Yo, It's Ken.
Wow, it's been a ride this past year. It feels like it's gone by so fast, yet I can still feel like it's been a year, is that weird? It feels weird. Anyway, once again I want to express my gratitude for each and every single one of you for tuning in and reading this story following along for so long. Honestly, I've come a long way and I'm glad that you all managed to come all of this way with me. Now that's not to say I'm slowing down anytime soon, we are still only getting started in this story and I hope you all continue to join me for the ride.
I'll continue to do my best to get better as I continue to write for the story I love.
Now let's get to reviews!
ecoBlade: Hey there Eco! Always good to see ya and chat. You wanted the next chapter well here you go just in time for the 1-year anniversary! I hope you enjoy it, feel free to ping me to let me know what you think! Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the next one!
Dragonkeeper10: Hey there! Yeah, all sorts of elements here. I've had the Sasuke and Tayuya reunion planned out for a while and I'm glad I was finally able to write it in the story, It's one of my favorite parts of the chapter honestly. There is also Fox mask hunting down Naruto just to add that little dash of mystery to the story to spice things up, you'll get all the clarity you want here. So, Karin calling Naruto an imposter is a little joke I thought to add I thought to add in because I feel like it would make sense for her character to say considering she doesn't think any other Uzumaki are out there, so the irony is very present considering she's talking about Naruto of all people haha. We'll get some reactions pretty soon and that Sasuke second fight? Coming right up. Thank you again for reading and being around for the year! I'll see you in the next one!
Alexander4443: Thanks bro! I appreciate you sticking with the story for the year, and I'll see you in the next one!
Kabundio: No need to sweat it, I try my best with the Discord link but I know I'm not perfect with adding it all the time haha. Thank you for joining the Discord by the way! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or just want to chat, I'm more than happy to. So, I'm also pretty excited about this chapter as well as the next one, I've been looking forward to writing these for a while now. Tayuya has to make her choice while they are being pursued by a mysterious person. Guess you'll have to read to find out what will happen next. Thank you again for reading I hope to see you in the next one!
Krieger Techpriest: Krieger! Those slow reboot times aren't they the worst? Haha. Don't worry, your context is finally here. Ah Tayuya with a classic conundrum, do you choose all that you've known or do you choose something brand new and unknown. She's got quite the choice ahead of her but you'll have to stay tuned to find out what. Thank you again for reading and for being here for the year! I'll see you in the next one!
The Faceless Wordsmith: Hey there! I can understand how this first part of the arc feels a little like filler but there's a method to the madness I promise you'll have to give it a little time because it does connect and have purpose to the story especially later on. I'm also exploring an new concept for my writing so I'll continue to do my best. Thank you again for reading and I hope to see you in the next one!
Jagsboy: Jags! Thank you again for your questions on Discord, I'm always happy to answer anything you come up with so just let me know and ping me with any you have. Rather than reset the board I'm opening it up to allow you all to dabble haha but I am looking forward to the future regarding that. The masked man we spoke about him on Discord but I'll get into more detail with this chapter because we've got a fun one here. Now as for Tayuya and her choice it's going to be a tough one because Orochimaru is pretty much all she's known compared to Naruto who's come out of nowhere I'm looking forward to getting there. I'm glad you caught on to that detail, Sasuke while he is in the pursuit of power still wouldn't allow a handicap to get in the way of their fight to prove to Naruto that he is stronger than him, so it was definitely an ego thing, was that the right move for him? Let's see. I'll continue to do my best. Thank you again for all of your questions and for reading, thanks for being here for this year and I'll see you in the next one!
Awesome, as always feel free to leave any questions thoughts or critiques I read all of them and will do my best to respond to all of them in the next chapter!
So, this chapter technically wasn't supposed to be the chapter for the 1-year anniversary for Naruto Kokai as I originally had a big fight planned for this day but it's all good, I got caught up writing this one and ended up having fun. That big fight will be coming next chapter, and I will be taking my time to properly do it justice even if it delays me a while because it's an important one and I hope it reflects that year that we've followed Naruto in this story.
That being said I do have a lot of elements in this chapter that are dedicated to the anniversary I'm sure you'll be able to spot those elements rather quickly but I was reading back on the older chapters of Naruto Kokai and realized how much fun I have been having writing these chapters as I had my ups and downs.
That's the most important detail of writing in my book no pun intended, fun. I want to write a story that I enjoy writing that I hope other people can enjoy reading and so far I'll have to give it to myself with this one... Not too shabby. I'm not a numbers guy so I won't get into that but I'm astonished with the amount of support this story has received over the past year and I can't express enough to you all for how grateful I am. That goes for everyone.
Whether you leave a review telling me about your thoughts or you even tune in for a little while or even every chapter but don't say anything my gratitude goes out to you too if you're reading this.
Thank you.
Naruto Kokai started out as a little writing project I published just because I wanted to share it with you all, just to know it's gotten this far in all of this time is an honor all on its own. Thank you for picking up this story and giving it a chance, it couldn't be here without both myself and you as well.
Here's to you.
Here's to another year.
Here's to more adventures as we begin another arc together. watching Naruto grow.
Here's to getting better and continuing to do what I love hoping you enjoy it along the way.
Here's to you, Naruto Kokai.
1st year for Naruto Kokai down! Here's to some more!
That's enough ranting from me, here's the discord link feel free to join and chat or even seek me out to talk or ask any questions you want, I love questions so fire away /thUjysEZ7P. Of course, always you don't have to I think you're fantastic regardless.
Thank you again for the year everyone and I hope you enjoy.
-Ken
Next Time! Chapter 32: My Friend
{...}
Chapter 31: Remember You
-10 Months, 17 Days Ago-
"Lord Danzo. You called for me?"
A young man with orange hair asked while a gentle breeze blew causing his ponytail to sway as well as the black hair of the older man standing by the edge of the cliff they were on.
"Fu… before I begin, I must express that though you are still young, you are one of my best. A true ninja through and through. Someone I can depend on to protect the will of the Leaf no matter the cost."
Danzo spoke while Fu nodded his head, "Thank you sir." The teen spoke briefly while the older man looked out across the expanse of the distant horizon.
"That being said, I have a question and a task for you."
Danzo said while Fu continued to look toward the ground, "Of course sir, anything." The teen said while the man clutched onto his cane. "I'll be honest with you, before you arrived, I spoke with Yugao. I gave her a seal and sent her away to track down the exile, Naruto." The man said while Fu had little reaction while he looked toward the war hawk, "I understand." Fu spoke while Danzo turned toward him.
"What do you think of Yugao? Your honest thoughts. Speak freely."
Danzo said while Fu pondered for a few moments before he took a breath, "I believe she is an excellent Anbu. Driven, loyal, and willing to do what it takes for the greater good. Truly she's a worthy successor of Kakashi Hatake." The teen spoke while Danzo blinked.
"I see… Could you kill her?"
The older man asked while Fu's eyes widened slightly while he looked toward his leader, he looked into the dark colored eyes of the man.
He was serious.
"Yugao, while I do agree with you on your points, you missed a few things. She's emotional, being after a pointless revenge after all. She has the potential for greatness that I can see is hampered by her need to fall victim to her emotions. As an Anbu she should have buried that weakness with Hayate, the man she loved. She's weak."
