A/N: I am back! Here I am with yet another chapter of CI (getting tired of typing my entire story name over and over again). I've gotten over my writer's block and there is somewhat of a lapse in my teacher's assignment giving schedule so I have the time to type this up. Yay! Anyway, I hope you enjoy my chapter.
Since I have the time again, I'll be responding to everyone's reviews. I am not really griping about the quality of the reviews anymore. I understand that some people just don't have the time or the energy to scour my story, trying to find faults. I do appreciate the ones who do, though.
Here are the review responses!
Ed-chan13: Okay, I do appreciate your input but please tell me where I'm "bashing homosexuals" so I can fix it. It gets annoying when you tell me to fix something I don't have a problem with (in my opinion after reading through all my profile and stories).
Duckmasta2020: I think it's a great idea, but you have to have a downside to use it so Naruto doesn't get super-powered.
Sugar High Water Uma: Thanks for your critique. I'm not all that great in humor, but I'll try to get the funny in there somewhere. Technically, this is not a full blown crossover because I'm not putting anything from ToS except the characters and Iselia. And, after I'm done getting what I need from them, they'll probably vanish, never to be typed up again.
Satetsu: Your review is great. I wouldn't mind even if it wasn't a rant. I already gave the names of the three characters, though I won't go in depth about them since they only have one purpose. My story line will change after Sasuke's betrayal, but there will be differences until then. I repeatedly put the name to eliminate confusion on who's talking. Thanks for your review!
Mikazuchi: Hey, thanks for taking time out of your schedule to read my story! I know it's not that bad, but I know it's still bad enough for me to not have much confidence in it. I hope you enjoy the story!
Disclaimer: OG: Hey, don't push! I know you didn't like the drive over here, but don't kill each other! Watch out for the small ones! Don't forget your stuff and I do not want to see any "accidents" in there!
(Walks away as the animals make their way out of the van)
OG: Anyway, I don't own Naruto. But, I do own that Game Boy that Joseph is about to step on! Watch you step!
Now, here's the 24th Installment of "Cheerfulness Incarnate"!
(Chapter Start)
Shino watched as his bugs drained Kankurô of his chakra. He fell to his knees as the puppet fell to the ground. Shino's vision began to fade as the poison started to take effect.
(Meanwhile)
Clutching his blades, Naruto looked around and saw Sasuke, Hinata, Sakura, Lloyd, Colette and Genis in the distance, watching Naruto intently. They all had their separate thoughts.
"Since when did he know how to use a sword?"
"That's amazing! Where did he learn that?"
"He's only getting more mysterious. I had no idea that Naruto had so much skill with the blades."
"He's not all that great with those swords. He's good, but not great."
"That pretty close to how Lloyd fights, but not exactly the same. Lloyd has more skill with his swords."
"So, that was the "chakra" that these ninjas use."
Naruto took a deep breath and started to walk off. He smiled towards the people in the distance. He was only a few steps away from the others before he felt the feeling again. This time, it felt stronger. He turned towards the source and saw Gaara's pulsating body. His body was hit with a spasm as the pulse was felt again.
"Oh shit, the guy still has some fight in him."
"Does that mean what I think it means?"
"Only if you're thinking that this guy might be more dangerous after you knock him out."
"Yeah, that's not good."
Naruto gulped as he turned towards Gaara's seemingly unconscious body. He moved closer, clutching his blades, ready to defend himself at the first opportunity. He stopped about 10 feet away and jumped back slightly as another pulsation came through the air.
…And, that's all he saw before he blacked out.
(Meanwhile)
The Third panted heavily as he saw his two clones dissipate. A lone tear fell from his eye as he saw Orochimaru gape in shock.
"Orochimaru, you're next!"
Orochimaru growled as Sarutobi charged forward. Ready to defend himself, he tried to bring his hands together, but…
"What the…"
Orochimaru saw a twisted limb around each of his arms and a head on his shoulder. He turned his head slightly to see the head of Misumi Tsurugi, stretched out on his neck, which was binding his head's movement.
