Naruto finally saw Shisui on one of his border patrols. His team, along with Kakashi's, were on guard duty in an outpost near the Suna border. The chunin on duty reported some suspicious activity, but since there weren't any attacks yet, they only sent two ANBU teams for investigation. There were some rumors of Sasori being active in the area in the past, so they couldn't risk sending lower-ranking shinobi.
Naruto decided to join them in the investigation. His sensory abilities, along with Kakashi's tracking skills, could ensure there wouldn't be any surprises. Currently, they were heading back to the outpost for the night.
They found a few tracks, but they were all going in circles which led them nowhere. They couldn't risk camping outside with Sasori being a puppet master and an expert with poisons. When they reached the base, Naruto decided to go around and place some seals to upgrade their alerts and defenses.
Shisui saw it as an excellent time to join him. "So I got the good news," Shisui said with a playful smile.
"We both know you are not the type to be subtle. You can ask me anything. You know that right?" Naruto asked as he worked on putting chakra identification seals on the entrance.
"Hey, I take offense to that. I can be completely subtle when I need to." Shisui said with an offended huff. "But you are right. So the returned Yondaime is your father?" Shisui asked hesitantly.
"Yeah. It was bizarre at first. I'm not sure about how to act or what to do. I was raised by Danzo-sama, but I was only ever treated as a shinobi. I don't know how I should act or what I should do." Naruto said. It was a dilemma he didn't like to think about. He was trying to avoid his father by keeping himself busy with back-to-back missions.
The night before this mission, when he was at the party, he noticed how his father always kept an eye on him. he would try to engage Naruto in conversations or even ask other clan heads about him. Of course, since others knew the situation, they did their best to tell him everything they could.
They could only imagine how it felt like to lose a decade of your child's life. By the end of the night, Minato was only more depressed to know how much he had missed. Naruto could understand. His father woke up from a coma to learn he lost his wife and a decade of life.
It would take some time for him to grieve and come to terms. That was why Naruto avoided him. Naruto didn't want to be a constant reminder of what he lost. In his first life, he was a reminder to every one of their loss.
The villager hated him. he was abounded and alone. He didn't want to be the same as his father. He didn't want to lose him. he didn't want to get abounded by him. so he was trying to avoid him.
"Hey, Naruto. will you look at me?" Shisui said as he gently turned Naruto around to face him. Naruto struggled to keep his emotions in check.
"Hey. You are one of the best people I know, and I am proud to call you a brother. You are selfless and caring and always do your best to help everyone around you. It is ok to be confused or worried. But all you have to do is to be yourself."
"You don't have to pretend or do anything extra just be honest. I promise you everything will be fine." Shisui said as he held both of Naruto's shoulders firmly.
"But that's not that Shisui. You know how I can feel negative emotions. Every time I see him, I can feel it. He feels so sad and depressed. It's suffocating. I tried to search his chakra, but I was not there. It is still there but a lot less."
"I don't want to make him feel those emotions. I remind him of everything he lost. Maybe it would be better if I stayed away so he could start over. I can't be the son he lost. I can't be the son he wants. I can't be selfish. If I'm gone, he can find a new family." Naruto said, finally letting his emotions take control and tears fall.
Shisui suddenly pulled him into his chest. With him being in his late teenage years, he was as tall as Kakashi, and when he pulled Naruto toward him, he barely reached his stomach. He started rubbing his back with one hand while the other was holding the back of his head.
"Don't ever say that again. You have so many people who care about you. I won't lose you. None of this is your fault." Shisui said in a firm voice.
"But it is. My mother was the previous Jinchuuriki. Her seal broke because it was weakened due to my birth, and they were attacked. If I weren't born, she would be here. Alive and happy. It's all my fault. So many people died during the attack, and it's all my fault. I'm a mistake." Naruto said, trembling with the force of tears.
Shisui pushed him away and slapped him hard. It was enough to shock Naruto into silence. "HOW CAN YOU EVEN THINK THAT? YOU ARE NOT A MISTAKE. YOU WERE JUST A FEW MOMENTS OLD HOW CAN ANY OF IT BE YOUR FAULT? NO ONE CAN CHANGE WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PAST. I DON'T KNOW ALL THAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT, BUT I KNOW IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT. YOUR FATHER IS THE YANDAIME."
