Naruto was looking at a mirror, wondering why his reflection looked so- different. It had his facial structure and hair and eye color, but its eyes somehow looked more- vibrant, making the rest of the face look much younger.

Then, the reflection talked, saying, "Why? When?"

Scratching his head, Naruto said, "What are you asking?"

The reflection somehow got bigger, as if it were getting closer, without Naruto himself moving. It said, "Why and when did you lose sight?"

"Lost- what? Make some sense, damn it!" Naruto said, starting to become frustrated.

The reflection paused, then said, "We were so bright as a kid, so open, so- full of life! We still could be. Why do you reject me?"

That made Naruto shiver. Despite himself, he started saying words that felt right, even though he didn't quite understand them. "I don't need you. It's nice to be a child, to be protected from reality by others, but I can't afford to have you with me anymore," Naruto told the reflection, "who even are you anyway?"

The reflection paused, then looked Naruto in the eyes, its own reminding him of the beach he had gone to on a trip once with his orphanage, in their green edges and dark blue depths. It said, "I am Da- no, not quite fitting. You may know me as Light Naruto. Hopefully, you will realize that yes, you can have it both ways, before you completely lose yourself."

Groggy, Naruto stumbled into the toilet, a bit bothered by what he could remember of his dream.


Biwako had asked something a bit unexpected, surprising Naruto. "So, everything?" He said, just to confirm.

"Yes, everything," Biwako said, her twitching pinky finger telling Naruto that she was in a foul mood, "everything that isn't bolted down and some that is, including the lake."

Not willing to object to that despite his confusion, Naruto sent clones to team up with Biwako's own, working together to find anything of value left in the Uchiha District discreetly, then send them to Katsuyu via Reverse Summoning seals.

She had even asked him to take the lake with them too, but Naruto had already noticed that sealing water from the lake into his jar didn't manage much, since it tended to lose its potency over time.

In the end, Naruto used a particular jutsu, derivative of Wind Style: Air Filter, made into this one in the process of learning the Water Prison jutsu, Water Style: Air Filter, to investigate.

Unfortunately, the mystery of the source of the strange water of the lake wasn't easily solved. He and some of his clones had stayed underwater for over an hour thanks to his jutsu – even Biwako had joined him, and nothing-

(…There are traces of Chakra where they have no business being; maybe I should send the boss these memories.)

Naruto twitched as his brain absorbed the memories from a Shadow Clone, then swam towards where he thought his clone had been.

After a bit of looking, Naruto found something that looked like a normal rock, if not for the way it was glowing and the fact it vibrated in a similar way to hearts. He flared his Chakra in a way that would signal Biwako's eyes and in the meantime, Naruto examined the rock with his Chakra sense.

It felt like- it felt like power. There was no other way to describe the vibes it gave off, and for some reason, Naruto had been unable to sense it until nearly on top of it. More than that, that power felt water-aligned in a way irrelevant to the place it was in.

'No, that's not exactly true,' Naruto thought to himself, 'it's like this is the reason the lake exists and is so strange.'

Biwako went up to the glowing rock and checked it out for several long seconds. Then, she used a kunai to chip at the normal rock around it. Unfortunately, it ended up doing nothing, even after what felt like hours of attempts.

Obviously frustrated, Biwako started hitting the glowing rock itself, though she did so with her bare hand. Naruto noticed that she was starting to split open her skin-

The glowing rock came free, floating around and pulsing as if to mock them.


"Naruto," Mito said, her lips in a pout, "can I please live with you for a while? I got into a fight, and now Chōji won't talk to me and I refuse to talk to his uncle and dad!"

"What happened?" Naruto asked back, a bit worried.

"That bastard Ebisu went tattling, and Chōza-san's brother filled Chōji's head with lies! I can't believe they would say- anyway, is there anywhere I can sleep?" Mito said, gritting her teeth, then going back to a pout.

