"Thank you, Tenchi-san!" Iruka exclaimed before he exited the store with bags of groceries. It was a cooling night due to soft blowing winds. Lamp posts lined the street that led to his apartment.

'I need to finish marking the pop quiz and check with the admin department on the new order of training kunai. I also can't forget my duty tomorrow at the mission desk after school hours…' Iruka listed in his head the tasks he needed to do the following day.

He placed down his bags to retrieve his keys from his pockets. 'I think I'll eat instant ramen today. I'm too tired to cook…' he thought as he inserted his key into the keyhole. Before he turned to unlock the door, a stray thought entered his mind. 'Hah, ramen…can never eat ramen without thinking of him,' Iruka thought with a smile.

He entered and closed the door behind him before making a beeline for the kitchen. He placed his groceries and sighed in relief as he stretched his body slightly. "Finally home sweet home…" he said.

He hung his shinobi vest on his sofa and decided to start organising the new groceries he bought. The next few minutes of his life felt like a blur. He merely acted on instinct. One moment he was sorting the vegetables into his fridge, another moment windows were shattered, he had a kunai out and it clashed against another.

Blink

A few hundred milliseconds of his vision was lost and Iruka found himself grabbing onto an outstretched arm and used it as leverage to slam his opponent on his kitchen counter. He raised his kunai to stab the man but felt a shearing pain in his back before he felt himself fly across the room.

Blink

He leaned his head away from a punch before trying to punch the intruder. He felt his arm hit nothing but air, yet he knew had not missed. It was that his punch went through the man he tried to punch. He stumbled forward into a kick which made him fly into a wall. He was stabbed in the shoulder and pinned into the wall. He stared straight at his attackers before spitting out blood.

Blink

His body had moved on its own as he found himself knocking a man off his feet before using a water jutsu to slam into the ground causing wood to splinter and break. He created a shadow clone to aid him but before he could do anything, he felt a bursting pain on his back. It felt like he was hit by a raging ox. His back was against the bloodied wooden floor and he could feel his body slowly losing energy. A few moments later, he heard the popping sound that indicated his clone had dispelled along with the memories of the clone.

'This is the end…' he thought as he laid in a puddle of his own blood.

Blink

"Iruka! You good buddy?!" He heard his neighbour shouting. Iruka stared at his attacker who stood over him. She clearly had panic in her eyes. His ears were filled with ringing sounds, his clothes were soaked by his own blood, his breaths were getting shallower yet he did not panic. He stared at the lady who was ordering around the other attackers who he assumed were her teammates. He had always accepted the possibility that he would die young in this line of work. He tried to memorise every inch of his attacker's face and body. There was not much of a face to see due to an anbu style mask but from the body shape and size, he could tell his attacker was female.

The lady nodded at her teammates before she shifted her attention to Iruka. Her eyes was expressionless as she raised her weapon to Iruka. Pain. That was the last thing he felt before he saw nothing but darkness. Pain…the single greatest bit of pain he had ever felt but somehow it did not match his last thought. He thought not of his pain but of the pain of another. What would happen if he was dead? He was sure the pain of the man he thought as a brother would be greater and would last longer than the one felt currently….


"FFFFFUUUUCCCCKKKKKK!!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs from the top of the Sandaime's stone head. His hands were in his hair as he continued to scream out of anger. "I should've killed him…I should've killed him…" He repeated as he took a seat on the ground. He sat in silent contemplation and stared at the ground for ten minutes.

"Iruka's in stable condition," Kakashi informed as he took a seat to Naruto's right.

"The doctor said he was lucky that Asuma-sensei came to stop by. Else, he would have bled to death. But…"

"Don't hesitate, Shika. I saw it and I could tell. He can no longer be an active shinobi, can he?" Naruto said as he looked up from the ground. Bloodshot eyes stared at Shikamaru, which did not surprise the Nara at all. He knew his friend for a long time and crying was a private affair for him.

"There is a chance but a very slim one. Only a small percentage of shinobi can fight with a disadvantage like that. So it's safe to say, he would no longer be an active shinobi," Shikamaru said as he sighed.

Naruto continued to stare at the large white rock in the sky. He took a deep breath and said, "Shika, Kakashi-niisan, can…I…I need some alone time." He stood up, several tears hitting the ground below. "You can ask baachan about anything you're unsure of. I-I'm so sorry," Naruto left in a shunshin.

Kakashi and Shikamaru looked at each other solemnly but decided to follow Naruto's words.


