What's up, everybody? Now, before you start reading CH. 3, I would like to take a moment to talk about something that caught my attention. I was going through my mail and I saw several e-mails talking about how chapter 2 was a big surprise compared to how the story was flowing in Ch. 1. So, I would like to tell you a bit on just where my story is going without spoiling too much. 'The Way of the Ninja' is like my vision on Naruto's biggest change in his life and how everything that will make him complete, plus some unwanted stuff, is coming to him. He will find true love, save the village from total disaster, fight his greatest enemies (and friends), discover the secret about his past (most of you probably already know about it), and ultimately become a legendary ninja…and then some. At its core, this is still a love story, but with a lot of action and\or drama, sort of like your traditional tale of boy meets girl and conflict tries to pull them apart.
Now, my story is going to be pretty long. I don't know how many chapters, but we'll see. I keep getting so many great ideas, I really can't make up my mind on how to structure them properly. Most of these ideas have to do with how will Naruto and Hinata's relationship develop and how will other people react to this. Some are a little bit soap opera-ish, but I'll try to work it out. But don't worry, I'm sure you'll like it. Some chapters in the story will focus primarily on combat or Naruto trying to overcome a problem, while others will focus on Naruto and Hinata's relationship. As the story progresses, these two will start to combine. Without further ado, here's Ch. 3!
CHAPTER 3: A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH
She would never forget that day. She had never felt so lonely in her life. She had the chance to stop him, but she was too slow to react. He reached out from behind her and left her unconscious, lying in a cold, steel bench. The love of her life had walked away. She blamed herself for what had happened. She had the chance, but did not use it wisely.
Sakura stood in front of her mirror, gently brushing her hair. The stillness and quiet outside was soon gone as people opened their businesses. She kept staring at her own reflection. It was her own reflection, but somehow, she doubted that was the same girl she used to think she was. She still looked the same as always, but she could tell there was something else. Something not seen by the naked eye. Something she could not describe, but whatever it was, it was no good news. Beside her mirror was one of her old pictures of Team 7. Those were the days they were always together, like a small family. Those were the days Naruto would wear his orange jumpsuit and carry a big, goofy grin. He and Sasuke would fight all the time. Kakashi would always be late for a team meeting. She could not believe she missed those days. She stared longingly at Sasuke.
She felt like it had been yesterday when he left the village, leaving her heartbroken and knocked out in that cold night.
Strangely, her feelings for him hadn't changed a bit, despite his actions. She then turned to Naruto. It had been a long time since she had seen him smile like that. The last time she saw him, he was in a hospital bed…and she couldn't deny it was all her fault.
Sakura didn't sleep that night. She hadn't slept in well in many weeks. Her mind was heavy with a guilty conscience and thoughts about heartbreak, betrayal, and sadness. Even after a full month, she could still feel so much pain. She could not believe what she had done that day. It was something so unlike her. What was she thinking? How could she do such a thing? She didn't know what to do. It was all so confusing. She felt like no matter what was her action, she would be betraying someone one way or another. She would never forget what happened.
She could see herself, running as fast as she could. Sasuke was right within her grasp. There was not a thing in the world that would stop her. Much to her disappointment, Sasuke was long gone by the time she arrived at the small cottage. It was Orochimaru's hideout, where he remained hidden while his wounds from his invasion of the village were mended. Sakura hadn't been more sure of anything ever. She was so sure she would see her beloved again. All those dreams felt like they were now scattered in the wind. And then…came the scream.
It was a loud, piercing scream, as if someone was in terrible torture. The scream soon turned into the roar of a fierce beast, the roar beasts make when they go off to battle.
In the distance, an intense flash of light rose from the treetops far away, lighting up the night sky. It looked like a powerful explosion of red energy. It was burning the forest surrounding it at an alarming rate. Sakura felt strong gusts of hot air blowing at her face. The forest wildlife was rushing its way out. The ground was trembling strongly, like a meteor had impacted the Earth. Sakura went pale with horror. She raced as fast as she could towards the bright light, hoping her fear of what was happening wasn't a reality. As she drew closer, she could hear the sounds of fighting. It sounded like three men were fighting against some sort of monster. When the creature roared, it was usually followed by a scream of pain. Sakura felt the need of moving faster, but she was already moving as fast as her feet would carry her.
After running for what seemed hours, she arrived at the scene. It was the most shocking sight she had ever laid eyes on. There he was, Naruto, standing in the middle of what looked like a huge crater. All wildlife surrounding him had been burned to a crisp.
