A/N Hey guys, sorry it took a while since I was taking a little break, but I'm back and now it's time to begin the next chapter so enjoy.
(Play Prelude by Slaughter)
I was utterly paralyzed with horror as Sasuke took the attack meant for Naruto just as the blond managed to regain consciousness and his eyes widened at the sight of Sasuke looking badly injured while the Uchiha looked back at him with a weak smile.
"Hey...Naruto, glad to see...you're awake," Sasuke groaned while I was trembling and Naruto sat up.
"Why...did you save me?" Naruto questioned hesitantly and Sasuke looked mournful.
"Because...I couldn't bear to lose anyone else, never again," Sasuke wheezed before he fell back, prompting me to run over before I caught him as I kneeled down.
"Sasuke...no, not again," I whimpered while my eyes teared up as Sasuke stared up at me with his eyes glazed over from the pain.
"He...He's still out there, my brother...I promised myself that I would be the one...to bring him and the masked man back...to the village to face...justice for what they did...Naruto, dad...don't let...your dreams die," Sasuke told us before his eyes closed and he went limp in my arms as I shuddered and shook him in some desperate way to wake him up.
"Sasuke? Sasuke?! Sasuke!" I screamed in anguish as I held him and began sobbing at the second loss I have experienced in my life while Naruto also started crying, then Haku watched as we grieved and sighed solemnly.
(End Song)
"He found...the strength he didn't realize he had. Why? Because of a certain person who was precious to him and to save that person, he rushed in knowing it was a trap...he was a true ninja, worthy of honor so is this the first time you two have lost someone precious in battle before?
This is part of what it means to be a ninja," Haku told us as he went into one of the mirrors, then something in me just snapped as I gritted my teeth and laid Sasuke down on the ground before I stood up.
"Shut up...you killed my son, and now I'm going to kill you," I said menacingly as steam started coming off of me and Naruto, just before Kurama's chakra began to surround us and my eyes changed from my Sharingan to Kurama's blood-red eyes with slit pupils as I shot a look of cold fury at Haku while thick whisker marks appeared on my cheeks, causing Haku to recoil at the sight as Kurama's chakra swirled around me and Naruto.
At that moment, the red chakra formed into Kurama's head while Naruto stood up with a look of feral rage as our teeth and nails grew sharp and his whisker marks turned thick while the needles stuck in our bodies shot out before our injuries healed up, then we snarled as Kurama roared at Haku before dispersing back into chakra as the masked kid gasped in horror at what we've become before we charged at the mirror he was in.
Haku threw needles at us and we roared, unleashing two tailed beast shockwaves that knocked them away as we rushed at him and Haku moved again before we looked around while I could hear Yin Kurama encouraging me to kick Haku's ass just as the masked kid threw more needles and we got hit, then Naruto and I swung our arms and sent out two more shockwaves before rushing forward to attack Haku.
The masked kid managed to get out of the mirror in time as my chakra-enhanced sword sliced through it and he went to ambush us from behind, only Naruto and I dodged quickly as I could pick up the fear in Haku's body language and the kid tried to get to another mirror, but Naruto snatched his wrist as a burst of Yang Kurama's chakra blasted out of him and he slammed a fist right into Haku's mask.
Haku was launched into a mirror and it shattered as he kept flying outside the dome until he bounced across the ground while the mirrors around me and Naruto broke apart into shards before we charged at Haku while he was struggling to stand up as his mask broke and fell, revealing the face of a feminine-looking boy as I went to slice his head off until Naruto paused with a look of shock as Yang Kurama's chakra faded and it made me stop as well while I looked at him in confusion as Naruto changed back to normal.
"You're that guy I met a few days ago, aren't you?" Naruto questioned as he stared at Haku, causing me to widen my eyes at what I just heard as it made me lower my sword and it made me send the blond a questioning look as Yin Kurama's chakra went away with my appearance changing back to normal.
"Why do you not finish it? Didn't you just vow to avenge your son's death by killing me, or was that vow just empty words?" Haku asked me, then I looked back at where Sasuke's body was at and I glared back at Haku as I went to raise my sword to decapitate him but I hesitated and growled in frustration before I lowered my sword and holstered it.
