Itachi watched as the video finished playing, unable to contain the horror and disgust he felt at that very moment, the urge to vomit plagued his being as he swallowed the thick saliva in his mouth, almost wanting to watch what he just saw again just to make sure he saw right.
But he had.
"I hope you freeze in Hell," Naruto said before thrusting the sword into Kazuma's eye, killing the teen.
No. This was not Naruto. That couldn't have happened! Naruto was someone who cherished life and wanted to protect it with his very being and bring peace, not this monster who killed without a second thought!
"Father," Itachi spoke quietly. "Is this a genjutsu? Please tell me that this is a trick, that Naruto did not really do those things." Fugaku remained silent, only sitting on his knees as he looked at Itachi impassively, his eyes not revealing anything. "Please tell me that this is a lie!" It was quiet in the darkroom for a whole minute before Fugaku broke that silence.
"I will not lie to you." Fugaku finally responded, making Itachi break the screen as he punched right through it, tears running down his cheeks.
"Do I know nothing of my best friend? I thought he would be the last person to do this! I preached about what he would do in these types of situations and it was a lie? Do I really not know him like I thought I did?"
"He protected you, he did what he did for you and Izumi both," Fugaku said. "I am grateful. He saved your life, your mother is also thankful, now Sasuke has a bigger brother again. Itachi," Fugaku paused for a second before continuing. "We thought you were going to die."
"I know but-"
"Itachi Uchiha," Fugaku began, steel in his voice as his eyes hardened. "Naruto Namikaze is a hero who defended both of his teammates. It was either your life and Izumi's, or those three Iwa Genin, and he chose correctly. What is so hard to comprehend?"
". . ." Itachi said nothing, instead opting to walk out of the room, leaving Fugaku in the room alone with a broken TV.
"No," Izumi denied, shaking her head as tears ran down her face. "This isn't real, this isn't Naruto. That isn't Naruto!"
But it was. She knew it was.
That was Naruto Namikaze who used his chakra chains to rip that guy in half.
It was too real to be fake.
That was Naruto Namikaze. The real Naruto Namikaze.
Naruto walked down the road, his usual grin on his face as he walked towards the Hokage Office, not noticing the looks of fear that the villagers gave him, too happy to notice it.
He had been summoned! He finally made it to Chunin! He was going to get promoted, and for that he was ecstatic. He paused for a second, putting his finger on his chin, adopting a thoughtful look.
"I wonder if Itachi and Izumi are getting promoted too?" He shook his head, his grin growing bigger. "What am I saying? Of course, they did!"
He ran into the Hokage Office and was greeted by the kind smile of Hiruzen, the grinning face of Shisui, a sad look from Kakashi, and a slightly scared expression from Izumi and a disturbed and betrayed look from Itachi.
"What's up, guys? We being promoted as a team?"
"I-I don't know," Izumi muttered. "Maybe?"
"Let me get straight to the point," Hiruzen began, reading the reports on his papers. "Itachi Uchiha, I hereby proclaim you as Chunin of the Hidden Leaf, do you accept this promotion along with your new responsibilities?"
"I do." Itachi stated as he looked blankly at the Hokage. Shisui then threw a Chunin Vest at Itachi, who caught it swiftly.
"Then congratulations, Chunin Itachi Uchiha." Itachi bowed.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Hiruzen then turned to Izumi.
"Izumi Uchiha, I hereby proclaim you as a Chunin of the Hidden Leaf, do you accept this promotion along with your new responsibilities?" Izumi nodded timidly, eyeing Naruto out of the corner of her eye.
"I do." She whispered.
"Then congratulations, Chunin Izumi Uchiha!" Shisui proudly grinned at her as he threw her her own Chunin Vest.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama." She said in a more confident voice, bowing. Hiruzen then set aside the document.
"Well, that's it for the Chunin promotions," Itachi's eyes widened, as well as Izumi.