It wasn't the environment's condition what shocked her the most, but it was Naruto himself. He was barely standing, struggling to breathe, and was covered in blood. He wasn't wearing his jacket. The black shirt he wore underneath it was exposed. The sleeves had been ripped open. Orochimaru was laying face down on the ground with both his arms broken. Kabuto, Orochimaru's assistant, had one of his own poisonous needles through his shoulder blade. He was drinking a dark colored tonic from a small glass bottle. Physically, he wasn't as injured as his master. He was probably put out of commission quickly due to the poison. Most shocking of all, was Itachi Uchiha. His dark coat with red clouds had been singed from many areas. He had been scratched across the face by what looked to be claws. Finally, 9 shinobis were observing the scene as well not far from where Sakura was. They were all very familiar to Naruto and Sakura. They were eight Chunin, Shikamaru, Ino, Kiba, Choji, Shino, Hinata, Lee, and TenTen, and one Jonin, Neji. They all watched in shock at the ninja before them, bleeding from head to toe, who had just defeated three of the most dangerous ninja known to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
Itachi slowly rose back to his feet, only to disappear quickly in a split second. Kabuto soon rose as well and picked up Orochimaru, who was now unconscious. They both vanished quickly as well. Now, Naruto was left standing on his own. It was so quiet, his harsh breathing terrified most of the ninja present. He slowly turned around to face his friends. They were all very uneasy by looking at his present condition. It was his eyes that scared them the most. They were red like blood, and his expression was so intense, the fear could make you go crazy. Nobody knew whether to go to him and give him medical treatment or give him some room. Naruto's eyes studied everyone who was looking at them. They stopped right at where Sakura was standing. She was nervously sweating and her face was white as silk. The hatred shining in his eyes was taking its toll on Sakura. He was growling softly with a certain blood thirst in it. Everyone's attention was now on Sakura. Nobody was the wiser on what had happened between the two of them. Naruto slowly walked towards the kunoichi, which was still too afraid to do anything. His left hand was over his shoulder, which was probably badly hurt.
He was dragging his feet with the little strength left in his body. He was still staring at Sakura like it was about to jump at her and kill her. He was only a few feet away from them when he uttered the words,
'You…YOU TRAITOR!'
Sakura felt like her heart was exploding. With multiple gasps and shocked expressions, everyone else observed the two. Naruto'e eyes were burning with an otherworldly anger. His booming voice echoed as he spoke. His bleeding was intensifying.
'It has ALWAYS been about Sasuke with you! Never about me! How could you care for someone so twisted and selfish!? How could you still care for him after what he did to you!? How could you care about him if he NEVER was there for you when you needed him!? I was the one who always stood up for you, the one who would do anything for you, the one who really was there when you needed somebody, the one who swore that he'll always protect you, BUT YOU JUST DIDN'T CARE! After all I've done to try to make you happy, I still mean nothing to you!!'
Sakura started weeping. Nobody felt brave enough to stop Naruto.
'You…you are nothing but a…a…'
He had officially had it. He had lost too much blood, used up too much chakra in a very short time, and many of his bones were broken. The bearer of the Nine-Tails had pushed his own limits and reaached them all in the same fight. He collapsed to the ground, fainted. With haste, the other ninja rushed in to assist him, all except her. She just stood there as she watched how the others treated Naruto's critical condition. After sealing a few wounds and inspecting his chakra network, the team took him back to a nearby village where additional treatment would be given. It wasn't long until they realized the problem on their hands was too much. They had no choice but to rush him back to the village where Tsunade and Jiraiya could help. When they asked her what happened, she had no choice but to answer. Of course, Tsunade was infuriated by her reckless and thoughtless behavior in the heat of battle. No one had ever seen her temper reach such heights.
A small tear dropped from Sakura's eye. She was afraid of what she had become. She was ashamed to call herself the apprentice of the Fifth Hokage. She was confused and lost. She had realized that now, she was truly alone.
……………………………
Naruto walked down the white halls of the hospital with his sight facing the floor. His hands were stuffed inside his jacket pockets. From time to time, he looked up at the doors he passed by, checking their numbers. He walked slowly, with no motivation.
He felt deeply conflicted as he stared downward. He felt terribly down, which was very unlike him. Deep down, inside himself, he felt completely empty. Any happiness left inside him was little to none. The only thing on his mind was that there was a demon inside of him and it was only a matter of time before he broke free.
312, 313, 314, 315… the room he searched for was still nowhere to be found. As he walked by door 319, he heard the sounds of children crying. The door was open a crack, just enough for him too see what was going on. Inside, a woman lay on the bed with a respirator over her mouth. Her eyes were closed and she didn't move at all. Beside the bed was a small pot with roses on it. A man, who seemed to be in his 30's, and two kids were sitting on a sofa by the bed. The man's arm was around the children, muffling their crying. Naruto could hear them calling out to the woman in bed. They called out to their mother, whose life was hanging by a thin thread. The man tried to console them, making them believe everything would be all right, that mom will be back on her feet very soon, even if he didn't seem certain of it. The children's innocence hid the man's doubt. Naruto got chocked up as he saw such a scene. Feelings of loneliness, pain, and sorrow filled him inside. It reminded him of the time when he truly was alone in the world.
