Hello all, I am truly sincerely touched by your well wishes in the reviews and DMs I have received. It really means a lot because these past few months has been really hard for me. Thank you, you are all truly sweet people so much so you guys even made me cry T.T
I do hope you enjoy the chapter and I will update again as soon as I can :)
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"Where did they go?" Neji asked aloud, confused.
Kiba frowned seeing that his pup looked distressed, "Looks like Akamaru had lost the scent too."
Sasuke scowled, pointing at the two, "Neji! You said you saw them here! And Kiba! You said Akamaru had caught both of their scents! What do you two have to say for yourselves?"
"Well I can think of a few you damn-"
"Kiba, don't."
The Inuzuka heir closed his mouth, turning to give a heated glare at Shino for stopping him from yelling at Sasuke.
Neji shook his head before sighing deeply while performing the hand seals for the Byakugan, "I'll find them."
In the Hokage's Office
Jiraiya was appalled by the two, "Your mission sounds like suicide!"
"You're not the first person to say that you know" Hinata answers, rolling her eyes. "Besides, Naruto will be with us. He always has a knack of making people liking him; mask or not."
The Toad Sannin sighed tiredly, knowing that continuing to argue with the infamous assassin would be a waste of time.
"You are sure this plan of yours will work Hinata?" Tsunade asks, narrowing her eyes at the violet-eyed girl.
"I am certain. I'll bet my life on it."
"Bite your tongue" hissed an irate Naruto who stood next to her.
Tsunade then turns to the blonde pre-teen for his input, "What about you? You agree with her plan?"
"It's Hinata's plan. She's the smartest kunoichi I know. I know her plan will work."
Shizune frowns, "But this mission is pretty risky. Hinata, you do have a contingency plan in case don't you?"
"Contingency plans" corrected the girl.
Naruto smirks, Hinata was always prepared for anything.
The genin of Konoha were getting very frustrated. Neji and Akamaru couldn't track Naruto and Hinata like before; making the kids run around all over Konoha for almost an hour now. They stopped in front of the dango shop, panting heavily.
"What were you kids doing?"
The pre-teens all turned to see their jounin-senseis looking at them curiously.
"W-we're trying to find Naruto" Sakura answers, wiping the sweat off her brow.
Asuma frowned, tilting his head, "He's at the gate. Today he is leaving for that training trip with Jiraiya-sama. Didn't you guys know?"
The genins gaped at him with shock.
"B-but Asuma-sensei! Naruto told me he declined his offer!"
Kurenai couldn't help but feel sorry for Ino, she had heard the two blondes were friends.
"He changed his mind."
That was the last thing Sasuke heard before running off quickly, determined to catch Naruto before he leaves the city with everyone else not far behind her.
"DOBE!"
Uzumaki Naruto turned just in time to see his teammates and the rest of the Konoha 12 behind breathing heavily.
"Was there a marathon today?" Naruto asks, confused as to why his fellow genin and even his teachers looked they had been running.
Naruto stood before them in a different attire than usual; wearing a white shirt with red swirl Uzumaki symbol on the front, black capris and blue sandals with his headband tied around his neck.
"Shut up! Why the hell are you leaving?!" screeched an annoyed Sasuke.
Naruto sighs, putting his hands in his pockets, "I just decide to take the offer."
"But why! Why now?! And without telling me?!"
Ino coughs, narrowing her eyes at Sasuke, "I think you mean telling any of us Uchiha."
The two girls glared at each other and Naruto rubs the back of his head in discomfort, "Isn't it obvious? I mean I'm going off to train with somebody who actually wants to train me and I get to travel outside of the village too. I'll be back eventually."
Tenten frowns, "What do you mean eventually? How long will you be gone?"
"3 years maybe or even more. Depends."
"On what?" questions Shikamaru.
"When I deem him ready of course."
It was then everyone finally notices Jiraiya standing under the shade of the tree next to them.
"Jiraiya-sama, surely you could have allowed Naruto some time to properly say goodbye to his friends?" asks Kakashi, addressing the Saanin. "Or is there a reason you had to leave so quickly? I myself had only just found out."
"I do need to take Naruto with me now yes, there are things I need to handle and I won't be coming back to the village anytime soon."
"But you can't just take Naruto from us like this!" cries out Sakura. "Naruto is our friend!"
