Chapter 26 Aftermath

Dashing through the forest, Arata and the ninja dog passed by several fallen sand ninjas. He felt thankful that that there was no signs of his friends yet. However, Arata wanted to speed up the pace as he was worried about why it was taking the other so long and he hasn't gotten a trace of them yet. It wasn't until several minutes after traveling the forest that he felt the ground rumble and saw Sasuke nearby the unconscious Sakura and Pakkun, Kakashi's ninja dog.

Arata knew that the battle was more difficult then it seems as he saw the curse marks on Sasuke acting up again. He also took notice of the battle around them and saw how damage the terrain had taken and was surprised by what he saw because from what he knew, Naruto and Sasuke don't possess the kind of strength to cause such massive damage to the area.

Arata quickly landed by them as he said, " Sasuke what happened here? Where's Naruto?"

After checking if Sakura was okay, he looked up at Arata and said, " Naruto should be over there still fighting Gaara. I'll tell you the details later."

Arata quickly went to the direction that Sasuke pointed out and saw that Gaara and Naruto were both lying on the ground. Naruto was slowly crawling on the ground using his chin to drag his body towards Gaara. When he saw the situation, he quickly landed beside Naruto and stopped him.

Arata: " It's fine Naruto. I'll finish this once and for all."

Sasuke also arrived and told Naruto him that Sakura is no longer under the influence of Gaara's jutsu.

Arata walked towards Gaara with his kunai in his hand. Just as was getting closer and closer to Gaara, Temari and Kankuro appeared full of injuries too. As exhausted as he was, he believed he can still deal with the two of them and finish off Gaara. He also had Sasuke with him so it should work out just fine so he continued walking towards them while the latter party put up their guard preparing for battle.

Just as he was about to initiate his attack, Naruto stopped him, " Don't kill him Arata!"

Arata looked back at Naruto with a gaze that questioned his stupidity. " Do you know what has happened back at the village? Do you know how many lives have been lost because of their invasion? Are you still thinking correctly? If you had lost against him then you would've been dead! If you had lost Sakura would've also died. Are you that naïve? This world has no need to feel sympathy for your enemy. "

Arata's expression darkened once he had confirmed his resolve to kill the three before them.

Naruto: " Because... its because I understand him Arata. His pain... his loneliness... his hatred for this ninja world. Why do we continue this cycle if hatred. We kill and kill and that will only bring more suffering and pain to everyone that is involved. It's unbearable! Just this once Arata, let him go."

Arata ignored his words as he continued to walk towards the three. Until he started to remember his mother who sits idly on her chair looking out at the window all alone. He could always feel the yearning to see her family whom she has lost several years before their birth. He could see his father's back which seemed so wide and strong that it could shelter the whole world. He could feel the pain and the burden his father's back that was so heavy that he could not take a step farther or else he may crumble underneath the pressure.

As memories of his parents came into Arata's mind and remembering that Naruto had no parents and was basically left alone for all this time made Arata stop and look back him. He saw the pain and determination in Naruto's eyes that he hasn't shown before. Arata took one deep breath and calmed his mind.

He then looked at them and said, " Go, if you guys are ever a threat to the leaf village again, then I will not spare you another time."

Kankuro and Temari picked up Gaara and was about to leave when he asked Naruto, " Why, why would you go so far as to help your enemy. You say that you understand my pain, my loneliness, why are you not filled with hatred like me?"

Naruto smiled and said, " Because they saved me from the hell of being all alone. They accepted me for who I was. They are very important to me!"

Gaara looked down at the ground and said, " That's enough now. Let's just go home."

Naruto watched the group leave before finally falling asleep because of his exhaustion. Arata saw the smile that Naruto had on his face now that he had saved Sakura and sighed. He picked him up and the he returned to Sakura as they returned to the village.

Returning to the village it looks like the invasion was now over as there were no longer any sand ninjas around and saw that most of the ninjas were gathered around a body near the high platform of where the Third Hokage and Orochimaru fought. Seeing their saddened faces and gloomy atmosphere, Arata could already guess the outcome of the battle. The Third Hokage has died. Reporting the situation to Kakashi, the group returned home to rest.

