Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Way of the Jinchuuriki ❯ Arc 3, Chapter 24 - Losing a Father ( Chapter 24 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Zagger the Bloody Angel 
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action / Angst / Suspense / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 06.19.2011 | Pages: 4 | Words: 6.5K | Visits: 201 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action / Angst / Suspense / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 06.19.2011 | Pages: 4 | Words: 6.5K | Visits: 201 | Status: Completed
"Ugh..." Naruto groaned and even though he had just awoke he was very aware of his surroundings. "The next time I go through the seventh layer of hell... Please stop me from doing something that retarded."
"I would... But I can't figure out what you're going to do next! You are one surprising ninja." Jiraiya's voice responded and even though everything was blurry he could see that white and red figure was grinning at him. "To actually succeed where my sensei and I have failed to do over the last fifteen years and convince Tsunade to return..."
"Ugh...Stop speaking and get me some aspirin. I have a massive headache and your voice isn't making it any better." Naruto groaned out, his vision slowly flickering to normal but with the migraine he was dealing with it might take a few minutes.
Grumbling at his unappreciative apprentice, Jiraiya sighed and went and opened the door. "He's up... And it seems like he has a hangover from hell."
Jiraiya stood no chance. He was flattened by everyone else in the hotel room, first in line being Tsunade. And then she went back to the end of the line and continued stopping on the toad sannin for good measure. It never hurt to make sure he was grounded.
Once she felt a little better, Tsunade turned her attention to Naruto who know was being used as a demonstration to Sakura by Shizune. "While headaches, migraines and hangovers are relatively easily to take care of it take a good knowledge of who the brains works..."
"I'm all for Sakura learning from you two... But I'm not a fucking guinea pig! Just tell her the fundamentals later and she'll figure it out!" Naruto growled out, wanting to screech at them for this was the worst headache he ever had to deal with before.
"Wake up on the wrong side of the bed, did we?" Shizune hummed before she moved her glowing hand over Naruto's head before frowning. "Well that was interesting... All the nerves within your brain were... Well fried. Not in the sense that they stopped working but just in that they were over stressed."
Wincing a little at the sudden brightness in the room and taking a moment to adjust, Naruto blinked a few times before sighing. "Yeah... That sounds about right. I haven't worked out all the kinks yet..."
"This have to deal with you new flash?" Jiraiya said suddenly, popping up like he was never hurt in the first place, the sage sighed seeing Naruto simply nod in response. "Well it is what we figured... I knew there would be some side effects on the brain. Let's thank our lucky stars they were only mild."
"A new flash?" Kerlya was the first to pick up on this with wide eyes and turned to Naruto. "Are you really suggesting that...?"
"No, it is not the flash. It is a technique that I'm creating to replace it. Quite simply... I'm trying to reinvent Hiraishin without a marker." Naruto commented now he was fully functional and not suffering the migraine from the seventh layer of hell.
"To recreate it... Without the marker?" Tsunade questioned, attempting to grasp the concept but was failing rather horribly for she didn't even grasp the concept of the Flying Thunder God outside the fact it acted somewhat like a reverse summoning.
Shaking his head, Naruto threw off his covers, not caring that he was mostly undressed outside of boxers, and founded his clothing. Sliding it on, ignoring the massive blushes from both Kerlya and Sakura, the blonde noticed one thing about the attire that was odd. "What the..."
"Oh that... Yeah I gave it to you." Tsunade mentioned once Naruto had lifted her necklace from his pile of stuff. "It is to signify the trust I'm placing on you as the new Hokage. You know... To get stuff done and fix a lot of the shit the others caused and Minato didn't get the time to clean it up."
Despite her short explanation, Naruto simply nodded in understanding. The necklace to her was a symbol of her hope... Her hope for the future of Konoha for that was what he was. Once he returned... He would prepare his undertaking to become the Godaime.
The next thing that caught his eye was a scroll. Just by the look of the seal though... "If I had to take a guess those would be Samehada and Kisame gave it to me with some last request so he could rest in peace."
"Yeah... How in the hell did you know that though? You were out cold." Jiraiya twitched at Naruto for somehow knowing exactly what had Kisame had said and done.
"Same thing happened with Zabuza in the Wave Country. His request of me was to be the strongest and to take care of his blade." Naruto commented before revealing and unsealing another scroll, catching the head chopping sword in one hand. "But it will be a few years before I can properly wield these blades. I'm too short to use them efficiently."
Sealing the giant sword away and putting away both scrolls, Naruto turned to Jiraiya. "So what was it? The one thing I know is that the mist swordsman hold respect beyond anything else and I intend to value that trait."
"Madara." Was all Jiraiya need to say before Naruto's eyes narrowed at the mention of the Uchiha's name.
"I see..." Naruto refrained from growling and shaking his head. Everything seemed to be coming back to Madara lately and this was not a good thing. If this kept up he would have a run in with the man soon... And he hoped he was ready for him.
"Is everyone more or less ready...? I would like to head back home soon. I probably have an annoyed girlfriend waiting for me back home." Naruto scratched at his temple for he knew Yugito was going to be rather ticked at him.
But then she will be very happy with him once Jiraiya handed over that check...
Watching as everyone left the room to go get there things, having everything more or less packed, Naruto narrowed his eyes. A very tiny chakra signature was heading his way. One he recognized as one of Itachi's messenger ravens. Immediately opening the window, the said bird was moving at top speed towards him.
Moving to let the bird in, Naruto kept his poise and simply figured there was a mild emergency. Probably along the lines of having a run in with Kushina. However he was immediately proved wrong once the bird caught its breath. "Trouble! Trouble! The snake has made his move! Lord Itachi needs you to return immediately with Lady Tsunade! Anko has been caught injected with a new poison that affects her seal!"
"WHAT?!" Naruto roared out at the bird, almost grabbing it and wanting to pluck its feathers and cook it like Yugito did to that poor blue bird so many years ago. "What do you mean she's been poisoned?! And why can't the remove it?!"
"I don't know sir!" The bird panicked for the only thing worse than his master angry was this blonde when he was pissed. "All I know is that it is affecting the seal and any attempts to remove are forcing the seal to react! Itachi needs either you or Lord Jiraiya to return to seal it and Tsunade to remove the poison. It has almost been a day!"
Without another word, Naruto burst from his room and flared out his senses to find Tsunade. Seeing she was just next door in her hotel room with Jiraiya, he knocked his open and was about to knock hers in when Tsunade opened the door. "What the hell is going...?!"
"We're heading to Konoha now! I need your help to save my nee-chan... That snake has poisoned her with something that reacts to the curse seal! Itachi didn't plant one of my kunai so we have to make haste!" Naruto growled out, not having time to explain this for they needed to leave now.
Realizing the situation, Tsunade turned straight to Jiraiya and Shizune. "Shizune, take care of the kids while we're gone and make sure I didn't leave anything behind! Jiraiya, you need to stay here with them but make sure they hurry back at a quick pace."
"Let's go!" Tsunade turned to Naruto and already noted he was outside the room and running down the hall.
