Chapter II: Deception
Naruto woke from a fitful sleep groggy and tired. He picked himself off the ground and brushed himself off. All night…I kept rethinking what happened…These nightmares won't stop.
"The nightmare's are a reminder of what happens…what happens when your so-called friends betray you. What happens when you place trust in someone. Place your trust in me, and all will become clear. You will be a Hokage, and your power will be eternal, ranking with that of Jiraiya, Sarutobi, and Orochimaru." The fox's image hissed as it returned.
"I won't be like Orochimaru…I won't do it. That bastard, he…" Naruto's hands and teeth clenched involuntarily.
"Remember our new Ninja way…By any means necessary." The fox grinned as he saw the anger leave Naruto's eyes, and they were replaced by a look of deep thought.
"By any means necessary, huh? If it means I'll get to be Hokage, I'll do it. But if I ever see Orochimaru, I'll kill him for doing what he did to Sasuke!"
"You must forget your old, trivial, grudges. Sasuke was not your friend…he tried to kill you, Naruto. He would have, if you hadn't been stronger. You are strong, but there is much more that we can learn. I know how we can do it. There is a man who was once a…good friend of mine. He will make you stronger. We have far to go, Naruto Uzemaki, but we will get there." The fox disappeared as Naruto walked north along the road.
"It's Northwest of here, right?" Naruto said as his conversation continued in his own mind. He needed no confirmation, and he kept walking.
"WHAT?!" Sasuke said as he bolted out of bed, rushing to get his clothing on.
"Yes, Shikimaru and several others left yesterday to go look for Naruto."
"They left without me? They don't know what he is! They don't understand what could happen to all of them! I have to go!" Sasuke pushed past Sakura and out the door. Several doctors attempted to hold him back, and get him back to bed, but it was useless to try and stop him. He ran out of the hospital as fast as he could run and left the village, carrying no gear whatsoever.
"Sasuke…" Sakura said quietly. "Be careful…" and a few tears escaped her eyes.
"Shikimaru, we've been running for a day and we still haven't reached the valley where Naruto and Sasuke fought. Where is it?" Kiba asked impatiently as the group continued to bolt through the forest.
"It's just up ahead, only a little longer" Shikimaru replied.
"You said that four hours ago!" Kiba cried back.
"Yeah, now I'm serious. Then I wanted you to shut up. Come to think of it, I STILL want you to shut up. I have to think of a plan…it rained for days after Sasuke came back, so all physical evidence will be gone." Shikimaru's brow furrowed as he attempted to sort everything. Why do they always choose me? Shino and Neji must be just as good at leading as me, and more motivated. Bah, what's done is done. I need to figure out how to find Naruto. Kiba can't sniff him out, not with all the rain, and there aren't any footprints, even faint ones, for Neji to see with his byakugan. Ino and Temeri aren't detection specialists, so they can't be of any help yet. "Hey Temeri, what do you think about this? How can we track Naruto down without any physical evidence?"
"Why do you ask her? What about me?" Ino shouted. All the others slanted an eyebrow at her. "And the others…aren't we of any use to you?"
"Temeri thinks like I do, she plans dozens of moves ahead, and is incredibly bright. If anyone besides me can figure something out, it's probably her." Temeri landed next to Ino briefly and glared superiorly. Ino glared back, furious.
"Shikimaru, I can find Naruto." Shino said calmly.
"How? Tell me!" Shikimaru yelled.
"Not much escapes the eyes of insects, there are so many we never see, and they are everywhere. I'd bet I could find plenty that saw Naruto, and they'd be more than happy to tell us where he went." Ino stuck her tongue out towards Temeri, and Temeri cocked an eyebrow.
"Great thinking, Shino!" Shikimaru said excitedly. "And we are here, the valley is this next clearing". They left the forest and came onto the rocky outcropping that was once the top of the waterfall. The two monolithic statues that had once stood, flanking the falling water, were in ruin. The river had been drastically changed, and it began roughly 50 feet back from where it had once been. Dozens of rocks stood upright in the water, and it had swelled greatly.
"Wow…those two aren't normal, are they?" Ino said, shocked. Do none of them know Naruto has the nine-tailed fox inside him, and that Sasuke has that curse mark? Shikimaru thought.
