Chapitre 24: Chapter 24
Konoha
''You must know already that Naruto went to the Lightning country,'' Tsunade said looking straight at her former teammate, Jiraiya. The Toad Sage was mostly aware of all things that happened within the village. Something like Naruto's disappearance from the village would have reached him quickly, even though the blond never told him.
''Yes I know. That is what is worrying me,'' Jiraiya stated calmly earning a raised brow from Tsunade. She was wondering what would make the Sannin worry if Naruto was just going to handle some Akatsuki members along with Sasuke.
''What are you worried about?'' Tsunade questioned in a bit of a low tone than the loud one she usually uses.
''What Naruto did in Kirigakure is not what every shinobi can do. Not even the Sannins could do it. He also has the Kyuubi by him, even able to summon it to fight for him. On top of that, everyone knows that he is Minato's son, even though he does not see it that way. People can suspect that he knows the Hiraishin, which was what made his father famous and dangerous,'' Jiraiya said.
''What are you getting at?''
''Itachi is known internationally and became very much dangerous, with only the Mangekyou Sharingan. Naruto not only has the Mangekyou, he has Mokuton, the Kyuubi and possibly the Flying Thunder God Technique,'' the Sannin paused for a moment. ''Those things make him much more powerful than anyone. What do you think other villages think when they see him?''
Tsunade realized what Jiraiya was getting at. ''They will feel threatened by his power,'' she said.
''Exactly my point,'' the Toad Sage stated with a nod. ''You also have to look at the fact that he is from here. This village is the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. It is obvious that villages like Kumo and Iwa are not satisfied with being second best to us. Naruto comes in to cement Konoha's place in top. With him, Kakashi, Gai, Sasuke, you and I, others might think that we have too much power.''
Tsunade sighed. ''They might think so which won't be good. But we have been staying out of other villages ways so not to provoke trouble,'' the Godaime stated. If other villagers saw that Konoha had too much power, they would not hesitate to team up and take it down as it is the bigger threat. She did not want something like that happening, not now and ever. She wanted this peace to continue.
''I know that the Raikage already thinks like that. But most importantly, he feels threatened by Naruto. We must not forget about Iwa, they already hate Naruto's father. It is possible that there is a strong dislike of him in the village,'' the only reason that Iwa had yet to place Naruto in their bingo books was because the Tsuchikage was not stupid. He would not dare place Naruto in his bingo books without evaluating things first.
''And now Naruto has gone off to the Lightning Country to battle Akatsuki who are trying to capture Kumo's Jinchuriki. We all know that Kumo's Jinchuriki are closely related to the Raikage,'' Tsunade stated looking into the ceiling. This was truly bothersome. The other Jinchuriki was a brother to the Raikage and the other was like his niece. If Naruto got involved with them it would surely spell trouble.
''I have no doubt that those two will be able to save Yugito. But what will happen afterwards worries me,'' Jiraiya said clearly worried even with his tone.
Tsunade nodded. ''Naruto will surely go to Kumogakure. He will surely say something that will piss off the Raikage,'' she released a sigh. ''Is he aware of the Raikage's feelings towards him?''
''Yes,'' Jiraiya stated with nod. ''I told him about it just before he left the village,'' even if the Situation could not be helped. He would have had him, Kakashi, and Sasuke go rather than Sasuke and Naruto.
''Do you think he went there on purpose?'' Tsunade questioned. It would certainly be of no surprise that he went there just to provoke the Raikage and see how he would react. But she also believed that Naruto was smart enough to know that Konoha did not need any trouble. She just wanted peace to the village not anymore wars with other villages.
''I don't know,'' Jiraiya answered quietly, taking a thoughtful look on his face. ''He might have. But just to make sure nothing happens; I will head to Kumo and intercept him before he gets into the village. The Raikage will surely not be thanking for him saving Yugito.''
Tsunade nodded in understanding. ''But make sure that you return with them. You are needed in this village should something occur. Since Akatsuki are very active these days, we need every available Shinobi close to the village.''
It was Jiraiya's time to nod in understanding. ''I want to tell you something important, Hime,'' Jiraiya said in a rather serious tone and expression on his face.
Tsunade too turned serious knowing that her former teammate had something to tell her important given by the look on his face. ''What is it?'' she asked.
''Naruto is behind Otogakure.''
Tsunade was silent for a few moments. She stared at Jiraiya's serious expression as she kept her silence. Finally, ''I was afraid something like this would happen after he told us he had killed Orochimaru,'' she said. ''Did he confirm it to you?''
''No,'' Jiraiya said shaking his head. ''He did not, neither did he deny his involvement. But when you asked him about it, he did deny it. I confirmed my suspicions after I met with him when he was leaving the village. Although there is no hard evidence to prove it, I know he is behind it.''
''What now?''
''I don't know,'' Jiraiya stated honestly.
''Do we confront him about it?'' Tsunade asked. It was really the same question as the one she had asked previously.
''I don't know,'' the Toad Sage gave the same response. But this time he added. ''New Otogakure is not really built for a military village. The way it's built, it is more like a capital for business. Its hotels are grade A and are quite expensive. Merchants have already started operating. It has wonderful gardens that I think were made using Naruto's Mokuton. Its hot springs are wonderful. I have never seen hot springs such as the ones that I saw there. If you need a waterfall, you don't need to go outside the village; there are three there, men build. They have also found a way to mine iron. When other villages hear about this, they will surely flock there to buy.
The palace for the leader is quite a building to see; it can easily be a tourist main attraction. I don't know how they did it, but they already have bought two gold mines; one in Shimo and the other in Takigakure. I do suspect some foul play though. They have also bought themselves into the shipping business; they own three boats that board from the Wave Country. I have also heard that the Snow village's princess was going to visit the village soon. I don't know for what reason, but I can only guess that it has to do with the Snow's advanced technology. I think the money from his father and from the Uchiha clan was used in the rebuilding of Oto. It seems to me like Naruto wants to make it his home,'' Jiraiya finished explaining things to Tsunade.
More than anything, Tsunade was impressed with the work Naruto has done in Oto. In just a short time he had already done that, while keeping his appearances in Konoha. He had to be well connected to be able to pull all that. Well it was no surprise that the blond was connected. But still, this would mean that Oto would become a commercial village. It seems like Naruto wanted it to become a capital of the elemental Nations, a place for business other than fighting. It was so unlike him. She would think that he would build something made entirely for fighting.
''If it is like that, it means that it is not a village for fighting but for generating money and for rich people looking to live a lavish lifestyle. Do you think he will leave Konoha because he has his own village?''
Jiraiya shook his head. ''He won't,'' the Sannin clearly believed his own words. He had confidence in his believe. ''If he wanted, he would have done it already. I don't think any of our shinobi could have stopped him if he were to have left. Konoha to him is like a military village - which it is. He won't leave this village. I think he needs it for its man power. Did you not just tell me that Mei has stated in the alliance that should the wedding between her and Naruto not happen within 6 months to a year, the alliance would be terminated?'' Tsunade nodded at this. ''He would have never accepted to get married to Mei in the first place if he was going to leave this village. He has made ties with Yugao, I have no doubt that she would never betray Konoha.''
