Chapter 3 - Violet


2 Years Later...

At the base of a great oak tree on a harrowing night, a masked man stood waiting for his accomplice and potential recruit to conclude his business. The figure wore a deep blue cloak and an orange mask with a single opening; his hair was long and shaggy, falling just below his shoulders and at his hip was sheathed a single katana caked in dried blood. This man was Obito Uchiha, or as the world would come to know him, Madara Uchiha, back from the dead to exact his revenge.

He was currently situated in Konoha, hiding in the shadows in the forest of death. Shinobi, even high ranked ones, were told to steer clear of such a place due to the number of deaths that had occurred while training in the forest. It was the first time he had returned to his place of childhood since he had left for a mission so many years ago now. He greatly disliked being here and usually sent Zetsu to be his eyes and ears however for the reward of his current objective he would bite his tongue and deal with it.

His reason for being here was the destruction and massacre of his own clan. Naruto, his 'son' had thought him mad for participating in such a task but he had explained that he held no love for the Uchiha clan after they had kicked him out and left him for dead- or at least they had done to Madara.

It had been a few weeks before when the reason for him being here: Itachi Uchiha, had sought him out judging him to be the great Madara Uchiha. The teenage prodigy had asked for his help in killing their clan to prevent a coup that would destroy the village from the inside. While Obito had first thought of turning down his request as one of his goals was to see the Leaf collapse, he would settle for waiting for that day in return for Itachi joining the Akatsuki and adding an extra boost in military power. Even Obito recognised Itachi as a one-of-a-kind shinobi whose skills outclassed everyone around him.

The boy had had come to him as a last resort as his original plan had failed with the death of Shisui Uchiha- yet another prodigy- who was going to place Fugaku, the current Uchiha head, under a genjutsu to squash the rebellion. So, he had said yes and after agreeing on a date and time they had quietly infiltrated the Uchiha clan residence and cut each and every single member down reducing it to just three: himself, Itachi, and his little brother Sasuke. Perhaps he could sway Sasuke to his side after he got rid of Itachi too?

A rustling of dead leaves caused him to look up from the ground to spot Itachi joining him. The boy stopped a few feet away from him as if to protect himself from being struck down.

Itachi was a man of average build and height with dark black hair tied in a pony tail with two strands framing his Mangekyou Sharingan which were blazing his power in a shuriken like pattern similar to his. He wore a traditional black high collared shirt with the Uchiha fan plastered on the back and grey shinobi pants. Behind him, Obito could see the pile of Anbu uniform he had discarded as well as a short katana also caked in blood. His fox Anbu mask was snapped in half never to be worn again.

"It's done?" Itachi asked, staring at the katana at his hip.

"Of course," he replied, cocking his head, "If you have done your part that is."

"And our agreement?" Itachi asked, choosing to ignore his stab.

"I guarantee I will not kill your little brother; I have no use for a child without a Sharingan," he said, it was an annoyance but he could not stand against Itachi at such a time.

"And that's supposed to reassure me?"

"It is the truth," Obito replied, "And have you made a decision on my invitation?"

The invitation he spoke of was to join the Akatsuki. He knew Itachi would never be completely loyal but he had his uses just as the rest of the members did.

"I accept. I will join your Akatsuki," Itachi said, and Obito smiled behind his mask. Everything was going according to plan.

"Excellent," he said, "However there is something you must be aware of. In the organisation, I am I'm known as Tobi, a low-level ninja who specialises in spying. You should treat me as such when in their presence."

"Why hide your true identity?"

"If word gets out that Madara Uchiha is alive, the world will be put on high alert causing the Akatsuki to be outed before we have even begun," he told the clan killer. It was the same excuse he told everyone who believed him to be Madara.

Itachi nodded.

The wind picked up and Obito could feel the chakra signatures racing towards them.

"Let us be off, I will take you to the Akatsuki hideout," he said signalling Itachi to come closer. When he reached him, he activated Kamui and warped them away leaving behind a trail of blood and destruction, and a lone Uchiha hell bent on revenge.


Jiraiya was a man of simple tastes. Perving on women, writing explicit novels, and running his vast but secretive spy network. Nowadays, however, he had all but forgotten the first two and focused all his time and energy on the latter. This was due to the fact that his Godson, Naruto Uzumaki, had been missing for two years. Hiruzen, the current Hokage and his sensei, had dragged him back to the Leaf village days after the boy had vanished and ever since he had been searching high and low.

The aging legendary Sanin had bone white hair that cascaded down his back, and wore an olive-green kimono with a red haori over his shoulders that hid mesh armour underneath. On his feet he sported a pair of wooden sandals that granted him extra height to his already tall stature.

Currently, he was stood in the Hokage's office reporting back to his old sensei. The Hokage looked tired and haggard as if he hadn't had any sleep in months. Jiraiya doubted he even had with the current situation.

