The Bond between the Sun and the Moon
Author Notes
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. If I did, Boruto would have been drastically different or never existed. Only Kishimoto owns Naruto and its characters.
"Normal speech"
"Normal thought"
"Nine-tails/tailed beast speech"
"Nine-tails/tailed beast thought"
"Jutsus"
Hey guys. I'm back with the second chapter of my fanfic. It was pleasant to see some positive responses for my first chapter despite just starting for the first time. I really appreciate and thank taiwoeretan1 and Crinightnight for taking the time to give a positive review. taiwoeretan1, I agree entirely with what you said. Kishimoto took a lot of weird liberties during the fourth shinobi war, so there were a lot of discrepancies. I just thought of using one of them differently.
With that said, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. Let's get into it…
Chapter 2 – Reality
Six years later
"Where is he? God damn it, he was just here. How could he escape from our eyesight?"
"How am I supposed to know, huh? Why are you shouting at me for nothing? He's a demon, so you can't expect the usual stuff around him."
"THAT'S ENOUGH. No matter what, we are getting that filth and giving our retribution against that demon."
"HAI! (Yes)"
"Hey, chief! Look over there! The demon's running in that direction!"
"Excellent work! Let's get him!"
A group of civilians were heatedly talking while chasing around this 'demon'. However, the person they were chasing was only a six-year-old boy.
The boy was just like any other normal kid, despite the circumstances he unfairly gets caught up in. He had bright blond hair similar to the sun, and his eyes were as blue as the ocean. His face has unique and distinguishing whisker marks unlike any. He stood tall at the height of 4'. Despite being beaten, assaulted, slandered and mentally scarred beyond any imaginable degree, this boy's soul still had great warmth. All he could do was cry while running away from the unfair rampage of the villagers. His name is Naruto Uzumaki.
Naruto could see that his life was filled with pain. He had attributed this to his lacking parents and being an orphan. When he turned three years old, Naruto could talk and walk by himself. The moment that happened, the orphanage he lived in decided to throw him out. Despite Sandaime protesting against this attitude, the orphanage cleverly brainwashed the other kids and saved itself from Sandaime's wrath. With no choice, Sandaime had to take Naruto away. While he did that, he reminisced about what he considers a grave failure in his life…
The aftermath of Minato's and Kushina's death
Once both Minato and Kushina had died, the Sandaime Hokage was able to enter the barrier and saw the child crying. He ordered his ANBU to collect Minato and Kushina's bodies and picked up the child. The child stopped crying and started to sleep in his hands. The Sandaime then used the "Shunshin no Jutsu" (Body Flicker Technique) to move to the Konoha Council chambers.
The Council meeting was a complete mess. It was simply chaos. Everybody was merely shouting and asking for Kyuubi's death without listening or noticing their surroundings. Hiruzen sighed and raised his voice.
"SILENCE"
The room immediately felt quiet. The people in the room looked at the former Hokage and the child he was holding in his arms, wondering why he brought it there. They then waited for Hiruzen to speak.
The Konoha Council is a vast organisation meant to deal with daily affairs and future development for the village and prevent any threats against the village. The head of all the major clans and a civilian representative for all the non-shinobis in the village was part of the council. Along with the Hokage sat his three advisors – Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane. The leader of major clans such as the Uchiha clan, Hyuga clan, Inuzuka clan, Aburame clan, Yamanaka clan, Nara clan, and Akimichi clan was in the room. Hiruzen cleared his throat and began speaking.
"My dear friends. As you all know, the Kyuubi suddenly appeared before our village and started to destroy everything in its sight. Despite me and our ANBU fighting it, we could only temporarily stop it. It took the might of our Yondaime, Minato Namikaze, to completely stop its rampage. However, even an extremely powerful shinobi, such as the Yondaime, could not kill the Nine-Tailed Fox. So, by giving up his life, the Yondaime sealed the fox in this child. His name is Naruto Uzumaki."
