Chapter 16
The third morning, like any other morning, arrived in darkness. Kakashi's team would set out for Sora-ku in this darkness and reach the desolate town by dawn's new light. Unknowingly, two figures travelled along Konoha's rooftops, starting their private mission at exactly the same time.
"Thanks for this, Naruto."
"No problem," a light reply accented with a yawn. "It's a clan ritual, right? But doing it before the sun rises is a little rough. Who thought that part up?"
Sasuke giggled. "It is weird. Nii-chan told me to respect my ancestors when I asked him."
"So he doesn't know either."
"Nope." They laughed. The sound was lost in the cold wind rushing past them. It really was early; only a few minutes past three a.m.
The rotting Uchiha district was as silent as when they first came. Under the closed eyes of the sleeping (knocked out) security guards, a dozen Narutos spread throughout the ruins, collecting wood from every demolished house and building.
Sasuke and the real Naruto collected from (what used to be) the kitten's house. As he finally wrenched a blood-stained plank free from the pile, Sasuke asked,
"Why is my district all busted up?"
The plank came loose with the creak of settling wood, and Naruto fell on his backside next to his friend. He winced and held up the board. Sasuke met his gaze unsmiling. Naruto glanced away, rolling his lip under his teeth. From what Jiraiya told him, he had expected this question. So he had asked Kakashi about it.
"You asked the Hokage to do it." Silent, Sasuke stared at the broken rubble that was once his home, unmoving. "The district was becoming something of a tourist attraction." The hair on his tail stood up. Naruto took it as validation of the story he was telling. "No matter what Old Man Hokage said or did, people would always come and take pictures or walk through the district. He didn't have enough manpower to spare to keep them all out."
Sasuke shook slightly, his ears lying flat. His tail stood straight up, an angry fluff of fur. He said nothing, but a dangerous aura thickened around him.
"You went to him and told him to raze the place. For you, it was better to have the district destroyed than have people trample on your family's memory. Since you technically owned the land as the last Uchiha, he agreed. And it worked – no one ever came here again."
"Hn." Baby fat muscles tensed on the verge of attack, the kitten grunted an answer and Naruto left him alone. He had learned through painful experience to wait until Sasuke's fur settled and his ears rose before prodding him.
During the Uchiha's cool down, the clones returned with their spoils and the grim salvage was tied into a bundle that Naruto strapped to his back. After dissipating the clones Naruto hoisted his load, looked at the silent Sasuke, and the two proceeded wordlessly to the clan's final resting place.
In front of the marble sepulchre and obelisk memorial, they made a pyre with the bloodied wood. It took half an hour, the clumsy structure repeatedly falling, but determination finally saw it sturdy enough to stand up on its own. The clones had done their best to find wood that was not too rotten or too drenched from the recent rain. Hard work, a lot of digging and one or two Rasengans harvested what they needed, and Sasuke was grateful.
To complete the offering, the kitten spread carnations and edelweiss on top.
"Sorry I didn't have any incense," the blond apologized, stuffing the last bit of kindling into the bottom of the pyre.
"It's okay. The flowers are enough."
The seals were made. Naruto stepped back – it was not his place anymore.
A stream of flame, blown gently from Sasuke's lips, consumed the tinder, the kindling, and the blood-cursed fuel of the Uchiha's last remnants. The flames rose high, curling and snapping with almost obscene liveliness. The flowers burned last but perished first, their beauty and meanings consumed by the ever-ascending fire.
The smell of old and rotten blood permeated the graveyard. Sasuke did not recoil: this was his family's blood, spilled as with their dying breaths they cursed their fate and its executor. The flames turned red, their vibrant dance now wild and violent.
Fury. Hate. That was all that was left of the district, of the clan. That, and Sasuke.
Sasuke was angry; he always would be. Sasuke did hate, sometimes. But when Naruto was around, he could never hold on to it. When Naruto smiled, hatred just seemed so… stupid.
Sasuke knelt and closed his eyes.
I'm sorry, everyone. I can't carry your hatred. I don't want to and Naruto won't like it. So please, let your grudge get burned up in these flames, so you all can rest in peace.
The fire swelled, roaring crimson cursed the black sky. Naruto stared at the untamed flames, finding Sasuke too close, but the kitten was calm, unbothered by the heat and sound. Uchiha never feared fire.
No. It's not my duty. Naruto – my Nii-chan is my family, and he told me I'm free.
Sasuke's forehead crunched and he frowned. Naruto took a few steps forward, ready to pull him to safety when the kitten shook his head, his ears flopping wildly.
And, almost in obedience, the flames settled down to a modest crackle, angry crimson bleeding out of them.
Naruto's hand dropped to his side, a small smile growing while Sasuke's frown faded. His friend was strong – he should not have expected different.
With Sasuke at peace, he looked at the marble sepulchre. Despite what was inside, the powerful architecture always impressed him. He almost did not register the movement just on the periphery of his vision; the familiar amble of one of his Shadow Clones. It nodded to Naruto, who nodded back. It picked Sasuke up. Naruto blinked. The familiar sight of another him muffled the buzzing doubt. It was a Shadow Clone. Just like any other Shadow Clone.
Just like the Shadow Clones he had dispelled back in the Uchiha District.
Two clones popped into existence beside him.
Fake Naruto smiled; a wide, unnatural grin with ugly teeth.
Real Naruto charged, a Fūton: Rasengan buzzing in his hand.
Sasuke flew, thrown by his captor into the arms of a grey-cloaked figure.
Fake Naruto jumped back. Real Naruto did not stop, only switched his target and thrust out the mini-bladed sphere, ready to grind the hooded figure's face off.
A white smile flashed in the darkness. Naruto blinked and there was Sasuke, held out by the scruff of the neck as a shield to his jutsu. Naruto skidded to a stop, the whirl of wind and chakra dissipating. The pyre's light danced on the edge of a drawn kunai; the enemy pressed the orange-dipped point into Sasuke's neck, drawing a tiny droplet of red. Naruto gritted his teeth and leaped back a couple meters, giving the man the distance he silently requested. The stranger nodded to the two clones and they were gone in a cloud of smoke. The third clone, born in shadows, immediately sped through the trees and away from the district.
