Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This chapter contains graphic descriptions of violence.
Chapter 26
The seasons had turned once more and the full sunlight announcing summer's beginning warmed their backs as Hinata listened suspiciously to her best friend try to spit out whatever issue it was that plagued his mind. Apparently it was important, because he kept dancing around the heart of the subject while repeatedly shooting her cheesy grins and scratching his cheek like he did whenever he got nervous.
"I mean, don't get me wrong Hime," Naruto continued as he followed Hinata down the last stretch of dirt road before the large gates of Konoha appeared. "I think it's super awesome that Shizune-neechan is teaching you healing jutsu. I mean your Byakugan was practically built for seeing inside of bodies." She raised an eyebrow at this undignified description of her universally revered bloodline, and Naruto rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat before plunging on. "And that Hundred Healings thing Baa-chan showed you sounds really badass, and I know you'll have that all wrapped up in way less than the years and years that the Old Bat said it would take," he jerked a thumb back at the future Godaime who was scowling as she stalked along the road, looking like she would bolt at the drop of a hat if she wasn't flanked by Jiraiya and Shizune. "But about the monstrous chakra strength, it's kinda, well, it's not that I don't like it. I actually really really like it, watching you obliterate that tree back there was, just, wow. I mean, it kinda made me lightheaded seeing you tear that one log to pieces with your bare hands. And then I got this funny feeling in my stomach, like I'd eaten butterflies or some shit—"
Hinata slapped a hand over Naruto's mouth, blushing faintly at his awkward analogy of some emotion she wasn't sure she could even put a name to and tried to bring him back on point. "Naruto-kun you're rambling."
"Oh sorry, I swear I meant it in a good way! It's just so hard to explain, you know? Just like when you did that scream right as you destroyed that other boulder, all these tingles went down my spine and hit my gut like a ton of bricks...like that time I had food poisoning, but way better. Weird huh?"
Hinata gulped hard and simply nodded, unable to form words with her own confused emotions. The chakra based jutsus the two women had been showing her were right up her alley with her natural Hyuga proclivity to fine chakra control and the years she'd spent training with the chakra manipulation based taijutsu moves of the Gentle Fist. And the enamored way Naruto had been staring at her while she practiced the new moves had been rather intoxicating if she was honest. She didn't really want to give that up, and hoped that whatever was bothering him didn't require her to cease enjoying his attention.
"Maybe it has to do with all the chakra in the air?" Naruto mumbled distractedly, still trying to puzzle out the strange feelings he got watching Hime rain power through her new jutsu. His face scrunched up as he tried to put the oddly pleasant sensation into words, which seemed especially difficult when he analyzed the way Hinata affected him, she was scary but fantastic at the same time. It was just breathtaking to see her body arch as she unleashed each blast of chakra. And the sounds she made...
An overly aggressive cough from the subject of his musings had him coming back to earth. "Oh, right. Anyways, I just have one tiny request," he held up his pinched fingers, wanting to minimize his words. "Can we not use my shadow clones as test subjects? I know that mental toughness is key for a shinobi and all, but the last two groups of kage bunshin committed 'clonicide' as soon as they laid eyes on you."
" 'Clonicide'? Now you're just being dramatic." Hinata pouted.
Naruto gave her a flat look of disbelief and raised his hands with fingers crossed. A small pop and a clone appeared, saluting him sarcastically. "Yo Boss! What's—SWEET KAMI NOT AGAIN!" And it instantly dispelled.
"That's just one," Hinata huffed as she crossed her arms. Sparring with the clones was the best practice she'd had over the last three weeks, way better than leveling the forest. The look of fear in their eyes was totally not addicting. Nope. Not at all.
Five more clones were summoned and all instantly dispelled one after another with responses varying from "Fuck no," to "Not for all the ramen in Konoha." After the last one merely screamed like a girl before cowering until he disappeared, Hinata forced a snickering Naruto's hands down and grumbled, "Fine, fine. Your multiple mental psyches are all pansies, I get it. Killjoy."
"Oi, it hurts ok? Even the second hand experience is...something else..."
I'm not sure I can abide within such a weak container, Naruto heard the Kyuubi mock him, again. As proud as he was of the increased interaction, the humiliating inner commentary wasn't always appreciated. Easy for you to say! You're not the one being forced to endure having your liver turned into meat paste over and over again! Stupid brat, you know you like it.
Naruto was too busy fighting back an inexplicable blush at the demon's puzzling yet disturbingly accurate assessment that he didn't realize they had arrived at the village gates until the two chunin guards leapt to attention and called out to the small group.
"Tsunade-sama! You're here! Please hurry to the hospital, the Hokage has requested you meet him there as soon as possible!"
Naruto burst into the hospital room with such force the door banged into the wall, but Sasuke's unconscious body didn't even flinch, nor did the pink haired kunoichi whose green glowing hands hovered over his temples.
"Uh, Sakura," Naruto glared at her, "using mind control to twist his dreams into fantasies about yourself is not gonna make him fall in love with you."
She growled threateningly but the healing chakra remained steady. "It's not mind control Dumbass, it's a special genjutsu to help him heal and remain peaceful. He's been suffering from horrific nightmares the entire time he's been here." Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he approached the bed his teammate laid on, making room for Hinata and Shizune to join him. Hinata quickly introduced Shizune to Sakura, explaining that she had come to assess the damage done to Sasuke while Tsunade had gone to see their Sensei. Naruto had a feeling he knew where Jiraiya had snuck off to, but at the moment was more concerned with his teammate.
