True Self, New Self

Hi everybody! I bet you were wondering were I was. Well things have been a complete chaos around here, and I have been fixing things up *yawns* I barely have time to sleep lately, but I managed to get some time to write and post this chapter. I wish it was longer, but my brain needs to get some sleep.

Review Answers!

feisu: Missed ya too! I'm glad you liked the three chapters, but I don't think that I can manage to keep them coming like that, I don't have enough time for that!! *hugs* More cookies? I just pulled them out of the oven!

Andrea: Hehehe, don't worry, you can hug me. I'm glad you like my story so much!! But I don't think that I have enough imagination to keep this story going on forever, but when it ends, I guarantee you that you will be happy!

AnA La PaNa83: *hiss at Orochimaru* I hate that bastard, but I will make him suffer eventually! *grins* Take a look at this chapter, it will answer one of your questions a bit.

HellzAngel: Is good to be back!! I'm glad that you still like my story, here is a new chappie!

XZanayu: We will all have to wait and see my friend!

Fourthiv: Beleive me, it will be a while until this one ends, I'm planning a sequel actually, the plot is already in my head *grins*

trulywicked (the three of them!): Hehehe, you were the only one that actually reviewed each chapter in separate reviews. I'm so glad you liked the three of them! Your opinion matters a lot to me! *hugs*

Rho: More piccys!!!!!!!!!! *squeal* I really really hope you actually draw them *glomps*

Allys: Glad you liked it! I really hate that Orochimaru-bastard, so I will never let him place a finger on his pretty body, Nuh huh, over my dead and cold body!

Darling_425: Thanks!

Lemo: Yay Bleach!! I love it so much, and the song just fitted in perfectly.

Hello: Why, thank you!

The2Devils: Well you will have to wait for a little longer.


So, on with the chapter minna!!

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True Self, New Self.


Chapter 18: Never Underestimate.




Seven days more to the start of the Chuunin exams. The village is filling a little bit more crowded because of the arrival of several new teams, but still the attendance is less than five years ago, if a village sent two teams to the exams, it is one team more than the majority of the other villages. The reason for this decrease of genins is sad.

Constant war with the Sound and the Akatsuki is creating chaos outside the walls of every village. The number of qualified ninjas are decimated in battles and the villages are forced to send genins to missions that in better times, weren't for them. Inexperienced young ninjas are constantly killed while doing even the more simple mission, while the more experienced ones survive them.

If this war doesn't end soon, the future of the villages are in jeopardy, because their future lies on their genin, their future chuunin, jounins, ANBUs and Kages, and without genins, there is no future.

Sorrow is a constant feeling in most of the villages in this dangerous days, so many deaths, so much destruction. Families broke apart, their members killed, even if they had nothing to do with the battles. The memorial stones inside the villages don't have space for more names, and new memorial stones are made to honor the names of those who give their lives protecting the villages they love, and the people in it.

Even if there is nothing unnatural about dead, because everything that lives shall perish and return to the earth that give them life, no one can help but to cry for their deaths, because nothing proves more how we love someone, than the ache in our hearts when they are gone.

Within this war, along with the feeling of lost, comes the desire for revenge. And with the desire for avenge the ones that have been taken from us, come even more deaths. The death of the avengers, the death of the ones that started the killed, and the death of the avenged join, to make the wheel of death keep running, even faster with each new death. Because it is a vicious circle, because death only generates more death.

All of this because of a war, that generates death, but can't be stopped, because if there isn't war, the ones that this world is in war with, will generate even more death and suffering than the war itself.

But enough with this depressive thoughts, this war cannot go on forever, and Sound will be no more by the end of this year if everything goes as it is supposed to. I not only trained this past five years to get Sasuke back, I also trained to get rid of that damn snake, who had caused so much pain, to so many people. I will take Orochimaru down and avenge all the people he had hurt.

I bet some of you are wondering what I am doing while thinking this things, well, I'm making my way to Sasuke's temporary house, to watch his team train. For some reason, after that night at the karaoke, he insisted that I come over everyday. Sometimes, he even goes out with me and the rest of the rookie nine. I wonder what he is trying to do.

When I arrive, I walk straight to the training arena on the back, making sure not to fall on any of the traps that surround them to keep out intruders. I could always avoid all of them by using the trees, but I rather not. The usual view greets me when I get there. Sasuke is leaning against a tree, while his students train. If you can call tag training.

