She always leaned to watch for us
Anxious if we were late,
In winter by the window,
In summer by the gate.
And though we mocked her tenderly
Who had such foolish care,
The long way home would seem more safe,
Because she waited there.
Her thoughts were all so full of us,
She never could forget,
And so I think that where she is
She must be watching yet.
Waiting 'til we come home to her
Anxious if we are late
Watching from Heaven's window
Leaning from Heaven's gate.
The Watcher
by Margaret Widdemer
My grandmother has passed away. So in the name of her memory I would like to ask you to stand up, embrace and kiss your own, and tell her that you love her. If she lives on the other side of the country pick up your phone and call her. It doesn't matter if it's midnight. She will listen to you. Sit down, listen to her stories, to her jokes, to her advice and wisdom or just ask for a recipe from her.
It will make her happy.
Treasure the times when you were just sitting together, laughing and joking. Remember her stories. Memorize her soft smile when she looks at you with unconditional love. Carve that picture into your soul. That is the way I'm always going to remember her. Her last cheeky remark that she told me with that soft smile on her wrinkled face.
The last time I saw her, I stepped out of the house after one last glance in the knowledge that I'll never see her again. She was sick and weak, but you know what? She just laughed and waved her head dismissively when she saw the tears in my eyes. She just laughed at me then in the end we laughed together.
Remember the happy times. Always. Never forget her, because she will patiently wait for you, watching over your every step.
I will never forget her.
Disclaimer: Naruto and every character of the Naruto universe belongs to Kishimoto Masashi and companies, I don't know.
I would like to ask a burst of applause for my fantastic beta readers: ImaginationJunkie1412, Ano-Hitori-Chichi, BethZ and Skyisthelimit.
Original upload date: 13. October 2013
Last update:
Chance for a Prophecy
Chapter 20. – Inside The Snake Pit
Naruto immediately shook the icy hand from his shoulder when he felt solid ground under his feet again, twisting to the side. However, his graceful movement faltered as he bumped into a long wooden table slumping under papers, files. Scrolls, flasks and an insurmountable number of various glass vials filled with colorful liquids. Naruto's heart rate increased as he received a sudden rush of adrenalin when his eyes met with an unidentifiable creature's body in a big glass cylinder, motionlessly floating in a yellowish liquid.
"Still jumpy around me…I'll take that as a compliment."
"Where are we?" He wanted to ask the fox in his mindscape, but the question slipped out from his mouth aloud as he turned around to face the Sannin.
"In one of my laboratories under Konoha." Orochimaru answered casually while he motioned toward a door at the end of the room.
"Just play along; remember the plan we discussed." Naruto narrowed his eyes but followed the Sannin to the next room, which contained the same sight. Only one thing was different: there was a metal examining table at the back of the room.
The laboratory was different than what Naruto originally had imagined of the Snake's nest, where the man had done his nasty experiments with Yamato-taicho and countless others. It was absolutely nothing like he had expected.
The place was clean like a hospital instead of a dirty cave, the walls covered with white tiles. The most suspicious things were the dissected animals soundlessly floating in some kind of liquid. He couldn't find any bodies hanging from the ceiling, or cells holding wailing captives. Nor could he see any blood stains in the room. It was spotless. However, he could still smell the faint, metallic scent of the crimson red liquid. His eyes drifted to the left part of the room, where the smell was the strongest and he spotted a large freezer next to the wall.
A half smile appeared on the Sannin's face as he followed Naruto's gaze. He slowly walked to the freezer and opened it to reveal hundreds, maybe even a thousand, neatly labeled small vials containing the aforementioned red essence.
"Blood samples, mostly from Fire country. They're not that hard to gather. Shinobi have a tendency to bleed a lot." Naruto nodded at the explanation; however, he didn't know exactly why. The hair on the back of his neck had been on high alert ever since he had set foot into the lab, and despite it really looking like a normal hospital lab, it unnerved him like nothing else before. This wasn't good. He had thought the snake would bring him to the place where he was doing his questionable experiments, filled with evidence against him. If he acted now, he would be hunted down as a murderer.
"We have to find evidence before we can do anything. Act according to the plan, but don't let him do anything too suspicious." It seemed Kurama had come to the same conclusion.
'Like what? Even the way he breathes is suspicious!'
"Like give you a shot or anything like that, you idiot!"
"You somehow managed to trick my senses. No one has been able to sneak up on me." Naruto presented the question that had been bothering him from the very beginning.
An annoyed snort bubbled out from the back of Orochimaru's throat. "I'm one of the Sannin foolish little boy. I could sneak inside a Kage summit and sit down next to your brother or Sarutobi-sensei impersonating one of the leaders and they would have no clue that it was me. Not even my naive, aging teacher would notice it. I've been fooling this whole village for months and you think that tricking you,of all people, is impossible?" The snake raised an eyebrow. "You are more arrogant than I first thought."
The blond narrowed his eyes into slits, teeth clenched together to restrain himself from simply kicking the Sannin's butt now in his annoyance. Indeed, the snake was absolutely right. He acted arrogantly, too overconfident in his own skills. He had been acting like a real idiot. Something he thought he had grown out of over the years. At least most of it.
The pale man eyed the teen in front of him, waiting for a reply, but when none came he shrugged and motioned toward the back of the lab.
"Toroku-kun, lay down there." Naruto slowly walked toward the metal examining table where Orochimaru pointed, but he leaned against it instead.
"I will stand, thanks. And no straps or shots. If you want a blood sample I will give it to you by my own hand."
"Jumpy and paranoid. What do you think I will do to you?" Naruto didn't answer, only narrowed his eyes in his suspicion and Orochimaru let it be, as in the end shrugged and handed over a vial to him.
"Fill at least the half of it with blood." Naruto obeyed, slicing his palm open, letting the crimson liquid flow freely into the vial, his actions were followed by Orochimaru's hungry gaze.
"It isn't healing as fast as I once saw." The snake remarked, eyeing his still open wound, waiting for an answer that never came.
"I take it you can control your healing rate. Hm, I'm curious. Will your body reject a transplanted organ? Could you grow back a severed limb? Or an eye for example? So many possibilities." Orochimaru mused, his eyes sparkling with a hungry light. Naruto didn't open his mouth to answer, however the question left him dumbfounded. Could Kurama actually do it?
"There is a slight chance, but I don't advise you try it. I've never had to do anything like that."
'Like I would seriously try it! Geez, I was just musing.'
"I also need tissue samples." Naruto raised an eyebrow questioningly, and then glanced down to his still open wound and back to the Sannin, who rolled his eyes.
"Hair will be fine for now." The chuunin nodded and handed over a small blond tuft obediently.
While the snake turned around with his samples, Naruto's experienced fingers trailed to the bottom of the ice cold examining table. When he found the right location he stiffened and a slight, almost unnoticeable amount of nature's and his own chakra traveled from his fingertip toward the metal's surface, to sketch a miniaturized, ink black seal on it. A small, easy, but very useful trick he found in one of Jiraiya's old scrolls at Mount Myoboku. It was a small tracing seal which could be sensed only in Sage mode, so when he finally got out of here he would be able to locate it from a safe distance.
