What If Jinchuriki Were Treated As Heroes?

For many years, I always wondered why it was that Naruto was so hated. Like, I get the idea. It's only natural for people to be bitter towards the Ninetales. It killed a lot of innocent people, but the villain was the Ninetales, not Naruto. I had expected people to be able to understand that, at least to the same level that Eraka did. I know took some time to get there and all, but he did eventually get there. I blame a lot of things on Hirozen. Should I blame this on him, too? Well, honestly, I don't know. He did try to do something to help by limiting who could talk about Naruto to nobody. This was so that the next generation wouldn't hate Naruto. And considering he needed to hide Naruto based on Mito's will, he couldn't exactly scream from the rooftops, he's Mito's child. Or could he have? What if the villagers of the Hidden Leaf realized that Naruto was actually a hero? And while we're at it, let's include poor Gar into the story. What if he was treated positively, too? What might have happened? Well, that's what we're here to find out. Naruto's birth had been a rough one, to say the least. Some people didn't give babies the credit they deserved. Yes, they were weaker and far more fragile than the other humans, but for all that we believed, babies and humans were a lot less fragile than they seemed, and they did possess an ability to self-t treat their own wounds. Blood clotting stopped bleeding, bones mended, comas were common to help bodies heal. While we seemed weak and fragile, it was also true that we were simply mortal. And the human body possessed many systems designed to stall that final breath. Babies possessed these, too. A certain willpower, a divine strength in their bodies that shouted, "How could this be possible without divine hands?" The little babe, having been thrown from its place, now laid on the grass. Only the loose swaddling keeping the blades of green and the dirt below from tarnishing its body. Upon its belly was the mark of a hero, the seal of a ginger, the strongest and most useful seal the Usuzamaki had ever created. And it had been placed there by a dead man. Of course, the babe didn't know this. At least Hirozen didn't think that it knew this. It was so young, barely an hour old. All it seemed to know how to do was cry. And that's exactly what it was doing. It was wailing into the night sky. Whether this was out of discomfort or bodily pain was unknown. Hirozen, running his hand along its small back, checked its spine for any injuries before he lifted it any further up. The babe was unharmed mostly, but there was still pain in its voice. Was it somehow capable of witnessing the death of its parents? Was it conscious enough of mind to comprehend at this early of an hour the concept of demise? Hi began considering something new. What if? What if it was actually in pain from another source? Looking down at the seal once again, he wondered what it must feel like to become a genturi to have enough chakra to level the surface of a planet, to cut a lunar body in two, shoved into your very spirit. He had been lucky enough to speak with Mito Uzamaki about it during his earlier years as Hokag, and she told him that it was the most uncomfortable feeling in the world, to feel as though your own body was no longer your own. your entire being burning as if it were on fire. The only thing she could truly liken the pain to was the burn of pure capsain. Like the feeling it gave on the tongue rubbed across your whole body, pumping through every vein and vessel from head to toe. The baby was in pain, and it was in pain for their protection. Hi held it close, his scruffy goatee unintentionally provoking a bit louder of a cry from the orphan. "Naruto, thank you. Thank you so much, he said as tears began to roll down his cheek. Mito had told him that it was one of the worst pains she had endured. And during the ceiling of Kusha Uzamaki, for the first time in a while, Hisen questioned his own humanity. Her screams of agony as the beast was sealed within her unconsciousness after her mental instability that came with two voices vying for control. She was a well-developed girl by that time. Her mind strong enough to fight back. But this child didn't even have the concept of spoken word. And perhaps that was the best outcome. If it couldn't understand, then it couldn't heed. Maybe this would give the babe time to adjust. All the same, Hisen lifted the swaddling from the ground and shook the dust off. He wrapped the babe in it as it continued to wail. Looking at Mato, he heard him speak from the memories of the past. They had stood in the Hokage's office just a month earlier, talking about how happy Mino was that he'd be a father, his smile beaming from ear to ear. Hi had never seen such a look on a man since his own time preparing for Osuma's birth. But despite the joy, a sudden darkness overtook Mito. Hi, he said. It's going to be rough. What do you mean? Hi asked. The birth, I mean. There's a risk that the Ninetailes will escape. And even if it doesn't, there's also a risk that war calls myself and Kusha away. Parenthood is going to be unusual for two warriors with responsibilities to a larger hole. Up to this point, I've never really thought about dying. I knew it was a possibility and I had seen it, but I never feared it. Not until now. And I don't fear it for my own sake or even for Kusha's, but for Naruto's. For Naruto's sake, I feel true sudden fear. What will happen if we don't come back? Here sat there in his seat thinking about how he had gone the same way. The village is your family, Mito. They will remember you. They will honor you by honoring your son. I don't know if I want them to know Naruto is my son. What if they come for him? What if who comes for him? Herizen asked. My enemies, Mito said. Hi looked down. In Mito's many years, he had made many enemies. And it was true. A lot of them might seek retribution against a dead man by harming his helpless child. That's when Hien accepted it. I will protect him. Nobody will touch him ever. I think he should forego using my name. He should not use the Usuzamaki name in order to hide him. Hi shook his head. No, Mito. Naruto should not run from who he is. Nor should he hide from connection with you. He is your legacy and your name is his birthright. I don't know if that matters. Mito said it doesn't matter if he knows about me. It just matters that he's safe. I think you overestimate your name. Mito. Overestimate and underestimate all at the same time. How do you mean? Mito asked. You overestimate your name by thinking that all of your worst enemies you ever fought will come for him. The Raich will not come for him because you spared his life. We may have a harsh relationship with the hidden cloud, but they respect you and they will not hurt your child for some reason. And you further underestimate your own name by thinking that your name won't be sufficient enough to protect him. People are so scared of you that even the mentioning of your name makes them sit straight. Of all their fears, I believe that they would worry that you might just come back to life momentarily to kill anyone who dares touch your child. You're a legend, Mito. Surpassed only by Hashiama Senu himself. And just as Sununade wasn't forced to run from her name as a child after the death of Hashiama, your son won't either. Mito thought about it. Yeah, I guess you're right. Besides, I'm probably just being silly. I probably won't die. But he did. Had Minato somehow foreseen the future. Had it been revealed to him that he would die alongside Kusha, leaving their infant child behind, didn't know. And now, as he held the baby in his arms, it had also seemed to slow its tears. The fatigue of the experience had finally caught up to it, and now it sought to sleep. And that's all it did for the next 3 days. For a time, Hisin was afraid that maybe he would never wake up, that maybe the Ninetailes's power had left him brain dead. But no, after the third night, the babe awoke again, and amazingly was in quite the fantastic mood. Looking into the baby's eyes, Hisin thought about it. He was not going to hide the truth. He was going to be transparent and let the whole world know exactly who Naruto was and why he should be respected. And if this invited danger to the child, then so be it. Hi would just have to put a room in the Hokag's mansion for Naruto and treat him the same as they often treated the children of Kag. Naruto was special. Naruto was a hero and the whole world would know it. Elsewhere, in another part of the world, there was another baby born. This child was premature. It was so weak that it came out of the womb silent without tears. Fears abounded that maybe it was dead. But the mother who herself was dying held close to the infant, keeping it warm with her body heat as if willing some of her own spirit into the child. This child was born to a desperate man of the desert. A man who, like the Hokag, had sought only to do what was best for his village and found his family life and business life clashing. Sunagakade was a land where many powerful and sometimes cruel shinobi gathered. After the end of the third shinobi world war, the name of Sunna had become tarnished. They had become known as cruel, unruly, incompetent, especially when compared to their peers such as Konoha, who had through the power of the White Fang been put in their place. Due to the reputation they gained, the village was now facing historic poverty where the rich were now poor and the poor were even poorer. It wasn't sustainable. But what was this man to do? What could he do that would somehow make things right in his village? Well, to understand how to heal a village like this, one must first recognize what this village was and the way of life that brought culture to it. As a hidden village, they were in charge of training Shinobi. This means that they were perhaps the most important facet of the land of wind, being responsible for much of its military training. Shinobi sustained their village and their nation through trade, and the only thing of value a shinobi could offer to trade was services. These services ranging from the smallest chore to assassination and espionage. That's right. The entire economy of Suna of any hidden village really was to serve as soldiers for hire. This meant that not only Konoha but the whole world was kept afloat by a war economy. Pour money into a war and pillage and plunder until the recession you face is lifted. Build weapons and sell them. Train soldiers and sell them. Give birth to new lives and then sell them. This was the terrible fate of the economy that kept the world spinning. War had changed. It was no longer about nations, ideologies, or ethnicity. War and its consumption of life had become a welloiled machine. The age of deterrence created by Hashiama Senju had become the age of conflict. All in the name of averting economic catastrophe. Use of tailed beasts. Weapons of mass destruction had become the fuel to the flames of greed. War had become routine. And when blood mixed with money, people came to realize that human life could have a price placed upon it. Perhaps the price that man had placed on it was absurdly low compared to what it should be. But the price was nonetheless there. Was it worth it? Rosa questioned himself as he stood there looking at the scene. Was it worth it to sell off the life of your beloved? To sell off the life of your child? To sell off your very soul for money and influence? Was it worth it? As Rosa looked down at the now deceased face of the only woman to ever show him love, tears began to form in his eyes. Falling to his knees, he began to cry. "No, it wasn't worth it," he shouted. "It was never worth it." Taking her hand and kissing it, squeezing it between his shaking fingers, he cried out, "forgive me!" He cried this up to the heavens, toward his wife, toward the creator, who now stood in judgment of his actions. "I beg you. Forgive me," he said. as if a sudden answer to his prayers. He heard a small cough and gag followed by the tiniest cry imaginable. He looked up and saw the infant Kura was cradling, crying. For the first time since its birth, it gave off signs of life. Rosa took it up in his hands and held it. The little baby boy was so small he could fit it comfortably in two palms in both of Rosa's hands. Tears rolling from his cheeks, they dripped onto the little baby as Rosa's face of agony slowly shifted into a sorrowful smile. Gar, he said, his shaky voice hardly able to leave his lips. You're alive. I have you. At this moment, everything that Rosa was fell to the wayside as his singular focus became this baby. Pulling it into his chest as if desperately trying to share body heat to keep it warm, he looked up. I will keep you safe, he said. I will keep you safe. These two births were tragic. The lives of those around them shifting in a strange direction due to the actions around the births. Yet the children remained blissfully unaware. They did not know what they lost, only what they had been told, and due to not remembering, there was a certain contentedness to it. Jeriah was a man of long white hair. The color of his hair was not based upon his age. No, it was instead based upon his love for theater. Jeriah was an entertainer at heart, a writer, and an actor. And though he was a shinobi, it didn't mean these gifts went to waste. In fact, it is perhaps the reason why he was so good at what he did. Everything he had learned, he learned from his time studying the arts of theater, particularly Kabuki theater. This was why his hair was so wild and why he displayed a continuous need to pose and paint his face up in the style of white paint with red and sometimes blue lines depending on the role he felt he was playing today. If he felt like the hero of his own story, he wore red. If he was helping someone else out, he would consider green lines to symbolize a bit of a spiritual nature as a teacher. And he even surmised that if he were to become Hokag, which he never planned to do, he would wear purple. That was if he actually felt like wearing Kumadori that day, which today he did not. However, if he did, he'd be wearing green because today he was taking on the role of teacher. You see, after Naruto's birth, Hisen had thought it best to teach the boy how to use his tailed beast and how to become the kind of warrior that would make Mato proud. And who better to call for that job than Mito's own teacher. Not to mention that Jeriah was also Naruto's godfather as willed by Minoto and Kusha themselves. So besides Hirozen, Jeriah was the only family that Naruto really had. Jeriah had been training with Naruto for quite some time and now the end of the day was at hand. Naruto had made good progress for such a young man, no older than seven, and he was already capable of using the initial Gingeriki cloak at will. It had yet to be honed into the perfect version one cloak, but it was a start. And he even displayed the ability to summon frogs. Just tadpoles and baby frogs, sure, but they were able to be summoned. And if anything, Naruto would at least have friends to talk to. Here, Jeriah said, handing Naruto one of the two popsicles that came in the pack. What's this for? Naruto asked as he took it. Jeriah smiled. You've been doing good in your training. I'm proud of you. Naruto offered a solemn smile and took it. The gravity between them seemed unusually dense today. Jeriah couldn't help it. He needed to know why. Something on your mind, Naruto? Naruto looked out toward the setting sun. Grandpa Harrison said that you trained my daddy. Is that true? Jeriah nodded. Yep. Can you tell me what he was like? Jeriah smiled. He was a lot like you. He had blonde hair and a similar face. If you ever look at the face on the far right side of the monument, you'll see what he looks like. I know that, Naruto said. I just want to know about who he was, though. Can you tell me a funny story? Jeriah chuckled a bit. Your father was a ham. Pretty much the only stories I have of him are funny stories. Jeriah thought for a moment. Let me show you something. He held out his hand and formed a reengon. This technique was designed by your father. Naruto's eyes sparkled with amazement. I want to learn how to do it. I'll teach you someday soon. Don't worry. Jeriah began to explain. Your father fought alongside me during the third Shinobi World War. During that time, he witnessed two Genturiki named Han and Roshi, both in. They were very powerful shinobi in their own right, and they possessed the five tales and the four tales, respectively. They attacked us right after we completed a mission. During the time we faced them, they created tailed beast balls, which were powerful spheres of destruction. Thanks to Mino, he got us out, but he could never forget the technique the tailed beasts used. He hacked his head around it for such a long time. This was all going on during the time he was dating your mom, Kusha, the previous holder of the Ninetailes that's inside of you. He wanted to make this technique for your mom so she wouldn't have to use tailed beast balls if she didn't want to since controlling the Ninetales was a lot harder for her than it is for you. Well, he wanted to spin his chakra into a sphere, which is already hard to do. But when he tried, they kept exploding in his face. I've never seen a face covered in as much soot as his. I told him that he needed to spin his chakra in the way that was natural for his flow, either clockwise or counterclockwise. But he didn't know how. So, I told him it could be divined by looking at the swirls in his hair. So, he asked me to look. Which way was the swirl going? Naruto asked. Well, that's the thing. He had two swirls and they went in different directions, so his chakra flowed abnormally. Jeriah chuckled. He thought he would never figure it out. That's when Kusha helped him understand that the spin he needed to use shouldn't be any shape but a helix that would give rise to better stability due to being a three-dimensional shape. So eventually he mastered it and showed it to me. I asked him what he was going to name it. You know what he said to me? What? Naruto asked. He said that the name of the technique should be Halo frozen dessert hair warl Jeriah twin formula sphere. H your father sucked at names. Can you imagine saying the name of that technique every time you used it? I bite my tongue just thinking about it. Naruto laughed. It does sound hard to say. In the end though, Jeriah said, I convinced him to give it a new name. And he chose something far more simple, the reengon. He said it would help Kusha and so he taught it to her. He taught it to me, too, and one day I'll teach it to you. Naruto smiled and looked down. Thanks, Jeriah Sensei. They sat there watching the sun lower down, eventually crossing the horizon, a green flash appearing just as the sun disappeared. It was as if the disappearance of the sun, the beautiful yet sorrowful sight, had awakened something in Naruto. There was a sniffle as a set of tears ran down his face. Jeriah looked over. Naruto? Naruto looked over at Jeriah. Jeriah sensei. Why does it hurt? Why does what hurt? Jeriah asked. Naruto continued. I never knew my parents, so how can it hurt so bad when they're gone? I know, Naruto. It hurts me too, but it will be okay. Jeriah would take Naruto in and help him prepare for bed. It would be another early morning tomorrow, especially tomorrow. Naruto had a lot of time on his hands, and he had plenty of time to dive deeper into what it meant to be a genturi. But after tonight, Jeriah felt that his top priority should be teaching Naruto the reengon. This technique was his birthright. It was the legacy of Mino and one of the last things Mito had left behind for Naruto. Naruto needed to be able to make it to carry a piece of Mato in him. As much as he carried a piece of Kusha, the reengon, and more stories, pictures, anything that belonged to Kusha and Mito should now belong to Naruto. While they couldn't be there with him, Jeriah could, and he knew that he needed to show him who they were. Jeriah would live in place of Mito and Kusha. After getting a snack, and taking a shower, brushing his teeth, and getting nice and cozy, Jeriah would walk into the room and kneel beside Naruto's bed. Taking his hand and pressing it against the face that he knew could use a bit of a shave, Jeriah smiled. "I know you feel sad, Naruto, but know this. The human spirit, the soul, it