Chapter 19: Fell Awakenings
Naruto slowly descended down the elevator from Ozpin's office, stunned.
"Naruto, you forgot to talk to Ozpin about the presence in Haven. I know this isn't a good time, but you really need to-" Naruto cut Gyuki off with a mental snarl.
'I need to what, Gyuki?! In case you didn't notice, one of my friends is injured, maybe for life!' Gyuki fell silent, before speaking up.
"You did fail your Team, Naruto. And maybe it's our fault for pushing you to do this… but right now you have a duty to every single person alive to report what you sensed to Ozpin. Your Team needs you, but so does this world."
Naruto growled silently as Kurama spoke up.
"Naruto, what matters most is going home. This Remnant is not our world, and we shouldn't intervene." An argument was brewing, one that had been many weeks in the making; and Naruto was afraid he didn't know which side to be on.
"We should help the people of this world." Son Goku rumbled from deep within the recesses of Naruto's mind. "The Shinobi know of us, and wished to harness us for their power. Here, however, there are no Uchiha, no Sharingan, and no descendants of Father. Here, no one could harness our power. We would be free!" he howled, with Kokuo, Isobu and Shukaku echoing his sentiment. Kurama growled to himself, torn between freedom and the desire to do what he felt was right.
"Everyone, please, be silent." Kokuo spoke up, his voice soft like a gentle breeze. "We must be rational about this. We need to decide, eternally, whether we wish to stay or leave."
Naruto tumbled into his mindscape, looking up at the Tailed Beasts as they stood off from each other across the faintly glowing lake.
"Why are we even deciding this now?" he demanded, "I thought we had to go home, that we had to leave! Why are you questioning this now?!" he cried.
"Naruto, calm down." Kurama growled, still on the fence. "Hear out both sides, and calm down. And Gyuki, stop trying to guilt trip him. It's hardly his fault he was on another continent when this was happening."
Gyuki nodded. "I know, Nine- Kurama. But he should have been there for his Team from the beginning."
Kurama nodded. "I can see that now. But that Ozpin is pinning all the blame on us, when HE'S the one who granted us leave to go to Haven! This is also his fault, and it's hypocritical of him to blame Naruto for it!"
Naruto frowned. 'But it is my fault… I should have been there.'
"We have no idea what's our fault and what's someone else's, Naruto. But all we can do now is try and decide if we're going to stay the course or make a new plan." Isobu contributed, his normally happy voice solemn.
"We are not responsible for not being here during this catastrophe. We are, however, responsible for not being here for the past months. We've been locked away, striving to go home. And that's fine, that's good, we miss our home." Kokuo began, voice soft and yearning, "But you accepted responsibilities, Naruto. You promised Qrow and Taiyang that you would watch over Ruby, and we haven't."
Naruto moved to interrupt, but fell silent as Kokuo spoke on. "What would we have said to them, and to Yang, if Ruby had been the one to be injured? What could we have said to absolve ourselves of blame?" Kokuo looked down on Naruto, and the enraptured forms of his siblings. "Nothing. We might not be to blame for not being here when your Team fought, Naruto; but what Ozpin meant, and what I believe my siblings and I feel, is that we failed them by not being there for the past months, not for missing a single fight."
Naruto looked over the rest of the Tailed Beasts, his face black with grief. "And what do you guys think? Am I not guilty of abandoning my comrades?!"
"Naruto, it doesn't matter, in the end, what we think." Son Goku said gently, "What matters is what you decide to do going forward. Think of the future, not of the past."
Kurama spoke up, gruff. "It's also not our fault because Blake shouldn't have been down fighting in Vale to begin with! Seriously, what was she even doing there?!" Naruto nods slightly.
"You're right, Kurama. She shouldn't have been down there. But I should have stopped her. I think, in the end, Ozpin was right." Gyuki moved to speak, but held his tongue as Naruto spoke stronger. "I was a bad leader. I should have been there for my Team, and in the end, I wasn't. I've been drifting away from them for months now, and only now do I see my failure."
"But it's not our fault!" Shukaku howled. "That Headmaster told us we could go! He hasn't brought this up either for the past months! He's just as much to blame as you!"
Kokuo spoke softly to Shukaku, reprimanding him. "Shukaku, it's different. Naruto was chosen as the Team Leader. That means he was, and is, responsible for his Team. Ozpin might have allowed us to leave for Mistral for a few days, but if Naruto hadn't been distracted and had done his duty before leaving, this probably wouldn't have happened. But in the end, we can't say whether this was our fault or not, because we don't know our peers enough to judge whether we could have stopped this… and that's our faults, not Naruto's."
Naruto shook his head firmly. "No, Kokuo, it is my fault. I should have been able to balance wanting to go home, and my Team. I guess that I just distanced myself, because they aren't Team Seven."
