A/N: As of Jan 2019, this chapter has been edited. No plot changes; just fixed a few grammar errors and toned down Naruto's attitude in his interactions with his father
Naruto Namikaze walked eagerly through the shinobi camp that had been his post for the past three months. The camp was near the border of the Land of Fire and Takigakure and its' purpose was to defend the border from members of the Akatsuki.
The Akatsuki were a group of rogue ninja, whose membership had grown at a disturbing rate over the past year. No one had been able to figure out their true motives but it was clear what their mission was: To capture jinchuriki. Three out of the nine jinchuriki had already gone missing, which was creating a panic amongst the Hidden Villages who feared the idea of all nine of the tailed-beasts being possessed by one singular group. The Akatsuki's activities in recent months had been hard to follow and intelligence was scarce, so Naruto had been given a six-month assignment in an effort to lure out certain members of the Akatsuki. It was a risky mission to himself who was also a jinchuriki, but Naruto was one of the top jonin of Konoha and proved many times that he was more than capable of protecting himself.
When he started at the Ninja Academy, Naruto was a joke to his classmates. He was always dead-last when it came to test scores and academics, and his jutsu skills back then were pitiful. It took Naruto three tries before he finally passed the graduation exam to become a genin. Since then, through determination, guts, and the support of his father and Iruka-sensei, Naruto slowly became stronger.
Today in particular was a special day for Naruto; it was the day that he was finally going to tell Sakura Haruno that he loved her. Sakura was one of the girls from his class at the Academy and was on the same team as him once they became genin. She despised the annoying blond ninja at first, but with time the two had formed a close bond and friendship. Especially since their third teammate, Sasuke Uchiha, defected from the village along with the rest of the Uchiha clan one year ago.
The Uchiha defection had been a devastating blow to Konoha's shinobi forces and morale. As one of the original clans of Konoha, they had always been a key pillar in the village structure and their loyalty to the village was strong. At least, that's what they led everyone to believe. Secretly the clan had been planning a coup d'etat to take over Konoha. When the coup was discovered, the whole Uchiha clan had defected from the village, allied themselves with the Akatsuki, and declared war on Konoha.
This had all occurred just over one year ago. Over the past year, Naruto and Sakura had grown closer through their shared suffering over the loss and betrayal of Sasuke. Naruto had feelings for Sakura ever since their days at the Academy but Sakura only had eyes for Sasuke. With him being gone and branded as a traitor to the village, the feelings Sakura once had for Sasuke appeared to have faded. Naruto finally had his opportunity to swoop in and claim the girl he had loved all this time.
Naruto stopped just a few feet away from the medical tent where Sakura would be finishing up her morning rounding with the injured and ill. He bounced nervously on his feet, nodding in acknowledgment whenever an occasional fellow shinobi walked by.
The familiar pinkette that he had been eager to see finally emerged. She was wearing the standard shinobi infantry uniform of dark pants and a long-sleeved shirt with a flak jacket that everyone (including Naruto) in the camp wore. She pushed back her heavy bangs which had become stuck to her forehead as she tried to suppress a yawn. By Naruto's guess, she had probably been awake since before dawn attending to her patients.
Her emerald eyes then locked onto him and she smiled. "Hey Naruto!"
"Hey Sakura!" He waved as she walked over.
"What brings you over here this morning? I thought you would be sleeping right now since Kakashi-sensei had you on watch all night."
Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and grinned nervously towards her. "Well, actually… there was something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Sure! What is it?"
Naruto was keenly aware of their shinobi comrades milling around them.
"Uh, can we talk somewhere privately?" he asked.
"Oh! Um, sure…" she replied as she led him towards the back of the medical tent into a separate room. "Only myself and certain medical-nin are allowed back here," she stated as they arrived in the much quieter area, "No one should bother us now, so what's going on?"
Naruto felt his heart start to race and his palms become sweaty. "I have something I need to tell you", he started, "I…well uh…this past year has been rough… you know, with Sasuke betraying the village and me not being able to bring him back…"
Sakura's eyes fell downcast. "Yeah I know…" she reflected sadly.
"But having you to lean on for support…it's meant a lot to me, Sakura," Naruto continued.
Sakura's green eyes lifted up to meet his own blue ones and she smiled affectionately towards him. "It's meant a lot to me too, Naruto."
A warm feeling surged in Naruto's chest as he felt encouraged by Sakura's words.
"We've known each other for a long time Sakura and I've never told you…just how much you mean to me." He looked away nervously from Sakura's intent gaze and rubbed the back of his head again. "I know we're here in a shinobi camp in the middle of a war but I can't wait another day…"
"Naruto…what are you trying to say?" Sakura asked hesitantly.