"So that's what a father is like," the young ninja thought.
324, 325, 326, 327. He had reached the room he was looking for. It was at the far end of the hall, against the wall. A nurse stand was to the left of the door. The nurse there was reading a magazine. When she heard Naruto's approaching footsteps, she looked up to face him.
'Lady Tsunade is waiting for you inside,' she said.
'Thanks,' answered the ninja with great deadpan. He slowly approached the door, almost hesitatingly. He wouldn't admit it to himself, but he was actually very nervous about talking about his problem with someone else. After what had happened, he didn't know how he would be treated or how should he treat the others.
"Go on. What are you waiting for?" The voice of the Nine Tails echoed inside his head.
'Shut up, demon,' said Naruto softly. The nurse looked up again at him, puzzled. He looked back at her.
'What?'
The nurse gasped softly and quickly returned to her reading.
"Please, call me Kyuubi," said the demon almost invitingly.
''Whatever,'' said Naruto inside his head. He figured that was the only way to keep his conversations with the fox private. He raised his fist against the door and slowly banged it three times.
'Come in, Naruto,' Tsunade's voice answered from inside the room.
He reached for the doorknob and pulled the door open. He was welcomed by the staring of five Jonin (Kakashi, Iruka, Asuma, Guy, and Kurenai), Jiraiya, and Tsunade.
He looked around the room, slightly confused. Some of them were holding a different package. They were all sitting in a long table that reached from one end of the room to the other. A single chair was in front of the table. If it wasn't for the table, the room would have been completely empty. It had no windows and the walls were colored in light green. The only light in the room came from a dim ceiling light.
'Naruto, please have a seat,' said Tsunade quite welcomingly. He didn't listen.
'Naruto,' this time, Tsunade had to raise her voice a little. The blue eyed ninja's attention was now centered on her.
'Have a seat.'
He nodded in agreement and closed the door behind him.
"You know what this is all about, right?" Once again, Kyubi invaded his thoughts.
"Obviously."
"Go ahead. Tell them all you want. See if I care. Anything you do will be in vain."
Naruto reached for the free chair and sat down. The other ninjas started examining the information inside the packages. Some showed the information to one another. No expression or feeling appeared on their faces. He imagined they might have seen this already. Tsunade started writing quickly on a small notebook. Jiraiya just sat there, thinking about something. Naruto's thoughts started drifting away as he stared at the walls.
"Well, they are sure taking their sweet time," he thought. "Why don't they just go out and say it already?"
"Nervous?"
"No. "
"Then why are you so tense?"
"I'm not tense!"
"You aren't fooling anybody."
"You know, I'm really not in the mood to be talking to you! I'll call you when a giant snake tries to eat the village. Now shut up or I'll shut you up!"
"I'd like to see you try."
"Why you little-"
'NARUTO!' the young ninja almost jumped out of his seat at the sound of the Fifth Hokage's booming voice. 'Pay attention when I'm talking to you!'
'Yes, grandma,' he said, sighing in frustration. "That's it. I'm only talking to you if we're alone or if someone's going to die, OK?" he said to the demon in his thoughts.
'I've told you many times already. Stop calling me that!' she said annoyed. She never really liked that nickname.
'Anyway, first of all, Naruto, let's go over what we already know.' He shifted in his seat as she spoke.
'About a month ago, after a long discussion with the village sages, we decided to make the biggest team we have ever assembled here in the Hidden Leaf Village. It had to be a team whose members had experience working with one another so that the team's functionality was effective. This team was composed of eleven ninjas. They were all trained by the Jonin that you see here. We called this team the Konoha 11. We would have used more Jonin if so many of them weren't unavailable. Neither I nor Jiraiya could be on this team because we can't leave the village right now. This team was made with the purpose of retrieving Sasuke Uchiha.'
Now, it was Jiraiya who continued talking.
'Our scout troops had reported that there was a small, secluded village along the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. This town is hidden among the trees of a vast forest. These conditions make it difficult to accurately pin point the exact location. All its inhabitants are said to live on the treetops. According to the report, somewhere in this area, Orochimaru had established a small hideout. As far as we knew, he, Sasuke, and Kabuto have been in hiding there for the last couple of weeks. '
Naruto grunted in affirmation. He remembered being there, running through an ocean of trees that stretched into the horizon.
'We suspected that the reason why Orochimaru would move here would be part of a new plot he could be developing,' Jiraiya continued, 'It was your team's job to perform a surprise attack before he had the chance of doing any major offense.'
He turned to look at Kakashi. He continued the story.
