If you got a noti, I fixed my paragraphing and that's all. It's finally my school break, so the chapters are back. Next chapter coming soon! Sry for the long waiting times.
Heads up: Writing abt feelings is definitely not my strong point. Never has been since I was young. If you have suggestions on how to improve, they're always welcomed.
Anything related to Naruto and its universe is not owned by me. This is merely a fanfic. Disclaimer*
"ARGH! WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME!" Naruto shouted in pain as he held his head. It felt like he was burning from the inside while he was being pricked by a thousand needles from the outside.
"Kill. Hate. Death. RAGE. FEEL THEM!" A dark ominous voice rang.
Naruto could feel the thumping of his heart in his head. He fell into a crouch as the pain got worse. He felt his pants get wet - there was water beneath him, he thought. However, he had not opened his eyes due to the pain.
"Accept it! You want to hate, you want to KILL. Feel them!" The voice continued.
"What no! I don't want to hate anybody. I don't wa-Argh!"
"YOU LIE!" The voice hissed. "You've been hating the villagers ever since you found out why they've shunned you. You hate your father for sealing the fox in you. You hate the looks of pity you receive. You want revenge against what they've done to you. YOU HATE!"
"No, it's not true!" Naruto retorted in a strained voice.
"Hahaha…We'll see how long you can deceive yourself…" The voice said as it disappeared with a laugh that made the hair on Naruto's neck stand. Naruto collapsed forward moments after. Instead of falling into water as he expected, he fell face first into soft green grass.
The pain had stopped. With his eyes closed, Naruto could see some of the light flowing through his eyelids. He was in a different place than before. He picked himself up with a groan and opened his eyes to finally take in his surroundings. 'This is…'
"You're finally awake…" Kurama stated as he sat on his hind legs beside Naruto. His nine tails swishing behind him as he stared off into the distance that was their mindscape.
"What happened?" Naruto asked. He looked down to see that his clothes were drenched. Yet, the closest water source was the lake in the far distance. He took a sniff of his clothes and realised in horror that it was his sweat. He was sitting in a pool of his own sweat. He had never sweated this much before, not even during training.
"You tried something that you were not ready for," Kurama said as he glanced at Naruto.
Flashbacks of what had occurred appeared in Naruto's mind. "I tried to control your chakra," Naruto said softly.
"And you failed," Kurama said coldly. "You and I may be on terms but you are yet to be worthy of my chakra. No human is."
"Worthy?"
"My chakra is filled with darkness. It is potent with every negative feeling known to men - hate, envy, rage, revenge, all of them. As long as your soul is filled with doubt, hate, anger, you will never be able to even control it. You will be overloaded by the chakra's potency and if you're not careful, you'll perish." Kurama explained.
Naruto recalled the words whispered by the dark voice. Were what it said true? Who or what was that voice? Naruto looked at the palm of his hands. They were sweaty and shaking. Was he afraid? Was that why he was shaking? Afraid of what? Questions constantly ran through his mind, one after another.
"Naruto…" Kurama's voice broke him out of his thoughts. "Stop thinking about it."
"But I-"
"I know. I can see your thoughts. Just try," Kurama said as softly as he could. "Now, sleep…" Kurama waved his paw in the air and Naruto saw nothing but black.
0
Naruto woke up in a jolt. He was breathing heavily and sweating cold sweat. "Calm down there, Naruto," Jiraiya said as he sat beside Naruto's bed. The two toad sages sat on his shoulder, looking worried for Naruto. "You've been out for quite a while."
"What happened?" Naruto asked as he drank from a glass Shima handed him.
"You don't remember?" Fukasaku enquired.
"I remember trying to control the Kyubi's chakra before everything went black," Naruto recalled as he held onto his throbbing head.
"Yeah…You went three tails and fully lost it. But the seals we set up held strong until…"
"Until…?"
"Until you sprouted a fourth tail and overloaded the seals. We managed to stop you before anything bad happened," Jiraiya said.
"Did I kill anyone?" Naruto asked anxiously.
"No. The toads were all safe," Jiraiya stated.
"I see…we shouldn't mess with the Kyubi's chakra for now," Naruto said.
"Why? This could've been a one time event. Maybe it will be better when you try again," Jiraiya suggested.
"It probably won't be a one-time event. I'm not ready for Kyubi's chakra for more than two tails," Naruto said as he stood up from his bed.
"How are you so sure?" Fukasaku asked.
"Kyubi himself said so. There's something holding me back from using the chakra and I honestly don't know what myself," Naruto said as he headed for the door of the hut.
"And you're going to believe him, Naruto-chan?" Shima asked.
Naruto's hand stopped at the handle of the door. "Yes, because if I hadn't believed in him all those years ago, I would've been dead ten times over. Sorry, Ero-sennin, I need to cool off for a second," Naruto said before leaving the toad sages.
"Do you think he would be ok, Jiraiya-chan?" Shima asked anxiously.
"Something definitely happened when he was out. But I trust in his decision," Jiraiya said as he unconsciously touched the now healed wound on his chest. "I don't think he even knows that accident happened two weeks ago," Jiraiya whispered.
0
'It was a routine mission, how did it turn out like this?' She thought as she hid behind a tree. She tried to calm herself down but it was challenging when the blood of her comrade was freshly on her clothes. She tore off a piece of her sleeve and tied it around her thigh to stop the bleeding from a cut. They were running a regular escort mission when they received heavy fire while travelling through a forest. She managed to erect an earth dome to protect her team and her client. However, none of them expected the client to backstab them.
