The Heart of the Demon
Chapter 21
ANBU
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters
Sasuke sighed, he and Itachi were finally back in the village after days of traveling to one of the more remote clan outposts. "I still don't see why you dragged me along for that, couldn't we have just sent a messenger bird?"
Itachi gave him a tired smile "Probably, but it is good to show them they are important to us, a personal visit every now then doesn't hurt."
"Wasted all my time with Naruto." Sasuke mumbled under his breath.
Itachi chuckled slightly "She's living with us Sasuke; you'll have plenty of time with her."
"But she starts ANBU tomorrow; couldn't the visit have waited until after?"
"Careful Sasuke, you're starting to sound desperate, Sakura will get jealous."
Sasuke waved it off and pulled out his key to open the door "No she won't Sakura's not the jealous type; she knows I'm with her and I'm not just going to leave her now that Naruto's back."
Sasuke pushed open the door and was surprised to see Sakura on the couch, she lifted her head and put on a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Sasuke, you're home!" she looked terrible, her hair was disheveled and she had bags under her eyes indicating a restless night.
"Sakura? What are you doing here?" he embraced her as she ran to him and engulfed him in a hug.
"You have to tell Naruto she can't stay here, she needs to leave." Sakura said in panicked desperation.
"What? Why?"
"She's trying to steal you away from me, the bitch."
Sasuke was baffled what the hell had happened? "What do you mean? Naruto made it clear she wasn't interested years ago, she's not trying to steal me away."
"Please Sasuke you can't let her stay here."
"I don't understand, what happened? Why are you here?"
Naruto stepped around the corner fully dressed "Hey you guys are back!" She smiled brightly at them and approached causing Sakura to latch tightly onto Sasuke. "Wish I could stay but I have to be somewhere, we'll hang out later okay?"
Sasuke nodded "Yeah, that's fine."
She looked to Sakura "Thanks again for helping me home last night, I drank too much," she explained "You're a real friend." With that she gave Itachi a quick hug on the way to the door and waved goodbye to the group.
After a moment Sasuke turned his attention back to Sakura "See Sakura, Naruto isn't trying to steal me away."
Sakura hissed "She's playing you! She is making herself look like this innocent little angel but she's a demon! Don't you remember what she did to Gato?!"
"Sakura that's enough! Naruto isn't doing anything wrong and I'm not going to kick her out for no reason, she's a close friend and didn't want to be alone after coming back to the place that made her hurt the most in her life, that's all."
"That is not all she is plotting to take you away! She wants you now that you're no longer available!"
"Sakura don't you trust me? I'm with you and I'm not just going to dump you now that Naruto is back, she had her chance with me and said no."
Sakura was starting to calm down a little he was right he wouldn't just dump her like trash he was too good a guy to do that. 'Lies, I could take him with one look, don't delude yourself into thinking you're important to him.' With the most recent addition from the Naruto in her head Sakura was right back to freaking out. "Please Sasuke, she won't stop until she has you and she'll never love you like I do! Please make her leave and never come back!"
Sasuke was getting frustrated what had gotten into her? "Sakura let's get you to bed you need to sleep, I'll be right beside you." Sakura nodded slightly and Sasuke led her to his room so she could get some sleep.
Naruto smirked at her handy work as she walked away from the house, at this rate Sakura would scare Sasuke off in a matter of days, she really was insecure about her relationship with him. She walked down the street and turned into a dark alley making sure no one was around before she disappeared.
Fu paced anxiously around her small home atop the massive tree in her village. She glanced to a piece of sealing paper with an intricate seal inscribed on it that was sitting on her small kitchen table. Finally she took a deep breath and walked to the seal and pushed her chakra into it. She couldn't take it anymore, she was sick of being stuck in this village isolated from everyone, all she wanted was to be like normal people, to have friends and to be able to walk around without constantly being watched. She had thought long and hard for months about the proposal she had been given, and since Shibuki died she didn't have any reason to stay.
Flashback
Fu pouted in her small home, yet again she had been denied permission to travel outside of the village on a mission. She knew the excuses, she had heard them all before, it's too dangerous, you're too valuable, damn it, it wasn't fair, every other ninja her age took lots of missions outside of the village but she was stuck doing D rank missions even though she was one of the most powerful ninjas in the village.
She sighed and started to boil some water to make some noodles for dinner, no matter what she wanted it wasn't her decision and she understood why they were so careful with her but damn it she could take care of herself. She poured a bag of noodles into the boiling water and added a few ingredients as she idly stirred and thought to herself.