For a few moments, there was silence. Then there was an uproar, with the civilian council head being the first to shout.
"Hokage-sama, you have to kill that demon. It's no child and is simply the demon incarnate. Allowing it to live would only lead to our village's destruction."
"THIS CHILD IS NO DEMON. HE IS THE ONE PROTECTING THE VILLAGE FROM THE FOX'S WRATH, the Sandaime shouted. NO ONE SHALL HARM HIM UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES."
With the Shinobi in the room, the situation was different. They were wary of the child in the initial moments of Hiruzen's announcement. However, some immediately recognised the potential of having this child under their clan/wing. Danzo was the first among them.
"The Sandaime is correct. This child is not a demon. However, it is essential to train him to control his tailed beast. So I propose that the child be under my training and command, the war hawk bellowed monotonously."
Hiruzen knew the kind of training Danzo would implement and would not have it. While he accepted the need for this man to be the shadow for the leaf, he would not allow him to have Naruto and turn him into an emotionless killing machine.
"That would not be necessary, Danzo. Naruto would grow up normally, and when the time comes, he will become a shinobi like us and protect his home and village." Hiruzen retorted as Danzo's eyes gained a flint of irritation and anger.
"But that would not be your decision now, would it, Hiruzen? After all, you aren't the Hokage any-
"Which is why I am taking up the mantle of Hokage again. It is necessary to stabilise the village from the damage it has suffered and ensure our enemies do not use this opportunity to attack the village. Jiraiya will use his spy network to manipulate the rumours around the village till it recovers." Hiruzen did not allow Danzo to finish his thought as he watched him visibly scowl at his statement.
"In that case, Hokage-sama, I propose to have young Naruto under my clan's protection." Came the voice of the head of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku Uchiha.
"Well, wouldn't that be very convenient for you, said Hyuga Hiashi. Your clan would gain a powerful weapon with your already annoying Sharingan causing enough problems as it is. Fugaku, the villagers might believe the myths around the fox being invincible. However, I am not foolish enough to know what it is. We all know of the legendary battle between our Shodaime Hokage and Uchiha Madara. Madara used his Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails and fight along with him. So, tell me, what guarantee is there to you and your clan not doing the same? The head of the Hyuga clan spat at Fugaku."
"It's ironic that you're saying that, Hiashi. After all, your clan is highly humane in placing the 'Hyuga Soke no Juinjutsu (Hyuga Main Family's Cursed Seal)' on your branch family members. Since you find it so easy to control humans, you obviously would also place that seal on that boy." Fugaku sarcastically spat back at Hiashi.
This heated conversation nearly turned into a brawl between the Uchiha and the Hyuga, with the other clan heads stepping in to prevent it from escalating. Once the commotion settled, nobody was willing to give the child to the Hyuga, Uchiha or Danzo. Despite strongly suspecting it, nobody was brave enough to say that the Uchiha could have conspired with the Nine-Tails attack.
"It looks like this meeting might have been fruitful after all…." Danzo thought as an invisible smile crept on his face.
"Hokage-sama, if I may? The civilian representative started. Giving the child to any clan would dangerously disturb the power balance between the clans in the village. It would unfairly boost a clan's power. So, it would be better if the boy is sent to an orphanage where he can grow neutrally."
Hiruzen looked at the civilian representative. He knew this was a ploy to ensure that Naruto would be unprotected and subject to their torture. However, he could not find an alternative as no clan would accept Naruto's adoption into another. Without seeing any other choice, he acknowledged that fateful suggestion.
"I'll have to agree with that suggestion. Naruto shall be raised in an orphanage, and I shall provide funds to care for his needs."
With the clans having no choice, they all accepted Sandaime's decision, and Naruto was sent to an orphanage in the village. Hiruzen didn't fail to notice the civilian representative's evil smirk when he left the meeting.
"Before you all leave, I now authorise that Naruto's status as the Kyuubi's jinchuriki is an SS-rank state secret. Any revelation of it to anyone under any method shall be leading you to your death.