"No, I'm not going to let vengeance consume me because that's not who I am, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you go because of what you did," I stated coldly as Haku stared at me, then he sighed before sending me a look of surrender.
"I see...but now I am no longer useful to Zabuza anymore," Haku declared solemnly as he smiled at us, causing me to falter at that while Naruto scowled.
"I don't get it, what is it about that dirtbag that has you so loyal to him? If he's the one person who's precious to you, then that's just sad," Naruto pointed out in confusion.
"There were others who mattered to me a long time ago, my father and mother...I was born in a small village located in the land of water where the snow lies deep in the winter, my parents were farmers and lived in poverty while our lives were hard, but we were content.
My parents were kind and compassionate...yes, we were happy once but everything changed one day because of something that happened long before I was even born, and my father became different before he killed my mother and he almost killed me," Haku told us, causing horror to hit me and Naruto looked stunned while he gasped.
"W-What happened?" Naruto asked hesitantly and Haku sighed tiredly.
"After years of suffering the horrors of civil war, the people of my country had come to fear and hate anyone who had a bloodline limit because they were afraid those with one would only bring more war and misfortune, then the Fourth Mizukage gave out the order to have those with bloodline limits killed," Haku began to explain, causing Naruto to look horrified while I appeared grim.
"The bloodline purge...god, I heard about that and so many people ranging from men, women, and even children were executed publically as the Mizukage carried out his bloody genocide," I muttered darkly and Haku looked at me.
"So, you know? Yes, many lives were lost and the remaining survivors went into hiding out of fear for their lives, keeping their unique traits a secret since they knew that being discovered meant certain death.
The cruelty of people, their fear of things they don't understand...for years, my mother was successful in hiding her bloodline limit as she met a farmer and fell in love with him before they soon got married, then I was born not long after and my mother thought that she would be able to lead a peaceful ordinary life to the end.
But, it would never happen because I inherited my mother's bloodline limit and showed her what I could do and she forced me to stop, only my father had seen it and he knew our secret so he had felt betrayed and gathered a mob to kill us.
He killed my mother and almost killed me when I activated my bloodline limit instinctively and killed him and the mob, then I found myself alone, cold, and afraid as I lived on the streets for a year...seen as nothing in the eyes of other people while I struggled to survive my own personal hell.
Naruto, why is it that you are so determined to be Hokage? Because you want the people in your village to look at you with respect and acknowledgment and it is through the eyes of others that our short lives have any significance.
When there is no one who sees you or will even look at you, it's as if you don't even exist...then Zabuza came along and looked at me, and his eyes were not full of hate or fear while he didn't shun me for how different I was from him since my bloodline limit was just what he wanted and he made me feel as if I had a purpose again in this cruel world," Haku explained while Naruto and I listened, then I felt awful for him since this kid suffered more than anyone could in this world and Zabuza gave him hope again so it explains why he was so loyal to the missing-nin.
"He gave you a reason to live because no one else could and that's why you care about him," I said and Haku nodded.
"Yes, I was happy when he took me in and gave me a place to belong...but I have failed him because I'm now a weapon that has been broken and is of no further use so Naruto, Seth, please kill me," Haku begged and I flinched at that while Naruto gasped in shock.
"So, that's it? You're just going to give up? Let me tell you something, you're a human being so don't you dare compare yourself to a weapon or a tool because that's not true," Naruto said while Haku looked surprised to hear that.
"Is the thought of a ninja being a tool or a weapon really so strange to you?" Haku asked and Naruto grimaced as he scratched the back of his head.
"Well, yeah...a little but how can you see a monster like Zabuza as someone precious?" Naruto questioned and Haku smiled as his eyes misted over in nostalgia.
"When he found me, I didn't have a reason to live or a purpose and Zabuza gave me both, but now my usefulness is over and the only that gave my life meaning is gone so now I'm a broken tool, a blunt weapon of no use to anyone.
