Shikamaru.
From the moment he was asked to join a classified mission, Shikamaru knew there was something wrong when Asuma and Jiraiya of the Sannin approached him. He noticed the look on Asuma's face; the look which screamed out that he was hiding some great truth from him, Choji, and Ino when they were having lunch at the Yakiniku place. It would be when he joined the likes of Kakashi with his nin-dogs, Gai-sensei – Shikamaru noticed the serious look on the face of the normally affable shinobi, and Anko who he recalled was one of the proctors for the Second Phase of the Chuunin Exam.
'What's going on here?'
"Shikamaru?" Kakashi said in surprise before the newly minted Chuunin watched Kakashi look over at Asuma and then back at him, "why are you…"
"He can help, Kakashi," Asuma said, his voice reassuring both Shikamaru and the others in the group. And Shikamaru had to admit he was surprised by the presence of some of the village's big guns. Shikamaru didn't want to play the fool now, no matter how much he wished… he could sense there was something big and there was no time for kidding around.
Before Shikamaru could ask for more information about the mission, it was Anko who spoke first with her hands in her hips.
"What's going on, Kakashi?"
Shikamaru watched Kakashi rub his eyes with the back of his hand while Jiraiya walked up to him. Shikamaru watched as Jiraiya stopped next to Kakashi before facing them with his arms folded over his chest.
"I'll make it short," Kakashi said with his hands by his side, "last night…" Shikamaru noticed the moments hesitation from the Copy-Ninja whose hands were now rolled into tight fists before he spoke again, "last night, Uchiha Sasuke escaped from Konoha. We believe… no, we know he is heading towards Orochimaru's hideout in the Land of Rice."
Now that was something Shikamaru did not expect. And he glanced at Anko who growled, "what?"
Shikamaru's first thought was why? He wasn't Sasuke's best friend… they really didn't speak to one another even when they were at the Academy, but Shikamaru never expected Sasuke to betray the village. 'He defected to join Orochimaru? Why?' This time, Shikamaru spoke up and asked, "Kakashi-sensei, are you sure he wasn't kidnapped, or…"
"We have a source who told us he left by his own free will," Gai said before taking a deep beath, "the source's information is good."
"Then why not take Naruto with us?" Shikamaru asked as he looked up at Gai. It was the obvious choice, the two were friends and teammates so if there was one person who could convince Sasuke to return to Konoha, it would be Naruto. It was then that Shikamaru noticed the looks of anger on the faces of Gai and Jiraiya. The expressions of anger lasted for a moment before being supressed. Shikamaru glanced at Kakashi, but it was hard to see his emotions under the mask… but Shikamaru could see his fists trembling. 'They're hiding something.'
"Naruto isn't coming," Jiraiya said, "and neither is Haruno Sakura."
Anko then spoke, "If they're the Uchiha traitor's teammates then…"
"They're busy," Kakashi spoke in a cold tone that left no room for further questions. Shikamaru looked back at Asuma who had a look of confusion on his face. He then looked to Anko who was just as equally confused before turning towards Kakashi who took in a deep breath before saying, "the Hokage has ordered the retrieval of Uchiha Sasuke… dead or alive."
Shikamaru understood the reasons behind getting Sasuke back; but his mind was questioning the lack of Naruto and Sakura in the team. Why were they being left out of such an important mission? Did they help Sasuke leave? 'No,' Shikamaru thought, 'Naruto would never betray the village. Would Sakura?' Shikamaru wanted to say that she would never leave Konoha. 'but…' Shikamaru shook his head, 'no, Sakura would never betray the village. Just like Ino, Sakura is crazy for Sasuke… but betraying the village? No… she would never betray us.'
"Shikamaru," Kakashi said, bringing Shikamaru out of his thoughts and pushing his concerns about Naruto and Sakura to one side, "I need your head here and now."
"Yes," Shikamaru replied while standing at attention and nodding his head.
"Good," the Copy-Nin answered, "move out."
