You guys are the best! Over 500,000 views!
To mark this landmark, this chapter is almost double the size of my average chapters. I was going to break it into two pieces, but you guys have waited long enough for the next arc. Originally it wasn't going to be this long, but the Yakumo section just kept growing and growing.
AU Changes: There is a few ones in this chapter. The first is Yakumo. Her powers are purely Illusion based, rather than having the potential to actually affect static non-living objects. Secondly, given that Chakra constructs were never really explained, I just kinda went my own route with that.
Without any more delay, here's the next chapter. Chapter 36: The Power of Belief
"Hey Kurama." Naruto greeted his friend, "Why did you pull me into the seal? Did you remember more about Mom's chakra chains?" The blonde Uzumaki blinked in confusion as he stared up at Kurama. The Nine Tails seemed shocked and bewildered. Extending a single claw, the Kyubi pointed at something behind Naruto. Confused, Naruto turned around, only to freeze as he saw that there was someone else in his mindscape. She had long red hair, and Naruto couldn't believe his eyes as he recognized her from the picture album Sakura had gotten him.
"Mom?"
Nothing in Naruto's life had prepared him for this. A person who looked exactly like his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, was standing in his mindscape. Although he had never met her, the many pictures he had seen of her had etched her into his memory. Naruto, far too stunned to attempt to say anything, just stared at the woman.
Kushina Uzumaki was having a rather confusing day. The last thing she remembered was dying after assisting Minato with sealing the Kyubi in her son, Naruto. She had whispered to the crying baby that she had loved him so much, and then had unwillingly succumbed to the darkness. But now, here she stood, clearly not dead, and even more confusingly, she was in some type of ceiling-less sewer.
Then, she had spotted something. The Kyubi. It was standing behind what appeared to be a cage, and the cage was held shut by a seal Kushina almost instantly recognized. It was an altered Eight Trigrams Seal with an inner layer of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. The Eight Trigrams Seal had been what had held the Kyubi at bay while it had been sealed inside Kushina, but Minato, always believing that every seal could further refined, had created an altered version that would have allowed the Kyubi to see through Kushina's eyes. However, it was never tested until that day when he had placed it on Naruto.
The Dead Demon Consuming Seal was an Uzumaki seal that was all but forbidden. It allowed the seal master to summon the Shinigami. Using their very soul as a medium and a sacrifice, it allowed the seal master to seal anything, no matter how powerful.
Kushina, recognizing the seal, realized that this wasn't some vision conjured up by her dying mind, nor was it the afterlife. Logically, the only explanation was that she wasn't a person at all, rather a chakra construct powered by Kushina's chakra, memories, and emotions. For all intents and purposes though, she was Kushina inside Naruto's mind.
"Now if this is Naruto-Kun's mind, where is my precious Sochi?" Kushina estimated that Naruto would be about five to seven years old by the time enough chakra reformed for her to manifest in Naruto's mind and he triggered the requirements that Minato had included in the seal. She would get only this one chance to see her son before her chakra ran out and she, or rather the chakra construct that was an imprint of her, dissipated. "This is really confusing, dattebane." Kushina mumbled silently to herself, only to curse her verbal tic a moment later.
More importantly, her chakra was slowly running out and Naruto was nowhere in sight! Stepping forward, Kushina scowled as she looked down at the dress she was wearing, it's hem growing heavy with the water that covered the floor of the chamber where the Kyubi was kept. "Stupid dress. If it wasn't necessary for having Naruto, I never would have put on this blasted thing!"
Catching the Kyubi's attention as she stepped into the chamber, Kushina couldn't help the surprise that she felt when she saw it stiffen in shock. It was the most human expression she had ever seen the Nine-Tails make. Whenever she had talked to it while it had been sealed in her, it was, at best, grumpy on the best of days.
The sudden thawhoosh as Naruto entered the mindscape took Kushina by surprise. She blinked. And then blinked again in confusion. Naruto was...not small. He looked to be...thirteen or fourteen by her best guess. "Did he not meet the requirements before now?" A sudden thought hit her, and with it, a spark of fear. "If he thinks we abandoned him, does that me he could hate me?" Even the mere thought of her precious son hating her threatened to fracture her heart and soul. Watching the Kyubi point her direction, Kushina steeled herself for Naruto's possible rejection. "No matter. Hiruzen promised that he would take care of Naruto. That he would be loved and cared for." The thought was comforting, bringing Kushina back to the present.
"Mom?"
"S-Sochi..." The words ghosted out of Kushina's lips as she stared at her son. "H-How are you?" As soon as the words left the redhead's mouth, she cursed mentally in her mind. "That was a stupid thing to say. This is why Minato was the one who became Hokage. Dammit!"
"Mom?" Naruto didn't believe his eyes. Never in his wildest, most hopeful dreams did he ever imagine he could one day meet one of his parents. "A-Are you real?"
It was that sentence that broke Kushina. It was the sudden realization that her beloved child; her precious sochi, hadn't had a good life. Somehow, with some unnamable motherly instinct, she knew that her son had been badly hurt, over and over again. And it tore her heart asunder.
"Yes, my precious son." She tried to hold the burning tears back for Naruto's sake, "I'm here for you."
Naruto took a few slow steps towards his mother, his pace quickening into a fast walk, then a run. Kushina, her heart overflowing with bittersweet happiness, opened her arms as wide as she could. Feeling Naruto wrap his arms around her, she hugged her beloved son as tight as she could, pushing every ounce of care, love, and acceptance that she possessed into the embrace. "I'm here for you."
"I never dreamed I would meet you." Naruto's voice was muffled and rough, "I never hoped that something like this would be possible." He didn't want to cry and ruin this moment. "I...I...can't believe you are here." The last part was whispered out as he forced the words through the painful lump in his throat. His chest felt like it was going to burst from the strain of holding back his emotions and his eyes burned, but he would not ruin this!
Kushina had always thought she would be a terrible mother. She wasn't very feminine, not like Mikoto. She either was overly excitable, or couldn't read the social queue to save her life. Hell, she wasn't sure what to even do with a baby. But...here...in this moment, with her arms around her son, everything fell into place. Maternal instincts, sleeping quietly until needed, guided her. Bringing her hand up to rub comfortingly on Naruto's back, she couldn't help but whisper in a small, soft voice, "Shhh...It's okay. Mommy's here. You don't have to pretend."
Naruto never knew how much he had been waiting to hear those words until he heard them.
"...It's okay. Mommy's here."
It started with simple lone tear that escaped his tightly clenched eyelids. Feeling his mother's arms tighten around him, Naruto lost the battle. Tears began to leak down his face as he cried, releasing all of the confusion, hurt, and pain that had built up over the years of being so alone. His shoulders shuddered, but throughout everything, a feeling of utter care and love suffused him; encircled him; embraced him. It was...the most wonderful feeling Naruto had ever felt.
Kushina held her son tight, pouring every ounce of love and care that she possessed into her hug. The moment would have been perfect had it not been the bitter knowledge that she would soon disappear, her chakra depleted. The knowledge tasted like sulfur in her mouth. Still, she tightened the hug. "I won't let you be alone again! Now now, not ever!"
Chakra, despite common belief, was at the end of the day, physical energy controlled by mental intent. It was mostly quantifiable, but at the same time, could not be accurately reproduced outside of an organic body. It was powerful, able to heal and destroy, and in some cases, alter reality on a microscopic scale. And that energy, that chakra, was ultimately controlled by the will of it's user. So when Kushina vowed to never leave her son again, pushing with every molecule of her being to defy her fate, her chakra began to change.
Kushina rubbed Naruto's back soothingly as his sobs began to peter out. She had no way of really knowing how much time had past, both in the mindscape or in the real world. Not that it truly mattered, but she wanted to spend as much time as she could with her son before she dissipated into nothingness. But in the end even the best of dreams end eventually.
It started with her hair, the tips of it turning dull red and insubstantial. As the dullness spread, so did it the rate of insubstantiality. Soon her vibrant blood red hair was a shadow of it's former self. Kushina felt it, and raged against the encroaching nothingness. "No! I will not leave him to face the world alone! Never again!" Her rapidly dwindling chakra surged in response. For a moment her legs, that had become unsubstantial, solidified; made manifest by the mother's unstoppable desire to protect her son from any more harm.
"Mom?" Naruto released his mother and took a step back, open confusion written across his face. "What's wrong?" A moment later he spotted Kushina's hair and torso flickering between ethereal and normality. "Wha-What's happening?"
Kushina hated the uncertainty that bled into her's son's tone. "I refuse! Do you hear me? I REFUSE TO LEAVE MY SOCHI ALONE AGAIN!"
Suddenly, with a flash of insight, Naruto knew what was happening. Perhaps not the complete picture, but enough to understand the seemingly inescapable truth: His mother was being taken from him again and there was nothing he could do about it.
"No."
Defiance.
Chakra began to swirl around the room, the water laying on the floor rippling. Naruto focused with his will, mind, and soul on the singular goal of keeping his mother with him. Kushina shoved against the weightlessness brought on by her ever dwindling chakra with the fierceness of a raging lioness. Kurama, finally understanding what was happening, filled the chamber with it's power. Together, they raged against the dying of the light.
Reality rebuked them. There was a natural order to things. When something ended, it ceased to exist. It was an immutable law. Inescapable. Unstoppable. It was the way things always had been.
Yet...
Naruto Uzumaki was defiance.
And...reality gave in.
Kushina's body flickered. Then it solidified. "Wha-What?" Kushina stammered, not understanding how she resisted chakra dissipation. That wasn't something you could just ignore. Stretching out her feelings her eyes widened as she realized what had happened. Somehow, seemingly impossible though it was, Naruto had tied her consciousness to his chakra coils, and even more amazingly, hadn't overwhelmed her with his own chakra.
Doing a quick mental calculation, the wife of Minato Namikaze estimated that she had five minutes, give or take, until she would have to rest to regather her chakra. In a month's time, she would have enough chakra to manifest in Naruto's mind once again briefly. Pride in Naruto was etched into every fiber of her being. Her son had literally accomplished the impossible.
Naruto had never felt such relief in his life. His mother wasn't going anywhere. She wasn't going to leave him. "Mom?" Naruto felt a slow smile appearing on his face, "I'm so glad you aren't going anywhere."
Kushina beamed back at her son before reaching out to ruffle his hair. "Don't worry Sochi. I'm not going anywhere. I'll have to rest for a month, but I'll be back. And then you can tell me all," She spread her arms wide to show how much she wanted to know, "About how you have been." The slowly forming smile on Naruto's face was like the rising of the sun, becoming one of the most radiant and wonderful things she had ever seen. And in that moment, Kushina wouldn't trade all of her experiences, both good and bad, for this moment.
"Could we," Naruto hesitated, "Hug one more time before you go?"
