Authors Note: Greetings everyone. Sorry this one took longer to get out then is normal for me. It was a very long unpleasant week at work. I hope you all enjoy this one. Also I am sorry that I made some of you cry with the last chapter but at the same time it makes me happy you are enjoying everything so much.
Chapter 9: Naruto on the Edge
Naruto's return to the waking world had been traumatic. He could no longer feel the presence of the Fox within him. His pleas for her to answer him were met with silence. On top of that it felt as if his body was on fire, burning from the inside out. Specifically it was his chakra network. It was as if lava was pouring through him. All of these things hit him at once and he panicked letting out a terrible scream. He was completely unaware of the group of people that were around him or of the events that had taken place while he was being plagued by visions of the future.
"Naruto?" Sakura asked when his cry of pain alerted her that he had come around.
"Man, what's his problem?" Shikamaru asked not really caring about the answer.
Naruto looked around him trying to understand what was going on. No longer in the trees he was sitting on the ground in a clearing in the forest. A short ways off from where he was sitting was Sasuke and Sakura. Ino was there as well supporting what looked like an unconscious Rock Lee. Shikamaru and Choji were also there staring at Naruto wondering what he was making so much noise about. Looking up into the trees Naruto even spied Tenten and Neji. Naruto tried to stand but only feel back down to his knees in pain.
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled out and ran over to him. She could see he was clearly in pain. Reaching him she helped him to a sitting position and leaned him against a nearby tree trunk. "Naruto you feel like you're burning up. Here drink this." She took out canteen of water and helped him drink.
"Than . . . thank you Sakura," Naruto said in a shaky voice. He then looked closely at her. "Sakura! You're all . . . all beat up. Wha . . .what happened? And wh . . . why is everyone here?" Naruto then started coughing. Talking was becoming a strain.
"Rest. You have done more then enough now Naruto. You saved the day again. I'll explain everything else to you later, ok?"
"Ok. Oh . . . Sakura . . . you're hair . . . it looks good short."
Sakura smiled at him. "Thanks. Rest now Naruto."
Naruto watched Sakura walk back over to where the others were now standing. His eyes were heavy and he was exhausted, but he could not sleep. There was too much pain. The fire in his body still burned. He took another sip of water. It felt good but was not nearly enough to put out the flames.
"How is he?" Tenten asked. She had come down from the trees to help with Lee. He was now also awake.
"Naruto's badly hurt. He is trying to hide it but he can't stand and it feels like he has a fever. Whatever that ninja did to him it was bad."
"Great," Sasuke started to say. "He is useless like this and will only slow us down from here on out."
"It's Naruto," Shikamaru added with a smirk on his face. "Isn't that always the case with him?" Choji shook his head in agreement.
"SHUT IT!" Sakura yelled scaring everyone in the clearing. Her face became cold and her eyes began to shoot out flames. She then did something that no one would have ever thought possible. "Naruto only got hurt because you froze up and were useless out there Sasuke! If he hadn't shown up and did what he did you and I would be dead right now! So I don't want to hear any of you saying anything bad about him, or else!"
Never in a thousand year would anyone would have guessed Sakura capable of raising her voice to Sasuke. Let alone threaten him in defense of Naruto of all people. They all stood in stunned silence for a few moments. Naruto heard what Sakura had said and just smiled a little. A memory flashed through his mind.
"When you're hurt there are others who feel your pain."
"She is one of those people," Naruto thought to himself. "And yet she will die by my hand? I hope not."
The day turned into night. The other teams that had come to help parted ways and headed back out to complete the exam. At Sasuke's suggestion Team 7 changed location. The fight with the Sound ninja was bound to attract attention so they relocated to a secluded bank along the river. There they would have access to fresh water and fish for food. It was a good place to camp for a while. With a little help Naruto was able to make it to the river without much trouble.
Sakura was standing watch. It had been decided that since Naruto was in the worst shape of the three only Sasuke and Sakura would stand watch at night. Sasuke took the first watch but now it was Sakura's turn. She sat in the dark listening for any signs of trouble. There was no fire for fear of attracting unwanted human attention. Sakura was glad that the nights remained warm even while the fall was rapidly approaching.
Naruto tossed in his sleep. His body trembled from time to time. It was most evident in his hands that never seemed to stop shaking. Even in his sleep he could feel the fire. Sakura was still worried about him. On top of everything Naruto also seemed to be plagued by nightmares. More then once she could hear him call out for his mother.
