-1Chapter 12 - Going Home. OK, for starters I have to apologize for taking so long to do this chapter. Recently I've really lost a lot of motivation, been really busy, and to be quite honest, the recent manga chapters have taken some of the wind out the sails of my story. But, for the sake of the dozen or so people that actually read this, I'm gonna try and finish what I started. So here it is, Chapter 12.
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The fires at the epicenter of the disaster continued to burn for nearly a full week as the intensity of the heat caused the ground to burn so hot that it become self-sustaining. The conflagration continued to burn into the earth until the flames reached a layer of mineral that would not burn under those conditions. Combined with the driving rains that had continued the entire while, the flames were eventually extinguished. Once it had all come to an end, the crater was almost a quarter-mile deep and nearly two miles in diameter, perfectly round in its shape. The disaster had also overtaken two mountain streams that ran through the area. In time, they resumed their flow once breaking through the landscaped wall that had been created by the pileup of destroyed trees at the edges of the chakra wave's area of affect.
As the streams flowed into the massive crater, the basin slowly began to fill. It would take another two seasons before the first runoff would breach the edges of the lake and a new river would form. The lake would eventually be named by Gamabunta as the "Eye of Uzumaki". He said that the name had too much significance to be ignored. First of all, was that the word Uzumaki means whirlpool which is usually defined as the meeting of opposing water currents, just as Naruto and the Kyuubi fought for control during the ritual. Secondly, was the obvious significance to Naruto's name and how the perfectly round blue lake resembled Naruto's own deep blue eyes. The third meaning was Naruto's own. He said it was meant as a tribute to the Uzumaki clan and how they were nearly wiped out. He said that it was to ensure that the memory of his clan would never be completely forgotten as long as the lake existed.
The river that overflowed from the river became known as Myouboku's Tear. The significance was of course a reference to how the lake was referred to as an eye and how the river ran from that eye. From a high enough distance, the lake looked like an eye on the mountain and the river ran from its edge like a string of tears.
It was almost a month before Naruto first opened his eyes and awoke from the comatose state that the traumatic ritual had placed him in. It would be almost another two weeks before he was able to fully recover his strength and resume his training.
First of course, was his new mental conditioning that Gamabunta carefully oversaw. The fusion ritual all but destroyed the Kyuubi as a separate entity that existed within Naruto. Even though Naruto won the battle of wills, the Kyuubi became a part of his own consciousness. Gamabunta was careful to make sure that Naruto completely understood what affect this would have on him. The greatest impact to his psyche would be the affect that the pure maliciousness of the Kyuubi would make itself known in how it would affect Naruto's own emotions. If Naruto wasn't careful to control his emotions, something that had thus far been his own greatest enemy, his anger could be driven out of control. The pure wrath of the Kyuubi in his psyche could force his emotional state out of control and he could very easily be driven into a murderous rage.
This affect to his emotions would also become more apparent the more heavily that he drew upon his demonic powers. Before the fusion, the limits of power that he could borrow from the Kyuubi was dictated by the will of the Kyuubi. Now that the power was his own, he would dictate how he used that power all of his own will. Even though his control over the Kyuubi's chakra was very good before the ritual, the fact that the demonic chakra at his disposal was nearly infinite now made the task of limiting his demonic chakra usage immeasurably more difficult. It took nearly another full two months of mass shadow-clone training before he became able to gain a decent amount of demonic chakra control. However, once he called upon more than a very carefully controlled amount of demonic chakra, he would become subject to the full force of the demonic chakra. Combined with the impact to his emotional state, this little or full force usage of the demonic chakra made him even more prone to frenzied states. This was the biggest curse and danger that this newly merged state would have on him. He became infinitely more dangerous to those around him if things got out of control.
The other change to Naruto's body was how his chakra system had been affected. Gamabunta was most afraid of this potential result as he had no way of knowing exactly how the ritual would affect Naruto. The first possibility would be that Naruto's and the Kyuubi's chakra would merge completely. The drastic change to his chakra's nature would essentially force Naruto to completely relearn the ninja arts. The second possibility would be that Naruto would retain two separate sources of chakra. The later was the result of the ritual. In time, Naruto became able to utilize each kind of chakra independently and eventually, even use them simultaneously. In the eyes of a Byakugan user, it would appear that he had two separate but overlapping chakra circulatory systems and nearly quadruple the normal amount of Tenketsu points.
