Ah yes, another chapter.
Without further ado, and other things, surely...
Chapter 83: Who You Need to Be
"So, you're leaving?"
Naruto turned towards the lone figure who'd called out to their group, and saw, once more, Kurotsuchi standing at the mouth of the cave that led out into the tundra just beyond the Land of Iron. He waved to his team to let them know to go ahead without him as he walked over to her.
"We are." He nodded, still a bit nauseated from the contents of the note earlier, his worry not having let up at all. "There's something far more important to us that needs resolving."
She seemed to accept that with little difficulty. "The Akatsuki?"
He hummed affirmatively as Tsunade gave a rather impatient call for him to follow.
"Sorry, I've gotta' go." He found he actually was a bit apologetic. As odd as it was, he and Kurotsuchi had made fast friends. "It was nice meeting you."
"Likewise." She smirked. "I'll see if there's anything I can do for the Waterfall when I talk to the old man. He wouldn't listen to a word I said last night, but-"
"You talked to him already?"
She nodded, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "Yeah, I saw how much it affected you yesterday, and, well, I don't know, I kinda' wanted to try and do something about it. Sorry to say nothing came of it."
"No, no, that's…" He hesitated to say anything as Tsunade once again called for him, this time far more incessantly. "S-sorry, I've really gotta' go, but…" He held his fist out. "Let's talk again some time. As fellow Kage."
"Hah, alright, Naruto Uzumaki." Kurotsuchi smirked, bumping her fist against his. "As fellow Kage, indeed."
And he rushed ahead and out of the mountain, to meet back up with the group.
/-/
Their cell was quiet, overwhelmingly so, and Sakura couldn't help but focus on that.
The stone construct they'd been placed within was not the same cell she'd been given when she'd first arrived. That room, at least, had held some dignity, a space made up of metal, crafted finely, and in a way that exhibited, at the very least, some humanity.
This cell, to the contrary, felt almost medieval in comparison.
The constant drip of a tiny leak in the ceiling, the moss and weeds growing along the walls and floor, the unkempt bedding, and wooden frames they'd been given to hold them… it was as if the Akatsuki were now doing everything in their power to dehumanize them; to make them feel like lesser beings.
Sakura refused to admit aloud that it was working.
But… worst of all was Itachi.
Now blinded, and seemingly completely unfamiliar with the feeling, it was up to Sakura to help him in a couple of the things they both needed. She found he was a far humbler person than she'd have assumed as well, for he didn't complain as she assisted him around the place whenever he wanted to be moved… which, admittedly, might've had something to do with the fact that they only ever moved once or twice a day, and thus the feeling of helplessness only came around once every so often.
She'd helped him to eat the first time they'd been given a meal, and to familiarize himself with the space. He knew it decently well enough now to handle himself and had memorized the shape of the trays the Akatsuki had given to them well enough to eat on his own, but … it was hard to watch the once proud fighter reduced to scraping at his tray with a plastic spoon, to feel that he had no food left there.
Still… a question had been on her mind since the first day they'd been put in there, and finally, on nearly the third day of their imprisonment, Sakura finally decided to voice it.
"What were you going to say… before, I mean."
He turned to the sound of her voice, seeming pensive. "What do you mean?"
"When I asked about the Uchiha Massacre, what it was that made someone like you commit something like that… You started to speak before… well…"
Before Obito had thrown a kunai straight through his right eye.
"Ah… I suppose I should have expected you'd grow curious about that at some point." Itachi murmured, before, sitting cross-legged along the ground, he patted a spot just in front of him. "Sit… And I will tell you everything you have a right to know."
"That… I have a right to know?" She spoke as she followed his instruction. "What do you mean by that?"
"You are not an Uchiha." He began to explain as he leaned back against the wall behind him, his faux gaze staring down at the ground below him even still. "You're not the Hokage, nor are you someone involved with the plan itself. Rest assured that after I tell you, you will be one of three living persons who know anything of the truth of that night. But… the only person whom I even have a passing interest in telling the entire tale to… is Sasuke himself. And even he… even he I will keep all of it from if I am able. There are some things about the world, about your own village, about the people you might've once respected, that I do not think you should have ruined."
