Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 3: Indestructible

Naruto looked up to the surface of the water. As inviting as it seemed he had resolved himself to stay under the lake's water for at least another hour. Naruto eyed the rope anchoring him to a heavy rock. Again the temptation to free himself from the constraint passed through him. But for the sake of the attempt Naruto had to endure, if only to further validate how much his body relied on oxygen or rather didn't. Although drowning yourself for three hours wasn't without its own share of pain.

Naruto's lungs protested with a horrible burning that not even the inhaled water could cool. His mind felt sluggish and slightly dizzy. Drowning was an unpleasant feeling; he couldn't really compare it to some of the other attempts. When he had first started the attempts Naruto could relate each incident to another, but as time went on he thought of new and different ways to kill himself. Eventually the attempts became so varied that Naruto could no longer compare them as easily as he used to.

It was like trying to compare ramen to dango, or a salad. They may be foods but you couldn't really say which tasted better than the other since they had completely different flavors. Of course there were some that were still close enough to each other that a comparison was possible. An amputated arm was to a deep stab as beef ramen was to miso ramen. But if he had to call drowning anything, he would call it a salad. Naruto Uzumaki hated salads.

Naruto looked at the darkening water, signifying the lateness of the day. Seeing that more time had passed, Naruto took out a kunai and cut his wrist. Blood left the wound in entrancing whirls. Naruto observed the cut and counted the seconds it took for it to heal. Sealing itself in 4 seconds, Naruto frowned at his findings. Taking the same kunai he had cut, himself with Naruto freed himself of the ropes constraints.

Making his way to the surface Naruto coughed and gasped intensely as he surfaced. His lungs were struggling to both expel the water that had filled them and inhale oxygen at the same time. The task was made all the more difficult by the small passageway that his throat had become. He knew the feeling all too well however, and after extensive research Naruto knew the culprit was a constricted larynx. Laryngospasm was the technical name for it; it is the body's initial response to drowning. It closed off the air tube by means of constricting the larynx, thus significantly lowering the amount of water that entered the lungs. Although it didn't completely stop water from entering, and after being underwater for three hours, Naruto still had water filling his lungs. Usually the larynx would unconstrict after unconsciousness. Unfortunately for Naruto he no longer fainted from oxygen deprivation leaving him with the laryngospasm even after extended periods of drowning. The resulting problem was his current predicament.

His lungs were trying their best to, both, expel a lungful of water and obtain precious air through a pin size airway. Slowly, but surely, his throat began to relax, and after a fit of coughing he was finally able to breath. Weakly swimming to land he crawled his way out of the water. Flipping himself on to his back Naruto laid splayed out on the lake's shore. After a couple of minutes, the boy picked himself up and went to retrieve his journal and pen over by a stump. With a frown Naruto considered what he would write down.

"Suicide attempt #647: 3 hour drowning. Attempt was severely painful. A pain severity rating of 8. Attempt didn't feel any closer to causing death than other drowning incidents. Feeling of death was at 3. Blood loss was extremely low and only due to self-inflicted cuts of the wrists during the attempt. Blood rating was at 1. Healing occurred throughout the drowning. It should also be noted that oxygen deprivation only slowed healing down by a factor of 0.5 seconds. Healing rating was at 8. Conclusion: This attempt has further solidified my findings, stating drowning as an improper means to death. Alternatives: Blood weapon jutsu, salt water, longer period of time, deeper bodies of water. Explore possibilities at a much later date.

-Naruto Uzumaki, September 26, 19:25"

-Training ground seven, September 27, 8:05 a.m.-

Kakashi poofed in front of his gennin team. "You're late!" He heard an irate Sakura yell.

"Ah, sorry about that. You see I was on my way here from a small mission when I ran into a town plagued by ghosts. Being a renowned exorcist it was my duty to expel all the evil spirits."

"You got to be kidding me!" Sakura screamed, pissed at her sensei's ridiculous lie.

