start on breakfast.”
“I’ll wait for her then.”
Naruto took a seat by the tree. It was not near the important centre, but at the edge of the spirit leak. The tree did not look out of place and there was nothing special about this part of the path. Yet when he sat down, he found himself at peace. More so than he did any other place in the leak.
“You must be the ninja.”
Naruto saw an old woman approach. She was using a cane and took her steps deliberately. “Good morning, madam.”
“Please, call me baa-chan.” She lowered herself at the shrine, kneeling and putting the cane by her side. “Yu said you might have some questions.”
“All your family members pray at the other shrines, not this one.”
“And they are perfectly welcome to them.” She said. “I do not like lighting incense and leaving food that is more suited to a human’s palette.” She pulled out a pouch and reached in. She withdrew a handful of seeds and left them in a divot on the stone. “My daughter and I always worshiped here.”
“Don’t the animals take your offering like this?”
“Most probably.” She said. “I don’t believe the spirits have need of physical sustenance. And if they do, my family members already leave a good share.”
“What do you pray for?”
“That my daughter Nana finds rest.” She said.
“I’m sorry for your loss.” Naruto said. “Can I ask what happened?”
“It was an accident. She was a hard worker. She was the first to wake up each morning, restless to get the day’s chores finished. A few months ago she decided to clean the gutters and slipped on the ladder. By the time the rest of us woke, she was already gone.”
“Didn’t anyone hear her fall?”
She let out a sad laugh. “Nana was far too considerate to make a sound as she fell to her death, when there were still people trying to sleep. Once when she was a girl, she burned herself trying to make tea and it took us a week before we found out. She was always good at hiding her pain.”
“That can’t have been easy.”
“It was far too easy.” She let out a deep breath. “It was easy to love her and to take her for granted. She died because we let her take on too much work, yet I worry that she can’t rest in the afterlife thinking that we’re lost without her. So all I can do is come here and tell her that I now know how much she burdened herself. But that we can do it without her. She’s allowed to rest.”
Naruto looked to the shrine. He kneeled in front of it.
He wondered if Jiji was still worried about Konoha in the next world. If he was able to let go. It could not be easy, after so many years taking care of all Konoha’s ninja like they were his children. But they were all going to find a way to move on.
“Was there something you wanted to ask me, dear?”
“Yeah.” Naruto nodded. “Have you noticed anything change in the last few days?”
She shook her head. “I am as lost as the rest of my family. Though whatever the Suna ninja did here, it must have scared off some of the animals. Only half the seeds I leave are being eaten.”
“That’s something new?”
“Oh yes. They used to be completely gone every morning.”
He took another look at the construction. “Perhaps the stones aren’t stable enough. How often do you have to rebuild it?”
She snickered. “You haven’t been around many spirit leaks before, have you?”
“No. What does that have to do with anything?”
“The rules work differently here. When I was a little girl and was more interested in playing with the wild birds in this forest than praying to gods, my grandmother made me this shrine. She gathered up the stones and put them here sixty years ago. And I have never needed to rebuild it.”
That went against everything Naruto had been told. “I thought the spirit leaks preferred the wild.” Naruto said. “The other shrines need to be constantly maintained.” Kurama had mentioned how things were supposed to return to chaos.
“Maybe that’s a sign that the leak likes my shrine more than theirs.” She smiled. “Though I’ve never been able to convince someone of it before.”
There was wiggling in the dirt. A vibrant green worm wiggled out and started climbing the shrine to get to the seeds. It had bright orange polka dots. When it reached the seeds, it grew a mouth and ate a few. It spit them out again after a bit of chewing.
“It’s a spirit-touched worm.”
“Don’t tell the others about him.” Baa-chan said softly.
“You knew?”
“I’ve seen him a few times. He’s not doing any harm.”
The worm slithered away again, back into the dirt.
Naruto shook his head. “I don’t suppose so. It doesn’t look like he liked those seeds.”
“He keeps trying them. I’ve never seen him try the food that the rest of the family leaves.”
Naruto nodded. “I’m heading back. Thank you for your time.”
He took the spirit flower in his hand as he walked back. He wondered what it all meant. The spirit leak had weakened according to Kurama, but nobody had been able to tell the difference. Even the ancient poetry did not mention giant calamities that had occurred in the past.
There was something near the leak that must have changed. There had to be something different.
As he walked, the flower lost its glow. He was only half-way to the onsen. He hesitated and then took a few steps back. The flower started glowing again.
He looked to the central building, where there was a spirit-touched bird twice as far away. The answer seemed simple.
~*~
“No.” Buro said.
“You’re being unreasonable.” Naruto said.
“I will not move our guardian. Not while it’s so sick.”
“We all agree that it’s unusual for a spirit-touched animal to be so far away from the leak. We need to bring it closer.”
“It’s thrived successfully for centuries right here. I will not endanger it by making the journey while it’s so weak!”
Kakashi shook his head. “Have you found any evidence that bringing the heron closer will cure it?”
Naruto held out the flower. “I picked this up in the leak and it died when it went too far away.”
“You cannot compare a simple flower with our magnificent blessing.”
Naruto shook the flower in Buro’s direction. “What have you got to lose by trying it?”
“Everything!” Buro said. “Exposing the Great Heron to the cold in its condition. To the long trek up the hill to the leak. When the spirits themselves are ready to invoke the gods’ protection for us!”
“Can your plan wait until after the ceremony?” Hanabi asked.
“It might be too late.” Naruto said. “Can we risk it not to try?”
Sasuke grabbed his hand. “Naruto, we eliminated the possibility that distance had anything to do with the heron’s illness because it seems nonsensical that the effect of distance would change one day to the next. Have you found anything suggesting things may have changed?”
No he had not. Of course not. Not in the last few days and not even in the last centuries. Sasuke had seen the same poetry. And it had mentioned nothing about big spirit animals. All they had talked about…
“The static electricity.” Naruto said, his eyes wide.
“Pardon?”
“The feeling you get when you enter the spirit leak area. It’s like static electricity in the air.” Naruto grabbed his backpack and took out the poems. Yes, right there. “Look, this piece by a hundred and fifty years ago talks about the sparking forest. But this piece is three times as old and it uses ‘thunder’ to describe the feeling. The leak has been gradually weakening for years.”
Sasuke tilted his head. “So you’re saying that the spirit leak used to be strong enough to keep the heron alive at this distance, but it has weakened too much?”
“Yes.” Naruto said. “That must be it.”
“Then explain something.” Kakashi said. “Why did this final weakening happen when the Suna ninja came by? What did they do to weaken it further?”
“It’s growing weaker because we humans keep destroying spirit-touched plants and animal. The tree they destroyed must have been spirit-touched.” Naruto said. “It’s the only explanation.”
“I guarantee you it was not.” Buro said. “We examined it carefully. It was grown outside of the spirit leak area and had fallen into it. That was all.”
Kakashi placed his hand on Naruto’s shoulder. “We’ll try the ceremony first, okay?”
Naruto did not like it, but he could see there would be no convincing the others. “Fine.”
“We’ll make the preparations.” Sakura said.
They all filed out, until only Naruto remained. He sat down next to the Heron. “You could’ve spoken up, you know?”
The bird did not react. The only sign it was even alive was that it was breathing.
“You could be free. I could take you out of this cage and bring you to the spirit leak. And you’d never have to be in a cage again.”
The heron opened its beak slightly, but the sound that came out was anything but confirmative. It was in pain.
Naruto fumbled with his pouch. “They said you like music. That it helps. I don’t have anything traditional.”
He turned on his playback device. It was fully charged, just like Hanabi had promised. And in the silent room, the headphones made enough sound to let the music play audibly. The guitar and drums. The organ and vocals. It was easy for Naruto to drift into the music and forget about the rest of the world.
And it appeared that was also true for the heron. It was breathing easier, bopping its head gently to the rhythm.
“Seems you like it.” Naruto said. “And that Buro doesn’t know everything about you.”
Naruto let the song finish before he packed up.
“I’m sorry for not pushing harder for you.” Naruto said. “I don’t think you understand what I’m saying, but I’m still sorry. I’m really hoping you’ll feel better after we do the cleansing ritual. I really do.”
But Naruto knew that hope was not enough.
~*~
They were all gathered in a circle. Naruto had invited Kurama to watch and the other ninja had their spirit animals in front of them. In the middle was Buro, starting a fire.
“We thank the gods for their service.” Mirai said. “In this circle of loyal followers, we request they manifest and observe. We call upon the great Ryujin.”
There was a beat of silence. “I cannot feel his presence.” Pakkun said.
“Me neither.” Gamakichi said.
Mirai looked annoyed. “We are devout and we are desperate for your help. Great dragon Ryujin. Please grace us with your presence.”
Kurama was chuckling.
“Cut it out.”
“They visit the physical world in borrowed bodies and act like experts.”
“He’s not coming.” Pakkun said.
“Or we are simply unable to feel him here. He must be here. I am a princess of the panthers. You are prominent, if not as distinguished, members of the great spirit clans. It is impossible we’re being ignored.” She took a deep breath. “It is time to infuse, Sakura.”
“Yes, Mirai-sama.” She pricked her finger and concentrated, like the panthers had taught her how to do. She let a drop of blood fall on the offering, which left a small shimmer on the scales.
Mirai turned to Buro. “Burn the fish.”
The fire crackled as the fish burned.
“We offer you this salmon, caught fresh this morning, infused with several seconds of talent. That it may please you.”
They looked at the conduit crystal. It made no sign of acknowledging the sacrifice. It simply shined the same faint light as before.
“These whelps are too young to matter.” Kuruma complained.
“But they’re spirits. Aren’t they supposed to… know this stuff? Aren’t they supposed to be deeply connected to the inner workings of the world?”
“Were you born understanding how to walk? Did you know the biology of a flower from plucking it? The only thing these spirits are born with is condescension.”
“We thank you Ryujin for your presence. We will keep the ash at your shrine.”
“Ask them if they burn the fish in the spirit world.”
“Mirai-sama, is this how you do the ritual in the spirit world as well?”
“These are the words, yes.”
“Are there fish?”
“We have lesser fish spirits that we catch.”
“And do you burn them?”
The panther was getting annoyed. “We do not have fire. So we crush the spirit and offer the ashy remains instead. This seems like a suitable substitute.”
“Kurama says…”
“Leave that demon out of it.” Mirai snarled. “If the gods aren’t coming, it might just be because of the stench of its rot.”
Naruto was startled at the intensity of the panther’s reaction. He stood up and dusted off his clothes. “If I’m not wanted here anyway, I’m going to take another look around.”
“How disrespectful.” Kurama chuckled. “Don’t you know there’s a dragon god watching?”
“We’re done here anyway.” Sakura said. “Thank you for all your help, Mirai-sama. We’ll let you know what happens.”
The panther nodded, before disappearing in smoke. The other summoned creatures followed.
“There are a few more prayers we can try.” Sasuke said.
“Can’t hurt.” Sakura said. “I’ll be right back.”
She left the group and made her way to Naruto, stepping quickly to catch up with him. “How did I do?”
“You were fine.”
She let out a heavy sigh. “I was expecting more of an immediate effect. The conduit crystal didn’t even shimmer. Are you sure I didn’t step out of line?”
“It was the panthers who seemed out of their league.”
She looked struck. “They’re doing the best they can. It’s not their fault I haven’t studied how to do the rituals for spirit leaks.”
Naruto shook his head. It did not look like he was going to get through to her. “You can’t be perfect all the time.”
“I just really needed a win here.” There were worried lines on Sakura’s face, cutting deep into her skin. She looked so pained that it was hard to watch.
“You won in the village against two giant snakes terrorizing an entire district. What do you need another win for?”
She swallowed. “Fighting the snakes was my penance. Naruto I… I’m the one that put my parents are still in the hospital.”
“What do you mean? The notes said it was poison from the snakes.”
“There was only a little brain damage. I thought I could heal it so they could run to safety. But everything I tried to fix, I only made worse. It would have been better to do nothing. The doctors would have been able to treat them. The reason they can’t, is because I made it worse.”
“Sakura…” He put his hand on her shoulder. “You were only trying to help.”
“I can’t lose them, Naruto. I can’t be alone. They’re all I have ever since Ino stopped being my friend.”
“You have us.” Naruto protested.
“We’re a team. That’s different.” Sakura said. “I don’t know why you’re trusting the Kyuubi over the panthers, but I need you to understand how much I need this to work.”
“Look, I understand. But we can’t put all of our eggs in one basket. We need to try different things. I’d be ecstatic if the leak repairs itself from your sacrifice. But I also need to have a plan B ready in case it doesn’t.”
“Must we?” She asked. “Is it so hard to do nothing?”
Naruto laughed. “Ever since I was born.”
Sakura did not laugh. “Everywhere you go, you bring chaos. Last week you took the Haniwa and told them their way of training was completely unfair, making enemies of them. This week you’re taking on another institution. Are you so opposed to tradition that you haven’t even considered that they may be right to do what they’re doing? That it’s the only way for this hot spring to survive?”
“Of course I considered it.” Naruto said. “But have you considered that just because it’s tradition doesn’t mean it’s automatically correct?”
“Can’t we go anywhere without making trouble?”
“Did you see the Heron, Sakura?” Naruto asked. “Can you honestly tell me that you it looked happy at the way things were?”
She diverted her gaze. “That’s not the point. How are you going to be Hokage if you just wreck everything?”
“How am I ever going to be a good Hokage if I’m afraid to fix what’s broken?”
She took deep breaths. “Trying to fix things means you can end up screwing it up more than it was to begin with. How do you deal with it if you’ve just made everything worse?” She seemed to genuinely want to know the answer.
“Are we still talking about the Heron?”
She wrung her hands. “It’s my fault my parents are in a coma. I tried to fix the poison so they could run away, but I only made everything worse. I made mistakes. I broke their brains. And I didn’t even admit it to the doctors. They’re still trying to figure out what kind of poison the snakes had that my parents were affected like they had been.” She wiped tears from her eyes. “I thought I was doing the right thing. But my parents would be recovered by now if it weren’t for my hubris.”
Naruto didn’t know what to say. He sat next to her. “I need to believe that next time will be better.” Naruto said. “Next time you need to heal someone in an emergency, you’ll do better. Next time we have to heal a spirit leak, the ritual will work. Next time I dismantle ancient institutions that are discriminating against the talentless, they’ll completely redeem themselves and see the error of their ways. Without that hope, what is there?”
“Without hope, we’re left with reality.” Sakura said. “We live in the wreckage of good intentions.”
“You forget that I don’t just break things. I fix them too.” Naruto said.
“Are you going to fix the spirit leak?” Sakura asked, hopeful.
“I am going to try.”
~*~
Naruto made his way to the place that the tree that had fallen into the area. Somehow, this had to be the key to it all. If he could just find what was wrong, he could convince them to try out his methods.
“I need a second pair of eyes.” Naruto said, nudging the fox inside of him. “Nothing looks out of the ordinary to me. I can see the tree stump and it’s just outside of the area.”
“Touch the ground.”
Naruto traced his fingers over the dirt. He could feel where the earth was undisturbed and where it had been made denser from the accident.
“The whole length.”
Naruto started at the stump and then moved back into the spirit leak area. He felt all around. The base of the tree had been heavy and had dropped to the ground without the branches breaking the fall. He looked around and saw that most of the trees surrounding the spirit leak were well-maintained, pruned to be pleasing to the eye.
And then he felt something different. A dent in the ground.
He used his hands to start digging. And then he found it. The red fur was a stark contrast with the ground and for a moment he felt like he was excavating the remains of a small dog. He resisted the urge to be sick as he pulled the animal up.
It was a large Pika, a burrowing animal. The tree must have caused a cave-in and then it had suffocated. Its red fur had streaks of black shapes on it, connoting its status as spirit-touched.
“He was old.” Kurama said. “Maybe even older than the bird.”
Naruto swallowed and lifted it up. “Is there something we can do? To show our respects?”
“We do not hold funerals in the forest.” Kurama said. “But you can leave it somewhere the predators will find it quickly. It is not dead for so long that they will shun the meat. And it would be a quicker end than to let the maggots feast. Let it return to the earth as quickly as possible.”
Naruto nodded and set it down off the path. He wiped away his tears as he returned to the group.
“I know why the spirit leak has weakened.” Naruto said. “And I know why the Suna ninja made it worse. It’s time to bring the heron home.”
~*~
“Careful!” Buro said, forcing Kakashi to steady his grip on his side of the cage. “I agreed to this foolish excursion on the condition that you would be careful.”
“Mah, I have an iron grip.”
Naruto was sweating bullets. Buro had insisted on this sluggish pace and they were not even a third of the way up to the spirit leak. “Can we carefully move any faster?”
Buro’s eyes widened. “I’d prefer if we went slower.”
“Right.” Naruto swallowed. “This speed is fine.”
“The bird is already looking better.” Kurama said.
Naruto found it hard to see the difference, but he supposed there was more awareness in its eyes. “Do you think it wanted to heal the humans?”
“I don’t see why it would. It makes more sense that its spiritual energy was meant to heal other animals, and humans stole it to suit their end.”
“The stories said it stayed willingly. Even Buro said it usually liked being in the central temple.”
“It was caged for a reason.” Kurama said. “Humans don’t take what nature offers, but demand its total subservience.”
“I don’t see it like that.” Naruto said. “They took something they loved and they wanted to protect it.”
“Enslave it.”
“I would have preferred it was kept out of the cage. But there are worse humans than these out there. Whatever the results of their actions, they never meant any harm.”
There was a soft clawing sound in the cage. Buro instantly went to his feet in a panic. But it was just the heron standing up. It was slowly finding the strength to turn to the spirit leak. It was getting better.
“So this is how close we need to build the new shelter.” Buro said.
“What?”
“It’s a bit far from the rest of the buildings, but we can manage this.”
Naruto shook his head. “We have to go on.”
“Why would that be needed?” Buro asked. “We asked you to bring our bird back from its illness. You have done your job and we will take it from here.”
Kakashi and Jiraiya put the cage down by the side of the road. The Heron looked confused that they were stopping. Kakashi turned to Buro. “It’s getting better the closer we get. It would be beneficial to make the rest of the journey.”
“Our protector has not been back to the spirit leak in three hundred years. Who knows what it will do? We have done our best to keep the leak from spawning any more corruptions, but do you know how dangerous spirit-touched animals can get when they get near the leak?”
Naruto gaped at him. “This is the safest leak in the world!”
“It’s not something I can risk.”
“You can’t let them do this.”
“I won’t.”
Naruto gave Sasuke and Sakura a look. They nodded and crowded besides Kakashi. Together they made quite a wall blocking Buro’s vision. It was but the work of a moment to pick the lock and take the Heron out.
Naruto felt Hanabi’s hand on his arm. “Be quick.” She said, making hand signs and creating two copies of herself, one of which turned into Naruto and the other of which morphed into the shape of the Heron. It was not perfect but it would do.
Naruto nodded. He moved to the forest, letting his body cover the heron’s shape.
Buro’s tirade halted a moment, as if he had noticed Naruto’s departure with the proper suspicion. But then he went on as if nothing had happened.
“I’m taking you home.”
The heron chirped. It still felt weak in Naruto’s arms, though the strength seemed to be returning with every step they took. It stirred and started pecking at Naruto’s body.
“Quit it.” Naruto said, dodging away.
But it was not interested in biting Naruto. It was interested in Naruto’s backpack. It was trying to get to something in there. Naruto unstrapped it and opened it. The heron took out a single flower.
The spirit-touched flower.
It tried to eat it, but its jaws were weak. And the flower was dead.
“Save your energy.”
When Naruto entered the spirit leak, it was completely different. He felt sparks move all the way over his body and he stumbled in his surprise. The heron flew out of his arms and then hovered in front of him. Its wings were moving too slow, yet it stayed perfectly in place.
“Just a little further to go, right?” Naruto pointed at the conduit crystal.
The heron set off away from the crystal, going to the top of one of the trees.
Naruto blinked. That was not what he had been expecting.
The heron returned and stared right at Naruto, impatient.
Definitely not what he had been expecting.
Naruto climbed the tree, chasing after the bird. They went from branch to branch, until they reached the top of one of the trees. It was hollowed out and inside was an egg.
The heron made a noise, squawking at Naruto to do something.
Naruto gently took the egg out of the tree.
The heron made one more noise, seemingly out of gratitude, and then its wings started moving slower. It was dropping to the ground.
“Don’t!” Naruto yelled, running down the side of the tree and catching the heron before it fell to the ground. It was clumsy to support the bird with one arm while the other had the egg, but Naruto managed.
“What’s going on here?!” Buro demanded, running towards Naruto. “The Great Heron!”
Naruto gently placed the bird on the ground.
“It was injured when you stole it away!”
“It was doing better!” Naruto insisted. “It was flying and led me to this egg. It must be the heron’s.”
“The Heron hasn’t been inside the forest for centuries.”
“So it’s been here all this time.” Naruto concluded.
Buro shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s our Great Heron that blesses the waters. That mystery egg does nothing for us.” He went to the bird, gently caressing it. “It’s weak, but maybe we can still heal it.”
Sakura stepped up. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Her green hands moved over the bird, increasingly frantic. It did not seem to be getting any better. She looked up. She shook her head.
“Maybe we can feed it.” Naruto said. “It wanted the spirit flower. Or there’s some kind of medicine that…”
“Naruto.” Sakura cut him off. “It’s too late.”
Naruto looked at the gentle bird. Its chest moved slowly up. It moved slowly down. And then it was still.
Buro dropped to his knees. “No…”
A loud crack sounded and they all turned to look at the conduit crystal at the centre of the leak. It had a fracture along its side, its constant glow now flickering.
There were stories of humans attacking a crystal conduit. The moment it started breaking, its light would increase to the intensity of the sun and then explode. There were no stories of conduit crystals fracturing out of nowhere, and certainly none where the light grewdimmer.
“This is the end of us.” Buro said. “Without the spirit leak there are no healing hot springs. Without the healing hot springs, we cannot afford to stay here. We are ruined.”
“I… I didn’t…” Naruto stammered.
Buro reached out his hands and took the Heron gently in his arms. He hummed the melody that the musicians were playing earlier. “I have failed you, Great Heron.”
Naruto felt like he should leave. He had done enough. But he was still holding an egg that had been entrusted to him. He could not take it away from the leak and let it die like the flower had.
He went to the crystal and placed the egg on the human made alter. He covered it with a blanket, to keep it warm. Not that it would help. It was already cold. Lifeless.
Naruto had traded the life of the Great Heron for a dead egg.
He walked away and nobody stopped him.
At the edge of the spirit leak he saw Baa-chan’s shrine. The stones lay scattered.
~*~
Naruto sat by the hot spring. The water’s golden steaks were dimming. In the night they would disappear and then never return.
And it was Naruto’s fault.
He punched at the ground.
It did not make him feel any better.
Someone came up to him from behind. It was Sasuke. “Are you okay?”
Funny. Not who Naruto had been expecting. “Kakashi still busy?”
“Still trying to smooth everything over.”
“Yeah. I really messed things up.”
“We all agreed to let you take the Heron.” Sasuke said. “It’s not all on your shoulders.”
“You only agreed because you trusted me to know better. Sakura would have agreed to anything after the ritual failed.”
“You weren’t completely wrong. The Heron clearly felt better when it reached the Spirit Leak.”
“It used all the energy it had remaining to lead me to the egg. Perhaps Buro was right and it would have been better to keep it caged for its own protection.”
“Or it would have died either way. And you allowed it to spent its last moments exactly as it wanted.”
Naruto sighed. “We’ll never know. But it’s something I’ll have to live with. As far as I know, I killed the Heron. I doomed this hot spring to close. I destroyed one of Fire’s cultural landmarks.”
“And what are you going to do about it?”
Naruto shrugged. He had been so sure of himself when he was talking to Sakura. He had been so sure that he could act without doing permanent damage. But there was a reality he had to live with now. “I can’t fix something that’s completely gone.”
“Did I ever tell you how Uncle Garu got his Sharingan?” Sasuke asked.
Naruto shook his head.
“Itachi was thorough. He killed anyone with talent or a Sharingan. Uncle Garu was overlooked because he had neither. He graduated the Academy as an administrative genin and spent years training with his spear in the hope he could become a field ninja. He wanted desperately to activate the Sharingan, but it never happened. As he got older, he was written off completely by the village and the clan.”
Naruto wished it was the only story he had heard like that. But there were many more people who wanted to be ninja, than there was room on the active roster. “But he never stopped training?”
“Never. When I was ten, a group of ninja from Iwa tried to kidnap me. It was Uncle Garu who fought them off with his spear. All his life he had wanted to have the Sharingan, but that was the first time that he needed it. It was the first time he activated it, and he kept it up for hours as he fought off the ninja long enough for reinforcements to arrive.”
It kind of made Naruto feel bad about all the grief he had given the Uchiha guardsman when he visited. Not bad enough to stop when Garudo returned to his post, but still. “I didn’t have his luck.” Naruto said. “I needed to step up and fix this leak, but I failed.”
“The point was that he kept trying.” Sasuke said. “You did your best here, and it didn’t work. But you’ll do better with the next leak. And you keep trying until you learn how to fix this one. If a healing heron appeared here once before, it can again once the leak is stronger.”
Naruto was tired. He took a deep breath. He was so tired of losing and so tired of working hard for nothing. All these years of inching forward. What was it all for? Why was he doing any of this?
Sasuke held Naruto’s hand. “I know how much it hurts. But I also know you. You won’t ever give up.”
He looked into Sasuke’s eyes. There was a fire there that was contagious. Sasuke had such a high opinion of Naruto. An opinion that had been hard won. And Naruto did not want to lose that too.
“We can try to hatch the egg.” Naruto said suddenly.
“How?” Sasuke asked. “It’s been dormant for decades.
Naruto was not sure. “You’re right. I don’t want to give up yet. I can’t fix what’s gone. But I can try to fix what’s broken.”
~*~
“How much do you need?” Yu asked.
“As much as you have.” Naruto said. He looked through the crates. The smell was as horrible as Yu had described.
“And you think all these rotting spirit-touched plants are really going to help?”
Naruto could give no guarantees. “I don’t think anyone really knows how the spirit leaks work. This is a shot in the dark, honestly.”
“A shot in the dark is better than anything we came up with ourselves.” She said. “Let’s do this.”
Yu indicated the barrels and crates that had been used for storage. Naruto was able to carry two of them, with Hanabi, Sasuke, Sakura and Gaara each taking one more. They went to the spirit leak together.
“I’m going to need a bath after this.” Hanabi complained. “And wash all my clothes.”
“It’s just a little further.” Naruto said. “Dump it all out around the conduit crystal.”
It was a gross sludge that came from the oldest barrels. The newest weren’t much better.
“It’s a good thing Buro-sama’s still at the hot springs.” Yu said. “He would never allow all of this filth in our place of worship.”
“He’s going to have to deal.” Naruto said. Either this was going to work, or Buro wouldn’t be the caretaker of this place for much longer anyway.
Naruto went to the crystal and took the blanket off the egg. It was still there. Still cold. Naruto thought it was dead, but then the heron would not have led Naruto to it. Perhaps it was just waiting.
“So what now?” Sakura asked.
Naruto took his kunai and stabbed it into the ground. He used his hands to mix up dirt and spirit-touched sludge.
Hanabi sighed. “A long hot soaking bath.”
They all worked together, mixing the soil and making it ready to be planted. “I was reminded of something Kurama said.” Naruto said. “He once told me that rotting is a human invention. In nature, things don’t rot. They decompose.”
“It’s compost.” Yu realised. “Is that why you’re returning it to the soil?”
Naruto nodded. He retrieved the spirit flower from his backpack. It was a little bruised where the Heron had tried to eat it. “You know, I think Nana used to do something to process the plants into food for the Heron. I think it helped it survive so far from the leak.”
“But Nana died months ago.” Yu said. “We never noticed anything wrong with the Heron.”
“It probably held on as long as it could.” Naruto suggested. “It ran on reserves until the spirit-touched Pika died and the leak was weakened so much that the heron’s strength completely left it.”
He planted the flower in the soil and spread some of Obaa-chan’s seeds around it. “I don’t know how long this will take. We…”
Naruto was interrupted when the spirit-touched flower sparkled, its glow returning. It wiggled, either from the wind or from its spiritual energy. And then there were dozens of similar flowers growing around it.
“Wow.” Hanabi gaped.
“What do we do now?” Sakura asked.
“Give me the egg.” Naruto said. He put it between the flowers, as close to the spiritual energy as he could.
They waited with bated breath.
And nothing happened.
“Do we need to wait?” Sasuke asked.
Naruto stared, willing the egg to hatch. To do something to show he was doing things right.
“I’m sorry, Naruto.” Sakura said. “I wish this would have helped. I’ll put the egg back.” She reached down and touched it, but then she froze. She looked at Naruto with big eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“You said it was cold, but it’s warm now.” She said. She made her hand glow green with medical chakra and put it over the egg. “It’s close to hatching. But it’s not getting any closer.”
“Do we need to wait?” Hanabi asked. “Give it more time?”
“That’s not how things work here.” Naruto said. “It spent decades without hatching. It’s not time it needs. It needs more energy. Yu, are you sure there’re no more spirit-touched plants?”
“I’m sure. We already put them all here.”
Naruto looked at the soil. He had spread close to a hundred seeds around the spirit-touched flower, and half of them had sprouted. The soil looked expended. More seeds weren’t going to help.
This was as far as they were going to get for now.
“I don’t know another way to add energy.” Naruto admitted. “We’ll have to hope more plants grow in the upcoming days.”
“I think I can do something to add energy.” Sakura realised. “Do you think sacrificing my talent will work?”
“It could.” Naruto said. “Are you okay with trying?”
“I always keep a few spare seconds.” She smiled. She pricked her finger and concentrated. And then she let a drop of blood fall on top of the egg.
They all stared.
And then they heard it cracking.
They saw the beak come out of the shell, before the bird spilled out. It didn’t look like a Heron chick should. And as it fluffed up its feathers, it grew right in front of them. Within seconds, it was half the size its parent had been.
But it really was a heron.
The heron turned and took off. One powerful thrust of its wings and it had accelerated to speeds greater than Naruto was capable of. It landed gracefully on the tree above the conduit crystal.
The Heron started rumbling. It was the only way to describe the sound coming out of its beak. There was a melody buried within it, somewhere, but Naruto mostly heard the feelings behind it. Of finally coming home.
“It doesn’t make any sense.” Naruto said. “It’s just been born. Why does it feel so old?”
“It’s like a phoenix.” Sasuke gasped. “It’s been reborn.”
“Holy hell.” Hanabi stared at it.
Sakura bowed her head in reference.
Naruto stepped closer, drawn into the sound. And he was not alone. Birds gathered around the trees and smaller creatures over the ground.
And then it was like an explosion of spiritual energy pulsed through the air.
The conduit crystal, that had been damaged when the Haron had died, glowed bright and mended itself. The green leaves on the trees looked more vibrant. The brown of bark was deeper. All the animals had a glisten to their fur that they hadn’t before.
“Look. We fixed it.” Naruto said.
“You did.” Kurama said. “Not how I would have done it. But… admittedly… this was faster.”
“And without bloodshed. Maybe there’s a way we can take care of the leaks in collaboration.”
“I don’t understand how you can see all this and still refer to this place by the ugly human name.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“You call it a leak, as if the spirit realm has been ruptured and spilling its energy haphazardly around to creatures too close. But this is a punctum coitionis.”
“The point of touching?”
“No. It’s… it’s union. It’s a point where the spirit world and physical are closer than anywhere else. This is not corruption. It is a blending. It is a balance that is not possible anywhere else on earth besides these points where opposites come together to become something greater than they were apart. The crystals in the centre are not problems to be solved. They are cornerstones to reality.”
He could feel it in the air. This was the way things should be. Just like the animals had gathered to see order restored, so Naruto and his teammates all felt it. Harmony that could attract artists from all over the country to try to describe it in words and pictures. A punctum coitionis. A point of convergence.
“What have you done?” Buro asked.
He had come to the forest, probably drawn in like everyone else was. But he did not see the leak returning to order. He only saw chaos and corruption. “This is blasphemy.”
“Your attempts to control this forest made it weaker.”
He stared at the Heron above the crystal. “Not only have we lost our protector, but you’ve brought a new spirit-touched animal in its place. What will it do? How much of our reputation will it tarnish?”
It squawked, as if in indignation, and then flew off.
Towards the hot springs.
“What will it do?!”
They all ran to the forest’s edge. They could see the young Heron fly over each bath, circling until the water seemed to light up with golden energy. And then it moved to the next. The further it got from the point of coalescence, the slower it flew and the more circles it needed to bless a bath. But it persisted. It looked tired when it finished with the last bath, until it got back in range of the forest and perked up.
“You should have had more faith in your protector.” Naruto said. “It didn’t need to be caged to care for you.”
~*~
Yu carefully removed a spirit-touched patch of clovers from the ground. The amount of petals on them changed depending on the angle they were viewed. “A few days ago, I would have just cut them at the stem.”
“This will take some getting used to.” Naruto admitted. He fought down a wave of nausea, coming from his seal. “Where are you replanting them?”
“Over there. Already have the space dug out.” Yu said, as she examined the clovers for any non-spiritual variants.
The plants that got ‘corrupted’ were completely random. Often it was in an unfortunate space, suboptimal for growing. Yu had dug up some space where the clovers would get more sun and could easily get water from the rain. The added compost would also help.
It had only been a few days, but the effect was already noticeable. Naruto did not know much about spirit-touched animals, but he knew plants. And apparently that knowledge transferred.
Kurama had wanted pure wilderness. And it looked like that might have helped in the long run. Buro had wanted a clean temple. The spirit leak had been harmed by human intervention. But it also worked the other way around. Removing weeds around the spirit-touched plants let them grow stronger. Relocating them made them thrive.
They were now treating the spirit leak like a garden, and it was making it thrive.
There was another wave of nausea, this one more intense than before. “Excuse me a second.”
Naruto sat against a tree and entered his meditation. It was easier to do in the leak, where spiritual energy soaked into every cell of his being.
Kurama was slumping in his cell, looking away. But the water underneath their feet was pulsing.
“I know it’s not what you wanted, but it worked.”
“It’s not supposed to.” Kurama said. “This is not the way any of this is supposed to work.”
Naruto let out a laugh. “That’s what everyone was telling me when I was following your advice. In the end you were just as wrong as the spirits were.”
Kurama growled.
Naruto sighed. He turned his attention to the walls around him. It really was easier to be in his mental space while he was in the leak. In the point of convergence. Everything felt more solid. He reached into the ground and shaped a stool to sit on. It was easier than it had ever been before to make his mind scape obey.
The connection was more grounded. He was going to tell Gaara to meditate in the point of convergence as well. He suspected that his own attempts at making a tunnel to the mind scape, which allowed Kurama to be pulled with him into the real world, would have been so much easier to learn if he had meditated like this before.
That actually made him hopeful for something else too.
He held out his arms and concentrated. He could pull at the walls and he almost had a grip. He suddenly understood what all the texts had been talking about, now that he could feel it. He learned to stretch mental muscles in order to get a firmer hold. It took a while to figure out. But then the whole place shuddered as Naruto pulled the walls closer to make the space smaller, and then pushed to make it larger.
Kurama finally looked up. “What are you doing?”
“A little redecorating.”
“A prison is a prison, no matter how big you make it.”
Naruto ignored him. All the books said that the shrinking and expanding effects were the hardest trick to learn. And that the next step would be child’s play.
It didn’t feel quite so easy. Nothing ever did for Naruto. But it was not impossible either.
The whole place was created by Naruto’s subconscious. The walls were only figments of his imagination. And he could imagine something different. A place without walls.
Naruto pulled again, but this time he made the walls collapse on themselves. Brick by brick they crumbled, falling out of place and then turning to dust in the water beneath them.
“What are you…” Kurama was silent. He stared at the ceiling that was turning into sky. He watched around him as the walls had large openings that showed behind them The Forest of Death. The forest that came closest to Kuruma’s home.
Naruto panted and released his grip. The walls weren’t completely gone. None of the holes were big enough to go through. But Naruto could see through them. After a few more sessions, the prison would be replaced with forest. He wouldn’t even need the leak now that he knew how. “It’s going to take a while before it’s complete. And even longer before I get used to keeping it intact even when I’m away.”
Kurama looked around.
Naruto was hoping for some form of gratitude.
Instead another wave of red chakra pulsed. Nausea strong enough that Naruto almost hurled.
Strong enough that Kurama was actually throwing up.
“You don’t have to exaggerate.”
But Kurama actually seemed to be suffering. His whole body was convulsing, like there was nothing more important than emptying its stomach. And what was coming out was red as blood.
Metal claws clanged as Kurama moved its paws to steady himself. Except the sound was coming also when he wasn’t moving. Naruto looked closer. Kurama was throwing up bile and blood… and metal? Shards were clearly mixed in with the sick.
“I’ll… I’ll get Kakashi-sensei.” Naruto said. “He’ll know what to do.”
“No…” Kurama fought back another wave. He spit blood to clear his mouth. “No. It’s passing.”
“I don’t think this is supposed to happen.” Naruto said.
“No.” Kurama admitted. “No it’s not.”
“Then what…”
The fox turned to Naruto, its mouth open. And Naruto could see the blood in its mouth. It covered its tongue, the roof of its mouth, and its many sharp fangs.
Sharp white fangs, under the blood.
Instead of metal shards.
Naruto gaped.
“I don’t want to hear a word about this.” It said.
Naruto said nothing, but he could not fight the grin of his face. Humans had ruined the spirit leak, and humans were fixing it. Humans had broken the Kyuubi. And Naruto was healing him.
“Thanks for all your help.” Naruto said. “We couldn’t have helped the point of convergence without you.”
Kurama gave him a long strange look. Like it did not know any better what was happening than Naruto was. It felt like he wanted to be alone, though usually he let that desire known by shouting pure hate at Naruto. Naruto decided it was better to show him he could leave without having to be thrown out.
“I’ll be back soon to finish the forest.”
Naruto returned to the real world, the smile still on his face.
~*~
Naruto groaned and it let out all the frustration that had been building inside of him, replaced now with the warmth of the water. The golden streaks in the water were vibrant and resonated with his chakra. “I never want to leave this place.”
“You’ll boil to death.” Kakashi said.
“And what an end it will be.” Naruto sprawled under the water. The hot spring was cleansing him the dirt from his naked skin. He did not know how much of it was the heat and how much of it was the spiritual energy, but his muscles had never felt more relaxed.
“We’ll miss you terribly.” Kakashi smirked under his mask. Naruto would have asked why he had brought the mask with him into the bath, but at this point Naruto was sure their sensei was just baiting them. “Guess I’ll just have to boil along with you.”
Sasuke was drying off his hair as he came walking up. He was wearing one of his expensive Uchiha robes. “You two are not allowed to die. I won’t be left alone with Jiraiya.”
“Oh well.” Naruto shrugged. “Guess you’ll just have to get in here and boil with us.”
Sasuke was turning that lovely shade of red again. How dare anyone suggest an heir of a noble house get naked in public. “I have some reading I wanted to get to.”
“You worked hard today, Sasuke.” Kakashi said. “We’re setting out tomorrow and I’ll be starting you on a new training regimen. So it’s better to take advantage of the healing waters while you still can.”
Naruto beamed. “Is that why you were quizzing us on the reading earlier?”
Kakashi said nothing, but the grin under his mask was very telling.
Sasuke still hesitated. “I don’t…”
“Do I need to make it an order?”
Sasuke’s face puffed up. He faced away from them as he dropped his robe and snuck into the water. He looked adorable with how uncomfortable he was shuffling around.
“We can have a bit of a victory, Sasuke.” Naruto said. “We fixed the heron. We did that.”
“It was mostly you.” Sasuke said. “Our spirits weren’t much help. Mine couldn’t even talk.”
“It will be fine. It just needs some more time. It’s barely a month since you first summoned it.”
“I just wish… I wish I could be better. There is still a long road to walk and I hate that I’m not at the destination yet.”
“You’re one of the most amazing people I know, Sasuke. You’re going to get there. I believe you’re going to surpass every expectation ever placed on you.”
“I just wished it could happen faster.”
“You’ve just turned chuunin.” Kakashi said. “You’re studying the material I handed you and you’ll take the next step soon. Now despite all the talk of boiling, I actually should cool off and finish up our business with Buro-san.”
Kakashi stood up and exposed himself. Naruto quickly turned to Sasuke to see more of his embarrassment. Sasuke seemed preoccupied however and hardly noticed the impropriety happening right in front of him. That did not seem like him.
Naruto moved a little closer. “Are you okay?”
Sasuke withdrew his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around it. “I haven’t been in public baths since I was a kid. There weren’t enough people in the compound left to keep the Uchiha’s open. And it took a while before I dared set foot outside of the compound. By the time I did, I’d already grown accustomed to bathing privately.”
“It takes some getting used to.” Naruto admitted. “The caretakers in the orphanage never really taught me how that all worked, so for a long time after I got my own apartment I resigned myself to using the shower no matter how cold the water was. It was Natsu who showed me not to care.”
“How do you do that? How do you not care?”
“After a while you notice everyone is more worried about their own body than anyone else’s. It isn’t the norm to share a bath with a pretty boy like I am now, most of the time I was squeezed between a dozen wrinkly men all complaining about the weather.”
Sasuke flushed red. The poor Uchiha heir could not ever imagine having to sit naked between the plebs.
“Just relax. We’ve earned it.”
Sasuke shook his head. “Even if I can start enjoying the bath, I won’t be able to relax.”
“Why not?”
“My upcoming marriage is weighing heavily on me. It’s not supposed to happen so fast. I wanted to be a jounin when I married. There wasn’t even time…” Sasuke sighed. “Forget it.”
“No time for what?”
“I told you how political my marriage is going to be. I’ll have to pick someone because of the stats on a piece of paper and I hate it. But I have resigned myself to it. It’s what is needed for the clan and I will do it. I just thought I might have a relationship first with someone I liked.”
“You have your eye on anyone?”
“I do. But I don’t think it’s mutual. I keep dropping hints without anything happening and…” Sasuke looked up at the sky. The stars were out and the moon was nearly full. It bathed him in a cool natural light. “And I’m not sure it’d be a good idea to pursue it.”
“It might be better to take the chance.” Naruto said. “Though I don’t really know anything about love or romance. Sakura’s probably best to ask if you want someone who knows what they’re talking about.”
“Oh I’ve asked her.” Sasuke said. “Repeatedly. She keeps telling me to go for it.”
“Oh good, then I wasn’t too far off with my advice. Sasuke, I can’t imagine anyone turning you away. You and Sakura were the most popular ninja in the academy. Everyone wanted to be with you.”
Sasuke huffed. “You’re exaggerating. Besides, you told me that you didn’t pay attention to crushes in the Academy.”
“I mean, it’s hard to miss when half the class is drooling too much to pay any attention to the teacher. I’m glad I was never like that.”
“Yeah, too busy training to have to suffer from your hormones.”
Naruto shrugged. “That’s not true. I was just realistic. I knew nobody would like me back until I could prove that I’m a reliable ninja. I doubted anyone would pay me any attention until I was wearing the hokage hat.”
“You don’t have to be the strongest ninja in the village to matter, Naruto.”
“I know that now. But in the academy… it never felt like that. I still can’t trust anyone when they say they enjoy spending time with me. I’m just reminded of those awkward lunches where Iruka forced a kid to eat next to me.”
“I enjoy spending time with you.”
“And you’re one of the few people who can say that and I’ll believe them.”
“So who did you have a crush on?”
Naruto made a face. “I wouldn’t call it that. A crush sounds like I was like someone from your fanclub, those boys and girls who would fast for three weeks if it meant they could get one of your eye lashes.”
Sasuke chuckled. “What would you call it?”
“I guess… heart skips. A moment where I look at someone and I see the appeal. I can imagine a series of what-ifs. What if they actually liked me back? What if we got serious? What if we could kick ass together and make quippy one-liners to each other like in the stories? A moment of longing before I can put myself back in reality and focus on what needs to be done.”
“So… heart skips. Who did you have a heart skip on?”
“Well, you remember when Hinata came back from her Hyuuga taijutsu tutoring? She had been in the bottom half of the class and all the civilian boys were begging to be paired up with her for an easy win against a clan heir. She just picked the biggest one, took off her jacket, and then knocked him unconscious in three moves. That was a jaw-dropping heart skip moment.”
“Anyone else?”
“Shino got his when he first learned to control his bugs. There was this girl being picked on by the older Academy students and he just stood right in front of her. Not saying a word. And when they tried to punch him, he flooded them with bugs. He looked so cool. Sakura got hers a few times over. The way she aced the shuriken test. The way she talked circles around that substitute teacher. Her first genjutsu. And yes, at the risk of making you even more obnoxiously smug, you had a few moments too.”
“I did?”
“Yeah.” Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “The first time you showed off your fire jutsu, the first time you did that kunai throwing trick, and basically any time that you kicked my ass in taijutsu matches. But don’t you dare mock me for it. I’ve got it completely under control. I’m perfectly fine just being friends. I know I’m just a talentless…”
Naruto shut up.
It was hard to talk when Sasuke’s lips were pressed against his. It was hard to do anything but stare.
Sasuke pulled back his head, looking hopeful.
“Oh no.” Naruto said.
Sasuke pulled back further and suddenly Naruto became very aware that he was in a hot spring together with a teammate who had just admitted he was attracted to him, a teammate who also happened to be an incredibly hot Uchiha heir, and they were both incredibly naked.
“Is that all you have to say?”
Naruto was almost instinctively pulling on Kurama’s mind, wanting help here. This was not something he was equipped to handle and even though he knew an ancient demon fox would probably not know more about human dating etiquette, a large part of him still felt it would be better to get his advice than trust his own judgement.
“That… that was a nice kiss?”
Sasuke sighed. “I’ll head back inside.”
“Wait.” Naruto grabbed Sasuke’s wrist. He wanted to say any of the romantic things he always said when he allowed himself to daydream. He wanted to say that this had caught him by surprise because Sasuke having feelings for him felt as impossible as Sasuke sprouting wings and flying off. He wanted to say that this was not something Naruto knew how to deal with, because he had never allowed himself to hope that anyone could actually like him like that.
He had a million things he wanted to say, but none of it quite left his mouth. Naruto’s grip weakened.
Sasuke stood up and used his robe to cover himself up. “I’m going to bed.” He practically ran off.
Naruto let himself sink under the water. He was not sure whether Kurama had answered his earlier call and was now laughing, or whether it was just his own inner critic reviewing Naruto’s performance to something unexpected.
I just thought I might have a relationship first with someone I liked.
I keep dropping hints without anything happening.
I don’t think it’s mutual.
Sakura keeps telling me to go for it.
Sasuke had been struggling with this for a while. And the whole time Naruto had been completely oblivious.
When Naruto finally went to bed, the light in Sasuke’s room was already off. He raised his hand to knock, but then lowered it again. He went to his own room instead. He imagined a different inn, where they would be sleeping in the same room. Where he could gently ask if Sasuke was already asleep and then talk in the dark. Maybe there he would have been comfortable enough to say what he really thought of Sasuke.
Of all the places to have a private room.
They would talk next time, Naruto decided. The next night they would have a space for themselves and Naruto would have a proper chance.
After all, he had been assuming all these years that he would have to wait to be worthy of love.
Maybe it was okay to be tired of waiting.
Notes:
Next update in March: Not a loser anymore. In which we find out where the Uchiha are from and Naruto and Sasuke have a chance to talk. But not everything is at it seems.
In this chapter we get more into spirit leaks and how they work. This is important information to introduce now, as the Shippuden chapters (starting 8 chapters from now) will heavily feature the spirit world and its relationship with the physical world.
The original resolution was far more fantastical, with the heron returning to the Point of Convergence and having a miraculous recovery after which hundreds of spirit-touched animals appeared out of nowhere. It unfortunately did not fit with the lore in later chapters, and I realised it also doesn’t fit with the theme of loss that part 3 focuses on. There are no miraculous solutions to grief and even when things get better, it’s a slow process. The Point of convergence took centuries to break, and it will take centuries to be returned to its original strength.
Also, one of the goals of this fanfic is having Kurama be an actual disadvantage instead of an initial drawback that becomes Naruto’s greatest strength over time. But Kurama is allowed to help fix problems that he’s created or that other ninja would have been able to reach too. Anyone could have talked to the Bijuu and learn their views on the spirit world. In an alternate version of this story, hard-working Naruto befriends the Jinchuriki and becomes friends with Kurama even while the Kyuubi is sealed in someone else. Anyway, this chapter is an example where Kurama is allowed to help according to the restrictions I put on myself and the world =D
If you want to learn more about the world of Sundial in the Shade, I now have a companion fanfic with lore and other elements. This includes the story of Sasuke’s uncle Garu and a primer on talent for people that still have some questions. I'll include links to relevant lore in the past chapters retroactively. Here I suggest checking out why the spirits think ill of the Bijuu.
Chapter 21: 3.4 Not a loser anymore (Candy Store)
Summary:
My lips feel sensitive, as if they were burned by Sasuke instead of kissed. Maybe it’s just the excitement. We’re going to one of the oldest village in the Land of Fire, Chonen. It’s the birthplace of the Uchiha. Let’s scour it for Legendary ninja Tsunade!
Notes:
Apologies for the delay. Had a bit more trouble with this chapter than I thought I would.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Breakfast was awkward. Naruto arrived last. Even though he had gotten up the earliest, his morning jog had kept him from the table. The moment he joined, Sasuke finished and declared he was going to finish packing.
Sakura gave Sasuke a look like he was being a baby, and then Naruto like he was being an idiot. Hanabi caught up quickly that something was going on and Gaara got frustrated because he realised everyone around him understood something that he did not.
Then they started travelling and Sasuke made very sure to stay near Kakashi and Jiraiya at the centre of the group.
“I hope our next destination isn’t going to be a problem for you, Sasuke.”
“It’s fine.” Sasuke said. “I’ve been to Chonen once before.”
“What’s in Chonen?” Gaara asked.
“It’s a place with ties to the royal family.” Sakura said. “There is an order of monks that advice the palace and it is the seat of the daimyo’s Twelve Guardians.”
“It’s also my ancestral home.” Sasuke said. “The Uchiha clan used to live there before we moved to Konoha.”
“It surprises me you’ve only been once.” Jiraiya said. “You didn’t do the pilgrimage?”
“That hasn’t been a tradition in years.”
“I thought Madara mandated it.”
“Madara mandated a lot of things.” Sasuke noted. “When he founded the village with the Senju, he wanted us to always remember our home. And we tried to keep to that tradition. But then times changed. Konoha was no longer an experiment that we needed a back-up plan for. And so a pilgrimage to Chonen started making less sense. Especially when there were no more Uchiha left to make the journey.”
“There are still some left.” Naruto said.
Sasuke did not look at him. But he nodded. “I can restart the tradition and take Daisuke here when he’s a genin.”
Naruto could not tell whether his gait was lighter or not.
Sakura turned to Jiraiya. “So why do we think Tsunade might be here?”
“If she’s feeling nostalgic in a bad way, that’s where she’ll be. It’s where our team broke up.”
“What happened?”
“We had just returned from the war. We had fought against Danzo and survived, but Orochimaru had been badly poisoned. We thought he would not make it back to Konoha. So we brought him here. We thought it would be a fitting place for his life to end, since it meant so much to him.”
“Why would this place be important?”
Jiraiya looked confused. “I thought you already knew. Orochimaru was an Uchiha.”
No. That they had not.
“But… his whole thing is snakes. How can he be an Uchiha?”
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. “My brother and I are the only Uchiha remaining. And Itachi was disowned by Konoha when he slaughtered every other family member in the clan or with a sharingan.”
“Orochimaru would not have been counted. He was clanless and talentless. The Uchiha would not let him register with his last name when he declared he would be a ninja anyway, and they renounced him completely when his experiments became public. He had been working hard on getting a connection with the snakes later in life, without much success. Until that night in Chonen. We helped him into a bed thinking he would die and the next morning he walked out like nothing had happened. Just with that unnaturally white skin. Tsunade thought at first that the poison had gotten worse. But no. He someone gotten the snakes to accept him and they had gifted him immunity. But what survived wasn’t Orochimaru. It was a demon who betrayed Konoha.”
“I thought he still returned to the village after that.”
“He did, but the human part of him died on that bed in Chonen. The Uchiha I had known. He no longer cared about the recognition of his birth family. He wanted to be worshiped for what he had achieved with his own hands instead of where he’d come from. All he got was suspicion for what lines he must have crossed to forge a connection with the snakes. The worse thing was that when we returned to the village, we heard Tsunade’s fiancée Dan had just passed away. I was too busy consoling Tsunade about her loss to even see what was happening. And then when Orochimaru left, I was so focused on bringing him back that I lost Tsunade.” Jiraiya turned his gaze to the horizon. In the distance, they could see the large buildings sticking out of the forest. “It all started there.”
“We’ll follow the same procedure as before.” Kakashi said. “We’ll take point on the mission while Jiraiya checks the most likely places for her to be.”
When they entered the village, there was a small following that was very happy they had arrived. They instantly crowded around Sasuke.
“Most welcome to our home.” An older woman said. She stood straight and had her long grey hair combed to perfection. Several ornements adorned her hair. “We were so happy you could come with such haste.”
“We understand there has been some difficulty here.”
“Yes. We were lucky the Suna ninja left our town and possessions alone. We have enough guards here that we could retreat within our residences and wait out their passing.”
“Then what was the problem?”
She beckoned them to follow her. The village was laid out like a circle and in its very centre was a stone monument. It looked familiar.
Naruto’s breath hilted and he instinctively reached out for Sasuke’s hand to comfort him. He hesitated. After the previous night, he did not really have a right to do that. But they were still friends, right? He would have done the same thing if nothing had happened. He was plagued with indecision until he saw the expression in Sasuke’s eyes.
Naruto held Sasuke’s hand as they approached it.
“This is the keeper of our sacred flame.” The woman explained. “We may no longer house the Uchiha clan, but we still view ourselves as children of the crows. We have kept the flame burning even when all the Uchiha went to Konoha. The phoenix Tsukuyomi entrusted this flame to us when he became a crow and we are meant to keep it safe.”
It looked just like the monument at the Uchiha compound commemorating the massacre. That monument had to have been based on this.
The only difference was that there was no fire inside it.
“We worry great misfortune will befall us.”
Sasuke clenched his hand around Naruto’s, but his face was all business. “What do you need me to do?”
“We need it lighted by an Uchiha’s flames. There is a ceremony, which we have recovered from our records.”
“I understand. I will do it.”
The woman smiled. “You do not know how much this means to us.”
“Is there somewhere I can prepare?”
“Our library is waiting for you. There is a side chamber if you need any privacy.”
Sasuke pulled his hand free from Naruto’s as he stepped away.
“Do you need us to go with you?”
“No.” Sasuke shook his head. “This is something I have to do alone.”
“Right.” Kakashi said. “Since the rest of us cannot help with that, I would like to take advantage of the daylight and have a training session with my students.”
“There is a clearing just out of town you can use.”
“Perfect.”
~*~
Kakashi reviewed that they had all the basics down to move on to our next training, as excitement slowly built. They had been training during their travels, but only as far as they could fit it in. This would be something new. And with all that had been going on, Naruto could use something to stick his teeth into that would consume all of his focus.
Gaara finished showing his own work. He had had more time to read than the rest of them, and it showed in his progress. “Are you sure it’s alright to be teaching me?”
“You’ve come along with this mission as an escort and that means you will be granted the same rights and privileges as any other Konoha chuunin. Though I am afraid there is little I can do to help other than supervise.”
“What do you want us to do?” Naruto asked.
“All the reading has been for your next step of chakra manifestation. You are able to call upon your chakra to strengthen your bodies and to fuel your jutsu. Next, you’ll need to use the chakra outside of your bodies for an assassination technique.”
“Which is easiest with elemental chakra, right?” Sakura said. “Though the material doesn’t quite explain why that is.”
“I like to think of it as a condensation. Natural energy can be anything, until you turn it to chakra inside your bodies. Then when you further fold your chakra into its elemental nature, it has become stable enough to survive without collapse outside of your body.”
“I don’t understand why we need to do this though.” Gaara said. “My claws can kill on their own. Why would I need anything else?”
Kakashi let the Chidori form on his palm. The sound was almost deafening as the lightning crackled across the sphere. Kakashi charged a tree and it exploded on contact. Kakashi was smiling lazily as he dusted himself off and walked back. “When you were disarmed during the chuunin exams, you became helpless. As chuunin, that is a weakness you can’t afford.”
Gaara’s eyes were wide. “Will mine explode like yours will?”
“Earth has its own specialty.” Kakashi said. “The mass lends itself well to strikes that matter. I grant you permission to open the instructions you were left with and promise to watch you practice.”
Gaara nodded. He retrieved a scroll from his backpack, tore through the seal keeping it closed and went to reading.
“Hanabi, you have your instructions as well?”
She nodded. “A Hyuuga lightning specialty.”
He turned to Sakura and Naruto.
“I’m prepared for this.” Sakura said. “My instructor gave me a scroll on the mist technique. Though primarily used for stealth, it can be used to identify weaknesses that can be targeted with a chakra scalpel.”
“That combination would suffice.” Kakashi said. “Naruto, I assume you weren’t left with any instructions?”
“Didn’t get a chance to ask for any.” He shrugged. His arrangement with Temari had only lasted until the chuunin exams. He had not had a chance yet to find a new mentor.
“While a wind technique would be preferable, there’s something else you can try. My own teacher created a technique called the Rasengan that is as effective as the Chidori yet doesn’t require any elemental chakra.”
“How does that work?”
“He found a different way to stabilise the energy. Let me show you.” Kakashi gathered a water balloon from his backpack. He used his canteen to fill it up and then tied it quickly. He put it in Naruto’s hand and then a similar one in his own.
“A water balloon for a technique without water components?”
“Just watch.” Kakashi said. “Manifest your chakra in your hand and move it around.” The water in the balloon started shifting. “The water helps you see what you’re doing. And then you just need to find a balance. It’s a lot like wind chakra in that sense. Move it around to cause ever increasing chaos.” The water balloon wobbled. “You create something that is dense and keeps getting denser.” It wobbled harder. “The energy will escape in small burst, rising in intensity over time.”
The water balloon’s rubber popped with a splash, but most of the water stayed perfectly in place. It was swirling something crazy. Every few seconds another burst of water would shoot out, this time further and further away from the watery orb. Until all that was left was the chakra construct, now so dense that Naruto could see it with his eyes.
Kakashi charged another tree and it blew up, just like the Chidori had been able to.
Naruto swallowed. “That’s pretty cool.”
“And all it takes is practice.”
Naruto focused on his hand. With a great deal of effort he was able to manifest his chakra and make the water swirl once. “That feels uncomfortable.”
“Chakra prefers to be inside the body. But it’s just a matter of practice.”
“Right.”
“Have a look over the theory again tonight. It’ll be easier to understand now that you’ve tried it. And once you can pop the balloon, Jiraiya has a few more ideas on how to train.”
Naruto nodded, all his attention on a water balloon that refused to obey his wishes.
Kakashi settled nearby at a tree trunk, taking out his special book and keeping watch. Because there really was nothing more he could say.
~*~
Naruto gathered chakra into his hand. He had become good at focusing his chakra. There used to be a time that it took him ten seconds to get enough chakra to do a bunshin. He had become skilled at making his volatile chakra respond to him.
Perhaps that was his mastery of the wind element. He had learned how to unleash the chaos in his wildest chakra, and that always left him satisfied. The calmer chakra that remained was easier to grasp.
It was why he had just spent an hour unleashing strikes of wind in taijutsu kata.
It had helped. The calmer chakra went happily to his hand. It moved the water inside of a water balloon.
And then nothing happened.
Naruto breathed through his frustrations. This was only the third session of training. It was expected that his progress would be minimal. It didn’t help that he had cut both of his earlier sessions short. And he was tempted to cut this third session short too.
He forced himself to try again while his chakra was still cooperating.
He heard Gaara pounding his fist against tree bark. He had not swayed from practice since he had read his scroll and already Naruto could tell the improvement.
There was a time the comparison would have filled him with zealous fire to beat him. Instead he was just tired. He knew that it was impossible to train a subject when his body and mind fought him every step of the way. Especially when he would rather be doing something else. In Wave, he had been so excited to learn tree walking that he had put his other studies aside, knowing he would not be able to focus on them when there was something new and fun to do.
The Rasengan was new. It was supposed to be fun.
He looked at a water balloon that refused to pop.
“I need to do literally anything else right now.” Naruto admitted.
Gaara turned to him. “More wind practice?”
Naruto doubted it would help. To pull up the wind chakra he had to embody the freedom and strength of Wind. It was liberating. And in his current state, there was only so long he could keep it up. “Something that isn’t training.”
Naruto would like to run around and show Kurama the forests, but the fox was still cooling down from their latest interaction. He could enter his head space to work on transforming the sewer into forest without talking, but that was not the same.
“You could go help with dinner.” Gaara suggested.
That involved the risk of running into Sasuke. He needed to move away from the rest of the team, not towards them. At least until he had fully digested the implications of what Sasuke had confessed to him. Until he had figured out what to say to him. And had a chance to tell him those things in private. “I’ll find somewhere to go.”
“Don’t stray too far.” Gaara reminded him. “Kakashi told us to stay in the village.”
“You don’t have to worry. I won’t go far.”
~*~
The village reminded Naruto of the Uchiha district. The homes were open and inviting. But there were more people there. It was probably what the Uchiha district had looked like once upon a time, before Sasuke’s brother had ruined everything.
Naruto found a large temple at the edge of the village. Its designation was clear, if not by the signs then by the many monks surrounding it.
Naruto hesitated at the edge of it.
“Welcome, Shinobi.” A man said.
Naruto startled. He had not seen him.
The man was tending to a rose bush. His head was shaven bald and he had a thick brow. “Come to visit the temple?”
“I’m not sure.” Naruto admitted. “I don’t want to impose.”
“Nonsense.” He said. “The temple is open to all. My name is Chiriku.”
The name sounded familiar. “Naruto. Were you one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja?”
“No longer. Now I tend the gardens and meditate on our scriptures. Why do you ask?”
“I met your former colleague. Asuma administered part of my chuunin exam.”
A smile formed on his face. “How is he doing?”
“Orochimaru attacked him, but he’s recovering. He’s trying to become Hokage.”
“Yes. It was always his dream to protect the people. I hope he found the voice he was looking for. He was always afraid he would be seen as nothing more than the echo of his father.” He made a sign and nodded a prayer for him. “Come. We should be able to catch the training of our acolytes.”
Naruto followed Chiriku to a central courtyard, where a dozen children were going through kata.
“They’ve been practicing since dawn.”
Naruto could believe it. He could see the exhaustion on their brows. And yet their form looked perfect.
“You don’t seem surprised. Most ninja are shocked we’re capable of practicing for so long.”
“Yeah, well, I’m talentless.” Naruto shrugged. “I’m used to it.”
“Ah, I see.” He nodded. “Then you do know what it’s like. Is it not marvellous?”
All Naruto could see were tired children. The Fire Temple did not accept the talented, or perhaps the talented were not drawn to a life of constant work. The Academy had students that worked this hard because they were keeping up with the clan children. Naruto had been this tired many times before because of it. “What do you do it for?”
“We tend the gardens because we like seeing the roses bloom.”
Naruto frowned. “I wasn’t talking about gardening.”
“Training the body is not much different. There is tranquillity and joy in the repetition. We watch a skill bloom.”
“But what is it for?”
“Why do you think everything we do must have a purpose? An action is not more meaningful by the achievement of a particular result. We eat not to satisfy our hunger, but because we enjoy the taste. We drink not to quench our thirst, but to experience refreshment. And we do not train in order to become stronger, but to experience improvement.”
Naruto looked at the children punching air. If he had been down there, he would be listening to his music in order to make the time move more quickly. He would want to quit and then he would remember why he was working so hard. And then he would continue. “I don’t have the strength to do this without a purpose.” He whispered.
“From what I can see of you, you do not lack in strength.” Chiriku said. “So what has changed?”
“The person I was becoming Hokage for… he died. And I’m trying to move on. But it’s hard to… it’s hard.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.” He put his hand gently on Naruto’s shoulder. “The body and the heart need time, even when the head knows it’s time to go on.”
“I’m not a monk. I don’t have time to wait until I’m ready.”
“We all have the same amount of time to spend. And the more we rush through our challenges, the longer they take to overcome.”
“You don’t understand. I need to walk the Golden Path.” Naruto said. “And that means I don’t have time for my body to keep protesting. There’s only so far I can fall behind before it becomes impossible to catch up.”
Chiriku stared ahead.
There was a sound and all the children stopped. They started clearing the courtyard.
“You ninja are obsessed with the ways things should be. When the dinner bell goes, we stop training and feed our bodies. That is not tradition, but common sense. It will take as much time as it will take.”
“And if that means I don’t make it in time?”
“Would that be the worst thing?”
Naruto’s face fell.
“With your best efforts, you are either capable of walking the Golden Path, or you’re not. And worrying about it is keeping you from applying your best efforts. So the answer is simply to stop worrying.”
Naruto huffed. “I wished it was that simple.”
“If it was simple, we would not need a lifetime to teach ourselves these lessons from our scriptures.”
Naruto tried to turn off the button inside his head that was making him worry so much about his training. He imagined it as a dial that he slowly turned. He had to stop imagining it when the lack of distraction made him think of Sasuke.
“Love problems?”
Naruto stared at him. “What? I… I don’t know what you mean.”
“I’ve seen that look a million times before. And here I thought you were seeking advice on your path to becoming a strong ninja.” He smiled, amused.
“That is the significantly bigger problem. The other thing is just… a friend that I need to talk with. But I don’t want to distract him right now. We’re on a mission.”
“Not distracting him seems to be distracting you.”
“It’s not important.” Naruto said. Because it couldn’t be. Neither of them had time to make it important. “And I already screwed it up anyway.”
“Take this advice from your elder. In matters of the heart, we make mountains out of ant hills. You rationally understand that whatever conversation you need to have is a minor one. But until you have it, it will feel significant.”
“In time.” Naruto insisted, though he was less sure than he had been. “I don’t need to deal with that to get back to my training. I just need to find some way to enjoy myself again. If I can enjoy training, I can get through it. I need to find some way to train where I don’t feel so…” Naruto did not know how to finish.
“We can’t only do the things we enjoy.” He said. “But we can always enjoy the things we do.”
Naruto made a face at him. “That’s logically inconsistent.”
Chiriku laughed. “You should read some scriptures with me. You will find they’re filled with contradictions. Because truth is not something that can be caught in words. The only way to convey truth, is by making someone think. And the best way to make someone think, is by being logically contradictory. I have spent twenty years finding truth in the scriptures and in another hundred I will still not be close to true understanding.”
“Have you considered…” Naruto shut his mouth.
“Please, go on.”
“Have you considered that the scriptures contain bad explanations if it takes you more than a century to understand them?”
“And how long would you think is appropriate to learn about Truth?” He smiled. “Because we believe it takes lifetimes.”
Naruto swallowed. He was used to having a clear path to becoming jounin. There were lists of skills he needed to master and knowledge he needed to learn. And then the path to Hokage was political, but equally concrete.
This wasn’t like the lessons of Konoha. This was more like his mastery of the Henge. Every day he learned something new. Every day he became better. And he enjoyed knowing he was the best in his particular specialisation. He enjoyed seeing how far the henge could be pushed.
But he could not imagine filling his life with only that uncertainty.
“Isn’t it frustrating?”
“Of course it is.” He said. “And that is how I know it’s important.”
There was another sound.
“Will you be joining us for dinner?”
“No, I need to head back to my team.”
“Of course. You are always welcome to return.”
“Like I said, I don’t have much time. But thank you for your help.”
“Be well. I hope you’ll find what you’re looking for.”
~*~
Naruto arrived late. They had saved a bowl for him in the kitchen, where Hanabi was helping the cook clean up. It hadn’t even been needed to avoid dinner. Sasuke had not been there. And he would be away all evening to study for the ceremony. It was to be performed at midnight.
Naruto ate gratefully, sitting on the kitchen counter.
“It’s delicious.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” The cook said. “We weren’t sure the old recipes for Konoha guests would still be accurate.”
“Tastes like home.” Naruto said. It reminded him of the festivals where he would walk from food stall to food stall to sample everything.
“I’m sorry about what happened to Konoha.” The cook said. “We’re all grieving the loss of the Sandaime.”
“Thank you. Konoha will recover. But it will be hard to replace the Third.”
“Yes. We’re all curious who the next Hokage will be. Is there any news?”
“No.” Naruto said. “Nobody’s been chosen yet.”
“It’ll probably happen while we’re away.” Hanabi added. “So you’ll know at the same time we do.”
“I see. And you don’t know who’s the most likely candidate?”
“Oh, you know.” Naruto shrugged. “I don’t think about it a lot. It’s not really relevant to me until I get into a position to run for the office.”
“That makes sense.” She said, returning to her dishes.
“I only know the basics. The only thing that could unify the council on a candidate is if they’ve walked the Golden Path, and Asuma is currently one of three active jounin who’s done that. He also spent a few years away from the village, which didn’t do his position any good. And with his current injury he’s disqualified for the foreseeable future. The other two jounin are Kakashi and Gai, both more interested in serving as jounin than becoming the leader of the village.”
“Only three? That can’t be right.” Hanabi said. She tried to find a counter example, but was coming up short.
“The others have died in service or they’ve retired. There’s a reason the Third was still serving as Hokage. There weren’t any other viable replacements. Of course now that the council is forced to choose someone, they’ll have to settle with the next best thing.”
“So that would be Gai?” Hanabi frowned. “One of the loudest ninja in the village?”
“Gai will probably be Mitokado-sama’s selection. He values candidates that are strong and have proven themselves in battle. But Utatane-sama will reject him. She values diplomacy above all else and will require a candidate with persuasive skills, or willing to learn them. Gai is still working towards ultimate mastery of Taijutsu. He can’t divert his talent.”
“Then who?”
“An old ninja from one of the major clans makes most sense.” Naruto said. “Utatane-sama will most likely support Hiashi. But Danzo won’t like how that shifts the balance of the clans. He prefers ninja from small clans to secure the stability of the village. But they do have to be powerful and famous. The Inuzuka might strike a good balance. Perhaps Gaku-san.”
“And the final two council members?”
“They won’t introduce a candidate.” Naruto said with certainty. One was Mitokado’s pupil and the other Utatane’s. “They defer to their mentors. So yeah, it’s hard to see which way they will end up going. They’ll need to balance strength, charisma and stability. I don’t know of any candidate which exhibits all three.”
Hanabi grinned at him. “But you don’t think a lot about any of this?”
“I don’t.” Naruto protested. He had refrained from making extensive profiles of all the elders and finding the most direct path to their approval. He only knew the superficial information that most anyone could know… and pry out of Ino.
“I guess we’ll have to wait.” The woman said. “Thank you for the news. While the council might decry the lack of a perfect candidate, you’ve reassured me that they have plenty of good candidates to choose from.”
Naruto finished his food and then helped with the rest of the dishes.
He wondered which face would be carved in the Hokage monument. Would it be finished in time that they would see it when they returned?
“So what happened between you and Sasuke?” Hanabi asked.
Naruto frowned. “I’d like to talk to him about it first.”
“To preserve his honour?”
Naruto’s face flushed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I just think it’s about time.” She smiled. “Don’t wait too long.”
“After the ceremony.”
~*~
A gong sounded three times. Sasuke was dressed up in formal wear, like he wore when he performed his duties as clan leader back in the Uchiha compound. His hair was done up and it was breath-taking. His crow had taken its place on his shoulder.
“Kings of old and gods of new.” Sasuke said. “Spirit of the crows. Protect this village as well as you are able.”
He walked in a circle around the monument, holding incense. The smoke lingered, longer than it ought to, so that when he reached the beginning again there was a circle.
He made the hand signs and took a deep breath. When he exhaled it was fire. His elemental chakra taking form and setting the whole stone monument alight. It lasted for just a few seconds. Then the stone seemed to absorb the fire. Only the wood inside was left burning.
The woman from before stepped to the monument to check and then took a deep bow. “Thank you, Uchiha-sama, for your benevolence.”
“And thank you for your faith.”
“We have a celebration prepared in the main house. If you will join us.”
Naruto patted Kakashi’s arm to get his attention. “I’m going to grabs some books from my room so I can start reading right after.”
He nodded.
Naruto made his way through the crowd and stepped into the inn. His bag was right in his room and he quickly found the book he had been looking for.
“Hey, Naruto.” Sasuke said, walking in.
Naruto gave a gentle wave. “I thought you were going straight to the celebrations.” He thought he would have more time.
“It was getting a little too crowded out there. I just needed a moment to breathe. Actually, could you do me a favour?”
“Hmmm?”
“I left some scrolls in the preparation area. Could you keep me company as I retrieve them?”
“You know, there are subtler ways to get me alone to talk.”
Sasuke rolled his eyes. “You read the worst into everything.”
Naruto froze. There was something off. “Don’t you want to talk about last night?”
“Of course I do.” Sasuke said. “But can we walk first? The scrolls are an excuse, but I actually will be in some trouble if I don’t retrieve them before they come looking for me. I’m the guest of honour, after all.”
“I shouldn’t have kissed you yesterday. That wasn’t right of me.” Naruto said.
Sasuke looked uncomfortable. “Naruto, please. I’m sorry for how I reacted, but can we have this discussion in fresh air while we’re moving? You deserve my full attention and I can’t give it if we keep standing still.”
Naruto swallowed. He reached for the chakra and let it swarm his system. He needed it to appear like his heartbeat was normal. Like there wasn’t blood rushing to his face and adrenaline through his body. “It was the warm water. I wasn’t thinking straight. We were just having such a good time and I thought I read a signal and then I just went for it.”
The fake took a few steps closer. “You weren’t misreading anything.” He said. He was smiling kindly and wore the exact same eyes Naruto had learned to love.
“Look, I want to go with you and have our talk. I just need to know first. Despite your clan duties, despite your family and your expectations. Could you ever love someone with no talent like me?”
“Of course I love you.” False Sasuke said. “You’re my best friend.”
“I want to be more than best friends.” Naruto said. He shook his head. “I need some air.” He took a few steps towards the window, but the fake Uchiha grabbed his wrist.
“I think we can be.”
Naruto smiled and used his henge to smooth out the insincerity. “I’d like that.”
“I found another reason to sneak away.” He grinned.
Naruto nodded, letting the boy drag him away. He could see it happening now. There was a back entrance to the inn that lead directly into the forest. It would be a good chance for Naruto to run away… if this fake was acting alone. If there was an accomplice, the back entrance was exactly the right place for them to spring an ambush.
He could resist now, but there was no telling how strong this enemy ninja was. It might even be one of the jounin from Suna. His best bet was to inform Kakashi, somehow, of his situation.
There. A window besides the stairs.
Just as Falsuke tried to pull him down, Naruto used a transformation to remove his left arm from the grip. He threw a kunai forward fast enough to force the imposter to dodge, and then pumped all his chakra into jumping to the side. He crashed right through the window and was on his way to the main road.
Halfway to the earth, he turned into a giant fox. Just in case, he let half his equipment fall to the side, and then he took off the moment his paws touched dirt, breathing in deep to roar.
His transformation suddenly broke as he was pushed into the ground. There was a foot on top of him, pressing down. “My, my. Slippery little bastard.”
Naruto looked around, desperately. There were a few villagers and they were fleeing. He tried to call out to them, but there was too much pressure on his lungs. He could not move. He could not even see who was pinning him down.
“We need to move.” Sasuke’s voice said, using a tone far too calm for a Sasuke that was seeing Naruto pinned down.
“Yeah, in a second.”
Naruto’s body ached from the previous henge. But he needed something new. He tried to look exactly like himself as he hid the formation of hand seals within his transformation.
“Push down.”
The henge failed and Naruto gasped out in pain. The fake Sasuke crouched down beside him. “Wrong person to mess around with the henge with. It’s my specialty, after all.”
Fuck it then. Naruto made a single seal. Half his equipment had been discarded when he had jumped out the window and it was ten feet away. It was the half containing his explosive seals. A little close, but it would have to do.
The tag detonated and Naruto was free for the moment it took to transform out from under the ninja’s foot. He made the signs for the replacement technique as quickly as he was able to.
There was a blade disappearing into his arm just as he finished the last sign. He was transported on top of a nearby building, the kunai still inside of him.
Naruto stuck close to the surface, trying to get his breathing back under control. They had targeted him. They were after him. He just needed to hide for a few more seconds. Just until…
Naruto could hear the sound of metal hitting metal.