Last of all, was how the fusion had impacted his physical form. Under normal circumstances, the only physical indicator was the constant presence of the new seal on his back. The original Reaper Seal had been destroyed for the most part as a result of Naruto impaling himself on his clawed hand. As the wound healed, the seal was not regenerated as it had no purpose anymore. Later on, Naruto had the original Reaper Seal design tattooed back onto his belly for reasons of sentimentality and as a reminder of the way he used to be.
If he limited his usage of the Kyuubi chakra, his physical appearance remained unchanged. However, when he unleashed the full force of the demonic chakra, this could not be further from the truth. His voice would deepen and resemble the dual voices of the Kyuubi and his own scream, both speaking simultaneously. As before when he pulled on his Kyuubi chakra, he grew long fangs. This remained largely the case afterward as well. The whites of his eyes would disappear altogether and be replaced by an empty field of black. His striking blue eyes would be replaced by a malevolent burning-red iris. The whisker-like scars on his cheeks would appear deeper and darker than normal. His hair would also change as large tufts of his hair would grow out and stand on end to resemble large ears like those of a fox. This was of course in addition to the nine large braids that grew from his head, reminiscent of the nine tails of the fox. Lastly were his hands and feet. His fingers would grow slightly longer and grow long black claws at the tips of his fingers. The claws appeared at the ends of his toes as well.
When Naruto assumed this form, he swore that he could hear the whispers of the Kyuubi trying to drive him into a frenzy. He had to accept that the Kyuubi was always going to be there in his mind and that he would have no choice but to learn how to ignore those whispers.
Gamabunta warned Naruto that he must be most careful to safeguard the secret of his fusion with the Kyuubi. As far as the rest of the world was to be concerned, the Reaper Seal had been reinforced by the new seal and he had trained extensively in his time on the mountain. Gamabunta had known enough of the human world to predict that if they knew about Naruto's fusion with the demon, they would treat him as a demon altogether. This was the secret that Naruto was cursed to bare for the rest of his life. The secret of who and what he now was.
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At long last, the day had come that Naruto both feared and longed for. It had been three full years since that day that he witnessed the death of Kakashi and was told about the death of Jiraiya. Three years since he began an unparalleled training regimen under the tutelage of the toads. Three years since he had donned his Konoha Leaf Protector over his old orange and black uniform. Three years since he had been home. Finally, this day had come. He was going home; home to Konoha.
In those three years, he had matured beyond his years, and become immeasurably stronger than before. Now eighteen years old, his arsenal of jutsus was immense as was his capacity to use them. His mind had become far sharper than before as his instinctual sense for combat strategy had been honed like the edge of a fine sword. Gamakichi made for him a new uniform to wear for his return. It was the black knee-length pants and long-sleeved black shirt. Under the shirt, he wore a mesh short-sleeved shirt for a layer of protection. He had the same forehead protector that was set into the long black headband that tied around his head. Gamakichi also made for him the long white coat similar in appearance to the coat of his father, Namikaze Minato.
He packed the last of his belongings into his pack as he slung it over his shoulder and walked toward the entrance of the cave with his toad friends, teachers, and family at his back. As he reached the opening, he stopped and turned around to face the toads. Gamabunta, Gamakichi, and Gamakiri had all gathered to see Naruto off. Naruto looked as if he was struggling to make the right words for the occasion.
"Just go Naruto." Snickered Gamabunta with a smile on his face. "It's not like you wont ever see us again. If you ever have the need to return, just use the special summoning scroll that I made for you and you will return here. Now go. Konoha is waiting for you."
Without any words, Naruto simply smiled and turned around to face the panoramic scene of the mountainside below. He formed a short series of hand seals and with a wisp of red, smoky chakra, he disappeared.
He reappeared at the memorial site outside of Konoha. Before he set foot inside the gates of Konoha, he had two people to visit first. First off, he walked toward the memorial stone that had been placed for Jiraiya. "I'm sorry that I couldn't have been there for you sensei. I know that I'm the reason you went to investigate Akatsuki in the first place. I can't help but feel that I was the reason you died. I'm sure you had your own amount of reasons to do what you did, but as far as I'm concerned, you died for me and I will never forget what you did. I can only hope to honor your memory by seeing to it that the one that killed you will be brought to justice at my hand. I will miss you sensei." He ended his time at Jiraiya's grave by placing his old frog change purse at the foot of the stone with a small smile on his face.
