Summary: Is there something called Destiny? Was there something called hope? Was there something called fate? Naruto didn't know it, but he didn't care either. He met someone who helped him when no one else would. He would protect those who were precious to him.
"Speech."
'Think.'
Jutsu/Technique
Flashback/Events of the past
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Naruto didn't know what was going on. He remembered how he went to sleep. Now, he's standing here on the moon if he were to look at it logically. He was momentarily looking down at the earth, and he would have never thought his subconscious would invent a dream of such proportions. He knew the basic principle of dreaming, but this was just absurd.
That he was aware that he had to dream was not normal. A dream was usually like a movie that you experienced yourself. You couldn't actively do what you want. You did a specific sequence of movements and made decisions automatically.
Right now, Naruto didn't have any of those things. He could turn and do whatever he wanted. He also felt a strange power penetrating him. He didn't know exactly what it was, but something swept through Naruto that definitely wasn't normal.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto turned around quickly and automatically got into a fighting stance. When he saw an older woman with the typical eyes of the Hyūga clan, long white hair, some wrinkles on her face, and a white robe, his muscles relaxed. He didn't know exactly what it was, but when he saw this woman, he didn't feel in any danger. On the contrary, he felt completely safe.
"Who are you?"
"I have given you what is rightfully yours." The older woman pointed her finger at Naruto's face. "It's about time I finally fulfilled my last assignment."
Strangely enough, Naruto now raised his hand on his own and held it in front of his right eye. It started to hurt, which he only felt when he had his hand in front of his right eye. "Ahh, damn it! What's that?!" Naruto fell to his knees in pain. He never felt such pain.
The older woman now stood directly in front of Naruto and looked down at Naruto. "You have the blood of me and my brother in you, and that's why I was finally able to pass my power on to someone."
Naruto only heard the words, "From now on, it's up to you, Naruto Uzumaki." As those words were finished, Naruto passed out from the pain in his dream.
"AH!" Naruto snapped into a sitting position. His whole body was soaked with sweat, and he was panting heavily. His whole body was shaking, and Naruto raised both hands and instinctively grabbed the other's wrist to calm them down.
Naruto tried to calm his breathing, and after a minute, he managed it a bit. His whole body started to calm down a bit, and Naruto let out a deep sigh. He took another deep breath and tried to remember what happened to him. He's never had a situation like this in his life.
He remembered the dream, and that was the first thing that struck him. Usually, you can't remember your dream. At least, he had never remembered dreams before. Not even the nightmares where he was smaller.
Naruto's throat was dry, so Naruto stood up. He had to hold on to his dresser for a moment to keep from falling. His legs were weak; his muscles didn't seem to be fully awake yet. He frowned and shook his legs a bit.
Only now did he realize what was really bothering him. His vision was different than usual. He remembered a detail in his dream and instinctively went to the mirror. His legs suddenly seemed to be back to normal, and when Naruto looked in the mirror, his jaw almost dropped. His right eye was no longer blue. His otherwise right blue eye was shimmering white, with the pupil having a very slight hint of a very light blue tone. The sclera, which was otherwise white in every human being, was now black.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
Naruto walked a little closer to the mirror and looked closely at his right eye, which had now taken on this strange shape. He blinked briefly, and then both eyes were wide open. He could see what was going on around him, not just what was going on right now. It was as if he could move his field of view without moving his body or his eyes. He saw everything around him like a 360 view.
He put his hand in front of his eye because there was that pain from the dream again for a moment. The pain only lasted about 2 seconds, and when he took his hand away, his right eye was back to normal. Naruto just looked at himself in the mirror and stayed silent.
'Was that just? Did I really get a new strength from this woman? Her eyes were the same as Neji's or Hinata's. Is she someone related to the Hyūga clan? This weird eye looked a lot like the Byakugan, and if I try to think of it logically, I see that this eye seemed to give me the same abilities.' Naruto couldn't describe it any other way. His field of vision just matched the description he had heard from Kakashi when Neji and Hinata fought each other.
'One thing is clear: this is by no means the Byakugan. With the Byakugan, the sclera doesn't turn black, and normally, I should get these absurdly visible veins.' Naruto went into the kitchen because his throat was still dry. He took a glass and poured water into it. When he emptied the glass, he was relieved. His throat no longer filled up like a desert.