Kushina response was to pull Naruto into a tight hug, almost pulling off of his feet. Feeling his arms wrap around her, Kushina couldn't help the giddy smile that shot onto her face. "My son won't be alone." Sensing Naruto fade as he left the mindscape, Kushina waited until she was certain he had left before letting out a loud cheer. "Yeah! Take that death!" She pumped her fist, the wide grin unwilling to abate, "My son is awesome!"
After a minute of celebration, Kushina froze mid motion as she remembered that the Kyubi was still in the same 'room' with her. Coughing, Kushina dropped her hand and attempted to act like she hadn't just been caught shouting how awesome her son was to the Kyubi, a giant sentient mass of chakra, who also was kinda sorta her friend. "Heyyyy...Kyubi…"
"Still excitable as always, Kushina, I see." The Kyubi chuckled, letting a smile crease it's muzzle as it looked down at the woman who had been it's only companion long ago. A sudden thought, filled with dark humor, shot through Kurama. "You have a few moments before you have to rest, correct?" Kushina nodded, her nose scrunching up in confusion, "Would you like to hear about Naruto's childhood?" It took but a moment to share a memory of Naruto's, it was the day Naruto turned three years old. It was the first time a mob had caught Naruto alone.
Rage. Bottomless, fathomless, white-hot rage. "Kyubi." Kushina's voice was quiet, only the slight edge in her tone betraying the searing wrath evoked by seeing her son beaten, "If they ever even touch single hair on my son't head," Countless golden chains coiled against one another, seeking to destroy those who hurt her beloved son, "Obliterate them." Her purple eyes flashed. "Turn them into ash. Grind them into dust." Her chains produced countless sparks as they ground against each other, reflecting Kushina's desire to tear, maim, and utterly annihilate anyone to harmed her sochi.
"It would be my pleasure." The grin on Kurama's face was not kind. No, it was monstrous. It was the very thing so many feared. It was the wrath of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, held back only by the certainty that it's container still breathed. It was the very thing that haunted so many nightmares for the last fourteen years.
Waking up was different than usual for Naruto. One moment he had been fading away from the mindscape, and the next he was jolting awake, his consciousness abruptly shoved back into the waking word, bringing the sights and sounds of the waking world with it along with the worried cries of those he cared about.
"Naruto-Sama!" Haku's voice echoed in the small room, "Please wake-up!"
Snapping his eyes open at the urgency in Haku's words, Naruto automatically sent out a chakra sensing ping, searching for his precious people. Less than a second later, he almost jerked back in shock as the ping informed him, that they, Haku-Chan, Hinata-Chan and Sakura-Chan, were all in the room with him.
"Did something happen?" Naruto instantly assessed the room's occupants, checking to see if they were hurt in any way. Surprisingly, Tayuya, Karin, and Fu were also in the room. More importantly, however, none of them seem injured in the slightest. In fact, if the feeling he was getting from Sakura's, Hinata's, and Haku's chakra was correct, they were extremely concerned about him?
"Yeah, Foxman." Tayuya, despite her best efforts, couldn't keep the undercurrent of relief completely out of her tone, "You were sleeping innocently beside White-Eyes when you started leaking chakra everywhere." She paused, rapidly regaining her normal tone of voice, "It looked like blue flames and shit."
"It looked really awesome!" Fu couldn't contain herself anymore and trotted over to Naruto, her gaze rapidly switching from spot to the next she attempted to figure out if her brother - she was doing her best to be the best sister ever, even if she didn't exactly know how - was hurt in any way. He looked fine, but those chakra flames weren't normal by any means. She wouldn't let anything hurt her brother, even if the chakra looked really cool!
"You gave us quite the scare when you started manifesting chakra while sleeping." Karin adjusted her glasses, feeling her heart rate begin to slowly return to normal levels, "And it was centered on both your head and the Kyubi's seal." She closed her eyes and quickly checked Naruto's condition, reassuring herself that the other chakra signatures that manifested inside the blue chakra flames were now gone. "Not to mention the fact that along with your bright blue chakra, there was wisps of dark blue, almost purple chakra, and flickers of red chakra."
"Really?" Naruto didn't remember anything odd happening with his chakra...unless it had something to do with his mother...One of the largest smiles any of the girls had ever seen, if not the largest slowly appeared on his face. Not only that, but it seemed like an insurmountable weight had been lifted from Naruto's shoulders.
"Naruto-Kun?" Hinata questioned, now unsure. She had been worried when Naruto had begun to emit chakra just two hours ago, but that worry had increased ten-fold when the chakra wisps began to transform into a brilliant and intense chakra flames. While they hadn't burned with heat, Hinata suspected that it was only because the chakra was focus inward, rather than outward, that the bed wasn't destroyed.
"I met Mom last night. She appeared in my mindscape." Stunned silence.
"Pink." Tayuya's voice was flat, "How badly did that chakra fry his brain?"
Sakura, for her part, was doing an admirable job of not letting her medical knowledge distract her as she quickly brought a glowing green hand up to Naruto's forehead. She did her best to ignore the medical theories that whispered horrible things within her skull, choosing to only focus on the results of her diagnostic jutsu. "All readings normal for Naruto." She ignored the fact that she had memorized Naruto's exact brain chemistry and chakra levels, "No damage to any tissues either." A pause. "Naruto-Kun," She wanted to believe him - she did believe him - but his mother was...well, dead, "You really did meet your mother? How?"
Naruto still hadn't stopped beaming, his smile so bright that it could have re-lit the sun. "Yep! I went to the mind scape as normal because Kurama pulled me into the seal…"
Quiet cloaked the room as Naruto's story finished. Almost none of the listeners knew what to say. What could you say when you found out that your love/cousin/brother had met with a chakra construct of his dead mother, and the chakra construct had all of the memories and emotions of the real Kushina...not only that, but Naruto had somehow managed to alter the fundamental construction of the chakra construct's make-up, somehow tying it to his own chakra coils, letting the chakra construct live on, and Naruto would be able to meet with her once a month?
"Naruto-Sama." Haku, unlike the others, didn't particularly care on the reasons why, only that her beloved Naruto-Sama had finally met his mother. And what Kushina had told him...Haku could barely hold back the tears of joy, to know that Kushina that loved him. The ice user knew how much that meant to her love, and she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that hearing those words had dispelled much of the hidden fears Naruto had about his parents hating him. There was a stirring anger at the Leaf for even giving him the thought that they did, but that anger was overshadowed by the sheer joy Haku felt on behalf of Naruto.
"I'm so happy for you." Haku couldn't resist the urge to pull her Naruto-Sama into a hug, "I'm so happy for you." Tightening her embrace, she couldn't help but whisper, "If you ever need to talk, Naruto-Sama, I'm here for you, always." Slowly releasing the hug, Haku stepped back, pushing aside the part of her that wanted to stay in that loving embrace forever. But, she wouldn't be so selfish to keep Naruto's attention while others wanted their turn.
Sakura wasn't sure what to think. From a practical standpoint, what Naruto had just relayed was impossible. Chakra simply didn't change forms, nor did it have a consciousness of its own. Not only that even if it was true, then it didn't still explain how Kushina's chakra didn't get replaced by Naruto's own, thus erasing her. But...this was her Naruto-Kun. He wouldn't lie to them, and he genuinely believed that he had met his mother inside his mindscape. And if that was the case, it would have taken willpower beyond anything she could conceive of to change the very nature of chakra itself, to make it self sustaining. Along with that revelation, came another thought, one bright and joyful. "Naruto-Kun met his mother! And she loves him!"
The pink haired girl embraced her best friend and boyfriend for a quick hug, letting him feel her shared happiness before stepping back to let Hinata have her turn.
Hinata wasn't sure what she was feeling, but it was alternating emotions of anger and happiness. Anger, because of how long it Naruto had been under the uncertain burden if his parents had hated him. "Damn this village." Happiness, for her Naruto-Kun knew, much like she always had, that his parents loved him. "How could you not love Naruto-Kun?"
Moving forward, she attempted to pull Naruto into a brief embrace, cursing her smaller stature for a moment as she couldn't fully reach his shoulders like the others had from their positions standing next to the bed. Leaning forward, the blue haired girl carefully wrapped her arms around Naruto as she balanced herself.
Suddenly there was a sudden slight push on her back and Hinata unbalanced, falling forward. Less than a second later, she felt Naruto grab her shoulders, arresting her fall. Starring forward, Hinata felt heat rush to her face as she realized what area she was looking at on her boyfriend. After staring for a moment, the Hyuga realized just how improper it was to stare at your boyfriend's lap…
Snapping her head to the left to look at Naruto, she instantly became aware of how close Naruto's face was to hers. Her face grew even hotter as she couldn't help but notice how inviting Naruto's lips looked.
"Ahem." Sakura's cough brought Hinata back to full awareness, and she realized that she wasn't alone in the room with Naruto. Jolting back, the blue haired girl seemed to practically teleport to the other side of the room. Poking her index fingers together as her luminescent blush refused to abate, Hinata refused to meet anyone's eyes.
"Well damn White-Eyes." Tayuya wasn't sure if she should be complementing Hinata, "You were supposed to hug him, not ogle his lips."
Hinata ducked her head even more. She didn't feel judged, but it was quite embarrassing to know that she had almost kissed Naruto while others were in the room. Lately it had been a bit of a struggle for Hinata to remain the proper distance from Naruto. While logically she knew that it was due to the hormones and emotions as she turned from a girl into a young woman, it had been getting harder and harder to remember that she was supposed keep a proper distance as befitted her station as the daughter of the Hyuga Clan Head.
"We'll let it slide...this time…" Sakura couldn't manage to keep her frown intact. She was beyond relieved that Naruto had met his mother, but seeing another girl, even if it was Hinata-Chan, almost kiss her Naruto-Kun was...difficult.
"Sooo…" Tayuya sounded out, "Now that we made sure that Foxman is alright, and he isn't going crazy," Tayuya wanted to be happy for Naruto, she really did. But all she could think of is the fact that her mother was dead and she wouldn't be showing up as a chakra ghost. That and Tayuya was quite tired still. "Can we go back to bed now?" The redhead was trying to not ruin this moment for everyone else just because of the slight envy she felt over Naruto being able to see his mother. "Or at least I'm heading to bed."
Heading out of the room, Tayuya couldn't help but hiss out a low "Fuck." as she made her way back her her room. She didn't want to be that person again, that bitch that cared only for herself and didn't give a damn if anyone else got hurt by her actions. Tayuya wanted to be a good cousin, and she had thought she had been doing rather well. "Fuck. Two steps forward and one step back." With those words in mind, the house slowly grew quiet as the occupants once again went to their rooms.
It was several days later when Haku quietly informed Naruto that Kiba Inuzuka wanted to meet him and was waiting outside the Uzumaki clan compound gate. Curious, Naruto headed towards the gate. The Uzumaki Clan Head wondered what Kiba wanted, give that the Inuzuka clan were Loyalists, seemingly viewing the village as part of their 'pack'.
