OP: Scar/let by ReoNa
Hidden Leaf Forest
Unnamed Open Waterfall Field
"That...THAT WAS SOOO AWESOME!" Konohamaru shouts after seeing how the Rasengan for the first time and the damage it could do.
"I see you're very happy to start learning this technique. There are three steps to master, and doing so will allow you to use this technique."
"Are the water balloons you bought on the way here part of the first step?" Konohamaru asked while pointing at the large bag of water balloons the blond had bought on the way to the field.
"Yes. Now watch." Taking a water balloon in hand, Naruto makes it pop, Konohamaru excitingly asking him how he did it.
"No tips, you will figure that out yourself as you try to blow it up like I did just now. Meanwhile I will do some training of my own. Let me know if you completed it." After receiving a nod from Konohamaru, Naruto walks several feet away from the boy to focus on his own training, taking off his jacket and shirt before working on a new technique. Hours went by, Naruto hearing Konohamaru cursing as he failed to pop the water balloon for the umpteenth time. Naruto concentrates on adding wind nature to his Rasengan, seeing four wind blades begging to form before his technique dispersed.
"Almost..."
"Big Brother Naruto!" Turning around, Naruto is met with Hibari (Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs), having returned from the task he had given to her several days ago. As the two conversed, Moegi and Udon, having come to see how Konohamaru was doing, noticed Naruto talking to the Ameno kunoichi, the three kids wondering who the girl was.
"You took a lot of time to report back."
"I am sorry. I was called to complete other missions for my clan and couldn't make time to write a letter or come here to report."
"It's fine. I am not mad."
"Big Brother Naruto...I made sure to help provide proof that the Newspaper Club President at Yokai Academy was framing a friend of Moka's," Hibari told the blond ninja. During his stay at Hot Springs Inn, Naruto received a call from Hibari regarding a situation a friend of Moka's was in regarding a Newspaper Club she joined at her academy while he was having a glass of milk after a stay in the sauna room and had asked that she (Hibari) helped provide proof that Moka's friend was innocent. (Naruto is a very busy guy from the background. You may never know what he was up to).
"That's good...Did she deal with it herself?" Hibari assures him that Moka was safe and that she beat the club president in a fight, not needing to step in to help fight. "I see...Thank you for your help once again, Hibari. I appreciate it. I know I asked this of you while you had plans, and I will compensate you."
"I don't mind it, though..."
"What?" Her cheeks red, Hibari told him she wanted something more than just money as compensation. "What would you like to receive from me?"
"...-ate."
"What?"
"I want a date with you, Big Brother Naruto!" From where they were standing, Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon wonder what the two were talking about.
"No."
"Why!?" Naruto's answer was that he was too busy and had too much going on to give her one. "Well...When will you be available? Or is it impossible for you to have one with me?"
"Not sure when...and I'm not so sure it's even possible." Seeing Hibari feeling down about not getting anything else from him, besides the usual monetary compensation, Naruto felt a bit guilty. Even when it wasn't present on his face, his heart felt it. He couldn't afford to waste a second or minute to slack off. He had a goal, and he was going to see it through, even if it meant losing parts of his own soul as he went forward. Suddenly, Naruto placed his right hand on the surprised girl's head and gently ruffled her hair. "But I will...figure it out. Will take time, but I will figure something out. I promise."
"Really?" Naruto's response was to give her an assuring nod, which told her he will keep the promise. This brought a smile to her face, telling Naruto she looked forward to it before she prepares to leave to her village.
"Head home safely, Hibari."
"I will. Bye Big Brother Naruto! I'll tell Sagiri you said hello when I see her!" Hibari weaves some hand signs and immediately disappears in front of the blond, who resumes his training after yelling for Konohamaru to not slack off with his friends or he fails.
"R-RIGHT!"
Evening
Feeling it was time to call it a day, Naruto told Konohamaru it was time to go, seeing several water balloons Konohamaru failed to pop.
"Was it this hard for you?" Konohamaru asked Naruto, who blankly tells him it wasn't. "REALLY!?"
"I got it within a day. Everyone has their own pace of learning, so don't beat yourself up. Try again after you care for your body.
"Naruto!" Turning around, he and Konohamaru are greeted by Hinata, having heard from Shikamaru of his location and deciding to come see him.
"Hinata..."
"I am..I am..." Hinata couldn't help but stare at Naruto's shirtless self, taking in the sight before her. "I'm glad to see you back."
"It is good to see you Hinata," said Naruto, who put his shirt and jacket back on and asked her if she was just here to say hello to him. "Yes, and to partake in these." Now noticing the backpack she had on her, Naruto wondered what was in it. The Hyuga girl pulls out three boxes of homemade onigiri for her and the blond to have together. Agreeing to have them with her, Naruto asked if Konohamaru could also have them as a way to treat him. Though bothered by the inclusion of a third person, Hinata agrees, the three sitting on the grass in a circle before partaking in the food.
