Chapter 14
Naruto tried to stand up, but it felt so laborious after talking down to Zabuza gave him. He fell at every point he tried to get to his feet. Everything he shouted at Naruto felt like a death blow to his soul. He couldn't tell what reality was anymore. The ninja standing before him felt like an even greater giant than he already was. Zabuza towered over Naruto as the boy clutched at the little sense left in his world.
Is that coldheartedness…? He thought. His way of making sacrifices for others? Using others as tools…it's his way of being selfless.
It felt so warped but also so true at the same time. A new logic came alive in Naruto's mind. That realization dethroned his previous line of thinking.
He broke Haku and used her for his country…Naruto thought. To procure peace for the next generation. That's… that's kindness. Not evil.
Naruto knew at that moment he had it all wrong. He thought selfless people were those who smiled all the time and shook hands with everyone they came across. Those that gave the clothes off their back for anyone who asked. The one who never frowned said everyone had a purpose in living, no matter how weak they appear. That kind of selflessness that Naruto envisioned would make everyone like him. And he was wrong.
That's just the appearance of morality. Naruto realized. Just the appearance of selflessness. People like that…
He squinted hard.
People like me…! Naruto thought. They accomplish nothing because they sacrificed nothing. They just appear moral…they appear spotless…because they're unwilling to dirty their hands to achieve anything of substance…
Zabuza looked down at Naruto, glaring with a newfound hatred. He was no longer glaring at him because he was an enemy. He glared at Naruto because he saw him as a pathetic child who was blind to the world's harsh realities.
As his entire body shook with panic at realizing he was weak, a deep-seated self-hatred wormed into Naruto. It was the feeling that wished he had never been born, how he took and took without giving anything back. He saw himself as Zabuza did: a leech. Too pathetic and small to be of real value while real men and women fought hard to protect what they had.
He realized Kakashi was the same as Zabuza. Kakashi was harsh and cold because there was no other way to exist as a shinobi. One had to be cruel and powerful to survive and protect their nation. In the same way, Zabuza used Haku to defend the Land of Water, and Kakashi used Naruto and his team to gain prosperity for the Land of Fire. At one point, he thought these men were just cruel and sought strength because they wanted to be powerful. Now he understood why they desired power.
The strong don't just win. Naruto thought. They're also the only ones who matter. If one is not strong, whether they are good or evil doesn't matter. Because…strength and power are a means to an end to achieving those goals, they're the only good people because people like me are too scared to dirty our hands because…because we don't care about anything that deeply.
Naruto then remembered when he turned his back on Haku, allowing her to kill him. He now clutched the bridge pavement with newfound strength, wishing to squeeze the life out of Haku and himself at that moment. Naruto looked back on that moment in a different light.
I was being selfish in doing that! Naruto thought. I was being selfish to my village! I was being selfish because I swore to protect my village and become Hokage, only to let an enemy get a finishing blow! If I'm to be the leader of the Leaf Village…I must first be a soldier…and before that I must make sacrifices to protect the next generation…so that they may know peace…
He then tightened his grip.
And now I know what one must do to become acknowledged…He thought. They must earn their keep. And must be willing to prove they are strong and worthy of kindness.
"Th-Thank you," Naruto said.
"Huh?" Zabuza asked.
Naruto slowly staggered to his feet, not collapsing onto the bridge's pavement as he did a few seconds ago. His chakra was no longer the blue liquid it used to be. It evaporated back into a wind circling around his body faster than ever. Naruto's ideals had returned to him more vital than ever. His tears began to dry up.
"Your words…" he said. "They cut deeper than any blade. While I fought Haku…my heart was breaking in two. Like Haku…I was always too soft and too kind. I felt pain and sorrow and now…"
Naruto began tightening his grip further.
"Now I understand it was selfish of me to feel those things!" he shouted. "I felt content that you've shown me why I've been so conflicted this entire mission!"
He glared at the older ninja.
"It's because I was thinking only of myself!" Naruto said. "I've thought only of how I could become Hokage while keeping my sense of right and wrong correct! I knew that I couldn't do it, but you…"
A faint expression of gratitude crossed Naruto's face while Zabuza looked on in confusion.
"You showed me that to protect one's people," he said. "To be recognized as someone of value to my village…I need to be willing to sacrifice even my morality for them!"
He wiped his tears away.
"Just as you sacrificed your morality for your people," Naruto said. "I thought it was cruel to use Haku as a tool…heck, I thought it was cruel of Kakashi to treat me as one…but a tool is what one must be to be valuable to the world. If one is not a tool…they are trash to be discarded and have no value. I'll prove to the Leaf Village I'm of exceeding value…as a ninja who can defeat anybody! Even you!"
Zabuza then laughed.
"Really, kid?" he chuckled. "You think you can defeat me? Don't fool yourself. I took pity on you because you bothered me with your fancy-sounding words and had so little chakra to work with…but now you're making me angry to think I'd fall for some empty bluff."
That was when panic struck Naruto. His chakra layering began to condense into liquid as he realized who he was talking to. There was no way that he could take on Momochi Zabuza. Naruto could bluster all he wanted and have the determination to fight to the death, but that's what it would accomplish. His death.
Naruto looked around to see that Sasuke was in too much pain, Sakura was dead, Hinata was completely defeated spiritually, and Kakashi had somehow lost most of his chakra. Naruto seemed the most qualified candidate to defeat Zabuza. And he now realized that was not a good thing. He began thinking of any strategy or jutsu he had that could defeat Zabuza before a voice whispered into his ear.
Now is the time, Naruto. He said.
Naruto could see himself standing in front of the gated bars that prevented the monster from getting out. The water was up to his ankles, and the atmosphere was overbearing. Naruto looked up to see the tremendous yellow eyes glowing in the darkness and boring into his soul.