Go on, kill me for all our sakes and please make it quick," Haku pleaded with hollow eyes while I stared at the kid who was completely broken by this cruel world, the loneliness in his eyes reminding me of myself when I was in such a dark place years ago and I became indecisive since I didn't know what to do.
Suddenly, I picked up more than one person who wasn't any of the others sending out killing intent and zipped behind Haku before knocking him out with a neck chop as Naruto was taken off guard by what I did, then I rushed over to where Kakashi and Zabuza were at as the mist cleared up enough for me to see that the missing-nin was held in place by Kakashi's summoned ninja dogs as the silver-haired man was about to kill Zabuza with his lethal lightning blade attack.
Moving quickly, I got in the way and grabbed Kakashi's wrist as the man widened his eyes at what I was doing before he stopped using his attack to prevent himself from stabbing me instead as I let him go and Kakashi stared at me like I had lost my mind.
"Seth, what the hell are you doing?!" Kakashi exclaimed in disbelief, then I inwardly grimaced since I was definitely going to hear it from him later for this stunt of mine.
"We got a lot of company incoming, none of them friendly so you might want to let Zabuza go since there's a good chance we'll need his assistance for this," I said grimly, making Kakashi look conflicted before he sighed and signaled for his ninja hounds to let Zabuza go.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Seth," Kakashi told me as the ninja hounds reverse-summoned back to where they came from as Naruto met up with me and looked confused by what's happening as Zabuza turned his attention to me.
"Hey, did you and the little runts kill Haku?" Zabuza asked and I shook my head.
"He's not dead, just knocked out but that doesn't matter now because we have incoming hostiles," I stated just as the mist cleared up fully and I could see a short man in a business suit while he was wearing shades and sporting a smug look as he had an army of sixty armed thugs with him, causing Zabuza to widen his eyes at the unexpected turn of events as I recognized the short man as Gato.
"Well, well, they're not dead so talk about disappointing," Gato called out while the men around him grinned sadistically as Zabuza glared at the corrupt businessman.
"Gato, the hell is this?" Zabuza demanded and Gato smirked.
"It's simple, I was never going to pay you in the first place so I waited for you all to tire out so I could overwhelm and kill you all with an army, now isn't that clever of me?" Gato explained as Zabuza looked pissed from the betrayal and looked at me and Kakashi.
"Kakashi, Seth, it seems our fight is over since I no longer have a reason to go after you both and the bridge builder," Zabuza told us and we nodded while I noticed that Kakashi had a nasty gash down his torso and felt concerned as we gazed at the odds against us.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Kakashi agreed as Gato walked over to where Haku was, who was currently unconscious as Gato leered down at him.
"That reminds me, you nearly broke my arm you little shit, so let me repay the favor," Gato said before he started kicking Haku, causing Naruto to gasp in horror while I scowled and Naruto went to attack Gato but I grabbed him to stop him from doing something stupid.
"Naruto, not a good idea," I told him and Naruto growled before he sighed as he slumped slightly.
"I know, it just makes me so angry to see that thug kick Haku while he's unconscious," Naruto admitted and I nodded in understanding before turning to look at Zabuza, then I frowned at how unphased he looked at Haku being beaten.
"What about you? Are you just going to let him kick Haku around like he's nothing?" I questioned before Zabuza scoffed.
"I have no need for a broken tool, so saving him is pointless in my eyes," Zabuza stated coldly and Naruto looked enraged by that.
"You're kidding me, he's going to kill Haku and you don't even care?! You and Haku were together for years, so shouldn't that mean something to you?!" Naruto shouted in outrage before Zabuza glared at him.
"You don't understand the way of the shinobi because I merely used him just like Gato used me, now his usefulness came to an end so it's over and the loss of his strength and skill does mean something to me while the boy doesn't," Zabuza said while Naruto glared back at him.
"If you truly mean that, then you are a bigger scumbag than I thought because he did everything for you and you're the most important thing in the world to him, so he meant nothing to you? While he was sacrificing everything for you, you never once felt anything for him?
