A/N: I humbly present: chapter 13. I'd like to wish everyone a happy holiday season during this interesting (read: dumpster fire) year!
Quick housekeeping thingamajig: I've basically gone the weeb route and used Japanese jutsu names. I know some folks aren't familiar with the Japanese names, so here are the translations for the jutsu that have been named so far:
Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu - Fire Release/Style: Phoenix Sage Fire or Phoenix Flower Jutsu
Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu - Fire Release/Style: Great Fireball or Fireball Jutsu
Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku - Fire Release/Style: Great Fire Annihilation or Majestic Destroyer Flame
Katon: Gōka Messhitsu - Fire Release/Style: Great Fire Destruction or Majestic Demolisher Flame
Katon: Ryūen Hōka no Jutsu - Fire Release/Style: Dragon Flame Release Song or Dragon Flame Caterwaul
Katon: Haijingakure no Jutsu - Fire Release/Style: Hiding in Ash and Dust or Hiding in Ash Jutsu
Hijutsu: Makyō Hyōshō - Hidden/Secret Jutsu: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals or Crystal Ice Mirrors
Doton: Tsuchi Nami no Jutsu - Earth Release/Style: Mud Wave Jutsu
Kuchiyose no Jutsu - Summoning Jutsu
Hiraishin - Flying Thunder God or Flying Raijin
Byakugō no In- Strength of a Hundred Seal
Sōzō Saisei - Creation Rebirth or Mitotic Regeneration
...and that's all, I think. If I missed some from the earlier chapters, I apologize! I'll try to include translations for any jutsu that show up in later chapters.
Now that that's done, on with the chapter!
Ah, yeah, I also don't own Naruto.
Chapter XIII: Prophet
Naruto opened his eyes, expecting to find himself in his kitchen. Instead, he was greeted by a lush, tropical landscape. The air was humid and warm like a hot spring. Insects chirped and chattered from the surrounding flora. The sun seemed to be perpetually shining, despite it being nearly dusk in Konoha. The blond looked around, perplexed.
"What the hell? When did I get here?" He asked no one in particular.
"I brought ya here, Naruto-boy," said a familiar elderly voice.
Naruto turned to the owner; a small, olive green-skinned toad known as Fukasaku. Said toad was sporting his usual white mohawk, bushy white eyebrows, and small goatee. A brown cloak covered his whole body, save for his head. "Grandpa Sage? Did you reverse summon me?"
"Course I did! That's the only way to get ya here!"
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Ah, yeah, that's right. So, why'd you summon me? Is something going on? Did you need me for something?"
Fukasaku eyed the young sage. "Something's different about ya, Naruto-boy. And it isn't just your clothes, either."
The blond stiffened. "Whaddaya mean, Grandpa Sage?"
"Come with me," the elder toad said plainly as he turned and started walking. Naruto followed close behind until the two came to his home. Despite his time spent at Mount Myōboku, Naruto still found himself in awe of the landscape. Simply put, it was breathtaking, giant mushrooms, lily pads big and small in every pond and lake, grass that was impossibly green, and trees that bore only a single massive leaf. Water spilled out of massive, caterpillar-like structures, and with the natural features of Mount Myōboku, they made it look like another world altogether.
They came upon Fukasaku's home: a fairly humble abode carved into the trunk of one of the massive trees that dotted the landscape. The two entered and were greeted by Fukasaku's wife, Shima. She looked much the same as her husband, but her skin was a combination of light green on her underside and purple on top. Her hair was also done up in a fuzzy arrangement of curls.
"Welcome home, Pa," she said jovially before she caught sight of their human guest. "Naruto! It's good to see ya! I'm guessing Pa summoned you here?"
Naruto flashed his signature smile. "Hi, Granny Sage. Yeah, Grandpa Sage summoned me here. But he hasn't told me why yet."
Shima nodded. "I'm terribly sorry there's no food ready. Had I known you'd be here I would've made some dinner!"