You know you cannot defeat Zabuza without my assistance. He spoke into his mind. Unlock my power…or you shall die along with all your comrades.
Naruto glared at the beast, despite understanding everything he said to be the truth and not a lie.
You said it yourself. The monster said. Either you shall sacrifice your morality to prove yourself worthy of your village's recognition…or the Leaf will discard you as a broken tool. Will you choose to be a good tool?
"I don't know…" he answered. "I don't know if I can do it…"
If you do not…the demon said.
"I know!" Naruto said. "I know! I just…I just don't want to…to lose who I am…with so much power…
He then hardened his expression.
"But…" Naruto said. "If I'm unwilling to lose myself, I'll prove to be selfish…I want to be truly selfless…just as Zabuza is…and be willing to forsake my morality…if it means the safety of my comrades and my people!"
He glared at the demon.
"I wasn't afraid of losing my morality for my people's sake at the cost of destroying them…" Naruto said. "Only for my own sake. What's the point of innocence and morality if one cannot protect those they care for?!"
In the outer world, Naruto glared at Zabuza.
"Right," Naruto said. "Which is why I'll need chakra…and I know exactly where to get it."
Naruto focused, nearing the part of his mind where the monster within him lay. He approached the beast as he stared at the glowing eyes that pierced the dark. Naruto moved his hand in between the bars that held the monster back. Once his arm reached into the cage, he could feel the snout of a giant dog. He was careful only to graze the nose of the beast.
"But…" he said. "I'll be careful…to only take as much as I need."
At first, he felt fur before a rush of energy surged from a slight touch. The sense of power was overwhelming. It was as though he had the speed of lightning and the strength of an earthquake drilled into him in a single moment. It felt so freeing to have this much power enter into him.
It immediately caused a physical reaction. Naruto jumped in midair before he realized what he was doing. He wondered when he had sprung himself up before realizing he didn't. The power Naruto had absorbed jettisoned him automatically.
Once he landed back onto the pavement, Zabuza staggered back in shock. Black wind poured from his body that continued repelling the older ninja. The dark mist-like substance pulsed around Naruto. When the dark wind blew across the pavement of the bridge, the concrete looked like it dried like a sunburnt plant before blowing away as ash. The rush of power Naruto was experiencing was perfectly cathartic. All tiredness or need for caution left him. He had grown. Literally.
He was taller than before, and his body was far bulkier. He was as tall as Zabuza. Muscle and tougher skin had replaced his formerly weaker flesh. It was like he had an all-consuming growth spurt in a single moment. Naruto looked down to find the surface of his skin was now a dark gray, almost like charcoal soot. For some reason, he could tell it was sturdier and more durable than human flesh.
He was confused before feeling pain in his jaws. Naruto began screaming in agony before feeling something was pushing out of his mouth. It took him a second before he felt sharp teeth replace his human ones.
The same continued to happen to his fingers. The digits stretched like someone was pulling on them with all the force in the world. His nails sharpened and elongated into something almost like claws. Naruto's blond hair grew as well. But that was nothing compared to the pain he felt behind his waist.
From the lowest end of his spinal cord, Naruto could feel something growing out of him. He screamed in pain as it drove out of his body. Despite the pain, he could feel himself control the new prehensile growth. Naruto held the appendage in front of him to examine it. A pitch-black tail in front of him was as thick as two fingers held together. It was shaped like an ordinary, thin fox tail but not complete with what looked like fur, more like something akin to hard stone.
And then came the stream of what he could only call memories, not his own. Visions of events and people he had never seen before rocketed into his world. At first, they appeared only out of the corner of his eye, but they began creeping out of his peripheral sight until it was all around him. His world was consumed by history, not his own.
Explosions of weapons he never had seen before exploded to kill thousands. Men of great strength and courage shook hands with one another as well as drew maps. The faces of ordinary people crowding around him screamed in fear. The birth, youth, elderly age and death of what looked like hundreds of thousands played out simultaneously.
The creation and destruction of technology, both harmful and benevolent, ran past him in the blink of an eye. History's ordinary and essential events played out sooner than Naruto could blink. It was extraordinary and painful to witness, like staring at the sun to glimpse its shining beauty. Painful yet attractive.
The images danced in the background of his world, like television blaring, but the entire horizon was his screen. The sky filled with things Naruto never wished to know, the very events hurting him to see. Naruto wanted to close his eyes, but he was too spellbound. Rather than avert his gaze, he reached out a hand and touched the moving image of something that vaguely interested him.
When he reached back, he found in his palm to be an embryo, the umbilical cord still attached to the lifeform. It disappeared and reappeared in his grasp like the static image of a television. Just as he groaned in confusion, the embryo grew into a full-size baby before becoming a toddler and a teenager.
After the image disappeared and reappeared in colored fragments, it sprouted into a mature adult man before crumbling into an older man with a cane to support him. The senior citizen then collapsed onto the ground and breathed his last before slowly fading from existence. Naruto began screaming before looking in terror as the images flashed before him.
As he watched, a common theme cemented his reality: cycles begin and end. The lives of those who were great and powerful eventually came to an end. Life started weakly and struggled to develop before reaching its peak and slowly crumbling. Then they ended, forgotten by the winds of time, their power as fleeting and nonexistent after their death as before they were born. The cycle of birth and death was the fate of everyone, and all nations and technologies were the same. The process of birth and death stopped for no one.
What…? Naruto asked. What is all this?
The fate of humankind you can escape. The monster within him cried. I will help you achieve a power never before seen. What humanity can achieve on its own is fleeting because they are fleeting.
Naruto looked up at the sky beyond him to find the static-like image blaring against the blue sky was that of many people shot down in some great war.
