Chapter 11
Naruto was sitting on top of the hill staring at the starry sky. Just a couple of hours remaining, he will leave this village. He had to admit that he'd started liking this village and its people. The village was sleeping as his eyes stared at the lights that were scattered all around the village. He took out a kunai and stared at his reflection. Sharingan appeared in his eyes, he could see it reflecting on the kunai's surface.
It was still a mystery to him, the Sharingan. He'd tried to gather information about it from his contracts in the past four years without letting them know about it. Information about his parents. Jiraiya was the one who found him in a basket that was floating in the river.
Why would someone abandon him without any reason? Or maybe there was a reason. But if there was a reason than why someone hadn't come to Konoha to meet him, to take him away from Konoha to their village, to their home.
A gust of wind pushed his red hair in front of his eyes as he closed his eyes instinctively.
"You should cut your hair. It will be in your way during battle." Naruto deactivated his Sharingan and opened his eyes and looked at Sakura who was looking down at the village. "Can't sleep?" She looked at him with concern evident in her eyes.
"I was meditating." He looked at her up and down. A small smile appeared at the corner of his lips. Memories of little Sakura appeared in his mind. "You've grown." He extolled. His eyes filled with amusement when he saw her blushing slightly, she turned her head away.
"Shut up." Naruto chuckled and grabbed her hand before forcing her to sit down beside him.
"You've gotten stronger as well. I think you are more than capable of taking care of yourself!" She rested her head on his left shoulder as she stared at the village.
"You've transformed. Everything about you, have changed." Sakura said. He could feel pride as well as sadness in her voice. "It was my wish to see you grow into a powerful shinobi." Naruto remained silent for a while before spoke.
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" His voice was barely audible.
"It's a good thing." She answered in a heartbeat.
"How is Sasuke?" She sighed and that's all Naruto needed to know.
"Fine, I guess. He doesn't like us much. Nawaki has gotten stronger, even stronger than Sasuke but he is still the same loudmouth idiot he was four years ago. Sasuke and Nawaki are rivals of sorts, always trying to best each other in everything. Some things don't change I guess."
"His personality will not change. He is passionate, hardworking and selfless brat." Sakura looked at Naruto before placing her head in his lap. He looked down at her and saw her worried look. Something bothering him, she could tell that much.
"You can tell me everything, big brother." Naruto knew that very much.
"Sakura there are many things that you don't know about me. Not even Hokage knows. Maybe I'll tell you one day?" She smiled and didn't say anything further. She knew her place; she knew him better than anyone else. She had always respected his decisions. They stayed like that for a while. She'd missed moments like this in the past. She can't share moments like these with anyone except Naruto.
"I'm going to get prepared for our journey, you should take some sleep." Sakura gave a small smile before leaving Naruto there alone. He could hear her footsteps diminishing.
"I know you're here. You can come out now Haku." He heard rustling before Naruto saw Haku emerged behind the trees. Her kind smile was present on her stoic face.
"Naruto-san!"
"I thought we're friends." His voice was calm and steady. He was looking up ahead. Haku came towards him and sat down where Sakura was sitting before.
"Friend is a very new word to me." She said. Her soft beautiful voice was cold and emotionless. Naruto was taken aback by her change in voice.
"What do you mean?" Naruto tried to understand her. His voice carried the request to say more, to elaborate more. His voice was filled with confusion. He looked at her as she brought her knees to her chest and placed her chin on it. Her eye staring down at the village.
She sighed. A sigh that was filled with the past. It was like she had poured all of her past memories in this breath.
"You have great friends; you all look like a family." She commented a small sad smile tugged at the corner of her lips before it disappeared.
"Yes. It was a blessing. I know how it feels to not have someone to talk to, not have someone to say good things to you." His voice had gotten lower as he spoke. The wind howled as it agrees with Naruto.
"What do you mean?" She repeated his spoken sentence with confusion. How could someone like Naruto have a past like that?
"A year after my birth, I was chosen for the container of Kyuubi's chakra. Someone leaked the news to the civilians for their own propaganda. The Hokage was unable to control the behavior of the civilian populace. They did everything in their power to terminate me. The assassination was one of the problems that I faced as I grew up in that village." Naruto paused to collect his thoughts. There was no emotion on his face. It was like he was talking about the weather. He continued without seeing Haku's expression.
"All I wanted was to solve those problems and I did the only thing that I thought would help me to solve them, I trained. I buried myself in training, and facing so many difficulties at such a young age surely makes you stronger and smarter. I was forced to grow up quickly. I was unable to see the light of childhood, I was unable to experience the innocent smile of a young child.
