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The Blessed Realm	By : susanna Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Naruto/Sasuke Views: 1746 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Naruto, his friends and the world he lives in don't belong to me but to Masashi Kishimoto. I write this story only for my pleasure and I don't make any money with it.

Chapter List
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Chapter
Seventy-One: True Ninja

Finally
the new edition of the Gutsy Ninja had been printed, complete with
introduction and a photo of Naruto on the back cover. They had chosen
a black and white one in the end, and it looked great, showing Naruto
in a way that was very manly and very sexy at the same time. The
important book stores of the town displayed photos of the book in
their shop windows, together with stacks of the book itself, so that
whenever Naruto walked through the streets of the center of town he
saw his own face smiling at him.

At
their dance class he gave an author's copy to the guy from Earth
Country and his husband, and all their gay friends complimented him
and told him that the editors of Icha-Icha certainly knew how to lure
the (mostly female) fanbase of Jiraiya into buying the Gutsy Ninja
too. Even Juugo's fostermothers, to whom Naruto had also given one of
his author's copies, said that the photographers had done a great
job.

Sasuke
explained that it had actually been him who had chosen the clothes
and the make-up for Naruto, and that the photographers were cowards,
not daring to choose a coloured photo. The two mothers listened
patiently, then they changed the subject and asked Sasuke about
Juugo's age. They needed to know it as they planned to send him to
school when the holidays were over. (Pretending that you were a kid
had its disadvantages, Sasuke realized.)

“We
have no idea which class to put him in”, they said. “We
thought he was twelve, as our own boys, but he has grown such a lot
since summer that we think he's at least fourteen. Only his level of
education is really bad. Nobody seems to have taught him anything at
that evil place you have escaped from.”

“He
was kept in a cage all by himself”, Sasuke answered.

The
women looked shocked. They had not expected such an amount of
evilness. “He's doing really fine, considering what he went
through. And he's always friendly and grateful and eager to help and
eager to learn. We hope that he will soon catch up if we put him into
a class of children who are more or less his own age.”

He
was indeed now taller than his fostermothers. Sasuke wondered whether
whatever had turned Juugo into a twelve-year-old kid was now wearing
off.

“What
about the two of you?” the mothers continued to ask. “Have
you ever thought of going back to school too? Or learn some
profession? You cannot remain waiters forever.”

“We
are ninja with a certificate from the academy of Konoha”,
Sasuke answered. “We plan to return to Konoha. We don't need
another profession.”

The
women tried to explain to them that they had no idea how long it
would take until they'd be able to return, and that they'd better
make good use of their time in Music Town by learning a meaningful
trade. They kept talking for quite some time until they finally got
aware that neither Sasuke nor Naruto were responding to what they
said.

When
they had run out of both breath and words, Naruto managed to change
the subject and tell them of the results of his research among the
various religious congregations of Music Town.

“You
were right: The Rikudou Sennin was not the only religious leader who
preached about peace. Actually all the religious communities I
visited told me that peace is of vital importance to their religion
and that “don't kill” is one of its main precepts. They
admit that there were times when their religion got corrupted, but
originally, they say, it was all about people living in harmony, and
that's how they practise it now. It's just the other religions that
are not peaceful but have violence inscribed into the very
foundations of their belief. They get along well with the local
congregations of these religions as they have to behave peacefully
under the laws of Music Town, they even invite each other to
festivals on important holidays, but they complain that they always
have to be careful what to talk about, never addressing the violence
at the basis of the other's religion, because if you do, people will
be first in denial and then get defensive, and in the end, if you
refuse to be silent about the problem, they will get aggressive.”

The
women smiled understandingly: Naruto's tales did not contain any new
information for them.

“And
then they give me brochures and invitations to their Youth Club or
some lecture. Sasuke keeps asking me when he may put it all into the
wastepaper bin.”

“It's
all the same rubbish”, Sasuke said. “Live a virtuous and
selfless life, then you will find inner peace or peace with God or
the Gods, and you'll also be successful in your job and have a lot of
friends. It's all stuff for people who haven't experienced any real
suffering.”

At
the moment he looked quite content though, enjoying the sun and the
lunch the two mothers had served.