The young toad sage grimaced at the thought of being subjected to one of Shima's meals. As full of love as they were, he was no toad, and various crawling and flying bugs just didn't whet his appetite. "Er, no worries, Granny Sage. I'm not too hungry right now, anyways." He took a seat at the table across from Fukasaku, who hadn't taken his eyes off the blond. He couldn't help but feel a tad claustrophobic. The home was spacious enough for toads, but wasn't particularly suited to humans larger than a child. "So, Grandpa Sage, why'd you summon me here?"
"The Great Honorable Geezer wants to talk to ya, Naruto-boy." Fukasaku pointed a webbed finger at Naruto. "And something tells me it might have to do with those sunglasses ya got."
Naruto flinched. "My…sunglasses?"
The elder toad sage nodded. "Come, we'd better get going. Sorry to leave so soon, Ma."
Shima waved off his concern. "Oh, don't you worry, Pa. I'll get dinner going while you're gone." With that, Naruto and Fukasaku made their way to the temple that "The Great Honorable Geezer" resided in.
Naruto and Fukasaku walked together in silence as the ambience of Myōboku enveloped them. The elder toad was the first to speak. "See ya still got that cloak we gave ya, Naruto-boy."
"Oh, yeah! Sakura fixed it up for me. But I don't remember the kanji being on the back," he said, awkwardly positioning himself to glance at the lettering in question.
Fukasaku hummed. "Come to think of it, I don't think it was there when ya got it in the first place. That Sakura ya mentioned must have added it." He paused his stride to catch a glimpse of the back of Naruto's sage cloak. "Gotta admit, though, it looks pretty good. Sakura was that pink-haired girl?"
"Yup! She told me she found it after my fight with Pain. To be honest, I had kinda forgotten that I lost it. But the cloak looks cool with my outfit, don't you think?"
The old toad shrugged. "Us toads don't care too much about colors, seein' as how most of us are all sorts of different colors anyhow." He looked his apprentice over again, a smile creeping over his amphibian features. "But ya do look like a more serious sage now, especially with those sunglasses of yours."
Naruto stiffened for a moment before relaxing back into is stride. "Heh, uh, yeah. I guess I do, huh?"
The duo crossed the threshold into the temple where the Great Toad Sage, Gamamaru, resided. The elder toad was massive, easily as large as Gamabunta, Gamahiro, and Gamaken. His wrinkly skin was a deep terra cotta, save for his white belly. In old age, his eyesight had deteriorated, and he was perpetually squinting. He wore a beaded necklace, the centermost bead bearing the same kanji for 'oil' that adorned Jiraiya's forehead protector and Naruto's sage cloak. Atop his head sat a rectangular professor's cap with yellow tassels hanging from each corner, while the top of the cap was adorned with a large, blue orb. Naruto found himself wondering just how old the Great Sage was. He was old enough to be well-respected, even by Fukasaku, despite his shoddy memory and rather jovial disposition that bordered on senile and zany.
The "Great Honorable Geezer," as the toads called him, sat in a large, shallow bowl of water; inscribed on said bowl were the kanji for "sage." Flanking the bowl that Gamamaru sat in were massive scrolls, each bearing labels with a smattering of text. A bottle of sake and an accompanying glass sat to his right.
Fukasaku addressed the Great Sage first. "I have brought him."
Naruto saluted Gamamaru. "Long time no see, Giant Gramps Sage!"
The Great Sage's voice boomed throughout the temple. "Oho! It was indeed I who summoned you!" Gamamaru paused, motionless. "Erm. Hmmmm." His voice shrunk in an almost comical manner. "Who're you again?"
Naruto grimaced. "Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki," he said with an exasperated sigh. "I really wish you'd learn my name, Giant Gramps Sage."
"Oho! That's right, that's right! You're Naruto!" Gamamaru said.
Naruto noticed Fukasaku stifle a grimace out of the corner of his eye. As wise as the Great Sage was, his memory was laughable at times; this wasn't the first time Naruto had to remind him of his name, and it likely wouldn't be the last.
