The eternal bond that you gave to me; I just can't turn it into a memory. Because you gave me kindness I realized what 'strength' is, so thank you.
Chapter 4: The Path to Eternity
The electricity flashing through his veins finally subsided after what seemed like eternity to the blonde shinobi, though the searing heat and rancid scent of burnt skin lingered in his nostrils. His body completely numb, he noticed very little else of going on around him, though he was painfully aware of everything going on, including the saber sticker out of his abdomen.
Though aware, Naruto felt he was watching from a video screen. Everything seemed faded and distant, which was extremely apparent when he was forced to strain his ears to hear someone talking into his ear.
He instantly realized it was the voice of his great rival. "It is finished." The Konoha native felt the reduction of cool tingling leave his abdomen, signifying the Kusanagi was started to be removed from his front, through his body and, very likely, colon. Finally, the metal sang as it slid out of his back, allowing Naruto's languid form sway back and forth without its support.
The blonde placed an unsteady foot out in front of him to balance, but it was futile. He vaguely sensed a presence stand behind him as he tried to catch his balance…breath…touch…anything.
Sasuke derisively snorted. "Looks like you will always be a Dead Last." Naruto's field of vision suddenly changed thanks to a heel kick across his lower abdomen, causing a viscous fluid to pour forth from the hole in his body and his mouth.
Instead of staring ahead at a forest, the blonde was now staring up at the revolting mix of purple-blue and red from the moon. He also realized that the top of Madara's and the First Hokage's statues and the peak of the waterfall were falling away from him…or he was falling away from them.
A sudden craggy wall announced an unceremonious end to the teen's freefall. The boy noted his body constricted his knees to his forehead from the collision. But, instead of suddenly submerging into a dull blue, as the ninja had assumed was going to happen, his body lazily rolled over to his side into a position he may take if he were sleeping in his bed.
Naruto then began to feel the numbness in his body ebb, giving way to a malevolent tingle that started from his fingertips and his toes and determinedly climbed throughout his body.
It was at this time that the urgency of the situation hit the ex-jinchuriki, causing adrenalin to course through his veins. Naruto's mind raced to send signals to his limbs, but they seemed to be disrupted, as the ninja's extremities moved as if in quicksand.
'C'mon…move…!' the boy mentally commanded his insentient form.
'I gotta move…gotta get up…I can't lose here…' His thoughts became remote and sporadic as lifeblood leaked from his wound. The warm sticky fluid gathered in his mouth causing him to cough weakly. Iron plastered his tongue.
'Everyone's hopes…their dreams…they're riding on this…
'Blood…gotta stop the bleeding…if I can do that…
'Come on…move…can't lose…please…'
The veins in his head pulsating feverishly against his skull, the boy exhaled loudly, as if his decree would effectively dictate his desires, "Stand up, Goddammit~!"
Ignoring the furious dispute of strained muscles and popping tendons, the blonde shinobi forced his brain to feed the orders through his body's synapses to his deaf limbs. He felt rough gravel grind into his palm as he placed it down hard to force his body up. The upper half of the teen's anatomy slowly rose a few inches up. It was a start.
He wearily glanced at his legs, which had also begun moving. Meekly flailing at the pebbles on the ground and the stone barrier behind, Naruto was able to drag his lower build up to one knee. He could do this. He could stand. He could rise up. He could win. He could—
An immense exhaustion overwhelmed the young teen and sent him crashing into the gnashing stones, scraping his waxy skin on his arms effortlessly. Falling flat onto his stomach and face, the Konoha ninja felt the strength escape his body with each passing second, seeping away with the oozy red fluid his body used for existence.
The absolute inevitability of Naruto's surroundings descended onto the Hero of Konoha like the setting sun. He weakly swallowed a bit of the red iron that had collected into his mouth.
'This is it…huh…?' he ruefully released a weak snicker. 'I'm really gonna die…'
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Despite all of the mental preparation that the battle could end in one or both of the ninjas' deaths, the actual event of Sasuke ruthlessly stabbing his Kusanagi into the lower back of his best friend was too much for many of the audience, especially where it considered the former Rookie Nine and Team Guy members.
A deathly hush had fallen over the small grouping, but the personas of those around them were flickering with anxiety over their fallen comrade. The silence was filled with disbelief that the blonde ninja had lost. The stillness was shattered almost as quickly as it had happened.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata cried out. She fell to her knees sobbing. Kiba awkwardly tried to comfort her, but instead decided to let the girl cry into his shoulder as he, himself, fought back the depression that stuck in the dense air.
"He's…is he…?"
Sakura had a rollercoaster of emotions streaming through her body over the last several seconds of action.