Naruto opened his eyes. A restful sleep would elude him yet again this night. He sat up and hung his head. Taking in a deep breath he let it out slowly. The fire burned but it was not the only reason he could not sleep. Knowing the Fox was not standing watch over him like she had every night for years made him uneasy. It was silly he knew but none the less it bothered him.
"Naruto, is something wrong?" Sakura asked when she saw him wake up. "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine Sakura," He replied while standing up on shaky legs. He walked over to her and sat down. "Just can't sleep is all."
"Is the pain getting worse?"
"No, it's actually better." It was a half truth. The pain was as bad as it had always been but Naruto was getting use to it.
"Is it the nightmares?"
"Nightmares?"
"In your sleep, you seemed afraid. You called out for your mother a few times. You must miss her. There have been times I wish I was home with my family instead of out here. It's ok to feel like that."
"I never knew my mom, or my dad. They were both killed the day I was born. It was the day the village was attacked by the Nine-Tailed Fox." He said these words but they did not pain him. He did not blame the Fox at all for what she did. Even though she refused to speak of it she must have had a reason for doing what she did. He knew her too well for there not to have been a reason.
"Oh Naruto, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. Here I am babbling about missing my family and it's only been a few days."
"It's ok Sakura. There is no way you could have known. But there is this one woman that I do think of as my mother. She helped raise me and protected me for a long time. But she is gone now and I don't know if I will ever see her again. I miss her more then I though I ever would." Naruto paused for a moment as if in deep thought. "It seemed like she would always be by my side."
"Hey Naruto?"
"Hmm?"
"I wanted to thank you."
"Thank me? For what?"
"For helping me train. Taking the time to work with me. Even though we only worked together for a little while it made a difference. I could feel it. I would never have been able to do what I did yesterday if it hadn't been for you."
In the late afternoon, after they had relocated to the river, Sakura filled him in on what had happened. About how Sasuke was able to fight off the Grass ninja but still being badly hurt. About how the Sound ninja came and Lee coming to the rescue. Even about the surprising turn of events when Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji showed up to help. Sakura did leave out some things. She didn't mention the bite on Sasuke's neck, or the marks on his body, or about how he used some unnatural power to fight off the Sound ninja.
"Nah. You give me too much credit," Naruto tried to be modest. "You have the potential to be great Sakura. I maybe just helped open the door to that potential. If you keep it up you will be a great power some day."
"You really think so?"
"I know it." Sakura was smiling at Naruto's words. Naruto did mean what he said. He believed them. He had to. "Hey, why don't you get some sleep. I'm going to be up the rest of the night and you had a long couple of days."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
Sakura quickly fell back to sleep. Naruto was glad for it. He could let his guard down some and show that the pain was still there. His chakra network burned like hell fire. He took some more deep breathes and calmed the shaking. He was starting to feel better, but did not know if the pain would ever end.
Sitting in the dark Naruto thought back on his conversation with Sakura. What he said about her training was true. She could be a great power one day. As long as she never stopped growing as a ninja. Naruto would help her every step of the way if he had to. It was the only way to save her. If he could make her stronger then there was hope she would one day be strong enough to survive. To survive him.
Naruto watched the forest fill with the morning light. There was never a time more peaceful then dawn in the wilderness. The night predators were settling in for the day and the early morning creatures emerged from their hiding places. Soon the sleeping members of his team began to stir as well. Naruto knew it would be a busy day. They had taken too much time to rest and had till the next morning to complete the exam. Despite the pain he was suffering from he knew he simply had to fight through it.
Soon after Sakura and Sasuke had gotten up they had a fire going. Breakfast consisted of fish from the river. They were large and tasty. It did not take long to fill their stomachs. The fish also served another purpose. The smell of the cooking food was attracting the sort of attention they had hoped to avoid. Without any sound or forewarning at all there was presence behind them. It was only then that Naruto could smell the new chakra. He cursed himself for his dulling senses.
"Hey guys," a familiar voice came at them. They all turned at once. "How's it going?"
"Kabuto?" Sakura said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious," Sasuke said. "He's after our scroll."
"No, not really," Kabuto responded with a smile on his face. "See here." He pulled out a Heaven and an Earth scroll. "Truth is I'm here because the smell of your fish was hard to pass up. Been stuck in this forest for days without anything decent to eat. Was heading to the tower to meet up with my team and well my stomach got the best of me. Mind if I join you?"
"Might as well. Pull up a seat."
The four of them eat and swapped stories. They had all been through a rough time getting as far as they had. Something was bothering Naruto though. Something about Kabuto seemed off. But Naruto could not be sure of anything. The pain was dulling his senses and the lack of sleep making him paranoid.
