Naruto's Adopted Family (Alt Universe Story)

by TheFemaleReviewer

Imagine if Sasuke's family decided to adopt Naruto and the Uchiha's were never slain? Now, Naruto and Sasuke are brothers AND best friends! Follow these two boys as they meet all our old/new characters in exciting and BRAND-NEW ways!

2. Chapter 2

Sasuke

*Sasuke the Slacker*

The last words he mouthed to me rang out in my head over and over again, even when he was nothing but a dot in the distance standing next to the man with long white hair. I won't lie. Deep down inside, I despised that man for taking him away from me. My best friend. The best thing that happened to my life. But as time wore on… I had to let my tensions go. Life still went on.

The Uchihas were assimilating to the village better. Our family didn't move out of the district but a lot of other families did. I used to be special in school because I was the only Uchiha in my class, but now, every where I looked there were kids just like me. Some of them had unlocked their Sharingan at a younger age and were better than me. I'll admit that I started to feel bitter…and depressed. I couldn't really figure out how I was special or important. Yeah, my brother was the head of the Uchiha clan but that didn't matter anymore because the clan had dispersed. The other Uchiha didn't have to respond to Itachi, they began responding to the Hokage alone.

"It's okay, Sasuke." Itachi had said one day when I bitterly brought it up. "I purposely set it up this way so that there would be no animosity between the clan and the rest of the village. I wanted us to be appreciated and accepted here."

But I don't feel appreciated or accepted…

"I know you miss Naruto." He said. "Just wait for him, he'll come back."

"That's not what it is at all!" I retorted.

He walked up to me and flicked my forehead. The familiar action reminded me of something.

"We don't even get to train anymore. Suddenly, you're constantly busy."

"I've been promoted, Sasuke." He said. "Not only am I the head of our clan but I'm Sarutobi Sensei's right hand man. There's a lot that I have to do."

I understood but I was a kid. I lost one brother and I felt like I was losing another. Itachi was hardly ever home for dinner. It was always my mother and I. Maybe I was being spoiled but I was sick of my parents. They were constantly bugging me. It was kind of my fault. Ever since Naruto left, I kind of fell backwards in maturity. I spent a lot of time hanging around with Konohamaru and boys younger than me, making up a new team of "Slacker Boys".

Author's Note: (Because Naruto lived with Sasuke, he never met Konohamaru meaning that Konohamaru kept feeling overshadowed by his grandfather's Hokage position and like he didn't have a purpose or meaning in life. Instead of finding a purpose for himself, he and Sasuke became something like the village punks.)

We pulled pranks and wasted time like Naruto and I used to do when we were VERY young. I often got caught so the others wouldn't get in trouble.

"Sasuke, when are you going to stop hanging around these little kids?"

"Konohamaru's only four years younger than me… He's not little."

My mother sighed and said nothing. My father would hardly ever look at me. It was like I was back to square one. Busting my ass just to get my family to stop fawning over my older brother and notice me. But instead of trying, I quit while I was ahead. Who cares anyway? Not me…

"You're lucky, Kakashi-Sensei." I muttered one day when I was practicing. "Mom and Dad are always on my back. You're old so you don't have to answer to anyone. You make your own rules."

It was a couple of hours after Kakashi sensei had shown me a new attack named the "Chidori". He wanted me to learn it to add to my arsenal of techniques. I was taking my time figuring it out. I wasn't too bent on learning anything that had to do with ninjutsu lately. He leaned up against a tree reading that book he constantly had shoved up in front of his face. Hinata punched the tree on my other side, perfecting her gentle fist. She always said that she wanted to get better so that when Naruto got back, he'd be proud of her. I lay up against the tree between them both tossing a kunai knife from one hand to the other.

"No, you're lucky." He replied. "Some people don't even have parents."

"Whatever." I mumbled, not thinking about it at all.

As far as I was concerned, everyone had parents…and they were ALL annoying. Kakashi raised his eyes from the book.

"Oh? Have you already forgotten about Naruto?" he asked, pausing to look at me.

My fingers stuttered and I caught the kunai knife wrong, barely dodging as it came crashing down onto my face.

"He had no parents and life definitely wasn't a cake walk for him. Focus on being a good ninja and stop playing around. Life isn't all childs play." He said.

Kakashi had never scolded me before. I took a lot of offense to his words. I stood up, shoved my hands into my pockets and walked away from them.

"Sasuke, where are you going?" Hinata called.

"Back to my stupid home and my stupid life." I retorted.

I felt guilty as soon as I said it. Kakashi might've thought that his words had gone through one ear and out of the other but I heard him. And I was sorry… I might've gone to my bedroom, stomping my feet and slamming the door angrily but in the dark, I stared at the empty bed with the leaf symbols' all over it. It had been empty for ten months by then. I walked over to the bed and my finger grazed the top of the sheet.

"You…" I whispered. "What are you doing now?"

I knelt next to the bed and put my head down.

"I wish you were here."

*The New Team Member*

A couple of days after my fourteenth birthday, I went on the most dangerous mission I had ever had. Team 7 was called to the Hokage mansion.

"A couple of ANBU spies have been killed in the Hidden Rain Village." He said. "It's a serious issue."

I stood there next to Kakashi and Hinata. The Ino, Shika, Cho team was there, also. And so was Rock Lee, Neji and Tenten. By that time, we had all made Chunin. Even though Shikamaru and I were the first, they all made it the second time around. There were a couple of older jounin teams there, too.

"We don't have many jounin now." Sarutobi Sensei told us. "So, I'm calling on the next in line. I sense a serious issue in the Rain Village. All the ninja I've sent there, ANBU or not, have not returned."

The room was tense. I felt the sweat dripping down the side of my face.

"Do not be alarmed. I'm not sending anyone out there."

Everyone in the room visibly exhaled. It was a time of peace afterall, people were terrified at the prospect of danger. I kept a solid face but scoffed inwardly, I was calling them cowards.

"I need you all to go on patrol around our allied villages." He said. "Any minute now there could be an attack from this…Akatsuki. Many villages trust us and so we need to keep a vigil for them while they stock up their military."

Shikamaru's team was sent to guard the hidden sand village. Neji's team was sent to guard the hidden cloud village. And so forth until every team had been sent somewhere except ours. They all left. The Hokage's eyes settled on ours.

"So, when do you want us in the Rain Village?" Kakashi asked.

Hinata's mouth dropped open but I kept my shock inside.

"Excuse me?" I said steadily. "I thought it was too dangerous to send anyone out there."

The Hokage leaned forward in his desk.

"I'm sorry for lying to you." He said. "But I needed to keep the general ninja population at peace. We're preparing…for a war."

My calm, cool, collected attitude flew out of the window immediately.

"What?!"

Kakashi gave me a look. I immediately calmed myself down.

"I attended a conference a couple of days ago with the other Kages of the other villages and an intruder stepped in to declare war on all of the ninja nations." He explained.

Kakashi nodded.

"So, you need a spy in the Rain village after all?" he proposed.

The Hokage shook his head.

"I wasn't telling the truth when I said that we had no intel on the Akatsuki. We have enough to prepare a counter attack but the attack must be quick and discrete." He said. "The only reason I want you three to head to the Rain Village is because I believe the Akatsuki members who were there have moved out and the villagers who remain may be able to provide information on the members who used to be there."

We all looked him in the eyes.

"This is a tracking and information seeking mission." He said. "Not an attacking mission… However, because of the precariousness of this situation, this mission will be your first S- Rank mission."

"S-Rank?" Hinata said.

"Your team is great for this." He said to us. "Kakashi, your dogs have a sense of smell that transcends even water, Hinata your Byakugan can see through solid objects for miles and miles and Sasuke, you can use your Sharingan to detect any chakra disturbances that can reveal untruthfulness in whoever you interrogate."

Hinata shuffled her feet, it was obvious she was unsure. If Naruto was here, he'd say something ridiculous and obnoxious to make us all forget about our tensions because we were too busy laughing at him. But…

"However, you're not yet complete enough for this mission." The third hokage said.

We all looked up.

"Naruto Uzumaki used to be your fourth team member. But he won't be back with us for two more years."

I looked down.

We know that…

"So, I've taken the liberty to give you a temporary team mate to replace him that will solidify your interrogation abilities."

Suddenly, an ANBU member popped up next to the Third Hokage. My eyes locked on the ANBU member. I recognized him without even one spare second.

Nii-San…?

"Her name is Satomi." The Third Hokage said.

My eyes reluctantly lowered from the holes in the mask I often saw on Itachi's desk at home and settled upon the girl. She wore a sleeveless white shirt that extended into tight-fitting white shorts and was separated by a loosely tied red belt. Her metallic Konoha headband was stitched onto the front of the red belt.

"Uchiha Satomi." She said, turning around and allowing us to see her back.

A tan weapons pouch hung from her red belt but more importantly was the white and red symbol on the back of her white shirt. The same symbol that was on the back of my navy blue shirt…

"I thought there were no other Uchiha's in my year." I said. "Where did she come from?"

"She was sick." The Third Hokage said. "She was being held in the hospital for about four years now."

I rolled my eyes and pointed at her.

"I don't think we should allow someone fresh out of the hospital to take the open spot in our group." I said. "It would just slow us down."

The girl's stoic eyes turned to immediate rage. She glared at me.