Tsunade was silent for a few seconds. ''He never spends anytime near the villagers. He does not even seem interested in them or anything they do. But the name Konoha means something else to him.''
''I think that has to do with his troubled childhood. We don't know how he dealt with the traumas of the past. What he is now is the results of the villagers' treatment towards him. I also don't think that at this time he forgives them. Perhaps in the future he might,'' Jiraiya paused for a moment. ''But what is important is that we know that he is behind Oto and has no evil intensions towards Konoha.''
''They really did a number on him, huh?'' Tsunade looked at Jiraiya's expression. There was some guilt. She guessed he still blamed himself for what happened to Naruto. Certainly, if he had been there, things would have turned out differently. But the past could not be changed, it just had to be embraced and then one could move on. ''Let's go get some sake before you leave. I am done for the day,'' Tsunade said standing up.
Jiraiya pecked up suddenly and grinned towards his former teammate.
The following day
Yugito had woken up during the way back to the hideout, but Zetsu had given him the order to knock her out again. He explained that he did not want her to know the location of the hideout. Naruto would not have been pleased they allowed her to get the direction of the hideout even though he never used it. But it was Uchiha property, it surely would not please the blond if a none Uchiha found this place and made use of it.
Their way to the hideout was quite and uneventful. Zetsu was not speaking; he had his mind on other things rather that talking to Sasuke. He had to be worried about Naruto. As it were now, Naruto was dead. If Obito was not know of this, he would certainly move to take Nagato's Rinnegan knowing that it was the only way to revive him. But if he were to get someone to use the Edo Tensei and bring back Naruto to live, the blond would surely find a way to get his life back. With his power and an immortal body, anything was possible.
But right now, he knew where Nagato was. One of his clones was watching the man and his partner, Konan. It would take a minute for him to get there and since he could not be sensed, even by a great sensor like Nagato, it would be easy for him to manipulate the leader of Amegakure. That was all he needed to do to ensure that Naruto was brought back to life. Failure was not an option for him. He had to do a perfect mission as Naruto would say. It was the blond's will that he succeed. It would surely do no one any favor if Naruto was not brought back, well mostly him.
''Stay here,'' Zetsu said as he walked towards another room within the hideout. They were within the Uchiha hideout inside one of the rooms. Yugito had been laid to rest.
''Aren't you going to get her some treatment? She is badly hurt even though her wounds seem to be healing,'' Sasuke stated seeing that Zetsu had simply told him to put her in bed and that was it.
''She is a Jinchuriki, she will be fine,'' Zetsu responded. ''But if you want to treat her, you can with your medical kit,'' he said walking away from the room.
A few minutes later after Zetsu had put Naruto's body on a bed. He went back to the room he left Sasuke within. Itachi would be arriving in about 2 hours; when that does happen, he would have to leave to take care of his mission. The two Uchihas would battle it all out, and hopefully, he would come back before they had finished their business.
Zetsu looked towards Yugito; she was bandaged nicely and cleaned of her blood. She still wore her torn up clothes though. Sasuke had the decency not to take off her clothes. He only bandaged parts of the body that he could take a look without seeing anything private. He smiled; Naruto would have not done something like that. The blond would have simply taken off her clothes and cleaned her if she was something to him. He would not have cared about having to see a woman naked. Perhaps Sasuke had ''nice'' thoughts when seeing a woman naked. And he did not want to be tempted to do anything ''evil'' to the woman while she was sleeping. That would be of no surprise, though, given who his sensei was.
Looking at the Uchiha, Zetsu could not deny that he was so much different from the dead blond in the other room. Sasuke was also different from his brother. Itachi was a pacifist; he liked peace and did not like fighting. But only did so because he knew it was necessary. Sasuke on the other hand no problems with fighting or killing anyone. He may have changed, but he was still impassive towards death, especially if it is someone who was not related to him. Perhaps in that respect he was the same as Naruto. The blond had to shame in admitting that he thoroughly enjoyed a good dance, even if he would killing multiple people.
''Are you going to explain things?'' Sasuke asked in a dead serious tone. As far as he was concerned, Naruto was dead. Zetsu had said he would explain things once they got here and he had also stated that the blond was merely sleeping not dead. But his eyes told him a different story.
Zetsu sighed. ''There is nothing to explain really,'' he said. ''Naruto will tell you himself when he wakes up, that is if he wills. Right now, focus on your upcoming battle with Itachi.''
Sasuke glared at Zetsu, but did not do anything. ''How can I do that? Naruto is lying somewhere dead. I don't even know who you are and what you are going to do to his body. And all you tell me is that he is only sleeping, while you and I know it that he is dead.''
Zetsu turned away from the Uchiha. ''I am missing Naruto already,'' he said loud enough for Sasuke to hear him. His words of course surprised the Uchiha. He interpreted in differently. Zetsu was saying that because Sasuke was asking him too much questions that he should not bother with him. Why could he not just be a good boy and stay still? Naruto was never annoying if the situation was bad. He always stayed calm like there was nothing wrong. He liked that about the blond. He wished for Sasuke to remain calm and relax.
''Where are you going?''
''Let us go outside,'' Zetsu stated walking away from the room. Sasuke followed suit since he really had no other options. There was nothing he could do but follow the artificial human. ''Itachi will be here in a few hours.''
They walked outside the clearing and stood silently, for a few moments. Sasuke sat down to clear his mind so not to have many things troubling him as he waited for his brother. Zetsu remained standing with a few thoughts in his head; Naruto had planned for this place to be where Itachi would fight with Sasuke after the former that approached him. But he had planned for the battle to take place while they were coming back from Kumogakure after delivering Yugito to the Raikage. He had not planned for things to move out quickly. When he told Sasuke that they would be away for about 2 weeks, this was where they would be staying.
They waited silently for Itachi to appear for more than two hours.
Finally, Itachi appeared before the two and still with his stoic expression still on. The Uchiha was still in his Akatsuki cloak as he appeared. He was expecting to see Naruto with Sasuke, but was surprised to see the blond absent. He looked at his younger brother; he was staring at him with an impassive expression on his face and fists clenched. He smiled inwardly seeing that his younger brother had grown well.
''Where is Naruto?'' Itachi finally asked breaking the silence. He asked looking straight at Zetsu.
''Sleeping,'' Zetsu replied turning away from the Uchiha. He was walking back towards the house. ''You will not be able to see him now, but are welcome to settle things with Sasuke. And please don't destroy this hideout. I don't want the ''guest'' to awaken,'' he was referring to Yugito. Then Zetsu disappeared off to Naruto's room.
Itachi looked straight at his younger brother. ''Hello Sasuke,'' the older Uchiha said calmly.
