Chapter no.3

Team Nine was stunned that someone so young could have such a pessimistic outlook on life, and they were silent as a result. He's exactly the same as Haku was before I gave Zabuza some common sense... Naruto was thinking and reflecting on the past. As a result of the recent alliance between Konoha and Kiri, he'd had many more encounters with Zabuza and Haku, and Haku had become a close friend of his. Even though he wasn't a Jinchuriki himself, he could relate to some of what Naruto had been through because he knew what it was like to have no purpose in life. He understood some of what Naruto had gone through.

I could not fathom why I should even be here.

It made him uncomfortable to think back on the years he had spent by himself, before he had met Iruka, before Sasuke and Sakura, and even before Izuna and Kurama. Naruto's recollection of his childhood was so vivid that it was almost excruciating to listen to, beginning with the time when he had first been able to walk unsteadily on his own two feet. When he cried, the workers at the orphanage would just stare at him with apathy. He remembered cold nights spent on the streets, shivering in the rain, and hoping to kami that he might find some food.

After each passing day, he pondered the meaning of his continued existence.

After lowering himself to a kneeling position next to the child, he murmured, "...It's a painful thing to have no reason to live," as he reflected on his predicament. "To wonder… Why were you even brought into this world if it is so cruel and hateful that it does not want you? I ask myself that question every single day. To be forced to ponder the reasons why people appear to despise your very existence and treat you as if you are subhuman, despite the fact that you have not harmed them in any way..." When he looked at him, the boy's eyes turned to meet his own. "He is the most valuable person in your life. You won't walk away from him, despite the fact that he's engaging in questionable behaviour."

My current mission in life is to do everything in my power to make sure that all of his dreams come true.

"Because he gave you something to work towards. Since the reason for doing so is no longer relevant-" When Naruto realised who he was with, he immediately cut himself off and shook his head.

…

kit? Are you doing okay?

I'm fine.

Karin reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. Her expression conveyed understanding; not pity, but genuine comprehension of the situation at hand.

While Neji was contemplating his own back, Lee and TenTen had their eyes fixed on the ground in front of them. Karin pointed in the direction of the village as she made her statement. "There are many chakra signatures gathering near the village."

After a brief pause, Neji broke the silence by saying, "Very well." "We are going to turn around and eliminate the remaining members of the gang. We were able to eliminate their leader, but it is impossible to predict what the remaining members of the beast will do now that the head has been removed."

The fact that Naruto had every reason to mistrust Karashi turned out to be correct, and he mentally thanked Sasuke for turning Kakashi into a paranoid individual like himself.

After (relatively) easily overcoming the ambush that the Kurosuki family had set up for them, and after Lee had pleaded with the villagers to allow him and Sansho to deal with Karashi themselves, the group retraced their steps back to the location where they had bound Ranmaru and released him. Madara maintained an unusual silence throughout the entire journey; whenever he followed Naruto around, he would typically make comments, most of which were derogatory, as well as snide remarks and insults. He was aware that the Uchiha was engaging in banter with him in this manner in order to avoid directly acknowledging the fact that he appeared to enjoy conversing in the first place.

"Have you had anything to eat?" Neji questioned while pulling out a kunai to cut the ropes that were shackling the boy to a pillar that provided support inside the shack.

"It's probably best if you just leave me here. Since Raiga has passed away, I no longer have any reason to continue living "'Yes,' said the young man.

"Shouldn't we just listen to what he has to say and then walk away from him? He's a wimp, that one "TenTen commented on it while crossing her arms. "I can't stand people who are weak and indecisive," she said.

Naruto kept a low profile. It occurred to him with a tinge of annoyance that Sasuke would probably say something like that.

Ranmaru spoke with his eyes fixed on the ground as he explained, "For a significant portion of my life, that room was all I knew." "I have no recollection of my parents. The only reason I was able to live was because a few kind villagers brought me food on occasion. But I possessed a power that none of the other people did. From within that room, I was privy to information that the general public was not. Because of that, nobody would have anything to do with me. They referred to me as a monstrosity and claimed that I was under a curse. And after that, nobody brought me any more food. I had nothing else to do but wait to pass away when Raige came across me."

Lee mumbled, "Your history is filled with such heartbreak."

"I see. Therefore, he was able to become a Seven Swordsman by stealing your power and using it himself "Neji deduced.

As Naruto closed his eyes, he mused that everything was nothing more than a disappointing trip down memory lane. Even if he wasn't as devoted as he could be to Sasuke and Sakura, he still considered them to be his Raiga and Zabuza. Even though he still had the use of his arms and legs, at one point in time he had been anticipating his own death. He had no parents and no family to call his own, and everyone avoided him because they thought he was a monster.

"What if Raiga was only utilising you to carry out her nefarious plans? In that case, what steps would you take?" He was aware of Karin's inquiry.

"In any case," Ranmaru said in response, "I was of some use to him." It was of no consequence."

Neji saw a tear roll down Naruto's cheek out of the corner of his eye. Neji was very surprised. After being startled, he turned to look at the boy more closely, but by that time, the blonde had already opened his eyes and was moving forward.

