Yo, It's Ken.
Thank you all for your patience as we kick off the arc in style well kind of, I've been excited to release this chapter for a little while as it really sets up the theme of the arc and how the story is going to progress from here. I finally get to reveal the thing weighing on my mind after all this time so I'm glad it's finally here.
Let's get to reviews!
Hnbutt: Danzo being Danzo has set a hit on our boy while slowly but surely, we get to the source of the bonus scenes, regarding the mysterious person unfortunately it's not a relative but is a part of Naruto's past so you'll have to find out by reading! As for what happened to Naruto after that, stay tuned. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the next one!
Dragonkeeper10: I had a lot of fun writing for the Leaf gang as well and will have the pleasure of writing them a lot more in this arc as they have a more active role in this arc, also Danzo schemes once again I love writing Danzo scheming but at the same time, I agree with you watching the schemer get taken down is always satisfying so we'll have to see haha. Kushina is an interesting guess but no dice while I could think of a bunch of interesting scenarios for that case that isn't the case here, I'll give you a hint for the new companion she's got a temper but I'll let you fill in the rest by the end of this chapter. I'm glad you're looking forward to the jutsu deep dive, it's honestly one of the things I'm most excited for myself and I'll give a quick small spoiler just for you. Naruto will gain a Nature that Saskue has as well and that begins with this arc so look forward to it. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the next one!
ecoBlade: Thank you for joining the Discord and for all of your questions again! It's finally here so feel free to read the new chapter! I always thought it was a missed opportunity that Naruto didn't get the chance to really explore anything Uzumaki related too so I will be rectifying that here I promise that. Looking for to your reaction, thank you again for reading and I hope to see you in the next one!
Jagsboy: Jags! I have to say it... I'm impressed. I can't say more at the moment, but I'll give you that. So, for the mystery female at the end of the chapter I will confirm that she isn't a filler character and we've seen her in the canon story in a pretty important Naruto arc I'll say but I'll let you read, and you'll get it. Regarding the Konoha team, I'm going to state this later in this author's note but this chapter and the chapters following this one take place a week and half before Chapter 27 so once I get to a certain chapter, I'll clear that up for you. I'm super glad that you put so much thought into your reviews honestly, I was blown away reading this one, so I'll definitely say that I'm pretty impressed. Thank you so much for reading and I hope to see you in the next one.
Kopi Susu Dingin: Thank you for joining the Discord and for all of your questions! Pairings wise I've got a lot I'm cooking up but even I'm getting swept up in the excitement of the different options I've introduced so far but I'll be good and stick to the plan I have set. Thank you so much for reading I'm looking forward to your reaction and I hope to see you in the next one! Stay healthy and safe!
Alexander4443: Thanks as always bro! I'll see you in the next one!
DictatorK: Here it is! Thanks for waiting. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you again in the next one!
Gamesdean1: Hey there! Also Hahahaha, that's hilarious. Sorry for the lack of stuff going your way Dean I did not think that a bunch of stuff of make me busy enough to have to do a lot of editing last minute before posting but keep an eye out and I'll send more things over. Thanks again for the help. Thank you again for reading and I hope to see you in the next one!
Javiur: I'm glad you enjoyed! It's been a while since anyone in the Leaf had heard anything about Naruto and most assumed and accepted the worst because of the nature of their world so I wanted to get across the different emotions everyone would be feeling now that they finally get a chance to try to bring Naruto home. Also Danzo is a super interesting character to me so I'll do my best to do him justice with my interpretation. Thank you so much for reading and I hope to see you in the next one!
Krieger Techpriest: Krieger! You know I had to do it haha, They'll get some spotlight time in this arc that I'm more than excited to write for as we get further and further into it so look forward to more! Thank you again for reading and I'll see you in the next one!
Spellbat: The plot thickens, the whole contract deal is interesting so far looking forward to more. Ino's relationship with Naruto is complicated to say the least I won't say anything spoiler wise but it's something that will be explored later so you'll have to stay tuned. Kurotsuchi running into the team sounds like a lot of fun and who knows it could be happening sooner than later, but you'll have to read to find out but I'm looking forward to writing that meeting. Thank you so much for reading and I hope to see you in the next one!
That's all for reviews, as always if you have any thought, questions, or criticisms feel free to leave a review I read through all of them and will do my best to respond to them accordingly in the following chapters.
Starting from here Chapter 28 and beyond up to a certain point will take place a week and a half before the events of Chapter 27 where the Hidden Leaf receives the updated Bingo Book and begins their mission to find Naruto so I'll get more into the events that lead up to that moment in the chapters following this one until the Land of Lightning where in Chapter 27's time Naruto and the new companion are already in the Land of Lightning.
I hope that makes sense, if it doesn't then I'll clarify just ask away!
Anyway, it's time to hit the ground running as we get into the arc full swing. I'll be doing a jutsu breakdown and applying some new concepts to jutsu I tried my best not to get too deep into those details in this chapter but let me tell you it was tough haha. I was excited for this chapter and I'll tell you now I'm even more excited for next chapter.
Regardless, there is a Discord Server for Naruto Kokai so if you want to swing by and hangout please feel free to join! I'm happy to chat and answer questions about the story as well as drop sneak peeks of the current chapters I'm writing as a little present. I'm also planning some small events for the channel as well but I'll keep the details light /uTqpksqVVA I'll leave the link here and as always joining is up to you it won't make me think you are any less awesome if you don't though:)
Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you enjoy.
-Ken
Next Time! Chapter 29: The River and The Blondie (02/07/2024)
{...}
Chapter 28: The Blade Named Vengeance
"Yah!"
The sound of a voice yelling while a horse galloped moving even faster away the sound of crashing and falling trees, four other horses followed behind the first horse that galloped ahead of them all as they all dashed away from the cloud of destruction following them.
Brown hair whipped under a headband on the head of the figure at the front of the group as she turned around toward the rest of the group, "We'll lead it to the left! Keep moving!" the young woman yelled while the other ninja following behind her nodded before they moved toward the left while the large cloud of dust and debris quickly shifted to floor them.
"This thing is fast!"
The young woman gritted her teeth while the cloud seemed to be gaining on them even after their change in direction, "Keep moving!" one of the men on horseback yelled while the brown-haired young woman turned around as she watched the ninja and his horse get engulfed by the cloud.
"No!"
The young woman yelled while the rest of the group kept rushing ahead of the following cloud, the cloud had been pursuing them since they made first contact with it in the Hidden Grass.
"Hokuto!"
One of the ninja yelled while the brown-haired young woman looked toward the ninja who called toward her, "It's starting to catch up! We're nowhere near the rendezvous point!" the ninja yelled while Hokuto gritted her teeth.
They had a plan made for dealing with this beast, a plan that was made in advance knowing they would come into contact with it however they had underestimated the beast greatly. Now that plan they had spent putting together…
Had fallen apart completely.
Hokuto took a deep breath before she tugged her horse galloping away from the rest of the group before the rest of the ninja looked toward her, "Hokuto!" another one of the ninja yelled while she formed hand signs turning toward the cloud.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Hokuto yelled while she shot the flames toward the large cloud causing an explosion, the large cloud now black turned toward her direction before beginning to speed toward her. A large gust of wind fired from the cloud causing the brown-haired young woman to flip off of her horse and onto a tree branch.
"I'll lead it away! The rest of you go ahead, we'll regroup!"
