Asunder
Chapter Ten
Revenant
"Don't grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form."
― Rumi
The Juichimen Kan'on's left hand enclosed Guren's body, too slow to alter its target, and killed the body. Naruto could swear he saw a faint smile, one of gratitude, on Guren's face. Orochimaru gave him no chance to properly witness her final moments, but Naruto felt glad that he had freed her, and given her peace in the afterlife with Yukimaru.
Naruto barely felt Orochimaru's teeth sink into him. The Juichimen Kan'on grabbed the snake's white body immediately afterward. Spiritual or physical, the statue's chakra would seep into it. It would infest Orochimaru, until he reached the point where it overpowered him. At that point, death was inevitable.
Ever since the bite, however, the battle had shifted to another place. A battle for another price. A battle between wholly different players…
"Three years without visitors, and then he feeds me a snake… oh well, I should not look a gift-horse in the mouth," a deep, dark voice chuckled darkly. "And now that you humans have given him so much hatred, the boy will be mine…"
Orochimaru did not arrive in the realm where he was supposed to be. Where were the fleshy pods, where his past victims resided? Instead, he found himself in a damp and vast hall. Behind the massive prison bars, Orochimaru saw a barred-off door. Roots grew into the room, through that door.
The voice, however, came from another direction. Orochimaru looked up and saw the last creature he'd ever expect to see. "You… but you… that boy!"
"He is Uzumaki Naruto, my living prison, yes," the demon fox replied, amused by Orochimaru's shock. "I do not yet know what you humans did to him, but you've broken him far enough down for me to affect his mind. Finally, I must say. The stronger he grew, the more chakra he came to drain from me. The fool wasn't even aware of it, as his accursed mokuton kekkei genkai completely suppresses my influence, while his heartless attitude didn't help much either. He lacks the hatred for me to turn him. But now that his light has dimmed, now that his heart has been darkened with anger, times will finally become more interesting. Soon, his body will be mine. Soon, his kekkei genkai will be mine. And then nothing in the world is going to stop me!"
With nine tails swirling through the air, and claws capable of flattening mountains, the chakra was so overwhelming that it paralyzed even the likes of Orochimaru. The beast's jaws closed, and Orochimaru of the Sannin was no more.
"Two is already one too many, but having three of you petty humans here would be intolerable…"
"Hurry up Choji!"
The blonde Yamanaka was anything but patient. Tapping her feet on the ground, she barely managed to stop herself from snapping at him. He might have been the one to carry their prisoner and source of information, but it was no excuse for him being so darn tardy.
"Perhaps we should put up camp," Shikamaru yawned. "We've been running all day."
"Some exercise is good for you, you damn sloth!" Ino growled. Choji's tardiness was annoying enough as it was, so she could not endure Shikamaru's laziness on top of it. "We need to keep moving. She'll need to be brought to Konoha. If she dies…"
"I thought you fixed her up," Shikamaru shrugged. "All I'm saying is that keeping up this pace is going to do us more harm than good- especially you, Ino. You were barely recovered from poisoning before we started this mission."
"Ino is right," Asuma stopped Ino from protesting. "The girl might die if we don't reach Tsunade-sama soon enough. And considering how she knows about Naruto being Kunomori, she might have more information as well."
"She's valuable. She might lead us to Naruto-kun!"
"Okay, okay, fine," Shikamaru drawled. "Troublesome woman…"
Ino resisted the urge to hit him, instead focusing her efforts on the injured girl whom they were transporting. A day ago, they had been near the border between Hi no Kuni and the territories of Amegakure. Tsunade had sent them there with hopes that they might find some clue as to where Naruto was going and from where he had come. Retracing his steps had led them to that place. Then, Ino, the one with the sensory abilities among the four, had noticed a battle nearby.
Unable to determine who was fighting, Asuma had agreed to check it out. Ame was highly isolationist, so if this was a chance to learn something about them, it might be worth it. Sadly, they had come too late. While Ino couldn't say what kind of jutsu the assailants had used, they had completely vanished the moment team ten had come close.
All they had found were two dead kunoichi, and one bordering on death. The green-haired girl had feverishly muttered something about Kunomori, Ajisai, Zetsu, and Naruto, before she had lost consciousness altogether. Two of the names sounded alarms with them, but only Ino paid attention to the name of Ajisai. Naruto had mentioned her: Ajisai, Aji-chan. Ino admitted to herself that it was a bit petty that she felt jealous at the way he had uttered that name, but she couldn't help it. And here was this green-haired and heavily injured girl, knowing a combination of three names which only very few could be aware of.
It was unfortunate that they had needed to hurry, but only seconds after they entered the scene, Ino had felt shinobi from the direction of Amegakure approach. Picking up the girl and hurrying away was the only thing they could do.
Being a student of Tsunade, Ino did not have much trouble patching up the superficial wounds of the green-haired girl, but the internal injuries were more difficult to treat. The poor girl had been stabbed numerous times, leaving myriad internal injuries. Out here in the field, Ino did not know where to begin operating on the girl, nor did she have the proper equipment for such a complex surgery.