"Why Orochimaru-sama, why did you murder me?"
Orochimaru called the Kusanagi and cut away the body as it turned to dust. He saw Enma's approaching form and bound it with a mass of snakes. Facing Sarutobi, he saw that it was too late.
Sarutobi had already grabbed Orochimaru's body.
"Do you see now the reason I did not choose you to become Hokage?" Sarutobi asked, smirking.
Sarutobi groaned as he felt a hand going through his soul and pouring out of the flesh in his stomach and into Orochimaru's. He could feel the soul through the hand of the death god and it felt filthy.
Orochimaru felt an impact in his abdomen as he held the Kusanagi. He looked down and saw nothing impacting his stomach. Sarutobi spoke again, getting Orochimaru's attention.
"This is the technique of our village's greatest hero. This is the technique that saved us from the terror of the Kyûbi. Now, it will be the technique that will vanquish you!"
"My life will not be extinguished!" Orochimaru shouted as he slowly lifted the Kusanagi. With a lack of strength in his arms, Orochimaru could only move the sword a little at a time. He looked as his target and saw a hazy image from behind it. Behind the Third, a blue spirit came into view. He was clutching a blue dummy with one hand and impaling it with the other. He looked down to his abdomen and saw a continuation of the blue hand that pierced the dummy. The hand had black speckles on it, not unlike the patterns of one of his curse marks. Orochimaru grew afraid as the Death God grinned and made a show of slicing souls and feeding himself. Sarutobi spoke again.
"You see it, don't you? This is a technique that summons a god of death to destroy your soul!"
"You stupid old man; I will not die here!" Orochimaru shouted, gathering his strength in his arm and thrusting the blade into Sarutobi's flesh. Since it was a strike of fury, the blow was not instantly fatal, but Sarutobi would die without extreme medical attention. "Why didn't you dodge it?" Orochimaru asked, shocked at his sensei's wound.
"The price of the technique's effect is the life of the caster. I'm going to die anyway. But, if I die, I'm taking you with me!"
Sarutobi strained as the death god began pulling his hand, clutching Orochimaru's soul and moving through Sarutobi's. A portion of Orochimaru's filthy soul was dragged out into the open, the dark impurities of it being shown to the surface.
"You have led a despicable life, Orochimaru. Your soul is as dark as the Kyûbi's!"
Still clutching the Kusanagi, Orochimaru started to push deeper with whatever strength he had left. Orochimaru's soul began to pull back into his body as he did so, making Sarutobi strain to keep it out.
"Is this my limit? I cannot fail!"
Sarutobi groaned to grasp Orochimaru's filthy soul. Orochimaru strained to drive his blade deeper into Sarutobi. Sarutobi could not pull any longer and spoke to Orochimaru.
"If I cannot take your life, I will take away your ambition!"
Sarutobi groaned loudly as he grabbed Orochimaru's arms and pulled sharply. The blue soul pieces went into his belly and he fell to the ground as Orochimaru saw his arms turn a sickly purple. He lost all feeling in his arms and they slumped, lifeless to his side. Enma, breaking free, spoke as he saw the color drain from Sarutobi's eyes.
"At least, let me pull out the sword, Sarutobi."
Enma pulled out the blade from the Third's body.
Orochimaru was soon carried off by the four people who built the barrier, his arms dangling limply in the wind.
On that day, went a great warrior. On that day, went a great leader. On that day, went Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage.
(Meanwhile)
"Wow, he's really out cold, isn't he?"
"Of course he is, you dumbass, he wouldn't be inside his own head, lying on the "ground" if he wasn't, now would he?"
"Well yeah, but what the hell happened?"
"Isn't it obvious? This idiot got too close to a guy who could use the earth around him to turn into a 10-story behemoth! He got blown away!"
"How're we going to wake him up?"
"I have a way…" Kyubi said as a red hand of energy burst out of the cage, motioning to smack Naruto's astral form. Yondaime jumped in front of the hand, holding two spheres that were spinning rapidly.
