Naruto Fan Fiction / Crossover With Non-anime Series Fan Fiction / Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Fan Fiction ❯ The False Apocalypse ❯ Today is the Day You Die ( Chapter 23 )

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

The day after the preliminaries, the strange meeting, and a night long conversation with Kyuu about various matters which still refused to leave Naruto’s mind. Many of which included battle methods for taking Neji apart, while others were ways to woo Hinata, which in the end seemed somewhat pointless considering that they already knew how much Hinata liked him. The girl was quite literally head over heels for him. It took a long night and a good portion of the next morning but Naruto finally built up the confidence to go see Hinata. For privacy reasons he opted not to take a friend but to instead take Kyuu’s advice, to walk in as if he were anybody else and if anyone got in his way…threaten castration…For some odd reason that always seems to work for anyone with the guts to try it. Seriously how many people don’t believe it will happen when a ‘demon’ tells you they will? The numbers aren’t conclusive but they’re not very high either.

It was a glorious day in Konoha, with the sun shining down warm rays while the birds chirped away and the wind had just a little breeze. Naruto stopped by Ino’s flower shop early and purchased a bouquet of roses, bringing a squeal and a curious grin to her face. When asked who they were for, he simply answered. “For Hinata, Neji really banged her up yesterday.” That of course left her silent with mouth a gape. ‘Damn it… now I owe forehead girl a quarter.”

With his bouquet in hand Naruto made his way to the hospital door and then to the main desk. The woman at the desk was writing away in a notebook, taking glance after glance over to a chart to her right. After a few moments of being completely ignored the blond decided to knock on the desk a few times to get her attention.

“Uh, what room is Hinata Hyuuga in?” The woman at the counter was busy writing away and never looked up to see who it was. She merely glanced over to another folder and traced her finger down the list of current patients.

“Hinata Hyuuga huh…um… Okay that would be… room…4, 0,…” She looked up as she spoke on and became shocked as she realized who she was talking to. The‘Kyuubi brat.’ She thought. “Get out of here you beast! Nobody wants you around, just get out of here I can’t believe I almost…” A voice behind the blond cut her off as she began rolling up a stack of papers like a newspaper in an attempt to beat him like a dog.

“Trust me; you don’t want to finish that sentence.” Sasuke Uchiha said in his usual cold tone over Naruto’s shoulder as Naruto was about say exactly what Kyuu told him to say.

“… and who…oh sorry Uchiha Sama I didn’t mean to …” There was a shock; the Uchiha in the hospital, her only question was why?
“You meant every word and if I ever hear you badmouthing my friend again I’ll personally see to it that the Hokage deals with you. And the Hokage doesn’t like to hear about his students being mistreated.”

“Uh… thanks Sasuke. What are you doing here?” Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly completely forgetting about the speechless and generally disoriented clerk.

“Our…hmhmm visitors during the exams yesterday are getting checked out in the Anbu ward.” Sasuke stated trying to be as discrete as possible while still getting his point across to the blond. Like that was possible with that thick skull. Seriously, have you ever punched that thing? It’s like a stone.

“Oh you mean Ita…??” Sasuke’s hand found its way over Naruto’s mouth to avoid leaking anything they weren’t supposed to. The Uchiha shot glares of death into the bond’s eyes, each looking as if they were on the verge of unleashing the Sharingan in all its hypnotic glory.

“Dobe, you know that’s mission related.” Sasuke soon released his hold, while shaking his head in disbelieve at how forgetful the blond could still be, even with all his progress.

“Oh sorry… Well I guess I’ll see you later.”

“Yea, see ya. Just don’t blink; you might miss the few seconds she’s conscious.” Sasuke added with wit and a smirk as he turned to leave.

“Yea… Right.” For some unknown reason Naruto actually took the comment seriously but ended up just turning back to the clerk and waiting for the room number. The woman at the counter was utterly clueless though the entire conversation still having her mind flooded with the freakish concept that the ‘demon’ could be friends with ‘The Uchiha.’ She clearly hadn’t been paying attention to much of anything over the past few years.

“So are you going to tell me the room or not.” Naruto asked as he started getting impatient and annoyed with the clueless woman.

“Uh right…407…” She stated not really registering anything she was saying.

“Thank you…”

“Thank you??? Why would a demon say thank you?” And thus Naruto went on to the stairs leaving the bewildered clerk to her thoughts. Finally arriving at the room he could hear some talking inside. One voice was clearly Hinata’s which brought warmth to his heart knowing she was awake and doing well. The other was a far older male by the sound of the voice. Who it was Naruto could only guess.

“Hinata, I heard that Neji did this to you. Is this true?” The dark haired man stated in a stoic tone while maintaining an upright and noble posture. As stoic and cold as it seemed it held a concerned tone which apparently Hinata had missed based on her answer.

“I’m sorry father I know that…” Hinata was interrupted by Hiashi who didn’t want her to get the wrong idea from his questioning.

“I’m proud of you Hinata and no matter how hard the council or I may push you; I just want you to know that. Neji is the greatest prodigy our clan has produced by his age since my grandfather and you stood toe to toe with him without fear. I don’t know what’s changed in you lately but whatever’s been pushing you, I urge you to stick with it. Far too many people forget that perseverance and dedication are often the virtues that make us truly strong. It dosent always have to be raw physical strength. It gives us character, and brings respect.” Hiashi commented with wisdom in his voice. As leader he had learned a great many things over the years, little of it that held any value could argue otherwise. Despite her loss he genuinely felt his daughter’s growth as something even Neji failed to see, something many Hyuuga failed to see. He himself knew how much he had looked down upon his daughter in the past and regretted it deeply after all the progress she had made lately. Perhaps, he thought, she just needed the encouragement her friends were giving her. It was one of the many things he knew was wrong with the Hyuuga as it was.

“Fa-father…I…” This was strange to Hinata, she truly didn’t know what to say. Rarely did her father ever talk to her in such a way. Rarely did he have a chance to talk to her much at all. He was always so busy running the clan, training the upper echelon of Hyuuga warriors or giving her private training lessons in an attempt to further her training. Much of the time they spent together was highly scheduled and regulated as part of protocol. Having a father who would actually sit down and say these things to her was one of the many things denied to her by the Hyuuga clan. She couldn’t help but hate how archaic and antique this ritual lifestyle was.

“What Neji did was wrong but I don’t want you blaming him. What the clan has become is wrong. Ever since the elders developed all this power under my father’s leadership we have been lead into near ruin. I just hope that when you become the head, you have the political backing, the power, and courage to change what I could not. Living a ritual has affected us all and it has hurt Neji worst of all. I’m going to confront him during the exams. He needs to know the truth of his father. He needs to know why thing are the way they are. I just wish I had more time to talk to you. It’s been so long.” Hinata smiled seeing a side of her father she hadn’t seen in a long time. Ever since her mother died Hiashi had become cold and battle hardened. Just the way the council pushed her to become. This was the first time in a great many years that she had seen the man break tradition and actually sit to talk with her… like a human. Perhaps if there was anything good about this hospital it was the fact that they were outside of the council’s reach, in a place where Hiashi could finally say something he had wanted to say for years, where she could finally speak to him like a father instead of a leader.

“Thank you father, you don’t know what this means for me to hear you say that.” Hinata lovingly clutched the small flower her father had brought during the visit. Perhaps, she prayed, that her father might find a way to spend more time with her, time not scheduled by the elders.

“Just be careful next time. You know your limits better than anyone else. I may not be able to show it around the compound but I trust your judgment about such things, I have for some time now. The last thing I want is you getting killed just to impress a few stringent elders.” Since Hinata’s mother died Hiashi had become far colder towards her. Among the leadership of Konoha he was known for being a stern leader who stood above all others but had the mysterious ability to show respect and compassion seemingly random people. Few knew why, the Hyuuga elders hated it more than anything else and made significant advances to keep him from showering this side of himself, especially around his children, primarily the eldest. This been the case for Hinata for many years.

Her mother held a great amount of leverage with the elders which sadly died with her. Since her death the elders became far more involved in Hinata’s treatment, even going so far as to manipulate Hiashi’s treatment of her though rulings and ‘tradition’. She was to be treated and raised the same as any other Hyuuga with the added burden of being in the main branch. Anything but surpassing the best of the best was to be seen as failure. The official position of every Hyuuga was that Hinata was in fact a failure in the greatest sense and would be until she would surpass all others her age and beyond. Any event that seemed to others as pampering was merely part of a ritual and was so tightly controlled that little room was left for the pleasure of it. In the end she was pushed harder than any other Hyuuga in the complex. This was why his words seemed so strange… so foreign to her. The truth was, speaking like this to Hinata was in fact forbidden.

“I will father.” Hinata answered obediently. As much as she liked the way this conversation was going it was hard talking to her father outside of the traditional constraints of their ‘relationship.’ It had been so long since Hiashi had been a father to her that she was somewhat confused as to how to react. It was strange… different…relaxing…

“What is it that has been pushing you so much these last two years? You’ve had a level of commitment towards your training I haven’t seen since your mother died.” Hiashi asked, genuinely interested in her life and her progress. To Hinata it was starting to feel like old times… though her mind knew that even if it were true it would only last these few moments while they were away from the compound, away from the prying eyes of the elders.

“Well… I… In the academy I saw so many with so much potential.” Hinata had to give herself a few moments of thought. She had to word this right or it her father would likely overact to her reasons. Granted the very thing she feared he would believe as a result of overreaction was in truth the very thing she wished were true. She had gained a great deal of confidence as of late and now she wanted to at least ease her father into the true reason why.

“Then there were people like … Like Naruto who weren’t blessed with a clan or a bloodline. Even with so many future clan heads in my class he did so well just by trying hard. The…Perseverance was inspiring. I just want to be strong… like you father. It was like… He was weak… like me… but he never gave up, he always kept trying and he nearly reached the top of the class.”

“The Uzumaki, hmm… I wasn’t aware that you knew him. Is there something you’re not telling me Hinata?” ‘Inspiration is good, but that boy… I haven’t heard much good about him. Lord Sarutobi did take him on as a student though. If the boy is as bad as the reports say this would not reflect well upon the clan. Perhaps I should speak to Hiruzen to get an accurate assessment.’

“N-no father, I … haven’t spoken to him much. It’s just… He’s strong. He’s strong but he doesn’t treat others like they’re less than him.” That was somewhat surprising to Hiashi. He didn’t quite buy that she had no association with him. At the very least she had to know him well enough to have achieved such a high opinion of him. On the other hand the rest of the girls in her class had an unhealthy crush on the Uchiha. Perhaps… No that was preposterous she had never spoken about such things. Though it wasn’t like she had anyone to talk about such things with, not since her mother died. Still it would be a step above the rude Inuzuka. ‘What am I thinking; the boy’s a container for a demon. Even friendship with something like that is… questionable at best. That would be political suicide.’