"Well you guys sure had a hell of a time out here," Kabuto said at last. "But don't worry about not having a scroll yet. There is still plenty of opportunity. I'll tell you what. For sharing all your fish with me I'll help you guys out."
"You would do that?" Sakura asked skeptically.
"Sure. After all we are from the same village. In this situation we are not rivals but fellow Leaf ninja. But we had better get a move on. If I found you guys then others are bound to as well."
After breaking camp the four of them took off through the trees. Naruto fell behind. He was still unable to fully keep up even though he had been resting quite a bit. As they traveled Kabuto was telling them of plan they could use to try and get the scroll they needed. He was telling them of how other teams would be waiting by the tower to steal the scrolls they needed from other teams. Naruto was not listening. His mind was troubled with his own thoughts.
Naruto had a lot of time to think over the past few days. He was trying to understand what was happening to him. What he knew was that he was cut off form the Fox. She was still inside of him somewhere. That Grass ninja did something and now he could no longer hear or feel her. The pain he realized was something like that of a drug addict going cold turkey. In his case it was the sudden disappearance of the Foxes power.
Since the day he was born Naruto and the power of the Fox had been merging and becoming one force. It had always been a part of him. Now that it was gone he was going through massive withdrawals. Using his chakra just made things worse. The more he used the hotter the flames burned.
Naruto's only relief was that he was not any weaker then when he started the exam. While he was no longer drawing power from the Fox, either by the natural process of them merging or from her simply dumping it into him, he still had all the strength and power he already merged with. It just really hurt when he used it.
"Well then," Naruto thought. "If this is how things will be from here on out then so be it. If I have to live with pain the rest of my life then I will fight through it."
What Naruto didn't know was that this was only half the story and he was only partially right. While he no longer had the Foxes raw power he also no longer had her great healing power. Since the day he was born his own natural ability to heal that all humans have has been suppressed. It took a back seat to the superior ability of the Fox. It also made it so he could use the power of the Fox. Without it the Foxes power would be too much and would destroy him. That's what was happening to Naruto.
The power Naruto did have was too great for a normal body to handle. Even though it was his chakra it was too powerful. He was no longer being constantly healed. So now the power he did have was running though his body eating him from the inside out. That was the true nature of the fire that burned. The more power he used the more damage he was doing. If something was not done to fix the problem it would eventually kill him.
Before they knew it night had fallen. The four of them had traveled all day and the tower was in sight. Despite it all Naruto kept pace. It hurt but he pushed the pain aside. Now was not the time to appear weak. There were other ninja about laying in wait for passer bys. Looking weak would only invite trouble.
"Ok guys," Kabuto said as he signaled them to stop. "We need to be on our guard from here on out."
The next several hours were spent walking in the dark. No matter how far they walked the tower never got any closer. Something was wrong. Finally Naruto knew what it was. "Shit, we're in trouble."
"Hu, what is it?" Sakura asked.
"No matter how far we walk that tower never gets any closer. I think we have been walking around in circles." Naruto had other reasons for his suspicions. He could smell a faint chakra all around him. They had walked into a trap.
"Damn it," Kabuto said. "You're right. We were so busy trying not to be seen that we didn't realize we walked right into some ones trap."
That's when the trap was sprung. Out of the trees, the bushes, and the ground its self an army of Rain ninja appeared. There seemed to be dozens upon dozens of them. They all moved slowly in on the four Leaf ninja. Three of the Leaf took up defensive stances. Naruto simply cracked his knuckles and laughed.
"Hahaha, it's about time I got to have some fun." He walked away from the group.
"Naruto!?" Sasuke yelled. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Get back here."
"Shut up Sasuke. If you were not so busy panicking again then you would see that these are just illusions. The real ones are hiding like chicken shits in the trees." Naruto took in a deep breath and smelled them out. He knew exactly where they hid. "You three just stay here. I'll be right back."
"Naruto!" this time it was Sakura.
"Just stay here Sakura." Naruto glanced over his shoulder at her with a look that said to back off. He then disappeared into the trees. "Just wait right there because I need to kill something."
Two of the Rain ninja had watched from a safe distance as Naruto walked off. They tried to track his movements but quickly lost sight of him.
"Where did the little one go?" one asked the other.
"Don't know. I lost sight of him. Couldn't hear what he was saying from here. Bet he just ran off. We'll run him down after we take care of his friends."
"Oh really," said a demonic voice mere inches behind them.
