I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.
Two months passed since Tsunade became the new hokage and not a lot had happened really. She was focused on rebuilding the village and everything was going smoothly thanks to the help from Koyuki as they were now allies. Naruto and Natsumi went on a few C and B rank missions together since Tsunade wanted to get them ready for their departure soon. When Natsumi wasn't with him, Naruto went on some A and S rank missions as well. Natsumi learned of her training trip with Jiraiya and was a bit hesitant at first given his antics. That was understandable due to the fact that she noticed she was starting to grow now and she didn't want him eying her like he does everyone else. Naruto gave her a barrier seal that keeps anybody from seeing through it just in case and then she accepted the trip.
Naruto was unable to tell Natsumi what he was doing due to the status of it, but he just told her that she'd better come back able to match him in skill or else her trip was for nothing. This of course led to her challenging him again much to everyone's amusement given that they probably passed guy and Kakashi on the amount of challenges they've had. Naruto's birthday also passed and Natsumi threw him a last minute party at Ichirakus. However, Naruto took that day to remind Natsumi that she was younger than him still and that led to a sibling spar which she of course lost, but she had fun. Naruto was currently walking into the hospital with Natsumi and wasn't happy about it since he just finished a B-rank mission.
"Remind me again why we're at the hospital." Naruto said
"Because sir duckbutt got hurt again on our mission." Natsumi said
"I'm surprised you're not the one getting hurt a lot on your missions given your temper." Naruto said
"I know right. It's like he has some sick fetish for getting hurt." Natsumi said
"You think Sasuke's a masochist?" Naruto asked and she nodded
"That's the only way to explain why he's always hurt. What about Anko? Isn't she into that stuff?" Natsumi asked and he sighed
"Sort of. Anko's more of a sadist." Naruto said
"I guess I can see that." Natsumi said
"Switching subjects now. How's your training going with the kekkei genkai?" Naruto asked
"It's going great. Granny Tsunade said she'll help me with some jutsus next week. She thinks I'm ready for some more advanced ninjutsu now." Natsumi said
"I see. What about the other thing?" Naruto asked
"Um. I may have a problem with that." Natsumi said
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked
"Well, I was testing my limits with the chakra and it formed a cloak with one tail one it. What do you think it means?" Natsumi asked
"It could mean a number of things, but to be on the safe side, I suggest you don't use it for now." Naruto said
"What if I talked to it?" Natsumi asked
"Can you talk to it?" Naruto asked
"Yeah. He talked to me during the chunin exams when you were fighting that guy." Natsumi said
"About what?" Naruto asked and she sighed
"He said that I'm only on this team because the sharingan has the ability to control a tailed beast and that's why we were put on the same team." Natsumi said
"I see." Naruto said
"Is that true? Does the sharingan have the ability to control a tailed beast?" Natsumi asked
"Yes." Naruto said
"So, you're only on my team to control me if I lose control." Natsumi said and Naruto flicked her forehead
"I'm not on the team to control you if you lose control of the nine tails chakra. We were already going to be on teams the moment our parents found out about us. Besides, I can just knock your ass out if you lose control or simply use a chakra suppressing seal on you." Naruto said
"One, don't ever flick my forehead again. Two, he also said something about you going blind because you have a Mangekyou." Natsumi said
"While it's true that I do have my Mangekyou sharingan unlocked, I barely use it. My eyesight is fine." Naruto said
"So you won't go blind then?" Natsumi asked
"Oh. I'll eventually go blind, but I'll be okay. I know how to deal with that. Kurenai and Anko know what to do when I go blind. You don't have to worry about it." Naruto said
"If you say so. Look, there's Sakura. I should've known she'd be here already." Natsumi said
"What did you expect? She's in love with him." Naruto said
"Hey, Pinky! We're here!" Natsumi said
"Huh? Oh hey. I didn't expect you to be here so soon." Sakura said
"Oh? Why's that? Were you expecting some alone time with Sasuke?" Natsumi asked and Sakura turned red
"S-Shut up!" Sakura said and opened Sasuke's door
"Hey, duckbutt." Natsumi said
"Look, Sasuke. I brought you some apples. I just need to find that knife I had before." Sakura said
"You've been here before?" Naruto asked
"Yeah. He's been here for a couple of days now." Sakura said
"Here's the knife. If that was your way of trying to get us to leave then you need help lying. You suck." Natsumi said and Sakura nervously laughed
"Oh. Silly me." Sakura said
"Aww. Look at you. Getting all flustered because Sasuke is in front of you." Natsumi said