His eyes widened when the snake suddenly stopped and glanced back over his shoulder with a puzzled expression on his face, then it slipped into an amused smirk.
"Well, well, well. Messing with nature's energy isn't for kids. It seems there's more to you than I first thought."
"There goes our plan…" Kurama muttered in his mindscape, and a sheepish smile appeared on Naruto's face.
"The feeling is mutual." The snake grimaced at the oblique offensive words, and put the vial away before turning around to march to the tensed teen. His arm moved to grab his cheeks, but Naruto was faster. With one graceful twist he was behind the Sannin with a cocky smile on his face.
"No touching, snake face." An angry grimace replaced the previous amusement in Orochimaru's expression, and he turned to face the blond time traveler while folding his arms across his chest. His eyes traveled along Naruto in a new, calculating manner. After one long and tense silent minute, the snake started to chuckle.
"My, my. There goes my theory. I thought you were made artificially in a lab to assassinate Minato-kun and that your regeneration ability was a symptom of the mixture of increased body growth and Uzumaki genes. A brainless vessel with inserted memories, skills and planted orders. And your addiction to peace was only to gain Minato's and my foolhardy teammate's trust. I really thought that your abilities and techniques were just implanted to have the skills to get rid of Minato-kun. But using senjutsu isn't something which can be simply implanted. It requires long years of experience and not to mention spiritual peace. And I doubt it was Jiraiya who taught it to you."
Naruto tilted his head to the side and dismissively folded his arms across his chest, letting out an angry snarl. "I'm not some kind of freaky clone or something, dattebayo! I'm really Minato's relative. Only your sick and wicked mind would come up with a theory like that."
The snake tilted his head to the side, observing the blond chuunin with increased curiosity. "Then what are you?"
"Why would I tell you anything?"
Naruto's body stiffened to gather nature's energy, but Orochimaru jumped into action before he could finish the process. A snake shot forward from under his sleeve to bite Naruto's neck and to distract him, but a moment later, the snake's head dropped to the ground and disappeared with a puff of smoke as the blond severed its head with razor sharp wind chakra. Naruto's eyes widened when the small amount of senjutsu collected this time expanded his senses enough that he could feel the people on the other side of the wall not ten meters away from where they stood. At least a dozen weak people placed in small groups, maybe cells in the hidden room.
"You…What's behind this room?" Another set of snakes shoot forward, utilizing the frozen and shocked state of the blond to clamp down on his arms, neck and torso, restraining him from every small movement, while something also kept him from gathering nature's energy, or use his own chakra.
'Now I'm pissed off.' Naruto let out a snarl and he was about to call for Kurama's chakra when a fling of a tail in his mindscape stopped him.
"Wait a little bit. Let's see what he wants from us. I'm curious."
In the next blink Kurama found himself with a dumbfounded Naruto. "Curious? You are curious?!" The emotionless mask was gone, the blond's face moved into the perfect mixture or disbelief, anger and irritation. "Let me get this straight. At least two dozen snakes are currently biting into my flesh and you are telling me to wait, because you are curious?"
The fox smirked. "Just relax. He is just a small fly. We are way stronger then him if we're using our full power. We need more information before we kick his ass." The blond growled, but obeyed as Orochimaru's sinister voice stabbed the silence.
"Well it seems I have to stop toying with you. It's a shame. I wanted to play with you a little bit more. But once I figure out your healing abilities you will be a perfect subject for my experiments. Maybe I'll finally be able to transplant a sharingan into a new body." A sinister smile spread across his face, then he turned around and with one flick of his hand, they disappeared from the room and reappeared in the next one with one quick Shunshin. Azure eyes ran through the surroundings, noting the cages and bars carved into the hard surface. Then they were locked on the sight behind the iron bars. Hospital beds were lined up, each of them holding a captive. A child, a woman or a man under heavy sheets and straps. Everything was silent around them, the people currently occupying the prisons were either too weak or frightened to move, instead they were hiding at the back in the shadows or they were motionless under their sheets. However one pair of weary eyes flared open for a moment before the small head dropped back from exhaustion.
"Don't be concerned. It's nothing personal." The Sannin chatted casually and sent a small, almost sincere smile and slowly walked out from the prison, tearing away Naruto's gaze as he was dragged out and they entered a giant cave. Orochimaru dragging his captive all the way to the opposite side, toward another passage.
Naruto strained his endurance over his limits, desperately trying to fight against his urge to kick the irritating pale shinobi to the other world. An idea popped up, finally averting his previous thoughts. "Minato is going to look for me and find this place eventually!"
"Don't be so sure in that. We are deep inside the Hokage Monument. Nobody will hear you, smell you, nor sense your chakra. I could even put a bijuu in here and your brother would never even take notice of it." If there wasn't a snake around his neck, Naruto would tilt his head to the side questioningly.
'Do you think he is bluffing?' Kurama shrugged, but a sinister smile spread across his fluffy face in his pleasure.
"A bijuu?" Naruto asked curiously.
The Sannin chuckled, stopped in the middle of the giant cave and turned to face the young boy, pointing his finger high toward the ceiling. With one movement of his other wrist, the snakes around Naruto's neck moved, forcing his body to move independently from his will and his head followed Orochimaru's finger.
The chuunin's eyes widened. He already saw something similar to this once when he was training with Killer Bee on that creepy island. He hadn't had a clue as to what those were at the time, however he was smarter this time. Well, at least a little. Azure eyes were glued in the pattern, tracing the lines, curves and symbols. Ancient seals were carved all along the high ceiling. Countless numbers of barriers were layered on top of each other and tied together, creating a thick layer of chakra concealing seals.
Orochimaru left the boy lost in his own small world, his amber eyes observing the blond with a satisfied smile on his face, watching as realization struck the boy. "This place is ancient; it was here even before Konoha was founded. No one else even knows about its existence. This place was used to tame one of the bijuu in secret." Naruto forced his gaze back to the Sannin as much as the snakes let him, with a wondering expression on his face.
A sinister smirk spread across Orochimaru's features, waiting for the blond to become frightened when he finally realize that this would be the end. But his smile suddenly slipped into a suspicious glare when a wide, foxy, but altogether satisfied smirk appeared on Naruto's face instead of fear. Then the blond opened his mouth and his eyes sparkled with an odd light.
"Perfect."
Minato glanced at his beautiful betrothed with a soft smile on his face, watching as Kushina bit into the food. Even the sauce currently sliding toward her chin from her soft lips looked cute, it didn't mess her perfect image. Kushina ate with closed eyes, but her eyebrow soon started to twitch with irritation.
"Why are you staring at me?"
Minato didn't answer, only his smile widened a bit. Kushina sent a suspicious gaze but in the end let it go and glanced up to the clock on the wall and sighed.
"Toroku's late."
"I think he went out for ramen with that Iwa genin." Kushina raised a surprised and confused brow.
"A genin from Iwa having ramen with a Leaf shinobi? Geez, the world's been turned upside down."