Naruto's dreamscape.
The flash of white light faded away and Naruto found himself standing on the banks a small lake. His eyes – wide open in shock – did not focus on the cliffs on the opposite bank, instead his eyes were focused on Kushina who was on her knees with her arms raised up by her sides. There were literal lines of markings traversing four large oval rocks as if they were rope wrapped around them and then wrapped around Kushina's wrists who was on the smaller rock in the middle of the large four rocks.
"Mom!" Naruto yelled out as he stepped forward until he was at the edge of the river bank, the water nearly touching his sandals. He could see the orange masked figure standing on the muddy bank next to him. Oh, how he wanted to punch the man in the orange mask. Naruto's hands were already rolled into fists by his side while looking up at the masked man.
There was a sense of foreboding coming from the man who responded to Kushina's yell, "What do you want?!"
"I'm going to extract the Kyuubi from you and then crush Konoha," the man explained in a calm voice that sent chills up and down his spine. Naruto could not believe it… he was about to see the moment the Kyuubi would attack Konoha. He knew this was the night his parents would be killed… and he wanted so much for this whole dream to stop. He wanted so much to just pretend the night ended when he was born; he just wanted to be with his parents.
'How am I seeing this? This is a dream... I know it is because I went to sleep and then I had a dream where I was on a date with Sakura-chan on the Yondaime… my father's head… on Hokage Mountain. But how am I having this dream?'
"What?!" Kushina's response caused Naruto too return his focus on what was going on. He figured any questions would be answered by Kakashi and Tsunade. After all, they must have known the truth… he wanted to know why no one told him about his parents. And if they denied him the truth, he would reveal he knew the truth of his parents from this mysterious dream. And hopefully, then they would give him the answers he sought for so very long.
"Minato's art of teleportation allows him to transport between locations marked with jutsu symbols," the masked man said as Naruto looked up at him, "the markings are incorporated into the seal." The Yondaime was Naruto's favourite Hokage, but even he was not really familiar with the teleportation jutsu the masked man was talking about. Naruto couldn't help but wonder if that secret was being kept away from him as well.
"Why?" was the only question Naruto could ask at this moment. Why were there so many secrets.
In the meantime, the orange masked person continued to taunt Kushina, "Minato could protect you at all times because of that teleportation mark," the madman said with a chuckle, "but he is far away right now. The seal has been weakened because of childbirth; do you have any idea how long I have waited for this moment?"
"What?" Naruto said as he spun towards the orange masked man before he turned to the shocked look on Kushina's face. He saw his mother's face twist in pain as her body started to be covered by what looked like a bubbling mass of thick red liquid covering Kushina's body. Naruto could feel terror as Kushina's eyes turned black and her mouth was open in a howl of pain.
It was then that the mysterious figure yelled out, "Kyuubi! Come out!"
And with a roar from Kushina, Naruto saw a huge mass of chakra shoot out from her body before it formed the physical form of the Kyuubi behind her. The Kyuubi gave out an inhuman roar and then a growl at Kushina; and it was then that Naruto noticed the Kyuubi's eyes.
"Sharingan?" Naruto whispered before he turned to the masked man, "are you an Uchiha? Why did you do this? Why?! Why my mother?!" Naruto was angry. He could feel his anger growing within him as he glared at the masked man who was mocking Kushina.
"Ah, Uzumaki shinobi," the masked man growled as he stared at Kushina. Naruto turned towards Kushina who had collapsed on the boulder. Naruto watched as the panting and exhausted woman slowly raised herself to her hands and knees while glaring at the masked man, "are simply amazing. You don't die right away after the tailed beast is extracted."
