Chapter LXXIX

The Earth

By the time the door was closed, Naruto already wanted to run inside. He had to protect and watch over Kakashi. He did not like Kakashi being alone while Kakashi was still fragile and helpless. Sure, he left Kakashi's bedside recently, but he had no other choice. He had to find food intended for humans, in order to calm the pain that was gnawing away at the precious human in the apple of his eyes, even if he had to face his greatest fears. He knew the suffering that hunger created; he was the victim of permanent pain that he ignored through the force of his will and his duty, that of protecting and watching over Kakashi.

His eyes avoided Shikamaru; not out of shame, but out of disgust. Naruto did not care that he hurt him. He was forced to ingest his foul chakra. He convinced himself that the other boy deserved the pain; it erased any trace of guilt that might torment him. He could not get rid of the putrid smell that made him want to vomit; he had expelled the acidic contents of his stomach a second time last night. The infamous chakra had anchored itself in its fangs and was rotting there like an incurable disease. It had calmed the agonizing hunger that drove him to tear the flesh from his own arms. However, Naruto would have preferred to endure the pain already back instead of filling his need for chakra.

To save Kakashi's precious life, he agreed to ingest this earthy and disgusting chakra. From now on, he had to be patient. He wanted to devour Kakashi's sweet, electrifying chakra as quickly as possible; with Kakashi's chakra, he would purify his fangs while letting himself be lulled by its euphoric taste. Depending on how much Kakashi had recovered, he could satisfy his appetite in a night or two.

After all, a few drops were better than a tasteless, rotten-to-the-core feast.

As Kakashi asked him … although Naruto did not like that Kakashi emotionally manipulated him, Naruto agreed to follow Sakura and Shikamaru's orders. He was still angry with Shikamaru; the smell of his chakra turned him green, forcing him to swallow the gastric surge that was burning his esophagus. Of course, he did not show it. Showing the slightest sign of weakness was deadly. Kakashi needed him and for Kakashi, he had to stay strong.

"It's this way," Sakura pointed out with a smile. "It's not too far. You don't have to worry. Nothing will happen to Kakashi-Sensei."

Naruto hissed, annoyed. He hated that Sakura flouted Kakashi's name like that. Kakashi was too precious in this world to let one word tarnish the beauty of his equally unique name. She lacked respect for Kakashi; he wanted to slap her with his tail, but he held back. Kakashi did not advocate violence, and Kakashi had indirectly asked him to be a good boy. Kakashi would be angry if he hurt someone when Kakashi trusted him.

With his hands buried in his pockets, Naruto followed them, sulking. As for Shikamaru, he was nervous. He felt that there was tension between him and Naruto. This tension was linked to his chakra offering. For the first time, he was not at all comfortable being with him without Kakashi. Since the incident, Naruto was very unstable and unpredictable; a bomb without a countdown before a potential explosion.

The metres stretched into kilometres. The more distance increased, the more Naruto became agitated. His tail was wagging in all directions, and a few hairs stood up; it betrayed his moods and his growing anxiety. On the way, Sakura stopped to give instructions to a nurse, which was to bring Kakashi a meal. Then, they went to one of the examination rooms, which was two corridors from Kakashi's room. Outside the door, a familiar smell piqued Naruto's curiosity. He locked his eyes where that smell was about to turn the corner.

Sakura and Shikamaru noticed the black tail moving in a weird way. Looking in the direction Naruto was looking, they saw Kiba appear at the end of the corridor.

"Oh! Kiba! What are you doing here?" Shikamaru exclaimed.

Kiba waved to them and mingled with the group. From the corner of his eye, he stared at Naruto while holding back from grimacing in disgust. The horrible smell stung his nostrils; it prevented him from smelling anything other than this odious stench. "I'm here to suffer," Kiba explained, crossing his arms.

"Are you the one who volunteered?" Sakura asked.

