Sorry for the long wait - I usually write bulk of the chapter on a phone in the gym between sets before editing on PC, and when I was writing this one, something happened with internet connection during automatic saving/syncing process which made the whole document corrupt with no way for me to restore previous version. RIP 15k words. Was struggling to restart it.
Either way, here's a new chapter. More of a filler one, but still sets up the stage for some future plots!
[…] As the nature of humanity's belief and faith of Bethrezen changed, so did His actions and stance towards Nevendaar changed too. The Demonic invasion stopped and He no longer attempted to make the mortal plane into the second Hell. And so, the brightest minds and philosophers of the 12th Epoch asked a question "What is a God?"
Was it the metaphysical union of collective will of the races made manifest into a greater being? Or did the willpower of mankind directly influenced a God's mind? It is no secret that the greater the following of a God, the greater the God's and its followers' powers. At the peak of the Empire's power, select High Priests of the Highfather were said to be able to revive dead warriors, and the Oracles of Gallean could grow entire forests in a day. But is that the representative of what a God was – an idea existing in Cosmos, rather than a living being? […]
[…] It is only years later that Bethrezen whispered to his few prophets that, in fact, none of the theories of scholars are correct and some had a small grain of truth. And so the mystery of the nature of Gods remained. […]
- The Disciple's Archive
The Cultist
Chapter 7
Witness of Cruelty
Cracked, desolate earth spread around him as far as the eye could see. Countless stems of lava rose from the ground, twisting and shaping into gnarled mockery of trees that cast wavering shadows on the cursed land. A heat smog blanketed the horizon, casting horrifying mirages of burning rivers and mountains.
He lowered his gaze from the horizon and looked at his feet. A dark skinned man with bright blonde hair was uselessly clawing at his boot trying to get it off his windpipe. He looked to the side where the man's discarded cleaver sword lay, only half of the blade remaining where once a mighty weapon was.
He raised his hand and cruelly twisted it and an arm conjured from the cursed earth, it's visage resembling like a failed experiment – leathery skin covering a thin, muscular arm in an uneven, rough pattern and ending in almost skeletal thin fingers resembling claws so thin they looked like they could pierce like needles. The monstrous hand lazily grabbed the ruined sword and through silent command of its master, with one swift motion it swung.
He dispassionately looked as the man's struggle suddenly stopped. But then it was expected when one's head was removed. He kicked the headless body away, uncaring that it was quickly consumed by the lava pike in which it landed.
Hot wind blew his wild hair away from his eyes and he closed them, relishing the smell of blood that it carried for but a moment. He opened his eyes again and turned around. Many more men with similar blue vest uniforms were littering the area. Some were pierced by crimson spears, while others laid on the ground broken. There were few who were still standing, albeit barely. Despite the determination in their eyes he could see that their spirit was despairing.
A much larger man was standing at the helm of survivors. His otherwise slicked hair was now a dishevelled mess and it looked like the man was trying to catch his breath. The body was bruised with multiple cuts adorning his skin in an ugly fashion. Even from the small distance it was clear that an infection was spreading through the cuts as a result of a jutsu. Nevertheless, he stood tall and proud and defiant. A crackling energy sprung around the man and in an instant he was upon him…
Naruto woke up with a gasp. A thin layer of sweat was covering his body, but thankfully not to the point where it was disgusting and sticking to his sleeping bag. He could feel his heart beating in an unnatural way, skipping beats every so often.
He closed his eyes and tried to relax by doing some breathing techniques he had learnt a long time ago when training his chakra control. After several minutes Naruto finally let out a soft sigh escape his lips as his heart returned to normal.
He sat up and saw the light coming from the campfire that was softly piercing through the dark fabric of the tent.
It seems he woke up a bit before his scheduled watch time, but he didn't mind. Now that he calmed down, he felt as refreshed as he usually did.
Getting out of the tent he stretched his muscles and approached the campfire where another figure sat. The light from the fire cascaded across the pale face of the teen, giving a rather haunted look which was accentuated by the hollow cheekbones. The pale teen was busy writing something in a scroll with a thick brush, but he halted his strokes as he heard Naruto approach. His head slowly turned with a speed that Naruto thought was creepy, and black eyes settled on Naruto's.
"Sai," Naruto greeted "I will take over the guard duty. You can go and sleep."
"My duty won't end for another forty minutes."
Naruto shrugged "I woke up earlier and there is no chance I will get back to sleep. You might as well catch some extra shut eye."
Sai stared at Naruto in silence that stretched for long enough to be awkward. The pale teen then broke the eye contact and pocketed his scroll as he stood up.
"Very well," Sai said "Don't be terrible at guard duty."
The corner of Naruto's eye twitched but he was still able to wish the boy a goodnight. Sai merely walked past into his own tent without replying.
Naruto huffed in mild annoyance and sat down in the same place where Sai was just mere moments ago. As usual, he took out his good old teacher in the form of the book and proceeded to read it from where he left off to pass the time until the morning.
But he quickly realised that he couldn't quite focus on the overly complex information that it tried to convey. After that briefing with the Hokage after the Wave mission, the first thing he did when he got back home was to check the Manual. The seemingly sentient piece of literature congratulated him on successfully performing a summoning ritual and for achieving the rank of a Demonologist. It followed by a warning that there won't be any practical knowledge any more, and would instead focus on theoretical knowledge of the Infernal Arts.
And it was true – Naruto felt overwhelmed reading the following pages. It was full of different mathematical diagrams, unknown to him terms, topics and themes that went over his head. The collective pages of the new content available to him was easily twice the size than all of what he had read before. When Naruto skimmed through all the pages he instinctively understood that all of this information was supposed to aid him in performing and improving bigger rituals, but by the Elements it took a whole week for Naruto just to finish the first chapter by locking himself in the library with ten other books and dictionaries aiding him. And even then he felt like he didn't fully grasp everything so he would need to revisit those entries again.
The words and letters started to blend together and he quickly realised he couldn't quite focus on the words on the pages. With a frustrated sigh he snapped the book shut and pocketed it. He cast his gaze on the cracking fire and allowed himself to bask in its warmth.