"Why do you have to come in here and ruin everything? Will you knock it off already?" Sakura asked and Sasuke looked at Natsumi as he remembered all the times she had to save him on missions
"So, what exactly happened to you?" Naruto asked, as he looked at Sasuke
"He got his ass kicked. We fought some guy named Aoi Rokushō who claimed to have the sword of the second hokage. Like I'd ever believe that bullshit." Natsumi said and Naruto just looked at her
"You mean to tell me that you had a chance to retrieve the sword of the thunder god and you didn't get it?" Naruto asked
"Wait. He was telling the truth?" Natsumi asked
"Yes. That sword belonged to the second hokage. What happened to it?" Naruto asked and Natsumi scratched her cheek
"Well, I may or may not have destroyed it with a rasengan." Natsumi said and Naruto sighed
"Should've known something like that would happen." Naruto said and they looked at Sasuke who smacked the plate of apple slices out of Sakura's hand
"What the hell is your problem?" Natsumi asked
"S-Sasuke." Sakura said and he glared at Natsumi
"What the fuck are you glaring at me for?" Natsumi asked
"You, Natsumi." Sasuke said
"That's my fucking name." Natsumi said
"I want you to fight me. Right now." Sasuke said
"Um no. Granny Tsunade just healed you and I don't really feel like kicking your ass right now. We both know the outcome of our fights now and it's pointless to keep doing it. I've got bigger fish to fry and you're not one of them. I have no interest in fighting you anymore." Natsumi said and Sasuke was officially pissed off
"Shut up and fight me!" Sasuke said and activated his sharingan
"Yup. Should've seen this one coming." Naruto thought
"Do you really think you saved me? I don't care if she's the fifth hokage. You shouldn't have gotten her involved in this." Sasuke said
"Are you fucking stupid? You couldn't move a damn muscle. You should be thanking me for saving your ass." Natsumi said and Sasuke got in her face
"What's the matter? Afraid you'll lose?" Sasuke asked and Natsumi sighed
"Sasuke, don't do this. Naruto, say something." Sakura pleaded
"I think I'd rather have them sort this one out. Besides, this has been a long time coming between the two of them and you know that." Naruto said
"Sasuke, I'm not fighting you while you're injured. Maybe if you were healed and 100 percent, but the answer is still no." Natsumi said and walked away, but turned around to catch a punch aimed at the back of her head
"I said fight me!" Sasuke said and Natsumi squeezed his fist making him wince
"If you want your ass kicked that badly, then fine. After this I don't want to hear shit else about you challenging me." Natsumi said
"Follow me." Sasuke said and walked away with Natsumi following him
"Naruto, do you really think they'll fight?" Sakura asked
"Yes, but Sasuke better be careful what he asks for and control himself." Naruto said
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked
"Sakura, if Sasuke doesn't calm down, he'll eventually challenge the wrong person and they won't hesitate to kill him. He's a flight risk and is already on thin ice with the village." Naruto said
"He's about to fight Natsumi. Is she one of those people that will kill him?" Sakura asked and Naruto was silent for a minute
"It's possible. There's only so much that a person can handle and we both know Natsumi has a short fuse when it comes to her temper. I'm not saying she will during this fight, but it's always a possibility." Naruto said
"Maybe we should go make sure it doesn't get that far." Sakura said and Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder
"Let's go." Naruto said and vanished
Rooftop
"So, you picked a spot where nobody can see you lose, huh? I promise I'll end this quickly." Natsumi said and Sasuke grit his teeth
"What was that, loser?" Sasuke asked
"I'm not a loser. If anybody is a loser it's you. You were hailed as a prodigy, yet you were surpassed by me in a few months. This loser also made chunin before you and and this loser has beaten you more times than you've beaten me. You're beneath me." Natsumi said, as Sakura and Naruto arrived
"You have no business acting all high and mighty!" Sasuke said
"You must be looking in a mirror. You've flaunted your strength everyday and now that I'm stronger, faster and smarter than you, you decide to act out. Now, put on your headband." Natsumi said
"There's no reason for me to put it on because you won't be able to lay a single scratch on my forehead." Sasuke said
"Just for that I'm going to mark you with my clan symbol." Natsumi said
"Your clan is nothing compared to mine!" Sasuke said
"Then prove it." Natsumi said and Sasuke's eyes widened as she appeared behind him
"How did-
Sasuke didn't finish because Natsumi punched him right in the stomach making him cough up some spit and then she kicked him into the fence on the roof. Natsumi waited for Sasuke to get up and he finally stood up, he jumped into the air and used the fireball jutsu. Natsumi countered with the water trumpet jutsu, creating a steam cloud that she took advantage of and used her sensing ability to get in close to Sasuke. She used the great breakthrough to blow away the steam and then smirked at Sasuke.
