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Gaah! Changing the all-caps words to italics, adding color font, and breaking the chapter into parts A and B is so hard to do on my phone! And my chrome app keeps crashing. So pesky...
That aside, I hope everyone is having a good new years! I hope your Christmases went well. Don't worry about presents, they're not really that important. I hope I can see my IRL freinds before Christmas break is over.
Moving on, there was some confusion last chapter. Despite my intro stating that it was the second-to-last flashback chapter, some mentioned they were glad to be getting back to the present-storyline. Rest assured, while this chapter concludes the flashback it also includes the present. I've finally gotten to this long-awaited point in the story. Merry Christmas and happy new year! And thank you for reading!
That aside, I hope everyone is having a good new years! I hope your Christmases went well. Don't worry about presents, they're not really that important. I hope I can see my IRL freinds before Christmas break is over.
Moving on, there was some confusion last chapter. Despite my intro stating that it was the second-to-last flashback chapter, some mentioned they were glad to be getting back to the present-storyline. Rest assured, while this chapter concludes the flashback it also includes the present. I've finally gotten to this long-awaited point in the story. Merry Christmas and happy new year! And thank you for reading!
Naruto Fanfic A Future Without You
Chapter 46: Uri's story part 5;Core, key, link, seal
SAKURA'S POV [HIDDEN LOCATION]
The first thing she noticed was the stiffness in her arms. They were secured to the wall at her conjoined palms, elbows, and the shoulder-ends of her upper arms. She felt a familiar numbness, and her skin stretched tight over her muscles as she stirred. She was covered in something dry, sticky, and crumbling that had obviously been liquid at one point.
The pain and stiffness didn't extend to her legs. Her knees were heavy but she could still move them.
She heard a cacophony of noises: groans, soft breathing, trinkling liquid, grunting, and some odd rustling, possibly a struggle. She smelled something metallic, and unmistakable. This room must have been covered in blood.
The scent jogged her memory: she'd been buried alive by the snow, until HE came and took her to a cavern. He spent precious time lighting a fire and wrapping her in a warm blanket. Yes, then he'd said something that made her heart stop.
He'd called her "Sakura-chan." Unknowingly, she'd been longing for it. Having amnesia caused him to call her without honorifics and treat her differently. When they were in that cavern he'd said her's and Sasuke's names as if he were referring to close freinds.
Maybe it was stupid, but she couldn't help the way her brain worked. She'd been around him for so long that she started to mentally note his traits.
She'd had a premonitionthat running out into that blizzard would be bad for him. But she'd lost conciousness. Soon she was being dragged out of bed and found herself fighting against... Someone. It seemed recent, but how long had she'd been trapped here?
Wait! The snow! The others!
Sasuke!
She inhaled sharply as her eyes snapped open. She noted the walls, floor, and cieling were cobbled. The only lights were the torches on the walls giving the room an eery antiquated look.
More importantly, everyone was in the same state. They were pinned to the wall by their arms, just like Sakura. Blood had poured from their wounds, painting the floor and drying over their skin.
Anna was concious, but seemed resigned to her fate. Yuuki, whom Sakura had once compared to Tsunade, was weak from blood loss and sleep deprivation.
Hinata, unlike the former, was streigning herself. The sight of her trying to tear one of the metal stakes out of her left arm with her teeth was mindblowing. Her eyes were wild, her hair was wet and steaming, and sections of her skin were flushed. These were signs of torture. When she noticed Sakura, her eyes shot open and she gazed desperately at her ally.
"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, feeling desperate for some reason.
"Sakura-chan!" Hinata sobbed . "The Uzumaki captured us! They took the guys away! Mami told me she's going to attack Konoha! We're headed there right now!"
Sakura felt fear mixed with confusion. "What?"
"Tsuna betrayed him!" Hinata cried. "He's working with Mami! That blizzard was his doing!"
A cold fist closed over her heart. Betrayed by his best freind... Again... What state was he in right now?
"The children that Naruto-kun was protecting!" She continued. "Mami forced them to attack Kumogakure! They killed our allies! Mami even killed their parents!"
Sakura felt possessed as she craned her neck to take one of the metal stakes between her teeth.
"I've no idea where we are..." Hinata grit her teeth as she threw herself from the wall. "It's been hours and we don't know what they're doing to the others...!"
Hinata streigned her arms as muh as possible before screaming in aggravation. Her head dropped, and she paused to rest before proceeding to throw herself from the wall repeatedly. Moved by the sight of her, Sakura clamped her teeth so tightly over the metal stake that her gums bled.
"Will you two stop that?!" Anna screamed. "This is painful enough without the two of you doing such pointless things! Those metal stakes are sealed into the wall! You can struggle until your arms tear off! They aren't coming free!"
Sakura shot her a look of disgust. "I don't care!"
"Nor do I!" Hinata agreed.
"I WIll yank my arms off if that's what it takes!" Sakura decided.
A door swung open and light poured in, blinding Sakura. She heard something like a waterfall before being doused in seething hot water. She gasped, now steaming, soaked and burning.
The door shut, and the light vanished. Sakura met the callous eyes of a youth. He had spiky red hair, and was slim yet muscular. His clothes were similar to Naruto's, with the long flashy coat and Uzushio headband. He'd placed his hand over a small seal on the wall, identical to the one overhead. That was probably the trigger for the water. .
His eyes zeroed in on Hinata. "I warned you not to struggle. If anyone else picks up your bad habit, the blood will wash out into the hall."
Yuuki glared murderously at him. "Tsuuunaaaa..."
Tsuna shoved his hands in his pockets and walked to Sakura in three large steps, crouching in front of her so they were on eye-level.
"Judging from that attitude, I guess Yuuki told you about partner." He stated.
She could only presume he meant Naruto. "What did you do to him?"
His eyes narrowed, sharpening his gaze. It caused Sakura to imagine all the worst-case scenarios. But as soon as she did, her heart rate slowed. Because it was impossible for Naruto to be dead. He was strong. Sasuke was with him!
"You're way too weak to be so bold." Tsuna said as he got to his feet.
Sakura felt something vile rose up in her throat as soon as he crouched in front of Hinata. Tsuna rested his chin on his fist and tilted his head at her.
For her part, Hinata met him eye for eye. But as time passed, she seemed to realize something frightening and unreal, yet completely true. She bowed her head, shellshocked and dazed.
"What's wrong?!" Sakura asked, alarmed. "Hinata! Naruto's fine! Tsuna's a liar, remember?!"
"Hey, Yuuki." Tsuna called. "Remember all that time partner and I spent studying seal stones? You and Uri tied us to chairs, right? You dumped freezing water on us whenever we started to nod off--"
"Shut up." Yuuki ordered.
"--We actually studied just so we could sleep. But there was this one bit that partner thought was really creepy--"
"I said be quiet!" Yuuki glared ice daggers at him from behind her bangs. "You scum..."
"--It was about how seal stones remember people." Tsuna droned on. "People they save. Like how yours saved partner from that guardian attack. His shoulder was sliced open, and he was bleeding to death. So you used the reverse/containment seal to save him. But that was a lot of chakra spent to save one person, and a heavy seal to store away. So the seal stone would've remembered him. Am I wrong?"
With her bloodshot eyes focused on the ground, Yuuki bit into her lip, spilling blood down her chin.
"Seal stones become attached to those they remember. Just like real people." Tsuna gazed down at Hinata. "If partner died, then the stone would sense that and dissentigrate. Right?"
Yuuki folded her knees to her chest.
Tsuna reached into his pocket. "When we captured you, Yuuki, Mami confiscated something she found interesting."
He revealed a small blue pullstring pouch, placing it on his palm for all the world to see.When he pulled it open, something light, grainy, and sparkling puffed out. Sakura watched him empty the dust into his open palm. He looked passively at Hinata.
"This is all that's left of him." Tsuna told her. "Here, you can have it."
He tossed the dust into the air so it rained down on her. This might have been meant to cause despair. But Hinata locked eyes with him, defiant.
"I am not weak." Hinata stated. "I won't let you destroy my village."
Tsuna knit his brow at her before glaring at the door.
"Hmph." He said. "Finding us so quickly."
"Where are you going?!" Sakura shouted as he got to his feet.
"I'm going to deal with an intruder." He answered bluntly. "You're going to wait here."
"You jerk!" She accused. "He trusted you! He said you were his best freind!"
"Yes. And that's why he's dead now." Tsuna replied flatly.
Sakura spat blood into his eye, causing him to glare at her.
"YOU," She glowered at him, "Are going to DIE. Sasuke will KILL you."
Tsuna wiped his eye clean with the back of his sleeve. He retrieved a bottle from his pocket, took a swig, and spat it out at her. Her wounds burned, and the smell was repugnant.
"Your little prince can't kill me." Tsuna stated, swinging the bottle like a pendulum between his knees. "Now then," He lashed out, clapping his hand over Sakura's mouth and gripping her jaw as she glared back at him. "I'm going to take care of some business. You just sit here, and wallow in all of your stupid regrets."
Sakura clamped her teeth together. This guy...! Was scum...! And they couldn't keep their promise. Now what would happen to the village?
Tsuna dropped his hand, passing her one last antagonizing look. Even after the door shut, she cursed him with all her heart.
URI'S POV [EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO, AKANE VILLAGE TUNNELS]
Uri gazed dolefully at the bloody messages that covered every inch of the ground and wall. Some were hidden by the skeletons. Many of the bones and text were left by children under five years old.
"You're sure about this?" Jiraiya asked solemnly.
Uri nodded grimly. "I wish I was wrong. This was a prison, used to hold my clan for over a year, during which time the weaker ones succumbed to disease or exhaustion. The next room holds preserved remains and tools for experimentation and dissection. There are signs of a riot, as well as forced entry."
Jiraiya "hmmm[ed]". "This is... Unexpected. We need to report back to Minato."
Uri nodded. All of these skeletons and the old blood on the walls. This must have been what the little girl from the village had seen.
A minor blast of smoke appeared out of nowhere, getting the attention of both men. Once the air cleared, they saw a toad with a long scroll for a stomach floating in the air.
"Gerotora." Jiraiya said, both surprised and happy. "What're you doing here? Did the great elder send you?"
Immediately, Uri knew something was wrong. Gerotora's expression was grim. He seemed unhappy to be in their company, which was odd.
Jiraiya realized this almost as soon as Uri did. "What's wrong?"
"Mmmm." A bead of sweat rolled down the scroll toad's face. "I'm not sure where to begin. I guess... I should just get to the point..."
Uri gulped as he turned to face him, bracing himself.
"The fourth hokage, Uzumaki Kushina, and many others," Gerotora, causing Uri to turn deathly pale, "Have all fallen in battle."
URI'S POV [SEVERAL HOURS LATER; KONOHAGAKURE VILLAGE]
Uri parted ways with Lord JIraiya as soon as they reached the village gate.
The streets were crowded despite the early hours. Uri suspected a few were homeless now. Others appeared to be gossiping or grieving. It was astoundingly quiet, even in the forests. The only sounds came from those doing repairs and providing first aid.
Uri burst through the hospital doors. Stretchers were laid out on the floor, proof that more appropriate areas were already full. Some had sheets pulled over the bodies, causing, bringing the others to mind. Where were Fuji and Mikoto and their children? Was everyone else alright?
Uri dodged the frantic staff, dashed up flights of stairs, weaved through the crowded halls. He hoped he was headed to the right place.
The next floor had many windows. One in particular was quite wide and meant for viewing.
This room was his destination. When he found the door locked, he kicked it in, making the nurse inside scream out in terror.
"You can't be in here!" She screamed, marching over to grab his arm. "Please leave! Right now!"
The nursery was so full. Uri searched, examining each child carefully.
It wasn't as if he knew what he looked like. Would he have red hair or blond hair? Whose nose, mouth, and face shape did he have? How small was he? Was he even here?
But whether Uri knew any of that or not, he was certain he'd recognize him.
He gasped. HIs eyes zeroed in on one child. The fourth row, third from the right.
"You really can't be here!" The nurse insisted. "Leave now before I--!"
Uri decided she, and the other children, were unimportant at the moment. He pushed past her--"Stop!"-- and marched away.
He rushed around to the fourth row and approached the boy with a heavy heart. His vision blurred as his shoulders heaved up and down.
Blonde hair and blue eyes like Minato. A face like nee-chan's. Strange birthmarks.
Uri curled his lips back. They were both gone. Why was Naruto lying in this nursery, completely unprotected?
He scooped Naruto up in his arms, holding him very close. He'd had experience holding children, so this much was easy for him.
Naruto stirred and began to cry. Did he realize what had happened? Did he understand? Mikoto said that babies can sense things like despair and distress. It frightened them. Uri tried to calm his heartbeat.
"Uri."
He whirled, hoping to see Fuji but instead found the sandaime. He seemed more grieved than anyone.
"Lord Hiruzen..." Uri muttered.
"Sandaime!" The nurse shouted, pressing her clipboard to her chest. "Thank goodness! This maniac broke into the nursery!"
"Calm down." HIruzen told her. "I'm very sorry for the trouble. Let me handle this."
She hesitated before her face slowly fell into an accepting, professional frown.
"Uri, you'll need to leave him here." Hiruzen told him sadly, making Uri wince.
The idea of leaving Naruto was nerve-wracking. But Lord Hiruzen very swiftly gestured to the roof with his eyes, causing Uri to look up. One of the tiles moved, and a slimmer of light revealed the smallest fraction of an anbu mask.
NOW he noticed. There were a lot of them. Uri could only assume they were all assigned directly to the hokage. To Minato...
"Uri, please." The sandaime urged.
He reluctantly laid Naruto back down. The baby stared back at him as he followed Hiruzen out of the nursery. Uri ignored the angry, flustered looks that the nurse sent him as she locked the door behind them. Hiruzen led him away to the windows providing what might have been a nice view of the village. But now the air was filled with smoke and many of the buildings were wrecked. Shinobi carried corspes away on stretchers.
Uri turned his back on the sight.
"Where is my clan?" He asked.
"They're helping with the clean-up." Hiruzen answered.
"Fuji?"
"He was with Minato until a few moments ago." He answered. "He isn't... Well."
"Of course he isn't."
"Speak your mind--"
"How could you let this happen?!" Uri slammed his fist against the glass, cracking it. "Look at this village! Everyone died because you were unprepared!"
He regretted it as soon as he was finished. Lord Hiruzen seemed unfazed, but his eyes revealed the truth.
Uri dropped his arm as his face fell into an expression of deepest shame.
"Forgive me. That-That was wrong!" He clapped his hands onto his head, digging and clawed at his scalp. "You didn't deserve that. I--"
"Uri, please calm down." Hiruzen urged, reaching out to him.
"How can I be calm?! This isn't real! It can't be real!" He fell to his knees. "This isn't what was supposed to happen!"
Hiruzen leaned over and grabbed his shoulders. "Uri--"
"Where is she?" He begged, looking up at the sandaime. "Where is my sister... where did she go? Where can I find her?!"
"Uri... I'm sorry." Hiruzen squeezed his shoulders. "She and Minato are--"
"WHY?!" Uri screamed, pounding his fists against the floor. "Why did she go?!"
Hiruzen shook his head. "Listen to me--"
"I've lost her again?" Uri clamped one hand over his eye and gripped his skull. "Wasn't the first time enough?!"
"Uri, Kushina is not gone."
Uri's breath caught in his chest. He looked up at the sandaime again to find the much older, wiser, and more noble man crying as well.
"Uri, listen." Hiruzen said. "You're being consumed by regret. But they're not gone. You must believe me."
Uri curled his lips back and hunched his shoulders.
"How? Where are they? Can I see them?" He asked, unbelieving.