Looking at the fire let him remember the chakra paper test Kakashi did with him and Sasuke. As it turned out, Sasuke had lightning as his primary element, and fire as his secondary. With Naruto, however, the whole test defied preconceived logic. His paper had first cut in half, and then both halves burst in such overwhelming fire that it consumed the paper within a second. Naruto remembered how he had dropped the burning paper and the fire continued to burn a black patch into the grass before dying down.
That was unheard of for Kakashi – usually the affinity test showed their elemental affinities in order of strongest to weakest. Such was the case with Sasuke. With Naruto however, it showed that while his primary affinity was Wind, his secondary one was so much more potent than the primary. Which didn't make sense. Kakashi didn't know what it meant but he promised he would ask someone who could help with that. Naruto personally didn't care either way, but Kakashi had told him that learning how your affinity works can immensely boost one's training.
And so both Naruto and Sasuke had spent a good amount of their free week training together. Naruto's lips twitched in amusement – Sasuke still couldn't best him and Naruto was still capable of getting under his skin with incredulous ease.
"Reminiscing again, eh Naruto?" a voice quietly called from nearby "You sometimes get this faraway look."
Naruto turned his head and saw Kakashi approaching him from his tent. When his sensei sat down, he turned his gaze to the fire again and asked "Can't sleep?"
"Slept plenty," Kakashi shrugged as he took out his orange book. "Something is troubling you?"
The blonde didn't reply straight away. It was true – there was something troubling him and he wasn't sure how Kakashi could tell. He pointed it down to being just the general observation skills of an experienced shinobi.
"It's not so much troubling me," he began "As it is that I am not sure if I did the right thing. I don't regret my decision, I'm just not sure I went about it the correct way."
"Sakura?" Kakashi enquired.
Naruto nodded "I feel like it was unfair that I made such request without her being there to defend herself."
"Perhaps… However, it doesn't help to doubt yourself, especially when the intentions are pure. She probably won't be happy when she recovers but you gave sound reasons," Kakashi then sighed, so quietly that Naruto almost missed it "The fault lies with me, I admit. Either way, we just have to wait for Hokage-sama's final decision."
Naruto scowled "I just hope Sai is not a permanent replacement. Guy gives me creeps."
"Mah mah, Naruto. Give him a chance."
Naruto decided not to reply to that.
"Be on guard, we're soon approaching the rendezvous point." Kakashi quietly called out and the trio of Genin obeyed.
They left the borders of Fire Country some day and a half ago and were teetering very close to Lightning country. Five more minutes of fast running and they would cross the invisible line that separates the rival country.
"Remember our mission and don't be reckless."
The mission itself was a simple one - get in and get out. Or as close to that definition as it could be, considering they also had to retrieve a scroll from the informant, and do it before Shinobi of Kumo arrive and steal it from them.
Naruto thought it was a bit confusing why they would send two 'fresh' Genin on such a mission if they had intelligence of rival power vying for the same scroll. If it was predicted that running into enemy shinobi was a high possibility, then the mission was automatically mid-high B tier at the least. And such a mission was not something you send Genin on. While him and Sasuke survived and thrived in the whole Wave fiasco and came out on top with an A rank mission in their record… Naruto refused to believe it was anything more than an incredible stroke of luck that they're even alive and better for it.
"Still," he thought "There must be a reason we were sent. Some kind of test, perhaps? Needlessly cruel, but so be it. I refuse to disappoint jiji when he's given me an opportunity to prove myself."
Even without looking he knew Sasuke was thinking something similar. The only one who he wasn't sure about was Sai - their temporary third team member for this mission. It seemed like he was assigned to their team seemingly on a whim of the Hokage on the last minute. The most eerie thing about Sai was that he would unabashedly stare at Naruto sometimes with a completely blank look. While Naruto wouldn't have thought much of it if it was a stare of admiration or attraction, he just couldn't shake off the feeling like he was being scrutinised and inspected.
If Naruto didn't know any better he'd think Sai was sent by the Hokage to spy on him.
Naruto shook his head. It was no use to think about it now, they had a mission to focus on. With any luck the pale teen will be gone upon their return to the village.
They soon crossed the border, and quickly arrived in a small forest clearing where the meeting was scheduled. It just so happens that it was close to the border, and probably the only foresty area to provide some shadows from the canopy for good disguise a mile away. Kaminari no Kuni was naturally more mountainous, so forests like these that served as good hiding spots were very scarce. For Kumo, it meant a natural defence from infiltration as any invading parties would be easier to spot.
Soon after, a nondescript man emerged from the shadows, wearing green/gray baggy clothing. An out of place turban and metallic mesh face cover obstructed anyone from recognising his face. The only thing that were on display were his unusually bright grey eyes.
"Konoha?" he asked in a deep baritone. Kakashi nodded as the team cautiously approached the man "Passcode?"
"Alpha, one, one, fifteen, gamma, strawberry cream, twenty-five, yarrow, six." Kakashi perfectly recited "You do know we could easily take the package without the code, right?"
The man shrugged as he retrieved a scroll from one of his pockets that seemed to be deeper than they should be "And you know the whole point of this."
Naruto suddenly tensed "Kakashi-sensei."
A lone visible eye shifted to look at Naruto as he was pocketing the scroll given to him by the unnamed man.
"Two people quickly approaching us from the East. By their speed I assume they're shinobi." seeing Kakashi's look he quickly elaborated "Blood sensing, short range. Something I discovered after the ritual on the way to Wave, remember?"
Kakashi slowly nodded. Naruto might've briefly mentioned it as some point but he never asked further on the ability and it's limitations. He decided to trust his student.
"We should make a hasty retreat. We got what we came here for. No reason to engage potential enemies," he then turned to the man with whom they met up "You should retreat too. While you're in no real danger, better safe than sorry."
No one objected, feeling the seriousness of the situation. They quickly bid goodbye to each other and went their separate ways - the unnamed informant disappeared up north, while Team 7 backtracked the way they came.
Suddenly Naruto and Kakashi skidded to a halt. Sasuke and Sai quickly reacted and followed suit, and got into combat ready stances.
"Kakashi-sensei-"
"I know, Naruto."