20 minutes later
"I had hoped to come see you when you came back, but I was on some missions and couldn't until now."
"It's fine. You wouldn't have liked what you saw." When asked what he meant, Naruto didn't go any further, changing the subject to how Kakashi has been as Team Kurenai's temporary captain. "Kakashi-sensei's been very good to us. Shino, Kiba and him got along pretty easy."
"Good to hear. I have noticed you've gotten strong since we last saw each other. You also look nice. I like the new look." Her face flushed, Hinata thanked Naruto for the compliment, looking happy about it. However, after recalling the first time she met Moka in Japan and Naruto said that she (Moka) was his girlfriend, her smile went away. "...How are you and your girlfriend?" Konohamaru nearly chokes on his food when the topic comes up.
"We broke up." The Hyuga girl looked surprised to hear about it as Naruto opened a thermos of barley tea and poured a cup for Konohamaru to drink to save his life. "She had to go somewhere far away and we thought it best to remain friends." In reality, they were only pretending to date, though Naruto did fall for Moka, not going further due to the love he still had for Ayane and so he wouldn't hold Moka back from what she had to do.
"I am sorry to hear that."
"Wherever she is, I just hope she's doing fine, even if she can handle herself."
"And how have you been?" Naruto tells her he was fine, but wished he could be better. "How so?"
"That part I am not sure." Hinata tells Naruto she wished she could help, but she isn't sure how. "I just need you to be safe, that's all."
"You sure?" Naruto assures her he was, though Hinata isn't convinced. "Shikamaru told me you and him are on bad terms when I saw him today. What did you tell him?"
"Hinata, please don't pry into our business. It does not concern you." The Hyuuga girl and Konohamaru were taken aback by the distant answer Naruto gave the former as he got up and thanked Hinata for the food, telling her it was delicious before leaving for home.
"Naruto..."
Three days later
Afternoon
It had been three days since Team Yamato left for a grave robbers mission. Tsunade thought it best that Naruto sit it out so he could cool off from the mission regarding Orochimaru and Sasuke. Naruto resumed his training as Konohamaru continued on mastering the first step for making the Rasengan, Naruto had nearly completed his new technique, having fully formed four blades of wind around the Rasengan in his hand.
"This is all I can do for now," he told himself as he cancelled the technique. Hearing Sakura call to him as she approached, Naruto turns towards her, wondering what she needed.
"Lady Tsunade needs you for something important."
Hokage Mansion
Hokage's Office
Upon entry, besides Tsunade, Shizune and Tonton, and Yamato, Naruto noticed that Sai had his right arm in a cast, and next to him was a monk who was a year older than him. He had straight shoulder-length hair, dull blueish-grey hair in an asymmetrical style with a single lock of hair falling into his face, and brown-colored eyes. He wore sandals and the Fire Temple monk uniform with a long right sleeve, and his right arm was bandaged.
"Who's the monk?"
"This is the one you said would be able to house me?" asked the young monk. Right away, Naruto directs a look that asked Tsunade, "Explain," as he crossed his arms.
"This is Sora, from the Fire Temple," said Tsunade. "He's going to help with the continuing mission. Since Sai will need time to recover, and Sora is from the Fire Temple and has been protecting the hidden tombs, having him with us will help complete the mission."
"And you, Sakura, Blank Canvas, and Captain Home Improvement thought it best to have him live with me until their mission is complete?" With a nervous smile on her face, Tsunade told him he had more space than the others and that Sora had no money to stay at a hotel. "...Fine, but I want to know the details of the mission. I want to know who exactly I am housing."
"...Alright, though I must also inform you of a bit of history as well. The tombs the grave robbers stole from were that of four member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, bodyguards of the Land of Fire's daimyō. Asuma and the head of the Fire Temple, Chiriku, were once members of it. Six of the Guardian Ninja had let their single goal of protecting the Land of Fire consume them into become radicals, believing that the status quo of the world was too delicate and the military resources of their country was wasted on the Hidden Leaf with their more passive approach. Believing they had to "unite" the country under one leadership, the Fire Daimyō, they became determined to overthrow the Hokage and destroy the ninja village, making plans to invade and conquer the rest of the world under their country's authority as soon as the Hidden Leaf was gone. When the daimyō found out about it, he rejected the proposal and ordered the six loyal Guardian Ninja (Asuma Sarutobi, Chiriku, Kitane, Nauma, Tōu, and Seito) to stop the six conspirators. Only Asuma and Chiriku survived the battle, the two deciding to disband the group after. The tombs belonged to Nauma, Seito, Tou, and Kitane, and Sora was one of the monks in charge of guarding them."
"So the grave robbers got away with their bodies, and Sora has some connection to the Twelve Guardian Ninja?"
"Yes."
"The leader of the grave robbers, Furido, he knew me and my father, which is why I decided to join this team until the mission is done."