"Yes. It's just... You might not recognize them."
Uri shuddered. He pressed one fist over his heart.
"That's not good enough." He shook his head.
"Uri... what do you want to do now?"
Uri blinked away tears without lifting his head. "What do you mean?"
"Can you still... Live in this village?" Hiruzen asked calmly. "Or is it too painful for you?"
Uri was frowning. He wanted to lie. It was the right thing to do. He was needed here. The village was weak and unstable. If Nee-chan were here, she'd slug him. Then tell him to pull it together, and remind him that he wasn't the only one in mourning.
But try as he might... He felt so pathetic. His heart was focused on his own pain.
How many times had they sworn to have each other's backs? How foolishly optimistic he'd been. So many strong people were killed in the Uzumaki massacre. Strength, kindness, and intelligence? These were irrelevant in the face of death.
"I can't be here anymore." Uri admitted. "But..."
Naruto. He couldn't leave him alone. Mami, Danzo, and Minato's enemies would surely harm him. But he couldn't take Naruto and leave. That would go against his parents' will.
"I don't know what I should do." He was shaking. "I cannot decide. What would you do?"
Hiruzen smiled weakly. "I do not know. I'm in a different position than you."
Uri nodded weakly. That was true...
"You know, Uri," Hiruzen sighed, "When Kushina learned what happened to her clan, you were the first one she asked about."
Uri's eyes popped as he whipped his head up.
"She was just so concerned about her brother." Hiruzen recalled with a gentle smile. "She had already told me about you by then. She described you as a lonely, crybaby scaredy-cat. Even though you're twins, she was protective of you. But after the tragedy, your fate was unknown, and she felt despair."
Uri smiled weakly, tears dripping from his eyes.
The sandaime got to his feet, pulling Uri up by the shoulders.
"Minato saved you and Mikoto from certain death." Hiruzen reminded him. "Fuji brought you here. Kushina found salvation from her lonelines. Together, you saved Minato from despair. Even if you meet terrible ends, what you've built together won't disappear."
Uri stopped biting the inside of his cheek and slowly opened his eyes.
"I wanted to protect them." He expressed. "I wanted to see them together with Naruto."
Hiruzen softened before becoming serious.
"Uri, about Naruto..." Hiruzen said, getting Uri's attention. "We won't be able to leave him out in the open like this much longer. It's dangerous. Soon, we'll move him to a safe location."
"Is it... Within the village?" Uri asked.
"Yes and no."
Uri knit his brow in confusion.
"Uri, how would you like to go with him?" Hiruzen asked, taking Uri by surprise. "You can raise him."
Raise Naruto? Inside the village, but in a place where he wouldn't have to see it? Still...
"I..." Uri hesitated.
For some reason, he thought of young nee-chan: a new jinchuuriki, alone, quarantined under the guard of the anbu. Would that happen to Naruto?
"I'll... I'll do it." Uri decided.
YUUKI'S POV [OVER THREE YEARS AFTER THE KYUUBI INCIDENT]
Kushina-chan's seal stone was unique. Unlike the usual pearly ones, her's was rocky. It belonged with Uri, not Yuuki, and for three years now she'd failed to bring it up.
She didn't intend to keep it. Three years ago, when Yuuki heard Uri had returned to the village, she sought him out forthwith. But as soon as they met, he asked her to join him on a mission. Of course she complied. Soon, they'd packed and Uri teleported them somewhere deep underground.
It was a massive structure, consisting of mysterious rooms. There were four mysteries to be exact: one, the proportions were off. No matter how many times Yuuki took measurements, they didn't add up. Two, these walls were windowless, seamless, and doorless. In fact, the only means of travelling from room to room were the ripple seals imprinted upon the walls. Three, the walls glowed in a color Yuuki hadn't seen anywhere else and the history of the Uzumaki was carved into them. But Naruto claimed the walls were "blank white," so perhaps only certain individuals could see the text. Four, the rooms were dangerous. There too many of them, and they retained a variety of dangerous qualities. One room was always on fire, another housed its own blizzard. Some were flooded, others held unknown beasts dissimilar to any known animal.
Yuuki and Uri's "mission" began with finding a fair number of safe rooms, all connected. Once they had, they put up a number of "safety measures." Then came time to fill these few rooms with domestic products, like furniture and food. Yuuki then realized they were creating some kind of home.
When it was done, Uri sent a message to the sandaime. A moment later, the man himself was reverse summoned to their new "house." He brought with him a baby Naruto, sleeping peacefully in an orange bundle.
Then Yuuki was informed of the real mission: protect Naruto, and keep him safe, here, indefinitely. With this news came mixed emotions. For one, she was excited about taking care of the baby. For two, she was anxious about staying underground. It brought back bad memories. Uri could leave for missions, but Yuuki couldn't leave Naruto's side, and the latter two couldn't leave the "house." Lastly, Uri and Yuuki couldn't tell Naruto who or what he was. Yuuki finally learned from Hiruzen what this place truly was: ancient moving ruins, sealed into place beneath Konoha by Lady Mito.
Now, Yuuki was sitting in one of the safe rooms after laying Naruto down for a nap. Since moving here, she'd focused solely on Naruto and never found the time to tell Uri about Kushina-chan's seal stone. Or that final phenomenon she'd uncovered...
What're you thinking about, Yuuki?
She gripped the stone. Speak of the devil.
"I told you to keep silent." She reminded, resting her arms on her bent knees.
You're still suspicious of me. But I pose no threat. .
Yuuki got to her feet and walked to the opposite wall, passing through the ripple seal.
She stalked through the next room at a decent pace, choosing to ignore the persistant voice. Or voices. It didn't sound like one person. More like billions, all saying the same thing at once. That said, it wasn't very loud.
You needn't worry about the stone. You'll return it in the future.
Yuuki "huffed" through her nose, giving the roof a disdainful look.
"How would you know?" She asked skeptically.
I told you before. My roots stretch deep into the earth. I connect the past, present, and future. The unified will of over one billion wise souls. That is me.
"I remember your true identity." Yuuki stated impatiently. "But you only claim to connect time, not know the future."
It is more or less the same.
"Then I have a question, 'all-knowing' Sacred Tree," She mocked, "Will my dream come true?"
That depends on you.
Yuuki shook her head. "I shouldn't have wasted my time with you."
If you mean that then why're you taking the long way home?
This question set her off. She ceased walking and teleported at once, reappearing in the "house". She turned her attention to the sofa chair, expecting to see three year old Naruto curled up in the seat with the blanket thrown over him. But it was empty.
She scanned the rest of the room. The small eating table with three cushions, the two-seat sofa set against the back wall, the bin filled with toys, the bookcases covered in a layer of dust.
Yuuki imagined the worst-case scenarios. They took her breath away.
She bit her lip as she took the blanket from the sofa chair. Before she could begin to wonder where he'd gone, she heard someone enter the room. She looked over her shoulder, and was greeted by the sight of an old freind wearing an anbu uniform.
"Welcome home, Uri." She greeted as he removed his mask.
These three years had hardened his heart somewhat. He used to greet her with a warm smile instead of a serious nod. His eyes still refelcted a clear resolve, and yet were tinted by a thin film of pain. He still wore the jounin uniform under his anbu cloak but...
Like Yuuki, he immediately looked for Naruto. When he didn't find him, anxiety grew.
They both jumped when a small, barefoot, blue-eyed, blond haired boy jumped out of the toys and bolted for the door. His size allowed him to be very fast, but it was nothing compared to them. Uri simply stepped in front of the seal as Yuuki knelt to catch the boy in her arms.
"Let go!" He demanded, squirming as she lifted him into the air.
"Stop that." Uri ordered as he placed his hand over the seal, closing it off.
Naruto turned in her arms, wild blue eyes and desperate arms moving frantically as he tried to climb over her shoulder. She supported him with one arm and used her newly freed hand to clutch both of his tiny fists in hers.
He glared up at her, earning an apologetic smile in return.
"Why do you keep doing this?" Uri chastised, pulling his hood down. "We've already explained a thousand times. We can't let you out."
Naruto ignored him and pleaded with Yuuki instead. He was pleading. She held his gaze only for as long as she could bear it before quietly looking away in shame.
"Yuuki, I want to go out!" He shouted at her in desperation. "Please! Yuuki!"
"Enough." Uri said, putting his foot down. "She isn't going to let you out and neither am
I."
Naruto turned on him. "Why not?! Why can't I go out?! You go out all the time! I want out! I don't want to stay here forever!"
"You won't." Uri promised.
"When can I go out?" Naruto asked, shaking.
"I don't know."
"That isn't fair!"
"It's not supposed to be."
Naruto gripped Yuuki's shirt as he glared at her. His expression was full of frustration and rage. She could almost feel the tension and animosity building up inside him like magma in a volcano.
"I HATE YOU!" He declared, making Yuuki wince. "WHY DO I HAVE STAY HERE FOREVER?! I'D RATHER DIE!"
Yuuki hunched her shoulders. He sounded... Just like them... All of them...
She curled her lips back. Meanwhile, Uri and Naruto stared each other down.
"I don't care if you hate me." Uri decided, his eyes gleaming. "That has nothing to do with this. It's my mission to keep you safe here indefinitely."
Naruto angrily knit his brow at Uri before hopping out of Yuuki's arms and running off to his room. She sighed, crossing her arms to grip her elbows.
Uri looked at her knowingly. "Why so wistful, Yuuki?"
She pouted at him. He smiled warmly at her before slumping against the wall. She tensed, suddenly noticing the distinct smell of blood and the soaked portion of Uri's cloak.
She gasped and walked over to him, taking his arm and helping him to sit down. He leaned heavily on the wall as she pulled the cloak off him and shuddered at the sight. He was bleeding from a laceration below his heart.
"Who was it this time?" She asked. "Kumo? Kiri?"
"Does it matter?" He asked in between heavy breaths. "It was an enemy. Just like every other."
Yuuki frowned and fetched the medical supplies from the kitchen. She began cleaning the wound and sighed.
"It's been three years since this mission began.'" She said, noting the seriousness of Uri's eyes. "You've been taking out as many of their enemies as possible, even though it hurts you so."
"Yuuki--"
"We both know it." She insisted, meeting him eye for eye. "Why bother hiding it?"
He sighed through his nose at this, closing his eyes in surrender.
"Kushina called you a scholar." She continued, now applying a salve. "You were jumpy and a target for bullies. You love ninjutsu, and yet hate to kill. That's contradictory."
"Minato didn't think so." Uri argued.
Yuuki's eyes flickered up to question him. "Minato showed no mercy to his enemies."
"Neither do I." Uri told her. "Your point?"
Yuuki felt as if someone had poked her between the eyes with a needle.
"My point," She enunciated, "Is that you're not him." She frowned as the depth of this truth hit home. "And I am not her. And yet we pretend as if we can decide his fate."
"We haven't decided anything," He reassured her, "We're just following orders."
"You don't understand." Yuuki insisted. "People don't like being locked up..."
SHe always thought about that terrific ordeal. It never gave her any peace. She and most of the surviving Uzumaki were kept and tortured for over a year. They begged for mercy and freedom, but it was futile. Her classmates died one after another. She'd woken up one day to find her big brother dead beside her, and felt despairingly cynical. Miraculously, they were rescued by Mami, a debt Yuuki planned to repay.
"I'm sorry." Uri apologized as she finished wrapping the gauze. "I know what you're thinking. But once its safe, we can move to the surface and live together like a family."
Yuuki shook her head. "I fear it won't be as you wish."
Uri placed his hand on her head and propped himself up with his free hand. They locked eyes, saying a thousand words with a mere pair of expressions. It was clear the pair of them would rather die than allow any harm to come to their young charge.
"Yuuki, in the past I have asked you many times." Uri said, filling her with a sense of dread. "But you always dodged the question. Still, I would like you to tell me who put our clan through such horror."
Yuuki looked away. He didn't understand, because he was spared from that terror. But being tricked, captured, locked away and tortured. What SHAME she felt. Even after she was rescued, she had no will to live. She had, on a daily basis, considered causing herself harm. This situation should have increased her instability, but being with Naruto seemed to have a positive effect on her mental health. But to say that man's name was physically painful for her.
"Yuuki, please." Uri insisted, taking her hand. "Your enemies are mine. Give me his name."
She felt a strange sensation, as if her heart flew out of her back. Suddenly, her mind was in charge. She felt no emotion at all.
"Hayate." She emphasized. "His name was Hayate."
URI'S POV [KONOHA, THREE YEARS AFTER THE KYUUBI INCIDENT]
"I see..." Uri nodded. "Anything else to report?"
He and the anbu stood opposite each other, both resting their backs against a pillar which supported the roof of a broad-roofed building on the edge of the village. This broad-roofed archive overlooked Konoha. It was a sunny day where the wind blew gently through the trees. There was the usual bustle of daily activites as well as the humdrum of birds and insects. Uri almost smiled at the tranquility. Almost.
"No, that is all." The anbu, Uri's informant, replied. "Neither Mami nor Danzo have acted suspiciously."
Uri nodded, feeling the warm wind blow through him.
"Lord Uri, I wish to clarify something." He insisted.
Uri let his eyes fall shut. "Speak your mind."
"I believe YOU are the one I should be monitoring." He stated, earning a look of mild awe from Uri. "Your disappearance three years ago and whatever... agenda you've followed since are a mystery. You're not listed in the bingo books, so I assume you're still an ally. But I remember well how the Yondaime trusted you. Which is why I have complied with your many requests. You aren't the only one of his freinds to behave oddly, and my insticts tell me to trust you, but..."
Uri's gaze shifted slowly from the upper left to the lower right. Something was wrong here. What was this feeling in the pit of his stomach?
"Who else has been acting strangely?" He asked.
"... Uchiha Fugaku." The informant answered making Uri's hair stand on end. "Since the Yondaime's death and your subsequent disappearance he has become distant. The anbu have been ordered to keep watch on the Uchiha clan. That is why I'm aware of their activites."
Uri's eyes popped. Keep watch? KEEP WATCH?
"Why are you monitoring them?" Uri asked, unable to breath. "For what purpose?"
"Were you unaware of this?" The informant asked, not seeming surprised.
"Yes."
"I see. I thought you might be, but--"
"Never mind that." Uri cut him off. "Tell me why you are monitoring the Uchiha."
"... It began with the Kyuubi incident three years ago." He explained. "Few are aware of it, but afterwards Lady Biwako and Toji's corpses were found in the place where Lady Kushina was taken to give birth. They were murdered. The conclsuion was that someone had attacked them, and betrayed the fourth hokage."
Uri's eyes widened. His heartbeat quickened and he reached up to clench his fist over his heart.
"Are you saying... That they think Fuji... Betrayed Minato?" Uri asked breathlessly.
"Yes. That is their theory."
A million memories passed before Uri's eyes. Fuji and Minato walking, talking, and training together. The way they fought together, as if they were one. The trust they invested in each other. The brotherly love that existed between them. The rage they displayed when the other was hurt. The fear they felt when the other was threatened. The expression on Fuji's face when Minato's cousin held a knife to his throat.
"Impossible." Uri denied the entire stupid theory. "Impossible. How can they even consider--"
"Then who do you beleive did it?"
"That isn't the point!" Uri hissed. "The point is it wasn't Fuji. It WASN'T. What does the Sandaime think? Does he agree with this theory?"
"No, I do not believe he does."
"Good." Uri nodded. Lord Hiruzen's wife was killed the same day as nee-chan? He hadn't known. But it explained why he hadn't seen her on his rare trips into the village.
Uri flinched and jumped up, balancing atop the wooden planks beneath the roof. He focused as the newcomer, another anbu, appeared and approached Uri's informant.