Her clothes were stained by the blood of her comrade as the client stabbed a kunai through his heart. After that, everything was a blur. Suddenly, she found herself taking cover behind a tree with the two members of her team that still remained. Her teammates were not looking well, they were injured and she could tell that they were getting tired. She judged that they had been fighting for at least two hours from the angle of the sun.
"Oh looky what we have here…" She heard a familiar voice from above them. She looked up to see that there was nobody.
Suddenly, two teams of shinobi surrounded them. They stood no chance. They were in a confined area and were heavily outnumbered. She was knocked out after taking out her third opponent. There was simply no chance for her and her team.
Training Duration: 2 years 9 months
3 months till return to Konoha
It had been two weeks since Naruto and Jiraiya agreed to not mess with more than two tails of Kurama's chakra. Naruto was focusing most of his time on learning the Toad style taijutsu and also upgrading his jutsu arsenal. He was extremely shocked to hear that the rasengan was an incomplete jutsu and nobody had ever fuse it with elemental chakra. Since then, he had hundreds of clones experimenting on how to fuse the rasengan with either his water or wind chakra natures.
Currently, Naruto was taking a break from training with Jiraiya and Gamakichi by his side. "Man, I'm still nowhere near fusing the rasengan with a chakra nature…" Naruto groaned as he ate a banana.
"Well, I did warn you. Neither me nor your father managed to do it. Hell, even Kakashi tried and failed. If that doesn't say it's difficult then, I don't know what else is," Jiraiya said while he wrote in his book.
"Yeah, don't be too hard on yourself bro," Gamakichi added as he shot a water bullet at Naruto's face.
"Oi, what was that for!" Naruto exclaimed as he wiped his face.
"To cool off," Gamakichi said nonchalantly.
"Oh…cool off you say…" Naruto stood up from where he sat and slowly made his way to Gamakichi. "Let's see…how you cool off!" Naruto broke into a full sprint as he chased after Gamakichi around the lake they were seated nearby.
Jiraiya glanced up from his book to see Naruto chasing Gamakichi around the lake. A small smile split his face which was hidden by the book. 'At least he's back to normal. He's not letting anything from last month affect him…' he thought before he went back to his writing.
"Jiraiya-sama! Jiraiya-sama!" Before he could put pen to paper, a small messenger toad came running towards him.
"What is it, Gamayubin?" Jiraiya asked the out-of-breath toad. Gamayubin was catching his breath and gestured to the scroll that was tied to his back. He took the scroll and opened it. Naruto and Gamakichi had also come to see what the ruckus was about. Jiraiya's face turned more sour and anxious as he kept on reading further.
"What's wrong, Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked as he saw his godfather's anxious face.
"Naruto, get ready for a mission asap. We have to go," Jiraiya said as he burned the scroll and sent Gamayubin off.
"What happened?" Naruto asked as he pulled out two scrolls. One of the scrolls contained his clothes while the other contained his tools such as kunai and ninja wire. Instead of the usual jacket he wore, he wore a thicker one as it was currently the peak of winter outside of Mount Myoboku.
"One of my informers saw Kabuto in the flesh. He hasn't been seen in nearly three years. We cannot let this chance go," Jiraiya said as he and Naruto said goodbye to Gamakichi. "Where there is one snake, there is sure to be another…"
Naruto nodded in understanding. 'There might also be Sasuke…' They travelled for two minutes before arriving at a well west of their training area. It was a well which connected Mount Myoboku and the outside world. Naruto jumped into the well and found himself on the other side in no time. Jiraiya soon joined him and they made a beeline for Kabuto's last known location.
"Ero-sennin, where are we going?" Naruto asked as he jumped from tree branch to tree branch. Snow rained from the trees every time he landed on them. The forest they were in was painted white as it seemed snow had fallen heavily the previous night.
"We're heading for a mining town in the Land of Frost. It's about thirty minutes from here. My informer saw the bastard yesterday, let's hope he hasn't gotten far," Jiraiya said.
The East Well was one of five wells that connected the hidden Mount Myoboku to the outside world. As the name suggests, the wells sit at the four points of the shinobi continent with one sitting in the middle of the Land of Fire. The East Well was located near the border of the Land of Frost and the Land of Water. The wells are only open to summoners and toads. Furthermore, they could only be used by or in the presence of toad sages aka Jiraiya and toads native to Mount Myoboku.
Naruto and Jiraiya arrived at the mining town as predicted after nearly thirty minutes. They immediately headed for the tallest building in the area which was a clock tower at the end of the town. They climbed the back of the building to avoid being seen by the townspeople. They did not want to cause unnecessary panic for the locals. Seeing shinobi in their town could lead to many theories that did not have the time to entertain.
As they climbed the clock tower with chakra, Naruto observed the town below them. It was a quintessential scene where locals go to work, run shops, gossip and the like. However, one thing that threw him off was the lack of cheeriness. Usually, there would be laughter, children playing and giggling but there was none of them. The locals were talking to each other but their topic of conversations looked to bring the mood down. Furthermore, the workers did not look like they had passion or even energy to work. They're working just because they have to.
"You came quite swiftly, Jiraiya-sama," a man said as he watched over the town from the top of the clock tower. His back was facing them.
