章 44: Twilight of the Thunder God part 5
This is the last part of the Forest arc.
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I hit the ground and a pair of strong hands set me down, rushing back to the seal and repairing it.
The chunks of stone that symbolized the damaged parts of the seal faded away and reappeared in their normal place as the repairs were done.
I felt that my mindscape was how it should be, my body now stable and the seal intact.
'Thank God and whatever the hell else.'
I stared at the back of the man who caused all of this with his choice, his legs shifting as he turned after fixing everything.
The sight before me was something I didn't expect to see right now.
Namikaze Minato and I had the exact same shade of eyes, the same cheekbones, and my hair spiked out similar to his but not as much.
The white cloak with flame patterns and the Kanji for 4 on the back was draped around his shoulders, his flak jacket underneath.
We stared at each other for a moment, neither of us speaking.
"Tousan." I whispered softly, the man shuddering as I said that one word.
I could see his eyes shining with emotion.
"Naruto." He walked towards me, his arms out.
"I'll give you some privacy." Kurama said as quietly as he could, his consciousness likely going to Rin's mindscape.
The day I thought of it years ago, I wasn't going to do it. But now, I was in as bad of a mood as I could have been after getting the French aristocrat treatment by a pedophile with a sword.
I walked towards Minato and took advantage of his outstretched arms.
I punched him in the face.
He staggered back and looked at me with dumbfounded shock.
I fixed it by rushing towards him and hugging him.
Minato hesitated for a moment, but returned the hug.
"You made us both Jinchuriki." I mumbled into his chest, explaining my anger.
"I'm so sorry that you two had to be burdened with this," He whispered, running his hand through my hair, "I couldn't force it on anyone else's child."
I pushed him away from me.
"Do you understand the hell you put us through," I demanded, raising my voice, "The entire village blamed us for the attack. They saw us as the Kyuubi."
Minato tried to speak, but I shouted him down.
"A fourth of Konoha's Shinobi died that night," I screamed, remembering the near vacant look in Hiruzen and Kakashi's eyes when they described the events that followed, "They were still finding corpses in November... with Hyuga helping!"
"I -." Minato tried to say, but I couldn't stop now.
"The other villages saw weakness and Kumo kidnapped Hiashi's daughter, my friend!" I shouted, knowing Hiashi was a friend of Minato's.
I started yelling everything I could think of in the moment that happened because of that night.
Because he died.
Our parentage kept secret.
Kakashi's despair.
Hiruzen aging horribly.
The hatred of the villagers.
The Hyuga incident.
Orochimaru's betrayal.
Me almost dying.
And now this.
"Orochimaru killed me, Dad," I fell to my knees, sobbing openly, "I would have died if I wasn't different. He took my head off."
Minato had tears streaming from his eyes just as I was, the two of us holding on to each other like a life raft.
"I wasn't fast enough," He wept, shaking as he held me, "I couldn't save Obito. I couldn't save Rin. I couldn't save Kushina. I was only fast enough to kill so many people. I couldn't even save one life."
I managed to stop my shaking as we both held each other, my mind starting to clear.
My entire conversation I had planned out was in flames. I had planned on talking with him, not bringing up any of the shit that happened after his death, but I was still in shock from almost being killed and needed someone to hurt.
And what's a better punching bag than a dead man?
But I needed to let it go. I let all my built up hatred, despair, and anguish over the last several months that came to a head from today out in these last ten minutes.
And now I needed to fix it.
"You saved mom," I hiccuped, looking up at him, "From Kumo... when you were twelve."
Minato laughed wetly, coughing some.
"Yeah, I guess I did."
I straightened my back and looked into his blue eyes with my own matching pair.
"I'm hurting, Dad," I said softly, "And you were the first thing in arm's reach." My tone was apologetic.
"Isn't that what dads are supposed to do?" He asked quietly, looking down, "Love their children, even when they're hated by them more than anything?"
My throat felt tight, but I swallowed it down.
"I shouldn't have thrown that at you," I said sadly, still on my knees, "I know you did everything you could think of in the moment. I don't blame you for anything, I just needed to yell at something."
Minato knew what happened when a Jinchuriki had their bijuu extracted. He laid Kushina, the woman he loved and had given him two children, on a bed so he could go off and fight Obito and the Kyuubi. Nobody would be thinking the most clearly when their wife is in the process of dying and their village is being trashed by a Tailed Beast.
Minato let go of me and stood up, still not looking recovered completely from what I said.
We looked at each other for minute, not speaking at all.
"How long do we have?" I eventually asked quietly, gesturing to him. I needed to ask a few questions.
"An hour." Minato replied, "I put a sizable portion of chakra in here in case the seal started to break and needed repaired. Speaking of which, why was it modified?" He turned to look at the tightenings on the bars that were added by Jiraiya.
"You sealed the Yin half in me," I explained, seeing him nod his understanding, "I have more Yin chakra than most Uzumaki."
I explained how my head was all screwed up from my hypersensitivity to intense Yin chakra as a child, the Kyuubi making it worse, and how it all necessitated the tightenings.
I did not say why or how I think it started.
"Evidently, I'm like Uzumaki Ashina." I manifested a chakra blade in my hand, my mindscape responding to my command.
Minato stared at the golden blade in wonder, leaning closer to inspect it.
"Fascinating," He murmured, tilting his head, "Kushina could manifest chains, but I never saw this done. She was never taught how to do it."
I clenched my fist and it disappeared, my eyes looking up at Minato in question.
At my look of curiosity, Minato explained.
"She said her grandfather and great grandfather could make blades and personal, small barriers with it, but she was too young for her to learn it when she came to Konoha."
"Did she ever say what Ashina was like?" I asked, wanting to know more after Orochimaru mentioned him rather fondly, if you could call it that, "I've only heard stuff from the Sandaime."
Minato took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Your mother loved him more than any of her elders. She was closer to him than she was to her father's father, who died when she was 11."
Being closer to a great grandfather over your grandfather, kind of surprising, but Ashina sounded like a special man.
He started giving some more information about him that Kushina told him.
Ashina was one of the oldest active Shinobi in Uzu, still making seals for enjoyment in his nineties. He would make jokes and had really dark songs made about seal mishaps to bring some levity to the complex business of the dangerous work.
But above all things, he loved his clan and was constantly going out of his way to be kind to them, especially the children, encouraging them to be strong and kind like him.
"But something she wasn't happy about was what was found out years later," Minato smiled now, the first real on I'd seen from him, "You know that he tutored the Nidaime in Fuinjutsu when he was a teenager, right?"
I nodded, wanting him to continue.
"Well, Jiraiya was and is a pervert," Minato explained, chuckling at the memory of his Sensei, "And that was encouraged by the Sandaime." He gave me a sympathetic look at the mention of Hiruzen.
"I am aware of the old man's perversion." I said clinically, "I defeated him and took the forbidden scroll by Henging as a naked girl in front of him and he passed out."
Minato started laughing at what I just said, taking it as a joke.
"Wait," His eyes widened, realizing I wasn't smiling, "You're serious?"
I nodded.
He laughed even harder.
After he managed to stop shaking from laughter, he went on.
"The Sandaime turned out to become a pervert from the Nidaime being one," Minato explained, "This was said to Jiraiya in confidence, but he of course told me to try and say that it was tradition for the Hokage to be a pervert." He frowned at the last part.