He carefully reached over the edge of the roof and peeked down. There were two Sasuke, both fighting each other. They looked identical. Naruto could not tell the physical difference even with the two of them next to each other. The fake had not been kidding when he said he had specialised in the henge.
Naruto finally got a good look of the other guy as well. The one that had pinned him down. He was massive with blue skin and what looked like gills on the side of his face. There was a large sword strapped to the back of his uniform, a black robe with red clouds painted on it.
Sasuke and fake Sasuke were freakishly evenly matched. It was like the spirits had placed a mirror between them. Sasuke made a feint from high and then attacked low. The other did the same. They both blocked with their forearm, leaving red gashes along their wrists.
“What did you do with Naruto!” Both of them yelled at the same time, pulling out kunai and ninja wire from a ceremonial robe that had no business containing that much weaponry. They were getting more and more frantic. Naruto wanted to call out, but he knew him hiding was the only tactical advantage they had at the moment.
The blue guy just looked amused, standing at the side like absolutely nothing was wrong. Like he did not have a care in the world.
“Stop this!” Sasuke yelled out.
Where was Kakashi? Where were Sakura and Hanabi and Gaara?
Sasuke jumped back for a little distance. And then he started going through signs. His mirror image did the same.
Naruto smiled. His teammate was way too clever. It was the summoning technique.
And while Uchiha Sasuke could produce a cloud that left a small crow, the other ninja could only… how was there another crow summoned?
Naruto’s breath halted.
“Long time no see, ototo.” The fake Sasuke finally dropped the charade, standing straighter and forming his proper length. As the henge fell away, the ceremonial clothes turned black with red clouds. His face lengthened and formed two strong lines on either side. His skin was pale and unblemished, even along the arms where most ninja carried at least some scars. Where, in his henge form, he had been cut.
“Aniki.” Sasuke said.
Uchiha Itachi stood opposite Sasuke. Naruto felt like he would be sick. This was not supposed to be happening. Sasuke was not supposed to fight Itachi for another ten years. And he was supposed to do it with his team.
“So many years without visiting or sending a letter. And here I thought you loved me.”
Sasuke was shaking, much as he tried to hide it. “I was busy mourning the family you killed.”
“Ever the exemplary son.” Itachi sighed. “How boring. You should get out of your shell more. Live a little. Though I do consider kissing a Jinchuriki to be going too far.”
Sasuke turned red. “You have no right saying anything about my life.”
“Relax, little brother. I have no interest in meddling. Though you’re wrong that I have no right. I am the clan leader after all.”
“You gave up that right when you killed our father in cold blood.”
Itachi grinned. “Did I now?” He turned to the crow on his shoulder. “Who do the crows recognise as clan leader, Kara?”
“We follow Itachi-san.” The crow said.
“And who is clan heir?”
“Itachi-san hasn’t chosen one yet.”
“That’s right.” Itachi looked back at Sasuke. “You can pretend in Konoha all you like, but out here we all know the truth.”
Sasuke shook his head. “You’re only the leader until I take the title from you.”
“That’s not very nice.” Itachi said. “I think I’ll have you apologise, or else revoke the privilege of your crow summon.”
“You can’t do that!”
“You named him Nozomo, right? How sickeningly adorable. Nozomo, leave.”
The crow on Sasuke’s neck turned to Sasuke. And then he stood a little firmer, staring right at Itachi. It was not going anywhere.
“Your foothold on the crows isn’t as firm as you think it is.” Sasuke smiled.
“One traitor doesn’t change anything.”
“Your greed destroyed our clan and our legacy. Everything that’s happened, it’s all your fault.”
“Is that what you think?” Itachi asked. “Is that the story our sweet little family is whispering into your ear?”
“It’s what happened.”
“Everything that happened, it started with father. When he decided he liked you more than me and decided he would name you heir.”
“That’s not true.”
“Why do you think I killed them all? It would have been easier just to kill father. But no. Daddy dearest chose you over me. He ensured that I had no future in Konoha. And there was only one way I would have a future outside of it.”
Sasuke shook his head. “They would’ve told me.”
“You’ve always been too trusting of others.” Itachi said. “It’s why it was my favourite game to train my henge with you. Just a few kind words and you’d be eating out of my hand no matter who I was pretending to be.”
“That’s one lesson I’ll let you teach me.” Sasuke said. “And I’ll start with distrusting you.”
“Hah! Spoken as a true Uchiha.” Itachi grinned. “Want to know another fact I uncovered? It’s juicy.”
“Stop playing with the kid.” Kisame said.
“But if I don’t tell him, who will? Certainly not the family he trusts so much.”
“Shut up!” Sasuke shouted.
“Madara Uchiha was banished from the Uchiha clan.” Itachi said. “He turned against Konoha and the clan punished him for it. They took his eyes and sent him away to die.”
“Our founder… died honourably in combat.”
“That’s what the Uchiha always did. They took a story they didn’t like and changed it until it suited them. In reality they not only took Madara’s eyes and dignity, but they even denied him his true story with a legacy as a freedom fighter. He saw, like I did, that true strength for the Uchiha wouldn’t be achieved while working in Konoha. We have to set higher goals for ourselves.”
Sasuke glared at him.
“You’re letting too many people distract you from your goal, little brother. I thought you wanted to have revenge and show everyone how much more worthy of the crown you were than me? What are you doing running around the country with your little friends?”
“My work does not impede on my training.”
“They’re slowing you down. You’ll have to work a lot harder if you ever want to get close to my level.” Itachi shrugged. “Guess you’ll just have to make it up to me the next time I come to visit.”
“I can’t just let you leave.”
“Please. You don’t stand a chance.” Itachi said.
“I still have to try.” Sasuke got in a stance, wielding his kunai.
“You think you can survive fighting me just because you were able to keep up before? Do you have any idea how much weaker I had to make myself to pass myself off as you?”
Sasuke stood firm.
Naruto knew he had no chance against these two. They were missing nin. They had to be at least at the level of jounin. It would be impossible for them to win.
Impossible to win, impossible to let Sasuke fight alone.
Naruto jumped down, landing besides Sasuke with his own kunai raised. Sasuke stared at him and then just nodded.
They charged. Itachi was standing still, completely unbothered by the lethal metal weapons coming towards him at superhuman speeds. At the very last moment, he slipped aside, letting his turn lead into a kick that sent Naruto reeling away. He caught Sasuke’s wrist and twisted it behind Sasuke’s back.
Itachi was smiling as he lowered his mouth right next to Sasuke’s ear. “If you’re not going to take this seriously, there’s no point in playing at all.”
Naruto jumped back up and started running in a circle around Itachi. He threw a kunai right at him. Itachi managed to twist Sasuke’s body so that it was Sasuke’s blade blocking the kunai. Then with a twisting motion he pushed Sasuke away.
Sasuke screamed in the air, grasping at his shoulder.
“What’s the matter, ototo? Is something hurting?” He took a step closer to Naruto.
Sasuke tried to stand and stumbled instead. His legs were not working properly.
Naruto held up his kunai.
Itachi was too fast. No longer pretending to be Sasuke, he moved with the speed of a jounin. Naruto’s kunai was thrown away before Naruto even registered that Itachi had moved. Naruto felt Itachi’s hand holding his clothes and lifting him up. And then he felt the air moving around them as Itachi jumped.
Naruto tried to apply a henge, but Itachi’s chakra pricked him. Naruto could not get away.
He was suddenly thrown through the air, landing next to Sasuke. Itachi was far away from them.
Between the older and younger Uchiha was a figure that had appeared out of nowhere. A Fire Monk that Naruto would recognise anywhere.
“Stay behind me.” Chiriku said.
“And what do you think that will accomplish?” Itachi asked. “You have no obligations for Konoha ninja.”
“They are our guests. And they’re far more welcome here than you.”
“Last chance to move. Before I move you.”
“I defended the Daimyo against enemies far more threatening than you.” Chiriku said, a perfect posture.
The battle plans were flowing over Itachi’s face. Naruto found it hard to breathe, like the very air was being drawn into the upcoming confrontation. Once they moved, only one would be the winner. And the other would be dead.
Naruto stood. He had lost his previous kunai, but he had another. He held it up. Whatever help he could be, he would be.
And then it wasn’t needed.
Suddenly Kakashi and Jiraiya were there in front of them.
Itachi took a step back. “It’s time to leave.”
“What’s the hurry, Itachi?” Kakashi said. “Don’t you want to play?”
“Never with you, sempai.” Itachi said. “You never play fair.” He dropped several balls from a pouch, which exploded into a thick purple smoke.
Naruto dived to Sasuke, holding firmly onto his hand. If they were going to take this opportunity to try to take either one of them, they were going to have to use something stronger.
But the smoke dissipated, and they had disappeared without a trace. Sasuke was right there on the ground, clutching his arm. Kakashi and Jiraiya stayed on guard.
Sakura and Hanabi came rushing over. “Are you guys alright?”
“Mostly in one piece.” Naruto said.
Sakura kneeled next to Sasuke and ran her fingers gently over his shoulder. “It’s dislocated. Bite your teeth.” With experienced hands she found leverage and then popped the arm back into its socket.
Sasuke groaned, but then let out a sigh of relief.
“I’ll bind it up for today and it should be good again tomorrow.”
“What took you guys so long?”
“Sasuke left as soon as he heard the explosion. We would have been right behind him, but two missing nin showed up trying to take Gaara. It took Kakashi and Jiraiya everything they could throw to make them back off. Like everything. Somehow they were using five different elements at once. We couldn’t get away, but I was so scared for you.”
Sasuke looked in the distance, unfocussed. “Lucky for us that my brother was more interested in talking than chasing after Naruto.”
“Do you want to go back to dinner?”
“I’m not hungry anymore.” Sasuke said. “I’ll just head to bed.”
Kakashi nodded. “I think it’s better all of us rest at the inn for now. For the rest of our stay outside of Konoha, nobody is wandering off alone. I want either Jiraiya or me within fifteen feet of you at all times. Jiraiya, take them to their rooms. I’ll have some dinner delivered.”
~*~
Sasuke was staring up at the ceiling. He had hardly touched the food sitting on the bedside table. Naruto hated seeing him like this. “You looked really awesome during the ceremony.”
“Hn.”
“I mean, you always look impressive when you dress up so formally. But we could tell how much you had prepared.”
“I just memorised some lines.” Sasuke sighed. “I don’t want to talk about the ceremony.”
Naruto tried to go back to his reading. But he could not read two sentences without losing his place. “I’m sorry that we had to run into your brother like this. I’m sorry for the way he treated you. I’m sorry that guy’s your brother at all.”
“There’s… there’s still such a gap between us. And I knew that. I knew it would take me years to even have a chance of catching up. But this… this was unreal.”
“I can’t even begin to imagine what that feels like.” Naruto said. “Though I got a taste. His Henge was perfect. And he somehow did the impossible. He sustained an injury while in his henge and was unharmed when he dropped it. It’s supposed to get worse. I don’t get how he could do that.”
“Itachi was always great at doing impossible things.” Sasuke said.
“He is stronger than us. He is more skilled. Right now. But we are going to get there. Each day we are a little closer to that goal.”
Sasuke was silent for a few moments. He hesitantly looked at Naruto. “Why did you tell him about the kiss?”
Naruto pulled the book close to his chest. “It’s not like I did it on purpose. He was wearing your face when he came into this room and I got suspicious. So I started talking about how I was sorry I kissed you. When he went with it like nothing was wrong, I knew it couldn’t be you.”
“I see.” Sasuke sighed. “I would have preferred it be kept between you and me, but I suppose Itachi was bound to find out at some point. He always finds out everything.”
“I’m sorry about it anyway.”
Sasuke nodded slowly.
“I’m also sorry about how I handled that kiss. You caught me off-guard.”
“It’s fine.” Sasuke said.
“No, it wasn’t.” Naruto said. “I should’ve picked up on your feelings sooner. I just… I didn’t think it was possible you were feeling that way about me.”
“I was being selfish.” Sasuke said. “When I get back to Konoha, I’m going to be getting married and start working on restoring the clan. I figured if I was ever going to make a move, it had to be now.”
“I did mean what I said though.” Naruto said. “It was a nice kiss. Do you want to do it again sometime?”
Sasuke sighed. “Maybe? I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I don’t want to think about it right now. Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”
“Okay. Tomorrow.” Naruto agreed. “And Itachi… he’s wrong about a lot of things. But he was most wrong about you needing to be apart from the team to grow strong.”
“It worked for him.” He said, bitterly.
“Sakura wouldn’t be as powerful as she is if she didn’t have you to compete with. I wouldn’t be as powerful if I wasn’t chasing after the two of you. Itachi cut himself off from everyone around him and he may think he’s strong, but he’s got nothing on what you’re going to be. What we are going to be. We can all grow stronger together. For each other. With each other.”
“I’d like it if that were true.” Sasuke admitted.
“I’m going to get strong for you.” Naruto said. “So that the next time we run into Itachi, we can kick his ass together. And I need you to get strong for me too. I’m going to need my jounin commander when I’m Hokage.”
A small smile formed on Sasuke’s face. “I never agreed to be your commander.”
“I told you before. Until you have a vision of your own for the future, you’re going to just have to be in mine.”
Sasuke stared ahead. He didn’t protest.
For now, that was enough.
~*~
Sakura grunted in frustration. “I’ve been reading the wrong books.”
“What do you mean?” Naruto asked.
“The texts have been focussed on manifesting chakra for a punch. Which only work for earth or lightning. The principles are similar for chakra mist, but different enough that I’ll have to read up on completely different theory. With the basics I’m missing, it’s going to set me back a few weeks.”
Naruto winced. That was basically a death sentence for her progress. “Do you have the books though?”
“Most of them.” She listed the volumes she was supposed to read up on.
“Oh, I have them with me. I finished the last one last night. I was trying to read up on ways to make it easier to separate my fake spirit animal henge.”
Hanabi flopped down next to them. “You’re never going to believe this.” She said. “I’m in trouble too. My scroll got damaged in the attack yesterday. I’m not going to be able to learn my technique in time. I remember some of it, but I’m going to have to reinvent it from there.”
“At least you guys are making progress.” Naruto said. He held up the water balloon. “The Rasengan takes crazy chakra control. I have to spend minutes just gathering enough passive chakra to work with and it runs out before I even get close to popping the balloon.”
Naruto looked at the other end of the clearing. Gaara was quietly punching air, a small dome of earth around each fist. It was cracked and far from perfect, but he seemed to have the basics down.
A little distance away from him was Sasuke. There was a ball of fire in his palm, condensed so far that it looked more like a dense liquid. It kept falling apart, but Sasuke kept at it. Naruto could see the frustration building, and the famous Uchiha stubbornness rising just as hard.
Sasuke was not going to stop this journey until he had mastered this technique. Just like he would not stop for anything his path to become jounin. He was chasing after his brother, who was lightyears ahead of him. It was not just about the ratings for him. There was literally no choice but to follow the path.
Naruto had no choice but to keep going just as hard. With a smile he realised that he could not wait to master this new technique so that he could show it to Sasuke.
But they were not going to get anyhwere by banging their head against the walls in frustration. Naruto had not been feeling like himself lately, or he would have figured it out sooner. He was wind. When problems became too great for him to solve, he could bend around them.
“We can’t have delays.” Naruto said.
“I know. It sucks.” Hanabi said.
Naruto shook his head. His mind was turning around the problem and when it clicked it seemed far too simple. He tossed the water balloon to Sakura. “The Rasengan doesn’t take any mastery of wind elemental chakra. Just chakra control, which you’re better at than me.”
“Wait, are you sure?” Sakura asked. She stared at the balloon in her hand. “Jiraiya can’t wait till you’ve progressed because he wanted to coach you special. He can’t shut up about it.”
“And now he can coach you special.” He said. “I’ll take the mist scroll instead. I’ve already done the reading and I’ll make it work.”
“Mist does require water chakra.” Sakura said.
“But a wind dome doesn’t.” Naruto said. “I haven’t been able to focus on chakra control training. But the wind dome will help me with the henge. I like getting better at the Henge.”
“Ah, then it’ll just be me falling behind.” Hanabi said.
He turned to Hanabi. “Nobody in our team is staying behind.” He marched over to Kakashi, the Hyuuga following closely behind.
“I told you Naruto, if you need more help with the rasengan it’s better to get instructions from Jiraiya.”
“It’s not that.” Naruto said. “You should teach the Chidori to Hanabi.”
Hanabi’s eyes went wide. “Naruto!”
“And why should I do that?”
“She’s the only one in our team with a lightning affinity and it’s your signature move. You should pass it down to one of your students.”
“You really don’t have to, sensei.” Hanabi said. “I know I’m not a real member of team 7 and I don’t want to pressure you into doing anything and…”
“Of course you’re a real member of team 7.” Kakashi said. “And I’d be happy to teach you.”
“You would?”
“It’s just a chakra-intense technique. If you choose to attack with it, you need to be prepared to end the fight. Can you do that?”
Hanabi nodded. “I can.”
“Then let’s begin.”
Naruto smiled. They had their weaknesses. They had a lot of room to improve. But they were getting better one day at a time. And they did not have to do it alone.
Next time Itachi showed up, they’d be ready to face him together.
~*~
Naruto took a deep breath. Visualisation was key. He had to see the net of wind chakra and how it all connected while he let his regular chakra reach its windy potential. It had to be stable.
And then he just released it in all directions. Keep it anchored to his body in the crucial areas while he started spinning it and…
He sighed. Again. There was too much to do at the same time and he only had two hands to do it with. It would be so much easier if he had a clone to help him.
“I think you’re due for your break.” Sakura said. She had the others behind her.
“In a minute.”
“If you’re sure. You usually work better with a clear head. And you’re always saying how happy and productive you are after we tempt you into a break.”
Naruto smirked. “You got me there.” He looked to the sky. The sun had already set and it had been hours since his team mates had finished their hour of training. Even Gaara had grown tired of exhausting his chakra and had settled down to read instead.
“The old lady made us some dango skewers.” Sakura said. “I thought you might like some as well.”
Hanabi was gathering up some stones into a circle, before throwing some logs and twigs in the middle. Sasuke lit the fire with far less ceremony than he had used for the stone monument.
“It’s not that dark yet.”
“No, but it will be. And Gaara and Kakashi will need light to read while you keep training.”
“It’s nice to be able to spend time together like this.” Naruto said. He kneeled down by the fire and accepted the box of dango from Sakura. “We didn’t get much of a chance in the other villages.”
“I know.” Hanabi said. “We’ve all been a bit distracted, I think. We should be enjoying ourselves more. We haven’t been able to spend time all four of us together since before the Chuunin exams.”
“We haven’t even celebrated becoming chuunin yet.” Sakura said. “No offence, but after our genin examination I didn’t think either one of you would be able to make it.”
“That’s why there was such a long period of time between the Academy graduation and the Chuunin exams.” Naruto said. “So we could get to that level. Not all of us are basically chuunin-ready the moment they get their headbands.”
“Don’t exaggerate.” Sakura said. “We needed our time just as much as you did.”
“There is something I am curious about.” Gaara said carefully. When team 7’s eyes turned to him, he looked like he was waiting for permission.
Sakura prompted him to continue.
“You were all very enthusiastic to clear the chuunin exams in one go. Some might say desperate. Why?”
“We did not want to fall behind.” Sasuke said, simply.
“I do not understand. In Suna, we train our abilities. The rank of chuunin is a marker of the extend of your abilities, but it isn’t like becoming chuunin makes you any stronger by itself.”
“I suppose it’s different in the other villages.” Sakura said. “But when Konoha was founded, our first Hokage created a set of guidelines to protect all children that want to become ninja. Each ninja must properly show mastery of their current skills, before being allowed to take on anything new. We can’t become genin before showing we have laid a good foundation. We can’t become chuunin before showing we have trained all our skills enough to cover any weaknesses and can be entrusted with more complicated and dangerous techniques. Like the chakra punch.”
“I would have been allowed to learn this whether I failed or succeeded in the exams.” Gaara said. “My siblings judged my progress in earth chakra sufficient for this next step. We judge each skill individually and don’t look over the entire range.”
“It’s another way of achieving the same.” Sakura said.
“Except Konoha likes to play more of a gatekeeper.” Naruto said. “Keep all the low-lives out.”
Sakura gave him a look.
“What? That’s just the way it is. The clans have the money to help fully utilise a ninja’s talent. They show their commitment with dieticians and trainers and personal attendants. And if they do all that, you’ll be able to pass the exams they set. If you cannot… well, you saw how much trouble I had in the stadium without a spirit animal.”
“That’s just tradition.” Sakura said. “It’s supposed to be inclusive.”
“As an outsider, I can say it really isn’t.” Naruto said. “Just one of the things I’ll have to change when I become Hokage.”
“People won’t like it.” Hanabi smiled.
“Then they can take it up with my too-big-for-my-head hat. When I’m Hokage and I say the needless rules go, then they’re gone.”
“You have to be more careful than that.” Sakura pleaded. “These rules are here for a reason.”
“You’d think that.” Hanabi said. “But I heard about one such tradition in the hospital. During every surgery, all the doctors would take all the instruments they were going to use and clean every single one with alcohol. Even though there is a department that specialises in that very thing. The doctors were convinced however that it helped and they all had their stories of losing patients from infections the one time they forgot to clean something. It took one legendary slug sage to ask questions and find out the tradition started out of necessity because one of the nurses handing the doctors their instruments was not washing up properly before each surgery.”
“So it was necessary after all.” Sakura said.
“Yeah, but only by abolishing a time-wasting tradition they were able to get to the root of the problem.”
“I have a story like that.” Sasuke said. “The first time I had to lead the Uchiha family into the yearly Himatsuri festival, I did my best to get everything into place. Daisuke had been shown how to play the drums and was waiting eagerly for my signal to invite me outside the house. It was all ready to start when I asked uncle Fu to get the maple syrup out of the maple trees. He was very confused why I asked him to do it.”
Sakura smiled. “Maple isn’t part of the ceremonies, is it?”
“No. It was my fathers’ secret code to get someone to attend to the family members that had already gotten drunk. He did not want them near the fire when he lit it. Not while there were still children watching. They would clear out the grounds and then bring him some maple syrup when everything could begin.”
“That must have been hard to explain to you at that age.” Naruto said. “Did you even understand what alcohol was?”
“They didn’t explain to me.” Sasuke said. “They just lied and said they already had enough maple syrup for the celebrations. I had to get the story out of uncle Garu later. Ironically, after he had gotten drunk. They thought I was too young to understand.”
“They kind of had a point.”
“I was old enough to be clan leader.” Sasuke said. “They didn’t have a right to keep this from me.”
“I’m sure they did the best they could.” Hanabi said.
Sasuke sighed. “But yeah. I get what Naruto and Hanabi are saying. Traditions can get started for a reason, but if they’re no longer useful they should go. Keeping the talentless out of the chuunin exams is obviously not useful if it’s keeping ninja like Naruto from reaching their full potential. Results… results should be the only thing that matters.”
Sakura threw up her hands. “Seems like I’m outnumbered. Guess I didn’t see the whole picture here. I’m big enough to admit when I’m wrong.”
“If only the rest of Konoha was so easy to convince.” Naruto smiled. “Sure would make my job easier.”
“Do you think we’ll be able to convince her?” Sasuke stared into the fire. “Tsunade, I mean.”
“The Sandaime was her teacher.” Sakura said. “She’ll want to pay her respects, right?”
“I don’t know.” Sasuke said. “Konoha isn’t the kind of place you can visit after you’ve decided to leave.”
“We don’t have a choice in it.” Sakura said. “We need her to come back. It’s either that, or she’ll have to put a lot of medical information into me in a short period of time so I can take her place. There are too many people hurt that need her help.”
“We’ll convince her.” Naruto said. “Believe it.”
Notes:
Next update in May: ‘It Isn’t Fun’, where Team 7 finds Tsunade and she isn’t what any of them were expecting.
This chapter features the encounter with Itachi. While I think canon Itachi is very cool, I think the stoic personality works especially well when there’s something hidden under the surface. When there’s no mystery (less of a mystery) why he killed the Uchiha, I wanted to go a different route with someone who’s outwardly sadistic.
The chapter title is from the main villain song from the Heathers. Itachi is linked to musical songs, and especially villain anthems when he makes a major appearance. ‘Not a loser anymore’ is sung by the villain to a girl she’s manipulating into being more evil, which mirrors Itachi’s attempts to shake Sasuke up. It’s the way Naruto feels realising he’s no longer the hated loser kid from the academy, and it’s the active choice not to focus on loss but on the future.
Orochimaru being an Uchiha was taken from several fan theories that look at his pitch black hair and the mystery origins of his family in canon. It’s also something that further unsettles Sasuke. Together with Itachi’s reveals, Sasuke firmly realises just how much has been kept from him by his family. Obviously the massacre is a sore subject, but that doesn’t excuse his family from keeping the context away from him.
Hope you enjoyed the update!
Chapter 22: 3.5 It isn’t fun (Poker face)
Summary:
We're off to search for Tsunade in another village! But the legendary slug sage is closer than we think. Let's talk the old lady into going to Konoha and healing our friends!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The next village was more of a waypoint between destinations. “We’ll stop at Genkai for just an hour or so.” Jiraiya said. “We’ll just restock and then head to Ayamatta.”
“What are our chances of finding her there?”
“Pretty good, actually. Ayamatta is where sensei took us to train our diplomacy. He ended up carrying a spray bottle the entire trip to punish us immediately when we said something inappropriate. The bottle ran out halfway through an argument with a local smith and he just doused us with buckets of water instead.”
They ignored the locals that were tending to their duties and went straight to the local shop. Jiraiya stocked up on rations and made some small talk with the shopkeeper.
Naruto browsed the wares. There was some interesting hunting equipment, but nothing up to Konoha’s standards. If the trip went on much longer, Naruto could not afford to keep being picky.
Sasuke was standing next to him, looking at the same things and reaching the same conclusions. At this point they were just waiting for Jiraiya to finish. It was strange. Sasuke had kissed him in the hot springs and afterwards it had been hard to even look at him. And then Itachi had attacked them and in that moment they had fought side by side like teammates, slotting together like they always had.
Two S-ranked missing ninja had been trying to kidnap him, and Sasuke had been right there to protect him. Sasuke had proved once again he was one of the few people Naruto could always depend on. It should not be so hard to talk to him.
Naruto would not let it.
“How are you holding up?”
“Hm.” Sasuke paused, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. “My arm has recovered.”
“That’s good.” Naruto said, like he really had been asking after his physical health.
Naruto took a few moments looking at Sasuke. He had such a pretty face, now that Naruto was looking at it like that. He still couldn’t believe that such a handsome ninja was interested in him. It threatened to bring up more anxiety, except this was Sasuke. His teammate. Naruto was feeling many confusing things, but about one thing he was completely sure.
He never needed to feel anxious around Sasuke.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping.” Sasuke admitted after a few moments. “Nightmares. About the massacre.”
“I get that.”
Sasuke rubbed at his eyes. “I’m doing my best to deal with the relapse. If it’s anything like last times, it’ll get better in a few days. I just need to get through it. I know there’s things you want to talk about and… we can do that tomorrow.”
“You’ve been saying that for a few days.”
He flinched. “I know and…”
“And don’t worry about it. I don’t want you to feel pressure about this. I want to talk and I want to do more than talk. But if we’re going to do this, I want it to be a good thing for you.”
He took a deep breath. “That really helps. I don’t know if it’ll be a good thing. I don’t know what it’ll do to the team, or with my family, or with our training. But most importantly I want it to be a good thing for you too, and that’s not something that I… that I can make happen right now. Not with where my head is at.”
“Then take your time. Ayamatta’s three days away. We’ll have plenty of time.”
Sasuke nodded.
Naruto wandered over to the window, looking for any other interesting places to visit. Something caught his eye across the street. It was a shady place. The kind Natsu would have felt right at home at. And there were people stumbling out of it, looking back in suspicion. There was something going on.
Naruto signalled Kakashi.
“It’s not our business.” Kakashi said. “We keep our heads down and avoid delays.”
Naruto made a face. “They may need our help.”
“Mission comes first, Naruto.”
“And our mission is to be our here helping people.” Naruto said. That was their cover, even if Genkai had not been on their list. “Listening won’t delay us. And if doing anything for them will, I can always so no.” He moved out of the shop and stopped one of the people basically fleeing away.
“Naruto…” Kakashi sighed, but followed after him. “You’re terrible at saying no.”
“Hey, mister.” Naruto said with his best face on. “Is there something wrong?”
“Everything’s fine.” He said. His face was red. He had been drinking. It was not even past noon yet. “Just heading to a different bar. Mood’s off in there.”
“Right. And that’s all?”
The man took another look at Naruto, settling over his forehead protector. “You’re a ninja right? Think you can do something about the shinobi in there?”
“Depends. But we can try.” Naruto said, instantly on alert. He signalled Kakashi and made sure he had easy access to a kunai. “Did you see their headbands. Were they Suna ninja?”
“No, Konoha like you. Two women.”
Naruto thanked the man and then headed to one of the windows to take a proper look. Then he dove against the wall, hoping they had not seen him.
Kakashi tensed, in the way that he got when he was assessing a threat. “Who are they?”
“You need to get the others.” Naruto said. “It’s her.”
Jiraiya took the most convincing. He was adamant it was impossible. Genkai was just a random village. Until he saw her through the window himself and confirmed Tsunade, the legendary Slug Sage, had finally been found. Jiraiya had his own little panic attack, before collecting himself and heading in, the front of the Konoha delegation.
“So then I said to him, I said, you can either raise and throw in your underwear, or you’re going to fold and leave with a shred of your dignity.” Tsunade said.
“You didn’t!”
“I did. Had a high card and bluffed him right out of his straight. Made him do the walk of shame without even touching his cock once!”
The other woman laughed, before downing her cup of sake. She was the first one to see Jiraiya and the ninja following him. She signalled to Tsunade to turn around.
“More challengers?” She asked without looking. “How many raucous boys am I going to have to defeat before you realise there’s no stopping a princess?”
Jiraiya coughed. “Tsunade-hime…”
Tsunade turned on her stool. “Nope.” She waved him off. “Old man must be getting desperate if he’s sending you, but the answer stays the same.”
“I have an important message that you need to read.” Jiraiya took out a scroll. Naruto recognised it, with its signature black markings designating it as a notification of death.
Tsunade did not even look at it. “I’m not reading any more pleas, no matter how important they may sound. Get it out of my face before it meets the same fate of its predecessor and is shoved right up your…”
“Sensei died.”
Tsunade froze. She carefully put down her glass on the bar. “Did he?”
“Konoha was attacked. Orochimaru betrayed us and killed sensei.”
“I see…” She took a proper look at the scroll. Then she held out her hand.
Jiraiya handed over the scroll, his head held high. He stood watch as she unfurled the scroll and started reading. She was halfway done when she threw it back into Jiraiya’s face. “I owe the village?!” She yelled, finally standing up on two unsteady legs. “You unload another death on me and the first thing you do is tell me I am obligated to return?”
“The village elders drafted that letter and…”
“Yeah, I figured that out when I read the accusations that sensei might have lived if I had been there to address his wounds. Not to mention the veiled threats to hunt me down as a missing ninja if I don’t get back in line.”
“Can we talk about this?” Jiraiya asked. “After all these years, surely you can give me that?”
She hesitated. Then she reached for her companion. “Shizune, do we still have that deck of cards?”
“I have it right here.”
Tsunade smirked. “I was going to join a local game, but I suppose since we’re friends we can set up our own. There’s an empty table in the corner where we can play poker. Entry is 2,000 Ryo.” She looked at the kids behind Jiraiya. “Any of you want to play?”
“Just me will be fine.” Jiraiya said. He fished out his wallet and grabbed a handful of money. “I’ll play your game if that’s going to make you sit quiet for a moment and listen.”
Tsunade grabbed a bottle of booze and snatched the cards out of Shizune’s hand. She made her way over to the table, taking a sip from the bottle every few steps. When she plopped down on her seat, she started shuffling. Jiraiya took the seat opposite to her.
“Ante is 20 Ryo.”
Jiraiya placed a bill from his pile between them. “We’re playing five-card draw, with all the standard rules that chuunin are taught. None of those fancy foreign variants you’ve learned.”
“What’s the matter, Jiraiya? All those years of travel and you were never curious enough to spend some talent on games that weren’t officially approved by the Konoha handbooks?”
“Are you saying you have?”
“I may have.” Tsunade dealt the cards. “It’s not like I had anything better to do with it.”
Sakura could not hide her gasp.
“Don’t act so scandalised. It’s hardly the worse thing I’ve done over the years.”
Jiraiya frowned. “You’ve let your talent waste away?”
“At least I’m not spending mine on writing skills. Seriously Jiraiya? Porn? When was the last time you used your talent to learn the ninja arts instead of learning more words for female genitalia?”
“I’m not gifted like you are.” Jiraiya said. “I didn’t have your insane abilities. If I spend my talent on becoming a better writer, there’s nothing wasted.”
“You need to decide what you’re going to do with your cards.”
He glanced at them for just a moment. “Hold.”
“I raise.” She put down a few hundred Ryo.
Jiraiya rolled his eyes. “I fold.” He threw in his cards and prepared to put up another ante. “But this is not about the past. Konoha needs you. It’s time to come back home.”
She shrugged. “I don’t feel like it. So I won’t. I spent way too long doing what other people told me to do. Being what other people told me to be. I’m free now and I’m not going to willingly step back into the cage.”
“Were we so bad to you?”
“Deal the cards, Jiraiya.”
He shuffled and started dealing.
“It’s not that anyone treated me unfairly.” Tsunade said. “I do know I had it better than most. But the sad reality is that the village just doesn’t care about me. About anyone, really.”
“That’s not true.”
“Don’t fight me on definitions. I know there are individuals who care about me. As an idol, or a resource, or a piece on their shogi board. They care about what I can do for the hospital and how much money I can bring in as a ninja. How much of a threat I would be if I was declared a missing ninja and another village scooped me up. Don’t think I’m so naïve that I don’t know there have been considerations to assassinate me before.”
“Sensei would never do that.”
“Of course he wouldn’t.” Tsunade said. “But the hokage isn’t the only one with a say. These village elders did not decide out of the blue that to start threatening to send a hunting squad after me if I don’t come back. They’ve probably been raising the option for years. With Sarutobi gone, I’m sure they’ll follow through. I’d like to see them try.”
“But why, Tsunade-hime? Don’t you love Konoha anymore?”
“My love for Konoha died together with my fiancé.”
Jiraiya slammed his fist on the table. “Fine then. We’re leaving.”
“What?” Naruto did a double take.
“If she’s not going to listen, I’m out of here.”
“We can’t just leave it at this.” He turned to Kakashi. “Can’t you talk to her?”
“Tsunade-sama.” Kakashi said. “I would like to stress the importance…”
She waved him off. “If you’re not playing, I’m not talking.”
Kakashi sighed. “I don’t know how to play the game.”
Naruto looked incredulous. These were supposed to be the adults here. “I’ll play then.”
Tsunade laughed. “When did a little kid like you find the time to learn poker?”
Naruto took the cards and shuffled. He dealt out and reached into his wallet for the ante. “I made the time.”
“How interesting.” Tsunade looked at her cards. “I raise.”
“I’ll match.” Naruto said. “I’m not afraid of you.” He put the money on the table. “You talk like you’re the only one who’s ever lost someone. You’re not. And now there are many more people who are about to be in the position you are. You have the power to stop it. Why wouldn’t you?”
Tsunade took a deep breath. “Two cards.”
Naruto dealt them. “I’ll take one.”
“Did you know that there are fishermen being exploited in Wave country?”
Naruto gave her a look.
“It’s quite serious. They are forced to work and are left with barely enough to feed their own families. They need a strong ninja to march over there and stop the injustice. Someone like yourself, perhaps.”
“Are you hiring me for a mission?”
“I don’t particularly care about these fishermen. But you have the power to stop them. Why won’t you?”
Naruto concentrated on his cards.
“You can’t be everywhere at once kid. The world sucks and it makes it easier to sleep at night when you accept you won’t be able to put a dent in any of it.”
“So you might as well do nothing?”
“So you don’t have to feel guilty when you’ve reached your limit.” Tsunade said. “I spent years fighting for the village and healing the sick. I’ve done my part.”
“We understand how much you’ve done for the village already, it’s just…”
“You still want me to do more.” Tsunade shook her head. “I raise.” She put half her money between them. A good thousand Ryo.
Naruto looked at his cards. He had a high pair. This was a fight he was probably going to lose. He still put the money in front of him anyway. “I think… that you’re too used to seeing big rewards for little effort. Some changes don’t happen overnight. They take years. They take generations. You say you haven’t made a dent, but I know that’s not true. You single-handedly made combat medicine a viable specialisation for field ninja, which led to my teammate Sakura learning healing techniques that have saved my life numerous times. It was your text on passive chakra gathering that allowed me to master the bunshin after my graduation. The things you’ve accomplished are nothing short of extraordinary.”
Tsunade was silent for a moment, but then looked just as determined as before. “That doesn’t change anything. I’m done.”
“You’ve done great things. For Konoha and because of Konoha. For all you say Konoha is fond of taking, it gives too. Much more than it takes. The village was broken in the invasion. Many of its people got hurt and are in need of healing. You’d return a hero and there’d be no end to how much we would keep on giving to have you back.”
“You don’t have anything that would make the pain worth it.”
“I don’t believe that.” Naruto said. “Because Konoha is your home. And with how long you’ve been away, I can only imagine how homesick you are. Can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me you won’t feel the same warmth every human feels when you walk through the gates and everyone will be there to say ‘welcome home’?”
Tsunade narrowed her eyes. “You’re Kushina’s kid, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know.” Naruto said automatically. “I was an orphan.”
“I can see it in you.” She said. “Her fire. You’re an Uzumaki through and through.”
Naruto found pride in that statement, even if he could not acknowledge it.
“Of all the ninja who tried to persuade me over the years, she came closest. Did you know we were almost a family? My grandfather thought about marrying an Uzumaki. Mito, her name was. She was a fearsome woman, responsible for half the advanced sealing techniques that have survived to this day. But like my grandfather refused her, I refuse you.” She revealed her hand. A pair of queens.
“Why?” Naruto asked.
“Because in the end, these pretty words are just words. And they do not change the way I feel.”
Naruto revealed his own pair of queens. His trailing card was higher though. He had won the pot. “Please.” Naruto could feel the tears coming to his eyes. This was supposed to be below him, but it was all there was left. “I have a friend called Natsu. Her tendons were cut in the attack on the village and she can’t walk anymore. She used to be a bodyguard in the red light district and now all her friends are in danger. The doctors can’t help her.”
“I’m not going to Konoha for one girl.”
“My sister’s in critical condition from a spirit weapon.” Hanabi said. “She the heir of the Hyuuga family and I need her to live.”
“My parents are in a coma from poisoned damage.” Sakura cried.
“My uncle was the only Uchiha left that could protect the family and he needs your help.”
Tsunade looked to each in them in turn. She took a big swig from her bottle and finished the last of her drink. “Well, Uzumaki Naruto. You’ve succeeded in one thing. You’ve made me wish I could help.”
Naruto grit his teeth. He gathered up the money between them, only to feel a sharp pain in his hand. He clutched it close to his chest. “Ow. There’s a nail sticking out.”
“Let me see it.” Sakura said, getting next to him. Her hands were glowing green.
It looked nasty and Naruto looked away to across the table. Tsunade had turned white as a sheet. Shizune rushed besides her. “Deep breathes, shisho.”
Tsunade was taking deep breaths, but the rest of her body was frozen. The panic kept rising in her eyes.
“Tell me five things you can see.”
“W-we don’t need to…”
“Five things.”
Tsunade did her best to look around her. “Wood, windows, Jiraiya, cards, money.”
“That’s right. I’m here with you. Now four things you can touch.”
“The cards, the table, your hand, my clothes.”
“Three things you can hear.”
Tsunade was breathing normally again, finishing the exercise. Naruto took care to cover up the blood that had dripped on the table, and hide his hand between his legs. Sakura had healed him, but it would still look messed up until he could wash up.
“What’s the trigger?” Sakura asked.
Shizune had gotten Tsunade some water which Tsunade was downing now. Tsunade was still shaking as she answered. “Blood. I can’t stand the sight of it.”
“So that’s what you meant when you said you’d reached your limit.” Sakura said. “You can’t do medical procedures like this.”
“Is your hand clean?” Tsunade asked.
Naruto looked at it. “Mostly.”
“Clean it up. Now.” Tsunade demanded.
Naruto reached into his bag and grabbed a spare piece of cloth. He made it wet and rubbed his hand clean. “It’s good now.”
“Show me.”
Naruto reached his hand over the table. Tsunade took a careful look and then grasped the hand tightly. Her hands were glowing green. “You didn’t spare any chakra healing him. I can see the full cell regeneration.”
“It was just a shallow cut.” Sakura said. “The book recommends healing anyway to prevent infection.”
“You made mistakes at the cell orientation of the superficial areteriovenous plexus.”
Sakura ran her hand over the hand again. “Just a few degrees. But I’ll fix it.”
Tsunade sighed. “I lost everything I had. Even my ability to heal. That’s why I can never go back. I need to lie down.”
“We haven’t finished our game yet.” Naruto said.
“Then we’ll play more tomorrow.” Tsunade said resolutely, standing up and letting Shizune support her. “That is, if you still want to ask me to continue, knowing that I’d be risking this reaction every day.”
Naruto grabbed her hand. “I get that you’re tired, but we’ve come a long way and…”
Naruto did not see the attack. He did not have a chance to respond to it. He just felt the punch and suddenly found himself being thrown back. Kakashi caught him before he could crash into one of the walls.
In front of Tsunade stood Shizune in a fighting stance, glaring at Naruto and with her fist stretched out. “You were told to leave.”
“I could have done that myself.” Tsunade said. “I don’t need you fighting my battles.”
“I know, shisho.” Shizune said, her eyes ever forward. “But I still want to.”
“We’re leaving.” Kakashi said, helping Naruto back to the floor. “You’ll still be here if we return tomorrow?”
“We will.” Shizune said.
~*~
“She’s unbelievable.” Hanabi said. “After all the village did for her. The way she talked to you!”
Jiraiya was sitting on a bed, face in his hands. “Hime’s always been that way. When she sets her mind to something, there is no pulling her off it.”
“This isn’t what we were expecting.” Kakashi said. “You said you would be able to convince her, Jiraiya.”
“Well, that was before she got into one of her moods.”
Of course.
Naruto sighed. He had seen Jiraiya objectify women and be a sexist jerk in every one of their encounters. Why he had expected Jiraiya’s perspective to be clearer when it came to a woman he had spent most of his life with, Naruto would never be able to tell.
“I should not have agreed to this mission.” Jiraiya said. “We should cut our losses and head back to Konoha now.”
Kakashi did not seem pleased with that idea. “You’re the mission supervisor. If you think that is best…”
“We get another chance tomorrow.” Naruto said.
“And you don’t think she’ll just blow us off again?” Jiraiya asked.
“We have options.” Naruto said. “We are in desperate need of her help and we should not leave until all our options have been explored.”
Jiraiya waved it off. “We’d just be wasting our time.”
“It’s a chance all of us here are willing to take.” Naruto said, looking to the others and daring them to say any different.
He turned to Kakashi. “What do you think?”
“I think that there’s no harm in trying. We both saw how Naruto’s words were able to reach her.”
Jiraiya sighed. “Okay.”
“What are you thinking?” Kakashi asked Naruto.
“There are two important things we learned today. Tsunade does want to go back to Konoha, but she feels like it’ll cost her more than she’ll gain in happiness. If we can find out more about that, it might be our ticket to convincing her.”
“What’s the second thing?”
“She is a lousy poker player.” Naruto said. “So that’s not the way she’s financing her trip through Fire Nation. If we find out how she’s making money, we can cut her off and force her to come to Konoha.”
“The carrot and the stick.” Sasuke said.
“She didn’t seem in a state to travel, but we’ll be smart to monitor her escape paths. Half the team with Tsunade or Shizune, the other half looking into her financial records.”
“How are we going to find out about her problems?”
“I’ll handle that.” Naruto said. “Kakashi’s with me. The rest of you are with Ero-sennin. Jiraiya’s the spy master. I’m sure he can secure financial records from the local bank here. Look for any irregularities that are worth investigating.”
They nodded and set out. Kakashi placed his hand on Naruto’s shoulder. “You’re earning your chuunin title already. What’s our destination?”
“Talking to Tsunade would be best, but we promised we’d stay away from her until tomorrow. So that just leaves the next best thing. We’re going after Shizune.”
~*~
“I’ll let her know. Again.” The receptionist said.
Naruto nodded with a bright smile and went back outside. He jumped up to their hiding spot, where they had been surveilling the inn.
“Still evasive?”
“Shizune’s going to meet with us at some point. I’m very good at annoying people until they talk with me.”
“Yes. It’s mentioned in all reports on you.” Kakashi said. “Usually multiple times and underlined.”
“I’m building a recognisable style.” Naruto boasted. “Anything interesting in the paperwork?”
Kakashi raised his Icha-Icha-Paradise book. “Taking a break. There’s only so much financial data I can look through before my eyes glaze over.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be a professional jounin?”
“Yes, and when you find an enemy to fight I’ll show off what that means. But I’m not trained to be a paper nin.”
Naruto rolled his eyes before picking up a stack and looking through the numbers. For all his talk, it was just as hard for him to concentrate. “Tsunade knew about Kushina.”
“That was a surprise to me.” Kakashi admitted. “Though it shouldn’t have been. All female ninja look up to Tsunade. Many of them made pleas to get her to stay.”
“Kushina was an administrative ninja. I know you sometimes tell me stories but… I didn’t think so many people knew her.”
“She had this thing she used to do.” Kakashi grinned. “She used to annoy people until they talked to her. It was very effective.”
Naruto could not help but smile. “Do you think… she would’ve made a good mother?”
“I think she’d have been terrible by all official metrics. No patience and quickly losing her temper. Refusing to research anything about child rearing and relying on all her friends to teach her to fix her mistakes instead of preventing them.”
“Oh.”
“But her heart would have been in the right place. She would have loved her child and done anything for them”
“Do you…”
Gaara jumped up next to them. “I have the…” He looked at the scene. “I can come back later if I’m interrupting.”
“No, it’s fine.” Naruto insisted. “Did you find more documents for us to look through?”
“We have a lead to find one more stack. Sakura and Sasuke are assisting Jiraiya to chase it, before they start their training. It’s said there’s a masked spirit that heals civilians in exchange for money, which just so happen to appear in the villages that Tsunade and Shizune are in. We think we can link those healings with mysterious payments on their bank statements.”
“That would be helpful, thanks.” Naruto said.
Gaara took a seat next to Naruto, leaving through some of the documents. “How can you concentrate on this stuff?”
“It’s interesting.” Naruto said. He pointed out one section. “See? These fluctuations in food purchases paint a picture of the kind of dishes they’re cooking. There are a few mysterious payments here, and suddenly the food budget is thrown completely over. It looks like they visited a dietician who suggested an increase of phytoestrogens.”
Gaara gave him a look. “And why’s that interesting?”
“It’s painting a picture of who they are. Anything we know now, is something that I can maybe use later.”
“Right.” Gaara stared at the paper, like it would suddenly turn interesting by sheer force of will. “It’s not working.”
“You’re free to head to bed if you’d like instead.”
Gaara flinched. “I’d prefer to stay here.”
“Something wrong with the inn?” Naruto asked. “I haven’t been able to check it out yet, but…”
“He was almost kidnapped, Naruto.” Kakashi said. “He doesn’t want to be alone.”
“Oh.” Naruto said. That did make sense. “You have nothing to worry about. There’s a whole team of Konoha ninja here to keep you safe.”
“Unless they attack you and me at the same time again. There’s only so much attention you can afford to put on me.”
“Gaara, we…”
“No, I get it. I’m Suna in the end.”
“You’re a friend.” Naruto insisted.
“I miss my brother and sister.” Gaara said. “I want to see them again. I want to go back home.”
“The mission’s almost over.”
“But we don’t know what happens next.” Gaara said. “We don’t know who will be Hokage when we return to Konoha and what they will think. I’m a political prisoner. I know I won’t easily get released.”
“They wouldn’t do that. Right?” Naruto looked to Kakashi.
Kakashi shrugged. “I don’t know. This isn’t my expertise.”
Naruto steeled his nerve. He knew the politics. “No. You’re valuable as a Jinchuriki, but as long as you remain in Konoha they’re going to be worried about the Ichibi getting loose. Much as they like having an explosive back-up plan, it makes them anxious to have too many Jinchuriki in the same place.”
“I don’t think it’ll be that easy.”
“Your release won’t be a priority.” Naruto admitted. “When we get Tsunade back, she’ll be busy healing people for a few weeks and whoever’s Hokage will have to facilitate all of that in combination with the rebuilding and establishing a power base. But you don’t have to do it alone. I’m only a chuunin, but I can do my best to expedite the process.”
“You’re kind, Naruto. But what can a chuunin do?”
“I can start by asking a jounin.” Naruto grinned, looking at Kakashi.
Kakashi looked back just as hard. “Out of the two us, who’ll be better at annoying the people in charge to hurry up?”
“Okay, fair.” Naruto laughed. “But don’t think that gets you out of helping.”
There was movement in the inn, and all three of them became quiet.
They saw Shizune heading towards the bar. It was time to move.
“Wish me luck.” Naruto said. “I’m going to need it.”
~*~
Shizune looked annoyed that she had been asked for so many times. Naruto would apologise, but that opened the door to admitting they should not be there with her and having her refuse to continue the talk. Instead, he went on the offensive. “You know Tsunade-sama better than anyone. If you can convince us there really is nothing else we can do to persuade her, we’ll leave tonight and advise our superiors that they should not send any more ninja after her.”
She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again. She gave Naruto a good look. “You were adamant Tsunade should follow you back to Konoha. What changed?”
“Tsunade was not what we were expecting.” Naruto said. They had been relying on Jiraiya’s intel for too long. “That much is clear. It’s clear we don’t understand enough of the context and we’re hoping this conversation will help us fill in the blanks.”
“And that might end up with you leaving her alone?” Shizune asked. “How naïve do you think I am?”
“It’s a real possibility.” Naruto said. “We do need her, but if she’s not coming no matter what we do, then we would just be wasting our time. And considering Konoha was largely destroyed in the invasion, there’s enough productive things we could be doing instead.”
“I do not believe you. What are you really trying to get out of this?”
“What I want is an exchange of information.” Naruto indicated a small table where they could sit. “That’s all. Both of us feel very strongly and we’re both basing our convictions on limited data. Let us clear up the assumptions. And if that convinces you Tsunade should come to Konoha, or it convinces us we should leave her alone, that would save both of us an extensive argument.”
She contemplated it for a few more moments. “Fine. But you’re buying the drinks.”
Naruto smiled. They settled down at a table and grabbed a drink each. Naruto tried ordering water, but Shizune was insistent that they would both be drinking in the spirit of an equal playing field.
“You know, that was an impressive punch you threw earlier.” Naruto said. “Is that your specialty?”
“Thanks, but no. I’m mostly a medical ninja like Tsunade. I’ve just done a lot of strength training on the side.”
“Speed training too.” Naruto grinned.
Shizune could not suppress a smile. “Yes, speed too. I do not compare to Tsunade when she’s at her strongest, but I decided a long time ago that I’d be there for her when she could not be there for herself. Don’t think I don’t notice you judging her. She’s made great strides improving herself. Going back to Konoha could reset all he progress she’s made.”
“What was she like back then?”
“Brilliant.” Shizune said, her face lighting up. “She had stepped right into her grandfather’s footsteps, meeting every expectation placed upon her and rising above them. You might have heard about her reputation on the battlefield in the war. Her allies were impossible to take down, because she kept healing them. And she was impossible to take down, period.”
“You seem to know Tsunade very well.” Naruto noted. “How did you meet?”
“Haven’t you realised?” Shizune asked. “It should be obvious.”
She was testing Naruto, and he had to search for the answer deep in his mind. Shizune was clearly a ninja from Konoha. But he could not for the life of him remember her name mentioned in any of the books. She would have been young and still a genin or chuunin when she left the village with Tsunade.
She was starting to look disappointed.
He went over Tsunade’s friends and family instead. There was a limited amount of people she had serious interactions with and he just needed to remember their bios.
His mouth dropped open. He remembered Kato Dan’s entry, the ninja Tsunade was to marry and one of the last Kato clan members. But not the last. He had been an idiot not to make the connection.
“You’re Kato Shizune of the pigs.”
“Correct.” She smiled. “Good to know they’re still teaching you something in the Academy.”
“You weren’t a field ninja.”
“Admin. My talent was too low, according to the Konoha officials. Tsunade and Dan believed in me though. They taught me when they had the time. Tsunade made me her pupil while Dan guided me with the clan techniques. They wanted nothing more than to get me on the field. And then the war happened. They freaked and convinced me to hide my fighting abilities. They wanted me to be a medic, away from the fighting.”
“What did you want?”
She shrugged. “I was just a little kid. The fighting scared me as much as anyone else. But I still wanted to go. I wanted to fight next to my brother. He implored me to stay behind, begged me. He wanted the clan to be safe if anything happened to him. All I heard was that he thought I wasn’t good enough. So I practiced the Kato techniques any chance I could.”
Naruto had heard some of it. “They allow you to become a ghost, right?”
“In a way.” She smirked. She held up her hand and flexed her fingers. “Want a demonstration?”
“Of course.” Naruto said without hesitation.
She made her hand signs quickly. Almost too quick for Naruto to catch them. One moment her fingers started fading out in a glowing blue light, the next she had her hand on Naruto’s belly. She was as fast as ever. But this time she was not punching him into a wall. She was not even really touching his skin.
She was gently pushing his kidney, and nothing else.
“That’s impressive.” Naruto said through his discomfort.
“I’m surprised you didn’t flinch back. Most people have a bigger reaction when their organs are touched.”
“I’m a Henge specialist. I’m used to worse. And if you really wanted to hurt me, you would’ve gone for my heart.”
She withdrew her fingers. “Can’t blame me for trying to scare you away. Tsunade and I were doing just fine before you showed up.”
“It’s a complicated transformation. I can’t figure out how you got passed my skin. My internal chakra system is supposed to guard against that.”
“It takes a lot of practice. And a secret that is only known to the Kato family line.”
“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to share?”
“Not for free.” Shizune said, her eyes fixed on Naruto. It was clear what she wanted.
Naruto considered. A prized family technique would appease the Konoha Elders. It would also be a bargaining chip to leverage against the clans for prized medical techniques that they were keeping a secret. There were possibilities. “It could be part of a deal.”
“If it’s part of a deal, I could teach you. How is your expertise with the bunshin?”
“It’s my worst technique. But I have a teammate who’s an expert in it.”
“Then that would work.” She said. “It’s not like I was saving them for anyone else. The Kato clan dies with me.”
Naruto could not help but wince. The death of a clan was not something spoken of this casually.
She looked at him. “You don’t approve?”
“It’s your right. It’s just… a shame.”
“I don’t want kids. Konoha damn near forced me anyway before I managed to escape with Tsunade. And then when I found out how much it troubled her to see blood, I made sure I never would.”
Naruto was speechless.
“Tsunade still sometimes looks at me like I lost something with my hysterectomy. But to me it was freedom. A guarantee that I’ll never be forced to live against my wishes. That’s all that Tsunade and I want. A chance to live as we wish.”
“You’ve been living as you wish a long time now.” Naruto said. He needed more information. “You said it all started when Dan passed away. Can you tell me what happened to him?”
“It was the worst day of my life. Dan had been brought back to the village and rushed to the hospital. It was a spiritual curse, slowly chipping away at him. The doctors had no way to treat it. All they could do was attend to the symptoms. Close the wounds that were opening up all over his body, replenish the blood he was losing. I did everything I could for him, but I was not far enough in my studies. When Tsunade came back, he was too far gone to even say goodbye to her.”
“Is that where she got… she got the fear for blood?”
Shizune nodded. “We’ve been working on coping mechanisms, but it was too much for to be constantly confronted with it. In Konoha, anyone with a scrape would go to her. She was the famous medic ninja, after all. She had episodes multiple times a day.”
“Didn’t people hear about it?”
“Anyone who saw was paid off.” Shizune said. “Can’t let a weakness like that come out to any of the other villages, now could we? Tarnish the name of the Legendary Slug Sage. It wasn’t getting any better and the only way she saw out was by leaving the village.”
“Why did you go with her?”
“I already told you.” Shizune said. “When Dan died, I promised him I would keep her safe. I could not let her go out on her own like that unprotected.”
“You just said she was an unrivalled legendary ninja back then.”
“She was.” Shizune said. “But she was also grieving like me. I was there for her at her lowest points and she was there for mine. After Dan’s passing, after I was the only one left in my clan, Tsunade was the only family I had left. She’s the one who taught me everything I know about medicine and chakra. I have been with her since she left the village and I will follow her wherever she decides to go.”
“Do you…”
“It’s my turn.” Shizune said. “I want to know more about the invasion. Tell me what the situation is like back home since we left.”
Naruto thought she might ask. He took out a stack of notes from one of his pockets. “I prepared these for you.”
He explained the timeline of events, all the way until the invasion during the chuunin exams. He went over the lists of casualties and which codes he had used to signify notable casualties. It was important they knew how much was at stake for them.
When he was finished, Shizune seemed deep in thought. “Tsunade sometimes tells me about Orochimaru and what he’s capable of. And still I’d never imagined… this. In the spirit of honesty I’ll admit it’s hard to hear how much of it’s been destroyed.”
“Do the two of you ever miss Konoha?”
“We do.” Shizune said. “In the way you miss the books your parents read to you at bedtime. In the way that you miss the clothes you had to throw away after they’ve torn. In the same way we will miss Sarutobi-sama.”
“That’s not the same. We can’t get Jiji back.” Naruto said. “But if I could, I would give anything for it.”
“Sometimes the only way to deal with things that are gone is by accepting you will never get them back. Our pleasant memories in Konoha were tied to Dan, who is no longer there. They were tied to duties we can no longer perform and places that have changed in our absence.”
“You know, I never had anyone read me a bedtime story.” Naruto said. “At the orphanage, reading was mostly limited to the hour of reading time with our teacher. And I’m not familiar with throwing out clothes either. Natsu used to mend them if they got broken, and I’d donate them to the younger orphans when I outgrew them.”
“You mentioned Natsu before. She’s your friend, right? The one who got hurt?”
“One of my earliest. In the Academy, I was always expected to fit in and adjust to what others wanted for me. In the streets, random strangers would walk up to me and tell me how I should behave. Not Natsu. She revelled in defying expectations. Any time I would shrink myself or apologise, she would get right in my face and scold me. She never wanted me to apologise for being me.”
“It sounds like she cared for you too.”
“I don’t think I could have made it without her. She’s the one who got me started with pranking others. She told me a little secret. People like to put up long lists of rules and pretend that it’s super important to follow them just because they’re rules and they’re written down. Except when you break them, there isn’t much they can do about it. Not when they can’t even properly explain why it was a rule in the first place. You and Tsunade have made a rule together. That you’ll never go back to Konoha. I don’t think you can explain that rule either.”
“I told you. It’s not fair to make us help when…”
“Tsunade looked over my hand without being asked to.” Naruto said. “She wants to help. You want to help too. Don’t think we haven’t heard the stories of miraculous healings occurring all over the country of fire. You just don’t want to do it in Konoha.”
“You don’t get it.”
“I do. And a lot better than when we started this conversation. Thank you.” Naruto smiled. “I understand you have a lot to be worried about and that you see many downsides to going back to Konoha. I think it is time we showed our desperation with actions instead of words. I’m going to recommend we provide any concession you may ask for.”
“W-we don’t want anything…”
“Privacy in Konoha, so that nobody knows where you live or how to get to you on your off hours. A chance to work in the hospital behind closed doors where all medical personal have first guaranteed there is no blood on the patient. Hell, if that’s still going too far then just coming back to Konoha to train a select few medical ninja. And if that’s going too far, just consulting on specifically tough cases.”
“And what about the position of Hokage?”
Naruto tilted his head. “What about it?”
“She’s not going to do it.”
“… okay?” Naruto shook his head. “I’m missing something here. What made you think we want her to be the next Hokage?”
“Well the biggest clue was the official letter notifying her about the Sandaime’s death and telling her she will be required to go home in order to fill his seat.”
Naruto blinked.
“You didn’t know?”
“Is that… is that what we’re asking her?”
“You may come bearing concessions, but the elders aren’t. You need to…”
There was a sound upstairs. In Tsunade’s room, where it was supposed to be quiet. Shizune rushed away from the table and ran up the stairs. Naruto joined her.
Tsunade’s door was open and inside Tsunade was not lying in her bed, but instead sitting in a chair with a cup of tea in her hands.
Opposite to her was Orochimaru, raising a simple eyebrow at the presence of new guests. “Lovely night for a chat, isn’t it?”
Notes:
Next update in June (assuming I can get the fight scenes polished in time): It might be a sin. In which Orochimaru makes his pitch. And in which there is much fighting.
UPDATE: it's going to be July instead. I accendentally spent the entire month writing a 40-page outline for a story where Harry Potter is a demon summoner, instead of writing the missing scenes of the next chapter. Oops ^^'This chapter is the introduction of Shizune. I don't dislike her canon self, but it's more convenient for me if she takes after Tsunade more for future chapters (most of which is set up here already). She has learned the same kind of super strength and healing as her mentor, but also learned Kato Dan's ghost technique.
Jiraiya shows off how fundamentally he misunderstands Tsunade. For him their old team is important, and he imagines Tsunade reliving their best moments when she is sad. But she has more maturity and an incredible desire to live free from Konoha and her worst memories. And so she's going to random villages and cities, without any care whether it's significant to her old team or not. Jiraiya from canon probably wouldn't have made such a mistake, but Jiraiya here is more limited. And this is one of the big moments where he's forced to confront those limitations.
The title obviously references the Poker Game, together with the dampened spirits of Team 7 as they're confronted with hard it is to do the impossible. Plus the added bonus of having a Lady Gaga song attached to the chapter introducing the strongest female character in Naruto.
Chapter 23: 3.6 It might be a sin (The Devil went down to Georgia)
Summary:
What is that Orochimaru bastard doing in Tsunade’s room! He’s going to regret showing his ugly mug! Tsunade will come back with us!
Notes:
Apologies for the delay in posting. As mentioned in the end note of the previous chapter, I suddenly got inspired and ended up writing a 50 page outline for a new story: what if Harry Potter was raised by a demon summoner. Oops. I'll be posting that to my Tumblr soon if you're interested.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Naruto was halfway to Orochimaru before he even realised what he was doing, his kunai out and ready to tear out the snake ninja’s throat.
It was Tsunade who was suddenly in his way, picking him off the ground and throwing him onto the bed. “Don’t be stupid.”
“He destroyed my village!” Naruto yelled, righting himself as quickly as possible. “He killed Jiji, your sensei! I’m going to kick his ass!”
“Her.” Tsunade corrected.
“I’m going to kick her ass!”
“While it would feel mighty good to punch her, it won’t do any good. She’s not really here.”
Naruto tried to calm his breath. She looked pretty fucking real to him. That same crazy smile on that unnaturally pale face.
“You’d better listen to this wise old lady.” Orochimaru said with a smirk. “If I had to stop that attack I would’ve done a lot worse than throw you somewhere soft.”
Shizune at least looked just as confused as Naruto did.
Tsunade sighed. “She’s using a snake summon to project herself. Don’t let down your guard, but don’t waste your energy.”
“What is she doing here?” Naruto asked. He still held the kunai up, the fingers clutching it turning white from the pressure.
“I’ve come to my lovely former teammate to have a little chat. I’ve heard it’s all the rage at the moment. Do give my best to Jiraiya later.”
“It’s usually best to just play along.” Tsunade said, sounding tired. “Cut to the chase, Orochimaru.”
“As soon as our little intruders are on their way again.”
“No.” Tsunade said. “It’s bad enough you’re appearing in my bedroom unannounced. I will not have the Konoha ninja think I’m on your side. Spit it out and be on your way.”
“Fine.” The snake ninja sighed. “Now that I have completed my latest project, I have secured several scrolls that will assist further with my research. All that is needed is an expert in medical and spiritual affairs to spearhead the project.”
“You’re offering me a job?”
“I’m offering you your calling. Someplace where you can do important work again. And I’m offering much more than just payment in return.”
“What’s it this time? Another seal to boost the talent I’m not using? A medical technique from an obscure village that I’m not interested in?”
“I found him.” Orichimaru said. She let it hang in the air between them.
Tsunade’s face started stoic, but soon softened as the words reached her. Really reached her. “Dan is dead.”
“Sensei always said death was another beginning. He was right.”
Tsunade swallowed. “How?”
“It took leveraging all my years of research into the spirit world. The technique is not cheap, which just shows how far I’m willing to go for my dear friend, but it is based on the summon technique. His soul will be back. You can talk to him.”
Tsunade was completely off her balance.
“Prove it to her.” Naruto said.
Orochimaru turned to him with derision. “You’re in no place to make demands of me, child.”
“But I am.” Tsunade said. “Do it.”
Orichimaru tutted. “My blessing is reserved to my base. After you’ve agreed. I’ll even pluck that phobia of yours right out of your head as a bonus.”
Tsunade looked tempted. And then slowly schooled her expression again. “After you killed sensei, you really think I’d want to work for you?”
Orochimaru shrugged. “He was well past his time to go. I hoped to move my seat of power to Konoha, but alas there were some complications.”
“You were going to set a tailed beast loose.” Naruto said. “Countless innocent lives would have been lost. Even more than there were already.”
“That was a risk I was perfectly willing to take.” Orochimaru turned to the chuunin. “I take it you’re the one who foiled that plan, poisoning the Suna Jinchuriki with your silly ideas.”
“Yes, the revolutionary idea to refuse an untimely death.”
“Your teammates managed a stronger defensive than my war council had anticipated. We were sure there would be more weaknesses we could exploit. Instead there was an annoying stalemate and both Konoha and Suna were mostly unweakened by the assault. Neither party was particularly interested in hearing my demands when they realised I had orchestrated the fight.”
“Sucks to be you.”
“I have one more thing to offer you, Tsunade.” Orochimaru returned his gaze to his teammate. “Even if you refuse to show it, we both know you’re getting older. What if I offered you the secrets I’ve unlocked attaining immortality?”
“I would say that, like sensei, I have spent too long on this earth already.”
“Ah, but it’s not just you who could benefit. Your lovely student has been following you around like a loyal puppy for many years now. It would be such a shame if something were to happen to her.”
“If you touch even one hair on her head…”
“So many dangers in this world. Disease, infections, kunai and poisons. I wonder if you would be able to handle another death so close to you? Do you think that might be the thing that finally broke you?”
“Shizune, move aside.”
Shizune looked confused, but she obliged. She fell back to the wall opposite Tsunade and Orochimaru.
“That temper of yours will be the death of you one day.” Orochimaru took another sip of the tea. “I’ll be at the river bend tomorrow morning after you’ve realised I’m your only option.”
Tsunade’s skin became whiter and it almost looked like she was approaching Orochimaru’s colour. Her lips tightened until it was just a tiny circle.
Shizune took another step back.
Tsunade’s fist collided with Orochimaru’s face. She hit her from the side and the force of it punched Orochimaru out of her seat, against the wall, and then right through the wall. Somewhere in that journey Orochimaru’s body collapsed into smoke, but it was far from where Naruto could see. He just noticed the few dozens of trees that had snapped, colliding with Orochimaru’s body.
“I thought you said it wouldn’t help.” Naruto said.
Tsunade shrugged. Her face was returning back to normal, but she still sounded a little distorted as she spoke. “It sure felt good though.”
Naruto could imagine. But he had come here with a duty and there was one thing he had to know before he could report this incident to the others. “Are you thinking of taking her deal?”
Tsunade’s silence was not a good sign.
“After all she’s done?”
“She wasn’t always like this, you know.” Tsunade said. “When we became a team, she was eager to prove herself. Jiraiya and Orochimaru were always trying to get my attention and acknowledge them. Orochimaru was always studying and trying to impress us with her knowledge. There was one mission to Tea where she became obsessed with finding the very best ink for her calligraphy. She interrogated any merchant we ran into. I remember her being scandalised by the thickness of a cork stopper in one bottle and getting us kicked out of a village for making a mess of things.”
“She… she sounds like a nerd.”
“The biggest.” Tsunade smiled. “I was so obsessed with using my talent to the fullest and becoming Hokage like my grandfather had been. It took me too long to realise there were more important things than the shadows of dead men. I met Dan and through him Shizune. I offered Jiraiya and Orochimaru my help, but by that time they were convinced they had to keep up with me with their own strength. Jiraiya never realised that Orochimaru had it more difficult than him.”
“Jiraiya mentioned the fight with Hanzo.” Naruto said. “That Orochimaru got poisoned.”
“I suppose she did.” Tsunade said. “My memories of that time are hazy. I remember that there was nothing I could do for her. And after that, she recovered anyway. It was miraculous.”
“She changed after that, Jiraiya said.”
“She might have. She was quiet on the way back to Konoha, just like the rest of us. And then I lost Dan. I didn’t speak with Orochimaru again until years later.”
Naruto looked at the giant hole in the wall. “This isn’t the first time she has visited you then.”
“She likes to drop in now and again. Like we’re still friends. Though I suppose she does realise something has changed. She only sends those summons and always comes as a woman. She never liked to fight as a woman.”
“Do you think she’s afraid of you?”
“Perhaps.” Tsunade said. “Besides sensei, only Jiraiya and I were on her level. If there is anyone who can injure her, it’s us.” She moved back to the bed. “I should continue my rest. Shizune, can you ask for a different room?”
Shizune nodded. “I’ll get us one with an intact wall.” She motioned Naruto to follow her out.
“Before I go, there is one more thing I wanted to ask. Is it true that you’ve been wasting your talent?”
She took a deep breath. “The concept hurts you in particular because you are talentless, doesn’t it?”
Naruto nodded.
“Out of respect for your mother, I will trust you to keep this secret.” She pointed at the jewel on her forehead. “This is my ultimate technique and it has allowed me to store both the chakra and the talent that I have not used.”
Naruto’s mouth dropped open. “You can store your talent?”
“I found the possibility during my studies into the spiritual effects on the body and decided it would be useful on longer missions. I had finished it just weeks before the fight against Hanzo. And after that, there was nobody left that I felt like teaching. So no. I have not wasted the talent. I can still use it if I wish.”
“That’s like… a decade of back talent.”
“Which could amount to eighty years of experience or so. If Orochimaru knew the extend of it, he would have me retrieved by any needs available to him. If Konoha knew, they would consider me even more of a priority than I already am.”
Naruto heard the message loud and clear. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll keep it to myself.”
~*~
It was amazing how much Kakashi had missed. He had barged back into the building to find Orochimaru, but had stayed his distance when he realised introducing a jounin to the tense situation would only escalate matters. Naruto would have expected him to eaves-drop, but he had been too busy making battle plans.
It was very important to regroup. Hanabi and Gaara had been left back at the inn to go over financial documents. Jiraiya had decided to bring Sakura and Sasuke out for a special training session, despite Kakashi urging him to keep everyone together. The four of them went to retrieve them.
They were at the very edge of the training area when they noticed a familiar presence. It seemed the snake sage had more visits to make than just Tsunade.
“We never asked for this.” Sakura said.
“You never asked to be born with talent.” Orochimaru said. “But you thank your spirit guardians anyway. Sometimes gifts have to be given before you can be aware you will be pleased with them.”
“The question remains why us.” Sasuke said. “You could have attacked any of the teams. You chose ours for a reason, even if it could have exposed your plans for the invasion.”
“Call it a certain fondness.” Orochimaru said. “Though you may find it difficult to believe, we do share some goals.”
“What could we possibly want that…”
“I want Itachi gone.”
“What?” Sasuke looked lost. “Why?”
“I have had my run-ins with him and I have my reasons to want him dead. If you must give it a name, call it revenge for the family he destroyed. I had long since left the Uchiha behind me, but I still held sentiment to some of the individuals Itachi killed.”
“That can’t be all there is to it.”
Orochimaru shrugged. “Then blame it on my pride as a Snake god. I was part of the organisation he is now working for and where he took my position from me. Does it really matter why I want him gone?”
Sasuke grew silent.
“You can’t seriously be thinking about this.” Sakura glared at him.
“You’ve felt the power of the forbidden seal too.” Sasuke said. “You know what it can do.”
“It’s not worth the toll it takes. It’s not worth it.”
“My uncle would be dead if it weren’t for my seal.”
“My parents wouldn’t be in a coma if it wasn’t for mine!”
Sasuke flinched back. “You said it was the snake’s poison…”
“The snake did poison them. And I tried to heal them. And I wasn’t enough. So I pulled on the forbidden seal. I let all my medical knowledge be multiplied and I drew in the power of the seal to save them.” She turned to Orochimaru. “It screwed up my chakra control. These seals weren’t meant for anything other than fighting.”
“Did I forget to mention that?” The snake smirked. “Increase of power in exchange for versatility. Small price to pay, really.”
Sasuke shook his head. “Sakura, you didn’t say anything…”
“I didn’t need to tell anyone because we’re going to fix it. Tsunade can help. She can fix my mistakes or tell me how to make them better again. But you need to stop thinking about using the forbidden seal.” She turned to Orochimaru. “It’s a poisoned fruit.”
“Ah, but that wasn’t all you used your seal on, was it? I hear you were able to tear right through one of my biggest snakes. You got your revenge and that felt good, didn’t it?”
“I would’ve preferred not to need to take revenge in the first place.”
“I see that there is no convincing you.” Orochimaru said. “A pity I wasted my time on you.” He turned to Sasuke again. “You however have one singular need your teammate does not. Keep in mind how much I can do for you, Sasuke.”
“Screw you.”
“You’ve said your piece.” Jiraiya said. “It’s time for you to leave.”
“So jumpy. But a promise is a promise. Yes, the Akatsuki are indeed going for the Jinchuriki.”
“What do they plan to do with them?”
“Shouldn’t that be obvious?” The snake sage looked more smug than ever. “They are collecting weapons to make their move. And they are planning to change everything we know about this earth.”
“We are no strangers to war.”
Orochimaru laughed. “Still thinking so small, froggy boy. Wars are tools of the daimyo to take inches of land from each other in their dragon games. No, what they are planning is bigger than that. After they are done, there will be no more elemental nations left standing to squabble with each other.”
“What do you mean with that?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Orochimaru’s body melted until there was just a small snake, slithering away into the earth.
Kakashi ran into the clearing. “Sasuke, Sakura, are you alright?”
“We’re fine.” Sasuke said.
Sakura nodded. “She just wanted to talk.
Kakashi directed his attention to Jiraiya. “And you let her?”
“He wasn’t actually here. There was no harm to be done.” Jiraiya took out a scroll and started scribbling down his notes. “This was valuable information and Konoha will be thankful to have it.”
“This isn’t over. But right now we should all head back to the inn.”
“That’s right.” Naruto said, drawing their attention. “We’ve got some preparing to do.”
~*~
“Did you know?” Naruto asked, putting his attention on Jiraiya. “Did you know the village was going to ask Tsunade to be the Hokage?”
“It’s her duty.” Jiraiya said. “She’s the Sandaime’s student.”
“You are too.”
“I’m a spymaster. I’ve made it my career to be unnoticed and unremembered to anyone who matters. Tsunade left the village with a stellar reputation and absence has only made the heart grow fonder.”
“Is she even eligible?” Hanabi asked. “How did the elders agree on her?”
“She ticks all the boxes.” Naruto admitted. “She walked the Golden Path, she’s strong and… if not charismatic, at least has a reputation to leverage. The Senju clan is also very small. I think there are only three or four others?”
“Three.” Jiraiya said. “All of them civilians. Tsunade hasn’t spoken to any of them for years.”
“It’s four now.” Kakashi said. “Aya has a four-year-old who’s slated to go to the Academy.”
“I can see why they want her.” Naruto said. “I just can’t see why they would complicate an already delicate situation.”
“They’re already asking her to rejoin the village.” Sakura said. “Why did they have to make it a harder deal?”
“Precisely because they’re asking her for help.” Hanabi said. “The Elders don’t want to seem weak. It’s much better that a new Hokage fulfils her responsibilities to the village by healing everyone, than it is for an outsider to come help after we’ve gotten on our knees for them to join.”
“Of course.” Sasuke said, nodding along. “Especially after the invasion. They want to present strength.”
“And it may drive Tsunade straight into Orochimaru’s arms.” Naruto complained.
“That can’t happen.” Kakashi said.