"Hmmm...Quite a troublesome person you have brought back. If this is all you have to tell me, I'll be taking my guest." Tsunade thanks him for housing Sora, Naruto telling Sora to follow him.
On the way to his house
"Your father."
What of him?" Sora asked as the latter followed him to his house.
"I take it he was one of the six who turned traitor?"
"How dare you call him a traitor!" Sora shouts in anger. "My father was a hero, a member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. He was a courageous man with a powerful inner strength. I am sick of hearing the monks at the temple talk ill of him!" As Sora clenched his teeth in anger, Naruto listened, wanting to hear more before responding.
"He got what he deserved!", "Killing him was the right thing!"...My dad...could never have done anything devious! It must be some kind of mistake!"
"And if what they and others said was the truth?" Naruto's response served to anger Sora, asking him what made him think his father was what the monks said about him while grabbing his collar.
"Please let go of my jacket, or you'll end up waking in the hospital." Sora starts to sweat when Naruto asked that he lets go, his mind telling him to let go as soon as possible. As soon as he did, Sora grits his teeth in anger.
"I only asked what if it was the truth, I never said it is," he reminds Sora. "If it is, what happens when the truth is in front of you?"
"...You are irritating," Sora tells Naruto, l jumping across a small stream to the other side to go off on his own.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Feeling out the enemy on my own," said Sora, referring to the Hidden Leaf. "I'll take over this village in ten minutes."
"...Suit yourself." Sora looked shocked to see Naruto just walk away from him and not taking what he said seriously.
"Oi, where are you going!?" he asked the blond ninja.
"The Hidden Leaf is of no concern to me. I'm just here until I finish what I have to, then leaving for good."
"How...can you say that you have no concern for the Hidden Leaf, especially since it's your home?" asked Sora.
"Now you're just meddling in problems you shouldn't pry into and saying things I don't like," said Naruto. "As for housing you, I may have agreed to it, but Grandma Tsunade never said it was a mission for me to do. If you recall, I said until their mission is complete. She never added me in to the mission, nor did she tell me housing you was a mission. In layman's terms, outside of my house, you are of no concern to me, and if you are irritated by me, you can find somewhere else to stay for all I care. Now go try to take over the Hidden Leaf as you said you would, ten minutes is a short time." Looking on as Naruto left, Sora asked what his deal was to himself.
1 hour later
Naruto's House
Kitchen/Living Room
Evening
Hearing the doorbell ring, Naruto heads over from the kitchen to go answer. Opening it up, he is met with Asuma holding Sora by the back of his collar. From looking at him and the injuries he had, Naruto told Sora he got into a fight with Kiba, Akamaru, Choji, and Rock Lee and the reason why Asuma was here was because he stopped the fight and had decided to bring him to his (Naruto's) house due to him being Team Yamato's problem.
"How did you get all that from looking at me?"
"I'm not wasting words for that question," he told Sora.
"Lady Tsunade told me he was temporarily staying here and wanted to see for myself, happening to come across him fighting Kiba and his dog, Choji, and Lee. Figured I deliver him to your doorstep."
"You really shouldn't have...Did he take over the Hidden Leaf within ten minutes?"
"No, Lady Tsunade is still in charge," Asuma tells Naruto.
"I see. If he's done trying to take over the Hidden Leaf, he can either take a bath or eat dinner first once he comes in. That is, if he even wants to come inside the house of an irritating person." Smelling the food Naruto had cooked, Sora's stomach growls, embarrassing himself. "Unbelievable, get asked a question and your your stomach answers for you. You can leave the hungry stray to me, Asuma-sensei."
"You'll enjoy your time here, Sora, trust me. My old man the Third Hokage told me how delicious his food is, and it's the real deal."
"Oi, my house is not a five-star hotel. Now what will it be, stray? Come inside or stay out there?"
"...Inside." Once Sora walked into the blond's home, Asuma took his leave.
45 minutes later
"That was all so good..." a satisfied Sora told Naruto, the two having finished dinner consisting of pork ginger with rice, lamb skewers, stir-fried shrimp and mushrooms, and steak don with garlic sauce. "This is the first time I get to eat a lot and not have those monks leech food off me."
"You're welcome twice over," Naruto says while taking all the dishes and utensil and started washing them.
"...Oi."
"What?"
"Asuma...he was part of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, like my old man...I asked him why he was killed, but he never answered me."
"Is that right," said Naruto, focusing on his dirty dishes while still hearing Sora out.
"He didn't tell me anything, other than he died sticking to what he believed in. Died for the honor he himself believed in. I can't take it, not knowing after actually coming close to someone who knew him. I have to know." Naruto tells Sora that was one thing he could relate to, not being able to not knowing the full picture, the memory of knowing Akatsuki helped attack the Hayabusa Village.
"You should go take a bath and rest." As Sora took a bath and went straight for bed, Naruto was out at his backyard training till 10 pm. As he got ready to head inside, he receives a call from Moka, picking it up.