Hokuto yelled while her squad of ninja were about to yell in protest, "Hang on Hokuto! We'll be back!" one of the ninja yelled while Hokuto watched the rest of her squad dashing away while she jumped backward avoiding another air blast.
The brown-haired girl reached into her pouch producing wire from it while she jumped forward away from the quickly approaching black cloud, she twisted in midair throwing the wires stabbing them into the surrounding trees while the cloud began running into them.
With their original strategy out of the window it was now up to her to make sure she was still able to fulfill as much of the plan as possible, because there was one factor of the plan that even if all the other pieces fell apart would stay strong and secure their victory.
All she had to do now was reach him.
Hokuto backflipped through the air while throwing out more of her wires against the trees as the cloud continued approaching her, the girl landed on a tree branch before she narrowly dodged another blast of air that destroyed the tree branch she was standing on.
She felt the air hitting against her back while she grimaced at the black cloud that was continuing to move toward her quickly before she felt her feet land on another tree branch, she launched herself off of it backward even further.
It was persistent but she was confident that this would work, anything that she could do to slow it down she would. So far it looked like this thing pretty much tanked through almost everything they had thrown at it except she noticed that the flames she fired at the cloud had affected it.
Meaning out of her comrades she was the only one who had a means of affecting the beast in a significant way, so she had to bank on it.
That's what he would do.
Hokuto spun in the air while throwing out more wires while she noticed the cloud beginning to slow down compared to when she was first being chased, Hokuto narrowed her eyes toward the still advancing beast while she pulled out the rest of her wires creating more distance between her and the cloud while launching them out as quickly as she could.
The cloud chasing her began to slow down even further as it ran into the wires she had been launching at it, Hokuto launched more of her wires before she spotted that she was on her last ones while the black cloud was still approaching her.
"There!"
Hokuto yelled while she had thrown a few more of her wires into trees while the cloud seemed to stop in its tracks completely, the brown-haired ninja then jumped high into the air above the cloud while forming hand signs.
The wires twisted and tightened around the cloud while Hokuto finished her hand signs biting down on the last wire with her teeth.
"Fire Style: Running Wire!"
The girl yelled while a stream of fire left her mouth running down the wire toward the black cloud where the wire that it had become entangled in also caught trapping the cloud in a large web of fire before a massive explosion went off around it.
Hokuto flipped before landing on her feet looking toward the massive sea of flames from where the cloud used to be, "Did that work?" she asked aloud to herself before her indigo-colored eyes widened moments later spotting a shift in the flames.
The brown-haired girl tried to avoid an air blast but wasn't fast enough to, catching the attack with her body before it launched her clear out of the forest they were in before she landed roughly bouncing when she hit the ground several times before her back slammed into a large rock.
Hokuto coughed from the impact before she fell to her hands and knees taking several deep breaths, while the cloud slowly disappeared revealing a silhouette underneath it that slowly approached her from the tree line glaring its eyes toward her.
It was a horrific looking thing.
Muscle fibers stretched across its frame without a single piece of recognizable skin on its body while the ground shook under the weight of its body. The black cloud that followed it had disappeared, fading slowly as the best walked closer to Hokuto, its maw was lined with razor sharp white teeth as an exhale left steam coming out of its mouth. It looks like a cross between a bull and a wolf if they had been mutated, with multiple eyes all glaring toward its target.
Hokuto quickly struggled to her feet while she watched the beast approach her, "Damn it…" the girl spoke while her eyes flicked around.
She was alone.
She was painfully aware of that.
The plan that had been set was ashes by now, she still had faith but if anyone was going to pull through it had to be her.
She had to stand a chance just a little bit longer.
That's what he would do.
Hokuto brandished a kunai before she formed several more hand signs, her chakra began to build up around her as the eyes of the beast narrowed on her before it began to charge. Hokuto yelled back at the beast while her brown hair whipped wildly in the wind produced by the beast's approach.
It was fast.
Too fast.
Before Hokuto could unleash a single jutsu, the beast was already almost directly in front of her with its jaw open, the amount of distance it covered was way too fast for her.
The girl braced herself while she still yelled in an attempt to attack only for the jaw to close with a violent snap.
Her indigo eyes slowly widened as her brown hair whipped wildly from the wind again, the beast had been stopped in its tracks from reaching her due to a wall of wind holding it back.
"Sorry I'm late."
A voice spoke while a smile broke out across her face as she looked toward the owner of the voice, in one of his hands he had dropped one of her unconscious teammates to the ground safely while the other was stretched out blasting the wind from his palm that made the wall.
Blonde hair swayed slightly while blue eyes looked into Hokuto's before the teen grinned, turning his attention back toward the beast.
"Let's take care of this guy. Shall we?"
The blonde spoke while Hokuto chuckled looking toward the young man before the wall of wind exploded sending the beast sliding backward into several trees.
"Naruto."
Hokuto said while the blonde threw off the cloak he was wearing into the wind while popping his knuckles. "Let's go!" Naruto yelled while the beast had made it back to its feet glaring toward the pair of teens with its eyes before it roared again.
The beast charged again before Naruto charged toward it as well, the blonde formed his famous hand sign before creating multiple clones.
"Formation 3!"
Naruto yelled while the clones nodded their heads before they split up with two breaking ahead dashing forward while spinning. The beast bit and snapped at them while the clones avoided the attacks, one of the clones somersaulted before slamming its leg over the beast's head before the other clone slid under it kicking it beneath its jaw.
The beast roared in pain while three more clones blasted forward toward the beast, two of these clones attacked the legs of the large beast knocking it off balance before the third clone did a handspring kicking its wind enhanced legs into the beast's underside launching it into the air.
"Boss!"
One of the clones yelled while it blasted itself into the air, Naruto flew toward the clone while spinning before aiming his feet right in front of the clone's legs. The clone kicked Naruto's feet, launching the blonde into the beast as the sonic boom cracked through the air as the creature crashed heavily into the ground from the impact.
Naruto flipped out of the dust cloud while his five clones followed him, Hokuto while moving her teammate out of the crossfire looked toward the blonde with surprise. It had been a long time since she had last seen him, but to say that he's grown stronger since the last time she did see him was an understatement.
Naruto felt like a completely different ninja now and it showed.
A sudden explosion and one of his clones popping caused Naruto's eyes to widen while another explosion caused another clone to pop on his other side. The beast had made it back to its feet, lifting its jaw up while gathering wind into its mouth before opening it, launching another air blast toward the blonde.
One of Naruto's clones threw him up into the air taking the blast for him and popping, Naruto spun in the air before another clone grabbed him launching him higher into the air avoiding a second blast taking it for him. Naruto looked down toward the beast that was lining up another powerful air blast, the blonde was scanning his surroundings observing the sheer destructive power of the blasts.
"This thing is no joke, if I get hit with one of those I might be toast."
Naruto spoke while he began to fall, "Boss!" His clone yelled while blasting up toward him with wind. Naruto reached out grabbing the clone's hands before spinning around holding onto his clone's wrists.
Another air blast was launched while the spinning Naruto avoided the blast while the clone in his hands transformed into a demon wind shuriken. Naruto threw the shuriken toward the beast before reaching into his pouch grabbing several smaller shuriken.
"Shuriken Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto yelled while he threw the multiplying bladed weapons toward the beast in a shower while the creature avoided as many as possible, gaining several cuts on its body while a few managed to stab into it.
