Damon walked slowly toward the Hokage Tower with Jiraiya at his side. He looked around the village while a few villagers greeted Jiraiya more than him, but at least it was not like when he was little and nobody wanted to acknowledge he even existed.
Damon kept observing everything carefully as he walked with both hands behind his neck. Kaia was laying low in the Forest of Death. It hasnt been long since they left Uzu not much has happened since then.
"Nothing's changed."
He got no response from Jiraiya, which felt strange enough to make him glance to the side to see what the old man was doing... but there was nobody there. Damon could only let out a drop of sweat at Jiraiya's behavior. The man was always disappearing without warning. He just shrugged and kept heading toward the Hokage Tower until he noticed someone rushing up behind him.
"NARUTOOO!"
A female voice called out.
Damon did not immediately recognize the voice, but he had a pretty good idea who it was because it sounded familiar. He turned around and saw a girl his age with pink hair.
"Sakura," Damon said with a big smile. "You haven't changed at all."
A vein almost bulged on Sakura's forehead, but then she smiled, and that smile made Damon a little nervous.
"What do you mean I haven't cha—" Sakura started to say.
"You're still just as beautiful as I remember."
Sakura had not expected something that casual to come out of the blond's mouth, so she could not hide the blush that spread across her face. She quickly looked away so she would not embarrass herself even more.
You just barely avoided getting hit, Kurama said in Damon's head.
Yeah, yeah... why am I always surrounded by troublesome women? Damon replied, hearing the fox laugh afterward.
Trying to calm herself down, Sakura pushed the blush aside and looked back at him.
"You've grown a lot in these three years," she said as she moved to stand beside him. "You're taller than me now."
"Well, I've been eating well and training like crazy," Damon replied with a smile.
"Do you want to go eat ramen? I have a lot to tell you, and I've been training really hard too," Sakura said while pointing a finger at herself proudly. "I'm the third best medical ninja in the village."
Fourth, actually, if you include me, Damon thought to himself.
"I'm glad you're finally taking your career seriously, but I can't go get ramen right now. I'd love to, but I need to report to the Hokage first. We can go another time if you want."
Damon started walking again, but Sakura suddenly grabbed him by the arm, making him turn back toward her.
The serious expression on her face caught him off guard.
"Naruto... I listened to what you told me," Sakura said, her voice much more serious now.
Damon already had a good idea what she meant, but he wanted to hear it from her, so he stayed quiet.
"Three years ago, you told me the world outside the village was chaos... and you were right," Sakura said with a sad sigh. "I wish I could forget what I saw."
"Don't forget it," Damon said, placing a hand on her head to comfort her. "Do something about it. Forgetting it would be the same as doing nothing for the people who need help."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"The world is rotten, Sakura... but so is part of the village you love so much."
With that, Damon turned and kept walking.
Timeskip
Months passed after Damon returned to the village.
In those months, the current Kazekage was kidnapped by the Akatsuki so they could extract his Bijuu and continue pushing their plan forward. Damon had been sent as part of the group to honor the peace treaty with Suna and also to try to save his friend Gaara from the Akatsuki's hands, though the whole mission had gone badly from the start.
When they arrived at the hidden base, they found Gaara lying badly wounded on the ground, barely looking alive. On top of that, they had to deal with two S-rank missing-nin, Deidara and Sasori, the artist duo of the Akatsuki.
Damon ended up fighting Deidara, which honestly was not that difficult for him since, thanks to his Wind affinity, he could easily blow away the clay creatures Deidara made. Even so, Damon did not want to reveal too much of his current level. He did not want to raise suspicion, and he did not have time to answer annoying questions.
Sasori, meanwhile, was defeated and killed by Sakura together with an old woman named Chiyo, a retired Suna jonin and one of the few medics capable of bringing someone back to life... but at the cost of her own. Gaara had really died from the extraction of his Bijuu, but he was brought back because Chiyo gave up her life for his.
A move not everyone would have been able to make.
