Holy. Shit. Guys, this is a milestone for me. As of this chapter, 'Immortalized' will be over 150K in words, making this far, far longer than anything else I have ever written, ever. You guys are the ones that made this happen, and I'm really glad that you all seem to be enjoying the story so far, I can't wait to see how the rest of it turns out or how it ends. Anyways, on to the newest installment!
Chapter 22
Life Lived
He gripped the small glass tightly, before bringing it to his lips in a rush, slamming the drink back and inclining his head as he did so, the alcohol burning his throat and warming his chest as the empty glass was slammed down onto the countertop. The man's usually vibrant eyes were bloodshot, his dull iris's staring blankly ahead. His typically spiky and mostly untamed hair was matted and looked dirty, hanging about his face and seemingly missing the light it used to hold. His face showed signs of recent strife, a decent amount of stubble gracing his face, revealing that he hadn't shaved in days. Everything about the man screamed unkempt, and for once in his life, the blonde couldn't have cared less.
The Last Uzumaki had never been much of a drinker before, but if one were to look at him now there wasn't a damn bit of difference between him and the common drunk, desperately pouring down glass after glass in a hopeless attempt to get rid of their thoughts, if only for a moment. He blinked briefly as the man tending the bar walked by him, the blonde shinobi not having moved in the few minutes since he had finished his drink. Naruto raised his head as the man approached, grunting out a request.
"Another." The bartender, Yakushi Toshiro, raised an eyebrow at his tone, he hadn't been asking, it was a demand. The young man had been here for several hours, coming in and taking a seat on the stool, not moving and never speaking, past giving his drink order and asking for more. Toshiro had no idea how long the man had been there, actually. The Last Uzumaki had been there since before his shift, and seeing as how he was bothering anyone the man hadn't cared. But in these last few hours, the blonde had become increasingly rowdy, especially when he didn't get the alcohol he craved.
"Hey man, I'm going to be closing up shop here in a few minutes…" The tall brunette began, and then nearly flinching as the man on the other end of the counter dimply grunted and thrust his glass forward. He could refuse the man, cut him off and refuse to serve him, but Toshiro knew in his mind's eye that it was a bad idea. He knew how the man was, how could he not? Everyone in the village with half a brain in Konohagakure no Sato knew who the young man was, the famed 'Konoha no Kurimuzon Chiratsuki (Crimson Flicker of Konoha)'. Hell, the women that had been in the bar last night made it very obvious that they knew exactly who thee blonde was.
But unlike any other man that would have drowned himself in their affections and probably even taken one home for the night, but the Naruto that was there did none of those things. Every woman that approached was ignored, the slumped man speaking only to the bartender, and only once, and even then briefly telling someone to kindly 'fuck off', the only warning the person got before they had been thrown outside by the still seated shinobi. Toshiro ducked under the bar, nervously grabbing a bottle and bringing it up to the top, racking his brain for an idea on just how the fuck he was supposed to get this guy out of the bar, when he was only a civilian and Naruto was more or less a living legend.
But, as it would turn out, he had nothing to worry about. By the time that the apprehensive man had gotten back above the counter, the man was gone, the only evidence of his having been there the empty glass that his shaking hands had clutched the entire night. Toshiro looked around the now empty room in slightly confusion, scratching the back of his head as he let out a nervous chuckle, shinobi were creepy, sometimes. But he had never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so after taking the man's glass and tossing it absentmindedly into the sink, he grabbed a small cloth and began wiping down the counter, whistling a jaunty tune as he cleaned up for the day.
It wouldn't be until his next shift that he'd notice a bottle was missing from the storage area behind the bar, the brand being the exact same that the Hero of the Leaf had been drinking before.
Flashback
It had only been minutes since Naruto had heard the horrible news regarding his Godfather, and already he was outside the village, jumping from tree to tree, his movements a blur and his speed unmatched. Fury and vengeance were his drive and his motive, both of them riding shotgun on his ride of retaliation. One thought continued to echo through the blondes mind as he moved through the night, dancing with and becoming one with the shadows as he moved, disappearing through the leaves and the trees as if he were death itself, come to strike down the unworthy and non-repentant.
