A/N's will be at the bottom.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.
Chapter 8 :
Flashback
2nd Year
"Faster!" Kurama ordered. Naruto stopped and glared at the oversized fox. It hadn't been more than month since the blonde had found a way to release the fox for a temporary amount of time from the seal and already he thought he was overlord.
"Did I tell you to stop?" The fox questioned. Naruto sighed.
When he had first released Kurama from the seal neither he nor the fox had known what to expect. They hadn't even been entirely sure whether or not it would even work.
But it had. And the results had been more than worth it.
A mass of chakra, it had formed into what it knew best: a fox. A very, very large egotistical fox. Standing on all fours he reminded the blonde of a large horse.
Sleek crimson fur coated his body and blood red eyes had stared back at him gloriously. Kurama had been pleased to have been released even if it was only for a small amount of time.
Naruto found though that while Kurama's conscious could be released into a physical form it was up to him to decide the power the fox held. The chakra siphoned off to the large creature was completely dependent whatever the hell Naruto felt like giving.
"Asshole..." Naruto muttered.
Their relationship was definitely different. For a fox Naruto didn't think Kurama was half bad, but a small part of him was worried to put faith into anyone. That just wasn't who he was anymore, but if someone were to come close it would be Kurama.
Turning back he started his katas once again. He closed his mind to everything around him except to one sound. The deafening roar of the waterfall. How he ended up at the Valley of End Naruto honestly had no idea only that this is where his feet had led him.
Two years. That was how long it had been now. Two years since he left Konoha. He could feel himself frown.
He'd changed so much in such a short amount of time. There were times now he wondered if it was worth it. Was it worth it to live?
"But I have a reason now" He said softly. It was all he hung on to. It was why he still fought to live in this unfair world.
"Haku" The image of the young girl he had met just under a year ago stuck with him. Every detail, every movement, every word she said he remembered clearly as if it was just yesterday.
Opening his eyes with a new determination he powered through his katas with ease. As time had passed the blonde had grown strong again. The weak man that had been left sniveling for death was beginning to fade.
His muscle built back. His arms and chest well defined with all his hard work. He was faster and even stronger than he was two years ago. All he did was train. After all, he wouldn't be any good to anybody weak.
And as much as he was loathe to admit it, Kurama had played a big part in his return to strength. Pushing Naruto to his limits and making sure he never forgot his drive the fox made him move forward. And for that he would be eternally grateful.
"Kit, do you want to spar?" Sweat dripped down Naruto's chin. He looked back to the sly fox and raised an eyebrow.
"Looking for a beat down already Kurama?" Naruto smiled. Wiping his forehead, he looked at the waterfall. Memories were a painful thing. He could move on though. He could move on and become a better man. A man without a past.
Kurama scoffed and bared his teeth, "You're about a few millennia too short to take me down kit. I'm doing this for your benefit. Let's just hope you don't lose any more brain cells."
"You're on fox!"
Over the two years the blonde had left he had gotten taller. Standing at a respectable height Naruto figured he was about average for guys. It helped that Kurama said he wasn't done yet. His hair was shaggier and hung in his face with a small ponytail trailing down his back.
Naruto got into position only feet away from his furry partner. "Rules?" He questioned slipping into his fighting stance.
His feet moved apart and he balanced his weight on the back foot. Grinning he bent his knees, lowering himself closer to the ground.
He brought his left hand up to his face and drew a tight fist. His right hand lowered to his side in a relaxed position.
"Strictly taijutsu. No ninjutsu yet were both still a little too rusty to have a battle such as that, do you agree?" Naruto simply nodded in response.
These past months Naruto had strictly worked on taijutsu and pushed his physical limits. He wanted a strong body first before he started to dabble in ninjutsu again.
"You can still back out…" Naruto taunted. The fox merely laughed and got into a feral stance. His fur started to bristle and Naruto caught the way Kurama's claws dug into the dirt.
"Three…" The fox smiled and Naruto laughed. It was if the air around them stopped. The sounds of the forest quieted and the rushing water sounded like a distant memory.
"Two…" The blonde replied back his muscles tensing.
