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This chapter is edited by MoaningFrodo
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Whoosh!
Naruto kicked at the space in front of him, generating tiny air vacuums.
"It's really difficult getting the hang of those weights once you take them off for a while," Naruto sighed as he stared at the leg weights bound over his ninja sandals which he wore once again after a long time.
The last time he'd worn weights was before going off on the rescue mission.
It had been about more than two weeks since then, and a whole lot of stuff had changed around him.
"Maybe I should go and have a look at what the other guys are doing now. Thick brows, Neji, and probably Sasuke as well…" Naruto thought.
Grrrr...!
Naruto's face lowered.
"But I gotta fill up this one first," He stared at his protesting stomach which was running empty.
He then turned towards his bag which was placed against the base of a tree that contained a bento box from his dad.
…
"Itadakimasu!" Naruto announced as he started to dig in.
"It sure does taste good," he looked at the food neatly laid out in sections in the box.
"I wonder how mom's food tastes like…" Naruto thought aloud as he stared at the sun from underneath the cool shade of the tree.
Whoosh!
A man in ANBU clothes appeared.
"Naruto," The man called out.
"Old Man," Naruto immediately stood up, "Has anything happened?"
"The thing is…"
————————————
Neji stared at Sasuke.
"Let's have a real match," Sasuke said.
"Wh…" Neji was shocked.
"Sasuke-kun, you want to have a battle with us?" Lee asked enthusiastically.
"Mm," Sasuke nodded and pointed at Neji, "Especially him."
—— FlashBack——
"As Naruto's advisor, I need to make things easier for Naruto. Since he is not in the Hokage seat right now, the things that I can do are limited…" Shikamaru said.
Sasuke looked on silently for a moment.
"Is this about the war?" Sasuke asked.
"Yes. We cannot tell anyone about the war, but we must make them train harder," Shikamaru said.
"…" Sasuke remained silent.
"Naruto is already getting more and more involved with the higher-ups now that they are onto his identity. I can only say that we have very little time until things get chaotic." Shikamaru said.
Sasuke stared at Shikamaru. He knew for a fact that he had to consider Shikamaru's words since Naruto chose Shikamaru as his advisor.
"What do you want me to do?" Sasuke asked.
"Train as you usually do, but we also need to spur others into training harder slowly." Shikamaru answered.
Sasuke frowned.
"The only way to do this is to get the others to spar," Shikamaru said.
"Why must I waste my time? Clearly the jōnins are already aware of the situation," Sasuke said.
"Sasuke, you may have your points, but every effort counts here. I am not sure about the others, but I know there's definitely one person that you can help out," Shikamaru said.
"…" Sasuke stared at Shikamaru.
"It's Neji," Shikamaru revealed.
Sasuke thought back to Neji's challenge to fight him the previous day.
"Neji died protecting Naruto on the battlefield. Everyone else made it out," Shikamaru said, "Except for him."
Sasuke lowered his gaze.
("Should I help him?") Sasuke thought.
"The two of you have much more in common than you think. The eyes, for starters." Shikamaru continued to say.
"Both of you don't have your parents.
"Both of you are from powerful clans.
"Both of you are at the top of your class if we were to exclude Naruto.
"The both of you are very similar." Shikamaru concluded.
Sasuke thought for a bit.
"From what I heard from Naruto, you both trained with Lee as well. I think you must return the favor as well," Shikamaru reminded.
("Shikamaru's right,") Sasuke thought as he nodded.
"Leave those two to me. As for the others, find someone else," Sasuke said as he turned around to leave the field.
"Sasuke," Shikamaru called out.
"What is it?" Sasuke asked while he continued to walk.
"I hope you aren't still thinking about that revenge against your brother are you?" Shikamaru asked.
Sasuke stopped walking as though he froze.
"Why?" Sasuke asked.
"Unlike the previous timeline, neither Naruto nor I have the time to assemble an entire squad to chase after you or spend three years finding every opportunity to make you come back to the village," Shikamaru said.
"…" The two were silent as Shikamaru waited for a response from Sasuke.
"Hmph. Shikamaru, even though I don't think much about the others, there is definitely something I respect about you," Sasuke said in a cold voice.
Shikamaru was confused.
("I only wanted to tie up loose ends, not to cut my way out…") Shikamaru regretted bringing up this question.
The only reason he did so was because almost two months ago, Sasuke had a cold vibe around him which Shikamaru guessed was related to Sasuke's intention for revenge to the point that the feeling was in his aura itself. Now, the same feeling rushed over Shikamaru once again leaving him with a regret, but he was also curious to why Sasuke found him interesting enough to respect him.
