Naruto groaned as he slowly came to. As he regained consciousness, he became painfully aware of the pounding at the base of his skull to the point it almost brought tears to his eyes. Instinctively, he moved to grab his head only to find that he couldn't, his arms chained to a wall.
"Uzumaki, are you awake?"
That was funny, Uchiha's voice sounded strange. Struggling, Naruto opened his eyes, the fluorescent light forcing him to close them again, his head renewing its fierce pounding. Naruto breathed through the pain, taking a few more tries before he could succeed in his attempts and get a decent look at his surroundings.
Directly in front of him, Uchiha was chained as well though he was dangling from the ceiling by his shackles, his wrists bleeding severely while his legs were chained to the cement below, partially dressed in only his slacks. It prevented Uchiha from gaining any moment by swinging. Attached to Uchiha's right arm was an IV with what looked to be a bag of blood hanging 30 centimeters away or so.
Uchiha was paler than normal, and his veins were visible under his skin, colored a dark, almost black, purple.
"Hey, you okay, Uchiha? What happened to you? Where are we?" Naruto's own voice sounded dry and raspy. How long had he been out for?
"Ah, wonderful. You're finally awake, Naruto-kun." A figure entered through a metal door on the other side somewhere off to Naruto's right. Naruto was unable to bring himself to turn his head to look. One, he feared he'd incapacitate himself from the pain if he tried to do so. Two, he was terrified to seek out the one who had called him. He recognized that voice. It was always prevalent in his nightmares. Even with amnesia, he hadn't been able to forget it.
"Whoever you are, you better let us the fuck go, else you're going to regret it."
The man who had entered laughed with fond amusement. "You haven't changed a bit. Even your threats are the same. You have no idea how happy I am to find out you survived. After all, you are my most valuable specimen."
You are after all our most valuable specimen. Any doubt about who this man was had left him. The words resonated in Naruto's head, and the color drained from Naruto's face. Anywhere but here. He wanted to be anywhere but here
"I'm so glad you remember me," Orochimaru smiled. "I was afraid you had forgotten. You were only a young child back then after all. I do apologize for the rough transport. My assistant went against my orders, but the important thing is that you're back. There were so many experiments I wanted to do back then. Now, I can do it without people looking over my shoulder for progress." He was positively gleeful.
"If you just want me, let Uchiha go. He has nothing to do with this."
"And why would I do that?" Orochimaru asked surprised. His confusion was soon replaced with an all-knowing smile. "Are you trying to sacrifice yourself for your potential mate?"
"Mate? What the fuck are you talking about?" Naruto glanced at Uchiha who was avoiding all eye contact by keeping his head down.
"There's no need to hide it, Naruto-kun." At Naruto's confused face, Orochimaru laughed. "I see. He didn't tell you. That makes things much more interesting."
"Whatever it is, it has nothing to do with you," Naruto growled.
"True, but I always wanted to experiment on a mated pair before. With this, I can knock out two birds with one stone."
"Leave. Him. Alone." Naruto's voice grew deeper, and it barely seemed human. His fists clenched to the point of drawing blood.
"Hmm. I don't want to." He touched Naruto's left hand, unclenching it. Uchiha tugged sharply on his chains when he did, anger very clear on his face. "Don't worry, Sasuke-kun. I'm not going to erase it. I've just never seen a marking up close before."
For the hundredth time, Naruto was wondering what the hell was going on. Why had Uchiha acted the way he had?
"You see, Naruto-kun, as being an immortal is typically a lonely existence, instinctively, they search for a compatible partner to spend the rest of eternity with. Only one. They are quite territorial about it. To ward off others, they'll leave a mark, infused with their chakra. It can be a physical mark, for example, a bite, or an invisible one. The one he left on you," he tapped the center of Naruto's hand, "is here."
A soft growl was emanating from Uchiha which Orochimaru ignored.
"It really is a fascinating concept. I've heard stories and rumors about how an immortal could go completely insane if they lose their mate. I always wanted to test whether that theory was true."
It was a lot to think about, but there was no time. Naruto could only interpret the last part that Orochimaru said that implied killing either him or Uchiha, and Orochimaru had made it quite clear how much he wanted to keep Naruto.
Uchiha on the other hand was looking worse for wear. Whatever anger he had a moment ago, was let go in favor of labored breathing.
Naruto's eyes flashed red. "What did you do to him?"