"A genjutsu?" Shizune asked, observing the way Sakura's chakra never flickered despite the distraction the group was giving her. "Using genjutsu to heal the brain?"
"Miinnnddd controoolll," Naruto hissed dramatically, but Hinata elbowed him into silence, despite her having to bite her lip to control her smile.
"Yes, I came up with it myself," Sakura explained without taking her eyes off her patient. "I apply the genjutsu to create positive imagery while stimulating the dopamine and serotonin in his brain to boost the neurotransmitters back into balance." She sighed as she straightened and the green glow faded from her hands. "I got the idea from the medical textbooks I've been reading, but it's just experimental at best."
"That's very impressive, something I would expect from a Yamanaka. What's your name?" Shizune inquired as she performed her own appraisal of the results of the new therapy.
"Haruno Sakura, I've been volunteering here at the hospital ever since the invasion and in return the medics have been giving me training in medical chakra healing."
"A fair arrangement, and it seems to have paid off," the older kunoichi praised as she added her own chakra to Sasuke's body, fine tuning the effects of the jutsu, which had already done a generous amount of healing. "I am also a shinobi medic, and I would be very happy to assist in training such a bright mind like your own. You definitely have a talent for healing, and new ideas are what drive the medical field to always improve and save lives."
Sakura blushed with humble pride at the compliment as she eagerly nodded and bowed in thanks. She had been told by the other medic nins that she was an exceptionally fast learner, and her nearly photographic memory was a huge asset when it came to the complex theories that formed the basis of medical knowledge and anatomy. Hinata piped up, "Shizune-neechan is the apprentice of Tsunade-sama, and she is a very skilled medic. I think you two will get along just fine."
"What happened to the Teme in the first place?" Naruto interrupted the pleasant moment. "And if you tell me all that studying nearly killed him I want to be the first to tell Iruka-sensei that it is totally a Thing."
"Not very reassuring to hear from someone who swears he is going to be Hokage someday," Sakura said in an annoyed tone, but proceeded to explain the series of events that had occurred since the rest of Team Seven had been gone. During her retelling, Naruto's face hardened, losing all traces of joviality as he processed the mistreatment his teammate had once again endured at the hand of his brother.
"He should be fine in a day or two," Shizune assured the increasingly angry teammate. "The brain is especially surprising in its ability to compensate for injury. However I feel that most of his trauma was centered on the emotional burden of whatever he saw in the genjutsu."
At this point Shizune shooed them out of the room, insisting that rest was the best thing for Sasuke now. Hinata had to practically pull Sakura away from his bedside as she kept finding wrinkles to straighten in his blankets. The pink haired kunoichi said goodbye to the group and returned to her other duties, leaving them to make their way up to where Team Seven's Sensei had been admitted.
They entered the dimly lit hospital room just as Kakashi was pulling up his mask, and the keen disappointment of the two students was quickly forgotten as they heard a gasp from behind them.
"Ka-Kakashi-kun?"
At the sound of his name Kakashi's head snapped up and his single eye widened as he took in the gaping expression on Shizune's face. Even above the mask there was a pink tinge to his cheeks as he gave a surprisingly Naruto-like chuckle and scratched the back of his neck. "Yo Sh-Shizune-chan, we-welcome back."
Naruto and Hinata were staring at their sensei with heads identically tilted in massive confusion. "You guys know each other?" Naruto queried.
"Ummm…" Kakashi stammered.
"Oh well...It's kind of a long story..." Shizune blushed deeply.
"It was a long time ago.." Kakashi waved a hand through the air in a dismissive manner, causing Shizune to frown.
"It wasn't that long ago."
Kakashi's hand waving increased. "I just meant it was only...a lot has happened since you left." The two stared at each other for a beat before Shizune ducked her head.
"You haven't changed a bit Kakashi," she said softly.
Naruto and Hinata had been watching the back and forth like an audience at a tennis match while Hiruzen and Tsunade merely snickered at the awkward reunion. "I am so confused," Naruto whispered in Hinata's ear, unable to tear his eyes away from the spectacular sight of Dog being completely flustered. She rolled her eyes and raised a fist with her pinkie out and twirled it in the air. When realization finally dawned his jaw dropped into a dramatic "O".
Kakashi looked like he had recovered a modicum of his normally calm composure and tried again to address the woman who he had thought was gone forever. "You look...well, Shizune-Chan."
"Just well?" Her dark eyes glanced down at her dusty traveling clothes and she fingered her dry hair pensively. "Oh. I see."
"That is, I mean, you look just the same!"
"Um, thank you?" Her mouth quirked up in a small smile and a teasing twinkle lit her dark eyes causing Kakashi's heart to climb up into his throat in a way he thought was impossible. "You've had better days," she giggled.
"Eh? What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you look like hell Hatake," Tsunade cut in, having finally had enough of the silly display. "You can flirt later, Shizune will be around a lot more often now that I've made her the head of the hospital."
"WHAT!?" Shizune's voice squeaked in horror.
