Because it's a decent idea that can branch out into several good stories that I may not want to write, here's the basic idea of Backdraft.
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Backdraft
There can only be one King in the sovereignty of a man's heart. Like many things, nobody ever told this to Naruto.
"Sensei?"
Kakashi looked up from his book. Uchiha Sasuke stood in front of him, bandages still peeking out from his clothes from the beating he had received at the bridge. A mildly questioning look adorned his face.
"Aa?"
Sasuke slumped against the outside wall of the bridgebuilder's house next to Kakashi. He had just woken up from his false death mere hours ago on the bridge, and strictly speaking shouldn't even be moving yet. He'd live though.
The boy sat there a few seconds, questions fleeting across his dark eyes. Kakashi patiently turned a page, reading his book and Sasuke's face simultaneously, with about the same ease.
"I just..." the young boy started. He clinched his eyes shut. "How did Naruto beat him?"
There was anguish in that voice. Curiosity. Self-reproachment.
"After everything... even with the Sharingan..."
"The boy still beat you?"
Sasuke shook his head, being uncommonly open. It may have been the exhaustion, the emotional turmoil, or even the fact that his teammates were out like logs inside the building.
"He didn't really beat me. I... do you know how I went down, sensei?"
Kakashi blinked at the evasive question. "With needles, I would presume."
He recieved a carefully blank look. "The needles were aimed at Naruto."
Kakashi snapped his book shut. "Are you wanting to know how Naruto beat the boy, Sasuke... or why you took that hit?"
Sasuke looked away. "Both." he muttered under his breath.
Smiling through his mask, Kakashi asked "Thankfully, they are rooted in the same reason... so to speak. What do you know of the Will of Fire, Sasuke?"
Sasuke's face fell at the sudden history question. "It was the philosphy the Shodaime Hokage led his life and Konoha by."
"Do you happen to know what the actual philosphy is?"
Most genin, Kakashi knew, wouldn't. This was something parents, or commanders, eventually revealed to their students, generally when they became chuunin leaders.
"No, it was never brought up, and I never looked into it."
"The Will of Fire is what keeps a shinobi going when all odds are against them. The Will to never say no, the Will to never falter in their duty to the village... the Will to protect the King."
"The King?" Sasuke managed.
"The person who is what a shinobi fights for, whom they bleed and train for... whom they would give everything to protect."
Sasuke's face blanched amusingly fast at the implication that the dead-last was his "King."
"For some people, the King is a person. Others, an ideal. But for every Konoha ninja, be they trapped in a trench or doing a D-rank, they push on. They never stop fighting the odds, because to do so is to forsake everything they've ever fought for, their family, their friends, their village.... and their King. The Sandaime Hokage himself believes that the Will of Fire has carried Konoha to victory over the other villages many times."
Kakashi fixed Sasuke with a stern look. "The Sandaime used to be known as the God of Ninja for his prowess on the battlefield... but before that, he was known simply as The Professor for his all-encompasing knowledge. When he speaks, even other nations listen, no matter how grudgingly. It's because he knows that for every name on the Memorial Stone, somewhere there's a mission in the archives marked Complete instead of Failure. That for every inch of the Land of Fire, a Konoha ninja has watered the leaves with their blood and sweat... and sometimes their corpses."
"Sasuke, who do you think Naruto's King is?"
Sasuke looked distinctly poleaxed and the rapid change in conversation. "...Me?"
The poor genin looked desperate for Kakashi to shake his head no, probably thinking, like most genin did, that the whole thing sounded rather gay, in the same way that Gai was 'rather' youthful.
Kakashi shook his head, motioning for him to continue. "The Sandaime?" They had seemed close and all, what with Naruto calling him gramps...
"Nope."
"...Team 7?"
"Not at all, Sasuke. You're thinking far too narrowly. Naruto's stated ambition is to be the Hokage. How serious do you think he is about that?"
