The silence was filled by rushing water. The younger Naruto from the memories was meditating on a small patch of green in front of a waterfall. The small pond around him was still as if the whole area was holding its breath in anticipation. A shadow in the waterfall.
"Why?" it asked. "Why didn't you give them your autograph at Ichiraku?" Its voice was Naruto's voice, but filled to the brim with malice and mockery.
Memory Naruto's bright blue eyes widened. He looked for the source of the sounds until his eyes fell on the ominous shadow. "What's that?" He asked.
Can't blame you, ya know. I mean after all, they can't be kissing up to you like that." The thing in the waterfall stepped out. The memory Naruto was shocked by what he saw. It was him, but it wasn't. It looked like him, except ๐ฉ๐ฆ didn't have blood red irises that had no pupils and ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด eyes had normal whites, not the black that this... this ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ possessed. The alternate Naruto grinned widely and continued.
"They were completely disgusting weren't they?" It said.
'๐๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ด ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ.' Naruto's memory self's thoughts rang out as if truly spoken.
"Don't you remember?" The red-eyed Naruto spoke tauntingly. "Everyone in the village used to treat us like outcasts, and then they try to pull that!"
There was a flashback in which Naruto was sitting at the noodle shop surrounded on either side by two men. "Can I have your autograph?" One asked enthusiastically. "And if you don't mind, could you make it out to my son? He's a huge fan." He added.
"Autograph?" Naruto repeated, dazed.
"Yeah." The other one said. "You're Naruto Uzumaki - the kid who makes miracles happen. If you don't mind could I ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ get your autograph?" He pleaded.
The flashback ended. "Who the hell are you?" Naruto demanded disregarding his copy's words.
"Isn't it obvious? Come on, I'm you." He answered in a mocking tone.
Naruto was shook. "That... that can't be. I didn't make any clones." He insisted.
"Oh I'm no clone. I'm you, the real you, the one that exists inside your heart. You see I ๐ข๐ฎ you." The not-a-clone Naruto revealed.
Naruto got an angry look on his face and he rose an arm to point at the other him. "What are you even talking about?" He demanded. "I have no idea who you are. Now just stop making stuff up."
There was silence from the other him as the red-eyed Naruto tilted his head back to look at the sky. "So, they call this place the waterfall of truth? I never thought I'd be able to emerge completely like this. I like this place." He said all creepy like. His head snapped forward as he refocused on the other Naruto. "Anyway, I'm the truth that you're supposed to face. I'm the real you - your true self inside."
"The real me? But... " The sixteen year-old trailed off in disbelief. The on-lookers could guess what he was thinking; how could this possibly be him? How could this... this demon live inside of his heart?
"Yeah, I'm the hatred that's inside you. I'm the dark part of you." The Naruto explained. Naruto was once again left in shock. "The only difference between us," It continued in a more mocking manner. "Is that the Nine-Tails has taken a really serious liking to me."
"Then you... " There was once more a flashback. This time there was a toad, who was also a scroll? "The Nine-Tail's will is a massive hatred that is bound tightly to his chakra by strong forces. No matter how hard you try to shield yourself it will find some hatred buried deep down inside you and try to take over." Said the toad. The flashback ended and they were back at the waterfall.
'๐๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ'๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ-๐๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ด.' Again his thoughts were heard as if spoken.
"Yeah you got that right. Just face it, I'm the real one here and I'm not going to let you kick me out you fake!" The evil one said.
"So that's how it is huh?" Naruto asked. The hatred filled form bent sideways all demonically before charging at him. He threw a punch that Naruto blocked before throwing one of his own which the demonic Naruto blocked just the same way. They were locked glaring at each other with loathing. Inoichi was sure he had never seen such inner conflict in with two sides of the same person loathed the other so much. And that is saying something.
"You're the fake one, and I'm gonna prove it." The two opposites proceeded to battle. It became quite clear rather quickly that they each had the exact same strength. The demonic Naruto could never win, but the normal Naruto couldn't either. It left them at an impasse of sorts. But the two kept fighting, each determined to prove just how real they were.
"Face it, there is no way you can beat me. Not ever." Snarled the malice filled version of the blonde teen.
"Then I'll overwhelm you with numbers." The teen yelled back determined. He made a cross with his fingers. "Shadow clone jutsu!" He yelled making dozens of copies of himself. His efforts were in vain as his malicious half copied him to a T. The clones battled each other and as more time passed each one of the Narutos grew increasingly frustrated.
"Rasengan!" They both yelled in unison. The collision of the jutsus had massive waves crashing around them and Naruto was thrown out of the mindscape.
The three men and accompanying fox were silent. Kurama was remembering the hatred he used to sense from the boy. He was always surprised by Naruto's ignorance to that side of himself.
Naruto was thinking of what he could possibly see if he sat by the waterfall again. Had the war and death of his comrades brought back his hatred he had fought so hard to let go of? Or maybe he would face a different truth, maybe it wasn't so simple anymore. Either way, he knew there was something. He could feel it when he looked at Obito that first time. The war had taken the lives of his comrades, but it had killed him too; in a way. The part of him that was innocent and pure was now tainted. Gone maybe.
Sarutobi was also wondering what happen if he meditated in front of the waters. Could he possess such hatred in him as Naruto once did? But Naruto's hatred stemmed from his childhood that was filled with neglect. But if the blonde could have been so blind to his own inner self maybe he could be the came.