Hurrying back was the best option. They needed to rescue the girl, and find out what happened to Naruto. How was Akatsuki controlling him? How had he lost his memories? Why was one of the dead kunoichi wearing a ring of his making? Was that a means to control him? Ino wanted to investigate it, but Shikamaru was correct: doing such things should be done in a laboratory; doing it out here would only risk the contamination of what little evidence they had.
It was hard, very hard, but in order to get Naruto back, Ino knew she had to be patient.
They woke up late, considering that the sun was already up. Or at least, Naruto woke up late. Ajisai was already awake. Then again, she always was. Naruto loved to have a good sleep, while Ajisai was always up early. Naked as the day they were born, she lay next to him in their bed. With her leg intertwined with his, her head rested on his chest.
"I overslept again, Aji-chan?"
"I think it is a little past nine, so no," Ajisai had smiled. Naruto could not see it, but he could feel the happiness radiating from her. "You were supposed to leave today, but you weren't given a time, right?"
"I'd rather not leave at all," Naruto had sighed. "It is odd… finally I find a reason to fight, and now I wish I don't have to fight anymore."
"What do you mean, Naruto-kun?"
"You, Aji-chan," he had gently squeezed her butt, getting a surprised squeal from her. "You know, I never had a reason to do anything, never had a purpose. I simply woke up one day, not remembering who I was, or who I had been. I joined Akatsuki because Zetsu and Kakuzu gave me no other option. They were strong, I was weak. I had no idea how to control my kekkei genkai; they were the only ones who could offer guidance. Alone, I would never have found out how to control my element."
"But now you do."
"Yes. Emotions were the key. The heart. For over two years, I have lived an empty life. I had no goals or desires other than being free from what others told me to do. But even that was mere emptiness. I killed people as easily as I drew breath. For money, because Kakuzu told me to, because Zetsu told me to, because Akatsuki wanted it. I was treated like a tool, even though I hated it. But the worst thing is that I actually acted like a tool."
He kissed Ajisai on top of her head, enjoying the smell of her hair. "But all that is in the past. You taught me what life is about, Aji-chan. Before, I was merely wandering in the dark. I never had any attachment to anyone. Unless you'd count the intention to kill as an attachment, I suppose, which makes Kakuzu the closest thing I had to a friend. Before you, I never knew why others would cling to life so desperately. Now I know."
"You're overestimating me, my love. I'm just… me."
"Exactly. But you are overestimating me, Aji-chan. Compared to you, I am nothing but a meaningless tool."
"Flatterer." She moved up, straddling him. Kissing him. "If you're going to leave today, I want more of you. And your 'tool'," she grinned mischievously.
"Even after last night?" Naruto chuckled.
"I'm sore anyway. It's your responsibility to make me feel good again."
The soft sounds of bristling paper woke him from his reminiscences.
"So you've come…" Naruto did not open his eyes, nor move in any other way to acknowledge her arrival.
A tear ran over his cheek. He had never thought that memories could cause such pain. For the first time he wondered whether losing the memories of his first self wasn't actually a blessing. Thinking about Ajisai hurt him. Yet, at the same time, those memories were the most valuable things he had, the last remnants of color in his life.
"What will you do when Pein-sama brings peace to the world?" Ajisai asked innocently. It was clear to Naruto that none of Pein's subordinates really knew the details of his plans. This was not really surprising, considering the chaos Pein wanted to unleash on the world.
"After… after I'm done with Akatsuki," Naruto pondered. They had both washed up and gotten dressed, but after that long night something had fundamentally changed between them. Ajisai had laid down her last defenses, and Naruto, he thought he finally had come to understand why people cherished life. "I 'claimed' you, right? Whatever future I have, it will be shared with you, Aji-chan. After Akatsuki, it will just be you and me happily living our lives in a world without war, I promise."
Their shared future- what a bitter joke that had become.
"Konan, considering how you've sent a clone of yourself all the way here, I trust that what Zetsu told me is true?"
"Zetsu told you?" Konan frowned slightly when she heard the cold voice. "I don't know how or why he knew, but yes… Ajisai and her team…"
"How."
"I can't say for sure," Konan hesitated a little. She looked around, wondering how Naruto filled the entire field with purple flowers. A literal memorial to Ajisai, she presumed, but never had she thought him to be capable of such things. Combining the chakra control to manipulate such delicate flowers with the size of the field… it worried her. "My men reported a group of Konoha nin fleeing the place."
"Why were they there?"
"I wanted to keep an eye on her, of course. I promised you to keep her safe, and-"
"Not them," Naruto growled. "Aji-chan. Why was she at that accursed place?!"
"…"
"Did you send her into a trap?" Naruto's voice went cold. He was trained to be an emotionless bounty hunter, but his old indifferent attitude paled in comparison to his current rage.