"How was Senju Tobirama a pervert?" I asked, "He was probably the most uptight and professional out of the four of you." I pointed out.
"He wasn't just a pervert, Naruto," Minato said quietly, "Hiruzen said he was a manwhore."
'What?'
"A manwhore?" I deadpanned, not believing it.
"Since you asked, I'll repeat what Jiraiya blessed me with when I asked the exact same thing when I was made Hokage," He said the word sarcastically, clearing his throat, "Why do you think Kage bunshin are the only ones that have a memory feedback?"
The Shadow Clone jutsu was unique in giving back memories. But that's because they are non-aligned chakra. No nature transformation to them like Earth or Water.
Tobirama probably thought of it after he had designed it to fight Uchiha. I personally would think it'd be hilarious if I designed an effective weapon or technique against my enemies that I could use for other things, especially with how prideful the Uchiha were.
"Haha, you got killed by a sentient sex doll!" I could imagine a white haired, blue armour wearing Tobirama shout that at an Uchiha he resurrected to piss them off.
"No," I said to myself, repulsed by the thought, "He did not make that part of the Jutsu to have sex with women while he was doing other stuff."
"He was a pragmatist." Minato pointed out, trying to sound professional about it, "Relieve some stress while getting work done is a smart thing to do."
"Don't tell me you and kaasan did that." I moaned, running my fingers through my hair.
Minato's face twisted into a look of disgust.
"Of course not," Minato sputtered, looking affronted, "Your mother would have killed me if I even joked about that."
"You sure she didn't try to kill you when you two screwed anyway?"I raised a brow.
"What?" Minato asked nervously, looking away from me.
"The fox saw and heard you two," I said quietly, feeling embarrassed as I looked at him, "He thinks it's funny to recite what you two were saying and doing every day." I stressed.
Minato groaned to himself and ran his fingers through his hair similar to how I did.
"I know you don't want to hear this about her," Minato said embarrassedly, "But Kushina, and Uzumaki in general, have a lot of energy to burn off constantly."
"I know that firsthand, Dad." I deadpanned, not wanting him to give me his version of the birds and the bees, "Kakashi didn't need to explain sex to me and he looked more embarrassed than you."
"Oh, thank Kami," Minato said to himself, "I thought it was going to be awkward."
I realized we'd gotten off topic.
"Why was kaasan mad at Tobirama being a pervert?" I asked, getting back on topic.
"That wasn't she was mad at, it was what that comment led to."
"Hiruzen made a passing comment that he loved listening to conversations between Ashina and Tobirama," Minato's face tightened, "Specifically about very adult things, including what Ashina called 'The Pervert's Creed'."
'The Pervert's Creed?' I thought, wondering what the hell that was.
Minato went on and recited the Creed.
I was laughing my ass off at the overdramatic words used.
"Wielder of the Flame of Lechers?" I wheezed, trying to not fall over from laughing.
"Jiraiya thought it was funny when Kushina looked horrified when she found out it wasn't Tobirama that came up with that stupid 'Creed'." Minato grumbled under his breath.
"Ashina did?" I asked, laughing even louder.
'Ashina was a pervert. That's freaking amazing.'
"Ashina, Tobirama, Jiji, Jiraiya," I was giggling as I thought of it, "It skipped you though."
"No, it ended with me." Minato said fiercely, "I protected Kakashi from my Sensei's perversions."
"You did a shit job then," I shrugged my shoulders, snickering at the panic on his face, "His favourite book series is Icha Icha."
"No." Minato moaned to himself, looking down.
His eyes then shot to mine in fear.
"Naruto," He said weakly, a pleading look on his face, "Please don't tell me you're like them."
I grinned in triumph and started cackling. I chose the worst thing to say to him.
"I entered the hot springs and got an up close view of several kunoichi. I got straddled by an Inuzuka girl, got punched and kicked by them, and escaped without my pants on." I saw Minato start to shake.
"Funnier still, Fugaku's youngest son and Shikaku's son helped me."
"No," Minato was shaking his head, "That's not true. That's impossible!"
"Search your feelings, you know it to be true." I reached out to my father.
I had enough fun torturing him and clarified what happened.
The look of relief on his face when I explained that it was a complete accident and that I would have rather it didn't happen was telling.
"I thought you were worse than Jiraiya." He breathed out in relief, looking at me again.
"I do like girls, alot," I admitted, "But I'm not a pervert like Jiraiya." I then put my hands on my hips.
"I'm a Super Pervert!"
Minato realized I was mimicking Jiraiya and rolled his eyes.
"You're overdramatic."
"Yes, I am." I put my hands down, admitting it.
The jokes and sarcasm I was doing was to get my mind off of what just happened with Orochimaru, but I knew I was going to need to talk with someone about it.
Humour and deflection could take the edge off, but it was still a terrible sensation that wasn't pleasant. But at least it wouldn't break me. I already died once, almost doing it again wasn't as bad.
"Can you tell me about you and Rin?" Minato asked hopefully, "It's been twenty minutes now."
'One third through.' I thought, nodding and sitting down.
I spent a sizable portion of the remaining time telling him about Rin and me, how she acted just like mom from what Kakashi said.
I went on with our friends, avoiding any mention of the Uchiha massacre. I didn't want him to blame himself any more. I felt bad about lashing out in anger the way I did.
"How is Kakashi?" Minato asked quietly, knowing him and Kushina dying would have been traumatic on him.
"He was a mess," I was honest, comparing the emptiness in his eye compared to what it was now. Even his chakra was brighter now, "But we pulled him back from the edge. Gai was the friend that helped pull him back from the edge, and Rin and I gave him purpose in pushing on."
"You'd be proud of him." I whispered.
Minato smiled in relief, one less burden on his shoulders.
"Does he have anyone waiting at home, a girlfriend?" Minato asked with a tilt of his head.
"Yes, but they call each other 'Fuck buddies'," I used air quotes, scowling at the term, "They get along fine and are good friends, but I think they're scared of commitment." I finished with a shake of my head.
Anybody would be scared of the emotional intimacy of a relationship if they lost everyone and everything they cared about. Some scars didn't heal well.
Minato nodded his understanding, looking at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"What about you? You got a girl that you like?"
"The better question," I scoffed, "Is if there's any girl that doesn't want a piece of me that isn't named Uzumaki Rin."
I explained how I had Hinata and Ino, who were friends and didn't flirt with me constantly, and multiple civilian girls that did try and get my attention.
"Jiraiya would write a story about that," Minato chuckled, winking at me when I scowled at him, "Two clan heiress' seeking to compete for the passion of a strong, smart, and gorgeous boy."
I rolled my eyes and scoffed.
"Quit stroking your ego, old man." I grumbled, knowing he chose that description because he was smart and I looked like him.
"I'm just being a good dad," He held his hands up in a placating way, "Jiraiya would be worse."
He then explained that Jiraiya was our godfather, which I acted a little aggravated, but not much.
"I understand why he wasn't there," I said with a hint of irritation, "But I'll still make my opinion known."
Minato nodded sadly, expecting it.
"How long do we have left?" I asked, not knowing how long we'd been.
"15 or 20 minutes," Minato said after a moment, looking around, "It would have been much shorter if you had been using more than just one tail of chakra."
The seal would have been worse off if I did what canon Naruto did and was using six tails.