The beast roared, lifting its head to deflect the spinning demon wind shuriken, the bladed weapon bounced in the air before it transformed in a cloud of smoke revealing a clone with a Rasengan swirling in its hand.
"Rasengan!"
The clone yelled before slamming the technique into the creature's back causing it to roar loudly before slamming into the ground. The beast roared again, snapping the clone into its jaws causing it to pop before Naruto appeared through the smoke with a dropkick.
"Wind Style: Great Gale Separation!"
Naruto yelled while his kick landed with wind exploding from his feet launching the beast backward through several trees. The blonde landed on his feet while he watched the creature getting up again from the impact, the teen huffed before he wiped his face with the back of his hand.
"You're a tough one, I guess it's time to stop being so nice."
Naruto taunted the beast while it screeched into the air causing a bunch of air to explode from its body, the blonde's eyes widened before he tried to jump backward but the wind was faster, nearly slamming against him.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Hokuto yelled while she shot the flames from her mouth against the blast of wind causing it to explode before it hit Naruto allowing the blonde to land.
"Thanks!"
Naruto yelled while Hokuto landed at his side, "This thing's nature is wind so it looks like Fire Style works the best, however this thing is unlike anything I've seen before. Even my fire jutsu can't break through despite having the advantage." The kunoichi said while Naruto looked toward the black smoke.
"Damn, looks like this definitely earned its A+ ranking huh?"
Naruto joked while Hokuto smiled, her smile quickly faded while felt a rush of wind blast toward her. Her eyes turned while the beast had quickly moved to snap its jaws at them, Hokuto kept her eyes shut before she felt the sensation of wind blowing through her hair.
She slowly opened her eyes while she noticed she was in the air; Naruto's arms were holding onto her while he looked down at the beast below.
"It looks like this thing has a crap ton of chakra, it's attacking while keeping a strong thin layer of wind chakra around it that it uses to defend itself and attack with. If we break through that and then we can take it out."
Naruto deduced while Hokuto's cheeks flushed looked toward the blue eyes of the boy who had a confident smile on his face.
"I have an idea, you keep the pressure on it with your fire jutsu and I'll take care of that pesky shield it has."
Naruto spoke while Hokuto continued staring at him with a flush while she nodded her head, "R-right." She spoke while the blonde nodded as they fell toward the ground.
"So how are we- woah!"
Hokuto yelled while Naruto suddenly blasted toward the beast holding her tight in his arms as he descended.
They got close enough to the beast that it snapped its jaws at them, Naruto tossed Hokuto into the air above its head while he stretched his arms out catching the beast's closing jaws in his hands.
Naruto held its jaw open while his feet hit the ground, the eyes of the beast widened as the blonde lifted the beast from the ground slightly. The blonde yelled before tossing the large creature with all of his might, the beast slid across the ground while Naruto formed his hand sign.
"Formation 7!"
Naruto yelled while three clones appeared before he did a few more hand signs creating another two clones to join them as they rushed forward toward the sliding beast. The clones started beating into the beast with punches and kicks while it struggled to recover, the small wind layer around its body returned in an effort to block against Naruto's attacks.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Hokuto yelled while flames pelted against the wind layer causing it to go down while the clones continued beating into the beast. The beast roared again while the clones continued to slam their fists into the creature with Hokuto's support keeping the layer down. The beast screeched again while the clones backed off from the blast of wind leaving its body tearing apart the ground where it touched.
Hokuto's flames exploded against it but the chakra from the beast swelled, ignoring the flames while continuing to grow, "Crap!" Hokuto yelled while she backed off. Her eyes caught Naruto jumping past her while he formed hand signs, Hokuto watched as Naruto stood directly in front of the destructive wind blast.
"Wind Style: Great Gale Separation!"
The blonde yelled while the wind blast engulfed the teen, Naruto stood in the destructive winds of the blast while his own jutsu cut through it protecting him.
"Two can play at that game."
Naruto said as he took a step forward in the destructive wind chakra while the beast howled, swelling its chakra more adding more power to its technique.
Naruto took another step while his hair whipped violently in the wind before he slowly extended his hands outward before he pushed them apart, splitting a path through the air blast allowing one of his clones to enter the space.
The beast roared while adding even more power to the wind blast pushing Naruto out and slamming his clone at close range with the blast of wind, the clone grinned before it began to glow. The clone then exploded violently with wind sending the beast flying backward slightly before it landed on its feet.
It was charging up another wind explosion while another clone appeared beside it beginning to glow as well.
The clone exploded violently disrupting the charging process of the beast while it hit the ground roughly, the creature growled before it started to gather wind in its mouth for more air blasts. Three clones rushed toward the beast while it aimed its mouth toward the blonde clones approaching it.
The beast unleashed the first blast of air toward the clones shredding the ground as it flew across it toward them. One the clones somersaulted kicking the blast of air before spinning the air blast around itself redirecting it toward the beast slamming against it with its own attack.
The beast staggered from the air blast before a punch from one of the other clones slammed into its body.
"Na!"
The clone yelled while the beast roared before launching a second air blast where another clone somersaulted catching the blast of the air with wind redirecting it back into the beast again causing it to stagger before a leg kicked its side.
"Ru!"
A clone yelled while the beast roared again blasting the third air blast of its volley toward the clones where the third clone caught it struggling with the blast before redirecting it back into the beast. The clone then slammed a heavy shoulder tackle into the beast hard enough to slam the beast into the cliffside cracking the stone on its impact before the clone fell backward.
"To!"
The clone yelled before it puffed away into smoke, the beast writhed in pain against the stone wall while it did its best to gather chakra. Its eyes spotted two blue spheres while one of the clones lifted its wrist slamming the jutsu against the thin wind layer.
The Rasengan exploded on impact while the beast roared only for another clone to rip through the smoke with another Rasengan slamming it into the beast again. The beast roared out in pain while Naruto appeared through the smoke with a Rasengan in his palm.
"Uzumaki Barrage Ver. 3: Rasengan Circuit!"
Naruto yelled while he slammed his Rasengan into the beast hard enough that his clones puffed into smoke.
The wind layer warped underneath the force of the Rasengan while the beast roared and Naruto yelled, pushing the jutsu further. The thin wind layer around the beast broke apart while Naruto's Rasengan made a direct impact with the beast tearing into it before the impact shattered the cliffside. Stone exploded and flew everywhere while Hokuto covered her eyes from any flying debris coming toward her.
While smoke and dust were kicked up from the impact Naruto's eyes looked down at the wounded beast in front of him.
While it was twisted and monstrous…
Naruto watched the wounded creature breath slowly as it took its dying breaths covered in debris as it growled.
It was still a living thing.
Naruto then moved the debris from its body carefully before he looked into one of its eyes as it continued to breathe. The blonde then closed his eyes gently placing a hand on the wounded creature, the beast flinched at Naruto's touch before it began to relax.
"Easy… it's over now."
Naruto spoke gently to the dying beast while it laid its head down while the blonde continued to gently stroke the creature.
"No one else is going to hurt you anymore… Your pain ends with me."
Naruto said while one of the eyes of the beast looked toward the gentle look that the blonde was giving it before it growled lightly. Naruto then stopped stroking his hand across it before he placed it firmly yet gently on it as it closed its eyes.
Slowly the beast disappeared into a breeze that Naruto held his hand out to feel blowing against him before he took a breath.
"Naruto!"
Hokuto yelled while the blonde looked toward the girl with a big smile.
