Last Time:

Haru let Naruto's face fall before he landed an uppercut. He landed punch after punch on his face and stomach until he was satisfied. He grabbed Naruto by his hair to lift his face and saw Naruto had passed out. "Poor kid, I guess Kushina didn't train him properly." He sucked his teeth and let go of Naruto's hair, his head dropping again. "All right, let's go."

They dropped Naruto onto the floor and snickered at the sight of him bloody and beaten. Haru snapped a quick picture before tucking his phone away.

"See you around," Haru said before leaving.

Opposites Attract: Chapter 40 – "you are not alone"

Naruto inhaled sharply as Sakura continued to stitch up the cut above his eye. He sat there with an ice pack on his face while Rin continued to bandage up his midsection and chest.

Luckily, Sasuke was the one to find Naruto lying unconscious on the bathroom floor before any civilians came in and saw him. Shikamaru had to pay a few theater workers double their weekly pay to help him clean up the mess inside without saying a word to their manager.

"You need to go to the hospital and get an x-ray," Rin suggested as she pinned the end of her roll of bandages and stood up. "We need to know the full extent of your injuries. From what I can tell, there's at least three broken ribs, a cracked jaw bone, and maybe a broken cheek bone? And you definitely have a concussion."

"I'll be fine," Naruto muttered, the pain from talking was excruciating.

"You don't look fine," Rin argued. "You look like you went through hell. I'm calling Lady Tsunade and telling her we're headed to the hospital in a little while."

Naruto wanted to argue but he didn't want to have to deal with talking. He sighed and nodded. Rin gently rubbed his head before pulling out her phone and slipping out of the room. As Rin left, Shikamaru entered the room with Kiyoshi behind him.

"How'd it go?" Sasuke questioned as Kiyoshi joined Naruto on the couch.

"Good," Shikamaru answered. "I'm probably going to smell like cleaning products for a solid month though."

"You look like shit, Nephew," Kiyoshi said with a slight chuckle as Naruto rolled his eyes. "Did you get any of their names?"

Naruto nodded. He cleared his throat. "Haru," Naruto managed.

Kiyoshi sucked his teeth. "Haru, huh?"

"I take it you're familiar with him?" Shikamaru asked.

Kiyoshi nodded. "He's mine and Kushina's first cousin. He's also the son Father never had. He's the true epitome of what it means to be a member of The Eternal Flame. He's ruthless with a complete and total lack of remorse for another human being. He's inherently violent and will pick a fight whenever he possibly can. I can't even begin to tell you how many times he's been in knockdown, drag out fights that we've had to separate before he beat someone to death."

"No wonder you look like shit," Sakura muttered as she clipped away the wire and put it back into the first aid kit sitting beside her. "You're good at fighting, Naruto-nii, but when you're up against someone like that, then it's no wonder you lost," she said as she gently rubbed antibiotic cream on his now stitched up cut.

Naruto grumbled in the back of his throat.

"If it was Haru then there were five others with him, right?" Kiyoshi asked, and Naruto nodded. "That's all of them then."

"He travels with a crew of likeminded people?" Sai questioned.

Kiyoshi nodded. "They're his brothers. Haru is the oldest and his younger brothers are so devoted to him that they'd follow him to Hell and back."

Sai pulled out his phone. "Can I get their names?"

"Yeah. In order it's Haruka, well he goes by Haru, Itsuki, Jirou, Kaede, Shinobu, and Tomomi," Kiyoshi answered.

Sai typed out the names into his phone's notes before standing and putting his phone in his front pocket. "Thank you, Lord Kiyoshi. I'll go see what I can find on them. I'll call if I find anything useful."

Naruto nodded and watched as Sai left. He sighed and removed the pack of ice from his cheek. He flexed his jaw a bit before gently rubbing it. Sakura smacked his hand and Naruto shot her a sideways glance but when she met his glare, he sighed and took his hand away from his jaw.

