Sorry would have this out earlier but something up with my beta so a rewrite will come but I'll won't republish the story again. So come and look back at my story as it might change with input from beta enjoy.
Disclaimer - I don't own Naruto
Darkness… he saw nothing as he felt himself slowly drift in the endless abyss. Suddenly he felt coldness and freezing pain. The pain continued until,slowly, he felt himself getting used to the pain, as if he were adapting.
Where am I? He heard himself speak,even though he could have sworn he hadn't opened his mouth. Time seen meaningless as tiny whispers filled his ears. Each word made less sense than the last. They seem to be talking as if an experiment were happening nearby. The sound of machines further proved his idea before all the noise stopped.
His consciousness ceased.
Then he felt it. It was hard to describe. It felt strange and new as he felt his fingers twitching. Then, there weresubtle movements of his legs and a slow wobbling motion of his head. His body felt well enough that he could try to open his eyes. A bright light appeared, blinding him and making him close his heard a gasp.
"I don't believe this," the medical-nin said breathlessly, astonished. The Uchiha clan, strong and powerful,was now almost extinct. The massacre, what it was being called, was quick and brutal; it left only the youngest heir alive. At first there were no survivors, but the heir was later found at the Uchiha compound months later. It had the council baffle. How did Sasuke manage to survive and not be found by ANBU agents, but not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, hope filled Konoha; then the heir was diagnosed with a mental attack, genjutsu, leaving him in a coma. They perform multi-test to determine his diagnostic. During the physical evaluation, he showed no brain activity to any of the stimulation.
After multiple tries Sasuke was diagnose brain dead. He wasn't supposed to awaken. The medic rose from his seat and rushed out of the room. The boy had awoken; it was a miracle. He needed to inform his superiors.
…
The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, stood outside of Uchiha Sasuke's hospital room with Danzō, the chief medical-nin Chouseki, and two ANBU guards. Currently they were in an argument about what to do with the Uchiha's future.
"Listen to me, for the betterment of Konoha we must keep this Uchiha alive. There's a possibility that he wouldbe able to pass on the genes for the Sharingan," Danzō explained.
"You treat him as if he were property." Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at the elder before turning to Chouseki. "Do you think he has any chance of recovering?"
"Sir, his brain wave patterns show no activity. His body can function aloneonlyfor a certain amount of time before that too gives out and we will have to resort to manually keeping him alive. Honestly, I'm still amaze that his body was alive during the duration that he was gone." Chouseki said.
"Yes, the mystery on how Sasuke was taking from Konohagakure then place back in the compound is disheartening. But that lack of security does not determine what we can do with the Uchiha heir." Sarutobi responded. He discreetly looked over towards Danzō as the man made no inquiries about the lack of security.
Chouseki shook his head, "I can tell you this, sir; everyone I have seen in this state never wakes up. It will be impossible for him to reproduce; we might be able to capture some specimens from him later but they might be too weak to even be able to fertilize an egg and at his age, they are too young to be gathered."
Sighing, the Sandaime spoke to Chouseki. "Listen, keep him alive as long as we can, and if there are no signs of recovering, I want you to stop his treatment."
Danzō's eyes glinted, which the Sandaime missed. Danzō bowed low and turned away before disappearing with two ANBU guards nearby.
Danzō, what am I going to do with you? Sarutobi thought before the door opened and a frantic medical-nin stood at the doorway.
"Sir, the Uchiha is waking up!" she exclaimed. Sarutobi stared at Chouseki before they both rushed inside.
…
Briefly, he could feel others around him; he could hear little voices as he stir.
"By Kami, this is a miracle."
"Check the monitors..." He could hear some shuffling. "...and give me his charts."
Slowly, he opened his eyes and adjusted to the lights."Gah, that's bright," Naruto spoke quietly with a raspy voice. That immediately brought the attention of the two medical-nins at his bedside as they rounded upon the Uchiha.
"Now, Sasuke, we will be checking your vitals to see if there are any prolonging injuries or permanent damage." One medical-nin started focusinghis chakra. "Are you experiencing any pain?"
