No review, no new chapters. This will be the last posted chapter.
"I can't believe that damn brat actually broke my sword," Kisame growled, cradling his weapon in his lap. "Does he have any idea how long it takes someone like me to make a new one?"
Itachi listened to his complaints with half an ear, reading the leather-bound book in his hands. "A necessary sacrifice."
"Necessary? Why even bother fighting him if you were going to interrupt halfway through?"
Kisame had been complaining since he came back, moaning over the destruction of his sword. Itachi tuned out his complaints after the first hour. He turned his page, answering his question as an afterthought. "Reasons."
Kisame rolled his eyes at the vague answer but expected it all the same. As long as they have been working together, he had an idea behind the reasons of his actions, but he had never given him specifics. Shaking his head, he placed his palm over the crack in the blade. A soft light emitted from his palm, his chakra entering the blade and slowly mending the crack.
It would take several days to mend, but it could not be helped. A ghoul just did not have enough chakra to produce a new weapon like a vampire or human could as their small amount of chakra came from the corpses they devoured which held little to no lifeforce in them.
Kisame was one of the few who could generate his own life force, but it was practically useless in long battles. He could store it in a reserve that depleted in battle before having to store it once again over a stretch of time. The longer he went without battle, the stronger he became.
He expended little during the fight with Uzumaki, Naruto, and if he chose, he could mend the sword right away, but it would deplete a significant portion of his reserves. Itachi preferred him to save his energy as well. In this cautious time, it was better to be prepared for battle than to be caught unarmed.
"Don't you think your little rival will catch wind of the little stunt we just pulled? I'm sure that fight's up on the internet by now."
"Most likely," Itachi picked up the tea from the coffee table. "And yet, the council has stayed quiet."
The raven perched next to the chair cawed and ruffled its feathers, asking to be petted by its master. Itachi indulged his pet, rubbing under its beak and lightly down its throat.
"At this juncture, all we can do is see what will occur next, and we will react appropriately. Until then, we have done what we can." He held out his arm which the bird jumped onto. "It is fortunate that my dear little brother is following my plans to the letter."
"I think your brother would stake himself if he ever realized it," Kisame muttered.
A small smile cracked Itachi's perfect mask. It was eerie on a man who never smiled or showed an ounce of emotion. "Perhaps," he said, walking to the window and opening it. The raven took flight, taking to the night sky. "So, let's make sure he continues to do so, shall we?"
"Come on Uchiha, give me a break." Uzumaki was sprawled out on the wooden floor, dripping sweat and gasping for air. "It's been two weeks, and I feel like I'm about to die." Closing his eyes, he tried to slow his breathing only to have his eyes snap open. He managed to spring onto his hands and flip back onto his feet, dodging the shuriken that had landed where his head would have been.
Uzumaki's instincts were top-notch, and his body was in excellent shape to be able to adapt so quickly. It went beyond having a knack for fighting. Although years of fighting had been engrained into Uzumaki, he had to have developed some of it on his own throughout the years. Given the people who occupied the island, Uzumaki had probably picked fights with a hunter or two without knowing.
Even so, Uzumaki's progress was unusually fast, and more than once, if Sasuke pushed past Uzumaki's natural limits, Uzumaki's eyes would glaze over, and a surge of energy would compensate and assist his training. The surge only lasted fractions of a second; hardly notable, but enough to enhance Uzumaki's performance.
That wasn't the only odd thing. Naruto should have been nearing the end of his change. In his last week in fact, but his change had stagnated. He showed no signs of being near the final stages of his transformation. Naruto hadn't noticed due to the time training, having lost track of the days, but Uchiha had been keeping careful track, readying for the final steps. Naruto's change had stopped progressing after two weeks, but his abilities, vampire and human, were getting stronger.
"Take an hour break," Sasuke said, sheathing his katana.
Uzumaki didn't have to be told twice. He collapsed back onto the floor the second Ryu gave his permission.
"Tobi, prepare him some food." Sasuke barely waited for his butler's confirmation, already heading out the room. He closed the door softly behind him. "You know, it is rude to enter people's houses without permission."
Gaara was leaning against the wall, just outside the dojo, arms crossed. He looked significantly healthier than he had two weeks ago. "Uzumaki hasn't been in school for two weeks."
"Does your lover know you're coming to see another man?" Sasuke couldn't help the jab. He had grown to dislike Gaara for his tight-lipped history and his obsession with Uzumaki.
"Let's talk in your office. Uzumaki is less likely to overhear."