"Smells good, what are you making?"
She nearly jumped out of her skin as she spun around and pulled out a kunai how the hell was there someone in her house and why didn't she sense them? A blonde girl about her age was sat in a chair with her feet on the table one crossed over the other. "Who the hell are you and why are in my house?!"
The blonde girl raised her hand up in placating gesture "I'm a friend, there is no need for weapons."
"Forgive me for not believing you, now answer the question."
She smirked and rested her hands on her lap "My name is Naruto, and I'm here to make an offer."
Fu raised an eyebrow "And what exactly is this offer of yours?" she was interested but not stupid, she kept her kunai at the ready.
Naruto took her feet off the table and leaned forward "There is no need for weapons, come on and sit down." She motioned to the chair across from her and her eyes flashed a smoky red for instant.
Fu looked at her blankly for a moment before placing her kunai back into its pouch and taking a seat "All right Naruto, explain yourself."
Naruto smiled slightly "It really is unfair isn't it? You work so hard to be strong and live up to their expectations but they still don't trust you. Seventeen years of hard work and determination and they still have you pulling weeds like some newbie genin, they don't appreciate you, you're just a tool they hope they never have to use."
Fu scowled at Naruto as she continued to speak "They will never trust you and they will never let you reach your true potential, you're just as caged as the demon inside of you, Nanabi."
Fu was stunned how could she know she was the Nanabi Jinchuriki? "Who the hell are you? How do you know about the Nanabi?" Fu reached back for her kunai again on guard not quite understanding why she ever put it away.
"I'm Naruto" she said again smirking "The Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi."
Fu gaped in shook and simply stared at Naruto for what seemed like hours until she was brought out of it when she noticed the water boiling over on the stove. She quickly jumped up and removed the pot from the burner. She slowly turned around and refocused on Naruto "You mentioned an offer?"
Naruto smiled and stood, approaching Fu until they were barely a foot from each other "I know how lonely it is, you wish you could simply be normal like everyone else, with friends and family. It's another tool they use to control you, they prey on your loneliness and use it to keep you in line. Even just the remotest sign of affection is enough to keep you loyal, your desperate for the kind of companionship everyone else takes for granted."
Naruto reached forward and grabbed Fu's hands looking into her eyes and using the Ayatsuru for good measure "These peasants treat you like an animal bred for war, they avoid you and pretend you don't exist until they need someone to protect them. They have kept you isolated and ignorant of the truth because they are afraid of you, and they should be. I have come to show you the truth."
Fu stood there in stunned silence she was right the village kept her caged up in this tree only showing her the smallest amount of human decency, but what could she do about it this was all she had ever known.
Naruto paused for a moment and took in Fu's silence before continuing "The truth Fu, is we are gods, and these peasants" she spat the word "have caged us and convinced us we tools for them to use in their fool wars, but I learned the truth and through it became free, and I have come to free you and all our brothers and sisters."
"Brothers and sisters?" Fu finally choked out after a few moments, she had always wanted a family more than anything else in the world.
Naruto smiled wider and wrapped her arms around Fu "Yes Fu, that's what we are, Sisters. We share a bond stronger than anything." She pulled away and held her hands on Fu's shoulders "All you have to do is say you want to and I will take you away from this place, back to our family and friends."
Fu didn't know what to say, it was all so sudden and seemed too good to be true. Could she really do it? Could she really leave behind everything she knew on the word of stranger? No matter how much she wanted to believe it and how comfortable she already felt around Naruto it was too much. "I… I can't, this village… I can't just leave."
Naruto frowned and reached into a pocket inside her coat and pulled out a slip of paper with an intricate seal on it "When you change your mind simply push your chakra into this seal and I'll come and bring you home."
Fu nodded slowly and accepted the piece of paper. Naruto smiled softly and gave her a peck on the cheek "I'll see you soon Fu." She turned and walked away only to vanish after a few steps.
End Flashback
Fu rested her head on her kitchen table and sulked she knew she should have gone with Naruto right then and there but she had be indecisive, it had been over an hour and Naruto was nowhere to be seen. She knew that she could travel faster than she had thought possible so she should be here by now, maybe she didn't use the seal right?
"It's good to see you Fu."
Her head shot up and she beamed at Naruto who was leaning against a wall a few feet away "Naruto!"
Naruto smiled "I take it this means you've changed your mind."