Naruto sucked in a breath of air and his eyes narrowed. "One." He whispered.
His feet started to move and Naruto flew through the air. Kurama merely stood waiting. The smile never left the fox's face.
Ten moves ahead. Kurama had taught Naruto to think ten moves ahead of what he was already doing. Different scenarios filled Naruto's mind. All he had to do was pick the right ten.
A large smoke filled the clearing and Naruto faltered. "What the fuck?" He muttered. Feet touching the ground, Naruto quickly sprung back in backflip to try and clear out. His eyes widened. What was this? Kurama had said no ninjutsu.
"Kurama!" Naruto shouted. The blonde felt his nerves skyrocket. A small part of him recognized it as fear. The rest of him squashed the feeling and set his face into a grim line.
"It's okay kit." Kurama's voice called out calmly. Naruto relaxed, but he still felt himself on edge as the smoke cleared. This obviously wasn't a trick on the fox's part. No matter how fond of them Naruto knew Kurama to be.
Naruto felt his breath hitch when the smoke finally cleared the area. He heard Kurama call out to him, but they fell on deaf ears.
"Stay calm Naruto."
When Kurama saw who the intruder was he knew it wouldn't end well. Not for him and not for Naruto. And the fox had a sinking feeling that when this little meet and greet was over their entire game plans would be changed.
"What are you doing here?" Naruto hissed. His eyes narrowed and he felt his heart pound. There were just too many memories. How had a simple spar turned to this?
"Naruto…it's been a long time." Gamakichi stood in the middle of the clearing a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He wore a blue cloak that had the insignia of 'Toad' on the back of it. The giant amphibian Naruto had once summoned as a child sat merely feet in front of him.
"Naruto…" Kurama said loudly. It was a warning. A warning for Naruto to behave himself.
Naruto momentarily glared at the fox before calming himself. His heart pounded in his ears and his head hammered with thoughts he wanted to forget, but Naruto tried to calm himself.
Hesitantly he slipped out of his fighting stance and let his hands hang at his sides. Gamakichi was friendly as far as Naruto knew. So he had to act as such. His eyes apathetically settled on the toad.
"…You've gotten big." He commented.
"Yeah. So have you." The toad replied. Naruto scoffed. He might have put on a few inches, but the toad had literally tripled in size since the last time he saw him. Maybe he wasn't as big as his father Gamabunta but he was getting close.
Kurama broke the awkward silence, "What do you want frog?" He asked impatiently.
"I'm a toad."
"And I don't give a shit. So what do you want?" Kurama glanced at Naruto.
The boy was literally shaking and his eyes were cloudy. Kurama had a feeling the young man didn't even realize his actions either. So he didn't want to drag this out any longer than he had to. The blonde still didn't do well with anything related to Konoha.
He thought the word people used to describe Naruto now was mentally unwell.
"If you're here representing…Konoha… you can go the fuck away." Naruto growled. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. His mind flashed with images of his past. All he wanted to do was forget.
Why did it always come back to haunt him?
"I'm not." Gamakichi said calmly. He was taking everything quite well considering the unfriendly welcome he was receiving though to be fair Gamakichi had fully expected it. The toads had been watching him after all.
"I'm here because the elder toad wants to see you."
"Why?" Naruto immediately questioned. It was rare to be beckoned by someone as important as him for no reason.
Gamakichi hesitated before speaking," A prophecy has been told." The toad stared at Naruto before continuing. "Do you really need any more of an explanation?" He said sarcastically.
"…No" Naruto's mind raced. If the elder toad really wanted to meet about a prophecy, Naruto had a feeling it meant it had to do with him then. Slowly he walked around the toad and stood next to Kurama who was silent.
"Will you go then?" Gamakichi asked hopefully.
"Why should I?" Bitterness coated Naruto's voice and the blonde had no problem showing his resentment.
"Why shouldn't you? The toad countered and Naruto bristled.
His eyes flashed dangerously, "Wrong question toad." Naruto could feel himself starting to pull on Kurama's darker chakra.
"And why is that Naruto? " The toad said boldly. "You shouldn't go because we're aligned with Konoha? Because you want to bitch and moan that they double crossed you? That's a child's excuse."