"Report, Jiraiya," the Hokage ordered in a defeated tone. He could barely make eye contact with his former student.

"I've been in contact with my spies, they've informed me that there's still no sign of Naruto," he replied, also in a defeated tone.

"How can that be? It's been two years since he vanished. How has no one even spotted him?" sounding anything but surprised. After so long searching, he was almost ready to admit defeat.

"I only have theories," Jiraiya said.

"Theories?" Hiruzen asked, "Perhaps we just have to accept the possibility that he is dead, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, growing impatient, "I refuse to believe that, Sensei."

"Why?"

"Because I won't lose hope. We owe it to Minato to find his son."

The Hokage let out a sigh but nodded, "Let's hear these theories then."

"Let's look at this logically," Jiraiya started, he had thought long and hard about this, "We know that when a jinchuriki dies so does their bijuu. We also know that when a bijuu dies, they eventually reform as the chakra they are made of is so dense it pulls their body back together. If Naruto had be killed, the kyuubi would have reformed by now and we would have sensed the nine tails chakra at some point. This rules out him being dead. Furthermore, Naruto at five years old could not have gotten out of the village by himself, the only way out is the great gates and the ninja guarding the gates would have noticed him. He also couldn't have made it through the seal barrier surrounding the village as it would have been logged."

"That is true," Hiruzen perked up, listening as if his life depended on it.

"We also know Naruto is absolutely not in the village. Removing all of these possibilities would leave just two remaining," Jiraiya stated, "Either, he was taken from the village by someone who has extensive knowledge of the village's security, enough to bypass the barrier or through a hidden exit, or a time/space jutsu advanced enough to pull Naruto from the village was used. It's hard to believe someone from the village would kidnap Naruto but it could be done, and currently there are no known ninja- deserters or otherwise- with a space/time jutsu that I or my spy network know of."

"So, you're saying someone managed to bypass the village's security?"

"I'm saying it's a possibility," Jiraiya said, "Also, considering there have been no reports to me about Naruto being in another village we can assume he has been taken to some unknown location or the one place my spies cannot infiltrate."

At this Hiruzen stared at him, eyes widening in realisation, "Orochimaru?"

"It's the best theory I have with the information I have been given. The only other person I know of being able to pull off something like this would be Danzo, however he has always been loyal to the Leaf in his own way and to cast out the village's only tailed beast wouldn't be in the Leaf's interest. You also have said he has an alibi that checks out on that night."

"Yes, I have to concur, Danzo is as slippery as they come, but even he wouldn't get rid of Naruto, rather try and put him under his control," Hiruzen added.

"Indeed. Orochimaru, however, has no such problem. He has infiltrated the Leaf before and he seems to be able to bypass the security every time. We also know his fascination with power, and there is no power quite like that of the bijuu."

"It checks out," the Hokage agreed, "Though the only way to be able to confirm your suspicions would be to directly confront him. His power, as hard as it is for me to admit it, is beyond mine."

"There's more bad news," Jiraiya said.

"There always is, what is it this time?" Hiruzen sighed.

"An organisation under the name Akatsuki has been formed. One of my spies works directly under one of the members of this group. All of them are S-rank missing nin, but currently their goal is unknown. Though that many S-rank shinobi in one place can never be a good thing," he informed the old man.

"One thing after another, keep your ears to the ground," Hiruzen said, slowly shaking his head, "I also have an announcement."

"Oh?"

"I'm an old man, Jiraiya. I have formally put in my resignation of Hokage. Once the next Hokage is appointed, I will step down and retire," the Hokage announced.

Jiraiya was shocked. His jaw was on the floor. He knew it wouldn't be long until his sensei retired but hearing it first-hand made it real.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Jiraiya asked, knowing what was coming next.

"I'm sure," the man replied, "Which brings me to my question. The elders have asked me to offer you the position of Hokage."

Jiraiya rolled his eyes, he had made his thoughts known about this subject many times, he would make a terrible Hokage, "You know my answer, Sensei. My work is out there, not in here."

"I know, Jiraiya. I just had to ask."

"Who's next on the list?" Jiraiya questioned, there were very few options, "Don't tell me it's Danzo?"

"Kami no!" Hiruzen chuckled lightly, "The only other option is Tsunade."

His former teammate and one of the three Sanin, Tsunade was a prime choice- probably the only viable choice- however- "You know she won't accept. She hasn't been seen in years, Sensei. You know what happened."

"Yes, but I imagine a man of great reach has kept tabs on her?"

Jiraiya sputtered, embarrassed, "Perhaps."

His sensei laughed, a rare occurrence, "I thought so."

"So, you want me to find her? What about Naruto?"

"Yes, I'm tasking you with the retrieval of Tsunade Senju and with it the offer of the Fifth Hokage. As for Naruto, if Orochimaru does indeed have him, then we need to be careful with how we approach it. Orochimaru is volatile and known for torturing his victims. We cannot just go blazing into his hideout without prior knowledge," Hiruzen said.

