Hello everyone! Next chapter is here!

Nothing to say really. Just, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; I do wish I owned a rasenshuriken yoyo though. That would be awesome. :D

WARNING: there is Sakura Bashing in this chapter. I am sorry if you are offended by it, but here is a fair warning ahead of time.

"Normal"

'Thoughts'

"Ephasis"

"YELLING"

"Jutsu"

"Demon talk"

'Demon Thoughts'

A Blond Hyuuga

Chapter 4

Konoha Hospital: Naruto's room

Something bad was going to happen, Naruto concluded. Most of the time, people would think he was a dense, thick skulled, unaware idiot, but that was an incorrect judgment of him…most of the time. There were obvious moments where Naruto was truly not paying attention, but there were also times where he can spot things others could not. Unfortunately, or fortunately, he happened to notice the foul mood Sakura was in.

While her face was completely void of expression, her body was tense. Each muscle seemed contracted and ready to strike. Her jaw was clenched shut and her fists were held tightly to her sides. Her whole body language screamed of anger and Naruto cursed himself for not finding an escape route.

The thing that disturbed Naruto the most was her eyes. Those emerald eyes that he thought looked pretty were now a sickly looking green that was tainted with rage and sadness. The worst part was she wasn't looking at him, but through him. It was like he didn't exist in her eyes and that sent chills down Naruto's spine.

"How are you feeling, Naruto?" Sakura asked, but Naruto could tell by her tone that she didn't care about his response.

"Um, I'm ah…I'm okay…" Naruto fumbled for an answer.

There was an awkward silence where Sakura continued to stare at Naruto, while Naruto wished she would do something, anything. Hell, he even wished she'd hit him just to regain a sense of normalcy.

"What part of your life has ever been normal…?" Kyubi's words continued to ring around his mind.

"So…he got away…" Sakura final said as she continued to stare through Naruto.

"…Yeah…but I tried my best! We all did!" Naruto defended.

The fire in Sakura's eyes seemed to double in size and Naruto heard the sound of her knuckles popping…Naruto braced himself for the incoming shit-storm that was inbound.

Oddly enough, it never came…Sakura just gave a resigned sigh and started to stare out the window.

"I don't blame you, Naruto…" Sakura said.

"You…you don't?" Naruto said with a smidge of hope in his voice.

Sakura turned her piercing gaze towards Naruto's cerulean eyes. He saw that she was lying. Her eyes were filled with scorn and rage that accused him for every misfortune that has happened.

"I don't blame you, Naruto, because I never should have put my faith in you in the first place," Sakura said tersely.

Ouch. Naruto could feel his heart shatter at those words. He just looked at this Sakura. She was a far-cry from the girl who he admired. This one was scornful and filled with rage compared to the one he knew.

'Or was that just my idealized version…' Naruto thought to himself. Naruto's eyes widened at his own thoughts. Did he really like Sakura, or did he like the concept of her? Was this the real Sakura that he chose to ignore so his fantasy version could exist?

"I see you are finally opening your eyes, ningen," Kyubi's dark chuckles echoed through his mind and Naruto involuntarily winced.

Sakura seemed oblivious to Naruto's inner war and continued her rant.

"I don't know why I believed in you. Sasuke-kun was rookie of the year, and you…you were just a pathetic dead-last who just scraped by. You never stood a chance against someone of his caliber. It was a waste to even think that you could do anything right," Sakura said coldly.

Each word Sakura said felt like a cold dagger to his heart. She didn't even believe in him. It was such a painful feeling, hearing your crush say you're worthless.

"Why are you even a ninja? You dress in that godly awful orange jumpsuit and you are just an overconfident idiot! Do us all a favor and just quit! No one wants you and no one believes in your stupid dream to become Hokage! If you became Hokage, I'd defect to another village!"

Now he was sure that this was the true Sakura. He saw that every word she said she meant. The idealized Sakura seemed to shatter to pieces like the remnants of his heart.

"Once I saw the roster of those who went on the mission, I knew your brigade of losers wouldn't succeed." Sakura continued.

Naruto's head shot up at Sakura's words. It was one thing to demean him, but never his friends.

"What?" Naruto whispered dangerously.