Kakashi mock frowned in response. "Now Sakura quit being selfish, how could you just expect me to leave the poor townsmen to face their fate."

Sakura's eyebrow began to twitch in annoyance. "To hell with the townsmen." She muttered.

"Anyway, how about we start training for the day?" Kakashi asked, changing the subject. It had been about a two days since Naruto and his team had passed Kakashi's test. They started missions the next day, which, to Naruto's disappointment, were simple chores. When he pressed Kakashi as to the reason his sensei had simply replied that gennin started off with D-rank missions or, as Sasuke had so angrily labeled them, cheap labor. Naruto had nodded his head in agreement with the young scion on that one. To lighten their mood Kakashi had told them that they would be doing training today. The prospect of learning something quelled Sasuke's and Sakura's dissatisfaction. Naruto was a different story however.

"What will we be learning?" Sasuke asked aloofly.

"Well I think before I can teach you anything I would have to assess your current skill level." Kakashi said as he took a seat on a tree stump. "I figure the best way to do that is to have you three spar each other."

"So are we supposed to fight each other one at a time sensei?" Sakura asked, slightly hesitant of the idea of having to fight one of her teammates.

"Actually I want you and Sasuke to fight Naruto." Kakashi stated as he took out a small orange book. "If you don't mind Naruto?" Kakashi asked Naruto.

Naruto shrugged. "I don't mind. I'm more likely to die this way than if we fought separately." Naruto said, picking dirt out of his fingernails. Kakashi nodded to Naruto in response.

Sasuke frowned. "You can't expect him to seriously take us both on do you?" Sasuke asked annoyed. "He's the dead last of the class."

"Oh really now? That's not what I saw when he took both the bells." Kakashi replied plainly.

"Tch, I could've done the same thing." Sasuke said.

Sakura nodded her head fervently. "Yeah Sasuke was the rookie of the year."

"Well then, if what you say is true victory should be assured." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

Growling, Sasuke began walking to the middle of the training field with an angry scowl on his face. "Tch, I won't need her help. I'll finish the dobe fast." Sasuke said as he faced down Naruto, who was lazily making his way to the field. Sakura took her place behind Sasuke, lest she get in his way.

"Alright, the only rule is to stop on my say so." Kakashi said from his seat on the stump.

Sasuke considered how to take on the blonde. He knew that Naruto was stronger than he let on. But he couldn't be that much stronger could he? No it looked like that blood jutsu and high speed regeneration was the extent of it. Naruto wouldn't be too much trouble. All he had to do was stop him from using his jutsu, and with enough punishment the blonde would faint.

"Begin!" Kakashi announced.

Not wasting a second Sasuke charged at the blonde. Once he was within striking range, Sasuke delivered a haymaker to Naruto's unguarded face. Seeing Naruto stumble back from the blow Sasuke proceeded to deliver a fury of kicks at Naruto's midsection. After a few kicks, Sasuke followed with jabs to the face packing as much power as he could muster into the quick punches. Meaning to finish the one sided exchange, Sasuke delivered a devastating punch obviously meant to knock Naruto on his back. What ended up happening however surprised all present. Naruto's head snapped back for a few inches before coming to a sudden stop. Naruto could be seen glaring at the Uchiha, a fist still on his face.

"Is that it?" Naruto growled. Taken aback, Sasuke jumped away from his enemy. Sakura watched all this astonished by Naruto's appearance. 'He doesn't look like he has a scratch on him!' She thought, as she turned to look at her crush. She frowned in worry as she saw that he was lightly panting. 'How does Sasuke look like the one more worn out?'

Naruto let the glare that was on his face slowly come off. "If you want to kill me you're going to need a lot more power than that." Naruto said in a serious tone. Sasuke didn't take any of this well.