A snort answered that question.
"He's deadly serious, Sasuke. He doesn't know of the Will of Fire yet, but that doesn't mean one's will can't burn. Despite all that's happened to him in life... his King will be this."
Kakashi reached forward and tapped the left side of Sasuke's forehead, right next to the Konoha symbol.
Sasuke swallowed thickly at the tap to the forehead.
"The entire village of Konohagakure. That will be his King, and that's how he beat Haku."
Kakashi sighed slightly. "It's something spoken of not entirely seriously- most believe it to be a legend. It's called Overburn. When your King is directly threatened, and you're backed into a wall, when you you rage in the face of fate, when your Will burns with the intensity of the sun, a Konoha shinobi can defeat a god."
Sasuke, whose eyes had been wide and face pale, suddenly seemed to snap back to himself at the rediculous notion and opened his mouth to protest.
"The last person I saw go into Overburn went one on one with the Nine Tailed Demon Fox and emerged victorious, because his wife and unborn child were threatened by its rampage."
Sasuke's mouth slammed shut.
"Naruto has powerful chakra, and a will tempered through hardship. He only has a few Kings right now, but someday he'll have the entire village. And it's because he gives all of himself for his Kings, without a second thought.... or even a first. They come before him. When Haku took you down, it was like a bomb went off on the bridge, Sasuke. Naruto's Will burned so hard, so fast, that I think he may have shot clear past Overburn. Haku's mirrors shattered from the sheer force of Naruto's will alone."
Kakshi pinned Sasuke with a look. "He gives everything for his Kings. Who is your King, Sasuke?"
With that, Kakashi left the quiet boy to his thoughts.
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The different possible branches: Kyuubi wasn't sealed in naruto, kakashi is telling the truth, and naruto is a walking superweapon of will. Kakashi is lying and covering things up, but the sentiment is true all the same. The talk affects Sasuke in a profound way, leading him to try and find his King. The talk affects him negatively, and he declares vengenace as his King and falls to darkness even faster.
etc etc.
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Backdraft
There can only be one King in the sovereignty of a man's heart. Like many things, nobody ever told this to Naruto.
"Sensei?"
Kakashi looked up from his book. Uchiha Sasuke stood in front of him, bandages still peeking out from his clothes from the beating he had received at the bridge. A mildly questioning look adorned his face.
"Aa?"
Sasuke slumped against the outside wall of the bridgebuilder's house next to Kakashi. He had just woken up from his false death mere hours ago on the bridge, and strictly speaking shouldn't even be moving yet. He'd live though.
The boy sat there a few seconds, questions fleeting across his dark eyes. Kakashi patiently turned a page, reading his book and Sasuke's face simultaneously, with about the same ease.
"I just..." the young boy started. He clinched his eyes shut. "How did Naruto beat him?"
There was anguish in that voice. Curiosity. Self-reproachment.
"After everything... even with the Sharingan..."
"The boy still beat you?"
Sasuke shook his head, being uncommonly open. It may have been the exhaustion, the emotional turmoil, or even the fact that his teammates were out like logs inside the building.
"He didn't really beat me. I... do you know how I went down, sensei?"
Kakashi blinked at the evasive question. "With needles, I would presume."
He recieved a carefully blank look. "The needles were aimed at Naruto."
Kakashi snapped his book shut. "Are you wanting to know how Naruto beat the boy, Sasuke... or why you took that hit?"
Sasuke looked away. "Both." he muttered under his breath.
Smiling through his mask, Kakashi asked "Thankfully, they are rooted in the same reason... so to speak. What do you know of the Will of Fire, Sasuke?"
Sasuke's face fell at the sudden history question. "It was the philosphy the Shodaime Hokage led his life and Konoha by."
"Do you happen to know what the actual philosphy is?"
Most genin, Kakashi knew, wouldn't. This was something parents, or commanders, eventually revealed to their students, generally when they became chuunin leaders.
