Anthem

Naruto opened his eyes.

Tsunade's emerald eyes shimmered in the sunlight, her expression serious. Sensing Naruto's movement, her tense demeanor finally relaxed. "Naruto."

Taking a look around, Naruto realized he was lying in Tsunade's medical room. "Tsunade-obaachan, why am I here? I remember encountering Hunters at the beach, and they came twice! Jesus, if it weren't for Gaara... Oh right, where's Gaara?"

Ignoring Naruto's torrent of words, Tsunade held down this restless fellow and checked his body. "For now, there doesn't seem to be any problem. Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

"No! Whatever, why didn't Gaara come back with me? Did the Hunters take him away? I need to go find him." Naruto jumped off the bed barefoot, rushing to the door but collided with Sakura, who was entering.

With a crisp sound, Naruto shattered again.

After receiving a scolding, Naruto now sat obediently on the bed, one hand held by Tsunade for mending, and the other hand pressed by Sakura to prevent him from running around. "You, causing such a big fuss and still worried about others! We were all terrified when Gaara brought you back." Sakura scolded while handing tools to Tsunade. "But last time, Gaara just left Lee at the doorstep and went away. At least this time, he personally brought you to us before leaving. His attitude has improved a lot, hasn't it?"

Not noticing the uncertainty in Sakura's voice, Naruto was busy examining his body. "Did I lose a layer of my body?" Naruto looked at his limbs, shaking them in the air. "I remember being covered in silver poison from head to toe."

Tsunade and Sakura exchanged a glance, and the atmosphere in the room instantly shifted. "About that... Naruto, you haven't lost any shard of your body."

"Huh? Why not? Aren't you said that sections contaminated with poison can't be used?"

"I don't know why, but there is shard of Gaara in your body, making you immune to his poison," Tsunade said, putting away her tools. "I did consider this possibility before, transplanting Gaara's sections to avoid the effects of silver poison. However, since we usually have varying degrees of rejection to others' sections, it failed. But it seems like the little creatures in your body quite like Gaara, with no rejection reactions." Naruto's eyes gradually lit up as she spoke. Tsunade sighed, "Don't get too excited yet. You can't produce silver poison, and you STILL lack fighting abilities."

With a long sigh, Naruto lay back on the bed listlessly, almost pouting. "I thought I could control silver poison too. How disappointing."

As the work concluded, Sakura also released her hold on Naruto. "Do you think this is a good thing? Although your combat strength increases, it will destroy everything around you. Everyone will avoid you, and you'll end up patrolling alone at night. Do you still want that kind of power?"

"Sakura," Tsunade frowned at Sakura, her voice carrying a hint of reproach. Sakura shrugged and closed her mouth.

"It's not just me, there's Gaara. Together, we're a new team!" Naruto swung his legs, looking out the window at the coastline, wondering if Gaara was still patrolling the cape. Sakura shook her head while supporting her forehead. "Sometimes I envy your overly simplistic mindset that allows you to stay so optimistic."

Tsunade burst into laughter, patting Naruto's back, eliciting a yelp of pain from him. "It's good that you could think that way, but before teaming up with Gaara, you better ask for his consent. I won't approve a one-sided request."

"Oh, by the way, Obaachan—" Naruto elongated his tone, propping himself up with a serious expression. "Is there really no other way? Can't Gaara do anything else besides night patrols?"

"Fool, do you think Tsunade-sama hasn't considered that? There's no better solution!" Sakura clenched her fist again, startling Naruto enough to hide under the bed. Tsunade sighed again (how many times had she sighed by now?), "There's no better plan for now. To prevent him from doubting his existence, we can only give him some challenging tasks. Or do you have any ideas?"

"If even Obbachan can't think of anything, then I'm even more hopeless." Naruto's mood visibly plummeted, and Tsunade pulled him out from under the bed, patting his head. "That's not entirely true. After all, you're the only one among us who can get close to him now. If you take the time to get to know him, maybe you'll find a solution."