'We learned that Orochimaru is keeping a strong bind on Sasuke through the curse mark. Apparently, Sasuke feels he's strong enough to go out on his own and kill Itachi. With this bind, Orochimaru is controlling all his actions and making him act to his will, preventing Sasuke from doing as he pleases. As you know, Orochimaru possesses the Immortality Jutsu. This makes his soul immortal, but the body decays quickly. So, every few years he must change into a new body. This is why he wants Sasuke. He is training him so that when the time comes, he can posses the power of a fully developed Sharingan.'
Naruto's fists twitched as he said these words.
'What we didn't expect would be that Orochimaru had set a trap for your squad for when you arrived. He let himself be discovered on purpose by our scouts to lure us there so he could take us out and stop interfering with his plans of developing Sasuke's Sharingan and strengthening his curse mark. Upon your arrival, your squad discovered that he's starting to gather a massive army of rogue ninjas as well. You were ambushed by at least 200 of them. They were threatening to destroy the town hidden in the trees. You had no choice but to stay and fight. But still, you couldn't let Orochimaru get away, so while your squad mates stayed behind to horde off the invaders, you and Sakura went on ahead to fight him and retrieve Sasuke, even if it meant using brute force against a fellow Shinobi.'
'Fellow Shinobi?!' Naruto interrupted. He looked daggers at Kakashi. He jumped off his seat and pointed at him. 'You dare call him our friend after what he's done?! What is wrong with you?! That guy is nothing but a traitor! A selfish, treacherous, son of a…!'
'NARUTO!' Tsunade shouted. 'Sit down, now!' He reluctantly obliged. He mumbled to himself as he sat down.
'You were saying, Kakashi?' Tsunade turned to face him.
'Anyway,' he continued, 'another thing that we didn't expect would be that Itachi Uchiha would take advantage of an opportunity such as this to attack and try to harness the power of the Nine-Tails for himself. We should have known better.' He hanged his head in shame. He gazed down at the table for a long time.
"What's his problem? We took him out easily." The demon remarked.
"Quiet." Naruto thought.
Iruka continued what Kakashi was saying.
'OK Naruto, as Kakashi was saying, Itachi had been waiting for a chance like this to get the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox.'
"I've had it up to here with everyone calling not calling me by my real name. Why don't you tell them what my name is?"
"I will, but not now!" Naruto thought angrily.
'…Itachi attacked you and Sakura on your way to find Sasuke. Even if you ran away, there was no way out of fighting him. Naruto, how would you describe your fight with him? Did you feel anything strange?
'Didn't Sakura tell you about it?' the blonde ninja asked.
'We want to hear your version of it now.'
'OK,' he looked up as if trying to remember what happened. He hadn't forgotten, but it was still a little hard to recall everything.
'Itachi is without a doubt one of the most dangerous guys I've ever fought. He kept coming at us with many fast attacks. In the blink of an eye, he would be standing right in front of me, trying to subdue me with the Sharingan. Sakura would try to counter him, but this work only some of the time. We were too slow.'
He paused briefly before continuing.
'I've seen Itachi fight before, like the first time he tried to capture me and Sasuke fought him. I'd say not much has changed in the way he fights, but this time, something seemed different. It was then when he explained that he had turned his back on the Akatsuki and killed them all. Before doing so, he used the Sharingan to copy all their Jutsus.
'Yes, Sakura explained that to us,' Iruka affirmed.
'That is one messed up guy, isn't he?' said Naruto smiling lightly. It didn't last.
'I only started to get the hang of things until I started releasing a portion of Ky-' he hesitated before finishing, '…the Nine Tails' chakra.'
"Coward!" said the booming voice inside his mind.
"Not now!" Naruto answered.
He faced the others again. 'With this extra boost, I was able to dodge Itachi's attacks more accurately and counter him, too. I also had to do my best to defend Sakura. This left me open for attack several times, but I was able to get out of the way…at least sometimes. We kept at it for a few minutes until I felt I couldn't keep up with him anymore. I needed more of the demon's chakra. Now, I knew I was able to deliver a full frontal attack with several of my Shadow Clones and bring him down. I was sure I had him this time…until I got intercepted by Kabuto. He and Orochimaru had arrived to stop us as well. Kabuto attacked me with a series of quick jabs and punches. He hit several pressure points and nerves in my body that blocked my access to the Fox's chakra. It hasn't been the first time he's done that.'
He spoke softly and slowly, as if meditating on these past events. He sat silent with his sight drifting to the floor.
'I can still see it all…going so fast through my mind…it's like all of it happened in just a split second. Our enemies overwhelming us…Sakura falling before me…the glow of the Sharingan…Orochimaru's loud, evil cackle…
'But, what happened next?' asked Iruka. Naruto took his time before answering. Once again, he talked slowly and paused.