There was no reason to reject Gaara's suggestion as he was going to offer the same; however, Gaara was too comfortable in his home for a guest, let alone an intruder. Trespassing gave Sasuke the right to kill him as Gaara knew whose territory the land belonged to. The only thing stopping him was the blond fledgling laying on his dojo floor cursing under his breath. He had certainly grown soft over the years; a trait Gaara was exploiting.
They both took a seat, Sasuke adopting a business-like persona behind his desk. "So, what can I help you with, Gaara-san."
"It is nearing the date of his turn, I thought I would offer my assistance," Gaara replied. He sat at the edge of his leather chair, not letting his guard down.
"As kind as that offer is, I have a hard time trusting someone who keeps secrets." Sasuke leaned forward. "That is unless you want to tell me exactly what you and Naruto are?"
Gaara observed him, showing no signs of what he was thinking. Then, unexpectedly he said, "He's not changing, is he?"
Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke said with a forced calm, "You expected this."
"Not quite, but there was a chance."
"And I have never heard of a situation like this." Sasuke stood, frowning. "You want me to trust you, but you don't give me reason to."
"If I am honest," Gaara said, meeting his gaze head on. "Uzumaki's biology and background differ from mine. It may seem unimportant, but it changes his situation from mine. I can only speculate."
"Then speculate. You claim to want to help Uzumaki, but you refuse to give me anything that will help him. I have no choice but to question you and your motives."
Gaara faltered, breaking eye contact from Sasuke to look at his hands. Exhaling slowly, he looked up. "If I told you, everything Uzumaki has known, anything normal that he has left, any peace of mind, any hope that things may one day get better, will be stripped away, and I have no guarantee you won't tell him and take that away from him, and I can't take your infatuation with him as assurance that you will do what's best for him."
"Infatuation?" Sasuke replied unable to hide his surprise then his lips curled with amusement. "You think that I'd have feelings for a child?"
"You're not the only one who has resources. Your history in England is quite… bloody, to put it nicely." Sasuke glared but it did nothing to stop Gaara from continuing. "People may change, but until recently, your habits had been constant if not as reckless as it had been before the World Wars. The old you would not have taken in a fledgling, and you would not go so far to protect him." Gaara was confident as he asked his next question. "Am I wrong?"
He couldn't deny what Gaara had said. His past self would have never taken in Uzumaki and at the first sign of inconvenience, such as being under the eye of Tsunade; he would have killed him and dumped his body somewhere. Yet he was here, training him, trying to protect him, something he would have scoffed at before he came to Japan.
"Uzumaki is entertainment. That's all."
"As I said," Gaara stood, "Infatuation isn't something I can trust." He bowed his head. "If you need assistance in regards to Uzumaki, do not hesitate to contact me."
Sasuke watched Gaara leave with a blank face, restraining himself from commenting further. He had looked up information on Gaara, or as much as he could, but almost all of it was redacted due to his age and country of origin. The fact he was the ambassador's son only made it more difficult to obtain. All he knew was that Gaara was much younger than he had anticipated, being the same age as Uzumaki and, from his appearance, looked to be the same age too. He had thought Gaara was 10 or so years old, but there was a possibility he was a newborn, and newborns didn't have the control he had.
Closing his eyes, he exhaled slowly, releasing the tension from his shoulders. Gaara was a problem for another time. There was no sense worrying about it now.
Pushing the issue aside, he went back to the dojo in the basement. Naruto should have had plenty of time to rest. Opening the sliding door, he was surprised to see Naruto gone and Tobi clearly panicking at seeing his master there without having found the teen.
The wooden frame of the rice paper sliding door splintered in Sasuke's grip. Someone was going to die.
"Two weeks. Two weeks of that bastard putting me through hellish training and not letting me out of his sight. I'm going crazy."
Kiba listened, handing Naruto some water. Naruto was squatting outside the convenience store in downtown, smoking his cigarette. He took the water gratefully, opening it with haste. Naruto had lost his appetite for real food, but it didn't keep his stomach from gnawing on itself from hunger. Water was the only thing that didn't have that gritty taste and helped stave off his hunger. "Sounds hard on you."
"You have no idea," Naruto sighed, taking several gulps of water from the bottle. Water dribbled down his chin which he wiped away with the back of his sleeve. "How's school?"
Kiba's face scrunched up in displeasure. "Well, midterms were difficult. I have to take remedial classes for them, and Tsunade-san's been on the warpath. You kind of disappeared from school after all."
