Chapter 30
Although he was tired and needed a long sleep, Naruto had not rested. He could sleep during the night and he wouldn't be against using pills to force his mind to rest. The situation he had to deal with the now that he was back was troubling him. Mikoto was still pregnant and he still had to face the harsh reality of his teenage fun. It was no longer the time for regrets; he had to think about how this was going to influence his life.
It was really going to change things in this life.
It was safe to say that he would have to rethink his life strategy because he now had to accommodate the child Mikoto was carrying. it hadn't been part of the plan but he had to include it. He wasn't that of a horrible person that he'd wish for something bad to happen to Mikoto so that he could hide the results of his misbehaving hormones.
Yes, he was calling it that because it had occurred without him thinking it was possible.
He had been thinking of taking things slow or just ending them with the Mikoto, but how could he think about it now when this has happened?
"You're rather quiet today, Naruto." Kushina said to her son.
It wasn't often that he allowed his thoughts to drift off like this when they were having dinner. Naruto always gave his full attention when she was in the room. Something was going on inside his head. She wasn't going to ask much about what was wrong. If he wanted to tell her, he would tell her.
Naruto's eyes snapped towards his mother before a smile slowly formed his lips. "I had a long day. My body is still feeling the effects of the battle I had with the Akatsuki's leader."
A long battle it had been. Had the situation been any different, he may have been forced to flee with his tails between his legs. Nagato was strong, even though he was a cripple.
"You should have rested like I told you to." Kushina said.
"I wanted to spend some time with you." Naruto said with a smile. there was a chance that he would not have this time from tomorrow with what Mikoto was going to tell her.
Before he had visited anyone upon his return to the Hidden Leaf, he had gone to the Uchiha, just to clear up things.
If Naruto were to be honest, the reason he had gone there was to check if she was still pregnant. But he had ended up talking to her about the pregnancy and the need to break the news as soon as possible. It would be a problem if his mother learned about it from another source. It would be a betrayal. it was better to tell her. Naruto had agreed with the plan, but he wasn't going to do the talking.
He was just going to stand in the side lines and watch.
In this case, it was convenient for him to say 'it is better to give the adults time to talk'. Besides that, he could say he was all but just a foolish teenager who didn't understand things about life but only saw the world through his narrow and twisted angle.
"In any case, it turns out that the leader of the Akatsuki is an Uzumaki and someone Jiraiya had trained for three years. He called them the Ame orphans."
Kushina tilted her head to the side. "Oh, them." She said with a smile as the thought clicked. "He often spoke about them…" She said and then frowned at the implications of Naruto's words.
Someone that Jiraiya had trained had turned evil and that person was from her clan. It was just ridiculous to think about. Kushina never thought that anyone taught by the Sannin could turn evil. He may have his faults and flaws, but Jiraiya was a kind and peace-loving person. Surely, he would have drilled the thoughts of peace to his Ame students as he did with Minato.
"You don't have to worry, mother." Naruto said to his mother. "He is still alive and I left Jiraiya trying to get him back to the path of good. If things turn out okay, you might meet someone from our clan. For now, we know that there are two members still alive. We don't have to count much on Nagato because he is the leader of Amegakure, but with the one Orochimaru has, we can hope to get her one day."
Kushina smiled. "That is wonderful, Naruto. I was starting to think that we wouldn't be able to find any other members of our clan. This means that there is a chance that there are more out there. We can really restore the Uzumaki." The redhead said with a clap of her hands, and a wide smile on her lips.
Naruto nodded, smiling.
It was always a joy to bring such a smile on his mother's face. The matter of the rebirth of the Uzumaki clan was important for their family.
"Am I the only one missing something here?" Yugao said. "I don't want to ruin the mood, but do you think that the other Kages will simply let something like that slide? He was behind the Akatsuki and committed crimes against their villages. Tsunade wouldn't even shield him. If she did so, Konoha would become enemies of other great nations."
That would certainly go against everything that Naruto wanted. He had yet to even meet Kurotsuchi to talk to her about his ambitions.
"They don't have to know that Nagato is the leader of the Akatsuki." Naruto said with a shrug of his shoulders. "If we don't tell them, they won't find out. Nobody even knows his real identity, not even the people of Amegakure – a village he leads. It should be well."
Yugao shook her head. That was so like Naruto. She didn't even have a comeback for it.
"On another matter," Kushina said not bothered by the fact that Nagato was the leader of the Akatsuki. "Kakashi came by and said you invited him over to the Senju compound."
Naruto nodded. "I figured since he was lonely, he could get a house in the compound. It's not that he will be part of the clan, but our friend. I thought it would bring him some joy and perhaps make him think about a family of his own if he stayed with us."
Kushina smiled. She didn't have any problems with Kakashi. He had been around, Minato's precious student. Yugao even liked the respected Jonin. It wouldn't be so bad and she was sure that Minato would be pleased. He had done everything he could to try to bring happiness in Kakashi's life. If Minato was following the same path, how could she protest that?
"Just make sure he doesn't bring his books into the compound." Kushina said in a warning tone. "I don't want anything corrupting my dear son. If he does, I will punish him."
Naruto smiled, he had missed that side of his mother.
The smile slipped through a second later. His mother didn't know that he had already gone into the dark path. He wasn't innocent anymore.
It tore him knowing that he was making live so ignorantly of the reality. What had she done to deserve this? She has overlooked his often-cold intensions for the sake peace and this was how he repaid her?
The rest of the dinner went peacefully.
Kushina didn't stick around for too long. She kissed Naruto good night and went away. The blond didn't linger around the dining table for far too long either. He motioned for Yugao to follow him to the study. Once the woman got inside, the blond closed the door and locked it.
"Is something wrong?" Yugao asked as he moved closer to the blond.
Naruto held out his right hand, to stop her from getting any closer to her. "It is better if you don't come closer." He said. He tilted his head to the side, thinking of a way to say this but he found one. "Mikoto said she is pregnant and she isn't just bluffing. I spoke to her before I left to Amegakure and upon my return."