Not even a moment later a blonde woman shimmered into view in front of them, wearing a low-cut outfit with mesh shirt underneath, a short skirt and red hand guards, high boots, and a modified Kumogakure flak jacket that was covering her stomach, with a Kumo insignia proudly etched on its surface. Attached to the flak jacket there was also a sheath with the tanto at the back.
Some tense seconds later they heard rustling behind them. Naruto whirled around and faced the other two ninjas that he sensed earlier who finally caught up, with clear hostility on their faces.
Both of them wore what seemed to be the standard Kumo outfit – grey, loose pants and comfortable hoodie of the same colour. Both had Kumo forehead protectors tied around their forehead, and both had tantos strapped vertically behind them. One of them, the girl, had bright red hair, while the man of the pair was sporting white hair. Both of them looked ready for battle, but they made no moves to engage.
"What are Konoha shinobi doing in Kaminari no Kuni?" asked the first blonde woman.
"Ah, you know…" Kakashi answered with an eye smile "We were taking a stroll on such a fine day and accidentally took the wrong turn. You know how it sometimes is?"
"Accidentally took the wrong turn?" the red hair exclaimed "So far from Konoha?"
"Imagine that." Kakashi shrugged "Assuming you're here for the same reason as us," here he flashed the scroll they retrieved "We got it first. So I kindly ask you let me and my team pass."
The woman casually crossed her arms and looked Kakashi in a bored expression.
Another tense moment later she released a miniscule sigh "Guess you win this time, cool. I will be reporting to the Raikage that Konoha was trespassing in our borders, Kakashi of the Sharingan." and she calmly walked back towards the other two Kumo ninjas who remained
"Pass him my regards, Samui of Kumo," he waved "Sasuke, Naruto, Sai. Let's go." With no further words, the four Konoha shinobi quickly disappeared in the canopy of the forest.
"Why did we let them leave without even a fight, Samui-san? They were in our territory on the same missions as us! How can we return back to the village with a failed mission?" the red head hotly asked.
"Are you kidding me, Karui? Did you not see who it was?" the white haired ninja exclaimed as he incredulously looked at his female teammate and started to hyperventilate "Kakashi of the Sharingan! And that Naruto who was put into the most recent bingo book! With the ninjas of that calibre, the other two were probably crazy strong too! Did you see the way the blonde was looking at us?! I was terrified, what if they killed you all and I barely escaped only with your remaining limbs to show to the Raikage? I'd be skinned alive and shamed and-"
"That's enough, Omoi," the now identified Samui said with finality. "Dramatics aside, he is right, Karui. Kakashi is one of the Konoha's strongest and I am not ashamed to admit I might be hard pressed to win. The blonde ninja -Naruto-, recently was put into bingo book as a B rank ninja with unknown skillset. And you know the kind of bureaucracy you have to go through to get added in there. And looking at all the contextual evidence, one of them was an Uchiha as well," she took a brief pause to let those words to sink in "Given the circumstances, I say there is no shame in losing the race this season."
"…The race?"
Samui huffed "…Some other time. Lets return."
The travel back to Konoha was spent in an uneasy silence, no thanks to Naruto's silent brooding. Ever after meeting Kumo's shinobi, the blonde adopted quiet, tense demeanour not unlike that of Sasuke.
The rest of the team noticed it, but chose not to comment though Kakashi did throw some concerned glances in his direction.
Currently, the team was standing in front of the Hokage after reporting the mission a resounding success.
"- we had to dispatch a group of bandits that got in our way on the borders of Yugakure, and from there it was smooth path to Konoha with no further incidents." Kakashi finished.
The old Hokage released a puff a smoke from his pipe as he regarded the team in front of him "Very well. As usual, I shall await the full report. If there is nothing else, then I wish to speak with Kakashi. The rest – dismissed."
"Actually," Naruto piped in "I wanted to ask something. About Sakura."
Hiruzen raised a single eyebrow "Regretting your request?"
"Not quite," Naruto replied "Wanted to know if you came to a decision yet."
"That's something I was going to discuss with Kakashi. You will know in due time. Anything else?" the blonde Genin shook his head in negative "In that case you're free to go. Though I suggest you train hard in the coming weeks. All three of you." He cryptically finished.
As the trio of Genins left the office and made their way out of the Hokage tower, Naruto casually asked something that was on the mind of at least two members of the current team "I wonder what he meant by his last suggestion. Not like jiji to actually ask someone to train like that."
"Hn. Still weird you refer to Hokage like that."
Naruto just shrugged in response "He's always been a grandfather figure to me."
"Hn."
"He was speaking of Chuunin Exams." Sai said in his falsely sweet monotone voice.
Naruto raised his eyebrows "Chuunin Exams? Already?"
"Yes."
The blonde couldn't help but narrow his eyes. He had very close ties to the Hokage and even he didn't know that the Exams were upcoming, so how could this essentially no name shinobi know information that he didn't. Naruto dispelled those thoughts for he realised that such thinking was unreasonable. There are ninjas in the village who have been Genin for far longer than he. And it's a shinobi village, it's expected that different parties would have access to different information, knowingly or unknowingly. And without knowing where Sai came from exactly, or who his sponsor or sensei was, it'd be foolish to assume anything. So he settled on a simple question "How do you know?"
As expected, the only reply he got was unsettling smiling that looked more like a poker face than an actual smile. Naruto shuddered and huffed. "Whatever."
They just left the building and before anyone could say anything, Sai muttered a quick "Bye." and disappeared via Shunshin.
"Weird guy," Naruto said once he didn't feel Sai's presence any more "Come Sasuke."
"Where?"
"To see Sakura. We've been away for a week, I bet she's awake now."
"Hn."
Despite Sasuke's scowl of displeasure Naruto was quick to notice that his raven headed teammate didn't put up much protest, which he was pleasantly surprised about. He was half ready to drag Sasuke to the hospital by force.
They spent the next few minutes comfortably walking side by side to the hospital, which thankfully was not far from the Hokage's tower.
When they entered the hospital they were immediately greeted by the sterile smell adorned with white and green colours, something which Naruto was pleasantly familiar with. They approached the reception and without any form of wariness that usually is present in people in hospitals, Naruto spoke with calm familiarity with the nurse receptionist.