She gulped as she nodded, hearing the absolute seriousness of Itachi's tone.
"The only reason I'm telling you anything is because of your relationship to Sasuke. I would say I approve of you…" He gave a mirth-filled smile, one that quickly evaporated in the damp cell. "But I don't have that right." He shook his head. "Know this, Sakura Haruno, I will tell you enough to get a clear picture of the history of the Uchiha clan, and what led me to my decision… but no more." He spoke, though this time, as he sighed out, she could see the lines upon his face, that seemed to make him look a decade older, deepen somehow, as if he'd aged another few years by just remembering back to that day. "It was… Eight and a half years ago, now… And whether the peoples of the village, the vendors that lined the streets, the children in training, the day-to-day ninja, knew it or not…"
Itachi's visage seemed to darken somehow, and Sakura hunkered down, prepared to his hear story in full.
"The Leaf Village was on the brink of a Civil War."
/-/
When they finally arrived back in the Leaf Village, it was to find Konoha exactly as they'd left it. The streets were clambering with civilians, walking along as casually as they would've on any other day.
It belied the seriousness of what people close to them, what people like Sakura, Kakashi, Anko…
And even Itachi were going through right now.
Sasuke found himself biting the inside of his cheek as he stood at attention inside of the Hokage's office. Tsunade herself was taking stock of their general situation from a bunch of ninja who seemingly hadn't expected to see them for another few days, and were, in Sasuke's opinion, probably not at all prepared to be giving them any information.
Tsunade did not seem to think so.
"What do you mean Shizune's not back yet!?"
"W-Well…" The man being yelled at, who Sasuke couldn't help but think probably wasn't being paid enough for this, swallowed nervously as he readjusted his posture. "In their last correspondence, they updated us to let us know that they wouldn't be back for another week or two… apparently one of the contingents they ran into was more devoted to Orochimaru's cause than the rest…"
If it was possible for Tsunade to somehow get angrier, then she managed it.
"And you didn't think to… Oh, I don't know – report that to me!?"
The man grasped for anything to get him out of this.
"I'm uh… I'm not really in charge of that?"
Tsunade practically seethed as she looked the man in the eye.
"Then do me a favor… AND GET ME THE GUY WHO IS!"
"R-right away, ma'am!"
The man disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Sasuke pitied the man as Tsunade turned to face him, letting out a horrendous groan.
"Well then… looks like we're not going to be able to storm the Akatsuki's base with raw power, after all."
"Was… was that the plan, ma'am?"
"Yes." She sighed. "We'd assemble a squadron of fifty or so Jonin and raid the Akatsuki's base of power through sheer force. Along with some fighters like Jiraiya and Kakashi themselves, it should've been a more than sufficient fighting force to take them down."
"But they're not back, are they? Our major forces are all still dealing with Orochimaru's remnants." Sasuke could see some of why she was so up in arms now. "So… what exactly do we do?"
She shook her head. "The only thing we can. We assemble an elite force that can handle them… or… well… I'd like it if the force were elite, but unfortunately, we don't exactly have any elite ninja left in the village. Asuma, Kurenai and the likes are here, but I'd choose you or Naruto any day of the week… and synergy within the ranks of a small team is more important, often, than power itself."
"So… what're you saying?"
She looked up at him.
"I'm saying that since you and Naruto will be the ones spearheading this, you'll have to choose who's going."
Well… Sasuke thought. Certainly, no pressure there.
He shook his head, trying to shake off the initial nerves of the situation and take stock. "In terms of team size, what are our limits?"
"Try and limit your numbers to below fifteen, we can't exactly afford to leave the Village entirely defenseless, with Shizune's unit still a week out." She bit down on her bottom lip, clearly bothered. "Gah! Why did all of this have to happen at the same time!?"
Sasuke hummed in agreement. "It certainly seems we have some poorer than average luck these days. Still… fifteen is… smaller than I'd have liked."