He knew it was wrong to provoke the blonde like this. Especially when Naruto's anger was well-placed, but it hurt Gamakichi to see his old friend change so much. It hurt everyone.
Gamakichi wondered just how far Naruto had really fallen. Was the blonde so low to question he who had been with Naruto for years now?
Naruto growled and took a menacing step forward. His nails were growing to claws. Kurama stepped in front of Naruto and stared at the boy. A low growl rumbled from his throat before Naruto stepped down.
Kurama looked at the toad and smiled, "I would fix your words toads. I'll only be your shield for so long." His teeth flashed and Gamakichi swallowed painfully.
"Naruto please…" He pleaded. "Please! We've done nothing to you. Naruto, we still care. You are our summoner. We will always have your back no matter what. Our loyalty is to you first then the village."
Naruto's eyes were hard and Gamakichi couldn't tell where Naruto stood on all of this. He remembered back to when he and Naruto first met. The blonde had been so trusting and determined. He didn't know who this man in front of him was now.
Naruto looked out to the waterfall before sighing. Hesitantly he stepped forward and Kurama didn't stop him this time. Coming to a halt in front of the amphibian Naruto simply said three words.
"Don't cross me." Gamakichi smiled wanly as he saw the fox follow slowly behind. He had won the first battle. But he wondered how much it would take to win the war?
"Wouldn't dream of it Naruto."
End Flashback
Naruto gasped for breath. Blue eyes snapped open as sweat ran down the side of his face. The crashing of waves assaulted his ears and the blonde stumbled backwards falling to the ground.
It was the Valley of End. No matter how far he travelled and no matter how twisted he became his feet always led him back here.
Raising his hand and the blonde watched as it shook uncontrollably. Naruto took in a breath holding it as he counted down backwards from ten. Slowly his hand stopped trembling and Naruto breathed out in relief.
This was his life now. Sleep was restless and filled with memories that he just wanted to disappear. It was painful. Naruto would just be grateful he hadn't fallen off the edge of the cliff in a sleepwalk.
Sighing, the blonde ran a hand through his hair. He listened to the roars of the fall. It calmed his racing heart.
Naruto thought back to the Summit. The play had finally been set and now it just needed to be put into full swing. He mused silently to himself. That would be in only four days now.
Staring ahead the statue of Madara's face glared at him. To Naruto the man was the embodiment of the end of the world. He was chaos and destruction. Madara was the disorder in the orderly world. He was everything that Naruto hated.
Naruto laughed. "Am I so different though?" He pondered. Throughout his short life he'd been a magnet for trouble, danger, and mass havoc.
He was the guy that made people's worlds do flips and even some weird ass backward tumbles. While Madara may have been the embodiment of everything difficult and nasty Naruto sometimes felt that he was the definition.
"You must find you're little game quite amusing, no?"
The spot right next to Naruto seemed to twist and turn as a rift was forcibly ripped open. A figure gracefully stepped out of the blurred mass. His footsteps were light and he seemed to float on the ground. Still Naruto sat apathetically staring at the statue.
Tobi scoffed at the man's lack of interest in him. He was odd. Tobi would give him that, but he was nothing more. The blonde in front of him just seemed to be one in a long line of wrenches in his plan. It had started with the Shodiame Hokage and went on with the Uzumaki clan.
Both – thanks to timely planning – had been eradicated with a few well-placed whispers. Inwardly Tobi laughed at the mistrustful qualities of shinobi of this generation.
"Of course the sheer idiocy of the people helped as well…" He mused. Yet even after he had gotten rid of those wrenches another one comes along. Minato Namikaze, the bastard boy's father. Tobi had never been so close to his goal only to be denied right as it was within reach.
That had angered him beyond belief. It angered him more than the Shodiame and Uzumaki clan combined. Still, he moved on and put the mess of Minato behind him.
More years pass and his plans finally once again begin to take form. He had thought for sure that this time absolutely nothing would stop him.
But once again Tobi was proved wrong.
This boy comes along and manages to screw everything up. He'd never done anything directly to Tobi, but it was the little insignificant things that he pulled. Or so Tobi had thought. After a while those little things started to pile up into one giant mess.