"It's an urgent issue, Nobu. Of course I would come as fast as possible," Jiraiya replied as he took a seat on the railing that prevented people from falling off the clock tower. Meanwhile, Naruto stuck to the ceiling with chakra.
"Is it wise to bring the young one here, Jiraiya-sama?" The man named Nobu asked.
"Yes," was Jiraiya's swift reply.
Nobu knew not to question Jiraiya's decision. "I saw the man you've been searching for during a snowstorm. The storm was raging heavily at night; however, I needed some firewood. So I went outside to fetch some from my storage area and happened to see a man matching your description walking through the woods," he recalled.
"How certain are you that it was him?" Jiraiya asked. "How did you know it wasn't your mind playing tricks with you at night and during a snowstorm?"
"A few weeks ago, people started to go missing from this town. We, the townspeople, tried again and again to find them but to no avail. In total, we've lost 8 locals, all varying genders, age and chakra levels." Nobu said with a straight voice. However, Naruto and Jiraiya knew that it was a facade. "Yesterday, I saw the man you call Kabuto. Coincidence?"
"I see…I'm sorry about that Nobu…"
Nobu paid no attention to Jiraiya's words and continued, "he headed north north-west of here."
"Thank you, Nobu. Let's hope he hasn't gotten far," Jiraiya said as he turned to leave.
"Oh and Jiraiya-sama," Nobu started as he turned around to meet face to face with Jiraiya. He had a scar which ran across his left cheek until his neck. He had brown eyes and a moustache. "Please, bring them back to us. Just evidence that they're no longer with us at the very least…" The pain in his voice could not be hidden.
"We will," Jiraiya said with a nod before he disappeared in a swirl of snow. Naruto gave him a two fingered salute which he acknowledged before disappearing with the wind.
As soon as they left the mining town, Naruto created a hundred shadow clones. The clones spread out and widened their search area. After searching several promising areas, they chanced upon a cave near the edge of the forest. The cave was part of the mountains that covered the horizon.
"I sense two chakra signatures near the entrance of the cave," Naruto informed Jiraiya as they perched on trees near the cave.
"How about deeper inside of it?" Jiraiya asked.
"It's a blurred area. I can't sense anything inside it," Naruto replied. "Might be seals that hide their chakra or might be nothing at all."
"It's worth the shot. You take left, I take right," Jiraiya said. Naruto nodded in agreement before they disappeared in a blur.
Naruto was on the ceiling of the cave, right above the man who was at the cave entrance. The two were chitchatting when Naruto and Jiraiya dropped behind their respective targets and knocked them out - Jiraiya via a chop to the neck while Naruto used the blunt of his kunai to hit him on the back of his head. 'Let's see…' Naruto searched the now knocked out man and found a weapons pouch strapped to his leg.
"They're definitely shinobi," Naruto said, to which Jiraiya agreed. Jiraiya used ninja wire Naruto brought and tied the two men together. 'Now to go deeper…' They both thought as they silently travelled in the cave. Jiraiya had used a fire jutsu to create a torch. The cave was curvy and cramp for several minutes before it started to slowly open up. Soon, the rocky walls of the cave turned into smooth stone and torches started to light the cave up.
'Get…Ready…' Jiraiya used Anbu hand signs to communicate with Naruto. Doors to multiple rooms lined the walls that surrounded them. Naruto could sense that the rooms were empty and not worth checking. They eventually reached a fork at the end of the empty hallway. 'Too..Quiet…Careful…I… Go…Right' Jiraiya signed. Naruto nodded in acknowledgment and took the left path.
With Jiraiya
Jiraiya's face scrunched up in disgust and anger at the scene in front of him. Bars of steel lined the sides as they held several people within them. The smell of faeces was strong and the prisoners were built like sticks. They were shivering and looked at Jiraiya with a rare ray of hope. 'They must be the missing people Nobu told us about,' Jiraiya thought as he inspected the bars. 'I can get through these easily…'
His attention was pulled to the clitter clatter of sandals from the hallway across from him. Jiraiya placed a finger on his lips to ask the prisoners for silence as he jumped onto the ceiling and stuck to it. He crawled across it like a toad and was eventually above two Oto-nin.
"Ha, did you see her face?"
"I know right. She was- Toshi, where are you?"
"You'll find out soon enough…" Jiraiya whispered from behind the Oto-nin before his neck was snapped just like his friend. Jiraiya searched for the two men and found the keys to the cells of the prison. He created a shadow clone to free the prisoners and take them out while he continued on deeper into the base.
The hallway led to a slightly opened door. White light that contrasted vividly with the base's dark interior escaped from a crack in the door. Jiraiya approached the door swiftly and quietly. He pushed open the door and was met by a large laboratory. Water silos ran across one side of the lab while hospital beds lined the opposite wall. At the centre of the lab was a surgical table with the master of the laboratory to accompany it.
"Welcome to my humble abode, Jiraiya-sama," Kabuto said snarkily.
"Kabuto…" Jiraiya spat his name out in disgust. "I finally found you, you son of a bitch…" Jiraiya did not waste time as the lab walls were replaced with the oesophagus of a toad.
"Scared I would run away, Jiraiya-sama?" Kabuto asked as he pushed his glasses further up his face.
"Measures, that's all. Now tell me about your plans with Orochimaru. You're in no position to refuse," Jiraiya demanded as Kabuto's leg was swallowed by the toad's flesh.
