Chapter 7

Truth

Five years ago, the leaf received news; it was news that shocked them and made them sigh in relief at the same time. The news was that the sound has fallen; that it had been destroyed by its own villagers. The reason and the cause of its downfall were unknown. Some supposed it was because of Orochimaru's cruelty and the villagers weren't able to take it anymore so they decided to overthrow him but instead of having triumph against the snake hermit, they destroyed themselves.

…And so…all other hidden villages forgot it ever existed. They went on with their everyday lives while ignoring it.

That was their mistake; sound never met its downfall. What happened to the sound was the opposite of what they heard; the sound rose secretly.

During those five years, a lot of things happened. A lot of things were changed since Orochimaru's death that was only made known to the sound. Uchiha Sasuke was the cause of their change and rise as well as Orochimaru's death. Uchiha Sasuke was hailed as a great leader by the sound villagers.

During those five years, the sound improved themselves. They trained their shinobi's to be perfect assassins; they were trained to be killing machines in the battlefield. And yes, the sound produced a couple of great shinobis.

Its army grew in numbers and grew strong.

But still there was a fool in Uchiha Sasuke's army.

"You're a fool, Kagemaru…" Shikyou said while cradling his battered brother in his lap. "Your mission was to deliver a message; it was not to kill the new Hyuuga head!" he added.

Kagemaru laughed weakly. "But…I still delivered… the… message!" He coughed out blood.

"Yeah you did…but look at you! You have no face to show Sasuke-sama! You're battered, bruised and broken…" A crease formed in Shikyou's forehead.

"…How about you? Did…did you get the boy?" Kagemaru asked.

Shikyou shook his head; Kagemaru glared at him weakly. "Don't glare at me; I went to check you. It's a good thing I did. If I didn't you would have been caught and they might have sent you to Morino Ibiki for torturing…"

Kagemaru laughed again. "I've…been trained to…to be silent…" He coughed. "You…shouldn't have worried…about me…"

"Shut up." Shikyou said. "No matter what you say, you are still my younger brother."

Kagemaru smiled. "Ah…the sheer value of brotherhood…" He said.

Shikyou glared at him this time. "Keep your mouth shut; you shouldn't be speaking or you're condition would get worse."

Kagemaru laughed again. "You need not to worry, niichan. I will be good at hell."

"If only you're in perfect condition, I would have bonked you in the head." Shikyou's eyes twitched.

Kagemaru laughed again.

(Earlier)

Hiashi looked around the garden and spoke again, "By this time, I suppose some of you who didn't know who it is yet has found out the identity of the new Hyuuga head. And…now…as I sit down I ask her to rise…" Hiashi said.

Hinata became more nervous. To her, the moment when her father sat down was passing slowly, very slowly; like it was on slow-motion. And as seconds at that moment passed, her heartbeat grew quicker and quicker.

Hiashi was now seated; it was her time to stand. With a large intake of air, she calmed herself down. She stood up.

For a moment, there was silence.

Hinata wanted to cry. Did they still see her as the weak and shy Hyuuga girl?

But she held her ground; she mustered all her strength to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. And then and there, someone cheered, "Cheers to the new Hyuuga head, Hyuuga Hinata!" She held her cup of sake high; the one who cheered was Tsunade.

And shortly after that, all raised their cups and said "cheers"

Hinata's fears went away.

Hiashi smiled at her. "Do you have anything to say, daughter?"

She nodded but in a blink of an eye, someone grabbed her.

There were gasps all around the garden as a man clad in black grabbed the new Hyuuga head.

Hinata struggled and was able to free her arms. She was supposed to grab the man by his arm and slam him down the ground but she failed. The man suddenly spoke, "Everyone down!"

There was a sudden noise of flying metal objects.

The man pushed her down to the ground and protected her with his won body.

At that moment, she saw his face; it was Uzumaki Naruto.

"Naruto-kun…what's happening?" She asked while she heard the sound of metal hitting the ground.

His cerulean eyes were very serious. "Hinata, the enemy is after you…"

Hinata was startled. "Wha-what do you mean?"

"I think he wants to kill you…" The noise of metals hitting the ground ended. Naruto got off her. "But he's a fool to attack at this time…"

When he got up, Hyuuga branch house members surrounded him and pointed their kunais at him. ANBU members also appeared at the scene.

They encircled him and threatened to attack him when he would suddenly move.

"Why did you tackle Hyuuga-sama?"

Naruto kept silent as one of them asked him. He was feeling around for the enemy.

