Shadow
Naruto eyes slowly began to open. The first thing he sees is a white ceiling. He couldn't remember what happened. His memory is foggy except about the glowing figure that sliced him. He can still feel it on his chest, burning into him. He felt like half his body was numb.
"Naruto! Your awake!" Ino spoke sitting next to him.
"I-ino?" Naruto said confused seeing her in his left.
"You sure gave us a scare Naruto" Shikamaru spoke with a smile.
"Shikamaru?" He spoke confused.
"Glad to have you back, Naruto" Tsunade spoke with her arms crossed under her breast.
"G-gran.." he spoke but stopped remembering he is still angry at her.
Tsunade felt hurt by that however ignored it for now so she can discuss pressing matters like what happened to Naruto. She was stunned getting a distress call from Shikamaru about the mission. She called the anbu the instant he said that the cave they entered collapsed. It was a good thing he had a communicator. She knew it was a good idea to send Shikamaru. She was relief that the three weren't badly injured just some scratches and bruises. That soon changed when Naruto wasn't waking up. The anbu brought Naruto to the infirmary so she can analyse him but found nothing and was worried why he isn't waking up.
"W-what happened" Naruto said slowly sat up, leaning against the wall.
"The cave we went in caved in once you grabbed the scroll" Shikamaru spoke.
"The scroll...we found it!..where is it!" Naruto said in a worried tone.
"Naruto..it's in your hand" Ino point out looking at the scroll.
Naruto looked down and saw the scroll in his right hand. He is surprised not feeling it before. He slowly loosened the hold on it and brought it close to him.
"Ever since you grabbed that scroll, we couldn't take it from you without sawing your hand off so we decided to wait for you to wake up" Tsunade told him.
Naruto didnt respond to her and kept looking at the scroll with interest. It wasn't that amazing. It looked like any other scroll. He wonders if what's inside is more amazing. His curiosity pushed him in unrolling the scroll that holds the god like power.
"Naruto, what are you doing!?" Tsunade said shocked about him opening the ancient scroll.
He didn't stop and continued unrolling it until it was flattened out. His eyes blinked from confusion of what he's staring at. He brought it lower allowing everyone else to see it. There is a drawing of a person's outline on the scroll. There are twelve circles on certain parts of the drawn figure. Three were on each arm with the third circle right on the shoulder. One on the center of the chest. One on both knees and another on both ankles. The final one is on the forehead.
"That's it.."Ino said disappointed on what the contents is.
"How can this be the godlike power" Shikamaru said feeling the same way has Ino.
"This doesn't make sense" Tsunade spoke shock at the contents.
While the three looked at the image with puzzled looks, Naruto saw something they couldn't. Through his eyes, he can see writing in each circle. He is confused why they couldn't and he can. His eyes soon landed on a certain word near the bottom right corner of the scroll. "Uzumaki.." he thought reading the word.
"I guess the power is a myth then" Tsunade said sighing.
"Can I keep it?" Naruto asked her.
"Why do you want it?"
"Uh, well..just so I can have it has a decoration..ah, ah" he said laughing nervously.
"Hmm..well there's no harm by it..fine"
Naruto nodded and folded up the scroll and brought his legs to the side of the bed, touching the floor with his feet. He got up and stretched his body from the long sleep he had. He realized the burning sensation on his chest is gone and couldn't be happier.
"Well i must be going now" he said walking out of the room.
While Naruto was leaving the room, Shikamaru notice something off about him. He couldn't quite place it and looked at Ino who had her head facing Naruto. "She probably thinks the same thing" he thought but what he didn't know is that Ino didn't. In fact, she couldn't stop remembering him sleeping. The way he looked so cute and relax stayed in her mind. How his whiskers move slightly when he breaths. She wanted to touch them but restrained herself.
Ever since Naruto saved the hidden leaf, she slowly began harbouring feelings for him. This wasn't some rebound crush from Sasuke. Her feelings for him ended when he left the village. During the three years, Ino began to mature along with her perspective on life like her perspective of Naruto who doesn't know she has a crush on him.
OOO
Naruto exits from the Hokage building and started walking back to his apartment where he thinks would be the best place to sort out his thoughts about the scroll. "Why was I the only person to see writing on the scroll instead everyone else and why did it say Uzumaki" he thought until he heard a voice.
"Because you're an Uzumaki"
Naruto stopped walking after hearing an unfamiliar voice sounding like a male, in his head. He looked at his surroundings trying to see if anyone is following him. He slowly brought the scroll he is holding inside of his jacket. He wasn't sure if the unknown person was an enemy or a friend.
"Don't worry, I'm not here for the scroll"
Naruto eyes widen after hearing the voice again and spun around. The voice didn't sound threatening instead sounded like he knew him. His eyes landed on a shadow in the corner of the fence. He bet that the person is behind the fence.
"Find you!" He shouted and ran to the corner.
