Naruto the Sharingan Wielder
Chapter V: The Aftermath and Memories
Welcome back everyone. In the last chapter, we've seen how Itachi had slaughtered his entire family and leaving Naruto for dead with the most powerful technique, the Tsukoyomi. We also learned that he was being put out of commission until a medical shinobi returns to perform a reversal jutsu to undo the Tsukoyomi and rid Naruto of the mental trauma he is going through. Today, Naruto is recovering, but he is still physically and mentally scarred. He is also unconscious as of now ever since Itachi inflicted pain on him. Now on with the show.
After Sasuke had given his speech to the clan heads at the Hokage's office, everyone now knows that Itachi was the one that orchestrated this entire murder with some help from his subordinates, the guards that were at his compound last night. The village is in an uproar right now after what happened and the clan heads were deeply overwhelmed with the tragedy at hand. However, they realize that itachi had sent a message for Konoha warning them that he will be back to claim the power that is rightfully his, but the only things that will be Itachi's downfall are punishment and death if he returns to haunt the village again.
Meanwhile, back in the hospital's recovery's room, Naruto was still in bed, out cold due to the effects of Tsukoyomi in his mind. He couldn't remember much of what happened after Kakashi took him out of the Uchiha compound and in the hospital. The nurses and the doctors sometimes comes by to check on his health and his prognosis, but he hasn't said a word after the murders because he was still out of it. However, he could never forget the pain that Itachi had caused him after his adoption by the protégé, especially Sasuke. He also seems to be most affected by the tragedy as well. But despite what happened, Sasuke never let up hope that Itachi will be found and sentenced for his crimes he committed.
Just then, there were sounds of commotion coming down the hall of the hospital that was adjacent to the surgical ward and the treatment room. As Iruka got up to see what it was, he could see the clan heirs of konoha, including Sasuke coming towards Naruto's room. This could mean only one thing: the clan heirs knew about what happened to the blonde and why he had to go through such a dangerous obstacle. However, Iruka never knew that Itachi was the true perpetrator of committing mass murder in Konoha so he exited the room and headed down the hall to the waiting area. Once the clan heirs arrived at the recovery room, they went in search of naruto's room until they came across iruka in the hallway.
"What are you doing here, Iruka? I thought you would be at the academy by now teaching students?" asked Hana.
"Well, Kakashi told me to observe naruto for a little bit since he got here, but with the medical staff constantly coming in and out of his room, it's been really quiet here so far. So I guess you are here to see Naruto as well right?" replied Iruka nervously.
"Yeah, the request was from the Hokage himself so here we are. Anyway, has Naruto said a word after he was brought here? We were told by the Hokage that he would be out of commission for a while until they will find a medical shinobi to cure him of Tsukoyomi." Said Inoichi as he was about to enter the room.
"Naruto hasn't said a word since he was brought here. Even the doctors don't even know when he will wake up. I've been observing him since this morning and he hasn't spoken. I don't know if you guys will be able to wake him up or not." Replied iruka sadly.
"Eh…. We can try but it would prove to be much harder than we thought. Naruto has suffered a lot over the past few weeks after what happened between him and Itachi so let us observe him for a while, all right Iruka? We will take good care of him, don't worry." Replied hana as she steps into the room after patting iruka on the back.. After a while, Iruka smiled and knows that Naruto is in good hands now as he takes his leave from the hospital and heads back to the Hokage's office.
Once iruka left, the clan heirs could still see that naruto hasn't moved an inch. They wondered how he could have gotten involved in this mess after Itachi attacked him and why he waitied so long for someone else to come to his rescue. Meanwhile, Akimichi Choza takes a chair and sat down next to Naruto's bedside. "This is just horrible to have happened to naruto, he's just a little kid and not to mention sweet and innocent. But thankfully he will pull though. If he didn't, I would fear the worst is yet to come. What happened to you, Naruto-san? This isn't like you at all, but just hang in there okay; we are all here for you." He said as he held onto naruto's hand.