"Your Genin Team is one that you'll always have inside you." Gyuki said. "Bee always remembered when he was a Genin, and missed the Team he left to become the Raikage's brother. But Naruto, your Genin Team is gone. Sakura is dead, and the Uchiha boy is gone into Timeless Space, likely to never be seen again. This is your second chance, I can see it now."
"I know… it's just hard to move on…" Naruto said quietly, and shook as the grief he'd been ignoring and pushing aside for weeks and weeks inched forward.
"You don't have to." Matatabi whispered. "Hold onto that pain. And instead of seeking vengeance, make sure nobody else ever has to feel that way."
Naruto nodded slightly. "I really screwed up, didn't I guys?"
"Your only failing was listening to us, and Obito and Kakashi. The Shinobi World has been saved, Naruto. The Great Villages are united, the Uchiha are eradicated, and the source of all Chakra has been removed. In time, Chakra will fade away from the Shinobi World, and so too will Shinobi." Kurama said firmly.
Naruto's eyes widened. "But why? What could prompt such a-" he cut himself off as he thought to himself, his mind whirring at speeds he'd never before used. "Without you guys, the Chakra of my world won't replenish itself, will it? You're all the parts of the Ten Tails, which was the Chakra Node of the world. Without it growing and generating new Chakra, only the people who have it now will maintain it… until their Chakra divides into their children, slowly diluting until only a remnant of their power remains."
"Well, the process will take centuries, and could be delayed if the Shinobi went through selective breeding processes where two Shinobi had a single child… but in a couple centuries, yes. Chakra will be gone unless we return. And that is a good thing." Kurama spoke resolutely.
"But Kurama, Father intended for Chakra to unite the people of the world! Without it, the connection between humans will fade back to what it was during the dark days, before Kaguya!"
"Pah, we never saw what the world was like before Kaguya!" Kurama scoffed at Matatabi's worries. "What we do know is that Shinobi waged great wars with Chakra, and the destructive power they wielded was far greater than the power they had before. Without Chakra, they won't ever kill each other on such a large scale."
Naruto nodded slowly. "So they will learn to coexist, because they'll lose all their powers… nobody will be so much stronger that they can threaten the whole world, like Madara and Pain… no one will be so strong that it takes more than a couple normal civilians to defeat them. And with the people united, the world is at its closest to peace than ever before."
"And you humans tend to breed like rabbits when you're not fighting and dying, so Chakra will probably be diluted very quickly in the next century. In fact, I estimate maybe a century and a half, if the Shinobi breed with the same attitude they've had for the past couple centuries: that is, believing they'll die before they turn thirty."
Naruto nodded, mostly satisfied. "So then… we did it?"
Gyuki hummed. "I think we should sit on it… I'll admit, I hadn't considered that if we stayed away, Chakra would simply cease to exist. Probably because we don't actually know that will happen!" he grumbled, annoyed. "Really, I expected this of you Kurama, since you always think you're right, but the rest of you? We have no idea what's happening! As far as we know, no world has ever been deprived of it's Divine Tree before! We have no idea what that will do to the planet, especially in our dimension! What if everything slowly dies off, losing Chakra until all that's left is a barren wasteland?!"
Naruto blanched, before mumbling aloud, "Do you really think that's possible? I mean, shouldn't the world be fine without Chakra? They'll still have it, it'll just be too small for anyone to use it, right?"
Gyuki frowned at Kurama, and spoke over him. "Naruto, we have no idea. This has never happened before, to the best of my knowledge. But we shouldn't come to a decision now. We should wait, and maybe ask Kakashi if people have noticed anything odd. Maybe the toads could come to the Leaf Village, and join Kakashi and Obito when we see them next. They may have noticed if Nature Energy is being depleted."
Naruto nods. "That's a good idea. But for now, we need to prioritize Blake. I can use the Sun Mark that Hagoromo gave me to heal her, right?"
The Tailed Beasts pondered, before Kokuo spoke up. "Again, Naruto, normally that would be the case. However, we must also consider that we don't know if the Six Paths power will work on people without Chakra. Remember, Father did most of his great works and powerful tasks before we gained sentience."
Naruto frowned, considering. "Well, he was able to give people Chakra, and I believe he would have healed people who didn't have it if possible… besides, even if I fail to heal Blake, I can at least get her those cybernetic legs that Ozpin was talking about."
The Tailed Beasts concurred with Naruto, and after a brief discussion about when to inform Ozpin of the dark presence in Haven, Naruto faded from his Mindscape.
Back in Beacon…
Naruto marched towards the medical wing of Beacon, his stony face and crackling Chakra enough to deter even the most courageous trainees. After mere minutes of walking, he'd made it to the medical wing: it was small, almost deceptively so. As he quietly opened the door, he offered silent thanks to Sakura for beating into his thick skull how to behave in a hospital; in effect, not to burst in shouting.
