I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, I'm just a fan I enjoyed the anime but I love the fanfics even more, they made me fall for the whole franchise.
Chapter 72
Sasuke walked behind Sasame Fūma who led him down an underground hideout she said her friend Arashi was being kept in.
The Fūma clan finished a war a few years ago against the Shinobi of the land of woods, they wandered into the Land of Rice Fields hoping to settle down but near the end of their journey, they met Orochimaru, who offered them a chance to return to their former glory by following him.
Her friend Arashi, who is seen as the hope of the Fūma clan like Itachi is the hope of the Uchiha Clan, along with Jigumo, Kamikiri, Kotohime, and Kagerō, accepted the offer to restore the Fūma clan and joined Orochimaru.
Their leader Hanzaki was one of the few members of the Fūma clan who were not seduced by Orochimaru's promise of power. A few days later it was revealed the man was missing with evidence pointing to Takigakure.
"Where is the mysterious guy you were with earlier?" Sasame asked Sasuke who only grunted in annoyance. "He's pretty cool." Sasame continued and Sasuke grumbled something that sounded like 'I use to think so too'.
They turned another corner with Sasuke observing the narrow corridors they traveled down with his Sharingan so he can remembers the way back.
"You said Orochimaru has a hidden village of his own?" Sasuke asked and got a nod.
"Village Hidden in the Sounds." Sasame said with an angry growl escaping her lips. "The snake Sanin is the Kage of the village, we all know that but the Diamyō says that is not the case." Sasame huffs and Sasuke looked around the secret tunnel again.
"Your friends who accepted Orochimaru's offer were last seen coming down here?" Sasuke questioned making the girl scream in irritation before exaggeratedly pointing an accusing finger at the Uchiha genin.
"How many times do I have to repeat that!!' Sasame asked before walking past Sasuke and leading the way. The girl walked through the narrow hallway unbothered and 10 steps later she stepped on a boobytrap.
Sasuke was quick to react dashing with great speed to sweep the girl off her feet and away from the sharp projectiles shot from the adjacent walls. The distant cousins found themselves away from the trap. Sasuke dropped the girl on her butt unceremoniously and smirked.
"I think you should let me do the leading." Sasuke told her and walked forward paying rapt attention to where he steps.
"Does this sound village have any powerful Shinobi?" Sasuke asked not looking forward to any surprises, especially since Kakashi was nowhere to be found.
"There was this lady with crystals, she is the one they all seem to follow." Sasame kind of explained no matter how vague the answer was.
"We are here." Sasuke said stopping in front of a ladder leading up to a hatch. Sasame stopped next to Sasuke and looked up to see what the Uchiha saw.
"Should we check it out?" Sasame asked in a whisper like they were not alone. Sasuke shrugged at the question and placed his hand on the ladder before placing a foot and starting his trek up.
Sasuke reached the hatch, placing his hand on its surface to slowly push it up and to the side before sticking his head out to scan the new surrounding.
"This guy took the phrase hidden village too literally." Sasuke commented finding himself in Otogakure, the village hidden in the sounds.
"It is very silent." Sasuke shook his head to get rid of the distracting thoughts and instead climbed up so the girl behind him could climb out as well.
Sasame Fūma climbed out the hatch and laid eyes on the village which consisted of a single well-designed building Surrounded by tents, huts, and makeshift shelters.
"Hn" Sasuke grunted when he found they were surrounded by ninjas from Otogakure including the people they were looking for with Sasame walking towards the enemy and joining their group. Looking very sorry.
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"Hey, Karin-Chan!" Karin looked to Naruto who was located below. The redhead sat on a tilted building with a high vantage point to watch the setting sun. Naruto jumped on the wall and performed the tree walking exercise to walk on its surface with his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner.
Karin looked over at her cousin who approached and wondered if she was really about to do what the third Hokage asked of her. She wondered how she was supposed to trust the leaf village if the first mission it hands her is to betray her family's trust.
"You good?" Naruto asked her, able to pick up on her deepening frown.
"Why did you bring me here?" Karin asked with a straight face that told Naruto everything he wanted to know. She wanted the truth.
Naruto sighed and looked at his cousin's sitting form before dropping on his ass and watching the view of the sunset with her.
"This is our home, Karin, We are Uzumaki by blood and name but people hate us for that. I want you to learn our story so you can find your place in the world." The blonde began slowly. Karin nodded and indicated he should continue.
"The world has had a grudge against our people for years and if not a grudge, then bad intentions wrapped in gold." Karin was confused by what the blonde was talking about but she listened. His words rang true in her mind remembering all the things she went through.
"Do you know what a Jinchuriki is?" Naruto asked and Karin shook her head no.
"A jinchuriki is a human with a tailed beast sealed inside them." Naruto raised his top and revealed the seals in his stomach housing the fox. Karin's eyes almost bulged out of her eyes.
