Hope everyone liked the previous chapter! I sure had some fun writing it! I hope you enjoy this one as well! I'm sorry about the horrible waits between these chapters. It's taking me more effort than normal to pump them out. And ive rewritten this twice because I'm growing picky with these chapters lol. It's a nice book so far though, I'm enjoying writing it.

Hope you enjoy!

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I was eating my breakfast of rice and fish with a soft smile on my face. I felt incredible and stress free, and Itachi sat beside me with a soft smile as well, watching me eat while also eyeing my neck here and there, probably silently telling me he was slightly hungry but could wait.

He was sore waking up, which was an interesting experience for him and for me both. He had woken up and went to shift and flinched into me. He was sore at first but reassured me he was okay. However, he didn't move or shift much at all after getting dressed and settled here with me.

Bee was rapping at the end of the table, too focused on himself to hold up conversation, Guy was tired but agreed to work around our nighttime schedule. Yamato was also sitting silently, eating in peace, and Sasuke had already gotten up and eaten, and the ground rumbled every now and then from his training not far from here in a section Bee guided him to.

I finished my last bite of rice and gave a happy sigh. Itachi nudged me lightly with a soft smile.

"You've finished eating already?" Itachi asked me, eyes scanning over the empty plate with a look mixed between glad and upset.

"Yeah, I've had enough." I grinned up at him and leaned over, pecking his cheek before getting up with my empty plate to put it away.

He didn't complain but stood and followed behind me silently. I put everything away and made my way outside, rubbing my wrists. I looked over them and then sighed to myself, thinking about everything else we could do or possibly try. If I had any more hidden triggers, I'd have to figure out how to deal with it on my own on the battlefield.

"Alright! Last test! After this we do the waterfall and I know you'll do the best." Bee walked up from behind us and clapped both of our shoulders.

I looked up at him and smiled with the encouragement, determined to get over this issue of losing my cool whenever I got mad. This would basically revolutionize my abilities as a Jinchuriki.

"So. What's the last test?" I asked him.

"You're going to be chained up to a tree." Yamato spoke as we walked out with Guy beside him.

I felt my heart stutter immediately, and for some reason, a heavy weight placed itself onto my head. I tensed and frowned heavily at the very thought.

"And I'm going to make a cage around you. It's the last test before we can start your other training, and after this is completed, we can start your mission we were all assigned too to help with the war." Yamato explained.

"R-Right." I nodded, cursing myself internally at the stutter that came to my voice.

"Let's get this started while the night's still young!" Guy punched his fist into the palm of his other hand. "While youth still burns in us all!"

"Yeah.", I nodded and walked ahead, watching Bee move in front of us all, tentacles sprouting around him as he went to grab a tree from the ground and break the tops off, shaping it into a solid stump, probably what I was going to be chained up against.

"It will be okay." Itachi spoke softly beside me, cupping my face and turning my head to face him. "I believe in your ability to get past this uncomfortable situation. It's the last step. You're almost there, love."

I exhaled shakily and gave a weak nod. "Yeah... last step." I whispered quietly, looking over as Yamato made the cage around the stump Bee had buried.

Guy carried chains into the cage and began to hook them in place with Yamato's help, shaping the wood around them. I heard them rattling and instantly felt uncomfortable. The sight of them didn't put the weight on my body, but the idea of being trapped in them.

"Just breathe, Naruto. You'll be alright. I won't be far from you." Itachi reassured me, kissing my forehead.

I kissed his cheek in response and left his side after Guy beckoned me over. I entered the cage and felt my palms grow sweaty and my guts squirm. I looked up at Yamato, who held the chains in his hand. I stiffened when he motioned for me to get against the tree, shivering before putting my back to it and raising my hands, looking past him and at the ground in front of my feet as I felt the first one clamp down.

"It will be okay." Yamato spoke to me but said nothing else as he clamped the other one in place, both pretty tight.

He probably knew words wouldn't help me at this point. He left me there and exited the cage, shutting it and locking it with a metal lock, making me flinch as it clicked shut, making me feel alone.