"Naruto," Gamamaru said. "I have seen a prophecy involving you."
Naruto's brows rose above his sunglasses. "A prophecy? Alright, lay it on me."
The Great Sage cracked open one of his perpetually squinted eyes. "Ah, but you've brought something here, haven't you? Something very powerful."
The blond flinched, causing Fukasaku to turn to his pupil. "I…don't know what you mean, Giant Gramps Sage."
Fukasaku's brow furrowed. "Naruto-boy, I've been meanin' to ask ya. What's with those sunglasses ya got? Ya didn't used to wear those."
Naruto turned to the smaller toad, all excuses he had dying in his throat under the stern look cast his way. He let out a defeated sigh. "It's better if I show you, Grandpa Sage." The blond removed his sunglasses. Fukasaku watched expectantly before Naruto opened his purple rippled eyes and met the small toad's gaze.
His amphibian eyes widened as he beheld the Rinnegan. "Those eyes…"
Gamamaru hummed, catching the attention of both Fukasaku and Naruto. Both of his eyes were now half-open as he studied the young sage. "So, it's as the prophecy foretold: the eyes of Samsāra have indeed exchanged hands."
Naruto shrank under the Great Sage's gaze, which held fast before returning to its signature squint. "Now, listen carefully." There was a pause as Gamamaru chose his next words. "You will soon meet an octopus, a cat, and a beetle."
The young sage's face contorted into a dumbfounded frown. "Huh? An octopus? A cat? A…beetle?"
"Well, I couldn't see too clearly; but I definitely saw octopus arms, a cat, and a beetle, no doubt about that," Gamamaru explained. Naruto hummed, not wholly satisfied.
"It will also come to pass that you will face a young man who has been consumed by darkness and is haunted by demons of his past," the Great Sage declared, his eyes opening to focus on the blond. Naruto's face set into a serious expression, his Rinnegan ablaze with resolve. "But that is not all. You will face one who bears a curse; a curse of the first sin." Naruto's mouth drew into a tight line. His mind went back to what Nagato had told him: hatred, death, pain, war.
'Are these two things connected? Did Nagato somehow know about what Giant Gramps Sage would see?'
A pregnant silence passed as Naruto processed what Gamamaru had told him. A voice in the back of his head brought Naruto out of his ruminations. He looked up at the Great Sage. "Hey, Giant Gramps Sage? Do…you think you could tell me what my eyes mean?"
"What do ya mean by that, Naruto-boy?" Fukasaku asked.
Naruto let out a small sigh. "Well, I want to know what me having the Rinnegan means. I know they're powerful. I fought Pain, and I've been training my new abilities; these eyes are no joke. But everyone keeps saying they're like, super important. And to be honest? I don't understand how. I know the Sage of Six Paths had them before Pain, whose name was actually Nagato, but that doesn't tell me much of anything."
The small toad's brow furrowed. Gamamaru's eyes opened wider once more as he hummed. "So, you know of the Sage of Six Paths, do you? And you also know that he possessed the Rinnegan as well."
Naruto nodded. "I just wanna know what this all means," he said with dejection.
Gamamaru focused on the young sage. "Hmm. I will tell you this: the Rinnegan can bring about the destruction or salvation of the world. Naruto Uzumaki; you are the wielder of the Rinnegan. Through your actions, the world can either be plunged into chaos, or be brought to salvation."
Naruto stared wide-eyed at the Great Sage, his mouth agape. Any words he thought to speak never left him. Another long silence passed as Gamamaru's declaration hung in the air. The young sage set his jaw. "Then I guess I'd better get stronger if I'm going to help the world."
Gamamaru hummed, pleased with Naruto's tenacity. "Gerotora! I also had a vision where you stored yourself inside Naruto," he boomed.
A black and orange toad slightly larger than Fukasaku flinched. He appeared to be wearing an obi, though a kimono was absent. Naruto turned to Gerotora, surprised that he hadn't noticed him when they first approached Gamamaru. "W-what?!" The toad cried.