"Okay, this is going to be important," I looked at my father with as serious a look as I could muster, "I'm not wanting to talk to the husband of Kushina, and mine and Rin's father. I want to talk to Namikaze Minato, the Yellow Flash, the man who fought The Yondaime Raikage and a Jinchuriki, the one who shattered Iwa, the Hokage I will succeed and surpass." I said the last part with a conviction that burned in my very soul.
Minato's entire demeanor changed. He went from being a soft, kindly faced man into something else, someone with ice in his veins and his face carved from the hardest stone.
"What do you want to know?" The S-rank nin with a Flee on Sight order on his Bingo book entry asked.
"Tell me what you know of the bastard that unleashed the Kyuubi and took you and kaasan from us." My eyes could probably have been cut from a glacier from how cold my look was, "The one that killed thousands of people."
"And tell me about the Hiraishin."
Minato explained everything that happened about the fight with Obito, including his vulnerability to the Hiraishin and that his phasing ability could not be active while he wanted to attack.
After he explained the fight and 'Madara's' weakness's, he went on to the Hiraishin.
"What are your affinities?" He asked in a serious tone, all business, just as I wanted.
"Water and a secondary for lightning." I replied.
"Natural or worked on it?"
"Natural."
"Then you can never use my marker on your own without killing yourself." Minato said simply, going on to explain.
"I'm assuming you're skilled with seals if you're wanting to know about the Hiraishin, so I won't waste time asking where you're at on skill level," He continued, "The Hiraishin is just like other types of Fuinjutsu that is unique to each user's chakra, blood, and affinity. You're closely related, so a small portion of the marker can be recycled. What is Rin's affinity?"
"Wind."
"Then she might be able to use a slightly larger part of my sealing formula," Minato exhaled, "She has my blood and affinity, so she doesn't have to start from scratch."
"I've already been reading the Nidaime's notes," I said irritably, "But they make no damn sense and I can't get the stupid journey to stabilize when I send a bunshin through whatever anchor I make."
I'd been mixing Tobirama's marker and Minato's to see what the hell it did. Tobirama's on its own wasn't better than Minato's, the newer one working a little better where I could get a flash of memory from the clone.
But mixing the two in a bastardized, unbalanced form had worked the best, a fraction of the puff of smoke coming out at point B.
"Water's the hardest," Minato admitted, "Probably why the Uzumaki clan didn't have anyone to get it to work at all."
'So I'm fucked.'
"Kushina had notes from her clan and helped me with it, so I'll do what I can." Minato assured me, going into an in-depth dissection of how he built up the Hiraishin.
The next 15 minutes progressed my own ideas on how to get it to work more than I would have done so with a couple years of study and research.
Namikaze Minato and Senju Tobirama were geniuses to have made this work.
My mindscape allowed for some seal schematics that I made appear for Minato to have a look at, each portion being divided and critiqued.
"I never would have thought I needed to think of how a summoning jutsu worked as the basis for the idea," I murmured, "Instead of a cluster of linked storage scrolls."
"I thought of it the same way when I first started trying to replicate it," Minato admitted, shrugging his shoulders, "Your mother is the reason I'm known as this good of a seal user."
Minato was arguably the best alive at the time, only my mother perhaps edging out in proficiency.
I remembered everything he pointed out that was wrong with my ideas and plans, saying which ones were right, and what needed to be tweaked.
I went to ask something else, but I saw a flicker around his outline, growing larger.
"My time will be up soon," He smiled softly, looking at me with the love a father has for his son, "There is a portion of your mother's chakra here that is like mine."
I wasn't mentally ready for it, so I'd wait.
"Remember what I said on the Hiraishin. You're so much better than I was at 13. You'll have it completed within a couple years at most now."
The light grew a little brighter.
"There is a portion of chakra in Rin's seal as well," Minato added, "It's linked to this so this conversation will be remembered by the other."
Similar to a shadow clone.
Minato placed his hands on my shoulders, leaning down to look into my eyes.
"You need to be honest with Rin," He said quietly, rubbing my cheek gently, "Don't keep this secret from her."
I told him some of the secrets I kept from Rin, mainly my skill level and our parents.
"I don't know if I can," I was shaking lightly, scared of what she'd say, "It's been so easy to lie and I don't know if she'll forgive me."
It was my fault. I didn't tell her we were Jinchuriki until we were almost 11, I didn't tell her how good I'd gotten, and I didn't tell her about our dad, letting her stew in her anger at him.
"Naruto, my son," Minato whispered softly, still holding me as his outline flickered some more, "I can't protect you two from what's out there. There is nobody in this world I trust more than you to protect my little girl. Protect one another."
That sounded exactly like what he said as he was dying, reaching out towards me with a bloodstained hand when he stopped Kurama.
"She'll hate me." I felt tears fall, running down my face, "I can't forgive myself for lying, so how can she?"
Minato looked undeterred.
"Because she loves you." He held me tight, his body glowing now.
I felt my body relax as he let me go, the glow increasing.
He was right. She needed to know.
"I'm proud to be your son. I don't care if you sealed the Kyuubi in us. You saved Rin, and that's all that matters to me."
I saw a tear fall from his eye as he smiled.
"And I'm proud to be your father." He closed his eyes and began to fade.
"Goodbye, Touchan." I whispered, the man disappearing from my mindscape, leaving me on my own.
"Fox," I asked quietly, trying to get his attention, "You there?"
No answer.
I took a deep breath, gazed around the now normal room where it had been a collapsing ruin, and broke the connection.
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I opened my eyes and saw it was closer to nighttime than sunset, the fading light barely piercing through the trees in faint, orange rays.
I sat up and immediately felt dizzy, the world spinning.
Groaning lightly, I laid back down on my back and assessed what was going on.
I was weak, incomparably so, probably from the volume of blood I lost and my chakra being almost exhausted. I then sniffed the air and fought the bile rising up my throat.
The area stank of blood, mine specifically, and I was covered in a mix of the contents of the cunt's cranium and my own blood, the foul mix sticking in my hair as well.
I felt around with my hand and I brushed across some hair.
'If that's Orochimaru's dome piece, I'm so done with life.'
The mop of hair moved and I heard a moan, definitely not Orochimaru.
I tilted my head to the right and saw a sight that had me shudder in relief.
Sasuke.
And he wasn't marked.
"Sasuke." I mumbled, touching his hair to try and wake him up.
He may have passed out from shock or he might have been poisoned by Orochimaru, I don't know.
"No, 'Tachi, let me sleep." He mumbled, shifting some.
He was dreaming. A pleasant dream.
"Sasuke." I nudged him, eliciting a groan.
He was probably in better shape than me and he needed to wake the hell up.
"Sasuke." I used practically all the strength in my fingers and pulled on his hair.
"Gah." He finally woke up, shooting up and flailed around, his eyes looking wild as they darted around.
He looked around like he was looking for an enemy, before he slowly turned to look down at me.
"Hi." I said quietly.
"Kai!" He shouted, making a hand seal, swaying afterwards like it was exhausting.
He crawled away from me, his eyes wide.
"I saw you die," He kept looking at me like he was going insane, "I saw your head fall off."
Lying was preferred to telling the truth.
"Genjutsu." I mumbled, lying to protect him. "Orochimaru used them."
I was just laying on my back and trying to not fall asleep, expecting something to bite us in the ass.