After that, he walked toward Kakashi's memorial stone. As he looked at the stone, he was overcome by emotion. He fell to a single knee as his eyes welled up with tears. "I'm so sorry sensei." Words escaped him any further as the flood of emotion prevented him from speaking any further.
Finally, he calmed himself enough to speak again. He also knew what could happen if he failed to keep his emotions in check. As his feeling of sadness began to overtake him, he could feel the presence of the Kyuubi make itself known as the demonic influence tried to gain a foothold on his state of mind. " I wish that I could have saved you sensei. I wasn't strong enough then, but I do believe that I'm strong enough now. I think that you would be proud to see the progress that I've made. I know that you wouldn't have approved of what I had to do to gain that strength, but I had no choice. My life is dedicated now to protecting those that I love. I finally feel like I understand how Sasuke feels about his brother. That kind of dedication, that kind of drive. Unlike him however, I won't let myself be consumed by anger like he did. I know that my goal of bringing him back to Konoha was a fool's goal. His mind was so… so twisted. I can still save him though. I won't let my best friend be consumed by his own rage. That promise I made so many years ago, I will still honor it. I only hope that I can do your memory the honor that it deserves. You gave me more than I could have ever hoped. You were my teacher. You were my friend. You were my family. You will always be my family."
He placed his hand on the stone and closed his eyes for a moment of remembrance before he stood up and collected his thoughts.
The scene had not gone on entirely unwitnessed as another man had walked silently through the gate that lead into the memorial site. It was Umino Iruka. He arrived to pay his respects to his own parents when he saw the blonde man kneeling before Kakashi's memorial stone. At first, he didn't recognize the man and for a moment considered making his presence known until he heard what sounded like crying. He decided to give the unknown man a little time before he interjected. Finally, he recognized the blonde hair and white jacket. "It can't be. That's the Fourth's overcoat, and that blonde hair…" As he looked at the man in total shock, he finally recognized who he was looking at. The blonde man stood up and after a few seconds, Iruka finally spoke a single word. "Naruto?"
The blonde turned his head ever so slightly, just enough to reveal a single deep blue eye. "It's good to see you again Iruka-sensei. It's been too long."
"Is that really you Naruto?" Iruka asked almost as if he was staring at a ghost.
"Of course it is sensei." Naruto replied. He still didn't turn around completely however which made Iruka feel somewhat unsure still. He got an eerie feeling from the blonde yet still. It made him feel very uneasy.
"Then turn and face me Uzumaki Naruto." He demanded. The strange feeling in his gut was making him very uncomfortable. Afterall, he was looking at someone that had disappeared years ago and for all that Konoha knew, would never be seen again.
No word had ever been sent since the first message that was delivered to Hokage Tsunade's office simply stating, "Naruto is with us on Myouboku Mountain." It was signed with the symbol of the toads. For all that Konoha had known, the message could have been a forgery and Naruto could have been lost to them forever. The fact that for three years not a single message had been delivered to Konoha had driven some to suspect that maybe he had died or been taken by Akatsuki. Seeing as nobody in Konoha knew how to get to Myouboku Mountain, there was no positive result of any investigations.
Slowly, Naruto turned to face his former sensei. Immediately, Iruka recognized those endless blue eyes as those of Uzumaki Naruto. "Naruto! It's really you! You've come home!" Iruka couldn't help but let a huge smile and a tear of joy spread across his face.
Naruto replied with a simple nod and closed eyes. "I'll have to let you treat me to Ichiraku Ramen later sensei. I have some business to attend to first."
With those words, he formed a series of hand seals and disappeared in a burst of red, smoky chakra. He reappeared silently in the office of Lady Tsunade to see Tsunade passed out in her big chair. A wicked grin grew across his face as he had an idea that he knew he would come to regret. He slammed his hands on her desk, which caused Tsunade to jump back to consciousness.
As his eyes met hers, he spoke these words. "So, how about those Chuunin Exams? I can't very well go on being a Genin all my life ya know."