''Itachi,'' Sasuke replied in a whisper with barely contained emotions threatening to escape.
Naruto's room
Black Zetsu separated himself from white Zetsu and they became two beings. ''Why do I have to stay here? I also want to see Naruto revive. There is a chance that the Rinnegan might awaken after the ordeal,'' white Zetsu complained.
''You have to stay here and observe the battle. You also can't do what I can do. You are useless in this kind of mission, and you have to make sure that should those two destroy the hideout during their fight, Yugito is not caught in the middle while still unconscious,'' Black Zetsu explained to his other half.
''Fine,'' the other half said. ''How will you get him near Nagato?''
''Naruto bound both of us to him. He can summon as whenever he wants, in the same way, we can also summon him,'' Black Zetsu stated. ''I am going,'' with that he left.
White Zetsu sighed. ''Well at least I get to watch two Uchihas fight in an all out battle,'' he said to himself.
Sometime later
Nagato was walking in his mechanical walker with Konan right beside him and also his Six Paths. They were on their way towards Tsuchigomo to collect Saiken, the Six-tails. Obito had said they should attack the Jinchuriki at the same time so that Naruto would not be able to defend all of the Jinchuriki at the same time. Obito had seemed certain that Naruto would in fact try to protect the Jinchuriki's. Now Nagato was not too sure about that. Naruto had already killed one of the Jinchuriki and from what he knows so far, the blond Uchiha does not really care for much. So it was a surprise to hear the man say Naruto would definitely try to stop them. Perhaps not out of care for the Jinchuriki, but to stop their plan for peace.
That seems to be the likely reason.
Orders were orders. But he was not too concerned about it. With this, he would only be closer to achieving world peace. Yes, going all out at this time would bring him closer to uniting the world through pain. He had been patient enough. Now his dream, Yahiko's dream was looking like it was going to take form. He had already brought calm in Amegakure after taking over from Hanzou; he could do the same to the entire world. With his power and the weapon they would create, peace was possible in this world of pain.
Still, Tobi would not be giving him orders forever. Sometimes he did not understand the man, and he also has been unable to find more about the man. He was mysterious in a unique way. He was sure evil, that he could not mistake. But at the same time, the man surely had helped him with his goal. He was grateful for that, but still, he sensed that he was being used. That was why he wanted to be a step faster than Tobi. If he did not do that, he would surely be in trouble and all his work would have been for nothing. He was not going to allow that to happen though. If that happened, all his pain, Konan's pain, Yahiko's pain, would have been for nothing. He would not have that happen. He would ensure with every muscle fiber in his body that his plan for peace became a success.
Tendou looked at Konan; she was his only friend, the only person he cared for in the whole world. His parents had been killed long ago, so he had no family since he was the only child to them. He had no relatives to speak of. The Uzumaki had been eradicated within their village by the combined forces of Kumogakure and Iwagakure. He would make sure that all was well with her. He had been with her so far as he could remember. She was always there, looking after him, given his current state.
Konan saw the look Tendou gave her and looked at Nagato. ''Is the something wrong, Nagato?'' she asked emotionlessly.
Nagato shook his head, ''no,'' he said. He looked far ahead to where they faced. He could do this mission alone. But Konan had insisted on following him. He did not necessarily need her to get the job done even though they were partners. But she wanted to be with him just to ensure that he was okay.
''You have not been looking ''well'' lately,'' Konan stated taking her eyes off her partner. ''...to be more specific, you seem to be thinking a lot more than you usually do.''
Nagato shifted his eyes at Konan, this time not with one of his paths, but he himself. He looked ahead shortly after that. It was so much like her to notice even the smallest changes in him. She could read him even when his face showed nothing. She was better at sensing his emotions. Sometimes he thought she knew him better than he did himself. Even with the slightest change with him, she would quickly pick it up. Well, she was always a caring person, towards him that is. Despite her cold appearance, she worried about him and would not hesitate to put her life on the line should he be in danger.
It was a pity that since she stopped smiling, he could no longer guess what was going inside her head. ''I have,'' Nagato admitted.
Konan waited for him to tell her what had been consuming his thoughts. She would not ask, he was going to tell her. Even if she had to wait for more than an hour or days, he would eventually tell her what was bothering him. He was always like that and she always did things in this manner. He did not keep things from her. He was always honest with her. Perhaps that was what made them effective partners and good friends.
After a few moments of silence, Nagato opened his mouth, ''this world is...'' he trailed off when he sensed something behind him. Despite his many eyes, the black mass seemed to have just appeared out of nowhere. He was not quick enough to react, neither where his paths. The thing seemed to have come from the ground beneath his mechanical walker and sneaked its way towards him like a shadow. It had moved like a shadow, and he did not sense it until it was too late. It was on its own surprising given that he was sensor. It should not have been able to get so close to him without him being unable to realize it.
The black mass then got hold of him and covered his entire body. He felt himself losing control over his body, like something was taking it over. Yes that was it. Something was pushing his consciousness away to take control over his mind. He mastered his will to push back and nearly succeeded until the black mass took stabbed him on his stomach. Some liquid entered his system, making him feel dizzy. And soon he lost control over his body.
''Nagato! What is wrong?'' Konan yelled, obviously worried for her friend. She could see the black mass covered his entire upper body. The thing had a really deranged grin on its face. She did not understand what was going on, hence she could not act. The Six Paths were just standing still, doing nothing.
''Nagato is not available right now,'' Black Zetsu replied in his dark tone.
Given his answer, paper shurikens immediately formed around Konan as she prepared to smile. But ''Nagato'' merely grinned wickedly making her uncomfortable. The six bodies of pain then all turned towards her with the same grin ''Nagato'' had. She cursed her luck. She could not possibly take on Nagato. She knew everything about his abilities and weaknesses but even so, this was Nagato's body; she could not fight her teammate. She did not even understand what was going on.
''Stand still and nobody gets hurt,'' ''Nagato'' stated. ''I am just borrowing him for a moment.''
''Who are you? What do you want?''
Tendou raised his hand towards her, ''Shut up. If you don't, I will be forced to take some actions to shut you up,'' he stated calmly.
Again, Konan cursed.
Zetsu then wondered how he would get Naruto here. The poison he had infected Nagato with would not last for too long. And if he wasted time, Nagato would regain control over his body. He would not get another opportunity after this. He had observed Nagato for about an hour before making his move. He wanted him to get into the right place and to time his move perfectly so not to make any mistakes. He had waited for the man to walk into a place where there were shadows. He was able to blend in with the shadows perfectly. It was good that this form gave no chakra or else the Rinnegan would have noticed him. He had succeeded in taking Nagato's body, but now there was a challenge.
He could not summon Naruto while still in possession of Nagato's body. If he had summoned Naruto's corpse before attempting to possess Nagato, the man would have sensed him and put his whole operation in danger. That was something he did not want. This was his only opportunity to revive Naruto. The blond would not be too pleased if he were to take too long to bring him back to life. Sighing, he realized that he had one choice.
