Chapter 50 : Hope(3)

He didn't open his eyes, but Naruto knew that someone was approaching him.

This person was trying to decide something. This person was trying to decide whether or not to assassinate him. It was rather amusing if he were honest. This person thought they could actually take his life if they wanted to.

It was a funny joke…

The fact that the person was considering letting him live was the only reason he hadn't slit their throat. It was interesting, and Naruto wanted to see where this would go if he let the person decide for themselves.

A few moments later and he could hear a female-like voice, which was strange since he could tell that the person was very much a male, and that he was the only person around. "You shouldn't sleep out here, Shinobi-san." He could feel a hand tap his shoulder. "You'll catch a cold." Naruto slowly opened his eyes. Apparently he decided to 'spare' him.

"I think I'll be okay…"

"Haku," the feminine looking boy answered the unspoken question.

"…Haku." Naruto looked around before he sighed. "I'm Naruto. So, what are you doing out here, Haku-san?" He asked, getting to his feet. He didn't want to go back to Tazuna's house.

He was going to respect Tsunami's wishes, even if she never expressed them. Her mind was clear, she didn't want him around her son anymore, and Naruto really didn't want to feel the way he felt last night again. He usually loved being a monster, embraced it even, but when the people he promised to protect looked at him like one, well, even a monster's heart could ache.

"Someone very dear to me is injured." Haku pointed to the herbs across the small clearing they were in. "I'm looking for medicinal herbs so I can speed up his recovery." Haku gave the blond a polite, kind smile.

Naruto smirked. "Ah yes, I heard. Kakashi really got Zabuza good the other day, huh." Haku's shocked face was humorous.

The fake Kiri-nin stood and took out a senbon, getting in a defensive stance. "I will return to Zabuza-sama, even if I have to kill you," he stated.

Naruto just chuckled. "If I wanted you dead, Haku-san, you would already be dead." The blond stretched. "Now, which herbs were you looking for?" He asked, taking his time to walk over to where Haku had pointed.

"Y-you…" Haku was very, very confused. "You want to help heal an enemy shinobi?" This had to be some kind of joke, or a way to get his guard down… right?

"Yeah." Naruto nodded. "You see, I kind of need your assistance with something, so I thought, while you do what I need I could have some fun as well." His genuine smile confused the last Yuki even more.

"Fun?" he asked, now very interested in what the boy had to say.

"Yes, fun." he replied, bending down to pick the herbs he knew to be medicinal. "You see, I've been asleep for quite a while now, and I'm terribly curious about it."

"Curious about what?" Haku asked. This Konoha-nin made no sense at all.

Firstly, he had been fast asleep, ignorant to the possibilities of an enemy-nin attack in a nation without shinobi. Secondly, he somehow knew that he was working with a well-known, A-ranked missing-nin and didn't try to attack. Thirdly, he didn't try to stop him from collecting herbs, but even offered to help. And lastly, he wanted to have…fun? What the hell was wrong with this kid?

"I want to know which is superior." Naruto stood, handing the boy the herbs he picked out, almost losing his composure when the fake Hunter-nin almost flinched. As he walked off further into the forest, he whispered his last words, but Haku heard them clearly, like nature itself went silent so his words could travel to his ears.

"A demon… or a monster."

After an unfruitful training session, Naruto decided to confront the little birdy following him. He gave the boy props for his skills in stealth, for a genin at least.

"You can come out now, Sasuke." He said, not even looking towards the tree the Uchiha was in. The blond was sitting on the shoreline, watching the waves which reminded him of a certain auburn-haired woman. The forest behind him, more specifically the rather large tree, was where the Konoha genin stood, trying his best to be inconspicuous.

"How long did you know?" Sasuke asked, trying to act like he wasn't bothered at being discovered so quickly.

Naruto smirked, not that the genin could see it. "Since you stepped out of Tazuna's home." He could feel the boy's shock. "I'm a sensor, Sasuke, and a good one at that." He gave a small smile. "What's on your mind?" A pointless questions, since Naruto already knew what he wanted to talk about.

"Last night…" the raven-haired boy paused, not sure if he should ask. "What… what did you do?" When he saw Inari's eyes he didn't know what to think. Then, when Kakashi said that he somehow gave hope back to him by letting him see through his eyes, Sasuke was interested in what he meant. Inari's eyes were back to normal now, but around the pupil there was a faint gold trace.

"My sensor ability comes from another technique I was born with." He turned to the Uchiha. "It's called empathy, and with it I can understand others on a deeper, more personal level. The special thing about my gifts is that there is more than one way to use them. If I can make physical contact, I can push my empathy onto another, and let them see what I see when I look at the world."

"So," Sasuke began, "since Inari saw through your eyes, he somehow obtained hope? I don't understand. How can someone see hope? Isn't it just a four letter word, an emotion?"

Naruto shook his head. "I could sit here and explain it to you all day, but I don't think you would understand." He felt the Uchiha's indignant mind. "Relax, Sasuke, I know you're an intelligent shinobi, but even Kage-level ninja can't properly contemplate what I'm capable of." He smirked. "But if you'd like," he held out his hand, "you can try to, with time."

Sasuke took a moment to think the offer over. Ever since… what he did, all the last loyal Uchiha wanted was to gain the power to avenge his clan, to be powerful enough to end his brother's life. He didn't have time for friends. He didn't have time to train with others, because to Sasuke, everyone was below him. But now, standing in front of him, someone known to be the greatest shinobi in Hi no Kuni wanted to help.

He only had one question. "Why?" He knew what a lot of people thought about him. He was the 'last Uchiha', not Uchiha Sasuke. He loved his clan, he wanted the world to know of their greatness, but he wanted to be seen as an individual sometimes.

"It's simple, really." Naruto began. "When I was in the ANBU, I knew your brother." He felt Sasuke freeze. "He was my first real friend in the village." His small smile morphed into something more sinister. "You weren't the only one who lost a brother, a family that night." He steeled his features. "With your help, Sasuke, I want to kill – no, I want to annihilate the person responsible, the person who took something very dear to us both."

Naruto decided to ease the boy's mind. "You're not just another Uchiha, there's greatness in your future. The drawback, though, is that there are two very different paths that lie before you. Without my assistance, it is very possible that you will fall into the dark abyss of hatred, forever falling in a never ending pit of suffering. But with my help, with me there to guide you, to teach you, I guarantee you will be remembered long after your death. The name Uchiha Sasuke will be etched into history forever, not as a brave and courageous hero, but as one of the greatest monsters to have ever served Heaven."

His hand was still offered to the genin. "So, what's it going to be? Will you let your heart ache, and struggle to gain the power you seek? Or will you join me in my crusade as one of God's monsters, his demon slayer, and his right hand?"

It was strange. Sasuke was never one to follow. He was never one to listen to orders, to serve. But at that moment, after hearing the most sincere thing anyone had ever told him, he felt like he could follow. He felt like he could, like he would, do as this blond shinobi said. He shook the Uzumaki's hand.

He would become a monster.

And Naruto could feel his conviction.

He was one step closer to being ready, and Danzo was one step closer to Hell.

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