Reanimation

Chapter Two

"It is such an honor to bring you back, Lord Seventh."

Out of the shadows a man stepped out, bowing his head gently and so lowly that Naruto could not see his face. The presence of this man felt warm, the opposite of how the presence of an enemy normally felt like. But this man hid his chakra signature. No matter how he did it and why, it made him definitely the kind of person you could not trust.

"Show me your face," Naruto said calmly, keeping an observant eye on the man.

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, you know that the reanimator has the upper hand on the reanimated--"

"All the more reason to have enough courage to show your face," Naruto interjected quite firmly and calmly, although his patience was slowly slipping.

The man did not dare lift his head and proceeded to bow down.

"No, don't," Naruto stopped him. The man's gesture felt like an insult -- a direct slap on the face. "It's useless to show any form of respect right after defiling my grave. Yet you call me your Hokage? I've been dead. Who is your Hokage now?"

"The man I'd have you murder."

Naruto sighed. "With that guts and the ability to dare reanimate me, go face your Hokage on your own--"

"The present Hokage is Sasuke Uchiha."

---

"... so I might have to ask Mitsuki to take over my shift on that day. Would that be okay?" The question fell on deaf ears and they came to a halt. His sensei was looking far ahead, as if he was suddenly expecting someone to step out to the path.

Boruto shifted his gaze from his sensei to the path in front of him. No one. He looked around just in case, but he was not feeling anything new or out of the ordinary, no other presence nearby except for his and Sasuke's.

"Uncle? Anything wrong?" For a moment Boruto thought his sensei seemed caught off guard, before he became completely devoid of any expression again. Boruto watched Sasuke take a deep breath, before his sensei turned to look at him.

"Nothing." Sasuke merely shrugged it off and started walking again.

---

"The present Hokage is Sasuke Uchiha."

Naruto fell silent at the mention of his closest friend.

He is doing well then. Of course, why wouldn't he?

His best friend, whom he watched struggle to find his home in the place he grew up, was now recognized almost in the same manner as they recognized Naruto. He didn't realize he was smiling a little. For a short moment he was thankful to be alive again, if only to hear how Sasuke had become the leader of the village he was once in conflict with.

The news had given him some form of solace but it did not last long. The only way he could help his best friend and his village was if he could undo the reanimation by himself and stop this man's plan. There was no way he was going to let his friends or his family find out about this, lest he reopened wounds that had long scarred.

The man slowly lifted his head as he proceeded to talk.

"I waited too long for this Hokage-sama, waited too long for your tailed-beast to respawn. I worked very hard on this..." the man's eyes met with his, looking very empty.

"... and I would make sure that I get rid of him and that he dies at your very hands."

Naruto merely observed his face. No recognition. This man looked ordinary -- no notable marks or scars on his face, nothing that would strike any familiarity. The man had dark hair that fell below his shoulders, and his skin showed that he spent a lot of his time working under the sun. His eyes reminded Naruto of snakes. His armor did not fail to reveal his muscular built, his heavily scarred arms, and the scalds on his hands -- experienced in battle, Naruto supposed. The man stood well composed and his voice unwavering, which complemented the absence of expression on the man's face.

"I am sorry. Of course you would not recognize me. After all, I've always been just a nobody,"

"If they find out you've successfully brought me back, they might recognize your skill and your wit. However, you will, no doubt, also be exiled or imprisoned, if not executed, depending on all the other offenses you've committed."

Naruto struggled to keep his tone void of anger or disgust. If he wanted answers, he would have to keep the conversation going without provoking the other to exert control over him.

"Just like how the village rightfully ostracized the Uchiha for his betrayal --how he deserved to be exiled or imprisoned for the rest of his life," the man spat with glaring eyes, his fists clenched at his sides.

"Only to be accepted in his return like nothing happened, all because he was a genius, all because he was already too powerful. Tell me, what made you trust him so easily?" The man glowered at him one more time before he broke eye contact and proceeded to sit on a nearby rock.

Naruto let silence linger between them for a while, trying to figure out what point he was trying to make. He still felt too under-recovered to argue, but he was also compelled to speak of how Sasuke helped him save the world. He decided against it, however, since he needed to know more.

"Who are you and what has your Hokage done to you?"

"Now you're interested," the man smirked.

"The only thing you need to know right now is that your friend, whom you've so highly esteemed, has set aside everything you, Hokage-sama, had ever worked for, everything you stood up for and died for..."

The man got up and walked toward Naruto, stopping right before him, his head lowered so that their eyes met and their foreheads barely touched.

"... and we need you right now to help us fix everything he felt so entitled to destroy."