exists and a piece of it lives inside of you. It'll never go away. Your parents are with you, Naruto. Their love is in you. You are made up of their love, and it endures. And since they can't be with you physically, they charged me with it instead. Really? Naruto asked. Jeriah nodded. Before their passing, back when you were still growing in your mom's belly, I paid them a visit to show them my new book. They loved it so much that they decided to name you after the main character. This essentially made me your godfather. I didn't think I was ready for the responsibility, but they told me that they trusted nobody else with the job more than me. And so, I accepted it. They wanted to make sure that should anything happen to them that you wouldn't be left without support. that you would still feel loved. At this, Naruto's stoic face began to be betrayed by another tear that Jeriah wiped away. You are loved, Naruto. You exist because someone wanted you. We all exist because someone wanted us. Whether that be our parents who crafted our body or the one who crafted our soul, we exist because we're wanted, because we are loved. I never want you to forget that. The day after, Naruto spent his time training the Reengon, learning the steps to achieving it. This would be a long and arduous road, but it would teach Naruto something important, and that was chakra control. That would over the long run prove to be a very useful technique, and if he could master this, he could master anything. Or so Jeriah believed. That being said, he made very little progress on the first day. He kept popping the water balloon, and as frustrations built up, Jeriah alleviated it by throwing one of the water balloons at Naruto. Naruto would giggle and throw one back. Their training had become play, and maybe that was okay. There was a lot to being a shinobi, and there was more to life than just training. So, currently, Naruto was riding on Jeriah's shoulders. Both of them soaked, leaving a dark trail of spots behind them. As they walked down the street, many a villager waved to them. At least one of the elderly women stopped. "Good afternoon, Lord Jeriah. Good afternoon, Master Naruto." Naruto waved. "Hi, Miss Shimizu." The elderly woman chuckled a bit. "Jeriah, you need to get that boy a towel. He's going to catch his death wandering around like that. Put him down for a second. Jeriah lowered Naruto to the ground. The woman disappeared into her store for a moment before returning with a big white towel. She threw it on Naruto's head and began to quickly dry him off, using the warmth of the friction to evaporate any water. The elderly woman pinched his cheeks. "So cute. You make your village proud, Naruto." She gave him a kiss on the cheek, to which Naruto giggled, trying to escape. Jeriah gave a bit of a chuckle. He was at least glad to see the village doing its part to take care of Naruto. "You ready for lunch, Naruto?" Jeriah asked. "Yes, please," Naruto shouted, his hunger evident on his face. "What are we looking at today?" Naruto didn't even need a second to think. He blurted out, "Ichiraku ramen." As if he had this planned out from the beginning. "Maybe it was knee-jerk." Jeriah was slowly getting burned out of eating ramen every day, but whatever made Naruto happy. If he could keep going, then so too could Jeriah. Showing up, they both got a bowl and proceeded to eat. On the other side of the continent, Garatu was eating. But instead of lunch, it was supper. And the person he was eating with was none other than his uncle Yashimaru. The brother of Kura. Yashimaru had taken the role in Gar's life that his mother was supposed to have. Besides him, he did the same for the rest of Gar's siblings. Each one carried a piece of their mother with them. And Yashimaru loved each and every one of them. As a staunch supporter of Rasa, Yashimaru followed every word his Kag commanded of him. Knowing that Rosa was a busy man, he was more than happy to play the role of babysitter. Something Rosa had officially named him, though he used a more official term such as retainer or guardian or some other title to disguise and add honor to the otherwise gentle job that stood opposite of a shinobi of Yashimaru's standing. Once an onbu agent, force of death and destruction, known to all around him as the desert wind blowing, he had since hung up his mask for an apron, becoming little more than a butler. And you know what? That was okay. Yashimaru was not in this for himself or for his own honor. He was in this for the village, to do his part. Due to the hard position that Suna found itself in, the budget limits, it was a tough deal on Rasa, who found himself getting up early and staying up late, sleeping between meetings, and very little time to do anything. Yashimaru balanced the family life for Rasa, being the stand-in for Kura. He would often take the kids out to eat or take them shopping with him. All the while he did that, the civilians would wave to Gar and give him gifts, treating him with love. Yashimaru told Gar many a time that love was the greatest shield one could hold and the greatest sword that a person could wield. For love could pierce any heart without leaving a hole. And better still, it did not kill, but instead healed. To that end, Gar had become somewhat of a flower child. Every morning, Gar would rise and paint the word love upon his forehead, using that concept as his strength to keep Shukaku at bay. Gar had the kindest heart that Yashimaru had ever seen. For better or worse, Yashimaru had only wished that the village was in better shape when Gar was born. Despite his happy, loving disposition, things were not so good. Yashimaru feared that someday soon the innocence in Gar may be shattered by necessity. Yashimaru didn't know if he'd be able to handle seeing this, to see his nephew lose himself to the darkness of the Shinobi world. Yashimaru had lost himself long ago. Once Yashimaru had also been like Gar. In fact, the act of painting the word love on his forehead was passed down from Yashimaru himself. But sadly, the wars raged on. And the lifestyle Yashimaru once held close was taken away, and he was turned into this. This thing, this monster, things that kept him awake at night, things that haunted his dreams. Yashimaru took a deep breath and began to refocus. He didn't want his nephew to end up in the same position. He didn't want the kanji he painted on his head to ever go away. And that's what he had told him. Gar, can you promise me something?" he asked. Gar nodded and asked what he wanted. Yashimaru told him, "Life may get hard someday, and you may be forced to do things you don't like, but please promise me that you'll never stop printing this kanji on your head. Never forget what it means." Gar promised, and it was a good thing, too. It wasn't long after that Gar and Rosa had their first interaction in quite some time. Rosa had come home from work, but he hadn't really come home from work. His mind remained at the office. He had brought the stresses home with him. It was nighttime and Rosa didn't have enough time to spend with his children. They had all been put to sleep. Rosa, on the other hand, had decided to stay up. His sleep schedule was so screwed up that sleeping began to seem like a foreign concept. Standing on the roof of his home, he leaned against the railing. The air was cold and dry as it got in the desert. Rasa felt himself losing his composure. Rosa was a strong man, and he rarely cried, but that didn't mean that he hadn't had a heart. A time had come during the third world war where he had almost cast off his heart for good to become as ruthless as his village needed. But the words of Kura echoed in his mind. Words of love and compassion, assuring him that these traits and qualities would lead them through the endless night. Rasa held on to his compassion, though right now he wondered if that were the right choice. As tears streamed from his eyes, he felt the weight of the whole village bearing down. Everyone in that village was relying upon him to find a way to revive their way of life. Rosa turned around and sat down, his back against the bars, and he continued to cry like a baby. He did not notice that Gar had showed up on the roof. Teddy in hand, he drew closer. Rosa detected the sound. "They've finally done it," he said. "They've finally had enough of me. They're going to kill me," he said as his hand moved to his coai holster. He raised his eyes for a moment and saw not the face of an assassin, but the concerned look of his son, wondering for what reason his strong father could be reduced to tears. Rosa closed the holster silently as he put on a smile. He wiped his eyes. "Oh, hey, Gar, I didn't know you were still up. What are you doing out of bed?" "I couldn't sleep. I felt strange, like sadness." "Just like his mother," Rasa said within himself, remembering that Kura could always tell when Rasa was upset, even if he wasn't in the room. On his hands and knees, Rasa crawled over to his son, scooping him up and sitting him in his lap. "It's just stuff," Rasa said. "Being the Kazak is really hard," Gar. "The village isn't doing good." Rasa didn't want to scare his son, but he needed someone who cared to listen. "Why not?" Gar asked. "Nobody wants to buy help from our shinobi anymore, so we're not making any money. We have bills and taxes. Our village has expenses it needs to pay, and now we're not making any money to pay it. Our village could get shut down and go away forever. Gar seemed to understand the gravity of it. You are sad because you don't know how to fix it? Gar asked. Rosa nodded. Daddy doesn't know how to fix it. Daddy loves his village. It's where his babies grew up. It's where he met mommy. It's all Daddy's ever known, and now it's going to go away. And Daddy feels like it's his fault. Gar turned around to look at his father. Daddy, don't be sad. I'll help save the village. Rosa shook his head. I don't know what you can do besides things I don't want you to have to do, he said. Gar looked at his father, seeing the tears that even Rasa didn't know he was still crying. Gar wiped them away. I will help you, Gar said. I will do the stuff that I don't want to do so the village can stay. Rasa began to cry a bit more. Gar, the things I would ask you to do, I don't know if I could live with it. It would change you forever. You'd never be the same. Gar took his father's hand and put it on his forehead, resting his father's thumb over the kanji he had painted there. This kanji means love. And love is to do things for people who need it without getting anything back. That's what Yashimaru said. Love is useless if it doesn't help. Even if it hurts, I want to help. So, let me help. I love the village, too, and I don't want it to ever go away. It's where daddy grew up. Ross's heart smashed into a thousand pieces as he burst into tears, wailing like a baby. He pulled his son into his embrace. Oh, Gar. From then on, Rasa began to set up a new strategy. The only way he could improve Sunagakaday's standing was to reduce the reputation of its greatest rivals, such as the Hidden Leaf. And even if that was wrong, even if it was underhanded, Rasa was desperate. And to that end, Rasa began to personally train his son in the usage of magnet release, the Kekai genkai that had been passed down in their bloodline. the Kekai Genkai that Gar had doubled due to the one tale sealed inside of him. He taught Gar how to control his one tale and to use it to the best of his abilities. His son, once a child of peace and love, was being forged into a weapon of war, contributing to the endless cycle of hatred. How cruel was the world for forcing him to do this? How cruel was Rasa for forcing Gar to become what he wasn't? Kura, forgive me, he said as he witnessed his son's prowess, his natural talent for fighting being turned from a protector to a destroyer. Shaking his head, Rasa spoke once more. Please forgive me. Naruto also grew in his powers and abilities. Jeriah took special care to train him. Naruto eventually did learn the reengon and would even go so far as to perfect his version one chakra cloak. Due to his completion of high-ranking techniques, including the summoning jutsu, to which he found himself even able to summon massive toads like Gamabunta, it became obvious that he was more than ready to be placed on his own team. This team would include Sasuke and Sakura and all three genin would be placed under the supervision of Kakashi Hate, a Jonin who like Hirozen and Jeriah had a connection to Minato Namakazi. Kakashi would test his team to see if they could understand the concept of teamwork and would be pleasantly surprised by how proactive Naruto was in helping his fellow genine to understand this. Due to his actions, his team easily passed the test Kakashi had set up for them with Naruto and Sasuke even coming very close to taking the bells from Kakashi. Their teamwork had forced Kakashi to give his all just to escape. While he could escape Sasuke, it was a bit harder to escape Naruto due to his ability to use the version one chakra cloak. But miraculously, Kakashi managed to avoid Naruto long enough to keep the bells. He would accept these three onto his team and would go about preparing missions for them, executing them with them, and even helping them come into their new power. It wouldn't be long until a new mission to the land of waves was ordered for them. Due to the overall prowess they displayed, Naruto was more than happy to take this challenge, hoping that something might happen so he could display his new power. On their way there, they would, as usual, be attacked by the demon brothers. But the way this is handled is far different. Sasuke and Naruto effortlessly team up against these two and defeat them. And when Zabaza shows up with Haku, well, things don't go according to plan for him. Not only does he have to deal with Kakashi, but he also has to deal with a genine who could easily pass for Chunin possesses the Sharing and Njutsu that kids his age should not have. Furthermore, he also has the Ninetailes Chinuriki coming after him. After being distracted by Sasuke, Naruto comes in with a Rasengon and knocks Zabuzza away. Zabuzza would be rescued by Haku, who would flee along with him. Kakashi knows that that's not the last they'll see of him and tells his students that they need to prepare for their return. They would later head to the bridge where they would once again be assailed by Zabuzza and Haku. However, Haku is unable to take the combined might of Naruto and Sasuke. And due to this, Zabuzza is killed, leaving Haku alone to mourn the loss of his master. Naruto feels bad about this, but Kakashi takes it as the perfect opportunity to teach them a lesson, letting them know that this is something they may face in the future, and it's very likely that they will have to kill. Gateto's goons attempt to take the bridge, but are quickly repelled. With the bridge secured and built, Team 7 is allowed to go home where they are debriefed by the Hokage and their placement in the Chunin exams is secured. In Suna, however, a secret meeting is about to take place. Rosa was in his office standing and looking out the window when he had heard that someone wanted to meet with him. He didn't really think it mattered, but it wasn't any person who came and told him, but one of the elders who helped keep Rosa in check. This confused Rasa. That was until they told Rosa who it would be. And now, Rosa felt his nerves acting up. Without so much as the sound of a door opening or closing, there was a voice. "Lord Kazak," the voice said with a hint of a chuckle behind it. Rasa turned around and looked to see a man who had obviously not spent much time in the land of wind. "His complexion said that much." "To what do I owe this?" "Honor!" Orochimaru asked, attempting to finish the stumbling man's sentence. "No, just whatever this is," he said, pointing up and down Orochi Maru. Most men would be offended, but Orochimaru had a sense of humor, and he found it funny that a man so afraid would find the courage to make such a joke. Well, it is indeed a pleasure, I'm sure. You're a wanted criminal. How can you simply walk into this village and expect a warm welcome? I should have you arrested and turned over to the leaf. But that wouldn't be very advantageous, would it? It seems you're terribly misinformed. You currently speak with not just any criminal, but the Otoag. Rasa shook his head. There's no such thing. Perhaps not. But there is indeed a village. A village with weapons. A village with soldiers. A village with ambitions. Not too unlike yours. Orochimaru said as he looked around. Just spit it out already. What do you want? The same thing you do. The destruction of our shared enemy, Konoha, Rosa said. Orochimaru raised a brow of acknowledgement as his face bore a twisted smirk. I can see that your village has been having hard times. Mine as well. Konoha seems to be the main culprit of this situation we both find ourselves in. So why don't we work together to alleviate our stresses? Rosa would slowly lower to his chair, not taking his eyes off Arochimaru for a moment. He knew not to trust a snake lest he be bitten. But if the elders wanted him to speak with Orochimaru, then it seemed like they wanted to hear him out. "I'm listening," Rasa said. As I'm sure you're aware, Konoha is planning to host its tuning exams very soon. I am aware, Rasa said. I plan to send some of my own shinobi to attend, as will most villages, mine included, Orochimaru said. Rasa seemed to understand where Orochiaru was going with this. You plan to use the tuning exams as a way to infiltrate the village and crush it while Konaha's forces are too concerned with the other to bother with you. Well, look at that. You do have a brain. It's risky. Rasa said, "Everything worth doing comes with a certain level of risk." Orochimaru said, "This could lead to a new world war." Rosa said, "One that could see my nation as the central antagonist against every village in attendance." "Have you not read the attendance list?" Orochimaru said. "Only two of the great nations will be attending this." Konoha and you. The other villages consist of myself, Kusagakade, Agakade, and Taki Gakade. Even if a war does break out, these small potato villages are nothing compared to you. Don't underestimate Takiakade. They possess the Seven Tales, but you possess greater friends than they do. Nations that would be grateful to you for destroying their greatest rival. Kumo, for one, would love you, as it likely means that the fall of Konoha would result in a longcoveted Dojutsu falling into their possession. In fact, I'll even inform them of such if you agree to this, so they can make their way in and try to take one out during the confusion. To that end, you should have more than enough means to destroy your enemies. Rasa sat there and thought deeply about it. Arochimaru spoke. Consider it this way. If you try and fail, your village may be destroyed by Konoha, but if you do nothing, you'll still be destroyed by Konoha, albeit economically. Arochimaru stood and leaned across the desk, speaking in an alluring whisper, something to stoke the fires of courage within Rasa. But if you win, he let it dangle for a moment to get Rosa's mind started. Rasa spoke. If we win, their clientele would have no other choice but to hire from another Shinobi village. And who better to hire than the village so crafty that it killed your go-to guy? Arochimaru slithered back into his chair. Exactly. So, do we have a deal? Rasa sat forward. What do you have planned? Gar was well on his way to the village hidden in the leaves. At this point, the plan was simple, and it all revolved around Gar. Gar as the one-tailed ginger would sneak into the village under the guise of a genine seeking to take the tuning exams. He would make it to the final rounds through his superior power and training. And when he got there, he would ultimately release the oneales and let it rampage throughout the village. Soona Shinobi mixed with Oton would then rush in and try to put down resistance while Gar proceeded to destroy the infrastructure. Rasa would personally kill the Hokag and they would wipe the village off the map. Gar was not in favor of this idea. He knew why he became a shinobi, and he knew that he had to do everything he could for the village that he loved. But the longer that he thought about it, he just couldn't bring himself to smile. Naruto couldn't stop smiling. He had already finished filling out his forms and submitting them. They were ready for the tuning exams. As he and Team 7 walked the streets, they noticed all of the new shinobi from other villages that were visiting. It was then that Naruto saw it. Konohamaru and his two friends, Udon and Moagi. They ran through the crowds playing, having fun, just being kids. It brought another smile to Naruto's face. This one larger than the last. That was until they ran into a shinobi from another village. That Shinobi turned around. His clothes were black and he wore a funny hat. His face was painted up like a character in a Kabuki play. In fact, this guy's love of Kumadori reminded Naruto of Jeriah to a degree. But in truth, this guy was nothing like Jeriah. Jeriah would never do this to a kid. Naruto ran forward. Sasuke and Sakura nearby. Naruto stopped. Hey, let him go. Konohamaru, throat in the grasp of Konuro, coughed and gagged and choked out a phrase. The big brother Naruto. Tamari would flare her fan, ready to fight. That was until someone else appeared. Concuro, let him go. But Gar, I said, let him go, Conquo. Gar stood before Conquo, looking him directly in the eye, caring, but a certain sense of sternness. Despite him being the youngest, he acted like the oldest. Don't make me ask you a third time. Concordo let Konohamaru go. Konahamaru hit the ground and began to cough. Gar knelt down and tried to help the boy up. I'm very sorry about my brother. He's just very jumpy and protective. I assure you he meant no harm. Are you okay? Konohamaru, still coughing, nodded. Thank you. Gar watched Konohamaru run away with his friends. Naruto stood there looking at Gar. This boy had caught his eye. Something was different about him. Hey, Naruto called out, catching Gar's attention. Who are you? Gar smiled. My name's Gar. I'm from Suna. I'm Naruto Usuzamaki. It's a pleasure to meet you. Gar nodded his head with a slight bow. The pleasure is mine, Naruto. Now, if you don't mind, I will be on my way. Gar turned around and walked away, bringing his siblings with him. Sasuke pulled up on Naruto from the right side. "Bizarre," he commented in regards to the very different personality Gar displayed compared to his siblings. "Naruto couldn't take his eyes off the red-haired ninja. Something inside of him was drawn to him, like they were somehow connected on a deeper level." "Earth to Naruto," Sakura, snapping her finger, said in front of his face, drawing Naruto's attention. "You're spacing out on us." "Sorry, it's just that guy." "What about him?" Sakura asked. "I feel like I know him from somewhere." Sakura followed Naruto's gaze back to him. Well, you'll have all the time in the world to figure it out. We need to get ready for the exams. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura would enter the facility where the exams were to take place. And there, Naruto made his exclamation going to defeat them all. Sakura and Sasuke regretted his actions due to him basically making a public enemy out of everyone. It was then that Naruto spotted Gar and his siblings again. Running over, he went to say hello. He extended his hand. "Hi, I don't know if you remember me, Naruto, right?" Gar said as he shook his hand. "I remember you. I just wanted to say thanks again for protecting my kid brother yesterday. Oh, that kid was your little brother. Pardon me saying, but you don't look very similar. Oh, that's because I'm technically adopted, but our bond is stronger than blood. This brought a smile from Gar. Naruto spoke. You know, I can't help but notice that there's something different about you, Naruto said. Can I ask what it is? No, you may not, Tamari said as she pushed Naruto back. Sorry, I just wanted to talk to your brother. Kodo then stepped in. It's best you go back to where you came from, buddy. We don't want nothing to do with you. Naruto seemed a little hurt by this. Gar didn't stop them, but he did smile from where he was leaning and offered a little wave. It was really a pleasure to meet you, Naruto. From there, they didn't talk much. They wouldn't have had much more time to, as not long after the exams began. Garuto would follow his siblings back and sit at the table where they would pass out the test sheets. Gar would take one. Concuro would begin looking at the sheets and begin to panic. What's wrong? Tamari asked. These questions are way too hard, he shouted through a whisper. Father charged us with making it to the finals. How can we make it if we can't even get past the first question. We cheat, Gar said. Kono looked back. But that's against the rules. We're not here to keep the rules, Gar said. We're here to complete a mission, not actually become genine. It doesn't matter how. Just get a hold of the answers anyway you can. Gar activated his third eye of the sand technique, forming a new eye made of sand that he connected to his optic nerve via chakra. This eye wandered the room searching for correct answers. As the test officially began, Concodo would use his crow puppet to also sneak peeks at answers, which he would write down on a slip of paper and pass to Tamari on his way out to visit the bathroom. As the time for this test reached an end, it was revealed that there would be another question, which would make or break them. Proctor Marino stated that if they gave up their chance at the exams now, they could leave and come back again later. But if they took this question and failed, they could never again take the tuning exams ever. Once more, Concodo began to panic. That's when Gar spoke. This village will not be around long enough to enforce that rule, Konko. Just calm. It was then that Naruto stood up with a loud voice and exclaimed that they would never scare him away and that he didn't care if he was stuck at Genine for the rest of his life. He would still become Hokag one day. This made Gar wonder, "There's something special about this kid, too." Taking the question, the sand siblings readied themselves for the worst possible question. "What if we fail?" Tamari asked. If we don't get the question right, there's no moving on to the next level, let alone making it to the final. Gar nodded. Honestly, even if we fail, I don't see it as an issue. Why not? Kodo asked. Because we only need to be in a certain location for this to work, Gar said. That's the coliseum. But we don't have to be there as a part of the exam. We could just be people watching. If worse comes to worse, I can just jump the side and do the exact same thing I otherwise would. The other two, knowing that Gar had this figured out, decided to trust him. Gar put his arms around his siblings. No need to be afraid. We've got this. The surprise was that by simply taking the test, they passed. After this, they were told to meet the next proctor outside to take the forest of death test. Something they would need to sign a waiver for if they plan to continue. This was no big deal for them. The point of this test was to capture the scroll of one of the opposing teams, but only if they had a scroll opposite yours. Gar through use of his third eye technique, would search the other teams to see who the closest team with a heaven scroll was. That would be a bunch of shinobi from the hidden reign. And so Gar and his team, the moment the gate opened, tried to head off the Rain Ninja by intercepting them. The moment they did, the Rain Ninja spoke. "You have bad taste picking your opponents." Gar sighed and offered a kindly smile. "I would prefer not to get rough with you if you would simply hand over your scroll." It was then that one of the Shinobi threw a grouping of parasolles into the air, causing Tamari and Conquo to retreat back to get out of range of whatever attack was coming. Suddenly, the parasol began to spin rapidly, dropping needles down upon them. a sand dome covered Gar to protect him. I take it he's not going to back down. Once he shrugged off the attack, he'd proceed to step forward and with a single hand gesture, all three rain ninja would be bound up in a sandbinding coffin. Gar would walk to their leader. I apologize for having to end your bout in the exam so quickly. I truly do wish it could have been different. From there, the scroll would manifest through the sand that Gar would then pluck it from. When he received the scroll, he caused the sand to harden like cement. Looking it over, he turned to his brother. Concodo, make sure that this is the scroll. He compared the two. It's the heaven scroll. It's exactly what we need. Gar would offer a bow. Thank you, gents. I suggest that you take the L and go home. I think it would be best for you and your careers, honestly. Gar and his team began to leave. That's when they'd be attacked by team 8. They would all at once be attacked by Ka, Shino, and Hinata, who'd been hiding in the bushes. Evasive maneuvers, Gar shouted. Tamari jumped back and pulled out her fan. Protect Conqueror, he further commanded. The two of them would get in the way. Shino and his bugs would come out to attack Tamari, but she would sweep them aside with her wind style. Hinata attempted to attack Gar, but as her open palm came in, he summoned his sand to grab her arm and leg to hold her in place. As Ka came through, Gar raised his hand and sent out sand to strike both Ka and Shino at the same time. With this, he plastered them to a nearby tree and let the sand harden like cement there, too. "Sorry, but I can't allow this," he said. "We got to win." He looked at the new trio and the old. You know, maybe it's all around best you both fail. You obviously both have bright futures, and I would hate to see them cut short. He said this as a reference to the fact that Konoha was about to be obliterated. Even though Gar knew why he was there, he couldn't bring himself to kill these six genine. Despite this, his words likely came across far more menacing. He turned around and began to leave. "Hey, wait. Aren't you going to free us?" the rain ninja asked. Gar looked back. "Uh, you'll be fine. that cement should crack open and fall apart in about 3 days. Maybe it was a little mean, but it did make Gar giggle. And so they left, heading to the central coliseum where they would prepare for the third and final portion of the exams. During this time, Gar would be pitted up against Rock Lee to move on towards the finals. Gar was pretty sure of himself, but just by looking at the boy, he knew he was in for something special. As the battle commenced, Gar stood there, his sand already moving about to protect him. Lee, entering his fighting stance, measured his movements and the flow of battle before finally committing to the first assault. Lee rushed out at Gar to strike, but none of his strikes were working. Despite these things, he kept pressing the attack. "This obviously isn't working," Gar thought to himself. "Why isn't he switching to njutsu?" As more time passed, though, Lee would jump away to avoid Gar's counterattacks. It was then that he looked to his sensei. Gar looked at them both. "What kind of people did I stumble into? Matching outfits, matching hairstyles, overly exuberant mannerisms. The sensei commanded this rock lee to drop his ankle weights. Something Gar found laughable. That was until the force of their impact created a dust cloud so big that it rose some 20 ft into the air. It was then that Lee began to move again. His speed was so intense that Gar couldn't see it. Impossible. He knew that there was a chance that his first line of defense might go down, so he tried a second line, coating himself in a thick shell. It was a good thing he did too because Lee immediately thereafter broke through and forced Gar to endure the primary lotus, but Gar survived thanks to his sand shield. Gar managed to stand. Lee already looked worn out. Gar was a bit shaken, but he was okay. Looking at Lee, Gar could tell he had nothing left. He put out his hand. Sandbinding coffin. He caught the tired Lee. Gar then spoke. Impressive. But I'll be honest with you, this needs to end now. Surrender. Lee then looked to Guy, who gave another nod of approval. It was then that Lee broke through the first four inner gates and escaped the coffin. He then went about smashing the crap out of Gar. Gar had no chance to fight back or even defend himself. And right there at the very end, he opened the fifth gate and sent Gar smashing down into the ground. Gar laid there flat on his back. Lee also hit the ground and rolled to his side. "Did he do it?" Kunko questioned. "Did he really beat Gar?" Lee looked back with a smile. It's a TKO. I have one, he said within himself. That was until he saw Gar's hand switch. Conquo came to the side of the railing. No, no, no, no. Gar, don't do that here. What's going on? Naruto asked. The sand demon in him. It's breaking free. What do you mean? Naruto asked. Concodo looked over. Gar is the host of a sand demon. Whenever he tries to sleep, it tries to escape. He's managed to find ways to keep it in, but he hasn't done his nightly ritual yet. He's been left unconscious. I think it's taking over his body. Gar rose up from the ground. He turned, his face still displaying the look of unconsciousness. Eyes rolled up, mouth left a gape. Yet his body moved. The sand around him swirled and from behind he formed a single tail made of sand. Naruto saw it and immediately knew what it was that he had seen. Guy sensei le's toast. He can't win now. You have to call the match. Naruto shouted. Guyia looked down looking at Kakashi, his arms crossed in a judgmental fashion. I already resent how you taught that boy a forbidden jutsu. If you let this continue, I'll report you to Hisin for negligence and have you stripped of your position. Guy looked down and saw the terror in Lee's eyes. Darn it, you're right. Guy jumped the side and stood before Lee and Gar. Gar kept coming, but eventually Guy, with a movement so quick he couldn't be seen, delivered a jab to Gar's face. Gar's eyes rolled forward. "Uh, huh?" he asked as he stood there. He grabbed onto his head. "What happened?" He looked up and saw Guy standing before Lee. Oh no, I didn't hurt anyone, did I? Guy shook his head. No, but you almost did. Gar took a slight bow of apology, something that put him on his knees when he felt his bones crack from the fight. "Call in the medics," Guy said to the judge. Both boys were then taken to the hospital. "There, Gar rested." "Tar would visit him not long thereafter." "I apologize for harming your friend," Gar said. "You didn't hurt him. He hurt himself," Naruto said as he took up a seat. That does remind me though. There's something I want to ask you. What is that? Gar asked. Are you the genturiki of a tailed beast? Gar's eyes widened. How did this boy know? Did he display it at the exhibitions? Naruto waved it off. It's okay. You can tell me. I'm I'm actually a genturiki, too. Of the ninetailes. Gar let out a sigh. Naruto spoke again. See, I knew there was something different about you. We have something in common, except you're from another village. From here, Naruto and Gar began to talk and share stories. For the next month, that's pretty much all they did. They became friends. Naruto showed Gar Ichaku ramen and all the places where they went to have fun in Konoha. Konko and Tamari would eventually pull Gar aside. Gar, you can't keep hanging out with this boy, Tamari said. Why not? Because we're on a mission, you don't, said Konko. Tamari then spoke again. You're going to get attached. And you know what happens if you get attached? You don't finish the mission. Gar looked down with sorrow. Look, I know you met someone you can be friends with, but you have friends back home. There are tons of kids your age that would want nothing more than to call themselves the best friends of the hero of Suna. Gar nodded and looked away. I know, but but what? Tamari asked. Gar looked up. None of them would know what it's like. Tamari's shoulders dropped with a sigh. I know you have it in common with Naruto, but you can't forget he's the enemy. But why? Why does he have to be the enemy? Gar asked. Because Konoha is killing our village with its success. Don't you care about Sununa? Tamari asked. I do. I just There's got to be another way. I'm sorry, Gar Kodo said. But I don't think there is. We either do this or Suna dies. Don't choose some stranger over your own village. Gar for the first time in a while began to see tears forming in his own vision. His heart was broken. How could it come to this? From that point on, Gar avoided Naruto, and Naruto knew this. But why? Why would Gar avoid him? That was when the tuning exams continued. Naruto had his battle where he managed to beat out Nei. The use of his version one cloak as well as his reengon was all it took to put Nei to sleep. And now it was time for Sasuke versus Gar. Sasuke had yet to show up, but Gar was already standing out in the arena. Naruto waved to Gar. Hi Gar. Good luck. Try not to lose to Sasuke too hard, he said. Gar didn't respond. Naruto looked at him from the distance. Something's not right. He looks scared. Gar looked up at the Kag's viewing box. There he saw his father. He gave him a nod. It was time. Gar held up his fingers to release the beast. Suddenly, from within Gar, a massive tanuki formed from sand and rose up. The crowds began to flee as the other Shinobi began to get ready for battle. Oton and Sununin together began to fight against Konohan. Gar began assisting in the attack, trying to kill as many as he could. Naruto ran over the side and called in Gamabunta, who landed at top the tanuki. The tailed beast tried to reform, but Gamabunta tried to keep it in place. Naruto rushed up the side of Gamabunta where he called out, "Gar!" Gar looked up at Naruto from his place in the forehead of the beast. "Run away, Naruto," he shouted. "I want you to live." "I can't do that," Naruto said. "I can't let you destroy my village." "I don't want to," Naruto, Gar said. "I really don't want to." "Then why are you?" Naruto asked. "Because I have to." "Why?" Gar was silent for a moment. "Because I love my village. and my village is suffering. Nobody hires us anymore. They prefer the leaf. You're our greatest competition and you're putting us out of business. My father's the Kazak and I've seen what it's done to him. I just don't want to lose my home. I don't want to lose my people. I love them. Naruto stood there thinking about his own village. Besides, it's too late. Gar said. My father is already fighting the Hokag. He'll kill him. My father's strong. Your father is not fighting the Hokag. Kakashi said. Gar looked up to see Kakashi also standing upon Kamabunta's head. All I saw was Arochimaru wearing your father's clothing. Gar's eyes widened. Then, "Where's my father? The type of jutsu Arochimaru uses to disguise himself. It steals people's faces. People don't generally survive without a face like that." Gar fell to tears. Hrochimaru betrayed us. Gar dropped to the ground. There's nothing left worth fighting for. Naruto jumped down and ran over to hug Gar. The Hokag was killed by Arochimaru due to nobody being able to rescue him in time. However, the battle was in favor of Konoha and the Suna and Oton were repelled. And as the new Hokag was sworn in, Gar would be released. He'd returned to Suna in shame and sorrow, fearing his village wouldn't make it. But he was surprised. Upon returning to the village, he was told by his siblings that they had received help from Konoha. "Wait, they helped us?" Gar asked. "But we attacked them." "Why? You know that genturiki friend of yours? Konuro said, "That guy convinced the Hokag to forgive us." He explained the situation and they've been sending us help. They've even been referring us new clients. We've had more missions in the past week than we have in the last 6 months. Gar looked back toward the gate where he had come from toward where Konoha was. "Nar," he smiled. The loss of their father was very hard, not just on Gar and his siblings, but on Suna as a whole. However, they knew that they would need new leadership. And who better than Gar himself? He was the hero of Suna. And in his time in the village, he proved himself wise and full of heart. Upon taking office, he promised to change things and make a new Suna, one where the cruelty of the past gave way to compassion and care, to love and peace. He promised to repay Konaha for their mercy, kindness, and forgiveness, and offered a special thanks to his new best friend, Naruto. These things Kakashi read to Naruto, who smiled. Sounds like you're not just the hero of one village, Naruto, but the hero of two.

