Redemption

7

Plz tell me you didn't expect that because I've never read an insane!naruto/dark!naruto fic where he's involved in the Uchiha Massacre.

~~~

The ANBU came just as the ritual ended. Not a single body remained within the barrier (a byproduct of Jashin's technique) and Naruto's skin had turned almost completely black save for white markings that imitated that of a skeleton on his body.

There was no evidence of a battle, yet the sense of death hung rank in the air.

The masked shinobi formed an indiscreet circle, surrounding him, ninjatos drawn. They didn't seem all that surprised to see the blond at the center of it all, standing just outside of an ominous, complicated seal.

"Naruto Uzumaki! State your purpose of being here on Uchiha clan grounds."

"Well, uh. . . " He had the feeling that telling them of Jashin's requirements was not an option. "I found out that some of them were super angry and going to start a coup against Hokage-jii-chan! So I solved the problem before they could do that!"

"Do you have proof of this?" Well, he thought he did. He was sure that if any of them looked into the clan's classified documents, they'd find the outlines of what he'd heard, but how was he supposed to tell them that they told him themselves? Or that he could hear their voices whispering dirty secrets to him? (Still were, actually.) He'd sound crazy, and craziness gets locked up, or worse: exiled.

His silence was damning, and the lead ANBU took it as an answer for itself.

"For your acts of petty treason and terrorism, you will testify before the Hokage and his advisors. Now, come with us quietly or we will use force." A few of the more eager shinobi shuffled forward at their words, blades glinting with the cold moon's light.

Naruto didn't like either of his options. But somehow, he'd been pretty confident that he wouldn't get caught in this heist so he didn't really have a plan to fall back on. So really, can you blame him for leaping towards an eager (probably new) recruit and using a kunai from his own pouch to slice at him?

It probably wasn't his brightest idea, but he'd never claimed to be all that smart in the first place.

With the element of surprise on his side, his slice had just managed to cut the ANBU's arm before the elite jumped away from the boy, the shallow wound bleeding unnoticeably through the dark fabric of his sleeves. Naruto turned tail and ran when the others started converging, not wanting to get caught now.

With his back turned and the dimness working against him, he barely managed to duck under the swing of a ninjato, the sound of the blade cutting through the air the only warning he got before it tried to behead him. He yelped when three shurikens lodged themselves in his lower back and despaired that he didn't have a time advantage to shake them off.

Still holding that same kunai, he turned and went on the offensive, going low and stabbing through the thick fabric of the grey ANBU vest of the nearest enemy. 

He didn't stop, focused only on eliminating whoever was causing him harm, spurred on by the words of his and their shadows. He hardly noticed the cuts accumulating along his back and torso over the blood roaring in his ears, blood squelching when he finally tore through vest and skin. 

With one down, he moved on to the others crowding him.

He ravaged all in his path. Dimly, he was aware of the captain barking orders to one of his subordinates and that one speeding away towards the village center. But he didn't care about where they were going. 

He only cared that they were finally hurting as he did. As they'd allowed him to.

There might have been screams of pain or terror, but he wasn't sure anymore. Was it the shinobi speaking or was it the shadows? He didn't care either way. 

There was no method to his actions, no precision. He swiped bestially with deadly claws for hands and bubbling red chakra tails to keep balance on all fours. It was slow progress that passed in a blur to him: one downed warrior became two, two became five, and soon he was panting at the center of mutilated masked bodies, his own wounds rapidly regenerating and dulled kunai long discarded.

There was a small part of him that was terrified of himself, of what he'd done and how he couldn't even remember all of it, his memory of everything disjointed bits and pieces. But that part was quickly suppressed at the overwhelming sense of triumph. 

He hadn't intended to kill these people on this night, but he didn't regret it. They'd gotten in his way and facilitated his beatings or break-ins countless times before. 

But now, he was finally strong enough to fight back; to protect himself. The power was heady and made him giddy. He almost laughed, surrounded and immersed in death as he was.

But then Hokage-ojii-san showed up with that ANBU that'd been sent away before and he suddenly didn't feel so great anymore.

Jii-chan would be angry at him for sure and no amount of clean-up or detentions was going to fix this.

The old man surveyed the damage before taking slow, measured steps toward the boy he'd considered as dear as a grandson to him. (Why did this happen was it his fault it was always his fault.) Another two ANBU squads flanked him and spread to eliminate possible escape routes. 

He didn't think he'd ever seen the Hokage so weary before. Not this sad, or— or old. The negligible lighting deepened his wrinkles, made his eyes lose that twinkle that was always present. The cold moon's light stripped away all affection until it truly was the Hokage—the God of Shinobi—that looked down at him.

All was silent, the stillness broken only by a wind that Naruto couldn't feel. 

Yet another squad arrived—this time from within the clan gates, a bare-faced Uchiha shinobi in their custody. (His shadow was mourning, though it scrabbled at its face as if seeking to tear its eyes from its sockets with bloodied hands.) All eyes were on the blond now and despite the lies he'd been fed by the Hokage, he didn't want to fight him. Not like this, at least.

The fight drained from his small body and he put his hands up in surrender, a sad smile on his face.

A nod from their Hokage was all it took for them to swarm the 7-year-old. Chakra-suppressing seals were slapped around his wrists before handcuffs were applied over those, stark against his dark skin. Two spare ANBU went to collect the bodies of their fallen comrades and seal them into scrolls. When all was said and done, the many ANBU assimilated into a protective formation around the two prisoners.

The procession of fifteen or so was led by the Hokage himself, conspicuous even in the dark of night. As they left the battle scene, Naruto couldn't help but look back.

There were no markings telling of a hard-fought battle: no craters or scorch marks, not even a crack in the pavement. And yet, the streets ran red.

~~~

I was gonna have Naruto be the sole reason of the massacre, but then I realized I hadn't made him op enough. . . sad times. And then I was gonna try and save Shisui, but I accidentally started too late in the chain of events, so that had to be scrapped too!

Sorry this was so short, but I had finals and now I have scholarship apps to do, so this mini-arc is gonna be split into probably 2 more chapters.

But I love how nice and supportive you guys are. Thanks for waiting; you're all wonderful!