The two Rain ninja turned around to face the source of the voice. It was the last thing they ever did. In one quick and simultaneous movement Naruto, a kunai in each hand, slit both their throats. He did so with such force that he nearly took both their heads off. Their spurting blood covered Naruto before the lifeless corpses hit the ground. Naruto wiped some of the blood from his face before turning his attention to the third member of the Rain team.
The sound of branches breaking and running could be heard a short distance off. The man had seen what Naruto did and was running for his life. It would do little good.
"I seem to have startled a rabbit," Naruto said to the two bodies at his feet. He then took off running.
The last Rain ninja was running for his life. He saw what Naruto had done and pissed himself. Without warning or even a chance to defend themselves he saw as his two friends were killed only yards away. The one doing it was the same kid he had tried to take out when the exam began. Looking back as he ran he saw flashes of Naruto bouncing through the trees after him. But what really scared him was the smile on Naruto's face. An evil twisted smile. He was kicked to the ground suddenly.
Naruto launched himself at the fleeing ninja. He hit him in the back and sent him tumbling across the ground. When he finally stopped he was on his back looking up at the night sky. An instant latter he was looking into a pair of cold blue eyes. Naruto stood above him keeping him pinned to the ground. The Rain ninja was too frightened to move. The twisted smile on Naruto's face seemed to paralyze him.
"Oh god," he screamed. "Plea . . . please don't kill me!"
"Are you seriously begging for you're life?" Naruto asked sounding annoyed. "I mean I let you live once. Why should I let you go this time?"
"Please have mercy on me. We would have let you lived if you gave us your scroll."
"Mercy? Mercy is reserved for friends." Suddenly the names on the memorial stone flashed through his mind. Then the vision of a heart broken soul crushed Hinata. "Even they sometimes have to pay the price."
"The scroll! I mean . . . the heaven scroll. I have one. You need it right? Please, just take it."
"You're pathetic. Not even worth killing. What sort of ninja are you? You have no pride." The pinned man seemed to relax a little. He felt like he might be spared after all. "Then again . . . I've had a really bad week. This damned pain won't go away. You keep getting in my way! RIGHT NOW I'M REALLY PISSED OFF AND NEED TO KILL SOMETHING!"
Naruto then plunged a kunai into the heart of the ninja. There were some gurgling sounds but they ended quickly as the man died. It was quick and relatively painless. Naruto was merciful in his rage. Standing up Naruto tilted his head back staring at the sky and took a deep breath. He let it out in a slow satisfying way.
"Well mom," he thought to himself. "Even with you not here your bloodlust is still a part of me. Guess I will need to work on that, hehehe"
Naruto stood there alone in the dark for a few minutes. He let his heart rate slow along with his breathing. He felt good. The pain was still there but he still felt good. He killed the three ninja without the use of his chakra. Just his own strength, speed, and weapon skills. He was covered in the three men's blood but he didn't care. A testament to his ability. That's when he had an idea. One that brought back that sadistic smile to his face.
Naruto looked down at the body he still stood over. The man's eyes were fixed open and the last thing he saw in this world was Naruto. Reaching down Naruto removed his head band. The he took the scroll form a pouch. Making his way back to the first two he killed he removed their headbands as well. Tying them together he then looped them through a belt loop on his pants.
"It still needs something," he said to himself. "I got it." Taking out another kunai Naruto carved an X through the village symbols on all three headbands. "Perfect."
Naruto stood there a moment very pleased with himself. He looked down at his new acquisitions, still stained with the blood of their former owners. This gave Naruto an edge he needed in his weakened state. What better way to strike a blow at you're opponents before a fight has even begun then by displaying the headbands of ninja one has slain in the past as trophies.
"Maybe I'll get into that Bingo book and have a cool nickname like Kakashi-sensei has. Naruto Uzumaki-Ninja Hunter or the Collector. Wow, those sounded lame. Hope someone can do better then me."
A few minutes later Naruto rejoined the others where he had left them. They stood there in a defensive stance unsure of what was going on. From their point of view they had all been at one moment surrounded by Rain ninja and then the next moment everything disappeared. Their eyes widened in shock as they say a blood covered Naruto walk into view.
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled. "Are you hurt?"
"It's not my blood Sakura. I'm fine." He said this as he casually walked up to the group like he was simply meeting them for lunch. He saw as their eyes all drifted to the headbands on his belt. "What are you all looking at?" Knowing full well what it was. "Oh these, there just some souvenirs."
"Souvenirs?" Kabuto question truly unsure of what to think.
"Yeah. Souvenirs of the hunt." He let the magnitude of what he just said sink in for a moment. "Come on guys we got the scroll we needed right here. Let's get to the tower and out of this damned place." Naruto then turned around and headed for the tower without another word.