The next few days, the village held a funeral for the Third Hokage and the fallen leave ninjas that died during the ninjas. Everyone arrived wearing black clothing and put flowers on the gravestones. Silence was in the atmosphere as everyone mourned in their own way.

After the funeral was over, Arata returned to his room and stared at the ceiling thinking about his future. With his strength right now, as long as he doesn't face anyone too strong then he should be fine. Not everyone in the ninja world possess elite level strength but he will also need to prepare if he does face that obstacle. Since possessing his rinnegan he has access to all 5 of the chakra nature elements so he has limitless potential at that regard. He is currently working on increasing is chakra with the chakra seal that is continuously gathering chakra into a single point. He wants to increase those seals so that he can always have a large reserve amount of chakra. He does not even know where to look for any traces of the Uzumaki clan so he will have to go back home and talk to his mother for that. During the battle against the sand ninjas, he noticed that he only got lucky because of the they had underestimated him most of the time.

Nodding his head he could think of one way to increase his battle prowess. His rinnegan has the potential to see chakra points just like the Byakugan. Although he knows that their style solely belongs to the Hyuga clan, he wants to take the chance to learn their combat style, gentle fist. If he has that, he will become more confident in fighting opponents one on one and against several people. He needs to meet the Hyuga clan leader and ask for his permission.

He went around town looking for Hinata and asked her team members where she could be. They told him that she should be training at the training grounds so Arata immediately went to see her. Several minutes after, he saw Hinata training her moves on the training ground sweating and breathing hard. Seeing her like this, Arata's heart skip a beat. Even though he has not known her for a long time or barely even talk to her but Arata already knew that Hinata has a simple and kind heart. She is stronger than most kunoichi ninja her age and still trains hard so that she doesn't disappoint her father and won't be a burden to a everyone around her. He simply can't understand why she has a crush on Naruto who is dumb and not as talented as most ninjas but since she has a crush on Naruto, he chose to not interfere with her feelings.

Arata saw that Hinata was done training as she laid on the ground breathing heavily. Arata walked towards her with a smile and said, " Hi Hinata, still training at this hour?"

Hinata quickly sat up and smiled too as she replied, " H-Hi Arata. I have to work hard... I don't want to be a burden to the people around me."

Arata's thoughts about Hinata was correct after all. He smiled as he took a bamboo filled water and handed it to Hinata and sat down in front of her. Hinata took the water and thanked Arata for the water. After gulping down the water, she asked, " Are you also here to train?"

Arata shook his head and said, " No. I am here to see you."

Arata's cheek grew slightly red when she heard that and didn't know what to say. When she was about to say something, Arata continued, " Well I am here to ask if I can ask for a favor from you."

Taking a deep breath, Hinata relaxed and said, " What favor?"

Arata looked at her seriously and said, " I want to talk to your father, will that be okay?"

Hinata got a little nervous when she heard the request. After all, in her eyes, she was a disappointment to her father. Hinata looked at Arata and said, " I can try."

Arata smiled as she said that she will try and stood up and held out his hand for Hinata to grab it. Seeing the hand, Hinata hesitated but seeing Arata's smile she decided that Arata was simply being nice and took her hand as Arata helped her up to her feet. Arata's smile grew even brighter when he saw that she didn't refuse the help. Well although he told himself that he wouldn't interfere, he can't help himself if Naruto is too blind to see someone that is pure and strong as her. Hinata has a powerful bloodline and has such a gentle heart whereas Sakura may have be smart but she always seems ill prepared for battle when it comes down to it.

Hinata led him to where she lives and enters her house. She sits outside the door and calls out to her father for permission to enter. Hearing the permission, Hinata enters and tells her father that a friend wants to talk to him. After a few minutes of talking, Hinata opens the door and tells Arata that he can talk to him. Arata took a deep breath and tried his best to put on a strong and brave face. He knows that it will be hard to gain permission to learn the gentle fist art. However, he was determined because of his strength that he can develop once he learns their art.

He saw Hinata's father sitting in the traditional sitting position with a brown table across from him with a few candle lit up. He said, " My daughter told me that you want to talk to me, what do you have to say to me?"