AN
Hello everyone this is a long chapter and a love happens so remember to like follow and review the story if you have questions feel free to PM me.
I also wanted to address the guest who are reviewing this story. Many of you are quite nice and seem really interested in the story and give good feedback, but the guest who keeps commenting negative things without any real criticism IDK if you are the same person who keeps doing it, but you're just being rude and annoying. Your reviews are a waste of time to read and if you don't like the story stop reading it so neither of us are wasting time. I like to PM the people to review especially when they have valid criticisms or questions but i couldnt PM you if I wanted to because you hide behind a guest review. So in order to improve both of our times on this site please stop reading the story.
Everyone else thank you for your reviews they are extremely helpful and I love to read them you all seem like lovely people, but I don't like dealing readers who waste their time reading a story that they only complain about since it waste my time.
Chapter 6: Begging for Forgiveness
Naruto had finally found release. He missed feeling something and the pain was exhilarating. He watched the blood flow down his arm and felt the warmth of it. The sensation was amazing, and he loved to feel the pain the accompanied the warm blood. He ignored the anger he felt and tried to ignore all emotions, but he enjoyed the pain. He could control the pain he felt it wasn't being caused by someone or something else for once he had control and could stop when he desired. The metallic smell and dark red color excited him he could finally control the pain he felt and had chosen to feel it for once in his life.
Soon Naruto was interrupted from his favorite pastime as he heard a knock on the door. He knew it was locked so it wouldn't be easy to get in so unless he decided to open the door, he could ignore them and never know who was at the door to interrupt him. He felt like ignoring it there was no one he wanted to see. Everyone he ever cared about believed he was an awful person. All he wanted to do was be alone and die. Or disappear into the night maybe he would go kill the former Raikage for fun but that could cause problems for him. Deciding he had nothing left to lose he wrapped his arm and got up to open the door. He felt like he was making a mistake and as soon as the door was open, he saw the last person he wanted to see.
"Leave," Naruto spat as he closed the door.
"Please let me come in. I fucked up so many times I know. I drove you to kill yourself and I gave you a letter meant for someone else. I'm so sorry," Hinata pleaded through the door.
Naruto ignored her and went back to cutting lines down his body. She was the last person he wanted to see she ruined everything then gave him a letter just to break him. He had no reason to trust a word she said she didn't even attempt to fix things until she was pregnant, and she decided to break him more by giving him a letter she claimed was meant for Ay. He knew better than to believe her, she gave him the letter to hurt him. The only reason she's acting sorry now was because she felt guilty after he tried to kill himself.
Naruto sat there as she knocked on the door and begged him to let her in. He was good at ignoring the world. The past few months have turned him cold and reading the letter she left him made him burn with anger. He had reached the point where he was willing to ignore the destruction of the village. He would watch it burn with everyone inside and he might even help. He had no ties to the world he lost everyone and everything that he held dear, and he refused to be manipulated by Hinatas begging.
After an hour the knocking stopped. He assumed she had left. For a few hours he just sat on the couch. staring into nothing deciding to get out of his apartment he decided to leave and go for a walk. He had become accustomed to everyone's glares and threats. As he opened the door, he saw Hinata asleep outside. She really wasted time waiting for him to answer and fell asleep doing so. He rolled his eyes and went back inside. He may not like her anymore he wished her a slow and painful fall one day, but he had no grudge against the child she held. The kid was either his or Ays but it didn't get to choose the mess it happened to be born into. He covered her in a blanket and left without waking her.
He never thought he would hate the hidden leaf village and maybe he didn't, but he had begun to resent the people who lived there. He had begun thinking that the world needed a reset. Madaras dream was too kind. The people of the shinobi world didn't deserve a dream world until they died, they deserved to suffer and watch all they held dear fall beneath their eyes as they fail to stop it. The world deserved pain.
Naruto had walked around town for over an hour before deciding to return home. He dreaded seeing Hinata there since he probably couldn't face her without all his anger boiling over. He attempted to come in through the bedroom window and his balcony, but he had locked both. Forcing himself to run into Hinata who had woken up and was still waiting at his door. She was clearly angry, but he did not care. It's her fault she's there in the first place he didn't ask her to come over if anything he would prefer it if he never saw her again.
Naruto tried to walk past her, but she stood in front of the door. He didn't want to remove her by force considering she was pregnant, and he wasn't going to be called a child killer as well as a wife beater.
"Get out of my way Hyūga," he said emphasizing her family name.