"Oh but I am…" Kabuto said smugly.
"I would be worried if I was you. No snake daddy to get you out of this mess. So answer my fucking questions!"
"Don't insult Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto retorted. "Besides, I'm not the one you should be worried about." The knowing smile on his face made Jiraiya uncomfortable.
"What are you talking about?" Jiraiya asked.
"Hmm…should I tell you?" Kabuto was met with cold steel to his neck.
"Tell me or else…" Jiraiya threatened as he tightened the grip on his kunai.
"Or else what Jiraiya-sama? Kill me?" Kabuto moved himself closer to the kunai, drawing blood. "I just have to say one thing…Nobu was right, should you have brought the young one?" Jiraiya's eyes widened in shock before Kabuto exploded in a puff of smoke.
'No, Naruto!' Jiraiya thought as he immediately stopped his jutsu and sprinted to Naruto.
With Naruto
Naruto was on the ceiling as he walked through a hall of rooms. After accidentally triggering several floor traps and nearly getting turned into minced meat, he decided it was safer to travel on the ceiling. 'There's a lot of rooms for very few people…' Naruto thought as he passed by the 27th room he had seen - he had been counting them.
At the end of the hallway, he came to another fork. He decided to follow on through the left while he sent a clone to the right. The hallway led to a sliding metal door which was locked. 'Interesting…let's open this can of worms,' Naruto thought as chakra started swirling in his palm. BOOM! The rasengan easily blew a hole through the metal door. Light poured out of the hole as Naruto slowly stepped through it.
"Well…well…well. Look who decided to show up," a familiar voice said. Naruto's eyes widened as he found the face that matched the voice. The man sat in a dark area of the room as a shadow covered everything but his face. "You look like you've seen a ghost. A little surprised, are you?"
"So this is where you crawled to…" Naruto said as he unsheathed Arashi which was by his hip.
"How original…Another sword strike to the back? Look at how well that went," Geto said as he gestured to himself. "I'm… still…standing" he sang.
"We'll see how long you're standing for once I stab you through the heart," Naruto said as he prepared to pounce.
"Oh ho ho, how scary," Geto mocked as he pulled something or rather someone from behind him. "But if you do that…" Geto licked his lips as he placed a kunai at the neck of his hostage.
Naruto's heart skipped a beat as he unconsciously lowered his sword. "Kurotsuchi?" He squeaked, his throat feeling dry all of a sudden. His eyes met pink ones, and he could see the look of pain behind them. She had bruises and cuts on her face and all over her body. Her clothes were in tatters and her arms were tied behind her back with her mouth taped shut. He continued to observe the two until he realised…
"Ha ha, I see you've spotted my new favourite toy," Geto said as he patted the chakra restraining device placed on Kurotsuchi's stomach. It looked different from the one that had been used against him a few years back. He could also see the glows of seals imprinted on it.
"What do you want, Geto?" Naruto asked as he gritted his teeth.
"Oh are you getting angry…" Geto mocked playfully.
"I said…What do you want!?" Red slitted eyes stared back at Geto with anger. Naruto was gripping his sword so hard that it started to shake.
"I want revenge…Revenge for my brother who you killed," Geto said as he took out Akaji's cleaver. "I will make you suffer! I will ruin you like how you've ruined me!" Geto placed the cleaver near Kurotsuchi's neck.
"If that's what you want, kill me. Not her! She didn't kill him." Naruto started to channel Kurama's chakra, which was leaking out to Arashi. It was a method he, Jiraiya and the toad sages came up with. It allowed him to control Kurama's chakra with more finesse and also prevent him from overloading with chakra too quickly.
"I could kill you," Geto said as he pointed the cleaver towards Naruto. "BUT, I want to make you suffer! Dying would be too easy." Geto's attention was pulled towards something behind Naruto before he went back to the teen. "Mark my words…You will know despair…It may not be now but it will come…"
Geto kicked Kurotsuchi in the back towards Naruto. Naruto dropped his sword and immediately caught her while a clone picked up his sword and rushed towards Geto. The clone tried to slice Geto in half but he only made contact with the wall behind him. Geto disappeared in a burst of lightning which caused the clone to dispel.
"No no no…Kurotsuchi-chan," Naruto said softly as he checked over her injuries. He peeled off the tape on her mouth and untied her binds.
"Naruto…" Her voice raspy as blood trailed from her mouth.
"Shh…Don't talk…You're going to be okay," Naruto said with a painful smile. 'She's lost a lot of her chakra. If she loses too much she'll die…' Naruto went through several hand seals and slammed his hand on the floor. A seal array appeared before a toad was summoned. "Gamaspeed, I need you to tell one of the toad sages to reverse summon us at the North Well immediately! It's an emergency!" Naruto ordered. Gamaspeed nodded and disappeared back to Mount Myoboku.
"Naruto! What happened?!" Jiraiya shouted as he barged through the already broken doors.
Naruto held the unconscious Kurotsuchi close to his chest as he carried her bridal style. "I'll explain later," Naruto said before he and Jiraiya disappeared in a puff of smoke.
North Well
The cold winds of winter greatly contrasted with the warmth of the underground base. Naruto wrapped his jacket around Kurotsuchi and held her closer to him. He could feel her pulse getting weaker and weaker. "Thank you, Fukasaku-jichan. I'll explain more about what happened later," Naruto said to the toad sage as he leaped for the trees.