"But he's kind of an arrogant asshole," Naruto pouted, curling up next to Tsunade. "Though I'm really not useful at all..." His voice trailed off, and Naruto buried his head between his knees.

"If I remember correctly, I assigned you to compile a natural history." Tsunade folded her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Now move your gloomy ass off the bed. I have other work to do. Sakura, take him away."

"You old hag—" Naruto didn't finish his sentence before Sakura dragged him out.

——

"I'm at my wit's end now, Shikamaru, please help me figure something out." Taking advantage of a moment when someone passed by, Naruto suddenly propelled himself from the edge of the water pool onto Shikamaru, tightly grabbing his leg.

"Idiot, it's dangerous!" Shikamaru lowered himself along with Naruto, sitting on the ground together to avoid breaking this fragile guy. "What trouble have you gotten into this time?"

Whenever there's a problem, seeking Shikamaru's help is always a good idea. Who knows how his mind works; he always comes up with things others don't. Unfortunately, he's particularly averse to trouble and spends most of his time pretending to be lazy. The only ones who truly understand Shikamaru's capabilities are his close friends, with Naruto being one of them.

Should Naruto tell Shikamaru about Gaara's situation? The impression of Gaara among their group was already poor because of what happened with Lee before. Adding his own troubles might only make things worse. "Um... I can't say."

"If you don't tell me, how am I supposed to help?" Naruto's face was like an open book; you could tell what he was thinking just by looking at him. Shikamaru frowned, dropping his lazy expression. "Seriously, Naruto, what kind of trouble have you gotten into this time? Is it serious?"

"Oh, it's not what you think." Sensing Shikamaru's tone becoming serious, Naruto quickly waved his hands. "But I just can't understand it!"

Knowing Naruto's personality, Shikamaru knew there was no point in forcing him to talk about something he didn't want to. As long as it wasn't a very serious issue, Shikamaru wouldn't push it. "Your head is filled with too many things you can't figure out." He smirked slightly, leaning back. "If you don't want to tell me, how about seeking help from Itachi? Isn't he the one you always turn to for help?"

"I don't...!" Naruto blushed, lowering his head and murmuring. "It's just that no one else teaches me fighting skills, only Itachi is willing to help me, so I often go to him."

"We've all helped you, teaching you what we know. But you're just not good at these things, and there's no need to force it." Shikamaru peeled Naruto off him, standing up and brushing off the dust from his clothes. "As for Itachi, have you actually learned anything from what he taught you?" Seeing Naruto's head drooping lower, Shikamaru sighed with resignation. "Well, being willing to learn is good; Also, Itachi has no complain to teach you, and maybe one day, it will come in handy."

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Naruto looked up to see Hinata smiling down at him, her voice familiar. "If it's fighting skills you need, I can also teach you." Behind Hinata stood another character resembling her in appearance. Sensing Naruto's gaze, he turned sharply, snorting. Following Naruto's gaze, Hinata's smile widened. "If Naruto-kun isn't satisfied, you can also ask Niisan for help. He's the strongest, you know."

"He's the strongest from the last tournament." Naruto corrected her. Neji crossed his arms, looking down at Naruto sitting on the ground, neither confirming nor denying. "But dealing with you is more than enough." He pulled out the sword usually strapped behind him and presented it to Naruto. "Shall we start with the basics of swordsmanship?"

Turning his head away and closing his eyes, Naruto tried hard not to get too excited about taking Neji's weapon. Finally, he sneakily opened one eye, noticing that Neji was still holding out the sword without moving.

In the next second, Naruto snatched the sword from Neji's hand. Both Hinata and Shikamaru widened their eyes, then simultaneously pounced on Naruto. Jesus, Neji's sword wasn't a joke for Naruto; it was too heavy for him to handle. As expected, Naruto lost his balance and fell to the ground, watching as the sword slid out of its sheath, the blade about to pierce his head—

"Ding!"