“Tsunade won’t make that choice.” Jiraiya said. “She’s not like that so we don’t have to worry about that.”
“Naruto, what do you think?” Kakashi asked.
“I don’t know for sure, but I think Jiraiya is right. Tsunade has been trying to escape from her responsibilities and everyone’s been letting her. Orochimaru won’t take no for an answer, and Konoha won’t either. She’s going to be forced to make a choice. And from what I can see of her, she’s going to make the right one. We’ll have to help her fight Orochimaru.”
“And if she doesn’t?” Sasuke asked.
“Then… then we’ll have to fight Orochimaru and Tsunade.”
Sakura nodded. “We can’t let her go into enemy hands.”
“We’re not dragging her back against her will.” Jiraiya said. “We don’t have the strength for it.”
“She’s a ninja of Konoha.” Naruto said. “And Konoha has failed her too many times. It’s time to show her we care. If she’s not strong enough to go back on her own, it’s time we take her together.”
“Either case, we need to prepare for a fight.” Kakashi said. “Back to the training ground.”
~*~
“Are you supposed to be leaking this much air?” Gaara asked.
Naruto continued his Kata, wind bursting from his fists. “I don’t think so, but it’s effective. Just need to work on concentrating the expulsion.”
He was almost finished when the wind dome collapsed around him. The final punches lacked the burst of wind behind them. It was a tight balance borrowing just enough from the chakra connection from his core to the dome to strengthen his taijutsu without channelling more than he could handle, all the while keeping the dome of wind stable around him.
Naruto wasn’t the only one who was seeing results. Hanabi’s fist, crackling with blue energy, went straight through one of the nearby trees. She was panting, but had a huge grin on her face.
“Just twenty more like that, and you’re ready to learn the advanced form.” Kakashi said.
“I can only do three of them a day. Only one of which hits like that.”
“So just a few months.”
Hanabi sighed. “Yay me.”
Sasuke was done with trees and was punching straight through rock now.
“How hot is that lava?” Naruto whistled.
“It’s not lava.” Kakashi said. “Lava is earth based. What he’s making with his Sensani is plasma.”
Sakura’s rasengan formed on her hand without needing a balloon or even her other hand for guidance. It wasn’t quite at the stage to shatter rock, but at this rate it would be the next morning after Sakura’s talent had added time to her training.
They only had a single night to prepare before they had to do battle with the Snake Sage. But they were doing their best to make it count.
~*~
The next morning, they gathered outside of the town. There was a large clearing, exactly where Orochimaru had described it would be. Tsunade was right there, waiting.
“There has to be a way we can talk you out of this.” Naruto said. “You know that there is nothing he can offer you that will make you feel better.”
“I know.” Tsunade said. “That’s not why I’m here.”
“It’s not?” Naruto sighed a breath of relief.
Tsunade shook her head. “It’s about time we settled this once and for all.”
Orochimaru was clapping when he walked into the clearing. “Is that supposed to impress me?”
Naruto looked for the signs Tsunade had mentioned. His body looked completely corporeal and ready for a fight. “It’s the real deal. What’s the catch?”
“It is about time that this came to a head.” Orochimaru said. “If you will not come willingly, then I will take you with force.”
“You and what army?”
“I have no need of help to overpower you. Let us settle this the old-fashioned way.” Orochimaru said.
Tsunade cracked her knuckles. “That’s fine with me.”
“Hime!” Jiraiya pulled on her sleeve. “You can’t agree to this. Why would you?”
“Shisho, you must reconsider. Let me fight next to you!”
“Both of you are slow on the upkeep.” Tsunade said. “If Orochimaru wants to fight me by himself, he is going to make sure that can happen. He’s not alone.”
“You always were the fastest to pick up on my tricks.” Two ninja appeared next to the snake sage. One was unfamiliar, a grown man with an exposed upper body and holding some kind of white sword. The other was more familiar, his grey hair and glasses standing out easily even with the red cloak he was wearing.
“Kabuto.”
“Hello Naruto. It’s a shame I’ll have to kill you now. Consider it payback for lying to me in the forest.” He charged at Naruto, his hands glowing green with a chakra scalpel.
Kakashi intercepted. He stood ready to counter the attack and drive Kabuto away. But the man with the white sword was too fast. He was in Kakashi’s face before the jounin realised what was happening, just diving away in time to prevent the sword from skewering him. As he retreated, the man reached out his hands and white projectiles shot out at Kakashi’s path.
Jiraiya was able to get into the swordman’s blind spot and delivered a devastatingly powerful kick. It should have shot him away from the fight, but instead the man just raised his arm and there was a white shield protecting him. It had grown right out of the man’s arm. With the different light, Naruto could see it for what it was. A sword and shield made out of bones. The ninja’s own bones.
This was impossible. Naruto knew the Bingo books inside and out. There was one clan that had these abilities and their members were fearsome fighters with high bounties. The Kaguya clan, able to manipulate their own bones as offensively and defensively as they desired. The last Kaguya to have an entry was captured twenty years ago and he had been presumed the last member of the clan.
Kabuto dived past Jiraiya and continued on his path towards Naruto. Right. He had his own battle to concentrate on. He drew kunai and threw them into Kabuto’s charge. Kabuto dodged out of the way and kept advancing.
Shizune rushed into his path. She rushed through her hand seals and became translucent with a faint glow. Kabuto tried to escape, but he was too late. Her hand passed straight through his torso where his heart was. It stopped him dead in his tracks.
He struggled, only to gasp for air when Shizune squeezed. “You’re defeated.”
“You’re quick to abandon your teacher.” Kabuto said. In his struggle he threw kunai towards Tsunade.
Shizune glanced back, which was all the time Kabuto needed. His hand was glowing with chakra and plunged it towards Shizune. She fell back.
Naruto drew back, preparing to circle the medical ninja with his teammates.
If this had been Orochimaru’s intention, the snake sage had succeeded. Tsunade was alone as she faced off against her former teammate.
Orochimaru was taking his time walking closer to Tsunade. He seemed completely at ease, as if there were no ninja fighting to the death around him. “I really thought you might think differently this time. What made you choose them instead of me?”
“I haven’t chosen them. I’m choosing for me.”
“How disappointing. This is the last time we will face each other as equals. After this I will have shown my superiority and my last true rival will have perished.”
“Don’t be so sure of yourself.” Tsunade said. “You’ll have to finish this fight before you can boast like that.”
“Oh, but it is a certainty.” Orochimaru grinned, his fanged teeth on display. And then he bit into his own lip, strong enough to pierce. A trail of blood ran down his skin.
Tsunade froze.
Kabuto used Naruto’s inattention against him and went in for a strike, hand outstretched with green chakra. Sasuke slid into his side with a kunai, only to be stopped by a snake that had curled around Kabuto’s waist and threatened to bite into Sasuke’s wrist. Kabuto did not even look at the distraction.
Naruto rushed through the hand signs to form a wind dome around him and poised his fist to block Kabuto. Except he could feel how his technique had failed to form properly. He would not be able to release enough wind to block the attack.
Sasuke’s neck was growing darker. He was calling on his seal.
“No!” Naruto shouted.
Sasuke flinched and pulled back.
Kabuto was still coming at Naruto. Naruto did not have time to redo his technique. Instead he kicked at the ground with a haphazard release of wind. It blew up a cloud of sand that stopped Kabuto for a single moment. As soon as Kabuto stood still, Sakura was on his back and attacking. But then she too was forced back, kicked out of the way with a surprisingly nimble body.
This was taking too long. Naruto had to rush in to fight Kabuto with taijutsu. They had to exhaust the medic.
Even when Naruto actually wanted to jump to Tsunade’s side. When he saw her hands shaking and her body seizing. He was just too far away to help. Too far away to do anything as Orochimaru took out his sword and charged Tsunade’s body.
Nothing Naruto could do as Shizune stepped between Orochimaru and Tsunade and stopped the sword with her body.
Orochimaru was about to draw back and attack Tsunade again, when Jiraiya peeled off from the fight against Kaguya to take on Orochimaru himself.
“Sakura, help her!” Naruto shouted.
She covered her retreat with a flurry of shuriken, but Kabuto was glad to let her go.
He only had eyes for the fight in front of him. “You can’t believe how much I had to hold back in the Chuunin exam. Don’t think I didn’t see your pitying faces. You wanted me to feel even more sorry about myself.”
“The only thing we really pity is how Orochimaru could have tricked you into working for him!” Hanabi yelled out. Her hands were glowing and she had the Byakugan active. There were three of her all rushing the medical ninja and even though he had a snake helping to protect him, he was getting pinned down. Sasuke exploited every moment of weakness with the same efficiency they had gotten used to from him. And Gaara’s fighting fit in just as easily, his sharp claws threatening to do more damage than even Hanabi would be capable of with her clan’s special taijutsu.
Sakura was not doing as good. She had her green hands over Shizune, but it looked like she was starting to panic. While Tsunade just stood there, doing nothing.
Kakashi was doing a fine job keeping the Kaguya ninja pinned to one side of the field and making sure his attacks would not affect the others.
Naruto ran over and slid next to Shizune. “What do you need me to do?”
“Pressure here.” Sakura said, guiding his hands to one part of Shizune’s stab wound. It was larger than it had looked from a distance, or maybe Orochimaru had been able to move the sword around more than Naruto had thought was possible. “Naruto, her organs were damaged. There’s internal bleeding.”
“Then heal it.”
“I can’t.” She cried. “I don’t know how to do this.” She turned to Tsunade. “Please, Tsunade-sama. You have to help her.”
Tsunade’s skin was so white that it was a miracle she was standing at all. She was staring at Shizune’s chest, at the blood that had spread everywhere.
This was not helping her.
“You need to close your eyes.” Naruto told her. “Baa-chan, you are going to get through this but first you are going to close your eyes.”
Tsunade shook her head slightly.
“This isn’t like Dan. There’s still something you can do. But you’re not going to be able to do it while you’re in this state!”
Tsunade’s eyes slowly closed.
“How does a medical ninja heal organ damage?” Naruto shouted at her.
Tsunade was not back yet. Her mind was not working like it should.
“Recite the textbook. You wrote half the damn thing.” Naruto eyes were starting to water. “Come on, old lady. I know you’re not senile enough to forget!”
“Which organ?” Tsunade asked.
Sakura turned to her. “Heart first.”
“The cells are like the myocites you find elsewhere in the body. The myocardial cells are built using myofibrils. Chain them together with proper orientation.”
“How do I regulate my chakra?”
“Regulate to six milirikudo. The heart is most sensitive to chakra bursts. It is imperative this organ is the last you learn to heal.” Tsunade said. Some of the colour was returning to her face. “With your limited experience, you cannot risk overexposure. Go as light as you can and increase in tiny steps.”
Sakura lowered her hand. It did not turn green. “You should do it. If you’re feeling better, then you need to do it. What if I screw it up? What if I make it worse like I did with my parents?”
“You’re not going to.” Tsunade said. She went to her knees, her eyes still firmly closed. “You’re going to tell me what you feel every step of the way and I will guide you through.”
There was a large commotion across the field as Orochimaru summoned the largest spirit animal that Naruto had ever seen. The snake had to be even taller than the Hokage monument. There was no way Jiraiya would be able to stand up to it alone.
Nor did he have to. Jiraiya placed his hand on the ground and with a large cloud of smoke summoned his own giant toad. It was even wearing a coat and smoking a pipe. It rushed the snake right away and pushed him out of the clearing.
“Don’t focus on the fight.” Tsunade said. “Stay with me. What are you feeling?”
“It feels like it’s slipping away from me. The healing’s taking longer now.”
“Lower your chakra frequency by twenty percent.”
“Th-that helps. I’m going to get there soon. Lungs are next, right?”
“Yes.”
Naruto could see the wound on Shizune’s body easing. Even if there was still a lot to do, she was slowly getting better. Kakashi had pinned down the Kaguya ninja and was making gains. He was amping up to make his finishing move.
Kabuto was also in trouble. Gaara had used his taijutsu to distract him and Sasuke, skin now speckled with the black swirls of Orochimau’s seal, had managed to trap him. Together they were keeping him squarely in one place while Hanabi was a small distance away, a Chidori forming in her hand.
But for all the trouble Orochimaru’s allies had, Orochimaru himself was in a much more comfortable position. After the Toad’s first push outside of the clearing, it had been forced on the defensive. Orochimaru’s snake was faster and stronger and it showed.
“Shisho…”
“Don’t talk.” Tsunade said. “You still need to get your strength back.”
Shizune’s hand went to her chest. Her hand was glowing green around her liver. “I’m not so weak that I can’t help.”
“Talk Sakura through any questions she has.” Tsunade said.
“You can’t fight him with your eyes closed.” Naruto said.
“I’m not going to.” Tsunade flicked her fingernail over the end of her thumb, causing her to bleed. Then she made the signs and put her hand on the ground. Her spirit animal was even bigger than her teammates’. It flanked the giant snake and then pounced on its tail. The snake tried to slither away, but the toad blocked its only route of escape.
And then the slug started eating.
Thought the snake trashed, the slug’s suction was too strong to resist. Naruto could see its physical form getting so strained that it seemed about ready to burst.
“Remove your hands, Naruto.” Sakura said. “There’s no more need for pressure.”
Naruto nodded and complied. Sakura’s hand made quick work to close the outer wound.
Shizune’s own hands were failing her. “You did well. I would not have been able to do this at your age.”
“I was just listening to Tsunade’s instructions.”
Shizune shook her head. “This was a critical moment and you succeeded. Please tell me you were using your talent to learn from it.”
“Of course.”
“The two of you need to get out of here. Help your team.”
Naruto saw Hanabi finishing her Chidori just as Kakashi had prepared his. Both fights would be over before they could contribute to it.
“I don’t think we need to.”
Orochimaru’s giant snake turned to smoke and Naruto almost felt sorry for the snake bastard. There was no way he was going to survive on his own between that toad and slug.
But then the smoke exploded outwards, engulfing both summons and reaching further.
Naruto dropped low to the ground, trying to keep his visibility up. But it was of little use. They were all completely blind. Naruto felt himself get grabbed. Without even thinking about it, he transformed his arm away and withdrew his whole body in a tiny metal ball. Even if they would have had time to try to grab him, they had no way to look for him in the smoke and still make their escape.
Naruto emerged back in a minute.
Everyone was accounted for. Jiraiya was helping Tsunade walk back to them. They had faced the Legendary Snake Sage and had lived to tell the tale.
“Yo, baa-chan. Don’t think this is going to make us stop going after you.”
“You won’t need to.” Tsunade said. “It’s time we went back to Konoha.”
Jiraiya beamed. “I’m so glad you’ve come to your senses. The elders will be thrilled.”
“I’m not going back for them. It’s been years since I’ve felt this way. Not since I met Shizune.” She looked to Naruto and Sakura. “I’m going back to Konoha for my new students.”
~*~
Naruto stuffed another pork bun into his mouth, adding it together with his bite of rice and drink of water. The food was amazing and he had had enough exercise to make up for.
“Just because I’m buying doesn’t mean you have permission to bankrupt me.” Tsunade said.
Shizune chuckled. “The boy’s just got a healthy appetite. You can’t blame him for that.”
“There’s no good that can come from excess.”
Naruto swallowed and then went for another helping. “I am up to only sixteen hundred calories and have allotted a thousand more. Two thousand if I take another run after dinner. I have a mix of twenty percent proteins and I’m keeping it there.”
Tsunade perked. “You’re a dietician?”
“Just one among my many skills.”
“You should see him do his newest henge trick.” Sakura said. “I didn’t know it was possible.”
“And what trick would that be?”
Naruto made the hand sign for the henge. Even if he did not need it for most transformations anymore, this was a case where it was better to concentrate. He flooded the air with his wind chakra, like he was staking a claim on the whole room. And then he formed a new hand, detached from the rest of his body. He put it down on the table.
“How is that a transformation?”
Naruto smiled, making the hand move and crawl over the table. It grabbed a salt shaker with its pinky finger and then started moving back. “It’s just another shape for my body to be.” He held up his left arm. “I do need to sacrifice my normal hand for it. I haven’t been able to figure out new nerve endings yet.”
“I can help with that.” Tsunade said. “I’ve done some work on creating new nerve endings for paralyses patients and this would share similar groundwork.”
“I would appreciate any help you could give.” Naruto said. “During the chuunin exams I used a similar process to create my ceremonial spirit animal. When they moved it away from my body it was agony.”
“I am familiar with it.” Tsunade said.
“Well, you can imagine what would happen if something happened to disrupt the transformation while I’m doing this.” Naruto picked up the hand and then let the henge cancel itself. “I have to use my actual hand to make it work out. So I’d be lucky if I lost just the hand if the technique were disrupted.”
“How did you get so focused on the Henge?”
“There weren’t a lot of paths available to me. The Henge was just the easiest path for me to follow.”
“It’s the same for me.” Hanabi said. “Without specialised teachers, I’ve been putting all my attention on the bunshin technique.”
“That’s actually my secondary specialty.” Shizune said. “Dan’s technique was based on it.”
“I’d like to compare notes at some point, if you don’t mind. Not many ninja who have found the bunshin a critical technique to perfect.”
“It doesn’t have quite the versatility of the henge, no.” Shizune admitted. “But it’s something truly fearsome to be reckoned with if fully mastered.”
“I still need to thank you, Sakura.” Tsunade said. “Without you Shizune would not be sitting here today.”
“I just did what any medical ninja would have done.”
“You went above your duties. I think you will make a great medical ninja one day.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to make my village proud.”
~*~
Naruto was walking his fresh cup of tea back to his room when he noticed Jiraiya sitting outside. He made sure Kakashi could see him deviate before going to sit down next to him.
“What are you doing?”
“Just looking at some draft versions. I thought I’d have more time on this mission to finish and my publisher is desperately waiting for something new.”
“Would it be so bad to disappoint him? Getting Tsunade back earlier must be a plus in their book.”
“They’re only in Konoha until I hand in the draft. They’re eager to move back out.”
“I see.” Naruto took a sip of his tea. It was not too strong, just like he liked it.
Jiraiya was tapping the back of his ink brush against the paper, lost in thought. The paper itself was littered with doodles and crossed-out words. The spacing was completely inconsistent. It looked like someone so eager to put his words down on paper that he disregarded any constraints to his speed.
“Writer’s block?”
“Something like that.” He sighed. “Writing isn’t like one of Orochimaru’s fancy ninjutsu, or Tsunade’s healing techniques. There’s no script to follow to guarantee success. It’s more emotion and happenstance than anything else. Sometimes it’s easy to write, and other times it’s impossible.”
“That sounds frustrating.”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.”
“If it’s so frustrating, why do you do it?”
Jiraiya shrugged. “I had a lot of trouble getting noticed as a teenager. Orochimaru liked me, but he was even more obsessed with training than I was. Tsunade was the kindest girl, but only if you approached her the right way. When they left, I figured I needed to find a new way for people to get to know me.”
“And that became… writing porn?”
Jiraiya laughed. “It wasn’t my first choice. My first book was about a dashing young hero who would take on the entire ninja world and replace the current ninja system with something better. It was everything I thought I wanted to see in the world. It was an important story that I wanted to tell. But nobody read it. So I tried to clear my head by writing something so frivolous that I wouldn’t be burdened by wanting to make it important. Just some silly romance with erotic undertones. I accidentally sent that in together with my correspondence with the editor and he was so enthusiastic about reading more that I just kept writing from there.”
“It didn’t do your relationship with Tsunade any good though.”
“No. It didn’t.” Jiraiya sighed. “Sometimes I think that we both have gotten stuck in a routine. I keep her up on a pedestal and cannot understand what she is actually thinking. She hears I have written another porn book to add to the collection and thinks my mind is always in the gutter.”
“You know, Kakashi is convinced there are great emotional truths in your work when you ignore all the sex scenes. You could write romance stories without making porn.”
“There’s nothing wrong with writing erotica.”
“There shouldn’t be, except the first time we met you were doing research for that porn by spying on naked women. You may think it’s the books that annoy her, but I think it’s the other behaviour instead.”
“Yeah, I should probably stop doing that if Tsunade’s going to be Hokage. She’ll never let me survive if I went for some more harmless fun.”
“You’re lucky I let you off the hook.”
“Why’d you get so progressive?” Jiraiya shook his head. “Well, I can say it’s harmless fun but I suppose that isn’t true.” He rubbed at his eyes. “Learning better words to describe women’s bodies must have been the first thing I ever spent my talent on. I remember sitting on my uncle’s shoulders so I could peep over the bath’s fence and describe to him what I saw. Sometimes I worry that I’ve never learned another way to deal with women.”
“Why not spend talent on it now?”
“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. The decades I’ve spent training my other skills have all have a foundation of what came before.”
“It’s never too late.” Naruto said. He stood up. “I should head to bed now. We’re leaving again early tomorrow.”
“I’ll finish these up and then head up as well. You can tell Kakashi he can stop trying to sneak previews.”
“I’ll do that.” Naruto made his way back inside, before turning around. “For the record, I did like Tales of an Incredibly Gutsy ninja.”
“You actually read it?”
“When I realised you had written something I could actually read, I added it to my list. It was a good book, especially considering it was your first.” Naruto said. “I can see where it struggled to get popular attention. You had some trouble establishing the characters in the beginning, even when the plot picked up after the first few chapters. It’s left an impression. If you wrote more books like that, I know there will be people who will want to read them. I’ll be at the front of the line.”
“I’ll lose my current fanbase though.”
“Perhaps it’s time for a change.” Naruto smiled. “If you want to be less of a pervert, it might be best to leave behind the audience that keeps reinforcing you to think like one.”
~*~
Sasuke’s bedroom door was open. He was staring out of the window.
“Having trouble sleeping?”
“Hn.”
Naruto sat down on Sasuke’s bed. He was looking at detailed maps of the area around Konoha. Naruto did not remember that on any of the requirements for beginner chuunin. Sasuke was working ahead again. “If Tsunade can heal your uncle, you think they’ll still make you go through with the wedding?”
“They may have made arrangements already while I was gone. They said they would wait, but it’s hard to judge the situation in Konoha. Things may have moved quickly.”
“Wouldn’t that be something? We’d come back and they’d be dragging you off for a wedding. They’d better not be that quick. We still need to throw you a bachelor party.”
Sasuke smirked. “What would I need that for?”
“It’s not just for you. It’s for all your friends who’ll now have to share you with someone! We’ll be very sad and must put our minds off it with strippers and alcohol.”
“Do I want to know how you’re planning on combining this with a training exercise?”
Naruto grinned. “I’d be one of the strippers, of course.”
“You can’t do that.” Sasuke said. “My eyes are my most prized possession. It would be a shame if I were forced to scratch them out.”
“You didn’t mind looking in the hot spring.”
“Temporary insanity.”
“Sasuke. Do you think we could talk about the kiss?”
Sasuke kept staring out of the window. The room’s dim candlelight made it hard to read his expression. “Naruto, I keep having nightmares about the night of the massacre. The whole day had been strange. Itachi had volunteered to drop me off at the Academy. I was the only Uchiha at the Academy because all the other kids had called in sick. And then at the end of the day, I found it weird that nobody had come to pick me up. I was the one who found my parents before anyone else in the village had. They were bleeding out in the living room. With only a single crow above them, left by Itachi to tell me he expected me to take revenge.”
“I’m sorry, Sasuke.”
“I had the nightmares under control, but they’ve come back. And this time I don’t just see my parents. I see aunty Jinko and uncle Fu. I see the Uchiha’s legacy destroyed completely. I see myself failing.”
“You won’t fail. We all have faith in you.”
“It’s not enough.” Sasuke said. “What I’ve been doing is not enough. I should be spending more time optimising what I do with my talent. I should be stretching my limits more. I don’t have time for these missions that bring us all across Fire Country. I’m sorry Naruto, but I don’t have time to think about how I feel about our kiss.”
“Does it take so much effort to decide whether you liked it or not?”
“That’s not the point. Of course I liked it. But I’m supposed to be married. We can’t start something now that will have to end when we get back to Konoha. Or maybe we could, but I would have to think about how to navigate through the complicated labels. I can’t afford to do that right now.”
“Tough. You’re the one who kissed me. It’s your responsibility to have some intention on how to continue.”
“Well I take it back then. Consider yourself unkissed.”
“That’s not something you can do.”
Sasuke sighed. “Then what do you want to do about it? What is your plan?”
“I could marry you.”
Sasuke laughed. “Be serious.”
“I am. You said yourself that it would work if you married a man. Maybe your family has made arrangements, but maybe they haven’t. They’d let you do it if you said that’s what you wanted.”
“You just heard m say that I’m not sure whether I should kiss you again, but you want me to marry you?”
“You said yourself it’s just a political marriage. We can do that silly courting thing all the clan heads do. We’ll take our time to see how we feel and whether we want to take it further. Worst case, we’ll just end up being best friends who happen to be married together.”
“You don’t have to do that just to save me. All the anxiety I felt about being forced to marry has gone out of me. I have no more objections to what my family wants and I’ll be fine with whatever wife they’ll pick for me.” Sasuke shook his head. “I don’t care about the future. But I know that you do. You want to have kids and a partner and settle down.”
“I want to be Hokage and I want you to be with me. The rest I’ll figure out along the way. Sasuke, please. It’s all been hypotheticals so far. I don’t care about some potential family I’ll have after I’ve become Hokage. You’re here right now. This is the first time I feel like there is a real path to a relationship and I couldn’t be happier it’s with you. Can’t you take a moment to imagine it? Can’t you see it?”
Sasuke finally turned around. “I think I can. I’d already saved a separate bedroom for my spouse and you could live there. Every day we would try to make our lives fit together and see where that leads us.”
“I could help you with your training like you could with mine. I think you’re one of the only people who’d understand if I combined our dates with exercise. If you have feelings for me as I do for you, there’s no reason we shouldn’t give it a try.”
“No reason besides it blowing up in our faces. You’d be stuck with me.”
“I’d be helping a friend. And years from now we’ll have fallen in love with other people and we’ll laugh and reminisce with our unofficial partners about those spectacular failures of us trying to be more than friends. While countless Uchiha children line the streets. You’ll guide the ones with talent and I’ll guide those without. And when you are ready to pass on the title of clan leader, we can divorce and marry the people we really love.”
“You think they’d be willing to wait that long?”
“If they weren’t willing to wait for love, they wouldn’t be worth it.”
“I suppose so. I envy you sometimes, Naruto. That you can look so far into the future and see happy endings.”
“It’s not so hard. I have to believe there’s a happy ending for us.”
“I hope there is. But I can’t look past the fight with my brother. I can’t afford to look past it and risk sacrificing even a tenth of a percent of a change of beating him, just for preparation for what would come after a victory.”
“Then what’s all this planning with the wife and the concubine for?”
“It’s because my family does not have faith in me.”
“That’s nonsense.”
“They hope I’ll win, but they must have another option. As long as I’m the only Uchiha remaining in Konoha, I’m their only hope for regrowing the clan. If there are children and the next generation is secured, then my failure won’t be a catastrophic one.”
“Your family loves you. They don’t want you to die.”
“It’s not about what they want. They’re being smart. Just like I’ll have to be. I can marry you, Naruto. I’d love that. But I can’t plan past Itachi’s death. Whatever we’ll have, it’ll be a temporary arrangement.”
“Unless you defeat him.”
“I never stood a chance.” Sasuke said, frustrated. “Did you not see the gap between us? It will take me a lifetime to catch up to him as he is now, while he keeps growing stronger. Did you hear about the organisation he’s joined? Akatsuki has legendary missing ninja and they are spending all their time together. Who knows what kind of powers he has unlocked that I can’t even dream of when I’m just following Konoha’s standard curriculum?”
“You won’t be alone. We’ll help.”
“Stop this delusion. We could all be jounin and it wouldn’t make a difference. If I’m bringing back-up, so will he. There’s not a force on earth that can stop him.”
“If you truly believe that, why are you training so hard to defeat him? Why not give up right here and now?” Naruto swallowed. “If you’re so convinced you can’t win? Why are you delivering your eyes to him on a silver platter?”
“Because it’s not impossible, no matter how closely it approaches it.” Sasuke said. “I don’t care about my own life. Not truly. I want revenge. I know I will most probably die getting it, but I still want it. I can only marry you if you promise to accept that. Accept that I can’t be distracted by a future that will probably never be. Accept that all I do in my life is to increase my chance of getting revenge. And accept that I will die killing Itachi.”
“I can’t accept that.”
“Then I can’t have you take such a large role in my life where you’ll distract me.”
Naruto swore between gritted teeth. “So that’s just it?”
“It appears so.” Sasuke went back to the window. “You should go to bed. We need to head out early tomorrow.”
Naruto could see the futures he had imagined melting like snow in the sun. And it felt just like in the hotspring, with Sasuke’s kiss surprising him so much that Naruto had screwed up and let Sasuke get away. Where Naruto had regretted what he had done for days afterwards.
He didn’t want any more regret.
“And if I can accept it?” Not that Naruto could. But he could pretend.
That startled Sasuke. He turned back his head. “What?”
“If I promise to support you as you march towards your own death? That I’ll step into this relationship knowing there’s a high chance it’ll end? All I want in return is your promise that if you do live, you’ll plan whatever comes next together with me. Would that work?”
Sasuke nodded with hesitation.
Naruto did not wait to press his lips against Sasuke’s. If there was such a big chance his first relationship would end prematurely, he was going to enjoy it as long as he could.
The kissed. And kept kissing.
That night, neither of them thought of the future.
Notes:
Next update on August 1st: 'The only one for me'. In which Tsunade returns to Konoha and Naruto/Sasuke have a date.
As every time, I’m giving the chapter title without mentioning which song it’s from. And as usual the song title gives more context of the chapter vibe or specifics. For this chapter it was kind of obvious that Orochimaru is the devil that’s visiting and underestimating our protagonists. The sin being referred to is both the possible deals with Orochimaru and his forbidden seal.
Tsunade can tell what gender Orochimaru is even when he/she’s being subtle, by the way Orochimaru stands and talks. It’s something she’s learned over years of spending time together, while Jiraiya still thinks Orochimaru is only gender fluid so he can slip into the hot springs to see Tsunade naked. Meanwhile Naruto follows the old Tumblr joke of correcting the pronouns in his threat to the enemy.
The fight scene was hard to navigate because there were so many people on the battle field at the same time and Orochimaru is out of most of their league. I would have put more effort into figuring something out to ramp up the pressure, except it’s not the climactic fight of Book 3 and I’m hoping to make up for it in chapter 3.8.Finally Sasuke and Naruto are together. I’m sure that will all work out perfectly with no bumps on the road to come.
It was my birthday yesterday! =D Come give congratulations in the comments.
Chapter 24: 3.7 The only one for me (Jolene)
Summary:
Konoha has a new Hokage! I have a boyfriend and I’m marrying him soon! Now we just need to get that chuunin registration so we can go back on regular missions. Until then, we get to train a lot. Whoo!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
It was hard to tell. Despite assurances, Hinata did not look any better than before the operation. Her face had always been pale, since the royal Hyuuga were chronically disposed to spend their lives inside. In the time that Team 7 had been away, it had taken a sickly sheen that made it worrying to look at her.
“Are you sure it was a success?” Hanabi asked. She was sitting on the bed next to her sister, holding Hinata’s hand in her own.
“As positive as I can be considering the circumstances.” Tsunade said. “Spirit damage is the trickiest wound to cure. We understand so little of the bonds the spirit animals have made with us and what keep them intact. I only have limited ways to detect that bond and even less ways to interact with it. But I know I removed the corruption and early indications are positive.”
“How long until we can know for sure?”
“It is hard to tell. If there is no change in three more days, then we will need to consider supplemental procedures.”
“Like what?”
“Destroying some of the connection to preserve the rest.”
Hanabi swallowed. “I don’t think…”
The machine next to them started beeping loudly. Tsunade checked the readings.
“Is something wrong?”
“The opposite.” Tsunade smiled. Her gaze travelled down to Hinata’s face.
There were muscles of her face moving. And then she opened her eyes.
“Hinata-nee!” Hanabi threw her arms around her. “You’re back!”
“I’m sorry for making you worry…”
“It’s all my fault you were in here. You should have used the seal! Why didn’t you?”
“You were there, so I didn’t have to.”
“They wanted to make me clan leader. I wouldn’t let them. I got Tsunade back to the village and she did this for you. For the Hyuuga.”
She turned to Tsunade and bowed her head. Just woken up and already worried about showing proper decorum. “I owe you my life, Tsunade-sama. If there is anything the Hyuuga can do to repay you, simply name it.”
“Just your loyalty will suffice. I’m the new Hokage.”
“I apologise for the circumstances of our first meeting then.” Hinata said. “I’ll arrange a more suitable introduction when I’m in a better shape.”
“Concentrate on building your strength, little heir.” Tsunade said. “Listen to the nurses and you’ll be fine. I’ll leave you two alone to catch up.”
Naruto followed her out of the room. It had been a long wait, but he had passed the time with Hinata by catching up on their reading material together. It was not every day he would get a chance to tail Tsunade to get lessons on biology, so it was more than worth it.
“Any more surgeries on the agenda today?” Tsunade asked.
Mitokado checked his notes. As the councilmember who had first recommended her to be Hokage, he had been trying to get her settled in her role. “Just one more physical check-up.”
“Before we continue, you must consider more carefully what the Hyuuga heir just offered you.” Mitokado said. He was slightly out of breath trying to keep up with Tsunade’s pace, but he stayed firm. “You turned down her offer of compensation.”
“There isn’t anything I want from her.”
“Not at the moment. But you must learn to think ahead.”
“There are enough problems today without dragging tomorrow’s here as well. Why can’t I just ask for her aid when I find need of it?” Tsunade asked, exasperated.
“The Hyuuga care for the Hyuuga, not the greater good of Konoha. Sometimes you will have to force them to stand back so that the village may prosper. You need tools for that, which you gather when the Hyuuga are in a giving mood.”
Tsunade did not seem convinced.
“Not to mention that by implying the act of saving her life is not in need of compensation, you imply the act is worthless, and by extension that her own life is worthless.”
“That’s clearly not what I meant.”
“No, but it is in this way that your great deed goes from an asset to a liability. I understand you wish to keep a straightforward relationship with the clan leaders, but at the very least you must stay on the defensive.”
Tsunade stood still and closed her eyes for a few moments. The jewel on her forehead shone and when she opened her eyes again she seemed more seasoned. “It has been taken under advisement and will not happen again. Now let me see that clipboard.” She pulled it right out of Homura’s hands.
“I can assure you everything is in order.”
“The Haruno are not on today’s list.” She flipped the page. “Not for tomorrow either.”
“They are civilian merchants and well taken care of by our hospital’s main staff. The clans come first.”
She handed the clipboard back. “I owe Haruno Sakura and she is clan too. I’ll see to her parents this afternoon. Schedule it.”
“But you have your meetings with…”
“Schedule it.”
Haruno grumbled, but started making adjustments. “You have a consult in room 402. I need to send some messages out.”
As a group they went to the right room. Naruto had to hide a smile when they entered. Even without a spear in his hand or a sharingan activated, Garudo still looked like a cat with all its hairs raised the moment Tsunade dared approach him. Daisuke was standing next to him, trying to hold his arm and calm him.
“I understand you are undergoing physical therapy.” Tsunade said.
Garudo nodded slowly.
“Yo, I can vouch for her.” Naruto said. “I’m ninety percent sure she’s not an enemy ninja using a henge to fool us.”
“And how am I supposed to believe you?” Garudo asked with his usual charm.
“Well, you’ll just have to. You don’t have a weapon to put to our throats until we prove ourselves.”
“I can help.” Daisuke said. “Sasuke told me the password to identify you. He said to say ‘Foxes are amazing’?”
Naruto always liked the passwords more when he got to think of them. “But crows are a close second.”
Daisuke nodded and Garudo relaxed.
“I’m sorry, Tsunade-sama. But after what happened with Sasuke outside of Konoha, I cannot be too careful.”
Naruto huffed. “People keep forgetting that the creep couldn’t fool me for more than a few seconds. Whatever skill Itachi had, it’s not stood the test of time.”
“It might seem that way to you.” Garudo said. “But you must remember that you’re a master of the henge yourself. You know exactly what to look out for and how transformations can leave tells.”
“Now that this is over with, can I examine you?” Tsunade asked.
Garudo nodded.
“What have you been working on?” Tsunade’s hands were green as they ran over Garudo’s knees.
“They have me walking, mostly. A lot of stretching before and after.”
“And how has that been going?”
“The progress has been slow. Too slow for my liking.”
“There was extensive damage to your chakra pathways. It’s inhibiting the recovery of your muscles. There are no other proven treatments more effective than what you’ve already been working on while you give the pathways time to heal themselves.”
Garudo lowered his head, staring at the ground. “I see.”
“However, there are some unproven treatments you can try. Meditation has shown signs of helping with chakra pathway recovery, which will in turn help your physical body.” She took a notepad and started writing. “There are a few books on techniques I advise you to check out. It’s important that you stick to your doctor’s schedule even if you think you’re starting to feel better.”
“I shall endeavour not to overexert myself.”
Tsunade noticed the half-hearted promise for what it was. She turned to Daisuke instead. “You keep an eye on him and come tell me if he’s breaking the rules.”
Daisuke nodded.
“How is your Sharingan doing?”
“It’s fine.”
“I’d like to examine it.”
Garudo frowned.
“I have no ill intentions. But you are one of only three Konoha ninja who possess it. If there were any problems, I’d like to solve them in the early stages.”
Garudo sighed, before running the chakra through his eyes. They turned the familiar red.
Tsunade went quickly, examining the eyes with a scope and a green hand on the side of his face. “As healthy as it should be. They weren’t affected at all by the attack.”
“Can I use them for my physical therapy?”
Tsunade shook her head. “No. As your doctors have told you already. The Sharingan takes too much chakra out of your system that should be going towards healing your pathways. They’ll strengthen you and it might feel like progress in the short term, but your road to recovery will be faster without them.”
Garudo nodded, his eyes turning back to normal. “So after my pathways have recovered?”
“I still wouldn’t recommend it. The Sharingan has a tendency to push you Uchiha past your limits.”
“With all due respect, these eyes are the gift from the crows to protect the clan long after I ever expected to be deemed worthy of them. I’m perfectly in control of myself while they are activated and I know there is precedent of recovery being hastened through their effects.”
“But much more precedent of it creating setbacks.” Tsunade sighed. “In the end it’s your own choice. I can only urge you to be careful.”
“Of course.”
“Finally, there are some dietary adjustments that I would like to make.” Tsunade took out her clipboard again and started going over minor things with seasoning and ratios.
Naruto was distracted by Daisuke tugging on his sleeve. “Sasuke-onii wanted to know if you’d like flowers for tonight.”
Naruto smiled. “I’m fine either way.”
Daisuke looked disappointed.
“But if he really wants a specific answer, I’d prefer a potted flower like an iris. Something that will last.”
The boy nodded with a smile. “I’ll tell him.”
“Hope our surprise announcement wasn’t too much of a hindrance for you all.” Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “I haven’t had a chance yet to talk to any of the other Uchiha about this.”
“You shouldn’t worry. Even though aunty and uncle have been giving Sasuke a hard time and they’ve been arguing, I heard them whispering later that they’re happy he’s making a choice for himself.”
“Sasuke hasn’t mentioned any fights with his family.”
Daisuke’s eyes went wide. “Don’t tell him I said anything! I assumed you knew.”
“I won’t mention it.”
“I’m happy you’re going to be living with us.” Daisuke said. “All the porcupines are moving in and none of them were interested in playing ninja with me. But you’ll want to play, right? I need to practice for the Academy.”
“I’m sure we can work something out.” Naruto said. “Ninja practice is something I live and breathe. You’ll be more prepared for the Academy than anyone else.”
Daisuke’s eyes were like stars.
“We’re heading back to the Uchiha compound. Come on, Daisuke.” Garudo supported himself with his crutches, getting ready to move.
Daisuke nodded, getting next to Garudo. “I’ll remember. A potted plant. Like an iris.”
Naruto flashed him a thumbs up, before following Tsunade out of the room.
~*~
Tsunade was unpacking another box. Her books and medical supplies were all going on a special hospital desk in the office that they had brought in for her.
“Still say it looks weird.”
“I’m a medic first. If anyone’s got a problem with that, they can take it up with my fists.”
Naruto smiled, sitting back on the couch. He took a deep breath. Despite the attack, despite everything that had happened, this place still smelled like the Sandaime.
“What are you planning on doing now that you’re here?”
“I’d like to set some ground rules.” Tsunade said. “They wanted me to be the Hokage and I am perfectly willing to fill that role. But I am not sensei. I am not going to kowtow all the political bullshit that comes with this office. That’s for others to deal with.”
“You told Mitokado that you’d make an effort.”
“I told him I’d do enough to defend myself.” She said. “I’m shoring up my weaknesses but I am much more interested in building Konoha’s fundamentals and strengthening what’s already here than I am in shifting any big things around.”
“I guess that’s part of why they like you in the position. Nothing too revolutionary.”
She shrugged. “I don’t care much one way or another what they’ll think of me. They’ll just have to deal. I may have come to Konoha, but I’m still the same woman who preferred to run. I’m just making sure the whole village doesn’t fall apart until the new generation is ready to take over.” She pulled out a board game from under one of the cupboards. “What is this doing here?”
“Hey, it’s the game I used to play with Jiji!”
Tsunade eyed him. “I know you said you were close to him, but how often did you visit exactly?”
“Not as often as I liked. During the Academy days I often had trouble understanding things and the teachers wouldn’t explain. So I went straight to the source of all knowledge, hailed ‘The Professor’ by all of the village, and bribed my way into answers. I found that playing a game or bringing food made him a lot more likely to start sharing. I think I sometimes managed two visits a week. Less when he was busy. After graduation, I got so caught up in my own training, there wasn’t much of a point anymore.”
“Didn’t you still have questions?”
“Yeah, but I had Kakashi to answer them, or Sakura or Sasuke. After I got that kind of support close to me, it felt like overkill to go straight to the Hokage. Especially considering the time it took out of my training to convince him to help, and the time it took out of his.”
“Isn’t this wasting time too, then?”
Naruto smiled. “I can multitask, you know. I have chakra shaping exercises going and whenever you’ve got your back turned I’m upside down on the ceiling doing sit-ups.”
“It sounds like you’re going to overwork yourself.”
Naruto waved her off. “I’ve heard that enough times and it hasn’t been true yet. I always manage to land back on my feet even if I’m feeling down. The trick is to switch it up. When I get tired from running, I do mental training like reading. When I can’t concentrate, I go into strength training. When I get too tired for that, I work on chakra. Or I go talk to the fox and practice the demon tongue. As long as we’re moving forward, you know.”
“I am familiar with the path of the talentless.” Tsunade said. “Shizune had to walk it for most of her youth and I would be interested in doing what I can. Your teammate mentioned you had plans for when you were Hokage.”
“Tons.” Naruto smiled. “All far too revolutionary for someone who doesn’t want to rock the boat.”
“I’d still like to hear them. You’ll need to learn how to sell these ideas to the clan leaders and the council, which I can help with. And you’ll need to learn how to sew the seeds now, to make it easier for yourself when you’re Hokage.”
“How are you so sure that I’ll be Hokage?”
“Call it a hunch.” Tsunade said. “From someone who wanted to be Hokage herself one day, found out it would be impossible, and then got into the position anyway.”
“But yes, I’d like that.”
“I would like you to visit weekly, like you did with sensei. We can even play a game while we talk.”
“Got to warn you. I actually learn from playing.”
She shrugged. “You forget that I’ve spent time learning and improving my poker game. As long as you don’t tell anyone, I’ll make sure to keep up and stay a challenging opponent.”
“I’d like that.”
“Me too.” She said. “Now, if you’re done with your break, I have several more boxes that need to be brought up. And then we can arrange these books in a proper order while… did you read the foundational introductory texts on neural pathways?”
“Halfway through.”
“We’ll save that for next time, and today we can discuss clan political systems and why they matter to your day-to-day dealings as Hokage.”
Naruto groaned. “You’ve been Hokage for less than a week. How are you already lecturing me on politics?”
“I had to burn through a lot of talent to get here, but you’re going the slow way. Take advantage when your superiors are willing to indulge you.”
“Yes, precious elder.”
“Get those boxes, brat.”
~*~
Naruto inhaled his third bowl of miso ramen and he was either crying from joy or choking. He didn’t care which one it was. “You’re a saint for rebuilding your stand.”
Teuchi laughed, preparing Naruto’s fourth bowl. “Ichiraku has to be open to feed all of the ninja working so hard to keep Konoha safe.”
“And empty my wallet.” Iruka sighed theatrically, like he actually minded. The smile on his face gave the game away. Naruto could see exhaustion in his face that ran down to the chuunin’s bones. If Naruto hadn’t forced him to take a break, he would have worked through lunch.
“I brought you a Hokage, sensei. You owe me much more food than this.” Naruto teased. He did not say that he was still homeless and reliant on the soup kitchen for most of his daily meals. He was accruing nutritional debt each day and he needed a kitchen before it became detrimental to his health.
Gaara covered his bowl with another layer of chili oil. “I can pay if needed.”
“Nuhuh!” Naruto waved him off. “You’re still a guest here in Konoha and you helped so much on our mission.”
“Yes. I’ve heard some good things.” Iruka said.
“That’s part of why I wanted to talk to you.” Naruto said. “I know everything’s busy and Gaara’s case got lost in the mix, but we both know Gaara’s going to get clearance to go back to Suna eventually. How can we speed that up?”
Iruka turned to the boy from Sand. “Is somebody mistreating you here?”
“No.” Gaara said, staring at his ramen. “I just miss home. I miss my siblings. I thought they would be waiting for me here.”
“From what I heard, it took several jounin to get them to leave with the rest of the Suna ninja.”
“That sounds like them.” Naruto laughed.
“We’re not used to being apart.” Gaara said.
Iruka nodded. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and then wrote down a list of names and departments. “I’m assuming you’ve turned in a petition already? Then you have to talk to processing first and explain why you want priority processing. Talk to Hideki. He’s got a brother stationed at the border that he hasn’t seen in months.”
Iruka went down the list, explaining each step of the process and which bureaucrats were best to approach. Something about him glowed up, energized by the small task of helping someone.
“I really need to head back now.” Iruka said, paying up the tab. “Make sure nobody set any fires too big for me to put out.”
“Good luck, sensei.” Naruto gave the man a quick hug. “Don’t work too hard, or we’ll come kidnap you again.”
“It should all be winding down soon.” Iruka said, ruffling Naruto’s hair. “I’ll treat you to ramen again to celebrate your first chuunin mission.”
“Deal!”
They waved Iruka off and headed to the nearest training grounds.
Gaara looked reluctant as they sat down.
“You don’t have to try this every day.” Naruto said.
“If I skip a day, then I’m afraid I’ll never try again.”
Naruto put a hand on his knee. “You’ve got this.”
“At least one of us has confidence.” Gaara sighed. He closed his eyes and started to sink into his mind. It only took him a few seconds to find his tailed beast. Naruto could feel Gaara’s chakra wobbling in response as they talked, signalling Shukaku’s mood.
Naruto patted the boy’s knee before turning his attention inwards.
He opened his eyes standing on a small patch of grass. The prison bars around Kurama were still bamboo shoots, though they looked grey enough that they would soon turn into metal again. The rest of his mindscape looked like sewer he had grown accustomed to.
“You almost had to start from scratch.” Kurama snarled.
“Been a bit busy.” Naruto admitted, grasping the walls and tearing them down. It went easier each time. It no longer felt like the bricks were falling down, and instead they were crumbling into a dust like they were an illusion falling away.
Sunlight filled the space together with a fresh breeze that flew in between the growing cracks in the walls. Kurama stepped from the shadows into the light, his head raised to enjoy the warmth. The blood caked on his fur seemed more faded, though it was hard to tell. His fangs were white and strong, no longer the metal they had once been.
Naruto had searched in Konoha’s libraries for any precedent, but it was hard enough to find any references on what the Nine-Tailed Demon had looked like originally, let alone any resources on what would make his appearance change one way or another. The change had happened after Naruto had first managed to transform his mindscape, yet all subsequent changes had done nothing for Kurama’s appearance.
It was frustrating not knowing how he could help, but it was also encouraging to know he was doing something right.
And so he started talking about what was happening in Konoha while he worked on the walls. Every few sentences Kurama corrected his grammar, but Naruto still considered it a win because he didn’t need to ask for any new words in the Demon’s Tongue. Helping Gaara translate had helped him further along.
It was nice feeling that progress. Their communication went better every day.
Naruto felt an exhaustion that signalled his limit. He breathed evenly as he took in the view around him. If he kept this up, he’d transform the sewers completely.
“You should visit the point of convergence in the place you call the Forest of Death.” Kurama said. “Perhaps that will aid you with your lacking creativity.”
“I’ll put it on the list.” Naruto said. “I’ll need permission for that.”
The fox groaned. “Human rules make everything complicated.”
“Yeah.” Naruto dusted off his hands. “I’ll try to drop in again tonight. Can I bring up a window, or are you just going to mock Gaara again?”
“Do not underestimate my self-control, Vulpelculis.”
Naruto sighed, but he summoned the window and brought Kurama’s consciousness with him back into the real world. Gaara was already writing down his conversation and at the first glimpse Naruto could hear the fox start laughing.
He immediately closed the connection with a heavy breath.
~*~
Sakura’s mother sat at the edge of her bed. Her hands were still vibrating and her daughter’s hand did not have the calming effect Sakura was hoping it would have. “It’s alright. Slow breaths.”
“I don’t like these attacks.” She said, forcing her eyes closed. The vibrations got worse and her whole face turned red. “Can’t you up my painkillers?”
“Not more than they already are. You just got to breathe and push through the pain. It’s like childbirth like that.”
“Don’t remind me.” The woman said, smirking. “You were a particularly hard birth, did I ever tell you that? Stubborn from the moment my contractions started. A panther even then.”
Sakura held tight onto her. Slowly she calmed back down and was breathing normally again. And then Sakura had her arms around her, hugging her. “I’m just so glad you’re back.”
“I never went anywhere, dear.” She smiled, petting her daughter’s back. “You’re the one who went on a big adventure outside of the village.”
“I want to tell you all about it. You know I went to the famous pottery clan?”
“I hope you left our card. Just imagine their cups combined with our seals. What a luxury we could sell that as.”
Sakura nodded with a big smile. “First we’re going back to the shop. Can you walk?”
“As soon as they let me out. There’s nothing wrong with my legs.”
Tsunade coughed to get her attention. “You realise that with a surgery of this magnitude it is not customary to be released the very same day.”
“It is also not customary to be treated by a miracle worker.” The woman tried.
“Yeah, no. I’m not that good. You’re going to stay here overnight for all your vitals to stabilise.”
“Sakura, what do you think?”
The girl looked torn between the village’s Hokage and her mother. She settled with a smile. “Tsunade-sama, my mother would feel better resting at home and she has had enough chakra training to support herself for the trip. Can she come home tonight if her measurements improve enough and I promise to keep her on bedrest at home?”
Tsunade sighed. “You’re supposed to be in my camp. Fine. But I’m expecting a miraculous recovery before I sign off on anything.”
Sakura tackled her in a hug. “You’re the best.”
“Yeah, yeah. Go talk with your mother. I need to go rest.”
Naruto gave her hand a quick squeeze. “I’m happy your mother is doing okay.”
“It’s all thanks to you for bringing her back here.”
“We did that together.” Naruto said. “Another accomplishment for team 7.”
“Have I told you how happy I am I ended up in a team with Hanabi, Sasuke and you? I’m the only genin lucky enough to have three wonderful teammates.”
“Enjoy your time. We’ll catch up later.”
“Right. I don’t want to keep you from your big date.”
“Sasuke told you about that, huh?”
“He was so nervous, it was adorable. Don’t you dare treat him badly. His poor heart won’t be able to handle it.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Naruto waved her off and walked out of the room. He had a few hours of training ahead of him first, which he could combine with some general patrols. There were a few different ways out of the hospital that would lead to different obstacle courses towards his preferred route, and he was trying to decide which one he was most in the mood for.
“Uzumaki Naruto.”
Naruto almost tripped when he heard the voice.
Utatane Kokaru stood regally in the hallway, leaning on a cane. Her grey hair was done up meticulously in two buns, with an expensive hair ornament holding the buns in place. Her earrings matched perfectly, in a way that spoke of custom ordered jewellery. The kind that would take three years of a jounin’s salary.
There was no mistaking that she was one of the most important people in the village. While there were five people on the Konoha council, only three of them had any effective power. She was one of them.
“Yes, Ma’am?”
“Walk with me.” She said, and turned away from Naruto.
Naruto quickly fell in step with her. She said no more words as they headed towards the exit of the hospital. The silence made Naruto itch. “Where are we going?”
“I’m returning to the Hokage tower, through the Hashirama park.” She said simply. Her pace was slow but determined. She moved her cane with practiced ease and surveyed the world around her.
The park was strangely empty for the time of day, and Naruto would not be surprised if she had somehow arranged for the privacy.
“I’ve heard you’re interested in becoming Hokage.” Utatane said.
Naruto swallowed. “It’s why I became a ninja.”
“It’s unheard of for someone in your condition.” She said. “For someone without talent, Uzumaki Naruto with the fox.”
She used the title that Naruto had used to pass the chuunin exams, where Naruto had proven himself capable of walking the Golden Path with all the talented ninja clans. Yet by calling him that, she was also pointing out Kurama. As one of the highest ranking ninja in the village, she absolutely knew that Naruto was a Jinchuriki.
“Everything is unheard of until it happens. Somebody has to be the first. Why not me?”
A smile cracked on her face. “You’re as determined as people whisper about you. You realise the path you’re walking is not an easy one?”
“It’s never been easy. Nothing worth doing is.”
She stopped a moment in the shade, looking up at the sky. “Do you know how many people we have sent after Tsunade these past few years? The Sandaime objected every time, and every mission ended in a failure like he predicted. All our clerics are patting themselves on the back for writing the perfect notice to her this time, because it brought her home. But they have not read the mission reports.”
Naruto looked up with her. There were a few clouds and birds. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Whatever she was seeing, he wasn’t seeing it.
“You put on a mask as soon as you saw me. You pretend to have respect where we can see, but you make no secret of your disdain for tradition and hierarchy as soon as we’ve got our backs turned.”
“That’s not… I…”
“If you want to be Hokage, you can never show anyone that you’re playing a role. The best way to do that is to always be playing that role. Take a lesson from your jounin sensei. The role he’s chosen is infuriating, but one must admire his dedication in maintaining it.”
“I’m sorry if I offended.”
She let out a sigh. She turned to Naruto and put her hand against Naruto’s cheek. “You’re so young. I’ve seen many ninja like you, filled with ambition and rebellion. And hearing advice as if it is criticism.”
Naruto blinked. He did not know how to respond to that.
She pulled her hand back. “I’ll finish my walk alone.”
“Okay, ma’am. Sorry ma’am.”
“I’m pleasantly surprised by your Academy class. Ten ninja walking the golden path, every single one a promising candidate to be Hokage. I haven’t made up my mind yet who will get my support. Right now, it could be any one of them.”
Naruto bowed in respect as she walked off, feeling completely off his centre. Unless he had misinterpreted that interaction, Utatane had sought him out specifically to tell him that she had not ruled him out as a Hokage candidate.
Getting anyone on the Konoha Council to consider Naruto was completely unheard of. And now Naruto was the first person who had succeeded.
Despite his lingering confusion, a grin spread on his face that was impossible to push down.
~*~
Naruto jumped from building to building. He could see Sasuke looking for him. He considered making himself hard to find, but he decided on following Sakura’s advice and taking it easy. He walked down the side of the building and greeted him. He was not going to drop his henge though. “You’re Sasuke-san, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I’m supposed to meet my friend here.”
“Well, I haven’t seen any handsome friends around.”
“Oh, then you’d have been looking for the wrong thing. My friend’s quite ugly. And very mean. He’ll show up on a date wearing a henge and hanging on the side of a building.”
“Wow, sounds like a terrible friend. I’d punch him if I were you.”
“I would, but then we’d start sparring and that would lead to kissing and we’d never get to our dinner.”
Naruto perked up. “Dinner’s starting to sound like the less appealing option.”
“You need to eat.” Sasuke said. “And I’m not having you blame me for missing out on training time.”
“I’ll just grab a quick bite.” Naruto hopped off the wall, letting his transformation drop in a poof of smoke. “The fun would be worth it.”
“Yeah, and I’d have to deal with aunty yelling at me for letting you wolf down your food instead of letting it settle. You haven’t pissed off anyone until you’ve pissed off a dietician.”
Naruto smirked, taking Sasuke’s arm as he started walking towards the restaurant. “I knew there was a reason I was so testy. You need to be more careful around me or else I’m going to unleash my dietician rage out on you.”
“I can handle your rage.” Sasuke said. “It’s cute when you do it.”
Naruto’s face turned a little warmer. He still was not used to his teasing being so explicitly reciprocated. “So how’s everything back at the compound?”
“It’s fine.”
“Everything going okay with the arrangements for the concubines and the marriage?”
“Fine.” Sasuke repeated, irritation creeping into his voice. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“That bad?”
Sasuke shook his head. “I’m fine with how everything is going. I just have some things to settle before we can move on to the wedding part.”
“Should I come over some time? It might help if I were there.”
“No. This is something I have to deal with by myself first. I just need a few more days, I think. I feel like we’re getting closer to a resolution.”
“Can you tell me about it after?”
“It is highly confidential Uchiha material. Not something for something out of the clan.” Sasuke said. “So it’s a good thing that you’re going to be marrying into the clan soon.”
“I suppose it is.” Naruto smiled. Maybe he would finally get something useful out of the reserved Uchiha.
“I brought you something.”
“You know you didn’t need to.” He still smiled when he saw the pot with blue lilies. “They’re beautiful. Though for reference, orange would have been the best colour to give me.”
“You didn’t mention that to Daisuke.”
“It’s not a big deal. These are really lovely. Thank you.”
“I have a storage scroll as well, so you don’t have to log it around all evening.”
“You’re so thoughtful.” Naruto sealed the pot away and put it in his bag. “It would have been good strength training, but perhaps too big a distraction while we’re supposed to be focussing on each other.”
“You can have plants where you’re staying, right?”
Naruto nodded. There was increasingly more room in the shelters as more and more people found other housing. Naruto had been tempted to look himself so he actually had a place to interview a tutor for himself, but he did not want to have to move twice. “There aren’t many rules. But I miss the plants I used to have in the apartment. I suppose that this really is a great plant you picked. I’ll be able to plant them in the gardens when I move to the compound. Blue is an Uchiha colour after all.”
The restaurant was nothing too fancy. Fancy meant they would have to wait a long time. Naruto was interested in quantity and speed first, quality second. Lucky for them they had a place that had both and a good atmosphere as well. They set down at their table and put in their orders.
“I had some questions on geopolitical actualities in the Fire Nation.” Naruto said. “If you don’t mind.”
Sasuke shrugged. “I read the books ages ago. I’ll see what I can answer.”
“There’s just some very complicated tension between the throne and the nobles surrounding it that I can’t seem to grasp. I don’t get why there is so much conflict. Aren’t they all supposed to be working together? What do they have to gain by sabotaging each other like this?”
Sasuke gave it a few moments thought. “I suppose it’s a little like the Academy days. The nobles don’t have a whole lot to gain, per se, but there is a very clear separation between the upper nobility and the lower nobility. Like the Academy has the top nine. Of course, you can improve your own station to rank higher, but sometimes it’s easier to bring another person’s scores down.”
“We’d never get away with that in the Academy.”
“Score is so dependent on your own understanding, that usually time is better spent learning the material rather than concocting plots. But it has happened when there were easy opportunities and it will keep happening. It is the nature of competition.”
“Right, but then I’d only expect like number nine and ten to fight. What’s going on with the rest?”
“The lower your current place in the hierarchy, the more chance you have of losing it. Uncle Fu is currently my secretary and de facto clan leader while I am away. There is nobody close to taking that position. But if he were to see someone coming that could start rising, it would only take a few political blows for them to bring him into danger. The settled powers have less to fear from each other than from newcomers who don’t know the rules yet and have more ambition than they know what is good for them.”
Naruto took a bite of his food. “So it’s all pre-emptive strikes?”
“Yes. Imagine someone rising to number ten quickly enough that he’s headed towards the top. Number eleven and twelve can form an alliance to take out number ten to regain their old places in the hierarchy. And they would be smart to involve number nine in the scheme who has the most to lose. But anyone in the top nine is at risk of losing their current position, so they can all cooperate. Ten is the immediate danger and therefore needs to go.”
“So, because only the upper nobility is allowed to advice the shogun, the other nobles are constantly fighting with each other. And it’s not just about the edge cases who are close to losing or gaining power, but all the others too because they are working on eliminating future competition. I think I got a better sense of it now, thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I wish I could tell you more about it. Perhaps your princess would be willing to instruct you on it.”
“I wrote her a letter recently, but she hasn’t responded yet. I think she may have forgotten about me.”
“Now that’s impossible. You’ll hear back from her soon. Why the rush to learn this though?”
“I know that Tokubetsu Jounin examinations are still far off, but it was theory that stumped me most in the Chuunin exams. I need to stay on top of it if I’m going to do better for the next exams.”
“You’re still planning on keeping up with us, then.”
“No, my plan is to gain on you. And it’s going to work. Just you see.”
“As I recall, I’ve booked myself a front row seat.”
“You’d better believe it. Utatane told me that she’s considering me. Tsunade said she has faith I am going to become Hokage. That’s why she’s been letting me tag around. I know I’ll still have to work hard, and that there are many more people to convince, but she’s helping where she can.”
“I’m glad you’re able to spend so much time with her. I still have to schedule an official meeting.”
“What are you talking about? You’ve met her already.”
“Outside, in the field. We still need to do the whole Uchiha ceremony thing.”
“Right. The nonsense.”
Sasuke rolled his eyes. “The traditions that my grandfather’s grandfathers established to break bread with powerful allies and get started on a good footing.”
“That’s a lot of words to describe nonsense.”
“Really? How are you expecting to lead a whole village when you disrespect all of its foundational societal norms?”
“By punching things really hard.” Naruto nodded. “We became friends from that, didn’t we?”
Sasuke opened his mouth to protest but then sighed. “I suppose we did.”
“Nothing supposedly about it anymore. You’re about to get featured heavily in my Death Letter.”
Sasuke frowned. “Don’t call it that.”
“Everyone calls it that. I’m not going to say ‘Last Will supplemental B: last words for next of kin in case of unexpected termination of life c.q. employment or desertion’ in casual conversation.”
“Have you considered it’s got such a bulky name because it’s not supposed to be talked about in casual conversation.”
Naruto rolled his eyes. “Then the administration shouldn’t be forcing us to write it as part of our registration procedures. I know it’s important now that we’re going on more dangerous missions, but that doesn’t make it any easier. How far along are you with yours?”
“Not far.” Sasuke admitted.
“Yeah, I only have a few pages drafted myself. I try to make notes whenever I have an idea during training.”
“I try not to think about it too much. It’s depressing.”
“Relax. It’s just for worst case scenarios. Nobody’s actually going to ever read them.”
Sasuke looked at him with a strange expression on his face.
“I am taking it seriously, I promise.” Naruto tried to reassure Sasuke. “I only have three jokes in there. Four, tops.”
Sasuke nodded absent-mindedly. “You mentioned during the chuunin exams that spending time with us had started taking up too much of your training time. Do you still feel like that sometimes?”
Naruto had to blink a few times. That came out of the blue. “No? I know I already use most of my time effectively and I am really grateful for all you. I just had a low moment when I was confronted with my limitations and that what I had been doing had not been enough.”
“So you do think you could be doing more without us?”
“Maybe. It’s hard to tell. You guys are keeping me sane and socialising with you means I don’t have to put as much time into relaxation. As a kid, I had to take all these breaks from training. But now I can just grab a bite to eat with my husband-to-be and juggle my break with chakra training and still have a good time.”
“It’s not good for you to be doing anything while eating.”
“I know, I know. But tailing Tsunade’s had fewer lulls than I thought and I need to make up for the time somewhere. I’m not overworking myself, I promise.”
“I’d find that easier to believe if I didn’t see you looking at the clock every few seconds.”
“Just got to make sure we stay on schedule.” Naruto said. “If it makes you feel better, pretend it’s because I don’t want to make you be late for uncle Fu. I’m being a thoughtful boyfriend.”
“Sure you are.” Sasuke said. “So, you do feel like being here with us is doing you more good than bad. What if the monks offered to train you?”
“Which monks? The fire monks?”
“Yeah. I thought about it after Chiriku saved us. We heard from Asuma that they’re good with training talentless people. What if the monks offered to give you some pointers?”
“I actually already did talk to them. And they had some useful advice. But I’d have to get authorization to stay outside of the village for a few weeks or even months.”
“Asuma has an in. What if he could arrange something?”
Was this for a birthday present or something? Naruto shrugged. “Yeah. I’d miss all you guys, but it would be a good opportunity. Even if it meant giving you up for a short while, I’d probably go for it.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Sasuke withdrew. It was strange. Like he had been hoping Naruto would give a different answer.
“I’d really miss you though. And it would be hard for me to leave. And of course I’d have to take care of my responsibilities with you and the Uchiha and Konoha first. It would be training for later when I’m Hokage and you’re my jounin commander.”
Sasuke had another strange expression on his face.
“There’s a lot of ifs in this scenario. What makes you so curious? What’s going on?”
Sasuke diverted his gaze. “Naruto…”
“Naruto!” One of the girls from Natsu’s place ran into the store, clearly out of breath. “We need your help right away.”
“What’s going on?”
She looked around her. There were many faces looking her way. “Look, we need you to come. Natsu needs you to come.”
Naruto looked to Sasuke. “I’m sorry. Continue this later?”
“It’s fine. I know they need you.”
Naruto smiled. He could always rely on Sasuke to be there for him. “Get on my back.” Naruto said.
“I can walk.”
“It’s a lot faster if I carry you.” Naruto said, making the hand signs and turning into Hound for the extra height. “Come on.”
They were off quickly then to the red-light district. The girl held on tight to Naruto’s chest as he walked up one of the walls and rushed to the top, jumping from roof to roof to get there as quickly as possible.
He entered straight through Natsu’s window, rushing to her side. “What happened?”
Natsu’s eyes make-up was running, tears making her cheeks wet. “They saw me. One of the clients opened this room by mistake. I was changing my bandages. He saw the wound and knows I can’t walk.”
Naruto knew what this meant. “So they know you’re too incapacitated to defend the brothel.”
“I should’ve locked the room. It’s all my fault.”
“Relax. There are still ninja passing by, aren’t there?”
“For just two more days. And even then it’s only a stopgap measure. Naruto, I don’t know what I can do about this. One of the women is going to get hurt and there will be nothing I can do to help her.”
Naruto took a deep breath. “We’re going to figure this out.”
She buried herself in Naruto’s shirt. “I’m scared. I feel so helpless.”
“You’re not alone.” Naruto rubbed her back. He had never seen her like this before. Natsu was always joking around and refused to take anything serious. She could get angry, but never scared. “After all those years taking care of me, let me repay you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll stay here as long as I need to.”
She shook her head. “You have your own responsibilities. You can’t be here all the time.”
Naruto wanted to disagree. He really wanted to. But he could not study for the Tokubetsu Jounin exams and work fulltime as a bodyguard. He could not move into the Uchiha compound and also live in the brothel. “I’m not alone either.” Naruto smiled as he stood up. “Didn’t you hear? I have an in with the best healer of the village, now.”
~*~
“I wasn’t expecting you back until tomorrow morning.” Tsunade said. She was at her desk with her advisors around her. She shuffled some paperwork around to hide the contents of the confidential documents.
“I have a favour to ask.” Naruto figured he might as well go straight into it. “Natsu’s injury has gotten out. She needs your attention.”
“I assume there’s a reason a regular doctor hasn’t seen to her yet.”
“She got emergency treatment after the attack, but she needs surgery. It’ll take months before any of the doctors will see her.”
Tsunade nodded. “Then I’ll go.”
“Godaime!” Mitokado said, eyes wide. “You can’t be serious. Every clan in Konoha will take affront of you skipping all their wounded to deal with a common civilian!”
“I just want to help.”
“And as admirable as that is, you cannot show such favouritism without a great deal of thought. These plans we are working on will save hundreds if not thousands of lives over the coming weeks, but they require the cooperation of the clans. Offend them and they will spite you with petty excuses for months.”
Tsunade grit her teeth. She looked to Naruto. “What is the injury?”
“The tendons of her ankle were cut.”
The Hokage deflated. “I’m sorry. That’s a four-hour surgery, even for me. I cannot abandon my duties for that long.” She turned to her advisor. “When would I be able to schedule it?”
“If you were insistent on doing it yourself, at least six months.”
Naruto’s face fell.
“How about the other doctors?”
“They are similarly tied up with priority cases. Civilians are not being scheduled at the moment.”
“If you put Natsu at the top of the civilian list, when can she get treated?”
“Hokage-sama, you must understand that the top of the list is reserved for…”
Tsunade pounded her desk. It was a miracle it did not break right in two. “When?”
“Two weeks.”
She turned back to Naruto. “I’m sorry, but this is the best I can do.”
Naruto tried to smile, but found he could not find the energy. He felt disappointment, but Tsunade was showing an enormous amount of favouritism already, and he could not show himself ungrateful in front of so many of Konoha’s important people. “Thank you, Godaime-sama. I will find another solution for the interim.”
~*~
The sun had already set and it made the streets difficult to navigate. Streetlights still had not been repaired yet, but enough of the rubble had cleared that roads and empty plots merged as one. It still panged Naruto’s chest to lose the familiarity of Konoha. Before the attack, he would have been able to find any building blind. Now it had all changed.
Sakura was just arriving at the shop, supporting her mother’s weight. He tried to call out to her, when she shouted.
“It’s not happening!”
“Honestly, I’m just asking you to consider it.” Her mother said.
Naruto froze. He really needed to talk to Sakura, but it felt like this was a conversation he should not be present for.
“There’s nothing to consider. I’m a professional shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaf. I cannot divide my attention.”
“It would just be a few lessons. And it would do us so much good if you could establish the trade routes during your missions outside of the village.”
“I’m already devoting my paycheck to support the shop. I’m already making connections whenever I’m in a foreign village.”
“Yes, and it’s time to capitalise on this success. We’ve suffered losses while we were away and I do not know how the shop will survive if we don’t all make sacrifices. Why don’t you understand that this is what we’ve been working on for so long?”
“I’ve been working on becoming a ninja. I’m working on two specialisations at the same time and I’ve had to juggle the shop along with that for the last week. I can’t take on any new lessons without jeopardising my Takubetsu exam.”
“You had perfect marks for the chuunin exams, didn’t you? You have leeway.”
“Tokubetsu exams are known to be finnicky. Just one small gap in knowledge or skill can be deemed catastrophic and grounds for failure.”
“So you’d retake it again later.”
Sakura froze. Her mother had not been expecting that and almost stumbled when she tried to take another step without her daughter’s support. It was the cane she was using that saved her from falling forward.
“Sakura!”
“I am the first of my clan.” Sakura said. “I am Konoha’s introduction to the panthers that have gifted me my powers and you your prosperity. I do not have as much responsibility to you as your daughter as I have to the panthers to exhibit their grace. And you want me to tarnish the legacy I will leave my children by veering off the Golden Path?”
“I did not mean it like that.”
“Then what did you mean, mother? Because I’m not a merchant like you or dad. I am going to become a jounin and I am going to have duties that go further than just my family. I think you can make your way into the house by yourself.”
“Please, calm down. Let’s go inside and have some tea. That always calms you down.”
Sakura walked past her, only stopping when she noticed Naruto.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to overhear.”
Sakura shrugged. “It’s her fault for starting this in public. Do you need something? Because I was right in the middle of storming off.”
“Just a quick question and then I’ll let you continue your dramatic exit.” Naruto said. “Natsu’s place is in need of more constant supervision for the next two weeks.”
“I can’t just spend all my time in a brothel.” Sakura said.
“You’d only be required to step in if there’s anything happening. There’s a reading room where you can catch up on your books and it isn’t that far from the training grounds.”
“Actually, do you think they’d let me practice genjutsu there?”
That took Naruto back. “I’m sure some of the prostitutes would be willing…”
“I was talking about the clients.”
Naruto had to blink. He had never imagined Sakura in that role, doing that line of work. It didn’t fit with his image of her. “What?”
“My teachers have been telling me I need more practice crafting complex illusions. It would only be for ten minutes or so, but I’d need a willing subject that won’t instinctually try to fight me off.”
“I think the only problem will be finding a client who’ll settle for just ten minutes.”
“Then fine. It will be good to get out of my house more often, if my mother is insistent on trying to ask impossible things. Could probably swing a couple of hours a day.”
“That would be perfect.”
“Who else is helping?”
“You’re the first person I’ve asked. I’d have gone to Sasuke, but I know he’s up to his neck in concubines. Not literally, of course. Well, hopefully not literally. He’s got enough on his plate.”
“Do you think he’s been acting strange lately?”
“A little.” Naruto admitted. “But he just ran into his brother. It makes sense that rattled him.”
“Look, you weren’t there when Orochimaru talked to him. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think part of him admires the snake sage for what he’s accomplished.”
“That’s crazy. Orochimaru’s the one that marked you guys.”
“I don’t think he’s minding that as much as he used to.”
Naruto shook his head. “Things are just crazy for him. A lot is changing. But I’ll talk to him. It never hurts to check how he’s holding up. Especially after I had to give him the run today.”
“On your date? Did the rest go well?”
“About as well as you’d expect. For now we’re just two friends having dinner together and talking. We’re trying. It doesn’t really feel like dating, even if Sasuke insists on courting me with gifts. It’ll take some getting used to.”
“Perhaps on the next mission out of the village you’ll get to spend some more quality time together.”
“Yeah. I’m looking forward to it.” Naruto smiled. “But I don’t want to keep you. I thought you wanted to make your dramatic exit.”
“Right. Let me just get back into the mood.” Sakura waved her hands to loosen her up, jumped up and down a few times and then grunted loudly. She stalked off with exaggeratedly heavy footsteps.
~*~
“Hey sensei.” Naruto whispered, crawling closer.
Kakashi twitched minutely, even as he tried to play it off. His body was wedged between the top and bottom of the tiny crawlspace they were both in, which helped school his body language. “How did you find me here?”
“I overheard someone at ANBU headquarters mention that you were observing nobles, and this is one of the three best hiding spots to do that.”
Kakashi let out a weary sigh. “I don’t know why I keep forgetting you’ve basically memorised the entire ANBU guard schedule.”
“That sounds like a serious flaw on your part that you need to work on.” Naruto nodded. He took out a container and manoeuvred it towards his teacher. “I brought you some broiled saury.”
“That’s uncharacteristically kind of you. Why am I being bribed?”
“I need people to take shifts at the Red-Light District to help Natsu.”
“I see.” Kakashi said. His eyes were focused outward as he considered the request. “I can’t fit it into my schedule.”
Naruto sighed. He tried to pull the container back, but Kakashi had it in death-grip. He was not getting the food back. Natto would have to eat something else. “I was afraid of that, but I had to try.”
“What will you do instead?”
“Try to make it work with less people. It’s just for a little while.”
“I’ll be on jounin missions for a while longer.” Kakashi said. “I’ll be outside of Konoha starting tonight.”
“It was too much to hope that we’d be running missions with you now that we’re chuunin.”
“There will be more missions after everything’s calmed down.”
“It’ll be a while before everything’s calmed down. We’re getting our promotions administrated, Konoha will take months to rebuild, and then there’ll be the wedding.”
“Yes, congratulations on that.” Kakashi smirked. “All the jounin were wondering when you two would make a move on each other. I won quite some money thanks to you.”
“You can pay me back by giving me away.”
Kakashi visibly shifted. “What?”
“For orphans, a jounin sensei is the closest thing to a parent. I’ve looked it up and there’s precedent.” Naruto said. Because Kakashi insisted they spoke in riddles within the walls of Konoha, and he couldn’t just say that Kakashi knew his mother and was the closest thing Naruto had to family.
Kakashi was silent for a few moments. “As jounin sensei, I should be responsible and make sure this wedding isn’t getting in the way of your goals. You’re still determined to become Hokage? Sasuke isn’t getting in the way of that?”
“He won’t let me interfere with his goals, and I won’t let him interfere with mine. And it helps, you know? I used to run to Jiji when I mastered a new technique, but now I run to Sasuke to see if I’ve gotten any closer to his strength.”
“You still consider him the superior fighter?”
“Are you surprised?”