"You lose." Natsumi said
Naruto & Sakura
"Huh? How did he lose? He's still standing." Sakura said
"Look at his forehead." Naruto said and she did seeing a swirl on his forehead
"That's the symbol of the leaf village. Does she really think the village is a clan?" Sakura asked
"The swirl is the clan symbol of the Uzumaki clan. Konoha used the symbol as a way to symbolize the friendship between both the Senju clan and Uzumaki clan." Naruto said
"Senju and Uzumaki? Does that mean Natsumi and Lady Tsunade are related?" Sakura asked
"They're distant cousins. Tsunade's grandmother is Mito Uzumaki." Naruto said
"How come this wasn't taught in school?" Sakura asked
"You know, you really ask a lot of questions. Anyway, the history of the Uzumaki clan is in the restricted section of Konoha records only accessible to two people. Natsumi and Tsunade since it requires the blood of an Uzumaki to unseal. Natsumi knows more than I do since she spends more time with Tsunade than I do." Naruto said and then they heard a familiar screeching noise
Sasuke & Natsumi
"There's nothing on my forehead. I told you that you wouldn't be able to land a single scratch on it." Sasuke said
"I didn't scratch you. Wipe your forehead." Natsumi said and when he did, he saw ink on his forehead
"How?!" Sasuke thought and glared at her
"That's right. I marked you with the Uzumaki clan symbol. The steam was the perfect cover for me. This is over now that I've branded you and made you my bitch." Natsumi said
She turned and started to walk away, but then she heard the sound of the Chidori getting closer to her. She sighed and created a rasengan in her hand to stop him, but both of them were thrown towards the giant water containers. Sasuke removed his hand and smirked when all of the water came out of a hole the size of his fist while Natsumi only had a small stream coming from where her attack landed.
"What do you two think you're doing up here? That was a little intense for a sparring match, wasn't it? What's wrong with you two? Naruto, why didn't you stop them? You're more than capable of stopping them yourself." Kakashi said
"You were nearby watching since you got here so quickly. Besides, Sasuke and Natsumi just used their strongest jutsus. Before that, Sasuke was getting his ass kicked. Up until the end, there wasn't any need for me to interfere and when I was about to, you showed up." Naruto said
"Well, he has a point. I just thought he'd stop them before it got this far. I am surprised to see Natsumi using the rasengan though. Master Jiraiya didn't tell me that when I saw him last time." Kakashi thought and then looked at Sasuke
"Were you really going to kill her, Sasuke? You really need to watch your anger and that sense of superiority. That Chidori is not the size you'd aim at a comrade from the leaf village. When are you going to finally grow up, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked and Sasuke just jumped off the roof only to see the opposite side of the water container Natsumi hit was completely obliterated by her rasengan
"Dammit!" Sasuke said and banged his fist against the wall before leaving
"So much for teamwork. I'm guessing you finally got around to teaching her the rasengan?" Kakashi asked
"It wasn't me. Naruto taught it to her. She's ready for it and I won't hold it against her for using it. That Chidori undoubtedly would've killed her and we both know that can't happen." Jiraiya said, as he was leaned up against the water tank Kakashi was sitting on
"Still, you should talk to her about the power it contains." Kakashi said
"She only used enough chakra to cancel out the Chidori. At best both of them would've been thrown off the roof." Jiraiya said
"Well, we've got bigger problems." Naruto said, as he walked up to them
"What's that?" Jiraiya asked
"Four unknown chakra signatures just appeared in the village, but they hid their chakra as soon as they stepped into the village." Naruto said
"Great. You try to find them. I'll alert Tsunade and have her send some anbu out to find them. Kakashi, talk to your student. Natsumi, come with me." Jiraiya said and everyone nodded before vanishing
"I guess I'll go see what Ino is up to." Sakura said
Few hours later
Naruto looked around for whoever was in the village and had no kind of luck. He sent out shadow clones to try and speed up the search, but they couldn't find anything either. He thought about getting a member of the Inuzuka clan to help, but they only track based on scent and they had nothing on the enemy to use for their scent. His hunch was correct because he felt Sasuke's chakra spike and sensed the curse mark power as well. He teleported over there and saw Sasuke on the ground while four people were surrounding him. He hid his presence and decided to listen to what they were saying.