The trees blurred past Naruto as he moved in the direction away from the moon. His heart was pumping rapidly and he was sweating cold sweat. His breath got shorter and shorter as he tried to go as far as possible from Konoha. However, several moments later he was forced to stop on a branch due to a sharp pain. He groaned in pain as he vomited blood. 'I have to get there quickly…' he thought before he ran as fast as possible.

Feral and red eyes flickered through his blue ones while he travelled through the forest. Soon he was met with barren land filled with sand. It was the border of the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire.

"It's taking too much of an effect on you. You need to stop suppressing it if it's poisoning you," Kurama said as Naruto was once again on the ground sweating profusely.

"I can't…take the risk, Kurama. I-I don't want to…hurt anyone I…don't want to," Naruto said in between gasps of air. He walked further into the dessert and gathered chakra in his palm. A regular rasengan formed before it slowly expanded and started to shift in colour. He formed a shadow clone who held his hands out at the expanding rasengan. Two small rings of water vapour formed around it, making the rasengan look like the planet Saturn but with two rings crisscrossed instead of one. The rasengan expanded to a size slightly bigger than his head. It was red instead of the regular blue of his rasengan. The red matched those of his slitted eyes.

"Suiton: Rasendomu (Water Style: Rasendomu)!"


Gaara awoke to a massive burst of chakra coming from the east of Suna. He rushed out of the Kazekage's chambers and immediately headed for his office. Waiting at his office was his former sensei. "What happened, Baki-sensei?" he asked, panic clearly in his voice.

"The eastern lookouts said they saw a large red dome of chakra appear in the desert. It was the source of the chakra outburst and disappeared as quickly as it appeared," Baki informed.

"We must check it out immediately," Gaara said and immediately left for the gates of Suna.


Kakashi leaned back into the sofa that was in Tsunade's office. His face clearly showed his disbelief. Shikamaru was in a similar boat to his sensei. He knew of Naruto's relationship with Kurotsuchi but he was never told about Geto. It was no wonder to them that Naruto was pissed off with Geto.

"Oh, Naruto…you can never escape trouble can you…" Tsunade said with a sigh.


Naruto awoke to the familiar flickering of flames. The ground below him felt hard, rough and slightly damped. 'A cave…' he thought as he opened his eyes to see who had brought him here. "I heard what happened, it's no surprise the chakra burst was massive…"

Naruto sat up against the cave wall and did breathing exercises to calm himself down. "Ne, Ero-sennin…"

Jiraiya shifted his eyes from the flame in front of him to his apprentice. Naruto had tear stains on his face and bloodshot eyes. He seemed extremely tired, but Jiraiya couldn't tell if it was due to his mission, the strain of the Kyubi's chakra, the pain he felt after finding out about Iruka or all of them at once.

"Ero-sennin, am I cursed?" The question caught Jiraiya off guard.

"Why would you ask that?" Jiraiya narrowed his eyes on Naruto. Naruto stared at the flames and followed the slight flickers of the ember. His eyes reflected everything he felt.

"Everyone I know…Everyone that I'm close to. They all get hurt because of me. They're all cursed because of me…" he said with a scratchy voice.

"You know that's true," Jiraiya quickly retorted.

"I know what is true. Do you?" Naruto did not waste his words. They were short but hit Jiraiya as hard as a punch from Tsunade. Jiraiya did not openly react but he felt somber at seeing the young man he thought of like his own family say such words. Naruto took a sip of water before continuing.

"Ever since my birth nothing good has happened to those around me. My parents were killed immediately. Hayate-san and Sandaime-jiji died. Kurotsuchi got hurt, Sasuke ran off on a suicide mission…They all happened because of me. Even you…" Naruto said as he gritted as the nightmares of their pain came rushing to his head. "It's all my fault…and Iruka-sensei is just the latest one…"

"Ma-maybe it's better that I just-"

"Naruto!" Naruto was startled by Jiraiya's sudden outburst. "Do you know how grateful we are to have you with us? Others may not see it yet but you are a blessing even if you don't believe so."

"A blessing to be sacrificed?" His voice was soft but enough for Jiraiya to hear. "To be hated by everyone?"

Naruto had his head down and was staring at the ground. He felt like he was underwater, his body felt heavy. He felt nothing and everything at the same time. He continued his gaze on the shadows on the ground and listened to Jiraiya's words.

"The life of a jinchuriki is a life filled with hardships. Some choose to succumb to those hardships while others run away. But you chose to fight against the hardships your life is filled with. I know that it is a life that was forced upon you and nothing I say at this point will change how tough it is. But you need to recognise the good that you've done."

