Naruto x Sasuke back together

Chapter 14

The morning sun crept over the horizon, casting a faint light into the cave. Naruto's eyes fluttered open, only to be met with an unsettling silence. He reached out, expecting to feel Sasuke's warmth beside him, but his hand met only cold stone.

A deep, growling presence surged within him, a roar that resonated through his bones. Kurama's energy erupted, flooding Naruto's senses with an intense, primal anger. Sasuke was gone.

Panic surged, his heartbeat thunderous as he scrambled to his feet. Naruto's mind raced, the memories of the previous night playing on repeat—the warmth of Sasuke in his arms, the comfort of his steady breathing. It all felt so real, so solid. But now, Sasuke was nowhere to be found, and the remnants of his scent were faint, almost as if he'd vanished into thin air.

"How did you let him slip away, Naruto?" Kurama's voice growled in his mind, bristling with fury. "You promised to keep him safe."

Naruto's hands clenched into fists, his nails digging into his palms. "I don't know what happened!" he yelled back, his voice tinged with frustration and guilt. "I was right here—I didn't even sense him leaving!"

Kurama's chakra flared, hot and seething, pulsing through Naruto's body with such intensity that he nearly lost control. "He wouldn't just leave. Someone took him. Find him, Naruto. Now."

Naruto took off, his legs carrying him at breakneck speed, the sheer urgency of his movements fueled by a volatile mix of fear and rage. Kurama's energy coursed through him, giving him strength, but the anger building in both of them threatened to consume him. He pushed harder, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the forest for any trace of Sasuke's chakra, his heart pounding with desperation.

The trail led him through dense trees, past scattered leaves and broken branches. Each broken twig and scuffed mark in the earth was a clue, a painful reminder that Sasuke hadn't left willingly. Naruto's breaths came in ragged gasps, his mind a storm of thoughts and fears. Whoever had taken Sasuke would regret it; they would pay for this violation.

But with each step, Naruto felt Kurama's rage growing, swelling like a tidal wave within him. His control was slipping, the fox's anger bleeding into his own, until Naruto could barely distinguish his own fury from Kurama's. His vision tinged red, his teeth gritting as he felt the beast clawing at the edges of his mind, desperate to be released.

"Let me out," Kurama snarled, his voice deep and resonant, vibrating through Naruto's bones. "You're too weak to do this alone. Let me destroy them."

Naruto's breath hitched, his muscles tensing as he wrestled with the fox's immense, insatiable rage. He could feel Kurama pushing, pressing against the confines of his mind, his raw power pounding like a drum. If he let Kurama take control now, the fox wouldn't stop until the entire forest was leveled.

"No," Naruto forced out, his voice strained, his fists shaking as he fought to hold back the fury surging within him. "If I let you out now... you'd destroy everything."

Kurama's laugh echoed darkly in his mind, mocking and vicious. "And that would be a bad thing?" he challenged, his voice dripping with menace. "They took what's ours. We owe them nothing but ruin."

Naruto's vision flickered, the boundaries between his own mind and Kurama's blurring dangerously. He felt his body shifting, Kurama's chakra swirling and pressing against him, ready to explode outward. His claws lengthened, his teeth sharpened, and the dark energy threatened to consume him, to turn him into a force of destruction.

"Hold it together," Naruto growled to himself, his voice strained as he struggled against the rising tide of power. "If we lose control, we might lose Sasuke. I can't risk it."

But Kurama wasn't letting go. The fox's rage was unrelenting, a relentless surge that pounded against Naruto's weakening control. Naruto's knees buckled as the chakra pressed down on him, and he gasped, trying to ground himself, to keep a grip on reality. "You know he's out there," Kurama whispered darkly, his voice thick with a possessive edge. "They took him from us, and if you don't act, they'll get away with it."

Naruto's body trembled, his skin practically burning as the power continued to build. He gritted his teeth, desperately summoning every ounce of restraint he had. If he allowed Kurama to take over now, the fox wouldn't stop until he had obliterated everything in his path. The forest, anyone nearby—nothing would survive.

"We'll find him," Naruto panted, his voice barely more than a whisper. "But we're doing this my way."

Kurama's growl resonated within him, a deep rumble that made the ground beneath his feet seem to vibrate. "You're a fool, Naruto," the fox sneered. "Your restraint is a weakness. Let me do what you're too afraid to do."

Naruto's vision blurred, his mind a whirl of rage and desperation. But in that maelstrom, he found a singular thought—a memory of Sasuke's face, his quiet strength, the rare softness he showed only in fleeting moments. It grounded him, pulling him back from the edge of oblivion.

"Sasuke wouldn't want this," Naruto whispered, his voice steadying as he clung to that memory. "And I won't lose myself when he needs me."

Slowly, painfully, Naruto wrestled Kurama's energy back, forcing it down, locking it away. His breathing slowed, his fists unclenching as he felt the fox's presence recede, though the anger still simmered beneath the surface, an ever-present threat.

"Fine," Kurama spat, his voice tinged with frustration, retreating back into the recesses of Naruto's mind. "But if you fail, Naruto, if we lose him because of your weakness, I won't hold back next time."

Naruto took a shuddering breath, feeling the last remnants of Kurama's chakra settle within him. His mind cleared, his focus sharpening as he scanned the area once more, his senses attuned to the faint traces of Sasuke's chakra. The rage still lingered, but now it was controlled, channeled, a fierce determination that drove him forward.

As he resumed his search, Naruto clenched his jaw, his eyes hardening with resolve. Whoever had taken Sasuke would pay dearly for what they'd done. But he would find him his way—with precision, with purpose, and without losing himself in the process.

"Hold on, Sasuke," he whispered under his breath, his steps quickening as he honed in on the faint trace of Sasuke's presence. "I'm coming."

And this time, nothing in the world would stop him.