"What does Orochimaru want with this guy anyway? I don't see anything special about him anyway. Kimimaro would've been much better. Oh well. You spent most of your life in a village like this place and you'll turn out mediocre at best. If you just keep playing ninja with all of your friends here, you'll continue to rot on the vine." Sakon said
"You're acting like a fool. You should come with us. Lord Orochimaru offers you power. He said there'd be no point in taking you by force. You have to decide." Tayuya said
"This is turning out to be a real pain. Are you in or out? What do you say, kid? If this runt makes me wait any longer, I'm gonna ring his little neck." Sakon
"Come and try it." Sasuke said, as his curse mark spread across his body and then he attacked Sakon only to be kicked into a wall
"Come on. You didn't think you're the only one Lord Orochimaru gave that to, did you? One shouldn't use the curse mark so recklessly, kid. Although it doesn't look like you have much of a handle on it, do you? If you unleash it for too long, the curse will eat away at your body. You're in the early stages of it, so it shouldn't sink it's teeth into you too quickly, but one it spreads through your body, your former self will be gone. Never again to return." Sakon said
"In exchange for the curse's power, you will be tethered to Lord Orochimaru. All semblance of freedom will be lost to you. To gain one thing, another must be left behind. What is your purpose in life? To stay here in this backwater village hiding with your little friends? Surely you haven't forgotten Itachi Uchiha." Tayuya said
"You mustn't forget your purpose. Life in this village is little more than bondage for you. Sever your ties to this pathetic place. If you can do that, there will be no limit to the power you can wield. Remember your purpose!" Sakon said and the four members jumped away
"Well this just got a lot harder." Naruto thought and vanished
Tsunade's office
"Kakashi, any word on the four unidentifiable people Naruto detected?" Tsunade asked
"No. It's like they just disappeared as he said. I couldn't use the ninja hounds since we didn't have anything to smell. What about Master Jiraiya?" Kakashi asked
"He had to leave in the middle of his search. His spy network caught onto some ramblings about the akatsuki. Have you heard from Naruto?" Tsunade asked
"No. I haven't talked to him since the search." Kakashi said
"None of my anbu found anything either and I had to spread them thin since a lot of them are out on missions." Tsunade said and Naruto appeared in the office
"We have a problem." Naruto said
"What is it?" Tsunade asked
"I found those four people who came into the village and they're after Sasuke." Naruto said
"Why would they be after Sasuke?" Tsunade asked
"Because they work for Orochimaru and that's not all I found out." Naruto said
"What else did you find out?" Tsunade asked
"There's levels to the curse mark and Sasuke's is only in the beginning stage. Orochimaru is promising him power. I didn't fight them because I could tell they each had a lot more power from their curse marks and it wouldn't be good for me to fight them 4 on one if what they said is true about there being more levels." Naruto said
"Dammit. We're spread thin and I need both of you for separate missions that should have you back by tomorrow afternoon. How much time do you think we have before they make their next move?" Tsunade asked
"Maybe a couple of hours at best. They left the decision up to Sasuke, but if he doesn't meet them, then they'll take him by force." Naruto said and she rubbed her temples
"Dammit. Listen, Kakashi. You already know your mission. Get back as soon as possible." Tsunade said
"Yes, Lady Hokage." Kakashi said and vanished
"What's my mission?" Naruto asked
"It's just a simple delivery to the hidden waterfall village. You'll meet with Shibuki to hand him an update on the information we know about the akatsuki. After that you need to head back immediately or I'll send a Katsuyu slug to you." Tsunade said
"What about Sasuke? You can't leave him unattended." Naruto said
"I know. That's why I'll have a team of chunin go watch his apartment until Kakashi arrives tomorrow. If anything should happen, I'll send a Katsuyu slug to inform you of any changes." Tsunade said
"Alright." Naruto said and vanished
"SHIZUNE." Tsunade yelled
"Yes, M'lady?" Shizune asked, as she came into the office
"I need you to get four chunin and I don't care if they're asleep. Get me the best we have." Tsunade said
"Yes ma'am." Shizune said and quickly left
"I need a drink." Tsunade said
Naruto
After summoning Dash, Naruto quickly flew to the waterfall village in less than two hours, but he was tired. He had to wait for Shibuki to meet him at the entrance which was being guarded by hidden anbu members. After waiting for nearly an hour, Shibuki finally came out and escorted him into the village. The scroll was delivered and Shibuki in return gave them information on a possible akatsuki member. When Naruto asked about Fū, Shibuki blushed a bit and told him she was at her usual hideout spot in the village.