Naruto shook his head as the medical-nins started scanning him with their chakra. During the checkup, Naruto glanced around the hospital room he was in. It looked like the typical hospital room in Konoha. He was sitting in the only bed with a counter to the left and right of the bed. IV's and heart monitors clutter the single room attached to his body. Coming from the only door from the side of the room, he beheld the last person he'dexpected to see. There stood,in all his glory, the Sandiame Hokage, long dead to him,but still living in this dimension.
After catching his gaze, the Hokage gave him a grandfatherly smile, and Naruto couldn't help but smile back. "Jiji," Naruto said hoarsely, blinking away tears.
"Wow, this certainly is amazing." Chouseki turned to Naruto but spoke loud enough so that the Hokage could hear. "Sasuke, you have to undertake physical therapy for awhile. You may experience somestiffness but that can be easily fixed. I estimate you could leave in a few days."
"Sasuke-kun, how do you feel?" the Hokage asked.
Licking his cracked lips,Naruto spoke, "N…need…w…" His voice was raspyand dry.
"Of course." The Hokage took the pitcher of water on the counter and filled a glass with it. He then handed it to Naruto, watching carefully to make sure the boy didn't drop the glass.
After Naruto finished drinking, he placed the glass back on the counter to his left and spoke. "Arigatou, Jiji."
A loud wheeze echoed through the hospital room. All activity stopped; everybody stared at the patient in surprise. Why are they… Naruto's eyes widened. Shit! I'm Sasuke, not Naruto.Sweat dripped down his scalp as his eyes moved around wildly. "I-I'm so…," Naruto began.
A hearty laugh befell the Sandaime as he shook his hand in front of him. "Don't worry, Sasuke-kun. It's great to be reminded that you're not austere," he explained.
"Arigatou," Naruto whispered.
The mirth left Sarutobi's face as he spoke to the head medic. "Excuse me," he said solemnly to the two medical-nins who were checking the monitors. "I am sorry, but may I speak to Sasuke alone?"
"Hai, Hokage-dono," they both chorused the head medic acquiesced, gesturing for the other medical-nins checking the monitors to follow him andtaking along a few papers as they left.
Sighing, the Hokage turned back to Naruto. "I'm sorry for the burden, but I must ask what happened the night Itachi attacked." Naruto knew he was going to eventually ask about the massacre. Concentrating on the lingering memories of this world's Sasuke, that he could feel floating at the back of his mind, he accessed the most recent ones.
He explained to Sarutobi about the bodies he found after coming home from the Academy and how he arrived home to see his parents murdered by Itachi. He didn't realize that his expression was growing steadily darker as he spoke. He finished by explaining how Itachi trapped him in a powerful kind of genjutsu that made him watch them all die over and over again. This prompted Sarutobi to place a hand on Naruto's shoulder as Naruto felt tears slid down his cheeks.
"Arigatou , Sasuke." The Sandaime's voice was saddened over the boy's ordeal. "Unfortunately, I have another question to ask of you." This brought Naruto's gaze up to his?. "Do you know why you were missing for several months?"
Naruto's eyes widened sightly. Sasuke never said anything about being kidnapped. Maybe this Sasuke knows if I try… He began to concentrate until an overwhelming pain shot through his skull. A loud cry left Naruto's mouth as he clutchedhis head.
"Sasuke-kun!" The Sandaime hurried to the boy to check his condition. A few whimpers left Naruto's mouth before he relaxed as the pain subsided.
"Chouseki!" He barkedto the hallway. He turned back to Naruto. "Chouseki will make everything better. Just endure the pain a little longer. I need to leave, but please check up with me when you're healed" Naruto nodded in response as the Hokage left.
The headache dulled when the Head medical-nin entered. Naruto was left with his thoughts as they checked scanned his head with their chakra. He felt everything Sasuke had felt as a child. He began to geta better understanding how Sasuke became an avenger and how he became obsessed with his revenge. Feeling the rush of anger was addicting; seeking the powerto drivethat anger would motivateany person to live a life full of blood and betrayal.
After running the scan, the other medical-nin came in and explained they needed to run a few more tests before they released him. What was that pain? he thought as the medicsbegan to cast more diagnostic techniques. The Sandaime Hokage shut the door to his office. He was furiousof the circumstance of the massacre but most of all, he was worried for Sasuke. He didn't want the boy to be filled with hate or follow the path of vengeance. Sasuke shouldn't have gone through this,he told himself. He sighed, pondering somberly aboutpast decisions before starting to fill out the daily paperwork at his desk. Sasuke had to return to the Academy soon. I wonder how he will act?
