-3-
Man On The Moon
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its affiliates. This is a fan made work.
Enjoy!
Kakashi shivered, a cool breeze groping his body as he walked along the dirt path. There were few lights out in the dark, a majority of the light being given by the ever-present moon. A black cat made itself known with a yawn, and everything was serene.
The only sight to behold was the dirt path in front of him. He could finally enjoy some peace from all the memories that plagued his mind. He was free for the time being.
Glancing over at a branching path, he felt obligated to check it out, but he didn't know why. He had never taken it before, and he sure as hell didn't know what lay in wait if he were to follow it. With a shrug, he weighed his options.
Get home and get some much-needed sleep, or follow his gut and take a slight detour? As a human being, the choice was obvious.
As a shinobi, the choice was obvious.
He walked down the path, inhaling the intoxicating scent of the foliage surrounding him, and with a content sigh, he glanced up at the sky. Stars upon stars lit up the milky night sky and gave the impression that a thousand bombs were exploding at once.
This was serene, this was peace, this was tranquility; He would need to do this more often, lest he fall into the life of boredom and normality. This was quite all right in his book. Quite all right indeed.
He rounded the next corner calmly, looking around to see his surroundings. He could tell he was in a park of sorts, but personally, he had never visited said park before. This was all very foreign and new to him. He would have to visit this park more often, preferably in the day time.
Kakashi was alone, he was almost certain of it. Nobody was even close to being around, and while he couldn't sense chakra like a sensor, the confidence he held in his own abilities to gather intelligence was astounding.
Being alone was something he was used to, something that he made a part of who he was as a person. Of course, he had romantic interests, like Anko or… actually, Anko was the only person, male or female, that had ever tried to make a move on him in recent times, and that, albeit only slightly, concerned him.
He was a good-looking man, had a decent career, great pay. He had everything going for him! Of course, he knew that nearly nobody in the world could ever see the true him, due to blocking everyone out, but that was beside the point.
He was a great catch, dammit!
He sighed; that was enough of the depressing thoughts, he had to keep an upbeat and happy attitude about him, lest he want to rejoin the ANBU for a second depression session, and God knows that he would probably never recover a second time through.
Reaching a lake that rested lightly in the middle of the park, Kakashi took a seat by a nearby bench and yawned softly, drowsiness overtaking his body. It was far past his bedtime, but for some reason, he was compelled to go towards this park, like it was almost destiny.
The snapping of a twig a few paces to his right is what eventually drew him out of his day dreaming. Drawing and loosely clutching his favorite romance novel, Kakashi casually strolled down the path once more, not at all disturbed by the noise.
It was more than likely a raccoon or a wild dog, searching for scraps to hold them over until the nocturnal animals surfaced for the night. Whatever the case, he was sure that it was nothing that could pose him harm.
The artificial lighting of the lamp posts around him was a welcomed guidance for him, as he wasn't quite sure where he was going for the time being. And when thinking about it, he wasn't quite sure where he was going at all. He hoped that something would strike him soon, something that would give him a purpose for the time being.
Looking forward, he saw a peculiar sight, one that he wasn't honestly expecting at all to be seen. One Naruto Uzumaki, sitting on a wooden, half rotted park bench, intently watching ducks and geese swim in front of him, chucking tiny pieces of bread for the animals.
This was odd. Odd as hell. Naruto was normally at his house for the remainder of the day after a team practice or D-Ranked mission. For some reason, Kakashi was extremely interested in what Naruto would be up too at this time of night.
"You know, Naruto, bread isn't healthy for a bird's diet. Try some fruits instead, or seeds." Kakashi leaned forward onto the bench, and wobbling slightly, took in the sight that Naruto was taking in.
The water ran for seemingly miles, with various animals and vegetation floating harmlessly around. The poplar trees surrounding the vast lake gave it an elegant appearance. Overall, the view was quite nice.
"I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei. I was feeding them with the only thing I had with me."
Kakashi internally snorted in amusement, but instead opted to stay quiet. "You carry bread everywhere you go?"
Naruto couldn't hide the blush of embarrassment on his face. Turning back towards the lake, he sighed.
"Is there something you want to talk about, Naruto?"
He was hesitant, but eventually he opened up to his teacher. "Do you ever feel like you can't express yourself sometimes? No matter how hard I try, I just can't connect with my peers."