Quickly tailing him, glad that she was the fastest of the sannin for the blonde teen was moving at an incredible speed. To her dismay it seemed he wasn't running at full speed and instead was keeping a pace that he knew she could follow. That was a little disheartening to see that one of her greatest attributes and he completely out classed her.
Still there was no time to think about any of this before she caught up to Naruto. "Alright, if I have to take a guess your sister is Anko... And if I remember correctly she was marked with the first successful seal. And if Orochimaru has created a poison for it..."
"It came from the original source of the curse... Now if we could only find out what that was." Naruto acknowledged Tsunade's trail and knew that having the original source would benefit them. "But there is a problem... The snake fucker most likely keeps the source secured tightly and would have his best forces guarding it in his most hidden base. Finding it now is nigh impossible at this moment."
"Exactly... So for now I'm going to need you to seal it and I'll deal with the poison the best I can. Chakra poisons aren't very easy to deal with and can't be extracted in the same process normal poisons or neurotoxins are. But we have to put finding the original source at top priority." Tsunade stated knowing that the odds of curing her of an unknown poison were low.
"I can guarantee it will be." Naruto growled and was not going to let Sarutobi deny him his hunt once Anko was in the clear.
Simply nodding and knowing there would be little conversation for the rest of the trip, if at all, Tsunade set her sights onto the road before her. Her eyes narrowed for a moment and a certain red head crossed her mind.
'Kushina... Why do I have a feeling that you played a role in this?'
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Panti ng heavily, looking all around him attempting to find his attacker, he suddenly jumped forward and at that moment the tree behind him shattered into thousands of pieces when a glowing humanoid hand crushed it.
Turning his katana to the monstrous hand, he tossed dozens of shuriken into the arm but they did little more then bounce off. Not a single one penetrated and this worried him. But there was nothing as haunting to see what the hand stemmed from.
It was connected to a massive ghost like warrior, like that of a ronin samurai, and he barely had time to dodge the glowing sword. Just rolling out of the way, watching the tree that was stabbed instead of him be absorbed by the blade, his eyes widened and gazed at the core to see one man with rage visibly rolling off of him.
Uchiha Itachi.
"Gekkou Hayate... I suggest you surrender now or I will prolong this session. There is no escape, not even death. You will face the consequence of your betrayal." Itachi snarled, his now five point windmill like Sharingan staying perfectly still as its gaze pierced into him.
"Or..." Hayate couldn't help but shiver at this one word and took a step back from the raging Uchiha. But to his horror the great warrior dispersed around the Uchiha but the only thing that remained of him there was void of darkness.
Feeling the coolness of a blade pressed against the back of his neck, Hayate found that he couldn't stop himself from turning his head to see who was behind him only to see the red eyes of Itachi's Mangekyou. "I can make you suffer a thousand times greater than what my fiancée and you wife are going through!"
"Tsukiyomi!"
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"What do you mean there is nothing we can do?!" Yugito yelled out at the elderly man sitting at the desk before her, looking far more weathered and withered since the day he first retired and allow the Fourth take his place. "Anko is dying and you are saying is that we can't go out and look for the cure?!"
Placing his hand over his face, glancing over at the neko vessel, Hizuren could only speak in a whisper. "We don't even know if there is a cure and even if there was we have no clue where to even start. We have only found have of Orochimaru's bases and I highly doubt he have found his most secret hideouts yet, the ones where he would most likely keep such a possible cure at or possibly the host of the poison."
Growling at the Third, Yugito clenched her fist tightly and the only thing restraining her from leaping over and grabbing the man's collar was the Anbu unit that jumped down feeling the tension within the room. "You honestly expect me to believe that you have no knowledge of where these bases might be located?"
Removing his hand from his face and gazing into Yugito's eyes shifting their color from emerald to gold, Sarutobi frowned deeply. "We may have a general idea of their location but we can't just storm their bases now to find out. This is a war Yugito and as much as I hate to say this... There will be causalities and sacrifices that must be made..."
"She will not be one of them!" Yugito hissed before a void of darkness bellowed at her side and Itachi dropped out of it before slamming Hayate's unconscious form on the ground beneath him.
"Danzo has been in contact with the snake however it was not through Hayate. ...Hayate was simply a spy for the snake this entire time along with Kabuto. And since Kabuto is our only lead, I request a tracking unit of the man immediately. He can possibly cure the poison or at the very least lead us to where the antidote or the source is."
"Denied." Itachi's Mangekyou narrowed at the Third hearing this before the Third sighed. "I need every last capable ninja here at the moment... For all we know this attack could simply be a feint and allow Orochimaru's true force to invade the village. And since Jiraiya or Naruto is not here at the moment I can send you out just yet. When one of them returns..."
"It might be too late! You said it yourself Tsunade might not want to come back so what if Naruto hasn't convince her yet? He can't and won't come back! And while no one really knows where Jiraiya went you can be assured he is there trying to help Naruto bring her back to the village!" Itachi slammed his hand onto the desk, ignoring the Anbu reaching for their katanas or ninjatos.
Hizuren was not happy. He knew that both Anko and Yugito would be insubordinate at the moment but he did not expect either to question his decisions. "We have to wait until they arrive then, Itachi. I can't take Orochimaru on alone any longer and who knows who else is in behind this! Perhaps Iwa or the Akatsuki for all we know! At least with both of us here we can put up a strong front and make anyone think twice about attacking!"
"And do you think I don't care for Anko's safety?" The Third spat out and stood from his seat, finally getting tired of this and was going to end it. "For you information I care for each and every damn shinobi and civilian under my watch, some more than others and Anko is one of them! She has been like a daughter for me since we brought her back! Do you have any idea how much it pains me to watch her writhe in agony and be able to do nothing?!"
For one of the few times in his life, Itachi felt truly scared. He may have forgotten who he had been speaking to but there was no doubt this was the Professor, the God of Shinobi Sarutobi Hizuren and he was just enlightened by that fact. He may have lost his edge but he was still that man, without a doubt.
But his fear only lasted a second or two before Itachi simply gaze into his eyes. "Do you have any idea what Naruto would do if Anko were to die let alone what I would do? I don't think you would have to worry about Orochimaru with the two of us along with who knows how many other shinobi along with us."
Faltering at that statement, The Third Hokage's face grimaced. The last thing he needed was Itachi AND Naruto opposing him. His power would almost seize to exist for the civilians would stand by the Uchiha clan as they have done for so many years and the ninja population would follow Naruto.
That was the reason he named both as head ninja and his possible successors. It simply made his job easier and kept both sides of the council in agreement with one another. And if both were to oppose his power a civil war could erupt and he wasn't sure how much support he would get.
"Itachi..." Sarutobi stated and was about to enforce his rule upon him for he was still Hokage when the door burst open.
"Sir! Lord Namikaze and Lady Tsunade have arrived and are at the hospital as we speak!" The chunin, Haruno Yeshua he believed, loudly announced for he barely had time to check who both were before they stormed to the hospital.