"Wait a minute," Itachi began, his own voice doing the thinking for him, causing Hiruzen to raise an eyebrow. "How did Naruto not get Chunin? He's the strongest out of all of us!"
"Silence, Itachi!" Shisui hissed, but a smirk was on his face.
"Naruto Namikaze did not make Chunin during these exams, in fact, he surpassed and exceeded all expectations. For that, the Council and I deem it necessary to promote him further," Shisui held out a vest and tossed it at Naruto, who caught it clumsily as he couldn't believe his eyes, even activating his Sharingan to make sure it was true.
"Naruto Namikaze, I hereby proclaim you as Jounin of the Hidden Leaf, do you accept this promotion along with your new responsibilities?"
"J-Jounin?" Naruto stuttered. He just skipped two ranks like that? To skip Chunin and Special Jounin so easily in just one showing? How was that even possible?! "A-Are you sure, Hokage-sama? Shisui-sensei?" Shisui nodded eagerly.
"Of course we are. I mean, in just a month you've broken the barrier and are now in the Jounin power-level section. You have almost mastered the Flash Step to my degree. You are skilled in kenjutsu and know how to utilize your kekkei genkai. You also are a natural leader, able to take charge of a situation quickly.
"You also would rather die than let your comrades die, and will do anything in your power to keep them safe!" He finished.
"That is the Will of Fire every Jounin needs," Hiruzen stated, his voice filled with confidence. "You are a kind boy, Naruto, and you care deeply for everyone in this village. In just a few years when you have experience in leading teams of your own, you will become a candidate for Hokage, do you accept this promotion along with your new responsibilities?"
Naruto nodded absently as he put the vest on, it fitting him perfectly. "I do," He whispered, still in awe and shock at the fact that he was the youngest Jounin in Konoha history, perhaps in the world!
"Congratulations, Jounin Naruto Namikaze," Hiruzen said with a bit more warmth than he had with Izumi and Itachi, the ladder of the two picking up on it.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama." He then turned to Shisui and Kakashi and bowed again. "Thank you both, Kakashi-nii and Shisui-sensei." His eyes widened suddenly as he whirled around, startling the Hokage slightly. "Does that mean I have unrestricted access to the bars and Jounin-only libraries?"
"Uh, yes?" Hiruzen stated awkwardly while Shisui was dying laughing, having to use Kakashi's shoulder to stop himself from falling. "Why do you want to go to a bar?"
"So I can drink, duh!" Naruto slurred as a grin split on his features. "I'm a Jounin now! I can do whatever I want until I'm Hokage!" He then suddenly disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving Itachi, Izumi, a laughing Shisui, as shocked Kakashi, and a bewildered Hiruzen in the room.
"I'm so confused," Izumi got out. "What does this mean for Team Shisui?" Shisui suddenly stopped laughing as he straightened up.
"Well, this is the end of Team Shisui." He stated, shocking the two nine-year-olds. "You've become Chunin, strong in your own right. You are now going to be working with different people and go into missions and improve and hone your skills so you can become Jounin."
"Okay," Itachi whispered before bowing. "I must be on my way, training awaits me. I have to catch up to Naruto, he is very much above me." He turned around. "Too far."
"I have to go too!" Izumi squeaked out. "To go celebrate my celebration with my grandma, I'll see you later, Shisui-sensei!" She then ran out of the office quickly.
"I wonder where Naruto actually went," Shisui wondered aloud.
"Well apparently he's interested in drinking, so we should probably hit the bars quickly before he gets too drunk," Kakashi said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Actually, I was hoping to speak to you alone, Kakashi." Shisui immediately nodded at the indirect order.
"I'll meet you at the Akimichi BBQ once your done," Kakashi nodded tiredly as Shisui vanished in thin air, the mastery of the Flash Step proving itself once again.
"You're troubled," Hiruzen said, not questioning anything, but stating a fact.
"That obvious, huh?" Kakashi muttered, sitting in a chair, rubbing his forehead, stressed.