Everything that man has sought to achieve is something that lasts forever. The monster said. But no man can accomplish that…only I can. You see the endless stream of time that man has futilely but constantly tried to escape. And you, Naruto, escape that powerless, fleeting reality every time you use my power.
The black Mist around him began to stop blowing like the wind before emanating around him like a layer of chakra. Naruto looked around him to see about three feet of the black substance moving around him. It looked almost like some flame but was also more graceful, like flowing water. Then Naruto recognized it.
Yin chakra! He thought. The chakra formed from evil! It's outside the five essential chakra natures because it comes not from mere emotions–but pure evil intention itself! It doesn't come from feelings as a normal chakra does–but from the spirit itself. No one produces this chakra unless they have sold themselves for the sheer purpose of malice itself! It doesn't have standard enhancing properties like other chakra natures! Yin chakra can distort reality itself… it creates anything from nothingness in large enough quantities!
He looked down at the transformation with some amount of regret.
No wonder I didn't want to use that demon's power! Naruto said. While it was inside me, I could sense it was rotten!
However, when Naruto looked back at his opponent, Zabuza was even more scared than Naruto was. He was staggering backward, his eyes wide in horror. Zabuza's five feet of lightning chakra quickly turned to blue water. As Naruto looked on, he watched Zabuza's life flash before him.
Zabuza's appearance became as water as the chakra surrounding him. He began to blur into multiple images, like mirages that held no actual matter. Naruto would have confused it for a trick of the light had his youth to adulthood not been perfectly encapsulated in this vision.
What–? Naruto screamed. What is this?
The life of a mortal. The demon within Naruto said. You see, Naruto, as one who has ascended past the mortal plane and now exists in a gray area between the celestial and the temporal, you can view humans as they indeed are–as beings in the constant process of changing. They are not stable creatures…but fluid. Beings like me, like what you can be in this form…we are eternal.
Naruto saw Zabuza as a small, weak-looking child hugging his knees to the right. Snow fell around him, and he was cold. Zabuza was afraid he wouldn't make it as much body heat as he was losing before others surrounded him. Naruto saw the projections of other children walk up to him and smile down at him. One girl provided him with water and hot soup that she laid in the snow in front of him. Their mere presence caused Zabuza to perk up and smile.
The image disappeared before another appeared on the opposite side. Naruto saw a little older Zabuza mowing down those same children who had helped him, slashing their throats with a kunai. The same girl that had given Zabuza soup on that cold, snowy day had her face caved in with a punch from the young ninja. After dozens of children lay dead at Zabuza's feet, covered with blood, his body redder from their entrails than his fire chakra. Zabuza soon held up the sword he now carried, the Executioner's Blade somewhat unwieldy in his inexperienced hands.
The image disappeared only for visions of the cleaving through men's bodies like wet paper. He stood tall over a freshly butchered ninja, the sword dripping red. A bloodstained Zabuza then began speaking with other ninja of the Hidden Mist. They were apparently arguing, with many glaring at Zabuza in disapproval. Zabuza looked on with equal disapproval.
The scene didn't disappear but rapidly changed with Zabuza staring at a young boy with gray hair and pink eyes. The young boy looked on smugly, smiling over confidently at Zabuza, which enraged the ninja. From pictures in his history books, Naruto recognized him as Yagura, the fourth Mizukage, and called him the cruelest leader the Hidden Mist ever had.
The image again disappeared, and Zabuza was now fighting that same Mizukage alongside Haku. Many of the same ninja that surrounded Zabuza in his recent argument was being cut down by Zabuza, with Haku providing support by throwing her senbon needles. In the following vision, Yagura was lying dead among other ninja who sought to defend him.
That vision soon changed to Zabuza and Haku standing behind a beautiful red-haired woman in a blue dress. Naruto recognized this as the Mizukage that Zabuza had reinstated over Yagura once the fourth died. The image projected on Zabuza's right side while on his left side, Zabuza overlooked village children playing in peace, their parents not far away and happily farming.
This scenic image again changed to Zabuza looking on in horror to find those same children gaunt with hunger and their parents ingesting green powder through needles. With that scene playing out on Zabuza's left side, the right side changed to Zabuza again fighting ninja, this time those sent by Gato. Children lay dead around him as they were young shinobi that had transformed into battle with Zabuza as the only survivor. Multiple images of child ninja repeatedly dying on the same bridge they fought on played out in front of Naruto, the veteran shinobi visibly aging with each subsequent encounter.
The final image Naruto saw of Zabuza was the ninja looking down at the bridge he stood on, pools of blood so thick his feet bathed in it. The corpses of children intermingled with those of ninja Gato had sent, and the bridge workers continued to work despite the carnage. The bandages that obscured Zabuza's mouth were unbandaged as he looked on at the ravages of battle with sorrow.
He didn't look like he had the energy to lift his sword any longer, the bloody blade resting on the bridge's pavement. He had very little chakra left as he had exhausted it in battle, but it was blue water chakra. As Naruto looked on at the last projection of Zabuza he saw a man who had too many burdens to count, bereft of joy and idealism. At this point, Zabuza merely wanted to die, his purpose of protecting his country a dead dream as he had failed to secure peace once Gato had infiltrated the Land of Water. By looking at this light projection, Naruto could tell Zabuza felt he had completed his life's purpose once Yagura had been deposed and replaced with the fifth Mizukage. What remained of his life from then on was maintaining that dream.
