Author's Note: So a lot happened on my last chapter, and it was a big one to boot. This chapter may not be as long, but it will definitely hold a lot of surprises for you, this all I promise. I got some big things coming, so please enjoy this and leave a review!
"Is that everything?" Tsuande was sitting in her chair, it had been a crazy 48 hours, she still couldn't believe it had happened.
The man sighed as his hand itched to grab a cigarette, "From what I understand yea, though of course a lot of the informationI have are from my clones so there can still be a lot of missed context but that's the gist of it." The man was annoyed he returned to the village yesterday morning, but Tsunade personally went into surgery to help everyone who had been hurt on the mission. He had been stuck waiting for her to show up to give his report, though after he saw the face that his kage made when he brought in Naruto he could understand. Everyone was in bad condition, but Naruto's heart was severed, even with the field help he had gotten it's still a miracle the child survived. Had it been anyone else, the jounin knew that they would be dead on the spot, had it not been for who the boy is and what he is, he would have been dead the second his clone left with the boy.
There was also Zabuza, his clone watched what the medics did, and to say it was gruesome was an understatement. All three were covered in blood by the time they got back, it was like they took a bath in the sticky liquid. Rai and Sachi, as he learned the names of the other two medics with Shizune, were thankful that they were able to help. Honestly it was dumb luck that those three medics came along with Shizune, had they not Naruto would never had made it, neither would Zabuza. Rock Lee, he was still in good condition, but his sensei Might Gai was beyond distressed that the boy was as badly hurt as he was. Thankfully none of the damage was extensive.
Neji Hyuga was another story though, from what he was told the boy was brought to the village and was pulseless by the time he had gotten back. Tsunade went to personally assist the boy, they were able to bring back the boy from the brink of death but the boy still had a lot of damage. But he wouldn't be working for a while, the Hyuga was going to need a lot of rehabilitation, so would Lee but they would both be fine. Haku was the least damaged of the three, she had more chakra exhaustion than any other real problems.
Than there was Shikamaru and Kiba, Kiba had nothing happen to him, he wasn't even exhausted, Shikamaru was stabbed, but nothing major was chut, it was a clean wound. He was fine just needed to let it heal naturally, Tsuande still fixed the boy up so she could get a report from him. Shikamaru figured out what Naruto was too, and Tsuande made him promise not to tell anyone, and that included Naruto. It was up to Naruto to say something to him first. Shikamaru didn't care either which way honestly, because having known the boy personally he knew Naruto was a good guy.
Tsunade personally helped Naruto the minute she heard he was in the hospital, Shizune, Rai and Sachi were required to be in the OR with her to give a report while the Sannin worked on the small blond boy. The Kage was honestly surprised at what the three ninjas were able to do. The boy's life wasn't even in danger anymore, but she was still able to do a lot. The kyuubi had helped in the healing process, she could tell but by the time she started to operate the Kyuubi's chakra wasn't even in the boy's system meaning the fox wasn't helping the healing process for whatever reason. Tsuande didn't mind though, her prodigy and her teammates did all the hard work, she reinforced it and Naruto was fine, now it was a matter of him just waking up.
Zabuza was just as bad off as Naruto, worse so due to the missing organs and blood lose, how he was still alive blew Tsuande's mind. She was able to fix the components of the man's arm that weren't fully healed and made sure that Zabuza would be able to keep the limb, even if he would need more physical therapy than anyone else. The organ's though she was at a loss, if she couldn't get him a new kidney the man wouldn't be able to stay a ninja. The trauma alone from having it ripped out was intensive, the body was demanding a replacement and she needed to find a donor or else she was going to lose a good shinobi.
The man was being kept on life support, Tsuande pulled her mind away from the hospital setting though and focused back onto Asuma in front of her. "How was Sasuke when you found him?" She asked the man, there better at least be good news out of this mess or else she would personally hunt down her teammate and end him for good.
"He was fine, his curse mark had another edition to it, it looks like another seal was added on top of it. If I were you I'd get Jiraiya-sama, or Arashi-san to look at it. He was just exhausted, something seemed to bother him he barely said a word, he's sleeping right now on the couch in your other waiting room, an Anbu offered to watch him for me." Asuma said, Tsuande sighed, at least something good came out of this, she just hoped everyone pulled through. She would send a letter to Jiraiya asking the man to come back early, hopefully he's met with all of his important contacts.