Hana also sat down on naruto's bed and said, "It seems that Naruto won't be able to fight for a few days since his ordeal with itachi. I am no doctor but I do know that we will get him though these troubling times, choza-sama. Looking at these wounds, I noticed that he still has some scars that are not completely healed. But I also noticed that his lacerations are deep too and it seems that some of his bandages need to be changed as well." Tsume also noticed the wounds and agreed as well. They both left the room to find some fresh new bandages while the others keep an eye on Naruto.
Shikaku, on the other hand was standing near the walls of Naruto's room and wasn't worried, but he has shown deep concern for naruto's safety and what he went through. These days, he has been hearing rumors that more danger could befall upon this village if Naruto was not up to battling. However, flashbacks shows that Naruto had made a promise to his family and friends that he would stop Itachi if he dared to lay a hand on him or Sasuke, but ever since the murders occurred, it seems hopeless for Naruto to fulfill his promise now because of what Itachi-sama had done. However, he knows that naruto will not give up hope that the perpetrator will be found and tried for his crimes. He then sat down next to naruto's bedside while placing his hand on the boy's face, hoping for a miracle. "Naruto-san, what troublesome things have you gotten yourself into? You said you wouldn't get involved in Itachi's family business, but…. well I can't allow you to take all the blame for what that protégé did. And I would do whatever it takes to take the pain and the hurt away from you. It won't be just me, but everyone here around me will help as well, all right? We will get you through this nightmare, buddy."
Despite what happened to naruto, the entire village of Konoha is hoping for a miracle that will bring hope and peace. But with both Itachi and the demon in their villages, the chances of having peace will be slim. With Naruto completely incapacitated and bedridden, the only other shinobi that can take Naruto's place for fighting is Uchiha Sasuke since he the strenghtn and the pride of the Uchiha clan. But one thing is certain, as the judge and executioner, Sasuke will punish any other enemy that dares to stand in his way of achieving his goal, but he isn't going to accomplish this mission on his own; he plans to enlist help from other villages to track down Itachi in order to expose his criminal behavior and his true colors. The thought this mission was going through Sasuke's head but he has to do it for the village, for Naruto, and for his family and friends. Everything is on the line for both Naruto and Sasuke since the Hokage cannot guarantee their safety here.
Meanwhile, back in the compound, Sasuke looks back at the picture of his beloved family on his wall and reminisces about all the good times he and his parents had before Itachi came to their life and what they did together as a family. Fugaku was a good father and a man that always thinks highly of his sons and he loved his wife a lot. He would never do anything that would jeopardize his family. As for Naruto, well, there were some tensions between them but he cared a lot for both Naruto and Sasuke's well-being and would protect them from any sorts of danger. As Sasuke rummaged through the photos of when his father taught Naruto the basics of the sharingan, he couldn't help but smile and thought to himself, "That dead last shinobi has learned a few tricks of the trade eh? Hmmph, I just love a guy that doesn't over think things but my father has taught him everything he knows. That kid sure is a persistent little fellow who always aims to please. I always thought Naruto wouldn't be accepted into our life, but now I was wrong. But now…. Seeing him going through something as horrible as this, I don't know what to say now." As he continued to look at the photos taken after the massacre, tears of helplessness came out of his eyes as he sees the damage that Itachi had done to his own home and the family he loved. Soon he tossed the photo album onto the ground and leaves the compound for the hospital, knowing that Naruto needs him for comfort. "I hope I am not too late. Hang in there, bro. I will be there as soon as I can, just hold on for a little bit longer!" he then dashed out of his house and rushed towards the hospital where Naruto was.
As Sasuke arrived moments after leaving his compound, he asked the nurse to direct him to where Naruto's room was. Once he got the directions, he heads down the hall towards the recovery wing of the hospital where the clan heirs are. "I see that he has some visitors already. This is a touching reunion. But I must see if naruto is okay." He thought to himself as he continued onwards towards naruto's room. He entered the door quietly and closed it behind him after walking inside. Once inside, he was greeted by the clan heirs. "You must be Sasuke Uchiha, the last member of the Uchiha clan to remain standing after your family was murdered. So I see you are here to check up on naruto-san right?" asked Hiashi.