"Who are you?" Naruto growled, the Kyūbi's chakra roiling.
Keep it back. Draw the chakra, not the will. If the will comes out, Sasuke will be hurt.
Another smile. The hooded man nodded to his ally and gestured with full hands. Naruto's fake helpfully tossed back his hood.
"Ka –"
The man's eyes widened, appraising him. "Believe it or not, I mean you no harm Naruto-kun."
Naruto's stomach hurt. Guilt and impotence ate away his guts. Sasuke, who had been right in front of him, right there, was now hostage to a man who only owned half of his own face. The other half, white-scaled skin and a purple-ringed snake's eye, belonged to his former master.
With eyes scorching crimson, Naruto snarled. "How did you get in here?! Kabuto!"
"Well, listen to you. Growling like a bear whose cub is threatened."
Kabuto laughed, high-pitched and strange, its joy barely contained. Crimson reluctantly left Naruto's eyes, but slit pupils narrowed.
Kabuto drew back the kunai, a globule of Sasuke's blood precariously balanced on its tip. Naruto did not move; Kabuto could still slice Sasuke's throat if he so much as smelled an attack.
Wait. Wait. Keep drawing chakra through the filter. Slowly. Wait.
"Eh?" the apprentice with no master held Sasuke up to his face, adjusting his glasses. "I heard the rumours but this is beyond what I expected. No power, no intelligence," glee coloured his cheeks and he shook his helpless prey. "You really have been degraded, huh Sasuke-kun?"
"Don't touch –!" Naruto's scream choked on the blood that trickled from the kitten's cut cheek.
Sasuke neither moved nor cried out, his deadened gaze locked on Kabuto. This man's chakra stank. It was a rotten mixture of two disparate existences, master and servant, and the former devoured the latter. The slow consumption – only a third so far – masked terrifying patience. There was no rush. The servant could not hope to fight. The master would eat and keep eating until it gained a new body for his own.
Stupid. Sasuke hung limp in the criminal's grip. His wounds stung as the blood clotted but he uttered nothing, his expression undisturbed. Naruto's heavy breaths pounded into his ears, and a maddened blue gaze burned into the kitten's shallow wounds. Naruto was about to lose control. Sasuke had learned from his nii-chan: a hostage should never show pain, fear, or make eye contact with a rescuer about to lose it. Bad decisions would be made, and someone would die. Sasuke needed to be calm so Naruto could stay sane. And as soon as an opening presented itself… Sasuke would claw this man's face open.
"Always Sasuke-this Sasuke-that eh Naruto-kun?" Naruto growled. "Whoa-whoa now. As I said before, I have no ill intentions. I'm not your enemy."
"Then let Sasuke go."
Kabuto laughed again. "That would be counterproductive. You'd run off to that meddling Hokage of yours as soon as you had him."
"Nope. First I'd get Sasuke out of here. Then I'd beat the living crap out of you and drag you to the nearest prison cell."
"So dangerous, Naruto-kun." He grinned, the lunatic expression splitting his face. "Must you always resort to violence? I just want to talk to you a bit."
"You snuck into Konoha – into the Uchiha cemetery – just to talk?"
"It's not my fault you like to frequent such dreary places. I would have much preferred to meet with you in the comfort of your home, or a ramen shop." He chuckled at something he apparently thought was funny. "Just kidding! Actually I was indulging a bit in my hobby of collecting, but you and little Sasuke interrupted me."
His smile faded a bit, and with it some sanity returned to his eyes. "I wished to speak with you before, but sadly you were not allowed on that mission."
Calm. Stay calm. Keep drawing chakra. As much as you can.
Behind him, Fake Naruto handed Kabuto a file. He flipped through it single-handedly, his eyes devouring the pages, untroubled by the darkness. "I wanted to thank you, Naruto-kun. After Orochimaru-sama died, I no longer knew who I was. But your trials and hardships inspired me to –"
He stopped. Like a kunai to the throat, Kabuto's voice stopped, his parted lips releasing empty air. The blur of flipping pages was now still. Hard eyes glared at a single page in hollow amazement.
"Amnesia…" his gaze became half-lidded, "No cure…huh?" He barked out a disdainful sound, shaking Sasuke in wild gesticulation. "So it's true! HAH! Slug Princess?! Goddess of Medical Ninjutsu?! And not even she has a cure?!"
"So what?" Naruto yelled, angered by Sasuke's mistreatment and the insult to his Hokage. "Can you heal him?"
Kabuto choked on his scorn; coughing, he adjusted his glasses that were skewed from his sudden fit. In a grave-dead voice, "Amnesia is not my strong point," he answered with true humility, as though admitting a great shame.
For a moment, Naruto saw someone else standing before him; a different Kabuto with bleak eyes who was simply lost. But only for a moment.
The Kabuto Naruto knew and hated dug his fingertips into Sasuke's nape and brought the kitten face-to-face with him. He searched the empty eyes, found what he craved, and rage flashed in the only eye that belonged to him. "How…? How…?!"
He fixed a mismatched glare on Naruto. Orochimaru's eye, the stronger of the pair, almost glowed as it studied its prey. Naruto glared back with a firm jaw and a tiny shiver up his spine.
"Here." A plain book landed at Naruto's feet. "A gift. Belated but still good." Fake Naruto made a noise of protest, but was ignored. "Like I said earlier, I'm grateful to you. Your journey gave me courage. This," he gestured to the scaled half of his face, "is the result of my determination to change. I took Orochimaru-sama's remains inside of me –"
"Is any of this supposed to mean something to me?" Naruto growled.
Kabuto blinked and shook his head by an invisible fraction. "You and I are similar, Naruto-kun. We have both struggled with our identity. People saw you as the Kyūbi, but you fought and endured every day until you were finally acknowledged as Uzumaki Naruto. You forged your own identity and shared it with others. That is what makes you strong."
Naruto retched on Kabuto's admiration. A fraction was all he needed – a sliver of a second where Kabuto would loosen his grip.