'The only question is, what kind of eye is that? I don't recognize this dōjutsu; after all, it's not a Byakugan and certainly not a Sharingan.' Naruto shook his head. He still had a lot planned for today. He still wanted to visit Lee in the hospital. Lee had nothing in contrast to Naruto himself, and yet, through his hard work, he was able to become an excellent shinobi.
Naruto himself was an Uzumaki and had the Kyūbi inside him for the most part of his life, which gave him an absurdly healing factor and, in dangerous situations, a backup plan. Lee didn't have anything like that, which made him get stronger faster. He could only use taijutsu, and even with only taijutsu, he was among the strongest shinobi in Naruto's age group.
He also wanted to go to the library and research more about the Hyūga Clan and its roots. He had some theories as to how it could be that he got this new dōjutsu. He needed more information to confirm any of these theories. So far, it's all just speculation.
Naruto went back to his room and grabbed a towel. He had to take a shower first because he was still covered in sweat.
Thirty minutes later, Naruto is on his way to the library. It was still relatively early, which meant the hospital's visiting hours hadn't even started yet. He had a good 3 hours to read through information in the library.
He used a Henge (Transformation) to avoid being recognized by the villagers. He didn't want to draw too much attention until he made an appearance in the arena tomorrow.
He had no problem walking around the village unrecognized. It was still relatively early, and even if it were noon, he wouldn't have a problem with that. One day before the finals, there was always a celebration in Konoha. Shinobi were part of it and didn't pay attention to people like Naruto. The regular villagers also had enough to do.
Naruto was now sitting in the library with some books lying around on the table. He's currently reading a book about the Hyūga Clan in general. For example, he didn't know that the Hyūga clan was divided into two parts. It seems there was a prominent family and a branch family. 'Just stupid, why would you do something like that? A family is a family. Why split up your own family?' Naruto couldn't understand something like that, and he didn't want to understand it either. For him, it was just overly stupid. Whatever the reason.
He had also re-read exactly what his sensei had already told him during Hinata's and Neji's fight. The Byakugan gave someone a 360 view; you could see the chakra, the chakra network, and the chakra points with the Byakugan, and of course, you could see through walls. By recognizing chakra, you could, of course, also recognize if someone was trapped inside a Genjutsu.
Naruto also attempted to gather information about the ancestors of the Hyūga Clan, but nothing was said about the subject anywhere. It was only general, since when the Hyūga clan lived in Konoha and what status it had. The Hyūga Clan was one of the noble families if you could call it that.
Otherwise, Naruto had only found out things that he already knew from his sensei's speech and the conversations with Hinata and Neji.
He sighed and looked at his watch and saw he had 20 minutes left. Then, he could go to the hospital and visit Lee. He just hoped Lee would get better. As far as he understood in the prelims, he could no longer be 100% healed. He would never be able to work as a shinobi again.
Naruto couldn't quite believe it. He had experienced much more severe injuries and has recovered. There has to be a way for him to work as a shinobi again. He would do anything to make Lee healthy again.
The hospital was too quiet for Naruto's liking. When he went to the lobby to register, he saw no staff. Nobody was at the registration, which meant that he would have to put his name on a list.
Naruto raised both arms and made a finger sign. His henge dissolved in a cloud of smoke, and now everyone could see Naruto in his new outfit and his overall new look. After everything he went through in the last two months under his new mentor's tutelage, he changed. His spiky blond hair grew slightly longer, with a few strands covering his blue headband that was tied around his forehead. His blue eyes lost every bit of childish curiosity. He now had the eyes of a Shinobi.
His body under his clothes didn't have any fat left after all the hours of physical training he did in the last two months. Even when he didn't have the Kyūbi inside him anymore, his body still recovered faster than those of others because of his Uzumaki lineage. Slightly visible muscles covered his entire body, which showed his muscle growth in the last two months.
Naruto wore black pants, blue sandals, a long-sleeved mesh shirt under an orange jacket with a black fur collar. He also wore the normal Shinobi pouches on the usual spots. Two were for Kunai/Shuriken on his right leg, and one was for other things on his backside.
Naruto sensed something ominous in the hospital, and he narrowed his eyes after that. He walked down the empty corridors, and the only thing that could be heard was his footsteps. There was nothing else to hear, although the staff should be walking around everywhere at this time. He didn't like that fact at all. Not at all.