"I brought you here to show you our home that is here and here." Naruto pointed at the island and then his heart before he snickered rubbing the back of his head in nervousness.
"You can come out." The blonde said confusing Karin. A second later a strand of Karin's hair fell off her head and in a puff of smoke a Naruto clone appeared looking seriously down at Karin.
"I did not trust the hidden leaf to sit ideally by with another Uzumaki in their vicinity when the one they have is already out of their control." Karin became fearful, did the blonde know about her deal with the third Hokage? A second later the clone popped.
"The truth of the leaf village is its racist tendencies and hypocritical beliefs." Naruto had a frown on his face as he spoke, the memories of the clone giving him audio feedback of everything it has heard.
"The first Hokage decided to stop wars he would give every nation a devastating weapon. The second Hokage decided Isolating the Uchiha Clan would keep them at bay like that would not offend them and cause unrest. The third Hokage let our people die, he was unwilling to send a small squad to help our people because the leaf needed it more." Naruto sighed when he saw Karin's fearful eyes, she probably thought he was angry at her.
"You are family Karin, I want to protect you but the reality you need to see is that every Uzumaki to live in the leaf village has ended up with the nine-tailed fox sealed inside them." Karin grimaced wondering where Naruto was getting at.
"If ever I were to die or become a 'threat' to the village you without your consent or input will become Konoha's new Jinchuriki, its new weapon." Naruto stood and smiled down at Karin's sitting form.
"I am not angry, or disappointed, nothing like that. We don't even have to talk about what the third asked of you." Naruto quickly ruffled Karin's hair making her glare at him and frown. The blonde did that because he could see the sorrow making it to the girl's expression.
"Stop acting like your older than me!" Karin shouted at the blonde who quickly backed away from her with a snicker.
"I want you to be part of my home Karin, the Uzumaki household. The Hidden Leaf is as bad as any other village out there, they just hide it better." Naruto smiled softly at Karin and outstretched his hand for her to take. The Uzumaki girl looked into Naruto's blue inviting eyes filled with want and care before she looked down in shame.
"I'm sorry Naruto." Karin said with a sniffle and anger that bubbled up in her chest. "I am such a fool, somebody tells me to betray my only semblance of family and I accept without a thought." Her tears began dropping and she stood up abruptly moving to a certain corner of the building and punching.
"Uff!" Jiraiya's hidden form was revealed to be hiding under some sort of camouflage jutsu revealing he was listening to everything being said just like the
"I-I don't deserve to be part of your family." Karin said softly before jumping off the building and running away with tears dropping from her eyes. Naruto stood there rooted to the spot looking at Jiraiya like the man was about to get killed.
"Look Gaki I know it looks bad…." Jiraiya didn't finish his sentence before he was attacked, getting tackled off the edge of the building by the enraged blonde.
"You fucking asshole!!" Naruto screamed as they descended with his arms wrapped around Jiraiya's midsection. "You Konoha dogs are all the same, anything for the great leaf village, right? Everything for your fucking will of fire!!" They reached ground level and Jiraiya twisted to land on his feet with Naruto now hanging off him like a child hugging their parent.
"Look gaki the world is not black and white like that it is…Uff" Jiraiya would admit he did not expect Naruto to create a clone behind him. The doppelgänger kicked the Sanin on the back of the head giving him forward momentum which the original capitalized on by using the momentum to lift Jiraiya off his feet and bring him head first onto the floor.
"Puff." Naruto growled when he found a log had taken the damage of his suplex. The blonde straightened and turned to stare at the Sanin behind him, fearless in the presence of the stronger legendary Shinobi.
"Listen Naruto we are doing this for your good." The Sanin began but got interrupted mid-sentence.
"Until what end?" The teenager asked looking so angry his face was passively furious. Jiraiya shut his mouth and looked ashamed.
"Would my parents want this for me?" Jiraiya's eyes widened at the question not expecting it. "Whoever they are, they must be turning in their grave." Jiraiya almost sighed in relief not questioning how Naruto knew his parents were dead.
"Tell your Kage if I ever hear he is trying to manipulate my family again I will be the biggest of his problems." The blonde said turning around and performing the body flicker to go look for his cousin.
"This isn't good." Jiraiya now knew that Naruto held no loyalty to Konoha and hated his guts as well as the Hokage. They fucked up again.
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Naruto slowly walked along the deserted path of what looked to be a CBD of sorts. Filled with high buildings and The blonde was angry, so fucking angry he felt like his blood was boiling.
"They couldn't even wait a month before scheming to use my family against me." The blonde mumbled while he turned on his heels and walked into another street.
"Ohh." The blonde said when he found himself face to face with his own visage.
"Did you find anything?" The blonde asked and got a negative shake of the head.