Now, Sarutobi had to look after Sasuke, to help guide him through the emotional fallout of the massacre But there still is the other child, too, he sighed ashis thoughts wanderedto Konoha's jinchūriki. Sometimes, I wish that I never became the Hokage,he thought somberly he looked out the window. But I know I wouldn't have refused the job... I can't stop caring for all these people.
…
After two days and many flawlessly cleared medical tests, one Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto was released from the hospital, but they were unable to find the cause of the headache. "I hate shots," he muttered softly as he continued walking down the street towards the Hokage's office.
The body felt different. His movements were abysmal; they were sloppy and uncoordinated. Having two different brains telling him how to move left his motions erratic at best as hetried to find a balance between his sixteen year old Uzumaki brain and seven year old Uchiha body. He stared down at his hands, again noticing the difference between this body and his own. All it would take is one nick to my throat with a kunai,
he thought as the previous thoughts of his dimension's war resurfaced in his brain. He could end it before it began. With one last glance at his hands, he refocused onthe street and continued walking, forgetting about his dark thoughts until he tripped when he overestimated a step and ended up unbalancing himself. Picking himself up after he tripped over his own feetfor what seemed to be the millionth time, Naruto thought about the one of his "gifts" from hisSasuke. Both Sasukes activated their Sharingan from the trauma of Tsukuyomi, but forgot because of another genjutsu by Itachi. With his Sasuke's knowledge, he was able to activate the one tomoe , he needed to get used to it for future use, seeing as the new sight granted to him by the Sharingan left him dizzy and headachy.
As he traveled down the street, there were people out industriously working at their jobs or shopping, but as they glanced at Naruto, he could tell that they already knew what had happened to the Uchiha clan. He saw shocked looks, then pity and whispers from strangers. It started to annoy him but he guessed that he should just ignore it. So, maybe this is what Sasuke felt too, he thought as he glared at anotherperson staring too intently at him. The distraction took his attention away from his movements, and hetripped over his sandalsbefore landing face first in the dirt. He sighed as he blew his hair out of his eyes. He decided that he needed to get to the Hokage's office quickly to avoid more embarrassment.
…
Sarutobi sat at this desk, staring at the little prankster in front of him. Another prank, another lecture, he thought as they both glared at each other.
"Hurry it up; I still have a lot of things to do," a high-pitched voice whine.
"Tell me, why did you find it necessary to graffiti the marketplace?" Sarutobi asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
Sarutobi watched the convict shrug. "I was bored and thought it could use some brighter decor."
"Still," he said, tightening and pursinghis lips. "Next time, try not to get caught," he grinned eliciting a grin in return. "You've been a bad influence on me, Aimi-chan," he complained good-naturedly as she stuck her tongue out at him. "So, how have you been lately?"Sarutobi took a glance at the trouble-maker.
Her short crimson hair was loose and wild as she stared at him with her violet eyes; she wore a black shirt with a red spiral on the back, as well as brown short pants with the standard blue sandals. She was Uzumaki Aimi, the latest jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Yōko in Konoha.
"Been fine, Soooo you should treat me to some Ichiraku's ramen later." She was constantly shifting around in her seat, absentminded.
"And you should pay attention sometimes," he countered, earning himself a glare.
"Yeah, yeah."
Suddenly, a loud knock came from the door. "Hokage-dono, Uchiha-sama is here to see you," the Hokage's assistant called out.
"I'm sorry, Aimi-chan; I'll see you again, okay? I need to clear something up," Sarutobi told her as she hopped down from her chairand started walking towards the open door.
"Remember, Ramen Ichiraku ," she said.
"Hai, and tell my guest to come in, will you?" Aimi left through the door.
Damn, the travel to the office was annoying, Naruto thought as he waited out in the hall in front of the Hokage's office. I haven't felt this annoyed since I was a child.
As the door widened he started walking towards it. A young boy about his age stepped out of the door; he barely glanced at him as he continued walking towards him. Naruto tried to walk past the boy, but he miscalculated the distance and ran shoulder-first into him.
"Ow," they both yelped. Naruto rubbed his head, as he was the first to rise from the floor. Seeing that the person he'd run into was still on the ground, he offered a hand.