He turned the next corner and felt that feeling again, which he felt in the entrance area. It came right out of the room where Lee was supposed to be. Naruto walked to the room and held out his hand. He grabbed the doorknob and pushed it down. He opened the door and saw that Lee was slightly covered in sand. Right next to the bed, Gaara from Sunagakure was standing, holding one hand over Lee and the other on his head.
"Hey." Naruto's voice seemed to break Gaara out of a kind of trance as his body stopped shaking, and his eyes became emotionless again. The sand, which had been vibrating before, was now calm again and didn't move a bit. "What are you doing here?"
Gaara looked closely at Naruto. Gaara sensed when someone was strong, and this guy, who hadn't radiated anything in the preliminary round, now radiated power. "I wanted to put him out for good."
Naruto's eyebrows were still downcast, and his gaze was focused. "Do you have a problem with him, or what's the point? You already defeated him in the preliminary round."
"I have no problem with him. I'm just going to put him out for good, that's all, and that's what I'm going to do." Gaara just wanted to raise his hand again until he suddenly couldn't move anymore. 'What? I can't move anymore.' Gaara wanted to turn to Lee, but for some reason, his body moved back to Naruto.
As he turned to face him, he saw someone new. It was Shikamaru Nara who used his Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Binding Jutsu) to paralyze Gaara.
Naruto glanced at Shikamaru out of the corner of his eye. "Thanks for showing up, Shikamaru. You're a little late."
Shikamaru just nodded while also looking at Naruto out of the corner of his eye. He didn't recognize him at first, but as soon as he saw his face, he recognized him. Shikamaru had to say that Naruto had really changed drastically over those two months. He was wearing completely different clothes, but he still wore an orange jacket. However, the black fur collar gave the orange jacket a specific look that looked good. Just like himself, Naruto also wore a mesh shirt underneath his open jacket, but unlike Shikamaru's, Naruto's mesh shirt was long-sleeved and not short like Shikamaru's. For now, he concentrated on the person he tied up with his Kagemane no Jutsu.
"If you interfere, you will end up like Lee. Do you understand that?" Gaara's voice was utterly devoid of any emotion.
"Would you like me to tell you something? You must have had a completely lousy upbringing. You're totally selfish." Shikamaru had sweat all over his forehead, and for good reason, too. This feeling he got while looking at Gaara caused fear in him. Gaara was like a ghost to him.
'It's time I came up with something.' "We both saw how you fought Lee, and that's why we know exactly how strong you are. Remember that there are two of us at the moment and that neither of us showed everything in the preliminary round. In the last two months, we have become stronger. That means, in plain language, You are quite at a disadvantage here."
Gaara looked unimpressed at Shikamaru. "I'll repeat it slowly. If you interfere, it's your turn."
Naruto remained silent, which Shikamaru noticed. He had noticed from the beginning that Naruto was entirely different than two months ago. Even in such a situation, Naruto would typically say something stupid, yet he was utterly calm at the moment.
Gaara closed his eyes. "You're absolutely right. I had a lousy upbringing." Gaara opened his eyes and began to tell his story. At birth, Gaara's father transferred the ninjutsu from himself to Gaara, and as a result, Gaara became a sand spirit. The spirit of Shukaku, which slumbered in a monk before him, slumbers in him now.
In Gaara's childhood, there was only love withdrawal, contempt, and punishment. He was spoiled, and his father gave him insight into the deepest secrets of his jutsu to make Gaara a model child.
From his sixth birthday on, his family started trying to get rid of him. Gaara was emotionally unstable, and that's why his father decided to eliminate him. This went on for years, and Gaara wondered what he was living for anyway. He didn't see a point, and that's why he gave himself one. He started dominating other people and conquering everyone. When he had that sense of power, he could stay calm, and he felt alive. This feeling confirmed his existence. Everyone feared him without any real reason, so he gave people a reason.
Shikamaru couldn't believe his ears; he couldn't believe this story. 'This guy has a big problem.'
Naruto hadn't even said a word. He just looked at Gaara the whole time with a look that didn't reveal any emotion.
"Then we're more alike than I first thought." Naruto's voice disturbed the silence that prevailed after Gaara's story.
"I will now tell you my story, Gaara. Listen carefully."
The sand had started to move after Gaara's story, but now it was utterly motionless again and just lay there as if it were normal sand. It was as if he didn't want to crush someone right now.
