Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Foxhound ❯ Err, I think it's an ear. ( Chapter 4 )

Author: Kraken's Ghost

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything its author owns. I am not making any money off of this. This is a non-profit work of fanfiction.

 

Story so far: Ino listens in on a conversation between Jiraiya and Kakashi and discusses it with the copy-nin afterwards. Sakura joins I the conversation later about the Sound's latest actions. Naruto wakes up in his own mind and encounters three pools of memory that force him to face some truths about himself, before he makes it to the Kyuubi for some answers.

 

Chap. 4

 

“Alright, fox,” Naruto said as he knelt down into a half-kneeling crouch, looking ready to spring in any direction. He was still too wired from the Pools to relax completely. “What's going on?”

 

“`What isn't going on', is more accurate,” The Kyuubi grumbled. “Where to start…I suppose you want to know what those memory reservoirs were, right?”

 

Naruto gave an annoyed snort and said, “Yeah, that's a good place to start.”

 

“It's called `Rutsubo' by the few humans who know of its existence. It's a powerful, if outdated jutsu,” The demon calmly informed.

 

“…Crucible?” The boy asked, confusion on his face. The fox nodded its massive head. “That's it? Nothing else?”

 

The Kyuubi gave a sharp bark that Naruto instinctively knew was laughter.

 

“While today's ninja may enjoy making spectacles of themselves by yelling `Ninpou!' or `Shining-Blue-Butterfly-Supreme-Attack!' the older people of this land preferred not to announce their attacks to everyone in earshot. They felt no need to show off to their enemies before they killed them. The Crucible is a painful test of the mind, so they gave it a simple and fitting name,” The demon-fox said, with a teasing grin that exposed a mouthful of eight foot long fangs.

 

Naruto blinked. He himself enjoyed flashy attacks, if only for the attention he got from it. He should be feeling embarrassed at the Kyuubi's taunt, but he didn't feel the slightest bit of shame. The fox had simply stated a fact and he took it at face value, with no wounded ego or anything.

 

“Ah, you're feeling the side-effects of it. Or perhaps I should say, main effects,” The demon said as it noticed the boy's confused look.

 

“What's wrong with me?” Naruto asked suspiciously.

 

“Nothing. You simply have no pride or ego. Facing your inner truths has stripped that part away,” The Kyuubi answered, looking distinctly amused.

 

“A part of me is missing?!” The blonde yelped as he jumped to his feet. A huff of wind from the demon's nose sent him back on his butt. Naruto got back to his feet, but he felt no urge to start yelling and jumping around in an outraged fury like he normally would have. What the hell? Blinking, he looked up curiously at the fox.

 

“You see? An hour ago you would have been running around like a damn headless chicken,” The Kyuubi's eyes glazed for a second at the thought of chicken, before it shook it off and continued, “I assure you, you're better off without your pride. What's that human belief, `a true martial artist knows how to slay the ego?' Your pride was a huge weak point that stuck out to everyone you've ever fought. Minus it, you can analyze your faults and strengths without gumming the whole process up by attempting to satisfy your ego. Knowing your limits is far better for your continued survival than making a damn fool of yourself by rushing into situations. And as your survival is my survival, I have to say I much prefer you like this.”

 

Naruto appeared to be puzzling over this new information. After a few moments, he looked up and nodded.

 

“Alright, makes sense I guess. Though ask next time before you try and screw with my head,” He said, with a look of warning on his face.

 

The Kyuubi shrugged its massive shoulders and said, “I had little choice in the matter, boy. I merely set up the Crucible. It was your mind that decided it didn't need an ego.”

 

“Alright, tell me what this Crucible is and why you used it on me,” Naruto said as he dropped down into his half-kneel again. His eyes held less tension as he watched the demon.

 

“The Rutsubo is an old skill that forces the subject to achieve a greater understanding about the self,” The Kyuubi started, relaxing its forearms a bit as it went into lecture mode. “But really, that's only the primary side-effect of the jutsu. Its main function is to systematically open the Eight Celestial Body Gates. One opens with each challenge you face. It's terribly inefficient by today's standards, but it is much more focused and far less damaging to the body, making it useful for rituals.”

 

“The Gates?” Naruto said, his eyes widening. “You mean like Thick-brows?”

 

“The boy with the parasitic caterpillars feasting on his forehead? Yes, like him,” The fox answered. Its voice held a genuinely disturbed tone when it mentioned Lee's eyebrows.

 

“I can use the Gates now?” Naruto asked, excitement brightening his face. Lee's power when he used the Gates was incredible. If he could use the Gates too, he'd a very formidable fighter. And with a healing factor that would erase any self-inflicted damage in a day, he wouldn't have to worry about conserving its use.