"I know you're there, Fū." Naruto said and heard some giggling
"Nice to see you again, Naruto." Fū said, as she jumped down to him
"Same. So, how's the village been for you?" Naruto asked
"It's been great ever since I helped defeat Suien and his little group of goons. I even made a few friends." Fū said
"So, they aren't afraid of you anymore?" Naruto asked
"Nope. I guess since they accepted Natsumi being a jinchuriki since she used tailed beast chakra to defeat Suien, they decided to give me a chance. I mean they even let me train with them now." Fū said
"That's great. No problems with the seven tails?" Naruto asked and her stomach growled
"Sorry, but he doesn't like being called that." Fū said
"Then what should I call him?" Naruto asked and she held a fist out to him
"Bump fists with me." Fū said
"Why?" Naruto asked
"I'm gonna take you to meet him and let him judge you." Fū said
"Uh. Okay." Naruto said and bumped fists with her
Fū's mindscape
Naruto opened his eyes and was inside of Fū's mindscape. It was basically a wide open area filled with grass and bugs. There were some trees, but they were huge compared to the ones in the real world.
"Pretty sweet, right?" Fū asked
"Yeah. How does your mind look like this?" Naruto asked
"Well, when I was bonding with my fellow resident, I thought about what I would want my mind to look like and this happened. I guess it's only something a jinchuriki can do or somebody from the Yamanaka clan." Fū said
"That's really interesting." Naruto said
"Follow me!" Fū said and ran off
"Hang on. I don't know where I'm going." Naruto said and chased after her for about 5 minutes
"Here we are." Fū said, as she stopped running
"Where exactly?" Naruto asked
"Where my friend is, duh." Fū said and then Naruto heard wings flapping followed by a voice
"Fū, who is this?" The seven tails asked
"This is my friend, Naruto. He's one of the people that helped defeat Suien a few months ago." Fū said
"I see. A friend of yours is a friend of mine. I don't sense any ill intentions from him at all. Not even a little drop which is rare in an Uchiha." The seven tails said
"How'd you know I was an Uchiha?" Naruto asked
"Before I met Fū, I could still see and hear what she did. Plus, I saw your sharingan in use." The seven tails said
"I see." Naruto said
"Anyway, he's here because he doesn't know what to call you since you don't like being called seven tails." Fū said
"I understand. My name is Lucky seven Chomei." Chomei said
"It's just Chomei. He only introduces himself like that because 7 is a lucky number." Fū said
"Naruto Uchiha-Namikaze." Naruto said and bowed
"Alright, now that we've got that settled, let's go." Fū said
"Wait. I want to talk to Chomei. I never know when I'll get to talk to a tailed beast again and this is the only time I can do it at the moment." Naruto said
"What did you want to talk about?" Chomei asked
"It's about a stone tablet that's in the Uchiha clan district." Naruto said
"Hop on. Excuse us for a moment, Fū." Chomei said and flew off after Naruto jumped on his head
Naruto & Chomei
"Why'd you fly us away from her?" Naruto asked
"Because I have a feeling I know what you want to talk about and she's not ready to hear it yet." Chomei said
"I understand. There's not much I can read on the stone tablet, but I read some of it." Naruto said
"What do you want to know about?" Chomei asked
"When I was reading the stone tablet, it said something about a god seeking stability was divided into yin and yang, but when these two came together you obtain all things in creation. The only person I could think of was the sage of six paths, but nobody really knows anything about him. Do you know about him or what that means?" Naruto asked and Chomei nodded
"Yes. The sage of six paths as you call him is my father. He created the 9 tailed beasts after using his powers to split the ten tails into nine separate bodies." Chomei said
"How did he manage to split the ten tails? Wouldn't the ten tails be way too powerful for him?" Naruto asked
"Yes, but after the sage of six paths and his brother defeated the ten tails, the sage of six paths sealed the ten tails into his own body becoming a jinchuriki. After splitting up the ten tails and creating the tailed beasts, the sage of six paths then used a jutsu known as planetary devastation to seal the ten tails husk away and thus creating the moon." Chomei said
"The sage of six paths has a brother and created the moon?" Naruto asked
"Yes. His brother was known as Hamura Ōtsutsuki. They are the sons of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki who merged with something known as the god tree and became the ten tails. Hamura Ōtsutsuki lived on the moon for the rest of his life where he would eventually pass away. Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, had two sons named Indra and Asura. Having been around for as long as I have, I can tell which reincarnate you are, but the difference is that I can tell you don't hold his thirst for power." Chomei said