"We have an emergency." Said the newcomer to his senior anbu agent. "We have to move quickly. A child's been kidnapped."
Uri's informant pushed away from the pillar. "Who?"
"We weren't given a name. He was described to be nearly four years old, blond hair, blue eyes, with strange birthmarks on each cheek."
A cold fist closed over Uri's heart. That was Naruto! But how? They were so careful...
"Do we know where he's headed?" The informant asked.
"No, but we have reason to believe he is trying to get outside the village."
Uri gripped the wooden plank. Blood was rushing through his veins like lightning.
He took off using the body-flicker technique to jump from shadow to shadow. He raced down alley ways and skidded down desserted streets.
He grit his teeth. He would find him. That was his mission, to protect their child. But what Yuuki was doing? Unlike Uri, she was never to leave the boy's side!
He jumped down from one roof, biting into his thumb and drawing a whirlpool in midair. It hit the ground somewhat sloppily, but still produced a decent ripple seal. He passed through it and found himself running through solid ground, a sensation he'd long since gotten used to.
He folded his fingers together and tried to focus. Yuuki, Uri, and Naruto's minds were linked by a dreamscape seal. Useful, but dangerous and forbidden. It allowed them to sense another's location or even communicate telepathically.
Uri could clearly picture Naruto in his mind. Once he did, he felt something pulling him northeast. He followed the lead all the way to Naruto, and attempted to surface. But he had to quickly duck underground to avoid being stepped on.
What was that? He'd sensed something odd... And familiar...
He paused, then took a peek, raising his head so that his nose was on level with the topsoil. He recognized the area: he was in the forest surrounding Konoha.
He quickly located a pair not far from him. One was shorter than the other, and wore an anbu uniform. The other was not only tall, but dressed like a renegade or a bandit. He had long red hair, and the same eye color as Uri. He also has his arm looped around a small, uncocnious, blond child.
Uri felt his stomach overheat and twist into knots. It was clear what he had to do: Dive, then circle around and ambush the enemy. But he was conflicted over this. Because he recognized the kidnapper, and it was such a horribly ironic mix of joy and terror.
It was HIM... Seto. Uncle.
Uri remained distracted while the anbu spoke:
"Release him immediately." He demanded.
Seto arched an eyebrow antagonizingly. "You know better. I'm not returning him."
"Why go through the trouble of taking him?" The anbu asked.
"It wasn't hard." Uncle corrected.
The anbu accepted this before coming to a conclusion: "A spy."
Uri considered this. Yes, Naruto's location had been leaked. But the only ones who should've known where he was were Uri, Yuuki, and the Sandaime. None of them would have revealed his whereabouts, not even on pain of death. So there were two possibilities: either one of them had leaked the information without realizing it, or there were others who'd learned about Naruto and betrayed them...
"I don't have time for you." Seto stated. He stepped back, as if preparing to flee, but the anbu stepped forward.
"I won't let you leave." The anbu stated. "You're an Uzumaki, I can tell. One of your own must be feeding you this information. Who was it?"
"You people are blind, ignorant, and doomed." Seto replied, choosing not to answer.
"Hypocrite."
Instantly, Uri relaxed. Because that was his instictual reaction to hearing that voice.
A tall dark haired man had appeared behind Seto. He and the anbu noticed him together. Seto only turned halfway before having his back sliced open. Consequently, he dropped Naruto and the anbu jumped forward, catching the child as Fuji kicked Seto into a tree. The impact broke the trunk, sending it falling back.
He was taller than before. A stranger would have said he looked cynical. But Uri knew how disgusted he was. Uri bit his lip to keep from calling out to him.
"Hypocrite." Fuji repeated, flipping the kunai in his palm. "Saying that after allowing your own village to be destroyed."
Seto sat up with difficulty, having ended up with his back laid across the splintered stump. He shot Fuji a murderous glare.
"What the hell are YOU doing here?" Seto asked, furious.
"I noticed the anbu running around." Fuji answered. "I was already on patrol. I came here. Now what were you planning to do with the boy?"
Seto was quick. Before anyone could stop him, he locked his fingers together and teleported away, narrowly missing the kunai Fuji had thrown. Instead, it shot deep into the ground. Had it hit him, it would have pierced his skull.
The anbu cursed under his breath and got to his feet. "At least the child was recovered."
"He looks fine. You should skip the hospital and take him to the hokage." Fuji advised.
They met each other's eyes, one crouching and one standing. The anbu seemed to accept this begrudgingly, and Fuji seemed somewhat insulted over his hesitation. But soon, the anbu was off, and realizing he was now alone with Fuji made Uri afraid. He'd better go--
"Hold it."
Uri froze mid-dive. He looked up at Fuji, whose arms were crossed as he stared off. Uri grit his teeth anxiously.
"Are you going to dissappear again without saying anything to me?" Fuji questioned. "It's been over three years. At least show yourself."
Uri squared his shoulders. He thought carefully for three minutes, feeling as if he stood in a boiling pot. After that, he reached up with both hands, and pushed himself out so he sat on his knees. He clenched his fists over his knees as his head dipped in shame.
"How did you know...?" He asked tentatively.
"Stupid." Fuji snapped, making Uri flinch. "The sharingan can see chakra. Even if you hide underground. I already knew where you were beforehand."
Uri frowned sheepishly.
"Quit sitting over there like a frightened little boy." Fuji ordered. "I just want to talk."
Uri smiled at the irony. As he got to his feet, he admitted that Fuji was not nee-chan. However, Fuji had more-or-less the same effect.
He came to stand directly in front of Fuji, directly in his line of sight. One look told Uri that Fuji had lost his patience long, long ago. On top of that, he'd been worried. He'd faced many troubles, and Uri had been nowhere to help. But all of this seemed to amount to nothing, and Fuji let it all go in an instant. At that point, his expression became serious. Uri shifted uncomfortably.
"I... I'm sorry--" Uri began.
"Not another word." Fuji cut him off. "Apologizing would degrade everyhting you've done the past three years. "
Uri knit his brow. Yes, that was true.
"I already knew." Fuji said, surprising Uri. "About Naruto. I knew you and Yuuki disappeared to protect him. Mikoto and I knew it all along."
Uri gaped. "That's impossible... Lord Third told the others that their child was killed along with them. So how--"
"I'd already seen him." Fuji replied. "Back then, as soon as my family was safe I went to Minato. But by the time I got there, he was already..." Fuji's eyes looked haunted for a moment. He pushed this back and carried on. "Anyway, I was too late. But Naruto was with them, lying in a ritual altar, alive. Then the third took him away, and spread that rumor. It was an attempt to protect him from whoever betrayed them. But that's beside the point."
Uri wanted to retreat. "Point...?"
"You disappeared without saying anything to us." Fuji stated fiercely. "After you promised Mikoto you would ask for help if it became too much for you to handle."
Uri looked away. "Everything's fine..."
Fuji tilted his headward just-so, making his gaze appear sharper.
"You're pale, Uri." Fuji stated. "And you seem shaky on your feet. You're exhausted, and you stink of blood. You don't seem fine to me."
Uri glared back at Fuji. His intelligence was INCONCVENIENT at the moment.
"You always put yourself last." Fuji sighed. "That first time, when you spoke up for Minato. When you ran off with Kushina to protect her. When Minato was taken. And Mikoto as well."
Uri flinched, silently pleading that he wouldn't bring it up. They'd never spoken of it...
"You loved Mikoto." Fuji stated, ignoring his pleas. "Any idiot could tell. Even Kushina knew. But instead of acting on that, you encouraged me."
Uri clenched his fists. "You are my freind... You were under the wrong impression. I didn't want you to waste anymore time..."
"You could've fought for her. You might've won."
"I don't want to fight you!" Uri admitted, fear shooting up his spine like lightning. "Not over anything! Not ever! I'm sorry I disappeared, but I was afraid! I don't want to lose anyone else!"
Right now, he was enjoying a delicate peace. The slightest change, and everything could be thrown into chaos. Experiencing that nightmare a second time would be too much...
Fuji clapped his hands down on Uri's shoulders, making him jump. They looked each other in the eye, and Uri could see Fuji's resolve.
"Then tell me everything." Fuji said, surprising Uri. "I'll tell you everything. Together, we can find a solution. Minato's will is still with this village. As long as that's the case, then I'll be on your side."
Uri stared at him in disbelief. He looked down, wondering why he was hesitating.
"I..." He began, squaring his shoulders. "Fuji... About the others... Mami, she--"
They were forced apart as the earth shook. Both men grunted as they slammed against the ground, vibrating with the earth. Uri forced himself onto his back, his teeth chattering. Why was the air suddenly so thick and suffocating?
He pushed himself to his feet and forced his eyes open. The space within his skull now felt tight. Blood trailed from his nostrils as the earth ceased trembling.
He panted heavily. No... No, no, no...
Was that...? No, it couldn't be...
He forced himself to his feet as he took in the sight. His breath was running away from him. If he didn't calm down, he'd hyperventilate and pass out.
One hand clapped over his heart, gripping the layer of clothing that shielded Uri's skin from his clawing fingers. He felt separated from reality. Even with Fuji shaking Uri by the shoulder, yelling at the top of his lungs, Uri barely noticed him.
No... How?!
"Uri! What IS that?!" Fuji asked.
"It's the ruins..." Uri cried, gritting his teeth. "The ruins... are trying to surface..."
They were rising through the ground. They must have shot to the surface at such a speed that it forced the ground apart too quickly, creating a huge fissure that began at Uri's left and continued through Konoha, ending somewhere in the forest on the other side of the village. To make it worse, they were resurfacing right at the center of the village. Only the roof was visible, but the structure was forcing the fissure to widen. Water steadily filled the rest of the fissure as broken ground and collapsed buildings were swallowed up.
Chaos. The screaming villagers could have been heard from the moon.
Uri grit his teeth. He cleaned the blood from his nose with the back of his hand and shot an authoritative look at Fuji.
"Fuji, go find your family." Uri told him, earning a look of shock.
He shoved his hand away and took off--"Uri!"--heading for the village. He raced through bright sunshine, feeling the shadows of leaves pass over his face.
He'd been foolish! This was her doing, he knew it! To think he'd believed having her monitored by a single anbu would be enough!
He broke through the forest and skidded to a sloppy stop in a flooded street. Dust and smoke hang in the air. Fires had erupted in a few of the collapsing buildings and were spreading fast, empowered by the wind. The water was rising quickly, having already reached Uri's thighs, and seemed possessed by some kind of current.
He glared across the street, through an alley, and into the next street. It was filled with villagers who were evacuating in a hurry, trying as hard as they could to run to safety but this water made it difficult. Overhead, shinobi were carrying the injured as they roof-hopped.
The scent of blood was strong. A short look around at the boulder-sized chunks of packed soil, some of which were bigger than houses, told Uri that many of the villagers were crushed to death.
He jumped from the streets to the roofs, driven by the screams and the sight of his village being burned, flooded, split in two, and collapsing all at once.
He drew closer to the ruins, seeing their walls were visible. A good portion of the village was destroyed now. The water was chin-high in the streets.
He heard the sounds of battle and looked to see Konoha shinobi battling a red haired woman. They were clearly outmatched. She danced around on the water like a butterfly, gutting them like fish as she did it.
Uri flinched as she grinned wildly, on the verge of cutting another man's throat. Uri vanished, reappearing between them to catch Mami's wrist. Mami and the young, dark haired konoha shinobi stared at Uri's clasped hand before their gaze flickered up to his masked face. Mami's grin morphed into a quaint smile.
"And who might you be?" She asked, amused.
Uri clenched her wrist to the point that it cracked. She didn't seem to mind the pain.
"What are you doing to my village?" Uri asked, surprising Mami.
"You..." She mouthed, before smirking. "I thought you were gone. What do you want?"
"ANSWER the QUESTION," Uri growled, cracking her wrist some more.
Mami decided she'd had enough, and turned in his grip to aim a sideway's kick at his neck. He released her in order to dodge it, and they both skipped away, stopping at oposite sides of the street.
"How ungrateful." She remarked.
Uri glared at her.
"I'm relcaiming our clan's greatest ancestral treasure." Mami gestured to the ruins.
"Why?" Uri enunciated. "What's the point?"
"'The point!'" Mami laughed. "What's wrong with you? You're one of us, remember? As long as this village exists, we'll destroy ourselves trying to protect it! Just like Kushina!"
Uri narrowed his eyes at her and straightened up.
"Is it Uchiha Fugaku?" Mami asked. "Don't worry, we aren't planning on annihalating everyone! Just the weak villagers! The Uchiha are one of the four great clans! We don't mind sharing our new home with them! As long as they know their place!"
"Know their place?"
"Yes, exactly." Mami waved her hair over her shoulder. "You don't have to worry about that boy either. I talked it over with Mako, and we've decided to let him live. He IS a jinchuriki. He's young too, so there's still time to condition him! We already contacted Seto and asked him to take the boy to safety while we clean up here! You'll be reunited again as soon as possible!"
Uri's fingers flexed, clenching and unclenching. He knew it... It WAS them after all.
"You knew... About Naruto?" He asked.
Mami giggled and waved pettily at him. "Of course, we knew all along!"
"You knew where he was, what I've been doing, how Yuuki helped me, everything."
"Yes, of course!"
"You unforgivable, two-faced monster..."
Mami faltered, taken aback by this.
"Traitor!" Uri leapt, bringing one kunai down on her. She blocked it with her own, and the two blades froze as a result of equal, brute strength.
"How dare you do this!" He screamed. "Destroying our village, and now another that was kind enough to take you in! None of it belongs to you!"
Mami stared at him, bewildered before she slowly accepted this reaction.
"I see..." She accused. "Too bad for you. Only I can control these ruins. And I won't be sending them anywhere! Our goal is nearly met!"
Uri grit his teeth. "What do you mean?! How are you doing all this?!"
"The same way I survived being shunned by everyone!" Mami replied, eyes lit up with madness. "By making a contract with the sacred tree!"
"Liar." Uri replied curtly, earning a wicked grin from her. "That's the will to protect, not destroy!"
"Not every ancestor we have held good intentions!" Mami countered. "A lot of them were betrayed, as I was! There are no pure things tied to the earth! Such an existance is illogical! Even the sacred tree held impure wills! Dead ones, calling for revenge! All I did was offer them a deal: in exchange for their power, I would seek vengeance. They left the tree and entered my body! My scars disappeared, along with any fear I had! Now, I'm finally so close! Once I move everyone into the ruins, I'll lock them within 'the space!'"
"'The space?'" Uri questioned, his head spinning. "The chamber that appears and disappears with whirlpools? That's just a fairy tale! It isn't real!"
"Of course it is!" Mami laughed. "And it's inside those ruins! And I know how to find it, because one of the voices told me where it was!"
"Traitors!"
The konoha shinobi backed away in disgust, pointing at them:
"You guys--the Uzumaki clan--you're to blame for this!" He declared. "You're traitors!"
Uri considered arguing. Mami was solely responsible. But the elders was aware of the ruins, and they knew the legend stating only an Uzumaki could control them. If this was brought up at the meetings, then... This was the end for them. But there was still a way to prevent the worst.
Uri stared at his kunai before tossing it aside, shocking Mami. He considered saying some parting words, but it would have been a waste. He shut his eyes, quickly locating Yuuki as he'd done with Naruto before teleporting to her location.
All was calm within the ruins, as if they were unaware of the chaos just outside their walls. He'd appeared within one of the neutral chambers, finding not only Yuuki but the rest of his clan as well. Before he could speak, they swarmed in on him in desparation.
