The Lonely Blacklight

Black Meets Bloody Brown

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Previously on The Lonely Blacklight,

When he woke up, Minato found himself in a hospital room filled with Shinobi but instead of relief and happiness, he was greeted with hateful and disappointed faces. "Hello Gaki." Minato turned to a face that stood among the others as the most disappointed in Minato, "Had a nice nap?"

"Sensei…" Minato started but was silenced by a slap on the face and mighty push that sent him back into the bed mattress.

"Don't try to speak for yourself. I had been watching everything. You thought that you can go against someone one like Naruto Kurokami? He was just playing with your arrogance and if he was fighting for real, he could have killed you." Jiraiya of the Sannin was the one who took in Minato when the blonde was just a Genin fresh out of the academy. It was that this Genin grew up and became a Hokage that Jiraiya thought the future will be bright. "Even I will think twice of fighting someone like Naruto. He pretty much has the ultimate bloodline in his genes and that is why I fear him myself. He was able to topple even fellow Kage with his power, he is invincible and you better give him what he wants before he finds a better reason to wage war on us; you may have pissed him off but he was actually in a merciful mood than when I tried to get info out of him. I was left on death's doorstep Gaki. Remember that, Naruto can never die or be defeated."

With that Jiraiya left Minato in the confinement of his bed while thinking on how the blond Hokage had made himself look like a fool in his own village. But something inside his head made Minato instead think of hatred and vengeance against Naruto; he might even try to prove his own sensei wrong by slaying Naruto for what the blonde had did to this one.

Minato was not having a good day. After how he foolishly challenged Naruto to a match just to heal his wounded pride, Minato only got humiliated in front of his wife, his teacher and the entire village. Now he was getting a bad time from his predecessor about that childish act as the Hokage.

"What kind of Hokage treats a visitor like that?"

"Maybe we should have stuck with the Sandaime."

"I thought the Hokage was more mature than that."

Every day was the same and Minato had to listen to all that from the villagers that once looked up to him as the youngest Hokage in history. It was like a hidden prodigy that can only be found in four generations as a whole. The villagers even thought that Minato can prove to be a better Hokage than Hiruzen himself.

His family never once spoke to him as soon as he was released from the hospital. Kushina was grateful to Naruto for the undeniable aid he granted on that C-rank mission turned A-rank; reviewing it, she realized that without Naruto's help the mission would have been a disaster. So her husband alienating Naruto and treating him like some kind of con man and liar was a real turn-off.

His daughter never wanted to speak to Minato either. She was already told about all this from Kushina and Naruto himself. Kasa just couldn't believe that her beloved father will do such things; she thought that Minato was the best father in the world. But denying her and Ken of an older brother was something to spread doubt like weed seeds in the wind.

Speaking of Ken, he was still not going to switch sides so soon. He was not the spoiled type to just change loyalties when one side was not uncomfortable and inconvenient. Kushina never wanted 'spoiled, stupid brats' for her children. That was why while Ken and Kasa were given every pleasure in the world granted to them, they were still going to be Shinobi. Ken just wanted to a big brother to look up for and hang out with; he had plenty of friends but they were just not to same or even close.

Perhaps there is something about Naruto that was drawing in the Uzumakis. They all seem to want to be with him rather than Minato. And that was the one thing the Hokage couldn't stand. And when things like this happen, the worse will be just around the corner.

XXXXX

Elsewhere in the village, Naruto was having a good time compared to Minato's bad day. He actually was accepted into the village despite showing them that he was more powerful than their Hokage. Naruto knew that if a village felt like an outsider was more powerful than even their champion then they will try to kill him before a possible future in which the Yondaime Hokage is killed, by him!

At least he was finally given a chance to make up for disappearing and the Hokage even made sure to give Naruto his birthrights which included the rights to create a new clan with him as the founder along with a good portion of the Hokage's fortune. The reason he hasn't left Konoha was that the Uzumakis and the neighborhood children were someone causing him to stick to their village like glue.

"Excuse me?" Naruto was struck from his musings when he turned around and saw someone that he never did in the village before. "My name is Temari and this is my younger brother Kankurō, can you tell us where the Hokage Tower is?" Naruto didn't say a word, instead he just observed these two strangers for something that stuck out like a sore thumb.