The Hokage noticed the change in me and helped me. Maybe because he wanted me to grow up quickly. I was grateful for everything that he gave me. He introduced me to his son and his son introduced me to his friend Sasuke." Naruto smiled slightly. Remembering the memories of his past. He didn't look at Haku. Maybe he was embraced by it. He wanted to talk to someone about his past. His friends wouldn't be able to understand him. They hadn't seen the pain; they hadn't gone through what he'd gone through. Experience at a young age caused him to see the world differently than others. Then he was ordered to leave the village to live in an enemy territory for information.
It wasn't easy to live like a completely different person, with a different personality and at the same time leaking information to the alleys.
"I understand." He looked sharply at her, surprised by her confession. He saw her looking at him with her eyes closed with a small pained smile on her face. She turned her face away from her and looked at small buildings beneath them.
"I still remember the days when I've my father and mother with me. We were a happy family. My mother was a shinobi from a Yuki clan. She was able to escape when the bloodline purge started. She married with a civilian man. My father didn't know that she is a shinobi with a kekkei Genkai. I don't know how my father come to know about my mother's abilities but when he did, he killed her." Naruto's eyes widened.
"And I saw my father killing my mother. To avenge my mother, I killed my own father with my awakened ice release." Naruto stared at Haku in horror. No words came out of his opened mouth as he stared at her.
"I ran away from my home and left the Mist village. I had nothing with me. No food, no clothes to wear in the snowy season. I slept on streets and search for foods in trashes until Zabuza-sama came. I don't know why he picked me and trained me to become his weapon. A mere tool to be used for his purposes. Zabuza-sama wanted to kill Yagura and become Mizukage himself. We did many missions together and sent money to Mei-sama to be used against the loyalists.
One day we were ambushed by Yagura's anbus and taken to Kiri as prisoners until you came and rescued us from that prison." She turned her face slowly towards Naruto and smiled.
"That's why I said, 'friend' is a very new word to me." Naruto stared at her as she stared back at him. Their eyes connected and unspoken words left through their eyes.
"Only those who have seen the same pain in the past could understand each other," Naruto said and looked at Haku with understanding before giving her a big smile.
"Don't be strangers. Come visits us whenever you can." Mei smiled at the group of Konoha shinobi. Ao, Chojuro, Zabuza, Haku and many others were there to say goodbyes.
"Thank you for everything, Mizukage-sama." Everyone thanked them as they turned around to leave the village. Haku stepped in front of Naruto and extended her hand.
"Protect your precious people Naruto-kun, only then you will become strong, very strong." Naruto shook her hand. A small smile appeared on his face as he looked at her.
"Then this means I've to protect you too, after all, you're one of my precious people." Her eyes widened at his declaration. Naruto felt her hand trembled slightly. He was worried for a second before he saw her smile. She comes forward and enveloped him in a hug.
"And by the way, I'm not a girl. I'm a boy." She, wait, she? He whispered in his ear.
"And all this time I was thinking that you're one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen." Haku chuckled and stepped back.
"No. I'm a boy." He said and chuckled when he saw them looking at him upside down.
"Are you serious Haku-san?" Sakura was looking at Haku with shocked eyes. Haku turned to her and nodded his head.
"I won't come back for a while. Take care of yourself." Naruto shook Mei's hand before waving towards the villagers. He glanced at Mei who was looking at him sadly. He turned to his friends and left without looking back.
When they were far away from the village, Naruto spoke.
"I don't know what Kazekage wants with us but stay on alert. Now that we are out of the village, we will be easy pickings."
"It will be easy. You just have to mask your chakra to hide your presence from the enemies." Nawaki said.
"Like you can mask your chakra." Sasuke said sarcastically.
"Masking your chakra will not be enough. It is better to be safe than sorry." Neji said.
"I still can't believe that Haku is a boy!" Sakura muttered loud enough to be heard.
"It's shocking but it's what he told us. So we have to accept it." Naruto glanced at Sakura who had a small blush on her cheeks. He cleared his throat to gain Sakura's attention.
"Focus." She glared at him heatedly, her blush fading.
A week later
Sunagakure
An auburn haired man with dark eyes and stern face was sitting in his Kage office doing his duties. He was wearing a loose-fitting kimono with white collar and signature hat with kanji for wind on it. Rasa-the Yondaime Kazekage was a man who cared deeply for his village and family. Being a leader of the village forced him to make difficult choices, like turning his youngest into a Jinchuuriki.
The death of his wife and then the wind daimyo cutting their village's budget in half had forced him to increase the quality of their shinobi. As such, he'd ordered Chiyo-the sealing master of Suna, to seal Shukaku into his son.
As Gaara grew older and his ability begun to manifest, Rasa started to view Gaara as a failed experiment that threatened the inhabitants of Suna. Due to Gaara's unstable nature, Suna's low budget and with the council declaring that Gaara was useless, he was forced to assassinate Gaara. But every time Gaara survived.
