A/N: Welcome, all, to Part Two: 'Naruto's Destiny'!
Remember, I'm the author! It's my job to have everything laid down so I make no exaggeration at all when I say this: "Whatever questions or expectation any one of you can pull out- it's already been answered here in my story plan." A tall order? I think not.
Shout-outs! LMAO at warprince2000- love your reviews man! And whoa, I really got to watch myself around Dragon Man 180, who's also a pretty damn clever reader! Could readers also please take a moment to check out my new Profile Page? A new feature called 'Recognize My Existence! Progress Reports' has been added. Thanks!
Prologue – Friend Or Foe?
(Viva Rock by: Orange Range)
Dear Hinata-chan,
Gone to kick ass. Will be back soon.
Love You,
Naruto-chan
Neji's deadline was sunset. It was barely enough time for me to reach the cliffs.
I looked up and squinted at the fading light.
Konoha was still bathed in sunlight and I couldn't believe I was going to be stupid enough to travel through the streets of the village at this time. I had already thought out my options: Take Neji's challenge and defend Hinata's name OR refuse it and ruin Hinata's reputation? I went with the first option.
Besides, I didn't want to appear the coward.
I left my note by Hinata's bedside, kissed her on the forehead for good luck, and walked outside. She was still sleeping when I left, waking up momentarily in the middle of the night to ask how I was doing, then falling asleep again before I could answer her. She had caught a minor cold the night before, probably from the rain, but she was looking better.
I conceded that what she needed was some bedtime after the trauma she had been forced through, anyway. I laid her down to sleep and promised to be there before she awoke.
I stepped past the doorway and reached the world beyond my shelter: I was outside Hinata's house in weakening, but broad, daylight. I stood in her empty courtyard and thought about how I should reach the cliffs.
The rooftops were the first thing that came to mind: I had chosen to travel that way the same night I encountered Shikamaru at Ichiraku, but then I realized that that was it was dark then. ANBU would definitely be watching a place as obvious as the rooftops during daytime.
Could I go through the streets? Maybe, if I was willing to sneak my whole way there.
How about the sewers? Only God knows where those labyrinths ended.
I stepped up to the grand, iron gates of the Hyuuga family manor and peered through the small winding streets beyond. Every mode of travel I thought of was nigh on impossible, if it wasn't dark. I had to think of a way before the sun disappeared behind the horizon.
Oh screw it, stop mucking around and just get there without being spotted.
I was wasting way too much time sitting here and thinking like this. The streets around Hinata's manor looked empty. I figured I could think of a better way to get closer to the northern cliffs when the walkways became more crowded later, especially at the market district. I ran past the gates and slinked against the closest wall, peering around the corner and when I thought the coast was clear, sprinted across the streets and hit another wall.
This ritual continued for some time until I reached a public park in the area. It was small, simple, and best of all: empty. I could easily walk through it without being spotted.
I slunk against the walls at the gates and peeked around the corner: there were a few trees dotted around the space, a small lake in one of the corners and lots of green grass in between. I took a deep breath and checked one last time for hiding ANBU.
Going around the park, continuing through the streets, would take too much time. Worse, there could be more people in those streets. No, I was definitely going through the park.
I took one step outside of the cover of the wall and into the park. I was now standing on its small, dirt path, right out in the open. I thought about turning back, but thought better and sprinted towards the tree in the center, easily the largest one in the entire park.
I marveled at the large plant. It's branches sprouted way beyond the sidewalls of the park and reached tall into the sky. It could easily hold half a small house inside its leaves.
That's when I heard the voices. It was coming from the other side of the tree, from the opposite entrance I was trying to get through. I hugged the tree and prayed that they wouldn't walk around it or any deeper into the park.
From the sounds of it, a young couple was in conversation.
And would you believe it? They were talking about me.
"…Yeah, so he sent that other guy to hospital. What's his name? Lee?" The girl asked.
"Yeah, that's it…. What? Are you afraid now, Misa-chan?" The male voice laughed.
"Actually, he sounds kind of interesting. He makes me curious…" The female replied.
I grinned and then my heart jumped a beat when the man replied back.
"YEAH?"
His volume and tone had increased so instantaneously I had to take a step back. I pressed my back harder against the tree, trying not to make the sound of my breathing too loud.
"Well, my uncle's an ANBU Sergeant. He told me that Shizune-sama had to actually double the patrols to find this Naruto guy… they even had to upgrade his bingo class from 'B' to 'S'. They say that anyone that can beat three of our most powerful Nin in less than a week is definitely a danger to everybody here! You better watch yourself! You're lucky you have me to defend you, Misa-chan!" The male remarked angrily.