"The boss is pretty pissed." The clone told its look-alike who nodded still frowning in anger. The clone to speak to had a frown on his face. They all got the memory of the third Hokage trying to persuade Karin by preying on her emotions and needs.
"He is manipulative." The blonde said and looked up to the figure who has been paying attention to them from a high vantage point that made it impossible for the man to hide.
"And this guy is full of shit." Another clone mumbled when he popped into existence courtesy of another clone, the third clone looked up before dispelling.
"He is coming down." Both clones said standing there unbothered by the man who seemed to float down towards them from another tilted building. The individual landed on the tiled floor softly not disturbing a spec of dust.
The two clones watched the man closely, for starters both clones could agree that the man could be an even bigger Emo than Duncan. The piercings all around his face, the black nail polish, and the black cloak embroidered with red clouds spoke of affiliation with some cult or something.
"Nine tails Jinchuriki." The mysterious man's voice was deep and grave, tight and commanding it really put it out there that some people were just born for certain roles.
A voice like that did not belong to a hero wannabe.
"Never heard of him." The clone on the right said before pointing a thumb at his chest with bravado. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki and this." The clone said pointing at his look-alike. "Is Naruto Uzumaki.." He finished with an aura of seriousness that did not belong on such a young face.
"That's right and the guy who pulled a disappearing act was also named Naruto Uzumaki." The clone on the left picked up where his twin left off and grinned.
"You might want to pull the stick up your ass out and look inside for this Nine-tailed Character." The clone did not care about the expressions not going on in the unknown figure's visage because what he said was real, his name is Naruto Uzumaki.
"Naive child, names mean nothing in the world. Only power." The mysterious man said with his voice carrying so much power Naruto felt it physically weighing on him.
The blonde could only conclude that the orange-haired man was powerful.
"Power means nothing if it is not under a name." The clone on the right said throwing his arm to the side.
"You speak under the banner of naivety, life only knows one true purpose. Names do not govern it, only power." The clone on the left scoffed at the words spoken,
"You speak in na-naive-vety." The blonde doppelgänger on the left began, struggling a little with the pronunciation but knowing what the word meant.
"Power needs a name for it to stand for something, otherwise it is in the hands of a man-child." The mysterious man's eyes were the weirdest Naruto has ever seen narrowed in anger at the implications of the blonde's words.
"In the hands of such a man child that power is aimless and stupid. I am Naruto Uzumaki and my power will mean a difference in the world." Both clones spoke as one with determination and passion. The figure only stared blankly at the two blondes before raising an arm and pointing it at one clone.
The two clones saw the individuals ripple like irises glow an ominous purple color before they both felt a sudden gravitational pull. The two clones applied adhesive chakra to the soles of their feet and stood their ground.
"Power is a name in itself Naruto Uzumaki, I need no name to guide my power." The clone on the right who had been serious the whole time suddenly felt a tug before he was dragged toward the unknown man.
The clone on the left was quick to react. Turning on his heels and running off into the distance. The clone being dragged grit its teeth and performed a new jutsu when he was at point-blank range with the purple-eyed individual.
"Great clone explosion!" There was a boom a loud one at that courtesy of the amount of chakra each clone carried in them. The dust picked up and the clone who escaped the impact zone sighed waiting for visual proof.
"All mighty pull." The clone got dragged towards the dust cloud with great force. The doppelgänger found himself held by the throat by the unbothered man who had half his face burnt.
"Power is absolute." The clone heard before having its neck snapped and dispelling in a plum of smoke.
"Power is pain." The individual turned around and began floating upward once more like a ninja Jesus getting raised from the dead.
"We will meet again Uzumaki Naruto." The individual promised before blasting off into the distance with great speed.
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"Who was that guy?" The original blonde thought when he received more memories from his clones. The third clone summoned was a messenger in simpler terms.
"Why are you following me? I told you, I don't want any part in this family of yours." Karin hugged herself tighter and sobbed.
"I don't deserve it, I don't want it……." Karin whispered but Naruto picked up on the words and frowned.
"Don't say that, I know what the third made you do was wrong but you are not to blame." Naruto tried to comfort the girl while keeping his distance so she saw he was not pressurizing her into anything.
"You won't understand," Karin said shaking her head vigorously. "I am dirty Naruto…I am not pure or I-innocent where I am from it it w-was Hell!" The girl said beginning to breathe heavily like she was hyperventilating.
"Don't come close!" At the redheads demanding voice Naruto stopped and took a step back.
"I-I was defiled by those vermins, they killed my mother!" Karin screamed out in hysteria, hands going to her head.
"They touched me everywhere they- they left they marks everywhere….. I'm ugly! I'm worthless! I'm useless! I-I am." Karin suddenly jerked back to reality when she found two hands placed on her cheeks and deep blue eyes staring into her crimson-colored irises.
