A/N - Hey guys! Since I received more comments and votes than usual in a long time, I decided to reward you guys with another chapter as quickly as possible to say thank you. Seeing your comments really fill me up with motivation. I stayed up ALL NIGHT to write this out so I hope you enjoy!

Please remember to leave some comments and vote and enjoy ❤️

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Chapter 86: Dark Naruto - Naruto's "True" Self

"Baby, we really made it onto the island!" Nia said as Naruto set their bags down in a room that Motoi, the man in charge of the island, lead them to.

"Yeah... it's about time, ya know?" Naruto replied, sitting on the bed.

"We sure had a long, crazy voyage," Nia sat beside him.

"No kidding," Naruto agreed.

"That whole time you were talking about meeting an octopus, and I forgot that Killer Bee is one and that he's a jinchuriki just like you. It's been so long since I've seen him. I'm glad to see he's well after all this time."

"That guy's a bit weird if you ask me..."

"Oh, you'll get used to him once you get to know him," Nia smiled.

Naruto cringed.

"Yeah... I doubt that'll happen anytime soon."

"You know, honeybun, he has told me in the past that he had it rough growing up just like you."

"That's just how it is when you're a host of a tailed beast. People treat you differently."

"Oh baby," Nia kissed his cheek. "I'd never treat you any differently just because of that."

"I'm sure you wouldn't have, beautiful," Naruto wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him.

"Naruto?"

"Yes?"

"I can tell... ever since you've been told Bee can control his tailed beast, that you seem to want the same with you and your tailed beast."

"So... you've figured me out, huh?"

Nia glanced at the blond.

"So it is true?"

"Yes," Naruto nodded. "I also wanna know how to tame the Nine Tails."

"Naruto-"

"I already know, sweetheart. I know it won't be easy... but even so... I'm willing to do whatever it takes, ya know?"

"Oh baby..."

Naruto kissed Nia on the top of her head then stood.

"Sweetheart..." He spoke. "I'm... gonna try to get him to show me how to do it."

"Are you sure that's what you wanna do?" Nia questioned.

"Yes, beautiful."

"In that case," Nia stood. "I'm going t-"

"No, sweetie," Naruto pressed her gently back onto the bed.

"Naru-"

"We just got done traveling all the way here. You're pregnant with our baby girls, so therefore, you should take this time to rest."

Nia pouted.

"Give me a kiss," Naruto puckered his lips.

Nia pressed her lips against his.

"Just relax here for a bit and lay down," Naruto got her to lay in the bed then placed the sheets over her. "I'll be back soon and if something happens, I'll let you tag along."

"Well okay, baby. I'll lay down for a bit," Nia replied.

Naruto leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"I'll be right back, beautiful. Bye for now."

"Bye, baby."

With that, Naruto left the room. Nia closed her eyes and attempted to get some sleep. However, after thirty minutes, Naruto came back to the room.

"B-Baby?" Nia wiped her eyes to see the blond next to her.

"Sorry, beautiful. I didn't mean to wake you like this," Naruto apologized.

"No, it's fine. Did you get everything situated with Bee?"

Naruto sweat dropped.

"Not exactly, but Motoi, Yamato, and I are about to do step one into me learning to control the Nine Tails. I was wondering if you wanted to tag along?"

"Yes... of course I'd like to," Nia took the sheets off her, stretched, and yawned.

"Well, let's get going!" Naruto chirped.

Soon the group would make it to a waterfall, a patch of grass in front of it.

"Is this it?" Naruto questioned.

"Yes," Motoi answered. "This place is called the Waterfall Of Truth."

"It's so pretty," Nia commented.

"The Waterfall Of Truth?" Yamato spoke then looked to Motoi. "Bee learned to control his tailed beast here?"

"Not quite. It's just the first step," Motoi answered, walking forward onto the water and onto the patch of grass. "Sit down here and close your eyes, Naruto. You will see your true self."

"See my true self?" The blond was confused.

"That's right."

"But, like, what does that mean?" Nia asked.

Naruto hopped onto the patch of grass and sat down.

"Well, we may not know now, but I'll find out right now, gorgeous."

He then closed his eyes and focused.

"Why?" He suddenly heard a voice ask.

He opened his eyes, seeing a shadow within the waterfall.

"Why didn't you give them your autograph at Ichiraku?" The voice continued.

"What's that?" Naruto blinked.

"I don't blame you, ya know. I mean, after all... they kept kissing up to you like that," The shadow then revealed itself to the blond. It turned out to be Naruto himself, except this Naruto had red eyes and where the whites of their eyes was supposed to be was now that of a dark color. "They were completely disgusting, weren't they?"

'He looks... just like me,' Naruto appeared stunned.

"Don't you remember?" His identical asked. "Everyone in the village used to treat us like outcasts, and then they try to pull that?"