Many other things happened after that, like the mission involving Sasuke. Damon refused to go because he considered it a waste of time, and he made it clear more than once that he had no intention of chasing after Sasuke.
More recently, Asuma Sarutobi, the Third Hokage's son, had been killed by the Akatsuki's immortal duo. The news devastated Kurenai Yuhi, who was carrying Asuma's child.
The Hidden Leaf was in mourning over the loss of an elite shinobi like Asuma, but what really mattered in all this was Team 10. Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji wanted revenge for their sensei, and Damon knew it. He also knew they were not strong enough to face the immortal duo, even with Kakashi's help.
During all this time, Damon had been training with Yamato, and sometimes Kakashi joined them too. The truth was, he did not really need their help to train, but he had to keep up appearances. He had made it very clear that he was no longer the same kid he used to be before leaving with Jiraiya for three years, but he also did not want to show too much.
If he did, he could end up having problems with certain people in the village who worked in the shadows, and the last thing he needed right now was to deal with the elders or be constantly watched by Root ANBU.
Right now, Damon and Yamato were heading toward the location of Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Kakashi Hatake. Tsunade had sent Damon and Yamato there at Kakashi's request, though the way the immortal duo was holding up made it clear they were causing more trouble than expected and needed help fast.
Both Damon and Yamato ran at full speed through the trees without saying a word. There was no time to waste, and talking would only distract them... but what Yamato did not know was that Damon was already having a small conversation with his tenant.
"So that Hidan really is immortal?" Kurama asked, sounding genuinely surprised.
"Yeah. Hidan can regenerate no matter what physical damage you do to him... even if you cut off his head, he'll still stay alive."
The great Nine-Tails let out a long sigh. "That will be a problem... especially if you have to hold back so you don't attract attention."
"Not really. Being immortal also makes him reckless. He attacks without thinking, so there are worse fates than death for someone like him. Besides, this is not the first time I've fought someone from the cult of Jashin."
Kurama stayed quiet for a moment before speaking again.
"And Kakuzu?"
Damon let out a low laugh.
"Kakuzu is not a problem for me. The last time he tried to kill me, he threw a kunai from a distance, missed, and ran away. Next thing I knew, he was apparently famous for fighting me."
"Even when you were injured from fighting Madara?"
Damon laughed again, this time more openly.
"I mean, Mokuton is not something you joke around with. After all, I beat your ass and Madara's ass with it."
"Hmph. You did not have to say it like that. Besides, I was being controlled. If I had been the one in control, I would not have lost that battle," the fox said proudly.
"Sure thing, buddy," Damon replied, still amused.
"Naruto."
Damon did not answer.
"Naruto," Yamato called again.
Still nothing.
"NARUTO!"
This time Yamato shouted, annoyed that he was being ignored.
Damon finally looked up at Yamato and dipped his head slightly in apology for being too lost in thought.
"We're almost there."
Timeskip
A dark night covered Konoha, a heavy and depressing night for the Hidden Leaf. "Damon, stop punishing yourself. You should know that better than anyone by now." Said the fox
"But it is my fault."
The same words kept repeating over and over in Damon's mind.
Jiraiya had died in battle against the leader of Akatsuki.
"It is not your fault that Jiraiya went alone to face the leader of an organization made up of S-rank criminals," Kurama said again.
"It is human stupidity that—"
"I helped create Akatsuki," Damon finished, lowering his gaze.
He went silent for a moment.
To say Kurama was shocked would have been an understatement.
He helped create Akatsuki?
It took the fox only a second to understand what Damon meant.
But now...
Damon's chest felt tight.
People always thought he feared nothing, and to some extent that was true. But even then he feared losing the people he loved.
His family.
And worse than that... Jiraiya had died because of something Damon had helped set into motion long ago.
Killed by Nagato.
Someone Damon had once called brother back when he lived as Yahiko.
But now...
Now he did not even know what remained of the man he once knew.
>>>>>>>>>
As you can see, I skipped many events cause if I did everything, I wouldn't be done with this arc anyway, fight with Pain next chapter.
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