Sakura seemed to ignore his question and continued her rant. "I mean look at the people Tsunade-sama sent out! Kiba…Shikamaru…CHOJI!? What was she thinking? All of you were complete losers fighting for the dead-last position in the academy. The only person who might have stood a chance was Neji, but he lost to you so he must have been pathetic." Sakura didn't notice Naruto's fist and jaw clenching tightly.

"Kiba was probably playing with his putrid puppy. He would rather hang out with his dog rather than take a shower. He's probably the only person, if you can even consider him a person, who might be as dumb and brainless as you."

Naruto and Kiba may not have been the closest of friends, but they were still friends. Naruto remembered all the pranks they would pull together, or the times they snuck out of class to play with Akamaru in the park. Naruto also saw how Kiba barely made it out of his fight alive against one of the Sound Four. If it wasn't for Kankuro, he might have died.

"Shikamaru was probably staring at clouds or was sleeping on the job. I don't know how he even made Chunin. Maybe if they made Sasuke-kun Chunin instead of that lazy bum then he would have stayed!"

Naruto was starting to get sick of hearing about "Sasuke-kun". Was this really all she talked about? Had he really ignored all this before?

Even though Naruto was disappointed in not making Chunin, he knew that Shikamaru deserved it a lot more than himself and Sasuke. Shikamaru had figured out about the invasion ahead of time and he even stood back to stall those Oto-nins that were chasing them. Sasuke rushed off at that time just to continue a fight he had no chance at winning. Shikamaru planned everything during the retrieval mission and had the best match-ups in the fight. Had it been anyone else, Naruto wasn't sure that all of them would have made it out alive.

"Let's not forget about the fat king, Choji! The glutton was probably eating like always instead of fighting. He probably just stuffed his fat face while you-" Sakura was cut off by Naruto's animalistic roar.

"SHUT THE HELL UP, SAKURA! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW, HUH? WE WORKED OUR ASSES OFF TO GET YOUR TRAITOROUS BOYFRIEND BACK AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO SAY WE'RE USELESS?!" Naruto yelled.

Sakura took a step back from the wounded blond as red chakra started to swirl around him.

"What did you do to stop him? Did you fight to the brink of death to retrieve that traitorous asshole back? DID YOU?!"

Naruto never felt so much rage in his life before. A clear part of his mind knew that Sakura was mostly talking in anger, but that still didn't excuse what she said. He also knew that whatever feelings he had for Sakura, they were long gone.

"All of us tried our best to retrieve Sasuke, Choji almost overdosed on those chakra pills, Kiba had his muscles shredded and almost lost Akamaru, Neji had a fucking arrow shot through his shoulder, and I…I HAD TWO CHIDORI'S SHOVED THROUGH MY CHEST!" Naruto paused before he turned his gaze to the petrified girl.

Sakura saw something she thought she would never see in Naruto's eyes. His once cerulean blue eyes were now blood red with black slits going through them. His crimson gaze held nothing but disgust as he looked at her.

"We almost died for Sasuke, and you have the gall to insult us? We have our injuries to show that we actually tried, what do you have to show for it? A dirtied dress and a tear-stained face? You're pathetic and useless just like Sasuke said you were," Naruto said coldly. He knew it was a low blow, but he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment.

"That's it, Naruto…submit to your hatred…let your rage guide you…" Kyuubi whispered into Naruto's mind.

"Tell me this, Sakura…What did you expect if I brought Sasuke back?" Naruto asked the same question Kyuubi had asked him.

"We w-would h-have went back to the things as t-they were! W-we would have been a t-team again and we would have had that curse seal removed. We all k-know that the seal was influencing him! He didn't do anything wrong!" Sakura stuttered in fear while still trying to defend her precious Uchiha.

The red chakra seemed to double in size after Sakura's answer.

'What a fool I've been…' Naruto thought. He knew at one point he wanted the same thing that Sakura wanted, but hearing it from her made it sound so…so…so delusional and idiotic…

"He didn't…do…anything…wrong? HE SHOVED HIS FIST THROUGH MY CHEST TO KILL ME! ARE YOU SAYING THAT IT WAS OKAY FOR HIM TO TRY TO KILL ME? HE WASN'T INFLUENCED BY THAT SHITTY SEAL; HE DID EVERYTHING ON HIS OWN FREE WILL, YOU UNGRATEFUL BITCH!" Naruto roared.