"That makes sense, I just hate the thought of Naruto wrapped up in that snake's clutches," Jiraiya growled.

"As do I, Jiraiya," the old man agreed, "As soon as you return, we can begin drawing up plans for confronting Orochimaru."

Jiraiya nodded in affirmation and went to leave, "I'll be back with Tsunade, mark my words!"

"Hold on Naruto," Hiruzen whispered to himself.


3 Years Later...

Naruto had grown.

He had come to the hideout just a boy of five, now, at the late end of ten years old, he had seen things people his age couldn't imagine.

His five years of training had been intense to say the least. Even the book work- the easiest of it- had been a struggle. At its height, Naruto was studying and reading up to ten books a day, soaking up every last drop of information the ancient dusty books had to offer. He knew, along with his father's tutoring, everything there was to know about shinobi history. Every war, every ability, every strategy.

However, the hardest part had been the physical training of his body and power. Due to the marathons he ran every day on top of his eyes that seemed to keep him in perfect fighting form, Naruto had a lithe, lean figure that held beneath his clothes raw muscle that had burned away his baby fat. Naruto was, for all intents and purposes, in the best shape he could currently be. He couldn't imagine what he would look like in another five years.

This physique allowed his taijutsu to be extremely strong and well performed, being far above anyone his age. His father had placed his hand-to-hand combat at low jonin levels which Naruto was happy with for now. Due to his age, he lacked the weight behind him to power his taijutsu to its apex but there was nothing he could do about that. Nonetheless, none his age could hold a candle with him, he had trained non-stop and knew where and when to preform strikes that would give him an edge over his opponent. Even without a Byakugan, he could still see chakra to a degree and knew that a swift strike to the heart tenketsu point it would almost certainly cause death or extreme pain. He had practiced stances with his father, on clones, and on ninjas that had been lured to the hideout by his father for him.

He remembered the first time he had tried this particular technique; the target was a ninja from the Hidden Stone and had assumed he was just a weak child. That had changed however when Naruto proceeded to attempt to hit the man in reds heart. Immediately, the chakra in the heart was supressed to that of a flicker and the man had grasped his chest like a heart attack victim, before dropping to the ground dead. It had disturbed Naruto at the time.

Naruto's genjutsu- illusionary jutsu that would put an attacker on the back foot by playing with their perception- wasn't great he would shamelessly admit, but Naruto believed it wasn't of utmost importance to learn high level genjutsu due to the time it took to perform it and usually someone could snap their teammate out of it. Regardless, he knew of a couple that would cause the target to view Naruto as being slower than he was, among other things. Genjutsu, he had learned, didn't affect him at all due to his visual prowess allowing him to see his own disturbed chakra and break him out of it.

His ninjutsu however, was on a level unheard of by anybody but the best of the best. With his eyes, he could easily and effortlessly use every chakra nature and could wield them like he had been born with the knowledge, and with that came the ability to use any kind of strategy he liked, for example if he met a water user on the battlefield, he could use fire to his advantage as they were polar opposites.

His father had taught him many high ranked jutsu that would put jonin to shame, his favourite was lightening and wind due to their finishing power. A quick jab to the heart with his hand wreathed in lightening or a whirlwind of air decimating the atmosphere would defeat even the best jonin if used correctly. Though this didn't mean Naruto didn't know any ninjutsu of the other nature styles, he had been learning for five years after all, soaking up every jutsu he was taught. Just like with the first ever jutsu he performed-that being a great fireball- he had successfully performed each and every other jutsu on his first try too. He surprised even his father with his learning ability, causing him to liken Naruto to a sponge in a bathtub. Naruto had become so proficient in every element he had brought many of his staple jutsu down to the most minimal amount of hand seals required so as to gain an edge on his opponent.

This, of course, then culminated in his father teaching him their secret ability. Mokuton, or Wood Style. This had brought Naruto to a whole other world of power. He remembered the joy he felt when his father praised his ninjutsu usage and told him they could start training with Mokuton. It was the goal he strived for, believing that with it he would be near invincible.

Wood style training was slightly harder than the other five basic elements. It was annoying at first but Naruto learned to enjoy the challenge. They had hypothesised that because wood wasn't a basic element and instead a sub element of earth and water, his eyes didn't give him an immediate understanding on how to use it. So, in the last two years he had been focusing solely on perfecting his wood style jutsu. Naruto had gotten better but it still wasn't on the same level as the rest of his ninjutsu, regardless though, even without being perfect it was still extremely powerful, able to attack and defend easily on a dime just from using the ground below you. Lighter than earth it made it faster to throw at someone and stronger than fire made it better to defend against any attack.

He wasn't quite as proficient with Mokuton as his father, and still nowhere near the level of the first Hokage, Hashirama Senju, but it was acceptable at the moment with years to still improve it.