Orochimaru observed him with interest. "It's been a long time since I've seen your eyes turn color like that. But to answer your question, the IV contains dead man's blood. I'm sure your lover has been feeling unparalleled pain until now. I'm impressed he's kept as much control as he had; however, he probably can't feel too much anymore. By now, all the blood in his body should be contaminated." Orochimaru said it so offhandedly as if telling Naruto Uchiha was just going to the store.
"It's only a precaution. I can't have him running amuck in my laboratory," Orochimaru continued, walking over to Uchiha. He pulled a needle from his lab coat pocket and injected the contents into the IV bag. "Did you know Sasuke-kun didn't even put up a fight? All I had to do was threaten him with your life, and he just gave up. It was so easy. I was a bit disappointed. Then I noticed your mark and understood everything."
Naruto growled again, baring his teeth as his eyes glanced around for an escape. The walls were made of concrete, and though the room was clean, there was nothing that could be of use as a weapon. The only way out was the metal door Orochimaru had come through. There had to be a way out somehow.
"Now I want you to be completely honest with me, Naruto-kun," Orochimaru said as if talking to a child. He drew a silver knife from his pocket and casually dragged it across Uchiha's chest drawing blood. "Tell me exactly how you feel right now."
"Leave him alone!" Naruto yelled, pulling against his restraints, the cuffs biting into his wrists and slicking them with blood. This scenario was far too familiar, and it was making him sick.
Ignoring the protests, Orochimaru continued his work, carving into Uchiha's skin. The blood was thick, almost like paste, and barely dripped. What concerned Naruto most, however, was that the wounds were not healing. "Uchiha do something! Don't just stand there!"
"Now, now, Naruto-kun. I just explained why Sasuke-kun won't fight, now didn't I? Your life is much too valuable. He would never risk it."
"Dammit, Uchiha! Forget about me and get out of there!" By the end, Naruto was just above pleading, trying to meet Uchiha's eyes who still refused to look at him. "Uchiha!"
"I doubt he'd be able to escape if he wanted to, Naruto-kun. Let me demonstrate." Orochimaru released Uchiha from his shackles. The moment Sasuke's arms were free, he fell to the ground, barely able to put his arms underneath him in time to keep his face from hitting the cement floor. A soft pained sound came from his lips, but other than that, he didn't move.
"There you go, Sasuke-kun. You are free to attack me as much as you wish."
Uchiha didn't move, just continued breathing hard and throwing a glare at Orochimaru.
"No? You're good then?"
Uchiha didn't answer.
"As you can see, Sasuke-kun isn't moving." He kicked Uchiha onto his back. Pain was etched onto Uchiha's face. "To be more accurate, he can't. Dead man's blood is like a poison. It weakens them. A little bit can disorient them, enough and it can be like cement. The blood is too thick to be circulated. It's excruciatingly painful." He bent down and raised Uchiha's arm. The simple action caused Uchiha's breath to hitch, and he clench his teeth through the pain, trying not to scream. Orochimaru apparently didn't like that.
"While older vampires can develop a certain level of immunity to it, he's still too young." Orochimaru easily picked Uchiha off the floor and hung him back up like he was just laundry in need of drying. During the process, pained sounds escaped Uchiha's lips as he tried not to cry out.
The entire process just made the anger build in Naruto to the point he could barely think straight. Stop touching him, was all Naruto could think about. Hadn't Orochimaru tortured him and Gaara enough? "What did you give him just now?" Naruto barely managed to get out between a clenched jaw.
"Immortals need living blood to keep themselves in peak condition. I can't have him passing out on me quite yet, so I gave him something to keep him awake."
"Just… leave him alone. You have me. I'll do anything you ask, just let me go." All these newfound powers and Naruto still felt useless. Why was he never strong enough?
"I can't do that. I made a deal after all. Originally, you weren't even supposed to be in the same room, but the reactions were worth it."
Orochimaru was just as arrogant as his assistant. The only difference was, he wasn't underestimating them. He took a risk but also took precautions for them. He knew for a fact that neither Uchiha nor Naruto could do anything to stop him because he would not give them a chance to.
"If you excuse me, I have experiments to prepare for. Do try to stay relaxed. A stressed subject does tend to skew results."