"Trap? No!" Konan blurted out. The subject made her feel conflicted. Thinking about it was bad enough, never mind talking. "Pein… I was worried he might want to use Ajisai."
"You are expecting me to believe that 'Tenshi-sama' disagreed with 'Kami-sama'?"
"I once knew love too," Konan admitted. "I too felt this… pain."
"Konan… if you, Pein, or anyone within Amegakure has something to do with her death," Naruto turned to the woman, the look in his eyes sending a chill up her spine. "If Aji-chan died because of you people, no god or angel can help Amegakure."
"You should not utter such words, Kunomori-san."
"Why should I care?" Naruto laughed bitterly. "Because I fear for my survival? Because I care for a future of this world? The one person that I cared about was taken away from me. I don't care what happens to me, Konan, but heed my words: her death will not go unpunished."
"It saddens me to see that the boy whom Ajisai loved would fall so deeply."
"Fall," Naruto's bitter smile evaporated. "Fall, you say? 'Pain would force people to evolve', is what your beloved 'god' said. Pain means nothing, Konan. You know it, and now I know it too. Pain is meaningless without something that transcends such a foolish notion. Without love, no pain could be felt. Randomly spreading pain will not change a thing. Fear will not change a thing. Humans can only evolve through pain if, and only if, they feel love. Ajisai taught me to care, to love, and now she unwillingly taught me pain. So go… go back to Ame… go and tell your god that I have evolved. Tell him I see the folly of his path."
Konan almost lost her footing when Naruto elevated from the ground. A plateau grew, lifting him up. A plateau that changed shape, until if formed the top of a giant's head: a giant whose head was crowned with eleven smaller heads.
"I see, I hear, I feel," Naruto announced. "All the suffering around me… go to your god, Konan. Tell him that I follow his plans. For now. But if he has anything to do with what happened to Ajisai, I promise you that I will be coming for him. And you. And all of Amegakure. I will come, and death will follow in my wake."
"Is this your rebellion?"
"What would it take to destroy a god, Konan?" Naruto turned away from her. The eleven heads twisted, revealing their true appearance to her. They were not the faces of gods. They were demons, born in suffering. Naruto mastered mokuton through love, but ironically he had learned its ultimate form through suffering: the Juichimen Kan'on, the one who'd bring salvation. Bring salvation was exactly what Naruto would do, first of all by eradicating those who murdered Ajisai from this plain of existence. Their sins weighed heavily.
"Whatever future I have, it will be shared with you, Aji-chan."
Naruto knew that he was already beyond salvation, at least in life. Perhaps death would bring him peace.
"You will be getting in trouble, Kunomori-kun is very angry. Very angry indeed. Losing that girl he loved might be enough to push him over the edge."
"It is nothing I cannot deal with," Pein said indifferently. Zetsu met Nagato's Deva Path, Yahiko's former body, just outside Amegakure. Nagato did not allow Zetsu to enter the high tower in which he resided, instead meeting him outside like this. Whatever Zetsu was scheming, Nagato did not think it to be necessary to let Zetsu know more than it already did.
"Perhaps," Black Zetsu remained perfectly calm. Pein had huge chakra reserves, yes, but Zetsu had also seen the angered Naruto destroy Orochimaru. "But in his anger, Kunomori isn't some kind of rampaging beast. He remained calm, and completely outclassed Orochimaru. The man is dead, really dead; as dead as a parrot. Otogakure is a total loss, especially after Kunomori destroyed the entire main base. Kunomori-kun did not leave anyone alive, and with no cursed seals on anyone alive, Orochimaru will not return. But we brought the body, according to the wishes of Madara-sama."
"I see," Pein narrowed his eyes. "So that is why you snuck into the basement of my tower."
"You noticed that? As expected of our leader."
Not knowing whether Zetsu was making fun of him or not, Pein simply dismissed the plant-like man and went back into his village. Kunomori was not a threat to him, Nagato realized. Mokuton or not, Kyuubi or not, the rinnegan would subdue the boy. Especially now that he was busy preparing his trump card against the boy, Nagato knew he would be victorious. He had to be.
Deva Path, the body that once had been Yahiko, was Nagato's preferred body to control. Bringing justice to the world through the body of his deceased friend felt like the right thing to do. Just like Hanzo had looked in disbelief, when the man he had killed stood in front of him, so would the world suffer at the hands of those who had been killed in senseless violence. His new Chikushodo, his Animal Path, would be no exception to that rule.
Nagato turned his attention to the process of realigning the girl's body, so that the body would be able to endure his chakra, his dojutsu, and his chakra receivers. Only to find Konan standing next to the table, moving her hand through the girl's purple hair.
"Konan, you have returned."
"What are you doing, Nagato?"
Again, Nagato saw that peculiar look on her face. Why was she so deviant when it came to this girl? "Even in death, this girl will bring peace to the world."
"Are you planning on provoking him?"