Currently, Naruto and his father, Madara Uchiha, stood across from one another at a makeshift training ground just outside of their hideout.

Naruto now knew that the hideout was situated in the northern most part of the Land of Iron, the country best known for their formidable samurai, squashed between the Land of Waterfall- hiding the hidden waterfall village- and the Land of Rice- hiding the hidden sound village formed by Orochimaru. It was a prime spot as it was hidden away from shinobi sensors and far away enough that they could foresee an attack by any nation.

His father looked the same- not that he had ever seen his father- and his outfit had not changed from his Akatsuki cloak and orange mask. Naruto, however, had undergone a dramatic change. His usual orange outfit had been overtaken by a long-sleeved black shirt with concentric gold circles displayed on the back, and usual black shinobi trousers that had white bandages around the ankles which then went into black sandals. All his nails were panted black as was his headband that held no visible village symbol. Naruto liked it that way; he wanted nothing to do with Konoha.

Staring at each other, they sized each other up.

Golden rippled Rinnegan locked with a single blood red Sharingan.

Closing his eyes in concentration, he felt his ginormous reserves of chakra waiting for his command. Expertly, he willed his chakra to combine all five elements and sent it to his right wrist. Slowly, from his palm, a dark grey rod of pure chakra slipped out of his hand where he grabbed it. It was one of the three abilities he currently knew of that his Rinnegan could perform; this particular ability was to form chakra rods or receivers of pure chakra from anywhere on his body that took the properties of a strong metal comparable to a steel sword. Naruto had also learned that they disturbed chakra of bodies he hit them with causing them to lose chakra slowly.

His father cocked his head and summoned a katana from within his dimension to match. Naruto's kinjutsu was extremely good. Able to wield many different weapons though he preferred to use his own chakra rods due to their unique power.

The harsh wind blew and the battle had started.

Rocketing forward, using a small earth jutsu to gain instant momentum, Naruto appeared in front of his father in a flash and thrust the rod into the man's torso, aiming to stab him through the stomach. His father wasted no time in spinning to the left knocking the rod to the side with his katana while he went. He knew better than to let the rod infect his body.

Naruto, knowing that his starting attack would never catch his father off guard, tracked the man with his Rinnegan and leaped above his head, the sun catching his blonde hair from over the mountains that surrounded them.

Throwing the chakra rod at the masked man's foot, Naruto weaved a sign and toned, "Futon: Vacuum Blast." Wind ripped itself from Naruto's lips and slammed into the rod propelling it tenfold. With this move, his father would be stuck to the ground for a limited time allowing him to continue his assault.

In the space of a heartbeat, the Akatsuki leader lashed out with his other leg and smashed his calf into the chakra rod sending it off course and into the ground. Naruto grimaced but realised he had managed to siphon a bit of chakra from his father.

Landing just behind the man, Naruto attempted to swipe his father's legs out. Madara, having already read such a course of action with his Sharingan, jumped over the offending leg and to Naruto's annoyance preceded to drive his katana into Naruto's sandals just missing the digits it held.

'Father, always trying to show me how it's done,' he rolled his eyes internally.

With his body locked in place, Madara perched atop his Katana and struck out with his foot to Naruto's face. The foot, drenched in chakra he could visualise, came at him fast and Naruto brought up his arms in a cross to block the blow before pulling his foot from the frozen sandal and backing a considerable distance away.

"Katon: Flame Dragon," his father shouted, before firing a pillar of searing orange fire from his behind his mask straight at him. The fire quickly took the form of a dragon as it made him its target.

"Suiton: Water Dragon," Naruto said making the sign and spitting a dragon of his own made of his chakra. Wasting chakra didn't matter when he had plenty of it to spare.

The two opposing jutsu's slammed into each other battling for dominance; Naruto could see his dragon being pushed back and channelling more and more of his chakra into the jutsu and finally it made some headway, but before he could relax the fire grew even hotter and restarted its assault causing Naruto to cut off the jutsu. Even with his mastery over the elements, his father could still outclass him, such was the power of the S-class threat: Madara Uchiha.

The two dragons quickly enveloped each other and covered the battlefield in a thick cloud of mist. Naruto could feel the heat on his skin from the intensity of the vapour's temperature. Waving it off he began to think of a new strategy. The mist obscured both their eyes, one benefit of having the Byakugan it seemed. His Rinnegan only afforded him the luxury of seeing the light chakra clinging to the mist.

Sweeping his hand towards the sky he ripped up a chunk of earth, "Doton: Earth Bullets."

Instantly, chunks of earth broke off the boulder and flung themselves towards where he believed his father would be. They shot off at such speed it would give his father no time to stop them.

Creating a shadow clone that was completely identical to take his place, he jumped backwards into a tree to watch from above. He heard no sound of pain from the bullets he had sent careening towards the opposite side of the training field.

"That would just be too easy wouldn't it," he whispered, still waiting.

