"Character Speech"

Character Thoughts

_ = Scene Change

Chapter 3 - Tragedy

The mental bombshell of last month's revelation still sent shivers down his spine. Sitting on his bed, aimlessly staring at the blank ceiling of his room. The information played again in his mind like it had been done every day. I am the son of heroes, the thought brought a small, dry smile to his face, their countless accomplishments and acts of heroism were well known to the boy.

But on this thought, his face dropped. Frowning he looked forward toward the desk in his room, on it lay a large book with a red swirl imprinted upon it. Yet, I am treated as if I was a rogue ninja, a small snarl sporting itself onto his face as it dawned on him again. Gingerly getting up from the bed and trudging over to the desk and sitting down, he sighed heavily. Looking deeply at the swirl in front of him brought a feeling of warmth in his heart, of familiarity and comradery.

Turing the first page, he soon became lost in the contents of the book. Fuinjutsu. Their History, traditions and so much more. The fascinating structure of the society, being geared toward peace, amid the warring states periods and the Shinobi World Wars was truly admirable. It made him question their destruction.

How could they have been surprised so utterly?

Why couldn't Konoha save them?

Why were they left to die?

It made him question, with a frown, the point of it all. Many shinobi who'd fought for peace ultimately failed. Hashirama, Hiruzen, Jiraiya and even his father. How in Kami would he fare any better than the legends of the past? All of them wrote of a cycle of hatred in their memoirs and scripture, an unending cycle of vicious war and greed. How in Kami's name would he find an answer to that question if even the greatest minds couldn't?

These doubts and obstacles caused his eyes to drop. The challenges and journey ahead for his dream seemed unable to be overcome. A mountain too high to climb. A forest too dense to navigate. The only gleaming ray of hope for his future was that they were legends. In the past, and by extension a lesson to be learnt from. So that if he didn't succeed, then someone would. Eventually.

Sighing, again, exhausted, placing a pair of fingers to the bridge of his nose, "Eventually," He muttered to himself, fatigued but these thoughts plaguing his mind.

He sat there for minutes on end. His eyes firmly shut as he thought thoroughly in deep concentration. His mind, latching onto the identity of his parents. Of their hopes, dreams and expectations. They have left a legacy for others to follow, he thought to himself as his eyes reopened, narrowed and determined. I'll make sure this is the last sacrifice on the road to peace, he sternly promised himself, a fire igniting within his eyes and mind, lighting an endless and untapped well of determination and energy.

Turning his head toward the window, he saw the sun setting across Konoha once again, the dusk horizon becoming darker as it descended. Standing from his chair and walking toward the window, he leant against the window ceil. Embracing the near-nightly breeze flowing briskly across the village's many rooftops. "It's been five years since that day, huh?" He rhetorically asked himself, his shoulders relaxing and his gaze softening across the village and beyond.

"I cannot begin to imagine how he's feeling… I don't know how he copes with it…" He continued to himself, sighing afterwards in sadness. So much hatred. So much unwarranted hatred, with no one to go to… He thought to himself amid his reprieve. "Imprisonment. Without choice or just cause." He muttered bitterly to himself, the same fire emerging within the boy's eyes.

"One day, you all will be free… Free from us… Free from our hatred…" Naruto spoke confidently as his hand hardened their grip on the window. His intense glare persisted for a few moments before his eyes softened, tired. Yawning softly, he closed the windows and walked to his bed passing the open book on his table. Within it contains a basic introduction to sealing kanji and the concept of arrays.

With a content smile on his face as he fell asleep. All the while, a white-haired ANBU stood on the roof with a sad, concerned yet proud smile on his face as he sighed, looking toward the Hokage Monument's most recent addition. Sensei, your son is truly astonishing, he thought to himself with a melancholy smirk behind his mask, returning his attention to his surroundings and the boy beneath him, now sleeping.

Sat at her desk, Naomi wasted away. Slaving over the uncountable tasks beset upon her by her peers and managers. Her hair lay unkempt. Her eyes held large, dark bags. Her posture was slumped and fragile. The large pile of books next to her tittered on the edge of falling over, amidst her tireless work.

All of this was the result of idiocy, unwarranted hatred and ignorance. They didn't know who he was, they didn't know what he was. Yet, they assumed that he was a demon, assumed that he was a threat to them and assumed that he was the murderer of all of their loved ones. The mere thoughts of the boy brought anger to her heart and soul. Not at the boy, but at the people who viewed him as anything other than Uzumaki Naruto.