He knew he need help from someone, and Konoha was the only option. So he traveled to Konoha a month ago to meet with the Hokage.
"I understand your position Kazekage-dono. But as you can see, we're already at war with two allied villages. I don't think I'd be able to help you much." As a leader of a village, he could understand what position the yellow flash was in. it's still generous for him to offer help, not much but help nonetheless. He knew Senju Minato was known for his cunning and speed. He wouldn't be agreeing to help him if he wouldn't be gaining anything from it.
"What are your conditions?" Beating around the bush was not his style.
"The wind daimyo had decreased your budget without any reasoning, especially in war times. To put it bluntly, he is a throne in your village's progress." Minato doesn't have to say other words out loud. The Kazekage narrowed his eyes at Minato. His mind going through every scenario.
"Of course Konoha can offer help to take this throne out."
"And what are your other conditions." He said calmly to the yellow flash.
"The new daimyo that you will select should be beneficial to both Konoha and Suna." Minato paused to judge the Kazekage's reaction before continuing.
"And the last condition is to change the seal of your Jinchuuriki." Rasa looked sharply at Minato.
"What do you mean by that?" He said heatedly.
"I'm a seal master Kazekage-dono. Your son's seal is not strong enough to suppress Shukaku. Because of this, Shukaku is influencing your son's mind."
Rasa came out of his thoughts when a guard appeared in his office.
"A team from Konoha have arrived at the village's entrance."
"Send them in."
The second squad was walking towards the village hidden in the sand. It was their first time seeing this village. As they had expected from a village with the name hidden in the sand. It was surrounded by a desert which also acted as a natural defense during invasions. The village itself was situated in a fortified valley behind cliffs of rock, with the passage in and out of the village restricted to a single cleft between two cliff faces, making the area very hard to attack from the ground. The buildings inside seem to be made of clay which would help to keep the buildings cool.
The largest building was in the center of the village. Obviously, it was the Kazekage's residence and office. They followed the chunin inside the building and entered into the Kazekage's office with permission. The leader of sand was sitting behind the desk doing his paperwork. Naruto sensed five anbus hidden around the office.
They were good at hiding their presence but they were not good enough to hide their presence from a spy like Naruto.
With their masks on, Naruto stepped forward and bowed slightly before placing the scroll on the Kazekage's desk. Neji was wearing a white mask with red eagle designed on it. Sasuke had the similar mask with red snake designed on it. Nawaki had the mask with red toad designed on it. Hinata had the similar mask with red sparrow designed on it. Sakura had the mask with red slug designed on it. Naruto's mask was different. His anbu mask resembled an actual human face, with both a nose and mouth carved into it. It also had eyes that were close but it still allowed Naruto to see from it. It was red in color. A small white crow was designed on its left cheek. This mask was known as Menma in Midnight.
"Remove your masks," Rasa ordered. He knew they were related to the secrete anbu division of the Konoha. But he also knew they were allowed to remove their masks if they wish to. He wanted to see if they will do what he has asked them to do. He just wanted to test their resolve and intellect.
Neji frowned behind his mask from Naruto's right and so did Sasuke from Naruto's left. Nawaki was about to say something who was standing behind Naruto with Hinata and Sakura when Naruto stopped with his hand raised.
"With all due respect Kazekage-sama, we cannot do that. We are Konoha anbu and it's our duty to keep our identity secret." The young anbu behind him nodded their heads. The Kazekage looked at them with a thoughtful expression before he spoke. He knew the anbus will never reveal their identity no matter what if they doesn't want to. He wanted to confirm them as he released his killing intent on them.
They stood there even with the massive amount of killing intent forced upon them. They were like status.
"You aren't by any chance are Midnight anbus, are you?" The Kazekage wanted to confirm their identity. Of course, he'd his suspicions, thus asked the question. The Kazekage got no response from the soldiers standing behind their leader. But the leader with red hair and a human face mask on his face responded.
"Yes, we're." The Kazekage closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. His expressions betraying nothing. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked at Naruto.
"Konoha's Midnight anbus have grown famous in a very short amount of time throughout the elemental nations. A squad that is known to erase its enemy's existence in the middle of the night, a squad known for its ruthlessness and monstrosity." The Sand Shadow paused to perceive the reactions of the young soldiers standing in front of him.
They were still, of course with their masks on he couldn't see the reaction on their faces. They looked young but their actions screamed their mentality far beyond their age. He was impressed. Whoever had trained them, had done a very excellent job. Rasa waved his hand and there was a slight shift in the air. His lips twitched when he saw the soldiers standing in front of him tensed slightly except the one with the red hair. It seems they lack experience.
Naruto felt the presence of anbus in the Kazekage's office disappeared. Seeing his opening he spoke.
