The aftermath of what was revealed in the last chapter.
Naruto Suffering Level: 9
Kakashi Suffering Level: N/A
The plot is really starting to take off this chapter \o/
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When he opened his eyes again, the storm had subsided into heavy rain.
He tried to push himself off the ground, but his limbs felt weak. There was a sharp pain in his chest, and a heavy pressure inside his head. It hurt to breathe, and he broke into a coughing fit as he tried to get up again.
Naruto lay there for a long time, his cheek sore from where it had smacked against the floor, and his arm numb from being trapped underneath his body. He couldn't muster enough focus to draw upon nature energy, and his chakra seemed slow to respond when he pulled on it to boost his strength, but eventually… eventually, he got up.
Naruto knew he couldn't continue like this. The crisis had only just begun, and the village needed his help. His Kage Bunshin had all dispelled when he collapsed, and from their memories he had pieced together the terrible truth of Danzo's treachery.
Naruto wished he could stay just a little longer in this house forgotten by time, surrounded by all the words Kakashi had left unspoken. He wanted to close his eyes and dream of all the things that could have been, all the things he would've said, if only…
"I'm sorry," Naruto whispered, hands pressed against the terrible ache in his heart. "But I have to go."
He gathered up the fallen papers, and put back all the things he had knocked over when he collapsed. Then, crushing the letters into a tight ball of paper between his hands, he squeezed his eyes shut against a new wave of tears and focused his chakra. A thousand tiny blades of wind sliced apart everything between his hands, and he did not stop until it had all disintegrated into dust.
Naruto left.
All around him the incessant rain continued to fall, but the darkness of night was gradually subsiding. Naruto quietly hoped that somehow, if he just kept himself moving, then one day he would know how to move on.
"Are you really sure about this?" Sakura stared at him with wide eyes.
"Yes," Naruto said. "He said I could, if I really wanted to. I would show you the letter, but—"
"I know you wouldn't lie about this," she said, shaking her head. "But are you really, really sure?"
He looked away, not wanting to see the pity in her eyes. "Yes. I am."
She was silent for a long time, then suddenly nodded. "I can do it pretty fast, but you'll have to make sure the place is secure. But… what are you going to do about your own eye?"
"I was thinking he could have mine," Naruto's voice was almost a whisper, and he kept his gaze fixed upon the seal on his left hand. "It seems… only fair, I guess. And maybe, one day, I can give it back…"
"Oh, Naruto," she sighed, but he still did not look at her. He knew what she was thinking.
"I'm just borrowing it," he muttered.
Sakura drew in a deep breath, and steeled herself. "Let's get this done, then," she said briskly. "I'm still needed at the hospital after this."
He smiled sadly at her. "Thanks, Sakura-chan."
The transplant was complete, and it had gone perfectly.
Naruto opened his eyes and immediately felt a burning pain inside his head. He grit his teeth and bore it out, knowing that it could hardly be worse than what Kakashi had dealt with. Sakura kept a glowing hand near his face to monitor how he was doing, and Naruto was very glad that he hadn't tried to stand because his head was spinning.
"How does it feel?" Sakura asked, concerned.
"Weird," Naruto said, looking from his right eye, then his left, then his right again. "I think everything is slightly redder through the Sharingan."
He turned to look at her, then winced as it immediately made him dizzy. "Right, I will definitely need some time to get used to this."
"Just… don't push yourself too hard, alright?" Sakura said. Naruto watched as she moved on to the second part of the transplant, giving Kakashi Naruto's eye in return. If he covered his right eye, he could clearly see the flow of her chakra and even understand some of what it was doing. The Sharingan was sending his brain a ton of information at once, but to his surprise it was actually easier to process than he had thought it would be.
But then again, he did use massive amounts of Kage Bunshin on a daily basis. So perhaps it wasn't that different after all.
He wished he could've told Kakashi that.
Sakura was very thorough with the transplant, connecting up all the nerves and even activating the chakra pathways. Naruto closed both eyes briefly and concentrated, going into Sage Mode so he could compare how her chakra looked with how it felt. Something about the way she was channelling her chakra felt almost familiar, as though he had witnessed a similar process long before that day.
If he could just figure it out…
"It's done," Sakura said quietly, pulling her hands away. "You can take care of the rest, right? I have to go now, or I'm going to be late."
Be late anyway, Naruto almost said. But instead he only nodded, and sealed Kakashi away again.
The Kyuubi had been restless ever since the transplant had been completed. It was even more apparent when Naruto entered his mindscape, where the first thing he saw was the fox's crimson eyes glaring down at him in disgust.
"Do you really think you can control me with that?" he growled, and the water around them bubbled ominously.
Naruto glared right back, flaring his chakra to force the water back into stillness. "This isn't about you," he snapped. "Now be quiet, I have things to do."
He turned and walked away from the cage, trying to find a different section of his mindscape so he could view the memory in private.
"Fool," the Kyuubi laughed darkly. "Everything in your life will always lead back to me."
His mother was beautiful, and so terribly, terribly brave.
When Naruto was a child, he had often thought of how happy he would be to see his parents again. To know that he, like other children, had once been loved.
He had never imagined how much it could also hurt.
The knowledge that both of them were already dying before they threw themselves between him and the Kyuubi was supposed to lessen the pain he felt, Naruto knew. And yet all he could dwell upon was the blood.
It was undeniable that this had happened because of him. If he hadn't existed, if there had been no birth that night, his mother would never have had to undergo such torment. Gaara had once confided in him that having the Shukaku extracted from him had felt like being torn to shreds, like being drained in mind and body and soul until all that was left was an empty husk.
His mother had endured all that bare moments after giving birth, and still held on to life with enough strength to both create an impenetrable barrier and restrain the Kyuubi.
The memory had no sound, but as she spoke he could read the shapes of her words. He wanted to run to her, to embrace her, to tell her he was sorry for everything that had been taken from her because of him.
He wished he could hear her voice, but even more than that he wished she could hear his.
Tears obscured his vision, yet when he wiped them away he saw that the memory was still slightly blurred. He realised that Kakashi must've also been crying.
Naruto watched his parents' final moments over and over, until their soundless words were etched into his soul.
Naruto stared down the Kyuubi with his mismatched eyes, emotions coiled tightly within his chest. "Who was it?" he demanded, his voice shaking with cold fury. "Who was the one behind the attack?"
A massive clawed hand slammed into the cage bars, making the entire place shake.
"That eye…" the fox snarled, and his massive killing intent saturated the air. "I remember now. That accursed eye…!"
"What?" Naruto frowned, crouching down to look at his reflection in the water. "You already saw the – " He stopped, abruptly realising what the fox had meant.
Mangekyou Sharingan.
It was the same pattern he had seen in Kakashi's eyes the few times he had used Kamui. Before he could even try and test if he could use its abilities, the pattern had faded away and he was left with the standard three tomoe.
Naruto got to his feet, feeling off-balance in a way that had nothing to do with the transplant. "What are you talking about?" he asked sharply, his mind whirling with questions. "Why has Kakashi-sensei's eye got you all worked up?"
They glared at each other for a long time, then the fox finally broke the silence with a scoff.
"I despise you, but I hate him more," he growled. "There's no mistaking it. You now possess the same eye which enslaved me sixteen years ago."
Naruto felt as though his insides had turned to ice.
"You wanted to know who was responsible?" the fox taunted, and a figure formed itself out of bubbles rising from the water. A man wearing a striped mask with only one eye-hole, from which the Sharingan could clearly be seen. "Find out what really happened to Uchiha Obito all those years ago."
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DundunDUNNNNN
Still not the biggest DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNN moment in this fic. That will come later. :3