Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Last Airbender.
Bodyguard of Azula
Chapter 70: Forging Anew and Rallying
"Talking"
"Thinking"
"Bijū/spirit talking"
"Bijū/spirit thinking"
(Location: Naruto)
The boat sailed through the waves as the rower and his passenger made their way to the ruined island that was once the Land of Whirlpools. The island itself was in sight and was getting closer with every stroke of the oars. "We should be there with a few minutes, sir." The sailor told Naruto.
"That's good to know." He replied with a nod of acknowledgement before looking back at the ship they had come from. After leaving Konoha, the blonde had traveled to the coast of the Land of Fire, following a map he packed. When he came to one of the coastal towns, he lucked out by finding that there was a merchant ship that was leaving soon. After talking to the captain (along with a bit of money), he was able to convince the man to make a quick stop and drop him off at the Land of Whirlpools.
As the boat came up onto the beach, he jumped out of the boat and into the shallow water. "Here you are, sir. The Land of Whirlpools," The sailor announced. "But I don't know what you'll want here. This place is haunted."
He had heard a lot of that on the short trip here. The sailors kept muttering to themselves about the Land of Whirlpools were haunted ghosts. Whether it was true or not didn't concern him, he had to go there. "Tell your captain I said thank for getting me here." The blonde told him in reply, turning to face him. "Here, let me push you back out." Grabbing the boat, he pushed it back out to deeper water, soaking his clothes in the process. When he saw the oars had started to move, he stopped and let the sailor take it from there. He turned back to face the island and began to slog through the water back to the beach.
"Now I just need to find where Uzushiogakure is." He said to himself as he walked up the beach to the forest at the end of it. But before he actually went into the forest, he stopped due to the fact he heard something. "Is that…a fire?" He asked aloud. The faint sounds of a fire crackling were floating through his ears, coming from deeper in the forest.
"Sounds like it." The Kyūbi agreed, having also heard the noise. "Let me guess, you're going to see where it's coming from, aren't you?"
"Is my hair yellow?" He sarcastically asked in return, heading into the forest and following the sound of the fire. As he walked, the sound got louder. Before long, he found the fire, and sitting in a meditative position, was an old man who had a bushy white beard, but also wore ragged clothing. "Um…hello?" said the blonde as he got closer to the fire.
The old man opened his eyes when he heard the voice and smiled when he saw it was in front of him. "Greetings, Naruto Uzumaki." He replied. "I am Guru Pathik."
"How do you know who I am?" He asked right away. He had told no one where he was going or what he was going to do (with the exception of Kakashi, but he had figured it out so it didn't count).
The old man laughed heartedly. "Do not worry, young one. I am not here to stop or delay your journey. In truth, I am here to help you."
"You still haven't answered my question. How do you know who I am?" He replied.
"The whole world knows of you, young one, just by different names." The guru answered, the laughter fading away. But he did not change the way he spoke. "On one side, you are known as the Paragon of the Fire Nation, bodyguard to the Fire Lord's sister. On the other, you are known as the Shinobi Kikan, once of Konoha and now, serving as a mercenary to it to help rid the Elemental Countries of the Akatsuki. All one has to do to know your name is to listen."
The Fire Paragon considered the words he heard. In a way, they made sense. "Alright," He said, accepting them. "That's how. Now why are you here?"
This time, the cheeriness that was in the old man's eyes disappeared. With the grimness and seriousness on his face, he seemed to age a good amount within a few seconds. "You are probably aware that I tried to help Aang and Gaara achieve balance, only to fail with one and succeed with the other." The blonde nodded his agreement, letting him continue. "Soon after they had left, I had another vision. I saw you trying to forge a great and powerful weapon, only to see you fail and lose your sanity in the process. I wish to prevent that from happening."
"You must've misinterpreted the vision. I'm not going to fail."
"In all my years, for every vision I've had, that has never happen." He said solemnly.
"I won't fail." Naruto repeated. It almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself instead of Pathik.
"If you refuse my help, you will fail in your task. You have yet to find balance with yourself. Should you attempt what you plan to do without finding that balance, you will fail."
"No, I won't. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I won't fail." The words were almost becoming like a mantra with the way they kept being repeated in the conversation. He started to walk away, not wanting to continue this conversation.
"Do you even know who Naruto Uzumaki is anymore?" That question made the blonde stop in his stride. "You are not the same person you were when you left the village of your birth and you are not the same person you were before you joined the Hundred Year War. You are not the same person you were when you helped the Avatar end the war and returned to your land of birth. Do you know who you are?" The guru repeated his question.
Normally, he would've answered right away with a sarcastic comment while also giving an honest answer. But this time, he couldn't. Pathik was right; he didn't know who he was anymore. And that scared him. It scared him to realize that even though he had somehow been brainwashed, he had changed long before that. It scared him to realize that he really was different from the person who ran away from Konoha (he always knew that, but it didn't really hit home until just now). "…No, I don't." He finally admitted quietly.
"And because you do not know yourself, you are out of balance. But if you will let me to help you, I can help you find that balance. I will be able to help you find Naruto Uzumaki again."
"How would you do that?" He asked in that same quiet voice.
Pathik smiled, the seriousness disappearing and the cheeriness returned. "I will tell you that when it comes time to do so. In the meantime, please sit and warm yourself by my fire." He waved his hand at said fire.
"I don't have time to waste." Naruto told him, holding back a snap in his voice. "I have to get Uzushiogakure as soon as I can."
"You must have patience, Naruto. We will get there once we have taken the time to eat and drink." He eyed the blonde's state of clothes. "Besides, I would've thought you would want the chance to warm yourself up and dry your clothes." He added with a small grin.
"Ooh, the old man knows sarcasm!" The Kyūbi noted with an almost excited tone of voice. "I may like him."
The blonde ignored the fox. He was about to say something when a wind came through and effectively reminded him that he had just been standing almost waist-deep in water and the temperature was getting colder. "Alright, fine." He conceded as he dropped the pack he was carrying onto the ground. With a few quick movements, he had stripped himself down to his undergarments. Within a few minutes, there was a line strung alongside the fire and his clothes were drying on it.
"Would you like to have something to drink?" The old man offered him a bowl with liquid sloshing around inside of it.
"Thank you." He took the bowl and started to drink from it, only to pause when the flavor hit his taste-buds. "Not to be rude, but what exactly is this stuff?" He asked as he lowered the bowl.
"It's onion and banana juice. Quite delicious, wouldn't you say?" Pathik asked back as he picked up another bowl and drank heartedly from it.
