3 New Life - Chapter # 3

- Why ... - fingers slowly slid along the wet wall, which was covered with green fungus thanks to rusted drainpipes. This place was so similar, but much more neglected, - ... did this happen to me?

Naruto used his chakra to step freely on the water, which in places reached the guy's waist. He felt a developed control over internal energy, but the state of mind displayed in this tired place was surprising and even ... frightening?

Blood began to trickle down his fist as the boy left a web of cracked webs on the wall.

- I just learned to live alone… - blue eyes carefully studied the open wound, which was in no hurry to heal. Weird. - What happened here?

Another corridor led him to a small empty hall, which represented the hearth of chakra, which Naruto never knew. Only after the war did he find out.

Clutching his head, Uzumaki gritted his teeth against the intense pain. Memories. Fast, crisp and blurry.

A red-haired woman, smiling, shakes him in her arms, and a tall man stands nearby and says something.

The first steps and an attempt to escape from his father in the garden of the mansion. The gentle look of a little girl and her sonorous laughter, which is carried by the wind through the streets with a pleasant trill.

The basics in mastering chakra, taught by a blond in a green tank top and shorts, sitting a child on his lap.

And the first confrontation... No, not to enemies, but to fate itself, which cruelly dictates its conditions.

Cold looks of parents, their reproaches and arguments that do not bear fruit. Shinobi Academy.

Cold sweat dripped down Naruto's face as the pain subsided.

- Jinchuuriki…? - he whispered and grinned wryly. - Not. Family?

The hall shook. The pipes burst from the pressure of the water, and the walls cracked and began to crumble, giving way to others. More higher, more newer, more… sustainable.

- Just a beautiful word.

Fragments of relatives and other people's pictures calmed down, merging together. The original contract with the Shinigami, the absence of Kurama, living parents. Konoha, what would it be if you didn't die young The Fourth Hokage. Now everything became clear and at the same moment gave rise to hundreds of questions.

- I will consider this a punishment, God of Death, - the Uzumaki said into the void, not even hoping to hear something in response. And for the greatest gift.

Naruto turned around and headed into the darkness that had been hiding behind the imprisoned bijuu for many years. And hiding in it, the boy did not turn around to catch his eye on any details, because he knew perfectly well that he would never see this place again. For the secrets of jinchuriki cannot be accessed by an ordinary person.

- What are they waiting for?

The three of them studied Naruto's indifferent face with strange curiosity as he slowly ate his soup.

Training injury. This news unsettled Kushina, so much so that she did not even notice the poorly concealed concern in her husband's eyes. For the first time in four years, since her son began to comprehend the art of shinobi, he had a chance to suffer during classes. Even though it was the other person's fault. The very thought that Naruto was able to force someone to use more strength to defeat him in sparring made the woman smile. Maybe then she thought, he embarked on the true path?

- Are you feeling okay? – Kushina carefully looked into the blue eyes, which, for some reason, very well hid the thoughts of their owner. Although earlier the boy could be read most of the time like an open book. - There may be dizziness or discomfort ...

- It is, - the guy unceremoniously interrupted his mother, immediately catching a couple of surprised looks, - but it doesn't matter.

- Really? – Minato even moved away from his wife, who smiled sweetly. - Never mind?

- Absolutely, - Naruto said curtly.

- My boy, - from this tone everyone became ill, - but don't you think that you are rude in response to politeness?

Raising his eyes, the Uzumaki carefully examined the woman and for just a moment his mask cracked. Cold and indifference like a stream of water poured onto Kushina, from which she shivered, having lost all her fuse. In the look of the child, there was confidence in his words and an experience that he should not have been led.

But in the next second, everything was gone.

- Thank you for dinner. - Pushing his plate aside and bowing briefly, Naruto turned around and headed out of the kitchen.

- What was it? – only and was able to squeeze out of themselves Kagami. I seemed or did he just now...

- Showed character? - Minato continued for his daughter, pushing the food away from him in the same way. - Kagami, leave us, please.

- Did you feel it? - Namikaze asked, lazily stirring the vegetables in his bowl and looking somewhere at the only place or object known to him.

- He always had good control, and not a small margin, - Kushina nodded to her thoughts, - but what could have caused such a sharp jump?

- If someone trained him, I would know - the man began to think. - That's possible by using senjutsu or opening the inner gates, but neither can be accessed by him.

- And if ... - attracted the attention of her husband with her quiet voice jinchuuriki.

- What?

- There are cases when a person who is near death came to life. And at that moment, two things happen: the center of his chakra practically fades away, and then flares up with renewed vigor to breathe life into the body, - green eyes carefully looked at Minato. This phenomenon has never been given a name. Rebirth, removal of limits, call it what you want. After all, in fact, after that, the shinobi became stronger. Some even did it on purpose.

- What do you mean? - The Hokage's eyebrows drew together, trying to hide his excitement behind a mask of incomprehension.

