Chapter 7: Will to fight

It was already night in Konoha. Naruto and Kakashi sat outside the hospital rooms where their comrades were resting. None of their friends were in critical condition, although some would have to stay under observation for a few days.

Of the group, Rock Lee was the most injured in the battle by Sasuke's sword. Now he was sleeping after Sakura took care of him. Shino, Choji, Tenten, and Hinata couldn't leave the hospital as well due to their injuries. The rest had minor injuries but were relatively fine. They arrived where Naruto and Kakashi were waiting for the doctors to finish checking Neji. Naruto approached his friends and greeted them.

"Hey guys, are you alright?" Naruto asked, only to be received with Ino's sarcasm.

"Yeah, Naruto. Bandages and cotton are the latest fashion trend."

"Calm down, Ino. It's not the time to be troublesome," Shikamaru responded, noticing his teammate's attitude. "Looks like we narrowly escaped death this time."

"How are the ANBU doing, dattebayo?" Naruto asked, worried.

"Much worse than us. The doctors aren't sure if they'll survive."

"It's incredible that one person caused so much destruction," Ino said, wincing from her arm.

"One person? I thought Sasuke helped him," Naruto mentioned, confused, as Sakura approached to let them know that Neji was ready to talk. The ninjas entered the room after the doctors left. Naruto immediately noticed Captain Yamato and Sai next to the window. Those present took seats or stood around Neji.

"You wanted to tell us about something you saw in the battlefield?" Sakura said, who happened to be next to Naruto.

"Yes, during the battle, I saw the masked man with my Byakugan. It's much worse than we thought. Naruto, be very careful if he's with the Akatsuki," Neji warned the jinchuriki seriously.

"Why do you mention that, Neji?" Yamato asked.

"This guy has an immense amount of chakra. He was able to summon multiple powerful beings simultaneously without any problem. His fighting style is to gain numerical advantage with them, it's like fighting against Naruto and his clones."

"How that person looked like?" Kakashi asked, concerned.

"He was about our height, black hair with a long fur coat," Shikamaru said, giving Neji some rest.

"And what about his face?" Sai asked.

"We couldn't see it. He wore a white fox mask that covered his entire face. The most peculiar thing was that his nine creatures wore the same mask."

Naruto and Sakura felt their blood run cold as they heard that. Both ninjas looked at each other in surprise. Words were unnecessary at that moment. They already knew who was responsible for everything. And if he was now working with Sasuke, the situation was much more serious than when they faced him in the other world.

"Naruto, Sakura, are you alright?" Captain Yamato asked, seeing both shinobi looking at each other with great concern and pale faces. Immediately, everyone present focused on the blond and the pink haired girl , who didn't know what to say.

"It's just that... if someone so powerful and mysterious is with Sasuke... I don't want to think about what could happen," Sakura said, trying to maintain a calm that she had already lost.

"You won't believe me, but we're alive because of the so-called Madara. He appeared before the masked man launched a huge chakra sphere and convinced him to let us escape with a message..."

"What was the message, Shikamaru, dattebayo?" Naruto asked, hurried and heated, feeling a strong pressure

"It was for you, Naruto. They want you to go, or the attacks will continue."

"You're not planning on doing something stupid, Naruto!" Sakura yelled at Naruto after hearing Shikamaru. "It's clearly a trap to catch you, it's a suicide."

"Yes, although I can't let innocent people get hurt because of me. Kakashi-sensei, Captain Yamato, guys, I'll see you later," Naruto said, leaving.

"Wait for me, Naruto, don't do something foolish. I'm talking to Naruto here, for heaven's sake," Sakura said before chasing him. The others were about to help Sakura when Captain Yamato intervened.

"Sakura will be more than enough to stop Naruto. Besides, you all need to rest and recover from your last battle. We'll come later to confirm that everything is fine. Kakashi-senpai, is there something wrong?"

Kakashi, with his gaze lowered, was lost in his thoughts. He didn't know what was happening to his students. Naruto was hyperactive and did unexpected things, but he wouldn't recklessly throw himself into an ambush in the middle of the night. Fortunately, Sakura was by his side and would prevent him from doing anything. What worried him was a phrase from Madara's message.

"Madara didn't mention the place where he's waiting for Naruto. Only that they're waiting for him again."

"He has faced Madara before, hasn't he?"

"Never. Naruto has only met him with us in the Land of Iron and that one time inside the village. Which leads me to believe that they already had a battle that Naruto hasn't told us about."


The Fourth Hokage's daughter was already leaving Minato and Kushina's house. Konoha's Yellow Flash was in his office preparing for tomorrow, while Kushina accompanied Sakura to the door after the girl helped washing the dishes and declined to stay that night in the guest room. Before the pink-haired girl left for her home, the redhaired woman spoke to her seriously.

"Sakura-chan, I appreciate all the help you've given us and the lead you gave Minato to rescue Menma." Sakura was about to answer back when Kushina raised her hand. "Let me finish. I just want to ask you a favor."

"What is it, Kushina-san?"

"Leave this to Minato, Kakashi, the Hokage, and me. We know you want to help us, but we don't want you to be at risk. I can't allow it. If there's any progress, we'll let you know, but please don't interfere for your own good. Is that clear, Sakura?" The kunoichi remained silent and nodded before leaving for her home.

On the way, Sakura could only think about what Kushina had told her. She understood why she had said it, but she also wanted to be involved. She had failed to help her friend when the Masked Man attacked the village and now to prevent his kidnapping.

"I've never felt so useless. Menma has always helped me, and he never cared about my name or the legacy of my parents; he was just my best friend. And I failed to protect him. I don't know what to do if Kushina-san stops me from helping him. I don't want to just wait around like a fairy tale princess."