"Reincarnate, huh? Which one am I?" Naruto asked
"You are the reincarnation of Indra. However, your immense potential is far greater than his and Madara Uchiha who was also a reincarnation of Indra." Chomei said
"So if me and Madara were reincarnates of Indra, then that must mean Asura has a reincarnate as well. From the way that Madara was I can guess Indra was the bad guy as we would say and Asura was the good guy. So, that would make Hashirama Senju a reincarnation of Asura and Natsumi as well. I don't get it though. It's like the reincarnates are all from one side of the family for Indra and Asura." Naruto said
"You are correct and quite smart for your age if you were able to figure that out. Now, as for your assumption about the reincarnates being from each side of the family, you are right. Hagoromo's bloodline was divided into the descendants of his two children, which would eventually form the Senju clan and through distant relations, the Uzumaki clan from Asura and the Uchiha clan from Indra." Chomei said and Naruto nodded
"Can you tell me what the power of Saṃsāra is? The tablet said that when someone who possesses the power of Saṃsāra approaches the moon, an eye will open that is reflected on the moon to grant the eternal dream." Naruto said
"The power of Saṃsāra is known as the outer path and is used to revive the dead. However, the outer path can only be used by a dojutsu that has not been seen since the time of the sage of six paths so you do not have to worry about that. The eternal dream is just a powerful genjutsu that traps you in a dream forever." Chomei said
"That's what the Infinite Tsukuyomi is. An eternal dream like an unbreakable genjutsu." Naruto said
"Correct, but the Infinite Tsukuyomi can be undone when the powers of yin and yang come together." Chomei said
"Then why is the tablet saying that the Infinite Tsukuyomi will save the Uchiha clan?" Naruto asked
"That is false information. What else is on the tablet that you can see?" Chomei asked
"Other than what I told you it just talks about the sharingan, the Mangekyou sharingan it's abilities and the way you must unlock it which I already know is a complete lie." Naruto said
"How do you figure that?" Chomei asked
"The abilities of the sharingan and Mangekyou sharingan are true since I have some of them, but the way to unlock the Mangekyou is false. It said that in order to unlock your Mangekyou sharingan, you need to kill your best friend. My mother and I didn't unlock ours like that. She unlocked hers after her best friend died and I unlocked mine after I watched my mom die." Naruto said
"Then it seems someone or something has been manipulating this stone tablet. Be careful looking into it though. We don't know what or who is doing it." Chomei said
"Yeah. Wait, I have two more questions." Naruto said
"What is it?" Chomei asked
"What about the descendants of Hamura? Plus who is Hagoromo and Hamura's father?" Naruto asked
"Hamura's bloodline on Earth continued, which eventually would become the Hyūga clan and the Byakugan was also passed down to them. As for who their father is, he is known as Tenji. However, that is a story for another time. I can sense Fū trying to communicate with you in the real world. Farewell, Naruto Uchiha." Chomei said
"Same and let Fū know that she needs to get stronger. Tell her to be aware of the akatsuki. They walk around with black cloaks with red clouds on them. They're dangerous and they want the tailed beasts for something." Naruto said and disappeared
Real world
"HELLOOOOOOO." Fū yelled into his ear
"Dammit! I'm up!" Naruto said
"Finally. A slug is here waiting for you." Fū said and Naruto looked around
"Man, what time is it?" Naruto asked
"It's morning time. We fell asleep with our fists connected." Fū said and Naruto nodded
"Lady Katsuyu, what did you need?" Naruto asked
"Lady Tsunade wants you to head back to the village immediately. Sasuke Uchiha killed his chunin guards, knocked out Sakura Haruno and fled the village a few hours ago." Katsuyu said and went up in smoke
"Dammit! Fū, I'll talk to you again, alright?" Naruto asked
"Sure." Fū said and gave him a fist bump
"Make sure you keep on training." Naruto said and vanished
Naruto
Naruto quickly left the waterfall village and had Dash take him back to Konoha as quickly as he could. He got there in an hour on Dash and after talking to Tsunade about the problem, he was sent out with the medical corps. He saw Choji first and his condition was critical, but the medical corps quickly took him back to the village. Neji was next and he was in even worse condition than Choji as he was nearly stabbed through the heart. He couldn't find Kiba, but felt his chakra heading back towards the village. He heard the sound of trees breaking and headed in that direction. When he arrived, he saw Shikamaru there with Temari and the same redhead from the other day that was after Sasuke, but the red haired girl was dead underneath some trees.