"Tadaima." I mock greet.

"Kaji-senpai! Welcome back!" I walk to Sasuke's side and sit next to him.

"Since when I'm a senpai to them?" I ask quietly.

"I don't know... they are a bunch of bakas, so I don't claim to understand what goes on their heads."

"I thought there was just air inside them. I have seen many Sound genin teams in the past years, and this is without doubt the more incompetent one I've ever seen. You think that the snake give them to you, just to piss you off."

"I don't think so, I'm sure of it."

"So, what in all seven hells are they doing?"

"Playing tag."

"I can see that. And why are they doing that?"

"According to them, it is training."

"That's ridiculous and you know it. You're their sensei right? At least make them do something useful."

"Hey gakis, play time is over. I want you to run a hundred laps around the arena."

"WHAT?!"

"You heard your sensei kids, so start running!" I say smirking.

"Teme..." Came the barely audible comment of Sako, which earned a twitch of his sensei.

"Now that I think about it, do a thousand!"

This time, the only comment from any of them was a groan, but they started running anyway.

"They will be half dead by the time they end. Will you at least give them a break to eat some lunch? It is almost time anyway."

"I will not cook for them, if they want to eat, they have to cook themselves."

"I bet that you forgot how to do it anyway. I seriously doubt that the snake will let his precious vessel cook anything for himself."

"Hn."

"Don't worry, I will cook for all of you. How about some miso soup and teriyaki chicken huh?"

"You can cook?"

"Of course I can. Who else will make food for me a..."

"Oniisan!!!" Was the only warning I got before I got tackled to the ground by a golden blur.

"And my brother. Hello Yuki-chan, what are you doing outside the Academy this early?"

"Iruka-sensei let us go early, he wasn't feeling well. He limped a lot!"

I repress the urge to laugh at my poor sensei predicament, and instead I turn around to introduce Yuki to Sasuke.

"Ryuuji-san this is my little brother Yuki. Yuki-chan this is the sensei of the Grass team, Ryuuji-san."

"Yoroshiku!!"

"So, the Yuki you mentioned at the onsen was your little brother huh?" He said half frowning.

"Yes, he is an Academy student."

"Niisan, will you train with me?"

"I'm sorry Yuki-chan, but today I'm busy. But how about you help me out cooking lunch for the Grass and after that you can train with them. If Ryuuji-san doesn't object."

"I couldn't care less."

"Yay! Then lets start cooking!" He says grabbing my hand and dragging me away.

An hour later, Yuki is setting a blanket outside while I'm carrying plates, so we can eat lunch at the arena.

"Ok kids, stop running and come here to eat." I yell at them.

"Hai, Kaji-senpaiii!"

In matter of seconds everybody is sitting around the food, while it progressively disappear from the plates, into their mouths. Fifteen minutes later all the food was gone and the brats were leaning back and patting their stomachs, completely satisfied.

"So, why don't you guys spar for a while while I take care of this dishes. My brother Yuki will join you so they will be four of you."

"No way! He's an Academy student. We don't want to send a little boy like him to the hospital."

"Don't underestimate Yuki-kun!!!" Came the collective yells of several girls that were hiding behind the trees for some time now, jumping out to confront the brats.

"Hey Yuki-chan, is seems that your fan club followed you here." I tease him.

"Yuki-kun is Kaji-san's little brother, and since Kaji-san is a genius ninja, Yuki-kun is one too!"

"Yes Yuki-kun is an amazing ninja like his older brother!"

'How can they say that, if non of them have ever seen me fight?'

' ' Well, you know how gossips are, they start being little, but when they pass from person to person, something else is added by them, and it ends up being huge. ' '

'You're right, as usual.'

I can see Sasuke getting really annoyed by the fan girls, and he's drawing near to exploding point with each comment. This must remember him something he will rather want to forget. If Sasuke snaps, he risks to blow his cover. But I don't think he will do it, he has a better control of his own emotions than that. He's a powerful ninja after all. But I better interfere anyway.

"Hey ladies, you're interfering with Grass training session. If you are here for Yuki, you will see him tomorrow at the Academy, so, can you do me a favor and return home? I'm sure that your families must be wondering where you are." I say politely, but firmly. The girls just squeal in delight because I asked them a favor and quickly leave.

"That was a quick way of getting rid of those girls senpai!"