He dropped his hand and suddenly put all his focus back onto her.
"What I'm trying to say is…I love you!"
Sakura's eyes widened but then she looked down as if she had been caught doing something guilty. When the awkward and tense silence fell in the space between them, Naruto knew immediately that he was not going to get the reaction he had been hoping for all these years.
"Naruto…I'm sorry but I only see us as friends."
Naruto looked away trying to ignore the empty feeling of rejection that was overtaking his body.
"…You still love him, don't you," he stated blankly.
Sakura was taken aback by Naruto's reaction. "What are you talking about?"
He stared back at her hard. He wasn't mad that she had rejected him. She didn't owe him her affection and it was her right to only want to be friends. However, he couldn't understand how she could hang onto feelings for someone that was never going to love her back; someone who couldn't care less if she lived or died for that matter. He felt a surge of anger and frustration surge up inside him.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about Sakura! I'm fine if you just want us to be friends, but I can't stand here anymore and watch you pine for Sasuke! He's a traitor to the village and he's never coming back!"
Her eyes narrowed bitterly towards him. "Don't talk about things you don't understand, Naruto!"
"I DO understand, Sakura! I'm a guy who actually cares about you and all you can do is waste your time on somebody that no longer acknowledges that you even exist!"
Sakura looked away and wiped the corner of her eyes before Naruto could see the tears that were caused by his words.
"You don't actually love me, Naruto," she said quietly.
Naruto was surprised by her response. "W-what?"
"This is all about Sasuke," she continued, "you've always wanted to beat him in everything. In trying to be with me, you see it as a way to finally win against him." She brought her stern gaze back up to meet Naruto's shocked expression. "The fact that you brought Sasuke up immediately after I told you that I only wanted to be friends just proves that I'm right."
Naruto stared back at her, taking in her words. He didn't know what to think or feel in that moment. How could she tell him that he didn't actually love her? Sure, he'd been jealous in the past that Sasuke had all of Sakura's affection, but nearly all of the other kunoichi in their class had a huge crush on Sasuke too and Naruto didn't have feelings for any of them in that way. Him and Sakura had built a genuine friendship over the years as shinobi. For her to say that he only sees her as a way to one-up Sasuke was an insult to him. Yet, he still wanted to know one thing…
"Do you still love Sasuke?"
Sakura lowered her gaze once again.
"Yes…" she whispered.
A red flash of anger bolted through Naruto's mind.
"How can you still love him Sakura?! After all that he's done! He tried to overthrow my dad! He tried to kill me! He even hurt you! He—"
"WHAT ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!" Sakura screamed.
The air in the room took on a grave silence.
Sakura immediately regretted her words and brought her hands over her mouth, realizing her serious error.
"Naruto, I'm sor—"
Naruto chuckled ironically. "I see, so that's what this is about…"
He turned away from her and then stepped towards the tent flap.
Sakura reached her hand out towards him with tears streaming down her cheeks, "Naruto! Please wait! I didn't mean what I said…"
Naruto stopped but didn't turn back around.
"I'm sorry if my confession made you feel uncomfortable, Sakura."
He then continued walking, leaving behind a sobbing Sakura, and ignoring all of the pointed stares of the other medical-nin who had heard their yells.
Naruto strode straight to his tent, ignoring any of his comrades who waved hello or tried to talk to him along the way. The exhaustion from the night before and his argument with Sakura had drained him completely. He wanted nothing more than to fall onto his cot and forget about everything that had just happened. When he finally arrived at the tent he was annoyed to see Shikamaru, the camp's key strategist, standing by his bed.
"What do you want, Lazy-ass?" Naruto asked irritably.
"Man, I thought you would be sleeping already," Shikamaru replied plainly.
"Well, that's what I'd like to do if you would just get the fuck out of my way!"
"Calm down, Naruto," Shikamaru continued, unscathed by his friend's anger, "I was coming by to drop off a note from Captain Kakashi."
Shikamaru held out a piece of paper which Naruto took from his hand.
"He wants you to report to his tent at eighteen hundred hours," the strategist continued as Naruto glanced at the note.
"Okay fine, I'll be there. Now will you get out of my way so that I can finally get some damned sleep!"
Shikamaru sighed as he strode out of the tent, "Man, you are such a drag sometimes Naruto."
Naruto reported to his captain's tent at the time he was told and found Kakashi leaning over his desk with two other Konoha shinobi, looking over a map and a few documents. Kakashi looked up and smiled when he saw his blonde-haired student.
"Naruto! Thank you for coming."
"I had no choice…" Naruto replied quietly.
"Ah, that's right. Could you leave us for a few minutes?" Kakashi asked the other two shinobi who quickly complied with their captain's request and left the tent.