Naruto wanted to scream fuck you, but Uchiha's condition kept his focus even as the scientist was leaving. "Don't worry, Uchiha," Naruto said with a gentleness he somehow pulled out from under all his hatred. "I'll get us out of here. Just hold on a bit longer."
A pained chuckle escaped the vampire, his eyes shining with amusement even though it caused him discomfort. "And how do you plan to do that, idiot. If you had stayed put like I asked, this wouldn't have happened."
"Doubt it, bastard. Tobi wasn't there. Isn't it your fault we got captured?"
Uchiha's head shot up. "What do you mean, Tobi wasn't there?"
Picking up on Uchiha's alarm, he quickly put two and two together. "He said that you summoned him or something. I'm guessing you didn't, and it was really a trap."
"So it would seem." Uchiha sounded tired. That wasn't good. He had to figure out a way to help him.
Minutes passed by in silence as Naruto tried to figure out an escape. He thought of dislocating his hand, but it wouldn't help. The manacles were too tight. He'd have to cut off his hand to escape. He did seriously consider it but concluded that he'd need both hands to get them out of there. His hands were feeling numb, so Orochimaru would have to come back and release him eventually to let his hands circulate.
Uchiha was the one to speak first. "You are not going to ask?"
"Ask what?" Naruto asked, feigning ignorance. He wanted to delay this talk until after they were free. He didn't want to bring their feelings to light in a place like this. If they did, it would feel like a cliché, someone dying after admitting their feelings. That aside, he believed Uchiha should be saving his energy, trying to recover.
Uchiha gave him an exasperated look, clearly not agreeing. "Uzumaki," he said wearily.
Naruto let out a weary sigh himself. "What do you want me to ask, Uchiha? Why you marked me? Why you think I'm somehow your mate? Why you didn't say something sooner? This isn't the time or place for it, and it's killing you just to speak."
"Since I met you, nothing's gone right."
Naruto's blood ran cold at that as the feeling of disappointment took over. His stomach dropped and he had to stop himself from showing it all on his face, preventing any tears that wanted to fall from the hurt. Of course, Uchiha didn't like him. No one did.
"I never intended to let you live. Never intended to get you involved in my life or yours. I had only come back to Japan to find my brother, but even with my brother in front of me, I've had trouble focusing on it, more worried about you."
Uchiha smiled a bit. "Everything about you seemed to draw me. First the taste of your blood. Then your situation. Then your personality. I kept telling myself it was just circumstances, but an annoying person brought the truth to light. I've found a sense of peace within myself since I met you, and when you were taken by my brother, I was at a loss of what to do. Finding you took priority over locating Itachi.
"The legend that vampires take one mate in their lifetime is often true, and I never planned to take one. I didn't want Itachi to have leverage over me ever again, but now, I find that I don't want to go back to how I was. I don't want the darkness and hatred inside me to take control again."
Naruto's face was a deep red. Never in his life did he believe he would receive such a love confession, especially from Uchiha. In the back of his mind, he knew Uchiha was not himself, and that it could have been whatever Orochimaru gave him, yet Uchiha's words made his heart beat faster and warmed him. "I'm not as good as you seem to think I am," Naruto said quietly. "People call me a monster. I doubt I can bring out anything good in you."
"Perhaps it takes a demon to love a monster even if that monster is a dumbass."
"That last part was unnecessary, asshole," however it did make Naruto chuckle. "Shut up and get your strength back. You're so loopy, you're getting sappy on me."
"I find your voice to be a pleasant distraction right now," Uchiha could no longer keep his head up, dropping it back down. He was really weak, and Uchiha's speech was slowly reverting to an older style.
"Just rest, Uchiha. I'll talk enough for the both of us."
Naruto went into detail about his fight against Kabuto. He described how he managed to pull of an illusion technique and how he had outsmarted his enemy, embellishing some details, and when he finished with that tale, went into his training with Kisame who had taught him the technique in the first place. He cut out the more brutal moments of his training, wanting not to worry Uchiha, and focused more on his accomplishments. As soon as he finished that, he launched into stories about his mischief with Kiba as a child.
Uchiha had his eyes closed. Occasionally, he would give a small nod, or a smirk would pull on his lips, showing he was still conscious and paying attention.
As Naruto spoke, his thoughts drifted, cursing himself for letting this happen. Uchiha had known Naruto was his weakness and the words that he gave to Naruto before he parted kept replaying in his head. Believe me. I'll be safer if you stay here. Uchiha wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him, and that was hard to bear.
