6

Naruto's Secret

"Finally home!" Naruto shouted cheerfully as the massive green gates of Konoha came into sight. I had finally gotten used to thinking as this place like home so it also filled me with relief and a sense of safety. Funny how humans adapt so quickly.

"Yosh! To celebrate a mission success, I will run five laps around Konoha on my hands! And if I can't do that, I will climb the Hokage mountain with only one hand!" Lee also shouted from beside the blond as Gai followed it up with a challenge of his own.

The three of them had bonded well, unsurprisingly. Probably only because they alone had the energy to keep up with each others'… youthfulness… goddamn, I was spending way too much time around these crackheads.

Now that the Wave mission had ended, I could finally relax a little bit and focus fully on training and learning new shinobi skills. As far as I remember, the only thing after this was the Chunin Exams. At least, until the three-year-long break.

"Kakashi," I said, turning my head to look at the elite jonin.

"Hmm?" he hummed, showing as little interest as possible and I mentally scowled. I understood that he was supposed to be the cool, aloof, genius type of guy, but would it kill him to be a little bit serious sometimes. Stupid dumbass.

"How long do we have till the Chunin Exams?" I asked.

I assume that finally got his attention since he turned his eyes from the little orange book to me.

"Ready for more action already, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked mirthfully.

'No, I just want to plan out my training,' I wanted to reply but held back my tongue. "Yeah, sure. Let's go with that," I said instead, implying that it's not the reason I asked, but was content with letting him believe it.

Kakashi kept a smile on his face and stared at me for a second before replying. "I think it's in about four months, but I don't know if I'll even nominate you three," he said and kept his eye on me, most likely to gauge my reaction.

"I see. Thank you," I said and turned my head again to look at the road.

Four months. That should be more than enough for me to master the Rasengan… hopefully. And depending on that, I may also be able to teach it to Naruto and Sakura. Moreover, using the Rasengan as a bargaining chip, I may even be able to make Naruto teach me the Shadow Clone Jutsu. I probably won't be able to use it to learn techniques and stuff like Naruto does, but I may be able to learn Fuinjutsu. We'll see, though.

As for the Chunin Exams, I don't know if I even want to participate. I understand that it's held to show different clients the power and potential of each of the Ninja Forces, but I still find it pointless. Why would I want to reveal my skills to potential enemies? I feel bad for Naruto and Sakura not being able to take the exam because of me, but I'll try to make them understand. If they still insist, I'll have to figure out a counter for Orochimaru, and then drop out right before the prelims after making it through the Forest of Death.

The journey through the gate and the streets of Konoha was a normal one. Well… as normal as it could get. Naruto still walked at the front with Lee and Gai. A bit behind them was Sakura and Tenten conversing about weapons – surprisingly – and which one would be best for Sakura's body shape and fighting style. Right behind was Neji, occasionally adding a few words of advice to Sakura and Tenten, and quite some distance behind them were Kakashi and me.

Naruto joked and laughed boisterously but I could clearly see how strained it felt. Lee likely hadn't noticed the glares and dirty looks if his continued enthusiasm was any evidence. The other genin were a bit behind them and also remained ignorant of the situation, while Kakashi and Gai were professional enough to not let it bother them. I guess this is the perfect chance to bring up the topic.

"Y'know," I began quietly, eyes staring at Naruto's back. I could feel Kakashi's eye slowly drift to me. "It's a surprise he still manages to stay loyal to this shithole," I said.

I heard a snap and couldn't help but look upwards. Kakashi had snapped his book shut and was staring at me, daring to go on.

Mentally smirking, I took a step away from him and put a wary expression on my face. "Ay, ay, man!" I said a bit loudly to get everyone else's attention too. "Don't look at me like that bruh, I don't swing that way! Nuh-uh!" I said. My face changed to a thinking pose. "And I'm pretty sure student-teacher relationships are forbidden too," I added, squinting my eyes.

I looked ahead, breaking eye contact with the jonin and trying my hardest to not start rolling on the ground in laughter. Sakura was looking at Kakashi with visible fear as if she expected him to try and steal me away from her. Naruto, Tenten, and Neji looked at him in a mixture of fear and disgust. Lee just looked confused. And Gai… Oh, I fucking loved the look of disbelief on his face.

"Kakashi…?" Gai said slowly.

And that did it. It was laughter that came from my lungs. One that absolutely robbed me of my breath. "I'm... I'm sorry," I said, clutching my stomach. This was too hilarious. After a few seconds, I finally got my breathing under control and we continued on our way. I could see all the others let out a breath of relief – Gai mainly, which made me question a lot of things – but that small prank felt awesome.

As we kept walking towards the Hokage Tower, Kakashi finally spoke. "I don't know which issue to address first. Your pranks, or what you said about this place being a 'shithole'," he said.