This was something Naruto didn't know. After all, no one ever told him that he could die if the Kyuubi was ever forcibly removed from him. He rolled his hands into fists as the Kyuubi drew its arm back and released its claws. Naruto saw the demon growl at Kushina just before the masked man yelled out, "you were his Jinchuriki! So, I'll let you die at his hands!" Naruto yelled out "NOOOOOOOO!" just as the large mass of chakra brought down its claws onto the rock. There was the sound of an explosion followed by a bright white light which faded away to reveal a panting Kushina in the arms of the Yondaime. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as he looked around at what to look like a wooden cabin.
Naruto heard a whimper before turning towards a bed which was closely placed to a wooden closet. He then returned to the baby lying on the bed while the Yondaime gently placed Kushina next to the baby.
"Minato," Kushina whispered in a trembling voice as she gently pulled the baby Naruto close. Naruto turned towards Minato wearing his cloak while smiling at Kushina and baby Naruto before he turned his head towards one of the many windows. Naruto stepped towards the window and shuddered when he saw the masked man standing in the clearing outside the front door. He then turned towards Kushina and Minato as the latter said, "stay with Naruto. I'll be right back." And then Minato vanished.
"Naruto," Kushina said as Naruto walked around the bed to see the former holding his baby-self close. In the distance, he could already a great roar that shook the walls of the cabin. In addition to the roar of the Kyuubi, Naruto could hear distant sounds of screams and destruction.
'The Kyuubi,' Naruto thought with dread, 'it must be in the village!' He could hear the sounds of distant explosions and more roars from the Kyuubi. He felt helpless while staring at his mother tightly holding his baby-version.
After what seemed like hours to Naruto, he heard the sound of something crashing into the grounds just outside the cabin. Naruto rushed towards the front door knowing full well that this would be the night his parents died. Upon rushing out onto the porch, Naruto watched in awe as Minato fought against the masked man with numerous jutsu's including the teleportation Jutsu. It was as if the Yondaime vanished in a flash of yellow light before appearing just next to the masked man who hopped away. The battle went on for a few minutes before the Yondaime used a move that had Naruto pumping his fists into the air and going "YAAAAAAAAAY DAD!" Naruto had seen Minato create a Rasengan in his right hand without any clones before using his teleportation jutsu just as the masked man leapt at him. Naruto looked on at the Yondaime then teleported just above the masked man, who was in mid-air, and then slammed the fully-formed Rasengan into his back. And then there was a bright flash of white before Naruto found himself in a clearing staring at his father who looked exhausted. Naruto's eyes then shifted towards his mother who was panting while on her knees.
"Mom! Dad!" Naruto yelled as he rushed towards them. And as he did, Naruto noticed the gold chains that erupted from Kushina's back. He stopped near the two of them and then looked around at his surroundings – the chains not only formed a barrier; they were also holding the growling Kyuubi in place. As he spun around, he couldn't see the village anywhere, while thinking to himself, 'this must be outside the village'.
Naruto then turned his attention to his father who was speaking to Kushina in a gentle but firm voice. The young blonde listened in horror as Minato explained using the Death Reaper Seal to seal half of the Kyuubi's chakra into his body. Naruto yelled out, begging his father to stop while the latter continued to say that his soul and half of the Kyuubi's chakra would be fighting for eternity in the belly of the Shinigami.
"No!" Naruto whispered shaking his head as tears fell down his scarred cheeks at what the Yondaime said next.
"The other half would be sealed into Naruto."
Naruto listened in anguish as Kushina countered by reminding Minato that Jinchuriki's were hated by villagers. Kushina begged Minato not to seal the Kyuubi into Naruto, but Minato convinced her it was necessary. He was confident that the masked man had a greater agenda and that he would return at a time when the Shinobi world would be weakened.
"I believe that our son will control the Kyuubi… I know he will," Minato said, pressing his forehead against Kushina's while yellow chains that darted out of her back earlier continued holding the Kyuubi at bay, "Kushina, do you remember Jiraiya sensei talking about a child of prophecy?" Naruto could only listen while wiping his eyes, his heart threatening to burst out of his chest as Minato continued, "I believe Naruto is that child. I know that the masked man will return, and Naruto will stop him. Our son will bring about a change in the Shinobi world… I know it. I believe in it."
