The Crossroads I

Yo. Let's start.
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Later Naruto-niichan's teammates arrived as they helped him. Uchiha Sasuke was strong. He burned robots left and right with his fire-style jutsu. His fire looked weaker but at the rate it was burning them was astounding and astonishing at the same time. He was conserving his chakra while destroying the robots left and right. His flames were weaker on purpose so that he could burn many more robots. He wasn't given the prize of Rookie of the year for nothing. He prioritized conserving his reserves and using minimal amount of effort to destroy the robots while keeping himself safe.

His other teammate Haruno Sakura just punched the robots as they all fell down. Both of their teammates were disabling the robots. So this was niichan's team. Team 7. The only team to pass the Hatake Kakashi's infamous bell test. Konohamaru was not dumb. He could see the team. It was strong. Really strong. But exhaustion can be seen on other two teammates' faces if one would look closely.

Mou.... there's no end to them. After this I'll beat up Naruto so bad for landing in trouble.

Damn. I'm almost out of chakra. Where are they even coming from? This usuratonkachi...... always lands in.... a robot came out of nowhere to attack him when Sasuke punched it in the face so bad that his fist was gone through its head ......trouble. Ouch.

Well at that time he was informed that putting the rock idol in its correct place would change everything back to normal and thus Konohamaru's second mission was there. Niichan was handling hordes of incoming robots with his clones. The robots were coming one after another like there was no end to them and just like that niichan also made clones after clones like there was the end of the world. The whole clearing was surrounded by tons of Naruto clones and robots.

Well, long story short he put the idol at the correct place. Then, quickly went to Kaede-chan and gave her the flower. Now all that remained was for her to make a wish. Konohamaru doesn't know how much credibility does the crimson four-leaf clover holds but he wishes that it definitely makes her wish come true. She should stay in village.

"Kaede! Come on.... we're going."

"Aahhh.... So the clover didn't work after all." Konohamaru said keeping his hand on his face as if facepalming. What was he thinking again? That the clover would make his wish come true. Oh come on idiot. Now what will she think. That I'm a stalker or I was privy to her personal conversation. No. That wasn't what-

"Well my wish came true." She spoke smiling innocently. That face was just too cute. But what did that mean? Konohamaru looked at her as in sunset her blue eyes were shining like a crystal clear sea and both of their faces covered in golden hue.

Konohamaru blushed. This was definitely the fault of sunset kore. He wasn't at fault here. "W-what?" He managed to croak out. What did she mean?

"Because if I have this, it would be same as you always being with me." She answered softly. Her soft clear voice was still ringing in his ears as he saw that her cheeks were red. Yup. Definitely red. This time he blushed. He was definitely at fault here but what do you expect when a girl talks so sweetly with you.

"Thank you Konohamaru-kun." Kaede kissed him. She literally kissed him. On the cheek dammit. She.... in reality freaking kissed him during a sunset, like how it's shown in movie. And this time it was her fault he was blushing madly. Leaving Konohamaru aside we see team 7 member watching from afar.

"Awwww....." Sakura gushed at the scene. This was just like one of those scenes from the love and romantic novels she read where the lover kiss her love bathing in sunset. She then proceeded to look at Sasuke. Maybe one day, she'll have something similar with her teammate. Kyaaaahhh.... It'll definitely happen, Shannaro. Inner Sakura said punching forward as if she was practicing. Yup. They'll definitely make Sasuke-kun theirs. No one can stop it.

Sasuke and Kakashi were indifferent. You know, two loners, two genius who lost everything at young age were not really romantically educated. One was in his perverted shenanigans and the other one was suspected to be gay with the possibility of 30%. Maybe. It's all just a theory.

Naruto on the other hand was a different story as he was chewing a handkerchief which he got from where is unknown. Damn. He was now comically crying. Konohamaru at such young age was kissed by a girl on cheek. On cheek especially by a beautiful girl whereas Naruto's first kiss.... let's just not talk about that. Lip locked with Sasuke. Oh dear lord. Why didn't the Earth cracked under his feet that very day and he was swallowed?! Why put him through such torture? Anyways, he was happy for his little brother figure. "That's great Konohamaru." He said as he smiled.

"Now then let's return to our original mission." Kakashi said dampening everyone's mood.

"Now?" Sakura whined. Even Sasuke looked at him with 'are you serious?' expression. He was exhausted as well. She was exhausted too and didn't wanted to do any chores right now. Her body was aching especially from working this hard. Her stamina was still the same, you could say.

Naruto's face can be best described as someone gave him ramen without noodles plus add the deadpan expression. Yup. A very weird combination.

"Don't worry. It won't take long and we'll eat at Ichiraku afterwards." He said calming them down as they all were hungry especially Naruto whose stomach growled at that very moment as he smiled sheepishly.

"All right I'm gonna do it." He said excitedly.