Fu ran to her and engulfed her in a hug that she happily returned "You were right about everything; I should have come with you as soon as you offered."
"All that matters is you're coming now" She pulled away and smiled softly at her "Let's go home"
Fu smiled brightly and nodded before grabbing her bags she had pre packed. "So how does this work? The whole teleporting thing?"
Naruto smiled "just hold my hand." She did and an instant later both were gone leaving an empty house.
Naruto got home late that night and found Sasuke waiting on the couch "Hey Sasuke, sorry we didn't get to hang out today."
"It's alright, what were you up to all day?"
"I was catching up with an old friend."
"Who?"
"You wouldn't know her, her names Fu, I met her while I was away. She was staying near the village and sent me a message to go see her."
"Oh, well did you eat? We could heat something up."
"Thanks but I should get to bed, don't want to be late my first day in ANBU."
"Right, good night then."
"Good night." She smiled and waved as she walked to her room.
Sasuke frowned when she turned around, he had been waiting for four years to see Naruto again and he only got a couple of days with her before she started the most time consuming job the village has. Damn it what had gotten into Sakura, he had been really looking forward to spending the day with Naruto but Sakura had to go all crazy. He sighed and went to bed himself.
Naruto sat up and stretched before getting dressed in her ANBU uniform and getting some breakfast. She was on her way out when she bumped into Sasuke. "Morning Sasuke"
"Morning, off to work?"
"Yep, I'll see you later."
She brushed passed him and out the door "right, later." He sighed to himself.
Naruto hopped across the rooftops to ANBU headquarters to meet up with her new squad. It didn't take her long to arrive and she quickly made her way through the corridors to where was meeting up with her team. The rest of her squad were already waiting inside the small room Tenzo leaned against the wall closet to the door while a man not much older than her stood across from the door, he seemed vaguely familiar she was pretty sure she'd seen him around the Uchiha district, and finally an Inuzuka man that looked to be about as old as Tenzo stood opposite the man idly petting his oversized dog.
Tenzo looked to her as she walked in "Ah Naruto you're here, I'd like to introduce you to the rest of the squad. This is Hitoshi Uchiha" he motioned to the dark haired young man, he looked vary Uchiha with their standard black eyes and hair which he wore about shoulder length. He wore a standard ANBU uniform and his mask appeared to be a ram. "And this is Kazuki Inuzuka and his partner Fang" the Inuzuka had the standard red triangles on his face and sloppy brown hair, he had a hard face that had clearly seen a lot of action, his mask looked like a wolf, not surprising as Fang looked more wolf than dog. Fang was the largest dog she'd ever seen being only about a foot shorter than herself, he was a dark gray color with one vibrant yellow eye, the left eye had scar across that spanned the dog's entire face and clearly left him blind in that eye as it was milky white color instead of the beautiful yellow of his other eye.
Naruto gave a small smile and a slight wave to the group and they nodded in return. "Alright now that everyone knows each other let's get going"
Sasuke sighed as he walked to the bridge team 7 usually met at, it hadn't been the same without Naruto. He had hoped that when she got back they would all go back to being a team again but the instant she got back she went and joined ANBU ruining that. He arrived at the bridge before anyone else and continued his brooding over Naruto for a few minutes before Sai showed up. Sai was Naruto's replacement and he couldn't stand the guy, he took the emotionless crap to a new level, he was nothing like the hyperactive girl he missed so much and calling him her replacement always seemed like an insult to Naruto, he preferred to think of Sai as Naruto's stand-in just until Naruto got back but it looked like that wasn't going to happen.
"Hello Sasuke" Sai said with a fake smile and a wave before taking his place across from Sasuke making it increasingly awkward for Sasuke as he stood there stiff and silent staring at Sasuke with a fake smile, he knew Sasuke hated it and that was why he did it, it was one of the few things Sai let himself indulge in.
Sasuke grunted at Sai before promptly doing everything he could to ignore him, he usually couldn't wait for Sakura to arrive and free him from this torture but today he wasn't sure, she had been acting weird lately and he wasn't looking forward to her freaking out over Naruto anymore.
Sakura arrived later than usual; her typically well maintained hair messy and unkempt along with large bags under her eyes. She attempted to smile at Sasuke when she walked up to him but it didn't reach her eyes. "Hey Sasuke, Sai"
"Is something wrong ugly?" Sai asked
She glared at him but it lacked her usual gusto "No everything's fine." She stood next to Sasuke and lent against him nearly falling asleep before Kakashi showed up.