"My Sharingan didn't see it." Sasuke whispered to himself.
"They shut off as the snake stabbed me." I mumbled again, "I coughed up blood on you."
Sasuke touched at his face, the severed artery had covered him in blood, now stuck in his own hair and face. Even his eyes weren't spared, having blood around them.
"You mean you're okay?" Sasuke asked weakly, crawling back towards me.
"I feel like death, but I'll live." I whispered, feeling light-headed.
Sasuke sighed in relief, his face just a foot from mine.
"Thank Kami." He muttered, laying down on his back next to me, twitching every now and then, "Fuck today."
I just smiled a bloody smile at that.
"Yep. Fuck today."
This whole ordeal was a nightmare, but we made it out alive. I nearly killed the traitor, saved Sasuke, and judging by the lack of a hickey burning my neck, Kurama's chakra came through and burned the damn thing off.
But the frantic hours of fighting and constant images of dying clones and illusions were going to haunt me for a few days.
"Now would be the time for us to be swarmed by other teams." I muttered, hearing Sasuke shift.
"Don't tempt it." He groaned, his hand shaking some.
Seconds later, I heard rustling in the trees, the sound of people.
Sasuke stopped moving as he heard it too.
"Fuck you." He said simply, not moving.
"Fuck me." I agreed, completely done with today.
I didn't care, if those vultures wanted our supplies, they can have them.
"Naruto! Sasuke!" I heard the voice of an angel shout our names.
I felt someone slide across the grass and drop to their knees, looming over me. Golden blonde hair, eyes like the most beautiful of amethysts, and a round face with whisker marks was above me, the setting sun making her hair sparkle.
Rin.
Everything was okay.
"Hi," I said weakly, smiling shakily, "You look tired."
She was alive.
Rin started shaking and pulled me into a hug, sobbing.
"Careful," I wheezed, trying to breathe, "Ribs. Hurt."
She let me go and set me down gently, realizing she was hurting me.
"What happened?" She asked the two of us, looking at Sasuke with almost as much of concern, "Where's Orochimaru?" She then saw the empty, splattered corpse next to us.
"He got away," I mumbled, "But I popped his head." I closed my eyes again, trying to conserve my strength.
We were too vulnerable. The shadows were whispering. They were going to take us.
"You'll be okay." She said, I don't know to who, "Team 10 is right behind me."
Sure enough, I heard several people come out of the west part of the forest, the same as Rin did.
I heard Shikamaru say something and three more people joined Rin in being beside us.
I opened my eyes again and saw them.
Hinata, her arm bandaged and tucked to her chest, Ino, her hands glowing green, and Karin, looking at me with undisguised fear on her face.
My chakra was too weak for me to sense anything. I was trying to not shake from feeling like I was blind. An ambush would get us all taken.
"Hinata," Ino asked in a serious tone, one that almost surprised me, "Which one is more injured?"
Hinata's Byakugan activated and she looked between the two of us, back and forth.
Sasuke has something in his blood and," Her breath hitched, "Naruto has low chakra and a lot of internal bleeding that's healed."
The cold touch of steel through my chest. Sasuke's eyes wide in horror. A faint whistle of steel and the cold against my neck. Darkness.
'I choose you.' A voice hissed in my ear.
I needed to stop panicking. I needed an outlet, something. Anything.
"I'm fine," I said quietly, still not moving, "Blood's supposed to be inside, so no problem."
No one laughed.
"I got stabbed, give me a break." I groaned, seeing them all look unamused.
My breath was short, and not just from fatigue.
Ino frowned at me for a moment, still looking at me as she moved over to Sasuke, running her hands over the cut.
"I can't siphon out whatever it is that's in your blood," She told Sasuke sadly, "I'm not good enough, but I can close the cut mostly."
Sasuke nodded and hissed as Ino went to work and began using what Iryo ability she had in getting the wound to close.
She eventually finished and leaned back, exhaling in exhaustion.
"I'm already tired and this didn't help." She said faintly, grabbing a canteen to take a drink.
Ino then turned to Hinata.
"Do you have any bandages and water," Ino asked the lavender eyed girl, "We need to clean the two of them up so they don't get an infection."
Bodily fluids had a habit of being unhygienic in the long term.
"Yes." Hinata replied, grabbing at a scroll in her pouch. She got up and set it down a few feet away, pressing her hand to it and opening it up.
She grabbed a container of water and antiseptic, along with a roll of bandages and came back to us.
Sasuke got washed up and cleaned first, his protests when his shirt came off was ignored.
"Quit being a baby, Sasuke," Rin chided him, shifting over towards him, "Budge over, Ino, I'll wash him and clean the cuts. You take care of Naruto." She then started cleaning Sasuke, who was frozen in fright.
Unlike Sasuke, I wasn't able to shift around to help them get my shirt off, requiring Ino to hold me up.
"Can you not sit up?" Ino asked irritably, huffing at the weight of my body and armour.
"More of my blood's... on the ground... than in my body." I said weakly, the position making it hard to breathe.
I wasn't exaggerating as much as I would have preferred.
Everyone was aware of how drenched in blood the area was, but I don't think they realized it was mine until I said that.
The silence was an uncomfortable one.
"Oh." Ino eventually said, beginning to unclasp my chest piece.
She got a closer look at it and saw all the holes.
"Are these stabs?" Ino asked, horror-stricken.
I didn't answer, not wanting to remember all of them.
Ino set it down gently, looking back at my chest.
"Hinata, how much will you be able to help with your arm?" Ino looked at Hinata's, cluing me into realizing Hinata was hurt.
"What happened?" I asked, looking towards her with Ino's help.
My friend, so kind and soft-spoken, looked at me with sympathy.
"You kicked me away from you after you were bitten." Hinata replied softly.
I looked at her arm, completely bandaged to be less mobile, and I felt a wave of disgust at myself.
She wouldn't have been hurt if I'd kept Orochimaru away from them. If I had held out longer.
Failure.
"Don't do that," She scolded me, glaring at me with a stare only a Hyuga could pull off, "I had to get the sword out of your chest, even if I had to break my arm to save you."
I have no idea what would have happened if the sword hadn't been pulled out of my chest after Orochimaru bit me, it might have killed me.
"Thank you, Hinata." I said quietly, not looking at her.
That was when Karin stepped in to talk.
"Your chakra is low. I think I can do something to help. Do you heal faster when your chakra is high like me?" She looked at me with curiosity.
I took a moment to digest what she was saying, but it clicked a few seconds later.
"Rin and I heal fast, which you would too, being an Uzumaki." I replied.
I heard Rin shout "What!" and Sasuke growl under his breath about her yelling right in his ear.
"You're an Uzumaki?" She demanded, getting in her face and looking her up and down, "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Pardon me for forgetting to say anything when we couldn't find Naruto-kun!" She snapped back, not backing away.
'Oh God, they're the same.' I moaned internally. It had to be the R-I-N in their names, not just being Uzumaki. I wasn't crazy, was I?
"Please, shut up," I said weakly, my head was pounding from their voices, "Too loud."
They both turned in unison towards me and looked embarrassed.
"Sorry." They said sheepishly.
I blinked to try and let them know it was okay.
"What was it you meant about helping me?" I asked Karin, already suspecting what it was.
Karin got closer to me and pulled up her sleeve, revealing a few bite marks on her arm.
