Summery: Haku lay dead at his feet, killed by Naruto's own hand. Looking upon the face of a person he had respected, Naruto knew what being a true shinobi meant. But as the vessel of the Kyuubi was soon to find out, life was full of challenges, especially his. And killing Haku would cause much to change from its original path.
Rating: PG-13, for swearing, fighting, ext.
Disclaimer: Last time looked at the cover of Naruto I saw the words 'Story & Art by Masashi Kishimoto.' Not Story and Art by SilverNinjaHikaru. Does that tell you something? Plus, I can't draw that well. So if there was a 'Naruto by SilverNinjaHikaru' it would have been a piece of fiction.
Pairings:
There will be NO male/male and female/female pairings. There will also be NO naruto/hinata. Also there is NO NARUTO/SAKURA pairing, ONLY friendship.
Updates…:
Wow. (Looks up at display that reads when last update was) Shit. It's been that long! I'm so sorry! Forget Kyuubi, school is a demon! And to be truthful, every Friday I always rush home to work on the next chapter… but I always find someway better to do it and I have to start over, then the whole process starts over. I can't promise that it'll never take me this long again, but I sure don't want it to take any longer then you guys do! But would you rather have crappy chapters every week, or decent ones? Plus, I really, really hate this and the second chapter. It's both a filler chapter and needed to convey some info that will come into play later. I still hate these chapters though. The first chapter and one ones after this are the really story, and I can't wait to get this chapter out of the way. Just think of the first three chapters as a very long prologue.
Shadow of Kyuubi
Chapter III
Haku's Legacy
They were actually congratulating him.
Before the first half and hour had passed, Naruto had been congratulated by at least every person in the city twice… or so it seemed to the poor demon vessel. Girls would stutter a 'thank you' and blush. Boys shook his hands and muttered their compliments. Women hugged him so tightly that he couldn't breath. Men clapped him on the back and those who had been present during the battle recounted fondly about how his kunai 'slid into Gato's head like a razor sharp sword through calm waters,' or something like that. Old women cooed over his whisker like scars on his face that they had dubbed 'battle scarred cheeks.' And the old men recounted stories from their glory days while trying to out shout the other old men, and fend off the bitter truths that they never were samurai or ninja, but just simple fishermen, which were thrown at them from the same old men who also tried to out shout them.
It was ridiculous, they were actually congratulating him.
Every congratulation, complement or even a simple 'thank you' that he received made him feel like huge walls were pressing in on him, choking him. It all threatened to consume him as more and more people awed over his defeat of the mask wearing boy and Gato, which Tazuna was retelling despite not seeing Naruto's battle against Haku. Inari too boasted to the kids who once teased him how his 'Naruto nii-san' was so cool. More compliments, more congratulations, more stories being created about him during the battle then the rest of Team Seven combined. Each and everything making him feel sicker and sicker until he was amazed he hadn't vomited his insides out yet, much less not even thrown up at all.
The moment attention slipped away from him for a moment- he didn't know why and really didn't care- Naruto slipped back into a dark dead-end ally and used chakra to run up the side of a building and get away, leaving his orange jacket behind on the seat he had been sitting in since he arrived at the celebration. The dried blood encrusted sleeves made him feel both sick and filled with self-loathing every time they stiffly rubbed over his wrists.
The main street of the city of Wave, Naruto still didn't know the city's name, was the heart of the celebration. Or perhaps festival was the right word. Booths were set up with games, others with food and drink. It was amazing that the people pulled this all together in just less then a day. Families were walking together, laughing in bliss for the first time in a long time. Lanterns dug out of storage were strung up and cast a merry glow on the people who finally had hope and pride again.
All because of that ninja team from Konohagure no Sato. Especially because of the boy dressed in orange that had saved Tsunami and Inari, helped scare off the group of mercenaries, and killed one of the two ninja trying to kill Tazuna and had also killed Gato.
All because of Uzumaki Naruto.
Who was running away from the party because he couldn't stand being at a celebration for Haku's death. Much less the celebration of Haku's death by Naruto's hand.
Winding down many one of the manystreets people had abandoned for the celebration, Naruto took in deep gulping breaths until he managed to quell the twisting of his stomach and press back against the walls that were closing in on him since the first 'congratulation' had slipped past a kids lips no older then Konohamaru. The awe in the boy's eyes as he spoke, the wide-eyed expression of hero-worship…
Finally when he was far enough from the celebration to be unable to hear the loud partying, he collapsed against a wall, eyes wide as memories, half finished thoughts, and hundreds of emotions circulated through him in a blur. Spinning faster and faster. He yanked his hands up towards his face to try and gain some handhold in the chaos, something to insure he wouldn't be swept away...
His hands stopped inches before his face just as the chaos inside of him ceased. Though he had scrubbed his hands raw in the bathroom once Sakura and Sasuke had left, it was all to easy for his mind to bend to his guilt and despair, leaving the view of his hands overlaid with the image already branded into his memory; his hands earlier that day covered in Haku's blood.
"Damn." Naruto dropped his arms in favor of using them to pull his knees to his chest. He dropped his head to rest on his knees, the metal plate from the hati-ate pressed against the joints. Blue eyes squeezed shut in an attempt, and failing, to stop the tears from falling down his face. "Damn it…" he cursed himself more then the emotions tearing him apart. Cold night air brushed the wet tracks on his scarred cheeks as the genin sat there, just letting the tears fall.
It was then that the final connection to the destiny he would have had before was cut. Haku's death had only been a way to prod Naruto towards another path. Gato's had insured that a gate locked the old path behind him, leaving Naruto faced with a new path that was also locked. Now the key was to be presented to the lock, now nothing- no human, demon, or even god- could put things back to the way they were. Not when Uzumaki Naruto, genin of Konohagure no sato from Fire Country, and vessel of Kyuubi no Kitsune, was to met for the first and last time the one who would ultimately be responsible for all the events that followed just from this one and only meeting.
"I hope you're not going to cry your eyes out about the whole thing."
Naruto's head shot up, tears running down his face still and hints of snot wetting under his nose. The darkness kept Naruto from getting a good view of the person, male by the voice, before him. Rubbing his bare arms to try and chase away the chill, Naruto sniffed to keep the stuff nearly hanging out of his nose from doing so. "Go away." The blunt words did well to hide his own emotions. Naruto swiped at his eyes and nose to attempt to wipe his face clean. The stranger seemed not to have heard him; in fact he bent at the waist so his head was roughly level with Naruto's and narrowed eyes pierced through the boy's soul.