"Really? Oh my… lucky…" The female trailed off, sounding amused.
"Hey! What's with that DREAMY look on your face! HEY, damn it!"
I took a breath and smiled again. Then I heard a third voice come out of nowhere.
"Excuse me, sir, miss? I was wondering if you could help us for a moment?"
"Sure," The young male replied.
Then a fourth voice came into my hearing. It was a female voice.
"We're from A-N-B-U. We're hoping you could help us find this boy? Here's his photo…" A female ANBU officer asked the bewildered pair of teenagers.
I held my breath.
"No, we haven't officers… we were just talking about him and…" The young man replied back, suddenly cut off by his girlfriend, Misa.
"Is he really dangerous?" The girl asked the ANBU officers.
"Yes, very. Yell if you see him, but do not try to confront him," The male ANBU replied.
I determined that there were exactly four people behind me: two of them civilian and the other two, ANBU. I had to figure a way through them in time to for Neji's deadline.
I looked up at the orange sky. It was almost sunset.
"Captain, let's run a test on this area just to make sure. Hokage-sama wants us to be thorough. Do you sense any high chakra readings with your jutsu?" The female asked her colleague expectantly.
High chakra readings? I don't have a high chakra reading… do I?
"One moment, Anko-sensei," The male officer replied to his superior.
Anko… that name sounded familiar somehow…"What? Anything?" The female officer, Anko, asked her teammate.
"Something… nearby, in front of us. It's very close. It's very strong."
There was a deafening silence while the woman officer took time to think.
"It's gotta be him. Call backup," The woman ordered in response.
"Yes, ma'am. This is Team Alpha; we are at sector 14-A, northern Konoha residential. Something's come up on our radar and we are requesting immediate assistance. All units in the area converge on us and provide backup! Repeat, we have a blip on the radar!"
Shit.
"Move! Move! Move!" Anko called, suddenly becoming anxious. "You two, get out of this park! I don't want anyone that's not ANBU coming in here… this place is quarantined until we can determine that is safe! Go!"
I didn't waste a moment longer. I jumped into the branches of the large tree I was hugging and hoped that the man's strange chakra-detection jutsu wasn't too sensitive.
"This tree… this tree, Anko-sensei," A voice below me said.
F-k!The pair of ANBU officers had already reached the base of the tree, where I had been hiding. Suddenly, I heard another pair of ANBU officers rush in through the entrance I had entered. In simple terms, I was surrounded. Surrounded by Konoha's elite ninja.
"You two," the female voice ordered, " Get up this tree. We'll stay down here and catch whatever falls. Be careful. Be quick. Be thorough."
I heard the two new ANBU officers agree to their superior's orders.
"Shhhh…"It took me a moment to register the hissing noise… then, all of a sudden I realized: there was a hidden voice whispering to me. The voice was male and very deep.
"Naruto, stay perfectly still, and they won't see you," The hidden face whispered.
I followed what the voice ordered me to do and held myself as still as possible while squatting on the branch. I heard the two ANBU officers suddenly land on the two branches next to me. There were so close I could see their boots, hear them breathing high above me. I didn't dare to look up at their masks because I was too afraid I'd shake something or make too much noise.
The hidden voice, unfazed by the ANBU standing only inches away from us, continued to whisper advice in my ear. I could feel the warm breath of my unknown helper on my cheek. His mouth must have been right up against my ear, and still I could not see him.
"That's it. Just relax. You're camouflaged. If you move, they'll see you."
Then, I heard one of the officers next to me call down to below.
"We don't see anything here, ma'am."
"I'm telling you," The male that was originally with Anko replied, "I can sense one big cloud of chakra up there… or maybe two of them right next to each other- it's hard to tell. There's got to be something up there. Keep looking! Go higher!"
The two ANBU officers climbing through the tree jumped to higher branches, cautiously looking around, feeling the bark on the trunk for unevenness or holes.
They searched and prodded and breathed so loud I could feel their miniature gales.
"I'm coming down!" One of the ANBU officers called after an eternity.
"NO! Stay up there and find me my prey!" The female officer replied angrily.
The ANBU officer closest to me groaned in frustration and jumped to a lower branch. He was in the air for a second before I heard a thump directly in front of me. Then, when I saw his boots inches away from my knees, I realized he was directly in front of me.
My heart quickened when he crouched down and stared directly into my eyes.