[Music Start]
[Persona4 the Golden Animation OST - Things left behind]
"Hey."
"Hey Naruto."
"What's up? Did you get into some sort of trouble today and need advice to get through tomorrow?" Moka assures him she was in no trouble at all since her last call from him.
"I just had a somewhat stressful day and wanted to vent a little before going back to bed. I'm outside my dorm so my roommate Mizore doesn't get woken up."
"It can't be as stressful as mine." Right away Moka asks him if he wants to tell her the details, beating him to the question.
"...I was left out of a job and have found myself waiting until something comes up. Next thing I know, I am asked to house a very troublesome guest for a friend's relative. He got into a fight with some guys before a cop brought him to my place."
"Oh my, a delinquent? Did he cause you any trouble since he arrived at your doorstep?" Naruto assures her as soon as he ate dinner and got washed, he wasn't any trouble for the time being.
"If he does cause trouble here I'll handle it. Outside, well, it's not really my problem."
"You saying what he does outside of your house troubles me. True you're only housing him, I think you should make it your problem if he makes trouble outside. Those who care for him may get angry with you if you don't make sure he stays out of trouble. I can't see you as one who can ignore problems of other people. You didn't ignore me when we were strangers. I still remember when you paid for my train ticket, and the many things you've done for me since then. Where is that Naruto?"
"I don't know...Sometimes I wish I that Naruto wasn't around," he told his friend on the phone.
"Don't say that. You know being the you that doesn't care never works out. He gets reckless, and puts distance between those who want to help and those who care for him. It's worse for him if he has people he is close with to begin with."
"What if sometimes he is needed to prevent something bad from happening to them?" he asked her.
"Then he's got his hands full and is too stubborn to hear when he's wrong about how he does things once he comes across a situation he alone can't bear." Noticing Naruto going silent, Moka asked him if he was deep in thought about what she said and taking her words to heart, sounding proud about it.
"W-We've talked about me too much, let's talk about you. What was giving you stress today?" Moka tells him she overdid it meeting a deadline for her newspaper club and that overconsumption of caffeine made her very anxious to finish, which added to her stress.
"I see. Well get to sleep as soon as possible after this call okay? You don't want to be late for your classes."
"There's that Naruto. Thought you didn't know where he was. He is still inside of you, and that is good to know. I was right to call you about my stress." Naruto goes a bit silent again, a faint redness on his face. "I'll be sure to head to bed right after."
"Right...Good night, and...sweet dreams."
"Not sure about the sweet dreams, but get some rest yourself, Naruto." As soon as he hung up, Naruto lets out a big sigh.
"So you are capable of talking nice." A bothered look now on his face, Naruto turned to see Sora looking at him with an amused expression on his face, a half-full glass of water in hand. Naruto was aware of Sora listening in on him talking to Moka a minute into his conversation with her, but he didn't want to ruin their time together by shouting at the monk.
"I honestly wish I could have told you to leave me to my own business, but she was on the "phone" so I couldn't."
"She sounds nice. Who is she?" Instead of answering, Naruto tells him to head back to bed, telling him he was lucky she called him. "Whatever you say, Landlord."
[Music End]
The next day Sora went with Asuma, under the Jonin's request, to learn how to better use his wind chakra, with Naruto resuming his work on developing his new technique at the same place Konohamaru was at, finding him still trying to pop the water balloon but this time was using the Sexy Technique to better focus. Not going further into the young Genin's absurdity, Naruto focused on himself. By the end of the first day, Konohamaru popped the water balloon, bringing him to the next step in learning the Rasengan, popping a rubber ball.
Behind the scenes, while looking into and apprehending Danzo, Tsunade and Yamato found out info about who Sora's father was, the identity being Kazuma, one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, who was the one who wanted to stage a coup, and an incident long ago where the Fire Temple was nearly decimated by a young Sora, the cause of his rampage being unknown.
The next day
4:58 PM
Having finished marinating chicken and setting it in the fridge for dinner later, Naruto wondered where his guest was. He suddenly feels a small rumble happening around him before it ceased. From the sound he could tell it was cause by an explosion, the direction of it coming from the Hokage's Office.
"Not my business. Probably Grandma Tsunade having too much work and letting out steam." Thinking about what Moka said to him the last time they talked, Naruto tries to ignore it, only to give in, rushing out of the house.
Outside of the Hokage Mansion
Upon arrival, Naruto saw a large hole on the side of the Hokage Mansion, and Asuma having a face off against an enraged Sora, who was lying on the ground at the Jonin's mercy, dust surrounding them. Seeing a flurry of shuriken flying at Sora, the blond ninja deflects them all with a kunai. Sora looked surprised to see Naruto come out of nowhere to save him from the projectiles.
"I thought you said..."
