Chapter 36: Kurenai's Resolve

Four Jounins stood in a small field, all of them were in their ninja gear and had serious looks on their faces.

Kakashi was wearing a white tshirt under his flak Jounin jacket, he was wearing blue jeans and sandals too. But one unique thing was he had a sword strapped on his back, this was no ordinary sword.

He had used this sword during his time in Anbu, and this was the sword with which he had started teaching Naruto, the art of Kenjutsu.

Anko was standing beside Kakashi, and was wearing a grey shirt and dark blue shorts; she had her trademark trench coat on her back, but today she was looking very serious and was in no mood for jokes or teasing.

There was man standing beside Anko, he was a fairly well-built man with high cheek-bones, thick eyebrows and black hair cut in a bowl style; he was wearing a green spandex jumpsuit and orange leg warmers, and the standard Konoha Jounin flak jacket on his back.

He was none other than Might Guy, the "Green Beast of Konoha"; and the strongest Taijutsu specialist of Konoha, who was said to be on par with Tsunade Senju in Taijutsu.

His speed and strength were far stronger than all of his comrades.

The last person was none other than Kurenai Yuhi, she was a wearing a tight black tshirt and black Anbu pants, her hair was was neatly tied into a ponytail and there was no make up on her face.

She was wearing a white haori on her back, which had the word "Captain" written on it.

This was none other than "Task Force 1", the new First Response Team of Konoha.

"As you all know, our village has suffered a great set back; due to the actions of a former chunin of Konoha : Naruto Hatake, he has wiped out a major portion of our Anbu forces, and stolen the forbidden scroll..." said Kurenai strictly, there was no remorse or pain visible on her face.

It was as if she had made peace with her mind.

"Kurenai..." thought Anko worriedly

"Our remaining Anbu forces, as well as most of the Special Jounin have been moved to the front in order to send a message to the other villages; that Konoha is still the strongest hidden village in the world. Due to this, there is shortage of shinobi who have to perform special missions, and as a result the Hokage has ordered the formation of this First Response Team," said Kurenai seriously

First response teams were generally operational during war times, and performed hit and run raids, sabotaging enemy supplies; and cutting off important transport lines of the enemy.

"Kurenai...I mean Captain Kurenai, I just returned from patrol duty so can you please tell me, what is the our mission?" asked Gai seriously

Usually he would be in a cheerful mood, but these days no one was any mood to crack jokes; and right now he was standing in front of the people who had been affected the most due to Naruto's defection.

He had not met the boy, but had heard about his abilities from his eternal rival Kakashi; looking at Kakashi made Guy leave a tired sigh.

His best friend was a lot more quite these days, and Guy just wished their old days could return, and they could have their matches again.

He was even more surprised by Kurenai, she had completely changed since the last time he had seen her; gone was the kind and gentle Kurenai; in her place was now a cold and calculative Kunoichi.

Despite the trouble in her personal life, Kurenai was the most skilled genjutsu specialist of Konoha; not even Naruto was a match for her in that art; she was highly intelligent too and had a sharp calculative mind.

That is why, when Kakashi turned down to the offer to become the Captain of this Team, she was given the role of Captain. It was still a mystery as to why Kakashi had declined.

But Guy knew Kakashi, his best friend did not want to be a leader, and right now something was going through his mind.

The question was what?

"Our Team's mission is to perform special operations that were previously performed by Tobeketsu Jounin; but as they have been sent to the front lines it is now our job. We have a small task force of genin, chunin and some Jounin under my command; and our first mission is going to come soon; so I first want us to hone our skills. Each one of us have relied on a specific skill for a long time, but now it is time to change," said Kurenai firmly

"What about our subordinates? When are we going to prepare them for battle?" asked Anko curiously, a lot of genin and all of the Rookie 12 were now under their command.

"Let them rest for today, these days have been a little rough for them," said Kurenai gently

All the Jounin nodded, as they understood the teens had just lost a close friend; and it was not right to just order them around immediately.

"We may also face some missing ninjas during our missions...we may also be facing Naruto Hatake," said Kurenai icily

It was as if that name was a taboo for her, once that name brought joy to her life, but now it gave her painful memories.

