Ch. 35

After everyone had left the room, Naruto watched as the nice personality Hikan had been using evaporated in an instant.

He crossed his arms then sat back in his chair and said, "Let's stop acting like you're actually here to congratulate me on my election..."

Naruto sat up straight in his chair and didn't respond.

After a short pause, Hikan smirked then rubbed his chin and said, "I have to admit, coming here as the hero of the war to get through my diplomatic wall..." He raised his eyebrows and said, "Very creative... That's the first thing you guys did that I didn't see coming."

Naruto paused for a second, then finally dropped his act. He raised one eyebrow and said with a hint of smugness, "It worked..."

Hikan gave a crooked smile and said, "True..."

After a short pause, he said, "I would've thought that you'd come here enraged when you found that crater of destruction, but I guess being unconscious put a cork in that..."

Naruto wore an angry frown as Hikan continued. "I'm also surprised that you came here alone. Bold move. That probably worked out in your favor though. I would've had to make sure we had some one on one time. There's no telling what would've happened to those accompanying you..."

Naruto looked at Hikan with a disgusted scowl and said, "You're a monster..."

Hikan simply smiled and ignored the statement.

After a pause between the two, Naruto decided to try to get some more information regarding Hikan's plans since the two were finally done playing games. He opened his arms and said, "Well, if you wanted some one on one time, I'm right here..."

Hikan grew serious, then paused for a second as he leaned towards Naruto and whispered, "What I wanted…was to see what you Konoha-nin would do..." He squinted his eyes then whispered, "And you guys put on a show..."

He sat up straight then said in a wary voice, "Because of you guys, 50 people are dead... And on top of that, Sasuke almost died trying to bring them back."

He looked at Naruto with a hint of distrust and said, "Even to someone like me, who doesn't care much for anything, that's baaaad..."

Naruto shook his head then said through gritted teeth, "You killed those people, not us."

Hikan snorted, then said in a low voice, "I'm just an instrument... A force for chaos..." He continued in a whisper, "You see, I may have been the one to create that crater, but deep down you know… You know that you all were supposed to protect the village... It's the leadership's responsibility to watch out for their people. Those 50 people that are dead, that's on you guys..."

As Naruto sat there silent, Hikan continued in a serious voice, "If I lived in that village, I wouldn't trust the leadership as far as I could throw it...and I'd trust you least of all..."

As Naruto sat there trying to hold a blank expression, he felt a tinge of guilt. He knew they left the village unprotected, but he tried not to think about it too much. It hurt to know that 50 people had lost their lives because they weren't cautious enough. Now Hikan was throwing it in his face, and as much as he hated it, he felt like Hikan might be right...

After a short pause, Hikan continued, "As much as I don't trust you, I have to admit, you've changed things in this shinobi world. You and I both know there's no going back. This idea of peace and understanding between shinobi that you've planted, people are believing in it..."

Naruto asked in a voice that sounded more aggressive than he meant for it to be, "Then why are you trying to stop that?..."

Hikan raised his upper lip in disgust and said, "Easy. Because it's a lie. At the end of the day, everyone looks out for their own, including you. You'll see that I'm right..."

He lifted one hand in the direction of his balcony and motioned towards the outside world. "This peace you're trying to achieve, it'll never work. And even if it does, it'll be a lie...a false peace. These shinobi who are supposedly looking out for each other, when push comes to shove, they'll show you who they are... When it comes time to make the tough decisions, they won't protect each other if it means they lose. They'll abandon each other. You know why?... Because their morals, their ninja way...it's like a bad mission...abandoned at the first sign of trouble..."

As Naruto sat there in silence, Hikan stood up and said, "They'll never be better than this world allows them to be… Look at how the villages surrounding the Sound are already getting ready for war. Orochimaru is back and those Sound ninja still haven't regrouped... You know why?... Because war...it's in their nature. And as much as we try to fight it, we always return to our true nature... After Orochimaru faked his death, it just gave them an excuse to do what they've always wanted to do..."

Naruto quickly stood up and said in a firm voice, "You're wrong..."

Hikan snorted and said, "Oh you think so?! The scuffles between the Sound and the surrounding villages says otherwise..."

As tensions started running high, Naruto looked at him and said, "What happened to you to make you like this? You're so...negative..."