"Kiba." Naruto greeted his acquaintance/almost-friend, "What can I do for you?"
"Can I talk with you privately?" Kiba's expression was serious, determined, and slightly resigned. Sensing that this was serious, Naruto nodded and let Kiba into the compound, leading the Inuzuka heir into the secure building. Activating the privacy seals, Naruto pulled out a chair and settled into it. "How can I help you?"
"I can you train me?"
Glancing up at Kiba in surprise, Naruto noticed that the brown haired Chunin was more serious than Naruto had ever seen him before. "Why?"
Kiba let out a long sigh and ran a slightly shaky hand through his hair. "While I didn't perhaps agree with everything the village has done, us Inuzuka are loyal, ya know?" Naruto nodded, but didn't interrupt. "That's kinda what we do. We follow the Alpha, who's my mom. She's loyal to the Leaf, seeing it as our extended pack." The Inuzuka let out a slight bark of bitter humor. "And I was okay with that. I mean, that's just the way the world is." Naruto understood and hadn't judged then, and still didn't judge now. He didn't agree, but he understood.
"But then my second cousin just had a kid, a girl." Kiba smiled fondly, "Her name is Aiko." His eyes stared unseeingly towards the wall, as he remembered the last few days. "And I was happy, along with everyone else in the clan." A bitter smile creased the Inuzuka's lips. "And then they let me hold her…"
Kiba looked down at the tiny baby and couldn't help the feeling of happiness as he looked down at her. He had always thought that, generally speaking, human babies were strange noise making machines that couldn't take care of themselves. But looking at Aiko now, he couldn't help but smile at the little baby. Stretching out his pinky, Kiba watched the child's surprisingly alert eyes follow the finger. Her tiny arm stretched towards it, and her little hand repeatedly made a grasping motion. Indulging her, Kiba brought his pinky within reach. Feeling Aiko's hand wrap around his finger, Kiba didn't try to identify the feeling that welled up within him.
Suddenly a thought, dark and terrible, blazed into his brain. "Someday she will be forced to become a kunoichi and will have to fight, kill, and possibly die for the Leaf." It turned any joy he felt into ash, and Kiba vowed, in that moment, to make sure that little Aiko would be allowed to forge her own path, no matter what it was…
"I've spent the last few days locked up in my room, trying to figure out how to prevent Aiko's fate." Kiba raked a frustrated hand through his hair. "I thought of everything I could, but in the end, I kept coming back to the same conclusion: The Inuzuka cannot remain Loyalists." He sighed, looking like a heavy weight had settled on his shoulders. "And given that my clan will only follow the Alpha, I have to defeat the Alpha." A pause. "That's how we handle Clan Headship. Whoever is the strongest in the clan is the Alpha, and the Alpha can be, in theory, be challenged at any point." A shrug. "In reality, most of us are content to let the strongest remain as Alpha, and their children becoming the next Alpha."
"Your mother is the current Clan Head." Naruto quietly pointed out, his voice understanding.
"Yeah, I know." It was a quiet, bitter whisper. After a moment of silence, Kiba continued, "And so I figured that I would ask you to train me, since you are part of the legendary Team Eight." Seeing Naruto blink, Kiba couldn't help but chuckle. "You are regarded as one of the strongest hand-to-hand combat specialists of this generation, and that's not even considering how you mix jutsu in with your fighting style. Hinata is one of the first to add an element to her Clan's combat techniques, and Sakura is able to heal and kill with equal ease."
"If I train you, you realize that you will have to fight your mother someday, right?"
"Yeah." Kiba's voice was soft, "I know that. And I'll have to beat her badly enough that there is no doubt in anyone's mind that I am not the Alpha."
"We start training at dawn." Naruto stretched out his hand, "You are welcome to join us if you want."
Kiba stared at the extended hand. "This is it. The moment when I decide the future of my clan. Can I really do this?" He was, in a way, betraying the pack. Unbidden, Naruto's words from the Sound and Suna invasion replayed in his mind.
"...We don't have the luxury of taking chances, of holding back. Those ninjas out there," Naruto indicated the attacking force with a sharp jerk of his chin, "Are threatening our precious people; our families; our friends." Glowing blue eyes held them all spellbound. "I'm not going to let them do that anymore. I won't let them be taken from me. I will protect." He met each of their eyes. "Who's with me?"
Kiba felt his resolve kindle once again. "Yes. I will protect those I care about. I will make sure that someday, kids aren't forced to kill one another. I will fight to keep the innocence in Aiko's eyes alive. I will fight!" Stretching out his hand, Kiba shook Naruto's hand.
Jiraiya had long ago realized that most, if not all, powerful ninja had something that made them...slightly odd. Kakashi, for example, read smut in public - not that there was anything with that - and Gai had a tendency to take training beyond any sane level. The white-haired Sannin had realized some time ago that his hobby/oddity was his enjoyment of people watching. Fully embracing it, Jiraiya had become one of the world's greatest spymasters, and mostly used his free time to watch women, preferably while they were in a hot spring. Or that had been his life before Naruto had crashed into it and shattered almost every preconception Jiraiya had. However, Jiraiya still found time to people watch when he could, and today was no exception.
Watching Fu and Naruto train was both enlightening and amusing. While both of them felt sibling affection towards one another, the fact remained that neither of them actually knew how to act like a brother or sister. Normally Jiraiya would have provided Fu with several 'sisterly' examples from Icha-Icha novels, but then the super pervert remembered that he had no real desire to die, and attempting to turn Fu into a Brocon would certainly end with him being violently booted into the Shinigami's realm...
Either way, it seemed that their training had temporarily stalled, and the Toad Sannin had a few hours to kill before he had to set off to meet one of his spies. While Fu and Naruto were talented Shinobi, neither of them understood the meaning of chakra overflow and how to avoid it. Granted, it wasn't really their fault due to the sheer amount of chakra they had, but Jiraiya was determined to teach them the theory of chakra control if nothing else. After all, if they didn't waste so much chakra, imagine how much more they could accomplish.
"As you can see," Naruto explained to an eagerly listening Fu, "If you figure out a way to spin your water bullet in a clockwise fashion rapidly, you could potentially drill through multiple opponents with one attack." Fu nodded in understanding. "Sadly, I never really focused on Earth Jutsus since I am wind natured and, thanks to Kurama, fire natured. In addition, my fighting style is highly maneuverable, and ill suited to the Earth Jutsu style of fighting." Naruto tapped his chin in thought. "I'll have to see if I can find someone who can train us in Earth techniques."
"That would be great." Fu smiled at Naruto. Originally Fu had thought that she would only ever need water techniques - a thought generally believed by Taki -, but one spar with Haku had quickly convinced Fu that such reasoning was faulty. After Haku had simply frozen the mint haired girl's water with nothing more than a wave of the ice user's hand, Fu had attempted to switch up tactics. Unfortunately for Fu, almost all of the techniques she knew involved water in one capacity or another.
However, unlike back in Taki, Naruto hadn't blamed her for loosing. Instead, her wonderful brother had offered to teach her different and powerful techniques; to train her to become strong enough to protect those she cared about.
Naruto grinned at Fu's willingness to train. She was like a sister in a way, much like Anko. He paused, considering. Well, not exactly like Anko. If Anko was like an older sister, than Fu would be considered his younger sister. She was happy and fun to be around, and despite what Kurama said, Naruto suspected that it didn't mind Choemi's visits as much as the Kyubi said that it did.
Spotting Jiraiya heading their way, Naruto hopped to his feet and headed over towards the Sannin. Jiraiya knew quite a few Earth techniques, and Naruto was sure that he wouldn't mind teaching them.
Unkai Kurama was a man living on borrowed time. He was the current head of the Kurama Clan, a small clan who specialized in genjutsu. He had been voted into command after his brother, Murakumo Kurama, the former clan head, had died in a house fire along with his wife, Uroko. Officially ruled as tragic accident, Unkai had soon discovered that it was anything but a mere accident.
Murakumo and Uroko had a single daughter, Yakumo. Born with a weak body and fragile tenketsu, Yakumo was unsuited to become a shinobi.
However, the clan quickly found out that Yakumo had a gift for genjutsu. "No," Unkai thought, "It was much more than a mere 'gift'". Quickly establishing herself as the strongest genjutsu user the clan had seen in generations, Yakumo had been even granted a special trainer name Kurani Yuhi by the Third Hokage. Kurani, however, hadn't lasted long, eventually refusing to continue to train Yakumo after one year of training. Unkai hadn't thought much of it at the time.
Then the fire happened, and all of the things that he had ignored about his niece fell into place, painting a horrifying picture. Yukumo had been born with the Kurama clan's rare bloodline, one that only manifested once every few generations. The bloodline increased the potency of genjutsus they cast ten-fold, and could even kill with genjutsu that was not labeled S Rank. However, such power was not without its downsides. The untrained mind couldn't imagine such elaborate illusions without slowly losing itself to the very illusions they imagined. To counter this, the subconscious would limit itself, keeping the potent power back from potentially damaging the user's psyche.
But the power would not be denied, and would eventually morph into a second personality within the user's mind. Normally rigorous training and meditation would keep it docile, but Yakumo had been far too weak for that type of training. From what Unkai could surmise, the Other personality had emerged and somehow caused the fire that took the life of Yakumo's parents. Shortly after being made Clan Head, Unkai had petitioned the Third Hokage for permission to kill Yakumo so that the village or the Kurama clan wouldn't be put in even more danger. The Third had refused, instead ordering Kurenai to seal the Other personality.
Ostracized by the her clan, Yakumo had moved to a mountain estate outside of the village, seemingly content to live alone. That had been four years ago.
But now, Unkai had learned disturbing new information from the clan's archives. When the user of the Kurama clan's bloodline reached sexual maturity at the age of sixteen, the bloodline would fully awaken. Given that Yakumo had ample reason to hate the village and, more importantly, the clan, Unkai knew that he had to act before it was too late. He had only two weeks before Yakumo turned sixteen.
In another reality Unkai would have gathered the clan and made an assault on Yakumo's estate, but this was not that reality. Here the Kurama clan had allies. Here they had the Uzumaki Faction.
Unkai was pulled out of his memories when the Uzumaki Clan compound gate came into view. Stepping up to the gate, Unkai pressed his hand on the seal that would signal to those inside that he was outside.
Sha-Ding! The sound of the gate bell echoed in the compound.A moment later Unkai felt a wave of cool, almost cold chakra that he knew belonged Haku, Naruto's servant/girlfriend, wash over him. It was less than a minute after her chakra withdrew that Haku opened the gate.
"Yes, Unkai-San?" Her tone was polite and respectful, "How may the Uzumaki Clan help you?"
"I need to speak to Naruto-San." Unkai requested politely, unable to completely keep the urgency out of his tone. "It is of utmost importance."