What do you think of this AU? Could Naruto and Gaara’s friendship have changed the shinobi world? Share your thoughts! #naruto #Gaara #AnimeWhatIf

What If Naruto Could See The Future?

The Naruto series is filled with many wonderful abilities, but some abilities go beyond what is normal. Some njutsu are so powerful or strange that they're labeled Shinjjutsu. The greatest practitioner of Shinjjutsu was Sheibi, who through his usage of the Senreon, as well as the 10 directions Shinjjutsu can see all of the past up to his birth, through the present, and into the many possible futures. It makes me wonder if other techniques such as whatever Gamaru used to predict the child of prophecy as well as Shiion's special dojutsu from the first Chipoten movie were somehow connected to him or at least a power like his. I can't be sure, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see. But that being said, it's made me think a lot about those abilities. What if Naruto had something similar to the 10 directions or Shian's dojutsu? How would it affect things? Well, that's what I'm hoping to find out. I hope you'll join me as we try to answer this question. But before we get into it, let me say welcome to the Amagi. Before we begin, only 25% of our viewers are subscribed. So if you're a fan of the video, please like and double check if you are subscribed. And with that out of the way, let's start the video. Our boy Naruto. You love him. You got to love him. After all, he's the main character. the central part of a long story line already written. A single line heading to the future to which there is no variation. Well, I say that in the context of his canon, his established story. But as you know, whatifs exist. And this story is all about not me making the whatif per se, but Naruto making it. You see, when fate writes a script, it expects you to stick to it. But what happens when you go off script? Well, the powers that be likely try to put you back on it, or else Naruto will force a complete rewrite. But then again, perhaps it always was his destiny to challenge fate. So, does it not mean that it was his fate to defy fate? What a conundrum. But instead of ringing our brains on this, let me just explain in a simple way what's happened here. Naruto woke up one day and had the ability to see the future. Kind of. He could kind of see the future in the form of a long-off deja vu. Naruto would involuntarily have dreams or visions of things yet to come to pass. It all really started after he stole that scroll from the Hokag to impress Erica. Maybe something in there affected him. Perhaps he awakened some hidden ability. Who knew? But one thing was certain. Naruto could see the future. He had kept this on the DL when he was around the others as he assumed it was some sort of biological function. After all, it was so similar to deja vu that he assumed it was. And some scientists, whether right or wrong, insinuated that deja vu was nothing more than a chemical reaction in the brain making one think that they were seeing the future when they weren't. He had decided to trust these scientists and assumed that it would clear up. After all, being 12 on the age of 13, he was experiencing that liinal space, that transitional point between adolescence and adulthood called puberty, which was already a maelstrom of biochemical reactions. a slowly deepening voice, sudden growth spurts, and an inability to control the emotions he had, particularly anger, growing enraged over issues that used to roll off his back. That was until he had a new vision. He had a vision that something very important in his life, was about to transpire. And what that thing was, he did not know. But what he did know was that he was supposed to be on the road going somewhere. He quickly saw in his mind's eye the image of Hizen holding a piece of paper with a stamp on it. On the piece of paper, he saw the words land of waves and escort. At first, Naruto assumed this to be no more than a dream he had in the night. One of those dreams so wild that it just couldn't be true. Except it was. He couldn't help but think about it. It was so vivid. What did it mean? When he and his team were about to receive a new mission from the Hokag one day, Naruto couldn't help but feel odd. There was this uncanny feel to the air, a feeling as though he had done this before. And why shouldn't he feel this way? After all, he had been in this office so many times that he couldn't count them anymore. So why did this one feel different? That question echoed through his mind the whole time he was in the room. And due to this feeling, he began examining things more closely. He felt as though he was being watched, yet that he wasn't at the same time. That feeling culminated into a sense of calm terror when he realized just how much everything seemed similar to his dream. "There's no way it's true," Naruto thought as he looked around. As Hirozen began to search for their next mission, Naruto's mind snapped. A crux of fate, a forked path. Whatever happened next felt as though it held the fate of the whole world on its shoulders. Not that it did, but that's the feeling Naruto got. Suddenly, his hand raised. This garnered attention from everyone in the room. Hi looked up. Yes, Naruto. Naruto lowered his hand and spoke. Gramps, do you happen to have an escort mission to the land of waves? Eraka spoke. I understand you want to see the world, Naruto, but this is a right of passage. Every guinea starts at the bottom. Hi then pulled a piece of paper out and looked at it. How did you know? Hi asked. Iraq looked over with surprise. Naruto spoke again. I just did. This answer didn't sit too well with Ihokag. He had known of ESP and the like, but Naruto had never shown any symptoms of psychic abilities. Hi began to worry if somehow there was a mole or spy in the ranks. someone playing mind games with them, using Naruto as a pawn to try to get to them. Who told you of this? Naruto shook his head. I dreamed about it. Just a few nights ago, I saw myself standing in this very room with this very group of people wearing these very same outfits. To be honest, we all only ever wear one outfit, Kakashi said. This was true, but all the same. Naruto spoke. In my dream, I saw a stamped piece of paper being handed to us. It said on it, "Land of waves and escort on it." I believe it had to do with a builder of some sort, a man with glasses. Herzen was growing more suspicious. "You're not lying to me, are you, Naruto? Nobody's threatening you. Nobody fed you this information." Naruto shook his head. Unless there's someone with the ability to imprint details from the future onto a dream and somehow project it into my head. No. There very well could have been someone with a strange set of skills that could do just that. But all the same, Hirozen had no proof, though. He would launch an in-house investigation into it. For now, if Naruto was having a dream that he was faded to go on this mission, Hisin would allow it. After all, he didn't want anyone to grow suspicious. "See that you don't tell anyone at all about this conversation?" Hi said as he stamped the piece of paper and handed it to Naruto. Naruto smiled. Of course, Herizen looked at Kakashi who nodded in understanding. Kakashi was Naruto's mentor and the one in charge of keeping track of him. It was now a secret objective of Kakashi's to watch the boy and make sure nobody was influencing him. From there, they went on the Land of Waves mission. Nothing in particular seemed to be happening any different from the pre-established lore of the cannon. Fate was taking place perfectly so far. Not only were they traveling with a drunk builder wearing glasses, but they further were attacked by two rogue Shinobi of Kittyakare and even the demon of the mist, Zabuzza, who could only really be defeated by the combined efforts of Naruto and Sasuke. But only because they had a very simple objective, which wasn't to actually defeat Zabuzza, but to make him remove his hand from the prison that held Kakashi. Zabuzza was heavily handicapped. If they had faced him alone any other time where he was expected to use any and all of his available skills, Sasuke and Naruto would have been dead in a minute. They got lucky, Naruto felt. But in the end, a victory is still a victory. And it seemed as though Zabaza was now dead, killed by one of the hunter of Kitty. With Tzuna safe and Kakashi now in a paralyzed state, they made their way to the land of waves where they would rest for the time being. But all the same, something was off. Naruto was getting an uncanny feeling again, and he wasn't sure why. A feeling of paranoia, a feeling like the hands of time were once again wrapping their fingers around his throat. History had its eyes on him, and he had eyes on the future. And so it was, as Kakashi had him and Sasuke training to strengthen the ability to mold chakra on the soles of their feet. Naruto and Sasuke worked so hard that they collapsed from trying. During this time, Naruto had a vivid dream of the future. He saw himself, tears in his eyes, crying about how unfair the world was. He saw Kakashi standing there, his hand out as a Chidori, his eyes twisted in horror as old memories rushed back to him. At the end of his hand appeared to be a girl dressed as a boy, a girl with fair complexion, a beautiful face and long flowing ebony hair. Despite her beauty, her face was marred by her own blood as her strangely flat chest was rent open by Kakashi's hand. Truly a nightmare to say the least. Or so Naruto thought until he opened his eyes. The moment he did though, he saw the face of the girl he had witnessed. Standing there in a pink kimono of cherry blossoms, Naruto felt as though he'd been awakened by an angel. Sitting up, he couldn't help but be amazed by her beauty. That was until the girl informed Naruto that she was not actually a girl, but indeed a boy. At that moment, everything made complete sense. the outfit the girl was wearing, the flat chest of someone that age. The girl was never a girl, but a boy with an affeminite face, and at the current moment, effeminite clothing. It was a strange feeling he got when he realized this, feeling a sense of betrayal in his heart by his own emotions for taking him down an awkward and path. But quickly, that feeling faded into the same uncanny feeling as before. When he witnessed the future play out before his eyes in the present, Naruto reached out and gripped Haku's arm. Haku was startled by this to the point of getting ready to reach for Akunai. This rarely happened to Haku, but on the rare occasion that it did, he was not above freezing solid the blood of anyone who harmed him. Yet, for some reason, he didn't do this to Naruto. Maybe because looking into Naruto's eyes, he didn't see a threat, but fear. Concern. "Let me go, please," Haku said in a threatening tone. "Please, you need to listen to me. I just saw something terrible," he said, tears welling up in his eyes. This caught Haku's attention and his heart was stirred toward compassion. That older brother nature in Haku had awakened. "What's wrong? Did someone hurt you?" he asked, having seen the same look on his own face in the past, particularly after he was forced to watch his mother die. I had a dream, and in the dream, I saw a rabbit, white and strong. It ran with dogs, and in the chaos and conflict between two waring wolves, it was pierced by an arrow not meant for him. Haku was understanding. Haku had always been compared to a rabbit by others. After all, his affiliation with Snow release and his generally kind disposition uncommon among Shinobi in his position. Haku knew that he was speaking of him. But Naruto confirmed it. Haku, I saw you die in my dream. How do you know my name? I saw you standing on the end of a Chidori meant for your master, Zabuzza. Haku gripped a Senbon, ready to plunge it in and through Naruto's eye. He let out a breath that seemed to sap all warmth from the air, visible due to the cool nature of it among the morning's temperature. But something stopped Haku. Looking into Naruto's eyes again, he saw nothing but pain and fear, as though a man were watching two trains colliding, unable to do anything in time. If I am your enemy, then why do you care? Because I I don't want to be enemies. And even if you are my enemy, you deserve to be loved, same as anyone else. Haku was astonished by the boy's declaration. Pulling away, he stood. Unsure what to believe at this point, he simply went his own way. He stopped only for a moment. If you're not willing to do what's required, then do not show up on that bridge. But of course, Naruto did. Despite his tiredness, he showed up on that bridge with his team bright and early. And due to being close to Sasuke while on the bridge, both Naruto and Sasuke were caught by Haku's attack. "Haku, wait!" Naruto shouted as he and Sasuke attempted and mostly failed to dodge the Senbon. I already told you Naruto. If you aren't prepared to do the hard things, then you shouldn't come to the bridge. And you're ready to do the hard things? Naruto asked. Sasuke at this moment was confused. Did Naruto know this person? Haku spoke. I am. Whether I must kill or be killed for my master, I will do so with a smile. Master? So you're a slave to Zabaza? Naruto shouted. Suddenly, a Senbon struck Naruto in the leg, causing him to fall on his knee. Don't impugn the honor of my master. He's no slave driver. He's the only family I have left. Haku, in his anger, targeted Naruto with more Senbon, ready to kill, but Sasuke dove in the way and took them. Sasuke, falling back, was caught by Naruto. Naruto held him with fear in his eyes. Sasuke spoke. Naruto, get get your head in the game. If anything, this guy is right. If you're gonna be a shinobi, you got to make the hard choices. You gota Sasuke then seemed to go unconscious or worse. All of the anger building up inside, the sorrow, the stress from Sasuke's possible demise to Haku's refusal to listen to reason. Anger and frustration at the world and its systems toward fate and toward the ninja way boiled to the surface in the form of his ninetailes genturiki cloak. Bursting through the mirror's heat, Naruto gripped Haku tightly. Smashing his fist into Haku's face, he shattered the mask. Haku, sitting there in fear, was ready for Naruto to kill him. But Naruto didn't. I'm trying to save you, you idiot, Naruto said. And you're making it so very hard to do so. Naruto looked back when he heard Sakura crying. He looked back. What have you done? Haku looked up as to see Zabuzza, who was fighting Kakashi. He could tell Zabuza was on his last legs. His body was covered in ninken, weighted down, incapacitated from his wounds. He was 3 in away from Kakashi's fatality. He could almost hear the announcer's shout, "Finish him!" "Let me up!" Haku shouted as he rolled over and began trying to crawl away. The hysterical strength he was displaying now almost seemed to be enough to overpower Naruto's initial ginger cloak. "However, Naruto got back on top and began restraining him." "Stop it! I'm trying to save your life. "You're destroying it!" Haku shouted. Naruto looked up. Kakashi, wait. Don't kill. He then saw that Zabuzza had already been pierced by the Chidori and was now falling back. Haku managed to break free and rushed over to Zabuzza. Master, he shouted. Zabaza looked at Haku. Quit calling me that, you welp, Zabaza said. You're free. I don't want to be free, Haku said. I wanted to die for you. Zabaza let out a sigh mixed with a cough. I never asked you to do such a thing. You need to face the truth. My end has come before yours, just as I had always hoped. What? Haku asked with confusion? Zabaza continued. You're too kind for this world, Haku. The Shinobi world. All it does is kill and steal, and that's what I trained you to do. Then why did you take me in? Haku asked. Why? Zabaza looked at Haku. I saw you. After so many years of only ever destroying, I felt the urge, the desire to save something, to preserve it. And what thing could be more important to preserve than the innocence of a child? I have seen what happens when that's stolen away from a child. I could not let you lose yours. Then why did you train me to kill? I