Chapter 160 The Tragic Past
This feeling became even stronger when Naruto's anger awakened the Nine-Tails' chakra, making it as dangerous as a volcano about to erupt.
Sasuke suddenly realized that at this moment, Naruto was terrifying.
It wasn't because of his great strength, nor because of the power of the tailed beast that resided in his body, but because this idiot, this angry boy who could flatten mountains and destroy countries, was now looking at him calmly, taking a deep breath, suppressing the fire in his blood, soothing the restless monster deep in his heart, soothing the beast that was closely connected to his will and emotions.
He is terrifying because he can look hatred, fear and anger in the face and say no to them, because he does not see monsters consumed by the same dark emotions, the same pain.
He saw human nature.
He'd seen it in Kyuubi. Haku. Zabuza.
Sasuke.
If there was anything Sasuke understood, it was that what Naruto saw even in Gaara was not a monster, but a wounded, angry, lonely person.
Maybe two people.
The animal aura in Naruto faded, the endless blue driving away the scarlet from his irises, the anger driven away by Sasuke's presence, his touch.
This made Sasuke feel more powerful than any ninjutsu or bloodline limit.
"People will do stupid things for power." Sasuke told him firmly, "It's how you respond that matters."
Naruto blinked a few times and was silent for a moment, letting the simple words sink in.
He took a deep breath, Sasuke could even see his chest rise and fall with his breathing, and nodded.
Then he smiled slightly, with a hint of self-mockery and shyness, and his eyes softened, as if he was silently apologizing.
Sasuke felt an unprecedented impulse. He took a step forward, gently held Naruto's face, and put his forehead against Naruto's, feeling each other's breathing and heartbeat.
In this quiet moment, their breaths intertwined, and each other's warmth was so real, so reassuring.
Sasuke's eyes swept over Naruto's slightly parted lips, and an irresistible impulse surged in his heart.
Unable to suppress his desire any longer, he cupped Naruto's cheeks in his hands and kissed him deeply.
The kiss was filled with intense possessiveness and long suppressed emotions.
Sasuke's tongue pried open Naruto's teeth, entangled with them, and licked them, as if he wanted to swallow him whole.
Naruto was startled by the sudden enthusiasm, but he soon fell in love with it. He responded to Sasuke's kiss, holding the other's collar tightly with both hands, as if to rub him into his body.
He didn't expect that Sasuke, who used to swear all day long, had such a soft tongue, like his own, and his saliva was as sweet as honey, which made Naruto linger on the taste.
Their bodies were pressed tightly together, and their heartbeats were clearly audible in the silent night, as if accompanying this intense emotion.
Time seemed to stand still, and everything in the world ceased to exist, only them and this passionate and lingering kiss.
It was unknown how long it was before they separated, breathless, each other's eyes filled with lingering lust and unspeakable satisfaction.
"You..." Naruto was speechless. He never thought that the first kiss could bring such a strong sensory impact, making him feel as if his whole body was ignited.
Sasuke didn't say anything, but just gently stroked Naruto's lips with his thumb, his eyes gentle and affectionate, as if silently expressing his love and desire.
"Asshole," Naruto said softly, but his tone lacked the previous dissatisfaction, instead it was filled with a deep gratitude and friendship.
"Idiot," Sasuke responded, but his eyes were full of warmth and laughter.
******
Jiraiya was shifting uncomfortably in the Hokage's office, rubbing his toes against the edge of his sandals.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat at his desk, smoking his pipe hard, ignoring the tea spilled on the documents, the cup rolling feebly in the mess. The ANBU standing beside him - a tall female ninja wearing a bear mask, holding a black mission report in her hand - still tightly holding the broken bamboo pen, the blue code ink dripping from the broken pen tip, staining her fingers.
The teacup rolled to the edge of the table and fell to the ground, breaking the suffocating silence in the room.
"What happened?"
The one who said this was not the Hokage, but the Anbu ninja. She was still holding the fragment of the bamboo pen tightly, and her fingertips were already bleeding.