"I'm not weak if that's what you're thinking." She spoke up.

"Whatever."

I crossed my arms and looked at the wall. I didn't care about anything she had to say.

"There's a disease going around… In the Uchiha clan. If you surpass the levels of the Sharingan too quickly, you can be in mortal danger." She said.

I raised my eyebrows and looked at her.

"Oh? Interested now, huh?" she smirked at me. "I was in the hospital because I reached level three of the Sharingan with three todems when I was eight years old and could cast genjutsus using my pinky finger. Not because I was some sickly child."

The room was quiet. For a moment it seemed like it was only us two.

"Just looking at you, I can already tell you're just a level two…just barely."

I scoffed.

"Whatever, you're just a girl." I muttered. "I could do that if I tried."

She snickered.

"Oh, if you tried, huh?" she asked. "What's holding you back, big man? Just be honest. You can't because you're WEAK."

"Relax, Satomi." The third hokage said.

"He started it." She said.

I was itching to just turn around and leave. Life was getting stupid again.

"I can't work with her." I said. "I can see it already."

"No one asked you what you CAN do, Sasuke. You WILL do it. This is a mission." Kakashi said.

Satomi smirked at me and put her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, man up! Big boy." She said.

I couldn't help it. I involuntarily activated my Sharingan and then took a step forward. The Third Hokage stood up. Kakashi put a hand on my shoulder and Itachi, still behind the mask, put an arm across the girl's front.

"Sasuke." Itachi said in the eerily silent room. "Calm. Down."

I shook my head and deactivated it. I couldn't help it. Sometimes it just came on like that.

"Why don't you take a break, Sasuke?" the third hokage said.

Suddenly, I was being treated like a child. But honestly, I was glad for an excuse to leave. I left the room calmly but as soon as I got into the hallway I punched the wall.

"You idiot." I muttered. "It's all because you're taking too long to come back… Now this stupid girl is here and she's going to mess everything up."

It was obvious. My real strength was blocked my Naruto's absence in my life. And seeing some Satomi girl shove her way into his old position only made me feel like…maybe…he was never coming back. I just wanted to say "screw this" and quit being a ninja and find some trade to do. But that was impossible. I was an Uchiha. I shuddered to think of the kind of shame I'd bring to my clan.

This is gonna suck… But I'm going to have to deal with this.

*The Rain Village*

We left for our mission immediately. It would be my first long term mission so Mom gave me an extra kiss and Dad gave me an extra nod. Somehow, I was glad to be leaving them. I was ready to go do adult things. Parents were annoying…but nowhere near as annoying as girls.

For the first time in my life, I was having an actual "girl problem". I honestly couldn't figure her out. The entire way there, she acted like an ass, so I acted like an ass. Then when we FINALLY, got to the rain village, I decided to be nice…but she STILL acted like an ass. So, then I decided to just ignore her. Hinata wasn't that complicated at ALL. She hardly ever talked and when she did, she was quiet and she listened to what I had to say and she was just all around pleasant. But this girl…was just downright unruly. Why were some girls different than others? I didn't get it at all… And I didn't WANT to get it. But she HAD to be a part of the team. Kakashi explained it to me in confidence.

"She's our ace in the hole in this mission, Sasuke." He said. "Along with the fact that she has the Sharingan, she's so adept at copying ninjutsu that she's key in infiltration. She's even better than me at copy ninjutsu. She can actually turn herself into a full clone of another person just by touching them and that's not all, she acquires all the jutsu and memory and knowledge of that specific person. It's like she does a screen-shot of their brains."

I rolled my eyes at the time and shrugged.

"Great, give her a cookie."

She only used it to annoy me. She'd constantly find it funny to turn into me and exaggeratedly do things.

"Ugh… When are we going to leave? This is boring… Ugh… My name is Sasuke and I have no patience and I think I'm so cool because I'm an Uchiha… Ugh… I hate girls."

Hinata tried not to laugh but failed.

"Ugh… I think I'm so complex and hard to figure out because I don't say much but I'm really just an asshole…"

I could sense Kakashi smiling under his mask.

"Ugh… I just wish Naruto could come back so I'd at least have ONE friend… Gosh..."

"Shut-Up!" I said, finally snapping.

"Struck a nerve?" she asked. "Man, I really wish I met this Naruto kid. I'd copy him in a second just to mess with you."

If there was anything in the WORLD, I was grateful for, it was that this obnoxious girl had never met Naruto.

The actual interrogation was taking FOREVER though. We talked to multiple rain village members. They were so woe-fully misguided that one person would say that they thought the person who led the rain village was a man and the other would say that it was really a woman and both would believe they were telling the truth. Interrogation was getting us nowhere. Satomi wasn't of use because there were no suspects. I was beginning to feel like it was all just a bogus mission.

But then…one day… I spotted something I wished I'd never seen…

*The Promise*

"I'm not…giving up…"

"Sasuke, I think…maybe…you've practiced enough." Hinata said in that soft voice of hers.

"Chidori!" I screamed, running full speed into a rocky overhand and sticking my hand into it.

We were both drenched. The rain never stopped but we'd already been living in the Inn's there for three months so we were more than accustomed to it.

"You…can go in…if you want." I said, shaking the weariness out of my right hand. "But I'm not letting her run her stupid mouth about my abilities anymore."

"Awww, so you're doing all this for little ol' me?" said a voice that definitely wasn't Hinata's.

I turned around and then sighed exaggeratedly. Of course, it wasn't Hinata. It was Satomi the entire time. It was ALWAYS her.

"Go away." I muttered.

"Why don't you just quit while you're ahead?" she asked. "Like you always do."

"Shut-up!"

I'll show her…

I thrust my hand between my legs and gathered chakra. The usual "chi-chi" sound pierced the humid air. I shook my wet hair off my forehead and darted for the rock. My hand dove straight through it and out of the back. I was so startled, I flew through the hole I made in the rock and rolled a couple of feet on the other side.

I sat up and my mouth dropped open. That hole was almost bigger than Kakashi's.

Satomi whistled as she walked over to me.

"That rock's about ten feet thick and fifteen feet wide." She said, shielding her eyes from the rain as she looked on. "Only slightly impressive."

Instead of getting to my feet I let myself slide onto my back and look at the cloudy sky. Rain splattered over my face. The longer I looked, the longer I imagined the clouds taking the shape of Naruto's face.

"When are you coming back…dobe?" I whispered. "I have something to show you now."

Satomi bent over me and leaned into my face.

"What are you talking about?"

I lifted my hand and pushed her head out of my line of view.

"Why don't you ever go pick on Hinata?"

She smirked at me.

"Because she's not a loser."

"'Tch."

She grabbed my hand and tugged on me.

"Come on, let's go back to the Inn." She told me. "It's getting late."

I let her get me to my feet and she eased my arm, the one that was still weak and in pain from using the Chidori twice, over her shoulders to help me walk.

"I don't need your help."

"Okay, you've proven that you're at least slightly adept at ninjutsu, so stop being an ass." She said.

I opted to just let her help me because I assumed that she would be less annoying that way. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man in a black cape walking swiftly down the mountain side. We were standing next to a mountain a couple of miles outside the Rain Village. The man seemed to be coming from the top of the mountain, that wouldn't have been so strange, because I knew that there were some houses up there. I would've just looked away if I hadn't seen red marks on his cloak. I looked again, this time snapping my Sharingan on and kneeling down behind the piece of rock that I had shattered to pieces.

"What are you doing?"

I pulled Satomi down next to me and peeked up through the hole in the room. I glanced again and was shocked to see that there were actually two men in cloaks. They paused right in front of the rock.

"I guess Pain and Konan moved on. Hm." Said one of them.

When I squinted harder, I could see that he had blonde hair under the hat he wore.

"This is a waste of time. I hate wasting time." The other one said.

He was shorter. They both pulled the hats off of their head and tossed them to the ground. I didn't recognize their faces…but their cloaks… They wore black cloaks with red cloud symbols all over them.

"Akatsuki." I mouthed to Satomi.

She nodded vigorously and we both looked on.

"Well, to save time, why don't you stick around in the Rain Village to see if they might come back soon, hm?" the blonde haired one said.

"That's just like wasting time."

"Well, what do you want me to do? Hidan and Kakuzu are in the sand village, Kisame and Tobi are in the cloud village, Orochimaru and Kabuto are in the Leaf Village and we're supposed to be hiding out in the hidden mist village but it's impossible to get into there… Now we've come to report the difficulty of getting into that village undercover and Konan and Pain aren't even at their posts!"

I was soaking in all the information.

Orochimaru and Kabuto are in the Leaf Village… Orochimaru and Kabuto… Who were those people? Undercover?! This is…!

"Like I said…waste of time." The red haired one said.

They had very different personalities. The red haired one seemed uptight and showed no emotion on his face…almost like he wasn't made of meat. And the blonde haired one was extremely emotional, complaining and whining like…me.

Could he really be an Akatsuki member?

He did a couple of hand signs and produced a spider shaped piece of clay in his hand. It was then that I realized that he had tongues in his hand. Satomi and I both made a disgusted face at the same time.

"Fine." The red haired one finally said. "We'll go by your plan. I will go back to the Mist village and try to infiltrate. You head back to the outskirts of the rain village and wait for the leaders."