Yugao blinked. She opened her mouth to say something but no word came out of her mouth. She shut her mouth and stayed silent for a long minute.
"I shouldn't be surprised but I am." She said. "I don't really pity, you Naruto. Then, what is going to happen to us, and when is your mother going to be told?"
"Nothing changes with us, and mother will be told tomorrow."
"I want no part of it." Yugao said in a dead serious tone. "If I have any say in it, I will not defend Mikoto. I told you before you left Konoha for the training that she was looking at you with some indecent thoughts and this has happened. Obviously, she was watching, and waiting for you to grow some furthers before she could pounce. I will not defend the morality of her actions.
"But know that your mother is going to be hurt, Naruto. Not just by Mikoto's betrayal, but by your willingness to go through this. To her, you're still just her teenage son. This is why she even tells you how much you must drink and only on special occasions. This is going to shatter her, and I want no part of it."
"That is rather cold of you." Naruto said with an expressionless tone.
Yugao shrugged. "I just don't want to be responsible for hurting the woman who has been nothing but kind to me. Besides, this will affect my relationship with you. I won't be able to get rid of that woman now…" The woman said with a frown. "I said I could give you family, who could have thought that she had already beaten me to the punch."
There was nothing but bitterness in Yugao's tone.
The Following Day
Around Noon
When Mikoto walked into the house with a smile – a smile he could tell was nervous, Naruto failed miserably in trying to clear the air within his lungs to avoid looking her in the same way. She had said she was going to come so that they could tell his mother, but it suddenly felt soon.
Naruto really didn't want to go through it.
His mother was going to be shattered. Yugao had made it abundantly clear last night. Naruto really would not know what to do if that happened. He hoped that his mother would just say a few words, but not plain disgust over his actions.
"Yugao." Mikoto greeted the woman with a smile.
The former Anbu nodded and returned the smile. She looked at Naruto for a moment; he looked pitiful but she wasn't going to pity him.
Yugao turned back to Mikoto. "You came to deliver the news." The purple haired woman stated. "I never thought I'd see an Uchiha looking nervous though."
Mikoto smiled. "We are not all the same, Yugao. People tend to generalize things when dealing with members of the Uchiha clan. We are all different in our own ways. Perhaps our pride is one thing that connects us, but each of us has something unique about us."
Their pride made them appear to be the same in their actions but being an Uchiha Mikoto knew first-hand what really went around within her clan members. A person from the outside could not know more than she did. She has lived with all different kinds of Uchihas in her house.
That aside, Mikoto was a little surprised that the woman wasn't glaring at her. She thought Yugao would be glaring at her after Naruto informed her of her situation. Well, she has been involved with Naruto the longest, so she would not have any reason to be angry.
Well, it would not necessarily change things for their relationship. The only thing that would change is that if the woman had been thinking of getting rid of her, there would be no other way now. She had to live with her for the rest of their lives. Yugao would also not be the one to give Naruto his first born, but she would.
"Itachi used to say that in Anbu days." Yugao responded. "I'll go call Kushina. I'm sure she is going to be devastated though. I won't be cynical enough to suggest that you did this on purpose knowing that it was the only way you could stay in Naruto's life."
Naruto said nothing as Yugao walked away, going to call his mother. The blond looked at Mikoto, but he didn't say anything to her either.
It was becoming difficult to speak to her. It was a different matter now knowing that she was carrying something inside her belly and that something was going to make him father.
A god damned father. He wasn't really looking forward to that kind of responsibility and he wasn't sure how he was going to behave because he was just clueless with this whole thing.
He didn't have a father growing up. He had a mother but that had been enough for him.
"I haven't told Sasuke, yet." Mikoto said to Naruto – there was no emotion in her tone as she spoke. "I was thinking it would be better if we spoke to him together. You know he is going to overreact when he learns of it. At least if you are there when I tell him, I can at least diffuse the situation so that it doesn't become bloody."
Naruto raised an eyebrow as he looked back at the woman. "Do you really think that he would go that far? I know he can overreact, but resorting to make me bleed?" The blond shook his head. "Wouldn't it be taking it too far? But then again, it is your son; when it comes to emotional outbursts you can never really measure him."
"I know him and he will react in a certain way." Mikoto said. "It is better we speak to him together."
Naruto appeared to think for about a couple of moments. He wanted to remind the woman that she was the one who dragged him into this mess and had it not been her, they would not have been in this situation. He didn't have to help her explain it, but since he didn't say no to it and did enjoyed the moments, he could not say anything like that.
Besides, they were both adults. At least, one was much older and should have taken much care. Naruto wasn't blaming Mikoto nevertheless. He was responsible. He was the one who got all excited and poured his juices into her.
"If he makes a move, I will have to act decisively. After that battle with Pain, I'm not really looking forward to any more brutal battles." Naruto said. He looked up the stairs, hearing the footsteps of both his mother and Yugao's. He said nothing further as he waited for the two to come down the sitting room.
Upon seeing Mikoto, Kushina smiled. "Mikoto…" She said happily. "This is something different. I don't think all four of us have sat together in one place. Sasuke is the one who is missing in the picture. We really should have moments like these." The woman said before sitting Naruto.
Mikoto smiled. "It would be something special and it would perhaps revive the old days you used to have dinner at the Uchiha compound on some occasions."
"Those were good days." Kushina said with a warm smile. "It is a pity that nothing really lasts forever in this world. I had planned to live the rest of my life with Minato, but things happened, and he is gone. It was just Naruto and me but now we have Yugao and soon Kakashi will join us. Life is interesting in that way, things never really remain the same."
Mikoto nodded. "I came here today because I have something to tell you. It is important."
Kushina tilted her head to the side. Mikoto's tone was strange. the emotions in her voice were mixed, she could not really tell anything. She turned to Yugao – the woman looked blank, and Naruto was just stone faced. She went back to Mikoto. "What is it?"