"Please Naruto I just want to talk," she pleaded ignoring the use of her family name.
"Well, all I wanted was a wife that loved me and was loyal to me, but look how that turned out," he spat at her.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Sorry doesn't fix anything. It doesn't change the fact that the entire shinobi world hates me. It doesn't change the fact that you cheated on me, and it doesn't change the fact that because of your lies everyone I cared about everything I worked for is gone. I lost the respect of the villagers, other villages, and my friends. I lost everything because of you, so unless you can go back in time and stop yourself from ruining my life there's nothing, I want from you and nothing I want to talk about," Naruto said and moved her away from his door.
After that Hinata went home defeated. She really hoped that when they all came over on Saturday that he would be more accepting of company and maybe something good would come out of it. Lying in bed she cried the entire night she knew she had messed up and wouldn't be able to repair their relationship but she wanted Naruto to go back to normal she wanted him there to help raise his child he deserved their love regardless of what she did.
Naruto was trying to find a way to leave. He knew if he just ran, he would need to hide from the Anbu and even if he could he didn't want to waste time hiding from them. He needed a simple way to disappear without anyone chasing him. It would be easy enough to leave a shadow clone, but it would disappear if he fell asleep. Throughout the night he came up with idea after idea before scraping them all.
The following morning, he had hoped he would be able to figure something out, but he still had no idea how he could leave the village without anyone following him to bring him back. He knew they didn't want him in the village, but Naruto had too many secrets about the Hidden Leaf Village he also was the strongest shinobi in the world and losing him could cause problems for the village if a war broke out. He needed a way to escape without being followed. He knew if everyone thought he was dead like they thought Obito was he could leave without a trace, but he had no way to do that. If he died on a mission Anbu would be sent to make sure the body was destroyed if he faked his death, he would need to make it convincing enough that everyone would believe it.
Naruto couldn't figure it out, but he sat there trying to anyway. Sitting on his couch he sunk into a lot more than the old one. It was a much nicer brand than the one he bought and was nice enough he couldn't feel any springs poking him. His apartment was warm, and he was growing tired thinking about how to leave the village. His eyes were growing heavy and before he realized he was already asleep.
He woke up in the afternoon. He had slept well but he woke up drenched in sweat. He wasn't sure why he had woken up until he heard knocking on his door. He groaned realizing Hinata was probably there waiting outside his door. He removed his sweat drained shirt and decided to open the door.
Hinata looked at Naruto as he opened the door. She hadn't noticed just how skinny he had gotten. He had been in the hospital, and she figured they would try to fix his wait problem and heal the wounds he had, but he was skinny enough that she could see his ribs. She also realized that he was covered in scars and fresh wounds some that probably needed stitches.
"What do you want now," Naruto questioned.
"You should get those stitched up," she responded.
Naruto looked down at his body. She was probably right but he wasn't going to waste his time going to a hospital that didn't want to help him.
"They aren't worth getting stitched. Now why are you here. I don't want to talk to you," he explained.
"Fine don't talk to me, but at least listen," she requested.
He didn't say anything, but he didn't close the door, so she took that as her invite to keep talking.
"I fucked up. I know that I ruined your life, and I can't fix that. I can't go back in time and prevent myself from ever talking to the raikage. I can't stop myself from cheating on you or convincing everyone that you abused me. I can't change the fact that I was a coward and that I refused to be honest with you. I don't want to ask you to forgive me I don't deserve that, but I talked to Ino and was able to get her to convince everyone to forgive you for what I said you did. I know it's not perfect, but I know how much you care about your friends. They are supposed to come over Saturday to visit," she said before Naruto interrupted.
Naruto was getting angry every word she spoke. They wanted to come visit after nearly seven months of insulting him ridiculing him and openly hating him. They wanted to visit him after they took less than five minutes to turn their backs on him and beat him half to death. They hadn't even tried to believe him they didn't take the extra five seconds it would've taken to have Ino confirm his story. He was tired of everyone acting like he didn't need to go the extra mile just to get half of the respect everyone else got just for existing. He was just a weapon to the village. He wasn't respected and needed to constantly prove himself just so the village would forgive him for the things he had no part of. They should be asking for his forgiveness after years of abuse and hate thrown his way, but they acted as they were all saints all while they wanted him to beg for forgiveness when he had done nothing wrong.