"I think you should make it your problem if he makes trouble outside. Those who care for him may get angry with you if you don't make sure he stays out of trouble." Thank my friend for making me do something I wasn't going to do here." Directing his attention at Asuma, he asked him what happened to make him angry, just as Tsunade, Shizune, and Yamato arrive, surprised to see him here. Getting up from the ground, Sora angrily declares to Asuma that he'll avenge his father and disappears in a strong gust of wind. The strength of the gust was a surprise to Naruto and everyone present, feeling they were up against a very small portion of the Kyuubi's power.
"What the hell was that?" Tsunade thought to herself. Worried about the power Sora wields, Tsunade turns to Naruto and tells him she was giving him a mission, to go after Sora, knowing he is needed to handle whatever power the young monk possessed.
"First..." Looking at Asuma, Naruto asked him what he did to Sora that made him like that.
"...I killed his father, Kazuma." When asked if Kazuma was a traitor to the Twelve Guardian Ninjas, Asuma nods his head yes. "Quite an unreasonable guy, not letting you hear your side of the story...I'll be off then, Grandma Tsunade."
With Sakura
5:25 PM
The power all over the village gets shut off, startling Sakura and worrying the villagers. She is met by Shikamaru and Choji, who were called to head to the Hokage's Office through Ino. On the way there, they come into contact with Kiba, who was also called in. After assembling, Tsunade informed them that the village was in State of Alert Level 2, giving them the job of helping with guarding the Main Gate until further instructions are given.
With Naruto
Hearing all the commotion going on from the Main Gate and a large barrier being erected around the village, Naruto decides to head out to the front the gate, hoping Sora would be there with whoever he was aligning himself with. He suddenly jumps off the roof he was on when a surge of electricity was ripping towards him, landing on a roof on top of a building to the left of him.
"Good instincts, and passable looks." Naruto says nothing as a woman with blue-eyes and long flowing maroon-colored hair arrogantly approached him. "I'll have some fun with you."
"..."
"Ara, you are at a loss of words from gazing upon a beautiful woman such as me. What is it that attracts you? My eyes? My kissable lips? My hair? Or maybe-"
"You're average at best, but with an ugly soul." Hearing his response, the woman glares daggers at the blond chunin.
"Ugly? Did you call me ugly?" she asked in an angry tone.
"I only said your soul was ugly," Naruto reminds her. "But now that I get a better look at you, everything about you is ugly. As for hair, I've seen hair "as beautiful as lavender that shines in the night", and the one who has it is far more beautiful than you."
"You...HOW DARE-" Before she could finish her sentence, Naruto was already next to her, his hand grasping at the top of her head.
"Should've moved your body more than your mouth." The woman could only scream as Naruto used his chakra to shred her hair into pieces, resulting in her body turning to dust and her soul to die out.
"That was a quick one." Naruto faces the just-arrived Asuma, asking him if Tsunade asked him to help him. "Yeah. I need to bring Sora in to custody."
"I see...Very well." Seeing a bizarre look on Asuma's face, Naruto asks him what was the matter.
"Shikamaru told me you were an unbearable asshole, but I don't see that now. Why?"
"Because you're going to be a father soon, and I want to make sure that kid Kurenai-sensei has growing in her doesn't grow up without both parents. That means watching what I say." Asuma's eyes grow wide from hearing that Naruto knew he was expecting a child. "How? I didn't even tell my team-"
"No other reason for Kakashi-sensei to fill in as Team Kurenai's new captain than that." After chuckling a bit, Asuma tells Naruto he was a very observant guy.
"...Have you told anyone you know about it aside from Kurenai's team?" Seeing the blond chunin nod his head no, Asuma thanks him, wanting to know what the gender of the baby was before telling his team the good news. Seeing a sphere of lightning appear in the sky above, Asuma comments on how bad the situation is.
"You know something about that?"
"The four whose graves were stolen, they can incinerate this whole village using a technique that requires all four users taking place in the cardinal directions. I have to stop it. Continue to go after Sora, I'll join you after."
"Don't go dying on Kurenai, or she'll get angry." With a confident smile, Asuma told him he had too much to look forward on to die now. "In the case I don't catch up to you as soon as you get to Sora, I need you to tell him some things."
Konoha Forest
As Sora comes halfway to meeting with the leader of the rave robbers, he is immediately kicked towards a tree, hitting his back against it before being hit by several shuriken that covers his body in a quick-drying adhesive. His attacker is Naruto, who told him to not struggle or the adhesive will tighten up until he's unconscious.
"I thought you didn't care about what happens to this village."
"There are some exceptions, Asuma-sensei being one of those. I may have my own problems, I am not a complete monster."
"You are defending a murderer!?" Sora shouts. "The one who betrayed and killed my father!? Who wanted what was best for the Land of Fire!?"
"You call getting rid of the Hokage what's best for the Land of Fire?" Naruto asked.
"The land has no need for two kings," Sora replies. "Since there are two kings, there will always be sources of conflict that will continue to fester. My father wanted to make it so there would only be one king, yet...because of Asuma...The man, Furido, he'll help me continue my father's work, to make his dream come true."