“Yes, I did hear some rumors that the boy caught Neji’s final strike. Quite an impressive roomer, is this true?” ‘If it is, it would disprove a great many accounts of the boy’s rudeness. If anything it would count towards valor. It would also solidify why she thinks so much of his strength. To catch a Juuken strike… and from Neji no less, Minato really worked some wonders with that seal of his. If only he were still around. It seemed like things were finally getting better in Konoha when he was Hokage.’ As much as Hiashi respected and believed in Sarutobi he couldn’t help but notice how far downhill Konoha had fallen since the mantel of Hokage was returned to him. It wasn’t that Hiruzen was a bad leader. No, it was the farthest from it. He was a great Kage, or at least he was in his youth. These days he was far too old, more of a figure head than anything. It was like the final days between regimes with the former leader as a lame duck, true they officially had the power but it was merely a technicality, anything they did meant little. The elders, the council, both of the village and individual clans could see this and were using it to their own profit. These last thirteen years had been awful.

“I… I believe so father. I lost consciousness. It’s hard to tell what did happen. It does sound like something he would do… for a lot of people.” It was true; her memory of the incident was vague at best. At the time she was growing dizzy from the previous strikes and wouldn’t have lasted a few more seconds anyway. It was somewhat surprising to her though, and a thought that would bring her many sweet dreams of that blond knight.

“I see…I do not believe the elders would approve of any sort of friendship with the boy. I have not heard much good about him myself and am somewhat disappointed to hear this. But, if this is the source of your recent improvements then I will see what I can find out about him and perhaps I can arrange a few sparring matches. That is the extent of your association with him is it not?” ‘A friendship I can deal with, hell it would probably do her some good. Someone as boisterous as him may actually bring her out of this shell the elders have forced her into. Anything more on the other hand…’ The very thought screamed castration in Hiashi’s mind.

“Y-yes father.” Hinata nodded doing her best to avoid a very compromising blush. She knew the Hyuuga didn’t have a very good opinion of Naruto and her father was no exception. The idea of Hyuuga even considering an out of clan relationship was heavily frowned upon. The thought of what would happen if such a thing occurred with the village ‘street rat’ was something that plagued her nightmares.

“Good, I will see what I can do about arranging some sparring matches after the exams have passed. I’m sure he will want to spend the next month preparing for his next match. For now I’m afraid I must leave. I’m late for a meeting as it is. I will try to see you again soon.” This was of course a lie, he had actually scheduled fifteen minutes to be with this eldest daughter but felt he should cut it short when he noticed an unfamiliar presence outside the room. It didn’t seem like a Hyuuga, but he couldn’t take his chances. To be caught saying what he had said to Hinata could prove troublesome. Perhaps not if it were one of Hinata’s friends, no they would be loyal to her, but if it were any adult or Hyuuga they would have a duty to report it to the elders and that could be very bad for him within the clan’s political environment.

“Good luck, Father.” Hiashi exited the room, regaining his prestigious posture while closing the door behind him. He turned immediately to Naruto’s obviously shocked face. Hiashi looked down upon the blond with hard and dominant eyes.

“You are Uzumaki Naruto san correct?” Hiashi asked knowing full well who it was. Seriously how many blond males wore such a … strange outfit? His face was stern just like a clan head should appear to a commoner, just as the elders would have him act.

“Uh…Y-yes …Hyuuga Sama.” Naruto Gulped before saying a word. To say he was scared shitless was an understatement. ’Oh Shit I should have known he knew I was here. Damn it I hope he’s not as scary as Kiba said. Kami, only a month ago he was screaming about how Hiashi threw him out of their house after trying to ask Hinata out. Oh Kami please don’t let him castrate me.’ Naruto mentally entered a praying position as he feared the worst.

“…Interesting, from what I have heard you never greet anyone formally. Regardless, I do believe thanks are in order for protecting my daughter. I hear you preformed quite impressively during the preliminaries. I’m glad to hear she has such strong friends.” Good God, the boy had manners. That was certainly an unexpected reaction. This tiny revelation spoke wonders in Hiashi’s mind. If nothing else it meant the boy wasn’t going to be a total bad influence on Hinata. Still, there was a matter of the pranking the blond had an annoying tendency to pull. Hiashi continued his interesting line of questing which Naruto seemed to completely ignore for his own frightened state. ‘Or not…’ Hiashi thought when he noticed the boy hadn’t heard a word he said. Fortunately for Naruto’s sake Hiashi was trying to be kind towards the boy if for no reason other than maintaining the possibility of sparring matches for Hinata. This was certainly going to be an interesting conversation.

“I’m sorry for eavesdropping on your conversation, I was going to give Hinata these as a get well present I couldn’t help but overhear…” Naruto showed the bouquet of flowers to the leader who smiled in return.

“Think nothing of it; I have no problem with one of Hinata’s friends being around, especially one so willing to grab a Juuken strike strait out of the air. In all seriousness there are Jounin who have achieved less.” It was not normally Hiashi’s way to point out events others should be proud of but if there was one thing that had actually impressed him over the last year it had to be this. He couldn’t exactly say he was glad that anybody succeeded at such a thing but the fact remained that the boy had grabbed a Juuken strike out of the air…for Hinata... That particular thought didn’t quite set to well with him though if what Hinata said was accurate, it was simply his nature. Hiashi hoped it was and would stay that way.

“It was nothing Hiashi Sama.” Naruto said while lowering his head with some degree of embarrassment. Oh yes, next time he saw the old man he would be requesting some better training in how to act around nobility.

“Humility, not something I’ve heard of you Uzumaki san.” Hiashi stated seriously. He had figured some of the accounts of the boy were exaggerated but this was starting to get ridiculous. Last he heard the boy didn’t care if you were lord or popper, everyone was screamed at in a loud boisterous fashion that lacked any resemblance of respect in the least. Perhaps, he thought, the boy simply knew who he was talking to and wanted to avoid any future sticky political situations… No that too would be giving him too much credit according to the reports. If that were true then the Hokage had achieved far more than any Hyuuga had anticipated. This situation was starting to trouble his mind, perhaps not because the boy was kinder than expected but because of the degree to which misinformation had been spread about the boy.

“There are…many who don’t have a very high opinion of me because of …well…you know… It’s not something I really like to talk about.” Naruto replied solemnly, regaining a bit of a hold on himself and his words. Oh how glad he was that Sarutobi had gone though some political lessons with him. Even he knew it was a bad idea to get on the bad side of a clan head, especially one who had as frightening a reputation as Hiashi Hyuuga. What he didn’t know was how complicated a person Hiashi was. Yes he had his reputation as a ruthless, cold hearted, political mastermind, but that was only the clan head part of the man. Few occasions had permitted Hiashi to express his true self since his wife died. No, since then the elders had restricted him and his actions in so many ways he wanted to scream. The Hiashi who broke loose outside of heavily monitored situations was still strong and respect commanding but it was far more understanding towards those who gave him respect, to people who deserved respect. It was at least mildly cheerful and less degrading towards others; it was at the very least polite. This was the Hiashi, Minato knew as a good friend, the Hiashi who had all but died with his wife and the ever more powerful elders.

“Believe me when I say this Uzumaki san, I may not know you, but the Fourth was a dear friend of mine and I have the utmost regard towards his sealing abilities. The fact that it has not escaped and begun a path of destruction gives me faith in your abilities as its guardian.” Hiashi spoke in a serious and slightly concerned tone. A face of shocked disbelief adorned Naruto’s face as he realized that he had at least some recognition from at least one man on the Shinobi council. As for Hiashi, it was true. He did not know much about Naruto but some simple facts rang clear with the leader. The Kyuubi was in check and the boy had not tried anything… particularly destructive with regards to his pranking. If his actions during the exams were any indication than the boy should at least be given some basic respect as a noble Shinobi of Konoha. Only a handful Shinobi with greater titles had tried, much less pulled off some of the things he had.

“You don’t know how much that means to me Hyuuga Sama.” It was the only thing Naruto could think to say because he was in fact speechless. Only the old man had ever talked to him with this level of respect, at least when talking about the Kyuubi. He was glad to have heard that and it gave him some pride to think that his father had known the head of the Hyuuga clan.

“Think nothing of it; from prison guards to you, all guardians are to be commended for their service. It is an unfortunate but necessary duty that must be carried out. I do however have an important question for you. Why did you stop Neji? You certainly had nothing to gain by stopping his strike, and I wasn’t aware that you knew my daughter. Did you not have faith in your superiors’ ability to save her? Did you feel it was your duty? Perhaps you feel something…more for my daughter?” Hiashi asked, maintaining his stern, clan head tone. The last question was noticeably colder than the others. It was clearly a touchy subject for him.

“…I…” “Oh shit, I can’t tell him that. The guy would murder me!” “You worry too much; no human can kill you, not as long as I heal your wounds.” “That doesn’t mean I want to let him beat me within an inch of it!” “Oh fine, just lie to your future father-in-law. I’m sure he’ll love that.” “Not helping, and I don’t know her that well yet!” “It doesn’t mean you haven’t thought of it.” The Kyuubi finally answered with a smirk.

“Uzumaki san?” The Hyuuga asked after not receiving an answer for several seconds. ‘What a peculiar child. To take this long to answer… Either he has something to hide or he isn’t quite sure himself…’

“Sorry sir, I just… I didn’t really give it any thought till now. I guess when you grow up like I did you tend to cherish everyone who doesn’t treat you like dirt. I may not know her very well but I consider her a friend and…” Naruto gave his answer some serious thought and answered at least somewhat truthfully. It may not have been the main reason in his mind at the time but it was certainly a factor. Now that he thought about it, it was simply his nature to defend his friends.

“And?” Hiashi pushed lightly knowing the boy had intended to say something he decided would be best unspoken. What it was could only be guessed but the thoughts of what it could have been weren’t playing out very well in Hiashi’s mind. There was something interesting about this boy; he was both simple and difficult to read at the same time. So much about him seemed unguarded yet at the same time it was difficult to ascertain the intent behind his words. Perhaps his exclusion from social activity during those crucial early years had left an unforeseen impact on how the boy expressed himself.

“I don’t let anyone hurt my friends, even if it means I take the hit, I’ll protect them with everything I am. That’s my way and I never go back on it!” Naruto finished seriously.

“I see. That is quite the noble answer but one I have heard numerous times. Few have I ever been inclined to believe.” Hiashi finished with a dead tone that sent a chill and a tinge of anger down Naruto’s spine. Just as the blond was about to speak his mind Hiashi continued in a far softer voice. “Including the Fourth Hokage you would be the second.”

“M-me? Why?” Naruto asked with surprise. Perhaps there was more to the statement about the fourth earlier.

“It was normal for the Fourth to say such things, perhaps not with your enthusiasm but he said it none the less. Many said them simply to emulate him, many still do, and few have ever done so with any intent behind their words. There’s a sincerity behind your words that I haven’t heard in quite a few years. It’s good to see that people like him still exist.”

“Forgive me sir, I’m probably going to regret saying this but you don’t seem as stuck up as other Hyuuga I’ve met. I don’t mean to speak ill of your clan but they don’t usually treat me any different than the villagers. Frankly sir some are…worse.” After the previous respectful answers this seemed to be taking a different twist. Now this was more like the backbone Hiashi had heard of, but why now? Yes there was hesitation but the boy was sure full of surprises. Hiashi stood there for a moment unsure of how to respond to the question, it wasn’t often anyone of a lower class asked anything of him. It was even less often for anyone, even from other clans, to offer criticism of his clan.