"I know it's going to sound weird," She said, looking directly at my eyes, "But I need you to bite me."
Everyone listening, Shikamaru, Choji, and several of Rin's clones were busy guarding us, looked shocked.
"Yeah, that sounds weird." I said, voicing what everyone was thinking.
"It's an ability my kaasan had," Karin explained, "It could heal injuries and restore your energy."
"Your mom was an Uzumaki?" Rin asked curiously.
Karin nodded.
"I don't have that," Rin said quietly to herself, "Do I?"
Sasuke looked at Rin a little differently.
Rin whipped towards Sasuke and gave him a look promising murder.
"You even think about touching me, I'll cut your balls off." She warned him, her eyes blazing, "You are not biting me to test it out."
Sasuke didn't back away.
"My head's hurting," He rattled off, "my eyes hurt, I got thrown into a tree, and I was covered in blood. Hinata is injured and we're out in the open. I'd almost risk it to stop hurting." He finished with a groan.
Rin growled and hoisted him up, sinking her teeth into his shoulder without any warning.
Sasuke shouted more in surprise than in pain, but he started hitting her to get her off of him, the two falling to the ground.
She held his arms down, but stopped biting him after a few seconds.
"Quit whining," She laughed, her eyes alight with a vicious look, "You still want to joke about biting me, Uke?"
Sasuke shook his head, his arms still restrained by Rin.
"Okay." She said simply, hopping off him.
"I hate you." Sasuke muttered to himself, getting up and looking at the bite, "You're an animal."
"I didn't even draw blood." Rin scoffed, going back to looking at the other girls and me.
"You have fangs for canines, Rin." Sasuke deadpanned, pointing at the indentions in his skin.
There was one speck of blood where one of her teeth sank in, but that was it.
"Baby." I muttered, seeing what he was complaining about.
"You try getting bit." Sasuke glared at me, before he flinched and remembered what happened.
I felt a phantom pain slither through my tenketsu, a disgusting hiss in my ear.
'I choose you.'
"I think getting impaled more times today than a 5 Ryo hooker on a weekend is bad enough." I muttered nonchalantly, the last syllable catching in my throat as I tried to keep the tremor out of my voice.
Every girl present scowled.
"Naruto!" Was what Hinata, Ino, and Rin said.
"I think chakra exhaustion is getting to your head." Sasuke rolled his eyes, wincing from the action.
His eyes looked bloodshot very badly.
I had no idea what the hell my blood would do to his eyes. The last thing he needed was an infection.
"Hinata," I began to ask her to look at Sasuke's eyes, but I was cut off by her putting her hand on my chest.
"Uzumaki Naruto," She glared at me, "I know you joke and act like a pervert when you're scared or hurting. So accept what Karin-san is offering, because you don't look scared."
"I'm fine." I said tightly, not wanting to bite Karin.
Hinata pressed her fingers against my ribs, specifically the area most recently stabbed by Orochimaru.
I jerked at the contact.
"Oh, God." I moaned in English, colours dancing in my vision from the pain.
Hinata didn't break eye contact, but I saw tears start to form in her eyes from hurting me.
"Please," Hinata begged me, "Quit acting strong and accept help."
I wouldn't have been able to survive to save Sasuke if Hinata hadn't pulled the sword out of my chest, Sasuke's chakra was what snapped me from the haze after I crushed Orochimaru's head.
What if I had went completely out of control from Kurama's chakra and killed someone?
Exhaling, I relented.
"Alright," I turned to Karin, "How much does it hurt?"
Someone biting you had to hurt, and my teeth were much sharper.
"Doesn't matter," She said quietly, scooting towards me, "You saved me and you're my family."
She put her arm up to my face, giving me an unflinching look.
I raised my hand up shakily and grabbed her hand to pull it a little closer.
I saw the scars on her arm, the individual teeth marks disgusting me, not by the sight of them, but what they symbolized.
Kusa could have found another way. Pay roaming Iryo-nin for their services. They should have done something other than this. Anything.
'They scarred an innocent girl.'
'A child.'
'My blood.'
'My family.'
I growled and sank my teeth into her arm, biting to break the skin.
I heard her groan in pain, but what happened next wasn't what I expected.
I felt a rush of chakra in my tenketsu that felt like Karin's and my eyes rolled back into my head.
I pitched forward and all the pain left me. I didn't realize how much my body hurt until it was healed.
My own chakra came back some, being stoked by hers.
But it was my sensing that had me out of it for probably one second that stretched out like a lifetime.
I could see.
I could feel.
I felt every single chakra signature in the forest, every trap still remaining, every tree, animal, and living thing.
But it was my friends and Rin that had me looking in rapture.
I could feel their chakra so intensely that I could see the outline of their bodies. I saw Rin's with as much intensity as I did when we were right next to each other before we were born. Hinata's was soft and burned with a pleasant warmth, Ino's was a whispering stream, Karin's was like a bright and roaring fire, Sasuke's crackled and was sharp, while Choji's was firm, unyielding, and Shikamaru's was slick and felt evasive and dark.
I could almost see them, it was so bright.
"Beautiful." I managed to say, my vision clearing as I took a deep breath.
Everyone was looking at me with concern.
"I'm alright," I assured them, blinking several times, "I feel better than I have in a long time."
My body felt a little tired, but I was mostly fine. I was pretty sure I could make my way to the tower if need be.
I put my hand on Ino's and gently took it from my shoulder, not needing her to hold me up.
I then noticed Karin was bleeding, a sizable bite in her arm, courtesy of me.
"Is there anything I can do?" I asked, reaching for her hand.
Karin shook her head and pulled her arm away, grabbing a bandage.
"It always scars," She said quietly, pressing some gauze on her arm, "The Iryo-nin can only make them more faint."
'Tsunade could heal them.' I thought to myself, gazing at the blood coming from where I bit her.
I'll pay in gold if I have to get the drunk to heal the scars.
I grabbed a canteen beside my shirt and took a swig, swishing it around and spat it out, trying to get the taste of Karin's blood out of my mouth.
"That was antiseptic, Naruto." Hinata pointed out softly, looking concerned.
"I don't like tasting blood." I muttered, wincing at the after taste of something that tasted much worse than rubbing alcohol.
Don't ask how I know that.
I glanced around, now that I wasn't fighting to stay awake and took in the surroundings.
Shikamaru had to have been the one to think of this formation. I recognized it as one he'd been running with me lending him several clones to order around to get the hang of making different orders on the fly.
"When did you guys meet up?" I asked Rin and pointed at Ino and Karin.
Rin explained that Team 10 had showed up after she fought the Kumo nin, who came after she and Hinata fought Kabuto.
The pride I felt as Rin described, using expressive hand gestures, her hitting Kabuto with a Rasengan and how she and Hinata fought him to a standstill was visible on my face.
Kabuto was an A-rank, someone who could contend with Asuma, and a 'Canon' Kakashi.
And Rin and Hinata made him withdraw.
Rin then described the fight with the Kumo nin, how she protected Hinata while she stabilized a broken arm and jumped back into the fight, how she took them on and outsmarted them using seals.
I scooted towards her and hugged her.
"I'm so proud of you," I whispered, "So would kaasan and tousan."
She deserves to know.
I then reached for Hinata and pulled her into a one armed hug, hearing an 'eep' as I did.