We were both crouched in front of each other, staring eye-to-eye. I looked back at him, eager to turn away but reluctant to make a move. I noticed the fine detail on his white fox-shaped countenance; saw the wood grain on his animal mask. I twitched every time I saw his white pupils blink behind his tiny eyeholes.
His eyes stared at mine intensely. I was too afraid to blink. The voice next to me had suddenly gone eerily quiet.
"Tha- that's weird," The man on the ground suddenly muttered.
"What?" The female asked, annoyed.
The man staring at me turned down to face his comrades talking below.
"The chakra signals are disappearing. They've… disappeared into thin air."
"They've what?" The female replied with a searing, spiteful heat to her words.
"They're gone, Anko-sensei. Wait let me do the seals again…"
"And…?" The female snapped impatiently.
"Gone…"
"You're telling me we're barking up the wrong tree?" I heard the man staring into my eyes stand up and cry with frustration. He had never even noticed me.
How very strange… and lucky.
"I- I don't know what happened! They're just gone!" The ground replied back.
The other two searching the tree jumped down and met their teammates on the ground.
"Cancel backup. False alarm. Sorry, guys," The female said into her radio.
"Geeze," One of the male officers remarked.
Suddenly, my hidden helper began to whisper again. I noticed that his mouth hadn't moved from my ear all that time, as I could still feel his warm, gentle breath.
"Naruto, do you know what makes the ultimate ninja?" The voice asked me.
The ANBU below were still discussing about what they should do next..
"Split up, guys, and search this area. We'll just have to keep looking. In the meantime, Captain, I think you should head back to base and have a donut break or something."
The male that had been using the troublesome detection-jutsu groaned.
"What?" I whispered.
"Dismissed. Return to duties, men," The female ordered the remaining troops.
"Affirmative," Came the replies.
The hidden voice replied:
"Stealth. The ability to remain undetected indefinitely. That's what separates true ninja from mere fighters and sorcerers. Wouldn't you agree?"
The ANBU below us disappeared in a flash, already dispersed back into the streets to search for their quarry. I exhaled my breath and relaxed a little more.
"Friend or foe?" I said carefully, knowing full well that he could've had a kunai pressed against my back if he wanted to. This guy had the power to shield not just himself, but also myself from two ANBU agents. This guy was good, powerful.
"Both. But friend, for now," He replied, speaking in a more conversational volume.
I turned around. The leafy-green and bark-brown colors of his disguise began to wear thin and reveal the skin and clothing underneath. His jutsu was an intriguing one, giving the user the ability to conceal himself like a chameleon against any background.
"Aburame Shino. Long time no see. No pun intended."
Shino wore the exact same clothing as he did from five years ago, except for one fundamental difference. Instead of the usual white-gray color, what he wore was completely black from head to toe. I couldn't tell if his body shape had changed at all because his clothes were as loose as usual.
His face, however, seemed different enough- his black hair had been cut short and set into fiercer spikes, giving him an aggressive, insect-like appearance. His eyes were still covered too, but no longer by shades. He now wore black, wraparound gunner's goggles to hide them.
"Like the new look? Very stealthy wouldn't you say?" He grinned evilly.
"I barely even recognized you."
I tried to make myself comfortable, crouching on that tree. I made some distance between the both of us and stood up, leaning against a side branch so that I could face him.
He hadn't been holding a knife against me after all.
"You're back in Konoha," Shino said, stating the obvious.
"Well, yeah. Thought it'd be good for a holiday this time of year," I replied.
"Sarcasm. You haven't changed much," He replied ambiguously.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"You must have already noticed that you aren't exactly in Konoha's good books."
"I know and I don't get it, Shino. The boys have been fighting me without any warning since I've arrived. Don't tell me you want to fight me too?"
"I was there, Naruto," Shino replied, ignoring my question, " I was there at every one of your fights. I saw you beat Kiba in the forest. I watched you defeat Shikamaru and was there when the tower crumbled after you conquered Lee."
I paused for a second, recalling each of the bouts in my mind.
"What…the…f-k…?" Was all I had to say.
"Now I hear that Neji is your latest opponent. He wants you there by a certain time, does he? If he didn't you wouldn't be moving around in the daylight."
"Yes…"
To be honest, I felt slightly disturbed that someone, especially a guy like Shino, had been stalking me around since I arrived in this village and without me knowing.
God, he was good.
"Your problem is getting to the cliffs without being spotted. Neji was smart. If you were forced to fight ANBU, he knew you'd win, but your reputation would become worse in this village. Luckily, he didn't foresee me giving you a little hand with your situation."