"Do me a favor. Tell them not to bother. They didn't take the time to even consider that I was telling the truth. They believed you without hesitation and automatically threw me to the side like trash. It's pathetic that you guys want to 'Forgive me' now only after I tried to kill myself. It took my near death for you guys to think maybe we should stick by him. And you couldn't even come out and be truthful with them. They don't care about me. If they did, they wouldn't have believed you without taking the few seconds to check out stories. Neji could've watched your chakra network as you spun your web of lies and noticed that you weren't telling the truth. Ino could have used her jutsu which is supposed to be used for intelligence gathering and proved that you were lying, and Sakura could have searched for DNA on you and our bed that would have proven that Ay was there and they could have found the cum that stained our bed and your insides. However, they didn't do that they believed you without blinking. I have always given everyone in this village one-hundred and ten percent just to get half that recognition back. Everyone wants me to ask for forgiveness but has never considered that they should be the ones asking for forgiveness. I'm just a weapon to everyone in this village. So, when you see them again tell them I don't want their forgiveness," Naruto said keeping his voice even.
Hinata was about to say something before Naruto started to speak again anger seeping into his words.
"And you're right Hinata. You can't fix your mistakes, but I don't think you made a mistake. Everything that happened seemed to benefit you. I caught you fucking another man. You got pregnant like you wanted. All your friends believed your lies and I'm stuck alone and hated like I was before. Then you show up to my house and give me a little bit of hope by telling me you're pregnant. Of course, it could be my child since I was still fucking you even as you cheated on me behind my back, but I don't think you wanted to give me hope. I think you told me that just to hurt me more by giving me a letter you claim was an accident," he began to yell.
"I'm sorry Naruto I am. I know the village treats you like dirt even after all you've done and I only made it worse by lying, but I don't see you as a weapon and I don't think our friends do either. We know you you're a caring, loving person who is loyal to a fault and would do anything for his friends. I'm sorry I ruined everything and made everyone turn on you. I'm so sorry for everything. I didn't mean to mess up that letter. I was selfish and wanted to feel loved even when you were gone. I wanted a child, but I wanted us to be a family and I ruined it. I'm sorry that I gave you the wrong letter. I made mistake after mistake, and I wish I could fix them. I wish I didn't cover my own skin and lie to everyone. I know they should've been able to see through my lies, but they didn't. I swear I love you even if I failed to act like it. I love you more than anything else and I'm so sorry for doing everything I've done," Hinata said through her tears.
He turned around and grabbed the letter off his table.
"Let's look at this letter you so graciously gave to me.
Dear Ay,
I miss you so much. I miss laying in your arms and having you here to comfort me. Our affair was wrong, but I don't regret it even now. It was exciting and was exactly what I needed. I needed the attention and care that my husband couldn't give me when he was away. I miss making love to you when he was gone and screaming your name. I don't regret a single thing we did. Every second was amazing. You were amazing. Naruto loved me but it wasn't the same. I had chased him for years and he didn't live up to the expectations I had in my head. He was never around. He didn't understand how I felt and was barely a husband at times. He grew up alone and was hated so I don't blame him for his lack of emotional understanding, but you understood me. You cared about how I felt not only when I was with you but when you were in Kumo. You sent me letter after letter declaring how much you cared about me and loved me. You cared about me at a deeper level than Naruto. I yearn for you. Every second we spent together was amazing and once we had sex our relationship became even more enjoyable.
I wanted to write to you and officially call our relationship off. I love you so much, but it would be unwise to continue our relationship. Naruto had told our friends that I cheated on him so if we began to hang out together, they may start to believe him. I hope you're doing well. Hopefully I can escape to Kumo at some point to visit you in private.
Love,
Hinata
There's more too Hinata if you forgot. You not only sent me the goodbye between you and Ay but you were kind enough to send his other letters. Maybe you did mean to send these to Ay. That way all evidence would have been destroyed. Let's read this one.
Dear Hime,
I miss your embrace. I miss having you in my arms and making love to you through the night. I wish I could return to your place and ravish your body again. You're such an amazing person and an even better lover. The way you let me take you however you want and beg me to take you time and time again makes me excited just thinking about it. I hope Naruto plans on going on another mission soon. I want to take you again and show you what a real man is made of. Let me know when he leaves, and I'll make my way over.