"Good, you're listening- wait, what?! That wasn't my plan! I said YOU would wait in the rain village. Hm."

"Beggers can't be choosers." The red haired man said, walking on.

"But…I'm not even a beggar."

Suddenly, Satomi stood up and took her belt off.

"What are you…?"

"Shh!" she said, putting a finger to my lips. And then a quickly as she had done that, she pulled herself through the gap in the rock and snuck over to the akatsuki members. She ran up behind them and touched them both firmly on the back.

"Mister!" she said.

They both turned around.

"I saw…bears!" she said. "Please! I'm scared!"

What the hell is she…oh, wait…

With my Sharingan, I could see as she touched them…she was pooling the chakra in her hands. Sucking in their chakra and copying their signatures.

"Run along, kid." The blonde haired one said. "We can't help you. Hm."

"But-"

The red haired one turned and back-handed her without a second pause.

"You're wasting our time." He said.

Satomi fell to the dirt. I balled my fist.

Assholes…

They walked on and we both waited until they were out of sight to move. I jumped out of the bushes behind the rock and ran over to her.

"Here." I said, handing her the red belt.

As she put it on, I realized why she'd taken it off. Her leaf ninja plate was stitched to it. She wanted to look like a neutral villager.

"Did you get it?" I asked.

"Yup." She said wiggling her fingers. "Both of them."

I nodded, plan sowing itself together in my head.

"This is perfect." I said. "That red haired one seemed to be stronger because he was calling the shots…and he left. The blonde haired one is all alone by the gate to the rain village."

She raised her eyebrows as she used chakra to heal the gash on her face.

"Are you saying what I think you are?"

"Of course I am. We can take him down ourselves."

She laughed.

"Yeah, right." She said. "I probably could, but not you."

"Whatever." I shoved my hands into my pockets and walked on. "Are you coming or not?"

She put her hands on her hips in that indignant way she usually did things.

"Of course I am." I said. "But not without a plan."

"Easy. He's gone…so you'll appear as him, distract him, and I'll Chidori him through the back while he's not paying attention."

"What if he catches you?"

"He won't." I said. "I'm fast with the Chidori."

"We're going to need Hinata." She said. "Her Byakugan can locate him and any other enemies quicker than we'd see them."

"Great idea." I said. "Get Hinata but don't tell Kakashi."

"Why not?"

"Are you stupid? Imagine a couple of chunin like us taking down an AKATSUKI member alone. We'd probably be promoted to the special chunin forces. We don't need Kakashi for this."

She shrugged and ran off into the trees.

Just watch, Naruto. You're going to be shocked out of your mind when you come back…

*Attack the Akatsuki!*

You know how you plan something your head so many times that it feels like the truth? Like…nothing else except your plan could possibly happen?

I'll admit it. I was cocky. I should've taken the information about the Akatsuki straight to Kakashi so that he could send it back to Konoha. The village was what was important. If there were Akatsuki members staking out at the village then the most important thing to do would be to save the villagers…the civilians… This was the purpose of a ninja. But…I was only concerned about my own glory.

When Satomi and Hinata got back, we immediately set out for him. The Third Hokage was completely correct about us being the best tracking team because we found him in seconds. He was milling around a landfill near the gate to the Rain Village. It was a perfect place for a fight…or for someone's immediate death. Hinata and I hid behind a rock while Satomi went down alone disguised as the red haired Akatsuki member.

"Here's the plan, Hinata." I said, keeping my eyes on Satomi. "I'm going to get him with my Chidori as soon as Satomi gets him off of his guard."

She nodded.

"You're not too good with your gentle fist yet, so stay here…wait for my signal before anything."

"Right." She said.

Everything seemed to be working fine. Satomi disguised herself as the akatsuki member she said was named Sasori and spoke to the one she said was named Deidara. Deidara spoke animatedly like before.

"You're so concerned about wasting time, yet you're here!"

"I thought about it. Perhaps you should go to the mist village."

"Since when did you become so finicky? Hm."

Crap…he's going to find her out soon… Have to get down there.

Like when I practiced, I activated my Chidori and thrust my hand down. The sparks rippled through my arm. My feet were moving before I even realized it and, in seconds, I was behind him, arm raised, ready to strike but then…

My Chidori suddenly fizzed out.

"What the hell?!"

Deidara turned around, eyes flicking from me to Satomi. Satomi, realizing the plan failed, quickly morphed into Deidara. His eyes almost popped out of his head.

"I can't believe I was fooled by an imposter! Hm!" he said. "This might be fun!"

Satomi produced a clay snake in her hand and launched it at him. I performed the seals; snake, ram, monkey, bore, horse, tiger.

"Fire ball jutsu!" I shouted.

A wave of flames washed over him as clay snakes circled his feet and exploded around him. He jumped up into the air avoiding both attacks but I had for-seen this movement. I was already above him.

"Up here!"

He looked up as I bent my leg trying to plant my knee into his face. He pushed my leg out of the way with his right arm. I turned in the air and grabbed his head, spinning to plant my right foot in the back of his head. He fell to the ground, creating a big cloud of smoke, and I got down onto my feet with ease.

"This guy isn't anything." I muttered.

"Oh really!?"

I jumped as he appeared behind me.

Fast!

I swung one arm at him, but he caught me, another, but he caught that too. I slid toward him and used my foot to kick his leg forward, he stumbled and I used the spare moment to slide my thin wire around him. I jumped back a couple of feet and pulled the string forward. He flew toward me and I blew flames from my mouth watching as they traveled up the wire right toward him. He planted his feet in the dirt and grinned.

"I think you should look down."

I glanced at the ground to see clay spiders trying to hop up onto me. I dodged out of the way and he slipped out of the thin wire.

"You're alright for a kid." He said. "Too bad you're going to have to die."

"If anyone's dying here, it's you." I retorted.

"Hm? What's that on your back?"

I froze.

"My…back?"

I glanced behind me to see a giant clay spider attached to me. I grabbed at it but then remembered…they…explode.

"Hm. You see now, don't you?"

I looked up at him with tense eyes.

"If you force it off, it'll explode. If you jostle it too much, it'll explode, too. And even worse, it's not just sitting there. It's sucking up your chakra like a leech. Hm."

"You bastard."

He laughed cruelly.

"That's what happens when children try to play a grown man's game."

"Why don't you stop flapping your gums over there and pay attention?!"

He whirled around to see Satomi launching swift clay birds at him. They dove into him and detonated. He dove above it and turned to her angrily.

"And you! I have a special kind of death for you!" he yelled. "Stealing my art like that! My precious art! You don't even use it right, you thief! Hm."

Satomi ignored him and kept launching bombs. It became a bomb fight. With large red and orange lights expanding in the wet, humid air. The rain seemed to pour harder. I curled my back, afraid it would jostle the bomb.

Is this…really it?

Satomi was working her ass off. They were evenly matched though because they were basically the same person.

Am I…really going to die?

I could feel my chakra seeping away. I was…getting weaker. It was taking most of my energy just to keep my Sharingan on.

"Sasuke." Said a voice.

I turned to see Hinata running up next to me.

"This…clay." She said. "It's taking your chakra, I can see it."

"I know."

"We have to get it off!"

My legs trembled and I fell to my knees in the muddy puddles.

"You can't give up, Sasuke!" Hinata said.

"I'm…way too weak the way I am now." I said. "We…need to retreat."

Hinata shook her head.

"No." she said.

I looked up, completely surprised.

"Naruto would never run away." She said. "Because…standing up for yourself and being strong is his ninja way. It's…our ninja way."

I stared at her.

"And weren't you the one who said that your only goal would be protecting the ones you care about?"

My mind flashed back to our first day as ninja, sitting on the steps, telling Kakashi about ourselves.

Naruto wanted to surpass his father, the fourth Hokage. And I just wanted to protect my family.

How could I have forgotten? I…also had a purpose in life.

"I'll save you, Sasuke." She said. "If I can block his chakra pathways, we can capture him and force him to let you go."

With that, she sped up to Satomi and began throwing her gentle fist punches at Deidara. Satomi threw a clay rabbit down that bounded into the air on his right forcing him to jump left, right into Hinata's path. Her fingers dug into his arm causing it to go limp.

"What did you do!?" he exclaimed.

He held his limp arm angrily.

"You stupid brats!"

He raised his single arm into the air and produced a gigantic clay monster bird.

"I'll kill you all with this. Hm!"

Satomi hurried to produce the same bird that he did.

"Try it! We'll all die here together!" Satomi threatened.

I spotted Hinata getting ready to sprint…toward Deidara. The events planned themselves out in front of my minds eye.

Hinata would run…and Deidara would turn his giant bird on her. Even if Satomi turned her bird on him, Hinata would be killed. But…if I could get to him first…

I was already running. I had no chakra…but I pushed it out. If I died of chakra exhaustion it would be far better than dying by explosion. I had already accepted my eminent death. I just needed to save the girls…save them from my idiotic leadership.

The lightning was rippling through my hand. My feet began moving quicker. I chalked it up to my hurriedness to get there. I jumped over him and cocked my hand back. He turned at the last moment, saw me and launched the bird at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hinata get to him and hit his arm, it fell limp. By sheer accident, I pulled my hand back, trying to avoid chidori'ing the explosive out of fear of detonating it and touched my own chest with the lightning style attack. I saw the explosion consume me and knew that it would be enough to jostle bomb on my back and kill me. I was certain I was dead.

