Bless the Broken Road

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. First fic, so please R&R!

'Naruto speaking to Kyuubi or thoughts'

Flashbacks

Kyuubi speaking to Naruto

Normal speaking

Kyuubi/Kyuubi Naruto speaking out loud

Konoha Forest

The pink-haired kunoichi fled down the path, her vision going blurry and tears beginning to flow down her cheeks.

"Whup!"

She was sent sprawling as an upraised root caught her foot. She tried to stand, only to let out an involuntary cry as pain shot up her ankle.

'Damn.'

She hobbled into the brush and saw a hollowed-out tree, which she crawled into and curled up into a fetal position. Her last few bits of self-control gave way and the dam burst.

'Stupid Naruto,' Sakura thought, sobbing. 'Why does he have to be so stubborn?'

FLASHBACK

Their friends (Rookie 9) sighed at the two shinobi going at it again. Passers-by gave the screaming pair a wide berth.

"What a drag," Shikamaru grumbled. "The way those two go at it you'd think they were married."

Ino clocked him.

"I think it's sweet."

The guys and Hinata gave her a look

"What?" she asked confused.

No one answered her.

"Hey, don't ignore me like that! Answer me!" Ino began throwing a fit.

Shikamaru sighed.

"I guess it's time to take her home before she causes more of a scene. Chouji, help me out, huh?"

"Sure thing, Shikamaru!"

"Wha…? Hey! Leggo!" Ino screeched as her teammates each grabbed one arm and began dragging her away. The others trailed away also, sensing trouble in the air.

The argument between Naruto and Sakura was only growing uglier

"Why you… How dare you say that?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"Because it's true and you know it."

She went to slap him but to her surprise, he caught both her hands in one of his as if her super-strength didn't exist.

"This discussion is over."

Sakura's anger got the better of her and she said something she instantly regretted.

"Sometimes I wonder if the villagers aren't right about you."

Naruto's eyes flashed crimson with rage. Sakura gave a sharp, soft intake of breath as she realized what she'd said.

"Naruto…I…I didn't…"

He backhanded her across the face savagely.

"Don't ever say that again, do you hear me?" he roared, grabbing her shirt and slamming her into a wall. "NEVER call me a demon, understand?" he snarled, his face inches from hers.

Sakura's eyes grew wide in fear and she began to struggle harder. Kyuubi was close to the surface. She could feel it's…his…rage radiating off of Naruto like heat from a blast furnace. While it had sworn the village or Naruto's 'precious people' no harm, she still was leery about pushing the two into rage.

He threw her to the ground abruptly and stepped back, seemingly dazed.

"Sakura-chan…what did I…did I just…?"

She scrambled back as he tried to reach for her to help her to her feet.

"Don't touch me!" she screeched, scrambling to her feet and running away. Naruto stared after her sadly and slammed his head into the wall.

'Idiot,' he cursed himself. He glared at Hanabi, who hadstopped in her errand and was standing nearby, wide-eyed.

"What?" he snapped irritably. Hanabi shook her head quickly before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"Great. Now I'm going to get it from both Hinata and Neji. This day just keeps getting better," he grumbled to himself as he punched the wall…which collapsed. Tenten, her father, and the customers of their weapons store stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Perfect," Naruto sighed. "JUST what I need… Uh… Mr.Higurashi? I can pay for the wall, really…"

END FLASHBACK

Naruto sat atop the Hokage monument, staring off into space.

"What do you want?" he asked in an irritated tone.

"Your senses are getting sharper," Kakashi noticed.

"Yeah, they are. Now is there a reason you're here, or are you just trying to make me mad again?"

The Copy Ninja sighed.

"Aren't you going after her, Naruto?"

"No. Not yet."

"And why not?"

"We both need a chance to cool down. I'll go find her when I'm good and ready. Besides, she's in the forest. It's not like there's anything out there to hurt her."

Sakura had cried herself to sleep. She was awakened by the sound of a twig snapping. She turned her head to see a pair of black boots outside the small tree-cave.

"Olli-olli-oxen-free," a strange ninja sneered, bending down to leer at her. Sakura screamed as the man's arm reached in to grab her. She tried to pull away but found herself sluggish.