Kakashi took a seat behind the desk and looked up at the blonde jonin standing before him.
"Well, I'll just get straight to the point then. Naruto, you're being summoned back to the village."
Naruto's eyes widened at this piece of news. "What?! But I'm only half-way done with my assignment! Why do I have to go back so early?"
"This is what the Hokage has commanded."
The jinchuruki fell silent and looked down. "Is this because…"
Kakashi sighed. "Yes, it is. You know that it happened again last night, don't you?"
Naruto's head shot back up. He had blacked out again during part of his watch the night before and when he came to, his arms and clothes had been caked in blood. He washed off in a nearby river and changed his uniform before anybody could notice. He had wanted to find the bodies of whoever he had killed before anyone else found them but he ran out of time and had to return to his post.
"…How many was it this time?" Naruto asked quietly.
"Only three, but it was brutal. The Kyuubi literally shredded their bodies to pieces."
"I see…"
Kakashi felt bad for Naruto who was clearly racked with guilt over what he had done - or more precisely - what the Kyuubi had done while using his body. The boy had trained intensely for years to contain the Kyuubi's power after the Eight Sign Seal started to weaken when he turned twelve. He even went on a three-year training journey to Mount Myoboku with Master Jiraiya - one of the legendary Sannin - to tame the demon fox contained in his body. When Naruto returned, he had successfully learned to control the Kyuubi and quickly became one of the village's strongest ninja.
Then the Uchiha coup happened and Naruto allowed the power of the Kyuubi to control him in an effort to stop Sasuke. Not only was Naruto unsuccessful, but he nearly killed a squad of Konoha jonin who had been sent to subdue him. Naruto was then placed on temporary suspension by the Hokage so that he could be monitored. The suspension was short-lived however when war was declared on Konoha by the powerful Uchiha clan who had also joined forces with the Akatsuki. With being one of the village's top jonin, Naruto was needed on the front lines in those early days of the war to protect the village. Naruto easily took down many of Konoha's enemies, but only through allowing the power of the Kyuubi to overtake him.
Whenever he was in his Kyuubi-state, Naruto was a literal killing machine. He had viciously slain over a hundred enemy shinobi in a matter of months which had quickly earned him the nickname, "The Demon of Konoha". Even the other Hidden Villages and clans knew of Naruto's dark reputation in battle.
Three months ago, the Uchiha and the Akatsuki retreated and their whereabouts had largely remained unknown. Then that's when the jinchuriki started to disappear. In an effort to gather more intelligence, and to take Naruto off the battlefield to give him time to control the Kyuubi again, the Hokage assigned his son to the Takigakure border camp they were at now. However, Naruto continued to lose control over the Kyuubi and the killings became more vicious.
"Naruto…this is the twelfth episode that has happened since you arrived. The Hokage has become gravely concerned that things will only get worse if he allows you to stay here so he is ordering you back to the village. You're to leave tonight with two escorts," Kakashi explained frankly.
Naruto kept his gaze down on the ground, looking defeated. "You think I'm a danger to everyone here, don't you?"
Kakashi didn't answer right away. He glanced at the small photo on his desk of him and a younger Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura back when they were genin under Kakashi's tutelage.
He sighed again, "Yes… I do. Which is why I sent an emergency report to the Hokage early this morning letting him know of my concerns."
Naruto continued to stare at the ground, not saying anything. It pained Kakashi to treat his student this way, but he was also responsible for the safety of the shinobi stationed at this camp. He had to do what he felt was best.
Kakashi stood up and walked over to Naruto. "You'll be leaving in two hours and you are to travel through the whole night, so I suggest taking some food pills with you." Kakashi then reached into his back pouch and pulled out a slip of paper with a seal on it. "This will suppress the Kyuubi for twenty-four hours…it's for the protection of your two escorts."
Naruto finally brought his head up to face his old sensei with a shaky resolve as he quietly allowed the seal to be placed onto his forehead.
"I'm sorry that things have to be this way, Naruto," Kakashi said quietly.
Naruto had no response other then, "Am I dismissed now?"
Kakashi nodded his head. "Yes, you are."
Without another word, Naruto turned on his heel and strode out of the tent while his former sensei regretfully watched him leave.
Naruto and his two escorts arrived at Konoha mid-morning without incident. The young shinobi was exhausted from traveling all night but he knew he had to report to his father right away. Thankfully, he was allowed to go by himself without the escorts to the Hokage office. Despite the humiliating reasons for being back in the village, Naruto couldn't help but feel some relief and comfort from being back home.