Naruto had not realized he had stopped speaking until he started to laugh. Curious, Uchiha opened his eyes to stare at the blonde teen who had appeared to have lost his mind. "You know, I just realized why you freaked out so bad during the wrestling match."
If Uchiha could blush, he would have. He looked away, clearly uncomfortable, but Naruto's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Don't worry. Just makes us even for that time I lost control in my room."
"I don't get you," Uchiha muttered under his breath.
"I'm saying, Uchiha, that you weren't the only one who found themselves drawn to someone." Naruto smiled to himself. Well it was out now, and there was no going back. Before Uchiha could comment, Naruto continued with his story about Kiba. They needed to save something for when they got home after all, and Naruto was going to make sure that happened, one way or another.
"Nii-san! Nii-san! Why did you say those things to Father?" Sasuke looked up at his older brother, distress clearly visible on his face. He resisted the urge to collapse on the soft grass beside him. Itachi was much faster at running than he was. Since he was older that was no surprise, but he had nearly lost him multiple times when following the young man from the main house. Luckily, Sasuke knew where Itachi was going. He always came to the river whenever he was troubled or wanted to be alone. He personally didn't know why. The Thames River was dirty compared to the rivers back home. His father said the rivers in Japan were even more beautiful before the Europeans came.
Itachi looked up from his book, giving him a soft smile he always reserved just for him. "Sasuke, you should be studying your Latin right now. I am sure your tutor's heart will give out if you miss another session. That or Father will send you back to the church to continue your biblical lessons every Sunday."
The young boy simply wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I do not see why we must endure such human fantasies of a single god. These people speak of equality and justice for all, and yet they invade other countries and colonize them to 'civilize' them by forcing their own practices and beliefs onto them while treating them as second class. Did you know that they do not believe animals have souls? How barbaric to think that they do not feel as we do simply because they do not speak as we do."
Itachi nodded his head just slightly. "I do find their logic to be insubstantial in practicality and often changing or rationalized when a flaw in said logic is brought to the surface, but humans only have a short time in this world compared to what we will have. Humans mature through their future generations, each generation a little wiser than their predecessor. It cannot be helped. They do not live long enough to mature in their own lifetime.
"It is true that humans have their flaws. The Europeans seem to stand out more to you because they are really all you know compared to the little time you spent in Japan, but you must remember little brother, right now, you are human. You are susceptible to their flaws, and when you grow older and your memories of this time fades, a part of you will always remain human for it is our beginning. We cannot escape it."
Sasuke took a seat next to his brother looking out to the river. "Those words are what make Father and Mother worry. We may be human now, but we train to become immortals. We are better than the normal humans."
Itachi's dark eyes went back to his book. "Tell me little brother; is what you said not what you were just criticizing about but a moment ago?"
The young boy faltered. "That is different. We are different from them."
"And now you rationalize what you were saying, making it no different from the humans that you despise so much. You consider yourself better than them. It is no different than the humans who believe they are superior to anything that is not human."
Sasuke had nothing to say, conflicted by his brother's words. What he had said made sense. Glancing back at the teen, he grew curious. "What are you reading today?"
Dark eyes flickered back to Sasuke, and the boy could see the calculations running through them. His brother was choosing his words carefully. "Sasuke, do you ever wonder about how Shinobi and Vampires came to being?"
The child shook his head, wondering where his brother was going with this. "No. They try to kill us, and we try to kill them, what is there to think about?"
"Do you not find it strange that some humans can use chakra while others cannot?"
The young raven frowned this time. "I have pondered on occasion, but it is a good thing is it not? If all humans had chakra, then there would be many more shinobi."
"I have a theory that shinobi and vampires have the same ancestor and through evolution have diverged into two separate species."
"Evolution?" The word felt foreign on the young boy's tongue. "Is that not that theory a crazy scientist named Darwin came up with? Father said to ignore such rubbish. And how can we come from the same ancestor? Vampires cannot reproduce as humans can."
"But what if they could? What if those legends were truth and vampires once could, but it became no longer needed when the traditional turning sufficed?"
"I don't know." Sasuke watched a fish jump out of the water. "It seems too unrealistic to me. You should stop talking about things like this. You cause Mother to cry when you do. She wants to help you."
Disappointment, though it was brief, flashed through his brother's eyes. "Sasuke, you are a good son. Father is very proud of you; however, you are too easily stained by others' perceptions."