"I'm carrying Naruto's child, Kushina."
The redhead Uzumaki looked at Naruto and then back at Mikoto before bursting out in laughter. "Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha." She laughed hard. But her laughter soon died when no one laughed with her… they all looked serious. Mikoto wasn't making a joke.
She had slept with Naruto.
Her teenage son.
Because of it, she was pregnant.
The woman was impregnated by her teenage son, a child in the same age as Sasuke!
Kushina's laughter came to a dead end. A look of disgust flashed over her face for a second before she stood up. She didn't say anything to anyone, she just started leaving.
"Kushina, wait!" Mikoto called out as she rushed over to the redhead. She grabbed Kushina by her left hand. "Please say something…" The woman pleaded in a begging tone. "If not, at least allow me to explain myself. Please, Kushina."
Kushina returned with a back slap over Mikoto's face. There was momentary silence as a surprised Mikoto let go of Kushina and took a silent step back.
"What do you want to explain, Mikoto?" Kushina asked, in a deadly quiet tone. "Do you want to explain to me how you have been sleeping with my son? I'm not stupid enough to think that it was him who started it. It had to be you, Mikoto. You are my friend, and yet you did this, with my son. My teenage son who is the same age is your youngest son.
"Isn't this a betrayal of my trust, Mikoto? I trust you to look after my son, not sleep with him! I would be shocked and gripped with disbelief it is was Minato. That I could understand, even if Minato would not do that to me, and you would not go that far, but I could understand that. However, with my son, my teenage son? I cannot understand how you conceived the idea, Mikoto! What really went through your head?!"
Kushina turned around to leave once more.
But this time around, it was Naruto who tried to stop her. "Mother, please wait…"
"Don't mother me, Naruto!" Kushina shouted.
Naruto was baffled by that kind of response. Uzumaki Kushina had never raised her tone with him. She has never shouted at him, or even look at him with that look of disappointment. Never in his life had he ever seen this from his mother. It was shocking.
His beloved mother was disgusted with him, she was mad at him. This was reality. A brutal one.
"Don't think I don't fault you as well. It takes two to make a child, Naruto. You're not that weak minded that she could force you into it. You agreed to it. What were you thinking, Naruto?! She is Itachi's mother!" Kushina shouted once more. "Please, leave me alone. I need time to calm down and think, Naruto."
His mother has never requested time away from him. He was her beloved son. No matter what, he has always been there for her. It was because he was not the one who caused her grief. It was his fault this time, wasn't it? His mother was disappointed with him, she was angry with him, So much that she just wanted to stay away from his presence.
Naruto's world shattered.
When his mother stalked away, the blond took a couple of steps towards the exit before disappearing within gusts of wind.
Mikoto wanted to run towards the blond, but she was stopped by Yugao. "Just go home, Mikoto. Naruto will be fine. Despite everything, he is still a mother's boy. It must be a shock to him that his mother could shout and be mad at him. He must have thought it was something that would never happen."
A couple of minutes later
Forest of Death
"Naruto!" Sasuke roared angrily with his Mangekyo Sharingan blazing furiously as he charged towards Naruto with birds chirping on his right hand.
The Uzumaki did not respond to the shout. He didn't react to anything. Naruto was lost in a staring contest with the heavens. He could not feel the sense of danger when the Uchiha neared him with the intent to stab him with his assassination jutsu.
Because Naruto had no sense of danger and Sasuke wasn't just fooling around with the jutsu, the Uchiha reached the Uzumaki and stabbed his Chidori into Naruto from behind just below his right shoulder. The jutsu pierced through without any resistance.
Naruto's senses kicked in, but the pain had yet to register in his mind as his right hand snaked over his left shoulder and grabbed Sasuke by his face. It was so that he could block the view of the Sharingan so that the Uchiha could not predict the movement of his left hand.
Naruto's left hand went behind him, and placed his index finger on the Uchiha's belly. An extending wind blade, thin as a needle pierced through Sasuke's gut with speed. The Uchiha only felt the pain afterwards before removing his hand from Naruto and then leaping back from the blond to create some distance.
Sasuke didn't lose the mask of anger when he landed gracefully. He didn't even mind the small drips of blood that was reddening his t-shirt. He focused on glaring at the blond Uzumaki.
"How could you, Naruto? With my mother? What would you do if I did the same with your mother?!"
It was more than that to Sasuke. The Uzumaki kept taking from him. Sasuke could not forget that his father had favoured him when he was still younger. He had admitted once to his mother that if he could make the blond an Uchiha he would have done so. Itachi had also favoured him and now he was taking away his mother from him?
Naruto didn't respond, but he did narrow his eyes ever so slightly when the mention of his mother reached him. He slowly turned around to face the Uchiha, eyes a little clouded with mixed emotions, yet his expression was just stone cold. Crimson chakra poured out of the left side of his body and regenerated his body within seconds. It looked as if Sasuke hadn't done anything when the chakra was done healing him.
The blond summoned four kunais, two on both his hands. He coated them with chakra before hurling them towards Sasuke in blinding speed.
Despite their speed, Sasuke could still see them with his Sharingan. The Uchiha could see that two were aimed at both his shoulders, one straight towards his forehead and the last one towards his throat. Sasuke responded leaning back with his knees bent to give him some space. He watched all four kunais past just inches away from his body.
But before he could straighten himself, Naruto suddenly appeared behind him, slightly above ground with a Rasengan on the palm of his right hand. The blond slammed the A-rank jutsu straight on Sasuke's face, but the Uchiha suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly as Sasuke appeared behind in him a blur already in motion to attack. He didn't have time to block the attack as the Uchiha's right foot came crashing on his back. The foot collided with his back, and sent him plummeting down the ground in a heap.
The Rasengan hit first, destroying the ground as it collided with it.
Sasuke was upon Naruto a second later. The Uchiha landed on the ground gracefully with just one leg, his right was above the ground. He slammed his foot on the side of Naruto's body, sending the blond flying towards the side in speed.