She was yanked out roughly and tossed to another man. Sakura struggled weakly, noticing what appeared to be a small white medical patch stuck to her upper bicep where the man had grabbed her.

"It's useless, miss," the man holding her sneered. "That patch serves to siphon off your chakra and releases a mild sedative into your blood. You aren't going anywhere."

The first man reached up and yanked her hitai-ate off her head.

"You don't need this anymore, little lady. The boss has taken a big interest in you."

They dragged her away, laughing. The hitai-ate fell to the ground with a thunk.

Naruto leapt to his feet when the scream echoed through the city.

"That was Sakura!" he shouted. Kakashi blinked.

"How can you be sure?"

"I just am. Don't question things you can't begin to comprehend."

"Touchy."

Naruto ignored the older jounin and vanished in a cloud of smoke. Kakashi scratched his head and sighed.

Naruto leapt thru the treetops as if following a beacon. He abruptly dropped to the ground by a hollow tree, knelt, and picked something up.

Sakura's hitai-ate. I'm on the right trail.

Boy.

'What do you want, furball?'

Let me take care of this.

'Why?'

She is precious to you, yes?

'Mmmm-hmmm…'

Then she is precious to me as well, Kit.

'I'll think about it.'

Naruto glanced at a sigil carved into the tree, one that was somewhere on every tree in a fifty-mile radius around Konoha. He knows this, because he carved them himself. (Yep, it's what you think it is, true believers!)

(I'm starting to sound like Stan Lee…)

"Hiraishin no Jutsu!" Naruto cried. (Told ya!)

He touched the sigil and vanished.

Sakura had quit struggling almost immediately, realizing how pointless it was with the sedative patch on her. Instead, she took the time to study her kidnappers. They were fairly average in height, and well-built. Their faces were completely hidden by masks, but she could see the Sound village symbol on their hitai-ate and the back of their jackets. Two more joined them.

"Time for some fun."

"Whoa, do you think that's smart?"

"What does the boss care? He only said to bring her to him. He didn't say anything about her being…complete."

Sakura was dumped unceremoniously on the ground between the four men.

"What are you…going to do to me?" she asked, scared but trying not to show it.

"Don't worry. Just sit back and enjoy it, sweetie."

She saw unbridled lust in four pairs of eyes.

'I don't think I like where this is going…' she told herself.

One grabbed her breasts and squeezed painfully as he pressed his lips to hers roughly.

"No, please," Sakura begged. "Don't do this."

"I don't think you're in a position to make demands."

One forced her legs to spread and began stroking the inside of her thighs, moving slowly towards the bottom of her skirt. Sakura let out an involuntary cry, a mix between whimper and sob, closed her eyes, and turned her head. Her conscious mind shut down in order to spare her the experience she was sure would follow.

"You…pieces of shit…!" A familiar voice snarled. "DON'T TOUCH HER!"

A blur slammed into the four would-be molesters, sending them flying back. Sakura unconsciously curled up into the fetal position.

"Who the hell…?" one kidnapper spat.

"It's just a punk kid!" another shouted.

"Scram, junior. Find your own piece of tail."

"Of all…the things you could have said…" the young, blonde-haired shinobi with a cape almost identical to the Yondaime's, only navy-blue and orange in color, spat thru clenched teeth, "THAT WAS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE DROP-DEAD LAST THING YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID!"

The ninjas stepped back out of shock as the boy's voice changed, becoming deeper and almost malevolent, and a massive surge of murderous intent and a positively colossal shockwave of chakra blasted from the cloaked shinobi.

"His hitai-ate…! He's from the Leaf!"

"How can he have this much power? Look at him!"

Kyuubi Naruto's head was inclined at an angle that left his eyes in shadow. He opened them and raised his head enough to let them see his eyes while still keeping them in shadow.

The four kidnappers yelped as his eyes blazed a demonic, blood-red color. Every so often, black sparks of energy would swirl across his eyes. His gaze paralyzed them, and he tilted his head back in a manner reminiscent of Super-Majin Buu, glaring at them in disdain.

"Aw, are the big, bad kidnappers scared of the 'punk kid'? You're not going to wet yourselves, are you?" he mocked.

He blurred and vanished, re-appearing in front of the leader.Claws extended from his fingers.