Before things got more out of hand, the Godaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade, burst through the door with a couple of her ANBU bodyguards.

"What is the meaning of this?" Tsunade commanded.

Before anyone could react, Sakura ran over to the female Hokage and hid behind her.

"Tsunade-sama, he's a monster! He looks like he's about to attack me! He's a demon like my mother said he is!" Sakura shrieked out as tears streamed down her face.

Tsunade's amber eyes hardened at the girl in front of her before she forcibly removed Sakura from her leg.

Naruto's dark growl alerted every one of the current situation at hand. Naruto stuck an accusatory clawed finger at Sakura, before speaking. "That Uchiha whore barged into my room uninvited and started spraying her bullshit about how we were rigged to fail our mission!" Naruto bared his fangs and looked like he was about to rip Sakura's throat out.

Unknown to Naruto, a chakra tail started to form as the red chakra veil took a more foxlike appearance.

The ANBU tensed, but Tsunade just raised her hand to signal them to halt.

"ANBU, you will escort genin Haruno out of my presence. I will deal with her later. I will handle Naruto on my own," Tsunade commanded. Her tone left no room for argument.

The ANBU hesitated, but complied nevertheless. The cat-wearing ANBU member grabbed Sakura's shoulder and walked her out of the room while her Hawked masked partner closed the door slowly.

Once the door was closed, Tsunade's shoulders slumped a bit and her eyes softened as she looked at the angered jinchuuriki. Naruto's fists were closed and resting in his lap while his head was down. Tsunade slowly walked over to the jinchuriki and softly, but forcibly turned Naruto's head to face hers.

Blood red eyes filled with rage met Golden Amber filled with sympathy and what could only be described as motherly concern.

"Naruto…I need you to calm down…" Tsunade whispered softly to the closest thing she had to a grandson. She didn't release her hold on Naruto's face as she watched the swirling emotions in Naruto's eyes.

"Please calm down, Naruto. It's alright now. She's gone now…" Tsunade whispered again as her eyes took a more pleading look.

Naruto's anger seemed to fade away as he looked at Tsunade's eyes. Red and blue flickered through Naruto's eyes as the chakra cloak faded back into his body. So cerulean blue retook its rightful place in Naruto's eyes, but they were soon filled with deep sorrow.

"I tried…I really tried, Baa-chan…" Naruto whispered as tears started to collect in his eyes.

Tsunade was shocked. Naruto never looked this broken and he never cried. He never looked this vulnerable before.

'Damn that girl, she really hurt him,' Tsunade thought as her anger rose at the thought of the pink-haired genin. Luckily she reigned he anger. She needed to support Naruto now like he did for her.

With that thought in mind, she wrapped Naruto into a motherly hug as she allowed him to cry his sorrows away. They boy had spent 13 years filled with sorrow, but until now, he never got a chance to vent it out. Tsunade rubbed soothing circles into the boy's back while whispering kind nothings into his ears. To anyone else, it would have looked like a mother consoling her child.

After some time passed, Naruto finally calmed down, but the brokenness in his eyes remained. His cerulean eyes seemed so dull and lifeless. It was a stark contrast to what they usually looked like.

"Naruto, I need you to tell me everything that happened…" Tsunade said gently as she placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder.

Naruto took a deep breath before he retold everything that happened from the Sasuke Retrieval Mission to Sakura's harsh words. He even told her about his conversation with the Kyubi.

After all was said and done, Tsunade questioned where he got his patience from. If she was in Naruto's position, she would have ripped the girl's tongue out of her mouth and that would have been before Kyuubi influenced her rage.

'He must have gotten it from Minato because he sure as hell didn't get it from Kushina,' Tsunade thought amusedly.

"Baa-chan, what it said…was it true…?" Naruto questioned and Tsunade knew he was referring to what the Kyuubi had said.

"You are not a puppet, Naruto. You have the potential to be something great. The Sandaime knew this, Jiraiya knows this, and I believe in you as well, Naruto. You've never given up when someone has told you otherwise, why should you let that ditz get to you now?" Tsunade replied calmly.

