Disclaimer: I never will own Naruto, this is my final Disclaimer.
I apologize for my absence, but if you read my note from TWOSH, you would know that I had been an extremely busy man. I got dumped in December, and on top of that I had a novel, consultations with publishers, editors who are helping me out (still are) to focus on while also not pushing the ideas of my fan fiction out of my mind. I am back though, and regular updates will soon follow from now on.
Well, here is the next chapter and although i am not sure about the quality of it, i ask you be the judge to it by leaving a review. I greatly appreciate them...
The Imortal is back...
●Chapter 2: Revealed Prophecies●
●Konoha
Rain, the harsh tears of the heavens which seemed especially grumpy with the looming blanket of dark clouds obscuring the ever bright sun poured down upon the bowed heads of a cluster of black clad solemn figures.
They were unmoving, with eyes fixed upon the giant slab of stone before them standing impassive and unperturbed as one would expect of a stone, but this was not just any ordinary stone, it was a memorial stone. The monolith, as always was the centre of attention as it had welcomed two more additions to the already staggering scribbles of names decorating it.
All was silent as one would expect of a memorial event, bar the light tapping of the shower of rain against the ground and the choked sobs of sorrow coming from some of those in the group, especially the youth, the standouts being a sea blues eyed blond girl, the boy with the bowl haircut who normally fashioned himself in green who shook violently, tears mixed with rain shamelessly pouring down his face and the pale eyed Hyuuga heiress who seemed to have not slept a day but somehow she was in a slightly better state than her tears smeared peers or the younger trio of kids standing next to a sorrowful brown-haired man with a kindly face and a scar above the bridge of his nose, who consoled the three youths. They all wore the dreaded blacks as they stood still, to send off and pay their respects to their fallen comrades.
The veterans who had been in situations as this one countless other times before had reclined to merely paying their respect for the deceased in silence. They were far too weary and familiar with death that they had built immunity to the shock of the situation, considering that it was the future of the village they were bidding a rushed farewell to but that did not make the loss any less painful than it already was. It was hard however on the youth - those familiar with the two Genin, whom went through childhood with both, stumbled into their prepubescent stages with and became Ninja of Konoha together- a worthy honour. For them, none of this was fair. It was unfathomable that such a fate could be dealt to their promising, yet still naïve and innocent group but it was the unspoken truth of their profession, that all this was normal, Shinobi die. Young or old made no difference if you are serving in the line of duty. There you were a warrior, not a man or a woman, but a warrior who dies trying to do what was best for their village.
Among the group in front was a broken Kakashi, a stoic Tsunade with clenched teeth and a taut jaw. Next to her, spiky white hair wild and tied back in a long spiky ponytail stood a tall man with an equally perplexing expression on his visage, displaying and procuring such raw emotion even the hardest of men would recoil if they caught his gaze. He had never imagined he would return to this. The news he had received upon his return startled him and a dark, well of disbelief enveloped him, threatening to drown him no sooner had he felt a deep sinking feeling at the pit of his gut.
Naruto-
Whatever had transpired, all Jiraiya knew was that he had not upon his return been met with the bright and smiling face of Naruto but a pale empty shell of what remained of his pupil. It was utterly despicable and the assailant had not been caught for the terrible crime. The Shinobi world appeared to be suffocating in its own hatred and many were caught within the backlash of it all.
Jiraiya entertained the thought of true peace, a goal he had sought to pass on to Naruto and just as quickly, such thoughts were quelled with harsh efficiency. If such a mundane notion as peace existed, Naruto would be alive, and so would Naruto and Minato. Hatred, deception and pain governed their dark world, not peace. Naruto's dreams were crushed in a cruel manner and it puzzled him how unmoved he was by Naruto's death however, the pain and the gut-wrenching guilt was there, lurking disturbingly in the dark recesses of his heart but there lay another equally irreplaceable feeling, denial it was-
His heart refused the notion of accepting Naruto's fate. It seemed inconceivable that Naruto would go in such a manner, no struggle, no fireworks and no…Kyuubi. It all seemed suspicious to Jiraiya.
One thing was for sure, he was going to turn the earth upside down to get to the bottom of this…not forgetting to skin a treacherous snake as well.