"Now that the anbus are not here." His mask disappeared into nothingness, revealing his violet eyes and strands of red hair covering his forehead. Naruto saw the Kazekage's eyes widened slightly before it took its usual look.
"Uzumaki Naruto!" The sand shadow spoke as if he was confirming his suspicions. "I'm surprised that you revealed your identity to me. But I'm not surprised that you're one of the leaders of Midnight. It seems I've nothing to worry about." Rasa told them about the mission. He told them about the meeting between him and the Hokage.
"I understand. I think I'll take care of our first objective first. Since it's easier. For our second objective, we need time to think everything through."
"I understand that as well. Take as much time as you want. You will stay in my house, the Kazekage's residence. We will discuss further details next time."
"Temari, Kankuro, Gaara? There are some people that I'd like you to meet with." Rasa spoke his voice as stern as ever. Everyone saw a girl with blonde hair around Naruto's age followed by the second eldest child of the Kazekage, Kankuro. That kid greatly resembled his father. And lastly, the youngest child came into view, a fair skin boy with green eyes and short red hair. He had black rings around his eyes. Kanji for love was carved on the left side of his forehead.
Naruto stepped in front of Gaara and took off his mask. His violet eyes stared hard at the child. He was looking at him with the emotionless gaze. Gaara stared at Naruto the same way.
"What's your name?" Naruto questioned. His voice was soft and caring.
"Gaara." He replied in a dead voice. Naruto noticed that his siblings looking at Gaara fearfully.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto smiled, his eyes met with Rasa's again. An unasked request or order? Rasa was unable to comprehend. He nodded his head though before leaving them alone in the room. He looked at his teammates and nodded his head. They took off their masks. The sand siblings looked at the new faces with surprises on their faces.
"Hey, Gaara." Naruto turned to him and extended his hand for a shake. The sand Jinchuuriki looked at Naruto with a surprise before shaking it.
"Uzumaki Naruto, what do you want?" His voice was dead. Naruto could feel killing intent spreading around the room.
"I know who you really are, Gaara." Naruto said, "You're not the only one in this world. There are eight others like you." Gaara's eyes widened before it settled into the usual blank stare.
"I don't care about others. I care only for myself. I fight only for myself." He was dead serious. Sand swirled around him, daring him to make a move. "Don't come near me Uzumaki or I'll erase your existence for mother's sake." He threatened, turned around and left. The other two sand siblings stayed behind looking fearful.
"Well, I don't think it will be going to be easy. Nawaki, I appreciate your concern but you must not reveal your powers." Naruto said to Nawaki without looking back at him.
"Who are you guys?" Temari questioned Naruto.
"We are Konoha special anbus. We're here for a mission."
"But what do you want with Gaara?" Kankuro questioned curiously.
"Gaara is an unstable Jinchuuriki as you already know. Naruto is here to make him stable by changing his seal." Sasuke answered for Naruto.
"You guys go and tell him what we're here for. We'll watch from the shadows of your brother's movements. It is compulsory for him to agree to this idea and work with us." Neji spoke again when he found Naruto concentrating.
"Would you be able to do it?" Temari looked at Naruto with narrowed eyes.
"Of course I'd. I'm a seal master after all." He was not as good as Minato or Jiraiya or even Kushina. The Hokage had given him instructions on how to perform this seal which was in the scroll that was given to him by Neji. He was given a required seal from the Hokage. He just have to put it on Gaara. It'd be a piece of cake.
"Then I'll help you guys." Determined Temari looked at the Konoha anbus. Kankuro nodded his head beside his sister.
"What you can tell me about him?" Naruto inquired.
"It's always like this. I've never seen our father paying any attention to him. After breakfast he'd leave home. We had tried to talk to him many times but every time he'd threaten us and ask us to stay away from us." Temari wiped her eyes. She cared deeply for her younger brother. She can't feel how much lonely he feels. She can't see him in pain. She wanted to help him but only If he allowed her to come closer to him.
"I'm worried about him. I want to help him but I don't know what I should do. He doesn't want to interact with us."
"Please don't cry Temari-san. We will solve his problem. We will do anything to help him no matter what." Nawaki gave her a determined gaze with a smile on his face. Naruto looked at Sakura with a knowing look on his face.
"How can you be so sure?" Temari said, staring at the blonde haired kid. He looked younger than her but stronger than her.
"Because I never give up." He gave her a smile, it was like he was sure that he'd win.
Later at night
Gaara was sitting on top of the building looking at the shining moon when he saw someone coming towards him. He saw that boy from earlier with blonde hair came and sat on his right side.
"Do you wish to die? No one dares to sit beside me as you're sitting now without my permission."
