Something Precious

Chapter Nine

Disclaimer: I took these memories from the anime so I do not own them.

Tiny Naruto was not so tiny anymore. In the next memory it was clear that he was younger than the version that observed beside them but quite a bit older than he was in the previous memories.

He was in a wooded area with an older looking Sakura who was leaning against a tree clutching an injured arm, she was trying to heal it with medical ninjutsu but to little avail. Despite it only being her arm that was injured, her whole body was slouched as if it was stealing her energy. Along with them was a man with brown hair and creepy brown eyes.

"That's Captain Yamato. He was in the ANBU but was assigned to our team because Kakashi was in the hospital from a recent mission." Naruto explained quickly.

"An ANBU? Why wouldn't they just assign another jonin?" asked Inoichi.

"Because of me." grumbled Kurama. The men looked at the fox. He hadn't really spoken much so far and they still found him unsettling. Especially since he seemed so. . . good. Which went against everything they knew about him. The Nine-Tails was supposed to be some kind of embodiment of all evil, yet instead he was literally being an emotional support for Naruto. It was just strange.

"Anyway, we had just finished a mission about a week earlier and had gotten a tip that one of Orochimaru's men was a spy and would meet at this bridge. When we got there it turned out that the spy was loyal to Orochumaru and the snake was there. He was taunting me with talk of Sasuke and I . . . lost control. At the time I didn't have control over the Nine-Tail's power and he took me over completely. Once I woke up I had no recollection of what happened." while Naruto was revealing this Kurama had the decency to look ashamed. Naruto gave him a small smile trying to ease his guilt. The fox was grateful but it didn't help. They looked back to the memory.

"Naruto I want to go over some formations with you. Follow me." said Captain Yamato. Not-so-little Naruto followed Yamato out of ear shot of the pink-haired girl.

"So what are we doing Captain?" he inquired. Yamato fixed him with a piercing gaze.

"Naruto, before we go on you need to know something. Orochimaru wasn't the one who hurt Sakura . . . you were." the captain's words hung in the air for some agonizing moments as the sixteen year-old in front of them slowly processed his words.

"I did that?" he repeated to himself. A look of inexplicable guilt entered his eyes and he glanced back to where the girl was resting. His eyes flashed to her wounded arm and remorse flooded his eyes.

"Naruto," Yamato began. "I know you want to save Sasuke at any cost but if you are going to bring him back do it with your hands, not the Nine Tail's. If you want to see him again then look with your eyes, not your demon's. I can only imagine how tempting such power can be but if you only rely on his power and never your own then nothing you achieve as a shinobi will mean anything. If you give into the temptation of this power you will be able to defeat any enemy, but how is that worth anything if you also end up killing your closest friends?"

"I always kept those words in mind after that. I hadn't ever thought of it that way before." said Naruto to the silent men.

"What happened? I mean the Nine Tails seems fine now. I would even say you trust him." commented the Hokage who - inspite of his words threw a distrusting glance at the beast. Kurama who was looking at the ground answered his question.

"Back then I was consumed by my hatred. I would have killed anyone no matter who they were or what they meant to Naruto. I wanted to weaken his mind because it would also have weakened the seal. But he never gave into me. His mind was always stronger than I was. His will to protect was always stronger than my will to destroy. You will see the rest eventually." that didn't really answer their question but they kept it in mind and didn't try to prod further.

Now Past Naruto was standing in the Hokage's office along with Kakashi. There were also a number of toads present. The mood was somber.

"What's this about Granny Tsunade?" the teen barely hid his anxiousness. "And what's with the geezer frog?"

"Pipe down! Watch your mouth Naruto! He's one of the two great sages of Mount Myoboku, Lord Fukasaku. He traveled all the way here just so he could speak with you." scolded Tsunade.

"So this is him?" asked Lord Fukasaku, ignoring Naruto's informality and Tsunade's mini rant.

Tsunade responded. "Yes, this is Naruto. The child of prophecy that you spoke of." the sage nodded.

He addressed Naruto. "Answer me this, are you really Jiraiya Boy's student?" sixteen year-old Naruto looked highly offended.

"Jiraiya Boy? Boy!? Don't disrespect the Pervy Sage like that! Who does this geezer frog think he is anyway!?" he exclaimed.

"You know," spoke Inoichi. "You kind of contradicted yourself there with the whole 'Pervy Sage' thing." he commented. Sarutobi also looked amused at the young Naruto's words.

Despite the humor of it all Naruto himself did not even crack a smile, there was no reaction to the irony from the young man. "That's just what I always called him. I saw Jiraiya as a father, he knew I meant no disrespect." his voice was hollow but he seemed to be holding back tears. Kurama wrapped his tails tighter around the blonde trying his best to comfort his jinchuuriki host. He placed his nose to his cheek to which Naruto responded with a grateful smile.

Sarutobi and Inoichi now sensed the somber mood of the Uzumaki and focused back on his memory with renewed interest.

"I already told you! Watch your mouth!" snapped Tsunade.

"Naruto, this is the one who taught the sage jutsu to Lord Jiraiya. He's Jiraiya's master." Shizune - Tsunade's student and assistant - explained softly

"You call him the Pervy Sage? Why I've never heard a more fitting name for Jiraiya Boy." the sage toad chuckled.

"Ok. . . what does an old geezer sage have to say to me anyway?" Past Naruto asked. Shizune and Tsunade looked down but Lord Fukasaku looked him in the eye as he delivered the news.

"First there is something you need to know. Jiraiya has died in battle." there was silence as they all absorbed the news.

"Wait. Jiraiya was actually defeated in battle? By whom?" Sarutobi's voice was just shy of shaking as he delivered the question.

"A man named Nagato. He possessed the rennigan." Naruto answered simply. He didn't add anything about the Peins because he knew what the next memory would be and that it would explain for him.

"Who is this Nagato? Where can we find him?" Sarutobi demanded.

"No." both Sarutobi and Inoichi were taken aback by his reponse. After he expressed what the sannin meant to him the two thought that he would be willing to rip his master's killer apart with his bare hands.

"No, because the shinobi world is filled with too much hate. That's what my master always told me. He wanted change, that was his dream, and when he died he intrusted that dream to me. If I learned anything at all from my life it's that you can't give into the dark. Nothing can satisfy a vengeful heart. You can't go killing all who do you wrong, especially if they haven't even done it yet. I came here to change things not to kill. There are a dozen men I could think of that have done great wrong in the future. The way I see it I have two options; one: kill them to disadvantage the enemy or two: help them see light where they couldn't otherwise. To achieve my goal I will only be killing one man. And that is Madara Uchiha. No one else." Naruto's voice was full of determination. Both his companions were inspired by his way of thinking. Normally they would accuse him of being nieve to the ways of he world but they knew he wasn't. He was determined to change the shinobi world the right way and they were now determined to do all they could to help, even if it killed them.