But then…

*True Despair*

I felt the rain before my eyes opened, sliding down my lips, hair, face…

Am I…alive?

My ears were ringing. Someone's hands were on my chest. My entire body ached.

"Sasuke!" Satomi exclaimed, pulling her hands back. "You're alive!"

I sat up slowly putting my head in my hands. Her hands had green chakra surrounding them. I recognized it as a healer's chakra signature. I didn't know she could heal.

"What happened?" I finally dared to ask.

I looked around to see Kakashi with his hands in his pockets standing next to Deidara's motionless body.

"Seriously…what the hell happened?!"

"I thought you were dead when that explosion happened." She said. "It blew everyone away, even me, and I was further away from the blast than you two…luckily, Kakashi sensed something was wrong and he came. He completed the Chidori attack that you missed."

I see… So Kakashi came…cleaning up my sloppy errors.

"Where's Hin-"

As soon as the words came from my mouth, my eyes glimpsed a body lying to my right. I turned to her, ignoring the searing pain in my body. I pressed my hand to her arm.

"Hinata…"

"I'm sorry, Sasuke." She whispered.

"Why didn't you save her?" I asked.

"After fighting so hard with Deidara, I only had enough chakra to heal one person."

My eyes locked onto her.

"Then why didn't you choose HER!?" I asked.

Her bottom lip trembled. I'd never seen her so flustered but I didn't care. I was furious. I knelt over her. She had been bleeding profusely. Her entire jacket was soaked with blood.

This can't be happening…

"You should've chosen her!" I shouted.

"I couldn't!"

"Why not!"

"Because…" she began, glaring at me fiercely. "I…love you…I couldn't just let you…"

I couldn't tell if she was crying or if it was just the rain but her shoulders began to shake.

"You asshole!" she shouted. "It's not like I thought about it or anything! I just…seeing you lying there… I immediately went to you. It was out of my control."

"You don't understand." I finally said. "He gave me…one request…just one…and now…dammit…now…"

The last words Naruto mouthed rang out in my head every day since he left. Some days I listened and remembered, most days I didn't. But it didn't exclude the fact that he'd said them.

"Protect Hinata."

Two words…two words that meant everything.

"No…" I cried out to the rain. "No!"

How the hell am I going to face him now?

"Dammit!"

My haste to be recognized, my ridiculous ego, my childish ignorance…all of it clouded my judgment and destroyed the ONE task I was given.

"Hinata's…she's…she's important to him!"

"What are you talking about?" Satomi asked.

"Naruto! My brother! She's like…his…his…and all he told me to do was protect her…and I can't even do that right! I'm so worthless."

How the hell can I face him…without her standing next to me?

Kakashi began walking toward us.

"He's dead." Kakashi said. "Good work team."

I didn't move. My head was in my hands I stared at the ground.

This can't be happening...

"If we get her back to the rain village…" Kakashi said. "…There may be a way to save her."

My head snapped up.

"Anything." I said. "Whatever we can do, let's do it."

I lifted Hinata onto my back. He carried the corpse of Deidara and we all retreated.

We got back to the village quickly and met some woman named Tsunade who was known as the best medical ninja around. She was in the rain village by pure chance but Kakshi had been speaking to her about the war when we ran away to fight Deidara. She took Hinata from me and reluctantly decided to extend a helping hand after I threatened to kill her if she didn't.

"Pretty head-strong, aren't you?" she asked me.

I said nothing but began producing a Chidori.

"Alright, alright, calm down." She said. "Shizune…get permission from this Inn to use one of their rooms as a medical center."

When they left, Satomi, Kakashi and I sat outside of the room. I was pacing. I couldn't help it.

"Sasuke, you do realize that if it wasn't for your lightning style, you would've been killed."

I didn't care about that. All I cared about was Hinata…getting her life back…that was all…

"He was an earth user. If you had stopped to notice that, you would've realized that you could've deactivated the clay bomb on your back by using a Chidori and gotten him with a sneak attack. I explained all of this to you when I taught you the attack."

But I'm a slacker so I didn't hear it…right?

Suddenly, something occurred to me.

"So…when I touched myself with my own Chidori, I basically saved myself?"

"Yes." He said. "You deactivated the bomb on your back and shielded yourself from the explosion simultaneously by using the Chidori. Even if it was just a mistake."

He turned to me.

"That attack he sent at you damaged him, too. Even if I hadn't come, he would've died from the damage…so you still defeated him. However…"

He stood up and blocked my path.

"Now do you understand why ninja cannot act like children?"

I looked down.

"I understand."

He put his hand on my shoulder.

"Nice eyes, by the way."

I looked up at him in confusion.

"I noticed that too." Satomi said, standing up from the bench. "You've reached the third level."

I thought back to the battle and nodded. It probably happened when I thought Hinata had died.

Suddenly, she activated her Sharingan and I saw that she had three todems.

"You're just as strong as I am."

I was nowhere near as excited as I was when I first unlocked my Sharingan in the chunin exam final against Naruto. Something inside of me changed. I deactivated my Sharingan and began pacing again.

*Jounin*

Tsunade truly was a genius. I hadn't felt a heartbeat from Hinata as I carried her back to the Inn but somehow, she was able to resuscitate her. The first thing she did when we came into the room was smile at me.

"We did it." She said, happily.

I walked over to her and said nothing. But I didn't leave the room, I watched over her as she slept. There was no way… No way… I was going to risk her life again.

"Naruto would be proud of us." She said.

I said nothing. I severely doubted he'd be proud of any decision I had made that day. We got back to the Hidden Leaf village safely, bringing Tsunade and Deidara's corpse with us. We all stood in front of the Third Hokage. I allowed Satomi to tell the Third Hokage everything about the information we'd heard. She began stuttering at the part where I decided to go after the Akatsuki member on my own. It was obvious she didn't want me to look bad. I didn't care. I opened my mouth, ready to own up to my mistake…a mistake that almost killed my comrade. But Kakashi cut me off.

"They returned to the Inn and notified Hinata and I about the enemy. I hung back with Tsunade and Sasuke's team went to detain the enemy. Sasuke led his team efficiently and they succeeded in permanently detaining the enemy without me."

Kakashi…why are you lying?

"Really?" The Third Hokage said, eyebrows rising. "I hope this means you won't be wreaking havoc on this village with my grandson anymore now that you're defeating Akatsuki members."

I said nothing. He smiled at me.

"Team…Sasuke." He said. "I'm awarding you all badges of honor, intellect and strength. And as for you, Captain Sasuke."

Captain Sasuke?

"I'm promoting you to Jounin."

"As I said before, we're running low on Jounin so I must respect leadership when I see it. Great job." He said. "I'm afraid that this war might be commencing quicker than expected. Please spend much of your spare time in preparation. Practice, get better, and overall, solidify your relationships…you never know when you'll get a second chance."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." I said.

"And as for these infiltrates, Orochimaru and Kabuto…" he said. "I know of Orochimaru. He used to be a student of mine, along with Tsunade and Jiraiya."

Jiraiya?

"I actually very recently met Jiraiya in some of the grasslands around the land of iron. We had a pretty annoying run in with Orochimaru and his subjugate over there."

"Speaking of Jiraiya, did he complete his escort mission?"

"Escort mission?" Tsunade asked.

The Third Hokage nodded and interlocked his fingers.

"I sent him on a mission about a year ago to escort a boy named Uzumaki Naruto to the Jinchuriki Summit. Was the mission a success?"

My ears perked up. For the first time in a LONG time, I was truly listening.

A sudden look of understanding washed over her face.

"I see..." she said. "So, that boy was special afterall? I had a feeling he wasn't just Jiraiya's god-son."

She cocked her head.

"Yes. Orochimaru and his subjugate were trying to abduct Naruto. It seems to me that this Akatsuki organization might be seeking out all the tailed beast carriers for some reason. I accompanied Jiraiya and Naruto all the way to the summit and saw him get dropped off. He's safe."

I exhaled deeply.

Great...at least he's safe... But why does the Akatsuki want Naruto and the other Jinchurki?

The Third Hokage didn't look surprised at all.

"We expected that to happen..." he said. "When the leader of the Akatsuki appeared to us and claimed that he wanted to start a war unless we gave up our tailed beasts, we immediately went into action. That's why we created the Jinchuriki summit. So that all the tailed beasts would be in a safe place...together."

What? I thought the summit was for them to learn to control their powers! Not to just be sitting around clumped up together like livestock.

"But isn't it a bad idea to have them all together?" asked Kakashi, voicing my thoughts. "It makes it a one-stop mission for the Akatsuki."

"But don't be alarmed, the longer those kids stay there, the stronger they will become." He said mysteriously.

"Well, Jiraiya was surprised to find out that the Akatsuki lives on." Tsunade said. "He had been sure that he killed the leader so, after he dropped the kid off, he went on a solo mission to get more information. You should be receiving letters from him soon."

She suddenly smiled at a fond memory.

"Naruto is a pretty...admirable kid." She glanced at me. "He wears the same symbol on his back that you two do."

A feeling of peace washed over me.

He's really still out there... Still alright... And still wearing the Uchiha Crest on his clothes...