'Bring Naruto to my location,' Black Zetsu stated in his mental connection with white Zetsu. They could telepathically speak to each other regardless of the distance.
'Have you already possessed Nagato?'
'Yes, now hurry up and come here!'
'How do I come there with Naruto? I can't travel underground with him,' white Zetsu questioned.
'Just get here without him. I will tell you what to do.'
'Fine,' white Zetsu said sensing that his other half was a little impatient. Well it had been an hour already, the battle between Sasuke and Itachi was reaching its conclusion. He did not want to miss that.
Black Zetsu ignored the glaring Konan as he waited for his other half to appear. He did not have to wait for too long as W. Zetsu appeared from a nearby tree and walked towards him while at the same time staring at Konan with a grin.
''What did I tell you before I left?'' Black Zetsu asked looking straight at his other half.
''You told me to wait at the hideout.''
Black Zetsu sighed. ''I told you that we were both bound to Naruto and that we could summon him.''
''Oh...'' white Zetsu mouthed realizing what Black Zetsu was telling him to do.
'Naruto?' Konan thought. 'Might it be by any chance Uchiha Naruto?' she was given the answer when white Zetsu went through hand seals.
''Kuchiyose no Jutsu!'' in a puff of smoke, Naruto's body appeared on the ground. Konan widened her eyes. He was definitely dead. There was no mistake about it. Then if he was dead, what did it mean for the Kyuubi? And who could have killed him? Madara had insisted that he was powerful and the only one who can take him down was Nagato.
''I am going back to make sure that everything is well at the hideout,'' White Zetsu stated before disappearing.
''Now then...''
Konan then realized what was about to happen. ''You want to use Nagato's eyes to revive him,'' she said. Upon those words leaving her mouth, all of pain's six bodies surrounded her.
''Stay still,'' Tendou stated in a firm tone. Konan knew, if she moved, she would be in danger.
''Gedou: Rinne Tensei,'' just as Konan had feared, the king of hell appeared as ''Nagato'' appeared to be very much concentrated on the jutsu. Channeling chakra through the king of hell, Zetsu was able to retrieve Naruto's soul from the afterlife. A green beam shot out of the king of hell's mouth and hit Naruto's corpse. It covered his entire body for a few moments before dying down. Just then, the king of hell disappeared.
Konan waited as the green light disappeared. She had never actually seen Nagato use the technique, but he had always used the other one to revive his six paths. But never had he used the Rinne Tensei. Madara always said that he was not to use the technique so carelessly and there were limits to using the technique. And so Nagato had always used other techniques but never this one. Still, the fact that thing had possessed Nagato knew about this meant that it knew a lot more about Nagato's eyes. That also meant that Naruto himself knew of the Rinnegan's abilities. The powers of the Doujutsu were supposed to be a mystery. So how does Naruto know about it? She was getting the feeling that Madara knew something about Naruto. He had to know, he always had something to say about the blond.
Finally, Naruto's body twitched and he slowly got up. He did not seem to mind his location or whatever that was going on with him. He simply looked at his arms with a blank expression on his face. His head was making some unbearable noise. He silently shook his head and as if trying to brush off the troubling noise. He slowly looked around himself before turning towards ''Nagato''.
''That was a rather unwanted sleep. An interesting experience nevertheless,'' Naruto said in his usual monotone voice. He was very much pleased with the work Zetsu had done. He did not spend much time in the afterlife; that was a good thing for him.
''I am glad that it went well. It would have been unpleasant if your soul was held back by something,'' Zetsu stated, still in possession of Nagato's body. But he could feel that the owner of the body was fighting to gain control. His ''medicine'' must have run out of power.
''You would have found a way to bring me back...'' Naruto said looking straight at Zetsu.
''Nagato is fighting me for control,'' Zetsu stated.
''Leave his body. You have done your mission perfectly well,'' Naruto said looking up at the sky. ''What is the current situation?'' he asked completely ignoring Konan who was simply staring at him with an impassive on her face. She did not feel like talking to him or asking him. Even if she did, with that look on his face, she could tell that she would not get any answer from the blond.
''Sasuke is currently fighting Itachi...but they should be done by now. They are at the hideout at the moment. Yugito is still unconscious at the hideout,'' Zetsu reported.
Konan was quite surprised that they could speak like that while she could still hear them. It seemed like they did not care if she could hear them or not. They were just busy with their business. Sasuke is fighting Itachi? What was that? She knew they were brothers. But Itachi was supposed to be doing his mission. If he was at this hideout that meant that he had walked off grid. Did it mean that he had betrayed the Akatsuki? Madara had always said that Itachi could not be trusted even though the man did his missions perfectly well and never showed any signs of betrayal.
''I did not miss much,'' Naruto said in a quite tone. Zetsu then quickly left Nagato's body and rushed towards Naruto. Nagato slowly regained control over his body and Konan was ready to fight in defense of her partner who seemed to be a little dizzy.
''Go Rendezvous with white Zetsu. Summon me after a minute or so,'' Naruto instructed to which Black Zetsu nodded.
''You are not planning to fight him here? If you do that, you will stop him from taking Saiken,'' Black Zetsu responded with a question.
''That may be true,'' Naruto said still looking at the sky. ''But I have no interest in a fight right now. Besides we have to do damage control with Sasuke. He will surely be in anger after learning the truth. It is best to manage the situation before he does anything stupid. Before this, we knew that Saiken would be captured. It is still the same as that. Let Nagato have his fun,'' the blond explained keeping his tone blank as he spoke.
''You are going to allow the Jinchuriki to be taken? Before, we had not accounted for this to happen. But now we are in a position to stop one of the Jinchuriki from being taken,'' Black Zetsu said clearly surprised by Naruto's response.
''Yes,'' Naruto responded, again surprising black Zetsu. ''I have something that is better planned for them, so there is no need to save them.''
Zetsu nodded and disappeared from Naruto. If he had something planned, that meant that it was something good. But he wondered what it was because, if he allowed them to be captured, they would be killed. What more could he do after that? Well it was Naruto, he could do some interesting things. He just had to wait and see.
Naruto then turned towards Konan. She was looking at him with the same impassive expression he always uses. She seemed ready for a battle. He was one of their targets. But she should know that because of his death, it meant that the Kyuubi was no longer inside of him. Still, it did not stop Naruto from asking, ''Do you wish to dance with me?''
Nagato was still trying to wrap his mind around what had just occurred. So Konan responded, ''It would be foolish to allow you to leave. But the fact that you were dead means that the Kyuubi is no longer sealed within you. Either it also ''died'' after your death or you extracted it before you died, you know of its location,'' the only female within the Akatsuki stated.