It took a few seconds for Aimi to get her bearings. When she opened her eyes, she saw the hand of the person who had knocked her over. Glaring she slapped the hand away. She got to her feet and found herself right in front of others kid's face. "What was that for, jerk?" she demanded.
Confusion left Sasuke's face and was replaced with fury from the boy's words. "Jerk? It was an accident! I was trying to help you up!" he exclaimed.
"Help me up? This wouldn't have happened if you knew how to walk properly! Seriously, who the baka that doesn't know how to move?"
Naruto's anger rose at the thoughtlessness of this boy. He grabbed the collar of the other boy's shirt, which was reciprocated by the other boy. Their noses touched and neither let up their glare.
"Sasuke! Aimi! Stop this!" the Sandaime ordered. He'dbecome curious when he heard shouting from outside his door. He hadn't been potentially threatened, since his ANBU bodyguards hadn't sprung into action, so he'd peeked outside of his office. His face had dropped as he'd watched two children who could potentially understand each other get into a meaningless fight.
The two children huffed before they let go of each other. "Sorry, Jiji," Naruto apologized. Aimi's eyes widened considerably when she heard the Hokage being disrespected by somebody her own age. She was about to reprimand this Sasuke before he cut her off . "Wait, Aimi? What kindof name is that for a boy?" he voiced.
The Hokage sighed, predicting what was going to happen. Quickly, he grabbed Aimi's collar as she lunged at Sasuke.
"I'm a girl!" she roared, bearing her canines. Sarutobi noticed the shock on Sasuke's face as Aimi continued to swing wildly, trying to land a blow on Sasuke.
Naruto quickly hid his shock as he walked past the two into the Hokage's office. "Hn," he responded, in typical Sasuke fashion. This infuriated Aimi even more, as she began calling for Sasuke's blood.
Hiruzen handed Aimi to one of his guards-he'd let them deal with her tantrum-and headed in behind Sasuke to his office.
Who was that?Naruto wondered as he walked towards the chair. He-she-looks too much like my Kaa-san to be a coincidence. He sat down on the chair in front of the Hokage's desk.
Hokage took a few seconds longer to reach his own desk before he began to talk. "Are you okay, Sasuke-kun?" Sarutobi asked worriedly.
Turning to face him, Naruto quietly answered. "Yes, Jiji, just kind of agitated from staying in the hospital for so long."
"Listen, Sasuke-kun, I don't want to do this, but the Uchiha complex has been cleaned up." Sarutobi reached for a key. "This is the skeleton key to that section. It's now yours. Since you're the age of 7, you cannot inherit all the benefits the head of a clan receives until you reach the age of 17." He handed the key to Sasuke. "Look, you don't have to stay there tonight; you can have an apartment nearby if you want." He gave the boy a sincere look.
Sighing, Naruto answered. "I appreciate your help, but I need to handle this myself. It has been hard for me and I can hardly believe anything now." He gave Sarutobi a soft smile. "I need to grow up, but I promise you that I am fine."
Sarutobi sat there motionlessly, stunned at the maturity Sasuke displayed, but looking under the circumstances, it was sad to see too. His eyes softened as he nodded. "Okay, Sasuke. If you have any problems, my door will always be open."
Naruto nodded. "Is that all?"
"Well, if you are feeling well enough, you canstart the next semester of the Academy tomorrow, but other than that, take care of yourself. Also, if you don't mind, I'll visit sometimes, okay?"
"I would like that, Jiji." Naruto smiled at the Sandaime, who grinned back. Naruto left the office, fighting the urge to jump the old man and give him a crushing hug. He headed for his new home as Sarutobi thought back to the conversation he'd just had.
To act like that after the massacre... I don't know what to think of it. It's frightful to think that he might be suppressing the pain and thatI'll never know what the future may hold for him. A sad frown adorned his face as he stared out the window towards his smiled on his way towards the manor. The stares and whispers lessened as he traveled to the clan compound. After arriving at his newhome for a large chunk of the foreseeable future, he solemnly walked in and said a quick prayer, promising he would do all he could to help this clan.
The quiet house gave him no comfort, as he had to suppress memories that weren't entirely his ownrising in his head. He grew depressed as he toured the house andscannedeach empty room. The life this world's Sasuke had lived with his parents and the joy he felt when he made them smile were overwhelming. Soon, he retreated to the training grounds behind the house. He needed some fresh air, away from the eerily empty house. Its silence was creeping him out-no house that big should have been so quiet.