"No they aren't, Ino. Naruto happens to be harboring a demon inside him, and Sasuke has a dangerous curse-mark from Orochimaru, as well as the sharingan. They are by no means normal." Neji replied calmly.
"Shino, I'll admit you had a good plan, but I don't think it will work if there aren't any bugs left!" Kiba said in amazement as he looked over the cliff.
"It's fine, Kiba. Hold on just a moment." Shino made several quick hand signs, ending them with "Insect-summoning Jutsu!" as his hands thudded into the rock. Streaks of blue chakra shot out from his hands, forming a spider-web pattern. Almost immediately, thousands of insects crawled towards the web of chakra Shino had created.
"Apparently, Naruto went across the river. He headed north, and something about him was not natural. The insects do not know what to make of it." Shino said as he adjusted his glasses.
"Thanks, Shino. Neji, I don't suppose you can see Naruto with your byakugan can you?" Shikimaru asked.
"I can try, Shikimaru. Byakugan!" he said aloud as he clasped his hands. His kekkai-genkai long since perfected, he surveyed the area to the north for several miles for any sign of the infamous knucklehead ninja, but to no effect. "He is not anywhere around here, Shikimaru. He did have several days ahead of us." Neji said, dismayed.
"Alright…good work guys. Let's get across this river." Each ninja took his or her own path to cross the river. Kiba leapt over the river in a few short bounds using all four limbs, while several others simply jumped rock to rock. Neji walked across the river, the water undisturbed by his passage. Temeri took a nose-dive off the cliff, only to use her massive fan as a hang-glider, zipping back to the top. She was the first across, and glared suggestively to Shikimaru, and superiorly to Ino. Ino scowled darkly, wishing she knew a jutsu to make heads explode. Shikimaru just sighed, and the others didn't notice, or didn't care. Oh great, they noticed each other…terrific.
Naruto…Where are you? I just hope I find you before Shikimaru's group does…I don't think they know what they are up against… Sasuke thought as he continued bolting through the forest at unnatural speed. All of a sudden, he stopped on a thick branch and wrapped his left around the trunk and spun himself around. He threw a kunai knife straight and hard. A resounding thunk echoed through the forest as the kunai hit a tree.
"Sasuke, it is me. You have nothing to fear. I apologize for trailing you like that, but I did not think you would allow me to follow you." Rock Lee said as he landed near Sasuke.
"Go home. You don't know what Naruto is capable of. I hardly do." Sasuke said as he turned around.
"Then why are you so desperate to fight him alone? If it is because he beat you and you cannot allow that to go unavenged, then that is fine, but would it not make sense to have someone to help you find him,or bring him back?" Rock said as he adjusted his torn bandage, ripped by Sasuke's accurate throw.
"Fine, you can come. But when we find Naruto, if I say so, you have to back off, got it?"
"That is fine, too, Sasuke. Let's get moving!" Rock cheered as he leapt off the branch, to take off on the ground. Sasuke followed suit, and the two unnaturally fast ninja bolted off after the others.
"Sasuke did WHAT?" Tsunade screamed at a doctor from the hospital as she stodd and slammed her fists onto the table.
"I apologize Lady Hokage, but my staff are not fighters. We are medical specialists. As fast and as strong as Uchiha is, we could not have hoped to bring him down." He bowed down in front of the Lady's rage, fearing the worst.
"Fine…what's done is done. Worst-case scenario, he catches up to the other group and they bring Naruto home faster. You're dismissed." She said as she sat back down to more paperwork. "This whole scandal has gone out of control…"
"The boy has left the Hidden Leaf Village, Itachi." Hoshigake Kisame said with a hiss. "Three years may be too long to wait, wouldn't you think? We could take him now, and be done with it."
"Kisame, can't you feel it? The demon fox's chakra is more visible, more present. It would be wise to wait, to see if we can't catch him deeply injured. Besides I haven't watched my little brother fight in a very long time, and I might be amused by how far he still has to go before he can even pretend he is as strong as I am." Itachi Uchiha said without smiling. He and Kisame walked away from the cliff they had been watching Naruto from, and towards the setting sun.