Naruto just watched him drink the stuff and then looked down at his own. "Oh well, I've probably drunk worse." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. He raised the bowl in a drinking salute to the guru and drained it within a few short gulps. He suppressed a shudder as he felt the liquid go down his throat. "This is probably going to be an acquired taste." He thought to himself.
(Location: Konoha)
"AND YOU JUST LET HIM WALK PAST YOU?!" Azula roared as she tried to stab Kakashi repeatedly with her daggers. She wasn't having much luck, as her brother and Sokka were holding her back.
"He was going to leave anyway." The masked shinobi replied calmly, staying out of reach of the daggers. He had held his tongue the day after Naruto had left. At first, people hadn't really noticed that the blonde had disappeared. But eventually, starting with both Team Avatar and Team Paragon, they did. By the end of the day, people began to wonder where he was. By the end of the third, they began to actively look for him in the village. That was when Kakashi went to Tsunade, who had been about to organize a search party, and informed of what had happened. She took it rather well (as he wasn't sent flying out of the room via a punch). She just sent for the two teams from the Bending Countries and had Kakashi repeat his information, thus leading to the current situation.
"You still could've let us known where he was going." Sokka said, his voice strained with the effort of holding Azula back (even with the help of Zuko, it was still getting difficult).
"All we know is that he is going after Tobi, that's it." Tsunade reminded the Tribesman. The day after Sasuke had been brought back to the village, Kakashi had informed her and Jiraiya about the information he had received from Itachi. Once they had heard everything, Tsunade ordered him to stay silent about it, which he had no problems with. "And considering all we have is a possible location, it's not much to go on."
"We have to do something." Katara objected from where she stood.
"And what would that something be, Katara?" Toph asked from where she leaned against the wall with a snort. "The only time you and I have been on this side of the planet was when they had baited, trapped, and killed that creepy snake guy. We don't know our way around."
"That didn't stop us during the war." Aang defended his girlfriend.
"We knew the basic lay of the land and where we were going during the war." She fired back. "We don't have that here, Twinkle-toes."
"We do." Suki pointed out, gesturing to Team Paragon.
"Suki, did you forget that we only have a possible location?" June asked from where she stood against the door, her arms folded in front of her.
"It's better than nothing." She replied. "Where else would he go?"
"…Okay, you have me there." The bounty hunter admitted after a few moments of silence. "And he was smart enough to leave nothing behind that had his scent on it."
"You could always tell Nyla that he can finally kill Naruto." Kakashi suggested absently, keeping his focus on Azula (she appeared to be calming down, but he wouldn't call it safe just yet).
For about a half-minute, she looked like she was actually considering the possibility. Finally, she shook her head. "No, Nyla would probably actually try to kill him and we kinda need him alive." She said, shaking her head in the process.
"Oh yes, we do need him alive." Azula said with a half-snarl, half-growl. Her face was one of unquestionable anger, one the original members of Team Avatar had seen on Zuko's face whenever he was really angry.
"Uh…I'm guessing you want Naruto alive for a different reason than the rest of us, right?" Katara asked.
"What tipped you off, Katara?" Sokka asked his sister, his sarcasm out in full force. "Was it the fact that she's on the verge of going on a rampage, she's glaring daggers at Kakashi, or she really wants to find Naruto?"
"Your sarcasm isn't needed right now, Sokka." She replied with a slight scowl. She may have missed her brother during the time he was away, but she had also forgotten about his sarcastic side. That part she didn't miss as much.
"Oh, I think it's needed." He replied as he refocused his efforts on Azula. However, she was beginning to calm down.
"The two of you can let go now." She told them, her voice still angry but also a lot calmer.
"Do you promise to behave and not kill Kakashi?" Zuko asked his sister, keeping his grip on her. He knew well enough that if given the opportunity, she could (and would) break and kill the masked shinobi.
The withering glare she threw would've made most people avert their eyes, in the fear that they would've melted (fortunately, the two teams weren't most people). "I am not a child, Zuko." She told him. "I shouldn't be mad at Kakashi. I should be mad at Naruto for leaving behind like this." Her lips twisted into a growl at the thought of the blonde. "I'm going to find that idiot, throw him into a private, and kick his ass until he's black and blue."
"And then, you will mount him and run him ragged." June said with a smirk, getting all the attention in the room. And judging by the surprised and somewhat mortified expressions on their faces, both Aang and Katara still didn't really "know" the other. "Come on, are you telling me the two of you haven't done the bedroom tango?" She asked, staring straight at the two of them.
"No!" Katara replied instantaneously, cheeks blushing heavily.
Aang, on the other hand, was confused. "What's a bedroom tango?" He asked. "I've never heard of a dance that you could do in the bedroom." Suki decided to take pity on him and whispered the meaning into his ear. Once she was done, his entire face lit up as he stared at the bounty hunter. "We should get going!" He said hurriedly, moving for the door. "If we want to find Naruto, we should start as soon as we can." He was out of the room before anyone could stop him.
"Okay, you really should dance soon." June told Katara with a deadpan voice.
Both Sokka and Katara grimaced. "Could you please not say stuff like that when I'm in the room, June?" The Water Paragon asked her. They were talking about his little sister after all.
(Location: Naruto)
After his clothes had dried, Naruto and Pathik began to make their way to their destination. The blonde had been surprised by the fact that Pathik was able to keep up with him ("Just because I am old, does not mean I am frail or weak." The guru told him as they ran). They only stopped for when it was time to eat and except for dinner, those moments were brief. Their journey had only lasted a day and a half due to this and now, they stood at the edge of a forest.
"So…that is Uzushiogakure." Naruto said, almost to himself as he looked at the ruined gate that lay beyond the edge of the forest. It wasn't the same as the gate leading into Konoha. It was more like a gate to a shrine, albeit a far more bigger and imposing one with walls attached to both sides of it. But whatever it looked like when the village was alive, both the gate and the walls were ruined.
"Yes, it was." Pathik said solemnly. "It may not have had been like Konoha when it was alive. But it had its own kind of life and charm." He looked over at the blonde. "Are you prepared to enter?"
"Of course I am." The blonde answered shortly. He walked out from under the shade of the trees and headed for the gate. But with every step he took, a sense of dread and fear began to fill him. As the gate got closer, a mist began to form around it. While anyone else probably would've stopped there, he pressed on, walking through the gate and into the ruins beyond.