"So…you're Uzumaki Naruto?" The man asked not out of question but rather skepticism. "I overestimated you," his face holding both an unknown question and disappointment. With a sigh, the man pulled his hand down over his face and muttered quietly into his palm while Naruto looked at the closed eyes through the spaces of the mans fingers, hearing the comment that the man asked himself, "how could someone like you not just hold, but utilize, Kyuubi?"
Naruto's skin paled as his eyes snapped open in contrast to his pupils as they retracted to pinpricks of fear. "H-how do you know?" The vessel stammered. He shifted as far away from the man as the wall would allow. "Wh-who are y-you?" The man straitened, not hearing the boy again. The stranger crossed his arms on his chest.
Damn… what the hell are you thinking Shinigami? The man looked down on the boy as he through about the death god. Letting yourself be summoned all those years ago to seal the Kyuubi… into a kid who was a baby at the time! Now… the man fiddled with something in the pocket of his black and red clothing. Now I'm not so sure this idea will work… it on top of everything else he's been going through could cause him to have a mental break down. The man's eyes drifted down to the boy's stomach and narrowed into ruby slits, making the cat like pupils turn into a bar of black in the middle of the glowing iris. With all but a few of his most basic powers sealed by Shinigami as punishmentthe most he could do was see the seal as it was holding the Kyuubi.
Naruto dropped his arms to cover his stomach, suddenly feeling as if his shirt was doing a poor job against this person.
Damn… it's cracking, the black and red clad man thought. Now the question is if or if not this kid can hold the seal together. He snapped to attention when the boy spoke. "What? I didn't hear you."
"What is so interesting about my gut that you didn't hear me for the last couple of minutes?" Naruto demanded, wiping away more moisture from his eyes, irritated at this person. "How do you know about Kyuubi!" While this person had been deep in though Naruto had tried to figure out that mystery, the man didn't look like he was from Konoha, so he couldn't be one of the adults who knew about Naruto being the vessel of the demon.
The stranger backed up a few steps, and Naruto hastily scrambled to his feet so he'd have some way of fighting back if this meeting were to get any worst then it already was.
Kid has spirit… The man grinned. "How do I know of Kyuubi?" The man repeated the question, amused.
"How do you know of it?" Naruto hissed, edging along the wall slowly to open up more of an escape route.
Annoyed that the Kyuubi had been degraded into an 'it', the man glared down at the boy. "I know because I knew him." The man stressed the last word. Glowing red eyes with slits for pupils, so like the Kyuubi's, drifted to look at the cloth covering the place of the seal from sight.
"So why are you here talking to me?" Naruto demanded, voice filled with nervousness. He tugged the hem of his navy blue shirt down even though it covered the place where the man was staring at. "And who are you?"
"I didn't come here originally to talk to you." The man said. He reached into his pocket again. I don't know why you kept this thing for so long Shinigami… but we all better hope this thing works on demon containers like it did on normal humans so long ago… he was snapped out of his thoughts when Naruto, seeing the man reach into his pocket, took this as his cue to take off.
Naruto was barley just starting to move away at full speed when he felt a large hand grab him by the middle of his upper arm. The other hand that had been in the pocket on the black and red clothing pulled out a strange black stone that was smooth all around except for the kanji for shadow that was carved out of it. The man pressed the stone to the flesh right above where his other hand held the boy still. For a brief moment all was quiet, red eyes with slit pupils locked with blue eyes withround pupils.
Then Naruto stiffened.
The physical agony was overruling all else, even his reaction to it through screaming was ignored as the pain made him feel like his nerves were being scorched and his flesh boiled. He felt both the hand and the strange black stone pull away, letting him drop to the ground. Before he blacked out because of the pain the last thing he remembered was the stranger quietly and calmly say "If you ever meet up with Kyuubi tell him Kage say's 'Hi.'"
After he lost conscious for the second time that day, he witnessed that piece of paper floating in that black world again. And he saw the rip grow bigger, now running half way from the bottom right hand corner up to the kanji for 'seal.'
The only time Kage and Naruto met will always be remembered by Naruto. Because on that single day, everything changed. Or didn't it? The funny thing about life is, you never know. But Naruto, with events that he barely understood that lead up to this final moment of stumbling home in more pain then he had ever experience in his short life, would indeed change.
Sakura clutched the stuffed animal cat one of her admirers from the boys her age who lived in the city had given her. It had taken her a while, but she finally managed to politely excuse herself from his and the other kids their age presence and headed into the shadows between two food stands to rest for a moment. Sitting on a chair placed conveniently hidden away from any casual glance, Sakura clutched the cat for comfort as she leaned back into the chair.
A familiar orange jacket pressed into her back as it rested flung over the backing of the chair. It only served as a reminder for why Sakura had been plunging through the crowds since Tazuna, the city mayor, and Kakashi all started up a drinking contest and for a brief moment took the attention away from her blonde teammate by the crowed who had trapped him while they thanked him personally for killing Gato and congratulating him for defeating one of the enemy ninja. When the shock of the mayor participating wore off and the people of Wave turned back to their hero, they found him gone.
Sakura would be lying if she said she felt only a little worried. Standing up and grabbing the orange jump suit jacket, the pink haired girl took one fortifying breath before she plunged back into the masses of celebrating people. Intent on finding her teammate.
This isn't that same Naruto, it was Outer Sakura who voiced it this time.
Naruto didn't know how he managed to get to Tazuna's house. He just knew when he woke up that he needed to get back, and he had crawled for a long time through the pain until his body was mostly numbed by it and the cold air that he managed to ignore the pain long enough to get to his feet and stagger the rest of the way. After making it into his own room, the blonde just barely had the strength to shut the door before he collapsed back into his futon. This wouldn't have been as hard as it was now even if he was in a world of pain, if his right arm had been working.
Whatever that stone like thing had been was more then just a rock with some kanji carved out of it, Naruto finally deducted. Naruto bit his lip to keep from crying out in pain as he used his left arm to grope through his backpack to find some bandages. Once he had them, he messily wrapped up his other arm as best he could when it was unable to move, and used a metal clip to hold it together. Wiping off the blood he got on his hand during the process, Naruto pulled the blankets up over him and was out in moments.
He was unaware that half an hour later Sakura finished climbing the stairs and halted outside Naruto's room. The door was shut, meaning that the person was inside and probably asleep.