Kushina, how were you spared of such a life? She thought bitterly in her mind, bitter at the dreadful situation her son lay in. Sighing in utter tiredness, she placed her hands on the bridge of her nose, rubbing it deeply. On days like this, I wished I'd stayed as our squad Captain. Morbidly smirking to herself, and staring at the long catalogue of books' due dates and missing inventory.

Flinching slightly, her head shot to her right, toward the entrance to see the door closed. But on her glance, she noticed the door was not entirely closed, a small slit in the door lay open and her glare turned cold and serious. Slowly standing from her chair, she quickly glanced all around her, the endless hallways of bookshelves smothered in darkness, the few lighted reading tables in the library. All of it, empty. But she knew, she wasn't alone.

Why in Kami's name would anyone go after me? She thought to herself in perplexity, her mind racing with potential reasons for this oncoming skirmish but she remained alert to her surroundings.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Tensing suddenly, she jumped away from the desk, toward the books, noticing in her jump the deep gash now present in her workstation. Frowning in discontent, she turned around to see nothing but as she faced the desk upon landing her eyes widened in shock.

Her entire body shook suddenly for a swift moment, a sharp pain in her abdomen. Looking down, she saw the tanto protruding from her stomach, its blade drenched in blood as her shirt began to colour itself in her blood.

Gritting her teeth, subtly raising a hand sign from her arm that lay at her sides, the floor quickly contorted around the individual behind her. Trapping them and syphoning their chakra away. Feeling her strength degrading rapidly she unlodged herself from the blade, flinching heavily, and turned to meet her attacker.

Frowning with a murderous glare, a blank pair of eyes stared back behind a blank mask. But upon glaring at the emotionless male, she fell to one knee. Staring now at the blade, see the rivets along its edge alongside the vial in the handle. Poison… Damn it… She cursed to herself, her hand hovering over her deeply red wound.

Placing another hand sign in her free hand, she waited. Until she could no longer. With the boy drained of his chakra he lay paralysed on the floor, now free from the Earth Jutsu as she collapsed to the floor. On her back, her breathing laboured, in and out in an attempt to prolong her survival. But soon, her sight began to be enveloped with spots of black, the scenes of colour before her becoming black and white. Her senses abandoned her, one by one until she felt nothing.

Aimlessly looking at that damned white-painted ceiling, she cursed that one-eyed freak. She cursed the Hokage for his spinelessness. And she cursed herself for not doing enough. As her vision turned to black, she saw a patterned mask seemingly hold her, until she saw nothing.

A memory… Of the day she'd almost lost him… How it made her smile. His infectious, innocent smile brightened up her day. His adorable little verbal tik. He was too good for this village. Too good for this world…. Just like his parents….

Sluggishly opening his eyes, he stared at the pale white ceiling of his room, illuminated by the orange hue of dawn. Comfortable in his bed, warm and cosy but something felt off. He couldn't shake an unnerving feeling in his spine. Attempting to alleviate this, and also to get on with his day, the boy climbed out of his bed and trudged around the apartment. Showering. Getting dressed. Eating. His daily routine until he reached his front door.

Placing his hand carefully on the doorknob, he felt a warm, loving hand on his shoulder. Shooting around, he saw nothing but that lingering feeling draw his own hand to his shoulder. Unconsciously, a tear rolled down his face as he stepped outside and launched himself toward the nearest training ground.

On his way there, he noticed a lot of murmuring among the many people in the market. Gossip was a norm around there, but to be ignoring him was something that never happened, it was always looks of disdain and loathing at every opportunity they got. His curiosity got the better of him, as he looked toward the direction of the crowd. Going toward the Hokage's tower. With a raised brow, he decided to investigate whatever was going on.

Running and jumping across the countless rooftops of Konoha he had unconsciously made his way to the library, with it within close proximity of the Hokage's tower. He frowned at the sight before him. Uchiha police stood guard at the front entrance whilst a crowd of spectators stood in apprehension. Not liking the ghostly atmosphere they imposed, he elected to return to his original plan of training, hoping that by the end of the day he could ask the Hokage what had happened.

On his back, sweating and panting heavily, he relaxed. With the sun now in the middle of the sky it was time for him to get back home, to eat and study. Amid his fatigue, he sat up and glanced at the scenery around him. Puddles littered the area and the trees were deeply cut, with one of them falling on the ground. With a tired huff, he wiped the sweat from his head and smiled once again in triumph.