Tsunade turned back to the Third Hokage.

"If Orochimaru is really in this village, things could already be in motion…with that awful snake, you never know." Tsunade spoke up.

"Right. Let's just keep this information between us. If the general ninja population were informed, he might take the offensive position. Let's pretend like we are unaware and sniff them out silently. You are dismissed."

*Brotherly Time*

"Why are you so blah?" Satomi asked. "You just found out that Naruto's fine! And on top of that, you're a jounin now, be excited!"

I didn't respond to her. Satomi, Kakashi and I were sitting on the back deck of my house. As soon as the meeting was over, I went home. Later Kakashi and Satomi showed up to see how I was doing. Hinata was still recovering and was at home so she couldn't come. I was lying on my back with my hands behind my head. Kakashi sat down and leaned up against the wooden post with his face in his book and Satomi lay on her stomach with her palms propping her chin up and her feet kicking in the air on my other side.

"Sasuke's become a man." Kakashi said. "Sometimes, it takes something really tragic to happen to push some people into maturity."

"This guy? A man? Yeah, right." She said, poking me with her finger. "He still has a baby face."

I looked over at Kakashi, whose face was still in his book, and sat up.

"Why did you lie?"

"I didn't lie. I told you that Deidara would've died even if I hadn't gotten there. It was because you came up behind him with the Chidori throwing him off guard that Hinata was able to destroy his other arm and he detonated himself. And then when he detonated himself, the Chidori shield you created caused the attack to backlash onto him. It was your kill. I gave you credit."

"I didn't tell you about it. I ran straight into danger, trying to kill an S-rank criminal and almost killed a comrade. It was luck that we won. Nothing more and nothing less. And it was all because I wanted to look cool."

"Well, luck is nothing to be ashamed of. And it wasn't all for nothing." He said. "You realized your error and you've grown from the experience."

He closed his book, stood up and then suddenly smiled fondly.

"You know, I was just as dangerously spontaneous when I was a child, too. Life is for learning."

He waved to us and then disappeared in his usual fashion. Satomi sat up next to me.

"Feel like sparing?" she asked. "I wouldn't mind going a couple of rounds with you now that you're worthy, Mr. Jounin."

I glanced at her and said nothing.

"You know, just because you made a mistake, doesn't mean it's all over. Just relax."

My memory flashed to a moment I hadn't let into my mind in a long time.

"Because, I…love you…I couldn't just let you…"

It was sunset. A shadow was easing itself over us. As soon as I decided on what I wanted to say, I became uncharacteristically flustered.

"Uh…thank you, for saving me, Satomi." I said. "I'm sorry that…I yelled and everything, I was just panicking."

She smiled at me and put her hand over mine.

"You're welcome…big guy." She whispered.

Her face was incredibly close to mine. She seemed to be leaning closer. I felt my face grown warm. Her short hair which used to be cut short and shaggy like a boy's had grown out and reached her shoulders. She pulled the dark brown hair into a ponytail that usually hung over her shoulder. Her black eyes pierced into mine. I surprised even myself when I breached the rest of the distance and pressed my lips to hers. I felt a strange tingling sensation spreading through my body. She didn't pull away and hit me or stop me like I expected her to. Instead…she kissed me back. I caught a scent on her I'd never noticed before.

It's like…cinnamon and apples.

Another memory became apparent to me.

"She's so annoying! I just can't understand her! I hate her!" I complained.

"Some girls are like that. She's probably just mean to you because she wants your attention."

"Why would she want my attention?"

"Because she likes you." Kakashi said. "Some girls are backwards like that."

"There's no way that's possible… She just likes making my life awful."

How the heck was I supposed to know Kakashi was telling the truth?

"Sasuke?" said a voice.

I pulled away from her and we both turned around, eyes wide like deer caught next to a paper bomb.

"Oh, I'm sorry… I didn't know you had a guest over."

"No, I was just leaving, Itachi-san." She said. "I'll see you later, Sasuke."

I watched as she ran away, for the first time realizing the fullness of her-

"So, I hear you made Jounin."

"Uh…yeah." I said slowly coming back to earth.

"The Third Hokage just told me the information that you guys gave him." Itachi said. "And he's given me and most of the other ANBU a serious mission."

"What kind of mission?" I asked.

"A seek and destroy mission." He said. "We and a couple of others from other villages will be sent to help seek out the remaining Akatsuki members and do everything in our power to destroy them."

"I see." I said.

"I asked him if I could bring you along…and he said I could."

He'd finally caught my attention.

"Another S-rank mission!?"

"Well, you did so well with that last one I felt that you should have another shot."

I bowed my head…I couldn't lie to my brother. The truth came out, all of it, from beginning to end.

"And now I've got what I wanted. I'm a jounin like I wanted… But I don't deserve it."

He nodded.

"It's understandable that you feel guilty… But instead of moping about it, just take this new mission as a new chance to earn your title. You are a Jounin, Sasuke. You can prove it to yourself."

I nodded eagerly. Those words of encouragement… He always had them for me.

"But this is your only chance to do that. Will you come…or not?"

"I'm coming." I said.

At dinner that night, Itachi told our parents that I was promoted to Jounin and awarded another S-Rank mission with him that we'd be leaving to complete the next day. I don't think my father ever smiled at me as much as he had that night. And my mother was all over me, hugging me and giving me second helpings of my favorite dinner.

That night, I went to my room. The room I hadn't seen in almost four months. My eyes settled upon that bed, that same bed, with the leaf symbols all over it. My fingers grazed the sheets.

"I'm leaving the village now, too." I whispered.

The room was silent. I heard owls whooing outside.

"I think, finally, I'm gaining control of my life… Instead of just waiting for you to come back, I'm going to be busy atoning for my mistakes by trying to truly earn my Jounin title."

I sighed and looked around the rest of the room. I looked at pictures I'd hardly ever looked at. One of the first day we became Team 7 with Naruto crossing his eyes and sticking his tongue out at the camera and putting a peace-sign above Hinata's head, Hinata smiling softly at the camera and me grinning at Naruto's funny antics with my hands up behind my head. Then one when Naruto and I were younger probably taken by Itachi. Mikoto carried me on her hip at hugged Naruto to her leg, smiling happily at the camera. I was kicking at Naruto's head and he was tugging on my leg. In another picture, we were both rolling around in the mud outside after it had rained heavily. We were perpetually messing with each other, bugging each other… Consistently next to each other… Like true brothers.

I couldn't help but smile. I guess, even if I won't be here physically waiting for him, I'll always be waiting for him anyway.

The next morning, Satomi came to my house.

"What? You're leaving again?"

I nodded. Itachi put his hand on my shoulder.

"Hopefully, we'll be back soon."

"I should come, too. I can be your greatest asset."

"I'm sorry, Satomi. This is brotherly time." Itachi said.

I couldn't help but snicker at hearing him say something so out of character.

"Brotherly time? Really?"

Satomi shrugged.

"Fine. I guess I'll just see you in a couple months then."

I nodded at her. We all just stood there quietly for a while. I nudged Itachi discretely.

"I'll double check that we have everything." Itachi said suddenly.

As soon as he was gone, Satomi dashed over to me and threw her arms around me.

"You're really reckless." She told me. "Don't do anything stupid."

"I won't."

She pulled a necklace from around her neck and put it around my neck. I looked down.

"The Uchiha crest?"

"My mother gave it to me…before she died from the same disease I used to have. I want you to take it. Happy Fifteenth Birthday."

I rolled my eyes. My birthday wasn't for another month…but she probably wouldn't be there to see me on it.

"Thank you." I said.

She was still hugging me. She pulled away from me just enough for me to see her face. I stared at her, enjoying the view of her olive skin and round pink lips. She kissed me. I lost myself in a world of apples and cinnamon and her lips and hair and…

"Sasuke!"

"Huh?"

"So, is she your girlfriend?" Itachi asked me.

We'd already walked at least ten miles away from the village.

"What? No. Of course not."

Itachi laughed.

"Yeah, right." He said.

I felt something cold against my chest and remembered the necklace she'd given me. A smile crept onto my face. A smile that didn't leave for a while.

"So…where are we going first?" I asked.

"The first thing we're going to do is train." Itachi said. "You might be skilled at Taijutsu and Ninjutus but your genjutsu is average at best… And sadly, your Kekkei Genkai revolves around genjutsu prowess."

"So, you're going to teach me?"

"Of course."

{PART 2} (What Naruto was doing all that time...)

Naruto

*Learning the Rasengan*

At first, it seemed like it was going to be nothing but fun.

"Ero-Senin, Ero-Senin! Can I learn the Rasengan now?!"

He took me through three steps. Popping a water balloon, popping a regular balloon and then creating the jutsu from scratch. We ran into a woman named Tsunade there. She was a gambler who lost every match and only cared about making bets so she could lose more and more money. She made a bet with me...told me that she'd give me her necklace, the first Hokage's necklace, if I learned my father's prized Jutsu, the Rasengan.

I took her up on it but...didn't win the bet. She appreciated my effort and seemed to become happy again. She accompanied Ero-Senin and I to the Land of Iron to get to the Jinchuriki Summit but on our way there, Orochimaru intercepted us with this guy named Kabuto.

They all fought. Shizune protected me from Kabuto while Orochimaru fought Ero-Senin and Tsunade. It became clear to me very quickly that their target was...me.

