Chapter 32: Waterfalls of Truth

"Kakashi-sensei, what do you think Naruto saw in the waterfall?" Sakura asked aloud.

"I cannot imagine what he saw, all we know is that he didn't fail at confronting whatever it is that was in there." Kakashi replied.

They conversed as Naruto walked away from them into the distance, headed into the mysterious temple that they were not allowed in.

Gai ran up to Kakashi, and enthusiastically wrapped his arm around Kakashi's neck.

"Kakashi! What do you think? Let's look into the waterfall!" He struck a pose, pointing one finger towards the sun with a glistening smile across his face.

"Gai, I don't think that's a very good idea. This seems to only be a thing for Jinchuuriki, like Naruto." Kakashi replied.

"Are you sure about that? Come on, what do you say? If Naruto can do it, we all can!" Gai replied with the same enthusiasm as he wrapped his other arm around Sakura. Kakashi offered a confused look towards Sakura.

"Sakura…What do you think. Please tell me that you agree with me." He sighed. Sakura only offered him a similarly confused look.

"I think it would be pretty interesting. I wouldn't mind doing it." She replied in a low tone. "We're all here for each other, if anything bad or unusual happens, we'll keep each other safe, right?"

"RIGHT!" Gai shouted in joy. "WE CAN DO THIS!"

"…right." Kakashi joined in his joy with a sluggish reply. "Who goes first?" He asked again. Gai stepped forth.

"Kakashi! I will be the first to explore this unconquered endeavor! And I will do so with ease! The power of Youth rages within my veins!" Gai stepped forward onto the small, lonely island that sat in the center of the small pond.

"We'll keep you safe." Kakashi shouted as Gai sat down.

"I fully trust both of you." Gai replied with his "nice guy" smile.

Sakura watched with anticipation as Gai sat down.

…

Gai's Waterfall of Truth

Gai sat down and closed his eyes. He focused his mind and saw someone walking towards him. He focused further, and saw that this man was indeed, himself.

"Welcome Gai! Welcome! How have you been?" The image emerged from the waterfall. Gai stood to confront the mirror image of himself.

"Y-You are…"

"That's right. You already know don't you?" The mirror image opened his eyes, much like Naruto's image; he had pure, black eyes. "Your true self…The person you really are." He walked closer to Gai, and moved closer. His pitch black eyes piercing through Gai's own gaze. "And the truth is…"

Gai reared a fist behind himself and forcefully brought it forward. His mirror image caught his hand. "Try again." He taunted. Gai's other hand shot forward, only to be caught. "You never were very smart…Never like Kakashi, always so stupid. Brawn over brains, never too bright…Never a genius." Gai jumped back at his words.

"Wha…How do you…?" Gai asked in confusion.

"Yes…Yes…You were never a genius. I am you, I know everything about you." He taunted even more. "Do you want to know something that you've always hid? I'll tell you."

Gai jumped forth and kicked at his image's side, who replied with a kick of his own.

"The truth is…" His image continued, still staring deep into Gai's own mind. "You're image of youth that you always push on others, that you always portray is merely that…An image. Nothing more." He mocked.

Gai jumped back, his stance weakened, and brought him down to his knees. He felt as if he was being pushed down by an unknown, unseen force.

"You're act of youth, life, and vitality is only an act of deception to all those around you." He straightened himself. "But even you know that this mere act is not only a cosmetic play. Because you've hurt others; you've hurt HIM."

Gai turned to his side. His heart raced with shock when he saw the image of a child, bruised, bloodied, and beaten.

"…Lee…" Gai felt pain in the deepest reaches of his heart and soul.

"Yes…Rock Lee, your beloved apprentice, the boy who took it upon himself to become just like you…He trained, night and day, dawn 'til dusk, hour after hour. And what did he receive for his hard work and effort? He nearly died."

Gai was pushed down further into the ground.

"During the Chuunin exams, you allowed him to open the Eight Gates. You allowed him to risk his life to a title. Something that doesn't even matter."