Surprise surged when she understood the depth of Sasuke's power when he performed multiple powerful ninjutsu consecutively.
Pride swelled when Naruto made his declaration he'd fight for his friend because they were friends.
Concern crept in when Naruto challenged Sasuke's own technique, Kirin.
Shock exploded when Naruto dodged Kirin and seemingly beat Sasuke with the Rasengan.
Confusion swarmed when Sasuke had called Naruto by his derogatory 'Dead Last' nickname.
Terror erupted when they all realized it was a Shadow Clone.
Dread pulsed when Sasuke stabbed his former teammate and sent Kirin raging through Naruto's body.
But the emotion that plagued the girl, now, was none of these. What attacked her and threatened to squelch her own heart was that Naruto…the Number 1 Unpredictable Ninja…the blonde with blue eyes always full of vigor and life…the orange genin who was quite possibly her closest friend…one of the few strong and foolish enough to fight on and never give up…had accepted the inevitable.
Naruto had quit.
"No…" the rosette kunoichi whispered. She wasn't upset he had surrendered…that was bad enough in itself. He hadn't given up on the battle, though. He hadn't given up on his friend.
He had quit on himself.
"No…" Sakura breathed again. It was only then that she noticed warm saline silently streaming down her cheeks. Her legs, too, lost their strength.
"He can't be…he won't…"
"Sakura…" a warm voice that sounded much older.
Her tear-flooded vision turned to her mentor. "Kakashi-sensei…Naruto…he just can't be…"
...giving up.
"It's over, Sakura…" another gentle voice coming from the Hokage told her.
"What about the Nine-Tails!?" she screamed. "Why isn't it healing him!?"
The silver-haired ninja sighed heavily. "I think…Naruto must have lost him at some point in the battle with Madara. Naruto hasn't used his Chakra Forms he has gained from the Nine-Tails, at all. I thought it was because that he didn't want to be put in a position to kill Sasuke…but…"
"Naruto…"
He could hear the tearful cries of those around her. Even if they were forcing it back, their auras betrayed the depth of the sadness that besieged the group. She could even sense the sorrow of Konohamaru and his friends and her teacher from the Academy, Iruka, all of whom were very close to Naruto.
"Hey, hey, Iruka-sensei! Can we go get Ramen, again?"
Again, the group of Naruto's friends froze. Did they hear Naruto's voice? Or were they hallucinating?
"…Naruto?"
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'What…did I…hear…something…?' Naruto's beleaguered mind mustered.
"Only after you finish your work, Naruto!"
"What…Iruka-sensei…?"
"He's no longer your Demon Fox...he is…a citizen of Konohagakure...Uzumaki Naruto!"
'My memories…'
"If you ever touch my sensei again…I'll kill you!"
'Ahh…that's right…the old saying…'
"There are no shortcuts to becoming Hokage."
'Heh…I wonder…Sasuke said that the Infinite Tsukuyomi transfers our battle and the thoughts and emotions stemming from it to the others…'
"My dream is to one day, be a better shinobi than the Lord Hokage! Then all the villagers will have to acknowledge my existence, at last!"
'Well…at least I get to see something I like before I die…'
"Shinobi see through deception."
'It still…sucks, though…'
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Another vision, this one from the start of the Land of Waves, passed in front of the crowds of people.
"Naruto's memories…?" Shikamaru inquired.
"But…how can we see them?"
"If I had to guess…" Kakashi surmised, "…because Naruto is actually seeing this, instead of the area around him."
"When you protect the ones important to you, your true strength will show."
More visions passed by them, including the first test of the Chunin Exams.
"Don't underestimate me! I don't quit and I don't run! You can act tough all you want! You're not gonna scare me off! No way! I don't care if I DO get stuck as a genin for the rest of my life! I'll still be Hokage someday!"
A hollow grin spread across Sakura's face from the recollection. Her body had grown numb, however, from the realization that Naruto's end was upon them.
The Forest of Death flew by them, followed by Naruto's victory over Kiba in the Chunin Preliminary Matches. Then, images of Jiraiya training Naruto for the first time appeared.
Sakura felt her Sannin mentor shift uneasily at seeing her longtime comrade for the first time in a while. The rosette noted how real these images were…so real they were palpable.
"Why do you insist on continuing?"
"Because someone once called me a failure!"
"Naruto…you're one of the ones I want to fight."
Sakura then saw, for the first time, Naruto's fight against Gaara. But, what struck closest to her being was the quote she heard at the end. The determination he gained from watching Sasuke and herself fight against insurmountable odds.
