DISCLAIMER!: I DON'T OWN NARUTO! Thought you'd know by now...

(A/N): Welcome back!

How'v ya been? Good? That's great!

Well, time to get on with the show!

TO THE STORY!

. . . .

Chapter 51: Balance

. . . .

After they caught their breath Cole sighed. "Jiraiya," he said in sudden seriousness. "There is war coming. And your old friend is the one responsible."

Jiraiya let his face become serious before looking up to him. "What can you tell me?"

. . . .

"So, I guess we have a lot to talk about?" Naruto asked his darker counterpart.

'Dark' Naruto sneered at him. "So what? We talk, you abandon me, and move on with your life? Fuck that! I am not going to be abandoned! I won't be left aside! Not again! Never again!" he roared as he charged Naruto.

They both drew Kitsune no Kiba and clashed. Strike after strike neither of the two were able to break through the others defenses. Eventually they stopped there attacks to gain distance.

"Katon: Gobyaku no Jutsu!"

"Suiton: Teppo Damma! (Water release: Water bullet)"

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

"Fuuton: Renkudan!"

"Fuuton: Kaze no Yaiba! (Wind release: Wind Blades)"

"Kitsune no Hikari!"

"Shuriken Kagebunshin no jutsu!"

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

Every attack that the other used was repelled by the other. The room was littered with holes and craters. Shuriken were scattered across the ground and both of the fighters were bent over in exhaustion. Naruto looked up to his darker self with a hint of pity in his eyes. "Please...lets just talk about this!" he said between breaths. 'Dark' Naruto saw the look he was being given and roared in anger as he caught his second wind. He charged and tackled Naruto to the ground.

He started smashing his fist into Naruto's face over and over again. Tears ran down 'Dark' Naruto's face as he began to break down. He grabbed Naruto by the collar of his shirt and shook him. "WHY!? WHY DON'T YOU FIGHT BACK!?" he cried his fist crashed into Naruto one more time before the young blonde looked his darker self in the eyes. "B-Because...I...Don't want to...fight with...myself...I accept you...I don't hate you...I don't want to throw you aside...You are me, and I know the pain we have felt. I know how scared I am. So please, we can go though it together. Not as enemies, but as the same person."

"LIAR!" 'Dark' Naruto cried as he raised his fist to punch Naruto again. But he stopped. His hand shaking in the air. His eyes flooding with tears. He looked into Naruto's eyes and saw nothing but warmth, and forgiveness.

He slowly lowered his hand and slowly let go of Naruto's shirt. Naruto stood up and pulled his counterpart into a hug. He hung onto him while he cried. Over the span of what felt like hours, he stopped. "Okay..." he whispered.

He slowly let go. He looked Naruto in the eyes. The once red and black eyes slowly fading till they were Naruto's normal deep blue. 'Thank you...'

He started to crumble to dust and fade out of Naruto's mind.

Naruto himself looked to Kurama's cage and saw the demon smiling down at him. His strength found again, his tails swaying happily. The mindscape reverted back to the mountain cave over looking the forest. "Good job, Kit. I'm proud of you." were the only words Naruto heard before he faded out of the mindscape and back into reality.

. . . .

When Naruto woke up he felt...whole. He was calm, relaxed. He felt like he just had the best sleep he had ever had, and best of all, he felt happy. He slowly sat up in his bed and felt his right arm stuck under something. He looked to his arm and smiled. There sitting next to his bed and holding onto his arm for dear life was Hinata. He leaned down to her and whispered into her ear. "Wake up my Hime..."

Hinata's eyes slowly opened. She sleepily looked up to Naruto's eyes. She blinked a couple of times before looking deeper into them. Tears came to her eyes. His deep pools of cerulean blue were back. They had the life, the mischievous glint to them that she loved. She leaned up and quickly wrapped the blonde in a hug. She lightly cried into the crook of his neck. "Welcome back Naru-kun." she softly cried. Naruto hugged her back and kissed the crown of her head.

"Hina-chan, I am so sorry..." he whispered to her. She sniffed and looked up at him. "You better be." she said as he pulled him down and pressed her lips to his.

Naruto couldn't move. His face burned redder than a tomato, but he got over it. He held her tight and kissed her back.