trained you to survive, Zabaza said. And you maintained your innocence. Your heart, you remained kind. A white rabbit soaked in blood, its coat remaining unblenmished. But now it's time to let go. He said, "It's time to let go of this life. Time to let go of me. I've fulfilled my duty with you, and now I'm confident that you can survive. How can I survive without you? You're the only real father I've ever known. Zabaza coughed and felt as though his end was near. It is the job of a father to prepare his child for the day he'll no longer be around. Why do you think they teach their children independence? That's what I taught you. It's time for you to recognize that I never wanted to be your master. I always wanted you to be your master, Sabuza. Tears streamed down Haku's face, freezing as they reached his chin. Zabaza then spoke. "What is it that you want, Haku?" "I don't know," he said. Zabaza offered a smile. "Yes, you do. I've seen what you write. I've heard what you ask for. It stands behind you. There are others like you, Haku. Be with them." Zabuzza then looked to Kakashi. "You better take care of him," he said. Kakashi offered a small nod. Zabaza looked back at Haku. "Your future is yours, Haku. Do with it many good things. Be better than me. Haku nodded, trying to force a smile. I promise. Zabuza then passed on. Thankfully, Sasuke was not actually killed, but merely entered a death-like sleep from which he could be awakened. Things had not ended the way that Naruto had hoped, but he had come to learn that the future he saw could be changed. And so long as he had a say in the matter, he could alter the future to be whatever it was he knew it needed to be. This ability was a gift and he planned to use it to steer the future toward the best he could possibly make it. The bridge was eventually completed. Gateto and his men did try to attack it on various occasions, but it was always properly defended by the Shinobi at top it. Eventually, Naruto and the others were allowed to return home to Konoha, and this time they had Into Haku of the Yuki clan. Upon returning to the village, they would tell the Hokag of everything that happened. And Hisin would offer Haku refuge. You see, Haku, despite being in the bingo book under the pseudonym rabbit, was never truly identified by anything more than his usage of ice release. His hunter nin mask and his connection with Zabaza. And now that he was free of two of those three things, identifying him as the rabbit would be next to impossible, so long as he didn't identify himself as such to anyone who may be searching. Haku would begin to grow a deeper bond with the people of the village of the leaves, to which he would pledge his allegiance. he would be allowed to join team Kakashi as it had been Zabaza's dying wish. Despite the fact that it was highly irregular for a three-man team to become a four-man team, it only seemed right. Haku, despite his skills, had never been actually considered an official shinobi, as his only training and certification came from a rogue shinobi. Due to this, Haku could only be granted the rank of genine. However, hope was not lost for Haku to become something greater, as the tuning exams were scheduled to happen. But during this time, Naruto has another dream. He sees in this dream that he along with the rest of team 7 through their experiences in the land of waves as well as the skill of Haku would be allowed to take the tuning exams. But during the course of this, he witnesses a man with a pale face and a snake- like air about him attacking the village. He sees him taking the form of the Kazak and then witnesses a body in the desert among the stones. the real Kazak would be killed and this would lead to a war breaking out in Konoha during the tuning exams. A surprise attack that during the course of it would result in the death of Hirozen. Naruto was sure to let the Hokag know. After Naruto told Hirzin these things, Hiazen would let him leave. However, he would call Kakashi into his office and ask him to speak honestly. Do you believe that Naruto is telling the truth? Kakashi would stand silent for a moment, contemplating everything. I don't know how or why, but I have been watching him. Nobody has come or gone during his sleep. I even recruited Eninoi Yamanaka to perform sensory type duties while around Naruto, and he detected no trace of anything suspicious from unknown persons to transmitted chakra signals. There's no genjutsu, njutsu, or anything of the sort. It seems possible that Naruto has somehow attained the ability to glimpse the future with great detail. He told me he also dreamed about Haku as well to which Sasuke can attest. Naruto seemed to have prior knowledge despite no evidence being present that Naruto had known Haku before this dream. Naruto possesses the ability to sense the future. But if you look at this objectively, you might ask yourself how he knows who Orochimaru is without having ever witnessed, seen, or heard about him. He also somehow knew that the only Kag attending the tuning exams besides you is the Kazak. I don't know if we've even released that information yet, let alone if Naruto has heard it. I feel as though if Naruto says something's going to happen that we learn to trust his intuition because the way I see it, Naruto is very likely correct in this situation and we need to begin investigating what he has said to us to validate everything. Here nodded in acknowledgement. I trust your judgment, Kakashi. I will do as you say, but first you need to know what's at stake here. If during the tuning exams I arrest Rasa and somehow Naruto is wrong, this could cause an international incident. Something that will be very hard to get out of and could possibly lead to war, a world war in the worst case scenario. I need you to promise me that you truly believe this will come to pass. Kakashi sat there and balanced everything in his mind. He understood the skepticism of Hirozen and even himself felt fear due to the possibilities that arise from such information. However, Kakashi trusted Naruto and knew that his dreams had a meaning and were important to the village's future, whatever it may be. I trust Naruto, sir, Kakashi said. And if you ask if I would trust him and do as he asked if I were Hokag, the answer is yes. He's given me no reason to doubt him. Here isn't looked down. Okay, we will work on this. We'll send a group of shinobi toward an area that Naruto is most likely talking about, and we will determine if Rasa is first dead. That will at least give me peace of mind before I arrest the Kazak. Kakashi nodded. Understandable. After this, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Haku signed up for the tuning exams. During the beginning stage, they're forced to take a test. For the most part, everything remains the same for the written test, save the inclusion of Haku. Besides Sakura, the smartest person on Team 7 right now would be Haku himself, who edges out even Sasuke with his studies. The reason being that he wasn't just the student of an Anbu member, but the student of one of the strongest Chinobi to ever walk out of Kirigak. Haku was trained to the bone to become a weapon worthy of surviving in a world as bleak as this. But physical training wasn't the only training he'd ever accomplished. And among the many different types of training he did, there was studies. Anywhere between history to chakra theory and any other schools of thought that would make him a deadly assassin. Due to his need for accuracy with Senbon, he would be well acquainted with mathematics and geometry, something Zabuzza never particularly pushed. But Haku, through his own dedication, pursued anyway. Despite his intelligence, he knew this test seemed to go well beyond what was required for Aunin. These were questions that would have been tough even for Zabuzza. But thankfully, among the many things Zabuzza had taught Haku was to think outside of the box and not to feel beholden to unfair rules in the imperfect system of Shinobi. So, what was Haku's only recourse? To cheat, of course. In fact, whether it was desired by the test or not, Haku had turned cheating into a part of the test. He knew that if he could get away with stealing the answers he needed, he would definitely be tuning in material, as it was very important to being a shinobi, to be able to discreetly collect data without anyone knowing. And so, for this, he began to coat the ceiling with a very thin layer of ice. In fact, it was transparent. So much so that nobody would notice at all. Despite that, he made it compatible with his demon mirroring ice crystals technique, to which he was able to see through the mirror to the ground below and check out the collective answers of everyone nearby. Utilizing a theory he had learned called wisdom of the crowd, he began to average out all the answers to find what he assumed would be the most logical answer of them all. By the end, he had filled his paper with the most likely answers based on the averages between offsetting answers by those within the crowd. He was sure he was correct, or at least close enough to achieve a passing grade. However, that was until he heard of the final question, which would make or break his whole career. Haku knew that if he took this question, there was no turning back, and that he would either succeed and move on to the next round or fail the test and lose the ability to become a tunin forever. Despite these things, he decided to take the question anyway, certain that he'd be able to average out the answer the same way he had before. But by accepting it, Haku would actually pass, as would the rest of his team, much to his delight. Moving on, they entered the forest of death. In this forest, Naruto and the others would attempt to get the scroll they required. It was here that Naruto began to sense that something in his dream was approaching. As if he had spider sense going off, something warned him of imminent danger. He jumped out of the way just quickly enough to avoid being swallowed by a massive snake. It was here that Orochimaru would make his first appearance. The person from Naruto's dreams. While most were frozen, though, Haku was able to move. He'd become accustomed to the killing intent of rogue shinobi and even had his own to counter, though rarely used. However, he unleashed it here to push back against Orochi Marus, hoping it would provide hope to the others that they could and would survive the ordeal. This is exactly what happened. And despite their fear, they could now move. Orochimaru did his best to keep pouring on the fear, but with Haku there, who was already bordering on Jonian levels, there was a bit more security. That being said, if you think Haku is stronger than Orochi Maru, you'd probably be dreaming. As Orochi Maru attempted to brand Sasuke with the curse mark of heaven, though, Haku would knock him aside and take it on himself. Orochimaru, knowing he had failed, retreated, hoping to recruit Sasuke another day. Haku was out cold for quite some time, but when he finally woke up, they proceeded to continue their mission in hopes of completing the test. Working together, they took a scroll from a rival team and made their way to the center of the forest. Once they arrived, they were congratulated by Erica for their hard work. Haku would be checked out over the curse marks awakening. They knew that they didn't have enough time to seal it, but Haku told them that they didn't have to. Haku had enough experience and control to not fall prey to it, even though it could serve him a purpose later. This idea scared most who heard it. After all, who would think that they could use Orochimaru's power? After this, it was discovered that Naruto's dream was correct. Rasa had been murdered. When this was reported back to Hirozen, he charged those onbu agents not to tell a single soul. Nobody could know that Rosa was dead until they were ready to move for fear that it might disrupt plans to successfully capture Orochimaru. When the third round came, they were informed it would be split into two parts with a month-long break in between. Most of the people in the first round have the same or similar fights except for Haku. Haku would actually go on to face Gar. This was a match to behold. Despite his speed and power being below rock leaves, Haku was far from defenseless. He was quick enough to dodge Gar's sand. And during this, he threw his sandbon to prodar's defenses. He came to realize that the entirety of Gar's power was from a single gimmick, that being magnet release and the movement of his sand. If he wished to hurt Gar, he needed to subdue that magnet release. That's when Haku came up with an idea. He began to utilize his ice release kekai to quickly lower the temperature. Mixing it with his water release, he managed to freeze the sand solid, ensuring that it could no longer be manipulated. Attacking Gar, he came to realize that Gar had protected himself with sand, forming armor that was hard to break through. But that was okay. He didn't have to. The reason being that if Gar had coated himself with sand, he wouldn't be protected from the freezing power of Haku's ice release. Due to Haku's abilities, he managed to freeze Gar solid. Gar, however, would release his tailed beast in a desperate attempt to get revenge. And due to this, Haku would end up using his curse mark to increase the potency of his technique. The fact that Gar was inside of a building while trying to do this meant that he had to take a smaller form. For Haku, though, Haku had taken a stronger transformation, which increased his power many times. He managed to freeze all of Shukaku for a little bit until more experienced Shinobi got involved and brought Gar down. This was considered a credit for Haku. Despite using the curse mark, which he was not supposed to use, they had already ruled that the match was over. Meaning what happened after with Shukaku was Haku defending Konoha from a possible threat. With the month off and with the early attack on the tuning exams, Hisen would move quickly and apprehend Rasa the moment he showed up to claim Gar, revealing Rasa to actually be Orochi Maru. Gar for reasons of national security would be sent back to Sununaakur while Arochimaru would be imprisoned. During the month off though, Naruto has two dreams. The first is that he would meet a man who would become an indispensable teacher in the future. And the second is that Arochimaru would escape due to the eventual appearance of the sound 4 plus Kimaru. His first dream is received and comes to pass quite quickly with Naruto taking up Jeriah as his master and he starts by learning the technique he saw in his dream. the Rasengon. Jeriah wanted to start somewhere else, that being Ninetales training. But under the insistence of Naruto that he wanted to learn the Rasengon, Jeriah takes the time to teach it to him anyway, believing that he and Naruto will have plenty enough time to learn anything else later. But after this, Naruto witnesses another dream that comes to pass just as quickly. His dream about Orochimaru being broken free and the start of the event actually happen only within a couple of hours of each other. Naruto by this time has only had enough time to tell and prepare his own team, so they go in alone. He explains that in his dream, he saw a white-haired boy and four others attacking the prison holding Orochimaru and further states that he witnesses Kabuto trying to break Orochimaru free during the skirmish. Team 7 goes about trying to stop these things from happening with Naruto opting to face Kabuto since he's the only one who really knows where he'll be located. Haku opts to take on Kimaru. Sakura opts to take Tayuya. Jeriah takes Jerobo and Kidamaru. And Kakashi is set to take Sakon and Ukon alongside Sasuke. Frankly speaking, the battle between Kakashi and his targets and Jeriah and his are not hard battles, and they're over rather quickly. But the other battles are a lot closer than they seem. Haku intercepts Kimaru. As Haku reaches Kimaru, he speaks. Your devotion to your master is honorable. Kimaru's eyes narrow slightly as he looks around for the voice. Who is speaking currently? He then spots a shadow with his