"Finally! Itachi, consider your mission accepted now that Naruto has arrived. Take an Aburame and an Inuzuka with you and at least two more jounin class shinobi. Jiraiya should be on the way so inform him of this mission and have him lead the way if you can't find Kabuto. They can handle this and I'll aid them however I can." Hizuren responded before giving Itachi his order now that Naruto was back in the village.
"Yeshua, take these Anbu and inform everyone that Naruto has return for moral purposes! If there are any more spies this information will be leaked out to others and no one would dare attack now!" Sarutobi barked, stepping away from his desk before motioning his Anbu to follow Yeshua.
"I'm on it!" Yeshua replied before darting out of the room with the Anbu, Itachi and Yugito quickly follow pursuit out of the office.
Noticing Yugito was following him, Itachi stopped and turned to her with narrowed eyes. "You are to stay here, Yugito. Naruto is going to need your support for without Anko I can't be sure anyone else really can truly comfort him. He trusts you more than anyone else."
Yugito was livid. She already had failed and was unable to protect Anko and now she was being told that she could go out and do anything to help her. "The hell I am! I'm not just going to sit around and..."
"Consider it an order, Yugito!" Itachi hissed out and his Mangekyou bore into her emeralds. "I won't hesitate if it will keep you here. For all we know this could reset Naruto back to before you came along if you aren't here to help him and that is the last thing that we need right now! So you are staying here!"
Without another word, Itachi dispersed into an abyss and left Yugito rather shaken. But before Sarutobi could say anything, she only shook her head feeling the third's presence. "He's right I know... But everything just seems to be falling apart all of a sudden... Right after Naruto left."
"Whether many people know or not... Naruto already shoulders a lot of the burdens of this village. His presence here not only lifts everyone's spirits... It keeps outside forces at bay for fear of retaliation. When he was gone and being attacked twice like this it has sent many into a panic." Hizuren answered in a sigh.
"He doesn't even know it yet but he practically is the Fifth Hokage already..." The current Hokage finished with a louder sigh before turning his attention to the hospital. "Let's go... Naruto and Tsunade might need our help."
Numbly nodding, not sure what to say, Yugito followed the Third. While there were so many things raging in her mind all her thoughts slowly and finally turned to one and she began to worry for only him. "Naruto..."
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"Alright, I want to know exactly everything you've found out about Mitarashi Anko's condition stat!" Tsunade barked, barging into the room and shaking the floor along with surprising every single medic that currently was occupying the floor Anko was located on.
There was only one that wasn't terrified that this was some kind of attack and had to sigh out in relief.
Mikoto quickly strode to Tsunade before taking a clip board from a nearby medic trying to examine it and handed it to the slug sannin. "This is what we have diagnosed from the toxin so far. I've never seen one like it before because it is strictly attacking the chakra within her seal and attempting to force it out into the rest of the body. If that is to happen it will surely kill her."
"Removing it isn't working but there are very few among the medics here that actually know how to remove chakra specific poison and I just became one of them." Mikoto flashed her Sharingan for a second for she had copied the said technique. "Even now within stasis the poison is still active and slowly eating away at the barrier between her chakra and the cursed seal."
"And once that happens both her chakra will merge rapidly and it will be too late to do anything. Has anyone tried any seals yet?" Tsunade spoke while she looked over the information and couldn't help but grimace for this did not look good.
"Every seal we have tried has been counter productive. Evil Sealing Method, every kind of elemental and trigram seal we know seem to force the agent to reproduce faster and tear what little defense she has left. At this rate she will die in little less then a week if we don't do anything else." Mikoto grimaced as she noticed Naruto.
Tsunade also bit her lip. Hearing that immediately sounded alarms in her mind meaning that this poison was specifically designed to counter these measures. And there were only a few people in the world that could possibly make such poisons and could have an antidote and Orochimaru was one of them. "Shit! It must be triggered to respond to such attempts..."
"Whoever was expecting this knew I would be out of town... And knew that it would take a massive amount of chakra to safely save her." Naruto growled before he stormed to Anko's room and flung the door open. "Everyone out unless you have any knowledge of extraction seals!"
"Extraction?" Tsunade nearly wanted to yell out at the blonde for being in such a hurry before she caught his gaze. "Of course! The poison specifically targets the curse seal so by extracting... What the hell are you going to seal the curse into?! Further more not even Jiraiya has successfully created a seal that can remove Orochimaru's curse!"
"I've done my research into it... And I might have a way to take the curse from her and place it within another host. As for the host... I'll be sealing it within myself. I'm the only one that can possibly survive taking both the curse and the poison if it follows." Naruto responded without hesitation and pulled out a bottle of ink and a brush.
"What?! Are you insane?!" Tsunade screeched at the blonde haired jinchuuriki as he ignored her. "Do you know how many things could go wrong if you succeed or how many could go wrong if you fail?! And secondly if it is successfully there is no guarantee that you'll be able to survive it even if you let Kyuubi attempt to purge the poison!"
"What's going on in here?" Hizuren arrived with Yugito only to hear Tsunade screaming at Naruto for doing something reckless.
Seeing her sensei and another she did not know, Tsunade simply pointed her finger at Naruto and yelled at him. "This stupid fool is going to try and extract the curse seal since the poison is only reacting to it! And of all things to seal it into he's going to seal it into himself! He isn't even Hokage yet and he's ready to sacrifice himself like he is!"
"Whether you agree with me or not this is the best plan there available at this time. Tsunade I will need you to focus on removing the poison from her body in case it decides to attack her normal chakra if it does not transfer to me." Naruto took her screeches in stride and had moved Anko's bed to the side so he could finish making the seal.
"Old man, Yugito... I'm going to need you both to back me up with your chakra to help extract the cursed chakra into me. I may have enough on my own but I need to keep a good portion to combat the curse and if will need to transform if the poison comes along with it." Naruto continued while he finished the overall design and was making small adjustments and tweaks to it.
Frowning at hearing this and noting how many people were watching, Hizuren simply nodded. "How much chakra is needed to perform the extraction?"
"About an eight of yours, a third of Yugito's and a twentieth of own chakra should be more than enough." Naruto stated before checking the seals and nodding to himself. "Everything is set... Bring An..."
Naruto's eyes suddenly rolled to the back of his head before the Third caught him by the back of his shirt collar. "Sorry my boy... But I can't let you sacrifice yourself just yet. This village needs you more than it does me."
"What the hell was that about?!" Yugito screamed out but being held back by Tsunade who looked at her sensei with wide eyes.
"Sensei... Do you know what you're..."
"I know full well of the consequence and I accept them. There needs to be a human host for this procedure and with everything that can go wrong no one should be forced to suffer through it. I allow will take it and if the poison is past onto me... The Godaime will take over for me for I can't let him do this. This village needs him more then it does me." Sarutobi cut Tsunade off before motioning to Anko.
"Put her in the center of the main seal... Yugito I will need you for support and you too, Kakashi. No one else has the chakra necessary for this for Tsunade has to deal with any poison left in Anko's body." Hizuren ordered before laying Naruto where Anko used to be, Tsunade carefully lifting the snake mistress to the seal.