"What should we do if we have to face him?" asked Kakashi seriously, he wanted to hear her answer.

He had refused to become a Captain as he did not think he was fit for the job, he knew what being a leader meant, and right now he was not in full control of his emotions. His heart was breaking everyday by hiding Naruto's truth from Kurenai and the others, and his daughter's death too.

"What about him?" asked Kurenai coldly,

Guy and Anko's eyes widened on hearing such a tone, it was as if she had just cut off everything related to Naruto.

"He is a criminal, nothing more, nothing less. If we find him, my orders are clear for all of you: Bring him back to the village, Dead or Alive," ordered Kurenai stoically

Kakashi closed his eyes in sadness, how much had she suffered for her to become so cold hearted. And how much was Naruto suffering right now?

"Will this madness ever end, Minato-sensei?" thought Kakashi sadly

A ninja must have courage to face his enemies, but how much a person had to strengthen his heart to betray the people he loved, fighting in the shadows and never seeing the light.

Anbu, how he wished that such an outfit was never been formed.

No Anbu came back in one piece, either they died during missions and even their bodies were never formed; or they come back with their soul destroyed.

It was not just the Anbu that were affected, but the people close to them too felt the effects; and Kurenai was one such person.

Kakashi knew how much Anbu had affected him, and he wondered how much would it change Naruto?

He just wished Naruto and Kurenai can one day be together again, and his little brother could live happily.

"I want to become the strongest Taijutsu specialist, and the same is for all of us, we have to improve our weaknesses. Our men would depend on us, we cannot show any weaknesses during a mission, so I will train all of you in genjutsu, Kakashi will give us ninjutsu lessons; while Anko and Guy will teach our unit Taijutsu. I want this unit to become the strongest in Konoha, a group of soldiers on whom our people could rely on," said Kurenai passionately

"Understood, we shall train our comrades from tomorrow, you are a good leader Kurenai," said Anko with a small smile

Kurenai didn't answer and instead starting walking away, her haori was flowing freely in the air; and Anko felt that with each step her friend was becoming more cold, Kurenai Yuhi had changed.

"You want to learn Taijutsu as it is Naruto's weakest point, no matter how much you try to hide it; you have not forgotten him, have you?" asked Kakashi calmly

Kurenai stopped walking and looked up in the sky, and her fists clenched tightly.

"Yes, until I put him out of his pain, I cannot rest Kakashi. I'll become stronger, I'll become the strongest ninja, no matter how much pain and suffering comes in my way, I won't give up and I won't let anything happen to this village, no matter who the enemy is," said Kurenai fiercely

She turned around and looked Kakashi straight in the eye, and the man understood the feelings in her heart.

It was said that the eye was a mirror of a person's soul; and right now Anko, Guy and Kakashi realized Kurenai had become a true ninja.

She had become a strong women, Anko was amazed by her resolve. In a way, she knew Kurenai had become a good leader, and her desire to protect her village had become more strong.

In a way, Naruto had made her a true shinobi.

"We will fight by your side till the end, Captain Kurenai," said Anko proudly, and saluted her friend with great respect.

A lone tear slipped from Kurenai's eyes, her path was difficult and no matter what happened, she would forever cherish the time she spent with Naruto. For her those were the best moments of her life.

She didn't know if it was the same for Naruto; but she had loved him with all her heart.

Hell, she still loved him now.

"You have changed, Kurenai..." said Kakashi silently

"What Naruto did, what he became...my Naruto died that night, part of me died that night," said Kurenai sadly

"What will you do now?" asked Guy calmly

"Live day by day," said Kurenai silently

All the four Jounin stood calmly in their places, for three of them life had changed. They had lost someone close to them, and the pain was etched in their hearts.

For Kakashi, it was becoming unbearable thinking how much longer were the people he loved going to suffer?

"Come back home, Naruto," prayed Kakashi

Suddenly a loud bang was heard from the northern gates, and the four Jounin immediately looked at each other.

"Let's go," said Kurenai firmly

"Hai," said the three jounin firmly

They started running as fast as their legs could take them, and in a matter of minutes they reached at the northern gates.

There was smoke in the air, and the large gates of Konoha were abruptly open; it looked as if they were forcefully opened. The gates remained closed nowdays, as Konoha was on high alert, and without the order of the Hokage they were not opened.