eyes watching from a perch just above. Just someone who understands devotion. Someone who knows what it is to love and lose a master. Then surely you know the lengths to which I will go to bring him back. I do. Even until death. You serve the one who cared for you. Cared for is a bit of a stretch. I serve a purpose to Orochimaru, which is why he kept me around. But that's just the thing. He gave you a purpose, Haku said, finishing what Kimaru would say next. To say Haku related to Kimaru was an understatement. In fact, Haku knew exactly what he felt. In a way, Haku had come to understand a lot about himself, about Zabuza, about the world and the people in it. You know, I once had someone special. For a time, he used me to his own benefit. But deep down, I know he really loved me. Whether this is true between Yu or Roimaru, I do not know. What I do know is that Zabuzza had me do a lot of things I otherwise would not have. But I did them to please him because I was so so starved for love that my moral compass made compromises just to feel appreciated, needed, cared about. There is another path, Kimaru. I know right now it seems like you'll never survive without Orochimaru, but I can promise you that you'll survive. You just need to let go and embrace the path of kindness set before you. Kimaru stood there silently for a moment, just looking up at Haku. I'm sure you do understand some aspects of me, but you do not know all of me. I will not survive with or without Orochimaru. So there's no point in me resisting his orders. He gave me purpose, and that purpose is all that has kept me alive so far. I will not stop until my master's free. If you wish to stop me, you'll have to kill me." Haku took a deep breath and let out a sigh. Did it have to be this way? Kimaru was silent for a moment, either for a dramatic effect or perhaps because he truly didn't know, but he finally did speak. I don't know. Maybe in some world where my circumstances were different, maybe I would have listened to you. But as it stands, time is of the essence for all of us, and I have little time to waste in a conversation with you, if you'll forgive my rudeness. Your urgency does not seem warranted, but I'll take your word for it. It seems I may have misjudged you. There's something deeper binding you to this course. I wish I could help you cast it off, but if this is the path you wish to walk, then I must walk contrary to you. I hope you understand. Kimaru formed a bone blade in his hand. Unfortunately, I do. From there, they launched into battle. Sakura had come upon Tayuya. Tayuya was one of the sound four sent in to try and get around to free Orochimaru. Really? They sent one little girl to slow me down? She asked with a scoff. This was meant by Sakura, who said, "Funny you should say that, because to me, it looks strange that they would send one little girl to rescue someone as important as a Rochimaru. Though, by looking at you, it's hard to tell if you really are a girl." Tuya's face began to grow red. Trash, she said. more interested in looking pretty than being efficient. How do you expect to hide when you don't cover that brightly covered hair? Is that why you hide yours? Or is it that you just realize it's butt ugly? Toyo was getting fed up with this. What should I expect from a hoidy toy little brat? You probably grew up in a wellto-do family without having to struggle for anything. Makes you weak. Sakura popped her knuckles. And I suppose you grew up in a gutter somewhere without any real training or anything. Hard to get stronger when all you do is scrunch for scraps at the food of an egotistical maniac whose only desire is to use you for his own benefit. Or did you not know that Arochimaru is a total bastard? Wow, pathetic and stupid. Tayya had reached her breaking point. She jumped down to strike out at Sakura. Self-important snobby trashy trollup. "Oh, look. It has a vocabulary," Sakura said as her kunai caught Toya's. Toya jumped back and let out a slight giggle as she spoke. "You freaked up now, Hex." Tayuya pulled out her flute. I'm going to ensure you suffer the worst possible fate I can think of. She let out a cacophony of sounds. At that moment, the world around Sakura began to melt away as she found herself tied, hanging by a rope by her arms in a dark room with a very dim light. It's then that Toya pulled something out. As a girl of fashion, I'm sure you know what this is. It looked like a perfume bottle. "What's this supposed to be? Death by overpowering perfume?" "No, this is something special," she said. She spritzed it on Sakura. "Smells like peanut butter," Sakura said. She was doused in it. "Okay, I smell like peanut butter. I'm hardly in pain." Toya turned on another light that showed a cave. The color faded from Sakura's face. "Oh, now she's nervous," Toya said with a smile. "I know this one sucks. I've seen it happen before." "You're not really going to open that, are you?" Sakura asked. Toya smiled as she opened the cage. The masses of rats flocked out towards Sakura. In but a moment, she was covered by them as they noded into her. Sakura screamed so much to the delight of Tayuya. "It tickles!" she shouted. Tayuya opened her eyes. "Tickles! It's supposed to be agonizing. You're being eaten alive by rats." She then noticed the rats crawling up Sakura's arms, gnawing at the ropes, causing Sakura to drop to the ground. "Impossible! That's not how this is supposed to go." Sakura scoffed a bit before commanding the rats behind her to form up. "It was your mistake to put me under Genjutsu. I've been practicing with these and I know my way to get out of them. You see, it's all just a trick of the mind. But the flaw of a genjutsu is that you're now in my mind, not the other way around. Like a dream, you can't convince my mind that something is happening to me, but you can't stop me from controlling my own dreams. I see. Lucid dreaming techniques work wonders for Genjutsu. She said, "Let's hope you know how to do the same." Sakura pointed forward. The rats raced toward Tayya. Soon, she was covered by her own rats. She screamed in pain as her own Genjutsu was turned against her. Back in reality, though, Toya stood there, mouth wide open, drooling, her eyes displaying only fear and terror. Sakura, having long since awakened, walked over to Toya. She gripped her chin and moved it into position. She soon stepped back and put her hands together as if she were checking the scene, measuring it for a shot in a movie. Touching her fist toya's jaw, she gave a few practice shots that all stopped short. Pleased with the angle and the positioning of her attack, she pulled her hand back as far as it would go. She then threw her entire body into the swing, striking Toyoya so hard that had her jaw not been covered in muscles and skin, it would have just flown off. Toya was sent spiraling through the air before landing on her back where she laid silent. It was at about this time that Kakashi and Sasuke appeared. Kakashi carrying Sakon and Ukon on his shoulders. Oh wow, you already took care of her. Sakura blew on her bloody knuckles to ease the pain before dusting off the palms of her hands. "Easy peasy." She thought Genjutsu was a good idea. It wasn't. Naruto stood outside the door when suddenly from the shadows came Kabuto. "Nar, what are you doing here?" he asked. "What are you doing here?" Naruto shot back. Kabuto looked around. "I was assigned as part of my medical n training to keep track of the prisoners here. Quite a few of them possess heavy wounds and Konoha thought it best to put a noob in the prison. At least if I screw up, it at least costs them only a criminal who's already wanted dead. Naruto took a moment to take a deep breath. I looked at the roster for who's supposed to be working these shifts. You're not on it. Neither are you. Mistakes happen, Kabato said. Naruto looked down for a moment and bit his bottom lip before looking up. What did you come here to do? Kabuto. Kabuto spoke. I came to keep track of the medical care of the prisoners. Cut the crap, Naruto said. I'm not an idiot, Kabato. I know exactly why you're here. You're here to set Orochi Maru free. You're delusional," Kabuto said. Naruto shook his head. "No, I know everything there is to know about you. The things nobody else does. I know that you're Orochimaru's lackey. How you and he run experiments together. How you're the sue chef in Orochimaru's kitchen of death. There's no denying it and no getting around it. There's nothing you can say to change my mind. I already know. It's too late for lies." Kabuto looked down with a sigh before smiling. Naruto spoke again. "What happened to you? I thought you were a good guy, but deep down under the smile and the helpful attitude, you were always hiding this. Kabuto stared at Naruto, his smile growing wider. You truly don't understand the shinobi world. Deception is a part of the mission. You do anything required to gain the trust of the enemy, and then you betray that trust for your own benefit. This is the way the shinobi world works. You think that you have any right to be angry at me. It's what the world does. The only difference is when you do it, you're a hero. When I do it, it's not for a bunch of genocidal maniacs who experiment on children. Are you sure about that? Kabuto asked. You'd be very surprised to see who's on Orochimaru's client list. Naruto tightened his fist. Kabuto sighed. But you're right. The time for words has come to an end. There's nothing I can say to change your mind, and there's nothing you can say to change mine, he said. Kabuto pulled from somewhere a sharpened scalpel. It looks like the doctor is in. Naruto spits into the corner. If that was your attempt to make yourself sound cool, it failed. Kimaru and Haku were exchanging blows with their weapons. Kimaru's bone dagger would come in for a strike only to be caught by Haku Senbon. They seemed evenly matched. "You're pretty strong," Kimaru said. "I haven't had a fight like this in a long time." "Not since my clan fell." "Your clan?" Haku asked. Kimaru nodded. "My clan was the Kagaya clan. I watched them fall that day. Despite how badly they treated me, they gave me a purpose to the point that I would have followed them to their deaths had it not been for that Jonian and that boy. What Jonian and boy? Haku asked. There was a Jonian from Kitty with a very big sword. I asked him if he was a Kitty Nin, and he said no. I suspect he was lying. But had he said yes, I doubt I'd be here now. When I saw that boy though, I didn't think twice about it. But I came to realize that he was the helper of that ninja. He had a purpose, and that's what I was missing. Haku thought back and realized that he had already met Kimaru once on the road out of Kitty. Had their paths been set like this for so long. No matter, Kimaru said. I've grown tired of this. Suddenly, his curse mark began to spread like a crisscross pattern over his body. The opening stage of his curse mark of Earth. Haku could tell there was a spike in his chakra. Haku stood there. "Are you really going to make me kill you?" Haku asked. "Bold of you to assume you can?" Kimaru said. Slowly, the curse mark of heaven began to spread over Haku's body. "I can." Kimaru looked at Haku with curiosity. "Has Lord Orochimaru chosen you as his next vessel?" "No," Haku said. Once more, they clashed. Haku weaved hand signs. Ice release certain kill ice spears. From below them both, pointed pillars of ice arose in an attempt to kill Kimaru. But Kimaru with his agility jumped from spike to spike as bones began to protrude from various parts of his body. He parried most of the attacks, but considering how many protrusions there were, it was impossible for Haku to dodge them all, and he did receive quite a few wounds. Kimaru would kick Haku back. You may possess the power of the curse mark from my master, but you have yet to master it. There's so much more to it than what you know. Kimaru proceeded to enter the second stage, something Haku had no clue even existed. Naruto and Kabuto's blades clashed as they pushed away from each other. They circled around each other for a moment before rushing back in for another strike. Naruto caught it with his blade and it was at this time that Kabuto revealed a second scalpel. He reached forward with it and cut Naruto's arm. Naruto reeled back. Despite there being no visible wounds on his arm, he could feel a burn in there. I just severed the chakra pathway system to your arm. Good luck moving it now. Naruto looked at it for a moment before throwing his kunai at Kabato. Kabuto dodged. Naruto would form a reengon rather quickly before rushing forward and smashing it right into the side of Kabuto's head. The concussive force mixed with the internal damage the reenon tended to do practically obliterated Kabuto's brain, killing him before he even hit the ground. As Kabato laid there, Naruto fell to his knees. It was then that the others showed up. Sakura and Sasuke along with Kakashi and Jeriah. They had Sakon, Ukon, Jio, Kidamaru, and Tayya in tow. "Did we do it? Did we stop them from rescuing Orochimaru?" Naruto asked. Almost, Kakashi said. But we need to see if Haku has stopped his opponent yet. Kimaru stood there. Before him was Haku, hunched and wounded. Blood was dripping down. You know, I can sense from here that most of my friends are either wounded or dead, Kimaru said. If they are alive, I will rescue them. And if they're dead, I will avenge them. I will kill whoever did this to them, and I will free Orochimaru as well. This is just the hand you've been dealt. If it's true that we met one other time, then our fates have been crossed ever since. We were faded to both die. Either together or apart, our fates are intertwined. Some things cannot be avoided. Some fates simply want to happen. Your fate was decided long ago. And it was decided that you should die. And now I will be the hand of fate. I will complete my mission and then pass away in peace. Haku fell to his knees. He thought about his friends and everyone he had now. Everyone he had grown to love. The new Konoha headband on his forehead had proven he was a shinobi of Konoha. Now, this place had given him a home, and he owed them all his life. How could he fall here? Get up, he heard a voice say. Did I teach you to falter like this? Did I teach you to cower in the face of superior might? Master, Haku asked. I taught you to fight to the end. If death is your fate, then accept it and die, but not before you make him pay the toll. Take your pound of flesh first. Give him everything you've got. Absolutely everything. If that's not enough, then it's not enough. But it's better to try and die with honor than to cower in defeat and die dishonorably. Remember how I died. When I died, the demon of the mist didn't perish with me. That title is passed on to you, Haku. Show him your true power. Show him who the demon of the mist is. Slowly, the markings across Haku's body began to spread further as his chakra reserves began to grow deeper. Somehow, Haku had tapped into his second stage. As his skin turned a dark brown, a pair of fleshy wings appeared from his back. As horns grew at a top his head, Kimaru had awakened the demon of the mist. And now it was going to tear him apart. Kimaru formed more bone spikes across his body, but in return, Haku selectively froze parts of his body by freezing the air around them, managing to create armor and weapons from ice without negatively affecting the cells in his body. As they continued to fight, their power was on par with each other. But much like during his battle with Gar, Haku would utilize his ice release to eject a substance not too different from liquid nitrogen. This dowsed Kimaru and froze him in place, forming an ice hammer, Haku struck Kimaru, causing him to shatter to pieces. Naruto and the others managed to catch up just as the battle was coming to an end. There they saw Haku standing, his form not too unlike a demon. Slowly, it faded as he turned around and looked to the others. He offered a smile as his wounds began to bleed. He fell to the ground. In the time after this, Naruto and Haku would both be admitted to the hospital. Thankfully, they'd both be okay. But due to