"THE MAN KNOWN AS A GENIUS FOR STRATEGIC THINKING. DON'T YOU THINK HE DID ALL HE COULD TO PREVENT WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT? ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY IT WAS HIS FAULT FOR NOT DOING MORE?" Shisui yelled, and Naruto shook his head no.
"See?" Shisui said in a calmer voice. "You are not the first child born of a Jinchuuriki. Nothing like that ever happened before. No one could have predicted what happened, but we both know there were definitely measures in place to prevent an attack."
"I don't know how it happened, but he was the Kage. He would definitely put measures in place. So if you don't blame him for doing all he could, stop blaming yourself for simply being born." Shisui said. Naruto didn't say anything but threw himself in Shisui's arms again to cry.
Finally, he passed out in Shisui's arms. Neither of them noticed the chakra signature nearby.
The next day was much the same. They finally had some solid tracks to follow but no sightings as of yet. However, Naruto was able to find the target with his sensory skills. It was vague since he was masking it. Naruto couldn't tell if there were more people or not.
He could feel multiple chakras, but Sasori was able to use human puppets, so they could be that. Or they might be hostages to lure them into a trap. Either way, they had to investigate. Shisui sent some of his summons to investigate since they were the least noticeable in this situation.
Currently, they were all waiting for the news and, at the same time, preparing battle strategies. It's been 3 hours since they found Sasori, but he hasn't moved. It was probable that he was aware of their presence and waiting for them to confront him.
Currently, they were changing their gears. When traveling or on stealthy missions, shinobi tended to wear lighter clothing so they could preserve stamina. But for battles, they would use heavier gears to protect them from potential damage.
They were using a combination for this mission. The gear was on the lighter side and only had high protection in vital areas. Sasori could use multiple puppets at the same time, so it was best to go for speed.
Finally, Shisui's summons returned, and they had a strategy. Sasori was with another missing-nin. Naruto didn't know this guy from his previous timeline, but according to Kakashi, he was an S-rank from Kumo. They decided to split into two groups. Shisui, Kakashi, and Naruto would take care of Sasori while others took care of his partner.
The Kumo-nin wasn't a significant threat in the case of precision. He was a berserker who tended to use large-scale jutsu with very high chakra capacity. He wasn't very strong in close-range combat but was a ninjutsu expert. So their team was going to distract him and find an opening to deal with the finishing blow.
Naruto's team, however, was going to use another tactic. Shisui was going to use his famous speed to get close, and Kakashi would provide support with ration, which can interfere with chakra strings. However, this left Naruto to deal with all the puppets in order to make that opening.
Naruto gave them all the information he could remember about how they should aim for the main body and how the puppets worked. They had to be careful since they couldn't risk getting hit. Naruto took a few deep breaths to calm himself as they approached their target.
Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. He knew it was Kakashi, so he just waited. "Be careful. Ok?" he said, a little worried. Naruto gave a reassuring smile and nodded. They fell into step. Naruto threw a smoke bomb at Sasori to limit his vision.
Sasori jumped back. They were in an area where the forest slowly transitioned into desert. It was mostly a stoney train with sparse trees. Luckily they were also near a short mountain range, so there were enough stones in the area to use for cover.
Kakashi and Shisui went left while Naruto went straight to meet Sasori head-on. There was no exchange of words needed. Sasori was wearing his Akatsuki cloak. Naruto quickly jumped out of the way of chakra strings aimed to pierce him.
He quickly used small explosions to cause some more damage to the terrain. Sasori finally brought a few puppets into the fight. Naruto could feel that Kakashi and Shisui started their approach and were dealing with a few of puppets.
Naruto quickly used more explosions to make Sasori back his puppets and focus on him. Naruto quickly used doton to use the loose pieces of earth made by explosions earlier as a projectile. He was trying to aim in a way to send Sasori toward Kakashi and Shisui, but Sasori wasn't stupid. Sasori used an earth wall to protect himself and sent more puppets after Naruto. Naruto dodged a few jutsu coming toward him.