Suddenly, the ground behind his clone broke apart with a force and his father landed behind it with his arm covered in lightening sounding like a million chirping birds. 'Chidori,' Naruto remarked. Naruto was always impressed at his father's use of the elements; even without the Rinnegan he was skilled enough to use all five with little effort. He got into position.

His father jabbed his sparkling arm forward and into the back of his clone, instantly dispelling it and sending the memory of pain to the real Naruto. He winced at his father's brutality but knew that Madara didn't hold back for anyone. The cloud of white blew up in his father's face and before he could react, Naruto created another rod out of his palm and jumped towards the man, this time aiming for the heart.

The Sharingan user turned at the noise of the leaves rustling under the pressure of his jump and watched as Naruto came straight for him. However, it was all for naught as the man also exploded in a cloud of white and Naruto fell right through him immediately ready for the giant fireball that blasted through the mist towards him.

'No time to weave signs,' Naruto thought and raised his right hand.

A glowing white bubble formed around him as he channelled the second known power of the Rinnegan: The Preta Path. Naruto had stumbled upon this path at six years old when his father had lured the first ninja into their home without telling him, wanting to see what he would do. Naruto had nearly died that day until he unconsciously channelled the power of his Rinnegan and absorbed the ninja's attack. It was the first time Naruto had taken a life.

The fireball crashed into the bubble and instantly Naruto began draining the jutsu of chakra. Naruto felt the influx of chakra enter his body where he added it to his reserves. Five seconds was all it took to turn the fireball into nothing.

'Crisis averted,' he sighed.

"Futon: Air Blast," Naruto said, clearing the remaining mist that was fogging up his vision. Without being able to see his opponent he would be on the backfoot.

His father stood across from him, arms crossed.

Naruto smirked and lifted his left hand perpendicular to himself.

"Tokominusubinokami," he drawled.

From his left hand, the fireball, which he had just absorbed with his right, popped back into existence, and adding chakra to it quickly grew the size to that of twice the original. The third and last ability Naruto new about his Rinnegan, and potentially the strongest of them as it allowed him to send back attacks to his opponent many times larger, putting them off guard.

Holding the fireball above his head he slung it forward and launched it back at his father who was already weaving signs. The jutsu reminded Naruto of a shooting star as it smashed into a thick wall of water his father had conjured. Not admitting defeat, the fireball pushed and pushed until it broke through the wave and towards the man who had created it- though Naruto doubted he would have sat still.

His hunch was correct when he heard the signature swoosh of air of Kamui materialise his father behind him. Before he knew it, a sharp blade was around his throat. The reflection in the polished steel showed the orange masked man watching him.

"You lose," Naruto said.

"Oh, did I?" his father replied, amused, "You seem to have a sword on your throat."

"You used Kamui, father," he said, turning his head to face the man and raised an eyebrow, "Before we started you said you wouldn't use it."

That damned Sharingan ability made his father practically invincible as it allowed everything to pass straight through him. Even his own dojutsu didn't help much in that regard.

"Your opponent will not grant you a fair fight, Naruto, you know that," he got back.

"Still, you cheated," Naruto let out a small chuckle and got up away from the sword.

"You did well," his father said, "That Rinnegan ability of yours is strong, with it all ninjutsu is pointless before your eyes, and your use of strategy and jutsu is excellent."

Naruto simply nodded, enjoying the rare praise.

"I could see even low Kage level shinobi struggling to defeat you, which for now is good enough."

"Good enough?" he asked.

"Correct, you still need to master your eyes to become a fully-fledged shinobi," his father said, the sword he held vanishing into his eye, as if trying to prove his point.

"Yes," he agreed, turning his Rinnegan off. Gold faded to light blue and colour returned.

"As I cannot easily train you your eyes, you will go to the only person who can."

"Nagato?" he asked, intrigued at the further training.

"Indeed," the Sharingan wielder nodded, "I can train you no further, Son. From now on, you must make use of what you have learned and turn it into your own unique style."

"So, this is goodbye?"

"For now, yes," his father admitted, "You will make your way alone to Amegakure- the hidden rain village- to meet Nagato so that he can further your training. He has been made aware of your existence and wants to meet another Rinnegan bearer."

"Rain village, huh?"

"Yes, it's the base of his operations. He currently rules the country after freeing it from Hanzo the Salamander. Nagato is also the defacto leader of the Akatsuki due to the hiding of my identity; only he and his 'Angel' Konan is aware of who I am along with Itachi Uchiha."

Naruto still found it odd that his father- an Uchiha- had helped destroy his own clan, but his father had brushed it off as something that had to be done. At least the Akatsuki had another member who would help take the tailed beasts.

"I will check in on you every now and again to see your training, but this is where we part ways, Naruto," his father said.

Naruto nodded. He felt he should cry, but the idea of crying had been trained out of him years ago, "I will prepare to leave then."

The masked man nodded back.