"Naruto, get out of here!" Tsunade yelled.

She had a problem with blood. She started shaking and couldn't move once she saw blood. Kabuto had gotten Shizune out of the way and permanently impaled her by cutting her arm muscles and restricting her chakra flow. She was bleeding. Tsunade couldn't move. I was trying to protect them both. I already tried using my wind techniques...like my wind slicer, the technique I created when I tried to do the fire ball jutsu against Haku without being a fire style. Kabuto dodged it all very easily.

"Kabuto, grab him quickly. If we can at least bring the nine tails back, we will still have an advantage."

He reached for me immediately.

"Alright, Naruto. I'm going to cut your chakra flow nice and easy." He said, pushing his glasses up. "Just relax and it'll be quick."

"Naruto, run!"

Run?

He reached for me again. I jumped back and stumbled. That moment of weakness almost killed me. He grabbed my collar and I felt my feet leave the ground.

"I got him!"

He smirked at Tsunade, who struggled to get to her feet despite the blood on her face, and pushed his glasses up.

"Idiot..." I muttered.

He looked up at me.

"You shouldn't...take your eyes off your opponent." I told him.

Behind my back, I had been concentrating on an attack, feeling my chakra out, swirling it around in my palm. I pulled my right hand around in front of me. A ball of white and blue swirled around in my hand.

"Rasengan!"

I shoved my hand into his chest. He let go of me and flew almost twenty feet away and deep into a rock on the other side of the field. Jiraiya was beaten back by an attack by Orochimaru at that point. Orochimaru slithered toward us and over to Kabuto. He helped Kabuto to his shaky feet. Tsunade got to her feet next to me and put her hand on my shoulder. It was a stare-off. Slowly, I held my palm out to them and produced another Rasengan, much more easily.

"Try me." I dared them.

"Don't think that...this is over." Orochimaru said, and then they both burst into flames and disappeared.

Grandma Tsunade put her hands on my shoulder and bent down so that she could look me in the eyes.

"I guess I should start calling you Hokage-sama, because you really fooled me." She said.

"Huh?"

"You learned the technique." She clarified.

I grinned and shrugged.

"Yeah...I guess I did!"

She pulled the crystal necklace from around her neck and placed it over my shoulders.

"You earned this." She told me.

She came with us all the rest of the way to the land of iron. I guess she wanted to make sure Orochimaru and Kabuto didn't come back for a sneak attack. But they didn't. Things were looking peaceful.

*Another Family*

"But...I hope there will come a day when ninjas can all truly understand each other." Jiraiya told me.

He had just finished telling me a story about how all the ninja nations were against each other. The first great ninja war, second, third and fourth. I was listening, but only half-heartedly. I was more concerned with seeing how many pieces I could cut my ramen noodles up into.

"But how can that happen, Ero-Senin?"

"I don't know yet." Jiraiya said. "But...perhaps, I can give this dilemma to you as my star pupil and you can inherit my will."

"Anything for you!" I said, excitedly.

Tsunade Oba-chan put her feet up on the table and lifted a cup of sake to her lips.

"That sounds like a botched inheritance. How are you going to give a kid a problem even YOU couldn't solve?" she asked.

"As you can see, Tsunade, Naruto isn't an ordinary kid. I believe in him."

Granny Tsunade put her cup on the table and looked at me. Her eyes lowered to my chest with the crystal necklace hanging in the center, and she reached over and ruffled my hair.

"Yeah." She said. "I believe in him, too."

That night, I slept between Ero-Senin and Tsunade in a large master bed at an Inn. Granny Tsunade pulled me into her chest like I was a teddy bear and Ero-Sennin lay facing us with his arms around us both. I wondered if that was what it would feel like to have a mother and father every night, all the time. But somehow, even though I greatly appreciated their existence in my life, I couldn't help but miss my first family.

The Uchiha Crest on my back burned hotly, claiming me. I had a real family somewhere, my first family. I had a big brother, Itachi, and a mother, Mikoto-san, and a father, Fugaku-san, and a boy I loved and understood more deeply than a twin brother. Every day I thought about them and wondered how they were doing without me, especially Sasuke.

But the next morning, we finally got to the Land of Iron and I realized that even Grandma Tsunade and Ero-Senin can't stay with me forever.

"Okay, this is it. This is the place." Ero-Senin said. "Are you ready?"

I pumped my fists into the air.

"Yeah!"

"Great." He said, putting a hand on my head. "Train hard, Naruto. I know that you can learn to control the nine tails."

Grandma Tsunade bent down and kissed my forehead.

"I know you won't disappoint us." She said.

It felt like a goodbye. I frowned.

"Aren't you...coming in with me?"

"No." Ero-Senin said. "It feels like the Akatsuki is still alive. I must get to the bottom of this and figure out what their goal is. Perhaps, we can stop them early before there are any casualties."

"I agree. I'm going to head to the Hidden Rain village." Tsunade said. "I've heard some rumors that the Akatsuki leader resides there."

I bent my head.

"But...I don't...want you to leave." I muttered, feeling embarrassed. "I..."

"Naruto." Ero-Senin said interrupting me. "How old are you now?"

"Fourteen." I said.

"Right, you're almost a man. Men take care of themselves. You should be able to do that now. I don't have to babysit you anymore." he told me.

"You're a man...aren't you Naruto?" Tsunade chimed in.

I nodded slowly. They said a couple more encouraging words to each other. Their relationship seemed to be deep. Something told me that maybe they loved each other. Like a trillion years ago... They were WAY too old now to feel that way about each other... Weren't they?

"Don't do anything stupid." Tsunade said, and she grabbed his hand.

"I have to say the same for you." Ero-Senin said. "And stay away from gambling."

She grinned. "Yeah...right..."

He brushed his hand through her hair. They smiled at each other fondly.

Or...maybe not...

We all walked separate directions.

I headed right up to the large, double-doors of an iron building with my hands clutching my back-pack straps nervously.

I looked around. Ero-Senin and Tsunade were only dots in the distance. I suddenly felt a strong bout of loneliness. It was completely silent. It was snowing. It was getting dark out. I knocked, ignoring my fearful feelings.

"Hello?" I called.

Slowly...the door creaked open. I rose onto the tips of my toes, peering inside.

*Jinchuriki Party*

Two men in iron suits with swords attached grabbed me and pulled me inside. The door closed behind us. It was pitch dark. They continued pulling me along, more like I was a trespasser than a visitor. Suddenly, my heart began to pound.

What if Ero-Senin and Tsunade Oba-san left too early?! What if it's a trap?

I tried to pull away but they were incredibly strong and kept my arms pinned behind my back. I concentrated on my right hand and again, I felt the chakra out, forced it to swirl and condense.

"Ahhh!" the first one screamed as I shoved my Rasengan hand into his side.

The other one let go of me in shock. I took the moment of surprise and ran away from them into the darkness, turning one corner and then another, and then another. I heard their angry voices behind me and their metallic feet clomping after me. I came to another large pair of double doors and shoved them open with as much power as I could but they didn't budge.

I have to get away... I have to get away...

I summoned another Rasengan, this time it was immediate. Like pulling a kunai knife out of my ninja pouch. I ran at the door with my Rasengan and blasted the door open. I skidded out into the center of the room because of the backlash of the blow and stumbled.

I looked around me, slowly. There were people sitting cross-leggedly in a meditation position all in a circle surrounding me.

"Uh...sorry to interrupt?" I said slowly.

The guards ran over and paused at the entrance to the door.

"My apologizes sir, he escaped from us."

A man with bandages on the top of his head wearing a samurai outfit came over to me.

"It's about time, we've been waiting all day for you." He said.

"Wait...is this the jinchuriki summit?" I asked.

"Of course. What did you think it was?"

I looked around again. My eyes locked on a boy with dark red hair and a sand gourd propped up next to him. He nodded at me. I turned back to the samurai man.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto!" I said. "Son of the Fourth Hokage, at your service!"

The man took my hand and shook it.

"My name is Mifune. I'm a samarui along with my men that you injured." He said.

"Super sorry! I thought you guys were the Akatsuki!" I said bashfully. "Just, uh...put that door on my tab."

The samurai cocked his head at me.

"You're a strange boy, aren't you?"

I grinned sheepishly.

"Well...take your designated seat next to the eight tails and the one tail."

He pointed to an empty spot on the ground between a buff looking dark skinned guy and Gaara. I quickly ran over and took my seat.

"That was awesome." Gaara mouthed to me.

I fist bumped him.

"Alright, now that everyone is here. We can begin...Killer Bee."

The guy next to me stood up and nodded.

"Yes?"

"You're the only tailed beast carrier so far who as learned full control over your beast. Explain to them how you learned it."

I looked around me. A couple of the Jinchuriki looked to be only about ten or twelve years old while others were grown men or women. Killer Bee looked to be older than me but not as old as a grown man...maybe in his early twenties. He shrugged.

"It's not...simple like that. My beast and I just got onto the same frequency."

"How did you do that?

"Well, the tailed beasts are made up of immense evil." He said. "More than is humanly possible to understand. But if your heart is pure and you're completely devoid of any hatred or evil then you may be able to tame your beast, I believe."