His eyes swept across the room, narrowing in on Ren, who was sitting in a chair outside a door labeled 'Block A: Room 3'. Moving forwards, Naruto made sure to make some noise as he approached, causing Ren to look up at him. Taken aback, Naruto studied Ren's features.
'Surely his eyes weren't always so… bagged? He looks like shit.' Naruto thought to himself, as Ren gazed at him.
"So… how's Blake?" Naruto asked lamely, knowing full well the answer.
"She's currently unconscious, the Doctors are trying to make sure she'll be able to have cybernetics if she can ever afford them." Ren reported blandly, voice devoid of even a sliver of emotion.
"And are you and Ruby all right?" Naruto asked, wanting to make sure they were fine before going in to heal Blake.
"Ruby fractured two ribs, and I sustained a minor head injury. We've both nearly recovered." Ren said, voice now betraying a faint tone of frustration. "If we'd been faster, better, this wouldn't have happened."
Naruto spoke swiftly, and firmly. "If I had been here, like I should have been, none of this would have happened."
Ren shook his head. "You were well within your rights not to be here. It was a long weekend, you wanted to spend it in Haven. I hold no feelings of recrimination for you being away."
Naruto sighed, not willing to get into this conversation again. "Well, from now on I won't abandon you guys."
Ren shook his head. "There won't be a 'you guys' for a while now. The Doctors are fairly certain that Blake is not going to be able to acquire the cybernetics she requires, even if the school offers the twenty-five percent discount to students… which they may not do, seeing as the injury was sustained outside of school sanctioned activities."
Naruto nodded. "We'll see." With that being said, he glanced at the door. "Which room is Blake in?"
Ren motioned with his arm down the hall. "Room Five. Ruby's in Room Three. She was trying to leave, so they restrained her." his voice had returned to it's bland empty quality from before.
Naruto nodded. "If you'll excuse me then, Ren, I need to see my teammate."
Ren glanced at him. "Of course." he said, tone vaguely curious.
Naruto moved down the hall, and in seconds reached Room Five. He grasped the door handle, and pulled it open, stepping into the room.
Sure enough, Blake was there. Though he had trouble recognizing her. Her skin had paled to an ivory white, and her hair, which has always been messy, was now mushed around and sprawled from the bed. Not to mention the fact that she had no legs…
"Oh Sage, this is what happened?" Naruto murmured, shocked. He made his way around her bed, eyes drawn to the extremely missing legs…
He swallowed. "Time to see how bad it is…" he cleared away the blanket covering Blake, and was taken aback.
"OK… could be worse." The wounds were thoroughly wrapped up, tubes extending from the various places she would need them, heading down through a hole in the bed to the floor.
All in all, his work was cut out for him. He turned and bolted the door, unwilling to let himself be interrupted. He then began slowly unclipping Blake's bandages, and allowed them to fall to the floor. He winced as she began to bleed more quickly.
"I'm sorry Blake, but I need it completely uncovered to heal it… otherwise the bandages would still be inside you when I finished." he apologized to the comatose Blake as he slowly removed the tubes. He frowned slightly.
"Now all that's left… is Sage Mode." he closed his eyes and allowed Nature Energy to fill him, while channeling his Six Paths power. After mere seconds, his eyes opened, with the gold iris split by the slit reminiscent of Kurama's influence, and the traditional bar from the Toads.
"OK, here it goes." he uttered serenely, before laying his palm on Blake's exposed wound. He felt her then, and knew what to do. His Chakra moulded itself, and he could feel Blake's injury closing. He moved his hand up to her exposed abdomen as her lower half began to regrow. "Almost there." he muttered, seeing her bones grow from her bloodied stumps, muscle and veins folding over them as they grew, and flesh and skin sliding down behind it.
Suddenly, he felt a tugging sensation in his gut. 'Guys, what's going on? What are you doing?' Naruto mentally asked, used to the feeling of someone moving in his Mindscape.
"Naruto! The lake, it's begun to glow!" Kurama growled from within his mind. "I don't know what's happening!"
Naruto frowned. 'Kurama, I can't stop healing Blake now!' he growled. 'Try and figure out what's going on, I've nearly got her healed!'
"We'll try Naruto, but it's almost like…" Kurama trailed off, only for Naruto to growl mentally.
'What is it like, Kurama?! I can almost feel something, but it's odd, it's like my Chakra is healing faster than normal.'
"It's like when I used to force my Chakra out of the Seal, Naruto. Something is channeling it's power through you, into your Six Paths power… I can't tell what it is, it's hidden within your Sage Chakra!"
Naruto snarled, hearing someone knock at the door behind him. "Excuse me Doctor, did you lock this door?" Turning back to Blake, Naruto ignored the voices in the hall.
"Dammit Blake, just a few seconds longer!" he whispered, pressing his hands down on her abdomen harder, watching his Chakra begin the bleed through his clenched fingers, gold light splaying across the room like a nimbus of celestial light.