Minato let out a loud chuckle and his previous smile widened into a grin in the end. "Yeah. Who thought this could ever happen. But nothing is impossible if he is involved. You should have seen it Kushina. He broke the walls between the nations like it was nothing!" Minato snapped his fingers to punctuate his words. Their soft chuckles filled the room for a long minute until it finally died down.
"Kushina. When the exams are over, let's have the wedding. What do you think? We dwelled long enough as an unofficial pair. Let's make it finally official." Kushina's wide smile was the only answer he needed. The rest of the dinner went smoothly, sharing small, knowing smiles and quick kisses until the last beams of the late winter sun disappeared behind the Hokage Monument.
Kushina stretched her arm to place a plate back to its place, when she suddenly stiffened, the power disappearing from her body, letting the plate slip out from her graceful fingers and it reached the hard surface of the floor with a harsh and loud crash as it shattered into a dozen pieces.
Minato rushed inside the room, his eyes widening at the scene, watching motionlessly on the edge of panic as Kushina grabbed her stomach and rolled up to ease away something. In the next blink he was next to her, his eyes filled with concern and worry.
"Kushina! What's the matter?!"
The redhead gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut in concentration as she answered. "The fox. Something is wrong with it. It suddenly became restless."
"The seal is breaking? Is it hurting you?" Kushina shook her head.
"No, it's still intact, it just feels odd. Like the fox is tapping on the inside of my stomach."
"Let me check it." The girl nodded and Minato gently picked her up and placed her on the couch.
Experienced hands trailed above the now free design of the seal on her belly, but just the sight of it made Minato frown in his confusion. It was visible, like Kushina was continuously tapping into the fox's reserves. With a small amount of his own chakra, he let his senses spread inside the design, looking for any abnormality. But he found none.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes into slits, observing the grinning blond boy surrounded by his summons, paralyzing his chakra reserves and also the ability to gather senjutsu. A small extra addition to their poison he himself developed in case he ever had to deal with Jiraiya. The boy's cocky expression didn't falter, and the snake's face moved into an annoyed grimace. He raised his other arm to finally erase that grin from that impertinent boy's face.
But before he could trigger his next move, his summons restraining the boy disappeared in the next blink, shrouding the chuunin inside thick chakra clouds from his wide and surprised eyes. The clouds were in no hurry to dissolve in the motionless air around them. The confident voice of the boy suddenly stabbed the tension as it echoed back and forth from the walls of the giant empty cave.
"Bringing me here was an unlucky idea. But thanks anyway." The cloud slowly started to fade away, their puffy surface was gently illuminated with gold, just like the clouds in the rising sun. With a flicker of Naruto's wrist wind chakra surged from his form, flushing away the last remains of the chakra enchained mist and the place around him perfused with golden light.
"It seems I don't have to hold back." Naruto sent a beaming grin to the frozen Sannin.
Orochimaru's amber eyes widened to an unnatural size by his shock, his gaze locked on the golden chakra flames, the crimson colored eyes and the dilated pupils. In the next moment he shook off his temporary stasis and narrowed his eyes as he observed his opponent from a new angle. Soon, his sinister smirk was there again.
"A perfectly trained jinchuuriki. So no new bloodline abilities or something like that...How disillusioning. But which one? The One-Tail has just been sealed into the Kazekage's youngest son and you also managed to straighten the seal, based on my network. The Two- and Eight-Tails are at Kumo for certain. The Mizukage has got the Three-Tails in him, while the Four- and Five-Tails' vessels were still wandering around the nations, but I'm also confident that they are still alive. The Seven-Tails is participating in this very chuunin exam, while our Minato-kun plays with the Nine-Tails. The only one I know nothing certain of is the Six-Tails. However I heard the rumors that it belongs to Kiri." Orochimaru trailed off, observing Naruto as if he was some kind of fascinating puzzle which has to be solved.
"I never thought Kiri's scientist would ever reach this advanced level. A result of a brilliant transgenic experiment… If I think about that they were able to mix Uzumaki DNA in a living body and as a joke of fate that it is Namikaze's long lost brother to create a perfect vessel for the Six-Tails... Did you run away from the lab?" Naruto grimaced and an irritated snarl bubbled out behind his grown canines.
"I'm not the result of some kind of fucked up experiment you Snake Freak! And I don't house the Six-Tails! You are tapping in the absolute wrong direction." The snake grimaced, and shrugged.
"It doesn't matter. Once I'm finished with you, I'll have enough time to figure out what you are."
Naruto narrowed his eyes as one of the snake's arms travelled behind his back and he felt a slight surge of chakra behind the Sannin. He didn't have to think about what he was doing because in the next blink Orochimaru flung into action, and with one jump, he gracefully landed in front of him in an elegant crouch. The pale man twisted his body to slam his opened hand into his stomach; the tips of his fingers already shined with purple chakra, to seal away his tenant's power and make him unable to use any kind of chakra properly for a long time.
"Gogyō Fūin! (Five Elements Seal)" The attack was, quick, it was sudden, but Naruto's composure didn't falter.
The seal was only centimeters from his stomach when a golden chakra arm surged from his torso, grabbing the Sannin's wrist and elegantly throwing him to the other side of the cave. By the impact of his pale body, the hard surface cracked and debris surged inside the cave. The echoing noise of landing debris filled the cavern almost immediately. With one more elegant movement of Naruto's wrist, a surge of wind cleared the debris and the smoke, revealing an angrily snarling Sannin.
"I won't let you do that this time."
The snake rolled his head side to side to get rid of his irritation and slowly straightened himself to casually throw his long black hair behind his back, out from his sight, and narrowed his amber eyes.
"What do you mean by 'This time?'" Naruto received a mental slap from his fluffy tenant and a sheepish, embarrassed grin spread across his face.
"Nothing." With one last cocky grin, the blond chuunin flung into action to pin the Sannin in an enormous taijutsu battle.
Naruto sent a chakra enchained fist toward the frowning pale man, who avoided the attack with one elegant twist. An annoyed growl left his lips, a chakra arm emerged from his back, to catch up with the pale man's fluid deflections.
Their style was the perfect match of each other. While Orochimaru's movements screamed perfection and precision gained by practicing every single kata until they were flawless, Naruto's movements were the perfect opposite.
There were only small flashes of one or two perfect stances, most of his movements were made by pure instinct. While Orochimaru was the perfect, calm ocean in his movements, Naruto was the maelstrom he was named after. He was wild, unstoppable and unpredictable, leaving behind debris and destruction where he put a hand or foot. Be it the Sannin's body or simply the floor he touched.
While the snake used perfect stances to avoid an attack, Naruto simply tried to break through his defence with brute power, not caring about his own openings.
"I want to have a piece of him also." Naruto snorted and a clone popped into existence in the next moment, his features already moving something more animalistic until a wide and sinister smirk appeared on his face.
"He is all yours, Furrball." Kurama had sent an annoyed glare in reply, before his attention snapped back to the heavily breathing pale man.
"Orochimaru the Snake Sannin. I longed for this moment for a long time. I'll have a sweet time killing you slowly." Naruto grimaced and stepped to the side to slip away from another attack of the Sannin, who almost immediately split his attention between the two opponents.
"The bijuu I assume?" His only answer was a widening smirk.