Turning towards his master, Naruto glanced up at the lone eye peering curiously back at him. "I mean, Sakura and Sasuke are both neutral towards me, but not anybody else. I grew up alone, I have no parents, the closest thing to family would be you, Yugao, and the Lord Third, but that isn't satisfactory to me, I want to experience a bond."
Again, with the weird-ass phrasing of words, it was odd. He was like, 12, and most 12-year-old kiddos didn't talk like that – except Itachi, that was par for the course with him.
He pointed at the blazing moon. "I feel like I'm on the moon sometimes, Kakashi-sensei. Does that make sense?"
And indeed, it made sense. It made too much goddamn sense.
Kakashi took a seat next to Naruto. "I'm sorry, Naruto."
The boy glanced cautiously at the older man. "For what, Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi shook his head in self-disappointment. "For not being there for you as much as I should have been growing up."
Naruto laughed joyfully, or attempted too. It sounded fairly robotic – rehearsed. "Nonsense, sensei. You did your best; I know you had duties for the village. I know you visited me whenever you could." And he was being truthful. He was not mad at all towards the scarecrow.
Kakashi glanced up at the moon. "I guess you are onto something, Naruto. Can I tell you something about myself?"
"Go ahead."
"Sometimes, I feel the same as you," he wasn't quite sure why he was revealing all of this to Naruto, but he was. Maybe it was because he was so close to his late sensei, Naruto's father, but something was causing him to spill his heart.
"I wanted to take you in, to try and prevent you from growing up the same way as me, but obviously that wasn't possible. I was an emotional wreck for multiple reasons. I went to alcohol to escape my pain, but that was temporary."
Naruto hummed in reply and glanced coyly at Kakashi. "So, you are saying alcohol is a good method for me?"
If there was a real-life equal to the 'record scratch' moments in movies, then the older of the two just experienced it for himself, all in one swift motion.
Did… did Naruto make a joke? And it was actually good?
Kakashi eye-smiled back at the blond, amusement painted on his gaze. "Well, you still can't drink until you are 18, Naruto. But no, I am not condoning using alcohol as an escape method."
The two of them enjoyed the peaceful silence. Occasionally, a duck or a goose would waddle up to them and quack thoughtfully at the duo, before waddling slowly back the other way. The two of them didn't want to break the silence, even if the world was ending.
"Say, Naruto, it's getting pretty late, isn't it? Why don't you get to bed? We do have team training tomorrow." Naruto nodded thoughtfully in response, but offered no reply, instead only a sigh of resignation.
"Before you go, how about a team dinner tomorrow? A Team 7 bonding session, if you will. Would that be okay?"
It was subtle, almost embarrassingly so, how quickly the flash of joy was on Naruto's face, and if he was paying less attention then Kakashi would have sworn it was a trick of the lighting, but the former ANBU knew what he saw. It actually saddened him how depraved of social interaction Naruto was, something he intended to fix, or at least die trying to.
"Of course, that would be okay, Kakashi-sensei! I would be… thrilled," he had to think of the word, "to have my team over for a dinner. What time do you think would work best?"
Kakashi gave it a good few moments of thought. "I'd say it really depends on you, but does six in the evening work for you, Naruto? I have a jounin meeting at seven-thirty, so that gives us roughly an hour and a half, and yes, I promise I'll be on time for the dinner."
Naruto merely narrowed his eyes, but after a moment, he nodded. "You better not be lying, sensei."
Kakashi had the decency to look ashamed, a bashful look on his face.
Sasuke walked into the training grounds that he had grown accustomed to every morning, a light scowl on his face. He was still slightly sore and tired from the chakra exercises he was performing yesterday, and his body was telling him to stay indoors and relax.
He spotted his blond teammate peering towards the main body of the surrounding forest blankly, his mind obviously somewhere else besides his current location. Sasuke merely shrugged.
This had been the process he was used to for a few days now. Arrive, meditate, train, missions, leave. It was quite dull, if he had to be honest. He wanted to be stronger, much stronger than he currently was. After all, he was nothing but a foolish little brother…
Shaking clear of thoughts better left unmarked, the Uchiha took his customary seat against a mighty cypress tree. He sighed in resignation. One day he would make it out of this boring old place.
A few hours eventually passed and his leader was once more in front of the three students. "Now team, before we do anything more today," the day had barely started. "If it is okay with you two, I want to have a team bonding dinner at Naruto's house, courtesy of our favorite knucklehead here." At that, he affectionately rubbed Naruto's head, the blond going near-comatose at the sudden physical contact, prompting Kakashi to hurriedly remove his hand.