The Great Sage craned his head to peer down at Gerotora. "Give him the Fourth Hokage's seal," he calmly ordered.
Gerotora crossed his arms and let out an exasperated groan. "I suppose I have no choice but to do as you say, Great Lord Elder." With that, Gerotora's torso extended telescopically, towering over Naruto. The apparent obi had grown, and now sandwiched a portion of his torso that was striped in black and yellow. With a gesture, a sizable scroll unrolled from his midsection, revealing one of the strangest and most complex seals Naruto had ever seen.
His eyes widened and his jaw went slack as he stared at the seal. The scroll had to be twice as long as he was tall. Written on it was a collection of sealing script that Naruto had never seen before and couldn't even begin to make sense of. The only familiar symbol was a black swirl on the far right of the page.
Naruto blinked. "What…is this?"
"It's the key left by the Fourth Hokage that locks and unlocks the seal on your belly!" Gerotora explained. Naruto's face set into a stern expression as the scroll toad continued. "With this, you can let the Nine-Tails run free, if that's what you want."
The blond jinchūriki swallowed hard as Gerotora gestured towards the seal. "Press on that square area with your hand." Naruto nodded before peering down at his left hand. He returned his gaze to the key as Gerotora continued. "With this, you will have the means to perfect that jutsu that Jiraiya was talking about."
Naruto's brow furrowed. "The key…to release the Nine-Tails' seal." He looked down again at his hand as Gerotora watched expectantly.
A short silence passed before the scroll toad spoke. "Are you unsure, Naruto?"
The blond jinchūriki simply stood there, staring at the scroll.
Fukasaku turned to the blond. "What are you waiting for? Press the Storing Square!"
Gerotora crossed his arms. "You're unsure, aren't you, Naruto? I can't say that I blame you."
Fukasaku turned to the scroll toad. "What do you mean?" He asked incredulously.
"Lord Fukasaku, the Nine-Tails gets its power by merging its chakra with its will," Gerotora began. Naruto and Fukasaku listened intently as he continued. "To control this power, you must isolate only the Nine-Tails' chakra, and assimilate it into your own chakra to make it your own power.
"But it's easier said than done; if you pull out the Nine-Tails' chakra, you also draw out its will. The Nine-Tails' will is a mass of hatred that binds itself tightly to chakra. No matter how hard you try to shield yourself, it will find some hatred that you have buried deep inside and will try to overtake you."
Naruto quietly thought back to how he saw red during his fight with Pain; his father was the one who stopped him before he was too far gone. His reminiscing was cut short by Gerotora. "In other words, controlling the Nine-Tails' power means taking its will and its chakra and completely separating the two with your own strong will, which should harbor no hatred."
The scroll toad paused, allowing Fukasaku and Naruto to take in what he'd just told them before continuing. "The Fourth Hokage made the Nine-Tails' seal in a way that allows a small amount of its chakra to leak out of the cage in the hopes that it would naturally become one with Naruto's own chakra. It is known as the Eight Trigram Sealing Formula, and it creates a double-interface Tetragram Seal."
"But if this key is used to open the Tetragram Seal, you could pull out all of the Nine-Tails' chakra!" Gerotora warned.
"And that means all of the Nine-Tails' will would tag along with all of its chakra!" Fukasaku concluded.
"And as soon as Naruto's will loses to the Nine-Tails' will, the Nine-Tails will be completely resurrected!" The scroll toad added.
Naruto and Fukasaku let the information soak in before Fukasaku spoke up again. "And has the key ever been used?"
Gerotora hummed. "A while ago, the Tetragram Seal was weakening. So, in order to control Naruto, who was starting to transform into the Nine-Tails during training, Jiraiya used the key to tighten the seal on him." Naruto replayed the memory of his training with the white-haired sage. He was training particularly hard when some of the fox's chakra had leaked out, and he had slapped a seal on his forehead that suppressed the malevolent chakra. After that, the world went black.