"I trust you, Shikamaru. You are the only one I would tell this story, and I ask you not to tell anyone about it." Naruto looked straight at Shikamaru and smiled ever so slightly.
'Naruto, what do you want to have in common with this freak?' Shikamaru just nodded. He didn't dare to say anything. He couldn't wait to see what Naruto would say now.
Naruto looked back at Gaara without batting an eyebrow, much like Gaara. "13 years ago, this village was attacked by a monster with nine tails. This monster destroyed a large part of our village and killed many villagers. The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, fought and defeated this monster. According to the official version, anyone can read a book."
"But in truth, the kyūbi was sealed inside a newborn."
It seemed odd that Shikamaru didn't seem surprised. He wasn't a member of the Nara Clan for nothing and had an IQ of over 200. He always had his suspicions, but he never thought it was actually the truth.
Gaara's eyes widened briefly, showing emotion for the first time since Shikamaru and Naruto had seen him. The sand of Gaara reacted to his emotions and started moving away from Lee and was now around him as if fighting Lee.
"When I was a child, everyone in the village looked at me with hate-filled eyes. I was, in the eyes of the villagers, the reincarnation of the monster that killed the villagers' family members. I was ignored, and some days, I was beaten up, and I would have died if it wasn't for the Kyūbi inside of me at the time. I never had a father or mother to take care of me. I was supposed to be raised in an orphanage, but that orphanage kicked me out when I was four years old, and from there, I lived on the streets for a whole year. Only then did someone find me, and from there, I got a roof over my head."
The sand that had been swirling around on Gaara before calmed down and disappeared back into the vessel on Gaara's back. Gaara's eyes were now emotionless again, but you could see clearly that Gaara's full attention was on Naruto. Nobody ever had Gaara's full attention, not in that sense.
"When I got to the academy, I had hope. I figured that I would finally be able to make friends there or be recognized by someone. I tried my best in class and was rewarded with more hatred than before. From that day, I started wearing a mask. I made myself look like an idiot to let the villagers know I was crap and a loser. It was the only way I could really be sure that no one would harm me."
Shikamaru got confirmation of his suspicion again, but he didn't like it at all. Sometimes, he hates it when one of his guesses is true. He had known from the start that Naruto only wore a mask. He'd never known exactly why. However, it was also much too annoying for him because he got along with him from the start anyway. Shikamaru wasn't sure, but something had drawn him to Naruto, and he just had to befriend him. In hindsight, he and Choji were later the only friends Naruto ever had at the academy.
"When I became a shinobi, I was watched by other shinobi all the time. Everyone was a bit afraid of me, and everyone didn't want me to become too strong." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"The person responsible for this is none other than my father."
Now Gaara and Shikamaru's eyes widened. Naruto opened his eyes again and crossed his arms in front of his chest like Gaara usually does. "The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, is my father, and just like you, I had a pretty lousy upbringing and a crappy childhood because of my father."
Gaara's eyes seemed to twinkle slightly, but no one could say why. "Nevertheless, I managed not to sink into this darkness like you. I had someone who saved me at the last moment, and I owe my life to this person. It is only through this person that I have a meaning in my life. After all these years, I found a purpose that means everything to me. Protecting the people I care about and the people who were there for me."
After that, the room went quiet. Nobody said anything. Shikamaru just looked at Naruto. His opinion of Naruto had changed entirely. Before, Naruto was always someone who had something special about him. He seemed to be hiding something that Shikamaru found interesting. He didn't know why either, but he always had more energy and was in a good mood when Naruto was around him.
The respect he was developing towards Naruto couldn't be described. Naruto went through hell; there was no other way to describe this life. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like if he had been in Naruto's shoes himself. He didn't want to imagine it either. That Naruto didn't end up like this freak after such a life was an absolute miracle. Shikamaru vowed at that moment that he would always be Naruto's good friend and that he would do more with him, even if that should be annoying.
Everyone just stood there for 10 minutes and said nothing. Shikamaru had resolved his Kagemane no Jutsu long ago, and after 10 minutes, Gaara just started walking past them. "We'll see what kind of strength will dominate Naruto Uzumaki." This is what Gaara said before walking out of the room.
Everyone just stood there for 10 minutes and said nothing. Shikamaru had resolved his Kagemane no Jutsu long ago, and after 10 minutes, Gaara just started walking past them. "We'll see what kind of strength will dominate Naruto Uzumaki." This is what Gaara said before walking out of the room.