"A battle with Kunomori has always been inevitable. He must perish for Akatsuki to succeed."
"Nagato… I thought Akatsuki was striving for peace," Konan frowned even more than before. "Why would you seek such a pointless confrontation? I've seen him, I saw his power. Even for you, Kunomori-san will not be easy to defeat."
Nagato's weak real body pointed at Ajisai's corpse. "Which is why I use her. It would seem, though, that you still haven't seen the truth about Kunomori. Or should I call him Uzumaki Naruto?"
"Uzumaki?"
"Konoha's jinchuriki did not perish. The Kyuubi is not going to reform. Zetsu and Kakuzu did something to him, changed him. Even the boy does not seem to know the truth. But in front of my eyes, the truth could not be concealed. Why did you think that I brought him here so he could train? The Kyuubi is the most powerful of the bijuu, so studying its jinchuriki before a confrontation seemed wise."
"Did you kill Ajisai?"
"Why would I eliminate a prefect tool like her? She would have been far more valuable alive," Nagato frowned. "If not for you, I would have kept her within Amegakure, making sure that she would be within my grasp the moment Kunomori, or Naruto, would have to be dealt with. The fool falling in love with her only made capturing the Kyuubi easier, disregarding the plans which Zetsu had. After all, Zetsu knows the truth, yet neglected to share it."
"So Zetsu eliminated her," Konan deduced. "Because Ajisai became a threat to his control over Kuno… Naruto."
"Some unidentifiable tissue was found near the camp where they first engaged in combat. Considering the lack of footprints leading towards and from the grounds, it is safe to presume that whoever killed Ajisai and Fuyo were not the Konoha shinobi, whose traces only led to and from the place where the kunoichi were killed. Those footprints did not indicate that they were involved in the battle. Nor can I see how they would have an interest in killing her."
"He was their jinchuriki…"
"True, but I highly doubt they would be aware of that. I doubt anyone but me would even notice the faint chakra traces of the Kyuubi- that is why I kept silent. Whatever Zetsu is planning, I will be able to defeat the jinchuriki. Uncovering the plot would only lead to unnecessary complications."
"You're deceiving him!"
"He agreed with my plan to bring peace," Nagato droned. "He said that, even if he did not like it, it was the only way to prevent all this from repeating. Leaving him unaware would be merciful."
"Nagato… you cannot expect… if you keep playing with them, you will have to face the consequences," Konan grimaced. "Neither one would appreciate these manipulations."
"They will both have to understand. Without sacrifice there will never be peace."
"How is it sacrifice when they cannot choose?" Konan retorted. "And what you are doing to Ajisai… we both knew that Yahiko would not mind, that he understood the importance of our cause. But she does not deserve this."
"She would have been honored to play a part in bringing peace to the world."
"You using her corpse to kill Naruto is not what she would have wanted. It is an insult, not an honor. But it seems you do not understand," Konan said, her disappointment clear to be heard, before turning around to walk away. "Naruto is powerful. It begins to make sense to me, now that I know that he is a jinchuriki. Even if it was only for a second, I felt the true depth of his chakra reserves, and it was overwhelming. Angering him like this will only make him more difficult to defeat. What you turn Ajisai into; it will force him over the edge."
"He might overpower one or two of my paths, and hurt Pein more than any warrior before him, but against all six, even he will fail, just like all those who preceded him."
"For your sake, I hope you are right. But for Ajisai's sake, I cannot involve myself in your battle against him."
Nagato wondered why Konan was so obstinate about this matter. Was it because her history with Yahiko, that she sympathized so much with the dead girl? 'How pointless. Ajisai will shake Naruto, giving me the opportunity to take him down.'
He continued working on the corpse. The procedure to make it compatible with his chakra was a complex one. In essence, it required him to alter her genetic structure. After all, her tenketsu would have to deal with a completely different source of chakra, one which was vastly more potent than what the girl was capable of enduring in life.
Whether Konan was disgusted by it or not, Nagato would continue his plans. She would see the wisdom of his decision eventually, once she no longer blinded herself with these petty emotions and opened her eyes to the bitter truth of the world.
'Love is irrelevant. Only pain endures.'
'Pain is irrelevant, only love endures,' Naruto realized. For some odd reason, he believed Konan. He trusted that she had nothing to do with Ajisai's death. That did not mean Pein was not somehow involved, though. There was no way, Naruto believed, that Ajisai was a traitor like Zetsu had claimed. Was it possible that Zetsu had somehow falsified those recordings? But to what end? Those clones from Zetsu were far too weak to harm her, and Naruto could not imagine the vegetable cooperating with Konoha- or Pein, for that matter.
'No, it seems unlikely that Pein would harm her. If it were Pein, he would have made sure that Ajisai stayed in Ame, where he could use her as a hostage in order to control me. Konan was right about that. Even if she was reluctant to admit it…'
Naruto could not say he really understood Konan. Why she seemed to pick his side, rather than Pein's, was something that confused him. He almost felt the regret in her, when she told him that Ajisai had died. Naruto guessed that she too lost the person she loved, which made her understand his pain, which had been the reason why she sympathized with Ajisai earlier. It had all been for nothing, though.