Kurama immediately flung into action, the clone's nails extended into razor sharp claws and he dashed toward the snake, who jumped back to avoid the insanely fast attack. Golden chakra cloud started to bubble around the clone and Naruto decided that it would be best for him if he simply stepped to the side and let Kurama blew some steam which had been accumulating since they had arrived in the past. The golden chakra slowly faded away to give place to the slowly gathering nature's energy. He watched as three tails came to life behind his clone, currently controlled by Kurama. The smirk moved into a dangerous and satisfied grimace as power surged through Kurama's borrowed body.
Claws slashed toward the Sannin with increased speed, inking thin, crimson red lines on pale skin, tearing away pieces of cloth, a defensively raised kunai shattered in two after one slash. Another tail came to life between two attacks, the once animalistic clone of Naruto slowly disappeared and was replaced by a miniature version of Kurama.
It was odd. The battle and the fox's movements were animalistic, they were primitive and barbaric, each of his attacks' screamed power and brute force.
But somehow behind the rough surface it was still royale in an ancient way. Behind the beastly movements Naruto could also see graceful and fluid motions of a perfectly composed fast waltz.
It was fascinating seeing Kurama's and Orochimaru's enormous battle. It was fast, it was simple. And it was deadly. There was no time for flashy jutsu between the lightning fast strikes. It was sheer taijutsu. And the clone was still there, untouched, while the Sannin bled from countless small cuts and bruises. Naruto decided that Kurama had played long enough, he almost felt bored. However, before he could make a step further into the fight, something made him freeze in place and his eyes to widen.
The golden chakra around Kurama slowly became orange with a red tint as two more tails came into existence, his expression became more and more furious than before. Slowly, the consciousness started to fade away from his friend's eyes as anger and fury took over its place. The chakra that once emitted life and warmth in the last year now felt menacing and evil like in the old times.
An angry growl echoed in his own mindscape and a tug from his stomach kicked him out from his frozen state. It was Kurama in his own self. He was struggled against his own instincts. A hint of long felt animalistic anger flushed through Naruto's own mind from the ancient old bijuu, sending chills down his back.
"Naruto, something is wrong! Dismiss that damn clone or he'll go nuts!" Naruto nodded and raised his hands to make the necessary seal and the clone popped out from existence with one last furious glance toward his original.
"What the hell..." Naruto growled to himself.
"Don't use my full power until we figure out what the hell happened. Only in Sage mode." The blond nodded in agreement, already gathering nature's energy.
Nothing could be heard beside Orochimaru's harsh breathing. The snake, utilizing the opening, ran through a long chain of handsigns between two breaths. Chakra smoke filled the cave, shrouding the bastard from blue eyes, but Naruto could still sense the drastically increased smell of reptile. An annoyed grimace appeared on his face, when the dismissing smoke slowly started to reveal the scaled skin of a giant summon.
"I have to admit you caught me off guard, Toroku-kun. I never thought anyone would be that bold: letting the bijuu gain control over a clone...Even Uzumaki Kushina isn't as much of an idiot to do something as reckless as that."
A deep growl bubbled out from the back of Naruto's throat as his mother's name slipped from Orochimaru's mouth. But before he could retort, the snake flung into action, the giant serpent rushed forward with insane speed, forcing Naruto to jump from out of its way. It wasn't just any of his summons. It was Manda. The biggest, strongest and the fastest.
Naruto, biting on his thumb, smearing blood, ran through the handsigns of the summoning technique and slammed his palm onto the ground, only to receive a mental slap from his never missing fluffy companion when nothing happened.
"Idiot." Naruto scratched his head sheepishly, his movements were followed by Orochimaru's narrowed and suspicious eyes.
"Yeah, It just slipped out from my mind...Stupid time thingy." Naruto whispered into the air.
"Don't talk aloud!" Naruto winced as Kurama barked out with a harsh voice. Now he was really missing his summoning contract so much he couldn't even describe it. Before he could continue his line of thought, Orochimaru got tired of his inner discussion with the bijuu and sent a giant fire ball toward the blond teen, who easily jumped out from its way with an annoyed grimace on his face.
"Hey! Don't interrupt my discussion you...you Snake freak!" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes on the top of Manda's head and flung into action one more time, not even bothering to retort. Debris flew across the cage as the summon's enormous body made connection with the surface where Naruto stood a moment before. The named blond snorted and jumped up to join Orochimaru on his summon's head.
The chuunin gracefully landed in a crouch, his azure eyes traveled up to the annoyed Sannin and jumped into action. He aimed a hit toward Orochimaru's spine, but he easily avoided his attack. Naruto grimaced when his next kick was also easily deflected and that was the point when he felt as the Sannin was also surrounded by nature's energy. It wasn't as defined as him, nor as Kabuto's back then,but it was there. He infused his senses with it's help to deflect his attacks.
'Its time to move to some frog kumite don't you think Kurama?' He grinned when his companion made an agreeing nod in his mindscape.
He suddenly changed stance, his hand shot toward the widening eyes of the Sannin, who wasn't able to dodge. At least not the extended senjutsu. Nor his next punch and the series of kicks he sent immediately after the first one. It was somehow fascinating to see Orochimaru struggle in his hands. He made up his mind suddenly and jumped down from Manda's head.
Two clones popped into existence, the sound of the Rasen Shuriken filled everything around them almost immediately as they formed it in no time. The Sannin's eyes widened when the spinning ball of pure energy rushed toward him and his summon, not leaving any time to deflect. Millions of invisible razor sharp chakra blades rushed toward Naruto's opponent with unstoppable speed. A second later, everything was shrouded by blinding white light as the technique exploded, eating away Orochimaru's form, together with Manda's.
The cave was dead silent as the technique's squealing sound finally died down, but the enormous amount of chakra filled smoke left by the giant summon still lingered in the motionless air.
A wide and satisfied smirk appeared on Naruto's face when the smoke finally cleared and revealed a giant crater in the middle of it, where Orochimaru once stood. But before he could become cocky, a familiar and creepy chuckle bubbled out from the crater. The bloody form of Orochimaru slowly raised, the debris creaked under his foot, stabbing the offensive silence with his every footstep.
"Did you really think that a boy like you could finish me off that easily? Me, the greatest of the Sannin?" Naruto cocked his head to the side, hissing his answer behind his gritted teeth.
"Yeah. I did. Bastard."
"But I have to admit, you continuously caught me off guard. You are unpredictable. If Manda didn't shield me, I would be nothing more than a corpse." He flung his black hair behind his shoulders, out from his sight with a casual wave of his hand. "It's a mistake I won't make once more." Orochimaru smirked.
"We will see." Naruto answered with a casual tone and with a straight face, something he had picked up from his father, which always managed to push opponents over the edge. And it seems, by Orochimaru's suddenly angry grimace, he wasn't an exception.
His expression slowly smoothened as the previous anger evaporated. Orochimaru smirked before he opened his mouth. "I still got some ace up in my sleeve my child." In the next blink, the Sannin's hand blurred by the insanely fast pace at which he was forming handsigns. And despite the fact that Naruto didn't hesitate even a second and rushed toward his opponent, this time he couldn't keep up with the speed.