“You include Neji in that number, yes?” Naruto nodded seriously. “I am disappointed to hear that. The Hyuuga are supposed to represent a higher level of being, both in skill and actions. I am afraid that has been too often used as an excuse to belittle others outside the clan. As for Neji, the loss of his father has affected him deeply. His mind is not in what I would consider an acceptable state at this moment.”

“What happened?” Naruto asked with curiosity and concern for the boy he had only moments earlier considered little better than the illegitimate son of a horse and a crow.

“I’m afraid that is not something I’m meant to discuss with you, Uzumaki san. If you truly wish to know, perhaps you should ask Hinata. You were going to visit her, were you not?” Naruto nodded if only slightly as Hiashi closely watched and measured every movement as he had though the entire conversation.

“I would love to stay and chat but I have a meeting to attend to. Do try to be discrete about this conversation. You don’t seem to be the obnoxiously rude boy I had been lead to believe. I would hate to find my trust was misplaced.” Naruto knew all too well why Hiashi mentioned misplaced trust. It was actually something Kiba and a number of others had mentioned about the Hyuuga lord. Everyone that had spoken of this ‘misplaced trust’, interestingly enough, was in a position of having compromised that trust. It was not something Naruto was particularly fond of doing.

“I hope it goes well Hyuuga Sama.” “Oh shit that was close…” Naruto breathed a deep sigh of relief as the Hyuuga lord turned down a hallway and towards the stairwell.

“Hmm…I wish the Inuzuka had that that boy’s senses or at least one of her potential suitors. Then Hinata might actually have a decent one. Oh well at least this one makes one friend who can act properly around nobility. Perhaps Hinata will take example from his ability and become equally powerful. Then perhaps we can finally be free of some of these humiliating binds.”

Once Hiashi was well out of hearing range Naruto slipped through the door noticing Hinata resting her eyes. He knocked on the open door in an attempt to get her attention. “ehhem …hey Hinata…”

“Na-Naruto?…Wha-what are you doing here.”

“Oh uh…” Naruto realized he had unconsciously hidden the flowers behind his back and quickly pulled them around into full view. As soon as Hinata saw them here eyes become large and she began to feel light headed.

“You did a great job in the exams, I’m really proud of you…uh.. these are for you… you know a…a… get well present that’s it.” Hinata was speechless, Naruto actually noticed her in the exams? Even after that miserable defeat? He had to protect her, how was that ‘great’?

“Th-Thank you …I…” Both teens entered a strange moment of silence, neither quite sure of what to say.

“Um,…” Naruto sat down in a chair next to the hospital bed. He looked at her face causing her to draw back just noticeably. “About what I was going to say the other day…I’m sorry if I can’t say this very well. I’m not that use to saying stuff like this.” Naruto stated, unsure of himself and his words. Since the manipulation of the Zate and their impact on giving Naruto a friend in Sasuke he had seen the insanity that was once Sakura. Seeing that insanity had prevented him from ever asking the pinkette on a date or even trying to befriend her back in the academy. In the alternate timeline created as a result Naruto had in fact never attempted asking anyone out. It was truly an awkward moment for him.

“No it can’t be… could it? What are you thinking Hinata, he would never…” Hinata’s heart was beating faster and faster, thrusting her face into a light shade of pink at the thought. She quickly glanced over to the dresser drawer where his letter had been placed, still unopened.

“Na-Naruto if it’s hard… you don’t…” Hinata said unsure of what to say, herself. The awkwardness of the moment was something Jiraiya would have loved to have seen.

“I know why you keep on feinting around me.” Naruto finally stated quickly in an attempt to say it before he had a chance to mess it up. To Hinata it felt like the concussion from an explosive tag, her heart completely skipped a beat. “Oh no…He knows? Is he going to reject me?…no...no I can’t…no” It was a difficult fight for her. There was a part of her that wanted to hear it, that wanted to hear what he thought of her. Still there was a part of her that was afraid, afraid of rejection, afraid that her idol would shun her. It wanted to bring her into surreal and blissful unconsciousness. However, the part of her that wanted to know, that wanted to have that question finally answered was the side that was winning the fight.

“Naruto I...” Hinata tried to say something but was quickly cut off by Naruto finishing what she was going to say anyway.

“You like me…” Naruto couldn’t help but scratch his head sheepishly from the embarrassment of the situation. “And I can’t help but think I like you too.” Hinata’s mind grew fuzzy and light as her mind became incapable of processing anything further. She quickly fell into one of the best dream’s she had had in a long, long time. “Ever since I found out I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind. I…Hinata...Hinata?” Naruto continued talking for a few seconds not really noticing that she had feinted. He looked closer at her face when he finally realized why she was no longer making any sound what so ever.

Naruto couldn’t help but think how cute she was as he sat there thinking about what he would say when she woke up. Though he couldn’t help but wonder further what he would say to her father. Hiashi obviously held some sort of respect for him after that strange incident but even Kiba, the heir to a clan was threatened with castration by the same man. According to the rumors, no man had asked her father if they could date her without something similar befalling them, and that was when they were lucky. In the end the realization that had come to his mind was that it would have to wait. He didn’t even know how she would react…well… while conscious.

“Kawaii…” Naruto thought as he looked at her face noticing how much better she looked without that massive Eskimo coat. That was of course another thing that passed through his mind… how could she wear something so heavy and not burn up? It wasn’t that cold in Konoha, actually… it never really got cold enough for something like that except in the deepest parts of winter. Yet…she wore it even in the summer? “She’s hiding something…I know it…but how do I ask her…damn it Kyuu do you have any ideas.” Some snickering could be heard in the back of his mind for a few moment before once again… nothing.

“Great thanks a lot…hmm?” Hinata started wakening up after what must have been at least twenty minutes.

“Finally up I see.” Naruto said with a warm smile as Hinata’s eyes shot open in shock.

“It wasn’t a dream.” Hinata thought in shock as her face began to deepen in pigment.

“You know, it’s really cute when you do that.” Naruto commented offhandedly, not really thinking about what he was saying. In all reality he was thinking out loud more than anything. “…Sorry if I scared you…I’ll let myself out…” Naruto noticed the shocked look on her face as she clutched the covers up over her face in embarrassment. Wanting to respect her privacy he quickly got up to leave the room afraid he had done something stupid.

“No!…I mean…uh…It’s ok…I-I …” Hinata slowly lowered the cover and her arms into a more relaxed position. She sighed and took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm her nerves rationalizing that she was finally getting what she had dreamt of for years.

“Hehehehe, were both not really good at this are we?” Naruto chuckled nervously. Hinata found something ironically funny about the comment and the two laughed till Hinata nearly fell out of the bed. Little did they know that Shino had decided to stop by and in a moment of acknowledgement of what was going on never let his presence be known, leaving without a second thought. A smirk appeared on his face conveniently covered over by the high neckline of his jacket.

“So uh, you want to go out when you get out of here?” Naruto blurted out finally forgetting his nervousness and not really thinking in general. Hinata felt as if someone had just dropped her off the side of a ravine. As if she had not had enough shock for the day she couldn’t help but sit there and blink in disbelief.

“…I….Hai, yes …I…” The best day of her life and she was too far in shock to get out an understandable phrase. None the less she managed enough for Naruto to understand.

“Ok well I guess we’ll pick a place once you get out?” Naruto asked hopefully as a large signature grin plastered his face.

“S-sure that’s great.” Hinata had a blissful grin adorning her face as she prayed she wasn’t still asleep. That was when Naruto caught a glance of the clock on the wall and realized he was going to be late for training. He had originally intended on stopping by for fifteen to thirty minutes but had spent far closer to an hour thanks to Hiashi’s conversation and Hinata’s feinting.

“Uh sorry Hinata I’m going to be late for training. I’ll drop by later ok…well if Jiraiya doesn’t drive me into the ground. I’ll be back when I get a break, we can talk some more then ok? We’ll see ya.” Naruto blurted out in haste as he waved goodbye, leaping out the hospital window. For a few moments Hinata laid back in her bed daydreaming of what their date would be like before finally screaming “YOSH!” with a silly grin plastered on her face. Unfortunately for the nurse outside it frightened her just enough to drop Hinata’s breakfast which was already late because of an interesting incident involving a peeping tom (Ebisu) being thrown out of the hot springs and oddly enough landing in the hospital kitchen, forcing the cooks to painstakingly remake just about everything sitting on the table where it was located.


Sasuke’s meeting with Itachi went significantly better than anticipated. The two talked about their years apart and Itachi expressed an abnormal amount of emotion which was brought forth from their years apart. Sasuke certainly got in a few kicks at Itachi. The one that hurt the most was of course the one that landed out of the numerous attempted kicks to the nuts. Still their antics ceased as soon as Itachi with Sharingan deactivated knocked over a cup. Itachi looked at the table in shock which Sasuke looked at his brother with concern on his face.

“Itachi?...what happened? I’ll get a nurse. Konen might of done something to your eye sight.” Sasuke got up to get one of the nurses assigned to this special wing of the hospital. At least that was what he wanted to do. No sooner had Sasuke gotten up than Itachi grabbed his arm and said regretfully.

“No Sasuke, it’s nothing Konen did. This is the cost of using the Mangekyou Sharingan. I’m going blind Sasuke. It gets worse every time I am forced to use it.” Itachi spoke with regret that he had ever received the accursed thing. At least in his opinion that ability was truly the greatest stain in the clan’s history.

“That’s all the more reason to get a Doctor. Maybe Tsunade…” Sasuke argued semi-frantically.

“There is nothing we can do Sasuke.” Sasuke stopped struggling and turned to face Itachi with determination written all over his face.
“There has to be, I won’t lose you again. You’re the only family I have!”

“Sasuke… You can’t care that much for me.” Itachi spoke with regret for his past actions, as necessary as they may have been. He spoke with regret for what he had put Sasuke through.

“Of course I can, you’re my brother, a hero of Konoha. Sure you killed our parents but they were the murderers not you. They were going to raid Konoha in a suicide mission!” Itachi turned his head away feeling that he couldn’t look Sasuke in the eye.

“That’s not what I meant Sasuke. I’ve already come to terms with that. It’s just a risk I’m willing to take. I want this infernal eye dead with me.”

“What are you talking about? If there’s some way to…”

“It’s out of the question Sasuke, I’m not trading eyes with you and that’s final.” Itachi blurted out in anger only realizing what he had said moments too late.

“Trading eyes?” Sasuke asked with curiosity. Itachi sighed already regretting his previous words. He couldn’t stop now. If Itachi didn’t answer his brother now then Sasuke would only search for the answer.

“It’s the only cure for this blindness. It…perfects the Mangekyou. To obtain the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan one must take the eyes of another. Madara took the eyes of his brother before falling to his own madness and killing him in a rage.”

“Then why won’t you do that! If it’s so damn powerful then why not?”

“Because these eyes will end with me! Even if I wanted too it would require you obtaining eyes as strong as mine. You’re not going to kill Naruto. No matter how much you want to save my eyes.”

“Then I will train my eyes till I’m strong enough for the trade without doing that.”

“That’s impossible Sasuke, even Madara couldn’t do that. No one should have that kind of power.”

