The story of menma

by Xebecs

Big daddddy

3. 3

The Story of Menma

Anjelle

Chapter 3

Notes:

And we're back. Glad y'all seem to be enjoying it!

Chapter Text

The problem with long-standing missions was not the journey there, but the journey back. Tracking down the Uzumaki child may have taken them two months, but naturally, making a beeline back to Konoha would cut down on time; it would only be about a week's journey, possibly less if Naruto didn't drag his feet. So it wasn't that time was a problem, either. But now that they had their target, they had to worry about keeping their target. Using as little force as possible, under the Hokage's orders.

Surprisingly, that wasn't hard. Naruto followed along easily, so much so that they decided against using any genjutsu on him.

They found themselves out of uniform, their masks tucked away, in a no-name village riding the border of Fire Country. This was the worst possible scenario, but one they deemed necessary after a lengthy discussion. Their supplies were low. They were on their last rations of food pills, having only packed enough for three weeks to start, and while returning the jinchuuriki to Konoha was top priority, they needed to consider their target's health.

Naruto did not look well. He was thin, scrawny from months of poor meals and weak from lack of sleep. His wounds were healing slowly—from the briefing the Hokage gave them at the start of their mission, this was highly unusual for a jinchuuriki and likely not a good sign. Overall, the boy just looked tired.

Naruto didn't remember much of anything from after his last encounter with Kakashi, meaning that the fox had to have taken hold early on. Whether it was a continuous thing or reoccurring control they couldn't be sure, but Naruto was thankful to be escorted back to the Leaf. That was good. That meant that they didn't have to use force on a child. Naruto was cooperating. Finally, after two months of long, arduous search, their struggle was over.

Naruto was cooperating. Thank the Sage.

The boy threw his arms behind his head and grinned as Itachi dealt with the receptionist at the local inn. "Ramen, ramen," he sang because apparently, they were getting ramen tonight.

ANBU did not rent rooms in local inns. ANBU did not stay in villages. ANBU certainly did not take their masks off and walk around in civilian clothes while on a mission. These were all things that were very much not okay, but there they were.

Twelve hours of whining from a half-starved, half-dead jinchuuriki will do that. Even Itachi caved. If they were marked for treason, they would go down together.

"Oooooh!" Naruto cheered, running into the spacious yet empty room, an eager bounce to his step and light in his eyes. "It's a room. With walls . With walls, Hound!"

Kakashi sighed. The brat was looking many times less dead. He wondered how much of it had been an act aimed at pity. "Yes, yes, I can see that."

"And a roof. Tenzō—" Naruto's head snapped to the wood user and there were actual tears in his eyes. "Tenzō, a roof!"

Tenzō smiled easily and stretched his arms as he settled down on the floor. He'd taken a strange shine to the kid, for one reason or another. It may have had something to do with how chatty Naruto was; Tenzō didn't have to keep a conversation going by himself now. "I could have made this with my jutsu," he mused, and there was something boastful in his words, "but I suppose a bath would be—"

"Bath?!"

Naruto looked like he was going to cry more. Oh dear.

For a boy emaciated, Naruto had energy to spare. He ran around the room before disappearing the moment Tenzō guided him to the baths. Suddenly there was quiet. Kakashi wasn't so sure he'd ever have that again.

With Tenzō and Naruto gone, he cast his eye towards the room's only remaining occupant. Itachi was taking inventory of their supplies, making mental notes on what they would have to restock before setting back out onto the road. Soon, Itachi would head into the market to buy what they needed. Food, bandages. Disinfectant. They still had Naruto's wounds to treat—and Kakashi's arm. Those burns were nothing, though, when compared to the relief he felt knowing that they could finally return home. Kakashi was most in his element on missions, but after so long all he wanted was his apartment and his bed and a chance to catch up on some well-deserved reading.

"What do you think?" he finally asked in a long exhale that showed his exhaustion.

Itachi glanced his way and smiled before unsealing his scroll and looking at what they had left—mostly weapons. Food was scarce. "Naruto is my brother's classmate," he said. "He's a good child. I don't believe he will give us trouble."

Kakashi cast a lazy eye across the room and thought up all the reasons why it was wrong that they were in it. "Ahh, I believe it's too late for that."

A soft noise escaped Itachi, sounding of fondness and amusement, before the smile was gone. "Naruto will not give us trouble. We need to watch for the fox, however."