Konoha was still a fairly young Hidden Village; Naruto was part of the village's third generation. Konoha was founded by Hashirama and Tobirama Senju - two brothers who were hailed as the most powerful shinobi of their generation. The brothers had founded the village on the concept of creating a new shinobi system to replace their old ways of constant battle with rival clans. The brothers worked hard to lay down the system's foundation and build Konoha's infrastructure, but were killed in battle before they had the opportunity to lead and run the village.
That duty ended up falling to the Senju brothers' apprentice, Hiruzen Sarutobi - Konoha's Sandaime. While he was technically the first Hokage to actually lead the village, Hiruzen insisted on the title of Sandaime as he felt that the titles of Shodai and Nidaime belonged to Hashirama and Tobirama respectively. After leading the village through the two Great Shinobi Wars and slowly bringing stability to Konoha over the course of many years, Hiruzen passed away from old age. Before he passed, he named Minato Namikaze to become the Yondaime, who had been the village's Hokage for just over five years now.
Naruto swelled with pride whenever he thought of his father. Minato was a legendary shinobi within the village; one who had natural talent combined with superior leadership skills. He won many victories for Konoha during the First and Second Great Shinobi Wars, and his speed had given him the nickname, "The Yellow Flash". As Hokage, Minato's leadership quickly lived up to that of his predecessors. He successfully created temporary peace treaties with the other Hidden Villages of Suna, Kiri, and Kumo (Iwa did not agree to a treaty with any of the Hidden Villages), bringing more stability to Konoha. In recent months, a more permanent alliance had formed with Suna shortly after the new Kazekage, Gaara, came into power. Though Minato wasn't able to stop the Uchiha from defecting, he was able to stop the clan from taking over the village through quick decisions and clever thinking when he had learned of the plot through local intelligence.
The father and son duo had also been close for all of Naruto's life. With his mother dying shortly after his birth, Minato had raised Naruto all by himself. He supported Naruto and never stopped believing in him, despite the challenges that came with being a jinchuriki and a hopeless ninja student at the Academy. During the wars, Minato was forced to leave his son behind in Konoha but always made sure he was well taken care of in the company of his Academy sensei, Iruka, and would write to his son from the battlefield often. After Naruto became a genin, Minato passed on his legendary jutsu to him — the Rasengan. He had also intended to teach Naruto the Hiraishin Jutsu, but was elected Hokage before having the opportunity to put in the enormous time needed to teach such a powerful jutsu to a young genin. Naruto didn't mind though. Despite the enormous commitment that came with being Hokage, Minato would always be Naruto's father; a man that Naruto loved and respected no matter the difficulties they faced.
As Naruto made his way to the Hokage's office, he couldn't help but notice the glares and hushed conversations that went on around him as he passed through the village. As a child, Naruto had been hated by many of the villagers for containing the beast that had brutally attacked their home on the night Naruto was born. It was thanks to an order from the Sandaime to never speak of the Kyuubi, as well as the protection of his father, that the villagers never acted on their hate nor did Naruto's classmates at the Academy know anything at the time about the Kyuubi being sealed inside him.
Naruto fought hard to earn the respect of the village after becoming a genin. When Naruto came back from his three-year training journey with Master Jiraiya and was appointed chunin shortly afterwards, he had gained the respect and trust of the villagers as he protected Konoha from various threats that had appeared over the years with his own strength.
Then he threw it all away after the Uchiha defection and his dark reputation from the battlefield quickly spread to the village. Now, Naruto didn't blame the villagers for looking at him with fear and contempt, because that's how he saw himself too.
He finally arrived at the Hokage Tower and made his way up to his father's office. He knocked twice on the door to announce his arrival before letting himself in. Minato was sitting behind the Hokage desk writing up reports with the help of his aide, Shizune.
The blond-haired Hokage looked up and smiled warmly upon seeing his son, "Ah Naruto! I'm happy to see you after all this time, my son."
Naruto felt his burdens temporarily lift and couldn't help at grinning back at his father. He had missed him over these past three months.
"It's good to see you too, Old Man!"
Minato chuckled then turned to Shizune, "Can you excuse us for a while? I have a few important matters to discuss with Naruto."
"Of course, Lord Hokage!" Shizune stood up and smiled politely towards the young jonin, "Good to see you back, safe and sound, Naruto!"
"Thank you, Shizune."
When Shizune left, Minato gestured to a chair just in front of his desk. "Have a seat."
The tone in the room quickly shifted from a warm reunion to a tense friction between father and son. Both men knew that Naruto was not there under good circumstances. Naruto obeyed and sat down, giving a piercing gaze towards his father's stoic expression.
"I don't think I have to explain why you're back in the village, Naruto."
Naruto scoffed. "Well, I'm here under your orders."