He nodded painfully. "I'm doing it so Hinata doesn't," he justified himself. "With her, you mention his name, and she'll do anything. We've been told it's hell, and I don't want her to go through that." He fixed his eyes on Shikamaru—rather, on the arm adorned with a cast. "I'm slowly regretting my decision…"

"I'd like to tell you otherwise, but you're gonna regret it," Shikamaru sighed heavily. "Being stabbed is nice compared to that. I don't know how Kakashi-Sensei didn't go mad from being bitten every day… And sometimes, it's several times a day…"

"Awesome. Thanks for reassuring me…"

A silence settled. Shikamaru and Sakura exchanged a furtive glance. They thought the same thing. It was subtle, but Kakashi was slowly losing his mind. Obviously, he did not seem to notice, acting as if nothing was happening. After undergoing the feeding ritual that Kakashi had to undergo, Shikamaru understood that it was affecting him over time. The pain was intolerable; an agony worse than a slow death. He would have lost his mind a long time ago if he were in his place. Obviously, the Copy Ninja had a mind of steel, and he weighed his words.

Cautiously, Kiba approached Shikamaru, who listened to him. Naturally, Sakura did the same.

"I know I'm annoying with that, but he stinks like death…"

"We know," he replied. "He can't be showered, and the smell's unbearable in the room, like there's a pile of rotting corpses. I pity Kakashi-Sensei when he regains his sense of smell."

"Glad to hear I'm not crazy. I smelled it outside of the hospital. The morgue smells like roses in comparison."

They agreed. It was at this moment that they realized that Naruto was staring in a specific direction. His face had a menacing and aggressive look. He uttered grunts and hisses, which increased in intensity; he bared his teeth, especially his fangs.

"Someone entered Kakashi-Sensei's room," the kunoichi guessed easily. "He'll calm down when the nurse comes out."

Another silence.

"When am I going to hell...?" Kiba asked as a cold sweat broke out on his temple.

"Later. We have to do some tests with Naruto," Sakura indicated. "Kakashi-Sensei wants us to discover his new elemental abilities."

"What do you mean?"

"Since he ate my chakra, he's become an earth entity," Shikamaru clarified. He could not forget the nightmarish event that left him with a broken arm. He had been released from the hospital, but the pain still throbbed.

"So he no longer produces lightning?"

"No static electricity shock either."

Kiba smiled, relieved. Naruto had tried to shock him last time. He was afraid of receiving a shock, especially since giving him his chakra meant that he had to touch him and be touched. He did not enjoy this at all; he did not want to touch Naruto, even with a stick of several metres long.

Meanwhile, Naruto stopped growling, although his eyebrows were still furrowed. He did not like anyone approaching Kakashi when he was not there, that was understood.

"Since I don't plan to leave anytime soon, can I help you?"

"If it makes you happy," Shikamaru agreed, shrugging his shoulders. "He doesn't seem to be bothered by you."

Without further delay, Sakura opened the door to the room. Following each other, they entered. However, Kiba noticed Naruto's smirk; he made sure to impose a safe distance with him. His face did not bode well; Naruto had an evil idea in mind.

Seeing Kiba keeping his distance, the blond was disappointed. With his tail, he wanted to make him fall as soon as he came in after him. The other teenager was too suspicious. Naruto wondered how he knew… To achieve his goals, he needed to be more discreet and cunning. He had to think about it next time. Even Kakashi saw through him every time, even when Kakashi was deep in his boring books.

The room was a classic examination room, in which all the tools needed to inspect patients were located. The place had no windows. Naruto held his breath, and his heart sped up. The too-bright lights blinded him, stabbing his pupils condemned to darkness. He resigned himself to using his nose to "see."

The dazzling glow was even more unbearable in this too small and suffocating place. The teeming walls rippled in the peripheral of his vision. Naruto felt as if demonic faces were taking shape on them, observing him and waiting for the right moment to crush him. He wanted to run away, to find refuge in the comforting arms of his precious Kakashi. Fortunately, the reassuring presence of Sakura and Shikamaru pushed back these sadistic and cruel walls, preventing them from reaching him, making him disappear into a world in which there was only suffering and fear.

A cold sweat slipped down his temple. The surface, which looked like a bed of terror, made a cloud of black stars appear before his eyes. Silently and subtly, Naruto took a long, deep breath. He must not lose consciousness, give in to his emotions and this voice in his head, which ordered him to run away. Focused on his precious Kakashi and nothing else, Naruto remained strong.

"So, what are you gonna do?" Kiba asked.

"Kakashi-Sensei said that Naruto would be heavier than normal," she said, grabbing a notebook. "Weighing him is a first step."