"I thought I could also be strong. Surpass Orochimaru-sama, avenge his death by killing Sasuke-kun, all to lead the way towards my perfect self. But," he shrugged, an exaggerated rolling of shoulders, "there's no point to it now. Killing Sasuke-kun when he is so pathetic is pointless. The way is now lost. You and Sasuke-kun took it away," scaled skin snapped as he smiled, "and then stood in its place."
Orochimaru's yellow iris pulsated, responding to an excited heartbeat. Naruto clenched his teeth, bone grating bone.
"Do you see, Naruto-kun? Identity. Sasuke-kun's amnesia should have wiped his identity clean. He should have no idea who he is, what he is meant to do. But he does. And you have something to do with it." Kabuto spread his arms, his smile wider. "Of course you do! The master who forged his own identity when he could barely write or read! You did it! You two gave me a dream, crushed it, and then dazzled me." He was exuberant, all wide-eyed fascination and joy.
Naruto swallowed the nausea that bubbled up in his throat and drew more of the Kyūbi's chakra.
"I looked into Sasuke-kun's eyes. And I did not see emptiness, wandering or hopelessness. I saw purpose. I saw identity. That is why I had to come here to verify it for myself. To see if it is possible, to know how it is possible! Do you see, Naruto-kun? You two interest me."
Naruto glanced at Sasuke: the kitten's dark eyes, polished stones, reflected the pyre's light. Their eyes did not meet. And all Naruto could do was wait.
"So what?" Kabuto blinked. "We interest you? That's it? That's the only reason you snuck into Konoha?"
"Ah." Kabuto lowered his arms a bit and both eyes dulled. Fake Naruto frowned slightly. Kabuto gave him an embarrassed half-smile. "You see, about that…" He slipped the intel file into his cloak.
His free hand glowed – a streak of blue – and Fake Naruto's head went flying.
The three spectators gawked as the head rolled to a stop and melted into white mud. Kabuto laughed.
"My, my, Orochimaru-sama's power is quite amazing! I was simply aiming to sever the trachea, but that was impressive!" His head cocked back, his entire body loose on drunken cackles. By the time he regained himself and readjusted his glasses, the fake had melted into a white puddle of malformed flesh.
"Forgive me for that, you two," he glanced at the ground, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Orochimaru-sama still… asserts himself now and again." He smiled weakly at the pale Jinchūriki before jabbing his thumb at the puddle of ick behind him. "That was an imposter who attached itself to Sakura-san. I don't know when it detached itself from her, but any information she has heard or witnessed has been compromised. And as you can see, he can make a perfect copy of anyone. A lot smarter than he looks too. He can even disarm lightning protection and rewire a whole power plant into a massive lightning rod. Makes for some decent sabotage, don't you think?" When the conversation was left dangling in silence, Kabuto glanced to the ground again. "I really am no good at being stared at, Naruto-kun."
At that moment, chakra returned to him. Naruto shuddered and Kabuto did not miss it. He blinked at the blond with concern.
"Was that other clone of yours killed?"
Stabbed in the back. Naruto's jaw was hurting now but he ground his teeth anyway. "You and your buddies put up a barrier."
"Hm." Kabuto chuckled. "The Uchiha district really is too far from the main village, isn't it? Right at the edge. If something were to happen here - well I suppose the Uchiha were more than capable of fending for themselves until help arrived." Naruto's eyes widened a millimeter. Kabuto's smile widened at the reaction. "My barrier's a masterpiece, a chimera of more villages and kekkei genkai than even you and Jiraiya-sama have encountered. No one can see us, hear us; it's almost like we're in another dimension. And we're so far from the central village that a little shaking will hardly be noticed."
A transparent ceiling shimmered red over their heads. Naruto's stomach clenched and became hollow. "I wanted our conversation to be private, Naruto-kun. So I did my best to ensure no interruptions. But for you to just waltz in here on your own, it seems Lady Luck smiled on me with that one!"
Swallowing, Naruto for the first time truly understood his situation. He was alone. He had no comrades or hopes of finding one. His enemy had sealed the environment, taken a hostage and disposed of one of who-knows-how-many allies on a whim.
The guy was insane. And Naruto had no hope to wait on.
"Why did you kill him?" he licked the sweat on his upper lip and gestured to the white puddle.
"Why?" Kabuto asked coyly. "As a favour to you and Konoha. Akatsuki would have gotten some very sensitive information if I hadn't killed him. So now, you owe me some information, Naruto-kun."
"I don't owe you –!"
"Now, now," he pointed to the book lying untouched at the blonde's feet. "I repaid my first gratitude to you by giving you that book. Killing the spy was a favour. You owe me."
"Go to –!"
"Identity, Naruto-kun. All I'm asking for is your opinion. More advice really, inspirational words about life and self, you can even make a speech if you want. It's right up your alley. Tell me how Sasuke-kun, who has lost memory, power, and even his own body! – tell me how someone so pathetic can still hold on to a sense of self!"
He shook Sasuke, who hung in his grip like a dead cat. "Your words are the only ones I can listen to Naruto-kun, the only ones with weight. What you say is important, so even though I've done you this favour," he threw an understated gesture to the ally he had slaughtered, "I will still be in your debt. That's not bad at all now, is it Naruto-kun? All you have to do is talk and I'll owe you a favour. What deal could be better than that?"
"Heh." Naruto hated waiting anyway. "I'll pass."
From the trees above Kabuto's head a true shadow clone fell, wielding a Rasengan with lethal purpose.
Kabuto sidestepped, letting the double crash into the ground. "Now Naruto-ku –" Five steel claws ripped his face open, splitting skin and gouging flesh. Screaming outrage and pain, Kabuto pressed a glowing palm tightly to his face.
Sasuke writhed with all his might and fell out of the spy's loosened grip. Snarling, Kabuto grabbed for his hostage.
Luminous hands snatched Sasuke out of his reach. He tried to pull back but a glowing knee smashed into his face, breaking glasses, nose, and a few teeth. He flew through two tombstones before slamming to a stop at the base of a large marble slab, his impact cratering the decades-old marker.
Dizzy from his flight, nauseous with pain, Kabuto opened his eyes. The world was dark fuzz but the three glowing beings in front of him were unmistakable. One of them, carrying a small body, was about to run off.