Naruto tries his best not to sigh at the troublesomeness of the situation and laughs instead, "Maa! Maa! It's okay guys! I'll be back!"
"No it's not!" yells Sasuke and Ino together.
The whiskered teen frowns, unsure of what to say until Shino of all people finally speaks up.
"Is something the matter Naruto?"
"What do you mean?"
"I noticed a melancholic look in your eyes when you turned to see us. What is going on?"
Naruto sighs deeply, deciding to just tell them, "My friend Sai died yesterday. This morning was his funeral."
Jiraiya watched surprise and sympathy cross the faces of the Konoha ninjas who somehow managed to mumble out condolences and apologies for the loss of a comrade. The Toad Sannin comes forward and places a comforting hand on his new apprentice's shoulder.
"Come Naruto, let's go."
"Wait"
The two spiky-haired nin looked up to see Shikamaru pointedly looking at them.
"Before you go, explain how is Hinata still alive."
Naruto frowns, "What are you talking about? You guys were at her funeral."
"CUT THE CRAP NARUTO!"
Jiraiya blinked, taken aback by the sheer anger and volume behind the Uchiha's, the Hyuuga's and the Inuzuka's voices.
"I saw her!"
"I tracked her!"
"She is alive!"
Naruto was feeling very tired, very very tired watching the three genin demanding to know the truth and finally, he had enough and snapped. Sooner or later, they had to know anyway.
"FINE!"
Jiraiya steps back in surprise and watches his blonde godson moves his hands to his hair to mess it up. Once Naruto raises his head, somehow the people that stood before him realize that the Naruto that was about to speak was not the same Naruto they were accustomed to.
This Naruto with the messier and somehow spikier blonde hair had the same blue eyes but somehow it seemed like the eyes now had a depth to them that nobody noticed up until now. The blonde's posture wasn't as straight, it was as if he leaning to the side lazily despite the irate yet calculating look in his eyes and the deadpan in his voice.
"Fine, you're right. She's alive. You happy now?"
Sasuke's eyes widen, "What the-? I thought you cared about Hinata?!"
"Of course I do but she faked her death for a reason."
Kiba, annoyed with the blonde's new demeanor growled, "And what reason could she possibly have?"
"She lost her Will of Fire."
"Why? How?" Shino asks.
"She and I both found out the truth about this village. My Will of Fire grew but Hinata's had diminished. She was appalled by what we learned and was disgusted by everything like I have but unlike me, she doesn't want to stay and work to change the village. No, she wanted out."
"What exactly is the truth about the village?" Lee asks, clearly confused.
Naruto rolls his eyes, "Even without seeing or hearing about the information we had found, anybody with half a brain and observation skills can obviously see what is so wrong."
Everyone stares at him, clearly confused until a certain habit smoker caught on.
"You're talking about the council aren't you?" sighs Asuma, feeling a headache coming on.
"Not just them."
Asuma frowns but it didn't take long to figure out what Naruto meant, "You're talking about the villagers?"
The spiky-haired blonde nods causing puzzled looks from everybody else.
"Naruto, what's wrong with the council and the villagers?" Ino asks gently, wary of Naruto's strange mood.
"They are corrupt, dishonest and worst off all, insubordinate. It is atrocious."
Chouji had enough then, he was so confused and hearing Naruto, a friend from his childhood of all fucking people saying a big word like 'atrocious' had made him snap.
"Alright! What the hell is with you Naruto? You're being weird!"
Naruto laughs, causing everyone except Jiraiya to stare because the old man knew that the laugh he was doing was a laugh he did often. The genin and jounin-sensei's remembered Naruto's laugh to be loud, annoying, cheerful and heck, even uplifting. But this laugh...was something else, the derisive laugh sounded more bitter than amused, a mocking smile twisting on his lips after he finishes.
"This is who I really am. Not some idiot who could just smile and laugh at every fucking hurtful thing! Do you have any idea how hard it was to be some over enthusiastic, delusionally optimistic, cheerful idiot rookie ninja obsessed with ramen?! It was fucking tiring! Acting the way I had to! It was absolutely ridiculous! I find it even more appalling that any of you could fall for such an act to begin with!"
Everyone stared in shock, unsure of what to say but before any of them could even think on it, Naruto started talking again but this time he wasn't shouting but speaking calmly.