So, does becoming stronger mean that I'll become just as uncaring as you are? You know what he did once he lost the fight, he begged for me and Seth-sensei to kill him because he no longer saw himself useful to you anymore, and for what? For you and your dream!
You never let him choose his own path in life, but he didn't care because you made him so happy to have a reason to live and you just tossed him aside like he was nothing...a broken tool, that's just sick and so wrong," Naruto scolded shakingly as he started crying, and I placed a hand on his shoulder to show support while Zabuza was looking at Haku unmovingly before I saw water droplets land in front of his feet, then I realized that Zabuza was crying and I was stunned to witness it.
"Kid, you talk too much and your words cut deep, deeper than any blade because while he fought you and the other two, his heart was breaking since Haku was always too soft and too kind for this harsh world.
Dammit, that kid had made me soft but you know what, I don't see anything wrong with that so are you surprised that I'm human in the end...even shinobi are human, no matter how hard we try to escape that simple fact because we always fail, though at least I have failed," Zabuza admitted after I heard him tearing his bandages and he looked back to reveal his mouth with sharp teeth as he grinned at us.
"So, now that you've come to that realization, what are you going to do about it?" I inquired and Zabuza narrowed his eyes in determination.
"I'm going to do what I should've done in the first place, make that fucker ever regret touching Haku so are you up for it?" Zabuza asked me, causing me to smirk as I stepped forward and pulled out my sword until I came to a stop next to Zabuza.
"I thought you'd never ask and teaming up with the fearsome demon of the mist, never thought I would see the day," I remarked with a thrilled grin as Zabuza chuckled at the irony of this.
"Yeah, now let's give these bastards something to be afraid of," Zabuza declared as he took out his sword before we charged at Gato, who yelped in alarm before he fled to the bandits like the coward he was.
"Hey, kill them!" Gato shouted frantically before the group of thugs cheered at the fight they were about to have until they let out war cries as they charged forward to meet us.
Zabuza and I sliced our way through the bandits as they struggled to take us down, but it was useless as I stabbed one bandit and swung his body into another while I threw a few kunai that killed five more as the bandits were starting to look scared that we were plowing right through them like they were nothing as tentacles burst out of me and impaled a dozen until they were absorbed by me, their memories flooding my mind while Zabuza and I sliced our way through the group and made it to the other side.
I could see Gato being forced to stop at the unfinished end of the bridge while he turned around and looked terrified at the sight of us covered in blood and looking like monsters from hell before I stabbed him with my sword and Gato hacked up blood while he looked and us with fear in his eyes.
"This is for Kaiza, you sick son of a bitch," I said coldly before I removed my sword and started slashing him on different areas of his body until my tentacles pierced his torso as blood spurted out of him before he was ripped apart into chunks of meat and I absorbed them.
At that moment, every memory of every atrocity he had committed entered my mind and I nearly threw up from the amount of rape, trafficking, murder, and more he was responsible for as I gagged and heaved while the remaining bandits were trembling and looking terrified as Zabuza and I walked over to them and they quickly parted to let us through out of fear for their own lives as we headed back to the others.
Pretty soon, I shot a cold glare at the remaining bandits and it caused them to run in terror while they scrambled to get off the bridge to the point of jumping over the side to escape my wrath before they were gone and I let out a tired sigh, just before I remembered what happened to Sasuke and started looking mournful as I headed over to him with the others following before Sakura gasped loudly in horror.
"Sensei, is he..." Sakura trailed off and a single nod from me made her break out into tears as she sobbed while Tazuna looked away out of respect and Kakashi frowned solemnly as I sat down next to Sasuke and closed my eyes to send a small prayer for him before I heard the sounds of many footsteps approaching and opened my eyes to see that it was Inari and the other villagers while the kid had a small crossbow and the other villagers were carrying farming tools as weapons before they saw us and the carnage nearby as they froze.
Suddenly, I heard a faint groan next to me and my eyes widened as I looked down to see Sasuke waking up unexpectedly as he grimaced, then I broke out crying in relief as I lifted him up slightly so that I could hug him.