"You're not that mad," Nawaki chuckled. "I'm not a shinobi from your village. You won't cause an international incident by killing me." Nawaki glanced at the boy.
"I'll do anything to prove my existence to this world." Gaara's eyes glared at Nawaki. Nawaki's smile disappeared as he turned to Gaara.
"Existence, huh!" Nawaki chuckled bitterly.
"Life will always be unfair to you no matter what. I know you had a shitty childhood. Your sister told me about it. But you're not the only one. He was a demon in the villager's eyes. I'd seen with my own eyes him getting beaten by villagers." Memories of Naruto in the streets of Konoha appeared in Nawaki's mind. He looked at Gaara who was paying him his full attention. A look of glare was gone; it was replaced with curiosity.
"Seeing you how you are treated in this village reminds me of him. He wanted people to notice him, to give him attention. He wanted to prove his existence to the villagers as well, just like you. You had your siblings and family with you Gaara and you still have. But he…he was all alone from the start." Nawaki's voice trembled slightly, his voice thick with emotion.
"He never gives up, he worked hard until he became an anbu at the age of eight and sent to a long term mission. After four years, he completed his mission and proved his existence to the world by becoming a hero." Nawaki's voice was filled with admiration. His eyes was filled with pride.
"Who is he? What was his mission?" Nawaki looked at Gaara with surprise. He'd stopped paying attention to him as he started talking about Naruto. He didn't thought that Gaara would listen to what he has to say. The guy had an indifferent look on his face, but his eyes told a different story. His eyes wanted to search for answers, wanted to see that person who proved his existence to the world. His eyes wanted to see that person who knew a way to get people's acknowledgment.
"If you wish to know about his mission than ask him yourself. I'm sure you have seen him not too long ago." Having said that Nawaki disappeared. The seeds have been planted and it's just a matter of time before he agrees to cooperate with them.
"How did it go?" Sasuke was the first to fire a question when Nawaki appeared in their quarters.
"Relax man, I'll tell you everything, just relax."
"How can I relax Nawaki? You were sent to add some sense in that mental kid's mind, a boy whose mentality is in question." Nawaki growled at Sasuke when he saw him smirking.
"Nawaki-kun! Please don't get mad, after all, Sasuke-kun was just trying to prove his point by saying such words." Sasuke and Neji pursed their lips, an amused glint in their eyes. Sakura giggled with Hinata when she saw Nawaki's confused look. But Naruto burst out laughing.
"That was a good one, Hinata." Naruto grinned at Nawaki who was scowling.
"What happened there anyway?" Naruto turned serious. Everyone turned their attention to Nawaki who cleared his throat as if he was going to give a speech to get votes to become a president.
"He will come around, I'm sure of it. I told him everything that I thought would be necessary to convince him to cooperate with us."
"We don't have time Naruto. What if he takes too much time?" Sasuke said. Neji agreed with him, their mission was to change the sealing of that kid, not his attitude. They have important mission ahead. That mission was like a chore to them. But they could see Naruto had taken some interest in the Ichibi Jinchuuriki.
"There is a way. We attack him, knock him out and I change his sealing formula, but that's not what I want Sasuke." Naruto sighed as he stared outside. He can't blame them, they can't see what he can, and they can't imagine what he has imagined for that kid.
"What do you mean? If it's so simple, then why can't you just go with it?" Hinata spoke. Everyone agreed with her. The Kazekage would not do anything if they used force to accomplice the result that he wanted from them. The wind shadow would agree with them wholeheartedly.
"After I change his sealing formula, his control on sand will become stronger. Suna is our alley but we can't say if it will be our ally in the future. What if Suna attacked Konoha and used their now more powerful Jinchuuriki in the invasion." Everyone realized what he was thinking about. Understanding dawned on their faces as they nodded their heads slowly.
"Such insight…no wonder you were able to conquer Kiri." Sasuke said, amazed by his thoughtfulness. Naruto didn't respond to his comments, he continued.
"We can't lose Suna as our ally in this time of war, that's why Hokage-sama agreed to take this mission. That's why we have to make sure that they wouldn't betray us. And it is only possible by changing the heart of their most powerful weapon." Naruto stopped and glanced at everyone before settling his eyes on Nawaki. He spoke,
"Jinchuurikis are very powerful beings, but they have weaknesses as well. Friendship, acceptance, love. If you show them this kind of things, then they will do anything for you. That's why I sent Nawaki, who is a Jinchuuriki as well, to become friends with him. To show him what he feels and all." Everyone was staring at Naruto with amazement.
"So this was all plan from the start. I thought you cared about him that's why you are helping him. But…to think, that you're using his weakness to make him your friend, to make him obey you. You are a Jinchuuriki as well Naruto, you should know how it feels when someone betrays us." Nawaki shouted. His face burning with anger as he clutched his fists. His eyes glaring at Naruto with betrayal.