"Wait," he said through chipped and bloodied teeth that were already reforming. Orochimaru's vitality was nothing to scoff at. "Leaving stho sthoon? Our discusthion isth not over."
"It's over." A distinct hum. Another of those unique Rasengans. Even healing himself beforehand, an action that had saved him from a concussion, would not be enough.
He grinned. "Impressive power. Are you preparing such a technique for Itachi-san?"
The three figures froze. Kabuto grinned. He had already healed himself enough to get on his knees. "A pity it will all go to waste. I'm afraid those you trust are lying to you about him."
"What do you mean?"
"I only wish to speak to the original."
Naruto snorted. He pushed off the earth, cracking it, and was at Kabuto in a yellow blur. Chakra-steeled fingers grabbed his collar and lifted him off the ground as though he weighed nothing. The clone behind him dashed into the trees with a loudly hissing Sasuke. The third clone stood by, ready to react to the slightest twinge of chakra.
"Here, you've got the original. Talk." Kabuto choked and smiled with bloody teeth. Naruto tightened his grip.
Kabuto gurgled blood. "Perhaps… to set a new path in motion." He dislocated the vertebra in his neck; his head dropped to the side, flat eyes glaring through shattered lenses and warped metal frames.
"Itachi-san is dying. The illness is unknown and currently incurable. Right this second, he is either taking his last breath, or stretching his life out by another day. But giving him a week left on this earth would be generous."
Naruto's grip did not waver. Neither did his eyes. "You're lying." His voice held no doubt. Behind him, his clone cloned itself and prepared a Rasengan.
"You were told to come late to that meeting, remember Naruto-kun?" Kabuto flung his hand back to gesture vaguely at the white sludge behind him. "He was there when Jiraiya kindly asked all of your friends to lie to you about Itachi."
Naruto half-blinked. "Ero-sennin wouldn't…"
Kabuto pushed on. "That mission you were banned from, you know your dear friend Sakura-san met Itachi, right?" Naruto's eyes widened. Kabuto's body wriggled, loose and wormy, and a small piece of stolen intel slipped out of his cloak. Naruto's clone stared at the folder for him.
"Sakura-chan." There was no doubt. Even in the darkness, even through his clone's eyes, Naruto knew it was her handwriting. Neat but thick lines. She always pressed too hard with her pen.
"She treated him on-site." Naruto blinked that time. Kabuto's eyes widened theatrically, his dislocated vertebrae jostling together like Shogi tiles. "No one told you? And she wrote such an excellent report too, so comprehensive if a bit loquacious. She gave him two weeks. How long has it been since that mission?"
"Shut up." Naruto's smile was roughly hewn, its corners trembling. "If you know so much, Baa-chan will get it all out of you."
Kabuto's mismatched eyes stared at him with identical wonder. "Are you… really that naïve, Naruto-kun? How did you survive this long as a ninja with that kind of attitude?" Naruto met his sideways gaze with rising rage.
"Don't call me –"
"You still trust her after she let Danzō take your place?" And there was pity in Kabuto's gaze. "You really don't understand it still? You still don't see the real Konoha?"
Naruto's fists tightened and he shook the grinning bastard. "I see it perfectly!"
"What's decided as best for the village won't always be right, Naruto-kun." Naruto choked on his comeback. "She let your friends and mentor lie to you. She let Danzō take your mission. Even after she gains all the information from my little mind," he smiled. His tongue slipped out; an engorged muscle flopping wet with saliva. It swept over his jaws and chin before receding. "You won't be allowed to know half of it."
"You're lying!"
"And the other half will be warped. You'll be led with lies like a fool, just like always."
"I said shut –" Chakra slammed into Naruto's back. His clones stiffened. The chakra was his, but it hit him hard, like it had been racing to reach him. Kabuto's face disappeared into grainy fog, and a vision overtook Naruto's mind.
"Oh shi – NO!" Cold steel ripped his back open; before he disappeared into a bolt of chakra, he threw Sasuke as far away from him as he could. "RUN! DON'T LET THEM –!"
Kabuto was laughing. The graininess dissolved, bringing the cackling face into stark clarity. Naruto's knees trembled, more images were coming.
"What are they?" His clone had been faster, stronger than the one before it. He shook Kabuto, bringing the gleeful face closer. "What did you do?!"
The second clone, standing close to the pyre, died with a scream. The third swung his Rasengan into the darkness and had his neck broken for it.
"Naruto?" a tiny, breathless voice.
"I said run!" Naruto did not know what he was shouting. He did not know what these things were; cold shots of chakra biting into the Kyūbi's.
"Narut –"
"Run! Find Baa-chan, find anyone and tell them what's going on!" Tightening his grip, he slammed Kabuto into the earth hard enough to crack it and straddled him, pinning his arms under his knees. "I'll hold Kabuto here! Go, now!"
Sasuke jetted off, a black blur disappearing into the darkness. And a hissing white stream weaved through the tombstones after him. Naruto moved in an instant, pushing off the earth with cratering force. Twelve hands, sixty steel-grip fingers slammed him to a stop, shoving him face-down into the grave dirt. The snake's head reared up.
Sasuke screamed terror that split Naruto's mind. The snake lunged. All was silent. Slowly, the serpent reared again. A black tail dangled limply out of its mouth. The serpent aimed its nostrils to the sky and the tail disappeared into its throat, following the throbbing mass that slid down into its stomach.
Naruto screamed. Sixty chakra-strong fingers were broken. And Kabuto's face was ground to powder by an oversized Rasengan, as the snake that ate Sasuke slithered back into his sleeve.
It was fascinating.
Kabuto ripped the remnants of his jaws apart and a new body slick with juices leaped from his throat. Before his torso cleared his tonsils, Naruto was on him, aiming another Rasengan at the sleeve housing the snake. Kabuto made a single seal and Naruto received a shattering roundhouse to his side, pelting him through three tombstones. But these were small and thin: Naruto skidded across the ground and rolled to his knees, disoriented but not crippled.