"That's me all right. And I am the one that possesses the sharingan power. So I see you know about my parents' death. Yeah, my former brother, itachi killed my family and made naruto suffer for it. I think the reason he did that was to send a message to me that he will be back for Naruto's hidden power inside of him. As soon as I heard about Naruto's injuries, I had to come straight here. Now if you are thinking that I had something to do with my family's death, you are barking up the wrong tree. Now that I am here, what is the status of Naruto's condition?" asked Sasuke.
"Well, given the troublesome situation that Naruto is in right now, he still hasn't said a word since he was brought here and he still hasn't woken up yet. It's very strange but I think Naruto is being heavily consumed by the effects of your brother's technique. I honestly don't know if he will ever come out of this nightmare. I don't know what I am going to tell my son if he hears about this. And I am also hoping for a miracle soon since the Hokage told me that a healer will be returning to cure the blonde of his injuries." Replied Shikaku while looking over at Sasuke.
Sasuke then walked over to naruto's bedside and sat down on the chair while placing his hand on Naruto's head as he gently strokes it. He then held onto naruto's hand and said to him, "Naruto….. Uzumaki….. I know you can hear me, but from now on, I will be the one to look after you and take care of you like any other brother would do." The reason why I am doing this is to protect you from Itachi since he is after the power inside of you and I will not allow him to get his hands on you." His voice was starting to break up. "I… I also saw the photos at home and you didn't deserve this, bro, but I can't tell you how sorry I am to see you going through a personal matter that you didn't want to get involved in. Rest assured. We won't let you go through with this suffering. But I beg of you, please wake up and open your eyes or at least say something!" He then placed Naruto's hand on his head while hugging him gently. As the clan heirs watched, they could see that tears were rolling out of his eyes since this tragedy has affected him as well. They just didn't know what else they could do for the two best friends and brothers that had known each other for such a long time, but Sasuke struggled really hard with his revenge and hate and tries not to let it get to his head, but no matter how much pain he was in, he couldn't bear it any longer. Soon, the clan heirs decides to step out into the hallway to give Naruto and Sasuke some time to themselves because they never knew how much Sasuke cared for Naruto and the bonds they had together since childhood. Even though both boys had disagreed about things and got into fights, they still became best friends and grew to be as close as brothers.
Just then, kakashi stepped into the hospital hallway where he sees the clan heirs outside of Naruto's doorway and said, "Well, hello there folks. I see that you guys have decided to pay naruto a little visit. Isn't that nice of you folks, but well I am here to check on naruto's status and has he woken up yet?"
The clan heirs looked at each other and told him that nothing has changed since the blonde was brought in to the hospital after the murders in Sasuke's home. They also told him that Naruto won't be able to participate in combat until a healer from outside of Konoha returns to rid the boy of his mental stress and his injuries. Kakashi looked at them for a moment and then heads inside the room and sat down on Naruto's bedside. He felt so ashamed that he didn't come to the boy's rescue on time after Itachi kidnapped him and nearly took his life apart. But Kakashi now knows that Naruto needed a lot of protection this time around since more danger is bound to loom ahead. "Oh, naruto. I am so sorry that I didn't make it in time to save you from the compound but no matter what happens, I will also be here for you as well. I've already heard from the Hokage about what Sasuke had said and I really hope you will recover soon, don't worry. I promise you, all of us will get you through this okay?" he said to him while gently rubbing his face. He can already sense that the protégé will be back for him but the village will be ready to face him when the time comes.
As kakashi closed the door behind him, Shikaku approached him and asked, "I really hope naruto will ge through this because you are not the only person that is worried about his safety, we all are right now. Despite the troublesome situation, we cannot allow a traitor of konoha to get anywhere near him because we fear that he could be at risk of death, and that is something we shall not allow here. Do you think he will be fine with Sasuke around?"
Kakashi sighed and placed a hand on the lazy-ass jounin and said, "Don't worry, Shikaku-san, I am sure Sasuke will take great care of him, but it was actually my fault for not getting him out of itachi's place on time because I thought he would be able to get out of the danger zone on his own. I couldn't do anything to stop itachi from killing his family and I have to take full responsibility for what happened."