"Oh? So you feel like being different and have actually decided to help me, have you, Shino? What are you going to do? Tell the Hokage to get my name off the bingo book and tell everyone I'm innocent?" I asked him skeptically, "Thanks in advance."
"I'll do better. I'm going to get you to the Konoha cliffs, undetected, so that you can face Hyuuga and give him the meeting he wants. Then you'll be able to fight him."
I looked at him with an expression that was probably more skeptical than the tone in my voice. Was this guy on the same planet or had his mind blown out further in the years?
"Thank me after you beat him."
"Shino… you want me to fight Hyuuga Neji?" I asked with surprise.
"It doesn't matter what I want. What happens happens. There's a reason for everything."
"And what if I refuse to fight him?" I asked him, knowing it was a useless question.
"But you've already made up your mind. And you know the cost to refuse him would be too high for you, no, Hinata, to pay. You will fight him in the end. It's inevitable."
I didn't know Shino was there when Neji met me back at the forest. I also hadn't realized until now that Shino was a really fatalistic guy. Who would prove that point even more later.
"You're good. Hmm, were you ever there watching me when I slept at Hinata's?"
"No. I'm only there for the fights. Your life is your life. The duels you've fought, however, will soon be knowledge that belongs to everyone. You can call them legends."
"Legends," I laughed. "Legends? I'm out here defending myself! My right to live!"
Shino smiled enigmatically.
"Exactly. You're defending you're right to live, Naruto. You're protecting you're very right to exist. The time has come for you to prove yourself to Konoha."
"Huh?" I paused, took a moment to suck in all of Shino's meanings.
Shino stared at me with a vacant look on his face.
"Shino, leave all the pretentious, arrogant b-t to an Uchiha. I'm just doing what I gotta."
"You know, Naruto, I knew it all along, back when we younger. I knew that only you had what it takes to beat Sasuke. I knew you'd be more powerful than he could ever be."
"Sasuke's gone… what does it matter?" I asked him, feeling emptiness inside.
"Sasuke's not dead. He will return, just like Orochimaru did. When he does, then you must show Konoha the same thing you showed me when we were twelve: that you can defeat him. That you will," Shino spouted with just as much mystery.
"Shino," I cried, "All this b-t is hurting my head, seriously. I don't have time for your prophecies and soothsaying. Hinata is depending on me to…"
"We're all depending on you, Naruto. I'm not saying all this just to entertain you. I'm warning you of what is to come. This destiny you have been locked into."
Up until then, I had no idea of how wise and powerful Shino had grown. He stared at me behind his dark, opaque goggles with an expressionless pair of lips.
"How much do you know? Do you know what's going on with the Hokage?"
Shino remained silent to my question.
His stoic attitude made me finally realize what he was all this time: a watcher, a guardian, a great archivist of all that has happened. Armed with his new camouflage jutsu, and definitely a whole heap of other techniques, he had been studying people and the events that surrounded them. He was a stone gargoyle perched on top of Konoha's gutters.
"Fight Neji. From now on, know this: I will always be watching your fights from the sidelines, but I can never be called upon to help you. These duels are yours alone."
"I see," I was taken back by Shino's solid faith in my purpose. Was I just an actor in his drama? Was he planning to betray me to the Hokage later on? Who was he working for?
"I'm going to prepare two jutsu: The first one will summon a plague of insects that'll infest this entire section of the village. They'll distract everyone in its wake. The next jutsu will order a pack of locusts to pick up your body and carry you to the cliffs. You must be careful not to move a lot during this time as the insects, while extremely precise, are very weak. They'll swarm around your body, making you look like a giant, black cloud. If anyone bothers to look at you during the swarm, they still won't be able to make you out in the sky."
"Awesome… you really learnt how to do all this?"
I looked up at the sky. I had very little time, but if I could fly overhead the village, I would definitely make it with time to spare. Half of the sun had already dipped under.
"I've never shown any of the other Jounin the perfected version. They won't guess it's me, even though it sure is a hell of a lot of bugs. You'll be fine," He assured me.
"Shino? Don't tell me! Yo-you're a Jounin?"
"Yes." He replied coolly, "I am a Jounin."
"Damn, dude! I'd be a Jounin too, you know, if this town didn't hate me," I replied offhandedly.
"Soon they'll cherish you, Naruto… The word, Jounin, is nothing but a label."
I groaned for a mere second and then he said:
"Good luck, Naruto."