He felt Jiraiya's stare on him as they travelled through the forest which was blanketed in white. He sighed as he increased his speed. "Naruto, where are we even?" Jiraiya asked.
"We…I-I need you to trust me, Ero-sennin. Things will be made clearer once we reach where we're going," Naruto said as he sensed several chakra signatures surrounding him and Jiraiya. Jiraiya did not fail to notice them too. "Don't," Naruto stopped Jiraiya from pulling out a weapon. A shinobi wearing nearly full white with only his eyes visible through a mask dropped down near their level.
"State your identities and your reasons for coming here, else face the consequences," he demanded in a stern voice.
"I am Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure. We've come for medical aid," Naruto stated.
Silence ran through the forest for several moments as only their footsteps were heard before the shinobi spoke again. "Welcome back to the Land of Snow, Naruto-sama," the shinobi said with a bow.
"She's slowly losing it, we need to hasten our pace," Naruto said as the shinobi nodded in understanding before disappearing into the trees. Naruto turned towards a confused and shocked Jiraiya. "Everything will be made clear when we reach. Come on," Naruto said as he released his resistance seals. He held onto Kurotsuchi tighter before he was gone in a blur. The snow-nin were appalled at the speed Naruto went. They could barely catch up with Jiraiya who was finding it difficult to catch up with Naruto.
'These seals are annoying as fuck,' Naruto thought as he tried to work out the seals imprinted on the chakra restraining device. Unless he released the seals, the device could be removed. He couldn't overload the device as the device had multiple storage seals to store chakra. It would take a very long time before it was overloaded. 'They definitely upgraded it after testing it on me…'
As soon as Naruto stepped inside the capital of the Land of Snow, he sprinted to the hospital. At the entrance of the hospital, a medical team was already waiting for him. "How long has she been out?" One of them asked as they started an IV drip and prepared for a chakra transfusion.
"Nearly half an hour," Naruto said as he followed them to the emergency room.
"Hey, only medical staff are allowed in the emergency room," one of the nurses said.
"I know but you need me to take off that device. There are seals on it which only I can break," Naruto explained.
"That's bad. We need that chakra infusion stat!" Shouted the head doctor. "Do it quickly. We need to stop that device as soon as possible."
Naruto stood by Kurotsuchi's side as he went through several hand seals. A nurse started using the Shosen Jutsu (Mystical Palm Jutsu) on Kurotsuchi's stomach area while Naruto worked through the seals. There was one main seal that caused a lot of problems for those taking off the device. It was the bind seal which permanently binds the device to the wearer. If someone was to forcefully remove the device, it would burn both the wearer and the one attempting to take it off.
'Come on, please work…' Naruto went through a set of seven hand seals before placing his palm above the bind seal. The seals started to glow and so did Naruto's palm. With one hand, Naruto did half a ram seal while the other spun counterclockwise above the seal. "Fuin: Kai!" The seal started to glow even brighter before it died down.
Naruto was sweating profusely as he looked at the medical and gave them the go ahead. "Good job, we'll take over from here," the head doctor said as he pushed Naruto out of the room. Naruto sat down on the floor in a heap. He rested against the wall behind him and calmed down his breathing. He had been running non-stop and had to take care of a troublesome seal immediately after.
"Here, take some of this," Jiraiya said as he handed Naruto a bottle of water. Naruto thanked him and chugged down the entire bottle.
"I think I have some explaining to do…" Naruto said as he gestured for Jiraiya to follow him out of the hospital. He did what he could with Kurotsuchi, he'll let the professionals handle the rest. He unsealed a winter jacket from his storage scroll before heading out into the winter wonderland that was the Land of Snow.
Naruto and Jiraiya were walking through a park close to the hospital. Snow was falling and children were laughing and enjoying the winter season. Families were strolling through the park as their giggles filled the atmosphere. However, it couldn't be more opposite than the feelings that were occurring within Naruto. "Argh! It shouldn't have happened!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs as he punched a tree that was beside him. The tree splintered and everyone's gaze fell onto him.
Naruto paid them no attention and continued letting his bottled up feelings. "If I hadn't…If only I…" he muttered as he leaned against the tree and rested his head on his forearm. "She…she shouldn't have been hurt…". Flashes of Kurotsuchi's limped body in his arms entered his mind. "Hate…Revenge…" the words of the mysterious whisper played in his head. "Fuck…" he cursed under his breath.
"Hey, hey Gaki. Calm down…come on, tell me from the start," Jiriaya said as he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Jiraiya dragged Naruto to a bench nearby and sat him down.
Naruto told Jiraiya everything, from their meeting in the Land of Iron until their last meeting in Toki. Jiraiya was stunned, speechless even. He had never seen Naruto so vulnerable, so exposed. 'The way he speaks of her, it's more than a friendship to him. But does he know that?'
"I-I had him. I fucking had him, Ero-sennin. I felt the resistance of his flesh on my blade. I felt his blood splatter on my clothes. Yet…" Naruto said as he stared at the palm of his hands.
"Ero-sennin, how do we not hate?" The question caught Jiraiya off guard. "When I first met Geto, I was acting because of my mission and to save the townspeople. But now…No matter how I try to think of the higher path, I just find it so difficult. If I see Geto and I kill him, will I be doing it for my village? For others? Or are those just weak excuses for my own revenge? I-I don't know what to do?"
