9: The Day Naruto Died (Part 2)

                                    

                                          
(FLASHBACK 2 of 3)
                          
Worry and fear had always been pretty foreign to him even in the most upsetting situations, but this time he guessed it was different; these very emotions were now sitting disconcertingly in his gut and he did not even know why. He could feel Sarada's chakra perfectly – depleted, yes, but far from harm and definitely recovering more quickly than he was expecting. Even Sakura said he had nothing to worry about, and if there was anyone who had consistently and unfailingly put Sarada's safety in top priority, it was his wife. When it came to their daughter, he trusted Sakura way better than he ever trusted himself.
                          
His mind drifted back to the task he left his best friend with. When he fled they still did not have a lead. Sasuke knew the entire village trusted Naruto with their lives, but whom did they trust to watch Naruto's back for him?
                          
Hinata and Shikamaru? Yes, but this time they weren't with him. Sakura? After the Otsutsuki's attack against Konoha two years earlier, Naruto made her swear to look after the people, and only the people – never after him. Sasuke? Maybe, but he had just asked him to leave.
                          
Sasuke picked up his pace as he headed toward the hospital.
                          
One thing he learned – from all the tragedies he had the misfortune of facing – was that every difficult situation, when confronted singlehandedly with the absence of anyone to depend on, almost always did not end well, no matter how unparalleled someone was.
                          
He never stopped wondering how things would have turned out if Itachi had someone else to support him on that ill-fated night. He might have not really known Jiraiya well, but he later learned of the fall of the Toad Sage when he decided to face the Six Paths of Pain on his own. When Naruto became Hokage, Sasuke also could not help but ponder on the fates of the Third and the Fourth Hokages – how they took all the responsibility to themselves, all the while knowing it would very well end in their deaths.
                          
When he reflected upon Naruto's request to help him in his dream of changing the world for the better, Sasuke pledged to himself – although he bestowed highest honor to self-sacrifice, if he could forestall it, he would.
                          
He believed that it was only for this very reason that destiny allowed him to live after everything that he had done – that when he decided to grant Naruto's request of lending him support, he'd found his only remaining purpose.
                          
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As soon as Sasuke had left, the beast residing deep inside Naruto's subconscious bellowed, making the Hokage shudder for the first time in years.
                          
The presence of the beast, which had long been undisturbed, was growing alarmingly warm. The last time the nine-tails' chakra boiled in anger rather than strength, was when he and Naruto fought.
                          
"What is it, Kurama?"
                          
The beast grunted, its eyes shut and its head resting lazily on the floor.
                          
"Suddenly, as you were left on your own, the mixed chakra I was telling you about became excited, moving in a manner that seems to be taunting me. I hate being taunted; it's beyond insulting."
                          
"Don't worry. We'll get to the heart of it. Can you locate it?"
                          
"Yes. It has grown significant enough for me to track it, as if on purpose. Also, it is moving at the speed of an ordinary human. I think it wants you to follow it, Naruto."
                          
"Me? It won't even let me feel it," Naruto said in disbelief, as his senjutsu failed to discern anything worth noting.
                          
"Yes, but it still makes sense – it only reaches out to me. Think about it, Kit, who else in this village has a tailed beast besides you?"