That shut door could symbolize so many things at that moment. Naruto shutting her out of his life because of what she had said, that was her main thought at the moment. 'That's an all time low! Even for you!' Inner Sakura snipped, throwing her own words back at her. Naruto always alone, orphaned, and no friends except for Iruka who acted as a father/older brother like figure to the boy. Then there was a simpler symbol that closed door presented.
Pressing her ear to the door, Sakura heard the even breaths of sleep. She wanted to talk to him now, to try and fix this mess she had created. But she didn't want to wake him up. Partly to let him get the sleep he deserved and probably needed. Partly because she didn't want to face that other Naruto again, he one who had scared her out of this very room earlier.
I'll talk to him tomorrow. She turned and left.
That closed door seemed to symbolize something else though, something she knew she should have figured out.
The Next Morning:
Morning light would have greeted Naruto should he have been able to notice it when he woke. But more pressing things shoved their way to the surface that even the sun shining down on the boy's face couldn't stand up against.
A… stretched feeling pulled at Naruto. Like there was something that should be with him that was not. It was a strange sensation, and an even stranger sensation of the urgency to get to that something filled him.
Once he managed to push that aside, made both a harder and an easier task with the fact that it was only a recent sensation and that he didn't know what the something was, another- much more familiar- sensation assaulted him.
Pain.
He gritted his teeth as the sensation swept over him then fizzled away until only a shadow, still painful but at least it was manageable, of the pain remained. Looking out the side of his eyes, Naruto glanced at his right arm.
Damn… so that wasn't a dream. Resigning to the fact, the boy prepared to push himself up.
His right arm wouldn't move. The little movement it could pull off made his entire body scream in pain. His body fell back down as the left arm that had been holding him up gave way to the advances of pain. He clamped his jaws shut to seal a cry of pain in his mouth, biting his tongue in the process. Coppery blood flavored his mouth as he strained against the pain until it eventually eased back to the shadow from before.
Now more conscious of his right arm, Naruto used his left to pull it onto his lap as slowly as possible as the pain pressed him to stop. Once his right arm was in his lap, he used his left arm to push himself up, and then stand.
His right arm falling from his lap to his side as he righted himself caused him to nearly black out in pain, his body teetered as he froze up, unable to even scream. By some miracle, he stayed standing as the pain receded again. Walking as if on egg shells, Naruto walked away from the futon, the memory of last night replaying in his mind.
'Kage,' huh? Naruto eyed the air before him as if expecting that stranger to jump out again from nowhere.
Naruto shook his head, careful to insure that it was the only part of him that moved. Last night he had been too pained to do more then sloppily wrap the bleeding wound on his arm. Now he needed to look at it, to see what that 'Kage' had done to his arm. But removing his shirt without moving his one arm would be impossible, and Naruto didn't feel like falling victim to more pain.
Snatching up a stray kunai, the genin cut his shirt off, thankful that he had brought along more extra then he originally though he needed. One the tatters of his blue shirt gathered at his feet, he carefully fumbled with the bandages. Pausing once in a while when he accidentally moved his unresponsive arm and a wave of pain washed over him.
Once the right arm was free, Naruto turned so he could view whatever damage was done in the mirror. Why hasn't it healed yet? One night is what it had always taken before…
Naruto expected the smear of blood all up and down his arm, and using his ruined shirt and water from his water bottle still in his backpack he c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y cleaned it off.
Naruto didn't expect the only damage to be done to his arm was only a tattoo like marking. Colored in a foreboding black, the kanji that meant shadow was marked on his arm just a bit more then halfway up his right upper arm. It looked like the ANBU tattoo, just on the opposite arm and of course it was a different marking, perhaps it wasn't even a tattoo.
"What the hell is this?" The boy asked. Scrutinizing the mark in the mirror, he noticed something else. Leaning forward to better examine the reflection revealed a scar no thicker then a hair running from the tattoo like mark up the rest of his arm until it met his torso. Once that connection was made the scar plunged down his chest past his ribcage until the scar stopped at his navel.
Right where the Kyuubi's seal would be visible if the boy was channeling chakra. "What happened to me?" Naruto traced the scar from his navel to the marking. He never scared, no matter what. And since being told of the Kyuubi, Naruto figured that the Kyuubi healed everything he had ever suffered before. He had only noticed it because he had been looking for any kind of discrepancy with his body.
Growling, Naruto dug through his bag trying to find his jacket, since it wasn't on the floor. But when the backpack was empty and no stained jacket was revealed Naruto groaned with realization.
I left it at the celebration…
Pulling the only chair in the room over to the window, Naruto leaned against the wall so his right side was hidden, and his shoulder supported the weight of his body. Leaning his head against the corner of the wall before it was cut out to make a place for the window's glass; Naruto gazed out at the water that surrounded Tazuna's house as it gently lapped at the wooden supports that held the house above the water. Haku's voice playing over in his head.
'And I was forced to accept it. That was the most painful thing… Accepting that I was alone in the world. Superfluous. Unwanted. Shunned.'
"Naruto 'nii-san?" Came Inari's voice. The little boy let himself in, shutting the door behind him.
"Hey, Inari."
The Wave country boy frowned at the exhaustion and sorrow in the voice of his hero. At the utter defeat a simple greeting revealed. And that scared the boy. Naruto had been so brave, so strong, so amazing. Now he looked ready to give up. "What's wrong?" the younger boy asked. "You left the party last night before people could finish thanking you."
There was that pressure pushing down around him again. Naruto pressed his eyes closed and his lips formed a thin line as he fought against that pressure again. "I didn't want it… I couldn't take it… I hadn't done anything to deserve it." Naruto said, voice a little louder then his greeting to the boy had been, but filled with desperation as well.
'…Do you have… anyone special in you life...? I'm willing to do whatever it takes… to protect the one I care about most… doing so is my own dream…'
"What do you mean?" Inari asked. "You saved us! You gave us our hope and pride back! You saved Grandpa! It was you who killed the ones who were threatening us, you protected us!" Inari was standing right in front of the topless Naruto and prodded him in the chest with a finger. "You're our hero! You do deserve to be thanked!"
Using his knee to support his elbow, Naruto rested his face in his left hand. Leaning away from the wall a bit. "Inari…" Naruto half croaked, half pleaded. "That's just it… I killed."
'Often people have it wrong, mistakenly believing… that showing mercy to an enemy is kindness. They spare the foe whose life is in their hands… But don't you see? Its an empty existence… to go on living… alone and unloved when defeat's already cost you your dream!'