'The dobe wants to see power?' Sasuke thought angrily. 'I'll just show him then!' Performing a rapid set of hand seals, Sasuke prepared to unleash an enormous fireball on the unsuspecting blonde. Taking in a large breath, Sasuke exhaled a massive ball of flame. He watched as the jutsu sailed to Naruto at a slow pace.

As it closed in he expected to hear the pop noise from a replacement jutsu. But instead nothing happened to signify that Naruto had escaped the jutsu. Sasuke's anger deflated, he turned to Kakashi to see if maybe he had managed to save Naruto in the nick of time. But the only sight that greeted him was that of Kakashi, flipping the page in his little orange book, a perverted giggle escaping his lips.

Sasuke looked back to the site of impact in shock. 'No this wasn't supposed to happen! I made sure that jutsu wouldn't be too fast to dodge.' Sasuke thought in a panic. It was the truth. Sasuke had made the jutsu huge, but so slow that even an academy student with less than 2 years' worth of training would have been able to dodge it. Maybe scared and a little singed, but that was the point.

"Naruto!" He heard Sakura scream. As the flames began to die down, a silhouette started to become visible. Sasuke and Sakura were bewildered. They couldn't believe their eyes as the figure began to walk toward them, flames quickly dying down.

Finally they were able to see Naruto, ruined jacket and all, but other than that looking mostly fine. A couple of patches of blackened skin could be seen turning back to their original healthy tan before their eyes. It was an unsettling sight for the two gennin. Naruto looked at his destroyed jacket with a frown. "I knew I should have sprung the extra 100 ryo for the fire proof jacket." Naruto muttered, swiping the remains of his red hoodie from his form, revealing an intact tank top and pants. Naruto considered his teammates' reaction. "What's with the looks? You saw my healing only two days ago" Naruto asked confused.

Sasuke slowly got over his shock enough to glare at the blond. "We saw you heal from a couple of projectiles, not a chuunin ranked fire jutsu." Sasuke yelled accusingly.

"So now you understand then? Why I search so desperately to find someone who can kill me?" Naruto asked in a monotone voice. "For me it's not as simple as taking a hand full of pills. So please use your strongest techniques on me." Naruto asked a hint of pleading leaking into his flat tone.

Sasuke looked down at the ground in humiliation. "That was my strongest jutsu." Sasuke said through gritted teeth.

"I figured as much." Naruto sighed, annoying Sasuke.

Sasuke glowered in response. "I'm not done yet. I'll make you pay for underestimating me."

"Well I guess since you're throwing everything you have at me, it's only right that I do the same." Naruto said a light smirk on his face. Naruto began to make hand signs. His teammates' eyes widened upon recognizing a tiger seal.

'A fire jutsu!' Sakura thought terrified.

"Fire body jutsu." Naruto said. In a matter of seconds, everything from his fingertips to lower bicep were covered in flames. Not only his arms, but his feet were as well! "You two better be careful." Naruto warned before he careened to Sasuke.

Taken slightly by surprise at Naruto's increased speed, Sasuke barely managed to dodge one of the burning fist. Sasuke took two steps back to get some distance, but Naruto was ready for it. Using momentum, Naruto stood on his hands and kicked at Sasuke. This time Sasuke had no choice but to block, using his forearm. However he hadn't expected the strength in Naruto's kick, he skidded back a few feet as a result.

Again Naruto wasted no time in charging toward Sasuke, who was patting out the fire on his arm warmer. But before he could strike the unguarded boy, he was taken down from an axe kick to the top of the head. Naruto crashed to the ground hard. Immediately he built up fire into his hands and used it as propulsion to get back on his feet. Once more using momentum, Naruto was about to punch, Sakura across the face.

However Sasuke had already thrown kunai and shuriken at Naruto, each projectile hitting their mark. Normally this wouldn't have stopped Naruto, but the strings attached to them certainly did. Using all the strength he could muster, Sasuke threw Naruto into a tree. Sasuke was about to attack the blonde some more, but something stopped him.

