Naruto: Venomous

Chapter 1: Toxin

It was raining heavy. The forest was dark and loud, teeming with wild life. Suddenly, a ninja came ricocheting through the trees, panting heavily. He had short, blonde hair, a black jacket, orange pants, and a red scarf around his neck. He wore a black Hidden Leaf headband. His eyes were yellow, with frog like pupils, and red outlining around each eyelid.

"Naruto!" The ninja turned to see Sakura barreling towards him. She had bright pink hair, a white and red cloak, and a red Leaf headband behind her bangs. "Did you find him yet?" She called, landing on the branch next to him.

"Gimme a second, will ya? I just activated Sage Mode." Naruto's eyes darted through the forest, searching for his chakra. Finally, his chakra was in plain view, heading away from them. "There!" He shouted, and leaped forward.

"Naruto, wait up!" Sakura shouted, leaping after him. But Sage Mode was much faster. Stupid Naruto, always running ahead.

Naruto exploded out of the trees and into a clearing. It was an empty field completely surrounded by huge trees. There was a large boulder towards the other side of the field. Naruto could sense the enemies chakra right behind it.

He concentrated his chakra in the palm of his hand, and in seconds a rasengan appeared. He sprinted forward, and within seconds, he was slamming the rasengan into the rogue ninja's chest. But instead of a wail of pain, the ninja's body crumbled, transforming into shattered rocks. An earth clone?! He turned his eyes to see the ninja just above him, a long kunai ready to impale Naruto's back. Using Sage Mode's speed, he turned and caught the ninja's arm, deflecting the knife from his neck, but it ended up in his shoulder.

Naruto wailed, and the rogue ninja chuckled, a crazed look in his eye. "You have fun with that!" He shouted, laughing now.

"What are you talking about? Have fun with what?" The ninja laughed more, pulling out another knife.

"Oh, you'll understand soon enough. Let's see how long you last!" He shouted again. He wound up his knife again for another strike.

"I was about to say the same to you!" Sakura shouted, right behind him. She nailed him in the face so hard, his head spun all the way around, snapping his neck. He flopped to the ground a few yard away, dead.

Naruto stood up slowly, pulling out the knife and clutching his shoulder, stopping the blood flow. "Nice job, Sakura! That's one name in the bingo book we can cross o-" Naruto barely stepped forward before falling on his face. I... I can't feel anything...

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted, running to his side. "Naruto, what is it?!" Naruto tried to speak, but the words disappeared on his tongue. His vision started going dark. He spotted Sai emerging from the forest, and then everything faded to black.

He woke up in a hospital room back in the Hidden Leaf. He glanced to his side and found Hinata asleep at his side, holding his hand. Naruto chuckled, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. Hinata notices his stirring and woke up with a start.

"Naruto! Are you okay? Did I wake you?" She cried, worried and blushing.

"Hey, I'm fine. When have I ever not been okay?" Naruto asked playfully, his trademark grin spread across his face. Hinata giggled and threw her arms around Naruto. He stroked her long black hair.

The door opened, and Tsunade walked in with a clip board. "Welcome back, Naruto. How're you feeling?" She asked, grinning at the sight of the two. Hinata blushed and sat up, but held onto Naruto's hand.

"So, when can I leave, Granny? I feel better." Naruto said, trying to annoy her into submission.

"Soon, Naruto. I just need to check your blood and mental state."

"I said I'm fine, Granny!"

"Okay, mental status normal..." She scribbled something down on her clip board. "Okay, now to check your blood. Hinata, I'll need you to step out for this part, alright?"

Hinata tried to protest, but reluctantly agreed to go. She gave Naruto a peck on the cheek and a squeeze on his hand, and walked out, bowing to Tsunade. Even though she's not the Hokage anymore, she was still highly respected. Tsunade took out a syringe  and concentrated chakra around the needle.

"This will tell me right away if there's anything wrong with your blood."

"Whatever, Granny. Just get it done so I can train."

"idiot..." She whispered, and stuck the needle in Naruto's arm. After the blood was extracted, she pulled out the needle and examined it.

Suddenly, her eyes went dark, and a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. She blinked twice, trying to make it go away, but it was the same. "What is it, Granny?" Naruto asked, noticing her grave expression. She looked at him, her face softened into a frown.

"Naruto..." She stuttered, sitting down in Hinata's seat. "There's... Something wrong with your blood..."

Naruto gulped, sweat starting to roll down his face. "What do you mean 'wrong'?" He asked.

"... You've been poisoned, Naruto. And I've never seen this before."

Naruto closed his eyes, trying to stay calm. "... Am I gonna die, Granny?" He asked, his goofy expression completely gone.

"From what I can see, this poison won't attack your vital organs, but instead your chakra. It eats away at it, until it finally reaches zero. That can be just as dangerous. And... It's moving very, very fast. I think maybe even too fast for your healing." She said, her voice starting to crack.

"... How long do I have?" He said, keeping unusually calm.

"My best guess is... Six days..." Naruto opened his eyes wide. He stared at the floor, unable to believe this news.

"... Granny... Can you do me a favor?"

"What is it?" She asked, tears starting to well up."

"Please, don't tell Hinata. Or anyone. Please let me do it." Tsunade was surprised by this, but reluctantly agreed.

"I'm very sorry Naruto... But there's nothing I can do... You're free to spend what time you have left with your friends, but there's nothing else I can do for you."

"Thank you, Granny..." He said, and slowly got out of the bed. "Can you send Hinata in?"

"Sure, Naruto..." She walked out, and Hinata greeted her sweetly.

"Um, is Naruto okay?" She asked shyly, playing with her fingers like she usually does when she's nervous.

Tsunade out on the bravest face she could muster, and she lied. "He's gonna be just fine," she lied, and walked down the hall. She quickly turned and put her head to the wall. And then she cried. She hadn't cried this hard since Dan had died.

Naruto was going to die.