The reaction was immediate. The cage bled into iron bars, and when I looked up in alarm, I saw nothing but dim lit iron, the smell of blood and sweat filling my nose. I could smell a rotting body somewhere close by, and the sound of distant footsteps and the clang of a cane striking the ground ever so softly. Each soft hit of wood against the ground made me shrink back against the cement wall.

"Have you finally calmed down?" Danzo's voice called from someplace down the hallway, filling every fiber of my being with red hot anger.

"Danzo..." I hissed through clenched teeth as a rage took over my mind, a blinding hatred and pain that made me lurch forward, balling my fists as everything bled red.

His figure appeared on the opposite side of the bars, and I was hidden inside that twisted shadow of his as a lantern behind him allowed. His cold eye looked onto me, and I stared right back with anger... and a burning want to kill him.

"Ah... I see you're still clinging to your miserable meaning." Danzo whispered. "What is your name?"

"Naruto... and it's the name of the man who'll kill you!" I sneered at him. "You can beat me all you want. I'll still curse you... and you'll never break me."

"I won't?" Danzo raised a brow. "Well, if hurting, you won't work... I can always try hurting someone else."

I felt my body freeze. "What?"

He pulled onto something he was holding, rope of some kind, covered in seals, and on the end was Iruka, wincing and looking confused. I gasped and lunged forward, pulling on the chains as Danzo held up and Kunai and began stabbing into his back.

"STOP!" I cried out, horror shaking through me. "STOP!"

"Not until you give up your name. Until you accept you're no one." Danzo hummed. "Not until I'm satisfied with how you turn out."

"AAAAH!" Iruka cried out in pain, looking as horrified as I felt.

"NO!" I cried out, feeling my skin burning away, a red film covering my body, as I felt the wood behind me creaking, splintering.

Wood?

I felt something give behind me, and I was able to pull myself forward, chains still around my limbs. I howled with rage as I went straight at the bars with claws, breaking through them with ease and blindly slashed down at Danzo, my screams of rage coming out as monsterous roars that didn't belong to me. My claws collided with the figure I knew to he Danzo and sliced straight through his figure, momentarily excited until the gore vanished in a puff of smoke.

I grew momentarily mad and blindly attacked the area around me, the colors slowly fading as I destroyed clone after clone, tearing sown weightless walls with all the force I could, growing anxious as I fought and fought until there was nothing left to destroy.

I was suddenly alone and panting in the dark. I paused, shakily staring down at my body, replaying the image of Iruka being tortured over and over again. I hissed and whimpered with a voice that wasn't mine and grabbed at my sides. Iruka's cries and howls of pain didn't end and continuously rang around me, through the dark, unable to pin down the location. I felt trapped beneath the inability to find his location and stood frozen in place, unable to catch my breath.

"Stop." I begged out to no one, tails lashing out around me, hitting things away that I couldn't see. "Make it stop. Don't hurt him...!"

Iruka's screams only got louder after I said this, my hands slid from my sides up to my head, shaking violently from both the physical pain of peeling skin and the emotional pain of hearing Iruka suffering. I momentarily forgot this was just in my head. I let the idea go as I drowned in the sound of pure nightmare fuel, the pain of Iruka's expression melting into my head.

Suffering because of me.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled out, shaking my head, digging my sharp nails into my scalp as I continued swatting things away from me unconsciously. "It's not my fault. Its-"

Something strong suddenly tugged a tail, yanking my entire body backward so hard I saw stars momentarily before the crushing arms wrapped around my body and squeezed so tight it knocked the wind out of me. I wheezed and kicked my legs, but those arms crushed harder, bleeding the pitch black void away from my eyes to reveal a forest, making my eyes widen as those horrible screams shifted into someone else.

"NARUTO SNAP OUT OF IT!" Itachi's voice all but screamed right into my ear, making me flinch.

"Fuck! I'm so sorry! He completely obliterated the jutsu!" Yamato shouted from somewhere far off.

"Ggggn! I-It's nothing! Trust me, I'm fine, see?" Bee's strained voice followed, much quieter than everyone else's. "No way a little punk can take down this Killer Bee."