"How can you be sure?" Kushina asked with tears streaking down her face.
"Because he is our son," Minato said placing a hand behind Kushina's neck, and smiling at his wife, Naruto widened his eyes at the bright smile on Minato's face as he continued, "because every parent has faith that their children will surpass them. And I know Naruto will surpass the two of us."
"Minato," Kushina whispered while staring into his eyes.
"I'll be placing some of my chakra into the seal, and I'll place the rest of your chakra into the seal as well… you will see him again, Kushina, when he'll be ready to control the Kyuubi's chakra," Minato said as Naruto shook his head while taking a step back. If he was supposed to meet with his father and mother... or at least meet his mother… when he was ready to control the Kyuubi, then why was he seeing them now. Why was he having these visions now? Naruto then collapsed onto his knees in shock when Minato activated the jutsu – the pain on the Yondaime's face was clear to see as half of the Kyuubi's chakra was being pulled into him. As a result, the Kyuubi itself shrunk to half its previous size, all the while staring at them as it growled. Naruto watched the Yondaime, using his remaining strength, summon a pedestal onto the center of the clearing. Naruto stared, with tears clouding his vision, as Minato placed his baby boy on the pedestal just as Kushina coughed up blood. After putting baby Naruto on the pedestal, Minato rushed towards the severely weakened Kushina.
It was Minato's distraction which had the Kyuubi growl before it swiped its paws with a great roar, and with claws extended, towards the pedestal where baby-Naruto was crying. "NOOOO!" Naruto yelled just before Kushina and Minato saw what was happening. The two of them rushed towards the pedestal; and Naruto could only look in abject horror as a single claw stabbed through both Minato and Kushina just as they made it to the pedestal. The two of them combining what remained of their strengths and bodies to protect their baby boy. Naruto rushed to the couple just as Minato summoned a toad which resembled a tall scroll with the toad's head making up one end and its legs making up the other end. Upon reaching the horrid scene, Naruto heard Minato telling the toad to bring the key – whatever it was – to Jiraiya. After the toad was gone in a puff of smoke, Naruto could only watch as Kushina collapsed on her knees again.
"Kushina, I'm not going to last much longer," Minato weakly said as Naruto reached out to his father, his hands only able to go through the image, "I'm activating the Eight Triagram Seal now. I'll put some of my chakra into Naruto as well. We wouldn't be seeing him for a while, so let's say what we want to say to him."
"Naruto," Kushina weakly said as Naruto kneeled in front of her. The younger blonde boy was about to listen to the very last words his mother would ever say. He listened with tears streaming down his face as Kushina spoke, "don't be a picky eater… eat a lot and grow well. Plus make friends… you don't need tons okay… just a few you can really trust." Naruto's bottom lip trembled as he nodded his head while wiping the tears from his eyes. He wanted to say that he was eating well and that he had friends whom he trusted; friends such as Sakura, Susuke, Shikamaru, Choji, and more from the rookie teams who passed from the Academy.
Naruto continued to listen to Kushina, "and your mum was bad at this... but study hard and learn your ninjutsu. Just… everyone is good at some things and not so good at others… so even if… things don't… don't go well… don't be depressed okay. At the… Academy… respect your teachers and your seniors…" Naruto continued listening to everything Kushina had to say while struggling not to sob. At the end, after Kushina had warned him about Jiraiya, and about not falling in love with the first girl he saw… and to find a girl like her…Naruto listened to the last words his father would ever speak.
"Naruto," Minato had said, "listen to your mother."
Naruto looked at his father after wiping the tears still streaming down his face and nodded his head. He closed his eyes at the bright flash of white light and wait to wake up. After all… for some reason he had seen his father and mother… he had seen and understood their lives, struggles, times of happiness. He had seen everything about them. As he waited for the feeling of his bed beneath him, Naruto held his breath at the feeling of arms wrapping around him. He felt warmth as a body pulled him closer… he felt warmth at the sensation on a head resting on his shoulder with cheeks resting against his own. He could smell strawberry shampoo… he knew Sakura didn't wear strawberry shampoo so it wasn't her. And then he felt a hand on his head tussling his hair.