He smelled it before he saw it. For a second, Sasuke was 7 years old again, just coming back home to see a horrible nightmare. It was that same night that Sasuke smelled it for the first time. As he saw Naruto get up, rubbing his burning arms, he smelled it still. Sasuke knew without having to see Naruto's blackened arms and feet what the smell was. It was sickly sweet, a smell so strong he could taste it. A taste that made him nauseous, that killed any appetite he may have had.

Yes even after all this time, Sasuke still remembered that smell. You never forget the first time you smell burning flesh. Before, Naruto's body healed to fast before to allow the scent to permeate through the air. But now that it was continuously burning alive, not even his healing ability could stop the smell for that long. Naruto began to start on another set of hand signs, when Kakashi's voice stopped him. "That's enough for today you three." Putting his hands down, Naruto extinguished the flames from his body. Sasuke and Sakura looked slightly relieved despite themselves.

"Naruto has some disturbing jutsu." Sakura said absently.

Sasuke didn't need to say anything for her to know he agreed. The look in his eyes told enough.

-Konoha, September 28 10:34-

Naruto was a strange sight walking down the streets of Konoha. His spare hoodie was once again about to get destroyed, not by a deadly jutsu but by a cat, a very angry and very unhappy cat to be exact. Sakura resisted the urge to laugh as Naruto's face slowly became a scowl. Grabbing the cat by his scruff, he lifted the cat to eye level so that they were face to face. In response Tora, the cat, lifted a clawed paw and quickly and violently scratched Naruto's face. Naruto's only reaction was to narrow his eyes at the cat, his wounds already healing. "Maybe you're the one?" Naruto asked the cat.

Sasuke shook his head at his teammate's antics. "That cat won't be able to kill you." Sasuke said.

"It took us well over an hour to catch him. He might prove himself worthy in a fight." Naruto said his voice completely serious, glare intensifying. To Tora's credit, the cat didn't even flinch; instead he glared right back at Naruto, paw twitching in anticipation of the fight.

"Oh no you don't!" Sakura said, snatching the cat from Naruto's grip. "We're taking this cat back to his owner."

Finally they made it to the Hokage tower. Before they could even step foot into the tower, team 7 was greeted by a rather large woman. "Tora there you are!" The woman shrieked as she took the cat from Sakura's outstretched hands, before proceeding to smother said cat in between her breast. Sakura and Sasuke looked on horrified.

Naruto's face became slightly more serious. "It appears Tora has his own demons he must slay before he can take me on. But I'm confident we will meet again."

Seeing Sasuke and Kakashi ignore Naruto and walk away, Sakura grabbed a hold of Naruto's wrist. "Come on you baka, the rest of our team is going to get another mission." She said as she led him, catching up to Sasuke and Kakashi just as they began to walk into the Hokage's office.

Seeing team 7 walk in, Sarutobi smiled in greeting. "Hello there. I take it you did well on your mission?" He asked the team.

"Everything went well, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said. "Naruto did almost kill our target, but Sakura stopped him."

"And why did you try to kill the target Naruto?" The Hokage inquired.

"I apologize grandfather. Tora seemed like a worthy opponent is all, I meant him no harm." Naruto said surprising Sakura and Sasuke with his choice of words.

Expecting him to get reprimanded they were a taken aback when the Hokage just laughed at the blonde. "Well I don't think the daimyo would let me hear the end of it if you did kill that cat so try to avoid that."

"Very well grandfather." Naruto said, taking a respectful bow.

"So for your next mission, how about you four go take the Inzuka's dogs for a walk."

"Very well then Hokage-sama." Kakashi replied, walking up to take the mission scroll from the Hokage.

On their way out of the office Sakura turned to Naruto. "Naruto are you related to the Hokage?" She asked curiously.

"No, I don't think I am." Naruto replied.

"Then why did you keep calling him grandfather?" Sasuke asked annoyed.