"Well, if it's purifying your heart, I can definitely help you all with that." Mifune said. "There is a purification process that all samurai have to go through before they are accepted. Perhaps if you all go through that, you will be able to face your beasts with a clean heart."

Killer Bee returned to his spot beside me and made a face.

"I'm trying to figure out why I have to be here even though I've already learned this." He said. "My brother is so annoying."

I snickered.

"Pay attention."

We all snapped to attention.

"You must open all your chakra pathways which are blocked by negative emotions and feelings."

*Eight Chakra Gates*

"The first chakra gate is the gate of Courage." Mifune explained.

I felt like I was in a school classroom. Everyone had their hands together and meditated. Their eyes were closed as they listened. Even Killer Bee was doing it, even though he didn't have to. I reluctantly resigned myself to deep breathing and listening.

"It's blocked by Cowardice. Think hard about what you're afraid of..."

Slowly, my mind showed me the nightmares I used to have as a child of the nine tails in my body trying to break down the seal it was trapped behind and eat me whole.

"Think of it...and be Courageous." He told us.

I opened my eyes but I was inside of my body. I looked into the huge red eyes and black lips. His roar was so loud I believed my eardrums split. His breath was blowing me backwards. I was so small compared to him. I fell into the knee high water surrounding me. I slowly raised my light blue eyes to his dark red ones...

"I'm...not afraid of you." I whispered.

He roared again, barring his teeth.

"I'm not afraid of you!" I shouted as loud as I could.

It felt like my shout was over-powering his roar and quickly, the only thing I heard was my own voice. I opened my eyes. Everyone around me seemed to of have the same kind of strange inner-body experience. Gaara glanced at me wearily. I patted him on the back.

"Congratulations." He said. "If you're not breaking into a cold sweat, you've opened your first chakra gate."

"Now the second chakra gate is the gate of Peace." He told us. "It's blocked by Guilt. What do you feel guilty about?"

My memory brought me back to the chunin exam finals, almost stabbing Sasuke...and then again at the dock, if Sasuke hadn't unlocked his Sharingan at that specific point, I would've killed him. And lastly, the day I left. I realized I felt immense guilt about leaving him all alone.

I'm sorry, Sasuke... I'm sorry that I almost did that...

"In order to unlock this gate, you must forgive yourself for whatever you have done. Guilt means that your trespass was unintentional. Accept that you are a human being. You make mistakes. Allow this truth to fill you."

I promise to remain in control from now on. I know you forgive me. I forgive me, too, now.

I opened my eyes last that time. It seemed that everyone was quicker to forgive themselves than I was.

"Good, you've just unlocked your second gate. You now have inner peace."

I took a shaky breath.

"This isn't a joke." I muttered to Gaara.

He nodded in agreement.

"Okay, the third gate is the gate of Strength and is blocked by Shame." He told us. "What are you most shameful about?"

I knew this one as soon as he'd said it. Often times, I feared coming home and discovering that they'd all moved on and forgotten about me. Sasuke would have new friends, a new team. Mikoto-san and Fugaku-san wouldn't even remember my names. And Itachi wouldn't even spare me a second glance. I felt shameful because...I knew deep in my heart of hearts that it could never happen. I knew that they loved me but somehow, sometimes, I still had those dreams. I felt embarrassed for not trusting them.

"Gain the Strength to trust in yourself. Once you trust yourself, then you can trust others." Was all he said.

I opened my eyes. Gaara shrugged.

"There isn't much I feel shameful about." Killer Bee muttered on my other side.

"Congratulations, you have opened the third chakra gate. Now, you are Strong."

"Next is the fourth chakra gate, it is the gate of Love, present in your heart." He said. "Touch your hearts."

I lifted my right hand to the left part of my chest. I could feel it beating there.

"It is blocked by Grief." He said. "As ninjas, there are many people that have died in our lives. Many people we are grieving over. Think of whoever you feel grief for."

My mind flashed to the framed picture I carried with me everywhere. My father held my mother and she held her stomach which protruded far from her body. I was there. That protrusion was me. They were supposed to be here with me. They were supposed to have a life with me... But they... They...

"Whoever you are grieving over may have died. But love transcends the physical world. It is a form of spiritual, nature chakra that swirls around in us all. Love does not die. It is reborn anew in other people present in your life. Think of the new people around you who love you..."

Ero-Senin...and Grandma Tsunade... Mikoto-San and Fugaku-San... Itachi and Kakashi... All of their faces swirled around me. I remembered all encounters with them, protecting them, allowing them to protect me. And Sasuke... My brother. His love for me was stronger than all of those. And lastly, Hinata.

"Think of those new people...and that love you have for them...and let your attachments to the old people go. They still love you...but you must open your heart to new love."

I imagined the framed picture of my parents falling and falling...dropping into a sea, falling past the surface. I reached for it...but then retracted my hand. The more I retracted my hand, the more a new sound became present. That new sound...

"Naruto-kun! Naruto-kun!"

I turned around and was surprised to feel a girl dive head-long into my arms.

"Hinata..."

"Come on, they're waiting for us!"

Sasuke stood there grinning and beckoning to me and Kakashi was reading his book, like usual. Sasuke outstretched his hand to me. I took it. I didn't turn around and look at the sinking picture. I could keep that picture in my heart.

I opened my eyes and was shocked to feel that my face was wet, tears streamed down my cheeks. I glanced at Gaara to see that he had the same tears on his face. I wondered who had died in his life.

"Tears are normal." Mifune said. "They are necessary with any big internal change."

Most of us were crying. Maybe all jinchuriki's had to go through immense pain... Or maybe our pain was simply the plight of a ninja... Either way, I pulled my knees to my chest and surrounded myself with thoughts of Sasuke and Hinata. I pretended to hear encouraging words from them, pretended to feel their hugs and the warmth of their bodies.

"The next gate is the gate of Success and it is blocked by Doubt." He told us. "What do you feel doubtful about?"

This one was incredibly easy. I wasn't sure if I could really harness the nine tails power. I doubted that I could truly return to Konoha without being a threat.

"Nothing is impossible. You can do whatever you set your mind to. Believe that wholeheartedly."

I remembered how it felt to produce my first Rasengan one-handedly and blow Kabuto away while protecting Granny Tsunade at the same time.

You're right... I can do anything... I'm...Naruto, son of the fourth Hokage. Anything is possible.

"Great job, you are now Successful."

Gaara's eyes were still closed tightly. I put my hand on his knee. He opened his eyes unsurely but I nodded at him. Slowly, he smiled at me.

"The next gate is the gate of Insight and is blocked by Illusion." He told us. "Think of the world and everything that is a part of it. Think about the separations, divisions and distinctions that humans created."

I visualized the five ninja nations. Right then, we were all from different villages, different clans, and different heritages. Some of us had blonde hair and others had red or black hair. We looked different, spoke different languages and thought differently...yet...we weren't that different at all, were we?

"I believe there will come a day when humans can truly understand each other."

I recalled the wars that we'd had in the past. Stone vs Mist, Leaf vs. Cloud and Sand. All kinds of pointless wars. Yet, here I was sitting next to a cloud ninja and a sand ninja and I cared for them like I cared for myself.

"Realize that...we are all one." Mifune stated.

The Uchiha crest burned hotly on my back and the necklace given to me from the First Hokage was cold on my chest. I am an Uchiha with Uzumaki descent...that alone spoke volumes to me. I opened my eyes easily.

These distinctions by clan and village are just illusions... We are all...one.

Mifune's eyes gazed solely into mine.

"Congratulations." He told me. "You have now gained Insight."

"The seventh gate is the gate of Self-Worth and it is blocked by Jealousy." He told us.

"Think of everything that you have coveted...and let it go."

Coveted? Right... When I was younger... And even sometimes now, I feel that way...

I always wished I was a true Uchiha with the Sharingan and fire ball jutsu. I always felt like I didn't belong because I wasn't like that. As a nickname, the kids used to call me the "White Flame" of the Uchiha clan. I hated the name. It only showcased my difference. I never believed that I was worthy of wearing the crest or residing within the district and I always coveted Sasuke's powers.

"Appreciate your strengths and weaknesses alike." He ordered us. "Appreciate yourselves."

It was the most difficult one so far to open. It was so deeply sowed. But with meditation, I believe that I let those greedy feelings go.

"Congratulations, you've opened your seventh gate. You now have self-worth." He said.

"The final gate is the gate of Truth and it is blocked by lies." He told us. "What lies have you told?"

This one was simple. I glanced at Gaara. He had his hands together meditating like he was trying really hard to find something he'd lied about. He was a truthful guy. Unlike me...

I recalled the couple of minutes after the chunin exams that I sat with Gaara under the tree and he told me that I was the nine tails jinchuriki. I kept it a secret from Sasuke and everyone for a long time and only told Sasuke when I almost killed him again, on the dock.

I lied about being a jinchuriki...because I never wanted to be.

No one ever asked me what I thought about carrying this evil. Gaara told me I was a hero for it. That we were all heroes. But I couldn't care less. Because of this stupid duty to my village... I was an outcast and had to leave my family before I accidently killed them all.

"You cannot lie about your own nature. You must accept your destiny. You are jinchurki." Said Mifune.

I closed my eyes slowly.

"You are your tailed beast, and your tailed beast IS you. You cannot shun part of your being."

