Uzumaki | Naruto -v.2- Nzc

"Course I did. You're crashing my legacy. That's a declaration of war, y'know."

The rain fell harder. Naruto didn't answer right away. Instead, he sat down on the wet stone, ignoring the cold. V-2 hesitated, then sat across from him.

Naruto's fists clenched. "You're a clone."

Underneath was a face almost identical to Naruto's, but older, wearier, scarred across the bridge of the nose. And the eyes—one blue, one red with a Mangekyo pattern he didn't recognize. Uzumaki Naruto -V.2- NZC

"Yeah. You're my V-2. My version two. And versions don't get erased. They get updates ." Six months later, V-2—now simply calling themselves Zero —stood beside Naruto at the new Memorial Stone. Their arm was repaired. Their chakra had stabilized, mingled with Kurama's fox-red energy.

"What the hell...?"

In the final battle, V-2 took a blow meant for Naruto. A chakra blade through the chest. "Course I did

V-2 stared. "You admit weakness."

"Files lie. People change." Naruto leaned forward. "So what do you want , V-2? Not your programming. You. What do you want?"

Naruto's smile faded. "They built someone to kill me." Naruto didn't answer right away

"I am V-2," they said. "I was grown from your genetic material recovered after the Fourth War. Enhanced with Uchiha tissue, synthetic chakra, and a failsafe: I cannot feel hatred. Only purpose. And my purpose was to surpass you."

"The Zero Code was flawed. It assumed jinchuriki were weapons that needed counters. But you proved otherwise. You befriended Kurama. You ended the cycle of hatred. So I ask you, Naruto Uzumaki—" V-2 removed their mask.