"Such a blind idiot. You're going to continue his work, not considering asking Asuma-sensei why he did it?" Naruto asked, just as the lightning ball in the sky disappears, meaning Asuma had managed to stop the technique from activating. "You kill him, the whole truth dies with him. Be glad that lightning ball in the sky is gone, or else you would have taken part in the deaths of thousands of people."
"What are you talking about?"
"Guess this Furido guy didn't tell you the rest of his plans, did he? He planned to turn the Hidden Leaf into a crater, something he did with a few other villages on his way here."
"What!?" Before he could say more, Naruto jumps back to avoid a flurry of chakra enhanced shurikens flying at him. As soon as he lands on the ground, a man with long, worn-out white hair and a pale long scar stretching diagonally across his face appears next to Sora and uses the Five Elements Unseal on Sora, causing him great discomfort and pain.
"Those deaths are necessary to making a Land of Fire with only one king, said the man known as Furido. "As long as there are people who believe in the Hokage, that can never happen."
"I...I don't want this!" Sora told Furido as a bright red light enveloped him.
"Hearing you say that...That makes me sad to hear those words come out of your mouth. Like your father, you will die for his cause, and for mine." Sora begins to shout in pain as his skin peels off revealing a dark orange, nearly black layer of chakra underneath. Fox ears slowly grow out the top of his head and four tails start sprouting.
"This feeling..." Naruto thought as he watched Sora's transformation.
"The Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit. It has been over fifteen years since it was sealed away by the Hidden Leaf's Fourth Hokage. Some of its chakra remained in the air, which was then implanted into you, SORA!"
"A pseudo-jinchuuriki?" Furido laughs maniacally as Sora gets enveloped in a pillar of chakra, just as Asuma arrives.
"You..." Directing his attention to the Jonin, Furido tells him it was nice to see the face of the man who tried to kill him. "You're-...No way..." With no warning, a chakra arm comes out of the pillar and knocks Naruto away. Once the pillar disappears, Sora, now in a full four-tailed Version 2 form, chases after Naruto, leaving Asuma to deal with Furido/Kazuma.
"Kazuma, how could you do THAT to your own son?" he asked him as he takes out his chakra blades.
"So what if he's my own son?" Kazuma asked a horrified Asuma. "The Hidden Leaf has their jinchuuriki, shouldn't the one king need their own to protect him?"
"You..." Getting ready to fight, Asuma tells him he will make sure he's dead, to protect those he cares about, and the next generation. Back with Naruto, he plants his feet on the ground to regain his footing and jumps back to avoid a swipe from Demon Sora, the attack leaving a small crater on the ground.
"In the end, I am alone...I will get revenge on everyone who wronged me, everyone..." Narrowly dodging an extended claw strike from Demon Sora's left hand, Naruto takes out a kunai and infused his chakra into it, forming a long blade from the tip, which he uses to cut off the limb, then cutting off the right one when it comes towards him. Seeing the four chakra tails coming at him from above, Naruto throws eight shuriken at them, which create a large explosion that blows dust everywhere. Using Reinforcement, Naruto strengthens his limbs and enhances his eyesight to see through the dust. He moves his body left and right to avoid two blasts of chakra then puts his arms in front of him to block a crescent wave of demon chakra, which left a diagonal burning cut on his forearms.
Moving his arms out of his face, the blond ninja moved to the right to avoid a lunging attack, then executes a kick to the left side of Demon Sora's left cheek. Naruto could tell the attack had no effect on him as the demon monk gave him an arrogant smirk and swipes at him with his already grown right claw, leaving five diagonal cuts on the front of his jacket.
"Why do you insist on fighting this inferior jinchuuriki without my power? I will not be shamed by someone inferior to me. Unleash me Naruto."
"Go to hell you damn fox. As much as I hate Akatsuki, I am not fond of being used by you!" Naruto goes behind a long and wide tree to avoid four balls of chakra fired at him, destroying the area around the stump and making it fall over, the blond jumping out of the way before it could crush him, leaving him open for a punch to the face that lightly burned his right cheek, knocking him back.
Unable to get up in time to avoid a chakra blast, Naruto quickly draws runes onto the ground with a kunai that forms a wall of ice in front of him to protect himself. Demon Sora lets out a roar of irritation from not being able to kill who he thought would be an easy target.
Gathering chakra with two fingers to condense it into a small Rasengan, Naruto fires it like a bullet at Demon Sora, the small spiraling sphere embedded in his right shoulder, knocking him off his feet and onto his back. The sphere then expands before disappearing in particles, destroying the upper right side of the pseudo-jinchuuriki's body. Sensing movement in the earth, Naruto avoids the four tails rising beneath him that would have impaled him. He doesn't see Sora's left hand extending its four fingers, impaling him on the right side of his chest and pinning him against the tree.
As he got up fully healed, Demon Sora gets stopped in his tracks, finding himself caught in the now-arrived Shikamaru's Shadow Possession Technique.