 

“No,” The Kyuubi answered, popping Naruto's idea like a balloon. “Not yet anyways. The pathways have been opened, but you still have to learn how to control them. It would. however, probably only take you a couple days to master them, since you've passed the Crucible.”

 

“Then why did you want to open my Gates? How could you even use a jutsu on me?” The boy asked, worry and confusion on his face. He really hoped the seal wasn't breaking or he'd be in trouble. Hell, the continent would be in trouble if the Kyuubi got loose.

 

The fox closed its eyes for a moment, before fixating them on Naruto.

 

“Alright, I'll start from the beginning and explain everything. Don't interrupt. I'll answer anything else at the end, got it?”

 

“Yeah,” The genin said. He slowly allowed himself to sit cross-legged on the floor, rightly guessing that this would take awhile.

 

“When we fought the cultists, you were struck by a seal that altered the one that keeps me imprisoned,” The Kyuubi began, as it saw the boy paying attention. “The normal seal is designed to freely allow our chakra to mingle in your inner coils, which is harmless to you. The cultist's seal changed that setup so that rather than cleanly mixing inside of you, our two chakras reacted violently to each other. The end result was…explosive.”

 

Naruto grimaced as he remembered the brief, horrible moment he felt the chakra rip out of his body, before he fell mercifully unconscious.

 

“The seal's presence also altered you inner coil pathways, so much so that I was unable to heal your body as usual. It should have been lethal, but an opportunity presented itself. For a brief period of time, the containment seal was weakened and deformed to the point where I could slip part of myself out and into you. It only lasted a moment or two in the real world, but in here where time is slower I was able to build a few safeguards before I was forced back into this cage. One of those was a thin link of untainted chakra leading from me to your bone marrow where you blood is produced.

 

“I was able to accelerate your blood production dozens of times faster than normal. Because of that, the hermit was able to get you to the healer and you survived. The downside to the overproduction is that it stripped your body of all its energy reserves. What was left of your muscles was eaten away to make more blood. The hermit also used tourniquets on your limbs and what little tissue in them that survived the seal unharmed was then damaged severely by lack of circulation.”

 

“So I don't have any muscles and I'm paralyzed too?!” Naruto exclaimed, panic flooding into him. “What the hell will we do if those cloak freaks attack again?!”

 

“I said don't interrupt, brat!” The Kyuubi yelled, its voice reverberating the walls. Naruto quieted down as he watched the fox. “Really boy, you don't think I of all creatures would overlook something like that? I'm the greatest of the youkai and I know more about human anatomy than even the healer ever will. I knew exactly what it would do to you. That's why I placed other safeguards.”

 

“The Crucible,” The boy said, his eyes widening in realization.

 

“Exactly,” The fox said, a hint of pride in its voice at the genin catching on so fast. “I prepared the Crucible so that when you woke up, you'd open each gate progressively as you approached me. Three gates were sufficient, which is why you only faced three challenges. The reason why I've done this is because unlike that other boy, you have a mirror set of Gates directly linked to your normal ones. Can you guess what they control?”

 

“Your chakra,” Naruto replied. He blinked. He was catching on pretty fast for an idiot. Did his pride usually cloud his mind so heavily?

 

“Correct, boy. You see what clearing your thoughts has done for you? You're still no genius by any means, but you're definitely not an idiot either as long as you don't let yourself get carried away,” The Kyuubi said, amusement in its voice. Then it returned to lecture-fox mode and continued its explanation. “As I was saying, you're correct. The secondary set of Gates is to control and regulate my chakra. They're basically Celestial Gates, but to avoid confusion I'll call them Demonic Gates instead. Fitting, considering what they restrain. One of their major differences from your Gates is that they are much more powerful and difficult to open. In fact, to force even the first Demonic Gate open you have to-”

 

“Open three of mine,” Naruto finished. Ah, it made sense now. Damn, that was a powerful Gate if it needed three others to force it open. “But why open yours at all?”

 

The fox's eyes held a definite glint of pride. The changes in the boy were becoming more apparent, even after only a short period of time since his trials. Yes, the Crucible was definitely a good decision. It hadn't explained to Naruto all the properties of the secondary effects. The jutsu forces the mind to face the weak or undesired parts of the psyche and to change them for the better (hopefully.) Subconsciously, Naruto had already known the three lessons he'd been taught by the memory pools. But his conscious mind never accepted them, so his mind was constantly in conflict with itself. The Crucible took the portions of the mind that needed to be altered and forced them to the surface, where they had to be faced. Unfortunately, there was a high rate of insanity or even death for those of weak wills when they faced their inner fears and faults.