Tsunade saw what happened. She wanted to get Naruto out of there but she was also searching for the enemy who sent hundreds of kunais flying towards the garden.

Jiraiya looked around; he hadn't looked at where Naruto was yet. "The enemy is good at hiding…" He said. "…or age is just taking its toll on me already."

Naruto felt it; the enemy was moving. The enemy was moving around searching for a hole in the whole gardens defense.

One of the men who were guarding him got ticked off because of his silence; he moved forward and motioned to hit Naruto with the handle of his kunai.

He disappeared in a puff of smoke. The Nins who were at the garden who didn't know who Naruto really is or who didn't knew that he was still alive increased their guard.

Neji approached Hinata and helped her get up. "That was Naruto, ne?"

Hinata nodded.

"Hold on here; you cannot fight efficiently with that Kimono…" Neji reached for a kunai in his pouch.

Hinata smiled, "Don't worry about me…" She tore the sides of the kimono by the leg. Neji questioned her by merely the expression of his face. "It was already ruined anyway…"

Neji chuckled. "You could have used that to seduce Mr. I-was-dead-but-now-I-am-alive…"

Hinata only smiled.

(Still earlier)

Kagemaru moved silently form one tree to another. He hasn't found any hole to their guard yet.

But he smirked. He has trapped them especially Naruto. He made naruto think that he was after the new Hyuuga head. In truth, he wasn't after her; he was just here to deliver a pretty simple message from Uchiha Sasuke, the Otokage.

And he wanted to play around with them; he wanted to test his capacity.

He didn't know that he was endangering his life because of what he wanted; only a fool would charge at a party like this.

It was obviously not a good choice to come and attack a place where all important and strong shinobi were by yourself without anyone giving you an extra hand.

Kagemaru was not a one-man army; he was trained to work alone but handling all these shinobis? He wouldn't be able to handle it, especially the Hokage.

He looked around the garden and found out that Naruto was no longer there.

He almost panicked when he found out; Naruto was not a person to mess with, he found out after experiencing some of Naruto's ass-kicking.

His quickening heartbeat made him breathe deeply.

Kagemaru jumped down from the tree and hid in the shadows provided by the tree itself and the big bushes around it.

He was still breathing deeply.

At that moment, Naruto appeared and grabbed him by the neck immediately.

He immediately attacked with his shadow blast. Naruto didn't let him go. Naruto almost stabbed him by his heart if it wasn't for his shadow blast.

Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke when the weapons hit him; he only sent his Kage Bunshin. Kagemaru panicked and stepped a few steps forward. He looked around and searched for the real Naruto.

Then suddenly, Naruto appeared silently at his back and kicked him so hard that he flew out of the bushes.

Kagemaru landed near Shikamaru and Ino's table. He instantly got up but when he did he was unable to move. He saw Shikamaru at the corner of his eye.

"Kagemane no Jutsu…success…" Shikamaru said. He was staring at Kagemaru lazily.

Kagemaru suddenly smirked; it made Shikamaru raise an eyebrow. "You think…" He got up. Shikamaru's shadow shrunk back to its original size. "…you can capture me with your technique? Playing around with shadows is my field…" He smirked.

"But still…" Kagemaru was startled. "…smirking would do you no good at this situation." Rock Lee whom appeared behind Kagemaru placed a powerful punch at Kagemaru's back. Kagemaru was thrown forward in a great distance; he was gritting his teeth because of the pain. He fell on a table so hard that it broke in half. He broke a rib in the process and got some blisters on his arm.

Clutching the part where his broken rib is, Kagemaru stood up with a painful expression. He huffed while all the Leaf-nins glared at him.

Tsunade move forward and asked with a commanding tone, "Surrender or die?"

(Still earlier)

Shikyou dashed from a tree to another. He ended up at one of the highest boughs of a big tree. Once he landed there he felt something at the pit of his gut.

After a few breaths and a moment, Kagemaru stood straight with a proud face. He said with a pained tone while still clutching the part of his chest where his broken rib was, "Never." He then used his left hand to grab something from his pouch.

Shikyou's eyes twitched as the band of his necklace suddenly gave away. It left his neck and he caught the half pendant (a memento of his late mother; the other half is with Kagemaru) with his hand.

"Kagemaru…" With that he sped away towards where his brother was supposed to be.

Kagemaru pulled out a scroll. The Leaf-nins saw it as a threat and five charged at him. One by one, their fists and feet met Kagemaru's body; Kagemaru wasn't able to escape because of his state. He earned some bruises and more broken ribs from that attack.