Silence ran between them as Jiraiya took the time to think of an answer. "It's not a secret that I love Tsunade for basically all my life. However, once and only have I ever fallen for another woman," Jiraiya started as a sad smile came upon his face. Naruto listened intently to his godfather's story. "It was during the third war. I was deployed to the same front as her. She was beautiful, as beautiful as Tsunade, maybe even more. At one point, we were flanked by Kirigakure shinobi. As a result, our platoon suffered a heavy loss and we were chased by them for days. We were separated from our platoon as another Kiri squad attacked us with an ambush. We fought tooth and nail, just the two of us. And in that harsh environment, love blossomed."
"How long were you together for?" Naruto asked.
"For about three months. One day I found out that I was being redeployed to another front. We promised each other that once the war ended, we would meet up again. She…she never returned home. I was furious, I tracked down the Kiri platoon that attacked hers and killed every single one of them…"
Naruto's eyes widened at Jiraiya's confession. "You killed them?"
"Yeah…" Jiraiya sadly agreed. "I killed them all and at the end of it I sat in the middle of their camp and cried. I cried and cried. I realised what I had just done. All those shinobi whose lives I ended, they could have had a family. They all perished for the revenge of one person. Fifty people for the price of one."
"What happened then?"
"The following months were the harshest months of my life. My two best friends had left the village, my lover had died and I had committed an atrocity. I felt hollow, empty. It was the reason why I ended up leaving the village after Sarutobi-sensei announced Minato as the next Hokage. I needed to clean my hands and lose the hollow feeling I had." Jiraya had a faraway gaze as he recalled his past. "Life is unpredictable, Gaki. There are points where you're given a choice and others where you don't have one. It's up to you to make the right choices."
Naruto stared at the ground as he contemplated Jiraiya's words. He looked towards Jiraiya as he felt him wrap an arm around his shoulders. "You're going to be just fine, Naruto. I believe that you would make your own right path and maybe change the world one day. If your relationship with this Kurotsuchi girl goes any further, please tell Tsunade. She's the Hokage but she has a soft spot for you. In your own words, she is your Baa-chan. She will understand you," Jiraiya said with a smile.
Naruto chuckled slightly. "I never thought I would hear you call her Baa-chan. Thank you, Jiraiya-kyofu," Naruto said as he gave him a hug. A manly, father to son type hug.
"Hehe, you're welcome, Naruto." Jiraiya smiled at the name he used. For once he wasn't called a pervert.
Light seeped through her eyelids as they flickered. Kurotsuchi woke up to the view of a white ceiling and the smell of sterilisation chemicals. 'A hospital,' she instantly thought. Her body felt tender and sore while her throat felt dry. She tried to move but realised a heavy weight on her left arm. She looked down to realise a mop of blonde hair snoozing on her arm.
"He refused to leave your side, you know." Her attention was turned to the only other occupant of the room. A lady wearing a pink beautiful kimono, with nicely bunned hair and a cup of tea in her hand. "I tried to convince him to sleep somewhere proper but he just wouldn't," she said with a shake of her head.
"Who are you?" Kurotsuchi asked, her voice raspy.
The lady placed her cup on a coffee table before moving towards Kurotsuchi's bed. Her footsteps were silent and graceful, while she held herself up high yet seemed approachable and humble. "You can call me, Koyuki," she said with a smile as she went to Kurotsuchi's bedside table and poured a glass of water. "Here, I'm sure you're thirsty," she said as she handed her the glass. Kurotsuchi accepted the cup and thanked her as Koyuki went back to her seat.
"Better?" Koyuki asked. Kurotsuchi nodded in affirmative. "Are you still in severe pain or feel like you're going to faint?"
"My body still feels sore but it's nothing severe," Kurotsuchi replied.
"That's wonderful. Considering the amount of chakra you lost, I would say there are much worse things than some soreness. But I would still have the doctors check on you later," Koyuki said as she took a sip of her tea.
"You're not a doctor?" Kurotsuchi asked as she tilted her head in confusion.
"Oh no no, far from it. Hahaha did I feel like a doctor?" Koyuki asked with a chuckle.
"Well yeah…then who are you?"
"Hmm…I'm an actor at heart, I guess…" Koyuki said after much thought. "The only reason I'm here is because of the knucklehead. Trouble always finds him," she said with a smile as she shook her head.
'Naruto? Is she his sister? She doesn't look anything like him…' Kurotsuchi thought as she gazed at the blonde. She touched his hair and was surprised to find that it was quite smooth for how messy it looked.
"You must be very precious to him," Koyuki said, breaking Kurotsuchi from her thoughts. "Naruto once told me, he dreams of being someone who protects those precious to him and he will stop at nothing to achieve that." Koyuki smiled as memories of their time in jail together flooded her mind. It was quite a surreal time, fighting for her land and for her throne.
Koyuki looked up from her cup of tea and gazed into Kurotsuchi's eyes. "Treasure him…I hope you cherish him as much as he cherishes you." Koyuki grinned at her before standing up. "I'll leave you two alone. Enjoy," she said with a wink over her shoulders before she left the room.
Kurotsuchi noticed out of the corner of her eyes, several shadows leaving the room to follow her. 'Who is she?' She thought as she continued to stare at the door Koyuki went through.
"Damn, she has quite a protective side to her, eh?" Naruto said, shocking Kurotsuchi.
