Chapter 30: The Turn of a Hero

"WE NEED ANSWERS NOW"

Hiruzen calmly stared at the four people in front of him, Kakashi was looking at him very seriously and was in no mood for any silly jokes.

Anko was looking at him as if he had just killed the closest person in her life; she was ready to kill if he said the wrong word, even though Hiruzen knew Anko was no match for him, in fact no one in the room was, he still felt a little uncomfortable with the look Anko was giving him.

Kurenai had a desperate look in her eyes, he could see anger in those ruby eyes too; and he prayed to Kami-sama to give the woman strength.

Sakura looked worried and nervous, there were two reasons, one was the KI that the 3 Jounins in the room were leaking; and the other reason was for her friend Naruto.

Sasuke was looking at Hiruzen, his sharingan was active, and the only thing he needed was answers.

A few more footsteps were heard, and soon more people rushed in the room.

They were none other than Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Kiba, Hinata, Shino and Asuma.

"Kakashi-sensei what is going on?" asked Hinata worriedly

Ever since she heard the news that her Naruto-kun was labelled a missing nin, she felt scared. Even after being casted into the side branch, she never blamed Naruto for this.

She had realized her mistake and was now working with Neji to improve her skills, and prove to Naruto-kun that she was a good shinobi too.

Surprisingly Neji had become a lot more helpful to her, when she was in the main branch he gave her disrespectful looks, and taunts but now as she worked as a member of the side branch with the cursed seal on her head; Neji had warmed up to her.

Some good had come out of this unfortunate incident, as she had got her brother back. Neji was also helping her improve her skills, and she really hoped to make everyone proud in the chunin exams.

Ino rushed towards Sakura and grabbed her hurriedly, she had a worried look in her eyes as Naruto was a very close friend of hers too.

"Sakura, is this true?" asked Ino fearfully,

Sakura looked in her friend's eyes, what could she say, the entire village had already accepted Naruto as a traitor, there must be strong evidence against him if the Hokage had labelled him a traitor, only a handful people believed he was innocent.

And almost all of them were present in this room, if one excluded the Ichiraku family, Iruka, and the Hokage's family.

"I don't know Ino...I don't know," said Sakura gently

Shikamaru and Shino stood beside Sasuke quietly, Shino appeared to be calm, but if one could see carefully there was a little sweat on his forehead showing he was worried too.

"That troublesome Naruto...he always drags us in some kind of mess," said Shikamaru tiredly

Kiba smacked Shikamaru harshly on the head, and yelled at him furiously.

"You lazy ass, he is our friend and I won't believe he committed such a genocide!" said Kiba harshly

Asuma looked at Kurenai, she looked broken and was just standing there quietly. He went towards her but was stopped when Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder, and whispered silently in his ears.

"Asuma...if you don't want to die a painful death, leave her alone right now," said Kakashi mysteriously

Asuma looked at the masked man curiously, but then his eyes widened in shock as he saw Kurenai had gripped her hands so tightly that blood was leaking from them now.

"She's pissed," thought Asuma worriedly

Chouji was standing beside Anko, everyone was talking with someone except Kurenai, and he decided to talk to the person next to him.

"Uhm...Anko-sensei," said Chouji slowly, he knew the woman had a very bad temper and didn't want her to vent out her anger at him.

"WHAT!" snapped Anko furiously

Chouji took a few steps back, and now stood beside Ino who smacked him on the forehead.

"Never mind," said Chouji tiredly, Anko looked away and Chouji now had to listen to Ino's loud shouts as he had accidentally stepped over her leg.

Everyone started talking with each other, as they all wanted to know what the hell was going on, and if any of them knew something.

After a few moments, the pressure in the room increased as a large KI flared in the entire room. All the genins, including Sasuke and Sakura collapsed from the pressure and were now lying flat on the ground.

Even the Jounin's were feeling very uncomfortable with so much KI, everyone looked at the Hokage and the Anbu commander expecting any one of them to be the source of such Killing intent,

But both the men were sitting calmly, Hiruzen had a surprised look on his face and was looking in the center of the room.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock, as the KI was of Kurenai, and the look in her eyes was murderous.

"WILL YOU IDIOTS SHUT UP!" yelled Kurenai angrily

"Kurenai..." said Anko in shock, as she had never seen her so angry and dangerous.