And it looked like someone had entered without proper authorization.

The smoke started to clear and Kurenai's sharp eyes, saw two people standing there, and her eyes widened in shock when she realized who it was.

"What is she doing here?" thought Anko in shock,

There stood in front of Tsunade Senju, and her assistant Shizune Kato; and by the looks on their faces they were ready to kill.

Tsunade had a large amount of chakra in her hand, and now Kurenai realized she had smashed through the 30 ft Konoha gate.

"WHERE IS HIRUZEN SARUTOBI!"

Violent coughing was heard in a small room, and the sound of wobbling footsteps was heard.

Naruto rushed in the bathroom, and soon vomited a large amount of blood from his mouth, his chest was burning and every cell in his body was in pain.

"Shit..." cursed Naruto in pain,

Kurama watched sadly, as Naruto took out a small bottle of pills from his pocket, and put one in his mouth. It had been a week since Naruto came to Wave Country and was spying undercover.

The boy's condition was deteriorating with each passing day, and he needed medical attention.

It was one of the reasons, that Kurama was doing what he thought was best for Naruto, sometimes Naruto was too stubborn.

Naruto panted heavily, and soon rested against the wall; his coughing stopped and he took a deep breath.

"You don't have much time," said Kurama seriously

"I (pant) (pant) know..." said Naruto tiredly

"How is your eyesight?" asked Kurama worriedly

"It's fine, if I don't use my sharingan, my eyes won't be damaged further for a while," said Naruto simply

"Your body is collapsing with each passing day...you need to meet her soon, otherwise it will be too late," advised Kurama sagely

"I'll meet her...Kurama, can you tell me something," said Naruto slowly, as he took deep breaths. The medicine that Nono gave him was slowly numbing the pain in his chest.

"Go ahead," said Kurama carefully,

Naruto's breathing returned to normal, and he took a sip of water from his water bag.

"Can I ever go back home again? I miss her...I miss her so much," said Naruto sadly as a lone tear slipped from his eyes.

Kurama gave a tired sigh, this was the reason he was not telling the boy; Naruto looked tough on the outside and was doing his job, but his soul was broken and he was missing Kurenai.

"Yes, we will go back home together...hang in there," assured Kurama firmly

"I'm not so sure about that..." said Naruto calmly

"Why is that?" asked Kurama curiously

"I did dirty missions for the sake of my country, I betrayed the ones I loved the most...Despite being a Konoha shinobi, I killed my own comrades. What am I? Am I an enemy or an ally? Where do I stand in this world? What is my purpose?" asked Naruto quietly

Kurama just listened to the boy, and now the Biju understood what Itachi had said to him that night.

"Can I ever go back home? Will I ever find inner peace?...Sometimes I think, I am living in a false existence," said Naruto sadly

Danger bells rang off in Kurama's minds, and he decided to stop Naruto from thinking like this. Itachi had warned him that this might happen, he had gone through the same phase and had told Kurama to watch over Naruto, and keep his sanity in check.

This was a problem every black ops soldier faced, when you lived in the darkness, you start to lose sight of yourself; and many soldiers lost their humanity due to such pressure.

"I'm just a dead man, ain't I?" asked Naruto with a small smirk

"You talk too much," said Kurama harshly

Naruto was a little shocked by Kurama's reply, his friend was being harsh to him.

"You should not think about such things...focus on your mission only," said Kurama seriously

Naruto started chuckling slowly which turned into a full blown laughter.

"What's so funny, moron?" asked Kurama irritatingly

"You just sounded like Danzo: Focus only on the mission and nothing else!" said Naruto mockingly in Danzo's voice

Kurama tried to hold his laugh, but couldn't control it and soon started laughing along with Naruto.

"Hahahaha...ha..."

Kurama watched as Naruto's laughter soon turned into sobs, and tears started to fall from his eyes.