"Is it about Naruto?" A nod. "And about what he did during the Exams?" Another nod. "You shouldn't be, he's quite capable."
"It's not that!" Kakashi accidentally yelled, muttering a quick apology before continuing. "The brutality, has," He swallowed the saliva in his mouth. "Has the shinobi world already corrupted him?"
"Hmmm," Hiruzen got out as he lit the tobacco in his pipe before lighting it on fire with his finger. "Corrupted isn't the right word, it has yet to take control of him, but he has influence, it has taken its toll. But then again, it would do the same to any shinobi who almost had to watch their teammates die, you've done the same thing, Kakashi."
"But such savagery," Kakashi whispered. "I didn't think Naruto would be capable of it. He was the last person I think would be able to do that!" His voice was low now, Hiruzen almost unable to hear it.
"I thought the same, but you have to realize the position he was in," Hiruzen reasoned. "Naruto couldn't do anything else! Itachi and Izumi are alive as well as Naruto because of what he did! He realized that there was no other way."
"It wasn't a fight though!" Kakashi said, standing up. "That was a slaughter! You saw how easily Naruto killed them! You know just as well as I do that he didn't have to, he wanted to kill them! I could feel the bloodlust from here!"
"Are you saying he isn't entitled to his feelings?" Hiruzen said in a calm tone, shocking Kakashi. "After everything he's been through, you don't think he can let it all go? Kakashi, I was there. I felt everything. His rage, his unending anger, his sadness, despair, and hate, I felt it all. Those Iwa 'Genin' murdered two teams right in front of his eyes, and apparently, they murdered even more at the beginning of the 2nd Exam.
"He knew they were bad people. He knew that they wouldn't change! So, after Itachi and Izumi were down, after his hand was severed, he snapped," Hiruzen snapped his fingers, emphasizing his words. "And he did what he thought was to be necessary. Naruto may have been brutal, but done a lot worse than just ripping someone apart and stabbing people in the head, he could've drawn in out, but he did not. It was fast, and they were merely in pain for approximately five seconds.
"If Naruto really wanted to release everything, he'd go for the legs and arms. He knows this, but he is a peaceful child. All he yearns for is peace, but they threatened his peace of mind by almost taking away two of his very few friends, so he put them down. Do you understand why he did what he needed to do?"
"I," Kakashi froze before surrendering, hanging his head. "I guess so. I don't have to like it though."
"No one is asking you to, he is a shinobi. There will be more death under his belt, and then, when he is the strongest he'll ever be, he will end this endless cycle of hatred. There won't have to be any more unnecessary deaths."
"Do you truly believe he can reach that type of power? To be able to stop all the wars with the snap of a finger?" Hiruzen chuckled.
"I've lived a long life, Kakashi. I've seen many shinobi who have had the same type of power as Naruto, the same type of ability, and the same type of raw power. But, in the end, they don't have his drive, his dedication. Naruto has the potential to surpass Madara Uchiha and Hashirama! I bet you within a year, he will become one of the strongest Jounin this village will have.
"I was not lying or giving false hope when I said he could maybe qualify for Hokage in just a few years. He is the first ten-year-old in shinobi history that I know of to ever be promoted this quickly. I was but just a few years younger than Minato when I was given this title, and I believe Naruto will be a few years younger than me when he inherits it."
"I see," Kakashi said as he looked at the ground. "Then I shall be here to guide him when he needs it." Hiruzen smiled warmly at the grey-haired shinobi.
"Good, that's what he will need. Now go, take a day off or something, I need to get to this damn paperwork!" Kakashi bowed.
"Of course, Hokage-sama, and thank you." Hiruzen nodded as Kakashi just disappeared in a shunshin.
All was good in the Leaf Village.
For now.
And done. How was it? Good? Bad?? Tell me!
I hope you guys had a good Christmas! Mine was a bit of a rough and bumpy ride but other than that it was okay.
Til next time my lil demons!