"But…It was the most important thing for him…He needed to be recognized by…He deserved to be recognized by-"

"AT THE COST OF HIS LIFE?! You are beyond all reason! Tell me! TELL ME!" His image stomped into the ground, letting up a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, Gai saw Lee, laying down in a grave. Tears began to stream through his eyes. His mirror image continued to insult him.

"Now, tell me…What good a TITLE would be in DEATH?!"

Gai could not offer an answer, only sobs in the truth that his other self spoke.

"That's right…You know how your ignorant, and desperate charade had hurt those around you."

The force fell again down upon Gai, pushing him fully flat onto the ground. He felt a stinging in his chest.

"Next time…Come back when you've figured things out. Come back when you're ready; because right now…You're pathetic!"

…

"Hey! Gai! Gai! Wake up!" Kakashi shook Gai's shoulders to bring him back to reality. Gai opened his eyes, he took deep, desperate breaths to calm his nerves.

"Gai-sensei! Are you alright?" Sakura called out with concern. "Are you hurt? How can I help."

Gai's eyes were unfocused, he held a hand over his eye, and desperately tried to catch his breath.

"I-I'll be fine. I just need…I just need rest." He barely managed to let out.

An hour later…

"Gai, what was it that you saw?" Kakashi asked.

"Kakashi, what I saw was an image of myself, he confronted me with all of my fears, and failures." Gai replied. "Kakashi…Don't…Don't do it."

Sakura and Kakashi placed Gai down by a small fireplace they had built. The sun had begun to set, before they noticed, Gai had lost consciousness from the stress he suffered.

"Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing?" Sakura questioned as she saw Kakashi stand up. "Gai-sensei said not to try anything…I don't think you should…"

"Sakura, I've known you for a very long time." He interrupted her. "All these years, I've been suffering for so long, all of these haunting memories I have…If there's a way I can ease myself of this suffering as Naruto had…I want to at least try…I…I need to."

He looked towards her with a weak, solemn expression. "Be safe while I'm gone. It won't be long. I promise."

Sakura felt a knot in her stomach as she weakly replied back. "Good luck, Kakashi-sensei."

…

Kakashi's Waterfall of Truth

Kakashi entered the same situation that Gai and Naruto faced. When he opened his eyes, his mirror image was sitting in front of him; with a similar blank expression, and the same pitch black eyes.

"Yep." The image said blandly. "You're smarter than Gai. You know…You know that you can't be aggressive with me. You know that we're the same, and that attacking me will do nothing. We were always smarter than him."

"So, what is this all about? What are you going to confront me with?" Kakashi asked feigning disinterest. He stood up, all the white being mimicked by his other self.

"Look over there." The image directed with a pointed finger.

"Kakashi was struck with emotion at what he saw.

"Obito…Rin…"

"You must have realized what the circumstances have been this whole time. You of all people would have noticed."

Kakashi remained silent.

"Who do you think that looks like?" His mirror image mocked him, then nodded as if Kakashi had answered. "That's right. Obito is just like Naruto. Rin, just like Sakura."

Kakashi felt a surge of weakness inside himself.

"…And just like Obito and Rin, both of these two kids will die…They will meet their end, their horrid, painful end because of the same reason that Obito and Rin did. Because of you."

Kakashi felt weakened, and fell to one knee.

"Those two are…" It pained Kakashi to say these words. "…Stronger, there's no way they would fail…There is no way that they could die." As much as it hurt him to say this, he forced the words out. "They're…better than Obito and Rin."

"You're so delusional! Do you really believe what you're saying?" His Image looked down condescendingly at him. "I'll answer for you." He placed a foot on Kakashi's back and forcefully pushed him down. "You don't."

He continued his barrage of hatred. "Because you know that those two kids are identical to your friends. The events that haunt your past will echo into your future. Your students' names will be forever etched into that Memorial Stone. And it will be All. Your. Fault."

Kakashi was pushed down onto his stomach at the barrage, the same force that held down Gai was pushing against him.