"Do that and I'll go in there and shove both of these so far up your ass, you'll be digesting your tails."
Kyûbi chuckled before drawing back his hand. Yondaime spoke after making the spheres disappear.
"Okay then, if he's here, how's his body?"
Kyûbi smirked. "He's being healed at the moment. I think I could get his body up and running in about 5 minutes.
"Okay, 5 minutes then; I guess I'll have to give more than advice this time around."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Yondaime smirked. "You'll see soon enough, my furry-assed prisoner."
(Outside, about 5 minutes later)
In a small clearing within the forest, Naruto lay under a large pile of fallen trees and branches. If he was awake, he would have no idea where exactly he was and he would have difficulty trying to find out due to the immense amount of debris that was on top of him. His companions were blown away by the same force he was and they were not in sight. If he was awake, he would have thought, "How the hell am I going to get out of this?"
But, he wasn't awake. Since he wasn't, he couldn't wonder about the whereabouts of him and his companions. Since he wasn't, he couldn't try to think of a way to get out of the situation. Since he wasn't, he couldn't notice a faint red aura surrounding his wounds and a faint yellow aura surrounding his entire body. The red aura began to disappear as the wounds healed. The yellow aura faded as well, but it seemed that the aura did nothing.
It was then when two small frogs appeared out of the forest ruins. The first was about the size of a ninja's weapon pouch and was of an orange color. He had what appeared to be a grayish shirt around his body. The second was slightly smaller than the first and was of a darkish yellow color. He was wearing a shirt similar to that of the first, the difference being that the shirt was of a golden brown color. The frogs began to speak.
"Is Naruto-nî-chan going to be okay?" the second frog asked.
The first frog hopped forward and poked Naruto's body without a response.
"I don't know. He's out like a light though. What does he expect, standing that close to a person that can send you flying with a wave of his arm?" the first frog said.
"Well, what do we do?" the second frog asked.
"I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait for him to come to, won't we. He's such an idiot. Who would go up to someone when their body is pulsating! I mean, come on, I bet even Gamatatsu would back off if he felt those vibrations! He's lucky he's not dead!" the first frog said, ranting about Naruto's stupidity.
"You're right, he is kind of stupid."
The two frogs heard a loud cracking and snapping of wood and they turned to see Naruto standing and dusting himself off.
"Well now, let's see. The orange one is Gamakichi and the yellowish one is Gamatora, am I correct? Naruto told me about you."
The two frogs were confused. Why was Naruto talking like he barely knew them? Gamakichi understood why he could be referred to as such, but Gamatora knew him for a while. And, from what Gamatora said, Naruto was not one to forget a name. If that was the case, they could have blamed the forgetfulness on account of smashing his head through half a forest. The more important question was why was he referring to himself in the third person?
"Uh, Naruto-nî-chan, what's wrong?" the second frog, Gamatora, asked.
"Naruto's not in the building at the moment, may I take a message?" Naruto said in response, confusing the frogs even further.
"Naruto" formed his hands in five distinct seals and slammed his hand on the ground below him. A large puff of smoke arose from the area. Within the smoke, a large frog could be seen.
"Hey, what the hell am I doing here?" Gamabunta asked angrily.
"Oh shut up and look in front of you to see the extremely tiny problem we have. I'm going to need your help for this, Froggy," "Naruto" said.
"Hey urchin, what do you think you're doing, talking to a supreme being such as I in such an informal manner?" Gamabunta shouted, noticing the small blonde on his head.
"Oh shut up and help me, Froggy," "Naruto" said.
"Why you, do you want to die here?" Gamabunta asked, indignant.
"Naruto" laughed, making Gamabunta raise an eyebrow. Only one person he knew had such a characteristic laugh. The problem was the guy was dead.
Naruto stopped laughing abruptly and spoke in a serious tone.
"Uh-oh, look out Boss!"