 

The fox had taken a risk with the Crucible, but its faith in the boy's determination, strength, and bull-headed stubbornness had paid off quite nicely. The brat had gone through the trials and come out better for it on the other side. His mind was more focused and his determination had grown even greater, if it was possible. Yes, the Kyuubi was very pleased with the results. The boy was far from perfect, but he was mentally strong enough now to face the greater trials and threats that lay ahead of them both. At the very least, the fox could talk to the brat without him jumping up and yelling at the top of his lungs in protest. The demon certainly wouldn't miss the boy's blustery pride, that was for sure.

 

“I was getting to that, but there is something else I want to explain first,” The Kyuubi said out loud, though it wasn't really a reprimand. Naruto guessed the fox didn't mind interruptions as long as they were intelligent. “As you can probably guess, my presence in your body your entire life has greatly altered it. The presence of secondary Celestial Gates, for instance, is an example of that. There are dozens of other minor differences between you and any other human, but most of them you can barely even detect. One of them, however, is rather obvious.”

 

“My fast healing,” The genin said. He didn't really like the thought of being so different from other people, but there as there was little he could do about it he simply listened to the fox.

 

“Yes, though it's only partly yours,” The Kyuubi said. “You see, while your body has a healing factor written into its genetic code (“Its basic structure,” The fox said to answer Naruto's confused look.), it needs demon chakra to work. Not only that, but it works best when there's a mixture of your chakra and mine. In other words, when my chakra flows through your inner coils. The seal that hit you screwed them all up and because of that, I can't do the necessary healing to repair your body. However, the Demonic Gates are not a direct part of your inner coils like your Celestial Gates are. Your Gates were undamaged, for the most part, and I was able to use them to open and focus the first Demonic Gate. With that Gate active, it's now possible for me to repair your body.”

 

Naruto stared at the demon for a long moment, before jumping and going, “YES! Back in business!”

 

“Nope, not yet,” The Kyuubi said as its eyes traced the genin's movements as he danced around. The boy stopped in his tracks and said, “Huh?”

 

The fox gave an annoyed snort, which knocked Naruto on his butt from the gust of wind.

 

“Right now I'm realigning and correcting your inner coils to their normal state,” The Kyuubi said as Naruto dragged himself into a sitting position. “When that's done, I'll have proper access to your coils again and I can use the Demonic Gate to rebuild your muscle structure. Normally, it'd take awhile as you'd need to eat a great deal to provide the raw material, but with the Gate focusing my chakra like a laser, it's so intense that I can simply create the needed matter from my own energy. I can resurrect dead cells in your body and rebuild new ones for the cells that are completely gone. It will only be a matter of time before all the lost tissue is back.”

 

“Re-za?” Naruto asked in confusion, his mouth stumbling over the foreign word.

 

“Ancient human technology. Don't worry about it,” The fox replied, not expecting the boy to know what the device was. “It was merely an example on how I've been focusing your chakra and mine with the Gates.”

 

“Wait, focusing? I thought it was just like turning a faucet on all the way,” Naruto asked in confusion. That's what it looked like anyways when he watched Lee fight Gaara.

 

“For your weird friend and his teacher, yes,” The Kyuubi replied. “But I know how to constrict the Gates partially after they've been opened so that the chakra is channeled and intensified rather than flowing unchecked. Think of it like this, opening the Gates in a normal manner is like turning on a water hose full blast. It's strong yes, but if you put your thumb over the opening most of the way it becomes even more intense. Another analogy would be to use a magnifying lens to take the sun's naturally warm rays and focus them to the point where they could burn something. And if you perfectly aligned more of them above each other…Well, you get the picture. The point being to take something already powerful and concentrate to increase it many times its original strength.”

 

“Damn…That's pretty cool,” Naruto said, a grin growing on his face. “So, could you teach me how to do it?”

 

“Yes, but it would likely take months of training even for you. Despite your impressive blood, it's still a difficult technique to catch onto and would eat up a great amount of time. Time we likely don't have to spare,” The fox replied.

 

“Wait, what blood? Why are we out of time?” Naruto asked. Now what?

 

“Pick one to ask first, brat,” The demon said with a note of exasperation in its voice. Only Naruto could try the patience of a youkai.

 

“Err, the blood thing,” He said after a moment.

 

“Alright, you have an Advanced Bloodline that is very potent. With it you could learn anything I have to teach you, if had we the time,” The Kyuubi casually responded.

 

“You mean…? I have a Bloodline Limit?! Awesome! Is it better than the Sharingan? Does it look really cool?” Naruto asked eagerly. He had a Bloodline! And here he thought this day would totally suck.