"Whatever future I have, it will be shared with you, Aji-chan."
Naruto sighed, and focused on his chakra again. He could feel Kakuzu, who was still in the cabin Naruto created yesterday. He was probably still pissed at him, Naruto guessed, not that Naruto cared. He had wanted to properly bury Fu and Guren, and after he had done so, Naruto had grown as many flowers as he could. It was a memorial to three girls, one whose life he had taken, one whose end he had failed to avert, and one who had died due to him. Guilt for Fu, regret for Guren, and a deep and all-consuming pain for Ajisai, that was what Naruto felt.
The pain and anger had awoken a new source of power, and that was why Naruto had been meditating ever since he had buried Fu and Guren. He needed to find that source, before the chaos would unfold. If Kakuzu had taught him one thing that Naruto had taken to heart, it was that a shinobi should thoroughly understand his power before entering combat against strong opponents.
Naruto had his own reserves, a disproportionally large amount of chakra, when compared to other shinobi. Only some of the S-ranked shinobi, like Kakuzu, Kisame, and Pein, could compare to him in terms of chakra, because he could, beyond his own chakra, draw energy from nature, which expanded his reserves even more. Kakuzu now understood the difference, now avoiding a direct confrontation with Naruto. It amused him, knowing that his 'sensei' was now too scared to engage him in direct combat.
However, Naruto knew that the power he had shown against Orochimaru, the power which had frightened Kakuzu, was not merely a combination of his own power and that of nature. There had been a third source.
Closing his eyes, Naruto dove into his own mind, mindscape, or whatever it was supposed to be. Naruto had met the source of that power there before. It had not been an illusion, cast by that Yamanaka girl who had claimed to know him. That thing, that dark version of himself, had been something far more sinister.
And if he wasn't mistaken…
"So you have come."
"After the battle against Orochimaru, how could I ignore you any longer?" Naruto glared at his shadow-self. "Why don't you stop screwing around with your stupid riddles, and tell me who you are."
"I am you," the shadow laughed.
"Yeah, like I'd buy that," Naruto shook his head. "Fuck that. You're not going to answer anything. I have to go out of this room, into the hall which that girl mentioned."
"That would be interesting. You are ready to enter your darkness, your personal realm of fade, I am sure."
"The first four and seventh are sealed, the eight resides in Kumogakure, and the sixth is wandering somewhere in Kiri… judging by the chakra you try to hide, you must be the Kyuubi."
"You are Uzumaki Naruto," the shadow faded away, his laughter lingering long after he left.
"Yeah, but who is Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto scowled. The ominous words which the shadow had spoken were something that still troubled Naruto, about how he would become someone whom Ajisai would not love. Naruto had no real problems with dying, not anymore, but once his soul went to the Pure Land, Naruto did not want to reunite with Ajisai after having changed into something she would not recognize.
But vengeance, that would be something she would understand. For retribution, Naruto needed power. He was no fool, he had noticed that something was off about his other self, and he was well aware that this second source of chakra was highly unnatural. Aside from that, when he had gotten angry, he had subconsciously drawn in so much of that chakra that his kekkei genkai had not filtered it. The only comparable chakra which Naruto had felt was that of the bijuu he had encountered.
Moving out of the hall with the dense forest, which led to his connection to nature itself, Naruto walked through an odd sewer-like hall. It was completely overgrown with vines and roots, but Naruto could see strong metal tubes underneath- perhaps to transport water, he could not tell. Some doors were to be seen, some leading to empty places, some with strange mirrors, and one filled with images of Ajisai. He had been forced to leave this room quickly, his breath irregular and his heart beating wildly, his grief threatening to overwhelm him.
He knew that if his theory was right, and he truly was Konoha's lost jinchuriki, he could not confront the bijuu with such a glaring weakness in his resolve. Such an unknown factor would be lethal during his battle against Konoha.
"I suppose it now makes sense why Zetsu tried to hide me from Pein, or at least my true identity. Not to mention that it explains why Zetsu bothered to save my life. If I had not been a jinchuriki, he would've just eaten me, just like all the other corpses he encounters…"
Naruto arrived at a door where the roots and vines were concentrated the strongest. He felt something ominous and massive hiding behind it, which made him wonder why he had never felt it before. Perhaps it was true that his mokuton suppressed the chakra of a bjiuu. This barrier in front of the door must have blocked off the beast's chakra, filtering what came through.