Gamabunta looked forward and saw a sandy behemoth taking in a breath. Gamabunta widened his eyes as he jumped in the air and formed a seal, drawing in a breath as well. The sandy behemoth that was Gaara released his attack into the air where Gamabunta just jumped.
"Fûton: Renkûdan (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet)!"
Gamabunta released his attack moments before the wind shot hit him, deflecting it.
"Suiton: Teppôdama (Water Release: Gunshot)!"
"Well now, I guess I wasn't the only one making up new techniques, now was I?"
"Shut up, I'm busy!" Gamabunta shouted as he blocked another air thrust with his water ball. Naruto smirked and started forming seals as he spoke.
"Now let's see if I remember this correctly. Ushi, Saru, U, Ne, I, Tori, Ushi, Uma, Tori (Ox, Monkey, Hare, Rat, Boar, Bird, Ox, Horse, Bird) …"
Gamabunta countered yet another air shot with his water blast.
"Ne, Tora, Inu, Tora, Mi, Ushi, Hitsuji, Mi, I, Hitsuji, Ne, Saru, Tori, Tatsu, Tori (Rat, Tiger, Dog, Tiger, Snake, Ox, Ram, Snake, Boar, Ram, Rat, Monkey, Bird, Dragon, Bird, Ox, Horse, Ram, Tiger, Snake, Rat, Monkey, Hare, Boar, Dragon, Ram, Rat, Ox, Monkey, Bird)…"
Gaara fired yet another blast of air in an attempt to take down the big frog in front of him.
"Ne, I, Saru, Tori, Tatsu, Tori, Ushi, Uma, Hitsuji, Tora, Mi, Me, Saru, U, I, Tatsu, Hitsuji, Ne, Ushi, Saru, Tori, Ne, I, Tori (Rat, Boar, Monkey, Bird, Dragon, Bird, Ox, Horse, Ram, Tiger, Snake, Rat, Monkey, Hare, Boar, Dragon, Ram, Rat, Ox, Monkey, Bird, Rat, Boar, Bird)…"
Gamabunta fired another shot of water just in time before the air blast hit him. Naruto jumped in the air towards the area where the two attacks met, holding the bird seal. He focused his chakra into the dispersed water droplets around him as he released his attack.
"Suiton: Suiryûdan (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet)!"
The water around Naruto formed into a large serpent and began to rush Gaara. Unfortunately, Gaara was able to wave it aside with his arm. Fortunately, the arm soon dropped as it turned into mud.
"Haruhi would be proud. It's a wonder that I still remember that after all these years. That has got to hurt Naruto though. Oh well, at least he's awake now."
(In Naruto's head)
"OW, what the HELL was that?!" Naruto shouted as he bolted from his position on the "floor".
"Finally awake, brat?" Kyûbi asked from within his cage, his nine tails swishing lazily.
Naruto responded as he usually would. "Who are you calling a brat?" Naruto shouted loudly, his voice echoing within the small cavern-like are that imprisoned Kyûbi.
After noticing the distinct echo, he looked around to see that he was inside his own head.
"What the hell am I doing here?" Naruto asked.
"Well, you're here…" Kyûbi said as he looked towards the show that was being displayed though Naruto's "vision center". He pointed one claw to the "screen" and spoke again. "…and, you're out there, appearing to be kicking ass."
Naruto looked at the screen as he saw his actions through his own eyes. His body performed a few seals, took a deep breath and expelled it, creating a large fireball (Gôkakyû no Jutsu). He then watched as the fireball negated a hail of Suna Shuriken that was heading towards him.
"What the hell…?" Naruto asked in shock as he looked at himself riding on a giant frog; fending off a giant raccoon. He then narrowed his eyes and began to storm out of Kyûbi's chamber, looking for a way to regain control of his own body.
"There's no way in hell that I'll let anyone else kick ass in my body!" Naruto thought.
"There's no way in hell that I'll let anyone else kick ass in my body!" Naruto heard. He stopped for a moment before thinking to himself.
"Oh, right, this is my mind. All my thoughts are here anyway," Naruto thought.