Fortunately, Naruto was a master at distracting himself from fear and pain-a skill honed from years of coping with angry, fearful villagers.
Okay, let's test the differences between our bodies.
Getting in a horse stance, he started breathing in and out slowly before quickly performing abasic kata-one that all Academy students learned. The conflict between his two memories forcibly made itself known once again. He moved with punches and kicks meant for multiple attackers only to throw a heavy haymaker to down one opponent. A quick knock out blow to set up a move for a clone; quick kicks and powerful counter attacks to tackling and basic brawling. He even manage to perform a few strikes from Frog Kata, useless for now.
Fuck, he thought as he finished knocking out an imaginary enemy with a back kick. This body is built for speed and seems to adjust easily to any situation, but my old body was built like tank for taking and dealing hits. This is going to be a long five years. He inwardly moaned, predicting the enormous amount of work he'd have to do to bring this body into fighting shape.
Getting into his stance again, he started taijutsu training for the rest of the day. He tripped over himself a few times as he made little progress from the seven year old taijutsu; later he worked on chakra attack like body strengthening and control techniques, but mostly concentrated on the basic ninjutsu and taijutsu of this Sasuke. He had to wait until two more tomoes entered his Sharingan to work on the performed genjutsu of an Uchiha. When he finished for the day, he instantly thought over his training.
Okay, I seem to have a natural talent for fire techniques. My chakra levels are high for academy student but need to be much higher, and I should avoid using any of the Yondaime's techniques. So, Rasengan is out, leaving me with a few basic techniques, a couple of Sasuke's fire techniques, and the clan library, he pondered for a bit. Oh, I almost forgot; I have the Sharingan. I guess I can pick up more jutsu as I go along by copying other ninja. He sat limplyon the grass he burnt with his fire jutsu as he thought of all the training he needed to do.
Suddenly, his stomach growled loudly.
Well, I don't want to cook and I have money so the best choice is…ICHIRAKU! He grinned as he stood and headed off toward his favorite restaurant.
…
Aimi slurped her shrimp,flavored ramen happily, the taste delighting her.
"Ah, that was good," she said as she wiped her mouth with her forearm. "Good job, Teuchi; that was the best!"
"Ho, ho, Aimi. You always say that," he replied as he turned away from her to the dishes.
She gave him a wide grin. She loved the old man like a grandfather; he was always kind to her, as was his especially his daughter, Ayame. If the old man didn't make her laugh with his stories she could always share gossip with Ayame.
She smiled as she watched the two take away her dishes. Ever since she had been young, she had come here to eat, not only because of the benevolent owner, but also because their food was awesome. Sometimes she wondered if she ruined his business as people tend to stay away from her , but she remembered what old man Ichiraku told her. "Those fools weren't welcome here." She smiled again at the memory. Someday, I'll repay him all his kindness,she thought.
"Ramen, ramen, ramen," she hummed. "It's so delic-"
Then, he came in, that Sasuke guy. He rose an eyebrow at her upon seeing her before settling down in a stool. What the hell? Since when did this jerk start eating here? she thought, a bit miffed as she faced away from him.
Why is she here?Naruto thought, sitting down at the counter. He closed his eyes and waited patiently for his meal. He could tell Aimi was tense, and sometimes, he knew, she would glance at him. Trusting his instincts,he opened his eyes and caught her staring at him.
She looked surprised and embarrassed as she quickly turned away, huffing even more. Naruto smirked. This is getting interesting. "Here you go, sir," Ichiraku said politely as hehanded him his ramen.
"Arigatou ," Naruto replied as he took a pair of chopsticks, broke them apart, and slowly started to eat.
Aimi couldn't take it anymore. "You!" she exclaimed as she pointed at him. "What are you doing here?"
Calmly, he continued eating calmly. "Just trying to eat," he looked at her and smirked. "Until a tranny screeched in my ear." His mind was still getting use to all the mindsets as his Sasuke personality took over. It was weird having to constantly fight between wanting to tease Aimi or cry in joy at finally eating ramen again.