"So," Naruto's voice was a bit muffled seeing as he was trying to avoid using his jaw too much, "Grandpa Kyosuke can only do so much seeing as Whirlwind holds the majority in Konoha and Fire Country."

"Trust me, he's not going to try and expose Whirlwind for what it is, that's counterproductive to what he's trying to do," Kiyoshi informed. "He's going for the jugular here, Nephew. That's how The Eternal Flame operates. There's nothing formal or civil when it comes to them. If they want something, they're going for it through whatever brutal means necessary."

"That's why they tried to kill Uncle Minato and Aunt Kushina," Sasuke muttered.

Kiyoshi nodded. "You're right." Kiyoshi looked to Naruto and let out a heavy sigh. "Do you carry a gun on you?"

"No," Naruto answered, confused.

"You might want to start carrying one," Kiyoshi said as he reached behind his belt and pulled a pistol off his belt. He grabbed the barrel and held it out to Naruto. "I'm sure Kushina already taught you how to shoot?"

Naruto nodded as he looked at the gun for a second before looking back at Kiyoshi. "You're serious?"

"This is my father we're talking about and you already saw that he doesn't care about who you are," Kiyoshi grabbed Naruto's hand and made him grab the handle. "He will mow you down through any brutal means necessary. At least carry this if you're not going to have your security detail with you at all times."

Naruto sighed and looked at the gun. It was heavy in his hand and he suddenly remembered the night he shot Baji. He hadn't thought much about it since, but now with a gun in his hand, it seemed all too vivid of a memory. He pushed the memory aside and placed the gun on the couch beside him. "Can someone call Kakashi, I need an update on my parents."

"No need, he's actually calling right now," Sasuke said as he held up his phone, Kakashi's face on display. He answered and put the phone on speaker, "Kakashi-senpai."

"Sasuke," Kakashi responded. "Where's Naruto? I've been trying to call him."

"I'm here," Naruto said.

"Naruto? You sound funny. Did something happen?" Kakashi questioned, urgent.

"I'm fine," Naruto answered. "What's up?"

"Kushina woke up," Kakashi said.

Downtown Konoha: Konoha Central Hospital – Private Suites

"Oh, thank goodness," Kushina breathed as she clung to Sakura. She held her as tightly as her arms allowed and repeatedly kissed her head. "I'm so glad you're okay," Kushina confessed as she took Sakura's face in her hands.

"I'm the one who should be saying that," Sakura laughed through her tears before hugging Kushina's neck. "You had us so worried."

"I'm sorry," Kushina apologized as she hugged Sakura again. "I'm so sorry." She looked towards the door. As Sakura let her go, she wiped away some of the tears on her cheeks before looking over at Sakura. "Where's Naruto-kun?"

"He doesn't want to come in," Sakura confessed.

"Why? What's wrong?" Kushina asked.

Sakura pursed her lips together before looking towards the door. She patted Kushina's hand before going to the door and opening it. "She wants to see you."

"Sakura-chan," Naruto breathed.

Sakura reached out and took Naruto's hand.

As Sakura pulled Naruto in and Kushina saw her son's face, she gasped. She immediately reached out her hand and Naruto went to her. She held her hand to her mouth for a brief moment as she looked her son over, her tears coming faster now. Carefully, she reached her hand out and touched his cheek. "Who did this to you?"

"I'm fine," Naruto assured her.

"That's not what I asked you," Kushina argued. "Was it my father? Did he send someone after you?"

Naruto pursed his lips together. He let out a heavy sigh before holding Kushina's hand. "He sent someone named Haru. Him and his brothers came for me tonight. Uncle Kiyoshi says they didn't kill me because I'm supposed to serve as a message to the rest of Whirlwind that The Eternal Flame is coming."

"Wait, Kiyoshi? You've met Kiyoshi?" Kushina questioned. "When did you meet Kiyoshi?"