"Why… are you so upset about Gato?" Inari asked. Startled at this revelation. Or what he thought was the revelation. Naruto's eyes flickered to the boy. Then the younger child understood, young he might be, but he was very understanding. "That other ninja? It was… Haku… right?"
Naruto nodded mutely.
"You want to talk about it, I'll listen." Inari offered. "I won't interrupt… or tell anyone."
Naruto was going to brush off the offer, but seeing Inari settle himself on the floor he figured a little talking wouldn't be so bad. "I knew him. I understood him and I liked him. He was a good person, had a kind heart. I respected him so much even when I thought he had killed Sasuke," Naruto said. He looked down at his hands. "I killed someone I respected."
'When people are protecting something truly precious to them, they truly can become… as strong as they must be!'
That was all he meant to say. But it didn't end there. Naruto talked and talked, pouring out his emotions, fears, and it wasn't just about Haku's death. Naruto told him- a heavily modified version to keep everything of Kyuubi and anything that held reference to what had happened after Naruto left the celebration- about other problems he had been having during the mission. Taking so long to be able to just walk up a stupid tree with chakra, and his anger at himself for not being able to improve faster just to name a few. He talked mostly about his argument with his teammates. Then he switched back to talking about Haku all throughout the other subjects.
The genin told the civilian boy about all his various interactions with Haku, when they first through he was a hunter ninja, to the morning after training, to the final battle. All in great detail- forgoing mentioning the Kyuubi- and everything he knew of the boy. 'I got to close.' Was basically what he was telling the younger boy, 'I'm half afraid I'll grow heartless or go insane if this is what being a ninja is really about.' And most importantly, 'I'm scared that I'll forget him and the ideas he had that shaped his very being… Ideals that I believe in.' He didn't say it. But Inari read underneath his words to read underneath his meanings.
'Are you doing this for that sake of that person…or for your own satisfaction?'
Naruto paused for a moment and took a deep breath. The person to acknowledge one who was shunned, and unwanted. Haku had Zabuza, who saw past the boy cursed with a bloodline limit. And Iruka had seen past the Kyuubi that had killed his parents and seen a fellow orphan who knew the pain of having no parents. It was the burning need to repay the person who had acknowledged him that made Haku strive to help Zabuza reach his dream. Naruto knew that if he had been Haku, and Iruka was Zabuza, Naruto would do whatever needed to help his sensei achieve his dream.
And Inari understood. 'I don't want to become a monster. Killing who ever I'm told to kill only because I was told to kill them.' Inari knew. 'If it comes to killing. I want to do it to protect my home. To protect those I care about.' And he sympathized. 'I'm so scared. I'm so scared. I'm so scared…' The hidden meanings in the genin's words struck a cord in the younger boy. 'I don't want to lose myself.'
After he finished, Naruto leaned his head against the window ledge. Pressing a fist to his stomach where Kyuubi was. The urge to talk about that too threatened to spill forth, but Naruto bit his tongue. "Thanks for listening, Inari. But I really need to be alone for now," he whispered.
'I have my own dreams… as you have yours… Please try not to resent me, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes… to protect the one I care about most… to fight, kill, or die to fulfill that person's dreams. Doing that is my own dream. To that end, I will become a true shinobi... And I shall kill you both.'
Inari left the room and trotted down the stairs. When his mom called him to help her with something he ambled off towards her. Mind still in a daze that his hero had seemed so… human. Daddy… you always knew what to say to make a person feel better. If you were here now, what would you say to Naruto 'nii-san?
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Later:
Naruto didn't want to come downstairs with his arm wrapped in bandages, which wouldpromise many questions that he didn't feel like dealing with at the moment. But he found something that was both a pleasant and disheartening surprise when he opened up his door. Folded neatly and placed to the side of the sliding door was his orange jumpsuit jacket. Apparently it had been washed and mended, judging by the lack of dirt and the somewhat sloppy stitching at the rips created during the mission. There were still blood stains at the wrists of the sleeves, but Naruto swallowed the emotions that pushed at him, thankful that he had something to cover the bandages from sight. Picking up the note that was on top of it he instantly recognized Sakura's handwriting, and she had written mostly in hiragana or katakana since Naruto hated reading kanji. The note said:
Naruto,
I found this at the party last night, and tried to find you to return it but I guess you left. I asked Inari's mom to help me wash it, but the blood stains wouldn't come out. I'm glad I brought a repair kit for clothing, even if it was used only once, since it had orange thread for me to use on your jacket. I'm not that good at sewing though, so the repair work is pretty bad. I also wanted to apologize for how I acted. I hope you can forgive me and we can go back to being friends.
Sakura
Naruto tossed the note in his hand to the floor of his room and grabbed the jacket. While he carefully pulled it on, not keen on the idea of moving his right arm, the boy wondered at the note. Was Sakura doing this out of a peace offering, or because she really did care? While pondering this Naruto paused every so often as the pain returned, forcing him to stop and wait until the pain passed that followed his right arm moving. Deciding to take it as a peace offering that she gave him because she cared, Naruto zipped up the jacket and headed down the stairs.
Dinner was awkward, which was something of the norm since arriving here. Before the battle with the missing mist ninjas it was because everyone almost seemed to expect to be attacked at any time, or because Naruto and Sasuke were having their little rivalry over eating as much food as fast as possible to get energy so they could head back out and train before the other. Yesterday they hadn't even bothered to eat before heading off to the celebration. Today it was because of the oppressive weight that hung over them, and because now they felt the exhaustion of the fear that had been absent since the whole affair started.
After dinner everyone did their own thing like always. Tsunami with the help of her son cleaned the kitchen. Sasuke sharpened whichever of his kunai or shuriken needed it, while Sakura shifted between watching him work, trying to start a conversation with him, or just talking to him. Kakashi was reading his book, and Tazuna was sitting at the table talking with his daughter. Naruto gave up trying to sit through the strange ritual that they had all developed of staying in the dinning room/kitchen area after dinner. Standing up he went outside to walk along the deck that surrounded the bridge builder's house. Kicking a pebble that was on the deck, he watched as it leapt into the lake surrounding the house and caused ripples to blemish the smooth surface.
'Is this the first time a comrade of yours has died…? Such is a ninja's path.'
"Hey, brat," shook him out of his thoughts. Turing around revealed Tazuna had followed him out. Clutched in one hand was a bundle of some kind, "You've been quiet lately." Naruto didn't respond. "All right then, don't talk." Tazuna ruffled the spiky sunshine-yellow hair.
