Naruto: Uchiha no Densetsu
Chapter 29: Bonds forged through Pain
"Listen to me, carefully now. Few months prior to the Uchiha Clan massacre, there had been a lot of tension between the Uchiha Clan and the village. Several top members of the clan had begun to believe that the village treated the clan unfairly and that the Uchihas did not receive the proper respect they deserved. The elders which included Danzo, Homura and Koharu had especially begun to isolate the Uchiha Clan more so, than the other clans. Although, I suppose at that point it was relatively still fine, since essentially an Uchiha was the Hokage, that being my father." Naruto said calmly.
Sasuke patiently listened to each and every word, not wanting to miss any detail. He was certainly surprised to know about this revelation. He wasn't ashamed to admit that during his childhood, he was a bit ignorant and only cared about his clan. He never really bothered knowing another person's pain or understanding them.
"So, what happened then?" Sasuke questioned. While he may appear calm and collected on the outside, he had a feeling he may not completely like what he would hear from the blonde. However, he knew one thing for certain. Naruto wouldn't lie to him.
"For you to understand the situation completely, I will have to start from the very beginning. It all stems from the very foundation of Konohagakure no Sato." Naruto started and this time Sasuke did show a slight bit of surprise upon hearing that.
"During the era of the warring clan, the Senju and Uchiha Clans were one of the most heated rival clans to exist. And within those clans, it was Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha who were regarded as the strongest. However, what many don't know is that two were really good friends in their childhood. The two often met in secret and talked about their dream of protecting their siblings, their families and about a world where people could stay in peace and wars would only be a thing of the past. However, before long, their families had found out about two meeting with each other. Even so, the different philosophies and the ideologies along with the constant fighting never really allowed them to stay friends. At that point, my grandfather had chosen his family over friendship. And that was when Madara had awakened the sharingan for the first time. As the years passed, Madara and Hashirama became leaders of their respective clans and began clashing with each other more often on the battlefield. Both of them had only a single brother alive. That being, Izuna Uchiha and Tobirama Senju." Naruto explained.
Sasuke simply remained quiet. While his eyes may have been gazing towards the village, he had heard everything clearly. His sharp mind already processing the different scenarios that may have taken place that lead to the downfall of the Uchiha. In Konoha, relevant information about Madara Uchiha was not public knowledge since the man was considered the worst criminal in their history.
"In one of the battles between Senju and Uchiha, Tobirama had managed to kill Izuna Uchiha. Yet again, Hashirama had pleaded Madara to join forces with him to stop the needless war. Hashirama's idea was that if the two strongest clans were to join forces, they could eventually put an end to war all over the shinobi world. However, upon seeing his brother die had allowed Madara to awaken his mangekyo sharingan. Later on, he had once again challenged Hashirama. It was a tremendous fight, one which changed landscapes for miles around them. After days of fighting, Madara's back had eventually touched the ground. And after some convincing from Hashirama's part, my grandfather had finally agreed to stop the fighting and join hands with the Senju. And that's how the village was founded in the first place… But, even though, there seemed to be a veil of peace, Tobirama was still never fully trusting of Madara and the Uchiha Clan." Revealed the blonde.
"How do you know all of this?" Sasuke asked, glancing towards Naruto. He was pretty sure most of what he had heard was not there in any of the documents in Konoha. He didn't really know what to feel about it, honestly. "That's a story for another time…" Naruto simply chuckled lightly upon remembering how his father used to tell him stories of the past during his bedtime.
"Anyway, Tobirama was not the only one. Even before the two clans had joined hands, there were several members of the Uchiha Clan who were tired of the needless fighting and simply wished to live in peace. So, when the time came to select the Shodai Hokage, there were only two options- Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha. While Hashirama wanted to select Madara as the first Hokage, as a sign of peace towards the Uchiha Clan, Tobirama had other ideas. He was worried that another person like Madara might appear in the future from the Uchiha Clan and wanted to keep them in check. He wanted the villagers to vote for their leader and then finally present their option to the Fire Daimyo. It wasn't the idea about people electing their leader that did not sit well with Madara, it was Tobirama's suspecting eyes and his way of thinking. Even though, Madara had joined hands with Hashirama, he was still wary of his brother because of obvious reasons. Madara firmly believed that if Hashirama gets elected as the Shodai Hokage, Tobirama would eventually become the second Hokage. And the Uchiha Clan would not be able to live peacefully under his rule. All Madara wished for, was the welfare of his clan. Even though, he was unable to protect any of his siblings, he greatly desired to protect his clan. Hence, as a last case scenario, he had asked his clan to leave the village with him." Naruto stated.
With every word being said, things started to make sense for Sasuke. Still, he remained quiet, keeping his judgement for the end. "But the clan decided to stay in the village, didn't they?" he pondered out loud.
"That's correct. Thus, Madara ended up deserting the village and the clan. With being unable to protect everything he cherished; he had no attachments left. Although, Hashirama did try to stop Madara from leaving in an effort to save his best friend from darkness. The two ended up fighting again, and this time Madara had even summoned the Kyubi to help in battle. At the end of the battle, Madara ended up losing to Hashirama again. This battle was even greater than their first battle, as this was the one which created the Valley of the End. After his loss, Madara was still not ready budge from his opinion about Tobirama and did not wish to return to the village but he did swear to keep watch on his family and the village from the shadows. While Hashirama would protect the village from the inside, Madara would protect it from the shadows. However, my grandfather had made Hashirama sworn that, upon his return to the village he would declare that Madara Uchiha was dead. Which was not completely wrong. By the end of the battle, Madara was certainly at death's door. Hashirama had to infuse some of his own cells and chakra into his body to keep him alive." Sasuke raised his eyebrow as more things began making sense to him. His eyes widened in disbelief as he realized the sacrifice Madara made, just to protect his home. Even though, he had lost everything, the man still had the will to stand up and move forward.
"But… that would mean… Madara was…" Sasuke stammered as he understood the ramifications of what Naruto must have gone through in his childhood. Even to this day, he never forgot how unjustly people glared at the blond, because he had Madara's blood running through his veins. Still, that never really did explain why the villagers hated only Naruto and not his father.
"What happened to the Kyubi? You said that Madara had summoned the Kyubi against the Shodai." Sasuke said. Naruto gave a small smile as Sasuke quickly caught on to the missing piece.
"Even though Hashirama was able to subdue to Kyubi with his Mokuton, the Kyubi's power was far too great. Mito Uzumaki, the Shodai's wife had sealed the Kyubi within herself using fuinjutsu, in an effort to keep the world safe from the bijuu's wrath. She became the first jinchuriki the shinobi world had heard of. And since then, the Kyubi has remained inside Konoha's walls, transferred from one jinchuriki to another. My mother, Kushina Uzumaki was the second jinchuriki and… I am the third." Naruto said, surprising the Uchiha beside him even further. Sasuke blatantly stared at his friend as he realized the burden that Naruto carried on his shoulders.
'Is this what Kakashi meant when he said I wouldn't want to be in Naruto's shoes…?' Sasuke thought, as he averted his gaze from the blonde after a few seconds.
"It's fine… Sasuke. You don't have to feel sorry for me. Having a tailed beast sealed within me, doesn't make me feel bad. Kurama, is the Kyubi's real name. He was my first ever friend in the world. Getting back, on the night of my birth, my mother was attacked by another Uchiha claiming to be Madara. But my father knew it wasn't him. In order to protect me from the masked man, my father casted his attention away from my mother for a split second. And during that time, the masked man was able to disappear with my mother using a jikukan ninjutsu. The masked man ripped Kurama out of my mother's seal and controlled it using his sharingan, ordering it to attack the village fourteen years ago. The Sandaime Hokage sacrificed himself to save the village by sealing Kurama within me. During the attack that night, many people had seen the sharingan appear in Kurama's eyes. So, several people started to believe that it was someone from the Uchiha Clan who had summoned the bijuu. And Danzo, Koharu and Homura being Tobirama's student, always had the mindset to keep a closer watch on the Uchiha Clan. From there on, the Uchiha Clan were moved to the further end of the village. While they were not openly stripped of any privileges, the elders made sure not to involve them in several of the village's monumental activities or decisions." Naruto explained the situation in a calming tone. While he could have just simply told him the truth about that night, the blond believed it was necessary for Sasuke to understand the history the clan shared with the village and the situations which brought forth such disastrous consequences for the Uchiha Clan. Because, even though Sasuke had matured a lot over the years, one misunderstanding could create a whole different understanding of the situation and may push Sasuke towards a wrong path.
"So, the clan started to resent the village, huh? But, why doesn't anyone know about this masked man who attacked the village that night? And why is it that Kurama was only sealed inside an Uzumaki?" Sasuke inquired heatedly. He clenched his fists, as his anger upon that masked Uchiha began to rise slowly.
"You have to understand one thing, Sasuke. When Madara had deserted the village, people were terrified upon seeing the Kyubi so close to the village. If it wasn't for the Shodai or Mito, the village could have possibly been destroyed ages ago. The fact that Kurama had been sealed within jinchuriki since then had been kept a secret until the attack fourteen years ago. Only select few people within the village knew that Konoha had the nine tails. However, all of that changed once I became the jinchuriki. Danzo had been gunning for the Hokage post ever since the Sandaime Hokage's time. And when my father became Hokage, he was utterly dissatisfied by the decision. He believed the Uchihas to be unworthy of such a title. So, he had spread the news around the village that the nine tail was sealed within me. Due that fact the people began resenting me from an early age. My father tried to protect me, but he couldn't control the populace of Konoha, could he? And just because he's Hokage, doesn't mean he has free reign to do whatever he wants. It's true that the final vote on most decision lies on him, but the elders, shinobi and civilian council had say in the matters too, earlier." Naruto said with a sigh. He never really liked politics too much. But he couldn't really avoid it, being who he was. Though, out of all, Danzo was the one man he despised more than anyone. Because of one man's ambition, an entire clan had to suffer the consequences.
Sasuke suddenly placed his left hand on the curse mark, as he could feel a slight throbbing in it. It was hard for him to control his anger with every passing minute. And even Naruto couldn't blame him for ripping off Danzo's head at this point. The old war hawk was simply a power-hungry veteran, who'd do anything just to see the world function on his whims.
"So, he killed the whole clan that night along with his army and fled the village?" Sasuke questioned. With the truths that he heard from the blond today, this was the only possible outcome which came to his mind. Upon hearing that, Naruto lowered his gaze as the time had finally come for Sasuke to know the entire truth.
"While, it is true that Danzo killed majority of the Uchiha Clan members that night, it's not the complete truth. As I said in the beginning, few months prior to the massacre, your father was planning a coup de tat on the village. And majority of the clan members agreed with your father. Your father's plan included assassinating the Hokage, the elders, the Anbu and Jounin Commander and thereby take control of Konoha for himself. My father had been in talks with Fugaku for several months in order to appease him and keep him content. But it was all for naught. During those times, Fugaku had ordered Itachi to keep tabs on my father and asked Shisui to keep tabs on Danzo. However, both Itachi and Shisui instead kept tabs on the Uchiha Clan and Danzo for my father." Naruto said, but was immediately interrupted by Sasuke.
"No. No. It's not true!" He got up from the ground and yelled promptly, upon hearing those words. He momentarily glared at the blonde with his sharingan activated. But, peering into Naruto's eyes, all he could see was the remorse and guilt. But more so than anything, he realized that the blonde was telling him the truth. He took a step back, unknowingly. It was hard to imagine that his own father wanted to start a civil war in Konoha.
'No… no… no… it can't be true. Father wouldn't…' Sasuke kept repeating the same thing in his mind, over and over again.
Meanwhile, Naruto got up too and approached his friend with small steps. Now, standing right in front of him, he could clearly see the distraught look on his face. And it genuinely hurt him. As the wind blew past them, Sasuke's face covered by his hair moved away to reveal his moist eyes. The blond placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder to jerk him away from his self-destructive thoughts.
"You need to listen to the entirety of it, Sasuke. I don't want your eyes to be clouded anymore. It's going to hurt a lot, I know. Everything you know will be challenged from here on. But that's who we are. Shinobi are those who endure… Shinobi don't bask in the limelight; they are as dark as the shadows creeping under the moonlight and protect the innocents from any and all danger." Naruto said, quietly. The blond took a deep breath, as he got ready to reveal the most important part of the truth.
"Both Itachi and Shisui knew the ramifications of what would happen if Fugaku launched the coup de tat. The village would be immersed in a civil war, which would spell the end for it. Moreover, at the end, Fugaku had aligned himself with Danzo to take over the village. The had made a deal that if The Uchiha Clan launched the coup de tat, Danzo would support him with his own personal Anbu, called Root. And once the plan became successful, Danzo would be made Hokage and special privileges would be given to the Uchiha Clan. However, Fugaku didn't know that Danzo wanted to double cross him. Hence, Itachi and Shisui had proposed to the Hokage that they would eliminate the Uchiha Clan themselves and flee the village, thereby becoming missing ninjas. However, my father was vehemently against that idea. Even though, he didn't have the Uchiha name, the clan was still his own family. Neither he nor me wanted to see them extinct. However, at the end, your father and Danzo ended up launching the coup de tat. And as the Hokage, my father had to act against him. While I dealt with the Root Anbu members myself, my father and Itachi dealt with Fugaku and his personal group. Even after being defeated, your father did not wish to change his views and it was Itachi who executed Fugaku at the end. Once Danzo realized that the plan would not work, he went after the members who were not participating in the coup de tat, which included your mother. By the time, my father, Itachi, me and Kakashi arrived, only your mother and you were left alive…. That's the whole truth, Sasuke… So, what are you going to do now?" Naruto asked, as he stepped back.
This was indeed a difficult moment for both the Uchihas. While Naruto did consider Sasuke as a brother, he didn't know if he could bring himself to kill him, if Sasuke considered the path of revenge. Even though, it would most likely kill him inside to do so, it would have to be done. Still, he believed that Sasuke would make the right choice for himself, his mother and brother. Sasuke could only stare at the blonde with a dead look in his eyes. He turned his gaze and stared towards the village. The sun had already set by now, and the illuminating glow of the moon made the village look just as beautiful as before.
'To keep the peace in the village… he was ready to kill his own father.' He thought. 'Shinobi are those who endure. They don't seek glory or limelight but stay in the dark to protect the innocents.' 'Self-sacrifice… a nameless shinobi who protects peace within its shadow. That is a true shinobi.' 'You and I are flesh and blood. I'm always going to be there for you, even if it's only as an obstacle for you to overcome. Even if you do hate me. That's what big brothers are for.' Those words once again rang in his mind. Tears fell freely from his eyes, as he realized the type of person his brother was. He wanted to hate him… curse him… and kill him. Yet, he could not bring himself to do it.
"You know… I wish I actually had a big brother like him. Even with everything going on at that time, Itachi had only one request in return. He was ready to kill everyone for the sake of the village. But he couldn't think of bringing his sword down on you. His only request was that you be spared and be allowed to live a normal life within the village. Itachi is someone, I respect and admire deeply. There are very few people who care for the village as much as he does. Even though, he's a pacifist, he does what needs to be done… so that the innocent can live not knowing the dangers lurking in the shadows." Naruto whispered.
Yet, again, Sasuke was surprised on learning that. He loosened his fist as he did not have the strength to hold on to that anger anymore. Knowing the amount of hate Madara went through for the sake of the village, the unjust treatment Naruto shared as a child for the sake of the village, the resolve that his own brother had made for the sake of the village… he couldn't just ignore them. Maybe in the past, he would have thought differently, but now… he could see the tiny beacon of light at the end of it all. He wiped the tears off his face, as he took a deep breath to calm himself. After everything he learned today, he couldn't remain the same naïve kid, he once was.
"What… is a village Naruto? Why go so far to protect it…?" Sasuke asked, as he turned his gaze up to stare at the sky. His family had suffered so much for the sake of the village. It made him wonder… was it worth it? To sacrifice everything… just to keep the peace in the village.
Upon hearing the question, Naruto truly pondered on what to say. There was once a time when he had asked the very same question to his own father. However, he also knew his answer would go on to have a deep impact on Sasuke.
"The village… it's a place that connects the different clans living in it. It's a place that doesn't differentiate between people. It's an important cornerstone to turn chaos into order and maintain it. Something to protect children and avoid useless quarrels… a place ruled by peace. To be honest Sasuke… I have a dream when one day all shinobi will cooperate with each other… a time when everyone's hearts will beat as one, regardless of where they are from. And even though I have so much power, I don't think I can do it alone. I don't want the mistakes of the past to be repeated in the future… Will you help me, Sasuke? Help me save the world from the direction it's heading to?" Naruto stated, passionately. Sasuke could stare at the blonde with a mix of awe and surprise. Never had he heard Naruto speak about his dream. But now he felt as if he knew him a little better. He realized that family does not necessarily constitute of blood bonds. They both were from the same clan. They both knew the pain of losing people. In a sense, they both were brothers.
Several minutes passed as the two simply stood there. Not a word was spoken, yet somehow the two could understand each other. Maybe it was the new forged bond they had found with each other. Maybe it was because someone finally knew the truth about Naruto's heritage. Who knew… But, eventually all of that hesitation, anger and resentment turned to nothing under the glowing moon.
"We will kill him one day, Naruto… for the sake of this village, we will rid the world of anyone of dares harm Konoha…" Sasuke stated, with a clear resolve evident in his burning red eyes.
"And I will be there with you, every step of the way." Replied Naruto.
A bond of brotherhood was formed atop the hills tonight. A bond forged in pain, suffering, death and sorrow. And together, the two shall stand firm at the gates of their heaven.
Next day
It was a new day in the village and the streets of Konoha were packed tightly with the preparations for the Chunin exam finals. There were vendors from all over the Elemental Nations, coming in and out of the village. Several of them had already set up theirs stands, hoping to make a decent amount of money. Spectators from Kumogakure and even from Sunagakure had already come to Konoha to enjoy the pleasantly warm weather of the Fire Nation, compared to their own homeland.
Walking among the populace of Konoha were Shikamaru and Ino, who had decided to take rest of the week off, to relax themselves for the finals. Out of all the rookie genin teams in Konoha history, only team ten, eight and seven had two genins who had progressed to the finals. And despite several of the jounin's believes, the rookies had put up a splendid performance, thereby, shocking them.
"Ughh… Choji had to fall sick today only… I told him not to eat so much last night." Ino whined, while walking beside the Nara heir.
"It's pointless talking about it. He wouldn't listen to anyone when it comes to eating. Plus, I don't think it's anything serious. His mother did say, he should be fine in a couple of days." Shikamaru replied.
"Well, that doesn't mean he needs to overstuff himself every single time. Maybe if he ate a little less, he'd be more desirable by other kunoichis…" the blond girl stated sarcastically. In response, Shikamaru could only give her a deadpan look.
"Somehow, I doubt Choji cares about things like that…" Ino simply huffed at the response and the duo kept walking while discussing about trivial topics.
Although, it looked as if Shikamaru was listening to Ino, his eyes kept darting to the rooftops around him. The past two weeks, he had noticed the influx of shinobi within the village. His father would often come home later than usual and the security around the important buildings as well as at the gates of the village had been tightened. And several of the shinobi seemed tensed nowadays, as if there was an imminent danger looming in the air. He had a good suspicion about what would be transpiring soon enough, but he could never confirm the fact with anyone. He doubted anyone else within their age group knew about this matter. His eyes widened slightly when he realized, one person might. And just as luck would have it, as the two neared Ichiraku Ramen, he smirked upon seeing Naruto and Sasuke sitting on the seats.
"Ino, let's go greet them." Shikamaru said, and immediately turned to walk towards the ramen stand.
"Are you even listening to what I'm saying!?" Ino yelled, quite angrily. However, upon seeing Naruto and Sasuke, all of her anger immediately melted into nothingness. Even though, her fangirl tendencies had turned down dramatically over the years, she still couldn't resist how handsome the two Uchihas looked. Still, she knew that she could never hope to go after Naruto.
"Yo, Naruto!" Shikamaru said, as he waved towards the two. Just as the two turned back to greet the Nara, a blur of blond hair passed Shikamaru and tackled Sasuke into a tight hug.
"Sasuke-kun! I heard you were seriously injured in the Forest of Death. How are you feeling now?" Ino said, in a sing-tale voice.
"Troublesome woman…" Shikamaru mumbled as he took a seat beside the blonde haired Namikaze. Naruto couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing Shikamaru. Meanwhile, Sasuke glanced towards the blond with a pleading look. Naruto just gave him a look which said, you're in this on your own. Sasuke merely gave the blond a dirty look; making a single hand seal, he shunshined out of Ino's grasp to appear on a seat beside Shikamaru.
"That's not fair, Sasuke-kun!" Ino moaned. But she couldn't hold on to that mock anger upon seeing the smirk on Sasuke's face. She was mildly shocked since this was the first time, she had seen any sort of positive emotion from him and it made her feel a sense of achievement. Both Naruto and Shikamaru fell into a fit of chuckles on seeing Sasuke's sneaky maneuver.
"Well, it's nice to see you too, Ino. How have you been?" Naruto questioned, once the laughter had died down. By now, Ino had taken the seat to the right of Naruto, not wanting to push her luck with Sasuke for the time being. She was rather glad that she had managed to make him smile.
"I have been fine. All the training dad has been putting me through the past three weeks has made me really stiff to be honest. So, Shikamaru and I decided to take rest of the week off to relax ourselves." Ino replied with a smile. Naruto gave a nod and smiled slightly upon hearing her.
"You better not lose in the finals… Ino. I am hoping all of my friends put up a good performance, at least in the first round." Naruto stated. He glanced towards Shikamaru and smirked when the Nara heir groaned as he understood the silent message.
"You don't have to tell me… I think you should probe Shikamaru more. He'd most likely just give up in the middle of the fight if he thinks it's too troublesome." The blonde girl said, with a laugh.
"That is highly possible." For a second, everyone remained quiet as they turned towards the source of voice. Out of the three, Shikamaru and Ino were the most surprised. They had never heard Sasuke make a joke or join in any of their conversations, ever.
"Are you okay?" Shikamaru asked, nonchalantly. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched slightly on hearing the question and even the two blondes couldn't help but giggle. However, Sasuke simply remained quiet and slurped on his noodles, opting to ignore said sarcasm. For a moment, Shikamaru's face turned a bit serious as he was about to ask Naruto about his thoughts on the finals, when the blond Namikaze gave him a silent nod. The Nara heir, understood the message.
"How come, Hinata and Sakura are not here? You're not ignoring them, are you?" Ino asked with a mild glare. Naruto coughed a few times on hearing that and laughed a bit awkwardly. He doubted he could ignore Hinata for too long, even if he wanted to and Sakura was one of his most precious friends.
"Well, they are currently training under Tsunade baa-chan to become iryo ninja. While, Hinata is mainly focusing on her fights for the finals currently, Sakura is focusing more on medical ninjutsu. Tsunade baa chan had personally requested them after hearing about their performances during the preliminary rounds. Moreover, it helps that both of them have excellent chakra control." Naruto replied, with a puff of his chest. He was rather proud that someone like Tsunade had recognized Hinata and Sakura's skills. And he was sure, with time, the two of them would certainly surpass the Slug Sannin.
Even Shikamaru and Ino displayed shocked looks on hearing that. To be able to get training under one of the Sannin was indeed a prestigious honor. Ino punched her fist into her palm as she stood up from the seat.
"I won't let those two beat me. I'm going to ask Tsunade-sama if she would take me as her disciple too. I don't want to fall behind anyone!" She stated with a fire in her eyes. Soon after that, she immediately ran in the direction of the Konoha hospital without saying anything else.
"As I said, troublesome woman…" said Shikamaru with a sigh. Naruto patted the Nara heir on the back, as he knew what his friend meant. Once again, Shikamaru glanced towards Sasuke momentarily as he could see a certain change in Sasuke. It was as if, the black-haired Uchiha had a huge burden lifted off his shoulders and there was a clear look in his eyes. He could not say what brought about this change, but he knew it was for the better.
"Naruto, there's something I have been meaning to ask you…" Shikamaru said. The blond placed his chopsticks beside the bowl and wiped his face with a cloth to wash off the broth around his mouth. He turned towards the Nara heir with a serious look on his face.
"I know what you're thinking Shikamaru. Somehow, I should have known your eyes wouldn't miss what's going on in the village." Naruto said.
Sasuke gave no outward reaction to the matter, since he was already made aware of the situation last night by Naruto. After his talk with the blond, he had immediately gone home to talk with his brother and mother. Knowing the truth about the matter, had certainly cleared the cloud over his eyes. Listening to his brother talk last night had made him realize several things about the notion of a village. And it was also the first time, he had a heart to heart talk with his mother and brother about his father since the massacre. While he was still upset about the way his father died, he understood why the Hokage, Itachi and Shisui had to act against the Uchiha. No one clan is greater than the village. And for him to become even stronger, he needed to break out of the norms of a clan.
"So, it's true… There will be a war. But, when and how? I know that the Hokage and the other top officials have already taken precautions regarding it, but what about us, genins? What roles will we be playing?" Shikamaru asked, seriously. Though he may not show it, he loved his village immensely. And like every other shinobi, he would be willing to protect Konoha to the end of time.
"From what we know, it will be Iwagakure and Otogakure, led by Orochimaru and Sandaime Tsuchikage leading the attack. That's for certain. We believe it will be on the day of the Chunin exam finals. Although Sunagakure has assured us that they will be assisting us in battle, we can't be too certain. I personally don't trust them too much. Genin's main role will be to help chunins evacuate the citizens of Konoha. We have already formed an adequate plan for that day, but then again not everything goes according to plan. So, it's possible that genins and chunins will be involved in fighting too." Naruto replied, earnestly. He knew for a fact that Shikamaru was a trustworthy shinobi. Someone, he could count on, if the going got tough. Moreover, Shikamaru's intellect was something which would be invaluable in the future.
The Nara heir released a tired sigh, as his suspicions were confirmed. He stared down at his hands as he thought he would have to kill shinobis that day to protect his friends and home. Though he was aware of the practicalities of the shinobi world, he never really put much thought into it. Even his sensei, Asuma had once told him that 'Being a shinobi means to protect the King.' Until now, he never really understood the meaning of it. But, as the reality sank into him, he could somewhat understand his sensei's cryptic words.
"Shikamaru, trust me. I won't let my friends die. No matter what happens, we will pull through it. That's my ninja way!" Naruto said, with a smile. However, both Sasuke and Shikamaru could see the uncertainty behind that smile. Two… possibly three villages might be invading their home on the day of the finals. Anyone would be slightly unnerved on that prospect. But, Sasuke had only shinobi in his mind, whom he wanted to kill. And that was Danzo.
"Yes, I'm sure Hokage-sama will kill that Snake and the Sandaime Tsuchikage. He's the greatest Kage the elemental nations have ever seen, after all. And we Konoha shinobi are not some weaklings." Sasuke commented. Shikamaru gave a nod upon hearing Sasuke's thoughts. He had heard that Orochimaru had already infiltrated Konoha during the second phase but didn't know much details about it. Although, he was certain the Yondaime was more than strong enough to deal with the Sannin.
"Well, how about we go visit the hospital? I have been meaning to visit Lee for a while…" Naruto said, after leaving the money for the ramen on the table.
"Don't be a stranger to us again, Naruto! It had been a while since you came again today." Ayame said, as she collected the money. "Who's going to run our business if our main customer doesn't show up, huh?" she added.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly on hearing her remark. His obsession with ramen was profoundly known to pretty much everyone in Konoha.
"Don't worry, Ayame. I will try coming more regularly from now on. But you know how busy I get with mission and all… yeah?" Naruto replied, apologetically. Soon after that, he waved goodbye to Teuchi and Ayame, as the three made their way towards the Konoha hospital.
Konoha Hospital
About fifteen minutes of walk later, the three had finally reached the hospital. Upon entering, Naruto immediately went for the reception where one of the nurses was sorting through documents and arranging them in their proper places. Meanwhile, Shikamaru had excused himself and walked ahead towards the hallway on the right, since he wanted to visit Choji too.
"Excuse me, miss. Can you tell me which room Rock Lee might be staying in?" asked Naruto, politely. For a few seconds the nurse did not seem to register the question as she was still busy with going through the documents. Hence, Naruto decided to ask again, albeit a bit loudly.
"May I know which room Rock Lee might be staying in?" Naruto asked. This time the nurse was startled by the sudden voice and ended up mixing the papers in front of her. She scowled a bit as she had been working on arranging the documents for the past hour. Without even looking up, she gave a rude reply as she bent down to pick up the papers she had dropped.
"No one is allowed to visit Rock Lee right now. It's Tsunade-sama's orders." Replied the nurse. However, the moment she looked up to see who it was, she yelped upon realizing it was Naruto Namikaze standing in front of her. She stammered for a few seconds, trying to find her voice and immediately lowered her head and mumbled an apology.
"It's alright. I can see that you're busy with work. But, do let me know which room he's in. He's a good friend of mine and I wanted to visit him before the finals begin." Naruto replied with a small smile.
"Of course, Naruto-sama!" the nurse said and began going through the folder on her right. Quickly scanning through the list of patients, she found the one which she was looking for. "He's currently in Room 157, ward B." she said. Naruto and Sasuke simply nodded and made their way towards the room.
As the two neared Lee's room, Naruto immediately stopped in his tracks as he felt an unfamiliar presence beside the green clad genin. He narrowed his eyes, as he realized what that person was trying to do.
"What happened?" Sasuke asked, slightly concerned. By now, he had come to understand when Naruto sensed something. Naruto immediately began rushing towards the room, followed closely behind by Sasuke. The blond could clearly sense bloodlust that was radiating off of Gaara.
"Gaara is in Lee's room. And if I'm not wrong, he intends to kill him." Naruto stated, surprising Sasuke. He had been told by Naruto how unstable Gaara was. And similar to Naruto, the Suna genin was also a jinchuriki, harboring the One-tailed, Shukaku.
Meanwhile, in room 157 of the B ward, Gaara stood inches away from Lee's sleeping body. The sand hovered around him maniacally and he had a crazed look in his eyes. In the preliminaries, he was denied his kill by Lee's sensei and that Namikaze. But, now no one would be able stop him from feeding Lee's blood to his mother. Soon enough, more sand began coming out of the gourd on his back and started to hover over Lee.
Making a fist on his left hand, the sand immediately began to cover Lee from his feet and moved upwards. Just as Gaara was about to make the hand seal to kill his foe, several black rods pierced his back, arms and legs, and pinned him to the wall beside him. Gaara screamed painfully, as he felt his body become limp and his chakra get sucked by the black rods. He tried to move his body, but it was to no avail. Glancing towards the door, he scowled upon seeing Naruto Namikaze and Sasuke Uchiha.
"YOU! Why must you deny feeding his blood to my mother!?" Gaara yelled crazily. However, he got no response from any of them. But, judging by the look on Naruto's face, the redhead knew that Naruto was beyond mad.
"Sasuke, I'm going to take care of him in another place. Several nurses are currently heading into this direction, along with Hinata and Sakura. Take care of Lee and explain the situation to them. I will be back shortly." Naruto stated. Sasuke promptly moved beside the green clad genin. Activating his sharingan, he kept a close eye on Gaara, in case he tried to pull any sort of move. However, his eyes widened when he noticed that the black rods were siphoning not only Gaara's own chakra, but also the bijuu's chakra.
'So, this sand is his absolute defense. I can see that his own chakra is mixed into the sand, and he's trying to push more of his bijuu's chakra out, but those black rods are preventing him, in doing so. It must be one of the abilities of Naruto's rinnegan.' Sasuke analyzed, within a span of few seconds.
"You got it. Where can I find you, once I'm done here?" Sasuke asked, once he removed all the sand covering Lee. He genuinely wondered how it was possible for someone to sleep through all the commotion going on in the room right now. But did not give it much thought.
"I'm taking him to the forests behind training ground 7. I'll be there with him. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." Naruto replied, keeping his eyes firmly placed on Gaara. With a snap of his fingers, the black rods suddenly disappeared from Gaara's body, making him fall onto the floor.
As soon as Gaara hit the floor, he glared towards the blonde. He was about to make a move when the blonde once again acted before he could realize what had even happened. One second, Naruto was in front of him and the next, he was being held by the neck with a firm grip, by the Namikaze's hand. Even Sasuke had to blink, as he did not even see Naruto move a muscle. Even with his fully matured sharingan, he could not detect anything.
'That was pure speed…' Sasuke thought, awed. The very next second, Naruto and Gaara disappeared from view, as the blond performed a shunshin.
Forests behind Training ground 7
Soon after leaving the hospitals, Naruto and Gaara appeared in an empty area within the forests. As the blonde landed on the ground, he finally let go off Gaara, as he fell on the ground, unceremoniously.
Naruto simply stood his ground as he stared at the redhead with no emotion visible on his face. The long bang covering his left eye, and the sharingan in his right eye certainly gave Gaara the chills. He stood on shaky legs, but just as he stood up, purple colored chakra chains manifested from Naruto's right hand and bound him to the place. Yet again, he could feel his strength leaving him. The more he tried to move, the tighter the chains bound him. A worried look appeared on his face as he couldn't even hear his mother's voice.
"AAAHHH!" Gaara screamed, as he tried pushing out more of his chakra, in an effort to break the chains, but nothing seemed to work. He immediately began to feel even more weak, as a morbid feeling sank in his mind. He had never faced an opponent against whom he felt helpless. And staring into those silver and red eyes of the blonde prodded a feeling of great despair inside of him. Gaara's eyes were wide with fear when he saw Naruto take small steps towards him.
"No! No! Stay away from me! You will not end my existence today!" Gaara yelled frantically. But, by now, he didn't have even an ounce of strength left in him. All he could do was watch his fate approach him.
"Resistance is futile. These chains have a curse mark which bounds anything it touches. And it even has the power to suppress bijuu chakra." Naruto stated stoically. When he was about a foot away from the redhead, Naruto relaxed his hand as the chains around Gaara disappeared. To Naruto's surprise, Gaara managed to stand his ground despite being depleted of most of his chakra reserves. The Suna genin kept a wary eye on Naruto, knowing he wouldn't be able to beat this guy.
"I am not going to kill you… Gaara. I don't know if you'll believe me, but… I can understand your pain. The loneliness you felt throughout your childhood, all the hatred you had to bear from everyone around you. And your desire to kill everyone… just to prove your existence. It's all too familiar to me." Naruto expressed, with a solemn look on his face.
Gaara simply stared at the blond before him with his mouth agape. No one had ever spoken such words to him. While his own siblings hated him for what he contained inside himself, his father had tried to assassinate him on numerous occasions. No one cared about him in Sunagakure. After all, who would care about a child, containing a demon and a child who killed his mother, moments after being born. He clutched his head in pain, as he fell onto his knees.
"Live only for yourself… Love only yourself… Kill… Kill… and Kill to make everyone notice you…" Gaara kept mumbling those words himself as he felt an immense pain in his head. Naruto stared at the scene before him with sadness etched over his face.
"Shukaku doesn't let his jinchuriki sleep, Naruto. He threatens to take over their body when asleep and wreak havoc… Even now, I can tell that the Shukaku is trying to influence him. The damn Tanuki has hated humanity almost as much as me. Out of all the bijuus, he was the only one sealed within poorly constructed seals. Due to that, neither the host nor the bijuu can live comfortably." Kurama stated. And this time, it was Naruto's turn to be shocked to realize why Gaara had become so unstable over the years.
Approaching the genin slowly, Naruto knelt before Gaara and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Gaara flinched slightly upon feeling the contact, but Naruto did not let him get away. Staring into the warm and welcoming eyes of the blonde, momentarily Gaara felt as if he was staring into the warmness of the sun. Words were not needed to be spoken at this moment. Everything that needed to be said, could be clearly seen in Naruto's eyes.
"Let me help you, Gaara. You don't need to kill people to acknowledge your existence. I am acknowledging you as a person, right now. I am willing to be your friend, your brother. We both share the same responsibilities after all. We both are son of Kages. So, we should be able to understand each other." Naruto pleaded, whole heartedly. Even though, he was immensely mad about Gaara attempting to kill Lee, he could understand the situations that led to it all. He was certain, if he didn't have friends in his life, he may have turned out like him too.
"…No… I can't… I need to live only for myself. I need to love only myself…. It hurts…" Gaara whispered, as he closed his eyes. Naruto could clearly see how damaged Gaara's mind was, to make him believe that no one would ever care about him or love him.
"The pain in one's heart can only be healed by love, Gaara. Even though, I have the nine-tails sealed within me, my friends and family loved me and believed in me. They made me realize that being covered in darkness is only going to destroy one's life. For me it's my tou-san, Jiraiya-sensei, Hinata, Itachi and Shisui who believed in me when I was young. Even though the villagers resented me, they gave me enough love. If it wasn't for my family and friends, I would have been shrouded in darkness long ago, and most likely destroyed everything that could have filled the hole in my heart." Naruto revealed.
Hearing those words, Gaara's eyes widened immensely as he remembered the words of his uncle, Yashamaru. 'Wounds of the heart, require a special kind of medicine. They can only be healed by love.' Remembering those words and the kindness his uncle had always showed, filled his heart with an emotion he had never experienced in his life. Gazing into Naruto's eyes with hope, the redhead nodded uncertainly, as he accepted Naruto's hand.
"Look at me, Gaara. I want to talk to Shukaku." Naruto said. Before Gaara could reply, the blond stared into Gaara's eyes with his rinnegan. And the next second, Naruto and Gaara were standing in knee-deep water, in front of large cage. From behind the cage, came the humungous form of a tanuki, with black cursed sealing marks all over its face, body and tail. The sclerae of its eyes were black, with yellow irises and pupils that took the shape of a black four-pointed star with four black dots around it.
"So, the Kyubi jinchuriki has come to greet me, finally! Let me out and I'll show you my power, damn Namikaze!" Shukaku yelled. But the chain wrapped around his neck kept him firmly rooted to his place.
"Know your place, Tanuki. You wouldn't even be able to lay a finger on him." Kurama stated loudly, as he appeared behind Naruto and Gaara. The redhead took a step back in slight fear, upon seeing the large fox. Naruto simply chuckled on hearing Kurama's words. While he did not want to boast about his powers, what Kurama had said, was true indeed.
"Since when did you start wagging your tails for the humans, Kurama? I thought your hate for humanity exceeded more so than anyone else… You are as you say, hatred incarnate!" Shukaku yelled, staring towards the fox.
"You know who Naruto is… Father had told us; the time would come when a single person would reunite the bijuus. Stop your pointless idiocy. Even you have to agree, Naruto is the person father spoke to us about. He's the last descendant of him. The one who inherited his powers." Kurama replied in a calm manner.
"While I'm glad that the two of you are getting along, there's something that I wish to talk to you about, Shukaku." Naruto intervened. Beside the blonde, Gaara merely stayed quiet and watched the proceedings. He was surprised to understand that Naruto and the Kyubi had a good relationship with each other.
Once he was certain, that he had gained Shukaku's attention, Naruto started, "I only wish to help you Shukaku. I don't know what you have gone through with us humans since Hagoromo died, but not all humans are the same. My dream is to one day create a world where my family and everyone I love can stay in peace. And that includes the bijuu too. Right now, there are several threats outside that we need to consider. The Akatsuki and the Otsutsuki Clan in general."
Shukaku merely scoffed upon hearing the name, Otsutsuki. According to his knowledge, his father and his two sons were the last ever Otsutsuki to live on this world. "Don't fool me, boy. I am not falling for you humans' traps again. While you may be different and special compared to others, you will never even come close to what father used to be. All you humans care about is your gain." Shukaku commented harshly. Naruto's gaze softened slightly on hearing those words. But he was surprised when Gaara stepped up and stood before the bijuu.
"All my life, I have been hated and cursed to die by everyone around me. Even you have never given me a moment's of peace from the day I was born. At this point, I can't even remember the last time I had closed my eyes… without you taking over. I used to think that no one is ever going to care about me… that true strength only comes from loving yourself and killing others to get acknowledgment. But, looking at Naruto… I can tell that I was wrong. Even though, I tried to kill his friend twice and even tried to kill him, he's here trying to help me…" Gaara stated, gazing towards the water below him.
The moment Gaara raised his head and stared into Shukaku's eyes, the bijuu's eyes momentarily widened on seeing the kindness within them. "You and I are the same… Shukaku. I want to change… I want to fill the hole in my heart and know what's it like to be loved by people. I am not going to force you… but I hope one day, we can work together."
'I couldn't have said it better…' Naruto thought, hearing Gaara's words. He was glad Gaara wanted to change his way of life. He truly believed that every person could be saved from their darkness if someone tried hard enough.
For a few minutes, Shukaku merely stared at Gaara, unsure of what to think. Looking at the young kid, certainly reminded him a bit of his previous jinchuriki. His gaze then shifted towards the blonde and the fox behind him. Even though, he hated the fox for calling weak most of the time, at the end the fox was one of the last few families he had left. He wasn't as dumb as these humans assumed him to be. He had sensed that Matatabi, Son and Kokuo's chakra had disappeared a while back. Maybe… just maybe… it would be different this time.
"You have to remove me from this damn cage, first all!" Shukaku said, staring down at the blonde. Naruto smirked on hearing the reply. He was certainly relieved to know that Shukaku wouldn't be a bother anymore.
"I give you my word, Shukaku." Naruto replied. After that, Naruto and Gaara came out of the mindscape. The moment those two opened their eyes, Naruto wasn't surprised to see Sasuke, Hinata and Sakura.
"Naruto-kun, is everything okay? All of us were worried. Sasuke told us what happened in the hospital and we came here immediately." Hinata said with concern. Sasuke and Sakura kept a close watch on the redhead, in case he tried to pull a sneaky one.
"There's nothing to worry about. It was all a misunderstanding." Naruto replied with a small laugh. He wasn't surprised to see the looks of confusion on their faces.
"But, Naruto, he just tried to kill Lee in cold blood. How can you forgive someone like him… just like that?" Sakura questioned, rather angrily. She had helped Tsunade in Lee's operation and hence knew how difficult and delicate the procedure was. And she still hadn't forgotten how the green clad genin had come to help her and Hinata during the second phase of chunin exams. Even during the preliminary, she had realized that Gaara only cared about killing. And she was further surprised to learn that Gaara was Sunagakure's jinchuriki, who contained the One-tailed beast.
"Sakura, there's no point in hating him. More than anyone around, I can understand the pain, Gaara had to go through, in his life. I can't tell you exactly why… But, maybe once the chunin exams are over, we'll talk about it. I'm not asking you to be friends with him right now but give him a chance. It wasn't his fault. He wasn't himself when he tried to kill Lee." Naruto replied patiently. He really hoped that Sakura would understand the situation right now. Even among his own age group, only Sasuke and Hinata were aware of his jinchuriki status and he didn't feel that Sakura was ready for the truth as of yet. To be frank, he was quite tired from making people understand their situations and help them conceive the reality around them properly. Because Sasuke and Hinata knew everything about the blond, they could understand why Naruto was stalling for it. Even though most people had begun to accept the blonde as one of them, there were still a few who would see him dead.
Seeing the pleading look in Naruto's eyes, Sakura was quite hard pressed. On one hand, she only wanted to conflict pain upon the redhead, but on the other hand, she could trust the blonde. And among those two, she knew what she had to do.
"Alright. But I better get an explanation after the exams… okay?" Sakura asked, sternly. Naruto sighed in relief and nodded with a small smile. He was really glad that Sakura was extremely understanding most of the time.
"Well, Gaara, I think you should get back to your siblings. I'm sure they will be worried about you." Naruto suggested. He really just wished to go to the hot springs right now to have a nice and warm dip. Just as the three were about to leave, Gaara's voice stopped them once again.
"Actually, there's something that I need to tell you Naruto." And for some reason, Naruto dreaded that it wouldn't be anything good. Naruto glanced towards Sasuke and his friend immediately understood the message. The blond genuinely did not want to worry Sakura and Hinata about the war at this point.
"I think I know what you want to talk about…But, let's not talk about this over here." Naruto stated. Hinata and Sakura gave him questioning looks. However, before they could question him regarding the matter, Naruto moved beside the redhead and the two disappeared in a shunshin. Hinata could only sigh as she realized that Naruto was once again beginning to hide things from her.
"When will he realize… that we are not so stupid." Hinata mumbled. She knew the burden Naruto carried on his shoulders. And she also knew that Naruto believed he had to do everything himself. But she dearly wished that he would share some of those responsibilities with her too. Though she wasn't as strong as him, she wasn't some weak kunoichi either.
"So, you know then…?" Sasuke asked the two girls.
"Of course, we know! Do you think we can't notice the change in the village? Tsunade-sama may not have told us openly, but we could see how busy she has been with Shizune, over the past two weeks. And it can't only be just about the chunin exam finals. I have also noticed more Konoha shinobi have been called back from their missions. And I haven't even seen Kakashi-sensei in the past two weeks. Even though, he trained you personally, he used to visit Hinata and me from time to time. I can only conclude that he's been busy with the Hokage in preparations for some sort for war. Only thing I don't know is, who the enemy is." Sakura replied. Though, Sasuke was mildly surprised by Sakura's accurate assessment, he didn't show it.
"Naruto has a lot on his plate right now. Just give him some time. All I know is, Iwagakure, Orochimaru and Danzo are planning to invade Konoha on the day of the chunin exams. And genins' main priority is to help chunins in evacuating civilians to safety. All we can do right now, is prepare for what is to come. And hope that we can survive it." Sasuke stated.
The surprise was certainly visible on the two girls' faces. Hinata had seen the slight shift in her father's demeanor the past two weeks. And every time she asked him about the matter, he would end up deflecting the question to something else. Although, it was also true that she never prodded hard enough.
Hokage's office
Naruto along with Gaara had appeared in the Hokage's office after they left the forests. Minato was slightly startled to see his son with Gaara, as he wondered what the matter could be. Meanwhile, Gaara was slightly unnerved to see the imposing figure of the Yondaime Hokage. The man was feared even by his own father. That's why his father had agreed to attack Konoha only after Sandaime Tsuchikage and Orochimaru had presented the offer to him.
But after realizing that he could change the way he lived and have a meaningful and purposeful life; he didn't want to betray his only friend. He resolved himself to stand firm and simply look ahead, knowing what he would be doing was the right thing to do. Even though, he was essentially betraying his own village right now, the redhead had no qualms with the matter.
"Naruto, what's the matter and why is Gaara here with you?" Minato questioned authoritatively.
"Tou-san, I believe Gaara has some information regarding the invasion that is to take place on the day of finals." Naruto replied. Minato instantly narrowed his eyes upon hearing the information. Gaara promptly turned his head towards the blond as he wondered if Konoha was already aware of their plans.
"Do you trust him?" Minato asked. He gazed towards the redhead and could clearly see the resolve in his eyes.
"Hai, tou-san. I'm sure neither Gaara nor Shukaku would be cause of any trouble that day. I spoke to Shukaku myself and made him understand the gravity of the situation. Although, I think we will have to change the seal on Gaara which holds Shukaku." Naruto replied.
"Go on, let's hear it…" Minato stated, turning his attention towards Gaara as he stood up from his seat. Walking around his desk, Minato leaned on it slightly as he kept his eyes fixed on the redhead.
"It's fine, Gaara. You can trust him. No one in Konoha is going to harm you. I believe in you." Naruto said with a smile. Once again, Gaara felt that hole in his heart become a little smaller on hearing those words. No one had ever believed in him to this day. 'Maybe… it is the right choice, after all…' Gaara thought.
"Hokage-sama, the Yondaime Kazekage has aligned himself with Orochimaru, Danzo Shimura and Sandaime Tsuchikage in the war that is to come. He merely agreed to helping out Konoha, in the hope that you'll let your guard down beside him and be eventually cornered by the Kazekage, Tsuchikage and Orochimaru..."
Author Notes: Alright, I know its about time that I started the chunin exams finals already. And I really wanted to in this chapter. But, I felt like Naruto having to talk with Sasuke and Gaara was an extremely crucial thing. The two will go on to become very essential characters in the story and I devoting one such chapter to just felt the right thing to do. Anyhow, the next chapter will definitely and definitely feature the beginning of Chunin Exam Finals.
I have also explained a little of what happened to Madara and why he left the village in this chapter. I hadn't changed the exact reason as to that shown in the manga per say. But, what he did after he left the village was certainly different. Of course that goes without saying, since his lineage are currently the two most important people in Konoha. How Madara died and how he protected the village from the shadows will be further delved into later in the story.
The war will mostly likely start in its full force in chapter 31 of this story. The next chapter will mostly feature the improvised plans made by Konoha, the matches of the first round of the finals as well as just the start of the war at the end.
Please do follow, favorite and review the story! I'm glad that some people are actually reaching out to me regarding the story and I'm glad I'm able to help them. Again, do let me know if anyone has any concerns.
Until next time!