Alone. He was alone in the world. His Mother and Father, dead on the day of his birth. Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi, his adoptive siblings, murdered by Kusagakure shinobi. Their sensei and his personal friend Ebisu, cornered and brutally slain by the same. The Sandaime Hokage, his pseudo-grandfather, killed by the now dead Orochimaru. Tayuya, his first love and the first person to reach out and help pull him from his loneliness, murdered by her own sister. And now… Jiraiya, his Godfather, the man that had raised him as his own, killed by the bastard he himself was now on his way to meet.
This fucker fancied himself to be the newest coming of Kami? Naruto didn't believe that for a single god damn second, but he was more than happy to help arrange a meeting between the two. He knew next to nothing about the man, just that he went by the name of 'Pain', and that he was strong enough to kill a handicapped Toad Sage, but that was fine by the blonde. He already knew that he was stronger, much stronger than his Godfather, and if this piece of shit wanted to fight then he would make sure that he got his money's worth. The blonde thought of nothing else as he traveled, and so deep, so entrenched into his own mind was he that the Last Uzumaki didn't even register the chakra signature that appeared to his left, launching itself at him.
The Jounin of Konohagakure no Sato went flying from the punch that connected with his cheek, his face turning away from the blow that he had never seen coming. As he flew through the air, already adjusting his path and correcting his fall, he cursed himself lightly. He was an elite Jounin for Kami's sake, one that had fought and won against several Jinchuriki and high ranked ninja, for him to let his guard down and get so caught up in his own world was…unacceptable to say the least. Naruto landed softly, one of his weathered hands twitching towards the hilt of the sheathed Kaze no Karitoriki that was slung behind his back, before his eyes locked with those across the field, the unmistakable blood red of the Sharingan staring back into his own azure eyes.
"Sasuke?" It was more of a question than anything else. Of all the people that the blonde would have expected to come after him, the Uchiha was one of the last people he would have anticipated, with something more along the lines of either Kiba, or even Shino taking precedent (it mildly occurred to the man now that he didn't have many close friends in Konoha, but he pushed it to the back of his mind for now). The stoic man stood across from him, walking out of the shadows and into the moonlight, now standing only a few feet away from the blonde, before he began speaking in a low voice, his tone dark, and serious as was the standard with him.
"Naruto." His voice was solid and unwavering as he stood across from his friend, for that is what the two were to each other. To call it anything less would be an injustice to their relationship. The two young men may have been rivals when they were younger, and that rivalry may have continued on until now, but things had changed over the years. War specifically, changes people and their relationships. The two Jounin had watched each other's back on countless occasions, relied upon each other, bled, sweat, and cried with each other. No mortal man wouldn't be changed by the experience, or moved by the atrocities that they had seen or committed.
It was for these reasons that the next few moments were critical, and why they didn't honestly surprise the Uchiha matriarch in the slightest as his friend and brother glared back into his own cold crimson eyes, after all, he would have done the same several years ago, before his outlook had been changed. "Get the fuck out of my way. I'm going to Ame, Pain is going to die." The blonde may not have realized it, but those words were nearly the exact same as the one's that Sasuke himself had uttered about Itachi. But that was fine with him, he'd try and talk this out, but if push came to shove, he wasn't a slouch. Sasuke was no fool, he knew that Naruto would likely win in a fight, but that certainly wouldn't stop him from trying. He owed it to the man.
"Naruto, look at yourself. You're not even fully dressed, you're wearing sweats and a jacket, your only weapon being your sword, if you're going to do this, do it right." The raven-haired man paused, choosing his next words very carefully as he spoke, the blonde before him appearing to listen, though he was unsure if his words were hitting home with the blank reaction he was getting from the man. "I'm not saying you don't deserve vengeance, I more than anyone else in the village think that your intentions are justified, but you go there now, as you are, all you're going to end up doing is meeting up with Jiraiya again- because you'll be put in the ground alongside him."
There was a slight pause as the two men stared down each other, before the reality began to finally sink in with Naruto what was happening. His swift action had been to postpone his grief, to give him a mission and a purpose to fulfill so he didn't have to face the fact that now he was well and truly alone. It was like a final string had been plucked, ringing out softly in the night, before the twang died down, and Naruto finally lost it. "You know what they say, don't you, Sasuke? When two Shinobi are powerful enough, they become able to read each other's thoughts, simply through an exchange of fists. Without ever uttering a single word, get it? Tell me…Do you know my thoughts? Can you tell what's on my mind?!"