"Sorry I'm late, you can make up your own excuse as to why. Anyway we have an escort mission to the land of rivers so go get ready and meet at the front gate in 1 hour." Kakashi was a little surprised Sakura didn't comment on his make you own excuse as she was usually the one who would have an actual answer to that.
Sasuke started walking Sakura back to her house having already gotten his things ready for a short trip "Are you okay Sakura, you seen kind of out of it."
Sakura sighed "It's just… No you don't want to hear about it."
"Sakura I want to help, I don't know what is going on but it can't be healthy."
Sakura stopped and sat down on a nearby bench "It's" she paused and looked to the ground avoiding eye contact "It's Naruto, I don't know how to explain it, it was fine the first few days but now I can't stop thinking about you and her, and I can hear her in my head constantly telling me that I'm not good enough for you and she could steal you away whenever she feels like it. It's like I'm under a genjutsu but I can't release it."
Sasuke frowned he couldn't understand it, Naruto wasn't trying to steal him away and that Sakura would go to the point of saying she put a genjutsu on her was worrying him. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and looked over Sakura but it didn't look any different than usual. "I'm sorry Sakura but there isn't any jutsu or anything affecting you. I know Naruto isn't trying to steal me away, I wish I could do something to convince you of that."
Sakura smiled softly "I don't need convincing, something is up I swear, Naruto's voice in my head it's like she's actually talking to me, taunting me."
Sasuke sighed again and slowly rubbed Sakura's back "Maybe you should go see Inoichi, maybe he can help"
Sakura shook her head "No I don't want to go see Inoichi, I'm not crazy!" She got up and started walking away.
"Sakura wait I'm just trying to help." Sasuke called back and received only a huff in response.
It had been just over two months since Naruto had started ANBU and she had already made a name for herself as a brutal and relentless force even by ANBU standards. She was both feared and respected by her peers in ANBU many both impressed and terrified that one so young could be so brutal on the field, but those that remembered the stories of her exploits as a genin knew just how terrifying she could be.
Naruto and her squad were currently on a mission to investigate an S.O.S. that had been sent by a village on the outskirts of Fire Country on their closest border to the land of Earth. They were camped out a few hours from the village and Naruto was on watch. 'It's time Naruto, make your move tomorrow and set the plan into motion.'
'I guess you're right, it's too bad I was actually starting to like these guys.'
'Don't let that cloud your mind, you can't hesitate when the time comes.'
'Don't worry Kurama I won't.'
Naruto and her squad arrived at the village early the next day. "What the hell happened here?" Kazuki asked more to himself than the others. The village was destroyed, fires still burned and they could see corpses lying in the streets from their position a few hundred yards away.
"Move forward but stay close, the enemy may still be around and we don't want anyone getting caught on their own." Tenzo ordered.
The group cautiously made their way to the burning town, chard corpses littered the streets and the stench of burning flesh assaulted their nostrils. "This is awful, these people had no defense, what kind of monsters could do this to innocents?" Hitoshi commented.
"This was done recently, and I can feel chakra in the fire, shinobi defiantly did this." Naruto added
"Keep on guard, we have to find out who did this. Split up and send up a chakra flare if you run into the enemy." The group nodded at Tenzo's orders and split up.
It didn't take Naruto long to find several chakra signatures. She came upon the chakra signatures staying hidden to observe them. Several men stood in the middle of the street as an old man tried to crawl away. "Kill em' boss said no survivors." A short man with long brown hair ordered a large bald man who proceeded to move to kill the old man.
Naruto shunshined in between the group and the old man in a swirl of flames "And I thought I was heartless, where's the fun in killing an old man? It's better when they try to put up a fight."
The three men jumped back on guard; they each adored an Iwa Hitai-ate with a scratch going across it. "Shit where did she come from?!" cursed the tall blue haired man on the other side of the presumed leader of the group.
"It don't matter, no survivors, kill her." The short man ordered.
"But, that mask and that hair, its gotta be her, the demon of the leaf."
"Then we'll take her down together." The short man yelled
"Since you guys are taking so long I'll make the first move" Naruto said cheerily as she coated her claws in wind chakra and shot forward at blinding speed and engaged them in taijutsu. After a few seconds she caught the blue haired man in the jaw ripping it clean from his head. The man fell over in agony as blood poured out of the gaping wound.