'They kept knocking me to the ground…Orochimaru and Kabuto would quickly turn their attention to Itachi and block him so he wouldn't have an open opportunity to get me. The roles switched constantly. There was nothing I could do. Without the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox, I was utterly defenseless. Two of them wanted to kill me, the other one wanted to harvest my power for his evil, selfish purposes. Whoever won, I was going to lose. As their attacks kept coming, I struggled to keep on fighting; I started to notice that Sakura was no longer doing anything. I asked myself 'Where is she? What is she doing?' I called out to her, but there was no answer. At first, I thought she had been knocked out…or possibly killed…but…as I raised my head after I had been stricken down…I was facing a path through the trees.'
His voice deepened and grew more solemn as he continued narrating what he saw.
'I saw Sakura…running down the path…as fast as she could. I immediately knew what she was doing. She was going to Orochimaru's hideout…by herself…to find Sasuke. I called out to her as loud as my lungs let me. She turned around to look at me. Anguish and pain were written all over her face…blood was dripping from her forehead…she was about to break into tears. She stared at me for a long time. She kept turning around to face the path leading to Sasuke. She kept hesitating whether to go back to help me…or leave me to die while she finds…her beloved.'
He struggled to finish this sentence. He had already made up his mind about this, but still, he felt like he hurt himself as he said these words.
'Sakura probably had hoped she would be long gone before I noticed. There was no way she wanted to be at that place and at that time. Finally…she looked at me for a long time…she started to cry…said something I could not understand…turned around…and disappeared into the forest.'
He went silent as he finished narrating. Certain unevenness filled him inside. He could tell that everyone in the room was looking right at him, as if waiting for him to continue. Finally, Jiraiya asked, 'And then what?'
Naruto didn't answer right away. The look in his eyes indicated that he was thinking about that day. The images all so clear in his head, the smell of blood, the dirt on his face, the mocking laughter of Orochimaru, the beaming, intense shining of Itachi's eyes…
'He was making fun of me,' he finally continued, 'that Orochimaru. He was saying, 'Too bad your little girlfriend isn't here to save you. Oh wait…she's not your girlfriend. She doesn't even care about your life! All for the sake of her precious Sasuke.' And then he kicked me right in the ribs while I was down. There I was, lying half-dead on the ground. Now, it was just Kabuto and Orochumaru against Itachi. The winner would have me. All I could do was wait for my destiny. If Itachi won, he would have the power sealed within me. If Orochimaru won, I would kill me. As I lay there, my body felt heavy and cold. I felt dizzy and nauseous. Probably because of all the blood I lost. I could not get rid of its taste. All I could think of was Sakura running away from me, sending me to my grave. All my life, I had tried to impress her, win a special place in her heart. I could put up with the fact that she always liked Sasuke better than me, but I was determined to change all that. Even when I made her angry, I would respect that. I liked everything about her. She was beautiful, she was smart, she was talented, and independent. All that was being shattered right before me. I thought I knew Sakura, but this changed everything. The way I had always pictured her had now been thrown out the window. I felt so…angry. It was a rage I had never felt before. It was so…fural. I felt a…lust for blood.'
Everyone shifted in their chairs. Once again, Naruto's voice was slow and deep.
'I didn't know what was happening. I didn't know what I was becoming. But, I knew one thing for sure… I wanted to kill. I felt a strong pressure inside me, like a locked beast pounding against its cage. It became stronger each passing second. I started to fee like...well, it's hard to describe. It was like somehow my soul was being pushed out of my body by something else. There was something controlling me…and I was starting to take its form. My hands and feet had grown large claws. My teeth were sharpening. My arms widened, ripping through my jacket. My eyes started to see hundreds of yards away. I could smell the blood of others. And then, before I knew it…the pressure inside of me was set loose. I shouted as I felt this massive amount of chakra blew out from inside of me. It was such an unbearable pain. Everyone was looking at me, but they had to run away from the wave of chakra. I observed as everything around me was dying. With a mighty leap, I charged towards my escaping enemies. I couldn't believe the speed at which I was going. I found myself moving on all fours, kinda like Kiba does sometimes when he's fighting. I do remember doing something like this sometimes, but this was on a whole different level. It felt like I was a full-blown animal that would stop at nothing to kill. I tracked down all three of my attackers with ease. As I moved on, I noticed that the trees around me burned down. First one to go down was Kabuto. He tried to stab me in the neck with a poison needle before I reached him, but he was too slow for me. I pinned him down and stabbed him with his own needle. It took a quick effect on him. Orochimaru and Itachi hadn't fled too far. I stalked them like…like an animal on the hunt. I'm sorry, I can't describe it any better than that.'
Much to Naruto's surprise, there weren't a lot of shocked looks among the Jonin in the room.