As he walked, with Pathik a few steps behind him, he looked over the ruins of what was once his mother's home. The buildings that lined the street were smashed in, broken down, and collapsed in on themselves. Rubble littered the streets, making the pair have to watch their steps. Some of the buildings almost look like they were still stable, but they also looked like a single touch would cause them to fall. And all the while, that sense of dread and fear stayed with Naruto. The mist followed, causing buildings to go in and out of sight, like they were there one moment and gone the next. He would've wondered what was going on with the mist, if it was some kind of jutsu, if they hadn't come to the edge of the street and looked upon a flowing river.
"Whoa." He breathed, looking upon it with wonder. It flowed into the ruins from the outside. It was wide, wide enough for him to know that he couldn't leap to the other side, deep enough so that he would have to climb down and then back up to get across, and fast enough for him to know that he would be swept away before he could even get halfway.
"Ah, the Yang River," Pathik said as he joined Naruto. "It flows in from the south. To the north is its opposite, the Yin River."
"And I supposed that they meet somehow in the center of the village?" Naruto asked, half serious and half sarcastic.
"Something along those lines," He answered cryptically. "Come, we must follow the river's current." He walked in the direction of the current and Naruto followed. The mist followed them, still trying to play with what they saw and yet, it stayed clear of the river. And for someone, the blonde got the sense they weren't alone. He couldn't exactly say, but it felt like there was someone watching from the ruins.
Within minutes, they reached the mouth of the river and saw that it emptied out into a lake that seemed to stretch far, as they could barely see the other side. They could see their side of the lake curved around it, like it was forming something. It curved inward gently, like one half of a circle. If Naruto had to guess, the other side was the same.
But now, the mist was forming all around them and this time, it was forming over the water of the lake. The sense of dread and fear that had been with him deepened. As the mist formed and thickened all around them, a voice rang out from all around them. "Who would dare desecrate these ruins?" It asked, the words echoing before finally fading away. On the path in front of them, a body began to form. When it was fully formed, it was transparent and the clothes it wore were ragged. But there was no mistaking the red hair the ghost had.
Pathik did not say anything. He simply took a step back, giving Naruto slightly more room. "One who has need of the secret you hide." The blonde answered the ghost. As he spoke, other shapes appeared out of the mist, ghosts who took the shape of dead Uzumaki clan members. "Please let me pass so I can find it."
"Who are you to demand such a thing?" The ghost in the front asked him. The rest of the ghosts, which grew larger as they spoke, began to encircle them.
"My name is Naruto." He began, deciding to go with the formal introduction approach. "Son of Minato Namikaze—"
"NAMIKAZE!" roared several of the ghosts, in anger and outrage. They then began to list off what they thought of the Namikaze clan.
"Murderers!"
"Thieves!"
"Looters!"
"Hoarders!"
On and on they screamed, shouted, yelled, howled, and bellowed at Naruto, spewing curses and threats at him. But he didn't say anything in response, even though it was severely tempting to do so. The shouting stopped when the lead ghost drew the katana he wore at his side. "You should never have come here, Namikaze. You've forfeited your life by telling us who you are." He said as he approached the blonde.
"I am asking you all to step aside." Naruto told him, looking at all of them. He restrained himself from saying anything else. If he did, it wouldn't have been good.
But even what he had said incited the ghost. "Don't push your luck, brat!" He spat at the blonde. "Only those of the Uzumaki clan may command us!" With a battle cry, he charged forward with his katana raised high. When he came within striking distance, he swung down, intent on killing the Namikaze in front of him. But when Naruto's hands reached out and grabbed his own, forcing them apart, he was shocked. "That's impossible!" He objected as he struggled to free his hands. "Our clan was destroyed!"
The blonde became angry at those words. Without thinking it through, he slammed his head into the ghost's and sent him to the ground. "Some of us survived!" He shouted at the fallen ghost. He turned his furious gaze upon the rest of the ghosts there. "And don't assume I'm just from one clan either! My father may have been a Namikaze, but my mother was an Uzumaki!"
That got a reaction from the ghosts all around him. They all stared at him like they couldn't believe what had just come out of his mouth. "What was your mother's name?" The fallen ghost demanded as he stood back up. The look on his face said that if he was given a wrong answer, he would cleave Naruto into two.
"Kushina Uzumaki." He answered without hesitation and earning looks of recognition from the ghosts. "Now, I'm going to ask you all again: stand aside and let us pass."
The lead ghost stepped forward and examined Naruto's face carefully, like he was looking for something that was hidden. "I can see her in you." He said, almost to himself. His gaze hardened. "Why do you need what we have protected all these years?" He demanded.
"I'm heading to what could be my death and I have no other choice. I wouldn't have come if I truly did not know another way." He reached around to the pack and began to search through it. When he found what he was looking for, he began to pull it out. "Besides, I've already brought the other thing needed." He held out the scroll for all to see.
If his mother's name had surprised all the ghosts, they were floored when they saw what he held. "Is that truly…?" The ghost began to ask, only to trail off.
Naruto nodded. "This scroll holds the remnants of the Zanpakutō wielded by the Sage of the Six Path and was shattered in his fight against the Jūbi. Now, I go to fight against a man who would seek to bring the Jūbi back once more." He announced.
The ghosts all turned toward the one who had spoken first, a single question on all their faces. He was silent for a long second. And then, he finally spoke. "…We stand aside for you, child of Namikaze and Uzumaki. You may pass." And like a wind blowing through, the ghosts and the mist faded away, revealing the ruins once again.
Once he saw that they were gone, Naruto put the scroll away and released the breath he had unconsciously been holding. "Whew, that was…that was…" He tried to find the word that could define what had just happened, but nothing came to him.
"Indeed it was." Pathik said, taking that step forward again. "In life, I don't think there would've been anyone brave enough to head-butt the Ken no Ryōshu."
He froze when he heard that. "You mean…that was Kenji Uzumaki?" He asked. When the guru nodded, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Somewhere, somehow, I just know that my mother is laughing." He started walking again and Pathik followed.
This time, the sense of dread and fear were gone. That feeling of being watched was still there, but now it was more of curious nature. The ghosts that inhabited the ruins now knew him, they were just curious to see what he would do. With the mist cleared, they now had a much better view of the surrounding area. The ruins of buildings lined the other side of the street, opposite to the lake. Judging by the faded and wrecked signs that still to some of the buildings, it must've been a place for cafes and stores. For an instant, he could see people sitting at tables under the sky and the sun, admiring how the lake glittered like a blue jewel underneath the light of the sun. It was a picture that almost made him wish he could see the place when it was alive. But then the moment passed, the picture faded away, and he remembered that he had something to do.