"What the hell...are you doing here?" Naruto asked in a pained voice as the claws pinning him recede, making him drop to the ground. "I'll handle this."
"Oh you definitely have this one on the ropes," he told the blond as Kiba, Choji, and Lee arrive to help. Lee knocks Demon Sora back with a Leaf Whirlwind, with Choji following it up with an expanded right fist to crush him. Not wanting to give him a chance to get up, Kiba and Akamaru perform the Fang Over Fang on him, forming a narrow but deep hole with the monk in it. Extending his shadow one more, Shikamaru uses the Shadow Stitching Technique to both impale and immobilize Demon Sora within the hold.
"That should hold him until Kakashi arrives with a seal from Jiraiya."
"That won't...be able to hold him," Naruto told Shikamaru, everyone hearing a roar of rage coming from within the hole as the hole widens for Demon Sora, giving him space and knocking Kiba, Akamaru, Lee, and Choji back.
"Don't even say it," Shikamaru tells Naruto, who tells him he wasn't going to and that what's happening now would do it for him. Now free, Demon Sora grabs Lee by his right leg and swings him at Choji, knocking the two out. When Kiba and Akamaru go for another Fang Over Fang, the monk swings at them with his tails, knocking them into a tree, Kiba using his body to cushion Akamaru's impact. When approaching a downed Choji, Shikamaru uses Shadow Possession again to stop him, struggling to prevent his movement. Sick of being stopped, one of Demon Sora's right fingers impales Shikamaru in the stomach. Seeing this, Naruto's eyes widen in fear. Everything around him looked slow as he watched Shikamaru slowly drop to the ground
"You weren't supposed to come here. None of you were...especially Shikamaru." Naruto starts to hyperventilate as Demon Sora grabs him by the throat and pins him to the ground, preparing to blast in a point-blank range with a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"This wasn't the plan...This wasn't supposed to..."
"You could have stopped this if you used me in the first place. Yet you refused. Had you been more open to use me, Kureha would have lived, we could have went straight to the Hayabusa Village and stopped the Vigoorian Empire and the Akatsuki. Your refusal nearly ended up killing those you hold dear to you. And now, one of your good friends will be a casualty of your mistake!" As he struggles to free himself, Naruto's desperate screams turned more demonic as his eyes turn red and slitted and red chakra starts to envelop him. Grasping the hand pinning him down, Naruto splits it down the middle between the middle and ring fingers, making demon Sora scream in pain, a big difference from before.
The demon monk jumps away from Naruto and breathes fire at him, not letting up until he was sure he was dead. As soon as he stopped, Naruto was a charred corpse, making him sport a demonic smile. This turns into a look of horror when a red chakra arm bursts out from the chest of the charred corpse before out of it comes Naruto's four-tailed version 2 form, now possessed by the Kyuubi. Unlike Sora's the real deal was blood red in color.
Being in the presence of the real deal brought fear into Demon Sora, who ensnares Naruto's limbs with his tails. This would be a mistake as Naruto ate at the tails that were wrapped around his wrists. Upon letting go of Naruto's legs, Demon Sora noticed the tails Naruto devoured weren't growing back. The Kyuubi wanted what the monk had inside of him. He wanted his chakra back, and he wouldn't let someone like Sora keep it.
When Demon Sora tries to make his escape, Naruto appears in front of the pseudo-Jinchuuriki and slaps him to the ground with his four chakra tails. Naruto rips out the remaining two tails one by one, the tails sinking into his body. He then pins Demon Sora by the throat and starts absorbing all of the fox chakra inside of him until Sora was no longer a jinchuuriki, but a Human fearing for his life. Instead of killing him quickly Naruto chose to slowly choke the life out of him with his right hand, a sadistic smile on his face. Sora is saved from a slow death when a kunai that had an iris flower on it finds itself embedded in Naruto back, a tag for sealing on its handle that immediately suppressed the Kyuubi inside of the blond ninja, reverting him back to his normal self. Seeing his hand around Sora's throat, Naruto lets go of it.
"Sorry," Naruto told the monk, Sora saying he should be the one to say it, not knowing the how far Furido would go. Feeling the sharp kunai that was still imbedded in his back, Naruto pulls it out, the wound immediately closing up. Looking at the kunai and realizing who it belongs to, Naruto surveys his surroundings, to Sora's confusion. To his sadness, he didn't see her.
"What are you looking for?"
"A part of me I can't let go, let's leave it at that. Right now, my priority's bringing you in. What happens next is up to Grandma Tsunade." Preparing to make his way back to the Hidden Leaf, Naruto sees Asuma walking towards them, having killed Kazuma and survived.
With Shikamaru
Hidden Leaf Hospital
Waking up, Shikamaru, with some effort, sat up from his bed and saw Choji, Kiba, Akamaru, and Lee individually having barbecue dinner in bed, each of them having a grill to cook their plates of meat on.