Sasuke didn't stop there, he held his hands together and released a stream of flames from his mouth. The flames rushed towards the flying Naruto in great speed. The Uzumaki forced his body to twist in order to face the flames. He released powerful gusts of winds that tore through the ground, lifting up debris as they sped towards Sasuke's flames.
The two jutsus collided, creating a large cloud of intense mixed with violent gusts of winds. By the time their little battle ended, Naruto was already on the ground on one knee, with a tree just an inch away from him. He had avoided crashing into it – which would have been a painful experience.
Sasuke didn't waste time attacking when he saw that Naruto was on safe ground. He darted towards the blond in full speed. Naruto only looked up to him when he lunged into the air before a ribcage of his Susano'o formed, and then both its hands. Sasuke slammed the right hand down towards Naruto's form.
Naruto did not attempt to block the monstrous punch of the Susano'o. He would have been buried into the ground and his bones might have suffered the strain of trying to hold back something beyond them. Naruto fell to his right hand, before rolling away.
The punch pummelled the ground in a small boom just on his left side.
Naruto didn't pay much mind to it. He was still lying on the ground, facing Sasuke when he made his move. The blond clasped his hands together as he channelled wind around him. Sasuke was still above him with the Susano'o still activated when a small rotation of wind formed just above Naruto.
"Wind Tornado."
The rotating winds suddenly expanded before blasting towards Sasuke. The Uchiha crossed his hands together as he prepared for impact. He could see multiple blades within the tornado, so he could not afford to let it hut him.
The jutsu slammed into his Susano'o. It did not break through his defence but had enough power in it to push further into the air. Sasuke abandoned his Susano'o when he saw that the jutsu wasn't stopping in taking him into the air and he was losing sight of Naruto. Even in his anger, he knew not to lose sight of the blond, lest he live to regret it.
Sasuke landed on the ground without his Susano'o. His eyes narrowed in all fours with his senses stretched out to try to locate Naruto. His senses tensed when he felt something behind him. Naruto was lunging towards him. Sasuke saw the move coming and spun around anti clockwise. As he twisted, he raised his right foot, intent on smashing a high-footed kick to the face of the blond.
Naruto did nothing as Sasuke's foot collided with his face with speed, but the second it hit, the blond disappeared in a puff of smoke.
The real Naruto suddenly appeared via gusts of winds with his blade firmly on his right hand. The blond appeared just under Sasuke's raised foot. Before the Uchiha could even do anything, Naruto's blade touched his left knee. The moment it touched, Sasuke reacted quickly to jump flash away, but he wasn't fast enough.
The Uchiha cried in pain as he landed a foot away. Naruto had managed to pierce through his knee. It affected his mobility massively. Sasuke ignored the pain and glared at Naruto for doing this to him.
"Amaterasu!" The Uchiha summoned the jet-black flames in fury.
The flames burst around Naruto's entire body, causing the blond to cry out in pain as well. Naruto didn't have to think about the pain. He clasped his hands together.
Boom!
There was a powerful explosion that blasted everything away from him, including the flames. The explosion was like a shockwave, but it was a forceful burst of powerful gusts of winds that had enough power to root off the trees that were close by. Even Sasuke was blasted away by the powerful winds. They had felt like a violent force of nature.
Hokage Office
"What the hell is that?" Tsunade demanded, seemingly to no one.
An Anbu appeared before her, kneeling just in front of her desk. "Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto are fighting. It appears serious. One of them could die." The Anbu reported.
Tsunade was upon her feet within a second. "Take me there!" She demanded.
When they arrived, she found several other Anbu already watching, and two people she quickly noticed were Mikoto and Kushina but the two women were not standing side by side. Not only that both had worried expressions on their faces. The killing intent in the atmosphere was real.
Yugao appeared beside the Godaime and spoke to her in a whisper. "Please don't stop them."
"Why?" Tsunade demanded.
Yugao sighed. Well, it was going to come out soon anyway. There was no need to hide it from the Godaime Hokage. "Naruto is a little lost, his mother is not happy with him and Sasuke is angry that Naruto got his mother pregnant."
"Whaaat!" Tsunade shout caught everyone's attention but the fighting teens didn't seem to pay attention to it.
Back with the fight
When things cleared down, Naruto was on his knees, breathing heavily. He was heavily burnt. The severe burns were visible all over his exposed body.
Slowly, the Kyubi's chakra started bubbling around his body until it had fully covered him. For a full minute, the chakra danced around his body as it worked around the clock to heal him. Once it was done, it quickly dispersed.
A bruised Sasuke didn't attempt to get back. His knee was badly wounded and bleeding. He could not walk like this. Nevertheless, it was not necessary for victory. He still had his Susano'o.
The moment those words went through his mind, he summoned the upper half of his Susano'o fully formed. The Susano'o materialized a bow and an arrow.
He was intent on hitting Naruto with it.
Without even getting up, Naruto summoned a clone. It would help him create his jutsu far faster given his current state. The blond held out his right hand and started forming his jutsu. As soon as the clone started pouring in wind chakra, and adding shape into the jutsu, a loud screeching sound started to come from the jutsu.
Naruto summoned his chakra before getting up. He took two steps forward before hurling the jutsu towards Sasuke. Sasuke armed his arrow with the flames of Amaterasu before shooting an arrow straight towards Naruto's jutsu. When the two powerful jutsu collided in mid-air, there was an explosion of gusts of wind and black flames. Neither jutsu broke through the other but they ended up cancelling each other.
Sasuke tried to look for Naruto knowing that he could not could hurl those jutsus towards him simultaneous and a jutsu that powerful had to have cost him a lot of chakra. Sasuke grinned when he saw Naruto on his knees once more, breathing heavily.
He took aim, but he wasn't able to shoot as his senses picked up something. Another Naruto appeared behind him holding out a blade. Knowing what was coming, Sasuke quickly turned to it. "Amaterasu."