"Hello, Suwuka-san. May I ask what room is Sakura Haruno in? Sasuke and I would like to visit."
"Ah, Naruto. Hello." the woman greeted back "Haven't seen you here for a while."
"Have less reason to be here now that I'm officially a shinobi."
The nurse winced slightly "Well, I suppose… Let me see about Sakura-san. Reason for visit?"
"We're teammates."
"I see. Give me a minute. " the nurse proceeded to tap something on the system, and finally spoke after a short while "Right, Sakura-san should be awake now, since two days ago. You can visit her in room 45C. You know the way?"
"Sure! Thank you very much!"
"No problem."
"Been to hospital much?" Sasuke wondered as they were climbing the stairs to third floor.
Naruto chanced a glance at him and saw that Sasuke was blankly staring ahead. Only after spending some time with Sai on his team did Naruto realise how seemingly emotionless Sasuke could sometimes be, similar to Sai. Difference being that Sai didn't radiate an ounce of emotion whereas Sasuke, despite trying to appear unbothered by anything and everything, still had a wild emotional energy. Even now despite his perfect poker face, Naruto could feel a sense of mild curiosity sparkling around Sasuke.
Naruto chuckled "Why? Interested in good ol' me? I'm finally worthy enough to be friendly with?"
"Hn!"
"Alright, alright," he placated and then shrugged "Just been here a few times as a kid. Nothing major."
Sasuke didn't deem it necessary to respond, or follow up. And with that their conversation quickly died, but they remained in a comfortable silence. A stark difference to last time they walked somewhere alone.
Soon after they had reached the third floor and took the third turn right and were standing in front of room 45C. After a brief hesitation, Naruto knocked.
"Come in!" came from within.
Recognising Sakura's voice and emboldened by its apparent cheerfulness, Naruto confidently opened the doors and stepped in, closely followed by Sasuke.
The room itself was nondescript and very much so the same as majority of other patient rooms - bleakly coloured walls, a bedside table, an IV, a desk (which currently housed a vase full of brightly pink flowers and a bowl of fruits) , a bookshelf with random books, and a bed which was now occupied by Sakura.
It was weird for Naruto to see Sakura in a patient's garb, a robe of green that didn't compliment her body like her normal red outfit. Sasuke thought the same too despite neither of the boys voicing anything. Multiple bandages were still covering half of her injured arm. Her pink hair was less vivid than usual, with a thin layer oiliness to them that gave it an unnatural shine. While showers did exist in the hospital, it was clear that she wasn't allowed to follow all the same beauty routine that she probably did in the comfort of her home.
The girl also looked gaunt, with pale complexion and hollow cheeks. Heavy eyelids with a bright sparkle in the eyes with a visible sense of disappointment in them.
Despite the cheerfulness in the voice from earlier, it was clear as day to both Sasuke and Naruto that Sakura hasn't fully recovered. If anything, her physical condition had deteriorated. Seeing her like this reaffirmed Naruto's stance on the matter – any lingering doubt he had about the righteousness of his request to the Hokage dissipated. He was sure that, if the girl is willing, she could get her back up to where she was, learn from experience, and improve and return to active duty in no time.
After all, it was scientifically proven that ninjas develop physically and mentally quicker than civilians due to constant usage of chakra, among other factors.
"Oh," Sakura visibly deflated after seeing them.
"Hello, Sakura." Naruto finally voiced as he walked deeper into the room.
"Hello."
Both boys were now standing near the bed.
"How are you feeling?"
Sakura shrugged and diverted her eyes "Better. Doctors say I will be able to get discharged soon."
Naruto released a breath of relief "I'm glad to hear that, and I'm sure so is Sasuke-" "Hn." "-we've been worried after what happened."
"So worried you visited me only now?"
"We've been sent on a mission, Sakura… we only returned today."
"Found a replacement for me already?" she immediately shot back bitterly. Both Naruto and Sasuke had to blink at that, not expecting this train of conversation so quickly. It was highly unusual for Sakura to sound so downtrodden. The pinkette deflated, and sagged into the pillow which was supporting her back "Hokage-sama and some other ninjas were here the day I woke up."
"Oh. Jiji was fast on this. What did he say?"
"He said it was your request…Why, Naruto?" she asked "Was I not good enough? Not good enough to be on the team?"
Naruto frowned. This was not the reason why they came to visit, but he wasn't about to mince his words either "I am not going to lie to you, Sakura. Yes, you were not good enough." He said harshly "You barely qualified as a Kunoichi – no jutsu outside the Academy three, no speciality in any taijutsu, or kenjutsu, or bojutsu, or even shurikenjutsu. Dieting, no physical strength to speak off. You are a liability on the team! Listen, we only came here to visit to see how you're doing..."
"I've always wanted to be Kunoichi! I worked so hard for it and now… now you took my dream away from me!"
Sakura's eyes started to get misty but Naruto continued "You died, Sakura! In that moment, at the battle on the bridge, you died in front of my eyes and I felt devastated. You could do nothing against Haku. Even Sasuke and I struggled with all the training we've been doing. You did absolutely nothing to support us, and it was by choice. You couldn't do anything because you refused to put in more effort than the bare minimum. You are more concerned about how you look.
I like you as a person generally, Sakura. I would love to have you on the team. But I refuse to babysit you." He narrowed his eyes "I have ambitions I want to achieve, goals to reach. I don't want to constantly watch behind my back to see if you are alright. I don't want to decline higher ranked missions because of you. Your chances of survival are lower on all missions than the average shinobi." Sakura looked down and Naruto saw tears streaming down her face. He sighed and, now much quietly, continued "You have parents. A family. If you die, what will they think? While the rate of death for shinobi are higher than that of normal civilians, they try to mitigate it by improving themselves. And if you die, your family will refuse to see the truth and will blame me. I am being selfish here, but it's not something I want or need to deal with. You say you wanted to be a Kunoichi. You sure got there, but it doesn't stop at getting your Hitai-ate. You have to constantly break yourself apart to improve."