"I'm proud of you too, Hinata," I smiled, seeing her eyes shine with happiness, "Your father has a kind and strong daughter, and Hanabi has a better older sibling than Rin does."
I smiled and then looked at Sasuke.
"You got through this too, Sasuke," I let Rin and Hinata go, reaching for Sasuke, "Come here."
Sasuke actually looked happy to take my place and Team 7 had a moment to themselves, a life threatening event bringing them closer in a way such events could do.
The Sannin were honed into what they were, for good or bad, by enduring hell together, leaning on one another and refusing to give in.
I looked to Ino and Karin, wanting to talk with my cousin and friend.
"How'd you find Team 10?" I asked Karin, the girl looking below my eyes.
"I used my sensing and found them." She stammered out, blushing some as she looked at me.
I looked down and realized I still had my shirt off.
Ino and Hinata got used to it somewhat from us training together, but Karin hadn't.
'Curse my Uzumaki genes.' I thought mockingly, resigned to another girl liking me.
I almost thought I was being punished for something, but ignored it.
Both Ino and Karin then went on to explain their parts of how they met up.
Team 10 had ambushed a team successfully and got a scroll, no complications, and had almost run afoul of the Sand siblings, but Ino had managed to use her sensing to skirt away from them.
All in all, a rough first day for half of the rookie Genin, but we pulled through.
'It might have been worse if the Jonin Senseis didn't pool their training sessions.' I thanked our luck for that.
After they finished explaining, I put my hands on the ground to get up.
"Careful, Naruto," Ino put her hand on my chest, her palm cold, "You might not be fully recovered."
"The only thing that I need is time for my chakra to come back." I replied, straightening up and standing.
Kurama was really coming through by the mere presence of his Yin half in my seal. It was stimulating my own chakra growth alongside what Karin had done. Give me a day or two and I'll be 100%.
"I need to talk with Shikamaru." I said, walking gingerly just in case.
Ino kept walking with me all the way, her hand still on my stomach.
"Your hands are cold." I muttered, still keeping a sedate pace towards Shikamaru.
"Sorry." Ino said, taking her hand off me, "My hands get cold when I use Iryo-ninjutsu."
That wasn't normally supposed to happen, but Ino had only been taking her training, including training with medical jutsu, seriously for the last 5 or 6 months. Hinata was better, but Ino wasn't terrible.
Shikamaru was maybe a hundred yards out, but my eyes kept darting towards the treeline, the shadows still there.
Orochimaru was still out there. Plotting. Dissecting. Waiting.
'Brave Shinobi. Die with me. Die with me. Die with me.' The same melodic voice echoed in my head, making me lower my hand to grip a kunai in my fingers.
He was coming for me.
'I choose you.'
"Are you okay?" Ino whispered, her eyes wide in worry, "I can feel how scared you are."
Her voice snapped me out of it, the whispers fading away.
"I'm not okay," I didn't try to lie at all, "I almost died, Ino," My eyes met hers, "Nobody else would have survived."
Rin would've been marked if I wasn't such an enticing target. I could already see it in my mind, her thrashing and screaming as she was marked, begging her big brother to make it stop.
"Naruto," Ino's voice cut through my thoughts again, gripping my hand tightly, "Stop it. You're safe. Everyone's okay and you thinking too much is hurting you."
I managed to steady my breathing, focusing on Ino right next to me to keep my mind from wondering.
"Thank you, Ino." I mumbled, swallowing as the echo of the ringing in my ears from blood loss faded, along with the whispers.
We were quiet after that as we got to Shikamaru, who turned to face us.
"You're looking better than I expected." Shikamaru drawled, but I could hear the shaking in his voice.
Shikamaru was doing a great job taking lead since neither Sasuke or I were in any condition to do so, but he needed reassurance.
"Be honest, Shika," I requested seriously, "What did you expect?"
Shikamaru sighed and pressed his fingers below his eyes.
"I thought you and Sasuke would be dead before we got here."
I knew he probably wouldn't want to hear this, but he needed to.
"There's a difference between being a realist and a pessimist," I said simply, my tone becoming a somber one at the end, "And it's realistic to believe that two Genin weren't going to survive an S-rank criminal."
But then I gave the impact.
"But I'm not a regular genin, am I?"
Shikamaru smirked and his shoulders relaxed.
"No, you're not."
The three of us stood there for a moment, Shikamaru doing something with his shadow.
"Trying to test out nighttime shenanigans?" I asked, noticing him trying to stretch his shadow as it got progressively darker.
Shikamaru nodded absentmindedly, not looking at me.
I had another question for him, wanting to know what he thought.
"We're all tired and neither Sasuke or I will be helpful." I began, my thoughts drifting.
Sasuke would be a liability from the remnants of poison still needing to get flushed out of his system by drinking a bunch of water to help piss it out.
I would because I was up and about, but wasn't at my best.
Team 10 looked tired and ready to sleep.
And Hinata still hadn't gotten her arm fixed yet, Ino being the only one who could fuse the fracture back.
Out of all of us, Rin was the only one that would be capable of holding off a squad without risk of losing.
"We need to hunker down and find somewhere to sleep," I said to Shikamaru, the dark haired boy nodding, "Rin can make plenty of bunshin and put some traps down to shield us from other teams."
Shikamaru added his two cents. "The ground is too dangerous. Predators will smell blood and attack constantly. The trees are big enough for us to be up there. Except, we'd fall over in our sleep."
"I have tags that will stick us to the trees." I reached in my pocket and pulled them out.
I realized that they were junked when I felt them. They had blood smeared on them, trashing the ink on them.
Shikamaru eyed them with a rightful level of distrust.
"I can ask Rin to make some new ones." I threw the old ones to the ground, not caring about trying to salvage them.
Shikamaru shook his head and huffed.
"This has been nothing but troublesome." He scowled, "Troublesome redheads, troublesome blondes, and troublesome snakes."
"No argument there."
Shikamaru turned to Ino.
"I think Karin is struggling to bandage her arm, could you help her?" He asked his blonde teammate, looking past us towards my cousin.
Ino nodded and left, the two of us now relatively alone.
Shikamaru gave me a serious look that didn't belong on a 13 year old's face.
"How bad was it?" He asked, no hint needed at what he was talking about.
Gasping for air, my entire body burning in constant pain.
'I choose you.'
My face showed none of my thoughts.
"Terrifying." I said truthfully.
I continued on.
"You ever had a dream where you kept doing an action over and over again, but nothing happens? Like you throw a kunai at a target, but it doesn't do anything?"
Shikamaru looked at me strangely, shrugging after a moment.
"Sort of, but go ahead."
"That's how it felt." I said quietly, remembering how long it felt, "I killed him five times, Shika. He kept shedding like a snake and getting a new body."
I pointed towards where everyone was at.
"That corpse was the last one he shed." I took a deep breath, "I killed him with a water dragon, tore him to shreds and almost punched his jaw off, blew him up with lightning and got his guts all over me, drove a Rasengan through his heart, and I crushed his head." I finished explaining everything I did to Orochimaru, my voice faint, looking down at the ground.
Shikamaru looked at me with horror, not at what I did, but what Orochimaru had survived.
"How can anyone fight against that?" He asked, looking lost, "How can we ever fight that?"
He looked like what I said broke something in him.