Sakura was looking at Naruto nervously. Neji and Sasuke were looking at Naruto with an emotionless expression. Hinata was looking at Nawaki worriedly.
Naruto had his back turned towards them. His body was like a statue, not moving an inch. He listened to everything that Nawaki had said without saying anything.
"Nawaki." His voice was calm, deadly calm. He glanced behind and looked at him. "I've sacrificed everything, even my own body for the safety of Konoha, a place where your family and your loved ones lives." He turned his head towards the window and stared at the twinkling stars.
"And I never said I'm going to use him and betray him. I would do anything for any Jinchuuriki until they betray me in any way."
One week later.
A week has passed since they arrived in Suna. They had made great progress on their first mission. They had tried to spend as much time as they could with Gaara and his siblings. Gaara has opened up slightly with his siblings. He'd started training with them and eating meals with them. Nawaki became good friends with Gaara.
His sister thanked them every time she saw them. The Kazekage had softened up a bit with his youngest. Of course it took time for him to show some affection to his youngest.
Their other mission was going smoothly. They would discuss their strategies in the night. They had started gathering data about their target. The Kazekage was impressed by their progress. Everything was going according to plan. In just two to three days they will be going to their next mission.
"I hope he said yes?" Naruto turned around just in time to see Nawaki materialized in front of him.
"Yes, he was reluctant first. Maybe he was worried about Shukaku being released in the village during the sealing process."
"It is a possibility; I mean if the seal interrupted by an intruder," Sakura said.
"The Kazekage has assured me that it won't happen." Naruto replied to Sakura's comment, "While I'll be busy in the sealing process, I want Neji, Sasuke, and Sakura to go to the Wind's capital. Try to gather as much detail as you can."
"What about us?" Nawaki said.
"You guys will be preparing for our next mission. It won't take more than five hours to complete the transfer. If everything went smoothly, we will leave Suna next morning for our second mission." Everyone nodded their heads and disappeared from his sight, while Nawaki remained behind.
"Why you didn't send Hinata with them. She knows medical ninjutsu as well!"
"Hinata is a very kind girl with a very soft and fragile heart. Training in Midnight squad was not enough to make her heart stronger. I'll make sure it won't remain the same when she retires from Midnight."
"If you ever try to hurt her in any way…!" Naruto turned around and looked at Nawaki with a bored expression on his face. His head tilted to the side.
"If I ever try to hurt her in any way? Then what Nawaki? What would you do?" Nawaki hesitated slightly before said firmly.
"Then I'll not forgive you." Naruto's expression didn't change a bit.
"I don't care either way. I'm a leader of this team. I'll do what I think is best for my team."
"But I don't want to see my friend hurting my other friend!"
"If you don't want to see it, then don't. Now go ahead, I'm sure Hinata will need your help." Nawaki frowned and turned around when Naruto spoke again.
"I'm surprised you consider me as one of your friends, I wonder if you'd still consider me as your friend when I'm done with her."
"Bastard." Nawaki muttered some all the curses he knew under his breath and exited the room.
Konoha Academy
"Man! It's finally today. We're going to become genin today." Kiba Inuzuka shouted as he entered the classroom.
"Stop shouting, you dog." Kiba's eyes twitched when he heard Ino Yamanaka yelled.
"And who is shouting now? Bitch!" He demanded.
"Man! What a drag! Be quiet for a while, someone is trying to sleep here." On the second desk, Shikamaru Nara said lazily as he rested his head on the desk.
"Kiba, you are a problem child. I don't want to end up as your teammate. Why is that? Because our personalities are very different." Shino Aburame said while he adjusted his glasses.
"I'm not concerned about team pairing. I know I'm going to end up with Ino and Shikamaru, right Shikamaru?" Akimichi Choji said as Nara looked lazily at his fat, chips eating friend and frowned. His ears twitched and he buried his face in his arms when he heard Ino shouting.
"Like hell, I am going to end up with two…" She fumed.
"Alright, that's enough." Iruka Umino stated as he entered the classroom. The class went quiet, he looked around and saw children finding seats and sighed.
"The test will be theoretical and practical. It is necessary to pass both to become a genin. The theoretical test will be going to start in ten minutes."
Three hours later
"Congratulations to those who passed the test. You're officially genin now. The journey won't be easy, the real life of a ninja begun now. Work hard and never give up and always protect what is precious to you." Iruka started his farewell speech.
"Now, on to the teams…team 9: Kiba Inuzuka, TenTen, Rock Lee. Your Jounin Sensei will be Might Guy." Kiba looked confused.
"Iruka-sensei? Where are my teammates?"
"You will meet your teammates in the academy training ground."