"Mm," nodded Kakashi. "We need to make note of it in our report."

Itachi rose, bowed his head slightly, and left with their funds strapped to his side. With that, Kakashi was alone. It was nice. Alone, with no one trying to talk to him, no sounds of rustling off in the distance to send him on alert. Alone in an inn, able to close his eye, tip back his head, and let his mind go blank.

The door slid open, jerking him awake, and he opened his eye to find a grinning blond. Naruto stumbled into the room with a towel around his waist and dove for his bag. Naruto—or, well, maybe the fox —had acquired a small pack of supplies at one point or another. He had two pairs of clothes—one partially eroded by the nine-tails chakra—and a few shuriken and kunai. Some first-aid supplies, nothing special. No food, which was probably the problem.

Tenzō appeared next, looking perfectly content and a lot better rested than he had in weeks . He dropped down onto the floor, lied on his back and stared vacant-eyed at the ceiling.

Naruto joined him, laughing.

"Man," the kid breathed, "you guys are the best. When do we get ramen?"

Tenzō snorted, knocking the boy lightly in the head. "Patience. Itachi left to get our supplies. You don't want to eat without him, do you?"

"Well, no, but he shouldn't have left. I'm hungry."

"We know, Naruto," said Tenzō, but there was nothing but fondness in his voice.

Kakashi wasn't entirely sure what his teammates saw in that boy. Maybe it was just that he didn't like kids, so he was immune to Naruto's charms. Maybe he was too bitter over the two months of his life that he would never get back. Maybe he was just getting old. He didn't know, but he also didn't care. And that was the important thing.

When the banter died out and Kakashi thought he could have another moment of peace he found that no, he was wrong, peace was not a thing that their jinchuuriki allowed, and soon he found himself locking gazes with Naruto as the boy crouched before him. He narrowed his eye.

Naruto looked down, unfazed, and his face scrunched up. "Did I do that?"

Kakashi followed the line of his eyes to the burns on his hand and forearm. The corrosive chakra left red, raw and peeling skin in its wake. He had to wonder why it didn't seem to affect Naruto. "It's nothing to worry about," he assured with a dull tone.

But Naruto wasn't worried. Naruto was smiling, soft and confident, raising a hand to the wound. Kakashi tried not to flinch—tried, failed, and he caught the moment-long flash of something wrong on Naruto's face before it left. Then came the soothing green glow of medical ninjutsu. The ache in his burns subsided long before the skin itself started to mend. It was a slow and lengthy process. Naruto was patient. Quiet. So unlike the boy who had been whining and moaning since the moment they met.

Kakashi settled him under a curious gaze and when Naruto noticed, it only elicited a grin.

"A friend showed me," was the vague answer to an unasked question. "I'm not very good."

Kakashi relaxed against the wall, watching with faint amusement. "You'll get there," he muttered, unsure of why.

"Hey, hey, Hound?"

"Ah?"

"What's your real name?" asked Naruto. "I know Itachi's 'cause I know his brother, and Tenzō's um… Tenzō. But yours sounds toooootally fake."

He twitched. What a brat. "Hound," he answered simply, earning a groan. "We're ANBU. You are our target. Right now, we're on a mission. On this mission, my name is Hound."

Naruto pouted. "Do I get a cool codename, too?"

"No."

"Aw, that's not fair!"

Kakashi did not like kids. Not in the slightest.

Naruto pulled away to get a good look at his work, nodding his approval. The burns were still very much there, but the biting sting faded, and that was nice. Kakashi wondered how a student came across medical ninjutsu, especially one so allegedly inept as that one, but questions like those could be saved for after their return to Konoha. He was sure the Hokage would be asking a lot of questions.

Kakashi flexed his hand approvingly and then looked at the boy. "Uzumaki," he called, "how much do you remember about the fox's possession?"

Naruto instantly withered and averted his eyes, arms clenched by his sides. "...Nothin' really," he confessed in a mumble, dropping to sit cross-legged. He stared at his hands, lost in thought, something that felt so wrong on that face. "I remember you came to bring me home, an' then…"

"Nothing?"

Naruto shook his head. "I remember eating, kinda. And falling in the river. There was a lot of… walking. All of the time. Walking and hunting. Raw meat is gross."

He decidedly did not want to know the story behind that comment.