Now…now he didn't even know what this boy was thinking. He seemed to want to try and create the impossible. It was laughable.
For a time Tobi had thought maybe the boy would be the second in coming of his father, but now he knew his attempts would be nothing more than amusing. His attempts at thwarting his plans had been fruitful, but only for a small amount of time.
"They can be fixed…" He sang in his head. And with this in mind his interest in the blonde Uzumaki man shrunk.
Tobi had decided then that he would let the little boy run and scamper around the elemental nations trying to reverse the inevitable.
And it was all simply because the boy amused him. He knew though that should there ever come a time when the games were no longer funny he would end the boy with a flick of the wrist.
From a hidden pouch in his Akatsuki cloak Tobi threw a kunai at the man. At blinding speeds the knife cut through the air at its target.
The sharp weapon stabbed the blonde in the shoulder, but no flesh wound appeared. Instead Naruto disappeared out of existence with a column of smoke.
Tobi felt the press of cold steel against the back of his neck. "And your own game isn't amusing…Madara?" Naruto spoke impassively.
Naruto dropped the kunai letting it fall to the side meaninglessly. Watching the figure with bored eyes the blonde watched as Madara phase out of sight. It was classic really. Madara after all did love his disappearing acts.
"I thought we agreed that my name was Tobi." The man's voice rang through the clearing in a chiding manner.
"Heh I thought we agreed that I was sick of playing hide and seek with you Madara." Naruto called back out impatiently.
"Well then, by all means come and find me." His voice sounded like brass bells to Naruto, loud and annoying brass bells. One day, he promised, he would smash them and then he wouldn't ever have to hear the unpleasant voice again.
Concentrating on the image of a thin and fine point, Naruto channeled some of his wind chakra into a cloak around another kunai. Without even turning around he tossed the kunai at break neck pace towards a shadow by a tree.
When Naruto turned to see his kunai be flicked away by the shadow he smiled. "Is that really all yo-" Madara had started to speak from the depths of the dark.
Naruto's lips mouthed a countdown. When he reached one he heard a poof.
It really had been quite easy to place another hidden kunai under the original one. Especially since the kunai hiding underneath had merely been a henged clone. What made it all the better? It was an exploding clone.
"Shit!" The blonde heard a yell. When the explosion took place Naruto's ears rang. Faintly he recalled his hair being blown wild just from the sheer force of the blast. Maybe he had put just a tad too much chakra in that one. Oh well…
With a longing hope he'd have thought that might have killed the bastard. Surely and without a doubt a ploy like that would have killed many lesser ninja. Then again, Madara was no lesser ninja.
"Uzumaki," It seemed to Naruto that the man thrived in the shadows as he rose from the pits of darkness. It was strangely fitting. One who only brings misery must live in the shadows among the earth.
"That was not a very nice thing to do to now was it?" Naruto lazily rolled his eyes as the man ripped off the remaining parts of his right sleeve. The rest, Naruto suspected, laid somewhere burning in the forest.
First and foremost Naruto smiled at the man. Then he proceeded to flip him the bird. "I kinda have this reputation of being pretty unpredictable ya know? I just can't help things like this ne…"
The smile was wide and cheesy. Even Naruto could feel how forced his own smile was. His message though was adequately received.
"No one – not even you – is completely untouchable." Naruto thought victoriously.
"I'll keep that in mind boy." The sarcastic edge in the man's voice told Naruto otherwise.
Sitting down, Naruto let his body collapse. Madara's image was already fading Madara had come here as a warning. The man knew Naruto couldn't beat him or so he thought. The blond never showed his true power.
There was still a lot of work left to be done, but Naruto vowed that soon he would finish things.
"It was curiosity that killed the cat. I simply can't let the fox share the same fate…" He said to no one. Naruto would have to finish it. He didn't have a choice. He had to finish it before Madara finished him and the rest of the shinobi nations. Looking to the sky Naruto let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"Four days."
It was only four days till the start of a revolution. Bitterness resided in the young man's mouth. Naruto wondered if he could really own up to his past. If he couldn't then how in the hell did he possibly plan to save the future?