"Is all our training for nothing," He asked, his eyes darting around like his thoughts were racing, "Are we going to die fighting an S-rank? We're kids. We can't do this. I can't do this. I'm gonna get everyone killed." He started breathing heavily, looking frantic.
I wasn't going to let him tear himself apart. I lived so they wouldn't be subjected to it.
"Shika," I said harshly, his eyes snapping towards mine, "Who. Do. You. See?"
Shikamaru blinked.
"I see you."
"Not Orochimaru?" I asked rhetorically.
Shikamaru shook his head.
"I fought an S-rank, Shika," I said clearly, looking into his calculating eyes, "And I made him run."
He may have made me second guess my senses with Genjutsu, stabbed me and burned me, marked me and cut my head off...
But I'm still here.
"That bastard may have refused to die, but the same goes for me." I continued with iron in my voice, "He stabbed me, broke my bones, made me taste and see my own blood, but I refused to give up. Do you know why?"
Shikamaru shook his head once more.
"If I gave up, my friends would die. Every ounce of sweat, every drop of blood, every cut, stab, broken bone, and second I fought was one more moment you guys and the village were safe," I said, my entire soul bared to Shikamaru, "I said that you guys meant more to me than everything else, and I meant it."
Shikamaru swallowed audibly.
"You really do care." He whispered, his mind now focused on something other than over thinking his own fears of failure.
"I don't plan on being a Chunin or a Jonin for my entire career, Shika," I put my hand on his shoulder, causing him to look back up, "I'm aiming for the top."
His eyes widened.
"Hokage."
I nodded.
"Hashirama had his brother," I said, still looking at him with conviction, "The Yondaime had your dad. And I want you," I stressed the word, "And maybe Sasuke."
Shikamaru blinked in surprise, his mouth opening slightly in shock.
Shikamaru wanted to have a normal career, a normal wife, normal life, and two kids. He didn't want anything special.
But he wasn't a normal person.
"That's why I fought the traitor," I got to the end of what I was saying, "Hashirama fought Madara and the Kyuubi, Tobirama built this village up and fought the Kinkaku Force, the Sandaime has served and guarded this village for over half a century and gave Konoha the Sannin, and the Yondaime fought Iwa and defeated the Kyuubi. I will not look at my predecessors and be found lacking when I stand in their company."
I let Shikamaru go and turned to leave, seeing the sun set more.
"Let's move to a more secure area." I said, not looking back.
We went back to the others, our hasty withdrawal seeming to pass in a haze.
////////////////////
Sasuke screamed into his sleeve to muffle the sound, the most painful burning sensation coming from between his legs as he swore he was pissing acid out.
Whatever poison Orochimaru put on the blade was working its way through his kidneys after he drunk several bottles of water in rapid succession, the pain unbearable.
It was close to 4:00 in the morning and it wasn't stopping.
The Uchiha whimpered as he pulled his shorts up after he couldn't get anymore out, his breathing ragged.
After several minutes of trying to not vomit from how much it burned, he went back to his chosen tree branch to curl up in a ball and lay down.
He thought it was going to be easy. Nami was chaotic enough, but they came out of that mostly unscathed. The exams shouldn't have gotten this bad, and on the first day at that.
None of them escaped this unharmed; Hinata got a broken arm, he'd been poisoned and beaten up, and Rin healed from most of her injuries already.
And Nar-...
He thought about Naruto, his friend looking so weak and pale after what happened.
"S-sasuke." He gasped, the light in his eyes beginning to fade.
"It's your fault."
Sasuke jerked his head towards where Naruto was, needing to look to make sure he was still alive.
Sasuke spat again to get the metallic taste of blood from his mouth, regretting what he did right before he tried to piss.
Rin had quietly gone up to him, offering him her arm to bite to see if she had the same ability as Karin. He'd refused at first, but she practically demanded he try so he might recover faster.
He now understood why Naruto didn't want to. Hitting Rin during a spar or landing a cut on her was different to actually biting into her flesh for the explicit purpose of drawing blood.
It didn't work.
It took him three hesitant bites for him to muster the will to do it hard enough, making Rin whimper in pain at the action.
He could still taste her on his tongue.
Sasuke reached Naruto, his body wracked by tremors.
"I won't do it," He mumbled to himself, his breaths coming in short gasps, "I'll never join you. I won't leave her."
Sasuke sat next to Naruto, sitting out of arm's reach.
"No," The boy nearly wept, his body still shaking from head to toe, "I'm not like you. No."
Sasuke felt a chill run up his spine at how desperate Naruto sounded, deciding to wake him up.
"Naruto." He said his name, trying to wake him up.
Naruto bolted upright, swinging a kunai blindly.
Sasuke was out of range of it, but it still made him back away.
The redhead's eyes were wild, darting around like a cornered animal as he his breathing suddenly stilled.
"Narut-" Sasuke started to say, but Naruto cut him off.
"Quiet." He hissed, his eyes slowly tracing the outlines of the trees. "I can smell him."
He almost looked like he was in a trance, his knuckles white from gripping the kunai.
"He's gone, Naruto," Sasuke said gently, still mindful of how tense he was, "We're safe now."
Almost like it were a natural thing to do, Naruto looked Sasuke dead in the eye and opened up a cut in his own hand, not wincing at all.
"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked frantically, alarmed by what he just saw.
Naruto visibly relaxed and put the kunai away, the cut slowly sealing shut.
"It's not a Genjutsu." He mumbled, running his fingers through his hair, "I'm okay. I'm okay."
Sasuke never saw Naruto act this way. He was always in control of a situation.
His friend looked up at him, his eyes missing something from them.
"Why are you here?"
"To check on you." Sasuke replied simply, noting the tremors of Naruto's hands. "You're my friend."
Naruto swallowed audibly, still looking around.
"I can feel him," He whispered, his fingers digging into the tree branch, "In my mind's eye. I can feel his breath...his voice."
Sasuke scooted closer to Naruto as slowly and steadily as he could.
"What happened?" He asked gently.
Naruto blinked and started twitching his fingers on his right hand, a rhythmic pattern to it.
"He attacked me," He began, not looking at him, "And he didn't stop."
Naruto talked for quite some time, talking about how Orochimaru fought him and played with him, finally fighting more seriously when he discovered his prey could fight back.
The snakes that tried to kill him, Jutsu fired at him as he kept running, the desperate need to survive. And the Genjutsu.
"So much Genjutsu," Naruto's voice was ragged, his eyes vacant, "Even after I broke them, I can still feel his chakra on me. It's stained my sensing so I keep feeling echoes. I keep thinking he's right behind me, ready to kill me."
The bloodcurdling scream Naruto let out as he spasmed on the ground terrified Sasuke, all the while a sword was hilt deep in his chest.
Sasuke blinked, his eyes were still aching after several hours, but he still focused on Naruto as he pretty much said he could feel shadows haunting him.
"He tortured me," Naruto's lip quivered, "Skinning me, cutting me apart, burning me. I stabbed myself so many times to wake up."
'Was this what I was like after Itachi?' Sasuke shivered as he thought of that, knowing firsthand how torturous Genjutsu could be.
"And when night arrives," Naruto mumbled, seeming to ignore him, "Those scorching, howling, bleeding nights."
Sasuke didn't understand a word of what he said, the peculiar twinspeak he and Rin had making no sense at all.