"And then…" He looked up, eyes cast heavenward as he thought. "And then taking a dead guy's things. Because he was there, and I didn't have nothin' else. And I felt bad, but…"

Kakashi nodded. Tenzō was casting a look over Naruto's shoulder and he knew to leave it there.

"Oh, hey—" Naruto suddenly rounded on Tenzō with stars in his eyes, looking like he saw the coolest thing to ever exist. "What was that cool jutsu you used?!"

Tenzō raised an eyebrow. "Oh, that was—"

"Can you teach me?"

"Well, no, I can't because—"

"C'mon, I'll have it down in three days! Just watch me!"

"That's not the—"

"Aw, don't be like that!"

Kakashi covered his face with his hands and prayed for silence.

Dinner was… nice, somehow. Itachi returned, supplies slung over his shoulder—food, bandages, disinfectant—and a bag of ramen in hand. As promised. Naruto's eyes lit up with so much wonder and excitement and Kakashi was scared that he'd cry again. He did. It was awful.

They sat around the low-sitting table, each with a bowl of steaming ramen set before them. Tenzō and Naruto across from one another, Itachi next to Tenzō. Kakashi kept himself against the wall because it was most comfortable. Plus, well, he liked being able to observe everything at once. Were something to happen, it was his job as captain to ensure the safety of the target as well as his team. Maybe it was unlikely that something would happen, but it never hurt to be prepared.

Ramen, huh? They should have given the kid something healthier to eat. He knew that. But, well. Kid wanted ramen. And after everything they went through, the kid deserved it.

Naruto peeled away the cover of his bowl and breathed in the steam. Then, suddenly, he was eating, and then it was gone, and there were pleads for more. And Itachi bought more. It wasn't like he anticipated this and bought extra servings in advance; Itachi, the ANBU, went back out for more ramen. And the kid ate. There were smiles and laughter and everything felt so simple.

When Kakashi closed his eyes, he was back in the forest with an exhausted team and hope stretched thin. He would take this ridiculous situation over that any day.

Naruto's pleads for a third bowl were met with scolding from their resident wood user and now mother hen. Tenzō had his arms crossed and face pulled into one of those stern parental looks he must have learned from observing civilians back home. "Naruto," he chastised, "you haven't been eating well. Anyone with working eyes can see that."

Naruto pulled a skeptical face, looking up from his empty bowl. "Yeah, so? More reason for ramen."

"You'll make yourself sick if you keep eating like that," he sighed, and the stern parental look was already losing its edge. "Wait a while. We can slip you some fruit before bed, how's that?"

Naruto rolled his eyes dramatically with a groan of 'whatever' and slouched back to rest his weight on his palms, casting a blue gaze across his escorts. Because, really, that's what they were now that the chase was over and done with. Escorts back to Konoha for their village's one and only jinchuuriki.

Then that look was less annoyed and more analytical, and Kakashi was surprised that Naruto could wear a face like that. "Hey," he called, his voice level as he settled them each beneath a look. "All of you know, huh? About Kurama."

"Kurama?" Tenzō parroted.

"The nine-tails."

Kurama. That thing had a name, huh? And Naruto knew it. Well, maybe they should have expected as much, with the fox taking control of its host over the past two months. Naruto likely found out what he was the hard way, with no one ever telling him. Kakashi wondered how it felt. He wondered, but he didn't want to know.

"Ah," Kakashi nodded when his teammates were silent. He held no reserves about brutal honesty with children, especially when that child was their jinchuuriki. "Our mission is the retrieval of the nine-tails jinchuuriki. That information is necessary."

Naruto nodded, his mouth pulled taut as he shifted to sit with his arms between his legs, looking much like a fox himself.

"Does that bother you?" Tenzō hedged, setting his own bowl aside.

He shook his head and smiled. "Nah. You looked like you knew what you were doing, so I had a hunch." There was a yawn. He rubbed his eyes. "That wood jutsu stuff calms Kurama down, or somthin' like that?"

"Well, something like that," Tenzō mused, reaching across the table to ruffled the kid's hair with very loud, very embarrassed protest. He was getting attached. Fantastic. "So you don't have to worry. I'll mend the seal if Kurama tries that again. You're stuck with us."

Naruto's eyes widened before he cast them to the ground with a solemn nod. He was terrified of being controlled like that again, Kakashi supposed.