A Nin who was at Kagemaru's back grabbed his arm which was clutching the scroll. The leaf shinobi bent Kagemaru's arm and put it in a position that brought excruciating pain to Kagemaru; it also dislocated his left arm. The sound-nin dropped the scroll at the ground.

His painful shout was accompanied by a blinding light.

The Nins who were attacking him stepped back and used both their hands to shield their eyes; the others shielded there eyes with their arms too.

Shikyou appeared beside his brother. Kagemaru was half-awake when Shikyou picked him up from the ground.

He disappeared before the blinding light completely faded.

Naruto appeared when the light faded. He picked up the scroll immediately.

When he turned around, Leaf-nins surrounded him again.

He flipped the scroll in his hands. Naruto lifted his hood up a bit and he revealed his blue eyes that grew deeper through the years.

He looked at Tsunade who had just finished giving orders to an ANBU captain.

"Aw come on, Tsunade-sama…" He smiled. "Aren't you gonna save me from this?" Naruto asked.

The leaf-nins who were surrounding him still held there ground.

Tsunade gestured for the Nins to be at ease.

"Tsunade-sama, he may be an enemy too…" Hiashi approached Tsunade. "After all, he was the one that tackled my daughter.

When Tsunade opened her mouth to speak, Hinata appeared with quite a ripped Kimono. "Father, he's not an enemy. In fact, he saved me…" She said. Hiashi approached Hinata to ask why her kimono was ripped.

Naruto kept silent; he was still playing with the scroll.

Tsunade then whispered something at Hiashi. Hiashi nodded after.

He cleared his throat. "Dear guests forgive me but this…interruption was unexpected and as you can see, the place is a bit wrecked. So sorry, but I have to ask you to leave now. Maybe we can continue this event someday…" After what he said, guests started leaving the place after saying goodbye to the former Hyuuga head and new Hyuuga head.

Naruto approached a chair and sat there while everyone else left.

Those who were close friends of Hinata and those that meant something to her approached her to say good bye. Hinata shook her head.

Ino asked, "What do you mean by shaking your head, Hinata-chan?"

"Yeah…" Kiba agreed. "We can't have a party in a place like this…" He added while Akamaru sniffed for something in the air.

Hinata smiled. "All of you should stay here…and that means you too, Kakashi-sensei…" She said when she saw Kakashi slowly make his way out of the small group. Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow.

"I guess Hinata-chan is planning something for us…even though her place is at this state…" Lee looked around.

"If there is food I'll stay." Chouji said; Shikamaru slapped himself in the face.

Hinata giggled, "Don't worry Chouji-san, there will be food."

"So, what are we here for?" Kurenai asked. Everyone nodded.

Tsunade approached them. "I think you would all want to see someone that you haven't seen for awhile…"

"Who is it?" Jiraiya asked.

"Oh! Is it our long lost comrade Sasuke-kun?" Lee asked. "I would love to see him!"

Sakura placed a light punch on Lee's arm. "Stop joking…"

"But Sakura-chan...I am not joking." He grinned at Sakura. "I would be happy if Sasuke-kun would come back to his home!"

Naruto on the other hand, only watched them. Akamaru suddenly approached him. Akamaru was wagging his tail.

He patted Akamaru's head. "It's been a long time, Akamaru…" He whispered.

Kiba searched around for Akamaru and found that Akamaru was near the man.

"You…! Don't touch Akamaru!" He said while running towards Akamaru.

He picked up Akamaru and glared at the man who was looking down.

"You didn't have to take him away…" Naruto said.

"I don't trust you…" Kiba said. The others were watching them.

"He's my friend too…" Naruto stood up and removed his cloak. "..Kiba…"

Everyone except those who already knew stared at him with wide eyes and very startled expressions.

(Present time)

Kagemaru reached for his necklace with his right hand. "…Here…"

Shikyou took the half pendant that belonged to Kagemaru. He looked at it and then back at his brother's bloody face. "This is yours…"

"Not anymore…"

"What do you mean?" Shikyou asked.

Kagemaru laughed weakly. "Don't play innocent…" His face turned serious. "You know that I cannot make it…"

Shikyou gritted his teeth. "Don't say that!" He glared at his brother.

Kagemaru laughed again. "This is the bad karma I get for being such an ass…" He smiled showing his blood-stained teeth.

Shikyou still glared at him; gradually it became stare which was full of sadness and worry. "It's not your time to follow mother yet." Shikyou said with a rugged voice.