"I don't have a problem with that Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura said, grinning slightly towards her orphaned teammate.
Sasuke, if he had a problem with the dinner, didn't bother to voice audible words, instead grunting and glancing the other direction. Kakashi sighed in response to Sasuke's response. This would be a long day today.
"The dinner will be at six, so get there at roughly five-thirty, please. Help Naruto set up and such," handing two small pieces of paper to Sasuke and Sakura, he continued. "that's his address."
Pocketing the slips, they both bowed slightly towards Naruto in thanks, and he found himself attempting to smile in return, knowing that would be an appropriate response. This wasn't so bad, come to think. Of course, he wasn't too sure if they were accepting because they enjoyed his presence, if it was the free food, or if it was because Kakashi implied attendance was not up for debate.
"Now that dinner is taken care of, we are going to start training for today. Tree walking will be what we start with."
Sakura raised her hand in confusion. "Sensei, what is tree walking?"
Kakashi eye-smiled in return. "Good question, Sakura. Tree walking, and by extension surface walking, is a vital tool in any ninja's arsenal." To demonstrate his point, he scaled the nearest tree, peering down at his two awestruck students.
Naruto merely looked on.
Kakashi dropped down. "In order to cling to surfaces, you must channel chakra to the bottoms of your feet. Not too little, unless you want to drop immediately, but not too much, lest you want to be shot from the tree like a cannon."
Shooing them from their spots, Kakashi opened his book and read it carelessly, his lone eye devouring the book's contents, pupil racing from line to line and letter to letter, image to image, page to page.
Sakura took a tentative step onto a piece of bark, a small, thin line of chakra illuminating the bottom of her foot like a light bulb. She attempted to place her remaining foot onto the tree, but instead found her butt firmly planted on a patch of soil, a worm poking out in confusion at the extra weight.
Sakura frowned, obviously she didn't expect to get it down pat on the first try, but she didn't think her chakra control was that bad! Maybe it wasn't, and this was just a new, foreign concept to her, but she would have to practice a lot more if she wished to achieve progress for her team, but more importantly, for herself.
Sasuke, as much as he didn't want to admit it, was absolutely frustrated. Absolutely livid would be a more apt description. He was from the famed Uchiha clan! An exercise of this level should not be dragging him down this much. This was asinine on so many levels, and yet…
He glanced towards his left. The lone female of the team was about halfway to the top of the soaring tree, a careful and considered approach floating delicately on her heels. She had a bead of sweat rolling down her slender face, but other than that, along with the look of concentration adorning her face, she seemed to be calm.
Turning the other way, he saw that Naruto was already at the very top of the tree! "Naruto! How did you reach the top already?"
The genin merely shrugged nonchalantly, not perturbed by the fuming Uchiha gazing harshly up at him. "I read up on genin exercises at the library. You should try it sometime." Naruto said after a moment, mimicking hand movement he saw in a book, "finger guns" as it read.
Meanwhile, Kakashi narrowed his exposed eye at the scene. It was one thing to know a basic C-rank elemental release while being a fresh graduate, that was extraordinarily common amongst clan children, but being able to walk on the sides of trees with apparent ease, and absolutely no struggle at all?
Something was wrong.
Meanwhile, Sasuke snarled at the bark, the same bark that seemed to be laughing coyly back at him. How dare that blond-headed fool! Who does he think he is?
He took another attempt at the exercise, but like the numerous attempts before, he was suddenly launched towards the ground, the ground beneath him having been torn up from the impacts before.
"You know, Sasuke," Kakashi drawled from his perch. "perhaps you should try to use less chakra. You have been launched quite a few times." With that sentiment shared, he went back to reading his book, but it seemed to anyone who would be watching, his eye lingered at the very top of the page he was reading.
Sasuke huffed and turned back towards the tree. Gaining a running head start, he began his attempts once more, this time scaling a few more steps before ultimately sliding down the trunk.
Naruto tapped his chin in thought. Perhaps he should 'throw' his fellow nin a 'bone'?
"Sasuke," he called out softly, twirling a kunai in his hands. "Instead of trying with a running start, why not try first with baby steps, like Sakura?" As simple as it sounded to the blond, he knew the brunette's pride would surface, and surface harshly.