“Yes. He used to overpower you utterly in foundational skills, but both him and Sakura lack your creativity in a fight. You might still lose sparring against him, but I wouldn’t bet against you in a real fight.”
“Well, considering he’s going to be my husband, I’m not expecting to fight him anytime soon.”
“I’m telling you not to sell yourself short. You earned your way onto Team 7, and you earned your way to a chuunin promotion. The gap between you has shrunk enough that skill isn’t the only thing that separates you anymore. Your specialisations are very different because you are still very different people. It’ll take work to make sure those differences complement each other instead of clash.”
“We’re going to be fine.” Naruto promised. “I’m not letting him get away from me.”
“Tell me when and where I’ll be needed. I’ll clear my schedule for it.”
Naruto beamed at him. “And you don’t get to be late. Or I’ll replace every feather in your pillow with poisoned senbon.”
Kakashi mocked a gasp. “I would never be late to anything! How dare you besmirch my reputation so?”
Naruto chuckled as he crawled away. Maybe with the extra pushing Kakashi would only be an hour late to the ceremony instead of his usual two to three. Either way he would plan around it. Important people were worth the wait.
~*~
The Hyuuga compound had calmed down significantly now that Hinata was back. The guards let Naruto pass through without comment and he was in the main house a few moments later.
“Are you here to wish our heir good health after her recovery?” The steward asked.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “I saw Hinata in the hospital already. I was hoping to speak with Hanabi.”
The man quirked his eyebrow, but it was not as bad as it had been before the exams when he had requested to talk with a field ninja instead of the Hyuuga up and coming star. “Her bedroom is right through here.”
“Thanks.” Naruto knew the routine by now.
She was sitting behind her desk, reading. “I asked not be disturbed.”
“I thought all you Hyuuga were supposed to have eyes in the back of your head.” Naruto said.
Hanabi’s face lit up. “Finally someone sane to talk to. You can’t believe the day I’ve had.”
“With Hinata coming back, I can guess how hectic it’s been.”
“It’s been amazing, but it’s also a big change. The elders had already hired tutors specifically for me and there were plans to expand this room. My father is pushing for a lot of these plans to stay since I have proven my worth as a field ninja with my promotion, but the elders are pushing for many of their arrangements to be shifted to my sister. If I have to give my opinion one more time, I might scream.”
“Oh, the unfortunate luck of having all your wishes fulfilled.”
“Not all my wishes. I’m still waiting to hear back on my team placement though.”
“I thought the plan was that you’d be a solo agent.”
“I don’t need a team, but it’d be nice. Without a jounin supporting me, I’ll be stuck bolstering other teams. Which is great for travelling with Hinata when she’s going out of the village, but that will only be a few weeks out of the year until the next promotion. I’d rather have my own team for the rest of the time. And there are apparently a lot of options right now with the Chuunin exams. Teams that are mixed genin and chuunin are being restructured.”
“I hope you get some good ones, but don’t you dare forget about us.”
“Like that’s even possible, jerk.” Hanabi smiled. “Why’d you come over?”
“Natsu needs some extra help for the next two weeks. I was hoping you’d spare a few hours a day to take over her bodyguarding duties.”
“I supposed I can spare a few hours.” Hanabi said. “I’d have to shuffle some things around and…” She swallowed. “When you say bodyguarding duty, you mean the Red Light District.”
“Yeah.”
A blush crept onto her face. “You want me, the Hyuuga secondary heir, to go into a house of sin and be seen hanging around ladies of the night.”
“You never had a problem hanging around Natsu before.”
“We’ve always met up places where I’d have reasonable deniability.” Hanabi’s face was beet red. “Do you have any idea what people will say about me if they find out?”
“That you’re a good friend?”
“Stop it.” Hanabi rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“You’re good enough at the henge now that you could stay hidden.”
“Not for hours at a time!” Hanabi said. “I might have been improving, but I don’t have anything like your stamina.”
Naruto would say it was good practice, but that was only the case for someone talentless like him. “Look, Natsu really needs the help. Sakura and I can’t do it by ourselves.”
Hanabi stared at a spot on the wall, thinking. Finally, she turned back to him. “I’ll wear a mask.”
“That’s brilliant. Only the ANBU ninja wear masks. Everybody will think you’re a civilian and nobody will recognise you.”
“They’d better not. I’ll have to find some way to hide my hair.”
“If you can conceal your gender, that’d be even better. If you do end up fighting any of the clients, their pride will insist it was a boy that beat them.”
“But not a word to anyone.”
“Promise.” Naruto smiled wide. Things were picking up.
“Why haven’t you asked Sasuke?”
“You know how busy he is. I’m trying to give him some space.”
“Don’t we need a fourth person to help, though?”
“I already checked with Kakashi. He’s being run into the ground with jounin missions.”
“How about Gaara?”
Naruto laughed, until he realised she was serious. “No.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not letting Mr. Stabby go near one of my best friends.”
“He came along with the Tsunade mission and behaved.”
“That was different. You all know how to defend yourselves if he becomes unstable.”
“You’re the one who keeps saying we should cut him more slack. It will be good for him to have something to do to help. He’s been alone in the village since we came back.”
“I know.” As far as Naruto could tell, Gaara was either training by himself or spending time with Naruto. He did feel bad about the boy.
“Time to act like you preach.”
Naruto grumbled. “I’ll ask him if he wants to come along. But I’m supervising the first time.”
~*~
“I didn’t even know black lipstick existed.” Gaara’s eyes were wide as Natsu applied a generous coating.
“Make-up comes in all shades and the black fits so well with your eye shadow.”
Gaara turned to look at Naruto. “Do you think I look pretty?”
Naruto pushed his face into his hands. “Yes, Gaara. You’re very pretty.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Don’t worry about little Naruto.” Natsu said. “He’s just jealous we’re getting along. You know, you’re really pale. You could use some blush.”
“I would like that very much.” Gaara turned to Naruto again. “This is my favourite place in Konoha. I would please like to come here more often.”
Hanabi giggled from the corner. “Told you he’d fit right in.”
“Why are you still here? Your shift ended half an hour ago.”
“Just waiting for the ANBU to shift patrols. There’s a Hyuuga who patrols here and I don’t want to change out of my disguise just as he’s checking in. Why, don’t you want me here?”
“I had actually planned on doing some reading, which is getting increasingly hard with both you and Gaara distracting me.”
Hanabi frowned. “Shouldn’t you have moved on to practical training by now?”
“That involves getting demonstrations from trainers. I haven’t finished interviewing them. It’s hard to find a time that works for them, me, and the availability schedule of the Hokage tower’s conference rooms.”
“You need a secretary.”
“I need many things.” Naruto said, though it wasn’t a bad idea. With a chuunin salary he might be able to afford it without sacrificing too much of his training budget. “For now, I need some peace so I can read.”
Natsu had a wicked grin on her face. “Can I do your make-up while you read?”
“I won’t be able to concentrate.”
“But I’ll make you look so pretty. You can visit your boyfriend after and show off my work.”
“You shouldn’t be calling Sasuke my boyfriend.” Naruto huffed.
“Right, he’s your fiancé.”
“And don’t you forget it.”
Natsu smiled, dusting a brush with powder. “You know, I’ve been thinking. I’m really grateful that you’re all going through so much trouble, but I shouldn’t have to rely on you like this.”
“What are you talking about?” Naruto said. “We’re happy to help.”
Natsu shook her head. “I do know how much I’m asking of you here. I’ve decided I’m going to train some more girls to fight like I can. Make sure I have back-up if something happens. But I have never been able to do that, because I barely understand enough of the Academy curriculum to perform it myself. And so I’ve decided I’m going to continue my own ninja training.”
“You’re what?” Naruto had to blink a few times. He only knew Natsu as the girl that liked to crack jokes and was working to become a professional dancer.
“I’m not going to make a career out of it, but I had fun in the Chuunin exams. The atmosphere of that exam room was intoxicating, you know? All these ninja who were doing their best to move forward and become stronger. And when I looked at those questions I could not even answer one of them. Let alone figure out how to cheat off others. But even though I failed spectacularly, Hanabi and Kabuto were there to debrief me afterwards.”
“The girls here are a lot nicer than I am.” Hanabi said.
“They rely on me and they’re very friendly.” Natsu said. “They’ve supported me in my training to become a dancer, which is why I can’t let them down. I want to become strong enough to protect them all. Naruto, would you be as helpless as I was if you had the same injury?”
“I wouldn’t be able to use the henge to walk.” Naruto said. “That’s my greatest weapon.”
“But you’re a chuunin. You’d still be able to incapacitate a dozen civilians without even leaving the bed. I want to be able to do that.”
“What about your dancing?”
“I’m still young. I can return to it after I’ve finished my combat training.”
Naruto nodded. “Okay then. Just tell us how we can help.”
“You’ve already done so much.”
“And we’ll be doing more. Do you need a training schedule? Maybe a diet plan? I’m supposed to get familiar with chuunin level plans anyway, so I brought most of my reference books.”
“Thank you.”
Hanabi left soon after, and afternoon morphed into evening. Sakura was a little late for her shift, so Naruto did his strength training in Natsu’s room while they waited.
Something must have come up, because even by bedtime she was not there yet. The brothel got locked up tight and Naruto spent the night in case Sakura came back later. It wasn’t as quiet as the shelters were, but it was comfortable enough for a night. Natto had found Naruto demanding food, and the cat had then decided it wanted to be snuggled for the entire night. It helped Naruto dose off between patrols. All the clients were behaving perfectly. It was a quiet atmosphere.
~*~
Across the village, Sasuke and Sakura talked.
Across the village, Sasuke and Sakura fought.
~*~
“Hey Naruto.” Hanabi said. “I thought I was supposed to relieve Sakura.”
“Didn’t show.” Naruto said, yawning. “I’ll look for her in a bit. Breakfast first.”
“I brought some extra from my household. I was going to offer it to Sakura, but if she doesn’t show, she’s not getting any perks.”
Naruto grinned. Score. He was halfway through the breakfast when Sakura burst in through the window. He wanted to crack a joke, but she looked terrible. Her hair was a mess and her clothes looked crumpled, like she had slept outside.
“Sasuke’s gone.”
“What do you mean he’s gone?” Naruto asked. “Gone where?”
“He’s leaving the village. He’s defecting.”
“He wouldn’t do that.”
“I saw him, Naruto. I saw him and confronted him and when I accused him of going to Orochimaru he was looking too guilty to refute it.”
“To Orochimaru?”
Naruto remembered the conversation he had had with Sasuke. If there was an opportunity to get stronger, even if it meant leaving behind your friends, wouldn’t you take it?
A shiver went down his back.
“We need to tell everyone.” Sakura said.
Naruto made a fist. “And then we drag him back.”
Notes:
Next update on September 1st: ‘Bring me Down’. In which Naruto goes after Sasuke.
This chapter’s title ‘Only one for me’ is supposed to sound romantic at first, until you realise it’s from Jolene where Dolly Parton begs to keep her man. While a lot happens in this chapter, the most import part is Sasuke’s doubts about leaving, while Naruto is too distracted to notice.
Just like Naruto was oblivious about Sasuke’s crush, he doesn’t notice the moments when Sasuke was looking at maps to plan his escape from Konoha, or asking questions while considering leaving. Naruto doesn’t consider it an option, so it’s a big blind spot in his observational skills.
Next week’s chapter title perfectly describes the vibe, once you know what song it’s from.
A lot of plots are inching forward slowly in this transitional chapter in preparation of the next two chapters, after which the third book is finished and we’re halfway through the full story. I have a vacation coming up in which I want to try doing the major editing of the next books. If that works out, I’m going to look into an increased update schedule. Keeping my fingers crossed for that one :)
Also, scene idea that didn't make it into the chapter: Tsunade getting so frustrated for the mess that Sarutobi left for her to clean up, that Naruto transforms into him using the Henge so that she has somebody to direct her anger towards.
Chapter 25: 3.8 Bring me down (Defying gravity)
Summary:
I can’t believe that teme ran away from Konoha! I’m going to drag him back! Sasuke can’t just abandon his family!
Notes:
Apologies for the delay! I thought a vacation in Italy would help me catch up on my editing, but turns out travel stress doesn't work well on my creative spirit. Still hope you enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“We need to leave now.” Naruto said. He was just two steps removed from the gate. Two steps away from the forest and a pursuit that was their best chance of getting Sasuke back. That chance that was decreasing by the second.
“You have to be patient.” Tsunade said. She was pouring over documentation. The ninja who usually manned the desk had made way for her, standing in a corner of the small building looking uneasy.
“I’ve been patient. You can send back-up after me if you’re so worried.”
“Naruto, they’d have to waste time joining you before you could go after Sasuke together. I realise time is of the essence and that is why we must make our attempt with the best information we have.” She cursed as she crumpled up another page and threw it away. “Which is far more limited than I would like.”
Sakura put her hand on Naruto’s shoulder. “I’m just as eager to get him as you are, but you need to think about this. How would we even find him?”
“You saw what direction he was going.”
“That’s not enough. We need a tracker.”
“I can do some tracking.” Naruto objected.
“What if it’s not enough? Or what if Sasuke is not alone? It’s not enough to find him. We also need someone strong enough that they can fight off whomever Orochimaru sent to retrieve Sasuke.”
“We need Kakashi.” Naruto said. “Why’d he have to be off on a stupid mission?”
Tsunade huffed. “It would have been much more convenient if Sasuke had scheduled his betrayal a few weeks in the future, but sadly we’re now faced with the impossible task of diverting our limited resources into getting him back. There’s not a single suitable jounin or chuunin available.”
“Then who do we have?”
“I can’t find anyone.” Tsunade said. “All field ninja of level chuunin and above are on top priority missions.”
Naruto cursed under his breath. His skin was itching to move. “Sasuke is a top priority.”
“I know that he is to you.”
Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but they were interrupted. When he saw Fu and Jinko running over, he was less than thrilled for another delay.
“We came as soon as we heard.”
“We need to know what led to this decision.” Tsunade said. “Whatever you can tell us.”
They looked at each other. Fu drew up straight. “If we can find somewhere more private to discuss these private clan matters, we could…”
“If you don’t talk now, there’s not going to be a clan anymore.” Tsunade said. “Time is of the essence.”
They still hesitated.
Naruto grunted and pointed at them accusingly. “You’re supposed to care for Sasuke! How well do you think he can develop his skills if he’s under Orochimaru’s thumb? How long do you think he’ll last? Do you really think it’s in his best interest to keep secrets now?! Start talking!”
Jinko looked indignant, but Fu sighed. “We had no ill intentions. It’s just a sensitive issue. Sasuke was asking about the line of progression of the Uchiha clan.”
“And?” Tsunade was not impressed by their dallying.
“Itachi had told him that their father had intended Sasuke to be clan heir. We denied it, thinking that would be the end of it.” Fu said. “But Sasuke found the official documents that proved Itachi had told the truth.”
Tsunade rubbed her eyes. “So Itachi was disowned.”
“We tried to tell Sasuke there was a good reason for it, but he didn’t want to hear it.”
“I don’t understand.” Naruto said. “What does it even matter?”
“We’ve always told Sasuke that Itachi had no reason to attack the clan. That he was just doing it for power. But Sasuke’s father had provoked Itachi by disowning him so suddenly and definitively. Itachi was shamed. It was this provocation that led to the massacre. Fugaku had many options available to him and he should’ve been more accommodating. It could’ve been handled better.”
“I’d say.” Tsunade said. “What made Fugaku do such a thing?”
“Itachi was hungry for power. He wanted access to the secret technique Amaterasu that a clan leader only imparts on an heir when they are ready to take their place. Fugaku rightfully refused, so Itachi gave him an ultimatum. Either his father would teach him the technique, or Itachi would give up his place as heir. Fugaku stood his ground and made up the papers of disownment.”
“And this has been the conflict in the Uchiha compound.” Tsunade concluded. “Was there any sign it would escalate to Sasuke fleeing Konoha?”
“No. We had been making progress speaking to him. I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”
“Did he leave anything?”
“Yes. One thing.” Fu pulled a small note out of his robes. It was striped in black. It was Sasuke’s Death Letter. “It’s addressed to Naruto.”
Naruto grabbed it out of his hand and unrolled it.
“A supplement B? What does it say?” Tsunade urged.
Naruto stared at the page. He could not believe the bastard.
“Just ‘Naruto, I’m sorry’.” Fu said.
An entire scroll and just those three words, small enough to be the letter’s greeting. But Naruto saw one thing more. He could see where Sasuke had rested his brush, deciding what to write next. He could see how the brush had stayed still for minutes, slowly bleeding additional ink in the final stroke. It might look like an inaccuracy, but Naruto knew exactly what Sasuke’s perfect handwriting looked like. There had been a lot more Sasuke had wanted to say and no way to get it onto paper.
Naruto sniffed the scroll. No acidic compounds.
“You think he used invisible ink?” Sakura asked.
“None of the basic inks, but maybe something more fancy. It would take hours to find out, if not days. We don’t have that time.”
“We’re worried.” Jinko said. “He left so suddenly.”
“No.” Tsunade said, her face full of tension. “Sakura saw him leave and you’ve explained why he would. This decision has been a long time coming. I can’t spin this is a possible kidnapping that justifies more resources.”
“You’ve got to do something.”
“I’m thinking.” Tsunade said, once more burying herself in the mission files.
“We can’t be a clan without Sasuke.” Jinko turned to Naruto. “We need you to bring him back.”
“I’m not planning on letting him go anywhere.” Naruto rolled the death letter up and put it in his weapon pouch. Whatever Sasuke had been too nervous to write plainly, he would hear it coming out of the Uchiha’s mouth himself. “Baa-chan, if we don’t have any chuunin that can come, then how about genin?”
“Not strong enough to go outside of the village without escort.” Tsunade said.
“Not even the strongest genin we have?” Naruto said. “Our class hasn’t been officially promoted to chuunin yet.”
Tsunade paused. “That could work. You’ll need to make a temporary team of as many people as you can get.”
“We can do that.”
“Then I’m giving you the power to recruit your classmates. And it’ll be your responsibility to keep them safe.”
Naruto looked at the gates again. Just two steps away from chasing after Sasuke without hesitation. Without rational thought. Sasuke already had a head start of a few hours. These minutes were not going to be making the difference. He looked to the village instead. The sun was just rising and his former classmates would still be in bed. Easy to find. “Sakura, you go left. I’ll take right.”
“Meet back here in ten.”
~*~
They were too few. They had wasted all this time for such a small party. Just eight people. Nine if Naruto included Akamaru.
Kiba and Shino took the lead. They were the group’s trackers and had the best sense of the trail Sasuke had left. Hinata was still too injured and as clan heir the elders did not want to risk her. Hanabi had stayed behind at the brothel thinking Hinata would be able to join, but now the team was left with neither. There had been no time to go back for her.
Naruto and Sakura trailed them, central in their position. They let Neji and Tenten follow close behind. They had gone to Neji on Hinata’s suggestion, and had found him training with Tenten and Lee. Tenten had been a lucky find. She had not resigned yet and was eager to volunteer after Neji had agreed to come.
Chouji and Ino followed behind. Shikamaru had been nowhere to be found, even though his skills would have been helpful to have. Ino suspected he was napping in one of his hiding places, trying to dodge his responsibilities. He had succeeded.
Just the eight of them was all Konoha had to spare when one of their own needed the village.
“What can you tell us?” Naruto asked, keeping his eyes forward as he jumped from tree branch to tree branch. At the speeds they were going, part of his attention always had to go towards preventing himself from slipping off the bark.
“Sasuke definitely passed by here.” Kiba said. “Together with four escorts.”
“They’re not close.” Shino said. “I’m not picking them up yet.”
“Yet the scent is strong. They’re not moving very fast.” Kiba said. “Something’s slowing them down.”
“Understood.”
Naruto relayed the information to the rest of the team and then got back in formation.
“We have the advantage here.” He told Sakura. “Eight against four.”
“That depends on who those four are. And on what kind of traps they can set for us.”
“It won’t be anything we can’t handle.” Naruto said, hoping he would start believing it by saying it confidently enough.
~*~
It had been strange to see the four escorts. Each looked more animal than human, dressed in Orochimaru’s colours and wearing the headband of the Village of Sound. Stranger still had been the absence of Sasuke and the presence of a human-sized wooden container covered with seals and clear indications that they had stuffed Sasuke inside.
The escorts had introduced themselves as the Sound Four. They had been expecting the group from Konaha, using some form of detection to alert them early. And then they had sprung a trap that Naruto’s team had not been able to handle.
The dome of earth had covered them and it was impenetrable through normal means. They could hear the other Sound ninja leaving and putting more distance between them. The Sound Four were going to let the man named Jirobo deal with them. That was the one with red skin, and hair like a hedgehog.
“We could’ve taken him.” Ino complained. “Chouji and I were kicking his ass.”
“We’ll get another chance if we can get out.” Chouji said.
“What is this technique?” Naruto asked. He could feel the earth around him pull at his chakra. “I’ve never heard of this before.”
“Earth has absorbing qualities.” Chouji said. “I’ve never seen it enhanced this much to make it like a stomach. The more chakra it drains, the harder the earth dome becomes. We need to try to eat something while we think to keep our energy levels up.”
Naruto pulled out a ration bar, letting his mind spin through this problem while he wolfed it down. “Kiba, can you dig under it?”
Kiba made a few signs and put his hand on the ground. Then he shook his head. “It’s a sphere that goes through the ground as well. Just as strong there as here.”
“Neji, can you see anything?”
The Hyuuga had been looking around with his Byaakugan. “There are no apparent weaknesses.” He said. He indicated to one side of the dome. “Our enemy is standing right out of the dome over here to reinforce it. If we want to disrupt the technique, perhaps we should focus our efforts there.”
The three earth users perked up.
“You’re sure he’s reinforcing it?” Chouji asked.
“Yes.”
“Harmonic disruption.” Tenten smiled. “On three.”
“Hell yeah.” Kiba pumped his fast.
Naruto was not sure what was happening, but Kiba and Chouji placed themselves beside her on the opposite end of the dome from where Jirobo had created the technique. She counted it off and then all three of them made hand signs and pushed into the wall. The whole structure collapsed around them.
Ino made the best use of the distraction, spinning ninja wire through the air in great loops that threatened to destroy the Sound ninja if he did not retreat.
“We’ve got this.” Chouji said, turning to fall into formation with Ino. “Run ahead.”
“I won’t let you!” Jirobo yelled out. He pushed his hands into the ground, narrowly avoiding the wire Ino had almost spun around his neck. The earth started to rumble and it was only Chouji’s quick earth wall that kept the attack from connecting with the rest of the group.
“You’re not getting a choice.” Chouji spat back at him.
Naruto ran ahead.
~*~
They had let Sasuke get away again. They had gotten so close, but they had not counted on a web trapping them in place by the second member of the Sound Four.
“I do not know how you were able to escape Jirobo, but I will not let you continue.” The man had six arms, which gave him eight limbs in total just like a spider. He jumped into the trees and it was hard to tell where he had gone.
“Kick their ass, Kidomaru.” The other two yelled as they put more distance between them.
A golden arrow shot at Naruto’s torso and he was barely able to dodge it in time. If the next arrow went for his trapped legs, he would have no way to escape.
This was a situation like any other. Assess and counter. “What’s making us stick here?”
“Chakra.” Sakura immediately said. “It’s not chemical. It has to be like tree climbing, but weaponised.”
“Impressive.” Kidomaru said from the trees. There was some genjutsu trick with sound going on, keeping his exact location hidden. “But can you figure out how to get out?”
Putting chakra through his feet like tree walking did not do the trick. Even wind chakra to cut at the connection seemed to have little effect. The Kawarami was an option, if he wanted to risk leaving his feet behind. The henge though… that could work. Which meant he had a way of getting out himself, but he needed the others safe first.
“I see.” Neji said, before stepping right out of the web with an explosion of chakra. He moved to Tenten first, blasting chakra at her feet. “Hard to explain, but easy to see with the Byakugan.”
“That’s cheating.” The spider man sounded disappointed. “But I’m not just going to let you get away with that.”
There were more arrows, fired in quick succession at Tenten and Neji both. Neji plucked them right out of the air one by one, explosions of chakra leaving his steps. Tenten did not even defend herself, fully trusting Neji to protect her, simply pulling out a scroll and retrieving a greatsword which she threw into the tree where the projectiles had come from.
It gave them the moment they needed.
“Instructions, Neji!” Naruto shouted out. He was already preparing his henge.
“They’re too complicated for a normal ninja!”
“Try anyway!”
Neji sighed. “Frequency of 35, primary and secondary at 45 degree angles, counterclockwise and seventy percent yang.”
Kiba and Shino tried their best, but they were not experts in chakra manipulation. They did not need to be.
“Got it.” Sakura burst free from the web and headed for Shino. Unlike Neji, she did not leave explosions in her wake, careful of her energy consumption even in this kind of hectic situation.
Naruto activated his henge, separating the bottom layer of his sandal from the rest of it, and then layering more thin layers of cloth under his shoes with weak adhesive between them. Twenty ought to do to clear the web and it would only cost him a few inches of his pants. He dashed over to Kiba, one layer of cloth detaching from his sandal with each step, and lifted him over his shoulder as soon as Sakura had freed him.
There were more arrows coming, but they had their mobility back.
“Wait!” Shino said from Sakura’s shoulder. “They’re going to need a tracker.”
Naruto hesitated. Neji would be safer if Kiba or Shino could stay behind, but they were running low as a team as it was. As team leader he could not authorise their team to grow too thin. Besides Neji, he could spare only one more.
“Neiji, would you rather keep Tenten or get a tracker?”
Neji dodged another arrow and covered Tenten’s counterattack. “I cannot cover their weak spots nearly as well as I can Tenten’s.”
Then they would press on. “Kick ass.”
Tenten grinned. She was not even halfway through her current scroll and she had a dozen more strapped to her body. “Will do.”
~*~
Traps were becoming a theme.
“Kai.” Naruto said, clearing the fog for a few seconds before it settled back around them. That incessant flute played by the Sound Four’s Tayuya was making it impossible to stay in reality. “Sakura, what is this?”
“Auditory genjutsu.” She said. “Her instrument is adding harmonies to the trap. She’s putting up layers faster than you can dispel them.”
“And that’s just the beginning.” Tayuya said. It sounded like she was whispering it right behind Naruto’s ear. He turned around to look and did not see her ram-like face and orange hair. It could not have been her voice. That damn flute was still playing far off in the distance.
Sakura was the expert. She needed to stay behind for this fight, but she would never forgive Naruto if he ordered her to.
“Go on ahead.” Shino said. “Why? Kiba and I are not easily tricked through genjutsu and we can win this fight. Sakura has the best chance of escaping the trap and continuing the pursuit.”
“We need a tracker.”
“We got close enough that I was able to attach a queen on Sasuke this time.” Shino directed one of his bugs to fly to Naruto’s hand. “This will point you in his direction.”
Naruto nodded. He tried to follow the path Sakura was taking, but he felt like there was a wall of fire he had to go through. He tried to step through, but the pain felt real.
“I need you to carry me.” Naruto said.
Sakura nodded.
He let himself become metal, a small sphere that fit easily in Sakura’s palm. His perception of the world fell away and with it any sense of wrongness. He was vaguely aware of being tossed back into the air. He transformed and immediately started running. They were out of the illusion and back on their way. Naruto checked the bug and adjusted his direction slightly.
We’re coming, Sasuke.
~*~
“I see my colleagues had a bit of trouble with you.” Sakon said. The lizard man looked perfectly relaxed, drumming his scaley fingers over the wooden construction holding Sasuke. “You’ll find I’m not so easily taken care of.”
Naruto looked at Sakura and they nodded. Just one more enemy and they could start talking some sense into Sasuke.
Naruto was the one who rushed in first, kunai in front of him and aiming for the most vulnerable areas. Sakon fully focussed on Naruto, leaving his back wide open for Sakura’s attack. Except suddenly Sakura’s kunai was met with a weapon deflecting it. Sakon had a second head trained on Sakura, extra arms to defend.
Naruto and Sakura did their best with their taijutsu, but Sakon could shift on any of the legs he wanted and made his hands and weapons disappear and reappear at will on any of his body’s surface. Naruto and Sakura had never faced an enemy like him before.
Naruto would have to use his own henge to counter it. He could use his wind chakra technique to surprise him. It was untested in battle, but it would give them the edge here.
And then the worst possible thing happened. The wooden container opened. Sasuke emerged. He took one look at his teammates and then started running.
“Sasuke!” They tried to pursue, but Sukon was tenacious. He got into Naruto’s path and used two free arms to release a wind technique that kept Sakura from moving and even pushed her back.
“I’ll distract him.” Naruto said. “Go.”
Sakura scanned the situation. “No. It has to be you.”
“Are you crazy? He’s a henge specialist. This is my fight.”
“It’s not.” Sakura said. “You’re the henge specialist, which means I have more experience fighting against the henge than you do. And his ranged attacks are wind. You’re more able to block that as you escape him.”
“You say that like you actually have experience fighting me. You never spent any talent on our spars.”
Sakura sighed. “You’re an idiot sometimes. You really think I would’ve been able to keep up with you for so long if I never spent any talent on our fights?”
Naruto gaped. He had to focus. “We both wanted to talk to Sasuke. You wanted a rematch with him.”
“I did.” Sakura said. “But that will have to wait. Go.” She moved in close to Sakon and covered Naruto’s retreat. As they expected there was a gust of air and Naruto countered with his own. Sakon made a valiant effort, but Naruto got out of range.
Leaving nothing between him and Sasuke’s retrieval other than the Uchiha’s stubborn stupidity.
~*~
Sasuke was fast. Faster than he had been.
Naruto did not often see him in the distance, but when the trees cleared just right he could see a glimmer of Uchiha blue between all the trees. It disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Naruto would doubt he was going the right way, were it not for the bug on his hand confirming the direction.
He was fifteen minutes away from Sakura. Then thirty. Normally he would play to his strength and take back speed to catch Sasuke with endurance. But the more he delayed the confrontation, the further Naruto was getting away from his team. The closer they were getting to whatever point Orochimaru had decided to wait for him.
And then they reached the Valley. Every Academy was taught about the existence of this place. It was notable for two big features. The first was the giant waterfall, and the second was the two ninja carved into either side. They were the first Hokage and Uchiha Madara, old friends that had battled in this valley. The official story was that Madara came to his senses after this fight and died soon after in an unrelated incident.
Itachi had revealed that after Madara was defeated, he had been stripped of his talent and exiled from the Uchiha clan. The First Hokage had wanted to shelter him in Konoha, but Madara would not have it. The Shodaime had fought for him. And it had been to no avail.
Not that Naruto had eyes for the statues he had only heard about in stories. Because he could see Sasuke. He could see his teammate at the bottom of the valley, trying to climb the other side to the top. Naruto reached into his weapon pouch and released a volley of Kunai in Sasuke’s path, forcing him to fall back.
Naruto let himself fall along his side of the valley, dropping down onto the water below.
Sasuke turned around to face him. He looked different. His shirt had been torn and it showed the hidden seal covering his whole body where once it had been confined to just his neck. “You came for me.”
“Of course I did.” Naruto said. “Want to tell me what the hell you were thinking?”
Sasuke was lightning fast as he drew the kunai from his pouch and released a spread towards Naruto. Naruto had to spend time dodging under them and that let Sasuke start his ascent again. Sasuke stuck his feet on the side of the valley and jumped where he could for the extra speed. There was just a short distance to his escape.
Naruto threw more kunai to make Sasuke turn around and face him. Except Sasuke wielded a kunai behind his back to parry Naruto’s blades. In any other situation Sasuke would have looked at him with a smirk and Naruto would yell at him for showing off. If Sasuke got away then Sasuke would never do that again. Naruto couldn’t let him get away. He threw another kunai, far out of reach from Sasuke’s own weapons, letting it safely reach the top of the cliff. The exploding tag on the kunai detonated.
Sasuke had to fall back down again to avoid the falling debris.
“Talk to me!” Naruto yelled. He did not give Sasuke another chance to distract him. He closed the distance and his hands were on Sasuke’s body for a grapple before Sasuke had time to adjust from the landing.
Sasuke twisted his body and their movements flowed into each other. Counter after counter, like they had endlessly practiced in their study sessions. Except in their sessions the eventual moment of weakness for one of them led to smiles and a promise to do better next time. Neither could afford to lose this time.
“I thought we were building something. I thought I’d give you space!” Naruto said. “All this time with the Uchiha bullshit and you didn’t tell me anything, but I was fine with it because we were going to talk eventually. And instead you leave and all that you can give me is one fucking note with three words on them!?”
Naruto’s anger was building in his strikes. He could feel his wind chakra bleeding into each point of contact. In response, Sasuke’s touch was sizzling. Naruto would be left with burn marks for weeks.
“I could’ve helped! Whatever you were going through, I could’ve helped. Why won’t you just talk to me?! And for such a stupid argument with your family. They clearly love you a lot and I would’ve told you that if you came to me sooner!”
“I couldn’t.” Sasuke said through gritted teeth. His eyes turned red as the sharingan took over and Naruto had to put everything he had in simply keeping up.
Naruto waited for more, hoping his silence would draw more out of the Uchiha. Anything that Naruto could use. Anything he could put pressure on. Anything to help him understand. But Sasuke was not interested in talking with anything other than his fists. “I would’ve listened!”
“You don’t understand.” Sasuke said. “You were never the problem.”
“Then what was?” Naruto shouted. “What was so bad that you had to leave the village to get it done? What was so bad that you had to leave us, Sasuke?”
“My family lied to me!” Sasuke said. “They say nothing more was going on. But there was. They needed me to get revenge and they needed me to keep hating my brother.”
“Itachi forced your father to disown him. It still comes down to Itachi.”
“Yet they didn’t trust me to come to that conclusion. Yes, they care for me. But their duty is to the clan first. And I’ve let myself forget that. I’ve gotten tied up in feelings for my family. But my first allegiance is to the crows. They are who I must serve by removing Itachi. And Orochimaru gives me a better chance to get my revenge than Konoha does.”
“We’re your better chance!” Naruto pleaded. “Sakura and Hanabi and I. Kakashi and Tsunade and all our fellow Konoha ninja. We can take Itachi down together!”
“You’re blinded by how much you like the village.” Sasuke said. “You can’t feel the same I do. You don’t have a clan that must be served first.”
“And so what?” Naruto spat. “You didn’t come to me because I wouldn’t understand? You didn’t come to me because you thought I wouldn’t listen?”
“I knew you’d listen.” Sasuke said. “But no, you could never understand.”
“I might not be in a clan, but I know enough.” Naruto said. “I know that by strengthening that forbidden seal you’re betraying the crows you say you’re serving. That you’re taking this… this gift of talent and corrupting it!”
“The crows will understand why I had to do this. While Itachi lives, the clan isn’t safe.”
Naruto wasn’t getting through to him. “Even if I don’t know anything about clans, I know about chosen family. You were supposed to be that for me. I chose you. Why couldn’t you choose me back?”
“Naruto. The reason I didn’t leave right away was because of you. Orochimaru filled me with doubt and my family made me want to leave. You were my reason for staying. The life I was supposed to have with you was all that was keeping me in Konoha.”
Naruto swallowed, biting back tears. The words hurt more than Sasuke’s fists. “Then what happened? What did I do?”
Sasuke’s kunai halted.
Naruto stopped his weapon in kind.
“You told me you liked orange irises.”
Naruto did not know how insane Sasuke had to be for that to make any sense. “And?”
“I don’t know how to date you. I don’t know how to make it work. And what I told you was that I would be unable to learn. I can’t learn how to be your boyfriend or your husband. But when you told me you liked orange irises and I understood it was because you like the colour orange. I learned that. I let myself learn that, because I want to make you happy.”
Naruto swallowed. “You spent your talent to learn about me. I didn’t want you to…”
“I know.” Sasuke said. “But every moment I’m with you, I know you deserve someone who can spend their time on you.”
“I don’t want anyone else but you.”
“I’m not good for you, and you’re not good for me. I allow myself to be happy around you. And then I lose sight of what I need to do. Who I need to become to do what I need to do.”
“And you think Orochimaru will truly help you become the best version of yourself?”
“I think that I am going somewhere dangerous. I think there will be traps around every corner. But yes, I think Orochimaru will help me in ways that Konoha can’t. Itachi is a monster that I can’t touch without another monster helping me.”
“You’re insane.”
“I haven’t been sane in a long time.” Sasuke said. “But this is what feels like the right path for me. This is what’ll give me the greatest chance to get my revenge and liberate my clan.”
“But you promised yourself to me.” Naruto said. “You promised you’d try. I gave in to your stupid rule and then you said you’d do it.”
“You never really thought I’d die.” Sasuke said. “You talked about the Death Letter like it was a joke nobody would ever read. You were never going to accept I believed I’d die. Otherwise you would understand that I need to do something this desperate to stand a chance of beating Itachi. This is going to make me the strongest version of me.”
“You never intended to follow my rule either.” Naruto said. “Or you would understand that you’re destroying the future that could be after Itachi. Or you’d let me make plans about the future after you’ve killed Itachi.”
Sasuke shook his head. “No. Because I see no future where I am able to safely escape after causing Itachi’s death. I’m doing what I can to win so that I can take him down with me.”
“You know I can’t let you leave. I promised Tsunade that I’d get you back. I promised Jinko and Fu.”
“And if it wasn’t for them? Would you love me enough to forget about me?”
“I love you in all the ways I can.” Naruto said. “But I can’t forget you.” He swallowed. “Do you truly want to go?”
“I want nothing more than to stay.” Sasuke said. “And that’s why I have no choice but to leave. Would you really force me to stay?”
Naruto could feel his heart breaking. Because no. His whole life had been spent with other people telling him what to do. It would break him to do that to Sasuke. “Yes.” Naruto’s voice stumbled. “If it meant you’d stay, then yes.”
He didn’t care if it would break them both.
Sasuke shook his head. “You wouldn’t be happy.”
“I’d be happier than if you were gone.”
“So there’s no stopping this.” Sasuke said. “We have to fight? We can’t break apart as friends? You won’t let me go?”
“I can’t just let you go.” Naruto said. “I have to fight for you. And I will never stop fighting for you. Even if you beat me to a pulp, the moment Tsunade’s got me back on my feet I’ll come after you again.”
“You say that now, but you know what Orochimaru is like. I don’t know what he’ll make me do to earn my training. There may come a time where I’ve become too tarnished for you to want me back.”
“It doesn’t matter what you do. No matter what happens, no matter what you’ve got to do to get your revenge, I am going to become Hokage and you will be my Jounin commander as soon as I get you back. You’ll never change so much that you’ll stop being Sasuke.”
Sasuke took his backpack in front of him and opened it. Naruto could see all the supplies Sasuke had brought. He saw some books, some gear. And a photo. The photo they had taken of Team 7 together. “I never think about the future after Itachi. I don’t allow myself. But when I almost do, I always picture us together. So this time I really promise.” Sasuke said. “No more lies. I have to leave to get my revenge. I still don’t think I can survive that. But if I somehow do, then I’ll return to you. No matter how long it’ll take. No matter what I’ll have to repent for or what punishments I’ll have to face. I’ll come back.”
Naruto took a deep breath. “Put the picture away. I’m not going to attack you if you’re handicapped.”
“I’d have to be handicapped for you to stand a chance against me.”
“That famous Uchiha pride.” Naruto had to wipe tears from his face. This felt too familiar. This was what he would be forced to miss if Sasuke left. “We’ll see what that’s worth once I’ve got you eating the dirt.”
“Better dirt than your cooking.” Sasuke tossed the backpack to the side. And then he undid his weapon pouch and tossed that aside too. He was without weapons.
Naruto did him the same courtesy.
Their fists met again and they were back in the Academy, listening to Iruka correcting their forms. They grappled and pivoted to throw the other off them, hearing Kakashi’s commentary on their sloppy mistakes. Sakura was on the side, showing Naruto how his movements could be more efficient. Hanabi opposite her, remind him which kata he needed to practice to get better.
Naruto had fought Sasuke so often. He refused to let this be the last time.
Wind was merging with his strikes again, fire in Sasuke’s. He gritted through the pain and put more and more force behind his punches. It was hard to keep his footing on the water’s surface with all the chakra building in the air.
“You can’t keep this up forever.” Naruto said.
“Longer than you.”
“In your dreams.” Naruto had trained Sasuke in endurance, but he was still the master. Sasuke would have to escalate to finish this fight, or risk growing tired enough that Naruto could capitalise on a mistake.
And then there it was, as Sasuke pushed Naruto away and made the hand seals in the half a second it bought him. A ball of fire escaped his mouth and pushed Naruto further back. Naruto caught his ground and got ready to push back as soon as the flames died down, but then Sasuke’s arm was flying through the fire, aimed straight at Naruto, lava in his palm.
Naruto knew he had to dodge. But that way he could never defeat Sasuke. He had so much wind chakra around him. It was time to use it.
He struck out his hand and concentrated his chakra. Every time before he had failed, but now it turned into a ball of green energy. It was loud, like the flapping of an endless number of wings.
Wind met fire and for a second the world stopped. Naruto knew he was at an elemental disadvantage, but he still pushed with everything he could. Wind fuels a fire, but storms blow them out.
The techniques exploded against each other, pushing them both away. Naruto could not see through fire and smoke, but suddenly Sasuke was coming for him again. Naruto had a moment of imbalance as he tried to suddenly dodge. Sasuke capitalised, using his none-burning hand to jab at Naruto and make him trip. Naruto fell to the ground.
Sasuke let the flames drop, spinning in the air and delivering a devastating kick right at Naruto’s skull. It would have been the end. But Naruto was a specialist at making vulnerable body parts be somewhere else if he needed them to be.
Konohamaru could feel the kick land just a few inches from his head, too close for comfort but far enough away he could scamper upright and get back into a fighting position. His scarf had successfully been left behind. All there was left to do was pump out enough wind chakra that he would not faint.
Just as Sasuke turned around, just as he finished shifting his attention and started to move forward, Konohamaru let his detached hand jump from under the scarf and take a hold of Sasuke’s ankle. It was the Uchiha’s turn to fall.
Naruto was Hound when he pressed forward, wrapping his arm around Sasuke’s neck as he landed on the Uchiha’s back, squeezing the air out of him while immobilising him from doing anything about it. The pressure was on Sasuke’s artery.
Sasuke had no weapons to force the ANBU away. He could not gather his fire without his ability to exercise proper breathing techniques. There was nothing he could do. Sasuke would lose consciousness from lack of air. Hound should have been able to call himself the winner from just that.
But he saw the seals on Sasuke’s body crawling over Sasuke’s skin. He could see Sasuke going still with calm instead of desperation. And then Sasuke used one hand to make seals. Hound recognised those signs. He would be an idiot not to. It was his specialisation after all.
Daisuke was on his back, not his belly. His throat was not trapped in Hound’s arm lock. The Uchiha took a deep breath.
Crap.
Naruto had seen Sasuke fight with his forbidden seal and it was just supposed to polish what he could already do. But this was training in the henge to become smaller. That took many weeks of dedicated study. And Sasuke’s seal had just gifted it to him.
Hound’s replacement technique went off just in time. Mostly on time. His arm was aching with a deep red burn and he had to pat the clothing where it was still smoking. His eyes were on Daisuke, who was standing up on the water with a calculating look in his deep red eyes. When he made the signs, it was exactly what Naruto had been afraid of.
A cloud of smoke, and then one illusion dropped away to make room for another. Daisuke was gone, and his place were six of Sasuke’s clones, standing beside each other with balls of lava in one hand. And then they charged. They moved independently, like Hanabi could with her bunshin.
Naruto could not be hit by any. Sasuke’s clones were too flawless to distinguish between fake or real. Naruto could just be on the defensive, moving back and moving back. He did not realise he had reached the cliff side again until the real Sasuke pushed him and Naruto hit his head against the stone.
He was dizzy and it was hard to see which of the Sasuke were caused by the clone technique and which by his own double vision. Naruto tried to stand up, but quickly lost his balance and dropped on his bottom again. All those Sasuke were doing the same thing. They were leaving.
“Sasuke, wait!”
The Uchiha did not listen as he grabbed his bag. “You know, it’s only now that I’ve won that I realise how okay I would have been losing. Goodbye, Naruto.”
Naruto tried to crawl his way. He made it to his own bag. He took out more explosive tags. But everything was swirling around him. He did not know which direction to throw. He did not know how to fix this.
“Stop!” Naruto shouted desperately. He could not see properly. He could not move properly. He could do anything that would reach Sasuke.
Except for one thing.
“Stop!” Itachi shouted.
Sasuke froze. He turned back, face paler than Naruto had ever seen it.
“Fight me!”
Sasuke kept staring. And then he spoke with ice in his voice. “Nice try, Naruto. But Itachi would never care about me leaving.”
Itachi reached out his hand and the henge popped. Naruto’s head reeled from the feedback. It felt like he was going to be sick.
This time Sasuke didn’t look back.
And Naruto had to watch him leave.
~*~
Sakura rushed to him. She looked dirty from her fight, bruised and cut up. “Where’s…”
Naruto shook his head. It hurt. How was it still so bad? It had felt like hours since he had hit his head. At least a dozen attempts to climb up the rock cliff and get back to his team.
“You’re bleeding.”
Naruto blinked. “Can you fix it?”
Her green hands ran over his head. “Yes. This I can fix.”
~*~
Naruto had never seen Shino without his sunglasses before. But they had to be removed to fix the horrifying gash across his face. Kiba had broken his arms. Akamaru had a broken leg. Sakura fixed what she could and then they carried the boys away.
Neji was unconscious from blood loss and it was only TenTen’s first aid that had kept him alive for so long. She had only one wound on the side of her torso. She said Neji had defended her and she had only gotten hurt after Neji had faltered. She had been hurt in the final attack against the spider.
Together they stabilised Neji and then went on.
Ino was bruised all over her body, unconscious when they reached her. Sakura was most affected by the sight, refusing to respond to anything until she had checked and checked again that she was still alive. Chouji said she had used her family technique to bait the enemy and provide an opportunity for Chouji’s counter. Chouji was looking thinner than ever, barely able to support his own weight.
Each of the fights had seemed fair when Naruto left behind his teammates to fight them. But each enemy had been cursed with seals by Orochimaru. It had taken everything they had to stay alive and win.
~*~
They returned to the village. Eight wounded Konoha ninja, four enemies captured. But without Sasuke. Without the main goal of their mission.
Naruto had lost him.
Notes:
Next update on November 1st: ‘Unchained melody. In which Naruto tries to figure out a life without Sasuke, and he reads a Death Letter.
This chapter’s main inspiration was Flip the coin by Inrainbowz. While I like canon’s fight, there’s something heartbreaking about two people who want to be together but can’t agree on where that would be. It’s also the choice of chapter title, Defying Gravity from Wicked which is the closest to the vibe I was going for. Part of Sasuke was hoping that Naruto would ‘bring him down’, but the actual lyric is of course that after choosing to leave nothing will be able to ‘bring me down’. Also, having a musical song because so much of this chapter revolves around Itachi, but not a villain song because he’s not actually in it.
The chase after the Sound Four was redesigned. Unlike canon, Naruto is a chuunin (soon) and can take the position of team leader instead of Shikamaru. There’s been some criticism posed against Shikamaru for choosing only men on his team and not bringing more people. I tried to balance that out with more women and giving the reasons why there aren’t any more. Also, here we have Sasuke’s family making Naruto promise that he’ll bring Sasuke back instead of Sakura (who is eager to kick Sasuke’s butt for leaving).
This chapter is also a compromise between hinting at the canon fights while not repeating them. Having Naruto as the main POV means that we don’t get to see reimaginings of all these fights, but it also means we can focus on Naruto fight with Sasuke.
Chapter 26: 3.9 Time can do so much (Unchained melody)
Summary:
I can't believe Sasuke's really gone. What even is Konoha without him in it?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Just know that I love you. I love you no matter what choices you make, no matter what happiness or sadness life throws your way. I love you, without condition, without limits and without end. Not even death will stop me from loving you.
This particular tree was starting to get too thin. Naruto gave it one more whack for good measure, blasting off bark and splinters. Time for the next one.
“I’m worried you are training too much.” Kakashi said, interrupting Naruto. “Hanabi said you’ve been skipping your normal breaks with her.”
“I told her I don’t have time.” Naruto said. “I was wasting too much time going from training spot to training spot. It wasn’t efficient enough.”
“So you’ve cut breaks out of your time table completely.”
“I still take breaks.” Naruto said. “If I’ve earned them.”
Kakashi shook his head. “You can’t throw yourself in your training this severely just for the sake of a missing nin. Even if that missing nin is Sasuke.”
“And what’s wrong with that?” Naruto asked, punching at another tree. His wind chakra was still not condensed enough. If he had mastered this strike before his fight against Sasuke, if it had been stronger, he would have been able to block Sasuke’s lava. He would have stood a better chance. Instead, he had put it off and look where that had gotten him. “What better way to motivate me than my failure?”
“This wasn’t your fault.” Kakashi said. “Sasuke made his decision. It was a dangerous and foolish one, but he made it.”
“Why are you so quick to let him go?”
“I’m worried.” Kakashi said. “When I was younger, I put all I cared about in my teammates. When they died, it broke me. You have a unique opportunity here, Naruto. Grieve Sasuke while he still lives. Let go of him. Find your motivation outside of him.”
Naruto’s arm wavered. “I can’t let him go.”
“He made his choice.”
“And I’m making mine.” Naruto squeezed his hand into a tight fist. He punched again. He could feel how solid his chakra was becoming. He was nearly there. “I can’t bring Jiji back. But Sasuke isn’t lost yet. I’m not going to waste my time grieving someone when I could be making myself strong enough that I can bring them back.”
“I admire your dedication, but not your stubborn denial.”
“I’m not…”
“Have you deciphered Sasuke’s death letter yet?”
Naruto sighed. “There are a few more things I can try.”
“You’re stalling because you don’t want to face the possibility he wrote nothing more.”
“He has to have written more than ‘I’m sorry’.” Naruto swallowed. “That can’t be his final goodbye to me.”
“This is what I’m talking about. You’re not just optimistic; you set yourself up to be surprised by set-backs that you should’ve seen coming.”
Naruto shook his head. “It’s not that. I made fun of Sasuke for having trouble writing his death letter. I was too busy worrying about my own, trying to make it perfect. It’s said that the perfect death letter is so meaningful that it can reach back in time and affect people before they read it. I didn’t think mine was good enough, which was all I was thinking about when Sasuke complained.”
“So you’re feeling guilty.”
“Of course I feel guilty. What if I’m the reason he didn’t feel encouraged to write more of that letter? What if I could’ve stopped him from leaving by paying more attention to him?”
“You can’t put all that on yourself.”
“There’s something else. I think I’m feeling it now. Whispers of a voice.” Naruto said. “And if I find out there’s nothing more in Sasuke’s letter, then it’s all in my head.”
“I once asked Minato about the ability of death letters to reach back in time.” Kakashi said.
Naruto looked up at him. “The Fourth Hokage?”
“He was my sensei and burdened with addressing my moments of uncertainty. He said that we get so caught up thinking what might be in the letter, that our heads work overtime thinking about who we’ve lost and what they might say. And then when we read the letter, we only remember the parts that were true and forget the rest.”
“I see.” Naruto deflated. That did sound like a logical explanation.
“But after Rin died… it took me two weeks before I could open her letter. I knew it would be the last time she’d speak to me, and I wanted to put that off. Until I couldn’t anymore. She said all the right things and everything I had expected of her. And she also made a joke about how I should buy some blue gloves from a shop if she died before she had a chance to give them to me for my birthday. She hadn’t expected to die so suddenly. Nobody had expected it.”
“Are those the gloves you’re wearing?”
“Yeah.” Kakashi said. “But funny thing was, I bought them two days before I read the letter. Rin had never mentioned them and I hadn’t ever thought I needed gloves. I can’t explain why I bought them.” Kakashi stared at the gloves, at the shining metal plate that protected the back of his hands. “Except that perhaps not all things in life have logical explanations.”
Naruto took a deep breath. “I’ll work on the letter.”
“Even if Sasuke didn’t write anything more down, this feeling you’re having isn’t wrong. It might just be the things that he wished he’d written down.”
“Thanks, sensei. Right now I’m just focussed on the wind attack. I think I’m close to getting it strong enough to face a Chidori or Sasuke’s Sensani.”
“Wind’s too unstable to do that.” Kakashi said.
“That’s just what the old geezers think.”
“And all the textbooks, and all the experts, and anyone who’s ever tried it before.”
“Well, I haven’t tried it before.” Naruto said. “Was there anything else you needed me for?”
“The Uchiha still want to talk to you.”
Naruto flinched.
“You can’t put it off forever.”
“I had to tell you that I lost him. I had to tell baa-chan that I failed in the first chuunin mission she assigned me. I can’t tell the Uchiha I lost their heir. Not yet.”
“I think you should do it sooner rather than later.”
Naruto grumbled. “I’ll try to make time for it.”
“By the end of this week, or I’ll arrange the meeting for you.” Kakashi said, in a way that made it clear that if Naruto did not make it happen by himself, Kakashi would search him out in the middle of the night and drop him right into Fu’s bedroom.
Naruto grumbled.
“And you’ll have your dinner date with Hanabi?”
“Fine!” Naruto threw up his hands and grabbed his bag to leave. “I’m late for my meeting with baa-chan.”
~*~
The Uchiha compound seems dull and lifeless. But you have to understand that the Uchiha show their loyalty and love differently. If you ever need any help, they should be the first people you turn to.
Naruto stood in the alley. In the distance he could see the Uchiha grounds. Garudo might be guarding it again. It was an easy journey to there. He could make up the time by running. It would be easier if he had an excuse to go away.
In his hand was the letter that Sasuke had left for him. Just three words from the bastard and a lot of white space. And he would work on it soon. He would.
He just needed there to be more left of Sasuke.
There was a sound behind him and Naruto quickly jumped from wall to wall to get on the roofs. He ran and he jumped, telling himself it was just for the exercise.
~*~
Hope is like the unforgiving ocean. It lures you into thinking you’re safe, before it sinks everything you’ve ever built into its depths.
“But how would spirit damage to the arms affect the leg?” Sakura asked, frowning. The books did not seem to have any answers for her. “I don’t see the connection at all.”
“You need to remember that the physical body and the soul interact in ways that are not always immediately apparent. The soul does not differentiate between one limb or another. If one is damaged, that can appear in any of the patient’s arms or legs.”
“I see.” Sakura was making notes in the book she had brought. “Thank you for your time today.”
“Best fifteen minutes of my week. At least you listen. I had to repeat the postsurgical instructions for Hayate three times yesterday.”
“Does he have many more surgeries to go?”
“This was the last one. He’ll be back on active duty in a few weeks. Unless he improves faster than my projections like you did. Do you have another tutor?”
“Shizune has been typing up some of your lessons for distribution amongst the doctors. I’ve gotten a hand of a copy.”
“That’s supposed to be restricted to Tokubetsu.”
“I have my ways.”
“Clever girl. There’s a reason I chose you as my next disciple.” Tsunade said, nodding to her student.
As Sakura left, Naruto let himself drop in through the window.
“You know, it’s considered rude not to announce yourself when you’re eavesdropping on another student’s session.”
“I didn’t want to interrupt your time with her.” Naruto said. “And you both knew I was here already.”
“It’s still good manners.” Tsunade took a seat behind her desk, opening up several scrolls. “Before we start, did you have any more questions about your project with the henge?”
“Yeah.” Naruto took out his notebook. He flooded the office with his wind chakra and created an arm on Tsunade’s desk. He pointed at the arm’s thumb. “I keep screwing up the connections to the muscles here.”
“It’s difficult.” Tsunade admitted, writing down several notes on the scrolls while she considered it. “You need to better understand the neural connections that are conveying sensation compared to the ones that allow you control.”
“And how would I do that?”
“Put that created arm through extreme temperatures for a start. It’ll help you understand where you’re going wrong. I’ll also have a list of books collected that you’ll want to read through. As soon as the chuunin promotion is official, you’ll be able to retrieve them.”
Naruto nodded, dismissing the creation. “Thank you. How far along is that registration?”
“Two more days. How it took an organisation of professionals this long is beyond me, but I have personally threatened to maim the five highest ranking administrators responsible, so I hope for their sake that there are no more delays.” Tsunade pushed the current batch of scrolls to the side and started another. “Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, I have a request.”
“I figured that’s why you called me in.” Naruto said. “What do you need me to do?”
“I have not been able to touch base with Jiraiya. I was wondering if you could speak with him.”
Naruto frowned. “What do you want me to say?”
“I’m worried about him.” Tsunade said. “He’s not used to being back in the village.”
“So you summoned me to talk, because you don’t have time to talk with him?”
“You actually show up if you’re summoned. I can’t spend the six hours I have outside of my office hours doing anything other than sleeping or I’ll go insane. I haven’t even been able to look through all of Sarutobi’s old possessions, which were marked specifically for the next Hokage to open in case of his untimely death. I certainly don’t have time to search for my former teammate.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
~*~
Make friendships and earn your place in Konoha, so that you’ll have it easier than I did.
Naruto was wearing a Henge when he walked to the Red Light District. He was wearing the form of his own adult self, which he was trying to master more fully. There was a particular challenge overcoming the silly fact that he was wearing a face that did not technically exist. He had nothing to copy, which made it all the more challenging to keep the transformation consistent and realistic.
It was also the reason that nobody recognised him as a potential source of danger.
“Shut up!” A man shouted.
Naruto could hear that it had come from a few rooms off. He automatically made his way there.
“I’m going to drink as much as I like. You think I haven’t heard about your guardian angel getting injured? That I didn’t notice when the ninja stopped visiting?”
Naruto’s blood was boiling, but there was no need for it. By the time he got to the room, the door had already been slid open.
“What’s this I hear about an injury?” Natsu asked. She had a kunai in one hand that she was lazily twirling around. “Such shameless defamation. Whatever should I do about that?”
“Shit.” The man scrambled back. “’Natsu, I didn’t mean any of that. I was just joking.” He turned to the woman on the bed. “Tell the nice girl I was joking, whore!”
“Hey Naruto, how nice of you to come. Get the window please.”
Naruto smiled, opening up the window for her. He then stepped out of the way, just in time to miss the drunkard getting tossed out of it. “And stay out!”
He wrapped Natsu up in a hug. It was easier with the extra length of his transformation as he was finally taller than her. “I’m so glad you’re back on your feet.”
“I always said I needed to take more time for beauty sleeps.”
“It certainly did the trick. You look better than ever.”
“Oh you.” Natsu made sure the woman was alright, before taking Naruto’s hand and guiding him to her room. “I really appreciate you taking the time to look over my schedule.”
“I just feel bad I wasn’t able to make it myself.”
“I know you have a lot on your plate. And after what you did for me the last few weeks, I have no right to complain. How have you been dealing?”
“I’m managing.” Naruto said.
“You’re still in temporary housing, right?”
“I sleep outdoors more often than not.” Naruto shrugged. “It just works out better that way. Hard to sleep through the night when half my roommates don’t go to bed until halfway through the night. Not to mention all the cursing when my alarm goes off before dawn.”
“And Sasuke?”
Naruto took a deep breath. The schedule was mostly solid. He had a few suggestions that he noted on the paper though. Natsu learned better if she got a practical demonstration before the theory. “You only paid the lower tariff for this? You got a good deal.”
“It’s from an up-and-comer who frequents here. He gave me a good deal and we gave him one too. But stop avoiding the question. What about Sasuke?”
“I’m about as well as can be expected with my best friend abandoning me. With me failing to bring him back.”
She took a seat beside him, putting her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I know you did the best you could.”
“And it wasn’t good enough. Kakashi’s actually making me talk to his family.”
“You haven’t yet?”
“I can’t just go up to them after what happened.”
“Why not?”
Naruto pushed his face in his hands. “Because Sasuke was their heir. The only hope of the Uchiha clan continuing in Konoha. And I let him leave. I am responsible for the death of their legacy.”
“It sounds to me like they can’t say anything half as bad as what you’re already thinking.”
Naruto swallowed. “It’s been my experience that people can always find a worse way to blame you than you could by yourself.”
“Well, I still agree with Kakashi. It’s bothering you more to put it off than just doing it. Worst case scenario, you can flash a copy of my paralyzingly erotic body at them and escape. And I get to hear an amazing story, before conspiring with you how to get back at them.”
Naruto waved her off. “Didn’t your schedule say you were supposed to be training your protégées?”
She beamed. “Just through here.”
It was three doors down and she had three girls going through kata. There were many mistakes and Naruto could see why they had been kicked out of the Academy with its high standards.
“Keep your shoulders up.” Natsu said. “Even if you’re not doing the move perfectly, you need to do it with confidence and pride.”
“Yes, sensei!”
“You hear that, Naruto? I have my own minions now. You need to treat me right or I’ll sick them at you.”
~*~
If you’re not sneaking around to read this, then it means it was given to you. I hope this letter is never given to you.
Garudo was not there at the compound’s entrance and it did not feel right. Naruto did not know how it was possible to miss having a spear put at his face, but he did. Perhaps because it was always Sasuke that showed up to save him.
The way to the monument was clear. The fire was still going strong, still maintained. There were just a few more steps to the main house. It looked an impossible distance away.
Naruto heard some sniffling. He followed the sounds to the back of one of the other houses, where Daisuke was sitting against the wall, crying.
“Daisuke?”
The boy startled at being discovered, wiping away tears and scrambling to get up. “Naruto? Uncle Fu and Aunty Jinko are looking for you.”
“I’ll get to them.” Naruto said. He took his travel flask of water and handed it over. “Relax. Are you okay?”
Daisuke took a sip. “Yeah, it’s just…” He diverted his gaze.
“Sasuke?”
He nodded.
“I miss him too, kiddo.”
“I was going to ask him to help me with the Academy classes. Don’t tell uncle and aunty, but I’m struggling.”
“I’m sure you’re doing the best you can.”
“It’s hard. I don’t have any talent. I want to step up now that Sasuke’s gone, make him proud, but I don’t think I’ll be able to do it. I’m afraid I’ll drop out, and Sasuke is going to come back and I won’t be good enough.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Naruto said. “You can make it through the Academy perfectly fine without talent. Just look at me. And even if you don’t, Sasuke won’t mind. Everything he’s doing is for you guys. As long as you do your best, that will be enough for him.”
Daisuke fidgeted. “I guess.”
“I’ve seen your drive and enthusiasm, Daisuke. I know that you can do it.”
A small smile appeared on his face. “Thanks, Naruto-jii. You really should go to uncle and aunty. I’ll go tell them you’re here.”
The boy ran off before Naruto had a chance to say anything more. Fine. Then he should probably actually face the Uchiha leaders. By the time he got to the main house, Fu and Jinko were already standing ready. “We were expecting you. Come.”
Naruto nodded. They went into a conference room that Naruto had only seen a few times before. Sasuke’s seat remained empty as Naruto took the seat of the guest and Fu and Jinko took their seats as advisors. The absence was overpowering.
“I apologise for the state of this room.” Fu said. “It had been difficult motivating the family to keep working after what happened.”
“Look, let me start by saying I’m sorry.” Naruto said. “I didn’t mean to let him go.”
“We understand it was not your intention.” Jinko said. “Would you like some tea?”
Naruto had a speech to defend himself. He had so much he wanted to get out. He had not been expecting refreshments for his trial. “Y-yeah.”
“I’d like some as well.” Fu said.
“I’ll bring a pot.” Jinko stood up and left for the kitchen.
“Naruto, I am the one who should apologise.”
Naruto would have fallen of his seat if he did not have his stoic ninja training to fall back on. “Why?”
“It was very clear Sasuke liked you. After our argument with him, we put a lot of pressure on you to bring him back even though we failed as his family to keep him here in the first place. We have made the wrong decisions.”
“But… it was my fault in the end.” Naruto said. “I was the reason he left.”
“The Hokage has debriefed us and we know what Sasuke said to you.” Fu said. “You were the reason he stayed.”
Jinko brought the tea in and poured Naruto a cup. She sat down besides Fu.
Naruto nursed the warm cup between his hands. “I miss him.”
“I do not think there is anyone who can miss him as much as we do.” Jinko said. “But if anyone were to come close, it would be you.”
“I really am sorry it has taken us this long to talk.” Fu said. “With Sasuke’s duties falling on my shoulders, I have not been able to leave the compound.”
“Yes, the concubines.” Naruto noted. There had been more houses put up than he had grown used to.
“Yes. Even without Sasuke’s presence, we have promised them housing and the arrangements still stand. They will bear Sasuke’s children if they are so able.”
“Without Sasuke here?”
“Sasuke has been preparing for the possibility his absence for a few years now. We thought it was to safeguard the continuance of the clan even if Itachi got to him on a mission outside of the village. As it turns out, some of the preparations, especially over the past few weeks, had an additional motivation. The women can be inseminated at their convenience.”
“So Sasuke leaves and everything just goes on as normal?” Naruto could not believe the nerve of them. “And these children will just have to grow up without knowing their father?”
“Sasuke did not have any ambitions to become a part of their life, whether he would be present in the village or not. It was our intention that we would provide a place for these children as the whole Uchiha family together. A family you were supposed to become a part of.”
Naruto swallowed a sip of tea. It left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. “That would have been nice.”
“That is the other thing we wanted to talk about.” Fu said.
“We are not happy that Sasuke has left us.” Jinko said. “We want him to return. We want you to bring him back. We want you to become his husband.”
“What’s changed?” Naruto took another sip of his tea, before turning his attention to Jinko. “The first time we met, you told me that you did not want Sasuke to get attached to me. That it was a dangerous relationship with how temporary it would be.”
“For one, my warnings had no effect. For the other, circumstances are different from when we first met.”
“How?”
“Sarutobi is no longer the Hokage. Though he cared for you just as much as Tsunade now appears to do, he was advised by Danzo, Konoha’s most militant elder. Danzo viewed you as a weapon that should be used if the situation called for it. He would have been able to convince the Sandaime, but the Godaime has different views and would be resistant to sending you out on a Jinchuriki mission.”
Naruto did not know that. “But if her hand is forced?” Surely she would have to act in the good of the village.
“Our new hokage is a stubborn woman. If her hand were forced, she would be more likely to cut off the defecting appendage than to allow anyone to make her act against her wishes. She has already spoken in public how she favours you. She will not be swayed.”
“Oh…”
“Not to mention your impressive display at the Chuunin Exams. People are talking about you as a ninja in your own right. While before the consensus was that your ambitions were admirable but misguided, there is now enough doubt sewn that the people in the know are looking forward to how you’ll manage your Tokubetsu exams.”
“Well, you can stop the flattery. I was already planning on retrieving Sasuke no matter how you felt about it.” Naruto said.
“And we want to help in whatever way we are able.” Fu withdrew a document and slid it in front of Naruto. “Sasuke had a room prepared for you to move into. We see no reason to change the arrangement.”
Naruto looked at the piece of paper in front of him. It was a contract. It started with a rent-free offer of housing, continuing with food, clothing and even trainers. “This… this isn’t what I talked about with Sasuke.”
“We have considerable resources that went into Sasuke’s training which can be diverted into your own.” Fu said. “Obviously you will have different needs compared to Sasuke due to the differing talent scores and we have already been working on the necessary adjustments.”
Naruto’s chest was hurting from his heart beating too fast. “No.”
Fu looked like he had just been slapped. “If there are some details you are uncomfortable with, we are fully open to negotiate.”
“I need air.” Naruto pushed out of his seat, leaving the room and running outside.
Daisuke was there, looking confused. “Are you leaving?”
“Wait.” Fu said, taking a hold of Naruto’s wrist.
Naruto grabbed his chakra onto a nearby twig and used the replacement technique to get away. He jumped from tree to tree, until he was out of breath and completely out of range of the Uchiha.
Like hell he would put himself that much into their debt.
~*~
Don’t trust a word Jiraiya says about women. Don’t be afraid to challenge him.
Naruto’s hands were still shaking as he approached Jiraiya. The man had been easier to find than Tsunade had suggested. Or the Toad sage was more okay with Naruto visiting than any of the other ninja.
He was writing. There was a bath house of naked women just a few hundred feet away that he could peep in if he put in the slightest effort, and yet he was lying under a tree with a notebook in his lap.
“Who are you and what did you do to Ero-sennin?” Naruto said, getting a pen thrown to his head for the effort.
“I’ll have you know that I’m taking your advice.” Jiraiya said. “A sequel to the Adventures of the Gutsy Ninja. I’m doing the outlining for the plot. I think I’ll start writing on my next trip out of the village.”
“And when will that be?”
Jiraiya shrugged. “Akatsuki’s bold attempt at your capture is worrying. It would be better to have more information on the organisation.”
“But you’ve just come back. Tsunade’s in the village again and she’s not leaving any time soon. You could stay.”
He waved Naruto off. “I’m not good to anyone cooped up in this village where everybody knows me and where nobody who knows me wants to see me. There are many adventures to be had outside of this village. I could show you, if you like.”
“I don’t think the Jinchuriki is supposed to be away from the village for that long.”
“I’ll get Tsunade’s permission. You’d be even safer than in the village. At least out there they wouldn’t know where you were.”
“Thanks, but I have too many responsibilities here. My friends, my exams. I need to stay behind.”
Jiraiya stared at him. “I know what it’s like to lose a teammate. It’d do you good to get away from everything.”
“It’s different. Orochimaru left because he wanted to. Sasuke left despite wanting to stay. I believe he’ll come back, even if we have to drag him back.”
“Suit yourself.” Jiraiya looked back to his notebook, spare pen in hand and continuing to write. He did not manage to hide all of the disappointment.
“You’re wrong though.”
Jiraiya looked up.
“I know you, and I like seeing you. Tsunade was asking about you and I know you’re the one who’s avoiding her. You could stay. Write your book in the village where I’m around to give you annoyingly useful feedback.”
Jiraiya blinked a few times. “I suppose I could.” It was like the idea had not occurred to him at all.
“With the village rebuilding, there’s more than enough work to go around. If you behave, I’ll even finally introduce you to my friend Natsu.”
“The one from the brothel?” He said, unable to keep a small trail of drool from leaving his face.
“Yeah, as soon as you stop making that face the moment I mention her. And I’d like you to train me. You were a big help before the chuunin exams, and you’ve been doing better with how you talk about women. If you’d be okay with that.”
“Of course.” Jiraiya beamed. “I promise I’ll teach you everything I know.”
“I know you’ve lost a lot of people and that there are bad memories, but the only way for that to change is if you let good memories replace the bad.”
Jiraiya smiled. “At least I know I’ll have more fun staying here in the village with you than on the road alone.”
“That’s the spirit.”
~*~
I made a lot of people angry, but sometimes I got to help people who nobody else could. And that made it more than worth it.
Naruto poked at the barbeque meat. It needed a few more minutes. Unlike the piece across from him that would soon be better suited as armour than sustenance. “Your pork’s getting tough.”
Hanabi startled from her thoughts. “Right.” She picked up the meat and placed it on her plate.
Naruto went back to thinking about his training. With a big dinner like this, he would need to delay the physical training until it had all settled. He could maybe squeeze in another trip to the library for the books Tsunade had recommended. He was not a chuunin yet, but he would get away with browsing through them for a little bit.
His own meat had finished and it was the lack of anything new on the burner that made him realise something was wrong. Hanabi had not put new meat on, and she had not eaten the piece that had finished cooking. “What’s on your mind?”
Hanabi jumped back in her seat, diverting her gaze and making herself small. “I hate how things are between us. Can you forgive me?”
Naruto’s mouth opened but no sound came out. He stared at Hanabi, trying to remember if she had recently stolen his organs or something and he had completely forgotten about it. “Of course?”
She hesitated. “I know you blame me for Sasuke. I know that’s why you’ve been cancelling our dinners.”
Naruto shook his head. He was not following this conversation at all. “I… I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“For staying behind. If I’d come along, we would’ve been able to beat Sasuke together.”
“Natsu needed you.”
“Only because I’d been so stubborn. None of the Hyuuga knew where I was. I didn’t even tell Hinata. She wanted to come along and had to refuse because of her injuries. But she would’ve taken my place in the Red Light District to help no matter what it would do to her reputation.”
Naruto reflexively looked around if anything was close enough to hear. He was not used to Hanabi speaking so openly in public. “I know your pride’s important to you.”
“Not as important as you are! Not as important as Sakura and Sasuke. I screwed up.”
Naruto shook his head. “It was Sasuke’s choice to leave. If we want to blame anyone, we need to blame him.”
“You don’t understand.” Hanabi pushed her face into her hands. “I’m devastated that Sasuke’s gone. I hate him for leaving. But I also feel so selfish. Because ever since he left I’m wondering what will happen to your team. I want to ask Tsunade to put me on Team 7.”
“I thought you were looking for your own team.”
“I can still do that if you prefer. But I want to become a real part of team 7. I understand that it’s just until we get Sasuke back, but even if it’s just for a little while, there’s no team I’d rather be a part of.”
“I won’t accept that.”
“I see.” Hanabi sighed.
“Hanabi, you’ve been a real member of the team since Wave. I don’t care what the ninja registry says. And neither will Sasuke and Sakura. I’ll fully support Tsunade adding you to team 7, but it won’t be temporary. You were a real member of team 7 without it being on the papers. This would just make it official.”
“And when Sasuke comes back?”
“You’ve already shown it’s possible to be a member of team 7 without it being official. Sasuke can do it too.”
Hanabi sniffed. “You always said you were going to keep a place open for him.”
“Yeah, I am. Our four-man team isn’t the same without him. I’m going to make sure wherever I am that it has a place for Sasuke to return to. But I’m not going to be saving him a plate at the dinner table every night just in case the bastard returns without notice. I love him, but I’m angry at him too.”
Hanabi wiped away her tears. “I’m really relieved. Is it okay if I hug you now?”
Naruto laughed, standing up and embracing her. “I’m sorry I’ve been so focussed and skipping our dinners. I didn’t know this was bothering you so much or I would have searched you out a lot sooner.”
“It’s really okay.” Hanabi sat back down on her seat. She eyed the spread with renewed hunger, crowding the barbeque with raw meat before taking a bit of her overcooked and cold pork from earlier. “Ugh. This tastes like shoe. Let’s get back to more entertaining topics, unless you had some traumatic experience you want to talk about before we…”
Naruto winced.
She sighed. “Okay, that figures. Spill the beans.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing. It’s that particular kind of huge deal where you say it’s nothing while you’re slowly building up resentment and frustration until it boils over and you run away to hide where nobody can find you. Please don’t let it come to that this time. You’re too good at hiding. We’d have to send Kakashi after you and he’s an even worse pain to find.”
“I don’t do that.” Naruto said, indignant. “Not much, anyway.”
“Seriously. What’s going on?”
“I talked to the Uchiha today.”
“Oh.” Hanabi said. “Was there a lot of yelling involved?”
“They were trying to manipulate me.” Naruto said. “They were making this whole speech and I had to get out of there. They weren’t even able to finish talking before I was gone.”
“Lucky for you, I’m the secondary heir to one of the Royal Clans. I’ll help you out, at absolutely no charge but your dignity. What did they do?”
“They offered me money and resources.”
Hanabi urged Naruto to continue. When he did not, she frowned in confusion. “The devils.”
Naruto sighed. “They want me to live there. To use Sasuke’s dietician and Sasuke’s trainers.”
“Well, it’s no use letting them go to waste. What did they want in exchange?”
“I don’t know. They’re saying they don’t want anything, but that just makes it all the more suspicious.”
Hanabi shook her head. “They didn’t say anything about why they were bestowing you this giant gift?”
“They want me to track down Sasuke. But I was already going to do that. I’m not repaying their work by getting Sasuke back. They’re getting nothing out of it they wouldn’t already get.”
“Except that they’re getting a ninja who’s not only insanely motivated to get their heir back, but now also equipped with the best resources a Noble clan has to offer. Take the deal.”
“I’m not just going to sign their papers and find out later that they screwed me in the fine print.”
“You’re being an idiot. Which is a pattern for you. Get a lawyer to look over the papers. Get everything checked out and get in writing that they will not do anything that you are worried they might do. And then take the deal.”
“Nobody just helps another person out like this. Not without a catch. Not without there being something wrong with the offer.”
“Naruto, I love you to bits. But we already established there are rational selfish reasons for them to want this. If they can help a struggling up-and-comer chuunin along the way, they’ll consider that a bonus. Just look at how many people you help just because they have problems and get within fifteen feet of you.”
Naruto sighed. “That’s different. I can’t just sit by and let them suffer if I know I can easily fix their problems.”
“There are people who can. You can’t. Every few days I find out you’ve adopted another kid with a tragic backstory and inspired them. And that small bit of happiness you feel when they get their life back in order, other people feel that too. Sometimes being nice means letting other people take care of you and letting them feel like they’ve helped.”