"Naruto..." Shikamaru didn't know what to say. He was just speechless, but somehow not. He didn't know what was wrong with him.
Naruto smiled at Shikamaru. Shikamaru had never seen that smile before. It wasn't one of those wide grins that he usually had on his lips. It just burst with warmth and honesty. "We're here to visit Lee, aren't we? We should stay here and keep him company. Maybe he'll wake up."
Shikamaru sighed and then just smiled awkwardly and shrugged. "It's annoying, but that would probably be for the best."
Naruto smirked a little at the antics of his best friend and went to Lee's bed. He opened the window and let fresh air into the room. When he turned around, Shikamaru had somehow already set up a shogi board. "You play shogi?"
Shikamaru told him how Asuma taught him that. "Sensei Asuma is a pretty cool guy." Shikamaru could only agree with his friend.
"Been a while since I've played a round." Naruto sat down across from Shikamaru and looked at the game board. "A very long time when I think about it."
Shikamaru didn't even ask why Naruto can also play shogi. He just accepted it and was curious to see how good Naruto was at the game. Now that Naruto's mask was off, Shikamaru had a lot to learn about his comrade. He could learn a lot from a round of shogi.
"Age before beauty." Naruto snorted slightly and placed the first stone. Shikamaru liked that reaction. The old Naruto would have yelled at him now, but the new one seems to be giving calm and subtle reactions.
Shikamaru also placed his first stone, and it quickly became clear that the new Naruto was pretty calm. He didn't make stupid comments about anything or shout around stupidly. When the two talked from time to time for a short time, nothing stupid ever came out of Naruto's mouth. Naruto gave his constructive opinion on something and was able to justify why he held that opinion logically.
Overall, he really liked the new Naruto. This Naruto was calmer and not annoying as much. He reminded him a bit of Asuma, who was also quiet. However, you could have a normal conversation with both of them, even to the extent that it didn't completely get on Shikamaru's nerves. That meant something. He liked the brief moments where he and Naruto exchanged ideas on specific topics or where they just briefly commented on each other's moves and what they thought of them.
So several hours passed, during which the two just played shogi in Lee's room and didn't let anyone disturb them. Lee slept peacefully the whole time, as if sensing the presence of his comrades and feeling safer because of it.
Maito Gai overheard the conversation and stayed out of the room the whole time. He suppressed his presence so that none of those present in Lee's room could feel him. He was shocked on the one hand and relieved on the other. Shocked by the story Naruto told about his childhood and the relief when he heard that Naruto was also burning with the will of fire. He's stronger than anyone he's met before. It's even stronger than in Maito Gai itself. He knew that much. He disappeared after Gaara walked past him.
He had always known Naruto was going to be a strong ninja and an excellent human being. This story once again confirmed his sound knowledge of human nature, and if he had known that Naruto had a high opinion of him, he would probably have burst into tears of joy again. No matter what others would say about him, such words touched him deeply, and his eyes reacted by themselves. What could he do about it?
Naruto and Shikamaru have once again started a new game of shogi, after which they both just got something to drink from a vending machine. "Thank you Shikamaru."
Shikamaru looked at Naruto, and Naruto smiled gratefully at him. "Even now, you don't treat me any differently than usual. No matter what happened, you always accepted me for who I am. I thank you for that." Naruto just had to get those words out of his head. He had never thanked Shikamaru for that.
Shikamaru scratched his cheek a bit uncharacteristically. He took his hand away again and moved a stone from the game; he suddenly yawned. "I should be honored that you see me as someone special."
Nothing more needed to be said between the two after that. They both knew they could rely on each other, and that meant everything to them.
Name: Naruto Uzumaki
Occupation: Konoha, Team 7 (Former)
Age: 13
Rank: Genin
Nature Types: Fire, Earth, and Yin
Kekkei Genkai: Unknown Dōjutsu
Master: Kakashi (Former), Iruka (Former), Unknown (Currently)
Classification: Jinchūriki (Former), Sensor Type
Bijū: Kyūbi (Former)
Lineage: Uzumaki (50%), Namikaze (50%) (The Namikaze Clan is a very distant cousin of the Hyūga Clan. Both the Namikaze and Hyūga Clan are descendants of Hamura Ōtsutsuki, the sister of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki. But unlike the Hyūga Clan, the Namikaze Clan didn't get the Byakugan.)