“I will do it. You and Konoha… you’re my life and without you I have nothing. If that’s what I must do then I have no other choice. I will save your eyes and you’re not going to stop me.” Sasuke with a new found sense of determination left to begin his training for the exams. If he was ever going to be strong enough to save Itachi’s eyes then the first step was to defeat at least one of the Zate in these exams. He could only hope the war wouldn’t interfere with that goal.



Naruto arrived somewhat late to the meeting place where Jiraiya and Nazomishi were waiting. He walked into the warehouse somewhere down in the forty-second district and towards a wall with some finely crafted seals on the wall, drawn in blood, just inside the abandoned structure.

“Ok… did they really have to use blood, it’s a little creepy.” Naruto asked himself as he looked down at a letter on the ground and read it. “Bight your thumb and draw the blood on the seal.” The letter read blatantly.

“Uh…ok.” Naruto did as instructed and when it was complete the seal glowed a golden light before vanishing along with a large portion of the wall to reveal a stairway down into a massive underground complex. The massive area was perfect for training and large enough to summon Gamabunda with a decent amount of room to move around. The enormous room was sealed in such a way as to let those inside see the sky from the outside and perfectly simulated the adjacent night and day within its rectangular confines. Naruto couldn’t help but stumble in as he gazed in awe at the amazing area. He soon turned back towards where he came in only to see the entrance gone and a stone wall in its place.

“You’re late.” Nazomishi spoke angrily while sitting on a rather large chest full of newly crafted Kunai.

“Eh sorry, I kind of went to see Hinata before I came.” Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment of the reason behind his absence.

“The Hyuuga Heiress? That’s my boy!” Jiraiya said to his Godson giving him a thumbs up and a perverted grin just before being decked by Nazo. Nazomishi walked towards Naruto with a stern look on his face.

“Drop it pervert. Congratulations for working that out Naruto but I’m afraid that this is time for war.” Nazomishi spoke in a stern uncaring tone that was uncharacteristic of himself.

“You don’t have to be so hard on him. He is only thirteen you know. And don’t forget he’s the one letting you learn the Hiraishin technique” Jiraiya said while rubbing the large bump on his head.

“You forget much about me Jiraiya Dono. Like maybe the fact that I am known as Hitokiri Zansatsu and could probably develop it myself with enough effort and a few years of studying.” Yes this tone was defiantly uncharacteristic of Nazomishi. It was far colder, less controlled, and far more irritated than normal.

“Hey Nazo what’s with you today. You seem more … I don’t know… pissed than normal?” They were right. He was more angry than normal but what he wouldn’t tell them is this was the side effect of the seal his blood clone created to hold back the cursed seal. In exchange for suppressing the seal completely the user’s emotions would become more erratic. In essence it forced a certain amount of the cursed seal to leak out at a constant rate, making Nazomishi somewhat more evil in general while keeping it mild enough to keep the seal in check and incapable of fully rearing its ugly head.

“You noticed it too huh?” Jiraiya said mater-o-factly, giving Nazo a sigh and a sense of annoyance while shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

“This is not the time to play around, Hiko confirmed this morning that we have three armies heading our way with a total number toping twenty thousand. All Chuunin and up in strength.” Ardana had just left with hopes of bringing the numbers from Mist to their side. There was hope that she would succeed but they had to plan for the worst.

“Whoa…” Naruto gulped at the freakishly high number.

“I have fought such numbers before with an army of Jedi at my side and the backing of air support but never in such close quarters combat as a city like Konoha. For this we need to train you in four things. We will teach you to summon toads, the Hiraishin, the rest of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, and will force you to release at least three more tails of the Kyuubi. You have released the no tail form but will need at least three to face off against an Akatsuki, even with Aoshi’s help.”

“Wait you can’t expect me to learn all that in a month!”

“You can and you will.” Nazomishi spoke coldly, as if it were a fact of nature and there were no other reality.

“You’re being unrealistic Nazomishi. Even the fourth spent two years developing that technique. I watched him try to perfect it. He might be able to get a few stages down but it’s too complicated.”

“Naruto has the chakra to use shadow clones effectively. They will focus on that technique. By my estimates they will have it down within a week.” Obviously Nazomishi wasn’t thinking clearly.

“You can’t be serious that’s a high S class jutsu…”

“And he will learn it or we all die...” Both Naruto and Jiraiya looked at Nazomishi with disbelief on their faces. “Damn… I’d hate to see what his training regimen looks like.”

“I heard that Naruto and no I don’t normally do this kind of thing but this is an emergency. Now release your chakra restraints and make three hundred clones.”

“That’s a lot more than last time…” Naruto thought surprised by the dramatic increase. It certainly wasn’t his max but he knew it meant he wouldn’t have nearly the chakra to perform the jutsu as he trained. He was starting to wonder how fast Nazomishi truly intended to do this.

“YOU CANT BE SERIOUS!” Jiraiya screamed, eyes bulging from his head not believing that such a thing was possible for such a young child.

“Okay…” Naruto said like he was only mildly surprised by the high number of clones, earning a jaw dropped double take from Jiraiya. Without a word Nazomishi made about a hundred to start working on the Hiraishin.

“I’m sending a hundred with your hundred to work on the Hiraishin along with Jiraiya. Everyone this applies to, go over there.” Nazomishi pointed into a far corner where all the clones went rather quickly and spread out, some dragging the chest of kunai along. Apparently Nazomishi made nearly ten thousand kunai with the assistance of his clones and ridiculous rates of production. Once they had at least a small handle on the technique itself Nazomishi planned on sealing the massive number of Kunai within Naruto and his own arms for quick access.

“Aren’t you going?” Nazomishi glared at Jiraiya who only stood where he was doing nothing but looking at Nazomishi with an inquisitive look on his face.

“What’s with you today, your acting ridiculous? We have a month!”

“And we need to get started. Now go or I’ll make you.” That was a new one for Jiraiya. Not many people knowing who he was would dare say something so rude. There was definitely something up with him today. Naruto on the other hand simply chocked it off to worry about the odds against them. Tens of thousands of troops was certainly nothing to look down upon, even with their current allies.

After a few seconds of motionless staring and disbelief Nazomishi raised his hand, summoning a few pieces of metal around a shocked Jiraiya’s limbs as bindings. The pervert was promptly propelled over to the area to teach the Hiraishin. Once Jiraiya was there the bindings vanished in a momentary flash of light.

“Now, the next hundred. Go to the clone I sent over there, you’re learning the rest of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu.” Nazomishi walked over to a large scroll on the ground and picked it up. “This is the summoning scroll for Toads. Sign it and send the next group over there to start summoning.” Nazomishi then pointed to another area where a clone of his was waiting to show them how.

“Ok so were going to work on the tails right?” The original and only remaining Naruto asked.

“Exactly, sit down. And no we won’t be working with clones.” Nazomishi commanded while trying to maintain a close eye on the other groups in case something went wrong.

“This may be hard on him but the Kyuubi’s strength is our only hope if he runs into Madara. He’s too new to summoning to learn Senjutsu (Sage Jutsu) and the dragons don’t think I’m worthy of that yet. Sorry you two but you’re just going to have to bear it.” Nazomishi thought to himself while trying his best to restrain his angry impulses. He knew his life was going to be a pain so long as his suppression seal was this imperfect.

“Listen, each sword is only capable of purifying and maintaining a tail at a time so I’ve constructed a total of nine blades for you. In the end I will be teaching you a variation of my Sentoryu so you can adapt to utilizing an ever increasing number of blades. It will utilize thirteen swords, one for each of the nine tales you will have and one for each additional limb. For now you will control four swords by attaching two to your feet with chakra while the other two you use normally. If you eventually find that comfortable I may permit you to try a fifth in your mouth but it is far too complicated for our current needs. ” Nazomishi held his hand out and summoned the blades. All were identical to Naruto’s original.

“Draw your sword and meditate. Focus on Kyuubi’s chakra and drawing it into your own. First pull the no tail chakra. Feel it, walk towards it and pull it towards yourself. Immerse yourself in its warm glow. It has already been purified so you should have no trouble drawing on it.”

Naruto spent the next four hours drawing on the Kyuubi’s chakra, a feat which Naruto found easier when he maintained a mental link with Kyuu. While Naruto meditated Nazomishi surrounded Naruto with a seal designed to keep the process under control, knowing that as the tails grew in number it would become significantly more difficult to maintain his humanity. They couldn’t risk Naruto going on a mindless rampage before the swords could take their full effect in purifying the Yokai.

At the end of the first four hours before lunch break Naruto found it very difficult to summon forth the no tail form even though it has already been absorbed. During lunch the clones dispelled slowly over fifteen minutes to avoid any information overload that would likely result from using so many clones at once. He had made significant progress with the Hiraishin technique; successfully mastering the hand seals and ready to start work on the actual jutsu. Nazomishi had similar progress with the Hiraishin largely due to his knowledge of seals. For the group learning the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu the foundations for three more attacks were laid out and they were studying repetitive katas mastering each kata before moving on to the next phase of each technique. In all he was on par with where Kenshin was at the end of his first year of training with Hiko. At least as far as the techniques of the style go anyway. In truth his actual skill with a sword was pathetic in comparison. Naruto knew techniques and attacks but he held no real understanding of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu as a swordsmanship style. It was an unfortunate compromise Nazomishi had decided upon when he reflected on how little time they actually had from the moment they trained in wave. If by some miracle Naruto actually managed to master every technique of the style he would have to start the boy on the true aspects of the style. For now Naruto was stuck using the basics of Hayate’s style with the added strikes and finishing moves of Kenshin’s style.

"Hey Nazo, why can’t I get the chakra out? Shouldn’t I be able to summon it normally once I’ve absorbed it?" Naruto asked, frustrated by his lack of improvement.

"I was afraid of this. Ask the Kyuubi what she thinks is the problem."

"Tell the fool I haven’t the foggiest. For demons each tail is based on the Yokai we have assuming we have any. I could care less about Hanyou."

"Teme..."

"Baka."

"Kyuubi teme says she doesn’t know and could care less. That for demon's it's determined by power and you just get them."

"Figures...Jiraiya have you read anything about Hanyou?" Jiraiya had noticed the two in a conversation after a great deal of silence and had come over wondering what was going on.

"The only thing is an only fairy tale. I actually based a story off of it once. For a Hanyou the tails are supposedly driven by intense moments of emotion, like being attacked or losing a loved one." Jiraiya answered somewhat intrigued by the question.

"Grand that would make it like the Tetsaiga, needing someone to protect... ." Nazomishi rubbed his chin in contemplation and decided to see if it would be anything like a Super Saiyan, being easier with the time you stay in that form. Naruto and Jiraiya looked at him as if he were crazy blurting out some random name.

"Well since there’s nothing we can really do about that right now let’s try this. After we finish eating were going to fight until the no tail form emerges. From then on and for the remainder of our training you will not be permitted to leave the form. You will not be permitted to leave any form you obtain until it causes you to pass out." Both Jiraiya and Naruto thought the plan was cold and uncaring. For the love of God they had a month! What was the purpose of pushing one boy this hard? There was none, not that they could think of anyway.
"WHAT! But I promised Hinata I'd go out with her after she gets out of the hospital! I can’t show myself in that form!" Naruto argued more angry with the fact that he wouldn’t get to see Hinata than the fact that he was going to be driven into the ground for the next few weeks.