Checking to make sure she was properly placed, having a good knowledge of seals being the Professor and all, and made a few slight adjustments before kneeling within the secondary outer seal. "Kakashi, Yugito place your hands directly on the main seal at three and nine o'clock from my position and on my mark begin flowing your chakra into the seal."
"Tsunade, check Anko's stasis immediately after the sealing is finished and my seal is set. Otherwise there may be complications and someone could be infected." Sarutobi said to the slug sannin, softly smiling at her despite noticing the slight fear building on her face. "Don't worry about me... I can see where you faith lies now so place it all within him."
Tsunade's jaw almost came undone having almost having forgotten she gave Naruto her necklace in the heat of the moment before turning to the unconscious blonde and solemnly nodded. "Right... I'll do what I can do if it gets transferred to you once I'm done with Anko."
"Good... Yugito, Kakashi... Are you ready?" Hizuren barked out at the two and turned his attention entirely onto Anko and waited for their response.
"I'm ready... I'll try to keep our flows equal." Kakashi stated, moving his headband up and reveal his Sharingan so he could measure the flow of chakra everyone was using.
Still a little nervous about what she was being asked to do; Yugito took a deep breath before nodding. "I'm good... I can do this."
"Start channeling your chakra into the seal at a moderate pace. We can't go too fast or slow for this." The Third stated before he slowly began flowing his chakra into his portion of the seal and both Kakashi and Yugito quickly followed.
Matching his flow with the Third's, Kakashi grimaced as chakra outage from the seal was a little bright before turning to Yugito. Noting that her side was a little weaker, he snapped at her. "Yugito! Raise your chakra outage up a notch! I'll tell you when to stop!"
Gritting her teeth, she slowly began to channel more chakra into slowly before Kakashi gave her the signal. "Good! Keep at that flow for as long as you can! We should..."
Kakashi was caught off by a violent flare of malevolent chakra bursting form Anko and surging straight into the Third Hokage. Kakashi and Yugito were barely able to keep their palms down from the sheer force of the burst.
Hizuren was caught off guard by the outage and the burning of the chakra but he held tough and bit his lip and continued to draw in the cursed chakra form Anko.
He could feel that the poison was coming along with it. Each and every ounce of the alien chakra that was invading his body was pure agony. He knew pain well but this was far beyond what he could expect and he unfortunately knew this wasn't just from the poison and knew it was because of the cursed seal.
Being ready to tell Tsunade to check him once she was finished with Anko, Sarutobi's eyes widened from another powerful burst from Anko. This time, however, neither Kakashi nor Yugito were able to keep their flow and were knocked back.
Sarutobi wasn't ready to take the full burden onto his own so quickly and grimaced at the sigh of the seal beginning to meld and slowly disintegrate. Even if he forced all his chakra into this he could not stop this.
But in that instant another set of hands slapped the top of the seal and a wave of seals began to spread from his hands and neutralize and fix all the abnormalities in an instant while keeping the chakra flow consistent. Turning his head to see who it was Hizuren's eyes stared into narrowed blues.
"Foolish... This sacrifice wasn't yours to make." Naruto easily matched the Third's and began to raise the flow to match the amount needed to draw the cursed chakra from Anko. "I had the highest probability of surviving even if the poison came along with it."
"I know that... But that isn't why I did it." The Sandaime responded, a slight smile on his face despite the pain of the cursed chakra and poison flowed into him. "Naruto... You are too important to this village to allow anything to cripple or end your life now. If you were to fall so would we... That is what being the King in the game of shoji does..."
"After that night eight years ago... I decided the fate of Konoha and placed it solely on your shoulders. Whether it stood or it crumbled to the ground... It resided on what you did for only you had the right to save this village or curse it for eternity." Sarutobi told, his eyes locked with Naruto's own and never strayed.
"It was a gamble for sure but I set everything up that I could to draw forth your maximum potential while attempting to bring out your humanity again. It was a long shot but I had made my decision and if Konoha burned for it then so be it. However something happened that I couldn't count on... Something wonderful."
"The cloud sought forgiveness instead of retribution for the lost of their head ninja and in their forgiveness they sent an angel to us... An angel that soon as she arrived began to bring out your humanity once more... First it was simply sadness and anger but it grew and now things like love and jealousy are no longer foreign to you."
Both Naruto and Yugito were looking at the Hokage in shock, the former just barely able to keep his flow of chakra in the seal while he listened. "She was able to do what no one else could do and allowed you to come back and become this village's savior instead of its destroyer."
"For that... Yugito I thank you from the bottom of my heart." The Hokage finally broke his gaze from and looked at the neko vessel before finally turning back to Naruto. "You will become the greatest Hokage this village will ever now... For I can't see anyone that could be better then you."
"You're not dead yet old man! Mikoto!" Naruto barked out feeling the extraction was almost finished and set. "Bring in every available medic that can remove chakra poison now! The seal will be set in a matter of moments and there won't be much time!"
"Belay that. That is an order." Hizuren grimaced as the last of the cursed chakra was sealed into him along with a good portion of the toxin. "My life is at an end already... I've accepted that much long before this moment. It is time for me to step down and allow a wise young man to take my place."
"Naruto... Take care of Konoha for me. I leave it in your hands." Sarutobi smiled once last time before he closed his eyes and focused onto the seal that had been flowing onto his body. "Seal!"
In a bright flash of white light that temporarily blinded everyone, a thud hit the ground and as their vision returned two things could be seen. The curse mark was no longer on Anko and the pain that seemed to trouble her unconscious body had seemingly vanished. The second was...
The Sandaime was dead.
"NO!" Naruto screamed out and was quickly intercepted by Yugito, embracing him into a tight hug so there would be no way for him to break out.
Mikoto along with almost every other medic ran to the Hokage's side, Tsunade being the except for she was working on removing the last of the contagion from Anko now that it had no where to go. But only after a moment they could only bow their heads. "He's gone... There is nothing we can do."
"NO!" Naruto screamed once more, thrashing in Yugito's grip while his gaze stayed focused onto the lifeless form of the deceased Hokage. "HE CAN'T BE! HE'S TOO DAMN STRONG... TOO DAMN STUBBORN TO DIE!"
"Naruto! He's gone!" Yugito strengthened her embrace and forced the younger vessel's gaze to her chest. "He's gone... There is nothing you can do."
Trying to break free of her grip to get to the Hokage's side, Naruto thrashed but to no avail. His strength had seemingly been sapped and was unable to break Yugito's hold before falling to his knees. "No! I can still..."
"Naruto please..." Yugito begged as she fell with him, keeping him tightly embraced and not wanting to let him go. "It's okay to feel hurt... To feel helpless... Just let it out. There is nothing else that can be done."
Her voice had never sounded like this before. While she could be soft and tender and her voice reflected that it never sounded quite like this. It wasn't motherly like he had heard from Anko or Kyuubi... This was something different. Something that... That made him feel less concerned about hiding.