"Oh, right, this is my mind. All my thoughts are here anyway," Naruto heard.
"Okay, that can get annoying," Naruto thought.
"Okay, that can get annoying," Naruto heard.
Naruto made a face before thinking for a moment. He smiled slowly before thinking loudly.
"Whoever the hell possessed my body; get the hell out before I beat the shit out of you!!!!!!"
"WHOEVER THE HELL POSSESSED MY BODY; GET THE HELL OUT BEFORE I BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU!!!!!!" Naruto heard, holding his ears as he smirked. He felt his body lurch for a moment and he heard a low growl coming from Kyûbi's chamber, followed by a voice.
"Stupid asshole brat, deafen the nine-tailed demon in your belly why don't you?"
Naruto laughed before feeling something funny. He looked down to see his body fading from the area as he felt himself regain control of his body slowly. Naruto began to lose his sight of the dank area as the sight of the sandy behemoth came into view. He slowly began to feel the presence of the chakra supply he had within him and he noticed the large chunk that seemed to be missing. Looking forward at Gaara and down at Gamabunta, he only smirked as he looked on.
Inside Naruto's head, he was unaware of the other blonde that happened to drop in after he left. Kyûbi looked up and snorted.
"Great, and here I thought I was going to be rid of you for a while." Kyûbi sighed. "So, how was it?"
"Well, it was okay, I guess. Naruto has some major training to do to get to my level. First of all, he needs to learn how to do the stupid seals faster. I could only do 10 seals per second!"
"Whatever, let's just watch what he'll do now. You did put his swords back before summoning big guy over there, didn't you?"
"Of course I did; do you really expect an expert swordsman such as I to forget to pick up my weapon?"
"Well, you better hope so or else Naruto's going to come back in here and 'beats the shit out of you'."
"Like he can…" Yondaime said as he turned to watch.
Naruto was currently facing Gaara. He was trying to think of something to do, but he was drawing blanks. Gamabunta continued to dodge and counter the air blasts to avoid being harmed. Naruto was sitting on Gamabunta's head, wondrously sitting calmly as Gamabunta jumped up and down, causing incredible tremors.
"I can try to make Froggy here attack Gaara, but Gaara's attacks can still hurt the big guy. What do I do? What do I …?"
"Hey hurry it up! I can't keep dodging this guy's stupid air shots! Do something already! Multiple shots of this guy's air bursts are becoming one hell of a challenge!"
Naruto snapped his eyes open wide at the thought. He quickly did the seals for the Denkô Dangan and charged his hand with as much chakra the technique would allow. With 5 malt ball sized bullets at his disposal, he frowned.
"Not enough…"
Doing the technique again, he attempted to multiply his shot count without resorting to the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. He looked at his hand again as Gamabunta leaped out of the way of another air blast. Naruto stood obliviously as he observed the golf ball sized bullets that were now in his hand. Naruto smirked as he thought of a plan. He then felt the impact of the landing of Gamabunta and shook violently, almost falling off. Regaining his balance, Naruto stood and did the seals again. Gamabunta looked at him as he did the same seal order three times, charging his hand in between.
"What the hell are you doing, brat? You can help me fight any day now!" Gamabunta said, greatly annoyed, Gamakichi and Gamatora long gone.
Naruto only smiled brightly as he held up a large ball of energy. The shots of the Denkô Dangan technique have gotten too big to be contained in Naruto's fingers. Now, the five shots have fused into an orb about the size of a bowling ball. Naruto was getting a little tired of pumping chakra into his hand, but he knew it was worth it due to what he was about to do. He just needed a little more information.
"Hey boss, I heard that you have a good blade on you. Is that true?" Naruto asked, smirking at the thought of what would happen if it was true.
"Of course I do brat! What of it?"
"Excellent; do you think you can get close enough to Gaara for me to hit him with this?" Naruto asked holding the orb.
"No way, brat! There's no way I'm getting that close to something that dangerous on the command of a guy who hasn't shared sake with me yet! You're still a little brat!" Gamabunta shouted, getting annoyed.