"Jiraiya was greatly concerned," Gerotora continued. "If the Fourth Hokage's Sealing formula was beginning to weaken, there was no telling when Naruto would transform into the Nine-Tails again." Naruto deflated slightly as the toad continued. "Jiraiya wanted the seal to be opened deliberately for just a short while in order to drill Naruto into developing the power to resist the Nine-Tails' will. But it didn't work."
Naruto found his voice. "I didn't mean to hurt Pervy Sage. It's just. The harder I try to become strong, the tighter the grip of the Nine-Tails' will becomes. He totally ignores my will and tries to hurt everyone in my path." 'And that was before I got the Rinnegan. Who knows what could happen if I lost control now?' He wondered to himself; he didn't want to think about the possibilities.
"That was the result of opening Naruto's seal just a tiny bit," Gerotora stated.
Fukasaku turned to his blond protégé. "So that's the reason for the scar on Jiraiya-boy's chest." He turned back to the scroll toad. "And then what happened?"
"Nothing good," Gerotora said flatly.
Naruto's gaze turned to the ground as he spoke quietly. "When I fought Orochimaru with Sasuke, I let some of the Nine-Tails' chakra out; I tried to access it to make me stronger. I nearly lost control of myself. He knocked me, Sakura, and Captain Yamato unconscious. The thought of Sasuke being captured by him woke me up, and nearly sent me into a blind rage. We were lucky that nobody besides Orochimaru got hurt. Seeing Sasuke get the drop on him snapped me out of it.
"During my fight with Pain, when Hinata got hurt…all I saw was red. I must have really lost control." He peered down at Fukasaku, who was watching Naruto intently. "I almost freed him. I almost undid the seal. I just remember feeling so…helpless. The fox told me he could save me from my suffering. I was stupid enough to believe him. The Fourth Hokage…" Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat. "He snapped me out of it that time. He fixed the seal before he just…left. Disappeared, I guess.
"Right now, I feel safe, since the Fourth Hokage's seal was tightened. With the Rinnegan, I don't need to rely on the fox's chakra as much. But it might act up again at any time. Yet, in order to keep everyone safe, I have to get stronger, which means using the Nine-Tails' chakra. I'm the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, after all. I…can't hide from that forever," he said with quiet finality.
Naruto's words hung in the air for a long moment. He clenched his right hand into a fist before relaxing it and bringing it up, channeling chakra into his fingertips. He went to the scroll and pressed them into the square. He expected some sort of change to the markings on the scroll. Nothing happened.
"Contract complete. I'm going into storage!" Gerotora announced.
Naruto turned to the extended toad, a perplexed look on his face. "Huh? Going into storage?"
The scroll portion of Gerotora's body rolled itself back up before shrinking down and returning to its obi-like appearance. "You don't need to do a thing. Just keep your mouth open."
Naruto pointed to said body part. "My mouth?"
"That's right, now say 'ahh,'" the scroll toad instructed.
The blond did as he was told, opening his mouth wide enough to fit a sizeable portion of ramen.
"Wider!"
Naruto let out a frustrated groan before opening his mouth even wider, as though he were about to yell at Sasuke. Holding it open took some effort, but he sallied forth.
"Here I go…into storage." Not a second later, Gerotora flew into Naruto's mouth, eliciting a surprised and muffled shriek from the blond. However, only half of Gerotora made it into Naruto's mouth, and his torso was hanging out. His legs kicked the air to try and force himself down the jinchūriki's throat and into his stomach.
"Hey! Open wider!" His voice was muffled. "Are you going to let me go into storage?!"
Naruto fidgeted with his hands raised in the air; this was the most unpleasant thing he'd ever experienced, and he was no stranger to unpleasant situations. It took all of his self-control not to gag and throw up the dinner he had just eaten. His leaking eyes were the size of extra-large ramen bowls, wondering just why in the world Gerotora had to go into storage through his mouth. He loathed how slimy the toad felt as his fingers twitched.