Naruto woke slowly and put his clothing on. He was still having the same nightmares, but they were lessened now. A week had passed since his battle with Sasuke, and no one had come after him yet. He had expected Kakashi, or Jiraiya, or at least a few Anbu Black Ops, but so far, no one. Why hasn't anyone come to get me yet? Naruto asked himself. Because they can't find us. I've been covering our trail, Naruto. You still haven't regained your full strength, so being pursued isn't in our best interest right now. What we need to do is attract some other ninja. Being Hokage of a one-man village isn't much to boast about. Naruto sighed and started walking. He had no equipment other than standard ninja tools, so he had no packing to do. By tomorrow, or the next day at the latest, we will have regained our strength, and our mission can begin in earnest. At that point, Naruto saw a pillar of smoke rising from behind a small hill. He began to run towards it to investigate. What he found was a ruined village. A small village, to be sure, not more than one thousand people could have lived there.
"Oh no! What happened?" Naruto shouted as he ran down the hill towards the village.
"You happened, Naruto. Last night, you destroyed this village" The fox's image and voice came again like a recurring nightmare, feeding an image that appeared as a memory to Naruto, but was truly a clever ruse to the fox. "I was so proud of you". The fox had no knowledge of why the village was ruined, but if he ever wanted Naruto to kill someone, he had to start somewhere.
"No, this isn't something to be proud of! I'm, I'm a monster…I can't ever go back to the leaf village now!" Naruto fell to his knees amidst the rubble as tears flowed from his eyes. "Why didn't you stop me? You could have! I killed innocent people! Get out of my head! I don't want you with me anymore!" Naruto shouted as he punched the visage in front of him, only to stumble through the imaginary demon fox.
"I'd be just as happy to leave you, Naruto, but we both know I can't. You did this, Naruto, and now, your life begins anew"
"No…it can't
be…I would never…how?"
"Quit your quivering…we don't
have much time before they catch up to us"
"Who? Who is coming?"
"Your little genin friends from the leaf village. They've been tracking us since a few days after you killed the Uchiha, and they are gaining on us."
"Then I need to run! I need to get out of here!" Naruto said as he picked himself up.
"Or…we could stay here" The fox's voice took on a more sinister tone as his plan seeped into Naruto's mind.
"But…I couldn't. I could never hurt them, they are my friends!"
"THEY ARE COMING TO KILL YOU, BOY!" The fox's visage grew ten times in size and screamed at Naruto. "And they will not be held back by childish restraints. They will take you, kicking and screaming, back to the leaf village, or they will take you back dead. They don't care which"
"No, I can't fight them!"
"You have to, Naruto! You are one and they are many, if you defeat them, then the village will stop pursuing you, trust me"
"Who is coming?" Naruto asked as he calmed down.
"Now you are thinking…you want to know, so you can form a plan to defeat them, am I correct?"
"Just tell me…who is coming?"
"I will tell you everything I know, Naruto, and we will prepare" the fox's visage slipped back into Naruto's imagination as he set to work, dousing the flames of the village, setting his trap.
"Shikimaru…Someone is following us," Neji said as the numerous genin ran through the forest.
"What? Who is it?" Shikimaru said, surprised.
"I can't tell. They only just recently entered my range of vision, but there are two of them, and they are moving fast"
"Would lady Tsunade have sent more after us? She can't be that worried about us taking down Naruto" Kiba asked.
"Don't underestimate Naruto, Kiba. While I have no doubt we can take him down, if it comes to a fight, it's almost a guarantee someone will get hurt. He's got his shadow clones, his rasengan, and he is practically immune to Neji's Gentle Fist. We fight to subdue, first and foremost, and if that doesn't work, then we fight, for our lives and his." Shikimaru warned. "Neji, tell me if you can identify who is following us, and we'll deal with it when we can."
"Very well, Shikimaru." Neji replied.
Man, what a drag…Does Lady Tsunade not think we can take down Naruto, so she sent more after us? Or is it someone else? But who could it be?
"Your plan is ingenious, Naruto. They will never expect it, and we will leave the battle in triumph"
"Yeah, they won't know what hit them" Naruto said as he ran to a hiding spot.
"Sasuke, we are getting close now. I would recognize Neji's chakra anywhere. By now, he is certainly caught on to the fact that we are following them" Rock Lee said as they continued running.
"I hope we get there in time, none of them understand what he can do!" Sasuke said through gritted teeth, and put on a burst of speed to try and catch up.