''Ho?'' Naruto kept his impassive expression. But a small smile flicked through for a second. ''Either the Kyuubi is ''dead'' or somewhere else, I know the answer. Given that, you cannot allow me to leave. You want to capture me so to get that information out of me. With the Rinnegan, it can be achieved rather easily.''
Konan did not show her surprise at his knowledge of the Rinnegan. If he knew that the Doujutsu could read minds then he knew a lot more. It would explain why he was so calm given the situation. Nagato was unbeatable. He had never lost a battle. She did not think that this child in front of her would be able to do that. But still, the fact that he was so calm even knowing about the Rinnegan raised question within her mind. Was he just arrogant? Perhaps, but he did not seem that way.
''Kyuubi Jinchuriki,'' Nagato stated in a dead voice, his ripple-pattern eyes staring straight at the blond. The Six Paths took their position around him.
Naruto activated his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and smiled slightly. ''The God of Amegakure and his Angel are preparing to dance with Uchiha Naruto, how exciting. I can feel the excitement tingling in every part of my body,'' he began releasing large amounts of chakra that surprised both Akatsuki members. The chakra he was releasing caused some debris to pick up around him. But it toned down after a few moments. ''But this is one dance I will miss. It is a bit sad though,'' he said. Nagato was still not in the condition he wanted him at. It would not please him as much as it would when fighting him at a perfect condition.
''You have come to me. I will not allow you to escape here without the Kyuubi in my grasp. The Bijuu's power is essential in my plans for peace,'' Nagato stated in a calm manner while his eyes narrowed at Naruto.
''Your plans..?'' Naruto shook his head. The man was collecting Bijuu's without even knowing that he was going to do that for. He was just a means to an end. ''Pitiful,'' he said pausing for a moment. He could tell Nagato the truth, but that would not do it for him. He wanted to fight the man. ''As much as I wou...'' he never got to finish his sentence as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Nagato widened his eyes before looking at Konan. ''I did not think he was actually serious about it; he told that black thing to summon him after a minute or so,'' Konan stated relaxing as she could no longer sense Naruto's chakra.
''His chakra has disappeared; he is not anywhere close to us,'' Nagato stated. ''I can't believe I was used like that.''
''How do you think that he knew of your ability to revive the dead?''
''I don't know,'' Nagato replied. ''This creates a problem. We don't know if the Kyuubi was still sealed within him when he died. If it was, then we would have two Bijuu's missing.''
''Didn't Madara say he knew where to get a substitute for the Three-tails?'' Konan questioned.
''He did,'' Nagato said with a nod. ''But I think that the Kyuubi has been freed from Naruto for some time. Months ago, he summoned it, not transform into it. Something like that should be impossible to do given that you would have to break the seal to do so.''
''I think that way too,'' Konan said.
''We will deal with this after we have completed our mission. We still have to retrieve the Six-tails,'' Nagato stated as he initiated his mechanical walker to move. He wanted to get this done and return to Amegakure where he could deal with all this mess.
Uchiha Hideout
Naruto was summoned back to the hideout by Zetsu. He was summoned at the place which Sasuke and Itachi had been fighting. He looked around for a moment; at least they did not destroy the hideout. Their battle was staged outside the building. It would have forced them to move out of the place if the hideout was destroyed. Sasuke had to recover first before they could do anything else. The destruction to the landscape was a little attracting. Perhaps Sasuke had used his cursed seal and Itachi used his Susano'o. But due to the fact the Itachi was almost blind; he did not use it often. It was used as his ace card.
''I was hoping to witness this,'' Naruto murmured silently. ''Well it could not be helped,'' he was dead during the time the battle took place. Zetsu could not record it because he was busy trying to revive him. He could not have been able to possibly observe the fight given the circumstances.
''It was quite an interesting battle,'' Zetsu said. At least white Zetsu had watched it while black Zetsu was busy with his mission.
''I would imagine so - it was a battle between two Sharingans after all...'' Naruto said looking towards the house. His EMS was still activated; he had not bothered to deactivate it. ''Everything went according to the script, I hope.''
Zetsu nodded knowing what Naruto was referring to. ''He showed it to him with his last remaining power before eventually dying.''
Naruto nodded. ''Telling him would have not been effective as showing it to him. If told, he might have called Itachi a bluff. But even when he was shown the event, because it was a genjutsu he might find it hard to believe. However, the new Sasuke believed his brother, that I am positive of...''
''…So what now? Matatabi's Jinchuriki has already awakened due to the battle. She was currently restrained due to the lack of chakra and Sasuke is still out cold. I believe he is also suffering from chakra exhaustion,'' Zetsu stated looking straight at Naruto. The battle had taken a lot from Sasuke despite the condition Itachi was in. Well that was just a testimony of how truly the Uchiha was.
''We will rest until Sasuke can function properly. Then we will head to Kumogakure,'' Naruto responded walking towards the house. He needed to wash himself and change his clothing before the rest.
''I had thought that the Rinnegan would have awakened due to this experience,'' Zetsu said following Naruto from behind.
''I was not expecting it to happen. Madara awakened his near the end of his lifespan. But due to our different bodies and experiments, he hypothesized that mine would awaken sooner than his. I have also carried some test, and I believe that it will awaken soon when it ''wills''.
''You don't seem to be in a hurry to acquire it,'' Zetsu noted.
''Perhaps,'' Naruto responded as he continued to make way towards the house.
''How was the afterlife?''
Naruto narrowed his eyes at Zetsu before responding, ''Empty.''
The answer puzzled Zetsu as he could not understand what that word meant. He was not expecting Naruto to define his experience in the afterlife with a single word, empty. What did it mean? He wondered. There surely had to be a meaning and something hidden behind that word. Empty defined a few scenarios. With regards to Naruto, he could not think of a scenario which could have caused the experience to be merely empty. Well, this was Naruto; even though he understood the blond better than anyone, he could not fathom the meaning behind his respond.
Zetsu directed Naruto towards the room Yugito was being restrained within. Before he rests, the blond opted to see the Jinchuriki from Kumogakure first. Sasuke was already at rest after his fight with Itachi. But just to be safe, Zetsu had bound him so that when he wakes up, he does not get up to do anything stupid in anger because of Konoha's decisions, his brother was forced to live a horrible life, so was he. It was obvious that he would be very much angry when he does wake up, hence the restrains. Naruto also did not want to end up doing ''something'' to Sasuke to stop him from getting killed by Konoha shinobi.
Naruto looked at Zetsu after he had reached Yugito's room. ''Go to the hideout and get me new clothing. These ones are damaged,'' he said looking at the armor he wore. He had been fighting wearing it. And things got a little bloody during the fight, it was necessary that he change it.
Zetsu nodded and disappeared to THE hideout. He was always doing something. Well at least Naruto won't need the armor until he chooses to leave for Kumo. For the night he would not be wearing it. So he was not going to hurry up in returning to the hideout. He would take his time to also rest and do some other things. He was always working both physically and mentally. He deserved some rest.