Kakashi took the cue, as he realized Kurenai had reached the limit of her patience, and he had to start the conversation quickly.

Fortunately all the genin in the room were not stupid, even Kiba shut his mouth and were now standing up slowly as Kurenai stopped her KI; but still was glaring at Hiurzen seriously.

"Hokage-sama...we request you to tell us what is going on?" asked Kakashi curtly, a few moments ago he had been overburdened due to his emotions, but still Hiruzen was his leader and if he disrespected him, he could surely be killed.

A tired sigh escaped from Hiruzen's lips and he rubbed his forehead with his hands.

"Make the preparations," said Hiruzen stoically

"Hai" said the Anbu commander firmly, and vanished in an instant.

Hiruzen then looked at his subordinates, he knew they were heart broken; and what he was about to do would shatter all their beliefs, especially Kurenai.

But he had a feeling Kurenai would survive this harsh time, he had to hand it to Naruto. Even in such a situation, he had formed a devious plan to help Kurenai cope up with her depression, and fulfill his own objectives too.

That boy was one bloody son of a bitch.

"I will answer all your questions, as I'm fully aware of what you are going through. But I ask all of you to ask questions one at a time," said Hiruzen gently

Everyone nodded, and Kurenai soon stepped forward and looked at Hiruzen.

"Hokage-sama...Naruto is innocent, there has to be some misunderstanding," pleaded Kurenai

Hiruzen's heart really broke, the thing he was about to do was a grave sin. He was totally going to erase the kind and gentle Naruto from these people's mind, and replace it with a monster.

"Damn you, Tobirama-sensei," thought Hiruzen angrily, he felt ashamed of doing this, every fiber in his body was telling him not to do this; but for the sake of many a few soldiers have to be sacrificed.

It was the same in the past, it was the same right now, and it would be the same in the future.

This world was truly merciless.

"I'm afraid, you are wrong Kurenai. It was Naruto," said Hiruzen gravely

Kurenai quickly came forward and slammed her hands on his desk roughly, and looked at him angrily.

"How can you say this? You know Naruto...he can never do such a genocide, less his own comrades!He fought for all of us for years, despite what the village did to him!" yelled Kurenai angrily

Hiruzen put his hand on Kurenai's hand and looked at her sympathetically.

"The Naruto you knew...all of us knew was nothing but an illusion," said Hiruzen sadly

"What do you mean?" asked Ino curiously

"In order to make you understand, you must first know the truth about Naruto's life," said Hiruzen slowly

"HOKAGE-SAMA!" said Kakashi, Anko, Asuma and Kurenai in shock.

Even Sasuke and Sakura were shocked, was he really going to tell Naruto's truth to the rest of the people now?

"It seems Naruto had some dark secrets," said Shikamaru sharply

"I don't understand..." said Kiba in confusion

"My bugs always felt something strange about him...it was as if he was dangerous, as if he had something dark hidden in him," said Shino calmly, he indeed had some theories but didn't want to speak without any proof.

"You're correct Aburame Shino, Naruto had something evil in him" said Hiruzen firmly

"Please explain it in simple words," requested Chouji, all this mystery was bugging him.

Hiruzen took in a deep breath, it was time when Naruto's burden was revealed to his friends.

"What I'm about to tell you is an S-rank secret...which no one of you shall utter without my permission. The penalty for breaking this law is execution of you as well as your entire family" said Hiruzen strictly

All the genin's took a step back in fear, as Hiruzen leaked some KI to make his point clear.

"What kind of secret is this, could it be?" thought Shikamaru in confusion

He thought everything he knew about Naruto, his fake smiles, the day he beat Sasuke so badly. That day he had realized Naruto had something dark in him, Shino's bugs reaction to Naruto's presence, and all the glares Naruto received whenever Shikamaru was with him.

"What was Naruto's birthday again?" asked Shikamaru quickly

Hiruzen looked surprised, it seemed Shikaku's son was as sharp as him.

"October 10," said Hiruzen calmly, and gave Shikamaru a knowing look.

Shikamaru's eyes widened in shock, as he understood the entire situation. One look in the Hokage's eyes showed him that his theory was true.