"Sensei...that hurts," Sasuke groaned and everyone chuckled while I laughed shakingly.
"Oh god, I thought I lost you...don't ever scare me like that again," I said before Sasuke went to sit up fully and I made him lie back down.
"Sasuke, you're too injured to move so lie back down," I lectured while Sasuke sighed and stared up at me.
"How's Naruto and what happened to that guy in the mask?" Sasuke asked and I smiled.
"Naruto is just fine and that kid with the mask is just unconscious, so we won," I explained and Sasuke smiled as he looked up and the mist cleared up completely to show the nice blue sky.
"I see, that's good to hear," Sasuke muttered, and that when I looked at Haku and realized something.
'That kid never meant to kill anyone...someone like him is too good for this world,' I thought as Zabuza walked over to pick up Haku and he nodded to us.
"I'm going to take Haku to a secure location and once he's awake, we'll raid Gato's manor for his wealth so that it would make up for him screwing us out of our pay," Zabuza said before Naruto looked at him.
"Hey, why don't you come with us back to the village so that you and Haku can become shinobi there," Naruto offered, then Zabuza looked surprised to hear that until he smirked.
"Tempting offer, kid, but we're still wanted by the Mizukage and our home country is still suffering because of him, so we need to free the land of water from his rule and Gato's wealth will be more than enough to form a rebellion to take him down," Zabuza refused and I nodded in understanding.
"Give him hell, Zabuza," I told him and the missing-nin smirked.
"Oh, I plan too," Zabuza agreed, and with that said, he left before the villagers cheered at the knowledge that they were finally free from Gato's reign of terror while Tazuna teared up in joy and we all got started with the cleanup.
After that, a whole week had gone by with us recovering from the fight and the bridge had been completed while the village had celebrated and we were seen as heroes who helped put an end to Gato's grip over the land of waves, but Naruto and I were given the most credit for inspiring Inari to take action in rallying the villagers to fight back as Sasuke healed up to the point where he resumed training.
The remaining two days throughout the entire week, Kakashi and I gave everyone the time off to relax and take a small vacation while Sakura was more than happy to hear that until it was now time to head back to the leaf village and we stood at the end of the completed bridge while the villagers said their goodbyes and Inari beamed up at us, something that I was happy about since it was nice seeing him smile.
"We could never have finished the bridge without your help, so I can't tell you how much we're going to miss all of you and be careful," Tazuna told us and I nodded.
"Thank you for everything so stay safe, and we'll make sure to visit once we have the time," I said as Inari sniffled a little.
"You swear?" Inari asked as he teared up and so did Naruto.
"Of course and you know, Inari, it's okay to cry if you want since there's nothing wrong with that, so go ahead," Naruto encouraged tearfully before Inari laughed slightly.
"Who says I'm going to cry?! Anyway, if there's nothing wrong with it, then why don't you go on and cry?" Inari retorted half-heartedly before we said our goodbyes and started walking down the bridge as I smiled warmly, feeling that things were changing down the road as we headed into the forest and Naruto looked at me.
"Sensei, there's been something that's been bugging me this past week and what I want to ask is what Haku said true? That ninjas are seen as nothing more than weapons or tools?" Naruto asked, taking me by surprise before I sighed.
"Sadly, that's how the world does see it and people don't consider us as human, just nothing more than killing machines and it's always been that way ever since the shinobi system got started decades ago," I replied quietly, causing Naruto to frown thoughtfully until he started looking more determined.
"In that case, I'm going to find my own ninja way that's without any regrets as I go down the path to become Hokage," Naruto stated, making me look at him in surprise before I smiled softly and looked up at the sky.
'Minato, Kushina, I know you're watching us and are proud to see how much of a strong young man he's becoming,' I thought as we continued traveling back to the village.
Later on, two more days had gone by during our trip back to the village before we arrived and reported to the Hokage about the mission and it shocked him but he congratulated us for a job well done as we got paid for the A-rank mission and Naruto, Sasuke, and I went home for tomorrow until we did a few D-rank missions for the next few days until we received another C-rank and our job was to guard an actress by the name of Yukie Fujikaze.
