Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 64: The Identity of the Atacker
"Okay… I'm listening," Naruto said. He was very curious to find out what had happened in all this time.
The last thing he remembered was unleashing the demon's chakra to break the block that was put on him. There were a few fragments of him fighting against that woman… and then nothing after that.
"But first… there is something I need to know." Kakashi had a serious expression.
"The last time I asked, you assured me that you could control the Kyubi's chakra… how did this happen then?"
Naruto noticed the lack of reaction from Sakura after Kakashi mentioned the Kyubi in front of her.
"You told her."
Kakashi nodded.
"I had to give her and Sasuke some explanation before they drew the wrong conclusions."
"I'm sorry, Naruto, I didn't mean to find out this way…" Sakura said. "Sensei told us about… you know… I had no idea you had gone through so much."
"It's fine, Sakura. I would have told you myself if you asked me. It's not like it's a great secret. Not when every adult in the village already knows."
"Every adult?... My parents know about this?" She glanced at Kakashi.
He sighed.
"It was meant to be a secret… but someone leaked it to the public shortly after the event. We still don't know who it was or what their intentions were, but yes… your parents probably know about this, like everyone else."
She seemed to recall something.
"That's why they told me to stay away from Naruto when I was little… I thought they just didn't want me to play with boys… I'm gonna have a talk with them after this!" Sakura was getting furious.
"Okay, we are deviating from the issue." Kakashi's demeanor became serious again.
"Naruto, I need you to tell me that this won't happen again and that you have everything under control."
"Did the village superiors get spooked?" Naruto could guess why Kakashi was so insistent on this. He wanted assurance that the demon fox was not about to escape its containment.
"You have no idea…" Kakashi said.
Naruto moved the sheets aside to reveal his naked torso. He was only wearing some blue pajama pants.
"What are you doing?! Wait for me to leave first!" Sakura became embarrassed but did not leave the room.
Naruto began to circulate chakra and the seal appeared on his belly.
"Everything seems to be normal. I assume you already checked the seal's condition."
"I did, and the Hokage did too. But our knowledge about seals is inferior to that of the Fourth. A true expert has been called, though that will take time," Kakashi answered.
"Whoa…" Sakura was now staring at Naruto's seal.
"Is that…?"
He glanced at her.
"Yes, this is what is keeping the demon contained."
"Naruto…" Kakashi was still waiting for an explanation.
"You want to know how I lost control, right? Well, it's very simple. That woman, or whoever that was, did something to my chakra core. She blocked my ability to circulate it by placing some of her own disgusting chakra inside. To break the blockage, I had to send a large amount of chakra to collide with it, but I didn't have enough by myself so…"
"You used the Kyubi's…" Kakashi finished the sentence.
"I hope you realize how reckless that was. The demon's chakra…"
"I am very aware of that, yes. I was put in a difficult situation. If they want to blame someone, then blame whoever let a jonin sneak into the exams and attack us." Naruto was getting annoyed with this. He did what he could to increase their odds of survival.
"I understand, Naruto. I will explain to Lord Hokage and his advisors that this event was caused by that individual's interference and it wasn't your fault… just promise me that you will be more careful in the future. Because next time you lose control, it may be the last one," Kakashi said with a grave tone.
Naruto nodded in agreement. It wasn't like he had enjoyed losing authority over his body. This was a very unpleasant experience.
'I need to raise my cultivation so I don't become dependent on that demon's chakra… I just have to make it my own.'
"Good enough…" Kakashi pulled a small book from his pocket. But it was not his usual one.
"As for the person who attacked you… that was not a simple Jonin." He handed the book to Naruto.
"A bingo book? I already read it." Naruto still took it.
"Last page," Kakashi added.
'Last page?... wasn't that one…?' He opened the book and glanced at the last page. His memory had not failed him. This page portrayed the one considered the most dangerous missing ninja from the village.
"Orochimaru of the Sannin…"
Sakura felt shivers just from hearing the name again. Unpleasant memories surfaced at the front of her mind.
"The one and only," Kakashi said.
'No wonder I couldn't do anything against him… the difference was much bigger than I thought.'
"Why would someone like that go after some genins… wait…" Naruto realized he could only have been after one thing.
"He did not reveal his true intentions, but we can take an educated guess. He probably want-"
"Sasuke," Naruto interrupted. "He wanted Sasuke." After going through all his actions, this was the only thing that made sense.
That person had no interest in him or the Kyubi since he kept pushing him away. Their scroll would have zero value to him since he wasn't a genin. That only left Sasuke and Sakura.
"We also think that." Kakashi glanced at Sakura. "He did say something strange to him before you woke up, isn't that right?"
"Yes, I believe his words were… 'If you want to see me again, you have to pass this test'… I don't know what he meant, but he was about to do something. Then Naruto woke up, surrounded by that red chakra, and attacked him," Sakura explained.
"Test?... and why would Sasuke want to see him again?" Naruto asked.
"I think that you prevented him from doing something to Sasuke," Kakashi said.
"But I doubt he is going to just give up. He will try again…"
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