I scoffed. "If you don't know whether to give priority to a slight to your dignity and 'authority', or address a potential flight risk, that alone speaks volumes about the kind of shinobi you are," I replied.

Kakashi exhaled. "Very well then," he said. "Let's talk about what you said before."

"What part?"

"Your exact words were: 'It's a surprise he still manages to stay loyal to this shithole'. What did you mean by that?" Kakashi asked.

I smiled. He was finally getting used to arguing with me. This will be fun. "I meant what I said."

"Who did you mean by 'he' in that sentence?"

"Naruto Uzumaki," I replied.

"And by 'shithole', you meant?" Kakashi asked.

"Konohagakure no Sato."

"So then why would you say it's a surprise that Naruto manages to stay loyal to Konoha?" Kakashi asked.

"Look around," I replied simply. "Look at all the civilians and even some shinobi glaring at the kid as if he was a demon or something. Lord knows what he did, but I don't think any prank could possibly be that bad to warrant such a treatment from the entire village." I paused. "Hell, I don't think even the Kyuubi would get this much continuous hate."

Kakashi stayed silent, contemplating my words. "You sound almost as if you know why they hate him so much," he said after a few long seconds.

"I wish I did," I replied.

"Are you saying you do not?" Kakashi asked.

"I do not know why the villagers hate Naruto so much."

Kakashi once more stayed silent for a bit before he spoke again. "But you have some theories," he stated. Yes. Now, this was getting fun.

"I may."

"May I hear them?"

"No."

"As your jonin sensei, I am ordering you to tell me," he said.

WHAT!? That was cheating, dammit! Actually, you know what!? Fine! If he wants to play it like that, then so be it!

"Well," I started speaking as loudly as possible. "Seeing as how Naruto's birth—" I was immediately interrupted by Kakashi's gloved hand clamping over my mouth. His grip over my face was strong as hell and I couldn't even move back since he was holding me against him.

"We'll talk about this later. For now, stay quiet. That's an order," he said.

YES! I win. I nodded and he let me go. I smiled widely at my victory and relished in Kakashi's annoyed look. This was just too much fun.

...

When we reached the central tower, Kakashi and Gai sent us to pick up our mission pay while they went to the Hokage office for their mission debrief.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked as we exited the place after picking up a hefty sum for the A-rank.

"Ugh, I'm just going to go home and take a shower," Sakura said, running a hand through her hair.

"I'm also going to do the same. Then maybe stop by Ichiraku's for some dinner," Naruto said, followed by, "you guys wanna join me?"

"I won't be able to since I have to have dinner with my parents today. Sorry, Naruto," Sakura said with an apologetic smile.

"It's alright. No sweat!" Naruto replied with a grin, but I didn't miss the disappointed tone in his voice.

"I'll probably join you later," I said, and he immediately perked up at that. "But first," I continued, "I need to talk to you both," I said with seriousness.

Naruto and Sakura looked at me expectantly. I formed a sweatdrop.

"Not here. Let's go somewhere private."

...

I stood, leaning against a tree in one of the forests of Konoha, while Sakura sat on one of the branches.

"What is it, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, and Naruto looked at me questioningly from where he stood.

I breathed in deeply and then exhaled, preparing for what was about to happen. "You guys remember the date of the Kyuubi attack?" I asked. Immediately, I saw Naruto stiffen a bit whereas Sakura merely looked confused.

"Uh… about twelve years ago right?" Sakura asked.

"The exact date," I said.

"October tenth." Surprisingly, it was Naruto who replied.

"And when is your birthday, Naruto?" I asked with an emotionless face.

"..." I could visibly see Naruto's breath hitch.

A couple of silent seconds later, he smiled. A smile I've never seen before. A sad one that held tremendous pain. On a level that I probably couldn't even imagine. He smiled as if to say 'it was fun while it lasted', and that broke me. I walked towards him quickly and harshly grabbed his shoulders with both of my hands, forcing him to look me in the eyes.

"I don't know what you're thinking," I said, "but whatever it is, stop it!"

"Huh?" he asked intelligently.

"You, Sakura, and even Kakashi to an extent. You guys are the closest thing I have to family right now, and I'll walk through hell before I'll let you feel like you've been abandoned," I said, meaning every single word. "So I don't know what you're thinking – the Sharingan can't read minds – but whatever it is, just stop it, and speak to us."

I heard a branch rustle behind me and a light thud signalled Sakura jumping off her spot, onto the ground.

"Tell us what you have to, Naruto," I spoke, a little more subdued. "Just because a kunai is sealed into a scroll, it does not make the scroll a kunai," I said, mainly to make Sakura understand what was about to be said.

Naruto's eyes widened as he looked at me in surprise. I smiled softly and let go of him.