"No, it was never brought up, and I never looked into it."
"The Will of Fire is what keeps a shinobi going when all odds are against them. The Will to never say no, the Will to never falter in their duty to the village... the Will to protect the King."
"The King?" Sasuke managed.
"The person who is what a shinobi fights for, whom they bleed and train for... whom they would give everything to protect."
Sasuke's face blanched amusingly fast at the implication that the dead-last was his "King."
"For some people, the King is a person. Others, an ideal. But for every Konoha ninja, be they trapped in a trench or doing a D-rank, they push on. They never stop fighting the odds, because to do so is to forsake everything they've ever fought for, their family, their friends, their village.... and their King. The Sandaime Hokage himself believes that the Will of Fire has carried Konoha to victory over the other villages many times."
Kakashi fixed Sasuke with a stern look. "The Sandaime used to be known as the God of Ninja for his prowess on the battlefield... but before that, he was known simply as The Professor for his all-encompasing knowledge. When he speaks, even other nations listen, no matter how grudgingly. It's because he knows that for every name on the Memorial Stone, somewhere there's a mission in the archives marked Complete instead of Failure. That for every inch of the Land of Fire, a Konoha ninja has watered the leaves with their blood and sweat... and sometimes their corpses."
"Sasuke, who do you think Naruto's King is?"
Sasuke looked distinctly poleaxed and the rapid change in conversation. "...Me?"
The poor genin looked desperate for Kakashi to shake his head no, probably thinking, like most genin did, that the whole thing sounded rather gay, in the same way that Gai was 'rather' youthful.
Kakashi shook his head, motioning for him to continue. "The Sandaime?" They had seemed close and all, what with Naruto calling him gramps...
"Nope."
"...Team 7?"
"Not at all, Sasuke. You're thinking far too narrowly. Naruto's stated ambition is to be the Hokage. How serious do you think he is about that?"
A snort answered that question.
"He's deadly serious, Sasuke. He doesn't know of the Will of Fire yet, but that doesn't mean one's will can't burn. Despite all that's happened to him in life... his King will be this."
Kakashi reached forward and tapped the left side of Sasuke's forehead, right next to the Konoha symbol.
Sasuke swallowed thickly at the tap to the forehead.
"The entire village of Konohagakure. That will be his King, and that's how he beat Haku."
Kakashi sighed slightly. "It's something spoken of not entirely seriously- most believe it to be a legend. It's called Overburn. When your King is directly threatened, and you're backed into a wall, when you you rage in the face of fate, when your Will burns with the intensity of the sun, a Konoha shinobi can defeat a god."
Sasuke, whose eyes had been wide and face pale, suddenly seemed to snap back to himself at the rediculous notion and opened his mouth to protest.
"The last person I saw go into Overburn went one on one with the Nine Tailed Demon Fox and emerged victorious, because his wife and unborn child were threatened by its rampage."
Sasuke's mouth slammed shut.
"Naruto has powerful chakra, and a will tempered through hardship. He only has a few Kings right now, but someday he'll have the entire village. And it's because he gives all of himself for his Kings, without a second thought.... or even a first. They come before him. When Haku took you down, it was like a bomb went off on the bridge, Sasuke. Naruto's Will burned so hard, so fast, that I think he may have shot clear past Overburn. Haku's mirrors shattered from the sheer force of Naruto's will alone."
Kakshi pinned Sasuke with a look. "He gives everything for his Kings. Who is your King, Sasuke?"
With that, Kakashi left the quiet boy to his thoughts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The different possible branches: Kyuubi wasn't sealed in naruto, kakashi is telling the truth, and naruto is a walking superweapon of will. Kakashi is lying and covering things up, but the sentiment is true all the same. The talk affects Sasuke in a profound way, leading him to try and find his King. The talk affects him negatively, and he declares vengenace as his King and falls to darkness even faster.
etc etc.