Now Zabuza had felt he failed at that dream. That all the hard work he had spent attempting to replace the Hidden Mist's government so that it would no longer be the Bloody Mist was a foolish endeavor. At this point, Zabuza wished he had died sooner than see his dream become tarnished by a drug lord who spent his life living in lavish palaces and spending his money on high-quality liquor and even higher-quality prostitutes. To have his noble intentions undone by a lowly criminal was the greatest disgrace to Zabuza's life. And now, he secretly wished someone would kill him. A quick, painless death so that he would no longer suffer. It was at that point Naruto realized who Zabuza was.
A tool of his shinobi village. He thought. A willing tool but a tool nonetheless. Someone who had molded their entire identity around fighting for their home. Zabuza…Zabuza was never allowed to have a dream of his own. His village grounded all his individualism and autonomy him. Zabuza did to Haku what the Hidden Mist did to him…made him a weapon for war. A weapon…for peace.
The image quickly disappeared before he saw Zabuza standing before him. He was no longer the proud warrior or the dangerous assassin. Zabuza was shaking in terror like a frightened child.
"N-N-No…" he cried in absolute terror. "Y-Y-Yooouuu…so that's why you were brought here, despite having no chakra. You… you're a jinchuriki! Just as that monster Yagura was!"
Zabuza was quivering, a sight that Naruto never thought he'd see.
"Monsters like you…" he said. "They don't belong in this world!"
"What…?" Naruto asked.
"Naruto, no!" Kakashi yelled.
Naruto turned back to see the jonin yelling at him. Kakashi was no longer torturing Haku and looking squarely at him. He was looking on in fear.
"You shouldn't have done that Naruto!" he said. "It's not the time!"
"What's not–?" Naruto asked.
He was then overwhelmed by a strong, singular voice.
Kill. The demon inside Naruto said. Slaughter everything in your sight. Show no mercy to your opponent.
Naruto was then overwhelmed by the desire to kill, looking at Zabuza in fear.
"A jinchuriki!" he shouted. "You don't even know what that is, do you?!"
Naruto wasn't able to listen entirely. He was having a hard time resisting the urge to destroy. It wasn't just the idea of fighting Zabuza filling his mind. It wanted him to tear everything in front of him to shreds.
You now rule everything in front of you. The demon's voice whispered to Naruto. Let nothing stop you from taking ownership of this world that rightfully is yours and yours alone. Claim it by asserting the supremacy of your power.
The yellow eyes that stared back at Naruto through the darkness roared with silver teeth and gnawed at the bars.
Kill them all! The monster shouted into his mind. Spare nothing, not even the very ground you stand upon!
Naruto was doing his best to physically restrain himself from reaching out and going on a rampage that would kill his comrades. He looked on at Hinata, Sasuke and Gato with the desire to take their lives just as much as Zabuza. There was no distinction of friend or foe in his mind. Just the desire to eradicate. Naruto had to paw at the pavement with his feet and stomp down to resist the urge to lunge forward and attack indiscriminately.
You have to defeat Zabuza for me! Naruto shouted back. No one else must die! No one except him!
Forget your feelings for these insects! The demon shouted. You have ascended to a higher life form, Naruto! A grander existence! And they now stand in your way as not only rivals but meals!
Naruto groaned in pain, feeling the evil will of the demon forcing him forward, making him step forward without his consent. Naruto's resistance was just barely holding him back from doing so. All the while, Zabuza looked on in shock as he continued.
"What am I?" Naruto asked.
"What are you?" Zabuza asked. "What are you? You are the nine-tailed fox. That's what you are!"
Something in Naruto's mind suddenly clicked. Certain things he had only vaguely understood and didn't at all now aligned perfectly in his mind. It all made sense now. No one was allowed to talk to him, the hatred and fear the citizens of the Leaf village held for him, the demon that Naruto had always seen in his nightmares, and the nine-tail fox's attack fifteen years ago. It all made sense.
"Narutoooooooo!" Kakashi cried. "Don't listen!"
"I…am…" Naruto thought. "The nine-tailed…fox…?"
"Just as the three-tails beast lived inside of Yagura…" Zabuza said. "The nine-tails were stored inside of you! Each shinobi village has one of the nine demons at their disposal they trap inside the host body of an infant!"
Zabuza's chakra reddened with fire as he explained, the concept alone making him angry.
"You were not told what was inside of you, were you Uzumaki brat?" Zabuza asked.
"Naruto…!" Kakashi cried. "He's tricking you, nothing else!"
"Jinchuriki normally has low chakra outputs during their early years," Zabuza went on. "Just like you. Yagura was the same but became a mighty warrior by controlling his tailed beast."
It all made sense to Naruto now. Everything Zabuza was shouting at him made sense. Even Kakashi was trying to get him not to listen confirmed this as it wouldn't be something the jonin would want Naruto to recognize.
"Jinchuriki are those that have these devils implanted within them!" Zabuza said. "Those cursed enough to have a tailed beast within them are feared by the village for their immense power, knowing that in anger, they could kill thousands with no effort! Yet the shinobi villages kept them anyway as their battle power was too tempting to ignore…and the tailed beast the Leaf had was the nine-tails while the Mist had the three-tails."
Zabuza held his sword at Naruto with renewed vigor.
"I hated jinchuriki," he said. "They're driven mad by their incredible power…they go mad from experiencing the godhood they think they've achieved. In reality, all they've done is sell themselves to the devils that inhabit them! Yagura…I always thought he became the demon he was through the three tails influence on him!"
Zabuza's chakra layering was dyed entirely red, all of it transformed into fire. Naruto couldn't help but lose what little control he once had slipped. Naruto's legs and back began to bend in a lunging position as he readied to attack the ninja in front of him. He felt the demon within him win in the battle between their two wills.
"I will cleanse this world of the filth of demons!" Zabuza said. "Die, monster!"