"Please," I pleaded. "Just talk to us."

"N-Naruto? Sasuke-kun? What's going on?" Sakura asked from behind me.

"Let's just listen to what Naruto has to say," I said to her, taking a step back.

Seeing our expectant eyes fall on him, Naruto inhaled deeply before he started talking.

"I… In the academy," he started. "The sensei always taught us that the Yondaime killed the Kyuubi when it attacked Konoha," he paused. "That's a lie," he declared.

"What?" Sakura asked. "What do you mean 'that's a lie'? The sensei lied to us?"

"Not on purpose. They were probably bound by law," I answered and nodded for Naruto to continue.

"When I failed the graduation exam and was sitting on the swing, Mizuki-teme came to me and told me he had a special assignment for me, which by completing, I would become a genin." Sakura looked confused at where this was going. "He told me to sneak into the Hokage tower at night and steal the Scroll of Sealing."

"What's the Scroll of Sealing?" Sakura asked. It wasn't a surprise that she didn't know.

"A scroll that is stored in the Hokage tower that has some of the most powerful jutsus ever made. Mostly invented by the Nidaime Hokage," I answered.

Naruto nodded at me, thanking me for explaining and continued telling his story, looking off into the trees as he spoke. "I – being the idiot I am – believed him and stole it. I got to the place that Mizuki told me to come to with the scroll and sat down to learn a jutsu. That's where I learned the Shadow Clone." He took a deep breath as if to steel himself to continue with the story. "Then, Iruka-sensei came to me and I thought I passed. I was so happy. Heh," Naruto laughed. A sound that I'd never thought I'd hear coming from him. It was a harsh self-deprecating one that would hurt you to the core if you heard it.

"It turned out that Mizuki was a traitor and was only using me to get his hands on the scroll. Iruka-sensei told me about that. Mizuki tried to attack me, and Iruka-sensei jumped in the way and protected me. That's when Mizuki revealed it. The village-wide secret that no one is supposed to speak of, yet almost everyone knows." Naruto looked at us and I felt my chest squeeze at the tortured look in his sky blue eyes. "Did you know that beings like the Kyuubi are actually just constructs of chakra and cannot actually be killed."

From my peripheral vision, I could see Sakura widening her eyes in surprise before narrowing them once more in confusion.

"They can only be sealed. And inanimate objects are not strong enough to withstand the sealing of such massive amounts of chakra. As such, only living beings can hold the Tailed Beasts," Naruto said, and I saw Sakura's mouth slowly open at the influx of this new information. "The Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi into a newborn baby. That was me." Naruto chuckled, but it sounded hollow. "So the next time you wonder why the villagers hate me and glare at me, well… now you know," he finished and once again smiled sadly.

A couple of seconds passed in silence before I spoke. "I don't know how you do it," I said, making sure to convey the massive amount of respect I felt towards the blond. "But you have my utmost respect for living through the idiotic hate of the villagers and not turning to hate yourself."

"Sasuke…" Naruto said, speechless.

If someone asked me to tell them a key point about my personality, one of the main ones would be that I don't bow or kneel. EVER. TO ANYONE. Not unless it's a mocking one where everyone knows that I don't mean it. I don't bow or kneel to anyone except my parents, and God – if such a being exists. And so, in front of this young man who deserved my utmost respect, I bowed. A full bow where my upper body was parallel to the ground. "Thank you, Naruto," I said as I stood up once again. "Thank you for keeping the village safe. Thank you for being Konoha's shield every single day. Thank you so very much for not turning to violence, despite the hate you suffer every second you're in the village. From the bottom of my heart, Naruto, thank you," I said and smiled at him.

"Um… I…" Naruto tried to say with eyes wide as saucers. He clearly didn't expect this.

"N-Naruto," Sakura said, holding her hand over her mouth as a few tears spilled out of her emerald eyes. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea what you were going through, and I… I… I bullied you so much. I can't believe it," she said in disgust and sobbed.

"No! Sakura-chan! It's okay!" Naruto said quickly, waving his hands around to placate her.

"No, Naruto, it's not," I said. Naruto looked at me confusedly and Sakura looked down in shame. "We both mistreated you all through the Academy years when you only wanted a few friends. And for that, I also deeply apologize. Please forgive us," I said.

"Eh? Uh, yeah guys, for sure! No sweat. Don't worry about it," Naruto said, on the verge of tears himself. "Thinking about it, I might've been a bit annoying too. Ehehe," he chuckled as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

I smiled fondly as once more, our team's bond grew a little stronger.

Yeah, I know this is a short chapter. I'm sorry but I had to cut it off here or else the chapter would've been super long.
Also, I was thinking about changing the fic's title from 'Reddit Accident' to something more interesting. Any ideas?