"kakashi, you don't have to blame yourself for what happened. Although I can say that Naruto will pull through this. But you must not give up hope on him. I do know what it feels like to lose a family that you love so much, but all this hatred from the villagers has to stop." said Choza
Later, at the Hokage's office, as the old man sat down to get some paper work finished, he didn't notice that a former student with long white hair and sandals was out in Konoha peeping again. So he sent any available shinobi to bring the guy back into the tower for an urgent message. As the former pupil arrived at the old man's office he said to him, "You got some nerve to interrupt me during my research here in Konoha and why have you brought me here in your office?"
The Hokage looked at him for a moment and said, "Ever since Sasuke's former brother and protégé murdered his family and defected from the village, Naruto-san has been in constant pain, especially the mental stress going on inside his head as well. I fear that if he doesn't get help soon, he might not get through this nightmare. So I need you to get into Tanzaku town and find a healer that specializes in curing naruto of his mental stress in order to get rid of the Tsukoyomi affecting him. If you can bring the healer back into Konoha, naruto may have a second chance at life." He said to him.
"If you are talking about the legendary healer Tsunade, she will be the perfect candidate to heal Naruto. But finding her will be difficult to do because no one had seen or heard from her for several years now. However, I can't say no to not finding her but I will do this for Naruto and for the village. But I do have a request though, sarutobi." Replied the former student.
"What is it, Jiraiya-sama? You are not thinking of taking naruto with you on the trip, are you?" said the Hokage ruefully.
Jiraiya looked at the Hokage with fear in his eyes and said, "No! I mean, of course not. Do you really think I would bring Naruto-kun in his current condition? And seriously, does itachi Uchiha really call himself a brother after what he did to the poor kid? When I find Itachi, I will personally hunt him down and kill him myself. Now I can understand that Sasuke will be looking after Naruto for a while, but I need to bring Sakura-chan along with me so that together we might be able to locate Tsunade and save Naruto's life. It will take a few days to find her but I think we can get this mission accomplished in time. And don't worry; I will make sure not to let Sakura get involved with the research that I am working on." He finally relieved himself of the fear inside of him because if anyone found out about his research, his entire work could be compromised. He then immediately dashed out of the Hokage's office and went to find Sakura before leaving for their trip to bring Tsunade back. The Hokage watched with interest and smiled, "That old coot sure has a lot of weird ways to treat women, and he will never change no matter what he does, but he never ceases to amaze me."
Elsewhere, Sakura seems to be getting worried about naruto when he didn't even show up at her apartment this morning. She started to wonder what happened to him as she prepares to head over to the hospital. But soon, she could see a tall white haired man with a usual looking symbol on his forehead at her doorstep. She then invited him in and asked him, "Who are you, sir? Do you know where naruto is right now? I am getting worried about him when he didn't come home last night because he usually stops by here each time to check on how I was doing and all." asked Sakura with a look of despair on her face. Jiraya looked at her for a moment and took her to the couch in the living room. As they sat down, he told her that Naruto was being sent to the hospital with serious injuries inflicted by Itachi after he murdered his own clan. As Sakura hears this, she was devastated to hear what happened to the kid and wanted to help him with the healing process. Furthermore, Sakura was told that Naruto will be out of action temporarily until a healer is found. At first, Sakura didn't know that the kid would be in this sort of danger, but now she fears that death could happen to Naruto if he isn't protected. However, Jiraya reassures that her that Naruto will pull through since he already has Sasuke and kakashi looking after him.
"Sakura-chan, how would you like me to take you to Tanzaku Town to find a person that specializes in healing? There is a woman that I've known for a while now since she is another one of the Hokage's students and a close personal friend of mine. I wanted you to meet her so that we can discuss the situation at hand once we get there. What do you say?" asked Jiraiya.
