CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Sasuke Is In The Darkness Now!
XXX
Naruto woke up to the sound of beeping and general muttering. He twitched his fingers as consciousness returned to him. There was something around his middle finger. He wanted to open his eyes to look at it, but his eyelids felt so heavy. He just wanted to sleep for another few minutes. Everything felt so much nicer while he was asleep. No worrying about the restoration of Uzushio, no stressing over being a jinchuuriki, no crying over Sasuke… wait, Sasuke? What happened to Sasuke?
"He's waking up…"
Naruto sat up sharply. "Sasu…" his outburst was cut off by wires and tubes pulling him back down onto his bed. He was in hospital. He looked down at his plain white hospital gown. He was connected to so many tubes and wires. How did he get here?
"Okay, calm down, kid," a gentle voice interrupted his train of thought. Naruto looked up and around him. "Calm down, you're okay," Tsunade assured him.
He was surrounded by the jinchuuriki, Sakura, Kakashi, and the Kage. "Who died?"
Hinata punched him in the shoulder, "You did, you idiot! Don't you scare us like that ever again!" the Three-Tails jinchuuriki demanded as her anger turned to depression. She buried her head in his gown and started crying.
"What on earth happened? Where am I?" Naruto sat up, making sure not to upset any of the wires connected to him.
"You're in the Land of Lightning. At the Shinobi Allied Force's new base of operations," A said.
"It's been two months since the battle in Konoha," Sakura said.
"Two months?" Naruto's eyes widened. "So, I lost to Sasuke?"
"Is that the first thing on your mind?!" Yugito bonked him on the top of the head, "We were so scared that you fucking died, and you're worried about Sasuke?"
"Died? What do you mean died? Why are you guys being so dramatic, dattebayo?" Naruto whined, rubbing the lump forming on his scalp.
"It's not us being dramatic, it's you not being dramatic enough," Tsunade said, with a sterner voice, "Naruto, you did more harm to yourself with the techniques you used than Sasuke did harm to you."
"Huh? How do you mean?"
"Where do I start? The Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu is a forbidden technique, not because of the damage it does to your opponent, but because of the damage it does to you. For each shadow clone you create, your chakra is divided in half, then into quarters, then into eighths, and so on, and so forth. Not only did you send two clones to every village, but you made those clones create other clones, and then you created more clones whilst fighting with Sasuke. Do you understand how much chakra you cost yourself?"
"Yeah, but I'm a jinchuuriki. I have a lot of chakra to spare."
"Speaking of being a jinchuuriki! Where did you learn how to activate the Eight Gates?" Tsunade asked.
"What's so bad about the Eight Gates?"
"What's so bad about them is that jinchuuriki aren't supposed to be able to activate them. It's dangerous enough releasing your chakra limiters as a normal person like Might Guy and Rock Lee, but for a jinchuuriki, you're supposed to be restricted by the fact that you have another creature's chakra pathways entangled with your own! When you unlock your limiters, you have your own chakra, plus your tailed beast's chakra, freely flowing through your body with no limit. Your Third Gate does more damage to your body than if Lee were to activate his Sixth. The fact that Sakura said you activated the Fifth Gate and didn't collapse immediately is a miracle…"
"Well…"
"And that Rasengan Shuriken that you use! Don't! Do you know what the Rasengan does? It grinds and tears and destroys whatever it comes into contact with. That's perfectly fine when it's contained into a tiny ball, but when you let it fucking expand and destroy your own arm! Are you trying to commit suicide? Is that it?"
"Why do you care so much?!" Naruto stopped her, "Why are you trying to lecture me about what I can do with my body when you weren't there to take care of it for seventeen years of my life?"
"… Because even if you're not in the village, you're a member of the Hidden Leaf…"
"No, I'm not… I'm the right-hand man of the Uzukage. You have as much control over me as you do over A here, or Fuu, or Han. None. Now get me out of these things," Naruto struggled with the wires for a bit.
"Okay, I think we all got off on the wrong foot. Why don't we…" Shizune tried to calm everyone down, but Naruto tore the wires off his body and stood up. He couldn't feel his legs. He collapsed. Someone caught him before he hit the ground.
"Don't overwork yourself," Jiraiya's voice warned him. "Give us a minute, won't you," the taller man hoisted Naruto over his shoulder before flickering away.
XXX
61 Days Since Sasuke
Naruto ended up on the roof. The sun was beginning to set behind a tall mountain range in the Land of Lightning. They were in a village in a valley, with steep slopes surrounding them from all angles. He could see everything from up here. He could see the rivers running down the mountains, the fields surrounding the tiny village, the little settlements that had been propped up around the village to house the hundreds of thousands of shinobi that would call this place home, and then the city itself. It was very modern. A proper city, with tall towers that ran off into the suburbs and marketplaces. Where in the Land of Lightning were they? Jiraiya dropped him onto the concrete floor.