their injuries, they would not be able to continue in the tuning exams, leaving Sasuke as the last member of Team 7 still in the exams. He would have to face off against Rock Lee again, but Lee was still ahead of him by quite a bit, which meant that Lee won the match. The finals would be between Nei and Lee. In this battle, Guy told Lee it was okay to go all out, and so Lee removed his ankle weights. His speed and power had increased, but they only continued to shoot up higher and higher. Despite this, Neji managed to keep up with Lee, even into the fourth gate. But upon opening the fifth gate, Lee was able to make use of the hidden lotus, which even Nei and all of his Taiutsu prowess could not overcome. Lee drilled him into the ground, knocking Neji out cold. Lee was declared the victor and promoted to Chunin, all while Naruto and Jeriah would leave for some time to train. In doing so, Naruto would better learn to control the Ninetailes. It's during this time that Naruto had the craziest and biggest vision he ever had. In this vision, he sees a future, a barren wasteland where all life, even nature itself, is not spared. A dead world with a single stock rising to the heavens and an eye like the Shuringgon in place of the moon. He sees it start with the tailed beasts and views a man with a swirling mask, a creature as black as night, and a man bearing the renegon and orange hair. He sees a hidden cave and a village drenched in rain to which six terrifying figures exist. The dream is so terrifying that Naruto wakes up in the night drenched in sweat. In a panic, he tells Jeriah everything. Jeriah is amazed. In his journeys, he's seen many things. But of all the things he had seen, there were few that matched what Naruto predicted. "The place with the rain sounds like Amigon." Jariah said, "If you saw lavender ringed eyes, then it could be that you witnessed the renegon. So that means that my student Nagato might still be alive. There's a doubt, Naruto said. Jeriah nods. My student and two others formed a group known as the Akatsky, a peacekeeping group designed to safeguard the world from war. But if you saw them committing atrocities in a war, then something had gone wrong. The thing is, I'd heard my students had all died, killed by Hanzo of the Salamander. I can't explain it, Jeriah. But I know what I saw. Jeriah nodded. And as for that other place, a mountainous region where the remains of many a massive beast can be seen. sounds almost like a place that I visited with Gamabunta one time. He called it the mountains graveyard and said that it was a place where many great summons had chosen as their final resting place. It's a peaceful place out of the way. Ironically, one of the better places to hide. Are you sure this is where you saw it, Naruto? Naruto nodded. Three people seem to be behind the destruction of our world. Those people are a man with a swirling mask, a man with a renegon, and a man who possesses a completely black form. They're really strong. Jeriah thinks about it. If they're so strong, then we need to double down on our training. You know how you've been having issues controlling the version two cloak? Naruto nodded. Yeah, what about it? It's because the Ninetailes is still in control of that chakra when you use it. If you want to progress, you may need to seize that power for yourself. Naruto understood, and so Naruto and Jeriah began training to help strengthen Naruto. Jeriah made it an urgent matter and had the Toad sages teach Naruto sage mode, which he mastered fairly quickly. Naruto from then on used this power in conjunction with Jeriah in an attempt to wrestle free the chakra of the Ninetailes while issuing a new type of seal. This succeeded leaving Naruto able to utilize his Ninetailes chakra cloak. With his training in this matter complete, Jeriah and Naruto decided to make their way to Amigakade in an attempt to discover who it was that was using Nagato's renegon without permission. They skulked about the village for quite some time, asking questions, but they were unaware that they were already found out. And as they moved about seeking more information on what they'd been promised, they fell into a trap. There they were met with these six paths of pain. One of which Jeriah could easily identify as Yahiko. But the question was, how did Yahiko get a hold of Nagato's renegon? And how did he find five other pairs to transplant to others as well? These were the questions indeed, but the answers they had would not be given to them. Not for quite some time. It would be something Naruto and Jeriah would have to survive if they wanted to find out. But considering that Naruto now had access to his chakrac as well as sage mode, this increased his efficiency quite a bit. So as Jeriah was throwing hands with three of the six, generally using his speed and the nearby tunnels to hide in the darkness, Naruto was going toe-to-toe with the remaining three paths. As Jeriah fled through the pipes and sewers under the city, he was glad Naruto was here with him. Without Naruto here, I'd be dead right now. These guys are ridiculously strong, but I don't think they're completely indestructible. Jeriah would summon Fukasaku and Shima. He would proceed to buy them time while they prepared their throats for the genjutsu they were going to cast. All the while, Naruto faced off against D.A. Naraka, and Prada. The Prada and Narakapaths attempted to attack Naruto at the same time, but Naruto displays his strength he took from Kurama on top of his sage mode powers. This allows him to catch the kicks that came down at him. Peace has a cost. It's quite noble of you to resist and attempt to do things in your own idyllic way, but the world is not a picture book. It's not a place where you can decide what colors go where with your crayons. Not yet, at least. The only way peace will come about is if people universally choose it, and if they refuse to choose it, they will be made to choose it. Naruto could not argue that this plan had merit. It likely would work. But what kind of world would it build then? A peace built on negative emotions was harder to maintain than one built on positive. And even though peace was distant, it was not impossible. With a swift kick to the predipath's knee, he knocked it sideways before proceeding to put a resenon through the Naraka's chest, destroying it. He would quickly dispose of the pedipath as well before it could recover. He then went after div.a who was already taking evasive maneuvers. Was D.Va scared of Naruto? Well, it depends on how interchangeable the word scared could be with the word cautious. D.Va did not underestimate Naruto, nor did it underestimate itself. Forming two black receivers in its hand to use as weapons, it went about striking at Naruto, who defended with his kunai and a reengon. The D.VA path was no fool. It knew what the full power of the Rasengon was, and so it worked to bat the Rasengon out of Naruto's hand. Naruto managed to disarm one of the D.VA paths hands, knocking away its receiver. He then got dangerously close to planting the Rasengon into its ribs. He could have, too, had the D.Va path not utilized Shinra Tensei to knock Naruto back. D.A. began to calculate its next moves. It considered a Chibbaku Tensei next, but found itself unable to, as doing so would devastate the village. Payne may have been a cold man, but he also remembered this place as where he once lived with his friends and where he had witnessed the distress of others like him. He respected their struggle. They knew pain. He would not force anymore upon them. So, he opted not to use that. He would just have to find a way to beat Naruto without it. Jeriah kept to the darkness as Shima and Fukasaku continued preparing their voices for the genjutsu. This was a dangerous time for him. Ashura, animal, and the human paths were nearby, and the course of preparing the throats of his two toad companions meant that they had to make continual noise as to warm up and tune their voices to the fine point they needed. As the three paths came closer, Ashura would release a rocket barrage. Jeriah would rush down a side pipe to escape, but found the missiles turned in the same direction as him. These missiles were heat-seeking, it seemed. Jeriah had one idea, though, something he hoped would work. He would form a resengon and spew fire release, forming his fire release great flame resengon. As he continued running, he reached another intersection. He threw the flaming reengon down the other direction. As he ran opposite, the missiles turned and chased after the Rasengon, exploding. The sound was intense, but it just so happened to be at that point that Shima and Fukasaku had finished warming up. The Genjutsu was ready. Jeriah hid in the darkness as the six paths came around the corner to investigate. It was then that Jeriah had Shima and Fukasaku cast the Genjutsu which caught the three off guard. With that, they went down. Jeriah then proceeded to execute each one while they were down. With these three out of commission, he knew Naruto might need his help. Running back the way he came, he came around the corner to find Naruto fighting the final path. D.Va was beginning to gain the advantage by keeping his distance and attacking from afar, something Naruto had yet to counter. But now Jeriah was here and he had the element of surprise. Jeriah would then go about forming a gun and waiting for the perfect moment. When Pain had hopped away, he saw that he was between him and Naruto almost perfect. Jeriah ran from behind and planted his reengon right into the back of the div.va path, which knocked him forward into Naruto's reengon, which he planted in his face. Naruto looked down at the div.a path. This is a shame. I really expected more out of Yiko. I don't know if this really was Yahiko, Naruto said. What do you mean? Sharia asked. Well, in the course of my battle with him, I grabbed one of his black rods. I felt something strange. I knew the location of all those other guys, and I sensed that they all had the same chakra signature. Same as this guy, but more so this guy's chakra was coming from somewhere else. Where? Jeriah asked. Naruto pointed to the nearby tower. And so they went about infiltrating it. Making it to the top, they found the true body of pain, the decrepit body of Nagato. By his side was Conan. This both startled and destroyed Jeriah down to the heart. Seeing the boy he helped raise so messed up. Nagato, what happened from here? Payne began to explain what had happened to him, how his personal views had shifted and evolved based on what the world had done to him. Jeriah countered though that this was not what he meant when he said they could achieve peace. The peace you speak of is impossible. No, it's not, Jeriah said. It's closer than you think. The issue is we have to fight for it. What do you think I'm doing? Nagato asked. I don't mean like that. Peace formed through bonds is far greater than peace through terror. Peace through terror is the only way. It's not, Naruto said. I know you don't know who I am, but I knew you were here, Nagato. I had a dream about you. You and your six puppets, Naruto said. Nagato looked at Jeriah, who nodded. Naruto continued. I don't know how or why, but I've been given a wonderful gift. The gift of foresight. I can see the future before it occurs. The path you're walking now, I see the end of it. A deserted wasteland. An empty world where there's no more life upon it. But I saw another future. One where we stop this threat before it comes to pass. a future with true lasting peace. Jeriah then spoke. "Remember all those years ago when I told you that the toad sage had a prophecy, a dream that someone would bring the world peace and I said it was you?" Nagato nodded. "Did you not believe that?" Jeriah asked. "Do you believe that I or the Toad sage are wrong?" Nagato shook his head. "I believed it. It's why I continued down this path at all." "Then listen to Naruto," Jariah said. "Peace is possible, but if it occurs, it's based solely upon the decision you make right here, right now. You can choose to continue your current path and either you'll die or we'll die and the end result will be the end of the world. But if you choose to join us, it'll see the world brought to peace. What do you choose? The mountains graveyard was where Obito and Zetsu spent most of their time in preparation for the war. The fourth Shinobi World War. The war where the last of the impossible tailed beasts were drawn out to battle. There, Obito would awaken the Tentales and finish the plan Moa had started. But he would craft the world into the image he saw, not Moa's. He would need to do something about Black Zetsu, though. As he thought on these things, he sat upon his throne. That is when he saw six shadows standing before him. Rising from his seat, he walked forward to see the six paths of pain approaching him. "Lord Pain, to what do I owe this honor?" he asked, beginning to wonder how Pain had found him. "There's a change in the plans?" Pain said. "Oh, what kind of change?" Obito asked. You are no longer in them. Payne's Diva Path raised his hand and released a Shinra Tensei with enough force to throw Obito back into his stone throne, destroying it. In the midst of the commotion, Black Zetsu appeared. Naruto, who had been hiding above, dropped down and planted a tailed beastfueled Rasengon right into him, evaporating him entirely. Obito managed to sit up. Seeing Black Zetsu gone wasn't exactly tragic to him, as he had planned to be rid of him eventually, but currently he had something bigger going on. Pain had gotten a big head. No matter, it would be easy for him to deal with Payne at a later time. But for now, he needed to get away and secure the Zetsu army before Pain and the Ninetailes Genturiki destroyed it all. He attempted to use Kamoi to get away, but Pain utilized his Bono Tenion to pull Obito toward him, back out of the portal he had formed. Pain formed a chakra receiver that he was planning to pierce him with. Obito saw it coming and used his kamoi to phase through Pain. "Okay, it seems like I have to deal with you now." No matter, Obito said as he turned around and utilized the wood release he kept on reserve from his zetsu cells to pierce a hole straight through D.Va. Naruto came running at Obito to help. As he did, he noticed D.A.'s corpse was still holding the black receiver. Pain had used these to control his six paths. The question was, what all could Nagato control with them? Naruto picked it up. Obito was systematically destroying each of the six paths of pain. With D.Va already down, they were in disarray. They had lost their strongest fighter and now it was one man against five, not counting Naruto. Due to Obito's phasing ability, it was near impossible for him to be touched. The human path would, if it were serious, be able to scoop his soul clean out. But it failed to even touch him, let alone remove his spirit. But the one he wanted to take out right now was Naraka, as it was already moving toward D.A. using his wood release, he skewered Naraka, eliminating it as well. Predath attempted to absorb his jutsu, but the issue was there was nothing to absorb. Obito was currently in a different dimension and Prada could not affect him there. So Prada was the next to fall. Human fell after the remaining paths attempted to escape but Obito was on them in a second. The last path standing was animal and Obito cornered it. Right as he struck it down, Naruto struck out. Knowing Obito had to turn tangible if he wanted to strike someone. He pierced him with the black rod. despite it doing minimal damage to him due to his body being formed partially of Hashiama Sanenju's cells. Naruto sensed what had happened and utilized his own chakra to interfere with Obitos, ensuring he couldn't use his njutsu. Obito tried to use Kamoi to escape but found that so long as he was pinned to the wall by this, he couldn't. He struggled to get free of the rod, but was too slow. Naruto formed a big ball reenendon and pushed it into Obito, ending him there. With the battle won, Naruto knew he had avoided the greatest crisis he had ever witnessed. But now came the hard part, bringing about peace