●"Unknown Location"
Blue unfocused eyes stared at the uninteresting ceiling above, simply made from spiky rock and lacking any creativity at all. Perhaps that was because it was not a ceiling but rather the natural surface of the cavern wall above him serving as a ceiling
The chamber was dark and he lay on a hard, thin mattress, feeling the biting fingers of the cold stone surface caressing his spine. But he had not raised any complains about the sleeping conditions passed on to him or the chamber he had been assigned to, if anything partly due to the fact that he had been out of it when he was brought in. in fact he was still in his bloody, smelly clothing but they had at least, in their 'kindness', removed the orange jacket which was drenched with dried blood – Sakura's blood, and he now remained in his black undershirt, the gleaming green necklace resting against his chest.
The dark atmosphere of the room was slightly disheartening and uncomfortable but it provided the optimum setting for engaging in deep thinking.
Hands behind his back with eyes digging into the ceiling, Naruto briefly toyed with the thought of how Konoha was taking everything, including of course…his 'death'. They were probably celebrating his demise, it was not a secret many of them despised him but at this moment he could not bring himself to care. Still, he was impressed with Zetsu's work in cloning him to drop. Though he still spared a brief thought Jiraiya and Tsunade and what about Kakashi-sensei? They surely would all be disappointed with him, failing a mission, playing a hand, literally, in Sakura's death and then 'dying'. He was sure if he went back they were going to reject him, feel ashamed of him, even Iruka and the Rookie Nine and Gai's team. Somehow his successes always faded into the background and his failures always remained in the foreground and the retrieval mission was his greatest failure. He had failed not only the mission, but his team, his friends, but more than anything, himself. Perhaps he was wrong and they would be willing to forgive him and accept him, and his failures. After all, they had before but could he turn back and now? The reason he was here was because he believed he could have Sakura back, even at the cost of his soul.
He was roused from his spiral of thoughts as the stony door to his new sleeping chambers groaned before opening to reveal the blue-haired stoic woman from the day before. She was the same as she was yesterday, unreadable and exuding a repelling chilly aura. Her amber eyes flew to him as she laid her gaze upon him and tossed a black folded bundle at him, "Get dressed. Pein-sama would like to see you." Came the curt command before she left without another word.
Well, she had not even said 'good morning' but Naruto supposed complaining would accomplish nothing here, after all she did not seem to be the type to care about mundane things and obviously she did not care about common courtesy either. Maybe that was how they said 'good morning' in the Akatsuki. Well whatever…
He was also slightly relieved she hadn't stayed behind to watch him dress; he still had insecurities over his body.
Naruto pulled himself off of the bed, sparing an observant glance at the black cloak on his bed. It was black obviously, with the same red hemlines but without the custom red clouds one associated with the traditional Akatsuki robe made notorious by Itachi and Kisame.
A wry smile split across Naruto's lips as he lifted his arms up and into the large baggy sleeves of the robe. Whoever thought, that he would one day don an Akatsuki robe? Definitely none in their right mind.
●Myobokuzan
Jiraiya stood amidst the sacred toad clan village, dazed and confused. After the ceremony he had wandered the village when out of a sudden, a violent tug on his form and he was here. The tall fountain worked some metres away from him while other toads laboured about, staring at him and waving to him as they walked past him. He looked around, checking to see his reverse summoner until he heard the clearing of the throat from behind.
Swivelling around, the white-haired Sannin was met with a rather aged green toad of small stature. The white Mohawk styled hair stood proudly atop its head with a small goatee. Jiraiya smiled, it was the sagely Fukasaku. The sage toad did not return his smile, in fact there was this grim air surrounding him and his thick eyebrows were gnashed together into a thick frown. The smile slid off Jiraiya's face and the toad sage adopted a serious expression, "what is it Pa?"
The green toad turned around and began walking away, "Come. The Great Toad Sage has a prophecy for you." Fukasaku called out to the man.
Jiraiya blinked in surprise. This meant that a vision had happened and the Eldest of the toads saw something, but what could it be? And how serious was it that he had been jerked suddenly to Myobokuzan?