"How's Rin?" Naruto asked suddenly, his head jerking upwards, "Where is she?"
"With everyone else," Sasuke said, "She's alright."
Naruto seemed to relax some, leaning into the tree some more.
"I haven't slept at all, except for the last bit there."
"I can't either," Sasuke mumbled, hearing the wind rustle slightly, "Too much happened."
The two sat in silence for some time, not speaking at all.
Naruto eventually broke it when he cleared his throat.
"What was the Genjutsu you saw?"
Sasuke closed his eyes, his hands opening and closing slowly.
"He stabbed you in the chest," He remembered the blood running down Naruto's mouth, the wet choking noise coming from them, "And then he...cut your head off."
Naruto didn't talk for a moment, his eyes still looking elsewhere.
"He only stabbed me." He eventually murmured, holding the kunai again.
Sasuke watched Naruto inspect the kunai, slowly rotating it between his fingers.
"Do you want me to stay here?" He asked the redhead, his eyes finally flicking towards his.
They eyed each other, the soft whispers of the wind making his hair shift lightly.
"Yes," Naruto finally said, putting up the kunai and pulling a seal from his pocket, "I'm going to go into a meditative trance. Please don't wake me up." He then pressed the seal against his back, pushing it against the tree and making a half seal.
The seal hummed and he was held in place, his blue eyes fluttering shut.
"Thank you, Sasuke." Was the last thing Naruto said to him before his body sagged completely.
///////////////////
"Fox?" I asked quietly, hoping he was here.
Rem sleep was going to evade me after what happened, so I planned on 'sleeping' in my mindscape.
It wasn't exactly recommended when I read some of Uzumaki Mito's journals about Jinchuriki, but you technically could if need be.
Kurama slowly approached the bars, looking at me neutrally.
"Yes?" He asked.
Steeling myself, I walked up to the bars and looked up at him.
I couldn't just let this go and ignore it. I was going to die if Kurama hadn't helped.
"Thank you." I said, showing as much of my gratitude as I could with my voice, "You didn't have to help me. You could've just shifted towards Rin's seal and let your Yin chakra slowly come back after a few years."
Kurama huffed.
"I didn't want my entertainment to die, and to a snake at that."
"Nothing else?" I asked, leaning my weight against the bars.
"You are an entertaining prison to me, nothing more."
He may say that, but I knew better than to believe him.
"Liar," I said gently, any apprehension I had gone now, "I know you care, even if just a little. I refuse to believe that you are a monster. A monster wouldn't have saved my life."
Kurama's voice remained steady, his crimson eyes locked on mine.
"Why did you come here to speak? I could feel your emotions through the seal from how strong they were. You are terrified, like prey."
I'd eventually recover from what happened, but Orochimaru's chakra clinging to me, the fear at him offering everything I wanted, and the nearest to death I'd ever been in this life made me terrified of everything.
"I came here to ask you what you want." I said, still holding the bars, "A group of S-rank terrorists are pursuing Jinchuriki, according to Orochimaru, for reasons I don't know. You not only saved me, but now I can protect Rin. I can never repay the debt I owe," I whispered, "but I must try."
Kurama leaned down towards me, laying down flat to look eye level.
"You won't give me what I want." His breath came through the bars, blowing my hair back.
I didn't blink at all, my hands still holding firm.
"I will set you free." I offered quietly, being completely serious.
"I will live a long and full life," I continued, Kurama looking at me silently, "Have family, become Hokage, and leave this world a better place than I entered it."
"My children will grow up with tales of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, a tragic figure who was sentenced to hell for being a victim of the fell clutch of circumstance. They will adore the Bijuu that saved their Touchan, and my nieces and nephews will know you saved their kaachan."
Kurama still remained silent.
"As Hokage, my power will shine as a light in the darkness. I will help make the world a better one for my children and all the good people of Konoha, even if they scorned me."
I took a deep breath as I got to the final part, a solemn oath I made to myself the first day I became aware of my life as Uzumaki Naruto.
"As Hokage, I will order that you be untouched once freed. Before my flesh and heart fails, when my body is weakened by time and by Fate, I will set you free. And I will go to the halls of my forefathers, in whose presence I will be... unashamed." I took a shuddering breath as my emotions finally got the better of me.
Kurama didn't deserve any of this. Neither Rin or I deserved this. If I could make Konoha the undisputed power in the Elemental Nations, then I could set Kurama free when I'm hopefully over 100 years old without breaking our strength.
Kurama blinked slowly, his breathing pausing.
"I wish I could believe you, truly." He said, his eyes downcast, "But I can't trust your word. I have been deceived too many times."
Knowing this was rather foolish, I shifted my body and squeezed through the bars, walking onto Kurama's side of the seal.
The giant fox's eyes widened and he froze when I put my hand on his snout, patting it lightly.
"Is this enough to convince you?" I asked lightly, fighting the urge to flee.
Kurama evidently could tell I was afraid, confirmed by him taking a quick sniff.
"You stink of fear, boy, yet you still crossed over."
I remained still, praying for the strength needed to stand still.
"Perhaps you are different from the others. I might be able to make an acception for you. Maybe the girl is right about you being insane."
I let my hand slide off his snout as I backed away a bit, my back touching the bars.
"I will leave now." Kurama eventually said, "I wish to be alone and your sister's seal is more comfortable." He then turned and walked away, the signature I presumed to be his consciousness vanishing as his Yin half lost its sapient feel to it.
My legs shook as I slipped through the bars, my 'body' deciding it was time to sleep.
I laid down on the floor and curled up into a ball, manifesting a blanket with a thought.
"Goodnight mom, goodnight dad." I whispered in English, closing my eyes, "Goodnight Rin, I love you."
That night was a tense one, but nothing compared to what the day had been, thankfully.
/////////////
End Chapter:
Holy shit, that was hard to write. This and the other parts had the absolute most thought put into writing it. I think I pulled a muscle in my brain from writing it.
Be honest, how many people suspected Naruto was going to get his head cut off at some point? I had it mentioned more than once earlier on as more of Hiruzen and Kakashi thinking Naruto might be insane enough to try it on himself though.
If anybody knows where I got the inspiration for Orochimaru getting fucked up, hats off to you.
Naruto has a rocky start to his talk with Minato, but works through it and gets some much needed insight on the Hiraishin and a means to know how Obito fights.
More is revealed about Ashina, including the spark from whom the Flame Imperishable spawned.
I've read a couple stories that had Tobirama as a reason for why Hiruzen was a closet pervert. Hashirama taught his granddaughter how to gamble, Tobirama probably had his own vices. I find the idea of the Senju brothers being a gambler and a manwhore hilarious.
Stuff continues to spiral and the rookies get thrown into a maelstrom of uncertainty, but emerge from it triumphant.
One final thing: I think I will try to make the pairing Naru/Ino/Hina.(The jokes Jiraiya and Kakashi make will be hilarious). If I can pull it off, I'll go through with it. If not, I can walk it back into just a friendship with one. It'll depend on whether I can get Hinata and Ino to be friends that will share, or they like each other as well. Should I or or should I not? The story will shift down another path if I do it and I'm being an indecisive little bitch about it. If you have a certain opinion on it, please explain your stance. I would appreciate the input more than anything, especially with something this important to the plot.
Anyway, that's about it. Have a wonderful day.
Raging.
週次パワーステータス
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