Tsunade nodded, before looking up at him in slight confusion. "Wait, where's Naruto?"
Sasuke shrugged. "He volunteered to take the Genin team back to their houses. He should, theoretically, get here at any moment."
The door opened, and in stepped Naruto.
"Well, speak of the devil."
"Yo." Naruto waved his hand. "So, what's the plan?"
They filled him in as quickly as they could, and by the end, Naruto was biting down on one of his fingernails, seemingly questioning just who the hell they'd be taking.
"Well, I suppose I'll open with the obvious;" Naruto began, looking up at Tsunade. "Can we take Pervy Sage?"
"You can, yes." Tsunade spoke. "I need to stay here, but he could certainly use the exercise."
Naruto tilted his head. "You say that like he's a dog or something."
"Yes."
"Uhm…"
"Did I stutter?"
"Point taken." Naruto laughed lightly. "Alright, so… Sasuke, any ideas?"
Sasuke nodded his head.
"A few. None of them airtight, but they should hold. We'll need to be quick, though. I'd like to be out of the village in a few hours."
Naruto hummed in acknowledgement in that, even as he slouched ever so slightly. "Gods, I just wish we got the chance to rest for a bit. We've been off-and-on for like a month now."
Sasuke felt that more than his friend realized.
"Yes, but… there'll be time to rest once we've rescued Sakura." He smirked. "Now c'mon, we've a team to assemble."
"Mhm." Naruto followed behind him.
"I have a couple people in mind myself."
/-/
"And so… I chose the Leaf Village over my own family. I joined with Obito, and together, the two of us massacred the Uchiha clan." Itachi turned his head up towards her own. "And you know the story from there."
To say that Sakura was currently rooted in place by Itachi's words was kind of underselling it. She was fairly certain she'd forgotten to breathe a few times there, and the look of absolute seriousness on the man's face, only the tiniest bits of remorse, of regret, peaking through past his stony visage…
It was upsetting in a way she couldn't quite make sense of.
"You… to save the Leaf Village, you murdered everyone but Sasuke…" She shook her head, unable to fathom the will such an act must've taken. "And… was that truly the only way?"
"It… was the only thing I could think of at the time, the only thing I gained the authorization to do. And so, I did it. I was bereft of options, as was Lord Third, and Danzo. And so… I acted as their agent and did what had to be done."
"And did it? …Have to be done, I mean."
Itachi's face darkened.
"I often ask myself that very question, Sakura. But… there's no point dwelling on the past when it cannot be changed."
"That's… I suppose that's true." She sighed. "But… Thinking that the Leaf Village did something like that to save its own skin… it's sickening."
Itachi's expression softened, his eyebrows below the bandages covering his now empty eye-sockets rising into a more natural, even state.
"Life is often sickening, Sakura. There're very few who I've encountered, both back when I was a member of the Uchiha clan, and even now, as a member of the Akatsuki, who did not have some darkness inside them; something they couldn't forgive the world for forcing upon them. But, at the same time, overcoming those weaknesses of the heart is how people grow; how they become greater. The people of the Akatsuki, in contrast, have idled in one place. They do not seek to grow, but to regress the world into the same state as them."
She followed along as well as she could, interested in just what Itachi had to say about them all.
"Sasori became an immortal, unchanging being after his parents were killed in the war; unable to comprehend their deaths in any way other than to try and conquer death itself. Kisame battles and battles because he does not understand why he should bother feeling anything for any other, when in the end, he believes those feelings could only hinder him. Pain seeks destruction to make the world fair; because of the destruction of the Rain Village, of his family and friends, to give each nation the means to destroy the world and set them at each other's throats; and Konan will follow him because of what that goal represents. Even Obito is doing this, from what I've gathered, from a disillusionment with reality. He cannot accept the death of one of his closest friends from when he was a child, of her being killed by another friend. He refuses to grow past that loss, to accept reality, and so, he'll erase this world, and invalidate the efforts of those who choose to grow past their struggles."