"Thank you Asuma, take the next couple of days off and go relax, your money will be added to your bank for an A rank mission by the time you get home. Go relax, I'll go see Sasuke right now" Tsuande said as she got up, what she really wanted to do was have a drink, but she knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. She headed over to the private waiting room, the Anbu snapped up to the door, as soon as he saw his kage he bowed and disappeared into the shadows. The Kage walked over to the young boy, taking a seat next to him she carefully woke him up. The Uchiha stirred slowly, blinking his eyes as he looked up, trying not to blush at the giant bust that was by his face. Sasuke sat up as he looked at his hokage getting rid of the thoughts that initially invaded his mind.
"Hokage-sama" Sasuke said trying to be polite.
"Hey, how're you feeling? I know it's been kind of crazy after you got kidnapped. Kakashi told me how they somehow got you over with a genjutsu to get you to go with them. The man is going to be okay though, he's healing in the hospital right now but he's doing better I was able to help save him before I sent everyone out to retrieve you. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if Orochimaru got you." Tsuande said, trying to be sincere to the boy. He had been through a lot just like everyone else. "All I need from you is your side of the story to get all the information together." Tsunade told the boy as the young Uchiha nodded.
"I arrived after Kakashi had taken out the first enemy, he used some kind of weird black fire that killed the man. I jumped in stopping an attack from the one named Suigetsu that almost got Kakashi-sensei and kicked the man back. I went to attack again but the boy talked to me, and it was weird, I don't know why but his words flowed to me and before I knew it, I was outside the village gates. I'm not completely sure what happened" Sasuke burrowed his eyebrows trying to act confused, his Sensei saved him and he now owed the man more than his life. He would repay the man somehow, for now he needed to talk with him alone. Tsuande could tell that the boy was trying to remember all the events, and waited to let the boy continue.
Sasuke took a breath, "The ninja made me take a pill, saying it would kill me to make me stronger, after I had taken the pill they put me in this barrel and sealed the lid shut I blacked out for god knows how long. When I came to the seal had broken and I pushed the lid off. I saw Naruto fighting someone and was confused at what was going on. Then I remember watching Kakashi get stabbed and everything hit me and I just ran. Just before reaching the valley of end I felt the seal trying to take over, I tried to suppress it, I didn't want to give in to Orochimaru's influence. It was so painful, my blood felt like it was on fire, and it felt like I was also being stabbed. I was trying to control it when Naruto came upon me, than he did something he said it would help me and whenI woke up Naruto was covered in that terrifying Chakra and fighting Kabuto. I distracted Kabuto enough for Naruto to keep fighting, but as soon as I hit the water I blacked out again, I fell from the top of the cliff and landed back first on the water." Sasuke said before stopping to think again. "I don't know when I came to, but I was with Asuma-sensei and now I'm here" Sasuke told the women.
Tsuande nodded her head before asking, "When you saw Naruto fighting Kabuto, what do you mean terrifying chakra?"
"It was like a red coat of chakra with what looked like two tails behind him. His face looked more feral, his whiskers more pronounced, his teeth were more canine like and his fingernails were longer and sharper like a wolf or a fox." Sasuke said remembering seeing his friend like that.
"Thank you Sasuke, go to the hospital now, get admitted if you think you need medical services, if not go check on everyone who went to save you" Tsuande pulled out a sheet of paper. "This is everyone who was sent out" she said as Sasuke took the paper reading over the names of his peers. He was scared because he remembered Guren and how she was and he hoped everyone was okay.
"Thank you Hokage-sama" Sasuke said as he sat there for a moment more looking at the list of names. Tsunade got up to leave, but was stopped by the boy, "How… How is Naruto? I didn't get to see him after I passed out again" the worry in the boy's voice made the Hokage's heart soften a bit.
"If I'm being honest, he should be dead right now" Sasuke felt the air leave his throat as his arms started to shake thinking about the dobe being dead. "But thankfully my prodige Shizune was in the field with two good teammates of hers and they were able to save him." Sasuke visible calmed down hearing this, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. "You're lucky Asuma rushed him back and Shizune met him in time" Tsuande said before leaving the boy to his own devices.
