Chapter 268 - My OC Stash #68 - The Deadliest Touch by slythefoxx2 (Naruto)

-Naruto with Rogue-like powers, yoinking ninja's skills & memories... Author is known for nailing OP Naruto stories, also expect a big load of canon derailment in this one~ Same author of Seals Are Easy, People Are Hard!

Sypnosis: He thought an uncontrollable power was his biggest problem. A group of S Rank Missing Ninja, A demanding mother figure and a really confident heiress would disagree.

Rated: M

Words: 12K

Posted on: m.fanfiction.net/s/13537094/1/The-Deadliest-Touch (slythefoxx2)

PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)

-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)

Chapter 1

It was nearly dusk he noticed as he came out of the thicket of trees. He thought the sky was always so beautiful around this time, such an enticing orange overtaking the pure blue, made all the better by the sparse but fluffy clouds. Generally, he would take a seat and just look at the sky as he transitioned from day to night. It was a simple pleasure but hard-earned.

Day or night, there were people out there that were willing to prey on anyone they deemed weaker. Be it for money, their bodies, or just the sheer pleasure of dominating another. The young man was honest enough with himself to know he didn't cut a particularly imposing figure. Five-foot six, well-conditioned but not heavily muscled. He looked like a fit and healthy sixteen-year-old. Even the sword at his side often didn't do much to deter attackers, them assuming it a mere prop.

But if one could find a safe space or create one, the simple pleasures could be enjoyed. Though, he doubted he'd get the opportunity this time as just beyond the thicket, in a baren clearing, lay hundreds of downed people. He assumed they were ninja, they were dressed like ninja. Two men, one older and the other as young as him, stood amongst the defeated warriors, seemingly having noticed him just as he noticed them.

'Shit', our traveler thought. If he ran, that instantly made him a problem. A little rabbit to be chased and pinned down. Maybe, he hoped, he could just pass by. He had no quarrel with either of them, he had no intention of sticking his nose in their business. Maybe they were reasonable, he'd hope they were. As he walked over and past the beaten attackers he noticed none of them were dead. Regardless of their level, that was impressive. He soon reached the duo and gave a short bow.

"Gentlemen," he began, "I assure you I am not affiliated with any of these men and only seek to pass by without conflict,".

"Kukuku, you've only stumbled across Sasuke-kun's training exercise," the taller man reassured him, "passage would not be an issue." Even with saying that, the smile on his face made it known he had no intention of simply allowing the traveler to leave. "But maybe we can have a moment of your time. As you can see, none of my men were of much challenge to my student but I see you carry a sword. Would you indulge us with a spar?"

"If your student could defeat so many with such little effort then I would offer no challenge. This sword is mostly to scare away cravens, I flee from stronger opponents when possible. As I said, I just want to pass by."

"I don't see how I'd get stronger fighting someone that clearly doesn't want to fight, it won't bring me closer to that man," the younger male now spoke. The traveler thought the boy, who couldn't be much older than him if at all, had a regal air about him. His body language screamed shinobi but still, there was a sense of nobility.

"Please excuse my student and me as we share a brief word," the taller man said. The two separated from him and he wondered if he should just run. He wasn't all that familiar with the area so escape could be tricky or he might invite disaster upon some unsuspecting town but should that be his problem? What did he owe perfect strangers? What would be the moral thing? He released a soft sigh. If it were just a simple spar no one would get hurt but if he angered the duo then that may change. Maybe further diplomacy could get him out of this. Maybe he could just talk at them until they grew bored and left him alone.

As the traveler was contemplating his next move, Orochimaru was having an exchange with his future body. He would remove that accursed softness from the boy, corrupting him as much as he could until he finally broke his will. "I want you to kill that boy," Orochimaru said. He continued before Sasuke could retort that it was beneath him or some other inane response. "If you refuse I will teach you no longer. It is time you removed that softness that Konoha forced into you. Strike this boy down, now."

