Naruto Gojo(Discontinued)

22

Chapter 22: The Valley of the End

Naruto stood up, stretching his arms above his head. He looked over his shoulder toward a thick cluster of trees. His Six Eyes easily pierced the foliage, locking onto the terrified chakra signature hiding within.

"You can come out now, Tayuya," Naruto called out, his voice carrying clearly across the quiet clearing. "I know you're there."

For a moment, there was no movement. Then, slowly, the red-haired kunoichi stepped out from the shadows. Her usual foul-mouthed bravado was completely gone. She looked at the cratered landscape, the defeated Kimimaro, and finally at the white-haired boy who had dismantled Orochimaru's elite guard without breaking a sweat.

"What do you want?" Tayuya asked cautiously, keeping her distance.

"You're out of a job," Naruto pointed out. "Your buddies are dead and Kimimaro here is retiring. You have nowhere to go."

Tayuya gritted her teeth, but she couldn't deny it. Returning to the Sound Village meant dealing with the fallout, and wandering as a missing-nin was a death sentence.

"So," Naruto continued, offering a casual smile. "How about you join my village?"

Tayuya blinked, completely thrown off guard. "Join Konoha? After everything we just did? Are you out of your mind?!"

"Probably," Naruto shrugged. "But I'm also the guy who just wiped out your team. If I vouch for you, nobody in the Leaf is going to say otherwise. You get a fresh start, a safe place to live, and in exchange, you don't end up like your buddies. Sound like a deal?"

Tayuya stared at him. It was a bizarre, almost insulting offer, but it was also a lifeline. She looked at Kimimaro, breathing shallowly on the ground, and realized there was only one logical choice.

She swallowed her pride and gave a stiff nod. "Fine. I'm in."

"Great." Naruto brought his fingers together. "Shadow Clone Jutsu."

A perfect copy of Naruto popped into existence beside him. The clone walked over, easily lifting the dying Kimimaro onto his shoulder, and gestured for Tayuya to step closer.

"My clone will take you two directly to the Hokage's office," the real Naruto explained.

"The Hokage?" Tayuya panicked slightly. "She's going to kill us!"

"Nah, Tsuna loves a good surprise," the clone grinned, placing his free hand on Tayuya's shoulder. He channeled his chakra, locking onto the Hiraishin marker he had left in the village. "See you on the other side."

With a flash of brilliant yellow light, the clone, Kimimaro, and Tayuya vanished from the clearing.

Naruto was finally alone. He turned his attention back to the wooden barrel sitting untouched on the grass. Inside, Sasuke's chakra was violently fluctuating, the Cursed Seal working its dark magic.

"Alright, Sleeping Beauty," Naruto muttered. He raised a finger, using Blue to effortlessly levitate the heavy coffin into the air. "Let's find a proper stage for this."

____
(The Valley of the End)

The roar of crashing water filled the air, a deafening symphony of nature's raw power.

Naruto hovered down into the massive gorge, the levitating coffin trailing behind him. He landed softly on the surface of the rushing river, the water rippling gently beneath his boots.

Flanking the colossal waterfall were two monumental statues. To the right stood Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, his hand raised in a seal of peace. To the left stood Madara Uchiha, his stone eyes glaring across the divide, a testament to a rivalry that had shaped the shinobi world.

It was the border of the Land of Fire. The Valley of the End.

"This seems poetic enough," Naruto said to himself.

He casually tossed the wooden barrel onto the rocky shore at the base of Madara's statue. The wood splintered slightly upon impact, but the seal held firm.

Naruto walked over to the base of Hashirama's statue. He sat down, crossing his legs, and pulled out a small piece of candy he had swiped from Anko's stash, popping it into his mouth.

And then, he waited.

The minutes ticked by. The sky began to turn a bruised shade of violet as the late afternoon bled into evening. The air grew thick, an oppressive, suffocating heat radiating from the broken barrel.

Then, a sickening crack echoed over the sound of the waterfall.

Dark, malevolent chakra—dense, toxic, and utterly hateful—began to seep from the splintered wood, hissing as it touched the damp air. The containment seal flared red for a brief second before it was violently burned away by the sheer toxicity of the energy inside.

BOOM.

The coffin exploded. Wood fragments shot outward, splashing into the river. A thick cloud of dark, purple smoke billowed from the wreckage.

Naruto didn't move. He simply rested his chin on his hand, his Six Eyes tracking the turbulent silhouette within the smoke.

Slowly, the smoke parted.

A figure stood up. It was Sasuke, but he was fundamentally changed. The left side of his face and neck was entirely engulfed by a chaotic, flame-like pattern of black markings. His skin was pale, his breathing heavy and ragged, echoing with a strange, unnatural resonance.

Sasuke slowly lifted his head.

His right eye remained the dark, brooding charcoal it had always been. But his left eye... it snapped open, revealing a sickly, glowing yellow iris set against a pitch-black sclera. The Cursed Seal had firmly sunk its teeth into his genetic code, corrupting him from the inside out.

Sasuke clenched his fists. The raw, unadulterated power coursing through his veins was intoxicating. He felt invincible. He felt like a god.

He turned his monstrous, mismatched gaze across the river, the yellow eye burning with newfound malice.

Through the mist of the waterfall, he locked eyes with the white-haired boy sitting casually on the rock.

"Naruto," Sasuke said, his voice vibrating with a dark, demonic undertone.

Naruto offered a lazy smile, uncrossing his legs and standing up. He slipped his hands into his pockets, the wind whipping his jacket around him.

"Morning, sunshine," Naruto called out over the roar of the falls. "Did you have a nice nap?"