My vision clarified, but I was still burning everywhere, making me flinch and arch my back as the crushing grip didn't led up, and pressed into spots of missing skin under my clothes that absolutely burned. I cried out in pain finally, pushing against Itachi until his grip led up, but only by a fraction.

"Is he calm!?" Guy called out.

"Naruto!?" Itachi asked with a sound of desperation. "Hey! Look at me!"

My eyes found his before I even registered everything else going on around us, dazed and in an intense amount of pain. I whimpered against his hold and struggled to remain conscious as the burning white pain seared through my whole body, the red film between us slowly disappearing.

I was able to register more after that. He had his legs wrapped painfully right around mine, constricting my movement completely. His arms were around mine and my middle, keeping me pinned and immobilized against him. His eyes were red, Sharingan staring into me with a look of extreme concern and almost panic. I grew confused until I remembered the tails fighting off someone and me attacking people. I then gasped sharply and whipped my head to the clearing.

Bee was on the ground panting, tentacles spread about the ground, burning and bloody everywhere but healing. Guy was beside him with a giant burn across the entire left side of his body, with a medical Ninja from inside the house beside him, performing first aid. Yamato was on his knees beside Bee, apologizing, with a gash across his arm and a burn on the other.

Sasuke was here too, but closer to us, with Itachi between us, him with a Susanoo around his body, all the ribs cracked and wearing a look of shock.

"Wh-" I froze then, looking back to Itachi as a sinking feeling of horror swept through me.

"Hey..." Itachi smiled weakly at me, suddenly looking more tired than anything.

I then noticed the giant bruise on his cheek, running down his neck and vanishing beneath his shirt. My jaw dropped in fear as everything clicked in place. The moment I made eye contact again, his grip loosened around me. He didn't let me go even after the red film was completely gone.

I went to move, but a spark of blinding white pain shot through me, and I wheezed, tensing into his body as muscles began to spasm painfully here and there. He shifted his legs off of mine the moment I let out that strained exhale of air and was much more gentle with me.

"Be still, don't move Naruto, you're burned all over." He spoke quickly, but I didn't hesitate, fought through the pain, and pulled away from him so fast my vision doubled and blurred, making me stumble and fall over, but away from him. "Hey, be careful!"

He went to move closer, and I felt my heart beat skyrocket.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" I shouted in fear, making him freeze mid-step and pause with a large frown.

I didn't care how loud that was, I could see through that smile... that gentle expression of tiredness how in pain he was. His hands were covered in burns, too. They were healing, but it didn't change the fact that I hurt him badly. I hurt everyone... not by choice, but it happened.

Itachi deflated after a moment had passed, and merely stared at me with a look of longing that made me feel guilty the longer I laid in the grass, unable to move as my skin healed at a snail's pace. I sighed heavily after a moment and flopped back, going limp. I then motioned my head up, and Itachi was beside me in an instant. He hesitated before holding me, though, and chose to rest his hands against my chest very lightly.

"Can... we n-not do this again for a few hours?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah, everyone else needs the time off to heal up after that. It's okay, Naruto. It wasn't your fault. Bee took the brunt of the blows and protected everyone else. We'll be fine. It just took us by surprise. It happened so fast." He explained to me.

"How many tails?" I asked then, worrying my bottom lip a little.

"Nearly four." Itachi winced to himself before wincing as the bruise must have stung.

"Damn. It happened fast for me, too. I had no time to prepare." I admitted honestly. "It wasn't... uhm... It wasn't pleasant."

"Are you able to move?" Itachi asked me.

"N-No. It hurts really bad. I've only ever been hurt l-like this twice before. Once, when I was fourteen, then again not so long ago when I confronted Orochimaru, when I purposefully gave myself to Kurama's will." I explained weakly.

"I see. Well, I'm not leaving you here in the grass with burns covering your body. It may hurt, but may I move you inside?" Itachi asked me with a frown, running his fingers gently through my hair.

I hummed at the soothing sensation before giving him a weak nod. He leaned forward and pecked my forehead before sliding his arm under my body, making me hiss out in pain, and the other arm beneath my knees and hoisted me slowly off the ground, making me cry out in intense pain.