As soon as Tsunade cleared her eyes well enough to match the face to the voice, she quickly stood up. Her usual stern way of speaking was replaced by a voice of glee. "Naruto? You've returned?" Naruto nodded in reply and Tsunade punched him across the face as she resumed her usual demeanor. "DON'T YOU EVER SPOOK ME LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN! AND DON'T YOU EVER GO RUNNING OFF LIKE THAT!!"
The force of the blow sent Naruto flying across the room and crashing into the wall. The wall gave away and Naruto landed in the office of Shizune. He picked himself up and nodded to Shizune before dusting himself off and returning to Tsunade's office. "Well I suppose I deserved that much."
"Damn straight you did!" Tsunade shouted as she walked around her desk and gave Naruto a big hug. She let loose her gorilla grip as she ruffled Naruto's hair and continued on. "You have a lot of explaining to do."
Shizune jumped through the hole in the wall and smiled to see that Naruto had returned. "It's good to see you return Naruto. The entire village has missed you." Tsunade waved her off and Shizune returned to her paperwork in her own office.
"I think we can do away with the formalities of the Chuunin Exams with you." Tsunade continued. "Pending some testing, I don't see any reason why we can't just have you promoted to Chuunin without the need for the exams. Maybe even Jounin as I'm sure that your time on the mountain has made you grow up enough to handle some responsibility. We will just have to send you out to lead some team missions to evaluate your skills as a leader. You'll be happy to know that Sakura has made the rank of Jounin as well."
"That's as much as I had expected of Sakura." Naruto replied with a smile on his face. "But, if you don't mind, I need to do some catching up. I'm sure that you know what I'm referring to."
Tsunade's smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of grave concern. "Of course. Akatsuki and Sasuke. Well unfortunately, without Jiraiya's network, we have been at somewhat of a loss for good information. There have been rumors of Akatsuki sightings in the Fire Country and other places, but the best that we can confirm is that they are looking for you. As far as Sasuke is concerned, we have no idea. There hasn't even been a rumored sighting of him that we can confirm."
"As I would expect from Sasuke as well. If he didn't want to be found, then he would be able to make that happen." Naruto replied with a solemn look on his face. "The toads were able to get information that a member of Sasuke's squad was a former member of the Hidden Mist Village." Perhaps he sought refuge there."
"If that's the case, then he will be well hidden. Not so much as rumor escapes those gates." Tsunade answered. "But I suppose my words will fall on deaf ears if I tell you that you have more pressing matters to be concerned about."
"Akatsuki, I know." Naruto replied before Tsunade could continue. "Uchiha Madara among them as well as Jiraiya's killer, a man with the fabled Rin'Negan eyes that refers to himself as Pein. Evidently, he used to be a student of Jiraiya's."
Tsunade nodded in agreement. "Our intelligence tells us that he makes his base out of the Hidden Rain Village and that he is looking for you personally. I can't warn you enough to stay clear of that man Naruto."
"Yes, I know." Naruto cut her off again before she could finish. "Stay away from him. They want to get the Kyuubi. I know the drill. No need to spell it out for me. I won't let that happen."
Tsunade smirked at Naruto's words. "Still that same old thickheaded mindset that you can't fail I see."
"I have failed enough already." Naruto replied with a stern tone of voice. "I will not fail again." The look in his eyes almost seemed to worry Tsunade. She recognized that more than just his age had changed. He was a different person now. He was a man now. "I hope you will give me permission to gather a team to look for them. I will bring Akatsuki what they deserve. I can't let them continue on."
"I can understand your concern, but with what's at stake you know that I can't just let you put together a team and go running around looking for Akatsuki." Tsunade replied. "We have to keep you in Konoha, but as I'd expect from you, my word will do little to stop you anyway." Naruto nodded in agreement. His eyes spelled it all out for Tsunade. He had a mission to accomplish and nothing would stop him now. "Well then, I suppose we have some things to discuss first."
Tsunade sat down and Naruto stood at attention to discuss the matters at hand.
About an hour later, Naruto walked out the front door of the Hokage tower. Even though he never set foot on the streets of Konoha itself, word had already spread about his return. He set foot on the street to find an entire row of his best friends standing in front of the Hokage tower. Neji, Rock Lee, Tenten, Chouji, Ino, Kiba, Shino, Sai, and Shikamaru with Temari. Hidden behind the group was Hinata as usual.