Naruto said nothing and instead thought of the men who asked for his autograph at Ichiraku.

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded to know.

"Isn't it obvious," His identical responded. "C'mon! I'm you!"

"What?! That can't be! I haven't made any shadow clones!"

"I'm no clone. I'm the real you; the one that exists inside of your heart. See, I am you."

"What're you even talking about?!" Naruto pointed. "I have no idea who you are! Now just stop making stuff up!"

Outside, Nia and Yamato appeared worried.

"Is he gonna be okay?" The girl asked Motoi.

"Just wait and see, young lady," He answered.

Yamato stepped forward.

"Hey! Naru-"

"No! Quiet!" Motoi told the captain.

Back where Naruto's mental state was, he still conversed with what seemed to be his twin.

"I'm the real you. The true person you are inside," The identical said.

"The real me?" Naruto still seemed baffled.

"Yeah... I'm the hatred inside you. I'm the dark part of you! The only difference between us... is that the Nine Tails has a taken a real serious liking to me. You can call me... Dark Naruto."

Naruto kept his guard.

So he's the one working with the Nine Tails!

"Yeah, you got that right!" Dark Naruto pointed. "Just face it! I'm the real you, and I'm not gonna let you kick me out, you fake!"

"So, that's how it is, huh?"

Dark Naruto then charged at his other half and they locked up with one another.

Soon, their fight would result in the blond being brought back to his normal state.

"Baby!" Nia ran over to him as the blond panted.

"Naruto, what happened?" Yamato questioned.

"That guy..." He looked to the two. "He looked just like me. We had the same moves, same fighting style, same everything. Everything is identical with us. I think... he was my dark half, ya know?"

"Baby... that's crazy," Nia appeared worried.

"How can this be?" Yamato seemed shaken.

Motoi decided to speak up.

"You must defeat him," He said. "Or you won't be able to handle the tailed beasts power. I told you... the Waterfall of Truth is merely the first step."

"So how the hell am I supposed to beat that guy?!" Naruto wanted answers.

He figured he asked Bee but then changed his mind, and proceeded to ask Motoi if he could give him a background story of Bee, to which Motoi agreed to. He told them all he knew of bee and his past. How he was always so cheerful and confident in himself despite the way others treated him. He then went to go onto to telling the group he even once tried to kill the man in the past, but Bee had seemingly forgiven him and they went on to become great friends.

Though initially upset by the man's confession, Naruto was just glad that Motoi was truly sorry for his actions and that he was planning to confess what he had done to Bee. Eventually, Naruto excused himself to be alone.

"Naruto, where are you-" Nia reached out for him.

"Please, sweetheart. Give me time to think to myself," He told her.

"But Uzu-"

"I'll be back, beautiful. Just be sure to stay here until I come back."

"Okay, baby..."

With that, Naruto went off to be by himself. Some time passed and Yamato, along with Motoi, decided to check on him. Nia decided she would wait for him right where she was.

Some time later, the group returned, bringing Bee with them this time.

"Oh baby, are you ok?" Nia ran up to the blond.

"Yeah," Naruto grabbed her face and kissed her forehead. "Sorry that took us so long. We had to fight that giant octo-"

"Squid," Yamato corrected him.

"Yeah. A giant squid," Naruto chuckled.

"What?! It attacked you all again?!"

"Yes, but we're all fine. Octopops saved us, ya know?"

"You're very welcome, fool ya fool!" Bee spoke.

"But sweetheart, now it's time for me to confront my true self once more," Naruto sat down on the patch of grass again.

"Baby, are you sure?" Nia was worried.

"Yes, beautiful. I'm positive."

Nia pressed her lips against him.

"Do your best, honeybun."

"Trust me, I will."

With that, Naruto closed his eyes and was met by Dark Naruto once more. For a while they talked and Naruto proceeded to show Dark Naruto the autograph he wanted to give to the villagers who asked for it.

"What you see here is my autograph," Naruto smiled as the words were written above his head.

"You bastard!" Dark Naruto growled.

"I didn't have an autograph to give them at Ichiraku, but I have one now."

Dark Naruto whipped his arm.

"So what that you've come up with some autograph?! What a joke!" He yelled. "Everyone in the village is falling over themselves to deceive you! They were lying to us since we were kids! Creating these stupid rules and making us outcasts! DON'T YOU REMEMBER THAT?!"

Dark Naruto grabbed his heart.

"I bet even Nia... I bet even she thinks deep inside her heart that we're monsters! That she doesn't truly love us for who we are. How can she love us when we're a jinchuriki?! There's no way a beautiful, kind girl like her could ever truly love someone like me!"

Naruto listened.