Not long later- Naruto didn't have many possessions- he was ready to leave, his meagre belongings and food for travel sealed inside a tattoo on his wrist. The tattoo was a recent addition, but Naruto, after reading up on his clan, wanted a tattoo so he could store a limited number of things inside him to forgo a scroll. His clan, he had learned, were experts in sealing jutsu and were fabled as one of the most powerful clans to have ever lived until the villages came together to massacre them. Yet another thing that made Naruto hate war. The tattoo was in honour of his clan and as such took the image of a circle with a whirlpool inside of it.

His father and Zetsu waited for him at the secret entrance and exit of the base he had lived in for five years. As much as he wanted to visit other places, he knew he'd miss his real home- as depressing as it was.

"Good luck, Naruto!" White Zetsu shouted, making Naruto crack a rare smile. White Zetsu was the only source of fun in the cave, and as such got on his father's nerves.

Black Zetsu just smiled creepily as he always did. Seriously there was something wrong with that thing.

"I wish you well on your travels, Son," his father said, "Learn all there is to know and make me proud."

And in a never seen display of fatherly love, the man placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder and squeezed lightly. 'So that's what passes for love in father's eyes,' Naruto thought, outwardly smiling.

"I will, Father," he replied saying his farewells, "Goodbye."


Twenty miles south, Naruto crossed the border from Iron into the Land of Waterfalls. He quickly felt the humidity spike far more than what he was used to, but it was also warm enough to be pleasant and not swelteringly annoying.

"How quaint," he said.

Small brown birds tweeted high up in the great oak trees and as he travelled further, he came across a unique rock formation that held the first of many waterfalls. It was a small one barely up to his eye level but Naruto knew there would be more. He continued.

A few hours later, he came to a rushing river that made its way off a cliff like it was trying to run away from him. As he got to the edge, he saw that height he was at and watched the river change into a giant waterfall that crashed into the river below it before it carried on with its journey. He then knew just quite why they had named the land what they had. For miles, his eyes could see small patches of rainforests with tall trees and endless green vegetation. The grass was a lush green and a bright rainbow sat in the sky in front of him, smiling down on the beautiful area it overlooked.

"This is the perfect place to try this out," he said out loud.

Weaving a multitude of signs, he felt a not so insignificant amount of chakra leave his body and enter the ground below.

"Mokuton: Depp Forest Emergence!"

Naruto watched as hundreds of trees sprouted from that ground as if time had sped up and nature had taken its course. Coupled with the tress came large, thick vines that wound their way up through the grass and turned what was once a clear pasture into another rainforest. Naruto smirked with satisfaction. Even though it had taken almost a tenth of his chakra reserves, it had achieved the results he wanted.

He unsealed some water from his wrist and took a gulp. He left to refill his water canister from the river- resealing it up- before jumping down the cliff side. His heart jumped into his throat as he plummeted down towards the ground, landing on one of the trees he had artificially created before finishing the descent.

A few more hours later and Naruto had made it to the edge of the country. He had made sure to steer clear of the hidden village to avoid unnecessary violence.

He looked up to the sun and saw he still had a few hours until it set. After filling his stomach, Naruto then carried on in a sprint through the Land of Grass, knowing it to be his last stop before he entered the Land of Rain.

Grass held nothing of interest to Naruto, as its name suggested it was basically just a flatland of endless grass which was home to different cattle being farmed. He had met a couple farmers- one who offered him a place to spend the night that was approaching- but he had declined wanting to make it to Rain before nightfall.

He eventually made camp on the border between the two countries. On the other side, just a few miles ahead he could see the downpour of rain and had decided to spend the night not getting soaked to the bone. Naruto found a small cave just a few meters long that reminded him of home and unsealed his dinner. After eating he had gone out to gather wood- despite knowing he could just create some- to make a fire in the mouth of the cave. Using a quick fire jutsu he lit the fire and unfurled a sleeping bag where he finally rested his eyes.

AHHHH!

A scream ripped the blonde from his slumber.

A mile east?

Sealing his supplies, he took to the tree tops and headed in said direction.

A few minutes later he could make out smoke billowing through the trees. Spotting the fire from another camp he went and took a look.

From the trees, he had a perfect view of the scum below him. Eight in total.

'Bandits,' he thought.

They wore no visible insignias of a certain village and were clothed in simple shirts and shorts. However, they held a few weapons. Swords, to brittle to fight with, and Kunai, to rusted to be wielded, one even held a farmer's scythe.

Another shrill scream and Naruto's eyes sought out the girl tied to an oak tree. She looked to be in her teens, and wore a simple emerald green dress that fell to her scratched up knees. Her hair was blonde, like his, but a darker shade and she had brown eyes that were searching frantically for someone to help her escape the men. A memory of being ambushed and beaten in an alleyway came to him before he locked it away.

This was what his father always talked about. War and conflict no matter the place or time. Humans were vile beings that wanted to feel superior. Naruto would show them who was superior.