The entire group cheered to see their long lost friend had returned. Kiba and Chouji were of course the first ones to break ranks and run up to their friend and give him a big hug and cheers.
"I'll bet you are dying to have some real food eh Naruto?" Cheered Chouji with a big smile on his face. "Barbecue is on me!"
"It's about time you got back." Kiba followed up with. "I've had to spend the last three years picking up the slack from you being gone."
Naruto returned the greetings with a big smile of his own. "It's good to be back guys. It's been a long three years without all of you."
Rock Lee issued a challenge to Naruto once he got settled down again. Ino wanted to show Naruto the changes that she had made to the flower shop. Neji offered his services to help bring Naruto back up to speed with the village's goings on. Shino said nothing as usual. Tenten was just happy to see that Naruto had returned. Sai wanted to show Naruto the artwork that he had been working on since Naruto's departure.
"More Chuunin Exams Shikamaru?" Naruto asked Shikamaru with a sly grin as he looked toward Temari. Shikamaru only answered by rubbing the back of his head, groaning, and looking at the ground.
Temari answered for him by showing Naruto the ring on her finger with a big smile as she whacked Shikamaru on the back of his head. "Tell him dammit!"
"Aah, what a bother." Shikamaru started. "Yeah, we got married about a year ago. That and we have another Naara on the way as he looked down at Temari's tummy.
"Haa! Congratulations you two!" I always knew that you would eventually get together!" Naruto responded with a big smile.
"Yeah. I'm not the only one." Shikamaru answered as he pointed at Kiba, Shino, Tenten, and Rock Lee.
"All of you have gotten married? Congratulations to all of you!" Naruto replied excitedly. Each responded with a nod.
"And Shino and Kiba have little ones on the way as well." Shikamaru continued. "They just found out a few days ago."
"Well that's great news!" Naruto replied. He smiled wide and was so happy that the fact that he had spent the last three years away from his friends seemed to disappear for at least a moment.
Then something that no one had expected, happened. Hinata stepped out from the group. Her jet-black hair hung straight down to about halfway down her back and straight bangs covered her forehead. She wore dark blue Capri-cut pants and a mesh shirt over a low-cut, tight and short black shirt. All this was under her gray summer jacket that she wore opened in front. The pockets in front were rather deep. In true Hinata style, she kept looking at the ground and hid her hands deep in the pockets of her jacket as if she was trying to hide herself inside. She had a look on her shy face as if she was trying to psyche herself up for something. Finally she ran up to Naruto and threw her arms around his shoulders. A tear from her closed eyes ran down her cheek as she spoke with a shaky voice, "I missed you so much Naruto-kun."
Everyone in the group gasped at the sight. Naruto however only closed his eyes as her words reminded him of his absence once again. He hugged her in return and in that moment, he felt something that he had never felt before. This was different from any other friendly hug. Perhaps it was just his long time away. Perhaps he had finally grown up. Perhaps this is something that he had always felt, but never knew it. Either way, it put a big smile on his face at her next words whispered into his ear. "I don't ever want you to leave again."
"I'll never leave like that again." Naruto whispered back. "It's a promise." Hinata answered with a kiss on the cheek and squeezed even tighter. Naruto smiled and glanced up to see the row of shocked faces standing before him. He didn't seem to care at all. Even Kiba was left speechless at the scene unfolding before them. Tenten's eyes welled up with tears of course as Ino did the same. Even Rock Lee looked like he was holding back a tear.
After what felt like a sweet eternity, he released the embrace and a voice he hadn't heard in three years filled his ears.
"Hello Naruto." Spoke the unseen person.
Naruto whipped around and saw his teammate and the girl to whom he owed the promise of a lifetime. Except that for now, she was no girl. Now eighteen years old herself, she had definitely grown into a woman. Her long pink hair was still kept tied behind her head by her headband and her green eyes glistened in the fading sunlight. She answered Naruto's smile with a wide smile of her own as she ran up and gave Naruto a crushing hug. As she released the hug, she wound up to deliver a punch to his face while she shouted, "Don't you ever disappear like that again!"