Sasuke looked back at the unknown boy, finally taking a good look. He was covered, almost no skin showing, except for the top part of his face and his sandaled toes. His sword mounted on his left side with a modern hostler instead of being tucked into an obi. The black and gold haori was well taken care of and looked relatively new as he was dr.a.p.ed over a matching midnight blue shirt and pants combo. He truly hated Orochimaru but needed training, power if he were ever going to kill Itachi.

When that goal was threatened, it made Sasuke neutralize any moral concerns that would cause him to falter so it was simple for him to justify this. It was senseless but necessary. If his soul was the price for killing Itachi then it would be a deal he'd make every time. He pittied the unlucky fool as he tried to calm the shaking in his sword hand, the last vestige of his resistance to senseless murder. Wordlessly he nodded to Orochimaru and they walked back.

"Thank you for your patience, Wanderer-san. Now, as I was saying a simple-"

"You told him to kill me and he agreed," the wanderer interrupted, causing Orochimaru to smile.

"Kukuku, well now that we're all on the same page, yes Wanderer-san, I want you to be a step in Sasuke-kun's development. Please be a sport and die well," Orochimaru said with unhidden glee. The wanderer looked to Sasuke to see him already gripping his sword.

"I don't know what he's promised you or has over you but you don't have to do this. A bad decision yesterday doesn't forbid a good decision today nor a better one tomorrow," he advised. His masked covered face frowned when he saw Sasuke quickly dismiss his words.

"I have to embrace a darkness you wouldn't understand to achieve my goals. I can allow nothing to stop me."

"This is a mistake, we all can walk away right now. No one has to die," the wanderer argued. Orochimaru shook his head in disgust that the boy was seemingly begging for his life. Sasuke also thought it was pathetic, the boy's words reminding him of when he was weak and stood before a significantly stronger opponent. He wouldn't even activate his Sharingan for this, he didn't need a perfect memory. He steeled his resolve as his grip on his chokuto tightened.

This needed to be done, no hesitation and no mercy. Only a ruthless killer could defeat Itachi. He glanced at the eyes of his future victim and saw disappointment but his attention was quickly diverted to the hands going for the sword. He got into a textbook iaido stance and for some reason that made Sasuke feel better, as if it were more acceptable if the person before him was a true warrior.

Sasuke watched as what appeared to be golden lightning surged around the boy and a fraction of a fraction of a second later Sasuke only knew pain, the firmness of the ground and the blazing orange ruthlessly overtaking the blue sky. He tried to will his body to get up but he couldn't, soon feeling the pooling blood, his blood surrounding him, feeding the soil with his essence, his dreams, his ambitions.

'It can't end here,' he thought as he reached out to the curse mark to heal him but was shocked when he couldn't feel its power, nor its corruption any longer. If Sasuke could turn he would have seen his master, the Snake Sannin himself, with a sword through his heart and his body seemingly drained, revealing it to be the husk it truly was.

What Sasuke could see was the wanderer standing over him, one hand ungloved now and reaching down to him. He wanted to run, to scream, to cling to life. It couldn't end here, he'd done too much and gone too far. He'd embraced the darkness, he'd betrayed his village all to kill Itachi. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair.

Those would be Sasuke's final thoughts as a finger touched his forehead, much like Itachi used to, and Sasuke's essence left his body.

'F.u.c.k!' the wanderer thought.

'Hehehehe,' he heard in response.

'Did you know this boy was an Uchiha, Kurama?'

'I suspected, Naruto,' the bijuu answered.

'Why didn't you tell me?' Naruto asked.

'I don't like Uchiha,' was Kurama's reply and Naruto didn't even bother to reply. Instead, he found a nearby water source and looked at the reflection while channeling chakra to his eyes.

'Oh great,' he thought as he watched two fully matured Sharingan spin lazily. He shook his head as he heard Kurama continue to laugh. 'Kurama, please stop. I know you hate the clan but this one was on a righteous quest.'