Just as he thought he couldn't hold out any longer, Fukasaku barreled toward Naruto's face, his leg extended in a flying kick. With a thud, he connected with Gerotora's rear, sending him on his way into Naruto's belly with a sickening gulp. Naruto froze, fighting to stay conscious. He fell onto his hands and knees, gagging and dry heaving.
Fukasaku stood before the distressed blond, satisfied with the results of his assistance. "Okay, storage complete! I'm sending ya back to Konoha! After that, we'll have to plan to look for the creatures that were mentioned."
Naruto shakily raised his head. "Oh, right…Giant Gramps Sage prophesized that I would meet an octopus, a cat and…a bug? Where are they, anyway? Can't you guys give me more clues?"
Gamamaru turned to the prostrate jinchūriki. "It's not terribly clear, but it looked as though you would meet them on your travels."
Naruto sat up. "My travels?"
Gamamaru squinted the young sage. "No doubt, you will walk along the path set before you. In due time you will encounter them."
Naruto saluted the Great Sage. "Yes sir!" He rose to his feet and turned to Fukasaku, replacing his sunglasses. "So, Konoha?" The small toad nodded, bowing to Gamamaru before leading Naruto outside.
"Well, it was good to see ya, Naruto-boy. Don't hesitate to summon Kichi or Tatsu if ya need anything. I would hold off on summoning Bunta for a bit, he's still recoverin'."
The young sage gave a thumbs-up, flashing his signature smile. "No problem, Grandpa Sage."
Fukasaku peered up at the blond. "And Naruto?" The jinchūriki hummed, turning to the small toad as he spoke sincerely. "Get strong, but be careful." With that, Fukasaku wove through hand seals and slammed his webbed hand onto the ground. Naruto vanished in a plume of smoke.
When the smoke cleared, Naruto found himself back in his apartment. He removed his sunglasses, examining the state of the place. He turned to see Sasuke staring at him from the couch, a scroll in his lap.
"Uh, hey," Naruto said lamely.
Sasuke heaved a sigh through his nose. "Should I ask?"
The blond shrugged. "You can."
"Then I'm asking."
"Long story short, I got summoned to Mount Myōboku. Giant Gramps Sage wanted to talk to me," Naruto explained, taking a seat on the couch next to his roommate. Surprisingly, there were still ghosts of sunlight outside, though the sky had turned a deep purple. The first stars were peeking through the veil of twilight. Naruto distinctly remembered the sun having begun to set when he and Sasuke ate dinner. Time seemed to pass more slowly in the land of the toads. That, or his meeting with Gamamaru was shorter than he thought.
Sasuke hummed, turning his attention back to the scroll. "So you didn't fuck up whatever jutsu you were doing, after all," he said matter-of-factly.
Naruto snorted. "No, I didn't. That cloud of smoke from earlier was Grandpa Sage reverse summoning me."
"Makes sense. So, what did they talk to you about?"
The blond laced his fingers together behind his head and shrugged. "Oh, ya know, just some stuff."
"Spill, Uzumaki," Sasuke ordered, still not taking his eyes off the scroll. When he was met with silence, Sasuke turned to see his roommate with a far-off look in his eyes.
"A lot, actually." Naruto's tone carried the weight of his conversation with Gamamaru.
"Are you allowed to tell anyone?" Sasuke inquired.
Naruto let a tired sigh escape him. "He knew about my Rinnegan—Giant Gramps Sage, I mean."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow before shrugging, reaching for his cup of tea. "That's not too surprising. He's the Great Toad Sage, right? The really old one?"
Naruto nodded. "Funny thing about Giant Gramps Sage: he's really vague, and I mean really vague whenever he's telling you something important."
"Well, what'd he tell you?"
"He told me I'd meet an octopus, a cat, and a bug. Or was it a beetle? Yeah, it was a beetle. An octopus, a cat, and a beetle."
Sasuke's brow furrowed, his mouth shifting into a frown. "The hell's that supposed to mean?"
Naruto snorted. Unlacing his hands from behind his head, shrugging before slapping them onto his thighs. "Beats me. Like I said, The Geezer is vague."