Temari has teal eyes and sandy blonde hair, which is gathered into four consecutive ponytails. Temari's outfit consists of a single light purple-coloured, off-the-shoulders garment that extended to halfway down her thighs, with a scarlet sash tied around her waist. In addition to incorporating fishnet worn over her shoulders and legs, specifically on her right calf and her left thigh, she also wore a black forehead protector around her neck.

And Kankurō wore a black, baggy, full body suit with a red and yellow circle on the front. He also wears a black hood which covered his head completely, and had cat-like ears and his forehead protector on his forehead. Kankurō sported a triangular face-paint design. He also wears gloves and carries a large bandage bundle on his back.

"Sure." Naruto finally said after finishing his observation of this two strange kids. "When you see a mountain side with the Hokage's faces, it is the tallest tower you can see. That will be where the Hokage Tower is but I have no idea if the Hokage himself is in his office. I heard he is busy trying to mend his family relations."

"Well that isn't nice to talk about your Kage leader behind his back." Temari said, "We are here for the Chunin Exams." That answered a lot of questions but also gave birth to another.

"But I though the Chunin Exams are held like in a few more months. And I am aware that it is Konoha's turn this year." Naruto said and the two kids chuckled nervously.

"It was our sensei's orders to get more familiar with our new surroundings ahead of time. He was always the war veteran of a teacher and always suspicious of our allies." Kankurō said in hopes that will clear at least something with Naruto but that bounty hunter of a Shinobi was not easily swayed.

"Still, your sensei has the right because if you are too comfortable then you are as good as dead and besides, I have good connections to tell me about how your Kazekage is angry with us. Something about the Wind Daimyo preferring our village over your Sunagakure." Naruto said and Temari and Kankurō were sweating like pigs in the heat.

"Well…uh…well we…"

"Stop that Kankurō. That is embarrassing." A voice had cut through the awkward atmosphere like a hot knife through butter. Naruto then turned to see a boy who had somehow hidden from him.

"G-gaara…" Kankurō was stuttering, as if he was facing his soon to be killer. Gaara is a little shorter than the average males of his age, due to the fact that he was born prematurely. He has fair skin and short, spiky, auburn hair. He also has pale blue-green eyes. Gaara has no distinctive pupils or eyebrows. He has two very notable traits in his appearance: firstly, he has tanuki-like black eye rings. Secondly, he carved the kanji "love" on the left side of his forehead. Gaara's forelocks are parted from the left side, making the kanji more visible. Gaara wore black full body suit with t-shirt-like sleeves, ¾-length legs, and an open neck. With this, he wore a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips, and a wide leather band system over the left shoulder and right side of his hips. With this leather band, he carried around his gourd that contains his sand. He also wrapped his black forehead protector over the band.

"…Naruto Kurokami…" Gaara ignored Kankurō and faced the blonde thus making both Temari and their other teammate to look at Naruto as if he was the devil himself. "I was under the impression that you hated Konoha. Why are you here? You are not for the Chunin Exams."

"Your right, I am not here for that. I was going to get my stolen birthrights and get out of here. But there is something in this place that I must have overlooked and now I can't let even dream of leaving the village for good." Naruto said in an honest tone. "Think of it as you wish Suna Shinobi, this is the first time I have heard of foreign Shinobi visiting the village so early for the Exams."

"Times change Kurokami. Now we will be on our way." Gaara said before disappearing in a puff of sand. Kankurō and Temari said their goodbyes and hurried to catch up with their teammate.

'Gaara, he has him inside like they do. I might have to fix all this before the crack gets too big to fix.' Naruto said and disappeared in a puff of black substance that vanished into the air and ground as if it was never there to begin with. Just like with Naruto's childhood; maybe somethings never really change as time passes.

End of Chapter 4.

*Hey everyone! I must admit that I never counted on making another chapter in this story. But that's how it is sometimes. You feel like you have been on a roll for so long, you just hit a wall. There is nothing left to write about until you actually put your time to it. Still we get it done some day and that problem is always solved.

Sorry it is so short. My mind must be really messed up from being outside most of the morning today. Almost a whole hour at a hike, a half hour walking my neighbor's dogs and a half hour mowing my house's front lawn. I will like to hear on how you can do all those in a row and not feel dizzy when you take a shower.

Other than that, have a nice day!*