"Stop that," Naruto attempted to swat the attacking appendage aside one-handedly. Chuckling under his breath, Tazuna stepped back and raised the offending limb up in a sign of peace. Running a hand through his hair in an attempt to reverse what the bridge builder hand done, he looked at the old man in an attempt to gauge what he wanted.
"Here," Tazuna raised the bundle in his other hand and tossed it towards the boy. "'Figured it be best with you." Naruto snapped out of his suspicion in time to fumble with his left hand to grab it before it fell to the wooden dock or worst, into the lake. Hearing an all too familiar clicking mostly muffled by the leather pouch they were in told Naruto that the object- or rather objects judging by the amount of clicking- was metal. "And after overhearing your conversation with Inari earlier, I figure he probably would have wanted you to have them."
'Didn't you tell me… that you wanted to become the number one ninja in your village and make everyone respect you? If you had someone in you life who did more then that… who acknowledged your existence- even cared for you- wouldn't that person become the most important, treasured person in you life!' Haku had his person as Naruto had Iruka-sensei. 'Master Zabuza adopted me, knowing I came from a Bloodline Limit. The very thing in me that made everyone else hate me- he didn't just overlook it. He cherished it. He wanted it!'
He? Naruto wondered, opening up the old, battered, stained and musty bag revealed to Naruto what was in it. His eyes widened as countless emotions swirled beneath their azure depths. Looking up at Tazuna he found the old man gone and looked back into the pouch, now feeling that if the contents had fallen into the lake it wouldn't have been so bad.
Dozens upon dozens of steel senbon needles were reflecting the moonlight back out of the dark confines of the leather pouch. Blood tipped the ends of many of them, dulling the gleaming reflections. Haku's senbon.
'I was so happy…!'
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Five Days After the Battle:
Naruto had disappeared again.
Sakura peered into his empty room, but found no blond mass of hair. After Tazuna had gone after Naruto the other day out of view and hearing from the rest of the people who currently resided in the house. The orange clad genin had both gotten better and worst.
He had started to smile again, and laugh one in a while. But he was so much quieter when compared to the Naruto who had left Konoha. Though it was in some ways an improvement, Sakura couldn't help but miss the old Naruto. Now he hadn't pestered her for dates, or screamed challenges to Sasuke, or even declare he would be Hokage and dame whatever stood between him and that dream, not once had he done any of that.
And therein lay the problem. For as long as Sakura had known Naruto, Hokage had always been associated. In fact, since the battle on the bridge, Naruto hadn't even mentioned anything about anything related to the Hokage. It was almost as if…
Inner Sakura quietly spoke from the depths of her mind; it's as if he's questioning his dream.
In fact, the only time Naruto acted somewhat like his old self was when he was interacting with Tazuna, Inari, or Tsunami when the rest of Team Seven wasn't participating. And there was yet another problem. Team Seven hadn't been the same since the battle.
Kakashi-sensei sure is acting normal… Inner Sakura grumbled, cracking her knuckles menacingly. Reading that damn book every waking moment.
But everyone else had changed. Sasuke was still cold and distant, but he was almost foaming at the mouth to get back to training tomorrow, his 'no-training' order by Kakashi would then be over. Sakura suspected that his afternoon wanderings through the woods by the bridge builders house was actually when he went off to practice something. And from observing her crush's reactions to their other teammate, to the Uchiha it seemed that Naruto was no longer just a teammate that was a hindrance, but a rival to be wary of.
And Naruto… Naruto was quiet. He too had taken to disappearing every day, but for much longer periods of time and farther away. Once when trying to find her teammates Sakura had found the Uchiha, but not the Uzumaki factor of her team. Where ever Naruto was, it wasn't to just get away from everyone else like it was for Sasuke, but rather to get away from everything.
The one time Sakura had found Naruto, he had been practicing his shuriken throwing. But he was using his left hand, which the boy had never bothered to do before. Come to think of it… Sakura paused as flashes of recent memory played back to her. Naruto hasn't been using his right arm at all. For eating as well, even at the cost of looking sloppier eating left handed and calmly then he had right handed and pig-like. He also always wore he jacket, even when it was blatantly obvious to everyone that he felt sick whenever the blood stained sleeves rubbed against his wrists.
And though Sakura didn't know it, she too had changed. Using the time when her teammates were off Sakura went to the edge of the woods by the house and practiced shuriken throwing, kawarimi (replacement) and bunshin (clones), and the limited amount of kunai practice anyone could get in when they were practicing alone. Though the Uchiha still held most of her attention, Sakura took time from her crush to attempt to talk with Naruto. Though that was pretty pointless seeing how Naruto rarely responded back. Though to his credit, he was getting better at talking to people again like he use to.
Pulling her shuriken and kunai from the tree she used as a target, Sakura gazed down at the kunai. Taking a few moments to sum up everything she had thought about before, the pink haired girl came to a disturbing conclusion.
Naruto, who everyone on the entire Team Seven –including Kakashi- had thought was a no talent dead-last, had something happen to him that put him in the position to kill. Not only had this affected Naruto, but everyone else. Sasuke who had thought that Naruto was nothing was now acutely aware that the blonde had killed the ninja that Sasuke himself hadn't had the power to even scratch. Sakura who had always complained about Naruto's loudness no longer had that to complain about and it forced her to open her eyes to her orange clad teammate. And though Kakashi was acting like normal, even he seemed more distracted.
Team Seven was falling apart, even though it had never really been together. And Sakura was forced to face a reality she had ignored. Since joining the Academy she had always dreamed of a ninja team- with Sasuke on her team of course- that was good. They'd be the best of the genin teams. A team that cared for one another, and never failed a mission. A dream team where Sakura would proudly stand next to her teammates as an equal.
And yes, Sasuke falling in love with her and marrying her. Then they would have many little Uchihas and be an ideal family, loving, caring, and there for one another. But that was part of another dream that Sakura wouldn't get into that now…
But, the reality was very different from her dream team. Yes, she had Sasuke on her team, and that was quite a few dreams come true. But it was as Kakashi had said during the bell test; Sasuke thought the others would slow him down. And a further slap from reality was that it was true. Sakura and Naruto were nothing compared to the Uchiha. But when Sakura took comfort in the knowledge that she wasn't alone in trailing behind Sasuke, everything changed. Naruto had shown that while he wasn't the genius Sasuke was, he was instead a prodigy of pulling amazing feats of skill and cleverness off when it was needed and so far always succeeding.