The quiet that fell was mostly a comfortable one. Mostly, but not entirely, as the fact that Naruto was there and it was quiet at all was worrying in and of itself. They all finished their meals and Itachi rose, wordlessly grabbing all of their dishes to be disposed of. He paused over Naruto's, his eyes falling on the boy's bag that leaned against the corner of the room, by the window. With strange curiosity, Itachi wandered over to it and slipped his hand within the half-opened pouch.

Naruto looked up and scrabbled over. "Hey—"

It was too late; Itachi removed his hand and with it came a Leaf headband. The navy of the cloth was dark in spots, stains that any shinobi would recognize as blood. But Naruto would never have gotten a headband. He failed his graduation exam.

Why did he have that?

The three ANBU fixed the boy under a hard stare and Naruto pouted.

"Who's is that?" Tenzō asked, leaning with his chin in his hand. He, out of all of them, seemed the least concerned.

Naruto shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe Kurama took it from the dead guy?"

Kakashi narrowed his eye, recalling the absent story Naruto gave them earlier. So the 'dead guy' was a Leaf shinobi, was he? And now there were other questions—questions about how that shinobi died, why the fox would take a hitai-ate. Was the fox the one who killed him?

Did Naruto kill him?

"Why?" Kakashi pressed urgently.

Naruto opened and closed his mouth. He sat back, legs crossed and hands on his knees, and met Kakashi's stare. "I don't know."

And he had to leave it there. He had to, because Tenzō was giving him a look and they knew well enough that Naruto's memories of the fox's control were scattered at best. When Naruto said that he didn't know, they had no choice but to believe him.

"Sorry," the kid muttered, ducking his head, looking all sorts of lost as he held a white-knuckled grip on his knees.

Itachi smiled and took a knee, offering up the hitai-ate to the young genin-to-be. "You'll have one of your own soon," he assured.

Naruto stared at the metal plate, at the engraving of the Leaf, as though it were the most precious of offerings. He took it cautiously in his hands, held it tightly, and swallowed. "Y—" He licked his lips. "Yeah?"

Tenzō's face lit up. His arm dropped down to the surface of the table and he leaned forward. "After that display in the forest? You had a team of ANBU sweating." Well, that was the fox. No one brought that up, though. "And you know the multi shadow clone jutsu, correct?"

"Um—" Naruto nodded, his finger tracing the engraving absently as he watched the ANBU.

"That's a lot more impressive than the clones they teach you in the academy."

"...You think?"

"Oh yeah," Tenzō laughed, tapping absently on the table. "That's A-rank ninjutsu. You'd be hard-pressed to find an academy instructor who can do what you do. You'll be a genin in no-time."

"Oh." A short, disbelieving laugh escaped Naruto's throat. He searched their eyes for sincerity and he found it, cracking a smile. Now he wasn't slouching all down and broken-like. Now that energy was back, the energy that had him bouncing across the room with unrivalled excitement. "Well, duh. I'm gonna be the world's greatest ninja, y'know!"

And Tenzō laughed. Because Naruto didn't hesitate, and Naruto believed it, and Tenzō did, too.

Kakashi just sighed, closed his eyes, and prayed to Obito for the night to end.

Halfway through the night, it was Tenzō's turn to stand watch. Itachi took the first shift, and closer to dawn it would be Kakashi relieving Tenzō of the burden, but for now he sat with his back to the wall, the sleeping bodies of his comrades to his left, and waited out the night. He didn't mind night watch; it was usually peaceful and while it came with its own risks, knowing that he was keeping his team safe was a comfort in itself.

Now there was another body to watch, though—that of Naruto Uzumaki. Tenzō openly admitted to being taken with the boy; he had a strange, easy charm to him that had the whole team gravitating towards him. Even Kakashi, even if Kakashi had not yet realized it. Naruto was bright and full of life, especially considering the poor state of his health. With the way that he acted, no one would suspect that the kid was worse for wear if it wasn't so obvious by how pale he was.

Tenzō may have related to the boy, just a bit. He remembered the isolation he felt early on in life and no, it was not the same as being saddled with a tailed beast, but there was something there to latch onto—a similarity that Tenzō took to heart. That boy, a jinchuuriki from birth, had such big aspirations and the confidence to back them up. The world's greatest ninja, eh? Tenzō wanted to see that.

He was so, so thankful that this mission had a happy ending.