Naruto found it hard to argue, but every part of his mind was yelling that this was a trap. That very bad things were going to happen if he was not careful. “I’ll think about it.”
“You’re going to do more than think about it.” Hanabi said exasperated.
“I am going to think about it, and you are going to drop this now. I’m drawing a line here. Serious discussions over. Now, which one of the new construction workers do you think looks the hottest?”
“What kind of a question is that?” Hanabi threw up her hands. “Obviously it’s the tall one that always wears green!”
~*~
What you choose to do with your life is nowhere near as important as who you choose to surround yourself with. Make good friends.
“So we’ve agreed on the rules?” Naruto asked.
Gaara nodded with unease. He rubbed the bandages binding his metal claw weapon, as if he were afraid it would become undone during the fight.
“But don’t you hold anything back either.” Lee said, stretching. Under the midday sun, his skin somehow looked paler than it had in the hospital. Maybe that was just the sudden exertion.
“You’re still injured.” Tenten complained. She stood outside of the circle they’d drawn, but it was clear it took her a lot of willpower not to cross it. “Just be careful.”
“Of course.” Lee said, but his gaze was fully on Gaara, a determination in his eyes that betrayed how little he had heard her.
“We can wait if that would be better for your wounds.” Gaara tried again.
“We don’t know when you’ll get to visit next.” Lee said. “It might be years. I don’t want to wait that long.”
“I don’t think we’re changing his mind.” Naruto said.
Gaara got into his fighting stance. “It doesn’t appear so.”
Naruto raised his arm and then brought it down quickly. “Begin!”
Lee dashed forward and it was like he had spent no time in the hospital at all, his speed just as impressive as if had been in the Forest of Death. Gaara dodged and then threw himself into the spar.
Their hands met and broke apart in a flurry of attempted grapples and jabs. Lee’s technique hadn’t suffered, but Gaara had not been sitting still since their previous fight. The sand covering his body added to his strength and made his strikes hit with more force. And while the metal claw was covered in bandages, lee still dodged it as if it would take him out of the fight on a hit.
Naruto could not take his eyes off the fight, even if they were only doing taijutsu. Lee shifted into all the different styles he had mastered to try to trip Gaara up, while Gaara’s chaotic style quickly adapted even to moves he had never seen before.
In the end, it was decided on stamina. Lee got out of breath and made a mistake that Gaara punished him for by pushing him off balance.
Gaara offered his hand and helped Lee up. “I’m sorry. It was too early to fight.”
“No, this was exactly what I needed.” Lee assured Gaara. “Thank you.”
Tenten rushed over to check Lee over. “You pushed yourself.”
“I had to push myself.” Lee corrected her. “It was worth it.”
Lee waved Naruto and Gaara off, leaning on Tenten as they walked away.
“There aren’t many people who can go toe to toe with Lee.” Naruto said. “You did good.”
“It was difficult to concentrate with my heart beating so hard.” Gaara said. “I still don’t understand why he needed to fight me again after what I did to him last time.”
“I think only Lee knows why he had to.”
There was sudden movement from the trees as a ninja jumped down to them. Gaara flinched when he saw who it was.
“Hayate-san.” Naruto greeted. “Good to see you’re out of the hospital.”
He looked pale and weak, but leagues better than the last time they had seen him right after Gaara had tried to kill him.
“Don’t tell Tsunade.” He immediately said. “She’s not cleared me yet.”
“Then what are you doing here?”
“I heard about the match. And I wanted to see it.”
Gaara sunk deeper in himself. “I apologise for my earlier behaviour during the chuunin exams.”
“I’ve since understood what kind of stress you were under. I would’ve liked to see those moves you pulled today in your match against me. Determination without all the bloodthirst.”
“Gaara wasn’t himself that day.” Naruto said, challenging the man.
“Yes I was.” Gaara countered. “But I’m not that person anymore. Naruto helped with that.”
Hayate raised his hand to stop them. “This is Konoha. And this is not a place where you attack a proctor in an exam. But it’s also a place where anyone can change. As long as you don’t attack me again, we’re good.”
“Wait, just like that?” Naruto asked.
Hayate shrugged. “If I held a vengeful grudge against everyone who almost killed me, I wouldn’t get any work done. This is good. I like having less enemies around.”
“I like not being the enemy.” Gaara said. “I should head back to my siblings.”
“Right, you’re packing.” Naruto said. “And we can drop by those food stalls I mentioned on the way there. I’m not letting you leave Konoha without having tried the specialties.”
“I won’t keep you.” Hayate said. “Good travels.” He disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.
Naruto walked Gaara towards the markets, and the boy had the easiest smile on him that Naruto had ever seen.
~*~
If you ever need any help, the Uchiha should be the first people you turn to.
Naruto closed his eyes. He could feel everywhere his wind chakra touched. Working on creating new pathways was hard and his results had been limited. He needed a success. He had practiced enough to split his body and let it drift away into the fog of wind chakra. Now it was time to take the next step.
He started the Henge like he had done a million times before. And the picture in his mind was to create something in this fog, away from the rest of his body. It took time. Many seconds as he funnelled the matter into the shape away from his body. But the wind chakra was dense enough to keep it stable.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw the small piece of cloth that had formed in front of him on the ground. He smiled wide. Even if it was only something small. Even if it was taking far too long to be useful in combat, he had done this. It was another step closer to becoming his unique style.
“Excuse me.”
Naruto sighed and turned to the man who had intruded his session. Fu stood formally, his expression neutral and waiting for some kind of permission. “What is it?”
“I would like a word. Can I say something, or will you run away again?”
Naruto flushed. “Say what you want.”
“Do you understand why we are offering you our support?”
“You want me to get Sasuke back.” Naruto said. “You want me to have the best chance of doing that and you think I can’t do it on my own.”
“It’s not about whether you can or can’t do it on your own. We would like to raise the probability of your success.”
“What is it you want in return? What do you actually want me to do?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s not true. I read the document you tried to get me to sign far enough to realise there were many obligations in it for me as well.”
“Functionally nothing then.”
Naruto groaned in frustration. “If you don’t want me to run away again, as you put it, be straight with me. What’s in the fine print that can screw me over?”
Fu started to speak, but then silenced himself. He took a few seconds and then started again. “Fine then. Let me be frank. We would be putting a lot of our resources towards you and we have made some provisions that we believe are reasonable.”
There it was. Naruto hated being right.
“I see you doubt me, so let me explain my intentions. Since our dietician would be making your meals, we would need to know when you plan to eat elsewhere so that the food is not wasted. When we make an appointment with a trainer, we expect you to keep or cancel with enough notice that we do not have the cost without the benefit.”
“These are just common courtesy things.”
“Yes. And we do not want to be stuck in our promises to help you, if you at some point choose not to accept that help with, as you say, common courtesy.”
That sounded reasonable. Too reasonable. “So if I were to accept, I’d simply live there with no obligations but to communicate and use what you offer to the fullest?”
“Yes, that is mostly accurate.”
Naruto grit his teeth. “See, it’s the ‘mostly’ I’m still having trouble with.”
“You’re being very difficult about this.”
“Well I’m sorry. I made my way into the Academy without help, graduated in the top nine on my own merit and then passed the Chuunin Exams just fine on my own. I have my own way of doing things and I’ve created my own system to improve myself. Of course I see the advantage of all you’re offering me. But I’m not going to change the way I do things to fit into the hole Sasuke left behind. And I worry that if I do accept and rely on the Uchiha’s continued support, that if you decide I am unsatisfactory you will suddenly take out the rug from under me. It’s going fine as it is. I can’t let myself get used to your charity and then suffer the setback of its absence.”
“I understand your concerns.” Fu said. “And we will be very flexible with conflict resolution. We could include a clause that if we do want to terminate the contact you will have a fair period of time to…”
Naruto glared.
“… a fair period of time, at least four weeks, to find alternatives to your current training schedule and housing situation. We would just have to add the conditions where you are not entitled to such a period, which we can make as explicit as needed. I’m thinking of the event where your continued stay would seriously harm the Uchiha property or family. If there are other concerns, we’ll address those too. But we do need to know, Naruto. Are we wasting our time here? Is there an agreement to be reached?”
Naruto felt an itch all over his skin. It had been easier to deal with Kurama than this. So many potential traps, but Hanabi had insisted they had good intentions. His mind knew he needed to say yes. His heart though…
“I’m late for a meeting with the Hokage.”
“Your answer?”
“My answer is that the Hokage is waiting for me and that she’s more important than the Uchiha. I’ll come back to the compound tomorrow.”
Naruto replaced himself with a log of wood and went running off towards the tower. He was running away again, but he did not care. He needed some distance to think, away from stifling adults who thought they knew better than him.
There was a dark sky when he jumped through the Hokage’s window. At least the light within showed that Tsunade was still present and hard at work. “I was not expecting you again, Naruto.”
“Well, I needed to report on your special mission for me.”
“Ah, yes. Jiraiya.”
“You’re right that he had something on his mind. I think he’s so used to running away that he doesn’t know how to settle down again. But I had a good talk with him and he said he would try.”
“I see.” Tsunade walked over to her desk and took a scroll. She handed it to Naruto. “This was delivered to my office a few minutes ago.”
Naruto opened it, almost letting it drop out of his hands when he did. He swallowed. “He said he’d stay. He said he’d train with me.”
“Jiraiya can make a lot of promises in the heat of the moment. It’s following through that’s always been a challenge for him. I’ll ask you not to talk about the mission parameters too much. He may have decided by himself that a deep reconnaissance was needed, but it’s still classified.”
Naruto nodded. He handed the scroll back to her.
“There is something else I should give you as well.” Tsunade said, opening up a drawer in her desk. “You’ll want to sit down for this.”
Naruto shrugged, letting himself drop on the Hokage’s couch. “What is it?”
She placed a scroll with black stripes on the desk. A death letter.
“Did Sasuke leave another scroll?” He said hopefully.
“No. This is older. The Sandaime has been holding onto it for a while. He probably wanted to give it to you at an appropriate time.”
“This is Jiji’s?”
Tsunade shook her head. “It’s Kushina’s.”
Naruto stared at the scroll. On it was written, with terrible handwriting, ‘for Naruto’. And it was written by his mother. “She never knew me.”
“She was a Jinchuuriki. She knew the importance of having a Death Letter ready.”
He accepted it with trembling hands. “Mom wrote this?”
“She did. I don’t know what Sensei was waiting for. Perhaps he wanted you to be a certain age, or get to a high enough rank that he could entrust you with the secret. I choose to believe that he had intended it as a present for your Chuunin promotion. And I will treat it as such.”
Naruto broke the seal and then opened it. It was a long letter, all in that same hideous handwriting. It was hard to read, especially with the tears in his eyes. He let out a laugh. “How did she survive in administration without learning penmanship?”
Tsunade smiled. “From what I hear, she hated doing repetitive tasks if she did not see the point in them. Practicing her skills with the brush did not have the same appeal as marksmanship training.”
Naruto hugged the scroll to his chest. “Thank you.”
“I know you’re still in the communal housing. If you want a private place to read, the conference room across the hall is currently empty and you have my permission to use it.”
Naruto nodded, his mind already on the page instead of in the tower. He hardly noticed himself moving into the other room, turning on the lights and seating himself. But there he was. With the scroll spread in front of him.
Hey kiddo, it’s your mom. I thought I told you not to go through the boxes in the attic. You may think I can’t tell when you’re reading under the covers with a flashlight, but moms always know. Do you think I don’t hear you giggling? Do you think it won’t wake me up? Put this letter away right now and I won’t have to ground you for three months.
Did you put the letter down? Please tell me you did. Because if you’re not sneaking around to read this, then it means it was given to you. I hope this letter is never given to you.
But as you’ve no doubt learned by now, hope isn’t enough. Hope is like the unforgiving ocean. It’s powerful and inviting and you’ll never feel as alive as when you’re running across the water with the flying fish. It lures you into thinking you’re safe, before it sinks everything you’ve ever built into its depths. We can’t live without hope, because it turns the impossible into the possible. But we can’t live without pessimism either, because it turns the probably into the manageable.
If you were given this letter, I’m not there anymore. I don’t know how I left you. If I knew, I would have done everything in my power to prevent what happened. But I know there are many dangers in the life of a ninja and I’ve been under more risk than most ever since I was born.
I hope I’m there for the important firsts. The first time you walk. The first time you talk. The first time you form chakra. And if I’m hoping, then the first time you bring a date home. The first time you feel love. Perhaps, if you’ll allow me to be selfish, even your first child? I think I’d make a good grandmother.
But I can’t just hope for the best. I need to be pessimistic too. If I’m gone and you’re still too young to take care of yourself, I’ve made sure you’ll have a good home. I apologise in advance that Minato was my first choice, that dweeb. He’s going to die from anxiety trying to be a good father to you and more times than not the only way he makes it through the day is by making me reassure him everything will be fine. I don’t know what he’ll be like without me there, but he is the only one who’s ever truly understood me and he’s the only one I trust to raise you to never compromise on who you are. Know that his heart is in a good place. If you live with him, please make sure that you have fun together. I know that’s a weird thing to ask a kid, but Minato takes everything too seriously. You’ll have earned your Uzumaki name when you can make Minato blow up in laughter.
I think most people leave it at this. But I need to be pessimistic. Because I know that when I am forced to go, I leave behind me a large mess that they’ll most likely send Minato to clean up. And I know there’s a chance he won’t survive it.
If he’s not here either, I know Mikoto will do her best for you. She may be stricter to you than I was, but her heart is in a good place. She’s a good mother and I trust her to take good care of you. Fugaku is also a good man who will grow to like you, even if he’s genetically unable to show it. You might stand out with your bright red hair among all the blue and black. But red is an Uchiha colour too, as Mikoto so often reminds me.
And I know. The Uchiha compound seems dull and lifeless. But you have to understand that the Uchiha show their loyalty and love differently. They are like statues when they walk the street, but their fires burn bright when you’re alone with them. Always respect the clan of the crows. And if you ever need any help, they should be the first people you turn to.
This should be enough. Even if Mikoto can’t take you, her promise means that someone in the Uchiha clan will. But this is too important, so I need to be more pessimistic still.
I have one more contingency plan. If neither Minato nor the Uchiha can take you, I’ve made it my final request for Konoha to find a new home for you. That request will go to the new Hokage, since Minato wouldn’t be around anymore, and they’ll find you a suitable home somewhere among my many friends. Just to be sure, I leveraged my many years of loyal service as a Konoha administrative ninja in this plea.
I don’t quite know what this would mean, though I have some guesses. If they place you with Jiraiya, don’t trust a word he says about women. Make him read to you from Tsunade’s works and don’t be afraid to challenge him. If Kakashi is old enough to take you, hard to imagine as that is, make him summon his dogs as often as you can. He doesn’t like to rely on them, but he’s softer when they’re around. If it’s Sarutobi, listen to the old man. He used to be the third Hokage, you know, and he has more stories and advice than I could put in a dozen of these letters. Listen, but don’t be blind to the bias of tradition. Sometimes you can learn a lot from your elders and their books. Sometimes it’s just pretentious bullshit. You’ll need to learn to see the difference.
I’m sorry I don’t get to take care of you myself. I’m sorry the only thing I could do for you was make sure somebody would be there to take my place. I had to grow up without my parents, without any support, and it meant I was always a few steps behind everyone else. But I got through it and made my own friendships and earned my place in Konoha, so that you’ll have it easier. I still expect you to be kind to others and to create your own friendships. Never feel limited by what I set up for you, my sweet boy. I want my choices to help you and never to make you feel less free.
I’m scared. There’s so much fighting in this world. So much conflict. I worry about bringing you in it. We Uzumaki tend to be weaker than everyone around us. We have to use skills other than strength to pull ahead. For me, it was a stern refusal to butt out of anyone’s business. I made a lot of people angry, but sometimes I got to help people who nobody else could. And that made it more than worth it. I can only hope that what I’ve done made the world you enter be a better one.
I wanted to be a ninja and I have a feeling you’ll want that too. I can feel your chakra even now, excitedly dancing with mine whenever I’m training, like you can’t wait to come out and do your first kata with me. I can feel you kicking with your boorish strength in protest whenever I stop to take a break. I wanted to be a ninja, but I didn’t have the resources to get my blue headband. I finished thirteenth in the Academy and I haven’t been able to catch a lucky break since. I know how frustrating it can be to want to get somewhere and not being able to. That’s why it was so important to me that your training could be supported. So you can get that blue headband I was not able to. So that you can have a chance to become chuunin or jounin or even Hokage.
But only if you want to. You need to do what makes you happy. I’m your mom. I won’t care if you find your happiness in being Hokage, or staying a genin, becoming a teacher or a monk. What you choose to do with your life is nowhere near as important as who you choose to surround yourself with. Make good friends. Trust me that they’ll make all the difference.
Naruto, my son, there is so little I know about who you will be and how you’ll grow up. There are so many different versions of you that I’m imagining could be reading this letter. Just know that I love you, no matter which version it ends up being. That I love you no matter what choices you make, no matter what happiness or sadness life throws your way, no matter if you inherit my affection for ramen or insanely find it just okay. I love you, without condition, without limits and without end. Not even death will stop me from loving you.
And know that no matter how pessimistic I get, it’s impossible for me to imagine a future where you don’t make me proud to be your mother.
~*~
Naruto knocked on the Hokage’s door, before entering.
Tsunade was alone with her paperwork, so Naruto made his way to the seat in front of her, sitting down. She didn’t say anything.
“Have you read it?” Naruto asked.
“As far as I can tell, it’s been sealed until you opened it. You’re the first person to read that letter.” She put down her pen. “What did it say?”
Naruto rubbed at his eyes. They were red and Naruto hoped that Tsunade couldn’t tell. He had read the letter three times in a row and he still wasn’t sure he had been able to understand all of it, too distracted by the written voice of a mother he had never heard before.
It was hard to articulate his questions now that he was in front of Tsunade. His mother had made plans for him. She had wanted life to be easier for him. And the village had ignored her final request. Jiji had ignored that request. All because Naruto was born with blond hair instead of red.
But it would not be productive to let that out on Tsunade. He could complain about how much support he should have gotten, but he liked his life and he took pride in what he had built for himself. His mother might have intended for him to get help, but Naruto had gotten this far by his own strength. “She wrote the letter thinking she would get to see most of my childhood. She hadn’t expected to die the day I was born, but she made plans for it anyway.”
“Kushina was determined that way. I don’t know where she got it from.”
Naruto did. In his life he had often seen people promising good outcomes because they didn’t want to think about any of the risks. They knew they would be alright no matter what happened, because they had support systems to fall back on. Kushina was an orphan like him, so she would have needed to take care of herself. She was prepared.
“Anything else?”
“She mentioned Sasuke’s parents.” Naruto said. Kushina had been convinced that Sasuke’s mother would take him in, or at least have someone in the Uchiha family care for him. He might have been raised as Sasuke’s brother. “Was Kushina friends with Sasuke’s mom?”
“They were close, though I don’t know the details. You’d have to ask Kakashi.”
“Kushina thought that the Uchiha owed me.”
“Perhaps, though with Mikoto gone, there won’t be any records of it.”
Naruto nodded. “That makes sense. Do you know the Uchiha offered to house me?”
“I’m aware. There’s been some talk of your reluctance. Does the promise they made Kushina help you?”
“No, not directly. I don’t think Fu or Jinko know about it, and I can’t tell them without letting them know I’m Kushina’s son. But I think… I’ve spent a long time doing everything by myself, because I wanted to prove that I was good enough to become Hokage without any help. But Kushina… she wasn’t only thinking about herself when she forged bonds across the village. She was trying to make it a better place for me. I still think I can do become Hokage without help. But… it’s not just about me.”
“So you’re going to accept the Uchiha’s offer?”
“So… I need to find Ino.” Naruto said.“
~*~
Naruto marched straight into the Uchiha conference room, sitting down and finding the document still on the table where it had been left. Fu and Jinko entered hesitantly. “Hello Naruto. And… Yamanaka-san?”
Ino nodded. She was dressed in a bright pink business suit. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“I’ve brought Ino as my legal counsel.” Naruto started underling certain passages in the document. “She’s here to make sure I don’t miss anything and to help me balance my own interests with yours.”
“Have you trained for this?” Jinko asked.
“All Academy students are encouraged to practice legal documents. As an information expert, even with limited experience, I am confident I can fulfil this role.”
“She’s the only one I trust.”
Fu nodded. “Very well then.”
“Now let’s talk about clause six.” Naruto said. “Where I’m expected to pick up critical clan business in emergency cases and act as heir. This will be taken out.”
“If you are getting all the resources of a clan heir, there will be times where it is needed…”
“No. I do not have the time to learn and no interest either.”
Fu shook his head. “This document is already weighed heavily in your favour. I find this concession unfair.”
“This is a critical point for me.” Naruto said. “So we can balance it in different ways. I am used to preparing my own meals and can assist in preparation and clean up. I am not a very proficient cleaner, but there are areas I can assist with.” When Naruto looked across the table, he had expected annoyed faces. Instead, there were smiles.
“So you do accept the offer in principle?”
“If we can figure out the details, yes.”
“You’ll come live with us?”
Naruto nodded. “As you have gathered, this deal makes me uncomfortable. I’m not used to considering others in my day-to-day life and it worries me that I will have to. It worries me that I have spent the last years teaching myself, with tutors used as a last resort and that I will have to learn to see experts as coaches instead of the guardians of secrets that I will have to trick them out of. But Sasuke is one of my precious people and much like you, I want to do whatever it takes to get him back. I know that being here will increase my chances of that.”
Jinko nodded. “We believe that too. You’re our best chance of getting Sasuke returned to us.”
“Then there’s really no choice here, is there? I’m going to have to trust you and you’re going to have to trust me. With a legal document helping us manage expectations of each other.”
It took hours. Naruto refused any of the vague passages requiring him to conform to generalised reasonable requests, having them all rewritten to describe precisely what was required of him, and codifying his intention to help when requested without making his refusal a ground for disbanding the contract. The Uchiha expressed the most worry that Naruto could act as a corrupting influence to Sasuke’s children and that in a worst case scenario they would be unable to precent it. Ino often had to take the role of mediator instead of Naruto’s advocate to reach consensus. That would have bothered Naruto, but this deal was in his own best interest, and so by being impartial Ino was still helping Naruto.
It took hours.
But then Naruto signed and he had a home again.
~*~
Naruto took deep breaths. He could hear the rustling of the leaves from the trees around him, and he needed to summon up the same kind of wind. His chakra formed as a dome around him, expanding his awareness, and then he held out his hand.
He could concentrate his wind chakra into a ball, but it wasn’t strong enough. It couldn’t compete with Sasuke’s plasma. And the more Naruto practiced, the more he felt like it was an impossible problem like everyone said it was. Most people might quit after that feeling. But Naruto was not most people.
He had been using his second hand to help fold the wind onto itself, making it denser and more powerful. It still wasn’t enough. He needed a third hand. And Naruto was uniquely suited in solving that problem.
He had one hand attached to one arm to stabilise the technique, and two hands attached to two other arms to fold it together. His third arm was limited in mobility and sensation, but it worked well enough that Naruto could channel chakra through it.
His ball of wind tightened until it stabilized.
“It’s beautiful.” Kakashi said.
Naruto tried not to be startled, because then he might lose the technique. It had a green glow and smelled like the warm breeze after a rainstorm. It was also loud, sounding like the flapping of bird wings.
Naruto ran towards one of the trees and pushed it through the bark. The tree was obliterated.
“They’ll need to correct the textbooks. It’s not impossible anymore. It looks as strong as the Chidori or Sensani. What are you naming it?”
Naruto stared at his hand. He wanted to do it again. “I’m calling it Senbazuru.”
“A thousand cranes… after the sound? Or in line with the Chidori?”
“Both. And also… Natsu and I used to make origami cranes together if any of her friends got sick. If she got worried and there was nothing she could do for them, she could still take paper and fold it into shape. You know, it’s said if you have a thousand cranes, that you can have any wish granted. I want a technique that can do that.”
“What wish do you want granted?”
Naruto laughed. “If I only had one, my life would be so much simpler. I want Sasuke back, I want to be Hokage, I want to help Kurama. I want to be a good ninja, who can keep the people around him safe. That’s why I need a technique that can grant wishes. So that I can bring about the future I want with my own two hands.” Naruto smiled. “Three hands.”
Kakashi patted Naruto’s shoulder. “I’m happy for you.”
“You know, I’ve been thinking about what you said. About finding my drive to become Hokage. I’m not just doing it for Sasuke, just like I wasn’t just doing it for Jiji.”
“Then for who?”
“I was talking with Daisuke the other day and he’s struggling at the Academy without talent. There aren’t really any talentless ninja who made it far. No jounin to look up to. And it occurred to me that I could be that talentless ninja that paved the way.”
“You’re doing this for Daisuke?”
“No, I’m doing this because I was just like Daisuke once. I was the talentless kid in the Academy being told it would be a miracle if I became a field ninja, and becoming Hokage was impossible. The worst days weren’t when they told me this. The worse were when I believed it too. I can still remember it so strongly, lying alone in my bed and crying myself to sleep because nothing I was doing mattered. That’s who I am working for. For that scared little kid that thought he would not amount to anything. I want to prove all the people wrong who told him it was impossible.”
“Spite isn’t the worst motivator.”
“No, but it’s not spite exactly. I’m doing it for me. For the kid I was back then, and kids like me that will be there in the future. I want to show them there’s a path to becoming Hokage for us. I want them to know it’s not impossible, because I did it. I want to make Konoha better, by making it a village where even someone without a clan or talent can become Hokage.”
“That sounds like a worthy goal. I’m impressed. I’ll let you get on with your training then.”
“Didn’t you want me for something?”
“Not in particular. I’m heading out for a mission again soon and wanted to make sure you were doing okay. It seems I have nothing to worry about.”
“Be safe.” Naruto said.
Kakashi left him to train. And Naruto should practice his Senbazuru, except there was one more loose end to still tie up. Naruto had been putting it off, but it was high time for him to face Kurama.
~*~
“We need to talk.” Naruto stood as firm as he was able. The sewer inside of him always made him unsteady on his feet. He should reaffirm the shape of the forest, but he needed his energy for something else.
“We do nothing but talk.” Kurama said.
“I have learned your language sufficiently now that we can make a deal.”
The fox rolled his eyes. “We have been making deals for months.”
“Small ones for small matters. Not one as big as this. It’s the big one. The one I first contacted you for. The one we both knew was coming.”
“Say it.” Kurama was tense in his cage, raising his head to look down on the ninja in front of him. The crumbling walls of the sewer let streaks of sunlight from the forest fall across his face.
“You know that I care for Konoha. You know that I care for humans in general. When you are released, I want you to keep my friends safe against the danger that threatened me. I want you to refrain from attacking any Konoha ninja or civilian. If possible, from killing any human in general.”
There was a great silence in Naruto’s mind scape. And then the demon startled to chuckle, its white fangs exposed. “What else do you want? For me to resurrect the dead and subjugate the gods themselves to the humans? I can wait if you wish to consider a request that is even more impossible.”
“You look down on me.” Naruto said. “On me and all the other humans. You deride us for our ignorance and then refuse to teach. You decide to kill us and then blame us for imprisoning you. And now I come here to negotiate and you call my wishes impossibilities. To hell with that. I know there are things you want.”
“There’s no use.” The fox grumbled. “You have no way of enforcing whatever deal we strike after your death.”
“It’s true. I have no way to force your hand in the future, just as you have no way to force mine in the present. That is what I am offering. A way for you to affect the world now and my trust in your word. And I ask that you give you my trust and a way for me to affect the world after my death.”
“And pray tell,” Kurama grit his teeth, “what do you think you have to offer me?”
“I want three things and I will offer you three in kind. You were offended by the state of the spirit leaks… the points of coalescence as you call them. I will look into their current state and heal them however I am able.”
“You have expressed interest in this before.”
“Yes. I see the benefit of healing them without your cooperation. But there are conflicting interests. During the Chuunin Exams, I refused to help because my promotion was at stake. At the Onsen, I refused at first because of the mission. What I am offering is to put my other responsibilities aside. When I would be close to a point of coalescence, I would care for it. No matter how that might offend the humans around me.”
The fox took a deep breath. “What else do you offer?”
“Your appearance was corrupted by being imprisoned. And I managed to undo some of it. I’ll keep working on making you look like you did before humans corrupted you.”
“As if you know how to do that…”
“I’ve got some ideas. You once said that humans had left you here to rot. It can’t be a coincidence that you got better when I managed to get some fresh air going through here. I’ll keep working on the forest to provide a mind scape that you’ll be more comfortable in.”
Kurama considered it for a moment. He seemed content. “And the third?”
Naruto took a deep breath. This was the big one. “My third request is that you do not harm any human and it is conditional for the third thing I can offer you. I will champion for your freedom after my death. I will argue against Konoha so that my body will be the last that imprisons you.”
Kurama’s eyes widened. “You offer me… freedom?”
“Freedom for as long as you do not harm another human other than in self-defence. I cannot guarantee your safety from all humans, but I could keep Konoha from going after you.”
“And what would my freedom mean without the ability to protect the forests that are dear to me?”
“You can protect them in other ways than pre-emptive strikes. And there are more powerful messages than death. I take no issue with you protecting your forests from criminals who mean harm. I take no issue with you scaring off intruders who have lost their way. But there is a difference between protection and retaliation.”
The fox considered. “Even if you can convince the other humans, it could be a very long time until you die. I need something more. I need a promise that if no enemy fells you, and no illness claims you, that you’ll release me yourself.”
“You want me to…” Naruto took a deep breath. The fox didn’t want to wait forever. But it was also a demon that did not see human life as lasting long. Naruto could do this. “Okay. When I turn 60, I will release you at a spirit leak of you choosing.” That was long enough to see his grandchildren walk. It was more years than Kushina or Minato had gotten.
The fox stared at the sky thinking, silently pondering for minutes. “I will promise to protect your four closest friends if I am released in their presence with as much enthusiasm and priority as you give to protecting the points of coalescence. I will promise to refrain from harming any Konoha citizen depending on the degree that you can return my body to its original shape. Your last promise will take too long. But I am interested. I will promise not to harm a single human except in self-defence, so long as you release me willingly and without trickery on your 40th birthday.”
It was less time than he had hoped. But much more than he had been expecting to get from the fox. “Deal.”
~*~
“Got a minute for a break?” Sakura called out. She held out a bag. “I brought ramen!”
Naruto paused his jumping through the trees and saw the sun was high in the sky. It should be lunch time. “Can’t say no to that! Meet you at the stumps.”
Naruto made a few more jumps, getting to the centre of the training ground. Hanabi and Kakashi were already there, sitting on folded out picnic table. He joined them. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Official team business.” Kakashi said.
Sakura walked over and started handing out the Ichiraku take-out. There were proper bowls in which she divided the noodles and broth. Sakura even had an assortment of toppings. Her presentation lacked the brilliance of the original, but it was the sentiment that counted. “Kakashi wanted to just hand us the scrolls, but I wouldn’t have it.”
Naruto tilted his head. “What scrolls?”
“Registration has finally finished.” Kakashi smiled, putting three scrolls in front of him. “You are now official chuunin of the Village Hidden in the Leaf. Congratulations.”
Naruto hesitantly took his scroll. He had been referring to himself as a chuunin. He knew this was just a technicality. But still, as he opened the scroll to read, his eyes got wet. “It’s official.”
Hanabi gasped. “It’s also got my new team designation.”
“Honestly Hanabi,” Sakura grinned, putting her chopsticks to the bowl of noodles. “I don’t understand why you were so nervous about this. Like Naruto told you, you’ve been a part of team 7 for a while now. There’s no reason we’d be upset.”
Hanabi flushed, focussing on her meal.
“I hear you’re going to be living with the Uchiha.” Kakashi said. “That sounds like an interesting arrangement.”
“It’s not so different than I was planning to do when Sasuke was still here.” Naruto said. It was the way he had decided to look at it. Every day now the itch became less and less thinking about what he had agreed. “Everything’s signed and ready. I’ll be moving next week.”
“If we’re still in the village.” Kakashi said. “You’re all chuunin now. That means you’ll be put on more dangerous missions, most of which will be outside of Konoha.”
“That’s fine.” Naruto said. “Every day I’m outside of Konoha is a day we might run into Sasuke.”
“And it’s another day away from my parents.” Sakura said.
Naruto winced. “Still that bad?”
“I mean, it’s a little better. But it’s tenser than it was. I have to pay the trainers from my own salary and they keep slipping books on economics and sealing between my reading list. I don’t think it’ll be resolved until I’ve got my jounin promotion and get the time to work on the subjects they want me to study.”
“It must be rough for you.”
“When I get really annoyed I go to Tsunade. She always has plenty of chores for me to do. You know I’m getting close to being allowed my first operation on spirit damage? I’ll be the only person in Konoha besides Tsunade and Shizune who are capable of it.”
“That’s really impressive.” Hanabi said. “They’re really amazing. Shizune’s been teaching me so much about the bunshin that I didn’t know before. She says I’m almost ready to learn about the spirit transformation technique. I’m very excited.”
“How about…” Naruto turned to the empty place at the table. He had to swallow. For just a second he had allowed himself to forget it was just the four of them.
“We’ll get him back.” Kakashi said.
“Together.” Hanabi said.
Naruto smiled. He was surrounded by the best people in the whole world. “Together.”
His name was Uzumaki Naruto, chuunin of the Village Hidden in the Leaf. He shaped the future he wanted with his own bare hands, with the support of his team members besides him. He was the interim guardian of the Uchiha, the partner of the Nine-tailed fox, and the man who would be Konoha’s next Hokage.
He had lost his surrogate grandfather, and he had lost his best friend. There was nothing he could do about the former, but he could still bring Sasuke back.
As long as Naruto drew breath, he would be trying to bring Sasuke home.
End of part 3
Notes:
Next Update on December 1st, which will be a small interlude chapter/omake inside of the time skip called: Don’t want to be the bad guy. After that we can continue into Part 4: Revenge, which covers the first part of Shippuden. It’s also going to divert further from Naruto canon from there on out. I want to say I wanted to make the story simpler, but we’re also going to be diving more into the spirits so that does put a hamper on simplifying.
I’ve given myself an editing challenge instead of a writing challenge this November, with the intention of improving the draft enough that I can increase the frequency of my update schedule. There’s so much coming up that I can’t wait to share with you all.
There was a lot to round off in this chapter since the next time we see everyone again it’s after the time stop. Naruto doesn’t end up going with Jiraiya like in canon. It frustrated me how Sasuke got snake powers from Orochimaru, Sakura became a healer like Tsunade, yet Jiraiya didn’t train Naruto in his arsanal of toad techniques. In this AU, Jiraiya doesn’t have the reputation of a sannin, and there’s far more emphasis on a certain path every ninja has to walk. Naruto can’t just skip out on the village for two years, because he needs to be in the village to work towards his jounin exam.
Naruto’s Senbazuru is this story’s version of the Rasengan. Chidori’s literal translation is ‘thousand birds’, so ‘thousand cranes’ is in a similar vein. Sasuke’s technique is called the Sensani, which is the ‘thousand sunny’ as a One Piece reference.
Kushina’s letter has gone through a couple of versions, with the earlier ones written more formally and intending to portray her as more educated than canon. I felt like this version gave more of her personality. It was the intention from the start though to leave small quotes at the start of each scene that would imply they’re from Sasuke’s letter even though they were from Kushina’s.
Chapter 27: Interlude: Don't wanna be a bad guy (I can’t decide)
Summary:
These nobles live in a world completely different from ninja. I don't know if I'll ever get used to it.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Naruto took a sip of the glass of wine. The alcohol had been imported from across the sea and made from grapes. It seemed excessively decadent, but that was largely the point of his party. The nobleman hosting it had just received another title and had spent more money than was reasonable or wise in order to pretend like he had more than he really did. It was the same reason why he wanted visible ninja guards walking around. He was not wealthy enough to afford a team of ninja constantly, but by hiring them for one night it sure seemed like he did.
The hall was huge with an intricate marble ceiling. There were musicians on a stage playing with imported instruments, even though they were clearly not very practiced with them. A singer was even stationed behind a microphone with a full electric set-up amplifying his voice. Their enthusiasm somehow pulled it all together. Naruto was fascinated with the style of the music. He hadn’t heard anything like it before. He hoped he could get a recording from them to trade in Konoha.
The main table held the host, shaking hands and trading stories. There were politicians around him, some even from the inside circle of the Daimyo’s court. If he made a good impression, he would have a seat at the table of every major event for the next decade. If it flopped, he would be a disgrace.
Considering the threats he had received, his political enemies were more convinced it would the former rather than the latter. Those threats had been the second reason to hire ninja. It was complete overkill since his peers were most likely trying to scare them, but having ninja around him eliminated the risk completely.
Naruto was trying to figure out how much training he could get away with while still looking like he was taking his job completely seriously. At the very least he could work out a schedule for when it finished a few hours later. Right after he treated his team to drinks from their big payout.
“Can I have this dance?” A woman asked him.
Naruto got ready to wave her off. He had made his henge too handsome again and had spent too much effort on making his clothes look pretty; people had been bothering him all night. But there was something about the way she was looking at him with big brown eyes, about the tight-fitting white dress with blue accents that was hugging her form, about the lean muscled legs that suggested she was a runner.
She brushed a lock of her long black hair behind her ear and smiled at him. “Please?”
“I don’t know how.”
“That’s perfect. I don’t either.” She pulled Naruto onto the dancefloor, finding a spot where there were only a handful of people.
Naruto just barely managed to signal his teammates that he was leaving his post and that they needed to cover for him. He had a suspicion he would get more information on the dance floor than in the corner.
She pushed her body close and stepped in time with the music.
There was no coordination, no big moves. Yes, Naruto could do this. Especially with his suspicion who this was. “Your hair is very pretty. I like the colour.”
“Thank you. How are you liking the party?”
“It’s not precisely my kind of thing to be around so many strangers. I prefer to hang around with friends.”
“I could be a friend.”
“I think you could be.” Naruto smirked. “Please tell me you’re not here to assassinate the host, teme.”
Sasuke sighed. “How did you see through it?”
“The shade of your eyes is slightly off from a natural colour. You’ll have to work on that.”
“It’s uncomfortable when I change my eyes. I don’t know how you deal with it. And no. I’m not here to target the host.”
“Please be subtle about whatever you’re planning.” Naruto would have pried, but Orochimaru usually wanted to keep his motives hidden until after the fact. There were enough political guests at the party that any one of them could be his target. “It’s important to our client that this occasion is a success.”
“If you haven’t noticed yet, then I was subtle enough. Honestly, you have to pay better attention. There are half a dozen times I could have slipped something in your client’s drink. I don’t know how you plan to pass the Tokubetsu exam with sloppy mistakes like that.”
“Tell that to the examinators that passed me last week.”
“Oh.” Sasuke smiled. He held on more tightly to Naruto’s body, swaying with the music and appearing to anyone looking like he was just a woman flirting with him. “Congratulations.”
“You know we shouldn’t be talking like this again.” Naruto said, but he tightened his embrace as well. “Baa-chan gives me a scolding every time.”
“You’re free to go back to your corner.”
Naruto shook his head. “What I should be doing is hold on and drag you back to Konoha this very evening.”
“But you won’t.” Sasuke said. “Because you know that we both brought reinforcements. And breaking out into a fight is not going to do either of us any good.” He turned to look at the host, happily conversing with a few higher dignitaries. “Not to mention your client would complain until Tsunade was forced to take your new promotion away from you.”
“I miss you. Sakura and Hanabi do too, and they’re jealous you only ever talk to me.”
“Nice try. But the moment it’s the three of you against me, you actually have a chance of stopping a subtle escape. I’d have to take out the dangerous techniques that would hurt innocent bystanders. Neither of us wants that.”
Naruto sighed. “Any insight you can give me on Orochimaru’s plans?”
“That depends. Any top-secret information from Konoha you’re willing to share?”
“Okay, but only because I trust you more than anyone in this world. Tsunade is planning on stepping down as Hokage. She’s making Kakashi take her place.”
“I see. Well, Orochimaru is planning on reflecting a genjutsu on the moon so that it will trap every human on earth.”
“Hey, at least mine was believable.”
Sasuke huffed. “Kakashi is more likely to cut off his own legs than take the hat. Better luck next time.”
“So there is going to be a next time?”
“We do keep running into each other.”
Naruto smiled. He reached into a back pocket and then slowly retrieved the contents. Sasuke’s eyes were on his hand, his body tense for what he might be doing. Naruto stayed calm though and allowed him to take stock. “After the last few times, I’ve taken to carrying this around with me. It’s letters from Sakura and Hanabi. Kakashi and Tsunade are still working on their strongly worded pleas for you to return. I guess I’ll have to get those to you next time.”
Sasuke gently took the envelope and tucked it away in his purse. The inner lining seemed to be made with ninja wire and there was a metal bottom which probably contained his weapons. “Did they get their promotions too?”
“We all made it our first-time round. All nine of us. They’re calling us the Golden generation now. It’s been years since an Academy class all followed the Golden Path together. You’ll have to catch up when you get back.”
“Orochimaru has his own form of the exams. They’re to take place next week.”
“I don’t think missing-ninja promotions are going to be recognised.”
“I think you meant to say good luck, and I’ll thank you for the kind wishes.”
“I hope you slip and choke on your own ninja wire.”
“Why yes, I am very prepared, thank you.” Sasuke said. “I was in Wave country last month.”
That made Naruto perk up.
“Haku’s doing well. He’s amassed a decent amount of wealth from Gato’s business and has allied himself with several discontent missing ninja. They’re getting armed and more skilled by the day. They’ll be taking on the Village hidden in the mist within a few years.”
“Good. How was Inari looking?”
“It’s impressive how much he’s learned without personal attention from a trainer. He would give most Academy students a run for his money. You’ve been sending him more resources, haven’t you?”
“I’m keeping in touch.” Naruto admitted. “There are no rules against it if I also slip him some reference books now and again. But if he’s at the level you’re suggesting, I should probably lure him to Konoha soon.”
“The Konoha genin will be thrilled to have even more competition.”
“It’s good for them.” Naruto said. “Konohamaru graduated with perfect marks. His best friends had scores over 200, and the rest of the year was devastatingly average. They don’t see the point in improving themselves without a threat to their position in the top nine. They’ll make for bad field ninja and they won’t know just how many administrative genin are gunning to take their place.”
“How’s Daisuke?”
“He’s in a rough Academy year. Ninth of the class and having difficulty holding onto the position. Garudo’s trying to get him to manifest the Sharingan.”
“Daisuke’s parents and grandparents did not have the affinity.”
“That’s what was said of Garudo, before he got his eyes. Garudo still wants to try.”
“That does sound like uncle Garu.” Sasuke let his gaze go over the rest of the room. “So who else is here? I noticed the kikaichu that tried to get on my skin. Shino?”
“An Aburame, yes.” Naruto decided to keep it vague. “There’s the guy sitting by the buffet reading that hasn’t had a bite to eat all evening. Kabuto?”
“Perhaps.” Sasuke smiled. “You know, we could try something a bit more daring than stepping in place.”
“What did you have in mind?”
Sasuke motioned his head for a couple that was on the other side of the dance floor. They seemed like very skilled dancers, mixing up their steps with special manoeuvres. “Copy them?”
“You’re ambitious.”
“What’s the point if we aren’t pushing ourselves?”
Naruto’s eyes were trained to take in people’s appearance. To see how they moved in preparation of taking their shape and mimicking them. This was exactly the same, only without the henge helping him. He released his tight hold of Sasuke and brought his hand to Sasuke’s lower back. It was just a matter of getting themselves in the same position.
And then they followed, keeping one measure of the music as a delay. The people around them startled as the two went from a slow step to a full dance. Naruto had to compensate some of the moves when the couple turned away from them and it became hard to see exactly what they were doing. Not to mention when they were too distracted by the details of a move that they did not realise they had less space than the couple until they had already bumped into other dancers.
Still, it was the most fun Naruto had in months. He got to turn Sasuke in place and hold him in a dozen different ways.
He chest was now against Sasuke’s back, their arms a tangle in front of them which was sure to make sense in the next move. And then the couple moved off the dance floor. Naruto and Sasuke stood still.
He was supposed to let Sasuke go. But that would mean the moment would end.
Sasuke was not making a move to get away either. “I’ve been thinking. If we can get married one day, I want there to be dancing. Something we can learn so that we don’t have to stop until we decide to by ourselves.”
Naruto’s breath hitched. He found it hard to find the words. “I’d like that. It’d have to be an outside affair. There’s not a room in Konoha big enough to host all of our friends if there’s dancing. Somewhere in the summer.”
“It was supposed to be a summer wedding anyway.” Sasuke said.
Naruto took a deep breath. “I’ve started a journal of the time we spent together. Everything you’ve told me about the Uchiha clan. Its history and traditions. Anything that can give your children an idea of what their legacy is.”
“My children?”
“Your first are due any day now. Tsunade says it’s twins. And there are three more pregnancies. I’m preparing in case something happens to me and you’re not able to return either.”
Sasuke had a sad smile on his face. “What do you tell them about Madara?”
“Everything we know.”
Sasuk was still. “Humour me.”
“That he founded Konoha with the First Hokage after years of leading the Uchiha. That he wanted to leave, but the rest of the clan wanted to stay. He was banished and died.”
“He used to have four brothers.” Sasuke said. “Three of them died in combat. Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama realised together that the only way to stop the bloodshed was to make a truce and unite all of the land’s clan into a single village. Madara had one living brother and he wanted to keep him safe. He was tired of losing family in the wars against the Senju. He had to break bread with his former enemies and pretend he could forgive them. But he did it all for the clan.”
“How do you know about all this?”
“Orochimaru has records from that time. You can add it to the stories to tell the children. Madara put aside his pride for the clan, and swallowed the indignity when Hashirama became the first Hokage. Madara went to the Hyuuga and Akimichi and Aburame clans, recruiting them to the village one by one. Hashirama was charismatic, but it was Madara who knew the politics and could convince them. Konoha grew because Madara was its co-founder. And then Madara’s brother died.”
Naruto swallowed. “What happened?”
“There was a fight between Madara’s brother Izuna and Hashirama’s brother Tobirama. It’s unknown who started it. Madara demanded justice. He demanded the public execution of Tobirama. But Hashirama believed that Izuna had started it. The Uchiha clan doubted Tobirama was faultless, but they knew of Izuna’s temper and that it was likely Izuna had played some part escalating their fight. They did not want to upset the peaceful life they had created and so they wanted to forgive. Madara couldn’t. It was in his right to order the clan to leave Konoha. Instead, he swallowed his pride, he abdicated as clan leader, and he left the village. Hashirama hunted him down.”
“Why?”
“The Senju were convinced that Madara would find foreign support and bide his time for revenge. They did not trust Madara’s word that he would live out his life in grief and they convinced the council to order Madara’s capture. Hashirama was the first Hokage and though he protested, he had agreed to follow the rules of the council. He brought Madara back. The council wanted to kill him for the treason of leaving, but the Uchiha pleaded to have him placed under house arrest. Madara swallowed his pride and stayed confined, for he knew the Uchiha would be punished if he escaped. Yet the new leader of the Uchiha was worried Madara would one day forcefully take back his title as clan leader. He spread rumours and told stories of Madara, until slowly the whole clan was poisoned against him. Nobody protested when they declared the Madara’s execution, though they might have if they had known the method.”
Naruto grimaced. “That’s when they took his eyes?”
“Yes. An Uchiha’s connection to the crows is contained in their eyes. Itachi wants my eyes because it will add my strength to his own. But with Madara, they destroyed the eyes before a spirit leak. They took him to the Forest of Death, so they could sacrifice the eyes to the crows. Every moment gifted by his talent was stripped away from him. There were gaps in every skill that left him weaker than a genin. They left him and the spirit-touched animals got to him. They never even found a body. Yet still, whenever an Uchiha has a nightmare, we see Madara’s face in our dreams. Like he is still serving the clan, even in death.”
“That’s morbid.”
“Madara gave everything for his clan. And it let the Uchiha thrive. While Madara never got his happy ending.”
“Perhaps Madara should’ve been a little more selfish.”
Sasuke shook his head. “That’s not the point of the story.”
“Can’t it be?” Naruto asked. “Can’t we use him as a cautionary tale how blind loyalty to a clan leads to ruin?”
“Madara was my ancestor and if you want to teach the children of the Uchiha legacy, then you need to respect him.”
“I can respect him and still think it’s dumb to always choose the clan over your own happiness. Just like I’ll tell them to respect you even as I call you an idiot.” Naruto tried to steady himself. “Is there nothing I can say that will make you want to come back?”
“Dobe, I already want to return. Wanting to has never been the problem.”
“We had to celebrate the official chuunin promotion without you. I want you to be there when we get the papers for Tokubetsu Jounin. It’s not right that you’re missing in our lives.”
“Orochimaru is keeping up his end of the bargain. He’s increased my talent and he’s providing me with training beyond what Konoha was able to offer. I’m getting stronger every day. I have to do this. For my clan, for my family.”
“You once told me that you consider your fight with Itachi to be a death sentence. If it’s going to be the end, if all the time you have in the world is limited to the moment you fight him, don’t you think your family would want you to spend your remaining days with them?”
Sasuke sighed. “The last time we had this argument, we ended up using our fists to settle what our tongues couldn’t. So I suggest you either throw a punch, or stop making me feel worse about the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make in my life.”
Naruto grit his teeth. The situation had not changed. Sasuke was too good an opponent for him to capture alone. And while Tsunade would scold him for ruining this party to capture Sasuke, she would kill him for ruining this party and not getting Sasuke back in return.
Sasuke slid out of the embrace, turning around to look Naruto in the eye. “I love you.” Sasuke reached forward and put his lips on Naruto’s. The lips were warm and salty, just like Naruto remembered.
Naruto wanted to say it back, but Sasuke had disappeared. The guy he thought was Kabuto had disappeared as well. And two more people in the periphery, though they might have walked out during the dancing. Naruto’s awareness had not been unfaltering at the time.
“It’s nice to see you’re moving on.” Ino said. She had slid up right next to him in her disguise of curly black hair and pink lipstick. Her dashing green suit had made her a particularly appealing target for the ladies that evening. “I don’t think I’ve seen you kiss someone since Sasuke.”
“It’s hard to get over that bastard.” Naruto smiled. “Just when I think I’ve forgotten about him, he pops up.”
“It’s difficult to get exes out of your mind. Was she a good kisser?”
“Jealous?”
“Perhaps.” Ino smiled. “Everyone I’ve danced with wouldn’t want to move on to kissing until at least the sixth date. And your girl looked hot.”
“Well, you can read all about it in the mission report.”
“Wait, seriously? What did she say that you need to include it in the report?”
“If we can, we should check for poison among the other drinks as well. It’s probably too late to fix anything, but it’s better to know now than later who was targeted.”
“Urgh. Of all the girls to fall for, you go for a ninja that is on an assassination mission. You have a type, you drama queen.”
Naruto smiled. “I do.”
Notes:
Next chapter in January, first chapter of the part 4 Revenge: We can't build our dreams. Where Naruto, now almost a jounin, visits the Land of Wind except the Akatsuki are closer than ever.
I like how canon has Naruto desperately searching for Sasuke and building the tension until finally they see each other again. That fits with Naruto trying to have Sasuke acknowledge him, but Sasuke too busy looking ahead that he misses Naruto catching up on him. With Sasuke not wanting to leave, I liked this dynamic more of Sasuke finding excuses to still talk to Naruto.
A heavy inspiration was the dance scene from Final Fantasy 8, which has always seemed magical to me. And obviously the song for the chapter title was made famous by the yaoi AMV of it, which captures the energy of battling rivals who are secretly gay for each other.
I had a decent Nanowrimo. I think I identified all of the parts that weren’t working yet in the rest of the story and made notes about how to fix all of them. I added about 15,000 words to the story (though about 2,000 of that is background lore). It was more relaxing not having a daily writing goal, but also a little frustrating not getting the level of productivity that I was shooting for. I was really hoping to get so much editing out of the way that I could start posting weekly. Instead, I’m going to use December to process more of my notes (and enjoy the holidays) and going to shoot for 2 updates per month starting from January.
Also, I changed the chapter count from the estimated 46 to the actual 52 since I apparently hadn't done that yet. All the chapters are drafted, so the count shouldn’t change any further.
Chapter 28: 4.1 We can’t build our dreams (Suspicious minds)
Summary:
A team 7 fieldtrip? A team 7 fieldtrip!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Part 4: Revenge
There was something soothing about listening to the wind rustling the leaves. To the crunch of the wagon’s wheels turning over the dirt beneath them. Naruto could smell the animals even as they tried to hide from sight. He knew it was just a little further before the dirt would turn to stone and the trees would not surround them anymore. Right now he was still in The Land of Fire and it was good to bask in that feeling.
He looked at his map, a beautifully calligraphed and illustrated art piece made by a talented new artist in Konoha named Sai. The way he painted trees made them look like they were moving on the page and the tiny animals looked like they could walk off on their own. He would definitely return for more of Sai’s work, though he wouldn’t repeat his mistake of talking to Sai himself when his brother Shin was able to talk without throwing in insults every other sentence.
“Still clear?” Princess Elia asked.
Hanabi flexed her eyes, manifesting her Byakugan to its activated state. With just a few moments’ time, she could see everything around them. Naruto was often jealous of her ability. She could see all those animals that Naruto could not.
“I can’t sense anything either.” Sakura said. Her genjutsu senses were the hardest to fool for anyone attempting to come near. It was like a net that she cast around the wagon.
Naruto’s nose was a close second. Foxes did not naturally have the same proficiency as dogs, but Naruto’s Henge was not limited by nature. It helped that Naruto’s wind techniques aided him in sniffing out the scents of anyone who wanted to approach. “You’re safe, princess.”
Three experienced tokubetsu jounin was overkill for a bodyguard mission, but that was the kind of service you got for being the Fire daimyo’s daughter. Though not an heir, she was still a prestigious member of court and diplomacy missions like these were all about appearances. Naruto was not complaining. It had been a while since all three of them had been able to go on a mission together. It reminded him of their chuunin days. Ever since passing their Tokubetsu jounin examinations four years earlier, he had been lucky to be assigned a mission with one of them, let alone both.
“The privacy seal is still working, if you’re worried about that.” Sakura said.
“Do you think I could borrow the flute again, Naruto?”
“That’s why I brought it.”
Naruto could get up and walk all the way over to his backpack, but he wasn’t a ninja for nothing. He concentrated, visualised and performed the henge. On his lap appeared a small fox, which he directed to go to his backpack in his stead. The fox shape was a bit more complicated than it had to be to get the job done, though most of that was illusion. While he could make it have functioning eyes, it was easier to just give it one of his own. While he could give it functioning ears, it wouldn’t pick up on anything that he couldn’t already hear. And while he could give it internal organs to keep the cells oxygenated, that wasn’t needed when it was made for such a quick task.
When he had first stated using a henge to retrieve things for him, he had just created an extra human hand and used the fingers to walk around with it. When that freaked people out too much, he started using the fox instead.
The fox went through his backpack and retrieved a shakuhachi. His childhood repeater had been destroyed in Suna’s invasion. But a promise was a promise. Before his first mission where Elia specifically requested Naruto’s presence, still a chuunin at the time, he had gone to an artisan to have the shakuhachi made.
It had been six years since the invasion, but it still burned a part of him. He had loved his apartment and though living with the Uchiha had its advantages, he missed having a place he could call his own. Not to mention the void Sasuke had left behind in the compound. Even with new Uchiha children running around, the district felt empty. Everyone was just waiting for Sasuke to come back.
Naruto could not believe the oldest children were enrolling into the Academy soon. He could still remember them in their cradles, dark black hair straight from the womb, so small and fragile. He could remember Yukiko giggling at Naruto’s silly faces and Katsuo demanding piggy-back rides. And now they were going to the Academy.
Sakura had helped them prepare for their first day and she had needed a moment alone when the children thanked their ‘aunty’ Sakura. She would’ve been planning to have a child of her own, to conceive an heir to carry on the Panther legacy, except the risk was too great while she still had Orochimaru’s forbidden seal on her shoulder. It collected nature chakra which could turn Sakura and an unborn child into stone if the slightest thing went wrong. For now, Sakura could only be a proud aunt.
Sasuke’s children had manifested strong talents. The clan was small and it showed in the testing. Just one hour of learning and they gained seven hours of experience. Their mother was a serious woman from the Aburame clan called Hideaki. She had a genetic birth defect that made it impossible for her to house their clan’s insects inside of her body. She had become a chuunin through hard work and had been looking for years to be an asset to her clan without being able to use their techniques.
She had been chosen between all of Sasuke’s concubines to bear the Uchiha heir, the oldest of Sasuke’s new children. It was generally believed that having more children born in the same year could divide talent between the children. They wanted a strong heir and that meant one mother would have to go first to bear one child. But it seemed the crows had different ideas and Hideaki had given birth to twins.
They were energetic children inside the Uchiha compound, even as they acted shy and reserved for outsiders. The elder Uchiha had postponed the decision who would be the heir, until Sasuke could return to make his choice. Their pending status had motivated both of them to work hard and their early admittance into the Academy was well deserved. Naruto had no doubt he would only be hearing good things from them in the future.
“Naruto, my flute?”
Right. Naruto handed it over.
Elia brought her lips to the instrument and started to play. No matter how many times Naruto heard her songs, he never grew tired of them. It was a joy to bring the flute to her with every mission and Naruto just wished she was allowed to have one of her own.
Her younger brother had been born with more talent and it had been all the reason the daimyo needed to declare him the heir instead of her at the will of the dragons. Ever since, she had been forbidden from using her talent on the seven noble arts, one of which was playing the flute. And Naruto had heard her brother play. He had nothing on Elia. But in public she could only play the koto, a string instrument, and it was only recently that she had become good at it.
The song ended and from the lack of birds flocking towards her it was clear that the privacy seals had held. Sakura had become increasingly good at sealing even if the research into tearing apart her own forbidden seal had been slow. She had been forced to balance her efforts with her specialisation in medical jutsu and genjutsu. But she had no choice if she wanted to be rid of it. All the experts had given up on the task as impossible. Her only chance was her unique insight from her personal experience with the seal.
“I’m going to miss this.” Elia said, staring longingly at the flute before handing it back to Naruto.
“I still owe you two more flute rentals.” Naruto said. He had promised six and this was only the fourth mission with her.
“And you’ll owe them to me for a while. I’m moving out of the daimyo’s castle to marry a nobleman after this mission is done. My father thought it was time my brother took over these diplomatic excursions.”
“We’ll be sad to see you go.” Sakura said. “You’ve been more successful than most in smoothing out relations.”
“What’s the nobleman like?” Hanabi asked.
Elia shrugged. “Handsome, smart. He’s the first son of the Masaki family.
“The famous painters?”
“Yes. He sat me for a portrait and kept cracking jokes to make me smile. Ever since I performed the waki in last year’s grand play I’ve had my pick of suitors. None of them made me smile like Yoshito. It’s what won me over in the end. When my father forced me to choose someone, I chose him.”
“We’ll have to find another excuse to visit then.” Naruto said. “If he’s that taken to you, he won’t keep you confined to the inside of a palace.”
“And you’ll have plenty of opportunities.” Elia said. “My brother was quite taken by my ninja guards and is planning on requesting you when he goes out on his own missions.”
“Thanks for putting in the good word.” Naruto smiled. “I didn’t know you were so sentimental.”
“You’ve proven to be competent and trustworthy. I’d be a horrible sister to deny my brother your excellent company.”
Naruto took one more look at the trees surrounding them and then turned around to face Elia. “Well, if this is going to be our last trip together, we’d better make it count. I have a travel Shogi board with me.”
“Do you think you stand a chance against me?” Elia smirked.
“I have some moves that might surprise you.” Naruto set up the pieces. It was intimidating how easily she had picked up the game over the last few years. Her training in Go had given her tactical understanding that made her unbeatable in the game. But Shogi was different enough that she still had not mastered it. And Naruto had more interesting games with her than he ever had with anyone else.
“I don’t see how you can enjoy this game.” Kurama said.
“If it bores you, just look away.” In this case, Naruto had little sympathy for the nine-tailed fox trapped inside of him. Naruto had created a large open forest in his mindscape so that Kurama was no longer trapped behind bars in the sewers. If Kurama found no entertainment looking through Naruto’s eyes, he had enough alternatives.
“Why do you keep playing against her? I’ve seen you win against everyone but her.”
“Which is exactly why it’s fun. I don’t learn half as much playing with anyone else.”
“Keep your eye on the board.” Elia said. “I won’t have any mercy if you don’t put all your attention on this.”
“I’m not easily distracted.” Naruto said. “Not from the important things.”
~*~
The palace was enormous and almost as big as the Fire Daimyo’s. For all their problems in prosperity, Wind had no trouble housing their leader in an extravagant display of their most luxurious exports. Their statues were coated in gold and studded with gems.
Their carriage was greeted by dozens of soldiers, each baring Wind Country’s symbol. “Welcome!” A stocky man said. He had a clipboard in his hand and he seemed to stare more intently at that than the princess in front of him. “We have been eagerly awaiting your arrival, Princess Elia. Please, follow me.”
Naruto walked shoulder to shoulder with Hanabi and Sakura. There were two moments that were most dangerous in missions like these: the journey to their destination and the arrival. If Wind’s enemies were planning anything, they would do it before the princess arrived and negotiated. If Wind itself wanted to attack, they would want to do it as quickly as possible. The more time the Konoha ninja had to examine the complex, the more strategies they would have to make an emergency exit.
In this case there was less danger than there seemed. Elia might not be a direct heir, but she was of the dragons. No ninja with a clan would dare lay a hand on her for fear of what the dragons might do in retaliation. That left only civilians as possible assailants and they were no threat with one Tokubetsu jounin present, let alone three.
The walk to the reception hall was long and slow. Their guide insisted on taking the scenic route, showing off the gardens and statues that decorated the palace’s grounds. It was noticeable how green the gardens were in the middle of a dessert. The palace had been built around an oasis and it showed. But even then it was impressive that they had been able to cultivate some of these plants in a climate they were not originally suited for. Naruto would have asked, but in his experience it was only the gardeners who had answers to Naruto’s questions. The guides just wanted to emphasise how impressive the results were, without knowing anything about what had been needed to achieve them.
The hall itself was richly decorated with gold. Tables had been prepared with a feast of fruits and breads. Elia sat herself down while Naruto and his teammates took a menacing position by the door. Dozens of people filed into the chamber and it was clear there were hundreds more in wait. Everyone wanted to greet the foreign princess.
“Can we go to the Point of Coallesence already?”
“We’ll get a chance after the mission.” Naruto told Kurama. “We’ll have two whole days to take a look.”
“Two days won’t make up for the damage done to it.”
“Yet two days will still make a world of difference.” Naruto said. Each spirit leak they had visited, Naruto had talked to whatever humans lived nearby to advocate for letting the leak grow wilder. Two days was a short time to convince people, but it was enough time to tell them all the stories Naruto had gathered. And with each visit he collected more.
Nobody really knew how the spirit leaks worked or how they strengthened or weakened. Kurama claimed the only way to fix them was by leaving them alone to heal, without any human intervention. The priests all believed that leaving them alone was too dangerous and that powerful spirit-touched animals would start roaming the earth the moment they stopped culling the spirit-touched creatures.
Naruto would have liked to experiment more, but he only had a chance to examine points of convergence when he was out on missions. The spirit leak in Konoha, somewhere in the Forest of Death, had been impossible to find.
“You’re just standing around here. What’s the point of this?”
Naruto focussed on the people coming in. “We’re looking for concealed weapons. Looking for the way they walk. I have chakra pumping through my legs so I can block any attack if it comes.”
“Hmph.” Naruto could feel Kurama rolling his eyes. “I thought you were here to talk to the Wind Daimyo.”
“Eventually. First there is this ceremony.”
“It is pointless.”
“It’s like a mating dance. It’s slow and symbolic and it requires patience.”
“That’s a lot of people your princess wants to fuck.”
Naruto had to put effort into keeping a straight face. “The Princess has to show her willingness to negotiate. The people around her show they’re here and friendly. If she is nice to these people, they will be annoyed if the Wind Daimyo is rude to her. In the worst case and the wind daimyo rejects her completely, she can appeal to these people to help her. Which would be such a blow to the wind daimyo that he would never risk it.”
“You humans make things so complicated. You can never just say what you mean.”
“If you’re a giant chakra construct, you can get away with saying what you mean. When you’re a weak singular human, you need to make allies. And that’s not so simple.”
“It’s boring.”
“You’re lucky you get to run through a forest instead whenever you want. I have to keep standing here until the princess is done.”
Naruto had thought Kurama would want to spend less time in the real world when he had completed the transformation from sewer to forest. Strangely, the opposite was true. Kurama often sought Naruto’s attention and more often than not tried to engage with him. Usually he indulged the giant fox. There was no harm to it and Naruto liked talking to the fox. But on missions he could not afford to lose his focus.
Naruto could tell that Sakura and Hanabi’s muscles had started to cramp up hours later when they were finally escorted to the Daimyo’s meeting chambers.
When the doors opened, elegant music greeted them. On one side of the room, a woman in a beautiful kimono was playing the Biwa. She plucked the strings quickly and with practiced ease, revealing her mastery.
That would have to be Saiai, the Princess of Wind. Her father was the Daimyo’s elder brother. Because he was born with less talent than his little brother and therefore less favoured by the dragons, the country had crowned the younger sibling as daimyo. The same thing had happened to Elia.
Yet the daimyo had two weak children, while the daimyo’s brother had had Saiai, the darling of the court. Many in the Country of Wind believed she was more deserving of the crown than anyone else.
Saiai finished her piece just as they reached the daimyo.
“Welcome, my dearest princess Elia.” The Wind Daimyo said. He had a small beard that he was stroking as he talked, immediately gesturing for more refreshments to be brought into the room. He was flanked with advisors and more bodyguards. Naruto was also happy to see Temari standing in the corner. At least his former wind chakra teacher was one familiar face.
“It is an honour, Kokaku-daimyo.” Elia said, bowing before taking her seat.
“I trust you had a good journey.”
“As well as can be expected. I just hope this meeting will be as productive as we had hoped.”
“I certainly imagine we can come to an arrangement. Though I still don’t see how we are to benefit.”
“Akatsuki is not much of a threat yet, but they become more dangerous with each passing day. It is only a matter of time before they amass enough forces to be a nuisance not just to one elemental country but to all of them.”
“Yes, yes. I’ve skimmed all the reports you’ve forced on us. They are all minor incidents that’re no worse than those perpetrated by any other missing ninja.”
“Except this group is coordinated and their attacks have been getting more brazen.” She turned to Naruto. “Please paint the daimyo a picture of who we’re dealing with.”
Naruto nodded. “Akatsuki is unique for two reasons. The first is that they work together as a group and always travel in pairs. The pairs cover for each other’s weaknesses and it makes them impossible to hunt down. The second is that the individual members are amongst the most notorious of all those in the Bingo book. Uchiha Itachi is an all-round expert with a specialty in the Henge and works with the swordsman Hoshigaki Kisame who possesses incredible strength and has no known weaknesses. Kakuzu and Hidan are known as the immortal duo and they’ve shown their strength by systematically hunting down missing ninja from the Bingo book who were thought to be stronger than both of them combined. Sasori the puppeteer has recently recruited a new partner Deidara whose capabilities are unknown, because their raids are so successful that they leave no survivors. And then finally there’s Pain and Konan, the leaders of the Akatsuki, of whom we know nothing more than that they wreaked havoc in the Land of Lightning unchecked for years before disappearing without a trace, yet are capable of keeping this entire operation running smoothly.”
The daimyo stifled a yawn, barely hiding his disinterest. “Eight ninja in total. You want to set up an international cooperation for eight ninja.”
“Eight exceptional ninja that ambush jounin of our village and those of yours. Not to mention that Sasori is from the Hidden Sand Village and your responsibility.”
“Itachi is from yours.” Kokaku immediately said. “Don’t you be putting this on us.”
“It is a shared problem. Does it not make sense that we tackle it together? Yet you not only failed to our request of cooperation, you even failed to agree not to object to a temporary alliance between Konoha and the other villages.”
“Yes. And can you blame me? Suna needs more time to determine whether this alliance is truly harmless as you claim, or merely a pretence to prepare an attack on us.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“And we’re just supposed to take your word on it?”
“With all due respect, you’re the ones who attacked us six years ago.”
“I had nothing to do with that. You know what ninja are like. They got an idea in their head and they act on it.”
Naruto had to take a deep breath. It all sounded so easy the way the daimyo spoke of the incident. Like Konoha had not uncovered the paper trail. Like it had not been clear that the daimyo had approved in subtle ways. The punishment for failure had been the daimyo washing his hands of the affair and claiming his own innocence. Konoha had been limited in their official reprimands because of that claim to innocence. They had been forced to resort to unofficial retaliations.
“If there is anything specific you are worried about, we can negotiate any failsafe measure.”
“We have some suggestions.” The daimyo snapped his fingers and a piece of paper with a list was brought to Elia.
She looked over the suggestions but only made it halfway through. She raised her head defiantly, anger in her eyes. “You can’t be serious. How are Fire Country’s lands going to make you feel safer about an alliance? This is a request for a bribe.”
“I resent the accusation.” Kokaku said, though there was something in his voice that betrayed his outrage to be played up. The man was a seasoned diplomat and had to be doing that on purpose. Yes he was asking for a bribe and no he would not admit to that explicitly. “These lands are strategic locations for defending Suna from outside forces and they’re only in the hands of Fire Country because they were stolen from us in the last war.”
“We won those lands in the peace treaty.” Elia said. “And I’m not here to rip up our previous agreements.”
“You need to be more flexible. Don’t think we haven’t been noticing Fire Nation increasing their patrols along the borders. You’re itching for another war and we can tell.”
“Patrols are increased because Suna citizens were stealing from Fire Nation Lands.”
“There is always an excuse. You may think Suna’s ninja weak for losing against Konoha, Princess Elia, but must I remind you that they have something to prove now?” He glanced at Naruto. “And at least we’re not considering promoting the talentless to jounin. How desperate for forces are you?”
Naruto grit his teeth. He could not afford to offend the honourable sovereign leader of another country, no matter how much the bastard provoked him.
“I pity the state of Suna if your education is so limited only the talented can get through your system.” Elia said. “We function on our fairness and promote anyone strong enough to earn the title. And speaking of fairness, this deal is anything but. May I remind you, daimyo, that this is a curtesy visit. We would like you on-board, but we will not sell our principles to achieve such a feat.”
“We will get what we’re owed sooner or later, princess.”
Elia rose from her chair, clutching the paper in her hand strong enough to crumple it. “I would like to be escorted to my room now. I will deliberate on your suggestions and we can resume these talks tomorrow.”
“If you will not see reason straight away, perhaps time will aid you.” The daimyo snapped his fingers again and several servants escorted them out of the room and towards the guest quarters.
The moment the door closed behind them, Elia collapsed down on the bed in frustration. “I can’t believe that man. He implicitly sanctions war against us and now dares act like we’re the aggressors.”
“I wanted to punch him.” Hanabi said. “How dare he imply Naruto was in any way less than deserving?”
“Good, it wasn’t just me.” Sakura said.
Naruto had to smile at his friends. He had probably infected them. “I wonder if we can slip a newt in his tea kettle without any of his serving staff catching it in the poison screenings.”
“Maybe if I catch them in genjutsu.” Sakura said. “But the Suna ninja would notice.”
“I’ll distract them.” Hanabi said.
“Before you go jeopardising the mission, I believe congratulations are in order. I didn’t know you were up for jounin.” Elia said. “You didn’t mention it.”
“We’re cleared to take the test in a few weeks.” Sakura said. “All three of us should be able to pass.”
“Emphasis on should.” Naruto said. “Examinators have this funny habit of finding weaknesses from the loopholes in the guidelines. They tried to fail me for Tokubetsu too.”
Hanabi groaned. “Who the hell tries to legitimately claim that they’re failing someone for being too fast at being too slow. What does that even mean?”
“It means they were desperate to keep me off the Golden Path. They’re running scared I’ll actually become Hokage.”
“They were running scared when you made chuunin. They don’t know what to do now that you’re Tokubetsu and soon to be jounin.” Hanabi said.
“Are they powerless to stop your nomination?” Elia asked. “If they’re so opposed, won’t they find a way?”
“I’m under no illusions it’ll be easy.” Naruto said. “After I become jounin, I’ll need to secure the support of Utatane-sama, one of the Konoha councilmembers. And then the real campaign begins to get a majority of the clan leaders to vote for me instead of the competition. We’re being called the Golden Generation because everyone in our class is walking the golden path, so we’re all contenders to the title.”
“So young?”
“There are many ways to fail and only a few to succeed. Only a few adults are still officially in the running, but they’re all marred one way or another. The only real competition is Asuma, especially if he plays up his age and expertise as an alternative to the younger generation.”
“And that’ll work?”
“It’s hard to say. He’s been trying to get his campaign of the ground ever since he returned to Konoha, so he has a large head start. But the fact that not enough people jumped aboard his ship to push through the nomination also says something.”
“His injury during the Chuunin exams really set him back.” Hanabi said.
“Yeah, he’ll need to win against a strong missing ninja to earn back confidence he could protect the village. A single loss is ammunition for all his enemies. It’s why I have to be careful too.” Naruto said. “I’ll need to avoid any big losses over the next three years while grabbing that jounin promotion, complete my elite specialisation, and guiding a genin team to chuunin.”
“If you’re actually appointed a jounin sensei.” Hanabi noted.
“Yeah, that won’t be easy either.”
There was a knock at the door. Team 7 automatically reached for their weapons. “Enter.”
It was a small servant girl, looking at the floor with a red face. Poor thing was so intimidated she was quaking. “Th-the Suna ninja have requested the presence of someone named Naruto.”
“I was hoping they would.” Naruto said with a smile. He slowly approached the girl. “What’s your name?”
“G-gina.”
“Well Gina, I haven’t quite figured out the lay-out of this place yet. Would you mind showing me to where the Suna ninja are staying?”
She swallowed. “O-of course.”
“That would save me a bunch of trouble. Thank you so much. Do you think you could hold my hand so I don’t get lost?”
Her eyes went wide, but then she hesitantly held out her hand.
Naruto applied a small henge to get rid of the calluses and then gently took her hand in his. No need to remind the girl that he had fighting hands.
“You guys keep safe! This smart girl here is going to show me the way.”
“Don’t get lost.” Hanabi said.
“And don’t stay out too late.” Sakura said. “You’re picking up a night shift whether you like it or not.”
Yeah, yeah.
But first it was time to go see Gaara.
“So Gina, how long have you been working in the palace?”
~*~
It was Temari that opened the door with a smile on her face. “Good to see you.”
Naruto could not help but hug her. She was taller and more muscular than she had been. The years had been good to her. “It’s been a while.”
“We haven’t been allowed out of the village for a while now.”
She ushered Naruto in and there was someone else to hug. Naruto went straight for Gaara and wrapped his arms around him. “I’ve missed you.”
Gaara looked flustered, uncomfortable in the hug and trying to return the affection by slowly petting Naruto’s arm. “I haven’t finished my letter to you yet.”
Gaara was a lot taller now too. His face had filled out and Naruto had not realised just how much of his bare frame had been malnutrition from depression. His red hair was kempt and tidy, showing off the red tattoo on his face. His skin was hard as ever, the layer of sand protecting him from harm.
“That’s fine.” Naruto chuckled. “You can just mail it when you have.”
“We’re not supposed to have guests in here.” Kankuro said. The third member of Team Gaara was not wearing his signature hood and it let his brown hair be visible. His face paint was different and Naruto had trouble recognising him. “But when we saw Fire had sent you, I knew we wouldn’t be able to keep you and Gaara away from each other. Better to be direct about it now rather than deal with you two arranging something that gets out.”
“You’re amazing.” Naruto shook the man’s hand, before settling down in a chair somewhere in the room. “What’ve you been up to?”
Gaara jumped in right away. “I’ve almost finished the technique I’ve been working on.” He held out his hand and the layer of sand that always protected him crumbled away from his skin. It floated and made the shape of a small eye.
“Cool! Is it functional?”
“As long as I keep it connected with chakra. You’re the one who showed me that was possible.”
“And other shapes?”
Gaara nodded, turning the sand into a knife which then stabbed itself in Naruto’s direction. The sand shot out and grabbed Naruto by the wrist like rope. It tightened. “Strong enough to break a civilian’s bones.”
“What happens if the sand’s broken?”