Minato, Kushina, I don't know if I made the right decision. Please forgive me for not doing more for your son…
Present time
While he was running away, Naruto remembered his time in the orphanage. The caretakers deliberately ensured that no other children talked or played with him. They would rarely take care of him and constantly call him a demon. Every night Naruto would cry till sleep eventually took over him. After he was thrown out, Naruto started living in a small apartment Sandaime got for him. Despite occasional visits from the Hokage, Naruto truly felt complete loneliness and despair. The only people who treated him kindly were the Sandaime and Ichiraku Ramen.
"Why? Why are they constantly trying to hurt me? I don't do any harm to them. Even when I avoid them, they want to hurt me." Naruto thought while fighting his tears.
Shaking away these emotions, Naruto continued to run. However, distracted by these thoughts, he didn't see where he was going and entered a new place he had not been to before. The civilians chasing him were shocked to see where he had gone.
"Don't tell me he actually went there out of all places!"
"No way I'm going in there. Even if I badly want to beat the demon."
"Yeah, it's not worth it. People like us should not go there. It's a disgrace. Let's get back. At least the demon reached a place where it should be!"
With everyone cruelly laughing, the group left and dispersed to their houses.
With Naruto
Naruto looked behind him to surprisingly see no one following him. Finally, he could take a breath and relax. However, he couldn't do it relax for too long cause he suddenly realised that he didn't know where he was.
"This is weird… I have never been to this part of the village. Where am I, exactly?"
Naruto knew that objectively, the best thing to do was to return the way he came. After all, if he wanders too much in this place, he could very well get lost. However, his curiosity made him want to explore this unknown area.
"Those people could be waiting to ambush me back on my route. So might as well look into this place a bit."
Cautiously, he started to walk into this area. After about five minutes, he began to see people there. The sight of them shocked him to his core…
All of the people there were deformed – that was what Naruto thought. They had severe physical conditions that rendered everyday activities difficult or downright impossible. Some of them were blind; some didn't have a leg or an arm; some suffered from severe nausea, vomiting, skin burns and cramps. The pain they were feeling was utterly evident. It was unlike anything Naruto had seen, disturbing him a lot.
"What is this? This is too terrible. Why are there so many people suffering like this? The old man must be aware of their situation. Then why is no one helping them?
Naruto soon couldn't even comprehend where he was going. He returned to the world when he bumped into a man and slipped.
"Ow! Sorry I didn't see you there."
"Nothing to worry about. What about you, young boy? Are you okay? Not hurt anywhere, right?"
"I'm alright. Just slipped, so nothing to worry about."
Naruto dusted his pants and looked at the man. He had an average build, stood at 5'11", and had his long black hair tied back in a ponytail. He had a scar that ran across his nose. His eyes showed great kindness, a sense of maturity despite looking young, and no contempt for Naruto, something he only saw with the Sandaime and at Ichiraku Ramen. He was wearing a vest and had adorned a Konoha Forehead Protector.
"What's your name, nii-san (elder brother)?
"I'm Iruka Umino. What about you? What's your name?
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet ya! Are you a Shinobi?"
Iruka's eyes widened when Naruto revealed his name. He instantly knew who this kid was. He was the Kyuubi's container, its jinchuriki. Memories of his past flooded at that moment. Iruka remembered his parents dying at the hand of the beast. However, he remembered what the Sandaime had said after its defeat. The child before him merely contained the beast. He is by no means a beast. Treating 'the prison' as 'the prisoner' is unfair. Thus, Iruka shook off those memories and gave a kind smile to the boy.
"Nice to meet you, Uzumaki Naruto. Yes, I'm a Shinobi and a chunin. What are you doing in this part of our village?"
"Well, I was being chased by some people, and while I was getting away from them, I kinda just stumbled into this place," said Naruto with a sheepish grin and his hands on his head.