"I will see if Naruto-Sama is available." Haku bowed slightly and quickly moved off. Once again Unkai admired the sheer efficiency of the Uzumaki clan; how they seemed to be able to make decisions quickly and correctly, and also how Naruto Uzumaki never held himself better than anyone else, despite the fact that he was the son of the Leaf's greatest heroes.
Five minutes later he was seated opposite Naruto at the secured building. Taking a deep breath, Unkai quickly explained the problem the Kurama Clan and the village would soon face.
"While I don't approve of you trying to kill your family," Somehow Naruto's non-confrontational tone made Unkai feel more guilty than if the Uzumaki Clan Head had shouted it, "That doesn't matter at the moment." Naruto tilted his head slightly as he considered what the best action would be. "I have an idea." He looked over at Unkai, his stormy blue eyes suddenly piercing Unkai's own. "But you have to swear that killing Yakumo is off the table."
"But it's the only way to stop the Other from killing everyone." Unkai protested. "That's the way we have always had to do when one of our clan couldn't control their bloodline."
"Just because that's the way you have always done things a certain way doesn't make it right." Naruto didn't raise his voice, but that made his rebuke all the more guilt-inducing. "I refuse to allow my precious people to be hurt." He paused. "Is Yakumo precious to you?"
"I…" Unkai wasn't sure what to think. He had never let himself think of it before. Ever since Murakumo had died, Unkai had forced himself to think of his clan first and foremost. He had never given himself the time to consider what he wanted, much less granted himself the freedom to grieve for his lost brother. "I...just don't know."
"I'll wait." Naruto wasn't about to kill someone innocent, nor would he save her only to have her clan try to kill her.
Unkai leaned back and carefully thought about Yakumo. He remembered the shining smiles she used to smile to anyone who crossed her path, her inner happiness proving to be infectious. He remembered how she had thrown herself into genjutsu training, often working herself to exhaustion. He remembered all of the times she would watch other clan members train, her brown eyes reflecting her sadness at being unable to join them. He remembered…
"Uncle, I can be a ninja right? I can use my gifts to help others and protect everyone I know!"
He remembered the sound of her heart rending sobs when Yakumo learned her parents had died. He remembered the confused hurt look in her eyes when they had ceased talking to her. He remembered the pained look she had as she slowly left the clan compound. He remembered…
"I..I'm sorry for existing Uncle."
"My god," The horrified whisper ghosted out of Unkai's mouth, "What have I done?"
"Would you like to save Yakumo?" Unkai felt determination begin to kindle within him at the sight of Naruto's outstretched hand.
"Yes." There was no hesitation. Unkai knew that he had failed Yakumo before, and he would not abandon her now.
"Good." There was acceptance in Naruto's tone. Closing his eyes, the Uzumaki concentrated for a moment and created several clones. "Go get Kurenai-Sensei, Inoichi and Hiashi." He order the copies. The four clones saluted before heading out. At Unkai's curious look, Naruto explained his reasoning. "Inoichi is the Yamanaka Clan head. He know the most about personality disorders. Hiashi is the Hyuga Clan head and the Byakugan can pierce through almost any illusion. Kurenai-Sensei was her teacher."
Unkai nodded in understanding. "Is this what it is like to have allies?"
"So this is the plan:" Naruto glanced at the gathered members of the Kurama clan along with the members of the Uzumaki and Yamanaka clan, "We suspect that the mansion Yakumo retreated to has at least one, if not more, large area affecting genjutsu. I possess enough chakra to dispel any wide area genjutsu technique." He paused for a moment. "Once I breach the genjutsu, the teams of Hyuga, Kurama, and Yamanaka will spread out to see if they can locate Yakumo."
Holding up a picture of a pretty brown haired girl, Naruto indicated that the picture was the same as the one that was in each of the teams' folders. She had pale white skin and brown eyes that seemed to dance with equal parts happiness and determination. Her long chestnut brown hair seemed to reach, from the angle of the picture, to Yakumo's back. The silk pink kimono she wore was held shut by a pink sash with two pockets in the front. A hint of violet baggy pants peeked through the slit of her kimono. "This is the latest picture we have of Yakumo Kurama."
Once he was sure that everyone had memorized Yakumo's features, Naruto continued with the mission briefing. "The Hyuga will use their Byakugan to attempt to pierce the smaller scale illusions, and the Kurama team members will attempt to counter them. If Yakumo is spotted, the Yamanaka team member will attempt to use their clan techniques to stun Yakumo until Inoichi and I can arrive." Naruto turned to the Yamanaka Clan Head. "Inoichi?"
"Thank-you, Naruto." Inoichi turned to face the table at large. "As far as we can tell, the secondary personality, or 'Other' as the Kurama call it, is specifically an Id personality type. It operates and is controlled by its baser instincts." Inoichi paused, attempting to figure out how to succinctly explain the personality to those who hadn't been trained in the psyche.
"The Id is the unorganized part of the personality that is mostly driven by a human's basic, instinctual drives. While I could speak on the subject of the Id personality for several hours, I will keep this brief. The Id personality is theorized to be the source of our wants and desires, especially dealing with the sexual and aggressive drives." Inoichi paused, how to describe the Id, "In essence, the Id is without morals. It doesn't understand good or evil. It operates on pure instincts. Normally the Id is countered by an individual's super-ego, however this isn't the case for the 'Other'."
"From what I have been told of the Kurama Clan's past experiences with 'Others', It seems that it is a selfish but not evil personality. However, I must stress that the personality doesn't have a moral compass that most have. I suspect that the 'Other' personality will be dependent on the dominate personality, given that they are born from them. But make no mistake, the 'Other' will have no limits to what it could do if it feels threatened. The records of previous users generally note that it's a malicious personality. "
"In short, you may see all different types of illusions, both horrifying and benign. Trust in your teammates and ignore anything that doesn't seem to make sense." Inoichi turned to Hiashi. "Hiashi?"
"Make sure you look for the chakra patterns." Hiashi wasn't about to lose anyone to an illusion, "Once you find the pattern, lock your gaze onto it and never look away. Remember, if you truly know it's an illusion, it cannot hurt you." Hiashi nodded at Naruto, indicating that he could continue to explain the next step.
"Once Yakumo has been located, Inoichi and I will enter Yakumo's mind using the Yamanaka technique of Mind Walking. Once we are inside, we will subdue the Other personality. Hopefully it can be reasoned with. If not," Naruto smiled grimly, "I have something far scarier in my head." He paused. "Any questions?"
When no questions were posed, The Uzumaki Clan Head stood up from his chair. "Alright. Assemble into your teams. And remember, we are going to save a girl from her inner monster. Don't take any unnecessary risks, and do everything within your power to come back home to those you care about." His blue eyes flashed with determination. "Let's go save Yakumo." Cutting his eyes to Kurenai who was looking down at the table, Naruto quietly approached his former teacher.
"Kurenai-Sensei? Are you alright?"
"I…" Kurenai couldn't lie to her student and friend, "...No. I'm not alright." Kurenai heaved a deep breath. "This shouldn't be your burden." Her tone was heavy with guilt-filled regret. "Six years ago I was ordered to teach Yakumo. She was such a bright girl, always smiling and laughing." Kurenai smiled slightly at the memory. "And she was so eager to become a shinobi. She believed with all her heart that she would become a shinobi, despite the fact that she was far too weak for even the most basic of chakra exercises."
The red eyed genjutsu mistress gave a short bitter laugh. "She was so sure that I was a good enough teacher to help her." Open bitterness tinged her tone. "She was wrong." Kurenai couldn't look at Naruto as she confessed her darkest secret; her failure as a teacher. "Yakumo had heard of Gai's success with Rock Lee; of how in spite of the fact that Lee couldn't mold chakra Gai was able to make him a shinobi with nothing more than specialized training, enthusiasm, and optimism."
Kurenai shook her head. "I wasn't so optimistic. I didn't believe that I could make Yakumo a shinobi if she couldn't do even the most basic of chakra exercises." She covered her face. "I didn't believe in her. I tried to summon the optimism for an entire year. Openly I praised her skill with genjutsu as she mastered in days what it took me months to master. Privately," It was a ashamed whisper, "I wondered if each day I taught her would be her last; that each lesson I showed her would make her push herself too hard. And one day she would channel too much chakra, or perhaps grow to confident in her abilities, and she would die. Perhaps it would be her chakra points rupturing, or perhaps her lungs would give out."
"For six months I fought those thoughts, that I was enabling that enthusiastic and beautiful girl's death. That I was shepherding her to her demise. That the wonderful girl, who was many times more talented than I could ever be, was going to die...because I showed her how." A lone tear escaped her tightly clenched control. "And after six more months I couldn't take it any more. I left, and Yakumo never knew why."
Years ago Naruto would have judged, would have asked Kurenai why she had abandoned Yakumo. But Naruto was beginning to understand that the world for most people wasn't black and white. He was beginning to understand that he couldn't judge people for what they had done in the past when he hadn't been there. He could only seek to understand why those he cared about did the things that they did. And so, looking down at Kurenai, who somehow looked so small and vulnerable right then, Naruto couldn't help but reach down and hug his teacher.
"You are a good sensei." It was a whisper, one meant only for her, because she was the only one who didn't believe it. "You taught me skills I didn't know I needed. You gave Sakura-Chan and Hinata-Chan the tools they needed to protect themselves." He felt her shake her head unwilling to believe her student with the ghosts of the past screaming so loud in her ear. Naruto pressed onwards. "And most importantly, you cared about me."
"So if you can't believe in yourself, then believe me when I say this: You are a good teacher and person. And if you have done someone a wrong, then I know that you will do what it takes to make it right."
Inoichi poked his head into the doorway and after spotting Naruto and Kurenai's emotional moment, mouthed to Naruto that the teams were ready whenever he was. The Uzumaki Clan Head nodded slightly, signally that he understood. Inoichi retreated once again.
It was only a short time later when Naruto felt Kurenai's back start to stiffen, her resolve rekindling. Loosening the hug, Naruto watched his teacher become the person he always knew she was.
"Naruto."
"Yes, Sensei?"
"Let's go save my student."
The formally abandoned estate that Yakumo had taken up residence in was located outside the village, little over a mile from the village proper. When Naruto and the teams reached the outskirts of the manor's grounds, they couldn't help but stare at the seemingly abandoned grounds. Vines snaked across the outer walls and intertwined with the pillars. Once strong walls were now in disrepair. In the distance a fountain could be seen, it's waters long since dried up.
But there was an eeriness to the area, a sense of wrongness that permeated every inch of the grounds. Every instinct inside of the men and women assembled shouted to leave the place alone; to forget it's very existence. After all, there would be no shame in turning back.
Naruto Uzumaki stepped forward. "Is everyone ready?" Drawing from his strength; his courage; his unending defiance, the teams gathered themselves, steeling themselves for the ordeal that was to come.