The flames caught the blond, but he suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke. Before Sasuke could turn back, his eyes widened when his Sharingan predicted a movement, but given his impaired mobility, he could not move fast enough to avoid the attack.
Naruto was standing behind the Uchiha, holding two swords, each with its tip pressed against the Susano'o. His most fast and perhaps deadly attack was released from both swords and it pierced through both the Uchiha's shoulders. As blood started pouring out, the Susano'o started to disperse.
The moment it was done, Naruto lunged at Sasuke. He picked up the Uchiha by his neck, from behind.
Naruto slammed Sasuke to the ground in brutal fashion. The Uchiha's hit the ground first with his face and then the rest of his body followed. He winced as the pain jolted through his body. He wasn't even given time to nurse his aching body as Naruto suddenly kicked him, turning him to the side. The blond then stomped his right foot on Sasuke's chest in the most brutal way possible.
Sasuke cried when the foot collided with his chest. The blond had stomped on him as if he was something else, no longer human. The attack caused Sasuke to raise his head slightly in a knee jack reaction – he coughed out a mouthful of blood from his mouth before his head slammed into the ground once more.
Naruto stared at the Uchiha with an expressionless face, eyes slightly cold. He placed his sword on Sasuke's throat, intending to release his wind jutsu to pierce through it.
Tsunade didn't give the order, so none of the Anbu felt compelled to do to anything before the Uzumaki could kill the Uchiha. The Godaime just watched, perhaps a little shocked at what was happening before her very eyes. They should have been still celebrating the death of Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki, but Konoha's young talents were killing each other due to personal reasons.
Perhaps the shock caused her inaction.
Kushina didn't wait for anyone to do anything. "Naruto!" She shouted, running over to her son. "Please, Naruto, stop!" Kushina said in a pleading tone. The sadness in her tone was evident to those who heard her voice.
The sadness caused Naruto to snap out of his trance. Without even stepping away from Sasuke, Naruto's head turned towards his mother. Their eyes locked. Naruto saw her eyes, the sadness, and the grief she was feeling over what had happened. Did she blame herself for what has happened? Naruto wanted to rush over to her and tell her that it wasn't her fault, it was his fault. He was to blame, not her.
He was the bad son.
As if a robot, Naruto stepped away from Sasuke, and walked, a bit robotic, slowly as he did towards his mother. He had thrown his blade away from his hand.
it was the pain and tiredness that caused him to walk as he did but he wanted to meet his mother, he wanted to feel her warmth, he wanted to apologize for causing her pain.
Seeing her son, bloodied, torn, and with nasty burns all over his body hurt Kushina. She wanted to cry, but held herself. How could that talk have led to this kind of situation? Her son was in this kind of pain now. She could tell, he was in a lot of pain now.
Sasuke gritted his teeth seeing that the person who nearly killed him had turned his back on him. Hadn't the blond the one who had drilled this into him 'never turn your back on your opponent?' However, he had done just that. That back of his was wide target for him.
Clouded by the anger and the uncontrollable emotions building up on him, Sasuke summoned all the chakra he could, forming a Lightning Blade on his right hand. He forgot about the pain on his knees, and pumped up chakra into it as well as his right shoulder, just so he could land this one last blow.
Even though there were trained Anbu and professionals who could sense danger miles away, neither reacted in time when the Uchiha lunged at Naruto. Perhaps it was the shock, the fact that they had thought it was over, or that the Uchiha would never attack a comrade from behind, especially with a jutsu that could end his life.
But Sasuke did that.
"Sasuke, don't!" Mikoto shouted, her reaction was far faster.
It was the sound of her crying voice that even snapped Naruto's attention away from his mother. But by the time he sensed what was going on, Mikoto was already standing behind him, her back against his, and Sasuke just away from her. The Lightning Blade striking towards her belly. The Uchiha had wide eyes, but he could not stop the jutsu from hitting his mother.
At that moment, he was certain; he was going to kill his mother.
Naruto's reaction was instantaneous. He waved his right back behind him, acting as if he was going to slap Mikoto with the back of his hand, but an invisible force of wind hit the woman. The force hit her dead on, sending her flying to the side. Naruto hadn't measured anything; his focus had been to get her out of the way from the jutsu he could sense.
Mikoto did not hit the ground or anything; she was caught in the gentle grasp of Tsunade. She had been told the woman was carrying a child, it would be reckless to allow her to fall in the pace she had been. A lot has happened, but she didn't want to jeopardize the young's life after everything.
Kushina's eyes widened in shock when she saw Sasuke's hand sticking out of Naruto's gut. IT had happened so fast for her, but she was shocked. Her body trembled violently when blood started gushing out, not only from his wound, but from his mouth as well. The life in his eyes dimmed slightly.
Kushina's heart raced as she rushed towards her son.
Sasuke removed his hand from Naruto's body and took a step back. His body trembled. The anger that had driven him to act had now disappeared, a look of shock and fear had a firm grip on him. Naruto wasn't healing. The crimson chakra that had popped up and regenerated his wounds wasn't healing him, it wasn't doing anything.
The Uchiha's rush of adrenaline stopped, and the pain came back at full force and he fell on both his knees.
Naruto only took a single step forward before his mother caught him, but the blond could not balance himself and so, he fell on her. Kushina didn't have the energy so she fell backwards with Naruto landing atop of her. Her eyes widened, when she felt Naruto's blood dripping from his mouth dropped her face.
She brought out her hands they two were painted red in blood.
Naruto's eyes were now closed. "I-Im sorry, m-moth…" he trailed off as unconsciousness gripped him.
Tsunade made sure Mikoto was safe before moving to Sasuke. She grabbed him by the throat, strangling him in anger. She nearly crushed his throat in her anger, but she stopped herself. Instead, she slammed him down the ground with all the energy she could muster.
She turned to her Anbu. "Take him to Ibiki!"
Mikoto tried to get up to plead for her son. "But his wounds!" He may have gone too far but he was still her son. She could not simply watch him being taken away from her without putting a fight. What kind of a mother would that make her?