"I mean come on!" Dark Naruto continued. "I couldn't even protect her from getting killed along with our baby girls! It was my fault she died twice! How can I ever forgive myself for what I've done?! She's also totally just completely too good for us! Why does she bother to stick with us?! Why does she bother to not look at us the way the villagers had in the past?! I don't understand it! How could she possibly accept us for everything we are?! WE'RE A MONSTER!"

"That's... not true," Naruto responded softly. "I understand that I felt guilty for what had happened to her and our babies, but the fact of the matter is... she and the babies were brought back to me. I was given yet another chance to be with her and that's all that matters to me, so I shouldn't be constantly beating myself up over what happened. I should just be grateful she's in my arms again. I also know... for a fact... that Nia loves me. That her love is true. That she doesn't see me as some sort of monster in any way, shape, or form. I know that she accepts me for everything that I am even though I'm not perfect and never will be perfect. She's the woman who's more than happy to not only marry me, but to have my babies. Nia is everything I need in my life, now and forever."

Dark Naruto was hurt.

"How can you know that for sure, though? It hurts... so painful! I'm the only one who will ever understand you! You can't trust anyone to be there for you! Especially not those villagers."

"The villagers and Nia are important, but there's someone else I need to trust first," Naruto kept his smile. "What I need to do first is believe in myself. I need to trust the me that everyone else believes in, ya know?"

He then grinned.

"As for Nia, I believe that she loves me cause she proves her love to me time and time again. Not just through her words, but her actions as well. Remember... she DIED for me. She's willing to give up her life so I can live... and I'm prepared to do the same for her, too."

Hearing this, Dark Naruto fell to his knees and started sobbing.

"Why? Why? After everything everyone has put us through?"

"I realized it while watching Octopops. He doesn't let himself get pulled down by doubt. And he has pride in himself."

"Do you think... that I'm just something in your way?! What exactly was I to you, huh?!"

"I became strong cause you existed. It's thanks to you that I got where I am today."

"And? What now, huh?" Dark Naruto risen to his feet and ran toward his other half with a fist ready to hit. "What am I supposed to do from now on?!"

"That's easy to answer," Naruto held his arms out.

Immediately, Dark Naruto collided himself into an embrace by Naruto.

"You just need to become me," Naruto said. "You are me, after all. The me that Nia loves, the me the baby girls love, and the me that I love too. Thank you for everything you've done, but it's all right now."

Stunned by his words, a sense of peace radiated through Dark Naruto's being. His eyes returned to their original state, and his arm dropped as he slowly began to fade away.

Once he did, Naruto was brought back to the outside world. He slowly stood up and grinned back at everyone.

"Baby!" Nia ran to him. "Did you do it?! Did you do it?!"

"Yes beautiful I did," He answered.

"OH BABY!" The girl hugged him. "I'm so happy! I'm so happy!"

"Sweet Nia..." Naruto blushed.

Nia immediately cupped his face and locked lips with him. Naruto held her close to him as the two kissed.

"Hold on, since when did those two start dating, yo?" Bee questioned.

"Well..." Yamato sweat dropped. "For a while now. She's actually getting ready to give birth to their twins next year."

"What?! For real?!"

"Yes."

"Well I'd say congratulations, fools ya fools."

"Thanks a lot!" Naruto slowly backed away from Nia's lips and grinned. "Their names are Naruta and Nisaki. We're super stoked to have them, ya know?"

"I bet you are, ya hear?" Bee said, walking toward the waterfall."But check this out, Naruto. Now we're moving forward with this whole thing. Follow me inside this waterfall."

"Inside the waterfall?" Naruto watched him.

He looked to Nia who seemed hesitant.

"O-Oh yeah! That's right! Your hair! You can't get it wet, right?" The blond took off his jacket and tightly wrapped it around Nia's head.

Because he seemed to remember that small detail of her hair, Nia blushed.

"Oh Naruto..." She gushed.

"Now sweetie, we're gonna run in there as fast as possible, okay?" Naruto got in front of her. "Here, I'll even stretch my arms out to block the water and you walk under it to further prevent it from getting your hair wet."

"Ok, baby."

So, that's what he did and Nia safely got across without her hair nor herself getting wet. Naruto, on the other hand, was drenched.

"Oh baby, thank you so much for looking out for me and my hair. I really appreciate it!" Nia pecked his lips.

"Yeah, no problem, beautiful," Naruto reddened. "I'm just glad to protect you and your hair from the water."

With that, the group continued onward into the secret base ahead of them.

Nia wondered... what was in store for them, or particularly for Naruto, next.

———

A/N - That's the end of that! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

Please remember to leave some comments and vote and have a great rest of your day ❤️

QOTD:

1. Fave Part?

2. Fave Line?

3. What did you think of the part where Dark Naruto was saying Nia probably didn't really love him and that she was too good for him?