"It is…" Kagemaru said. "The man with those thick eyebrows almost broke my spine. Even if he didn't, a broken rib piece pierced one of my right lung" He gasped. "…that was why I wasn't able to move. And besides, Sasuke-sama would kill me if I go back…" He smirked. "I caused such a stir…" He closed his eyes. "I am lucky to last this long…"

Shikyou put the pendants together and it formed a circle with a crest in it. "I will take revenge on those who have hurt you this day, my otouto."

Kagemaru stared at him. "No." He coughed out more blood. "I don't want you to fall in the same darkness that Sasuke-sama is in. Mother would blame me if you end up in the deepest part of hell." He laughed again. "…And taking revenge upon them would mean you'll be taking on all of them… you'll just die."

"I don't care if I die. Sooner or later, death will tap me on the shoulders and take me to where all of the dead souls are." He looked down. "I am already in the darkness, otouto. Ever since father was murdered and ever since mother died, I was already thrown into the darkness that you fear I would go in." He looked at his brother with eyes that were very determined. "I do not fear death or the darkness you speak of."

Kagemaru looked at him in an irritated way. "If you take revenge then you're the same fool that I am." He said. "Father never taught us revenge…" He coughed out blood. "…and besides…my death is my own fault…"

There was silence as Kagemaru slowly closed his eyes.

"You will satisfy nothing good with your…revenge…niichan…"

Those were the last words that Kagemaru said.

"But I never said that I wanted to satisfy something good." And those were the words the Shikyou said after his younger brother's death.

They were all staring at him with eyes and mouths wide open. Tears started to fall from Sakura's eyes.

"N-Naruto…?" She whispered.

"What is it, Sakura?" He asked.

More tears fell and more cried.

"You…you're alive…all along…all these years!" Kakashi exclaimed. He approached Naruto who was now standing. Kakashi reached up and ruffled Naruto's blonde hair. He smiled, "and you're way taller than me…" A drop of tear raced its way down from Kakashi's visible eye.

"Yes, I am alive, Kakashi-sensei…"

Naruto looked around and saw Gaara looking at him. His brother and sister were standing by his side. He smiled at Naruto and mouthed the words, "Welcome back…"

Naruto smiled at him. He shifted his attention back to Sakura and the others.

Sakura sobbed and exclaimed. "Naruto…you're one big idiot!" She sobbed more. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" She asked.

"Well…I wanted to tell all of you at the same time so I picked Hinata's inauguration party to be the day I tell all of you…" He said.

Sakura smiled while tears fell. "That wasn't what I meant!"

"Hey…at least I am back…" He grinned.

Lee wiped away his tears. "Welcome back, Naruto-kun!" He exclaimed and went closer to him.

Kiba scratched his nose and he patted Naruto on the shoulder. "I guess you're one hell of a weed."

"Hmmm…what do you mean?" Naruto asked.

Kiba laughed. "Weeds aren't easy to kill…they keep coming back…" Kiba grinned.

Everyone else laughed and walked closer towards Naruto.

Jiraiya hit Naruto on the head.

"What the hell was that for?" Naruto asked while massaging his head.

Jiraiya grinned. "That was for being so late, you idiot."

"Iruka-sensei, why did you drag me here?" Konohamaru crossed his arms.

"I brought you here because there's someone I think you would want to see…" Iruka smiled.

Konohamaru raised an eyebrow. 'I wonder who…'

Iruka walked towards the garden. "Come and follow me…"

After passing the long hallways of the Hyuuga manor, they reached the door leading to the garden.

Konohamaru stopped in his tracks when he saw someone very familiar.

"Iruka-sensei…" His voice was trembling.

"What?"

"Did you bring me here to show me a ghost?" Konohamaru asked.

Iruka smiled. "Ghosts don't grow up."

"So Naruto, tell us where you have been all along…" Shino spoke; it was something he did rarely.

"Naruto-niichan…!" Someone shouted.

They all turned their heads and saw the third's grandson racing towards them.

Konohamaru hugged Naruto. "…You...You're real…" He whispered.

"Of course I am. What do you think of me, a ghost?" He smiled warmly at Konohamaru.

Konohamaru cried. "But you…died…" He sobbed. "I…I saw you in the coffin!"

Naruto patted Konohamaru in the head. "It doesn't matter anymore…"

Shino cleared his throat.

"Oh yeah…the story…" Naruto grinned.

"How about we all sit down first? I bet it would be a long story…" Chouji said.

"Well if I inform you with every exact detail of my adventures…I'm sure it will be…" Naruto gave the scroll that Kagemaru left to Tsunade while everyone took their seats.

