Light Of A Crystal

32. Predictions

Location: Nara Household

"I don't hate Naruto. I hate how he gets everything that he desires."

"He is a monster...who harbours another monster which almost destroyed the Leaf 12 years ago."

"I am the one who shall get his hands dirty to kill him since the Leaf turned blind towards his true desires of Naruto."

"I will prove to everyone that I am the hero of the Leaf Village." 

The Nara then saw the Sharingan spinning in full glory and Sasuke suddenly raised his sword to kill him and brought it down...

Shikamaru suddenly woke up with start. He looked around. He saw that he was surrounded by the Naras who were still sleeping peacefully.

He wondered how long was he sleeping like that before shaking his head and heaving a sigh of relief. 

Just a troublesome nightmare. Shikamaru thought as he chuckled humourlessly. Maybe, I should go back to sleep.

Shikamaru then lay on the mattress to sleep, only to find that he was not sleepy at all. He began to toss around the bed until bright light suddenly illuminated his room. 

The next moment he knew, he found himself standing on an island with just a pink cherry blossom tree. He looked around in amazement and saw that crystal clear water surrounded the island. 

The island had a variety of beautiful flowers which bloomed. He took a deep breath and saw the flowers which emitted a lovely fragrance.

As he stood there, amazed, the tree suddenly parted and reveal Hagoromo Otsutsuki sitting in the middle of the tree. 

"My dear child," He said with a small smile and a soft gaze. "I want to talk with you."

"Who are you?" Shikamaru asked.

"I am referred to with many names and titles; Father of the Shinobis, God of the Shinobis,  Saviour of the World, the one who sees the future and many more. But, I am commonly known as the Sage of the Six Paths." Hagoromo replied calmly as Shikamaru's eyes widened before he quickly bowed down before the venerable one.

"O venerable one, I am greatly confused about which path I should choose in the future to save the Leaf Village. The one with Wheel eye is about to commit an unthinkable sin and I don't know what it is. But I am sure that his actions will cause an immense impact which will be a permanent wound on the Leaf Village... And even worse...the Shinobi world. Therefore, O defeater of the Ten-Tails and the defeater of his mother, I humbly request you to show me the way which will save the Leaf Village...and the shinobi world." Shikamaru said as he knelt and his head touched the island.

Hagoromo just sighed and said "I can see that my son, Indra has taken rebirth as Sasuke Uchiha. And his curse of hatred is spreading across his mind. Unfortunately, I can no longer interfere in the world. But, I know who can save the world from the curse of Uchiha."

Shikamaru tilted his head in confusion.

"He is the child of prophecy and the one who still has a love for the Shinobi World despite the suffering which he had to face in the past. He is also the strongest Rival of the Uchiha boy." Hagoromo hinted. 

"No way..." Shikamaru exclaimed as his eyes went wide in realisation. "You mean... Uzumaki Naruto?" 

"Yes... The one and only Uzumaki Naruto... One of the last from his clan." Hagoromo said.

"So, I am useless cuz I am weak. I will not play any significant role in saving the Leaf Village?" Shikamaru asked. That's when the venerable man's smile faltered.

"You will play a very significant role," Hagoromo said as he gestured for the Nara to come near to him, which he did.

The wise man placed his palm on Shikamaru's head while the latter closed his eyes.

A moment later, Shikamaru's eyes went wide and he began to clench his teeth in fear. He began to sweat and gasp loudly. He began to clench his fist before quickly moving away from Hagoromo's hand and he fell to the ground and began to vomit violently while Hagoromo calmly walked down from his seat and sat down beside the Nara, putting his fragile-looking hand on his back.

Upon feeling the soothing presence, Shikamaru's breath rate turned to normal and he stopped clenching his teeth and his fist. His eyelids dropped down and he looked away from Hagoromo.

"So, it will be all my fault as well?" He asked.

"I am afraid that you are not only the one who will cause all of these to happen," Hagoromo replied sadly.

"Yeah! I saw that as well." Shikamaru replied as his eyes darkened. "Please tell me that the world is saved by Naruto?"

"Unfortunately, I cannot tell you that because I don't know. It all depends on Naruto's control over anger and other negative emotions..."

"Which he lacks a lot." Shikamaru completed the sentence.

The whole atmosphere became silent as Shikamaru and Hagoromo stopped talking.

"Even though, he lacks his self-control..." Shikamaru again began speaking. "I am confident that one day... Just one day... He will be able to control all his emotions. Anger... grief... and rage... And save this world. Cuz he never gives up. Naruto is a boy who will never die even if his head gets severed from his body...because his dream of becoming a Hokage will still keep him alive. That stubborn bastard never believes in luck and he always twists the faith with his hand in whatever way he wants. He has a strong will, stronger than the fire. He is going to become the greatest Hokage of the Leaf and I believe in him." Shikamaru said as he strained a small smile.

Hagoromo was overjoyed to see his positivity and he said, "I am greatly impressed by your positivity which is rare to see in this accursed world which I created. So, I will grant you a boon. 24 hours before you die... You will regain control of your body and be warned you may also die in the hands of Sasuke before the completion of the 24 hours." Hagoromo said as Shikamaru found himself covered by a bright light which lasted for a few moments before fading away.

"Any advice which I need to relay to Naruto?" Shikamaru asked as Hagoromo stroked his pearl-white beard.

"There are a few. Ask Naruto to start the Alliance as soon as possible if he wants to defeat Sasuke. And also, tell him to come to Eastern Temple if he ever finds himself questioning his rage."

"Understood," Shikamaru said as he closed his eyes.

e next moment, he found himself in his room, still lying on the ground. He looked around and saw that there was no one in his room.

Maybe, the effect of genjutsu is over. He thought as he stretched himself. I need to get the screws in the place and let Naruto deal with the rest.

He then took a deep breath. Naruto, I will help you to save Leaf after I successfully counter Sasuke's influence and that's my promise. I will help you carry on the Will of the Fire and mensurethat it is never extinguished. He suddenly paused before he smirked and brought his left pam on his back to scratch it. No... You are not the carrier of the Will of Fire. You are the will of fire. And, you will never be extinguished even after what you will suffer under Sasuke. He suddenly frowned. Speaking of Sasuke, I need to alert Hokage sama. But I will keep my knowledge of the future to myself. No one needs to know about it besides me.

Kakashi: Sorry for the late update. Shay had some exams and everything. Yada Yada. You get it.

Obito: And sorry for this short chapter as Shay needs to spend more time with his school project. 

Kakashi: In the next chapter, Naruto will set on his journey for the training trip and also for bringing the Jinchurikis closer to each other so that the alliance can be formed. 

Obito: As for the Eastern Temple, that's Shay's idea. That too an original one, or so he thinks.  

Kakashi: Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, and always...keep reading and...

Obito: PEACE OUT!!!!