Minato closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was going to be a long conversation.
"Naruto, for Kakashi of all people to become so concerned that he recommended you be sent back to the village…Well frankly, it's disturbing to me. He said the last attack was so brutal that they weren't able to find all of the body parts of the men that…" he trailed off as he carefully thought through his next choice of words.
Naruto finished his sentence for him, "You mean of the men that I killed?"
"No, the men that the Kyuubi killed."
"If you truly believe that then why am I here?"
Minato gazed back at his son's hardened, angry expression and sighed. "In a way you're right, Naruto. It was the Kyuubi who carried out those vicious killings, but the Kyuubi can only act in cooperation with your will."
Naruto averted his gaze guiltily as he listened to his father's words.
"I thought that taking you off the battlefield, would give you an opportunity to regain control over the Kyuubi but things have only gotten worse. And until we can get to the bottom of why you can no longer control the Kyuubi inside of you, I am placing you on in-house suspension."
Naruto jerked his head up, "What?!"
"You'll still be allowed to go on missions, but only ones that don't take you away from the village," Minato continued, ignoring his son's outcry, "When you're not on missions, you'll be under observation by our Analysis and Medical teams to help you find the cause of why you cannot control the Kyuubi."
"You can't do this to me, Dad!" Naruto exclaimed as he stood up and slammed his palms onto Minato's desk. His body was shaking with rage and frustration. "Just give me one more chance! I promise I won't let you down this time!"
"You've already been given too many chances, Naruto," the Yondaime replied sternly, "this is what's best for the village and for you as well. Until you can learn to control the Kyuubi—"
"I never asked for this FUCKING thing to be sealed inside me!" Naruto shouted.
A piercing silence settled between father and son. It always came down to this whenever the topic of the Kyuubi came up between Minato and Naruto. And when it did, there was nothing that Minato could say in retort because Naruto was right — he didn't ask for any of this.
Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki, had been the previous jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. After she gave birth, the seal containing the Kyuubi inside of her weakened significantly and an enemy shinobi took advantage by extracting the tailed-beast from Kushina and releasing it onto the village. In order to save the village, Minato chose to seal the beast inside of his own infant son. Unfortunately, a jinchuriki dies when their tailed beast is extracted from them, which is how Kushina had met her end that fateful night.
Minato gazed back sympathetically towards his son's outraged expression. If it were up to Minato, there would be no need for tailed beasts and jinchuriki in this world and his son could be a normal shinobi, free from the burden of containing such a powerful and feared creature. However, this was not their reality.
"Do you know why I sealed the Kyuubi inside of you, Naruto?" Minato asked softly, not breaking his eye contact with his son.
Naruto didn't answer.
Minato continued, "Because I believe that one day, you can truly master its' power and help bring an end to all this warfare for good. I believed that from the moment you were born and I continue to believe in it even now."
Naruto's expression softened a little and he let go of the tension from his body upon hearing his father's supportive words. He slowly sat back down in the chair and brought his eyes downcast once again.
"How can you believe in me still, Dad? After all that I've done… Even I don't believe in myself anymore…"
Minato's heart felt heavy at seeing his son in such a difficult state, butt he smiled warmly and stood up to ruffle Naruto's mop of blond hair.
"Because I'm your father! It's as simple as that."
One of the corners of Naruto's mouth lifted slightly, "Heh, you know you're getting sappy in your old age…"
Minato smiled once again and sat back down. "This is a difficult time for you Naruto, but I know you'll get through it. Now, get some rest and report here at eight in the morning."
"Please don't kill me! Please! Please!"
Naruto laughed at the cowering Iwa shinobi on the ground before him. The kid couldn't have been older than fifteen. The boy was shaking as he begged for his life. Pathetic.
The jinchuruki snarled his lips into a cruel smile. "A real shinobi faces his death with no fear. You're a poor excuse for a ninja!" The boy yelped helplessly as Naruto lifted him by the collar. "I'll make your death nice and slow…that way you'll have plenty of time to think about your pitiful existence!"
"No! Please! Don't kill me! NO!"
The young shinobi screams filled Naruto's ears as he rammed a clawed hand into the boy's throat, slicing through his esophagus. He dropped the Iwa shinobi carelessly onto the ground, watching him writhe and gurgle as blood streamed from his neck. The jinchuriki watched the boy's drawn-out demise with a dark sense of satisfaction. Naruto heard himself laughing once again at the shinobi's pathetic death, his blood saturating the ground.
His laughing ceased when he noticed the blood moving strangely. Was it…moving on its' own? He bent forward to get a closer look. The blood suddenly formed into a large mouth of sharp teeth and lunged at Naruto, swallowing him whole before he had a chance to react.