"I don't care! He isn't dying anyway." The Godaime barked forcefully. "Take him away now before I smack him six feet under!" The Anbu didn't waste a second, they quickly took away the Uchiha.
Tsunade rushed over to Naruto, her hands already glowing green.
A week later
Tsunade stretched the curtains to the small room within the hospital, allowing the sun to get inside the room. She stared at the outside for a moment before shaking her head. The Godaime Hokage turned around and faced Naruto – who has been in the bed for at least a week now.
At least there was no one by his side today. She was tired of having to order the people closest to him to go home and get some rest. She had to end up knocking out Kushina when the woman wouldn't leave her son's side. Well, the situation had been bad that she had to sweat hard when closing his wounds. He even still had a scar on his body.
Well, he would show it to the child Mikoto was going to be giving birth to and tell that child that it was the wound his/her brother gave to him when she realized that the child had been conceived.
Tsunade stared at the blond for a long minute. How had he even managed to do it though? Mikoto was even older than Kushina, sure, she still looked great, but she was his mother's best friend and his partner's mother, yet he got her pregnant. He was going to be a father of an Uchiha.
The Godaime shook her head before walking up to his side. Her right hand glowed light green as she placed her fingers on his forehead. When she removed her hand, the blond's eyes slowly opened.
Naruto groaned as he tried to get up.
"I wouldn't move carelessly if I were you." Tsunade said in a stern tone. "You still need to stay here for a day or two before we can release you. You did suffer a life-threatening wound. If I say another person would have died from that wound, I would not be exaggerating."
This was the reason she had instructed her Anbu to take Sasuke straight to Ibiki for some 'treatment' of his. They were solving their matters and perhaps Sasuke was finally letting all the pent-up frustrations he has been feeling because of Naruto's treatment towards him but it did not excuse him stabbing the blond on his back when the fight was over.
Naruto could have been killed.
Perhaps his lack of control over his emotions was the reason Naruto refused to treat him equally. Tsunade would not say the Uchiha overreacted. Her own reactions to some troubling situations would not make her a compelling judge of others.
Naruto's eyes turned towards the blonde Hokage for a moment before staring into the ceiling. "How long have I been out?" He asked quietly.
"About a week." Tsunade said with a bit of indifference. "I was even planning on giving you reward along with Jiraiya on your job well-done in taking care of the Akatsuki's leader, but things happened." She shook her head. "Couldn't you find girls your age?"
Girls his age? They were children who couldn't understand him or even handle him. It was all about fun for them and Naruto really didn't have the time to babysit children. Besides that, the thing with Mikoto had happened unexpectedly before anything and he found himself enjoying it. He could not tell the difference between her and a young person because he had never been with someone younger.
Mikoto was the standard.
Naruto hadn't been interested in learning anything about women before Mikoto opened his eyes. Had it not been for her, nothing with Yugao would have started because he would have remained ignorant and he wouldn't have given the thought of relationships any time. Mikoto made him think about them.
"They are children…" Naruto said. "Well, Ino is grown and her company isn't all bad. She is a rather attractive young woman… I wonder if her training with Sai is going well…" the blond then shrugged.
Tsunade shook her head. "Give it some thought, will you?"
"There is nothing to think about. What happened has happened. It cannot be changed and to be honest, I don't regret it in any way. What happened afterwards is a little regrettable, but I don't regret what I did with Mikoto. It was truly a life changing experience that opened my eyes."
"You sound like a love-sick child." Tsunade was quick to say.
Naruto turned to face the Godaime. "Are you mad that you didn't get the chance to be the one to open my eyes? It isn't too late to join the party. Though, I think this time around, I will be fighting with Jiraiya…"
Tsunade was a little caught off-guard by the statement but she quickly shook her head, snapping her thoughts out of it. "Don't even joke about something like that." She said sternly. "I'm surprised you make jokes though."
"I wasn't making a joke." Naruto said, staring at the Godaime with an expressionless mask.
"…"
Naruto smiled. "Of course, I'm just kidding… It is the bitterness I feel over the fall over that I need to find something amusing. That has never been a cue for problems. I have always considered plots as a way to correct some situations, but this one appears to be beyond me."
Tsunade shook her head.
"Why was I out for that long?" Naruto asked the Godaime Hokage. "It shouldn't have taken me that long to recover from that wound."
"That wasn't the only wound you suffered but I won't get to that." Tsunade said. "Why didn't the Kyubi heal you?"
"It said I would not die from that wound and the battle with Sasuke was over so there was no need for that. Besides, I think it was a little angry that I let an Uchiha get behind me. Since that incident years ago, the Bijuu has not been fond of Uchihas…" Naruto responded indifferently. "Besides that, you should know it was good for my health that I heal naturally."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow at those last words. "So you do know what happens when the Kyubi instantly heals you like that."
Naruto nodded. "Of course, I do. I'm not a medic, but I have not been accused of stupidity. I would not use a power and not know how it affects my body. It isn't when it heals me, but when I use it in its raw form, it burns through by body like those flames of Sasuke and then afterwards, heals me completely.
"This reduces my lifespan each time it happens. Well, there is always a price one has to pay for great power. The Kyubi's power is still great and when I use it by forcing it out of the seal, it hurts me. This is one of the reasons; I have not been using it that often. I will still need to find a way to use it in a safe way."
"Is there really a need for that?" Tsunade asked. "The Akatsuki's leader is gone. We can just pick out their members one by one now."
The criminal organization had been the only thing that had been troubling them, so with them out of the picture, there was no need to have any fears. They could return to their peace. There were no troubles with any other Hidden village to suggest that there could be a war soon. They could just return things to normal after all these.
Since Konoha was also going to return the Bijuus that had been captured by the Akatsuki, they would earn a few favours in other villages. The Raikage wasn't the one who was going to say much because of his attitude, but Tsunade had no problems with the man nevertheless. Their history wasn't that bad, so they could maintain some relationship.