"Tough luck, send a clone with a letter during lunch one day. From this moment forth we only stop for food and exhaustion."

"Damn sadist..." Naruto muttered while Jiraiya glared at Nazomishi questioning sanity with these harsh training techniques.

"Pein has seven bodies and the Rinnegan, if you were to run into any one of them you would be screwed without the Kyuubi's power. If that power becomes yours then there will be nothing they can do about taking your energy. Their sealing methods can only seal Yokai and entire plan will be ruined if they lose a significant portion of the Kyuubi's chakra. The Zate have orders to talk to him if possible but if you run into him first there will be no convincing him to stop. He will beat you into the ground until there’s nothing left for you to give but your unconscious body and the Kyuubi’s power. He will drag away your carcass and seal the Kyuubi into a massive statue with the sole purpose of using the energy as a massive bomb!" As much as both Naruto and Jiraiya wanted to argue with Nazomishi’s reasoning it was nearly impossible for them to question. The tails served two purposes. The first was defense from being captured and the second was to render the statue useless if he were. The facts had already been laid out for them during the meeting after the preliminaries. Akatsuki were not immortal, with one exception, they were not all powerful but they had experience and abilities designed to take down creatures far more powerful than themselves. Without raw skill and years of experience the only way to fight back was an overwhelming amount of energy.

Returning back to their training Naruto immediately summoned the same number of clones as before, sending them off to their respective training sessions. A week passed quickly as he battled Nazomishi and the no tail form finally emerged. The one tail form revealed itself a day later as Nazomishi hit him with a large fireball. Once achieving it the blond was required to maintain that form as long as possible. Unfortunately this achievement only lasted a day with momentous effort. The strain on his body threw him into two days of unconsciousness with the Kyuubi working double time to heal his exhaustion.

On the upside that week had brought a half assed mastery of the Hiraishin technique taking roughly thirty times the chakra it should per jump. Needless to say it was exhausting. Nazomishi in that time found himself even worse off than Naruto thanks to his body's high metal composition. Somehow the metallic structure of his body was messing with the warp. He was often thrown out of the warp and numerous times into the nearest wall or jagged object, dispelling his clones at a horrendous rate. He thanked Kami for clones with every time that happened. After about four days of setbacks with that Nazomishi decided to retool the seal for his own body to make it more efficient for large quantities of metal to pass through the time space continuum. It took Nazomishi two weeks to get to Naruto's half assed 30x inefficient stage. He was starting to see why it took the fourth so long to master the thing but he refused, they both refused to back down.

The summoning went well and Kyuu told Naruto about the deal to create a Fox contract once he was free and how Naruto would be able to summon the Great Kyuubi No Yoko in fox form when needed. To say he was overjoyed at the mischief he could create around Konoha was an understatement. As far as the summons he was working on, he got minor and average summons down within the first week and larger summons came rather naturally during the second week. He even went so far as to accidentally summon Gamabunda on the fourth day due to an enormous excess of chakra poured into the summoning. Most of his time was spent leaning how much chakra was needed to summon certain toads, and not to summon the wrong one.

Then of course there was the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. Naruto's progress in that style was significant to say the least. By the end of the second week he had mastered the style down to the last two techniques. Sure the polish on the techniques was a little rough but seriously, even Kenshin didn’t learn the techniques in a month even if it was the equivalent of 3.8 years of training. It was nearly time, Nazomishi felt, to start him on something far more difficult than anything he had done as of yet. It was something he had never intended for Naruto to learn until he was taught the true aspects of the style to go with the techniques. Unfortunately Naruto’s lack of progress with the tails forced Nazomishi’s annoyed hand.

All the skills were defiantly getting better but they were all lacking dramatically. Especially Naruto’s tailed forms; he had never even achieved the second tail form and his one tail form couldn’t be maintained as long as Nazomishi had expected. In all Nazomishi was… to say disappointed would be a dramatic understatement.

“Naruto, release the clones slowly and come get lunch.” Jiraiya spoke with pride seeing his godson having made such progress over the past two weeks. It was now early in the third week and Naruto just got out of his long slumber two days ago. He had maintained the one tail form with relative ease ever since but was starting to see some strain on his second day. Unfortunately there had been no luck at all with the second tail form, not even a bump in the first. The only thing they had managed is the creation of a hand with the tail’s golden energy. Most of his time which Nazomishi considered wasted was used trying to use the tail against Nazomishi’s attacks. It was starting to wear on his patience.

Nazomishi walked over with Naruto, resting his eyes along the path to the campfire, maintaining his location with his Force senses. They ate slowly and Nazo looked like he didn’t want to be disturbed. Truthfully he looked more like he wanted to smash something underneath his foot than be disturbed. He was deep in contemplation about something, something the other two hadn’t a clue about.

“Hey Nazo what’s wrong with you, the longer we’ve been going the worse you’ve gotten.” Naruto asked, concerned for the teacher’s sanity. Nazomishi’s eyes tensed before opening. He clearly wasn’t very happy with the question.

“You will rest until tomorrow. It’s obvious at this point that obtaining new tails outside of life threatening situations is impossible.” His eyes held little emotion aside from anger. The hate and anger within the man was worrying Jiraiya. In truth the hermit had contacted Master Yoda about the matter. The answer he received was as cryptic as ever but at least the Zate knew of the problem and would likely deal with it. By the look of Yoda’s face he knew what was causing it and it wasn’t what anyone would have expected.

“Hey I’ve been working hard! It’s not easy controlling these tails. Geez… grump”

“Make good use of today for rest, tomorrow we start the hardest test yet. Tomorrow you learn the final two techniques of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. These techniques will permit you to level any normal foe without question.”

“Really! Why didn’t you teach me these before if they’re so important!” Naruto screamed in excitement. Finally he was going to learn something useful. In the back of his mind though he wondered why Nazomishi didn’t teach him this earlier if he was so angered with their ‘lack of progress’ of the last few weeks.

“The Kuzu Ryu Sen, and the Ougi (succession/ secret technique) Ama Kakeru Ryu no Hirameki, they are the culmination of all the other techniques in the style. The Kuzu Ryu Sen strikes all nine vital points on the body at once with a single blade. Traditionally it is virtually impossible to avoid or defend against.”

“But can’t they use a wall jutsu or something? Or a shield?”

“Yes and no…The attack uses such force at such intense speeds that it will easily pierce all but the strongest defenses, the force will even fly through the air with few modifications. Much like my Sora Wari you saw in the exams.”

“But you said almost, how can somebody beat it if…?”

“Traditionally it can only be beaten by one technique. The Ama Kakeru Ryu no Hirameki is the ultimate Battojutsu, striking with such force that it creates a vortex in its wake. The ground is crushed under the pressure of the attack much like Sakura can cause with her chakra fist, or lee and Sano cause when running after releasing their restraints. The difference is with this technique, there are no chakra enhancements, only pure physical skill and strength. An average man would die under the strain after using it too much.”

“It’s a Battojutsu right, what’s so different?”

“You lead with the left foot instead of the right, placing all your ability in a single strike. It is the ultimate strike, but if it fails you will die.” Naruto gulped deeply at the thought.

“Because I’m more susceptible to cutting myself and being cut by my opponent.” Naruto commented about the attack, having learned from Hayate why Battojutsu techniques were used the way they were.

“And it puts your body under a momentous amount of strain. This attack when executed properly is guaranteed to slay any mortal opponent. If it misses it will create a vortex sucking in everything within a varying range, increasing with the power of the strike. For Kenshin and myself at our maximum, this vortex will suck in anything within two hundred feet. If by some miracle it misses or cleaves strait though the opponent it will cause the user to spin around for a second strike leaving the opponent completely vulnerable in the surprise and moment of freefall. The second strike is even more powerful than the first if by some miracle the opponent survives.”Nazomishi finished while retiring himself to a sitting position by the camp fire. He was exhausting himself trying to hold back the anger he was feeling and knew it would only become more difficult in the coming days. It was starting to affect his sleep. If it kept up like this until the battle he feared his strength and his sanity would suffer greatly.

“Prepare yourself for tomorrow, to master this attack you must be ready to die. Think about what must be done for this attack to succeed. Be prepared.” Nazomishi leaned over and went to sleep, preparing himself for the next day. That night yielded very little rest for Naruto and even less for Jiraiya. Jiraiya looked up at the massive sealing wondering if Konoha would survive this challenge. Only one phrase answered his question.

“They have to.” The war was now less than two weeks away and Naruto was little better off than he was when he started. Sure he had the style nearly completed and he could enter the single tail form on a whim but was he ready for war? No, it wasn’t the war he worried about; Naruto would tear though normal Shinobi like tissue paper. What Jiraiya worried about was Akatsuki. What if Naruto ran into Pein, the self-proclaimed ‘god’? Could anybody survive techniques like Nazomishi described? What of Madara? That man was worse by far. Deep into the night Jiraiya’s musings and deep contemplation was interrupted by a very serious voice.

“Jiraiya.” Nazomishi spoke in a solemn tone as if he were about to something he knew he wouldn’t like. If only for the moment he sounded as if he were in more control of himself than he had been in weeks.

“Hmm…?” Jiraiya answered quietly as he looked up at the stars in the sky, praying he would have a chance to see them again. This was war, even the strongest man had to think about such things.

“Before morning, leave…you don’t want to be here for what I will do.” Like many other moments in the training this was once again a momentary shock for Jiraiya, leaving him wondering what Nazomishi was planning. Both were still laying down staring up at the immensely tall building as the glow of their campfire made random shapes on the starry ceiling.

“Why?”

“Tomorrow Naruto will go through his most troubling challenge yet. He could die… he…more than likely will die.”

“Then why do it…? He’s already one of the strongest Jinchuuriki in existence. Hell the boy’s already one of the most powerful Shinobi in existence.” The concern in Jiraiya’s voice was evident but a sense of understanding clouded what would have been anger.

“Because he lacks resolve, if he cannot learn this lesson tomorrow then he might as well die at the hands of Pein and have the Kyuubi sucked from him.” The calm sternness in Nazomishi’s voice seemed almost like the Nazo he had known back with Kakashi. Sadly it still held a tinge of the cold contempt that had filled him up since sealing Orochimaru’s curse.

“Should I at least get Tsunade?” Jiraiya asked with concern, hoping there was at least something he could do for his godson.

“Probably… If he survives then he will need her to heal his wounds. If not…well … even she wouldn’t be able to save him.” The questions raised in Jiraiya’s mind made him wonder how deadly this next stage was. Would Naruto end up expending all his energy in a few hours? Would he end up mutilated or worse?

“Is it really that bad? I’ve done a lot of stupid things before but nothing that guaranteed my death.”

“… worse than you could imagine.” The next morning Jiraiya had taken Nazomishi’s advice and gone to fetch Tsunade. Naruto woke up not long afterwards, asking where Jiraiya went only for Nazomishi to respond with. “The hot springs…”

“Great even my godfather doesn’t want to stick around.” Naruto commented with a hint of sadness.