Kabuto's body hit the ground, reeling slightly from the chakra drain. Naruto shook himself off and launched, another Rasengan whirling. Another body stepped into his path: Naruto met its gaze and stopped cold, lost instantly in a dream. Kabuto slipped on a spare pair of glasses, snatched the warped and empty metal frames from the melting husk with no face and gently stowed them in his cloak with a trembling hand. Inhale. Exhale. They weren't gone. He'd fix them later.
And now that the world was not a blur, Kabuto observed his frozen adversary.
It was fascinating. Naruto was wearing chakra in a way he had never seen, a skin-thin layer of gold. It moved over him like water reflections, rippling his hair and clothes and turning his slit-pupiled eyes orange. And this chakra-skin was nothing like the wild, burning miasma he had faced on Tenchi Bridge. Warm, full of life and controlled – its healing properties alone would make the wearer near invincible.
But it was not battle-ready. If his hypothesis was right, this technique was far from its true potential. Still, this fell within his plans. The experiments he had stowed away to await his command, the barrier he had activated to contain any problems that might arise: if not for his foresight, he would have lost the moment Naruto grabbed him.
In the three seconds that Kabuto analysed, Naruto awoke from his dream and promptly shattered the genjutsu caster's jaw with a savage uppercut, smashing the man's teeth into a thousand fractures and launching him several feet skyward. Kabuto vaguely noted that even Tsunade would not ridicule this level of strength. He longed to experiment, to prod and investigate all the unknown mysteries of the chakra-skin. But greed would not serve him now. He already had one experiment going. And…
Spectacled eyes glanced at the sealed tomb, where the true prizes were kept. He had assumed he had more time. He never thought Naruto would come here on his own. And now, because of greed, all variables were out of his control.
In the dark streets of Konoha, a boy and girl walked hand-in-hand. Their steps were hurried as they ducked into darker places, finally escaping the light of the moon altogether. They continued their journey into Konoha's underground, among roots blacker than ink.
The boy blinked, eyes struggling to adjust to darkness that was unfamiliar even to him. The girl led him flawlessly to depths she knew too well.
The boy finally broke the silence. "I did not know you were a sensory ninja."
"I am an experiment," was the too-honest reply. "My blood was tested and changed many times to compliment my abilities. When my blood is near to an activated seal, it resonates back to me. There are vials of my blood buried all over Konoha."
The boy felt something cold and prickling run down his spine. He did not know that spiders lived this deep underground.
"And this seal?"
"Many seals. They create a barrier. A strange one, powered by Konoha chakra, but not Konoha style."
"It's foreign?"
"Yes. The seals are alien. No one in this village can make a barrier like this."
"We should tell the Hokage."
"No. The map comes first. The resonation is very unpleasant until I find out where it's coming from. I almost vomited three times on the way here. If I wait too long, I will pass out." And beneath the emotionless drone of her voice was a queasy underscore.
The boy left it at that. "What kind of barrier is this?"
"Its strongest trait is invisibility based on Hidden Mist techniques. Blocks sound, jutsu, physical attacks and chakra signatures: specialties of many different clans and villages. Does not disguise scent well, does not hide vibration at all, so it might be near the village borders. Does not extend very far underground, so it is fairly easy to infiltrate once found. Its form is masked with Konoha chakra to further deflect suspicion from sensors or Byakugan users."
"Not blocking scent is a fatal weakness. Dog Breath would have smelled something weird."
"Dog Breath's nose is affected by big lightning strikes. It's true for the entire clan."
"Sabotage. The barrier user has a partner."
"Yes."
"Then this is best. If it hasn't been detected by now, it's useless to go to the Hokage without a location."
"Yes."
"Then we'll go after you find it."
"No, you will go. After I find it, I must try to destroy it. This barrier is a trap. And I believe someone is already trapped within it."
"KABUTO!"
Naruto shot forward, weaving through the enemies' grasps with the ease of a jōnin dodging genin. He grabbed Kabuto's arm and crushed bone with one squeeze.
Kabuto smiled. Naruto snarled, feeling the broken bones jostle freely as he yanked the man forward.
"Give. Him. Back."
"That's one thing I cannot do. Sasuke-kun is now the most unique and fascinating specimen on the planet. I cannot fulfil Orochimaru-sama's dream of acquiring all the world's knowledge if I do not study him thoroughly."
Naruto's eyes went blank. Kabuto barely twitched before the Jinchūriki's forehead smashed into his own, rattling his brain against the walls of his skull. White claimed him despite the healing chakra he had already released.
When he awoke a second later, Naruto was sitting on his arm, a Rasengan poised to amputate it at the shoulder. Kabuto's other hand made a seal, calling on one of his pawns. Naruto ducked under the knee aimed for his skull, not even sparing the passing limb a glance. His eyes, lightless and beyond humanity, never left his target. His Rasengan drilled into the arm, shearing flesh and grinding bone.
Without choice, Kabuto made a final seal and his arm collapsed into a writhing nest of white snakes. They slipped around Naruto's knees and swam out of the cloak in a wriggling stream, gliding towards the silent pawns that surrounded them.
Naruto scrambled after them, his reason long lost. The few he caught popped in his hand, white slime dripping through his fingers. Without pause, he smashed them all with an oversized Rasengan, his overpower shattering the ground and twisting his wrist.
The snakes' heads survived. Out of their mouths new heads breached, and slime-slicked bodies glided on at twice the speed to them whose bodies were not their own.
Their hair blended with the black morning, cracks marred their grey skin, and against slate sclera their Sharingan glowed. They were unsmiling, the hollow muscles in their faces utterly still. They did nothing as the snakes wound up their legs, defying Naruto's broken stare, and sank overlong fangs into the backs of their necks.
Kabuto's control receded and their wills returned to them. Their skin lightened to pre-death pallor and the cracks softly hissed as they shrunk away. Lights flickered on in the corpses' eyes, their Sharingan glowed anew, and most of them blinked as though awakening from a long sleep. They quickly found the glowing boy in the darkness, who gazed back at them, empty.
"You're… the Jinchūriki," stated one of them with slate hair shoved to one side like Kakashi's. His eyes were squinting lines, painted red. His tone was neutral, neither disgusted nor impressed, but Naruto still jumped a little at being addressed. The snake on his shoulder, like all the rest, dropped to the ground before it was noticed and wriggled back to its master.