On and on, the two of them kept walking. Pathik took the lead, his feet remembering paths he had once walked. At the end of the street, he turned to head back into the village. Naruto followed, looking briefly behind them at the lake's edge. While the majority of the edge had a rail to prevent anyone from accidently falling in, right behind them was a single spot where there was no rail. He was only curious for moment before realizing that the guru wasn't stopping and hurried after him.
When Pathik did finally stop, it was in front of a compound that had a large building that was still somewhat standing. "What's this place?" Naruto asked the old man, stopping beside him.
"This is the house of the clan head." He answered. "What you seek is inside."
"How do you know all these things anyway?" Theblonde asked again.
He smiled in reply. "I have been around for a long time and I have been to many places. I also know many things. For instance, when Uzushiogakure was created, it wasn't built around a lake. Now come, the first to enter this hall should be an Uzumaki." He urged.
"Okay." He took the first step into the compound and then took another. Once he was actually past the gate of the compound, he started walking to the house. With Pathik behind him, they crossed the compound and went into the house. His heart filled momentarily with sadness when he saw how wrecked it was inside. He could tell that this was a beautiful house if it wasn't ruined. There was rubble strewn across the floor, pieces of stone, mortar, and wood. The walls had cracks running through them, some joining and then dividing, creating a web that was on all the walls. "…Where do I find the shrine?" He asked as he heard Pathik step into the house behind him.
"The last time I checked, it was to the back, adjacent to the clan head's bedroom." The guru answered.
He followed the instructions, stepping over the rubble that littered the floor and being careful not to touch anything, lest it break and fall down, bringing a part of the house with them. And even though he tried to be delicate with the way he walked, his footsteps echoed all around him. It made the place feel larger than it actually was. They had to make a few turns to get to the back, as it wasn't a straight shot from front door to back.
When he finally found the shrine, he was surprised by how well it was preserved. If he had seen the shrine first and only the shrine, he would've thought that the house was in prime condition. But then, he would've thought that the rest of the house would've been a bit plain. The shrine wasn't extravagant by any means. There were only two things that mattered in the shrine: an altar to the left of the entrance (where the clan head or anyone else must've prayed at) and statue whose base was where the altar was placed. Even though the mason who had carved the statue had done it so the hood had covered the face and thus ridding himself of the need to carve the face, Naruto could tell who it was from the first glance. "The Sage of the Six Paths," He stated with reverence. He wasn't sure how he knew who it was, he just did.
"Indeed it is." Pathik agreed as he too looked at it. It was an ordinary statue. There was no color painted on it, thus leaving it all unblemished grey. The only kind of clothes the statue had been carved with was a robe to cover the body and the hood that covered the head and face. Held in the statue's left hand was a shakūjo and held in the right was a katana, raised to strike. When Naruto saw the katana, his mind instantly went to that scroll in the pack.
"So, what am I to do now?" He asked aloud.
"That is something you will have to answer yourself." The old man answered. "I cannot give you all the answers, can I?" He asked jokingly.
The blonde didn't answer that. His attention was fully on the statue. He walked to it and began to examining it. A quick look around confirmed the fact that the stone katana was the only sword in the room. "I'm supposed to turn the sword to the symbol." He mused to himself. "But how am I supposed to move a stone sword? More importantly, where is the symbol?" Another look around showed him that was no Uzumaki symbol in the shrine. The only other thing of significance was a small window opposite of the statue and altar that showed the road they come from. "Do you have any ideas, fox?"
"Huh? What?" The Kyūbi intelligently replied, drowsiness filling his voice.
The Fire Paragon couldn't believe it. "How can you be sleeping at a time like this?" He demanded.
"Hey, I felt like taking a nap. You've never had a problem with it before." The Bijū defended himself, sounding both annoyed and hurt.
"Well, do you have ideas?" He repeated his question.
"Nope, not a single one," The fox automatically answered. "Good night." He went asleep instantly, his snores filling the ears of his Jinchūriki.
Had this had been any other day (or any other mood); Naruto would've started yelling at the Kyūbi. But that wasn't what he need right now. He had to remain focused on figuring this all out. "Why couldn't my clansmen have made this easier?" He asked himself. "They could've at least given me a clue to where the symbol was!" Annoyed, he went over to the window and looked out it. He could see all the way out to the lake.
He froze when he realized that he could see all the way to the lake. His brain began to process the information he knew. "The Yang River comes in from the south and the Yin River comes in from the north. They both meet in the middle of the village in a lake. And when yang and yin come together, they form yin-yang." He shook his head slightly. "But it's not just that. There's something about that lake, I know it. The Uzumaki wouldn't have settled around just an ordinary lake, not when the name of the village is Uzushiogakure. Does it have something to do with the rivers?" And that's when it hit him. When it yin-yang was formed, it didn't just stay in one place. The two energies circled each other in a never ending dance. If something like that was to happen with two rivers, something would've definitely happened. "Pathik, did my clan build Uzushiogakure around a whirlpool?" He asked the guru.
"Yes, they did, but it wasn't known as Uzushiogakure when they did. This village had stood for a long time and the whirlpool they built the village around had only stopped churning when they had been attacked and destroyed." Pathik answered, bowing his head in what was probably for the dead.
"But why build here? What was so special about this particular whirlpool?"
He smiled mysteriously. "It was a part of their duty to protect the secret." He answered.
While the blonde frowned at the lack of an actual answer, he was glad to know that he was going somewhere with all of this. "Okay, so that's the symbol." He looked out the window. "And that's the sword." He looked back at the statue. "Now how the hell am I supposed to get that thing to point out the window?" He walked back over to the statue and looked over it again. But no matter how it looked at it, the statue looked the same. "I guess it wouldn't be as simple as being able to move the sword arm." The blonde thought to himself as he idly reached out for the right arm. As his hand touched the stone, he felt it move, which made him freeze in place and take his hand off of the statue. "…It cannot be that simple." He thought in silence protest.
"Have you found something?" Pathik asked from the side. He couldn't see what Naruto was doing exactly, but he could tell that something was up.
"I might've." The blonde hesitantly answered. He slowly reached for the statue's arm again and pressed gently down. The arm began to move down as well, the sound of stone grating against stone filling the room. It was slightly jarring, but he paid it no mind, choosing to focus on the arm. It moved slowly and he had the feeling that he tried to make it move any faster, it would either break or stop. When it did stop, the arm was down and the point of the sword was pointing in the direction of the window. A loud clicking sound echoed off the walls and the altar started sinking into the ground, making him step back in surprise. The floor followed the altar, lowering itself until it formed a stairway leading down into darkness.