"Uri! Uri, the ruins are destroying the village!"
"We'll be blamed for this! We're doomed!"
"We'll be forced back underground! There's no hope anymore!"
Uri tried to calm them: "Everyone, listen to me! Calm down, we don't have much time!"
"Uri!"
He turned and Yuuki almost knocked him over before trapping him in a tight embrace.
"Yuuki!" He shouted in a mizture of joy, relief, and anger. He pushed her away at arms length: "You went out again didn't you? You left him alone."
She nodded sadly, her cheeks stained with dried tears. "I did. I'm so sorry Uri."
Uri hesitated before deciding it didn't matter. There was no point in blaming her.
He turned to address the clan: "There's very little time! If we want to avoid the worst case scenario we must act fast! Where is Mako?"
"We don't know!" Ame wailed. "He's been missing all day!"
Uri sighed and moved on: "There's no helping it. Listen! I have a plan! It isn't pleasant, nor easy, but we've no other option! We must disappear from this village!"
All gasped, realizing his meaning. Heads began to turn, followed by whispered doubts and hesitation. Yuuki clenched her fist over her heart.
"We don't need to erase our entire existance!" Uri explained. "Only the time we've spent here! We can use reverse/restore to return the village to it's proper state! We'll place an erase memory seal on the shinobi world! They'll forget we were ever here, Konoha will be saved, and the ruins will return to being moving ruins. We can avoid the worst by disappearing! It'll save the surviving villagers and restore order!"
"But--But what about our comrades who died fighting for this village!" Riki asked. "And all those killed in this disaster? Won't they be erased too?"
Uri bit the inside of his cheek, unable to deny this.
"What're we supposed to do?" Riki ranted. "Go back to the shadows? Why should we have to leave! This is our village now too! They can't blindly accuse us! We've done nothing wrong! This is just a freak accident! They've no proof! And who put you in charge?! How do we know this isn't a trap! You've always been loyal to Konoha! You would totally sell us out to them--"
Yuuki turned on him in outrage: "How dare you--?!"
"Call me what you will." Uri said, shocking them. "It won't save us. The truth is, there are those in this village who do not want us here. They have the power to destroy us and leave us with nothing! Do you understand? There are times when fighting is pointless!"
Something had changed in their eyes which led Uri to believe he had reached them somehow.
"Suppose we agree." An older veteran, Yama, said. "We lack the neccessary strength to fulfill your plan. We need to place the reverse/restore seal and erase memory seal simultaneously to prevent disorder. The reverse/containment seal uses less stamina, but it's impossible to seal away so much damage."
"Then we should use 'pillars of support.'" Yuuki decided. "The 'core' and 'link' seals will allow us to cut the strength required for this plan down to less than half."
"But--The memoy seal is forbidden!" Another exclaimed. "And the 'pillars of support' have a complicated formula! Only Kushina knew--"
"We know it." Uri interrupted. "Yuuki and I can place the core and link seals. We'll all work simultaneously."
Everyone gaped back, still hesitating. It would seem they had no desire to be forgotten. But there was no other choice.
Uri locked his fingers together. "I'll send you to the neccessary locations. In ten minutes, place the seals and attach the chains. We will place the 'core' and 'link.'"
Before they could protest, he sent them away. He turned to Yuuki.
"You know what I'm thinking, don't you?" He asked, solemnly.
"I do."
Uri eyed the walls of the ruins. "I lied before. The ruins are different. As long as they're here, the fissure won't disappear. Someone has to take care of them. In all your wandering, have you found the chamber with the 'key'?"
Yuuki nodded, then shut her eyes. Using the dreamscape seal which linked their minds, she showed him the way.
"I understand." Uri nodded. "That place is different. Entering is easy, but leaving is..."
"What about Naruto?" Yuuki asked.
Uri's expression softened. "Don't worry. He won't be trapped there. I'll send him away before it's too late. You should go now and place the link seal. We need to be punctual."
Yuuki nodded, then threw her arms around him. At first, he was surprised. But he relaxed quickly and returned her affections.
"I promise to return." He vowed. "It may take a while. If you see Fuji again, tell him I'm sorry, and I hope he'll forgive me. It'll be a painful experience. Can you endure it?"
She nodded, gripping his shirt.
"Go now." He said, and she took off, disappearing through one of the ripple seals.
It didn't take long to locate the chamber with the "key." It began at the center of the room: a complicated seal that seemed alive, with the many circles and symbols spinning clockwise. The seal chains were thick at the base, where they connected to the center, and thin where they ended halfway up the walls.
He frowned and reverse summoned Naruto. He was relieved to find him concious, and apparently blissfully ignorant. He sat on the floor, bright blue eyes taking in the room around him as he leaned back on his tiny hands. He gaped at Uri in outrage.
"You! How'd you do that!" Naruto screamed, getting to his feet and pointing angrily at Uri. When Uri continued to smile down at him warmly, that only seemed to make Naruto angrier: "Quit smiling! I'm not a joke, you know! I finally got to go outside, and it was just another room! I had to talk to this smelly old geezer!"
Uri couldn't help it. He burst out laughing, causing Naruto to run forward and beat on Uri's shins with his fists. Uri laughed so much that the world seemed to become filled with light. He laughed as he fell to his knees and only stopped when he drew Naruto into such a close hug the boy's feet left the floor.
Naruto was confused. "Hah? Huh..."
"I'm very sorry." Uri said. "But I want you to know something, even though you'll forget it. Your mother and father... They were my sister and my best freind." "...L-Liar! You'd never tell me anything about them!"
"No, it's true. They were the bravest, kindest, most wonderful people. They are heroes, and so are you. Never let anyone call you a hybrid, or say you don't deserve to exist. No matter what you are or where you come from, you can still choose who you become. Your father knew that. And so do I."
Uri moved his hand up, placing it over the back of the boy's head. He grimaced as his fingertips lit up with chakra.
"Forgive me." He begged. "We won't meet again. Please survive...!"
Tears streamed from his eyes, plopping against the floor as he sobbed through gritted teeth.
"Please, please forgive me. I'm so sorry for not protecting everybody like I promised..."
Uri squeezed his eyes shut as he placed the seal. A forbidden seal that could harm the one person he should have protected at any cost.
A memory seal, the "core" of a larger one.
As soon as it was done, he relaxed. Naruto slumped against him, in a daze. Uri noticed that the glowing 'key' had begun to pick up speed. Mami was forcing them to rise more quickly. She knew where he was, and was attempting to trap him. They were out of time.
He sent Naruto back and went to take a seat over the center, locking his fingers together and bowing his head. He clapped his hands over the seal. It turned yellow and began turning counter-clockwise.
YOU ARE BRAVE.
Uri blinked, looking at the roof. He could have sworn he heard a voice. His flinched as controlling the key began to drain his energy. But he couldn't stop! He had to keep going, until they were deep underground.
He groaned, flinching internally. Almost there! Just a little more!
THERE!
He absorbed the seal into his body, curling his fingers. So heavy! So mind-numbingly, nerve-wrackingly heavy! He could barely take it!
As soon as he was done, he collapsed, drooling and panting. He couldn't move. As Fuji had pointed out, he hadn't been in good condition to begin with...
He closed his eyes. So tired... At least, everyone was safe now...
YES, THEY ARE. GOOD WORK.
Uri squeezed his eyes shut. "Who... Are you...?"
I AM THE PROTECTOR. THIS CHAMBER IS CALLED THE SPACE.
"Impossible...!"
REST NOW. I'LL WATCH OVER YOU.
FLASHBACK ENDS HERE
URI'S POV [PRESENT DAY KUMOGAKURE]
"Is that... it?" Mifune asked.
Uri nodded. "Yes. That's everything."
Gaara looked as if he tasted something sour. But he kept quiet.
"I remember rescuing Naruto," Kakashi said, "That was related to your clan wasn't it? Why wasn't that erased?"
"My assistance wasn't needed, so that event remained untouched." Uri explained. "Seto was branded an s-class criminal, and allied himself with numerous rogues, including the Akatsuki. Even though he betrayed every one of them."
Kakashi's sighed. "That explains how Tsubasa knows him."
"I can't believe Fugaku suggested teamwork." Enoki said, dumbfounded. "He even said he was on your side!"
"As I've been trying to tell you, he wasn't a villain." Uri replied. "Still, my disappearance alone shouldn't have changed him that much. I'm sure he believed that Minato's will had disappeared from Konoha, which made him their enemy."
"So the space is really apart of some ancient ruins." Tsunade said, pinching her chin. "And Mami can summon these ruins anywhere. But how were you able to control them?"
"It isn't difficult." Uri replied. "As long as I used the 'key,' then I can manipulate it from the inside. Mami is special because she doesn't need the key."
"Mami is the vesel for so much hate." Enoki groaned. "She has strange powers that aren't easily understood. I thought your Sacred Tree's powers can't be used like that?"
"They can't." Uri replied curtly. "Mami isn't using the unified will of the sacred tree, dubbed 'Kairi's will.' Some of our ancestors DID hold a grudge against the clan. Their will remained separate from the unified will. Mami was betrayed like the rest of them, so they left the tree and entered her. Kairi told me that while I slept in the chamber."
"I can't believe you were in there too!" Ay yelled, pointing at Uri. "For how long..."
Ay immediately knew he'd hit a sore subject. Uri's shoulders hunched and the light in his eyes dimmed.
"The space is a healing chamber, and I was near death." He stated bitterly. "When I left, I found myself at the bottom of the mountain gorge where Naruto fell two years ago. I was soaked, and it was dark. My head was spinning, but somehow I reached the surface and returned to Konoha. Without revealing myself, I overheard conversations and searched the city. The Uchiha clan massacre had long since passed. Your fourth shinobi world war was over. Naruto had recently gone MIA."
Ay's eyes widened. The others paled or stared back in seriousness.
Uri's smiled, tormented by the memories. "It was... too much to handle. I wandered, waiting to die. But then I found Naruto in the land of waves. I had planned to return him to Konoha! But then I discovered he didn't remember any of you, and it was my fault. I took him and ran out of fear. I should have just let him go home. If I hadn't kept him with me then none of this would've happened."
Uri shot to his feet. "More importantly, I believe Mami wants to repeat that disaster! We've only a little time before she acts. I've no idea where the ruins are or how to find them! And to make matters worse, the erase memory seal isn't going to last..."
Gaara became alert. "What do you mean?"
"Without the 'core,' Naruto, the seal is just a crumbling ruin." Uri held his hands up for emphasis, and waved them up and down in panic. "Right now, it's being sustained by the energy of the survivng Uzumaki. But it's only a matter of time. Either it will drain the chakra of our clan members, killing us all before it unravels, or it will crumble on its own. When it does fail, the 'truth' that it has contained will explode out all at once. Even those who weren't alive back then will know the truth. There's a chance that their brains will overload and shut down, killing who knows how many people."
"That can't be!" Ay yelled.
"That explains why you're telling us this." Gaara added. "Before you began, you said that even if you revealed the truth to someone they would forget it moments later. But since we're going to learn the truth eventually, we might as well know now."
"There must be something we can do!" Mei asked, looking anxious.
"There is one thing..." Uri said. "Even with the core, the keystone of the seal, gone, the other pillar remains. The 'link.' If the person with the link seal remembers the past, the universal memory seal will vanish instead of crumbling. People WILL remember, but it won't happen all at once."
"That's great!" Mei exclaimed. "How do we make him remember?"
"You can't." Uri replied curtly, stunning them out of their hope. "They will probably never remember the past. Our goal was to ensure that the seal remained in place for as long as possible. So I chose someone who couldn't abuse the truth or reveal it recklessly."
"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked.
"Well..." Uri trailed off, knitting his brow. He turned his head, staring down at the pocket of his long jacket. He narrowed his eyes. Why... did that pocket feel weighed down? Why was it so heavy?
He unpocketed a palmtop blue pullstring sack. He had not lost the attention of the group, but they stared at him in confusion opened the bag, pouring the contents into his palm. It was a large, spherical, seal stone. Seeing it made Uri tense.
"What's wrong?" Gaara asked.
Uri's heart beat loudly in his ears. His eyes shook as he stared, gasping breathlessly at the stone. This was impossible...
"Check on him."
"What?" Ay asked.
"Send someone to check on him!" Uri ordered. "Now!"
Everyone jumped back as the door was thrown open. Shee entered, looking pale and sweaty and quite panicked.
"What's wrong?!" Ay roared.
Shee struggled to catch his breath, guping to clear his throat.
"He's gone!" Shee told them. "Naruto! Vanished!"
NARUTO'S POV [UNKNOWN LOCATION]
He lay on his side with his shoulder and cheek pressed against the cold, stony floor. He was very tired, so he felt lazy despite the discomfort.
He shuddered, releasing a misty breath. Everything hurt, and he curled into a ball to grip his chest. What was this bad dream he was having? He could see things...
He groaned. It hurt... A lot... But... Wait... Why was he so happy?
His eyes flickered open. What a wierd, unfamiliar place. There was some kind of "spotlight from nowhere," so-to-speak, focused on him. Beyond that was a swirling pitch black fog and endless darkness. He grunted, rolling onto his belly and pushing himself to his knees. He squinted into the darkness.
"Where am I?" He asked, breathless and groggy. "Why does it hurt so much...?"
He straightened up somewhat, gritting his teeth through the whole ordeal, and began to look around again. Was this in his psyche?
He inhaled, held his breath, and shouted: "KURAMA! ARE YOU HERE?! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"
He waited eagerly, shaking unsteadily. There was no reply.
Naruto bit the inside of his cheek and looked at the black fog. It was thick, like syrup. If he tried to walk through it, he'd probably get lost or stuck somewhere just like last time.
He moaned, and pulled his hand away from his chest. To his surprise, it was covered in blood.
What...?
He looked down and paled, feeling both empty and terrified.
There was a hole there! Right where his heart should have been! And it was bleeding heavily...
He gasped. What was this? Was he dead?
HIs nearly hyperventilated before remembering. Tsuna... did this. He'd betrayed him.
Naruto slumped over, looking grievous. Why?
As your family and you best freind, I will always be beside you, protecting you! I really don't care about Seto! My loyalties lie with you!
Had Naruto not understood something?
This felt... familiar. Both the betrayal, and being trapped here.
He noticed something out of the corner of his eye: A light. Not dim, like the one keeping the black fog away. A warm, pure one.
It was his shoulder, the one that had been injured once by a guardian. Right where the bruise had once been, there was now a bright, blinding white light.
He stared in awe. It was so warm and comforting, especially here.
He felt... resolved.
"I want to go back." He decided. "Please... I need to save my freinds. All of my freinds..."
He winced as the light became heat, shooting across his chest like veins. It flooded the hole in his chest, making him feel full. The light blinded him, and suddenly...
Someone was shaking him, making his back brush against a tree trunk. He felt warmth on his face and saw light from behind his closed eyelids. His body felt heavy.
"Naruto! Naruto, talk to me!"
His eyes shook before drifting open. He saw someone with a wierd bowl-cut and giant caterpillar eyesbrows who was crouched in front of him as he cried like a baby. Behind him were two others: the first was a Hyuuga youth. The second was someone with a brown ponytail in a green flak jacket. Both looked stunned, but cautiously hopeful.
"You're awake!" The guy with the caterpillar eyebrows cried. "What are you doing here?! Neji was using his byakugan, and he saw you pop out of nowhere! You had this wierd injury, like someone pucnhed your heart out, but it was already healing when we got here! And now you--"
"Bushy brows..."
All three flinched. Their faces lit up as they gaped. Naruto chuckled weakly.
"Naruto... Do you..." Lee asked, clearing his throat, "Do you know... who we are?"