"Shikimaru, Naruto's scent is all over this village. He's got to be here." Kiba said as the group surveyed the wreckage.
"Could Naruto have done this?" Ino questioned as she turned over some rubble. She spun around as she heard something, and thought she saw a flash of orange, but dismissed it.
"Naruto isn't stable right now, Ino. Sasuke is dead to him, remember." Shikimaru answered.
"Hey guys. When did you get here?" Naruto said as he walked out into the center of the village. All eyes turned to stare at the ninja.
"Naruto, we are here to take you back to the leaf village!" Shikimaru shouted.
"Why do you need so many to tell me that? I'm not going to argue, I live in the leaf village." A puzzled look went across Naruto's face. "Why does everyone look so nervous?"
"Lady Hokage thought you were in a dangerous state of mind, Naruto. She thought you might resist." Kiba said flatly. Akimaru yelped in agreement.
"Well, anyway, since your not going to resist, let's just go back to the village, Naruto!" Ino said with a wide smile as she walked over to Naruto to clamp a hand on his shoulder.
"Ino, stop! Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Shikimaru shouted as he maneuvered his hands quickly to freeze Ino. The jet-black streak shot out from his own shadow and clamped onto hers.
"Shikimaru, what's wrong with you?" Ino screamed as she struggled.
"It's a shadow clone, with a paper-bomb attached to it!" Temari expertly aimed a kunai at Naruto, and he vanished in the telltale puff of smoke, and a paper-bomb fell to the ground.
"Everyone, be on your guard. He wouldn't have sent a clone if he wasn't going to resist." Everyone dropped to a defensive posture at Neji's words, drew their weapons, and all went silent.
"Neji, what do you see? Is he here?" Shikimaru asked quietly.
"He's everywhere, Shikimaru. His clones have flooded the village. I don't know how I didn't see them before."
"It's fine, they're just clones. It's the real one that I'm worried about".
"Which one should we attack first, Naruto? They've brought weapons, this wasn't meant to be a peaceful meeting. The Hyuga boy might be a difficult opponent. Perhaps he should be dealt with first? Though, the same could be said for the Yamanaka girl, she could possess your body, and of course, watch out for Shikimaru. Any of those three would be a fine target for your first attack. Which will it be, Naruto?" the fox whispered, seeming almost to be excited for this opportunity.
"Shikimaru, I've never seem him produce so many clones before." Neji said, his voice almost as if he were worried.
"What are you talking about, Neji? I've seen him produce hundreds before, how many are there?" Shikimaru responded.
"Thousands…" at Neji's word, the thousands of Narutos leapt from the rubble of the town, charging in at the group.
"Stay together! Form a circle, and don't let any of them inside it!" Shikimaru shouted, and the others responded. The thousands of Naruto's drew Kunai knives, and threw them as they ran.
"We're done for! I can't dodge that many!" Kiba shouted. Neji leapt backward into the center of the circle and dropped into a stance.
"ROTATION!" Neji shouted as he began to spin furiously. The thousands of incoming Kunai bounced harmlessly off his ultimate defense, and he stopped spinning several seconds later, breathing heavily.
"Thanks, Neji, but what are we going to do about them?" Kiba asked.
"We fight! Naruto isn't interested in being subdued. Bring him down!" Temari shouted, and she whipped out her giant fan, blowing a massive gust of air, sprawling a dozen Narutos backwards into dust.
"She's right, enough screwing around! FANG OVER FANG!" Kiba yelled, as he and Akamaru turned into two giant, spiraling masses of teeth and fangs, ripping the clones apart. Neji dashed into the fray, moving at speed that was almost unnatural, blocking incoming attacks and striking clones. The others did their part, for what it was worth, not being combat specialists by any means.
"There are too many, Shikimaru! How long can we hold this up?" Ino asked, fear throughout her voice.
"Just shut up and watch how it's done!" Temari said as she landed next to Ino, blasting away another dozen Narutos.
"Now, Naruto, strike!" And strike he did. Naruto leapt into the crowd, blending in with his clones. He ducked low near Neji's fight, and started whipping his chakra into a ball.
"RASENGAN!" Naruto shouted as he broke through several of his own clones. Neji turned to avoid the blow, but for all his speed, he could not stop the whirling ball of chakra.
