Will of Fire
By Silver Dragonfly
Eyes closed, Naruto reached out with his senses to find his teammate's chakra as soon as the energy of his transport from the world of seas to the Land of Fire had dissipated. She had activated the kunai he left specifically with her to summon him. It required her blood. That she had needed to use it worried him. He found her energy and paused, then blinked. "Sakura-chan?" he asked surprised.
"Hello, Naruto." The pink haired young woman answered from where she sat on a chair nearby, her arms folded across her chest and one leg crossed over the other. It was very obvious she had been waiting.
"You activated the blood seal." He said, confused.
"I did." She answered.
"But you aren't in a fight… or at the hospital." He added.
"Very observant," she stated flatly. "Do you remember all that fancy sealing work you did in the Critical Care wing of the hospital?" She asked.
Naruto nodded slowly, not really sure where this was going, but all his instincts told him she was about to punch him in the face.
"That wing is on fire. I cannot put it out. Shizune-sempai cannot put it out. Kakashi-sensei cannot put it out." She continued, her tone clipped and more agitated the longer she spoke. She rose to her feet, her fists clenching at her sides. "The only reason my fist isn't in your face, is that nothing is actually burning." She finished, and took a slow deep breath.
"It's on fire… but not burning?" Naruto asked, now thoroughly confused.
Sakura narrowed emerald green eyes at him. "Fix it, Naruto. Fix it now." With that order given she began to stalk toward the door, but then paused, turned on her heel and extended a hand, palm up expectantly. "The sake."
Naruto flinched. "Umm I didn't…"
"Don't pull that on me, Naruto, I've known you too long." She replied, eyes sparking. "Or do you want a repeat of our last discussion about you giving sake to Tsunade-shishou?"
Naruto blanched and quickly pulled a small scroll out of one of his pockets and handed it over.
Sakura eyed him critically and then nodded once. "I expect to have full access to the Critical Care Ward by tomorrow."
Naruto muttered an agreement and wilted slightly as she exited his apartment with a slamming door. Silence filled the room as Naruto remained tense for several long moments.
Fire that does not burn, how interesting.
Naruto groaned, of course his resident pyro would take note of that. Well, we better go check it out. He mentally answered the fire-loving fox.
.:o:.
Naruto stared at the sight before him with wide eyes, amazed.
Scarlet, gold, amber, and brilliant white all intertwined in tongues of flame that flickered across the floor, walls and ceiling in intricate lines and swirls; the colors constantly shifting and in motion, dancing and crackling in the air as they moved over the invisible patterns they followed. The floor, walls, and ceiling were covered with the crisscrossing lines of living fire, but as Sakura had said, nothing was left behind in their passing. No soot, no scorch marks, just heat, light and sound.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Shizune asked from where she had come to stand beside the blonde. Naruto nodded, still too stunned to vocalize a response. "It's a shame we can't leave it, but it blocks off a huge part of this wing and though it doesn't burn the building, anyone who tries to cross those lines gets an immediate trip to the burn treatment ward."
Naruto winced slightly at that, but there was nothing he could do about what had already happened.
"I'll do what I can." He finally said quietly.
At his side, Shizune smiled softly. "You always do Naruto-kun. Good luck." she said, before she turned back down the hallway to continue her duties.
It's feeding off the seals and not even touching anything else. Kurama commented as he studied the beautiful lines of fire that surrounded the corridor and doorway.
Naruto frowned, No, it's not just the seals… He stilled and breathed deeply and refocused his gaze on the seals themselves. It's the chakra in the seals… your… Our chakra.
Well you better figure out how to stop it if you don't want your teammate to turn you into a pulp. The fox responded wryly. I wonder if we could make your bijju form appear covered in fire like that.
Vain fox. Naruto admonished, though he had to admit, it would look pretty awesome; all nine tails with lines of fire trailing behind them in the air…Kurama, can you channel chakra through your fur?
Can you? Was the fox's snarky reply.
Naruto remembered sparring with Ero-senin and getting spikes made from the old man's hair through his foot. The Toad Sennin had bitched the rest of the day about the blood in his hair, but had taught him the basics of the technique. Right… so fur essentially made of fire is a distinct possibility.
I like the way your imagination works, brat. The fox almost purred.
Naruto rolled his eyes and stepped closer to the nearest lines, crouching down to study the patterns that crossed both floor and wall closer. I don't think just draining the chakra out of the seals will work…the fire might just start to consume everything else around it instead. Naruto mused.
And earn you a severe beating from Pinky. The fox chimed.
Naruto groaned inwardly, I swear, if she ever hears that…
You will pay for it, I know. The fox answered with a snicker.
Useless fox.
Ignorant human.
Naruto decided to ignore the fox. They could go on for hours, and had, but if he wanted to fix the current problem and avoid Sakura's ire, he'd have to save it for after.
He reached out carefully with a finger and rested it on the edge of where he knew the seal work to be, the flames ignored him. He frowned, Shizune had said it burned people, so why wasn't it burning him? He carefully extended his hand into the fire and his eyes widened. The fire danced over his hand and around his fingers but did not burn. He focused on the feeling, but didn't sense any loss of chakra to the fire where it touched him.
We powered this seal with our merged chakra… what if I replace it with nature chakra?
Well, you might become a human torch, or the entire wing may blow up… let's do that. The fox's tone picking up an excited flair. We haven't blown anything up in ages.