His mouth was open wide, like a maw.
All of his planning, all of his efforts, the amount of resources and dedication poured into the brat, and it was all gone, like this? Every diagram he showed her, all of the guarded steps and boundaries he crossed to ensure that everything would go as smoothly as possible.
Surely this was her idea of a weird, cruel joke?
"Konan… what is the meaning of this?" Obito demanded, his tone even, despite the overwhelming rage that threatened to overtake him where he stood. His fists were clenched tightly, a few drops of blood surfacing from his palms. His breathing was ragged, the primal instincts of a natural hunter surfacing.
"Madara's plan for the moon-" Konan tried to intervene from the oncoming rant.
"Is a hoax! It's a sham! It's complete and utter nonsense!" Obito shouted furiously, his Sharingan peering dangerously at the horribly neutral woman staring rather impassively at him.
"…it's the only way to achieve total peace for the Elemental Nations. I am afraid, Obito Uchiha, that I will be going with the plans of Pain, whether you want to or not." Konan finished for herself, ignoring the absolutely blistering look being sent her way.
Obito paced in front of her, his steps crooked and rough, his normally passive aura turning downright menacing.
"We took a lot of steps for this-"
"And we are taking no more," she cut him off. "Pain is right; The Eye of the Moon is the only way we can establish true peace amongst the world, and your little plan for creating a super weapon undermines the very foundational beliefs the Akatsuki was founded on."
His fury was building with each word she had the audacity to let escape from her lips, the swashing and brittle composure he was so proud of at one point threatening to collapse where he stood.
Obito tightened his fist.
Konan merely tilted her head and looked away from the sight of the furious Uchiha, knowing her next words would ignite the spark entirely.
"You are to visit Naruto and seal away the Sharingan. If you fail to comply, you will be eliminated."
Instead of a blistering chaos erupting from the man, he simply gripped his mask, and ungripped it, repeating this process a few times, apparently trying to control his rage.
Obito shook his head in disgust, in furious anger, but no words of protest managed to slip out of his
"Understood."
Konan gave a nod of satisfaction.
Obito, having said what he needed to, disappeared into a swirl, an angel to dwell in silence. She, and by extension Pain, didn't trust Obito for a mere moment, but until the day came he double crossed them, he would not perish.
Meanwhile, Obito sighed into his mask. Of course, he wasn't going to go along with this plan, he would warn Naruto, and if need be, develop a contingency plan. He would keep Naruto away from Nagato, no matter the cost.
He was vital to defeating Madara, and this was certain.
Jumping across the pathway, Naruto swiftly dodged a heavy strike from his battle partner, his instincts guiding him softly. Blocking two more punches, he shot a quick jab back, clipping Sasuke on his chin. Twisting his body to gain leverage, Sasuke attempted to deliver a kick.
Jumping backwards, Naruto threw a group of dulled shuriken at the Uchiha. Sasuke deflected the tools with a newly drawn kunai, a dangerous glint reflecting the sunlight. Naruto gave a small grin, letting it slip, knowing Obito wasn't there to reprimand him.
Sasuke waited patiently for his partner to initiate once more. This would be good- no, this would be great! It would be an ultimate test to prove if he was growing stronger by the day. He would be ready for anyone if he kept this pace up.
Until they continued for a bit more.
His body ached, and Sasuke panted, grasping for any strands of air to refuel his metaphorical tank. He was used to these spars, but yet, he never seemed able to grab the upper hand, no matter how much he was able to predict Naruto's attacks.
He should be stronger than this! This should be child's play for him! And yet, here he was, once again coming short when it mattered the most. He was quite honestly disappointed in himself, if this was all he could do after swearing revenge against his older brother. He was such a fool, if he thought about it.
Sasuke immediately disappeared from sight, his outstanding speed coming into play for the first time this session. Unfortunately for the Uchiha, his blond companion was seemingly far, far faster that he was.
Naruto swept his foot behind him, causing his fellow orphan to go careening into the ground. Delivering a swift ax kick, the boy managed to roll out of the way when Naruto's foot cracked mercilessly into the solid ground.
Before the fight could escalate any further, they were quickly brought to a halt, as to not disturb them before they really got into the spar.
"Alright you two, that is quite enough. Naruto, I am impressed by your speed perception. Sasuke, I see you have improved your reaction speed from the genin test. Great stuff all around, to the both of you."