Imagine our surprise when it turned into another A-rank and Yukie wound up to be a princess who had to be escorted back to her home country known as the land of snow so that she could take back the throne from her sadistic uncle who murdered her father when she was just a child and even though it got a little ugly during the mission, everything turned out all right in the end when the secret treasure of the land of snow turned out to be a heating machine that melted all the snow and Doto died until the newly revealed princess Koyuki regained her rightful place as ruler of the country now called the land of spring.
After that mission, we continued doing D-rank missions for a while before Kakashi and I taught Naruto and Sasuke two new ninjutsu known as the gale palm and discharge, though Kakashi and I told Sasuke to only use the lightning jutsu as a last resort because of how uncontrollable it was and he agreed as we kept training him and Naruto.
With Sakura, she became experienced in genjutsu and improved on the subject while learning how to cast some and releasing herself from any that could be cast on her, but she still had a long way to go before she could be a master of it like Kurenai is and as for me, I spent time with Kurama as we chatted and enjoyed each other's presence but I've been feeling strange around the big fox and I didn't know why as two more weeks had gone by until the chunin exams were around the corner.
Today, we continued training until we finished with Kakashi going off to do his own thing while Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and I went to get lunch together until I had the feeling that we were being followed and subtly looked back before I sweatdropped at the sight of a large square rock with two eye holes as it followed us.
"What...the hell is that?" Kurama asked in sheer confusion as Naruto also noticed our little stalker and looked unamused.
"Don't ask," I replied mentally as I turned around and had an idea as to who was following us while Sasuke and Sakura noticed the fake rock and looked at it strangely as I sighed and we came to a stop to face it fully.
"You know, rocks don't look like that so you're going to have to come up with something better than that," Naruto stated in annoyance and we heard a chuckle coming from the fake rock.
"Just what I'd expect from one of my rivals," the rock said before it exploded and the smoke cleared up to reveal Konohamaru and two other kids as they coughed and stood up, then Sasuke frowned before he walked away and Sakura looked curious.
"Hey Konohamaru, you need something?" I asked and Konohamaru nodded.
"Yeah, you and Naruto promised that you would play ninja with us," Konohamaru reminded me, causing me to look sheepish as I scratched the back of my head and Naruto grimaced.
"Sorry, we're kinda busy at the moment so maybe next time," Naruto told them and the kids looked disappointed before Konohamaru sighed.
"I get it, but could we at least play tag for a little bit?" Konohamaru asked, then I felt bad for the kids and nodded.
"Okay, one game of tag is fine but not for too long because we're training at the moment," I agreed and the kids perked up with smiles.
"All right, you and the boss are it so catch us if you can!" Konohamaru exclaimed excitingly before he and the two other kids bolted from us, causing me and Naruto to chase after them with playful growls as the kids went around a corner and we were right behind them when we suddenly came to a stop and I narrowed my eyes.
What I saw was two people in their mid-teens with one of them a male wearing a black bodysuit with a red and yellow circle on the front, as well as a black hood that covered his head with the sand ninja forehead protector sewn into it while he had face paint on and a mummified object strapped to his back while the girl had teal eyes and blonde hair tied up into four pigtails with her sand forehead protector hanging around her neck while she had some kind of black staff strapped to her back.
What made me scowl was seeing the boy holding Konohamaru up by his scarf as the girl looked exasperated like she didn't want to be there, then I noticed Naruto furrowing his eyes in confusion like he was trying to figure them out as I stepped forward.
"Excuse me, I would let that kid go if I were you," I announced and the two teenagers looked at me.
"Why should I? He crashed into me and needs to be taught some manners," the boy stated menacingly, then I chuckled and it caused him to falter slightly.
"Well, that kid is the grandson of the Third Hokage and I don't know about you, but hitting the relative of a village leader constitutes an international incident so I'm sure you wouldn't want your village to get in trouble with our, am I right?" I suggested and it made them pale as the boy quickly put Konohamaru down and the girl bowed her head humbly as Konohamaru hurried over to us.