"Ah!" a plump woman blinked her small eyes, barely visible Sharingan whirling. "He is! But he was only a child when I saw him last, no bigger than Sasuke."
Naruto gaped at her, breathing uneven. She glanced away, offended by his rudeness.
"Apparently, some time has passed," said yet another with a black dot on his forehead, stolidly observing the exchange. "Shisui's ancestor described this in his scrolls. This is the Second Hokage's jutsu, Edo Tensei." He looked around, eyes lingering on the two tombstones Kabuto broke with his back. His Sharingan narrowed, but did not deign to look at the little snake grinning in the dirt.
"Did you do this?"
The snake's grin stretched as he replaced his hood. "Shy types like me don't take to such bold recognition. I am merely a spectator, you are more than free to do as you please."
"We do not need your permission, insect." Kabuto politely slunk back, melting seamlessly into the darkness. The Uchiha turned to Naruto, the worthier of the two living. His crimson gaze moved lazily over the blond, taking in his supernatural appearance with practiced apathy. "Tell me, child. Our graveyard still stands, but what of the village?"
Naruto choked, the words bulging in his throat, refusing to come out. "The – the –" Blinking too much; he had never looked into so many Sharingan at one time before. "K-Konoha's fine…" His eyes darted to Kabuto, who was taking a chakra-gloved palm from his shoulder. A new arm was there, pale but whole. It was forever beyond Naruto how his arm regenerated, or maybe it had never left, never slithered away as a den of snakes. Kabuto glanced at him, blinked, frowned and backed further into the shadows. "K-Konoha's fine," Naruto turned back to the standing dead, "but – but you're Sasuke's –"
"So Konoha's still standing." The man hissed. Naruto choked silently.
"S-standing? Why wouldn't it be standing?"
Silence answered him, thick and ominous. It blocked his air; he inhaled forcefully and made to speak again when something worse than dead noise overrode his senses. Hate. Hate so acid it burned his nostrils, hate so thick it weighed on the Kyūbi's chakra, growing slabs of ice. Their eyes glared; black and crimson whirling violently.
"Hhaesh weaewing zhe Koobi's sshakra." Slurred and distorted words snapped Naruto's attention to the regenerative mechanics of Edo Tensei. The genjutsu caster regained his feet, mouth filled with unbroken teeth. Bits of old parchment leaped from his skin as, with one violent motion, he snapped his jaw back into place.
Uchiha, his mind repeated stupidly. The Kyūbi's chakra quietly reattached the ligaments in his wrist, though Naruto had yet to notice he was damaged. They're all Uchiha.
The man looked at him, dark amusement in his pinwheel eyes. "You've been mistreated by this village. I know." He smiled with a mockery of kindness. His eyes were too sharp, glaring through pointed bangs that framed his face. And he, like the rest of them, reeked of death. "Come with us. We'll help you."
"H-help me?"
"We'll help you do what you and the Kyūbi have always wanted. Together we will break free of the shackles this village has placed on us."
"Sh - sha…" His wrist popped. Naruto felt nothing.
"We will burn away Konoha's tyrannies, overturn the ridicule and disrespect we have endured, and restore our clan's rightful place in this world. We have suffered alike. So let us fight against the enslavement of this village together." The man held out his hand, an offering of unity. "Now come. Join us."
So concluded Naruto's very first meeting with the Uchiha clan.
And with that, Naruto's reality shattered.
The Uchiha clan is dead.
Those words meant nothing when Naruto first heard them. He felt no sorrow, no fear, no loathing. Ichiraku's still gave him free ramen, Sakura-chan was still the prettiest girl in the village. And he still wanted to be Hokage. So nothing had changed. If anything, the Uchiha clan's death had opened the door to his first bond. If anything, he had been happy that there was someone else in the village who finally understood his pain.
But he had been a kid then. A stupid and desperate child that did not know – did not understand the crimson dyes that would forever paint the colours of his first bond. But Naruto did not stay a child. When he heard it again as a genin, and a dying Sasuke asked him to carry on the torch of his vengeance, Naruto's heart had burned and the Kyūbi in him awoke, releasing crimson hatred into the world for the first time in over a decade.
And now, what did these past few weeks with a helpless Sasuke do but illuminate the cruel and complete meaning of 'the Uchiha clan is dead'?
The Uchiha clan must be avenged. The Uchiha clan deserved justice.
So somewhere along the line, or at the very beginning, was it not assumed that the Uchiha clan was good? Was it not this that gave Sasuke's vengeance worth? Was it not this that made Itachi such an irredeemable monster, fit to die by the wickedest tortures Sasuke's mind could conceive?
The Uchiha clan was good. What Itachi did to them, it was evil to think, to even consider that they might have –
Burn away Konoha's tyrannies.
Deserved it.
No. Naruto rapidly picked up the shattered pieces of his reality. He had to reform it, reshape it, quickly. They were innocent – he could reason with them.
They would not listen. Their eyes, glowing over-bright in the dark day, scorned him. Their words mocked him. Fool! That he would defend the village that hated him. Where even loving parents would glare at a blond baby and wish for its death.
"No! The village isn't like that now! A lot of people …" Naruto shut his mouth. Something in him reared up, remembering old days, and a matching streak of hate ran crimson through his golden chakra skin.
"See?" sharp eyes gleamed, "You are on our side."
Naruto bit his lip and the crimson streak faded. He could not mention the village. But if not home, what else could get through to such a battle-hardened clan –?
"Sasuke!" Bingo. Their gazes morphed from spilt blood to blooming roses. "Sasuke was treated really well in the village," Naruto spurred on. "After you were gone, Sasuke was loved by everyone. He was never hungry, or cold, or sick, or in want of anything. Everyone watched out for him and protected him. He was," Naruto gulped down a mouthful of stale jealousy, "precious to Konoha. He still is. He's the most precious person in the world to me."
It would take Naruto many days to figure out just how he went so wrong in that speech. The rose petals withered and dropped, leaving nothing but thorns dripping poison. The Uchiha had turned from malevolent to murderous and Naruto could not figure out why.