And when the going really got tough, what had once been feats of skill and cleverness had turned out to also be one of sheer, raw power. Sakura had heard from Sasuke how Haku's mirrors had been impossible to counter, fire wouldn't melt them and nothing could break them. But when Naruto had though Sasuke dead, Kakashi reported that the genin told him that he had punched Haku through a mirror.
Sakura had seen the remains of the mirrors after they had fallen to the ground without Haku controlling them. All the mirrors were largely unharmed- they were in the process of slowly melting and there were a few cracks in some- but one ice mirror was in shambles. The mirror Naruto had smashed Haku through.
Plopping down on the ground and lying down, Sakura flung an arm over her eyes to keep the sunlight out of her eyes. Sighing, she let her tired body relax. I don't know what came over me the other day. I'm so sorry Naruto.
Oh, you know what came over you. Inner Sakura grumbled. Sakura never understood how her inner part could criticize her so much about that subject when at the same time she had the same crush on the dark Uchiha. Naruto insulted Sasuke and you reacted, forgetting all else- even the feelings of the teammate who needed you the most.
I know, and that's why it hurts so much.
Two Weeks After the Battle:
Team Seven stood before the wooden graves that marked where Zabuza and Haku were buried. Zabuza's sword stood, stuck in the ground, behind his grave. And the sash Haku had worn around his waist was upon the younger boy's grave.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Naruto standing by Haku's grave. Though he had gotten a little better, it still wasn't the Naruto she had known from before; she turned back towards her sensei. "Kakashi-sensei?" When the jonin made a noise to signify that she had his attention, she continued. "… I can't help wondering. Were those two right about what a ninja should be?"
"A ninja shouldn't be concerned with a reason for their own existence… it is important merely that we exist as a tool for our homeland to use in whatever way they need. That's as true for us in Konohagure as it is for anywhere else." Naruto glanced between the two graves.
'Please kill me, now. What are you waiting for?'
"Is this really what becoming a full-fledged ninja's about?" He looked at his hands for a moment, remembering the blood from the boy buried under on of the graves before him. His right arm was now only stiff and a little sore, so he could move it now, but slowly and only so much at a time. He looked at his open hands. "I didn't like it at all!"
Sasuke spoke up, "Do you really feel that way, Kakashi-sensei?"
"Well…no." The silver haired man said. Trying to formulate the best way to answer that question. "And that's why all we ninja live our lives with that ideal always bubbling beneath the surface of our minds, disturbing us." He looked from his students to the grave with the neck cleaving sword behind it, "…like it did to Zabuza…" His lone visible eye slid to the grave with the sash on it. "And the boy…"
Naruto continued looking at his hands. Haku…
'I… find it difficult to embrace the full shinobi philosophy. I can't help but prefer that the pair of you… not force me to kill you. However, if you two are going to come at me… I shall kill my own heart with my blade- just as the word 'shinobi' was originally the words 'heart' and 'blade'- and act as a full-fledged shinobi would!'
He fisted the appendages. "That's it. I've made up my mind." He let his arms fall down to his sides, the right more carefully and slowly then the left. "I'm gonna create my own nindo- my own ninja path." His left hand moved to cover the cloth above his right arm that concealed the black marking while his right moved to fist over his navel where the seal for Kyuubi resided. "I'm going to create my own destiny! And be strong enough to protect those I care for and Konoha," he slid a hand into his utility pouch and touched the senbon needles in there. All had been cleaned of blood. Haku, I will keep fighting to protect my precious people just like you did. "But most importantly. I'll be my own person."
'Master Zabuza has no use for a weak shinobi.' A gentle smile appeared on the boy's face. 'You've taken away my reason for living!'
Kakashi understood and gave his upside down 'u' eye smile, Naruto wanted to be seen as a separate being from Kyuubi. But he didn't know that the vessel also wanted to live away from whatever the mark on his arm meant.
But just as the Kyuubi was apart of Naruto in its own way, the brand on his arm had already been ingrained into him. And just as Kyuubi was a curse and a blessing in its various forms, the black symbol on the boys arm would prove to follow in the demons footsteps in that matter as well.
'…That day I met you in the forest… I remember thinking that we were two of a kind… Surely you can understand… you'll have to bloody your hands, forgive me for that.'
Later:
The time had come to finally depart from the Land of Waves, and Team Seven was carrying more weight with them now then they had when leaving. Not only did they have their own clothes, gear and personal weapons along with fresh provisions replacing what they had brought with them, but also many gifts that were pushed on them. And not only were most items wrapped up- therefore the ninja's were unable to decide what they could keep and what they could throw away- but it would offend the people if they saw their gifts being thrown away.
And since Wave didn't have their own ninja village, it would be good business for Konoha if they kept good relations with this land. So because of this, all four ninja's had heavy packs that were straining at the seams. If Naruto looked closely he could see a picture that looked much like Teams Seven picture, only with a kid that looked like a young Kakashi and other people, peeking through the seams of Kakashi's backpack.
Sadly, Kakashi's genin's backpacks were no better. Naruto was the worst off because of his role in the battle. Kakashi might have killed the biggest threat to Tazuna, but it was the blonde who had killed the man who was oppressing the people.
Inari was the last person to give Naruto a gift. And the genin had to rearrange all the gifts in the top part of his pack before he could fit the box into it. Even then, Naruto could only just close the backpack.
"Thanks to you, our bridge is has finally been completed but…" Tazuna chuckled. "It's going to be awfully dull around here, now that you're all leaving." The people gathered by the bridge consisted of Tazuna, his family, and a few of the other construction workers. Inari was sniffing in an attempt to hold back tears, his whole body shaking with effort. Tazuna ruffled his grandson's hair.
"Come and see us again?" Inari sniffed with his mouth quivering as it threatened to let out the wail he was forcing back.
"Of course!" Naruto smiled at the boy, forcing back his own tears. "It's okay if you want to cry, but only if its happy tears," he told the younger boy.
'This bridge is a nexus of our destinies… and all of our dreams and futures balance on the edge of a knife.'
"I'm not gonna cry!" Inari defended. "Are you, 'nii-san?"
"Of course not." With that, Naruto turned and walked away. The rest of Team Seven followed him as the first to use the bridge they had helped bring into creation.
But didn't all destines balance on the edge of a knife?
Inari sniffed as he watched the ninjas walk away, but tears still fell. "That boy, Naruto, touched Inari's heart. And Inari touched the hearts of all the people of our city." Tazuna said, even as he ran the risk of sounding weird. "Naruto built the bridge that carried us all to hope and courage-"
"Speaking of bridges, we still have to officially dedicate this one." Tsunami interrupted her dad before he could go on and on.
