Chapter III - Orange Flash & Crimson Eyes
The audience of the Brandishing Ceremony piled out of the temple grounds like a startled stampede in the jungle. Why they ran was obvious – the shogun's head laid at the foot of the temple's steps.
While the crowd ran away in a frenzy, every guard on duty rushed to the front of the temple to see where all the chaos was erupting from.
Only three people stayed inside the temple grounds: the confused Naruto, the bewildered Konohamaru, and the appalled Shisui.
The latter peered up at Sasuke who lashed Danzo's blood off his newly gifted sword with a single stroke, and used the shogun's robe to wipe his face clean. He looked down at the temple grounds in time to see Fu entering alongside the rest of the guards. When he saw Danzo's head, grief struck the adviser's face, followed by boiling rage.
"What are you fools doing?! Seize him!" Fu dictated. "Don't let Sasuke Uchiha escape!"
The guards rushed the steps in pursuit of the shogun-slayer. Sasuke sized the men up with one look, then sheathed his sword. Pacifying them all without any blood spill would be impossible, even for him. He stepped over Danzo's beheaded corpse and ran away into the temple, over ten guards hot on his tail.
"Sasuke! Wait!" Shisui cried while trying to head up the stairs. Three guards remained and took the role of blockades. "Get out of my way! I have to reach Sasuke!"
Shisui pathetically tried to squirm his way through. Meanwhile, Naruto was inching away from the scene.
He put a hand on his young companion's shoulder. "Konohamaru, we need to get out of here. ...Konohamaru?"
Konohamaru kept his feet rooted where they were. Only a few feet away, staring blankly at him, was Danzo Shimura's head. How pathetic his expression was. He had no idea what was going to take place tonight, and now he was nothing but a memory. A memory that Konohamaru couldn't touch. He had come here dead-set on assassinating the shogun, but Sasuke Uchiha had beat him to the punch.
His clan, his grandfather – there was no way for the youth to avenge any of them now.
His hands trembled. "...w-what am I supposed to now? Grandpa's life, everyone's life: they all mean nothing now...!"
Fu's thoughts were still hectic when he finally noticed a familiar face sulking on the other side of the temple grounds. Several ideas hit him at that moment, but the most boisterous was: Hiruzen Sarutobi's grandson must be working with Sasuke Uchiha.
He called out to the guards in front of the steps. "Over there is member of the traitorous Sarutobi clan! Capture him as well!"
While two guards pinned Shisui down, the other one went after Naruto and Konohamaru. Finally understanding his situation, the survivor of the Sarutobi clan went to draw his sword. Naruto held him back and shouted "Lee!"
A whirlwind of leaves kicked up in-between them and the guard. A ninja, oddly dressed in green, appeared and knocked the guard away with a single gust invoking kick.
"Hmph!" Rock Lee took a fighting stance. "I have has arrived!"
Naruto dug Gamatatsu out of his kimono, and handed him over to Konohamaru.
"Lee, look after Konohamaru for me," he said while running toward the stairs.
"Naruto! Where are you going?" a confused Konohamaru asked.
Naruto grinned. "Didn't I say I was gonna find out what a Hodaiichi was?"
One of the guards who was pinning down Shisui hurried up the stairs after Naruto, but the blonde kicked him square in the nose and sent him tumbling down like the shogun's head. Naruto kept his grip steady on his swords while he ran inside of the temple.
The search for Sasuke had gotten intense inside the temple. Every room was checked and every exit was sealed. The search had come up fruitless, however. Two disappointed guards took their search to a spacious room that contained a large statue of the Indra, the God of Rain.
"Seriously, where did that son of a bitch disappear to?" one of the guards asked.
"Did you check the shogun's dressing room?" asked the second guard.
"Yeah, and his own dressing room before that." The first guard leaned against a wide pillar. "Maybe he already escaped."
"No way. There's only two ways out of this temple, and we've got guards posted at both of them."
"Yeah... about that... What exactly are those guards supposed to do if Sasuke Uchiha decides to just run them through? He was supposed to be the Hodaiichi. Can foot soldiers like us even touch that kid?"
The second guard made an uncomfortable noise. "...hey, why do you think that brat killed the shogun?"