The other three ninja stared in mute terror as Kyuubi Naruto disemboweled their boss with one swipe, then kicked him into a tree. He hit head-first, there was a sickening SNAP, and he sank to the ground, his head at an impossible angle.

"This kid…he can't be human," one ninja whispered to his companions in horror.

"We have to run! If we don't, we'll die!"

Kyuubi Naruto chuckled, then burst out laughing.

"You're going to die anyway," he assured them.

They broke and ran.

Naruto turned to Sakura and knelt by her, touching her arm hesitantly.

"Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan!"

"Don't hurt me, please don't hurt me, please please please…" Sakura was murmuring over and over.

"Sakura-chan, it's me. Sakura, look at me. Look at me."

Sakura turned her head to him woodenly. She suddenly seemed to recognize him.

"N…Naruto-kun?"

He smiled.

"Shhh, Sakura-chan, it's all right. It'll be alright."

Sakura threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and holding on to him like a life preserver, bawling into his broad chest. Naruto's left hand began rubbing her back and his right began stroking her hair as he made soothing noises in her ear.

"Hn. I see those idiots couldn't do the job. I expected as much."

Sakura stiffened as Naruto stood and turned.

"You're finally showing yourself, teme? I sensed you the second you appeared."

Sasuke dropped out of a tree, his Mangekyou Sharingan active.

"Why'd you interfere, Naruto?" he sighed. "I was only going to give her what she'd always dreamed of-spending her life together with me. My intelligence reports said you were gone on a solo journey. If you'd just stayed away, we could've avoided this confrontation."

Sakura shrank back, clutching Naruto's arm and trying to hide behind him.

"I think it's safe to say her dreams have changed, you bastard."

Sasuke's eyes turned hard.

"I will use her to help revive my clan, dobe. Give her to me."

"Naruto, please, no…" Sakura whispered in horror.

Naruto was silent.

"No," he said at length. "She isn't your…property, and she never was."

Sasuke scowled.

"So be it."

"Sakura," Naruto whispered, "get back. Find a place to hide."

"But…"

"GO!" Naruto shouted. It wasn't optional, judging by his tone. Sakura went.

Sasuke drew his sword.

"I won't let you take her from me!" he snarled.

"Your anger, hatred, and lust for power have already done that," Naruto replied.

"You turned her against me!"

"You have done that yourself," Naruto assured him. "I had hoped to convince you to see the truth and make you come back. I see I was wrong. Whether you survive this fight or not, Sasuke Uchiha died a long time ago."

Naruto reached into his cape and drew a sword, seemingly from nowhere. The hilt and grip were ebony black, the handguard shaped like a fox's head, the mouth open so that it looked like the blade was coming from the kitsune's mouth. The blade itself was as red as Kyuubi's chakra with white-and-black flames engraved on it. The bottom of the hilt had an orange-and-white tassel in the shape of a fox's tail. He then reached into a pocket and pulled out mirrored wraparound goggle-like sunglasses, putting them on.

"I will do what I must…brother," Naruto finished sadly, twirling the sword through a flourish before settling into a ready stance.

"You will try, old friend. You will try."

Naruto gave a feral, eager grin, one hand behind his back.

"Let's dance. Jintoushin!"

The sword flared briefly, as if in response.

They clashed, swords throwing up sparks as the metal collided.

"I don't know where you got that sword," Sasuke grunted as he blocked another strike from Naruto, "But I have a little more experience in this arena than you."

"You think so, boy?"

Sasuke leapt back, surprised, as Kyuubi spoke through Naruto.

"I have over fifty millennia of experience in all forms of human hand-to-hand combat, armed and unarmed, as well as a complete mastery of several styles unique to myself, the other Biju, and/or demons in general. What do you have, eight or so piddling years? The boy can draw upon my knowledge at will, be it Taijutsu, weapons combat, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu…face it. You're hopelessly outmatched."

"I refuse to accept that!" Sasuke shouted. "I managed to block him from your power last time we fought. I can do so again!"

His Mangekyou swirled.

Naruto grinned and sheathed his sword.

'Now, Kyuubi?'

Now.

Sasuke gasped.

"My Sharingan isn't working! How…? Sunglasses can't block it!"