Jiraiya shook his head before he obediently followed the toad, a frown marring his face as well now. They navigated through the village, before at last they came upon an area where a giant toad was seated inside a shallow pool of sorts, scrolls lining the whole place around him. A kanji for sage was inscribed on the pool holder. The great brown toad Gamamaru, who sat on the throne-like surrounding, did not seem to notice their presence due to his heavily squinted eyes. His lips soon contorted into an aged smile, showing he knew that Fukasaku and Jiraiya had arrived, how he had seen them with his eyes squinted as heavily as they were remained a mystery to Jiraiya, one he had given up trying to unravel.
"Ah Fukasaku, I see you have returned." Gamamaru said softly.
"Yes, I've brought Jiraiya-boy, as you asked." Fukasaku said as he motioned to the white-haired Sannin who was by his side.
Gamamaru tilted his tasselled, hat-bearing head to get a good look at Jiraiya through squinted eyes before a smile broke on his face, "Jiraiya is it? Jiraiya…where have I heard that name before?" The aged great toad questioned himself loudly.
"He is the one you were going to give a prophecy. The…" Fukasaku stared at Jiraiya apologetically, "perverted one." Jiraiya groaned.
"Oh yes, yes. Jiraiya, he who will nurture the child of prophecy." Now that he had been reminded of a certain few things old age always took from him, Gamamaru finally recognised the Sannin.
"Yes, now will you tell him the prophecy already?" Fukasaku said annoyed at the smiling elder of the toads.
"Yes, hmm…" Gamamaru went silent in thought as if he was searching his mind for what he wished to tell Jiraiya, "The prophecy it is." He repeated to himself, "I saw the boy, the one in the prophecies of old, a prophecy which I had forgotten that I had told to a young man with powerful eyes a long time ago. A prophecy about a rambunctious, troublemaking boy who would save the world," The old toad said, Jiraiya and Fukasaku listening on with interest and sharp ears to his words. A sigh escaped his smiling lips as just the barest of a frown could be seen marring his wrinkled visage, "That Prophecy which I now recall with such accuracy has turned dark. Darkness, blood and conquest are what the world is set for. The boy has turned destroyer…"
"What do you mean? Which boy is this because the last person I thought to be the one is dead." Jiraiya, in a fit of confusion asked.
Gamamaru opened his eyes, a rare sight in of itself to stare at Jiraiya, "It is the boy who ran from the darkness in his heart so that he could be a saviour. Dark red clouds loom over him and the moon's nefarious stare is firmly upon him." Jiraiya appeared further confused while Fukasaku had his eyes narrowed as his mind worked on piecing things together, "This time, he is not running from the darkness nor is he denying it. It is a long shadow with ten tails which has swallowed him."
"You said a rambunctious, troublemaking boy?" Jiraiya asked with narrowed eyes, grim lines stretching his temples and above them. "Do you mean Naruto? I don't understand because Naruto is gone, he was killed by Sasuke Uchiha." It was ridiculous to Jiraiya of course but everything that Gamamaru had said pointed in that direction, that Naruto could be alive and was in the prophesies long before even the birth of Nagato or Minato and even Himself.
The two toads were silent before Fukasaku stared at Jiraiya with stern eyes, "Naruto-boy, your latest apprentice did not die in that battle. His name is still on our summoning stone."
Those words froze Jiraiya instantly. He felt elation and worry both at the same time. Elation because his apprentice and Godson may possibly still be alive and worry that he was alive and out there, with the Akatsuki and all and now with this new disturbing prophecy. It did not help that Gamamaru's prophecies were usually vague to all but him but Jiraiya knew that it was Naruto that everything all pointed to. He struggled to compose himself; his words were stuck on his tongue, his palms sweating while his heart pounded uncontrollably, "If Naruto is indeed alive and the one in the prophecy? Then what am I to do to stop him?"
Gamamaru shook his head apologetically, "There is nothing you can do to stop him. He will spare the world by his own accord. However when the time comes, he will come to you."
Fukasaku brought his gaze back to Jiraiya, the hardness in it yet to abate, "That means you will have to be prepared, because he will come…to kill you."