Danzo explained while Fu stayed silent as the man took a few steps closer to the teen kneeling in front of him before tapping his shoulder with his cane, Fu took this sign to stand while the older man looked back out to the distance.
"I have reason to believe she'll fail; her heart will cause her to be unable to complete her mission. That demon, she'll hesitate because he's just a boy. That being said, should you come into contact with her… Could you kill her?"
Danzo reiterated his question while Fu looking at the older man's back clenched a fist before he gave the man a serious look, "Without question sir." The young man said while Danzo nodded his head.
"Your mission is yours alone. Torune will have his own mission, I trust that you alone will suffice with your abilities… Trail after Yugao and become her shadow. Watch her carefully and pursue without being noticed. Once she meets with Naruto then the next phase of your mission begins."
Danzo explained while Fu looked at the man carefully as he turned around to look the teen in his eyes.
"Should Yugao complete her mission of exterminating Naruto and retrieving the Nine Tails, you are to act as her escort until her extraction of the Tailed Beast here at Root. However, should Yugao fail or abandon her mission. You are to kill her and bring me Naruto, best case alive and worst-case dead."
Danzo explained while Fu stared back into the man's eye unwavering, "Of course sir." The teen responded while the older man placed a hand on his shoulder.
"This is a massive responsibility; I understand the pressure is immense. However, I wouldn't have chosen you if I didn't believe you could complete it. This mission is of utmost importance, and I need you to give it your all to accomplish it."
Danzo said while Fu nodded his head, "I will complete my mission sir, no matter the cost." The teen spoke while the older man, satisfied, let his shoulder go.
"Good, another note. Should Yugao at any point if she is successful in her task becomes aware of her false root seal, I gave her then you should neutralize her using your technique for that as well."
Danzo spoke while Fu gave the man a look, "Forgive me sir, a false seal? Why not give her a genuine one?" The teen spoke flinching at his own question while the older man tapped his cane in the grass.
"It's a test. More importantly than a test of her loyalty, it's a means for you to keep track of her. I imagine if she figures out the seal is false there wouldn't be a lot stopping her from running off after removing it to kill herself and take the Nine Tails with her. If it's gone, that will be your signal."
The older man explained while Fu nodded his head, "Of course sir." The young anbu responded while he nodded his head turning away from the man. "One last thing, Fu." Danzo said while Fu stopped in his tracks, he turned toward the bandaged man as his one black eye stared toward him seriously.
"She is weak, and Naruto is weaker. Don't let their weakness cause you to underestimate them at any point."
Danzo spoke while Fu looked toward the man for a moment before he turned around to walk away, "I won't, my lord…" the teen said as he took a few more steps away while another breeze swayed his hair.
"I'll end that demon."
Those were the last words that Fu spoke before he quickly left to begin his mission while Danzo looked back out on the horizon.
Shortly afterward Fu found himself facing down his partner in the Anbu barracks while he was preparing to leave.
{...}
"That mask… that isn't your usual mask."
Torune said while Fu held in his hands a decorated fox mask clenching his fingers around it, "This is my mission… the most important mission I've been given so far. I'm going to complete it." The orange haired teen said while Torune looked toward him.
"I want him to know, before I end him. I want him to see this mask and understand completely. That I'm there to kill him, to haunt him… Petty isn't it?"
Fu asked while Torune looked toward his partner, "I understand Danzo has high expectations of us, but we can't allow that to cloud our judgment. This mission is important for a reason, I personally don't mind whether or not you're petty. Frankly with how cold you usually are it may even be a little refreshing. Just don't let it be your downfall." Torune explained while Fu looked toward his partner before he put on the mask.
"Not my downfall… that demon's."
Fu said while Torune stared toward him for a moment before nodding his head, the orange haired teen then quickly left his partner in the barracks.
Then the months began to pass by.
That rainy day in the Hidden Waves where the blonde cried in the arms of a civilian woman after fighting that gangster. His departure from the Hidden Sand where he was sent off by the new Kazekage and his siblings into the world. His rampage at the Land of Rice with that Kunoichi from the Land of Stone, the red chakra that waved off of him.
He was supposed to trail after Yugao, but he managed to stay a step ahead of her. She was a part of the mission, but his true goal was what he wanted to keep his eye on.
Naruto.
When he fought Deidara, when he left the Land of Iron, when he left the Land of Stone leaving that girl behind, when he fought that beast near the Hidden Grass. Fu saw it all, never taking his eyes off of his goal even once as his time to complete his mission grew closer and closer building the anticipation in him.
When he watched Yugao spare his life and walk away from the demon leaving him by the campfire with the flimsy promise of taking his life.
He knew it was time.
The campfire in front of the blonde crackled while he was packing his stuff away, Fu glared toward the blonde before he pulled down his fox mask. He stepped out from behind the tree he found cover behind quickly weaving hand signs before moving toward the unaware blonde.
Ready to finally complete his mission for Danzo, with an eager glare on his face.
Finally.
He would take his chance and fulfill the expectations of the man he respected trusting him with this important task.
To end this demon.
{...}
Footsteps crunched over grass and sticks while sandals hit the ground as quickly as possible, the blonde jumped flipping before he landed on his feet.
"Shithead!"
A voice called out while the blonde continued to run jumping between a few more branches before he allowed his feet to hit the ground, not looking back once. "Shithead! Stop running! That bastard's gone; we lost him!" Tayuya yelled, slapping a hand on his chest causing the blonde to stop in his tracks, he looked back for the first time in a while.
"He's gone…"
The blonde trailed off while the pinkette gave him a look, "Yeah, Shithead. He's gone." The girl spoke while the blonde huffed.
"Ok, so where to next?"
The blonde asked almost nonchalantly while Tayuya narrowed her eyes at him, "Looks like we've basically made it to that village you wanted to get to. You mind if we skip this one? I'm still good to cover more ground so we'll just make our way and leave-" the teen was cut off by the girl shaking her head.
"No, you don't get to just blow off the fact that you've been sprinting away from that masked bastard for hours without stopping. Who the hell was that?"
Tayuya asked while the blonde huffed, he looked around just noticing it was now late afternoon, the sun was beginning to set.
"...I don't know."
The blonde responded while the girl huffed, "You sure run fast for a fucker who doesn't know what he's running from." Tayuya said while the blonde shook his head.
"I really don't remember."
"Bullshit, Shithead who the fuck was that guy?"
"I said I don't know!"
The blonde suddenly raised his voice causing the girl in his arms to flinch before he noticed, he sighed as he walked toward a tree gently setting the girl down against it.
"... I don't know anything. I just… I saw his mask and then I was falling. That fox mask… it just…"
The blonde struggled to explain while Tayuya glared at him from the tree she was propped against, "Shithead… you haven't reacted to anything like that, the way you did there. You sure you didn't remember something else?"
The girl asked while the blonde looked toward her before he huffed, "I didn't. He just looked like something I wanted to run away from." The blonde said while the girl looked toward him silently.
"Tayuya, those people. The people I fought… they called me a demon, that masked guy too. They looked at me like I was some monster. What if they were right?"
The blonde asked while the girl tilted her head, "Where did you get that thought from? Believe it or not you've been more of a goody two shoes than some demon." Tayuya spoke while the blonde clenched his fist.
"Yeah, because I can't remember anything. That's the me right now, what about the me that I'll become when I get my memories back?"
The blonde asked while Tayuya gave him a slightly somber look while the confused young man ran his hands through his hair.
"What if that was me? That masked man? What if I was some monster that he's hunting? Someone that's taken something from people and killed them? What if I get my memories back and I become that monster again? What if the guy that I really am comes back and he's a demon? What if he hurts you? Or anyone else?"
The blonde spoke while Tayuya watched the boy going through a crisis right in front of her slowly her somber expression grew.
"When I saw that mask… I see a past. A past where I could just be some murderer. Something some worse than the bad guy. I don't want to remember him… I don't want to remember what I could have done. I don't want it… I don't want to see a monster when I remember."
The blonde spilled his guts while Tayuya looked toward the free boy realizing that slowly her perception of him was changing, the more she saw the truth.
"When I met you… you were the first face this face saw. I wanted to know that you knew who I was because I didn't have a clue. I felt empty, if you were a friend of mine then maybe I would remember something good. Remember that I was something good. You said we were enemies… I believed you. I didn't want to, but I did. When they called me a demon and were scared of me… I believed them too. I didn't want to though. I wanted to be more than that."
The blonde's voice cracked a little while Tayuya stared at the boy in shock, he was carrying this with him since the moment he saw her.
She and everyone else convinced him it was a lie despite that he tried to push onward.
"A demon… if I remember then that demon will take my only friend I have. My only hope that I'm not just some monster… you were right. They were right. That fox mask, that guy is me. I can't remember him if that's who I'll become. So, I'll run. And won't stop."
The blonde spoke while Tayuya stared toward him for a moment before she dug her fingers into the dirt staring toward it. All of this time, he was trying to be someone that he wanted to be. He doesn't know who he is, but he wanted to be better, to be good.
Facing that masked man might be the key to getting his memories back but he'd rather run away from the person he's afraid of becoming than face him and hurt others. While she was a wildfire surrounded by flowers, he was a human being sitting among them. She was so blinded by his brightness that she didn't even notice the shadow of his own light cloaking him.
He was afraid.
He was afraid that the masked man would reveal who he really was underneath the memory loss, that's why he ran. That's why he tried his best to look at things positively, to try to have fun with her and help her see the world how he sees it. As far as he was concerned, even if they were lies. He wanted to make them true, all for the sake of not being the monster and the enemy they saw him as.
He's a human, that's afraid of the beast that he is as well.
"I don't want to be a demon…"
The blonde spoke while Tayuya looked toward him, her brown eyes slightly wavered at the sight of the brilliant blonde with a sad look on his face instead of that annoyingly bright smile.
He was just as human as she was.
"So what?"
Tayuya spoke while the blonde turned to look into her eyes, "You want a pity party? You want people to cry and boo hoo with you? To tell you it's ok? Well, you've got the wrong person if you wanted pity. I'll only tell you the truth." The girl said while the blonde's eyes widened at her words.
"So, what if you can't remember anything, big whoop. Your memories, no matter what they are, have nothing to do with who you truly are."
Tayuya said while she narrowed her eyes at him, "You suck at lying, Shithead. If anything, you were saying was bullshit, I would have spotted it and called you out on it at that moment." The girl said while the blonde shook his head.
"But you don't know-"
"I do know."
The girl quickly cut him off while she leaned back against the tree, "You wanna know something about you? That day… when I punched you in the face. You were my enemy… I took away your friend. I punched you because you were so damn determined to save his life that you were willing to put yours on the line. Without question. You would've fought me for him too if your team leader, Pineapple Fuck didn't tell you to leave after the rest of my team." Tayuya explained while the blonde took a breath.
"You and I were not friends. Never. Not once… Just two people with opposing goals, ready to fight. Then the you right here and right now. Decided that we were friends."
Tayuya said while the blonde shook his head, "That's because I-" the blonde was cut off by the girl scoffing.
"That's because of nothing, your memory loss isn't an excuse. Call me crazy but even if you didn't lose your memory, I still think you would have done the same as you did when we met."
Tayuya said, causing the blonde to shut his mouth while he looked away from her, "I only stuck around you because I wanted you to kill me when you remembered who I was. My mistake apparently because the more I hung around you the more I began to see that you were more than just a ninja. More than a killer." the girl confessed while the blonde gave her a sad look.
"I know a liar when I see one. I wanted you to be a liar, I wanted you to snap out of your memory loss and see someone you hated. You made me doubt that now, you made me doubt that someone like you could hate someone like me."
Tayuya continued to speak while the blonde looked toward the sky instead of at her, "You did all that prancing around about being a bad guy, but you don't have a single bad bone in your body, Shithead." the brown eyed teen said with a chuckle while the blonde continued to stare at the sky.
"I don't know what you've been through, I don't know what you did. I don't know what kind of person you are with your memories or how much you have changed since I saw you. I do know one thing though."
The girl spoke while the blonde slowly looked back down toward the girl with a rare vulnerability in her expression. "You're kind. Memory or no memory. You decide who you want to be after you get your memories back. Hell, you already have." Tayuya said while the blonde's blue eyes began to shine slightly looking toward her as she pointed a finger.
"You decided that."
The girl spoke while the blonde sighed while shutting his eyes for a moment while he nodded his head.
"You're right… you're right. I'm sorry."
The blonde said while Tayuya huffed, "Don't start getting all sappy on me now. The moment's over, now hurry up and get me. My ass is going numb." The girl spoke while she heard a quiet chuckle come from the boy.
"Yes ma'am."
The blonde said while he lifted the girl from the ground carefully while her brown eyes stared into his calmer blue ones. There was a feeling of warmth that washed over her when he held her close, as if she was safe with this guy.
Despite the fact that he was just another messed up teenager like her, she felt herself trusting the blonde for some reason. Even the cold feeling she had from what she had spoken to Sasuke regarding handing the blonde over him now had a warmth in it from one particular yet important word.
Just a single word.
"...Shithead."
"Yeah, Yuya?"
The blonde responded while the girl stared at him a few moments before she looked away ahead of the road they were walking on.
"Your name… is Naruto by the way."
Tayuya spoke in a gentle tone that caused the blonde's eyes to snap wide while hearing his name caused him to stop for a moment.
"You're finally done, hiding brat? About time."
The voice of the Nine Tails echoed in Naruto's head while a flood of multiple memories started coming back to him. Moments from all over the place unorganized but familiar to him, he could tell they weren't all of his memories but slowly he was making more and more sense of them.
All except for a few important ones, like what exactly happened at that campfire that night.
"Shithead?"
The girl asked while the blonde looked toward her, "I'm fine… I just remembered more stuff." the blonde said while the girl blinked.
"Tell me about it once we find somewhere to sleep, I barely did anything and I'm fucking exhausted."
Tayuya said while Naruto grinned in response to the girl before picking up the pace toward the village ahead of them. There was something that he had to do to get the rest of his memories back and it had everything to do with the demon in his head.
He would… No.
Naruto would find out the rest of his story and face it how he decided to.
{...}
The pair of teens soon found where they would be resting for the night, Tayuya made sure to pick a spot that wouldn't be immediately easy to find in case Fox mask showed up and they needed to move quickly. Once they arrived the teens quickly settled in with Tayuya almost immediately falling asleep once she hit the bed.
She was going to be pissed because she wanted to hear about what else he remembered about himself once he remembered his name. The blonde smiled at the sleeping girl as he brushed some of her hair out of her face, when she wasn't yelling or being her normal pissed off self she was rather peaceful looking.
"I'll be right back, ok?"
Naruto said while Tayuya only turned away from him in response, the young man chuckled while he stood up and walked toward the window. He quickly opened it up before he climbed through it, the teen then quickly scaled the building before making it to the roof.
Naruto took a breath before he sighed, he closed his eyes. He kept them shut while he concentrated until he heard the splash of water. "You've been quite the pain to put back together, at least you finally came here yourself." The deep voice of the Nine Tails spoke while the blonde opened his eyes to stare at the cage the Tailed Beast was sitting in.
"So, you're the fox. That voice. The one I was hearing faintly for all time, it was you."
Naruto said while the fox nodded his head with a tooth filled grin on his face.
"I don't know if I should be bothered or not with how difficult you've been making this process. You're not all the way put together even now."
The fox spoke while the blonde looked down, "That's why I'm here, I want to remember. I need you to help me remember who I am, everything. All the way." Naruto spoke while the Nine Tails began to chuckle.
"Aren't you so brave now? All of that delaying you've been doing and now after a little lecture from that little girl you want to remember."
The fox said while the blonde clenched his fist and stared at the tailed beast. "I already said that's why I'm here." The blonde spoke while the red eyes gleamed causing the teen to get a flash of the fox mask before he looked away.
"Are you sure you really want to remember? You don't look sure, like you're still afraid of something. Pathetic."
The Nine Tails taunted while Naruto shook his head, "I'm being serious! I need to remember, I don't have time to not remember!" the blonde raised his voice while the fox glared at him.
"You don't have time? If you weren't such a coward I would have had your memory and chakra healed in a day at the most. You, however, kept running."
The fox growled deeply while the blonde looked to the side away from the frustrated fox before he took a breath.
"I'm done running, you see. I'm right here! I'm ready to face it!"
The teen yelled while the fox chuckled, "I don't believe you." The fox's voice rumbled while the blonde looked back toward the fox noticing he was now missing.
"I have an idea… instead of wasting all this time struggling to remember something you're afraid of…"
The Fox's voice spoke while Naruto saw another version of himself with wilder hair and red eyes leaning against the bars of the cage.
"Why not just let me take over? You get to sit back and worry about a thing. You wouldn't fear anything anymore, you could just rest here."
The imitation of Naruto spoke while the teen stared at his copy behind the bars, "Why would I…" Naruto said while the copy chuckled.
"You're so worried about being a demon, why not just embrace that? I'll fulfill that nightmare for you, I'll be fine with that fate. You can be good here and I'll go out there. Wreak havoc, kill, destroy. Then it'll be the truth, not some fear anymore."
The copy laughed while Naruto stared toward the red eyed version of himself, "I don't want to be some demon…" the teen said while the copy slapped the bars of his cage.
"That's the truth! Run from it, hide away from it! It's the truth about who you are. I'm a part of you and you're a part of me. As long as we exist like this then we'll always be a demon."
The red eyed copy spoke while the blonde stared toward the water on the floor, "Aren't you tired of it? The running and the hiding? Don't you just want to stop trying to be something that you aren't? To be real? To show them what a demon really is?" The copy asked while the blonde looked up toward the cage before he started walking toward it slowly.
"Everything they've done to you and everything you've done to them. Hell, everything you've done for them. Yet they'll still hate you. Why bother trying to be more for nothing?"
The copy asked while Naruto stepped closer and closer to the cage while the copy began to grin at the approaching teen.
"Just take off that seal and I promise. The world won't hate you for no reason anymore, we'll give them one. They'll try to hurt you again. They'll die trying. You get to rest, and I'll carry your burdens this time."
The copy said with a growl while Naruto reached for the seal on the cage, the red eyes of the copy watched his hand go up while the grin grew on his face.
"No more lies. Just our truth."
The copy spoke while Naruto's hand continued to reach toward the seal before it suddenly stopped, the copy was quickly grabbed and pulled against the bars of the cage slamming against them while blue eyes glared into his red ones.
"No more lies. Just the truth."
Naruto said while the copy chuckled before a grin appeared on his face, "Attaboy." the copy said before it had vanished.
"For a moment there you had me convinced you were really going to give up. Maybe there is a little of your true self in you after all."
The Nine Tails now in his full form spoke while the blonde looked up toward him, "Old self or not I just need to know. I need to know who I am." The blonde said while the fox glared down at him.
"Sometimes there is more mercy in falsehoods than reality."
The fox spoke while the blonde glared toward him, "Just show me!" The blonde yelled while the fox huffed.
"Fine. You were warned."
The fox said before he lifted his finger stabbing his nail into Naruto's chest causing the blonde to begin to remember multiple events.
His loss against Sasuke at the Final Valley, the banishment from the Leaf Village and his burned down apartment. The blood that covered his face when he defeated Banira, his rampage at Jasmine Village. The way the villagers were throwing rocks at him.
"Go away, you demon!"
Sho yelled at him while the villagers continued to throw rocks at him, Naruto's eyes flicked around while more memories filled his head.
His blade running through Judon while he set the defeated samurai down, then the bloodied face of Amanai when he stabbed his sword into her as well, lastly his sword stabbing into Koga.
Those memories filled his head until he found himself staring into the brown eyes of Yugao who was staring back at him.
" and I'll kill the monster you become to accomplish that dream…"
Her voice echoed in his head while he watched her walk away before he was back in that moment that he saw the most.
Packing up in front of that campfire.
…
In the memory Naruto was packing his stuff back into his bag, he stretched widely before pulling out a map.
"So, follow the lightning route until I reach the Land of Frost then travel to Uzushiogakure from there. Doesn't too horrible. Still having to go around the Land of Fire is so much longer."
The blonde said while the horse that was tied up neighed almost as if it was a response to the blonde who chuckled.
"Yeah. That's what I said. Hey, it's going to be alright. There will be plenty of adventures along the way and plenty of apples if you cooperate."
The blonde spoke to the horse who seemed satisfied with the answer as Naruto got back to packing away his belongings. The blonde then attached his pouch to his waist, right as he was putting his necklace back on, he felt something.
The blonde slowly lifted his head as he tried to use his newfound sense to try to decipher what exactly was causing his unease.
He was sensing chakra.
But it wasn't Yugao's.
"Mind Fragmentation Jutsu!"
The voice yelled while Naruto tried to avoid the technique quickly moving, whatever the jutsu was he felt it graze him.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The blonde made his seal but was only able to summon a single clone, then his head began to ache badly.
A figure walked out of the treeline holding out his sword, "You should have let her kill you, then would have at least had mercy." Fu spoke while the blonde glared toward him.
He tried to form hand signs, but he was blanking out on what they were and which ones he was supposed to be using.
Naruto rolled backward away from a heavy slash from Fu who attacked him aggressively, the blonde avoided a few more attacks while the horse began to neigh loudly. Naruto backflipped, landing right as Fu slashed toward him cutting into him slightly, the Anbu spun going in for a follow up attack but was drop kicked by the clone who threw a smoke bomb.
"You ok boss?!"
The clone yelled while a kunai with an explosive tag stuck into the ground close to them, the tag exploded separating the boy and his clone who landed nearby while Naruto's head continued to quake.
More and more things were slowly becoming blanks while the clone got back up to his feet, "Boss!" the clone yelled while Naruto looked into the smoke watching a figure walk toward him.
"Go! Just go! Come and find me later! Just get out of here!"
Naruto yelled toward his clone who looked at him with confusion before the horse managed to break loose from its bindings running away.
The clone lingered for a few moments before he gritted his teeth, "I'll find you, boss!" The clone yelled while it dashed away. Naruto meanwhile dragged himself backward away from Fu who appeared through the smoke glaring down at him from behind the fox mask.
"Demon."
Fu said with venom lacing his voice while the blonde got to his feet pulling out a kunai and beginning to clash blades with the young anbu.
He was being ambushed?
Why?
Who was this guy?
Why was he attacking him?
Why was it getting so hard to stay focused?
The blonde was quickly disarmed by Fu who slammed a kick against his abdomen sending him flying backward into a tree. The blonde's back hit the tree while Fu rushed forward, he stabbed toward Naruto who avoided it before throwing a kick sending the Anbu sliding backward.
Things became foggier and foggier in his vision while he was trying to run away from the Anbu to gain some kind of ground.
Why am I running?
Who am I running from?
Where am I?
The thoughts ran through the blonde's head while a slash cut across his back causing him to groan while he turned around clashing blades with the Anbu again before he grabbed the orange haired teen and threw him into the air.
Fu quickly recovered in midair slashing at the blonde cutting into his clavicle before he landed kneeing Naruto in his chest. Naruto rolled backward before he got up and started to retreat further away from the aggressively pursuing Fu.
What am I?
The blonde panted while he bled as Fu who was winded still approached the blonde who was standing at the edge of a cliff, below him was a rushing river.
"My jutsu is taking a lot longer to take effect than usual, I underestimated your reflexes and couldn't hit you properly."
Fu said while the confused blonde stared toward the young Anbu who sighed, "It doesn't matter by the looks of it, it should be working now." The masked teen said while Naruto's head ached badly.
Fu reached his hand out toward the weakened blonde who stared at the incoming grab before he looked down at the river rushing below.
Fu gripped Naruto's shirt while the blonde quickly reacted, jumping into the air before slamming a spin kick across the Anbu's face.
Fu staggered while the blonde landed on his feet spinning again before he jumped backward off of the cliff toward the river below. The blonde fell while Fu, who was adjusting his mask, looked over at the cliff's edge and watched Naruto fall toward the river.
"I'll hunt you."
The masked teen said before he started running along the edge of the cliff hoping to beat the blonde at where he would possibly wash up at.
Meanwhile Naruto felt fuzzy and foggy as he fell closer and closer to the river below.
…Who am I?
The blonde's body then hit the river splashing into the water.
…
Naruto panted as he took a few steps back away from the cage while the Nine Tailed Fox watched him stagger.
"That can't be all of my memories… I'm still missing stuff, more people were calling me a demon… I killed people, I was going to some place… That fox mask… he took my memory… Fox! There has to be more. I still feel like I'm missing stuff!"
Naruto yelled while the Nine Tailed Fox chuckled, "You're still running away, you're still scared. You still still aren't facing everything, that means you have to do the rest yourself. I've done all I can for now." The fox said while the area around the blonde began to vanish.
"Wait! Hold on, I'm right here! I'm not running! Wait!"
Naruto yelled while his eyes opened, he was back on the roof of the inn he and Tayuya were staying at, he panted while he looked at his hands.
He was almost there.
The fox said something about him still running but he didn't, he faced the fox within him and stood his ground. Slowly Naruto looked up toward the view of the village they were in from the roof while the moon shined down on it. The blonde slowly came to a realization while he closed his eyes again, getting a flash of the fox mask before he opened them again.
The Nine Tails wasn't the fox he was supposed to face, the fox he was supposed to face to finally get his memories back...
Was the fox mask that took them in the first place.
Naruto glared confidently across the village while he stood to his feet, the blonde looked toward the forest on the edge of the village before he jumped off of the roof.
The blonde free fell for a moment before he flipped, in order to get all of his memories back. To finally get the full picture. It was time to face what he had been running from and finish what was started. Face all of what he was running from.
The blonde then landed by their window before he looked at the moon one last time.
The truth will set him free.
{...}
"As much as I enjoy a nice, lovely walk through the forest in the morning, that still doesn't explain why the hell we're out here at the break of dawn."
Tayuya said sarcastically while Naruto pushed her in her new wheelchair through the forest, the rising sun shined its light through the leaves of the trees above them. The blonde teen kept pushing her while he was looking around before he nodded his head.
"Here should be good."
Naruto said while the blonde stopped pushing Tayuya who raised an eyebrow, "Here should be good for what?" the girl spoke while the blonde took the bag, he was carrying with him off of his shoulder placing it in her lap while he gave her a quick smile.
"If things get tough, take this and run. Get as far away as possible."
Naruto spoke while Tayuya gave the boy a confused expression, "Run away? Run away From what? What's going on, Shithead?" the girl asked while the blonde began to stretch.
"Run from him or run from me. Whoever ends up trying to hurt you first."
Naruto said while Tayuya's eyes widened, "Woah woah wait, you seriously aren't facing that guy now, are you? Are you back at 100%?" the pinkette asked while the blonde popped his neck in response before, he gave her a look.
"More like 70% I think."
Naruto responded while the girl growled, "Shithead, are you fucking crazy? You shouldn't be facing off with this guy without being at your full strength. Last time he caught you while you had your memories, what makes you think you have a chance without recovering all of them?" Tayuya asked while the blonde sighed.
"It's not about chances. You were right, I do have to face him. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to remember everything without doing that first. While I don't know if I stand a chance or not, I do know that I have to try."
The blonde spoke while the girl watched as he turned toward the small clearing in front of them, a breeze blew through the trees causing his blonde hair and scarf to sway while he took a deep breath inward before exhaling outward to ground himself.
"I want to make you a promise, Tayuya… I honestly still don't know what kind of person I'm going to be when I get my memories back. A good one or a bad one. While the memories I saw, the ones where I killed people and scared them don't exactly have me feeling confident. I believe you though that maybe I could be more."
Naruto spoke while Tayuya watched the sun light shine around the boy illuminating him while she was once again taken about by how brilliantly he shined even in a moment like this one, how someone could shine so brightly yet be so human.
"Tayuya, let my last act as the guy who I am right now be protecting you before I become the guy I really am again. Keep yourself safe, even from me. Hopefully, I can remember you the way I do right now. Though we were enemies once upon a time…"
Naruto said while he turned his head toward her slightly, his blue eyes caught the light of the sun in a way that made them look as if she was staring in a warm ocean blue that engulfed Tayuya where she had sat in her chair just a little further away behind him.
"I'm glad, your face was the first face I ever saw."
The boy said with his usual bright grin while Tayuya felt her heart sink at the expression while he turned back toward the front glaring ahead of him with as much confidence as he could muster, she wasn't allowed to feel this way about someone who was her enemy.
Someone she was thinking about betraying for her own sake.
Yet she couldn't fight away the feeling of sadness that she had knowing that if he did change, if the person that he was when his memories was so different. That she wouldn't be able to see him like this ever again, that she would become someone who couldn't trust her.
Who wouldn't think of her as his friend.
"Come out."
Naruto said while Tayuya looked up slowly she watched the fox mask appear from behind a tree walking out into the clearing ahead of the blonde staring him down as he emerged from the rest of the forest, "Your senses are sharper than before, Demon." Fu spoke while he stood in front of Naruto.
"You were the guy who took my memories. You tried to kill me. Why?"
Naruto asked while Fu glared from behind his mask pointing his sword at the blonde, "You're a monster. The Nine Tails rests within you, ready to emerge and wreak havoc and bring destruction to this world. My mission is to bring your body back to the Hidden Leaf. Alive... or Dead." the young anbu said while the blonde narrowed his eyes back toward him.
"I'm not just some monster. I'm more than that."
The blonde said while Fu huffed, "Is that what you've been telling yourself? I've been watching you for a long time now, I know your history. I know the things that you've done. Trying to justify your actions isn't going to work on me. I know what you are." the young anbu said while Naruto gritted his teeth.
"I can be whoever I want to be, I decided that. I'll show you exactly what that means when I beat you and get the rest of the memories you stole from me back!"
Naruto raised his voice while Fu spun his blade in his hand before getting into his fighting stance, "I'll take my time with you, Demon. I won't let my lord down, falling to a weak creature." the young anbu spoke while the blonde adopted his own fighting stance.
The two young men looked at each other for a moment neither one of them moving a single inch while they stared each other down, suddenly a burst of movement came from both sides. They met in the middle exchanging several blows, Fu blocked a jab from Naruto who leaned back to avoid a slash. The blonde then grabbed the wrist of the Anbu bending it to disarm the orange haired teen.
Fu attacked Naruto with his free hand while the blonde teen defended with his free hand blocking the several strikes being thrown toward his eyes and throat, Fu then swept Naruto's feet knocking the blonde off balance. The Anbu then tried to follow up with a stab, but the blonde teen propped himself up on a single hand spinning his legs kicking toward the Anbu who backed away.
Naruto made it back to his feet, resetting his stance while Fu did the same from a distance, slowly they began to circle each other maintaining the same amount of distance as before. Their steps were almost in tandem as the two young men kept their eyes on one another.
The sound of a twig snapping sent the teens flying at each other once more, Fu aggressively slashed at the air with his sword while Naruto flipped over him landing behind him where he threw an elbow that Fu caught and attempted to counter but his shin was kicked from underneath him as he was thrown into the air.
Fu slashed toward Naruto cutting his forehead slightly in midair before he landed on his feet where the blonde teen had immediately attacked him again with heavy swings, the swing hit heavily against the guard that Fu put up before the dropped it to jab at Naruto.
The blonde blocked the jab while throwing his own punch back that Fu blocked, the teens then exchanged punches and jabs that they blocked and quickly countered maintaining the flurry of clashes between them at their close combat.
Naruto threw a feint causing Fu to overextend one of his counters allowing the blonde teen to grab the young anbu, he pulled Fu closer slamming his knee into the orange haired teen's chest before quickly smashing his fist into the young man's mask ending his combo with a clothesline that launched Fu toward the ground.
The blonde flipped backward avoiding the young anbu's strike as he quickly recovered from the throw getting back to his feet, they stood across from each other resetting their stances while Fu huffed before he removed his black cloak tossing it away crouching with his readied blade while the blonde clenched his fist.
A leaf caught in the breeze spun in the middle of the battlefield of the boys spun slowly in a rotating motion, eyes glared behind a fox mask while blue eyes narrowed into a glare as the leaf spun closer and closer to the ground.
The young men watched each other with each one ready to strike at any moment, the leaf finally made its last rotation as blue met amber right as the leaf touched the ground.
At that same moment the teens clashed against each other violently, Fu slashed at Naruto who did his best to avoid the slashes while he attacked back at the young anbu trying to take advantage of any openings he could find.
Tayuya watched the clash noticing the change in Naruto's fighting style compared to when he was fighting in the village they met and even against the yakuza, his body was beginning to re-adjust meanwhile Fu's style while it was aggressive still managed to be balanced and precise.
This was how two high caliber ninjas fought even before bringing jutsu into the fight.
Naruto threw punches trying to overwhelm Fu who kept deflecting them as the blonde quickly took ground away from the young anbu who deflected several more strikes before he grabbed the blonde's shirt pushing him away and pulling him back enough for his hand gripping his shirt to act as a fist punching into the boy causing Naruto to stagger.
Fu wasted no time taking advantage of his new opening slashing at Naruto who felt his forearm get cut before he avoided a slash that glided just by his cheek, the blonde teen twisted, throwing out a back handed strike toward the young anbu who avoided it, slashing Naruto's arm twice.
Naruto winced as he put the arm that Fun was holding his sword in a hold before he locked his leg behind one of Fu's throwing punches into the young anbu's chest with his free fist, the punches slammed into Fu while he winced slowing being pushed backward by the punches the only thing keeping him from hitting the ground was the leg Naruto had locked behind his own.
A few more punches slammed into Fu's chest before the teen caught one with his hand leaning backward to throw them both off balance, Naruto staggered backward from the sudden movement while a cut was sliced from Naruto's chin up to the bottom of his cheek.
The blonde winced, backing away from Fu who had recovered to his feet pursuing after Naruto quickly with his blade brandished, the blonde was on the defensive while the Anbu attacked him aggressively with his blade taking advantage of any opening he could.
Fu kicked Naruto's guard he formed by putting up his arms as he pushed forward slashing into the blonde's leg while moving behind Naruto to continue his onslaught, The blonde reacted quickly avoiding more slashes while he kicked Fu's wrist launching the blade out of his hands before quickly grabbing onto Fu slamming a punch into his face.
Naruto then pulled Fu closer before jumping up planting his feet into the young anbu's chest using him like a springboard to launch himself into the air, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" the blonde yelled while several clones formed around him.
The clones dive bombed toward Fu attacking him while the young anbu gripped the hilt of his recovered blade, Naruto watched the clones explode into smoke as he landed. Fu emerged from the smoke with water cloaking around his blade.
"Water Style: Jetstream Jutsu!"
Fu yelled while he attacked Naruto with his water covered blade, the blonde was having a harder time avoiding the slashes of the blade as the water gave him more range and flexibility to slash with. The water slashed easily cutting through the ground as Naruto maneuvered through the slashes the best he could while Fu kept up his aggressive assault.
Naruto flipped summoning more clones that dashed toward Fu who attacked the young anbu, the clones swung at Fu who quickly counter their attacks slashing through them while the blonde slid throwing a punch he wound back and launched with as heavy as a swing as he could muster.
Fu moved his blade allowing the water on it to suddenly expand, Naruto's fist slammed against the water splashing against it but never making contact with the young anbu. Naruto gritted his teeth slamming a few more heavy punches into it, nearly punching through the wall of water with his sheer strength alone.
The blonde suddenly felt his hand get caught in the water, Naruto tried to pry his hand away, but the water closed in around his wrist. Fu punched Naruto in the face before he lifted his blade up picking up Naruto with the water, he then swung the blonde around before slamming against a tree with the water slamming against him cracking the tree he slammed against.
Naruto coughed while Fu started to form a long chain of hand signs while the blonde was struggling to his feet, Tayuya noticed the chain of hand signs before her eyes widened. "Shithead! Hurry and move!" the girl yelled while the dazed boy struggled to stay on his feet while the water around him began to gather and create a shape of a dragon.
Naruto looked at the large water dragon that had formed while Fu started to wrap up his chain of hand signs, finishing them, "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Fu yelled while the water dragon roared before blasting toward Naruto who formed a hand sign.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto yelled forming clones that all braced for the impact of the water dragon, Tayuya then watched as the water dragon blasted through the clones slamming into Naruto and the tree, he was pinned against the dragon tore through a large portion of the forest tearing apart every tree behind where Naruto was standing.
Fu's eyes widened behind his mask while he looked toward the spot where his jutsu struck, noticing Naruto was still standing badly beaten into but still standing struggling to stay on his feet as he panted.
"I'll admit it, you're durable. You aren't much else though."
Fu said while Naruto took a couple of painful looking steps toward the orange haired anbu, "Shithead! Let's retreat! You've done enough!" Tayuya yelled while Fu glared toward her before he avoided a sloppy punch from Naruto.
"I imagined that you were far more capable than this, the things that I saw you manage during your travels were far better than this display. Maybe I was overestimating you."
Fu spoke while he caught another sloppy punch from Naruto before slamming his own fist into Naruto's solar plexus causing the blonde to cough before a punch to the face sent him to the ground smashing into it, Fu then grabbed the blonde and threw him back into the ground.
"Shithead!"
Tayuya yelled while Fu glared down toward the downed boy, "You're weak, all that time on the road sharpened your skills but it weakened your spirit. You, the feared cage of the Nine Tails. The one who gained the fear and respect of multiple ninja during your time on the road. Beaten like this." Fu said while the blonde placed his hand on the ground pushing himself up.
The blonde stood to his feet weakly while he glared, "I… I won't lose… I still need to remember… I can't let you hurt my friend…" The teen spoke while Fu narrowed his eyes at the still standing teen.
"That's what you're worried about? That girl? Look at you, you can barely stand. This isn't a fight anymore, it's an execution. Yet instead of being concerned for your life you're worried about hers. What a joke, Demon. In the end you don't mean anything to her or to anyone. Your very presence alone is a threat and a danger to everyone you go near."
Fu said while the blonde ran, throwing a punch at the young anbu who quickly countered it before slamming his fist into the blonde's face slamming him back against the ground, "A danger that I have to end for the sake of the Leaf Village. To protect it and to bring that cursed power of your back into the right hands." Fu said while he started to form hand signs.
The blonde struggled on the ground while Tayuya looked toward him, "...You're right. I am… I am some kind of monster or demon. I do put the lives of others in danger with my presence alone… but I swear as long as I am able to, I will always choose to protect those people from any danger I bring! Even if it kills me!" the blonde yelled while he glared at Fu.
"You hear me! I decided that! With or without my memories I decided that!"
The teen yelled while Fu continued to form his hand signs while Tayuya looked between the young anbu and the blonde on the ground, she couldn't do a thing other than watch. It made her feel so useless just as she had always felt when she had to watch him fight alone.
The same fighting he's been doing alone for some time now, while she's grown to rely on him for doing that for her not being able to pay that back to him even once. Tayuya gritted her teeth as she looked toward the blonde on the ground.
"NARUTO!"
Tayuya yelled out while the blonde looked at the girl in shock as she yelled out his name, Fu then aimed his hands at the teen while he then looked up at the fox mask Fu was wearing, its eyes flashing red at him while his head began to hurt.
He saw a young version of himself covered in bruises on a swing set, there was a small fox mask he was wearing while he swung on the swing set by himself. The young boy swung a few more times before he bumped into something causing him to flinch.
Instead of a punch or a rock, it was cotton candy.
He then looked up at the man holding the cotton candy spotting the familiar scar of Iruka, "Shhh, don't tell anyone. Our secret." the man said while the bruised boy smiled before he took the cotton candy eating it with Iruka on that swing.
"So eat up and live long Naruto..."
Iruka's voice echoed before he saw himself with Tsunami, Inari, and Tazuna eating a meal together after he had gotten off of work in the Land of Waves, "Not having dreams doesn't automatically make you worthless, you're still young. You have plenty of time to figure out what you want to have as a dream... Of course, the most important part is to have fun and enjoy the journey." Tsunami's voice echoed while the next memory came to him.
"You were just like me, a monster who everyone hated. Yet despite the hatred and the despair you still loved your friends enough to risk your life. You made me one of those friends. It was then that I decided that I wanted to learn the point of love, because your friendship has made my life warmer than it's ever been."
Gaara's face appeared in the blonde's head as he felt himself standing in that room again as remembered his talk with his friend and then his first kiss with Temari before he left the Hidden Sand. He could still see the way her teal-colored eyes sparkled ever so slightly as she spoke.
"Save any sad news for the morning, let's just have tonight. But I'll see you… right?"
Kurotsuchi, Sho and himself went fishing in the lake in another memory where he had to teach them both how to do it properly while they worked together. "I think you landed one! Looks like you've got a big one! Go ahead and bring her in!", "Come on!", "You can do it Ms. Kurotsuchi!", "I… I won't let you get away!".
When he defeated Judon, the man left this world with pride in his eyes praising his strength. "I understand that you find no joy in death as I did. Even now I still believe in my way, however between us the one with the stronger will was you… carry this strength with you as you move forward shinobi. I, Lord Judon. Leave this world in your hands… O' Death… no… Naruto." The death of Amanai when she looked at him with that gentle look that allowed her to die peacefully.
"...this strength is your truth... never forget that. One day your strength will be what changes this world. I won't forget you... Dear Naruto."
Koga's last dream before he got to place him with his two students.
"Judon… Amanai… and now even you… You were all… my dream come true…"
Arashi's smile when he was speaking to him about his wife after they had finished fighting one another, embracing his hatred and pain allowed him to find peace. "She had the most beautiful smile. Thank you, Naruto…" His last meal with Mifune and Marika that night and their departure that next morning.
As well as his final night with Kurotsuchi.
"Naruto… there's a warmth in you that I've never seen in anyone else in this world... I want to feel that warmth in me too."
He remembered.
The wind blowing past his face as he was on the back of his horse charging off into his next grand adventure to the Land of Whirlpools eager to enjoy the journey ahead of him.
So this is who he was...
No...
Who he is.
Fu aimed at the blonde's head while he glared, "Goodbye Demon. Mind Fragmentation Ju-" Fu was cut off by a sudden change in air pressure while Tayuya felt the same from her spot.
Fu's eyes widened while suddenly he was flying through the air, he didn't even realize he had been hit. His mind was racing while he slammed into a tree smashing through it before he hit the ground roughly and rolled. He quickly recovered, getting back to his feet.
He felt the breeze touch his bare face while his gloved hand lifted to feel for his mask, he noticed that it was gone, Fu looked up toward Naruto standing on his feet. Tayuya looked at Naruto while the vibe around the blonde had changed completely.
Those warm ocean blue eyes that didn't have a hint of realization about a lot of things had now been replaced with an icy blue and steady glare, looking toward the fox mask now in his hands, it happened so fast she could barely see it in the first place.
"Quit calling me a demon."
Naruto spoke while Fu held his blade in a crouched position while the blonde held on to the decorated mask hard enough for it to crack before he closed his hands shattering the mask into small pieces while his ice blue stare looked toward Fu.
"My name is Naruto."
Naruto said while Fu gritted his teeth, "Water Style: Jetstream Jutsu!" Fu yelled while he cloaked his blade in water before dashing toward the blonde. The teen then reached into his pouch pulling out a scroll tossing it into the air.
Fu quickly dashed toward the blonde as fast as he could while the water on the edge of his blade sharpened into a tip, the scroll spun in the air before it unraveled the scroll then fell close to Naruto's hand as Fu slashed toward the blonde.
Fu's feet slid as he was behind the blonde, slowly he looked at his blade noticing that half of it was gone. Right as he noticed it the other half of the broken blade stabbed into the dirt beside his feet, his eyes widened as he looked at his broken sword.
"Wind Stance."
Naruto's voice spoke from behind Fu as he quickly turned around while the blonde was cutting through the air toward him with his katana in his hands, "Great Divide!" the blonde yelled as he cut through the air right in front of Fu that created a wind explosion that launched the orange haired teen into a tree that fell down as soon as he slammed against it.
Fu hit the ground roughly while he stared toward Naruto in disbelief, "What the hell?" Fu asked while the blonde glared at him.
"You ready for a re-match?"
Naruto asked while Fu growled before he got back up to his feet, "Water-" the orange haired young man was cut off by the blonde who kicked his hands separating them from finishing the hand signs before another kick cloaked with wind blasted him through several trees.
Fu quickly recovered again while he panted heavily and watched Naruto move through the debris of destroyed trees, "Look who decided to grace us with his presence." the deep voice of the Nine Tails spoke while Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Says the fox who tried to steal my body while I was out."
"...It was a test."
"Shut up."
"Heh… Welcome back brat."
The voice of the Nine Tails dissipated while Naruto glared down directly toward Fu who stared toward the blonde with a look of slight panic on his face.
"She is weak and Naruto is weaker."
Fu heard the voice of Danzo in his head while the young anbu clenched his fist, weak? If this was weak then had he really been so out of his depth? He read his profile and carefully watched him other than that time he vanished in the Land of Iron before he remerged.
Had he really changed so much?
"What's wrong? Struck a nerve?"
Naruto asked while Fu yelled getting back up to his feet, the young anbu swung a heavy punch cracking it across the blonde's face. Naruto slowly looked back toward the orange haired teen before he huffed clenching his own fist.
Tayuya watched as Fu flew back out of the trees and hit the ground roughly with roll back in the clearing this started while she watched the Anbu struggling to get back to his feet this time. Without his memories this fight was clearly to the advantage of Fu with his blade and technique he had the edge.
However, he already had his physical prowess but now that that's paired with his experience and techniques with his memories back, Naruto had made this a completely different fight within moments of coming back to his full strength.
Fu had missed his chance to win by giving Naruto time.
She knew that Naruto had changed since the last time that she saw him, but this level of change was ridiculous, even more so than when she was watching him fight without his memories. Tayuya and Fu looked toward the change in the direction of the breeze while leaves began to blow toward the approaching blonde.
Naruto was walking toward Fu with his palm open and extended, slowly chakra began to gather causing the leaves to dance around the blonde. Fu quickly formed hand signs launching water bullets at the blonde who began to run toward him.
"For a minute there I was worried, a little scared that you were right. Then I realized so what?"
The blonde spoke while he weaved through the exploding water bullets around him while he approached Fu, the orange haired young man quickly started forming a chain of hand signs causing the water around them to start to form the shape of a dragon.
"Human, demon. At the end of the day who cares. I've got a dream that I want to accomplish no matter what. A life that I wanna enjoy until the end no matter what. I'm going to do whatever I want, and no amount of name calling is going to stop me!"
Naruto yelled while Fu formed the water dragon, "Water Style: Twin Water Dragon Jutsu!" Fu yelled while the water dragon spilt into two blasting toward Naruto who now had a Rasengan that had formed in his palm, the dragons tried to slam into the blonde, but the teen jumped.
He slid across the water dragons with the Rasengan blasting through them as he did while Fu panted before he quickly made more hand signs, "I won't let my lord down!" Fu yelled while he aimed his hands toward Naruto who was sliding on the dragons.
"Mind Fragmentation Jutsu!"
Fu yelled while the wave of chakra blasted toward Naruto who flipped completely avoiding the near point blank jutsu, Fu then felt two strong kicks slam into his body causing him to stagger. "Naruto Edition: Leaf Hurricane!" the blonde yelled while the orange haired teen watched as the blonde was directly in front of him slamming his palm into his body.
"Rasengan!"
The blonde yelled while the technique exploded against Fu shaking the leaves of the forest before it launched Fu clear through a large portion of the forest, Naruto looked out toward where he blasted Fu walking toward that direction.
Fu coughed surrounded by splintered wood while he watched Naruto approaching him again, "Do it then, kill me. Finish it." the teen coughed while Naruto looked down at the orange haired teen with an unreadable expression.
"No."
The blonde said as he pulled Fu to his feet before pushing the orange haired boy, "No? What do you mean no? Don't taunt me, Demon." the orange haired teen spat at Naruto who sighed.
"Look, just go. I don't have to kill you, so I won't. It's as simple as that. Hopefully you'll think twice before coming after me like that again."
The blonde-haired teen said while Fu gritted his teeth, "I refuse your mercy! I'll fight till my last breath!" Fu yelled while Naruto punched him, knocking the wind out of him. The orange haired teen wheezed and struggled to take a single breath.
"Last breath, right? Now go. Oh, and tell your boss Danzo if he wants me or the Nine Tails so badly… Tell him to fight me himself."
Naruto said while Fu coughed again looking toward the icy blue eyes of the blonde before he backed away, he jumped backward before dashing off. The blonde watched him retreat before he took a breath and turned around toward the clearing. Tayuya meanwhile marveled at the amount of damage the fight between the two ninja caused while one of those two ninja approached her, the one with the ice blue glare that he gave to all of his enemies.
It was an odd feeling.
On one hand she felt almost scared of the blonde boy, she had been traveling with him for the last several days and had gotten to know his more oblivious state without his memory where he was bright if not extremely dumb at times.
A comforting space where she could let her guard down even for a little while without judgment or disappointment, but now he was a full-fledged ninja again, one who has experienced the world and will remember her for what she did to his friend.
On the other hand, she felt relieved that he won, that he managed to pull out a victory against the thing that had haunted him and got his memory back allowing him to be a whole person again instead of just scattered memories that made him fearful.
She was also relieved that her executioner was someone who would get the job done and she knew he would.
Naruto was now standing in front of Tayuya who huffed, "Well Shithead. Long time no see. You know what you gotta do. You know who I am. You… or at least you with no memory told me to run. I won't. I know what I've done and so do you. I embraced my fate a while ago, but I didn't hate these last few days. So go ahead, make my day." Tayuya said while she looked away from Naruto's face as his hand lifted.
Though if she was allowed to have even one teeny tiny regret in her short miserable life.
The image of the grin that Naruto gave her multiple times in their short time together as they ran in the field or picked out clothes, even running from the Yakuza appeared in her head as she sighed.
She wished she could see it one last time.
She felt a hand touch the top of her head causing her to flinch, but pain never came, instead a gentle hand rested on her hair while she slowly looked up. Tayuya's eyes widened as she saw that classic Naruto grin on the boy's face as he looked at her.
"Nah…"
Naruto spoke while the girl continued to look toward him in shock as he continued to grin at her even as he sighed, his ice blue glare was now a gentle warm ocean blue that she usually saw.
"I remember you."