"Here we go…" Naruto reached deep inside himself, delving into the seemingly endless pool of chakra, gathering his power for an unstoppable surge. Bright blue chakra wisps, looking very similar to flickering flames, began to shroud his form. Occasionally a bright red flare flashed amidst the blue. Within a few moments the chakra aura grew until those close could practically taste the tang of Naruto's inner energy. He sought to burn bright, but not hot; to destroy the fragile latticework of the area genjutsu without destroying the building itself. Then...Naruto raised his hands and unleashed the chakra.
A blinding wave of bright blue chakra blasted outwards, smashing into the convincing illusion. It was like taking a hammer to a piece of glass. The illusion shattered, the real image of the estate snapping into focus. Walls that seemed broken down reverted to a mere worn state. Vines that had covered every inch of the walls now only had started to encroach on the architecture.
"Teams One, Two, Three, and Four, move towards your assigned locations. Team Primary will head directly to the center of the estate." Naruto, Inochi, Kurenai, and Hiashi moved through the open gate. As Team Primary, they were heading towards the most likely location Yakumo would be at. The rest of the teams split up, heading towards their assigned locations.
Ko Hyuga was continually amazed at Naruto's power. Intellectually he knew that Naruto had powers far beyond that of a normal shinobi, but to witness it first hand...Ko was still amazed at how strong the Uzumaki was. "Hinata-Sama was right to pursue Naruto. They will protect each other and grow stronger. They will be the most perfect couple someday…" Hinata's former bodyguard could just imagine blue haired children with sky blue eyes running around, and, Kami willing, Ko would be chosen to guard them as they grew up. But...in order to do that, he needed to assist Naruto-Sama in gaining more allies. Yakumo would become their ally. Ko knew first hand how Naruto-Sama could do the seemingly impossible. Sending a spike of chakra to his eyes, Ko took point as the team moved towards their assigned area.
Isas Yamanka wondered if he was perhaps the only sane man in his team. Kaemon Hyuga was obviously skilled in usage with his bloodline, the Hyuga having navigated the team through several genjutsu traps already. However...Kaemon was the most non-Hyuga Hyuga Isas had ever met. And he didn't even want to get started on the emotionless member of the Kurama clan that had been assigned to his team. The Kurama Clan member hadn't even given out his name, simply stating 'I am part of the Kurama Clan'. Still, he seemed to know the art of disabling Genjutsu well enough.
"Like I was saying before that illusion so rudely interrupted me," Kaemon continued, "What's so wrong with teaching Main Branch how to wield a staff in combat?" He raised his arms in a confused manner. "I mean, it's a purely tactical decision."
"And how is it a tactical decision?" Isas hoped that by indulging the Hyuga, Kaemon might soon quiet down. "Furthermore, and more importantly, shouldn't you be focused on making sure we don't fall into any genjutsu traps?"
"Benefits of three-hundred and sixty degree vision." Kaemon grinned, "But to answer your first question," He paused, "If a Hyuga ran out of chakra, they could switch to the pole that is stuck up their bum."
Even the Kurama member seemed stunned and shocked by Kaemon's statement.
"You...aren't like the other Hyuga are you?"
"Yeeeeahhhhh…" Kaemon admitted, "I get that a lot." A moment later he blinked, his entire posture shifting to alert. "Sadly it's time to be all business." He pointed to the path ahead. "Unlike before, there is chakra everywhere ahead. I can't locate where one genjutsu ends and another starts." He grinned. "Let's earn our pay gentlemen."
Suddenly Kaemon paused, his face slightly paling. "We have been heading towards our assigned location, right?" Isas nodded. "We have been traveling at a moderate for ten minutes and we haven't even passed the second marker yet. The estate grounds aren't even that big."
"Oh shit." Isas wondered when they had come under the influence of the subtle genjutsu. He spiked his chakra. Nothing changed. The Yamanaka spiked his chakra even higher. Nothing changed. Shoving enough chakra out of his chakra points to make them ache, Isas attempted to break the illusion's hold on him. Nothing changed.
"This type of illusion can only be dispelled by finding the central location." The Kurama Clan member informed his teammates, seemingly unshaken by the recent revelation.
"Welp." Kaemon couldn't break the genjutsu, nor could his Byakuran detect where it ended, "Looks like we should start looking for a center point." He paused, considering, "Still, this is better than having to guard the elder chambers." The Hyuga shrugged. "All they do is glare at each other lately." The team headed off, doing their best to walk in the correct direction. However, they were keenly aware that they could be simply walking in circles and there wasn't a damn thing they could do about it.
Yakumo scowled to herself as she watched the different groups - teams perhaps? They looked like they were moving in small, focused groups - wonder about her home; her sanctum; her place of refuge. Noticing that one of the teams was almost breaking through her genjutsu, the Kurama heiress quickly turned to a canvas filled with rough outlines of children playing in the grass. While she didn't need to paint in order to use her gift with genjutsu, painting what she wanted to happen in the illusion made it enormously easier to focus on the exact result she wanted, thus lessening the chakra strain.
She was already feeling the chakra strain from having to create so many different genjutus, and knew she couldn't keep this up forever. Dabbing her paint brush into the orange paint, Yakumo quickly painted flames over the children with quick efficient strokes. Feeling her chakra drain slightly, Yakumo nodded to herself. That should keep them busy while she dealt with the main group that was forging their way directly to her location. Kurenai-Sensei was with them, and Yakumo knew that normal illusions wouldn't hold them for long.
Kurenai had thought she understood genjutsu; Had thought that she understood creating an illusion that deceived, distracted, and stunned the enemy. She was wrong. She had felt the fire of a flame that didn't exist; Had felt the icy chill of the coldest winter night; Had felt pain and grief as she watched visions of those she cared about die. All she could do was find the genjutsu center point, and end the illusion.
But each time she ended them, another sprung up within moments. Progress was made, but it was a slow march forward. Kurani felt tiredness edge at her mind, the rapid expenditure of chakra from ending one genjutsu after another draining her coils. But...the last time she had broken the illusion, they were almost inside the mansion's door. And then a new illusion swallowed them up, the ground falling away to reveal lava below. The gaping chasm seemed impossible. There was no bridge or jutting rock that they could use to cross the grouge.
Feeling the intense heat sear her face, Kurenai quickly glanced around, searching for the edge of the illusion. The heat was quite distracting, and she could already feel sweat beginning to bead on her forehead. Movement off to her right caused her to stop and stare. Naruto had apparently decided that he was going to pass the gorge. The blonde Uzumaki eyed the other side of the lava filled chasm, seemingly listening to something only he could hear, and then suddenly hurled a kunai directly at the other side.
Shock and sudden terror for Naruto spiked through Kurenai's system as she watched Naruto instantly leap after the speeding kunai. "Naruto-Kun!" Kurenai couldn't hold back the panicked shout, "What are you doing?"
As Naruto reached the apex of his jump, he suddenly Kawarimi'd with his kunai. Crashing through the other side of the illusion, Naruto spun around to see the genjutsu twitch, seemingly in shock, before dissipating. A moment later Kurenai, Inoichi, Unkai, and Hiashi were by his side. Carefully entering the hallway, Naruto kept all of his senses alert for any traps or illusions.
Vivid paintings lined the walls. Some of the paintings were peaceful, a waterfall that looked so life-like that you swore the mist was moving. Others were nothing short of nightmares, bodies laying scattered like discarded toys. But the most terrible was the paintings with fire. Unlike the others, the charred corpses were detailed, as if the painter was intimately aware of how a burned body looked.
"Ready yourselves." Hiashi's low voice instantly drew Naruto's attention from a picture of a village sitting in the eye of a massive whirlpool. The image had...seemed familiar somehow. A moment later a pretty brown haired girl dressed in a faded pink kimono stepped carefully into the room at the far end of the hallway.
"Come to finish the job, Konoha Ninja?" The last words were spit out, as if Yakumo hated to even speak the name. "You killed my parents, and now...now you have come for me." Her brown eyes flashed a deep black for a moment. "You'll find I am much harder to kill!"
"Inoichi!" Kurenai couldn't hold her cry of alarm quiet, "Subdue her before she casts another genjutsu! They will be stronger the closer she gets to us!"
"Right." Inochi nodded and surged his chakra. He instantly pivoted on heel and fired his clan's technique at Yakumo. Hiashi collapsed as Inoichi's technique slammed into him. Both men collapsed to Kurenai's horror. A moment later vines sprung up, wrapping around the red eyed woman with the speed and strength of a constricting snake.
Recognizing the genjutsu as one of the ones she had taught to Yakumo, Kurenai spiked her chakra as she attempted to break the illusion's hold. The thick vines didn't even twitch.
"Now then," Yakumo's eyes flashed black, as she glared at Naruto, "To deal with you…" Weaving her hands through several hand signs, the Kurama heiress felt a dark smile crease her lips as the voice of Her ghosted through her mind.
"He looks so confident, as if he has never experienced loss. Not like we have." The voice of Her was soothing. She was her only friend, the only one who would never leave her. Not like Mama or Papa. Not like Kurenai-Sensei.
Information filtered into Yakumo's mind, a gift from Her. "Use this illusion. Make him experience what we have! Break his confidence! Break his determination! No one is stronger than us!"
Kurenai felt her blood turn to ice as she recognized the technique Yakumo was about to complete. It was Narakumi no Jutsu, the Hell Viewing Technique. The genjutsu showed the person it affected their worst fears; often paralyzing them with fear or loss. Sometimes it would be strong enough to drive the target into catatonic shock. However, Kurenai knew what Naruto would do if he saw his worst fears, and it wouldn't be collapsing in shock…
"Yakumo! Don't do it!" Kurenai pleaded with her student, "You don't know how he will react!" The Jonin attempted to reach Yakumo, to prevent the disaster Kurenai knew was about to happen. "He doesn't deserve that!"
"Did my parents deserve to die?" Yakuno retorted coldly, feeling Her encircle her in a hug, shielding her from the desire to listen to Kurenai; to ask her Sensei for forgiveness.
Naruto was more than slightly confused. Kurenai and Yakumo were talking, and to his limited knowledge, they seemed to be getting along rather well. Wanting to let them make up, Naruto contented himself with waiting until they finished. But...why then did he feel like something was wrong?
"Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu." Yakumo activated the illusion, pouring her chakra into the technique to make it seem more real. It was the worst mistake she would make in her life. Remembering Kurenai's warning, Yakumo chained another technique onto the now frozen Uzumaki Clan Head. "Shibire no Jutsu."
The world suddenly shifted around Naruto, a sudden squall of twisting leaves obscuring his vision. Dropping into a defensive crouch, the Uzumaki readied himself for an attack. Then, without warning, the leaves dropped to the ground, covering a small portion of the now revealed battlefield in a green carpet. Despite knowing that it was was just a genjutsu...it all seemed so real. Walking forward, Naruto stepped onto the battlefield; he stepped into a nightmare. Blood soaked the ground, staining the charred ground.