"I live in the Uchiha district with Biwako – have you forgotten?" Naruto said, "if you wanna ask her-"

"No, no, that's fine!" Mito said, a grimace on her face, "I'll find somewhere else."

Naruto thought it over a bit, then said, "Aren't there any properties of the Uzumaki clan's, or maybe Dad's, around?"

Mito shook her head, then paused, then said, "I'll ask around. Thanks for the idea, Naruto!" And left, running.

Naruto shook his head at how hyperactive Mito was; just like Naruto had been before meeting Iruka. Something nagged at Naruto like a half-remembered dream. 'Oh, I haven't seen Iruka-sensei for a while,' Naruto thought to himself, 'I'll ask after him!'

Over an hour later, Naruto had managed to track down Mizuki's Chakra in an isolated clearing inside the forests of Konoha, having sneaked out of the village proper without any trouble. Unfortunately, those at the Academy had either shooed Naruto away or hadn't known, and it was probably better that Maifa hadn't been there.

As Naruto got closer, he realized Mizuki wasn't alone. The other person was female, her Chakra suppressed, but its refinement told Naruto she was probably a Jounin and its qualities told him she was in her late teens… not to mention, possibly an elemental Bloodline holder too.

Thinking over what to do, Naruto made two Wood Clones, carefully, then turned one of them into a spore, like he had practiced after he had seen Yamato do it.


Naruto was watching and listening to Mizuki and the girl he was talking to. The information Naruto had for the boss was a veritable gold mine! Apparently, the girl -Guren- was one of Orochimaru's servants and Mizuki had agreed to do- something for her and, by extension, Orochimaru.

As Mizuki was leaving, Guren's Chakra spiked, giving Naruto a split-second of warning, which he used to toss the Spore Clone away, then dispel himself explosively, sending the memories to the boss without betraying their identity and Bloodline Limit.


Naruto was reeling over what he had just found out. Mizuki's lack of loyalty to Konoha wasn't surprising; the fact he had the balls to act directly and the identity of his benefactor, though, had definitely surprised Naruto.

Those crystals the girl had attacked Naruto's clone with were probably her Bloodline Limit, and Naruto was thankful to his spore-clone for getting that information, as well as Mizuki's target, from watching that Guren girl.

'She should have thought of the possibility of more than one spy. Well, her loss, my gain,' Naruto thought to himself, 'maybe I'll be able to get my hands on the Scroll of Seals now.'

Back to Iruka, Naruto hadn't been able to find out where the man was, but- wait. Was that his Chakra in the hospital? How had Naruto missed it?

When he arrived at the reception, the nurse on duty there had her nose buried in a book.

"Where's Umino Iruka's room?" Naruto asked.

Without lifting her head, she said, "Room 212, kid, two staircases up. Evening visiting hours are from 1630 until 1930 hours-"

Immediately setting out for that room, Naruto didn't even bother with thanking the woman, nor listening to any of the rules of that shitty, disorganized mess of a hospital.

When Naruto reached room 212, he noticed that Iruka's Chakra was spiking in patterns similar to people who had just woken up from a light coma. He itched to hug Iruka, but he held himself back. "Iruka-sensei," Naruto said, "what happened? Did you get hurt?"

"Hey, Naruto," the man said, his words coming out- flat, somehow. Lifeless.

Naruto twisted his Chakra in the way he usually did to sense others'. In truth, as he had realized, it was less about molding Yin and Yang together and more the opposite, though molding allowed him to sense too, less effectively. Iruka's Chakra was a mess, especially around his head, similarly to someone who had been attacked by overpowered Genjutsu. Unfortunately, that left way too many possible culprits.

Iruka said, "Were you aware, Naruto?" His voice mild.

That stopped Naruto short. He looked at Iruka, but there were no clues to be found on his face.

"I thought not," Iruka said, again in a mild, conversational tone. "You see, before you arrived at the Academy, I dreaded having to teach you, but I changed my mind completely very quickly. Too quickly, one might say…."