"Neji!" the others shouted in unison. He cried in anguish as the blow struck his ribs, and he flew away, spiraling, into a tree. The odd markings of the Byakugan faded from his face as his eyes closed, and he lay slumped on his side near the roots.
"Get him! Ino, your up!" Shikimaru shouted as he pierced a clone with a kunai.
"Right!" her hands moved quickly, and she reached the last hand sign, but Naruto had already moved just in front of her. He lashed out with a brutal uppercut, and she was lifted into the air.
Yes, Naruto! Good! Fight, destroy them! They will kill you!
"Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Shikimaru cried, and amidst the sea of Naruto's, the stream of shadow crept towards the orange-clad ninja. His movements stopped, as did his clones. "I've got him! Kiba, Temari! Grab him!"
"Right!" they said in unison as they moved closer to the target.
"Quickly, I can only hold them all for a little bit – Wait, he's not trapped!" Naruto grinned as Temari reached out to grab his shoulder. He dropped to one foot and spun, kicking Temari off her feet. As he completed his spin and faced towards Temari again, he hopped forward quickly and kicked Temari's back, forcing her higher into the air.
"Damnit! Fang over Fang!" Kiba shouted, and he and Akamaru resumed their rapid spinning, both charging at Naruto in a pincer movement. Naruto stood the attack down, and as they neared him, he shot a hand out at each of them, stopping their movement completely. He then threw both at Temari, and the three thudded painfully into each other. Shikimaru looked on in disbelief as his team was taken down, one by one. Naruto calmly walked towards the exit of the village.
"Maybe you'll think again before you keep following me!" Naruto said as his clones dissipated and he leapt away.
"Damn, how is he that strong?" Kiba said angrily a few minutes later as he stood up.
"I think I can shed some light on it. Naruto and Gaara are not so different, in that they both have demons trapped inside them. When the bond between the two grows, they get stronger. That red chakra that surrounds him is the dead give away" Temari said as she brushed herself off.
"What happened? Did you find Naruto?" Sasuke shouted as he rushed into the village at top speed. Rock Lee zoomed in just after him, and was breathing heavily once he stopped.
"Sasuke, something unnatural fuels your speed! I have never seen anyone except my sensei run faster than me for so long!" Lee said as he continued panting.
"He found us, Sasuke." Shikimaru said lazily.
"What do you mean? Where is he?" Sasuke asked.
"He left…Poor Naruto, he must be so confused and scared!" Ino said as she rubbed her chin.
"Did he look scared when he hit you, and buried Neji in that tree?" Kiba shouted.
"There is no reason to get mad. I'm fine." Neji said as he and Shino walked from the forest, Shino supporting Neji. "It's alright, Shino, thank you. He caught us off guard, it won't happen again."
"Either way, we are going to need a plan." Shikimaru muttered as he dropped into his familiar thinking pose, with his thumbs and fingers touching, his eyes closed, squatting close to the ground.
"I don't have time for this! I have to stop him!" Sasuke shouted as he ran out of the village. The others sighed and quickly followed suit.
That was brilliant, Naruto! The Hyuga boy crumpled like rice paper, and the others quivered in fear against your army of clones! I'm so proud of how far you've come in such a short time. That shadow-manipulator thought he had you, but that was ingenious of you, hovering just barely above the ground to avoid the technique. We need to prepare for our next battle. I know just the place, where we can craft the location to our advantage. The fox thought as it congratulated Naruto. It began to restore Naruto's badly depleted chakra, and almost laughed in excitement. He had been so bored in the boy's body, when the boy was such a do-gooder. Now that he was under the fox's thumb, and soon, under the master's thumb, Kyuubi would be bored no longer.
What are you so happy about? Naruto said as he stopped running.
Just, how perfect my plan is, Naruto. Do not trouble yourself with such things. The fox would have to contain it's glee, and it resumed restoring the boy's chakra.
Alright, let's go. Naruto said, and began running again.
"Itachi, the boy didn't even receive a scratch in the battle." Kisame said from the cover of the woods surrounding the village.
"I know, Kisame. I was watching. Perhaps you were right, and capturing him sooner is better than later. We did agree, however, to wait some time before capturing him." Uchiha Itachi said with a bored look on his face. "We should go, before you do something foolish" He silently turned and walked away, and Kisame scoffed, but followed