"Forgive my brother, he can be a real hot head at times so I'm sorry for the misunderstanding," the girl apologized and I shook my head.
"It's fine, just glad that a fight didn't break out so are you two here for the chunin exams?" I inquired and the girl nodded.
"Yes, my name is Temari and that's Kankuro so it's a pleasure to meet you," Temari introduced politely and Naruto perked up.
"Temari, Kankuro, is that you guys?" Naruto asked as the two sand ninja looked at him in confusion.
"Um, I don't think we know you from anywhere," Kankuro said with a puzzled look and Naruto frowned.
"Really? I know I've gotten older but It's me, Naruto," Naruto clarified irritably, then Temari and Kankuro widened their eyes in recognition.
"Now I remember, you're that little shrimp who visited our village with Jiraiya of the Sannin several years ago so you certainly got bigger," Temari said with a small smile, then I looked surprised to hear that Naruto knows them while the blond beamed.
"Yeah, I've been eating well so where's Gaara?" Naruto asked and Kankuro shrugged.
"He came here with us, though he's doing his own thing at the moment and should be back soon," Kankuro replied while Sakura and the others looked confused at the exchange.
"Naruto, you know these guys?" Sakura inquired and Naruto nodded.
"Yeah, uncle Jiraiya took me to the hidden sand village one time when I was younger and I met them during my stay there before we became friends," Naruto explained as I noticed Sasuke perched on a branch of a tree next to us while he was watching the exchange and that's when I spotted another kid who was standing upside down on a branch until he disappeared in a swirl of sand and appeared next to Temari and Kankuro.
"Kankuro, you're such an embarrassment to our village so quit making us look like idiots," the red-haired boy lectured and Kankuro grimaced as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Sorry, Gaara," Kankuro muttered sheepishly while Gaara looked at Naruto and sent him a nod.
"Naruto, it has been a long time so good to see you're looking well," Gaara said and Naruto smiled.
"You too, and how have you been?" Naruto asked.
"I've been sleeping just fine thanks to Jiraiya strengthening the seal, so give him my thanks once you see him," Gaara said as Sasuke jumped down from the tree and landed next to me.
"I will so see you later," Naruto stated, then Gaara nodded before he gestured his siblings to follow him and they left as I heard the cry of a hawk and looked up before I recognized it as a message to me from the Hokage, understanding what it was about as narrowed my eyes.
"Excuse me, kids, I need to go because the Hokage needs me for something," I said before I quickly left, hopping across rooftops while I sensed that Kurama was bothered by something.
"What is it, Kurama?" I asked and Kurama hummed thoughtfully.
"Seth, something feels strange yet familiar about that kid with the gourd and I can't quite put my paw on it, but I feel like I've felt his energy before," Kurama admitted and I thought about that before I recalled hearing Gaara talking about a seal being strengthened by Jiraiya and something occurred to me.
"Kurama, I think that boy might be a Jinchuriki," I told him and felt Kurama getting interested by that.
"That makes sense as to why that kid's energy felt familiar because he has one of my siblings sealed up in him, though I hope it's not who I think it is," Kurama muttered uneasily and I frowned at that.
"Kurama, you don't normally sound on edge so who is this sibling of yours that you're talking about?" I asked before Kurama sighed.
"His name is Shukaku and he's the one-tailed sand tanuki, but he's a complete psychopath who enjoys inflicting senseless bloodshed and carnage so be highly cautious if you're engaging him because he's very dangerous when you're not using my chakra," Kurama warned and I nodded as I approached the Hokage tower and went inside.
A/N Hey guys, the chunin exam arc has begun and things have changed in a very big way thanks to Naruto knowing the sand siblings and Zabuza and Haku surviving while I have decided to integrate the Naruto movies in this story, only they will be mentioned since they aren't exactly a part of the main story but what I will be writing down fully is two movies known as Road to Ninja and The Last since one of them could be a part of the main story and the other is canon while it takes place during the blank period.
Anyway, let me know what you think and stay tuned.