Madara wasn't called a God among shinobi for nothing. Naruto smiled. "Then again, I'm not known as the number one surprising ninja for nothing either…" He stood up. It was time for what Naruto was best at: last minute training.
Flashback
2nd Year
"Mount Myoboku, it hasn't changed a bit." Naruto said to himself.
"Ahem." Gamakichi coughed. Naruto looked questioningly until the toad nodded his head toward Kurama. "He'll freak out some of the other toads…"
Naruto narrowed his eyes. He glanced over at Kurama who merely nodded his head. "It isn't as if I'd be actually leaving Kit."
"Fine" Naruto conceded. He brought one hand into a ram sign. Briefly his chakra glowed before it shot at the sitting fox. When the chakra hit him the fox glowed brightly before forming into a mass of giant red chakra. Slowly but surely the chakra began to return to Naruto.
"You there?" Naruto asked in his head.
"I'm here." Kurama said from his cage. Naruto nodded before walking back to Gamakichi.
"Let's get this over with then."
"Okay. This way," Gamakichi started to hop away. Naruto followed at a small distance. He glanced at the surroundings. The toad statues that littered the side of the mountain reminded Naruto of his training years ago.
He found he couldn't remember the last time he had used Sage Mode. Silently Naruto promised he would start training in senjutsu again once he went back. After all it was a very useful trick to have in the middle of battle.
As the duo walked Naruto noticed that the toads around them had stopped what they were doing. Instead they all seemed content to stare at Naruto. It unnerved the blonde slightly and reinforced the feeling that whatever this prophecy was wasn't going to be very pleasant.
"We're here." Naruto looked up and saw the entrance of a large cave. This was it. Gamakichi continued to hop forward.
Naruto hesitated at the front. "Gamakichi, do you know what this whole thing is about?" He asked with a hint of worry.
"Yeah" The toad said softly not looking back.
Softly he continued, "I still think of you as a brother Naruto even if you don't believe so. You were my first summoner after all." Naruto was silent. His feet wouldn't move. He just felt stuck.
"I won't hold it against you if you turn back you know? I won't make you come with me…" The blonde stared at the toad.
For a moment he remembered when he had first summoned Gamakichi. How small both he and the toad had been. He remembered the toad working for hours on end helping Naruto train with Jiraiya. He remembered giving Gamakichi and his brother food for assisting him. He remembered when the toad had stood by his side in battle.
Naruto took a step forward. His feet felt like lead, but he pushed on. He walked past the toad toward the back of the cave. Naruto already knew what was waiting there, but he had made his choice.
"Thank you." He said quietly while passing his old friend. He didn't stop to wait for the amphibian knowing that his part in Naruto's journey was over.
"Just don't forget me again okay bro?" Gamakichi whispered at Naruto's disappearing form. The toad knew this wasn't going to end how he wanted to, but he had to believe that everything would eventually work out. He had to.
As the cave opened up into a larger space Naruto watched the faces of familiar toads come into light. Sitting in an arc around the edge Naruto focused at the center where the one who wanted to see him sat.
"Elder Toad Sage" Naruto addressed the old toad before him.
"Naruto-boy!" Shima called out. Naruto felt his hand twitch, but he stayed silent and stared hard at the Elder Toad Sage.
"Shima…" Fukasaku pulled his wife over.
"No!" She whispered. "We should have been there for him! Jiraiya-boy should have been there for him!" Fukasaku was glad that Naruto couldn't hear them. He agreed with Shima, but that didn't change anything at this point. Everything had already been done.
"Ah boy it is nice to see you again." The eldest toad spoke. "…but who are you again?" Naruto closed his eyes in frustration. Did he really waste his time coming here?
"Tsk, Naruto Uzumaki." The blonde turned his head in frustration.
"Oh yes! Yes, yes I remember now. You're the Child of the Prophecy" It was like a switch as all the other toads sat on edge now. This is what they had been waiting for.
Naruto inclined his head. His mouth was set into a thin line. "Yeah…so I've been told elder."
Naruto thought back to when Jiraiya had called him the Child of Prophecy. His sensei had been wrong. Naruto wasn't the Child of Prophecy to anything. No, he was just one big fuck up.