"Plus we can go on a higher ranked mission tomorrow." He said adding his two cents in the celebrations.

"Yosh! I'm gonna do it twice speedily." He screamed twice loudly his voice ringing in the village. Sakura facepalmed whereas Sasuke turned his head other way around. Kakashi gave his usual eye-smile. "I'm not going to pay for you though."

This time a girl's and a boy's voice rung out together at their teacher. "Cheapskate."

And one could see the north pole star shining brightly in the sky painted in orange colour of sunset and dark blue colour of night. Yeah. This is good. Hatake Kakashi was smiling. These kids will be the new team 7. Maybe he can start anew.

Next Morning,

It's been a long time Asura. Naruto was floating in a void. There was nothing. It felt nothing. There was nothing at all. It was dark, just dark. Like darkness prevailed here. Not even a ray of light was there and it looked like the darkness was swallowing him. Plus what was that voice? He wasn't able to make head or tails out of the conversation as he was barely able to hear.

He was drowning. He was being drowned in a pit of darkness. There was nothing to hold on, his hands were not able to hold on to anything. He was being sucked right in the black hole in the middle. The colour in his eyes were slowly changing. The life was fading out of them. Although, he was dying he still heard it.

I'll now name the successor of Ninshu.

Ninshu?! What's that anyways? And who is the person speaking. Naruto could only hear faint voice of murmurs despite not being able to see at all. This must be something big and important. From the voice I can deduce that it's of a guy and he must be old. More than 40 years or something.

The one who shall take over Ninshu will be.....

That word again. Ninshu. Why did Naruto felt a strong bond towards it? Like it was familiar. It was a part of him. Something that is currently hidden under dense fog.

Ashura.

And a bright light came tearing apart the darkness as it nearly blinded him and thus Naruto woke up with a gasp. His breath was erratic as he slowly composed himself.

Deep breaths.

In.

And out.

In.

And out.

What's the matter Naruto? The voice of his big brother said in concern. That dream was real. Too real to be a fake. No. That wasn't a dream, right? He should tell niichan about the dream, shouldn't he?

He should. But wait a minute. That can be a dream. And it's a high possibility that it was the result of his imagination conjuring special reality. Dreams are windows to soul or that's what they say. Nah. He shouldn't really tell him anything. He don't want him to worry for small reasons anyways. Plus he's a grown-up boy now. He shouldn't pay attention to petty things like this dream and nightmares.

Nah, it's alright. He chirped.

You sure. He asked again. Fully serious right now.

Yeah yeah. Naruto gave a dismissive shrug. Just a dream.

Okay. His voice was reluctant like he felt that something was wrong but he decided to not push the matters. Tell me if you need anything.

Ya. Alright. He yawned loudly as he stretched himself and rubbed his eyes as the older Naruto receeded back into his mindscape.

There wasn't anything else. It was just a dream. Nothing more nothing less. Although he would try to find information about Ninshu and Ashura. He was just curious. That's it. Really. Because for some reason he felt that these two were deeply interwoven with him.

With Sasuke,

Sasuke was breathing.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Hard.
He had that dream again. That dream from his battle with Haku. The dream where he was weak. Where he was pathetic. The senbons slowly entering his skin pricking him alive. His very own life fading before his eyes, whiteness spreading all around. Sleeping in Uchiha headquarters was itself a nightmare. The screams, the shouts, the pleads, the blood and that night is a never ending darkness itself clawing him from inside. No matter how aloof he shows himself he's scared. He doesn't want to live here. He wants everything to go back to normal. But that is not an option anymore.

He is the last Uchiha. The last elite Uchiha, son of clan head Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Sasuke. He has the responsibility to restore his clan and avenge them by murdering his brother with his two hands. He rubbed the sweat from his forehead looking outside the window. Looking at the red sky reminiscent about the red moon in Tsukuyomi.

No one is there waiting for him at home. No one to watch over him. He once had a family himself. A nice, lovable caring mother. A strict father and his favorite brother and now.......

Everyone is gone. Everything is reduced to ashes. His brother took everything away from him and his sole purpose is to kill him. The village looks at him with pity. He doesn't need that. Because they don't need him either. They just want the last Uchiha. The elite as they say. He's just an object for them. Everyone talks about how bad it is for me, or how pitiful but no one ever thinks about punishing the Uchiha killer.

Sometimes Sasuke wonders, how would it be if he was always an orphan. Don't misunderstand him. He loves his family alot and won't sell them for anything. He just feels that how other children are lucky especially the other orphans. They don't know their parents so they don't know how does it feel when a mother that who always gives you a warm caring smile suddenly fades away, how the gentle but strict warmth of a father which shields us from anything is suddenly gone. How the brother you adored is now the point of your revenge. Sasuke doesn't mock orphan because he's one.

