AN: Welcome, my loyal minions, to the next chapter of The clouding.
YES, I KNOW! I HAVE BEEN FUCKING LAZY, BUT THE IMPORTANT PART IS THAT IT'S FINALLY DONE!
Just to make one thing clear, just in case. Naruto possesses neither the Sharingan nor the Rinnegan. Giving him Sharingan is simply too easy and Rinnegan is simply overkill. (And it would destroy the story.)
I have wondered for a while if I shall make this into a Naru/Shika fic... I'll stick with maybe. Just to make this clear: I do NOT want a million reviews saying 'OMG, MAKE IT NARU/SHIKA!' That will only make me drop the idea.
Note: This chapter has been re-written. The start and end is the same, nothing else.
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A moment of shocked silence, then a sound was heard from where the copy-ninja stands.
A small smokescreen was in front of the man for a second before it disappeared to reveal a pack of dogs. Before the pack-leader could ask, Kakashi had already begun his hasty speech.
"Pakkun, find the smell of Shikamaru Nara now! It's an S-class priority. Sakura, you take Sai back to the Leaf."
The pug and girl nodded, then the search began.
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A grunt was heard as a body hit the ground with a 'thud'. A sigh was heard from the other person, quickly followed by a 'troublesome'.
Another grunt sounded when Naruto shakily began the attempt to stand.
"Well…*grunt* That was productive."
A lazy glare was his answer. With a sigh, Shikamaru went over to Naruto; put his arm around him, and with a 'hupp' helped him stand.
"What the hell happened Naruto, and where the hell are Kabuto and Zetsu?" Came from the shadow-ninja.
A growl echoed in the cave, the blonde-haired teens' eyes glowed red for a moment.
"Kabuto betrayed me. He sent his Impure Resurrected ninjas after me. I have never in my life been happier that I Found Madara's old journals. And then it's Zetsu. That Son of a bitch split up. The white side killed the black side, giving himself total control over his body. They left the moment the attack began." Another grunt and a cough filled the air as he miss stepped and almost fell.
A very slight sneer came to the Nara geniuses face.
"I warned you didn't I? I fucking told you, you son of a bitch, that they are not to be trusted, but did you listen to me? Nooooooooooo. *Sigh and grunt* Ah well, at least they can't find us." He ended, frowning.
A weak nod was the response before he began coughing again. This time with blood.
Shikamaru swore. What the fuck did they do to him? He shouldn't be in this bad of a condition, even after fighting Kabuto with his zombies and Zetsu at the same time.
"Dammit Naruto, WHAT THE HELL DID THEY DO TO YOU?!" He hated not knowing. He had always hated ignorance, so seeing the only person he could without a doubt call a friend be in such a terrible condition without knowing how just made him even angrier.
They would pay for daring to hurt him.
"... I failed."
It took a moment for the words to reach his ears, a moment for the to register, and a moment for his brain to re-boot after having short-circuited at the words he never thought he would hear from the blonde.
"Where is it?"
"... They destroyed it, and the Bijuu are once again scattered. You have no idea how pissed Kyuubi is at me for failing... I... I underestimated them."
"We both did... Oh well, there's only one thing to do then." The lazy genius said, looking over at his limping friend whose breath had evened out once again.
"Yes... Let's try again... And if that fails, we'll try again and again, over and over again. Failure does not mean failing to progress... It will be hard though, finding another Rinnegan wielder."
"Heh, to think your 'never say die' attitude actually managed to infiltrate my lazy mind... But you're right, our element of surprise is gone, but at least we know the location of the eight-tails... Are you sure there are no other Uzumaki's running around?"
A grunt was his only answer as the blonde once again coughed, this time without blood though. 'Kyuubi's healing is truly remarkable.'