Naruto then turned around and uttered final words of parting "I don't know what Jiji's decision is yet, he hasn't said. I would love to have you back, but not the way you are right now. I didn't mean to be so harsh. I might be selfish but I am concerned for your well-being – I do consider you a friend. I only hope you learn something from this experience. Get well." And with that he left.
"Get well, Sakura." Sasuke muttered and quickly left too, leaving the girl alone in the hospital room, openly crying.
Sasuke quickly followed Naruto who was silently making his way out of the hospital. Sasuke was thankful for it as it gave him some time to reflect on the situation.
It was weird to him to see Naruto the way he was in that room with Sakura. Almost as weird as it was to see Sakura in the state she was in. He's seen him be serious before, but never on this level and never this harsh.
Also, Sasuke would deny it to his dying breath but he was extremely curious on what did Naruto mean exactly by 'ambition'. So far he always thought that Naruto's goal was to be a Hokage, something that he openly scoffed at. But the way he spoke earlier, this ambition, this drive to improve and the willingness to do what needs to be done for it- well. It seems there was more to Naruto than blind cheerfulness and dreams of being a Hokage. There was something more to him that Sasuke –dare he admit it?- felt a sense of kinship with. Couple that with what has happened in the past few weeks.
And suddenly Sasuke was no longer so disdainful towards Naruto's company. Maybe they could help each other to get stronger. Maybe, just maybe, there was someone in the village who actually understood him and his drive.
"You're brooding again, Sasuke. Weird kind of brooding this time, but still brooding."
"Hn."
"It might surprise you, Sasuke, but your attempts at emotionless poker face are shit," Naruto deadpanned "Even with your blank face anyone can see what you're thinking from a mile away."
Sasuke knew the blonde was over exaggerating. But that didn't stop the miniscule eye twitch. He saw Naruto smirk at that and Sasuke swore that if he was capable he'd have a tick mark now.
"Fine, fine!" Naruto waved away as they finally left the hospital. He took a deep breath and smelled the fresh air before exhaling, and with that most of his tension was gone. "Come, let's go train. If what Sai said was true, then we need to train twice as hard!"
Sasuke immediately paled and adopted a mild look of horror. But he was surprised to find that he didn't offer even an ounce of refusal and went along with Naruto with no complaints.
True to Sai's statement from the previous day, Kakashi nominated them to Chuunin exams. Apparently Kakashi stayed behind to talk about them individually and for the Hokage to share his plan for their team. Turns out, to be able to participate in the exams you need to enter as a team, thus Hokage made it so Sai stayed with them at least until after the exams. Naruto was displeased about that but he didn't complain as he was happy enough to be able to participate.
Sasuke, of course, was of the same mind.
There was a bit of time before the first stage. Namely, a month.
And in that time Team 7, in addition with Sai, were working their asses off like men possessed. Every waking hour on their free days was spent training from morning to night, and they took every opportunity they could to do missions outside the village. They had completed several C rank missions that were close to the village, and even managed to bag a B rank in their bags (which was more of a C rank turned B rank when a no-name missing-nin was involved).
Most of the training was done only with Naruto and Sasuke, with Naruto working on his individual skills in the time that his teammates were sleeping. Sai occasionally joined them for team training too, but those moments were rare. Even after a month Sai remained as mysterious and creepy as on the first day.
Kakashi also contributed to their training from time to time by giving some pointers or allowing the Genin to spar with him, but otherwise he had let the team to train on their own citing "You are making excellent progress as you are."
And indeed they were. Naruto didn't perform any more Blessing rituals, but rather improved what he had currently – his speed and physical strength significantly increased after he discovered the magical efficiency of training weights. Apart from that, after multiple trial and errors and after a brief run in with Maito Gai the resident Taijutsu Master of Konoha (an encounter he didn't want to willingly recall), he also discovered a taijutsu style in a library called Sutingureifuro (Stingray Flow). This style was so natural to him and his current skillset that it would be borderline a sin not to learn it.
Sutingureifuro was a hybrid style between Tai- and Kenjutsu in a sense that to utilise it the best you needed to have a short bladed weapon in your non-dominant off hand. A kunai, a tanto, or in his case – a knife. The style revolved around lots of fluid mobility in the movement while holding the short weapon in reverse grip. It was not the strong staccato of an Iron Fist, and neither was it fluid and dancey like Cherry Edge. Instead it was something in the middle - full of feints, lunges, and spins, one might describe the style as unnecessarily fancy but it had the purpose to befuddle the enemy and give you the opportunity to use your main hand for other tasks while also posing a very real threat of stabbing or slashing if the opponent was not careful. It was a supplementary taijutsu style for a ninja whose speciality lie in something else.
And it just so happened that Naruto's battle oriented rituals were powered by blood, be it enemy or own, so having a style where making bleeding wounds or wielding a sharp weapon was part of the natural movement of the katas was just perfect.
Sasuke didn't slouch either – he worked just as hard as Naruto to get stronger in all aspects of his skills. Having the Sharingan helped a lot in his development. In this whole time he also finally learnt to somewhat accept that Naruto was stronger than him. Much stronger. Ridiculously stronger that it was borderline unrealistic. What irked him the most about it, however, was that Naruto was full and well aware of it too and often used that to taunt him. And every single time Sasuke would get enraged by that.
Nevertheless, he learnt to accept it and this acceptance lead him to improving quicker than he had before. Every day he would leave the training field on the brink of collapse after another spar (beating) from Naruto. Full of bruises, cuts, and chakra exhaustion. The fact he was able to do this every day was only due to Naruto's only known healing ritual that managed to help with the minor injuries. He was constantly in a lot of pain but he sucked it up and continued.
So far he could never get even close to beating Naruto, but his progress was tangible to even his incredibly high standards. Especially his Katon usage that Naruto trained with him plenty. Kakashi was kind enough to teach Sasuke two Raiton jutsus too as it was his primary affinity, but he still was prouder of his Katon.
And so, a month later, they just have completed reporting their latest mission to the Hokage and just left the Hokage tower to go and finish the day with some light training. As usual, Sai disappeared somewhere soon after they exited the building.
"This was our last mission before the exams, I think," Naruto commented "I wonder when those will start? I've kind of lost track of time for the past month."
"Hn."