"Let me guess. This is not related to me being his advisor when he became the Hokage right?" Shikamaru asked.
"No, it was back in the forest when Naruto explained everything," Sasuke said.
"Huh…?" Shikamaru felt uneasy with this strange foreboding that was taking place.
Sasuke turned to look at Shikamaru while his eyes slowly manifested into a Sharingan.
"What the…" Shikamaru was shocked to the point he readied his hand seal to initiate a shadow possession if things got worse.
"I am not going to attack you," Sasuke said as he stared at Shikamaru.
"Huh?" Shikamaru stared at Sasuke,
Soon, the surroundings changed into an image from Sasuke's memory.
It was the dreaded night of massacre that haunted Sasuke.
Shikamaru looked at the little Sasuke who fell on the floor in front of him.
His gaze shifted to what was ahead of young Sasuke, and what he saw was the bloodied corpses of Fugaku and Mikoto.
Sh!
Itachi suddenly appeared in front of Shikamaru and Young Sasuke.
However, Sasuke ran out in fright, denying everything that happened.
The events played out slowly until the point where Itachi stared down at Shikamaru as though Shikamaru was Young Sasuke himself.
Shikamaru shuddered.
The scene was too real, but he also knew that Sasuke didn't wish to hurt him. Not intentionally at least.
Itachi continued.
"The reason I acted as the big brother you desired was… because I wanted to measure your vessel.
"You have the potential to become my opponent… in order for me to measure my vessel.
"You hated me…
"And you continued to have the desire to surpass me.
"That's exactly why I will allow you to live…
"For my own benefit.
"You are someone who would be able to use Mangekyou Sharingan just like me.
"However, on one condition.
"That you must kill your closest friend…
"One day, when you have the same eyes as I do...
"Come and stand before me!" Itachi said, following which Itachi's eyes morphed into a Mangekyo Sharingan, closing the scene that happened in front of Shikamaru.
Bang!
Shikamaru fell to the ground, feeling weak in his knees.
"To think that you would fall down from a mere genjutsu…" Sasuke mocked Shikamaru who was gasping for breath.
"I understand what you went through Sasuke, but that is not the right way to end things between you two," Shikamaru said.
"Shikamaru, I said I respected you. Do you know why?" Sasuke asked.
"…" Shikamaru stared silently as sweat dropped from the side of his head.
"It's because you managed to avenge your Sensei in just a few days," Sasuke said.
Shikamaru thought back to the time Naruto had explained an event in concern for Shikamaru's future back in the forest.
The way how Asuma died in the previous timeline.
However, what Shikamaru didn't expect was Sasuke paying attention to the part where Shikamaru got his revenge.
"I respect your intelligence, Shikamaru. But at the end of everything, we are humans. We decide everything based on our emotions of what we feel is right or wrong. You don't want me to take revenge, but aren't you being hypocritical?" Sasuke asked.
Shikamaru gulped silently as he stared at Sasuke's eye returning back to normal.
"I'll go help Neji and Lee out. However, my revenge is mine alone, and I will defeat Naruto to learn the truth. If I can't defeat him, I'll just have my revenge. Whichever comes first," Sasuke said as he started to walk away towards the entrance.
Shikamaru thought back to the genjutsu where he saw Itachi for the very first time.
"If I were in Sasuke's shoes, would I do the same as well?" Shikamaru thought deeply as he stared at Sasuke who exited the field.
"And what was that condition about killing your..."
"closest..."
"..." Shikamaru felt a chill down his spine.
"It couldn't be..."
Owed Chapter 7/17
This week 0/7
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Unedited Chapter
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"It's been a long time…" A voice interfered.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru were stunned.
"Impossible…" Jiraiya stared at the man.
"Orochimaru, Jiraiya-sensei…"
The man said.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya appeared shocked on the outside. However, ninety percent of their emotion was fake, especially Jiraiya who had already seen the man from Naruto's memories. However the rest ten percent did remain true since it really was unexpected for such a character to appear out of the blue.
"Pain," Orochimaru smirked.
"Yahiko!"
"Is… that…"
"you?" Jiraiya asked slowly.
"Why do you have those eyes?" Jiraiya asked trying to act out the emotions he was supposed to have as the one who did not know the truth yet.
"I see that you can still recognize your students,"
"As expected of sensei, However, he is dead…"
"All that remains is Pain," Yahiko said.
"Sensei?"
"I see…" Orochimaru said as he stepped out.