He looked at his side, and Shino was giving him the same look indicating he had come to the same conclusion as well.

Looking at the down faces of Kakashi, Anko, Asuma, Kurenai, and even Sasuke and Sakura shocked him further.

"So, you knew it too Sakura, Sasuke..." said Shino flatly

Sakura looked at the Aburame, and answered in a sad voice.

"Yes, we know" said Sakura simply, while Sasuke just gave a nod.

Naruto had already told them that he had the Kyubi sealed in him, when they were made a team and he was appointed as the leader.

"Can somebody tell me what is going on?" asked Kiba irritatingly

"What do you children know about the Kyubi incident that happened 14-15 years ago?" asked Hiruzen sharply

"Only that the Fourth Hokage defeated the Kyubi but had to sacrifice his life too," said Hinata simply

"It's a lie, isn't it Hokage-sama?" asked Shino flatly

"What? Shino, if that is a lie, what happened to the Kyubi and why this is related to Naruto?" asked Ino curiously

"A tailed beast can never be killed...much less the Kyubi, there is only one way to stop them," said Kakashi slowly

"What is the way?" asked Chouji curiously

"They are sealed away...but it is not any object, it requires a living vessel in case of the Kyubi as it is the most powerful tailed beast in the world," said Kurenai sadly

All the genin's eyes widened in shock, as a very horrible feeling started developing in their gut.

"The Nine Tailed Fox is sealed inside of Naruto...by the Fourth Hokage" said Hiruzen shocking the remaining Rookies

All of their eyes were wide in shock, Shikamaru and Shino were less shocked than the others, but that didn't mean that they were not moved by these news.

"This can't be true..." said Hinata sadly, even more tears came in her eyes as she now realized how much Naruto must have suffered.

"Its horrible," said Ino in fear, she never wished such a fate even on her enemy, much less one of her best friend.

Kiba's anger increased as he now understood why people glared at Naruto, they were stupid, how could they compare his friend with that monster fox? Inuzuka valued friendship the most, and Naruto was his good friend, and he had been done injustice.

"WHY?" asked Kiba angrily

"What do you mean?" asked Hiruzen curiously

"Why was that beast sealed in my friend?" asked Kiba angrily

"If the Nine Tails was sealed in an adult, Naruto wouldn't have to suffer so much. ITS ALL YOUR FAULT, DO YOU HOKAGE"S THINK YOU ARE GOD? WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO THIS?" yelled Sasuke angrily

Everyone was quite shocked by Sasuke's outburst, never in their entire lives had they seen him so much angry.

"The Nine Tails cannot be sealed in an adult, it would kill the person instantly. Only a child whose chakra coils have not been developed can contain the Kyubi," said Hiruzen seriously

"But why Naruto...why not anyone else?" asked Kurenai with tears in her eyes.

"It's because his own father considered him fit to bear this burden...and only trusted Naruto to wield the power of the Nine Tails to protect Konoha!" said Hiruzen shocking everyone in the room.

Each and every person in the room except Kakashi had their mouths wide open, their eyes were wide as saucers...they couldn't believe what they just heard.

Kurenai felt as if the ground beneath her had just shattered...she had her doubts but Naruto's face mask always prevented her to look at his face clearly. Only recently when they had sex, she was clearly able to see the similarities between Naruto and the Fourth Hokage.

"No way..." said Ino in shock,

"The Fourth...is his father..." said Kurenai in fear, it meant Naruto knew everything, she couldn't imagine how horrible he must have felt when he had realized his own father condemned him to a life of hell.

"But how could the Yondaime do such a thing to his son?" asked Hinata angrily

"He was a hero...I-" said Shikamaru sadly, even he looked up to the Fourth.

But now every respect he had for the man had been lost, no matter what reason the Yondaime had, Shikamaru could never stand for what he did to Naruto.

"In this world, there are no heroes...the Kages are the people who have to make tough choices, and the Yondaime considered Naruto...because he could not put such a burden on another child," said Hiruzen sadly

Hiruzen was quite shocked when Kurenai grabbed him roughly and slammed him against the wall.

"Kurenai.." said Anko worriedly and immediately tried to stop her friend.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU HOKAGES HAVE TO FACE...DID THE FOURTH EVEN ASK MY NARUTO BEFORE HE SEALED THE BEAST IN HIM? ALL OF YOU ARE MONSTERS!" yelled Kurenai with tears in her eyes.