"You just have to know how to treat them. If you ask things in a specific way, you can make almost anyone obey. But, what the girls said is partly true, you shouldn't underestimate my brother because he's an Academy student, or you might get a surprise."

"Enough with this talk. Sora, pair with Yuki. Sako and Mako pair together and start sparring." Sasuke orders them.

I smile and collect the dishes. I walk with them inside, so I can wash them.

' ' Did you noticed? ' '

'Notice what?'

' ' The change in that Uchiha boy. ' '

'Since the first moment I saw him, yes.'

' ' He's stronger than the last time we saw him. ' '

'I will be surprised if I was the only one training all this time. That night was a huge blow for his ego, being overpowered in such a way. I bet all my tails that he has been training to exhaustion in this previous months, just to become stronger than me, and his brother.'

' ' So what do you think? ' '

'I think that if I ever have to fight with him in the months to come, I will be in serious problems.'

' ' Why do you say so? ' '

'For as long as the Chuunin exams take place, I won't be able to train properly. Besides that, even if this exams will be easy for me, it won't change the fact that it will take a considerable part of my energy with them, even if I don't like it. To top that, Sasuke's level has increased considerably.'

' ' You are as good as that Nara boy analyzing things... ' '

'Yes, but I can assure you that I will never be as good as he is at making plans.'

' ' True, true. But you can be as lazy some times. ' '

'Don't start bugging me about that. Between the two of us, you're the laziest one, the only thing you do is sit back and watch everything.'

' ' It is not like I have a choice in it anyway. ' '

'Ohh, but you do! You can train if you want, you perfectly know that mental training is something you can do.'

' ' Why did you mentioned that? Now I don't have an excuse for being lazy. ' '

'Take that Kyuu. But you should train anyway, you don't want to become a round fur ball after all, do you?'

' ' Hahaha... ' '

The dishes are washed, dried and organized, when I go back to the outside world. Now that I think about, I wonder how I manage to to things when my attention is in a complete different place. That was something usual in battle, when I had to use chakra by pure instinct, while my attention was in the fight. But it never happened while I was doing everyday things.

Well, there isn't anything "normal" about me anymore. I'm a demon kitsune, with another being's mind residing inside my body, with whom I constantly argue. I think that with only those two things, normal isn't something I can be labeled.


I walk outside to see how are the spars turning out, only to find the four kids lying on the ground panting. Sasuke is sitting on a tree branch, not far from where I am standing.

"Over so soon?"

"Yes."

"So, how did they ended."

"Yuki won against Sora, Mako won against Sako. The fight between Mako and Yuki was a tie."

"Your little brother here has some pretty decent moves senpai."

"Yes, he isn't at Academy level."

"Of course he isn't, my father and I have been training him since he learned how to walk. I told you to don't underestimate him, or any opponent for that matter, or you can get some nasty surprises. If this was a real live or dead battle, you will be the only one left alive Mako, keep that in mind when you are at the exam."

"Hai, senpai."

"If I remember correctly, you still have to finish your laps around the arena."

"True, true." I say, and the boys groan their complain, but start running anyway.

"Do I have to run too niisan?"

"No if you don't want to."

"Ok! Then I'm going to look for Jiraiya-sama and see if he can teach me something else!" He says jumping on a tree branch.

"Ok, but stay away from the onsens and the public baths, do you hear me?"

"Hai, oniisan!!" He says before leaving.

"I must take my leave as well, Tsunade-sama asked for my presence in the Tower, and I'm going to be late if I don't hurry up."

"Why would the Hokage request your presence?"

"Tsunade-sama is helping me improve some aspects of my ninjutsu." Is the only answer I give him before disappearing from his sight. The truth is, that she's helping me improve my almost non existent skills as a medic-nin, because even if I can heal fast, not everyone does and I want to learn how to be a medic-nin in order to help them. That and the fact that while I'm at the Hokage library, I can get a hold of the information about Neji's and Sasuke's curse seal, so someday I can get rid of those damned things.

Unfortunately, there is more information about Neji's than there is on Sasuke's. At this rate I will have to trash one of the snake's bases to get a hold of the scroll for that specific curse seal, because no one really knows how it works, and I will not screw things up by acting without having the proper information first in such a delicate situation.

[Sasuke's POV. Konoha's time: 21:30.]

It is late, so the brats must be sleeping by now, or they won't be able to carry out tomorrows training. They complained that I never trained them before, and by the time I end with them, they will be begging me for not train them ever again. At least that will take them off my back for a while.