Naruto could only roll his eyes at the reply.
After a couple of minutes walking towards their favourite training grounds, Naruto heard some sort of frantic commotion next street over, behind a fence which was secluded from otherwise busy centre of the village.
"Let me go, you freak!"
"You little brat! I will beat the living shit out of you. Have no one ever told you to keep your mouth shut?"
"Heeelp!"
Naruto instantly unsheathed his knife and rushed over, Sasuke quickly following suit.
What he saw enraged him. There, a pair of shinobi in their teenage years were standing, a girl and a boy. The guy was wearing some weird baggy cat suit and had a silly tribal war paint on his face, while the girl had some sort of dark wardress fastened by a belt that held a massive metal fan, and blonde hair that was tightened in four buns. He also recognised the Sunagakure insignia in their outfits.
The guy was holding a much younger and smaller boy by the scruff of his shirt. His fist was cocked back as if ready to strike. Naruto immediately recognised Konohamaru, the Hokage's grandson that he briefly met on his graduation day, but who obviously everyone knew who he was.
A pulse of Power and before either Suna shinobi could react, several thin, sharp spears of red earth flashed out of the ground and stopped inches away from their legs, neck, and torso. Too much movement and they'll risk a serious injury. They stood there with wide eyes, gaping in shock.
"Let him go immediately. I won't repeat myself." Naruto coldly growled.
The Suna shinobi would be lying if they said they were not terrified from the unnatural power that was radiating in waves from the blonde. And the anger was palpable in the air. Even Sasuke, who took out his kunai at the ready, had to take a double take at his teammate. He's never seen him so furious since the Wave mission. Where on the bridge there was cold, restrained fury; here it was so hot he swore the air itself warmed up.
"What- No, he deserves to be taught a lesson. This punk-" the guy with the face paint didn't get to finish his sentence.
Naruto flicked his wrist and one of the spears at the leg shot forward and fully penetrated the limb through, eliciting a loud "GAAHH!" of pain. In his surprise and pain, the shinobi released Konohamaru who quick ran away and hid behind Sasuke. At the same time Naruto dispelled the spears around the guy and flashed in front him in a burst of speed and delivered a devastating mid-air roundhouse kick that sent him flying which was abruptly stopped by a hard collision against a tree. A knock out and guaranteed concussion at the least.
The girl started reaching for her fan that was strapped on her back, but was stopped by a quick whip of Naruto's arm that made the red spears that were still left around her to slightly extend, and scratch her neck, drawing a bit of blood. This made the girl immediately stop as even breathing too much will turn the scratches into wounds.
"Tell me, Suna shinobi," Naruto coldly addressed her as he straightened up "What makes you think you can come here and threaten kids? Let alone a civilian grandson of the Hokage?" The girl's eyes widened at that, and Naruto continued "Under Suna/Konoha alliance treaty Article 3, Section D, there is a specific clause about threatening, attacking, or assaulting or otherwise make aggressive actions towards civilian relatives of the acting Kage. You were invited here by the Sandaime Hokage to participate in the Chuunin Exams. As an ally, you are here as honourable guests and were, no doubt, welcomed with open arms. Yet you spit on that by not only threatening, but also physically assaulting a civilian child relative of the Sandaime Hokage," he narrowed his eyes and pointed his knife in the girl's direction "The Hokage will be in his full right to not only break the alliance, but to declare war on your village with no real political repercussions."
Realising the full extent of their fuckup, the girl could do nothing but tremble in shock at the possible repercussions towards her village that she knew Konoha could follow up on.
"I see you understand the gravity of your mistake," Naruto pressed "This will be reported to the Hokage immediately if the ANBU haven't already. Now, will you behave if I release you? Blink twice if it's a yes." The girl quickly blinked twice and with a wave of his hand he dispelled the infernal spears. She immediately collapsed to her knees, still in shock at how quickly the situation changed.
Naruto looked up the tree that the boy from before hit, and called out "You in the tree, come down already."
Immediately another boy, who sported red hair, came into existence in front of him in a swirl of sand, which was a very unique Shunshin.
"Temari, Kankuro… you're a disgrace to the village." was the first thing he said.
"G-Gaara." Temari trembled now even more scared.
"Quit sitting and pick up Kankuro. We're leaving." The red head turned around and looked at Naruto while Temari quickly scampered and with an impressive show of strength lifted Kankuro off the ground.
"Ichibi." a voice rang out like thunder in Naruto's mind. He needed to use all his willpower and training not to jump at the suddenness and loudness of it "Torturing another host, I see. Lucky bastard."
The Kyuubi rarely, if ever, spoke to him despite being able to since their first meeting during the Wave mission. This must've been his third time hearing its voice. But for it to say anything at all meant there was a good reason for it. And it made sense that a bijuu would sense another of its kind.
"What is your name?" The now identified Gaara finally asked after a moment of silence.
Naruto glared at the red head, more wary than angry now after what Kyuubi has said. Nevertheless he replied in the only way he thought was appropriate in the given situation "You do not deserve the courtesy of learning someone's name after the actions your team, and by extension your village, has done," he then turned towards Sasuke and Konohamaru "Lets go. We have a Hokage to see."
And with that, before Konohamaru could even protest or Gaara even say anything, Naruto lifted the young boy and put him on piggy back and quickly jumped away from the area and started quickly backtracking back to the Hokage's Tower.
Sasuke was hot on his heels and after several jumps finally caught up "Some very smart talking. Where did you learn all of that?"
Naruto scowled "Lets just say I read a lot. That, and I was actually learning something in the Academy."
"You were soooo badass!" Konohamaru exclaimed. That made Naruto wince a bit as the child was really loud right next to his ear "Whoosh and the spears appear and whish-BAM and the freak was knocked out before he could even blink!"
Naruto sighed "You shouldn't be so rude to strangers. They didn't have any right to lay a finger on you, but you shouldn't have called them names either."
The boy shrugged. Naruto didn't see it but definitely felt the movement "I only spoke what I thought, what I saw."
"And sometimes it's better to say nothing if you don't have anything nice to say."
By now they have arrived at the Hokage Tower and were climbing up the stairs to the office. Naruto briefly knocked to show his intent of entering, before opening the doors and stepping inside.