 

“Grr…Brat, don't ask so many questions at once,” The fox grumbled in annoyance. Then it noticed the boy had barely heard a word it had said and was instead only listening for info on his Bloodline. Pfft, humans and their new toys. “Fine, yes, no, yes, and no.”

 

The gears visibly turned in Naruto's head as he tried to line up his questions with the demon's answers.

 

“Uh…I don't have a Bloodline?” He slowly asked.

 

The Kyuubi grumbled something rather foul, before answering, “Yes, you have a Bloodline. No, it is not a Limit. Yes, it's better than the Sharingan. No, it doesn't look cool in the slightest. Does that answer it all, brat?!”

 

“Err…How can I have a Bloodline without having a Limit?” Naruto asked, staring blankly at the fox. It made a rather grisly face that the boy somehow knew was a frown.

 

“Well, I suppose the hermit never told you. Or perhaps he doesn't know,” The Kyuubi muttered, mostly to itself. “Hmm, doesn't matter anyways, I'll just tell you. Alright, listen up boy.”

 

Naruto leaned forward a little bit, very curious about the fox's new topic.

 

“To put it simply, you don't have a Bloodline Limit,” The demon began. “Your ancestor that created it called your Bloodline an Unlimiter.”

 

“Unlimiter?” The genin questioned, emphasizing the `un.'

 

“Yes. It differs greatly from all the other Limits. Tell me, what's one thing every Limit has in common, no matter how bizarre and weird they are?” The Kyuubi prompted, playing the professor role surprisingly well.

 

Naruto screwed his face up in thought, his eyes totally scrunched up in fox-slits. He sensed the demon genuinely wanted him to think about it, so he racked his brain for an appropriate response. Thank Kami the ero-sennin had included mental games in his training or he'd be completely hopeless at this stuff.

 

Hesitantly, the genin answered, “Um…They're all…specialized?”

 

“YES!” The Kyuubi bellowed, causing Naruto to jump from the blasting volume. The fox seemed…delighted? “Excellent. I would never have expected a child your age, let alone a rather foolish one, to be able to answer that. Yes boy, all the Limits are specialized in a certain area of expertise. That's their main common factor, be it the Sharingan to the Byakugan to those bug people. That fact doesn't occur to most humans, even those decades your senior.”

 

“Okay…” Naruto said blankly. “So what's this Unlimitey thing do and how's it better than the Sharingan?”

 

“Unlimiter, boy,” The fox corrected. “Hmm, how to explain this. Alright, think of it like this: if every Limit specializes in a certain ability, then the Unlimiter specializes in being unspecialized.”

 

“You lost me,” Naruto deadpanned. Blasted big words.

 

“I figured,” The Kyuubi dryly replied. “I'll explain. The Unlimiter was designed to provide the opposite of a specialization. It allows its bearer to be able to become anything or do anything, within human reason. For instance, if you wanted to be become a blacksmith, then you would have just as much potential in that as you would if you had chosen to remain a shinobi. You can master any field of expertise, as long as you have the patience to learn it. If you give up being a ninja twenty years from now and decide to be a healer, you'll be able to learn the field as quickly as if you were fresh from the academy. Your ancestor wanted all of his descendants to have the freedom to become whatever they wanted, with nothing to tie them down beyond their own preferences. Humans who bear the Limits, on the other paw, must follow a single or select few paths if they want to reach their full potential. Your ancestor observed this and made his Bloodline to avoid that.”

 

“Wow, that's pretty neat. Err, but how is that better than the Sharingan?” Naruto asked. “I mean, it's nice to know I can do anything, but I really do like being a shinobi. How does my Bloodline help if I've already picked a field?”

 

“Ah, that's linked to how the Unlimiter works and why it allows you to choose any expertise,” The demon replied. “The Bloodline is a total alteration on your genetic level (“I told you, it's the basic foundation of your body,” The fox growled at the boy's bemused look.) Your body, brain, and chakra pathways have all been carefully altered to remove their maximum caps. Basically, there isn't a limit to how far you can go. You can get as strong as you want, learn as much as you want, or build as much chakra as you want as long as you're willing to work to achieve it. You still have to train just as hard, but where others begin to slow down, you'll simply keep on going. This is why your Bloodline is superior to the Sharingan Blood Limit. No matter how powerful the Sharingan is or how ingenious its user, they will eventually hit a glass ceiling where they simply can't get any stronger. Even the strength of the hermit and the healer barely change year by year. Yours will not. You'll still grow as fast as you do now till the day you die, even if you live to be a decrepit old man.”

 

“It's really that powerful?” Naruto asked in shocked amazement. He's had such a potent ability his whole life?