Naruto frowned at the comment before shouting back. "Do you think I can drink sake at my age? It's illegal!"
"Nonetheless, you still aren't worthy enough to boss me around. Forget it!"
Naruto growled before shutting his eyes and focusing an incredible amount of chakra in the hand with orb. "Yeah, well, do you think you can get close enough for me to hit him with this?"
The orb burst into a blade that stretched about 6 feet from his arm (Think Shôsen no Jutsu (Mystical Palm Technique), except charged with electricity and about 6 feet long). Gamabunta smirked as he thought about how fun it would be to impale the sandy behemoth as he drew his blade.
"Ah, just like old times, eh Yondaime? I never thought you'd have found a way to use an energy blade in there," Gamabunta said, drawing a raised eyebrow from Naruto.
"Yondaime, what does he have to do with this?"
Gamabunta gave a small puff of his pipe before narrowing his eyes. "Nothing that concerns you, brat; let's take this guy down!"
"For once I agree with you!" Naruto shouted as he prepared to attack.
Gamabunta leapt forward, thrusting his dagger towards Gaara was Naruto prepared to strike. Gamabunta said something as he charged forward.
"I'm aiming to distract and possibly disarm him. You are aiming about 4 feet into the forehead."
"Why is that?"
"The vessel, this Gaara, only needs to have a smack to wake up and solve our problems. His shield is so hard; my dagger won't go too far in. You have an energy blade; able to pierce his armor more effectively and with more accuracy. Get ready!"
Naruto and Gamabunta were only 5 feet away from Gaara when Naruto jumped off, using Gamabunta's momentum to propel his body at a high speed. Gamabunta still sped towards Gaara, striking his arm with his dagger. Naruto placed his hand on Gaara's forehead. Focusing the chakra in his hand, Naruto focused and shot the lightning based blade into the sandy giant.
"Rakurai no Tsurugi (Sword of Thunderbolts)!"
Naruto heard a muffled scream and he felt the sand shift below him. Naruto backed off momentarily disengaging the lighting blade and landing not so gracefully on Gamabunta's back. Gamabunta dropped his dagger as he started to look weary.
"Hey brat, take it from here. Countering those air blasts for you is really starting to get to me."
Gamabunta vanished as Naruto landed on the top of a tree branch. He panted as he saw the sandy giant disintegrate, dropping a certain, red-haired ninja onto the branch, a gash on his face. The two ninja looked onward as Naruto spoke.
"So, it seems this is the end. We're both too depleted of energy to do anything but one last attack. I don't even have enough energy to wield my swords. It's all down to this. Are you ready?"
Gaara gave a subtle nod as Gamabunta's dagger fell between the two trees. As it hit the ground, it exploded in a puff of smoke. As if the dagger itself was a symbol, the two ninja put the very last of their energy into their respective attacks. Naruto and Gaara charged through the air between the two trees and put as much force into their fists as they possibly can.
WHAM!
Naruto's fist made contact with Gaara's solar plexus as Gaara's fist made contact with Naruto's face. They both fell to the ground, the soft sand cushioning their blows. Naruto moved from his position on the ground and crawled unsteadily towards Gaara. Gaara cringed at his approach and tried to scoot away. Naruto spoke as he got closer.
"We're similar, you and I. Both of us have led miserable lives against our will. The difference between you and I is the fact that I have people who acknowledge my existence. You have been alone, forced to exert you existence by ending others'."
Naruto stopped a few feet away from and gazed in the somewhat shocked eyes of Gaara. Naruto's eyes became sharp as he spoke the next statement.
"But, if you threaten me, I will defend myself. If you threaten my village, I will stop you in any means necessary. If you threaten my friends…no…my family, I will do everything I have in my power to make you wish you never messed with the being that is named Uzumaki Naruto, even if it means taking your life," Naruto said, his glare softening after the statement.