Tsunade nodded proudly at the shocked look on her apprentice's face. "It's my first declaration as the Godaime Hokage. I've only been here 30 minutes and I can tell this place is shit compared to when I left. There is no one more qualified to whip their asses into shape than you." Turning to Kakashi she snapped her fingers in front of his face to get his attention off the adorable red shade of Shizune's cheeks and back onto the matter at hand. "Drool later. Talk now. And don't skimp on the details, I haven't forgotten the abysmal reputation of your mission reports."
Kakashi shot a glare at the muffled snorts of laughter coming from his students. There went the little bit of respect I'd been able to instill in them, he thought with a sigh.
"Hai Hokage-sama," he began in the lazy drawl that was quintessentially Kakashi. He quickly filled them in on what he saw when he arrived in the Uchiha District a week ago, and an aura of frustration and anger fell over the group. But while some were dwelling on the emotional damages, Tsunade was frowning in thought, her red fingernail tapping her lip in contemplation.
"This Tsukuyomi," she said in a low and serious voice. "What exactly did you see? Anything that revealed his motives regarding Naruto?"
Kakashi's single eye hardened as he relived the torture of 72 straight hours of repeatedly being stabbed, while trying to focus on the flashes of images he had seen in between the waves of blinding pain. "He is a part of some group with maybe... eight members? They all have the same cloaks, black with red clouds. They are collecting all the jinchuriki I think. I saw flashes of scenes that could only be the deaths of three others. Two older men with headbands from the Land of Stone, and a blond woman from Lightning. I can't help but feel like he wanted me to know about them. Almost like a warning."
"They call themselves Akatsuki," Jiraiya added in a solemn voice, having once again snuck in through the window to catch the Copy Nin's description. "I have heard rumors of them through my spy network. They are a grassroots organization that began in Amegakure, and have now started to expand outside their borders, selling themselves as shinobi for hire. That is why I am only just now hearing of them. Hanzo of the Salamander has kept that country locked up tighter than a sealed scroll ever since the end of the third war."
"That makes no sense," Naruto interjected, feeling he deserved a say, seeing as it was his body they were after. "Why would he try to warn us about the Akatsuki after everything he has done? Especially if he is a part of their group, does he think he's some sort of double agent or something? Cause I sure as hell wouldn't trust a damn thing he said."
One by one the eyes of everyone in the room turned to the Sandaime, the unspoken question thickening the air in the room. Hiruzen stared pointedly at his hands where they rested on the head of his cane, before slowly saying, "I would never presume to understand what goes on in that man's head. Nor do I ever wish to. Come Tsunade, there are others who need your attention."
The sun wasn't even awake yet when the pounding on the door started. Naruto groaned and threw an arm over his face. "It's your turn to get it."
Jiraiya was staying in town until Tsunade's inauguration and after spending the evening attempting to conduct some "research" on a nearby onsen, only to be stalked and brutally punched across the street by Hinata, much to the satisfaction of her new Hokage, he was passed out after pity drinking himself into oblivion. So with his room rudely occupied, Kakashi found himself sleeping sprawled out on a cot at the foot of Naruto's bed.
"Like hell," he grunted from the floor.
"I made dinner," Naruto's muffled voice mumbled from under his pillow.
"Instant Ramen is not dinner."
"And Icha Icha is not literature, but it's still your turn."
"Blasphemy!" Kakashi hissed, but dragged his body out of bed all the same.
The pounding wasn't stopping, rather it was getting louder. Kakashi trudged down the hallway, now mostly awake and thinking it might be a mission with the level of persistence put behind the thumping. As he reached the door, Naruto appeared from his bedroom with a slightly concerned look on his face, "Hey Dog, that feels like Sakura."
Puzzled and now even more worried, Kakashi quickly opened the door and barely caught the kunoichi as she stumbled inside sobbing so hard he had to hold her up as he guided her to the couch. Naruto rushed into the living room and quickly grabbed a glass of water, thrusting it into her hands as both of the now thoroughly awake men tried to decipher her hiccuping words.
"Sasuke...gone...I tried to stop him...wouldn't listen... hit me...just woke up..."
The blood that had matted the hair at her temple and run down her jaw was visual testimony of her surprising words. Kakashi looked at Naruto, "was he discharged yesterday?"
Naruto was scowling, half in concern, half in annoyance at his teammate's rude treatment of the girl who was always trying too hard to gain his favor.
"No, when I talked to him last night he said he wasn't supposed to be going home until later today. Jiraiya noticed his containment seal was damaged and fixed it, but Shizune-neechan wanted to keep him one more night to make sure there were no side effects. He was grumpy as hell and quieter than usual, but I just chalked it up to him being sick of the hospital. I never thought he was bad enough to attack Sakura."
They turned sympathetic but serious looks back to the distraught kunoichi, who sensed their gazes and swallowed a gulp of water trying to compose herself. "He s-said he was leaving. But it didn't sound like h-he meant to go home," Sakura stuttered, her hands gripping the glass of water so tightly it was nearly ready to crack. "I asked him where he meant to go, and he just said I couldn't stop him. I-I offered to go with him. I j-just had—have—this feeling that he isn't coming back...I don't know where Shizune-san is staying, and this was c-closer than the Hokage Tower…" her sentence trailed off as she shook her head as though fighting off a wave of dizziness.