Zabuza ran toward Naruto. His blade held to his side as he rushed at him. The newly transformed ninja lost control over himself as he felt his life threatened. The urge to kill overrode every other desire within Naruto. However, just as Zabuza swung his blade at the ninja, he felt no need to side-step it.
It was odd that he didn't feel the urge to dodge life-threatening attacks under the demon's influence, but he thought it was above it. When he gave into the demon's influence, it wasn't just hunger Naruto felt. He viewed Zabuza as an insect compared to him, a being who presented to the changes of time compared to someone like him who was above it. With this power he had transcended human limitations and could no longer be called human. What was a simple ninja to a being like him?
The sword passed right through him when Zabuza slashed at Naruto's right shoulder with all his might. The demon of the Hidden Mist's eyes went wide with horror as the blade phased through Naruto like a ghost. It was as though he was incorporeal, the Executioner's Blade appearing next to his left hip as it cleaved through nothing. Zabuza gasped in shock before staggering in fear, his chakra layering condensing into the water and turning blue.
"Your blade is too unimportant," he said. Naruto didn't know who was speaking. Himself or the demon. It felt as though there was no difference. "A toy like that does not affect a god."
It felt like the first time in his life, as it filled Naruto with confidence and power. He was no longer the scared child who ran and hid when others called him names or rejected him. He was above humanity. He was above those who had called him names. Naruto was no longer held back by the constraints of ostracization and hatred of others. He had ascended. And it felt so good.
"Im-" he thought. "Impossible-"
He sprung forward and tackled Zabuza to the ground before biting into him. At first, Naruto thought that he wouldn't be able to penetrate Zabuza's five feet of chakra but found he liked crunching his fangs into the ninja's chakra. He loved the taste of Zabuza's chakra, the water chakra having a serene and delicate flavor.
Naruto couldn't describe the way chakra tasted in terms of food. It didn't remind him of the food he had eaten. Only emotions he had experienced before. Every bite tasted like how Naruto felt when he was a child and was too weak to compete with his peers. Just as the cadets were more potent than him at such a young age, Zabuza knew he was outmatched compared to a newly transformed Naruto. Inferiority and the loss of hope due to being outmatched overwhelmed his senses the more he consumed. Pinned down and with his chakra quickly being gnawed away at, Zabuza was helpless under Naruto's grasp.
The water chakra began degrading into black ash as he bit into it. It crumbled and fouled into dust-like particles with every bite before swallowing it. Naruto realized that the yin chakra surrounding him was digesting Zabuza's chakra like stomach acid did to a consumed morsel. And it tasted so refreshing. Naruto had never experienced a sensation like the eating of chakra. It was both nourishing and exhilarating. With each bit, he could feel the strengthening of his spirit.
Soon after devouring the chakra, Naruto bit into the ninja's flesh. Zabuza screamed in pain as Naruto tasted blood and meat. It was comparatively not as ecstatic or sensational, but the crunching of bones and feel of smooth, soft flesh between his teeth and against his tongue was delicious. Soon after eating almost all of Zabuza's chakra, he began feasting on his flesh. Chunks of the ninja's body, more significant than the size of basketballs, disappeared into his wide jaws.
With digesting and swallowing virtually all of Zabuza's chakra, Naruto's chakra field became wider and wider. After eating it, the water chakra he absorbed converted into black yin chakra that expanded further and further until it was nearly eight feet long. Naruto felt an incredible amount of energy surge through him.
Zabuza feebly attempted to swing his sword at Naruto, but this was futile. As he tried to raise it with a single arm, Naruto stamped down on it with his left hand and shattered the Executioner's Blade. It lay in several pieces on the blackened pavement where Naruto pinned down Zabuza, continuing to devour his chakra and flesh.
Who cares about becoming Hokage when I can do this?! Naruto thought. Wait until the village sees what I can do now!
He was lost in the process of killing and eating, engrossed in the act. It felt so cathartic to Naruto to quickly be on the winning side of the battle. Usually, he'd have to outthink and outguess what his opponent would attempt, but now he was just dominating his enemy. It took no effort.
He was so lost in the act that he didn't notice as Zabuza was performing hand seals beneath him. Naruto had already devoured most of Zabuza's upper body and midsection, so he was now eating his shoulders. He noticed too late when Zabuza had performed the jutsu.
"Mind Poison Bomb no Jutsu!" he shouted.
Naruto looked down to see that the final hand seal he'd performed was a corrupted mi hand seal. What little of Zabuza's chakra remained separated from him, condensed into a circular transformation, and formed into a small, blue sphere in his hands. Zabuza decorated the globe with colorful buttons and a small green stem at the end.
With a final tora hand seal from Zabuza, it levitated up a few inches until it struck Naruto in the chest before floating in his chakra. He was confused at first, unsure what to make of the attack before it exploded into a purple mist. The explosion blasted Naruto off of Zabuza, and his back crashed into the blackened pavement of the bridge. While the enemy ninja lay coughing in a pool of blood and half his flesh was missing, Naruto screamed in panic as the purple particles filled his chakra field.
He couldn't think anymore. All his bravado and confidence were gone. The idea of being a god amongst men died as Naruto's mind was thrown into utter chaos. Left and right lost all meaning, as did up and down. He tried lifting himself, but in his confused state, Naruto felt he was burying himself in the ground.
As he tried to stand up, he began to fear being buried alive. Darkness consumed his world as the light from above quickly vanished. The terror of being trapped on all sides and submerged in a hole with no escape route made him roar in terror. However, when Naruto felt himself scream in panic, he couldn't hear his voice. It sounded like his guttural shouts emitted to his far left rather than out of his own body.
He staggered backward in confusion, but Naruto almost felt like he was flying when he did so. He feared that if he continued racing away from Zabuza, he would be ejected into the air and never come back down. Naruto staggered to his right side, making him feel like he was spiraling through the air at a hundred miles an hour with no control. He was bulleting straight into the stratosphere the more he walked.