Countless bodies dotted the landscape, the blonde Uzumaki being the only living soul on the scarred battlefield. Recognizing some of the dead, Naruto felt almost as if he was drifting, empty numbness choking out any emotion he would have felt. He saw Kakashi, surrounded by perforated corpses. At the grey-haired ninja's side was Anko, her ever faithful personal summon still snarling in death. Another few feet was Kurenai and Asuma, their specialities having synergized to reap a terrible toll on their faceless enemies.
Smaller, but no less impressive, piles of bodies surrounded Shino and Kin. The Aburame's bugs and Kin's poisoned senbon had culled more than a few targets before they had been overwhelmed. A few more paces away was Yugao and Hayate, their blades stained red from enemies that they had slain. They looked peaceful, even as they lay on the ground.
Tayuya had accumulated an impressive body count, her illusions causing the faceless enemies to butcher one another before she eventually ran out of chakra. Her flute was bloodied, and even while she had been exhausted, she had killed a dozen more with nothing more than her beloved musical instrument. Seeing her dead form caused a spark of something, some emotion, deep within Naruto's chest. Then the numbness drowned the blonde Uzumaki again, and he moved on.
The next body he recognized was Karin, the two dozen bodies surrounding her bearing testament to the combat training she had received. The spark of emotion lasted a second longer this time before it was snuffed out once again.
Fu had cleared out vast swathes of enemies as they had charged her, and countless craters dotted the area. But in the end, she had been only mortal. The spark inside Naruto's chest burned for a moment, and the ground twitched for a moment before the numbness slammed down on him once again.
Stepping forward, Naruto was confronted by mounds of the dead, each a faceless enemy. They had died in such numbers that their bodies had created great piles, blocking their killers from Naruto's sight. Clambering over the bodies, Naruto froze as he dropped to the ground, his gaze locked on the three kunoichi surrounded by the countless bodies.
Hinata had that deceptively gentle look on her face, even as her body lay still. Sakura had that fierce look on her face that Naruto remembered so well, even though she had succumbed to the dozen injuries that she had taken. Haku looked peaceful, even as she had entombed herself and a vast section of the battlefield in the unforgiving ice.
The spark ignited in Naruto's chest once again. This time it resisted the numbness, smoldering within the Uzumaki. Then the numbness crashed into him, encasing him in an emotionless shell. Naruto didn't notice any of the stirring emotions, nor the numbness that followed. No, only one thought consumed his mind.
"Sakura-Chan, Hinata-Chan, and Haku-Chan are dead. I failed. I failed to protect them. I failed." It looped endlessly in his mind.
Then a different thought drifted in his mind. "They are all dead. But someone killed them. Someone ordered them dead."
The spark of emotion burst into flames. Unstoppable pressure began to crack the emotionless shell encasing Naruto's mind. Then...it shattered.
Rage, white-hot blazing wrath burned away any attempts to control Naruto's emotions. "Someone killed Sakura-Chan! Stabbed Hinata-Chan! Impaled Haku-Chan! I will...Obliterate them! Burn Them! CRUSH THEM! MAIM! TEAR! BURN!" The terrible flames of the Kyubi's chakra began to flicker into being around Naruto's, the very ground shuddering under the weight of his rage. Letting out a roar, chakra blasted out from Naruto, stripping even the ground bare.
The genjutsu shattered.
Kurenai had only the tiniest moment of warning before a wave of unstoppable chakra pulsed out from Naruto for the briefest of seconds. The chakra wave shredded the genjutsu holding her, the pressure alone sanding her smashing back through the doorway into the hallway beyond. Inoichi and Hiashi, just now recovering from the Yamanaka's accidental friendly fire, were thrown like toys through the thin wood walls. The paintings in the room ignited, only to be smothered out by the pressure. All of the windows on the lower level of the mansion blew out with a thunderous crash.
Yakumo hurled backwards, a sharp cry of pain forcing itself past her lips as her arm snapped when she collided with the wall. Her cry was cut off as all of the air forced from her lungs and her vision flickered black for a moment when the back of her head slammed into the wall. What had she unleashed?
Caught between his rage over the deaths of those he cared about and confusion over the sudden change in scenery, the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox hesitated.
"Naruto!" Kurama's voice boomed in Naruto's head, "It was just an illusion. They are all unhurt."
Naruto blinked, his rage dissipating as he heard his friend's words. The choking killing intent vanished, taking along the chakra cloak with it. Blinking again, Naruto scratched his head in puzzlement as he took in his surroundings. When had they entered a room? Last he could remember, they had been in a hallway with vivid paintings…
Remembering his allies, Naruto gave a gasp of shock and concentrated for a moment, creating several clones to attend to his allies. "Wha...Wh-Who are you?" Yakumo's frightened stammer brought Naruto's attention back to the Kurama Clan heiress. Naruto winced in sympathy as he saw her forearm had been snapped somehow. It looked like a clean break, so it shouldn't be hard for a medic ninja to set.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto smiled at the girl, having already discarded the memory of the illusion. It had been, after all, not real. "Yakumo, right? We are here to rescue you." Taking a few steps towards the girl, Naruto stopped, confused as she pressed herself against the wall, a panicked look painting itself across her face as she began to hyperventilate.
"Don't come any closer!" Yakumo trembled as she saw Naruto extend his hand in what would have been a calming gesture had she not felt that utterly terrifying killing intent spilling from him just minutes ago.
"I will protect you!" The comforting voice of Her was frantic. A moment later Yakumo felt her chakra surge and an image of Her coalesced in front of the hurt heiress, standing between Yakumo and the deceptively harmless looking Naruto. Despite having never seen Her face, Yakumo instantly felt safer seeing Her back, the pink kimono She was dressed in reminding Yakumo of her mother's kimono from long ago.
"You will not harm her." The creature snarled at Naruto. She looked similar to Yakumo, even the pink kimono was almost the same color as Yakumo's. They had the same physical build, and even the same shade of hair. But that was where the similarities ended. The creature's visage was nothing short of demonic. Two long fangs jutted out of a mouth filled with sharpened teeth, and the creature's brownish-grey skin twisted in outrage. Two blackened eyes glared at Naruto, daring him to attack Yakumo.
Naruto had seen worse. "The Other I presume?" The creature snarled in response.
Suddenly Yakumo slumped forwards as Inoichi's jutsu slammed into her. The Other disappeared with a rage filled snarl. "Naruto." Inoichi called, "Brace yourself. I am going to bring us into Yakumo's mind." Naruto nodded once and braced himself. Feeling the world shift once more, Naruto closed his eyes. Opening them a moment later, Naruto blinked in surprise. While he knew that other people would have more exotic mindscapes than his own, he had never dreamed anything like this. They were in an endless color-filled void the myriad of shifting colors of red, blue, and green that flowed and morphed into new colors with no discernible pattern. Countless paintings, both crude and detailed, were suspended all around them. Looking down, Naruto noted that he, Inoichi, Kurenai, and Yakumo stood on a large painting of a wooden floor.
"What do you want with her?" The Other materialized in between Yakumo and the others, "She doesn't need help. I'm the only one she needs." The Id personality's bared it's Fangs in open challenge. "I'm the only one she will ever need." A rather disturbing, yet adoring smile etched across the Other's face. "After all, I am the only one who will truly love her."
Inoichi felt himself pale ever so slightly. He had been wrong, so very wrong about the Other's personality. He had assumed that it would be malicious, if not outright evil. All of the other Kurama clan members who were born with their bloodline had recorded the same basic personality type. However, the Yamanaka Clan Head had forgotten one important piece of information: They had all been male.
By simple virtue of gender, the Other would have been predispositioned to be more caring. However, given that it was only an Id personality, it would have never learned how to temper such care. Over time, the Other's caring of Yakumo must have turned into an obsession of sorts, and then a complex of some kind. This...wouldn't end well.
Seeing Kurenai temporarily frozen in shock by the Other's personality and misinterpreting Inoichi's slightly pale face, Naruto took the lead. He spoke simply, only initially inquiring since he didn't judge the Other by her/it's appearance. "Has Yakumo requested that you protect her from everyone?"
Of all things Other had expected from the boy, no, monster - what else could he be when he had produced such terrible chakra and killing intent? - it wasn't that question. "What?"
"Has Yakumo requested that you protect her from everyone?" Naruto repeated. Seeing the confusion on Other's face, Naruto did his best to elaborate, despite not being fully understanding the topic himself. "When you care about someone, truly care about them, you want to do what will make them happy, what will bring them joy." Naruto paused, thinking of Sakura-Chan, Hinata-Chan, and Haku-Chan. "Because the thing is, it's not about you. It's about them." An amazed smile broke across his face, like the sun peeking out from behind a cloud.
"And somehow...for some strange, unknown reason, they care for you back." Naruto refocused. Now was not the time to talk about his wonderful, amazing girlfriends. "So let me ask you again: Has Yakumo requested that you protect her from everyone?"
For the first time since it had been, for a lack of a better word, birthed, the Other hesitated. It had always known that it had Yakumo's best interest - after all it had been with her since the beginning, it was the only one that understood her. Even those who called themselves Yakumo's parents had betrayed Yakumo...a crime that had only one punishment - But as much as it wanted to dismiss Naruto's words, there was such a...truth to his tone that she couldn't deny them.
Now that Other thought about it for a moment, had she ever asked Yakumo what she wanted? Such a breach of action was unacceptable; unthinkable; untolerable! Instantly spinning on her heel, Other turned to Yakumo with boundless urgency. "Yakumo, what do you want me to do for you?"
Yakumo stared up at her Other. It was the first time she had seen her face, and was frozen for a moment. "Is this Other's true face?" Yakumo blinked before mentally shaking her head. "No. It doesn't matter. She was with me when everyone turned against me. She was with me when Papa and Momma died. She was the only one who cared."
"Hello Other." Yakumo smiled at her friend, "All I want you to do is be my friend."
Mere words could not describe the pure ecstasy that Other felt when Yakumo acknowledged her existence. Then Inoichi brought Unkai into the mindscape and everything began to fall apart.
"Yakumo!" Unkai took a step forward, "I'm so glad you are alright. I feared the worst when I felt that massive spike of chakra." The regretful uncle did his best to push his feelings of relief at seeing his niece alive and well into his tone. If she was alive and well, there was a chance he could fix this; could begin to make up for all of the wrong he had allowed to happen; all of the wrong he had committed.
"Uncle?" Yakumo slowly pushed herself to her feet, "What do you mean? You hate me."
"No." Unkai felt shame and guilt wash over him again, "I never truly hated you. No, I hated what was inside you and I let that hate color everything I did, everything I let happen to you."
Yakumo seemed torn between rage at seeing Unkai again and confused hurt at his words. "What do you mean Uncle? There isn't anything wrong with me."