Then, instantly, I heard a loud buzzing noise. Then it soon became a painful, screeching noise that filled my ears, like a million tiny wings in my ear flapping at the same time. It was quiet at first, but then it sounded like an end of the world's worth of flesh-eating insects had come to feast on us alive. The winged cretins just came from out of thin air.
I looked at Shino's face, as I slowly began to rise above the branch we were standing on. His expression was calm, but focused, concentrating on getting me into the air in one piece. He stared at me as I rose, as if his gaze directed the winged insects.
Soon I had cleared the very tree I was hiding in with Shino.
I saw people coming out of their houses and looking up at the harmless insects under Shino's command. ANBU officers were gathering and observing in the streets around.
Then, things became very fast. The tree below me soon became a large green dot. The houses and the people looked like toy models. I was flying above Konoha, courtesy of thousands of tiny wings flapping at the same time.
Shino's control over his insects was amazing.
Then, as sunset began to finalize, clouds began to form above my head: a foreboding reminder of the last night's rainy weather. Soon, it would be storming.
The insects took this as some sort of omen and it felt like they rushed even harder, as I saw the ground below me draw by like a reel of film, a movie playing in slow motion. Soon I could the faces of the past Hokages and the rock surface above.
I turned back and saw the park where I had started. I couldn't see Shino, but I could see the large tree, standing tall over the park, protecting it with its huge branches.
Suddenly the clump of insects I was riding was beginning to disperse. One by one, the locusts began to fly off and away from the cliff face in random directions, rapidly slowing me down, until I only had a small team to keep me floating enough to drop me slowly on to the ground.
I shuddered and tried to hold myself as still as possible. For a few seconds, I felt the fox stir within me, angry that I had placed the both of us in a very mortal situation, in the hands of someone whom we had not yet determined to be a friend or enemy.
Then, within seconds, my fears were dashed just as quickly as my feet and knees collapsed to the dirt on top of the cliffs that peered over all of Konoha.
I looked up: nearly all the bugs had dispersed enough to make them seem invisible in the darkening sky. The clump was gone and the random, black clouds that had swarmed the streets leading up to the cliffs were also crawling and flying away, back into the holes they came from. Shino's goal was complete. My deadline was achieved.
'Thank you, Shino,' I muttered into the sky.
"You made it!" A voice called from a hidden location. "Great job, Naruto…"
I looked around: the landscape above the mountains was filled with pock holes and man-made stacks of rocks that were no doubt used for rituals and ceremonies. The stone towers would definitely become a problem, providing way too many hiding places.
I looked harder and more desperately, searching for the source. Then I turned directly behind me and came face to face with my rival. We stood, eye-to-eye and nose-to-nose. He was barely standing a yard away from me.
I had no idea how he had reached me so fast without me detecting him. He was quick.
"Neji… stop this foolishness now. There is no need for us to fight," I pleaded with him.
"Naruto," His tone sounded totally ignorant of my feelings, "Do you remember what you said to me down there, so long ago?"
He pointed at the old, Chuunin coliseum we had once fought in, five years ago.
"That we can shape our own destinies?" He continued.
"Yes."
"Well, I agreed with you then. But you have to agree with me now: some things are just plain inevitable. Some things just have to happen."
I was taken aback. I suddenly remembered what Shino had told me.
"I can agree with that," I admitted coldly.
"Well, it comes off like this, Naruto: if Hinata means anything to you, you'll choose to fight me. Since that question is rhetorical, it is inevitable that you will. Correct?"
I grit my teeth and stared at him. It began to rain. Drops of water stained our faces.
"Right," I agreed, allowing my rage to surface at the mention of Hinata's name.
The rain began to matt our hair over our faces. Thunder began to drive through the sky.
He smiled at me expectantly and raised his hands into the air, "See?"
"Then get this, Hyuuga Neji: I'm going to beat your ass tonight so hard, you'll know you had it coming. Then you'll really learn what the word, inevitable, means."
Neji glared back at me, amusement and excitement staining his white eyes, as the strange wrinkles in his face that indicated he was activating his Byakugan, suddenly appeared.
"Uzumaki Naruto, I am Hyuuga Neji of the Hyuuga Branch Family, and tonight, I will reclaim the victory that was supposed to be mine, that day, five years ago."
The rain beat down even harder on the both of us. The cold winds began to blow with the rhythm of the thunderstorm. Only when lightning shot, could we make out each other's expressions.
"Really…?"
This is for you, Hinata. Again.
He raised his hands into the air and assumed a defensive stance.
"Then bring it on, Neji."