Jiraiya took a deep breath when he saw Naruto keeping his head down towards the floor. "Five years ago, if someone had told me that Konoha would have allies, I would've thought he was joking, for how far a dream it was at the time. Iwa hated us with a passion, Kumo has never trusted us and never will, Kiri was in a civil war and the tension with Suna was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. However, that dream no longer seems far because of you. You are the key, Naruto. You are a blessing to this dark world that we live in. I don't know how much of my words you'll take in but I implore you to believe that you are a blessing and nowhere near a curse."


"You're going to believe the shit he said?" Naruto's eyes widened as he had not sensed anyone else in the cave. He looked up from the ground to see himself sitting on a log across from him. "You look like you've seen a ghost," he said with a smirk.

"You're the voice I've been hearing…" Naruto keenly observed the other version of him. He wore the same outfit as him, and looked like a clone of his. However, his eyes were pitch black and with red pupils. He also wore a crossed out Konoha headband.

"I'd be hurt if you didn't recognise me. I am you after all…" His face showed displease when he heard Naruto tsked. "Oh, you don't believe I am you…"

"I'm nothing like you. I-"

"LIES! I am you, the real you! If you don't believe me, look!" He swiped his hand in front of Naruto causing several memories to flash through his mind. He saw memories from his childhood, his time with team 7 and during his training trip. The memories ended with Naruto heavily breathing and sweating profusely.

"W-what did you do?" Naruto asked in a strained voice.

"You saw us…" was the simple response he received.

"Us?"

"Every single memory you witnessed gave birth to me."

"Gave birth??" Naruto let his words float around his mind for several moments. He recalled the memories he was shown and realised their similarities. "The memories…they were my lowest moments. My childhood before Kakashi took me in, Shikamaru almost dying on the bridge in Wave, Sasuke stabbing me, Kurotsuchi and Geto, and the recent meeting with Geto…"

"Yes…remember…remember what you felt during those moments," he prompted Naruto with a massive grin on his face. The grin reminded Naruto of his first meeting with Orochimaru and how scary he found the Sannin.

"Hate, pain, sadness…" Naruto mumbled to himself before realisation hit him. "You're the embodiment of my negativity. That's what you meant by giving birth…"

"Smart little boy aren't you…HAHAHAH!" He gave a hearty laugh.

"So what do you want with me?" Naruto asked.

Naruto met eyes with himself or rather a negative version of himself. Anti-Naruto stopped his laughter and gave Naruto a grin from ear to ear. "Oh I want everything from you…or rather I want you to realise what a cursed world we live in."

"You think I don't realise how the world works?" Naruto retorted.

"Of course I do. But you're too naive to think that it would get better. A blessing? HA! Jiraiya really knows a lot of bullshit. How many more blessings does this world need to achieve the peace you strive for? How many jinchuriki need to be made? How many kage need to die? How many children need to suffer? How many so-called blessings does this world need?"

Naruto stayed silent as Anti-Naruto spoke. "Zero."

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "We won't need any blessings if we just destroy this world, don't we?" Naruto was stunned at the idea while Anti-Naruto laughed evilly. "I hate this world! I'm sure you do too…" He came extremely close to Naruto and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Come…Let's destroy this world, Naruto," he moved his hands up to Naruto's neck and started to tighten his grip.

"You're c-crazy…" Naruto managed to say.

"Yes…We're crazy enough to keep living in this cursed world. Don't you hate it too. Living in such a shitty place. Let's destroy it, Naruto…" His grip continued to tighten as he was busy cackling at his plan.

"Go. And. Fuck. Off!" Naruto threw a right hook which went through Anti-Naruto, causing him to tumble onto the ground. Anti-Naruto disappeared as if he was never there in the first place.

"Remember my words naruto. There'll come a day when you will look for me. And I'll wait for you ever so patiently…HAHAHAHA!"


"Kakashi, I'm sure you know this but we can never let this information out of this room," Tsunade said sternly. "We don't know what could happen to Naruto if less desirable people know…"

Kakashi nodded in agreement as many unwanted thoughts came to his mind. He shook them away as Shikamaru spoke. "You're talking about him, aren't you?" It was a statement rather than a question.

"You know about him?" Tsunade was shocked. Not many people even knew he existed, and even less knew what he actually did. "How?"

"While I was a guardian, I've seen him visit the capital a few times," Shikamaru started.

"Probably for council meetings where I send Hiashi and him to hash out any issues," Tsunade added.

"Something about him always rubbed me the wrong way. You know the saying, 'be wary of an old man in a profession where young men die'? He must have some deep roots in the village if he has a high ranking like that and have such a great say with the village issues," Shikamaru elaborated.