"Looks like you were one of those three from back in that war," Orochimaru smiled with his piercing gaze staring right at the legendary Rinnegan.
"Orochimaru," Yahiko said as he stepped forth.
"You've betrayed Akatsuki," Pain said as he stared at Orochimaru.
"Hehe…" Orochimaru smirked.
"Answer me, Yahiko."
"What the hell happened to the other two?" Jiraiya asked in a serious tone.
Yahiko raised his hand.
("Damn!") Jiraiya and Orochimaru cursed at the same time following which they jumped back.
< Almighty Push! >
A repulsive forcefield pushed out in all directions, forcefully expelling any mobile objects that stood in the way.
(Bang!)
The ground of grass under Yahiko rippled out spherically, turning into a barren land as the force extended towards the spot where Jiraiya and Orochimaru once stood in.
"Hmph," Orochimaru smirked at the effort that Pain had just wasted.
It was the first time he had ever seen Pain execute a move ever since he had joined and left Akatsuki.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya looked at each other.
Both of them understood how the attack worked.
Yahiko pain (Deva path pain) had the powers of attraction and repulsion. The attack affected all objects regardless of material or weight. However, the time limit varied per attack with the minimum recharge period being five seconds.
Yahiko looked at Jiraiya.
"Orochimaru is an S-Class criminal according to the Bingo Book of the Hidden Leaf, "
"He is on the Bingo Book of every village,"
"Why would the two of you be on amicable terms?" Pain asked as he stared at Jiraiya.
"Hmph, I could ask you the same,"
"You were supposed to bring peace to the Hidden Rain,"
"Why would you start an organization which lists the help of S-Class Criminals?" Jiraiya asked.
"Hmph,"
"I don't need to answer that question," Yahiko said as he pulled back.
*Sh!*
A man with long orange hair emerged from the ground.
"That man…" Jiraiya thought back to Naruto's memories.
("He wasn't amongst the six that came to the village…") Jiraiya thought.
Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram
< Summoning Technique - Six Paths of Pain Summoning >
(Poof!)
(Poof!)
(Poof!)
(Poof!)
Four other figures with Orange Hair and Rinnegans appeared.
"This is bad…" Jiraiya uttered as he subconsciously reached into his pocket.
("Should I Have Naruto make an appearance?") Jiraiya thought.
——————————
(Whoosh!)
Naruto teleported along with Tobirama into the room where Hinata was resting.
"Naruto," Tsunade and Shizune stood up with Ton-ton in her hands.
"Granny!" Naruto called out in anger.
"…" Tsunade frowned.
"Naruto!" Shizune called out in anger.
"Shizune!" Tsunade restrained her.
"Hinata," Naruto appeared by her side as soon as he caught a glimpse of her figure in the room.
"Tsunade-sama," Shizune felt wronged.
"Please leave us for a while," Tsunade said in a low voice.
"But…" Shizune looked at Tsunade for an explanation only to be greeted by silence.
"Brat," Tobirama called out as he looked at Shizune.
"Do as she says," Tobirama said.
"I understand…" Shizune sighed in dejection.
"Oi…" Tonton stared at Tsunade.
…
Naruto rubbed Hinata's head gently as he stood by her bed.
"Naruto,"
"I…" Tsunade looked at Naruto with a guilty expression across her face.
"It's all right Granny,"
"If it is for the Bio-war then it can't be helped," Naruto said slowly as he continued to watch over Hinata with gentle eyes.
"…" Tsunade stared at Naruto with an expression of surprise.
"I am partly responsible for this," Tobirama explained.
"How so, Lord Second?" Naruto asked.
On their way over before teleporting, Tobirama only had enough time to explain the circumstances surrounding Shin's death, as such the entire matter regarding Danzō was skipped entirely.
"Before Shin died…"
…
"What?" Naruto was shocked.
"Lord Second, Even though I never faced old man Danzō, from what I know it is extremely dangerous to confront him," Naruto said.
"I know,"
"The only reason I tried to take action was that, even before Danzō died in the previous timeline, he was a nationalist,"
"As such, I chose to believe that he wouldn't be rash against someone like me," Tobirama sighed as he explained.
"Nationalist or not, we have to be cautious,"
"That is the reason why I want to meet Itachi,"
"Only he knows how Danzō operates," Naruto explained.
"Naruto is right,"
"We must avoid doing anything that might make him turn against us," Tsunade explained.
"The best option is to be by his side the whole time," Naruto said.
"You mean the time that you had taken Kawaki as your student?" Tobirama asked.
"…" Naruto's gaze turned solemn.
"tsk," Tsunade glared at Tobirama.