“Before we begin I want you to tell me something, Naruto.” Nazomishi asked with authority in his voice.

“Yes?” Naruto answered wondering what Nazomishi would ask.

“What is your goal and to what lengths are you willing to go to succeed.” It seemed easy enough but there was a specific answer Nazomishi was looking for. Even in his darkened state he could only hope the blond would answer correctly.

“To protect my friends and if I die trying then so be it. They’re my friends and No one will ever harm them, not as long as I have something to say about it.” Nazomishi nodded with little change in expression.

“To what degree do you hold value in your own life?” The question was asked the same as before as if the answer had already been given to the one asking it.

“I…My friends are more important than…” Nazomishi immediately interrupted the boy mildly infuriated by the attempted answer.

“I did not ask how important your friends are….Lets begin.” Nazomishi drew a very bland looking blade at his side and swung it at the ground creating a thin slit in the earth as he adjusted himself to the blade’s weight. He raised his left hand and pointed at Naruto with a harsh look on his face.

“Create a shadow clone and have it stand where it is summoned.”

“Right…” Naruto commented with a bored tone as he crossed his fingers and did as commanded, summoning a shadow clone and stepping away.

“Activate your fox eyes and watch carefully.” Nazomishi told the clone as he raised his blade into a thrusting position and vanished in a blur of speed. The clone, reacting like a normal man would tried to leap away but couldn’t react fast enough to avoid the powerful attack. In an instant it was obliterated from existence.

“Did you see it?” Nazomishi asked.

“Yea, it’s so fast it seems like nine blades striking all at once. It’s so fast even my fox eyes saw it as a blur.

“Now do it…” Naruto readied his blade and preformed it into thin air. The attack was crudely put together but well done for a first try none the less. The next time he created a shadow clone as a target. Each time he did it he got better little by little until two hours and a set of shadow clones later he had it down to some level of adequacy.

“Now as I explained earlier the only way to defeat this attack is with the Ougi. This is an all or nothing try. If you fail the first time you will never learn this technique. Do you understand what you must do to master this?”

“I… I don’t know… I realize that…” He was unsure of himself. This was bad, he falling into the dragon’s teeth. Fear could not exist with this attack, not and one survive using it.

“Do you fear death, Naruto?” Nazomishi interrupted Naruto’s thoughts with a very morbid question.

“…Never! No Shinobi should fear death!” Again, failure, this attack could not be learned unless the user had an insatiable will to live, an aspect that could not be achieved with at least some fear of death.

“… Then you have already failed us all… I’m sorry Naruto but if you cannot even learn such a simple mindset then there is only one thing I have left to do as your teacher. I must kill you.” Nazomishi sheathed his blade and began removing his trench coat and all its sealed weight and chakra. All together the chakra held back by the seals on his coat accounted for all his chakra beyond the 3000 units he kept on hand; while the weight and corresponding seals accounted for a third of the 6000 pounds he was currently wearing. The room started becoming heavy with a killing intent, which sent Naruto into a state of frightened shock he had never experienced before.

“No… This can’t be happening, has he lost it? This intent, it’s crazy!”“YOU CANT BE SERIOUS!” The Killing intent grew to such a point that birds would have dropped dead from heart attacks and average men would have become paralyzed in fear. Such killing intent has been known to strike bandits dead by paralyzing not only their bodies but their vital organs as well.

“This should be sufficient to end you. I am truly sorry Naruto. Don’t worry I will protect your precious friends for you; where you could not.” Nazomishi tossed aside his cloak leaving a crater in the ground where it landed as he started drawing on his chakra reserves. Naruto’s eyes widened in horror as he realized something monumental.

“He’s really going to kill me. THIS IS FUCKED UP!” Naruto thought in a panic.

“What the hell is that fool doing? He’s going to kill us both! What the hell happened with our deal!”

“N-Nazo, you can’t be serious.”

“I am serious Naruto, no man has any value if he lacks the desire to live. You said yourself that you lack the desire to live. Be happy, you will no longer have to carry the burden of the Kyuubi. Fear not, the Zate will protect your loved ones. I pray you can find peace in Nirvana.” At this point Nazomishi began releasing the seals around his ankles and arms further reducing the restraints on his body. His scouter started climbing dramatically. The numbers it was giving off pushed beyond fifteen thousand, raising past twenty thousand and further past thirty thousand as Nazomishi released seal after seal of blocked energy along with two of his six thousand pounds of weights. The seals held back the few gates he had mastered, the gates that dramatically multiplied his normal chakra levels. At this point his manifesting chakra levels were just slightly than Kisame’s.

Cue: Planet Hell by Nightwish.

“Goodbye Naruto” He fell into the stance for the Kuzu Ryu Sen and with a blinding burst of godlike speed…vanished. It was at that point that Naruto had an epiphany.

“No….Hinata... I never got to… I want to …LIVE!” Naruto screamed as one final plea to God that he might by some miracle survive this madness.

“NO fool not that attack you’ll kill us both!” Naruto curled back grabbing his blade and placing his left leg into the leading position unleashing the Ama Kakeru Ryu no Hirameki with his own burst of speed as the first tail developed and grew into the second tail in a sudden burst of will to live. The golden aura surrounding Naruto was the only visible thing that could be seen as the attacks collided negating Nazomishi’s attack and ripping Nazomishi’s blade clean in two, flowing through its path and cleaving its way through Nazomishi’s body. From the force of the attack Nazomishi was thrown back with a massive gash of blood being thrown from his chest. The rain of blood only ended moments after Nazomishi’s body finally hit the ground and began seeping onto the ground instead.

“Nazo…What have I done….” Naruto was horrified; he had killed the man who had taught him this style. “This shouldn’t have happened.” Naruto thought with regret.

“Forget him, the fool chose his fate when he betrayed us.” The Kyuubi added with malice in her voice.

“But he…”

Song picks up speed

“Hehehe… so you have some will to live after all.” The scene was shocking, Nazomishi after being nearly cleaved in two was getting back up! “But you still held back, that is a technique you can never hold back when using.”

“You… Your alive! How is that possible?” It was like watching a zombie return from the dead, it shouldn’t have been possible.

“My metal body reduced the blow and my even harder bones stopped it completely, That attack should have cleaved through my bones like it did my sword. You still lack the resolve to kill.” Naruto still in his two-tailed state finally understood what it was Nazomishi did. It was forcing him to learn the real secret to the attack; the will to live.

“If you truly want to live then show me your resolve, I will no longer hold back my natural strength.” Nazomishi vanished appearing behind Naruto with a powerful kick to the back of his head. The kick blasted Naruto across the area requiring several seconds to recover. In that time Nazomishi held his right hand out and in a burst of light summoned a blade over seven feet in length. He slashed the blade away from his body reaching out with his other arm, summoning angel like wings of metal with the feathers like kunai. A glowing seal appeared on his tailbone and a long Sasori like tail grew from the seal and extended into his spinal column up into the wings.

“Ryuyoroiichigu (Dragon Armor)”

It had taken under three seconds to summon the strange set of appendages, in which time Naruto had surrounded his arm in a golden chakra, grabbing the ground with an extending, fox like chakra claw.

“TEME!” Naruto howled as the two-tailed form finally solidified into two flowing tails as golden as his hair. His eyes were red and slitted while his fingers were starting to grow hair with long sharp claws. He was radiating massive amounts of chakra. According to Nazomishi’s scouter his levels were topping forty thousand. Naruto drew his second blade as Nazomishi flapped the metallic wings, which spanned over twelve feet in both directions.

In reaction to Nazomishi’s new form Naruto extended a chakra arm through the air to smack him down but in a burst of speed Nazomishi spun around the claw flying in a corkscrew pattern around the it before cleaving it in two with his blade. The chakra arm detached from Naruto at the point of contact with the blade, evaporating before it hit the ground.

As Nazomishi drew closer to Naruto and with a mighty flap of his wings ascended strait up into the air, falling into a sky dive as the metallic wings started growing dragon like armor down the length of Nazomishi’s arms and legs. With chakra enhancing his speed, the attack connected with Naruto’s blades forcing him into a crater beneath his feet. As the blades clashed for dominance electricity started flowing down Nazomishi’s blade down through Naruto’s until Naruto started channeling his own wind to overpower Nazomishi’s Force lightning. It was a spectacle to behold as electricity burst out of the blades to surround Naruto while a golden gale of wind blew back at Nazomishi, finally overtaking his attack on Naruto and blowing him into the air because of his wings.

As he flew back Nazomishi regained his control by spreading his wings and in a moment of hovering before freefall. A smirk adorned his face as he raised his blade behind his head, charging a tornado like vortex of fire around it, enhancing it with the power of wind as he slashed the blade at the Naruto. The powerful wave of fire dominated the landscape as it connected with the ground, turning blue from the intense heat and growing to incase nearly a hundred feet in every direction around Naruto. The ground around the blaze began turning black as the Pyroclastic vortex scorched the ground. It continued for nearly thirty seconds before it was quenched in an instant by a wretched howl fallowed by the exploding of Nazomishi’s scouter as its reading shot up beyond a hundred thousand further to a hundred fifty thousand just before it blasted off of his face.

Nazomishi looked down at Naruto. He was surrounded by an intense golden aura which dominated the area nearly ten feet around him before finally dying down and revealing Naruto incased by a chakra shield, supported by four feral tails, each radiating godlike energy. Naruto was at the very center of a massive crater of flames, the ground entirely molten clay and glass.

“That’s it Naruto…You finally did it...” Nazomishi exclaimed in mad excitement as he looked upon Naruto’s new form. It was a truly magnificent sight to see, for anybody strong enough to not be scared shitless, that was for sure. Naruto stood in the molten crater for what seemed like forever as Nazomishi dispelled his blade satisfied with the results.

“Bravo Uzumaki, Bravo…” Nazomishi clapped as he approached the crater and Naruto leaped at Nazomishi with a powerful burst of strength, crushing the crater and shattering its original walls. The burst of power was directed at Nazomishi who reacted by trying to hold Naruto back with the Force. He was able to hold Naruto for a few seconds but the immense power of the Kyuubi broke the hold and let him drop to the ground where he slashed at the Zate with both blades in the same strike.

In reaction Nazomishi skillfully stepped to the side, using the Force to lodge one of Naruto’s blades into the ground. Naruto ignored his missing blade and went in for a second strike only for Nazomishi to duck under it and blast the blade out of his hands with another burst of the Force. He then lifted Naruto into the air and forming a seal out of metal and placed it on Naruto’s forehead, forcing the gradual retreat of all pure and impure Yokai.

Naruto was barely maintaining his consciousness at this point and was just barely able to mutter a single phrase. “You…You bastard…traitor…” With the completion of those few words he fell into sweet blissful unconsciousness.

“Rest Naruto, you’ve done enough…” Nazomishi maneuvered Naruto’s body over by the campfire to heal, looking over his shoulder towards the entrance just as Jiraiya walked in with Tsunade.

“Good, you’re just in time.” Nazomishi stated calmly with his back to the entrance.

“Just in time for… oh my God…” Jiraiya just noticed the devastation around the area and realized why Nazomishi didn’t want him here. This was intense even for his imagination. This wasn’t a battle of swordsmanship this was the annihilation of a battle field.

“WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU TWO BEEN DOING IN HERE!” Tsunade screamed in anger, stomping her way to Nazomishi as he released his ‘dragon armor’.

“Don’t worry he’s very much alive, and I brought out the four tailed form. He will probably hate me for a few days but his power is incredible.” Jiraiya looked around while Nazomishi was talking, trying to get an understanding of the recent battle.

“You forced it out of him didn’t you?... DIDN’T YOU!” Tsunade screamed for an answer. She was furious. Granted she didn’t really know the boy but she knew Sakura and that he was her teammate. Besides that she knew how important the boy was, not only to Konoha but to the world as the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. Treating a boy like this was crazy; treating a boy with that level of importance like that was far worse, it was simply insane.

“Yes, skill wise he lacked the resolve to kill and for the tails the only way to unlock a new one is to be in a life threatening situation. It had to be real or he would have never achieved anything. My seals make it much harder than it should be for the energy to seep out naturally. In short, I killed two birds with one stone.” Nazomishi explained seriously. Somehow the joy of his success had eliminated much of the hate that had filled his tone for the past weeks. It saddened Jiraiya to think it probably wouldn’t last very long.

“Tsunade, go heal him I have a few things to discuss with our guest.” Jiraiya stated while glancing at Naruto before motioning for Nazomishi to fallow him.

“Well give him a good whack over the head for me. Nobody should do thing kind of thing to a child.” Tsunade stomped over to Naruto in anger that such damage could be done to a boy. Her thoughts were reinforced even further when she noticed the scorched crater.

When they were far enough away from Tsunade, Jiraiya was the first to speak up. “I contacted the Nara like you asked; he agreed with the plan but had two minor modifications.”

“And they are?”

“We make the first strike for one.” Jiraiya stated bluntly, somewhat concerned at the political ramifications.

“But that would be suicide; it would endanger so many people if they didn’t use that sleeping jutsu they intend to use. Just think of the chaos.” Nazomishi’s tone immediately darkened into it’s all too familiar angered state. Jiraiya understood the man’s concern rather well. Actually he had asked the Nara the same thing but the boy’s solution was actually rather remarkable.

“That’s where part two comes in; you place summoning seals on every seat in the stadium and summon the audience into the bunker beneath the Hokage monument. I’m working on a way to separate the civilians from the spies. It’s complicated but I think it can work.

“So we can have a few specialists go in and take them out with ease?”

“Exactly.”

“Good plan, who should make the first strike?”

“Someone with an affinity for lightning jutsu, Shikamaru noticed the speed of lightning based attacks in the preliminaries. He didn’t specify anyone specific.”

“I’ll take a look at the possibilities later, for now I just want to sleep. Fighting four tails worth of chakra is a bitch. Using my dragon armor puts a huge drain on my chakra.”

“Oh yes, you wanted to know what Aoshi was teaching Sasuke.” Jiraiya added not wanting to forget anything important.

“You saw him too?” Nazomishi asked as he dropped to the ground on his butt.

“Well… he did kick me out of the bathhouse…”

“… What did he say?” Nazomishi asked, resting his head on his left hand, starting to feel more tired than angry.

“You know those stones you gave Yoda to analyze?”

“The ones that keep showing up every time we warp, yes… How could I forget after wave… That was embarrassing.”

“Apparently they give anyone in long term contact with them some degree of connection with the Force. After running some tests Sasuke had a Midiclorian level of two without it but after getting one the reading a week later was over a thousand. As of the other day the reading topped three thousand, whatever all that means.”

“It means his connection with the force is getting close to ours. Did Yoda have any comments on the stone itself?” Now this was intriguing. Nilus had been studying the stones for years but now all this starting coming together in the recent weeks. The progress did make sense though. Wolverine was the only Zate who didn’t have a connection with the Force. In that world they had their hands far too full with political manipulation to worry with testing a bunch of stones on the locals. In this world however, they were starting to gain a great many new members.

“Yes apparently he said it resonates with his dimension and gives the wearer a connection with the Force they would have had if they were from that dimension. He said at the current rate his levels should top out around fourteen thousand in about two months.”

“I’ll have to contact them about this. We may have a new group of younglings to teach.”

“Younglings?” Jiraiya asked curiously.

“It means we might teach you to use the Force.” Before Nazomishi could finish explaining, Tsunade started screaming her head off about something. It didn’t sound very pretty for the two boys.

“YOU IDOTS GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE NOW!” Both men gulped at the angry tone of Tsunade, fearful of the pain she could bring.

“Um…yes mam.” They said in unison as they silently walked over to the campfire.

“What is this?” Tsunade pointed at Naruto and one distinctly golden tail with two fox like golden ears were clearly apparent on Naruto’s person.

“His eyes are also slitted. Care explaining why he looks like a fox without going on a rampage?” The two men gulped as they walked over to Tsunade fearing what she would do when she found out.

“I was afraid this would happen. Looks like we need to teach him some Genjutsu.” Nazomishi commented as if it didn’t really mean much.

“And what exactly is this?”

“Naruto is a Hanyou, well technically one forth demon instead of half because he’s only absorbed half of the nine tails as of yet.”

“HANYOU!! Your turning him fucking HANYOU!!!” Tsunade stomped towards Nazomishi rolling up her sleeve, prep airing a chakra enhanced punch as he backed away waving his hands in defense.

“I would have done differently but it was the safest way of altering the fourth’s seal. Besides he will be strong.”

“And that’s supposed to be okay, look at him nobody will accept him like this.” Tsunade screamed why directing Nazomishi’s gaze to the young blond.

“So what if he has permanent tails as opposed to ones he can summon. He knows and accepts it. It might be a little hard to tell Hinata and Hiashi but they will come around.”

“Sure Shinobi might, they understand basic sealing, but the people of this infernal city hated him as a Jinchuuriki, what will they think once he’s half demon!”

“They won’t know. He can use a Genjutsu to mask it. And if he doesn’t want that then they will learn. People are reasonable, once they see he’s not attacking anybody they will understand.”

“You’re an optimistic fool you know that?”

“Maybe I am, maybe I am…” Nazomishi turned walking away from the Sannin and over towards the campfire to rest. Jiraiya grinned seeing him at least mildly happy for the first time in weeks.

“Sorry to keep you up but there was one last thing.” Nazomishi sighed wanting only to sleep.

“Master Yoda wanted to talk to you.”

“He gave you a Holopad?”

“If that’s what this is called then yes.” Jiraiya pulled out a small disk like object from his pocket, showing it to Nazomishi. The blue haired Zate raised his hand to Jiraiya and used the Force to gram the small object. He lazily walked away from everyone else to have some privacy. When Nazomishi felt he was an adequate distance away he tossed the pad towards the ground where it caught itself with some hover technology, carrying itself up and projecting an image of Master Yoda.

“…..” The two simply stared for a few moments. Yoda looked Nazomishi over, sensing his presence while Nazomishi looked on simply annoyed by his own exhaustion.
“What is it? I know you want to say something so what is it?” Nazomishi snapped.
“A deep anger I sense, not yourself are you.” The green master noted with sadness in his voice.
“I’ve known that since I got this accursed seal. Care to tell me anything new?”
“Clouded your future is…” Nazomishi interrupted before the master could finish his statement.
“Stop toying with me! That’s impossible. There’s no one in this world capable of clouding your senses.”
“Unless betrayed we have been.” Yoda added calmly as if it were a perfectly reasonable solution.
“No, I won’t accept that, you LIE!” Nazomishi snapped in return, completely ripped from any notion of peace he had found from his satisfaction with the day’s success.

“…” Yoda looked on with knowing eyes, saying nothing.
“….Forgive me master, I haven’t been myself.” Nazomishi squinted his eyes disappointed in his remark.
“Forgiven you are. Remember the code. … An ideal perfection is, not a reality. Pursue it but expect it not…”
“Yes…hmmm…Who could it be…?” Nazomishi asked struggling to regain a hold on himself.
“Troubles me greatly it does. Trust everyone in the Zate, know them well I do. Clear their minds are, lacking in deception. Clouded their futures are not. Fear the inners I do.”
“The inners? Have you checked Bekynel?” Bekynel was the last inner to make an attempt to take over his original. Unfortunately for the Zate Kenshin was the only man who had ever come anywhere close to conquering and controlling such an alter ego.
“Yes, contained Osore is, Battousai and...” The inners, now this was troubling. A few had attempted to take over their originals in the past. Among them the Battousai was by far the strongest.
“No, he can’t be the only one you haven’t checked!He’s under control.You and Xavier suppressed him yourselves, there’s no way he could take over again.”
“Again, an ideal perfection is. All barriers, weaken they can.” Yoda replied with wisdom.
“I refuse to accept that. It took half the Zate last time the Battousai took over Kenshin. Even mine’s not at that level and Kenshin’s in control of his. How would it of all of them break free?”
“Clouded your future is but sense one thing I can. Solely from the seal your anger is not. Weakened the seal your training has. Permit it to weaken further you cannot.” Nazomishiseemed to be fighting himself at every angle, simply trying to cope with Yoda’s criticism. Still, he knew it had to be true. If it was then every ounce of chakra he had used over the last month was the cause of his increasing levels of anger as he trained.
“Perhaps distorting the barrier your seal is. If not the seal, perhaps…”
“A combination of them, you think my seal array is screwing with my mental barrier. You think it is holding him back like it is the seal but the side effect of having too many seals is weakening the mental barrier.” As much as Nazomishi hated to admit it, it was the most likely possibility. If the seals were holding it back then it would explain why he was getting worse as the seal were released and weakened. The problem was that it also meant that the seal had compromised the mental barrier erected by Xavier.
Of the Zate there were 8 warriors who had developed similar violent alter egos like the Battousai. It was expected to happen because of the nature of their actions. A handful were more violent and prone to taking over than others. The less violent inners were more easily controlled and their originals had been taught to obtain a level of control in their violent state. Of all of them Kenshin was the only man to have conquered his inner. Nazomishi’s first showed itself in a fight against the sentinels back in wolverine’s world. As far as they could tell it was more of a strategist than the others. Even then it rarely attempted anything, but when it did Nazomishi didn’t stand a chance at controlling himself. It was far too violent ant took control in an instant. Luckily for the Zate its combat prowess wasn’t up to a level that the others were. Unfortunately its level of control over Nazomishi’s body was vastly greater than the other inners. It was quickly decided that the inner known as Zansatsu was far too dangerous to be tamed and was to be suppressed as soon as possible. The most powerful Force sensitive’s along with Jean Grey and Professor Xavier gathered to suppress the being. At first Xavier didn’t understood why the Zate insisted on joining him in creating the barrier. During the sealing he found out why. The Zate could sense the horrific evil it represented. Yes, its raw power paled in comparison to the Battousai, both paled in comparison to the phoenix, but the unadulterated evil of the creature was so suffocating that it frightened them all deeply. They didn’t fear the damage it would do; no they feared something far worse. They feared what kind of genocide it would first attempt. The possibility that it could use the Force without Nazomishi’s knowledge was something that truly startled Master Yoda. The possibility that it might take control of the cursed seal or that the seal may give it more power was even worse.
“Let me guess, this all started two weeks ago.”
“It did. Permit Zansatsu to rule you we cannot. Powerful it may not be but violent it is and with your power great devastation it could create.”
“Can’t we just put up some new barriers like last time?” Nazomishi asked somewhat frightened by the thought of being taken over again. Last time was so horrible. It was like being submerged in a river of the dark side.
“I sense we cannot. A powerful mentalist Xavier was. Without him ineffective it would be. Perhaps with seals but causing this mess they could be.”
“And we don’t know how the cursed seal is ruining everything. What would you have me do?” Nazomishi asked seriously as questions flooded his mind.
“Worse you are when your power you release. Restrict yourself you must.”
“W-what? But what about Akatsuki, you can’t expect me to fight them restrained!”
“And permit it to control you we cannot. Restrain yourself or fight not. Your clones prepare.” Nazomishi sighed knowing all too well what the master wanted. Yoda wanted the clones to study the seal array. If it was the seals causing this then he had to redesign the entire thing from the ground up. But that could take weeks if he were to retain most of them. Weeks was not time he had while he trained with Naruto. Clones were his only choice. He was visibly shacking in anger, struggling to maintain control of himself. In the end it was decided Nazomishi had to completely redesign the seals that covered his body, from the smallest summoning seal for weapons to the most complicated weight seals he had developed.