Hikan rolled his eyes, then replied in a nonchalant voice, "It doesn't matter what happened to me. Just know that it helped me realize what type of world this actually is."

Naruto wore a serious expression and asked, "And what type of world is that?"

Hikan replied, "A world full of people suppressing the darkness inside them, kinda like you do. Push people hard enough, and they'll let out that darkness that they've been trying to contain. Some people, like those Sound ninja, are more accepting of that darkness and they'll jump at the chance to fly off the rails. Some people, they'll resist that darkness...until something drastic happens..."

Naruto eyed him suspiciously, then said, "What does that mean?"

Hikan said, "It means that the road to darkness is a journey for all. Some people get there quickly, some people get there slowly, and some people need something extreme to happen for them to complete their journey. Something like the loss of a family member or a comrade or someone they would call a friend. You get the jist."

Naruto kept his face stern, but asked in a softer voice, "Is that what happened to you?..."

Hikan made one of the most disgusted faces Naruto had seen all day and said in a noticeably annoyed voice, "Don't say 'Is that what happened to you?' like I want your pity. I'm more than happy with who I am now. I can finally live the way so many people want to, but are afraid to...with no rules... And, on top of that, I finally see this world for what it is, which is more than I can say for you…"

Naruto turned to him and said in an exasperated voice, "What's your deal with me?... Up until recently, I didn't even know who you were..."

Hikan crossed his arms, then let out a small smile. He looked towards a map of the shinobi world that was on the wall and said, "Yeah, I know. That's why I pulled that little stunt in Konoha to make sure I had your attention. Now that I have it, you don't need to worry. My quarrel with you isn't personal. The only reason you're on my radar is because you are the single greatest force for this idea of peace."

He turned to Naruto and said, "In other words, the stubborn nail gets the hammer."

Naruto hid his true reaction with a blank stare as Hikan walked over to the balcony and continued speaking. "You see, my problem with you is that you think that at some point all shinobi will be able to understand each other, and that when that happens we'll be able to achieve peace... You're wrong. All shinobi will never understand each other. You know why?... Because they don't want to understand each other... Look at the Sound, their leader disappeared for a few days, and do you know what was the result? Anarchy. Beautiful...unhinged...anarchy..."

After he said that, there was a brief silence between the two. Hikan turned to look out over Amegakure as he thought to himself for a second. After a few more seconds, he turned back to face Naruto, then said in a pensive voice, "You know Naruto, I think this thing between us is personal now... Now that we're both standing here, I can see that we both have something to prove... To ourselves and to this shinobi world..."

He paused for a second then said, "You see Naruto, we both have visions of what this shinobi world should be...and it's my vision that will come to pass..."

Naruto grunted and said in a snarl, "Don't hold your breath."

Hikan chuckled and said, "Don't let yourself get too angry Naruto. We're actually opposite sides of the same coin..."

Naruto quickly replied, "You're a monster who kills without thinking twice."

Hikan raised his voice in annoyance and said, "Don't act like we're so different and don't talk like you're one of the people out there, you're not!...even if you want to be..."

He walked over to Naruto then looked him in the eyes and said, "To this world, you're nothing more than a freak..." He widened his eyes to showcase his Sharingan and his Rinnegan then said, "like me..."

He squinted at Naruto then said, "I was there in the war. I saw your memories… Those villagers you're trying to protect, I saw how they treated you… They hated you. Despised you. You were trash to them... and to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them still felt that way. They probably just hide it because it's not the popular opinion..."

As Naruto balled up one of his fists in anger, Kurama said, "Calm down, kid!"

Hikan smiled and said, "I can see it all over your face. You're trying to fit in, but deep down, you know that you'll always be a freak to them... With your powers, you've just become a useful freak, but you're a freak nonetheless..."

Naruto quickly retorted, "That's a lie! I've got plenty of friends who like me for being me. It's not about the powers...but I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand."

Hikan replied in an annoyed voice, "Trust me, I understand a lot better than you think. Those friends you're talking about, put them under enough pressure, and they'll turn on you. You'll get the shock of your life, you know why? Because those people aren't really your friends..." Naruto thought about it for a second then looked away.

