Unshackled: A Naruto Fanfiction

Chapter 12: Wash Away

"Come on guys, you have to stop following me in a badly painted cardboard box," Naruto said as he looked down at a perfect cube that had been painted with grey and white as well as having dirt thrown onto the paint when it was fresh, making it look a little bit more natural. 

If Naruto was honest, he thought it was pretty good for the eight-year-olds, but he would rather tease them than inflate their egos any further. As if on cue, Naruto's vision was enveloped in a large explosion of smoke. 

The coughs that followed sounded like music to Naruto's ears as a smile crawled onto his face as he shook his head, amused. As the smoke dissipated, Naruto saw the forms of the small group that dubbed themselves the 'Konohamaru Corps', a group formed of the grandson to the Third Hokage and his two friends who were in their first year at the academy. 

"You used too much smoke powder!" Moegi complained as she dusted off her clothes, an annoyed frown on her face. 

"It got in my nose!" Udon whined, sniffling heavily instead of coughing. Konohamaru let out a few more coughs before smashing his fist against his chest with a confident smile. 

"We almost got you good boss!" Naruto hung his head comically at the youngest Sarutobi. Konohamaru wasn't deterred however, his grin only increased in size as he stomped his right foot. "Train us!" 

Naruto lifted his head and tapped his index finger on his chin repeatedly, his eyes looking up at the sky thoughtfully. "Hmmmmmmmmmmm, no." Konohamaru's face hit the ground at the answer while Moegi and Udon tried pulling him to his feet with no success. 

Naruto through his head up into the air and let out a heavy laugh as Konohamaru looked at him with narrowed eyes, now sitting and crossing his arms. "C'mon boss! You've been back for two weeks and still haven't trained us again like you said you would!" Naruto let out a small sigh. 

"I'll have to reschedule, Konohamaru-kun, I need to go visit one of my friends and make sure they're alright. They've been doing a hard mission lately and I want to see if I can maybe make them smile." Konohamaru beamed at Naruto.

"Can we come too, Naruto-nii?" Naruto's eyes widened. 

Flashback

Naruto couldn't feel his body, only the weight of his feet as each step he took caused a small splash, the constant rain in Amegakure resonated rhythmically around the blond. The eight-year-old boy didn't bother even speaking to Pain as he entered the building where the members of the Akatsuki resided whenever they were in Ame. 

He was tired. He had walked all the way back to the village from Sacoma over the course of two days with no rest. Pain, who had accompanied him after forcing him to kill everyone, hadn't spoken a single word to the boy. 

As he went up the stairs, Naruto felt his numbing mind slowly begin to give out and quickly hurried his pace, not wanting to pass out and fall down the concrete steps. As he reached his floor, he heard a door close and saw Itachi walking down the hallway. 

Itachi looked at Naruto's soaked form and downcast face, something that was unnatural for the blond. Then again, it had been an entire year since he saw the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, the son of the Fourth Hokage. 

Itachi didn't know why, but when the blond wordlessly strode past him he felt his body turn around and his mouth open. "What's wrong?" The kinslayer asked in his usual monotone voice. 

Naruto halted, his clothes dripping water onto the floor and creating a small puddle. "I," He began, pausing for a moment as he turned around and met Itachi's coal colored eyes. "Pain made me kill my family." The blond said in a broken tone, despair lacing his voice.