A now clothed Naruto walked toward the door, fashioned in the dark baggy robe. He still had his previous clothes underneath, dirty as they were. Pulling the door open he walked out and was met with the same woman standing outside his door patiently. Her eyes roamed over him before she turned away, "Follow me." She said and Naruto complied.
A woman of very few words…Naruto thought.
She was very withdrawn and nothing ever really seemed to surprise, excite or even interest her. She was like a rock, which really could not get any emotional. But still, Naruto thought that she was not very bad or evil. She just minded her own business or that was what he gathered from her. His observant skills were not really that good but he had tried.
He halted his thoughts to stare at the woman walking in front of him. Her feet were light against the ground and she was fairly comfortable in her poise and walk. She seemed stealthy, deadly but her impassive eyes also held a stubborn, distrustful colour to them. She was beautiful also, that fact he had noticed almost instantly the day before and Naruto wondered what her reasons for joining the Akatsuki could be? Perhaps she was a missing Ninja? Her headband was slashed, alluding to that thought, although he was not familiar with the village sign engraved on it.
The two of them continued walking down a narrow hallway, framed by dark stone walls on either side. The silence was deafening and the light steps of their feet were only making Naruto nervous as they went farther into the other side of this perplexing long hallway. He did not know who this Pein was and he could be some madman who would ask the worst of him, or maybe even crazier, with dreams of world domination. The Akatsuki's lair of residence did not do all that much to dissuade him that the leader could be that type of person. Still, he had chosen this path and into the darkness or even hell, he would follow it. After all, it was exactly like that saying that: the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
They finally arrived to a wide and spacious room, lit up by a few candles. Konan disappeared inside and Naruto followed. They came upon the standing figure of who Naruto assumed to be Pein and it was the orange-haired aloof with the hard stare and bloodcurdling multiple piercings from the day before. He was facing the opposite direction, eyes closed as their footsteps reached his ears. The room they were in was of a circular shape, with many candles hanging on the stone walls.
Pein turned around to regard the two, while Konan left Naruto's side to stand beside the orange-haired man. Eyes fixed firmly on Naruto that they were almost looking past him, Pein's lips moved, "Do you know what the purpose of the Akatsuki is?" The man questioned softly. There was something in his stare today as he laid eyes on Naruto when he walked in that had not been there the previous day, but it had come and disappeared in a flash. It had been initiated by Naruto's appearance but had just as quickly disappeared.
Of course a confused and negative jerk of the head was the response to the calmly presented question.
"Well then, contrary to what you may have heard, the Akatsuki is dedicated toward salvaging the world," the man began, "We have a plan, to bring an end to the monster that runs this world."
A blond eyebrow went up in some surprise at that revelation. The world was getting stranger it seemed.
Without a moment spared to see whether Naruto was following the man continued, "We do not wish to bring pain to anyone however some will undoubtedly be sacrificed." Naruto was disturbed by those words, partly because of the ease with which the man said them with, "But it will all be instrumental toward the completion of our goal."
"What goal…?" Naruto, already drowning in confusion at the man's words felt the compulsion to ask.
Pein turned around to stare at the light slipping through into the dark room, letting it caress his pale face, "The world is covered in a fog of darkness, and all that stands between outright war is facetious oaths. War, is coming and we hope to control and even end those wars. We are a cure to the disease that is humanity and we will heal all humans of their greatest enemy yet - their hatred."
"But what if people don't wanna be healed of their hatred? What if they like it too much to accept your plan?" Naruto asked darkly. He was surprised himself at his words and he would be even more surprised if he saw the dark look settled upon his own face.
Pein turned around, his hard stare making Naruto seem small, "Then," the man's eyes narrowed on Naruto, "We force it on them."
Naruto's eyes widened and he nearly recoiled at the hard look in Pein's eyes but just as it was there, it was gone an instant later and the man was back to his impassive self. Naruto stared at Konan as he calmed his breathing, "I…I still don't understand. How will you even do that? How does this involve the nine-tails?" the rapid fired questions did not even faze Pein a pinch.
"The tailed beasts." Konan answered.
"What?" a confused Naruto asked.