'There is nothing righteous about revenge. It flattens all other concerns, makes the monstrous seem noble and is a path toward destruction. He could have sought justice.'

'People have to be guided toward justice, Kurama. It is a practice and no one showed him the way. Even if you hated his clan, please don't take delight in his demise. His was a life of tragedy.'

'Fine, what about the Sannin?'

'Eh, f.u.c.k that guy,' Naruto answered, his compassion having found its limit. He sealed up the bodies, not looking forward to what he was going to do next. Each of these bodies likely had a high bounty on them and he could take them to a bounty station but the information contained within them could be a threat to Konoha. He had to, for the first time in eight years, return home. Before that, he had to meet with his travel companions, one of which would be far from enthused.

Gate duty was boring, Kotetsu wouldn't say this aloud, it would only cause Izumo to bitch at him but he still felt it so. It's not that he longed for danger or battle, just something new. Missions outside of the village could be just as boring but at least there was a chance to experience something different. He wondered if he could sneak off to the Jounin station without Izumo admonishing him for shirking his responsibilities.

"Tsunade-sama?" Kotetsu heard Izumo ask and he broke from his internal musings to look up. It was her, the Slug Princess returning to the village with two companions and a pig? Kotetsu thought that was a weird choice for a pet.

"Yea, yea, we need a meeting with the Hokage so get an escort or do whatever it is you do," Tsunade informed the gate guards. Izumo signaled for an ANBU, who arrived at a moment's notice, waiting to escort the trio once check-in was completed. The brunette was next, Shizune, Kotetsu heard her say. The last of their party checked-in last, his name possibly being even more startling than Tsunade's.

"Uzumaki Naruto," the boy, nay, the young man said and everyone in earshot froze. The Uzumaki Naruto? The container that disappeared eight years ago for seemingly no reason? Seeing Tsunade-sama getting angry got everyone to return to their previous activities and got her companions and her on their way. As they disappeared from view Izumo teased Kotetsu for ever finding gate duty boring.

A shunshin and a short wait later, the Sannin and company stood in front of the Godaime Hokage. The Hokage eyed the trio but gave most of his attention to the youngest of the three. He couldn't stop himself from remembering that fateful day when he found the boy, shaking and crying as he begged no one to come near him. One ANBU already on the ground, appearing dead to most but rather comatose.

"It's ok, puppy. I'm not here to hurt you and you won't hurt me," Kakashi had said.

"I will, I-I didn't mean to. I just wanted to help, dattebayo," the boy said in distress. It took several minutes for Kakashi to get the full story and only a minute longer to do something that would change his life. If the Sandaime knew of Naruto's abilities he would allow Danzo to "discover" them. And being as weak, in resolve, as he was the Sandaime would come to a grand compromise that meant weaponizing Naruto but doing it in a way he found palatable. Kakashi wouldn't allow Minato's son to become like Kinoe or Itachi.

"It appears that you can absorb memories and skills through direct contact, puppy. We don't have time to find the limits but it'll be important for you to do so so. I want you to travel north to the Temple of the Fire Monks and tell them you're the ember of the Fire Shadow. Can you repeat that, puppy?"

"I'm the ember of the Fire Shadow, 'ttebayo," he said. Kakashi favored him with an eye smile as he ungloved his hand.

"Now, I want you to touch me for just a second or two. That should give you enough information to make it there. I'm betting if it is just a quick touch you only get a little information. No matter what happens, though, you must go to the Fire Monks, ok?" He watched the boy nod and took his hand. Kakashi had been right in his unstated assumption, brief contact wouldn't kill him but he'd been wrong about how much the boy would pull in even two seconds of contact.

"You… you knew my mom and dad, dattebayo?".

"Yes, puppy and when you become strong enough to return to the village we can talk all about it," Kakashi said, attempting to hide how weak he felt. He fished out a scroll he kept on him with a few weapons and money, handing it to Naruto. "Get going before anyone else gets here. And Naruto, be happy," was the last thing Kakashi said to his sensei's son before the boy ran off and he passed out.