- I'm not stupid, - the woman growled back, grabbing her husband's wrist with such force that he had to use chakra to strengthen his bones and muscles, - my dear. And if you think otherwise, then I can remind you to whom you owe everything.

Kushina's pupils dilated, and a red wave passed across the iris of her eye.

Training fight where this Uchiha boy used chakra. Iruka carrying Naruto not to the Academy's infirmary, but to the hospital. And that nervously smiling doctor when I got there. What really happened to our son?

"And mommy is wild like mine," - a smile cut across the boy's face as he felt Kurama's power drawing faintly from the seal.

Lounging on the bed and throwing his hands behind his head, Naruto tried to sort out the feelings and emotions of the boy, which became a container for his soul. The fact that his parents, if not waved a hand at him, then at least pretended to, was clear even without memories.

"Yes, Naruto, life with or without family is not sugar, whatever one may say. I wanted to be a shinobi, you don't. I wanted recognition and respect, you don't. We agreed on only one thing, which I reached only years later, and you at such a young age: Whatever you do, you will not be nice to everyone. You should always do something just for yourself. Yes, selfishly, but fair nonetheless." - The boy's gaze rested on the palm of his hand, where at the same moment the chakra lit up and swirled in streams, but the technique could not be completed, at least with one hand. Someone could find solace in the contemplation of water or fire, while Naruto liked to watch the Rasengan. Very often the thought came to him about the similarity of his own desires with these chaotic movements of energy. - Let me now have a less fat label hanging on me, but I will not waste this life on supporting other people's ideals.

The guy rolled over on his side and stared at the starry sky. Suddenly, fatigue from the experience of that day rolled over and the eyelids closed themselves. Falling asleep, the blond only thought about how he now lacks the sarcastic and instructive expressions of the Nine-Tails.

- Their life was fundamentally different from ours, - Iruka, sitting at his desk, tapping his pen on the countertop, - but even this allowed them to find a ray of hope to lead the people around them to a better life.

- Boring… Banal... We saw, we know...

The children whispered among themselves, diligently pretending to listen to the speech. Although there were those who openly slept, because these stories were almost lullaby tales in clans and other small shinobi families.

Strike while the iron is hot. It was this phrase that was remembered by Naruto, who was greedily catching every word, as if his life depended on this information. From an early age, they fed their children and future defenders of Konoha with a variety of patriotic operas, wanting to instill loyalty, respect and love. He himself had once been the same, absorbing these stories like a sponge. Savoring and repeatedly repeating them, the guy imagined how the time would come, and he himself would have to answer for the entrusted people, village, House.

- An unexpected turn, but on the other hand, this whole life is like that. Third Hokage Konohagakure no Sato - Kagami, his mother, Uchiha. My sister was named after him. This is what hit Tobirama's head that he chose a member of the clan he hated as his successor? Apparently, that's why old man Sarutobi stayed with this Senju to delay the enemies. Then he died. Although, - Naruto closed his eyes and ran his hand over his face, trying to collect his thoughts...

Everything seemed so rosy and ridiculous that it was hard to even believe in the three shinobi world wars. Uzumaki thought that, rather, they should all join hands together and go to collect wildflowers. On the one hand, history did not have such dramatic changes, but it was they who decided a lot. The surviving Uchiha clan and its rise to power in the Leaf, the surviving Konoha during the birth of Kushina - twice - as well as a completely healthy and adequate Obito. It changed everything, twisted it, distorted it for the blond to understand. He even began to admit the idea that Madara never escaped, and Akatsuki did not exist at all. Where was the trick?

- Remember, children: Hokage becomes the one who is recognized by others, - Naruto seemed to be struck by an electric shock. These words! He heard them, many years ago. - That's what a friend of mine once told me. This is a very correct expression, the meaning of which, perhaps, will not come immediately. This concludes the history lesson. Get down to the training ground.

Kagami took a sip from her flask, sitting in the shade of a tree that grew in the courtyard of the Academy. The lectures were over, and she decided to rest a bit before going home. Adjusting her long red hair tied in a high ponytail, she lazily watched as the second years began to appear from the doors, where her younger brother was among them.

Remembering him, the girl just closed her eyes tiredly. Adopting the manner of communication of her parents, she herself became rather cold towards the boy. He was dear to her, no doubt, but his dismissive attitude to study, and the military craft in general, caused her burning indignation. They were the children of some of the strongest people, not just in Konoha, but in the whole world. Their fate was decided long before conception, and the other path was just cowardice in the face of the harsh life of a shinobi.

So thought Kagami, her emerald eyes trying to find the bright top of her brother's head. The brother who spat in the soul of his parents for reasons that only he understood.

- Would you like to see his quick turnaround or another trip to the hospital? - in the voice slipped mocking notes that did not even try to hide. Nobody reproached Naruto because of the father's name, but children are children. Sometimes some of them openly laughed at him, and the girl, if she heard, then let go of everything, hoping with some small part of herself that this would make the boy think. In vain.