"AAAH! DAMN IT!" I shouted involuntarily, arching upwards in his hold, against his body.

Like electricity, the pain shot through each part of my body, dancing along my skin and making my muscles jerk at the slightest rub or movement. Sasuke moved over to us then, eyes looking me over with a weak wince.

"I didn't know it did this to your body." Sasuke mumbled out as he followed us.

"Gggnn!" I growled out, unable to currently respond to that remark.

"Shhh, I know." Itachi sighed softly and tried his best to hold me as still as possible.

We passed by Bee, Guy, and Yamato, who all looked up at us as we moved next to them. I couldn't see their faces or to whom they were staring, but I assumed it was me since I was panting loudly in pain.

"Is he alright?" Guy asked and stood up.

"No, he needs time to heal." Itachi answered for me as he carried me with him.

We made it inside the building shaped like the Eight Tails, and I was carried to our room. I dreaded being laid down, but I knew it was for the better. Instead of laying me down, however, he moved towards a chair and pulled it out with his leg.

"What are you doing?" I ground out.

"I need to get these dirty clothes off of you." Itachi explained. "You could get an infection."

He sat me down in a sitting position, making me groan. He then looked to my clothes with a frown before pulling out a kunai knife. I watched him tiredly as he began to gently cut my clothes, trying not to scrape against my skin or pull on the fabric too hard. I hissed a few times, but other than that, it was mostly painless. I was eventually left in my boxers and limp against the chair.

"There we go. No, I've got some burn spray in my pouch I can use. It could sting, but it should help you heal much faster. It's good stuff." Itachi smiled and brought out a bottle of spray. "If that's okay with you?"

"S-Sure." I nodded, wishing Sakura was here to heal these wounds.

He began to spray my burns, which stung quite a bit in protest but felt soothed after the wet spray sunk into them more. I sighed softly as he sprayed the entire front part of my body. I had to stand in order for him to get my back and the back part of my legs, but it was relatively fine, otherwise. I leaned my body against his tiredly after he finished what he was doing, and he stood there with me, running gentle cold fingers through my hair.

"Ready to lay down?" Itachi asked me.

"Ye - " As I went to respond, a huge wave of fatigue slammed into my body.

My eyes rolled into my head, and my vision all but vanished in an instant. I felt my knees give and my body going to fall, but Itachi caught me and spoke something I couldn't make out as my brain turned to mush. I was carried to the bed and laid down in a moment I missed, and I was so out of it I barely felt anything.

When I eventually roused myself to full wakefulness, he was lying beside me, watching me with concern and sadness. I blinked a few times to clear my vision since he had the light on and looked to him tiredly.

"Thank you... for taking care of me." I thanked him sincerely.

"It's my job as your lover, Naruto. I am going to be honest, I didn't expect your power to harm your body this much. Does this always happen when your mind goes too far into rage?" Itachi asked and brushed a lock of my hair behind my ear.

"Yes, it does. It stings my skin with one tail, with two. I become very unrational but still semi lucid. When the third tail comes out, I grow angrier and angrier due to the pain it causes, and I slowly black out. After that, I remember nothing." I explained. "Even after the burns heal, I'm so fatigued I can barely even function, let alone train or run. It's happened on a mission before, and I was nearly left behind."

"I see. I'm sorry you have to endure that." Itachi mumbled and kissed my forehead.

"How long was I out?" I asked him.

"About thirty minutes, you were in and out the entire time." Itachi explained eyes roaming over my body. "Will you even be able to continue training in this state?"

"I have too. If it's being caged, then there is no fight nessisary. After that, I can go to the waterfall, and we can continue with the second part of training the day after that. Once I get into control of Kurama better, I can work on the mission. I was sent here for." I spoke the last part half heartedly.

Itachi nodded along with my words and gave my forehead a gentle peck. I smiled weakly and moved slowly into a more comfortable position. It hurt to do so, and no matter how I laid down, it burned, but I was as comfortable as I could get after that. I watched him watch me, his eyes roaming over every visible burn he could. His eyes flicked to my scarred neck a couple of times so quickly I thought I was seeing things at first, but I knew he was getting hungry, which made me feel worse about losing control.