“He
reads it all”, Naruto continued. “And he's already made
up his mind, as you see. I haven't, but I think I want to find out
more about the Rikudou Sennin himself, and the religion he founded,
even if it's not that different from other people's religions. It's
because what I was taught as a ninja is a distorted version of his
teachings, which is now all about fighting, and I want to learn about
the real thing.”

The
two mothers advised him to go to the central temple.

“We
used to be a ninja village too, after all, and there's still a lot of
people who remember that time and still believe in the old religion.”

Naruto's
first step, however, was to turn to the book about the Rikudou “his
life, his time, his ideas” that he had got from the library. It
turned out to be quite interesting, and a much easier read than he
had expected, now that he had learnt about all the other religions in
Music Town. He also took it with him to the riverside so that he had
something to read while Sasuke was listening to their new friends'
discussions of politics. Unfortunately, the young people caught a
glimpse of the book.

“The
Rikudou!” they said. “Why do you read a book about an
esoteric guru?”

“What's
esoteric?” Naruto asked.

“It
means teachings that are only for a select few who are worthy of
being initiated into some secret mysteries.”

“But
the Rikudou preached about peace and working together instead of
against each other. That's hardly a mystery.”

“Well,
yes, everybody knows about peace and collaboration”, the young
people replied. “But that's not the real thing. That's not what
attracted people to the Rikudou's teachings. They are attracted by
the promise of special experiences and extraordinary strength and the
prospect of being member of a small elite. Just read” - they
named an author Naruto had never heard of - “ he explains
exactly how ninshuu became the most important religion of the ninja
countries, with a small group of people with special skills on top.”

Naruto
grew uneasy. He sensed that these young people knew something about
the transformation of the religion of ninjuu into ninjutsu, a system
of fighting techniques, but also he felt as if they had attacked him
personally.

“The
techniques aren't only for a small group of people”, he said.
“Everyone can master ninjutsu. At least to a certain degree.”

He
looked at Sasuke, hoping for some support. It had been Sasuke after
all who had informed him that some of the kids they taught might be
able to forge chakra. Sasuke, however, remained silent.

“Are
you a ninja yourself?” people asked, and Naruto felt as if he
had made a huge mistake, betraying himself.

“Yes”,
he admitted.

“So
you have learnt all the stuff about getting in touch with your inner
energy and perceiving the world in a special way?”

“Yes”,
Naruto answered, feeling caught again.

“So
you have been influenced by the ideology and are no longer able to
judge it neutrally.”

Now
Naruto felt really bad. “Look, there's not much ideology. It's
about peace, that's all. There's nothing wrong with peace.”

“But
the message about peace is just the surface”, the young people
repeated. “In reality, it's all about power, as it is the case
with all religions. The elite needs it to support its claim of
superiority, making those at the bottom follow them, and they need
religion to make those at the bottom believe that they all belong
together, as followers of one religion, high or low. Nothing is
better than religion if you want your followers to unite against
those who follow different religions and refuse to accept the truth,
so that they may be killed without remorse. There's other means of
instilling this sense of community too, football for example: You
belong to a certain group of people, the fans of your club, and feel
superior to those who don't belong, just because you yourself belong
to it. But with religion you give it a deeper meaning, as you can
pretend that killing others is the will of the Gods, or in harmony
with the universe.”

Sasuke
was listening too. The young people's ideas fascinated him, mostly
because he felt confirmed in his own attitude towards religion but
also because he wondered whether Danzou too had thought that killing
his clan had been in harmony with the universe. Now however he
decided to intervene and support Naruto: “It's not as you
think”, he said. “You belong to a certain group and you
may feel proud of it, but you also have to prove worthy of belonging
to that group. You can't just feel proud of nothing.” He paused
for a few seconds. “Except with football of course. There
people feel proud when their team has won even though they themselves
did not do anything but cheer. Only the players have to be good at
what they are actually doing. Well, some people think that their
cheers are a substantial contribution to a victory.” He looked
at Naruto who sometimes had expressed such ideas.

The
young people looked irritated and confused. They had not expected
Sasuke to speak up.

“Well,
of course the group has its demands on you”, one of the women
finally answered. “And in return it really offers you as a
reward that you may feel proud of belonging to that group. But what
is best is still that you decide about your own values and what you
want to achieve for yourself.”