The four of them made it to the tower without any further incident. The sun was just rising as Kabuto met up with his team and then the two groups parted ways. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke entered the door that was marked for their entry. Inside they found a big empty room. There was an old faded wall hanging on the far wall with some sort of poem on it. Sakura read it and being the brain she is guessed that it was time to open the two scrolls they had.
To everyone's shock and amazement the two scrolls turned out to be some sort of summoning spell. In a big puff of smoke Iruka-sensei appeared. He was there to happily inform them that they had passed the second exam. To celebrate he wanted to take them all out for ramen. Naruto began to drool at the thought of ramen. It had been days since his last bowl. But there was still some work still left to do.
A little while later Iruka led the three of them to a large room. Inside they saw the other ninja teams who had passed the second exam. The room was full of them. The biggest surprise was that all nine rookie ninjas passed the exam. Lee's team along with Gaara's team were there as well. Naruto scanned the room looking for a certain someone. Then he saw her.
Naruto's pain suddenly seemed to fade. There across the room was Hinata standing near her teammates seeming lost in the sea of people. She didn't see Naruto as he briskly walked up to here, pushing past people who gave him dirty and surprised looks. Hinata looked up in time to see Naruto was within arms reach of her. She smiled brightly at him relieved to see he had made it this far only to have that smile turn to a look of shock.
Naruto moved in on here and did not stop once he was close. He reached out and threw his arms around her. He squeezed her tight in a massive bear hug. Hinata's head was firmly pressed against Naruto's chest. Her face had never been so red in her life and the smile on Naruto's face was never bigger.
"N . . .Naruto, is . . . is there something wro. . . wrong?" Hinata managed to get out. She did not know what to think at the moment.
"Nothing could be more right Hinata," Naruto said not letting go of her. "I'm just so happy to see that you're ok."
"Naruto, it . . . it's getting hard . . . hard to breath."
"Oh sorry Hinata." He let go of her
"Naruto, your clothes! Are . . . are you ok?"
"Hu?" He looked at himself. He was still covered in the blood of the three ninja he killed. "Oh, don't worry. It's not my blood. I'm fine." Hinata seemed to relax some. She saw the three headbands on his belt but thought best not to ask about them.
"I'm glad you're ok." Hinata was starting to relax around him again like she had in the past. Speaking became easier. "I'm really glad to see you here."
"Hinata, there is something I want to talk to you about. There is something I have wanted to tell you."
"What is it Naruto?"
"I recently realized something that had always been staring me in the face. I should have told you this so long ago but was blinded. I've been a fool Hinata."
"Naruto . . ."
"No, I need to finish. Only a fool could miss what had been standing in front of them for so long. Something that everyone else knew but me. Hinata I . . ."
"Ok maggots listen up!" the sound of Anko's voice cut in interrupting Naruto. "Lord Hokage is about to speak!"
"Damn it!" Naruto cursed maybe a little too loud.
"That means you to blondie!" Anko's words drew the rooms' attention on to Naruto. Interrupting the most important conversation of his life did not please him at all. Naruto was already on edge so it took little to push him over.
The look on Naruto's face suddenly changed. Hinata watched as his blue eyes became cold. His smile turned to a sneer. He turned his head and looked back over his shoulder at Anko. It was the same look of death the Rain ninja saw before he died. Without even knowing why Anko's heart began to race. The others on stage saw it as well. The Hokage, Iruka, Kakashi, and the others who were looking at Naruto all saw the aura of death coming from the boy.
Fear griped the edges of Hinata's senses. She knew that if something did not change fast Naruto was going to loose it. Her mind flash backed to something she was not supposes to know. A forbidden knowledge that if became public would change everything. She may even never see Naruto again. So going against her very own timid nature she did the impossible.
"Naruto," Hinata said to him. She reached out with one hand placed her fingers along the side of his face. Gently she moved them down to his chin and turned his head back so he was looking at her. "It's ok Naruto. Whatever you have to tell me it can wait until we are done here. Then we can go someplace and talk alone away from everyone else. Ok?"
"Hinata," Naruto said looking at her smiling face. Her beautiful pearl colored eye looking at him. His own expression softened and he began to smile again. "You're right. I guess I have waited this long what's a little while longer. I'll take you out to dinner tonight. I have a lot I want to tell you."
"Ok, it's a date then." She smiled. Her fear gone and she was happy to see he had calmed down. She was a little shocked at her self for saying that it was a date. A date with Naruto, the one person she had wanted to be with most of her life. Nothing pleased her more then what he said next.
"Yes it is."