"Is him being a son of a bitch not enough of a reason?"
"Well, you know..." The second guard looked down. "It just doesn't make sense for him to play 'good boy' for Danzo as long as he did just to kill him during his own Brandishing Ceremony. Maybe..."
The second guard heard a grunt, followed by a thud and looked back up. The shogun-slayer was standing over his partner, his sheathed sword in his grip. While trying to lower his sasumata, the pummel of Sasuke's katana smashed against his jaw, and the guard hit the floor unconscious, just like his partner.
Sasuke's thoughts began to ramble. 'So both the exits are blocked...Getting through without killing one or two guys is going to be tough. Maybe there's another route I can take...?'
Sasuke looked around the room for the brief moment. He eyes eventually rested upon the large statue of Indra. The Rain God's eyes were forever fierce, shooting a damning glare at all who prayed before him. Sasuke withstood the glare with ease. He recalled a pair of eyes that were much more intimidating than Indra's.
Sasuke heard a caw. He looked towards the corner and saw a crow skipping about the room, a dead mouse in its beak. It flew to the top of Indra's head. It looked at Sasuke once before cawing again and flying straight up.
'It didn't hit anything. Does that mean there's opening above Indra's head?'
Sasuke walked up to the statue of Indra for a closer look. When he saw the broken ceiling panel, he started climbing into Indra's lap.
Sasuke had crawled through the ceiling until he eventually found a way onto the roof. The night breeze was a pleasant contrast to the humidity of the temple. It was especially wide. So wide that it would be impossible for anyone to see Sasuke so long as he stayed away from the edges.
Slipping down from the roof and jumping the gate was all that stood between him and escaping the capital now.
As started approaching the ledge, a boisterous "I finally caught up to you!" came from behind him.
Sasuke looked back. Climbing onto the roof through the same hole Sasuke had used was an spikey-haired blonde in an orange kimono.
"I came into that room in time to see you disappear into the ceiling," the noisy samurai said while trying to get his bottom of his kimono free. "Talk about a lucky break!"
'This guy... he was at the Brandishing Ceremony,' Sasuke thought while watching him.
After dusting cobwebs out of his hair, the blonde stared intently at Sasuke. While he didn't share the blonde's passion, Sasuke shared his gaze. The staring contest was in its own right a battle; one that neither samurai backed down from.
"So you were considered good enough to become the Hodaiichi, huh?" the blonde asked.
"And what's it to you?"
"What's it to me...?" The blonde hummed. "I've kinda been wondering that myself. I only found out what a Hodaiichi was this morning. I guess... because my old man was one, I've suddenly become obsessed with the whole thing."
"Your father was the Hodaiichi?" Sasuke lowered his brows. He looked at the man before him with a keen eye, then he gave a grasping "Ah..."
The breeze rustled Sasuke's hair. "Yeah... I remember a guy who was Hodaiichi, and he looked a lot like you. He was even blonde."
The blonde gave a surprised look. "You knew my old man?!"
"By the time I was old enough to know your dad, he had already been rotting in a prison cell for four years. I do remember going to his execution though. My older brother took me. He told me it was something I needed to hold to my memory. I still don't get the significance of that day. To me, it just like a traitor was getting what was coming to him."
The blonde took a threatening step forward. "I dare you to say that again...!"
"What? Your father getting executed, or him being a traitor?"
"My old man... My father isn't a traitor!"
"Hmph. You talk like you were there. It's not like I'm looking down on the Fourth Hodaiichi. After all, I just killed the shogun. I'm no better than he is."
"What a load of crap! My old man got sentenced to death because of the shitty shogunate who just wanted to flaunt their power! You; you're just a murderer. A guy like you doesn't deserve a title like Hodaiichi."
"Did you become the shogun all the sudden? It's now up to you who does and doesn't become the Hodaiichi now?"
"Ya damn straight it is!"
Sasuke raised a brow. Who was this oaf? He obviously wasn't a guard, yet he chased Sasuke all the way onto the roof of the temple. He didn't look like a member of any Hinokuni's prominent clans, yet he had more pride than anyone Sasuke had ever met. Whoever he was or wherever he came from, Sasuke understood one thing about this man: he was an idiot.