The jinchuriki suddenly found himself in what appeared to be a dark cell. He was standing ankle-deep in a pool of water that emitted a strange, musty odor. Naruto tried to move his neck to get a better look around but found his body to be completely frozen in place.
'What the hell is going on?!'
"Naruto."
The young jonin felt his bones grow cold at the frightening growl that just spoke his name. He tried again to move his body but his muscles refused to obey.
"Who's there?! Who the fuck are you?!" He yelled to the unknown, menacing voice.
He was answered with the sound of a disturbing chuckle that reverberated through his entire body.
"You should already know who I am."
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Naruto bellowed, "now how do I get out of here!?"
The voice didn't answer. Instead, all Naruto could hear was a sick laughter that seemed to be mocking him. The jinchuruki cursed to himself as he struggled to move. The laughter started getting louder, as if someone was getting closer and closer to him. As it crescendoed, Naruto could hear what sounded like people screaming. The sound terrified him and sent his heartbeat into a frenzy.
'I can't move!'
He struggled desperately to move his body as the sounds became so loud, he could no longer hear his own thoughts. Naruto then felt something wrap around his neck and squeezed until the airway in his throat was completely closed off. Saliva dribbled from his mouth as he slowly suffocated.
"You're too weak to deny me anymore…"
Naruto's eyes shot open, his breathing was ragged. After having a long day, he had snuck off to a hillside on the outskirts of the village just by the Senju River and must have nodded off when he laid down on the grass. These disturbing nightmares were a new phenomenon, having started shortly after arriving back at the village, and they became more vivid each time.
He had been back in the village for a week and was spending his time doing missions within Konoha and having his mind examined by the Analysis Team. The missions were mostly simple guard work around classfied meetings within the village or delivering encoded messages to the Hokage office. They were all B-ranked and above; Minato had spared his son the embarrassment of carrying out errands and chores for the villagers just as he did in his early genin days.
The sessions with the Analysis Team had not been going well either. Several members of the team had attempted to enter Naruto's mind only to be blocked by the powerful chakra of the Kyuubi. For Naruto though, this was somewhat of a relief to him. He said nothing about the nightmares he had been having as he was sure that they would go away eventually, and he didn't want to give his father any reasons to extend Naruto's suspension. He wanted to regain control of the Kyuubi so that he could serve his village properly — but he wanted to accomplish this on his terms.
Naruto felt isolated and lost though. Between Sakura rejecting him and being pulled from his mission early to essentially be placed on house-arrest, Naruto felt humiliated and empty. A few of his friends were still posted in the village but he had been avoiding them all week. He was too embarrassed to face them just yet. And Sasuke…
That overwhelming feeling of failure still haunted Naruto. He understood that the young man who had once been his best friend was now a grave threat to the village. If Naruto were to ever encounter Sasuke directly, it was his duty as a Konoha jonin to kill Sasuke through whatever means possible. Yet, Naruto couldn't help but feel that he had let Sasuke down somehow.
The two had formed a unique bond during their time as shinobi together and Naruto had thought that Sasuke would have trusted him with anything. But he was wrong. Not only that, he couldn't even persuade Sasuke to stay with the village that he had faithfully served his whole life. Even after he allowed the Kyuubi to take over him in an effort to make Sasuke stay by force, he still wasn't strong enough. If Naruto wasn't strong enough to save one friend, how could he ever hope to attain his dream of being Hokage someday?
He laid back down on his back with his hands behind his head, staring up at the pink and orange clouds just above him as he contemplated.
His view was suddenly interrupted by the smiling, calm face of the Yondaime. "Ah! There you are!"
"DAD!" Naruto jumped up with a shock. "Don't scare me like that, ya know!"
Minato chuckled. "Sorry Naruto, I didn't mean to scare you!" He then sat down on the grass and gestured next to him.
Naruto complied and the two sat quietly watching the river stream by in front of them for a while.
"How are things between you and Sakura?" Minato asked, breaking the silence.
Naruto visibly tensed but kept his gaze at the river ahead of him.
"There's nothing between us," he quietly replied.
Minato looked over at his son and saw his dejected expression.
'It's just as I suspected…Sakura still rejected him even with Sasuke out of the picture now.'
The Yondaime sighed and turned back to look at the river. "Well, I received some good news this morning," Minato said, changing the topic, "Hiashi Hyuga and I have finally reached an agreement that would officially make the Hyuga Clan apart of the village!"
Naruto glanced over at his father. He knew that his father had been working hard towards such an alliance ever since he became Hokage, but given the current distractions and recent disappointments in his life, he couldn't bring himself to be much interested in the news.