 

The Kyuubi gave the boy a sharp and piercing stare before saying, “Why do you think you were chosen to be my vessel? What other newborn infant could withstand the enormous strain on their bodies that comes with being my living prison? Only a child that can endlessly grow could possibly contain the strongest demon of this plane of reality. Your chakra coils can mold to any shape over time, so it would be child's play for them to adjust to imprisoning me. Even your DNA has altered itself to not only adapt to my presence, but to take advantage of it. Your healing ability is just one example of that. It needs my energy to work, but it was your body that created it.”

 

The genin flinched and stared down at his hands. It made sense. The question that had plagued him since the day he became a genin was finally answered.

 

“That's why the Yondaime chose me,” He whispered. He didn't mean for the fox to hear, but those huge ears weren't just for show.

 

“Yes, that human may have been a disgusting, cowardly little yellow-haired rat, but he was a smart rat. He knew your body would not only adapt to the strain, but take advantage of it. He probably even felt that your mind would be up to the challenge and grow to accept the burden of my presence,” The Kyuubi grumbled. Its hatred for the Yondaime changed its growling voice to one of spitting hisses.

 

“My mind too, huh? Must've had a lot of faith in me,” Naruto said, as he wrapped his arms around his knees and rested his chin on them. He honestly didn't know what to feel about the Yondaime. His thoughts about the greatest of the Hokages were always a confusing mix of pride, resentment, respect, and sometimes burning anger. Maybe if the man had survived and Naruto had been able to meet with him face to face, then he'd feel differently. The Yondaime had done a horrible thing to him and turned his life into a living hell from the day he was born. However, the man had also wanted him to be viewed as a hero for the normal life he was giving up.

 

Naruto didn't kid himself on it. He knew the Yondaime fully understood what fate he was inflicting on him as a newborn child. He knew and probably died feeling more guilt than should be humanely possible. He still did it though. When the choice came down to it, it was either the people of Konoha or a single human child. The Yondaime made his decision and as someone who wanted to become Hokage, Naruto respected the man for saving his people. In a way, it was even an honor that he'd been chosen over any other child, as it implied that the Kyuubi was a burden that the Yondaime only trusted Naruto to bear. The boy felt a bit proud that the great Hokage had trusted him so much, even on the day he was born.

 

That still came as little comfort during the dark, cold nights he'd spent alone. It was understandable why he had mixed feelings about the man.

 

The Kyuubi's voice interrupted the boy's thoughts, snapping him out of his melancholy mood somewhat as the demon said, “Yes, even your mind has been altered by my presence. Or haven't you wondered how you're able to understand a demonic tongue older than your entire species?”

 

Naruto felt a near electric shock as he realized that the Kyuubi wasn't speaking in a growling voice; its voice was growls! The demon was making growls, snarls, grunts, and occasional lights barks to speak to him. He somehow understood the fox so well that he'd assumed it was speaking normal human language every time he'd talked to the beast. Naruto even understood the little inflections and gestures the Kyuubi used the same way he understood the changes in pitch and tone when he spoke to a human. When the fox gave a sharp, bellowing bark it meant that the demon was laughing and genuinely amused. When the beast narrowed its eyes at him and twitched its right ear, it meant it was getting impatient and annoyed. If the whiskers coming off its face were wiggling rapidly, it meant the fox was excited about something. A whole alien language and Naruto understood it like he was a native speaker. It had been so natural, that he'd never even noticed. Kami, what else about him had been altered by the demon's imprisonment?

 

“That's so cool, yet so freaky,” Naruto replied. Well, at least he was feeling depressed anymore. Nervous and slightly paranoid, but still not depressed.

 

The sharp, barking laugh followed the boy's statement.

 

“I suppose it is,” The Kyuubi said. Naruto understood its odd head movements to be the fox's amusement. “Anyways, is there anything else you wanted to know about your Bloodline? I'm not a full expert on it, but I have learned a great deal about the Unlimiter over time. I thought it wise to do so, as the only humans with the potential to rival my power were the ones who bore it.”

 

Naruto frowned in thought, before he asked, “There's nothing else to it? No flashy ultimate level or anything?”

 

The demon shook its head as it replied, “No, but remember that just because no one can detect it, doesn't mean that it's any less powerful. It may seem weak in the short term, but in the long run there isn't a human alive that you won't exceed.”

 

“Hmm, well that's fine. It's cool enough as it is,” Naruto said with a fox-grin. Then he scratched his chin in thought and asked, “But, can't the Sharingan do kind of the same thing? I mean, the Uchihas look like they can do anything the want.”

 

“Hmm, funny you should mention that Blood Limit,” The Kyuubi said thoughtfully. “It happens to be directly linked to your Bloodline.”

 

“WHAT?!” Naruto yelled in panic. “You mean there are two traitors running around with the Unlimiter?!”