"It just hurts so much though. It hurts even more knowing the fox was right about her. She threw me away like a piece of trash once I wasn't useful to her," Naruto said angrily

"I know it hurts, Naruto, but you shouldn't be concerned about what Sakura thinks. You should only care about what people who care about you think. The opinions of those who don't care about you, they don't matter. The fox was right in the sense that you shouldn't appease those who won't appreciate you, but that was the only thing it was right about. And maybe it wouldn't hurt to think ahead sometimes, brat," Tsunade said jokingly at the end.

Naruto smiled a bit at Tsunade's joke before he frowned. "I know, Baa-chan, but I thought Sakura would have cared at least a little bit about me, but obviously I was wrong…" Naruto lamented.

"There are many people out there, Naruto. You made a mistake by limiting yourself to one person and got burned by it. While I'm not saying you should become like that lecher, Jiraiya, I am saying that you should be open your views about people. Some may come to surprise you."

"What do you mean, Baa-chan?" Naruto asked curiously.

"What I mean is that you might fall for the last person you'd expect. Take me for example. I fell in love with a feminine looking guy who was more like a nun than a ninja. Dan was always trying to help people during a time where your best friend could be your next enemy. We were like polar opposites since I was a…well, for a lack of a better term, a cold heartless bitch," Tsunade said as she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.

"The point is that you'll never know what surprises are in store for you, so don't write off love just because of one bad experience," Tsunade said as she ruffled Naruto's locks.

"Shouldn't you listen to your own advice, Baa-chan? You know the old pervert is still in love with you," Naruto said half-jokingly.

Tsunade's attitude changed to a more melancholy version. "I know he is, Naruto, but my heart is still with Dan…It wouldn't be fair to Jiraiya because I couldn't fully return his feelings."

Naruto nodded solemnly as an ANBU member walked into the room.

"Tsunade-sama, there are people who want to visit Uzumaki-san in the waiting room, but some are disturbed about the recent influx of yokai (demon chakra) that flooded the hospital," The Cat-masked ANBU reported.

Tsunade's eyes widened then she looked at Naruto who wore a resigned expression.

"Naruto-"

"Tell them, Tsunade-sama…there's no point in trying to cover it up. I…I just want to rest right now…" Naruto said as the hollow emptiness remerged in Naruto's eyes.

"Are you sure, Naruto? You don't want to tell them yourselves?" Tsunade asked the prone form.

"What difference will it make, they'll figure it out eventually and I'm…I'm just too tired to handle any more stress right now…" Naruto said as he stared out of his window.

"…Okay…I'll tell them," Tsunade said as she patted Naruto on the shoulder before she walked out.

"No visitors please…" Naruto said just before Tsunade left. Tsunade stopped for a second before she agreed and walked out of the room with the ANBU behind her.

Konoha Hospital: Waiting Area

Tsunade entered the waiting room and was greeted by the incomplete members of Team, 7, 8, 10, and Team Gai.

Surprisingly, Neji was there too even though his arm was in a sling. He and Tenten were talking quietly in a corner while Gai was, surprisingly, sitting near them with his eyes closed and his arms crossed.

Asuma was talking quietly with Shikamaru who seemed to have figured out everything on his own, forcing Asuma to explain it to him ahead of time. Shikamaru looked up when Tsunade walked in and gave her a knowing look and a small nod of the head. Tsunade interpreted as he knew what Naruto was and he still accepted him.

Kurenai was sitting next to Hinata while trying to console the poor girl. Hinata seemed very sad, but she had a get-well card in her hands as well as a bouquet of Kinsenkas. From the color choice, Tsunade assumed it was for Naruto. Ino was also with the incomplete Team 8 because she was trying to calm her pale-eyed friend. Shino stood off to the side and made no movement or inclination to show what he was thinking.

Kakashi sat in the corner closest to where Tsunade entered. He had his hand grabbing his head. He looked like a completely defeated man at the moment. His aura radiated with self-anger, regret, and sorrow. It was probably for the best, but Sakura was nowhere in sight.

Tsunade cleared her throat to gain everyone's attention. As soon as everyone turned to their Hokage, everyone started to ask their questions at once.

"Is N-Naruto-kun a-alright?"

"What was that energy we just felt?"

"Is Choji's life no longer in danger?"

"IS LEE-KUN'S FLAMES OF YOUTH STILL INTACT?"

"Kiba and Akamaru are fine, right?"

"S-Shouldn't N-Neji-nii-san be in h-his room?"

