Naruto stood over his former friends, burning with the full, hatefilled power of the Kyuubi no Youko. A rage filled snarl was upon his face as he beheld those he used to hold dear, now at his mercy. The suffocating killer intent had knocked them all to the ground, save for Sakura and Hinata. The two women managed to get up, staring in shock and fright at the transformed visage of their friend.
"Why Naruto... Why?" Sakura begged, tears spilling from her eyes. "Was it my fault? I'm sorry... Please!" She bowed, her forehead to the ground without a thought for her pride. "Please! It was my fault! You loved me! I treated you so terribly-I'll do whatever you want!"
"No, Sakura," Naruto growled, his harsh, angry voice making every creature nearby wince in fear, "it was not you that drove me to this."
"Then... Then what?" Hinata asked. "Please, tell us! Talk to us, Naruto! Let us help!"
"Yes, let her help," Shikamaru encouraged her from the back row. He wasn't down for the count, he was just relaxing.
Naruto sucked in a deep breath through his nostrils. He let it out, looking worn.
"It was," he began, "when I was betrayed."
"By Sasuke?" Hinata asked. Naruto shook his head.
"No... Something far more personal," he explained.
- - -
It was days ago, and Naruto was cheerfully walking home from training. He strode along a path, not a care in the world.
Then, he smelled it. He looked over to the grassy clearing to his left, Sitting in the late afternoon sunshine was a bowl of piping hot ramen, with a pair of chopsticks already sticking out of the broth and noodles. There was a plain wooden sign staked in the ground next to the ramen, with the words "FREE RAMEN" painted on it. Naruto stared for a second, not trusting his senses.
"Huh. Who's offering free ramen?" He asked. He shrugged and walked up to it. He slowed down a few paces away from it, and grimaced.
"Hey wait a second!" Naruto cried. "This is weird! I mean, for all I know this could be a trap!"
Another sign appeared, as if by magic. This one read (in the same handwriting as the previous one) "Definitely NOT a trap!"
Naruto hummed and shrugged.
"That's good enough for me!" Naruto cried. He picked up the bowl and took hold of the chopsticks. "Time to eat~!"
Which is when a cage constructed of bamboo and duct tape fell onto Naruto, trapping him. He gasped in horror, and looked down at the ramen bowl. He held it far away from him.
"RAMEN?! HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME?!" He cried.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Naruto looked over at the source of the laugh: A man in an Akatsuki cloak, with an orange spiral mask over his face. He pointed at Naruto and laughed again.
"MWAHAHAHAHA! Thanks Ramen! You let me catch him! As always, Ramen is an ally to Tobi! TOBI THE EVIL!"
"YOU!" Naruto snarled, his aura glowing red with the Kyuubi's chakra. He blew apart the cheap prison, and lunged for the strange man. "YOU DID THIS! YOU MADE RAMEN BETRAY ME!"
Tobi dodged around his strike, weaving around like a leaf in the wind.
"You really think that?" The masked man cackled. "You poor fool! Ramen betrayed you! You think it is of the Lightside! But the true nature of ramen is EVIL!"
"YOU LIE!" Naruto bellowed, forming a Rasenshuriken and throwing it at Tobi. He vanished out of the way of the spinning projectile, reappearing in a tree overhead.
"Foolish Naruto! You merely adopted the ramen! I was born to it! Molded by it!" Tobi cried. "I know all of the secrets of the ramen, in ways you couldn't comprehend! Right down to the right amount of MSG to add to each noodle!" Tobi bored his one eye into Naruto's. "IT IS EVIL!"
Naruto took a step back, shocked to his core.
"No... No... THAT'S NOT TRUE!" He wailed. "THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"
"Search your feelings, you KNOW it to be true!" Tobi implored him.
Naruto collapsed, the Kyuubi chakra fading away. He sobbed, tears running down his whiskered cheeks.
"NO! NNOOOOOO!" He cried, a fist beating against the grass.
Tobi reappeared in front of Naruto, shaking a fist.
"Naruto... You do not realize your importance!" He cried. "You are only beginning to understand the true nature of the Ramen! Join me and I will complete your training! With our combined strength, we can become... The Ho-Uzu-Tsuchi-Rai-Mizu-Kages!" He cried.
Naruto looked up at Tobi in grief, his eyes red from tears and rage.
"N-No..." He muttered.
"We can rule the world together!" Tobi further pushed, reaching his hand out to Naruto. "As father and son!"
"Wait, you're my father?" Naruto asked, blinking. Tobi shook his head.
"Ah, no! I'm more like your uncle! Uncle Tobi!" He cried in a cheerful, goofy voice. "Sorry, got carried away. Ahem... IT IS YOUR DESTINY!"
Naruto shivered. He looked down at the Ramen. Still warm, still delicious. He slurped down some of the noodles, his salty tears adding to the flavor.
"I... I can't...!" He cried.
"Just imagine how amazing the hat will be," Tobi added.
"... I'm in."
- - -
Naruto nodded grimly to his captive audience.
"It is then I understood the true nature of the Ramen," Naruto said. "How could I fight destiny?"
