Believer

Chapter 3

Important note. Please read.

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Thank you for reading.

Third person pov

"So he won't be conscious for a few days?" Minato frowned. He felt disappointed to say the least. He wanted to find out what possibly could have happened to the boy even more so than before. The nurses had cleaned him up considerably, and now Minato felt more shocked than he he'd been when they found the boy to begin with! 

His hair was a yellow that would make the sun jealous, matching Minato's with ease. Not only that, but now looking at his facial structure, he could have easily passed as Minato's twin were he a little older. It was a little odd to say the least. If this kid really was a Konoha shinobi, how had Minato never seen him before? They were so similar in appearance, Minato was positive he would be unable to miss him in a crowd.

"I'm afraid not, Minato-san. His chakra reserves are almost completely depleted. Honestly, it's a miracle he's even breathing right now." The nurse responded in a worried tone, glancing over at the boy in the bed. It was all too true. When this boy, whoever he happened to be, got here, he was on the verge of death. How he'd made the trip was beyond them. Hell, how the kid was semi-conscious when he arrived was a mystery in and of itself. 

"He was awake when we got him here..." Minato trailed off.

"Just barely." The nurse agreed. "But he passed out minutes later. It will take him a while to get back hi-"

As if on cue, Naruto once again achieved the impossible. Despite his chakra exhaustion and the nurse's analysis of his state, he sat bolt upright with a loud gasp. His heart monitor spike with the movement as the blonde blinked rapidly, gasping for air as though he'd been drowning moments before. His head swiveled left and right, his blue eyes struggling to adjust to the sudden burst of light.

"O-Oh." Was all the nurse could mutter out. Minato snapped his gaping mouth shut as the boy's eyes met his own. While the shape was significantly different, the shade was unmistakably identical to his own. It was a unique color Minato had never seen on anyone else other than himself, like the color of the ocean mixed with the hue of the sky. 

"Wh-What's going on?" Naruto looked his father up and down. His body hurt like hell, and his throat felt so raw it might start bleeding. "Am I dead?"

"You're not dead, Naruto. We used our last resort, remember? We came back to try and fix it." Kurama reminded softly. Naruto's mind was in such a wretched state that even he couldn't bring himself to make a quip at the boy. The losses the poor blonde had experienced had built up more and more, and Kakashi had been the breaking point. Well, almost, anyway. While in shambles, it was quite clear to Kurama that Naruto hadn't quite reached the point of insanity. 

Yet.

Naruto blinked a few times more, his eyes watering almost against his will as the image of his dead sensei flashed behind his eyes. Naruto had failed to protect so many people, he had hoped he could at least be there for the only person he had left. Turns out, he'd failed at that too, and now he was here. With a shot to fix it all. He took another deep breath. Right, he could cry later. He needed to... to focus.