"You're not the only one with a bloodline…"

Naruto removed the sunglasses and his eyes began changing color; however, they didn't turn the red they usually did when using Kyuubi's power, but a deep, emerald-jade-green. Black lines traced around the pupils, forming a pentacle (five-pointed star), then an inverted pentacle (upside-down five-pointed star) so that each eye had a ten-pointed star surrounding the pupil, touching the edge of the iris.

"Mangekyou Sharingan, meet a little 'gift' Kyuubi gave me on our journey. I call it…the Gensougan."

"What does it do?"

"Essentially? The exact same things as the Mangekyou and Byakugan, minus the Jutsu mimicry and seeing the chakra circulatory system. In this stage, anyway. Like the Sharingan, it has two stages. Oh, and I can make Genjutsu real. Whatever happens in the illusion happens in real life."

"So you can see through solid objects, have a nearly 360-degree field of vision, can see the fastest or tiniest movements, see nearly 100 yards, see through illusions or Jutsu, hypnotize, see an opponent's next move before they make it, et cetera?" Sasuke asked, impressed. "So this 'gift' was Kyuubi awakening your Kekkei-Genkai?"

Naruto shook his head, then nodded.

"Yes, and yet not quite. I actually have two bloodlines. This is one, from my dad-Yondaime Arashi Minato Namikaze. I've had my primary bloodline all my life."

"What do you mean?"

"The abnormally large chakra supply, the inhuman stamina and resilience, the healing…those weren't from Kyuubi, though he does contribute a bit of his own. No, those are part of the bloodline trait of the Uzumaki clan, last survivors of the Land of Whirlpools. Until the bloodline fully awoke, those were all I could do. But now…"

Sasuke charged his sword with lightning chakra and tried to strike Naruto.

"I don't need a lecture from you!" he yelled.

Naruto blocked the blade with his bare hand, the chakra vanishing.

"…will you let me finish? The full Uzumaki Kekkei-Genkai gives me full mastery over all forms of chakra. Regular, elemental, light/holy, dark/demonic…I can absorb or neutralize it with a thought."

"So if your Gensougan counters my Mangekyou Sharingan, why the sunglasses?"

Naruto shrugged as he put them back on.

"They look cool and protect my eyes. See, the vision-based Jutsu or bloodlines all have one glaring weakness…"

Naruto secretly pulled two canisters out of his back pocket and crushed them in his hands. He then swung his hand at Sasuke in a glaringly obvious haymaker. Sasuke snickered and dodged by leaning back.

He then learned what a mistake that was.

When Naruto swung, he relaxed his hand, letting the contents of the capsules out into the air in a crimson cloud. By dodging, Sasuke made sure his eyes were hit by the cloud.

He dropped to the ground, clutching his eyes in pain.

"Aaaargh! My eyes!" he screamed in agony. "You bastard! What the hell did you do to my eyes?"

"…that weakness I mentioned? If you're blinded, the Byakugan or Sharingan is useless," Naruto said smugly. "I learned about something the ancient ninja used called 'metsubishi'-blinding powders. They used to mix cayenne pepper and other spices with ashes, grit, those fine, nearly invisible cactus needles, metal shavings…basically anything capable of temporarily or permanently removing an opponent's sight. Their use was replaced by smoke bombs, because those are typically non-lethal and more effective…but Neji and Hinata both demonstrated that the Byakugan, at least, can see through the smoke. I honestly don't know why the use of these things stopped. They're extremely useful. I, personally, went for broke, using spices, cactus hairs, metal powder, and finely ground glass."

"Where did you learn that?" Sasuke demanded, still swiping futilely at his eyes.

"What, you never read the 'Encyclopedia Ninja, Leaf Version'?" Naruto asked sarcastically. "Every village has their own version. It details everything about Ninja history, the basic techniques of that village, basic clan, bloodline, and Jutsu information…next to Ero-Sennin's 'Icha Icha Paradise' it's the number-one read book in the world. I memorized that thing cover-to-cover on my jaunt."

Naruto laughed and easily dodged the blind Sasuke's angry attempts to attack him. He then punched Sasuke in the gut, followed by an uppercut to the face and a side kick that sent Sasuke crashing into a tree.