This self-induced torture may be hell but it is certainly worth it, he thought to himself as he soon collected himself, becoming newly rejuvenated with energy. It had always confused him when his second wind hit him so heavily but he certainly didn't complain about it. Using this energy he jumped into the tree line, toward the village but on his way there he found a stone in the ground, surrounded by three wooden poles.

Electing to see what it was he jumped down and looked closely at the beautifully crafted stonework. Having not seen the stone underneath he got closer and began to read the words etched into it… Sarutobi Sasuke, Hatake Sakumo, Nohara Rin, Uchiha Obito, Izuno Nao- he fell to the ground, a hand on his mouth, with tears threatening to fall down his cheek. Finally noticing the stone tablet at the base.

"A commemoration of lives lost too soon…" He muttered whilst tears fell unforgivingly from his face, his breathing now erratic, he closed his eyes tightly. "Heroes…" He cried out, his mind racing at the information. Amid this revelation, a long white robe slowly approached the memorial and placed his aged, rough hand onto it, with care and nostalgia.

Feeling the presence of the newcomer, he slowly opened his tear-filled eyes to see the large, square red hat above him. The sharp grey beard and the aged freckles looked at him with terrible guilt in his maroon eyes. Crouching carefully before the redhead he opened up his body, with his arms extended away from him.

Widening in recognition, amid his tears, he moved slightly before stopping himself. But the old man's understanding gaze drew him in as he quickly latched onto the man's white robes as his emotion continued to pour out of him. The pain, sadness, grief, and regret. The emptiness flooded into his tears and consumed his face. All the while the old man loosely embraced the boy, stroking his red hair lovingly as the guilt persisted in his eyes, deeply hiding the burning rage at himself and, more so, for another.

Naruto had drowned his sorrows out for minutes before calming down, continuing to find comfort in the hug he was in. "Does this emptiness ever get better?" He asked desperately, his grip tightening as he pleaded to the wise man next to him. Said the elder looking cautiously at the sky behind the boy, thoughtfully.

"It does, my boy. But it never goes away." He uttered in empathy, his eyes drawn back to the Uzumaki in front of him. The boy gingerly sighed, his grip slacking a little as a result. "Remember and interact with people you love while you can, my boy. No one lives forever." Hiruzen wisely commented as the boy seemed to be still at the advice.

Soon the boy broke the hug and stood eye-level with the Hokage, his eyes puffy and red but determined and driven. Facing this wise, gentle brown eyes comforted the boy's pain minimally. "I won't let anyone die again, no one that I care about. Not while I'm still here to change that." Naruto proclaimed to himself, the Hokage looking reminiscently at the boy's words, a melancholy smile forming on his face.

"Death of a fact of life for a shinobi, Naruto. Even sensei could save everyone he cared for. It happens. But we must remember and honour their lives." Hiruzen corrected, his tone understandingly stern as Naruto emphatically agreed to the advice given to him. But despite the inaccuracy, Naruto's determination remained unabated.

"Then I'll create a world without hatred. I will end this cycle so that good people never die." Naruto declared with all heart, his hands clenching at his sides as he stared at the Hokage with all the enthusiasm he could muster. Hiruzen, on the other hand, now held a small smile at the boy, placing a warm hand on the boy's tense shoulder.

"A noble goal, Naruto. The road ahead will be difficult, terribly so, but with the largest prize known to this world…" Hiruzen assured the boy, slightly pondering, blissfully, at the thoughts in his mind. The boy's anticipating eyes demanded an answer to his sentence. "Peace." He happily said, the people he'd lost coming to the forefront of his mind, reassuring him of his course forward. "To make all of this tragedy with anything," Hiruzen commented sadly, causing the two to look down to the grass and then to the monument behind Hiruzen in deep thought.

Mom. Dad. Naomi. I'll make the world of peace you all dreamed of. Even if it's the last thing I do in this life. Despite everything held from me, everything taken from me, none of it matters. I must be better than that for me to be strong enough to follow this path…

A world of peace…

Now that is a cause worth dying for… Naruto thought to himself while looking at the names on the stone that meant so much to him. His hand glided across the three names and gently as his hand landed on Naomi's with a sad smile.

Thank you for reading the chapter, I hope you enjoyed it.

After a period of illness and college I finally finished it. I hope that the chapter was up to standard and that the events don't feel too out of the blue or, if they do, you can see why.

As for any feedback, once again, welcome any and all. I'll be leaving a link to my discord at the end of every chapter from now on. If you decide to join for whatever reason, it'd be nice to talk to you all.

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you in the chapter and beyond.