Naruto blinked at what was to him, a very unexpected question. "I don't know." Naruto shrugged. "He's always been grandfather for as long as I could remember."

Sasuke and Sakura frowned in confusion. Their teammate never ceased to surprise them.

-Training ground seven, October 5 08:31-

Naruto fell from the tree with a dull thud. It had been about a week and a half since team 7 had formed and already they were getting into the swing of things. Every other day switched between missions and training. Currently they were in the middle of training, tree climbing to be more precise; while there sensei went to talk to the Hokage.

Sasuke looked over at his blonde teammate. He couldn't help the feeling of envy that enveloped him whenever he saw the blonde. After their spar it was obvious to Sasuke that the gap between his and the class dead last's skill level was not in his favor. Although considering the fast rate that Uchiha took to becoming stronger, Sasuke would be able to surpass the blonde with some training, or so he told himself.

But that wasn't what bothered him so much. The fact that there was a gap was what upset Sasuke. This was supposed to be the dead last! And yet Naruto showed himself to be more than quite capable as a shinobi. It didn't help that the only reason for Naruto's sudden motivation was simply from the prospect of finding someone strong enough to kill him.

He wasn't sure what to make of the boy. Truthfully Sasuke had moments when he himself had thoughts of ending it all. On those days only his drive to restore his clan and kill his brother kept him hanging on. But even those feelings and thoughts were rooted in sadness and despair. But Naruto didn't seem to express either of those feelings. Actually, he didn't express much emotion at all. His goal of dying seemed as legitimate and logical as Sasuke's own ambitions, or at least they were to Naruto.

Seeing Naruto fall once more to the ground Sasuke frowned, curiosity finally getting the better of him. "Hey dobe, I have a question for you." Sasuke said breaking the silence.

"If it's about any tips for this exercise, I don't think I have any better grasp of this than you do." Naruto said, slowly picking himself up.

Sasuke walked closer to the blonde. "It's not about the exercise." Sasuke said annoyed.

"Well then what is it you need to ask?" Naruto replied surprised at his teammate's sudden desire to speak. Sasuke was never one to initiate pointless conversation.

"It's about that goal of yours." Sasuke said, Sakura who had not really been paying close attention to the conversation, perked up at the chance to find out more about one of her enigmatic teammates.

"What about it?" Naruto asked, genuinely confused.

Sasuke's frown deepened at Naruto's innocent response. "Well it's not every day I meet someone so resolved to die with no stated reasons." Sasuke said annoyed.

"Well of course there's a reason." Naruto answered still confused. Sasuke stared at Naruto; waiting to hear the reason, after a couple of seconds of this Naruto raised an eyebrow at his teammate. "What?" Naruto murmured, becoming slightly uncomfortable under the gaze of his two teammates.

"Well what's the reason?" Sakura asked, the suspense of it all finally getting to her.

"It's the wish of the village." Naruto replied, in a tone that made it seem as if it was something obvious.

At this point Sasuke had a full blown scowl. "What do you mean by that? Why would the village want you dead?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. It's just something that has always been." Naruto stated.

Sakura and Sasuke weren't quite sure what to say to that. After a couple of seconds of silence, it was Sakura who chose to speak. "Have they ever tried to… well you know?" Sakura muttered hesitantly.

Again Naruto gave his teammate a confused look.

Sighing, Sasuke clarified. "I think she's trying to ask is if anyone has ever tried to kill you?"

"Well of course they have." Naruto said, with a sad look on his face. "But none of them are strong enough to do the job. So that's why I must try to find someone who can. "

Sakura frowned at his answer. "So that's it? You want to die just because of that? You don't even know why they want to kill you." Sakura said, finding herself angered by the blondes reasoning.

