Naruto:Blast to the Past

Chapter 32: Might makes Right Part I

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
"Hmm...."- Bijuu

Chapter 32:
Might makes Right Part I

If there was one thing that could still annoy Naruto to no end was pointless chatter. Like, seriously. Standing idle while watching a bunch of old people go on about pointless topics that were nothing more than to keep a front between one another was seriously annoying. But that was exactly what he was forced to go through as he watched the council member he and his team were supposed to protect converse with one of the personal spokesmen of the Land of Fire daimyo. Naruto could already see that the only reason the daimyo had sent the man was to make the council member feel special. It was no doubt a ploy to try and make the tension between Uzu and Konoha disappear. Or at the very least diminish. That was what the whole point of this little party of theirs was about, after all. And it seriously rubbed Naruto the wrong way. While the blond was all for his clan and his home village going back to being good pals, he didn't like when people used underhanded methods. It was why he always tried his best to be as upfront about his intentions as possible. He had done so with the Sandaime Raikage. And he was doing his best to do the same with his grandfather. Circumstances just made it impossible for him to show his face was all. But that was only for now.

At any rate, this talk was seriously begging to get on his nerves. And observing Orochimaru through his peripherals wasn't doing anything to lessen his irritation either. The man looked to be enjoying himself as he watched the two men talk. But enjoy what, Naruto didn't know.

"Oi, you have to try and give this human a chance, brat," Son Goku spoke up. "I mean, you're trying to heal all the wounds among the nations right? Well, if forgiveness is not in the equation, then you'll never be able to succeed."

'You don't have to tell me that,' Naruto replied. 'You're absolutely right of course. But there are some people that just won't accept change. Orochimaru is one of them. I can't turn a blind eye to how cunning he is. Even if I don't have any proof that he has done anything of what his future counterpart claimed to have done, I don't have any proof saying that he hasn't either. It's a fine like, I know. It isn't something that I can just decide so easily. But then again, none of this is easy. The only people I can trust for certain are Sasuke, Aika-chan, and Haru. They are the only ones who know about me. Everyone else I have to be careful around with.'

"But then how will you decide to forgive someone or not?" Shukaku asked, speaking for the first time. "I've seen many things, boy. I've helped many humans kill a lot of your kind. You saw what I did to Gaara. I've also seen just how much you struggled to put your hatred aside when the Akatsuki killed your master. So then, can you still do the same if someone takes those who are important to you? Can you say for a certainty that you will forgive them?"

Naruto closed his eyes at the question, not bothering to pay any attention to the talk that was happening in front of him out in the real world. It wasn't the first time that he was asked this.

'That is the most important question, isn't it? And it's not one that I can answer with certainty either. I still have my emotions, after all. But that's why I have all of you.' Naruto then smiled. 'I can't ignore the possibility that I might lose my way if something like that ever happens. No matter how small it is, the possibility is there. But that's why I can count on you guys to snap me back out of it. To make me remember just what I'm fighting for. Why I'm fighting for. For all those that trust in me to not fail. I know that I can count on you guys. That's what being friends for is all about! It's what Itachi taught me too. Sometimes, you just have to rely on your friends and not take everything on yourself.'

Shukaku laughed, but it was more of a mocking laugh. "You would really put your faith in someone like me!? I've probably done worse things than the dumb fox over here! And he was partly responsible for getting your parents killed!"