And he really wanted to hide right now. To run away and never return... He had just lost a man he considered a father.
Tears began following from his eyes and his head buried into Yugito's chest. He tried his best to keep them down but the came like rivers and nothing could stop them. And for the first time in eight years Konoha had heard something it had not before.
The sound of Naruto crying.
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"I would... But I can't figure out what you're going to do next! You are one surprising ninja." Jiraiya's voice responded and even though everything was blurry he could see that white and red figure was grinning at him. "To actually succeed where my sensei and I have failed to do over the last fifteen years and convince Tsunade to return..."
"Ugh...Stop speaking and get me some aspirin. I have a massive headache and your voice isn't making it any better." Naruto groaned out, his vision slowly flickering to normal but with the migraine he was dealing with it might take a few minutes.
Grumbling at his unappreciative apprentice, Jiraiya sighed and went and opened the door. "He's up... And it seems like he has a hangover from hell."
Jiraiya stood no chance. He was flattened by everyone else in the hotel room, first in line being Tsunade. And then she went back to the end of the line and continued stopping on the toad sannin for good measure. It never hurt to make sure he was grounded.
Once she felt a little better, Tsunade turned her attention to Naruto who know was being used as a demonstration to Sakura by Shizune. "While headaches, migraines and hangovers are relatively easily to take care of it take a good knowledge of who the brains works..."
"I'm all for Sakura learning from you two... But I'm not a fucking guinea pig! Just tell her the fundamentals later and she'll figure it out!" Naruto growled out, wanting to screech at them for this was the worst headache he ever had to deal with before.
"Wake up on the wrong side of the bed, did we?" Shizune hummed before she moved her glowing hand over Naruto's head before frowning. "Well that was interesting... All the nerves within your brain were... Well fried. Not in the sense that they stopped working but just in that they were over stressed."
Wincing a little at the sudden brightness in the room and taking a moment to adjust, Naruto blinked a few times before sighing. "Yeah... That sounds about right. I haven't worked out all the kinks yet..."
"This have to deal with you new flash?" Jiraiya said suddenly, popping up like he was never hurt in the first place, the sage sighed seeing Naruto simply nod in response. "Well it is what we figured... I knew there would be some side effects on the brain. Let's thank our lucky stars they were only mild."
"A new flash?" Kerlya was the first to pick up on this with wide eyes and turned to Naruto. "Are you really suggesting that...?"
"No, it is not the flash. It is a technique that I'm creating to replace it. Quite simply... I'm trying to reinvent Hiraishin without a marker." Naruto commented now he was fully functional and not suffering the migraine from the seventh layer of hell.
"To recreate it... Without the marker?" Tsunade questioned, attempting to grasp the concept but was failing rather horribly for she didn't even grasp the concept of the Flying Thunder God outside the fact it acted somewhat like a reverse summoning.
Shaking his head, Naruto threw off his covers, not caring that he was mostly undressed outside of boxers, and founded his clothing. Sliding it on, ignoring the massive blushes from both Kerlya and Sakura, the blonde noticed one thing about the attire that was odd. "What the..."
"Oh that... Yeah I gave it to you." Tsunade mentioned once Naruto had lifted her necklace from his pile of stuff. "It is to signify the trust I'm placing on you as the new Hokage. You know... To get stuff done and fix a lot of the shit the others caused and Minato didn't get the time to clean it up."
Despite her short explanation, Naruto simply nodded in understanding. The necklace to her was a symbol of her hope... Her hope for the future of Konoha for that was what he was. Once he returned... He would prepare his undertaking to become the Godaime.
The next thing that caught his eye was a scroll. Just by the look of the seal though... "If I had to take a guess those would be Samehada and Kisame gave it to me with some last request so he could rest in peace."
"Yeah... How in the hell did you know that though? You were out cold." Jiraiya twitched at Naruto for somehow knowing exactly what had Kisame had said and done.
"Same thing happened with Zabuza in the Wave Country. His request of me was to be the strongest and to take care of his blade." Naruto commented before revealing and unsealing another scroll, catching the head chopping sword in one hand. "But it will be a few years before I can properly wield these blades. I'm too short to use them efficiently."
Sealing the giant sword away and putting away both scrolls, Naruto turned to Jiraiya. "So what was it? The one thing I know is that the mist swordsman hold respect beyond anything else and I intend to value that trait."
"Madara." Was all Jiraiya need to say before Naruto's eyes narrowed at the mention of the Uchiha's name.
"I see..." Naruto refrained from growling and shaking his head. Everything seemed to be coming back to Madara lately and this was not a good thing. If this kept up he would have a run in with the man soon... And he hoped he was ready for him.
"Is everyone more or less ready...? I would like to head back home soon. I probably have an annoyed girlfriend waiting for me back home." Naruto scratched at his temple for he knew Yugito was going to be rather ticked at him.
But then she will be very happy with him once Jiraiya handed over that check...
Watching as everyone left the room to go get there things, having everything more or less packed, Naruto narrowed his eyes. A very tiny chakra signature was heading his way. One he recognized as one of Itachi's messenger ravens. Immediately opening the window, the said bird was moving at top speed towards him.
Moving to let the bird in, Naruto kept his poise and simply figured there was a mild emergency. Probably along the lines of having a run in with Kushina. However he was immediately proved wrong once the bird caught its breath. "Trouble! Trouble! The snake has made his move! Lord Itachi needs you to return immediately with Lady Tsunade! Anko has been caught injected with a new poison that affects her seal!"
"WHAT?!" Naruto roared out at the bird, almost grabbing it and wanting to pluck its feathers and cook it like Yugito did to that poor blue bird so many years ago. "What do you mean she's been poisoned?! And why can't the remove it?!"
"I don't know sir!" The bird panicked for the only thing worse than his master angry was this blonde when he was pissed. "All I know is that it is affecting the seal and any attempts to remove are forcing the seal to react! Itachi needs either you or Lord Jiraiya to return to seal it and Tsunade to remove the poison. It has almost been a day!"
Without another word, Naruto burst from his room and flared out his senses to find Tsunade. Seeing she was just next door in her hotel room with Jiraiya, he knocked his open and was about to knock hers in when Tsunade opened the door. "What the hell is going...?!"
"We're heading to Konoha now! I need your help to save my nee-chan... That snake has poisoned her with something that reacts to the curse seal! Itachi didn't plant one of my kunai so we have to make haste!" Naruto growled out, not having time to explain this for they needed to leave now.
Realizing the situation, Tsunade turned straight to Jiraiya and Shizune. "Shizune, take care of the kids while we're gone and make sure I didn't leave anything behind! Jiraiya, you need to stay here with them but make sure they hurry back at a quick pace."
"Let's go!" Tsunade turned to Naruto and already noted he was outside the room and running down the hall.
Quickly tailing him, glad that she was the fastest of the sannin for the blonde teen was moving at an incredible speed. To her dismay it seemed he wasn't running at full speed and instead was keeping a pace that he knew she could follow. That was a little disheartening to see that one of her greatest attributes and he completely out classed her.