Naruto walked into the room Yugito was held. As soon as he entered the woman was already glaring at him murderously. Her glare did nothing to scare him though. It was not even amusing to witness. Zetsu must not have told her anything when she woke up. That much was obvious. He stood by the door frame and folded his hands across his chest while looking at her, impassively.
There was no mistake about it. The man that was standing in front of her was Uchiha Naruto. The Raikage disliked him very much because of his rumored power. She did not understand much about it though because to her he was no threat as long as he did nothing against her village. So far he had done nothing to provoke the anger or wrath of her village. Looking straight at him, she could feel his power oozing through him. The look on his eyes was somewhat hypnotizing. But she refused to fall under the hypnoses. She stubbornly refused to show weakness in front of him.
He was somewhat not so much scary as some people in Kiri had described him. His general appearance was indeed fearsome and his power was definitely threatening to enter her system. But it was nothing scary. Perhaps she liked the power that was leaking out of him. Perhaps he was not just showing her his scary side. Either way, she merely stared at him impassively, imitating the look her was giving her. He did not seem like he was going to say anything by the look he was giving her.
She did not really know where she was and how she got here. But last thing she remembered before losing consciousness was fighting two Akatsuki freaks that just did not die no matter how hard she hit them. They were truly freaks of nature. Even when delivering killing blows, they did not die, they merely continued to fight her while the other added the misery by continuously calling her a bitch. Those two Akatsuki agents had nearly killed her. When she had lost consciousness, she thought she was done for it. Nobody knew what the Akatsuki did when they had captured you. But she was certain that whatever it was they did, it would result in her death.
But here she was with Uchiha Naruto staring at her with a blank look on his face. She had been proud of her strength thinking that she could defeat the two Akatsuki members. She was a perfect Jinchuriki who could control the powers of her bijuu. It was unthinkable that two immortals would defeat her as she was. She was one of the strongest in Kumo. Even with her own power without her Bijuu, she was at least high jounin-level shinobi. She did not think that she would be defeated. But she was. And here she was.
Naruto is rumored to be a Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. She had little hope that perhaps he was not going to do nasty things to her. Some men were pigs. Having a woman at their captive would surely arouse disgusting thoughts within their minds. And it did not take long for them to try to unclothe a woman so to do whatever they pleased with her. Those were the dangers of being a kunoichi, but she was a proud one and accepted all that came with the job. But that did not mean she would rejoice if that man staring at her chose to do something unthinkable to her.
''What do you want?'' Yugito finally asked after getting tired of the silence. She spoke through gritted teeth but keeping her tone down and expression calm so not to show any weakness.
''What do I want?'' Naruto repeated her question. He did not smile or anything. He took steps towards her. Each step was the sound of her heartbeat. She was starting to feel scared, afraid of her fate. She did not know what he wanted with her. He was a man and she was a woman. She was restrained and her chakra was sucked out. It would take a while for her to recover it. And her body still hurt from the fight with Akatsuki.
Naruto stopped in front of her and leaned towards her. His face was just inches away from her. He still kept his expression impassive, no sign of anything. She could not figure out what was going inside his mind. She wanted to spit on his face because of how close his face was to hers. She could feel his warm breathe touching her skin. He then moved towards her right ear.
''Why don't you tell me what I want?'' he said with a tone devoid of any emotion. After that he went back to face her so she could see his face. His question did nothing to comfort her. What could she say?
She settled for glaring at him. What infuriated her was that he did not waver or even say a word. He simply kept his silence. She knew he was waiting for her to answer him. She was his captive, he could do whatever he wanted with her. He was in charge and he was showing it to her. She cursed inwardly and thought of wiping that infuriating blank expression off his face.
''Where am I?'' Yugito asked a different question.
Naruto then moved his hand towards her face. He got hold of her chin, staring into her eyes with his hypnotic eyes. He smiled slightly. Yugito wanted to hit his face, but her hands were tied behind her. But even so, she stayed calm. ''Aren't you going to answer my question?''
Yugito intensified her glare as hard as she could. ''Do what you want,'' she said with a tone devoid of any emotion.
Naruto merely kept his small smile. ''Fine,'' he said, moving his hands downwards. Yugito widened her eyes thinking he was going after her assets. Naruto lifted her shirt and placed his hand on her belly. He then pulled a white mass from her. Then the mass then transformed of a human, no, something like a white human. Naruto turned towards it. There seemed to be a silent message passed through them because white Zetsu's clone nodded to Naruto then disappeared from the room.
Naruto looked at Yugito. Her hands were still bound. He moved towards to unbind them. He felt her body tense as his body touched hers, but he said nothing. He just forcibly turned her back towards him and cut off the rope binding her. He then moved away from her. Looking at her expression he spoke, ''You thought I was going to do something to your body,'' he said as if it was the most obvious thing.
Yugito merely stared at him. That was what had crossed her mind. But she was not going to admit that. But she was now certain that he was not going to do something nasty to her. If he wanted to he would have done it so already without unbinding her. When he had lifted up her shirt slightly, she thought he was surely going for it. But she was relieved when he simply pulled something out of her. She did not understand what it was, but it seemed not to do any harm to her. Even so, she refused to show her emotions.
''You women are always thinking nasty things. No wonder bad things happen to you,'' he seemed to sigh as he finished speaking. ''You can now gather you chakra, am I right?''
Yugito had not felt it. But focusing, she felt it. Her chakra was gradually returning. That was it, that thing he pulled out was draining her chakra each time her system builds. That made her without much chakra to do anything. This generosity of course raised alarms. Why would he do that? If she gathered her chakra she could attempt to escape even now that she was unbound.
''What do you want?'' Yugito asked her question again.
''Nothing,'' Naruto responded. Zetsu had already placed a seal on her to cut off her connection with her bijuu. She had yet to realize it. But she would soon. ''What were you doing outside Kumo alone? The threat of Akatsuki is known. Despite being a ''perfect'' Jinchuriki, your power is not enough to deal with those zombies without assistance. Someone strong should have been with you.''
Yugito ignored the comment about her power. ''I was on a mission,'' she answered flatly.
Naruto seemed to think for a moment. ''Ah, so, it was a setup,'' he said.
''Huh?''
''What is the coincidence that the day you leave Kumo without your team the Akatsuki happen to show up?'' Naruto questioned. Yugito just looked at him with confusion, but he was not going to explain. ''Rest for now, tomorrow or the following, you will be returned to Kumogakure.''
''So you saved from the Akatsuki,'' Yugito said, finding it the only reason he would be with her. She was captured by those zombies as Naruto called them. If they were not here, and he was telling her that he would return her home, he was have dealt with them.
Naruto did not respond. His eyes bored into hers as they spun, ''Sleep,'' he said. Yugito felt her consciousness leave her. Genjutsu, she realized. She cursed her weak state as darkness consumed her and she fell backwards into the bed. Naruto sighed and turned around to leave the room.