"Ingenious, simple, and not obvious at first sight," The guru in the room mused with a smile. "Uzumaki handiwork at its finest," He declared. "Come." He made his way over to the first step, the altar, and started walking down them. Naruto followed and they descended into the darkness. The steps went back up after they had walked down them, leaving no easy way out.
"Guru Pathik, I have a question for you." The blonde asked him as they walked down a tunnel. Despite the initial darkness, they had soon discovered chakra lanterns had been installed along the walls, giving the tunnel a soft blue glow.
"What is it?" He asked back.
"You said that you would help me find balance with myself, but you wouldn't say how. Will you tell me now?"
"Indeed I shall. I plan to have you find your balance by unlocking your chakras."
Naruto was confused by the statement. "Um…last time I checked, my chakra wasn't under lock and key."
The old man laughed at that. "I do not mean that. What I call your chakras, you would call the Eight Gates. They are the same, the former is the spiritual side and the latter is the physical. If you open them, you will be able to find balance."
As he listened to those words, he vaguely remembered something he had heard from a Fire Sage. "Aren't there only seven chakras?" He asked. "The way you're talking, there's an extra one."
"There is." The guru admitted. "I taught it to Gaara when he and Aang had come to me.""
"Why did you only teach it to Gaara? I would've thought Aang would've learned it as well, you know, since he is the Avatar."
"It was because he is the Avatar that I didn't try to have him open it. The Avatar cannot open the eighth chakra because the Avatar is not just one person. He is two and one changes constantly." His tone made Naruto understand that he meant what he said.
"If you say so," The blonde said hesitantly. He didn't know what the supposed chakra was supposed to be anyway, so he couldn't object. "I guess I'll learn about it soon."
"Actually, you will learn it sooner than you would think." He stopped walking. "We are here."
Naruto looked around the guru's shoulder. In front of them was an opening in the tunnel. There was some light in the room beyond the opening but not enough to see what was in there from where he stood. When Pathik went in and he followed, he was able to see to what lay inside.
It was a circular space that was roomy enough to have a few people move through it. Above them were a few chakra lanterns, which gave the room the bare amount of light. On one side of the room was a forge that had no fire going, making it almost look like a mouth wanting something to eat. In the middle of the room was an anvil standing on a stone pedestal. Next to it was a barrel full of water. Off to the side was a workbench, which had a hammer and a set of tongs laying on it. As the blonde stepped into the room, he could all but hear the room humming slightly. "What's that sound?" He asked.
"That would be the lake moving all around us." Pathik casually mentioned.
He looked over at the guru. "We're under the lake?" Now that he thought about it and remembered the distance they had walked through the tunnel, it made sense. He felt a little foolish for asking the question.
"We are in the direct center of the lake." The old man answered. "Now once, you are prepared, I will help you open your chakras." He stepped off to the side and waited there, giving Naruto more room there.
"Well, that may take a while." The blonde replied as he closely examined what was there. "The forge doesn't have anything that could start a fire, or keep it going for that matter. And I'm surprised that those tongs and hammer haven't rusted away. I mean, look at the amount of rust on them." The two items looked like they had been painted a dust red because of all that rust. Oddly enough, the water in the barrel looked fine.
Pathik only smiled. "Do not be so sure." He said mysteriously. "How do you know that the forge doesn't have everything it needs?"
"I can tell just by looking at it!" He protested, but the guru only kept smiling. Stifling a snarl of frustration, he went over to the forge and turned around. "See? There's nothing here." He said again, gesturing into the forge. As he did, his hand lightly brushed against the stone side. At that moment, a complex seal array revealed itself. Naruto felt a slight drain of his chakra, making him step back, ready to engage whatever enemy appeared. Instead, he saw the forge was now burning a bright blue fire without any kind of charcoal or billows to help it, illuminating the room. When he looked over at the workbench, he saw that the hammer and tongs were now brightly polished, not a single speck of rust on them. "Did you…?" He began to ask Pathik, leaving the question open.
The guru just smiled again. "Did I say I did?" He asked back.
Again, the blonde stifled a snarl of frustration. "That's almost as annoying as when the fox is right or when Sifu shows up and decides to be mysterious." He thought to himself as he walked over to the workbench.
"I heard that." The Kyūbi muttered sleepily. His Jinchūriki ignored him, focusing instead on removing any clothes that might become unnecessary in the upcoming process.
Once he had done so, and placed the pack underneath the workbench, he retrieved the scroll and placed on the workbench, unraveling it to reveal the seal it contained. He grouped his hands into a quick handseal and muttered "Kai." The seal glowed for a moment and then was engulfed in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, what the scroll had held lay on it. He looked upon nine broken pieces of a katana. In the light of the forge, they looked dull and lifeless (he would later admit that was an odd way of describing them, but it worked at the time).
Curious and intrigued, he reached out and took hold of the handle. The grip felt slightly uncomfortable, just enough to make him continually try to find a better, only to fail. He placed the metal part of the piece in his other hand, still trying to find that better grip. But as he did, he felt the metal slice his hand. "Ah!" He shouted, pulling his hand away from it. His blood flew through the air, droplets falling on each of the pieces. The wound healed quickly enough, but he was annoyed with himself for not realizing it was still sharp.
"Perhaps we can start now?" Pathik asked mildly from where he stood.
Naruto would've thrown a look at the guru, but decided against it, seeing as he had a point. "Yeah, we'll start."
"I must warn you, Naruto. Opening the chakras will be nothing you have ever experienced in your life." He warned the blonde, his tone turning serious and his face aging with that seriousness. "You cannot stop once we begin."
"I understand." Naruto replied with equal seriousness. Without waiting, he took hold of the handle piece and the tongs. Going what his instincts were whispering in his ear, he placed the piece in the grip of the tongs and held it in the fire of the forge. The blue fire eagerly embraced the metal, rapidly heating the broken end, quicker than he had ever seen before, when the broken end was a bright yellow-orange, he knew it was the time to pull it out. He did so and placed the piece on the anvil. Taking ahold of the next piece with the tongs (they had been placed in the scroll so that each piece would've been a perfect fit to the previous one), he held it in the fire, taking it out when it was the same bright yellow-orange and placing next to the handle piece. When the two broken ends matched perfectly, he lowered the goggles onto his eyes. "I am ready." He declared, reaching for the hammer.