Gaara's siblings arrived shortly after Naruto completed the last statement. Naruto spoke as Gaara was picked up by his siblings.
"You should pay attention to the people already around you. Many things are hard to find only if you look for it. Acknowledgement is one of them."
Naruto looked as Gaara gave a small glance in Naruto's direction. His eyes were back into their emotionless state, but they seemed calmer. As the Sand siblings ran off, Naruto chuckled before blacking out.
The Sand siblings disappeared from sight as four ninjas came into the clearing, leading a large, weird-looking, oddly familiar person.
"There he is!" Sakura shouted as she saw Naruto's unconscious form. Hinata gasped and ran to him, looking him over. She was relieved to see him without any serious injuries, but she was also puzzled as to why. He did go though about 100 trees through the battle. She was surprised shortly after since Naruto's eyes snapped open.
"Hello there, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said cheerfully. Hinata raised an eyebrow. The statement was flawless in respect to Naruto's usual response, but the tone was way off.
"Hey, idiot, what the hell were you thinking taking on that Sand kind?" Jiraiya shouted as Naruto stood.
"I was thinking I could kick his ass!" Naruto responded, rubbing the back of his head. Hinata only got even more confused. The words are right, but the tone is just plain wrong. She pushed it to the back of her head as Jiraiya spoke again.
"Whatever, you idiot, let's get out of here before you wreck any more of the forest."
Later that day, the ninjas that were still capable of doing so were in the process of performing restoration. Ninjutsu helped out the process, but it was still a lot of work. The rookie nine helped out, the exceptions being Shino, Naruto and Sasuke, who sustained major injury or chakra depletion. Though he didn't look it at the first sight, Naruto was exhausted. Jiraiya was able to transport him to a hospital and get him into a hospital bed, staying around to protect the boy from any hostile people. Naruto collapsed, but Jiraiya knew who gave him the temporary strength necessary to get to the hospital. Jiraiya smiled.
A few days later, a funeral was held. They have won the battle, but they have lost much more. Each of the people that died that day was mentioned, their names given great honor by dying in battle. Each of the shinobi was given an individual funeral and on their graves bore the mark of the Honorable Death, but the most pain came from the death of the one who influenced them all, the Third Hokage.
The entire village, dressed in black, lined up one by one to lay flowers upon Sandaime's grave. Each one of them held their own personal memories, and some felt the pain more than others.
Naruto in particular looked as each of the villagers held a solemn or saddened face, each villager too preoccupied to give him a hairy eye. He felt a weight upon his waist and looked down to see Konohamaru, weeping upon the shin of the normally orange ninja. He knelt down to his level and hugged the small boy close. It was then, just then, that Naruto did something that he vowed to never do again.
He cried.
(A Few Days Later)
Naruto awoke from the confines of a hotel room. Naruto looked to the other bed and saw an obnoxiously snoring Jiraiya. Naruto returned home after the funeral to find that it was destroyed. Any person could say that it was accidentally destroyed by the enemy during the attack, but Naruto knew better.
He got up unsteadily, still sore from the battle about a week ago and got ready for the set of missions that were undoubtedly ready for him today. All the ninjas in the village were pitching in to reconstruct the village, though some things can never be repaired, like the scar across the Third's face on the monument or the lives behind the faces lost in the battle.
Naruto went over to the area in which the genin were helping. He cursed himself for blowing up the forest since the genin now needed to replant the trees in the entire clearing and the trees tat were knocked down by Gaara and Gamabunta. He was grateful to God for his superhuman chakra supply, since he was positive he was going to need it.
The event was interesting, to say the least. They were all still sad, to a certain effect, but some more than others. Naruto, for example, was still tormented by the death of his "Grandfather", but kept it within with his expert emotional hiding skills. The rookie nine and Gai's team were working within speaking distance to one another, making it impossible for Naruto to use his Touboku Saisei to restore the trees. The plus side was the fact that they can speak to each other. The down side was the topic of discussion that they chose.
"Let's talk about things we don't know about," Sakura said, trying to lighten the mood.