Naruto nodded in acceptance of the praise, and gave a short bow to his sensei. He extended his hand towards Sasuke, and the boy accepted it, being helped up.
"That is all for today. No missions, as the Hokage as summoned me for some events that I must tend to. Meet at Naruto's apartment for the dinner by five-thirty, please. Dismissed."
Naruto settled into his bed after a steamy shower, his tense muscles slowly loosening themselves against the thick, soft cotton blankets. It was four-twenty. He would start cooking their dinner at around five sharp. He had plenty of time to rest his core.
Snuggling deeply into the cocoon that was his bed, he glanced outside his apartment window. A light drizzle was making itself know, and Naruto felt he enjoyed the rain. It was free.
Something felt off, however.
Like something very bad had just taken place. Shrugging to himself, he rolled over.
That's when he felt a chakra source he did not expect to sense. Shifting himself to be upright, he paused. No, that couldn't be his chakra…
Jumping up and putting a shirt on, he quickly walked to the door, and opening it, his fears were unfortunately confirmed. Obito Uchiha, mask and all, were staring down at him.
"Move, Naruto, I am risking our whole identity with me being here, so shut up and pay attention." Not exactly surprised at Obito's little rant and more so shocked that he was there at all, Naruto dumbly nodded his head and took a seat on his love sofa, staring with a fastened curiosity at his true master.
"Now, what I am about to say is going to be a shocker, no doubt, but you have to believe me, I swear I am not lying or deceiving you, okay?"
Naruto nodded. Of course, Obito would never willingly or knowingly deceive him, it didn't need to be clarified.
Actually, first…
"Let's talk, somewhere else." His Kamui warped into reality.
Naruto, once more, found himself in the Kamui dimension, for the first time in what had been probable years. It was still devoid of any substance, just merely grey blocks floating, trapped in space and time to remain stagnant.
Naruto was across from his master, who was staring at him, the red of his eye boring into him.
"Tell me, boy, what has been my goal all along for you?" He finally asked after a moment.
It wasn't the first time he had been asked this question, but it never felt… threatening, like it did now."
It was an unexpected question, above all else. He came all the way to ask that?
"I am to awaken the Sharingan, then eventually the Rinnegan, and defeat Uchiha Madara, should he ever be revived." The blond recited with pristine accuracy, being granted a nod from Obito in return.
They continued to stare at each other, waiting for an indication, seemingly any.
Shifting his hand, Obito dug through a bag and threw Naruto a kunai.
"Have you been training yourself in melee combat?" The Uchiha questioned, drawing his own kunai.
Naruto had not been, not as much as he should have been, and he knew Obito would sniff out the deceit if he decided to lie to the older. While his punishment would probably be strict and severe, it was deserved if he hadn't been training.
"No, sir, I have not been."
A deathly silence spread.
Instead of the anger, the disappointment, the eventual suffering that would spread into his voice, Naruto found none of that in Obito at the moment. "Then I suppose now is the best time for a lesson to catch you up."
Naruto blinked, and before he knew it, Obito was charging at him with his own set of kunai, slashing down as he barely avoided the attack. He attempted to dance around it, but this particular session was especially violent.
Uzumaki moved, and so did Uchiha. One was dancing, and the other was raging. Over and over, through and through, above and under, the boy attempted to bob and weave, occasionally deflect, while he was being assaulted from any direction Obito saw fit.
The clashing of kunai was all anyone could hear, besides the occasional grunt from Naruto.
"Focus, boy!" Obito forced through the colliding sounds of metal, his voice ragged, and he tried to obey, but his master was faster than that, planting a brutal kick to his ribs, forcing him backwards with no reprieve as he was immediately on the defensive again.
Dodging another punch, and deflecting the kunai strike sliding in from the side, he couldn't avoid the rising knee that clipped him in the thigh.
Jumping back, Obito threw three shuriken, one of them grazing Naruto on his shoulder, and continued his physical assault.
"Are you dumb or are you deaf? I said focus!"
Naruto lightly panted in exhaustion as he was, once again, kicked backwards, and immediately clamped forward as Obito almost stabbed him.
"I said focus!" The Uchiha disengaged and delivered a brutal punch to his jaw, sending him skidding back.
"Focus!"
The man threw another three shuriken, and he felt hopeless as to what he was supposed to do. Obito was essentially beating him stupid, what more did he want?
