The Endless Void, Part 1

Hey, everyone. This is my first try at writing a fanfic, so don’t hunt me down if it’s absolutely horrible. Basically, Sasuke’s still missing, Orochimaru’s dead, and Tsunade’s still Hokage.
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Naruto looked dead ahead, azure eyes burning into his foe. All of the rookie nine and Team Gai except him were already fighting, and he was eager to do his bit to fend off the attackers as well. His opponent was dressed in a black robe, not unlike the Akatsuki’s, but with a hood, no red clouds, and a black leather belt. His hands were hidden from view by his long sleeves, and his face was concealed by what appeared to be a perpetual shadow, even though the bright full moon should have illuminated it. A quick glance around him told Naruto that the foes his friends were fighting all looked the same, but by the time he glanced back, the enemy was gone.

Cursing his luck, Naruto barely had time to jump out of the way before his target appeared behind him, a black smoking katana in each hand. He slashed with one of them, and would have bisected Naruto had he not dodged. Pressing his hands together in one of his favourite seals, Naruto shouted, “KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!” forming about twenty Narutos standing in various places in the clearing he was in, kunai at the ready.

At the same time, one of his attacker’s katanas seemingly disappeared in a puff of smoke. At the same time, he raised a hand, entwining the fingers in an impossible bind. In a deep rasp, he said quietly, “Kage haishin no jutsu.”

About fifteen of the twenty Narutos; the ones that could see their shadows on the ground, cried in surprise. Their shadows had peeled off the ground, separated themselves from their hosts, and now looked very sinister, totally black copies of the Naruto they nor faced. All 21 of the orange ninja were now aware of their new assailants, as the shadow’s hands morphed so they now each held kunai in one hand.

All the Shadow Clones died; only the real Naruto had the sense to shove a Rasengan into his copy’s stomach. At the same time, though, he found that he went flying backwards as well as his shadow, his chest filled with burning pain. He vaguely saw his shadow hit a tree and shatter like glass, before he hit one as well. “…ow,” he winced, massaging his stomach where he’d been hit. He didn’t even see the robed figure come at him.

The hooded foe had caught up with him before he’d even hit the tree, his unseen legs not even touching the ground. “Pitiful,” he spat, watching the ninja dressed in Oh-God-my-eyes orange impact against the tree and slide to the ground.

“You really think that you, a group of your friends, and a traitor, could just saunter into the Land of Void without permission? AND on top of that, you want to assassinate our Nurukage?!” the dark figure asked.

“I … I … I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Naruto exclaimed weakly.

“You lie, demon boy. And do you know what penalty you, and every one of your friends here are facing for your crimes?”

“I don’t know!”

“The penalty is death. Although, I was not permitted to kill the others, only you.” The figure materialised another katana, this one coated from pommel to tip with what appeared to be black flames. “You’ll have to do.”

The last thing Naruto saw before his world went black was his teammates; his friends, looking at him, eyes wide.

………………………………............

“Wake up.”

“No.”

“I said wake up, brat!”

Naruto opened his eyes and sat up, breathing hard. He turned his head sideways to check the alarm clock: 5:30 AM. “Oh, great,” Naruto thought wearily. “Why did that stupid fox wake me up this early?”

“Because I hate it when you keep having the same dream over and over,” Kyuubi growled inside Naruto’s head. “Not to mention that you’re such an incredibly heavy sleeper that this is the earliest I can force you awake,” the fox added.

“Oh, shut up, you stupid fox. Besides, I thought you liked watching me suffer. I mean, why did you always bring up all those painful memories of when I was a kid before?”

Kyuubi retorted, “Those memories are different. There are hundreds of memories to bring up while you sleep. It’s not repetitive like this dream you keep having.”

Naruto ignored him, but went to the shower to wash off all the sweat he’d amassed while he slept. Ripping off the T-shirt, boxers, and sleeping cap he wore to sleep, he stepped into the hot shower. It might not have cleared his mind completely, but at least it woke him up.

Freshly cleansed, Naruto quickly dried himself off, dressed in a black T-shirt and some pants that were a bit darker than his normal shade of eye-burning orange, and walked out of his apartment.