'They didn't stop running. They probably knew it was too dangerous, maybe even suicide to take me on in my present form. Itachi was next to go down. He dodged my first strike, but tried to counter me using the Sharingan from behind. He thought he had me, but I was able to make my move first. It felt very natural, but I could not believe the speed at which I was thinking. My reflexes were sharper than ever. With a right jab, I hit Itachi right in the chest, cutting off his breathing shortly. I rapidly clawed at him until he fell. I could tell he was overwhelmed by how fast I was moving. Finally, it was just me and Orochimaru. I tricked him by using a Shadow Clone to attack him from behind to make him think it was the real me. I figured he wouldn't be worrying if it was really me who was following him. My Clone missed on purpose to give him a good sense of security, but before he could make his move, I came at him from above with a Rasengan made from Kyuubi's chakra.'
'Kyuubi?' asked Tsunade
'That's his name,' he answered.
"Thank you,"said Kyuubi, sounding exasperated.
'How'd you know?'
'I could talk with him during this state. He hates it when you don't refer to him like that.'
'OK…please continue,' asked Tsunade confused. She wanted to learn more about Naruto's connection with the demon, but knew she had to let him finish talking.
'Anyway, using the demon Rasengan, I slammed him into the ground, nearly lifeless. That was it. I had won. It all happened so quickly. I watched it all happened, but I couldn't stop myself. Most of what I remember is nothing but huge blurs. I guess that's right about it. The team later arrived to check on what was going on, including Sakura. Everyone was staring at me in total fear. TenTen looked like she was staring at a ghost and Hinata and Ino looked like they were having a heart attack. I must have looked pretty messed up to frighten them like that.'
'Well, according to what your team said, you were literally soaked in blood, you had the eyes of a monster, and your teeth looked like real fangs,' Kakashi interrupted. 'Sorry about that, please go on.'
'The last thing I remember was going up to Sakura and accusing her for abandoning me. After so many years of putting up with her and Sasuke, I finally let her know what I thought. I was just furious at her. I didn't care if I was making her cry. I felt like I was getting some sort of sick satisfaction out of it. And then, I…I just fainted. The next thing I knew was that I was at this hospital in a room that looked like it was turned into some flower shop.'
'Well, you sure know how to draw big attention,' said Jiraiya. His tone of voice was serious.
'Now, Naruto, did you feel something strange when you woke up?'
He waited for a comment from Kyuubi, but there was no answer. He felt like he was toying with him. He had already said that it wouldn't matter what Naruto said.
'Well…' he started, 'I had this dream before I woke up. In this dream, the village had been destroyed. It looked like a scene out of an end-of-the-world kind of movie. Fire was falling down from the sky, burning down what remained of the village. I saw myself in a demon form. The fox had taken over me. He made me slaughter all my comrades. I couldn't look away. I couldn't fight back. His hold on me was too strong.'
'Anything else?' Jiraiya asked.
'When I woke up, I could hear the demon talking inside my head. He said he would use me to destroy the village and help me get my revenge.'
'Revenge?'
'Yeah. He says he felt sorry for the way I was treated all my life and wanted to help me get back at those who treated me like crap.'
"Feel sorry?" Jiraiya thought. "What the hell?"
'And then what?' Tsunade continued.
'I denied his offer, even though he said it was unavoidable. He said he will break through the seal and take over my identity. If this happens, I would cease to exist. I would be the one locked away in a cage instead of Kyuubi.'
Now, everyone was still and exchanging looks of affirmation. Everyone nodded when their eyes met.
"Looks like they will finally tell me why I really am here," Naruto thought.
Tsunade handed Naruto a package she had in front of her. 'We want you to take a look at this,' she said.
Naruto opened the package. It was full of x-ray pictures of his body, showing his skeleton, muscles, nervous system, cardiovascular system, samples of his cellular structure, and even his chakra network. A lot of circles marked certain areas of the images, highlighting different areas that looked strongly damaged.
'What is all this?' he asked.
'These are shots we took of you while you were unconscious. These were from a month ago. If you pay close attention, you'll see that your tissues are recovering due to the power of…Kyuubi.' She hesitated before calling the demon by its name.
'I thought Chakra networks were invisible,' Naruto said
'We have been working with the Hyuga clan with a new technology that can help us study any individual's Chakra network and even take pictures of it. Impressive, don't you think?'
He just stared at the pictures, observing the many channels of chakra flowing inside of him.He noticed several spots were the flow of chakra was more intense than others and other ares where chakra was barely flowing. Jiraiya then handed Naruto a second package with pictures. 'These are from two weeks ago.'
"Two weeks ago?!" Naruto looked flabbergasted at the pictures. They looked almost no different to the previous package.
'You can probably see they look virtually unchanged. This made us very concerned about not only your condition, but that of the Nine-Tails as well. It seems that this fight really put some strain on both of you.'