Knowing he had said something wrong, but not knowing what, Naruto gave the girl a reassuring smile that seemed eerily wrong given what he said next. "It's alright Sakura, I'm sure they have a good reason. I trust in the people of this village, I need to die for their sake." And with that Naruto went back to climbing the tree, ending the conversation. Seeing that trying to pry more out of the blonde wouldn't be possible Sasuke went back to training without a word, leaving with more questions than answers.

-Meanwhile, Hokage Tower-

Kakashi walked into the Hokage's office, with a purposeful stride. Hearing him enter, Sarutobi turned away from the sunset he had been observing so peacefully. "Ah Kakashi. To what do I owe this visit?"

"You know what this is about." Kakashi said, taking a seat, face not pleased. "I haven't seen the boy in 8 years and when I finally get the chance to, he's a suicidal mess. What happened to him?"

Sarutobi considered the question. "I'm afraid that it's something Naruto will have to tell you when he's ready."

Kakashi tightened his fist. "Why wasn't I ever informed?"

"I'm sorry Kakashi. But by the time it all happened, the damage was already done. I wanted to tell you, but it wouldn't have done either of you any good. You know the council wouldn't have let you see him, I myself have to fight tooth and nail just for the chance to pay him a weekly visit." The Hokage said as he took a puff from his pipe. "Kakashi believe me, putting him on your team was the best I could do."

Kakashi's eye narrowed, but he said nothing. He wanted to say more, but he knew that the Hokage was right. "Very well Hokage-sama." Kakashi said in a dejected tone, rising from his seat and walking to the door. "Whatever it is Konoha has done to him, I hope he can forgive them one day." Kakashi said before he walked outside.

With a tired sigh the Hokage went to gaze outside his window once more. "I can't say I completely share that sentiment." The Hokage said sadly. Suddenly this sunset didn't look as beautiful to him as it was moments ago.

-October 5, 23:45-

Naruto sat back on his bed. By his side a rusty syringe laid forgotten. He could feel as liquid fire began to run through his veins. This was a new attempt for him. After all getting your hands on sulfuric acid was no easy matter. Already his body tried to combat the intrusion, but it wasn't happening as smoothly as it did with other poisons. He could feel the fire make its way to his head. The pain began to worsen, before he felt certain parts of his body become numb. His vision began to close in. Dark spots forming in random areas of what he could see.

Naruto's thoughts began to come up with any possible alternatives. Maybe he could combine some poisons with the acid next time. Or he could use the blood weapon jutsu to speed up his circulation, thus getting the acid to spread out faster. He tried to think of more, but his eyelids began to feel heavy. He felt really tired for some reason. He would've yawned if he didn't want to scream so badly.

'Maybe this will get it done after all…' He frowned. 'Wait get what done? …What's going on again? …Oh wait that's right…I was trying to cook some ramen…I think…What's ramen? ...I think it has something to do with my name…What's my name again? …dobe? …baka? …oh wait that's right…' He closed his eyes, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "It's demon." He whispered sadly, unconsciousness finally claiming him.

-Author's note-

Well, there you have it. It took me three days of straight typing but it's done now. I really wasn't sure how this chapter was going to turn out; I ended up having to spend hours on just two lines of dialogue. I put a lot of work into this chapter so I hope it shows. Anyway, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed. Thank you so much. And thanks to all of you who favorited and followed the story. Seriously if it wasn't for the insanely positive reception this story got, this chapter would've came out a lot later. Reading all your reviews and seeing my inbox get blown up from all the favs and follows really motivated me to finish this chapter. Be warned though that, I don't intend to update again till next week. I usually spend Friday getting into an alcohol induced coma. And this Saturday I'm driving into Nashville to see taking back Sunday. So that leaves only Sunday for me to write. If I manage to finish earlier though, I will update as soon as I can. Now to address some reviewers. No this story won't be a harem. Nothing against harems, I just don't like them personally. The journal is numbered based off order of the attempt not by the type of attempt. And yes I actually try to sneak a little humor into some of the attempts, though it can be a little hard at times. Anyway, thank you all for reading. Please review.