"Then first, we shall open the Earth Chakra, known to the shinobi as the Gate of Opening. It is located at the base of the spine. It deals in survival and is blocked by fear. What are you most afraid, Naruto?" The guru asked him.
The second he began to hammer on the broken pieces, the blonde felt like his body went on autopilot. He was not consciously in control. Every time the hammer struck the metal, a vision flashed before his eyes. Tinted red, he saw himself when he lost control and the Kyūbi's chakra took hold, destroying everything in his path. He saw Danzō standing over him, cane in hand and telling him how worthless he was. And he saw the Akatsuki, the ones he knew with their faces showing themselves and the rest hidden in shadow. They kept repeating themselves, over and over again, and each time, his fear grew. "Stop it, stop showing me these things." He said aloud, his breathing becoming erratic.
"They are not real, Naruto." Pathik's voice told him, somehow being able to speak over the sound of metal hitting metal. "They make you think of your own survival, but they are not real. If you wish to find balance, you must let these fears fade away."
When he heard the guru's voice, he was able to calm himself. When the vision of him losing control appeared again, he stood firm. "It's never happening again." He said in silence. "You are dead. You will haunt me no more." He told the vision of Danzō. "Your days are numbered and I will end them." He promised the vision of the Akatsuki. One by one, the visions faded away and his fear of them vanished along with. A chime rang in his ears and the two pieces were now one. His body still on autopilot, he put the hammer down, took hold of the handle, and plunged it into the barrel of water. The glow of the yellow-orange where the two pieces had been put together shone for a moment in the water before darkening. Another vision came before his eyes. But this time, he saw the same bone-white skull that had been in his dreams. It had a spine attached to it.
"Congratulations, Naruto, you have opened the first chakra." Pathik told him as he pull a cloth out and dried the now longer piece. He took the tongs, put the next piece in its grip and held it in the fire. Once the end was the right color, he lined them up and began hammering again, absently noting that the humming coming from the outside sounded a little louder. "Next is the Water Chakra, known to the shinobi as the Gate of Healing, and is located in the sacrum." The guru continued. "It deals with pleasure and is blocked by guilt. What guilt do you carry with you?"
The visions came again, but differently. They were tinted orange and showed each and every solider that had died under his command or alongside him. He also saw every single time he had gone to fallen comrade's house and tell their family the news they never wanted to hear them. He could see their fallen faces, their tears, the silent pleas for it not to be true, even though they knew that it was. "I failed them." He said to himself, the hammer ringing in his ears. "I failed all of those soldiers and their families."
"You must accept the fact that they have happened, but do not let them fill your mind. You must be able to forgive yourself."
"But how can I do that?" He asked. "It's not that simple."
"Maybe it is. You just have to try." The old man urged him.
As the visions continued, he summoned up his courage and silently spoke two words. "I'm…sorry." And just like that, the visions vanished and the chimes rang in his ears. He plunged the blade into the barrel and saw the skull now also had the bones of a torso. The humming got louder again, but he paid it no mind as he pulled the blade out and dried it. He just went for the next piece, held it in the fire until the end glowed, placed it against the ever-growing blade and started pounding them together.
"Third is the Fire Chakra, known to the shinobi as the Gate of Life." The guru spoke again. "It is located in the stomach. It deals with willpower and is blocked by shame. What are you ashamed of?"
This time, the visions were tinted yellow. Again, he saw the soldiers that he had lost. But this time, he saw them die again and again. He saw how Gao died, mere inches away from him. He saw how Old Lee died by being crushed by a boulder and how Yin died with a piece of wood in her eye. He saw the ship sinking again. He saw how he sent soldiers into the battlefield, only to see them die (whether from a distance or close up, it didn't matter). He saw how he had been forced to kill his own soldiers when they were in such incredible pain that death would've been a mercy. He watched them die, and he knew that it was his fault. "I couldn't save them." He said aloud, his voice carrying past the sound of the hammer. "I wasn't…enough."
"You weren't enough of what?"
"I wasn't enough of anything." He answered, his tone turning harsh. "I wasn't smart enough, I wasn't strong enough, and I wasn't fast enough to save them. I wasn't enough."
"Just as you forgave yourself for letting those soldiers, you must also do the same for not being what you say." Pathik told him. "Let your shame flow away."
"I can't do that." He protested. It would feel like those soldiers meant nothing to him when that wasn't true.
"You must."
"It was my shame that made me keep trying to push past my own limits. If I let it go, it would've all been in vain."
"You know that isn't true, Naruto. It is not your shame that makes you constantly push past your own limit. Rather, it is your will and drive. The shame you carry has followed those two things and presented itself whenever you searched for a reason. You have to let go of that shame."
As he listened to those words, the blonde realized that he was right. He always had that willpower to keep testing his limits. His shame had just his lie for doing it. When that realization struck, his shame melted away. The chimes rang again as the two pieces were made into one and as he plunged the blade into the barrel; he saw the skull now had legs. When the glow from the blade faded away in the water, he pulled it out and dried it. He took the next piece, held it in the fire of the forge and placed it against the blade once it had reached the proper heat. All the while, the humming turned into rumbling.
"The fourth chakra is located in the heart." Pathik said as the hammering began anew. "It is the Air Chakra, known to the shinobi as the Gate of Pain. It deals with love and is blocked by grief. What has caused you grief, Naruto?"
"A lot of things," He answered honestly. Visions that were tinted green appeared before his eyes. He saw the soldiers he had known alongside his parents, Haku, and Jiraiya. They all stood around him, quiet smiles on their faces. "I've lost a lot of people."
"But their love has not left you. It has changed and been reborn in the form of new love. You know this." The old man told him.
And he did. All of the people who stood before him in the vision changed. Their bodies and faces morphed into familiar ones. Now, he looked upon Team Paragon and Team Avatar, Iruka, Anko and her team, Konohamaru and his teammates, and surprisingly, some of the Konoha Eleven. He let the pain of grief disappear from himself and heard the chimes ring in his ears. He saw the skull gain arms as he plunged the blade into the barrel. The rumbling got louder as he pulled the blade out and dried it. He absently noted that some pieces of the wall were beginning to fall off. But he was on autopilot; he was focused on heating the next piece and then making it become one with the blade.
"The fifth is the Sound Chakra, known to the shinobi as the Gate of Limit, and is located in the throat." Pathik spoke, his voice flowing over the hammering and the rumbling. "It deals with truth and is blocked by lies, the kind of lies that we tell ourselves. Do you tell yourself such lies?"