"We are living in the shinobi world, Godaime. Anything can happen. Yesterday, it was the Akatsuki, the next day it could be someone else. It is never wrong to be on the safe side of things." Naruto responded calmly.
"You'll just become paranoid if you think like that. It is true that most humans are corrupted to the core but it doesn't mean that we can't live happy lives."
"I didn't say you can't. Maybe i am just a little extreme in my ways."
Tsunade shook her head. "Get some rest. I need you operating at maximum capacity so that we can go to Kiri for our alliance and treaty negotiations. If things go smoothly, I will even let you handle things without my presence needed and leave the judgement to you on what to do."
Naruto raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. He certainly didn't expect the woman to say something like that to him, not when she didn't trust him. Sure, their relationship was fine, but that didn't translate to trust. It was nothing more than an agreement between the two of them because even though they didn't want the same things, their paths still crossed in a good way.
"I did not expect to find myself in that kind of a role within the Hidden Leaf." Naruto responded calmly. "Well, I was planning on doing it, but not on official capacity."
Tsunade shrugged. "It would be a waste not to use your capabilities to get Konoha more allies." The Godaime said. "Besides, you have more than one reason now to stay within Konoha." She said with a smile. "Since now it is certain that you won't be going anywhere, I have no choice but to trust you with official work for the Hidden Leaf."
Naruto didn't find that a good reason for smiling. It was good for Tsunade but not for him. Naruto didn't like it one bit, especially since Tsunade was already highlighting it within just days of learning about it. There was no doubt she was talking about Mikoto and the child forming inside of her.
He wasn't going to leave Konoha with Mikoto staying behind. He would be forced to remain within the Hidden Leaf and work for its safety and smooth relations with the other Great Nations. The only good thing was that he wasn't dealing with someone like the Sandaime and that there was nothing sinister the Godaime was thinking.
"A little more of trust, huh?" Naruto said to himself. "I had planned on making a move on Iwagakure as well. Well, not the Tsuchikage. He is a stubborn old man. I'd end up insulting him if I had to face him. Same thing for the Raikage. On a good day, A is a reasonable person but there are some matters in which he can be difficult.
"In any case, I had planned on meeting with Kurotsuchi soon. I was simply waiting for her to leave the Earth country and then I could sneak up on her." Naruto explained in a light tone. "Out of all the villages, Iwa is the only village which can start trouble with us given our history with them. I thought if I was able to make something, it would avoid anything unnecessary in the future."
Tsunade stared at Naruto for a long minute before shaking her head. "Just focus on resting for now… we will talk about those things once you're out."
Naruto didn't respond to the instruction from the Godaime. "What is the official story?"
"A mystery." Tsunade said with a smile. "It caused me a headache but it has only been confirmed as an 'incident' nothing more and nothing less. We don't want to bring shame to the Uchiha clan. Mikoto isn't just a former wife of the Uchiha head, she has become the clan head. If something like this becomes known, it will not be good for her clan."
Naruto merely nodded. It was best that way. That probably meant he wasn't even going to say anything to anyone but this would remain a secret. People would wonder who the father is, but as long as Mikoto kept it tight, no one would validate anything.
The Child just had to be born with black hair and black eyes and everything would be alight.
When Tsunade left the room, Naruto threw the sheets away. He wasn't going to stay in the hospital because she had given him that instruction. He needed to go home and solve matters that needed to be solved. There were still going to be some boiling emotions that needed to be calmed before things could settle down.
He was even worried about his mother. She was hurt by his actions and he had to apologize for it. He had caused her much pain even though he had sworn to protect her. In the end, he was the one who hurt her more by being foolish and allowing the pleasures of being human to get the better of him.
Naruto shook his head as he got up. He winced, his stiff muscles locked up a bit. He was certainly not used to staying at one place. He was always moving about.
The blond Uzumaki sat at the edge of the bed. Before he could get out, Sasuke walked in the room, his movements uncomfortable and the knee he had damaged heavily bandaged. The Uchiha glared at Naruto for a moment.
Naruto was amused than anything. "You should get a walking stick for that one." The blond said in an amused tone. "Or is it perhaps that the mighty Uchiha doesn't want to be seen walking with a stick like an old man?"
Sasuke continued glaring at Naruto for a long minute. He waited for the blond to get out of the bed. Naruto stopped just in beside the Uchiha and pointed at the door. "Walk out. I cannot trust you with my back. Who knows, you might stab me again and this time, I may actually die."
"Your sarcasm isn't amusing." Sasuke stated in a bitter tone. "But you deserved it anyway. And I will not apologize for reacting the way I did. You crossed a line that should not be crossed."
He would not forgive Naruto for sleeping with his mother and getting her pregnant. He refused to blame her. She was a lonely woman and Naruto probably took advantage of her. It didn't matter what she said, but he would never forgive the blond. He would die resenting him for the sin he committed. Sasuke sure even his beloved brother would have been disgusted.
"I wasn't looking for an apology." Naruto said with a shrug as the two walked through the passages of the hospital – Sasuke limping all the way. "In some ways, I could understand your reaction. I had expected as such, but had I not been caught off-guard by my mother's reaction, I would have responded kindly.
"In any case, had it been me in your position, I wouldn't have just exploded in anger – I would have brutalised you and made sure that you never sleep with anyone again." The blond narrowed his eyes towards the Uchiha. "If you have those thoughts, crush them."
Sasuke snorted. "Regardless of how it looked, I won our fight. It was your fault for turning your back on me. Every shinobi knows not to show your back to the enemy. At that moment, we were enemies, you were just naïve… but I guess I took it too far."
Naruto didn't respond.
He stayed silent as they navigated out of the hospital. He stopped just after a few steps out of the building and closed his eyes enjoying the fresh air that did not smell sickness and pain. "It was rather brutal of you to set me alight with Amaterasu."
"Why are you complaining? You healed quickly and you're not limping. This is going to affect me for the rest of my life. I might not even fully heal…"
Naruto shrugged with indifference. "I could have just cut it off." The blond said.