Sasuke knew what he had to do now, it was time to stop letting his past with Itachi control him. After everything that just happened he knew that it was time to change for the better, Sasuke stood up and left the building with two important goals in mind for the day. For now he had to get to the hospital.
Sakura was with Kakashi when she heard that Naruto had finally gotten his own room. She was given the details of the mission from Tsuande when she had left to find the Kage. Tsuande was never late for their training sessions and when she found her at the hospital with he sensei she decided to give the older man company. When she came back the next morning she heard that everyone had come back, she didn't get any straight facts but she heard that Naruto was found dead. Her heart broke hearing this until she heard from Shizune-sensei that Tsunade was with the boy and he would be fine. When she got word that her teammate had a room now and was finally admitted she left her sensei to go see the boy. Well first she left to go get him ramen from his favorite place.
She was now getting to his room holding the food, she knew her teammate and figured by now he would be up and about trying to escape. She walked into the room and was surprised to see the boy was still asleep. She set the food down and sat next to the boy, she grabbed his hand to hold it, feeling bad about what happened. Naruto didn't deserve any of what happened to him, he really was a good guy, hell he got the hokage to help him.
A Knock at the door broke her thoughts as she turned around to see Hinata at the door. Sakura's eyes went wide, "Hinata! What are you doing out of bed? I didn't even know you were awake" The pink haired kunoichi said to her friend who was holding her IV and was still in her hospital gown.
"Hey Sakura-san, I woke up last night, I was approached by a couple of doctors who told me what all happened, and then this morning I heard that Naruto was in the hospital, I used my byakugan and saw him in this room. So I came here to see him" She said as she walked over sitting next to Sakura. "If I may ask Sakura-san, what happened?" Hinata asked trying to understand.
"I don't know all the details but from what I heard Naruto was technically dead before he got helped from Shizune and Tsunade-sama" Sakura said, before adding, "Oh yea! Tsunade Senju is now the hokage, she took over for the third who passed on the title to her." Sakura said as Hinata just continued to look at her crush.
Hinata grabbed the hand that Sakura had been let go of, Sakura could see the pain in the girls eyes. They all just wanted the boy to be better, Sakura had already had her breakdown when she heard everything and was handling better now. Hinata was still being hit with a lot of things, plus she was still healing. "Naruto was promoted to Chunin by Tsuande-sama along with a couple other people." Hinata smiled when she heard this, Sakura was glad she was happy for the boy, "I've been training under Tsunade-taicho too, she's training me to be a medic and to learn to fight better" Sakura said which caught the girls attention.
"That's amazing Sakura-san" Hinata bit her lip trying to think about what to say next, "Is… Is Naruto-kun going to be okay" Hinata asked needing to know.
"Yes he is, Tsunade-sama wouldn't let him die on us, plus you hear Naruto, he won't die until he's Hokage." Sakura said, getting a chuckle out of the pale girl whose eyes never left Naruto's still form.
The door suddenly slammed opened as both girls turned around to see Sasuke there. Saukra's eyes went wide seeing the boy. Sakura stood up to say something, but before she could Sasuke stormed up to the girl and kissed her. Sakura just stood there, frozen to the spot while Hinata gasped at the suddenness of the situation. Sasuke pulled back looking at the girl, he then noticed that Hinata was in the room and cursed himself for not seeing sooner. His eyes went back to Sakura half a second later she was just staring at him.
Sakura wanted to say something but her mind wouldn't process thoughts right. She had a million different things running through her mind, "I'm tired of living in the past and living only for vengeance. I won't lie Naruto has saved me in a way, and when we all got on a team together I initially hated you, but I grew to grow more and more fond of you." Sasuke stopped talking to think about what he wanted to say next. "I don't know when It happened, but every time I saw you I got excited and just… I'm done being the bad guy" Sasuke said being completely honest.
Hinata watching felt really awkward right now, this wasn't something she should be apart of but it's not like she could leave. They were blocking the doorway and she was too weak to move gracefully.