"Mission Accomplished."
{...}
A fire crackled in a small fire pit while Hokuto sat across from Naruto who fed more sticks into the flame.
"You were incredible back there, that thing had been terrorizing the Land of Grass for a while now. I'm supposedly one of the top Chunin in the village and even I struggled against it."
The brown-haired girl spoke while Naruto shook his head, "You did awesome, no need to be so hard on yourself. I couldn't have done it without you." The blonde said while Hokuto rolled her eyes.
"I should be the one saying that."
She spoke while her eyes landed on the smile of Naruto while the blonde looked back toward her in her eyes.
"Some people have said something about that beast being some kind of demon, that it might have some connection to the Box of Paradise."
"Box of Paradise?"
"Yeah, it's a special object that apparently grants wishes. It seems like some kind of myth to me though."
"A box that grants wishes? Let me guess, you gotta collect a bunch of objects together to make one of those wishes?"
Naruto joked while Hokuto chuckled at the blonde's response before she shrugged her shoulders, "Don't ask me, you might have better luck with my superior." The brown-haired girl said while Naruto blinked.
"Ryuzetsu, right? The tall pretty boy from the Hidden Grass that I saw briefly?"
The blonde asked while Hokuto gave the boy a look, "Yeah, Ryuzetzu… wait Ryuzetsu's not a bo-" the girl was about to correct Naruto about Ryuzetsu being a woman, but she cut off by the boy grumbling.
"What's up with pretty boy types and being all edgy and stuff? Are girls really into that? I don't get it."
Naruto pondered while Hokuto found herself distracted by him, "...I'm not into that…" she said while the blonde gave her a look and a smile.
Hokuto despite not seeing Naruto for the better part of a year since the Star Village incident and her relocation to the Hidden Grass after recovering in the Hidden Leaf, still found herself harboring that same crush on him from what feels like so long ago. Naruto had become taller and more handsome than he was when they last saw each other, he even had this air of maturity toward him that he didn't have before.
Distance makes the heart grow fonder indeed.
"I'm glad you're adjusting to the Hidden Grass; you left kind of abruptly back in the day, so I didn't get much of a chance to say much to you for a while… I'm sorry."
Naruto apologized while the brown-haired girl shook her head, "No, you don't have anything to be sorry for. I'm the one that's sorry, I didn't know I wouldn't get the chance to see you again after that day…" Hokuto said while she looked toward the fire.
"Yeah, I'm glad I got to see you while I was here though."
Naruto said while Hokuto looked toward him, "So that was all real? Your banishment, what you went through on the road and Land of Iron?" Hokuto asked while Naruto nodded his head.
"Yeah, but I think I get it now. I'm also not dead so that's pretty good too."
Naruto spoke while Hokuto gave him a look, "Isn't that too much for someone so young? Naruto, you're barely 15 now and you've been through a lot because of your sudden banishment. It feels a little unfair that you had to go through so much." Hokuto said while Naruto huffed before chuckling.
"Well, it wasn't all bad. It mostly wasn't bad at all. I've experienced a lot of stuff and I'd like to think I've grown as a person because of it. I even had fun."
Naruto spoke while Hokuto felt a small smile grow on her face, "That's just like you Naruto. Never giving up and doing your best. I should have figured even that wouldn't have broken you down." The girl spoke while the blonde nodded his head.
"I'm strong. Strong enough to face it. Of course, I got this in the bag. I have a dream to accomplish after all."
Naruto spoke while Hokuto nodded her head, "Your dream… you can't become Hokage anymore, but you still have one?" The brown-haired girl asked while the blonde gently smiled at the fire.
"I wanna create a world where people can trust each other enough to live together, despite their background or their standing. A peaceful world where people can be who they want to be and that's ok no matter what."
Naruto spoke while Hokuto watched the flames dance in his bright blue eyes while she could catch a glimpse of the determination in them.
"That's a beautiful dream Naruto, if anyone can accomplish it it's you."
Hokuto said while Naruto smiled at her, "So um, I wanted to thank you for helping me with this mission, but I have a question… the only reward you really want from this mission is a map for the Land of Lightning from here?" Hokuto said while Naruto nodded his head.
"Yup! I wanted to find the best way to get to Uzushiogakure and from what I was told it's through the Land of Lightning so yeah it's all I need."
The blonde spoke while Hokuto blinked at him, "Uzushiogakure? Like the destroyed island of the Uzumaki? You're seriously going there?" The girl asked while Naruto nodded his head.
"Yeah, they used to be my clan, y'know? So, I figured I could learn more about my past or even find some about my parents. I've been thinking about them a lot, but I realize I don't really know a thing about them. I want to change that."
Naruto spoke honestly while Hokuto smiled at him, "That's cool, on a journey to discover your past and stuff. Here I was thinking you had some girl waiting for you in the Land of Lightning…" Hokuto joked while she gave Naruto a quick look scanning his expression for any changes with her secret probing question.
"A girl? Nope, no girls waiting for me in the Land of Lightning, it's just me."
Naruto said while Hokuto could feel herself release a breath of relief at his words, no girl waiting for him in the Land of Lightning meant that Naruto was still single…
So that meant that she had to take her chance while she coul-
"Kuro would kill me if I ran off with some other girl in the Land of Lightning anyway."
Naruto spoke while Hokuto words died in her mouth as she stared toward the boy, "...Kuro?" The brown-haired girl asked quietly while the blonde grinned nodding his head.
"Yeah, her name's Kurotsuchi! We have a kind of uh… special relationship. She's kinda sorta my girlfriend but I don't really know because... well things happened but I didn't get to ask her about it being official and I've never had one before to know what that means exactly but I like her a lot."
Naruto practically rambled with a small grin on his face while Hokuto felt herself deflating at his words, "Of course… you totally had someone already… silly me." The girl said while Naruto blinked.
"You're not silly at all, why would you be? I don't exactly wear it on my sleeve, I wouldn't have made you guess."
Naruto answered obliviously while Hokuto blinked at him, he didn't have a single clue as to why she was despairing.
Classic Naruto.
"Wait… Kurotsuchi? Land of Stone? I thought you and that Sakura girl from the Hidden Leaf were close?"
Hokuto spoke from her memory of the tour he gave her around the village, she remembered how he clung to the pink haired girl as they walked around.
"Sakura? No no, I liked Sakura a lot a while ago, but she was never my biggest fan. She was in love with someone else anyway, I understand it now, so I guess I've moved on. I wonder what her reaction would be if I told her about Kuro? Hell, she might be happy that I'm finally done bothering her."
Naruto spoke with a laugh in his voice while Hokuto blinked, that Sakura girl never gave her that impression at all. If anything, they seemed like they were pretty much together already. So not only was she too slow, but the thing she was worried about when she wanted to say something to him back then wasn't really a thing either.
Hokuto felt so stupid.
"I'm glad that you're happy, Naruto."
Hokuto spoke trying to sound mature while the blonde smiled at her brightly.
"I'm glad that you're happy too, Hokuto. I'm happy I got to see you at least once in my big adventure. Hopefully I can see more of my friends along the way too."
Naruto said while the word 'Friend' kind of hurt in that moment Hokuto couldn't help but smile at the smile on his face as he regarded her.
Maybe someday she could get lucky, and they could meet again when he was less occupied, "I believe you. I always will, Naruto. I hope this map helps you accomplish your dream. Though if I can help it, that won't be your only reward." The girl said while Naruto laughed.