 

“No, no, brat. Calm down before you bust my eardrums,” The fox grumbled in reply. “You didn't let me finish. I said the Sharingan is linked to your Bloodline, not that it is the Unlimiter. Alright, time for a little history lesson, boy. The man who created the Unlimiter was the great-grandchild of a refugee who came from a war torn land far across the eastern ocean. The people of that land were known for their variety and adaptability, which was likely the inspiration for your Bloodline. Now it's important to note that your Bloodline has no unpleasant side-effects, unlike many Limits. Your ancestor spent his entire life researching and testing the seals and formulas to create the Unlimiter before he sealed it into his newborn granddaughter. He was old by then, but he held onto life for another fifteen years or so to make sure the child suffered no ill effects. He was successful and destroyed his work only a few months before he died.

 

“With his knowledge gone, there was no way to replicate you Bloodline. Your clan was founded on his grandchild's blood and it has survived many centuries till today. Though each member was exceptional in their own right, the clan never grew very large and they stayed out of the public eye for the most part. The vast majority of other people had no idea the clan even had a Bloodline at all, let alone the potent Unlimiter. I suppose your family preferred it that way. However, some people did take notice of the Unlimiter's presence and were very…displeased.

 

“Several decades before the Leaf was founded, roughly a hundred and fifty years ago, a Hyuuga noticed that members of a certain family seemed to have unlimited potential no matter what they did in life. You've encountered Hyuuga arrogance before, so I'm sure it comes as no surprise to you that this man was very irate that a small family of nobodies was more powerful than the famous Hyuuga Clan. This man was so envious, that he studied your family from afar and attempted to modify the Byakugan to match their abilities. The result was a total disaster: the Uchiha Clan.”

 

“Disaster? But the Sharingan is the strongest Limit I've ever seen!” Naruto said. At least it seemed that way. Everyone he'd ever encountered that used the Sharingan was almost ridiculously powerful in combat. It had about seven or eight different functions, when most Limits had two or three at the most, and each were powerful abilities. Sometimes it felt like anyone with red eyes and comma dots inside the iris was unbeatable unless they fought somebody else with red eyes and more comma dots in them. At least, it seemed that powerful.

 

“Ah, you mistake disaster for weakness,” The Kyuubi replied, “I never said the Sharingan wasn't powerful. It is a very strong Blood Limit, but it is also severely flawed.”

 

“Flawed?” The boy asked. That perfect fighting tool that had everyone in Konoha envious was flawed?

 

“Yes, boy,” The demon said. “The Sharingan is near perfect in almost every way imaginable, but there is one serious factor that was overlooked in its creation. The Hyuuga who made the Limit was attempting to replicate the Unlimiter. However, he never truly understood what your Bloodline was and what its effects were. Obviously, your ancestors weren't going to tell anyone the true properties of the Unlimiter, let alone an arrogant man trying to steal it, so he attempted to divine its function through spying. What he saw was an ability that allowed the user to learn anything they wished, while the truth is totally different. This man was one of those `genius' types that gains so much favor in the shinobi world, so his arrogance was through the roof. He assumed he correctly figured out the nature of the Unlimiter and spent a great deal of time trying to recreate it. He failed. Or perhaps I should say, he lacked the patience to handle the setbacks he continued encountering.

 

“He finally got fed up in creating a new Bloodline and instead heavily modified his current Limit with the concepts he'd attained so far. The result was the Byakugan became the Sharingan, an optical ability that allows the user to analyze and record an opponent's actions. He didn't figure out how the learning process worked in the Unlimiter, so he did the next best thing and created a copy-cat Limit. He sealed it into one of his sons and the Uchiha Clan was born.

 

“Now to answer the question of how the Sharingan is flawed, remember what I told you about your ancestor, who was patient and made sure there were no bad side-effects. He spent fifty years of his life creating your Bloodline. The Hyuuga spent about six or seven making the Sharingan. Obviously, there were going to be things that he missed. One of them was a basic part of the Unlimiter he never even considered. You see, you can learn any amount of material, because your brain has the caps taken off. Any amount of data you can smash into your head, you can learn. All the unused areas of the brain in a normal human are put to use in you, whether you're a genius or not. And, to avoid potential brain trauma, your ancestor made sure to have careful functions added to the Bloodline. The main goal of those additions is to filter through information taken in, memorize the important stuff, and then dump the rest.