"Yamata no Jutsu! (Eight-Headed Serpent Jutsu)" He had to jump backward as Orochimaru finished preparing his technique, his form disappearing once again inside the white smoke which followed his jutsu. With a sudden rush from his palm, the smoke immediately cleared to reveal a giant white...dragon like thingy?
Naruto's eyes widened. A giant, pure white serpent like thing stood where Orochimaru once was, its scaled skin containing a countless number of spikes. He grimaced as he counted it's heads. All of its eight heads held razor sharp fangs bigger than himself and he could only compare their size to Kurama's own fangs. They were maybe even bigger.
"You know, Kurama, you said not to use our joint power but I think we should put that agreement aside..." He let out a relieved sigh when he felt Kurama's nod. They had to be careful. Whatever happened to the clone it could happen to them also. Hopefully the fact that they were their originals and not a clone could prevent it.
The giant cave fortunately held enough space for their fight as long as he didn't use a bijuu bomb. He winced at the thought of what would happen if he accidentally shot a hole through the Hokage monument from the inside. He pushed those thoughts from his head and let the golden flames encompassed his body once again as he dropped the last remains of nature's energy. But this time they didn't stop at the edge of his skin, it moved further and further until Kurama's complete form appeared from it, Naruto staying still on the top of his head.
The enormous eight headed serpent flung into action almost immediately, claws and fangs tore into flesh and pure energy. Cuts and bruises appeared on Naruto's body by the enormous strength of the Dragon God's attacks, countless numbers of razor sharp needles rushed toward his form from one of the heads, while the others threw raiton, futon and one katon attack. He was barely able to dodge the Kusanagi's blade rushing from one of the heads to stab through his heart, but it still gashed a long and deep cut on his side.
Anger overwhelmed and blurred his senses just like before. Like the poise suddenly tilted to the wrong side. It was just like before the start of the war. Just like Kurama's old and tainted chakra. Naruto's eyes widened when realization hit him harder than one of Sakura's chakra boosted punches.
'Kurama! I know what's happening to us! It's the other you! You told me that you had lost half of your chakra when you fought with dad. Your other self's Yin chakra is overwhelming us! His anger and his hatred is what we are feeling! They are somehow leaking toward us through mom's seals and all those barriers!'
The giant form of Kurama suddenly froze between two attacks and glanced toward his companion and nodded in understanding.
"We have to finish this off as quickly as we can. Get serious and don't play around!"
"Deal. Format 22." Naruto nodded and jumped to the head of Kurama again as soon as the bijuu locked his opponent under him, pinning down his every head with one chakra arm for each. Eight clones popped into existence, rushing together with the original toward the pinned giant heads of the white serpent, carefully concentrated inky black balls already forming above their heads. In the next blink, the cave was once again shrouded in smoke and debris as the nine small bijuu dama connected with flesh and at once the summon disappeared.
Kurama's chakra slowly faded away from existence together with his disturbing rage, back to the original, but this time Naruto didn't let his guard down. He patiently waited for the smoke to finally clear before he reached for nature's energy and finally spotted what he was looking for. Another clone popped into existence, and the two blonds slowly approached the bloody and harshly breathing man laying motionlessly on the floor' aside from his chest's fast, fluttering movement.
Orochimaru was finally able to turn his head toward the sound of the footsteps for a second before his head dropped back to the ground. A wet but still menacing chuckle bubbled out from his mouth together with some blood, staining the ground under him more.
"A bijuu with nine tails and in the form of a fox...frog kumite and senjutsu training from Mount Myōboku... a fully developed Rasengan. You gave me so many new pieces for this fine puzzle." Orochimaru's voice was raspy, and Naruto could feel as he strained to not let it falter in the slightest by the pain. However he didn't answer, he just stood there with his clone, watching the beaten, once proud Sannin. His injuries weren't life threatening. At least, if he could get medical attention very soon, but he was obviously unable to move even his finger.
"Kushina's and that Namikaze brat's DNA. Your resemblance even to her, which everyone just overlooked and tossed to the side. Your sudden appearance involving a sharingan and space-time ninjutsu." The Sannin closed his mouth, his eyes becoming foggy for a second, before he slowly opened his mouth again. "Space and...time. Time..." Orochimaru murmured into the air, but his eyes flared suddenly with a greedy light. He slowly turned his head to glance up again. Only one question slipped from his lips.
"How?"
The blond hesitated for a moment before he answered with a low tone, but his voice was still sounded somehow relieved.
"I don't know...I fought with that bastard Uchiha. I wanted to seal him away, and the next thing I know I wake up here and now in the hospital." Naruto shook his head. It doesn't matter now. The bastard already figured it out and somehow he couldn't surpass the urge to finally talk about it with someone. To confess. Even if it had to be Orochimaru.
"Do you want to go back? I can help you. Put this all to the side and I'll help you." Naruto quickly averted his gaze, his hands clenched into fists, his azure blue eyes flashed with crimson red by his sudden anger.
"You had done...you will do terrible things in the future. I won't let you go. I can't let you go."
"I can help you to-"
Naruto snapped his head back to the Sannin and spat out his words as if it was sour poison interrupting the injured man. "You killed and experimented on countless men and women. Even innocent children. On Yamato-taicho. You killed Sandaime-jiji. You tried to kill Jiraiya and Tsunade, me from time to time. Its because of you Sasuke defected! You pushed Kabuto to insanity and if it wasn't for him and your damned Edo Tensei, we could have ended the Fourth Shinobi war! If it wasn't for you and your damned technique Madara would never had been resurrected!" A satisfied smirk appeared on the Sannin's blood stained face.
"So it was Madara. So that old geezer finally managed to die." Anger and fury overwhelmed Naruto's mind once again, but it was his clone who grabbed the Sannin and shook him.
"So you know he isn't dead! You know where he's hiding! Tell me! I've still got time before he brainwashes Obito!" Orochimaru cocked his head to the side.
"Obito? You mean the dead last in Minato's team? Kukuku, oh the irony..." Orochimaru's eyes suddenly widened and glanced toward the original.
"Tell me...Did I reach my goal? Did I become immortal? Did I learn every jutsu in the world?" Naruto's anger had risen to a new level, but it was once again his clone who shook the Sannin violently instead of his own self.
"Where is he?!" Orochimaru's eyes slowly moved to the clone and he smirked.
"If I get my answer you-you will also get yours. An-an equivalent exchange." The Sannin's voice finally faltered as he gasped for air and a painful grimace flashed through his face. "Tell me what I want to know and I will tell you what I kn-know about Madara."
Naruto clenched his teeth and the clone dropped the Sannin to the ground. "You will at least partially reach your goal. As far as I know, you had been able to transfer your consciousness into a new vessel. Into a new body." A wicked and almost insane smirk spread across Orochimaru's face, his expression turned into the mirror of utter ecstasy and he started to laugh almost hysterically. Naruto waited impatiently until the laughter finally stopped by bloody coughing.
"I told you what you wanted to know. Now its your turn. Where is Madara's hideout this time?" The Sannin smirked and spat out some crimson liquid.
"Who-who said that I know where he is? I just knew that he wasn't dead. I fou-found Hashirama's diary. I know he left his body there. He never had the courage to check the body. And I kno-know his body disappeared. I just connected the dots. Naive little Toroku-kun." Naruto gritted his teeth and turned on his heels to walk away, but the Sannin's raspy voice stopped him.
"What are you going to do now?"
"I'm leaving."
"Aren't you going to kill me? I know your little secret." Naruto closed his eyes and answered without turning around.
"No one is going to believe you. You are a traitor. You are insane and obsessed with power. You will live. You will live a long life in a prison where you can think about your sins. And maybe one day, you will realize what you have done and you will turn away from the darkness. Jiji and Jiraiya never give up on you, so I also won't." A shiver run down Naruto's spine when he heard the snake's almost crazy chuckle.
"Kuku, I'm going to escape! No one is able to hold me back! I'm the strongest of the sannins. I'm going to be immortal! I can reach my goal!"
"Yet, a seventeen year old boy was able to kick your ass just now, while my teammate killed you in the future. When he was sixteen you know... You were pathetic."
An angry growl filled the empty cave soon followed by Orochimaru's hysterical voice with a hint of panic."You told me I was able to move between bodies! I was immortal!"
Naruto finally glanced over his shoulder. "Immortal? Maybe. But not invulnerable." With this one last sentence he slowly continued his walk toward the exit, Orochimaru's angry voice followed him the whole way.
He was about to reach the entrance of the passage leading toward the cells to check up on the prisoners, when the Sannin's displeased shouting suddenly stopped after a loud snap. It was unnaturally loud in the silent cave as it echoed back and forth between the cliffs, reaching his sensitive ears countless times, making his hair stand almost painfully on end.
He recognized that sound... But he almost felt too frightened to turn back, knowing what he would find. With the last remains of nature's energy still in him, he sensed orochimaru's chakra slowly leave his body. But it didn't disappear. Somehow it changed and morphed until it became one with the nature's.
In the end, Naruto braced himself and slowly turned around. His clone's natural features were nowhere to be seen; crimson red dilated eyes and thickened whiskers greeted him, together with the limp body of the once fearsome and proud Sannin. Amber coloured eyes stared into the emptiness in disbelief, Kurama's stolen hands were still hovering over Orochimaru's broken neck.
"Wha-What have you done..." Naruto whispered with wide eyes.
"What both of us know was necessary. You just didn't have the stomach to do so." Kurama answered back in a low tone, eyeing as Naruto hesitantly took one step toward the already cooling body of the Sannin. But he stopped. He had already seen enough dead bodies. He didn't want to see one more. Even if it was Orochimaru.
He let him live. He wanted him to live. He didn't want him to die. He just wanted to stop him, to lock him up forever in a dark cell.
Kurama let out a sigh, and with one flicker of his borrowed hand, Orochimaru's body was covered with burning red flames, tearing into the dead flash, inferno burning away all the evidence.
Naruto's hands squeezed into fist and suddenly he turned and rushed toward his original goal to check on the prisoners when the smell of the burning body reached his nose, but he faltered in the middle of the passage and dropped to his knees when his clone disappeared and his memories returned.
His stomach turned upside down, as the memory of the popping sound kept echoing inside his head. His clone's desperate struggle to get control when he realized what Kurama was about to do. The disgusting feeling between his fingers as the vertebra slipped to the side when it couldn't endure the force anymore...and the snapping sound again as it echoed thousands of times inside the empty cave, while Orochimaru's empty and foggy eyes stared back at him with surprise and disbelief.
He couldn't fight off the urge, he emptied his stomach where he was, only able to stumble some hesitant steps away from the mess when he dropped to the ground once again and gratefully embraced the offered unconsciousness of his exhausted body to flee from the memories of his first kill.
Minato paced back and forth in the living room, impatiently waiting for Jiraiya to finally step out of the room currently housing Kushina. He didn't know what could have happened to the seal and he rushed for Jiraiya as soon as he realized it. But that perverted bastard ordered him to leave, insisting that he was disturbing him in his work.
Finally Jiraiya stepped out from the room and the worried Hokage turned on his heels immediately, but his sensei's raised hand stopped him from bursting out his questions.
"Kushina and the seal are okay. I've put another layer of surpassing seal over the existing ones and it closed the fox's chakra flow completely. She is sleeping now. It won't bother her anytime soon." Minato let out a relieved sigh and dropped onto the couch rubbing his eyes.
"What happened to the seal? Technically, it is in perfect condition."
Jiraiya sent a knowing smile to Minato and winked. "Nothing serious. Just some natural reaction with female jinchuuriki. She will tell you soon."
"Tell me what?"
"Kushina has gained some weight don't you think?"
Minato snorted furiously once again and stood up angrily. "What are you talking about!? Don't beat around the bush! And she is as beautiful as ever!" But a hint of a blush betrayed the lie, making the Sannin grin knowingly again. The Hokage eyed the aging pervert for a second before he let out a defeated sigh.
"Okay. Maybe she gained just a little on her tummy. But if she caught even a hint of what I've told you she would kill me."Jiraiya let out a low chuckle and shook his head.
"Oooh believe me my friend. She won't bite off your head because of it. At least not now. Not until it becomes uncomfortable for her. You know aqueous ankles, no sleeping on her stomach for months and so on. But you know, she'll get much bigger breasts for your pleasure,so it'll be worth it." Minato's confusion only grew bigger and bigger, so did Jiraiya's smug grin.
"What the hell are you hinting at, old pervert?"
A grimace appeared on the Toad's face. "Geez. People around you tend to forget how you were sometimes, back before you become a hero. Everybody talks about you the same way: 'a prodigy — a rare genius that appears only once in a generation'. " Jiraiya trailed off for a second, before he shouted out.
"But I remember! For a genius you could be really dense occasionally when it wasn't about ninja stuff. For example with the ladies. Its good you've outgrown most of it. I remember when you were just a genin. You used to be as dense as a dead stone, until you reached puberty. If it's not about a jutsu or something.. I hope its nothing genetic...Kushina used to be the same. It could become prominent in your child."
Minato raised an eyebrow, his azure blue eyes still observing his teacher suspiciously. "And why would you be concerned about that suddenly?" Jiraiya let out a sigh and shook his head, mumbling something incoherent under his nose. In the end, Minato just waved a hand and dropped himself on the couch again realizing he would have to interrogate Jiraiya later to get some real answers out of him. Then he glanced up to the clock to note the very late hour. "Where the hell is my brother?"
Jiraiya snorted. "I assume causing trouble, as always."
"I overheard him inviting the Iwa genin from yesterday for ramen if he was able to get into the next round. They still must be at Ichiraku, but..." Minato trailed off.
"Yeah, Ichiraku closes at ten. It's already almost midnight. He won't stay open this late even for your ramen addicted brother. He must be sitting on your stupid stone head again, musing or philosophizing or whatever he's always doing up there." Minato nodded and tilted his head side to side until he heard the satisfying popping sound as one of his joints slipped back to its proper place.
"Why don't you just go and pick him up with your Hiraishin? The seal is still on his back isn't it?" Minato thought about it for a moment and nodded once more.
"Right. Will you stay here until we get back? I don't want to leave Kushiha alone in her state right now." Jiraiya snorted.
"Oh, don't be afraid. She's got companions." Minato tilted his head again in confusion and let out a sigh seeing that he won't be able to squeeze out any straight answer from his teacher tonight. Instead he closed his eyes and reached out for his brother's seal and chakra signature. Jiraiya watched him curiously as instead of disappearing immediately, a frown appeared on his features in his concentration.
"What? You can't even find a teenage boy's chakra?" Jiraiya was about to send another jab, when Minato shook his head and answered, his eyes scrunching as he concentrated even more. But his brow moved into one coherent line.
"Its doesn't feel normal...I can barely sense my marker and it is somewhere under the Hokage monument."
"What?!" Jiraiya snapped and stood up immediately. "What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I just said. I'm barely able to locate his seal. Like he's under a barrier, buried deep inside the mountain." Jiraiya narrowed his eyes.
"A doton jutsu?" Minato shook his head.
"No. I saw him trying to use doton. He really tried. And he was frustrated beyond words when he couldn't pull it out. His chakra is flowing through my seal like...It feels like he's sleeping or he's unconscious."
"The Iwa team?" Minato's frown deepened as he reached for his other markers.
"No. Three of my best ANBU are watching over them after that incident. All of my markers on the Iwa members are in their accommodation, sleeping peacefully."
"Couldn't you just simply teleport to where he is?" Jiraiya's voice was filled with concern now.
"I've been trying to do so from the beginning, but the seal is weak beyond words..." Minato stopped for a second. "I got it!"
With this last yell, the toad sannin found himself alone in the living room. Only Kushina's soft snoring leaked inside the empty room. Jiraiya glanced toward the closed door and sighed, softly murmuring into the air around him.
"I really hope, Kushina, that the baby in your womb won't cause this much trouble, or Minato is going to be a white haired man the time he hits thirty."
Minato stumbled into hard rock when he reappeared in the empty passage, meters from his proposed destination thanks to the faint marker. His head connected with the raw surface with a loud bang in the empty and silent passage. The blond had been desperately trying to force the dancing stars out from his sight, and he was about to shake his head, but he froze in mid movement as a harsh smell reached his nose.
The stink of death, of burnt bodies all around him. And the smell of his brother's blood. He slowly glanced down where he could sense Toroku and he gasped as he spotted his brother's form lying motionlessly on the floor, his clothes bloody and torn.
He rushed toward his brother and slowly turned him over, and he had to restrain another gasp when the stench of someone else's blood flickered through his nose. He immediately made a quick check-up on his relative and let out a relieved sigh. Nothing serious, some wounds and a slash on his side but it had already half healed. He had passed out because of shock, based on the pattern of his chakra flow. Something new hit his nose from his brother's clothes, the smell of reptiles. The sore smell of snakes... Orochimaru! Azure blue eyes immediately started to map his surroundings, finding several weak chakra signatures not far away from him, but the Sannin was nowhere to be seen or sensed.
The thick and disgusting stink of burnt flesh invaded his nose from the other side. He ran to the entrance where the thick stench was coming from, his eyes widened by the enormous empty cave inside the Hokage monument. His eyes ran through the countless number of barrier seals all around the hard surface, noting the signs of an enormous battle and also the charred remains of a body at the other side of it, near an immense crater. The body which, beside the burned flesh, still reeked of snakes. It was Orochimaru.
Confusion ran across him, but instead of burying himself in his troubled thoughts, experience kicked itself in line. He made his way back to his brother, but he didn't stop. He took aim at the end of the passage when he heard a groan from there.
This time, he couldn't suppress his shocked gasp as the air rushed into his lungs with insane speed by the sight. Dozens of cells were lined on each side of the cave, a quarter of it holding faint, very weak and slowly fading chakra signatures. Most of the people were on the verge of death and only a small push would be enough for them to pass the line. Everything smelled like Orochimaru. It was his place! It was his doings!
Minato hurried toward the nearest cell and after a quick survey of its interior, he immediately made an opening between the bars, enough for him to slip inside, toward the small, slumped body laying motionlessly in a dark corner. A child, based on his size not more than ten. The captive didn't react to his presence in even the slightest way, only the weak, rhythmical movement of his chest hinted that the child was indeed alive.
Minato made his decision in the next blink. He didn't know what the hell was going on here, but there was no way he would wait for even one more second to get help. He needed Toroku's marker here and he was stable, just unconscious. He blinked and when he opened his eyes in the next second, he reappeared next to his teacher, who opened his mouth to ask what the hell was going on. But Jiraiya didn't have time to speak, Minato's commanding voice filled the room immediately.
"ANBU!" Four masked and cloaked men appeared beside him in the next blink.
"Cat, you stay here! Watch over Kushina!" Before the soldier could even nod, Minato grabbed Jiraiya and the other three stunned shinobi and disappeared from the room.
Jiraiya opened his eyes and turned his head when two of the elites slumped to the floor by the aftereffects of the Hiraishin. Minato's commanding voice kicked the wobbly standing ANBU out from his shock immediately straightening himself.
"There are cells with captives all across this passage. I'll go grab any available medics and be back in a minute, go check on them and get rid of the bars! The two ANBU will be okay in a minute! Toroku is also here, stable, but there is also corpse in there." Jiraiya moved his head where Minato pointed, his eyes widened when he finally recognized his friend's scent under the heavy smell of burned flesh. The unmistakable smell of a serpent. The two ANBU gathered themselves surprisingly fast and disappeared with the third at the other side of the passage to obey their leader's order.
"Jiraiya...It's him. Its Orochimaru's place. Stay professional please. I need you here, calm and collected." The Sannin only distantly felt as he nodded, his eyes were still locked on the small entrance where Minato pointed, not really noticing as his student disappeared.
A low moan disturbed his frozen state, the faint sound of ruffling clothes and sudden coughing and spitting interrupted his troubled thoughts. He glanced down to the slowly waking Toroku who suddenly stiffened, his eyes flung open and widened as memories overwhelmed him again. Blue eyes stared into the nothingness unfocused for long seconds until Jiraiya slowly walked closer and leaned over him.
Naruto immediately jumped onto his feet when Jiraiya touched his shoulder, not concerned with the already healing slash on his side. He backed off until his back hit a hard surface only to a second later slid down slowly, his eyes staring unblinkingly to his own hands his breathing was harsh by the sudden surge of adrenaline and an unconscious gag escaped his sore mouth.
Jiraiya reached for him once more to shake him out from his state of shock and get some answers he was eager to know, grabbing his shoulders and turned him to be face to face. But the azure blue eyes didn't connect with his own, they were staring somewhere behind him. Jiraiya shook the blond once again and this time the light of consciousness reappeared in the blue eyes.
"What happened?" The named blond glanced down to his own hands once again, and for a second Jiraiya thought he wouldn't be able to shake him out from his state once more. But his faint whisper washed out his concern about his sanity.
"Orochimaru...he brought me here after the premilies. He blackmailed me to come with him. He wanted to experiment on me because I heal fast. Then he made up his mind and got me with his snakes." Naruto's hand traveled toward his neck. Despite his healing ability, two small and red bite marks were still visible on his neck, together with several more on his arms peeking out under his torn clothes."I...Then we fought." His whisper slowly died down and Jiraiya squeezed his shoulder to gain his attention. It was successful. Azure blue eyes snap up, to stare into Jiraiya's own.
"And then what? What happened?" Naruto's eyes slipped to the side in shame.
"And then I...I-I killed him...I killed him..." His eyes widened when he realized once again as it slipped out from his mouth, his stomach turned upside down again as the memories started to push themselves into his thoughts again and another gag escaped behind his gritted teeth. But this time, he fortunately suppressed the urge.
"Stay focused!" Azure eyes snapped up in alert by the commanding voice, shaking him up again. His breathing steadied and his heart beat decreased to a normal level, then his eyes widened when he finally realized something very important.
"There are people down here! He had experimented on them! They need help!" Naruto pushed Jiraiya out of his way and jumped to his feet to stumble two or three steps before he leaned against the wall to get some support, the world dangerously tilted as blood rushed inside his head by the sudden movement. A new thought popped up in his head, immediately sweeping his dizziness to the side.
This gave him a new power to lock away his previous shock and his weariness. With a huge chakra wave he mapped out his surroundings and found what he was looking for. Immediately, he rushed to the deeper part of the caves where the cells were, rushing past two stunned ANBU with Jiraiya in his heels, heading toward the last cell, ripping the bars out from their place and dropping himself next to a small body.
Naruto gently brushed out the spiky brown hair that stuck to the child's face and let out a relieved sigh when he noted the steady heartbeat and breathing of his once team leader. Another sigh of relief escaped behind his lips as the child's eyes slowly opened to stare up at him with a blank expression. Then the ink black eyes suddenly cleared when he noted the stranger with a bright smile above him.
"You...You managed to escape. Is it over? He won't come back?" Yamato whispered in disbelief. Naruto nodded before he whispered back.
"It's over. He won't come back."
The child's eyes slowly became foggy again, but this time because they restrained tears, however it was a lost cause. Just when his lips turned up into a bright and relieved smile, tears started to flow over his sunken cheeks. It was that moment medics infested the place, gently pushing Naruto out of their way and it was then when he felt Minato's gentle hands squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. He glanced up to his father who sent him a small, comforting smile giving a helping hand to him, so he could retreat to the background, where a medic already waited for him to treat his own wounds. But he refused it. They would heal in hours anyway and the others needed every available help more than him.
He just stood there with his father's hand still on his shoulder, silently watching as the medics were working on Yamato and the others. But when an ANBU stepped next to them, he could unwillingly overheard his report, making his body stiffen.
"Someone already informed the council, Hokage-sama. They want an immediate meeting and someone from the council is charging Namikaze Toroku with treason and murdering Orochimaru of the Sannins anonymously." The ANBU made a hesitant side glance behind his mask before he continued with an even lower tone if it is possible. "Hokage-sama...The punishment for treason is-" The ANBU who had been the blond boy's shadow for long months has suddenly became silent, losing his will to finish the sentence. But it wasn't the ANBU nor the Hokage who spoke out loud what had been left hanging in the air, two words that none of them dared to voice out loud.
It was Naruto who murmured into the thick air. "Death sentence..."
The blond time traveler slowly moved his strangely emotionless and hard azure eyes up to his father, forcing his tense muscles to obey. But when a gentle hand squeezed his shoulder once again, his muscles immediately started to relax. Another arm wrapped around his other shoulder, reassuringly holding him tighter to his side like a soft pillow to lull away his fear and Minato softly murmured into his ears, loosening the last remains of his tension.
"Everything will be all right. I promise."
And Naruto believed every word instantly.
Author's Note:
Oh, cliffhanger, suspense and tension...I think you are already used to it. :) Well this chapter had become a little more violent than my original intention. Sorry about that.
I don't know when they actually find Yamato, based on narutopedia it should be earlier, but I still wanted him to be saved by Naruto. So please deal with it.
Killing someone with your bare hands must be a traumatic experience, especially for someone as pure and innocent as Naruto. In my opinion he still hasn't made his first kill based on that Kakashi killed Kakuzo and I don't think zombies and Zetsu clones would count as real human. If its not true...Deal with this also. Pretty please. Based on this logic his hands are still unstained as Kurama was the one who killed Orochimaru.
Also, people in stories tend to make Naruto behave more like a cold hearted killer, bashing Kishimoto's real intention with the manga. I don't want to follow their footsteps.
Story recommendations:
Ambivalence by Nalei
Konohagakure turns on Uzushiogakure during the Third Shinobi World War, deeming them as a threat because of their formidable fūinjutsu. Kushina, a young, newly promoted captain of a dropout scouting squad due to the shortage of war potential, is captured by a certain blond deep within enemy territory. And if it wasn't bad enough already - she's falling for this idiot! / One of my favourites so far. I really like how the author is introducing the war and the captivity in a raw way, then how the story is softening with time./
Kitsune by EmptySurface
When finding himself stranded in the past, what is a man supposed to do? Surrounded by old friends who are younger than you remember, and without anyone to lean on, life becomes a challenge. Will he be able to forge new friendships and change the course of the future, to prevent the blood soaked world he came from? Failure equals death and mindless destruction. Time-travel. /This story is just hilarious. If you don't like a Narutoish Naruto and game of tag don't read. ;) /
Off The Mark by Rinaty
During their battle, Tobi catches Minato and sends him spiraling into the future. In this twisted version of what could have happened, the blonde will experience pain, joy and horror unlike anything the shinobi world could have prepared him for. / I must warn you, its dark and absolutely T rated.
Shadow Reincarnation by Analon
A passing remark from the most surprising ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves leads the second God of Shinobi to redesign his predecessor's technique. Under the mentorship of the legendary leaders of Konohagakure, watch the growth of Uzumaki Naruto on the road to his destiny. /How it turns out when you are mixing the Shadow clone technique, the first two Hokage and Naruto? Found out :D :D /
Bearing an Hourglass by fourthfireshadow
What would you do if you found out you are one of the only two people exclusively chosen to trade your existing time line for another one to fix past mistakes, so that the entire fate of the ninja word effectively lies on your shoulders-in just a single minute? That's what Sakura and Sasuke have to figure out. SasuSaku/MinaKushi / Some time travel with Sakura and Sasuke /
Kakashi Rewind by StreakinHerculobus
When Kakashi's mangekyo is replaced by Obito's, he finds himself back in time before the Fourth Ninja War. Minato's alive and he has a chance to do things right, but only if he can convince the leaf he's not an imposter.
Things as They Are by Solara Myles
Sasuke wakes up in a world that's just like his, only he's found himself in a role that's better suited for a certain loud mouthed orange clad idiot. It's with some measure of shock that he realises their roles have been switched . . . in more ways than what he likes. As things progress he realises that this world is nothing like his own. AU. Gen. Time travel. Adopted: alolha12