"Team 10: Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Achimichi. Your sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi." Ino groaned.
"And that leaves Shino. Shino, Hokage-sama is waiting for you in his office. He will assign you to a team." Shino stood up from his seat and left without a word. Everyone looked confused but didn't questioned. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes in thought.
'So you accepted their invitation Shino. I hope you know what you're getting yourself into.' Of course, he knew about Midnight anbus. He himself had received an invitation. It was his choice to accept it or decline it. His father had told him it would be everything but easy. The Midnight soldiers were famous for their ruthlessness and cruelty, never forgiving their enemy. A group of ninjas capable of doing every mission no matter what.
'But you will not be alone there.' Nawaki Senju and Sasuke Uchiha, his childhood friends. They wanted to attend academy with him but when the time came they never showed up. That makes sense now, seeing Shino leaving without telling them anything.
Secrecy, a weapon well known to Midnight anbus. They cannot reveal anything related to their work to anyone except the higher ups. His father had told him how a young Midnight soldier was able to spy on loyalist in Kiri for four years and was able to send the information to the rebels. How he was able to singlehandedly kill Yagura-the Yondaime Mizukage.
Shikamaru was impressed. He had never thought that they would be this good. Or maybe that young anbu was an exception like he was a chosen one. He asked his father to tell him more about that soldier. The only thing that his father had told him was his anbu name, Menma.
"You finally made your mind?" Naruto didn't turn towards the newcomer. He didn't need to; he'd sensed his presence before he appeared behind him.
"How you're so strong?" Gaara inquired. He remained silent, watching Naruto's back. He doesn't want to answer the question thrown at him. His presence here was enough answer for shinobi standing in front of him.
"Do you wish to become strong?" Naruto asked. Gaara wanted to say yes. Of course, everyone in their world wants to become strong. It's a desire for a shinobi to become strong, for what? That's a different matter altogether. Some want to become strong to protect something or someone. Some desire power for revenge and some want power for destruction.
One would question what way a shinobi should choose to gain power? A question Naruto was still struggling with himself.
"Why does it feel like you know everything about me?" Gaara questioned again. This time Naruto sensed emotions in his voice. The betrayal, the loneliness, the hatred and so much more. Gaara was like him in many aspects. It was like two brothers who have been through the same pain.
"Because I understand your pain Gaara." Naruto glanced at Gaara whose eyes were wide after hearing his answer. "Jinchuurikis are like brother and sisters in this world. They have been through the same pain." Naruto turned around and met Gaara's eyes. "But our understanding of pain is different. You want to satisfy your mother by killing as much living beings as you can. By doing this you believe you will be able to prove your existence. This believe shows how much lonely you are."
"My understanding of pain is different. I wanted to prove my existence by becoming strong, stronger than anyone." Naruto extended his hand towards Gaara. His face betraying nothing as his eyes locked with his.
"You can only become strong if you have something precious to protect. Come with me, I'll heal your pain and make you stronger. I promise." Gaara stood there motionless for just a moment before extended his hand towards Naruto.
"Help me." Tears rolled down his cheeks as his hand met Naruto's. There was no emotion on his face. It was plain blank.
As night settled, Naruto and Gaara were escorted to a room which was perfect for sealing. There was nothing in that room except candles to lit the room. It was large and spacious.
"Thank you for escorting us here. I suggest you should leave us here now. I don't want any interruptions." The sand ninjas nodded and left them alone. Naruto closed the door and placed a silencing seal.
Gaara said nothing as he followed Naruto in the center of the room. Naruto started placing candles on the floor in a circle. Gaara could only watch in silence as he saw his fellow red head get to work.
"Take off your clothes Gaara," Naruto said and Gaara blinked several times before doing what he was asked to do.
"This will take hours. You just have to sit in the center of the circle until I finish the transfer." Gaara nodded his head again, not too sure what to say as he sat there quietly.
Naruto channeled his chakra into his right index finger and started writing the formula from Gaara's back.
"The seal that you have will be going to get converted into a new stronger seal." He continued as he made a circle on his back. "What am I doing is preparing a circle that will connect with the circle on the ground." After writing the formula on Gaara's back, he headed towards his arms and then towards his legs through the ribcage.
Naruto formed a swirl like a pattern on the floor and started connecting all the formulas to it that were coming from Gaara's body.
"Your seal is weak, that's why it was unable to seal Shikaku in you fully. The new powerful seal will dominate your previous weak seal and destroy it after sealing Shikaku in itself."
"A lot of seals have their parts hidden within other kanji. When the seal activates they shorten and fold into each other. That's why I need this much space to write every kanji that is in this sealing formula before activating it. If I run out of space, I may use walls to draw these kanjis. But in the end, all these kanjis or seals will be going to recede into a swirl design around your stomach." Having said that Naruto turned his full attention to his work.