Naruto laughed as the other two jumped back, she kicked the blue haired man on to his back before crushing his neck with her foot "One down."
"Holy shit! She killed him!" The large bald man shouted as he shook from his position a few meters from his now dead friend and the demon that had killed him. He turned and started to run.
"Where are you going! Boss said no survivors!" the short man yelled and watched in horror as the woman he just turned away from appeared in front his bald comrade and in one swing severed both his legs bringing him down to her level as she stopped the massive force of the large man with ease. The bald man screamed in pain as he was separated from his legs but the pain didn't last long as Naruto spit fire directly into his mouth cooking him from within.
The bald shinobi's mutilated corpse slumped to the ground, his head blacked from the intense heat. "That's two" said Naruto in a sweet voice that made it so much more terrifying from behind her mask The now lone ninja backed up terrified without his back up. She slowly walked toward him "You know you can't get away"
"Y-You're not gonna take me, those two were just chunin but I'm a jonin, you don't stand a chance." He didn't seem to convince himself with the pathetic attempt at intimidation and it certainly didn't work on Naruto.
In an instant she was behind him "I'll take you anyway I want you." She said in a seductive whisper before he struck out behind him. She easily dodged him and toyed with him for a minute simply dodging his strikes.
The jonin jumped away "This will get you crazy bitch!" he went through hand signs "Earth style Earth Dragon!"
Naruto went through her own hand sings at blinding speed and shot out a bolt of lightning that cut right through his earth dragon. And she was on him right as he landed kneeing him hard in the gut before pinning his arms behind his back and shoving him roughly to the ground. "Now you are going to tell me who you are, why you attacked this village, and who and where your boss is."
The man grunted "Why would I do that."
Naruto giggled the childish noise disturbing coming from the bloody demon pinning him to the ground "I'm glad you asked" she pumped chakra into her foot as she crushed his leg at the knee, shattering it into fragments, the man screamed in agony. "I'll have fun with you."
The man grunted and grit his teeth as he forced himself to stop screaming "I'm not saying shit!" he cursed through his clenched teeth.
"Oh goodie, I get to have more fun. Are you right handed or left?"
"Wha-?" she dug her foot into his broken leg "Ahh- right! I'm right handed!"
"Good boy" she then pushed wind chakra into her free hand and sliced his left arm clean off before cauterizing the wound with fire chakra.
The man screamed bloody murder as the flesh of his new stump was melted to seal the wound. "You should be happy I left you with your good hand, now tell me what I want to know or you're gonna lose more."
The man whimpered "Just kill me I'm not telling you shit" but the conviction from before was gone from his voice.
"Fine if that's the way you want it I'll just have to take your fun bits."
"My what?!" he screeched as she tossed him against the nearest wall and started slowly walking toward him with wind chakra pulsing around her gauntlets.
"Better talk or in a few seconds you're not going to be a man anymore."
He looked at her with terror in his eyes and waved his lone arm in from of him "Alright alright! I'll tell you everything you want to know!"
Naruto stopped a few feet from him "Good, now start talking"
"We're a group of rouge ninjas that grouped together; we were hoping that as a group we could deal with whatever the villages sent after us. I don't know why we attacked this village; we were just doing what the boss told us. His name is Kagame Kishimo he was one of Iwa's strongest before he defected, he has a kekkei genkai that literally makes him invincible, even you can't beat him."
Naruto waged her finger at him "Now now you didn't answer all my questions" she crouched in front of him and looked him dead in the eye before grabbing his crotch and squeezing "Where is he and how many men does he have?"
He gulped and answered shakily "We have a camp a few miles to the north east he should be there, and there were about 50 of us, he sent a dozen here to wipe out this town."
Naruto let go of his balls and smiled making her eyes glint through the holes in her fox mask "good boy" she said as she patted him on the head. "Did you get all that Hitoshi?" she turned and her comrade stepped out of the shadows.
"Yeah, I got it."
"Good" her claw lit up with wind chakra and she slashed the broken man's throat out, he stared at her with wide eyes before they glazed over and the life left them. "Let's go find Tenzo, he needs to know what we learned." Hitoshi nodded, he had never believed the rumors about Naruto when they were kids, but after being on a team with her he knew exactly how terrifying and brutal she was, she truly was the monster everyone always said she was.
Sasuke was at the end of his rope, no matter how much he reassured Sakura and no matter what he did she wouldn't stop her paranoid delusions that Naruto was trying to steal him away. It had been nearly two months now since Naruto had returned and Sakura was getting worse each passing day. He had finally gotten her to see Inoichi and was currently waiting for her to get out of her session with him.