"Argh! Since when were you awake?!" Kurotsuchi exclaimed.
"I've been awake for a while. I knew if I moved, I would interrupt the conversation," Naruto said as he stood up and headed for the room's pantry. Seeing the kettle filled with hot water, he prepared some tea for the two of them. They had a long conversation ahead.
"I'm glad, you're feeling better. You gave me quite a scare," Naruto said as he placed the tea bags in two cups. He was making tea grown freshly in the Land of Snow. With the heaters that Koyuki's late father left behind, they managed to regulate the temperature of the land. It gave them a chance to experience all four seasons. In addition, it gave them the chance to grow tea which was gaining in popularity.
He created two clones who moved the coffee table closer to Kurotsuchi's bed and placed the chair he slept in across from her. Naruto placed the cups on the table and sat across from her. Naruto rested his arms on his knees as he watched Kurotsuchi take a sip. He took in every feature of her - her face, her smile, her eyes, her hair, everything. It reminded him how lucky he was not to lose her. Several minutes late and she could've been gone forever. "Revenge…Ha-" 'No… Get out of my head…' Naruto shook off the whispered voice as Kurotsuchi called for him.
"Naruto. Hey, Naruto?" Kurotsuchi called as she snapped in front of him to gain his attention. "Hey, you spaced out there. Are you ok?"
"Huh? Oh sorry, I was just lost in my thoughts," Naruto replied as he rubbed the back of his neck. "What did you say?"
"I wanted to say thank you. Without you, I probably wouldn't be here," she said as she stared at the tea in her hands.
"But, it was my fault for putting you in this position in the first place," Naruto said with a sigh.
"You're not talking about Geto are you?"
"I had him, Kurotsuchi. He was my fight in Toki, and I messed up. Now, look what he's done," Naruto said as he clenched his fist. "He's teamed up with Orochimaru and who knows what they'll do. I-its all my-Ow!"
Kurotsuchi's fist smacked into the top of Naruto's head. "It's not your fault, ok? Don't be stupid. Nobody can predict the future. It's also my fault for getting captured in the first place," she said as she recalled what had occured. "I was not strong enough. I wasn't strong enough to lead my team, I wasn't strong enough to defend them and eventually…I'm the only one left. We weren't close but they're still my comrades." It was her first failure. 'And will be my last…' she thought determinedly.
"What happened that led to your capture?" Naruto asked.
"It was a regular escort mission when the client turned on us and we were ambushed by those Oto-nin. My team and I fought tooth and nail but were just overpowered and outnumbered. In the end, I was knocked out and brought to the Oto base. I was kept in a cell for several days before Geto pulled me out and put that device on me. That's when you found me," she explained.
'That bastard was waiting for me. He knew we were coming,' Naruto thought through gritted teeth which were hidden behind his tea cup.
"Naruto?"
"Hmm?"
"Why did you save me?" She asked as she gazed into his azure blues. "Why? Why save me, someone from a different village? Why go through the trouble for someone you've met only on occasion? Why? You could've left me and ended Geto."
Naruto was stunned by the question. Did he need a reason to save a friend? "You're my friend, of course I'd save you. I run a thousand miles for any friend, especially you. All my friends and family are precious to me and I would do anything for them. Even if you are from another village, hell even another world. I would need no more than two words to help them."
'It's true what Koyuki said…' "Am I only a friend?" If the last question stunned him, then this one left him absolutely bewildered and froze his mind. So, he did the only thing he could, he tilted his head slightly to the side. He noticed that Kurotsuchi's cheeks were slightly rosy and that she could no longer hold his gaze.
'Oh my…This dense fucker,' Kurama thought with a head shake. 'Oi! For the amount of romance books you read, you're still dense when it comes to women,' Naruto could hear Kurama say from the back of his head.
'I know what she means, but I don't know how to respond,' Naruto swore he heard Kurama facepalm himself.
"Do you want to be only friends? Because, I'm good either way. We can-Mmph" Naruto's head exploded in ecstasy as Kurotsuchi's soft lips met his. All the anger he had against Geto for the past few days was replaced with bliss in one move.
Kurotsuchi separated from him and had very red cheeks. "That was to say thank you," she said with a smile. "I couldn't stop thinking of you since our last meeting and no matter how much I tried, I could never get rid of you from my head."
"I guess that makes two of us. I never thought of someone like this before - more than a friend. Yet like they say, there's a first time for everything," he said with a grin which Kurotsuchi matched.
"To more than friends?" Kurotsuchi asked as she extended her hand towards him.
"To more than friends." Naruto took Kurotsuchi's hand and gave her a kiss on the back of her hand. Wide grins never leaving their faces.
Two Days Later
Naruto, Koyuki and Jiraiya stood amongst several other men and women in white coats. They observed the device that was present on a table they surrounded. "After comparing this device to our past records, we can safely say that it's a much improved version," the head researcher read from his clipboard. "Koyuki-sama, the base design is nearly identical to our original prototypes and were heavily modified to never stop sucking out chakra. There was also the case with the seals Naruto-sama had removed. Jiraiya-sama had checked over it and found that it was definitely the work of Orochimaru or one of his lackeys who is excellent at fuinjutsu."
"How did he get the designs? We keep all of our technology on lock," Koyuki wondered aloud.
"When was the chakra restraining device first made?" Naruto asked.