Inoichi was connecting this to the damage he saw in the man's mind. The cracked and decaying walls of the sewer like place concerned the man greatly. Could this have something to do with it? To be at such odds with one's self could definitely leave that kind of damage if left long enough. Inoichi could recall several ninja he observed spiral into madness from something similar.
"So that was you? Both of them?" Asked Inoichi. He was more so asking because the younger version of Naruto didn't seem to even know he had hatred at all until that thing came.
"Everyone has darkness. Even the kindest person. But you can flip the coin and also say that everyone has light as well. No soul is completely good nor completely bad. Darkness will always exist." Naruto explained.
"That's sort of unfortunate. The thing about darkness I mean." Commented Inoichi. Naruto tilted his head slightly to the side which the men thought made him look a little like a child.
"Think of it like this - without the dark how would the light have any meaning. If we never saw the darkness how would we know to desire the light? How could we appreciate it if it was always there? How would we know to fight for it? The light cannot exist without the dark because then it would have no purpose. Having no purpose is a fate worse than death, trust me." He finished darkly.
The men stayed silent as they awaited the next memory and they wondered if it would be as painful for the man as the last ones were.
ยค|ฮฉ|ยค|
He was rapping with an older man in the next memory as they walked through a wooded area. He seemed so happy.
"That's Octapops." Naruto explained. "He's the jinchuuriki of the Eight-Tails or... he was." Naruto cast his eyes down and fought back tears that threatened to take over. He couldn't afford to cry now, if he did he would never stop. If he grieved for the loss of one comrade he would end up grieving for the others he had lost as well. Sarutobi and Inoichi turned away, giving him the privacy to collect himself.
Memory Naruto once more sat in front of the waterfall. This time when he was brought to the mindscape and his 'true self' stepped out, he was calm.
"Haven't learned your lesson yet, huh?" It sneered. "Try all you want it'll still be the same. You can't defeat me."
Naruto looked up from where he was sitting and smiled at the form. "Yeah, trying to defeat you with force isn't going to work, I get that now. Because the two of us have all the exact same moves."
"And you can't drive me out either." It reminded. "I know you, better than anyone else could ever know you."
"Then... " Naruto stands and looks the other version of himself in the eyes. "You must already know."
The red-eyed Naruto grit his teeth. "Know what?" He ground out.
"What I decided earlier." Naruto prodded. The other him looked startled if not a bit worried but he quickly covers it with a scowl. "What are you talking about now?"
"Don't act like you don't know." The malicious Naruto stayed impassive. "Alright fine, this place is supposed to reveal the truth in your heart right? Just let me concentrate and I'm going to show it to you right now." He closed his eyes and pressed his palms together in concentration. The other him got wide eyed as black text began to appear above their heads. "Number one candidate for Hokage - Naruto! What you see here is my autograph." Naruto showed proudly.
The alternate Naruto scowled. "You bastard!" He screamed. Naruto remained confident as he grinned at him. The flashback of the men at the noodle shop played again.
"I didn't have an autograph to give them at Ichiraku, but I have one now."
The red-eyed Naruto looked stunned for a space and couldn't find words. Then his face contorted in anger.
"So what that you've come up with some autograph?!" He yelled. He seemed offended by his actions. "What a joke! Everyone in the village is just falling over themselves to deceive you! They've been lying to us since we were kids! Inventing stupid rules and making is outcasts! Don't you remember that!!" He tried to persuade. Inoichi and Sarutobi - even Kurama - winced at the raw, desperate pain that was filling his voice. There was a flash of Naruto as a child crying while all the adults glared at him and their children hid from him like he was the monster under their beds.
The red-eyed Naruto had tears in his eyes as he gripped the front of his jacket as if that would help with the sadness he felt. "It was always so hard, and so painful too. I'm the only one who will ever understand you! You can't trust any of those villagers!" He cried out desperately. Sixteen year-old Naruto's gaze softened and he looked to the ground.
"Maybe... the villagers are important, but there is someone else I have to trust more first." He looked up and smiled. "What I need to do now is believe in myself. I need to trust the me that all those villagers believe in."
Naruto's other self had wide eyes and his mouth fell open in shock. That didn't last long before he fell to his knees and cried. "Why?" He demanded. "Why? After all they put us through?"
"I realized it while watching Octapops, he doesn't let himself be pulled down by doubt, and he has pride in himself."
"Do you think... " The Naruto said through his sobs. "That I'm just something in your way?! What exactly was I to you, huh?!" He demanded hopelessly.
"I became strong because you existed." Naruto's words froze the crying figure. "It's thank to you that I hot where I am today." Every word was completely genuine, but that only upset his angered self more.
"And?! What now, huh? What am I supposed to do from now on?!!" He screamed. The red-eyed teen got to his feet and charged.
"That's an easy answer." Naruto said gently. As his charging self reaches him Naruto opens his arms and embraces him in a hug. "You just need to become me. You are me after all. Thank you for everything you've done, but it's alright now." He tightens his hold on him as the malicious Naruto's eyes changed to white and blue to match the one embracing him. His hands drop to his side and he fades away. All Naruto's bitterness and hatred faded.
Inoichi and Sarutobi felt that they had just intruded on some deeply personal thing. They couldn't meet Naruto's eyes, but when they looked at him the man was wearing a small smile. He felt the peace of the moment all over again if just for a second.
All too soon the smile fades. "I believe the next one happens not too long after this. In fact, it's the last one before the war. Then you get to see what brought me here." What made him into what he was.