He could see it coming. He could see the muscles flinch in her right shoulder. He could see the shift to brace her right leg. He could see the slight twist of the abdomen. He almost felt like taking the hit for nostalgia sake, but he was still feeling the affects of Tsunade's punch. Effortlessly, he swayed to the right and grabbed hold of her forearm as the fist flew past. In a single swift motion, he turned his hand and pulled her right arm across her chest as he turned her body inside his own arm, leaving Naruto standing directly behind Sakura while still holding her arm from behind.
Somewhat surprised by his maneuver, Sakura turned around with an angry scowl on her face. The scowl failed in a matter of seconds however as a big smile grew across her face instead. "You've gotten faster Naruto. It's great to see you back home where you belong."
Naruto answered with a closed-eyes smile and a nod. Deep inside, the thought of what dwelled inside him never left his mind. His mind was in two places at once. On one hand, he couldn't be happier than he was right now, standing here with his friends. On the other hand, the secret that he would carry for his entire life continued to eat away at his soul, always trying to come to the surface.
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Later that night while Naruto was sleeplessly walking around town trying to feel like a member of the village again, he was met by an old friend.
"Naruto." The man spoke as he came into view from around the corner ahead of Naruto.
"Neji? Is that you?" Naruto replied when he recognized the voice. A moment later, Neji appeared from behind the next building.
"Naruto, we need to speak. Meet me at the training ground just outside the eastern wall in half an hour." Neji spoke in reply just before he jumped out of sight.
Naruto was left a bit confused, but the tone in which Neji spoke was one of seriousness. "He wouldn't just come out of the dark and say something like that unless he had something to tell me that no one else could hear. Even for Neji, he sounded more serious than usual. So much for a normal first day."
Just as Neji requested, Naruto appeared at the training grounds just outside the eastern wall of Konoha. He was greeted by Neji at the center of the training grounds. The training area was little more than a clearing in the trees with little else to describe the area. Naruto walked into the training grounds with a serious look on his face. "So what was it you needed to speak with me about?"
Unlike his usual stone-cold demeanor, Neji hesitated to answer.
"Just come out with it Neji." Naruto spoke once he saw Neji's hesitation. "It's not like you to hold back your words, so just say it." He spoke with a serious tone that was completely uncharacteristic from what Neji had remembered of the blonde. The surprise was clear in Neji's face.
Neji looked down toward the ground and to his right for a moment before answering. A moment later, Hinata walked into the training grounds from the southern entrance.
Upon seeing Hinata walk into the grounds, Naruto was shocked. "What is this Neji? What's going on here?" Naruto tried to hold back the look of fear that suddenly gripped him when he realized what was going on. "The Byakugan! Why else would he bring Hinata here? What did he see?"
"What's going on Neji?" Hinata asked with a shaky and frightened tone to her voice. "Naruto-kun? Why are you here?"
"See for yourself Hinata." Neji replied coldly. "Use your eyes. I'm sorry Naruto, but she has to know."
Those words shook Naruto to the bone. His secret was about to be uncovered before the end of his first day home! That realization angered Naruto as he clenched his jaw tight. It took only a few seconds before he realized that this was inevitable. It would only be a matter of time before they would be put into a situation where those white eyes would reveal his secret.
Hinata could see the look of anger and sudden despair in Naruto's eyes before she looked toward Neji for an explanation. She didn't know what to do and from the look on her face, she didn't want to know.
"You really need to learn how to mask that chakra of yours better Naruto." Neji replied with his usual stone-cold demeanor.
Naruto sighed deeply at Neji's words. "Go ahead Hinata. You might as well learn the truth now."
Hinata looked at Neji with fear in her eyes. Neji only nodded in reply. Then she looked into Naruto's eyes. With a frowning face, Naruto gave the same nod. She slowly raised her shaking hands and formed the seal. "Byakugan." With these words, the veins around her eyes swelled and the truth was revealed. Even though her eyes were not as sharp as Neji's, she could clearly see the two distinctly different overlapping chakra systems. She stepped back in shock as she had recognized that signature of the new chakra. It was the Kyuubi's! "Wh… what…"
"Please forgive me for what I've done." Naruto spoke sorrowfully. "I had no choice but to become one with that demon to defeat the enemies of Konoha. I had no choice."