"You're lying! It's her, she's in my head!" he suddenly heard Sakura yell from the other side of the door.
"Sakura please, there was nothing there, this Naruto in your head is nothing more than a figment of your own mind, you need to accept that."
"I knew it was a bad idea to come here!" Sakura yelled as she threw the door open with a crash and stomped away.
Sasuke quickly apologized to Inoichi for Sakura's behavior and followed her outside "Sakura wait." He called as he ran to catch up to her.
"I told you a thousand times I didn't want to do this but you just kept pushing." Sakura huffed as Sasuke caught up.
"Sakura I'm just trying to help, you haven't been yourself for months."
"And who's fault do you think that is? Naruto's! She's the devil but you refuse to see it!"
"Damn it Sakura Naruto has done nothing wrong, I don't understand why you hate her so much, we were a team, even though you guys never really got along it was never like this, what changed?"
"I got you, that's what changed!"
"Sakura it was never a competition Naruto was never interested in me like that."
"That's a lie and you know it, I sick of this Sasuke you have to choose, me or her."
"Sakura you're acting crazy."
"Choose Sasuke!"
Sasuke stood there with a solemn look for a few moments before shaking his head "Fine Sakura if that's how you want it then it's over, I'm not cutting my best friend out of my life because of your paranoia, just remember it was you that caused this relationship to fail not Naruto." With that he turned and left a stunned Sakura behind.
Sakura couldn't move, what had she done? After how hard she had worked to get Sasuke to be with her she just threw it away of course he would never cut Naruto out of his life. 'Hahaha I told you that you could never hold onto him, I didn't have to do a thing you ruined it all on your own' Sakura quickly ran back to her apartment and cried uncontrollably until she finally fell asleep and for the first time in nearly two months had a restful sleep.
Izumo and Kotetsu sat at their usual positions as gate guards, the sky was cloudy and rain started to drizzle from the sky. "Great it's raining." Izumo said sarcastically.
"What's wrong with rain?"
"It's gloomy, makes me depressed."
Kotetsu shrugged as the drizzle turned into a downpour. "Wow it's really coming down, it doesn't usually rain so badly." Izumo hit his shoulder and pointed to a figure staggering through the gate. It was hard to tell who it was through the downpour, it was clearly an ANBU thou, her hair was dyed a dark red with blood and her mask was broken in half.
She collapsed at the gate and Izumo and Kotetsu rushed out to her and rolled her over shielding her face from the rain, her eyes fluttered a bit before closing, she was covered in blood that was slowly washing off with the rain but it was obvious she still had severe wounds that were actively bleeding. "Shit this is Naruto, the demon of the leaf!" Izumo shouted starting to freak out.
"What?! How the hell did this happen?" he looked to her broken and bleeding form in terror what could possibly do this to Naruto? She was feared by the world for a reason and anything or anyone that could beat her so badly was truly terrifying.
"We've got to get her to the hospital."
"Right, take her to the hospital and report to the Hokage, I'll stay here, if whoever or whatever did this to her shows up there needs to be someone guarding the gate."
Izumo nodded and gingerly lifted Naruto's unconscious form and took off to the hospital. He burst into the hospital not long after looking to the nurse at the front "She needs immediate medical attention!" he shouted and the nurse quickly started calling for a doctor and bringing out a gurney. Izumo placed Naruto on the gurney as a doctor arrived.
"What happened to her?" the doctor asked upon seeing Naruto.
"I don't know she stumbled into the village like this while I was on gate guard duty, I have report to the Hokage anything that can do this to the demon of the leaf is a grave threat to the village."
The doctor's head snapped to Naruto now recognizing her and feeling the same fear Izumo and Kotetsu had felt when they found her. He nodded to Izumo as he turned and made his way to the Hokage tower. "Bring her to operating room 2 we need to start surgery immediately."
Izumo burst into the Hokage's office not long after "Lord Hokage! Something's happened, Naruto stumbled into the village about ten minutes ago, she was severely wounded and the rest of her team were nowhere to be found."