Naruto's mind had started connecting dots, and he didn't like the picture that was forming.

Continuing in the same vein, Iruka said, "You wouldn't happen to know who was at fault for that, would you? A secret admirer who has a knack for mind-altering Genjutsu, has known me since the time you started at the Academy or earlier and-"

Naruto's Chakra was less like the tide and more like a tsunami about to cover an entire coastline and beyond, almost out of his control. "I'll kill her," he whispered, making a promise in his mind that he would make it slow and painful.

"Oh? So, you have an idea who it was?" Iruka said, his voice also a whisper, "there is nobody around with that much expertise in Genjutsu. That begs the question-"

"Not Genjutsu. Hiden jutsu, of the Yamanaka, if it's who I think," Naruto said, shaking a little bit in his fury.

Iruka raised his eyebrows, then furrowed them in thought. Naruto decided to at least be truthful with him about that, so he said, "Do you remember Ami, Mizuki and an incident with both of them and me?"

Iruka scratched his head. He said, "I don't think I was there- wait. Mizuki and Ami started acting different at some point. That was… around the same time, wasn't it?"

Naruto nodded, recounting how Yamanaka Maifa had done- something to Ami's and Mizuki's mind; how, from then on, neither of them seemed to remember what had happened, with Ami's broken arm being blamed on some sort of accident.

"You do realize there needs to be some sort of inquiry, don't you?" Iruka said, and for some reason, it sounded very ominous.

Crap!

Naruto managed to dodge and counter, his training taking over. All had gone well, though the ANBU whose torso Naruto had impaled using his staff and Wind Style Chakra would probably beg to differ.

Knowing that the ANBU didn't mess around and never worked alone, Naruto used some water from his special jar, encasing himself in a Water Prison, and not a moment too soon! What sounded like exploding tags and something that felt like an overpowered or combination jutsu slammed into the Water Prison, making it shake and heat up. Who knows what kind of jutsu the ANBU will use next.

Naruto did a small sequence of hand-seals, using the hardened water in his jutsu to start another. "Sensatsu Suishō (Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death)," Naruto said, calling out the jutsu out loud to increase his concentration, to make sure it would work as intended and not get Iruka.

The scene of devastation and ripped apart bodies that greeted Naruto barely moved him, a Substitution jutsu making sure he wouldn't get caught up in the single living team member's retaliation. 'Mass Shadow Clone jutsu.' A Shadow Clone of fifteen got Iruka out of the way, who was cursing 'idiot ANBU who attack first and ask questions never' in very- graphic and creative ways. Another kept the ANBU busy.

Naruto's thoughts were racing. 'Was Iruka-sensei in on this?' He thought to himself, not shaking the least bit, but still feeling like the world was shaking around him, still hearing a buzz in his ears, still ready to lash out. He did a few gestures in front of his Shadow Clones, barely noting that they had already gotten just as furious.

'Might as well cause as much damage as I possibly can, if I'm leaving Konoha like this,' Naruto thought to himself, knowing that killing those ANBU was the point of no return.

True to their orders, his Shadow Clones started attacking medic-nins and injured ninjas alike with lethal force, resorting to Chō Bunshin Daibakuha (Super Clone Explosion) whenever they had to face a serious threat like a conscious Jounin. They also sent any medical supplies and equipment they found to Katsuyu's forest if they could, and destroyed the rest.

Of course, Naruto made sure to get out of there with the Reverse Summoning jutsu and meet up with Biwako, escaping being beheaded by the single remaining ANBU thanks to the same clone that had protected Iruka, the tears that were going down his cheeks disregarded for more pressing things.


Biwako was getting more and more frustrated – the gulf between her abilities and Naruto's was growing instead of shrinking. She had started out with much more Chakra than him, but at this point, Naruto had over twice the Chakra available that she did, and better Chakra Control, to boot!