"I do like ramen but I am not some damn addict. The only reason why I even eat at Ichiraku is because it's only place that doesn't poison my food or overcharge or spit in it. I despise orange and my favourite color is red like blood red. You can ask anybody that really knows me and they can tell you I'm pretty laid-back, private, condescending, aggressively brutal and a sadist."
Sakura bit her lip, unsure of what to make of all this, "That sounds nothing like you."
Naruto rolls his eyes, "Why do you think my mask was never questioned? I played a character that was my complete opposite."
"But why?" Ino asks, feeling bold suddenly. She just wanted to know the truth, "Why a mask?"
"I have my reasons besides the Sandaime needed me for a mission and that was to protect Sasuke,"
The said girl frowns, "Why?"
"You are the last of the Uchiha. Need I say more? Your bloodline is cherished and very powerful. You're a political asset, a strong weapon Konoha desperately wants to keep."
"But why you?" Neji asks. "Did the Sandaime knew what you were really like before he put you into the genin team with the Uchiha?"
Naruto scoffs, "Of course he did. He was the first and only person that ever really cared for me and when I was 4, I did something that caught the attention of Morino Ibiki who took me in as his apprentice and then two years later I was taken into Special ANBU."
Now, everyone was truly gobsmacked but it was Kakashi who was the most shocked, "You're Jackal?! The one that scared the living crap out inmates within 3 minutes?"
All the jounins became bug-eyed, staring at Naruto. Jackal was infamous years ago. Everyone was sure he would become the next Ibiki but he disappeared suddenly and all Ibiki would say was that the kid was going on to greener pastures.
Meanwhile, Sasuke swore inwardly because her brain was starting to hurt from all the new information she was hearing, "So wait, you're saying you got admitted into ANBU at 6? That cannot be possible! That's even younger than my brother!"
"Special ANBU" corrects Jiraiya. "Only the truly elite, gifted and secret can enter under special circumstances."
Naruto continues with a hard look in his eyes, "From young, I had to learn how to defend myself and fight to survive so I trained hard. I'm not some natural genius or anything. I'm nowhere as near as smart as Hinata. I trained for hours and hours to get to the speed and strength I have. All I am is a brutal ninja who isn't afraid of spilling blood or killing anybody that stands in my way. Compared to anybody else, my survival instinct is rather fierce."
Sasuke deadpanned, confused and irritated. What's more, Sasuke's brain wasn't the only one hurting, Shikamaru himself felt like his brain was going to explode.
"Naruto why would you even need to defend yourself if you're only a kid?"
The blonde in question tilts his head, pondering on whether or not he could tell them.
"You are permitted to tell anyone the truth if you so wish it Naruto" Jiraiya tells his apprentice, almost as if he knew that was what the blonde was thinking about.
"Fine, what I'm about to tell you is an S ranked secret. So if you repeat what I have told you to anybody that is not here with us today, you will receive the death penalty."
Chouji swallowed, feeling nervous.
"The story of the Yondaime killing the demon Kyuubi No Yoko 13 years ago was a lie. Yes he did defeat the demon but he did not kill it. You can't kill Bijuu. Nobody can." scoffs Naruto.
"Erm Bijuu?" Lee asks.
"Tailed Beasts also known as Chakra Monsters. They're demons that hold a great amount of chakra and power but cannot be killed. There are 9 of them. The Ichibi Shukaku, the Nibi Matatabi, the Sanbi Isobu, the Yonbi Son Goku, the Gobi Kokuo, the Rokubi Saiken, the Nanabi Chomei, the Hachibi Gyuki and finally Kurama the Kyuubi."
"Kurama?" asks Kurenai.
"It's his name. Even demons have names."
Neji frowns, puzzled by the Yondaime story, "So how did the Yondaime defeat the Kyuubi then?"
"The only way to stop a Bijuu is to seal the demon in a newborn baby and guess who was the lucky bastard to be born?"
Sakura blinks confused until Naruto jerks his thumb at himself.
"My name is Namikaze Naruto the illegitimate son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. I was born on October 11th, the day the Kyuubi attacked the city so I was used by the Yondaime for the sealing ceremony to seal away the fox, making me a jinchuuriki and saving the city in the process. Whatever remaining survivors from the attack knows the truth but any other further generation or the generation that was born in that year are not allowed to know what really happened with exception of myself and whoever I want to tell."