The two boys raised an eyebrow and hovered over Naruto's puny, underweight body. They were both incredulous and intrigued.

"Really?" Kiba wondered, turning his attention to the blond. "Naruto, can I lift you?"

Of course, they expected Naruto to refuse… However, after a few blinks, Naruto raised his arms. That Naruto agreed to let himself be touched by him silenced them. Furthermore, the two barely knew each other and their interactions had been rather negative.

Kiba carefully grabbed him by the waist. Convinced that he was as light as a cloud, his first effortless try failed. He frowned, perplexed. He made another attempt, using all his strength. Miserably and slowly, he lifted him, gritting his teeth. As for Naruto, as soon as his feet left the icy ground, he held his breath and tensed up. He clung to Kiba's shoulders; at that, his tail tried to wrap itself around this pillar so as not to fall into the void.

"Holy shit! He's even heavier than Chōji!" he blurted before losing his balance and falling to the ground.

Immediately, Naruto pulled away from him. During the fall, his claws tore the fabric and scratched the delicate skin beneath. He noticed Kiba's obvious weakness, since he struggled to lift him, in addition to not being able to carry him. It reassured him. The human named Kiba was not a threat to him and Kakashi. Kakashi could lift and carry him without the slightest difficulty—on the contrary, Kakashi did it with ease. Logically, the conclusion that Kakashi was much more powerful than this weak human could not be refuted.

Sakura invited Naruto to get on the scale, and he did so. The cold metal beneath his bare soles startled him. They looked wide-eyed when they saw the result. Naruto's weight was over three hundred pounds. He had become heavy … terribly heavy. Based on his size and thinness, it was simply impossible; it was beyond comprehension. Obviously, being an earth entity made Naruto heavy, and he was not at all bothered by his gigantic weight gain. He was completely indifferent, as if it was normal. That was the only explanation that made sense.

Sakura examined Naruto's skin, avoiding the wounds on his forearms. It was rough and its texture troubled her. Instead of a smooth, soft surface lined with body hair, she felt grainy earth, which had solidified to maintain this shape. The hairs on the arms was affected and had lost their softness. They were robust and flexible; small thin stems like tree twigs. She inspected some blond locks that adorned Naruto's head, giving the latter a shiver. His hair was unaffected. They were still normal, although damaged, broken and excruciatingly greasy.

Then, Sakura tried to pinch and grab the skin. She tried in every possible way, gradually increasing her strength, but she could not do it. Naruto also did not react, even if he experienced more sensations and pain according to Kakashi's reports. Shikamaru and Kiba tried too. With their nails, they scratched the skin, which resisted them easily.

The many hands equipped with too many fingers put Naruto on edge. He was sulking and wagging his tail angrily. His discomfort was obvious, and his irritation was growing; at that, his throat vibrated. Naruto did not fight back and suffered in silence for Kakashi, and only because Kakashi asked him to. Otherwise, he would have slap them with his tail so that they would leave him alone. He did not want their wandering and disgusting hands. The only hands worthy of touching him were Kakashi's.

However, for Kakashi, Naruto showed patience.

"It's the same as stone," indicated Shikamaru who stopped touching Naruto like the others. "I wonder how strong his skin is."

In order to no longer be violated by unwanted hands, Naruto decided to show him. On Kiba's right thigh, he noticed a familiar satchel, in which Kakashi stored sharp weapons. Logically, this human must have put the same thing there. With a quick gesture, he grabbed a kunai from it.

They held their breath and the tension became as heavy as Naruto.

Naruto clenched his fist at their eye level. The colour of the skin on his forearm darkened and took on a colour similar to black earth. He roughly rubbed the sharp tip of the kunai against it. The skin effortlessly resisted the deadly edge. Under the tip of the weapon, the skin crumbled, and crumbs fell to the ground. It was covered with a protective layer, which acted like natural armour.

This amazed them. Naruto's arm returned to its normal colour when the kunai was removed and returned to Kiba, who put it away in his shuriken case.

"Incredible," exclaimed Sakura.

"What impresses me the most is that he instinctively knows his new abilities," Shikamaru said. "Earth nature is more defensive than offensive…"

Hearing these words, Naruto pouted and frowned, annoyed. He gave off aggressive waves and before anyone could feel them, Naruto violently hit the ground with the tip of his tail. A loud, dull sound rang out. Clouds of dust rose and swallowed the room in its thick fog. Pieces of tiles were thrown like broken glass. Letting out screams, Sakura, Shikamaru and Kiba shielded their faces by raising their arms. The speed of the sudden blow did not give them time to react.

As soon as the cloud disappeared, they saw an almost unrecognizable Naruto. His blue eyes shone like fireflies, and his face was devoid of emotion. His hair no longer moved and was frozen, as if he were a marble statue. The shimmering wheat colour of his hair was gone and instead, it was dark brown like his arm before. Moreover, his forearm, like his feet were the same earthy colour.

The tip of his tail, similar to the colour of his stone hair, had become a formidable club. The long hairs were sharp peaks; a blunt weapon capable of destruction. The poor floor was massacred. The ground was sunk and was a hair's breadth away from collapsing. The tiles were dotted with numerous cracks of several metres long. The room was no longer safe for anyone and required urgent repairs. Additionally, frantic voices were heard on the floor below the disaster.

Slowly, Naruto returned to his normal appearance and the shine in his eyes faded. He turned his head to stare at Shikamaru with his gaze as piercing as a bird swooping on its prey.

"I… I got it," Shikamaru stammered, waving his hands. "I… I was wrong. You are capable of destruction."

Naruto crossed his arms and gave a satisfied smile. That he was not threatening had enraged him, especially since Shikamaru was the consequence of his powers.

It reminded him of the foul taste in his fangs.

This foul taste brought up an acid that he swallowed.

But lightning would soon chase away this foul taste.

"Naruto… You really only bring trouble," Sakura muttered, covering her face with her hand. She understood how Shikamaru had gotten into trouble because of him. It would not be long before she received numerous lectures from Tsunade and therefore, from the Hokage herself…

"He can kill with his tail," Kiba said darkly. "He held back the force of his blow."

They nodded nervously.

"We won't test his vulnerability to lightning," Shikamaru said.

"What do you mean?" Kiba asked.

"Naruto has weaknesses to the element greater than his current one. If he's a lightning entity, the wind is unpleasant for him and harms him."

"If we follow your logic, Naruto resists water?"

Sakura and Shikamaru exchanged a look. If Naruto was vulnerable to lightning, he had to be resistant to water and so on.

"Now that you mention it… We never asked ourselves that question…"

"We'll see that!" Kiba went to the small adjacent room, in which there was a toilet and a sink. The sound of the faucet intrigued them, especially Naruto, who arched an eyebrow while tilting his head to the right. Kiba returned, with a bucket filled with water that he threw in the blond's face. It was his way of getting revenge for the boiling water he had received, even though his water was cold.

Naruto froze from head to toe, arms at the height of his chest. He blinked as his brain took a while to process what had just happened. His clothes were soaked. The shirt that sported Kakashi's scent was too, and the precious scent had almost vanished.

Before the water completely left his black fur, Naruto abruptly threw the excess water in his tail back into Kiba's face, who arched his back and let out a groan. Naruto was in a foul mood; he had not at all appreciated being thrown water at without notice.

Water accumulated in large quantities at his feet. His blond mane still displayed its porcupine shape and waved gracefully on his scalp. Despite Naruto's growls, Sakura dared to inspect his hair with her fingers. While they should be waterlogged, they were completely dry. His skin was the same; it was as dry as the desert. Aside from his clothes, the water had completely left Naruto, as if it had been repelled by an invisible force.

"Neither his hair nor his skin absorbs water. He's hydrophobic," Sakura noted. She then got interested in the black fur. However, Shikamaru stopped her from touching it.

"Don't touch that thing," he warned dryly.

"For what?"

"Don't touch his tail," he insisted firmly. "You're not gonna like what happens next…"

Sakura gave up. She did not understand why … but there had to be a good reason. Whether she liked it or not, Shikamaru knew every detail about her amnesiac comrade unlike her.

Sighing, Naruto took off his shirt to shake and wring it out. He still had his grumpy look and was throwing murderous glares at Kiba. Then he also took off his pants and underwear. Blushing, Sakura looked away. Naruto did his best to remove the water soaked into his clothes. His body could not get wet, but the watery matter was cold and uncomfortable.

As a result, his tattooed back captured all their attention, and its bewitching charm hypnotized them.