The blade was blocked by Neji's hand, swiftly sheathing it back and strapping it to his side. "See? You can't even lift the sword; how will you fight? You don't have this kind of talent."

"Tch—you were actually hoping it would hit me." Naruto stood up, glaring fiercely at Neji, who returned the same gaze. "I won't give up just because of your words! If I can't handle a sword, I'll find another way to fight." Sticking his tongue out at Neji, Naruto turned and walked out. "And I don't need an asshole like you to teach me. You weren't planning on letting me learn anyway. I'm going to find Itachi now."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, giving up reasoning with this straightforward guy. "The Uchiha are on their daily patrol; you better wait a bit before finding them. Don't cause trouble for them if you happen to run into Hunters."

Ignoring Shikamaru's words with his back to them, Naruto waved his hand.

——

Naruto, infuriated by Neji, hurriedly made his way without knowing where he was heading. Oh right, he was looking for Itachi. Naruto glanced around and all he could see was vast grasslands, almost reaching his shins. These grasslands were his best hideout whenever he wanted to laze around and sleep. But there was no sign of Itachi anywhere, not even the distinctive black color of the Uchiha clan.

People of the same clan share similar characteristics, like Hinata and Neji from the Hyuga clan, both being diamond types. The Uchiha were also diamond but of the bortz type. Although both were the most solid tens in the diamond category, the Hyuga's resilience was only at level two; they would shatter if hit in a specific direction during battle. The Uchiha were different; even if their weak points were hit, the damage wouldn't spread to their whole body, making them the most resilient in the diamond category.

Anyway, they were all much stronger than Naruto.

"Usuratonkachi?"

Turning around, Naruto saw the black figure he was looking for and his eyes lit up. "Sasuke!" Since Sasuke and Itachi were a team, seeing Sasuke meant Itachi was nearby too. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, his expression almost unchanged, one hand on his hip with the sword slanted on his belt.

Naruto glanced behind Sasuke but didn't see anyone familiar. "Why isn't Itachi with you today?"

"He's nearby. What about you, running out alone during the day, trying to get captured by Hunters?" Sasuke drew his sword, pointing it directly at Naruto's nose. "I might as well cut you into pieces and hand you over to them."

Nervously chuckling, Naruto tried to push away the cold blade in front of him. "Don't be mad, Sasuke. Without Itachi, I still have you, right?"

Sasuke huffed and put down the sword. "What trouble have you caused this time?"

"I can't say..." The sword was back in Naruto's face. "OKAY, OKAY! I'll say it. Yesterday I went to find Gaara and encountered two waves of Hunters but Gaara managed to fend them off he's really strong and I want to team up with him so he doesn't have to do meaningless patrols at night!" Naruto blurted out in one breath, then struggled to catch his breath.When he looked up, he found Sasuke's face showing a hint of confusion, then quickly replaced by anger as Sasuke grabbed Naruto, inspecting him all over to make sure nothing was shaved off. Finding no missing sections, Sasuke's anger faded slightly. "Are you an idiot? Teaming up with him will only get you killed!"

"I agree with Sasuke." Both Sasuke and Naruto looked up at the source of the voice, seeing a person almost identical to Sasuke standing there, just with longer hair tied loosely with a hairband.

"Itachi!" Breaking free from Sasuke's grip, Naruto grinned widely and jumped onto Itachi. Itachi was prepared and caught him easily, with a slight smile on his lips. "I heard what you and Sasuke were talking about. You've caused quite a stir and probably got scolded by Tsunade-sama."

"Yeah—also got smashed by Sakura-chan. Got scolded by both of them!" Adjusting Itachi's long-sleeved glove, Naruto started complaining.

"Sakura couldn't control herself and smashed you again?" Sasuke interjected without expression, but Naruto could sense that he might not be happy about it. He quickly explained, "I was in a hurry and bumped into her as she came in. When 3.5 and 7.5 collide, it's obvious which one would shatter." Naruto shrugged and made a funny face. Being shattered didn't feel good, but he was used to it since he shattered often.