Gulping, Naruto opened his eyes. From everything he thought he would see after opening his eyes… the feeling and sight of Kushina hugging him wasn't it. He could feel her… it was as if she was alive… he could feel her warmth against him after all. And then he looked up to see Minato with his hand resting on his head; a wide smile adorning the Yondaime's face.
"Naruto," he said looking down at his son.
"My boy," Kushina whispered into Naruto's ear as her voice cracked while hugging him.
"Mom… dad…" Naruto whispered before closing his eyes and sobbing in Kushina's arms. In between sobs he said, "you're here."
Naruto felt his mother's arms tighten around him as she cooed into his ear before saying, "we're here, Naruto. We have always been here with you." Naruto wanted to ask how this was possible. How had he been able to see his parents? How was he able to touch them, and… and the last question was one he feared asking: what would happen next? Naruto took a deep breath and wiped the tears from his eyes before letting go of Kushina who was now holding onto his shoulders with both hands. Before he could ask the questions swimming in his mind, it was his father who spoke first while getting down on one knee.
"You must be wondering why the both of us are here in front of you now," Minato said as Kushina looked at him and then back at Naruto. "The situation is much more complicated than you think. Naruto, this isn't a dream."
Naruto was surprised at hearing that confession, although there was a little part of him guessing this was not a dream even before the admission from Minato. Especially since his parents had never made themselves known whenever he did dream during his sleep. So why were they interacting with him now?
"Naruto," Kushina said gently, "as you know, Minato placed a bit of our chakras into your body just before the sealing jutsu." Naruto nodded his head, "and as you just heard, Minato would reveal himself when you would lose control and reach the ninth tail..."
Naruto remained silent and nodded his head again.
"And Kushina was meant to appear when you were ready to take control of the Kyuubi," Minato reiterated, "all we know is that something horrible must have happened for our chakras to begin keeping your mind and heart alive."
"Alive?" Naruto spoke, his eyes wide, "that… that would mean someone tried to kill me?"
"That's our guess," Kushina said before taking a deep breath, "Naruto, my boy, you were dead. Our chakras were keeping your heart and brain alive. Once we sensed another chakra – Tsunade's chakra – reinforcing ours, we knew it was only a matter of time before the limited chakra we left you would be exhausted."
"But…"
"Naruto," Minato said, interrupting the younger blonde boy, "we felt that simply appearing to you and telling you about our lives wouldn't be the right thing to do. We wanted you to experience it as if you were there." Minato then looked at Kushina and Naruto could see the love in his eyes as he spoke, "from the day Kushina arrived and we met…" he then turned his head towards Naruto and continued, "to the day we died, so that you would understand why I decided to do what I knew needed to be done."
"To seal the Kyuubi into me," Naruto said as Minato nodded his head. It was then that Naruto realized he couldn't sense the oppressive chakra of the Kyuubi anywhere. If he was dead, then did that mean the Kyuubi was dead too?
As if reading his mind, Naruto listened as Minato explained, "the Kyuubi's just a mass of chakra, so when you died… well, it dissipated from your body." Naruto simply stared at Minato in disbelief; he really was dead. The Kyuubi was no longer sealed inside him. So what did all of that mean? Naruto needed to know… what happens now? Would he die? Could he still be a shinobi if the Kyuubi was gone?
"I can sense your own chakra starting to circulate," Kushina whispered with a smile, "can you feel it, Naruto?"
Naruto closed his eyes just before feeling a sense of warmth going through his entire body. Yes, he felt different than before… he felt… he felt... he couldn't explain it. He just felt different. He hadn't noticed it before when he thought he was dreaming.