"What's the matter, Sasuke? I thought you were more powerful than me?" Naruto mocked. "Face facts, Uchiha. I've learned from our previous tangos. Going toe-to-toe with you accomplishes nothing besides completely destroying the surrounding terrain. I'm fighting smart. Using your own strengths against you."

Sasuke roared in anger and readied his sword again, advancing to Curse Seal Level 2. Naruto calmly drew his own blade again, which seemed to glow. They readied for another charge.

"DIE, dobe!" Sasuke screamed in rage.

Naruto faced him and swung his sword Jintoushin through a slow circle, the blade leaving after-images.

"Jintoushin! Blaze!" he cried. "Judge if this once-human monster is worthy of life! Burn with your righteous fury!"

The flames on the blade of the sword seemed to ripple like a real flame before the blade was transformed into a thick, foot-wide, hilt-less curved sword reminiscent of Tessaiga, minus the fur.

The two vanished, there was the sound of two swords cutting something, and they re-appeared on opposite ends of the clearing, backs to each other, swords extended to one side.

A small cut opened on Naruto's sleeve.

Sasuke clutched his chest and fell face-first to the ground as a massive wound opened across the diagonal of his chest, blood flying everywhere.

Jintoushin transformed back and Naruto calmly sheathed his sword and gestured for Sakura to come out of hiding.

She hobbled out of the forest, eyes wide.

"Is he…?"

"Yes."

"Was that necessary?""You want him alive after what he tried to do? What his cronies would have done to you?"

"No…but are you sure he couldn't have come back and stood trial?"

"Yes," Naruto replied simply. He looked at her with concern. "Are you alright?"

"Mmmm-hmmm," she nodded. "I don't think I can walk on this ankle, though."

"You can't heal it?" Naruto asked.

"No. First, this patch siphons my chakra. Second, I'm kinda…running on empty."

"That explains the holes in the training grounds. Working out anger, I take it. How far did you go?"

"About natural-gas pocket lever."

"That explains the fire in the training grounds."

Sakura chuckled sheepishly. She glanced away from Naruto.

"Naruto…I'm sorry. I let my anger get the better of me and said some things I didn't mean."

"I apologize too. I over-reacted. Though I guess I got off easy with just those words…"

"What do you mean?"

Reddish-orange chakra flared around him as Kyuubi decided to reply for him.

"I knew humans were crazy, and I've seen your kind do some pretty dumb things…but training a pink-haired psycho with a split personality and anger-management problems in how to kill really takes the #1 prize."

Sakura's brow twitched and she tried to punch the Jinchuuriki, who caught her fist and pulled her close to him, planting a kiss on her lips and forehead as he held her.

"I'll forgive that last comment from the fox," she said dreamily.

Naruto smirked and swept her up bridal-style.

"Come on. Let's go home."

She leaned her head against him and sighed contentedly as he began the trudge home, that classic song playing thru her mind…

She sang to herself quietly, but Naruto heard her and smiled slightly.

I set out on a narrow way, many years ago.

Thinkin' I could find true love

Along that broken road.

Well, I got lost a time or two,

Wiped my brow and kept pushin' thru.

I couldn't see how every sign,

Pointed straight to you.

And every long, long stream

Led me to where you are;

Others who broke my heart,

They were just northern stars

Pointing me on my way

Into your loving arms;

This much I know is true:

That God blessed the broken road

That led me straight to you…

As she sang, Naruto began singing with her, his voice a rich tenor to match her alto. She smiled up at him and placed her arms around his neck, snuggling against him with a content sigh. The dreams of the avenger had faded away over time to be replaced by those of the defender, the protector, the dark hair replace by blonde. She had found the arms she belonged in.

I think about the time I lost,

Just passin' thru.

I'd like to take that time I lost,

And give it back to you.

But you just smiled and took my hand.

You've been there, you understand.

It's all part of a grander plan

That is coming true…

And every long, long stream

Led me to where you are,

Others who broke my heart,

They were like northern stars

Pointing me on my way

Into your loving arms,

This much, I know is true…

That God blessed the broken road

That led me straight…

To you…

Later (three weeks later, in fact), as she lay with her arms around Naruto, her body pressed against his side, her head on his chest, his arm under her and wrapped around her shoulders, she remembered the boy her beloved used to be and the man he had become. It would be a while before the mental and emotional scars of her abduction, attempted rape, and Sasuke's plans for her faded enough for her and Naruto to take the next step, but Naruto was willing to wait and help her through it. She didn't want to be alone, so Naruto put her up at his place. They were currently lying on his bed, fully clothed; despite the perverted tendencies he'd picked up from his senseis, he had been the perfect gentleman. He cracked one eye, like Kyuubi's only with a black spiral in the iris-the Gensougan's second stage-and smiled.

