Kenta: Oh my god, I can't believe it...
CHAPTER 30!
WOW has it been a long time since I started! Three years actually.
Well, anyway, I went back and finally re-did the Legend in chapter 7, so now all the chapters are caught up accordingly. (Phew!)
I really appreciate how all of you are still reading, and I hope you all continue reading, because I've got more cool plot twists ahead! And just so you all know:
THE ENDING IS ALREADY PLANNED OUT. DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT AND JUST KEEP READING!
I only know so much about Naruto, since the story isn't over yet and Kishimoto-sensei is still making the series. You'll see some things are catching onto the manga, so if you guys don't want a spoiler, (as much as it pains me to say this) then I advise you stop reading.
At the very least, you should know who Kurama is and what he and Naruto can do together for only five minutes at a time.
If you already know, then AWESOME! It's amazing, isn't it?
For those of you who don't know...read the manga online at Manga2u dot com or MangaSky dot com. (These are the sites I read it at)
As for those wondering (and some of you may have already figured it out) Naruto WAS married in his past life. But to whom? Hinata? Noooo. Sakura? Nope! Only a wife would call someone 'honey'. I'm a big NaruXHina fan, and I still like NaruXSaku, but Shion was my favorite movie character. She may have predicted his death, which he changed, but the ending was a real gut-buster for me. And I've read many a story on here that makes me grin about Naruto and Shion as a couple.
For those of you who don't like the NaruXShio pairing, don't panic on me. This isn't turning into a harem, as I've already said so a couple dozen chapters ago, so don't worry. This story is purely NarutoXMidna. Hinata and Shion are mere characters to attract Midna's attention to the blonde swordsman/shinobi, so relax. ChronoMitsurugi voiced his complaints quite loudly, along with a reference to DBZ Abridged by TeamFourStar. It's the reason why I'm putting this before the next chapter.
Long, dark hallways. The quiet thrumming of vibrations, and the quiet of the day. This was the perfect day to relax. To immerse yourself in any kind of activity.
"Two hundred twenty-two...two hundred twenty-three..."
And for one young man, this was the time for training.
Sasuke Uchiha grunted as he pushed against the floor with one hand, a giant statue resting on his back. Sweat rippled down his chiseled face, dripping quietly on the cold marble floor. Determination drove him to the point of exhaustion, striving for perfection. He would not stop until he was undefeatable, until he was invincible. For even the slightest injury would prove his powerlessness. The Uchiha ground his teeth in rage, attempting to push himself back up from the floor. It was just one stone statue! He should be lifting three! Why was he only able to lift ONE on his back? Sasuke's eyes glowed a dim orange, the Uchiha's rage fueling his latent abilities.
That idiot Zant could hold five on one foot, while doing push-ups with one hand, in a hand-stand! And he would laugh and giggle about the lamentations of the Twili people while doing it!
Sasuke's eyes began glowing brighter, steam erupting from the small gaps between his teeth.
He would laugh at the Twili and Sasuke, spinning twelve statues in his hands before getting bored and tossing them at his audience, Sasuke easily smashing the statues tossed at him. He would try to hold his lunch as the not-so strong audience would be smothered and crushed by the sheer weight of the statues. The small children would scream and cry at the lifeless limbs of their parents. Sasuke had never been able to look them in the eye.
Zant was merciless.
He was insane.
He was a god.
Sasuke strove for power...but was the cost his sanity?
No! Surely it wasn't! To be the strongest there was, he would be able to rule over all with an iron fist! But to even THINK of ruling, he would have to defeat Zant. He had once thought to conquer the world of the Light, where he came from. Alas, with the amount of time he had spent living in the Twilight Realm, he had become susceptible to the cursed power of Light. His skin would burn, beginning to peel off until it reached his inner energy. A low, orange glow that lay just beneath his skin. He had almost lost his arm, for if his inner energy, which was now Twilight Energy, came into contact with light for too long, it would erode and destroy it. It took forty lashes from Zant before the wicked man fixed his arm.