Gaara flinched, retreating the sand back to his skin and returning it to his armour. “Head-ache for a few hours from the chakra loss and it can take days before I rebuild my shield.”
Temari sighed. “You’re not supposed to just divulge your weaknesses like that.”
“Why?” Gaara shrugged. “I trust Naruto.”
“And I can show you something secret I’ve been working on in return.” Naruto smiled. He took a few breaths to concentrate and then chains of chakra shot from his arm to wrap around Gaara’s body. “The Uzumaki Adamentine Sealing Chains.”
“Wait, that’s supposed to be impossible.” Temari noted. “Chakra isn’t strong enough for that.”
“I found a way.” Naruto smirked.
Gaara tugged at the chains. “These won’t hold up under a ninja’s strength.”
“Not like this, which is why they’re still not finished. I kind of stole the idea from another Konoha ninja, so I’ll get in trouble if you pass the information around.”
“Our lips are sealed.” Gaara promised.
Naruto released the chains and pulled them back to his body. It had been his mother’s technique to create chains out of pure chakra. It sounded impossible because it was impossible. Naruto should know after years of extensive research in how she had done it.
When he finally figured out the trick, he could kick himself for how long it had taken him to realise. She had lied to everyone.
It was impossible to make strong chains that were made completely out of chakra. But it was very much possible to merge chakra with steel and create something that looked like it was made only out of chakra. With the added bonus that it sounded far more impressive and nobody would be able to figure out how your signature technique works.
Not to say it was easy. Naruto had been practicing the combination in his spare time when he trained alone and he had barely scratched the surface of mastery. It was related to the henge which was Naruto’s specialty, but it was a unique skill that had to be trained separately. For Kushina to use it as her main fighting style it would’ve taken her years.
The only one Naruto had shown besides Gaara was Kakashi, and he immediately demanded an explanation. He had been trying to figure it out for years. And Naruto enjoyed keeping it a secret from him. He liked having an Uzumaki technique that only he knew about, to pass on to his children.
“We’re hoping the sand technique gets Gaara over the line.” Temari said. “If you would believe it, all three of us have been struggling to get our Tokubetsu titles.” Temari said. “We check enough boxes to qualify for jounin, but they’re still punishing us for what happened in Konoha.”
“You mean choosing Gaara’s life over the off chance the One-Tail could do some damage. How insubordinate of you.”
“We don’t regret it.” Temari said.
Gaara sighed. “But we had it difficult before the chuunin exams and it’s only been getting harder since.”
“Trainers refuse to work with us.” Kankuro said. “I can’t go to my puppeteering workshop without getting stared at the whole time I’m there. Just a few weeks ago, we couldn’t get Gaara a signed birthday cake because no bakery wanted to write out his name.”
“This is the first away mission we’ve been on in a while.” Gaara said. “I was starting to forget what the world outside of Hidden Sand even looked like.”
“To be fair, this palace isn’t very representable for the rest of the world.” Naruto teased. “For a rare outing, it’s an extravagant one.”
“Tell me about it.” Temari walked over to a tray of tea blends. “Suna is having trouble supplying all their ninja with food, let alone the civilians. And the daimyo supplies his guests with so many tea leaves that they could drink a different blend every day for months.”
“I understood there was some tension between Suna and the daimyo.”
“It’s been going on for years. The daimyo does not respect the difficult position Suna is in and how much we’re struggling to stay afloat with our limited funding. Meanwhile he’s using the signs of our failures as further proof that our funding shouldn’t be increased.”
“That sounds unhealthy.”
“The daimyo is itching for another war.” Kankuro said. “All the daimyo are, but ours especially. He figures no matter the outcome, it will be better than what we have now.”
Naruto sighed. “It would be so much better if could try to find a peaceful solution?”
“They don’t care about the cost.” Temari said. “The Wind Daimyo’s pride was hurt by the results of the last war and he is eager to have revenge. He thinks Konoha is weakened and will be distracted by the search on the Akatsuki. Or perhaps in a few years by another chuunin exams. He’s waiting and the next war is inevitable.”
“And if he loses?”
Temari shrugged. “Then there’s always the war after that one. He feels himself safe in his palace, moving his pieces around. He wants to show his worth to the dragons by proving himself a strategic warlord. As far as he’s concerned, this time of peace is just his opportunity to practice and prepare. And how tragic it would be for him if all that preparation was for nought.”
“And while the daimyo play their dragon games, the Akatsuki run free.” Naruto grumbled.
“They don’t see the problems yet.” Temari said. “How did you even get the other countries to agree?”
“We’re not sure.” Naruto admitted. “Tsunade had planned for months of tense negotiations. But then Suna was the only one to stand in our way.”
“I think the other countries are simply grateful for Konoha to step in. Saves them from having to chase the threat on their own.” Temari said. “Even if they would never admit it.”
“All we need is Suna and then we can get started chasing them down.”
“Is this still about the Uchiha?” Temari asked. “Sasuke’s brother?”
“Not just about him.” Naruto protested. “Akatsuki attacked Gaara and me. They have been recruiting more missing ninja and they are up to more shady business than all the other missing ninja put together.”
“But the more important reason?” Temari asked.
Naruto rolled his eyes. “Yes, if we know where Itachi is then we’ll know where Sasuke will be. We’re going to kick that genocidal traitor into the next life and then Sasuke can finally come back home.”
“Do you still love him?” Gaara asked.
“With all my heart.” Naruto said. “He’s worth anything it takes.”
“How can you be so sure. He left you.”
“He had his reasons.” Naruto said. “And he’s kept in touch. Also, he’s an amazing kisser. I can’t emphasise enough how much that compensates for all the other flaws.”
“Be serious.” Gaara said.
“It’s not like there are many other ninja who are willing to overlook the whole talentless thing.” Naruto said. “I’ve been on some missions where I’m among civilians who do not care about my clan status and that’s liberating. But it’s also exhausting when they know nothing about the shinobi path. Sasuke is the only person who was ever able to see me. All of me. And then not just accept me, but love me for who I am.”
Gaara moved his hand and the metal claw rattled against the bed. It was as fearsome as the first time Naruto had seen it, though he liked that it was attacked to an ally now instead of an enemy. It also helped that he had since learned the story behind it. Kankuro had made it for him using spare parts of their father’s old swords. Temari had used wind jutsu to sharpen it to a keen edge. And Naruto had added an inner lining of comfortable Konoha cloth as a parting present after the chuunin exams. While Gaara was skilled enough with his sand and earth jutsu to be deadly without his claw, it still never left his side.
“Be honest with me.” Naruto said. “How worried should I be about Princess Elia’s safety?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Kankuro said immediately, insulted by the very notion they might be planning something.
“We only have orders to do something if we can get away with it.” Temari said.
Kankuro looked at her with wide eyes.
“Come on, don’t be like that. I’ve spent enough time lying to Naruto.” Temari said. “I’m not doing it again. None of the Suna ninja will do anything while there are three Konoha Tokubetsu jounin posted with her.”
“Is that why you lured me away?” Naruto asked.
“If that was the plan, we would have asked you to bring Sakura as well. Obviously.” Temari said. “Are you under orders to attack us?”
“Not in any way that could be traced back to us.” Naruto answered. “Keep enough eyewitnesses around that we can’t take care of all of them and nothing will escalate.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Temari said. “I was surprised they didn’t push for more direct action. The amount of people suggesting Gaara perform the assassination because the dragons wouldn’t retaliate on him, I can’t even tell.”
“I didn’t get an order like that.” Naruto said, though he was not confident he would have been included in the meetings if they had considered the possibility. “They must’ve thought the risk for Konoha was still too great.”
“No kidding.” Temari said. “The amount of times I had to explain that the dragons could still hold the weasels responsible, it’s like they forget Gaara is our brother.”
Naruto took a seat next to Gaara. “How are your effort to talk with Shukaku?”
“Frustrating. I still can’t get him to consistently talk with me. I’m practicing the Demon’s Tongue whenever I can, but half the time Shukaku refuses to say anything.”
“That’s strange. Did you follow my advice?”
“To annoy him into talking with me?” Gaara glared. “No thank you. I’ll find a civilized way even if it kills me.”
“I’m surprised the boy has gotten anything out of Shukaku at all. The little brat is an expert at ignoring people.”
“Kurama is still impressed.” Naruto translated. “Keep trying and you’ll get there eventually. You have more than enough time. Maybe we can work on it together after the meeting tomorrow?”
“We’re out of the palace tomorrow.” Gaara said. “Some nobleman is taking a tour of the sand beast enclosure.”
“That’s a shame. Another time then.” Naruto said.
Gaara nodded.
“Now, I want to know all about your adventures in Suna.” Naruto said. “Kami knows I have plenty of stories to tell you myself. But before we go into that, I’d hate myself if I didn’t ask first. Any useful tips you can share for tomorrow’s negotiation?”
“I’d tell you if I knew anything, sorry.” Temari said.
“Are you sure? Anything could help, no matter how small.”
“Well, there’s one thing.” Temari said. “Kokaku’s position in court is fragile. I have a theory that he wants to be seen as a great negotiator that wins concessions from Konoha. In that case he woul’n't be interested in a deal where he gives a little and takes a little. You need to be asking for more to justify larger concessions on the part of Fire. That will allow him to spin the deal as completely in his favour.”
“I think Elia would be able to use that. Thank you very much.” Naruto smiled. “In return, I’m going to share my juiciest story right away. It all started when Sakura and I were hunting zombie bears in the mountains and we accidentally discovered a town made out of gold.”
~*~
“Have you reconsidered my requests?” The daimyo asked from his throne.
“I’ve certainly studied them.” Princess Elia said, back in the position she had been, eager to continue negotiations. “And what interesting delusions of grandeur you have. You must realise that I cannot agree to all these ridiculous demands.”
“And then you must realise that I’m not signing any documents.”
“Let’s talk about Sasori.” Elia said. “The missing ninja that is part of the Akutsuki.”
“I don’t see what that will achieve.”
“Sasori was on all accounts a child with more potential than most. He was working hard for Suna, until his parents died in the war. And Sasori desecrated their corpses to prevent their spirits from moving onto the next life by turning their bodies into puppets. I heard the scorpions are still mad at him over that.”
“I suppose.”
“Suna tried to make him relinquish his puppets, but instead he fought his way out of the village, killing many in the process. According to the witness accounts, he could make the puppets fight like they had the strength of adult ninja like he had truly succeeded in trapping the souls of his parents so they could keep fighting. Sasori is a monster of the worst kind. And he is still out there defiling the natural order in whatever way he wants.”
“Get to the point.”
Elia went over the list with a flourish. “I think some of these points can be discussed in further detail, but we will need more than just your promise not to attack the Fire Nation. We will need someone with expertise on Sasori to accompany us on our search. We need Chiyo.”
“Chiyo is retired.” The daimyo said.
“We don’t need her to fight. We just need her advice. She was Sasori’s grandmother and uniquely suited.”
Sakura took a step forward. “And I’ll take good care of her. I’ve been personally trained by Tsunade, Konoha’s hokage. I would promise to keep her in good health.”
Over the daimyo’s face flashed temptation. He wanted to accept. But of course he could not seem too eager. “Obviously if we’re going to lend out a Suna ninja for the duration of your little project, we’re going to need enough recompense. Let’s discuss it.”
The talks were opened and that was all Elia needed.
Suddenly there was a loud bell going off. Naruto recognised it immediately. Every ninja was taught to recognise the sound of the Dragon’s Bell, hung up in every ninja village and every daimyo’s palace, linked so that if one bell rung its twin would too. There was only one reason to ring it.
The daimyo swallowed nervously, looking frantically around him. “Are we under attack or is Suna?”
A guard burst through the doors. “My lord! There was an attack just out of the palace. One of your noblemen were injured.”
“Who?”
“Hirabayashi. He was on a stroll and was poisoned.”
“Wasn’t there a ninja guard on him?”
“They were useless too. One was absent and another similarly poisoned. The final guard was taken hostage by the enemy. We fear they may return here. Hirabayashi just arrived at the palace and needs medical attention. The doctors can’t help him.”
“The fools, leaving the more vulnerable target behind. Konoha ninja, I will ask your healing expertise.”
A heavy weight settled in Naruto’s stomach. “Who was taken?” Naruto asked.
“That is of no concern to you.” The Daimyo said.
Naruto turned to the guard, manifesting as much authority as he could. “Who was taken?”
“J-just the talentless boy. Gaara.”
Akatsuki was there.
“We’ll help.” Sakura said.
~*~
There was no infirmary. Just a guest room where the nobleman had been laid out on a bed while doctors looked over him. Sakura pushed them aside as she started her work.
On the other bed was Kankuro, writhing in pain with only his sister beside him. Naruto rushed to his side and held his hand. “What happened?”
“I don’t know.” Temari said. She held Gaara’s claw weapon. He never would have left it willingly. “I was gone for just a few minutes. It all happened so fast.”
“What did they look like?”
“The witnesses say they wore black robes with red clouds on them.” Temari said. “There’s no mistaking it was Akatsuki.”
Sakura joined them, running green hands over Kankuro’s body.
“I demand you heal the nobleman first.” One woman said.
“Make all the demands you like.” Sakura retrieved a bowl of water and put it besides Kankuro. “But I’m dealing with the person in more danger first.”
Sakura touched two fingers to the boy’s forehead. She shook her head. “He’s in too much pain for genjutsu to work. The two of you need to hold him down.”
Temari paled, but nodded. She took one side and Naruto another. And then Sakura brought a ball of water to Kankuro’s chest and pushed it into his body.
Kankuro screamed and thrashed. But Sakura just kept going. She brought her hand slowly to Kankuro’s throat and the water that had been inside his body was coughed up violently in another ball for Sakura to manipulate, this time purple and red from poison and blood. She deposited it in the basin and ran more hands over Kankuro’s body.
“He’ll be okay for now. I need to get that poison analysed so I can make a proper cure.”
Naruto nodded. He slowly let go and the puppeteer lay in his bed as if his strings were cut. He seemed exhausted and ready to pass out. But also in far less pain than he had been.
“Where is Gaara?” Temari asked him.
“Th-they tried to poison him.” Kankuro said. “I couldn’t let them.”
“Did they say anything?”
“They were headed for the spirit cavern.” Kankuro’s eyes turned wet. “I couldn’t stop them, Temari. I failed him. Please. Get him back.”
Temari nodded. “I’ll go after him.”
“You’ll do no such thing.” The daimyo said. “We need all our ninja to reinforce the palace.”
“He’s my brother.” Temari said, incredulous.
“And I am your lord.”
Naruto stood. “How fucking dare you?”
The daimyo gathered up all his indignation.
“What my teammate means,” Sakura said, moving between Naruto and Wind’s supreme leader, “is that if Akatsuki has taken your Jinchuriki, there is no telling what will be done to him. If they can secure the Ichibi, you will have lost a strategic asset. The best bet is going to Akatsuki and stopping them from killing Gaara.”
The daimyo took a deep breath. “Putting aside how you know the identity of the Suna Jinchuriki, I am not ready to assume this was Akatsuki’s work.”
“Kankuro just testified seeing them!” Naruto said.
“I heard him. Black robes with red clouds. Nothing conclusive.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Naruto groaned.
“Surely, daimyo, you must agree…”
An older woman cleared her throat and the room turned to her. She was holding a vial of the poison that Sakura had extracted from Kankuro. “There is no doubt about it. This is Sasori’s work.”
“Are you sure, Chiyo-sama?” Temari asked.
“Yes.” Chiyo said. “It has my grandson’s work all over it. I do not know why Sasori wanted to take Gaara, and I do not know why he did it now. But he has always been slow and steady with his moves. He is not one to run haphazardly away. If we go after him, we stand a chance of catching him.”
“Capturing Sasori would be a serious blow against Akatsuki.” Temari noted.
The daimyo considered. “You are harbouring under many assumptions. That Akatsuki knows who our Jinchuriki is and that they’ve taken him to steal our tailed beast.” He raised his hand to halt the arguments before they could interrupt him. “You assume that they’re actually capable of extracting the beast successfully, instead of simply releasing it. In which case it will kill them without effort on our part and our sealing masters will work on securing the Ichibi for us again. I will not send ninja into unknown danger. If you’re so eager to go, the two of you can hunt down Akatsuki on your own.”
Temari and Chiyo looked at each other. Chiyo was legendary in her time, but long retired and in no physical shape to fight against someone like Sasori. Temari was strong, but Sasori was infamously strong. And he had an unknown ally.
“If you can’t spare any more Suna ninja, the Konoha ninja will have to step up.” Naruto said.
“No.” Princess Elia said. “This is Suna’s problem.”
Naruto grit his teeth. He wanted to argue, but Elia had her game face on. He turned to Temari instead. “When are you leaving?”
“At sunset.” She said.
Naruto nodded. “Then I’ll have that long to try to change Elia’s mind.”
He stalked off to his room.
~*~
“I thought you’d be preparing an argument.” Sakura said.
Naruto stuffed a few more weapon scrolls into his backpack. “I am. The main proposition of which is that if I’m already gone, nobody can keep me from going.”
Sakura sighed. “You’re being impulsive.”
“If I’m not going to be impulsive for Gaara, then for who? Kakashi’s the one who taught us that some things are more important than the mission.”
“Kakashi’s not here.”
“But we’re still Team 7.” Hanabi said, slipping into the room. “Naruto has a point.”
Sakura looked at them exasperated. “I want to help Gaara too. And if you go, of course I’ll follow you. But we can’t do this. The risk to Elia is too great.”
Said Elia stepped into the room. “It is.”
Naruto sighed. “Was everyone just going to figure out I was leaving?”
“We do know you.” Hanabi said.
“The risk to me is great.” Elia said. “But considering the circumstances I will forgive you from seeing it.”
Naruto gestured wildly. “Sakura already said it. We need to stop Akatsuki from releasing the Ichibi. If it attacks the palace, we won’t be able to get you out in time.”
“Naruto, Akatsuki attacked near here. The Dragon Bell is ringing which means Suna’s sending reinforcements here as fast as they can. Suna’s assassins have a perfect excuse. I need three ninja around me to stave off the assassins.”
Naruto cursed under his breath. He did not want to choose between Elia’s life and Gaara’s.
“That is why I could not give you permission in front of the daimyo.” Elia said. “So let’s discuss how we can keep Suna thinking I have three ninja guards around me while you can still go save Gaara.”
Naruto could kiss her. “Thank you.”
“Can one of you create the illusion?”
They turned to Sakura.
“No. I can create illusions to fool the guards, but ninja will see through it when they pay attention.”
“What if they don’t pay attention?” Hanabi asked. “We can redirect their attention.”
“Only for so long considering we’re supposed to have Naruto with us. And a Naruto that doesn’t draw attention will be unbelievable to them.”
Ouch. But fair. “How about water clones?”
“I could make them look like Hanabi and you.” Sakura said. “But the henge is not my specialisation. I can’t make them act like you.”
“You need a bunshin and henge expert.” Hanabi said. “Why am I always the one who has to stay behind?”
“Next time we’ll find a way to bring you along.” Naruto said.
Hanabi nodded. “Bring Gaara home, Naruto. Save him.”
“I won’t let Gaara become a second Sasuke.” Naruto said. “We’re going to get him back.”
Hanabi created her copies, letting them morph into Sakura and Naruto. “Then go.”
Temari and Chiyo would be waiting for them. Naruto and Sakura changed their appearances and slipped out of the room, finding the Suna ninja and subtly flashing their signs to let Temari know it was them. She covered for their arrival and they moved out.
Hang on, Gaara. We’re coming.
Notes:
Next chapter in March: A Poison Paradise. In which Naruto and Sakura fight to get Gaara back.
Not too much to say about this chapter, since a lot of it is set up. I try to keep most chapters as self-contained stories, but this is a 3-parter and most of the action happens in the next two chapters. Unless you consider political dealings to be the action in which case... there’s very little action remaining.
The time skip lasted longer than in canon, which gives everyone time to be (almost) jounin and makes Sasuke’s children old enough to not be babies anymore. But the biggest reason is, thanks to this being a rewrite, that we know the kind of enemies Naruto will have to face by the end of the story. And he needs to be near the end of his training for him to play a serious part in those fights.
Update on the editing process, I have most of book 4 ready to go, but progress has halted on books 5 and 6. It’s a little intimidating seeing how much work there’s still to be done, but I’m tackling it one note at a time. As soon as the editing is finished, I can look at a more frequent update schedule.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone still sticking with me! There are so many scenes still to come that I’m very excited about sharing.
Chapter 29: 4.2 A poison paradise (Toxic)
Summary:
We’re coming to save you, Gaara!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Naruto wore his fox body as he sniffed the air. Gaara’s scent was all over the clearing where they had been attacked, mingled together with the two enemies. It was strange. One smelled human with undertones of clay and soot, while the other smelled just like the oils that Kankuro used to grease his puppets. It was almost like Deidara was alone, using a puppet to make it seem like Sasori was with him. Except that did not fit with the witness accounts.
Naruto became human again. “I know what direction they went into. We can track them by scent alone, but it’ll go faster if we know where they’re going.”
“The great spirit caverns are in that direction.” Chiyo said. “Many places to hide. I doubt they would dare get close to the spirit leak itself. It’s more likely they intend to use the spirit touched animals as cover.”
“We should get our summons out.” Sakura said, going through the hand signs. “They’ll be able to help.”
Temari nodded, bringing her own weasel to the real world.
“Greetings, Sakura.” Mirai said, stretching her black feline body. “It’s warm here. Why do you need me?” She eyed the weasel next to her. “In such inferior company.”
“The panther princess?” the weasel smirked. “Oh, I’m quaking in my boots.”
“Stop it, Itatsi.” Temari said. “Gaara has been taken.”
While Temari and Sakura explained the situation to their summons, Naruto gave them their space. He examined the ground for a visual trail.
“Aren’t you going to summon?” Chiyo asked him.
Naruto shook his head. “I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced. I’m Uzumaki Naruto, without a clan.”
“Ah, I see. I am Gokyōdai Chiyo of the Scorpions.”
“Your reputation precedes you. Your skill in puppetry is legendary.”
“If you’re the Tokubetsu Jounin from Konoha without any talent, then so does yours. I just hadn’t linked it to your name or face.” She sighed. “I really am getting old. Just a few years ago I would have recognised you straight away from the bingo book.”
“You’ve led a career that’s well deserving of retirement.”
“You wouldn’t say that so easily if you’d known the people of Konoha I killed. Save your flattery for the weak. You’re just making me feel older with your pity.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Tell me, why do you care so much about Gaara?”
“He’s my friend.”
“You know he’s a jinchuriki. You know your friendship is only temporary.” She said.
Naruto’s lips tightened.
Her expression changed. “That’s not indignation, but stubbornness I see in you now. You’re Konoha’s Jinchuriki.”
“Perhaps.” Naruto said, a tad too quickly.
“No wonder you have such a stake in defeating Akatsuki. But be careful. Sasori slipped from Suna’s fingers despite our best efforts to capture him. He killed the ninja we sent to retrieve him. This group we’ve gathered opportunistically is too small to win.”
“This group all we’ve got. And we can’t afford to wait for reinforcements.”
The summons were caught up and ready to pick up the Akatsuki’s scent.
“It’s foul.” Mirai said. The panther sniffed again with a frown. “Corrupted spiritual energy lingers on their souls. These enemies will be dangerous to fight.”
The weasel nodded. “It’s not natural. Be careful.”
“Can you help track them?” Naruto asked.
“Don’t insult me, Naruto with the Fox.” Mirai started walking off to the spirit caverns. “They could have been gone for weeks and I’d still be able to follow this trail.”
Naruto nodded. “I’ll scout ahead. We’ll keep in touch.”
“Be careful.” Sakura said. “We can’t cover for you if you pull too far ahead.”
“Hold my backpack.” Naruto handed it over, but only after emptying out most of his weapon pack into it. He needed as little weight as possible.
Naruto made the hand signs and concentrated. Small transformations were trivial at this point. But he needed to pay close attention for this one. Even if he could dream a fox’s shape and had mastered the enhanced senses to qualify for Tokubetsu, this new form was still new to him. He hoped to get his Jounin status with it. In a few more months, he would have the familiarity to do it without thinking.
Right now, not so much. He needed to work on compressing his mass and changing his weight. He needed to bring to mind the texture of feathers and the shape of the wings. He needed to think carefully about hollowing his bones and changing his eyes so he could look into the distance.
As a crow he took off into the sky. He shot above the surrounding structures until Sakura and Temari looked tiny. He could see the palace in the distance behind them, and in front of them the mountain range with the spirit caves. His better eyes let him see far ahead and Naruto wondered which route the enemy had taken.
He followed high above as Mirai and the weasel went forward. Naruto would be their eyes as they tracked by scent. And they would get Gaara back.
~*~
Naruto swallowed, pressing himself against the hard stone of the cave entrance. They were far enough away that they could watch the enemy and discuss amongst themselves what to do. If they could figure out what was happening.
“What in the name of the seven gods is that thing?” Chiyo asked.
That’s what Naruto liked to know.
They had not found the Akatsuki on their way through the mountains and in retreat. They had not found them hiding in one of the smaller caves. The Akatsuki had chosen the largest of the caves, which housed the spirit leak itself. And by the spirit leak was an enormous statue. By Chiyo’s reaction, it was not something that used to be there.
“How long have they been planning this?” Temari asked. “To have built this thing here without anyone noticing?”
The statue was massive and depicted a human shape in meditation. It looked to be made of a mixture of wood and stone, blackened from corruption. Whatever worry they had had about the Akatsuki offending the spirits, it did not compare to this abomination. Even Naruto without a connection to the spirits could feel the wrongness of it. And on the structure’s outstretched hands was Gaara, a cloud of his energy being consumed by the statue.
“I don’t like that thing.” Kurama said. “You need to get Shukaku away from it.”
“That’s what we’re going to try.” Naruto said.
“Whatever it’s doing, it’s slow.” Sakura said. “They must’ve been at this for hours.”
“How do we stop it?” Temari asked.
“The two Akatsuki seem to be powering it. We need to distract them.” Naruto looked for anything that could work. “Is there anything we can do to lure the spirit animals here?”
“Not that I know of.” Sakura said.
“There’s no time for this.” Temari said. “We just need to jump in and hope for the best.”
“Temari, don’t!”
But it was too late. She was running in, her big fan turned towards the two Akatsuki members. A huge gust of wind was sent their way.
Sasori lifted one arm towards the wind and released some kind of mechanism out of his sleeve. A burst of wind was released from his arm and stopped Temari’s attack in its tracks. “Interesting.” He said, turning his head to Temari and then the others. His milky white eyes didn’t look like they were capable of sight, yet Sasori zeroed in on each of them easily. A patch of black cloth covered his mouth, and the hair was patchy on the top of his head, like clawed fingers had grabbed his skull. It was a puppet body that looked just human enough to be unnerving, with a large metal segmented tail coming from under his robes like a scorpion.
“Pain in the ass, if you ask me.” The other Akatsuki member said, turning towards them. He looked decidedly more human, though he wore a demon’s grin on his face. He had long blond hair that he wore loosely in a high ponytail, the rest covering one of his eyes. It made the remaining one, highlighted with mascara, all the more creepy as it took them all in. “I thought you said they wouldn’t follow us here.”
“Hence the interest, Deidara. And my own grandmother to visit as well. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Sasori and Deidara had stepped away from the statue completely, yet Gaara was still trapped in its effect. Whatever they had been doing, was not needed to continue the process. The way they were acting, it was like they had all the time in the world.
“It’s slowed down.” Sakura said. “Whatever was happening. We need to keep them talking.”
Chiyo walked up next to Temari, standing tall as she faced her grandson. “You’ve been causing too much trouble for too long. I never should’ve let it get so far. I never should’ve let you escape after what you did to your parents.”
“I had hoped the years had been kinder to your intellect. You still don’t understand why I did it?”
“You defiled the scorpion’s legacy.” Chiyo said. “You disrespected your parents’ wishes. You committed sins against your humanity.”
“And what about my wishes? I was but a child, yet the scorpions had tasked my parents with fighting in a war that they had no stake in. Do you know how often they talked of leaving the Suna ninja corps? The scorpions wouldn’t allow it. They wanted to settle a score with the Beetles. And in their bloodlust, they took my parents from me. And in my own desire for justice, I made sure my parents could stay.”
“You’re insane.”
“The scorpions gambled with their lives, thinking they’d get the talent back after their passing. I merely proved them wrong.” Sasori moved and it activated some kind of seal. From a storage compartment two more puppets were summoned and they stood next to Sasori. They struck a chilling resemblance. “Why should the scorpions get what we have painstakingly accumulated? What right do they have to it?”
“It is their gift that lets us learn.” Chiyo said in disgust. “Show some respect.”
“Have you ever asked them why they haven’t taken the talent away from me?” Sasori asked. “If I abused it so?”
Chiyo frowned.
“Perhaps they are not as responsible for these ‘gifts’ as you think they are.” Sasori said. “Just perhaps we have been sacrificing these gifts through our deaths to beings undeserving of it.”
“Mirai?” Sakura asked.
“His anger to the scorpions blinds him.” The panther said. “And it is up to them to punish their clan members as they see fit.”
Sasori stretched out his arms. “I was offended by the fleetingness of what you all call a ‘great gift’. How am I to be grateful for being lent my powers, only to have to give them up in the next life? What use is power without being permanent?”
“Fuck that.” Deidara said.
Sasori took a deep breath. “You said you’d stay silent.”
“I’m not going to let you hold the stage if you’re going to be sprouting crap like that.” Deidara held up his hands. Each had a literal mouth in the palm, hungry teeth visible even from the distance they were keeping. “These gifts are meant to be enjoyed. They are meant to be used. And how can we use them to their fullest if they are snatched away before the big finale? My brother and sister were born sick and frail. And then they died senselessly without ever getting to grow. So I took their talent before anyone else could snatch it away. One lifetime lived to its fullest, all the more special because it will end. How can you enjoy your gift if you never have to return it?”
“This is the company you keep now, Sasori?” Chiyo asked. “A man who would cannibalise his own family for gain?”
Deidara frowned at her. “You know nothing of my life. But why don’t I show you just a glimpse of it? Let me give you one final gift and show you the divine beauty of the inevitability of the end.” He reached into a bag with his hand and it sounded like chomping.
“Not in the cave.” Sasori said. “Take it outside.”
“I’ll do whatever the fuck I please.”
“It’s time anyway.” Sasori said. He raised his hand for a hand sign and the statue started going faster again.
“No!” Temari shot off more wind, but somehow the damage seemed done. Sasori did not need to hold the sign, jumping out of the way instead and landing with a screeching slide on the stone.
The pull on Gaara did not diminish in the slightest.
Naruto shared one look with Temari and then they were running.
Chiyo brought out her own puppets, sending them after Sasori. Sakura went straight for Deidara, sending out her mist to catch him.
Naruto tried to pull Gaara away. He felt so cold.
“Wake up, idiot.” Temari cried, joining her strength to Naruto’s.
Like a rubber band snapping, finally they got Gaara away from whatever suction effect was keeping him in place.
The statue’s mouth closed and then started dissolving into smoke. Like… like it had just been a summon. Gaara was pale and his eyes stared blankly. Naruto checked for a pulse and it was there, but far too weak.
“We need to wake him up.” Temari said. “We have to…”
“It’s too late.” Itatsi said. “There’s nothing left to save. The soul is gone.”
“Wh-what did you do to him?” Temari turned to the Akatsuki.
Sasori had the gall to chuckle. “So worried we would separate the Ichibi from Gaara, weren’t you? The bond between Gaara’s soul and the Ichibi is just too strong to divide. So we just took them both.”
Temari grit her teeth. “I will kill you for this.”
“Foolish little girl. Many smarter ninja with cooler heads have tried. What makes you think you’re in any state to put up as much of a challenge as them?”
Temari was far too focussed on her desire to hurt him to listen.
She flung her fan again and Sasori lazily raised his arm for a counter blast of wind. Their attacks met in the middle and cancelled each other out. But Temari was not finished, she had already started running and as soon as the wind died down she was going for Sasori. Under the cover of the storm she had created before, the sand masked her movements.
She wielded her giant fan as a club, aiming for the arm with the air mechanics in them.
Sasori chuckled as he blocked the attack with that same arm as if it had not just been assaulted with a dangerously heavy mass of iron. He twisted his hand and released a thick poisonous gas cloud that quickly spread outwards.
Temari had to scramble to get away in time, frantically dodging the dozens of senbon needles that were flung after her.
Naruto held his breath, shutting his mouth with a henge for good measure. He could not risk getting exposed to the poison. He had seen how much damage it had done to Kankuro and Naruto’s Jinchuriki body was more vulnerable to poisons by far.
Sakura diverted her attention to Sasori, gathering her mist against the poison cloud and limiting its spread. “Take care of the other one!”
Naruto turned his attention to the blond Akatsuki villain. He was looking manic as he bounced excitedly on his feet. “Such a sweetheart, Sasori, giving me an excuse to leave.”
If he wanted to go, Naruto wouldn’t stop him. They only needed one Akatsuki member for interrogation.
Deidara put down his hands and from the grizzly hands flowed clay. Within seconds, it formed the shape of a bird, carrying Deidara.
He put out his hands towards Naruto and out flew a miniature bird. “Have a gift.”
A clay bird? What could that do? Naruto eyed it with suspicion as it calmly flew towards him. It was clearly no normal clay if it was able animate and follow Deidara’s commands.
Perhaps it was something like Shino’s bugs, able to leech chakra from others. That would be fitting for someone that had mouths on his hands. Perhaps it was more like Shikamaru’s shadows, able to cover someone else and suffocate them.
Naruto was tempted to throw a kunai at it, to see what it would do. As little as he knew of Deidara, it was clear from how he had spoken that his gifts were not to be desired.
Naruto reached for his kunai and he could see Deidara smirking as he formed his hands into a seal. It was the seal of activating a sealing technique. Like an explosive tag.
Clay and soot. Crap.
Naruto dove away just in time as the little bird exploded. He could feel the force of it as pressure in his bones, his ears ringing from the sound. He needed to reinforce his ear drums if he kept fighting.
Luckily Deidara had used his distraction to fly out of the cave. That was one less thing to worry about and he could concentrate on Gaara.
Except Gaara had disappeared. The boy had been right there just a moment ago, and now he was gone.
Deidara was flying away on his bird of clay, carrying Gaara’s body with him.
Not if Naruto had anything to say about it.
Naruto did not take the time to concentrate. He did not take the time to be careful. The image was still in his head and he was more than willing to risk it.
As a crow, he flew after Deidara.
He was faster. Smaller and less burdened even without removing his backpack first.
They quickly left the cave, flying over the surrounding obstacles of stone and sand like they did not exist. Every dangerous turn it looked like Gaara might be slipping, but somehow Deidara held on.
Just as Naruto was about to get close enough to attack, a bird of clay flew towards him. Naruto had to twist away to stay unharmed.
There was no easy point of attack here. Deidara could block most of Naruto’s moves simply by leaving behind some of that exploding clay. At least there was only a finite supply and Naruto could exhaust it with enough time and effort.
That was a risky strategy though. One stray explosion and Naruto would be in no state to continue.
His heart started beating faster as he realised how quickly he had followed Deidara, member of an organisation that had gathered Gaara for being a jinchuriji. Just like Naruto.
This was a trap. Naruto had separated himself from his allies and he was in grave danger if he kept following Deidara under the presumption that he would eventually have a chance to overtake him with enough time. Having time was not a sure thing.
Unless it wasn’t a trap and Akatsuki needed Gaara’s body for something else. Perhaps their ritual was not complete yet and this was Naruto’s only choice to save Gaara.
Or was that too optimistic? Itatsi had been certain it was already too late.
“It’s not too late.”
Naruto startled from the voice beside him. He had assumed it was just another crow. “You’re a summon.”
“Don’t you recognise the fiercest bird you’d ever seen before?”
Naruto smiled as far as the beak allowed him to. “Nozomu. You’re Sasuke’s.”
“There is still time to undo the damage.” It said. “But Gaara needs to be returned to the spirit leak.”
“I can’t catch up to Deidara. He’s too fast.”
“Sasuke and I will get to him. You need to make sure the spirit leak is safe.”
“Right.” Naruto said. That would involve flying back and leaving this completely in the hands of Sasuke and his crow summon. “What are you even doing here?”
“We have been tracking the Akatsuki. For obvious reasons.”
Naruto frowned. “It’s too soon for Sasuke to be chasing after Itachi.”
“Sasuke is ready enough. And he wants out of the snake demon’s thumb. That involves killing Itachi.”
Naruto looked to Gaara once more. Every second that passed, Gaara’s body looked further away from life. Naruto had not figured out a way to get him yet. “And you have a way of catching Deidara?”
“Sasuke has a plan. You know how he is.”
The Uchiha accomplished whatever goal he set his eyes on. “Yeah.”
“Leave this to us.”
Naruto reluctantly nodded. He spared one look around him, but Sasuke himself was nowhere to be found. And then he turned around, back to the cave.
Deidara actually paused as Naruto changed direction. Naruto had been right. The Akatsuki had been leading him to some kind of trap. But the moment Deidara stood still in the air, trying to lure Naruto back into pursuit, Sasuke was upon the enemy ninja with destructive fire and sharp ninja wire. Naruto and Sasuke locked eyes for just a second and Naruto longed to stay behind and talk with him.
But saving Gaara was for naught if they did not have the spirit point of coalescence under control as well.
Naruto retraced his flight path. Despite all of the manoeuvres, they had not gone too far away from Sasori. They had turned around often and their stunts had kept them too busy to fly straight. Going back was easier.
The sight that greeted him, decidedly less so.
There were three of them fighting Sasori, and still Sasori seemed to have the upper hand.
The puppet of Sasori’s father was fighting against Temari, withstanding blows from Temari’s heavy fan and countering with a two-handed hammer that he seemed to be wielding with just one hand.
Sasori’s mother was trading blows with Chiyo. She had her own puppet out that looked like a feral cat and acted the part. While Sasori’s puppet wielded a spear and seemed meticulous and precise with its use, Chiyo’s puppet excelled in speed and blocking the attacks. It moved in to scratch up the puppet and dodged away before Sasori’s mother could pin the cat down.
Sakura was tackling Sasori’s main body. He looked like a scorpion inside of his protective shell of a puppet. He was constantly leaking poison and Sakura put effort into containing everything with her mist. Her efforts were the only thing standing between the three of them getting poisoned or being able to continue the fight.
Not that Sakura was limiting herself to a defensive role in the fight. She kept moving in quickly and trying to land a hard blow on Sasori’s body, her hand charged with the rasengan.
There were no easy paths to destroying the puppets. And dealing with the puppet master was the more direct approach. Naruto landed besides Sakura. “Sorry for leaving.”
“Gaara?”
“Sasuke’s taking care of it.”
Sakura let out a little gasp of surprise, but quickly focussed back on the fight.
“Of course.” Sasori grumbled. “That fool Deidara could not even distract you long enough for me to finish my fight. Useless teammate. No matter. I’ll just have to take care of things myself.”
“He’s annoyingly good at dodging.” Sakura said. “I need him to stay still for just a moment. I’ve been trying to catch him with genjutsu, but the puppet he’s in has some kind of defence against it. It’s like he isn’t even there.”
“Do you have a seal?” Naruto asked.
“Nothing that’s specific enough. I can’t make something either. Unless I can drop out of the fight for a few hours.”
“So we’ll have to get creative.” Luckily, that was one of Naruto’s specialties.
Naruto thought back. While chasing Sasuke, their team had been trapped in a variety of ways. The first annoying enemy had trapped them in a dome of earth, but they had no earth-chakra users available here. One had used genjutsu, which was not working. Another had used a sticky web.
Naruto carried many smoke bombs with him, but nothing that worked as a glue trap. Just like seals would not work without proper preparation, he could not work out a plan that was contingent on him having a substance he did not actually have.
There was one more way they had been trapped. And maybe that would work.
Naruto flooded his surroundings with wind chakra. He needed a dome for his henge to spread. That was a matter of routine by now. And then he took his time splitting in two. He did not have the luxury of going slow. Even though he did not have the time to duplicate everything, he needed at least two more functioning eyes to get depth perception. He needed four functional legs and four functional arms. He could get away with splitting his ears between his two, his nasal passages, his lungs.
To compensate, he used smaller forms.
For years he used Konohamaru’s body when he needed to be smaller. He still liked the form, but Konohamaru had been getting taller and taller and Naruto sometimes accidentally became the taller older chuunin Konohamaru now was instead of the tiny Academy Student. Besides, there was somebody more fitting when he needed two small shapes.
Yukiko and Katsuo ran around Sasori. They took on opposite positions from Sakura, surrounding the enemy.
Sasori tried to move away, but the Uchiha twins had strong blasts of wind at their disposal. With just a few hand signs, they created a gust strong enough to intercept the Akatsuki puppeteer and force him to stay in place.
“I thought you were only versed in Henge.” Sasori grumbled. “I didn’t know you could clone yourself.”
Let him keep thinking that. Naruto’s chakra net stayed strong, but there was no telling what tricks Sasori would have up his sleeves if he realised what Naruto was doing. If he realised how Naruto had become a creature with four legs and arms, connected only through chakra.
Sakura ran towards him, a rasengan in her palm. He tried to dodge, but Naruto’s wind forced him back. Sakura’s attack was too close to dodge. Yet Sasori managed anyway. He pushed his scorpion tail into the ground and then flung himself out of Sakura’s way and into the air.
He twisted in the air and started throwing senbon. By the man’s reputation, they had to be tipped in poison. The Uchiha twins had their kunai in front of them, blocking the needles that threatened to come too close. One of the needles hit a fake wall behind Yukiko, revealing the mechanism that was now exploding senbons straight towards her.
Katsuo’s eyes saw the attack though and Yukiko managed to turn around quickly enough to block and dodge.
“Not a clone.” Sasori mused as he dropped back to the ground. Sakura had moved back enough that the three of them were still surrounding the puppeteer.
All this while Sasori’s puppets were fighting without pause. Neither Chiyo nor Temari were able to get the upper hand as they battled the puppets. No man should have this much ability to multitask. It was clear he was thinking about what to do with Naruto.
Naruto needed to move fast. He signalled Sakura and they rushed Sasori together. They could not give him time to think. Sakura still had the rasengan in one hand, wielding a kunai with the other. Katsuo was the first to swing with his kunai. It was easily blocked by an arm that felt strong as steel. The armour on Sasori’s body was insanely strong.
Yukiko attacked from the other side, blocked by the other arm. That was supposed to free up the attack for Sakura. She went for Sasori’s chest. Sasori brough his arm to grasp Sakura’s wrist. Yukiko went for Sasori’s side, now open. Except Sasori’s tail took the attack and started countering. Three limbs for three fighters.
The kunai weren’t strong enough. But the twins had something stronger. Katsuo held out his free hand and gathered up wind chakra. Yukiko put her kunai in her mouth as she used both hands to stabilise the sphere of wind energy until it was fiercely twisting, like the flapping of a bird’s wings.
Katsuo and Sakura coordinated, trying to pincer the puppeteer. Just one hit would be enough to break through his armour. Yet neither the rasengan nor the Senbazuru were making contact, no matter what they tried or how much support Yukiko gave them.
No matter how much the Uchiha twins could coordinate, no matter how well they fought together with Sakura, this was a man who was used to holding off multiple jounin like they were nothing. Naruto and Sakura would have to be proud at the fact they had kept Sasori busy enough that it took the Akatsuki several minutes before he had a chance to deploy his poison gas.
Sakura’s mist protected her, but Naruto would have to back off. He held his breath and wondered if they even had a next move after this. That armour needed to come off. It had too many traps built into it. It was too strong and it needed a direct attack.
Sasori needed to be immobile.
This was going to suck.
The Uchiha twins dropped their kunai to the ground, letting the knives penetrate the earth. They kicked down to make sure the kunai were wedged down as deep as they could go. Yukiko and Katsuo reached towards each other and linked hands. There was a poof of smoke as Naruto layered his next henge. How embarrassing was that, expelling smoke as if he was an amateur. In his defence, it was a complicated shape.
A net of his Adamentine Sealing Chains, connected to the kunai wedged into the ground, surrounded Sasori tightly enough to push him down and into place. Naruto could not see with eyes or hear with ears. He was the net. It was the only way to make it strong enough to hold down Sasori. He was dependent on the wind chakra dome to sense what was going on.
The moment Sakura’s rasengan connected with Sasori’s back, Naruto felt free to release the transformation.
He jumped out of the way of exploding shrapnel, keeping his mouth closed until he could confirm the poison had already been blown away. His muscles felt sore. Inorganic transformations were never easy.
The smoke was starting to clear. Sasori’s heavy armour was broken and shattered to the side.
“No wonder genjutsu was not working on you.” Sakura said.
Without the bulky scorpion armour, Sasori looked like any other ninja. His red hair was short and wild. He did not look particularly menacing from a distance. But that was only at first glance. The more Naruto stared, the more obvious it became that Sasori was not what he appeared. His face was just a little off, like a henge that had gone wrong. His body was not as it should be.
At some point, he had turned himself into a puppet.
“What have you done?” Chiyo asked, gasping.
“My finest creation, grandmother. I already made sure the scorpions could not take my parents’ hard work from me and now I have made sure they will not take mine either. I am eternal.”
“You have trapped your soul off from the spirits.” Chiyo said. “They will never forgive this.”
“Lucky for me then that I will never have to answer to them.” Sasori stepped to the side and jumped towards Sakura.
Within the blink of an eye he was next to her, kicking and punching. Sakura had trouble keeping up. Sasori was faster without his armour and he was vicious to boot. His puppets were putting on the pressure on Temari and Chiyo as well.
For all the progress they had made destroying the scorpion puppet, it had also put Sasori in the position of having to control one puppet less. The undivided attention was hard to withstand.
“I’ll admit I’ve never seen this before.” Sakura said. “Someone who would isolate thei soul away from their human body just to be able to avoid my genjutsu mastery.”
“Please.” Sasori said. “Genjutsu specialists merely tug on the strings of a person’s mind. I have control over their actual body.”
“If they’re stupid enough to let you attach chakra strings.” Sakura said, a reinforced hand breaking off the few strands that were airborn and trying to get to her body.
“You’d be surprised how often that works. I wonder what you can do if your specialisation is neutralised.”
“I’m still a medic.”
“Yes, safe from my poison. How annoying. Like that will save you.”
Sakura was too slow to respond and Sasori exploited the opening, delivering a devastating kick against her midriff. She was thrown away until she crashed into a cave wall. It sounded like she had broken some bones.
“Disappointing showing, little medic.” Sasori said.
“I’m also a seals specialist.” Sakura grinned. She made the hand sign and the explosive tag she had attacked to Sasori’s body in their fight went off.
When the smoke cleared, Sasori’s body was blown to pieces. That should have been the end of it. But the pieces of Sasori’s puppet body started trembling, before realigning itself back into a whole. Each part clicked together until the puppet master was complete again. He stood with a frown. His clothes had torn and there seemed to be some tears on his puppet body. “You’ll pay for that.”
Sakura stood. Her hand glowed green as she passed it over her broken bones, healing them. “I wonder if you can repair yourself as easily as I can.”
“Yes.” Sasori said. “I wonder.” A compartment in his chest opened and out bellowed poisonous smoke. Unlike his previous clouds, this exploded around him. It seemed impossible to avoid.
It was so thick that Naruto dared not let it touch his skin. He ran towards Sakura and activated a wind jutsu to combine with her fog. It spiralled around them. Across the cave, he could see Temari rushing towards Chiyo to do the same.
The purple smoke came towards them and crashed against Naruto’s dome. It immediately tried to mix with the air in their protected bubble and Naruto had to push it out with great effort.
“What’s next?” Sakura asked. “I can’t see or sense him.”
Naruto pushed the fox nose to his face. “It’s hard to smell him through the poison, but I think I can do it.”
“And then what?” Sakura grunted. “His Scorpion puppet was laden with traps and his actual body won’t be any different.”
Naruto tried to think up a plan. But what could they do?
Sasori had this poison at his disposal that he and his puppets were immune to. He had a body that was immune to most damage and could reassemble itself. How had he been able to do that? Naruto had assumed he had integrated his soul into the puppet, but then splitting himself should have hurt more. Naruto would know. It had to be simpler than that if Sasori could still control everything even without the parts being attached to each other.
It had to be chakra strings originating from a singular point. The very core of Sasori could still make these strings and he used them to control the puppet that was his own body. That had to mean he had less control over his own body than he was letting on.
But also that he was more vulnerable. The way to defeat him was to destroy the heart of him.
“He’s not coming.” Sakura said.
“He won’t leave us waiting for long.” Naruto said.
The smoke was not dissipating like it should. Sasori must have done something to the cave entrance to block in the poison. So that was an obstacle they would have to overcome.
“Sakura, do you think you could heal me if I get poisoned?”
“Maybe.” She said. “I have some antidote left from Kankuro’s treatment. But you’d need more of it and faster.”
“What dose of the poison do you think I can take without dying?”
“About 20 milligrams.”
Naruto tried to calculate how much that would be with skin contact. How much he would be able to breath in. Not a lot.
“I think I have a way around the poison, but it’s dangerous.” Naruto said. “I can keep Sasori busy.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Get to Chiyo. Help her take over Sasori’s puppets so we can turn them against him. And leave as much of your stuff here you can spare.”
Sakura nodded, handing over her backpack without comment. “Good luck.”
Naruto took a deep breath. Sakura gathered her mist with her and moved away from their bubble and towards Chiyo. Naruto concentrated as hard as he could as he took in all of his own mass and that of the wind dome as well.
When he opened his eyes again, he was wearing goggles. The air from his dome had been concentrated into metal oxygen tanks on his back. He had used most of his weapons to create a thin layer of armour over his body and then a sealed suit over that. He was covered from head to toe and even though the smoke was thick, he was not completely blind in it.
He created one more dome of wind chakra around him. It was too weak to propel the poison away, but that was not its purpose. He just needed to be able to tell if anyone was near.
He made his way to where he had smelled Sasori and wielded his improvised club. Knives were ineffectual against a puppet that did not bleed. He needed mass to hurt the monster.
It took Sasori a precious moment to realise Naruto was there, barely stepping out of the way in time. He had just as much trouble seeing through the poison mist, even if he had his own ways of sensing like Naruto did.
Naruto swung his giant club and displaced poison with his swing. It missed Sasori’s body by just a few inches. He went for another swing and this time Sasori was expecting it. He had turned to face Naruto and sidestepped the attack. Sasori held out his hand towards Naruto. It bent at an unnatural angle to reveal the empty arm socket behind the hand, shooting off senbon.
Naruto held his club like a shield, moving it from side to side to deflect as many of the projectiles as he could. The needles passed his arms and tore open his protective suit. The metal armour kept any of the needles from puncturing his skin, yet he could already feel where the smoke was trying to crawl under the protective layer and search for any exposure.
Naruto dashed forward again, one continuous swing after the other. Sasori stepped back with an unnatural speed. His belly had opened to reveal a long metal wire that he could freely manipulate and help him manoeuvre. All Naruto needed was one good hit. Just one moment of inattention.
“Sakura! Could really use some help right now!” Naruto shouted between swings.
“We can’t see the puppets!” Sakura yelled back.
Naruto faltered in his next swing, feeling pain in his arm. The poison was touching his skin. It was only going to get worse from there.
“You’re out of time.” Sasori said, smirking.
“Unlucky for you.” Naruto was touching the poison. The whole cloud was connected and Naruto drew it all in for his next Henge. He tried to shape it into something he could attack Sasori with, but it was difficult enough holding onto all that poison in its gaseous form. Naruto settled on a few containers of liquid attacked to his belt.
Suddenly, the smoke was gone and they could see again. The puppets that had been utilising their invisibility were exposed and Sakura took advantage of that immediately. The puppets fell as their strings were cut, rising slowly again under Chiyo’s control.
Sasori stepped forward, dropping his arm and revealing a hidden blade. Naruto tried to move and the pain was just too great. Sasori ran a sword through Naruto’s side.
Naruto’s kawarimi had been just in time.
He dropped from the ceiling, his giant club outstretched as Sasori stood with his blade stuck in a log of wood. It fell onto Sasori’s back and did not stop until Sasori was on the ground and his whole body was scattered.
Naruto was out of range for most of it. The torso had been tossed away, containing the weak heart. But not everything was so far away. Naruto went for one of the arms, bringing the club down on one of the joints again and again, smashing it up beyond usability.
Sasori quickly reformed himself, but with one arm hanging loosely at his shoulder, held up with chakra string and hope. “Big mistake.”
Now Naruto just had to manage that half a dozen more times.
Sasori was ready to point his wrath at Naruto, but his own puppets had finally turned against him. They rushed him and Sasori had to put his effort into dodging them.
“You do not know these puppets like I do, grandmother.”
“Oh sweet child. I taught you for years and I know more than you realise.”
The puppets released a net from a mechanism, attempting to capture Sasori, before both activated flame throwers and tried to incinerate the Akatsuki.
Sasori shot a cable from his midsection around a nearby rock, using it to quickly pull his body away from the danger. “I’m not a child anymore.” He released a scroll from one compartment and unrolled it while still airborne. A handseal unlocked the storage scroll and a dozen puppets appeared. Each one had the same unnerving aura that Sasori’s parents’ puppets had. They had been created from human bodies.
“Chiyo!” Naruto yelled out.
“I’m trying!” She was making chakra strings as fast as she could, trying to capture the new puppets.
But Sasori was faster and pulled them out of the way. He had control over them and was in a very good place to turn the fight back around in his favour.
Naruto’s arm throbbed where the poison had affected him. Even with the collection of the other gas, he had not dared mess with the poison he had already absorbed. There was too big a chance he would only make it worse. He could already feel the cracks in his current transformation, the condensed gas wishing to escape.
There simply was no way to win if they extended this fight.
“Get ready Chiyo!”
“FOR WHAT?!” She yelled back.
Naruto concentrated on the arm he had mangled. Sasori was only keeping it loosely connected to his body, only had a grip with chakra strings. It was not properly connected to him like a real arm was.
Naruto made his connection to and yanked it away from him with his kawarimi. Suddenly Naruto was next to Sasori, the damaged arm on the other side of the cave. Naruto placed an explosive seal on Sasori’s body and jumped back.
The explosion went off before Naruto was fully out of range, knocking him back. He had to hold onto his henge with all his might. But as badly as Naruto was affected by the blast, Sasori was hit harder. His puppet body was once more flung aside his chakra strings disrupted.
And again he was already reforming.
Chiyo rushed forward, guarded from attacking puppets by Sakura and Temari flanking her on either side. She cast a net of chakra strings over Sasori’s puppet body and took hold of the individual pieces. Sasori was stronger than her. He knew the puppet body better. In their tug of war, Sasori was winning.
But not effortlessly. His body was only slowly reforming.
Sasori’s parents’ puppets had swords out as they reached Sasori’s body under Chiyo’s command. They pushed the swords through Sasori’s torso right through the heart. No. Right through where the heart was supposed to be. Instead their swords went through an empty compartment.
Sasori’s heart had been ejected, wrapped in a layer of protections with wings that was now flying away. The Akatsuki continued to be more slippery than Naruto had given him credit for.
“He’s escaping.” Chiyo said.
“We’re in no state to chase him.” Sakura said. “We need to rest and heal.”
“Is there a chance he’ll come back with more puppets?” Naruto asked.
“No.” Chiyo said. “Those ten puppets at the end, some of them were still prototypes. If he had other back-ups lying around, he would have brought those to the fight. He’ll return to his workshop.”
“We need to seal the puppets first.” Naruto said. “In case he does risk coming back and manages to land chakra strings before we can stop him.”
“I’ll do it.” Temari said. “I might not be a sealing expert, but I know my way around storage scrolls.”
Naruto nodded. “I need to get rid of this poison.”
The cave entrance had been sealed up with a slab of stone. Sakura made short work of it with her rasengan, and Naruto could release the canisters somewhere that they could dissipate into the air.
He dropped his henge and salvaged his raw materials best he could. Most of the kunai were fine, but some had broken where the senbon had damaged his steel armour. Some of his clothing stayed ripped and he would have to put them on the pile to mend.
“Show me that arm.”
Naruto let Sakura take a look. The arm had bruised and Sakura’s emergency treatment was not enough to cure him. He had to take the lion’s share of the antidote of the poison. There was just enough left for Sakura, Temari and Chiyo to take a small dose as well.
It was only when they had settled down, when the adrenaline had worn off, that Temari allowed herself to mourn. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”
“Sasuke thinks there’s still a chance.”
Temari stared at Naruto. “How?”
“I don’t know.”
Sasuke’s entrance could not have been more well planned. “I trust none of you are going to attack me.” He held Gaara in his arms.
Naruto showed his hands did not carry weapons. “If you can get Gaara back, I’ll give you half a dozen free passes.”
Sakura took a deep breath, steeling her resolve. “Sasuke. You finally dare show your face to me again?”
“I wasn’t happy about leaving, you know.” Sasuke said. He carried Gaara to the spirit point, putting him down gently. “You sound angrier now than you do in your letters.”
“It’s easier to forget you taking Orochimaru’s side when you’re not right in front of me.”
“Stop this.” Temari said. “You said there’s still a chance for my brother?”
“We think so. Sakura, what do you make of his body?”
Sakura stared at Sasuke for a few more moments, before shifting her focus on her patient. She ran her hands over Gaara’s body. “There’s some superficial damage that I can fix, but there’s no activity in the brain. His chakra network is not circulating. His soul is gone and it is only a matter of time before the body follows.”
“This is not the first Jinchuuriki that they’ve taken like this.” Sasuke said. “We’ve heard that there’s already been another tailed beast stolen. We do not know how they manage it, but somehow they’ve forced Gaara’s soul out of his body and into the spirit world. It’s intertwined with the Ichibi for now, but they’ll be working on separating them. If you get to Gaara before the separation is complete, there’s still a chance.”
“You’re mad.” Temari said. “No human soul can go into the spirit world.”
“It has been done. Isn’t that right, Chiyo?”
The old woman glared at him. “The techniques are secret for a reason, boy.”
“What’s he talking about?” Temari asked.
“Chiyo has friends who visited the spirit world once before.” Sasuke said. “Even if she refuses to tell anyone how they did it.”
“Most of them died in the attempt.” Chiyo said. “It is dangerous. Far too dangerous to spread the information around.”
“But it’s Gaara’s only chance.” Temari said. “I’ll do it. I’ll go to the spirit world.”
“No.” Chiyo shook her head. “I would not suggest it for anyone, but especially not you. The dangers in the spirit world will hurt your very soul. Travelling to the other realm, you put your talent on the line. You’re ninja royalty as the former Hokage’s daughter. You can’t afford the risk.”
“Then I’ll do it.” Naruto said immediately. “I don’t have any talent to lose.”
Chiyo scoffed. “Yes, the Jinchuriki. And what do you think will happen if you get injured? Temari might lose half her talent if she gets attacked. But you don’t even have that protection. Not to mention your death would soon be followed by ours when your tailed beast is unleashed.”
“We can’t just sit here and do nothing.” Naruto said.
“Please, Chiyo.” Temari said. “He’s my brother. I promised I’d bring him back.”
“Even if it would cost you your life?”
Temari flinched.
“What’s gotten you so scared that you won’t let us try?” Naruto asked.
“The spirit world is a land beyond our understanding, inhabited by creatures that we do not comprehend with rules that we do not know. Our very souls protest visiting the spirit world before it’s our time and there is no guarantee you will come out the same person you were when you went in. I know of the temptation. I do. It was my very husband that we were attempting to save when we visited the spirit world last.”
Temari’s eyes widened. “What happened?”
“He had been hit with a spiritual weapon and our spirit animals said only water from a holy spring in the spirit world would be able to heal him. Our wisest spiritual leader took nine acolytes and they entered the spirit real. I waited, tending to their bodies. One by one they perished. Only the spiritual leader returned, his mission a failure, refusing to talk of what he had seen. He has never been the same since.”
Sakura and Temari looked down. It seemed like they had already given up.
That wasn’t Naruto’s style. “I’ll just have to beat those odds then.”
The old woman sighed. “Even if you get to the spirit world, it’s not like Gaara will be right there. You’d have to look for him. You can’t do that without a guide.”
“He has one.” Itatsi said.
“Please.” Mirai gave the weasel a look. “You wouldn’t be able to guide the sun to set.”
“Gaara was taken here, where the weasels know the spirit world the best.”
“If you think that’ll help you then you know even less than I thought.”
“Can you help?” Sakura asked.
Mirai looked uncomfortable. “Humans don’t belong in the spirit world. It’ll taint the panthers to be seen guiding one. Nozomu, why don’t you guide the boy?”
“I do not have the backing of all crows to be here.” Nozomu said. “If I go against Itachi openly in the spirit world, I might not be able to return to Sasuke. I’m sorry, Naruto.”
“I understand.” Naruto said. He turned to Chiyo. “And the scorpions?”
“The scorpions won’t listen to my summons, not while Sasori still lives.” She said. “They may not have taken Sasori’s talent from him, but they punish us in their own way.
Sakura looked to her panther again. “Please, princess Mirai, I implore you.”
Mirai did not look pleased. “Fine. I’ll go. Humans do not belong in the spirit world. So let’s bring Gaara back where he belongs.”
“And you’re sure you want to do this?” Chiyo asked. “A Konoha ninja would do this for Suna?”
“No.” Naruto looked at Gaara’s pale face. The hollow eyes that had been full of life. They had met under the most horrendous of circumstances. But Gaara was the only person Naruto had ever met who understood what Naruto had gone through. Gaara was the only Jinchuuriki Naruto had ever connected with. And even though they had been apart for years, he knew Gaara would do the same for Naruto in a heartbeat. “For Gaara.”
Chiyo looked uncomprehending.
“Once Naruto sets his mind on something, he follows through.” Sasuke said. “Tell us how to do it.”
Chiyo rubbed at her eyes in frustration. “We’ll need some set-up.”
~*~
The seal around Naruto looked complicated. “What is this?”
Sakura was studying the work. “Something for concentration?”
“There is no mortal jutsu that will just allow you to transport yourself to the spirit world.” Chiyo said. “You need to be close to a spirit leak and you have to do most of the work yourself.”
Sasuke frowned. “That’s the secret you’ve been keeping?”
“The simplicity is exactly why we must not speak openly of this. How many people would try and succeed if they knew this was possible?”
Naruto sat down in the centre. “What do I do?”
Chiyo lit candles in a circle around him. “You must go into your mindscape and you must find a door.”
“I’ve been there many times and I’ve never seen a door before.”
“You’ve never been so close to the spirit leak before while visiting, I take it.” Chiyo said. “We will call upon the spirits and the door should be clearer to you.”
“How will the spirit animals follow me?”
“They’ll know when you’re on the other side.” She turned to the weasel and panther that had taken position beside Naruto. “You have a way to follow him?”
Mirai nodded. “We’ve travelled between the worlds so often that this is child’s play.”
Naruto closed his eyes. Around him Chiyo and the others started chanting.
It was easy to fall back into Kurama’s world. Visiting was calming under normal circumstances. Naruto landed in the middle of a circle of trees. The ground and the trees were covered with the symbols that had once lined the sewers. Around it was a large forest and Kurama was normally roaming through it. Now he stood at the outside of the circle of trees, waiting for Naruto.
Once he had looked like a demon, with teeth and claws made of metal, and deep bleeding wounds all over his body. He had become a demon because he was treated like one, and the more Naruto worked with Kurama on the spirit leaks, the more his appearance had changed. He had gleaming white fangs now, and healthy sharp claws. His wounds had scarred and his fur had become softer, though still dirty with blood no matter how often they had tried to wash him clean.
“It’s not your place to go to the spirit world.” Kurama said. “It’s not a place for humans.”
“So I’ve been told.” Naruto said. “Not like I have much of a choice. Do you know where the door is?”
Kurama shrugged. “If you need a door, why don’t you just make one?”
It sounded strange, but Naruto had been able to manipulate his mental space for a while now. He tried to picture a door and he could feel a dim pulling at the rhythm of the chanting.
The picture in his mind was clear. Two of the trees started growing vines towards each other, creating first a wall until more and more shapes started forming. The wood hardened into steel and the steel engraved itself with symbols and shapes. The most prominent shape was of small foxes. It was hard to say whether they were meant to represent Naruto’s henge form or Kurama.
“You’ve become scarily good at that.” Kurama said. He stalked around the circle to get a better look at the door.
“You were the expert at scary glares. I had to find another way to instil fear into my foes.” Naruto said seriously. “All beware of Naruto, master woodworker.”
Naruto walked to the door. It was twice his height, with a large iron ring as a door handle. Naruto took a grip of it and pulled. The door refused to budge.
“It’s not working.” Naruto turned to the fox.
Kurama shrugged. “I don’t have any experience with this. You’ll have to figure it out by yourself.”
Naruto put his palm against the door and tried to feel his way around. His chakra could sense the metal and a realm beyond. But there was a layer separating the two. A layer of red chakra. “You’re not letting me pass through.”
Kurama tilted his head. “I’m not doing anything.”
“Then it has to be something symbolic. I can’t pass through unless you give your permission.”
The fox scoffed. “I have no intention of giving my blessing on a fool’s errand.”
“It’s to save Gaara.”
“Yes. You keep saying that. For someone with dreams of the future, you sure are willing to sacrifice yourself for the smallest reasons. What about your promise to become Hokage? What about your promises to me?”
“I have no intention of letting anything happen to me in the spirit world.”
Kurama shook his head. “You can think as you like. But I will have no part in this. If you need my permission to pass through this gate, you are not passing it.”
Naruto cursed. “You stupid fox.”
“Accept my denial as a gift, vulpelculis.” Kurama said. “Of a fate I saved you of.”
Naruto rose from his mental space.
“Don’t be disappointed if it takes a few times to get it right.” Chiyo said. “The previous time it took hours for my friends to find their mental space and…”
“That wasn’t the problem.” Naruto said. “I can’t pass through the door. Kurama won’t let me.”
“Why does he get a say?” Sakura asked. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“We share that dream space. He has some matter of control whether I can move through it.”
Sakura shook her head. “You can manipulate the space there. It’s your mental space. A demon seal can’t just…” She gasped. “He’s not in your mental space.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The seal created a new space.” Sakura said. “Your mental space is somewhere else. The first chakra point.”
The mind. Naruto nodded thoughtfully. When he had searched for the mental space to talk to Kurama, he had discovered two places where his chakra felt different. His head and his stomach. He had focussed all his effort on the latter when he had found Kurama. He had actually forgotten there was even another.
“I’ll give it a try.”
The meditative stance was easy, not reaching for Kurama’s space out of habit was difficult. He explored his chakra system and reaffirmed his findings of so many years ago. His mind held a point that was always shifting. The moment Naruto tried to grasp it, it got away from him.
It moved like wind. And Naruto had long since discovered how to deal with that kind of chaos.
Naruto’s attention moved with the waves of chakra rolling around his head. When he was younger he had imagined a boat at sea. And that image still helped him to make sense of what he was feeling.
Naruto was not the wind that moved without control. He was the tempest itself and it was fine if his first chakra point did not want to stay still. Naruto knew just what that was like. Naruto would not force it into one place. He grasped for it and held on. Not to stop it from moving, but to be dragged along for the ride.
When Naruto opened his eyes, he had to gasp.
It was his apartment. He ran his hand over the table by the entrance, the wood familiar and just as ancient as it had always been. That furniture had been destroyed long ago. He stood on a welcome mat with stains like he remembered them. The walls were cleaner than they had ever been, save for one stain that Naruto liked to stare at. It was the exact same shape as Jiji’s mole.
Naruto wandered into the kitchen. There was a kettle on the table, two mugs on either side filled with tea. Jiji’s old cup and Naruto’s new one. It even smelled of Jiji’s favourite blend. The living room had kunai stalled out on the table by the couch. Not just any kunai either. These were the ones that Naruto had salvaged from his apartment and had saved for his personal collection. He only used them for transformations. They would only be thrown at enemies if he had no other choice.
Naruto could not help himself as he sat down on the couch. This felt like home. Like the Uchiha compound never had. Even though he could see their influences as well.
On the wall where there used to be a painting, hanging there since Naruto moved in, was now a framed drawing made by Yukiko. In the book case was a stuffed animal that Naruto had bought Katsuo. The little boy had dragged the stuffed fox with him everywhere he went.
Naruto had once read that people accessed their mind spaces as a form of relaxation. His experience with a demon-infested sewer had quickly made him dismiss those claims as nonsensical. But he could see it now. Everything around him was significant and emotional. Naruto realised both that he should be able to change this place and that he had no desire to. It was perfect just the way it was.
He could feel another hum. The chanting of his allies was urging him forward.
He had to go to his bedroom. The bed was not his own or from the Uchiha. It was from an inn halfway across Fire Country. The bed in which Sasuke and Naruto had spent their first night together, a night of talking to each other in whispers so Naruto’s other team members wouldn’t realise he was housing a missing ninja.
There were two more doors in the room, where there should only be one. To his left was the door to the bathroom. To his right there should only be a window in a wall, but instead there was an energy in the shape of a door. And as Naruto looked at it, that door took shape. Regular wood, just like his other doors, but with a crude fox drawing etched into the wood.
Naruto reached for the handle and it opened. He could feel the crack of thunder, spiritual energy overwhelming his senses.
“Sorry Kurama.”
Naruto stepped through.
Notes:
Next chapter in April: Dreams in which I’m Dying. In which Naruto visits the spirit world.
This is the middle chapter for the Gaara arc, and after we finish it next month, we’ll get four stand-alone chapters. The editing for those is mostly done, but I’m having difficulty sitting down to finish the rest. Hoping to build up momentum again soon.
I don’t think I have a lot to say about his chapter. There’s no team Gai to simplify, and we have Temari there to fight for her brother. I was torn about how to handle this fight since it’s one of the most significant fight Sakura gets in canon Shippuden, but it’s also the first significant fight in this part 4 and I wanted a chance for Naruto to show what he’s learned.Specifically, the ability to split parts of himself off was shown with the fox retrieving a flute in the previous chapter, and this time in the more combat-oriented way heavily inspired by Pain’s use of the Rinnegan with six bodies.
The chapter title reflects Sasori’s view of poisons. The specific lyric struck me both because ‘poison paradise’ sounds nice, and because it really hits on the strange way of thinking Sasori has. And who doesn’t love some Britney?
Chapter 30: 4.3 Dreams in which I’m dying (Mad world)
Summary:
What is this strange place? What do you mean I can’t use chakra? We don’t have time to waste, we need to get to Gaara!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Naruto stepped into a cave that looked far too familiar. It was just like the spirit cave where he had fought Sasori, except this one lacked the seal on the ground or any of the damage. The cave was lit with the same luminescent fungus that bathed them in an eery blue light.
“You made it.” Mirai said. “And faster than most humans.”
The panther appeared out of nowhere, looking a few sizes larger than she ever had in the material world. He didn’t have to look down to meet her eyes.
Naruto moved towards her. “Isn’t it supposed to look… different?”
“We’re still at the leak.” She said. “Just on the other side of the veil.”
Temari’s Weasel Itatsi poofed into existence besides them. It looked around. “It’s been years since I’ve been here. It’s changed.”
“How so?”
“It used to be crawling with bugs. It’s so quiet now.”
Naruto put his hand on the ground. It was firm yet bursting with lines of strong chakra. And there was a rumbling too.
“Not quiet enough.”
Naruto jumped away just in time as a centipede the size of a horse emerged from the ground, snapping its jaw where Naruto had just been.
Naruto made his hand signs and summoned the wind from his body to chase it away. He swiped towards the bug and… nothing happened. He tried again as the centipede charged him, but again nothing. He had to jump to the side to avoid getting squished.
“My jutsu don’t work!”
“Chakra is the combination of physical and mental energy.” Mirai said. She pounced on the centipede and forced it to the ground, keeping it in place with her paw. “Only your mind is visiting, while your body is still in the physical world. You can’t make chakra using only mental energy.”
Naruto cursed, panting from the exertion with lungs that felt like they were on fire and not at all imaginary. “Then what’s the body I’m looking at right now?”
“What’s the body I have when I visit your dimension?” Mirai asked. The centipede was not happy where it was, struggling with increasing ferocity against the panther’s paw. “A construct of energy made from memories.”
If Naruto could use none of his techniques, that made this journey much more difficult and dangerous than he had imagined.
“And unlike when we visit the human world with a human anchor, you have none of our protections. You are a free floating soul, just waiting to be gobbled up as a tasty treat by any of the spirits living here.”
“I’m nobody’s dinner.”
Naruto went through more hand seals to make sure none of the seals did what they were supposed to do. Just like Mirai had said, there was no chakra to manipulate. Yet there was more to it than the panther’s explanation. He had felt chakra in the ground, and he was moving with the speed and strength of his chakra-enhanced body. The strength he could feel through his muscles was apparently no more than a memory.
Naruto steadied his breathing, trying to strengthen that memory. Years of training his body, years of building his stamina and resolve. He remembered arm wrestling on one recent mission where he had beat two jounin in a row. Even if he had no physical body at the moment, he was a ninja of Konoha.
And he could defeat a spirit even if he didn’t have any chakra at his disposal.
When Mirai lost her grip on the bug, it surged back towards Naruto. And Naruto steadied his stance, amplifying everything he had with taijutsu technique to hit it with a devastating blast at its weakest point. It knocked the centipede across the cave against a wall. It quickly dove back into the earth and scurried away.
Naruto stared at the hand that had done the punch. It had flowed into the technique easier than it usually did. He did not feel the normal ache that usually came after such an impact. His hand felt harder than it otherwise would.
“Don’t think you can do that with all the threats.” Mirai noted. “The more established a spirit is, the more it can draw strength from its concept. That bug wasn’t smart enough to enhance itself. Still, we should continue before it comes back.” She looked around. “I don’t see any clear sign of Gaara.”
Itatsi sniffed around the cave. “There used to be a statue here. The same one we saw in the physical world.”
“Then where is it now?”
“No doubt wherever it’s meant to be. That’s where things end up when unattended.”
“That doesn’t help.” Naruto complained. “Where is it meant to be?”
“Knowing where it is won’t help you find it. You need to know how you’re meant to be where it is.”
Naruto had to blink. “Excuse me?”
“There are no maps in the spiritual world. Even if you know where you need to go, there is no clear way to get there. It’s not an issue for Mirai and me. If we don’t pay attention, the worst that can happen is that we’ll end up home. If you don’t pay attention… there’s no proper place for a human soul that does not belong in this realm. You’ll be lost.”
“So what do we do?”
“Meditation.” Mirai said. “You’ll need to think about the need to find Gaara. It won’t hurt to pray to the gods for the guidance.”
“And that’ll show me the way?”
“Possibly. Or make you realise you’ll never find him. Or that Gaara’s been here all along. We’ll only figure that out by doing it.”
“Right. How long does that take?”
“As long as it has to.”
Naruto made a frustrated face.
“I understand that you want to run and feel like you’re doing something. But that’s just not the way things are done here. You should sit down and concentrate.”
“Right. Just… give me a moment.” Naruto was perfectly capable of meditating, but it was his least favourite thing to do in the world. He had been ecstatic when he had learned to minimise the whole meditation experience for contacting Kurama. He went towards the cave entrance. There was an aura at the entrance, which was tangible to the touch. Naruto ran his hand across it and it felt like static electricity. Naruto pushed through and it was like moving through syrup. Bit by bit he pushed his arm through the entrance, until like a gasp he was suddenly ejected into the other side.
This looked nothing like the physical world. The sky was a single shade of blue that looked off just too much. There was a ‘sun’, which was a big glowing red rose. There were clouds shaped like animals, that slowly but surely were swimming across the sky.
He was surrounded by sand and rocks, most of which had eyes drawn on them. Eyes that cartoonishly blinked and made expressions as they tumbled in the wind. There were dozens of cactuses in range, big as buildings. There were huge birds flying from each plant to the other, their torsos shaped like homes and their roofs flapping like wings.
There were small whisps of light being carried on the wind. When Naruto reached out to touch one, it felt warm.
“What are these things?” Naruto let them drift to his hand. They swirled over his palm, before moving on again.
“Humans have a saying. From ash to ash and from dust to dust.” Mirai said. “In the physical world, nothing remains of you but your matter. In the spiritual world, your spirit gets fragmented and grinded down to its essence. You’re seeing spirits that have died and shattered across the wind.”
“They’re seeds.” Itatsi said. “Little bits of potential to grow again. They will find a new place to call their home, in the cracks of a spirit that still wishes to grow.” The weasel held up a particularly fast and chaotic whisp of light. “This one is curiosity. It’s looking for a new home.”