Sakura stopped when she felt a strike coming from behind. Reflexively, she dodged the attack and jumped back to get behind her assailant. She then noticed the long blue hair and white eyes of a certain girl.

"Hinata, what the hell are you doing?"

"Defend yourself, Haruno. I don't know what you did to my Menma, but I'm going to get the truth out of you," said the Hyuga clan heiress, launching herself at Sakura.

Sakura had no choice but to defend herself, dodging and blocking Hinata's attacks. There was something strange about the way Hinata was attacking; she wasn't as fast and strong as usual. The purpose of her strikes seemed to be leading Sakura to the park to continue the fight there instead of on the village streets.

"What are you waiting for, Haruno? Are you going to give up as always and do nothing to defend yourself?"

"What are you talking about, Hinata? Menma isn't in the village."

"Yes, but you know what happened to him," said Hinata, fighting more seriously but still holding back.

Sakura had no choice. She was already angry and frustrated. The feeling of helplessness, frustration, and Kushina's request ignited a fire within her.

At that moment, Sakura not only began to defend herself better but also counterattacked Hinata with all her strength. Sakura moved with grace, evading Hinata's attacks and launching kicks that narrowly missed her target. Then Sakura picked up the pace, launching a rapid sequence of kicks and punches that Hinata couldn't contain. Finally, Sakura saw an opening and landed a solid kick to Hinata's stomach, knocking her to the ground. Sakura watched as her opponent deactivated her Byakugan and slowly got back up.

"I can't tell you the truth about Menma, by order of the Hokage. But I can assure you, I can't help save him."

"You don't need to tell me. I already know that Menma was kidnapped. Although I never expected you to give up so easily and show such a pathetic and loser attitude through the village streets."

"What are you saying! I couldn't react when they took him, and I can't help bring him back."

"IT DOESN'T HELP EITHER THAT YOU'RE LAMENTING EVERYTHING! I thought you would do more after that failure and not give up at the first sign of trouble. Especially since you're my rival for Menma's heart. For being the daughter of heroes, you're such a disgrace."

Sakura fell silent because, excluding the part about Menma's heart, Hinata was right. She was just wallowing in self-pity and letting herself be carried away by the situation.

"If you're his friend, I thought you would do everything for him. If I knew the truth, I would find a way to bring him back no matter the consequences. Perhaps not all is lost. You showed me fire and determination to fight again," said Hinata, displaying some of her characteristic ego. "I admit that last kick was good, Haruno. When Menma returns, don't think I'll let you have him so easily."

As soon as she finished speaking, Hinata adjusted her jacket and raised her arm to bid farewell to a silent Sakura who only thought, "I hate to admit it, but she's right. I can't let a small obstacle stop me. I promised to bring him back, no matter how deep I have to descend into the darkness to retrieve him. He helped me in the difficult moments of my past. Plus, I'm the daughter of two great heroes; I have a duty to uphold their legacy and fight with everything I have. Although it wasn't the best way, you made me see everything more clearly. Thank you, Hinata."


In Konoha, Sakura stopped as she reached the peak of the Hokage Mountains. There she saw Naruto sitting atop his father's head. The ninja was gazing down at the village with an unusual seriousness in his expression.

"Naruto?"

"I won't go after him today, if that's what you're worried about. But tomorrow, yes. It's ironic that after all our doubts, he shows up in our lives. So that world does exist, and the Masked Man has returned to complicate things."

"Yeah, you're right," Sakura said, sitting down beside him.

"It's hard to believe that Madara would use Menma again for his plans. Now he's in our dimension and working with Sasuke."

"We have to retrieve him and bring him back home. I can't imagine how his parents must be feeling, especially after last time," Naruto said, thinking of the Minato and Kushina from the other world.

Sakura could sense the determination and concern in Naruto's gaze. She was about to tell him that she would help when a cold breeze made her shiver. Naruto noticed it too.

"Sakura-chan, you're cold. Here, wear this. You need it more than I do," Naruto said, taking off his jacket and placing it over Sakura, who accepted it.

"You know, this time Akatsuki won't come to our aid. It'll be harder than last time since he won't fight alone," Sakura said to Naruto.

"Yeah, Sasuke will be there too. It'll be a tough battle, but I hope I can help him."

"Help him, on your own? No way, Naruto Uzumaki," Sakura responded, surprising Naruto.

"We'll both go and recover Menma. Last time, I was just a spectator in the fight. I want to settle the score with your counterpart for using me as bait. Don't forget, we promised to support each other. You won't leave me behind again, got it?"

"Yeah, Sakura-chan. By the way, do you know where Madara will be? I didn't quite understand the message," Naruto said, returning to his normal voice and scratching the back of his head.

"Baka. The only logical answer is that they want to meet us in the same place as the last battle—the temple located northwest of the village, hidden in the mountains."

Naruto listened and looked in that direction. Both he and Kurama knew they would have to fight their doppelgangers once again. What they didn't know was that Menma was gazing at those mountains as well, contemplating how to annihilate the one who had humiliated him in his own dimension.


A/N: Sorry for the delay of the new chapter. I was really busy with work and IRL situations that I needed to attend. Everything should be back to normal this week as I was able to fix and organize some stuff. I will be posting the next chapter this week as well. The fight scenes will be coming out soon so I will appreciate any feedback about.

I'm also writing a Digimon story that will come out next week about the Digidestined of Digimon 02 going back in time to the ending of Digimon 01 to save their past. It will come out in Spanish as it's my native language but let me know if you are interesting in the translation as well.