Konan firmed her amber eyes on Naruto, "There are nine tailed-beasts in the Ninja world," she began in a calmed tone of voice making sure that Naruto followed, "Yours, the Kyuubi is the ninth and most powerful, while eight others are held by each of the five Shinobi nations." Naruto nodded, understanding that bit and Konan, still impassive as ever continued, "We will capture all of them to form the Ten-tails, the Bijuu the tailed beasts were formed from."
"And thus with it, we will usher in a new era;" Pein said briskly, "There will be no more pointless suffering, orphaned children or even sorrow such as the pain of losing a friend. What we will achieve will set the world on a better path, in which when the dust settles, all shall know peace."
"But how will you control this Ten-tails beast?" Naruto asked; he had more questions still than answers. Pein's goals were dangerous and even preposterous to Naruto.
"That is for another time." The man dismissed with the utmost calm tone one can manage.
Naruto kept silent for a while, digging into his bag of questions to find the appropriate one to present to the man. "Peace huh?" Naruto mumbled dubiously to himself, "I don't even know what that is. But I still don't understand how you plan to heal people of their hatred and still bring peace. Isn't this peace?" Naruto asked, doing a gesture with his hand to refer to their current time or situation. His eyebrows were scrunched up in confusion as he awaited a response from the man who seemed content with bidding his time and stretching Naruto's rather naturally thin patience.
"Yes, it is," Pein replied simply before he moved toward Naruto who felt a vein twitch in his leg, yelling at him to move back, but he held his ground and stood, although Pein did not even seem impressed or maybe the man was incapable of expression. The man stopped before Naruto, his taller form dwarfing the shorter boy's while his eyes pierced through Naruto, "But how long will it last?" Pein questioned Naruto who had no response to give the man.
"The last time, this 'peace' lasted fifteen years before the third Shinobi world war broke out and the previous lasted a mere twenty." Naruto's eyes left Pein's to trace the ground, "War IS coming, and the five great villages will once more be at odds with each other and Jinchuuriki will participate in that war, which could possibly bring about the end of the Shinobi world."
"So then tell me, what would happen if they are not stopped?" Pein queried, waiting with interest to hear Naruto's answer. He did not have to wait long.
"But Konoha would never do that!" Naruto shouted, staring at Pein with fierce eyes that were filled more than anything, with his own denial. He did not want to believe that Konoha would involve Jinchuuriki in the war but if the other nations did, wouldn't they also? However more than anything, he did not want to believe Konoha could participate in anything that would bring about an end to millions of lives but what if there was a side to Konoha that he never knew?
Pein merely stared at the fuming blonde with an impassive gaze, eyes digging into the blonde's form and drawing an involuntary flinch from Naruto as the adrenaline of his outburst left him, and he could now feel the scathing glare of Pein's rippled eyes, "You seem certain." He said, his lips moving mechanically at every word. He spun around to focus his gaze back on the dark walls around them, "Your blatant worship of Konoha is as commendable as it is foolish but then why are you here and not back there? Ask yourself that?" The man stated tersely, his words startling Naruto for some reason or the other.
Naruto's shoulders sagged, the blond feeling very small under the intense, unyielding gaze of the Akatsuki leader's. Every word that came out of the man's mouth just further sprinkled shrinking dust upon his form and he was struggling to come up with any rational arguments to this perfect machine that was Pein. The man did not pause to think, to even mull over something, or even consider something that Naruto countered with. "Your pain brought you to us. The loss you suffered. Your whole life you have been an outcast, a reject, filth in the face of many feeble-minded men who misunderstood your existence and a weapon in the eyes of those who did. Your becoming Jinchuuriki was not mere circumstance, it was premeditated. You were chosen to be an asset to Konoha, a weapon to be used in times of war. A tool…"
'A tool…'
Those words rung loudly in Naruto's mind, repeatedly resonated within his head as they had done so mere months ago but what made them differently this time was not because he was hearing them for a second time, but because they made perfect sense, as they had back then. This time, they were deeper and immediately Gaara's face flashed past his eyes.