I walk to my room, but when I pass in front of their room, I hear faint whispering behind the door. Of what they could be talking about at this hour at night, I wonder.

"We never talked about this before, but what do you think about senpai?"

"Kaji-senpai?"

"Hai."

"I don't know... he's scary..."

"Why do you say he's scary Sora?"

"Because he's so polite and nice to everybody, but there is this thing..."

"What thing?"

"This thing in his eyes..."

"Well, I must admit that they are a little scary, red like sensei's Sharigan, but slitted like Orochimaru-sama's."

"It isn't that Sako!"

"So what is it?"

"Even when he's being nice and even funny sometimes, his eyes have this far off look."

"They are unreadable, yes. Almost blank. But he's following the 25 rule for the shinobis."

"This isn't about hiding his emotions Mako! He's eyes look blank yes, but they make me feel like he's looking at something greater than us, something that we cannot see. He gives me this impression that he lives in a higher plane than the rest of us. He looks 17, but his wisdom isn't something that you can find in someone of that age. It is more like the wisdom of a very old man, that have seen and lived many things."

"Maybe he's something like Orochimaru-sama? You know he looks very young, but he isn't."

"No Sako, somehow this is different. I don't know how to explain it, but different..."

'So at least one of the brats isn't as stupid as he looks.'

"Hey you three, it is past your bedtime. If you want breakfast tomorrow, first you will run two hundred laps around the house."

"*groan* Hai sensei..."

So that Sora boy noticed it too. I have this feeling ever since the first time I saw Kaji at that fountain in the park, that he doesn't really belong with the rest of this world, or just with the rest of normal humans... but he still is a complete mystery for me. He came out of nowhere, and somehow managed to worm his way into my life. He has been messing with my mind and always give me this feeling of been forgetting something. And somehow, I'm not complaining about it.

I go to bed and sleep claims me with the usual thought haunting my mind. Who are you?

[Naruto's POV.]

I lie over my bed, looking at the empty ceiling of my room. In times like this, I long for the wild, where I could lie back and gaze into the vastness of the night sky, bathed with the light of the beautiful moon and the shine of thousands of stars. In Konoha, you can't see all the stars I used to look on the wild, because the light of the street lamps and the multiple buildings dull their fragil light.

I know that someday, I will go back to the place where my kind resides. No matter how strong my love for this village is, I know I can't stay here forever, because of what I am, I only can hold my secret for a human life. After that I will have to leave, and if I ever want to come back, I will have to wait until my name is completely erased from the memory of the village, only then it will be safe to return, but it won't be the same.

To know that I will survive all of my precious ones, makes me feel empty, the emptiness that comes with the loneliness I will feel. I'm not sure if I can stand to look at my loved ones grow old and die, it will break me to pieces for sure.

' ' You can always get rid of your emotions, that way you won't feel their loses. ' '

'If I get rid of my emotions, I will get rid of myself as well. Without my emotions, I'm no one. I just can't get rid of them.'

' ' Even when you know that if you don't, you will suffer terribly. ' '

'At least, it will prove to me that I'm alive, and not some empty shell of what I was some day, I rather suffer.'

' ' You can always go back with our kind too. They won't die as easy as humans do, you can start over there, forge a new family, make new friends, live another life. ' '

'Maybe Kyuubi, but for now, I will stay here. I will go away when I'm sure that everyone is happy and they don't need me any longer, my village or my friends.'

' ' And if they ever need you again? ' '

'I will come back. I will always come back if I ever see that they are in need of my help. I will always watch over them, that's what infinite vision is for.'

' ' You have grown, Naruto. ' '

'That's what I try. I need to be stronger, in order to protect the ones I love. I have to be wise, in order to help those who reside in my heart. I need to be firm, so I can be the support of the ones I have always present in my mind.'

' ' Then I shall help you. ' '

'Arigato gozaimasu, Kyuubi-san.'

' ' No problem, kit, not at all. ' '

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*big yawn* Mmm... I'm dead tired... hope you like this new chapter, now if you excuse me, I will go and collapse on my bed. Mmm... before I go, I will give you a little hint of what will happen in the next chapter, I bet all of you are wondering if Naruto's plan to help Gaara with Shukaku worked or not. Find out in the next chapter of True Self, New Self! *falls alsleep*