"Hmph." Scoffed Neji. "Just like you to go ahead and do something so foo.."
"DON'T EVEN FINISH THAT WORD!" Naruto snapped angrily as he glared at Neji. His blue eyes flickered momentarily to reveal the crimson red of the demon's eyes. "Don't even think that you are in a position to question me! For someone that speaks so highly of destiny, I would have thought that you of all people might understand. I have made my choice and this is my destiny."
Neji hesitated to reply as even he, was shaken by the raw aggression steaming out from Naruto. "You became one with a demon Naruto! How could that have been.."
"You have no idea Neji. The day that you are forced to make a choice like I did, is the day that you can question my decision. The day that you, are forced to choose between returning home knowing that you won't be able to save those that you hold most precious, or become one with that which you most despise most and sacrifice your entire life…" Naruto hesitated to continue as he tried to keep his emotions in check. "Look, there's no way that I can justify my choice in your minds. The fact of the matter is that I have no reason to justify my choice to you."
"I can't let this go unknown Naruto." Neji interrupted. "I intend to tell Hokage-sama and the village will have to.."
"You will say NOTHING!" Naruto snapped angrily again as his eyes flickered red once again as Naruto bared his sharp teeth. Red chakra burst forth from his body, lifting his blonde hair and the ends of his headband aloft. "Just as my family was kept a secret from me for 'my own safety', so shall my secret be kept from them. The last thing they need to know, is that the demon that nearly destroyed Konoha eighteen years ago, is alive and well within its own walls."
"I can't let you do this Naruto!" Neji spoke up with fear in his voice. "The village has a right.."
"You will tell NO ONE!" Naruto shouted angrily as his eyes flared red once again! "And you will never question my choice again."
Hinata watched what was going on as fear shook her to the bone. Her shaking legs could barely support her as she began to feel the pure anger that was pouring forth from Naruto's body. That 'rage' was beginning to show as a dark red mist began to pour forth from Naruto's body. It was as if his anger was becoming tangible.
"You will not stop my destiny Neji. I have made my choice, and my destiny is to see that all those that have wronged Konoha, my friends, and my comrades are brought to ruin by any and all means." Naruto spoke as his breathing became heavy. "My destiny will consume my life and you will not stop me. Now agree to this or face my the alternative." Naruto spoke as he clenched his fists and made a slight motion as if to prepare himself for combat.
"Stop!" Hinata screamed as she ran toward and embraced Naruto. "Please Stop!" Tears ran down her cheeks as she held Naruto tight despite the waves of malevolent chakra that were pouring forth. Her embrace brought a sense of calmness to Naruto as he closed his eyes and brought the flow of demonic chakra to a halt. Slowly, he came back to his senses and calmed himself down.
"Damn. That was too close." Naruto thought as he worked to keep his emotions under control once again. "I'm sorry.. Hinata. You would do well to forget what feelings you have for me. I'm not who I used to be."
"Don't say that." Hinata cried as the tears continued to stream down her cheeks. "Of course you are. You are still the Naruto that I loved back then… and still do."
"It's.. different now.. Hinata." Naruto replied quietly. "I.. I can't…"
"Yes you can!" Hinata cried. Her tears fell from her cheeks and sank into Naruto's black shirt.
Naruto slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Neji who was standing in astonishment at what he had just seen. "This has to remain a secret. I will tell Tsunade when I feel the time is right and the rest of the village will be kept in the dark. They can't know what I've done. Nobody can. I am trusting you to keep this secret, just as I would trust you with my own life. Now do I have your word Neji?"
Neji looked down at the ground as he thought about the situation. After a few seconds of silence, he raised his blank eyes and nodded back in response. "You have my word.. Naruto."
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
(back to the future timeline with Naruto and little Kakashi)
"Now you know." Naruto spoke quietly to his son as the flames died down. He had long since cut the last braid from his hair and his appearance was his usual. Kakashi had sat silently throughout the entire story, listening closely to his father's tale.
"I guess that explains what I saw." Kakashi spoke. "That monster I saw was your chakra." Naruto nodded with closed eyes in response.
"I'm sorry that you had to see that Kakashi." Naruto spoke solemnly. "I had hoped that you would never have to see that. That you would be able to see me as a man, and not a monster."