A tool… Haku's face immediately sprung to mind at the thought of those words. Perhaps he had been right and like Gaara, he had been made Jinchuuriki to serve as Konoha's sword, a mass murderer without choice and knowing only destruction and bringing death and pain to others. He did not know, nothing made sense to him any longer. Could Konoha truly ask that of him, make him a monster just so that he could destroy their enemies or win them wars?
"Now then I ask you, are you with us?" Pein's voice knocked Naruto out of his thoughts.
Sakura –
Naruto knew all this was as much for her as it was his guilt and shame driving him away. Still, he had chosen to follow in order to get her back and was he ready to join the Akatsuki just so he could? He had doubts, Pein had been frank with him and had not lied about what the Akatsuki stood for but now came the moment of truth, making a choice. He clenched his fist tightly, his jaw snapping shut at his uselessness. He had to, even at the cost of his own soul. Even if the devil claimed his soul, Naruto lifted his face, his hardened blue orbs meeting Pein's rippled ones, "Yes, I will become Akatsuki." The blond declared.
●Konoha, Cemetery
Kakashi Hatake was a well-known reclusive individual, even among the unsociable populace of Shinobi. However what most did not know, in part due to a lack of knowledge or particular care, was that Kakashi was a man with much more issues than the normal Ninja.
A face wiped of emotion was a familiar feature to associate with the legendary Copy Ninja; however there was something distinctly remote and unfamiliar about the blank expression on Kakashi's face on this day. There was not a glimmer of emotion in his lone visible dark eye. For a man who was rarely roused by anything, who did not socialise that much and kept to himself, Kakashi found himself yearning for company not to talk him but that physical presence or else he would drown in his own sorrow and this time, never truly return but a better part of him fought against that need. Shame, he felt great shame and his mind and heart were not exactly helping, prodding him in the direction he had sworn on his dignity he would never turn – seppuku.
Even if death had not come to him physically, its calloused hands ran down his spine emotionally and nothing could rouse him, nothing was interesting. Nothing was…worth living for anymore. His shame had dragged him back here to the cemetery, where he would drown in his misery. He had been at the cemetery for two straight days, without moving an inch from where he stood, without any small twitch of his muscles or any effort to blink his already blackened insomniac eyes. Nothing could move him from his emotional death, in which he burned in his own hell of regret, gnawing guilt, shame and anger.
He did not even register the ANBU land behind him as his face remained as it was, unperturbed and uncaring.
"Kakashi-san!" The Anbu began, "Hokage-sama requests your presence immediately." The Anbu said professionally.
His answer never came…
Kakashi just remained as he had been, not moving at all nor acknowledging the summons from the Anbu behind him. The masked man cleared his throat loudly which wasn't really ANBU stuff but he figured he could improvise but Kakashi stood exactly how he had been found, worrying the man. With narrowed eyes, the masked man moved forward, circling Kakashi and doing an examination of the statuesque Kakashi whose eyes never blinked.
It was almost like the man was dead, but the feel of his distressed Chakra said otherwise. The experience and sight was a bit overwhelming for the Anbu who had heard stories about Kakashi, but couldn't quite hide the shock that came from seeing the state that the man revered as the Copy Ninja and often and often called the friend-killer within their division because of his dark reputation and the rumours that he disposed of his friends on missions. This before him was a different man, it had to be. How else could he explain it? This picture of Kakashi contrasted the one painted about him by a mile. This man was broken…
The man blinked before he shook his head, disappearing in a swirl of leaves.
Hokage Tower
A sudden whirlwind disrupted Tsunade from her very dark thoughts and her previous impatience as she awaited Kakashi and the Anbu she had sent to summon him arrive.
Finally, she sighed. However her relief soon gave way to confusion as only the porcelain masked operative appeared, without a Cyclops in sight or by his side. The masked man thrust his knee into the ground in a bow. "Where is Kakashi? Did I not tell you to bring him here?" Tsunade questioned with a voice laced with annoyance and rightfully so as she had been trying to get a hold of the copy nin for days now but he never bothered to come.
The Anbu just lowered his head even lower. Their Godaime was well-known for her ferocious temper and he certainly did not wish to end up on the wrong side of it, "I'm afraid he's…unresponsive Hokage-sama." The man finished, unsure of himself and his own words. However unresponsive felt appropriate enough to use in this case.