"I'm not sure, but there's a possibility that Sasuke's little girlfriend might be one. I haven't been able to garner a lot of information about her, but she apparently has a remarkable healing ability. That, and she had red hair, which is a seldom seen sight to be seen, even compared to blond. I don't think she's able to awaken it though. Apparently, she was one of Orochimaru's many experiments, and if that didn't bring it out, nothing will... Unless..."
Shikamaru couldn't help but shake his head, a small smirk entering his face at Naruto's words. He just knew the blonde was scheming something, a way to bring untold amounts of pain and suffering to the girl.
Talking about pain..
"You don't think it's somewhat like the Mangekyo Sharingan, do you? Extreme emotional pain coupled with an unimaginable amount of regret?"
The blonde nodded as they stopped walking, entering what looked like a small living room.
"That did cross my mind." He said, slowly sitting down on a chair as he winced, his wounds far from healed.
"Now, how to crush her feeble mind... Killing Sasuke wouldn't do it anymore, seeing as her infatuation with him has rapidly receded into nothing more than a recognition that he exists, she actually DOES dislike Suigetsu somewhat fierce, and she's most likely scared of Juugo more than anything else... This would have been so much easier if I could get it instead, but we both know that with our circumstances, it won't happen... Damn, we might actually be screwed on that front."
"Yeah, I see what you mean. The only one you actually like is me, and seeing as you can just resurrect me the moment you get the Rinnegan, you won't really regret it. That, and killing me aren't exactly the easiest thing to do nowadays."
"You don't say." The blonde muttered, staring off into space as his friends words barely registered. He knew that there was more from the Uzumaki lineage around, but it was also painfully obvious that none of the were ninja. He would have known if there was any Uzumaki ninja's running around seeing as he knew about basically every ninja that was currently in existence.
He couldn't help but frown, knowing that Madara was probably smirking mockingly at him from beyond the grave.
"I need to find the Uchiha's sacred stone. It's said to be in their compound, but not even I managed to find it, which means that only a Sharingan is able to find it... Damn, I knew I should have taken Shisui's eye before Danzo, but the bastard managed to get to him before me, and fuck fighting both Shisui and Itachi at the same time, that would be suicide back then..."
"Hmm, seems like the little avenger still has some use left, but then again, would you actually like having even one of that idiot's eyes in you?"
Naruto couldn't help but sigh, clutching his face with a hand, covering his right eye. There was few things Naruto actually loved about himself, but even he couldn't help but frown at the prospect of losing even one of his blue eyes. What could he say, he just likes them a lot.
"Losing my eyes... Yeah, not fond of that idea, and putting the bastard under an illusion won't work as he's just to damn arrogant and prideful of his Sharingan, which is evident as he flaunts it every chance he gets. He also has no reason to find the stone, so spying on him until he reveals it is pointless... Dammit, he's the only one with a Shari... Hatake..."
A nod came from the Nara as he had gotten them some coffee.
"He's an unstable element though, seeing as he has no Uchiha blood. There's an off-chance that one need both the Sharingan and the Uchiha blood to find it... Still, you have never explained to me exactly WHY this stone is important."
"To be honest, I have no freaking idea why it's important. The only thing I know is that Madara mentioned it in one of his notes, and that man NEVER wrote down anything unimportant." Naruto said, taking a sip of his coffee after his reasoning. He had never been a coffee person, but now he was just happy to have something to drink at all.
He still frowned though.
"I need to get stronger... I'm still far from Madara's strength, and we both know I exaggerated when it came to my sealing abilities, though I'm better than Jiraiya ever was. We can't recruit anymore S-rank ninja either, seeing as the countries are keeping a close eye out just in case anything extremely unusual happens... Damn, being an international villain sometimes has it's drawbacks."
Shikamaru gave a nod as he took a sip from the coffee, only for him to choke on it as his eyes grew wide.
"The compound!" He coughed out, being softly hit in the back by Naruto to ease his fit.
"What about it?"
"You said you found Madara's old journals in the compound! They're probably going to search everywhere inside it just in case they find more of them, which means that they are probably going to use Kakashi due to his Sharingan and summonings!"