He attempted to stand still to counter these effects, but that was almost as bad. While initially standing still was more calming than moving, Naruto felt like he was vulnerable standing still. When not moving, he thought he could sense invisible enemies swarming him. While Naruto couldn't see them, he felt a presence around him he was unsure of. He swatted wildly at the air around him to fend off these attackers, but it did nothing to relieve him of the panic. With no clear target to strike at, Naruto knew he had no way of defending himself, even in his confused state.
And that wasn't even describing what was happening to his chakra. The black yin surrounding him was going out of control. The purple particles within his chakra layer were not just circulating but drilling into spiral shapes. Whenever Naruto's chakra field churned in a violent direction, it carried Naruto's black chakra with it.
It was almost as though his layer of black chakra was a plastic bag from which the purple substance couldn't escape. However, rather than being a passive liquid like a standard plastic container, it was like holding a typhoon within it. The purple matter couldn't escape to release Naruto from this disruption and so whirred wildly. And it was causing his chakra to attack him.
His black yin chakra beat against his body in waves. He screamed as his chakra battered against his skin as it, tore his clothes, and drew blood. Naruto's dark gray flesh opened to bleed strange golden-yellow blood that pooled on the ground beneath him. It felt the most painful thing, like having sand poured directly beneath his skin before it sewed over.
Unable to deal with the pain, Naruto fell to the ground in a pool of golden blood. Once he did, he felt he was falling into the water. Naruto squirmed around in the transparent liquid to no avail, feeling he would drown. Despite his panicked state, he knew his body was weakening from his chakra attacking him.
At this stage, I'll die! He shouted.
You fool…The demon within Naruto said. Caught by this mere mortal's genjutsu and now will die unless I intervene. But I'll be forced to feed you my chakra…, and I cannot do that since you and I merged in this state.
Naruto looked up to see the bright yellow eyes staring down at him. Only he was not looking at him within the weird mental plane with the demon held inside him. The bright yellow eyes were in the sky above Naruto, right behind all the flashing events of history. The eyes glared, knowing that the young ninja had disappointed the monster.
In this way, Naruto felt those were not just the monster's eyes but his own. Soon after they appeared, Naruto could see himself thrashing in pain on the bridge's pavement. He could also see Zabuza dying in his blood, Kakashi staring in horror with a pained Haku, Sakura's corpse, a thrashing Sasuke, and a weeping Hinata. Naruto didn't just have a bird's eye view of the bridge they stood atop but of the village near it.
He could even see the water surrounding the bridge for miles on end. It even included moving boats. If Naruto focused, he thought he could see men sailing towards a nearby island. He tried to gain a better visual before the eyes above faded.
Once the yellow eyes disappeared, Naruto could feel himself return to his human appearance. His tail retracted back into his body while the deep layer of thick, dark substance withdrew back into his skin to be replaced by pale flesh. His hair returned to normal while the black yin chakra surrounding him vanished. His fingers and teeth shrank back to standard human body parts. Soon Naruto was no longer the higher being the demon inside turned him into. He was now just Naruto.
Still, despite all the appendages and chakra withdrawing back into him, Naruto could feel its influence not wholly disappear. He could feel the chakra that was absorbed back into his body spread throughout the inside of him. It was almost like water that poured into a tunnel wash through the underground.
It was rejuvenating as Naruto felt refreshed after being so wounded. He looked down to see his injuries healing before his eyes, the open wounds in his flesh sewing up in a flash. Blood stopped pouring, and his mind began to clear. Naruto felt a rush of something that he momentarily realized was chakra to alleviate his panic-induced state. He stood up, looking down to find his body and mind were in perfect condition.
I will not always be so kind as to lend you my chakra in emergencies. The demon said. But in your transformed state, it would indeed jeopardize me as we share a body when merged. Remember this and be more careful not to overplay your hand, brat.
The voice disappeared as Naruto felt he had to take in his surroundings again. The sensation of transcending usual human limitations no longer was present within. He felt like an average human. The reality is painfully evident as the mere six inches of chakra layering appeared around Naruto. The chakra was blue liquid as seeing Zabuza's past, his mistreatment of Haku, and Sakura's death flooded into him. The high of godhood was over.
For just once in my life, I felt utterly above my problems. Naruto thought. I didn't need friendship, recognition, or even food and water. I was complete without others. Now…now I wish I didn't have to let it go. Who needs to be Hokage if you're an immortal being?
This contemplation had to wait as he saw Kakashi walking up to him. Naruto was frightened to see him carrying Haku with him with her wrists bound behind her back. Kakashi held her wrists and looked very distressed. She quietly glared at Naruto, her expression a mix of anger and stoic sorrow.
Naruto recognized the fetters Kakashi bound her with. Those restraints significantly inhibited the regeneration of chakra, so when put on a ninja while not having their chakra layering up, they were helpless. Naruto wanted to protest Haku's capture but hesitated when he saw Kakashi glare at him. However, using this, Kakashi had less than two feet of lightning chakra surrounding him. He would have mentioned something, but a voice whispered into his ear.
Kill. The demon's voice said. Destroy things, underlings.
Well, they are just mere mortals. Naruto thought.
He then was terrified that he thought that.
What am I thinking?! He shouted at himself.
"I see you've unlocked the nine-tails within you," Kakashi said bitterly. "You could have gone on a rampage had Zabuza not used the Mind Poison Bomb on you. However…"
He looked past him at Zabuza dying while lying in his blood.
"I am glad to see you were able to use your first transformation," Kakashi said. "To be honest…we didn't plan on you activating the nine-tails so early on."