Swallowing his pride Naruto walked up to the elder and got to his knees. Placing his hands on his lap Naruto looked up to the elder. "Great Elder would you tell me what you have foreseen?"
The elder got a faraway look and he was silent for a long while. Naruto grit his teeth, but forced himself to be silent as well. When the elder's eyes finally reopened they were hard and glared at Naruto.
"A child born from love will be raised by hate. Scorned and betrayed he must decide his fate. The path will split and the road will divide. The boy must choose which path to decide. The world in balance, even I can't see the future that will come to be. This though I do foresee. A path will lead to his certain death. The other will lead to the world's demise. A boy, a boy it is all up to the boy. The Child of Prophecy has become the Child of Fate."
The old toad eyes cleared and took on a softer look. It was if the elder toad had been woken from a nasty dream. The room was silent. The air had stopped. The blonde in front of the toad sat frozen.
Naruto's eyes widened. The toad couldn't be serious. He glanced around waiting for someone to make a move, waiting for someone to make a sound.
"You can't be serious… are you fucking with me?" He asked. Naruto was met with more silence.
Naruto stood to his feet angrily. "Tell me that you're fucking with me!" He demanded.
"Naruto-boy! Calm yourself! This is still the Elder Toad Sage you speak to!" Fukasaku said.
"Calm? You want me to be calm?" Naruto felt himself backing up. His feet screamed at him. His heart screamed at him. Will lead to his certain death? What the hell was that about? Lies. They had to be more lies.
"I've sacrificed everything! Everything Fukasaku! I have lost everything to these people. Tell me what do I owe all of you? Go ahead tell me! What else do I owe? Cause it sure as hell ain't my life!" He screamed delirious.
Everyone was silent. Naruto stared at the Great Toad Sage. "It's not fair." He said. Tears stung the corners of his eyes. He refused to let them fall. It wasn't fair.
"Life is not fair young one." The toad said wisely.
Naruto sneered. "That isn't what I want to hear."
"Then what is boy?"
Naruto stood frozen. What did he want to hear? He racked his brain for something, anything. Why couldn't it have been someone else? It was always him.
"I-I don't know." Naruto looked around. "I don't know!" His fist tightened and he shut his eyes. Naruto shut his eyes to the world and ran. He didn't know where he was going but he trusted his feet to carry him.
"Fuck all of you!" Naruto cursed back at them. "I'm not your puppet! Not anymore…"
"Naruto-boy!" Shima shouted after him. The elder toad sage waved his hand.
"He needs time to think."
"This isn't right. Haven't we put the boy through enough?" She questioned. Shima always became too attached to the summoners. First it was Jiraiya and now Naruto. They were her family.
"You are correct. It is not right, but someone must bear the burden of the world."
There were times where he wished his prophecies were wrong. There was no more a time than here he wished they wrong. But he was not. Ninjas lie, people lie, even the toads lie but prophecies are the one thing that unfortunately do not.
The elder just had to hope that in the end the blonde would make the right choice, but with the lines of right and wrong blurring even he was unsure of the correct path.
"The future in the hands of one man? Ah now this will be an interesting story." He mused to himself.
End Flashback
A/N - What's up fellow readers? Tell me what you think. Good? Bad? Aight? Really I want to know. The chapter is a little slow I know, but it adds a little backstory and presents the main antagonist. Now I'm not entirely stupid in knowing that Tobi is actually Obito not Madara, but when I first wrote this we didn't know that and now I don't really feel like changing my entire story because of it. So those who don't like it? Suck it up. But that's that so yeah... Drop a review! Please!
Another note, if you do leave a review it would be so awesome if y'all could do a favor for me. Drop an idea for a pairing you might want or even if you want a harem. I'm game for everything. Another thing to add to your critiques, a lot of you reviewed last time about Naruto infiltrating the village was cool, but you wanted me to add some of it in. Now I could do that or I was thinking because its such a long period of time and I really want to do it justice I could create a prequel to this with all of Naruto's training and adventures into the other villages. But again it's up to y'all.
Thanks!
NoMan4u