The pair of teens heard the sound of approaching horses while Hokuto lifted an eyebrow, "Looks like they found us, we're headed back to the Hidden Grass." The girl spoke while Naruto nodded his head while she smiled at him.
Slowly they got up taking apart the campsite, Naruto lifted the unconscious comrades while Hokuto flagged down the approaching ninja.
In the shadows of the trees a pair of eyes looked toward Naruto and Hokuto getting on the horses that would lead them back to the Hidden Grass. The pair of eyes widened before they narrowed as the figure backed up further into the shadows until their eyes disappeared into the dark.
Ever so closer.
{...}
Naruto was back on his horse by the morning.
Hokuto had bid her farewell while giving the blonde his map and an extra reward of some of the Ryo from the mission. He reluctantly took if after being hassled by the girl before he had left the village, it would be good to have for his travels, so he was grateful. Naruto left as soon as he could, being on the move to cover as much distance as possible.
Not to mention try to stay under the radar while moving.
From what he remembers about Deidara, he was being pursued by people in a group called the Akatsuki. He tried to avoid villages due to that fact, not only would he be easier to spot in a village but if a fight broke out people would get hurt and Naruto wanted to avoid that. So, unless he had to like the Hidden Grass he would avoid villages since leaving the Land of Stone.
However, something still felt off to Naruto. Even while he was on the move, he felt like something had been following him. He's felt like this for a while, but it's only gotten more prominent since the Land of Iron, like a shadow, was becoming clearer and clearer to him with each day. By nightfall of that same day, Naruto would discover the answer to that sneaking feeling that he had about said shadow.
The blonde had set camp for the night, building a fire and eating a small meal. Then he waited for that feeling to come back with Make-Out Paradise Vol. 3 in his hands.
He couldn't rest until he knew he was right or wrong, so he waited and waited before that feeling returned stronger than ever.
While that shadow had finally found her mark.
She had been tracking him.
Months and months of tracking him, following every trail and trace she could find of him leading her through multiple lands.
With only a single picture in her hand.
"So… You gonna tell me what you want?"
Her mask was illuminated with the dancing flames of the campfire he was sitting in front of while her breath hitched slightly looking toward his blue eyes.
"After all this time…"
Slowly after the boy had long spotted her, her mask touched her gloved fingers while she removed it slowly. She had been wearing the mask for so long through the time she had been tracking Naruto that the air touching her fair skinned face almost felt foreign to her.
Naruto's eyes slowly widened while the masked woman exposed her face staring toward him with her dark brown eyes that the burning danced in.
Finally…
"I found you."
The woman spoke while Naruto reeled back slightly looking toward her face, "You're… Cat Mask... that Anbu lady." The blonde said while the woman glared at him from her side of the fire.
"Yugao… That is my name."
The woman spoke while Naruto continued to look toward her glare before he took a deep breath looking toward her.
"Why are you here, Yugao?"
The blonde asked while she took a breath of her own before she reached toward her back slowly pulling out a blade pointing it toward him.
"I'm here to retrieve the Nine Tails and to kill you…"
There was a slight growl in her voice while she spoke the words while the teen gave her a confused look. "Retrieve the Nine Tails? How-" Naruto stopped his question when he glanced at the seal on her abdomen, it looked similar to the one he had on his body.
"That seal… it looks like mine."
Naruto spoke while Yugao kept her eyes on her target, "That's because it is like yours… a copy of it." The woman spoke while the teen looked back toward her eyes.
"You must have a lot of questions… Ask me and I'll answer. It's the most I will do before I take your life, so make them worth it."
"...Why do you want to kill me?"
Naruto asked while Yugao tilted her head toward him while still aiming her weapon toward him, "As long as you breathe, so does the Nine Tails, making you dangerous on your own. I was tasked with killing you and bringing the Nine Tails back to the Leaf as its new vessel before extraction into one other than myself. To protect the world from the threat you pose." Yugao answered coldly while Naruto narrowed his eyes at her.
"The Leaf? There's no way Granny would order something like that, is that some kind of lie? Are you working with the Akasuki?"
Naruto asked while Yugao narrowed her eyes back before she shook her head, "No. Like I said, I was tasked by the Leaf with this mission. I am aware of their pursuit of you however." The purple haired woman spoke while the blonde scanned her features with his eyes.
If she was lying, she was extremely good at it. However, Naruto didn't think that was the case. Oddly enough he believed she was telling him the truth.
"So, who ordered this retrieval if it wasn't Granny Tsunade?"
"I'm at no liberty to answer that question."
"You said you would answer my questions, that one counts."
Naruto responded back while the woman made a face before she opened her mouth, the teen spotted another seal on her tongue, one he didn't recognize.
"A careful person. If the seal wasn't present, I would have told you. The questions of a dead man mean nothing to the world."
Yugao answered while Naruto looked toward her facial features, they were cold, and her speech was calculated almost as if she was trying to hold back from just attacking him.
"You're surprisingly honest."
"That's not a question."
The purple haired woman snapped back while Naruto took a breath through his nose before he looked toward her. He would have to devise some kind of plan while getting whatever answers he could, for some reason she was giving him a chance to speak.
"Why didn't you just attack me? Why show yourself?"
The blonde asked while the Anbu looked toward his eyes, "You were already able to detect me, the element of surprise I had was lost the minute I approached close enough to even consider it." She spoke while the teen's eyes widened slightly.
Honestly, he couldn't tell her how exactly he did it either, he started noticing the changes in himself after he had left the Land of Stone. The same feeling he felt when he was fighting Amanai had returned, except it was with various people other than her now.
The most notable being Hokuto, while he was pursuing the demon that was hunting her and her team down, he was able to pinpoint her position even while in the dust cloud kicked up by the demon.
Like he could sense her directly.
The same feeling he's getting even now with Yugao in front of him, the only difference is Yugao's detection felt heavy while Hokuto's feeling was lighter after they made camp on the way back to the Hidden Grass. He didn't have much time to explore his thought process while he stared toward the Anbu.
"How did you get here, Yugao?"
Naruto asked while Yugao looked toward the blonde carefully.
"A couple of weeks had passed after your banishment before I was given my assignment of retrieving the Nine Tails, the time before my departure was spent developing and applying the seal to my body to ensure I would be able to take the Nine Tails upon your death. I have tracked you closely since then."
Yugao spoke while Naruto looked toward her with a confused expression, "Tracked? You've been trailing me this entire time? For all these months?" The teen asked while the woman nodded her head.
"Correct, through the Land of Waves, Hidden Sand, Land of Rice, and Land of Hotsprings. Your trail went cold for a while before I managed to pick you back up once I reached the Land of Waterfalls."
Yugao spoke while Naruto's eyes widened, "You spent all of that time trailing me just for the Nine Tails… that seal, what can you tell me about that seal?" The blonde asked while the woman eyed him carefully.
"This seal, I honestly don't know much about it... All I know is that the person who gave me this seal told me it was of Uzumaki descent taken from the database of the Hidden Leaf to use for my mission. The seal is not the genuine article as its complicated nature evaded even the creator of this copy of it, so it's merely a strong enough copy to attempt to hold the Tailed Beast."
Yugao said while Naruto's eyes widened, they had Uzumaki scrolls in the Leaf? That meant that somehow the creator of this seal knew about his heritage, was it another Uzumaki? One that knew about his clan?