He jumped down in front of the terrified girl, facing the bandits who were huddled around the fire. He heard the girl gasp behind her and vowed to free her.

"Good evening," he announced himself. The reaction it got almost caused Naruto to laugh out loud. The bandits fumbled over each other, grabbing their weapons in untrained grips.

"What do you want boy?" one with a scar over his right eye growled.

"Just to free this frightened girl," he replied with a smirk. They were underestimating him. They always did.

"You think you, a child, can take what's ours, do ya?" another asked, the other laughed amongst themselves.

He raised his arm and created a chakra rod from his palm before shooting it at the bandit in the middle. The rod smashed through the man's neck silencing him forever. Blood poured out of the wound and the others took a step back.

"You people disgust me," he spoke, "Preying on the weak, spreading your hatred. You stand in the way of peace. The world will be a better place without you."

"Who do you think you are telling us what we can and can't do!?" a bold a burly man shouted back at him.

"I am justice."

With that he ran at the offending criminals and punched the bold man in the chest snapping him in half. These people weren't even worth wasting chakra on. Naruto picked up a rusty sword and found his next victim. A man with long brown hair and an eyepatch. A kunai came hurtling towards him, it was off him by a bit- a mark of a person unused to such a weapon- but he caught it all the same and threw it to his left back towards a man he didn't care to look at. He walked forward, brandishing the sword, as the long-haired bandit spat on the floor and brought his own sword up to kill him, he side stepped the steel and allowed the blade to slide across the man's stomach as he walked past, leaving the man to fall to his knees attempting to hold his wound before he succumbed to them.

The man with the scythe charged him next. Naruto shook his head. The scythe swiped at his side. Naruto jumped up and landed flat on the blade bringing it along with its wielder to the floor to eat dirt. Before the man could recover, he was stabbed through the heart.

Four remained, and they circled him.

They looked nervous if their shaking hands were any indication, but still they persevered.

The bandit behind threw a handful of kunai which he ducked under causing the man in front of him to collapse to the ground, impaled by his own friend.

"Tch! You bastard! Stay still," the one behind barked angrily.

Naruto raised his hands to his sides, spawning a chakra rod in each and pierced the two on his left and right. They fell- dead- before turning to the remaining man behind him. The scum had black but greying hair and a dagger held in reverse grip.

The man looked around him, surveying his dead friends before dropping to his knees, "I'm sorry! Take the girl, just don't kill me," he begged.

Naruto scoffed and flickered behind the disgusting man before removing his head from his body.

"Justice has been served."

Moving towards the girl, he watched as she shied away from him, tears streaming down her face. She would be haunted by this day for the rest of her life, he knew that first hand. Naruto swiftly cut her away from the tree she had been bound too before making his way south. He wouldn't be able to get back to sleep now anyway.

"T-thank you!" he heard behind him. Naruto turned slightly and nodded to her before leaving into the shadows cast by the trees.

Half an hour later he entered the Rain. It was close to dawn and the downpour was still relentless. He unsealed a small black umbrella and made his way towards the hidden village. He knew it was somewhere in the centre of the country so he adjusted his route and carried on. The sheer difference in the two countries he had travelled through to this one was incredible. One was all sunshine and rainbows and the other was dark, cold, and wet. The ground was soddened and the ground churned with his every step. He had to resort to channelling chakra to his feet to stop himself from slipping. The few trees the country held were barren of leaves and life like natural scarecrows made for scaring away animals.

The sky was dull and grey, holding dark rain clouds brimming with infinite rain. Naruto couldn't even make out the smallest of hints of clear sky. It was an odd country to say the least.

He came across a few hovels on his path, however this time no one came out to greet him or offer him shelter. At some point his umbrella had gotten so wet he had to discard it.

It was how he found himself looking at the village hidden in the rain. Hair matted to his head and clothes so damp they clung to his body. With a shiver, he entered the village.

Despite having only seen the Leaf's architecture, he imagined that this village held the most unique. High skyrise metal structures reached up to the sky, like hands wanting to push apart the clouds. Spikes jutted out of every building he passed. The lamps on the streets flickered with the intensity of the rain which had somehow gotten even worse now that he had entered the village. Still, people were walking about as if this was the norm- he supposed it was for these people- buying from stalls along the street, though none greeted him.

He even heard talk of a God.

His father had told him Nagato resided in the tallest of buildings, so Naruto made his way towards the structure that almost touched the heavens. It resembled a shard of glass made up from metal tubes that groaned under the intense rain. On the top was a large white face that jutted out over the sky, with red eyes and a long red tongue like a demon watching over the village below it.

He made it inside, walking through a large metal doorway, glad to finally be out of the kami for saken rain, and took a moment to dry his soaking hair and clothes. It wasn't ideal but it would have to do. He would get a cold from this journey, he knew. He came to a single set of spiral stairs in the middle of the structure and looked up at the seemingly endless amount there were; he sighed and began his ascent.