Naruto paused and smiled, widely and warmly.
"Yeah... I remember now." He said, making Lee grin through his tears. "I'm really sorry... For disappearing... And forgetting... and dying..."
The trio were equally stunned.
"But... I'm back now... So can we call it even?" He asked.
Wierdly, Lee hugged him. Naruto could see his shoulders heave and his back lurch.
"Oi... Don't get snot all over me." He warned jokingly.
"Don't be stupid!" Lee shouted. "We were... never angry! We were just sad, because we didn't want to say goodbye yet! You don't have to apologize!"
Naruto grinned. "That's good..."
Chapter 46: Uri's story part 5;Core, key, link, seal
SAKURA'S POV [HIDDEN LOCATION]
The first thing she noticed was the stiffness in her arms. They were secured to the wall at her conjoined palms, elbows, and the shoulder-ends of her upper arms. She felt a familiar numbness, and her skin stretched tight over her muscles as she stirred. She was covered in something dry, sticky, and crumbling that had obviously been liquid at one point.
The pain and stiffness didn't extend to her legs. Her knees were heavy but she could still move them.
She heard a cacophony of noises: groans, soft breathing, trinkling liquid, grunting, and some odd rustling, possibly a struggle. She smelled something metallic, and unmistakable. This room must have been covered in blood.
The scent jogged her memory: she'd been buried alive by the snow, until HE came and took her to a cavern. He spent precious time lighting a fire and wrapping her in a warm blanket. Yes, then he'd said something that made her heart stop.
He'd called her "Sakura-chan." Unknowingly, she'd been longing for it. Having amnesia caused him to call her without honorifics and treat her differently. When they were in that cavern he'd said her's and Sasuke's names as if he were referring to close freinds.
Maybe it was stupid, but she couldn't help the way her brain worked. She'd been around him for so long that she started to mentally note his traits.
She'd had a premonitionthat running out into that blizzard would be bad for him. But she'd lost conciousness. Soon she was being dragged out of bed and found herself fighting against... Someone. It seemed recent, but how long had she'd been trapped here?
Wait! The snow! The others!
Sasuke!
She inhaled sharply as her eyes snapped open. She noted the walls, floor, and cieling were cobbled. The only lights were the torches on the walls giving the room an eery antiquated look.
More importantly, everyone was in the same state. They were pinned to the wall by their arms, just like Sakura. Blood had poured from their wounds, painting the floor and drying over their skin.
Anna was concious, but seemed resigned to her fate. Yuuki, whom Sakura had once compared to Tsunade, was weak from blood loss and sleep deprivation.
Hinata, unlike the former, was streigning herself. The sight of her trying to tear one of the metal stakes out of her left arm with her teeth was mindblowing. Her eyes were wild, her hair was wet and steaming, and sections of her skin were flushed. These were signs of torture. When she noticed Sakura, her eyes shot open and she gazed desperately at her ally.
"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, feeling desperate for some reason.
"Sakura-chan!" Hinata sobbed . "The Uzumaki captured us! They took the guys away! Mami told me she's going to attack Konoha! We're headed there right now!"
Sakura felt fear mixed with confusion. "What?"
"Tsuna betrayed him!" Hinata cried. "He's working with Mami! That blizzard was his doing!"
A cold fist closed over her heart. Betrayed by his best freind... Again... What state was he in right now?
"The children that Naruto-kun was protecting!" She continued. "Mami forced them to attack Kumogakure! They killed our allies! Mami even killed their parents!"
Sakura felt possessed as she craned her neck to take one of the metal stakes between her teeth.
"I've no idea where we are..." Hinata grit her teeth as she threw herself from the wall. "It's been hours and we don't know what they're doing to the others...!"
Hinata streigned her arms as muh as possible before screaming in aggravation. Her head dropped, and she paused to rest before proceeding to throw herself from the wall repeatedly. Moved by the sight of her, Sakura clamped her teeth so tightly over the metal stake that her gums bled.
"Will you two stop that?!" Anna screamed. "This is painful enough without the two of you doing such pointless things! Those metal stakes are sealed into the wall! You can struggle until your arms tear off! They aren't coming free!"
Sakura shot her a look of disgust. "I don't care!"
"Nor do I!" Hinata agreed.
"I WIll yank my arms off if that's what it takes!" Sakura decided.
A door swung open and light poured in, blinding Sakura. She heard something like a waterfall before being doused in seething hot water. She gasped, now steaming, soaked and burning.
The door shut, and the light vanished. Sakura met the callous eyes of a youth. He had spiky red hair, and was slim yet muscular. His clothes were similar to Naruto's, with the long flashy coat and Uzushio headband. He'd placed his hand over a small seal on the wall, identical to the one overhead. That was probably the trigger for the water. .
His eyes zeroed in on Hinata. "I warned you not to struggle. If anyone else picks up your bad habit, the blood will wash out into the hall."
Yuuki glared murderously at him. "Tsuuunaaaa..."
Tsuna shoved his hands in his pockets and walked to Sakura in three large steps, crouching in front of her so they were on eye-level.
"Judging from that attitude, I guess Yuuki told you about partner." He stated.
She could only presume he meant Naruto. "What did you do to him?"
His eyes narrowed, sharpening his gaze. It caused Sakura to imagine all the worst-case scenarios. But as soon as she did, her heart rate slowed. Because it was impossible for Naruto to be dead. He was strong. Sasuke was with him!
"You're way too weak to be so bold." Tsuna said as he got to his feet.
Sakura felt something vile rose up in her throat as soon as he crouched in front of Hinata. Tsuna rested his chin on his fist and tilted his head at her.
For her part, Hinata met him eye for eye. But as time passed, she seemed to realize something frightening and unreal, yet completely true. She bowed her head, shellshocked and dazed.
"What's wrong?!" Sakura asked, alarmed. "Hinata! Naruto's fine! Tsuna's a liar, remember?!"
"Hey, Yuuki." Tsuna called. "Remember all that time partner and I spent studying seal stones? You and Uri tied us to chairs, right? You dumped freezing water on us whenever we started to nod off--"
"Shut up." Yuuki ordered.
"--We actually studied just so we could sleep. But there was this one bit that partner thought was really creepy--"
"I said be quiet!" Yuuki glared ice daggers at him from behind her bangs. "You scum..."
"--It was about how seal stones remember people." Tsuna droned on. "People they save. Like how yours saved partner from that guardian attack. His shoulder was sliced open, and he was bleeding to death. So you used the reverse/containment seal to save him. But that was a lot of chakra spent to save one person, and a heavy seal to store away. So the seal stone would've remembered him. Am I wrong?"
With her bloodshot eyes focused on the ground, Yuuki bit into her lip, spilling blood down her chin.
"Seal stones become attached to those they remember. Just like real people." Tsuna gazed down at Hinata. "If partner died, then the stone would sense that and dissentigrate. Right?"
Yuuki folded her knees to her chest.
Tsuna reached into his pocket. "When we captured you, Yuuki, Mami confiscated something she found interesting."
He revealed a small blue pullstring pouch, placing it on his palm for all the world to see.When he pulled it open, something light, grainy, and sparkling puffed out. Sakura watched him empty the dust into his open palm. He looked passively at Hinata.
"This is all that's left of him." Tsuna told her. "Here, you can have it."
He tossed the dust into the air so it rained down on her. This might have been meant to cause despair. But Hinata locked eyes with him, defiant.
"I am not weak." Hinata stated. "I won't let you destroy my village."
Tsuna knit his brow at her before glaring at the door.
"Hmph." He said. "Finding us so quickly."
"Where are you going?!" Sakura shouted as he got to his feet.
"I'm going to deal with an intruder." He answered bluntly. "You're going to wait here."
"You jerk!" She accused. "He trusted you! He said you were his best freind!"
"Yes. And that's why he's dead now." Tsuna replied flatly.
Sakura spat blood into his eye, causing him to glare at her.
"YOU," She glowered at him, "Are going to DIE. Sasuke will KILL you."
Tsuna wiped his eye clean with the back of his sleeve. He retrieved a bottle from his pocket, took a swig, and spat it out at her. Her wounds burned, and the smell was repugnant.
"Your little prince can't kill me." Tsuna stated, swinging the bottle like a pendulum between his knees. "Now then," He lashed out, clapping his hand over Sakura's mouth and gripping her jaw as she glared back at him. "I'm going to take care of some business. You just sit here, and wallow in all of your stupid regrets."
Sakura clamped her teeth together. This guy...! Was scum...! And they couldn't keep their promise. Now what would happen to the village?
Tsuna dropped his hand, passing her one last antagonizing look. Even after the door shut, she cursed him with all her heart.
URI'S POV [EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO, AKANE VILLAGE TUNNELS]
Uri gazed dolefully at the bloody messages that covered every inch of the ground and wall. Some were hidden by the skeletons. Many of the bones and text were left by children under five years old.
"You're sure about this?" Jiraiya asked solemnly.
Uri nodded grimly. "I wish I was wrong. This was a prison, used to hold my clan for over a year, during which time the weaker ones succumbed to disease or exhaustion. The next room holds preserved remains and tools for experimentation and dissection. There are signs of a riot, as well as forced entry."
Jiraiya "hmmm[ed]". "This is... Unexpected. We need to report back to Minato."
Uri nodded. All of these skeletons and the old blood on the walls. This must have been what the little girl from the village had seen.
A minor blast of smoke appeared out of nowhere, getting the attention of both men. Once the air cleared, they saw a toad with a long scroll for a stomach floating in the air.
"Gerotora." Jiraiya said, both surprised and happy. "What're you doing here? Did the great elder send you?"
Immediately, Uri knew something was wrong. Gerotora's expression was grim. He seemed unhappy to be in their company, which was odd.
Jiraiya realized this almost as soon as Uri did. "What's wrong?"
"Mmmm." A bead of sweat rolled down the scroll toad's face. "I'm not sure where to begin. I guess... I should just get to the point..."
Uri gulped as he turned to face him, bracing himself.
"The fourth hokage, Uzumaki Kushina, and many others," Gerotora, causing Uri to turn deathly pale, "Have all fallen in battle."
URI'S POV [SEVERAL HOURS LATER; KONOHAGAKURE VILLAGE]
Uri parted ways with Lord JIraiya as soon as they reached the village gate.
The streets were crowded despite the early hours. Uri suspected a few were homeless now. Others appeared to be gossiping or grieving. It was astoundingly quiet, even in the forests. The only sounds came from those doing repairs and providing first aid.
Uri burst through the hospital doors. Stretchers were laid out on the floor, proof that more appropriate areas were already full. Some had sheets pulled over the bodies, causing, bringing the others to mind. Where were Fuji and Mikoto and their children? Was everyone else alright?
Uri dodged the frantic staff, dashed up flights of stairs, weaved through the crowded halls. He hoped he was headed to the right place.
The next floor had many windows. One in particular was quite wide and meant for viewing.
This room was his destination. When he found the door locked, he kicked it in, making the nurse inside scream out in terror.
"You can't be in here!" She screamed, marching over to grab his arm. "Please leave! Right now!"
The nursery was so full. Uri searched, examining each child carefully.
It wasn't as if he knew what he looked like. Would he have red hair or blond hair? Whose nose, mouth, and face shape did he have? How small was he? Was he even here?
But whether Uri knew any of that or not, he was certain he'd recognize him.
He gasped. HIs eyes zeroed in on one child. The fourth row, third from the right.
"You really can't be here!" The nurse insisted. "Leave now before I--!"
Uri decided she, and the other children, were unimportant at the moment. He pushed past her--"Stop!"-- and marched away.
He rushed around to the fourth row and approached the boy with a heavy heart. His vision blurred as his shoulders heaved up and down.
Blonde hair and blue eyes like Minato. A face like nee-chan's. Strange birthmarks.
Uri curled his lips back. They were both gone. Why was Naruto lying in this nursery, completely unprotected?
He scooped Naruto up in his arms, holding him very close. He'd had experience holding children, so this much was easy for him.
Naruto stirred and began to cry. Did he realize what had happened? Did he understand? Mikoto said that babies can sense things like despair and distress. It frightened them. Uri tried to calm his heartbeat.
"Uri."
He whirled, hoping to see Fuji but instead found the sandaime. He seemed more grieved than anyone.
"Lord Hiruzen..." Uri muttered.
"Sandaime!" The nurse shouted, pressing her clipboard to her chest. "Thank goodness! This maniac broke into the nursery!"
"Calm down." HIruzen told her. "I'm very sorry for the trouble. Let me handle this."
She hesitated before her face slowly fell into an accepting, professional frown.
"Uri, you'll need to leave him here." Hiruzen told him sadly, making Uri wince.
The idea of leaving Naruto was nerve-wracking. But Lord Hiruzen very swiftly gestured to the roof with his eyes, causing Uri to look up. One of the tiles moved, and a slimmer of light revealed the smallest fraction of an anbu mask.
NOW he noticed. There were a lot of them. Uri could only assume they were all assigned directly to the hokage. To Minato...
"Uri, please." The sandaime urged.
He reluctantly laid Naruto back down. The baby stared back at him as he followed Hiruzen out of the nursery. Uri ignored the angry, flustered looks that the nurse sent him as she locked the door behind them. Hiruzen led him away to the windows providing what might have been a nice view of the village. But now the air was filled with smoke and many of the buildings were wrecked. Shinobi carried corspes away on stretchers.
Uri turned his back on the sight.
"Where is my clan?" He asked.
"They're helping with the clean-up." Hiruzen answered.
"Fuji?"
"He was with Minato until a few moments ago." He answered. "He isn't... Well."
"Of course he isn't."
"Speak your mind--"
"How could you let this happen?!" Uri slammed his fist against the glass, cracking it. "Look at this village! Everyone died because you were unprepared!"
He regretted it as soon as he was finished. Lord Hiruzen seemed unfazed, but his eyes revealed the truth.
Uri dropped his arm as his face fell into an expression of deepest shame.
"Forgive me. That-That was wrong!" He clapped his hands onto his head, digging and clawed at his scalp. "You didn't deserve that. I--"
"Uri, please calm down." Hiruzen urged, reaching out to him.
"How can I be calm?! This isn't real! It can't be real!" He fell to his knees. "This isn't what was supposed to happen!"
Hiruzen leaned over and grabbed his shoulders. "Uri--"
"Where is she?" He begged, looking up at the sandaime. "Where is my sister... where did she go? Where can I find her?!"
"Uri... I'm sorry." Hiruzen squeezed his shoulders. "She and Minato are--"
"WHY?!" Uri screamed, pounding his fists against the floor. "Why did she go?!"
Hiruzen shook his head. "Listen to me--"
"I've lost her again?" Uri clamped one hand over his eye and gripped his skull. "Wasn't the first time enough?!"
"Uri, Kushina is not gone."
Uri's breath caught in his chest. He looked up at the sandaime again to find the much older, wiser, and more noble man crying as well.
"Uri, listen." Hiruzen said. "You're being consumed by regret. But they're not gone. You must believe me."
Uri curled his lips back and hunched his shoulders.
"How? Where are they? Can I see them?" He asked, unbelieving.
"Yes. It's just... You might not recognize them."
Uri shuddered. He pressed one fist over his heart.
"That's not good enough." He shook his head.
"Uri... what do you want to do now?"
Uri blinked away tears without lifting his head. "What do you mean?"
"Can you still... Live in this village?" Hiruzen asked calmly. "Or is it too painful for you?"
Uri was frowning. He wanted to lie. It was the right thing to do. He was needed here. The village was weak and unstable. If Nee-chan were here, she'd slug him. Then tell him to pull it together, and remind him that he wasn't the only one in mourning.