Kakashi and Naruto made eye contact, they had talked with Hinata about their concern of Sasuke's reaction to this latest mental assault by his brother. All three were anxious about his ability to deal with it in a way that didn't trigger the hatred locked away in The Snake's cursed mark. They had tried to get him to open up, but even Naruto had been unable to cajole an explanation of any kind out of his teammate. Several times they had noticed him staring blankly out the window with his Sharingan spinning, only to snap at whoever interrupted his thoughts. They had hoped that correcting the containment seal would help, but apparently it was not enough, And now to find out he had attacked a fellow shinobi, this was exactly what they had feared.
Without a word Naruto plopped down on the floor, focusing intensely on reaching out his senses for his unstable teammate. A minute ticked by with Naruto's scowl only growing deeper.
"Well?" Kakashi asked in a terse voice, Naruto was gritting his teeth in concentration, a vein starting to pop from his temple.
"I don't feel him. He's not in his apartment, not in the Uchiha District, the hospital, the training grounds, the market, I..." he blinked up at Kakashi with mild shock and anger flashing in his eyes. "He left the village?"
Sakura was starting to cry harder again and Kakashi passed her a cloth to wipe her face, which Naruto noted with annoyance was his own t-shirt. "I knew it," she said hoarsely, "when he said those words, I just knew he meant it!"
"What did he say?" Kakashi demanded, all pretense at tenderness gone under the mounting dismay that his student had done the unthinkable.
"Just before he j-jumped out the window, h-he looked back at me and said to forget I ever knew him. Then he was suddenly b-behind me and the next thing I knew I-I was waking up on his hospital bed."
"Motherfucker!" Naruto swore with vehemence, Kakashi couldn't agree more. "Dog, you don't think he went to—"
"I don't know, but there's no time to waste. I'll go notify the Hokage." Kakashi stated as he bit his thumb to summon Pakkun.
"I'll get Hinata and Neji." Naruto called from the doorway, already pulling on his vest and grabbing his pouch. A pop heralded the arrival of Pakkun and before his paws had hit the floor Kakashi was succinctly filling him in on the details. Yanking open the door, Naruto yelled over his shoulder, "Yo Pakkun! I'm going to the Hyuga Compound, follow Sasuke's scent and we will catch up to you!"
"T-take my teammates too." Sakura interjected, sniffling harshly while holding the bloody t-shirt to the side of her aching head as her hands glowed with green healing chakra. "They are the best at t-tracking." Naruto nodded and immediately sent two clones towards the Inuzuka and Aburame Compounds, and seconds later Sakura was alone in the apartment with only the snores of Jiraiya.
Bypassing the Hyuga Compound's front gate and swiftly leaping over the rooftops, Naruto easily swung into Hinata's room, landing with an intentionally loud thud at the foot of her bed and flaring his chakra in a way he knew would alert Neji as well. She bolted upright to see Naruto rummaging in her ninja pouch, tossing in extra weapons. "Sasuke's gone," he snapped, angrily tossing her the neatly folded chunin vest. She snatched the item out of the air and pulled it on over her tank top. "When?" She demanded, reaching for her hitae-ate on her nightstand.
"Earlier tonight. He attacked Sakura and escaped the hospital. I can't sense him anywhere in the city. We're meeting Pakkun and the rest of Team Eight to track him down while Dog notifies the Hokage."
Neji appeared in the doorway, tying back his hair. "I heard you," he stated when Naruto looked to him, their eyes hard and somber. They knew this was an unprecedented action, made even more drastic by the status of the perpetrator. The situation was delicate and could explode if mishandled, and all they wanted to do was quietly retrieve the ticking time bomb before it could destroy everything.
"Ready." Hinata brushed past them, having changed into her pants when the boys were distracted. They grabbed their shoes and flew out the door.
Minutes later the five shinobi and two ninken stood at the entrance of the village as they listened to Pakkun report on the multiple scents besides that of Sasuke he had discovered just outside the walls. All of them matched the scents of the ninjas from the rooftop of the arena where the chunin exams had taken place, when Pakkun had noticed them as he scoured the wreckage for Kakashi and the Hokage.
"Fuck! This is worse than I thought!" Naruto was pacing furiously as realization set in that the worst had happened.
Hinata ignored the curse and spoke up, "It has to be The Sound Four, no one else from the chunin exams fit that description and also have a reason to get Sasuke out of the village."
"Whether he went voluntarily or not, we must retrieve him. There are no good outcomes if he falls into Orochimaru's hands," Neji crossed his arms, his eyes following Naruto as the jinchuriki struggled to get his emotions under control. "This is not the time to rush in without a plan. Those are powerful shinobi with unknown jutsu. We cannot underestimate them," his steely eyes locked onto the others from Team Eight, his insinuation that this was a life or death endeavor adding weight to his solemn words. They didn't miss the message, and didn't hesitate to add their own affirmation.
"I don't give a shit about Sasuke," Kiba declared, "but he is part of this village, and he hurt Sakura, so I'll drag his sorry ass back here and make him apologize on his knees." Akamaru barked his agreement from Kiba's side.
"We will not fail," Shino added, his deep voice coming from behind the high collar of his hood. "Why? Because teammates should defend each other, and there is no greater betrayal than that of a friend."
Naruto had ceased his movements and been listening intently to their words, his own anger and fear fueling the fire of his beast. How could you Sasuke? After knowing what it felt like to be betrayed by a brother, how could you turn against us? What could you possibly need from Orochimaru that we are not offering?