- You forget who you're talking to, Kishio, - Kagami didn't even bother looking at her interlocutor, impregnating every word with steel. After all, he is my brother.

- Years go by, and you both do not change. An arrogant sister and her mediocre brother, - the lips of the guy behind her stretched into a sardonic smirk. It's time to understand...

- ... That almost all Uchiha are very fond of sharpening and scoffing.

- There is a limit to everything, Namikaze!

- You started first!

- Stupid!

- Cretin! The girl sighed, turning her head. The brunet smiled broadly, however, like herself. - Even though I don't show it, I believe in it. Naruto has potential.

- Everyone has it, - nodded Kishio, - but not everyone seeks to develop it.

- But he must...

- He doesn't owe anything to anyone, - the guy frowned, interrupting his classmate. - He just cannot understand the axiom of children like us: "I don't want" does not exist, there is "I must!".

- You're right, - Kagami said quietly, - you're definitely right about that."

- Sure! - the Uchiha grunted as he saw Iruka-sensei challenge his relative to spar. And, as expected, the younger Namikaze. - Your brother is very serious. Feeling like it will be even interesting.

- I hope, - the girl's thin fingers squeezed the green grass under them.

They stood opposite each other for more than a minute. Sasuke tried to read his opponent, but he was like a stone statue. The guilt increased even though Kushina-san only smiled and ruffled his hair yesterday. The guy opposite him, apparently, harbored a grudge and seemed to show with his whole appearance that he did not want to have anything to do with the brunette.

- Naruto... - Sasuke hesitated for a few more seconds, but then he decided that he would deliberately give the victory to his classmate.

- Are you ready?

- Since birth, - Uzumaki replied vaguely, not even trying to take any fighting stance, still studying his opponent with blue eyes.

- Stop delaying the lesson. Started! - the teacher ordered, this time not allowing himself to let the two guys out of his sight for a second.

Sasuke took off first, aiming directly at the face. A banal and simple attack that even a blind man can dodge.

- You can do better, - fingers tightly clenched fist, - I know.

Not trying to break free from the grip, the Uchiha aimed his other hand at the body. Naruto only slightly moved his left leg back, changing the position of the body and passing a new blow between the elbow and the ribs. The limb of the brunette was instantly clamped, allowing him to work only with his legs or in some unthinkable way try to get out of a kind of clinch.

Confused for a second, Sasuke landed a right knee but was blocked by a shin. His opponent didn't exactly read the attacks, he just blocked them very well even in such a limited space.

- Nice try, but... - Releasing his fist, Naruto took a long step back, wringing his classmate's pinched hand, causing him a flash of sharp pain, - There's no need to doubt it.

Kagami watched her brother's actions in confusion.

- Is... is Sasuke really blaming himself for what happened that he gives in? – not understanding squeezed out she from themselves.

- Not really, - the haughty grin that had been on Kishio's face at the very beginning of the sparring disappeared. Impenetrable black eyes turned red, on the iris of which there was one comma. - It's not Sasuke giving way, it's Naruto being too strong.

- What?..

The brunet was breathing heavily, holding onto his left elbow, which was slightly swollen. For several minutes now, he tried to hit his opponent, but he, like a snake, dodged everything. Misunderstanding mixed with irritation.

- I don't believe that he hid his abilities all the time, - gloomy thoughts changed one after another, when, finally, the last of them was not left: - "Will I lose?"

A rapid leap forward, despite fatigue and pain, in which one could easily read despair.

He had no right to fall. I just couldn't face my father and brother, who already passed his successes through their fingers like grains of sand.

- Well played in public, - Naruto whispers when, pretending to stumble, he misses a strong blow to the face. There is obvious mockery on his bloodied lips, but he flies back a meter, falling backwards into the dust. The attempt to get up failed, but Sasuke saw that perky fire in his blue eyes. And he couldn't understand how the guy in front of him, with so many opportunities, allows the crowd to mock him…

- Still, he lost, - Kagami sighed disappointedly, rising from her seat and straightening the folds in her brown skirt. Well, at least he tried.

- Yeah, - Kishio replied with a strange smirk on the machine, still continuing to watch the kids with his Sharingan. He saw every movement, understood every word from the lips that were uttered during the training battle. And it generated interest.

- I don't know why, but it's up to you, Naruto. Your secret will remain between us.

- Will you walk home with me? Kagami put her hands on her hips and leaned forward, her nose almost touching the Uchiha's face. - Hey! - She grabbed his cheek with her fingers to get his attention.

- It hurts! - The smile on the girl's lips was victorious. - Yes OK.

- Fine!

Both graduates of the Shinobi Academy jumped over the fence with ease, ending up on a busy street.

- You know, - the unexpected voice of the guy pulled Namikaze out of his thoughts, - I was not quite right.

- What exactly?

- To develop your potential, it is not necessary to do it for show.

The two teenagers walked all the way to Kagami's house in silence.