"I see you as my father." Answered Kakashi. "You are my father and always will be. Nothing you can tell me could ever change that. Nothing you could ever do could change that. I love you dad."
Naruto smiled gently as he looked at his son. "Thanks son. You have no idea how much that means to me." He reached for and held his son in a loving embrace. He released his hug and spoke again. "Now you get some sleep son. We are going to continue back to Konoha at daybreak."
Kakashi obediently tucked himself into his knapsack and went to sleep with a smile on his face. Naruto sat vigilantly, watching over his one and only son.
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(back to the past timeline)
Around the same time that Naruto had left his tutelage under the great toads, another was about to embark on the rest of his own journey. Almost three years had passed since the remaining three members of Team Hebi had entered the walls of the Hidden Mist Village. Sasuke, Suigetsu, and Juugo stood on a small boat at the gates of the village, awaiting the word from Rokusa to open the gates. Sasuke couldn't have looked more eager to resume his mission to look for his brother, no matter how much he tried to conceal his cold and emotionless appearance. Juugo looked as if he was finally at ease now that they were leaving this village. Suigetsu, now a full-fledged member of the Seven Swordsmen, was somewhat more questionable. A part of him wanted to stay home, whereas the other part of him wanted to prove himself and seek out Hoshigake Kisame to carve his name in the records of the Mist Village by slaying their most wanted missing-nin. Suigetsu shared some last words and a handshake from his brother before the order was given to open the gates.
The massive gates swung open slowly and the boat departed as Suigetsu pushed the boat forward with a long pole.
As the boat breached the outer edges of the gate, the great door was swung closed. The party moved slowly outward toward the edges of the foggy marsh. Eventually, they had made it to the western shore of the Water Country. The entire trip was as silent as a graveyard. Juugo was the first to break the silence.
"I for one will be happy just to get out of that damned fog." He muttered.
"Bah. You just aren't suited to it. Give it enough time, and you would get used to it." Suigetsu replied.
"I'd rather not." Juugo answered with a blank expression.
"So where next Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked. "Where do you think we should try next?"
"Well the intelligence of your village suggested that Akatsuki made base out of the Hidden Rain Village, but that doesn't mean Itachi is there." Sasuke answered solemnly. "Besides, I think I'd rather stay away from there. We don't need any other Akatsuki to get involved."
"Well that only leaves the rest of the world. How convenient." Suigetsu responded with a sarcastic smirk.
"All we know is that they are migrant and don't stay in the same place for any given amount of time." Sasuke continued. "The only thing that we know about Itachi and Kisame's patterns is that they are looking for Naruto."
"You aren't suggesting that we…" Juugo interrupted.
"Of course not." Sasuke cut him off. "We can't go anywhere near Konoha. Besides, we don't have any intelligence on his location either. From the Mist Village has learned, he hasn't been seen since we saw his clone before I found Itachi. The best that we can hope for is that he shows himself and we can begin to track his own movements. Either that, or they will find us on their own."
"Well I guess that's better than wandering around completely aimlessly." Suigetsu replied. "But its about as much as we can hope for at this time. Hopefully some information on your friend from Konoha will be easier to come by than Akatsuki's whereabouts."
The group paid for fare across the sea on a small ship to head toward the Fire Country. Just as they set onto the boat, a familiar figure appeared from the ground where they just stood. "So he is still looking for Itachi." "That would seem to be the case.""I suppose we should let the leader know what is going on. Madara will definitely want to know where to find Sasuke. We know where they will land and it will take up to a couple days to get there." "That will give us plenty of time to come back and shadow Sasuke if that's what Madara wants."
Zetsu sunk back into the ground as the ship departed.
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Author's Notes: Once again, I'm sorry it took me so long to finish this chapter. I've just been busy as hell and haven't had the time to put into this chapter as I would have liked. I threw in a little bit of the start of Naruto and Hinata's romance for the sake of the story. Also, I hoped to provide a bit of background to the curse that Naruto carries for his entire life now. I wanted to give you a bit of why Naruto's decision to merge with the Kyuubi has such dire consequences and not just a means of unlimited power. Anyway, I'm gonna start on the next chapter as soon as I figure out exactly how I want to write out Sasuke's next encounter.