I guess I have to take better care of myself for his sake. He is eating my blood to stay alive after all. I needed to stay strong and well so he could drink more blood.

I spent the better part of two hours resting and letting my burns heal on their own. I'd probably receive medical help before going ahead with the session again but for the time being I slept soundly next to Itachi, who didn't sleep a wink and merely chose to watch over me instead.

When I woke up, the pain had lessened by a little, not a whole lot, but my skin looked to be better. The burned parts and missing skin were stabbed over and healing themselves. I didn't blame anyone else except for me for these burns. I lost it to my rage thanks to Danzo, I did this to myself, and Kurama couldn't control that. His chakra merely responded to my rage.

Itachi was watching me, pretty coal colored eyes scanning through mine as we made eye contact. He didn't immediately speak, and I didn't either. We both chose to just stare in silence. I noticed lines of worry across his face, like he had been frowning for the entire time I was asleep or something. I reached over and placed my thumb on his lips, holding his face gently. I rubbed my digit over his soft lips, messaging and feeling the bumps of fangs behind them. His eyes fluttered before closing, basking in the sensation. I enjoyed the cold touch of his skin more than someone should.

I wonder if he enjoyed mine as much as I do his. I could lay here all day and let the cold temperature sooth me to blissfullness. I wonder if regular body heat was hot to him. I wonder if standing outside in the sun was like standing inside an oven for him.

Was the land of iron like how I view the weather in the land of fire? Normal? Not too cold or hot?

I pushed my thumb against his lips again, and he parted them for me, letting my thumb slip beside his fangs. I cut myself on his tooth before pushing my thumb into his mouth and messaging it over his very cold tongue. He was much colder on the inside... compared to how his skin felt. It's the opposite of normal body temperature. Being able to feel him... being inside him... was nothing short of heavenly. He was so cold, yet it didn't turn me off in the slightest. He was just perfect.

I felt heat bloom in my face and crotch, making me shudder as he began to suck on my thumb, eyes still closed and visibly relaxing more and more. I didn't mind the soft sting in my finger one bit, I enjoyed it, actually. I also like the pain his bites gave me, weirdly enough.

I hate pain... I despise hurting all over, but the pain he causes me was different. If he bruised me... I was fine. His death grips were pleasurable, and the scratches he gave me with his nails were too. If he ripped me apart, I don't think I'd mind either... as scary as that thought is. Maybe it's because I love him so much it burns my chest.

The thought of him going hungry gives me a bad taste in my mouth. The thought of someone hurting him makes my blood boil, and the thought of losing him is terrifying. I wouldn't be able to handle it if I lost him.

Itachi brought my thumb from his mouth and leaned forward, brushing his knee against my crotch, snapping me from my spiraling thoughts. His eyes lingered over my mostly bare body, tracing me with his eyes as he shifted until I was under him, looking up through a curtain of long black hair at his face.

"Your smell is delicious." He spoke softly. "Your mind seems to be wandering despite your position and current condition."

"I can't help it." I shrugged helplessly, smiling up at him. "You're perfect."

His face grew bluer in the cheeks and nose, making me smile more and chuckle. He leaned down and kissed me deeply, humming against my lips before trailing them to my neck.

"I-I warn you. If you bite, I'm going to get turned on." I whispered as he sucked on my scars.

"As tempting as you smell, I'd rather you heal up first." He spoke against my burning skin. "I want you to heal up as fast as possible."

"Y-yeah, I should be fine soon. My burns are healing faster than they were. So it shouldn't take much longer." I explained to him.

"Alright then. I'll eat after you're done with the waterfall. How's that sound?" Itachi asked, raising himself up to be eye level with me.

"Okay." I nodded, blushing as he leaned down and snatched my mouth again, moaning against my lips as he savored the kisses.

My arms stiffly wrapped around his neck, making me wince, but I powered through the pain to hold him closer. I felt perfectly at ease like this, making me forget the incoming war. It made me forget most of my worries and just live in the moment.

Sadly, the knock at the door cut the serial tension like a knife to butter. Both Itachi and I grunted in frustration as the door then cracked open. He broke the kiss and looked over as I did, as Yamato poked his head inside.