It took Kakashi and Anko's combined efforts to get Kurenai off Hiruzen, and now Anko had pinned her to the ground and was now sitting on top of her. She felt bad for doing this to Kurenai, her friend was yelling at her to let her go, but she didn't want Kurenai to get into more trouble and was restraining her.

"He wanted Naruto to be seen as a hero for keeping the Kyubi at bay..." said Hiruzen comfortingly

Kakashi snorted on hearing that, a hero?...The villagers considered Naruto the opposite.

"Now I see why you adopted him...you were the Fourth's only remaining student, and were a family to him," said Anko tactically

"Hai" said Kakashi tiredly

Before any further heated argument could escalate, and they got off topic...Asuma decided to step in.

"This is indeed sad news...but Hokage-sama, Naruto did not bore any hatred towards this village, the will of fire burned brightly in him," said Asuma curiously

Hiruzen looked at his son, even the others still were not believing and now came the hard part.

The door to the office opened again, and a person walked in that shocked Ino the most.

It was none other than Inoichi Yamanaka, the head of the Yamanaka clan and a skilled interrogater.

"Tou-san...what are you doing here?" asked Ino curiously

"He will show you what the villagers did to Naruto...before Kakashi adopted him. It would make you understand that Naruto hates every person in Konoha," said Hiruzen tactfully

"But how?" asked Chouji curiously

"Inochi was Naruto's counsellor during his childhood and looked after his mental health," said Hiruzen patiently

"Is this true?" asked Ino curiously

Inoichi looked at his daughter, he really felt bad about revealing her friend's dark secret to her, Ino's beliefs would be shattered but he had been ordered by Hiruzen to show this to the people in the room.

But he knew all of this was fishy...why was the Hokage going to so far ends to make these people believe that Naruto was a traitor?

Putting that thoughts aside, he motioned everyone to connect each other's hands and stand in a circle.

"Now I'm going to show you some of Naruto's memories...if it becomes too painful just leave your hand," said Inoichi comfortingly

Kurenai hurriedly grabbed Anko's hand, she didn't know what had happened to Naruto that had changed him so much; and she would find out no matter what.

"Are you ready?" asked Inoichi firmly

Everyone nodded, and Inoichi started his Jutsu and for the next few minutes, all the people watched how Naruto's early childhood was.

The glares, the insults, the isolation...the beatings, all of it.

When the Jutsu ended all the girls had tears coming from their eyes, could people do such a thing to a child?

Sasuke's hands were clenched tightly, his eyes were shut...he had enough, there was nothing left now.

He got up and started walking towards the exit of the room, but Sakura's voice stopped him.

"Sasuke...where are you going?" asked Sakura sadly, tears were still falling for her eyes.

Sasuke looked at his friend, all this pain, all this suffering...he and Naruto were the same. They knew the pain of being alone, and still Naruto had stood by him, he didn't care that whether Naruto did that on purpose or not.

He did not care whether...Naruto wanted revenge or not,

"That's my boy, work hard and you will bring glory to the clan"

"All your father ever talks about is you...we love you Sasu-chan"

"I'm always going to be there for you...even if its just as an obstacle for you to overcome...even if you do hate me, that's what big brothers are for,"

"You and I are brothers...you can count on me Sasuke,"

All these voices rang in his mind, the pain became unbearable...his heart beat increased and his chest felt heavy.

"Tou-san, Kaa-san, Itachi, Naruto..." thought Sasuke sadly

Everything was gone, only he was left...all alone.

Tears slipped from his eyes, and he clenched his hands tightly and suppressed the scream in his throat.

He looked back at Sakura...he knew she had feelings for him, all the others were also looking at him and the tears in his eyes.

"Sakura...this place...this world...I don't care about it anymore!" said Sasuke darkly and left the room.

He walked down the dark hallways, the only thing he felt was despair...but something in him had changed.

"Tou-san, Kaa-san, Itachi...Naruto...I will create a world where there is no suffering"

His eyes snapped open and instead of a regular sharingan there was a round circle with three short ends connected to the sides.

Sasuke Uchiha had fallen to the Uchiha's curse of Hatred!