"Wow, you figured out quite a lot from someone going in blind," Kakashi praised. "Although I shouldn't be surprised."


Gaara stood in the middle of the explosion site feeling very confused. "Immense amounts of chakra exploded here and there seems to be no trace of anybody leaving or coming…" Gaara said as several thoughts ran through his mind.

"Yes, Kazekage-sama. There's not even any leftover chakra other than the one that exploded," a research-nin informed. "Whoever or whatever it was, it exploded, left this trench and disappeared."

"There's not many beings in this world that can create a scar on the world like this," Gaara said worriedly as he flew on a sand cloud. He flew through a circular trench that had a radius of a kilometre from the epicentre, it was 20 metres deep and 5 metres wide.

He went up to the wall and touched the sand with his hands. "Wet sand…hence why the sand had yet to fill up this trench. It is solidified and as hard as rock…" more unanswered questions piled up in his head.


The sound of a cane tapping on the hospital floors rang through Sakura's ears. She looked up from the reception to see nobody but her fellow coworkers making their rounds. She yawned and looked up at the clock. Her shift was ending soon and the sun would be rising in a few minutes. "You look like you can drop dead as soon as you touch a bed," the voice caused her to jump out of her seat.

"Oh Naruto! You scared me there!" Sakura calmed herself down and placed back the kunai that she was suddenly holding back into her pouch. Naruto had a smile plastered on his face but Sakura had known him for a long time. She could see the pain behind his eyes.

"Looks like you're more awake now," he joked. Suddenly he felt all the air in his body leave him. "Oof!" He found himself in a tight hug.

"Are you okay, Naruto? I know that you were closer to Iruka-sensei than us. As your friend I can't help but worry. You were missing the entire night. Shika and Kakashi-sensei came here looking for you after you left without a trace. Yo-"

"Thank you for worrying, Sakura-chan…" The pain in his voice laid barren for her to hear. "I just had to take some time for myself to accept that this had happened. I know I caused a lot of worry for you guys, so when you see everyone else please tell them my apologies. I think I'll go see sensei now…" Naruto smiled at Sakura who looked up at him and gave her a reassuring nod.

"Naruto, wait!" Naruto stopped and turned around to catch something Sakura threw at him. "Shizune-senpai said that you might know what it is since none of the doctors do. She thought Iruka was trying to tell us something with it since he was gripping onto it pretty tight."


Iruka was given a new room, since he was in a more stable condition than when he was first treated. Naruto entered the room and saw that Iruka was asleep. He closed the blinds slightly such that the morning would not shine directly at Iruka's face before taking a seat beside his bed.

Iruka was wrapped in bandages from head to toe. He was found with slashes and holes from stabs across his front and back. His face was bruised from punches and kicks. It could have been worse if Asuma hadn't heard the noise the attackers and Iruka caused. Trying to avoid a confrontation with Asuma, the attackers fled but not without taking one last shot at Iruka, leaving him with his biggest injury. His left arm was turned into a mere stump as it had been cruelly crushed. If it had been sliced off, there might have been a chance to reattach them. However, in this case, life was not so forgiving.

"Iruka-sensei…it's me. I'm sorry th-that this h-had to happen…" Naruto held his hand as he cried into it. "If you don't forgive me…I won't fault you…" he whispered under his shaky breath. He let go of his hand and went to the top of his bed. "I'm sorry, it's all my fault…" he said into his ear before turning to leave. However, he was stopped in his tracks when he felt a hand grab onto his wrist.

He turned to see that Iruka was still asleep, yet his hand had moved on its own. "I'll come see you again, Iruka-sensei…" he said before leaving.


Lightning crackled as it snaked around the room, lighting the place up with its blue light. The lightning stormed around the closed room like a sea of snakes circling around a single point. Some may say that it looked like a whirlpool of lightning. At the centre of the whirlpool sat a single man. He sat on the edge of his bed as he stared at his hand which was engulfed in lightning.

'The jutsu that can cut through even lightning itself…yet my greatest feat was cutting through someone I thought of as a brother. I came to this place to get stronger just so I can once again cut through my brother. Is this all I can do with this hand? Slice my way through life again and again and again?'

Two knocks at the door interrupted his self reflection and the room was now only lit by a single lamp in the corner. "Sasuke, Orochimaru-sama wants to see you," the man on the other side of the door said.

Sasuke opened the door to see Geto waiting for him. He smirked at Sasuke but Sasuke remained indifferent and walked past him with Geto following along. "You know what I realised?" Ghetto started talking to the silent Sasuke. "You and I are not so different."