"Oh, Shikamaru, you're awake!"
"Choji? Everyone, what happened?" Choji tells him he wasn't sure, only as soon as he and the others woke up, they each had several plates of raw meat and veggies next to their beds and a hospital table with a built in grill in front of them. They had been eating for ten minutes now. After popping five beef tongues in his mouth, Choji shouts how A5 beef was the best.
"A5? Our usual barbecue place doesn't serve-..." Realizing who it was from, Shikamaru lets out a smile. "That asshole..."
"Hey Shikamaru? I've noticed you have twice the amount of meat on your side. You think we can switch beds?" Shikamaru tells Choji he'll split the meat with him, calling switching beds a hassle.
Naruto's House
Bedroom
As soon as Naruto got home, he had been staring down at the kunai with the iris flower on it longingly by the window. Letting out a sigh, Naruto puts it in a drawer and closes it.
The next day
Main Village Gate
10:23 am
"Instead of jail, Asuma covered for you."
"Hard to believe," said Sora. "After everything I did, he never got angry with me...He's a good man, unlike my father, and Furido. I never thought they would be willing to sacrifice me and innocent people to achieve their goals. I just refused to believe it."
"It's always hard to...be confronted by those truths. But if you can accept them, the paths that come after will be open to you, ones you never would have imagined..." Naruto replied.
"I wonder what sort of paths await for me after everything that has happened to me..." When asked what he plans on doing now, Sora makes the decision to not go back to the Fire Temple and explore the world and make connections, having sent a letter to Chiriku about it.
"What made you decide on this approach?" After hearing how Chiriku had always wanted him to explore the world, Naruto frowns upon hearing that his conversation with his friend (Moka) the first time he stayed at his house was also the reason he wanted to go see the world.
"I want to make connections with people like her, maybe several of them, genuine bonds."
"You are lucky Sakura, Blank Canvas, and Yamato are not here to hear this."
"...You know, deep down, through all that coldness, you are a good person. Whatever your problems are, I do hope you one day get over them. Though that may be hard, with that...thing inside of you. But with a stubborn guy like you, I know you'll manage." Naruto doesn't respond, remaining silent as Sakura, Sai, and Yamato arrive to see Sora off. Following Sora's departure, Sakura asked him if the two talked about anything while they were making their way to the front gate.
"Nothing any of you should know. I'm going back to training." Sakura had a sad look on her face as Naruto heads back to the Open Waterfall Field to continue where he left off.
Three Days Later
Fire Temple Entrance
"A temple? You sure we got the right place Kakuzu?" An Akatsuki wielding a triple bladed scythe asked his partner, who had his whole face, save for his unique colored eyes, which were pupil-less green with red sclera.
"The monk who leads this temple is here Hidan. Sure of it as the bounty for collecting his corpse." Using Earth Release: Earth Spear to increase the durability of his left fist, the Akatsuki known as Kakuzu knocks down the doors of the temple walls, grabbing the attention of all the monk, who immediately identify who they were. Chiriku, the head of the temple, slowly descends from the stairs of the temple's entrance and prepares to face them down.
"I don't know what sort of business you have here, but turn around and keep moving."
"You won't kill us without a cause right? Charming, but that's not one of my beliefs," Hidan told Chiriku, raising his scythe at him.
"The waistcloth with the fire emblem on it, it definitely him, one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. Take caution when dealing this one, or you'll die." Hidan's response to his partner was to tell him to shut up and start attacking.
[ED: Cold Sun by Aimer]
It was a bit of a rush with the Twelve Guardian Ninja Arc. I mostly did it through Naruto's perspective, since it's about him mostly.
I had originally wanted him to go to the Fire Temple, but felt that keeping him from the mission was a way to show that since he isn't very cooperative with the new teammates, he is left to do his own things until Tsunade feels he is ready to be embrace the new teammates.
Moka is one of the ones who can talk him out of doing what he does. He cares deeply for her, and is the one person for now who he can he honest to, most of the time, though the parts where he lies, Moka may be able to pick up on that.
Despite his need to be distant from the others, he doesn't act rude, most of the time, around Asuma since he has a baby coming up with Kurenai and Naruto wants Asuma to live to be there for that kid when they are born, hence why Naruto didn't act like a jerk to him.
The way Naruto's four-tailed state came out I wanted a little bit of a horror feel to it. At first I wanted him to split his face open to reveal the face of Naruto's four-tailed form like one of Spawn's Outro for "Mortal Kombat 11", but felt that was too extreme.
The kunai thrown at Naruto to bring him back from his Version 2 state belongs to Ayane. Despite telling him she didn't want to see him again, a part of her that still loves and cares for him puts aside what she said to him in Part II in order to seal away the Kyuubi, then leaving to deal with stuff in "Dead or Alive" before Naruto could see her. Though I do wonder, how did she know he was in trouble? Did someone tell her about it or ask her to check up on him for them?