After the mission to the Land of Sound, Naruto had made sure to get his Chakra under control, with Mito's seals making things harder to get him used to difficult occasions, and had gotten the jutsu stopping Shukaku to be way more efficient than before -not to mention a straight increase in his Chakra capacity and reserves- resulting in serious increases in his staying power. His movement speed had improved and so had his reaction time, his combat sense and his- well, everything.

On the other hand, Biwako might have gotten too reliant on having multiple teachers, that with Shizune distancing herself, Tsunade focusing on Naruto only and Takamichi being busy with- something, she was languishing.

'It's decided,' Biwako thought to herself, 'I'll find a way to improve, on my own! For now, at least.'

After doing her usual late afternoon physical training for an hour and a half, Biwako thought over how she would proceed, sweat running down her face. She needed a trump card that could face up to a Bijuu. Ironically, Naruto had both a Bijuu and such a trump card, so her Sharingan wasn't going to be enough to compare.

Other than the First Hokage and that guy, as in Madara, Biwako couldn't think of anyone who could win against a Bijuu single-handedly, other than- well, the Third Raikage….

Wait. Could it be that simple? Mom's scroll with information for Hell Stab and the Raiton Chakra Mode; the one that helped me make Hell Senbon, Hell Current, Hell Sharp Spear and more….

A new direction found for her training, Biwako started turning her Chakra into Lightning-natured without hand-seals repeatedly, trying to refine the process more. Once she was somewhat satisfied with her progress, over half an hour later, she made two Shadow Clones, because she knew that trying to imbue her nerves with Lightning Chakra was a big risk, to say the least.

One of the clones cleared its throat. When Biwako gestured at it, the Shadow Clone said, "I won't mince words. We want to both protect Naruto and win against him. While Lightning and Fire are both about equally good for supporting or protecting him… only Fire can do serious damage to Wood."

Biwako mulled that over. After nearly a minute, she said, "The vibrations of the Lightning element could cause damage to Naruto's trees, with enough power. Besides, with my Katon (Fire Style) as it is, I'm not going to cause his trees any damage anyway." Then, it came to her. She could increase the vibrations of her Lightning Jutsu, true, but she could also increase the heat of her Fire Jutsu.

Something was nagging at her mind at that moment; something bothered her about the comparison between the Lightning element and the Fire element. 'I only have so much time; I can't afford tangents,' Biwako thought, scolding herself.

Which to pick, though? Naruto was amazing at close range. While Biwako was just as good, Naruto's healing factor and greater reach because his weapon was longer, meant that he would have the advantage when fighting staff to sword. As Raiton Chakra Mode was generally used for up-close fighting, it was probably better to make something that would boost her long-range capabilities.

Biwako dove into making a Jutsu similar to Raiton Chakra Mode that would rely on the Fire element and improve her ranged capabilities. On the other hand, she had also gotten an idea for an enhanced version of Kawarimi (Substitution Jutsu) using Lightning Style Chakra, from one of her favorite Manga and the Lightning Style Shadow Clone.

What to name that one? Never mind, Volt Switch it is….

All of a sudden, Biwako felt a pinching sensation on her right shoulder, where she had put the Summoning tattoo for Naruto, long since made permanent. Thanks to that warning, she didn't attack Naruto when he appeared out of nowhere in a cloud of smoke.

"Biwako," Naruto said, teary-eyed, panting, and frantically looking and sensing around. "It's time to leave Konoha! No time for explanations – let's just go!"

Biwako nodded quickly; she would pester Naruto for answers later. They both went through the hand-seals for the Reverse Summoning jutsu to reach their Summons- only for nothing to happen. They tried again, but failed once more.

"Konoha's Barrier! They've put a lockdown into effect already!" Naruto said, cursing out loud.

Biwako's thoughts were racing. She knew that the Naka River led out of Konoha and hoped that Naruto's lessons with Tsunade would be enough to have the knowledge to slip out. As such, she grabbed Naruto's hand and took him to said river- wait. Is that Danzō? She activated her Sharingan and put Chakra into her nose, but- nothing, even though the darkness was no big deal to her senses. It couldn't have been. After all, he would have chased after them, not disappeared immediately.