Once he did, he saw no one in the corner. He blinked multiple times to seeing if his eyes weren't fooling him. His eyes widen after feeling something grabbing his left arm. He looked at his left and saw an arm coming out of the fence. It freaked him out seeing it. He didn't know how to react against this.
"Let's talk somewhere else"
Soon Naruto is pulled into the fence until he can no longer be seen.
OOO
"Waaaaahhh!..(smash)" Naruto said hitting the ground.
He sat up and rubbed his head. Once he took in his surroundings he is surprised where he is. "This is the Hokage monument" he thought looking over the hidden leaf. Since there is hardly any people that comes here, he doesn't get interrupted making this the perfect spot where he can sort through his thoughts in peace.
After the mission in retrieving Sasuke failed, he began thinking more on how to get him back which soon turned into planning how to get stronger, why does he feel lonely even though he got the acknowledgement of his village, his love life involving how to get Sakura and much more.
"This spot is much better, don't you say"
Naruto flinched hearing the voice again and turned his head around. He still didn't find the person talking to him and felt has if he is being watched from all around.
"(Sigh)..im down here blondy"
"Uh" Naruto said hearing the voice in front of him.
He looked down and saw a shadow that didn't look like him. He stared at it with confusion not understanding what was going on.
"You want me to go first, ok fine...I'm Shadow, get it because I'm a Shadow"
Wind pass by the two with Naruto not reacting to his bad joke.
"Uh,ok.. Shadow, how do you know my name and how are you talking in my head?"
"I have telepathy so that's why you hear my voice in your head...and your name well, since your friends back at the hospital called you Naruto, I guessed that would be your name"
"Wait, you were at the hospital?"
"Yup"
"Why, how?, There wasn't anyone else in the room" he said confused.
"Remember, a Shadow"
"Oh ya"
"And how, well when you opened that scroll of yours, I entered this world"
"This scroll..(took it out)..were you in it?" Naruto asked curiously.
"In a way"
"Why were you in it?"
"Because of the power, it can give to the wrong person that would abuse it"
"The power but it's nothing but circles"
"But the information in the circles is what is important, you can read it, right"
"Ya"
"Do you know why you can and your friends can't"
Naruto just nodded wanting to find the answer.
"It's because only people with the Uzumaki name can read it..this scroll was created by the Uzumaki clan, they discovered that in everyone there is limit to the power they can conjure up..they call it seals, in that scroll the circles indicates where the seals are in our bodies"
Naruto began unraveling it and the image of the person with the seals is shown.
"During the years when the Uzumaki clan existed they revealed what each seal are...since I'm not a Uzumaki I can't read it but I heard that some of the seals give a boost in chakra, strength and agility and others gives the user the power to use all types of jutsu's"
"We all have that inside of us" Naruto said amazed.
"Yes but with having great power there is also risks"
"Risk?..what kind" Naruto asked afraid of the answer.
"Once the Uzumaki clan created the scroll, they tested it on themselves...and do you want to know the result of the test"
Naruto swallowed, feeling a little uneasy from the serious tone from Shadow.
"The result ended with their lives or a disability, there were no successful results...that's why the twelve seals jutsu, which they call it, became forbidden"
"If that jutsu cause so much life's being lost, why didn't they destroy it"
"Not even i know the answer..now that you know the result of having that in your hands, what are you going to do with it?"
"I-i wasn't planning on using it or learning it, after seeing the Uzumaki name on it..I thought it would lead me to the identity of my mother since I know my father isn't a Uzumaki so my mother must be, that's why…"
"If the scroll would help you in the search of your mother"
"Ya..(looking down)..ever since I found out who my father was, I wanted to know who my Mother was...I've been alone for all my life, I just wanted to know who my parents were and why they left me"
"I understand"
"Y-you do..(looking at the shadow)"
"Because I do I know that this search of yours isn't going to be easy"
"what do you mean?" Naruto questioned.
"When you took, and saw the contents of the scroll...you unlock something that should never be unlocked"
"Eh?"
"Understand this Naruto, if you want to know who your mother was than you must go to your village"
"The hidden leaf?"
"No..I'm talking about the Uzumaki village"
Naruto eyes widen with shock. He never thought in visiting the Uzumaki Village or even thought it ever existed. All what Shadow told him is still sinking in. He didn't have time to think about a village that might possibly be out there somewhere.
"Why exactly?"
"Because Tsunade isn't going to tell you"
"How do you know that"
"I'm not just a Shadow Naruto...you will get to know me more in the Journey you're going to be taken"
"My Journey..wait, wait a minute.."
"You don't have the luxury in choosing. Just think of me has a guide to your mother's identity, you do want to know who your mother was, right?"
Naruto hesitated at the question. He didn't know why since he knew the answer. He just felt that something is off about Shadow. If he agrees, he wonders what will happen next.
"If I go on this journey..what will exactly happen?"
Shadow didn't respond as quickly. Naruto felt like he wouldn't like the answer from his long pause.
"Your leave of the hidden leaf village and a ninja"