TenTen arrived in the garden; she was holding a small girl that was sleeping on her arms. "Hey, what's happening here?" She asked everyone.

Her husband, Neji, approached her. "The biggest idiot is back…"

"Hmmm…?" TenTen asked. She looked around and turned pale when she saw Naruto. "What is this…s-some kind of genjutsu?"

Naruto spoke up, "Iie, I'm real." He waved at TenTen.

"What, you're alive? How did it happen?" She asked in a low volume so she won't wake her daughter up.

"Well…I was just about to tell that…"

"I can't believe he's alive…" Jiraiya said. He was standing beside Tsunade who was clutching the scroll. "But…why did he run away? Why didn't he tell us?" Jiraiya asked.

"Don't ask me; he hasn't told me yet…" Tsunade unrolled the scroll.

"I can't believe he is alive too…" Hiashi who was standing with them stated. "The Kyuubi is really a something; he has saved Naruto from the clutches of death."

Jiraiya shook his head. "It's different. Naruto really died; Kyuubi revived him, gave him a second life…"

Jiraiya then shifted his gaze upon Tsunade who was very serious.

"What does it contain, Tsunade-hime?" He asked.

Tsunade read it out loud, "The blazing fire will die soon; the sound of death will start once all pieces of the music is gathered; the nine-tailed kitsune is by your side but we shall not falter. The sole survivor of the Uchiha clan shall be the one who will end your reign."

"Uchiha clan…but that can't…" Hiashi said.

Tsunade and Jiraiya nodded.

"Uchiha Sasuke is against us this time…" Tsunade said.

"Itachi is dead… Reports say Sasuke killed him." Jiraiya crossed his arms; he was staring at Naruto.

Hiashi tapped the ground with his cane. "I see…" He knew what it all meant; it meant war.

"Tsunade-hime, it said 'nine-tailed kitsune'… he knows Naruto is alive." Jiraiya whispered.

"And I think Naruto knows Sasuke's plans too. He won't make a sudden appearance without a reason…" Tsunade placed the scroll on her pocket.

At the sound country, the sound village is very concealed by the big and many trees. And at the center of the village, beneath the administrative building lies an underground lair. The underground lair was dimly lit.

A man that held a powerful rank at the hidden sound village sat at a wooden chair that had extravagant carvings of snakes.

In front him, three shinobis were kneeling.

A white-haired shinobi spoke, "Sasuke-sama, everything is nearly done. On your command, we shall deploy a surveillance platoon…"

Sasuke opened his eyes. His sharingan was activated. He was staring at the three in a commanding way.

The biggest of the three then reported, "The brothers have not yet arrived; they're taking longer than expected…"

The only kunoichi of the group looked up at Sasuke who was remaining quiet.

"Do you have more orders, Otokage-sama?" She asked.

Sasuke closed his eyes. "Is he ready?"

The white-haired man nodded.

"Akuchi…" Sasuke called out.

The white-haired man lowered his head and said, "Yes, Sasuke-sama?"

"Deploy the surveillance platoon. Remember to brief them well, Akuchi..." Sasuke ordered.

Akuchi got up and bowed before he went away.

The other two stayed.

Sasuke suddenly flinched. He started to clutch his left arm and he was gritting his teeth. The room was filled with muffled noises of pain.

The kunoichi stood up. "Dai-san, you should stay here and guard Sasuke-sama…I'm gonna call Kabuto-san…it's happening again…"

"You must hurry, Seijaru…" The big man said with his very deep voice.

Daishinsai, the biggest of the group, watched Sasuke's pained expression; he only watched because he didn't have the ability to end Sasuke's pain anyway. Cold sweat trickled at the side of Sasuke's pale face. His left eye was tightly shut because of the pain. His left hand never stopped twitching.

Everyone was focusing on Naruto. Naruto, on the other hand, was looking down on the grass like he was thinking of some pretty deep stuff.

"Naruto…?" Sakura said.

Naruto raised his head. "Hmmm?"

"Are you ok?" She asked.

Naruto scratched his head. "Ah…I'm fine." He grinned.

"So…did it…bring you back to life?" Gaara asked once he reached the group.

Everyone questioned Naruto with their expression. Even Hinata wanted to ask.

Their former jounin senseis, the Hokage, Hyuuga Hiashi, Jiraiya, Iruka, and Gaara kept silent.

Hinata spoke up. "…it?"

Naruto took a deep breath. He braced himself for one of the biggest revelation he'd have to tell them.

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