"How does that work, forehead?" Ino asked in response, annoying Sakura.
"We can speculate about things we don't really know about. You know, like the "unsolvable mysteries of Konoha"," Sakura said, ignoring Ino's statement.
"Oh, I have one! Who are Naruto's parents?" Ino asked quickly. Naruto only stiffened slightly, but stayed silent and solemn as he worked on planting a tree.
"Well, let's see. That's a hard one," Sakura said, thinking as she moved over to the row of unplanted trees.
"Well, let's see; looking at Naruto himself, at least one of his parents had to be blonde," Kiba said, joining in.
"That's true. If that's the case, the other parent or the blonde parent would also have blue eyes," Sakura said, looking over at Ino as she dug another hole.
"What about the whiskers? You can't really say that those come from one of his parents," Ino said, passing it along.
"Well, you can write that off as an accident or something. Maybe he got scarred with something's claws when he was younger," Sakura said.
"Maybe one of his parents was hyperactive like he is," Kiba said.
"Well, you can't really say that. Don't you remember the "what's a family?" thing he pulled back in the Academy?" Sakura said, holding no ill will.
Naruto had had enough. He dropped his shovel and stormed into another destroyed area that was filled with crushed trees, obviously the result of one of Gamabunta's movements. Nobody followed him and he could hear the remnants of the conversation as he left. He didn't turn back and look at the others that were not in the conversation. He only needed to get away from that topic. That was one topic he stopped thinking about years ago and each time he thought about it, it brought him close to tears.
He sighed as he kneeled down on a patch of dirt surrounded by crushed trees. Naruto performed a set of seals as he tried to calm down.
I, Hitsuji, Mi (Boar, Ram, Snake)
"Calm down Naruto"
Tatsu, Tori, Ne (Dragon, Bird, Rat)
"You know this technique doesn't work without exact chakra control."
Tora, Mi, Tora (Tiger, Snake, Tiger)
"You can't have exact chakra control with a riled heart."
Inu, Ushi, Mi (Dog, Ox, Snake)
"Touboku Saisei (Fallen Tree Regeneration)"
He only pumped a small amount of chakra into the technique, making the trees about twice his height. The fallen trees faded as a thicket of small trees appeared. Naruto, satisfied, moved on the next area…
…not away from the watchful eye of Hyûga Hinata, who stood, 50 feet away, planting a tree with her Byakugan active.
Naruto remained away from the group and restored the fallen trees one area at a time. The rookie nine and Gai's team, sans the more observant members, didn't notice his lack of presence as the remainder spoke more of Naruto's parents and who they would be. They only noticed when Kiba spoke to Naruto concerning the subject.
"Hey, Naruto, who do you think your parents are?" Kiba asked, not concerned about Naruto's emotional well-being on that particular subject.
He looked around to see no trace of the orange ninja. "What the hell? Where's that slacker Naruto?"
The unobservant members of the rookie nine looked around and saw no one. Sakura and Ino got angry and began to search for him. Hinata pointed them to the thicket that was newly formed by Naruto as the less observant members plus Gai's observant team left to try and look for him. Tenten stayed behind; content with working in the clearing. As they left earshot, Hinata giggled.
"They'll have a good time trying to find Naruto-kun in there."
"So, he used that technique to make the thicket; did he Hinata-san?" Shino asked in a slightly less monotonous voice than usual.
"And, if I correct," Hinata said as she activated her Byakugan, "that thicket stretches for about a kilometer."
Shino looked down and had his bugs secure a tree into the earth. If the collar wasn't there, the people present would have seen a small frown.
"I guess it is a very uncomfortable subject."
A/N: I hope you like it. I personally don't like the conclusion of the Naruto vs. Gaara fight, but I loved how I ended the Sarutobi vs. Orochimaru fight. I guess I lost spirit in the Naruto vs. Gaara fight halfway through. I'm sorry for the month long wait for this chapter, but I still hope you enjoy it. Review and I'll update as soon as I can!