Sasuke glared at the ground with all his might, his eyes burning a bright orange. The scars planted all over his chiseled body began pulsing with Twilight Energy as Sasuke increased his pace, quickly reaching three hundred.
The fool never treated Sasuke on a level anywhere NEAR himself! He was treated only slightly better than the Twili, and by better he meant Zant spent more time beating the SHIT out of him! He was always poked at, mocked at, and even worse, LAUGHED at!
"Rrrraaaaaa!" Sasuke shouted, smashing the statue on his back to pieces, black wings erupting from his back. The teen glared at the remains of the statue, his eyes pulsing orange as a transparent, orange residue floated away from his eyes. Two black, angled horns appeared on top of his head, and a thin, spear-tipped tail materialized behind him.
The rage of the Twilight Castle's guest echoed throughout the castle, causing the Twili people to turn to the enormous building. One small orange-haired boy looked up, watching the castle in silence. He knew what the scream meant. So did many of the Twili.
Despite his cold exterior and his quest for power, the light-dweller had treated them fairly well. It wasn't always with the nicest of comments, usually insulting or degrading, but he would never harm them in any way, shape or form. The orange-haired boy looked at his hand where a small pouch lay. It had been filled with coins when Sasuke gave it to him.
"I don't need some random kid dying on me, not when I plan to take over. Keep yourself alive, and you may yet find a place at my side."
"I will, lord Sasuke." Juugo said, clenching the coin pouch in his hands as he looked up at the castle. "I'll be the best servant ever!"
Sasuke panted heavily, glaring at the now destroyed room. Holes were now the most prominent feature of the area, many having been blasted through by a statue being thrown about. Of the hundreds of statues that once decorated the room, very few remained.
"Lord Sasuke, must you cause so much damage to Master Zant's training rooms?" A voice said, causing Sasuke to snort. He glanced at the figure that had entered the room, acknowledging her presence. A tall women had walked into the room, her red, medium length hair tied up into a bun. She wore the customary Twili garb of black and orange and a small pair of glasses. She pushed her glasses up with her left hand's middle finger, her right hand holding a clipboard. "We're having enough trouble with Master Zant's entertainment-prone casualties, and we don't need your destructive tendencies adding to the list." She sighed. "Furthermore-
"Enough, Karin." Sasuke said as he visibly relaxed, taking another deep breath. He walked over to his discarded Twili robe, his horns and tail fading away and the power glowing beneath his scars returning to their steady rhythm. He loosely placed the garment over his shoulders before walking back towards Karin, raising an eyebrow at the woman. "I doubt you're here to just scold me..." The woman blushed before she turned around, her arms clasping each other behind her. "W-well, maybe..." Sasuke rolled his eyes, easily dodging to the left as the red-head attempted to glomp him. Karin turned to face Sasuke on the ground, her eyes filling with tears. "L-lord Sasuke, how could you? I even wore my special outfit..." She sniffled as she opened her robe, revealing sexy red lingerie.
Sasuke snorted before stomping his foot. "Suigetsu, get out here now." Sasuke commanded.
"Aww, but I wanted to see you shoot her down some more first." A voice cackled, causing Karin to cover herself in embarrassment. A burst of blue flames erupted a few feet away from Sasuke, revealing a white-haired teenager in a long black and blue Twili robe. He flourished a mocking bow to Sasuke. "Greetings, Lord Sasuke Enamoral."
"Drop it Suigetsu, what is it?" The young man dismissed the insult, his eyes quiet and dark. Suigetsu flashed a grin, revealing shark-like teeth.
"We've received intel that Naru-...errr, the accursed one, has reached the Gerudo Mesa." Suigetsu sweated upon his light slip-up. Sasuke's eyes were flaring with rage upon hearing the beginning of that name...the name that ruined his life. Suigetsu and Karin swallowed heavily, knowing full well of what happened when someone spoke Naruto Uzumaki's name around Sasuke. They were introduced to a royal beating by the young lord. Of course, someone never included Zant, who had no problems whatsoever about speaking Naruto's name around Sasuke. The two servants shivered as they remembered Zant's reaction to Sasuke's scar.