Top 5 Anime to Watch in 2025 for Anime Lovers

Alright, anime lovers, let’s talk about the top anime you need to watch in 2025! As a fellow fan who’s spent countless hours binging series and geeking out over epic fights, I’ve put together a list of five must-watch anime that’ll hook you, whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned otaku. These picks span genres, vibes, and eras, so there’s something for everyone.

1. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

Why Watch It?
Demon Slayer is a cultural juggernaut, blending heart-wrenching storytelling with jaw-dropping animation from Ufotable. Follow Tanjiro Kamado, a kind-hearted teen turned demon slayer, as he fights to save his demonized sister Nezuko and avenge his family. The series is a masterclass in emotional stakes, with each arc (like the Infinity Castle arc in 2025’s movie trilogy) delivering tear-jerking moments and insane battles. The music by Yuki Kajiura? Pure goosebumps. Perfect for fans of action, tragedy, and sibling bonds.
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu (free with ads on Crunchyroll’s free tier). 2025 Buzz: The Infinity Castle movie trilogy is dropping, starting late 2025, so catch up on seasons 1–4 now!

2. Jujutsu Kaisen

Why Watch It?
If you love dark, stylish action with a side of snarky humor, Jujutsu Kaisen is your jam. Yuji Itadori, a high schooler, swallows a cursed finger (yep, you read that right) and becomes a vessel for the evil Sukuna, diving into a world of sorcerers and cursed spirits. MAPPA’s animation is straight-up gorgeous, and the characters—like Gojo Satoru, the coolest sensei ever—are unforgettable. The Shibuya Incident arc is a fan-favorite for its intensity.
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, HBO Max, Funimation (free with ads on Crunchyroll). 2025 Buzz: Season 3 is rumored for late 2025 or 2026, adapting the Culling Game arc. Get ready for chaos!

3. Attack on Titan

Why Watch It?
Attack on Titan is a masterpiece of storytelling and world-building. Eren Yeager and his friends fight for survival in a world where humanity hides behind walls from giant, man-eating Titans. The plot twists are wild, and the final season (split into parts) wrapped up in 2023, but it’s still a must-watch for its themes of freedom, sacrifice, and moral grayness. MAPPA’s animation in the later seasons is cinematic.
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Hulu, Tubi (free with ads). 2025 Buzz: Fans are still dissecting the ending on X, and it’s a great time to jump in for a marathon.

4. Your Lie in April

Why Watch It?
Need a break from action but still want to feel all the feels? Your Lie in April is a gorgeous music drama about Kosei Arima, a piano prodigy haunted by trauma, who finds inspiration through a vibrant violinist, Kaori. This anime is a love letter to music and healing, with stunning visuals and a soundtrack that’ll wreck you (in a good way). It’s perfect for fans of romance and emotional depth.
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Netflix, AnimeLab (free with ads on Crunchyroll). 2025 Buzz: It’s a timeless classic, and fans on X keep praising its emotional impact.

5. One Piece

Why Watch It?
One Piece is the king of shonen, with over 1,000 episodes and counting. Follow Monkey D. Luffy and his pirate crew chasing the One Piece treasure in a vibrant, emotional, and hilarious world. Eiichiro Oda’s story is a masterclass in world-building, and the Wano arc’s animation by Toei is straight fire. If the episode count scares you, try The One Piece, a 2025 remake with modern animation for a streamlined start.
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Netflix, Funimation (free with ads on Crunchyroll). 2025 Buzz: The One Piece remake is dropping late 2025, and the Egghead arc is keeping fans hyped.

Why These Anime?

These picks are a mix of modern hits (Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen), timeless epics (Attack on Titan, One Piece), and emotional gems (Your Lie in April). They’re trending on X for their impact, animation quality, and fan love. Whether you’re into heart-pounding action, deep feels, or sprawling adventures, these series deliver. Plus, they’re accessible on legal streaming sites like Crunchyroll and Tubi, with free tiers to avoid any piracy drama.

Another day another dream for somthing big 😊