Hinata's hand gripped his shoulder, and he looked into her eyes, allowing her to see all the emotions battling to overcome his rational thought, wordlessly pleading for her help in settling his inner chaos. She leveled him with a stern lavender gaze that quelled his raging ire, and the strength of her presence steadied the storm in his heart. It was time to grow up and act like a shinobi, not a butt hurt kid who's friend hurt his feelings. They needed a plan; something simple, unpredictable, and flexible. It was time to do what Naruto did best.
"This is how it's going to be," his voice was serious, steady, and confident. The voice of a leader, and instinctively they reacted to his aura of calm authority. "There's five of them and five of us. Pakkun, stay here and guide Kakashi-sensei to us when he's done with the Hokage, and tell him to notify Shizune-neechan that we may need medical backup. The rest of us will give chase. Kiba and Neji take point, Hinata in the back, Shino and I will guard the flanks, and I'll throw out some clones for extra back up and to relay messages back to the village. I don't need to tell you that we need to be prepared for the worst, but they will most likely underestimate us, and not doing the same will be our greatest advantage. Stay alert. I'm not worried about stealth, focus on speed, and speak up if you have any ideas. I'm pulling this out of my ass and I'm open to any suggestions. Got it?"
"HAI!"
"Let's go!"
They blurred away into the gray predawn and Pakkun smirked to himself. "That Pup is gonna make a hell of a Hokage someday."
Naruto's thoughts were going a million directions at once as he raced through the trees, the rapid thumping of his heart matching the strike of his sandals on the thick branches. He was alone, each of his impromptu teammates having paired off to do battle with the formidable shinobi who had thought that by separating the younger ninja they could obliterate them while still stealing away with their prize, which according to Neji's Byakugan was a large barrel containing a frothing, chakra covered Sasuke.
First was that massive ninja who had laughed darkly as he declared his intentions to feed off the teenagers, prompting Shino to immediately retaliate with his own chakra absorbing beetles. The firm confidence in the Aburame's voice as he told them to leave it to him had boosted their faith in his abilities, and they had continued on their breakneck pace.
The next ninja to challenge them had been a freakish looking fucker with six arms that had mocked them while showering the group with deadly arrows. The two Hyuga had launched into twin kaiten of blazing chakra that had deflected every last projectile. Neji had smirked as he commanded them to leave him behind, because even an eight limbed mutant could not escape his eyes. And what good was six hands against 64 palms?
Kiba and Akamaru had been chomping at the bit for a fight, so when the next shinobi revealed himself to be a two-headed mutant with an unholy sibling thing going on, the Inuzuka and his partner had nearly howled with battle fever. Two against two, it was only fair. The flash of their grinning fangs was the last thing Naruto saw before he and Hinata continued their pursuit.
Leaving Hinata behind was the worst, but her quick mind was already breaking down the faults of the foul mouthed kunoichi's jutsu before Naruto could even protest the idea of them separating. He had tried to leave a clone to assist her, but she had glared at him, insisting that she was strong enough to succeed on her own, and that he needed to save up his chakra because what she had seen up ahead had been an opponent of nearly Sannin level chakra.
Focusing on the source of the immense chakra up ahead, Naruto said a prayer to Kami for the safety of his comrades, and for the patience to not murder Sasuke once he got his hands on him.
He landed on the edge of the meadow, the tall grass rippling like ocean waves as the now fully risen sunlight burned away the fog that clung to the edges of the clearing. On the far side he saw the destroyed remnants of Sasuke's small prison, and the putrid but powerful chakra that poured from that direction made Naruto's senses recoil. It reeked of snakes and cold blooded intentions. Scanning the area, Naruto caught sight of red eyes that flashed and then disappeared into the rocky terrain ahead. Charging out onto the meadow, it was only because of his shinobi instincts that he narrowly missed being impaled by a long white sword that came flying through the air as if launched from a crossbow. It vibrated where it had impaled a tree trunk near his head, and Naruto touched the unusual blade with a finger as he blinked at the thing that had nearly killed him, is this bone?
The sickly sound of tearing flesh had Naruto spinning around in time to witness the revolting vision of a man calmly ripping his own spine out of his back. Horror settled into his stomach and he had to fight down a wave of nausea as the shinobi snapped and popped as he contorted into a battle ready stance while the man's skin crawled as though insects were trying to burst out of his body.
"What the everloving fuck are you even made out of?!" Naruto bellowed, nearly forgetting to pull out a weapon of his own as ribs, sharp as fangs, erupted along the pale torso of the ridiculously strong opponent. He was so focused on the disturbing anatomy and trying not to puke all over his now blazing trench knives, that Naruto was surprised to hear Kakashi's voice come from behind him.
"The Kaguya Clan, I thought they were all dead," Kakashi drawled, but his Sharingan was out and whirling, and there was nothing lazy about his killing intent.
"They are," the man answered tonelessly. "I belong to Orochimaru-sama now, as does your Sasuke-kun. To be his instrument, the vessel of his ambition, it is my greatest aspiration. I would happily die to fulfill my purpose in his plan, and his plan requires Sasuke-kun and his special eyes. Fight me if you dare, but I will not let trash like you pass."
"Pup, go," Kakashi murmured, causing Naruto's blue eyes to widen at the gravity in his voice. "And don't you dare die, or I will let Hinata kill you while I watch."