Hikan studied Naruto's expression then wore a wide smile and said, "Ahhhh, you already know what I'm talking about..." His face instantly turned serious, then he said, "Now that just makes it worse... Some of your so-called friends have already proved me right and you're still holding onto this false image of people."

Naruto took a long pause as he thought to himself for a few seconds. He finally looked up and said, "Just because people do terrible things, it doesn't necessarily mean they're terrible people..."

Hikan rolled his eyes and said, "I can't talk to you. You're too annoying. Don't you get it by now?!" His tone changed into a noticeably more aggressive one as he said, "Friendship is a fairytale! Respect and fear are the best you can hope for..."

Naruto gave a sickened look and said, "That statement is just proof that you don't understand at all."

Hikan replied in a sharp voice, "You know, I'd rather not understand, than let 50 of my people die because of my-" He made air quotation marks with his fingers and said with a sarcastic flare, "-friends."

Naruto had enough. He threw a chakra enhanced punch directly into Hikan's stomach, then grabbed him by his armor and punched him in the jaw. As Hikan fell to the floor, Kurama let out a small sigh and said, "Now you've done it…"

After a short pause, Hikan looked up with a crooked smile on his bloodied mouth and said, "Look at you go!"

Naruto gave him a suspicious look as he took in the statement. Why did he seem kind of happy that he'd been punched, and why did he let himself get punched so easily in the first place... As Naruto started thinking about it more, he realized that Hikan must have waiting for this. He had been playing him the whole time.

As Naruto realized that he'd been set up, he quickly scanned the room to see if there were any cameras around. It didn't look like there were any around, but knowing Hikan, he'd be getting ready to blast Naruto's moment of glory all over Amegakure...

Hikan slowly stood up as he wiped the blood from his mouth using his forearm. He gave Naruto a smug smile and said, "Don't worry. It's not about exposing you..." He cracked his neck then said, "...it's juuust about proving a point."

As he got to his feet, he said, "Look at what you were willing to do with just my words..." Naruto thought to himself for a second, then looked away as Hikan continued. "You just physically assaulted the leader of Amegakure. Imagine what you'd do if you lost something or someone who was important to you…"

Naruto turned to Hikan and said in an aggressive voice, "Is that a threat?..."

Hikan gave a small chuckle and said, "No, I'm just trying to show you that I'm not the monster you think I am..." He leaned towards Naruto and said in a proud voice, "I'm just ahead of the curve."

Naruto quickly replied, "You think that living your life trying to bring out the darkness in people means that you're ahead of the curve?..."

Hikan sat down on the table and replied, "No, I think I'm ahead of the curve because I see the world for what it is and no one else does." Naruto shook his head and said, "I don't think you see anything…"

Hikan shrugged and said, "Too bad I don't care what you think..."

After a short pause between the two, Hikan said, "Don't worry, I'll make sure our evening ends on a much more exciting note than this..."

Naruto turned to him and said, "What does that mean?" Hikan wore a self-satisfied smile and remained silent. Naruto looked at him then started breathing harder and said, "What did you do?..." Hikan ignored him and sat there with his smug smile firmly in place.

Naruto grabbed him by his armor and lifted him off of the table. He said in a more threatening voice, "What the hell did you do?!"

Hikan gave a slight chuckle and said, "You just keep proving me right. So much hostility..."

Naruto remained resolute and said in a firm voice, "What did you do?..."

Hikan said in a smug voice, "Don't worry. I'm gonna tell you exactly what I did, because you'll have to choose...and that's the point."

He smiled and said, "When I was in Konoha, I left you guys a little parting gift in the form of a bomb..."

As Naruto's eyes widened, he said, "You did what?!..."

"Don't worry, it's on a timer, so you'll have time to get there. What should really concern you is the other bomb..."

Naruto pulled him closer and said through gritted teeth, "What other bomb?..."

"The one I planted in the Hidden Stone Village. You see, both bombs are set to go off less than an hour from now. The countdown was started the moment everyone else left the room."

Naruto wore a disgusted expression and said, "You're willing to kill innocent people for this little crusade of yours?..."

Hikan wore an expression that showed he expected Naruto to already know the answer and said in a simple voice, "Yeah..."