Love,
Ay
You two really did fuck like bunnies when I was gone. You say you love me and still care about me. You say you're sorry, but you don't even regret what you did. The only reason you care is because I killed myself after reading every single one of these letters. What's worse is I don't think he loved you. I think he only fucked you like a whore because he wants the byakugan just like he did when he kidnapped you. Do you remember that? The man that not only tried to kidnap you, but the one that caused your uncles death. You fell for the same man that is the cause of Neji growing up without his father. I hope it was worth it like you said it was. I could keep reading these, but they get pretty vulgar at times, and I already read them once I don't think I want to read it again," Naruto read through the letters with a growl and nearly yelled at her as he spoke, but he somehow managed to keep calm. Usually, his rage was loud and powerful like a storm, but this time it was cool and collected like the calm before the storm.
Hinata was crying on Narutos floor. She wasn't sure when she had walked into the apartment, but at some point, she had reached the middle of the living room. He was looking down at her with disgust in his eyes. Hinata knew he would be angry, but she didn't think he would be mad enough that she felt like he was willing to kill her. Naruto wasn't cold, but whoever this was, was terrifying and heartless.
"Just don't kill yourself please. You need to be here for this child. I know he's yours I can feel it and I want him to have a father. You should hate me, but your child should still be able to feel its fathers love," she pleaded.
Naruto began to laugh, "If that child is mine it'll only grow up believing that his father was an abusive piece of shit. If you plan to tell it the truth it will only hate you and the village for believing you and bringing me to my lowest point. I won't promise I'll still be alive when you give birth but if I am I hope it comes out looking like Ay just so I can watch your downfall. The kid will survive without a father. Just like I did, just like Neji did and just like Kakashi did. Raise it to hate me or never tell it who their father is I don't care."
"I don't believe you. You always wanted a family you wanted to grow the Uzumaki clan. I know you want to be a part of this child's life if it's yours please. Any other time you would never give up even. You would ignore me and take care of the child without caring whether someone made a remark or not. Where's that Naruto," she questioned.
"You're right I did want a family. I wanted a family that I could watch grow with a wife that loved me surrounded by my friends, but because of your decisions even if the kid is mine and I decide to stick around and let us say that I'm allowed to spend time with the kid all they will see is what the village sees. They will only see the man that 'beat' their mother. They'll look at me as a monster like everyone else, so if I'm honest I don't think I'll have a family even if I stick around. I have nothing against your child, but the Naruto that wanted to be happy and have a big family died the day you took everything away from him," Naruto explained.
"I think things could be better than that. You're an amazing man and a great role model they would only benefit from you being around," she said.
"Hinata the only way they would accept me is if they knew the truth, but if they knew the truth then they would turn on you there isn't a way to make us one big happy family. One of us will always be hated by that kid and since you already made everyone turn their backs on me, they would be better off growing up thinking I'm the bad guy that way you don't have to worry about them knocking down your web of lies," he said.
"Why are you still protecting me," she questioned.
"I'm protecting your child not you. I don't want them to grow up hating you while surrounded by a village that hates their father. I know even if you were to come out and tell everyone that I told the truth and that you had lied the entire time while playing the victim it wouldn't change how this village actually feels about me. They would probably blame me for you cheating just because they hate me. And if I'm honest I know I should hate you and want you dead or want you to suffer like I have, but I would hate to see you in so much pain because I know deep down, I love you even though I shouldn't," Naruto said as emotion seeped into his voice and for the first time during their conversation, he didn't sound angry he just sounded sad.
Hinata hated herself she wanted to cry out and say that she loved him and would gladly suffer so she could understand what he had been forced to go through, but she couldn't get a single word out as she cried. She really ruined the man she loved. She had hurt him so much that the once bright sunshine kid had turned dark, but even then, he was willing to protect her and love her like she hadn't destroyed him.
Naruto watched as Hinata cried eventually she fell asleep on his floor. He couldn't help but look at her and remember how much he had cared for her even after his confession he knew what he said was true but felt like it didn't matter. Whether he loved her or not wouldn't fix how broken he had become. His love for her wouldn't bring back his once prosperous life and it didn't change the fact that her child would probably hate him. As Hinata slept he wrapped her in a blanket and picked her up before taking her back to their old home. She hadn't locked the door so getting in was simple. He brought her back to the master bedroom and laid her down on the bed they once shared. She hadn't changed the place all the old pictures were up the furniture was the same the only changes were the fixed floorboard, and she replaced the dresser he smashed.
Naruto walked downstairs and was surprised to discover Hanabi Hyūga standing at the bottom of the stairs with a scowl on her face and her arms crossed. Naruto groaned inside he knew this was going to end badly. He wasn't supposed to be there, and he wasn't supposed to be near Hinata.