It took him three hours to finish the seal before he turned to Gaara. "The process will be very painful Gaara and please do not move." Gaara nodded his head and prepared himself as Naruto placed his right palm on his stomach.
"1."
"2."
"Thank you Naruto-san." Naruto glanced at Gaara surprised. "I know it was your mission to change my seal but thank you for doing it. Thank you for putting so much effort into it and making me realize what truly matters in this world. You're the first one who helped me in my life. You could have used force but you didn't and for a whole week you tried to make me realize what true existence is."
"You have a great heart Gaara. I don't have a family like you have. Make sure to protect them with your life. That's all I want from you." Naruto smiled at Gaara who nodded weakly. He gave a determined nod to Naruto and smiled.
"And 3." Naruto went through hand signs and channeled chakra into his palm, "Hakke no Fūin Shiki (Eight Trigrams Sealing Style)." He activated the seal as the kanji around him glowed before started going towards Gaara's stomach and formed a swirl like a pattern.
The circle on Gaara's back glowed and moved from his back and merged with the eight trigrams seal on his stomach. Naruto stood there helpless as he saw Gaara screaming in agony. It would be painful he knew it and there was no other way. You have to sacrifice something if you want to gain something after all.
Finally, the seals stopped glowing and Gaara's screams lowered. He glanced at Naruto through his heavy-lidded eyes before he fell into unconsciousness.
"Well, it looks like this tired him out," Naruto said and sighed in relief that everything went according to plan.
"So you can use funinjutsu as well now." Naruto eyes widened and froze for some moments as he heard a voice. It was calm like wind and smooth like silk. He turned around slowly. A man emerged from the shadows and walked a few steps towards him.
His face was hidden in the shadows as he couldn't see his face. Gaara's body was lying behind him. "You have grown into a fine shinobi Naruto-kun." The wind shifted in the room and the shadows disappeared from his face.
"Orochimaru of the sannin!" Naruto stated warningly. No wonder he was able to sneak up on him so easily.
"What are you doing here in Suna?" Naruto questioned. His senses on high alert as he looked at Orochimaru critically.
"I've been waiting for years to meet you. I'm not interested in that boy." He said and gave Naruto a clue what he was after. Naruto sighed in relief when he heard that. But he couldn't trust his enemy. But…
"What do you want from me?" Orochimaru stepped further. A purple aura appearing around him, and as soon as it appeared it disappeared.
"Some time to chat." He said as a small grin appeared on his pale face. His yellow eyes glowed in the dark. He took another step towards Naruto. His steps were slow and delicate. His eyes never leaving Naruto's. He took another step towards him and Naruto saw it getting blurry. His eyes widened as he shouted.
"Move one step further and I'll kill you," Naruto stated warningly and activated Chidori. Birds chirped and lightning illuminated the room slightly and he was able to see Orochimaru fully. He was wearing plain gray garbs with black pants and a thick purple rope belt tied in a large knot behind his back and blue tomoe-shaped earrings. He was also wearing a black polo neck under it.
"It doesn't matter if you're one of the sannin, I'll sacrifice my life to kill you if I've to," Orochimaru smirked and then his body shook with laughter.
"It's been awhile since I've seen that jutsu. But how you can perform it without Sharingan? Kakashi could only perform it with his Sharingan." Naruto remained quiet. It's better to remain quiet when you face someone like that man in front of him. Maybe it was a mistake to show Chidori to him? He saw Orochimaru's smiled widened and he opened his mouth to speak.
"Your parents will be very proud of you Naruto-kun," Orochimaru said and continued when he saw Naruto's shocked look. "Don't worry though, they are fine and waiting for you to come. If you wish to meet them…" He turned around and started walking back in the same style from where he came from.
"Also, you said that you could kill me?" Orochimaru released his full killing intent. Naruto's body froze as his eye grew with fear. He saw himself getting killed by him.
"Try! That is if you can." The final words were echoed in the room and Orochimaru disappeared. His Chidori vanished. His body still shaking from the massive killing intent.
"Sacrifice myself to kill him? What was I saying?" He muttered to himself unbelievingly.
'I'm not strong enough.' He thought bitterly.
"The parentage of Uzumaki Naruto?" Shisui said out loud and looked at Itachi with questioning eyes.
"Open it further Shisui. If Orochimaru is interested in Naruto's parents, then it will be valuable." Shisui agreed with Itachi and opened the scroll further.
"What the hell?" Shisui exclaimed as they stared at the blank scroll.
"Wait! There is something written at the end." Itachi's Sharingan caught the letters as he stopped Shisui from throwing the scroll. They looked at the end of the scroll and saw the worst name written on it.
"Danzo Shimura."