And with that, the blonde shot forward like a rocket, his eyes wide and steely blue in color. His revenge was going to be had, regardless of who he had to go through, Pain was going to rue the day he took his Sensei. Unfortunately for the blonde shinobi, Sasuke had other ideas. While it was true that he was here under the Hokage's orders, there was more to it than that. Naruto was his friend, and now beyond that, the two shared a bond that could only be felt through equivalent loss. Both men had lost everything they had, their entire families and all relations vanishing into the abyss of death, it was a bond that could never be broken, and one that only very rarely comes into existence in the first place. But aside from that, there was a debt to repay, and if anything the Uchiha hated being in someone's debt.
So with a blazing Sharingan, he rocketed forward, his fist outstretched as he launched himself towards his friend, screaming at the man as the two engaged in a pierce Taijutsu battle, though it was unrefined and the techniques were sloppy, the fight quickly becoming more of a brawl than anything else. "Remember who you are, Naruto! Remember what you told me, all those years ago on the battlefield in Kusa?" The blonde in question gave only another low growl as his response as he ducked under one of the swings from the raven-haired man, before lurching to the side and throwing a wild haymaker of his own. This was a fight of pure emotion, not of skill. One of willpower against logic, rampant feelings versus rational thought.
"You told me that if I kept charging into things with emotion as my guide, all I'd ever wind up doing was dying! And look at you!" The crimson eyed man punctuated his last word with a strike to the blondes face, a punch that was mirrored on his own, both men going skidding back several feet from the sheer strength and muscle mass behind the blow. Their actions were reflections of the other, both men rising from one knee to both their feet, squaring their shoulders and raising their right hand wipe the small amount of blood trickling form their mouth, Sasuke uttering a single word in the process. "Hypocrite."
Naruto, looked up at the man once more, before they both shot forward once more, their fists raised, as the blonde began to yell at the man before him in conflict, anger and a hint of sorrow. "Just shut the fuck up for once! What the hell do you know about it?! You had your family, I had nothing until he came along and took me in! I was on my own right from the beginning, what makes you think you know anything about it?! Huh?! I'm suffering now because I had that singular tie and now it's gone! How on earth could you possibly understand, what it feels like to lose the only thing that you ever had?!" The Uchiha's eyes narrowed, and both men's fists met the other in a battle of dominance, before a brawl ensued, Naruto fighting through tears as Sasuke ducked under one of his arms, slid a leg under his own, and delivered a final, crushing blow to the blondes face, knocking him back and onto the ground.
"I'm gonna let that last bit slide Naruto, because I know the road you're traveling down. You and other's helped pull me from that road, and it's because of that gesture that I'm here. Look at yourself, it's pathetic. 'The Hero of the Leaf', crying like a child, his ass handed to him by someone that isn't even in his league yet. If you can't beat me, how the fuck are you going to kill Pain?" Sasuke paused here briefly, walking towards the fallen and sullen man, letting a grim smile grace his face as he was able to see his words striking true and ringing home with the blonde shinobi. It was unfortunate, but he knew the man, and tough love was his best bet for bringing his ass home.
"What happened that night...I was so young. I thought it was all merely an illusion. I desperately wanted to believe that I was only trapped in a horrible Genjutsu. But there was no mistake, I was trapped in reality! My eyes are not the same as they once were…" He trailed off, looking down at the man at his feet, before offering his hand to the fallen man and speaking once more. "I will acknowledge that you're strong. Because…You are someone who knows the same pain of loneliness that I do. And, that pain makes a person stronger, so I offer you this. When you go to fight Pain, I'll follow your lead, but in return, when I go to avenge m clan, you follow mine."
There was a brief moment of silence in the clearing, before cobalt eyes met crimson, and the, slowly and almost uncertainly, Naruto raised his hand, grasping Sasuke's tightly in the dim light of the moon.
End Flashback
It's been said before that the right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world, but he didn't know if that were true or not. In everything he had ever done, he'd always given everything he had to give, and yet, it still wasn't enough. No matter how strong he got, how fast he became, how many techniques he mastered or enemies he struck down, his loved ones still were cut down around him. Naruto had no idea, just what in the hell he was supposed to do, how he was supposed to carry on now, in his eyes everything he had had been taken from him. His family, his closest friends, his teacher, the only thing left was his life.