"Konoha's pet…" the genjutsu caster hissed, his fang-like bangs biting into parchment cheeks.
"Precious child of Konoha," the plump woman, the kind aunt of the Uchiha, spat her words like venom, her decayed cheeks shaking. "Oh, I hope Sasuke-chan wasn't fooled. He is a pureblood Uchiha, he must never forget his pride!"
"Right," the one with Kakashi's hair spoke, "he will carry on his clan's will." He blinked, squinting eyes barely moving. "Boy," he turned to Naruto, "is Sasuke here in this village?"
Naruto stared at the man. Somewhere in his gut, his reality broke again, and the shards were piercing him.
"Sasuke… left," relics of soul and life formed the words Naruto spoke now, "he left… he went to Orochimaru for power… to get revenge on Itachi… but…"
"Orochimaru."
"…but he killed…"
"Well, he wouldn't have been my first choice."
The shards dug in deeper. Naruto's heart was scooped out, leaving that place empty. He knew this feeling. He had felt it the first and last time he met Danzō.
"But at least Sasuke left this goddamned village." The genjutsu caster spat; it fell near none of the graves. "And he went to someone who wouldn't exculpate the place like the rest of mindless sheep."
Naruto did not need to understand the words the man used. More ice, more hatred smashed against his chakra-skin, cold blows biting small holes into the Kyūbi's power.
Satisfied with what they heard about Sasuke, the Uchiha turned to leave the cemetery – in the direction of the sleeping Konoha.
"Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." The whisper birthed a hundred Narutos; they easily outnumbered the reincarnated abominations and surrounded them, blocking their exit through the gates, over the fence, and in the trees. The glow from their bodies lit up the cemetery in a facsimile of day, as the light from the pyre finally flickered out.
"Hey," the real Naruto spoke in a low voice, "I can't let you go to the village." Red eyes scanned the clones' formation, looking for weaknesses. Naruto's chest shuddered. "Is Kabuto making you target Konoha?" One small hope.
"Him?!" Naruto did not see the violent motion thrown towards the figure smirking in the dark. He did not need to. "Could he ever command an Uchiha? Konoha will fall by our own will. We seek our own justice and restore our own pride."
"We'll have to fight then," Naruto almost managed to sound light-hearted. "I don't want to do it here though –" Surges of adrenaline and assured victory brushed his sides like slipstreams. Naruto raised his arm, wrist healed enough. Two clones raised theirs.
Several dead hands weaved together, chakra moulding in empty chests.
A Rasenshuriken was spinning in Naruto's palm, created faster than he had ever done before. He raised his head. In the yellow chakra-light, the Sharingan saw clearly the tears flowing over Naruto's smile.
"This is the last place of memories Sasuke has left. I didn't want to destroy it. But if you don't care about it…" The Uchiha blew – Naruto threw the windmill of chakra. He had no inkling if he could or could not, he just threw and it sailed smoothly from his hand like its metal counterpart.
His tears stopped flowing, and his smile was gone.
"I guess I have no choice."
The graveyard exploded.
Born from the abominable union of a Rasenshuriken, a dozen fire jutsu and twice the amount of exploding kunai, the blast breached in a roar of destruction and unstoppable power. Black billows of smoke and earth surged upwards, pierced by red fire and screeching with uncountable chakra needles. It climbed hundreds of meters in fractions of seconds and would have exceeded that to eclipse the sky and rain burnt chakra and ash over all of Konoha. But a barrier dome revealed itself, tinting the sky red, and the deflagration crashed into its underside, spreading clouds of steam and vaporised earth and filling the small biome with toxic smoke and premature fallout.
Naruto flew. Deaf from the blast of sound, thrown by supersonic pressure, his body jetted with the speed of cannon fire through the wall fencing the graveyard. The seven or so inches of brick, stone, mortar and protective jutsu did not slow his flight into the forest. He crashed through two trees, dug sizeable chunks out of another seven and shattered anything else that came into fatal impact with him for over a kilometre until, with all of gravity's force, Naruto smashed into the ground neck-first, bounced, crashed again on his shoulder, bounced again, and finally skidded face-first for a few meters before coming to a stop.
Figuring the lack of pain must mean he was dead or close to it, he opened his eyes and found himself in one of the Uchiha's old training fields; facing that damn kunai stuck perpendicularly into the worst located target Naruto had ever seen.
"What kinda crazy throw…?" Naruto froze. He really was dead. How else could he talk with a broken neck? Swallowing bile (wasn't that impossible too?) Naruto mentally checked his body. His eyes widened in horror.
He was all right. Cuts, scrapes and bruises instead of broken bones. A burning spine instead of a shattered one. A throbbing headache instead of a concussion. Numb ears and a nasty crick in his neck instead of instant death. He was still alive. He was still conscious. It could only mean one thing.
"Damn, that Edo Tension thing is contagious," he muttered, only just registering that he was not deaf anymore.
As his superficial wounds began to heal, he got to his knees and stared at his glowing hands. There were no bits of parchment flying around filling in his wounds. Just the Kyūbi's chakra, golden water flowing ceaselessly around his body, healing him, protecting him. Protecting him without hurting him itself. This was what it meant to control it.
"This is the real deal," he muttered, almost able to laugh. The memory of Sasuke getting eaten quickly killed that urge.
"Kabuto." A sixth sense not quite as developed as Jiraiya's prickled in Naruto's gut – he looked up through the smoky haze and softly raining ash, expecting a glimpse of the grinning snake. The incoming projectile was not his enemy but the Uchiha's memorial obelisk: having escaped obliteration it sang through the air and right for Naruto's head with skull-cracking speed. Wincing, he quickly back-flipped, aiming for the top of the boulder that sat in the middle of the field.
And while in mid-air, feet to the sky and head to the ground, he felt it. A precise bolt of ice racing down his spine. He did not know how he knew what it was. He did not know how he knew it was bad.