"Where are we?" was Naruto's first question as he sat there, propping himself up with his hands.
"This is the Land of Lightning."
"But where in the Land of Lightning?"
"In the Valley of Clouds and Lightning. It's a training spot for jinchuuriki. The base of operations was moved to here when we got the support of you and your tailed friends," Jiraiya explained.
"A training spot for jinchuuriki?"
"Yeah. There are only three places in the world where a jinchuuriki can learn to control their tailed beast-."
"The Cavern of Immortality in the Land of Earth, the Creation Point of All Things, and the Falls of Truth," Naruto interrupted him. "Roshi-senpai told us this when we trained with him."
"Yeah… well, the Valley of Clouds and Lightning is where the Falls of Truth are located. Some of the jinchuuriki have been heading down there every few days to communicate with their tailed beast and train. Maybe, you could go there too…" Jiraiya suggested, but Naruto didn't respond. He just looked down at his legs. He still couldn't feel them.
"Why can't I feel my legs?" Naruto wondered.
"You were unconscious, sitting on a bed for two months. Your muscles have deteriorated rapidly in those two months. Your body needs time to rehabilitate before you get back to regular speed."
"And how long will that take?"
"About a month."
"A month?"
"Yeah, the general rule of thumb is that you need half the time you spent unconscious to get back to full speed."
Naruto shook his head, "I don't have a month. I need to get back to the battlefield."
Jiraiya chuckled. "Battlefield? What battlefield? This is war. It's a long and drawn-out series of battlefields. There's nothing you can do at the moment, anyway."
"But Sasuke…"
"Sasuke and Orochimaru have both been in hiding for the past two months. We have spies behind enemy lines who know where most of the Akatsuki's members are. We know where the Zetsu army is. We know nearly everything besides where those two are, and as long as it's just those two, there's nothing to worry about."
Naruto collapsed onto his back and stared at the cloudy skies overhead. "It's not about the war anymore. It's about me," he replied. "I lost to Sasuke. I told myself that there were only two ways that that battle would. Either he agreed to leave the Akatsuki, or I killed him, and I couldn't do either."
"Don't go down this path," Jiraiya warned.
"What do you mean?"
"This path of convincing yourself that you're at fault for Sasuke's defection to the dark side. Don't chase after him. He made his decision. He's dug his grave. Let him lie in it."
"What would you know? What would you know about the guilt I feel?" Naruto asked, "Sasuke was my friend. My brother. And now he's Orochimaru's puppet. This was my last chance to do something to stop him."
"What would I know?" Jiraiya put his hands on his hips and stared at the pocket of clear sky to his west. "Well, I was in your position. Not too long ago. Orochimaru was my best friend too. Him, Tsunade and I were handpicked by the Third Hokage himself to be the strongest shinobi team in Konoha history, but we were divided by war and circumstance. Orochimaru's heart grew cold and black, and I didn't do anything to stop it. Now, here I am. Doomed to chase after the snake until my body can't chase anymore. Does that sound fun to you?"
"Why are you here?"
"What?"
"Both you and Tsunade? Why are you here after all these years? Weren't you supposed to be my godfather or something? Where were you when I spent thirteen years of my life alone in a dimly lit one-bedroom apartment, surviving on nothing but cup ramen? Where were you?"
"I was out there chasing a snake," he explained flatly, "That was what my obsession did to me. I had a choice to make. Protect this child or continue to run in circles trying to bring Orochimaru back to the Hidden Leaf. I made a stupid decision all those years ago, and I can't get that time back. I'm sure Minato and Kushina are rolling around in their graves as we speak."
"Minato? Kushina? Are those my parents' names?"
Jiraiya looked back over his shoulder. "You don't even know your own parents' names?" Naruto shook his head. Jiraiya returned to the patch of empty sky. "Your father was the Fourth Hokage."
Naruto was stunned silent. That was such a heavy bombshell to just drop out of nowhere. "What?"
"And your mother was an Uzumaki. They gave you the last name Uzumaki because powerful people would've come after you if you stuck with your father's name. I never understood the point of that, because powerful people came after you when they heard your mother's name too."
"My parents… can you tell me about them?"
"Your father was… well, he was Minato. He was brilliant. A prodigy. To this day, he still has the highest academy score ever recorded in Konoha history. I think if he lived to see his thirties, he could've become a stronger shinobi this world has ever seen. He almost single-handedly ended the Third Shinobi World War and everywhere he went, people would flee. It's crazy to think that someone so nonchalant and carefree could become Konoha's Yellow Flash," Jiraiya said, "And then there was Kushina. Your mother. She was… a lot. The only time I ever saw fear enter Minato's eyes was when Kushina was around. She was so deadly but so filled with love. After all, she was the Nine-Tailed jinchuuriki before you, and as she always used to say, 'In order to counter the Fox's hatred'…"
"…. one must be filled with love," once again, Naruto finished Jiraiya's sentence. He was struggling to hold back the tears now.