"Shikamaru!" Naruto said, as he landed next to him
"Hey, Naruto." Shikamaru said
"Hello." Temari said
"What happened here?" Naruto asked
"Crybaby here needed some help. The leaf village called us to help them out. I didn't see anybody else though, but Kankuro and Gaara are both here as well." Temari said
"These guys are insane. They have the same mark as Sasuke, but theirs is a lot stronger than his. There's a fifth member that Natsumi went after since he had the barrel containing Sasuke and I can tell he's stronger than all of them combined." Shikamaru said
"I'll go after her. You two head back to the village. If I see Gaara, I'll tell him the same." Naruto said, but then they felt an immense amount of chakra that Naruto and Temari recognized
"What the hell is that?" Shikamaru asked and the sky turned black in the distance
"Get back to the village. I'll get Natsumi. Right now, neither of you would stand a chance if that's what I think it is. Tell Tsunade to get a room ready for Natsumi and Sasuke." Naruto said and vanished
Naruto was running through the forest as fast as he could and with each step he felt the chakra getting stronger. Along the way he passed Gaara and Rock Lee telling them to head back to the village. He was sent flying back when a huge gust of wind from the direction he was going blew him back. He grit his teeth and then ran again hoping to make it in time. Just as he almost reached the valley of end, an explosion happened.
Valley of end
Natsumi and Sasuke were both battling it out while Sasuke was using the power of the curse mark, Natsumi was using a full tail of the nine tails chakra. Natsumi gave up trying to reason with him so now she was fighting him to the death like he wanted. Natsumi just looked at Sasuke as he started to transform thanks to his curse mark. His skin turned dark-grey, his hair grew longer and turned dark blue. His eyes also turned dark grey, but his sharingan was still active. Natsumi charged at him and grabbed him by his face before dragging him across the wall of the valley of end. They stopped and the Natsumi was thrown away by something. She looked up and saw that he grew webbed-claw-shaped wings from his back.
Natsumi felt the power coming from him and knew she needed more. She drew out another tail of the nine tails chakra and the ground underneath her caved in a bit. Sasuke went through hand signs and Natsumi watched on as the Chidori he created turned black due to the influence of the curse mark. Natsumi held her hand out and created a rasengan in her hand that turned purple thanks to the influence of the nine tails chakra. Sasuke flew at Natsumi ready to strike with his Chidori and Natsumi jumped towards him with her rasengan.
Their jutsus collided causing an explosion and in that brief moment, Sasuke went to stab Natsumi in her heart, but she managed to only have him hit her shoulder. Natsumi on the other hand was just going to knock him out, but then she realized Sasuke is too far gone to be saved. So with a heavy heart, she gave him an apologetic look before she created another rasengan and tore through his chest where his heart was at killing him. Storm clouds formed and it started raining while Natsumi just fell to her knees looking at Sasuke's lifeless body on the ground. She started crying and closed his eyes.
Up until Sasuke ran into Orochimaru, he was starting to come around and she thought they were becoming friends. Their spars had a friendly vibe to them while the need to prove themselves to one another about who was better than the other. He even cracked a smirk a few times at some of her jokes. The more she thought about it, the harder she cried. She was so distraught that she didn't know somebody was behind her until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw that it was Naruto standing there.
"Naruto, I.."
"I know." Naruto said
She just jumped into his arms and cried for as long as she needed to before she eventually passed out due to exhaustion. Naruto pulled out a scroll and sealed Sasuke's body away before placing Natsumi on his back. He watched as the rain completely washed away Sasuke's blood before leaving. On his way back he met up with some of the medical corps who were headed in that direction.
"Naruto, what's Natsumi's condition?" A med ninja asked
"She'll pull through. She has a shoulder wound, but she's healing up as we speak. I'll still take her to the hospital though." Naruto said and he nodded
"What about Sasuke Uchiha? Where is he?" The med ninja asked and Naruto stayed silent before switching subjects
"How is everyone else?" Naruto asked
"They're all in the hospital for emergency treatment. Shikamaru Nara has minor injuries, Kiba's injuries are more serious, not life threatening. Neji Hyuga and Choji Akimichi are in serious condition. At this point there's no telling what could happen." The med ninja said
Konoha hospital
Naruto arrived at the hospital and Natsumi was immediately taken into the icu for treatment. Naruto went to the waiting area where he saw Temari and Shikamaru who had his finger wrapped up. Naruto sat down on the floor against the wall and sighed before putting his head against the wall. He looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Temari giving him a smile.