"Yes," Naruto replied.
"Got it," Tobirama confirmed following which he left the room.
"I'll leave you two alone for a while then," Tsunade said.
"Mm!" Naruto nodded.
Tsunade walked towards the door.
Upon holding the handle of the door, she looked at Naruto.
"When Hinata wakes up, let me know,"
"If this is not handled properly by me, it might lead to a case of Haemophobia," Tsunade said.
"Mm," Naruto nodded following which he looked at Tsunade directly.
"Granny,"
"If this succeeds,"
"What is the possibility of the reduction in casualties?" Naruto asked.
"Hmm…." Tsunade thought for a moment.
Naruto waited for an answer that could probably change the fate of the ninja world for good in the upcoming bio-war.
"I'd say it will definitely flip the tables as long as we contain it before the epidemic spreads beyond that region,"
"It could also be more effective if we could have the Hyūga clan contribute to the medical corps," Tsunade said.
"The Hyūga clan eh…" Naruto thought back to the time he saved Hinata, only to be greeted by Hiashi as the Seventh Hokage.
"I guess I need to talk with my dad after all," Naruto sighed as he took a look at Hinata again.
"…" Tsunade also silently stared at Hinata.
"Is Sai all right?" Naruto asked.
"As far as I know, Lord Second has made some arrangements for him," Tsunade said.
"What has become of his emotions?" Naruto asked.
Tsunade averted her gaze followed by a brief silence.
"I'll handle that,"
"Hopefully they should have those books he used back in the library," Naruto said.
"Ino had a chat with him today…" Tsunade said.
Naruto became elated.
"I see,"
"I guess everything is going to be fine," Naruto said.
"It must be fate," Tsunade said.
"Yeah…" Naruto trailed off as he looked back at Hinata once again.
"Okay then, I'll be leaving,"
"Remember to call me once she wakes up," Tsunade reminded once again following which she closed the door and left.
"So," Tobirama looked at Tsunade.
"He's going to see if we can get the Hyūga clan involved," Tsunade said.
"I see…" Tobirama nodded in approval.
(Whoosh!) An ANBU agent landed by Tobirama.
"Lord Second," The man called out.
"Hmm…?" Tobirama looked at his subordinate.
"There's movement from the root," the man reported.
"What?" Tsunade and Tobirama were astonished.
"They've already started to slip up," Tobirama grinned under his mask.
"Lead the way," Tobirama said.
"Yes!" The man responded.
"Wait," Tsunade called out.
"Hmm?" Tobirama looked at Tsunade.
"You must keep his suggestion in mind," Tsunade gently reminded.
"I won't make that mistake again," Tobirama said following which the two vanished from Tsunade's sight.
Tsunade gently sighed following which she left the place.
——————————
Hidden Leaf Orphanage…
"Kabuto-san,"
"Seconds!" a child from a nearby table shouted with chopsticks in hand.
"Yes!" Kabuto called out from the kitchen.
"It's great to have her son back here," an old lady thought as she saw the children of the orphanage hungry for Kabuto's cooking.
(Bang!)
The entrance door crashed down.
"Ah!" The old lady let out a yelp which was instantly halted by a cold feeling on her neck.
"Don't move," a voice from behind her said.
"No…" The old woman turned around to see the man wearing an ANBU mask.
The old woman knew that they were the root agents who usually came to the orphanage.
"It isn't time…"
"yet…" The old woman murmured slowly.
(Whoosh!)
(Whoosh!) (Whoosh!)
(Whoosh!) (Whoosh!) (Whoosh!)
About ten agents slipped in quietly and occupied the dining room practically holding all the children hostage.
"We'll be taking them away," the man next to the woman said.
However, the man's face suddenly froze.
(Bang!)
(Bang!) (Bang!)
(Bang!) (Bang!) (Bang!)
The agents fell down one by one with a needle at their nape.
"What?" The man holding the old lady as hostage stared at Kabuto by the kitchen doors.
"You'd better think twice before you lay hands on those kids," Kabuto said with three needles in his right fist which were held up like vertical claws.
("What an accuracy")
("He can pinpoint target the spots near the Vagus nerves that can knock a person out for hours,") The agent analyzed.
"Wait a minute,"
"Those glasses…"
"The white hair…" the man stared at the features one by one.
"Let the lady go," Kabuto said as he glared at the agent.
The agent removed his mask slowly.
"Is that you…"
"Kabuto?" The agent asked.
"Oga?" Kabuto stared at the boy who suggested Kabuto's name to Nono.
Owed Chapter 8/38 Chapters
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