"The day you had your accident," Naruto answered. "He came running in after he heard you and Otou-san got hurt. He left The Eternal Flame after getting in an argument with Grandpa Kyosuke about this whole situation. He's been staying at the house ever since."

"Where is he now?" Kushina asked.

"He's just outside," Sakura answered.

Kushina looked at Sakura for a moment before looking at Naruto. "Sakura-chan, can you give Naruto-kun and I a moment?"

Sakura nodded. She stepped out of the room.

Kushina patted the space at the edge of her bed and watched as Naruto took a seat. She took his hand and laced her fingers with his. "You're shaking."

Naruto didn't say anything.

Kushina met her son's eyes. "I had a feeling you'd take things up for your father and I if we ever became temporarily unable to handle things ourselves. I'm sure Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya offered to take our place while we recovered?"

Naruto nodded.

Kushina nodded too. "Naruto-kun."

"I'm fine," Naruto assured her with a weak smile.

"You're not fine," Kushina argued. "Listen to me, you are not alone. Okay? You have the entirety of Whirlwind – the entirety of your family – at your back. The Eternal Flame is miniscule compared to Whirlwind. Your father and I agreed to keep The Eternal Flame at bay because they were my family but Kyosuke crossed the line. There's no more time for pleasantries with them."

"Okaa-chan," Naruto sighed.

"I'll handle things," Kushina assured him. "In the meantime, I just need you to keep your guard up. I know you don't love them, but you need to carry a gun with you, okay? You don't have to use it but if you're lucky, you'll come against an Uzumaki who hasn't stared down the barrel of a gun yet."

"Uncle Kiyoshi already gave me his gun," Naruto informed her. He patted her hand and managed a weak smile. "You need to focus on recovering and getting out of here. I already have guards posted here 24/7 so there's no need for you to worry. I'll handle things."

"Naruto-kun." Kushina placed a gentle hand on his cheek. "Remember what I said, okay?"

"I will," Naruto assured her before standing up and kissing her head. "I love you."

"I love you too," Kushina responded. "If Kiyoshi is still out there, can you send him in here, please?"

Naruto nodded before going over to his father's bed and kissing his forehead. He patted Minato's hand before heading for the door. "Uncle Kiyoshi."

Kushina waited and watched as Kiyoshi stepped inside. She smiled at the sight of her little brother. "Kiyoshi."

"Hey, Sis," Kiyoshi said awkwardly as he shoved his hand into his pockets.

Kushina opened her arms. Kiyoshi immediately went to her and they hugged one another for the first time since she left home. Kiyoshi held her tight.

"I'm so sorry," Kiyoshi apologized. "I didn't know. I really didn't know. If I knew I would've stopped him. I swear I would have."

"Shh," Kushina cooed. "It's okay. This wasn't your fault."

Kiyoshi let go of her. "Kushina."

"Promise me that you'll look out for Naruto-kun until I'm out of here," Kushina begged. "No one can watch him better than you can."

"I won't let anything happen to him," Kiyoshi assured. "Well, anything else."

"Keep me update, okay?" Kushina requested.

Kiyoshi nodded. He sighed and held his sister's hand. "We have a lot to talk about when all of this is over."

"I'm sure," Kushina agreed. "You look exhausted. Go home and get some rest."

"You get some rest too," Kiyoshi requested as he kissed his sister's forehead. "I love you."

Kushina smiled. "I love you too."

Kiyoshi smiled at her. He squeezed her hand once more before getting up and leaving the room. Once the door clicked shut, Kushina looked over to Minato's bed and poked out her bottom lip. "I was lonely."

Minato half-snorted half-chuckled as his eyes fluttered open. "Sorry."

"How are you feeling?" she asked as Minato looked at her. "You look like Hell."

"I feel like Hell," Minato answered. "But I'm alive so I guess I can't really complain." He put on an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," Kushina repeated. "Minato…"

"I know." Minato looked back at the ceiling. "Kyosuke brought this on himself."

To Be Continued…