"Aww...did little Sasu-kin get his hand hurt by da big meanie Naruto? Let's throw a cheer-up party for Mr. Piss-ass! And I know the perfect present! Forty lashes!"
Sasuke clenched his hand tightly as he remembered the stinging pain of Zant's whip. He turned straight towards the entrance to the world of Light, snatching a small, glowing crystal along the way.
It was known as Sol, a material that was much like the sun in the world of the light. Not only did it radiate pure energy, but it could also repel the corrosive effects of the light world to a dweller of the Twilight. Sasuke glared in hatred at the strange portal in front of him. Not only was Naruto getting closer to him in strength, but he was also getting close to his own battlefield, and if he couldn't take out one intruder like Naruto, then there was no way in hell he could take out Zant.
"Suigetsu, Karin..." Sasuke said standing in front of the portal. The two servants stood by, awaiting their young lord's orders. "I want you two to stay close to the entrance. Suigetsu, go to the Arbiter's Grounds. If he somehow avoids me, keep him away from the palace. Karin, make sure the Master doesn't find out I'm gone." He knew Karin was going to act any moment. She began sighing, acting as if it were a chore. On the inside however she shivered in excitement. It had been forever since her lord had given her a command. She felt her insides quiver in gratitude, though she gave no outward sign of her glee. Suigetsu smirked, tossing the Sol Crystal in his hand. It had been awhile since he last saw it.
"Here I come, Kabukiri Houcho." He grinned enthusiastically.
Sasuke glared at the portal. "Let's go Suigetsu." He said before the two were dis-assembled into the portal.
Sand rushed into Naruto's eyes as he trudged along the endless dessert. Numerous times he had already stopped to drink some water, quickly getting a couple of questions out of Midna, all of which he ignored. He hadn't felt this hot since he went traveling through the Goron Mines in that stupid volcano. He had filled four bottles of water at the spring in the Cave of Ordeals, yet he had already gone through more than half of his water supply. If he didn't find that stupid mirror soon, he'd have to find another source of water. He couldn't just wander the dessert aimlessly. Another thing that plagued him was fatigue. Naruto had an extremely high level of endurance, something he found out when he was fourteen. He could walk a thousand miles without really tiring out, and despite going through so many temples, very rarely was he actually out of breath. Yet here, in the searing heat of the dessert, when he hadn't slept well for the past two...no, THREE days now, the fatigue was catching up to him. And it was being a bitch.
Twelve times already Midna had to literally slap him awake after he almost had his foot eaten by a dessert plant or monster. He was just so tired that he no longer had the capability to stay focused. He had already tried splashing himself with some of his water, but it never seemed to work, only serving to make him even MORE tired.
Naruto grunted as he tried to free his foot from a small sinkhole. It was stuff like this that had been bogging him down all day. And to make matters worse, the sun was beginning to set. He finally got his foot free, only to fall face first onto the hot sand. The blonde sputtered and spat as much sand as he could out of his mouth before his head throbbed, his eyes closing on him again.
"Dammit! Not again! Naruto! Come on, wake up!" Midna shouted, pushing the blonde's shoulder roughly. The imp wiped her brow, knowing full well how hot it was. Despite her mocking attitude at the frailty of humans, she wasn't much better. She had played just as big a part as Naruto for their now low water supply. The imp caught sight of something to her left, her eye narrowing at it.
Seven Moldorm sand crawlers were making their way towards the downed blonde. Looking back to the gasping blonde, she could barely hear him swearing, trying to stay awake.
This idiot was risking his life trying to help her. He had already saved all of his friends, and even though she said that if he didn't help her, it would probably happen all over again, she couldn't help but remember that moment on the hill.
"What are you going to do when this adventure ends?"
Midna turned towards the Moldorms, glaring at them. Holding her hand out to the side, a strange glow encompassed her hand, Twilight beginning to enshroud the dessert. She clenched her hand, a long spear appearing. It had a golden point with a bronze length, intricately carved with the written language of the Twili. A Moldrom leapt out of the sand, not noticing the shadow next to the blonde.