"Whatcha thinkin' about, Sakura-chan?"

"I love you," she whispered, stroking his cheek.

"I love you too," he whispered back. "Always have, always will. I can never replace your first love, but…"

"It's OK. It wasn't love; it was infatuation. Sasuke…was a pipe dream, a fantasy. You are the one I love. My feelings grew after the Chuunin exams. I tried to deny them but when Sasuke left and you were hurt…it felt like a part of me was hurt with you. Whenever you left, part of me felt gone also."

She kissed his cheek.

"You were always there for me. My friend, my defender…my soulmate. But don't forget: if you get me, you have to get Hinata along with it. Break her heart and I'll kill you, revive you so Neji can kill you, repeat so Kiba, Kurenai and Shino can kill you, then Tenten, then Hanabi, then…"

"Alright, alright. I get the point," he chuckled.

He hugged her to him briefly before they both dropped off to sleep.

FINI

AN: If you want to know where Naruto was…he left on a 5-year training journey at the behest of Kyuubi. I took the idea for the Gensougan from another fic I'd read, same as the metsubishi and sword. I also only gave brief descriptions of how Naruto looks now, so in detail, here we go!

Naruto: Taller, age roughly 20-ish, same basic eye color, face more angular, hair longer and more spiky, his hitai-ate is black, his shirt is long-sleeved and black also, his pants off-white with bandages where his kunai holster rests, a green tasseled cord tied around one arm (it serves a purpose in battle other than decoration; if you want to know, I might write sequels with the characters), Tsunade's necklace, black shinobi sandals. The cape has the kanji for "Deity of Fire" and "Lord of Foxes" on the back. Oh, and the sunglasses, which are also more than just decorative eye protection. The cape has a portal to a storage dimension where Naruto keeps his sword and other weaponry along with assorted stuff (technique scrolls, artifacts, tools, food…), some belonging to the Yondaime, some to the Uzumakis, and some to Kyuubi's human form.

Sakura: Hair is long (shoulder blades), looks more like Tsunade than "classic Sakura" in facial features, pink midriff top w/ Haruno clan symbol on the back over the same mesh thingy Anko wears, a pink skirt going to mid-thigh with a long beige loincloth-like thing going down to her ankles, black boots instead of sandals, and a brown leather fingerless gauntlet with the ANBU steel hand-protector plate on the back, worn on her left arm starting just below the elbow.

In the fic we barely got to see a fraction of what Naruto can do; this was on purpose, as Kyuubi is damn near omnipotent and he and Naruto are almost completely fused, making Naruto easily THE MOST POWERFUL SHINOBI EVER. A literal "god of fire"! Sakura is stronger also, but the fic rode on her playing the victim this time, and she's nowhere near Naruto in terms of power, who can level mountain ranges with a snap of his fingers (Kyuubi's full power + his bloodline) (It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Super Naruto!). He also has more than just the Gensougan for Dojutsu…

On a down note…ugh. I started out intending a simple fic of "Naruto saving Sakura from some rapists after she runs away because he loses it during an argument" and ended up with a "Naruto vs. Sasuke for the fate of Sakura" mini-epic (maybe). Please R&R and tell me what you think, as this is my first fic EVER to get published! One thing I will never do (okay, several): Lemon, Shounen Ai, Shojou Ai, Yuri, Yaoi, etc. This is for twofold reasons: A: I suck at those; B: I disapprove intensely of same-sex romantic relationships.

Oh, I almost forgot to say what the trick with Naruto's eyes was (black specks swirling across them): the Evil Eye. This is a technique where one's chakra/chi is converted into negative or demonic energy (or demonic energy already in the body is used instead) and focused in the eyes, creating the dark flashes and swirls. The tech is mainly to make an opponent NOT want to fight or at least make them so fearful they think twice about it.