"Come sit on the bench. The floor is uncomfortable." Temari said and he nodded before sitting next to her
"I'm surprised to see you at the hospital. I figured you'd be off in a hotel or something." Naruto said
"I had to make sure the crybaby got back safe. Shikamaru, there's no point in making yourself crazy you know. Don't you remember your psychological training? With every mission comes sacrifice." Temari said
"If she's trying to cheer him up, she's doing a horrible job." Naruto thought
"Training and reality are two different things. I thought I knew about missions. I thought I knew what it meant to be a shinobi. Now after this mission, my first mission as squad leader. Only one thing is clear, I'm just not cut out to be a Shinobi." Shikamaru said
"So you're giving up because your friends came back injured on a mission? What the hell did you think would happen on an S-rank mission? I've been on plenty of high ranked missions and trust me, what you're going through now isn't even close to what I've seen out there. All of your friends made it back alive. Two of them are fighting for their lives right now, but they'll make it. Meanwhile the friends I've gained never had the chance to make it back to the village and you don't see me moping around like a fragile little boy. Get your shit together. You know damn well you aren't quitting being a shinobi because the instant you try to resign over this mission you'll get denied and your mother also wouldn't allow you to quit." Naruto said
"I should've done more, but I didn't have the strength. It's all my fault." Shikamaru said
"What? Are you afraid you might get hurt next time? Stop being a baby and man up. Go train instead of watching the clouds all the time with your lazy ass so something like this won't happen next time. That's the second girl that kicked your ass in a fight and I'm the first one. You suck right now, but that doesn't mean you can't change that." Temari said and Shikamaru walked away only to stop when his father said something
"Shikamaru, a girl disrespects you like that and you just walk away?" Shikaku asked
"You bet I do. Standing around arguing is not my thing. It's something girls like to do." Shikamaru said
"Then what are you? You're not a man that's for sure. As far as I can see, you're nothing but a coward. You think if you quit the missions will stop? Someone's gotta do it. Your comrades will be sent out again on other missions with someone else leading them. They'll face the same risks and like Naruto said, some of them might not make it. Ones you might've saved if you'd been there to lead them. How are you going to feel then? You've got a chance to reflect on your mistakes and learn from them. Use your failures to make yourself a better leader. You won't help your friends by running away. Instead you should be trying to make yourself stronger for their sake. That way the next mission goes perfectly and everyone gets back safe. The choice is simple. You're either a leader or a coward. So, which are you?" Shikaku asked and the Tsunade came out of the icu
"Choji is going to be just fine. The antidote worked. The extermination of cells caused by the effect of the pills has been nullified. I couldn't have done it without your help, Shikaku. The Nara clan's secret medicinal preparation manual was very useful. The work that went into that manual, the years of research is quite impressive to say the least." Tsunade said
"Thank you." Shikaku said and Shizune came running up to them
"Lady Tsunade! Neji Hyuga is safe, his condition has stabilized and there's more. I heard Natsumi arrived and has been examined. Natsumi's injuries are serious, but not life threatening. She's going to be okay." Shizune said
"Shikamaru, your mission was a failure." Tsunade said
"No, it wasn't." Naruto said
"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked
"The mission was successful." Naruto said and tossed her a scroll
"What's this?" Tsunade asked
"His body." Naruto said and everyone's eyes went wide
"You killed him?" Tsunade asked
"No. Natsumi did. I got there a few seconds late." Naruto said and she sighed
"I guess it wasn't a failure after all." Tsunade said
"Depending on how you look at it." Naruto said and stood up
"Where are you going?" Tsunade asked
"Home. I'm tired and Natsumi isn't light." Naruto said
"You should go see her." Tsunade said
"She needs time alone right now. I'll see her in the morning." Naruto said and walked away
"Hang on. I need to pick up my fan from the chunin exams. I'll walk with you." Temari said and they left
Meanwhile in river country, a black haired male with two lines on his face wearing the akatsuki cloak was standing outside as it started to rain and his partner was standing behind him. If it weren't for the rain hitting his face, you could see tears falling from the corners of his eyes.