A third package was handed to him.
'These are from three days ago,' said Jiraiya, 'You can probably tell there has been improvement overall.'
He was right. His bone fractures were healing up nicely and his Chakra had become more stable. His organs looked like they were working properly.
'Well, I guess this explains why I was covered with bandages when I woke up.'
'Correct. Now, I want you to take a good look at your cellular structure shots.'
Naruto obliged but couldn't understand why.
'OK, what seems to be the problem?' he asked.
'Your cellular structure is the one thing that isn't stabilizing much,' Jiraiya answered. 'After thinking it thoroughly, we came to the decision that this effect is due to your body's extreme exposure to the Nine-Tails'-
'Kyuubi,' Naruto interrupted.
'Fine,' answered Jiraiya, reluctantly. 'Sorry, but I still hold a grudge against him…after what he did to the Fourth Hokage.'
Everyone turned around to face Jiraiya when he finished.
'Well, as I was saying, exposure to…Kyuubi's chakra is deteriorating your cellular structure, causing your-'
'Wait,' Naruto interrupted again, 'isn't Kyuubi's chakra supposed to heal my wounds?'
'Yes, but let me finish now.' He sighed deeply before continuing. 'His chakra is too intense to be contained by an ordinary human. When the chakra acts on a human body, it starts to deteriorate your skin, your hair, basically every part of your body. You may not notice this because any damage done is quickly repaired. It's this cycle of destroying and regenerating your tissues that is damaging your cells. Even if you may not age physically, your body becomes frailer, thus shortening your life span…'
Naruto gasped quietly and stared blankly at Jiraiya. His celestial eyes widened. He felt a chill in his spine, crawling all the way up to the back of his neck. The sheer thought of his death made him feel like he would never accomplish his lifelong dream of being Hokage. Everything was looking more distant than ever, almost unreachable.
'…which is why the Fourth Hokage used the strongest Sealing Jutsu known to this village to keep the demonic chakra in check. Unfortunately…' he handed more pictures to Naruto, this ones highlighting the seal on his stomach, the seal that protected the world from the evil inside him. He observed from picture to picture as small sections of the seal were disappearing.
'…lately, we have seen that little by little,' said Tsunade, continuing what Jiraiya was saying, 'the strength of the Fourth Hokage's seal has been depleting. At the rate its going, it should take several years before the demon can have any chance of finding an opportunity. Why he wishes to use a human body that will waste away with him still inside is beyond me. We're lucky that we have been blessed with some time.'
'So, no problem, then?' asked Naruto, almost eagerly. This could be the one thing that could make him feel any better about this whole problem. 'You'll find a cure, right?'
'Not exactly.' Tsunade laid her elbows on the table and crossed her hands in front of her. 'You see, this problem is a lot more complex than we expected. We have tried repairing the seal with techniques we already know, but the results have been sub par. We cannot say how long it will take to come to a solution. Even as we speak, highly specialized Jonin are working on this.'
Her voice changed to a more ominous tone, which caught Naruto's attention, who still seemed to be studying the photos.
'After much talk with the village sages, we came to the decision that we can't afford to take any risks. Until we have a solution for this, you will have to abstain from any violent or extreme labor.'
Naruto, who seemed to be pretty serene, exploded in Tsunade's face as he jumped on the desk.
'WHAT!?'
'Naruto, calm down!' shouted Kakashi.
'You mean you're not sending me on any missions from now on?! What kind of bull is that?!'
'Try to understand it's for your own safety and for the village's safety!' Tsunade said as she grabbed him by the shoulders, only to be quickly pushed away. By now, everyone was standing up.
'You can't do this to me! I'm a ninja! You're taking my life's work away from me! This is how you treat your comrades?!' he said growling.
'This is exactly what we are talking about, Naruto!' shouted Iruka, 'You have to avoid any stress or extreme anger to keep the seal from weakening. Please.'
Naruto's ferocious stare met with Iruka. He slightly stepped back as his penetrating eyes met with his. He wasn't moving. He just stood there with no movement at all. Finally, he stepped down from the desk. 'Fine,' he said.
'We would really recommend you to try meditating more often or take a bath in a hot spring.' Kakashi said, 'They really help you be at ease. Trust me, the least you need in your life now is unnecessary stress.'
There was no answer from Naruto. His eyes were to the wall.
'From now on, just try to continue your life and take it easy with your training.'
'That is all,' said Jiraiya, 'Thank you, Naruto. You may leave now.'
Naruto stood from his chair and, without saying a word, closed the door to the office behind him.
As he walked down the hall, the booming echo of Kyuubi's voice came to his mind once more.
"Fools. What a waste of our time."
"I thought you'd be whining a lot more near the end," Naruto responded inside his head.
"Quite frankly, I was bored."