“Some of it will disappear through the leak.” Mirai said. “Infecting one of your simple animals and corrupting them. The rest will be reabsorbed in time.”
“I didn’t know spirits could die.” Naruto said.
Mirai froze suddenly, like she had realised she had said more than she had been intending to. “You’ll find that spirits can do anything they like.”
Naruto looked around him. There were no landmarks. Just an endless expanse of sand and rocks surrounding the cave. “There’s really no sign of Gaara.”
“I already told you. You have to meditate on him. I can’t do it. I don’t have a connection with him.”
“Even I can’t do it.” Itatsi said. “I’m too attached to Temari to have a bond with Gaara.”
“Wasn’t Gaara once of the weasels too? Before he got taken by the ichibi?”
“That doesn’t count. We never…”
“Itatsi.” Mirai warned the weasel. “This isn’t productive. Naruto, you need to meditate.”
Naruto nodded. “Fine. What do I need to focus on specifically?”
“Think about why you need to see Gaara again. About why you want to see him.”
Naruto’s mind instantly went to Temari tearfully telling Naruto about a brother that had closed himself off from the world after being sent on his Jinchuriki mission. He remembered a journey across Fire country with a confused red-headed boy that had not known kindness from anyone but his siblings since he was born.
He just had to think about Gaara, his friend, pale and unconscious because the Akatsuki bastards had attacked him. Naruto wanted to save him.
“Nothing’s happening.” Itatsi said.
“You need to dig deeper.” Mirai said.
Fine.
Gaara had attacked Konoha and Naruto had told him that Naruto would never forgive him for that. They had started working on bettering their relationship and it was not finished rebuilding yet. Because Naruto had been stubborn and had held a grudge without proper cause for far longer than he should have. And then he had been too proud to admit it. He felt guilty about that and he was worried Gaara would be gone before Naruto got a chance to tell him how much he meant to Naruto.
“Deeper.”
Naruto had so few friends. Each one he had fought tooth and nail for. Because nobody was like Naruto and nobody understood him. They all had to be shouted at to understand how difficult Naruto had it. They all had to be dragged along with Naruto before they finally started following him willingly. Naruto had given lessons to students and he had earned affection from all kinds of people. Every time it took hard work and sacrifice, because Naruto had to earn friendships that others were entitled to.
But Gaara was just like him. Gaara was one of few who knew what it was like to grow up without talent and had to fight to get any recognition. He was the only one who knew what it was like to work against the clock as they wanted so desperately to be accepted before they were utilised by important people for their tailed beasts instead of their earned strength.
Gaara was the only one Naruto had ever met as desperate for a friend as Naruto had been. It had been so liberating to find someone where Naruto had not needed to be the only one putting in the effort.
Naruto and Gaara were meant to be friends. They were meant to grow together. And Naruto refused to let Gaara go.
“There we go!” Mirai said happily.
Naruto snapped to attention, looking around him. Where there had been nothing but sand before, suddenly there was a drag trail from the cave to the distance. The tracks went around some obstacles and straight through others. One cactus had a hole blown through it with the drag trail running straight through.
“This wasn’t here before.”
“We didn’t have a link to Gaara yet. Now that you’ve expressed your desire to find him, there’s a way to follow him.” Mirai said, like that made any sense. The real world never rearranged itself to the way things ought to be.
“Any idea how far away he is?” Naruto asked, trying to look into the distance.
“We don’t measure distance like you do.” Itatsi said. “But if he were too far away for you to catch up, there wouldn’t be a trail for you to follow.”
“Probably three trials away.” Mirai said. “Most destinations are.”
Naruto eyed her. “Why are there trials?”
“Because all journeys require trials.” She said. “That’s how we show we’re serious about what we want, and earn our right to it.”
“Will there be trials on the way back too?”
“Of course not.” Mirai said easily. “It is travelling deeper into the spirit realm that is a challenge. If you want to leave, just tap the back of your hand three times.”
“That’s all?”
“You belong back in the physical realm, so of course it’s easy to return there. Just know that if you leave before finding Gaara, you’ll never get a second chance. And if your spirit gets lost, there’s no guarantee all of you will find its way back to your body.”
“Right.” Naruto set one foot in front of the other and started walking down the trail. The rocks turned to watch him go. They leaned their weight towards him, like they were deciding whether it was worth the effort to sprout legs and chase him, before settling back into their original position.
When they reached the cactus, the opening looked strange. Naruto looked through it, but he did not see the other side of the cactus. If he walked around the plant, he could see a back exit and the trail of Gaara continuing on. But through the front of the cactus was an entrance to a bridge that stretched out into the distance.
“Which way do we go?”
“We follow the trail, of course.” Mirai said, walking ahead into the cactus. “I don’t understand why you’re being so difficult about this.”
Naruto grunted, instinctively reaching down into his stomach to talk to something that hopefully wasn’t insane. “Can you believe these guys?”
The silence he got in return was deafening.
“Why can’t I talk to Kurama?”
“Who?”
“The Kyuubi.”
“Oh. That thing. It’s not the fox’s spirit that went into the spirit world.”
“No, that doesn’t make sense.” Naruto should have been relieved, but it just felt like an anchor was missing. “You said that the jinchuriki spirit and the bijuu were linked. That’s why Akatsuki took Gaara’s whole soul to the spirit world.”
“Gaara was taken unwillingly from his body. You split yourself willingly.”
“So what does that mean? Kurama is the only one in my physical body?”
“Just as trapped as it’s always been. You’ll see the demon again once you get back to it. If you manage to focus.”
Right. This world was strange and confusing. But he had two guides and even if Naruto did not understand what they were saying, Naruto had never been shy about learning new things.
Naruto walked from a dessert into the broken husk of a cactus. And at the other end he emerged on a bridge with water on either side of him. The sky was obstructed with a dense fog. Behind that were massive creatures of dim light floating slowly across the sky. They were different colours and too large to be any living thing as Naruto knew of them.
The water was unnaturally still, reflecting perfectly the sky’s foggy light so that Naruto found it difficult to make out the horizon separating the two.
Naruto’s steps echoed as he stepped forward. The bridge was stone and crafted so well that it had to be humanly arranged. Yet there were no true signs of craftmanship. It was like the stones had fallen into the water in just the perfect way to make a passageway without gaps and with accidental railings.
Naruto kept walking forward. He did not know how much time had passed, just that when he looked behind him he could no longer see the passageway they had taken from the dessert.
“How much further?” Naruto asked.
“You’re impatient.” Mirai said. “The ancestors of the panthers had to walk for seven days and seven nights before they found their home. It took them seven tries before they succeeded.”
Naruto scoffed. “I wasn’t planning on letting it take that long. Can you at least tell me we’re still going the right way?”
“It’s strange that there’s no visible trail.” Mirai admitted. “But I can smell him all the same.”
Naruto was jealous of that. He would love to still be able to use his henge.
“Why did the panthers need a new home?” Naruto asked.
“They weren’t panthers then. Just feline spirits that had been gathering strength in the shadows of the dragons. They were chased away when the dragons got tired of them and had no choice but to find a new path or wither away without purpose.”
“And then they became panthers?”
“We found land where we could connect with humans. We had a good human family and a good shared clan. Until you humans killed each other in one of your useless wars and we were left once again with nothing. Do you know how much effort it takes to puncture the physical world again? We are counting on Sakura to create a large clan for us once more. The fate of the panthers rest on her shoulders.”
“Why choose Sakura?” Naruto asked. He had always wondered how they had found her.
“Our reasons are our own.” Mirai said. “Besides, it looks like you have a challenge ahead of you.”
Naruto looked to the bridge, a large, armoured shadow blocked the path forward. It was samurai amour, stark blood-like red on the protection and mask. The creature was three times as tall as Naruto was.
“What do I do with it?” Naruto asked.
The armour stood, supporting itself with limbs of darkness. “You shall not pass.”
“While you sound incredibly ominous, I do need to keep following the trail to find my friend. Is there any way we can get permission to move on?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I guard that was lies beyond.” The shadow said.
“Which is?”
“The rest of the bridge.”
Naruto sighed. “What if I try to go around you?”
“I will not let you. The trail is barred from you.”
Naruto turned to Mirai. “Any ideas?”
“I think the only way passed is to fight him.”
“A test of strength?” Itatsi asked. “That would be cruel. He’s just a human.”
Naruto turned to the guardian again. “I need to pass anyway. My guides here think the only way is to challenge you to combat. Is that true?”
There was a dark and deep laugh. “Challenging me to combat leads to your death, human boy. Your only option is to turn around if you want to live.”
Naruto stretched his arms and cracked his neck. “Yeah, that’s not an option.”
It unsheathed a sword. “You’re just a pitiful human with no connection to any spirit clan. There is not a lick of talent protecting you and I can smell your soul from here. You think you stand a chance against me?”
“Fight me and find out.” Naruto drew a kunai and charged.
The shadow was fast, too fast for its size. Naruto barely had enough time to dodge the sword as it came down, then jumped towards the creature’s torso and aimed to jam his kunai into the shadowy flesh.
It stepped out of the way, creating distance with just a single step forward and swiping his sword from side to side. Naruto jumped over it and drew half a dozen kunai from his pouch, loosening them on the samurai’s weakest points.
The shadow twisted the sword in a wide parry that deflected every blade, before continuing the attack.
“It’s been so long since there’s been humans in the spirit world that I’ve forgotten what you taste like.” The shadow said. “But I remember a complex delicacy. I hope you won’t hold it against me when I take my time consuming you. I want to savour every second of it.”
Naruto dropped a smoke bomb and jumped back.
He was panting as he regrouped with his spirit guides. “Okay, he’s tougher than I thought.”
“You’ll have to do better than this if you want to beat him.” Mirai said.
“I’m just glad my equipment still works.” Naruto said. His mind was hazing from the adrenaline. “Can we work together to bring him down?”
“No, the trial is for you.” Mirai said. “We’ll try to help in another way. Like…” Mirai looked at the enemy trying to figure something out.
“Why are you panting?” Itatsi asked.
“He had me exerting myself.” Naruto said.
“Yeah, but you don’t have a body.”
Naruto tilted his head. “Of course I do. It’s the memory chakra construct thing.”
“No, Itatsi is right.” Mirai said. “You’re just embodying a soul. You don’t actually need to breathe.”
More spirit world mysteries. But when Naruto focused on his breathing and slowed it down, he noticed nothing was feeling wrong about it. He was not feeling light-headed from lack of oxygen. He had only been breathing harder because of habit.
“I need to be faster.”
“Then be faster.” Mirai smirked.
Naruto had thought the henge closed off from him because he could not manipulate his chakra. But if it were really that easy…
The visualisation techniques were the same. They should be. But nothing happened when he just visualised himself differently. He needed to do more than that. He needed to get into the mindset of his transformation. The form followed what Naruto imagined himself to be.
He wanted to be bigger. Instead of drawing in more matter as he usually would, he stretched out his body as if it had always been capable of being larger. And he could feel himself grow. He concentrated on firming up his clothes into proper armour, while the kunai he was holding lengthened into a thick executioner’s blade. His whiskers grew deeper as he imagined the power and speed of the fox inside of him.
Naruto was not quite the shadow’s size, but he came a lot closer now. He charged again, using stronger muscles. He brought his sword down on his opponent, who blocked it just in time. The shadow countered and Naruto deflected the blow. Metal clashed between them again and again as Naruto patiently investigated the shadow’s style.
He could not let himself be hurt, he had been warned of that. But he had his armour and he had no intention of letting the enemy past his guard.
There was something charming about this way of fighting. Naruto had no kawarimi to surprise the enemy. No wind to throw in his face. It was just blade against blade in a pure contest of skill. If Naruto had more time, he would have liked to extend this fight. But Gaara was depending on him, and he needed to push on.
And he had seen enough of the shadow’s fighting style now.
Naruto introduced an opening in his attacks, inviting the shadow to exploit it. As soon as the sword came, Naruto brought up his sword as if to parry. Instead, Naruto shrunk and dove under the attack. The shadow had overextended himself, leaning forward without a way to reorient himself. Naruto waited until just the right moment and then jumped up, enlarging himself as he flew upwards. The large sword penetrated the shadow’s neck and with a single powerful swipe, decapitated it.
The shadow’s sword clattered on the bridge’s surface, no longer held in a proper hand. The shadow itself split into tadpoles the size of Naruto’s fist, each of them moving away from Naruto and into the water.
“Not such a weak human after all.” Naruto smirked.
“Impressive.” Mirai said. “You got the hang of physical transformations quickly.”
“There’s a reason it’s my specialty.” Naruto took a moment to think about Kurama, to think about his usual henge. It wasn’t easy, but when he embodied Kurama’s anger and all the feelings of being a fox, the nails on his hand slowly turned into claws.
“The Henge still works.” Naruto smiled.
“Be careful with that.” Itatsi said. “You might look like what you imagine yourself to be, but in the spirit world you’ll just so easily become what you’re making yourself look like.”
Naruto nodded. “So not turning into inanimate objects.”
“Definitely don’t turn into an inanimate object.” Mirai said. “Keep wearing those claws and you’ll start acting more like the beast you’ve taken them from. If you want to be able to think, stick to creatures that have a brain.”
Naruto let the image of the claws go, but kept the fox in his head. Naruto took the time to focus on his nose. He had worn a fox’s nose so often that it was second nature to manifest it for his soul. And there was no image of violence associated with a keen sense of smell like it was for claws. He could smell Gaara now. He could smell the trail leading forward. And with no more guardian standing in the way, it was time to move on.
The bridge went on for a while, before ending at a densely grown forest. The trees were each taller than the Hokage monument. They were vertical poles of wood that theoretically had leaves somewhere high up in their branches, but it was too far away for Naruto to make anything else out than a green haze in the air.
The wind moved visibly through the trees, leaving trails of light as if each of the whisps was trying to draw their journey.
And through all these trees was a clear trail of a road, damaged from the dragging of an unwilling body.
Naruto had to swallow as he approached. Never before had a forest felt further away from home. These were not trees Naruto could climb and jump through. There were no animals nearby filling this forest with life. And yet, the forest was far from lifeless. Instead of a home for millions of critters, the trees itself seemed to breathe life.
One particular plant caught Naruto’s eyes, which had cup noodles instead of flowers. He examined one closely, and the cup easily detached from the plant.
“Is this food?” Naruto asked.
“Food grows on trees.” Itatsi said. He snatched the cup from Naruto’s hands and opened it. There was a steamy broth inside that smelled strongly of chicken. “My favourite.”
Naruto reached to grab another.
“Don’t.” Mirai said. “We don’t know what spirit food might do to you.”
Naruto retreated his hand and ignored the ache of his empty stomach. “Okay.” He stepped forward, following the trail. “What is this place?”
“It’s the Living Forest.” Itatsi said around mouth-fulls of noodles. “It is said that at its centre is a god, but no spirit has ever been able to reach it.”
“Let’s hope we don’t have to run into it.” Mirai said. “Or we’ll be here a lot longer than you had been intending.”
“Any dangers I should be aware of?”
“It’s easy to get turned around. If you stray from the path, it’s no telling how long it will take to find the way to Gaara again.”
“Is there a big bad wolf lurking in the trees?” Naruto smirked.
“There are more than enough dangers even without wolves.” Mirai said.
“How hard can it be to stick to the path?” Naruto said.
Harder than he had thought. Ahead of them was their next obstacle. A split in the road. And as far as Naruto could tell, Gaara had been dragged down both of the roads.
“Which one do we take?”
From the ground emerged a metal rabbit made of cogs. It tilted its head. “Right leads to blight. The left is the best.”
Next to it emerged a second rabbit. It mirrored the others posture. “Left is wrong and right is right.”
They dove back into the ground before Naruto had a chance to respond. He blinked. “That was bizarre.”
“They’re to help you chose which path to take.” Mirai said.
“But they both said something different.”
“And that’s the challenge. An easy one if my suspicions are correct. Good luck.”
Naruto blinked in confusion. “Okay, so talking to them. I can do that. Little rabbits? Can you tell me your names?”
“I’m Shin and the other is my twin.”
“I don’t have a name and it’s not Nise.”
The rabbits were gone, back to their little holes.
“Shin, can you tell me what’s up with your twin?”
“Nise always lies.”
“Nise always tells the truth.”
Okay, so that would explain the different answers.
“Which one of you tells the truth?”
“I do!” The left said.
“I do!” The right said.
And then they both disappeared from sight.
It was frustrating though that he could not ask a question to only one of them. They both answered whatever Naruto asked.
“What colour is the sky?”
“Blue!” The right one said.
“Red!” The left one said.
“What’s 3 plus 3?”
“Seven! The left one said.
“Six!” From the right.
There was no way to tell which one told the truth before it disappeared back into the ground. They kept switching around which hole they’d come up from. They kept switching around the order in which they answered their questions.
He needed to find a question that could tell him how to go on. It was easy to come up with questions that could let him know which one was telling the truth, and questions that could let him know which way to go. The big trouble was figuring out how to combine them both into a single question. Naruto thought about it for a few more seconds. “Shin and Nise, is it true that I need to go to the left to find Gaara and that right starts with an r?”
“Yes!”
“No!”
Naruto smirked as they disappeared into the ground. But then they popped up again.
“As to the second question, no!”
“Yes!”
Wait, what? “Why can’t you answer multiple questions?”
“We do what we want.”
“We’re not allowed.”
Naruto rubbed at his eyes. Compound questioned seemed to be out. But then what could he do? He kept finding questions that could only do one thing, but he needed it to be able to do two. Either he needed to know the answer so he could ask a question which revealed the liar, or he asked something he didn’t know the answer of yet while getting two conflicting answers.
“Okay, not so easy for the human.” Mirai said. “He’s a bit dense, isn’t he?”
Itatsi scoffed. “Don’t be mean. He’s not used to these kind of riddles.”
Naruto tried to think. It was a riddle. Either there was something very clever he was missing… or there was something wrong about his way of thinking. Could he figure out a way to ask a question so that it didn’t matter if they were lying or telling the truth?
How would that even work?
No matter what he asked, they would always give two opposite answers. Unless…
Naruto grinned. “If you were going to lie to me, what answer would you give me when I asked which way to go?”
“Left!” One said.
“Left!” The other said.
The two stared at each other, frowning.
“Then I’d better go right.” Naruto smiled, waving to the bunnies as he took off on the right.
“I hope you’re not faced with another logic puzzle.” Mirai said. “I would’ve been able to solve this one in seconds even as a cub.”
“The physical world doesn’t have many challenges where people either tell the truth all the time or lie all the time.” Naruto said. “Back home, I would have figured out a way forward based on tracking skills or just interrogated or bribed the people with the information.”
“How boring.” Mirai said. “I’m glad I don’t have to spend much of my time in the physical world.”
The trail worked its way through the forest. Slowly the trees started getting less dense and the exit was at hand.
In front of him was an expanse of water ponds, each enclosed in stones. Each little lake was no bigger than a house, so shallow that Naruto could stand in the deepest part of it and still have his head above the water. The enclosures were not perfect, with many of the stones displaced. That actually provided a perfect trail through the expanse to follow.
“Do we have to go through the water to follow the trail?” Naruto asked.
“We should be able to follow the stone walkways and be fine. It’s better to avoid water unless it’s made abundantly clear you’re supposed to go through it. Spirit water tends to be less harmless than your physical version of it.”
Naruto nodded. He plotted a course and then carefully started moving on. “What’s this place called?”
“Ardour Drains.” Itatsi said. “Each of these little pools used to have giant fish swimming around in them. Not anymore.”
“Did they create a clan?”
“No.” The weasel said. “We would have noticed if they had. They must have just gotten eaten.”
“It’s the way of the spirits.” Mirai said.
There was a sound in the distance. Wings beating, getting louder by the second. A small mass of black appeared on the horizon and grew larger as it approached.
Until the crow was in front of them, landing on the stone. It was as tall as a human, big red eyes that looked to be staring straight into Naruto’s soul. “Naruto. I’ve heard much about you.”
“Can’t say the same. Who are you?”
“Roiyariti, one of the elder spirits of the crows.”
“What do you want?”
“Sasuke is in danger. He does not know what’s ahead of him. I’ve come with a warning.”
Naruto blinked. “What warning?”
“I can’t tell you here. It’s too sensitive. You must come back to the clan grounds with me.”
“I’m kind of busy here.”
“It cannot wait. If you care for Sasuke at all, you will come with me now.”
Naruto eyes his suspiciously. “This is some kind of trick. To draw me away from Gaara. You wouldn’t be able talk to me anyway. Not while Itachi is the one in charge.”
“Itachi isn’t the one in charge.” The crow said.
Naruto’s eyes widened. “What does that mean?”
“I’ll explain everything if you come with me.”
Naruto turned to his guides. “I’m just meant to ignore him, aren’t I?”
“It’s never that easy.” Itatsi said. “This looks like it’s a test of conviction. And it wouldn’t be a true test if the temptation wasn’t real.”
“So what? The whole spirit world has manufactured an emergency as part of my test?”
“No.” Roiyariti said. “I’ve been trying to contact Sasuke for months, but the other elders have held me back. Since it needed to test you, it gave me an opportunity to contact you.”
“Yes.” Mirai confirmd. “There’s some information he will give you, and you’ll only get it if you give up on Gaara.”
Naruto scrunched up his face. “I can’t do that.”
“You would give up on Sasuke so easily?” Roiyariti asked.
“It’s not easy.” Naruto said. “Far from it. But I don’t have a choice, really. Sasuke left the village because he decided to go on his own. He can handle himself. Gaara is the one in more immediate danger. And I’ll help Sasuke after I’m finished helping Gaara.”
“There is only a limited time I have to share this with you. I can’t tell you later.”
“Then Sasuke and I will have to find out in another way.”
“Fine, then.” The crow took off, disappearing as quickly as he had appeared.
Naruto took a few steadying breaths. That had been harder to resist than Naruto had thought. “At least I can tell Sasuke he’s the real clan leader.”
Mirai shook her head. “No. If you repeat the message to him, you must be exact in your wording.”
“What else could he have meant?”
“You cannot be sure. Not when you’ve declined his offer. Sasuke might be clan leader and in charge, while Itachi has become a clan god who has the crow’s allegiance by a different method. Maybe Itachi is the clan leader, but there’s some internal power struggle that means he’s not in chargeof the crows. Maybe there’s another Uchiha that survived the massacre and has a better claim than Itachi. You cannot know. All you can do is repeat the exact words and realise that you’re most probably misinterpreting the message.”
Naruto nodded with some hesitation. He wondered what the crow had wanted to tell him. What the spirit world had decided would be good enough to compete with Gaara’s life.
The trail ended at one of the lakes. Instead of water, there was just a giant hole that Gaara had apparently been dragged inside of.
“This is the end of the line for us.” Itatsi said. “You’re meant to go on alone.”
“You need to jump in.” Mirai said.
“Can I survive the fall?”
“It’s not a literal hole.” Mirai said. “But you still need to be careful. Stick the landing as if it’s a minor drop.”
Naruto nodded. He did his best to do the spirit world equivalent of strengthening his muscles with chakra. And then he jumped.
After just a few moments, it was like gravity had stopped accelerating him. He was falling at a constant speed, a comfortable speed. Around him was the water cascading down, a circle around him. The light above him become more and more distant, yet Naruto could still see the water clearly.
Naruto tried to look behind the water. There was no wall. Only a dark expanse. Inside of it was a giant shape, its black body hard to separate from the darkness. But from what Naruto could see of it, it was absolutely massive. Naruto thought he could make out an eye. And suddenly that eye turned to Naruto, staring back.
The tunnel started to shake, the wall of water trembling and losing cohesion. Whatever was happening, Naruto needed to be faster. He changed his arms into wings and twisted in the air so he was facing down. And then he flapped to build up speed. The giant shape was moving some kind of appendage and it was moving to Naruto, big as a mountain. Naruto needed to be faster. Faster and faster and…
Naruto tumbled out of the tunnel and into a mass of grass. The landing broke his concentration and the wings dissolved back into his human arms.
Naruto looked around. There was a cottage nearby, but nothing else. Just grass as far as the eye could see. No flowers. No birds or bees. Just grass and a house. He thought perhaps he could see a canyon in the distance, but that could just as easily have been a trick of the light.
Naruto went to the house. It was a single storage building, made from clay in Suna’s style. Instead of a door, it had a tapestry hanging. Naruto pushed it aside and stepped inside.
Gaara was there. He was sitting at a table, a smile on his face.
“Gaara!”
“It’s so nice of you to visit.” Gaara said, turning to Naruto. Something in his eyes was vacant. “I should put on some tea.”
“You need to get out of here. You need to come with me.”
“Don’t be silly. Of course you can have two sugars.” Gaara said. He reached for the tea pot in front of him and tried to pour out a drink in his tea cup. The pot was empty. Which did make it less of an issue when Gaara tried pouring it into a non-existent second cup. “You have to tell me all about the jounin exams. Did your fox summon behave this time?”
Naruto stepped in front of Gaara and waved his hands in front of Gaara’s eyes. No response. “Do you know where you are?”
“We’re in Suna. The weather is so nice and I’m glad we got to talk. Don’t you be feeding me any sweets though. I’m still full from the birthday cake. How did you get the baker to write my name on every single piece?”
“Gaara, something dangerous happened. You need to listen to me.”
“I always listen to you, Naruto. You have the craziest stories.”
“You were attacked by Akatsuki. You’re being tricked somehow. You need to come back with me.”
“Why would anyone want to attack me? I’m just an average ninja. I hardly had enough talent to get into top 9.”
“You don’t have any talent. You’re a jinchuuriki.”
Gaara’s expression suddenly changed. “I’m not.”
“You are. You’re the host of Shukaku, the raccoon. You’ve been learning to talk with him.”
“No.” Gaara shook his head. “No, no, no.”
“Audite me.”
“Non ero.” Gaara said automatically. He brought a hand to his mouth, like he was unsure of what he had just said.
Naruto grasped the hand. “I need you to listen to me. You’re in danger, Gaara. And the only way to get you to safety is if you pay attention to me.”
“Naruto?” Gaara said, more lucidity than he had had this whole conversation. “Where are we?”
“In the spirit world. We need to get out of here.”
Gaara’s face turned another way. “I don’t want to stay.”
“You shouldn’t.” Naruto said.
But Gaara’s attention was elsewhere. “D-do you promise?”
“Promise what?”
Gaara looked down at the table. “I’m sorry, Naruto. Tell Temari and Kankuro I love them.”
“Gaara?”
The boy’s eyes glazed over again. He sat back in his chair and froze. The layer of sand covering his skin started to crumble away. Except the skin itself crumbled just as easily. Gaara was turning to sand.
“No! Stop it!” Naruto held onto Gaara’s body, like he could somehow force it to remain together with sheer force of will.
“He’ll be happy here.”
Naruto turned around. Where Gaara had been looking stood a robed figure. It was some kind of animal with feathers over its skin, but it was too dark to tell which one. “What did you say to him?”
“I merely explained how bad Shukaku had been for him.” The figure said. His voice was faint, like it was spoken with a corpse’s final breath.
Naruto swallowed, glaring. He stood, brandishing a kunai.
“Too late. Your journey is already at an end. There is nothing more for you to do.”
“I’m guessing this will feel good though. I hope you think this was worth it. All this pain and suffering for a single tailed beast.”
“What makes you think we only have a single one?”
Naruto cursed at him. “I’m going to kick your ass.”
“I’m not even really here.”
Naruto rushed towards the figure, but it dissolved into smoke. And everything it touched turned into smoke as well. The walls of the cottage, the furniture, all smoke. It blew everywhere and tried to take Gaara’s sand with it. Naruto grasped at it and held it close to his chest. Until Naruto was left standing in the middle of a field of grass. Even the grass was smoking, slowly dissolving into nothingness.
In his hands were less than a dozen grains of sand.
He collapsed, exhausted. All this effort, and he was right back where he had started. What good would these few grains of sand do?
Naruto took a few deep breathes. And then he tapped the back of his hand.
His surroundings blurred away, until he was back at an empty cave, in front of a door that had led him into the spirit world. He grasped the grains of sand close to himself as he prepared to come back to his body.
~*~
Naruto opened his eyes. He had expectant faces looking at him.
“You’re alright.” Sasuke said.
“Did you find Gaara?”
“What are you holding?” Sakura asked.
Naruto looked down at his hand. He wasn’t carrying sand anymore. In his hand was Gaara’s metal claw.
“We left that back at the palace.” Temari said. “How did you…”
“They tricked Gaara into staying in the spirit realm.” Naruto said. “This is all I could take back.”
“What do we…”
“Put it on the boy’s hand.” Chiyo said.
Temari nodded, putting the claw on Gaara.
They waited. And then slowly Gaara opened his eyes.
“Gaara!” Temari exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him.
He looked confused. “Who are you?”
Temari stared at him, and then at the others.
Naruto grit his teeth. “I didn’t bring enough of him back.”
Sakura put her hand on his shoulder.
~*~
“You could say goodbye to Sakura.” Naruto said. They were just out range of the others.
Sasuke gave him a look. “Better to leave while she’s still distracted with Gaara.”
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t shout for her right now. The two of us together could keep you here.”
“You should know me better than that.” Sasuke said. “There are three more of Orochimaru’s ninja here. They didn’t want to get close to Konoha ninja, but they’ll fight if you start anything.”
Naruto sighed. “You’re bluffing.”
“If I didn’t have a team here, who do you think is holding Deidara?”
“I need him as a prisoner.”
“He doesn’t know much.” Sasuke said. “Sasori would have been the better prisoner, but he got away from the both of us.”
“We’re going to go after Akatsuki. We want to get Sasori for what he’s done to Gaara.”
Sasuke paused. “You want to go after Itachi.”
“It’ll bring you home.”
“If you can defeat him. Apparently he has some secret plan that the crows can’t tell me directly. What does it even mean ‘he’s not the one in charge’? It’s not enough to go on.”
“It’s all I got.” Naruto said, challenging.
“I’m not mad, Naruto. I’m just tired. I don’t think you can defeat Itachi. I’m not sure anyone can.”
“You understand why we have to try.”
He looked to the distance. “If you want to help, focus on Kisame. Anytime someone’s come close to hurting Itachi, Kisame was there to save him. They’re an unbeatable pair and we haven’t figured out a way passed him yet.”
“I’ll see what we can do.”
“Be safe, Naruto.” Sasuke said, before he activated a technique to get away. There was nothing of him left but smoke.
~*~
Hanabi looked so happy to see Naruto and Sakura unharmed. She dropped her techniques and demanded to hear everything.
The three of them grieved for the rest of the night.
~*~
“I still say you owe us some compensation.” The Daimyo said.
“No.” Elia said. “You have no jinchuriki. And if you want to get the tailed beast back before any of the other countries realise this has happened, you’ll support us in our mission.”
The daimyo grumbled as he put his pen to paper.
It was done. Konoha had the mission to hunt down the Akatasuki. Naruto and Sakura had been promised the power to lead the task force. They had wanted to find Itachi so they could bring Sasuke home. And while that was still important, they had another motivation for capturing them now.
The Akatsuki would be brought to justice.
Notes:
Next chapter in May: Shut Your Mouth. In which Naruto investigates Kisame’s past and visits some old friends.
This concludes the Gaara arc. I like the Chiyo sacrifice in canon, but it doesn’t fit without sufficient build-up and more tweaking. As motivation to hunt the Akatsuki goes, it’s more effective if Gaara actually gets hurt. I’ve considered a few times having Gaara actually die, but like other moments where I’ve thought about killing a character for dramatic effect, I finally concluded that the story works better if it stays away from major characters dying.
We got the spirit world introduction! I’m happy I finally get to share this, since it was one of the more fun chapters to write. Part inspired by Alice in Wonderland, part by Avatar Last Airbender, I tried to give that world its own logic, which is separate from the logic of the physical world as we know it. It’s also a necessary primer for later chapters. This won’t be the last we see of the spirit side of things.
The chapter title comes from ‘Mad World’, which is directly referring to the spirit world. ‘Dreams in Which I’m dying’ refers to Gaara’s dream world and foreshadows his choice by the rest of the line ‘are the best I’ve ever had’. It’s one of my favourite lines of the song.
Chapter 31: 4.4 Shut your mouth (Since U Been Gone)
Summary:
What do you mean this town is haunted?!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Are you sure you want this to be your first jounin assignment?” Tsunade asked. “There are other people who could do it. People who wouldn’t be walking bait.”
“I owe it to Gaara.” Naruto said. “And nobody would have a bigger stake in defeating Akatsuki than I would.”
“I don’t doubt your dedication. I’m just pointing out there are easier missions.”
“This is high profile and gets my name out there. If I’m successful then we don’t just get in Suna’s good graces and return the Uchiha heir to Konoha, it’ll cement my position as Hokage candidate.”
She sighed, but put her stamp on the assignment. “You can’t concentrate your efforts on Sasori.”
“I know.” Naruto said. “He’s hiding out while he’s healing.”
“And he was acting under orders from someone higher-up than him. When you were fighting him before, you were responding to the threat he posed. If you go after him now you’re only escalating the situation.”
Naruto grit his teeth. “I’m getting a little tired of people holding me back when I want to get justice.”
“You don’t want justice.” Tsunade said. “You want revenge. And that’s something different.”
“In this case they’re the same thing.”
“No. You’re not thinking about consequences and you’re not thinking about what you want beyond the immediate satisfaction of hurting someone because they hurt one of your friends. The Akatsuki have done the impossible: they have captured a tailed beast and they’ve trapped it in the spirit world. No doubt they’re planning on killing more Jinchuriki.”
“I know all that!”
“Then you must also realise that they’ll only get more dangerous if you attack the appendages carelessly. The organisation must be stopped at the heart, and for that you must go after the leadership.”
“For that we would need to know where Pain and Konan are.” Naruto said, placing his plans on the desk before her. “And that’s the whole problem. We only get reports on the other members, and they always come in too late to track them down. I’m proposing these surveillance routes to find out more about the Akatsuki members before they have a chance to retreat.”
She looked over the documents. “There are many detours in these plans.”
“Predictable routes can be evaded. Besides, it’s not common to get permission from all the elemental nations to go into their borders. It’ll be useful to verify the older reports and have a look around for any new leads.”
“And you think this will be enough to find their leaders?”
“I’ve also spread the word amongst administrative ninja and the clans to bring any relevant information to me.”
Tsunade smirked. “You weren’t officially on the mission yet.”
“If you’d insisted on appointing someone else I’d have shared any leads they’ll bring me. Probably.”
The doors opened to show Utatane walking in. “Good morning, Hokage-sama. Good morning, Uzumaki-kun.”
“Elder.” Naruto dipped his head to her. He had to stay on her good side, since she had shown interest in supporting him for Hokage. Now that he was jounin, he would be allowed to attend meetings and he could start negotiating with her.
“I hear congratulations are in order. The first talentless jounin of Konoha.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re well on your path. I look forward to hearing what you’ll do next to impress us. Now, Hokage-sama, you’re late for the appointment with the clan elders.”
“We’re finished here.” Tsunade said, rolling up the mission scroll and handing it to Naruto. “Good luck.”
~*~
“Chew your food, Naruto.”
Naruto inhaled another mouthful. “But it’s so good. I’ve missed your cooking, Aunty Jinko.”
“You’re setting a bad example.” She said, exasperated, pointing to the kids at the table.
Most of them were staring at Naruto and slouched over their plates like Naruto was, trying to eat just as fast as he was.
“Right.” Naruto straightened. He slowed down and watched as all the kids were suddenly perfectly behaved. He deliberately put one of his hands on the cat on his lap, petting Natto to force himself to take his time.
“Thank you.” Junko said, a huge weight seemingly lifted off her shoulders. She still hadn’t gotten used to her dining room being filled without additional support. Their mothers liked to keep their own households, but sharing meals regularly were one of the Uchiha’s requirements. Usually Fu was the one who initiated it, trying to get them used to sharing their progress. This was one of the times that the kids had decided on their own to all have breakfast together in the clan house. They knew Naruto wouldn’t be in the village for long.
“So why can’t I just treat the tail as a third arm?” Konohamaru asked, going over Naruto’s notes.
“Nobody will buy you as a monkey if you can’t get the tail right. It’s important.”
“But it’s such a pain. Look at all these books you’re recommending for me to go from good-enough to perfect. It’ll be months before I can move onto a flying form at this rate.”
“You earn a flying form by being meticulous.” Naruto told him.
He sighed, disappointed.
“Really, Konohamaru. Mastering the tail seems like a pain now, but it’ll teach you important lessons that you’ll need for the flying form.”
He let out a frustrated breath and then nodded. “If you’re sure, then I trust you.”
One of the kids threw a small rubber at Konohamaru to get his attention. “Turn into Naru-too!”
Naruto had to suppress a snicker as Konohamaru’s face reddened. “And who’s Naru-too?”
“Nobody. Nothing.” Konohamaru said, shushing the kid. “These kids can’t keep secrets for their life.”
“Tell me about it. Sorry we had to meet here.”
“I know you’re heading out again soon.” Konohamaru assured him. “I’m glad we could meet at all.”
“Show us Naru-too!” The kid tried again.
“Don’t pester our guests.” Naruto said. “How about we play some ninja tag instead?”
The kid’s face started beaming. “I wanna play tag!”
“Finish your plate and we’ll go play.”
The kids were all eating too fast again.
“I think it’s time for some ninja tag.” Naruto said. “See if we can get these kids to spend their energy.”
Natto protested on Naruto’s lap when Naruto stirred, but then quickly found one of the other kids to settle on. While the cat always came and went while Naruto still had his apartment, in the Uchiha Grounds Fu and Jinko said Natto was begging attention from a different kid every day.
Daisuke sat at the end of the table, his nose in a book.
“Want to join us, Daisuke?”
He looked up, as if he’d forgotten where he was. “Uhm, I’ll skip. I have homework.”
“Yeah, the Academy isn’t easy. At least you’re graduating soon, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then the rest of you gremlins, just try to catch me!” Naruto ran out, chased by a gaggle of kids scrambling to claim victory.
He was going to be away a lot, so he had to enjoy this while he still could.
~*~
“Thanks.” Naruto dropped some coins in the barkeeper’s hands to pay for his drink and the information, before returning to his table in the back of the bar. He got some glances from the Land of Wave locals that were anxious about the ninja presence.
“Did you find out anything useful?” Sakura asked. She took her drink and nursed it, hiding the glow of green chakra running over the glass. Of course they had to check for poison, but they could not risk offending anyone by doing it too openly.
Hanabi rubbed at her eyes to conceal her activation of the Byakugan to make sure nobody was listening in.
After she gave the signal, Naruto relaxed. “They saw someone matching Kisame’s description moving away from this area. They don’t know where he was going, but they think he visited his hometown, where the Hoshigaki clan originated. He might still be around.”
“How are our chances against him?” Sakura asked.
“He’s a powerhouse. He doesn’t just look like a shark, he has the power of one too. He’s fast, strong, and he can throw around water jutsu like he’s made of chakra. He’s tough and resilient. There are no reports on anyone putting a dent on him. Until we know more about exactly what he is and find some kind of weakness, it’s impossible to predict how our techniques measure up. His nature and origin are gaps in his report that I’m hoping to fill in.”
“Did your informant know where we can find Hoshigaki?”
“Not precisely. But they knew where we could get a map.” Naruto smirked. “Just need to cross the Great Uzumaki bridge to get there.”
Sakura chuckled. “Guess if you have a legitimate reason, you can finally stop trying to come up with weak excuses to visit Inari and Haku.”
“We were closer than we had been in years!” Naruto pouted. “I maintain that it was rude we didn’t pop in to say hello. We did kill Haku’s partner when we first met him and haven’t checked on him since.”
“Well you’re finally getting your wish.” Hanabi said. “I have to say, it’ll be nice going there on an official mission. I’ve had so many close calls where a cleric almost found out I’d already been there unofficially to save your sorry butts.”
“Wouldn’t want Hinata getting into trouble for covering for you.”
“My little stunts inconvenience her too much already.”
Sakura made a small hand sign to signal the drinks were safe, before lifting hers up high. “A toast. To Konoha’s newest jounin.”
“To using our new strength to bring Akatsuki down and get Sasuke back.” Hanabi added.
“And getting even for what they did to Gaara.” Naruto added.
“Just a shame we couldn’t celebrate in Konoha.” Sakura smirked. “If only one of us didn’t have to wait so long on the paperwork.”
“I can’t help that it was a close call.” Naruto said. “You know they have it out for me.”
“Of course they do.” Hanabi said. “But I imagine your air technique blowing out their ear drums didn’t help.”
Naruto held up his hands. “They asked me to demonstrate my mastery of the elemental unification. No matter how much I warned them.”
“Honestly, how many more times did they want you to suffocate before they would’ve accepted?”
“Four more times, so seven times in total.” Naruto lamented. Seven times being locked in a chamber as they pumped all the oxygen out, and then being resuscitated by a medical team before the Kyuubi could break free. “You all just had to do it once, but they were sceptical whether I could truly appreciate the near-death experience without talent multiplying the experience. They kept making all these veiled jabs at me.”
“Which in no way informed your accidental enthusiasm to deafen them.”
“Nope, in no way.” Naruto said. “The veiled jabs at Sasuke, a little more.”
“It would’ve sucked if you hadn’t gotten your promotion, but it would’ve been your own fault.”
“Have you chosen your elite specialisations yet?” Naruto asked them, trying to get the pressure of him.
“Of course.” Hanabi said. “I’m becoming a combat striker with the spirit transformation technique. It’s a specialisation that allows me to spend a lot of time back in Konoha.”
“I’m going Capture and Retrieval.” Sakura said. “It’s the specialisation that best allows me to combine my genjutsu, sealing techniques and medical skills.”
“I’m surprised you’re already locked in.” Naruto admitted. “I’m still weighing all the options. I’m happy we don’t have to make a definitive choice until after Akatsuki is dealt with.”
“I would have thought you’d go for bodyguarding without hesitation.” Hanabi said.
“It’s an option for sure.” Naruto said. The henge was a crucial tool in the bodyguard’s arsenal at the elite level. It would allow Naruto to take on the appearance of whomever he was protecting, or one of their servants, or a civilian guard. While many nobles wanted to showcase they had the money to hire ninja, many other nobles wanted the protection while giving off the appearance they had nothing to fear. “It would be convenient to stay in Konoha, but it doesn’t help me stick out if I want to become Hokage. Infiltration is the more natural choice. Getting insight into other countries is considered a bonus for diplomacy, and deep infiltration missions can culminate in big flashy reputation-gaining gambits.”
“We’d miss you, but you have to do what you need to do.”
That was what Naruto was dreading most. Being outside of the village for the Akatsuki mission was going to be hard on him, but he got to return at least every few weeks. With infiltration missions he would be sent out for months or even years. He would have more time to visit spirit leaks at least.
A combat specialisation would’ve suited Naruto’s wishes better. He would get frequent chances to prove himself, would get to travel to wherever he was needed, while still being based out of the village. It was a shame his henge didn’t make him eligible. Distractions and flexibility weren’t enough advantages to measure up against someone who had dedicated their skillset to combat. Naruto wasn’t like Hanabi, who could use her spirit transformation to become intangible.
Naruto had chosen his path by pursuing the transformation technique and he’d have to finish it. He had to take what he had and elevate it to the next level. There was no use for fantasies.
“We’d better get going. There’s still a long road to travel.”
~*~
Naruto could not help but smile as they reached the bridge. There was something comforting about the metal under his fingertips, much of it on this end placed with his help. It brought back pleasant memories. Naruto had helped build more bridges since then, but this had been the very first.
“Naruto!” Inari shouted, running over the bridge towards them. He jumped into Naruto’s arms for a hug.
“You’ve grown taller, kiddo.”
The boy was a proper teenager now and only a head smaller than Naruto was. Naruto had always remembered him as the little eight year old shrimp that had taken to ninja training like a fish in water. The boy who had everything taken from him and who had chosen for a long time to just give up. The boy who had learned to stand up for himself in the end and unite an entire village against Gato’s criminal underlings.
Inari rubbed the back of his head. “I can say the same to you. I almost didn’t recognise you.” He turned to Sakura and Hanabi. “I can’t believe you’re adults now. Come on! You’ve got to see the village. It’s changed so much.”
They walked the length of the bridge. The sun was shining at the horizon before sunset and the mist was less present than otherwise. They could see the village long before they got close. And boy was it different.
The modest fishing village had been falling apart last time they had visited. Houses had been abandoned and the streets had been littered with beggars and starving people. Now there was music in the air. The wind carried the sounds of flute players all the way to the bridge. The houses looked better and had multiplied. At the end of the bridge was a large stable and it appeared the only reason they were able to pass so calmly over the bridge was that all the traders had long since arrived.
Another welcome, though unexpected sight, was a short sleazy man waiting for them. He carried a cane and had a smirk on his face. “I see the great Uzumaki Naruto has returned.”
“Hello Gato.” Naruto had to resist the urge to hug the man, but they had to keep up appearances. “It’s been too long. I see you’ve managed to turn this place around.”
“You’d be surprised how much businesses can bloom when traders aren’t taxed into the ground. Would you care to join me for some dinner?”
“I was going to show him around.” Inari pouted.
“It’s getting dark soon anyway.” Naruto said. “We can take the tour tomorrow.”
“Come.” Gato signalled them to follow.
They entered a bar and the establishment became quiet when they realised who had entered. Gato did not stop as he moved to the back of the room and went up some stairs into a private area. He activated privacy seals and took the time to run his chakra around him to make sure.
Sakura took a look at the seals. “They’re interesting. Haven’t seen this style before. I don’t suppose you could tell me how you made them?”
Gato made a hand sign and released his form. He was replaced with the taller Haku, his long black hair done up with flower pins. “I’m afraid I didn’t make them myself. I bought them from a trader in Hidden Mist.”
“Okay, important things first.” Naruto said, walking forward and giving the ninja the hug he had been holding back. “It’s so great to see you.”
“And you, Naruto.” Haku smiled, giving Naruto a tight squeeze. “It’s good to have some friendly faces around.”
“How have you been? Revolution coming along all right? Please tell me yes because bringing stability to Kiri would look great on my resumé for the Hokage seat.”
A gloom fell over Haku’s face. He stepped back and took a seat. “Progress has been slower than I had hoped. How’s your hunt against the Akatsuki? Did Suna end up supporting you?”
Naruto’s face mirrored Haku’s in darkness. “Yeah, but only after tragedy already struck.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything we can do?”
“There is.” Sakura said. “We need to get to Tateyama.”
“It sounds familiar, but I don’t know it.” Haku said.
“I do.” Inari said. “But it was destroyed years ago.”
“Do you know what happened?”
“I’ve only heard stories. It was the village blessed by the sharks. They were known as great fishermen and had their own ninja clan. There was a time when all of our fishing nets were from the Hoshigaki. But then the spirits were angered and they attacked the village. It’s still not safe to visit.”
“Do you mean spirit animals?” Hanabi asked. “Is there a spirit leak there?”
Inari shrugged. “I only know where it is so I can avoid going there. I don’t know anything else.”
“We’ll have to visit ourselves then.” Naruto said. “Can you point it out on a map?”
“I can do better than that. I can show you the way myself.”
“It’s too dangerous. You’re just a kid.”
“I’m fourteen.” Inari protested. “And I’ve been training with Haku. I can handle myself.”
Naruto turned to the mist ninja. “How far along is he?”
“I was never good at measuring progress. Zabuza did not use ninja village metrics to gauge my abilities. But according to the books I do have, Inari is close to chuunin level. He would have a chance of passing the chuunin exams if he were entered.”
That… was further along than Naruto had thought. When he had given the boy some ninja manuals, it had been so that Inari could learn to take care of himself. To keep him busy and out of trouble. In the letters they exchanged Inari did mention that he was continuing his reading and Naruto had often sent him new books after Inari finished with the old.
It made him see the boy in another light. Inari had been standing with more confidence than other civilians. There were some senbon concealed along his clothing, obvious now that Naruto knew to look for them. Naruto had not been planning to put the boy in danger, but knowing that Inari could run fast and use chakra made a world of difference.
“How much experience do you have with spirits?”
“I’ve been trying to get into contact with my spirit animal.” Inari said. “So I’ve done all the preliminary reading.”
“That should be enough that we can bring you along.” Naruto said. “How close are you to contact?”
“I have no idea. All the exercises are if you know what spirit animal you’re connected to, so most of them are useless.”
“Kakashi helped me when I had to contact the panthers.” Sakura said. “It was a long, slow process, and I did know that I was reaching out to the panthers. It’ll be harder for Inari.”
“It’s daily meditations until I get a sign.” He said. “And then when it happens I have to summon straight away or risk having to wait for months again.”
“We’ll see what we can do to help. Which starts by keeping you safe. If we’re bringing you along you have to promise to keep a kawarimi active in case something happens. And you need to run away at the first sign of trouble.”
Inari lit up. “It’ll be my first real ninja mission. Other than guarding Haku of course.”
“I didn’t think you’d still need guards.”
“Alas, I underestimated the reputation I was taking on when I assumed Gato’s identity.” Haku said. “There are two rival crime lords that heard about me being defeated by a bunch of Konoha children and have been painting me as too weak to lead ever since. I had hoped to take Gato’s power and use it for good, but it seems mercy counts as a weakness among my peers.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t taken care of them yet.”
“They’re slippery. They know Gato had a connection with missing ninja and their worst fear is me sending those ninja after them. They prefer to work from the shadow and regularly send assassins to me. I’m lucky most of them are civilians and Inari can take care of them without me having to blow my cover. They’ve also sent ninja and it’s a mixed blessing that they always try to attack me while I’m alone. I’ve buried more ninja in the last six years than I care to think about.”
“No wonder you haven’t made much progress against Hidden Mist. These rivals must be keeping you busy.”
“They take up some of my time, but it’s not the worst problem. There is a splinter group from Hidden Mist whom I talk to regularly. An agent called Ao is my contact. They want me to fight with them and with all the wealth I can bring to them, I think we would have a real chance of succeeding. But they also know what happened to Gato. They know that I killed him after being hired by him and then took over his operation. They can’t trust me.”
“You had good reasons for doing what you did.”
“Perhaps. But I also know that it wasn’t truly a strategic choice to kill Gato. I was not thinking about how smart it would be when I decapitated him with Zabuza’s sword. I just wanted him to pay a price in blood.”
“How much can that matter to Ao? They’re talking about plotting a revolution. What’s the murder of one man?”
“It’s a man that I had made promises to, proving that I’m not one to hold to my word. It’s a man that was not to be touched by Mist mandate, and by violating those rules I positioned myself against protocol and tradition.”
“You could just give them the money to show your good will.” Hanabi said. “They don’t have to trust you to use your money.”
“Except the main goal is to get myself exonerated.” Haku said. “It will do no good if Mist has a new leader who turns against me the moment they’ve consolidated their power. If they turn against me while I’ve been weakened from diverting my funds to them. I require the guarantee that they’ll accept me as a Mist ninja before I give them any help and they need to be shown I can be trusted before they could make such a promise.”
“You still did the right thing.” Naruto said. “After what they did to Zabuza, you didn’t have a choice.”
“I did have a choice. And I made a foolish one, fuelled by anger.”
“No.” Naruto said. “He was the reason your friend died. Gato tricked Zabuza and made him believe in a fantasy world. And then Zabuza died and it was all Gato’s fault. You did the right thing avenging him.”
Sakura put a hand on Naruto’s shoulder. “It was Haku’s choice then. Just like he’s free to regret it now.”
Naruto wanted to protest more, but Sakura’s expression was too soft. He pushed her hand off. “I’m not talking about Gaara.”
“I wasn’t saying you were.” Sakura said.
“Gaara?” Inari asked. “Isn’t he your friend from Suna?”
“His soul was crushed by Akatsuki.” Naruto said. “He’s one of the reasons why we’re fighting so hard to get to them.”
“We don’t have to talk about him if you don’t want to.” Hanabi said. “Let’s just catch up.”
“Yeah, that would be good.” Naruto rubbed at his forehead. “But first I’m going to have some fresh air.”
“Do you need me to walk you out?”
“No, I’m good.” Naruto opened a window and hopped outside, sticking his feet to the side of the building and walking up. The roof was not used to carrying his weight, but a bit of chakra-assisted weight distribution helped with that.
The sun had almost set, washing the surrounding land in an orange glow.
“They don’t know what they’re talking about.” Kurama said. “They didn’t feel your loss like you did.”
“I just want Akatsuki to suffer.” Naruto scrunched up his fist. “The nerve they had to just take a boy and kill his spirit. Gaara hadn’t done anything wrong. He didn’t deserve this.”
“Humans often care little about consequences when they see profit. They corrupt the natural order of things. They drag off my brother to the spirit world.”
“You still have no idea why they would want to take a tailed beast to the spirit realm?”
“No. Perhaps just to see if they could. It’s not a place where we belong.”
“I’m going to get him back.” Naruto said. “They took Gaara and confused him somehow. At the end he wasn’t thinking straight. But Shukaku can’t be subdued like that, right?”
“Their trickery would not work on a tailed beast.”
“Then I’m going to find a way to get him back.”
“At what cost?” Kurama smirked.
“Any cost. I’ll rip through those Akatsuki bastards and let none of them step in my way.”
“And if they resist?”
“I’ll let them suffer the way Gaara suffered.”
“Yes. Rip out their spines and hold them above you in triumph. Scoop out their eyes and eat them.”
This was usually where Naruto would stop the fox, but he didn’t have the energy. It felt nice to get encouragement, even if it was too extreme for Naruto’s taste. It scared Naruto how close the fox’s vindictive glee matched his own brutal revenge fantasies for Sasori and Deidara. “I can’t eat their eyes, but I can leave them for the animals.”
Kurama laughed heartily. “Whatever’s happened to you, I like it.”
It was with a much better mood that he returned to Haku and continued his earlier conversation.
~*~
“Where did the sun go?” Inari asked. He had been at the front of the pack, but had slowly drifted to the back the closer they had gotten to the spirit leak.
Above them the fog had gotten so thick that it blocked the light. It was dark where they were walking, with only Hanabi’s torch and their chakra-covered hands providing light. Naruto took a moment to show Inari how to do it. “Don’t overdo it. It can be exhausting if you’re not used to luminescing. You need to keep up enough energy for a replacement technique.”
Inari nodded, putting a glowing hand in front of him.
The trees were too damp, yet had not drowned. Despite apparently living in perpetual darkness, there was still dark green leaves on them, suffering but not decayed. Whatever spiritual energy suffused this place, it had kept the greenery holding on to life.
There was a trail that they had been following. The closer they got, the less it looked like a man-made trail for travel and the more it resembled the drag marks that Naruto had seen in the spirit world, like the place was warning all visitors what prey it had already devoured. And then the foliage opened to a village.
There was water half a feet high that had flooded the houses. Naruto took a step forward on top of the water, charging his feet with chakra to keep them dry.
The buildings were decrepit, half sunken into the watery ground. The ground floors of the houses seemed to have rotten away. Several had their sides collapsed, revealing the insides were just as decrepit.
“What happened here?” Hanabi asked.
Like the world wished to answer the question, the earth started shaking. Naruto steadied himself and looked around. He had to jump to the side of a falling beam of wood that would’ve crushed him if he had been any slower. “Earthquakes.”
“Earthquakes and floods.” Sakura added. “That’s not a good sign anywhere, let alone when spirits are involved.”
There was a shimmer in the distance and Naruto automatically drew his kunai. But it was gone as soon as it had come. “Let’s keep going.”
“Where do we look?” Inari asked.
“We need to find some kind of elder manor. Something that looks like someone important lived there. Best chance of getting written records.”
“You think any writing survived all this?” Hanabi grimaced.
“If it was left out, then certainly not. But maybe they had stone art like some of the Konoha clans, or they kept paper records in a closed desk.” Naruto gave them the signal to follow.
The water beneath their feet was rancid. It was blacker than it should be, darker even than the sky above them even though it should be regular sea water. Every few feet it bubbled and Naruto hoped sincerely that nothing was actually living under the ichor.
“Oh lord.” Sakura said, pointing out what was on the house they had passed. It had a long trail of blood on its side. A trail like that wasn’t accidental. It could only have been created by someone playing around. The blood seemed old.
Naruto looked away. “I understand why not many people would want to visit this place.”
The largest building was ahead of them. It had an iron statue of a large shark in front of it, rusted to a dark orange. The statue would suggest it had been the home of the clan leader.
The door refused to open and they had to climb the side of the building and break into a window.
“Watch where you step.” Naruto said. “It looks like the floor could give out any second.”
“We should split up.” Hanabi said. “Spread out the weight.”
Naruto nodded. “Be careful. Call out if anything happens.”
Naruto moved down a hallway. On either side were bedrooms. It looked like servant quarters, each barely furnished. Some of them had skeletons on the beds, on top of rotten mattrasses. Most of those skeletons had chunks of bones missing.
He found a library, or at least something that had once been used to store books. The leather was warped and unsteady, ripping as soon as Naruto touched it. The pages were illegible, too damaged from water and rot. Naruto looked to see if there was anything that had survived the test of time. There was very little of substance. The glass displays had broken and the contents were compromised. The scrolls had their protections cracked and even the paper at the very centre was illegible.
Naruto held his hand up to the walls. The paint was chipped and faded, but at least some of the images could be seen. He could see where sharks had been painted, supporting ninja whose faces had worn off, facing off against enemies that could not be recognised. This had probably been a place of learning, where the youngest clan members were taught about the clan’s biggest achievements. But without the context, without any clues to these people identities, Naruto could only see that they had been proud of themselves, like every clan always was.
The floorboard creaked and Naruto turned to the intruder. It was just Inari.
“This village doesn’t look twenty years old.” Inari said. “I’ve seen villages abandoned for a hundred years that aren’t so bad off. How did spirits do this?”
“The village is right next to a point of convergence.” Naruto said. He pointed to the walls. “You see that shining point of light that’s been painted in the middle of the water there?”
“The spirit leak is under the sea?”
“Apparently.” Naruto tried to interpret the image. “There’s something on their heads to let them breathe while they worshipped. And it looks here like they ate the spirit-touched fish.”
Inari took a closer look. The villagers had drawn themselves with gills. “Do you think Kisame looks the way he does because of this?”
“Kisame…” A sound echoed around them.
Naruto immediately drew Inari against his body as he looked around. There was nothing in the library. The air felt tense, like it was just as afraid as Naruto was. “Who’s there?”
There was no answer. Slowly Naruto eased and took a step towards the hallway. Nothing appeared different. Except one door was closed. Naruto could have sworn it had been open before.
Slowly Naruto opened it again, hand clutched around a kunai.
On the bed was an old woman, taking deep shuddering breaths. She was rocking back and forth.
“Are you all right, madam?”
The rocking stopped. Slowly her face turned to Naruto. “Kisame must die.”
“We’d love to help with that. We just need to know what happened.”
“Kisame. Kisame! KISAME!” She jerked upright and started running towards Naruto, her limps moving with more flexibility than should be humanly possible.
Naruto threw his kunai and it landed in the middle of her chest. It stopped her in her track. She looked down at the knife that was plunged into her heart. And she pulled it out like it was nothing. She opened her mouth and screeched in an agonising whisper. Naruto logically decided it was time to run away.
“We have to go!” Naruto shouted. Inari was close behind him, but the old woman was not far behind.
“What’s going on?” Hanabi asked. Naruto grabbed her arm and dragged her along.
“There are onryo here.”
Hanabi pulled her arm free, her face pale. “That’s not funny! You’re trying to scare me.”
“I’m really not, we need to…”
“Onryo only exist in the scary stories told around camp fires, about souls with so much resentment that they can’t move on to the spirit world.” She looked behind them at the old woman, now joined by two younger men both equally corpse-like.
“Kill Kisame!” They grasped in an otherworldly wail.
Hanabi immediately fell in line with Naruto. “Okay, vengeful ghosts are real. Time to run.”
“Sakura!” Naruto shouted.
She joined them quickly, following Naruto’s lead and running away from the building. They jumped out of a window and landed near the shark statue.
“That was close.”
“Kisame… Kisame…” Voices whispered all around them, slowly getting louder. From the ruins of every building, undead abominations were rising and turning their attention at them.
“We leave. Now.” Naruto ran as quickly as he could.
Inari’s light started flickering, too distraught to keep it going. He looked at his hand, terrified, and then suddenly tripped. He landed in the water, having been too distracted to keep his water running up.
Naruto reached a hand into the water and tried to pull him out, but there were other hands there trying to drag him down. Hands that were trying to keep him under the water.
“Give us Kisame…” They whispered.
“This is not Kisame.” Naruto let out a burst of air to blow all the hands away, before pulling Inari free and slinging him over his shoulder. “Hold on.”
Their way out seem blocked, with more and more hands coming out of the water ready to grab at their ankles. They jumped and ran as fast as they could, until they finally burst through the wall of fog and darkness surrounding the village. Naruto should’ve realised earlier that this was a barrier surrounding a spirit leak. They stopped to catch their breath.
“That was terrifying.” Hanabi said.
“I don’t ever want to repeat that.” Sakura said.
“Me neither.” Naruto agreed. “We have to go back.”
“Are you crazy?” Inari asked. “It’s not safe.”
“They want Kisame.” Naruto said. “They know about him. This all but guarantees that Kisame had a large effect on the village and records were made about him.”
The three of them looked unhappy about this, but could not deny it.
“And how do we deal with the endless supply of undead guardians?” Hanabi asked.
“I don’t know yet.” Naruto said. “We’ll have to do research. Consult an expert on ghosts, the village history and anything else that might help us.”
Sakura sighed. “An expert on everything? Where would we find that?”
“Uhm…” Inari raised his hand. “I may know of someone. She’s a bit scary to approach without a recommendation, but Haku can help with that.”
~*~
“Thank you for having us.” Naruto bowed his head.
“Gato spoke highly of you, so how could I refuse?” The woman said, leaning on her cane. Her grey hair was disorderly pulled up in a bun on top of her head. The wrinkles on her face spoke of her age. “Come in.”
The woman’s home was dusty. They made their way through a hallway with stacked papers and into a living room that only had a low table as furniture, the rest of the room lined with books, scrolls and glass boxes of artifacts. Kobayashi Chiasa was a collector, as Haku had explained. Of stories just as well as documents.
They all took a seat around a round table.
“What do you need my help with?”
“We visited Tateyama.” Naruto said.
“Terrible place. Cursed so badly that it would be better to forget the village ever existed. And such a lovely place it used to be. Each year we would gather there for the bon festival. Tateyama had the biggest celebrations of all the Wave villages. We would sing and dance and light a great fire to mark the end of the festival. Until that all came to an end.”
“Do you know what happened to it?”
“Nobody knows for sure. One day they were the proud shark clan, and the next they were wiped off the map. But there have been stories. Rumours whispered from those who knew of the clan’s inner workings. When an entire clan is wiped out and there is only one survivor, it is easy to jump to the same conclusion.”
“Kisame was responsible.” Hanabi said. “He killed his own clan. The onryo were angry about him. What could have possessed him to do such a thing?”
“Maybe he was like Itachi.” Sakura said. “A clan heir that wanted to be stronger.”
“No.” Chiasa said. “I may not have heard of Kisame, but I knew the clan heirs and the strongest ninja of that village. Just as clear as it is that Kisame is of the shark clan, it is clear he was no amongst their strongest ninja.”
“Then maybe he was like Neji, a branch member who wasn’t accepted despite his strength.” Hanabi said. “Maybe he started killing to prove he had the power, and when they still wouldn’t accept him he killed the rest of them in anger?”
“Perhaps.” Chiasa said. “But it cannot be the only thing that happened. I’ve heard Kisame looks more shark than man. Though the shark clan had their ways around the water, they looked like normal humans. My theory has always been that the shark spirits cursed him as a child. If he was responsible for the destruction of the village, then it’s possible he wanted revenge on the spirits, not the people.”
“How do we find out what’s true?” Hanabi asked.
“We’d have to search for the records.” Naruto said. At least with all these theories, they would have a better idea of where to look. “Which brings us to the other reason we’re here. We need to get rid of the onryo.”
“There are human spirits at the heart of them.” Chiasa said. “They are trapped from passing onto the spirit world until they have completed their unfinished business. Until then they are frightening, but not dangerous to deal with.”
“These aren’t ordinary onryo then.” Hanabi said. “The spirit leak seems to contain their influence somewhat, but it has also enhanced them. They were stronger than in any story I’ve hear. More aggressive too.”
Chiasa asked them to describe what had happened in more detail. They gave as much as they could.
“How peculiar. I will have to share these stories with my fellow collectors. They would be very interested in knowing about them. The onryo are consumed with their final wishes. It sounds like that business is killing Kisame. If you could get their revenge for them, the spirits will move on to the next realm.”
Naruto sighed. “So we need to kill Kisame to get passed the spirits. But we need to get passed the spirits to find a way of killing Kisame.”
“It appears so.” Chiasa smirked.
“Can we trick them?” Naruto asked. His Henge would be able to take on Kisame’s shape. With Hanabi’s bunshin and Sakura’s genjutsu, theyshould be able to paint a convincing picture.
“I wouldn’t suggest it. There are many of stories of people who tried and met their end. Dealing with spirits requires a certain degree of honesty.”
“We should give up.” Sakura said. “You found their clan library and it was completely destroyed. Hanabi and I couldn’t find anything. The chance of finding any records in that village is negligible. It isn’t worth the danger.”
Naruto did not want to agree with her, but she had a point. He had kept clinging onto the idea of finding records, despite the reality of what they had found. He had to give up on that trail of thinking. Was there anything they could learn from a village that was that far gone?
“We gave it our best shot.” Hanabi said.
If it was not for the onryo, they could keep looking. Suddenly, a thought occurred to Naruto. It seemed crazy, but also like it could possibly work.
“What’s that expression on your face?” Sakura asked, worried.
“Chiasa, you said that there is still a human soul at the core of the onryo. Is there a way to speak with them?”
“You can’t be serious.” Hanabi sighed.
“There weren’t any books or records, but if we can learn from the onryo what happened, we could finally learn about Kisame. And how to deal with him.”
Inari scoffed. “They weren’t in much of a mood to talk.”
“How do we calm them enough to talk then?”
Chiasa considered it. “The few stories I know of someone calming an onryo was by using deeply personal memories. The former husband of a deceased wife, or the child of a parent. Ironically, the person who would stand the best chance of calming them would be Kisame, yet we can predict how they would respond to them.
“Then we’ll just have to try to talk to them while they’re still violent. As dangerous as that may be.” Naruto grimaced. “Maybe capture one?”
“There are ways to keep a ghost in place, though none are guaranteed. How much do you know about spirit warding?”
“Not a lot.” Naruto admitted. “But I’ll learn whatever you can teach and like Inari I’m not limited to an hour’s work.”
Sakura shook her head. “I know there are seals that are supposed to work, but they’re not something I’ve looked into.”
“I know some basics.” Hanabi said. “The Hyuuga still practice the rites to cleanse our grounds and keep spirits from bothering us.”
“Then there is much work to do before you can try again.” Chiasa stood and found several reference books that she started throwing towards Team 7. It was a good thing they had the reflexes to catch the books. Hanabi got a stack of spirit techniques. Sakura got a book of seals that were supposed to be useful against ghosts. Naruto got the largest pile, stories on ghosts and ritual practices.
Naruto took a deep breath, before dividing his pile with Inari. The boy looked affronted, only accepting the assignment because Naruto had still reserved the largest portion for himself.
It was time to get to work.
~*~
It took Sakura three days to learn how to create perfect ofuda, which would make it unpleasant for the onryo to approach them without permission. She needed help of her panthers to infuse paper with spiritual energy instead of chakra, but as always Sakura had succeeded spectacularly. Hanabi had acquainted herself with all the rules of dealing with ghosts, stocking up on essential resources. There was an art to spreading salt so that it purified and protected instead of just seasoned.
And so Sanzang played his flute and the spirits were charmed by the lullabies of their youth. They spun around each other as if transfixed by the hero’s melody, like the notes wove a cage around their rage and kept them in their place. Son Goku moved slowly passed the trail, unharmed by ghosts as his competition had been. But when he reached his prize, coughing smoke filled the air.
Naruto rubbed at his eyes. The stories were illuminating, but it was hard to tell how accurate they were. It was far too hard to differentiate between fiction and history. As Chiasa had said, he needed to focus on general principles by extrapolating the common trends. Nobody had written the definitive texts on ghosts and it was hard to tell whether that was because they were too difficult to understand or whether each haunting followed its own rules.
“What’s this obsession with music?” Inari asked. “It keeps coming back. Both when it works like everyone already knew about it and when it doesn’t like the hero is so foolish for thinking it would.”
“Music is unnatural in its order. It reminds humans of their humanity and focusses the mind. Kurama hates it in general. He never wants to listen in when I’m running. Though there’s some music he likes when it gets loud and unpredictable.” Naruto smiled. “I suppose there’s music for everyone.”
“Then can it help to play music as we approach again?”
Naruto shrugged. “Hard to say. It appears it’s best to use a song that the ghosts are familiar with. We don’t know enough about the village to hazard a guess what that could be. The other advice is to intrude as little as possible. Worst case they’ll attack us for being loud and drawing attention.”
“I suppose.” Inari sighed. “I wish we had any better leads.”
“It’s becoming harder and harder to find anything useful. We may just have to go and hope for the best.”
“Why are you even so intent on finding out about Kisame? What did he do to you?”
“He once tried to kidnap me, together with Itachi.” Naruto said. “Itachi is strong, but he’s not as invinsible as the giant block of muscle protecting him. If there’s really no weakness to Kisame, then we don’t stand a chance getting to Itachi.”
“So you’re doing this for Sasuke?”
“Not just for him. Akatsuki is responsible for taking Gaara. The only way to defeat the organisation is by defeating its members. And if that means going one by one, then so be it.”
Inari stared at a wall. “These ghosts are so obsessed with defeating Kisame. What do you think would happen if he actually went into that village?”
“I want to say that they would overwhelm him.” Naruto said. “But he’s stronger than we are and we managed to escape. If he’s really responsible for what happened, then none of the villagers were strong enough to defeat him while they were still alive. Being dead seems to have changed their strength, not enhanced it.”
“I would have liked to visit the village while it was still thriving.” Inari said. “Chiasa makes it sound like such a nice place.”
Naruto smiled. What a world that would have been. If they could have visited the spirit point and talked to the shark clan with their unique relationship to it out of curiosity instead of necessity. They might even have been in luck and visited during the festival.
The festival.
Naruto shot up. “I need to talk to Chiasa.”
~*~
The darkness had been harrowing before, but it felt worse now that they were going into the village wearing yakuta robes instead of ninja armour.
“Okay, here we go.” Naruto signalled the others to follow him. They did not learn the dance, but they could mimic Naruto well enough. Naruto turned on his Walkman and let it play over the tiny speakers in the device. It was relatively soft, but with so little sound around them the music played clearly. None of the pop that was usual for him. Just the traditional musical backing that they had recorded back in Inari’s village.
Slowly ghosts started coming from their hiding places, their red glow wavering as the notes carried them along.
“Now.”
Hanabi lit a match and set fire to a small collection of twigs on a tray. “We welcome the ghosts at the beginning of the Bon festival.”
Naruto nodded, before taking a deep breath. He performed the steps of the Bon Odori, the festival’s dance, slowly moving forward.
The ghosts started moving along with him, their red glow drawn into the fire and leaving only blue. They formed circles around Team 7, copying their movements. Except calling it a copy was an insult. Naruto had only had a few hours to practice. These ghosts had been doing this dance since they were small.
They made their way to the main house. The blue glow was covering everything, and for the first time since they had come to the village, it looked like a good place to live. It looked like the houses were not as broken or old as they had been. Like the buildings themselves were remembering how good they used to look for the Bon festivals.
Inari kept dancing, leading Sakura and Hanabi, while Naruto stepped towards the clan house. A woman was waiting for him, still a hole in her chest where a kunai had been.
“Aren’t you joining the festival?” Naruto asked.
“In a minute.” She said. “I’m so tired and it’s been so long since I’ve seen the sharks. It’s felt longer than a year. I’ll dance once the spirits do.”
“Don’t the ninja in the village show off their summons?”
“Only near the water. It’s a long walk and I can’t see them from my bedroom. But today the spirits can swim amongst our streets. My grandparents always come and visit, drawn along on a shark’s back. I’m looking forward to seeing them.”
“What are the weaknesses for people in your clan?”
“We are strong sharks. We have no weakness. But spill blood in front of us and we will go berserk. Our heads don’t work right when there is a kill in front of us.”
“And your strengths?”
“We are strong. Strong swimmers, strong fighters. But enough of these questions. I wish to see the sharks. Where are the sharks?”
Naruto nodded. “Will you see Kisame?”
There was a red pulse in her body, which weakened and turned blue again. “Little Kisame doesn’t dance at the festival. Cursed by the sharks. He’s safe in his little room.”
“How was he cursed?”
“With weakness. No talent to speak of. All his parents and siblings were strong. His gills are hardly formed.”
“I don’t understand. He’s not strong?”
“No… no?” Her form shone red again, flickering like a flame.
“Hanabi!”
Hanabi quickly rushed to the ghost, spreading salt around her and wielding her ofuda while chanting prayers.
The woman’s form settled between blue and red, a pink hue covering her.
“Kisame did something unforgivable.”
“He killed you.”
A flash of red. “Killing us was the penance for not stopping him.”
“Then what did he do?”
“He trained the ninja arts despite his curse. He summoned a shark and demanded answers. And when he got none, he devoured the shark.”
Hanabi gasped, dropping her chants. “Y-you can’t eat a summon. It’s not physical.”
“He found a way to consume the spirit. He became something other than human. His friend found out and tried to stop him, but Kisame killed him. And when he licked the blood of his fingers, he realised that he had absorbed the spirits’ power to fully consume the skills of others. He slaughtered the clan and stole the skills we had mastered as tribute for the sharks.” More red. “He brutally killed us all, becoming stronger with each corpse he lay in his wake.”
Hanabi chanted as hard as she could, but the barrier was hardly working. Her rage was spreading to the other ghosts, some of them faltering in their steps and stumbling as their red feet refused to participate in any festivities.
“How can he be stopped?”
“He must be stopped!”
“HOW?!”
“The shark clan suffers from an illness and just as Kisame gathered our strengths he gathered our weaknesses. He must take medicine to keep the Fune-yoi at bay and there’s an antidote to that medicine. Chamomile.”
“How sick is he?”
“Kisame must die.” The woman snarled. “You must kill him. Kill Kisame! Kill him!” She shrieked, moving violently and disturbing the circle of salt.
Naruto and Hanabi shared a look, before jumping back away from her.
Sakura and Inari stood back to back, the dancing forgotten. “We need to leave!”
The four of them made their replacement techniques, pulling away from the village and leaving nought but logs behind.
Naruto checked Sakura and Hanabi. They were close to him. Inari was not.
The boy was scrambling towards them, only half the distance he had needed to cover. The ghosts were hot on his trail.
“I’ll get him. This is what I’ve been training for.” Hanabi said, rushing towards him and making the signs of her signature technique. Her form turned translucent and white, picking up in speed. The spirit transformation let her go faster than would be humanly possible.
Inari blocked one swipe with a kunai, but another swipe scratched open the robe and left bloody marks on his chest. The next attack would have taken his eyes, but Hanabi was there in time. Her ghostly hands pushed the Onryo away from Inari. They tried attacking her, but their hands went straight through her. Her gentle fist struck them while they could not touch her, forcing them back.
Inari got up and ran towards Naruto and Sakura. He had a strange look on his face.
“Let me heal you.” Sakura said.
“No.” Inari touched the wound and looked at the blood on his hand. “I hear the call. I need to summon.”
“Here?!” Naruto gaped.
Sakura supported Inari. “If it needs to happen now, it needs to happen now. Inari’s bond to his spirit guardians is weak. There’s no telling when his next chance will be.”
Inari made the signs, gathering approving looks from Sakura as she checked on his form. Naruto was too busy making sure the vengeful spirits were still distracted by Hanabi and were not on their way to devour them. Even as ghosts they had realised that attacking Hanabi was useless and luckily they could not tell the difference between the ghost form she could hold for a short while, and the vulnerable human form that was slowly making her way back to them. The onryo were keeping their distance, their halted assault now kept at bay thanks to Sakura’s ofuda. It felt like an uneasy balance that could be disturbed at any moment.
Inari had more than enough blood to finish the technique with, leaving a small pile of smoke where his hand had been. There did not appear to be any animal summoned to stand on top of the water.
“Did it fail?” Sakura asked.
“I felt it go through. I’m positive.”
The black water under their feet bubbled, and slowly a small shape emerged. The head of a shark, not much bigger than a thumb. It looked like a dwarf lantern shark. “I wasn’t aware we had any humans remaining in the physical world.”