"He means me." Other's eyes flashed, "He is the cause of your suffering. Were it not for him, your parents would never have had the idea to seal your chakra." It's hands twitched with barely restrained desire to rip apart the man, "Because of him, your parents had to die in order to keep you safe." If it's gaze had the power to burn, Unkai would have instantly been reduced to ash. "It's all his fault!"
"W-What was that about Papa and Momma?" Yakumo felt something edging at her mind, almost as if there was something she had forgotten. "I thought that the Third Hokage had them killed." She felt tears welling up at the memory of finding out that her beloved parents had burned to death in that terrible fire.
Unkai shook his head. "No. Hokage-Sama gave no such order."
Yakumo felt confused, and a headache suddenly began forming. "Who killed Papa and Momma then?"
"No!" Other spun to face Yakumo, the personality's demonic features reflecting the open panic that Other felt, "You do not want to remember! It will hurt you. You do not want to remember the day they died!"
Other's warning cry came too late as Yakumo remembered…
"Is there no other way?" Uroko whispered, doing her best to keep her voice low to avoid disturbing her sleeping daughter, Yakumo. "Perhaps we can send away for another tutor. Or there could be still training that we haven't found yet that Yakumo can do. She is always so happy to train with her gifts."
"I wish there was another way." Murakumo replied, his voice quiet as Uroko's. "I have searched for another genjutsu trainer across all of the Land of Fire. I even checked in the capitol. I could not find anyone who would take Yakumo on, no matter how much Ryo I offered." He sighed, the burden of having to take away his daughter's happiness weighing heavily on his soul. "But I would rather she be alive and hate us than for her to lose control. I could not kill her, no matter who or what is in control of her body."
Uruko forced herself not to cry. She had to be strong for her baby girl. They had to seal Yakumo's chakra before Yakumo had another black-out event. "Yes. It seems to be our only option." A lone tear escaped her tight control. "I'm so sorry my little cloud."
"I'll start sealing her chakra as soon as we finish the supplies." Murakumo hated himself for what he was about to do.
Unnoticed by either grieving parent, Yakumo's eyes snapped open, her eyes black. "You would take Yakumo away from me!" The thought enraged Other. "I will not allow it!"
Events moved rapidly than. A genjutsu altered the couple's perceptions, and quickly enough they knocked over the several burning lamps. Another genjutsu dulled their sense of pain. It took quite a bit of effort to to move Yakumo's body, but Other was determined. Yakumo would never know of this pain, this thing that Other had to do in order to protect her...
"No." Yakumo shook her head, not wanting to believe the truth. Momma and Papa died because of her! She hadn't been strong enough. "No!" Her hands drifted up clutch her head. "No." Something inside Yakumo began to shatter. "No." It was a despaired whisper. "I-It's all my fault." Any life that had previously shined in the brown haired girl's eyes dulled into non-existence. "I killed Momma and Papa." Her arms dropped down to pull her knees up to her chest. "It's all my fault."
"No." Naruto knelt beside the despairing girl, "It's not your fault." Pulling her into a hug, the blonde Uzumaki whispered the words he had once longed to hear, "It's not your fault. You didn't kill them."
Yakumo shattered in his arms. She cried. She wept. She screamed. She wailed. And during the entire time Naruto was there, holding her; offering his strength to her when she had none left; being there when she had no one.
Other stared at Yakumo's broken form unseeingly as one through circled it's mind. "I have hurt Yakumo." Slowly, but surely, emotions began to emerge. Words could not describe how much Other loathed itself. Hated itself. She wanted to tear itself apart for ever causing pain to it's beloved Yakumo. Slowly, Other shattered.
"It's going to be okay." Naruto rubbed Yakumo's back comfortingly, somehow sensing Kurenai hovering in the background, wanting to help, but also knowing that Naruto was the best person to help Yakumo. "It's going to be okay."
Slowly, the thought slithered into Other's mind. "I should kill myself so I never hurt Yakumo again. That will make this all better."
Time moved differently in the mindscape. Eventually Yakumo could weep no more tears and fell into an exhausted, fitful sleep.
Having no tears to shed, nor knowing how to do so even if she could, Other slowly materialized a kunai and raised it to her throat. "No one will miss me." Feeling the pinprick of the razor sharp tip, Other tensed herself. "I really am a monster." She pushed the blade forward.
Suddenly a hand closed around her arm, holding it fast. "You are who you choose to be." Naruto whispered, empathy covering his tone. "Are you going to just give up and quit?" The blonde Uzumaki's eyes pierced Other's. "Where is that fire you had? Are you going to fight for Yakumo? To be there when she awakes?"
"No!" Other violently shook her head, "I'm a Monster! I'm Filthy! Dirty! A Murderer! I HURT Yakumo!" She struggled to free her arm. "I have to die." Closing her eyes, Other attempted to draw upon her gift to distract Naruto so she could save Yakumo.
"I am not here to condemn you, nor am I here to absolve you." Naruto shook his head, "You have not attacked those I care about. You did not kill those that I knew. But I know this:" Something flicked in Naruto's mind, a memory of not so long ago, "If you can't find a reason to live for yourself, then live for someone else until you can find a reason within yourself."
"What was I about to do?" Other couldn't believe her own selfishness, lowering her head in shame, "I was about to leave Yakumo alone again." Glancing up at Naruto, she asked him the question that was burning within her. "Will the pain ever go away?"
Naruto slowly let go of Other's arm, knowing that the danger had past. "I don't know," Naruto admitted honestly, "I'm still trying to figure that out. But," Naruto smiled at the memories of his most precious people, "I know that the pain was worth it. Because of what happened to me, I met the most amazing people in the world."
Other could feel herself fading, as Yakumo slipped into a deeper sleep, no doubt assisted by Inoichi. Before she fully faded, one last question tumbled out of her mouth. "And have you found a reason to live for yourself?"
"Not yet." Naruto's smile was small, but content. "But I'm slowly working on it. And even if I don't, I'm ok with that. Because people care about me."
In that moment, something shifted within Other. "I will live for Yakumo. I may be just a figment of her personality, something that should not exist, but I will live for her."
Blinking as he awoke back to the real world, Naruto glanced over at Inoichi as the Yamanaka Clan Head attempted to heal some of the bruises he sustained from being thrown through the wall. "That's going to sting in the morning." Noticing Naruto's look, Inoichi answered Naruto's unasked question. "Yakumo's going to be alright. She will need quite a bit of care, both mentally and physically, but she will eventually be alright. I'll speak to Unkai about letting her stay in the ward section of the Yamanaka's Clan Compound during her recovery."
Inoichi paused, a slight chuckle drifting out of his mouth. "If you ever decide that you want to stop being a ninja, perhaps you should consider becoming a therapist." His tone was joking, but held the slightest undertone of seriousness.
"Nah." Naruto dismissed as helped Kurenai to her feet, "I just used my own experiences to help figure out what to say." He grinned at Inoichi. "You don't have to worry about me taking your job any time soon." His smile fell away. "I'm not yet strong enough to protect those I care about yet."
"Sochi!" Kushina cheered as her son materialized in his mindscape, "I missed you."
Naruto grinned at his mother as he felt happiness swell within his heart once again. "I missed you too Mom." After the pair shared a hug once again - Kushina was a person who was better at sharing her love and affection through actions, not words - Naruto posed the question he had been wanting to ask since the heady knowledge of meeting his mother had faded into utter happiness.
"Mom?"
"Hmmm?" Kushina tilted her head at her son, "What is it, Naruto?"
"Could you train me?"
Kushina grinned happily before doing her best to school her expression into one of cool acceptance. She failed rather badly. "Of course. But while I am training you, I want you to tell me all about everything that has happened to you."
"Deal." Naruto couldn't stop grinning. "This is awesome."
"We'll continue with training your mind to control your chakra chains next time." Kushina promised. "You know that I am so proud of you, right Naruto?" The radiant smile she got from Naruto answered her question.
Pulling his mother into one final hug, Naruto faded away.
Once she was sure that Naruto had gone, Kushina let the frown that she had been holding inside surface. Naruto still had a very long way to go with his chains. Ironically, he had the opposite problem Kushina had when she first starting training with her chakra chains. He wasn't having any trouble manifesting them, but instead controlling them. Kushina suspected that she was, in a way, to blame for that.
The chains Naruto manifested were a manifestation of her desire to protect her son. However, without the reasoning of an intelligent creature, they simply reacted in to every situation by attempting to destroy whatever was threatening Naruto. Kushina didn't honestly mind if an enemy was torn apart by the chains - they deserved it for attacking her son - but the danger the chains possessed could hurt those Naruto cared about, and that would in turn hurt Naruto. And that was something she would not allow.
She was glad that Naruto had not asked for the details of the night that the Kyubi attacked. That story would bring nothing but pain for Naruto and Ky...Kurama, she reminded herself. What had happened that night between when Minato had teleported the Kyubi away and when it had been sealed inside Naruto would hopefully never come to light. Kurama didn't seem to remember, and it was better that way.
"Kurama." Kushina spoke, "I have time for another memory of Naruto's."
"Are you sure you want to see them?" Kurama questioned, "You already know how bad his life had been."
"I should have been here." Kushina shook her head, before determination straightened her spine, "So I will learn everything I missed. I need to learn exactly what they did to him and who did it. I can better protect and train him if I know exactly who has attacked him."
"In that case," The Kyubi searched it's memories for one that was a different type of attack, "Here you are…"
""You are certain?" Shikaku Nara inquired, his tone approaching something close to resigned, "You are certain that Saburo Nara is working with the radical section of the Humanitarians?"
"Yes." Ensui Nara confirmed, "We confirmed the anonymous information ourselves. He has betrayed our alliance with the Uzumaki Faction."
"How troublesome." Shikaku sighed slightly. "Bring Saburo before me."
"At once, Shikaku-Sama." Ensui saluted before moving off to carry out his Clan Head's orders.
"Saburo Nara," There was no trace of emotion in Shikaku's demeanor or voice, "Do you know why you have been called before me?"
"No, Shikaku...Sama." The other Nara present in the room bristled at the indirect insult to their clan head. Shikaku raised his hand, forestalling their angry rebuttals.
"We have multiple accounts of you meeting with the more radical parts of the Humanitarians. Furthermore, and more importantly, witnesses have observed you cursing Naruto Uzumaki's name on multiple occasions."
"So what?" Saburo struggled to keep the hate out of his tone, "It's just a demon, no matter what it tries to say."
"You know that isn't true." Shikaku felt disappointed in his clansman. "There is multiple different sources that have confirmed that Naruto Uzumaki is human and a Jinchuriki."
"He's a demon." Saburo insisted, hate and passion starting to leak into his tone, "It has enough chakra to fool any test. We have to kill it before it kills us!" He looked at the other Nara in the room beseechingly, "Wake up brothers. We have to protect our clan from it's rage." Finding no one agreeing with him, Saburo pleaded, "We have to do what is necessary."