"Yeah," Naruto said. "What was that technique he used? I've never heard of that jutsu before."
Destroy them. It spoke louder.
I would love to. Naruto thought in response.
He then realized how awful an idea that was.
How could I think that about my sensei?! He thought.
"That jutsu doesn't use up that much chakra," he said. "And it's a powerful genjutsu technique. But it's situational. It converts the emotions of panic a ninja is experiencing into chakra. After the bomb goes off, it starts having a hallucinogenic effect on the user that causes their senses to become completely disoriented. If the users were panicking and fearful enough, their chakra would start attacking them. The only reason you survived is that the nine-tails didn't want itself to be hurt."
"Sounds powerful," Naruto replied.
Kill. The demon shouted. Kill now!
I know I should. I'm just thinking of the right time- Naruto began thinking. No, wait! That's horrible!
"Again, it's too situational to rely upon," Kakashi admitted. "The greater your panic, the stronger the effects on the opponent since your emotions are transferred into the opponent. To be effective, seasoned shinobi would only be panicked in a do-or-die situation where they seemingly have no hope. And for them to rely upon a stasis of extreme desperation is an inconsistent weapon at best. Zabuza probably had prepared that jutsu as an emergency weapon."
Naruto looked at Haku, the ninja visibly miserable.
"Kakashi-sensei…" he said. "Now that Zabuza is dead… can't… can't you release Haku?"
Kakashi shook his head.
"She is a prisoner that will now hold a special purpose for us," he said. "The secrets of the Yuki clan's ice chakra will be ours. For the sake of the Leaf Village, we will have her."
He eyed Haku with pity, meeting her gaze. She looked as though Naruto had betrayed her. However, there was hope in her eyes now that Naruto was defending her. The guilt she instilled in him gave him a little boldness.
"Kakashi-sensei," he said. "With all due respect…I don't think that the Hidden Mist would like this. Especially since Zabuza is no longer a threat. I-I believe the Hidden Mist would find this–"
"We do this all the time, Naruto," Kakashi said. "The Hidden Mist did this plenty under Yagura's reign."
"R-Really?" Naruto asked in shock.
"This is typical ninja protocol," Kakashi said.
His eyes widened as tears stung them.
Kill Kakashi. It said. All he is doing is tormenting you. Look at how he looked down on you and didn't promote you to a full jonin while he did to Sasuke. How unfair is that?
Naruto had to forcibly block the wave of influence the demon had over him. He prepared not to follow the opposing line of thinking the monster was feeding him. However, it was so easy to agree with its destructive nature. Naruto forced himself to shift back to what Kakashi said. It reminded him of the evils Jiraiya spoke of.
It was like the textbooks Jiraiya gave me. Naruto thought. The Hidden Leaf Village is–dark…
"Well…" he said. "But-"
"Shut up and obey orders," Kakashi said. "Do what Zabuza told you."
"Uh?" Naruto gasped, trying not to cry.
"I heard that whole spiel he gave you," he said. "I was on the sidelines, not knowing what to do as I'd used so much chakra. However…what he said was right. Sacrifice your morality for your nation. Give up your innocence to protect and prosper the people who gave you life. It's what I did."
"But-" Naruto said.
"Or be a selfish leech!" Kakashi yelled at him. "See how far it gets you!"
The young ninja cowered at his harsh voice, the veteran shinobi's anger peaking as his lightning chakra sparked with fierce intensity.
I want revenge on him. Naruto thought. I wish to kill Kakashi-sensei. Make him pay for what he's said to me.
Naruto then winced in pain, hating that the demon within him didn't even have to say anything for Naruto to think that.
"Naruto," Kakashi said as though it were a slur. "Do you think you can become Hokage with such a weak mindset? Do you think you can attain the highest ninja rank as an idealistic child? You thought you could become a ninja of some worth without sacrifice?"
"N-No-" Naruto said. "B-But I-I…I was willing to sacrifice myself! You know…be brave, work hard…! Be…be a ninja…"
The tears began flowing down his face again.
"That everyone loves and respects," Naruto said.
"And that means nothing if you aren't willing to sacrifice others," Kakashi said. "You think one loan ninja can prosper the village and protect it? Get over yourself, Naruto. The Hokage is willing to sacrifice whatever pawns under his command for the village. And you are one of those pawns."
Naruto had to keep himself from sobbing, his teacher shattering the young ninja's world. He couldn't believe his sensei, who'd taught him so many years, was acting this way. Naruto had never heard him say something so harsh to him directly. He was trying to keep it all together before the demon shouted again.
I told you to kill him! The demon shouted. Don't let a lowly being like him insult your honor! You are no one's pawn, Hokage or not!
"I know," Naruto said aloud. "You are all my pawns! Hokage or not!"
"What?" Kakashi asked.
"Aaaaahhhhh!" Naruto screamed.
He grabbed his blond hair and screamed as loud as he could. He slammed himself onto the bridge's pavement, shutting his eyes as tightly as possible. Naruto was pressing his body as hard as possible against the stony surface of the bridge as he began sobbing.
"Pleeeeaaaasssse Kakashi-sensei…" he cried. "Make it stop!"
"Naruto," his sensei said, full of anger and spite. "What's gotten into you?"
"The demon in me…" Naruto said in between sobs. "He won't stop! He won't stop telling me to kill all of you! And-and what's worse… I'm beginning to agree with him!"
He had to control himself to keep speaking.
"And…" he said. "I-I'm beginning to agree with him! I'm beginning to agree I'm a god, and you're all just mortals for me to crush like insects! Wh-What's going on?!"
He looked up at Kakashi, who only looked down at him with a mix of pity and hatred.