Sure, the blonde Jounin had others too, Sasuke, Sakura, Kiba, Shino and others, but at this point it was a moot point. Would he be sad if they were to kick the bucket? Sure, absolutely he would be, but it wasn't the same as losing the only shred of family he had left, though that wasn't quite true, as Tsunade was something like a grandmother, or a great aunt, though the two weren't very close at all. He blinked briefly, not even bothering to take notice of the new presence that had walked up next to him, the taller person standing beside him quietly, the very woman that had just been in his thoughts appearing as though he had summoned her.
The two blondes and distant relatives stood quietly next to the memorial stone for a while, neither speaking as they stood. It was a terrible tragedy, to lose someone like the Toad Sage, not just for the assistance that he gave Konoha, but for his sheer character and nature alone. Jiraiya was truly a man that didn't come around very much, once in a century maybe. The late Toad Sage had generally been a light-hearted and gregarious man, making jokes at his own expense and giving a mirthful laugh about it afterwards. In his interactions with others, he liked to pretend to be smug or selfish, upsetting them so that he could further rile them up with his humor.
Even when engaging in combat with hated enemies he never missed an opportunity to be flashy and over-the-top, striking kabuki poses and giving dramatic self-introductions; though his intros were often interrupted in some way, and the man was always quick to express his annoyance at whoever was responsible. Friends and foes alike were fond of Jiraiya for his eccentricities, admiring that somebody so seemingly irreverent could in actuality be an extremely competent shinobi. Yet, despite everything, he was deeply loyal to Konoha, no matter how often he was away from it, not hesitating to threaten to kill even Tsunade if she ever betrayed the village, despite their long history. The man had even been selected for the position of Hokage, though he felt that his personality quirks render him incapable of performing this duty as well as others, as he either lacked the responsibility for the position or he had, through his past infractions and failures, proven unworthy of such an honor.
And then, on top of everything else the man was a self-proclaimed super-pervert with no equal. His favorite hobby being spying on women while they bathed, a passion he flaunted openly and in fact took pride in because of how infrequently he was caught. Despite this, Jiraiya disliked it when Naruto Uzumaki referred to him as 'Ero-Sennin' in front of others. But none of these qualities showed how wise the man had become in his worldly travels, or the father-figure he had become to the blonde that stood before the pseudo-grave that bore his name, and the names of so many others. The comfortable silence between the two was broken as the only remaining member of the Sannin began to speak.
"There's something that the old pervert once said to me, and it's stuck with me all through the many years I've been around, Naruto. He said, 'What is a man but the sum of his memories? We are the stories we live! The tales we tell ourselves!', and I think, that to a degree he was right." The woman paused briefly, before she reached inside her robes, procuring a small flask and almost hungrily taking a drink from it, sighing softly as she continued. "I differ from him in that ideology, though. In my opinion, it's the memories that make the man, and the recollections of others that define him. But on that same line… how do we go on living, now that he's gone?"
The large and busty woman looked down to the man at her side, and noted that he still hadn't even bothered to look at her, not even moved to acknowledge her presence as she spoke, nothing, and that was only slightly worrying. "You must never give into despair. Allow yourself to slip down that road and you surrender to your lowest instincts, of all the people in this village, I understand that more than anyone. I spent years, years running from my past, drowning myself in alcohol and gambling until I had almost nothing left, that was how Jiraiya found me, broken and crying-yet he still brought me back, even as I was." She paused once again, taking a drink and wiping away a tear for the past man.
"In the darkest times, hope is something we give ourselves. That is the true meaning of inner strength. Sometimes life is like a dark tunnel, and you can't always see the light at the end of it, but if you just keep moving, keep forcing yourself onward and forward, clawing and biting and fighting your way to the end, you will always eventually come to a better place. It took me over a decade to learn that lesson, but hopefully you pick up on things quicker than I do." The woman gave a final glance to the man at her side, before she said her final words, turning on her heel and walking away, having already come to say what she needed to. "Don't spit on his memory by throwing away your life just to avenge him, that isn't what Jiraiya lived for."