…No, it couldn't have been.
Uzushiogakure had been destroyed for years and his mother and father had been dead for years making him the last of his clan that he knew.
Somebody stole this information, they wanted to get to him with it.
That only brought up more questions that the blonde had, he had to be decisive judging from the way Yugao had looked toward him he was running out of her patience.
"The Akatsuki… they're collecting Tailed Beasts too. I fought one of them and he mentioned bringing me back somewhere, if you weren't working with them then why allow them to try to capture me? You would have failed your mission if they did."
The blonde asked while he saw a change in Yugao's expression from her cold one to a slightly surprised one.
"You've grown clever in your time away… you're correct. Had you been captured by the Akatsuki my mission would have failed, however he knew better when he gave them your information. While you ran into them far earlier than planned with your background of evading even the Anbu of the past in the village there was confidence in you avoiding capture. Had I run into the Akatsuki trying to capture you I would have fought them myself. You are my target and my target alone."
Yugao spoke while Naruto narrowed his eyes at the woman, "The purpose of tipping off the Akatsuki was to prevent you from staying in one place, specifically a village in any other land. Capturing you on the run outside of villages is less troublesome than having a skirmish in a village and potentially putting the Hidden Leaf in the spotlight." the woman spoke as her hand tightened around the hilt of her blade.
"They kept you on the run so I could intercept you. That way you, the current Jinchuriki would die leaving them with a cold trail unable to retrieve your Tailed Beast not knowing where it was or who it was. Then the Leaf would be able to take back possession of the Nine Tailed Fox without the world even knowing it."
Yugao explained while Naruto's eyes widened at her response.
That was one of the teens biggest concerns considering going back into the world, the Akasuki hunting for him. Now he understands why Deidara made the comment about the Bingo Book considering his information.
Someone at the Hidden Leaf had stolen information regarding the Uzumaki and his seal, then sold him out to the Akatsuki, and sent someone to pursue him while he was on the run from them to discreetly take the Nine Tails from him and take it back to the Leaf all the while making sure the Leaf's involvement of the Tailed Beast disappearing with his death untraceable.
All of that just to obtain the Nine Tailed Fox discreetly the entire time.
Meaning all the way back when he was banished someone was planning for this, someone in the Leaf had been planning the banishment far before it actually came. His banishment from the village was a set-up to get the Nine Tails away from him and put into someone else.
Granny wouldn't do that… Yugao mentioned a he as in some man but thanks to that seal on her tongue Naruto assumed he couldn't get a name. Who would want to go to this length to retrieve the Nine Tails for the sake of the Leaf Village?
Naruto's thoughts went to the newspaper article he read before he left the village that featured him on the back of the Nine Tails. This was carefully planned by someone who knew his history and had connections in the village, somehow bending Tsunade's arm to go through with sending him away.
Who was it?
"Are you finished with your questions?"
Yugao rose to her feet with her blade in hand while Naruto shook his head, "Wait a sec, a couple more." The blonde said while she glared at him before she allowed him to speak.
"You said that you were here to retrieve the Nine Tails for the sake of the Leaf Village and the rest of the world, right? I was told by the Akatsuki member I fought that the extraction kills the Jinchuriki when it's removed from them. So, if that false seal works and you take it back to the Leaf you'll die when they extract it."
Naruto spoke while Yugao's brown eyes stared into his eyes while he watched the flames dance in her cold glare. "Correct." Yugao said a little quieter while Naruto looked toward her eyes as deeply as he could before his eyes widened slightly before they fell into a more thoughtful look.
"Why are you here, Yugao?"
Naruto asked while the woman narrowed her eyes at the blonde, he saw it then…
Vulnerability.
It was in her eyes for even the briefest of moments before her cold look returned to her face as she glared at him.
"Konoha Crush… do you remember that day?"
She asked while she glared angrily toward the blonde while he stared back into her furious looking eyes.
{...}
It was raining.
Naruto stared at Memorial Stone shortly after they had buried one of the closest people that he had to any kind of family.
The Third Hokage had been laid to rest.
Naruto got the news shortly after he woke up after his fight with Gaara in the hospital, he was devastated. The man had died protecting the village from Orochimaru who had attacked it along with the Hidden Sound and Sand.
He never got the chance to say goodbye or even see the old man one last time before his death, he remembered the way it stuck with him.
How much he had cried.
"Yeah… I remember."
Naruto responded while Yugao nodded her head, "… Sometime before that day during the Chunin Exams the Leaf was attacked by foreign shinobi… There was a shinobi named Hayate Gekko. Do you remember him?" The woman asked with venom lacing her voice while Naruto looked down.
"The Chunin Exams proctor, right? The coughing guy?"
Naruto spoke while Yugao had taken a pace forward past the fire pointing her blade toward the blonde's throat now just in front of him.
"Correct. Hayate was killed before the attack… I swore that I would find his killer and bring him peace."
Yugao spoke with a slight tremble in her voice while Naruto looked toward her wordlessly, "The man who created this seal and gave me the mission to find you. He told me that his death was only due to the fact Hayate was trying to protect you... Kabuto, Orochimaru, The Sand. They killed him because of you. He stood in the way of them taking the Nine Tails from you. That was why they attacked the village, you even got Lord Third killed defending you." Yugao spoke while Naruto continued to stare toward her speechlessly.
"A demon… that has done nothing but ruin and kill. The Nine Tails attacked and destroyed the village. The only thing that it has ever brought to the village is death!"
Yugao yelled while the blonde continued to stare toward her, "You got to live while all of those people lost everything because of you! Their families, their homes! Having to constantly fear the day that demon came back, even your mere presence alone brings death to those involved with you, forced to protect you! As long as you live, so does that monster and that ends now." Yugao growled while Naruto finally recognized that look in her eyes.
Accepting the potentially faulty seal, the risk of the mission of sealing a Tailed Beast within herself, the lengths she had gone to track him down, and accepting her death with the completion of her mission.
In her eyes Naruto saw them.
Sasuke.
Banira.
Arashi.
The eyes of one that has lost and became nothing more than a dangerous vessel of that loss willing to do what it takes to fill that hole left by it.
A weapon named vengeance.
"Why am I here… that answer is simple…"
Yugao's brown eyes flared in her rage while she stared toward Naruto who looked back into her furious gaze.
"I'm here for you."
She spoke with venom lacing her tone while the blonde stared toward her, at his side his fist trembled.
Was it really his fault?
All of those people dying? The invasion that killed even more people? Was all of that the fault of himself just existing?
Had they all lost so much because of him?
Naruto took a deep breath while Yugao glared at him before he set his hands to his sides calmly looking into her furious eyes.
"You can kill me."
Naruto spoke calmly while Yugao looked toward the blonde in shock, "...What?" The woman asked while his calmed blue eyes looked into her confused brown ones.
"You heard me. I said you can kill me, Yugao."
Naruto spoke firmly while the blade in Yugao's hand shook slightly, "Bullshit, your brave act isn't fooling anyone. I see through you…" The woman spoke while the blonde looked into her eyes.
"If you can see through me, then you should know I'm telling the truth."
Naruto said while Yugao continued looking toward the blonde trying to keep the glare on her face.
"You're right… The Nine Tails is a monster, and that monster is a part of me. Making me a monster too. So many people have died because of me, to both protect me and to kill me. All because of the Nine Tails. All those years ago when Mizuki told me about the Nine Tails being trapped in me, I thought to myself it makes sense why they all hate me."
