Confused was the only word which could describe Naruto's state of mind. He was currently all alone in what seemed to be an endless space, there was nothing anywhere, just everywhere there was white color.
"Where am I?" thought Naruto curiously, he certainly didn't expect to be in such a place.
He was certain that he was dead, Zabuza's attack had teared him apart. Naruto knew there was nothing he could do now, but more than that he was relieved. His suffering was over, everything was finished.
Hell or Heaven- he didn't care where the Shinigami would send him, anywhere but the world of living was where he wanted to go.
He had failed- plain and simple, he was a person who could never fulfill any promises he made, and frankly he had suffered enough for his actions. Maybe, now he could finally rest in peace.
But right now looking at this empty space, made him a little concerned.
"We need to talk..." said a very familiar voice, that sent shivers down his spine.
This voice, he knew this voice, how could he forget? But there was no way, he was hallucinating, this was simply impossible. He slowly turned around, and his worst fears came true.
"Brother..." said Naruto in shock, as right now the person standing behind him was none other than Shin himself.
That face, that uniform, those eyes, the same kind smile, this was definitely Shin. But he was supposed to be dead...
"I know you have a lot of questions and I have some questions for you too...but still, it's good to see you again," said Shin kindly with a smile, and hugged Naruto slowly,
Naruto didn't know what was going on, but he was happy, and gently hugged Shin back. A lone tear slipped from his eye, it had been so many years.
All this time, not a single second passed where he never thought of Shin, the guilt was still in his heart...and seeing Shin again, was one of the most happiest things that ever happened to him.
"I missed you, man" said a tearful Naruto, and a small chuckle escaped from Shin's mouth, even he was feeling happy on seeing Naruto again.
"You seem to have grown up a lot since the last time I saw you..." said Shin happily, but he knew there was not much time.
"What is this? Is it heaven or hell? It's definitely not hell, since you wouldn't be in such a place, Hell is for people like-" said Naruto but was cut off when Shin bonked him hard on his head.
"That hurts..." whined Naruto playfully,
"This is what you have to change, and as for your question this is neither heaven nor hell. In simple words you are inside Ryujin Jakka's inner world," explained Shin simply, and the confused look on Naruto's face made him leave a tired sigh.
"Ryujin Jakka is a sword, and you died years ago...I don't understand," said Naruto with a deep frown,
"There are many things you don't know about this sword, right now you are on the verge of death, but I can save you," said Shin flatly
"No"
"What?" asked a shocked Shin, what was going on here?
"This is my choice...I've made my peace with death. This is the end of the line for me," said Naruto truthfully, and his eyes showed Shin that he meant what he said.
"Moron...I can save your life, you can have another chance, and go back-" said Shin but was cut off, when Naruto looked at him angrily,
"Go back to what? A life of pain, and suffering, existing in this world that knows only despair has no value, brother," said Naruto distastefully,
Shin's eyes widened in shock on hearing that, did the world truly made his little brother into the man he was seeing right now. He had seen everything that happened to Naruto, and none of that was his fault at all.
"You are not the Naruto I knew..." said Shin disappointingly,
"Call me whatever you want...since I'm dead, none of this matters. Demon, traitor, bastard...call me anything you like," said Naruto harshly,
"Just who are you Naruto?" asked a terrified Shin, the damage his brother had suffered was far worse than he had imagined.
"Even I don't know who I am, brother" said Naruto truthfully, and averted his eyes from Shin. He couldn't see the betrayal that was visible in Shin's eyes.
SLAP
The sound of a very harsh slap was heard in that empty space, Naruto's eyes widened in shock as Shin had right now slapped him very hard. Door bells were ringing in his ears right now, but he had no time to react as Shin punched him hard and sent him crashing on the ground.
"Listen to yourself, you are trying to be someone else and are living a life of lies!" said Shin angrily, and put his foot right on Naruto's chest.
"What of it? What does it matter to you?" asked Naruto irritatingly, and he got another kick on his face.
"You..." said a pissed of Shin, and pressed his feet firmly at Naruto's chest again.
"Both you and I fought, bled and died for the leaf village, but all we got in return was disgrace and dishonor. Let me at least die in peace, brother" pleaded Naruto slowly,
"No matter what corruption or darkness lies in the village, you and I are both soldiers of Konoha," said Shin fiercely,
"I failed brother, I couldn't protect Sai, nor could I protect the village...or bring the peace you wanted,'' said Naruto shamefully, and a few tears slipped from his eyes.
Shin removed his leg from Naruto's chest, and now sat beside him, he took a deep breath in order to calm himself down.
"It's my fault that you turned out like this...if I hadn't put my dreams on you, this wouldn't have happened. I was dying Naruto, and you were the only one whom I trusted to protect the village and bring peace and harmony in it," said Shin sadly,
"What do you mean?" asked a shocked Naruto,
"I should have known true peace is not possible in our world, the only thing I wanted was for you and Sai to live," said Shin calmly, and looked at Naruto's shocked face.