"Looks like Tsunade succeeded," Minato whispered as he looked up before returning his attention to Naruto. Minato must have noticed the look of confusion on Naruto's face before a smile formed and he explained, "you'll live a long life, Naruto."
"But…." Naruto said just before being taken aback at both Minato and Kushina glowing a dull yellow. "Mom? Dad?"
"Looks like what remains of our chakra is fading," Minato said with a look of surprise before he looked around at the white space around them just before turning back towards Naruto who was looking at him and Kushina nervously.
"Naruto," Kushina gently said, "you're worried about what would happen now?"
Naruto nodded his head.
"The Kyuubi's chakra is no longer interfering with your chakra," Kushina said, "you'll have better control over your chakra now." Kushina then turned towards Minato who placed a hand on her shoulder just before he started to fade.
"Dad!" Naruto yelled out as he rushed towards Minato after Kushina raised her hands off his shoulders. Naruto hugged a kneeling Minato who whispered, "you will surpass us, Naruto. You will bring a difference to the Ninja world even without the Kyuubi." Naruto felt the Yondaime tighten his hold around him as he whispered, "I want to say so many things, Naruto. I'll just say what matters the most right now; I love you."
"I love you too, Dad," Naruto whispered as he closed his eyes, only to have tears falling down his cheeks. Through his eyelids, he could see a second glowing outline. His heart broke at the sight after reopening his eyes; his mother was glowing as she smiled at him.
"You should hug your mother, my boy," Minato said just before letting go of him. Naruto then hugged Kushina who held on to him tightly. Naruto felt her kiss his cheek just as her warmth started to fade as well. Naruto opened his eyes to see Kushina pulling back while slowly fading away. He wished they could have more time together, but deep inside his heart he knew it was simply not possible.
"Remember, Naruto," Kushina said as Minato placed a hand on her shoulder, "we will always love you." Naruto watched with tears streaming down his cheeks as the both of them vanished, and he was left alone in this mindscape. He yelled out for his parents in anguish once again before screaming out as loud as possible.
Sometime after Sakura's sentencing.
"Naruto." Naruto stepped back in surprise at hearing Tsunade's voice. It sounded distant, but he could hear her, "I've done all I can. It's all up to you now… you need to wake up." Naruto closed his eyes and rolled his hands into fists while Tsunade whispered, "give me a sign that you can hear me. Anything. Give me any sign."
"Tsunade-baachan," he whispered as he willed himself to wake up. He had so many questions sill swimming in his mind. He was dead, so who killed him? Why? Were they caught? Was it someone from the village? Were Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi safe and sound? He needed to know.
"At least squeeze my hand, Naruto," Tsunade whispered. Naruto could hear the sadness in her words as she spoke, "come on. Come on, Naruto."
Naruto squeezed his hand tightly while in his mindscape. Suddenly he thought he heard a gasp.
"Naruto." Tsunade whispered in surprise. Naruto found himself surrounded by darkness now. He was no longer in his mindscape. He could feel the warmth of something soft behind him… he was lying down on something soft.
'A mattress.' He thought while listening to sounds all around him; mostly beeps. He could feel something around the lower part of his mouth and his neck, along with a dull throbbing pain. Most of all, he could feel the warmth of Tsunade's hand as he gently squeezed once again. He wanted to move his head towards the direction of her whisper, but he found himself restricted.
"Don't move your head," Tsunade whispered, "your injuries have been healed for the most part. Even so, we want to restrict you from moving your head until I am absolutely certain the surgery has taken hold. I'll explain everything later when you're more lucid. You're alive now, Naruto…" Naruto heard her voice break just before feeling a hand on his chest, "you're alive now. I… I know who did this to you. I can't tell you until I know you're completely recovered. I know it sounds unfair but I need you to trust me."
Naruto knew he didn't have a choice. He couldn't do much of anything now. All he could do was wait.
"You're alive, Naruto," Tsunade whispered as she squeezed his hand once again, "you are alive."
TBC