Itachi sighed as his nonexistent gaze stared down at the ground below.
"And even I must admit… that I wanted, for the longest time, justice for my clan. But… at the end of the day, Sasuke was too important. I couldn't allow him to die, to be killed by Danzo. Obito did me a favor in that regard, by killing Danzo himself. Unfortunately, by doing so, he gained access to a rather frightening power, one that even I would struggle to find a way around."
Sakura's eyes narrowed at that. "You mean Shisui's eye?"
He nodded. "My cousin, and a fellow member of the Anbu Black Ops. Shisui was…" Itachi sighed wearily. "Not important to this story. Know for now that the eye in Obito's possession is quite powerful."
She finds herself confused. "I mean… how powerful could it be?" She asked, and felt the need to defend herself when a smile appeared on the man's face. "Well, I just… It's just one Sharingan, right? Sasuke's Sharingan are strong, for instance, but–"
"If it were just one regular Sharingan, then yes, we could work around it. But Shisui's Mangekyou Sharingan possesses the most powerful Genjutsu I've ever encountered. One that can transcend the limitations of a normal Genjutsu. It is called Kotoamatsukami."
Coming from the prodigy of Genjutsu himself, that statement carried weight. But still… there was something there that bugged her.
"Wait… I thought there were only three users of the Mangekyou Sharingan, and that Sasuke would be the fourth?"
Itachi shook his head.
"Living users. At the time I told that to Sasuke, Shisui had already perished. I knew of Kakashi, and of course, myself, but even still, I had no idea then that Obito wasn't the man he claimed to be. He said he was Madara Uchiha, a legend of the Uchiha clan, who'd survived throughout history. But… I suppose, looking back, that couldn't have been the truth." His voice became quieter all of a sudden. "Even he… could not have transcended death itself."
Itachi's voice was surprisingly warbly there, as if, ever so slightly, he didn't quite believe those words.
"Regardless, you wanted to know about what Kotoamatsukami was, correct?" At her nod, he continued. "It is a tremendously powerful Genjutsu that alters one's thoughts. It gives the wielder the ability to rewire a person's brain to believe they've come up with something that the wielder wants them to think. It can't be something horrendously fictitious, you couldn't convince them to, say, kill someone close to them, but nearly anything else you could think of within the limits of their conscience… making them look the other way if you're acting suspicious, perhaps make them break into dance spontaneously in the middle of the street, convince one during an interrogation that you really were on their side… it's probable, possible, even, that any of that is fair game."
At his words, a realization struck Sakura.
"That's what he did to Orochimaru!"
"Orochimaru?" Itachi look at her rather confusedly. "What do you mean?"
"Er, right…" Sakura scratched the side of her head awkwardly, only just now remembering the depths to which Orochimaru's return had brought her. "Uhm… sheesh, where to begin…"
She explained everything, from the snake lord's revival to the loss of her curse mark. It wasn't a particularly lengthy thing to say, but it took her more time that she would have wanted to admit to actually get it out.
"So… You are bereft of your curse mark's power, then?"
She nodded slowly. "I am. Without it, I…" She hugged her arms against her body in some vain way to support herself. "Without it, I haven't just lost my access to the strength the transformation gave me… I've lost my access to the Wood Style. The cells of the First Hokage that were inside of it were taken out…"
Itachi took a moment to take all of that in, and in the end, sighed wearily.
"Then it is as I suspected." He muttered. "They're keeping us alive simply so that we can feel our own helplessness. Obito took my left eye, which contained my Tsukuyomi, as well, effectively entirely depowering both of us, and will likely utilize it against our allies in the future." He let out a rasping breath. "My apologies, Sakura, if I hadn't been distracted enough to lose access to Amaterasu, then surely we could've–"
"Don't you dare." She interrupted him with a harsh glare. "Who was the person who distracted you?" She shook her head. "Me. If it's anyone's fault, then it's mine. I don't want you blaming yourself for this. End of story." Before he could possibly manage to turn that back around on her, she segued the conversation back to where they'd been at before. "So, my theory that Orochimaru is being controlled by Obito's Kotoamatsukami… do you think it's true?"