'Perhaps that Yamanaka girl somehow upset the balance. Perhaps the Kyuubi deliberately stopped hiding. Who knows? He must not be too pleased that I'm aiding the capture of his kin,' Naruto frowned. 'Which must mean that he hates me, and wants to lure me into some kind of trap. Probably taking over my body, or attempting to break free. I guess this will be interesting…'
The vines and roots moved away at his command, and Naruto stepped into the greatest hall of them all, one containing prison bars larger than Naruto had ever seen. They were easily as thick and high as the largest naturally-grown trees which Naruto had seen. Behind the bars, a massive creature was glaring at him. Nine mighty tails waved through the air, and the orange-furred creature let out a howl with temporarily deafened the boy.
It was the Kyuubi no Yoko.
A rain of blood flowed down when her throat was slit. Fuyo fell down, gurgling something inaudible before the light left her eyes forever. The ambush continued. She did not know what was going on. The four that had ambushed them earlier were suddenly backed up by a dozen white man-shaped creatures. Ajisai's panda summon had already fallen, and Ajisai herself did not look much better. Then, something pierced her back. In a crippling pain, she felt the power disappear from her legs, and blood flowed down. It was odd, she noted vaguely, that the warm liquid felt so cold on her skin. Or was it because she felt cold? She heard Ajisai scream something, but it all vanished into darkness when numerous stabs pierced her body. The pain, the sounds of battle, everything vanished.
With a gasp she woke up, a bright light stinging in her eyes. She groaned, tried to move her arms, but found that she could not.
"Do not be foolish, girl," a female voice resounded. The thunderous sound made her cringe. What a headache she had! Even her ill-fated encounters with alcohol had not caused such pain, she noted. She tried to talk, but only some weird kind of croak escaped her mouth. Under any other circumstance she might have laughed at the sound of her own voice, but not now. Not when her friends…
"Wer… where… am… I?"
"Konoha," the same female voice answered. She blinked a few more times, slowly adjusting to the light. Next to her bed – she felt shocked when she noticed that her arms were tied – she saw a blonde woman standing, with a quizzical look.
"Leaf? Why?"
"You are our prisoner," the woman glanced over the restraints. "So, we will be the ones who ask the questions. Ino?"
A blonde girl came forth, bowing to the woman known as 'Tsunade-sama'. Wasn't that the Hokage? She uttered something about a jutsu, but Tsunade shook her head in denial.
"You spoke about Kunomori," the younger blonde turned to her. "Who are you, how do you know him?"
"Kunomori?" she blinked. "Why-"
"Answer our questions."
After a pause, she began. "My name is Suiren, I am a kunoichi from Amegakure. Hanzo-sama has an agreement with your village about-"
"We don't care about Hanzo," Tsunade cut her off. "Tell us, Suiren, how do you know Kunomori?"
"…"
"Ino, I would prefer not to hand this girl over to Torture and Interrogation, that is why I brought you here," Tsunade turned to the younger blonde. "We need answers, one way or the other. Your father trained you well, so I expect you to do your job, regardless of any personal feelings."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama."
"I would rather not involve other people, Suiren-san," Tsunade continued. "Ino heard you talk about Kunomori, and his real name. This is not something I want to spread needlessly, but you will have to understand that if Ino cannot get the answers out of you, I will hand you over to someone who can."
"Why would Konoha be interested in Kunomori-sama?"
"Sama?" the younger blonde, Ino, blinked. "Is that because he is part of Akatsuki?"
Suiren did not want to talk. She wanted to get out. She wanted to know what happened to Ajisai. "Where is Ajisai?"
"You were the only one who was alive when my team found you," Ino answered. "The other two have died. Shinobi from Ame were approaching, so we could only take you with us, after I quickly closed your wounds."
She gulped, trying to swallow away her tears. Showing weakness in front of the enemy was dangerous. But Suiren struggled. Knowing that she lost both her friends was difficult, very difficult, to process. "I barely knew Kunomori-sama."
"Yet you knew his real name."
"…I do."
"Naruto-kun came from Konoha, do you know that?" Ino glared. "I know that you know him. When you were barely conscious, you blurted out his name. So it is pointless to try to hide it."
"I only learned his name when we were ambushed," Suiren sighed. Her nose was itching, but her arms were tied. It was odd how her entire body was so ridiculously sensitive right now. What kind of medication had they forced into her? "I only know Kunomori-sama a little."
"I don't care how well you know him, I simply want to know what you know," Ino impatiently tapped her foot on the ground. "I can use my Shintenshin no Jutsu on you, and you are very weak right now. Trying to hide your knowledge from me is pointless."
"And yet you are a novice," Suiren smiled wryly. "But if Ajisai and Fuyo both have died… I see no reason to hide what I know. Kunomori-sama came to Amegakure to train. He has the mokuton kekkei genkai, and from what I know, he needed a place where he could train without being disturbed."
"Why Ame? Why would Hanzo involve himself with Akatsuki? No, he wouldn't even submit to them, which must mean…" Tsunade paused. When Suiren remained silent, Tsunade realized what was going on. "So Akatsuki followed the will of the organization that died at Hanzo's hands. Hanzo is dead, and Akatsuki governs Amegakure…"
"Ajisai was assigned to be Kunomori-sama's attendant," Suiren purposely avoided talking about Pein. Whatever Konoha knew, Suiren was not planning to be the one who spoiled the secrets of Kami-sama. "Ajisai was the one who knew him best."