Much silence and staring. He could even see a number of his former friends beating their heads against the ground-No doubt to try and die to escape his new evil persona.
Hinata took a deep breath and stood up. She began walking up to Naruto, defying his killing intent. Naruto glared, flaring his immense power.
"Stay back, Hinata-chan!" He demanded. "You cannot save me!"
"Naruto," Hinata began softly, still walking towards him, "I understand you're hurt and confused. You think Ramen betrayed you. Tobi made you think that. But it's not the truth!" She reached out to him, as his aura flared like the sun! Her hair was whipped back, waving like a banner in the breeze!
"No! Stay back!" Naruto snarled. "You will not defy me! YOU CAN'T TRICK ME AGAIN! I know the true nature of Ramen now! I must obey my master!"
"You are your own master, Naruto!" Hinata cried. "You forgot the truth about Ramen! It is not merely in the taste or the ingredients! It is in the sharing of the meal with those you love! The warmth and wonder of friendship! How could that be evil?"
"N-No... No...!" Naruto began to take steps back, as the Hyuuga Heiress continued to advance. "No! I can't be tricked again! The pain... It hurts too much!"
"True strength is rising above your pain to do what is right!" Hinata said in determination. "You taught me that, Naruto! You're still that man!"
Naruto collapsed in on himself as Hinata kept pushing forward. She reached out her hands to him, buffeted by the sheer power of his aura. Her eyes burned with determination. Light shown from her body, as a heavenly chorus sang her forward to save her love!
"You know the truth of the Ramen! Come back to us! Come back to me! The truth is that the true nature of Ramen is not Darkness! Ramen... Is... LIGHT!"
She reached him, and wrapped her arms around him. The aura ceased, and the night sky returned to its inky blackness rather than the blood scarlet of before. Naruto collapsed into Hinata's embrace, weeping. She held him tightly, and stroked his back.
"Shh... Shh, it's all right," she whispered. "It's all right... I forgive you."
"I'm so sorry," Naruto sobbed. He looked up into her eyes, hopefully. "Do... Do you think... Ramen will forgive me?"
"Always," she soothed. Hinata smiled. "W-Want to go get a bowl together?"
"OKAY!" Naruto cheered. He took the blushing Hinata's hand, and they headed off together. Sakura stood up first, blinking slowly in disbelief.
"... WHAT THE FUCK?!" She screamed. "ALL OF THIS OVER FUCKING RAMEN?!"
"It's pathetic how much control people let their vices have over them," Kakashi observed, already going back to reading Icha Icha Beach Party.
Chouji raised his hand. Sakura glared her hatred at him, making the rotund ninja cough.
"WHAT?!" She demanded.
"...Can we go get ramen too?"
"GRRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
"Why Naruto... Why?" Sakura begged, tears spilling from her eyes. "Was it my fault? I'm sorry... Please!" She bowed, her forehead to the ground without a thought for her pride. "Please! It was my fault! You loved me! I treated you so terribly-I'll do whatever you want!"
"No, Sakura," Naruto growled, his harsh, angry voice making every creature nearby wince in fear, "it was not you that drove me to this."
"Then... Then what?" Hinata asked. "Please, tell us! Talk to us, Naruto! Let us help!"
"Yes, let her help," Shikamaru encouraged her from the back row. He wasn't down for the count, he was just relaxing.
Naruto sucked in a deep breath through his nostrils. He let it out, looking worn.
"It was," he began, "when I was betrayed."
"By Sasuke?" Hinata asked. Naruto shook his head.
"No... Something far more personal," he explained.
- - -
It was days ago, and Naruto was cheerfully walking home from training. He strode along a path, not a care in the world.
Then, he smelled it. He looked over to the grassy clearing to his left, Sitting in the late afternoon sunshine was a bowl of piping hot ramen, with a pair of chopsticks already sticking out of the broth and noodles. There was a plain wooden sign staked in the ground next to the ramen, with the words "FREE RAMEN" painted on it. Naruto stared for a second, not trusting his senses.
"Huh. Who's offering free ramen?" He asked. He shrugged and walked up to it. He slowed down a few paces away from it, and grimaced.
"Hey wait a second!" Naruto cried. "This is weird! I mean, for all I know this could be a trap!"
Another sign appeared, as if by magic. This one read (in the same handwriting as the previous one) "Definitely NOT a trap!"
Naruto hummed and shrugged.
"That's good enough for me!" Naruto cried. He picked up the bowl and took hold of the chopsticks. "Time to eat~!"
Which is when a cage constructed of bamboo and duct tape fell onto Naruto, trapping him. He gasped in horror, and looked down at the ramen bowl. He held it far away from him.
"RAMEN?! HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME?!" He cried.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Naruto looked over at the source of the laugh: A man in an Akatsuki cloak, with an orange spiral mask over his face. He pointed at Naruto and laughed again.
"MWAHAHAHAHA! Thanks Ramen! You let me catch him! As always, Ramen is an ally to Tobi! TOBI THE EVIL!"