Partway through his shift, his attention drawn to the little wooden figurines he was making with his jutsu, Tenzō's eyes cast up to see Naruto padding across the floor. He arched a brow, following with his eyes as the boy yawned and slid open the door, slipping out into the hall. He had to use the bathroom, Tenzō supposed.

But a few minutes passed without Naruto's return, and Tenzō felt concerned.

He checked the bathroom first, frowning when he found it empty, the door unlocked. Tenzō knew better than to be worried, though; worry led to mistakes, and that boy was staying with them by choice.

He searched each floor of the inn one by one before slipping out the front, casting his observation around the street. It was dead quiet, the nighttime chill biting at his fingers from the lazy breeze setting in from the west. Lights were out. The village was asleep.

Tenzō cast a glance upward and his eyes found the prone body of a young boy seated on the roof tiles of the inn. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, tension leaving him in a warm rush, and he leapt up to meet the boy, landing deftly to Naruto's right. Naruto didn't look at him, just smiled, and that was enough.

Tenzō took a seat and watched the moon, breaking through the blue-purple velvets of the night air with pale light. "Couldn't sleep?"

Naruto hummed, hugging his knees to his chest. "Just thinking."

"What about?" asked Tenzō, glancing over at the boy.

He shrugged. "Where to go from here, I guess."

Tenzō nodded. To the ANBU, those two months of heartache were just par for the course—a mission like any other. To Naruto, they were two months of lost control, fragmented memories, and unwarranted revelation. Naruto was a student with big dreams and bad grades, an orphan living a simple life. Then one day his teacher is dead, he has a monster inside of him, and he's pulled away from the village that was the only home he ever knew. Tenzō didn't know much about Naruto personally, but maybe he didn't need to. "Well," he started and sighed, lying back against the roof tiles to better look at the stars, "first, you return to Konoha with us. Next, you retake your graduation exam and show off those kick-ass shadow clones of yours."

Naruto laughed.

"And then you carve out your future," he smiled. "Whichever way you like."

The laughter died out. From where they sat, Tenzō couldn't see Naruto's face. He didn't need to.

"I don't think jinchuuriki get to do that," he muttered. "Make their own future, or whatever."

No, they didn't. Naruto would be a weapon of the Leaf no matter where life led him. That would remain the one true constant, whatever path he travelled. "Maybe they should."

"Yeah," Naruto snorted, "I think so, too."

"You're a good kid," Tenzō said, nudging the boy with his leg. "You'll figure it out."

Quiet fell. That was fine. Tenzō knew when to leave silence be, and for awhile they sat out the night there. He could have returned to the room, sure. But Naruto would have to come with him. Naruto was his mission. And if Naruto needed a little bit of fresh air, so be it. Tenzō would oblige.

"Tenzō?"

He cast a lazy glance Naruto's way, the boy's body silhouetted by moonlight. "Hm?"

"You're a gullible fool."

Naruto turned back, red eyes bleeding out the night, and Tenzō felt himself grow cold.

Tenzō shot to his feet and leapt away, already forming hand signs but he was too late; Naruto vanished in a plume of smoke. A shadow clone. That whole time, and he hadn't even realized—

This wasn't the time to mentally berate himself. Tenzō hopped off the roof and swung into the open window of their room— open, and it hadn't been open— to land quietly on the floor. His mouth dropped as his eyes scanned the empty floor, bare save the two sleeping shinobi by the door. Their bags were gone. Naruto's bag was gone. Naruto himself was—

That whole time. The fox. Kurama. He had been talking to Kurama all that time.

"Hey," he called, loudly, jostling his teammates up. "Wake up. This is bad, Naruto is—"

Kakashi and Itachi were up in a heartbeat, their sharingan glowing red through the moonlight as they searched for signs of the boy. They were better trackers than he was—Kakashi especially.

Soon there were ninken fanning out across the village. The ANBU took to the streets and then to the forest. Sleep was a castaway dream as the small hours stretched to dawn, light breaking through the horizon.

They were tired, bitter, with no food, no tools. No jinchuuriki.

And Tenzō hated himself for failing the boy. And he would make up for it.

Because Naruto was not the fox. Naruto was all smiles and loved ramen and was going to be the world's greatest ninja.

Tenzō would be there to see that dream become reality.

Naruto stared down at their bounty with starlight in his eyes and sunshine in his smile. There was enough food to feed him for weeks and enough first-aid supplies to get him through even the nastiest of injuries. And the money. Oh the money. Naruto had never seen so much ryō all in one place. As it turned out, being an ANBU paid well and ANBU budgets were great and everything was amazing. With all that, he'd be able to lodge in towns for a while—whenever he made it to another one, of course.

