Chapter 7

"Damn it, they got reinforcements!" shouted the bandit leader. He was in his tent with others. His scout just brought back information about another Konoha team. It seems that this team was more into combat.

"M-Maybe we should cut our loses. How do we even know that this cave has any gold?" asked one of the bandits.

"It has to be here! It's on the map!" the leader shouted.

"So were the others! This could be just another waste of time!" the bandit shouted back. The two pulled out their weapons and glared at each other. They were ready to kill each other when a voice cut in.

"Man, I guess there's no honor among thieves." Everyone in tent turned in shock, seeing Naruto standing there. They all wondered how he even got in when they heard screaming from outside.

"Damn it!" the leader exclaimed. He looked at the teen and charged at him. Naruto just appeared behind him as the leader stopped short. His blood sprayed out of the wounds before he dropped to the ground dead. Naruto looked at the others with serious eyes, scaring them out of their minds. One bandit wet himself because he recognized who he was facing.

"N-Namikaze N-Naruto, the T-Tomerarenai Ken (Unstoppable Sword)." he muttered in fear. The other bandits also knew that name. There wasn't a bandit or nuke-kin (Missing Nin) who didn't know the name. The bandits immediately dropped their weapons and surrendered. Naruto nodded at the group.

"A wise decision." He said. A few moments later, Naruto led the captured men out where the other shinobi were cleaning up. Many of the bandits seem to take a hint and surrendered as well. Naruto walked then over to the group and sat them down. He would soon be joined by Hana and the triplets.

"So, they didn't give you a fight? What about the leader?" she asked.

"He wasn't willing to surrender like the others. He wasn't as scared of my name as they were." Naruto said and walked off. Hana just watched him walk away and couldn't help but notice the tone of his voice.

'Does he hate his moniker?' Hana thought. She just scratched behind the ears of one of her dogs.

XXX

It took four days for both teams to return to the village. The samurai came by to collect the bandits and take them to prison. After being thanked by the village, they made their way home. The leaders dismissed them to report to the Hokage, so that just left Naruto and Hana to roam around. Hana stretched her arms before facing Naruto.

"So, are you feeling any better? You kind of shut down since we took out that bandit camp." Hana said.

"I didn't know you cared about my well-being." Naruto mocked. "Don't worry about me. I earned that name while I was guarding Toshiyuki-dono and his family. My original jutsu is what it is. I guess I was hoping to not earn the name like how my father earned his, with death." Hana just looked at him and didn't like this dower Namikaze.

"How about I treat you to some ramen?" Hana asked.

"Why Inuzuka-san, are you asking me out? I'm flattered." Naruto said amused.

"Don't flatter yourself." Hana said with a scoff. The triplets seem to find this funny, making Hana glare at them. Naruto chuckled and was about to accept her offer when he saw someone standing in the middle of the street, causing him to stop. Hana noticed this and looked forward to see the last Uchiha. She watched as the two just stared at each other.

"It looks like I have a prior engagement. Going to have to take a rain check on the date." Naruto said and walked forward until he was standing in front of Sasuke. "So, do I follow you?" Sasuke didn't say anything and walked away. Naruto just followed while Hana looked confused.

XXX

Sasuke led Naruto to a training field. The two faced each other, neither saying anything to the other.

"So, are you going to attack me again?" Naruto asked.

"No, I'm not going to attack you again. I know that at my current level I won't even touch you." Sasuke admitted.

"That's humble of you. I didn't ever think that I would hear those words from a Uchiha. Okay then, why are we here?" he asked.

"I… want to apologize." Sasuke said. Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I thought that I was preserving my families' name and that you were trying to erase it. I was wrong and I am sorry." Sasuke said. Naruto could tell that this was sincere even if his face didn't show it.

"I understand and accept your apology. Still, that's not the only reason you seek me out."

"Yes, I am asking you again to train me so that I can avenge my clan." Naruto sighed at this.

"I figured that was the reason. Truth is, the way you are now, you'll never be able to face Itachi and win."

"My hate for him will give me the power to kill him. It will only grow stronger as I improve." Sasuke stated. Naruto raised an eyebrow at that.

"Your hate?" Naruto asked.

"He told me that I had to hate him. He told me that I had to hate him and that my hate had to grow in order to match him and gain the power that he had. It is my only path." Sasuke explained. Naruto blinked in surprise several times before bursting a gut in laughter. Sasuke growled at the blond for laughing at him. Naruto finally calmed down before looking at the angry Sasuke.

"You can be mad all you want but that has to be the funniest thing I've heard. I mean, you've got to realize that Itachi is playing you?" Naruto asked. Sasuke looked at him with shock.

"W-What?" he stuttered. Naruto looked at him with a little concern.

"Just think about this for one second Sasuke. Why would Itachi give you advise to defeat him right after wiping out your clan? Besides, while hate can be a powerful emotion, it can also blind you to truths that are in front of you." Naruto explained.

"No, that can't be right. He… He told me that hatred was the only way to get the same eyes as him." Sasuke said.

"Do you mean the Mangekyo Sharingan?" Sasuke looked at Naruto with surprise. "Don't be so surprised. Your father had the Mangekyo way before your brother ever got it."

"F-Father had the Mangekyo? You're being serious?" he asked. Naruto got a thoughtful expression.