Other orphans when return home are reminded of their loneliness in this harsh world. The peaceful night which is cold because there is no one to give you the warmth you need, the sound of winds blowing and cold air rushing through the window making all the hairs on your skin stand. The very essence of peace is what Sasuke lacks. When he returns home, the walls look like they bathed in blood. The ghosts as if coming and going through him, making him feel hollow, they shout, they plead him to avenge them. The kids, the adults and the old, as if he could see them all. And that is the most terrifying for him.

He thinks about Naruto. His strength to move forward. He also hopes that someday he might be able to smile that carefree. Unlocked from his chains to soar as a free bird in this world. That's why he has to kill Itachi. Quickly. Because no one could understand how does it feel to touch the cold dead unmoving bodies of your parents. When their eyes are closed and lips are drawn into a thin line. Your mother don't smile and your father doesn't nod. Each time it feels like an ache in heart.

Strength. Naruto's strength. For some reason he could always see Naruto ahead of him. Like his brother. And that arises the question how was Naruto able to defeat the masked-nin? Sakura told him that the masked guy died by Kakashi's Raikiri however he was curious. There is no way Naruto somehow managed to survive for that long which means he may have defeated him.

His fists clenched around the blanket.

"Dammit." Uchiha Sasuke was jealous. But not in the right state. He was obsessed with power. He wanted power. He craved for power. For him, even unknown to him his emotions were toxic for himself. Corrosive poison that was eating him alive, the very moment.

A few hours later,

The sky was clear as the birds were chirping and flying around. A blonde boy started the day with his frustrated voice.

"Man that Kakashi-sensei never fails to keep us waiting."

"No kidding." Sakura agreed bending backward and forward. "I could honestly get some more sleep." She flicked her hair in a stylish way.

Naruto who saw that his crush for the first time was agreeing with her added his two cents. "Right. Right." He agreed wholeheartedly together with his crush. "And I could have gone for the underpants I forgot to wear." He said moving his hips in an inappropriate manner from side to side.

And inside older Naruto facepalmed. Was I really like that??

"Gross!" Exactly. Older Naruto totally agreed with Sakura here. What sort of talk was this about? Especially with a girl. He really needs to mature. Ugh! He sighed. Naruto was still learning. There was time before he could go together with his clone to hunt down the scrolls taken away by 3 of the 5 Great Nations.

Hey, they did discover something interesting. The Uzumaki Chains were not results of some special chakra wholly. Or rather in a way, it was due to being a part of Uzumaki Clan. Someone with strong life force and Uzumaki chakra combined with Yin release to its fullest potential created the special Adamantine Chains. His mother was awesome. And this was one of the greatest proofs. Even Uzumaki Mito, the clan head of Uzumaki clan was unable to manifest the majestic chains however her mother was easily able to do it. That also subconsciously from a very small age. Uzumaki were badass, dattebayo.

Coming to the current situation-

"That's a little too much info. Who would like to hear about it?" She said too much grossed about it. Naruto was pretty much sure that he was facepalming again. He had no sense of maturity at all.

Naruto being the carefree guy just put both of his hands behind his head as he gave his usual toothy grin. Sasuke who was having difficulty with both of them butted in.

"Would you two relax?" He said in a cool calm tone.

"I'm relaxed." She said waving her arm in a dismissive manner smiling sheepishly. "Naruto's the hyper one."

And the blame was on Naruto again who was looking at both of his teammates conversing with each other.

Come on! Inner Sakura was on fire. Don't equate me with Naruto! Cha.

"Hey you know about today's mission, right Sasuke-kun? Especially after our mission in Land of Waves." Sakura asked the black haired Uchiha in concern.

"Today's mission is a B-rank. No problem." He answered easily settling down her concerns.

"Yeah." She said setting down her concerns. "Yeah!" Uzumaki Naruto butted in their conversation.

"In a pinch, I'll save the day." He said throwing his fists in air.

"You're the one who got in my way last fight." Said Sasuke crossing his arms around his chest.

"But I came through in the end, dattebayo." He said determinedly looking at the survivor of Uchiha clan. "Right Sakura-chan?"

"Sorry I wouldn't know." She said looking in the opposite direction. "I missed it."

Yeah! You were busy caring about Sasuke. He thought in his mind cross about the situation.

"You couldn't see through the fog." Kakashi said entering out of nowhere hanging upside down reading his book.

"Kakashi-sensei...." Sakura said as she looked at her sensei. Aloof in his own world reading his book as usual.

"You're late, -ttebayo." Naruto said crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah sorry sorry. But today I was-" he opted a serious expression as he kept his hand on his chin. "-lost in the labyrinth of love."

"All right that's a lie." Said Naruto and Sakura in sync while Sasuke just sighed at their teacher antics.

And thus the journey began towards their first B-rank mission.

How is it? As I said, I may or may not upload Naruto chapters. I never said that the story is going on hold. Enjoy. ✌. Peace.

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