Naruto winced at hearing the news. After disappearing for a couple of days just a few weeks prior, it probably put a lot of strain on her, and he hadn't called her or Jiraiya either.
"But!" Kiba's face filled up with excitement, blushing lightly but with a giant grin on his face. "I finally gathered up the courage to ask Hyuuga-san out to the new café in downtown with me."
"You asked out Hinata-chan?" The quiet cousin of Hyuuga, Neji came to mind. She was smart, pretty, and very kind to everyone, not to mention she was from one of the prominent families on the island. She was the ideal type of girl any guy would want to date. "Isn't she out of your league?" Naruto joked.
Kiba laughed. "Yeah, I think so too, but she said yes."
There was genuine happiness for his friend. Kiba had his sights on her since grade school but had always been too shy to really say anything. It was a real-life love story, and Kiba would treat her like a princess. Kiba's life was moving on without him, and there was a small sense of loss that Kiba would have a normal life, while he wouldn't.
"I'm happy for you man, congrats." Naruto smiled at him, and Kiba beamed back.
"I'm sure you'll find a girl one day. You have all eternity after all."
The words were meant to help, but it didn't soothe, reminding him that his life was no longer normal. "I don't think I have much luck with girls. Sakura-chan says I'm too oblivious."
"Well, there's a festival going on, or we could always take the ferry to Beppu if you want to get away for a bit," Kiba suggested.
There were no words to describe the relief Naruto felt when Kiba had agreed to meet him downtown when he called. Kiba may have been a bit oblivious, but he had stuck by Naruto's side through thick and thin since middle school when Naruto jumped into a fight with some high school kids beating up on Kiba. Kiba was his first and for the longest time, only friend.
Being around a lot of people, even tourists wasn't very appealing. He really just wanted a quiet afternoon before Uchiha finally tracked him down and dragged him back. "You have school tomorrow, right? Let's eat out. My treat."
Kiba threw his arm over Naruto's shoulder. "No, it's my treat, my treat." He laughed loudly, dragging Naruto towards the quieter part of town and away from the main activities.
Naruto wasn't sure what the festival was for but there were a lot of big wigs attending as always. As most of the people and employees were attending the festivals or working the stalls, the rest of the area was quiet for an afternoon.
"Well, if you're buying, I want meat."
"Geez, go for the expensive stuff why don't you. Okonomiyaki."
"We always get that. What are you, cheap?"
"Says the guy getting a free meal."
The feeling of normalcy warmed Naruto from the inside out. Worrying that Kiba would change his act towards him, Naruto had restrained himself from acting completely like himself. But now that laid forgotten. Talking about everyday things that they used to.
He was engrossed in his conversation, so he didn't notice right away, the man walking towards them. If he had, maybe he would have separated from Kiba sooner or changed directions, but he didn't─ not until Naruto had practically run into him.
"Uzumaki-san," Itachi greeted.
Panic swelled in Naruto's chest. They were on a street with very little foot traffic, but it was still a few people here and there. Surely, he wouldn't cause trouble. However, Naruto knew that held little sway. He had been attacked in Tokyo. There was little chance Itachi would put off anything just because it was in public.
"Who are you?" Kiba asked rudely, taking a step forward and trying to act intimidating.
Naruto did his best to grab hold of his arm and pull him back subtly, but it was too late, Itachi had turned his emotionless gaze to Kiba. "Leave us."
Why would anyone just do what they were told, Naruto thought, but that's exactly what Kiba did. With a calm and serene smile, Kiba pulled out of Naruto's hold and turned around, heading back the way they had come.
"Kiba-kun?" he called out weakly, watching his friend walk away.
"I would advise that you let him go, Uzumaki-san. He may not make it home safely otherwise."
Naruto was tempted to follow Kiba, but the threat lingered over his head. There was something unnerving about Itachi. Although Itachi had never laid a hand on him, he feared him more than the man who had nearly killed him a couple of weeks ago. "What do you want with me?"
"I believe you wanted to eat meat. We'll talk after the meal. It is the polite way to do business, is it not?"
His overly polite way of speaking made Naruto uncomfortable. He didn't give a vibe of a villain, more like a creepy coworker or classmate you rather avoid. No sign of arrogance or sense of superiority though he carried himself as Sasuke did, with an air of nobility.
Naruto followed Itachi quietly, wondering if he could slip away while the vampire was distracted. The problem was he had no idea where the other man was. For all he knew, he could be stalking Kiba waiting for a call from Itachi to slit his throat. The unknown kept Naruto bound to Itachi's "requests".