As he hammered down, visions tinted sky-blue showed him the moments when the teams from Konoha had chased after him, pleading with him to come back. "…I do." He finally admitted. "When the people from my past, the past I tried to leave behind, tried to bring me back, I refused and told them to leave me alone. I wanted them to think that I didn't care about them anymore."
"And did you?"
All of a sudden, he could remember the dungeon underneath Ba Sing Se, when he had all but forced the Konoha teams to leave. Kiba's words echoed in his ear:
"GO AHEAD, NARUTO! YOU JUST KEEP ON RUNNING! BUT WHEN YOU FINALLY STOP, WE'LL BE THERE. WE'LL ALWAYS BE THERE TO BRING YOU BACK!"
"No. On some level, I was happy that they cared." He wasn't sure what level that was, but he knew it there. He had just buried it underneath disbelief and lies. Now, it was facing him straight in the face, and he didn't look away. He accepted it and when that happened, the chimes rang and the blade grew longer with another piece attached. When the blade into the barrel, he could see the skull now had hands & feet. The rumbling continued and even more rocks were falling from the walls. But still, he paid no attention to it as he dried the blade.
"The Light Chakra, known to the shinobi as the Gate of View, is the sixth." The old man told him as he heated the next piece and began again. "It is located in the forehead's center. It deals with insight and is blocked by illusions. Such illusions hold you in their snare, Naruto."
"What do you mean? No illusions have their hold on me." He protested. He had the fox to help prevent that kind of problem.
"Are you so sure?" The guru asked with a somewhat amused smile. "Tell me, what separates a person from the Fire Nation and a person from the Water Tribes, or a person from the Earth Kingdom and an Air Nomad? Better yet, what separates someone from the Bending Countries and someone from the Elemental Countries?"
As he heard the question, the people themselves appeared to him in a vision that was tinted indigo. They all wore their own garb that made them who they were. "You said it yourself." He answered. "They all are from different places."
"And that is an illusion. It is the greatest one there is, the illusion of separation. We are all human and we are all one people, but we live as if we are different from one another. But nothing in this world is separate from anything."
"Everything is…connected." He finished, somehow knowing what the old man was saying. And suddenly, it made sense. If you took away what they thought they were, all that was left was the fact that they were all human. No one was any really different from another. The chimes rang in his ears as he made the connection and when he plunged the blade into the barrel, he saw that the skull now had muscles, tendons, and blood. The rumbling turned into shaking and there were small leaks in the walls, dripping water into the room as he pulled the blade out and dried it. But he couldn't stop. He only had two pieces left.
"We are approaching the end." Pathik said ignoring what was happening all around them as well. "These last two will be the most difficult to open. Are you ready?"
"Of course I am." He answered, having heated the next piece and lined it up to the blade.
"The seventh is the Thought Chakra, known to the shinobi as the Gate of Wonder, and is located at the crown of the head. It deals with pure cosmic energy and is blocked by earthly attachment. You must find what attaches you to this world, and then let them go."
That last sentence made the autopilot his body was on stop. The hand that held the hammer had been raised to deliver another strike, but was now held in place as the blonde looked at the guru. "You want me to what?" He demanded, violent-tinted visions showing all that he held dear.
"You must let them go." Pathik repeated.
"I can't do that!" He protested. "If I let them go, it would be like I was abandoning them! Everyone I've known, everyone I've lost, and everyone I've loved! I can't make them go away like that!"
"You must if you wish to find balance. You must let them go."
"I…I…" He tried to find the words to express what he was feeling, but couldn't. But he also knew that if he refused and stopped there, he would fail. That was something he could not afford to happen, he had to do it. Closing his mouth, he brought the image of the people he cherished to his mind. And with every swing of the hammer, he let them go. They faded away, one by one, and each one made him want to stop. But he still kept going. When Azula, being the last one, disappeared, he felt that there was nothing attaching him to the planet. And he had never felt more alone. As the chimes rang in his ears, he plunged the blade into the barrel and saw that the skull was now a human being, now having skin, hair, and nails. And yet, it still looked lifeless, even when he dried the blade.
The shaking that had shaken the room, as well as the leaking water and the falling rocks had stopped. But it didn't feel like it had ended. It felt more like the calm before the storm. Naruto didn't say anything as he placed the last piece, the tip, in the grip of the tongs and held it in the fire of the forge. "Are you ready?" Pathik asked him as he took the heated piece out, placed it against the blade and swing the hammer.
"Just start." He answered shortly, focused on what was in front of him. He felt like he was actively in control of his body again.
"Then I shall. The last in the chain is the Mirror Chakra, known to the shinobi as the Gate of Death. It is located in the eyes. It deals with acceptance and is blocked by denial. You must look deep inside yourself and accept who you are and you were."
He wasn't sure how to do that when he was so focused on the blade. But when the two pieces surprisingly joined after a few seconds, all hell broke loose. All of sudden, the walls of the room shattered apart, taking the forge and the lights with them. But they didn't strike him or the guru. Instead, they were swept away by the twisting water of the whirlpool that now had the room in its center. Somehow, the barrel of water had fallen over, spilling the water it held. All Naruto and Pathik could see now were the twisting walls of water surrounding, the sound engulfing their ears.
While he had been surprised by what happened, Naruto quickly refocused. The blade was now complete, but it hadn't been cooled. The area where the two pieces had joined still glowed and he couldn't use the barrel's contents, as they were now gone. "How am I supposed to cool this?" He asked himself, only to see the whirlpool all around him. Then, an idea struck him. It was potentially risky, but it could work. "…If this doesn't work, I will bend over and let Azula kick my ass." He silently promised as he approached the whirlpool on the opposite side from Pathik. He drew the blade back and with a great shout, plunged it into the twisting water.
As soon as the blade touched the water, it almost yanked him off his feet and tried to drag him into the water. But he planted his feet and held the blade against the current. It took every ounce of his strength to hold it there and not let it go. But it wasn't enough; he could feel his feet starting to slip. Growling in effort, he applied his chakra to his feet, keeping them steady and not letting him slip any further.
As he held the blade in the current, forcing himself to ignore the uncomfortable grip he had on the handle, he found himself seeing the colored visions he had experienced before now. They all came at him in a blur, one thing from one vision mixing in with another, two colors mixing together. He didn't know what to do about them, they were confusing and disorienting. But he held onto the blade, never letting go of it.