"Doctor! Something's happening in Room Five!"
Naruto heard stamping feet outside the door, and heard the nob jostling. "Whoever's in there, come out now!"
He growled, turning back to Blake, and saw her thighs had finished healing, stitched back together as her muscles and flesh on the shins grew over the bones, which had finished coalescing into feet.
'Just a few seconds more!' Naruto groaned, feeling the vague sense of losing something… 'Just a little longer, Blake…'
"Excuse me Ma'am," he heard from the outside. He recognized that voice… that voice…
'Ren… what's he doing?'
"Yes young man?"
"Sorry Ma'am, it's my head… I'm feeling dizzy all of a sudden…" he heard Ren say, voice lilting slightly as he heard the telltale sound of someone slumping against the wall.
"Nurse!" he heard the Doctor growl, her voice strained. "What is this boy here for?"
"Head injury, Doctor." he heard the Nurse answer. "He came in yesterday with the Patient in Room Three and Room Five."
"Well, get him to his room! And where's the damn key for this door?!"
Naruto smiled to himself, watching the shins finish weaving themselves together, as though they were a complex tapestry. 'Almost there… thank you, Ren.'
With only the feet left, Naruto could hear the Doctor outside, calling for a Huntress to come open the door.
'You mean that the Doc isn't a Huntress herself? Why not have someone with a healing Semblance?' Naruto pondered as Blake's feet slowly regrew… slower than they had been, but to be honest he was feeling less drained that he'd thought he would… her injuries probably weren't as severe as Ozpin had led him to believe.
'I'm gonna soooooo get that old man…'
"Naruto, Ozpin didn't lie. Blake's injuries were exactly as severe as he'd told us." Matatabi said from his Mindscape.
'What do you mean, Matatabi?' Naruto thought at her as he saw Blake's toes finish growing, 'I've finished, and it barely took anything out of me! I actually feel better than I did before, if that's possible!'
"That's because you didn't heal her on your own, Naruto." Gyuki spoke somberly. Naruto paused, ignoring the sounds of the door being smashed behind him.
'What do you mean? Of course I didn't do it alone, you all helped.'
"Naruto, take your hand off of her." Shukaku ordered, tone deadly serious. Naruto flinched, taken aback by the complete absence of any play from Shukaku's voice.
He slowly raised his hand, glancing back at the door as he heard the Doctor yelling. "Finally! Headmaster, there's someone in there and I can't get the blasted door open! I need you to get the damned thing open! One of my patients is in there! OPEN IT!"
Naruto laughed quietly to himself. "No matter what world, Doctors are always the same."
"Naruto, look at Blake." Kurama commanded, voice low. Naruto rolled his eyes.
'C'mon, Kurama, what could possibly-' he mental rejoinder cut out as he gazed in shock at Blake.
There, nestled just below her belly button, right where he'd lain his hand, lay a small black diamond.
AN:
Well, there's a thing! I'm sure it was pretty obvious that would happen, but there it is! Truth be told, I've been wanting to do this for a while!
So as most of the kind reviews said, yes, Naruto just healed her.
Now, for everyone hating on Ozpin; I think I explained it well enough in this chapter why he was mad at Naruto, and why Naruto didn't explain what he'd sensed in Haven.
A) Ozpin was mad because Naruto hadn't spent the time with his Team that he should have before this point, which could have stopped this from EVER being a problem.
B) I don't know if you all forgot this, but Ozpin is kinda a manipulative bastard. I mean, he only says what he says to motivate people to keep fighting Salem, and hides things that make them want to back out... it's kinda his biggest character flaw from the show.
C) Naruto, despite having very good reasons to not want to get involved, is fundamentally involved more in Remnant than the Shinobi World. Remember, the Shinobi have gone for YEARS now thinking that he was dead, and most of them have moved on. It's only really Remnant that needs him right now, and at the very least, he accepted responsibility to look over Ruby for Qrow and Tai.
D) Naruto could damn well help his attitude in the recent chapters. He's sabotaging himself, trying to push himself away subconsciously from his Team and potential friends because he KNOWS, deep down, that he wouldn't be able to give them up if he found a way to leave. Again, this isn't entirely a conscious decision, but more of a instinctual one.
Anyways, thanks so much for reading, please review and thanks again to the people who gave me AMAZING reviews to keep writing.
And if you didn't like the last chapter, or any chapter in the future, please try to explain what you didn't like a bit better. Telling me to have Naruto fuck Salem and brag in Ozpin's face about it doesn't exactly fit the narrative I'm trying to build, which I would have thought to be obvious.
Thanks for (mostly) being great, please let me know what you do and don't like with WORDS AND DIALOGUE, rather than hissy fits.
Have a great December, hopefully I'll update before the Holidays!
-Pad