Naruto spoke while Yugao continued to keep her glare toward her while she used her other hand to keep her blade steady in her shaking one.
"I wanted to change that, to make the village see me instead of just the Nine Tails in me but you're right... Despite my best efforts I still got people killed trying to protect the monster in me. No matter what I did, the Nine Tails was always a part of me that I couldn't just erase away. So, I accepted it, and I accepted their hate as well."
Naruto spoke while Yugao growled before she swiped her blade cutting Naruto's cheek causing it to bleed yet the boy didn't flinch.
"Enough. Draw your weapon, face me and die."
Yugao said while Naruto kept his calm look as she felt herself drowning in the warm ocean color of his even stare.
"No… I won't."
The blonde said while Yugao growled, "Don't taunt me, don't make a joke out of my vengeance. Face me, the woman that hates you. Who's come for your life." The woman growled while Naruto looked at her blade.
"Yugao… you didn't come here to fulfill your mission. You answered my question giving me time to live, you accepted that shoddy copy of my seal knowing it could fail to hold the Nine Tails. You didn't come here for the Leaf wanting the fox either…"
Naruto spoke while Yugao felt a tear well up in one of her eyes as it felt like the blonde was staring through her soul.
"You came here to die after your revenge."
Naruto said while Yugao felt her tear roll down her face, "And what of it!? A shinobi's role is to die for their villages to protect them to the end… Once you die, I'll take the Nine Tails and I die here. Then my vengeance is over, I can avenge Hayate and protect the world from that demon... it's hate and my own dies with me." The woman spoke while Naruto looked toward her.
"That way of thinking… that ninja are just tools to die for the sake of their villages. I'm going to end it."
Naruto said while Yugao looked toward the boy while her blade began to tremble again looking toward him.
"I'm going to take that world and crush it to dust. That hatred dies with me."
Naruto spoke while Yugao stared at the blonde as his gaze remained even at her while she clenched her teeth, "Your weapon, draw it. Draw it now." Yugao demanded while Naruto looked toward her.
"In order to atone for things that the Nine Tails has done, I have to make things right. I can't leave this world without trying to. So, I need to ask you something super unfair."
Naruto spoke while Yugao shook her head fighting back more tears, "Shut up! Draw your weapon! Fight me, you demon!" The woman yelled while Naruto shook his head.
"No, Yugao… I won't fight you… because I have a dream."
The blonde said while Yugao growled, "No one gives a damn about a demon's dreams, now draw your weapon!" The woman yelled while Naruto looked into her eyes.
"I want to make a world, where ninja don't have to die pointless deaths, where people can trust each other enough to live together. A world where people don't have hatred for what they are and can decide who they want to be by themselves with no one controlling them."
Naruto spoke while Yugao's eyes flared open, "SHUT UP AND DRAW!" The woman yelled while the blonde remained firm.
"Yugao… I can't die right now. I have things that I have to do before I die, but that doesn't mean I don't see you and what grief you're carrying. It's unfair of me to ask you this despite everything that you've lost but I have to…"
Naruto trailed off while Yugao began breathing faster, "Just stop." The Anbu said while the blonde placed a hand on her blade.
"Could you wait to kill me, until after I accomplish that dream? I promise won't make you wait any longer after that."
Naruto said while Yugao looked at the blonde with shock, "Your dream… it's impossible. It can't be done, it's a false hope. A lie, this is the only way that things can be." Yugao said while the blonde gripped her blade a little harder, beginning to bleed on it.
"I don't believe that. I'm going to become strong enough to change that. I will. I swear. I'll make this dream come true."
Naruto said while Yugao watched the boy's hand bleed, "Why? Why should I trust you? You could run or hide to protect yourself from me. You could unleash the Nine Tails to protect yourself from me." Yugao spoke while Naruto took his bleeding hand off of her blade.
"I won't run. I won't hide. I won't leave you alone with your hate. I'll bear it all and one day I hope I can set you free. My word is my vow."
Naruto said while he pulled a white cloth from his pouch allowing his blood to stain the cloth completely red.
"You have my word. I won't die until you kill me. You can hate me and only me until you kill me. I'll look you in your eyes until you kill me. This is my promise."
Yugao watched in shock as Naruto gently grabbed her wrist pulling her blade forward enough to wrap the bloodied cloth around the handle of her sword.
The calm look never left his eyes as he looked at her in her brown eyes.
"My life is yours, Yugao."
Naruto spoke while Yugao took a step back looking toward the blonde teen with shock as she shook her head.
"Stop. Stop it. I'm here to kill you… to take your life. Why are you looking at me with such calm eyes? Why aren't you trying to hurt me?"
Yugao practically begged as she began to break down, she may have taken her mask off, but she still felt the sensation of cracking running across her face looking in his eyes.
"Because you want me to as some kind of self inflicted punishment, and I refuse. Your vengeance does end with me… I hope that the world I leave behind allows you to live in peace after I'm gone."
Naruto spoke gently while Yugao's entire world shattered in front of her looking toward the blonde teen.
Months.
Almost years now.
She still saw Hayate's face in her dreams as he haunted her, the man she loved and all that she had left to consider her family. Had died and the last thing that haunted her was the calm smile on his face as he told her that he would always love her.
She killed as many of the Sand Shinobi as she could looking for the one that ended Hayate to kill that man. She didn't know who it was, so no matter how many she killed she would never truly know if she avenged him.
Meaning to her he wasn't avenged.
Then the Hidden Leaf made a contractually peace with the Hidden Sand meaning she could no longer find the person that killed Hayate and avenge him.
Her only means of solace, taken away by a piece of paper.
Hayate would go unavenged, and she had to live with that, to live with him haunting her dreams with that smile.
She felt empty without him.
Yugao had nothing if he wasn't there to have to with her like they promised, and she had to live with that.
He gave her a chance for revenge.
When he approached her and told her about his plans to take the Nine Tails back and that Naruto was the reason for the Konoha Crush. She finally had the chance to finally take revenge and bring Hayate peace, to finally end this empty feeling she had from something she could never fulfill.
She let him put that seal on her, she knew that despite Orochimaru's notes and his expertise in sealing that the Eight Trigrams Seal copy that they made would never be the same as the real one and could fail.
She didn't care.
She didn't care about any of that or any of the risks that came with it.
She could protect the village from the monster called the Nine Tailed Fox and avenge Hayate's death in one fell swoop. Yugao tracked him, she heard about his dilemmas and setbacks. She heard about his rise and falls. How fondly the woman at the Hot Spring spoke about him before she left her at that hot sping.
All of it to find him and end it all once and for all.
"Sir, I have a question about my mission."
"Yugao… I suspect I already know what your question is… Naruto may be a child; however, he is still a ninja and a great threat."
"But sir-"
"All those lives lost, Yugao… for both the village and you personally. For Hayate… we do what must for what we love. So did they."
"Killing a child…"
"Killing a monster, the world when they see him… they'll break his spirit. He'll fall victim to his loneliness and will only be a shell of a boy."
"..."
"Naruto will be a monster when you lay your eyes on him… that is all that will die when you face him…"
"Just a monster for the sake of those we lost."
The sound of metal clanging echoed between herself and Naruto while the blonde looked toward the woman who dropped the weapon she was holding in her hands to the ground.
"You were just supposed to be a monster… you were supposed to break, to be empty… I was supposed to kill a monster. Not a child."