"What do you mean by that?" Irritation was in Sasuke's tone, but curiosity was also evident.
"Sasuke when the time comes, I hope you will be able to see past what people tell you and look for the truth yourself." Itachi closed his book and elegantly stood up.
"I do not understand." The boy scrambled to get up to before his brother made his escape. As he got close, reaching out to grab his brother's sleeve, Itachi poked his head with his fore and middle fingers.
"Patience, little brother. You will understand when the time comes. Come, supper must be prepared by now."
"You are going to eat with us tonight?" The boy's eyes shone with hope.
"I am afraid I will spoil the taste of the meal if I were to join you tonight." At his brother's downtrodden look, he added, "Perhaps tomorrow's meal."
The young raven smiled. "Let us go before we are scolded again."
"You will already be scolded. You have missed your lessons again." Itachi gently reminded him. The boy had obviously forgotten as he winced at the reminder. "Do not worry. I shall take the blame, and say I brought you out to train."
"You would do that?"
"I would. Now let us get going before we are late." Sasuke smiled, grabbing his hand and pulling him along.
Sasuke tiredly opened his eyes. That was odd. He hadn't dreamed of a time before his parents' murder before. He had forgotten the times when Itachi had been kind to him. That memory took place about a month before the incident. After that conversation, the days following had been hard. His brother quickly distanced himself from Sasuke and the family. The fights between his father and brother grew in intensity, and his mother cried more and more often. He pushed those memories to the back of his mind. He'd wonder the significance of remembering them for later.
Looking around, it appeared he had fallen unconscious. Uzumaki was no longer there. Wherever he was taken to, chances were, it wasn't for a good reason. Orochimaru better hope Sasuke found him unharmed, else Orochimaru was going to wish for a merciful death.
It seemed a few things were done to him while he was out as well. Next to him, there was a small silver tray on a cart. On it, there was a bottle of iodine, wipes, gauze, scalpel, and…. "A needle," he muttered to himself. He could pick the lock if he could grab a hold of it.
He moved slowly, loosening the shoe on his right foot with his left. Once the shoe was barely hanging off his foot. He judged the trajectory and how hard the shoe needed to land. Holding his breath, he took the shot. The shot was low, hitting his abdomen and the needle fell, but he managed to catch it by balancing it on his foot. Just like soccer, he kicked the needle up to where his hands were waiting to catch it.
With his sluggish movements, it took him five minutes to pick the lock. Each second felt like an eternity though. He had no idea when they would be back to check on him. He braced himself for the fall to the ground as he knew his feet would be unable to hold him up.
His knees took most of the impact. He took deep, steady breaths, pushing back the pain as he took out the IV. Without fresh blood, he would be unable to cleanse the contamination from his system, but the effect would lessen some over time. Until then, he'd have to keep the pain at bay through willpower alone. Oh, how he craved blood right now. The pain of hunger would grow in his mind as the effects lessened. If he wasn't careful, it would take over his thoughts and become his one and only concern. He couldn't afford that right now. Not with Uzumaki in danger. He could consider ripping out that scientist's throat and draining him dry after, but not before.
The hunger was already returning even through his muddled thoughts. Sasuke had to take the time to recenter himself before continuing. Focusing on the task ahead of him, he got to his feet, legs shaking in protest, and made his way to the door. He jiggled the handle, expecting it to be locked. Luckily, it wasn't.
Highly doubting Orochimaru would be so careless, he left the room with caution, expecting a trap to be somewhere along his route to Uzumaki. If it was luck, it would be a matter of time before they noticed he was missing. He only hoped it wasn't too late.
Naruto lay strapped to a cold metal table, his body shivering with the urge to curl into himself and cry. Or was he already crying? At least he thought he was. His whole body felt numb. He was sure he felt something wet on his cheek or maybe it was sweat. Or maybe it was his imagination. He didn't know. He tried to think of something, anything, but his thoughts were incoherent even to himself.
Uchiha. Yes, he had to just focus on Uchiha. He had to stay strong for him. He had to get back to him. If he didn't pull himself together, who would save them?
Come on, Naruto. Kisame's training prepared you for this. Pull yourself together.