"If we can heal naruto of his injuries, then of course I would go with you. But I sure hope that Tsunade-sama knows about what Itachi had done to him and I really hope Sasuke can avenge his family soon." Replied Sakura. She tried to avoid the fear getting to hear head as she gathers up her equipment and leaves the house while closing the door behind her. Once outside, Jiraiya told Sakura to meet her at the gates of Konoha in about 30 minutes. He then takes his leave from the pink-haired kunoichi's house after his little talk with her. As she heads outside, she makes a quick trip to the hospital and asked where Naruto's room was, but before she could get there, she sees Kakashi and Sasuke calling for her to follow them down the hall towards Naruto's room. Once she arrived, she notices that Naruto was still unconscious from the beatings and that his injuries are not fully healed. She then looked at Kakashi and Sasuke and asked, "What kind of a sick monster would do this to a poor innocent child like Naruto? Just the thought of seeing him badly injured like this makes me sick to my stomach. I warned him that Itachi would be a threat, but I never expected him to go this far. Did Itachi put him in the middle of the family dispute?" she asked.
"Sakura-chan, Itachi was the one that took Naruto in to his life after he signed the adoption papers in the Hokage's office. I didn't know what my former brother was thinking after adopting him but I was certain that he was up to no good. At first I didn't think that Naruto would be that important to me, but seeing what he was going though, I couldn't understand why Itachi nee-san wanted to hurt him, it's just not right. After my family took naruto in, I was able to train him for a while to get him stronger so he can prefect his combat skills. Then I started to warm up to Naruto and we became the best of friends. Now, all those good memories are taken away from him. So I was now given a duty to look after naruto and avenge my family at the same time. You have no idea of what it feels like to lose a family that you love the most. Even though Naruto doesn't know much about me, I still think of him as a family and a loving brother, not that I blame him. But no matter how much I despise him, we care for each other a lot. And yes, Itachi did get him involved in the domestic disturbance." Replied Sasuke while sitting down on at naruto's bedside holding onto his hand.
Sakura was shocked to hear the truth about what happened between Sasuke and Naruto. She never realized the pain that both of them are going through. She was nearly ready to cry, but Kakashi immediately placed his hand on the girl's shoulder for comfort and told her that everything will be okay. He also reassured to her that a healer will come and bring naruto back to his old self again since he is a strong fighter. Just then, from the window Kakashi could see Jiraiya near the gates of konoha calling for Sakura to get ready for the mission that they are pursing. So Kakahsi gave her some Kleenex before she leaves with Jiraiya-sama while he and Sasuke look after naruto. But in Naruto's mind, he knows that a miracle will be ready for him soon and that he vows not to let the entire village down as he made a promise to Sasuke to help him defeat his former brother and show his true strength.
Once Sakura was outside, she heads towards the gates of Konoha and sees Master Jiraiya waiting for her. "So what took you so long to get here, did you get lost on the way?" he asked her.
Sakura looked him while drying the tears from her eyes, "No, I stopped by at the hospital to comfort Naruto for a bit, but I really hope he will make it through this. I don't want to see him suffering so much pain just like Sasuke. You have no idea what Naruto had gone through and…"
But Jiraiya immediately interrupted her and said, "Of course I know what Naruto had gone through, you think I don't know what Itachi is capable of next? He is a menace of Konoha and a danger to the civilians. The Hokage told me everything about Itachi and the threat he poses to his own home, but I will make damn good sure that Naruto gets the recovery he needs, Sakura. Don't worry about anything, I am sure that the girl we meet will make an excellent healer for Konoha and who knows maybe you could be a great medical shinobi one day! Hahahahah!"
Sakura sweat dropped at that remark, but she shrugged it off and leaves Konoha village for Tanzaku town with Jiraiya with the hope that Naruto can be cured. As she looks back at Konoha from behind her, she thought to herself, "naruto, just hang in there for a little while longer, we will be back to cure you of your nightmare soon. Until then, please have faith in us and we will be back soon." And with that she and Jiraya ventured off into the distance of Tanzaku town.
Elsewhere, deep in the forest, Itachi had already gone completely out of sighting range of Konoha. He then heads out of the forest and arrives at an undisclosed hideout not far from the Suna village. Once Itachi arrives inside the hideout, he is greeted by the other members of the akatsuki. "I presume that you are all gathered here for something important, am I right?" asked itachi.