Yugito could now recover well her chakra during the Sharingan forced sleep. If she can recover her chakra and heal her wounds to some extent during the night, it would be good. It would be well if her connection with Matatabi was not cut off. If not, the Bijuu would heal her during the night. But if he had not cut off the connection, the Bijuu would wake her up. If that happened, he would have been forced to have a white Zetsu clone tag her so to consume her chakra so that she does not attempt to run away. But doing that would leave her unable to heal properly and recover her chakra.
He wanted her to walk on her own feet when they go to Kumo. When doing that, she would not be a burden that would need to be carried all the way. Things would be easier if she was on her own feet. Since the rescue was a success, he would have to go to Kumo and then return to Konoha. Upon returning, he would have to think other things. It was best to get this little episode over and move onto other matters.
What he had to do now was refresh his body. He had been dead. The body needed sufficient rest. His chakra was also acting up in the wrong way within his body. He could feel its circulation around his body. Normally, he should not be able to do so unless meditating. But he was not doing so. He had figured that by now, he should have been able to know whatever happens to his body. He hated it when something happened and he could not understand it. But it was no matter at the moment. He had been dead after all.
Sighing, Naruto closed the door behind him as he took silent steps towards a room he would use. Sasuke was still resting; there was no need to visit him. What good would it do if the Uchiha was sleeping and he went there? For now it was best to allow him to recover.
The following day
''Where are you going?'' Yugito heard as she was silently making her way towards the exit of the house she had been kept in. Upon waking up from her Sharingan induced sleep, she had immediately thought of running away from the place. It was still early in the morning, still dark inside and outside. She thought that everyone would be sleeping. But guess not.
She turned around and saw those eyes that had stared at her the previous day - the eyes that seemed to glow with the dark. She could not tell what his expression was like because of the darkness. But she could feel that he was neither smiling nor pleased by the situation. He seemed to blink before speaking. ''Is this how you thank people, woman? I saved your life from the hands of Akatsuki and told you I would return you home. Is this how you thank my hospitality?''
By the tone of his voice, she could tell that he was merely saying those words. Perhaps for his amusement in seeing how she would react. By that tone, she could tell that he cared not for those things. The tone was just the same as he had used the last time he spoke to her, blank. She wondered how she was going to get out of this one. Her body had not yet healed. She could not outrun a man who is said to have killed an army by himself. He also defeated the Sanbi's Jinchuriki. A Jinchuriki that was stronger than her. With her injuries and him in perfect condition, who could win that battle?
Still, she felt somewhat bad with his words even though she could tell he did not care for it. He had indeed saved her from the clutches of Akatsuki, Kept her safe and did not mistreat her, he did not even taken advantage of her. Her wounds had been bandaged and somewhat cleaned. He had not even bound her, well she was bound at the beginning but he had unbound her to allow her to recover. That spoke much. She was not kept like a prisoner, and here she was trying to run away from the man who saved her ass. Perhaps she did not know if he was telling the truth about taking her home. Perhaps it was because she did not trust a stranger, a man who could put her under an illusion by just looking into her eyes.
Even so with those thoughts, ''I am returning home,'' she said in a firm tone.
''Go back to your room,'' she was being told like a child who had done wrong. Parents who were not strict usually do that to their misbehaving children. But in his tone there was underlying message that she could feel.
But even so, Yugito kept quite. She was not going to back down just because she was told to go back to her room. She would stand still and see what would happen. It was not like he was going to kill her after saving her.
Her eyes widened when in a matter of the blink on an eye, Naruto was right in front of her. She had not seen him move. Perhaps it was because of the darkness. But it was certain that he was extremely fast. She was no weak kunoichi. She had experienced her fair number of battles. The speed the blond used to shorten the distance between him and her was fast. He did nothing though. He merely stared into her eyes. But she immediately looked away to avoid being caught in a genjutsu again.
''Do not keep me waiting. If you do, I will break both your legs and drag you to Kumogakure like that. And there will be nothing you can do or A about it.''
From his tone, he meant it. Yugito was not going to take the chance. She would not be killed. But having her legs broken was worse, even though she would heal eventually. She was not going to take a chance with him. Silently, she stepped away from him and walked back to her room with her head held high. She was not embarrassed by being caught on the act. But even so, his mere presence close to her was enough to make her abandon her plans.
''There goes my silent night song,'' Naruto said as Yugito had disappeared. He had been enjoying the silence the night brought while he organized his thoughts until the woman tried this act. Now he could no longer do that. Well in an hour or so, the darkness would return to the corners after being shoved there by the light.
He silently made his way towards the kitchen.
A few hours later
Sasuke was surprised to see Naruto inside his room. Naruto had been dead the last time he saw him. But he had been told by Zetsu that he was merely sleeping. So then he could say he was not lying but telling the truth. The blond looked lively as always. He did not seem like had was dead a day ago when he last saw him. Of course his mind was clouded with other things, but he was somewhat surprised and relieved to see that his fellow Uchiha was alive.
''You are alive,'' Sasuke stated looking straight at Naruto. He ignored the fact that he was bound.
''Yes, I am,'' Naruto answered. ''Zetsu must have assured you that I was not dead, but merely sleeping.''
''He did,'' Sasuke said. Naruto was now close to him. He could feel the blond's oppressing chakra. He normally did not feel it even when the blond was close to him. The chakra was always silent. But now he could feel its superiority forcing his own to fall beneath it. ''What is wrong with you?'' Sasuke felt compelled to question.
''My chakra?'' Naruto asked but did not wait for Sasuke to respond. ''The seals that normally keep my chakra sealed are breaking because the chakra was misbehaving all night. And it also too much of a bothersome task to suppress it. I seem to have lost the ability an hour ago,'' he finished the last words in a thoughtful tone.
Sasuke nodded. He was not going to ask why his chakra had been ''misbehaving''. He had other matters to deal with. Yes. The events of yesterday rushed through his head and his expression darkened. ''Did you know?'' the questioned was asked like he would have in his old brooding days.
''The truth behind the Uchiha massacre, yes,'' Naruto responded in a calm tone.
''How long have you known..?''
''The day after it happened,'' Naruto responded without fear of Sasuke lashing out at him. He was going to be honest about this part since Itachi had already told him the truth.
''Why did you not tell me the truth?'' Sasuke was now glaring at him darkly. It seemed like he wanted to kill him with his own eyes. If he had not been bound, he would have surely been on Naruto's face demanding answers.
''It was not my place to say,'' Naruto responded. But when has that stopped him from saying things? He had always being straight forward. Sasuke snorted knowing this. Whether it was his place or not, Naruto would have told him if he wanted. He did not tell him because he did not want to. The blond proved him right with his next words. ''There was also the fact that I simply did not want to tell you and deal with this. But this way was what your brother wanted. Despite being painful, it was the best way you could awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan. And in your old days, you would have acted stupidly and ignorantly, and gotten yourself killed if you were told the truth.''
