Never Again: A Naruto Fanfiction

Chapter 10: Rot

"Shut up," Naruto whimpered as the bodies of his old friends shifted into the ones he had now. Obito laid next to Sayuri with several holes poked throughout his entire body as if someone had used him as a pincussion while Sayuri had a single sword going straight through her heart. 

Naruto's breathing pace began picking up as he clutched at his heart. "Don't show me that." 

"Oh? What if I show you this?" The bodies were now gone, replaced by what Obito had worn during the 4th War. As the mask cracked, Naruto felt his body go numb as it revealed Kakashi's face. "What if they had switched sides? I mean, Obito is the sensei, so maybe Madara took Kakashi?" 

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs, tearing himself away from the arms as he ran aimlessly. Kakashi couldn't be the one pulling the strings behind the curtain, he just couldn't! 

"There is no escape." The voice rang out. The ground shattered beneath Naruto causing him to plumet down, only able to look up as a pair of dark blue eyes glared at him from above. "There never is." 

Naruto's eyes fluttered open, his vision slightly hazy. He looked to his right and saw Sakura standing there with a kunai in her hand, shaking slightly. He ignored the pain he felt as he slowly sat up, alerting Sakura of his being awake. 

"Naruto!" She whispered. "You need to be quiet! Sayuri is fighting!" Naruto shook his head, ridding himself of the haze as he peered through the tiny roots that made the tree up and saw Sayuri bleeding as she stood in front of an injured Lee. 

He stood up and walked over to Sayuri and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "That's enough, Sayuri." He looked at the unconscious teammate and the dead teammate of Kabuto. "I apologize for the mess I put us in, I had hoped to avoid it." His gaze shifted to Kabuto, a glare moving itself onto his features. "Now it's your turn to die!" 

"Is that so? And you're the one who is going to kill me?" Kabuto asked arrogantly, a smirk playing on his lips as chakra scapels appeared in his hands once again. 

"Yes," Naruto replied in a quick whisper. He turned back to Sayuri and Sakura. "I'm sorry for lying to you both all this time." He then gave them a genuine smile. 

Sayuri and Sakura were taken aback by the words and the gesture. What did he mean? Did it confirm that he was hiding his strength or was it something more? But that wasn't the only thing. . .

Both Sakura and Sayuri agreed in their brains that Naruto's smile, while genuine, held an immeasurable amount of sadness and pain in it. 

Turning back to Kabuto, Naruto's eyes turned a crimson red. "Kurama, please allow me to borrow your chakra once more." Naruto whispered in a low tone. As if responding to his pleas, red chakra swarmed around Naruto's body before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

The crimson chakra that was surrounding suddenly matted itself to Naruto's skin. Naruto opened his eyes to reveal a slightly dark orange. The red chakra immediately turned into a bright glowing golden yellow with several black markings aligning themselves onto Naruto's chest and shoulders. 

"So I do still have this mode while Kurama allows me, heh," Naruto curled his hands into fists as he met Kabuto's overconfident look. "It's not perfect, but it's overkill for someone like you." 

"A showy jutsu does not guarantee victory you-" Kabuto began but was already hit into a tree with Naruto standing where Kabuto was seconds before. 

"I didn't even see him move with my Sharingan!" Sayuri exclaimed in amazement and jealousy as she watched Naruto. 

"You're fast!" Kabuto shouted with a grin as he jumped out of the tree, no injuries visibly showing on his body. "Show me more, Naruto!"