Selfish

The dark expanse of the sky was beautiful, the aurora dancing between the stars, a cradling view for any that loved the night. The pale moonlight illuminated the ancient village; Konohagakure.

Bathed in the dim light was a young man, his blonde hair ruffled in the air as he peered down on the village. Under his feet were gigantic heads carved into the edge of a mountain, imposing as they looked.

Power they excluded.

Might they produced.

Morale they raised.

Ambition they increased.

And...

Strongest they were.

Naruto's eyes sparkled with steel-like will, unwavering. Nobody or anything could shake it, no one.

Not torture...

Images of the horrendous training he had to suffer under the old man flashed through his mind. The countless injuries, the countless scars on his soul, the harsh words.

Not countless foes...

The times he had been thrown in the middle of hundreds of bandits flashed through his mind. With nothing but a sword and himself, his mind, his heart, and the blood he spilt.

Not words, not wisdom, not even authority.

Nothing could stop him now. He was free from all that, he was free from the shackles of mundane laws. Those didn't apply to him anymore, that was all but passing dandelions in a big garden filled with countless such.

If there was anything that could stop him... Was nothing but himself.

Opening his Jougan slowly, a chilling glint flashed through his eyes, as his gaze fell on the several shadows by the moonlight.

His right hand fell on the handle of his sword... But, he slowly let it go.

His Jougan closed, and a slow sigh escaped his lips.

"No... Not now"

Now, it was that obstacle that was indeed stopping him from going out and slaughtering all the Anbus hidden in the absence of light.

Even if it sounded as if he could cut them down like papers... It was not true. No matter how much hardship he had been through, no matter the countless foes he had beheaded...

They dad done it so many times to even get track of it... They were born for battle and bred for battle. Unlike him who just realised the essence of combat, they had it in their blood from birth.

Maybe if they were Chunins... But they weren't. No, they were much much more powerful than Chunins, a dreadful gap that is hard to cross by just cunningness or tactics.

No matter how smart, how foxy... In the face of true might, it was for nought. You would get murdered, without even the chance to blink.

One was okay... But the sheer amount of Anbus hidden under the veil of darkness was too much. Too powerful and skilled to be taken down by one man, a single talent was not enough... Not enough at all.

Naruto was no hero. He did not plan Danzo's downfall for the sake of the village.

No, it was for his own benefit. He was a selfish bastard, putting his friends in the arms of death... But that was simply who he was.

A selfish human, who had nothing but himself. He felt no love, no compassion, no bond... Like a robot, he was, a person wired just for his gains.

That was Naruto.

Even the incarnation of hatred was just a lost puppy for him... In his eyes, it was just a tool that he had not touched yet. Like a blade with no handle. And until he had forged that handle to the sword himself, he would not use that blade.

Selfish he was. But stupid he certainly wasn't.