With that, the woman was gone, her piece having been said, leaving her fellow blonde to mourn his Godfather, though now the seeds of thought had been planted in his mind. Naruto stared at the memorial stone, at the name he had so delicately and carefully carved into the smooth black rock, each letter having given him a memory of the man as he forced the knife into the rock, from learning the Rasengan, to helping the man with his research. The Jounin's gaze hardened, his mind clearing for a brief moment as he looked at the rock. Pain would pay, but not quite yet, the time wasn't right, and he wouldn't sacrifice himself in the name of vengeance. He muttered softly to himself, so quietly that it may as well not have even been said, a small line of water making its way down his cheek.
"It's a horrible day for rain, don't you think?"
Two figures landed on the top of the Hokage Monument, standing lightly on the head of the Yondaime Hokage as they supervised the village. It was the first time that one of them had ever entered Konohagakure no Sato, yet for the other he was returning to his home, akin to a long vacation or mission. However, there was a great difference in returning home from a mission, and going to one's old home in pursuit of new orders, and the shorter of the two men would make sure of that, though he already knew just how gravely true the sentiment was. Still though, it was… refreshing… to see such a familiar sight, to take in all the intricacies of the village he had lived in and once loved for so long, now changed, scarred and different in the many years that had passed.
The eyes of the public would soon be drawn to the man on the left of the duo, a sight by any means. The man was quite tall, and very muscular, the tallest member of his organization, in fact. He had a distinctive shark-like appearance, complete with pale, blue-gray skin. His eyes were small, round, white orbs, with 3 sets of curved facial markings under each one. Under his clothing, gills could be seen on his shoulders, and sharp triangular teeth jutted out of his mouth, each one sharper than a razor. The large man's hair was even styled in the form of a shark fin, a testament to his predatory visage. Each fingernail on both hands was crowned in dark-purple nail polish.
Underneath the large cloak he donned, a distinctive black one with red clouds, he was shirtless, though he wore dark pants and a waist guard, with striped arm and leg-warmers typical of his former village. Upon his head sat a modified version of Kirigakure's forehead protector, which covered his ears as well, though there was a distinctive slash going through the village's insignia, signifying his cut ties with the nation. He also wore a brown sash across the front and back of his cloak, its purpose to hold the large bandaged weapon that was nearly as tall as he was, slung across his back, in place. He wore his yellow ring on his left ring finger, bearing the kanji for "south" upon it. His identity was unmistakable, anyone with a bingo book knew Hoshigaki Kisame from a glance.
The man next to him, while no less intimidating, was quite smaller in stature when compared to the large hulking shark-man. He had onyx eyes under which were long, pronounced tear-troughs, his jet-black hair pulled back in a low ponytail, his face framed with center-parted bangs that extended to his chin. His hair had grown longer over the years, but it was still the same hairstyle he had kept from when he was a child living in the very village they were infiltrating. Even more, like his younger brother, he was considered very handsome, many women becoming infatuated with him in his travels
The cloak's high collar would obscured his ponytail, but it was underneath the cloak that he differed from his appointed partner, Kisame. As the shorter man was now, his cloak was unbuttoned to a mid-chest level, his left arm resting there, rather than in the sleeve. Under his cloak he wore clothes similar to the rest of his organization: mesh armor with navy accents under an identical T-shirt with a simple white belt around the waist finished off with dark blue pants, bandages taping it off at the edges to his ankles. On his right ring finger was his ring, which was crimson in color and bore the kanji for "vermilion". Purple nail polish covered his fingernails as well as his toes, his ensemble finished off with a necklace that had three silver rings with red gems inside them. Yet he too, was unmistakable, especially here in his home village.
Uchiha Itachi had returned to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and there was truly only one reason why he would step upon its soil.
Author's Note:
Alright, bit of a shorter chapter tonight, actually the shortest one that I've written since Chapter 5. Don't worry though, it conveyed everything I needed it to, and the next chapter should be pretty long, the one's that I wright with combat scenes usually are on. And for those of you who are going to get mad at Sasuke whooping up on Naruto, take note that Naruto was damn near delirious and hysterical at that point, and it was more or less a brawl, in addition to Sasuke being a fairly strong ninja in his own right. Anyways…
That's all I got. Out.