She flushed in embarrassment. "Jerk! It's Aimi, Uzumaki Aimi! The first female Hokage!" she began her monologue. It took a few seconds before she remembered why she was speaking in the first place. "Wait… no, why you here! I've never seen you here before!"
Naruto's eyes widened slightly at the mention of when she announced her family name, but he suppressed his initial reaction to yell imposter. Instead, he shrugged and continued eating, like a good Uchiha. His eyes returned to normal as he filed that information for later.
"Stupid head," she muttered before settling back down.
He was left alone to eat his meal in relative peace as Aimi seemed to be ignoring him, which left him time to think.
Uzumaki? I thought Fate said I didn't exist. Maybe she's the new container,he glanced at her before quickly looking back at his meal. Hmm, I don't know... but she does act a little like my old self,he thought as a sad looked graced his face. Even though he gets confused between being raised by Hiruzen or Mikoto. Every five seconds he had to fight the stray tear that wanted to leave his eyes. He needed to remember that there was more to the massacre than what this Sasuke only knew.
"Aimi." His voice was soft and clear.
She glared at him. "What is it, Sasuke!" she spat.
"What did I do to make you hate me?" he asked.
She was left speechless as she sat there in shock before answering. "Because, Sasuke," she growled, stressinghis name. You're like everybody else. You don't see me. I wasn't even worth your time to move from walk around when you bumped into me. I'm just empty space to you. She huffed and looked away without actually saying a word.
As no words were spokensilence temporarily reigned, Ayami and Ichirauku quietly observed the two children. It seemed like no one would speak until Naruto sighed and slipped money on the counter.
"For Aimi's and my meals, please," Naruto spoke as he stood up. He looked at her with no signs of malice or anger. He added before leaving, "I'm…sorry. I don't know what to say to you." He looked into her eyes meaningfully as Aimi turned to look at face him, shocked and confused. "And I want you to know, I'll shoulder your hate for you." He gave her a sad smile and left.
Aimi sat there Aimi sat, dumbstruck, with her mouth slightly ajar as she thought on reviewed what had just happened in her mind. Why do I hate you?she thought a bit remorsefully. Is it because you were the first that tried to apologize to me?
Sullenly, she stared at already had her dishes taken away-stared at her fists, which she hadn't realized she'd clenched as she mulled over her feelings.
Ayame quietly slipped out from behind the counter and sat next to her. She tapped Aimi's shoulder to get her attention. "Are you okay?" she asked.
Aimi looked up and nodded her head. "Yeah, I am," she lied.
"Who was that?" Ayami continued.
"Some boy named Sasuke."
Ayami pondered about where she'd heard the name for a little bit before gasping. "Oh my goodness," she breathed. "Haven't you heard?"
"Heard what?" Aimi asked, curiously staring at Ayami's shocked expression instead of her hands.
"I believe that was Uchiha Sasuke. Months ago, there was a massacre by one a man named Uchiha Itachi," she spoke gravely. "He killed every Uchiha, all his family, until the last heir was found unconscious a week ago. They said the heir would never recover and that the Uchiha clan was lost forever." She glanced in the directionSasuke left. "And just today, I heard the heir miraculously woke up and made a full recovery."
They sat in silence before Aimi stood up, her face blank. "Arigatou gozaimasu; I'll see you guys tomorrow." She dashed out of the shop, her mind filled with questions.
"Tou-san?" Ayami asked.
"Just leave it be," he answered as he started putting away clean items from the washbin.
Aimi ran out in search for Sasuke. She wanted to see him, to talk to him, to ask why he acting this way towards her, and most of all, to maybe become his friend. Damn, which direction did he go? she thought, frustrated. She continued to search …
...
It was dark as he walked down the streets. After leaving Ichiraku's ramen shop, he thought about heading home before deciding a walk to the park would be nice. The calming atmosphere could take the edge off from his dual thought process at Ichiraku. Taking a winding path, he wondered what he would do tomorrow during classand how he would react to his classmates while trying to maintain some sense of dignity.
He continued walking but froze whenbefore he heard a muffled cry.
Scanning the area, he searched for the source. He sensed movement and ran towards the would-be target.
Where is it? he thought as he continued running. There!
Off in the distance, he could see a masked ninja carrying a tiny body.
Wait a minute… Even though he was dense, there were some times even he knew when something was wrong. Masked ninja running through the streets, undefined headband, small child squirming.Yeah, even he wasn't that dumb.