Sasuke
was silent: deciding for himself was what he had always been proud
of, even in times when he was actually being manipulated, as he had
to admit to himself in hindsight. The whole group was silent, as no
one knew what to add to the discussion, until suddenly one of them
cried out: “Watch out! The police!”

It
were two female officers again, standing on the street, which was on
a higher level than the river itself, taking in the sight of the lawn
that went down in a slope, and then approaching the nearest group of
people, taking down people's names while the people themselves got up
and prepared to leave.

Leisurely
the two policewomen walked over to the next group, while Sasuke's and
Naruto's group packed their stuff in a hurry and then made for the
nearest bridge, hiding under it on the small patch of pavement
between the river and the bridge's arc. At that point Sasuke's and
Naruto's ninja instincts set in (before, they had just been
confused.) Naruto discovered an iron ladder for construction workers,
leading to the street on top of the bridge, and from there it was
only a few metres to one of the narrow streets in the oldest part of
town. Sasuke remained under the bridge, sending the members of the
group up the iron ladder one by one, watching out for the policewomen
who had got into a discussion with the second group they had tried to
control. Naruto took his post on top of the bridge, offering a hand
to the young women, which they all refused, saying they could manage
by themselves, and sending them to that narrow street when no one was
watching. Sasuke was last, and together they followed their friends.
One of them already stood in the open door of a pub, inviting them to
come in, telling them that they had already ordered a round of beer
for everyone.

“So
you're really ninja”, they said when the boys had settled down.

“I
told you so, didn't I?” Naruto replied. He was pleased with
himself, and also he had enjoyed cooperating with Sasuke.

“But
is this place safe?” Sasuke asked. “Won't they look for
us here?”

“They
won't, and even if they do they can't prove anything.”

Sasuke
frowned, wondering about their words. Naruto was wondering too: “But
why did they check people? Why did we have to flee? We haven't done
anything wrong, have we?”

Their
friends looked embarrassed. “We have, actually. You are not
supposed to hang out at that part of the river after ten. People who
live here complain that they can't sleep.”

“So
what happens if you get caught?” Sasuke asked.

“They
take down your name, and if it's the second time you have to pay a
fine. If they catch you a third time it gets really expensive, and
they may take you to trial.”

“So
why do we hang out at this corner and not at some place where it's
okay?”

“Here
it's nicer. Not so overcrowded.”

“Also
the police is checking for illegal drugs”, someone else added.

“But
we don't have any, have we?”

Again,
the young people looked embarrassed.

“Don't
worry: we haven't tried to give you anything in secret.”

“It
wouldn't have worked anyway”, Sasuke answered. “We'd
recognize them. We're ninja.”

“Still it's better
if we stay out of controls”, Naruto said. “We don't have
any official status, or any documents to prove our identity.”

The
young people took some time to process the information.

“So
you're illegal refugees”, they said.

“Yes”,
Naruto answered, doing his best to accept the term. It was better
than being a rogue-nin anyway. “You won't betray us, will you?”

“Of
course not. And if you need anything, money, a job, a place to stay
or to hide, just tell: We'll arrange something.”

“Thanks”,
Naruto answered, wondering about their new friends' generosity.

The
next day he told the guy from the Earth Country and his husband about
this adventure and their friends' offer, hoping for some
explanations, but the two men got so upset that they were not able to
answer quietly.

“We
told you before!” they said. “Stay out of conflicts with
the police! Don't do anything illegal, even if it's hanging out
after ten where this is not allowed. And keep at a safe distance from
drugs. For your friends it's a game, but your situation is far too
precarious for this. If you get caught anywhere near drugs, nothing
and no one can save you from being sent back to Konoha. Or you
finally make up your mind and apply for some legal status: When you
have become naturalized citizens of Music Town you can play hide and
seek with the police too, if this gives you pleasure.”

Both
boys were silenced by the outbreak.

A/N: Thanks again for your reviews and your
plusses! You can find my answers at
http://www2.adult-fanfiction.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=14965

I
would prefer to answer here, but this is against the rules. I think
that they have changed the settings and that now it is able to access
the thread without registration at the forums.
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