He showed the loud mouth his back. "I've got no time for you."
"Hold up! Take back what you said about my old man," the oaf demanded.
"And if I don't?"
Sasuke could the sound of a sword being unsheathed.
"Then I'll just have to make you..."
Sasuke smiled lightly. "Make me, huh? And just who are you supposed to be again?"
"Naruto Uzumaki, the Orange Flash of Uzushio. What about you, wise ass?"
"Sasuke Uchiha of Konoha's Uchiha clan. …well? You just going to stand there with that sword in your hand all night, or are you a coward on top of being the son of a traitor?"
Naruto gritted his teeth to the point that his canines were visible, and lunged after Sasuke. Sasuke put one hand on his hilt and another under the guard. When Naruto swung his blade at the Uchiha's neck, the sound of clashing steel was heard, and his sword ricocheted; sparks lighting up its steel.
Naruto hopped back a step, then sprung after Sasuke's shoulder this time. The same clang was followed by Naruto's sword bouncing back once again. Naruto growled in frustration then drew his second sword. He rushed Sasuke who still had his back turned and began hacking away.
Each strike, stroke, slice and slash got parried before Naruto's steel could even tickle Sasuke's flesh. The blonde samurai saw a glint out of the corner of his eye and quickly back-flipped away.
When Naruto felt his cheek, there was blood on his fingertips. '...I get it now. This guy uses iaido. He unsheathes his sword, attacks, then resheathes it before I can even see it. Normal swordsmanship won't be enough to keep up with him.'
Naruto licked the blood off his fingers. "I guess I'll have to use it..."
Naruto started taking irregular steps forward. It was if he was stepping back, stepping left and stepping right all while walking forward. After a while, Sasuke noticed that Naruto's footsteps had multiplied; as though there was a third person on the roof. He sensed Naruto's about to attack him again, and prepared to draw his sword. Then he realized the number of incoming katana had changed.
Instead of two, four blades rained down over Sasuke's back. Knowing better than to try and parry with his back turned, Sasuke rolled forward and faced Naruto finally.
"Hah! Finally got you to turn around!" Naruto boasted.
Sasuke gave a surprised look. A second Naruto was standing next to the first Naruto. He had the same blonde hair, the same whiskers, the same orange kimono, the same two katana in his grasp, and the same smirk on his face. After a moment, the figure began to flicker and eventually vanished like smoke.
Sasuke slowly stood. 'That technique he just used... it's called the Shadow Shuffle. While walking forward, the user also takes a step in every direction. This creates an afterimage that becomes corporeal using the user's chi. Only members of the Shinsengumi are allowed to be taught that technique. How does somebody with no affiliation to the shogunate know how to use it?"
"Looks like I underestimated him..." Sasuke muttered.
He didn't bother sheathing his sword this time. He just took a stance and glared at Naruto. Naruto returned his malice, and started taking irregular steps forward again. Not one, but two clones of Naruto appeared, and they along with the original rushed the patient Uchiha.
Sparks danced as a battle of seven swords ignited. Like a tiger fighting off a pack of wild dogs, Sasuke fended off Naruto and his clones' attacks with the precision one would expect from a Hodaiichi. With the way he parried each slash you would think his blade was weightless.
The trio of Narutos even attempted to surround him and attack from three different directions, but Sasuke's blade flickered around him. Not only did he parry every strike, he retorted with his own – a gash across the eyes for the first clone, a hack over the chest for the second, and a slash that the real Naruto barely managed to escape from.
The blonde's posture was poor. Between fighting Sasuke and using so much chi to create clones, he barely had the strength to stand up straight. His kimono was several cuts in it, and a cut Sasuke had left above his right eyebrow leaked and left him half blind.
Naruto breathed heavily. 'What the hell is this guy...? I've been fighting him with everything I've got and then some, and I still haven't left so much as a cut on him? ...is this the power of somebody who almost became Hodaiichi?'
"What's wrong? Had enough already?" Sasuke asked. "If that's the case, I suggest you go home. Wouldn't want you ending up like your old man."
Naruto growled and squeezed the katanas in his hands. "Asshole! Just you wait! You haven't even seen anything yet!"
Naruto wobbled as he took another irregular step forward. This time, four clones appeared. Sasuke analyzed them.
'Four? That's twice as many as last time. How can he use the Shadow Shuffle so much without passing out from exhaustion? This guy's stamina is inhuman... This fight will go on for forever at this rate.
"And I don't have that much time to spare..." Sasuke said while sheathing his sword.
"That iaido crap isn't going to work!" Naruto barked while he and his clones charged at Sasuke.
Sasuke took a stance, something he had never done while his sword was sheathed, and closed his eyes. "Let me show you the difference between you and me, Naruto."
As Naruto and his clones drew closer, Sasuke opened his eyes. Crimson – that was what Naruto saw in Sasuke's eyes; along with tomoes that spun around the iris. Naruto had seen those eyes before, and he knew what being on the opposing side of them meant.
A cackle of lighting ran down Sasuke's arm into his sword. "Chikiru!"
It was literally impossible for human eyes to see. A thousand slashes, each sounding like a bird's chirp, were made in under a second. If the the flurry of slashes wasn't what killed the clones, and streaks of lightning that followed would have. All of them flickered out of shape, leaving the real Naruto alone and, to Sasuke's surprise, alive.
Sasuke's eyes returned to normal. "I see... At the last moment, you backed off and used your clones as a shield so you wouldn't get hit by the the brunt of the technique. Clever."
Naruto had stabbed his swords into the roof to keep him from collapsing. He was terribly cut up and on the verge of passing out. Had he not reacted at the last moment, that would have surely been the end for him.
He glared at Sasuke again. "W-why do you... have those eyes too?"
"You mean the Sharingan? I'm surprised you've seen it before. Uchihas rarely leave the capital."
Naruto coughed up blood in the middle of asking another question. Then he heard noise coming behind him.
"They really were up here! Sasuke Uchiha and that blonde brat from before!" a guard poking his head out of the hole leading to the roof announced.
"Looks like we're out of time," Sasuke said while starting in the opposite direction.
"W-wait! I'm not done yet...!"
Sasuke looked at Naruto the same way he looked at Konohamaru and the crowd at the Brandishing Ceremony. Yet, despite being seriously injured, Naruto didn't quiver under Sasuke's glare.
"If you're lucky, we'll never cross paths again, because next time... you will die, Naruto."
With that, Sasuke ran to the edge of the roof and jumped over without looking down. Naruto didn't have to see to know he made it down safely. A guy like that wouldn't die here. The same didn't look like it could be said for him, however.
He looked back and saw the guard get closer to him, a sasumata in his grip. Suddenly, leaves hovered around him.
"Leaf Hurricane!" a familiar voice shouted.
The guard was gusted into the air, fell right on top of the hole, the second another guard tried to come out of it. A shinobi in green appeared in front of Naruto.
"...Lee?" Naruto said, before finally giving up on supporting his weight.
Lee caught him before he hit the roof, and hauled Naruto onto his back.
"What about Konohamaru...?" the faint samurai asked.
"He is fine. The same won't be said for you if we don't get out of here, Naruto," Lee said.
He grabbed both of Naruto's katana, sheathed them, then disappeared with the Orange Flash in a whirlwind of leaves.
It happened back when Naruto could still count his age on both hands. It was a Summer night, and despite being dark, the air was still humid. He had been practicing sword swings until the sun went down, just as his master had instructed him to. The amount of sweat underneath him could have put out a forest fire.
When it was time to go home, Naruto decided to take a more scenic route. The trip would take longer, but if he was lucky he could catch women from the village bathing in a hot spring near Uzushio. The anxious boy hurried to lay eyes on this prize. Then he noticed something. It was a smell in the air. A dank stench. He followed it, and was eventually lead to a corpse. He face contorted, and his eyes trembled. It was the first time he had seen dead body before.
Naruto had no idea what kept him from vomiting, nor did understand what convinced him to go deeper, despite his disgust. He found more and more bodies, and they gradually lead him to an outing. It was a party of corpses. Hacked-up bodies littered the ground everywhere Naruto looked, and in the center stood a lone figure holding a blood-soaked katana. Naruto couldn't make out the figure in the dark but, when the figure turned around, Naruto could see his eyes clearly. They were pure crimson.