THWACK!
Midna materialized before smacking the creature away, growling in annoyance.
"You're lucky you have me around Naruto. If I wasn't so nice, I'd have let them bite you a few times first." Midna grumbled, spinning the spear in her hands.
Naruto tried to look up and see what was going on as he could hear the hissing sound of enemies. But it was always followed by a loud thwacking sound, like someone was smacking it away. Was it Midna? How was she fighting? Darkness clouded Naruto's mind, causing the blonde to slowly lose conscious. The last thing he remembered was hearing Midna gasping.
The imp was getting tired, having been batting away the creatures for quite some time now. Even worse, whenever she stabbed and killed one, two more showed up. It was a lose-lose situation, what with hers and Naruto's fatigue hitting them. Just as she thought she was going to be overwhelmed, a low rumbling noise reached her ears, causing Midna to quickly return to her shadowy form.
Sixteen Moldorms, an entire swarm, leapt out of the sand towards Naruto, their fangs poised to tear into the helpless blonde's body.
Sixteen arrows shot from behind the cursed Twili, impaling all of the predators in mid-air. Midna watched in shock as one final, gigantic Moldorm surfaced, but was even more shocked to find an arrow shot straight into it's mouth before the creature exploded above Naruto. Turning to the source of the arrows, Midna worried about what she would find. An ally? A new enemy? She soon found her answer as the rescuer came into view from behind a large boulder.
Darkness...Why was it so dark? Last time he checked, he was in a desert. And the brightness of the sand kept hurting his eyes. And he was thirsty...
Wait, why wasn't he thirsty now? And shouldn't he be hot? He was actually quite cool, as if he was in the shade...wait...the shade? Was it dark out now? Oh crap, that meant he fell asleep...or was he dead? He wasn't hot, and he wasn't thirsty, so maybe he was dead? Hey! That meant he wasn't in hell! Rusl always said hell was a very bad place to go. He had said people would burn to death there, so it was obviously hot! And since he was quite cool, it meant he was in heaven!
WHACK!
"OW!" Naruto grunted, attempting to sit up and rub his head. Opening his eyes, Naruto found he wasn't in heaven. He was on the floor of a cage. And he was...TIED UP?
"What the heck?" The blonde grumbled trying to get out of his restraints.
"Quiet, pale flesh." A gravely voice said nearby. Looking up, Naruto's eyes narrowed. A Bulblin stood next to his cage, growling as he held a spear in his hands. "Stupid pale flesh. No good. No good. Rif-raf no like. Pale flesh cause trouble for Rif-raf." The Bulblin glared enviously at some other Bulblins that sat around a campfire, snorting and hollering as they drank strange liquids. Naruto wrinkled his nose in disgust. He was glad he wasn't a fox right now. He'd probably pass out from the stench. "Stupid pale flesh. Have to guard pale flesh. No can drink and eat meat. Stupid Pale flesh." The Bulblin picked up a nearby stone and tossed it at Naruto, hitting him square on the head.
"Ow!" Naruto glared at Rif-raf. No wonder his head hurt. The ass was throwing rocks at him! If only he could remember how in the world to do his Escape Jutsu again, this guy would be on his ass. But the problem was, Naruto's memories were scattered. Sure, he had picked up a lot, but he couldn't remember EVERYTHING. Looking around his cage, Naruto found that he was off to the side of the main Bulblin camp. A few yards or so between his cage and the campfire, which Naruto wondered if it was the main campfire, or just a post. "Now that I think about it, how did I get here?" Naruto wondered aloud. A snort was his first answer.
"Stupid pale flesh. Pass out in desert. You should have died. Stupid Dark Eyes find you and bring you back. Pale flesh stupid. Should have just left you to die. Moldorms would have eaten you quickly." Rif-raf snorted. Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Thanks for the update rocky...OW!" Naruto glared at the annoyed Bulblin, wanting to do nothing more than rub his now lumpy head. And probably kick this guy's ass. That would be nice. But he did fill in a few holes of Naruto's memory. Namely how he got here. So some Bulblin named 'Dark Eyes' found him and dragged him back to their camp...but why? Did they think they could sell him or something? He wouldn't make that good of a slave, rather beating the shit out of his new master. He would probably ask him to do some really weird things...wait, why was he letting his mind wander this far? He wasn't going to be a slave! He was going to have a farm of his own in Ordon! Hell, he might even do some freelancing work for Hyrule to do it. Maybe find a few more golden bugs or something.