"Are our comrades' lives out of peril?"

"QUIET!" Tsunade screamed. The room became deathly silent.

"Okay, everyone is alright and everyone should make a full recovery. As for Neji…why are you out of your room?" Tsunade questioned.

Neji kept his usual stoic composure and said, "The doctors within the Hyuga compound said they will look after me so the doctors here checked me out so they could use the room for some other patients."

Tsunade nodded. Even if she wanted to keep Neji for observations, it was now a clan matter thus making it outside her jurisdiction. However she had faith in the Hyuga doctors since she had checked their skills and certified all of them when she returned to the village.

"What about that burst of energy? It felt so scary…" Ino said as she shivered.

"It felt familiar to me…"Neji said out loud.

"It was Naruto, wasn't it Tsunade-sama," Shikamaru said calmly. All heads snapped towards the lazy Nara then to the Godaime.

Tsunade sighed, before she steeled herself for what she needed to do. "What secret I'm about to tell you is considered an SS-ranked village secret. If you divulge what I'm about to tell you, then you will be executed for treason…do you understand?" Tsunade said seriously.

The younger generation all stiffened, but nodded their heads. Tsunade, seeing them agreeing, continued to tell them one of Konoha's best and worst kept secrets.

20 long minutes later had Tsunade sitting in front of a shocked room of adolescence. Even Shino's jaw seemed to be hanging from the revelation dropped on them.

"Is Naruto the Kyuubi?" Ino asked. She had to admit she was now scared of her fellow blond.

Surprisingly, it wasn't Tsunade who responded first, but Hinata.

"NO! Naruto-kun is not the Kyuubi! Naruto-kun is the nicest person I know and if he was the Kyuubi, he would have destroyed the village instead of defending it." Hinata said vehemently.

She had tears of sorrow running down her face, but this what out of sadness for Naruto instead of concern. 'Naruto-kun…how long have you suffered silently because of this burden?'

"Hinata's right. Naruto is still the troublesome idiot we all know from the academy. Nothing is different just because we now know what he holds," Shikamaru said seriously.

"He said he also knew how it felt to be given a burden he didn't ask for when we fought in the Chunin exams…I didn't believe at first, but now I feel like such a fool. He's had to carry the Kyuubi within him since his birth and he's taken it all in stride while I tried to hide behind the curtain of faith. He truly is a better individual than I," Neji said solemnly.

"Okay, so Naruto's not the Kyuubi, but what made him use the Kyubi power in a hospital?" Tenten asked.

Tsunade façade took a dark look as she repeated everything that happened. Needlessly to say, everyone in the room was shocked. Kakashi looked like he was drowning in guilt while the rookies looked like they were about to go Haruno hunting. Even Ino looked pissed at her former best friend.

Surprisingly, it was Hinata that broke the deathly silence. "Tsunade-sama, I want to see Naruto-kun," Hinata said seriously. Everyone was surprised by her lack of stutter.

Tsunade shook her head. "I'm sorry, Hinata, but Naruto wants to be left alone…" Tsunade replied.

"Please Tsunade-sama, I want…no I need to see him, please," Hinata pleaded.

Tsunade looked at the young Hyuuga heiress and saw the same flame of determination in her eyes as she saw in Naruto's. With a sigh, Tsunade agreed.

"Okay, Hinata…but only you can see him. Everyone else has to wait," Tsunade sent a sharp glare as some of the rookies looked like they were about to protest.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," Hinata bowed and was about to run to Naruto's room, but Tsunade grabbed her on her shoulder.

"Hinata, he's really down right now. I'm sending you because he needs to see that there are people out there that care about him. You can't hesitate or else he'll misinterpret it as something else. Right now, Naruto needs you and you can't hold bad…do you understand?" Tsunade whispered into the girl's ear so the others couldn't hear.

Hinata's eyes widened before a blush went over her face, but the determination in her eyes didn't waver. "I'll be there for Naruto-kun like he's always there for me," Hinata said vehemently.

Tsunade smiled before she gave the girl an encouraging push towards Naruto's room.

Chapter End

A/N: Next ones out, hope you enjoy!

Kinsenkas are orange flowers that are usually grown in Europe. I thought they would be fitting because of the color. They are also known as the "October Birth flowers"