"You know, they did mention an important point. Why would you use a human body that will just be destroyed by your chakra instead of just breaking free? If I die, then so will you."
"Obviously, I'm not planning on staying with you very long. As soon as I kill every last man, woman, and child in this village, I'll be free before you know it."
"Not if I have something to say about it, you don't."
"Don't tell me you're actually going to obey them?"
"It's a small price I'll pay just to make you suffer."
"You think you're so clever, don't you? Hey, are you listening to me?"
Naruto was looking at a woman at the far end of the corridor. She was truly beautiful. A little girl was complaining about something that had to do with an operation. She said she was afraid that she might not make it and that she didn't want it to happen. The woman, apparently her mother, explained that she was afraid, too, but told her that if she didn't get the operation, she would not ever see her again. Next, she just held her in her arms as her voice started breaking. She told her that she loved her, and that was more than enough for her to make it. Once again, Naruto felt something building up in his throat. The same sad feelings he had experienced earlier were back. Looking at a touching moment between a parent and her child made him feel certain hollowness in him, like he was missing something…or someone. Before him was a feeling that he had wanted to experience all his life, but unfortunately, he never had the chance. It was a feeling that made him feel warm on the inside.
"What is the matter with you, boy?"
'Love,' he said out loud.
"Huh?"
He turned around and rapidly walked back towards the office.
"What is it now?" asked the demon in frustration. No answer came.
The nurse wasn't in her stand anymore. The only thing left was her open magazine. Naruto was about to knock on the door, but the conversation inside was hard to let by.
'Did you see the look on his face?' It was Iruka who was talking. 'He's usually so happy and full of energy, but now, he looked so…empathic.'
'Well you'd be like that too if you woke up to news as bad as that.' It was Kurenai who answered.
Jiraiya sighed exasperatedly. 'This wouldn't be so hard if he was still alive. He'd know what to do.'
"Who's he?" thought Naruto with his ear to the door.
'You know,' Asuma started speaking, 'we're going to have to tell him the truth someday.'
'We don't know how he'll take it,' Kakashi responded. 'Imagine what could happen if we told him right now. Knowing Naruto, I'd say he'd be very angry. The least we want from him right now is for him to act up.'
Naruto tried to get closer to the door at the mention of his name. His eagerness and anxiousness built up inside him. He would not leave until he knew what they were talking about.
'You're probably right,' answered Guy.
'You really got to feel sorry for Naruto,' said Jiraiya. 'If he had grown up with his parents, then maybe life wouldn't have been so hard for him. He could have received a bit more respect and gotten along with other people a whole lot easier. Then again, it was that problem that turned him into the man he is today. It's what makes him so strong. Hell, he could even become stronger than his father.'
Naruto lead out a short gasp.
'Does anybody know what happened to his mother?' asked Kurenai.
'Nobody has seen her since the day the fox invaded the village,' said Guy. 'For all we know, she could be dead.'
Naruto was now leaning against the door. His weight made the door creak loudly. The abrupt silence indicated that his cover had been blown. Naruto softly let out an annoyed grunt. To masquerade what he had been doing, he knocked on the door and waited for an answer. Tsunade came to the door and opened it to find Naruto standing in front of her, without realizing that he was trying to hide just how nervous he was feeling right now.
'Naruto? What is it?' asked Tsunade with a bit of fear. She could not discard the possibility that he was listening to their conversation. Naruto tried to think of a good excuse, but there was only one that could seem convincing enough.
'Yeah, you see Grandma Tsunade,' he started as a stern look appeared on the Hokage's face, 'I forgot to ask you…what day is it today?'
'The 21st. Why?' she responded.
Whatever nervousness there was inside of Naruto was gone. It was now exactly three years ago when one morning, he was awakened by Shikamaru, who brought him terrible news, news that would start one of his most dangerous missions ever.
'It's today, isn't it?' Tsunade asked, realizing what had happened three years ago. The young ninja nodded in affirmation.
'What are you going to do?'
'What choice do I have?' said Naruto.
'Thank you.' And with that, he turned around and once again was on his way out.
'Don't tell me you actually plan on going?' asked Kyuubi. 'You are pathetically predictable.'
Well, it was the longest chapter yet, but it was worth it! I know there have been some mistakes according to the format of the dialogue, both internal and external, but I'll look into it on Ch.4. Well, I guess this is it until after the holidays.
HAVE YOURSELVES A MERRY CHRISTMAS!
And a big happy birthday to Hinata Hyuga! (Dec. 27).
I would have wished a happy birthday to Naruto (Oct. 10) but I hadn't realized the exact date by then.
By the way, I really want to share this story with a whole lot more people. I would appreciate any tips on how can I enter a FanFiction community.
COMING IN 2008: CH.4: "A NIGHT TO REMEMBER"