Jariya's face took on a solemn look as he stood from his desk and walked out of the room signally for the hidden ANBU to gather all high ranking ninja currently in the village with the highest priority. In less than fifteen minutes they were gathered on the roof of the tower in the downpour. "About half an hour ago Naruto, the demon of the leaf, stumbled into the village with grievous injuries, the rest of her ANBU team were not with her and have not since returned to the village. This is of the highest priorities; Naruto is one of the strongest ninja in the village, so anyone or anything that could beat her so badly is major threat to the village. I want teams out there searching for the rest of her team, and everyone else prepare for whatever may be coming. This is a priority one alert, the village is on lockdown, no one in or out without my authorization."
He picked out the ninja he would be sending out and sent the rest off "For the rest of you, split into teams of four and scour the area, if you come into contact with the enemy set off a flare and engage with caution, you should all know how dangerous they must be." The ninja nodded Kakashi, Asuma, Itachi, and Sasuke among them.
The ninja took off toward the gate as sirens blared around the village. Kakashi, Asuma, Itachi, and Sasuke were a squad together as they searched the forest around the village for any signs of the enemy. Sasuke could hardly deal with the emotions he was feeling, the rage for whoever hurt Naruto rising as the concern he felt for her safety was constantly at the forefront of his mind.
Kakashi stopped the group as pakun sniffed at a tree "She defiantly came from this way, even with the rain the scent of her blood is strong here, she must have leaned against this tree."
"Can you track the blood? Whoever did this must have gotten her blood on them." Sasuke questioned
"Maybe, but with the rain trying to track the blood is most likely futile, the scent is dissipating quickly." Pakun responded.
Sasuke punched a nearby tree causing it to crack and moan "Calm down Sasuke, we need you to have your emotions in check if we find whoever did this." Itachi said knowing he was fighting the same battle Sasuke was.
A flare went up a few miles from their position and they quickly made their way to it. When they arrived they had expected a fight to be going on but there wasn't the team who had sent the flare stood in a small clearing staring at something. "What happened why did you send up a flare?" Kakashi asked as they walked up to the group.
One member turned around "We thought this warranted it." He gestured in front of him and they saw what the group had been staring at. Naruto's squad's corpses were positioned throughout the clearing with messages crudely carved into their bare chests. Their lower halves had been removed and thrown into a pile while their top haves were hung from a tree, hooks having been driven into the back of their neck's holding them in the air.
Kakashi felt his heart skip, there in the middle was Tenzo, another close friend added to the memorial stone, would the death ever stop? The one on the left was Hitoshi he thought was his name, an Uchiha if he recalled correctly and the one on the right was Kazuki Inuzuka his heritage clear from the red triangles on his cheeks, and a dog that was presumable Kazuki's partner laid at the base of the tree. The message carved into them read "You Can't Hide Demon" with demon being carved into Fang.
Asuma put his hand on Kakashi's shoulder knowing that Tenzo and he had been close. Kakashi turned his head and they shared a silent look before getting back to work. More teams started to arrive and the scene was documented and pictured before the bodies were collected and brought back to the village to be buried.
Teams continued searching the area around the village for almost an entire day and the village stayed on lockdown for a week before Jariya was comfortable enough to allow the village to resume normal operation.
Sasuke spent the entire time sitting by Naruto's bed having been allowed to take on an official mission as her bodyguard. Her wounds had been severe, so much so that the doctors were sure she wouldn't have survived if it hadn't been for the Kyuubi, even with him they were worried she might not wake up. Sasuke stared at her, she had never seemed so vulnerable, she was covered in bandages and had a cast on her right arm and left leg. According to the doctors she had several of her ribs broken one of which had punctured a lung and her right arm had basically been shattered. Her left femur had been broken but was healed by the Kyuubi, unfortunately it wasn't healed right and they had to re break it to set it properly. She had also been covered in gashes from various weapons and several places in her face had been cracked.
She had been cleaned up and her beautiful blond hair now flowed around her unconscious form, the sound her breathing through the tube and the steady beep of her heart monitor filled the room. He had done nothing but sit there and look at her, freaking out about various situations that he had going through his head, for the entire week she'd been in the hospital. He couldn't stop himself from thinking she might never wake up no matter how many times he told himself she would. He gripped her hand and slowly rubbed small circles with his thumb on the back of it "Please wake up Naruto." He whispered and as if she heard him her eyes shot open and she started to freak out.
She ripped her hand from his and started ripping at the tube in her throat as she started choking on it, her heart rate spiked and frantic beeps filled the room. "We need a doctor in here!" Sasuke shouted out the door as he tried to calm Naruto down. "You need to calm down Naruto, you're in Konaha hospital, you're safe."