Everyone minus Kakashi stared not only because Naruto was housing a demon but because he had just revealed that was the son of a war hero.
"N-no way!" cried out Kiba. "He is the Yondaime! No way you're his son!"
"The Hokage can provide you the DNA test results plus Jiraiya's and Kakashi's sworn testimonies if you like."
Sasuke turns swiftly, glaring at Kakashi, "You knew about his parents?!"
"Do you have any idea how much more danger Naruto would have been in if they knew he was the Yellow Flash's son?"the one eyed man answers.
"He does have a point. I can understand why I shouldn't have known about my parentage or about the Kyuubi provided I become a flight risk."
Shikamaru frowns, "If these things about you are a secret then shouldn't you have been safe then? Why train?"
Naruto laughed that unfamiliar laugh again, making everyone feel uncomfortable. They understood now that the Naruto before then was the real Naruto but was he really this cold and mocking?
"Multiple times the villagers here had tried to killed me or mistreated me or hurt me in some way or another."
"Why would they do that?" Tenten asks, surprised.
"They believe I am Kyuubi that's why. If I acted the way I really am from the beginning, it would only fuel that belief even more. I had very little self-control when I was young and I am pretty instinctive so in all honesty, making me be that stupid idiot you all thought I was saved the Old Man a lot of paperwork."
"How so?" Asuma asks, curious.
"Simple. I would have killed whoever that had tried to hurt me in self-defense. Never underestimate the power of human stupidity but I cannot abide stupidity, in myself or in others. I'm pretty bloodthirsty and I have a low tolerance for bullshit so you can imagine that my short fuse isn't something to pick at unless you value your life."
The genin looks on, wondering whether if today was some fucked up dream or hell if this was a really realistic genjutsu but it felt real...so painfully real..
"Forgive me Naruto-kun but I do not believe you are this cold normally."
Everyone turns to look at Might Gai who had been quiet the whole time.
"Elaborate."
"I think Naruto-kun that you are acting the way you are now because you're unhappy. You are upset with Hinata-san for leaving you behind and the death of your friend. Hence, you are taking out your frustrations by being cold."
"Are you accusing me of directing my negative emotions to people that had nothing to with my predicament? Honestly, I am insulted."
Before Gai could reply, Kakashi cuts in unable to help himself.
"Do you hate your father?"
"And why would it matter to you?"
"I am curious."
Naruto tilted his head, studying the jounin wondering what were his reason unfortunately he was no Hinata so he couldn't psychoanalyze him with utmost certainty and worse, the one eyed ninja was looking at him in a way that fazed him which Naruto did not like so he decided to just admit feelings.
"No I do not hate him."
Sakura was surprised, along with everyone else.
"Really? Wouldn't normal people be mad about something like that or put the blame?"
The blonde teen snorts, "I'm not normal either and anyway I can understand why my father did what he did. The village was a home to many and even though Kurama didn't mean to, he was destroying this village and if my father hadn't had the balls do what he had to, none of us would even be here by now."
"He didn't mean to?" Kurenei repeats.
Naruto nods, not saying anything else but Kakashi opens his mouth again to speak only to be interrupted when Akamaru starts barking loudly. Kiba kneels down immediately, trying to soothe his canine partner.
"What's wrong pup?"
Suddenly a treat is thrown and Akamaru jumps to catch it in his mouth to eat it. Kiba sees this and turns, confused to where it come from until he sees a familiar girl stand before him and with an expression he thought he would never see on her or hell even see her ever again after yesterday.
Hinata was alive and smirking right at him.
She was dressed in a midnight blue, sleeveless kimono-style top, mesh arm-warmers and leggings, with silver forearm armour, and knee-high black ninja boots. She wore a black headwear piece decorated with a midnight blue band and a black scarf around her neck. She was armed with a ninjato and kunais strapped at her right hip.
For some reason, her brilliant blue hair was now shoulder-length not that it wasn't a bad look on her though but her loud and hell even cheerful greeting snapped him out of him thoughts.
"Hey Kiba! How's it shaking?"
The Inuzuka heir saw red.
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A review would be most appreciated! Hope you liked the chapter! ^^
Have a good day! :)