Naruto choked out a half chuckle, but the fervor of emotion behind the joking words made his chest tighten as electricity crackled down Kakashi's arm. "Wouldn't dream of it Dog, I got too many bowls of ramen awaiting my return." The last thing he saw was the nearly happy crinkle of Dog's eyes before he charged forward with his Chidori chirping and Naruto kawarimi'd to the opposite side of the meadow. Leave it to me, everyone! I will not waste the gift of your efforts, I will not let down your faith in me, I will never give up!
Sasuke paused at the edge of the flowing river, catching his breath as he stared down at the dizzying waterfall. His chakra was boiling within his body, throbbing within the confines of his rapidly expanding network to the point where he felt like even a small pulse would rip his tenketsu open like an exploding supernova. He grinned, tilting his head back and closing his eyes, reveling in the power that he had been craving for so long, riding the high like a junkie who finally got his hit. Now if only he had a certain blond idiot to test these new abilities out on...
"Sasuke! Teme what the hell is going on?!"
He chuckled darkly, low and then louder, his shoulders starting to shake as the euphoria peaked and he didn't resist its pull. "Baka. Stupid, stupid fool. Isn't it obvious? I'm leaving that pathetic village. I have greater goals to achieve. More jutsu to learn. You all are only holding me back. Burying me in flattering lies, blinding me to the truth of my history to keep me from my destiny. I am not yet The Last Uchiha, but I will be."
He turned to face his teammate's gaping face, Naruto's eyes taking in the shine of the crimson armor, beading with the water from the mist of the falls. "Teme, what—what are you talking about? Is this about your brother? We talked about him, we will help you! No one is stopping you from—"
The attack was sudden and blindingly fast. Fukushu-sha slashed through the air with the grace of a diving hawk intent on its prey. The metal sunk into Naruto's gut with a sssk, smooth as silk, the blade sharpened to a deadly edge even after all these years. Red eyes stared into azure blue, a smirk played at Sasuke's lips, and blood stained Naruto's teeth pink. "No more tricks, Dobe. I'm tired of being deceived."
Poof.
"I can't help but feel deceived myself," Naruto's voice came from behind him and Sasuke rotated his wrist, arcing his sword in an intimidating show of agility as he turned to face his rival, his closest match in skill, his best chance of testing his new abilities. "I thought you were a shinobi of the Leaf. The Clan Head of the Uchiha, the justice of your people," he looked Sasuke up and down, holding back his revulsion of the liberally spreading black curse marks across the Uchiha's face and hands. "I thought we were friends. More than that, brothers."
"You're so stupid," Sasuke sneered and again struck out. The two clashed, Naruto leaping from one foot to the other trying to block and parry the long chokuto strikes with his trench knives, gritting his teeth in anger as he sensed that Sasuke wasn't holding back, his intent was to kill.
"The fuck is your problem?!" Naruto yelled, swapping with a rock that was immediately smashed. "Stop talking in circles! Tell me what the hell is going on, I'm your teammate dammit, you can trust me!" Naruto charged in from behind and connected with Sasuke's face, using the loop of the trench knife like a set of brass knuckles to send him staggering into another boulder.
The Uchiha forcefully spit a mouthful of blood out onto the dirt and snarled. "I don't trust anyone! They all hid the truth from me and used me for their own motives. Those cowards don't deserve to call themselves shinobi, they're nothing more than murdering dictators!"
His chakra surged and he pushed it to his hand, sneering with maniacal glee at Naruto, who couldn't help but take a step back in surprise at the lightning chakra that crackled down the long sword, extending its length by half. The ozone in the air thickened, seeming to displace the mist around Sasuke as though it too was terrified of the raging Uchiha.
"Who!?" Naruto demanded, trying to remain calm but increasingly overwhelmed by the sheer hatred in his teammate's eyes. Wind chakra flowed down his trench knives on reflex turning them into twin machetes, but he swallowed hard at the idea of intentionally trying to harm Sasuke. His friend was obviously deranged by the curse mark, there was no way he would say or do any of this with a clear mind. Right?
Sasuke charged, taking a serpentine pattern that had him disappearing from Naruto's vision with its unpredictable pace. Matching the style, Naruto also took to ricocheting off the boulders around them, feeling the brush of wind from their nearly colliding bodies and the spray of pebbles from the narrowly dodged attacks. He dove behind another large rock and Sasuke ran up the face of it only to be greeted by three leaping clones all sporting Rasengans that collided with the chokuto, forcing the Uchiha backwards over the edge of the ravine.
Naruto swore and ran for the cliff, ready to send a chain of shadow clones diving after his falling teammate when an unholy surge of powerful chakra rolled through the air like a shockwave, sending him careening to the ground and skidding backwards. Sitting up with a grunt Naruto opened his eyes to a savage entity he never thought imaginable.
Sasuke was suspended in the air, hovering with the aid of two massive gray hands that had torn through the back of his shoulder blades like grotesque wings. His whole person had morphed into a monstrous creature that drilled Naruto with a murderous glare full of lust for violence.
Playtime is over Naruto. This isn't just a fight between teammates anymore, either you kill him or he will kill you. The Fox had been watching closely, but not interfering with something he saw as none of his business. But he was all too familiar with the malicious gleam of those eyes, that Uchiha was not simply looking to test his abilities, he was out for blood.
No! Sasuke is in there somewhere I just have to reach him!