"Which means that stalking Kakashi might give us fortuitous results... Heh, seems like he's still useful after all."
Shikamaru couldn't help but smirk as he looked at the man he honestly could say he admired somewhat.
"Not even twenty minutes after our defeat, we are starting anew... Troublesome, but exciting, I kinda like that combination."
Naruto returned the smirk as he held out his hand.
"Yes, and once again I will ask for your co-operation. Will you help me?"
Shikamaru grabbed the hand with his own as he stood up from his chair, a grin on his face as he stared into Naruto's eyes.
"Always."
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The fifth Hokage was, by the very definition of the word, beautiful. Of course, anyone who said that to her would receive a chakra-enhanced punch that probably could take of their head if she tried. Strangely enough though, it was not widely known that her youthful appearance came from a special technique of hers.
Said beautiful, but deadly woman was now sitting behind her desk, staring out the window at the village.
She was one of the three legendary ninja, the slug-sage Tsunade Senju. In her own mind though, she thought that she didn't deserve the title of sage. That title belonged to Jiraiya and, begrudgingly enough, Orochimaru.
She had never learned how to harness and control natural chakra, nor has she ever been in the realm of the slug summons.
Sage... The word actually confused her somewhat.
Exactly what constitutes a sage? Instantly her mind came up with wisdom, which is something she whole-heartedly admitted she lacked. Then there was power, which is something she had. After all, she IS the strongest female ninja in existence at the moment, though she was sure that it wasn't long before Sakura would become stronger than she was in her prime. Give the girl five years maximum, and she could wipe the floor with young Tsunade.
After that, her mind drew a blank. She would have said knowledge, but she believes that wisdom and knowledge was two sides of the same coin, so she dismissed that.
Wisdom. She smiled a bit at that thought.
There was three people she knew of that was wise. The first was her deceased Sensei, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Hokage. At his prime he was a man to be feared, and his alias as 'The Professor' fit him like a glove. His plans was remarkable, his speeches inspirational, and his beliefs admirable. One couldn't help but be enamored when he spoke about the Will of fire, and he did everything in his power to find a peaceful solution to everything.
The second was her deceased team-mate and love Jiraiya. Yes, she admitted it, she loved Jiraiya. Despite his idiocy and perverted nature, she loved him. The man was a genius, a man greater than anyone else, and held experience and wisdom that no man his age should ever have had. He had done so much for the village, and his goal of making true peace seemed possible every time he spoke. He spoke with such conviction that one simply couldn't help but believe in him.
The last wise person she knew about was someone younger than her. She didn't know when she started to admire this person, but this boy. No, this man was special. Naruto Uzumaki, the name that brought a smile to everyone's face.
If Jiraiya was the one speaking about peace, then the teen was the incarnation of peace. The boy was special, and it's not only because of Kyuubi. He could worm himself inside anyone's heart, and with a mere few words, he could change a persons belief completely. She had both heard about it and experienced it. After all, he's the one that made her smile again, the one that helped her emotional wounds heal, and the one that gave her hope.
Her smile dipped though, despite all these uplifting memories.
He had changed.
It was obvious to everyone. The war had taken it's toll on the boy like the previous wars had done to previous generations. He was still Naruto, yet his outgoing personality had dampened. It was probably just a question of when he would become more like his father, but the change was rather... abrupt.
She could see it in his eyes too, the way he looked around. Calculative, wary, experienced and paranoid. The look of a person ready for everything at a moments notice. Then again, when she thought back, he had always had a wary glance in his eyes thanks to his isolated past. The war had just intensified the look.
The boy had let his hair grow a bit, the hair at his back now reaching a tiny bit past his shoulders while his bangs framed his face a bit better, giving him a bit more mature look. He still wore his orange clothes, but he also wore that red cloak of his, showing his status as a sage. She had to admit that it looked good on him.