"Naruto almost died because of me, I was too weak to do what I needed, the people who kidnapped me said they were thinking about coming after you if they needed to in order to get me and that's when I realized I did care about you. I'm not going to lie, and I'm not going to hide it. I'm not good with ffelings" Sasuke stopped to think, it was obvious that he wasn't good at expressing his feelings, he was struggling pretty bad to get his words out. "I'm not going to be the best, and I'm trying to change, and even I know that I'm changing but there's still a lot more for me to go to." Sasuke stopped not sure what more to say, he had the words but he didn't know how to properly articulate himself. He just wanted to scream 'I'm a fucking mess, but I love you' but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get the words out.
Sakura grabbed Sasuke's hand, "I'm not going anywhere, I want to be by your side" She said as she pulled the boy close to her. She wrapped her arms around him, Sasuke started to shake a little, he didn't realize how much he missed physical contact like this. Hell the last person to hug him was his mother.
"It's my fault Naruto almost died… I just want to apologize to him" Sasuke said as he held his eyes closed remembering the pain he felt when the boy came unto him to help stop the pain. Naruto has only ever helped him and he did nothing for it, though he saw Naruto as a brother. Sasuke's eyes were closed tight as a single tear fell down his cheek, Sakura trying to sooth him. He opened his eyes and Hinata let out a gasp, pulling everyone's attention to the girl.
"S-sasuke-kun, y-your eyes" the girl was mesmerized and terrified at what she saw. The boy was confused but Sakura gasped as well when she saw the boys eyes.
"Sasuke your Sharingan! It's…. It's beautiful" Sakura said staring at the boy. Meanwhile Sasuke felt himself getting weak already, he felt like his sharingan was pulling a lot more chakra than usual.
Sasuke took out a Kunai and looked at his eyes and almost dropped the weapon as he saw the change in his eyes, Itachi's words echoing in his mind. 'Don't come for me until your eyes are the same as mine...' Sasuke couldn't help but think he could stand a chance against his brother, until he felt a stinging pain in his eyes and he had to cut off the chakra.
As soon as his eyes returned to normal he shook himself, this wasn't the time to be thinking about his brother, from this day forward he was turning a new leaf. "Ignore it, it was nothing" Sasuke said before either girl could question what had just happened. Hinata took this opportunity to excuse herself and go back to her room, meanwhile Sasuke and Sakura went to sit by Naruto until Sakura had fallen asleep on Sasuke.
Sasuke watched as the sun set, it was oddly calming after what happened, Sakura was sound asleep on his arm and he wasn't going to move her either, he like her right there. Looking up at Naruto's sleeping form he couldn't help but speak aloud. "It's crazy to think I've always hated you openly, but in reality I've done nothing but respect you and look up to you" Sasuke stopped, he knew he could never admit this but with everyone asleep he could say it. "Every since the first time you kicked my ass, I wanted nothing more than to prove myself better than you. You were always a nobody, you were clanless, I was supposed to be a prodigy. But you have always been leagues above me, but don't think I won't catch up to you. Because one day you'll see who's truly the better of the two of us" Sasuke stated until he heard a snicker his eyes looking up at Naruto's form.
"So you can admit I'm better than you huh" The boy said as he slowly opened his eyes, draping his arm over his face to stop the sun from blinding him.
"You weren't supposed to be awake" Sasuke said, sounding annoyed but happy his friend was okay.
"I couldn't sleep with you crying your heart out to me like that, I just had to respond" Naruto said as he sat up in the bed looking at the boy, than seeing Sakura sleeping on him. Naruto grew a sly grin at the sight, Sasuke's checks showed a small tinge of red.
"Don't say a damn word dobe."
"You're never going to live it down" Naruto gave a small sigh as he smiled. "Just stay happy, you need it. You've been fighting that darkness in you for too long, just don't hurt her or I'll have to hurt you" Sasuke grinned at this.
"Psh, you wish you could hurt me dobe. There's nothing to worry about though I won't let anyone hurt her she's mine and mine alone" Sasuke said letting the possessiveness in his tone show thoroughly. Sasuke's face fell though, "Thank you for saving me Naruto" the boy said surprising the boy. "If you didn't show up when you did I would have given in to the whispers of evil. The power that Orochimaru gave me would have changed me and I don't even want to think about what I would have become" Sasuke said, Naruto's face more serious as he listened to his friend.