"Hey, Jiji," he called out as he settled Konohamaru back on to the ground.
"Why do you call him that?" the child immediately asked.
Naruto chose to ignore that question and instead noticed that the Hokage seemed to be in a middle of conversation with someone who was triggering all kinds of warning signals in his body. A seemingly crippled man in a long tunic, with a crutch, covered arm in a sling, and bandaged half face slowly turned around and stared at him. Naruto swore it felt like the man had looked inside him and learnt all of his secrets, and judged his soul.
Hiruzen coughed "Ah, Naruto. How many times do I have to tell you about seeing the secretary first?"
Naruto shrugged "Sorry, old man. I thought this was important enough to just come straight here."
The old Hokage sighed and put the pipe down. Admittedly he was curious enough as it wasn't often Naruto came with something serious. And the presence of his grandson wasn't missed on him either. At the very least it'd be a good excuse to end his current conversation "Danzo, we can continue this some other time. Seems I have some urgent matters to attend to."
Danzo moved his gaze away and Naruto immediately felt like most of the tension from his body disappeared.
"Really, Hiruzen? Dismissing me over some Genin?"
"Young Naruto seldom uses my apparent favouritism-" Sasuke's eyebrows shot up upwards after hearing the Hokage actually admit out loud that he was showing favouritism to anyone "-to unnecessarily waste my time. If he says it's important, then I trust him enough to believe it really is. And our previous topic has been exhausted, I will not change my stance on that."
Danzo jerkily nodded "Very well," he then turned to look at Naruto again and the blonde's fight or flight instincts kicked in again "Then I want to hear this too."
"You have-"
"-no rights? I beg to differ, Hiruzen." Danzo immediately shot back "If whatever Naruto Uzumaki has to say warrants my dismissal, then I think as a village elder concerned for the safety of Konoha I am well within my rights to hear these important concerns too. If, on the other hand, it's some gossip of a child then I will have to bring up your behaviour in front of the council."
"My behaviour? I am the Hokage, my word is my law regardless of any reason. Things discussed might be of confidential matter."
"Confidential?" Danzo asked back "With a Genin?"
Naruto felt pretty annoyed that this Danzo guy kept referring to him as Genin as if he wasn't even worth anything. But he also understood what Hiruzen tried to do – get Danzo away in case Naruto wanted to discuss Infernal Arts.
"Sorry to interrupt," he said and immediately both elders in the room looked at him. Naruto refused to feel intimidated "Jiji, if it matters that much then Danzo-san, erm Danzo-sama? can just stay. It's nothing pertaining to me."
Seems like giving Danzo an appropriate honorific was enough to get a point of respect from the man.
The Hokage nodded "Very well then. What is it? And why is Konohamaru here?"
Naruto went into his serious voice "He's the main part of the reason I came here. When we, that is Sasuke and I, left from here earlier we were on the way to Training Grounds 7 to train when I heard and sensed some commotion in a secluded street. When I came over I saw a group of Suna shinobi assaulting Konohamaru.
The guy, who's name apparently is Kankuro, was holding Konohamaru by the shirt and had his fist cocked back mid swing to hit Konohamaru. I haven't seen what happened before, but can only assume he was hit before I arrived too."
As if on cue and sensing where Naruto was going with this, Konohamaru quickly added "Yeah! He shoved me and hit me in the shoulder! I have a bruise!" The fact that the bruise came from playing Ninja with his friends earlier that day remained unsaid by the boy.
"Right," Naruto continued "The girl, Temari, was just watching. I quickly restrained them and gave Kankuro one chance to release Konohamaru. He didn't. I proceeded to impale his leg with one of my techniques and then knocked him out by delivering a kick to his head which made him collide hard with a tree.
I also let them know the consequences of such actions as per Konoha/Suna alliance treaty, and who it was that they were assaulting. The girl of the group seemed to understand the full ramifications of it."
Hokage looked on with shock before turning his full attention to his grandson. While he was fussing over Konohamaru, Naruto chanced a glance at Danzo and saw a glint of approval in his otherwise dangerous eye. Maybe he imagined that?
A minute later, Konohamaru was sitting on Hiruzen's lap and he addressed Naruto in a tired voice "Those were the children of the Kazekage."
Now it was Naruto's turn to widen his eyes at that. "Did I just cause some major political incident by physically injuring and threatening them?"
Hiruzen waved his concerns away "No, not really. I will have to inform the Kazekage of this of course, but as they are officially recognised ninjas, the same treaty clauses do not protect them like they'd protect a civilian. At best, they can only enjoy some perks that are reserved for diplomats. They were guests here to compete in the Exams. And as the ninja children of the Kage they crossed slightly more lines than what you've mentioned.
While your reaction was slightly more violent than what was needed, I can understand it. I'm sure I would've done the same if I saw foreign ninja assault a child in my own village. I- Thank you, Naruto for protecting Konohamaru."
Naruto shrugged with a small smile "I would've done it for any Konohan citizen," he then returned to his serious expression "I do have something else to say though. The third shinobi, Gaara I think his name was. He is-" here he uncertainly glanced at Danzo and Konohamaru and even Sasuke "Erm, I'm not sure I should say it in front of Konohamaru or Sasuke…"
Sasuke immediately narrowed his eyes "Naruto…"
Hiruzen raised his hand to stop any complaining. With a snap of his fingers, an ANBU appeared in front of him "Take Konohamaru to my residence."
"But graaamps!" before the boy could put any further protest, the ANBU had picked him up and disappeared via immediate Shunshin.
The Hokage then looked at Sasuke "Please leave the office. If you wish, you can wait for Naruto outside in the reception area."
Furiously Sasuke had no choice but to comply. Even he knew one just didn't argue with their military leader. Naruto might be just an exception in that regard.
With an angry huff he turned on his heels and without even a polite goodbye, left.
"Now what is it?" Hiruzen asked.
Once again Naruto glanced at Danzo before replying "Well, Gaara... He's the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi."
Hiruzen's eyes immediately widened "Shit."
"And how would you know that?" Danzo dangerously asked.
"Erm… I'm not sure if I should be saying this."