 

“For instance, when you learned the Rasengan, all you learned was how to perform the jutsu and any important concepts related to it. You didn't memorize every single thing the hermit said or the exact size of every hole you made when practicing it on trees or every single sensation you felt when you powered the move up. Not only do you have almost endless memory in your head, you also have a way of cleaning excess junk out. The Sharingan doesn't. It's an ability designed almost entirely to record data and dump it straight into the brain. A normal human brain. Not one that's been equipped to handle such pressures. On top of that, many of the Uchiha habitually left the Sharingan open…constantly. Whether it was for show or to prevent ambush or to copy a stray jutsu, whatever the reason for it, they did it. Anyone with a high-level Sharingan strolled about with it active and recording everything they saw all the time, even if it was something as foolish as how many steps an old woman took to cross the street or the exact hand motions to unlock and open your front door. Can you imagine what all that does to a human mind unprepared for handling such huge amounts of data?”

 

“Wait, so you mean…”

 

“Yes, information overload,” The Kyuubi replied. “Tell me boy, what happens to an over-inflated tire? Or an over-filled water balloon? Or to your stomach if you eat too much?”

 

Naruto's eyes widened as he said, “Easy, it'll…Holy shit. To their minds?!”

 

“The brain can't handle it and the mind eventually cracks under the stress,” The fox said as it nodded to the boy's statement. “Madness is a very common trait among Uchiha, but only Uchiha with the Sharingan. As you might guess, the stronger the Sharingan is, the worse the insanity gets. The entire clan had a reputation for being as unstable as they were powerful. They were a valuable trump card for the Leaf when it was first founded and a major reason why the village was able to survive in its weak years when it was young, though they were often more trouble than they were worth. Considering they were the police force and half of them were nuts, it's a wonder they didn't destroy half the Leaf while they were still around. I should mention that they were very good at hiding their insanity, at least from ANBU. Their madness took all forms but the most common disorder was very obsessive behavior. Other shinobi probably dismissed it as a character flaw of the clan.”

 

“Damn, when you put it like that no wonder one of them snapped and took out the whole clan,” Naruto said. Huh, he'd never feel envious of Sasuke again for having the Sharingan. What good was a weapon if you lost your mind using it? And the obsession thing made sense. Itachi was obsessed with power or something evil, Sasuke was obsessed with Itachi and that only grew worse after his Sharingan awoke, and Kakashi was obsessed with Icha Icha, his best friend, and hi-

 

“Oh shit! Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto yelped, realizing that his former teacher also had the Sharingan. “Fox, is Kakashi-sensei gonna go nuts and kill everybody too?!”

 

“Kakashi…?” The Kyuubi said, trying to place the name with the human. Human names were hard for most demons to remember and they preferred a description when referring to the person in question, like `healer' for Tsunade or `hermit' for Jiraiya. It was easier for them to remember clan names, like Hyuuga or Uchiha, but individual names were still difficult to place. “Describe him, boy.”

 

“Uh…okay. He's tall, has silver-gray hair, and reads perverted stuff in public,” Naruto answered. He sweat-dropped when the demon gave him a look that said, `describe harder.' He scrunched his face up for a moment, then said, “He has the Sharingan, but only in his left eye. He usually smells like pine trees and rain, though sometimes he smells like clean dogs too. He always wears a mask, which is really annoying, but kind of cool too. He's also really lazy.”

 

“Hmm, I know who mean. The hunter is quite a skilled warrior, though that jutsu of his is as ridiculous as it is powerful,” The fox muttered thoughtfully. Then it said in what, for a demon, passed as a reassuring tone, “Don't worry, boy. Your former commander is safe from the Sharingan madness, for the most part. He has only one Sharingan and it doesn't work as efficiently for him as it does for an Uchiha, which greatly limits the amount of raw data flowing into his mind. His ability is weaker, but it doesn't overload his brain as much. Most importantly, he shows restraint in its use and keeps the Sharingan covered most of the time. That gives his brain time to process and dump excess information naturally. He still has obsessions, but they are mild and virtually harmless. If he hasn't lost his mind in the decade or so he's had the Sharingan, then it's unlikely he'll lose it anytime soon.”

 

“Thank Kami,” Naruto muttered. He let out a sigh of relief, glad that his former sensei wasn't going to go nuts. He might hold a bit of resentment towards the jounin for ignoring him sometimes, but he certainly didn't wish anything bad on the man. He suddenly blinked. Wait a second… “Hey fox, how the hell do you know so much about Kakashi-sensei?”

 

The Kyuubi gave an amused chuckle (which sounded weird coming from a canine) and said, “You're only now realizing that? Relax boy, I can't read your mind from this side of the seal. I can observe the outside world through your senses though. Usually it's rather boring, but I prefer keeping tabs on the goings on in the Leaf through you. I also keep an eye on you whenever you're in combat, just to make sure you don't get us both killed.”