Jiraiya rolled his eyes.
"Do you want me to start from the beginning? Or just the highlights?"
"That's enough." Sarutobi Hiruzen said sternly.
Jiraiya shut his mouth obediently.
After all, it had been so many years that scolding no longer had any effect on him - Sarutobi Hiruzen had put up with his bullshit for half a century, and it was nothing new.
"Bear," the old man said softly, "you go out first."
The ANBU ninja bowed briefly and turned to leave, but he stopped her.
"Leave the report."
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded, closed the folder, placed it in the corner of the Hokage's desk, and disappeared in a swirl of leaves and bright chakra light.
After she left, Sarutobi Hiruzen pulled out an anti-eavesdropping sealing jutsu from a scroll and placed it in a dry place next to his inkstone, the glow of chakra so strong that it made Jiraiya feel a tingling sensation.
The old man opened the folder, took out the unfinished report and threw it directly into the puddle of tea on the desk.
Jiraiya stared at the paper in disbelief, the code ink was disappearing as designed, leaving no trace.
For a while, a suffocating silence fell in the room.
"Well, with all due respect, Hokage-sama..." Jiraiya said slowly, because he had always been a prick, and thirty years of spying had not changed that, "What exactly happened?"
"Tell me everything you saw, from beginning to end." Sarutobi Hiruzen said.
Jiraiya bit his lip and wanted to refute, but when he saw the cold light flashing in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, he wisely gave up the idea. He snorted, took a deep breath, and began to tell the story.
---
Jiraiya stared openly at the blond and blue-eyed son of the devil - Uzumaki Naruto.
They sat in the spot the kid had chosen, a quiet and peaceful grove of trees on the edge of Kakashi's clan territory.
Naruto stood with a sharpened branch in his hand, gesturing on a flat ground cleared with the Earth Release Technique.
And he... was painting.
Jiraiya couldn't keep up with Naruto's train of thought at all.
The boy refused to explain his logic - just as Jiraiya was explaining the technique of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, he suddenly rushed into the woods and came back with a stick in his hand and a gleam in his eyes that made Jiraiya uneasy.
A child shouldn't have such an intense look.
Jiraiya was in a great dilemma - having been a spy for too long, he didn't know how to be honest.
Things that might get the kid killed by the old man or Kakashi.
Kakashi, despite Naruto's strong opposition, stubbornly took Naruto back home; people in the village said that the argument between them about where Naruto should live almost reached the point of physical contact.
Jiraiya was scared when he heard this - Kakashi actually contradicted the Hokage about something. The last time he was so persistent about something was in... Alas.
---
Jiraiya still remembers that night when Kakashi ran to him in panic and Jiraiya thought the world was coming to an end, which was actually pretty much the case.
It took two Kage-level ninjas to subdue a thirteen-year-old boy.
Kakashi's pain was so intense, his anger so strong, that even now, fifteen years later, Jiraiya still shudders when he thinks of it. The collapse was so sudden, after so long in denial and repression, until the dam of grief finally broke, turning into a thunderstorm that many Konoha ninjas still remember, even if few remember the cause.
Two and a half days after the Kannabi Bridge incident.
Kakashi saw his own reflection by the pond at Training Ground No. 16 and in a rage destroyed the forest for dozens of meters around.
Jiraiya, who was quite old by ninja standards at the time, had seen people come out of the Forest of Death alive, but he had never seen anyone make the sky split open like that.
Since then, the sky there has never been the same.
The land of Training Ground No. 16 was still barren. For fifteen years, no grass grew there and not a drop of rain fell. As if frightened by Kakashi's sadness, the clouds no longer dared to appear there.
---
The people that Kakashi Hatake loved all passed away before him; all the sincerity he gave turned into pain; Obito, Rin, Minato, and Kushina, without exception.
Even a will as strong as Kakashi's had to break down and close off his heart.
He decides to live out the rest of his life in solitude because he has lost everything that made him whole, made him human, made him happy.
Apparently, he broke his promise.