What worried her though was that Naruto had seemed to distance himself from his friends, almost isolating himself when he wasn't out on a mission. She knew the symptoms though. The boy was in a mild state of shock, the war messing up his mind a bit. Yet, despite this, his track-record during the war was flawless. She let him be, thinking that he only needed a bit of time to accept everything.
She just hoped he didn't become a new Kakashi, because that would annoy her.
The war was won though, she just knew it. Over the three months the war had lasted, the amount of attacks Tobi, Madara or whoever he really was had diminished, almost becoming non-existent.
The first month though was a nightmare.
The attacks from seven of the nine tailed beasts destroyed many villages, and they almost halved their forces. They managed to stop them though, and the one who found out how to do it still surprised her.
The method was found out by none other than the eight-tails container. Kirabi, also known as Killer Bee was one of the few demon-holders who had ever managed to befriend their demon, and the eight-tails theory was nothing short of pure coincidence.
Chakra rods similar to the ones Pein used controlled the beasts. The old hosts was resurrected and used as a device to control the beasts power while the rods was used to control their minds. They were only mildly surprised seeing one of the earlier hosts of Shukaku, seeing as Tobi didn't have Gaara's body.
She sighed as she took a drink. The resurrected ninja's was a bigger problem though.
She was snapped out of the musing as the door was thrown open, a near-hysterical chuunin bursting in.
"Lady Tsunade, there's an emergency at the western gate!"
"What emergency? Are we under attack?"
"No my lady, it's Lady Sakura, she-"
The man was cut-off when leaves began circling the room, the aforementioned pink-haired chuunin appearing in the middle of it, a person slung over her shoulders.
"Lady Tsunade!" She panted out, instantly collapsing on her knees as she lost her grip on Sai. The Hokage jumped over her desk faster than they could see and was instantly at the boy's side, her hands scanning him with a somewhat desperate look on her face.
"Sakura, what the hell happened!" 'The boy's already dead.'
The girl choked on a sob as she panted, trying to regain her breath after having shunshin'd across the entire country. Even she with her perfect chakra control and above-average amount of chakra had almost fainted due to chakra exhaustion.
"He killed him... H-He killed him Lady Tsunade..." She broke down crying, not even caring about keeping up a tough image in front of her teacher and leader. She just couldn't hold it in anymore.
The slug-sage could only lean back as she closed her eyes, her right hand massaging her face as she tried her best not to crush everything around her.
"Damn you Tobi." She whispered, her anger clear in her voice.
"NO!" Tsunade jumped up at her apprentice's scream. She stared at the girl, and she was honestly confused at what she saw. She looked crushed, hopeless... Betrayed.
"Tobi didn't do it... Tobi didn't... Didn't..." She rambled on, her eyes still leaking tears as she murmured to herself.
"SAKURA, get a hold of yourself!" The old lady yelled, grabbing the younger woman's shoulders in an effort to calm her down.
"Sakura, what happened? Who did this? Where... Where is Naruto?" She whispered, dreading the answer as she saw the girl flinch at the mere mentioning of the blondes name.
It couldn't be possible. Tobi couldn't have taken him, Naruto was to strong for that! Naruto was too... He was too stubborn to be taken, too unpredictable, too...
Too loved.
"N-Naruto... Naruto he..." She sobbed, shaking even more as she couldn't look her master in the eyes.
'No... It's not possible.' Tsunade thought, her eyes tearing up at the mere thought.
Her last hope, her last will to live had...
"N-Naruto he... NARUTO KILLED SAI! HE KILLED SAI TSUNADE, HEBETRAYED US!" The girl screamed hysterically, her world crumbling apart around her as reality seeped through the cracks.
The Hokage could only do one thing.
A yell emanated from her throat as she punched her desk through the wall, out in the air where it hit a random bird before it crashed into the ground outside the village, a random deer having been scared of by the desk that landed mere centimeters beside it.
"WHAT?!"