Finally, on the forty-eighth floor, he passed a lone figure slinking in a dark doorway. He stepped off the staircase, which groaned in protest and said, "Hello?"

"He said you would come, though this was quicker than I expected," a deep voice spoke to him. It felt almost as if he was being spoken down to. From the shadows a man emerged.

An Akatsuki cloaked man looked down on him. His hair was orange and spiked in an eerily similar way to his own, and his face was littered with piercings. His nose, chin, and ears were all pierced multiple times by black pieces of metal that looked exactly like his own chakra rods. However, it was his eyes that caught his attention. Eyes that he didn't think he would ever see stared back at him, they were Rinnegan, violet in colour with black concentric rings, looking similar but different at the same time. So, this was Nagato?

"Show them too me," the Rinnegan bearer commanded.

It took a second to register his words, before Naruto closed his eyes and sent the chakra necessary to his eyes and opened them up to reveal his Golden Rinnegan in all their glory. Naruto felt like this day would be remembered until the end of time, as two Rinnegan wielders stared at each other as if looking into each other's souls.

"Golden Rinnegan?" the man asked.

"Purple Rinnegan?" Naruto deadpanned back, making the man smile.

The difference in colour was interesting to say the least. Naruto wondered what it signified, but got distracted as he looked at the man's body.

With his eyes he could see the chakra pouring into the piercings on the man's face and elsewhere on piercings he couldn't see, but what was most interesting was that the body in front of him held no chakra whatsoever. Naruto narrowed his eyes wondering if it was a mistake but no; the body was empty of all chakra apart from what was being fed through the piercings.

"Your body is dead?" Naruto summarised.

The man recoiled slightly, "How?"

"Your body has no chakra flow and I can't see a flame, the only chakra you're receiving is through your piercings which I assume are chakra rods?" he said, wondering why his father hadn't told him beforehand.

The purpled eyed man relaxed, "Ah, you figured it out. No one figures it out."

"How do you possess the Rinnegan if you're dead?" he wondered.

"You have much to learn, Naruto. Come with me," the orange haired man said, turning and leading him deeper into the shadows.

They walked through a room that was different to ever other room. It held six large red pods that had pipes leading from them to the floor, and Naruto could see the chakra signatures coming from them. Creeping closer, he peered inside and was met with another body. The body had the same orange hair but this time in a pony tail with a part of its fringe popping out over its scratched head band. The body also wore the same Akatsuki robe of the man who had welcome him. Looking over the other pods he saw they all held a single orange haired- though one was bold- body apart from one; Naruto deduced that this pod was for the one leading him.

"What is this?" he asked, confused.

"Come, I will answer your questions," he got in return.

Carrying on out of the room and down a hallway he looked out of a window and realised they were at the spot he had seen the white face with it tongue sticking out; so, he was near the top of the building.

The man entered and room and stood to the side and switched on the lights. What greeted Naruto shocked him to the core. With his eyes he could see the huge amount of chakra emanating from the thing in front of him. Naruto turned his Rinnegan off to get a better view. It was a man, Naruto realised; a man with scarlet red hair that covered his eye, leaving just a single purple Rinnegan on display. He was shirtless and almost bone, like a skeleton, and a maze of chakra rods protruded from his back. The man was strapped into a machine that held his hands and lower body from sight. It had six large legs on it like a spider had been crossed with a human. Tubes connected from the arm holders to the back of the machine.

"It is quite the shocking sight, isn't it?" the man whispered in a haggard voice. Naruto looked at the man's face which was sunken to his skull. He nodded once.

"You're Nagato?" he asked, supressing a gulp as seeing such a sight.

"I am," the man-Nagato- answered, "I ended up like this because of my Rinnegan."

The Rinnegan exacted this price? Naruto's eyes widened.

"Do not fret, I used my eyes in such a way that it destroyed my body. I did not know what I was doing and, in my anger, I was blinded," Nagato said.

"What are these... bodies?" he asked, motioning to the orange man next to him.

"They are six bodies I control through my Rinnegan, as I cannot fight under such circumstances."

Naruto nodded in understanding. He hoped he would never get to the point he couldn't walk under his own power.

"Can you teach my how to master these eyes?" he asked.

The orange haired body moved to stand in front of him, "I can."


Thanks for reading, the next chapter may take longer to be written as i go back to work but i'll find the time. Naruto at this point in time is probably jonin level but he will get stronger obviously, i just don't want to make him so overpowered he can kill someone with a thought so someone with a good strategy could still hurt him. Also he has shown use of three rinnegan abilities as of now. The one with the long name- toko- is one used by momoshiki otsutusuki in the boruto series as he also possesses golden rinnegan and i thought it would be a cool ability to play with and have him have something over nagato. There is also the slight change in naruto's personality but not too the point where he is cold and emotionless to everything around him, a good balance i think. If there are any questions, please write a review or pm me.