"Not a puppy anymore, are you Naruto?" He asked the boy with a matching face mask.

"No, no I am not. It's good to see you again, Hokage-sama," Naruto greeted.

"Mah, mah, Kakashi is fine for you. Now, what has brought you three back to the village?"

"The kid caught a couple of your wayward ninja," Tsunade said.

"Oh?" Kakashi asked, wondering why they didn't just go to the bounty station. Naruto sat two black and red scrolls on Kakashi's desk.

"One is Orochimaru, the other is Uchiha Sasuke. I accidentally ran into them and Orochimaru coerced Sasuke into trying to kill me. I didn't know who he was until the end," Naruto explained.

"You've done the village a great service, Naruto. It'll take a few days for confirmation but you can collect their bounties after," Kakashi explained but received an alert from his assistant. "I really am sorry to rush you three out but I have a pre-existing meeting. Can I catch up with you tonight, Naruto?"

"Sure, though, I don't know where I'll be."

"He'll be at the Senju estate. Just come by whenever," Tsunade instructed as they walked out the door. Kakashi gave a signal and one ANBU departed just to observe. The triad separated upon leaving the Hokage Tower, Naruto wanted to explore, which Tsunade and Shizune both knew meant get something to eat. The master and student headed toward their temporary home, Tonton in tow and Naruto was off to find foodstuffs.

As he traveled through the village passing various vendors he noticed how none of the civilians paid him much attention. It wasn't the concerted effort to ignore him like in the past, just that he fell into the crowd. The ninja, however, tried to hide it but he could feel them taking in his presence as if to come to some grand conclusion. He ignored them once he came upon an unassuming stand. Entering, he was greeted by a cute, brown haired woman who took his order; miso ramen with pork and a lemonade.

Naruto didn't know what to expect when the gregarious cook, the young woman's father he assumed, sat the bowl down but after pulling down his mask and tasting the broth… it was something special. An opinion he shared with the stand operators and proved his sincerity by ordering two more bowls. It was difficult to stop at just three, ramen was his absolute favorite and finding great ramen was a burdensome task but stop he did. Chopsticks atop his empty bowl and Naruto finishing the last of his lemonade is when one of the ninja that had been lurking outside the stand finally sat down.

"Why are you back now?" the ninja asked as his brown eyes hard and tone of voice demanding.

"Bounties, actually," Naruto answered when he finished his drink. The response only angered the man more.

"And where were you three years ago?"

"A few places, actually. Why so interested in my travel history, Ninja-san?"

"Because I want to know why you weren't here doing your job. We allowed you to stay in the village amongst us people but when the sand demon was wrecking the village you weren't here. The only reason we tolerated you and you'd long since run off. We lost a lot of good people because of you," the man finished, nearing the point of yelling and drawing an audience.

"First, you never allowed me to do anything. Secondly, I can't and won't be held responsible for anything that happened here four years after I'd left. I bet, if you noticed I was gone, you were happy about it. Thirdly, I am not nor was I ever some beast destined to be pointed at your enemies.

As for your losses, did you sit with your grief and process it? Did you come together with your comrades and work through it? Did it strengthen your resolve to insure it never happened again? Or have you simply blamed a child for the entirety of your misfortune like a coward?" The unnamed ninja's face became more and more irate as Naruto spoke. He didn't want the foxbrat to talk sense to him, he wanted a target for his hostility and a scapegoat for his pain.

"Whatever happened to just getting together with friends and radiating some positive vibes? That's what this chakra thing used to be about," Naruto said as he pulled his face mask back up. He then went into his pants pocket to pull out his wallet but felt a hand grab him before he could. In a blink of an eye, Naruto had the ninja face down on the counter in an arm lock, the Uzumaki glad he'd gotten a hold of himself before he broke the man's arm and then neck.