Tsunade stood up with her brows mashed together in barely veiled anger. She was now sick of Kakashi and his antics and this time she would deal with him….herself. "Where is he?" Tsunade asked.
"The cemetery," Came the brisk response from the man.
Tsunade grabbed her white GI and left the room with stalking steps, leaving a relieved and confused Anbu knelt behind, who cringed internally at the thought of what Kakashi would be served.
With Tsunade
Tsunade stiffly walked amidst the streets leading to the cemetery on the other side of the village, everyone doing all they could to avoid and move out of her way, her off-putting aura and tight jaw and fists sending warning signs to all that she was not in her better moods. It had been a while since Tsunade had actually bothered with taking a walk around the village. In fact she rarely ever does. Rather ironic, considering that she was the Hokage and had to 'mingle' with the people and roam around the village every once in a while but that was not exactly her style and all knew it. That in her mind was for silly old men seeking a daily escape from the ever-present torture of paperwork. Still, she too could feel the tight knots in her bones and she could not deny that age was finally catching up to her, but she would never tell anyone that and anyone who tried to remind her that would suffer the wrath of her fists and besides, none had the balls to do so, except…Naruto.
She sighed wearily as sadness tugged at her face. Naruto was gone now, there was no use reminiscing about what he did or opening up raw, emotional wounds which would take years to heal. As the cemetery drew closer Tsunade could feel her anger returning tenfold. Brushing by a few trees as the scenery changed to a greener one filled with trees on all sides. The soft grass was soft under her feet as the trees ebbed away to reveal the wide tract of land where the cemetery was, and her eyes could spot a lone figure in the distance.
Eyes hardening and her crackling knuckles balling into a tight hostile fist, she stalked the silver-haired man a distance ahead of her. She stomped right up to Kakashi, spinning him around without effort and grabbing him by the front of his dirty flak and she glowered at him with red eyes. But there was no one there. Kakashi felt lax against her tight hands. His eyes were on the ground and there they remained.
Tsunade felt all her strength leave her but she still socked the man in the stomach, who just fell to the ground with a soft groan. He lay on the ground and stayed there, eyes gazing up at the sky.
"What have you been doing with the team all along? Teaching them to kill each other with A-rank assassination moves?" Tsunade shouted at Kakashi, "Give me one reason Kakashi, one good reason why I shouldn't demote you right now and remove you from the Shinobi roster."
Her response, ergo, reason never came. Kakashi just stared lifelessly at nothing, almost as if he cared about nothing any longer. Not his pride, not his career, simply nothing. That angered Tsunade though; she wanted Kakashi to take responsibility for what had happened but was that not unfair? She had sent Naruto on the mission – well not technically because Shikamaru picked him for it but she knew he would go because it was Sasuke. Thus it was on her conscience as well, but she did not entertain that notion, to her Kakashi failed his team and this was going on his record.
"Tsunade!" just when she was ready to snap, Jiraiya's strong voice interjected. The white-haired Sannin stood a few metres away from their position, a frown marring his visage, "You're being unreasonable. You can't demote Kakashi because he is not at fault and we both know it. Blaming him or anyone won't bring them back."
Tsunade turned her glare to her former teammate, "Jiraiya," she hissed angrily, "You don't tell me what to do. I'm the Hokage of this village. I decide what I want to do with Shinobi under MY command and Kakashi is most certainly unfit for the role of Jonin Sensei."
Jiraiya wasn't particularly impressed by her words if the hardening of his eyes was any indication; his intense glare surprising the blond, "And don't forget who put you in that position. It wasn't to become this bitter old woman who abuses her power." Jiraiya replied strongly. He usually never used such a forceful tone against Tsunade but sometimes she could be stubborn and forget that he was not a child to be talked down to.
Her shoulders sagged at those words and her breath trembled. A twinkle shone in her eyes which she could just not will away. Jiraiya lowered his stare to the silent and still grounded Kakashi, "Plus, I'm not sure if Naruto is truly dead yet." Kakashi turned his neck to stare properly at the white-haired man whose words shocked even Tsunade.