"You are late on arrival and what took you so long to leave Konoha anyway, Hmm?" asked Deidara.
"Sorry, I was pinned down by that bratty knucklehead named Naruto. Even though I managed to dispose Sasuke of his family and leaving the blonde in an unconscious state, we should be able to retrieve the power inside of Naruto when the time is right," Replied Itachi while catching his breath.
"We won't JUST capture what is inside of the blonde; we will capture all the tailed beasts from all the hosts. Now, why didn't you finish naruto off anyway?" asked Sasori.
"When I saw the true form of the monster insdie of him, I quickly rushed out of Konoha while deactivating my sharingan technique. I couldn't finish him off because killing him now would jeopardize my mission, so I left him a message that I will be back to take what's inside of him. I couldn't care less about his family love crap but there won't be anyone to save him when I am through, believe me. Naruto won't escape this time." Finished Itachi while keeping his sharingan activated.
"All right, itachi, thank you for your input. We will deal with all the tailed beasts when the time is right." Said Zetsu. Soon, all the members of the akatsuki dispersed from the meeting area and returned to their posts. Soon Itachi disappeared with the other members and all of them have gone into hiding until their next appearance. Knowing everyone, the Akatsuki are now being considered a threat to all villages and they must be dealt with immediately.
Meanwhile back in the outskirts of Konoha, Sakura begins to ask, "Master Jiraiya, who is this healer that we are looking for and what is she like?"
Jiraiya looked at her and said, "Oh, she is about the same age as me, and she is a compulsive gambler. Sometimes she can be bossy and all, but she does have a soft side and I know that Naruto will be glad to see her soon enough, especially Sarutobi himself. However, I just wish she didn't break all of my bones in my body. I may be an old coot, but I am still in good health." Sakura just pretended that she didn't hear it from him as they continued their journey to Tanzaku town and the search for the miracle healer. But she always wanted to meet the mystery woman and her apprentice if Naruto was to have any chances of surviving.
"Sakura-chan, let me ask you, what's your relationship to Naruto anyway?" asked Jiraya-sama
"Well, to me, naruto is just my friend, it's not like that I have a love thing with him. Even though he may be bratty and a loud mouth, but still cares a lot for me and Sasuke. I almost felt kind of bad of what happened to him just a few days ago. But no matter what happens, I will always be there for him as a friend. I will not allow him to die at the hands of itachi-san!" As Jiraya heard those words, he smiled at her. No wonder she had developed a soft side for the poor kid after the loss of the family that he loved so much But in spite of what happened, Jiraya knows that he is not giving up hope. As they arrived at the outskirts of Tanzaku pass, they could see Tanzaku town right in front of them. "So this is the place where you mentioned about that mystery healer. Well let's hope that we find the person and convince her to heal our naruto. And I hope you can tell her about what Itachi had done." Replied Sakura.
Jiraiya then put his hands on the kunoichi's shoulder and said, "Not to worry, sakura-chan, I've got this all under control. Just follow me inside and we can get this all straightened out without blowing our cover. Rest assured, the report that I got here will no doubt give her proof about the perpetrator's criminal history and his behavior. So what do you say we go in and find out where she is?" finished Jiraya.
Sakura was reluctant at first, but finally followed Jiraiya into Tanzaku town to find the mystery healer and hopefully, to bring Naruto back to his normal self. But convincing her to come back to Konoha is not going to be easy since the women has a handful of secrets that she kept hidden after going into exile for such a long time. Who knows what that woman will tell to the people of Konoha? Only time will tell. As the sun begins to set, naruto's healing process is about to begin.
And stop…. Well that was a long chapter. It took me a while to get all my ideas for this one but I think that with itachi still at large, the village has been thrown into disarry. And with naruto's life hanging in the balance, the so called "Miracle Healer" will soon be found and her secrets will be revealed soon. But what shocking truth will Sakura and Jiraya discover about this mystery healer? Tune in next time on Chapter 6: The search for a healer. Read and review. Bye for now everyone.