"Don't play coy with me, Uzumaki-san. You might've gained a grain of my respect. Don't make it all for naught," he sharply replied "I know you're the jailer of Kyuubi."
"Danzo!"
"What, Hiruzen? Everyone present here knows this information therefore it's not breaking any laws."
Hiruzen could only tiredly sigh.
Well, if this Danzo guy knew then there was no reason to really hide it "Well, I guess I can sense the presence of similar people like me. The Kyuubi confirmed it too."
"You can speak to it?" Danzo asked, slight shock colouring his otherwise cold voice.
Naruto shrugged "Not really? Kinda? We don't talk at all as it prefers to stay silent in its cell. But when mine and Gaara's eyes met, it confirmed the presence of Ichibi. How truthful it is, I don't know, but thought it's important enough to mention."
"You knew the boy has contact with the Kyuubi?" Danzo whirled to Hiruzen "And you've done nothing?"
The Hokage immediately shot up to his feet "Watch who you are speaking to, Danzo!" an incredible wave of killing intent rolled off the usually benign Hokage. It was so potent, so thick that Naruto forgot how to breathe. It was nowhere near like the Kyuubi's, but it was still so much and so sudden. "I am the leader of this village and all its Shinobi are mine! Do you understand? What I do or not do is not up for judgement or any discussion!"
Danzo was taken aback by the venom in his rival's voice and immediately backed down. It was… unusual to see Hiruzen this way these days and just for a small moment he saw the man he once knew decades ago. "Very well." If only Hiruzen was like this all the time.
Hiruzen then looked at Naruto and relaxed his KI. "Thank you for sharing this with us. We had our suspicions after our barrier team reported an abnormally large chakra presence enter the village, but its good to have a confirmation. I will write to Jiraiya to return as soon as possible as a precaution."
Danzo once again challenged what was said "Sharing sensitive information with a Genin?"
At this the Hokage only just shrugged "He's one of our future leaders, the future of the village. And one of the brightest. I trust him enough to share what I've shared."
"A protégé already for the mantle of the Hokage?"
"Maybe. Maybe not."
"We shall see if your gamble will be a winning one. After all, you once already failed with Orochimaru." another spike of killer intent, but it was quickly reined in. "The council will definitely hear of this."
"An investment," Hiruzen corrected, choosing to ignore the comment about one of his students. "Unlike you I don't gamble with people."
Naruto seriously felt like he wasn't even supposed to be here to see this exchange. It was weird to see himself being discussed like he was some object and not actually present.
"Anyway," Hiruzen turned to Naruto "Thank you for bringing all of this to me. Appropriate actions will be taken. Unless you have anything else, you're dismissed."
Despite the whole situation being weird, Naruto did have a question he wanted to ask. He wasn't sure whether he should voice it in front of Danzo. Mentally shrugging, he reasoned that being an elder of the village, Danzo might have a different answer to his question and offer a different perspective from Hiruzen.
"I do have a question, though it's not entirely related to anything important. Rather a personal curiosity."
"Go on then," Hiruzen beckoned with a smile.
"Why do ninjas do these things?" He asked "Kumo trying to kidnap Hinata years ago, Suna assaulting a child, all within our walls. Zabuza being ready to cut a whole village down, loyal shinobi going rogue, Itachi slaughtering his whole clan? I understand shinobi world is a dark and dangerous place, but some of these things don't add up in my mind."
Danzo immediately recognised how important this question actually was. Maybe for Naruto that was a mere curiosity but Danzo saw a very valuable opportunity, a lesson. So he didn't hesitate even for a second to take away Hiruzen's right for the first answer regardless of whom the question was directed to. After all, usually by human psychology, it's the first thing you hear that sits heavier on the mind.
"Because Power is Might, Uzumaki-san." Danzo pounced with steel in his voice. Naruto looked from Hiruzen and met Danzo's gaze evenly, giving him his undivided attention. He continued before Hiruzen could collect his thoughts "Foolish, weak people will always try to either share or take something of those in power in a vain attempt to elevate their own position, for it is those with power that dictates how the world runs. Or the weak will pick on the weaker to boost their own egos.
Konoha won the last war, and as a victor, it decided it will be time for peace. And the world obeyed. Kumo wanted Byakugan for itself to boost its military might. Suna is a weak country and can only feel important when it picks on the weak. Remember this: when you are powerful, everyone wants to either be you, be with you, or to cut you down to take your place. But it matters not when you're strong enough to crush them.
Konoha is mighty and Konoha is the strongest and so the other nations resent that. For the prosperity and the future of the great tree that is Konoha, it must remain the strongest, because even a moment of weakness will allow our enemies to pounce and destroy us, something that you've witnessed them already attempting. In this world, Uzumaki-san, it's either them or us and as long as our enemies live, so shall us and ours suffer merely for existing."
"That's enough, Danzo." Hiruzen finally sharply said and Danzo did shut his mouth.
But the old war hawk couldn't help but radiate an aura of satisfaction when he saw understanding and contemplation in Naruto's eyes. If Hiruzen was investing in Naruto as one of the bright future leaders of the village whatever his position might be and even show open favouritism, then he'll be damned if he at least didn't make an attempt to influence said investments in his own rights. But time will tell whether anything worthwhile will come out of Naruto after the Chuunin exams.
Hiruzen once again sighed "I was going to say it much differently, but unfortunately most what Danzo said is true. Power, and the burning desire for power, corrupts and makes people do things they wouldn't otherwise do. At some point in the pursuit of such goals, one's morality is solely tested and not everyone is strong enough to come out of it same as before. The same goes for jealousy. Unfortunately that's the world we live in, and the most we can all individual do, is to have a clear moral compass ourselves so we do not become corrupted in turn and don't perpetuate an endless cycle of violence when it could be avoided."
"I… see." Naruto finally replied after a moment of heavy silence. "Thank you."
Hiruzen rubbed his eyes and relit his pipe "Was that all then?" Naruto nodded "In that case you're dismissed."
Naruto bowed and bid them a good day before quickly escaping the room. He could feel the tension rise once again.
The last thing he heard on exit was Hokage's angry voice "What game are you-" before the door shut close.
And scene.