"That's good…"
Minato nodded, ignoring his son's clear lack of interest in the topic.
"They're the most powerful clan in the Land of Fire — even more powerful than the Senju and Uchiha, in my opinion. To have them as allies will help to further strengthen the village!"
Minato looked over again towards his son who was still gazing towards the river with a bored expression on his face.
"Naruto, you actually have a very significant role to play in this alliance," he continued.
This grabbed the blonde jinchuriki's attention who snapped his head over towards his father. "What? Me?"
Minato smiled and nodded. "I know you won't like the idea at first, but hear your father out."
Naruto stared back at his dad, unsure and hesitant over what he would say next.
Minato continued, "You see Naruto, alliances such as these traditionally do best when sealed with…an arranged marriage."
Naruto's eyes widened, "You're joking right?"
Minato held his hands up with a sheepish smile on his face, "Now like I said Naruto, hear your father out! I know a lot of modern changes have occurred for your generation, but arranged marriages haven't completely died out."
Naruto was familiar with the point Minato was making. Most of his friends' parents were in arranged marriages (Naruto's own parents were one of few that married for love in their generation). Also, the recent alliance between Suna and Konoha had been sealed with an engagement between Shikamaru and the Kazekage's sister, Temari. The two were to be married next month just before the Rinne Festival.
"But what many people your age don't realize is that there is a practicality with arranged marriages," Minato continued, "the match isn't necessarily determined by convenience. They're carefully selected by two families who know each other well enough to have confidence that their children would be a good partner for one another. I've known Hiashi Hyuga for many years now, and while I can't say that I know his eldest daughter just as well, based on my few meetings with her and from what I've learned about her from Hiashi, I have confidence that she would be a good match for you, Naruto."
"That's it, I've heard enough!" the jinchuriki interrupted as he abruptly stood up and glared down at his father, "It's bad enough that you have control over my career as a shinobi, but now you want to control who I spend the rest of my life with?"
"This has nothing to do with controlling you," his father replied calmly. "At least let me finish what I have to say before you start overreacting."
Naruto begrudgingly complied and sat back down on the ground near his father, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.
"Naruto, I would never have agreed to this proposed arrangement if I thought there was any possibility that it would make you miserable."
Naruto glanced inquisitively towards his father.
"…The reason why your mother didn't struggle to control the Kyuubi was because of the love her and I shared. I want nothing more than for you to have a similar love with a person that you can spend your life with."
Naruto's gaze slightly softened as he uncrossed his arms.
"Hiashi's eldest daughter, Hinata, is around your age. And while she's led a different life from yours, I think you would be surprised at just how much you two have in common if you both are open to getting to know the other."
Minato shifted his weight so that he was looking directly at his son.
"And Naruto, let me be clear on one thing — this will be your decision in the end."
Naruto shot his head up in surprise, "What? Didn't you just say that the arrangement is already done?"
Minato shook his head. "The alliance between Konoha and the Hyuga is all but done; the arrangement between you and Hinata is merely a proposal for now. I strongly encourage you to at least be open to it, but I would never force something like this upon you. I've already discussed this with Hiashi. If you decide not to marry Hinata, we will find other ways to seal the alliance. All I want is for you to be happy."
Naruto took his gaze down towards the grass beneath them as he took in his father's words. He thought that he had loved Sakura for all these years only to find out that he had been wrong all this time. Who was he to say what love is? Maybe his father had a point with this whole arranged marriage thing…Shikamaru didn't speak much about his own arranged upcoming marriage but the guy didn't seem to be miserable about it.
Naruto mentally shook his head. What was he thinking? This whole idea was ludicrous! Sure, things didn't work out with Sakura, but that didn't mean that he was willing to get married to someone he never met before! He would like to be married with a family of his own someday, but not now. He had too many other matters to attend to in his life instead of courting some girl from the Hyuga clan to appease his dad. No, if his dad was giving him a choice then Naruto wasn't going to bother with any of this.
"I only have one request, Son," Minato said before Naruto had a chance to voice his decision to decline the arrangement.
"Join me for dinner at the Hyuga compound tomorrow evening. It would just be me, you, Lord Hiashi, and Lady Hinata. You should at least meet her first before making any final decisions. I promise that this will be all that I ask of you."
Naruto clenched his fist around his pant leg before biting out, "Fine." He then stood up once more. "Is that all, Dad?" he asked irritably.
"Hm, oh yes! I almost forgot." The Yondaime stood up and rummaged around in his flak jacket. "I'm sure you want to see what she looks like! She's actually a very pretty young lady," Minato said as he handed his son a picture, which Naruto stuffed immediately into one of the pockets of his own jacket without so much of a glance at it.
"Now is that it, Dad?"