But he knew, and that was enough. He stuck out his leg and terminated the backflip, opting to shove as hard as he could off the boulder. Its surface cratered, cracks spreading for all of a nanosecond before the entire rock shattered under a blazing fist. The blistering flames licked Naruto's chakra-skin and he felt their heat. He did not look, only spun with a massive heave of his body, swinging his leg around until it made contact with the falling memorial. The obelisk cracked but did not shatter, and he kicked it straight at the fire's core.
The explosion's force, amplified by Naruto's kick, sent the obelisk towards the Edo Tensei with such power that it smashed the Uchiha's face flat, blew out the back of his skull, and snapped his neck clean in two. There was no blood, no gore, just endless bits of grey parchment rushing to mend shattered bone and cover the gaping holes.
That was all Naruto saw as the animated corpse flew back into the ashy haze. It was thick, this fog; the Kyūbi's chakra blocked tiny particles from nestling in his eyes but visibility was failing. He quickly lost track of the headless Uchiha and the shattered boulder. He could not even hear the sound of rustling parchment. The loss of two senses disoriented him, and he almost stumbled and fell over the kunai that was stuck perpendicularly – oh fine! He reached down and gave it a few good yanks until it was out of the ground and securely in his grip.
It hardly helped. The fog, dark grey against black, warm but without comfort, smothered him from all sides. He pocketed his dull weapon and kept moving back; if he went in one direction, he would eventually make it out. It was just a smokescreen anyway –
Click.
Teeth biting, a spark igniting.
Konohamaru. That was all he could afford, a fraction of thought in a fraction of time. He leaped and the bed of fire roared to life beneath him, claiming everything beneath his knees. Naruto screamed.
'Naruto-niichan! Look at this – Asuma-ojichan showed it to me! It's a cool new fire jutsu – Haisekishō. See you blow out ash like this and then you light it and the whole place explodes and – well – I can't get it to go that far yet, but when I do I'll show you, promise!'
Crippled, a golden body fell to the ground, only meters away from the burning ash cloud. His legs were smoking; the Kyūbi's chakra had protected his flesh but his skin was red, raised and shining in the firelight. With a twisted expression, Naruto tried to move one of his feet and bit down a scream as a few blisters popped. Three pairs of hands touched down on the earth around him.
"Uchiha Kaenjin!" And Naruto was trapped. A crimson ring burned itself into the grass and shot skywards, almost as tall as Kabuto's barrier.
Naruto's legs hissed as they healed; careful not to move them again, he balanced on his elbows. A wall of solid fire encircled him, burning even the air that tried to get to him. The three Uchiha crouched on the outside stared at him for a moment, Sharingan swirling.
"That should do," said one.
"Even when his legs heal, he can't get out of the summoner's barrier," agreed another.
"Right," the third one stood. "Then, to Konoha."
Naruto roared. "I said –!"
"NO!" The shout was almost lost in the screech of four spinning wind blades.
"Another one!"
"Fool! If that hits –!"
It hit; the second Rasenshuriken of the battle slammed into the barrier and rapidly expanded on its outer wall. Uncountable needles pierced the barrier's chakra, undermining its structure. But a worse reaction followed. With a great shudder the flame-infused walls collapsed, abandoning their form to feed on the fresh wind chakra, an irresistible siren call.
In less than a minute the barrier completely disintegrated and a horrified Naruto faced a miniature sun; a swirling, roaring amalgamation of fire and wind that could not be contained. The fire swelled, Naruto's heartbeat stuttered as he crawled back, too terrified to even scream.
A weight descended fatally on his back, stopping his futile retreat.
"Sorry about that, boss." Several dozen bodies followed the first, crushing Naruto to the earth.
The sun detonated.
It was ironic that the first clone to offer its life for his was the only one that survived.
Gone. His army. Every last one. Gone.
The Edo Tenseis died, their second passing certainly more grandiose than what Itachi had given them. Naruto felt the earth tremble as something heavy, and dead, fell near him. He peeked out from under his clone's armpit, but all that greeted him was a mass of black flesh cooking in a sea of flames.
"Bastard's dead. Good," the clone muttered. Its voice sounded strange, like there was ash in its throat. There probably was. "He was coming for you, boss. That snake; he was gonna come at you from underground and eat you. You… gotta be careful… Kabuto…"
"Hey. Are you oka –" Naruto froze.
It was a terrible explosion, family to the first. The earth was newly devastated; heat, ash and soil riding on terrific masses of gas and pressure to scar the Uchiha's land a second time. The ground, the trees, all that had escaped the wrath of the first explosion now burned. The air shimmered with heat, the dome's underside coated with a new layer of smoke and fallout. Naruto was dripping sweat, choking on the stifling air. Two explosions, the endless fires, there really was little air to go around now.
But he barely noticed. He looked into his own face, reminiscent of Pain's, disfigured and eaten away by flame. The flesh around its left eye was gone, leaving scorched edges around an exposed eyeball. Its throat was melted, just a bit, the skin shifting slightly out of place.
"Hey boss… this is kinda bad isn't it?" Naruto could not speak. His legs were almost healed. Other than that, he was fine. "Kabuto's… strong. The Uchiha… are stronger." Naruto blinked tightly, listening to his subconscious speak through his clone's body. "We got… our priorities mixed up. Find Kabuto… save Sasuke… get out of this hell –" The clone choked; its body jerked and it grasped and scratched at its melted throat, pulling at an invisible noose. Its eyes bulged, matching in size, risen blood vessels weaving red and blue against white sclera. The rolling gaze suddenly locked on Naruto. "Urrr…brrrg…" With the last of its strength it pointed left, somewhere in the burning deathscape.
Then its neck snapped, its arm dropped, and its head lolled grotesquely, eyes still on Naruto before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
Naruto stared at the spot, numb. He had played games with his clones before; cards, hide-and-seek though the latter was pointless – he always knew where he was hiding. He had 'spoken' to them, though it was more right to say he had talked to himself and gotten an answer. But that one… was it the Kyūbi's chakra?
Naruto was still for a half-moment, then dived out of the way of an exploding kunai and disappeared into the flames.
Half a second later, a new army of golden Narutos exploded from the inferno, streaking flames behind them.
A/N: Please enjoy part 1 of a special double update. Major thanks to my beta Ser Serendipity for smoothing out the bumps.
See you all soon!