"It's certainly a likely possibility. After all, it's not that far-fetched to think Orochimaru's brain would think to join with the Akatsuki, he's done it once before, after all." Itachi nodded his head, cupping his chin as he thought for a moment. "If he's utilized Kotoamatsukami to trick him into coming back to the Akatsuki, and working with them…" He grimaced. "I shudder to think of just what he could possibly need the man for so badly as to do something such as that…"
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is, when using the powers of a Mangekyou Sharingan that are not your own, it comes with a fairly hefty price. Your own teacher, Kakashi, was nearly taken out by utilizing Kamui, Obito's Mangekyou, in your first mission, was he not?"
She acknowledged that with a hum, barely remembering back to that time nearly 3 and a half years ago.
"Well, the cooldown and price depend upon the users own ability to mold chakra, and a variety of other things. For him to utilize Kotoamatsukami would likely lock him out of using it again for quite a while. Think about it, why bother bringing back Orochimaru, instead of using it for other nefarious purpose. He could convince me to share all I know about Tsukoyomi, granting him access to the tricks and techniques I've picked up with it over a lifetime. He could use it on Pain, to have him fully under his spell, or on any other member of the Akatsuki to find out their secrets… and he chose to use it to have Orochimaru on his side. For what reason, Sakura, would you seek his aid?"
She thought on that for a moment, unsure of just what he was asking. When an idea finally hit her, she found she now knew why Itachi had looked so bothered before.
"If… if you needed something pertaining to his expertise of experimentation done that you assumed that no one in the world could make happen…" She swallowed. "Then…"
"Yes." Itachi bit down on his bottom lip.
"Then you'd go to him."
/-/
This was his own will.
For some reason, there was a part of Orochimaru's brain that seemed to want to confirm that fact every so often.
Was this his own will?
Yes… yes, it had to be. He'd been resurrected from out of that Sakura's girls curse mark, her having one of which being a mistake he'd meant to correct years and years ago, but never had a chance to do so. Now, with the help of Tobi, and the rest of the Akatsuki, he was back on his feet, and back to work serving their goals.
Which… which was, of course, what he wanted.
This was his own will, after all.
Before he could think too carefully about that, the door at the back of his laboratory opened, and in stepped Tobi himself, and though he wore a mask no longer, Orochimaru knew not of who the man standing before him was.
He… didn't, right?
His head was oddly fuzzy these days.
"And just why would the esteemed leader of the Akatsuki come to visit me?"
The man stepped into the space rather simply, as if cautious around him. He wasn't sure why that would be, given they were allies, and, even if both were the self-serving type, Orochimaru had no issues with Tobi's goal…
Which… was…
This was his own will.
That same thought emerged from the back of his mind, and he nodded. It was right, after all. All of this was how he wanted it.
"I have revived you for a purpose, Orochimaru, one I would see you working on before too long. I fear we don't have terribly long until the Leaf themselves arrive, and whether or not they have further allies in reserve, they will be difficult opponents."
"Well then, please inform me as to what you wish, but know that, without any access to my Jutsu, I'm afraid I'm severely limited to how I'd be able to perform normally."
Tobi nodded. "I need you to find a way to extract a piece of each of the Tailed-Beasts' chakra from out of their Jinchuuriki. This needs to be done quickly; each Jinchuuriki can only occupy a few hours of your time, if that."
"Ah, I see…" Orochimaru smirked. "You're anticipating the least be arriving sooner than you'd be able to extract the Tailed-Beasts from out of their Jinchuuriki with a normal sealing Jutsu?"
"I am." He admitted. "We managed to seal the Three-Tails inside of the Gedo Statue, but even that took three days. There are still four Jinchuuriki left to seal in our possession, and I'd estimate we have less than a week before their arrival. Instead of wasting our time sealing any more of them, I think it better to instead move towards taking fractions of their chakra and implanting that into the statue. Even an incomplete revival is better than none at all."