He held her arm down so she wouldn't hurt herself more and her eyes met his, he saw panic in her eyes as she struggled to breath having been able to pull the tube partway out so it was no longer allowing air into her lungs. Sasuke quickly pulled the tube the rest of the way out and Naruto went into a coughing fit trying to suck in air as the doctor and several nurses ran into the room.
Naruto finished her coughing fit and laid back letting out a groan of pain. The doctor and nurses swarmed around her checking her vitals and making sure she was doing alright. Sasuke quickly poked his head out of the room and located a chunin walking down the hallway "Hey chunin!" Sasuke called to the man who turned "I need you to go inform the Hokage that Naruto has woken up."
The chunin nodded "Yes sir." He turned and ran down the hallway to report to the Hokage.
Sasuke returned to Naruto's room just as the doctor and nurses were leaving. Naruto stared out the window with a blank look on her face as Sasuke came and sat by the bed. After a few seconds Naruto looked over to him and gave him a forced smile "Hey Sasuke."
Sasuke gave a small smile in return "Hey." He wrapped his hands around her good hand and stared softly into her eyes.
After a few moments Naruto let out a rough chuckle and looked to the roof "Better be careful Sasuke, Sakura will get jealous."
Sasuke's face curled into a small frown "Actually we broke up."
Naruto's eyes widened slightly and she looked back to him "What why?"
"She's been acting really crazy and jealous and possessive lately, and about a week ago she finally gave me an ultimatum, you or her. I wasn't going cut you out of my life because of her crazy shit."
Naruto smiled softly "Are you okay?" she finally said after a few moments.
Sasuke chuckled "I'm the one that should be asking you that, you're the one in the hospital."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." She looked back to the ceiling and a moment later Jariya walked in.
"Naruto, thank god you're alright." She scoffed at him and looked out the window. Jariya frowned, he wished she could find it in her heart to forgive him but knew she likely never would. "I'm sorry Naruto, I know I'm the last person you want to see but I am the Hokage and I need to know what happened out there, one of my best ANBU squads was decimated and I need to know how."
Naruto clenched her jaw but finally turned to look at him "What do you want to know."
"Everything, start by how you're mission went so wrong."
Naruto sighed and looked to the ceiling "Nothing went wrong with the mission, we went to the village which had been attacked by a group of rouge ninja, we took care of them and were headed back to Konaha when we were attacked."
"Attacked by who?"
"I don't know, it all happened so fast, I never got a good look at them. Whoever they were they were faster than I thought possible, one second we were making our way back to the village the next my arm is on fire and I'm skidding across the ground. The rest of the squad engaged the enemy and I joined the fray once I got back on my feet. He wore a cloak, it was black with a white flaming bird on the back and during the fight he lit on fire and was suddenly so much stronger. After that he came at me hard, he really fucked me up. Tenzo told Kazuki and Fang to grab me and take me to the village, I guess he thought that whoever the guy was he was after me, or the Kyuubi. Kazuki and Fang got me most of the way to the village when they felt his presence rapidly approaching and told me to get back to Konaha as fast as I could, after what felt like a lifetime I finally made it back, there was so much pain and I was so tired, I collapsed as soon as I was through the gate."
"This person that attacked you, can you remember anything about them?"
Naruto shook her head slowly "They had a mask on and a hood covering most of their face, all I could say is they had pale skin, it looked like they were from fire country, or maybe from one of the smaller countries to the south."
Jariya sighed "Can you even give me a gender?"
"Their cloak was baggy and covered most of their body, I don't know if they were male or female. I didn't really have time to check in the midst of getting my ass kicked."
Jariya sighed again "Alright, I'll let you get some sleep, but you should know I can't let you back on duty, you're time in ANBU is over, I can't let you out of the village with this person or people after you, also Sasuke here is now your personal bodyguard, you don't go anywhere without him." He looked at her with a strict face that stifled the complaining she was sure to give. "This is for your own safety Naruto." With that he left to resume his Hokage duties.
Naruto's fist clenched and she stared angrily out the window "Come on it's not so bad, at least we'll be together."
Naruto chuckled dryly "Yeah at least I get to be you with you while I'm stuck in this fucking village." Sasuke frowned and Naruto sighed "I'm sorry, I just hate being stuck here, but with you around maybe it won't be so bad."
Authors Note: I hope you liked the chapter, I'm getting really excited about what will be happening soon. I'll try to update faster than I have been. Leave a review I like to hear what you guys think of the story and get input.