Still there was no time to think about any of this before she caught up to Naruto. "Alright, if I have to take a guess your sister is Anko... And if I remember correctly she was marked with the first successful seal. And if Orochimaru has created a poison for it..."
"It came from the original source of the curse... Now if we could only find out what that was." Naruto acknowledged Tsunade's trail and knew that having the original source would benefit them. "But there is a problem... The snake fucker most likely keeps the source secured tightly and would have his best forces guarding it in his most hidden base. Finding it now is nigh impossible at this moment."
"Exactly... So for now I'm going to need you to seal it and I'll deal with the poison the best I can. Chakra poisons aren't very easy to deal with and can't be extracted in the same process normal poisons or neurotoxins are. But we have to put finding the original source at top priority." Tsunade stated knowing that the odds of curing her of an unknown poison were low.
"I can guarantee it will be." Naruto growled and was not going to let Sarutobi deny him his hunt once Anko was in the clear.
Simply nodding and knowing there would be little conversation for the rest of the trip, if at all, Tsunade set her sights onto the road before her. Her eyes narrowed for a moment and a certain red head crossed her mind.
'Kushina... Why do I have a feeling that you played a role in this?'
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Panti ng heavily, looking all around him attempting to find his attacker, he suddenly jumped forward and at that moment the tree behind him shattered into thousands of pieces when a glowing humanoid hand crushed it.
Turning his katana to the monstrous hand, he tossed dozens of shuriken into the arm but they did little more then bounce off. Not a single one penetrated and this worried him. But there was nothing as haunting to see what the hand stemmed from.
It was connected to a massive ghost like warrior, like that of a ronin samurai, and he barely had time to dodge the glowing sword. Just rolling out of the way, watching the tree that was stabbed instead of him be absorbed by the blade, his eyes widened and gazed at the core to see one man with rage visibly rolling off of him.
Uchiha Itachi.
"Gekkou Hayate... I suggest you surrender now or I will prolong this session. There is no escape, not even death. You will face the consequence of your betrayal." Itachi snarled, his now five point windmill like Sharingan staying perfectly still as its gaze pierced into him.
"Or..." Hayate couldn't help but shiver at this one word and took a step back from the raging Uchiha. But to his horror the great warrior dispersed around the Uchiha but the only thing that remained of him there was void of darkness.
Feeling the coolness of a blade pressed against the back of his neck, Hayate found that he couldn't stop himself from turning his head to see who was behind him only to see the red eyes of Itachi's Mangekyou. "I can make you suffer a thousand times greater than what my fiancée and you wife are going through!"
"Tsukiyomi!"
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"What do you mean there is nothing we can do?!" Yugito yelled out at the elderly man sitting at the desk before her, looking far more weathered and withered since the day he first retired and allow the Fourth take his place. "Anko is dying and you are saying is that we can't go out and look for the cure?!"
Placing his hand over his face, glancing over at the neko vessel, Hizuren could only speak in a whisper. "We don't even know if there is a cure and even if there was we have no clue where to even start. We have only found have of Orochimaru's bases and I highly doubt he have found his most secret hideouts yet, the ones where he would most likely keep such a possible cure at or possibly the host of the poison."
Growling at the Third, Yugito clenched her fist tightly and the only thing restraining her from leaping over and grabbing the man's collar was the Anbu unit that jumped down feeling the tension within the room. "You honestly expect me to believe that you have no knowledge of where these bases might be located?"
Removing his hand from his face and gazing into Yugito's eyes shifting their color from emerald to gold, Sarutobi frowned deeply. "We may have a general idea of their location but we can't just storm their bases now to find out. This is a war Yugito and as much as I hate to say this... There will be causalities and sacrifices that must be made..."
"She will not be one of them!" Yugito hissed before a void of darkness bellowed at her side and Itachi dropped out of it before slamming Hayate's unconscious form on the ground beneath him.
"Danzo has been in contact with the snake however it was not through Hayate. ...Hayate was simply a spy for the snake this entire time along with Kabuto. And since Kabuto is our only lead, I request a tracking unit of the man immediately. He can possibly cure the poison or at the very least lead us to where the antidote or the source is."
"Denied." Itachi's Mangekyou narrowed at the Third hearing this before the Third sighed. "I need every last capable ninja here at the moment... For all we know this attack could simply be a feint and allow Orochimaru's true force to invade the village. And since Jiraiya or Naruto is not here at the moment I can send you out just yet. When one of them returns..."
"It might be too late! You said it yourself Tsunade might not want to come back so what if Naruto hasn't convince her yet? He can't and won't come back! And while no one really knows where Jiraiya went you can be assured he is there trying to help Naruto bring her back to the village!" Itachi slammed his hand onto the desk, ignoring the Anbu reaching for their katanas or ninjatos.
Hizuren was not happy. He knew that both Anko and Yugito would be insubordinate at the moment but he did not expect either to question his decisions. "We have to wait until they arrive then, Itachi. I can't take Orochimaru on alone any longer and who knows who else is in behind this! Perhaps Iwa or the Akatsuki for all we know! At least with both of us here we can put up a strong front and make anyone think twice about attacking!"
"And do you think I don't care for Anko's safety?" The Third spat out and stood from his seat, finally getting tired of this and was going to end it. "For you information I care for each and every damn shinobi and civilian under my watch, some more than others and Anko is one of them! She has been like a daughter for me since we brought her back! Do you have any idea how much it pains me to watch her writhe in agony and be able to do nothing?!"
For one of the few times in his life, Itachi felt truly scared. He may have forgotten who he had been speaking to but there was no doubt this was the Professor, the God of Shinobi Sarutobi Hizuren and he was just enlightened by that fact. He may have lost his edge but he was still that man, without a doubt.
But his fear only lasted a second or two before Itachi simply gaze into his eyes. "Do you have any idea what Naruto would do if Anko were to die let alone what I would do? I don't think you would have to worry about Orochimaru with the two of us along with who knows how many other shinobi along with us."
Faltering at that statement, The Third Hokage's face grimaced. The last thing he needed was Itachi AND Naruto opposing him. His power would almost seize to exist for the civilians would stand by the Uchiha clan as they have done for so many years and the ninja population would follow Naruto.
That was the reason he named both as head ninja and his possible successors. It simply made his job easier and kept both sides of the council in agreement with one another. And if both were to oppose his power a civil war could erupt and he wasn't sure how much support he would get.
"Itachi..." Sarutobi stated and was about to enforce his rule upon him for he was still Hokage when the door burst open.
"Sir! Lord Namikaze and Lady Tsunade have arrived and are at the hospital as we speak!" The chunin, Haruno Yeshua he believed, loudly announced for he barely had time to check who both were before they stormed to the hospital.
"Finally! Itachi, consider your mission accepted now that Naruto has arrived. Take an Aburame and an Inuzuka with you and at least two more jounin class shinobi. Jiraiya should be on the way so inform him of this mission and have him lead the way if you can't find Kabuto. They can handle this and I'll aid them however I can." Hizuren responded before giving Itachi his order now that Naruto was back in the village.