"They are all gone...all of them, Shin, Sai, Jin, Petra, Isane,...they are all gone," said Naruto sadly

"It's over Naruto...it's over," said Kurama soothingly,

"NOTHING IS OVER! NOTHING, YOU JUST CANNOT TURN IT OFF!" screamed Naruto angrily

"This is not my war, that old bastard asked me...and I'm doing what I have to do to win, but there is always some son of a bitch out there; and when I looked at the people calling me a monster, a demon...I can't take it anymore. WHO ARE THEY TO PROTEST ME? WHO ARE THEY? UNLESS THEY HAVE BEEN ME AND BEEN IN MY PLACE AND KNOW WHAT THE HELL THEY ARE YELLING ABOUT!" said Naruto hatefully

Kurama just looked at the boy sympathetically, while coming towards wave country Naruto had passed through a few of the towns in fire country; and the people were calling him a monster, a demon and all kinds of vile crap...and the Biju knew it was hurting Naruto badly.

"This is a bad time for all of us Naruto...it will pass," said Kurama comfortingly

"For you, not for me...in the academy we were taught a code of honor; You watch my back, I watch yours. WHERE IS THE HONOR HERE?" yelled Naruto

"You are the last of an elite group...don't end it this way," said Kurama seriously

Naruto got up from the floor and looked at himself in the mirror, he just didn't feel anything when he looked at his face in the mirror.

"I was an Anbu Captain, the best student, I was responsible for my nation's security, I was in charge of a million ryo's equipment...and I COULDN'T EVEN SAVE ONE FUCKING FRIEND!" said Naruto loudly, and punched his right hand in the mirror; shattering it to pieces.

He collapsed on the ground again, and this time more tears came from his eyes as blood continuously leaked from his right hand, as pieces of glass were struck in it.

"Where is everybody, Kurama?" asked Naruto quietly

A lone tear slipped from the Biju's eyes, as he felt the pain in Naruto's heart. It was unbearable, so much time had passed and nothing had changed.

Was there any hope for them?

"You remember Jin...that idiot who always said he was going to become the richest man and fuck a thousand girls," said Naruto with a small chuckle

"Hai'' said Kurama silently

"We were on a covert op in Iwa, the enemy had us pinned down...he tried to flank the enemy position and fucking stepped on a exploding tag hidden on the ground. I watched his body getting blown to pieces, his blood rained down on me. MY FRIEND WAS ALL OVER ME!" said Naruto in agony

Naruto's hands trembled a bit as sounds of that night rang in his hears, those screams still were loud as ever.

"I went to help him...but there was nothing left, his hands were gone along with the lower half of his body; he is laying there, he keeps telling me "I wanna go home, I don't wanna die Naruto, I don't wanna die", but I COULDN'T FIND HIS LEGS, HIS BLOOD WAS ALL OVER MY BODY AND I COULD NOT SAVE HIM, I COULDN'T SAVE HIM, I COULDN'T SAVE SHIN, SAI, ISANE...I couldn't save my friends," said Naruto sadly

Kurama wasn't sure but he heard a person's sobs inside his mind scape, but it had been years since he had heard "her" voice

"Sometimes I wake up, and I don't know who I am...I don't talk to anybody,"

Kurama heard patiently as Naruto let out his pent up feelings, he had finally broken today. Naruto had bottled up his emotions all these years, and had controlled himself when Sai had died.

Looking at the state he was in, for the first time Kurama felt he was doing the right thing, and now was not the time to break Naruto further.

"Listen to me Captain Naruto, you are an Anbu, who lives or who dies is not up to you. The only thing you can do is keep on fighting and never give up, no matter how hard you get hurt, DON'T YOU FUCKING GIVE UP? YOU HEAR ME!" said Kurama passionately

"Kurama..." said Naruto in shock

"You have come this far, your friends gave their lives to protect Konoha, it doesn't matter if they were ROOT. You will fight, GET YOUR ASS IN LINE, FIGHT, DESTROY YOUR ENEMIES AND MAKE SURE NO MORE OF YOUR FRIENDS DIE, IS THAT CLEAR?" said Kurama firmly

Naruto's hands tightened and the look in his eyes changed.

"Yes sir, YES SIR!" said Naruto fiercely

Kurama sighed in relief as he was able to bring back Naruto, this time.

"WHOSE LIKE US?" asked Kurama with a smirk, hearing those speeches of Root commanders was proving useful today.

Naruto got up and looked at himself in the mirror,

"Damn few, and they are all dead,"