Itachi, surprisingly, kept to his word, bringing Naruto to a barbeque restaurant, taking a seat at a traditional Japanese table with a cooktop. Waving the waiter over, he placed the order for both of them without looking at the menu.
They sat quietly as they waited. Naruto watched Itachi's every move, while Itachi appeared to pay little attention to him, pouring the green tea supplied to them into a cup and sipping occasionally.
"Why am I here?" Naruto asked, gripping his ankles in his rising anxiety.
"It is rude to talk business during a meal. You will be unable to make good business relations in the future if you don't learn proper etiquette for the future."
Naruto had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from retorting. A lecture from a possible killer about manners, the irony wasn't lost on him. He couldn't do much other than sit quietly.
The waiter brought the tray of raw meats and vegetables, placing it gingerly onto the table. It was high-end beef too, and just the sight of it made Naruto's mouth water and his stomach rumble. It was just a shame he wouldn't be able to taste it.
"Itadakimasu," Itachi said as he picked up the chopsticks and placed the first slice of meat onto the grill.
"Itadakimasu," Naruto replied with much less enthusiasm and much more hesitant in placing the meat onto the grill. He was surprised that Itachi was actively eating and drinking tea, not showing a hint of disgust on his face.
"I hope my good for nothing little brother is treating you well. He has never been very good at dealing with people."
"No… he's been quite good to me." Naruto found himself using polite language despite himself. While Sasuke came off as a foreigner, not caring for the nuances and Japanese style of speaking, Itachi was the opposite, careful to follow Japanese practices and etiquette.
Itachi picked up the meat with his chopsticks, dipping them in a sauce before consuming it. Naruto did the same and sure enough, the taste was similar to dirt and ash. Still, he ate, not giving a chance for Itachi to complain about Naruto not entertaining him.
Grow a backbone, kit. He has you running scared without lifting a finger.
The sudden voice startled Naruto, shaking him out of the oppressive atmosphere that had slowly but surely surrounded him, ready to strangle him. How had he not notice how hard it had become to just breathe.
"Appealing, isn't he."
"What?"
"The voice that speaks to you. He makes you want to trust him, doesn't he?" Itachi placed his chopsticks onto his plate.
"H-how do you…"
"You shouldn't rely on him."
Naruto put his chopsticks down as well, but much more forcibly. "Excuse my rudeness, but I think I should go."
"You would risk your friend's life?"
That stopped Naruto's retreat. Feeling trapped, he gripped his chopsticks until the wood began to crack.
Itachi pulled out a wallet. They had only eaten through half of the food brought to them, but Itachi placed a 10,000 yen bill on the table "Now that we have eaten, I suppose it's time to talk." Itachi once again took the lead. As they exited the restaurant the employees all had blank expressions as they bowed to him, thanking him for his service. It was as they left that Naruto realized there were no other patrons in the restaurant.
"Hey, wait!" Naruto ran after Itachi. "How long do you think I'm going to keep going along with this? You can't just keep ordering me around."
"No," Itachi agreed, not slowing his pace. "But before that, shall we stop by the pachinko parlor? I've never played before."
"Stop fucking with me!" Naruto stopped in the street. His eyes had turned red. "Tell me what you want, you insignificant ant."
Itachi stopped as well, turning very slowly. "My lord," he bowed his head in acknowledgment. "I didn't come to speak to you, but the boy."
"Your actions would speak otherwise," he growled. "If you know who I am, leave me and the boy alone."
"Quite perceptive, my lord. You are correct," Itachi conceded.
Naruto only blinked. The distance between them meant nothing. Itachi had Naruto pinned to a wall in the alley before he even finished blinking. "I did come for you."
Naruto gasped, his red eyes wide with surprise as his hands trailed to the blade that had impaled him through his stomach becoming slick with blood. His eyes flashed between blue and red.
Itachi leaned closer until he could whisper his next words into Naruto's ear. "I seal thee."
"Curse you… Uchiha." Naruto's eyes reverted back to blue then to a dull blue as he lost consciousness.
The raven-hair vampire removed his katana from the teen's stomach, watching the body fall to the ground. With a flick of his wrist, he cleaned the blade when he heard a rustle from above. He lifted the sword to cross the path of another coming down from above. Itachi's eyes met a matching set of black as a body followed the sword's path, landing gracefully in front of Itachi and keeping their blades locked.