"How well did she know Naruto-kun?" Ino narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Well enough to know his name," Suiren chuckled weakly. "Not sure why he kept it a secret. Perhaps because that Zetsu guy was targeting him as well… I do not know. Ajisai knew something about Kunomori, which was why Zetsu attacked us."
"How well did she know him?" Ino repeated.
"She is dead now," Suiren scowled. "What does it matter?"
"It matters to me!"
"Ino…"
"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama," the girl sighed. "Please, Suiren, I need to know."
"He claimed her," Suiren frowned. "Kunomori, or Naruto, took her as his wife-to-be." She felt confused when she saw the younger blonde react, and then realized that if he had been from Konoha… "You loved him before he lost his memories, I take it?"
"Naruto-kun was my… yes… sort of… boyfriend… I think," Ino's lips trembled for a moment, but she quickly got hold of her emotions again. "Tell me more."
"Well, only Ajisai knew his name. When those disguised clones attacked us, impersonating you and your team, one of them uttered his name. That was when Ajisai said that Kunomori was actually Naruto," Suiren recalled. "It was also when she said that our attacker was actually someone called 'Zetsu'. This Zetsu, whatever it was, talked about Ajisai being a threat, and declared that it wanted to manipulate Naruto. I don't know why, but Zetsu wants something different than what Akatsuki wants."
"Internal discord," Tsunade grumbled. "So they are really using Naruto. I knew it…"
"Naruto-kun said he had no memories," Ino looked at Suiren. "What do you know about that?"
"He was cold and distant at first, but seemed to get a little more approachable later on. Fuyo and I helped Ajisai a few times, when he wanted to experiment with new jutsu, but other than that we did not speak very often. He is someone vastly superior to chunin like us. Even you, and you're the Hokage, aren't you?" Suiren looked at Tsunade.
"That I am. It is not very surprising that Naruto is stronger than me. Him being the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi makes his chakra reserves insane by default," Tsunade shrugs. "And him mastering the wood release makes him even more formidable. Tell me, how does Akatsuki control him?"
"I do not know."
"We can always get the answers from you, girl."
"Whether you believe me or not doesn't matter," Suiren smiled softly. "He will come. He loved Ajisai, and if he thinks that you people killed her… well, whether I die now or when he annihilates the village, it matters little."
"Why are you so eager to die?" Ino frowned.
"Because I lost my family, and now my friends. And Amegakure is not very forgiving to the shinobi that get captured. I am already dead. And I'd rather not be tortured in Ame again. They'll want to figure out what secrets I might have leaked and I'd rather die than… well, if you patched me up, you've seen how I look."
"I find it hard to believe that you think one person will be able to defeat an entire village. Sure, he was able to effortlessly defeat two squads, but he will not get past us that easily."
"You only say that because you don't know him," Suiren chuckled weakly. "Ajisai said he grew stronger when the two of them fell in love. She said emotions made his kekkei genkai stronger… imagine what his anger will do."
"But it is because someone else manipulated him," Tsunade retorted. "Zetsu."
"Do you think he will believe you over Zetsu?"
"Will he believe you, when you tell him the truth?" Ino remarked sharply. "If Naruto-kun knows you, would he believe what you just told us?"
"Who knows? He can be ruthless, although Ajisai seems to have slowly changed him. Regardless, he didn't join Akatsuki just because he's monstrously strong," Suiren tried to gauge the two blondes. Were they toying with her? Were they serious? "I think he once said he used to be a bounty hunter."
"What else are you hiding?"
"Nothing, Hokage-dono," Suiren wanted to shrug, but in her position it was rather difficult. "Not about Kunomori-sama, at least. I can tell you a few things about his skill, how he can summon a wood dragon, and those terrifying smaller human-like puppets… but if I am perfectly honest, I would only tell you not to engage him. He is too strong for you."
"Tsunade-sama," Ino looked at her teacher, who was pondering on what to do. "If Suiren-san is telling the truth, wouldn't it be better if someone escorted her to intercept Naruto-kun before he attacks Konoha? Considering what we've heard, it seems unlikely that Zetsu hasn't told him about the ambush, and Zetsu will shove the blame on Konoha."
"And you volunteer team ten," Tsunade grimaced. "It is dangerous, Ino. Too dangerous for me to sanction an official mission. Besides, if he thinks that your team killed the girl he loved, he might just kill you before you even get a chance to talk to him."
"Kunomori-sama would be able to sense my chakra," Suiren supplied. "But if an entire team escorted me, he might draw the wrong conclusion…"
"I see… so you want me to set you free?" Tsunade smile wryly. "No, you are too valuable as a source of information. We will wait for Naruto here. Ino, I will leave it to you to heal her to the point where you can safely inspect her mind. After that, report to my office. We will need all the information we can get before the other kage arrive here."