"The project was started by the former ruler several years before Koyuki-sama's return. According to records…" The head researcher paused and searched through his notes. "It was completed around five months before Koyuki-sama retook her throne. It was used on several people who were deemed prisoners at that time and was successful until Naruto-sama broke it."
"That leaves a lot of time…" Naruto started.
"A lot of time for Orochimaru to steal the plans or maybe even buy it from Doto," Jiraiya finished.
"I wouldn't be surprised if my uncle did that. Then, when Orochimaru got his hands on the plans, he modified it to be even more dangerous. There might be a reason we've only found the device now," Koyuki said with disgust.
"Kurotsuchi-chan was the only one who lived through it…" Naruto realised.
"Definitely not a pretty thought," Jiraiya commented, to which everyone agreed.
"I think that would be all, Sando-san. You and your team should take a day off for your hard work," Koyuki stated before she turned around and left the laboratory with Naruto and Jiraiya not far behind. The cold winter breeze hit them like a brick as soon as they left the warm laboratory. Koyuki pulled her coat closer to her body while Naruto had a scarf wrapped around his neck.
The citizens of Snow waved happily as their Queen passed by. Koyuki signed autographs for the children who ran up to her. It was the opposite of what Naruto saw when he first came to the snowy land.
"What happened to Nobu?" Naruto asked Jiraiya as the group stopped for Koyuki who was talking to a shop owner.
"Happy. He didn't know Kabuto was eavesdropping and he's clean. So he's happy with his family now," Jiraiya said.
"That's good to hear," Naruto simply said with a smile.
They made it to the royal palace not long after and headed for Koyuki's office. Outside the office was Kurotsuchi who had been discharged from the hospital. Kurotsuchi greeted Koyuki, Jiraiya and Naruto with a hug, wave and kiss to the cheek respectively. Her shinobi clothes had been destroyed and as such, Koyuki insisted on bringing her shopping for clothes, especially for winter wear.
Koyuki sat behind a wooden table that was smaller than the Hokage's while the others sat in three out of four other chairs in the office. The office was slightly bigger than the Hokage's yet the table Koyuki sat behind was smaller. There was a large window that stretched the whole wall behind her, while there were paintings of the previous kings and queens on the office walls - with Doto's missing of course.
"I had a bigger table but it was a hassle to keep on reaching for things at the end of the table, so I got a smaller one," Koyuki said as she looked through a stack of papers.
Jiraiya snorted in amusement. "I'm sure other Daimyō's might not even bother having an office. Some might even do work in bed."
"You know…now that you've mentioned it, Koyuki is the Daimyō of the Land of Snow. Huh, I never thought of it like that," Naruto said.
"Maybe because you're the only person who is on a first name basis with a Daimyo? And Koyuki-sama also does not look like any of those wrinkly old Daimyōs we're used to. She's too beautiful to be compared to them," Kurotsuchi pointed out.
"Thank you," Koyuki said, flattered by Kurotsuchi's subtle compliment. "You're probably right in that aspect. We see each other as siblings or close friends, rather than Daimyō and Shinobi like most do." Naruto nodded in agreement.
"Anyways, on to business. Here," Koyuki handed Jiraiya and Kurotsuchi a scroll each. "Inside the scroll, is data for the chakra restraining or rather the chakra sucking device. Give that to the Hokage, will you? I can't risk the data being intercepted while travelling by hawks. For Kurotsuchi, that scroll is for the Tsuchikage. I'm friends with you but at the end of the day, business opportunities don't come by often," she explained.
"It's fine, Koyuki-sama. Maybe we could use this to build better relationships between the Land of Snow and Iwa," Kurotsuchi said with a smile.
"Yeah, I will give this to Tsunade-hime through the toads," Jiraiya said as he stuffed the scroll in his bag.
"Thank you," Koyuki said as she bowed. The three bowed back in return. "Although our meeting was definitely not by choice, it has been a wonderful past few days. It's nice to meet you, Kurotsuchi, Jiraiya-sama. Oh and Naruto, next time come here without any emergencies."
"Can't guarantee that," Naruto replied with a smirk.
"My gates are always open," Koyuki said with a smile before she escorted them to the capital's main gate. At the main gate, they said their goodbyes and were off to
the land of waterfall - the land in between the Land of Earth and Land of Fire.
Three days later
The trio arrived near the border of the Land of Earth. "I guess this is where we part," Naruto said sadly. Jiraiya stayed as a look out while the two teens had a private conversation.
"Yeah…But I look forward to seeing you whenever I can. Next time when we meet again, I will get stronger," Kurotsuchi said as she pulled Naruto in for a hug. "Take care. Naruto-kun, thank you," she whispered in his ear.
"You don't have to thank me. Having you alive is thankful enough. Stay safe," Naruto said as he hugged her tighter. After a while, Kurotsuchi gave him a kiss before pulling away.
"Thank you too, Jiraiya-sama," Kurotsuchi thanked with a wave. Jiraiya, who was in the trees , waved back. "I'll see you soon, Naruto," she said with a wink before her figure became smaller and smaller in the distance.
"You've really fallen hard, haven't you?" Jiraiya asked as he stood behind Naruto.
"I have, haven't I?" Naruto whispered to himself as he observed Kurotsuchi's disappearing figure in the distance. 'I will do anything to protect her…' he thought as he and Jiraiya disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
Thanks for reading. Shippuden coming next!