It was August at the time, but as it was still about a quarter ‘till six, there wasn’t much light out. Naruto didn’t really know what to do with his time, so he just wandered the village, attracting stares from the adults that had shared his fate and gotten up early. Some just glanced at him and continued on with what they were doing, some took the time to mutter things along the lines of, “Demon brat.”

6:00 finally came, and Naruto had an impulse to go to the training grounds. Although, when he got there, he found that there was already someone there. Rock Lee was on the grounds, beating a training dummy to splinters with a devastating array of kicks. “Having fun, Fuzzy Brows?” Naruto commented, coming to rest on a tree stump.

Lee turned. “Naruto-kun! It is great to see a fellow shinobi awake and enjoying the spring of youth in the early hours of the day!”

Naruto sweatdropped. Lee was a great friend, but sometimes he could be a bit embarrassing to be around. “Umm, yeah. So, what are you doing here? I could have sworn nobody else but me was awake, except for the villagers of course.

“You were wrong, Naruto-kun. I have been here since 3:00 training!”

“3:00?! That’s unholy!” Naruto shouted.

“No time is too early to be training, Naruto-kun! Now then, why did you come here of all places? Did you wish to join me?” Lee asked.

“Actually, I just kinda wandered around until I felt like going to the training grounds,” Naruto admitted. “Although, a bit of sparring doesn’t sound too bad now. Why not?” he added.

“Excellent! And, we begin!” Lee exclaimed, before dashing to the side. Before Naruto knew what was going on, he heard a “Leaf Whirlwind!” and went spinning off upside-down until he collided with a tree.

“You must be on your guard at all times, Naruto-kun!” Lee warned, coming to stand in front of Naruto, who was still upside-down and resting against the tree. “A true Shinobi must be ready for anything!”

“Umm, ow?” Naruto asked himself, giving his head a little shake, but only managing to grind his head deeper into the soft earth. He then picked himself up, shook his head again to get rid of the soil in his hair, and assumed a battle position. “I’m ready,” he said.

Lee watched as Naruto charged him, a smile forming on his face. Ducking slightly, he waited until the ninja was close enough, then unleashed the vertical kick that started his Konoha Hurricane combo.

It never landed.

Naruto had expected Lee to think that he’d forgotten about his kick, so he’d simply jumped over Lee, clearing his foot with inches to spare. Landing in a handstand, he planted a double-footed donkey kick in the small of Lee’s back, sending the taijutsu expert flying forwards.

“That was impressive, Naruto-kun,” Lee commented, picking himself up and turning to face the orange-clad ninja.

“You’re not the only one that can use taijutsu, Fuzzy Brows,” Naruto replied, shrugging.

The two shinobi battled on for hours, both only using taijutsu. Every time one landed a hit, they knew to expect one back in the next few seconds. While they sparred in the early morning sun, Naruto noticed that he was finally starting to catch up to Lee, though he had his weights on and hadn’t opened any of his chakra gates. Lee noticed the same thing.

Once the sun had started to shine a little brighter, both Leaf ninja had to admit they were getting tired. Lee was starting to consider opening the first chakra gate to give himself a stamina boost, but Naruto had other ideas. Quickly, he made one of his favourite seals, and said, “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” Instantly, four more Narutos joined the scene. Lee was so distracted, he didn’t notice the first clone rush him and kick him into the air, followed by three more.

“U!”

“ZU!”

“MA!”

“KI!”

“NARUTO RENDAN!” bellowed the final Naruto; the real one, as he kicked Lee back to terra firma. The four clones disappeared as Naruto and Lee both touched down, but then Naruto noticed something. Lee didn’t look any the worse for wear. “Wait a sec, you blocked the Combo?” Naruto asked.

“The first and last hit I could not block, but yes, I did manage to avoid the majority of it,” Lee said, smiling. “But I am impressed! Even with Shadow Clones, you still proved to be my equal at taijutsu!” He then flashed his sensei and his “Nice Guy pose,” drawing another sweatdrop from Naruto.

“You still had your weights on, and no chakra gates open,” Naruto retorted, scratching the back of his head.

“Do you want to continue?”