But try as he might... He felt so pathetic. His heart was focused on his own pain.
How many times had they sworn to have each other's backs? How foolishly optimistic he'd been. So many strong people were killed in the Uzumaki massacre. Strength, kindness, and intelligence? These were irrelevant in the face of death.
"I can't be here anymore." Uri admitted. "But..."
Naruto. He couldn't leave him alone. Mami, Danzo, and Minato's enemies would surely harm him. But he couldn't take Naruto and leave. That would go against his parents' will.
"I don't know what I should do." He was shaking. "I cannot decide. What would you do?"
Hiruzen smiled weakly. "I do not know. I'm in a different position than you."
Uri nodded weakly. That was true...
"You know, Uri," Hiruzen sighed, "When Kushina learned what happened to her clan, you were the first one she asked about."
Uri's eyes popped as he whipped his head up.
"She was just so concerned about her brother." Hiruzen recalled with a gentle smile. "She had already told me about you by then. She described you as a lonely, crybaby scaredy-cat. Even though you're twins, she was protective of you. But after the tragedy, your fate was unknown, and she felt despair."
Uri smiled weakly, tears dripping from his eyes.
The sandaime got to his feet, pulling Uri up by the shoulders.
"Minato saved you and Mikoto from certain death." Hiruzen reminded him. "Fuji brought you here. Kushina found salvation from her lonelines. Together, you saved Minato from despair. Even if you meet terrible ends, what you've built together won't disappear."
Uri stopped biting the inside of his cheek and slowly opened his eyes.
"I wanted to protect them." He expressed. "I wanted to see them together with Naruto."
Hiruzen softened before becoming serious.
"Uri, about Naruto..." Hiruzen said, getting Uri's attention. "We won't be able to leave him out in the open like this much longer. It's dangerous. Soon, we'll move him to a safe location."
"Is it... Within the village?" Uri asked.
"Yes and no."
Uri knit his brow in confusion.
"Uri, how would you like to go with him?" Hiruzen asked, taking Uri by surprise. "You can raise him."
Raise Naruto? Inside the village, but in a place where he wouldn't have to see it? Still...
"I..." Uri hesitated.
For some reason, he thought of young nee-chan: a new jinchuuriki, alone, quarantined under the guard of the anbu. Would that happen to Naruto?
"I'll... I'll do it." Uri decided.
YUUKI'S POV [OVER THREE YEARS AFTER THE KYUUBI INCIDENT]
Kushina-chan's seal stone was unique. Unlike the usual pearly ones, her's was rocky. It belonged with Uri, not Yuuki, and for three years now she'd failed to bring it up.
She didn't intend to keep it. Three years ago, when Yuuki heard Uri had returned to the village, she sought him out forthwith. But as soon as they met, he asked her to join him on a mission. Of course she complied. Soon, they'd packed and Uri teleported them somewhere deep underground.
It was a massive structure, consisting of mysterious rooms. There were four mysteries to be exact: one, the proportions were off. No matter how many times Yuuki took measurements, they didn't add up. Two, these walls were windowless, seamless, and doorless. In fact, the only means of travelling from room to room were the ripple seals imprinted upon the walls. Three, the walls glowed in a color Yuuki hadn't seen anywhere else and the history of the Uzumaki was carved into them. But Naruto claimed the walls were "blank white," so perhaps only certain individuals could see the text. Four, the rooms were dangerous. There too many of them, and they retained a variety of dangerous qualities. One room was always on fire, another housed its own blizzard. Some were flooded, others held unknown beasts dissimilar to any known animal.
Yuuki and Uri's "mission" began with finding a fair number of safe rooms, all connected. Once they had, they put up a number of "safety measures." Then came time to fill these few rooms with domestic products, like furniture and food. Yuuki then realized they were creating some kind of home.
When it was done, Uri sent a message to the sandaime. A moment later, the man himself was reverse summoned to their new "house." He brought with him a baby Naruto, sleeping peacefully in an orange bundle.
Then Yuuki was informed of the real mission: protect Naruto, and keep him safe, here, indefinitely. With this news came mixed emotions. For one, she was excited about taking care of the baby. For two, she was anxious about staying underground. It brought back bad memories. Uri could leave for missions, but Yuuki couldn't leave Naruto's side, and the latter two couldn't leave the "house." Lastly, Uri and Yuuki couldn't tell Naruto who or what he was. Yuuki finally learned from Hiruzen what this place truly was: ancient moving ruins, sealed into place beneath Konoha by Lady Mito.
Now, Yuuki was sitting in one of the safe rooms after laying Naruto down for a nap. Since moving here, she'd focused solely on Naruto and never found the time to tell Uri about Kushina-chan's seal stone. Or that final phenomenon she'd uncovered...
What're you thinking about, Yuuki?
She gripped the stone. Speak of the devil.
"I told you to keep silent." She reminded, resting her arms on her bent knees.
You're still suspicious of me. But I pose no threat. .
Yuuki got to her feet and walked to the opposite wall, passing through the ripple seal.
She stalked through the next room at a decent pace, choosing to ignore the persistant voice. Or voices. It didn't sound like one person. More like billions, all saying the same thing at once. That said, it wasn't very loud.
You needn't worry about the stone. You'll return it in the future.
Yuuki "huffed" through her nose, giving the roof a disdainful look.
"How would you know?" She asked skeptically.
I told you before. My roots stretch deep into the earth. I connect the past, present, and future. The unified will of over one billion wise souls. That is me.
"I remember your true identity." Yuuki stated impatiently. "But you only claim to connect time, not know the future."
It is more or less the same.
"Then I have a question, 'all-knowing' Sacred Tree," She mocked, "Will my dream come true?"
That depends on you.
Yuuki shook her head. "I shouldn't have wasted my time with you."
If you mean that then why're you taking the long way home?
This question set her off. She ceased walking and teleported at once, reappearing in the "house". She turned her attention to the sofa chair, expecting to see three year old Naruto curled up in the seat with the blanket thrown over him. But it was empty.
She scanned the rest of the room. The small eating table with three cushions, the two-seat sofa set against the back wall, the bin filled with toys, the bookcases covered in a layer of dust.
Yuuki imagined the worst-case scenarios. They took her breath away.
She bit her lip as she took the blanket from the sofa chair. Before she could begin to wonder where he'd gone, she heard someone enter the room. She looked over her shoulder, and was greeted by the sight of an old freind wearing an anbu uniform.
"Welcome home, Uri." She greeted as he removed his mask.
These three years had hardened his heart somewhat. He used to greet her with a warm smile instead of a serious nod. His eyes still refelcted a clear resolve, and yet were tinted by a thin film of pain. He still wore the jounin uniform under his anbu cloak but...
Like Yuuki, he immediately looked for Naruto. When he didn't find him, anxiety grew.
They both jumped when a small, barefoot, blue-eyed, blond haired boy jumped out of the toys and bolted for the door. His size allowed him to be very fast, but it was nothing compared to them. Uri simply stepped in front of the seal as Yuuki knelt to catch the boy in her arms.
"Let go!" He demanded, squirming as she lifted him into the air.
"Stop that." Uri ordered as he placed his hand over the seal, closing it off.
Naruto turned in her arms, wild blue eyes and desperate arms moving frantically as he tried to climb over her shoulder. She supported him with one arm and used her newly freed hand to clutch both of his tiny fists in hers.
He glared up at her, earning an apologetic smile in return.
"Why do you keep doing this?" Uri chastised, pulling his hood down. "We've already explained a thousand times. We can't let you out."
Naruto ignored him and pleaded with Yuuki instead. He was pleading. She held his gaze only for as long as she could bear it before quietly looking away in shame.
"Yuuki, I want to go out!" He shouted at her in desperation. "Please! Yuuki!"
"Enough." Uri said, putting his foot down. "She isn't going to let you out and neither am
I."
Naruto turned on him. "Why not?! Why can't I go out?! You go out all the time! I want out! I don't want to stay here forever!"
"You won't." Uri promised.
"When can I go out?" Naruto asked, shaking.
"I don't know."
"That isn't fair!"
"It's not supposed to be."
Naruto gripped Yuuki's shirt as he glared at her. His expression was full of frustration and rage. She could almost feel the tension and animosity building up inside him like magma in a volcano.
"I HATE YOU!" He declared, making Yuuki wince. "WHY DO I HAVE STAY HERE FOREVER?! I'D RATHER DIE!"
Yuuki hunched her shoulders. He sounded... Just like them... All of them...
She curled her lips back. Meanwhile, Uri and Naruto stared each other down.
"I don't care if you hate me." Uri decided, his eyes gleaming. "That has nothing to do with this. It's my mission to keep you safe here indefinitely."
Naruto angrily knit his brow at Uri before hopping out of Yuuki's arms and running off to his room. She sighed, crossing her arms to grip her elbows.
Uri looked at her knowingly. "Why so wistful, Yuuki?"
She pouted at him. He smiled warmly at her before slumping against the wall. She tensed, suddenly noticing the distinct smell of blood and the soaked portion of Uri's cloak.
She gasped and walked over to him, taking his arm and helping him to sit down. He leaned heavily on the wall as she pulled the cloak off him and shuddered at the sight. He was bleeding from a laceration below his heart.
"Who was it this time?" She asked. "Kumo? Kiri?"
"Does it matter?" He asked in between heavy breaths. "It was an enemy. Just like every other."
Yuuki frowned and fetched the medical supplies from the kitchen. She began cleaning the wound and sighed.
"It's been three years since this mission began.'" She said, noting the seriousness of Uri's eyes. "You've been taking out as many of their enemies as possible, even though it hurts you so."
"Yuuki--"
"We both know it." She insisted, meeting him eye for eye. "Why bother hiding it?"
He sighed through his nose at this, closing his eyes in surrender.
"Kushina called you a scholar." She continued, now applying a salve. "You were jumpy and a target for bullies. You love ninjutsu, and yet hate to kill. That's contradictory."
"Minato didn't think so." Uri argued.
Yuuki's eyes flickered up to question him. "Minato showed no mercy to his enemies."
"Neither do I." Uri told her. "Your point?"
Yuuki felt as if someone had poked her between the eyes with a needle.
"My point," She enunciated, "Is that you're not him." She frowned as the depth of this truth hit home. "And I am not her. And yet we pretend as if we can decide his fate."
"We haven't decided anything," He reassured her, "We're just following orders."
"You don't understand." Yuuki insisted. "People don't like being locked up..."
SHe always thought about that terrific ordeal. It never gave her any peace. She and most of the surviving Uzumaki were kept and tortured for over a year. They begged for mercy and freedom, but it was futile. Her classmates died one after another. She'd woken up one day to find her big brother dead beside her, and felt despairingly cynical. Miraculously, they were rescued by Mami, a debt Yuuki planned to repay.
"I'm sorry." Uri apologized as she finished wrapping the gauze. "I know what you're thinking. But once its safe, we can move to the surface and live together like a family."
Yuuki shook her head. "I fear it won't be as you wish."
Uri placed his hand on her head and propped himself up with his free hand. They locked eyes, saying a thousand words with a mere pair of expressions. It was clear the pair of them would rather die than allow any harm to come to their young charge.
"Yuuki, in the past I have asked you many times." Uri said, filling her with a sense of dread. "But you always dodged the question. Still, I would like you to tell me who put our clan through such horror."
Yuuki looked away. He didn't understand, because he was spared from that terror. But being tricked, captured, locked away and tortured. What SHAME she felt. Even after she was rescued, she had no will to live. She had, on a daily basis, considered causing herself harm. This situation should have increased her instability, but being with Naruto seemed to have a positive effect on her mental health. But to say that man's name was physically painful for her.
"Yuuki, please." Uri insisted, taking her hand. "Your enemies are mine. Give me his name."
She felt a strange sensation, as if her heart flew out of her back. Suddenly, her mind was in charge. She felt no emotion at all.
"Hayate." She emphasized. "His name was Hayate."
URI'S POV [KONOHA, THREE YEARS AFTER THE KYUUBI INCIDENT]
"I see..." Uri nodded. "Anything else to report?"
He and the anbu stood opposite each other, both resting their backs against a pillar which supported the roof of a broad-roofed building on the edge of the village. This broad-roofed archive overlooked Konoha. It was a sunny day where the wind blew gently through the trees. There was the usual bustle of daily activites as well as the humdrum of birds and insects. Uri almost smiled at the tranquility. Almost.
"No, that is all." The anbu, Uri's informant, replied. "Neither Mami nor Danzo have acted suspiciously."
Uri nodded, feeling the warm wind blow through him.
"Lord Uri, I wish to clarify something." He insisted.
Uri let his eyes fall shut. "Speak your mind."
"I believe YOU are the one I should be monitoring." He stated, earning a look of mild awe from Uri. "Your disappearance three years ago and whatever... agenda you've followed since are a mystery. You're not listed in the bingo books, so I assume you're still an ally. But I remember well how the Yondaime trusted you. Which is why I have complied with your many requests. You aren't the only one of his freinds to behave oddly, and my insticts tell me to trust you, but..."
Uri's gaze shifted slowly from the upper left to the lower right. Something was wrong here. What was this feeling in the pit of his stomach?
"Who else has been acting strangely?" He asked.
"... Uchiha Fugaku." The informant answered making Uri's hair stand on end. "Since the Yondaime's death and your subsequent disappearance he has become distant. The anbu have been ordered to keep watch on the Uchiha clan. That is why I'm aware of their activites."
Uri's eyes popped. Keep watch? KEEP WATCH?
"Why are you monitoring them?" Uri asked, unable to breath. "For what purpose?"
"Were you unaware of this?" The informant asked, not seeming surprised.
"Yes."
"I see. I thought you might be, but--"
"Never mind that." Uri cut him off. "Tell me why you are monitoring the Uchiha."
"... It began with the Kyuubi incident three years ago." He explained. "Few are aware of it, but afterwards Lady Biwako and Toji's corpses were found in the place where Lady Kushina was taken to give birth. They were murdered. The conclsuion was that someone had attacked them, and betrayed the fourth hokage."
Uri's eyes widened. His heartbeat quickened and he reached up to clench his fist over his heart.
"Are you saying... That they think Fuji... Betrayed Minato?" Uri asked breathlessly.
"Yes. That is their theory."
A million memories passed before Uri's eyes. Fuji and Minato walking, talking, and training together. The way they fought together, as if they were one. The trust they invested in each other. The brotherly love that existed between them. The rage they displayed when the other was hurt. The fear they felt when the other was threatened. The expression on Fuji's face when Minato's cousin held a knife to his throat.
"Impossible." Uri denied the entire stupid theory. "Impossible. How can they even consider--"
"Then who do you beleive did it?"
"That isn't the point!" Uri hissed. "The point is it wasn't Fuji. It WASN'T. What does the Sandaime think? Does he agree with this theory?"
"No, I do not believe he does."
"Good." Uri nodded. Lord Hiruzen's wife was killed the same day as nee-chan? He hadn't known. But it explained why he hadn't seen her on his rare trips into the village.
Uri flinched and jumped up, balancing atop the wooden planks beneath the roof. He focused as the newcomer, another anbu, appeared and approached Uri's informant.
"We have an emergency." Said the newcomer to his senior anbu agent. "We have to move quickly. A child's been kidnapped."
Uri's informant pushed away from the pillar. "Who?"
"We weren't given a name. He was described to be nearly four years old, blond hair, blue eyes, with strange birthmarks on each cheek."
A cold fist closed over Uri's heart. That was Naruto! But how? They were so careful...
"Do we know where he's headed?" The informant asked.
"No, but we have reason to believe he is trying to get outside the village."
Uri gripped the wooden plank. Blood was rushing through his veins like lightning.