"No kidding. What else did he tell you?"
The blond took a moment to choose his next words. "He told me I'd be fighting evil people."
"He didn't tell you who?"
"Nope. Just that I'd be fighting evil people."
It was Sasuke's turn to snort. "No offense to the Great Toad Sage, but even I could've told you that."
Naruto shrugged once more. "It's a prophecy, not a roadmap. At least, that's what I keep telling myself." He paused, hesitating about whether he should mention what else he had learned.
He took the leap, his voice barely above a whisper. "I…found out more about my eyes."
Sasuke blinked at his roommate and matched his whisper. "And…what'd you find out?"
Naruto leaned forward slightly, folding his hands in his lap while he twiddled his thumbs. "Well, I had a feeling they were important, but…" He took a deep breath, forcing his hands to sit still. "Turns out they're more important than I thought."
Sasuke let out his own sigh. "How important are we talking?"
Naruto studied his hands before turning to his roommate and pointing to one of his purple rippled eyes. "Apparently these things can either save the world or completely destroy it."
The statement hung in the air as the two young men stared at each other. Sasuke tried to find words to form a response, but they eluded him. Naruto sat and waited for his roommate to say something, anything. He deflated at the silence.
A long moment passed before Sasuke finally found his voice again. "I know for a fact you're not gonna destroy the world. You're the last person who would want that."
Naruto let out the breath he'd been holding. He debated on whether he should tell Sasuke about the seal. He'd told him about the prophecy, so talking about the seal couldn't hurt. Though, he'd have a bit of fun in doing so.
"Oh, yeah. I also swallowed a toad."
Sasuke nearly choked on the sip of tea he'd taken. His head snapped towards his roommate. "You fucking what?"
"You heard me. Swallowed a toad."
Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut, choosing his next words carefully. "Look, Naruto. I know everyone has their quirks, and is into different things, but that's—"
Naruto put his hands up in front of him, his face twisted into an incredulous expression. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on just a freaking second! It's not like I enjoyed it or anyth—"
"Oh no, he's in denial," Sasuke said to himself.
Naruto pointed at his roommate, fuming. "Listen to me, you stupid sack of tomatoes! I had no idea—zero—that I'd have to swallow a fucking toad! Secondly, the toad I swallowed had the—" He took a deep breath, lowering his finger and the volume of his voice. "He's a scroll toad. He had the key to the seal that's keeping the Nine-Tailed Fox inside of me."
Sasuke froze. "The…key? To your seal? But why?"
Another sigh escaped the blond jinchūriki. "I know I have the Rinnegan now, and I know I'm stronger than I was before. But I still need to get stronger if I'm going to protect everyone I care about. Learning to use the Nine-Tails' chakra is part of that." He turned to his roommate. "I'm the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, Sasuke. It's time I stopped trying to run away from that. If I can somehow learn to use the Fox's chakra without losing control, I'd be even stronger."
"I mean, I know what you mean. At least I think I do. But…that chakra is dangerous. Are you sure about this? The Rinnegan is one thing, but the Fox…" Sasuke's mouth drew into a tight line.
Naruto put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, his amethyst eyes looking directly into Sasuke's onyx ones, ablaze with determination. "I'm positive. It won't be now, but at some point, I will learn to use the Fox's chakra." Sasuke nodded, prompting the blond to release his shoulder.
"I think I'm gonna head to bed. It's been a day," he said as he rose to his feet, stifling a yawn. He made his way to his room. "Goodnight, Sasuke," he called back.
"Goodnight, Naruto," Sasuke responded, turning back to the scroll on his lap. He would turn in later, only after nearly falling asleep while reading through another scroll.
A/N: Ah, I do love writing interactions between Naruto and Sasuke. Did you catch the reference? I sure hope you did, because you get another cookie, if so. Please feel free to let me know if you would prefer the translation notes at the beginning or the end of the chapter. As always, thanks so much for reading! Chapter 14 is in the works!