Orochimaru nodded slowly, finding himself agreeing with the man on that. Still…
"Are you asking me, with my ability to mold chakra completely closed off, if I can still create a method with which to separate some of the chakra of the Tailed-Beasts from their Jinchuuriki in under a week?"
Instead of having any doubt in his expression, Tobi looked at him in a rather deadpan way.
"I am."
Orochimaru laughed at the raw honesty of those words.
"Well, you're in luck…" He answered with a smile. "You've found about the one person on the continent who could."
Before he could get to work, Tobi placed a hand on his shoulder, and Orochimaru turned to him skeptically.
"What?"
"There was something else." He spoke, and the look in his eye sent a shiver down Orochimaru's spine.
"Something I need you to work on in upmost secrecy."
/-/
As short on time as he was, Naruto couldn't quite help making a mess of his room as he looked for the box that held his spare kunai.
He knew it had to be around here somewhere, because he'd needed it not even a week ago when they'd been headed to the Kage Summit. Somehow, from then until now, he'd managed to lose track of it, despite being abundantly sure he'd stored it away underneath his bed.
After a few more minutes searching the last few places he hadn't already looked in (and rechecking a few places he definitely had looked in), he finally found himself gravitating towards the cupboard in which he'd stored both his flak jacket, and the cloak that Fukasaku had given him.
His hands reached out towards the handle and pulled open the small door. Resting atop the twin articles of clothing was, perhaps unsurprisingly given he'd searched quite literally everywhere else in the room, his weapons box.
As he picked it up and drew from out of it the number of metal tools he'd be needing for their upcoming mission, he found his gaze wouldn't ever leave the cloak and jacket resting inside there for very long. It was in that distracted state that he somehow missed a shadow hovering over him, until said shadow cleared its throat, scaring the ever-loving shit out of him.
"You alright?" Sasuke asked him, seeming not too overly worried. "You were taking a while. Everyone's already at the gate, so I felt I'd come see what was holding you up."
"Oh…" He muttered, placing his weapon's box back inside, and going to close the door. "S-sorry, yeah, I couldn't find the box I put my ninja tools in, so I ended up having to check and recheck nearly every spot in the room. Ready now, though."
Sasuke nodded as he stood up, and began walking towards the door, though, before he could open it, Sasuke had called back to him.
"Why don't you take these with you?"
He turned to see his best friend holding both his sage cloak and his Chuunin vest and winced in a way he was sure the man had caught.
"Ah, well… No real reason." He lied. "Just didn't much want to wear them, y'know? They're kind of unwieldy, and can get in the way when I'm fighting, so–"
"You know you can tell me the truth, right?"
"W-what?"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he looked right at him, seemingly staring into his soul. "You don't have to come up with some weird story to make me let this go. Just tell me why you don't want to wear them."
He found his gaze turning towards the floor below him, and he found his lungs holding in a breath as he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling almost sheepish.
"I… It's… It's stupid."
Sasuke shook his head. "I'm near certain it's not."
"It is, it's… can we just… not do this right now?" He tried to deflect. "The others are all waiting on us, right? Shouldn't we–"
Somehow, in the time it'd taken him to try and turn around towards the exit, Sasuke had flickered between him and the door, effectively trapping him inside his room.
"Psch…"
"Naruto, please." His best friend practically pleaded. "Tell me."
He found a ball of shame forming in his chest, because, as much as he wanted to hold onto this secret, to not tell his friend, even with how close they were, he also knew he was acting like a damned child. He was supposed to be tranquil now, wasn't he? To understand himself completely…
Well, it wasn't like he didn't know why he was doing this; he was scared. Scared to come forth with how he felt, scared to face Sasuke's answer, scared to admit he felt like he was unworthy to someone he was sure would tell him he was.
"Why should I?" He uttered after a moment.
"Because you deserve to have someone help you."
And in an instant, his mouth practically sealed shut.