"As my last parting words to you, Hatake Kakashi. I leave you with this…"

Kakashi looked up in fear and anticipation at what his image was going to say.

"…Is there a second stage to unlocking the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

…

"Kakashi-sensei! Kakashi-sensei! Wake up!" Sakura shouted while shaking him awake. She sat him up, staring at the expression of fear and doubt that held him in its tight grasp.

"I…I'll be fine. I just need to rest." He replied. The night had taken the sky. In the faint light of a small fire, the stars took over the sky. Kakashi stood up and walked towards Gai, where he took a seat next to his long time friend. Sakura followed his footsteps.

"Kakashi…" Gai started in a rather serious voice for his usual demeanor. "What did you see?"

Kakashi looked at him with a pained expression.

"I saw the pain and sorrow of my past…" He looked toward Sakura. "And felt the agony of a possible future…Sakura, if you really want to look into the Waterfall, I won't stop you. Just know that what you encounter in there is you."

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise and interest.

"What do you mean?" She asked curiously.

"What you face when you enter that place that the waterfall takes you, is yourself. You are confronted with a side of yourself that you try hard to hide; a part of you that you try to suppress, the part of you that embodies all of the negativity, doubt, and hatred that you never show." He sighed heavily. "It will use your own truth, your past, your present, and your future to torment your own mind. I don't know how Naruto was able to face it and succeed as he did."

Sakura felt a fear rise in her. But her curiosity rose with it. She glared into the fire, stared into the sky, and then gazed back at the waterfall.

"I'm going to do it. I have to." She looked back at them with determination. They nodded, acknowledging her decision.

"We're here if you need us."

…

Sakura's Waterfall of Truth

Sakura stood in a darker realm than Kakashi and Gai did. The walls were an eerie violet, stained with what seemed like spikes. She stared into the waterfall and saw an image appear before her.

This was herself.

She however, had longer hair, and wore a red dress.

This was Inner Sakura.

"You've ignored me for a long…long time. For NINE DAMN YEARS I've been trapped in this hell hole." Her finger shot towards the purple walls, creating a crack in the seemingly crystal structure.

"You are…me…And you're here to confront me with my…"

"Did Kakashi already tell you?! He spoiled the surprise." She stomped on the ground, causing a rumble the imitated an earthquake. Sakura steadied herself from the shockwave and re-established her stance. "But here's what he couldn't tell you…Look here."

Sakura did as she was instructed, the mirror image of herself turned into Sasuke. Her eyes widened, and her heart raced. From behind she heard her own voice.

"When he left…" Sakura's mind was assaulted with images that played like a movie in her eyes. "When he left…You shed your tears, you wanted to go with him…You wanted to scream. But you were too weak to do anything. You were too weak to stop him. You let him leave."

She waited. Sakura's mind was still filled with the images of Sasuke.

"YOU are the reason why he became who he is now! Because you couldn't stop him…"

Sakura felt the sting of her own words.

"You took it upon yourself to lie to Naruto. To play will his emotions. To treat him like a tool. I was there the entire time. I have always been here."

Sakura fell to her knees. She looked up towards her own image.

"You lied to him…And you did it for absolutely nothing. And then you made one of the dumbest decisions ever. You decided that you would be the one to kill Sasuke."

Sakura's mind filled with images of the events she was being told about.

"You decided that you had the resolve; you decided that you could do it…And yet, when the time came to kill him…You were too weak. You have always been too weak."

She looked at Sakura with a even fiercer look that filled Sakura with fear and despair. Her image knees down, and cupped her hands around Sakura's face.

"And here's the part you dreaded the most. The one fact that you have always hidden from everyone…"

The mirror image smiled darkly.

"The truth is…You don't love Naruto…You told yourself that you love him, your guilt, makes you obligated to love him. But we know better. We know the truth."

Sakura flinched, her body becoming weak under the constant abusive words that attacked her ears. She was struck with fear and doubt at what she heard next.

"…And the truth is this...You still love Sasuke."