But there 'moment' was short lived as Anko walked into the room. "Hey Hinata it's getting late, I'll take..." she froze when she saw the scene before her. Her eyes widened till they couldn't open anymore. She mechanically turned around and walked away. "S-S-Seinaru-kun! Things are happening!" she yelled in hardly suppressed glee. Down the hall Cole laughed as he saw the two teenagers turn away from each other with faces that glowed red. "Then why did you ruin it for them Anko-chan!?" he laughed. Once he caught his breath he wiped away a stray tear. He walked into the room and had a soft look in his eyes. "So I guess you found your balance?"

Naruto nodded but didn't say a word. Cole laughed and turned to leave the room. "Good, now come on. There's someone who wants to meet you." he said as he left the room.

. . . .

Naruto wheeled Hinata to his living room and saw someone new sitting on the couch. He was tall. Taller than his dad. He also had longer white hair than he did. He wore green clothes with a red sages cloak over them and had a horned Hitai-ite. He also wore red face paint that made it look like he had tears of blood going down his face. He looked over at Naruto and smiled warmly. But then it changed into a somewhat perverted smile. "So~ the love birds decided to join us~." he said with a slight giggle. Cole snorted when he saw the tick mark form on Naruto's forehead and Hinata's crimson blush.

Before Naruto could go off on the new comer Cole stepped up. "Naruto, Hinata, this is Jiraiya of the Sannin. He is the toad sage of mount Myoboku and a master of Fuinjutsu like you and also trained the Yondaime Hokage." Cole said while Jiraiya smirked at the two Genins reaction.

"S-So this perverted looking guy trained the Yondaime! Why is he here then!?" Naruto said while pointing at him. Hinata was frantically trying to bow as best she could in her wheel chair. Cole chuckled at the two and Jiraiya jumped up from his seat. "Hey brat! I'm not a pervert! I'M A SUPER PERVERT!" he yelled at Naruto.

The two Genin froze and got a deadpan look on their faces. "Did you really just..." Naruto started. "Call yourself a super pervert..." Hinata finished. They both sweatdropped when they saw him nod confidently. Cole and Anko were rolling on the ground at the little exchange. I took them a minute before they were able to calm down. "Ok-Ok...whew...well he's here to train you Naruto. You are his Godson after all." Cole clarified. Naruto looked Jiraiya up and down before giving Cole a deadpanned look. "And what is he going to teach me? How to be a perv?"

Cole nearly lost it again, like Anko did, but he was able to keep from bursting out laughing. Jiraiya growled at the blonde. "Oh, yeah? What about this!" Jiraiya said before he formed a Rasengan in his hand.

Naruto kept his expression neutral before raising his own hand and forming a Rasengan of his own. "Yeah learned that one before I got out of the Academy." He dispelled the Rasengan at the same time Jiraiya did.

Jiraiya was scratching his chine before a light bulb flashed above his head. "Oh, yeah? Then how about a summoning contract?" he asked with a smirk. Naruto's eyebrow twitched before he sighed in defeat. "Fine you got me there." he said like he had just lost a debate.

Cole walked up to Naruto and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, I will be training you with Jiraiya. Now that you have found your balance I can finally start traiing you on how to use the Kyuubi's chakra to its fullest." he said with a smile.

He then turned to Hinata and smiled. "But first, Hinata, I'm gonna heal you. But under one condition. You CANNOT tell anyone you are healed. Too many people will get curious on how you were healed so quickly. I need to keep as many of my powers hidden from the foreigners in the village as possible, understand?" She nodded and Cole smiled.

"Good," he said picking her up. He walked outside and placed her on the ground. "Naraka path: Summoning of the outer path, King of Hell!" he exclaimed as the King of Hell rose from the ground. Cole placed Hinata in his mouth and after a few chews, she walked out.

She instantly ran to Naruto in a running tackle hug. The two teens laughed and Cole, Anko, and Jiraiya watched happily. Jiraiya sighed and his face grew grim. "Times like these really make you forget war is right around the corner." he said with a sigh. Cole kept on smiling and turned to the sage. "Yeah, but it is times like these that need to be treasured the most."

. . . .

(A/N): NEXT UP! TRAINING CHAPTER!

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