Sasuke was just exaggerating. With Tsunade's skills, the Uchiha would be fine soon. It could be that she just wanted him to heal naturally.
Sasuke's Sharingan came to life and spun mercilessly for a couple of seconds. He was seriously contemplating on lunging at the blond. He could move without anyone stopping him. Naruto wasn't at full capacity, he could do some damage. He could even just set the Uzumaki alight again with the flames of Amaterasu.
"Just know that even though it costs me dearly, I can heal from burns; if I set you alight in your sleep, you won't heal." Naruto said in a dead tone.
Sasuke stopped walking for a moment and stared at the blond.
"Of course, I'm just kidding." Naruto said. "Then, what do you want from me, Sasuke?"
Sasuke caught up with the blond and then spoke. "What you did with my mother will bring shame to my clan and I will never forgive you for it. I will resent you for it even if I die, I will resent you in the afterlife. Even though I won't forgive you, I still want you to get on your knees, and apologize before our mother's."
"I will apologize but I will not bow before you Sasuke. You have not become lord of Uzumaki Naruto. I admit that things went out of hand, but if you're looking for me to kiss your behind, you can screw yourself because I will not satisfy you in that manner."
Naruto wasn't going to tell Sasuke that his mother was the one who undressed him and showed him everything. He wasn't going to be like that, he was going to accept responsibility for his part, but nothing more than that. Sasuke wasn't going to get worshiped because he has made faults.
Sasuke sighed. "I figured you'd say something like that. But I did not expect that kind of a language. Has being stabbed in the back affected your attitude?" The Uchiha asked. "If I had known, I would have stabbed you long time ago since you have always treated me like crap."
It has always been like that, hasn't it? He had never thought of changing it. Perhaps it was his clouded thoughts or something else. "When we were younger, you deserved to be treated like crap because you had a bothersome attitude. Maybe your growth made me a little envious of you. Unlike you, I have no bloodline, but must depend on the Kyubi's power when things get tough. There's that and maybe messing with you was just a way to confirm my superiority."
The Uzumaki shook his head. "For now, I have a lot in my mind. I must change my priorities and my thinking because I am going to enter a stage in my life that I didn't dream of entering. I guess for the first time in many years, I'm a little confused and unfocused."
"That I do not doubt." Sasuke said. The fact that the blond was even telling him this was proof enough. "It is still surprising though."
Naruto shook his head. There was nothing surprising about it. He had done something a child his age shouldn't have done. It was the low moral standards in the shinobi world, or perhaps with people. Had things been different with the way people chose to live their lives, how he chose to live his life, things wouldn't have turned out like this.
Perhaps he has grown conformed to the fact that the shinobi world is a world full of many flaws and a world where anything goes. But what was wrong with the world? Naruto had longed believed that nature itself wasn't corrupt but the people were the ones who were corrupt. This was why he sometimes entertained the idea of reducing the human population.
"Why did you come to see me, Sasuke?" Naruto asked. "Considering everything, things should be different."
"They are different: you're not talking to me like a child and you're not the one to hold grudges, so I don't think we are going to have a problem. On another matter, my mother has made it clear to me that you're going to be a part of our lives, so being repulsed by your very presence isn't going to do me anything. However, that doesn't mean that I plan on forgiving you."
Naruto smiled.
How interesting life was. He didn't think things would come to this point. Given the developments of recent, it was now apparent that he no longer needed Sasuke and he really had to pull through to change things. He had no other way of going about things.
It was no longer just his mother to protect: He had to think about Yugao, Mikoto and her child. Things were like that. A teenage boy was going to be a father with an old woman who was old enough to be his mother. How twisted were people?
No, how twisted was he?
Naruto found it bitterly amusing that he hadn't had a problem in sleeping with Mikoto. She had said that if it felt good, there was nothing wrong with it. He agreed with her, but now because she had something growing inside of her, he was starting to see the wrong side of it.
Wasn't he convenient?
The thought had a sarcastic tone in it.
"You've made your point clear." Naruto said calmly. "Can I go home now? I have a lot to answer for with my mother and sincere apologies to issue out."
Sasuke thought of rolling his eyes but he didn't –he just shook his head. "Home is the Senju compound. They moved out of your house two days ago."
Naruto nodded. "Before you go, Sasuke." Naruto said to the Uchiha. "Have our mother's spoke?"
He was worried about it. He didn't know what would have happened if they spoke. His mother was probably still hurt and angry and Mikoto would be avoiding his mother to give her some space. But in his return, they would be forced to confront each other.
Naruto was hoping that they had spoken and things were sorted out so that he didn't have to rack his head trying to solve the matters.
"Our mothers?" Sasuke asked. "Don't you mean your girlfriend and your mother?" The Uchiha asked in a bit of a sarcastic tone.
Naruto blinked at the response from the Uchiha. He certainly hadn't been expecting it since the Uchiha had given him the impression that he was the one to blame for this mess, not Mikoto. "I thought we were playing blame Naruto."
Sasuke glared. "It is your fault!" The Uchiha shouted. Sasuke quickly calmed himself. "It just ticked me off when you said that so casually. You know you don't treat her as my mother but your girlfriend. So, trying to play that card ticks me off."
Naruto stared. "Really, Sasuke? You want me to call your mother my girlfriend. You want me to come to your home and ask, 'yoh, Sasuke, where is my girlfriend?"
Lightning crackled on the palm of Sasuke's hand. He was glaring murderously at Naruto. "I swear on my brother's name, if you say that again, I will murder you!"
Naruto shook his head. "Enjoy your day, Sasuke…" He said turning away from the Uchiha. "You really have my sincere apologies."
End of chapter
That ends the chapter. I wasn't sure on how to go about things between Naruto and Sasuke, but I thought things would be much more interesting if things went along this way.
Thanks for the reviews.
As I said in chapter 28, there won't be any chapter until August.
The Omnipresent Sage