Iruka could just sadly look at Naruto while understanding what had transpired. The attacks on the boy seem to only be increasing. He indeed has a harsh life. Iruka was mused out of these thoughts when he saw Naruto having a severe facial expression.
"By the way, Iruka-nii, what is this place? It's terrible. The people here are suffering and in a lot of pain. What is happening to them doesn't seem natural. Why is that happening? And why has the old man not done anything about this?"
"Naruto, it is improper to call the Sandaime Hokage-sama an old man."
"Why not? The old man never seems to have a problem with it."
Shaking his head, Iruka started contemplating what he should do. He wasn't sure as to how Naruto would take the truth. However, something told him that Naruto needed to know about the situation the people there were facing.
"Well, it's a long story, so brace yourself. The area's name is 'The Untouchable Sector', which the civilians termed."
"The Untouchable Sector? What does that mean?
"To put it simply, the people here are untouchable as far as the other civilians or at least a majority of civilians are concerned. Before you ask, untouchable or untouchability basically means social outcasts."
"Social outcasts? But why would the other people of the same village do that to them?"
"Before I tell you that, you should know how they became this way. As you probably guessed, the conditions the people here suffer are not natural. They are the unfortunate consequences of our village's greatest disaster."
Naruto couldn't even hear him breathe as he intently watched and listened to what Iruka was saying. He noticed the sad look that got on his face.
"Six years ago, the Kyuubi suddenly attacked the village. Its rampage caused enormous destruction. None of our Shinobi could stop it apart from the Yondaime Hokage-sama. During its attack, the beast released a series of its most potent jutsu – the Bijuudama. Unlike other jutsus, this jutsu is made of pure destructive energy; thus, even a slight graze against it can be deadly. Thankfully for most of us, Yondaime-sama managed to teleport the Bijuudama before it could hit our village. However, for these people, the creation of it alone proved catastrophic."
"You see, the people here are all civilians. None of them is a Shinobi and cannot mould chakra in any way. Their bodies are comparatively weaker than that of a Shinobi. When they got stuck near the location of the Kyuubi during its attack, the sheer energy of the Bijuudama was enough to completely disrupt their body and its functioning. They now have several chronic and long-term conditions that can affect their next generations."
Once Naruto heard this explanation, he felt a huge pang in his heart. It was unlike any physical pain he had felt previously. His eyes automatically started to cry at the plight of the people in front of him. One young girl came and gave him some water. Her skin was burned, and her body was very fragile. This sight further hurt Naruto exceptionally deeply. Then he got angry at how they were being treated for something that wasn't their fault.
"Looks like he feels highly guilty even though he doesn't know that the Kyuubi is sealed within him. He feels angry due to the way the village has treated them. This boy is truly an empathetic and kind soul despite his pain.
"Iruka-nii. Isn't there any way to treat their conditions? Isn't there any way we can help them? And why are they outcasts? They did nothing wrong. How can they be responsible for what the Kyuubi did?
"You see, Naruto, the other villagers who weren't affected by these conditions started to see them as dead weight. The villagers thought they were wasting money on them instead of using it on deadweight people. They could not help rebuild the village and needed money, medicine and resources to survive. As far as helping them, there is a chance for them to be cured. However, we do not possess that cure currently."
Naruto's mind had blanked out when he heard the reason for the other civilians' hatred for their own kith and kin. His body was boiling with anger. The selfishness and insensitivity of these people pissed him off a lot. He was about to completely lose it until he correctly heard what Iruka said.
"There is a way? Then why don't we have that cure? I'm sure the old man can make arrangements for it. They too would be accepted back into the village."
"It's not like it's a sure shot cure. Currently, the medical team in Konoha cannot cure these people. However, if Tsunade-sama was here, there might be a good chance for them to survive and fully recover. Part of the legendary sannin (three), she is considered the greatest Iryo-ninja (Medical ninja). She significantly contributed to Konoha's victory in the Third Shinobi War.
"Then why isn't she helping them? She is a medic. Isn't that what she's supposed to be doing?"
