Chapter 143

NARUTO

While laying on Kurenai's couch, Naruto dispels his clones three at a time, thirty seconds apart and uses that entire time to listen to another one of Naru-nii's stories. For the past few weeks, his future counterpart would recount some of his missions or talk about the things he missed the most, his Godfather, his teammates, and his friends. Shikamaru was a complete surprise to Naruto, and it was weird to hear Naru-nii describe someone Naruto knows as the laziest person in the world, as a genius and a very caring person.

He's heard a bit about how amazing his friends are—Sakura's crazy training, Kakashi-sensei's wicked eye, how unbeatable Sasuke becomes—a bit about Kakashi's old teammates, but Naruto has also heard some about the deaths Naru-nii wasn't strong enough to prevent. He already knows exactly how Haku was supposed to die, alongside Zabuza-jiji. Learning how Ji-chan died at the hands of a former student nearly did Naruto in with panic, followed by extremely reckless training. He was only comforted by Naru-nii reminding him it hasn't happened, and things are changing so there's no reason to think that it will either.

'But what if it does happen,' Naruto mentally yells.

'Then you do what you always have, get even stronger so you can stop it next time, because trust me, there will always be a next time. You become the strongest so you can protect those you love with everything you have.'

Naruto couldn't understand how anyone could be so evil as to kill Ji-chan and it took Naru-nii several days of thirty to forty-minute sessions to explain his thoughts on evil.

'It took me a while to learn how to look underneath the underneath,' Naru-nii admitted.

'Kakashi-sensei says that all the time,' Naruto mournfully points out.

'Well, he's right,' the older Naruto chuckles. 'Every time I come up against someone really crazy strong, and learn why they're being so inhuman to others, it's always because of something sad, like they lost someone they really loved, or a family, a clan, and they couldn't bear it. Like us, they got really strong because of it, but unlike us, they wanted to make others feel their pain; to make them pay. The problem with that is innocent people have nothing to do with it, and it's like they're in the way of the things these bad people desire, so they just remove or kill them, which breeds more hate and pain, pushing more people to do really horrible stuff and that cycle just continues.'

It's how Naruto currently finds himself, laying on Kurenai's couch as his clones dispel a triplet at a time while Haku and Kurenai prepare dinner. Focusing on Naru-nii's voice instead of the headache, he listens to the third part of a long story: The Pain and Loss of the Uchiha Clan, along with the details of the noble clan's downfall.

Naru-nii told him about the suspicion that befell the Uchiha after an enslaved Kurama was forced to attack Konoha; About the planned coup d'état to overthrow Ji-chan; About Itachi, Shisui, and Shimura Danzō's part—Danzō, in particular, seems like the person who wanted all of this to happen. With care and respect, Naru-nii explained Itachi's sacrifice and deal to make sure his little brother would always remain safe. He explained Sasuke's misdirected desire to kill Itachi. And all of it took Naru-nii nearly three sessions to finish explaining it.

Unclear, Naruto asks, 'why did Tobi tell you all that, then just leave?'

'He thought he was defending all the bad stuff Sasuke was doing,' Naru-nii replies. 'Like I would understand Sasuke more if he explained how little Sasuke is actually in control of his destiny.'

'Did you,' Naruto questions. 'I mean, it doesn't really sound right.'

'Mnn, well, more stuff made sense, for sure, but Tobi didn't truly know Sasuke, so he missed the thing that mattered the most.'

During many of these story sessions, Naruto understands Naru-nii like he understands Fūinjutsu, so he's more confident when he picked out what mattered most to Sasuke—mattered like the way Nai-chan, Ji-chan, and Iruka-sensei do. Even if he and Sasuke clash and rival, Naruto always felt the avenger's loss, so with reasonable certainty, Naruto mentions, '…he loved his brother more than anything.'

'Exactly,' Naru-nii chuckles. 'I know you want to be the one to reach Sasuke, just like Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei want to be the one to reach him; to save him from his hatred… but I learned the hard way that there's only one person who can reach him, and that's his brother, Uchiha Itachi.'

'Tobi gave up,' Naruto thinks in blocks, like building a seal one segment at a time.

'Yeah,' Naru-nii agrees.

'So, he only sees through the eyes of someone who's given up,' Naruto continues.

'Yeah.'

'But we don't give up,' Naruto adds with a small though genuine smile.

'Hell no,' Naru-nii emphasizes. 'We don't run and we don't go back on our word.'

'Ninja build,' Naruto adds happily. "Because that's our Nindō."

'Damn right,' Naru-nii proclaims. 'I'm almost out. We'll pick this up next time.'

'Sure thing Naru-nii,' Naruto bids before quickly thinking of tonight. 'Real quick, how do you think I should fight Tenten-chan?'

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