The Third Hatake: A Naruto Fanfiction

Chapter 36: Madness

Kioku's POV

Three days. It's been three days since I've been restrained and had my right eye ripped out of my skull like it was a god damn piece of candy that Fugaku Uchiha wanted. The pain in my eye has dulled down, but it still hurt. A lot. 

Imagine having an iron rod that was heated up to the point where it looks like it's about to melt, you have that right? Now imagine that it is slowly pushed forcefully into your eye. That's what it felt like when he took out my eye. 

But now, now my body was littered with cuts and scrapes so much that it was almost humorous. I was probably drenched in my own blood, sweat, and tears at the moment, but I couldn't see very clearly, my left eyes vision was getting blurrier by the second, each passing moment of pain made me see less and less. 

Fugaku Uchiha, what a crazy bastard. Every time I screamed, his laughter drowned out my pain, filling my ears. I should be grateful though. He could be taking off my limbs or pulling out my hair from my scalp and causing permanent damage that would matter, but he's only been sticking to cutting into my flesh like a butcher does a pig. 

I was going to kill him. When I got free, I was going to kill him. That bastard would pay for what he did to me. Then, I'd tell gramps and everybody else about his so-called plan to take over the shinobi nations. 

I heard my cell door open, along with the sound of soft footsteps hitting the ground. This was new. Whenever Fugaku would come in, his footsteps were usually loud and rough on the floor, but not this. Perhaps someone to heal my wounds just enough so that I won't die again? 

"He's really worked a number on you, hasn't he?" The voice was obviously one of a female, that much I could tell. A damp rag ran across my body, cleaning the blood off of me. "You may not remember me much, but I will always remember you, Naruto-kun." 

"People keep calling me by that name here, and I don't know why. I'm Kioku of Iwa, next candidate for the Fourth Tsuchikage position. I am not Naruto Hatake as you guys speak of. Please, just let me be me." The damp rag stopped for a second but continued after that second passed.  

"I thought it was just a coincidence, someone looking just like Naruto-kun walking into the village. I told Kurenai-sensei that you just looked alike with Naruto. But, that's not entirely true. You see, Fugaku would have killed you if you weren't somebody of importance. This Hell he's putting you through only furthers my suspicions. You are Naruto, you just don't know it." I almost groaned. 

"I don't understand what everyone's obsession with Naruto Hatake is. Who was he?" The girl let out a long sigh. 

"I guess he really is dead. His soul anyways. You've taken his place instead, Kioku of Iwa. Even if you got your memories back, you wouldn't be the same." A delicate finger stroke my cheek and I flinched away from the touch. 

"Naruto Hatake was one of the smartest people I ever knew. He was a year or two younger than me, I've forgotten my age with the travels of my old sensei. He was nice, kind, and definitely protective if you were his friend. If you were his enemy however, he'd show you no mercy. He single handily beat the One Tails in a battle. He also wore a mask that covered half of his face. I don't know why though, perhaps a tradition? Anyways, something happened to him and he suddenly got all dark. Like, really dark. He distanced himself from everyone, and then he supposedly died." 

"He was hailed a hero. Fugaku lied that he died protecting the village so that he could maintain the village's faith and take control easier." She wiped away the blood off my face, and my vision cleared up a bit, but all I saw was a silhouette blur of her. "But he apparently only lost his memory and was found by the Stone village. Thus, Kioku was born. Tell me, do you really remember nothing of the first fourteen years of your life?" I wanted to protest, I wanted to shout that she was wrong and that I was me and no one else. 

But I couldn't. She was right. I was once formerly known as Naruto Hatake. But, he's dead now. He can't exist anymore, right? 

"Anyways, I came down here to make sure I was right. Turns out I was." I felt the patter of footsteps go further away from me, but they stopped. "By the way, you're home in Stone, I hope you weren't attached to it too much. We've allied ourselves with Mist and at this very moment, we are marching towards Iwa. We're planning on a full extermination of the nation. That includes the women and children, even the cripples and elderly. They're all going to die." 

I felt my one eye widen at those words. No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! Kurotsuchi, gramps, everybody would die! 

Everybody. Would. Die. 

And everybody included Ellie. 

"If you dare even think of harming a hair on her head," I shouted, the tattoo on my neck suddenly began burning as a purple chakra emitted from me, overpowering the chakra suppressors in the cell. "I will slaughter every single last person in this godforsaken village! I'll kill you and everybody else, past be damned!" I felt the chains on my ankles and wrist break off the wall, freeing me. 

"Now that sounds like something Naruto would say." I heard a small whisper come from across the room. I dashed forward in a blink of an eye, pinning her to the wall even though I could only see a blur. 

"But I'm not Naruto, I'm Kioku. And if something happens to my daughter," I tightened my grip on her neck. "Then prepare to live in Hell." 

"I've been living in hell for the past 3 and a half years Kioku of Iwa, a couple more won't hurt." She commented calmly. I dropped her and walked out of the cell, the chains of the handcuffs dangling loosely around my wrist. 

I needed to warn my village. I somehow navigated my way out of the building even though I'm practically blind. 

Everything else was a blur. I got out of the village as fast as I could without alerting any guards, and I did so successfully. 

It was weird. You'd think that I would've been caught. 

No one's POV

Haku stood on a tree branch as she watched Kioku escape the village, several needles in her hand as bodies littered the ground around her. Yep, she helped him escape. She disabled the chakra suppressors in his cell so that the Curse Mark on his neck would activate after he was enraged at the fact that his people would die. 

She also disabled the people who tried to stop him, which were a lot of people. But she wasn't a hunter nin for her looks. She sighed as she leaned back on the trunk of the tree. 

She was going to have to mourn the loss of Naruto all over again. 

A day later 

"They're what?!" Onoki shouted, his face twisted with rage as Kioku explained what had happened and what was planning on happening. 

"Yes," Kioku breathed out, having sprinted all the way to Iwa without stopping. "We need to prepare for war gramps." Onoki scowled but nodded nonetheless. 

"Kioku, you need to be healed. You're covered in your own blood. Go rest while I prepare our forces and if you are combat ready, meet me at the front gates tomorrow morning." Kioku nodded. 

But in the middle of the night, while everyone was asleep and only a few guards were on duty, an explosion rippled through the air. 

War had begun. 

And done. Was it good? Bad? Tell meeeeeee! 

I just did this in one sitting and my mind hurts lol. So if the writing lost quality near the end that's why. 

But yeah, next chappie will be intense. I've been building up to this for awhile and I can't wait. 

So, yeah. 

Til next time my lil demons!