The nine tails stared me down again inside that inner part of mine. We stared at each other, saying nothing...very slowly, I watched as he shrunk into a boy just my height and weight, his hair was the same color as mine, too. I had blue eyes and the boy had red eyes. I reached out to him. He snarled at me but I ignored it and pulled him toward me. I wrapped my arms around him and pressed him into my chest.

"Come...be a part of me." I told him.

Slowly, the other Naruto sunk into my body and then the place was silent. There was no one there...except me...

"Good, I see the purity within you all. You've accepted yourselves." Mifune said. "You've just passed the final gate."

*Dark Room*

"Well, that was intense." I muttered.

There was a community bath-hall. We were all given a break before our final step.

"Yeah..." Gaara mumbled.

I finished splashing water on my face and grabbed a paper towel.

"By the way...remember that grief chakra?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Who did you lose?" I asked.

"My Uncle Yashirmaru and I went on a dangerous mission together a couple of years ago. I saw him killed right before my eyes and I couldn't do anything about it."

He squeezed the towel in this hand.

"I have to learn how to control this beast." Gaara said. "So, I can be of use."

I nodded. "Right."

"I didn't really get the insight one though." Gaara said, scratching his head. "I feel like I'm trying to pass a test at the academy..."

"I know..." I muttered.

I was beginning to feel like I was the only one who successfully unlocked the insight gate. Everyone was muttering pretty discouraging things about it.

We all returned to the wide room where we had been meditating. He pointed to nine doors behind him that I'd never noticed before.

"Behind these doors are blank rooms." Mifune told us. "Blank rooms are rooms that mirror your consciousness. Inside these rooms, you are expected to confront your tailed beast and find some common ground between them and yourselves. If you do this successfully, you will have complete control over your beast."

Gaara nodded at me, I nodded at Killer Bee and he showed us both a thumbs-up.

This is it...

We all walked toward our respective doors.

"When are you going to let us out?" I asked Mifune.

He stood behind us all with a couple of samurai assistants.

"I cannot open the door from out here. You must let yourself out from the inside."

I raised my eyebrows.

"But what if I can't get out?"

"Then you failed." Mifune said simply.

Everyone slowly put their hands on the knob...

"You may enter."

And turned the knob.

I stepped inside of black room. As soon as I stepped inside, the door faded into nothing and I realized that I was standing in the center of...nothing. It was pitch black. There was nothing to see or hear.

But if this room is mirroring my consciousness... Shouldn't I be seeing something?

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, the gigantic fox demon that used to plague my nightmares appeared in front of me.

"Naruto." He said.

My eyes widened. Suddenly, the large black space condensed on me. Gravity was taking effect. I fell down before him onto the wet floor in the hall I came to before when I hugged the other me. But this time... I was on the OTHER side of the gate.

I calmed myself...remembering my meditation. I was pure. There was nothing to be afraid of.

"Aren't you frightened?"

"I told you already." I said steadily. "I'm not afraid of you."

He stared me down, saying nothing.

"So, what do you want?" he asked me.

I was shocked by his directness. I had been bracing myself for some kind of war. Some kind of crazy situation where I'd have to physically fight him to get him to understand what I meant. Or even crazier, steal his chakra so that he couldn't over-take me anymore.

"Uh...I..."

And then, suddenly, I realized I wasn't completely sure what I wanted.

"You just came into my sanctuary for no reason?"

I smiled sheepishly.

"Well, it's my body...can't I take a tour?"

I huffed and out his large head down on his front paws.

"Tour all you want...there's nothing to see here."

His tone struck me as...sad. Not angry, violent or vicious...but just sad. I looked around, left and right. He wasn't lying. There wasn't much to see. The entire place was so dimly lit, it was difficult to tell whether the small bit of light was really there or if it was just imaginary. There were clear walls surrounding us. On his side of the gate, the side I'd never ventured over to, there was an extremely limited space. There were even chains...on his front paws. Very suddenly, all of my caution flew out of the window.

"You're...not a threat to me." I said, astonished.

He his eyes opened slowly.

"You're just as lonely as I am, aren't you?"

He said nothing. I sighed, sitting down cross-leggedly in front of him, so close, in fact, that he could've moved his mouth and eaten me in a millisecond.

"You know...all this time, I've kind of hated you." I began. "I was so scared of you... scared of that voice in my head telling me to hurt the people I cared about... I never thought to ask...why do you say that?"

He closed his eyes again.

"Why do you tell me to hurt people?" I clarified.

"If you destroy them all, you won't have to feel pain when they leave you." He told me. "If you hurt them first, you won't be giving them a chance to hurt you even worse."

"I see." I said. "I get it now... You're really...just like me, aren't you? I believed that you were nothing but a beast. Nothing but complete evil... But now...now, I understand, you're-"

"You're wrong." He said. "Everything that they taught you is correct. I am a beast."

His voice was rising.

"I destroy, I kill, I cause pain without a second thought about it. I care about no other existence except my own." He said, rising back up onto his feet.

I could've shat myself...he was so much bigger than I was but... The truth wouldn't leave me. I was not afraid.

"You won't hurt me."

"Oh, really!? I can sneeze and blow your whole body apart. Give me ONE reason not to!" he roared.

"Because...I am you." I told him. "If you kill me, you die."

"I'll be reborn anyway!" he protested.

I shrugged, still keeping my position on the ground.

"If you wanted to kill me, you would've done it by now." I told him. "This is the first time I've ever been on YOUR side of the gate and yet...you're just standing there."

He glared at me and got back down into his lying position angrily.

"Everything you say means nothing to me."

I sighed.

"I think the reason you're so angry is because you're defensive." I said. "You're afraid of people hurting you, so you want to hurt them first so that they don't get the chance."

"Both of those times I almost lost control it was because I was feeling negative with Sasuke. I was jealous of him." I said. "I couldn't appreciate my own worth. I didn't see where I belonged... And you wanted to help me solve that by erasing Sasuke."

He closed his eyes.

"But you can't just erase people when things get tough, especially not people you love." I said. "Even though I feel competitive with Sasuke, I don't know what my life would be like...if I was without him."

"Perfectly fine." The nine tails said. "I've been in here alone all this time and I've done fine."

Finally, it all made sense to me.

Of course... Of course it's this way... He's truly just like the rest of us. He might be large and frightening but he has a heart. He feels intense pain over never being able to trust anyone or form strong bonds. He treats all of his problems like shuriken practice, just hit the target and move onto the next one. He thinks everyone is out to get him, so he's filled with hatred. It's all just a manifestation of his loneliness. I know that... If I had been locked up inside some strange kid's head for fourteen years, I'd be incredibly lonely...and hurt...and untrusting. And what about the previous jinchurki? They probably didn't care about him either. How does it feel...to live out all your life in abandonment...in confinement... What the heck did he even do?

"I think I finally understand the purpose of that purification training."

He glanced at me.

"Even if the samurai wasn't sure if it would work, I can see how important it is now. I had to learn courage, so that I wouldn't let my fear blind me from speaking to you. And I had to learn peace, so that I would be able to share my inner peace with you. And I had to learn success so that I would know that anything was possible. And I had to learn truth so that I could see through your lies. And I had to learn strength so that I would be able to shoulder both of our burdens. And I needed to know love and self-worth so I wouldn't be overcome by your grief and sorrow... But most of all, I needed insight, I really needed that..."

He raised his eyebrows.

"All insight taught you was the obvious thing." He told me. "That you are all ninja. That stone ninja, leaf ninja, mist, rain, cloud, sand and sound are all one in the same, right? I could've told you that. I hate you all just the same."

I smiled at him.

"Well, yeah... I insight did teach me that. But I needed that insight to see through the biggest illusion of all."

He stared at me. I finally stood up and walked toward him. Very slowly, I put my hand on the fur next to his nose and stroked it.

"I need that to realize that...there truly is no difference between you and I."

He laughed at me. I was surprised. I didn't think he even had a laugh.

"You really are something else, kid." He said through bursts of laugher. "Truly, you are a piece of work. What can you, a fourteen year old leaf kid, have in common with me, a fox demon who is eons old?"

I still had my hand on his snout that entire time. I smiled at him. His one eye was almost as big as my entire body. He stared me down, daring me to defy him. I took the dare.

"We both know pain." I told him.

He said nothing, he closed his eyes again.

"Except, I want to truly understand YOUR pain." I said. "So, tell me about all the eons of years you were alive. Who hurt you? Why are you in confinement anyway? Who came up with the idea that tailed beasts would all be jailed?"

He looked at me, eyes full of shock.

"I want to know your history." I said. "So that I can understand your pain."

"No."

Now, it was my turn to look shocked.

"What?! But you know everything about me!" I protested.

"It'll just be a waste of time." He said. "There's nothing you can do to change the fate of a tailed beast."

I walked away from him and found a nice patch of floor between him and the gate. I lay down spread eagle and looked up at the pitch black ceiling. I got an odd sense of de'ja vu...like I was star gazing with Sasuke again.

"We have all the time in the world, nine tails." I said. "I'm not going anywhere until I hear your story."

He grumbled.

"My name is Kurama." He said. "And if that's the case you'll be waiting forever."

I couldn't help but smile.

Then I guess we're stuck together forever...

Author's Note: (Naruto and Sasuke will rendezvous next time!)