"Sorry to intrude, but we're all healed up. How is Naruto?" Yamato asked before opening the door all the way and flipping the light completely on.

Itachi flinched and squinted his eyes at the abrupt brightness and rolled off of me with a huff, adjusting his eyes as I sat up, forgetting I was only in boxers, not that I really cared considering he's seen me naked in a hot apring before.

"I'm still healing, but we can continue if everyone is ready. How is everyone? Are you all okay?" I asked with worry then, as an image of a half dead Jiraiya popped up in my head.

"Yes, everyone is okay, thanks to Bee taking the brunt of the assault. It wasn't your fault, Naruto, so don't beat yourself up about it. This training is to help you control your tailed beast and Danzo's curse until we find the time to get the interrogation squad to remove it. It would have been done already had Madara not declared war." Yamato explained, folding his arms.

His eyes lingered on my burns, and his mouth frowned a little. He eyed them with a look of concern and something else I couldn't place before he reached into his weapon pouch and pulled out a container of some sort.

"I've got this ointment. I'd like you to apply some to those burns. If you can't get them all, have Itachi help you." Yamato then tossed it over, which I barely caught in time for it to hit my face.

Itachi sat up and stretched some before smiling faintly at Yamato. "Thank you, Yamato. You are always prepared for anything I see."

"I've seen him in that state before, and the consequences it had on his body. Of course I'm prepared for it." Yamato shrugged. "We'll continue the training as soon as possible, again, sorry for intruding."

"Thank you, Yamato. We'll be down soon." I gave him a grin before he left us alone with the door cracked open.

"As much as he is useful, I still don't like the guy." Itachi grunted.

"Why not? You two always seem to have an unrest between you." I frowned at the idea of them hating one another.

"It's because of what I am. I also think he doesn't particularly trust me yet. He knows I was given the order to slaughter my family, but I think he still holds that against me. Yamato doesn't trust easily, its part of his training." Itachi explained. "I also think he is still unable to come to terms with the fact I love you as strongly as I do."

"Why does that even have to matter?" I questioned in complete confusion.

"He's just worried about your safety is all. It's fine, though. I understand his hesitation." Itachi shrugged and kissed my shoulder as I popped open the unopened container of healing ointment. "I am an ex Akatsuki member."

"Well that shouldn't matter." I grumbled in slight annoyance. "You never hurt a hair on my head intentionally. Even before you revealed yourself to me."

I began to apply the ointment to my skin, and instead of burning it soothed the itch, making me relax better at the heavenly feel. I felt his arms come around me after I finished applying the ointment to my abdomen, and they stayed put as I worked on my thighs and legs. I then got my arms, and handed him the container as he did my back. We didn't speak to one another, but glimpses of him told me he enjoyed the silence between us, considering he was smiling and all. Seeing him smile made me smile, and I sat there smiling as he worked on my shoulder blades.

We got dressed soon after, still in silence, and left the room together. Itachi had his daytime outfit partially on, and carried the rest with him incase we stay outside until the daytime. I didn't mind the nighttime schedule and Itachi seemed grateful for it. I'd be cranky too if I had to bundle up under the sunlight.

We made our way downstairs, and I purposefully skipped any meals in order to get this mess over with quicker. Everyone was waiting on us downstairs.

"Yo, it's Naruto. Ready for another go?" Bee asked and held his fist out for me to bump.

I smiled and bumped his hand. I took the opportunity to gaze across any exposed skin to find any gashes or burns but found none. He did the same, eyes roaming over my burnt hands and the patches on my neck. He didn't make a comment to my releif, and we all filtered outside and walked back to the clearing, now littered with shards of wood and craters.

It didn't take long for me to get inside another wooden cage, chained to another tree log. The moment I was left alone and locked inside the cage, I could see everyone grow guarded. Bee stood in front of everyone and watched me with folded arms. Itachi was just behind him with a worried look bit an encouraging smile.

It was then that I felt my head grow so fuzzy I nearly fainted. I let my chakra boil in that moment, refusing to give in as easily as I did before. The haze flickered me in and out of that prison, smells changed back and forth rapidly, and I grew uncomfortable and squirmed in the chains, against the wood.