"But it is my fault, Sai is dead because of me..." said Naruto vehemently,
"This is your problem, and I knew it from the beginning. You always try to do everything on your own, never trusting anyone and bearing every burden on your shoulders, that is your curse. So, before I died I sealed a part of my chakra in Ryujin Jakka in order to save your life if you ever came close to death..." explained Shin briefly,
"Then you are...just," said Naruto sadly, as he knew Shin was going to disappear again once his chakra vanished. This was one of the Fuinjutsu that only someone highly skilled could perform.
"Hai" said Shin honestly, he had to make things right, no matter what.
"I saw everything that happened, and I am proud as well as sad at the same time," said Shin truthfully, and Naruto looked at him curiously expecting a further explanation.
"You never separated Ryujin Jakka from yourself, and used it for every mission you went on, it is a sword that connects to a person's soul. If you truly want to master the power of this sword, then you must acknowledge yourself first, and free yourself from your burdens," said Shin flatly,
"The things I did...what I became, I broke everyone's hearts," said Naruto truthfully,
"Make up for it, are you going to give up? You made mistakes, fix them. You broke everyone's hearts, apologize. Don't be a coward..." said Shin fiercely,
"Shin..."
"If you die like this, nothing is going to change. Orochimaru will destroy Konoha. Kurenai, Kakashi, Anko, Konohamaru, everyone you love will die horribly. You don't have to lie to her, have you ever cared about her feelings?" asked Shin flatly,
"But I cannot involve my friends or my family in this..." said Naruto adamantly,
"I admit you are strong enough to do this mission...but you have lost sight of what is the most important thing in the world," said Shin patiently,
"And what is that?" asked Naruto curiously,
"All the people that care about you were once wary of you...but you kept on trying and ultimately made your way into their hearts. You told me, that it was: Kakashi, Kurenai, Anko, Konohamaru, Emiko, Hiruzen, your friends, they all helped you. But if you only care about your pain, and forget about them, then you are worse than scum," said Shin honestly,
"What have I done?" asked a terrified Naruto, now he understood what Kurama had been trying to say.
"It was Kurenai who made you strong, loved you and stood by your side. Will you repay her like this?" asked Shin simply, and Naruto was now truly ashamed of his actions.
"I screwed up, big time" said Naruto slowly, the damage he had done was very bad than he had thought.
"Don't try to shoulder everything alone, or you'll lose sight of yourself. Talk to her, if you truly love her then you must understand the pain you caused her, and apologize. And dying by her hands is not the solution," said Shin patiently,
Naruto remembered all the times he had spent with her, and what she had done for him. He had truly caused everyone a lot of pain,
"You are not alone, you have friends and loved ones. You have to make up for your mistakes, running away from them is not the solution." said Shin fiercely, and Naruto chuckled a little.
"Even after dying you are still trying to protect me..." said Naruto sadly, and clenched his fists tightly,
"That's my job, after all...Moron" said Shin happily and ruffled Naruto's hair.
"I forgot everyone and made mistakes...but not anymore, from now on I will do what is right," said Naruto honestly, and Shin smiled on hearing that.
Naruto was surprised when Shin hugged him tightly, and he felt a few tears slipping from his eyes.
"You are the only one who can make this right..." said Shin sadly, as he felt his hand disappearing from Naruto's back.
"Do you really think I can do this?" asked Naruto doubtfully, and he saw Shin's body had started to disappear, and a few tears came in his eyes.
"I believe in you, Naruto"
Shin broke the hug and put a hand on Naruto's chest and stomach, and he looked at Naruto one last time.
"It's time for me to go, I'll save your life, but this is the last time." said Shin honestly, and swiped his hand at Naruto's chest and stomach.
His body started drifting further away from Naruto, and a small smile came on his face.
"WAIT!" screamed Naruto and ran after Shin,
"You can make things right. I'm counting on you...Naruto" said Shin with a smile, and disappeared from the space.
Tears slipped from Naruto's eyes, Shin was gone but he had left something priceless. He had returned Naruto's soul, made him realize who he was, and stopped him from making any more mistakes.
"Thank you, Shin-Nii-san,"
The empty space around him disappeared, and he found himself standing on top of the ocean of Wave Country. He was quite shocked when he saw all of his wound were healed.
"Naruto, you are not dead..." said a shocked Kurama, he had really thought it was all over.
Naruto gripped his sword tightly and Kurama was quite astonished when a dark yellow cloak appeared all around Naruto's body.
"This is..." said a shocked Kurama,
A small smile came on Naruto's face, and the look in his eyes changed. He felt free, there was no burden on his heart...
"It's time for my redemption..."