Both Biwako and Naruto dove in, swimming underwater until they reached the barrier, which covered even there. Naruto went through some hand seals, making the barrier open itself in that place, recognizing his clearance as Sannin level according to the gestures he made. He's being awfully familiar with me.

Biwako slipped out and kept following the river, breathing using that Fuuton jutsu, not risking being caught, even for the scant seconds needed to use the Reverse Summoning jutsu. She surfaced in the place she knew as Valley of the End, Naruto following suit shortly after.

After what Naruto had done, Biwako wondered how he could bring himself to look her in the eyes.

"Biwako?" Naruto said. "What's the matter?"

Biwako was shaking in anger at Naruto's audacity. She drew her sword from its sheath, executing a flawless Iaidō move, with Naruto barely managing to dodge.

"What- what the hell was that for!?" Naruto asked, looking and sounding surprised.

As if he doesn't know!

Biwako didn't bother with words. She kicked at Naruto's shin, which he immediately blocked by lifting his lower leg, hissing at the pain in his blocking foot.

Not to be deterred, Biwako continued the combo with Hell Senbon, forcing a slightly out of balance Naruto to jump up high, landing on Madara's head, at which point he had to put up a wall of water to block the fireballs of Gōenka no jutsu, making the water spin in what Biwako recognized as his Uzushio no Kabe (Wall of the Whirling Tide), somehow managing to negate the attack almost completely.

By the time Naruto could manage to produce a few Shadow Clones, Biwako had gotten behind him and cut them up with her sword, with her next strike being blocked by his staff. A sliver of Fire aligned Chakra was enough to start cutting into it, but Naruto shot a Water Bullet at her sword arm almost point-blank, forcing her to let go of said sword and pushing them away from each other, with Naruto letting himself be propelled to the other side.

Naruto was looking at Biwako from Hashirama's statue, wide-eyed. He said, "That isn't a joke or a spar, is it?" More stating it than asking a question.

"You should have aimed for center mass or my head rather than my arm," Biwako stated without mercy, then used a Lightning jutsu to strike at Naruto and cloud his senses both.

A titanic wave of water rose from the lake of the valley, which forced Biwako to expend more of her Chakra for ninjutsu, something that wasn't in her favor at all, considering Naruto's far superior Chakra reserves.

Then again, this jutsu is cost-efficient.

She unleashed a huge number of shuriken from her wristband, imbuing almost all of them with Fire Style Chakra for Hōsenka Tsumabeni, making the wave of water stop short thanks to the strategic placement of projectiles.

Naruto hadn't been idle, though, and five Shadow Clones had surrounded her in short order, staves out. "Biwako! What's wrong? Please, tell me! Did I do something that-"

Biwako scoffed, using Hōsenka no Jutsu to distract the clones, then clipping the original Naruto, who was underground, with Hell Sharp Spear, having literally sniffed him out.

For the first time in this fight, possibly ever, Naruto was looking at Biwako with the expression he showed those he was fighting against to the death. For some reason, it made Biwako's heart clench, but she ignored that to get her sword back.

"Very well," Naruto said, sounding detached and yet completely focused. "I'll beat sense back into you, then!"

Naruto's Chakra output increased almost incomparably to her eyes, forcing her to jump back, but it was a feint for Biwako to get space. She formed a single hand-seal, using 'Katon: Gōryūka (Fire Style: Great Dragon Flame),' and putting in enough Chakra to evaporate most of the water around them and to desiccate the ground, making it harder for Naruto to manipulate, who was used to muddy soil for his Doton, even after the Land of Wastes.

Biwako was panting a little bit – that was enough Chakra expended to lay out a strong B-rank Shinobi on its own, and yet she knew the jutsu would only give her a comparative advantage at best. When she saw Naruto completely unharmed, she clenched a fist hard, the realization hitting her hard.