He paused for a second, then said, "But don't worry, the bomb in Konoha will kill 100 people max. The bomb in the Stone is gonna cause a bit more damage though... They'll probably lose around 200 people..."

Naruto thought about the situation for a while then pulled Hikan closer and said, "I'm right here. Keep this between you and me... Disarm the bombs."

Hikan wore a barely noticeable smirk, then said, "Not happening. You're gonna have to play my little game if you want to save some of the lives at risk..."

As Naruto wore an angry scowl, Hikan smiled and said, "You see, I'm going to tell you exactly what to do to disarm the bombs, but first, some ground rules. On your way to wherever you choose, I will be watching you. If I at any point feel like you're trying to communicate with someone or try something sneaky, I will remotely detonate both of the bombs instantly. This test is for you alone. If you try to find a way to disarm both of the bombs, I guarantee you'll regret it. When you open the bomb cover, you'll see a red wire. Disconnect it, and the bomb will be disarmed. That simple."

Naruto looked at him suspiciously and said, "Why are you telling me this?"

Hikan shrugged and said, "Because I don't care if you disarm one of the bombs, I just want you to know that you can't disarm both. In other words, you have a choice to make. Save more lives, or save the lives of those closest to you…"

He wore a devious smile, then said, "One last thing. Disarming one bomb...will trigger the other one..."

Naruto's eyes widened, then he said in a worried voice, "Don't do this..."

Hikan ignored him then looked at his watch and said, "By now, you've probably got around 45 minutes left. The bomb in Konoha is hidden behind the garbage dump outside your house and the one in the Stone is hidden behind a garbage dump outside their ANBU headquarters...You're on the clock..."

Naruto made a face of anger and finally let go off Hikan by shoving him to the floor. He ran over to the balcony as Kurama asked, "Where are you going?"

As Naruto transformed and jumped off of the balcony he replied, "Konoha!"

As Naruto flew away in the direction of Konoha, Hikan wore a small smile and said, " I knew it." He ran out off his office and into a control room. Tashisu was sitting there with a large screen in front of him. Hikan sat down in the chair next to Tashisu and said, "Told you so." Tashisu nodded and said, "I didn't disagree…" Hikan wore a small smirk then relaxed himself a little more and said, "Now to make sure there's no cheating..." He rested his head back then his Rinnegan started glowing a dark purple. Tashisu watched as his eyes fell shut after a few seconds. He looked at Hikan's slump body and said, "That's a very useful ability..."

Hikan had pushed his astral form out off his body and was now trying to catch up to Naruto. He saw him flying in the distance, but was still struggling to catch up to him. He squinted and said, "Good thing I'm like this. I couldn't keep up with him otherwise..."

As Naruto made his way back to the village, he thought to himself that this was turning out to be a far worse day than he thought. The bomb was right outside his house, so if Sasuke was home, he could be in real trouble. Sakura's apartment wasn't that far away either so there was no telling if she'd be caught in the blast. The two were extremely experienced shinobi, so maybe they could react quickly enough to prevent their deaths, but what about everyone else... On top of that, not only was Konoha in danger, but the Stone was too. He let out a small sigh as he started trying to think of ways to stop both bombs.

As he continued to fly towards Konoha, he felt a presence behind him. He stopped for a second, then turned around and said, "What the heck?..." As he floated over the jungle terrain, he looked in Hikan's direction. There was nothing there, but he could feel Hikan's presence. It felt like that time he had to fight Madara's limbo clone. He could sense that Hikan was there, but he couldn't see him.

Naruto said in a low voice, "Can you feel him?..."

Kurama replied, "Yeah, but regardless, we gotta keep moving. Just don't try anything. We don't need him remotely detonating those bombs."

Naruto paused for a second, then said, "I know..."

As he turned around and continued flying, he said in a low voice, "I hate this..."

Hikan wore a small smile then continued following Naruto. He thought to himself, 'He must be able to sense me... Good. Hopefully it'll stop him from trying anything stupid.'

Author's Note

PLEASE feel free to leave reviews on this story. I do enjoy reading reviews and if I see good ideas as to where the story can go, I do listen to them. Reviews are not only very encouraging but they also help me get better. Be sure to drop a follow and a favorite because I will be updating this story consistently. This story will be completed. Believe it!