"It's almost unbearable, isn't it… the pain of being all alone. I know that feeling, I've been there, in that dark and lonely place, but now there are others, other people who mean a lot to me. I care more about them than I do myself, and I won't let anyone hurt them. That's why I'll never give up; I will stop you, even if I have to kill you! They saved me from myself, they rescued me from my loneliness, they were the first to accept me as who I am. They're my friends."
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"Because, unlike you, I want that title. To be Hokage…is my dream!"
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"Until I reach my dream, there's no way I'm gonna die!"
'Tch…'
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"This headband shows that we both recognize each other as shinobi of the Leaf!"
"There you go, talking big again…you really think you're equal to me!?"
"I never once thought of myself any less than you!"
"Naruto~!"
"Sasuke~!"
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"Naruto... only you... My only wish... Please... bring Sasuke-kun back!"
"I will bring Sasuke back for sure. This is a promise of a lifetime!"
'Was I…'
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"Just shut up for once... What the heck to you know about it? It's not like you ever had a family in the first place. You were on your own right from the beginning! What makes you think you know anything about it, huh?! I'm suffering now because I had those ties. How on earth could you possibly understand what it feels like to lose all of that?!"
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"Why do you go so far for me…?"
"Because I finally have a bond with someone!"
'Was I always so persistent…?'
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"If being smart means what you say it does…I'd rather be a fool my entire life!"
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"They just see us as monsters! As means to an end! He was just like I was and he fought all on his own a lot longer than I did. He's been targeted by Akatsuki! We're the same, again! And despite that... Why does everything bad always have to happen to him?! It's always him! That's why... That's why I can't waste a second! This time, I want to save him as fast as I can!"
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"How can someone who can't even save his friends become Hokage...? Isn't it so, Sasuke?"
'Heh…and here I am…'
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"It's true that teamwork is important...and I know that, but I want to cross this dangerous bridge myself. If I can't get to the other side, I'll stay a kid forever."
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"Peace? Justice? Screw you! You're insane! What about my master?! My Sensei! My friends! My home?! After everything you've done, you still act like it's for peace?"
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"Then I will break that curse! If there's such a thing as peace, I will find it! I won't give up!"
'…am I really fine with ending it like this…?'
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"Tell me...Do you know my thoughts...can you tell what is in my heart?"
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"Itachi... Thank you for trusting me. You don't have to worry anymore... You've done more than enough for the Village already! Leave the rest to me!"
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"You're no longer the Nine-Tailed Fox. You're a trust comrade from Konohagakure…Kurama!"
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"Stand up…Naruto-kun!"
'…Huh!?'
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Sakura's reverie was broken by hearing Hinata's voice. She turned instantly to the lavender-haired girl and saw her blushing and looking just as surprised as the rest of them were.
"Hinata…?" Sakura gasped. "But…how…?"
Hinata gulped and shook her head in confusion, when another familiar voice resounded in the atmosphere.
"Naruto-kun…you gave Sakura-san the Nice-Guy pose! You can't fail, now!"
"…Lee-san…?"
One by one, that seemed to echo from the thoughts and minds of her friends sounded out for everyone to hear.
"Go for it, Naruto!"
"You believed in me to be a genius…now I give that same belief in you!"
"If you give up now, what'll happen to Sakura and Sasuke?"
"Don't lay down when you're this close, Brat!"
"You showed me the light and saved me from Darkness…I consider you my first true friend…I know you can do it."
Sakura looked at those standing around her and saw the intensity of their gazes focused on the watery image in front of them. Eventually, she heard voices from shinobi of other villages. Some she barely knew, while others, she didn't have a clue who they were. The sound grew until it seemed like everyone, even citizens that had never met Naruto or were just living their everyday lives before this incident were sending him their thoughts and cheers.
"Has everyone's hearts…connected…?"
The kunoichi then realized that there was one voice she wasn't hearing in the crowd, and she began to focus on the screen as hard as she could. "Naruto…Just do what you've always done…do your best...ok? Naruto!"
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The last voice of his pink-haired teammate reverberated in his ears and he felt his heart stir. Once more, Naruto found the strength of will inside of him to try to stand again. 'Everyone…'
He dug his hands into the crag.
'Everyone…they're still fighting…'
He forced himself upward with his toes.
'They haven't given up…'
His body inched its way off the ground to his elbows and knees.
"Ninja who abandon their friends are worse than scum."
Pain rang throughout his disheveled body as he rose deliberately from his prone state.
"I don't want to ever want to see that again…my trusted comrades, falling right in front of me…"
He felt warmth curl into a gentle ball in his abdomen.
'I don't care…what happens to me…but…'
The warmth burst and instantaneously extended from the top of his head, to the bottom of his feet to the tips of his toes to those of his fingers. There was no more agony in his body.