"Gods, you're ridiculous." Sasuke shook his head, with a tiny, almost absent smile turning up the corners of his lips. "Every time, it's like this with you. It's always you helping other people. It's always you being there for someone. It's always you coming to the rescue. Never you being helped. Never someone being there for you. Never you being saved. Well, quite frankly, I'm tired of it. I'm going to help you, end of story." He spoke, looking him in the eye in a way that was reminiscent of Naruto's own unyielding help when he saw his friends in trouble. "Tell me. I won't leave until you do."
"You… I…"
"C'mon, Naruto. You're not getting out that easily." His best friend of eight years gave a smug smile. "I'm perceptive at the worst of times, you know."
And somehow, in the face of those words, Naruto had no choice but to be truthful with his best friend.
"I… I don't feel worthy of them." He found the words now pouring out of him. "I realized I'll never be satisfied with who I am. Not easily, at least. Maybe… maybe if I rescued Fu, and Sakura, and became Hokage, and protected the entire world… then I could feel like someone worthy of wearing those, but…"
Sasuke nodded. "I see…" He spoke simply enough. "If that's the case… do you want to know what I think?"
He found himself laughing a bit depressingly. "Am I allowed to say, 'not particularly'?"
"I suppose you could," Sasuke smiled. "But know that I'd tell you anyways."
"Then, by all means, I'm all ears."
"I'd say first of all that of course you're worthy of them. You're one of the strongest ninja of this generation, Naruto. There are very few who doubt, at this point, that you'll one day become Hokage." He shook his head after a moment. "But if you can't accept that… and I don't think you can… I'd say my second piece of advice would be to not worry about who you think you're worthy of being." Sasuke's words were simple enough, and Naruto had already prepared himself to have to ignore them and move on. "Worry about the person who those relying on you need you to be."
His heart stilled at those words, and the anxieties hanging around him, festering within his chest, did as well.
"What… what do you mean?" He asked Sasuke directly.
"What I mean is that there are people out there who need you. Right now, the Akatsuki are threatening to drain the remaining Jinchuuriki's of their Tailed Beasts, to kill them. Right now, the unit that the two of us are in command of is waiting for our arrival, waiting for us to join up with them, and storm the Akatsuki hide-out. Right now, the world is at a tipping point, what with the major nations at each other's throats. And… someone will need to solve those problems. Could that person be the type to worry about whether or not they're worthy to do that?"
"That weakness you feel… believe me when I say that I understand what that's like. I've gone through my own version of it, my own weakness. I think we all have. But… It was you who brought me out of that. You who saved me from becoming a solitary avenger, who gave me a friend when I desperately, desperately needed one. So… I'm going to do what you did for me and give it to you straight."
Sasuke walked back over to him, holding out both his cloak and vest.
"The person who can save Sakura and Fu… who can lead the squadron we've assembled to defeat the Akatsuki… who can become the Hokage, and protect the entire world… tell me, Naruto," He spoke as he stepped towards him, and held both aloft. "What kind of person do they need to be?"
He felt like his mouth may've been awkwardly hanging open as he stared his best friend down. His gaze was resolute; stubborn and steadfast. Something about that, that look of absolute surety, had Naruto cracking ever so slightly, a laugh bubbling up and out of him before he could stop it.
Because Sasuke was right. He wasn't sure why that surprised him; his best friend was very rarely wrong, but even so… something about this felt… monumental. Sasuke's words…
They'd been just what he needed to hear.
"Hah… just have to be so cool, don't you?"
Sasuke smirked. "I do try. And… if you need it… that weakness you're fending with… let me help carry it."
He almost laughed at that.
"I… I'll think about it."
"That's all I can ask.
The person who'd save Sakura and Fu; who'd rescue them from their fates… The person who'd defeat the near insurmountable odds they faced and bring an end to their shadow war with the Akatsuki… The person who'd become Hokage, and with that authority, protect all those trying to live their lives in the ninja world; hell, who'd stand beside Kurotsuchi, and Temari, and the next generation of Kage as well…
Naruto reached out and grasped both the coat and vest in his hands.
He'd need them.