"Yeshua, take these Anbu and inform everyone that Naruto has return for moral purposes! If there are any more spies this information will be leaked out to others and no one would dare attack now!" Sarutobi barked, stepping away from his desk before motioning his Anbu to follow Yeshua.
"I'm on it!" Yeshua replied before darting out of the room with the Anbu, Itachi and Yugito quickly follow pursuit out of the office.
Noticing Yugito was following him, Itachi stopped and turned to her with narrowed eyes. "You are to stay here, Yugito. Naruto is going to need your support for without Anko I can't be sure anyone else really can truly comfort him. He trusts you more than anyone else."
Yugito was livid. She already had failed and was unable to protect Anko and now she was being told that she could go out and do anything to help her. "The hell I am! I'm not just going to sit around and..."
"Consider it an order, Yugito!" Itachi hissed out and his Mangekyou bore into her emeralds. "I won't hesitate if it will keep you here. For all we know this could reset Naruto back to before you came along if you aren't here to help him and that is the last thing that we need right now! So you are staying here!"
Without another word, Itachi dispersed into an abyss and left Yugito rather shaken. But before Sarutobi could say anything, she only shook her head feeling the third's presence. "He's right I know... But everything just seems to be falling apart all of a sudden... Right after Naruto left."
"Whether many people know or not... Naruto already shoulders a lot of the burdens of this village. His presence here not only lifts everyone's spirits... It keeps outside forces at bay for fear of retaliation. When he was gone and being attacked twice like this it has sent many into a panic." Hizuren answered in a sigh.
"He doesn't even know it yet but he practically is the Fifth Hokage already..." The current Hokage finished with a louder sigh before turning his attention to the hospital. "Let's go... Naruto and Tsunade might need our help."
Numbly nodding, not sure what to say, Yugito followed the Third. While there were so many things raging in her mind all her thoughts slowly and finally turned to one and she began to worry for only him. "Naruto..."
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"Alright, I want to know exactly everything you've found out about Mitarashi Anko's condition stat!" Tsunade barked, barging into the room and shaking the floor along with surprising every single medic that currently was occupying the floor Anko was located on.
There was only one that wasn't terrified that this was some kind of attack and had to sigh out in relief.
Mikoto quickly strode to Tsunade before taking a clip board from a nearby medic trying to examine it and handed it to the slug sannin. "This is what we have diagnosed from the toxin so far. I've never seen one like it before because it is strictly attacking the chakra within her seal and attempting to force it out into the rest of the body. If that is to happen it will surely kill her."
"Removing it isn't working but there are very few among the medics here that actually know how to remove chakra specific poison and I just became one of them." Mikoto flashed her Sharingan for a second for she had copied the said technique. "Even now within stasis the poison is still active and slowly eating away at the barrier between her chakra and the cursed seal."
"And once that happens both her chakra will merge rapidly and it will be too late to do anything. Has anyone tried any seals yet?" Tsunade spoke while she looked over the information and couldn't help but grimace for this did not look good.
"Every seal we have tried has been counter productive. Evil Sealing Method, every kind of elemental and trigram seal we know seem to force the agent to reproduce faster and tear what little defense she has left. At this rate she will die in little less then a week if we don't do anything else." Mikoto grimaced as she noticed Naruto.
Tsunade also bit her lip. Hearing that immediately sounded alarms in her mind meaning that this poison was specifically designed to counter these measures. And there were only a few people in the world that could possibly make such poisons and could have an antidote and Orochimaru was one of them. "Shit! It must be triggered to respond to such attempts..."
"Whoever was expecting this knew I would be out of town... And knew that it would take a massive amount of chakra to safely save her." Naruto growled before he stormed to Anko's room and flung the door open. "Everyone out unless you have any knowledge of extraction seals!"
"Extraction?" Tsunade nearly wanted to yell out at the blonde for being in such a hurry before she caught his gaze. "Of course! The poison specifically targets the curse seal so by extracting... What the hell are you going to seal the curse into?! Further more not even Jiraiya has successfully created a seal that can remove Orochimaru's curse!"
"I've done my research into it... And I might have a way to take the curse from her and place it within another host. As for the host... I'll be sealing it within myself. I'm the only one that can possibly survive taking both the curse and the poison if it follows." Naruto responded without hesitation and pulled out a bottle of ink and a brush.
"What?! Are you insane?!" Tsunade screeched at the blonde haired jinchuuriki as he ignored her. "Do you know how many things could go wrong if you succeed or how many could go wrong if you fail?! And secondly if it is successfully there is no guarantee that you'll be able to survive it even if you let Kyuubi attempt to purge the poison!"
"What's going on in here?" Hizuren arrived with Yugito only to hear Tsunade screaming at Naruto for doing something reckless.
Seeing her sensei and another she did not know, Tsunade simply pointed her finger at Naruto and yelled at him. "This stupid fool is going to try and extract the curse seal since the poison is only reacting to it! And of all things to seal it into he's going to seal it into himself! He isn't even Hokage yet and he's ready to sacrifice himself like he is!"
"Whether you agree with me or not this is the best plan there available at this time. Tsunade I will need you to focus on removing the poison from her body in case it decides to attack her normal chakra if it does not transfer to me." Naruto took her screeches in stride and had moved Anko's bed to the side so he could finish making the seal.
"Old man, Yugito... I'm going to need you both to back me up with your chakra to help extract the cursed chakra into me. I may have enough on my own but I need to keep a good portion to combat the curse and if will need to transform if the poison comes along with it." Naruto continued while he finished the overall design and was making small adjustments and tweaks to it.
Frowning at hearing this and noting how many people were watching, Hizuren simply nodded. "How much chakra is needed to perform the extraction?"
"About an eight of yours, a third of Yugito's and a twentieth of own chakra should be more than enough." Naruto stated before checking the seals and nodding to himself. "Everything is set... Bring An..."
Naruto's eyes suddenly rolled to the back of his head before the Third caught him by the back of his shirt collar. "Sorry my boy... But I can't let you sacrifice yourself just yet. This village needs you more than it does me."
"What the hell was that about?!" Yugito screamed out but being held back by Tsunade who looked at her sensei with wide eyes.
"Sensei... Do you know what you're..."
"I know full well of the consequence and I accept them. There needs to be a human host for this procedure and with everything that can go wrong no one should be forced to suffer through it. I allow will take it and if the poison is past onto me... The Godaime will take over for me for I can't let him do this. This village needs him more then it does me." Sarutobi cut Tsunade off before motioning to Anko.
"Put her in the center of the main seal... Yugito I will need you for support and you too, Kakashi. No one else has the chakra necessary for this for Tsunade has to deal with any poison left in Anko's body." Hizuren ordered before laying Naruto where Anko used to be, Tsunade carefully lifting the snake mistress to the seal.
Checking to make sure she was properly placed, having a good knowledge of seals being the Professor and all, and made a few slight adjustments before kneeling within the secondary outer seal. "Kakashi, Yugito place your hands directly on the main seal at three and nine o'clock from my position and on my mark begin flowing your chakra into the seal."