The direct statement he made, which caused Ranmaru's eyes to widen, was, "Then you're not really living." "I am familiar with the sensation of having no reason to live. I am familiar with the sensation of being so exhausted that all you want to do is give up and die. But if you are going to make it on your own, you have to put in everything you've got and fight with everything you've got. Why should we put ourselves through this? Why don't you just go out and meet some new people who you could call your friends? Why not disprove the assertions of those who have called you a monster or said you are incapable of surviving on your own? To hell with them. It is impossible to live at all if you are unable to live for yourself. At the culmination of his well-known "talk no jutsu," he held up one hand and said, "But you can start by having some Curry of Life!""

Karin and TenTen landed on their faces after crashing into the ground. "Are you kidding? Won't that be harmful to his physical being?" TenTen said, sweating.

Neji said to Naruto, "Naruto, you shouldn't have any of that either," while crossing his arms and assuming an incredulous expression.

That is correct. I could feel the discomfort in your stomach. Kurama grumbled as he emerged from within Naruto's mindscape, his ears flattened back.

Ranmaru was freed from his confinement by Naruto's beam, and he was then transported to the back of Naruto's body. "Neji, you're making a fool of yourself. He will benefit from it, I have no doubt."

"What's the Hurry, Life?" Madara asked, speaking up at last.

Because he was speaking to nothing but empty space, everyone around him was perplexed when Naruto said, "It's a shame you can't have any." "Even you would be intimidated by this curry, ohoho," the speaker said.

"I don't… This is not something I would recommend doing..."

"Nonsense! Go on, Ranmaru."

The young man mumbled, "I'm not that hungry" to himself.

Neji was presented with the steaming bowl of black goo that Naruto had in his hand. "So, you'd like some of that?"

Neji jerked and grabbed the bowl out of his hands as he twitched. If you consume an excessive amount of that, your oesophagus will start to burn.

"Hey, come on, hand it over," he pleaded.

"No."

You should never skip eating your allotted portion.

"No, not when it endangers your physical well-being," she replied.

Karin halted the conversation by shoving her glasses further up her nose as she looked out the window and remarked that it appeared a storm was approaching. A foreboding appearance on the horizon was provided by the gathering of storm clouds in the distance.

While still chewing his meal, Lee suggested that the two of them go and get some wood to help strengthen the store.

As Naruto stood up and straightened out his haori, he addressed Karashi and Ranmaru with the instruction, "You guys stay here." We won't be gone for long, and when we do, we'll bring enough supplies to hunker down.

With one swing of his fan, Naruto was able to cut down four trees and toss them into the air. They landed in orderly stacks, each of which was broken into four logs upon impact. "Yatta! I'm getting better results in terms of accuracy, right?"

Madara inspected the bark while he was on his knees. He referred to it as "a clean cut." This was "good job" in Naruto's translation of it. He had become fluent in Uchiha by this point because he had grown up around people who spoke the language.

Neji lifted one of the logs onto his shoulder and stated, "This ought to be enough." Neji was referring to the quantity of the logs. "Naruto, would you be willing to create some clones?"

"You're in the clear, captain."

"Shouldn't TenTen have returned by this point in time?" Karin frowned and pointed in the direction of Sansho's shop while asking her question. A few minutes earlier, Neji had dispatched her to check on Karashi and Ranmaru before bringing her back.

The clones of Naruto suddenly materialised and began hoisting the logs that they had cut onto their shoulders so that they could carry them back. "Go ahead and check," Naruto instructed, forming the seal of half a hand in order to focus his attention. Karin imitated him by doing the same thing, closing her eyes.

"So, Naruto, you're a sensor nin as well, right?" Lee asked. The young man gave a sporadic nod while scanning the area for TenTen's chakra signature.

Karin exclaimed, with a frown forming on her brow, "I found her!" "However, she is not present at the store... In addition, Karashi's chakra is present, but-"

"Crap," Naruto said. He let go of the log with a resounding crunch.

What exactly is it? Neji asked, alert. He put down his own log and gave them his undivided attention as he did so.

"Raiga's back. The level of chakra held by Ranmaru is precariously low." After opening her eyes and loosening her grip on her hands, Karin noticed that a drop of sweat was running down her forehead. "TenTen's as well,"

"Get moving. Naruto, tell your duplicates to wrap things up in this area."

Naruto yelled at his kage bunshin, which caused them to pick up the tempo of their movement. "Karin, do me a favour."

"Yes, Naruto-sama?" She was all set to begin her sprint, but she paused for a moment.

"Turn around and head back to the shop; check on Sansho to see if he's okay."

"What? But I-"

"I can assure you that it has nothing to do with your gender and that it is not because I don't believe you are capable of doing the job. But I have a sneaking suspicion that Karashi will run away once more, despite Lee's best efforts to beat some sense into him, and I need you to keep an eye on Sansho while the storm is raging. Given what we know about him, he probably did something incredibly stupid that put her in harm's way."

"All right, Naruto-sama."