"Life is never that simple, Naruto. Tsunade-same lost everything to the war. She lost her family - her dear younger brother and her lover to the war. After that, she couldn't perform her legendary medical ninja skills at the same level. Tsunade-sama left our village 'cause she felt she could never save again."
Iruka looked at Naruto to see him highly depressed. It was like seeing Naruto lose his hope in life. By now, Iruka was starting to get a little worried.
"So you see, Naruto, I am helping them out by bringing in the supplies they need and food for them. As no one else wanted to do it, I took it upon myself to help them. Sandaime-sama properly sanctions it and ensures that—
"Why did the old man not punish the civilians? WHY? They are committing a heinous act against their fellow villagers, yet nothing is happening to them. WHY?
Iruka saw Naruto in tears and perfectly understood what was going through Naruto's mind. He thought of that himself several times. However, the reality is going to remain as it is now.
"Naruto, I want you to understand that not all civilians are bad. The people here have no animosity toward the other civilians despite their treatment. However, there are a few people who play with their lives for their political agendas. Those people secluded them as they suspected of having the 'Kyuubi's influence. Their condition was interpreted to make them seem like they have Kyuubi's power. By outcasting them, the few civilians wish to save money by not sending them any resources and want a system where they completely dominate.
"You see Naruto. A village is dependent on its economy for survival. The food we eat is possible because of our strong economy. Out Sandaime Hokage-sama tried everything he could to prevent this social psychological torture. However, these civilians brought in a lot of money for the village, sustaining the economy. Thus, by holding solid leverage and twisting the facts, those select civilians outcasted the others they didn't deem fit.
Once Iruka had finished, Naruto was quiet for a long time. He did not utter a word to Iruka during this time, and all he could do was wait for Naruto's response. Naruto finally understood many things about life, what it means to live life in this world and how people indeed are.
"There is only one consistent fact in all our lives: pain."
However, I'm not alone. I'm not the only one who's suffering. In fact, my suffering is nothing compared to what these people are going through. Any injury I receive heals immediately. I don't get sick. I don't get much food and yet am highly energetic. I'm disrespecting them by complaining about my suffering."
Naruto looked calm and collected. For the first time in his life, he had clarity. He knew what he wanted to do and wanted to be.
"Iruka-nii. Thank you for telling me the truth. I finally understand life and have found a purpose in life.
Iruka intently looked at Naruto, waiting for his response.
"Everybody feels pain, Iruka-nii. I've finally understood that. You, I, these people, the medical ninja, the old man and everyone else. We may face pain, but that doesn't mean our pain is the greatest. There could be people suffering more than us. After hearing their story, I feel ashamed for complaining about my life. I have decided to make myself useful and helpful to people. From today onwards, I'm done with feeling pity and sadness for myself. I will strive to improve myself and become the strongest Shinobi of them all. I will help everyone in my village break their futile mindsets and help achieve harmony and peace. I will bring equality among all of us."
Naruto then gave Iruka his trademark smile and loudly stated
"And I will achieve this goal by becoming the Hokage."
There you go. That's it for the second chapter. It took me a bit more time to finish it, but I think I got the core aspect of it cause it sets the tone for the entire fic. I've tried to incorporate some real-world problems into the Naruto universe. Untouchability is a highly ancient and archaic way of discrimination in India. It unfortunately still exists, albeit being Constitutionally termed illegal and progressive awareness. I also found that Feudal Era Japan had something similar called Burakumin, thus making it slightly culturally relevant. The Bijuudama here acted like a nuclear weapon. Hopefully, you guys found the ideas interesting. The next chapter shall introduce our other main character and my favourite in the series, Sasuke Uchiha. He lost a lot of potential for proper character development towards the end of the series, which I plan to rectify.
With that, I take my adieu. I request you all to continue reviewing my work and help me with constructive criticism if you find any. I'm unsure when I can put out the next chapter, but I hope to release it in a week.
Peace out
Radiancebeater