"Minato died sealing the Fox inside you. Kushina was killed by the Fox itself… it'd been ripped out of her by a Masked Man, the medics say it would've killed her anyway, but it's a testament to her fighting spirit that she lasted that long."
The flood dams broke. Naruto broke down with tears streaming from his eyes. He tried to wipe them off, but they just kept coming, faster than he could wipe. He wished they'd survive. He wanted the endless possibilities of being part of a family. Waking up to his mother's fresh cooking. Waiting at the door for his dad to come home from a long day of work. Maybe he would've had a brother or a sister. The cycle of hatred. The cycle of loneliness. None of it would've affected him had they been here with him today.
Jiraiya let the seventeen-year-old cry on his shoulder, "Let it all out."
And Naruto did.
For a few more minutes before finally calming down.
The elevator came up to the roof. The doors pulled apart to reveal Hinata, standing there with a wheelchair in her hands. It was for Naruto. She'd volunteered to take care of him until he regained the ability to walk.
"Here," Jiraiya dug into his pocket as he stood up. "I think your dad would've wanted you to have this," he said before throwing a scroll at the Uzumaki.
He lifted himself onto the wheelchair before looking down at the scroll, "What's this?"
"It's a jutsu way less dangerous than that Tailed Beast: Eight Gates of yours."
Naruto unfurled the scroll to read the title.
Secret Konoha Technique: Flying Thunder God Jutsu
When Naruto looked back up, Jiraiya was gone.
XXX
The Land of Lightning got its name from the mountain ranges that cut through the centre of the country creating an ideal spawn point for vicious thunderstorms that would shake the earth with their violence. Naruto had been lucky to avoid one of these storms when he was here the last time, but now, he was stuck in one.
The Allied Shinobi Force had done everything to keep themselves on the jinchuuriki's good sides after giving them a blank cheque. Thanks to some negotiating, the jinchuuriki, Hotaru, and Karin had each been given rooms near the top of one of the village's tallest hotels. The pros of this, amazing views. The cons, the weather was terrifying. As Naruto sat in front of the window, staring at the village, he could see lightning strike the lightning rod on the building across from him. Every time it struck; he would flinch. The flash was blinding and the crack that came after, terrifying.
That crack of lightning.
Everything reminded Naruto of him.
"Will you be okay?" Hinata's voice broke Naruto's train of thought.
"Uh? Yeah, I'm sure I will," he replied.
"Are you sure? Do you, at least, want me to order something from the front desk for you?" Hinata asked.
"No. It's okay. I'll get it myself."
.
.
.
"What happened? In Konoha?" Hinata finally asked.
Naruto turned on his wheelchair to stare at her. "What do you mean?"
"You left the war room that day with so much optimism and warmth. You came back… different."
A flash of lightning.
Naruto turned back to the window; it was drenched in rain. "I left that room intent on coming back with Sasuke, whether he came willingly or in a body bag, and I just… I just came up a little bit short," the memories of the battle replayed in the back of Naruto's head like a movie. What if he…? What if he did as Kurama instructed him to and broke through the Susanoo shell when he got the chance? What if he didn't let Sasuke get up to his feet? What if he held Sasuke down while he was under the water and just…? He couldn't do that though. The Nine-Tails was right, he was too weak to kill Sasuke. Even if he was strong enough physically, he just wasn't there mentally.
"But you gave it your all, and saved Konoha, that's all that matters," Hinata replied.
"That's the problem. I didn't," Naruto grinded his teeth, "I can beat him. I know I can. I just need to… I need another chance. I need to find Sasuke and prove that I can beat him."
"Prove it to who?" Hinata asked, "I know you can beat him. He knows you can beat him, why else would he run away? There's no one you need to prove it to, Naruto. If this is still about the Nine-Tails then don't worry, we don't need it anymore."
"I need to prove it to myself, Hinata," Naruto admitted, "I need to prove to myself that I have it in me to accomplish the goals I set for myself."
Naruto set himself the goal of become a Kage, and now he was next in line to become the Kage of his ancestral home. Four years ago, he promised Gaara that he'd find a place where they could live together free of scrutiny, and he'd accomplished that mission. He also promised Tsunade that he'd save Konoha from Orochimaru and Sasuke, and he did just that, to this day, Konoha still stood. Every obstacle that came Naruto's way was knocked down and dealt with, so why was he so obsessed with this one specific goal? Hinata didn't know, and maybe it wasn't her place to know. "Okay," Hinata admitted defeat. She walked over to Naruto to leave a device in his hands.
It was a button. "What's this?"
"It's a clicker that you can use to call me if you need me. I'll be back with Shizune-san tomorrow morning to start the rehabilitation process," Hinata explained. With that, she took her leave, closing the door behind her as she left.
Naruto sat there for a few more minutes, staring at the rain running down the windowpane.