'First things first. I need to get out of here...maybe I can...'
Naruto looked up to see Rif-raf grumbling something incoherent as he watched the other Bulblins pushing each other over something funny. Grinning, Naruto began his plan.
"Hey rocky," Naruto began, catching the Bulblin's attention.
"I is Rif-raf! Stupid pale flesh." He growled at the equally irritated Naruto.
"And I could say the same to you, smelly." The Bulblin merely snorted in return, prompting Naruto to continue. "These ropes are really tight. Who tied me up like this, was it that Dark Eyes person?" Rif-raf snorted, cracking a grin.
"Of course not! Stupid Dark Eyes no can see right anyway! Rif-raf made ropes tight! Stupid pale flesh NEVER escape!" Rif-raf stated proudly, raising his nose up.
"Huh...but if I can never escape, why are you still watching me? If Rif-raf made ropes super tight, shouldn't Rif-raf be off drinking and eating meat?" Naruto quoted from the putrid-smelling Bulblin. A light seemed to click for the monster before he snorted.
"No...boss says guard stupid pale flesh. Me no eat or drink..." Naruto quirked an eyebrow, grinning.
"But I'm in a metal cage, and I'm tied! How can I get out, and how can something get me? Even if I tried, I couldn't break out of here. Besides, I'm too hungry to move anyway...if only I had some food..." Naruto slumped on the floor, the Bulblin watching him carefully. Looking back at the campfire and then at the deflated blonde, Rif-raf stared at the blonde before double taking at the campfire.
"Okay, Rif-raf hungry and thirsty, and stupid pale flesh too stupid to realize he stupid, so Rif-raf going to eat and drink! Stupid pale flesh, stay here and don't talk." Rif-raf said before heading over to the campfire, soon laughing and hollering with the rest of the camp. Naruto grinned as he saw the Bulblins teetering back and forth. Whatever it was they were drinking, it was obviously intoxicating to them.
"Stupid Rif-raf, pale flesh trick you easily! Mwahahahaha!" Naruto cackled evilly as he fumbled with the ropes, easily undoing the pathetic excuse for a knot. "Now that I think of it, it's probably an insult to call myself 'pale flesh'..." Naruto stated as he stared at the rope in silent thought. Tossing it away, Naruto blew a raspberry. "Ppbbbth, naw, it's not like anyone heard it." The silence that came after made Naruto worry.
It should have happened by now. Why wasn't it happening?
"Midna?" Naruto looked down at the floor of the cage, beginning to panic. She should have been laughing at him, telling him what an idiot he was. Why wasn't she doing that? Was it because he had no shadow now? The moon was blocked by the top of his cage, so didn't that mean that she had no shadow to hide in? Naruto looked around the shoddy cage. He had better get out of here quickly. Not only did he have to find Midna, but he also had to find the Mirror of Twilight. Naruto stood up, turning towards the side of the cage opposite the campfire. "Well, no time like the present." Naruto said reaching over his shoulder and grasping nothing. The blonde's eyes widened, sweat dripping down the side of his face.
Of course they would take his sword! It was long and shiny and pointy! And it could cut them to ribbons! Why the hell didn't he realize this SOONER? Patting himself down, Naruto also found that the medallion he had gotten from Ooccoo was gone as well. Great. There goes all of his items...and the bottles he had around his waist were gone too.
"This might be a little bit harder than I thought..." The blonde began to fret. "And where the hell is Midna?"
A lone figure walked through the sand, not paying attention to or even caring about his surroundings. All he cared about was one thing.
Revenge.
