The shower didn't do much to help Naruto clear his head. He dried his hair with a towel before sitting by his windowsill. The moon looked down upon him, a dim light peering into his room.
His room, that's where he physically was at least, but his mind was currently revisiting an old memory.
Maybe it was the sound of trickling water from the tap, or the earthy evening air. Whatever it was, it sometimes brought him back to that moment, beaten, bruised, and knee-deep in water. Hair messy and wet. The taste of blood in his mouth. The waterfall of truth they had called it, a fitting name considering he knew how much the truth hurt. But it didn't hurt this much since the night Mizuki unveiled the truth of him being a jinchuriki, and there it was standing in front of him.
--
The truth, dressed in his same orange jumpsuit, just as badly beaten as he was, sporting a wicked grin that he never knew his own face was capable of making. It might've been the hardest battle he had ever fought up to that point. The two boys, perfect mirrors of each other, charged forward with chakra in their fists and malice in their hearts.
It was a synchronized dance. Bone cracking punches ripped through the both of them. The sound of their defiant yells overpowering even the rush of cascading water from behind. And suddenly Naruto was somewhere else, but still there. Existing in that battle yet outside of it simultaneously.
He was glaring at his dark self while he recoiled from the sharp pain of an attack that had grazed his shoulder.
He was glaring at a crowd of onlooking civilians and recoiled at the sharp pain in his chest, wondering what a 7 year old boy could have done to earn such treatment from those around him.
He was flying through the air after being hit by a barrage of clones and he braced for his landing.
He was under the shade of a tree, and despite being seated on a firm swing, the weight of his emotions threatened to drill him into the ground.
He was fighting a version of himself with unrivaled determination. Almost as much determination as another boy in another waterfall at another fight. One he wasn't able to save despite his best efforts, and Naruto feared that might also be true for the Naruto throwing a kick at him.
The attack just barely missed his side and he sent one back to his opponents chin. Dark Naruto caught his leg and tossed him overhead. Naruto crashed into the water, his back burning from the sharp rocks at the bottom of the pond. He remembered the ache in his soul from the valley of the end, the moment he realized Sasuke's legitimate intent to kill. And now he was facing an even more vicious intent from none other than himself. Yet he still kept fighting.
Through the blows and the hits he felt the resonance of their feelings. The pain of being a jinchuriki. The suffering they had to go through. All the anger and hatred he had for his fellow peers masking any love and affection that he grew to have. Love and affection that he had to learn to have on top of the original seeds of hate. Years of bubbling resentment was coming back to the surface with a vengeance.
He had helped quell the hatred of Neji, Gaara, and Nagato, but how was he going to stop himself. An elbow smashed his nose. A kick to his gut sent him flying once again. Two clones that had just appeared behind him slammed their knees into his falling body, and a third one in front drove a fist into his stomach. Even he had to be impressed at his own speed of hand signs.
His own clones caught him as he fell. The battlefield was relentless. One could only describe it as two armies of Naruto's. Dozens of clones were disappearing and reappearing in an instant. He gathered chakra in his hand while another pair helped to contain the growing vortex.
Creating a rasengan required extreme concentration and subtle control that no one really gives Naruto credit for. One wrong move and the violent rotating chakra would rip apart the skin of his palm. Finally the jutsu was complete and the two Naruto's stood facing each other. Dark Naruto had his own rasengan ready in his hand. Only after experiencing it being pointed at him did Naruto truly understand the strength of the weapon he's been wielding this entire time.
Clones tried to ambush either of them but were stopped by other clones of the opposing side. Fireworks of clone smoke erupted all around them. Then they ran. The two jutsus collided in the center and Naruto struggled to maintain his footing. Chakra was burning the air and he feared that if he let up for even a moment his arm would be incinerated.
His opponent was him. He was fighting himself. He was fighting the frightening power of his own hatred.
--
The memory leaves just as it arrived. Naruto is a bit older now, and definitely much wiser. He's succeeded in helping end the war, united the 5 nations, brought his friend back from the darkness, and found love.
He remembers the feeling of warmth. After the fighting was done and all the blood was spilled. He held his suffering soul tightly as it let go of all the anger in his heart. Sometimes he wonders if he's still there. If his suffering still persists even to the present day.
He placed a hand on his belly and reconfirms it. Kurama's chakra faintly radiated from the seal. He was sleeping peacefully, something the fox could never do during his days as the epitome of rage. Naruto smiles as he finishes his reflection, and he thanks his Dark Self, his suffering soul for being angry, for protecting him, and for letting go and granting the peaceful nights that they can now have.