He looked at the cooks and could feel their dismay. "I'm sorry," he said to the pair, "the ramen was delicious and your service matched but I will not be manhandled." Naruto released the hand holding onto the man's wrist and got out Gama-chan, leaving a wad of bills for the food, hoping the generous tip would offset the disturbance. "I apologize again," he said before departing, the ninja having the good sense not to follow after the boy that had him at his mercy.

"Making friends already?" a crow masked ANBU inquired as Naruto walked away from the stand.

"A cynical person might think you didn't intervene to see if I'd get attacked or could handle myself," Naruto observed but there wasn't any heat to his words.

"Are you a cynical person, Naruto?"

"I have an umbrella for when it rains. A coat for when it is cold. A fan for when it is hot," Naruto answered.

"So, you are what the situation requires you to be," the ANBU observed. Naruto shook his head.

"No, I am me regardless but I am prepared for the situation. A cynical person might think you let things play out for a nefarious reason but I only accept that is one of several possibilities."

"And this is my chance to put to rest any doubts you may have?" Naruto nodded. "I was ordered to watch over you but like with other times I was dispatched to do so, Kakashi-sama never wanted me to baby his puppy, just step in if you got in too deep."

"Other times?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Dude, you're good but Kakashi has known your general location since you left. Yes, your time in Iron Country. Yes, that coup in the Land of Vegetables. Yes, about Kakuzu. Yes, even that thing with the Priestess. She really wants your babies."

"Well, I can't exactly help her with that, now can I?"

"Uh, there are procedures that make it possible. I'm sure Tsunade-sama knows all about it." the ANBU said and watched the younger man turn green.

"She does and will describe it and any other medical question at length." The ANBU laughed and Naruto laughed in return. "I'm sorry, ya know." Naruto said. "About the cave, I didn't know but still, I am sorry. To you and those three boys. Do you know where they are buried?"

"First, you don't owe me an apology. You were eight and likely saved my life. Secondly, you didn't actually kill anyone. They just passed out and you took off."

That was a lot for Naruto to digest, he'd always believed he killed them but because they were so young they had little to imprint upon him. "So, I left for no reason?"

"No, you leaving was the best reaction you could have had." Naruto said nothing after that and the two walked in companionable silence until they both noticed two men in cloaks and wicker hats.

"Hey, that Kakuzu guy wore a cloak just like that," Naruto said.

"Because he was a part of the Akatsuki," the ANBU said.

"The what now?"

"A group of S rank missing ninja that have been taking a lot of mercenary jobs across the continent."

"Well, they are coming straight for us so what should we do?"

"Be cool."

"Dude, I've seen your memories; you were a dork."

"Says the dweeb that used to wear orange."

"Yes, I made daring fashion choices."

"Daring?" the ANBU's voice dripped with incredulity. "Whatever, too late. HALT," the ANBU said to the strangers.

'Did he really just say halt? Like they do in those movies you like?'

'You like them, too, Kurama. But yes, the dork did just say halt. It was super lame.'

'Hella lame,' Kurama agreed. 'Hey, let's prank these guys?'

'How?' Naruto asked, incredibly interested. Kurama had great ideas for pranks. As Kurama was laying out his plan the ANBU stood before the two ninja.

"I'd hoped I could conduct my business without running into you, Shisui," a deep voice said.

"Damn, that's a velvet voice. You must get all the missing kunoichi," Naruto observed, which caused the man's partner to chuckle.

"Oh, this one keeps his skills sharp by the constant need to protect his virtue. Isn't that right, Itachi?" the man asked, which caused the now identified Itachi to sigh. His partner was so crude. Removing their hats in sync, which had to be practiced as far as Naruto felt, it was Kisame who seemed the most dismayed at the turn of events. Seeing both of his possible opponents had the same eyes as his partner Kisame could only say one thing.

"Oh, great."

Naruto had to force a neutral expression on his face to keep from laughing along with Kurama.