"It was purely by accident that I even witnessed it. Scared the hell out of me, that power. It was otherworldly. However, he never used hate to gain it. He told me that he gained it when he watched a dear friend of his killed in front of him. He didn't go into detail due to clan secrets but Fugaku-sensei was a very strong shinobi. Ask any ninja who fought in the Third Shinobi World War about Kyogan Fugaku (Wicked Eye Fugaku). Getting back on topic, hatred isn't the only way to gain the Mangekyo. Itachi is messing with you."

Sasuke could only bow his head in shame. He couldn't believe that he had been played by his brother. It made him so angry that he balled up his fists.

"What… what should I do? I've only known one way since the death of my clan. All I know is hate. I don't think I can let that go." Sasuke said with a sad tone.

"I didn't think you could either. My advice, don't let the hate consume you. Hold it tight until it burns. When you close your eyes and think of your clan, only to have them taken away, you say no more. You say, no one will ever feel this way again. Never again Sasuke, not on your watch." Naruto said looking dead into Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke looked back, stunned but unmoving. A new type of fire appeared in his eyes. Naruto stood and patted Sasuke on the shoulder before leaving Sasuke alone with his thoughts. As he walked away, Naruto could only smile.

XXX

Danzo watch as Naruko took out her targets. Under his eyes and two of his 'Ne'. she used her tanto to cut down the training dummies. She was still too headstrong but at least she was improving. He kept his focus even when one of his men appeared.

"Report." Danzo said.

"Sasuke Uchiha continues his training and is rapidly improving. The strength of his Katon (Fire Release) has grown as has his other abilities since meeting with Namikaze two weeks ago. His attitude has also changed." The operative reported.

"In what way?" Danzo demanded.

"It is as if he is no longer… arrogant. During a spar, he defeated his opponent. Usually he would just ignore them and leave them on the ground but he helped his opponent up to his feet. He also willingly used the Wakai no In (Seal of Reconciliation) rather than being told to. It has confused many." Danzo was thinking about what was just said to him. He wondered what was said between the boy and Naruto. It must have been something if it caused such a dramatic change in attitude.

"Keep watching the last Uchiha and report any other changes." Danzo said. The ninja nodded and vanished. Danzo turned his attention back to Naruko but his mind was elsewhere. He did not know what this change meant but he did not like it.

XXX

Sasuke was eating his lunch, alone as usual. It had been two weeks since his talk with Naruto. He hadn't changed his opinion on revenge but he would no longer let hate consume him. He was going to avenge his clan and he was going to do it his way, not Itachi's. Naruto's words really got through to him and he had been a fool to listen to his brother. He was only getting weaker, not stronger, and he refused to be his puppet any longer.

He stopped focusing on learning powerful jutsu and worked on improving what he already knew. He still did the ryu no kokyu (dragon breathing) exercise and the Leaf Concentration Practice to improve his chakra, plus his thoughts. He practiced his taijutsu and every technique that he already knew. He also started to look into learning new jutsu, other than Katon. Even in the academy, he paid a bit more attention. It really surprised everyone.

Sasuke was about to take another bite when someone caught his attention. He looked down to see a small white puppy. The two stared at each other for what seemed like minutes. Sasuke noticed that the puppy would take a glance at a piece of his chicken. He looked at the puppy, then at the chicken and back at the puppy. He gave him a neutral look before taking a piece of the chicken and tossing it. The puppy snapped it up in mid-air and happily ate it.

"You like that huh? Dog boy not feeding you enough?" Sasuke asked. The puppy just barked at him as if he was talking to him. Sasuke just scoffed before tossing him another piece of chicken. The puppy caught that piece too before trotting off. Sasuke ate the rest of his lunch in peace. After a while, the instructor told everyone to come in and Sasuke followed the class in when he stopped and looked around him. He narrowed his eyes as he did. Someone was watching him; he could feel it.

"Hey Sasuke!" a voice called out. Sasuke turned to the voice to see Kiba Inuzuka with his puppy. Sasuke quickly turned back to search only to have that feeling disappear. Sasuke looked annoyed and made his way into the school, ignoring Kiba and his dog.

"Geez, what's wrong with him?" Kiba asked annoyed. That's when he heard the puppy bark loudly. "What's got you going Akamaru?" The puppy continued to bark, confusing Kiba. "Ninja? What ninja?"

XXX

Sasuke was packing up his stuff when he was approached by Kiba again. He wondered what he wanted this time.

"If you're here to annoy me about your mutt, then you should feed him more." Sasuke said.

"Please, Akamaru gets fed. He's just greedy. You think you're the first guy he's begged to?" Kiba said with a tone.

"Is there a reason for this?" Sasuke demanded.

"And they think you've changed." Kiba scoffed. "Anyway, what's with that ninja that was near where you were eating? You got a bodyguard or something now?"

"Bodyguard? I don't have a bodyguard. Never had." Sasuke informed him. Kiba looked at him with confusion.

"You sure? Akamaru smelled someone he didn't recognized that was near you. I figured you knew about him." Kiba explained. Sasuke was immediately alarmed. His feeling was right on the money. He was being watched. Iruka Umino noticed the two standing there and was curious.

"Hey you two, did you need something?" he asked. When he saw the looks on the boys, he knew things were about to get very complicated.

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