He took off using the body-flicker technique to jump from shadow to shadow. He raced down alley ways and skidded down desserted streets.
He grit his teeth. He would find him. That was his mission, to protect their child. But what Yuuki was doing? Unlike Uri, she was never to leave the boy's side!
He jumped down from one roof, biting into his thumb and drawing a whirlpool in midair. It hit the ground somewhat sloppily, but still produced a decent ripple seal. He passed through it and found himself running through solid ground, a sensation he'd long since gotten used to.
He folded his fingers together and tried to focus. Yuuki, Uri, and Naruto's minds were linked by a dreamscape seal. Useful, but dangerous and forbidden. It allowed them to sense another's location or even communicate telepathically.
Uri could clearly picture Naruto in his mind. Once he did, he felt something pulling him northeast. He followed the lead all the way to Naruto, and attempted to surface. But he had to quickly duck underground to avoid being stepped on.
What was that? He'd sensed something odd... And familiar...
He paused, then took a peek, raising his head so that his nose was on level with the topsoil. He recognized the area: he was in the forest surrounding Konoha.
He quickly located a pair not far from him. One was shorter than the other, and wore an anbu uniform. The other was not only tall, but dressed like a renegade or a bandit. He had long red hair, and the same eye color as Uri. He also has his arm looped around a small, uncocnious, blond child.
Uri felt his stomach overheat and twist into knots. It was clear what he had to do: Dive, then circle around and ambush the enemy. But he was conflicted over this. Because he recognized the kidnapper, and it was such a horribly ironic mix of joy and terror.
It was HIM... Seto. Uncle.
Uri remained distracted while the anbu spoke:
"Release him immediately." He demanded.
Seto arched an eyebrow antagonizingly. "You know better. I'm not returning him."
"Why go through the trouble of taking him?" The anbu asked.
"It wasn't hard." Uncle corrected.
The anbu accepted this before coming to a conclusion: "A spy."
Uri considered this. Yes, Naruto's location had been leaked. But the only ones who should've known where he was were Uri, Yuuki, and the Sandaime. None of them would have revealed his whereabouts, not even on pain of death. So there were two possibilities: either one of them had leaked the information without realizing it, or there were others who'd learned about Naruto and betrayed them...
"I don't have time for you." Seto stated. He stepped back, as if preparing to flee, but the anbu stepped forward.
"I won't let you leave." The anbu stated. "You're an Uzumaki, I can tell. One of your own must be feeding you this information. Who was it?"
"You people are blind, ignorant, and doomed." Seto replied, choosing not to answer.
"Hypocrite."
Instantly, Uri relaxed. Because that was his instictual reaction to hearing that voice.
A tall dark haired man had appeared behind Seto. He and the anbu noticed him together. Seto only turned halfway before having his back sliced open. Consequently, he dropped Naruto and the anbu jumped forward, catching the child as Fuji kicked Seto into a tree. The impact broke the trunk, sending it falling back.
He was taller than before. A stranger would have said he looked cynical. But Uri knew how disgusted he was. Uri bit his lip to keep from calling out to him.
"Hypocrite." Fuji repeated, flipping the kunai in his palm. "Saying that after allowing your own village to be destroyed."
Seto sat up with difficulty, having ended up with his back laid across the splintered stump. He shot Fuji a murderous glare.
"What the hell are YOU doing here?" Seto asked, furious.
"I noticed the anbu running around." Fuji answered. "I was already on patrol. I came here. Now what were you planning to do with the boy?"
Seto was quick. Before anyone could stop him, he locked his fingers together and teleported away, narrowly missing the kunai Fuji had thrown. Instead, it shot deep into the ground. Had it hit him, it would have pierced his skull.
The anbu cursed under his breath and got to his feet. "At least the child was recovered."
"He looks fine. You should skip the hospital and take him to the hokage." Fuji advised.
They met each other's eyes, one crouching and one standing. The anbu seemed to accept this begrudgingly, and Fuji seemed somewhat insulted over his hesitation. But soon, the anbu was off, and realizing he was now alone with Fuji made Uri afraid. He'd better go--
"Hold it."
Uri froze mid-dive. He looked up at Fuji, whose arms were crossed as he stared off. Uri grit his teeth anxiously.
"Are you going to dissappear again without saying anything to me?" Fuji questioned. "It's been over three years. At least show yourself."
Uri squared his shoulders. He thought carefully for three minutes, feeling as if he stood in a boiling pot. After that, he reached up with both hands, and pushed himself out so he sat on his knees. He clenched his fists over his knees as his head dipped in shame.
"How did you know...?" He asked tentatively.
"Stupid." Fuji snapped, making Uri flinch. "The sharingan can see chakra. Even if you hide underground. I already knew where you were beforehand."
Uri frowned sheepishly.
"Quit sitting over there like a frightened little boy." Fuji ordered. "I just want to talk."
Uri smiled at the irony. As he got to his feet, he admitted that Fuji was not nee-chan. However, Fuji had more-or-less the same effect.
He came to stand directly in front of Fuji, directly in his line of sight. One look told Uri that Fuji had lost his patience long, long ago. On top of that, he'd been worried. He'd faced many troubles, and Uri had been nowhere to help. But all of this seemed to amount to nothing, and Fuji let it all go in an instant. At that point, his expression became serious. Uri shifted uncomfortably.
"I... I'm sorry--" Uri began.
"Not another word." Fuji cut him off. "Apologizing would degrade everyhting you've done the past three years. "
Uri knit his brow. Yes, that was true.
"I already knew." Fuji said, surprising Uri. "About Naruto. I knew you and Yuuki disappeared to protect him. Mikoto and I knew it all along."
Uri gaped. "That's impossible... Lord Third told the others that their child was killed along with them. So how--"
"I'd already seen him." Fuji replied. "Back then, as soon as my family was safe I went to Minato. But by the time I got there, he was already..." Fuji's eyes looked haunted for a moment. He pushed this back and carried on. "Anyway, I was too late. But Naruto was with them, lying in a ritual altar, alive. Then the third took him away, and spread that rumor. It was an attempt to protect him from whoever betrayed them. But that's beside the point."
Uri wanted to retreat. "Point...?"
"You disappeared without saying anything to us." Fuji stated fiercely. "After you promised Mikoto you would ask for help if it became too much for you to handle."
Uri looked away. "Everything's fine..."
Fuji tilted his headward just-so, making his gaze appear sharper.
"You're pale, Uri." Fuji stated. "And you seem shaky on your feet. You're exhausted, and you stink of blood. You don't seem fine to me."
Uri glared back at Fuji. His intelligence was INCONCVENIENT at the moment.
"You always put yourself last." Fuji sighed. "That first time, when you spoke up for Minato. When you ran off with Kushina to protect her. When Minato was taken. And Mikoto as well."
Uri flinched, silently pleading that he wouldn't bring it up. They'd never spoken of it...
"You loved Mikoto." Fuji stated, ignoring his pleas. "Any idiot could tell. Even Kushina knew. But instead of acting on that, you encouraged me."
Uri clenched his fists. "You are my freind... You were under the wrong impression. I didn't want you to waste anymore time..."
"You could've fought for her. You might've won."
"I don't want to fight you!" Uri admitted, fear shooting up his spine like lightning. "Not over anything! Not ever! I'm sorry I disappeared, but I was afraid! I don't want to lose anyone else!"
Right now, he was enjoying a delicate peace. The slightest change, and everything could be thrown into chaos. Experiencing that nightmare a second time would be too much...
Fuji clapped his hands down on Uri's shoulders, making him jump. They looked each other in the eye, and Uri could see Fuji's resolve.
"Then tell me everything." Fuji said, surprising Uri. "I'll tell you everything. Together, we can find a solution. Minato's will is still with this village. As long as that's the case, then I'll be on your side."
Uri stared at him in disbelief. He looked down, wondering why he was hesitating.
"I..." He began, squaring his shoulders. "Fuji... About the others... Mami, she--"
They were forced apart as the earth shook. Both men grunted as they slammed against the ground, vibrating with the earth. Uri forced himself onto his back, his teeth chattering. Why was the air suddenly so thick and suffocating?
He pushed himself to his feet and forced his eyes open. The space within his skull now felt tight. Blood trailed from his nostrils as the earth ceased trembling.
He panted heavily. No... No, no, no...
Was that...? No, it couldn't be...
He forced himself to his feet as he took in the sight. His breath was running away from him. If he didn't calm down, he'd hyperventilate and pass out.
One hand clapped over his heart, gripping the layer of clothing that shielded Uri's skin from his clawing fingers. He felt separated from reality. Even with Fuji shaking Uri by the shoulder, yelling at the top of his lungs, Uri barely noticed him.
No... How?!
"Uri! What IS that?!" Fuji asked.
"It's the ruins..." Uri cried, gritting his teeth. "The ruins... are trying to surface..."
They were rising through the ground. They must have shot to the surface at such a speed that it forced the ground apart too quickly, creating a huge fissure that began at Uri's left and continued through Konoha, ending somewhere in the forest on the other side of the village. To make it worse, they were resurfacing right at the center of the village. Only the roof was visible, but the structure was forcing the fissure to widen. Water steadily filled the rest of the fissure as broken ground and collapsed buildings were swallowed up.
Chaos. The screaming villagers could have been heard from the moon.
Uri grit his teeth. He cleaned the blood from his nose with the back of his hand and shot an authoritative look at Fuji.
"Fuji, go find your family." Uri told him, earning a look of shock.
He shoved his hand away and took off--"Uri!"--heading for the village. He raced through bright sunshine, feeling the shadows of leaves pass over his face.
He'd been foolish! This was her doing, he knew it! To think he'd believed having her monitored by a single anbu would be enough!
He broke through the forest and skidded to a sloppy stop in a flooded street. Dust and smoke hang in the air. Fires had erupted in a few of the collapsing buildings and were spreading fast, empowered by the wind. The water was rising quickly, having already reached Uri's thighs, and seemed possessed by some kind of current.
He glared across the street, through an alley, and into the next street. It was filled with villagers who were evacuating in a hurry, trying as hard as they could to run to safety but this water made it difficult. Overhead, shinobi were carrying the injured as they roof-hopped.
The scent of blood was strong. A short look around at the boulder-sized chunks of packed soil, some of which were bigger than houses, told Uri that many of the villagers were crushed to death.
He jumped from the streets to the roofs, driven by the screams and the sight of his village being burned, flooded, split in two, and collapsing all at once.
He drew closer to the ruins, seeing their walls were visible. A good portion of the village was destroyed now. The water was chin-high in the streets.
He heard the sounds of battle and looked to see Konoha shinobi battling a red haired woman. They were clearly outmatched. She danced around on the water like a butterfly, gutting them like fish as she did it.
Uri flinched as she grinned wildly, on the verge of cutting another man's throat. Uri vanished, reappearing between them to catch Mami's wrist. Mami and the young, dark haired konoha shinobi stared at Uri's clasped hand before their gaze flickered up to his masked face. Mami's grin morphed into a quaint smile.
"And who might you be?" She asked, amused.
Uri clenched her wrist to the point that it cracked. She didn't seem to mind the pain.
"What are you doing to my village?" Uri asked, surprising Mami.
"You..." She mouthed, before smirking. "I thought you were gone. What do you want?"
"ANSWER the QUESTION," Uri growled, cracking her wrist some more.
Mami decided she'd had enough, and turned in his grip to aim a sideway's kick at his neck. He released her in order to dodge it, and they both skipped away, stopping at oposite sides of the street.
"How ungrateful." She remarked.
Uri glared at her.
"I'm relcaiming our clan's greatest ancestral treasure." Mami gestured to the ruins.
"Why?" Uri enunciated. "What's the point?"
"'The point!'" Mami laughed. "What's wrong with you? You're one of us, remember? As long as this village exists, we'll destroy ourselves trying to protect it! Just like Kushina!"
Uri narrowed his eyes at her and straightened up.
"Is it Uchiha Fugaku?" Mami asked. "Don't worry, we aren't planning on annihalating everyone! Just the weak villagers! The Uchiha are one of the four great clans! We don't mind sharing our new home with them! As long as they know their place!"
"Know their place?"
"Yes, exactly." Mami waved her hair over her shoulder. "You don't have to worry about that boy either. I talked it over with Mako, and we've decided to let him live. He IS a jinchuriki. He's young too, so there's still time to condition him! We already contacted Seto and asked him to take the boy to safety while we clean up here! You'll be reunited again as soon as possible!"
Uri's fingers flexed, clenching and unclenching. He knew it... It WAS them after all.
"You knew... About Naruto?" He asked.
Mami giggled and waved pettily at him. "Of course, we knew all along!"
"You knew where he was, what I've been doing, how Yuuki helped me, everything."
"Yes, of course!"
"You unforgivable, two-faced monster..."
Mami faltered, taken aback by this.
"Traitor!" Uri leapt, bringing one kunai down on her. She blocked it with her own, and the two blades froze as a result of equal, brute strength.
"How dare you do this!" He screamed. "Destroying our village, and now another that was kind enough to take you in! None of it belongs to you!"
Mami stared at him, bewildered before she slowly accepted this reaction.
"I see..." She accused. "Too bad for you. Only I can control these ruins. And I won't be sending them anywhere! Our goal is nearly met!"
Uri grit his teeth. "What do you mean?! How are you doing all this?!"
"The same way I survived being shunned by everyone!" Mami replied, eyes lit up with madness. "By making a contract with the sacred tree!"
"Liar." Uri replied curtly, earning a wicked grin from her. "That's the will to protect, not destroy!"
"Not every ancestor we have held good intentions!" Mami countered. "A lot of them were betrayed, as I was! There are no pure things tied to the earth! Such an existance is illogical! Even the sacred tree held impure wills! Dead ones, calling for revenge! All I did was offer them a deal: in exchange for their power, I would seek vengeance. They left the tree and entered my body! My scars disappeared, along with any fear I had! Now, I'm finally so close! Once I move everyone into the ruins, I'll lock them within 'the space!'"
"'The space?'" Uri questioned, his head spinning. "The chamber that appears and disappears with whirlpools? That's just a fairy tale! It isn't real!"
"Of course it is!" Mami laughed. "And it's inside those ruins! And I know how to find it, because one of the voices told me where it was!"
"Traitors!"
The konoha shinobi backed away in disgust, pointing at them:
"You guys--the Uzumaki clan--you're to blame for this!" He declared. "You're traitors!"
Uri considered arguing. Mami was solely responsible. But the elders was aware of the ruins, and they knew the legend stating only an Uzumaki could control them. If this was brought up at the meetings, then... This was the end for them. But there was still a way to prevent the worst.
Uri stared at his kunai before tossing it aside, shocking Mami. He considered saying some parting words, but it would have been a waste. He shut his eyes, quickly locating Yuuki as he'd done with Naruto before teleporting to her location.
All was calm within the ruins, as if they were unaware of the chaos just outside their walls. He'd appeared within one of the neutral chambers, finding not only Yuuki but the rest of his clan as well. Before he could speak, they swarmed in on him in desparation.
"Uri! Uri, the ruins are destroying the village!"
"We'll be blamed for this! We're doomed!"
"We'll be forced back underground! There's no hope anymore!"
Uri tried to calm them: "Everyone, listen to me! Calm down, we don't have much time!"
"Uri!"
He turned and Yuuki almost knocked him over before trapping him in a tight embrace.
"Yuuki!" He shouted in a mizture of joy, relief, and anger. He pushed her away at arms length: "You went out again didn't you? You left him alone."
She nodded sadly, her cheeks stained with dried tears. "I did. I'm so sorry Uri."
Uri hesitated before deciding it didn't matter. There was no point in blaming her.