It was stressful. He knew Obito could be rough, but this was cruel, even by his standards.
And then something changed.
Time seemed to slow down, and he could see the flow of the shuriken, the pattern, how they were traveling and where they would end up, and he narrowly ducked under the blades.
Immediately, Obito raised his hand, and Naruto nearly collapsed, the sign that it was over.
"Well, that's what I wanted to see."
Naruto glanced down at his kunai, and red eyes peered back at him, three tomoe in each eye.
"Although," Obito continued, as if nothing extreme happened. "I am rather surprised you have a fully matured Sharingan immediately."
The two of them shared a look, black on red, before being black on blue.
"You know how to deactivate it already, that's good."
Obito released a sigh he didn't know he was holding in.
"Listen to me, Naruto. You cannot tell or show anyone you have a Sharingan, okay? That means no training with your genin team or jounin sensei, no using it on missions. You use it exclusively in private, where you are certain nobody is in the room, are we clear?"
Naruto nodded again. That made the most sense. He wasn't an Uchiha, so of course he had to keep it hidden. That still left what his master came for in the first place, however.
As if reading his mind, Obito took the initiative. "Konan isn't your ally anymore; she has betrayed you. The only members you can trust fully are myself, and a man named Uchiha Itachi, okay?"
He expected Naruto to take it a little worse than he had, but the boy simply stared at him. "So, Konan needs to be killed eventually?"
"Eventually," Obito nodded, slightly surprised at how quick he was to accept that he was going to kill his only other teacher. "I understand this may be hard to understand, but you are very important for the future of the world, okay?"
Shaking his head, the boy looked up. "I'm not surprised; I'm used to it, master. I'll do my best to support you."
And that was true. He would serve Obito faithfully.
After that little episode, Naruto was back in his apartment, the spaghetti dish now fully being prepared. It was a rather fancy spaghetti dish, if he did say so himself.
Putting the finishing touches on the dish, he set it out and waited for a few moments, feeling his teammates and sensei rapidly approaching his apartment building. Flickering off his Sharingan, he got a few glasses of water and a bottle of champagne – and no, he wouldn't explain where he got it if questioned – ready for the night.
That was something he wasn't exactly accepting, at least not yet. Having a Sharingan, even if it is artificial, is a scary thought to him. He wasn't exactly prepared to start training on how to use it, and because it was already matured for reasons unbeknownst to himself, he had to adapt to the Sharingan, and he had to adapt fast.
Foreign feelings, especially when it came to his body, were not that uncommon for him. He housed a literal chakra entity inside of him, his family, adoptive and biological, had forsaken him in one way or another, and now he was borrowing from another clan to fuel someone's ideology for the ultimate battle between peace by conquest and peace by acceptance.
Then again, he could adopt reading shameless smut, like his sensei, or he could take up about a hundred different things that the various shinobi of Konoha seemed to have, but that would only make him a dirty thief in his eyes.
Jumping across the apartment, he smoothed his shirt out and attempted to fix his hair from its messy strands, before peering thoughtfully into the bathroom mirror to see if it was apparent that he had been brawling earlier. His eyes only looked a little puffy, but it could be passed off as allergies, and not intense sweat dripping from his head.
He finished grooming himself and went outside to greet his guests, wanting to make a great impression and show them he meant serious business with his cooking.
His mind never seemed to leave the tragedy, unfortunately.
Zetsu crawled through the base of his target. Silently slipping past two of the guards who denied anyone access that wasn't approved, he continued deeper into the walls. This was nothing more than a business opportunity, an olive branch being extended in a generous act, one rare enough for the hybrid monster.
He couldn't be damned if he was being honest, this was a waste of time.
Eventually, he came to the room, sinking slowly from the roof until he was directly behind the man he wanted to discuss future plans with.
"You snuck through my base and didn't immediately attempt to assassinate me, so spit it out, before I take offense to your presence."
Insolent little brat.
"My master offers you a deal, Hiruko. All he wants is your allegiance when the time is right." Zetsu murmured, causing the pale man to turn slightly.
"Oh, and who is your master?"
Zetsu's grin was demonic.
Madara and friends are making moves in the Elemental Nations, who would have guessed?
But so is Obito.
As I'm revising these chapters, I'm finding that, in the past, I had a vision for how I wanted Naruto but I was much too inexperienced to adapt it. I think these chapters are better than before.
Have a great day/night!