“Nah, I think I’ve had enough. Thanks for the match, though.” And with that, Naruto was off.

The first thing he noticed was that he was hungry. He hadn’t thought to grab himself a cup of instant ramen before he left his apartment, but if it meant going to Ichiraku’s for breakfast, he didn’t exactly mind. So, he headed over to a coordinate in town he’d had memorised since he was ten.

“Oi, old man Ichiraku! Gimme a large miso with pork bits!” Naruto called before he’d even reached the small ramen stand. Upon reaching it, he plopped himself on a stool and waited for his breakfast.

“Naruto! I hadn’t been expecting you until much later,” Ichiraku exclaimed, “Ayame! Get some of the Special Stock ready; Naruto’s here earlier than expected!”

“Eh, couldn’t sleep,” Naruto grunted.

“You too?”

“Wait, you mean you didn’t sleep well either?”

“Come to think of it, all my best customers have been coming earlier than usual for the last few weeks,” Ichiraku said thoughtfully. “Its as if all the ramen-lovers of Konoha can’t get decent sleep.”

“Weird,” Naruto commented, but then a third voice was heard, this one female.

“Its not only the ones who like ramen that can’t sleep.”

Naruto turned and saw the face of Hinata poking through the curtain that gave the diners privacy, looking at the owner of the ramen stand. “Hey, Hinata-chan! What are you doing here?” Naruto asked.

Hinata blushed as she noticed the ninja sitting at the counter. “Oh! N-Naruto-kun!” she squeaked, having not noticed him beforehand. “I j-just couldn’t sleep.

“Not you too!” Ichiraku mock groaned, holding his head in a hand. “Well, don’t just stand there with your head poking in. Have a seat!” he offered the chair next to Naruto.

Hinata said quietly, “Arigato,” but still chose to take the seat a few down from Naruto, looking very intently at the napkin dispenser.

“Hey, Hinata-chan, what did you mean when you said that it wasn’t just ramen-lovers that couldn’t sleep well?” Naruto asked, turning to face the white-eyed girl.

“N-Neji-san and Father c-couldn’t sleep as well,” Hinata answered, averting Naruto’s cerulean gaze. “In f-fact, I think the whole c-clan woke up early,” she added.

“NANI? The whole cla-”

“Naruto, your ramen,” Ichiraku interrupted, setting a large bowl of ramen in front of Naruto. “Hinata, would you like anything?” he asked the kunoichi.

“Aw, YEAH!” Naruto shouted, digging in.

“Umm, maybe just a small miso,” Hinata said.

Nodding, Ichiraku went into the back to assist his daughter in the cooking.

So, Hinata got her bowl of ramen, and then except for the slurping sounds of Naruto chowing down, there was silence. Noone spoke a word until Hinata went to pay for her ramen. “Oh no, I forgot my money at the compound!” she cried out.

Naruto, who had his own wallet Gama out, said, “Don’t worry, I’ll pay for both of us. I’ve got money to spare.” He pulled out a few coins and placed them in Hinata‘s palm, pulling some out for his own meal.

Hinata blushed crimson when Naruto pressed the money into her hand, but he didn’t notice. “T-t-thank you, N-naruto-kun,” she stammered.

“Don’t mention it!” And with this, Naruto pulled his infamous huge grin out and walked off.

The rest of Naruto’s day passed by in a haze. He vaguely remembered buying the newest manga in a series he’d gotten hooked on a few months back, and running out of instant ramen at home and having to go out and get more, but nothing exciting happened. That is, nothing happened until around 7:00 PM. Naruto was sitting on his bed, reading his new manga, when he heard a knock on his door. “Hmm?” Naruto grunted. Putting his book down, he trudged to the door and swung it open to find himself facing Sakura.

“Tsunade sent me. She wants everyone in her office to talk about the new mission,” Sakura briefly explained.

“New mission? All right!” Naruto exclaimed, punching the air.

“Yeah, but from the look on her face, this one’s probably gonna be A-rank or higher,” Sakura added, looking a bit solemn herself. “Come on, let’s go. Everyone else is already there, and we’re gonna be late if we stay behind any longer.”

Nodding, Naruto ran out of the apartment complex, headed for the Hokage’s office.