When the last vision past, of Azula in green and purple, a light bounced off the anvil and struck the corner of his eye. The goggles he wore did nothing to stop the light trying to blind him, so he was forced to blink. When he opened them again, he found that he held no blade and he was in a dark void. "Where the hell am I?" He asked aloud, looking around to see if there anything there.
"You are in yourself." A voice answered his question. He knew that voice, it belonged to the skull. But when he turned to where the voice had come from, what he saw was…himself.
"What the hell?" He breathed out as he looked upon his copy. They didn't look exactly the same. The copy wore orange pants, an orange and black jacket with the white swirl hanging from the left shoulder, a pair of black sandals, and a black bandanna that proudly bore the metal plate with the symbol of Konohagakure on it. "What is this?" The original demanded.
"This?" The copy asked, lifting a hand in self-gesture. While it may look like him, it was the skull's voice that came from the mouth. "This was a possibility. It was what you could've been, if you stayed with the village."
"So this is what I was." He said, mostly to himself as he stared.
"And what you could've been. The question is, what will you do? Will you try to forget what had happened?" It challenged him.
He was silent for a few minutes. "…I might have, if I hadn't had Pathik's help." He finally admitted. Now that his chakras were opened (even though some of them were painful to do so), he realized that had he tried to do this on his own, he would've now, he now knew that there wasn't any real difference between what he was then and what he was now. Even if he didn't call himself one, he thought and fought like a shinobi. The complete meaning of that state of mind hadn't really hit home until just then. "I've been running from my past for some time now. Maybe…maybe it's time for me to stop and accept who I am."
"So what will you do?" It asked again, this time with a tone of curiosity. "Will you deny that I exist?"
"No, I won't do that. I know that you were the Zanpakutō for the Sage of the Six Paths and that you were shattered in his fight against the Jūbi. Why would I deny you when you've been trying to get my attention?" He asked the rhetorical question. He walked over to the copy and stopped in front of it. "You are me." He said, holding out his hand in a fist bump.
The copy smiled at the answer. "I am you." It replied, bumping its fist against his.
"And we are who we are." The two of them said in unison. At that moment, a warm light filled the dark void, engulfing them both. This time, it wasn't chimes that filled their ears, but the deep ringing of a bell. And in that light with the bell ringing in his ears, Naruto learned a name.
When he opened his eyes, he saw that they were no longer in the middle of the whirlpool. Instead they (for a lack of a better word) rest on the top of it, allowing the whole of the lake and surrounding village to be seen. Turning his head, he saw Pathik standing there. "…Did I do it?" He asked quietly.
"Yes. You did. You have opened all the chakras and found balance with yourself." Pathik answered with a gentle smile.
Relief flooded him, glad to know he had succeeded. Suddenly figuring out that he was holding something, he looked down and saw that the Zanpakutō was in his hand. He lifted it up to examine it. Before, the pieces of metal that was the blade had looked dull and lifeless. Now, the blade gleamed with an inner light. The grip, which had continuously uncomfortable before, now felt like it was the perfect fit (he noted, with a little bit of amusement, that the hilt was alternating bands of orange and black). "I guess I need a sheath for this." He said aloud, taking the goggles off of his eyes. That was when something on the workbench had caught his eye. The scroll that had carried the remnants was gone and in its place was a sheath of dark wood. He walked over and took it in his free hand, sheathing the Zanpakutō inside of it and found it to be a perfect fit. He turned to Pathik and bowed. "Thank you, Guru Pathik, for teaching me." He said, meaning every word.
"It was my pleasure to teach you, Paragon Naruto." Pathik replied, clasping his hands together and bowing in return. "Now, I believe that it is time that you left to do what was needed to be done." He gestured and when the blonde looked in the direction, he saw a pathway connecting the area where they stood to the village, right at where that gap in the railing was.
"What about you?" He asked as he took the pack out from under the workbench and pulling out the clothes he had taken off. He put them on in a timely fashion.
"I will stay here awhile and commune with the ghosts that still inhabit the village." The old man answered.
"Alright, just don't do it out here, I'd hate to hear that you feel into the whirlpool." He said jokingly.
The guru laughed as well. "You are quite right."
"Well then, goodbye." He walked down the path and back onto the land, leaving Pathik in the middle of the lake and the whirlpool.
"Did I miss anything important?" The Kyūbi asked with a yawn as he woke up.
"More than you will ever know fox." The blonde replied as he went the way he came. That feeling of being watched had disappeared. He guessed that his ghostly clansmen had approved of him. Soon, he walked out past the gate of the village and went into the forest, leaping for the trees. He flew through the air, using the tree branches to fly and put the ruins of Uzushiogakure behind him. This time, he was almost sad to leave, but he still had to.
He was about two hours (at shinobi speeds) away from the ruins when he suddenly landed in a clearing. "You might as well come out." He said aloud. "I know that you're there." After a few seconds of silence, he saw all six of the Pains step into view, along with Konan. "I had hoped it would be you guys." He told the six Pains, noticing the way they were subtly twitching, as he reached for the hilt of his Zanpakutō. "I've got a bone to pick with you."
End
Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.
Naruto's Zanpakutō has been created. Sorry if it took a while for some of you. If you want to what its name and abilities are, just wait. They'll be in the next chapter.
If you haven't already guessed it, yes, I did take the scene with all the ghosts from The Return of the King. Can you blame me? It's a good scene. Another idea I had for this chapter was for the ghosts to gather under the lake around the cave while Naruto was hammering, chanting like the scene from The Dark Knight Rises where Bruce finally climbs out of the prison. I dropped it, mostly because I couldn't find the right words to use and what I did find, I felt didn't have the same impact when spoke in Japanese.
I've planning that forging scene ever since I had Aang and Gaara meet Pathik. It made sense to me that if Naruto was going to try to forge a Zanpakutō anew, he couldn't do it if he wasn't balanced. So, Pathik comes in and helps him opened his chakras. And again, I apologize to any chakra practitioner if what I had written offended you. But I could see the similarities between the chakras and the Eight Gates (one of them are the names), so I had to create an eighth.
For those of you who don't understand what Pathik meant about the Avatar not being able to open the eighth chakra, look at it this way. The Avatar is always two people: the person and the Avatar. And while the Avatar stays constant, the person keeps changing. If Aang had tried to open the eight chakras, he would've had to choose one or the other, he couldn't choose both.
For those of you who are going to say that I written something then before, I will remind you that I plan to reedit the earlier chapters once the story is completed.
I'll see you all next chapter!