"It's not what it looks like I swear," Naruto said quickly trying to avoid a fight.
"Well, it looks like you're in my sister's house without permission and if I remember correctly, you were the one who abused her. Or did I mistake you for someone else," she declared.
"Well, I am in her house without permission, but that's because she fell asleep at my house after she came over to talk about the kid she's having and regardless of what she says I never laid my hands on her in a violent way. Next time you talk to her use your byakugan and ask whether I did it you'll see her chakra fluctuating as she lies," he explained nonchalantly.
"Why would I trust you? You're not exactly someone I have a high opinion of. The only reason I haven't kicked your ass yet is because you said Hinata is sleeping, and I don't want to wake her. Shes been having trouble sleeping lately, so if she's actually asleep I don't want to wake her," Hanabi stated.
"Believe me or not that's up to you. It was just a suggestion and considering no one else bothered to check her story to see if she was telling the truth, I figured I would throw the idea out there. And I hope she gets some sleep it's not good for the kid if she's not sleeping," he responded.
"Whatever thanks for bringing her back. I was worried about her she has been running off and I try to give her, her privacy but when she disappears for most of the day and comes back looking depressed its worrying," Hanabi expressed. She wasn't sure why she was telling him this, but it felt like he should know.
"Well, I know she spent some time decorating and cleaning my apartment when I was in the hospital after my suicide attempt and she had come to talk yesterday as well, but I wasn't exactly open to seeing her. So, I'm guessing she came home depressed after that, but I'm not sure why she would be coming back depressed any other day," Naruto explained leaving out any specifics.
Hanabi glared at him as she spoke in an annoyed tone, "Well, that explains a lot actually. Did you ever consider she might have been depressed because she still loves you? Even after you beat her. Hinata loves you and finding out you attempted to kill yourself probably hurt her more than she would like to admit. She still calls out for you in the middle of the night. I'll never understand her, but for some reason she still cares about you."
"I have trouble believing that she even cares about me, but thanks for letting me know," he said before moving past her and disappearing into the night.
As he got home Naruto wanted to figure out how to disappear without a trace there had to be a good way to do it. After staying up a few more hours he gave it a rest and thought about everything that had happened lately. He was told Hinata still loved him by her and her sister, he read her letters from and to Ay, they fought, he attempted to kill himself, and he found himself genuinely disgusted by the people in the village. He slowly drifted off to sleep.
"Naruto Uzumaki Lord Hokage wishes to see you," a member of the Anbu Black Ops said as he woke up Naruto.
"Oh, okay I'll be right there I just need to get dressed," he groggily said.
Naruto wasn't expecting Kakashi to request his presence especially if he wanted to send him on a mission when the hospital said he was required to attend therapy once a week. He knocked on the door to the Hokage office and was let in after a moment.
"Naruto I'm glad you're alive. You're needed on another mission. You'll be away for a little while. I would say roughly a month or two depending on how well you do. It's another intelligence gathering assignment it is an S rank, so I need you to do it anyone else would probably fail miserably," Kakashi said.
Naruto listened as he explained the assignment it wasn't going to be easy, but it wasn't as difficult as some of his missions. He would most likely come back unharmed. The only tedious part of the mission was it would take time. He was dismissed and told to leave as soon as possible. Naruto went home packed his mission gear along with a tent and other supplies he may need. Then he disappeared in the early morning.
Hinata slept through the night until the early afternoon. She didn't remember the last time she had slept so long. She figured after all the crying and fighting her and Naruto did last night, she had probably exhausted herself. She didn't remember going home last night all she remembered was the fight she had with Naruto and crying a lot. He must have brought her home. After getting up and brushing her teeth she made her way downstairs.
"Hinata you're finally I thought you were going to sleep forever," her little sister Hanabi said sitting on the couch.
"Hanabi why are you here," Hinata questioned.
"Well, you've been worrying me lately. You've been disappearing for hours every day you haven't been visiting the compound for dinner and you come home looking depressed or like you've been crying. So, I came to check on you last night only to discover Naruto of all people putting you to bed. He had told me that you came over to his house when he was in the hospital and visited him yesterday and the night before to talk about your baby. I wish you had told me that you were doing that, so I could've been there to keep you safe. I also wish you had told me that he had tried to kill himself that would have at least explained why you have been so depressed lately. Like I get you still love him even if he's a despicable piece of shit but moping around his house and acting like you're still his wife isn't good for you," she declared matter-of-factly.
