AllyManderIt had been a shift in the power scale, at least that’s how Kurama had worded it. Naruto had been within the seal, cross-legged and learning. Their bond was fresh, only days old, yet Naruto already recognized the similarities between his and Kurama’s lives. Naruto no longer blamed Kurama for his misfortune, but the greed Naruto’s kind lived by. Power seemed to corrupt the human mind, Kurama and his siblings learned that too late.
Kurama had been explaining why he loathed the ninja world, his jailors, when the fox tilted his head up, seeming to see past the seal. Naruto never heard Kurama sound nervous before, it was far more terrifying than when the beast was hungry for flesh.
Naruto never realized how clueless he was, how gullible he could be. The fact that a literal war had been raged to keep him safe and yet Naruto was none the wiser. Naruto didn’t know what betrayal was harder to bear. Was it B and Yamato blatantly lying to him? Or was it that the whole world seemed to think Naruto wasn’t strong enough?
He never had time to figure it out, for Naruto ran.
He left the others behind.
Naruto never saw them again.
Being quiet comes with the title of ninja. They are trained to become nature, blend in perfectly with their surroundings. But no matter how skilled, there always sound. For life isn’t a quiet affair. Whether it’s the flutter of a bird, a sudden gasp of breath, or the wind rustling through the leaves, the ninja world is brimming with sound.
So, when Naruto stumbled onto what was the outskirts of battle, he froze. For there was nothing.
Total silence.
The landscape had been completely decimated; any wildlife that survived had fled long ago. The normal summer breeze didn’t tickle Naruto’s nose, and the sun was blocked by smoke. Any remains of grass had been burned to ash, this was a forest once, but all that remained were uneven craters.
When Naruto crossed his first body the boy choked. Truthfully, Naruto couldn’t even tell if the mass of flesh was human, it was mangled beyond any form of recognition. Naruto foolishly thought that this would be the worse, that this would be what haunted him.
Naruto was once again slapped in the face with his naivety. For he wasn’t entering a war-torn battlefield, but a mass grave.