Minato smiled, unfazed by his son's attitude. "Yes, it is. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Naruto! We'll talk more in my office tomorrow morning."
Naruto turned around to walk away.
"Night Dad," he said without looking back.
Minato still smiled as he watched his son's retreating form.
"His stubbornness certainly rivals yours, Kushina," he said to himself.
After enjoying three bowls of his favorite ramen at Ichiraku's, Naruto arrived at the male shinobi barracks where he lived, or more accurately, where he laid his head at night. The barracks never felt like home to him. It was just a place where he stored his belongings and had a bed to sleep on.
He grew up in an apartment with his father until he went on his three-year training journey to Mount Myoboku when he was thirteen, which was right around the time his father became Hokage. When Naruto returned, his father had moved into the Hokage Residence and not wanting to feel singled out from his shinobi comrades, Naruto opted to move into the male barracks where several of his other friends were already staying at the time.
He had fond memories of late night card games and hanging out with the guys. Nowadays, it was rare when all of them were in the village. Ever since the war started, most of Naruto's friends had been split up to various posts around the Land of Fire. There were a few that Naruto hadn't even seen for nearly a year now.
"Big Brother Naruto!"
Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by a young teenage boy just in front of him.
Naruto smiled and waved, "Oh hey, Konoharamu!"
Konoharamu was a few years younger than Naruto and had recently been promoted to chunin rank. The boy was the grandson of the late Sandaime. Orphaned by the Second Shinobi War, Konoharamu was raised by his grandfather. But when the old man passed, Konoharamu came to live at the barracks since he was already a genin at the time. The boy still had a few living relatives, such as his uncle Asuma, to look out for him but the young chunin always had a strong admiration for Naruto who in turn always watched over him like an older brother would.
"I've been looking for you for hours now!" Konoharamu explained as he ran over to Naruto. "Where have you been, Big Bro?"
Naruto smiled sheepishly at him. "Oh, um, I just wanted to get away for a little while to clear my head, that's all."
Konoharamu nodded, quickly accepting Naruto's response, and changed the subject. "I wanted to show you how far I've come with my Rasengan training! I'm getting so close to actually forming the chakra into the right shape! You gotta come see what I can do!" the boy explained excitedly.
Naruto smiled. It made him happy to still Konoharamu's respect and admiration, despite knowing about…recent events.
"Actually, Konoharamu, I'm going to have to take a raincheck on seeing the progress of your training."
"What?! Why?"
"I've…got a lot on my mind right now and I'd be too distracted to give you any pointers."
"All right fine! You can just watch me tomorrow night then!"
Naruto winced inwardly as he remembered the dreaded dinner that he had to attend to.
"So…I have this thing I have to go to with my dad tomorrow. But the night after tomorrow I'll come watch you! I promise!"
Naruto brought his fist towards Konoharamu who cautiously looked down before grinning once again.
"That's a promise, Boss!" the boy exclaimed as he bumped his fist with Naruto's, "I know you don't go back on your word!"
Naruto entered his room, relieved that he could finally relax. He untied his hitai-ate and placed it onto his dresser. He threw his flak jacked onto the bed and took off his shirt. He fell backwards onto his mattress and sighed. He opened his azure eyes to stare at the plain, wooden ceiling just above him.
"I want nothing more than for you to have a similar love with a person that you can share your life with…All I want is for you to be happy."
His father's words echoed through his mind. Naruto flipped onto his stomach and threw a pillow over his head, as if it would block all of the rambling thoughts from his brain. How could his dad expect him to be happy by proposing a marriage to a girl he didn't know? Naruto couldn't wait to get this stupid dinner over with so that he could tell his dad that he wanted nothing to do with this arrangement. There were many things out of control in Naruto's life, but who he would marry is something that he alone would decide.
He shifted his legs over his flak jacket that was still on the bed and he heard something drop to the floor. He lifted his head and saw the small picture that his dad had given to him earlier. He still hadn't bothered to look at it, but would be lying if he said that he wasn't curious as to what Hinata looked like. He bent over to take the picture off the floor and flipped it around as he leaned back onto the bed. One of his eyebrows raised curiously as he studied the picture.
It was black and white, but it was a portrait of a girl around his age with long dark hair that cascaded over her shoulders. She wore a light-colored kimono along with a kanzashi flower pinned in her hair, just above her bangs. She wore a small, gentle smile on her face but it was her eyes that stood out. The Hyuga were known for their pale, pupil-less eyes that were often cold and expressionless, but Hinata's were different. Her eyes were kind and warm, and there was a genuineness to her expression in the photo that Naruto was oddly mesmerized by.
Maybe tomorrow's dinner wouldn't be that bad after all.