"-There's only one name that will truly fit." Tazuna continued as if that had been his purpose all along.
"And what are we going to call it?" His daughter asked.
"How about…" called on his bluff, Tazuna fumbled for a name that would help him preserve his pride. "The Great Uzumaki Naruto Bridge?" Nodding decisively, Tazuna pushed his glasses up his nose proudly.
"The Great Naruto Bridge- for short- it's a nice name dad." Tsunami narrowed her eyes at her father, suspicious of whether or not he had actually been planning to name it that or not.
A Few Days Later:
After a few days of leaving Wave territory, and a few more until they reached Konoha, Team Seven could be found camping in the forests that covered most of Fire Country. After eating dinner, which consisted of fish and some dried fruits, Naruto used the excuse of going to the bathroom to head out into the forest. One away from camp, he created a single seal with his hands and muttered, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." (Shadow Clone no Jutsu) A single flesh and bone copy puffed into existence and waited for a few minutes until it headed back to camp.
Satisfied, Naruto moved further away from the direction his clone had headed to until he felt he was far enough. Pulling out some shuriken, he used his left arm to improve his aim with it, and his right one to help it recover quicker. He practiced none stop until he was so tired his aim was to far off to be used as self motivation to get him back on task, then gathering up the projectiles scattered around the area he headed back to camp.
He had been doing this since the first night they camped. For some reason he didn't want the others to know of his training for this right now. Sakura knew he was working on his left arm, and she was smart enough that if she really set her mind to it she'd figure him out.
Thankfully the clone just went right to Naruto's tent so no one really interacted with it. If Kakashi got a good look at it he'd know what it was then become suspicious, and Kakashi breathing down his neck wasn't something the demon vessel needed right now. Sakura always took first shift for guard duty, then Naruto, Sasuke, and finally Kakashi. Once Sakura woke up the Naruto copy and went to her own tent, Naruto would dismiss the clone and take over his shift before switching with Sasuke. This use of his favorite jutsu was preformed every night until finally one morning Team Seven stood before the colossal gates of Konoha.
Review Responses:
About Sakura: Sakura lovers don't worry, only one other time will she be insulted and that's by Ino later (Just as Sakura insults Ino) Sakura haters, don't worry; you'll see the pink haired girl get bashed one more time!
StolenDreamer: Glad this could help you see what would happen if Naruto had killed Haku. To be truthful I was surprised that I hadn't run across any fanfics about that subject. Good thing too, or else I probably never would have written this! I'm glad you like the gods, their not going to play a very big role, only support once in a while. Honestly I'm really unsure about them, but I couldn't think of anything else.
Dark Naruto: Thank you! I read your drabble, it was really good! I'm not a big fan of Sakura either, but she's okay sometimes.
Dirbatua: Thank you!
WorldSoCold: I'm glad it seems realistic enough for you. But to be truthful I wonder if I took it over a bit over the top…
KuRoI HaNE: Blushes Wow, thanks!
Sir Grag: Thanks. Don't worry; I have no intention of abandoning this story.
Keltosh: I'll try to keep it original. Feel free to give me any ideas or suggestions. Or if you think I need to fix something please tell me.
Chaoslord Shinobi: The Kami thing is only out of desperate need to move the story along in some parts. This was the best way I could get Naruto to get that mark on his arm (and it does serve a purpose as you'll see next chapter) and Kage's a backup plan if I need to use him later for something.
Crakbaby23: Thank you!
Dark Slifer: It took me awhile but here it is.
kyuubikid: I never want it to take me this long to update again, but school is a bitch. Feel free to go to my bio page and e-mail me if you think I'm taking to long, sometimes I just need a push.
Deathsyte01: Next chapter is a good one. But there is also a lot of info I need to cram into it.
Ryuu no Taiyo: She can be shallow. Her biggest flaw is her obsession with Sasuke (or crush, however you want to view it) but if you look at her when she isn't dealing with Sasuke/thoughts on Sasuke or Sasuke anything, she is pretty decent. I don't like her too much personally though.
Lucas13: Don't worry. No same sex relationships but friends or family! I'm glad that its as long as it is, I normally have a problem with cutting it too short.
Viky: Winces Sorry that Chap 3 took forever and a day. But school sucks.
Myst4drgn: Here it is, I'm so sorry it took this long.
Toenail: I was really unsure about it, glad you enjoyed it though!
Dragon'sSword: Cringe Not all their problems, I need to go back and fix that. Yah, Naruto had a destiny the gods prepared for him, but now he can't go back onto that path anymore. Naruto is going to be different, but hopefully he'll return mostly to normal soon. Just not the loud, obnoxious, and somewhat clueless ninja. He'll still be insanely stubborn, amazingly surprising, and unbelievably devoted to those he cares about, but he will calm down a bit. Is making you think almost as much for a fanfic as you did for professionally written books a good thing? Thanks for the long review; I love those ones so much!
Yum2: Life, Death, Fuko and Kage is suppose to be confusing. I'm using Kage as a wild card, if I need to move the story along I can use him as a medium. Hopefully this will be the only time we actually have Naruto meet him or any gods during the story.
Kaze: Yup. Naruto is now under Kage's jurisdiction. But now Kage's not so sure about the poor boy! Fuko is useless, but I needed some way to explain how Naruto came to be under Kage's jurisdiction. Originally it was going to be Mizu, the goddess of water, but Rasengen gave me the idea for Fuko. I'll hint at the pairings next chapter.
Coca-Cola: Yah, looking further into the series shows how much Viz messed them up. I barely have time to update, so I can't go all over the internet trying to find exact translations. I did find a few sites that were full of translations that looked correct to me (with my limited Japanese) but when I start created jutsus I'm going to have a problem with giving them Japanese names. I'm glad that you like the fic so much, and thanks for pointing me towards wikipidia, it was a big help.
Saetan: Here it is!
Kira-Reen: Not completely dark… but wait until later. Evillllllll smile IT will get very interesting… Not dark, but not lighter. Personally, I don't know why Naruto crushes on her so bad.