"…I won't give up…I'm not gonna die…not in front of them!"
His body ignited in the form of a bright yellow sun. He determinedly stared at his best friend, several yards above him.
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Sasuke watched the whole scenario play out from his position on the fingertips of Madara's monument. The battle, itself, had been going according to plan, but the resonance of the minds of the people hadn't fully come to pass. For a while, he had wondered if they would ever understand the meaning of the battle of the two; that the world's answer was to forever be full of selfish, hateful people.
A smile tugged at his lips just enough to tilt the ends of his mouth up in a small grin. He had heard them, so he knew Naruto did. The wishes of good luck that ninja and civilians alike had transferred to the blonde were sure to incite the boy to continue the battle. And then, everything would end as he had planned.
"So, this is your answer, huh?" He turned and leapt down from the fingertips towards the ex-junchuriki's level. He landed on the outcropping near the ground that had been created by the battle the last two had at the exact same location.
He stood and inspected his former friend. The boy had now ignited in a fiery blaze and seemed to also have acquired a new coat. The wound on his stomach, though still visible, had inexplicably stopped bleeding.
"You finally ready to continue?"
A soft chuckle from the Konoha ninja surprised him as Naruto extended his right hand. "Not continue...This is it, Sasuke…This is the part where I shatter that brooding darkness of yours into a million pieces…"
Sasuke's eyes widened at the response. The energy that had gathered around the blonde ninja began to accumulate in his palm. His Chakra Form slowly dissipated as the swirling vortex absorbed it.
"Rasengan…?" Sasuke breathed. "No…" The compact sphere emanated as much power as the typical Chakra Sphere, but instead of being a pale pulsing blue that was typical of the attack, Naruto's had become a swirling yellow with a fiery orange aura.
What was most unusual was the missing-nin felt the warmth of the ball from his position, probably 10-to-12 yards away. No…not just here…he was sure that, no matter where he had been, that warmth would have reached him.
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"What…what is that…?" Shikamaru marveled.
"Rasengan…" Kakashi noted, "But it's different…"
Ino exhaled lightly. "Pretty…"
Neji stared in awe. "It's like the sun."
"I feel it…" Hinata smiled. "I feel Naruto-kun's warmth in that sphere…it's surrounding me…piercing through me…"
"I do, too," Sakura agreed heartily. "It's the feeling I get whenever that reckless idiot is about to spring into action…whenever he's about to win…"
The lavender-haired girl giggled lightly, nodding at her compatriot.
Kakashi couldn't also help but grin. 'Go for it…Naruto…!'
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Sasuke spat. "You think, after all of this, that I'm just going to let you win?" Only the waterfall and the vibrations of the Rasengan answered him.
Naruto inspected the sphere. Content and sadness flashed for a brief moment in his eyes as his mind traveled back to his battle with Madara. "Don't worry. I'll leave you with enough to finish this!"
'Kurama…thank you…'
The blonde's gaze and smile returned to his friend. "I'm sure, you know, Sasuke…but there's no way you can win this."
The black-haired shinobi snorted. "Oh? And how can you tell that?"
"It was something your brother once told me."
"My Brother…?"
"No matter how powerful you become, never try to shoulder everything alone. Otherwise, you will undoubtedly fail."
"My next strike isn't just coming from my power, alone."
"What?" Sasuke started. He glowered at the Chakra Sphere in Naruto's palm, searching for what the blonde was saying.
He then saw it. They were flashes more than images; flashes of their time together. But more than that, it was Naruto's experiences with everyone. Visions of Team Seven, of the Rookie Nine, of Team Guy, of the Sand Shinobi, of Itachi, of everyone the boy had ever met, and even people neither of them had ever met, flashed in the Uchiha's mind.
Annoyed, the Uchiha executed a series of hand motions, extended his right hand, grabbed his forearm with his left, and sent a charge of electricity through it to his clutched hand.
"Of course, that would be your answer," the blonde ninja announced. "You won't win, though."
"A Loser to the end." Sasuke allowed a grim smirk to pass. "This battle involves more than winning and losing. In every war, the losers have just as much to do with the outcome as the winners, simply by being there. But, if you can't understand that, then you will always be a Dead Last."
The grin on Naruto's face hadn't wavered. It wasn't confident. It wasn't depressing. It wasn't happy. It wasn't loving. It wasn't understanding.
And yet it was all of those and so much more. It was filled with every emotion and experience Naruto had ever felt.
Confidence that he was equal to his rival.
Depression that the Uchiha chose power over him and Team Seven.
Happiness of the great times he had with everyone.