There wasn't room for error, but Naruto was ready. He unsealed a tanto to boost with his win chakra and cut through chakra strings. Sasori was becoming desperate, and it was dangerous. Naruto could feel the poisons dripping from the chakra threads.
One hit, and they were done. Of course, there was a chance not to die of poison, but it would still put them out of commission. Naruto made a few clones to deal with the clones. He could see Kakashi and Shisui struggling to make progress from the corner of his eyes, so it was time to up his efforts.
Naruto quickly unsealed a few more explosive tags and smoke bombs. He wanted to conceal Sasori's vision as much as possible. Sasori pulled one of his puppets back to use the futon and disperse the smoke. Naruto quickly jumped into the air, away from the puppet who was going for his head.
Naruto used his tanto and chopped the strings of another puppet. It would buy him a little time before Sasori could attach the strings again, but it was enough time to secure an explosive tag to another puppet and blow it up.
Sometimes Naruto believed that most fights could really be solved by the extensive use of explosions, but he wasn't about to become like a certain Iwa-nin. His explosions were actually a work of art. As a seal master, he customized all of his seals.
He had complete control over how big each explosion was, how much damage it caused, and even how much sound or smoke came out of it. Of course, there were natural limitations. He couldn't defy the rules of physics, but he could use them to his advantage.
This allowed him to stay unknown to the enemy. They couldn't predict how big the next explosion would be or how much damage it could cause. If they were not careful, they would get caught in the range.
Currently, he was mainly using controlled explosions that didn't affect a wide area. He wanted to destroy the puppets but not get his allies in the crossfire. Finally, Shisui and Kakashi were close enough. Naruto quickly summoned more clones to finish the puppets and approached Sasori from behind.
Naruto was dancing in between the string. His movements were fluent, like a water current. He was spiraling
and cutting the chakra strings coming for him. The closer he got, the harder it would get. Suddenly there was a crash, and Naruto saw that Sasori was now in his main body.
Naruto upped his speed, pushing his body to the maximum. He could feel his lungs burning with the effort to keep up. He pushed through and kept going. After what was just a few minutes but felt like hours, the fighting finally stopped.
Naruto used his remaining strength to check for Shisui and Kakashi. Kakashi had his hand through Sasori's main body with the remnants of Chidori visible. Shisui was right beside him, checking for confirmation that their target was dead.
Naruto felt his vision blur and fell to his knees. He had a minor injury from a hit he took. It was poisoned, and Kurama was gathering chakra so Naruto could use his one-tail cloak and burn through it. It would only take a minute.
Naruto felt Kakashi and Shisui reach by his side. "Hey, Naruto. Are you ok?" Shisui asked worriedly. He was checking Naruto all over and was a bit hesitant to touch him in case it would worsen the injuries.
"I'm alright. I have to use my Jinchuuriki cloak to burn through the poison, but the wound isn't serious. Do you guys have any injury?" Naruto asked, holding his side to slow down the bleeding.
"We are both fine. I will go check on the other team. Join us when you can." Kakashi said before patting Naruto's back and shunshining away.
"Shisui. Step back and don't touch me no matter what." Naruto said, voice shaking a bit. Shisui didn't argue and stepped back.
Naruto took a deep breath and released his Jinchuuriki cloak. It was painful. Naruto could feel his skin burning. He took deep breaths to control himself. Kurama manipulated the chakra to make sure the process went well.
Finally, after a few more minutes, it was done. Naruto felt tired, but he quickly popped a chakra pill to keep going. Shisui approached him again. "Are you alright?" He asked.
"I will be fine. I burned through the poison. I spent too much chakra, so I need a few minutes for the pill to take effect. Can you seal the bodies?" Naruto asked as he maneuvered himself to a more comfortable position.
"Alright," Shisui said. Naruto knew that he was worried, but there were more important things to take care of.
Naruto stayed down for a few more minutes, trying to take his breath under control. He then got up and unsealed his medical kit to take care of the wound. It was time to go.