"Wh-what do you mean Jiraiya?" Tsunade stammered out her question, her brown eyes wide as saucers, "Tell me Jiraiya!" she nearly shouted in impatience, while Kakashi himself appeared equally interested in Jiraiya's response, finally awake after a while from his emotional incapacitation.
Jiraiya looked between Kakashi and Tsunade seriously before his eyes rested on Tsunade once more, "Naruto's name is still on the summoning contract in Myobokuzan."
The sudden gasp from Tsunade was long anticipated by both males. Kakashi himself could've done the same but his voice had left him due to the fact that he had rarely spoken to anyone for days. Tsunade however did not need to be told twice: "What? Then that means…"
"That he is not really dead. What we buried wasn't Naruto." The worried and tense aura surrounding Jiraiya was not missed by both Kakashi and Tsunade. They rarely got to see Jiraiya in such a serious mood but they knew that the man did not joke about such things. He knew more than they or most people did after all.
"Then who…what was it?" was Kakashi's whispered question. The man dragged himself up into a sitting position, Tsunade's eyes flickering over to him briefly.
"I don't know, but it was no ordinary clone. In fact everything about it was Naruto, except the part of the seal." Jiraiya closed his eyes as he could feel the short silence weigh over the group, the curiosity of his comrades almost palpable, "But that's not worries me. Two days ago I was summoned to Myobokuzan by the toads. The Great Elder Gamamura revealed a prophecy to me."
"A prophecy?" She asked curiously before she rolled her eyes, "Oh please Jiraiya don't tell me you still believe in all that nonsense." Tsunade scoffed at the man's words.
Jiraiya just shrugged off her derision with, his face remaining blank and stern as it had been when he revealed himself, "In this case I have to. It seems dark days are ahead for all of us. I'm not sure but i can only assume Akatsuki took Naruto because he spoke of red clouds and a darkness looming over Naruto."
"Then we have to do something Jiraiya. They will kill him for the Kyuubi if we don't."
"No they won't and I'm still not sure. Naruto could've run away by himself also. After all, we found a Rasengan wound on the girl's body." Jiraiya reminded both of them and immediately their eyes fell. Of course only they and a few knew about that but they had filed it into the back of their minds partly because they did not wish to think about it. The mark was there, on Sakura's back, a spiral of something fierce having torn into her viciously. They did not want to imagine that Naruto could have done it, and because of the gaping hole on her chest, it was all forgotten for the notorious Chidori mark.
"They both killed her." Kakashi suddenly said, snapping the attention of both Sannin to himself.
"Who?" Tsunade asked confused.
"Naruto and Sasuke. I saw the marks on her body when I retrieved the bodies. Naruto loved her, so I think he ran away." Kakashi added in a voice no more than a whisper, his eyes solemn and on the ground. All of their eyes fell to the ground at that. Silence fell over the group at those words. They knew that seeing Sakura die by his hand would indeed drive Naruto to extremes but this was unexpected or was it? His goal was to protect his friends after all but seeing one die, in which he actually delivered the blow himself, would devastate him. It was just surprising because Naruto was not normally a coward who feared facing up to his actions but he was a boy, and he did what any irrational boy would've done in his situation, run away. He had enough reason to flee but why did it feel off to them?
Tsunade covered herself with her long arms, her vulnerability open to show partly because she did not care she exposed herself or how much the whole situation was affecting her, "Then what do we do? If the reckless brat is out there by himself, then he is in more trouble than he would be had he returned."
Jiraiya clenched his hand into a tight fist, lifting his face up to stare into the outskirts of the vegetation enclosed village, "We find him before they do."
Whew, this chapter was way hard to write than I thought it would initially be. But I am proud of myself because I managed to get it done in a mere two days. Well, I finalised what I wished to in Konoha with this chapter. Now they know that Naruto is alive and out there. You have gotten the gist of the reactions, the sorrow, the feelings and now we will move on to Naruto's days with the Akatsuki which will form a pivotal part in the next few chapters and just to let you know, this story will overlap into Shippuden far sooner than my other stories because of how close to Naruto leaving I started it. So we will get a time-skip and then…action.
Please Read & Review.
Immortal Out…