Love that made Naruto able to make friends so easily.
Understanding that allowed him to connect with nearly anyone.
It simply was Naruto.
The blonde closed his eyes. "I understand a lot more than you think, Sasuke" he replied heavily. The Uchiha's brow furrowed questioningly. "Right now…no…from the beginning, you planned on taking on the burdens of the world upon yourself, while I encompassed the hopes and dreams they all possessed.
"But, Sasuke…that very thinking was the reason the Eye of the Moon Plan would never work. If you tried to do everything yourself, you would undoubtedly fail. That's why two of us were necessary to do this mission, right?
"I should apologize, though. I said some pretty stupid things back at the Samurai Bridge."
"I'll bear the burden of your hate, and we'll die together!"
"That was the wrong thing to say. No more death. No more suffering. Everyone who fights alongside of me…who cheers from the sidelines…who just wants to live happily till the end of their days…they're all my trusted comrades. I won't let any one of them die while I'm still standing!"
Sasuke's eyes widened at the boy's declaration. A small smile then graced his lips. 'Naruto…you really are…'
"Then I suppose it's time, Naruto…time to end this fight…and all of the fights up to now."
Naruto firmly nodded.
The two shinobi launched themselves at each other amidst the monsoon of the waterfall.
We'll do it together…
Chilling water cascaded on the two as they reached each other.
The wars…
They thrust their attacks at each other.
The hatred…
The attacks resonated with each other. Fiery yellow collided with throbbing blue and a vortex absorbed the two within it.
The sorrow…
Both shinobi used all of their might to impose their will on each other—Naruto for his friend and the world; Sasuke to see his family once more.
All of it…we're gonna blow it all away…!
The Konoha ninja's Rasengan overwhelmed the missing-nin's Chidori and started a chain reaction that exploded in front of the two. A cry echoed from the black-haired shinobi as the explosion erupted into his face and eyes. A warm light followed by a cold, wet darkness swarmed the Uchiha.
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A warm touch tickled the face of the Uchiha as he felt himself being dragged along the ground. A vindictive burning sensation still rippled through his eyes, which was now more prevalent due to the fact he was no longer in the rich, cool lagoon.
The tickle, he realized, was the warm light of the sun that must have started to climb up over the horizon, signifying the end of the long, hard-fought Shinobi World War. He released a heavy sigh, alerting his dragger.
"So, you're finally awake, huh?" an easily recognizable raspy voice intoned wearily.
Sasuke snorted cynically. "I was never knocked out. I just kept my eyes closed."
"Oh?"
A heavy pressure next to the black-haired shinobi signaled the Konoha ninja sat down. Silence enveloped the two. It wasn't the awkward, scornful silence that had previously accompanied them since Sasuke left for Orochimaru, though. It was the stillness that complemented the morning sun and dew.
Content, Sasuke allowed himself to reconsider what had happened between them. Hoping to see the new day, the missing-nin ignored the fiery soreness that had been his companion for several a minute and opened his eyes.
There was nothing but faded silhouettes.
Sasuke exhaled lightly. He raised his hand to his face till he could feel the heat from it, but, at best, he could make out a generic outline drawn by a three-year-old of it. A hand grabbed his and felt a different aura above him.
"What're you doing?"
"I'm blind."
"…Really?" The raspy voice inquired. There was a noticeable waver to the reply.
"I can barely see the outlines of your stupid head."
A soft snicker. "Even blind…you're still…a Bastard."
Another hush passed between them, before Sasuke spoke up again.
"…How…?"
"Huh?"
"How did you figure out that I was trying to die in that battle? I was to be the one to purge humanity. I would've been the winner, in the end, knowing that my revenge would have been complete."
A lethargic pause.
"Dunno what you're talking about…I was just helping out a friend."
"Helping out…?"
"If you had died…there wouldn't have been happiness…most likely, you would've just created the one thing…the one thing you wouldn't have wanted…"
"One thing…"
"Another Uchiha Sasuke…"
Dense calmness passed between them as Sasuke chewed on the blonde's words.
"Naruto…You…"
He felt the air change as something fell insentient beside him.
"Naruto…?"
There was no response.
"Tch…the winner isn't supposed to be the first one unconscious…Dead Last…"
Vaguely, the Uchiha heard the tapping of footsteps in the tree limbs surrounding the two. He sensed familiar auras consisting of those of he had fought and of the Village of Konoha, especially Team Seven. The fatigue from the battle soon swallowed him whole as the footsteps approached them on the grass and then he knew no more.
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Next Time: The Path to Everlasting Bonds
"Without giving up, let's believe and grasp it; someday you'll be fulfilled. Wake up your heart."