Fool. Don't say I didn't warn you. Despite the annoyed tone of his words, the Kyuubi sent a surge of his own chakra pouring through Naruto's body, and in seconds the jinchuriki's own fanged mouth and slitted red glare was facing down the creature that used to be his friend. The frothing red chakra coursed over Naruto's skin, elongating his nails and darkening his whiskers. The air and the earth vibrated with the weight of the two ninja's power, pebbles dancing across the ground and leaves trembling in the wind.
Naruto flexed his hands, not hiding his transformation in the hope that it added to the significance of his words. "Sasuke, this has to stop. I'm giving you one more chance. Come back to the village, talk to me. It's not too late to return to your place."
The hideous wings thrashed the air in agitation. "I know my place! My purpose! I have seen the truth with my own eyes. I hear the cries of my people, calling out for justice, and I will not ignore their pleas anymore. I will not hide in ignorance when their souls suffer in truth!" Sasuke's unearthly timbre screamed from above, his hurt and betrayal plain to feel and hear in the fire of his words. Naruto's mind was spinning, this was about more than just a brotherly vendetta yet unfulfilled. Something else was adding to Sasuke's burden. Look underneath the underneath.
"Someone…someone else helped kill your clan?" The realization hit Naruto like a fist punch to the gut. Sasuke landed with a rumble of force and smirked with his red Sharingan eyes, revealing fanged incisors that breached the skin of his lips.
"Well, well. Perhaps not so stupid after all." A hunched Sasuke began stalking around a stunned Naruto, his demonic chakra cloak surging as his emotions reacted to his comprehension of this new level of treachery.
"Then let's stop this fight!" Naruto demanded, his own voice deep and husky as he growled ferally. "We will find him and end him the same way we will destroy your brother. I will support you to my dying breath, Sasuke."
"Will you?" Sasuke continued his creeping, circling around Naruto, studying the malevolent pressure of the heated chakra he emitted. Yes, this was a perfect rival, a perfect test of his abilities. He uttered the words that he knew would trigger the fight he truly craved. "Even if it is your precious Jiji? Your faithful council of oh-so-wise elders? How far will your support extend beyond your loyalty to your precious village?"
The chakra tail that whipped out from behind Naruto slammed Sasuke back towards the ravine and over the edge. This time he caught himself midair and his cackling laughter echoed off the rock walls over the roar of the waterfall. The triggered jinchuriki charged over the side of the cliff, clinging with chakra to its slick surface as he screamed in rage.
"How dare you!" Naruto screamed. "After all that man has done for you! They all worship the fucking ground you walk on. How dare you accuse him, THEM, of such a thing!"
"Open your gullible eyes Naruto! The only favor Itachi ever did me was showing me the truth of That Night. Do you really think a single shinobi could eradicate an entire Clan, the entire shinobi police force, THE UCHIHA in a single night without ever alerting a single ANBU?"
Naruto roared and slashed the air, sending gusts of wind blasting towards Sasuke, unbalancing his looming form and forcing him to skid across the water below under their gale force attacks.
"Then what kind of coward does that make you, Sasuke? You're the one running away, going to hide and pout in that Snake's lair like some spoiled brat! If what you say is true then face them! Call them out on their crimes for all to hear!" Naruto leapt off the rock wall and splashed onto the water's surface across the river, steam billowing up around him where his burning feet hovered over the churning waves at the foot of the falls.
"They don't deserve words, they don't deserve anything other than death. The system is corrupted, the leaders are tainted, the whole village is full of ignorant fools who cling to their false realities in order to feel important and righteous. I will be the revolution that sweeps the slate clean of all their transgressions. I will bring down a justice upon them that will echo through the ages and water the forest with their blood! And you, and your pathetic peaceful fantasies can go to hell with them if you stand in my way!" As Sasuke screamed out his tirade, bolts of electricity curled around his entire body, snapping and slithering over his torso like a cobra, hissing with power. Naruto's face hardened, his chakra tail whipping back and forth behind him, sending tidal waves crashing into the boulders peeking out of the rapids. I see you now, Sasuke. Then there is only one way…I'm sorry friend.
You can apologize when you survive the fight, the Kyuubi roared in Naruto's mind. Now brace yourself mortal, your Hime isn't here to help you maintain the tails this time, you'll have to suck it up and push through on your own. It would be a pain to have you die when you finally became mildly tolerable after all these years.
Naruto grit his teeth as the second tail lazily emerged, focusing on controlling his mind, trying to keep the hate at bay and remember who he was and who he was fighting. "Alright Uchiha," he boomed at his now ravingly gleeful rival. "You want to test your fucking abilities? Come at me!"
From above the waterfall two stone visages of the most powerful shinobi to ever walk the earth stood witness to a battle that reshaped the earth upon which they were carved. The multiple chakra natures collided in a maelstrom of chaotic energy that had every sensor within a hundred miles pausing in their work. The sounds of battle echoed across the landscape, sending every creature and insect running for their lives. At the bottom of the ravine, the two inheritors of the injustices of the world fought to subdue one another and prove his own beliefs to be superior, his own judgment to be more justified, his own potential to be greater. On and on they battled, sparing no pity, offering no quarter. The heavens themselves held their breath as the burgeoning scions of the shinobi world grappled for their lives, their ideology.