"Who?" Karin was shocked by the dead serious look that was staring into her soul with nothing but fury. Karin felt like if she gave names, those people would disappear. The Uzumaki felt like she had someone willing to move the world for her.
"Kusa!" Karin cried out and threw herself at the blonde in a tight hug as she cried even more. Naruto slowly brought his arms up and returned the hug. Patting the older girl on her back while he looked forward.
His eyes were focused in the distance, like a whole other scenario playing out while he took part in comforting his older cousin.
"You are Karin Uzumaki. All those who have ever hurt you will kneel at your feet one day and have their lives at your mercy." Naruto was angry, he understood what it was Karin wanted to convey.
"Why are you doing this?" The girl asked in a sob while she dug her nails into the blonde's jacket.
"Because that is what family does, they protect each other." Naruto replied still reasonable enough to not let his anger take control. The elemental nations are always hurting their people.
KONOHA, KUMO, IWA, AND NOW KUSA. Naruto found it a pattern for a moment then he found it for what it is, taking chances. Well, he was gonna start taking names and getting payback starting with the biggest offenders.
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In the distance away from the Uzumaki pair, stood a small chameleon watching the scene with purple eyes filled with ripples. The animal's sight was connected to a man with the same eyes watching the scene from miles away.
"Naruto Uzumaki, Karin Uzumaki my family." The man with short spiky orange hair said with an emotionless voice as if tasting the concept on the tip of his tongue.
"Foolish dreams, pain will bring about the world of peace." Still blasting off in the air with great speed heading somewhere only he knew the orange-haired man landed in a cave with a simple walk, disturbing née a leaf.
"Once all the tailed beasts are collected, I will give the World true pain for its sins." The purple-eyed man stared at a giant statue while he dispelled his summon with nothing but a pulse of his eye's chakra pool.
"The Gedo statue." The orange-haired man grumbled before turning away.
"Inform Kisame, Hidan, Sasori, Deidra, and Zabuza I have a mission for them. It is time Akatsuki came out from the shadows." The orange-haired man gave his orders to the apparent empty cave.
"It will be done." A grave voice spoke from the shadowy corners of the cave leaving an echo in its wake as the individual vanished.
"Lord Pain, what of the snake." A beautiful blue-haired lady asked from the shadows, leaving only her pale skin to glow in the dark.
"It is time we cut its head." The orange-haired man said taking another look at the statue behind him and with another pulse of power, the giant beast-like statue was gone in a powerful giant plum of smoke.
"At your disposal my lord." Was all the lady said before she was gone with only a paper left on the floor? The orange-haired man glanced at the words spoken in the paper and felt his pain increase.
"Yahiko." The man read out loud and turned back around walking out of the cave.
"They will all know pain." Was all he said just standing in the cave like a statue.
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Located in a room filled with surgical pieces of equipment, beakers and chemicals was the snake Sanin working on a project tasked to him by the man standing behind him with his muscular arms folded.
"Ah yes, old friend." Orochimaru said with enthusiasm and a happy exterior as he examined a ball of chakra that seemed to have sentience.
The chakra ball was black and spherical it occasionally sent out tendrils to try and reach out to the Sanin from its confinement in a reinforced glass chamber.
"We will finally get to enact our revenge. Ancor Vantian will rise high once more." The man spoke up with a devious smile making it to his face. Orochimaru didn't pay the white-haired man with a full beard of the same color any mind as he worked but bothered conversing.
"The plan is simple Shinnō-San, I have other people who are willing to destroy the leaf village. Suna cannot trust the leaf village to stay with them through tough times because it is leaf first, the rest later." As the Sanin spoke he wrote down the results of what he saw. The sentient chakra changing shapes was a good sign since the Sanin hummed in approval.
"Of course, they should not trust those tree huggers, the Uzumaki clan learned too late. It is good Suna is starting to see. We, the village hidden in the skys always knew." Shinnō preached like a high priest and Orochimaru simply did his iconic laugh.
"Everything is in order, the Zero battery is ready, and all those negative emotions from the people charged it well." Orochimaru said while dropping his test sheets on the table close to him and removing his gloves.
"It should be hatching soon." The Sanin informed grinning devilishly. The man with him was no better as he laughed broadly with clear bad intentions in his laugh.
"This time the leaf will fall, Hahahahahaha!!!!" Shinnō said in between his laugh before getting serious.
"Then let us talk business." Shinnō told the Sanin who smirked.
"With pleasure."
Authors Notes
Next chapter Sasuke takes centre stage and a masked man makes his second appearance, Kakashi finds himself seeing a ghost of his past and Sasuke learns the secret of the Uchiha clans power and history.
Lol my chunin exams arc will be the best in fanfic history