There's nothing I can do to come out as the winner here.

It made Biwako desperate. Naruto hadn't even had to use his Bloodline! For all that he mostly used Mokuton for supplementary jutsu, to not even bust out his Wood Clones was an insult. She unsheathed her sword and tore through all of Naruto's Shadow Clones, knowing that she still held the edge in speed.

The result was a one-on-one with the original Naruto, where neither of them was making much progress – Biwako was getting in some cuts on Naruto, but those would heal immediately, and Naruto was just unable to fend off Biwako at her full speed, with his own dropping. No – it was like she was being enhanced by something, because she was getting faster and faster, as well as stronger.

On the other hand, apparently, Naruto had gotten tired of this. He dropped some water onto Biwako's face, but she wasn't to be deterred. She threw some dirt into his eyes with a D-ranked jutsu and impaled him using Hell Sharp Spear at almost the same time. Not letting up, Biwako drew her War Fan from a seal and channeled what little she could manage of Wind Chakra into it, readying Gōryūka no Jutsu again.

All of a sudden, Biwako was back at the Naka River, with Shisui in front of her, teary-eyed. "I'm sorry, Biwako. I'm so sorry!" Shisui said in such a tone that Biwako couldn't bring herself to say anything snappy.

In fact, those tears turned dark, then red when mixed with blood from Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan. Biwako wasn't moving at all. She said, "Shisui-san, what?-"

"I've already told you that I have gotten most of the memories of my older self and that Shimura Danzō took my eye, did I not? I never told you about my Kotoamatsukami, though," Shisui told Biwako, his entire body trembling.

Dots connected in Biwako's mind and things were starting to make sense. The Danzō apparition she had dismissed had been the actual thing. Danzō had stolen Uchiha Kagami's eyes, but they weren't enough, maybe because the man's grandson had had much stronger eyes with the same jutsu; maybe because Danzō didn't want that kind of power in anyone else…. Likely both.

False memories were exposed for what they were, not disappearing but dulling severely and becoming obvious in their falsity, and Biwako was at peace for a short moment. Then, she looked at Shisui and froze in place. Activating her Sharingan again, she noticed a particular erratic kind of flow in Shisui's Chakra. "Shisui-san…?" Biwako said, hoping against hope that she was mistaken.

Shaking his head in the negative, Shisui said, "I'm sorry, Biwako. I don't belong anywhere in the Impure World, not even here; reality's caught up with me…."

"Shi- Shisui-san," Biwako said in a shaky voice, tears flowing free for the first time in over three years.

"Remember, Biwako, to cherish what -or, rather who- you have and not take them for granted. To cherish your life; to not cease striving for better, but also take a break to smell the flowers from time to time," Shisui said, smiling, "even if others in your life have turned on you, I've always been on your side, so I hope you'll remember me fondly. I'm also not asking you to forgive Itachi, but please try to give him the chance to explain himself, okay?"

Biwako nodded shakily, watching Shisui's 'body' disintegrate, its last remnants landing in the river and being swept away by the currents.

Just like that, the next moment, Biwako was back in the Valley of the End, facing Naruto who had just been blown away by her own Wind Jutsu. Crap! Biwako exhaled upwards, sending her Fire ninjutsu into the sky, her mouth feeling like she had eaten too-hot food straight from the oven, the same way she sometimes would as a five-year-old.

The very next moment, Naruto looked Biwako in the eyes, his own narrowing. He said, "Are you better now?" Warily, fortunately not commenting on her tears.

Biwako nodded, then opened her mouth to-

"Don't," Naruto said, his lips thin, "we're on a tight schedule. Explanations can wait for later."

Biwako nodded, absently noting she could still feel her Chakra in the newly formed clouds above, in the early-night sky. Then, she went through the hand-seals for the Reverse Summoning Jutsu slowly and shakily, sending herself to the Great Sky Plateau a moment after Naruto's disappearance, trying not to think about the bloody hole in Naruto's belly.