Hinata had started to cry silently as her sister spoke. She was right she shouldn't be moping around his house, and she should tell someone about how she feels, but that would require opening up and telling them the truth. Hanabi turned around and saw her sister covering her face before getting up and wrapping her in a hug.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you upset," she admitted quietly.
"It's okay. I know you didn't mean to. I'm just having a difficult time dealing with everything. I'm pregnant and I want Naruto to be involved in the baby's life. I didn't ever think Naruto would attempt to kill himself and I watched him do it. I'm just so so tired right now and I wish everything could go back to normal," she admitted.
Hanabi stayed silent she wasn't one to talk about things like this, but she was more than willing to let her sister cry on her shoulder if it made her feel better. She had thought about what Naruto said. She wanted to ignore it, but he sounded too confident about what he said. She would worry about that later though she needed to take care of Hinata not worry about whether or not she lied.
Hinata didn't go to Narutos until she had met up with the group. She remembered what Naruto had said about them visiting, but she had hoped if they actually showed up, he may change his mind. As they walked over to his apartment, they spent some time catching up like they always did once a month. They walked all the way to his door and knocked for a few minutes before Hinata used her byakugan and realized he wasn't in his apartment. She had Neji help her search around and see if they could find him walking around anywhere. They were stumped and Hinata was beginning to worry about him. She had just been there two days ago.
"Guys lets split up. Half of us will visit the hospital and see if he's there and the rest of us will go to Kakashi and see if he knows where Naruto might be," Hinata suggested.
She ignored the eye rolls, the groan and the 'what a drag' she heard and started towards the Hokage building. She was worried Naruto went and killed himself. He was causing her so much stress and it was definitely not good for the baby, but at least she decided to go to Kakashi rather than the hospital because if she found out he killed himself after the other night it would break her. As she approached the Hokage Building with Neji, Ino, Sakura, TenTen and Lee she noticed they were quieter than usual. They were probably wishing they could just go out and get food like they used to, but now they were looking for Naruto.
Reaching Kakashi's office they knocked and were let in after a few seconds. He clearly wasn't expecting them since he looked surprised that they were all together.
"Hello how may I help you guys," he asked.
"Have you seen Naruto," they asked all on top of each other.
"He was sent on a mission he won't be back for at least another month. Why? He's not exactly on friendly terms with any of you. And you can't beat him up he's a valuable asset to the village. He has a death wish if he didn't half the missions, he goes on would need a lot more ninja and have a lot more casualties," Kakashi said.
"He really went on another suicide mission. We were going to go talk to him and try to fix everything since he has been so depressed and I don't want him to kill himself," Hinata admitted sadly.
"Oh well it's not really a suicide mission it's just a long one. He should be fine he's our most capable ninja as long as he doesn't get caught, he will be back before you give birth, and you can amend your relationship with him even though I don't know why you would want to," he said questioning her idea.
This eased her a little since she didn't need to worry about Naruto dying on his mission, but the possibility is always there as a ninja. Especially for someone going on an S rank mission by himself he really was following in Jiraiya's footsteps.
"Okay then can you let us know when he gets back. After what happened earlier this week, I want to make sure he's okay," Hinata said.
"Of course. Now if that's all please leave my office," Kakashi requested.
Waving everyone left and decided to meet up near the hospital, so they could let the others know what they found out. After that since they're original plans got ruined, they headed to Chojis favorite Korean BBQ place and laughed and talked like they didn't know who Naruto Uzumaki even was.
Naruto had spent the past three weeks trailing a group of rogue ninjas. He wasn't supposed to kill anyone during this mission, but he was beginning to think that would be the best option. He had gathered enough information that he could probably return to the village but following them gave him something to do. They weren't a large group and the organization they were trying to form felt like the Akatsuki, but they didn't have the same ambition. They just want power in numbers and money from bounty hunting. This group was relatively small, and he had learned their headquarters was in the small country the Land of Mountain Streams.
The small group stopped at a nearby inn which allowed Naruto to stop and rest. He had spent the past few weeks trying to figure out how to properly fake his death. He couldn't just rely on the medical team doing a poor job on his autopsy just because Sakura did a poor job of checking for proof Naruto had told the truth.
'Kurama, I got a question for you,' Naruto said.
'So, you're finally going to give your brain a rest and ask for some help hmm,' Kurama snickered.
'What is that supposed to mean. Have you had an answer to my dilemma the entire time,' Naruto yelled.