/-/
Fu had no idea where she was when she woke up.
After a quick observation, she found the room itself looked similar to the one she'd been stored within around five or six days ago, alongside the other Jinchuuriki, if not far larger and more intimidating. It seemed like an entire Tailed-Beast could've fit in here, and to be fair, given that they'd been stored along with the massive Three-Tails for a time, it was likely one could. There was very little light at all inside the space, aside from a candle or two set up along the bed she was strapped to.
She tried to fight against the bindings tying her down, but it had no real affect.
It was then that she heard the voices.
"And all I would need to do is push that device against her seal?"
"Yes, well… that is the hypothesis at least. Theoretically, pushing it against the seal will force some of the Tailed-Beasts' chakra to the surface, and cut off a chunk of it."
"And what could happen?"
"Well… let's not focus on that, shall we?"
Fu felt an icy blotch of fear fill her stomach.
"And why her?" The first voice asked again.
"All of the others were injured rather heavily in some way or another." The far raspier continued, his voice sounding almost like a snake itself. "She was the only one in suitable shape to survive in case this were to be a… let's say 'damaging' procedure. Besides, even if it kills her, it should still manage to collect a piece of the beast inside. That suits your purposes fine, doesn't it?"
She whimpered as she struggled against the braces tying her down once more, and felt herself let out a yelp as she was turned to lay on her back. The two men above her, the first with short black hair and two glowing red eyes, seemed almost apathetic, though the second, with pale skin and yellow, almost animalistic eyes, smiled sinisterly down at her.
"Don't worry, even if something were to happen… well, I don't think you'd be around to feel it for long."
The fear inside her chest only grew, and she found herself straining once more against her bindings, trying anything, everything to escape them. She flexed her admittedly tiny muscles, tried to slip out of the bindings themselves, even surged her body with the Seven-Tails' chakra to try and make the difference…
But it wasn't working.
The device unfurled somehow, its… for lack of a better word, teeth coming out and looking like they'd dig into her flesh. She swallowed on nothing as she tried to move, but once more, she could do nothing but stare at the incoming agony.
"Please… please don't… I…"
No one seemed to care. All the black-haired one did was look away as the pale snake leaned over and threatened to plunge the tool onto her seal.
"S-STOP!"
And then… for some reason…
The man did.
It was only a moment later, as he stood back up to his full height and took a step back, that Fu realized a good reason as to why.
The entire room was shaking.
The vibration reverberated through the walls, through the floor below her, and into the table she was strapped to. She could feel it in her bones, that shaking. It'd inevitably saved her from the danger that might've been inflicted upon her, but…
Just what was it?
And then, after all of that commotion, the shaking simply stopped.
No one spoke for a good moment, not until the pale one let out in a rasping breath…
"Why… did it stop?"
The ceiling caved in not a second later.
Light spilled into the room almost immediately, along with a heaping helping of dust and debris, with dirt and rocks that'd once been the ceiling above them. A mighty crash resounded throughout the room as a massive, looming figure landed in the middle of the chamber, kicking up even more dirt, and causing Fu to have to close her eyes to avoid being blinded by it.
"Tch…" She heard the black-haired one speak. "Well then… I suppose they're here."
She opened her eyes after the dust had finished settling, even as the black-haired man struck her across the back of her neck, and she felt consciousness begin to leave her once more. She saw there what looked to be a massive toad, of all things, and atop it, riding along its head, with a flowing, red cloak along his back, and donned with a flak jacket of the Hidden Leaf Village…
"Don't worry, Fu." Naruto Uzumaki spoke, his eyes glowing a deep indigo, and his arms crossed over his chest as rays of sunlight from up above silhouetted him against the exposed sky.
"We're here, now."
End Chapter 83
El boyo has finally overcome his mental block, with a little help from his best friend!
Uh, anyways, not much else to say, other than that if there are some extra spelling errors this week, its because I was a bit busy yesterday whilst editing, and didn't much want to edit a second time.
So... sort of laziness? I don't know.
See you all next week!