"Orochimaru-sama, his brainwaves are stabilizing, and there is an increase in chakra forming. It seems the drug is working." Kabuto's voice was somewhere behind the computer controls where Naruto could not see. He had been surprised to see he had survived, but it quickly faded when he remembered he had healed quickly before. It was bittersweet. He hadn't killed another person, but he really never wanted to see him ever again. On the bright side, he had looked worse than Uchiha did, no doubt in punishment for failing and going against some sort of orders as Orochimaru had mentioned.
"Excellent. He even managed to adapt to double the maximum dosage. Is it his fledgling's state or the lord's power?" Orochimaru leaned over the examination table. His cold eyes made the child in Naruto shrink away at the sight of it. Orochimaru was absolutely delighted by all of this. Naruto shut his eyes, scared out of his mind. No matter the resolve he gathered to fight back, a simple look from Orochimaru made Naruto a child again, feeling powerless and helpless. "Give him experimental serum X-297."
"Orochimaru-sama, that serum is not to be mixed with nootropic drugs. The potential result was deemed too unsafe for the subject."
"He can handle it. This lord's container has always exceeded our expectations in the past. This time will be no different."
"But sir!"
"Enough, Kabuto," Orochimaru snapped. "If you will not give it to him, I will. Go check on the immortal and make sure the dosage of dead man's blood has not run out."
Naruto tuned them out after that. He did not want to know what was going to happen. The less he knew the better. What he wouldn't give to feel something. He was sure this was what death felt like. Not feeling anything. Not even sure if he was alive or if this was a horrible nightmare. This had to be a bad dream, right? He was still at Uchiha's mansion, waiting for him to come home in the backyard. He just fell asleep meditating, right?
He couldn't feel the needle being injected into his arm, but it was quiet for some time after that. Naruto dared to open his eyes for even a moment to see Orochimaru working on a computer off to his left. As he watched the man work, he felt some discomfort. It was such a relief to feel again tears rolled down his face.
Quickly, that discomfort grew, his heart rate quickened until it felt like it would beat out of his chest, he felt cold, but he could feel a layer of sweat covering his body. Naruto squirmed, tugging at his restraints, but the cold continued until it felt like he was burning from the inside out. His brain felt like it was ramming itself against his skull, and his ears rung until he could no longer hear. He couldn't even hear his own screams as he convulsed on the table. Now, he would rather feel nothing. He wanted to die. He couldn't take this. He didn't want to live like this again, living in a constant state of fear and, never knowing what would happen to him. He just wanted it all to stop.
And then it was gone. He was floating, no longer constrained to his body. Distantly, he heard the heart monitor flat line, the flurry of moments from Orochimaru, checking his vitals, and making notes. No doubt he would somehow bring Naruto back if he really was dead, but he couldn't bring himself to care. This was nice. There was no pain here, no fear.
Is that it, kit? Was this your final stand?
Oh, Kurama… you're back, Naruto thought with mild interest.
Of course. I can't let you die. Affection laced his tone; one Naruto hadn't heard before.
It's too late now. I think I'm dead. I wanted to talk to you. To apologize.
You're not dead yet. I can save you.
But did he want to be alive? Being alive was so painful and scary. Why would he want to go back?
Uchiha was still alive. He wouldn't be for long though. Not if he didn't go back for him
Do you trust me?
Naruto smiled, taking a seat in front of the lord who now stood before him. No, he said. But I know you can save us. Just promise me one thing,
The lord smiled. His red eyes on Naruto. And what would that be?
Promise me that you'll find that bastard for me and give me back my body when you're done.
Don't worry, brat. I'll find your lover and protect him when it comes to it.
Naruto bowed his head, letting his body relax. Well then, the spotlight's on you.
Red eyes snapped open. It was quiet with Orochimaru nowhere in sight. It must have been something important for him to leave in the middle of his research. Focusing on the restraints, a red film enveloped them, eating away at them like fire. A few seconds later, he was able to pull his hands free, followed by his legs.
Getting off the table, he grabbed a spare lab coat lying around. Spotting the door, he headed towards it pausing briefly when he spotted a two-way mirror. He was several inches taller, his chest broader, his features chiseled, and his hair was a fiery red that reached all the way to his lower back.
"It's been a long time since I've been back in the flesh," his deep voice commented offhandedly. When he had a chance, he'd find pants that fit more comfortably than Naruto's extremely tight ones, but for now, he would make do with what he had.
A malicious smile crossed his face as he walked out of the room. Priorities first. It was time to find something to kill.