Ever since he was given the order to attack that stupid spring, everything had gone downhill. First he was beaten, again, for not keeping a good enough watch on some of his hostages. Then he was sent to go get them back from Kakariko. Oh boy, that sure went well! He had gotten his ass handed to him on a silver platter by hundreds of identical copies of the same person and knocked clear across Hyrule! The amount of pain he received after THAT humiliation was unbearable. He still had the welts from their clubs all over his body. He had his arm broken and it just recently finished healing, only for him to be sent out to hunt for the fat, pungent-smelling ass-holes who had beaten him from before.
But Oh! The gods above had granted him some joy in life! He had found that same bastard who had given him such a beating passed out in the dessert! He had finally been given a glimmer of hope! But a bunch of stupid Moldorms were trying to eat him. So at the cost of sixteen arrows and a bomb arrow, he was able to rescue the blonde bastard. He had to give him some water to make sure he didn't die quickly, he had to drag him back to the camp and then plead to King Bulblin for the chance to beat the traveler at dawn. It had cost him his dinner, but he didn't care. His hands craved blood, the blood of the bastard who had nearly ruined his life. But it didn't want to stop there, no. It wanted to obliterate those damn pack leaders who would beat him for every tiny detail he missed! So what if their fucking meat wasn't fully cooked? They ate it raw anyway! No, he would have to wait. The first he would kill was that blonde swordsman. He would pay for what he'd done to him. He would die at his own hands.
"Don't worry Gaara, I'll kill him nice and slowly to make sure he's writhing in pain for as long as possible..." The red-head chuckled to himself, his bloodshot eyes keeping any stray Bulblins away from him. "I'll make sure to break every bone in his body...I will make you beg for mercy, Uzumaki Naruto!" Maniacal laughter echoed about the camp, causing numerous heads to look up. As Gaara continued to walk around the camp, he didn't notice his shadow wasn't quite the same as it usually was.
The psychotic red-head eventually found his destination, the southernmost outpost. It was only a little bit south of the Bulblin camp, but it was an essential look-out, and it was the closest outpost to the torture grounds, the camp's most painful arena where Gaara had been beaten and attacked for so long. Walking by the camp, he noticed something was off. And it wasn't how the Bulblins were all drunk off of Moldorm blood. No, it was WHO Gaara caught sight of that alerted him.
Rif-raf was eating and drinking, when he should have been GUARDING NARUTO! He had chosen the idiot because he was the first grunt he found coming back from the desert, dammit!
Gaara rushed over to the cage, expecting the worse. He relaxed slightly as he reached the cage before turning around and stomping over to Rif-raf. He grabbed the Bulblin by the back of his vest, causing the Bulblin to yelp in surprise.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Gaara demanded, effectively gaining the fearful attention of all Bulblins there. Rif-raf was panicking, not expecting to see one of the hunters to be at the Southern Outpost. Gaara, despite getting beaten a lot, was a pretty high ranked pack-member. He was a Hunter, and Hunter's had the job of securing food for the camp. There were only three ranks higher than them, one of those ranks being King. Rif-raf shivered under the psychotic red-head's furious gaze.
"Uhhh...Dark Eyes! R-r-r-fi-raf only eating a little bit!"
"Where is the prisoner?" Gaara glared at the Bulblin, the black rings around his eyes accentuating his rage.
"H-he over in cage! Rif-raf tied him up good! No escape cage! And cage metal, pale flesh no get out or attacked by anything!"
"SILENCE!" The group quivered in fear. "King Bulblin ordered you to watch him, so do it!" Gaara roared, dragging Rif-raf back with him. He tossed him harshly at the cage, slamming the Bulblin's head against the cold metal. Gaara first glared at Rif-raf before switching over to Naruto. "Not long, my prey. It will not be long until I rip your insides out from you!" He glared at Naruto's motionless body, tossing a stone at him.
It happened all in an instant.
A poof.
A cloud of smoke.
And then, nothing.
The cage was empty.
Gaara's wide eyes were quickly replaced with bloodshot ones as he shook violently in rage. With a blood-curdling roar, Gaara sounded the alarm.
The hunt was on.