"We both needed power and came to Orochimaru-sama. We seek power for the sake of our brothers and we've both tried to kill that blonde friend of yours," Sasuke did not respond and continued on his way to Orochimaru's lab as Geto babbled on. "We both want to get revenge for our pasts and we LOVE to Kill! HAHAHAAH" Geto burst out in laughter as he tapped Sasuke on the arm several times.

Sasuke grabbed his hand firmly before turning around and gazed at Geto with his sharingan eyes spinning wildly. "There is a world of difference between the two of us. A world you can't comprehend. You are not the same as me and will never be in any shape or form," Sasuke coldly said before his hand was slapped away by Geto.

Ghetto smirked, his yellowish teeth showing, as he looked down upon Sasuke, his height easily towering Sasuke after Orochimaru made modifications to his body. "Don't think of yourself so highly, Uchiha or I will show you why I was feared in the Land of Hot Water…"

"You're not mine to kill…" Sasuke said before he swiftly turned around and continued his way to the lab.

"What did you say Uchiha?!" Ghetto exclaimed.

"You're only here because Naruto hates killing but after what you've done…you won't be here much longer," Sasuke said before he was separated from Geto by a lab door. Sasuke was greeted by Kabuto and Orochimaru who were preparing their lab for Sasuke. 'And you too are here for not much longer. It's time to end what I started…"


Naruto held a small crystal in between his index finger and thumb. He played around with the shining pink crystal. It had been two days since Iruka was admitted to the hospital and their only leads to the attackers were Geto and the crystal piece in Naruto's hand. According to lab researchers, the crystal was likely the result of a rare crystal kekkei genkai. However, the crystal's molecular structure did not match up with any past records Konoha had with the kekkei genkai. It seemed much sturdier than anything previously recorded.

'Who are you?' Naruto thought as the pink crystal shined in the sunlight.

"Naruto, let's go," Shikamaru called, breaking Naruto out of his thoughts.

Naruto and Shikamaru travelled to the roof of the Hokage Tower to join their fellow comrades. Tsunade was at the front of the group of shinobi on a podium, ready to address them. Naruto felt a tap on his shoulder and didn't need to turn around to know it was Kakashi.

"Now that everyone's here, I'll get started," Tsunade said as a small light dome surrounded them. The dome was covered in seals which flickered like fairy lights. It was a privacy seal that prevented anyone from entering, exiting, seeing or hearing anything within the barrier. It was a dome set up by Naruto and Jiraiya. "The reason I called you here is for a mission…As you can see, it is a big mission that needs four teams."

Everyone had an idea as to what the mission was. However, they did not know what part they had to play. Their mission centred around taking down the Akatsuki once and for all. "The Akatsuki is an organisation that has been left in the shadows for too long. The purpose of this mission is to take down any members of the organisation or any affiliated with them. This mission has to be kept tightly under wraps. We must not let the Akatsuki know we are done waiting and are making our move."

"Moving on to your roles, Team 8 - Sakura Haruno, Shino Aburame, Ino Yamanaka and Anko Mitarashi. You will be joining the group of instructors and genin to the chunin exams. The Akatsuki tends to pop up when we need them the least. The chunnin exams is a great place to achieve mayhem so we would need you there to help keep an eye on our genin. Furthermore, this our first chunin exams in a new village, we cannot let this fail!" Team 8, whose empty captain slot has been filled by Anko, nodded before they huddled together.

"Team 9 - Rock Lee, Neji Hyuga, Tenten, Might Gai, Izumo and Kotetsu. You will be performing long ranged patrols around the Land of Fire. You five are proficient in taijutsu and guerilla tactics, nobody better than you to patrol our forested land."

"Team 10 - Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Choji Akimichi and Asuma Sarutobi. You would join Hana Inuzuka and Genma Shiranui to do close ranged patrols around the capital. There is no telling what might happen if the Akatsuki breaks into the capital so I am placing an extra team of shinobi on top of the twelve guardians to protect the capital."

"Team 7, meet me in my office in two minutes," Tsunade said, intriguing everyone. "Is everyone clear on their roles? Then, dismissed!"


Sorry its been a long time since the last chapter everyone. I guess I took an unplanned hiatus but I'm back now.

Ive written this chapter many times actually but the drafts before this felt off to me. I decided to put off the story for awhile to clear my mind and think where tf im going with this.

So I watched some anime, read a novel and a few manga/manhwa to get some inspiration. Ig u will hv to wait and see if it was worth actually doing any of that.

Take care and hope you are still reading this story!