"Tobi-san," Itachi said, eyebrows furrowed. "You are a nuisance as usual."
"Sasuke will be very upset to find the boy in your hands." A bright smile lit up Tobi's face. "As a servant, it is my duty to retrieve him." Tobi held up the mangled corpse of a raven before tossing it aside. "I should thank you for leading me right to him."
Itachi scoffed. "My brother is easily misled, as are you."
A kunai slid out of his sleeve into his left hand. He stabbed towards Itachi's chest, but Itachi freed his right hand to block the attack. As Itachi's weapon was a two-handed weapon, Tobi took advantage of the weakened stance and pivoted on his left foot to kick with his right.
Itachi pushed back against Tobi's short sword, jumping out of the way just in time. The kick missed by a mere centimeter. With another jump, Itachi landed on top of a chain-linked fence, looking down on his opponent. "I apologize, but I do not have time to entertain you today."
Tobi jumped onto the fence as well, taking another swiped at Itachi.
Itachi leaped over Tobi, landing on the other side. The move was foreseen however, allowing Tobi to ready a counter kick. Itachi blocked it, but not as easily as he would have like, sliding back several centimeters.
"That is so cool!"
The exclamation of a boy, no older than 10 years old, standing at the entrance of the alleyway, drew Tobi's attention. With the distraction, Itachi took advantage, jumping onto an apartment balcony railing then on top of the building. "Next time, let's not play around, alright Oji-san?" With that departing message, he disappeared.
Tobi didn't follow. Naruto was still lying on the ground bleeding out.
With his partial change, Naruto didn't bleed as much as a normal human would have, but there was still a lot of blood, pooling underneath his body.
With a frown, Tobi lifted his shirt to inspect the wound. It was healing but at a very slow pace. It wouldn't close before he bled to death.
Naruto moaned softly from being moved, his eyes open just a sliver.
"Uzumaki-sama? Can you hear me?"
"Tobi…san?" With weak and uncoordinated movements, he tried to sit up only to gasp in pain and almost pass out again.
Tobi's frown deepened. "Stay right here and try to stay awake." Tobi's eyes locked onto the child who had spotted them. "I'll be right back."
The child took a step away when Tobi stood, fear covering his face. Before he could escape, Tobi caught him. The child squirmed against him until he met Tobi's eyes and the fight drained out of him, becoming compliant and growing silent.
He brought the child over, holding the small wrist near Naruto's mouth. "You need to drink."
"No," with little strength he had, Naruto turned his head away. "I won't kill him."
"You're not fully changed. You won't turn him, but you need blood, Uzumaki-sama. Please, make this time an exception."
Stubbornness was etched on his features, his lips tightening in defiance.
Tobi frowned. "Uzumaki-sama, I'm begging you." Taking his kunai, he placed the blade against the skin, pressing into the fragile flesh. Blood quickly started flowing. "Drink."
No was on the tip of his tongue, but the smell reach nose and the blood dripped onto his lips. Against his will, Naruto's tongue darted out, licking the blood off his lips. It tasted sweet, and his stomach cramped with intense pain. Though he had just eaten, it felt like he was starving. His teeth ached too; he could vaguely feel his canines lengthening and turning into fangs. His mind kept saying no, but his body wasn't listening. The smell, the taste, it was so enticing and his mind clouding.
"If you drink Uzumaki-sama, you will feel better," he said gently, bringing the wrist closer, dropping more blood onto his lips.
The more Naruto resisted, the more the hunger grew.
Unable to resist no longer, he latched his teeth into the tender flesh, drinking greedily. He hadn't expected to hear the cry out in pain, but he didn't even flinch. Even in pain, the child didn't try to pull away or fight back. The odd state faded from Naruto's mind as thought was wiped, focusing on the blood that filled his mouth. The first thing he could taste in weeks may as well have been heavenly nectar as each gulp, eased his pain.
Tobi grabbed Naruto's jaw, applying force to unlock Naruto's bite from the small wrist. "You must let go, Uzumaki-sama. You wouldn't want to overeat and accidentally murder him. I will procure another for you to feed off of."
Naruto growled, his pupils dilated wide. He snapped at Tobi, who kept Naruto easily at bay. Tobi pushed the child out of the way, paying little mind to the child collapsing a meter away.
With Naruto still injured, he was unable to move well, giving Tobi enough time to grab another stranger from the street.
This time, Naruto didn't need an incentive to drink, biting down the moment the wrist came into his range. When the time came, Tobi made Naruto release the arm to repeat the process one last time.