Yeah, not today, Fox. Naruto responded, but the furball was right. He had already figured out draining the seal would be a bad idea, even if he tried to do it in controlled segments, the chances of it literally exploding in his face were pretty much absolute.
What if… He summoned three clones. With a quick nod, the one stepped across the lines of fire and then turned, shrugging.
"No damage Boss." The clone said.
Naruto nodded. "You three know what to do then."
There was a chorus of affirmatives as the other two followed the first and vanished down the hallway.
Ready, fox? Naruto then asked.
If you insist on blowing us up.
Don't you ever trust me to not blow something up? Naruto responded as golden energy covered his form and immediately began to intertwine with the nearby flames.
Things are less interesting then. The fox replied.
Naruto snorted but stepped across the line of fire. Immediately the fire coursed up his feet, legs, and swirled around his body, playing with the golden aura that surrounded him. He waited several heartbeats, but when nothing more happened he continued about halfway down the corridor before settling down onto the floor comfortably. He waited, and then sensed first one pulse, then two others.
He breathed deeply and slowly as he began to draw the familiar chakra flowing in the intricate seal work towards himself through the anchor point he now sat upon. As he pulled it out, he could feel equal amounts of Nature chakra being fed into the seals from the three other anchors that kept the whole matrix in place and stable.
Slowly, and steadily, guided by the rhythm of his heart, he continued; feeling the warm flames dance around him as the Nature chakra replaced the energies Naruto and Kurama had combined within the seals. It was slow and tedious, and something he would not have thought himself capable of doing at one point in his life. But he had learned to master the energy of Nature, and to be still. He had tamed his rage, and in turn, that of his partner. It helped that this was a place of healing, of hope, and not the desolation of a battlefield. Here he could take joy in what he felt and sensed and not have to fear the hatred and cost in blood.
He blinked slowly as the last of his shared chakra with Kurama pulled free of the seal as Nature chakra replaced it. He studied the hallway and smiled at the absence of fire chasing across the floor, walls and ceiling. He glanced down at himself and smirked at the site of the flames dancing all over him.
Now that you have it, what do you plan to do with it? The fox asked quietly, almost subdued.
Naruto blinked somewhat surprised at the foxes tone, then grimaced. Uh…
Well it's good to know at least some things have not changed.
It was at that moment, he noticed a familiar presence behind him as a page in a book was turned.
Naruto turned and then chuckled, "Hiding from your office already, Hokage-sama?"
"You don't have to call me that, Naruto." The man replied but closed his book and tucked it away.
Naruto smiled, "Whatever you say, Kakashi-sensei."
The older man frowned. "I thought I told you, you didn't have to call me 'sensei' anymore either."
Naruto just grinned.
Kakashi sighed and then stood upright from where he had been leaning against the nearby hall and moved forward cautiously to study the flames dancing around his student.
"I have an idea… if you don't have anywhere else to put that." He said with a shift in the fabric of his mask that Naruto had long ago learned to recognize as a smirk.
The blonde shrugged, "Well I figured out how to get it out of the hospital… but not quite how to put it out yet, so sure."
Kakashi chuckled. "Still our most surprising ninja." The older man turned and opened a nearby window before disappearing out of it. Naruto glanced back down the corridor once more to make sure no one else was waiting before he followed.
Naruto should have guessed his old teacher would lead him out towards their old training grounds and to the memorial that waited there, but said nothing as he came up to stand beside his sensei.
"You can guide it into a seal again?" Kakashi asked quietly.
Naruto considered, "Yeah I think so. It is my and Kurama's chakra that it is following."
"Activate this then." Kakashi said as he unsealed a large round rough-cut piece of polished flat black stone covered in carved lines and patterns. The stone fell into place on the ground beside the memorial and a feeling of anticipation filled the air.
Naruto's eyes widened as he took in the carved markings. As far as seal work, it was minimal, but the words that surrounded the seal work struck a chord deep within;
"To those who possess the Will of Fire, everyone is family. The desire to protect one's family builds thicker and stronger bonds between each and everyone in the village. If the Will of Fire is embraced by everyone, the village will be alright no matter what happens." Words spoken by the Sandaime, that when had first heard him hadn't really made any sense, but now… they were a part of him.
Naruto took a step forward and leaned to rest his palm on the seal work. He then drew back a moment, and turned to his sensei, now Hokage. "Can I add something?"
At Kakashi's nod, Naruto reached up to slice his fingertip on a sharp tooth and made quick strokes over the seal work, his blood sinking in and vanishing as fire and chakra coursed after it. The flame raced across the swirling lines before settling at the center of the stone in a faint depression meant to hold it. Considering the amount of time it had taken him to pull all the flame covered energy from the seal at the hospital, it took surprisingly little to guide it into the new patterns. As daylight crested into the sky the blonde teen stepped back, the golden fire and energy that had coated him only moments before now gone.
Kakashi patted his former pupil on the back. "Well done, Naruto. I had been looking for a way to keep it from being put out. Would have been a bit embarrassing if anyone could put out a flame burning on the stone here… if I am correct, you are the only one who could now."
Naruto nodded and smiled as he looked at the new stone sitting next to the old familiar memorial stone. "Konoha will stand, for as long as the Will of Fire burns in the hearts and minds of its People." Naruto said quietly.
Thank you for reading.
One Piece and all its characters © Eiichiro Oda
Naruto and all its characters © Masashi Kishimoto
Special Thanks to my beta readers (and sounding boards): Blue Melodie & Aria Ino.