Surarrin: I don't like Sakura, but I don't hate her. She's Sasuke obsessed, enough to break off her friendship with Ino (a character I personally like) then she actually asks Sasuke to take her with him when he abandons leaf. Sakura's family is in Konoha, and she pledged allegiance to her village when she became a ninja, and she throws it all away for one boy who never even gave her the time of day! But when Sasuke isn't around or when she isn't thinking of him she actually is a decent person…
DarkMan: Kage will be touched on in later chapters, but he is at most a supporting character. Don't worry; this is NOT a Naru/Hina. Hinata is to timid to deal with Naruto, and she'd never challenge him. Naruto needs someone who can keep him on his toes. Hinata doesn't have the heart to deal with him if he works himself to exhaustion; she'd never make him rest for a bit, much less with force if needed. It's not saku/Naru either.
Skuld's Sentaro 5: I'm glad you got your question answered. I hope the gods don't scare too many people away…
AzureSky123: No yaoi! And Naruto wont kill Sakura, that's too cold and dark of him, even in Kyuubi induced rage.
Logrus Mage: Yup, the manga canon is the narrow path. Not everything will change (Oro-chan will still want the Sharigan and stuff) but there are some changes that are much needed. I really don't like having 'gods,' but I tried everything else to get over some plot holes and even then I couldn't figure out anything.
Daniel of Lorien: Sasuke is easy, Kakashi is so-so, Naruto is hard during this story for now because he's suffering a seriously traumatic event. Sakura is naturally hard though. Very hard. She is mean to Naruto when Sasuke is involved, but she is also nice to him. She's a character where peoples personal feelings on various subjects (ie, betrayal, crushes/obsessions/loves, self motivation to improve oneself, ect.) can seriously effect their outlook on her. I don't hate Sakura, since I do read fic's about her when she's the star and such and I really like them. But I don't like her too much though. I could roll out a whole debate about reasons for Sakura/ against Sakura (and when I first answered this review I was until I had a half page full of evidence from the manga and analyzing it, and still more ready to be typed out, but I deleted it because it took up so much space and I'm sure you wouldn't want to read it all.) Also, the mist was up when Naruto killed Haku, and Sasuke is also the best ninja of the two during the time. I do understand where you're coming from though. Naruto will slowly regain part of his former character, but killing Haku really does leave a big emotional scar. Don't worry! Naruto is going to have a huge talk with Iruka that will help him stabilize a bit more and reinforce his relationship with his old sensei. And I'm trying to find out how to make Naruto's and Sasuke's relationship better without ruining the story later down the line. Thanks for the review though, the points you made seriously helped me with this chapter and also made me confront a few problems I was having with where I wanted Team Seven's relationships to go. Any more pointers like this review would be much appreciated.
Foonting Turlingdromes: Not so much of plot device, but she was needed for that. I'm glad that you think their human enough, I'm still worried, since gods are… well, they are gods and they are OC's. But I guess my intro of them could have been worst. Honestly I was surprised that so far I had never been able to find a fic with Naruto killing Haku during a normal plot line, I read one where he had been trained by someone since age six or something… but by then he was much different.
Arsenel: I'm glad you approve of my intro of the Gods, I really felt worried when I posted the last chapter.
Silent.Storm: I love Kyuubi, and he really is an interesting character considering that we know next to nothing about him. I think at most the only real facts know is that he's powerful, attacked Konoha for some reason, is wanted by Itachi's organization, is sealed in Naruto, has red chakra, nine tails, and is a fox demon. hehe And Shadow of Kyuubi as a title, let me tell you, that was the original idea that got me started on this, killing Haku was only developed later as I reworked the plotline in my head. And don't worry; you'll see that 'Shadow of Kyuubi' is a good title for the story very soon. And later in more ways then one. I can't tell you much more then that for now… but the fox isn't just going to be a power source for Naruto in this story. And I probably will e-mail you from your bio page soon, if you don't mind letting me bounce ideas off of you.
DotDotDotMan: I never planed for the story to get so dark, but it kinda needed to be since killing Haku left a big scar on Naruto emotionally. It probably won't get darker then this. I'll try not to use English names unless they follow the Japanese names (I don't know much Japanese, and it always made reading fanfic's hard if the Japanese name was used and I never knew what the jutsu was or did, since their names normally reflect what they do) But there will be a time when I make up some jutsus and I wont know the Japanese translation.
Gold-case: Thanks for the review, even small ones really help authors cheer up!
Warfles: Kage is cool, but I cant make him too cool or else that will cause problems. Fuko is stuck up, but that's who she is… a plot device.
Meteorain27: Wow, a lot of people say that they often have wondered what Naruto will be like if he killed Haku. I've read Fanfics with every Naruto paring/plotline imaginable, but never have I seen one about Naruto killing Haku and that's what gave me the idea.
Mikaii41: Yah, Naruto is too hyperactive, but if he wasn't he wouldn't be Naruto. But him calming down would be nice, so I was happy when I finally had the plot line for a fan fic that would let me do that. And Sakura is a bit obsessed with Sasuke, but this part of the story takes place in the first part of the third manga volume. And she is pretty obsessed with Sasuke in the start…
TheFalloftheDemon: I'm sorry that it took so long to update, but school is insane. I'm glad you liked the gods.
Hobbes: I'll try!
Hitomi No Ryu: Wow, you think I did? Thanks! BLUSHES
Madnarutofan: Kage is a supporting character for now, but depending on how people are feeling to a god OC that might change.
Stormspiral: Thanks, but really, it's not that great. I really could have done better on the second and third chapters.
Kitsurumenokitsune: I'm sorry it took so long, but here it is!
Soul ice: The god subject is only to support the story line, but depending on peoples reaction I might delve more into the subject then originally intended. I certainly can do a lot with it!
Demonfox04: It was a moment of inspiration really. I didn't know how else to make Naruto switch from the jurisdiction of one god to that of another, or even how to explain how he was under the jurisdiction of a god. I'm glad I figured it out though.
Alex: Thank you!
Suno-tenhi: Sakura is realizing that she's being (I wouldn't say bitch but…) a bit cruel and unfair to Naruto. Naruto will still learn the rasengan around the same time, and other skills of the shadow type grins oooohhhhh… just wait. It's an old idea from one of my original stories that I'm revamping and cleaning up. Just wait for the next chapter…
Dan Inverse: Kage might be free, but he isn't naturally a strong god on his own, and you can be sure that Death won't just let him do whatever. But as a bridge between Naruto and Kyuubi… there's the hint in this chapter and more will be explained in the next. Glad you like Kage. And Fuko is a bitch… and a plot device.
Wow! I already have 72 reviews for only two chapters! You guys sure know how to spoil a girl!
Now
Click
The
Button
Down
Here
And
Review
SilverNinjaHikaru over and out!