“I don’t have much talent.” Inari said. “I… I wasn’t even sure I could make the connection.”
“You have Hoshigaki blood in you, no matter how faint.”
“I’m honoured.” Inari bowed to the shark. His voice quaked as he tried to recite the proper words. “You are welcomed into this world, in the presence of my allies.”
“What a pleasure and surprise to meet you, summoner.”
“Inari.” He said. He winced. “I didn’t prepare a name. I didn’t know what spirit animal I’d summon.”
“Rest assured. Allowances are to be made in these circumstances. You may call me Kou. Please introduce your allies.”
“With all due respect,” Naruto interrupted, “is it possible to hurry this along so that the onryo don’t kill us?”
The shark looked around. “The village… it’s been completely destroyed. Do you know who is responsible for this tragedy?”
“You don’t?” Sakura asked with a grimace.
“Answer me.”
“It was Kisame.” Inari said.
Naruto nodded. “He consumed the spirit of a shark and reaped the skills of cultivated talent of the whole clan.”
“Abomination.” Kou spat. He turned to Inari. “In the turmoil of losing our ninja, we did not sense your birth. But you have our allegiance as long as you need it.”
“Th-thank you.”
There was a sudden laugh echoing through the mist that seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. Hard and grating, tough like a shark’s skin.
And then Kisame stepped out of the mist. All the rumours said that he had already left. The rumours had been wrong. “Did I cause the mighty sharks some ‘turmoil’? I though spirits were beyond the mundane affairs of humans.”
Kou turned to face him and froze up as soon as he saw the man corrupted by shark. “What have you become?”
“For you to lay any kind of comparison on me, you would have to know what I looked like before my rise to power. And you never cared enough about me to look.” Kisame said, brandishing the giant sword that was strapped against his back. “It’s been years since I last tasted shark. I’m hungry for it.”
Inari immediately stood himself in front of his summon. “You can’t touch him.”
But Kisame was hardly listening, his face turning more feral by the second.
“The blood.” Naruto said, looking at Inari’s hand. “Sakura, you need to heal him.”
“On it.” She brought a green hand to Inari’s.
Kisame charged and Naruto faced him head on. Naruto gathered up the kunai he had with him to form Zabuza’s sword. They met in the middle, swords clashing against each other.
Naruto stood his ground for a few seconds, before Kisame’s monstrous strength blew him away.
“You’re next, jinchuriki.” Kisame snarled. He turned back to Inari, only to have Hanabi crash against his side.
She pressed her glowing palm against as many points of his arm as she could, flooding his system with the chakra that would disable him. That should disable him, but he brushed off her assault simply by flexing the muscles of his arm, restoring his chakra flow. And then he turned back to Inari.
Naruto rummaged through his bag looking for his tea leaves. His collection wasn’t large, but he did have the chamomile. Ever since the chuunin exams, he had a small supply with him wherever he went. He crushed the leaves and drenched them in the water under them.
Kisame was about to hit Inari, so Naruto pulled at him in a replacement. He did not have the strength to block the sword, but he could dodge it. He went straight for Kisame’s face and splashed the chamomile onto his mouth.
“I said I’d get to you later.” He sputtered, grabbing Naruto and throwing him off again. He licked his lips. “Chamomile? Someone has been blabbing. Did you think it’d be this easy?”
Naruto got up again, trying to ignore his bruises. Kisame was speaking again and whatever bloodlust there had been, seemed to have calmed. Sakura had finished healing Inari’s hand, but Naruto had thought it would have lasted longer. Inari had even dismissed the summon, and that had done nothing.
Why wasn’t the tea doing anything yet? The weakness was supposed to be worse for him than it had been for anyone else.
Hanabi rushed in again.
Kisame faced her and pointed his sword at her. Its bandages unwrapped, it revealed a mouth in the metal, looking hungrily at Hanabi’s approaching form. Hanabi tried to dodge under it, but the swordsman was quick. The sword’s teeth bit into her shoulder, completely ignoring the fact that she was supposed to be incorporeal. She cried out in pain and with a puff of smoke her henge failed.
“Hanabi!” Sakura rushed forward, drawing her fist back.
Naruto got to Hanabi and helped her up. “We can’t beat him like this.”
“The onryo…” Hanabi indicated them. They were blocking off every route of escape.
Team 7 couldn’t beat Kisame. Maybe the ghosts could.
“Kisame must die!” Naruto shouted at them. “He’s right there! Kisame must die!”
The onryo’s anger rose, and they turned more red than they had ever been. They started rushing in. “Kisame must die!”
“And what will you do?!” Kisame laughed at the ghosts. “You think I fear you? I already killed you once! You won’t stand between me and this new summoner who can bring me my snack!”
He stepped towards Inari. And then his leg was stuck. From the water were red hands grasping at his ankle. He shook them off, but new hands appeared at his other leg.
“We need to go!” Naruto told the others.
Sakura grabbed Inari and they ran away.
Kisame tried to follow, but the weight of the ghosts slowed him down. “This isn’t over!” He shouted, throwing ghosts off him.
They ran away from the cursed village as fast as they could. A village that in another life might have been Inari’s clan home.
Even knowing Kisame’s weaknesses, they had been completely outmatched. They would need an army. Perhaps the fire monks would be willing to help, especially if they heard about the onryo that had been angered by Kisame’s actions. Fire monks were trained in spiritual warding, which Konoha texts had always considered rather superstitious of them.
They would have to ask Asuma, much as Naruto tried to avoid him. He was busy with his campaign to become Hokage and was Naruto’s main adult competition. Naruto coming to him for help would come at a cost, but there was no other route to the fire monks. They had treated Naruto kindly before, yet Asuma was the one who could call in favours.
They kept running, covering their trail so that Kisame would not be able to track them. Kisame was not someone they could handle without preparation.
They would have to return to Konoha.
~*~
Naruto frowned as Team 7 reached Konoha’s gate and he had to fill in only three names on the returning paperwork.
“It was his choice.” Hanabi said.
“I just don’t understand.” Naruto said. “Inari’s clan was wiped out and we know who was responsible. Why doesn’t he want to be part of bringing Kisame to justice?”
“Sasuke wanted revenge, but not before guaranteeing his line continued.” Sakura said. “Inari might be the last surviving member of the shark clan. His job is to become strong and survive for as long as he can.”
“We would have kept him safe.”
“He doesn’t have the same relationship with the sharks either. He only just found out which spirit animals he was aligned to.”
“Yeah, yeah. I understand.” Naruto sighed as he handed over the papers. “Just would have been nice to have him here in Konoha. Show him our home and connect him with some trainers who could have helped him. Maybe see if it was possible to get him signed up for the chuunin exams.”
As they were talking, they were greeted by a familiar sight.
“Hey Shikamaru!” Naruto smiled. “It’s so good to see you.”
Shikamaru’s face was frozen.
“What’s wrong?”
“Akatsuki killed Asuma.”
Notes:
Next chapter in August: The violence causes silence. In which Shikamaru wants to show the immortal duo what someone can do with the power of intellect on their side.
This was one of those chapters where I would’ve liked another few days to work on it, but it’s already a month late and I thought it’d only be a few more days of editing a few weeks ago. So at some point I have to post and move on.
Normally after a trip in the spirit world, I’d go for a chapter that leans more away from that. But we’re getting to the point where spirits are just going to be more present in general. This particular chapter is one part of revenge taken too far, with spirits which have literally been consumed with the desire to get even.
Now for an update on how the general story editing is going: way slower than I wanted it to. Don’t know what it is, but been having trouble getting any significant writing done. So I’ve been chipping away, but it’s frustrating how slow it is without hyperfocus. Hoping the upcoming holidays are going to be a good way to recharge.
Chapter 32: 4.5 The violence causes silence (Zombie)
Summary:
Akatsuki has poked the genius Shikamaru, and will feel his sting!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Aren’t you glad to be rid of the competition?”
Naruto sent a mental glare to the fox. “He was a ninja of Konoha. And I respected him.”
“He was an obstacle between you and the Hokage seat. I’ll never understand how you’re so eager to let others stand in your way.”
“He’s another reason to fight the Akatsuki.” Naruto said, cutting the conversation short. “Like I needed any more of those.”
Shikamaru lit up another cigarette.
Naruto sent him a look. “You won’t honour him by developing lung cancer.”
“That’s what we used to say to Asuma. But it wasn’t his smoking that killed him, was it?”
“It also stinks.”
“Which would matter if Kiba was in here.” He said, yet he opened the window anyway and took a seat on the sill.
The room was tiny and it was a strange coincidence that it even had a window. Too much of a coincidence. Shikamaru had selected the room to have a window so he could smoke, yet had waited to utilise it until Naruto had complained.
Ino came in with runny mascara. It was the first time Naruto had seen her without immaculate make-up. He offered a hug and she gratefully accepted.
“I can’t believe he’s gone.” Ino said. “It feels like yesterday that he was running us through D-ranks.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss.” Naruto sat back down at the table. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through.”
“Sadly it’s something we all have to deal with someday.” Ino said. “Our year’s been lucky so far. Kurenai and Kakashi are still going strong despite their age.”
“Kakashi’s even talking about retiring.” Naruto said. “Though half of that is just to scare us into working harder.”
Ino chuckled, but soon the chuckles turned into sobs.
Naruto rushed over and offered a handkerchief.
“I’m sorry.” Ino said. “I feel like such a mess.”
“You were there for me after Gaara’s kidnapping. It’s okay.”
Ino sniffed. She quickly wiped her eyes clean as Hanabi walked in, holding a small bundle of white Gladioli flowers. She put them by Ino. “I didn’t want to come empty handed.”
“It’s a good choice. Thank you.”
Chouji was next. The normally chubby boy looked like had lost weight, an empty glaze in his expression. He gave Shikamaru a look, before taking a seat.
“We should start.” Shikamaru said. He put out his cigarette and closed the window.
Naruto shook his head. “Almost.”
“I don’t think she’s coming.” Shikamaru said. “It’ll just be the five of us.”
“No.” Sakura said, walking in. She closed the door behind her. “The market line ran long.” She put a bowl of grape tomatoes on the table.
“I didn’t think you’d come.” Ino said.
Sakura looked struck by the comment. “It’s the first time since we were kids that you’ve asked for my help. No matter what’s between us, I’m not going to turn that down.”
Shikamaru drew their attention. “As you know, Tsunade will not authorize a retaliation mission. She refuses to even listen to my plan and therefore I want to take matters into my own hands. Our own hands. Will you help?”
“That depends entirely on the plan.” Naruto said. “Team 7’s hunting Akatsuki. We’re authorised to go after them and if there’s a good plan we can recruit you. Tsunade won’t like it that we’ve gone over her head, but it won’t amount to more than a reprimand.”
“Tsunade does have a good reason to turn you down.” Sakura said. “You’ve lost your sensei. It’s not unusual to take at least two months off dangerous missions to process your loss. Asuma’s not even buried yet and you’re already talking about taking on a pair of jounin-class missing ninja.”
“We can do it.” Ino said. “No, we have to do it. For Asuma.” She brought a hand to her ear, revealing the single earring she wore there. It matched a similar one that Choji and Shikamaru wore. “We’re his students. With Asuma’s death, the responsibility to complete his final mission falls to us. We can’t rest until it’s done.”
“We understand.” Hanabi said. “We really do. But if we do this it will be without the village’s support. So you need to convince us.”
Shikamaru nodded, taking that as his cue. He went to a wall and pressed two fingers to it. Lines of shadow exploded from his fingers and were drawn into the shape of a map of Fire Country, with more and more detail appearing as time went on. Shikamaru pointed to a spot north of Konoha. “This is where Asuma died. He was tracking down a missing ninja when he realised he had competition. He set a trap and tried to defeat the two Akatsuki members who are most responsible for financing the group. While he was ultimately unsuccessful, he gave his life so that the chuunin he was traveling with could escape. With it, they brought details of the fight. Those details are highly classified and officially nobody in the village but the Hokage knows what happened.”
They all turned to Ino.
“Asuma was attacked by two members of Akatsuki: Hidan and Kakuzu.”
“The immortal duo.” Naruto said. “So far there’ve only been rumours. Nobody knows how they fight, just that they’ve been witnessed dying so many times that it’s impossible they’re still around.”
“Kakuzu was delivered a blow that should have killed him, but survived. After he killed Asuma, he harvested Asuma’s heart and talked about incorporated it into himself to account for the loss of his destroyed heart of wind.”
“So it’s a matter of multiple lives.” Shikamaru said. “He can be killed if we keep trying.”
“Assuming he has a heart for each element, that’s five lives.” Naruto said. “Ideally we’d capture him after the fourth death instead of killing him.”
“He killed our sensei.” Ino said.
“I understand you want to get revenge, but he’ll suffer more in the T&I department than in the grave. He’ll suffer more if we can use him to get to the rest of his organisation through him.”
Ino reluctantly admitted the point.
“What about Hidan?”
“He did most of the fighting against Asuma. Instead of a direct assault, it appears Hidan fights with the support of a ritual. He drew Asuma’s blood and consumed it. Then their bodies became linked. Hidan committed suicide and killed Asuma in the process while remaining perfectly fine himself.”
“Why didn’t Hidan die?”
“He was unfazed and in the visible process of healing.”
“He’s immortal?” Hanabi asked.
“Nobody’s immortal.” Ino said. “We just don’t know his tricks yet. He was dealt grievous wounds before completing the ritual, each of which he completely ignored, each of which was mostly healed in the final moments of testimony. We still don’t know. His combat capabilities are lower than Kakuzu’s, but there appears to be no end to his limits.”
“So if we fight a battle of endurance we might win against Kakuzu, but not against Hidan.” Naruto noted. “Shikamaru, what’s the plan to deal with him?”
“We don’t need to know how to kill him if we just bury him in the ground.” Shikamaru said.
“Okay. And how do we find them?”
“I have a contact with the bounty offices.” Shikamaru said. “I have a lead on the next bounty they’re going for. A missing ninja that’s hanging around the Valley of Hell.”
“Lightning country.” Naruto said. “That’s quite a journey.”
“We are a few days behind, but we can catch up by being able to take the roads without fear of being discovered. And we’ll have a guide there.”
“It’s a long way to go if this doesn’t pan out.”
“Kakuzu and Hidan are responsible for turning in more bounties than all the Elemental nations combined. They’re important to the financial institutions of Akatsuki and taking them out will cripple the whole organisation.”
Akatsuki was slippery. Despite heavy financial burdens for an organisation of their size and ambition, their cash flow had been hard to track. If Konoha could cut off this source of income, Akatsuki would have to resort to alternative revenue streams. Hopefully ones that were more noticeable. “So we have a lead. What’s your plan for fighting them?”
Shikamaru reached into his weapon pouch and placed two strange blades on the table. They were the size of kunai, but with a strangely ragged edge. They also had four holes to put fingers through instead of a normal handle. “Chakra blades. These were Asuma’s favourite weapon and he’s helped me develop my clan technique so that I can channel shadow paralysis through them.”
“You want to stick these in their shadow.” Naruto said. “That’s a start.”
“Hidan’s technique works on blood. I plan to extract blood from Kakuzu and trick Hidan in using that instead of my own. I will put distance between them. Hidan will hurt himself trying to kill me through the link, weakening himself and Kakuzu. He will expect me to be dead, which is why it’ll come as a surprise when I capture and bury him.”
“I can deal with most of Kakuzu’s other hearts.” Choji said. “I’ve modified my clan techniques so that my hands cannot only hold someone in place, but also crush them with earth chakra. If I can get my hand on any heart but the lightning one, I can destroy it. It’s only a matter of time.”
“And I’ll be buying that time.” Ino said. “We don’t know how Kakuzu is incorporating these different souls within him, but it can’t be easy to keep it all together. I’m going to invade his mind and sow chaos between the links in his mind.”
“Ambitious.” Sakura said.
“That’s why I’m glad you’ll be joining me. I’m going to need all the help I can get.”
Shikamaru turned to Hanabi. “You’re a close range specialist and I’m counting on you to keep Sakura and Ino safe while they perform their genjutsu.” Then to Naruto. “You’re scouting in the sky and letting us know if something goes wrong.”
Naruto frowned. “You want to take on Hidan by yourself?”
“Hidan is the one who killed Asuma.” Shikamaru said. “Asuma would have defeated him if it weren’t for Kakuzu covering his weaknesses. I want to be the one to make him pay for his mistake of messing with Konoha.”
“It’s dangerous to take him on by yourself.” Naruto said.
“Is it going to be any different for you if you run into Sasori again?” Shikamaru asked.
Naruto grimaced. “That’s different.”
“Yes. Because when you run into Sasori you won’t have a full plan to take care of his partner requiring all the other available team members. Choji has the best chance of fighting Kakuzu. Ino and Sakura have the best chance of keeping Kakuzu at bay and Hanabi is our best chance of getting through this without casualties. And you’re our best bet of staying in touch even if we separate. The plan is sound.”
Naruto sighed. He knew Shikamaru was a good guy, but he could become so stubborn when he locked in on something he wanted. “You raise some good points. With your plan we are likely to catch them unaware and it’s better if we act fast. If this information spreads and other teams try variations of these tactics, the immortal duo is going to slowly but surely adapt. But I’m not satisfied yet.”
Shikamaru glared at him. “You’re impossible. This is about the Hokage seat. You don’t want to share the glory of the capture.”
Naruto stilled. “You can’t be serious.”
“Shikamaru.” Ino admonished him.
“This is your big assignment and all you care about it getting the credit for bringing down the Akatsuki. The plan is good and you won’t admit it because you’re just as selfish now as you were in the academy!”
Naruto steadied his breath before he answered. “Better selfish than lazy. Do I need to remind you that you almost failed the jounin exam because you lacked stamina? Now you want to take on someone who’s seemingly immortal and will outlast you in any fight if the plan goes wrong. We both know you tend towards barely passing your requirements because you’re inclined towards finding the path of minimal effort. It makes you unreliable, Shikamaru.”
“I’m never unreliable.” Shikamaru challenged. “I may not have stamina, but I’m efficient enough not to need it. I compensate with my plans when it’s important. And this… this is important.” He pulled out a folder and opened it. “If you don’t think the quick pitch is good enough, let’s go over the details.”
Naruto looked at the paperwork, at sketches of battle formations and back-up plans. Shikamaru had not put so much effort into something since Asuma gave him permission to spend some talent on Shogi to prepare for an undercover mission.
Naruto still had his doubts.
But the plan could work. Shikamaru had made sure there the odds were in their favour. There might be many ways to lose, but there were many more ways to win.
And Naruto was tired of losing to Akatsuki.
~*~
Naruto found Konohamaru at a training ground punching at trees. “I’m sorry about your uncle.”
“He said he’d be careful.” Konohamary said, punching more. “He said he was working on becoming Hokage and therefore he wouldn’t let anything happen to him.”
“Being a ninja is a dangerous job. And Akatsuki is a strong enemy.”
“I know. And he died protecting his teammates. They only made it out alive because Asuma created an opening for them to escape. It doesn’t make it any better.”
“I’m sorry. How are you holding up?”
“I thought I was doing good. And then I got this.” Konohamaru reached into a pouch and then tossed over a scroll.
Naruto skimmed the contents. “Wait. They’re already looking at you to be Hokage? That’s good news.”
“We haven’t even had Asuma’s funeral yet, which I now have to arrange as the new clan leader, and they’re already talking about continuing his campaign in order not to ‘waste’ his momentum. As if any of that matters.”
“It’s frustrating, but it’s not an opportunity you can neglect if you’re serious about pursuing the path towards Hokage. You’re walking the golden path. You wanted to be my competition.”
“I want to make it on my own strength, not on Asuma’s coattails. That’s not fair to all the work I’ve put into it, and it’s not fair to you.”
“Worry about fairness when you’re Hokage.” Naruto said. “You can’t get into a position to change anything if you’re not willing to compromise now.”
Konohamaru sighed, the strength leaving his arms. “You’re probably right. You know, I talked about this to my jounin sensei and they just told me to focus on my training and not bother with the politics.”
“Bad advice.”
“Definitely. But you’re not always around to ask.”
“It’s a shame I didn’t make jounin in time to be your sensei.”
“That would have been something.” Konohamaru smiled. “We would’ve been unstoppable.”
“You don’t need me to become unstoppable.” Naruto said. “You’re a ninja of Konoha. You’re a force of nature.”
“Thank you, Naruto. I should write to the elders.”
“Yes. But first, show me that monkey transformation I know you’re close to perfecting.”
“It’s already perfect.” Konohamaru protested as he made the signs.
“Its not perfect until I can’t tell the difference even when you’re fighting in it.” Naruto made his own sign of the henge and became a fox, bearing his fangs. “Show me what you’ve learned.”
~*~
They had left Konoha quickly. Naruto had left a note for the Uchiha where he would be, implying he had the Hokage’s permission. It made sure they were all too far away for Tsunade to stop them when they found out.
Ino sighed, running her hands over the blankets. “Is this really the best they had?”
“I checked three times.” Naruto said. “If this inn had any luxury linens hidden away in case the daimyo visits, they’re hidden good enough that I can’t find them.”
“I knew I should’ve brought my own.” She pouted playfully.
Naruto put a hand on her knee. “Are you alright?”
She swallowed, before standing up. “Do you have a path to Hokage yet?”
“It’s okay to be upset about Asuma, if you…”
“Naruto.” She interrupted him. “If you want to help, then please distract me.”
“Okay, fine.” Naruto took out his notebook. “Obviously the Uchiha support me, and obviously all the other major clans are all banking on their own heirs for the Hokage seat. Unless I can get the Yamanaka’s support?”
“We could be persuaded.” Ino said.
“Wait, really?”
“While I’d love to be Hokage since that means I get access to all the confidential information that I now have to hunt for, it’s actually harder to hear everything when you’re in charge. I’d personally prefer a high-ranking position in the background.”
“I thought you’d support Shikamaru or Chouji.”
“So did I. But neither of them are willing to negotiate. The Yamanaka can’t just be bought, but we’re also not giving away our support for free.”
“I’ll set up negotiations then.” Naruto said. “I know you’ve been eyeing more favourable trade with the Village Hidden in Cloud for communication devices.”
She sighed. “Really? If you bring that to the table, they’re going to think I told you that.”
“They’re going to assume that no matter what I say. That’s the problem you have when you get a reputation for knowing everything.”
“Who else do you have?”
“I have Tsunade’s support, though she’ll refrain from voting. And I have Kakashi.”
Her face fell, reminded of her own sensei. “Anyone you’ve persuaded who doesn’t have a personal relationship with you?”
“Ten percent of the other clans have given their tentative support, but won’t make anything final until I have my elite specialisation.”
The door opened and Shikamaru barged in with Chouji. “We’re all settled up. You set up the traps, I’ll go out for the information.”
“I’ll join you.” Naruto said.
“I don’t need a babysitter.”
“But you do need back-up.” Naruto pressed.
“And don’t you need the practice?” Ino asked. “Naruto was just telling me he’s probably going into infiltration for his elite specialisation.” Ino clearly didn’t want to admit they had been talking about the Hokage race.
“That’s impressive.” Chouji said. “I wouldn’t like to be away from the village that much. That’s why I’m going for a combat striker.”
“I would’ve figured you for capture and retrieval.” Naruto said.
“That requires a delicate touch. I can’t always hold back my strength.”
“You should’ve gone into bodyguarding like me.” Shikamaru said. “I can’t wait to take naps inside of ceilings.”
Naruto looked at them. “So out of the three of you who requested we do this capture and retrieval mission, only Ino is making that her specialisation?”
“No.” Ino shook her head. “Capture and retrieval would take me out of the village too much. I’m going into contra-intelligence.”
At least they had Sakura.
“It’s a moot point.” Shikamaru said. “Most of that specialisation is about capturing targets alive and those techniques are superfluous to targets who can’t die.”
“I suppose.”
“Let’s get what we came here for.”
They made their way to a local tavern. Shikamaru reached for a cigarette.
“Is that really necessary?” Naruto asked.
“It’ll help me fit in.” Shikamaru lit it up and then entered the building.
Naruto had copied the clothing of the locals, shifting the features of his face around enough that he would not be recognisable. He had incorporated the kunai and weapons into his transformation, to prevent anyone from noticing them. Shikamaru did not have the same endurance with the henge and had opted for a simple disguise instead. He had handed over his weapons to Naruto, claiming he would not be needing them.
They were quickly directed to a back table.
“Hello, En.”
“Shikamaru. What a pleasure.” The man had a distinct smile with far more mischief behind it than Naruto liked to see. His brown tunic fit in with the dress of those around them, but the green highlights less so. The diamond-shaped sunglasses instantly set him apart from those around him. He was the kind of guy who liked to be seen. “I hope you found your way here without too much trouble.”
“Do you have the tip for us or not?”
“Do you have the money?”
Shikamaru dropped his pouch of coins on the table between them.
The man eagerly counted out the coins. “This works. How much do you know about the Chinoike clan?”
“Nothing.” Shikamaru said.
Naruto shook his head. “They have been gone for too long to be in the current books. But there are still records. They were a family with red eyes that could manipulate blood.”
“And they’re not so gone as you would think.” En said. “You know of one in particular. Hidan.”
“He was of the Chinoike?” Shikamaru asked.
“Once upon a time. Since then they have drifted apart due to ideological differences. Hidan has put aside the honouring of his Bat guardians, in lieu of worshipping his god Jashin.”
“We are familiar.”
“I don’t know how he found the religion. Much of it is unknown and the members are secretive. The most I have been able to figure out is that Hidan killed people of the clan and the clan deported him because of it. Now when a bounty is posted on anyone from Chinoike, Hidan becomes more eager to hunt them down.”
“In your letters you mentioned the Valley of Hell.”
“Yes. It’s where the clan is living. The rivers run red as blood, though that’s mostly an effect of the iron that can be found in the area. It’s an unpleasant place to live and that protected the clan when Hidden Cloud village banished them from the village.” En let it hang, eyeing Shikamaru like he was fishing for more payment to elaborate.
Shikamaru turned to Naruto for the explanation instead.
“The Chinoike had close ties with the daimyo. They were said to be beautiful pale ninja, and their manipulation of blood kept hearts pumping around them. It was often said they could as easily use their powers to make blood dance, as they could force a blush to a woman’s face with their words and warm the loins of a man with their movements. Enemies called them infiltration experts, sending their ninja to lie with targets like dances. Allies called them charismatic leaders and a sure thing to be the next leaders of Hidden Cloud. The scandals that followed were inevitable considering the amount of power their rivals stood to gain at their disposal. Our sources claim they disappeared soon after.”
“So if we go to the valley, we’ll find Hidan.” Shikamaru said.
“You’ll need a guide. And I just so happen to know of another ninja group that’s going there to search for a bounty.”
“And the cost?”
“Only half of what you’ve already paid.”
Shikamaru sighed, before reaching into a pouch and counting out the amount.
“You demand a steep price.” Naruto said. “Your information had better be worth it.”
“Oh, it is.” En accepted the bribe and then signalled a woman who had been drinking at the bar.
“What is it, En?” She asked, the drink still in her hand. She had blond hair, reaching down to her neck and bright blue eyes. She carried herself like a ninja and Naruto spotted the headband just under her bangs when he concentrated on it. “I’d like to enjoy the rest while it lasts.”
“Ah, but surely you’ll settle for the lesser burden when you have to travel again? These two are ninja from Konoha and they’re going to the Valley.”
She looked them over. “I don’t usually travel with Konoha ninja.”
“We’re here to hunt Akatsuki.” Shikamaru said. “It’s a long shot that they’ll be here, but we won’t get in the way of any other business you have.”
She took a few moments to consider. “Cool. We’ll meet tomorrow morning at the edge of the village. I’m leaving as soon as the sun has risen, so don’t be late.” She shot En a cryptic look before moving off again.
“She didn’t even give us her name.” Shikamaru said.
“It’s Samui.” En said. “And she’s one of the top kunoichi from Hidden Cloud. You’re in luck that she’s in town.”
“We’ll see.” Shikamaru said.
~*~
The Valley of Hell did justice to its name. The air felt thinner at the altitude and Naruto had difficulty keeping his breathing even. The sky was almost as red as the rivers that ran from the mountain tops and the surroundings were as silent as death itself.
“You must love this place.” Naruto said.
“That’s a joke. What is the point of death and destruction if it leaves nothing in its wake? No corpses for the bugs to feed on, no rubble for the animals to burrow in? This place is not only the absence of life, but then also the absence of death. It’s a void.”
Naruto nodded to the assessment.
Except that was when a vulture swooped into view and landed right in front of Naruto. It seemed only reluctant because of the other ninja with him.
“Even here, there are animals.”
Naruto reached into his pack and fed the vulture some meat, petting its head and then sending I back on its way.
“Do you come here often, Samui?” Naruto asked.
She nodded and failed to elaborate.
Naruto had been trying to get her to talk ever since they had left the village. She had not given in yet, but Naruto had no doubt he would get her to crack. Eventually.
She stopped at a rock that looked similar to all the different ones. “The target went through here.”
“How can you tell?” Naruto asked.
“The stone is smooth.”
Naruto ran his hand over the surface and it did feel less rough than the other stone around it. “That’s not natural?”
“There are large corrosive particles in the wind here. It makes the stone rough to the touch. When it’s smoothed like this, something collided with it. Can’t be more recent than a day.”
Naruto smelled at the stone with his fox nose. “It’s hard to pick anything up, but I’ll keep trying.”
She nodded, leading them further along the Valley.
“Why are you after them anyway?”
Samui stayed quiet and Naruto thought she would refuse to answer. But then after a few minutes she spoke anyway. “He attacked my brother, Atsui.”
“I’m sorry. Is he alright?”
“He needed medical attention. I’m not sure if he’ll make it. He lost a lot of blood. But I can’t help him in the hospital. I can’t do anything there. But I can do this. I can look for the person responsible and make sure by the time Atsui wakes up, he’ll know that it’s taken care of.”
“What’s he like?”
“He’s cool.” She said. “Likes to talk a lot. Rushes into situations without thinking them through. When we were little, he was always getting us into trouble I would then have to save us from.”
“Sounds like a handful.”
“You have no idea.” She said and it was the first time she smiled. “Never a dull moment when that hot head is around.”
“There’s no sign of the Akatsuki.” Shikamaru said. “We should lay out an ambush here.”
“Are you sure?” Naruto looked into the distance. “If we don’t confirm the target is still free, Akatsuki may already have passed us.”
“We’d risk getting pincered if we travelled onwards.” Shikamaru shook his head. He pointed to a narrow cliff a few hundred meters ahead. “We’ll set up over there. It’s the best point to lay the drop on them. Good line of sight at a high altitude and anyone passing through would have to take the passage.”
“Or be weird enough to climb the steep hill.” Naruto noted. “We’ll have to climb it from the other side.”
“Why?” Shikamaru looked impatient.
“Those of us who don’t need to conserve their talent just learned it’s easy to track people who touch the stone. We go through first and then make the climb. Otherwise the Akatsuki will spot the climbing marks before we get a chance to jump them.”
Shikamaru grimaced, but nodded. “I’ll tell the rest of the team.”
“Guess this is the end of the road for us.” Naruto said to Samui. “I hope you catch your guy.”
“You too.” Samui said. “Something gives me the feeling you have more reason to suspect they’re coming here than you let on. Is there a reason you’re trying to keep that information from me?”
“Nothing untowards.” Naruto said. “We got the tip while we were out of our village and we were supposed to check in with Konoha. Instead we decided to press on and push our luck. Our supervisors are going to be a bit annoyed we won’t be back in the village in time.”
“I see. I’ll bury my reference to you in the report. That should give you a few more days before the Raikage finds it. If you have your Akatsuki members, nobody will bat an eye what you did to get them.”
“That’s the hope.”
They climbed the mountain and set up their camp. One person lying down towards the entrance of the valley was enough to oversee every approach vector. The way it looked, they would really be able to get this done easily. They agreed on shifts and the rest of them settled in for the wait.
“How likely do you think it is that Hidan and Kakuzu will actually show up?” Naruto asked.
“En’s a reliable source of information, even if he’s got his own agenda half the time. With the confidence he spoke, Akatsuki is coming here. Maybe for another reason than he said, maybe with a different goal, but they’re coming.”
“What location will you be luring Hidan to?”
Shikamaru pointed to a small corner of the valley. It was remote enough that Hidan and Kakuzu would not be able to communicate, but close enough that Shikamaru could do it quickly.
“Do you need to prepare that area?”
“No. I brought seals that can quickly deploy the traps I prepared beforehand.”
Naruto looked to the sky. “There’s six more hours of sunlight. You won’t be able to fight if there aren’t any shadows.”
“They won’t travel at night. They’d make camp and we’d be able to ambush them while they’re sleeping. That would be even better.”
“Point is, if they do arrive here and it’s too late, it’ll be too dangerous to start the fight. We’d have to let them pass through without engaging.”
“We’ll make it.”
“You’re not listening, Shikamaru.” Naruto said. “We’ll need to account an hour for the fight. That means they have five hours to come here. If it’s any later, we call it off.”
Shikamaru snarled. “That’s not your call to make.”
“I’m the leader of this mission.”
“No, you’re the help.” Shikamaru said. “I arranged everything. We’re here because of Asuma. We’re here because of me. You’re not taking this away from me.”
“You don’t have any jurisdiction dealing with the Akatsuki.” Naruto reminded him, trying to keep his cool. He just knew Shikamaru would try to pull something like this. “I’m sorry for your loss, but before Akatsuki took your sensei, they took my friend. I want to make them pay, I do. But we’re not doing that at the risk of our own lives.”
“And how are you planning on stopping me?” Shikamaru asked. “I’m fighting them when they come whether you like it or not.”
Naruto took a deep breath. This wasn’t one of their Academy fights where Naruto could afford to back off to keep the peace. “I’ll restrain you if I have to.”
“Ha!” Shikamaru laughed bitterly. “You think I’d let you take me without making enough commotion to alert them of our position?”
“You wouldn’t.” Naruto said. “The main reason we stand a chance against them is because we’re taking them by surprise.”
“Well, that’d be your fault wouldn’t it? I’m going to fight them either way. If you want to have the best chances, you’re going to let me do it with the ambush we planned.”
Naruto looked around him. Hanabi and Sakura were looking to him, seeing if they would need to jump in and subdue Shikamaru. Ino and Chouji were eyeing Naruto in a similar way, looking like they would do the opposite. They were in an enemy country, about to face two missing ninja that were dangerous enough to take down seasoned jounin. They could not afford this in-fighting.
Naruto considered the boy in front of him. Shikamaru was eager for a fight, whether it was with Akatsuki or Naruto. Naruto couldn’t get stuck in his narrative. “Do you think this behaviour would make Asuma proud?”
Shikamaru grimaced.
“Are you really here for him, or just for your own ego?”
“Shut up.”
“Do you think Asuma would be happy with you throwing your life away? Because that’s what’s going to happen if we go into the fight while the odds are against this. You can’t get your revenge if you’re dead. So we can only start this fight when you’re at your strongest.”
Shikamaru cursed under his breath and then sighed. “Fine.”
Naruto was not sure he really meant it. But it would have to do for now.
Hanabi got Naruto’s attention and they moved to the side, far away that the others wouldn’t hear them. “Are you sure it’s wise to let Shikamaru fight Hidan on his own?”
“No.” Naruto admitted. “But I’ll be keeping an eye on the fight and I can step in if it’s needed. Are you going to be alright with Kakuzu?”
“I’m nervous. After last time I was so eager to fight the Akatsuki. It’s different now that the moment is drawing so much closer.”
“I trust you.” Naruto said. “Use your best judgement. As far as we know Kakuzu is specialised in elemental jutsu. No matter how those hearts of his work, they’ll still need to use chakra paths that you can block with the Hyuuga taijutsu style. He’ll try to keep a distance merely with your presence.”
“That still leaves him with long-range attacks.”
“Would you feel better if I stayed with the group?”
“Yes.” Hanabi smiled tiredly. “No, because then Shikamaru is by himself. I would feel better if we had three more teams at our disposal. You know, when you drafted me into a mission hunting Akatsuki, I was promised intelligence gathering missions. Reconnaissance and travel. Not ambushing missing ninja with only junior jounin besides me.”
“Maybe junior, definitely the best.”
“Yeah.” Hanabi’s smile turned more genuine. “Let’s do this.”
The wait was tense. The more time passed, the more it hurt them that they had not prepared the ambush more fully. It was uncertain how much they could do, but the longer they stayed waiting the more it felt like wasted time. Naruto practiced vocabulary with Kurama, manipulating his chakra at the same time to keep himself busy. He had long since learned to spend his time usefully during stake-outs.
Chouji and Naruto found themselves alone away from the others at one point of their rotations.
“He’s not usually like this.” Chouji said. “He’s just under a lot of stress.”
“Stress is no excuse to attack his allies.”
“You don’t understand. There’s so little Shikamaru really cares about, that he goes overboard. He’s been like that ever since we were kids.”
“I remember the year he refused to talk to anyone unless it was over a Shogi board. He got so many detentions.”
Chouji smiled. “And he wouldn’t let me eat anything while we were playing, in case it would stain the board.”
“He’s the reason I got into decryption.” Naruto admitted. “Shikamaru kept leaving messages everywhere when he learned his first cypher and I wanted to know what the secret was about.”
“I never knew that. Though it explains why Shikamaru kept making more intricate cyphers. He was always a sore loser.”
“As we’re noticing today.”
“Look, Shikamaru is selective what he cares about, but then he cares deeply and without reserve. It’s why I think he’ll make a good Hokage. I made my dad support him.”
“The Akimichi are officially supporting Shikamaru?”
“We haven’t declared it yet, but we will when Shikamaru starts campaigning.”
Naruto was taken aback. “I would’ve thought campaigning would be too much effort for him.”
“He’ll probably hire advisors to do most of the legwork. He really wants to be Hokage. He keeps saying it’s a desk job where nobody can order him to do any work he doesn’t want to.”
“Of course that would be his reason.”
“No, it’s just… he doesn’t say it, but he’s frustrated by the way the village is run. He’s smart and he knows everything can be done better. But nobody listens to him. Because he was just an Acadamy student, or just a genin, or just a chuunin. He’s a jounin now, and still he needs to jump through hoops to be heard.”
“I’ve never doubted his intelligence.” Naruto said. “It’s his ability to patiently follow through that’s worrying me.”
Chouji snuck a glance over to Shikamaru. He was staring out into the distance waiting for the Akutsuki, despite their schedule giving him a break at least an hour earlier. “Konoha was founded by a strong, charismatic Senju working together with a smart, capable Uchiha. Neither could have made Konoha without the other. Shikamaru isn’t perfect. He’s going to need someone like you if he takes the hat.”
“Why shouldn’t I wear the hat then and have him help me?”
“It didn’t matter whether there was a Senju or an Uchiha in the seat. But if Hashirama hadn’t become Hokage, Madara would have survived. Madara not becoming Hokage destroyed him. I think you’d make a fine Hokage, Naruto. But Shikamaru is the one who needs it.”
Naruto breathed through his first reaction. He had never liked being told to put his own needs aside to make room for people who hadn’t worked half as hard as he had. “I don’t think Shikamaru should be put in a position where he’s free to ignore pushback. His ego can’t stand criticism and that makes him dangerous to put in charge.”
“You just haven’t seen him in action.” Chouji said. “He’s lazy about the unimportant things. But when it matters, he delivers. We’ll defeat Akatsuki. And he’ll protect all of us.”
Naruto sure hoped so.
The sun passed its peak and started its descent. They counted out the minutes and then the hours. Until finally it was past time to act.
“We should get out of here.” Naruto said.
Shikamaru stayed stubborn, looking into the distance. “A few more minutes.”
“This was the cut-off point.” Naruto said. “It’s done. We have to go.”
Shikamaru frowned. “I think I see something in the distance.”
“You don’t.”
“Yes, I do. Look.”
Naruto stared into the distance. He could see nothing but rock and red river. “Where?”
Shikamaru hesitated and that was the greatest sign he had been bluffing.
“Come on…”
“There.” Shikamaru suddenly pointed.
And there was black there. Naruto would bet anything that Shikamaru had been stalling and had simply gotten lucky. Naruto looked at the sun. It was going to be a close one. But doable. “Okay. Everyone get into position.”
The two Akatsuki were running along the valley. Fast for civilian standards, but slow for ninja ones. It was a way to travel without using too much chakra and alerting others of their position. Nonetheless, they did not seem worried about stealth.
“My damn feet are killing me!” Hidan called out to his partner. “If we don’t take a rest soon I’m going to strangle you.”
“You can damn well try.” Kakuzu said. “We’re already lagging behind because YOU decided to take a detour.”
“Excuse me for actually practicing my religion, you sacrilegious heathen. When’s the last time you sat down and prayed?”
“Yesterday evening, I thanked the gods while counting my many stacks of money and prayed for the patience not to stab you.”
“YOU STABBED ME THREE TIMES YESTERDAY!”
“YOU SEE WHERE PRAYING GETS YOU, ALTER BOY?”
They were in range. Shikamaru threw two of the chakra blades at them, both of them sporting explosive tags. The duo managed to dodge just in time. Just like Shikamaru had predicted, his second pair of blades were dodged on instinct. They landed in the Akatsuki’s shadows and that was all that was needed to paralyse them.
“A Nara.” Kakuzu said. “How annoying.”
“Oh, I’m going to make you pay for this.” Hidan said. “I don’t like being confined.”
“Better get used to it.” Chouji said, jumping down and increasing the size of his hands.
Sakura and Ino stood tall on the mountain, making seals and creating a chakra net. Hanabi had her eyes activated, getting ready in her stance.
Naruto dove down with black wings, like he had been spooked from all the action. For him to be their hidden ace, they needed to not notice him.
Chouji wrapped his arms around Kakuzu, the bigger threat. He wrapped his fingers around the man’s torso, leaving only the head uncovered and then started to squeeze. Chouji grimaced from the exertion.
“And an Akimichi. How quaint.” Kakuzu said. “Think we’ve never dealt with your techniques before?”
“The lightning heart is protecting him! He’s hard as stone!” Chouji yelled out.
“Same to you, Nara.” Kakuzu said, completely ignoring Chouji. “The chakra blade is new, but you still need shadows to bind us. You’re easy to counter.” The man’s back started glowing, a fire quickly burning a hole into the back of his robe and spewing forth. The brightness lifted the shadows and the two of them were freed.
Hidan rushed Chouji with his scythe. Chouji had no choice but to retreat his hands and defend, turning his arms into metal shields and doing his best not to let the scythe take any blood.
Kakuzu discarded his robe and revealed his mutilated body. It looked like he had been sliced apart and sewn together so many times that he was more seam than man. Besides the fire mask that was still smouldering, there were three more masks on his back. The wind one was suddenly detached, connected only by wires as it positioned itself.
Naruto dove in at Kakuzu’s neck, pecking and distracting him enough to miss the first attack. He swatted Naruto away and damn that hurt.
Naruto crashed into the ground and tried to let his transformation break in the least destructive way. He had a vial of Kakuzu’s blood now and it needed to survive the transformation. Kakuzu sent a barrage of black threads after Naruto and Naruto had to roll out of the way. Naruto took a strong inhale and sent a burst of wind chakra at the Akatsuki.
Kakuzu did not waste any time blowing fire back, the stronger element, instead meeting Naruto’s attack in the middle and pausing only for a few moment to let his wind mask gobble up Naruto’s attack. It then spewed it straight back towards Naruto. But it was enough time for Naruto to transform back into a crow, this time holding the vial instead of incorporating it into his beak, flying into the sky.
The second wind attack came and Ino, Sakura and Hanabi had prepared. Ino had a fire wall ready, absorbing the air before it could do any damage. The next attack was a block of earth, ripped straight from the ground and thrown their way. Hanabi had the Chidori charged into her hand, breaking up the earth attack before it could hit them. The force still impacted the cliff they were standing on and they were forced to jump down.
Shikamaru was already away from the group. He had replaced himself with one of the chakra blades and stood in Hidan’s shadow with a quick dart. Shikamaru made his signature hand seal and captured Hidan in a paralysis, no more than a meter away from his enemy.
“Kakuzu!”
Kakuzu turned immediately.
Shikamaru only had a moment, and it was all he needed. He mimed throwing something in the air and Hidan’s linked body was forced to throw his scythe into the air. Chouji took the cue and slammed a massive fist against Hidan to throw him to the side. Shikamaru cancelled his technique just in time. He jumped up to avoid a ball of fire, grabbing the scythe and severing the rope between the weapon and Hidan with a kunai. And then he started running.
“Fuck you!” Hidan shouted, getting up as if Chouji’s attack had not phased him at all and starting to chase Shikamaru.
“Come back here, you idiot!” Kakuzu shouted after him, before rolling his eyes. “Don’t think I’ll sew you up if they get the upper hand!”
Naruto flew besides Shikamaru, landing on his shoulder and whispering in his ear as if to deliberate. He deposited the vial into Shikamaru’s open hand as sneakily as he could. “Be careful.”
“I’ll get it done.”
Naruto set off to the sky, getting to relative safety as he made sure things were going according to plan.
The women had lost their height advantage, but had been able to keep their distance. Sakura was pumping out mist with more speed than Naruto had ever realised she was capable of. Ino was preparing for her family’s secret brain control technique, while Hanabi was floating off the ground, her ghost form ready with all its increased speed.
Chouji was doing a good job keeping Kakuzu from settling into one place, drawing out Kakuzu’s strings making him focus on the short-range fight. There were four of them against one ninja with five hearts. As long as they stayed vigilant, they should be able to stall.
Shikamaru was leading Hidan straight towards the area they had agreed upon. There was some time before they would get there. Shikamaru’s plan was to create an opening with Hidan, but Kakuzu would be equally surprised at getting attacked. Both fights were reliant on Shikamaru’s main deceit working.
“Stop running already!” Hidan shouted.
Despite Naruto’s promises to pay attention to both fights, he was still going to be hovering over Shikamaru’s for the most part. The stubborn boy be damned, but Naruto would jump in if it was needed.
“What’s the matter? Missing your little toy?” Shikamaru waved it around as he ran, spinning it in his hands like a baton stick. “I like it. Maybe I’ll just keep it.”
“Over my dead body!”
“That’s the plan.” Shikamaru dashed onward.
In the distance, Kakuzu had the rest of the group cornered. Despite Chouji’s earlier efforts, he had been pushed into the distance. Hanabi was doing her best to keep Kakuzu’s attacks at bay, but the frequent attacks of wind meant Ino had to step in to keep her safe. Chouji had to put up walls to defend against the water dragon Kakuzu was forming against them. Worse, the constant barrage of attacks kept the mist from spreading around Kakuzu’s feet.
Naruto dove towards the battle, trusting Shikamaru not to get ahead of himself in the few minutes Naruto took his eyes off him.
Just out of view he turned into Hidan, transforming some of the rocks he landed on into the scythe to compensate for the lack of metal on him.
“You seriously let them take my scythe!” Hidan shouted.
Kakuzu turned around to face Hidan, and immediately shot a kunai at his throat.
Naruto blocked with the scythe.
“You’re too fast for Hidan.” Kakuzu said.
“How did you realise?”
Kakuzu shrugged. “It’s good policy to attack an ally whenever they’ve disappeared from sight. Hidan would have been able to take it.”
Naruto made eye contact with Chouji. If they attacked at the same time, that might push Kakuzu down. They just needed to buy some time until Sakura and Ino had gotten to him.
“It’s a nice try, using genjutsu.” Kakuzu said. “Very distracting. But you think I’ve never dealt with this before?”
“It’s working better than you’re letting on if you’re complaining about it.” Naruto said.
“It’s a matter of comfort.” Kakuzu said. “I much prefer to stay a single whole. But I do not actually have any difficulty separating if your genjutsu attacks are trying to achieve that.”
That sounded bad.
Kakuzu’s masks started moving away from his back. Naruto and Chouji charged at the same time, trying to cut him off from completing whatever he was trying. Kakuzu blocked chouji’s attack with a single arm and sent a ball of fire towards Naruto. The blocking arm had threads coming out of it that were quickly moving towards Chouji and he had to jump back.
Their window had closed. The four masks had crawled away from Kakuzu’s back, each one its own body of black threads and wires. Most notably was the wind mask, shaped like a monkey, somehow still recognisable as Asuma.
“You took his spirit!” Chouji cried. “How could you?”
“His strong Sarutobi connection is serving me well. Is this what you’re all upset about? A single Konoha jounin? He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time when I needed a new wind-chakra heart.”
“You had no right!”
“Spare me.” Kakuzu said. “You’re an Akimichi, aren’t you? So much respect for spirits and their traditions. But three centuries ago you were just as eager as any other clan to fight dirty. Your gift of body morphing came from another clan that you overpowered. You ripped up their very souls to take the ability as your own.”
“That’s different.”
“Of course. Back then you were powerless and now you have power. That’s the only difference between us. You outlawed spiritual manipulation after you had already amassed your strength through it.”
“Don’t listen to him, Chouji!” Ino said.
“Ah yes, the Yamanaka.”
“Our techniques are our own!”
“Sure. But you were just a clan with an affinity for flowers until you betrayed an allied clan with mind capabilities. It was the Yamanaka who strengthened those abilities, but the potential for them was stolen all the same.” He turned to Hanabi. “Don’t even get me started on the Hyuuga.”
“And what about us?” Sakura said. “Naruto and I don’t come with any history. You’re still going to claim you’re better than us?”
“You are no better than the clans you condone, little girl. Sakura of the panthers. I’ve heard of you. Do you truly consider yourself of the panthers? You realise they had a clan before yours? Do you think they could have become as strong as they are today without exploiting other clans first?”
“It doesn’t matter what’s in the past.” Sakura said. “That doesn’t make what you’re doing now right.”
“So easy to say from your position of power and naive innocence. This world only respects death if it can profit of it. Just like it will do the same if it can profit from desecrating it. You’ll learn in time.”
“I doubt it, you monster.”
“I was once like you.” Kakuzu spat. “Worshipping my connection to the earthworms and serving my country until death, even if I did not have the talent of my more decorated peers. And then I died and my country was not done with me. They sewed up my rotting wounds and found out how they could keep my soul attached to a husk of a corpse. And then they sent me out again, like they still had any claim over my loyalty. At least I learned their techniques and applied them to myself, taking the talent that was denied me for years. You call me a monster, but if so, I’m one of your own making. I was born out of the hate you cultivated between the villages and the endless desire for more and more bloodshed.”
Naruto looked to Asuma’s shade. The monkey stood just as proud as Asuma always had. A part of the jounin was trapped inside of this web of threads. “So you’ve decided to pass the hate forward.”
“I’m not the one who started this encounter with an attack. Akatsuki as an organisation is a better solution to this cycle of violence than any the villages have ever put forward.”
“And death and pain and grief are just acceptable sacrifices?”
“Of course they are. Don’t be sanctimonious with me, boy. Do you think we have not heard how eagerly the daimyo are preparing for war? Do you think they are going to have any less casualties with their squabbles? They start these fights once more, not realising that the dead of their previous wars are still around and that they remember. And that they do not forgive.”
“The wars are not a certainty yet.”
“Don’t make me laugh.” Kakuzu said. “I no longer have the muscles for it. If you think there is any ambiguity remaining, I invite you to look through the history books.”
“So rather a war with you than one between nations?” Naruto said. “That’s assuming it’s either or. You can’t solve the world’s bloodshed by just adding to it.”
“I’m actually surprised you’re so opposed to us. You’re the only ninja here without a clan backing him. The only ninja here who truly understands how fucked the system is we’re in.”
“The system was harsh, but I survived it. And as the first to make it through, I’ll inspire the needed changes.”
“And what a first you are. A jinchuriki defending the system subjugating him. Is it true what I’ve heard? You want to be Hokage one day?”
Naruto tried to keep his breathing steady. “What of it?”
“How disappointing. It’s true? And you actually think they’d let you? You still harbour under the delusion that it’s going to be a fair struggle? That just working hard enough will make them give you what you’re owed?”
“If they don’t, I’ll just have to change their minds.”
“With what power? You might be a strong individual, but you’ll never be strong enough to defeat all your competitors when they conspire against you. You have no money backing you like the clans do, no politicians wishing you well. No matter how silver your tongue, you can’t convince people to go against their own selfish interests.”
“How convenient for you to believe so. Of course the system you’re attacking doesn’t work. Of course the lives you’re taking are only from the corrupt and unflinchingly evil.”
“Enough!” Kakazu sighed. “Enough stalling. We’re both just waiting for the other fight to conclude at this point. Hidan’s not coming back, and neither is the shadow manipulator. We’ll have to conclude this without them.”
Naruto glared into the distance. It would be useful for them if Shikamaru hurried up and got Hidan tricked.
Naruto eyed the lightning mask, charging up wind in his fist and making a beeline for it. The mask of fire intercepted him, throwing fire. Naruto dove under the blast, rolling over the ground and springing back up quickly. The mask of fire turned and tried another attack. Naruto grappled the being of wire and got behind the mask. He plunged a kunai into the being’s body, which sunk uselessly inside of it. The head turned completely around and made another attack.
Naruto replaced himself just a fraction of a second too late, still feeling the blistering burns over his arms as he landed in the distance. He made a hand seal and activated the explosive tag he had hidden on the kunai.
The threads of the fire mask exploded, dropping the mask on the ground uselessly. That was one down.
Kakuzu chuckled. His masks were all fighting Naruto’s teammates and the original body seemed unfazed as he approached the dropped mask. He reached out with his arm and new wires formed a new body. The fire mask seemed completely recovered. “I will not be dropped so easily. You shall…” Kakuzu dropped silent. “So that was your plan. When did you get my blood? Ah, the crow.”
Naruto’s eyes widened. How could he possibly know about the plan?
“Don’t be daft. Hidan has tasted my blood before and knows the taste of it. He knows what it feels like to bond with my soul. He will not attack himself.”
Suddenly the fire mask cracked, the wires attached to it falling apart.
Kakuzu snarled.
“Hidan doesn’t have to attack himself if Shikamaru attacks him instead.”
Naruto made use of the moment of confusion, heading towards the lightning mask that was harassing Chouji. “Hanabi, go for the main body!”
The lightning mask crackled, its whole body tense from the current. It was posed to send bolts of lightning haphazardly away, but could as easily spread its wires around to electrocute. The electricity was the illusion of chaos, seemingly spreading randomly but actually following carefully laid out rules of least resistance. It was no match against Naruto’s wind, seemingly under Naruto’s control but in actuality the embodiment of chaos. Naruto expanded his chakra net around him, wind chakra suffocating the air in a broad dome. When a wire shot his way it was not charged with electricity, Naruto’s kunai easily deflecting it. When he reached the puppet of wires with his palm outstretched, it had little defence against the concentrated wind of the Rasenshuriken.
The lightning mask crumbled away. Two down.
Kakuzu screamed in rage. He had tried to keep Naruto’s attack from going through, but Hanabi was not letting him move away. She kept the pressure on with strike after strike of her Hyuuga taijutsu style. Kakuzu had to use his wires to keep clear of her. The one thing he could not afford was to be hit by an attack that could disrupt his chakra.
Chouji had managed to grab a hold of the water mask and the wind mask, crushing them between his hands. They tried trashing and sending waves of water and wind away from itself, but Chouji reinforced his hands with an earth-like metal impervious to their attacks. The few sharp lines of wind that escaped his grip were countered by Ino protectively interposing fire between the masks and Chouji. The masks were going nowhere. And then they cracked under the pressure. All four masks were gone, only the main body remaining. With nothing more in the way, Sakura’s mist was covering the battle ground quickly.
Naruto took all of his weapons and turned them into a spear, rushing Kakuzu and skewering his body from too great a distance for the wires to stop him. Just as he finally pinned Kakuzu in place, Hanabi landed the necessary strikes with her hands. For good measure, she charged a Chidori and planted it in Kakuzu’s chest, opposite his heart. It left a large gaping hole in the Akatsuki’s body, which was instantly trying to repair itself with confused wires.
“Ino!” Sakura called out. “Now!”
Ino made a triangle with her hands and latched herself in Kakuzu’s mind. “You’ve got three minutes.”
“Is that including my own genjutsu?”
“Yes! Now hurry up!”
Sakura nodded, running towards the body. She tossed Naruto a scroll and then started working with a brush and a bottle of ink. Naruto spread out the seal around the fallen Kakuzu. Layer after layer of protection.
Sakura was halfway finished when there was a figure approaching from the distance. Naruto was already calculating how much extra time they would have if Shikamaru added his shadow manipulation to the mix. But it was not Shikamaru that was coming ever closer. It was Hidan.
Naruto held his breath as the Akatsuki charged with his scythe at his side.
“No…” Ino gasped.
“Chouji, help restrain the body!” Naruto called out. If something had happened to Shikamaru, neither of them would be able to fight with a clear head. “Hanabi!”
“On it!” Hanabi made the hand seals and made her transformation, turning translucent. She multiplied and was flanked by five of her clones as she met Hidan. The Akatsuki was fast and his scythe large. He swung it around himself like a barrier.
Naruto got in from the other side, slipping under a swipe of the scythe and attempting to plunge a kunai into Hidan’s foot. Hidan pulled his foot back in time and kicked Naruto up into the air. He sent the scythe after Naruto. The blades were heading straight for Naruto’s face and Naruto desperately hoped his Kawarimi would activate in time.
Hanabi landed a strike on Hidan’s arm, paralysing the muscles and forcing him to drop his scythe to the side. He roundhouse kicked Hanabi away now that he knew where the real one was, adding enough chakra into the kick that she was pushed away.
Naruto activated his Kawarimi, but it failed. He gasped from the discomfort of the chakra feedback. It had been years since he’d been hurt so badly that a replacement technique couldn’t complete. He grasped for a henge technique instead as he landed on the ground far too close to Hidan.
Hidan grabbed Naruto’s ankle and bit into it. It hurt so much that Naruto almost failed to create his transformation. But he had practiced this enough. As a five-legged fox he dashed away, nursing his injured paw close to his body as he ran quickly with the other four.
He looked behind him to see Hidan grinning, his skin turning white and black.
Naruto lifted the Henge and was a human with a limp as he looked.
Hidan took a sword and pointed it to his own body.
Naruto swallowed, knowing what would follow. He had heard enough of the stories. That blade would disappear into Hidan’s body and the same wound would appear on Naruto’s body. Hidan’s hand was already lowering and by the trajectory it would land right below the heart and into his lung. He would be out of the fight. There was no telling what would happen next.
Naruto could not let that happen.
He made the mental calculations as quickly as possible, visualising himself. There was no time. He transformed with the image he had.
Hidan’s blade entered Hidan’s body, and Naruto could feel it as if it was puncturing his own skin. He felt iron on his tongue and his head felt lighter right away. He fell to the ground.
Despite his best efforts to become a human that had pushed his heart and lung away, the blade had still grazed his lung. It hurt so badly he thought he would lose conscience. But Naruto could deal with the pain. He would have to, since he couldn’t lose this henge. And worse, he needed to be able to move again.
He layered another transformation, patching up his lung, and then he stood.
Hidan snarled, pulling out the blade and looking to attack again.
Hanabi got there in time, slapping the arm away and paralysing it. Hidan twisted in the air again, kicking her away once more. Hanabi landed a distance away, shouting in pain before closing her eyes. She was out of the count.
Sakura, Ino and Chouji were still working. They could not get away from Kakuzu without risking him getting free.
Hidan slapped his arms together, popping some more mobility into the limbs again. Enough to take a kunai and bring it towards his neck. Naruto ran forward, but there was no way to get there in time.
Hidan’s arm suddenly stayed.
“Captured.” Shikamaru said, panting. He was covered in blood and wounds. He was at the edge of his ability. But still alive.
Naruto could kiss him.
“Fuck you for saying I’m not reliable.” Shikamaru said. “Break the circle.”
Hidan was standing on his ritual circle. Naruto sent over a gust of air to slice at the ground, breaking the markings. Hidan’s skin started changing back.
“Now decapitate him.” Shikamaru said.
Naruto took on Zabuza’s form, shaping his metal into the executionar’s blade. Naruto ran towards Hidan. The Akatsuki snarled, closing his eyes and bracing for impact.
There was an explosion at Shikamaru’s feet. A detached arm burst out of the ground, exploding in threads and assaulting Shikamaru’s hands. It broke Shikamaru’s concentration and Hidan was free.
Instead of succumbing under Naruto’s attack, Hidan was suddenly replaced with a log. Naruto spotted him some distance away, running. At least he was not white anymore. He was not making another circle trying to hurt Naruto again.
Shikamaru pinned the attacking hand to the ground with a kunai and then started running after Hidan.
“Stop!”
“I’m not letting him get away!”
“Shikamaru!” Chouji shouted, running after him. Aside from the one arm, he had finished holding Kakuzu long enough to bind him.
Naruto grimaced. His ankle hurt. The two of them needed back-up. But Hanabi needed help first. He made his way to her. She looked shaken up. Naruto checked her for injuries and nothing appeared broken. He slapped her cheek to wake her.
She groaned as she opened her eyes. “That henge hits so badly when it fails.”
“Are you going to be okay?”
“The nausea and headaches are going to get worse over the next hour, but I’ll live. I have some medicine with me.”
“I’ll take care of her.” Sakura said. She looked worse than usual. The sealing had taken a lot out of her. But Kakuzu was bound up and was not going anywhere. “But you first. I’m going to need all the energy I have to regrow your lungs and heart and it still won’t be enough unless we get you to the hospital within hours and…”
“I pushed my organs out of the way in time.” Naruto said. “Mostly.”
Naruto released his transformations, suddenly hunched over and coughing up blood. He felt Sakura’s hand on his back and the pain quickly subsided.
“You’re right. Hidan only grazed you. I’ve put in a temporary patch, but it’ll have to do. Go chase Shikamaru.”
Naruto nodded. He signalled Ino to follow him.
With a little luck they would be bringing back two prisoners instead of just one.
The sun was setting and they would have to hurry or it would be more difficult to track them.
“Shikamaru marked the walls.” Ino noted. “He scraped the stone with a kunai.”
Naruto nodded. “He’s doing whatever he can to lead us to Hidan.”
They followed the trail. Until finally they found Shikamaru sitting ahead.
“Guess they gave up.” Ino said.
“After all his big words.” Naruto scoffed. “Shikamaru still decided to take a rest.”
Naruto did not dare say anything. As they got closer, Shikamaru looked to be covered in more blood than Naruto had remembered. He was too still. Too pale.
“Shikamaru.” Ino gasped, running towards him.
Naruto held his breath.
And then Shikamaru turned to her. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t hold him. I tried, but I didn’t have the chakra. Not with the sun setting and weakening my shadows. Ino, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about that. The important thing is you’re okay. I’m sure Chouji will catch up to him.”
“You need to get Sakura.”
“Where were you injured? What’s going on?”
He raised a hand and pointed ahead to the river.
The river was a deep red, which is why they hadn’t seen anything inside of it. They had missed Chouji’s body, floating on the water with a huge gash across his torso. He didn’t look to be breathing.
Ino wasted no time running over to the river. “He has a pulse.” Ino cried. “Sakura!”
~*~
There was a sharp, steady sound signalling Chouji’s heartbeat. The heart monitor was beeping just out of sync of the ticking clock that had just passed midnight. It was hypnotic and unsettling. Naruto was supposed to practice his chakra exercises and none of them were in his grasp. He kept losing his concentration.
Shikamaru was holding Chouji’s hand. They had tried to take him to his own bed multiple times, but he would not hear of it.
Naruto needed to give his mission report, but it had been hard for him to leave the room. He had only been allowed because they had rushed Chouji into the emergency room as a team. The moment he stepped out, he would need permission from the Akimichi clan to visit again.
“You need to eat something.” Naruto tried.
“I’m not hungry. Just leave me alone.”
“I’m still the team leader. I’m responsible for you until the mission’s finished.”
“Unless you’re prepared to force the food down my throat, there isn’t anything you can do about it.”
“Shikamaru, I…” Naruto sighed.
“Just say it.” Shikamaru said. “I know you’ve been waiting to do it. Tell me it’s my fault Chouji’s like this.”
“You lost your teacher, and now your teammate is in the hospital.” Naruto said. “The last thing we need right now is to assign blame.”
“It was exactly like you said. Hidan had a link with Chouji. I captured Hidan with my shadows and it was the only thing keeping him from killing Chouji. He was too strong and I was too weak for me to move him. All I needed was the stamina to hold out until you came to help us. And I failed. My brain didn’t save him like it was supposed to. It all came down to stamina.”
“The two of you fought Hidan together, because the rest of us weren’t strong enough to bring down Kakuzu faster. Chouji let himself get hurt. And only then was your stamina a factor.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better.” Shikamaru said. “I was so focused on hurting Hidan, but all I managed to accomplish was get another person I love killed.”
“Chouji’s not dead.”
“He could’ve been. I had so many plans, but I didn’t think we might need a medic. I requested Sakura because she could hold Kakuzu down, which spent so much of her energy that she couldn’t fully heal Chouji. I never even considered he might get hurt.”
“It was a good plan, or I wouldn’t have approved it. Even if it was cobbled together.”
“But that’s the thing! I work best with cobbled together plans! I get my best ideas when I’m under a deadline and there are enough moving parts that we can be flexible. If the plan’s perfect, it’s too… too…
“Too boring?”
Shikamaru flinched. “It’s not… I mean… I get complacent if the plan takes all contingencies into account. My head can’t go into a sprint if there’s nothing to work with.”
“So instead you rely on your future self to patch over the holes your past self left for you.”
“It’s not a good system. But it works for me.” He looked to Chouji. “It’s supposed to work.”
“Maybe this can be a good thing for you. Maybe you can take this experience and next time you’ll…”
“Next time I’ll do exactly the same.”
“Shikamaru, you…”
“Do you think I like being like this?” He snapped. “Do you think I’m proud of myself?”
“You sure seem to enjoy boasting when you think of something clever.”
“I do enjoy that. I push myself into a corner and suddenly I see the world in a clarity that amazes even me. And then the rest of the time my sight is dulled. I feel this crushing weight on me all the time, and I know I should be able to do better. But I can’t.”
“What do you mean with that?”
“You wouldn’t understand. How many hours a day are you training? Fourteen? For me it’s torture to get through one. And I know that’s unfair. But that’s what it is. I’ll spend a whole day wasting away doing nothing, all the while working up the energy to do an hour of training. And I’ve tried everything, but the moment I sit down to concentrate it feels like a physical pain that won’t leave me alone until I lay down again.”
“You always just said you were lazy.”
“Better I say it myself before others say it. Better they think I forgot to utilise a full hour rather than being incapable of it. You know why I wanted to be Hokage?” Shikamaru asked.
“Why?”
“It’s because I’ve always performed well under pressure. And I thought, surely, being the leader of the village would be the kind of pressure that would finally get me to do all those things I know I’m capable of. If not even the seat would make me perform, then there really is nothing to be done about me. I’ll just always be the lazy ninja who can’t do anything. But I was wrong. Nothing matters to me more than Chouji, yet when his life was on the line I didn’t magically rise to the occasion. The seat won’t put more pressure on me than Hidan did. I’m not cut out to be Hokage.”
“You have the potential for it.” Naruto said. “I see that in you. And Chouji sees that too.”
“I know I have the potential. But this village can’t afford to push me into a corner every time they need me to make a decision. I can’t force my own problems onto others. I’ve had enough of that to last me a life time. When Chouji wakes, I’m going to tell him that both are families are supporting you now.”
Naruto had to blink. “Why?”
“You are the reason we survived this mission. Much as I tried to hijack the plans, you’re the one who made the smartest decisions. You were better for the mission. And it makes me believe you’ll be better for the village too. Even now, you keep trying to make me feel better. It didn’t even occur to you that you could use this to manipulate me into supporting you, did it? You’re earnest to a fault. You’re dependable in all the ways I can’t be.”
“Shikamaru, I…”
The door opened. Naruto was expecting a doctor, but not this one.
“Naruto, a word.” Tsunade said.
Naruto nodded, finally leaving the room. If Tsunade was here, it was for his debriefing. And that meant he would no longer be the team lead, and no longer allowed to visit without official permission.
They entered a conference room nearby.
“How much longer were you going to avoid me?”
Naruto shrugged. “Till I felt better.”
“Now that’s not fair.” Tsunade sighed. “I can’t dig into you if you’re already depressed.”
“What punishment have you decided on?”
“You don’t get to ask that. That would be skipping the entire conversation we need to have first.”
Naruto was not in the mood. “I know what I did was wrong.”
Tsunade crossed her arms, looking highly doubtful. “Do you understand why I did not give Shikamaru permission for his mission when he came to me?”
Naruto had thought he did. “You wanted Shikamaru to grieve before he went on. You thought he was too emotionally invested.”
“If that was the reason, I would’ve pulled you from the Akatsuki mission weeks ago.”
“Then what?”
“How well do you know Shikamaru?”
“He was in my class and we hang out from time to time. He’s competitive and doesn’t like to lose. He’s smart but undisciplined.”
“That’s an accurate but incomplete description. What you’ve left out is that he’s stubborn as a mule too. He has been increasingly difficult to assign missions because he will get an idea into his head and believe anyone an idiot if they disagree with him.”
“So you were worried sending him on the mission with his plans would be bad because of his inflexibility?”
“Close. Truth is, I didn’t just think he was emotionally invested. I thought he was emotionally unstable. I heard how he refused to take your orders.”
“I talked sense into him in the end.”
“Yes. You were more effective than other advisors have been in the past.”
“They don’t know how to deal with Shikamaru. I’ve spent enough time with him to know how to calm him down. Though nobody’s as good as Chouji at handling Shikamaru. How bad is he?”
“Bad. He’s lost a lot of blood and his brain was without enough oxygen for a long time. He wouldn’t have made it back to Konoha if Sakura was even a week less along in her medical studies.”
“Shikamaru was so focussed on getting Hidan. He couldn’t think straight.”
“Like I said, I realised that when he first talked to me. It’s why I stopped him. Then he decided to go to you, because he knew he could leverage your old friendship to talk you into going. He gave you a plan that sounded right and you went along with it. Where was your mistake?”
“I should’ve realised it too. How blinded by hate he was.”
“Perhaps. But I don’t blame you for your capability to judge others. That’s a skill like any other and a gamble at the best of times. Try again.”
“I shouldn’t have gone against your wishes.”
“True. There’s a chain of command for a reason. But even there I do not blame you. You were given the autonomy to lead this task force and could use it to go against my judgement. You’re smart and capable and I don’t fault you for having an opinion that differs from mine. That’s not it.”
Naruto still had difficulty thinking. He had played the scenario in his head so often times while they carried Chouji’s body home. How much better it would have been for him to say no. How much pain it would have prevented if at some point he had just trusted that Tsunade’s judgement was better than his own. Everything would have been better with her decision instead of Naruto’s.
Part of him wished he had never become a jounin. “I don’t know.”
Tsunade grabbed a chair and sat down next to Naruto. She laid her hand on top of his. “You’re not a chuunin anymore who must silently take his orders. You’re not a child who will be disciplined for speaking out of turn. And you need to realise I’m your ally. You should’ve come to me.”
“You would’ve vetoed the mission right away. I couldn’t do that to Shikamaru and his team.”
“Instead you went behind my back, which was worse. I do not like this behaviour where you rather ask for forgiveness than permission. You are a jounin and it will be a rare moment where I forbid you from doing anything. If you had come to me, I would have explained my reasoning. I would have discussed with you the best way to move forward. I would have tried to persuade you. But in the end I would rather you act in your own conscience with my blessing than work in your own conscience while keeping me in the dark.”
Naruto swallowed. “I’m not used to that.”
“I know.” She patted the hand. “I’m not going to punish you. You made a bad gamble and I can’t do anything worse than you’re already doing to yourself. If you had talent, I would recommend you spend it learning from this experience. As it is, it will probably have a bigger impact on you than most others.”
“Did we at least get something out of Kakuzu?”
“He’s being interrogated, but there’s no intel yet. Shino had an idea for you when you’re ready to hear him out.”
“Shino?”
“I know. I hadn’t expected the initiative from him. But something about your call for information spurred him on. He says he may have a way of using an Akatsuki prisoner to find their headquarters. Though I doubt he imagined you’d get one so quickly.”
“I’ll go visit him tomorrow.”
Tsunade nodded. “There are casualties in a war. We knew this when we decided to go after Akatsuki. We know they’ve attacked Gaara and at least one other Jinchuriki. Who knows which other innocent victims they have taken in secret? It’s unfortunate the sacrifice of their defeat had to be someone close to you. As Hokage it is no different. Chouji was a kind ninja. He’ll be missed for as long as it takes him to recover.”
“We’ll keep Akatsuki from hurting anyone else.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“But I can. I’ll work hard. I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll…”
“Three chuunin were attacked a few hours ago.”
Naruto turned to Tsunade. “What?”
“Akatsuki wanted to leave us a message. They’re mad we attacked their financial operation and they wanted to hurt us back. The jounin are already discussing how to launch a counterattack.”
“Not if I do it first. We can’t let this stand.”
“I’m sure that’s exactly what Shikamaru thought when he heard of what had happened to Asuma.”
Naruto frowned. “They went after chuunin. It’s different.”
“So we always like to think.” Tsunade sighed. “I’m tired. I’m going to finish the paperwork that needs to be done and then sleep. I suggest you do the same as well.”
Naruto nodded. He would go back to the Uchiha, but he needed a bit more time here. Just long enough that he could go back to the compound and smile without bringing any of these heavy worries with him.
Notes:
Next chapter in October: You let her under your skin. In which Naruto helps Shino find the Bikochu.
I do apologise for the less frequent updates. I’ve been under some stress lately, and the self-imposed strict deadlines for my hobby weren’t helping. In my defence, the last three chapters also don’t have any comments, so that hasn’t been particularly motivating either. The extra breathing room is helping a lot with my mental health and I’ve been feeling a lot better.
Starting with the chapter title, I really liked to use the Zombie song from the Cranberries for Hidan and Kakuzu. Both Kakuzu with his Frankenstein body and Hidan with his god, worship death and violence in a way that feel uncomfortable. In this way, the anti-war anthem felt especially appropriate for them. The specific lyric of violence causing silence ties into the specific scene of the fight leading into a quiet hospital room, but also the general theme of book 4, where revenge is a corrupted motivation.
Which leads me to the main change from canon. I love the canon Hidan and Kakuzu story, and Shikamaru’s revenge feels triumphant. It’s iconic. I also don’t feel like it fits into the larger story. One of Naruto’s big questions is how to stop the cycle of violence, where revenge begets revenge begets revenge. Konoha can never make permanent peace with the other villages, because there’s too much bad blood from previous wars... which will lead to new wars, which will lead to even more unforgivable feuds. So I feel like the way canon handles this event wastes an opportunity to make that cycle become personal. As readers we were invested in Shikamaru getting his revenge, so we’d feel all the more invested when that has negative fallout.
In my version that’s the attack on the chuunin at the end, but I had a bigger change I wanted to make considering the wider theme of the story of genius versus hard work. Shikamaru is a foil to Naruto in a few ways, since his superhuman intelligence makes him capable of getting results without the hard work that Naruto needs to put in. In canon, Shikamaru’s character arc feels like he’s dragged reluctantly into training more, but he never loses anything that forces a change in character.
I wanted to make him lose, but make him lose specifically from problems that arise out of his intelligence. Being smart makes his head work faster and makes him frustrated trying to explain to everyone what’s going on, so he never develops the skills to do so. Since the objections people give are for those intermediate steps that they are still stuck on, he comes to the conclusion that other people have nothing to offer him. He becomes fundamentally incapable of working intellectually with others, which leads to blind spots in his thinking. It’s arrogance which also makes him disinterested in books which have to be written by people less intelligent as him, or in teachers who make him learn boring things.
He’s also coded autistic AF. He gets overstimulated, stims with his hand gesture, has executive dysfunction outside of his hyperfixations, and has trouble with social conventions. Being smart, he’s found ways to hide most of these symptoms, but being stubborn he’s also ignoring them until they’ve gotten so out of control that he can’t handle them anymore. As the undiagnosed autistic smart kid in my own youth, I can relate.
I had several versions of this chapter. At first I had Shikamaru being the one who got hurt instead of Chouji, with the focus on Naruto feeling bad about not stopping Shikamaru sooner. In the end I felt like Shikamaru and Naruto both learn their lessons better when their mistakes made a third person get hurt.
Update on the major editing: about 7 chapters done, about 13 chapters to go. I’ve reached a few points where my notes just say ‘insert major battle here’ and I’m either going to have to scale back my expectations or really bunker down on writing these new scenes.
As always, thanks for reading and sticking with me!
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