Kurama laughed before answering,' Yes I have an answer that should work. I wanted to see what you could come up with and see if you would ask for help or not. You would be right. White Zetsu would have been rather helpful but we have none that are alive so they couldn't transform into you. However, I know an old technique that would work perfectly.'
'You're annoying I've been trying to figure it out for weeks and you've had an answer the entire time,' Naruto said defeated.
'Well, never mind that. In order to do this right, you'll need a dead body that hasn't decomposed. They also need to be built like yourself. After that it'll take time to perform the jutsu but you'll be able to leave the dead body there and leave without them ever thinking the body might be fake,' Kurama said.
'Well now I just need someone built like me and ill store them in a storage scroll until we get back,' Naruto responded.
Another week went by without Naruto finding someone suitable to use as a double. A year ago, he would never consider killing a random person for no reason. He didn't like to kill if it wasn't necessary and even when it was, he always looked for another option, but his life had changed a lot over the past year. He had grown colder and colder has he suffered through loss, depression, and suicide. Naruto wasn't a naïve kid anymore who thought the world could be a peaceful place. He knew how cold and cruel the world was as even the brightest of people fell to the darkness if they are wronged enough times.
After two more weeks of intelligence gathering, he had decided he reached the requirements of the mission thoroughly enough to head back to the village and report what he found. As he made his way back, he stumbled across a small farm village. There were no more than thirty villagers but a young man probably close to his age caught his eye. Naruto got lucky to find someone that was perfect in height and build as he was going home. He delayed heading back another night so he could kill and store his replacement.
Quickly disappearing from the town, he stayed in a forest near the outskirts so he could come back quickly find the kid and take him in the night before anyone realized he was there or what had happened to the kid. Night approached slowly, but as it passed midnight Naruto headed down to town using a transformation jutsu just in case someone saw him wandering around. Naruto knew he was recognizable around the world even after his outfit change not many people had whiskers and blonde hair like his. He had shadow clones search each house quietly until one found him.
The kid lived near the edge of the town in a small run-down house. He dispersed the other shadow clones and rushed to the kid's house. He wanted to be quick about what he was going to do, and he needed to do it in a way that left no trace. As he entered the house, he noticed the kid lived alone. Making his way into the room he put mixture of a paralyzing drug and sleeping drug in a bottle swirled them around and knelt down to the kid before forcing the bottle down his throat. The kid had struggled during the initial contact, but once water went down his throat he had begun to struggle to move. After thirty seconds he had been completely paralyzed and put into a deep sleep. From there Naruto broke his neck and strangled him to death to mimic a hanging. Storing the now dead body in a scroll he disappeared from the small town without a trace.
Naruto had finally found his way back to the village after being away for a month two weeks and one day. He made his way to the Hokage building to debrief before being dismissed. Naruto planned to sleep for a while before doing anything else.
Hinata had been summoned to the Hokage building by Kakashi she wasn't sure why though. She wasn't allowed to go on missions being this far along. Her due date was in less than two weeks. Over the past month and a half Naruto had been gone and she just hoped he planned on making his way back soon. Kakashi had said his mission should only take a month, but he was already two weeks late and he had sent no update one his mission or when he would be returning. She hadn't realized she was already at the front door of the Hokage building until she looked up and noticed where she was.
Walking into the building she trudged up the stairs and made her way to Kakashi's office. As she knocked, she was immediately let in.
"Hello Hinata. I have good news. Naruto returned this morning completely unharmed. His mission went perfectly, and he said he was going home to rest. I said I would let you know when he returned, and he has. I want to ask you something though. Why do you want Naruto home so badly. You two are divorced and rightfully so. I would never had expected Naruto to have been abusive, but he grew up abused and I guess it might have been something he didn't realize the consequences to, but if that's the case I take all the credit for your marriage ending. I was his sensei and I failed to teach him right from wrong all of us failed to teach him and I want to apologize to you," Kakashi said sounding genuinely disappointed in himself.
"Thank you for letting me know he returned. I don't blame anyone for his behavior and if I'm honest I miss him a lot. He made mistakes and so did I we all did, but that's the past what I care about is the present and Naruto is the father of my child. I want the baby to know his father and have a relationship with him. Naruto always wanted a family, and I don't think there's any reason why he shouldn't at least be able to see his own child," Hinata said.
"Well, he just got back so I'm sure he will be around to help with the baby and if you give him a few hours he will probably be awake enough to comprehend everyone talking to him again," Kakashi said warmly.