''Why does everyone treat me like a child?'' Sasuke nearly yelled.
''That is because you acted like one. At least now you have matured,'' Naruto responded shortly. ''Now let me see those eyes you awakened.''
Sasuke activated his Mangekyou Sharingan but glared at Naruto. He did not smile. He merely kept his dark expression. ''Does Kakashi know about it?''
''No,'' Naruto answered shaking his head. ''The only ones in Konoha who knew were the advisors and Sarutobi. Tsunade and Jiraiya are not aware of that.''
''How can you allow them to leave after they had done something like that? Our clan was massacred by my brother. He was forced to do it and yet the villagers called him many names. How could you stand that?'' now Sasuke's voice was loud. He was barely containing his anger. Naruto was glad he had set a silencing seals.
''I did not particularly care for the Uchiha,'' Naruto responded shocking Sasuke. ''They were stupid. Had they not betrayed Madara after Konoha was formed, Tobirama would have never pushed them away from Konoha, leading them to think of attempting a cope d'état. It was their own stupidity that led them to the position they had found themselves in,'' Naruto stated in keeping his tone as always.
''How can you say that?'' Sasuke yelled. It was unthinkable that the blond could say something like that. He may be an uncaring person, but this was different. ''My parents were killed. Innocent children were murdered even though they did not do anything. And my brother was forced to carry that burden alone!''
''That was unfortunate,'' Naruto said. He shook his head. ''You are making be talk about my childhood. And if you do anything stupid after this, I will kill you,'' he paused for a moment. ''Minato died saving Konoha and my mother died also protecting Konoha. I was made a Jinchuriki for the sake of the village. Minato's naive dream was for me to be seen as a hero. But I was not. Instead I was forced to live in the orphanage while on my birthdays angry mobs attacked me. Each day of my life I was forced to endure glaring eyes of pure hatred. In all that, I never knew who my parents were. And only found out later that I was the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki. So tell me Sasuke, between you and me, who deserves revenge?''
Sasuke was silent for some time. Kakashi had told him of Naruto's harsh childhood. The jounin would smile sadly with guilt each time they spoke about the subject. But one that had guilt the most was Jiraiya. He only saw the expression once though. The two had been talking about it while drinking sake when he overheard them. ''Our misery was caused because of the village. Does not that give us more reason to see the village burn down?'' his voice was no longer loud.
''It does,'' Naruto admitted. ''But my mother not only sacrificed herself for me, she also sacrificed herself for the sake of Konoha. Destroying it would not do her sacrifice any good. And besides, It is not everyone in Konoha who deserves to die.''
''Are you saying you forgive them?''
Naruto raised a brow at the question, ''No,'' he said.
''Then why?'' Sasuke wanted to understand why could stand them.
''I cannot stand them if that is what you thinking. And I have already told you why. Have you seen me smiling at those fools?'' Sasuke shook his head. ''Konoha itself did nothing to you, so did the villagers. They showered you with love and everything you ever wanted. But I was the outcast, the disease that could not be healed.''
''I cannot let this slide.''
''That is fair,'' Naruto stated. ''You can do whatever you want to those who issued the order. If Danzou had not been stupid, we would have been killing him together.''
''They are dead,'' Sasuke said.
''Koharu and Homura are still alive. You can make them suffer all you want. I don't care, just don't get yourself into unnecessary...troubles,'' Naruto stated with a shrug.
Sasuke smiled in a sick away as he thought of ways to make those fools suffer. Naruto could tell that Sasuke was still infuriated. And it was certain that should anyone speak ill of Itachi, there would be a certain death unless someone stops him. Well at least he had calmed him a little. He would not think of becoming a missing-nin and think of destroying Konoha. As long as he has his fun with the advisors, he would tone his anger a little. Perhaps if it had been the old him, he would not have listened to him.
Naruto stood up and let off the restrains.
''Where is Itachi's corpse?'' he wanted to give his brother a proper burial at the compound in Konoha. No one would stand in his way of doing that.
''Safe and his eyes also,'' Naruto responded. The eyes would be useful for Sasuke no to go blind and to gain the Eternal Mangekyou. But for now, he had to stick with the Mangekyou Sharingan. He would give him Itachi's eyes later after he had gotten used to the Mangekyou Sharingan's power.
Sasuke nodded. His expression though no longer dark, it was not happy. It would take some time for the happy expression to return. Anger and hatred did not just vanish in the blink of an eye. Sasuke still felt both the former and the latter. It would take some time for him to feel that no more.
''What now?''
''We head to Kumo,'' Naruto responded as he begun to walk away from the raven haired Uchiha. Sasuke seemed fine. Yugito could also travel, so there was no need to stay within the hideout anymore.
I thought that I would post this chapter before this date, but circumstances have forced me to update at this time. I am thinking of taking about a break of about two weeks after I have posted chapter 25. I have been writing nonstop and there is the fact that I always have to play the scenes in my head before writing them down. So this is kind of tiring. After I have posted 25, I should take some time to refresh my mind. Perhaps I might come back with some new interesting ideas.
Onto other stories, I have chapter 9 of Peace Seeker, 6 of Second Life, and 4 of Awakening. Since I finish my exams this week, I will probably post all of these chapters before the start of the next week. And if I fail to do that before the 21st, I will update in July. I have some other business to attend to next week. This also includes The Sage because I won't post anything in the next week.
I have not planned to write anything on chapter 26, but 25 concludes this little adventure. I want to add a few more ideas to this story so it can possibly reach the 400k mark. But as of now, I can only pass the 300k mark.
I tried making the whole mess with Sasuke a bit realistic as much as I could, but I faced some difficulties. So it did not come out the way I wanted it to. But I can't always get everything right.
I don't think I will be bringing back the previous Hokages, or any of Naruto's parents. I have not even given the idea a thought. It is possible for Naruto to use the Edo Tensei to bring anyone back, but for now, we will leave things as they are.
Hidan can be labeled dead. His body was set ablaze with Amaterasu. Those flames continue to burn for like 7 days straight if I am not mistaken. I don't think that there will be anything left of him after those days.
I have read the latest Naruto manga; I certainly did not expect Zetsu to betray Madara; the player was played. I cannot say for sure how things will end between Naruto and Zetsu. I constantly change my mind about certain things in this story. But don't expect me to follow the canon plot in some matters. Even though I cannot say for sure if Zetsu will betray Naruto, I can tell you that I don't plan for things to swing that way. But they might.
I won't say much about the Rinnegan. But it will appear soon, very soon.
I also want Naruto to fight Nagato soon. So the battle might happen in the next three chapters. It might take time to make write the whole thing as I want to measure up everything so that it could be epic. It will probably take a whole chapter like the battle in Kiri. I am not sure though.
I think I have already explained what is happening to Naruto's body. Someone asked a question; how will death help Naruto deal with his viral infection?
All I could say and think was...
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone