The Kami and Yami no shinobi

After the battle at the valley of the end

A blond boy laid, silent and unmoving in a bed. He could move, he just chose not too, too tired and too sick and done with all the bullshit.

Sasuke has beaten him like he always did, and he hated it. He wanted Sasuke back so bad because…

No reason really. Not because he was their rival or because they liked each other or because their fights were fun and their conflict important. It was for no reason at all really.

He hated him, didn't he? Always did, since academy. He could tell from the sneers and superiority, all because he was "an Uchiha". That is why he hated Naruto, because Sasuke was born to a big family in a big house and a large world and so many to love him, and Naruto was just so different. Sasuke even hated him after he lost everything, no family and no love, and only loneliness. Hell, Naruto could say in that way they were alike. The only thing they still had was hate.

But the hate was mutual. Sasuke lorded his strength over him in the academy by simply leaving without looking back after a duel, by dismissing the fangirls he loved so much. He was obsessed with Naruto! He had to have been to dismiss that much. Naruto knew he only dismissed what he had because the blond wanted it so. Sasuke had everything, talent, fame, love, and the jinjuriki didn't even know why people hated him.

The boy, blond hair as a tuft, found himself scowling, trapped in his mind.

Then his sensei entered the room. His face, even obscured, looked grim.

"Naruto, are you ok-" But before he could finish his student yelled back.

"Pack it bastard!" Naruto barked; his blue eyes narrowing in anger at his teacher. The veteran ninja looked surprised. He couldn't even understand what was happening with his student.

"You did this." Naruto said, pointing to the barely healing wound on his chest, a vicious sneer marring his whiskered face.

"You taught Sasuke, the traitor, how to use the jutsu that caused this wound. You taught him an assassination technique and he used it on a damned friend. This is what not training me gave you, a big hole carved into me!"

The boy was furious, but Kakashi didn't look like he was going to fight back, just looked remiss and damaged, near dead not in body but mind.

"What was it? You hated me? You wanted me dead? You wanted me to get killed by that piece of shit Uchiha so you didn't have to deal with me?"

Because then it would make sense to the Uzumaki. Nobody ever failed to make him the fool and use him however they wanted. Kakashi would just be another on a long list of insane bastards dedicated to ruining his life.

Kakashi, on the verge of breaking slammed his fist into the wall.

"No, I never knew! I want you to be safe Naruto, I couldn't ever- I made a mistake and I am sorry but-"

"But what? You should have given me that technique, made Sasuke forfeit, and I would have beaten Garaa, like I did anyway! And Sasuke would be here, and you would be an actual good sensei! But you never were, and never could be."

"I don't want to see you hurt. I promise."

Naruto scoffed.

"Yeah right, you're just like everyone else, driving me away from kids and looking at me scared. You just didn't want me to explode, I see it in your eyes, the only thing you see is something with 9 damn tails!"

"I see your father damn you!"

Silence fell. For seconds. Then a small voice picked up.

"My father? You knew my father? And you never told me? Or took care of me?"

"I couldn't, I was a kid and-"

"Bullshit. Who was he?"

Kakashi stayed silent, hand covering his head, him wanting nothing to escape from that room.

"Tell me!"

He body flickered out of the room, vanishing.

And Naruto just sat there, anger and rage pouring out of every part of his body.

"Naruto, what happened?"

Sakura was standing in the frame of the door, having came in after Kakashi, only seeing an enraged Naruto and cracked wall with a hole the size of a fist.

"Shut up." Naruto commanded. He always thought he liked Sakura, but she always ignored him. All he wanted was a single date, but he was too unwashed, or uncourteous, or mean or egocentric or anything. She berated him so much, and complimented Sasuke no matter what, "Oh Sasuke you are so cute" "oh Sasuke you are so kind", bullshit like that, he couldn't fucking handle. Why wasn't that him? Why wasn't he adored?

"What? Naruto I know you just got out of something serious but don't you think that is a little rude?"

And that other thing, her desire to always be right, to always want to be a perfect princess. It is why she wants Sasuke and why she hates Naruto.

She does, doesn't she?

Of couse she does. He promised he would bring her boy a back, one she actually cared about, and he couldn't. Honestly, he wouldn't blame her for thinking he did it on purpose, he should have, but why would he even want her? He wanted love yes, a girl, (an attractive one) but Sakura was mean and obsessed. He didn't want that anymore.

Hell, he hated this whole fucking village.

"Just leave me alone."

Sakura stared at him, anger evident, until she in a huff walked away. She clearly wanted to say something, but didn't care enough.

Naruto just sat there, angry.

All his life he had been feared by the villagers, shinobi and civilian alike, because the 4th Hokage had chosen to seal the beast inside of him. And he wondered how his life would have been without it. (Parents, people caring about him, smiles and sun-)

But who cares? It could have been some other kid, yes, but then he would have been Naruto Uzumaki, right? An orphan name given to honor the lost Uzumaki clan, and a pointless descriptor of maelstroms. His name meant nothing. No history; he was blond so he couldn't even pretend to be an Uzumaki.

But he was. He was Naruto Uzumaki, and that was what mattered. Not the villagers, not Kakashi, not Sakura and definitely not Sasuke. Him. If he wanted to do something, he did it.

He was in the hospital but how many were too because of what Sasuke did? Choji, Neji, Kiba. All fought nearly to their last, for one Uchiha prick.

No, he wouldn't let that happen. He would become strong. Strong enough to kill Sasuke and stop them from ever feeling that pain again.

And if anyone tried to halt him? He would kill them. He had to. He was a ninja.

…

He said his goodbyes to his fellow Shinobi, and then left, satisfied and changed. He wanted to get stronger, strong enough to put Kakashi in the dirt and spit in the face of the people who were scared of him. He wanted them to fear him, not the beast inside.

Jiraiya taught him how to use it, but he didn't need it. It made him weak and reliant he thought, as his body faced the dirt exerting pressure push up after push up. He always stayed fit, but he didn't do it right. He didn't have a teacher to show him how to fight, but he remembered how he did against Sasuke, and so he started to invent his own style of fighting.

No mercy. Each blow would break bone or organ, even if it needed to sacrifice his own body. He kicked trees over and over again, shattered his knuckles on stone, but they healed back soon.

He practised rasengan after rasengan, until his palms bled and the area looked like a minefield after a stampede.

He spawned clone after clone, learning how their attacks worked. The best teacher is yourself he reckoned, so he taught himself. He copied the moves they would use, went through katas with them, fought them. And what he realised, in his last moments before passing out, that they learnt too, and that learning returned to me.

Jiraiya came for him, but he just stood there. Watched. Naruto didn't care. Eventually he pointed out things, got more involved, gave him jutsus and added moves to his repertoire, and he eventually said:

"Kid, your level of progress, it's fucking scary."

Naruto would have smiled to that had it been over a week ago. Now he just felt empty.

…

A boy, blond hair an easy identifier, marched out of a shop, new clothes in hand and on person.

He had made some money from missions and decided to get new clothes. Some were jackets, black and navy blue, some were combat pants, and shoes and shirts and everything. He wanted to change.

He threw his old jumpsuits out. It just didn't feel right.

And then a person came from behind him. He turned, launching the clothes in his hand into the air and spawning a clone to snatch them out the sky.

It was Ino, and she looked startled.

"Oh Naruto, sorry I startled you." She giggled, and maybe Naruto's wide open eyes did look that way.

"How have you been since the mission? None of us have seen you since."

Naruto felt like simply walking away and felt like never seeing anyone ever again, but thought better of it. He put on his old fake smile and did his old fake head scratch, and then stopped. It felt wrong.

With a sobered face and tired eyes he asked "How are they? Are they safe?"

Ino looked at him, critical. She could tell something was wrong different.

"Alive. Choji is still in surgery. I should have been there with them." Ino spoke, looking off to the side.

"Tell them I'm sorry."

Her eyes widened at that.

"Oh, uh, what for?"

"For not killing Sasuke when I had the chance."

The he body flickered away.

And Ino felt weird. She didn't know what to think of this new Naruto.

…

Jiraiya gave his student a written message, He found the kid's development a bit scary. Day by day he was looking more and more like the 3rd, older maybe, but he was also beginning to resemble Orochimaru. He knew better than to think both, but he couldn't tell you which one was wrong.

The letter was from Tsunade. It was made to announce a meeting where they would discuss where team 7 would be going in the future. Naruto had to attend.

The boy got up and left to see his team for the last time.

...

A/N: Review. That is basically it.

This is not a serious story for my regular readers, you will see why. Have a good day.

Update [25/05/2024]: Going through some of this a year later and sheesh I was kinda silly with how I wrote. The idea was to use commas to simulate thought and place yourself in Naruto's shoes but it kind of makes me look like a shit writer. I did write this in a day but these edits are here to hopefully make it less shit.