She had been dismissed and was really happy Naruto returned safe, she was due soon, and now she could finally get everyone to help him out of his dark and depressive state he was in.
"Hello! Ino are you here," Hinata questioned as she stepped into the flower shop.
"Hey, I'm back here give me a moment," Ino responded after a brief silence.
A minute went by before Ino came into the main portion of the shop.
"Hey, Hinata, how are you. You look really happy. Did you get news about the baby? Or did Naruto return," Ino questioned.
"Naruto returned this morning. I want us all to go by his place Friday. He just got home so I want him to rest some before being bombarded by all of us," Hinata said bursting with happiness.
"Okay okay I'll let everyone know and we will visit him then. I don't know why you're trying so hard when he isn't even trying to be in the baby's life," Ino said looking sadly at her friend.
"It's not about what effort he is making right now. I know he will want to be in their life once they are born. He has been depressed and suicidal the past eight months. He went on more than a few missions that would have answered anyone else's death wish, but Naruto is Naruto. He is the greatest ninja to ever live," Hinata declared.
"Okay I will let everyone know about visiting him. Now you should get back home and rest yourself considering you're nearly due," the blonde-haired ninja said.
"Yes, you're right I'll see you Friday then,' the blue haired ninja said as she left.
When Friday finally came, they were once again disappointed to find Naruto wasn't home. They spent half an hour searching before heading back to Ino's flower shop.
"Hey honey, did Naruto ever meet you guys. He was in here a little bit ago and I told him you guys were going to his house to hang out. He said he would meet you there," Inos mother said.
"Oh, we haven't seen him. We are looking for him right now. Did he buy anything when he was in here," Ino questioned hoping she could tell where he was going based on the flowers he bought.
"He bought a bouquet of Mongolia's and poppy, and white tulips. It was a little weird but he insisted," Her mother said.
"Okay thank you," she said as she left the shop.
"He went to Jiraiya's grave," she told the group.
"Maybe we should wait then. That's a very emotional place for Naruto," Shikamaru suggested.
"You're right. I'm curious why he changed his flower order though. He usually does roses and carnations when he visits. Those flowers mean love and companionship, but he got ones that mean remembrance, forgiveness and perseverance," Ino thought aloud.
"Okay how about we come by tomorrow then," Hinata suggested.
They all agreed and went their separate ways.
Naruto knew he had avoided seeing anyone when he returned home,and no one was waiting for him. He wanted to say goodbye to Jiraiya before he left. Once he got home, he decided to start thejutsu to turn his replacement into a proper Naruto lookalike. The replacement would useNarutos chakra to breakdownand replace the DNAof his replacement with his own. This would allow him to escape all while everyone else thought he was dead.
He had to replace body part by body part so the jutsu took a long time and drained Naruto of a lot of energy and chakra. After spending the entire night getting his replacement ready Naruto fell asleep on the floor. When he woke Naruto worked quickly to hang the body and gather everything, he needed that no one would notice was missing. He only packed a backpack with one spare set of clothes and a cloak both needed to be replaced but they would work temporarily. He also gathered all his money.
Before he left the apartment, he wrote out a letter to Hinata and left his will. After that Naruto Uzumaki disappeared into the forest surrounding the village and made his way to his new temporary home.
AN
Another chapter done. A lot happens this chapter, so please feel free to review and ask questions or PM me about anything so I can either fix a problem or clarify anything. I rewrote this chapter about four times in the past two days. I can't figure out whether I like how it turned out especially how I wrote the Hinata confrontation. The letter needed to be enough to send Naruto over the edge and I figured Hinatas constant lying on top of the letter that contradicts what she said worked. I also considered splitting this chapter into two parts rather than one long one, but I think a long chapter works for the ending of this 'Arc' for lack of better term.
I hope the way I had Naruto fake his death works. I was thinking about using a Zetsu clone, but I haven't finished Naruto and since he's a bad guy I figured he dies at some point so I didn't think that would work. Naruto kills someone in order to build a replacement body. That alone shows how different Naruto is now. Killing isn't his style, but he was willing to kill a stranger just to leave the village.
There's roughly five years before what takes place in chapter one so Naruto will continue to grow a bit darker, and he will start to seek revenge against the shinobi world soon. Hinata will also give birth next chapter.
Let me know what you think about the chapter and remember to like follow and review the story or PM me.
Until next time, Bye!
-JJ