"I won't stop until you stop howling." A faint voice spoke in front of me, despite no one being inside the wooden cage with me.

Things got weird and very painful after this. I could faintly make out everyone, the clearing, and where I was, but my body registered a different sensation. Cold floors, rags for clothes barely hanging to my body, and the feeling of a very painful whip striking my body over and over, making me heave with agony. My muscles jerked and tensed, my body burned in pain, and I began letting out loud shouts and yells of pain. I couldn't contain my cries as I was whipped by an unseen man. I knew who he was, but I couldn't see him in front of me. My chakra pooled around my body like a defense mechanism, red coating me entirely as my regular chakra shot to my head, trying its best to beat back the false scenario.

It wasn't real. None of it was, but telling myself was one thing and convincing my brain was another.

"AAAAAH!" I cried out, back violently arching off the wood as I felt and heard a crack of a whip strike across my stomach and wrapping around my lower back.

"Fight it!" Guy called out. "You are a strong, youthful man! Don't let it get you again!"

"GGGNNH!" I gritted my teeth as the pain kept coming, frustration flooding my sense of control.

I could feel myself slipping, the image of a figure becoming more clear in front of me, holding the whip and striking me repeatedly. I could taste blood and smell the damp cement soaked with my sweat. I could hear Danzo laughing in enjoyment and slight frustration as I couldn't keep myself from voicing the pain.

My skin was beginning to burn, my vision bled red, and I lunged forward, snarling in warning as I felt cornered, caged, claustrophobic, and ready to kill someone. I was completely defensive, trying like an animal to escape the suffering.

"Concentrate Naruto! You're losing it!" Yamato called from far off as Bee ushered them back, leaving just himself and Itachi in immediate danger should I break free again.

"Don't be a loser!" Sasuke joined in. "Resist damn it!"

"ILL KILL YOU!" I snarled and pulled tightly on the chains, growling as I felt claws grow and my teeth grow into sharp fangs.

I'm slipping.

I sense of hopelessness came over me, and for a moment, I felt like giving in. I couldn't win over this influence. He's too strong. Whatever he did to my head is there forev-

"Come on... you're stronger than this." I faintly heard Itachi say. "I believe in you. Don't give in."

"I-Itachi!" I whispered through gritted teeth, panting heavily as the searing pain continued.

I ignored the hopeless feeling within me and chose to fight harder, flooding my senses with my chakra, trying to fight it back with determination rather than my anger, and felt the pain beginning to cease. I was pulling on the chains, hard, shaking my head as I began to focus on the present. I was alone in the cage... I was alone in the cage.

I was alone.

Danzo was dead.

It was like a water balloon popping. The sensation vanished, and I fell limp against the metal chains, keeping me pinned to the log. I panted heavily and tried my best to catch my breath. I groaned and winced as I felt that some of my burns spread here and there. I sighed heavily before looking up through my bangs to see Itachi busting through the lock and opening the cage.

He was at my side in a flash.

"Naruto! You did it!" He spoke with excitement, swiping his arm above me with great force.

My hands were free following a sound of shattering metal. They fell at my sides, and I didn't make an effort to lift them. I merely chose to sit there and watch him look me over.

"Are you okay?" Itachi asked me, concerned.

"I'm tired." I spoke honestly. "B-But I have one more step to do before we can call it a night."

"Naruto, are you sure you can do that too?" Itachi questioned, narrowing his eyes and looking to my exposed burns.

"Yes, I'm my dad's son after all. I'm awesome." I smirked tiredly and winked at him. "But I may need some help standing."

"Hn, you amaze me." Itachi ruffled my hair before helping me to my feet.

We exited the cage that sunk into the ground. I was met with praises and cheers from everyone, while Sasuke gave a silent thumbs up with a nod. Their words of encouragement fell on deaf ears. I appreciated the support, but I was so tired I was blocking them out unintentionally. I only tiredly smiled and leaned against Itachi more as he helped me walk in the direction of the waterfall.

To confront this growing hate within me.