Tsunade left the office before Ino could reply. Unfortunately for her, as she would have realized that Ino's expression spelled trouble. As unreasonable as Tsunade could be when it concerned Naruto, Ino could be even worse. Ino believed Suiren, believed that someone was manipulating Naruto. She had been patient enough. After years of sadness, months of uncertainty, she wasn't going to waste more time. Not even a summit of the Gokage would change her mind about that!
Suiren gulped when she saw the mad glint in the blonde's eyes.
Recklessness, perhaps was a trait shared by more blondes. Tsunade risked an attack, but knew that it was the best way to unite the kage against a common enemy- an alliance would be an unprecedented thing in their conflict-torn world. At the same time, Ino defied Tsunade. But Naruto… Naruto stood in front of the mightiest of the nine bijuu.
"Hello, Kyuubi," he said flippantly. "Fancy seeing you down here…"
"It has been a while, brat," the fox towered over the teenage boy, glaring angrily at the blond. "So you have finally found your way here. I see you are not surprised that I am here."
"That stunt of yours with that shadow-version of me wasn't exactly subtle. Did you think I would not realize that its chakra was exactly like that of a jinchuriki?" Naruto grunted. "So this is why Zetsu used me."
"What better to use, than an idiot like you?"
"Said by the idiot who got himself sealed within a child," Naruto deadpanned.
"You know nothing about that, brat. It wasn't like I was given a choice."
"Neither was I… and yet you called me an idiot. Listen, Kyuubi, why don't we just cut the crap and move on to what you really want from me?"
"Freedom."
"Extraction kills the jinchuriki, and I have no ambition to die. At least, not until after I avenged Aji-chan. So I can't help you with that," Naruto drawled. "But what was that nonsense that you said about being the real me?"
"It was not me who said that, brat. It was you… the real you."
"Indeed," shadow-Naruto stepped forth from behind the prison bars. While designed to imprison a giant like the Kyuubi, and regular human being could easily pass through.
"I would suggest that you stop those petty tricks, Kyuubi," Naruto growled lowly. "I have no patience to deal with more of this shit."
"Don't worry. Ol' Furry isn't the one who controls me. I cannot die, dumbass. I already told you. The heart, separate, keeps life. I'm the real you, the true self that lies at the bottom of your heart, in that faded past where your memories have been hidden."
With one movement of his hand, branches bound the shadow version of him. Naruto glared at his 'clone' as he walked closer. The Kyuubi remained silent, seemingly interested by the scene in front of it. "Riddles. I'm fucking sick of people trying to manipulate me. Especially when they are as weak as you are."
"Strength has little to do with who I am… what do you think you are doing, though?" the clone suddenly broke the restraints. "I am the hatred you hold dear. I am your darkness! And you attack me? Fool! Why do you think I led you here? That useless old fox has an overabundance of hatred which I can use. You have hatred that I can use. In this place, I can never be defeated!"
A second set of branches shot out, at Naruto's command. "The real me. My darkness. It is like listening to Pein all over again. Morons like you should just shut the hell up," Naruto raged. "What I do is not rooted in hatred, it is not rooted in darkness," Naruto's hand forced itself into the shadow's chest, piercing the flesh of his copy. To his surprise, the clone was actually solid, in spite of its appearance. "It is rooted in love. If you hold so much importance in your heart, then I'll tear it out of you!"
"Love. Heh, you think you can beat me because you're doing it for love. Misguided fool. You just granted me my victory."
The shadow wavered, coughing out blood, and then disappeared. The heart waits, in the fade. Naruto felt as if a sword pierced his heart. Images, sounds, smells… all kinds of impressions filled his head, overflowing it, until it felt like his head was going to explode.
'The limbs, the torso, the head… all are here. All are here, to meet the heart. You have restored that which was cut asunder. You… are rewarded.'
He was crying. Why was he crying? Oh, yes, he had bumped his knee. Some blood was running out of the ugly scrape. It stung and it hurt, so he cried. Worried turquoise eyes entered his field of vision.
"Naruto-kun? Are you okay? What happened?"
"It hurts, Ino-chan," he heard himself whine. Not the fall, but the words.
"Kaaaaa-chan! Naruto-kun fell! He's bleeding," the blonde called out. "Don't worry, Naruto-kun," the girl turned to him. "Kaa-chan will fix your knee in no time."
The four-year-old boy sniffed, but nodded in agreement. The idea that his 'aunt' would come and help comforted him.
Author's notes
And thus Ajisai became Chikushōdō, the Animal Path. Whether she is aware of this or not, she will meet Naruto again… Oh, in case you wondered why Naruto created such a field of purple flowers: "Ajisai" is the Japanese term for the Hydrangea macrophylla.
Would you believe that the final scene predates the very first chapter of this story?
Chapter beta'd by Illuminated, who has completed all of his holiday shopping.
-Ziltoid-