Atop the cliffs, Kakashi and Hinata had finally caught up after defeating their opponents, but could only stand on the edge of the shaking ravine and watch in alarm as their precious people fought to redeem and revolt. After what felt like an eternity of dodging behind boulders to avoid the unearthly powerful stray blasts of chakra, they heard the sounds of battle finally begin to die down, and looked down to see that Naruto was still cloaked in the Kyuubi's demonic chakra, but heaving for each breath and kneeling, barely stable, on the surface of the water. Sasuke was bleeding from a multitude of claw marks and chakra burns where Naruto's many Rasengan had singed his deathly gray skin.
"Do you know…there is a level beyond the third tomoe…of the Sharingan," Sasuke huffed, wavering slightly as he straightened up and wiped the water from his eyes. "The Mangekyo. Itachi has it. Kakashi has it. Do you know…how one acquires…such a fine eye?"
Naruto couldn't answer, the toll of the demonic chakra and the ensuing fight culminating to push him nearly to his limit. The wounds on his own body were no longer healing, pain was nearly blinding him, but he forced himself to focus, to hear the words Sasuke was saying.
Sasuke continued to stagger forward, uncaring of Naruto's lack of response. "It is bestowed…only upon those strong enough…to kill their best friend."
Slipping and sliding down the rocky cliffside, Kakashi and Hinata landed on either side of Naruto, but were unable to get close to him with the scorching heat that radiated off his demonic aura. Hinata was nearly drained of chakra from her own battle, but she struggled to gather enough to fight her way to Naruto's side. He needed her, his skin was starting to peel off in chunks. The emotional, mental, and physical torture he was enduring was nearly palpable.
"I won't…let you kill me," Naruto gasped out in between painful breaths. "I have a destiny as well…I will fulfill it…and fix the system…without continuing the cycle of violence."
"I see." Sasuke's gaze flicked over to the two encroaching shinobi behind Naruto, and his eyes narrowed. He had just enough chakra left for one last move, but it had to be one that Naruto would not dodge, could not deny, would not be able to ignore.
Hinata was focused on Naruto and didn't see the monstrosity move, until Sasuke appeared behind her with his clawed hand already around her throat. He dragged her shocked body back across the river and lifted her writhing body off the water, a chidori ignited and poised over her heart. Kakashi was instantly leaping to grab her, but was slowed by the large gash in his leg he had suffered during his battle with Kimimaro. Hinata was slashing at Sasuke's wrist with her last dregs of chakra, clamoring to hit as many tenketsu as she could as the corners of her vision started to darken, but his powered up second stage chakra network was not even flinching at her weakened strikes.
Sasuke's three tomoe throbbed in the fathomless depths of his crimson and black eyes as he stared unflinchingly into Hinata's white and glazed over Byakugan. Her mind couldn't believe this was happening, that her teammate was killing her in front of their best friend and teacher. Her heart felt like it was going to explode out of her chest, the pressure behind her eyes was building to a painful peak, and her whole head throbbed with the desperate desire for air. She saw the awful flash of his jutsu, and braced to meet her Maker.
Instead of the expected shock of pain, water engulfed her and she sunk into its cool depths. Her brain finally kicked into gear and she frantically thrashed until she erupted out of the river, coughing and spluttering, to the sound of Kakashi's terrified screams.
Sasuke stood motionless, chidori sparking in his left hand, which protruded out the backside of Naruto's torso. His right hand still clenched the jinchuriki's throat, just as it had clenched Hinata's before Naruto had performed the kawarimi. Sasuke's chin was nearly resting on his slumped teammate's shoulder as he stared blankly past the immobile body. Kakashi had fallen and was on his knees, yelling at Sasuke, at Kami, at Naruto, frozen on the water's surface. No, Hinata's mind flatly rejected the vision of her precious person. Naruto is not dead. It is not over. He never gives up.
The red demonic chakra flickered and faded as Naruto's limp body slid off Sasuke's arm. With a splash he let his teammate fall face down, bobbing limply in the waves, as he turned and trudged to the opposite shore. The wings retracted, the armor clanked, and with one last glance over his shoulder, Sasuke took in the sight of his team as they rushed to Naruto's aid. He saw the look of heartbreaking desolation in Hinata's eyes, and a bolt of remorse hit him in his tainted soul. Her Byakugan zeroed in on his glowing Sharingan as it whirled into a pinwheel of the Mangekyo, and at that moment Sasuke knew true hatred. He held her gaze for a brief second, a thousand words conveyed in the naked meeting of the two powerful bloodlines. His lips moved of their own volition. I had to. Her face twisted into something between agony and anger and her own mouth whispered back plain to see, just go.
And he did, knowing he deserved every searing stab of pain from his bleeding eyes.
As they worked to carry Naruto away, Hinata trying to stem the blood pouring from the gaping hole in the jinchuriki's chest and Kakashi shouldering the limp body as he struggled up the cliff, a crow swooped out of the air and snatched something from the rocks at the opposite shoreline.
Miles away Itachi looked to the sky at the sound of a familiar caw, and lifted his arm for the large black bird to alight upon. It dropped the wet hitae-ate with the scratched Konoha symbol into his open hand, and silently the Summons revealed the details of the source of the chakra disturbances Itachi had sent it to investigate.
His black eyes narrowed as he clenched the discarded item in a white knuckled grasp. "Foolish little brother."