Over the time Naruto was unconscious Nazomishi had decided to scrap further work on the Hiraishin to focus on reworking his seal array. Sadly it was far more complicated than he had anticipated. There were literally hundreds of seals on and inside of his body. Simplifying them and rearranging them was going to take a while and the last thing he wanted was to simply get rid of them. In the end he was forced to restrain himself though the seal array he was attempting to redesign. The redesign work was done on a dummy while he had Jiraiya look over the seals to ensure nothing would clash. Sure enough the combination of the cursed seal and the suppression seal he had developed were the causes of the trouble. Together they functioned much the same way towards Nazomishi’s seal array and his mental barriers as Orochimaru’s seal technique had worked on Naruto in the original time line. Worst case scenario, without the suppression seal the cursed seal would mess with his bloodline like it did before. Must studying was indeed necessary.
The days passed as Naruto, finally awakening two days before the exams and Nazomishi decided to spend the last days polishing Naruto’s form with swordsmanship and the Hiraishin. The decision had secretly been made by Nazomishi so he could train while remaining restrained. He couldn’t risk letting that thing free at such a critical time. Naruto was forced to maintain as many tails as possible while working on his swordsmanship as his hundreds of shadow clones worked on the Hiraishin, obtaining significant progress thanks to his purified chakra. It was potent but far easier to control now that the chakra of two tails was finally his. It did of course take Jiraiya a few hours to explain to Naruto why Nazo had attacked the way he did. So, Naruto did what the Kyuubi told him to. He smashed Nazo over the head with his swords a few good times for scaring them so much.

Over the time since Naruto had been asleep Nazomishi’s minor tweaks to his seal system had given him better control over his emotions be he still suffered from numerous moments of anger and hatred. Naruto was pleased to see Nazomishi nearly back to what he considered normal. Sadly both he and Jiraiya knew he was a long way from attaining a truly normal state.

“I must say Naruto your skills with learning attacks and forms is extraordinary but beyond that you have no skill what so ever as a swordsman. You lack any useful knowledge of theory. In short there are three things that make a sword master; Speed, form and theory. Your speed is admirable especially without your weights. Your form amounts to pure practice and is delivered entirely with single and basic strikes. Your theory has no base in logic and is fully devoted to chaos. Against any weaker opponent your knowledge of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu would kill them instantly. However, in a fight against Sasuke or anyone else with high speed and an adequate knowledge in the other two, you would die most assuredly… come…”

Nazomishi signaled for Naruto to strike and Naruto leaped into action with a Ryûtsuisen (dragon hammer strike). He fell from the sky slashing his blade with great care and discipline. Nazomishi did not draw his blade but simply analyzed Naruto’s path and pushed the blade aside with a finger. When Naruto landed, the strike formed a split in the ground with the force of his attack. Recovering from his attack Naruto prepared another attack launching a horizontal slash at Nazomishi who was only a few feet away. The strike, though powerful was caught between Nazomishi’s thumb and index finger imbedding Nazomishi’s feet into the ground under the force of the strike.

“You see, without theory you cannot adjust your strike in mid swing to compensate for an opponent’s reaction. Anticipate my actions, correct your strike for it and fallow through.”

“But your made of freaking metal, no normal man can stop a strike that strong!” Naruto replied boisterously.

“The Hyuuga can, them and anyone else capable of expelling chakra from their hands with enough training to know how. It’s not like I’m stopping it with my palm flat on the blade. I will admit it’s advanced swordsmanship. Still such skills are standard, though most aren’t skilled enough to utilize it in a battlefield setting.”

“It’s not like I’m going to fight anyone with a sword anyway, they all joined our side remember!”

“Idiot, your fighting S-rank Nuke Nins not your normal Jounin, you could kill a normal man right now but these guys are different. Pein can repel your attacks, to counter a counter attack with a more effective counter attack. If you fight Sasori his tail and knowledge of puppetry is as good as fighting a swordsman and his are poisoned. If you fight Deidara fine resort to your normal tactics, but don’t come running to me if you face Madara. With his Eternal Sharingan he could analyze your movements in an instant and counter attack with as much ease as myself. You forget that he is the real one who killed the Uchiha clan.”

“Ok, ok I get it” Naruto readied another stance and lunged at Nazomishi. Aiming for the head, Naruto slashed and this time used the Sora Wari to slash a razor sharp vortex at Nazo from near point blank range. Nazomishi smirked as he used the full length of his blade to create his own; matching Naruto’s every step of the way, fully canceling each other out.

“That’s better, not many would expect that one.” Nazomishi commented with a maniacal smirk.

“If they can’t then how did you huh.”

“The Force, I knew you would do that as soon as the thought entered your mind. Fighting one who knows the Force is as good as fighting one with the Sharingan due to our anticipation of an opponent’s attacks. The difference is this, the Sharingan can put thoughts into your head to a degree far greater than any Force user can. They can copy any normal technique as soon as they see it.”

“Then how do you stop it, I can’t fight someone who can predict my movements that well.”

“One who can see what their opponent will do and has the theory of a master can only be beaten one way; you must be faster than him and overpower him. Here…” Nazomishi pulled out a crystal necklace with the seals for the Hiraishin embedded seemingly hovering on the inside of it’s jade green exterior. “I have faith that you can beat most of the members of Akatsuki in one on one bout. However if you run into Madara channel chakra into that, I will Hiraishin there as fast as I can.” It was a green crystal (think the look of the one Tsunade would have given him) and seamed to glow around chakra.

“Uh… this is really weird.” Naruto though having just been handed some sort of strange necklace. It felt rather awkward.

“… What…? I gave these to everybody in the Zate. For lack of imagination were calling them dimension crystals, something we didn’t understand until you were unconscious from our fight. In every dimension we’ve been to the place we land is riddled with these things. We collected them for study and thanks to our researchers we finally know what they do. They hold a tie to the previous dimension that we came from. That one, like the ones we have given out are from the Jedi’s dimension. Sasuke got a hold of one the other day and his ability to sense the Force has grown significantly. We don’t have the time to teach you about the Force now but after this is all over you too will be trained in the ways of the Force.”

“So what, it’s going to be some sort of sign of the Zate?”

“Exactly, we have thousands of these and can thus teach thousands of warriors the ways of the Force. Then in our next dimension we will likely find ones with a connection to this dimension thus permitting them to use chakra should it not exist in their dimension.”

“And the seals with chakra alert the rest of the Zate to trouble and where it is.”

“Precisely, this way we can support our allies better, and I, knowing the Hiraishin will always be able to protect those who have joined my cause as will you.” Naruto seemed to be lost in thought for a few moments, finally getting a foxy grin on his face realizing something he could do with this.

“Hey we can tell where people are with these right?”

“Yea and who it is based on the chakra put into it. Granted it is much easier with the scouters, but will help sort out our ranks.”

“Can I get another one…”

“A lavender one?” Nazomishi smirked as Naruto’s face turned beet red having been caught with his intentions. “I’m sure Hinata would love it. Well I guess that wraps up today, you should do fine against Akatsuki tomorrow. Go spend the rest of the day with Hinata. You still owe her a date.”

“Yea, I guess I do…”

“Here…” Nazomishi summoned a pouch of crystals, opening it up and dumping out a few for Naruto to pick from. Naruto went through and found one that was just the shade he had in mind. It’s shape and size was very similar to his. Naruto was about to run off to the entrance when he realized he would need something to make it into a necklace.

“Just go to a store, if they give you any trouble just give Sasuke a shout.”

“Yea…” The training was finally over and Naruto gleefully went off to leave the building only to realize that he couldn’t open the door for some reason. Nazomishi noticed this oddity and remembered that he made it so Naruto couldn’t leave out of anger during the training.

“Sorry I’ll have to open it myself. Oy Jiraiya, Tsunade, you coming?” Nazomishi asked, turning to the set of Sannin.

“Not that way, it’s too obvious in the day, we’ll leave through the back seal. We cant have any spies knowing were here.”

“Good point, see ya tomorrow.”

“Come on hurry up, you don’t have to act so old.” Naruto screamed, eager to see Hinata after his hellatious training.

“I am old, baka.” Nazomishi replied with some degree of annoyance.

“Then can I call you Jiji?”

“If you start that I, swear I will shove your tails down your throat. Now put on your Genjutsu, we down want anybody seeing you with those.”

“Yea yea…” Naruto formed the seals, making his tails, slitted eyes, claws and ears vanish into a more human looking appearance. As soon as that was done Nazomishi drew some of his blood on the seal on the wall, pumping it with his chakra and opening the gate.

“Naruto Uzumaki, Nazomishi Mitsukoi, you are hereby under arrest.” A set of three Anbu stood on the other side of the gate as soon as they walked through the gate.

“Come quietly and we wont have to use force.”

“What is the charge Anbu san?” Nazomishi said coldly with a hint of killer intent just to make his point.

“For Uzumaki San, that is confidential.”

“And me?”

“For training a demo...” Nazomishi stood without moving but interrupted the anbu so Naruto wouldn’t do anything brash.

“Don’t worry Naruto, The Hokage will straiten this out.” Naruto nodded to Nazo and decided to go quietly, knowing they didn’t want to make a scene.

“Bastard, I didn’t expect root to make their move so soon. Danzo, as soon as the Zate finds out about this I swear I will kill you.”


Author’s comments: My true purpose in giving Nazomishi the cursed seal. The inners… What awful villains do these events foreshadow? Muahahahaaha.

So far I have five groups of villains planed out for the future. Some will come and go, others will drive the overall from the sidelines for a while before actually becoming the main focus of the story. So far you have seen two groups and this is the foreshadowing of the third. The first is the basic villains from various worlds. Some worlds they might be strong, others they will merely be filler to form the world’s plot. The second you saw in the first chapter with the Bones organization. The third…. Just wait and see. Let’s just say….hell will happen.