He turned to address the clan: "There's very little time! If we want to avoid the worst case scenario we must act fast! Where is Mako?"
"We don't know!" Ame wailed. "He's been missing all day!"
Uri sighed and moved on: "There's no helping it. Listen! I have a plan! It isn't pleasant, nor easy, but we've no other option! We must disappear from this village!"
All gasped, realizing his meaning. Heads began to turn, followed by whispered doubts and hesitation. Yuuki clenched her fist over her heart.
"We don't need to erase our entire existance!" Uri explained. "Only the time we've spent here! We can use reverse/restore to return the village to it's proper state! We'll place an erase memory seal on the shinobi world! They'll forget we were ever here, Konoha will be saved, and the ruins will return to being moving ruins. We can avoid the worst by disappearing! It'll save the surviving villagers and restore order!"
"But--But what about our comrades who died fighting for this village!" Riki asked. "And all those killed in this disaster? Won't they be erased too?"
Uri bit the inside of his cheek, unable to deny this.
"What're we supposed to do?" Riki ranted. "Go back to the shadows? Why should we have to leave! This is our village now too! They can't blindly accuse us! We've done nothing wrong! This is just a freak accident! They've no proof! And who put you in charge?! How do we know this isn't a trap! You've always been loyal to Konoha! You would totally sell us out to them--"
Yuuki turned on him in outrage: "How dare you--?!"
"Call me what you will." Uri said, shocking them. "It won't save us. The truth is, there are those in this village who do not want us here. They have the power to destroy us and leave us with nothing! Do you understand? There are times when fighting is pointless!"
Something had changed in their eyes which led Uri to believe he had reached them somehow.
"Suppose we agree." An older veteran, Yama, said. "We lack the neccessary strength to fulfill your plan. We need to place the reverse/restore seal and erase memory seal simultaneously to prevent disorder. The reverse/containment seal uses less stamina, but it's impossible to seal away so much damage."
"Then we should use 'pillars of support.'" Yuuki decided. "The 'core' and 'link' seals will allow us to cut the strength required for this plan down to less than half."
"But--The memoy seal is forbidden!" Another exclaimed. "And the 'pillars of support' have a complicated formula! Only Kushina knew--"
"We know it." Uri interrupted. "Yuuki and I can place the core and link seals. We'll all work simultaneously."
Everyone gaped back, still hesitating. It would seem they had no desire to be forgotten. But there was no other choice.
Uri locked his fingers together. "I'll send you to the neccessary locations. In ten minutes, place the seals and attach the chains. We will place the 'core' and 'link.'"
Before they could protest, he sent them away. He turned to Yuuki.
"You know what I'm thinking, don't you?" He asked, solemnly.
"I do."
Uri eyed the walls of the ruins. "I lied before. The ruins are different. As long as they're here, the fissure won't disappear. Someone has to take care of them. In all your wandering, have you found the chamber with the 'key'?"
Yuuki nodded, then shut her eyes. Using the dreamscape seal which linked their minds, she showed him the way.
"I understand." Uri nodded. "That place is different. Entering is easy, but leaving is..."
"What about Naruto?" Yuuki asked.
Uri's expression softened. "Don't worry. He won't be trapped there. I'll send him away before it's too late. You should go now and place the link seal. We need to be punctual."
Yuuki nodded, then threw her arms around him. At first, he was surprised. But he relaxed quickly and returned her affections.
"I promise to return." He vowed. "It may take a while. If you see Fuji again, tell him I'm sorry, and I hope he'll forgive me. It'll be a painful experience. Can you endure it?"
She nodded, gripping his shirt.
"Go now." He said, and she took off, disappearing through one of the ripple seals.
It didn't take long to locate the chamber with the "key." It began at the center of the room: a complicated seal that seemed alive, with the many circles and symbols spinning clockwise. The seal chains were thick at the base, where they connected to the center, and thin where they ended halfway up the walls.
He frowned and reverse summoned Naruto. He was relieved to find him concious, and apparently blissfully ignorant. He sat on the floor, bright blue eyes taking in the room around him as he leaned back on his tiny hands. He gaped at Uri in outrage.
"You! How'd you do that!" Naruto screamed, getting to his feet and pointing angrily at Uri. When Uri continued to smile down at him warmly, that only seemed to make Naruto angrier: "Quit smiling! I'm not a joke, you know! I finally got to go outside, and it was just another room! I had to talk to this smelly old geezer!"
Uri couldn't help it. He burst out laughing, causing Naruto to run forward and beat on Uri's shins with his fists. Uri laughed so much that the world seemed to become filled with light. He laughed as he fell to his knees and only stopped when he drew Naruto into such a close hug the boy's feet left the floor.
Naruto was confused. "Hah? Huh..."
"I'm very sorry." Uri said. "But I want you to know something, even though you'll forget it. Your mother and father... They were my sister and my best freind." "...L-Liar! You'd never tell me anything about them!"
"No, it's true. They were the bravest, kindest, most wonderful people. They are heroes, and so are you. Never let anyone call you a hybrid, or say you don't deserve to exist. No matter what you are or where you come from, you can still choose who you become. Your father knew that. And so do I."
Uri moved his hand up, placing it over the back of the boy's head. He grimaced as his fingertips lit up with chakra.
"Forgive me." He begged. "We won't meet again. Please survive...!"
Tears streamed from his eyes, plopping against the floor as he sobbed through gritted teeth.
"Please, please forgive me. I'm so sorry for not protecting everybody like I promised..."
Uri squeezed his eyes shut as he placed the seal. A forbidden seal that could harm the one person he should have protected at any cost.
A memory seal, the "core" of a larger one.
As soon as it was done, he relaxed. Naruto slumped against him, in a daze. Uri noticed that the glowing 'key' had begun to pick up speed. Mami was forcing them to rise more quickly. She knew where he was, and was attempting to trap him. They were out of time.
He sent Naruto back and went to take a seat over the center, locking his fingers together and bowing his head. He clapped his hands over the seal. It turned yellow and began turning counter-clockwise.
YOU ARE BRAVE.
Uri blinked, looking at the roof. He could have sworn he heard a voice. His flinched as controlling the key began to drain his energy. But he couldn't stop! He had to keep going, until they were deep underground.
He groaned, flinching internally. Almost there! Just a little more!
THERE!
He absorbed the seal into his body, curling his fingers. So heavy! So mind-numbingly, nerve-wrackingly heavy! He could barely take it!
As soon as he was done, he collapsed, drooling and panting. He couldn't move. As Fuji had pointed out, he hadn't been in good condition to begin with...
He closed his eyes. So tired... At least, everyone was safe now...
YES, THEY ARE. GOOD WORK.
Uri squeezed his eyes shut. "Who... Are you...?"
I AM THE PROTECTOR. THIS CHAMBER IS CALLED THE SPACE.
"Impossible...!"
REST NOW. I'LL WATCH OVER YOU.
FLASHBACK ENDS HERE
URI'S POV [PRESENT DAY KUMOGAKURE]
"Is that... it?" Mifune asked.
Uri nodded. "Yes. That's everything."
Gaara looked as if he tasted something sour. But he kept quiet.
"I remember rescuing Naruto," Kakashi said, "That was related to your clan wasn't it? Why wasn't that erased?"
"My assistance wasn't needed, so that event remained untouched." Uri explained. "Seto was branded an s-class criminal, and allied himself with numerous rogues, including the Akatsuki. Even though he betrayed every one of them."
Kakashi's sighed. "That explains how Tsubasa knows him."
"I can't believe Fugaku suggested teamwork." Enoki said, dumbfounded. "He even said he was on your side!"
"As I've been trying to tell you, he wasn't a villain." Uri replied. "Still, my disappearance alone shouldn't have changed him that much. I'm sure he believed that Minato's will had disappeared from Konoha, which made him their enemy."
"So the space is really apart of some ancient ruins." Tsunade said, pinching her chin. "And Mami can summon these ruins anywhere. But how were you able to control them?"
"It isn't difficult." Uri replied. "As long as I used the 'key,' then I can manipulate it from the inside. Mami is special because she doesn't need the key."
"Mami is the vesel for so much hate." Enoki groaned. "She has strange powers that aren't easily understood. I thought your Sacred Tree's powers can't be used like that?"
"They can't." Uri replied curtly. "Mami isn't using the unified will of the sacred tree, dubbed 'Kairi's will.' Some of our ancestors DID hold a grudge against the clan. Their will remained separate from the unified will. Mami was betrayed like the rest of them, so they left the tree and entered her. Kairi told me that while I slept in the chamber."
"I can't believe you were in there too!" Ay yelled, pointing at Uri. "For how long..."
Ay immediately knew he'd hit a sore subject. Uri's shoulders hunched and the light in his eyes dimmed.
"The space is a healing chamber, and I was near death." He stated bitterly. "When I left, I found myself at the bottom of the mountain gorge where Naruto fell two years ago. I was soaked, and it was dark. My head was spinning, but somehow I reached the surface and returned to Konoha. Without revealing myself, I overheard conversations and searched the city. The Uchiha clan massacre had long since passed. Your fourth shinobi world war was over. Naruto had recently gone MIA."
Ay's eyes widened. The others paled or stared back in seriousness.
Uri's smiled, tormented by the memories. "It was... too much to handle. I wandered, waiting to die. But then I found Naruto in the land of waves. I had planned to return him to Konoha! But then I discovered he didn't remember any of you, and it was my fault. I took him and ran out of fear. I should have just let him go home. If I hadn't kept him with me then none of this would've happened."
Uri shot to his feet. "More importantly, I believe Mami wants to repeat that disaster! We've only a little time before she acts. I've no idea where the ruins are or how to find them! And to make matters worse, the erase memory seal isn't going to last..."
Gaara became alert. "What do you mean?"
"Without the 'core,' Naruto, the seal is just a crumbling ruin." Uri held his hands up for emphasis, and waved them up and down in panic. "Right now, it's being sustained by the energy of the survivng Uzumaki. But it's only a matter of time. Either it will drain the chakra of our clan members, killing us all before it unravels, or it will crumble on its own. When it does fail, the 'truth' that it has contained will explode out all at once. Even those who weren't alive back then will know the truth. There's a chance that their brains will overload and shut down, killing who knows how many people."
"That can't be!" Ay yelled.
"That explains why you're telling us this." Gaara added. "Before you began, you said that even if you revealed the truth to someone they would forget it moments later. But since we're going to learn the truth eventually, we might as well know now."
"There must be something we can do!" Mei asked, looking anxious.
"There is one thing..." Uri said. "Even with the core, the keystone of the seal, gone, the other pillar remains. The 'link.' If the person with the link seal remembers the past, the universal memory seal will vanish instead of crumbling. People WILL remember, but it won't happen all at once."
"That's great!" Mei exclaimed. "How do we make him remember?"
"You can't." Uri replied curtly, stunning them out of their hope. "They will probably never remember the past. Our goal was to ensure that the seal remained in place for as long as possible. So I chose someone who couldn't abuse the truth or reveal it recklessly."
"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked.
"Well..." Uri trailed off, knitting his brow. He turned his head, staring down at the pocket of his long jacket. He narrowed his eyes. Why... did that pocket feel weighed down? Why was it so heavy?
He unpocketed a palmtop blue pullstring sack. He had not lost the attention of the group, but they stared at him in confusion opened the bag, pouring the contents into his palm. It was a large, spherical, seal stone. Seeing it made Uri tense.
"What's wrong?" Gaara asked.
Uri's heart beat loudly in his ears. His eyes shook as he stared, gasping breathlessly at the stone. This was impossible...
"Check on him."
"What?" Ay asked.
"Send someone to check on him!" Uri ordered. "Now!"
Everyone jumped back as the door was thrown open. Shee entered, looking pale and sweaty and quite panicked.
"What's wrong?!" Ay roared.
Shee struggled to catch his breath, guping to clear his throat.
"He's gone!" Shee told them. "Naruto! Vanished!"
NARUTO'S POV [UNKNOWN LOCATION]
He lay on his side with his shoulder and cheek pressed against the cold, stony floor. He was very tired, so he felt lazy despite the discomfort.
He shuddered, releasing a misty breath. Everything hurt, and he curled into a ball to grip his chest. What was this bad dream he was having? He could see things...
He groaned. It hurt... A lot... But... Wait... Why was he so happy?
His eyes flickered open. What a wierd, unfamiliar place. There was some kind of "spotlight from nowhere," so-to-speak, focused on him. Beyond that was a swirling pitch black fog and endless darkness. He grunted, rolling onto his belly and pushing himself to his knees. He squinted into the darkness.
"Where am I?" He asked, breathless and groggy. "Why does it hurt so much...?"
He straightened up somewhat, gritting his teeth through the whole ordeal, and began to look around again. Was this in his psyche?
He inhaled, held his breath, and shouted: "KURAMA! ARE YOU HERE?! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"
He waited eagerly, shaking unsteadily. There was no reply.
Naruto bit the inside of his cheek and looked at the black fog. It was thick, like syrup. If he tried to walk through it, he'd probably get lost or stuck somewhere just like last time.
He moaned, and pulled his hand away from his chest. To his surprise, it was covered in blood.
What...?
He looked down and paled, feeling both empty and terrified.
There was a hole there! Right where his heart should have been! And it was bleeding heavily...
He gasped. What was this? Was he dead?
HIs nearly hyperventilated before remembering. Tsuna... did this. He'd betrayed him.
Naruto slumped over, looking grievous. Why?
As your family and you best freind, I will always be beside you, protecting you! I really don't care about Seto! My loyalties lie with you!
Had Naruto not understood something?
This felt... familiar. Both the betrayal, and being trapped here.
He noticed something out of the corner of his eye: A light. Not dim, like the one keeping the black fog away. A warm, pure one.
It was his shoulder, the one that had been injured once by a guardian. Right where the bruise had once been, there was now a bright, blinding white light.
He stared in awe. It was so warm and comforting, especially here.
He felt... resolved.
"I want to go back." He decided. "Please... I need to save my freinds. All of my freinds..."
He winced as the light became heat, shooting across his chest like veins. It flooded the hole in his chest, making him feel full. The light blinded him, and suddenly...
Someone was shaking him, making his back brush against a tree trunk. He felt warmth on his face and saw light from behind his closed eyelids. His body felt heavy.
"Naruto! Naruto, talk to me!"
His eyes shook before drifting open. He saw someone with a wierd bowl-cut and giant caterpillar eyesbrows who was crouched in front of him as he cried like a baby. Behind him were two others: the first was a Hyuuga youth. The second was someone with a brown ponytail in a green flak jacket. Both looked stunned, but cautiously hopeful.
"You're awake!" The guy with the caterpillar eyebrows cried. "What are you doing here?! Neji was using his byakugan, and he saw you pop out of nowhere! You had this wierd injury, like someone pucnhed your heart out, but it was already healing when we got here! And now you--"
"Bushy brows..."
All three flinched. Their faces lit up as they gaped. Naruto chuckled weakly.
"Naruto... Do you..." Lee asked, clearing his throat, "Do you know... who we are?"
Naruto paused and smiled, widely and warmly.
"Yeah... I remember now." He said, making Lee grin through his tears. "I'm really sorry... For disappearing... And forgetting... and dying..."
The trio were equally stunned.
"But... I'm back now... So can we call it even?" He asked.
Wierdly, Lee hugged him. Naruto could see his shoulders heave and his back lurch.
"Oi... Don't get snot all over me." He warned jokingly.
"Don't be stupid!" Lee shouted. "We were... never angry! We were just sad, because we didn't want to say goodbye yet! You don't have to apologize!"
Naruto grinned. "That's good..."
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