"Idiot." Sasuke snorted lightly, his tone softening a bit. Seeing Naruto about to pounce and start a fight again (because they often clashed over small things, and others couldn't understand how Sasuke managed to wrestle with Naruto without shattering him), Itachi smiled helplessly, one hand around Naruto's waist, effortlessly lifting him up and creating distance from Sasuke. "If Tsunade-sama has vetoed it, you should find other teammates. Maybe I can lend Sasuke to you?"

"I'm not teaming up with him (Usuratonkachi)!" Naruto and Sasuke shouted in unison at Itachi, their gazes fierce. Itachi pursed his lips, a clear smile in his eyes.

"Moreover, Obaachan didn't outright reject it. She just said it won't work if Gaara doesn't agree, something about teaming up being mutual. But as long as I get Gaara's approval, it should be fine," Naruto explained, constrained by Itachi's hold, his legs swinging in the air, unable to kick Sasuke in the face.

Both Uchiha widened their eyes. "Tsunade-sama didn't directly refuse?" Itachi frowned, turning Naruto around to stare directly into his eyes. "She couldn't have overlooked what teaming up with Gaara means. What happened yesterday? Explain everything from beginning to end."

Although it was just Itachi's gaze, with his weapon still tied behind him, the overwhelming pressure made Naruto almost tremble. Sensing Naruto's fear, Sasuke cleared his throat, and the intense atmosphere around Itachi eased slightly.

"Well... you know, because of Gaara's fighting style, I inevitably got affected, got a bit of silver poison..." Naruto trailed off, his voice getting quieter as he felt the intense stares on him. "A bit?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, while Itachi maintained a neutral expression. "Okay, fine, it's basically all over my body." Fantastic, now there were two overwhelming murderous intents coming from them. Naruto helplessly waved his hand. "But, but! I'm fine now, nothing was scraped off in the end."

"Has Tsunade-sama found a cure then?" Itachi scrutinized Naruto from head to toe, skepticism evident on his face. "No, impossible. If Gaara isn't restricted by the poison, all of us should be able to contact him now. Are you the only one immune to it...?" He squinted, a hint of red flashing in his eyes. "I have a guess, but I'd rather hear it from you."

"Well, because of some coincidences, I ended up with section of Gaara on me, so..." Naruto started explaining.

"YOU FUCKING WHAT?!" Sasuke's sudden increase in volume startled Naruto, who forced a smile and rubbed the back of his head. "No need to worry, Tsunade-Obaachan said I don't have any rejection reactions, and I'm immune to the silver poison now. It's not harmful, right?"

"For now." Itachi remained expressionless throughout, looking at Naruto disapprovingly, before finally sighing heavily. "Naruto, come here."

Everyone knew not to provoke Itachi when he was in a bad mood. Naruto obediently walked over to Itachi, who suddenly drew his sword and cut off a shard of himself. "Niisan!" Sasuke instinctively wanted to stop him, but Itachi shook his head.

Naruto's eyes widened. Almost no one could harm Itachi, plus his own incredibly strong solidness and resilience meant he wouldn't shatter even if attacked, making it impossible to get his sections.

Itachi held the shard between his fingers, observing the light reflecting off it in the sun. "If you don't have a rejection reaction to Gaara's sections, maybe you won't to others either."

Following Itachi's gaze, Naruto also examined the black crystal carefully. "I don't know? I've never tried with others—WOW!" His jaw was suddenly held, and Naruto was shocked to see Itachi's eyes turn completely red, a slight smile appearing on his lips. "Well, I'm willing to try now."

Out of survival instinct, Naruto frantically looked around for anything that could help him escape. The only hope was Sasuke standing next to Itachi, but now Sasuke, like his brother, had activated his Sharingan and was staring at Naruto intensely.

Realizing he had no way to escape, Naruto finally felt despair.

"NOOOOO——!!"