He didn't feel bad about taking everything those guys had. Not one bit. No, because those men were going to take him back to the village, and he was never going back.

He took in his rewards and laughed, long and hard.

"Lookit all this!"

From somewhere in his mind, Kurama snorted. "This isn't the time for rest, kit. Seal it all in your scroll and get moving. The scavengers will be on our trail soon."

Naruto rolled his eyes dramatically but listened anyway, unrolling his sealing scroll. Kurama showed him how to use it early on and now it was his favourite thing. He didn't even need his bag, not really; they kept it around because it would be even more suspicious if Naruto had survived out on his own for two months with no supplies. It'd be damn near impossible. With the ANBU believing that everything he had was in the bag, it made it easier to keep them from seeing his scroll. If they opened that up, well.

With all of the instant ramen held inside, it'd be hard to convince them that 'the fox' was the brains of the whole thing. Apparently, tailed beasts weren't big ramen fans. Kurama didn't even need to eat.

"Still say I would'a been fine taking Tenzō all by myself," he muttered sourly as he stored away the last of the food. Kurama took control at the last moment and shunshined them as far as their chakra would allow. Naruto may not have had as much chakra control as the big red furball, but he knew the technique well enough now that he could have gotten away. Especially when all his enemies were asleep or otherwise preoccupied.

"Fool. This will lead to our advantage if they catch us."

"Like they could," he grinned, rolling the scroll back up and slipping it onto the holder on his belt.

Naruto saw his point, though; the plan was to make their most persistent pursuers believe that everything leading up to that point was a result of the nine-tailed fox's control. That meant that once they 'mended the seal' they would let their guard down, which they did. And, with Kurama's last-minute appearance at the end, they would assume it was the fox again.

In the unfortunate instance where Naruto was caught by them and it wasn't staged, it would give him an edge—them believing that he was on their side. He understood that. He understood but still a part of him wanted to be upfront, wanted to scream from the rooftops 'I'm not going back.'

Kurama said that part of him was stupid and needed to be smothered by a pillow.

"Hey, hey, Kurama," he called, removing the Leaf headband from his bag and discarding the rest. He didn't need it anymore. "You think I could be a mercenary?"

And Kurama laughed, the jerk. "You? You're still green, kit. No one would hire you."

"They would," he countered, but he was already rolling around other ideas in his head. He didn't want to be a thief his whole life, and he highly doubted that the ANBU would fall for that a second time. The longer he thought, the more his head hurt. He scrunched up his face and folded his arms behind his head as he leaned back against a tree. "If I was part of the village, money wouldn't be a problem. Even genin get rewarded for missions…"

"Do you regret leaving?"

Naruto laughed. "Nope! You're stuck with me now, Furball."

"You were enjoying your time with those three."

Well. He was. A bit. Just a teensy, tiny bit. That sobered him up. His laughter fell away and he reached down to trace the symbol of the Leaf on the hitai-ate. In all his years, that was the first time he felt like he belonged somewhere. Like he was wanted. Welcomed.

But he remembered Hound flinching away when he went to tend to the man's burns. He remembered the hard looks hidden beneath the banter and the smiles.

"Yeah, maybe," he conceded, slipping his hand into his back pouch. "But they look at me the same way everyōne else does. I'm tired of it ."

The edge of his kunai tapped against the metal plate with a soft clink and he hesitated. It wasn't even his, that hitai-ate. It was stolen, a relic from a long-gone shinobi, and he took it for himself. It wasn't his, and he wasn't even a Konoha-nin. He never made it to genin or chunin and certainly not jōnin. Never Hokage. He was as much an outsider to the world of ninja as any other civilian.

Except that he wasn't. He had the fox. He had the fox and that made him something. Even if he wasn't sure what that something was. And he knew, for all that it symbolized, the weight that it carried, that this was something he could never take back. And that was okay.

Naruto knew who he was. He was not his father's legacy. He was not the Hokage's pawn or the village's weapon.

The kunai bit into the metal with a hissing screech and he forced it across the symbol of Konoha, forever a reminder of his resolve and a warning to everyōne he met that he belonged to no one.

He was an Uzumaki, his mother's son. Kurama's friend.

And he would carve out his own path.