"YOU!" Naruto snarled, his aura glowing red with the Kyuubi's chakra. He blew apart the cheap prison, and lunged for the strange man. "YOU DID THIS! YOU MADE RAMEN BETRAY ME!"
Tobi dodged around his strike, weaving around like a leaf in the wind.
"You really think that?" The masked man cackled. "You poor fool! Ramen betrayed you! You think it is of the Lightside! But the true nature of ramen is EVIL!"
"YOU LIE!" Naruto bellowed, forming a Rasenshuriken and throwing it at Tobi. He vanished out of the way of the spinning projectile, reappearing in a tree overhead.
"Foolish Naruto! You merely adopted the ramen! I was born to it! Molded by it!" Tobi cried. "I know all of the secrets of the ramen, in ways you couldn't comprehend! Right down to the right amount of MSG to add to each noodle!" Tobi bored his one eye into Naruto's. "IT IS EVIL!"
Naruto took a step back, shocked to his core.
"No... No... THAT'S NOT TRUE!" He wailed. "THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"
"Search your feelings, you KNOW it to be true!" Tobi implored him.
Naruto collapsed, the Kyuubi chakra fading away. He sobbed, tears running down his whiskered cheeks.
"NO! NNOOOOOO!" He cried, a fist beating against the grass.
Tobi reappeared in front of Naruto, shaking a fist.
"Naruto... You do not realize your importance!" He cried. "You are only beginning to understand the true nature of the Ramen! Join me and I will complete your training! With our combined strength, we can become... The Ho-Uzu-Tsuchi-Rai-Mizu-Kages!" He cried.
Naruto looked up at Tobi in grief, his eyes red from tears and rage.
"N-No..." He muttered.
"We can rule the world together!" Tobi further pushed, reaching his hand out to Naruto. "As father and son!"
"Wait, you're my father?" Naruto asked, blinking. Tobi shook his head.
"Ah, no! I'm more like your uncle! Uncle Tobi!" He cried in a cheerful, goofy voice. "Sorry, got carried away. Ahem... IT IS YOUR DESTINY!"
Naruto shivered. He looked down at the Ramen. Still warm, still delicious. He slurped down some of the noodles, his salty tears adding to the flavor.
"I... I can't...!" He cried.
"Just imagine how amazing the hat will be," Tobi added.
"... I'm in."
- - -
Naruto nodded grimly to his captive audience.
"It is then I understood the true nature of the Ramen," Naruto said. "How could I fight destiny?"
Much silence and staring. He could even see a number of his former friends beating their heads against the ground-No doubt to try and die to escape his new evil persona.
Hinata took a deep breath and stood up. She began walking up to Naruto, defying his killing intent. Naruto glared, flaring his immense power.
"Stay back, Hinata-chan!" He demanded. "You cannot save me!"
"Naruto," Hinata began softly, still walking towards him, "I understand you're hurt and confused. You think Ramen betrayed you. Tobi made you think that. But it's not the truth!" She reached out to him, as his aura flared like the sun! Her hair was whipped back, waving like a banner in the breeze!
"No! Stay back!" Naruto snarled. "You will not defy me! YOU CAN'T TRICK ME AGAIN! I know the true nature of Ramen now! I must obey my master!"
"You are your own master, Naruto!" Hinata cried. "You forgot the truth about Ramen! It is not merely in the taste or the ingredients! It is in the sharing of the meal with those you love! The warmth and wonder of friendship! How could that be evil?"
"N-No... No...!" Naruto began to take steps back, as the Hyuuga Heiress continued to advance. "No! I can't be tricked again! The pain... It hurts too much!"
"True strength is rising above your pain to do what is right!" Hinata said in determination. "You taught me that, Naruto! You're still that man!"
Naruto collapsed in on himself as Hinata kept pushing forward. She reached out her hands to him, buffeted by the sheer power of his aura. Her eyes burned with determination. Light shown from her body, as a heavenly chorus sang her forward to save her love!
"You know the truth of the Ramen! Come back to us! Come back to me! The truth is that the true nature of Ramen is not Darkness! Ramen... Is... LIGHT!"
She reached him, and wrapped her arms around him. The aura ceased, and the night sky returned to its inky blackness rather than the blood scarlet of before. Naruto collapsed into Hinata's embrace, weeping. She held him tightly, and stroked his back.
"Shh... Shh, it's all right," she whispered. "It's all right... I forgive you."
"I'm so sorry," Naruto sobbed. He looked up into her eyes, hopefully. "Do... Do you think... Ramen will forgive me?"
"Always," she soothed. Hinata smiled. "W-Want to go get a bowl together?"
"OKAY!" Naruto cheered. He took the blushing Hinata's hand, and they headed off together. Sakura stood up first, blinking slowly in disbelief.
"... WHAT THE FUCK?!" She screamed. "ALL OF THIS OVER FUCKING RAMEN?!"
"It's pathetic how much control people let their vices have over them," Kakashi observed, already going back to reading Icha Icha Beach Party.
Chouji raised his hand. Sakura glared her hatred at him, making the rotund ninja cough.
"WHAT?!" She demanded.
"...Can we go get ramen too?"
"GRRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