More lucid with the pain receding and feeling well-fed, Naruto let go, feeling tired. His wound had nearly completely healed but left him physically and mentally drained. Once ridding of the third human, Tobi cleaned Naruto's mouth with a handkerchief to the best of his abilities. There was little he could do about the blood on Naruto's clothes.
"How did you find me?" Naruto asked, standing on shaky feet.
"I've been looking for you since you left the mansion. Uchiha-sama was not happy that you had left."
"I bet not."
Smiling, Tobi placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I parked the car just around the corner. It's unlocked. Please make your way there first."
Naruto took a glance at the humans lying in the alley. They weren't moving.
"Do not worry, Uzumaki-sama, I will take care of them. Please, go on ahead. I will be there momentarily."
With a stiff nod, Naruto obeyed, wondering how he was going to tell Uchiha he was right.
"Time is running out, Uzumaki-san's change will come any day now. If we don't kill him now, that monster will be released. Then what? The world plunging back into darkness under the lords' reign?"
Iruka kept his eyes down, clenching his folded hands underneath the table. This meeting was not going well, not that he could say much in Uzumaki's defense. The elders had called another meeting, gathering all the clan leaders to discuss the current rising problem. Uzumaki.
After seeing the magazine with Uzumaki on the cover, it was practically mocking them. While there was a treaty in place to keep them from going after Uchiha for causing the trouble in the first place, Uzumaki was no under such protection and posed a much bigger threat.
"Umino-san," the Hyuuga clan leader's voice startled Iruka out of his thoughts, making him sit upright.
Hyuuga, Hiashi was a man not to be intimidated. He was a refined man, never to raise his voice yet never to be pushed around, Hyuuga was one of the main and original clan leaders. With hair that reached his waist and eyes that matched both his daughters and nephew, it gave Iruka a very clear view of what Neji would look like in the future. However, this man never approved of anything. Iruka could not help but think that his precious students lived difficult lives because of it.
"You have been very quiet," he said. "Do you not have anything to say?"
"I am the last of my clan who can utilize chakra, and do not have the power or support that the other clans can provide. Therefore, I believe that the matter would best be left to the other clans. However, I will obey whatever is decided and humbly offer my assistance." Iruka bowed his head.
"Do not bow your head so easily Umino-san," Tsunade spoke up. She had been silent until then, watching the debate. With her being so close to Uzumaki, her opinion no doubt held little weight. But now that she had finally spoken, she was looking at Iruka with understanding eyes, knowing how hard this was. The only reason they had not gone through with killing Uzumaki yet was due to Jiraiya's insistence. "Until the chakra has finally left your bloodline completely, you are a clan leader. And a leader must hold their head high, no matter how young they may be."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama. Forgive me for my moment of weakness."
She smiled at him fondly, giving Iruka that bit of strength needed to continue the discussion.
"We have let Uzumaki live this long because he was Minato's son, but his time is up," the elder Danzo stood. Danzo was one of the three elders, whose unanimous decision could outweigh Tsunade's decisions, something they had done many times to undermined her. Neither of the three had ever like Tsunade, Minato, or Naruto. The dreaded words that Iruka had been expecting since walking into this assembly were finally said. "The elders have decided to go forth with the assassination of Uzumaki, Naruto."
Murmurs of agreement went around the room. Why? Why did these people who had watched Naruto grow up not feel anything for him, living in fear of a child who knew nothing?
If Uchiha had never shown himself, Naruto would have been safe.
"Then it is decided," Tsunade said, raising her voice to signal everyone to quiet down. "Is there anyone who wishes to take on this task?"
Iruka's hand slowly raised before the sentence had even finished. Tsunade's eyes fixated on him, and he knew that she was confused even if she was an expert at hiding it. "Umino-san?"
"I can offer little in regard to the Konoha village, so allow me to be useful and carry out this task."
Nodding her head, Tsunade conceded. "Very well. Umino-san will be the one taking the mission."
Her words were a hit to the gut. He volunteered, but the words made it much more real. Hearing the people around him talking once again, his resolve strengthened. HE wouldn't allow these people to get near Uzumaki. They wouldn't feel anything when they took his life, but he would. Uzumaki deserved to be mourned and his life taken by someone who cared. His death should haunt the person forced to take it.
"Now on to our next topic of discussion," Tsunade said, her voice turning hard. "The new mission put up on the table. Disabling Hidan."