Naruto eyes shot up. The first thing he noticed after waking up was Gamatatsu jumping up and down on his chest.
"You're awake! Oh, thank goodness! I was really worr-"
Naruto slapped Gamatatsu off of him and sat up. "Where am I?"
"An abandoned shrine on the outskirts of Konoha," Lee said.
Naruto at Lee. His legs were in the air while he did push-ups using only his index fingers.
"Don't worry, Naruto. Konohamaru assured me that no one would find us here. This shrine has been abandoned for a long time."
Naruto hummed. The dream he just had was an old memory, and he knew why it had resurfaced.
"I lost..." he muttered while looking at bandages wrapped around him. "Dammit...! Sasuke, just you wait. I'm gonna pay you back ten- no! One hundred fold!" Naruto looked around. "Lee, where's my swords? I need to start training."
Lee's round eyes lit up. "Training?! If it's training you need, I'd be more than happy to be your partner!" Lee pushed himself off the floor, and somersaulted in the air before landing. "Let us strive for new heights together, Naruto!"
Naruto stood. "Yeah! Next time I meet Sasuke, his ass is gonna be ash!"
"That's the spirit!"
Gamatatsu silently watched the samurai and ninja brim with enthusiasm. Then the shrine's door slid open. Konohamaru was standing in its frame.
He smiled. "Naruto, you're up. That's awesome. That means you can leave right away."
"Leave right away?" Naruto repeated.
Konohamaru nodded. "Get dressed and come outside."
After donning his slit up kimono, and fetching his blades, Naruto and Rock Lee went to meet Konohamaru outside. A carriage carrying nothing but hay was behind him.
"Ta-dah!" Konohamaru shouted.
"Uh... Konohamaru, what's with the hay?" Naruto asked.
"It's not the hay that's the surprise, its the carriage itself. You can get escape from the capital using this."
Naruto's eye widened. "Really? What about the driver. What if he takes us directly into the center of the capital."
The driver tipped up his rice hat, and peered down at Naruto. "I'm no fan of the shogunate, boy. In fact, the only time I thought it was tolerable was when Hiruzen Sarutobi was in charge. He did good by us farmers, unlike the shogunate that only make laws when they feel their pillows aren't soft enough, or they're running out of tea." He spit. "Consider this me repaying the old shogun for his kindness."
"And there you have it," Konohamaru said.
Lee nodded. "This is good news, Naruto. Since you can't hide in the shadows like I can, I was worried how you would escape the capital, but now-"
"And how are you gonna get away, Konohamaru?" Naruto asked.
"...I'm not. I'm staying here, and getting revenge for my clan."
"W-what?! That's crazy!" shouted Gamatatsu from Naruto's shoulder.
"I know it is, but..." Konohamaru looked toward the capital. "The name Konohamaru... my grandfather was the one who convinced my parents to name me that. He told them: a child born with enough fire to ignite the spirit of Konoha itself – that's who my grandson will be. Someone who bears that name can't just run away from the capital he was named after. My grandfather, my entire clan... they all deserve better than that."
Naruto and Konohamaru met gazes. The flame between them burned brightly. It was like what Naruto felt with Sasuke, but it was different. The blonde smiled and tussled the youngster's hair.
"I gotcha loud and clear, Konohamaru. I understand what you're going through right now. Just promise me one thing: don't do what I would I do, because that will definitely get you killed."
The young Sarutobi blushed a little and scratched the back of his head. Naruto hopped into the carriage with Gamatatsu. Somehow, Lee had got there before him. The driver whipped his reigns and the horse neighed and began its trot.
"Show me around the capital next time, alright Konohamaru!" Naruto shouted back.
"Yeah! I'll show you a place that makes that best noodles in town!"
Naruto waved a bit longer before ducking inside the hay with Lee. While he hid, he thought about everything that had happened – his bounty, Konohamaru's clan being slaughtered, Danzo being killed at the Brandishing Ceremony and his defeat by the hands of Sasuke.
He gazed at the passing clouds. "...am I any closer to finding out the truth, Dad?"