"WAIT!" Naruto yelled as he bounded towards the kidnapper with renewed speed.
Looking back, the ninja spotted a kid on his tail. "Ch, annoying runt," he said, stopping to take care of the problem.
Naruto faced the ninja, anger edged in his eyes. "Let 'em go," Naruto spoke dangerously.
"Little pests need to disappear," came the answer before the ninja moved swiftly andmoving swiftly the ninja emerged in front of Sasuke, landing a blow to the boy's gut. Spit exited flew from Naruto's mouth as the enemy-nin ground his punch in, playing with the boy. Suddenly, Naruto grabbed the arm and countered with an uppercut to the ninja's chin.
The enemy-nin placed a hand on his chin and cursed loudly in pain. The enemy-nin was surprised and momentarily stunned by the attack, Narutotook the opening,quickly grabbed the child, and jumped away. Landing near a tree a few feet away, he unbound him or her from the ropes."Try to get away," Naruto said, staring at the lavender eyes of a Hyūga. "I'll stall him." He ran back towards the ninja.
"Ah, you stupid kid!" the ninja yelled as he promptly recovered. "I'll finish you in an instant."
Placing his hands together, the enemy-nin started making hand seals, and, seeing this, Naruto started making his own.
"Doton: Funnu Supaiku no Jutsu!" The ninja slammed his hands on the ground. Large boulders pierced the earth, heading straighttowards Naruto.
Activating his newSharingan, Naruto finished his hand seals and jumped high in the air, dodging the attack. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" he yelled out before puffing his cheeks and releasing a huge ball of fire towards the ninja.
The enemy-nin dodged the attack, and the fire landed on the ground, creatingan explosion that lit the night air. "You missed, boy," the ninja spoke, a bit confident though Naruto began to smirk a bit.
Now, I just need to buy some time,the Uzumaki-turned-Uchiha thought. The enemy-nin attacked again, rushing forward with a kunai extended; it seemed as if he wanted to end the battle. Naruto saw the world in a different view He saw the image of the enemy-nin stabbing him. He knew what was going to happen tried to move as fast as he could in his small body.
Thankfully, Naruto was able to dodge in a split second, rolling to the side before bringing his hands together to try to summon a Rasengan. A small circle of chakra formed between his hands but it quickly dissipated, leaving him empty-handed. Naruto cursed; he was too used to using the Rasengan. He had to remember that this wasn't his body anymore; he was no longer a chakra monster.
"Gah!" Naruto yelled, reachingto the shoulder that had suddenly sprouted a kunai sticking out. "Kuso," he swore as he glared at the enemy-nin, who smirked, twirling another kunai in his hand.
"Better finish this," the ninja said before rushing forward.
Images flashed through his head again; this time he saw his deathinstead of his life. I need to be faster,Naruto thought as time continued to tick surged forward. Closing his eyes, he prepared for death. Dread filled his body at the thought that he was already going to die, unable to change anything. Then, a pressure from his chest made him gasp in pain. So, I'm dead... maybe this is for the best,he thought. A few seconds passedbefore he decided to open his eyes, resigned to seeingto see Fate again. The image before him shocked him. A tree was before him, and in between the trunk and himselfwas the enemy-nin's arm. The kunai was mere millimeters away from his Sharingan.
Naruto tumbled back as noise began to fill the once silent street. "It's about time," Naruto said as he stared up at the incoming ninja.
The enemy ninja was suddenly surrounded; several ANBUs pointed ninjatos at his throat. Naruto had to sigh in relief. The former Uzumaki knew he couldn't match up against a shinobi yet-his body was too small and weak-but given time, he knew he could become stronger.
The ANBU swiftly restrained the ninja before addressing the dark haired boy.
"Uchiha-san," several spoke out in concern, but Naruto gave them a feral grin while holding onto his injured arm.
A few approached him, and the one who was seemingly in charge directed one of themto treat the boy's wound.
"I'm fine, really." Naruto tried to wave off their help, but the ANBU who was instructed to treat him shook her head.
"Uchiha-san," she said firmly, brooking no argument as she placed her hands on Sasuke's uninjured shoulder and forced him to sit down sat him down. "You have a kunai sticking out of your shoulder, and you expect us to believe you're fine?" Naruto couldn't see the ANBU's face but he knew she had rolled her eyes, judging from her tone.