"Tsunade, check Anko's stasis immediately after the sealing is finished and my seal is set. Otherwise there may be complications and someone could be infected." Sarutobi said to the slug sannin, softly smiling at her despite noticing the slight fear building on her face. "Don't worry about me... I can see where you faith lies now so place it all within him."
Tsunade's jaw almost came undone having almost having forgotten she gave Naruto her necklace in the heat of the moment before turning to the unconscious blonde and solemnly nodded. "Right... I'll do what I can do if it gets transferred to you once I'm done with Anko."
"Good... Yugito, Kakashi... Are you ready?" Hizuren barked out at the two and turned his attention entirely onto Anko and waited for their response.
"I'm ready... I'll try to keep our flows equal." Kakashi stated, moving his headband up and reveal his Sharingan so he could measure the flow of chakra everyone was using.
Still a little nervous about what she was being asked to do; Yugito took a deep breath before nodding. "I'm good... I can do this."
"Start channeling your chakra into the seal at a moderate pace. We can't go too fast or slow for this." The Third stated before he slowly began flowing his chakra into his portion of the seal and both Kakashi and Yugito quickly followed.
Matching his flow with the Third's, Kakashi grimaced as chakra outage from the seal was a little bright before turning to Yugito. Noting that her side was a little weaker, he snapped at her. "Yugito! Raise your chakra outage up a notch! I'll tell you when to stop!"
Gritting her teeth, she slowly began to channel more chakra into slowly before Kakashi gave her the signal. "Good! Keep at that flow for as long as you can! We should..."
Kakashi was caught off by a violent flare of malevolent chakra bursting form Anko and surging straight into the Third Hokage. Kakashi and Yugito were barely able to keep their palms down from the sheer force of the burst.
Hizuren was caught off guard by the outage and the burning of the chakra but he held tough and bit his lip and continued to draw in the cursed chakra form Anko.
He could feel that the poison was coming along with it. Each and every ounce of the alien chakra that was invading his body was pure agony. He knew pain well but this was far beyond what he could expect and he unfortunately knew this wasn't just from the poison and knew it was because of the cursed seal.
Being ready to tell Tsunade to check him once she was finished with Anko, Sarutobi's eyes widened from another powerful burst from Anko. This time, however, neither Kakashi nor Yugito were able to keep their flow and were knocked back.
Sarutobi wasn't ready to take the full burden onto his own so quickly and grimaced at the sigh of the seal beginning to meld and slowly disintegrate. Even if he forced all his chakra into this he could not stop this.
But in that instant another set of hands slapped the top of the seal and a wave of seals began to spread from his hands and neutralize and fix all the abnormalities in an instant while keeping the chakra flow consistent. Turning his head to see who it was Hizuren's eyes stared into narrowed blues.
"Foolish... This sacrifice wasn't yours to make." Naruto easily matched the Third's and began to raise the flow to match the amount needed to draw the cursed chakra from Anko. "I had the highest probability of surviving even if the poison came along with it."
"I know that... But that isn't why I did it." The Sandaime responded, a slight smile on his face despite the pain of the cursed chakra and poison flowed into him. "Naruto... You are too important to this village to allow anything to cripple or end your life now. If you were to fall so would we... That is what being the King in the game of shoji does..."
"After that night eight years ago... I decided the fate of Konoha and placed it solely on your shoulders. Whether it stood or it crumbled to the ground... It resided on what you did for only you had the right to save this village or curse it for eternity." Sarutobi told, his eyes locked with Naruto's own and never strayed.
"It was a gamble for sure but I set everything up that I could to draw forth your maximum potential while attempting to bring out your humanity again. It was a long shot but I had made my decision and if Konoha burned for it then so be it. However something happened that I couldn't count on... Something wonderful."
"The cloud sought forgiveness instead of retribution for the lost of their head ninja and in their forgiveness they sent an angel to us... An angel that soon as she arrived began to bring out your humanity once more... First it was simply sadness and anger but it grew and now things like love and jealousy are no longer foreign to you."
Both Naruto and Yugito were looking at the Hokage in shock, the former just barely able to keep his flow of chakra in the seal while he listened. "She was able to do what no one else could do and allowed you to come back and become this village's savior instead of its destroyer."
"For that... Yugito I thank you from the bottom of my heart." The Hokage finally broke his gaze from and looked at the neko vessel before finally turning back to Naruto. "You will become the greatest Hokage this village will ever now... For I can't see anyone that could be better then you."
"You're not dead yet old man! Mikoto!" Naruto barked out feeling the extraction was almost finished and set. "Bring in every available medic that can remove chakra poison now! The seal will be set in a matter of moments and there won't be much time!"
"Belay that. That is an order." Hizuren grimaced as the last of the cursed chakra was sealed into him along with a good portion of the toxin. "My life is at an end already... I've accepted that much long before this moment. It is time for me to step down and allow a wise young man to take my place."
"Naruto... Take care of Konoha for me. I leave it in your hands." Sarutobi smiled once last time before he closed his eyes and focused onto the seal that had been flowing onto his body. "Seal!"
In a bright flash of white light that temporarily blinded everyone, a thud hit the ground and as their vision returned two things could be seen. The curse mark was no longer on Anko and the pain that seemed to trouble her unconscious body had seemingly vanished. The second was...
The Sandaime was dead.
"NO!" Naruto screamed out and was quickly intercepted by Yugito, embracing him into a tight hug so there would be no way for him to break out.
Mikoto along with almost every other medic ran to the Hokage's side, Tsunade being the except for she was working on removing the last of the contagion from Anko now that it had no where to go. But only after a moment they could only bow their heads. "He's gone... There is nothing we can do."
"NO!" Naruto screamed once more, thrashing in Yugito's grip while his gaze stayed focused onto the lifeless form of the deceased Hokage. "HE CAN'T BE! HE'S TOO DAMN STRONG... TOO DAMN STUBBORN TO DIE!"
"Naruto! He's gone!" Yugito strengthened her embrace and forced the younger vessel's gaze to her chest. "He's gone... There is nothing you can do."
Trying to break free of her grip to get to the Hokage's side, Naruto thrashed but to no avail. His strength had seemingly been sapped and was unable to break Yugito's hold before falling to his knees. "No! I can still..."
"Naruto please..." Yugito begged as she fell with him, keeping him tightly embraced and not wanting to let him go. "It's okay to feel hurt... To feel helpless... Just let it out. There is nothing else that can be done."
Her voice had never sounded like this before. While she could be soft and tender and her voice reflected that it never sounded quite like this. It wasn't motherly like he had heard from Anko or Kyuubi... This was something different. Something that... That made him feel less concerned about hiding.
And he really wanted to hide right now. To run away and never return... He had just lost a man he considered a father.
Tears began following from his eyes and his head buried into Yugito's chest. He tried his best to keep them down but the came like rivers and nothing could stop them. And for the first time in eight years Konoha had heard something it had not before.
The sound of Naruto crying.
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