Yugao sobbed while Naruto looked toward her before he took a breath, "...I'm not the same kid anymore. So, you don't have to feel bad about wanting to kill me." The blonde spoke while Yugao looked into his blue eyes as the blonde picked up her blade.
"Don't blame yourself… Blame me."
Naruto said while he put her sword back into her hands Yugao looked at the blonde with surprise as he looked back at her calmly. "...I'm part of the place that hates you. That sent you away. That beat you as a child. Yet you show me so much gentleness…" Yugao said while Naruto gave her a tiny smile on his face.
"I remember the masks on those days… the cat mask always just left. Never laid a hand on me once. Nothing to hate."
Naruto spoke while Yugao felt the fight in her to prevent her sadness from showing break completely as tears ran down her face looking toward him. Yugao realized something looking toward Naruto, his eyes didn't look anything like any kind of monster's eyes.
Even when he was a child as far back as she could remember about him.
She wanted to impress Kakashi, the Anbu she always wanted to be. The way he would face everything without cracking under the pressure of emotion.
She felt the same about Naruto's beatings, she always suppressed the urge to protect the boy because it would show her weakness. A weakness the man she looked up to never had, so she would allow herself to have it either, so she looked away.
She always looked away.
Despite all of that, those bright blue eyes never once looked at the village with any sort of animosity.
Despite everything they had done to him, Naruto never stopped loving them once.
Hayate came to mind as he looked toward a beaten looking Naruto walking the streets alone while she was on an outing with him. Hayate never once looked at the boy like anyone else did, he was just a kid in his eyes and nothing else.
They kept walking but Yugao knew everything he wanted to say was on his face, his unspoken words louder than any cough.
It wasn't his fault.
Being born into this world only to be bathed in his parent's blood with the demon who spilled inside of him. It wasn't his fault he lived with a demon in his heart and mind surrounded by people who hated and hurt him for it.
It was never his fault.
Yet he was taking all the blame for crimes he never committed because he still loved all of them despite everything, she knew deep down from the moment she was given the mission from that man that it didn't fit the blonde at all.
She just wanted someone to finally be able to take her revenge for the man she loved on and all of the pain she carried with it, it wasn't Naruto's fault at all but she needed him to be a monster so she could find peace in her death and in Hayate's after killing this boy.
Yet he took that blame for her so she of all people could find a way to live in peace.
"Naruto…"
Yugao said while the blonde looked toward the crying woman as she sheathed her sword and stood up.
"I wanted you to fight me and give me a reason to kill you or die myself. If you drew your weapon, then I would have been justified to attack you as the monster I wanted you to be and I would've thanked you whether I won or lost."
Yugao said while Naruto looked toward her as she walked over to her mask picking it off of the ground. "You are no monster. Not right now. You're no beast to slay right now, you're just a boy." Yugao said as she clenched her hand around her mask, cracking it slightly before her brown eyes met his blue ones again.
"Your vow. Is it true?"
Yugao asked while Naruto looked at her silently for a few moments before the teen nodded his head at her. "Then Naruto Uzumaki. Live as a man and accomplish that dream until the day, I meet you again after that. Then I'll kill the monster that dream makes you into to fulfill it." Yugao said while she tossed her mask into the fire causing Naruto to look toward her with surprise as she watched it crack and burn.
"Your life is mine now. So don't you dare die until I take it."
Yugao said while Naruto nodded his head, "Believe it." The teen said while the purple haired woman looked at him before she made a hand seal.
"Danzo Shimura… He was wrong about you. My vengeance is with the Nine Tails not with you like he said. Remember that. The name of the man who took everything away from you."
Yugao said as Naruto hoped to his feet, "Danzo? Wait, your seal!" The teen exclaimed while the purple haired woman turned away from him.
"There's no need to worry about your executioner, Naruto."
Yugao said as the seal on her tongue faded away out of Naruto's sight as she looked over her shoulder to look at him with a single brown eye.
"I swear, I won't die until you accomplish your dream. The one who will end you is me and no one else."
Yugao said as she left a speechless Naruto behind as she walked into the forest, the campfire continued to burn while the Anbu walked further away. Yugao remembered that day, how Kakashi stood at the gates for hours even after Naruto had already left.
The man she admired for pushing past his feelings no longer had a mask to hide them away from her like he used to.
If it was a crime to feel.
Then she would burn away her mask and take the death penalty.
Her vengeance was well underway, and it would begin at the very place it all began, with the same man who gave her these seals in the first place. When Naruto asked her his questions and when he spoke to her swearing over his life, Yugao felt her eyes open for the first time in almost a year.
It was a lie.
They were all lies, this plan Danzo had was never for the sake of protecting the world just for bringing more power to the village underneath the world's nose to bring back the Nine Tails discreetly fooling the rest of the world, the Akasuki, and even the village itself. He manipulated Naruto to fit the role of a monster since the day he was born for the sake of the village.
Danzo manipulated her into making Naruto into her target by blaming him for the Konoha Crush and Hayate's death, taking advantage of her weakness for her lack of revenge to do his dirty work for him.
To make her look into the gentle eyes of a boy who didn't allow the world to break him and induce her wrath on someone who didn't deserve it, who didn't deserve a single bit of any kind of hatred or pain from anyone in the world.
Danzo would die first.
Then the Nine Tails.
"I SWEAR YUGAO!"
A yell echoed through the forest causing her to stop in place as she turned toward the small light of Naruto's campsite.
"I'LL ACCOMPLISH MY DREAM, BELIEVE IT!"
Naruto's voice yelled across the forest while Yugao kept looking toward the light before she thought of the way Kakashi and the Third Hokage both looked at the boy.
"I do…"
Yugao spoke these words to herself while she kept walking ahead with a fire in her brown eyes as she thought again of the smile from Hayate that haunted her.
For a brief moment, Yugao allowed herself to wonder.
"What would that peace look like?"
{...}
The gentle sound of flowing water filled his eyes along with the slight sloshing noise of his body bobbing in the water.
The river flowed and he flowed along with it, undisturbed even while that dull voice in his head tried to speak to him. A deep growl was in this voice, and he felt like he should know who it belonged to, but he didn't, he couldn't think of who they could have been in the slightest.
All he felt was the river and the cold calm water as he drifted with it to nowhere while seeing nothing but black.
He could have floated like that forever.
There was a sound, the sound of something crashing, hitting the ground, and leaves crunching as he felt a warm hand grab his wrist. The water bent and pushed around him as he broke through the calm flow of the flowing river, no something was pulling him.
Someone was pulling on him.
If he woke up and opened his eyes, would he know who they were?
Water became mud, dirt, and leaves as the blonde hair of the young man along with most of the rest of his body finally broke free of the water.
Away from the river and onto land.
There was another voice, she was grumbling with a hint of panic to her tone while the gentle breeze brushed against his whiskered face. His blue eyes opened up finally awake and looking toward a face he didn't recognize but it was a face who recognized him.
Reddish hair that brought a strange sense of comfort to him touched his cheeks as she looked at him with disbelief.
Like she was looking at a ghost.
Her eyes were brown but the way the light of the afternoon caught in them made them like they were a golden-brown color.
Nearby a wheelchair had been knocked over and her clothes were covered in mud gripping on top of him as he continued to fail to recognize her.
"You… the blonde shithead…"
She spoke while the blonde young man looked back at her with confusion.
"..."
"I'm blonde?"