"I couldn't just quit on you, you are my friend" Naruto said with a cheeky smile.
"What was that though? That power you used, it was so strong. How did you get such a power?" Sasuke asked. Naruto sighed he needed to explain better to his friend.
"I'm the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko, I've shown you this and we've talked about it, this is what it's like when I use his power" Naruto stated Sasuke's eyes narrowing. "I have control of the power, don't worry, I wouldn't have used it if I didn't. It's why Jiraiya-sama is my teacher, he's helping make sure I never lose control."
Sasuke nodded understanding now, "It all makes sense now, that's why you change whenever you face someone leagues above us." Sasuke smirked, "Don't worry though Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei are going to make me stronger than you" Naruto's face frowned for half a second, Sasuke luckily didn't see it. Naruto knew what actually happened, he just hopped it never happened again. Because if it did he would single handedly kill the boy.
"Just make sure you get stronger while I'm gone. Because Jiraiya and I are leaving, and I don't know when we'll return. When I get back, you better be on my level or else this training will have been for nothing. I want to see how much stronger you get" Naruto said as Sasuke nodded, "Now wake up Sakura and get out of here. And be sure to send Hinata back here if she's able to get up, I could sense her earlier. I need to see her before I leave if need be I'll visit her if she doesn't come back" Naruto stated as his friend just nodded. Naruto lied back down closing his eyes.
Sasuke woke up Sakura, the girl was slow to stir, and initially 'eeped' as she realized how close she was to the boy before the memories of early that day hit her. 'Shannaro! We finally beat that Ino-pig and got Sasuke-kun all to ourselves!' Inner Sakura said as the girl just blushed and smiled. "Come on Sakura, we need to go" Sasuke said as the girl nodded. "Naruto woke up for a moment, he wants Hinata back here if at all possible," the boy said as the two got up.
"I'll go get her, wait for me outside okay?" Sakura asked hoping the boy would do as she asked. Sasuke smiled and agreed as the two split ways at the doorway.
"Naruto-kun" Hinata said as she knocked on the door walking in once more. Naruto opened his eyes as he saw the girl walk in.
"Hey hime" the boy said as she smiled and sat next to him. "There is something you need to know" Naruto stated as he sat up confusing the girl. He faced her, legs hanging off the ledge "I'm leaving with Jiraiya-sama for training soon and I don't know how long I will be gone for." Naruto said, the girls eyes went wide for a moment before she lowered her head. It was obvious that she was sad, she didn't want him to leave. Naruto tipped the girl's chin up and kissed her, Hinata did all she could to not faint, her face matching that of a tomato.
"N-n-n-n-n-n" she couldn't get his name out, she kept stuttering. She didn't even know how she was still conscious, but she couldn't stop stuttering.
"I love you, and I want you to know I want to be with you, just wait a little while longer. When I come back there will be nothing to worry about, I will come back to you. I just want you to know it will be a while, I'm sorry" Naruto told the girl, she didn't realize she was holding his hand until she felt how hard she was squeezing.
Hinata couldn't get the words out but she shook her head, this all felt like a dream to her she couldn't believe it. Naruto actually loved her, and even said it, he even kissed her! Naruto got out of bed and picked the girl up as she made an 'eep' sound. "Let's get you back to your room, you need to finish healing up. Neji was hurt and so were a few other people recently, they're going to need you while they get better." Hinata was doing all she could to just listen to the boy and stay awake. She rested her head against the boys chest loving the sound of his heartbeat, as Naruto kept talking. She wasn't listening though, before long she was back in her room and in her bed.
"I'm sorry Hinata-hime, but I must be going now" Naruto said snapping the girls thoughts back to the boy. Naruto kissed her once more before he left, he had a certain sannin, with that thought in mind he jumped out of the hospital room window, 30 flights above ground level. This time no one was going to stop him, and he would put an end to Akatsuki and Obito before it was too late.
Author's Note: How's it going guys? It feels good to know that I've been a lot better being able to upload a lot more after not having been able to upload like this since I started the story. I finally have my life sitting pretty with everything I need, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I won't be able to upload again until the New Year at the earliest, so I hope you all have a good christmas, or enjoy whatever holiday you celebrate if you celebrate a holiday this time of year. Ja ne!