"Maybe?" He heard a few ANBUs around him chuckle as the ANBU who treated his wound sighed.
"Please be careful; I can't express how you-as the last one of your clan-need to exercise more caution," Naruto flinched when she pulled the kunai out, took off his shirt, and started healing the wound.
"W-wait, how is the Hyūga?" he tried to stand up but the lady ANBU placed a hand on his chest, forcing him down again.
"There he is, father." The child didn't say she was a girl earlier approached, carried by another Hyuuga. "That's the one who helped me," a high-pitched voice saidas the ANBUs around him turned to the figures approaching.
Naruto smiled as he spotted the Hyūga-a girl, he could now see-unharmed. The girl's eyes widened as she stared at the wound the ANBU was treating.
"It's just a scratch," he chuckled before yelping out in pain when the lady ANBU started wrapping it in bandages.
The older man holding the Hyūga child seemed to have found humor in thatchuckled, finding the boy's resistance humorous. "Uchiha, I thank you for saving my daughter," he said gratefully. "To have stopped him the kidnapper from getting away, I owe you a debt."
"Don't worry, sir; you would have gotten him anyways," Naruto answered, dismissing it with a wave on his good hand. "I am more worried about her; she wasn't hurt, was she?" He looked worried as he gave her a quick visual inspection to look for injuries while staring at her.
Blushing, she looked away, "N-no, I am fine." The father older Hyuuga placed her down so she could walk.
Kind and modest,her father thought. "And how would you know I would have caught up to her, young man?" he asked.
"Just call it a hunch," came the response. The ANBU had finished treating his wound, as soNaruto placed pulled his shirt back on. "You used your Byakugan to find her with relative ease, as you seem to have appeared here seconds after the ninja was captured." Naruto answered, now standing up as the ANBU and male Hyuuga seemed impressed by the boy's point of view deduction.
The Hyuuga chuckled, "Impressive thinking for someone your age," he introduced himself " My name is Hiashi, head of the Hyuuga clan." He nodded towards Naruto. "Your name is Sasuke, right?"
"Hiashi-sama... Hinata's father?" Naruto shouted in surprise, eliciting a chuckle from Hiashi which Hiashi just chuckled in approval.
"Yes, that would be the name of my daughter, whomyou saved. If there is anything I could do for you, let me know." He looked at Hinata. "Let's go home; I have to report this to the Hokage-dono."
"It's already being reported," the ANBU commander said as he approached. "You should rest, sir; everything will be taken care of."
Hiashi nodded, thanking them before starting to leave.
Hinata turned to Naruto. "Arigatou ," she said while bowing low deeply.
Grinning sheepishly, Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Hinata, you don't need to bow to me." She looked up,surprised."I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
She looked surprised bewildered for a momentin responseto the informalact before nodding her head.
"Well, good night, Hinata."
"Good night, Uchiha-san," she said/replied as she left with her father.
"I'm glad she is safe," hesaid to himself as hestarted walking home, without not noticing the last long, curious glance Hinata turned to give him, but he had to stop when the ANBU that treated his wound stood in his way.
"And where do you think you're going?" she asked, amusedwith amusement in her voice.
"Home?" Naruto asked hopefully, but the lady ANBU shook her head.
"No, hospital," shecorrected as shedirected him forward. "that was only I just used a field healing treatment; you still need to have it checked."
Naruto sighed before the ANBU escorted him in the hospital's direction. They're only doing this because I'm an Uchiha now,he thought, a bit annoyed; he'd never had this kind of treatment when he'd been the feared, hated Jinchuriki. He grimaced though; he hoped this didn't make a huge impact on the future…
…
"Hokage-dono," an ANBU said, kneeling down in front of his leader.
Sarutobi took a quick puff from his pipe before addressing the ninja. "I've heard the the situation with the Hyūga kidnapping was dealt with." The ANBU gave a short nod. "But what interests me is that a tree sprouted from the ground, protecting the young Uchiha heir from death. While I don't approve of you using your abilities in front of enemies..."
"Hokage-dono, that wasn't me," the ANBU interrupted. The pipe dropped from the Hokage's lipsfrom the Hokage dropped at the as a realization hit him.