Why do I bow to this meager worm? Naruto thought. As one who can so easily transcend the mortal plane, I can go outside the limits of time. To show subservience to a human-like this is–wait, what am I thinking? Stop it!
"It's started," he said.
"What has?" Naruto asked.
"The degradation of your mind," Kakashi said. "You see Naruto when a jinchuriki of the nine-tails gives into its power. Once you merge with the nine-tails, even bearing just one tail, your mind becomes that much more melded with the beast. The more one transforms, the more the line between your being and the nine-tails blurs. Use it enough, and there will be no difference between you two."
"No!" Naruto shouted. "No! Please…please Kakashi-sensei…!"
The anger within him became too much to ignore.
"Don't look down upon me," he said. "Insect. You should be bowing to m-"
A quick kick to the jaw quickly stopped his defiance. Naruto fell back as he gripped his jaw, looking up at a stoic Kakashi. His one-eyed glare felt hot and burning.
"Get up, you runt," he said. "Mental control is the only way to ward off the demon's influence, now. Grow a thicker skin, brat."
Naruto obeyed, quickly standing up. He shivered in fright under the watchful eye of his sensei. Haku looked as though she had given up all hope of living at this point, her gaze so hopeless. All Naruto could do was look at her in sorrow. He had to remind himself of what Zabuza said.
It's selfish to abandon your nation just because of your moral convictions. Naruto thought. You have to choose between yourself and your country and if I want to be Hokage…I have to choose Konoha.
"Copy Ninja!" came a voice.
They both turned to see Gato coming their way. He looked mighty angry as he waved his cane in the air, almost as if to hit them. He stopped a few feet away from Kakashi and looked squarely at him, ignoring Naruto completely.
"I didn't come here to be killed by the very thugs I wanted dead nearly!" Gato shouted. "You haven't fulfilled your end of the bargain!"
"Calm down," Kakashi said. "We just killed Zabuza. My young ninja couldn't do anything more until I finished him."
The crime lord shook his head furiously.
"I don't care for your excuses," Gato seethed. "All I want is Tazuna dead. Do you hear me?! Dead! Do you hear me?! I don't care if you've killed the entire Hidden Mist's army! You get no money if that bridge maker isn't in a wooden box! DO. YOU. UNDERSTAND?!"
Kakashi looked at Gato, very defeated. Naruto had never seen his sensei this way before. Kakashi, possibly the strongest jonin in the Leaf Village and one of the greatest living ninja, was being talked down to by a man half as tall as him. A man who couldn't even mold chakra and Kakashi could kill with taijutsu alone. It was demeaning for someone of the jonin's stature. But it reminded Naruto of what he had read in the books Jiraiya gave him.
The crime lord Gato is not to be questioned nor killed. A textbook on crime read. Only the most desperate do so. Anyone even remotely involved dies if someone chooses to kill a crime lord of Gato's stature. As powerful as shinobi villages are, they are rivaled in power by the power of criminal groups. To bring the wrath of their associates upon a nation is forbidden.
An evil thought wormed its way into his mind.
I could be like that. Naruto thought. Suppose I wasn't so afraid of using the nine-tails' power. I could rule this world and–stop!
"Fine," Kakashi said. "But please…give Sasuke medical treatment. He'll need some after saving your life."
"Any expense I make will come out of your reward," Gato said, pointing his cane at Kakashi. "Remember that, Copy Ninja."
He then turned and walked over to where Sasuke was struggling in pain. Naruto took note of how he did not attempt to hurry around. Naruto couldn't imagine treating someone who had just saved his life with such negligence. He would have done everything he could to offer assistance to his savior.
Kakashi threw Haku to the ground, the female ninja grunting in pain as she hit the pavement. The jonin quickly performed a mi hand sign, and a small portion of his chakra layer separated from him to bind around Haku's legs. Now she could no longer walk.
"Come on, Naruto," Kakashi said. "We have to find Tazuna. Before he's too far away to get to."
"What about the others?" Naruto asked.
Kakashi slapped him at the question. Naruto grabbed his jaw, knowing he purposefully hit him where he kicked him a minute ago. It was apparent Kakashi was on edge.
"Sakura, our medic, is dead," he said. "Sasuke's out of commission for the rest of the day since he used the Mangekyo Sharingan and Hinata…I think it's pretty clear Hinata can no longer fight. Her father disowned her for being too soft and…and I think he was right."
"So, what do we do?" Naruto asked as he rubbed his cheek.
"This," Kakashi said as he grabbed his forehead protector that hid his right eye.
He lifted it as well as the eyepatch to reveal a three-tomoe Sharingan. Immediately, Kakashi lost nearly half a foot of chakra, but his total chakra radius expanded to more than four feet. Naruto was impressed to see this was not fake.
"A-A-!" Naruto said. "A Sharingan! Kakahi-sensei…! How…are you-?!"
"That's not important," he said.
Kakashi performed a few hand seals, mostly the tora, mi, and I hand seals, before more than two feet of his chakra separated from him. With half his chakra, Kakashi formed a magnifying glass the size of an infant. It was bluish-white, save for the transparent glass piece. As Kakashi looked through it, the image of Tazuna, the bridge maker, appeared in the glass portion.
"The Finding Glass no Jutsu," Naruto said. "It allows you to search for anyone you've seen in recent memory."
"But the further you travel looking for that person," Kakashi said. "The more chakra one will use up since it actively consumes chakra. Naruto… I'm going to need you to help me. Using my Sharingan drains me…drains me about as much as Sasuke using his Mangekyo."
"How did you know about Sasuke having the-?" he asked.
"No time," Kakashi said. "Let's find a boat and get gone."
"I think I know where they might have headed," Naruto said. "To make a long story short, I think I saw the direction."
"Good," Kakashi said. "You might prove yourself useful after all."