"Yes." Shikaku felt old, "You are right. We have to do what is necessary." Slowly standing, The Nara Clan Head spoke, authority etched in every word. "Hear me Saburo Nara. You have threatened Naruto Uzumaki who is both our ally and my claims have been heard and rejected as false. You have not offered to give up your false beliefs."
"Here me Saburo Nara. As is my right as Nara Clan Head, I declare you Clanless. No longer will you threaten the Nara Clan with your words. No Nara home will provide you shelter, nor will you find peace within these walls. You have one day to gather your things and leave the compound."
"Hear me Saburo the Clanless."
"Y-You can't do this!" Saburo protested, "You can't kick me out of the clan. You need me. Without me, you won't be strong enough to stop the demon when it attacks."
"You heard him, Clanless." Daen Nara spoke up, clear disgust in tone, "Get your things. Or we will get them for you." He paused, looking at his former clansman. Saburo had professed to wanting to kill Naruto Uzumaki for the crime of simply existing. "Now get out of Shikaku-Sama's office."
In the end, Saburo had to be dragged out of the office. Once his pleas and shouts had faded away with distance, Shikaku sighed heavily. "So very troublesome." Outloud however, he simply enquired, "Did you plant the tracker on him?"
"Yes," Ensui nodded, "If he moves within a half-mile of the Uzumaki compound, we will know of it. We will make sure that he does not carry through with his threats." Ensui hesitated before speaking, "Perhaps this will stop the other Humanitarians from going down the same road as Saburo."
"We can only hope." Shikaku felt old, far older than his actual age of forty years, "We can only hope."
A year quickly past, bringing change, both good and bad. Team Eight grew in prestige and power, often finding themselves personally requested by villages. On one occasion, Naruto, along with the rest of Team Eight, met with the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, the country Konoha resided in. While the Daimyo didn't have direct say in what the ninja village did, he however, was the leader of the Land of Fire. As such, he, by proxy, controlled the vast majority of non-ninja villages and cities in the Land of Fire. And through them, the economy of the land. Most, if not all, mission requests for Konoha were made through the capitol or one of its branch offices.
To say that Konoha's possible civil war concerned him would be an understatement. Given that it was strictly an internal Konoha issue, there wasn't much that could be done officially. However, after Naruto's visit, it seemed that the Uzumaki Faction was requested more often than the Loyalist Faction, and especially the Humanitarian Faction. However, given the Daimyo's fickle nature, his unofficial support fluctuated.
The Humanitarians split into two factions, one a faction that hated Naruto Uzumaki - given that they still believed that he was still the Kyubi - but was unwilling to take any violent steps that might anger the other more powerful factions. The other Humanitarian faction was officially named a terrorist movement, and thus no one officially belonged to it. Calling themselves 'The Sons of Humankind' the masked members had threatened civilians and lower ranked shinobi. They also defaced numerous buildings and businesses that supported either the Uzumaki Faction or the Loyalist Faction.
But perhaps worst of all, more than a few members of the civilians or low ranking ninja who hadn't yet chosen a side, and would thus be protected by their faction, had been assaulted by the 'Sons of Humankind'. Currently several members of the Yamanaka,Nara, and Akimichi Clan members had been discovered with the distinct and unmistakable tattoo of the Sons of Humankind. Caught without an alibi, and pressed for a response, they had launched into vitriol filled rants of hatred before they were expelled from their clan. In addition several dozen low ranking members of clans or civilians being also found with the damning tattoo. Soon clan members and even some families no longer trusted each other, each person wondering if the person they knew could secretly be a 'Son of Humankind'. The tensions rose ever higher.
Sparring matches between members of different factions were could no longer be considered 'friendly' by any stretch of the word. These matches now ended only when one party was injured too badly to continue the match. Hospitals were busier than ever, and each ninja trained themselves harder than before.
For the other ninja villages, all eyes were on Konoha. Some villages worried that the impending civil war would spark violence in other areas. Still others calculated, biding their time to either take advantage of Konoha's weakness and take their contracts, or to settle old grudges. Still others wondered if perhaps it was time for a new village to become the 'strongest village'.
It was days like these, ones spent alone on the road to complete a mission that she didn't entirely agree with, that Konan wondered if what she and Nagato were doing was the correct thing to do. She was currently delivering weapons to a contact within Konoha. The Akatsuki benefitted greatly from the Humanitarian's money, but Konan couldn't help but wonder if this was the best way.
This wasn't going to help capture Naruto Uzumaki, and the weapons would, in all probability, be used to kill or harm innocent people. Konan sighed. "What are we doing Nagato? We are supposed to bring peace to everyone, not give them tools to kill one another..."
The blue haired kunoichi shook her head, denying the voice that criticized Nagato, her friend and leader. She trusted him, she really did. But…"No. I trust Nagato."
"But do you trust Pain?" It was a traitorous thought Konan hadn't been able to dispel. The thought had grown louder over these past few months as Nagato, or Pain as he liked to call himself now, was spending more and more time alone with that strange man who wore that orange spiral mask.
"I trust Nagato." Konan quickened her pace, seeking to both close the distance and to escape her traitorous thoughts. "I won't betray Nagato." He was the only friend she had left.
Itachi Uchiha stared at the picture of Sasuke. The picture had been taken four months ago while Sasuke had been on a mission for Sound. "You are growing strong Brother. Soon you will be strong enough to seek me out. To kill me and complete your training to become powerful. Your hate will soon be rewarded."
Ever since his father, Fugaku, had shown Itachi the aftermath of a battle when Itachi had been the tender age of four, Itachi had been marked by that event. He had vowed that he would bring peace to the world, having been confronted by the ugliness of a world war. He had done his best to ensure that unlike himself, Sasuke had a childhood unmarked by endless training sessions.
"But the Curse of Hatred could not be denied, could it Little Brother? Our clan's ambitions would have sparked another world war, and you would have been killed in the chaos. So I did the only thing I could."
Desperate and out of options, Itachi eventually struck a bargain with the Third Hokage: In exchange for stopping the Uchiha's secret bid for power, Sasuke would be protected from any backlash from the village. But then the unthinkable happened, and Itachi's non-violent options had been taken away. On that day, Itachi drew his sword and bathed it in the blood of his family and clan.
"But you were not supposed to be there on that day Little Brother." Itachi had done what was necessary to grant Sasuke the power to kill him; to give Sasuke the drive to become strong. It was the best thing Itachi could do for Sasuke; one last act as a protective older brother.
And look what Sasuke's hate had given him. He was strong enough to almost take out Konoha's Jinchuriki. Strong enough to evolve his Sharingan to the third tomoe state. He had been strong enough to successfully take on Suna and Sound Jonin when they had invaded Konoha. He had been strong enough to abandon Konoha for someone who could better train him. Itachi was proud of all that Sasuke had accomplished. And soon, perhaps within the next two years or less, Sasuke would come for him.
"And when you kill me, Little Brother, you will be free from the Curse of Hatred that has plagued our clan since before recorded history."
Itachi had insured that Sasuke had 'somehow' stumbled onto a set of documents that detailed how Orochimaru took over a new host, given that was the reason the Snake Sannin had taken in Sasuke in the first place. Orochimaru had alway coveted the Sharingan, and if he succeeded in taking over Sasuke, Orochimaru would finally gain his prize. If Itachi's estimates were right, Orochimaru would be attempting to take Sasuke as a host a year and a month from now.
With the information he armed his beloved brother with, Itachi was certain that Sasuke would succeed in killing Orochimaru. "And when you kill him, Little Brother, Sound will fear you. You will have worship of an entire village." Looking back down at the picture of his brother, Itachi permitted himself one last look before placing it on the book shelf that contained the other three dozen pictures of his brother. "Grow strong Little Brother...you still need to avenge our clan."
And that's it for this arc. Our next arc will be Mist and the Forgotten Island. So what did you think of this chapter? Drop a review and let me know.
On Yakumo and her 'Other': If you noticed (which I'm sure many of you did), the Other switches between being referred to as a 'She' and as an 'It'. The reason for this is that the pure 'Id' portion of the Other doesn't see gender in that way. When it concentrates on simply reacting, and other emotions brought on by it's aggression, it is referred as an 'It'. But when it starts thinking and feeling some other emotion than possessiveness or anger, it becomes more like a reflection of Yakumo and thus an 'She'.
On Naruto and the 'Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu': Even in Naruto's worst fear, he still believes that Hinata, Sakura, and Haku couldn't be taken out by anything less than an army. However, his fear is still that he isn't strong enough to protect them.
To my reviewers' direct questions:
Akuma-Heika: Hagoromo 's brother was removed since he wasn't really needed plus the whole moon sealing thing never happened. That was a typo that I have since corrected. Good catch.
Animaman: There is a time skip in this chapter that brings us to the final year before the Shippuden background events start kicking off. As for your second question, heh. That would be spoiling if I answered that.
Arashi Uzukaze: I changed the past from Cannon for two reasons: First, I wanted to avoid the DBZ-like power ups in cannon, and this also gives me more creative room to craft more intricate plot(s) of the enemies of Naruto.
raw666: That's one of Danzo's fatal flaws at the moment. He hasn't stopped to consider what would happen if he suddenly kicked the bucket. Despite how much he plans, he's only human. As events get worse, he will start to look for an heir of sorts.
Gunato the Great: Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura are 15 after this chapter's timeskip, and Haku is 17.
Nin-Guest: You are correct. Kaguya is actually dead. As far as the Juubi goes, I would tell you...but spoilers. Let's just say that I am still a big fan of big monsters...And yeah, when I started out this fic, I promised myself that the heroes would get a chance to earn their happy ending. Fu is rather naive and stubborn. When you combine these two, she wasn't going to completely leave the village if it wasn't spelled out to her. Shibuki needed to make sure that the Akatsuki wouldn't believe that they could use Taki to get to Fu. Plus,, Shibuki wants Fu to have a better life than the crappy one in Taki. Danzo will be fading back into the background for awhile as the next arc takes place outside of Konoha (for the most part).
Starfire99: Unlike in canon, the Third was actually successful in keeping Naruto's status under wraps (for the most part). This led the village to conclude (falsely) that Naruto himself was the powerless Kyubi. And given that this is a more cynical story, they did what people do when they are delivered the object of their hate.
Galeiam: When I was planning this fic, I had to choose between making it quite realistic, or keeping the same "feel" as the canon Naruto universe did. I chose the latter over the former since this is a Want of a Nail fic, so it's not quite realistic, but more so than canon.
The Girl in the Forrest: In a perfect world, I would be updating every two weeks. However, between my struggles with writer's block and real life stuff, that doesn't happen often. However, I recently got hired by the company I was previously a temp at, so there is quite a bit less stress in my life right now, so here to hoping for two week updates.