 

“Oh, I see,” The genin said. Hmm, weird as it sounded it was kind of reassuring that he had such a powerful being watching his back, even if it was rather evil. The Kyuubi was Bad with a capital `B,' but it was also in the fox's best interests to keep Naruto alive through whatever means necessary. Hey, maybe he could get the demon to teach him some jutsu! Wait…How the hell does a hundred and something foot tall demon-fox know human jutsu? Or history about Konoha and its clans? The thing knew more about Naruto's blood than he did, for Kami's sake! “Fox! How the hell do you know so much? About us humans, I mean. It's not like you can…spy…on…us…What the hell?”

 

Naruto's voice trailed off as he stared beyond the bars in dumbfounded shock. One moment he was craning his neck to look up at a monstrous demon and the next…

 

“Does this answer your question, boy?” The man…The human man said as he walked up to the bars of the cage. He was just a plain looking guy, not very tall or noticeable. He was dressed in civilian clothes and looked just like any merchant or tourist that Naruto would meet in the market sector. Watching the man casually brush his shaggy, brown hair out of his eyes, Naruto understood exactly how the demon could pass amongst humans unnoticed. That was one hell of a henge, if that was the jutsu the fox was using. If it weren't for the haunting double-voice of demonic growls and human speech coming out of the man, Naruto wouldn't be able to guess he was the Kyuubi even after being its container for fourteen years. The man looked amused at the boy's shocked expression and said, “As you can see boy, shape-shifting is child's play for a demon of my age. It takes little effort for me to assume a human shape and disguise my chakra to walk amongst your kind. I've been doing it for tens of thousands of years, so I know all the tricks for fooling even skilled mortals like you shinobi.”

 

“Damn,” Naruto said as he walked closer to the bars to get a better look at the fox's shape. “That's scary, but cool too. Is that the only shape you can take?”

 

Like a slow movie projector, the Kyuubi changed forms close to two dozen times, pausing only long enough to give Naruto a glimpse of each shape the demon assumed. Most of them the boy didn't recognize, but he saw a few familiar faces in there, including Sandaime, Kakashi, and Tsunade. The fox finally settled on an older version of Naruto himself, looking about twenty years in age and wearing a more subdued and mature version of the boy's normal outfit. The real Naruto felt a little giddy at the sight of the tall, broad shouldered, and handsome man he'd grow up to be. Thank the Kami…He wasn't going to be short the rest of his life.

 

“So why did you spy on us humans so much?” The genin asked curiously as he peered at the fox in man's clothing. His older doppelganger shrugged his shoulders.

 

“I kept tabs on you humans mostly to make sure you weren't growing powerful enough to become a threat. Other times I was merely curious or bored. I can't stand to be amongst such weak creatures for long, but your kind has proved to be a decent distraction for the most part,” The Kyuubi said while idly scratching at his long, blonde hair. Then the demon walked up to the bars, crossing his arms and casually leaning up against one of the steel poles as he watched his vessel. “I must admit, some of the things you strange apes have come up with have surprised even me. I've seen some jutsu that are so weird it would make you stare like a fool for hours after witnessing them.”

 

“Really” Naruto excitedly exclaimed. “Can you teach me some of them? Pleeeease?”

 

Honestly, the thought of being taught by a demon didn't bother Naruto much. Hell, he'd been taught by Iruka, Kakashi, Ebisu, and Jiraiya. Did an ancient fox-demon really stick out much amongst that crowd? Err, okay so maybe it did, but the pros of being taught by it were incredible. The Kyuubi's knowledge of jutsu made Orochimaru's obsession look like a child trying to polish of his bottle-cap collection.

 

The Kyuubi stared at the boy for a moment, before turning away and looking down towards the floor in thought. The demon frowned and said, “Unfortunately, no. Or I should say, I could but it would be little more than a waste of time. Like I said earlier before we got distracted with talk of Bloodlines, we have little of that resource available to us.”

 

“Huh?” Naruto said. Damn he seemed to be confused a lot today. “What the hell are you talking about, fox?”

 

“I'm talking about the forces breathing down our necks,” The Kyuubi sharply replied. He quickly reached through the bars and poked the genin in the stomach, making the boy jump in surprise. “Or have you already forgotten what happened to you there?”

 

“You mean the cloak-freaks?” Naruto asked, rubbing the spot on his abdomen

 

“Yes, the cultists. But they are not the only ones after you,” The demon said, still casually leaning up against the bar in a cool manner that put Kakashi to shame (the fox did have a lot more practice than the jounin.) “The snake, and by proxy the red-eyed runt, will attack the Leaf again and I'm certain he'll make a point to kill you, if only because you've escaped him before. And even worse than those two factions, another group has entered the picture. This one is not just after you or trying to capture me, but rather they wish to destroy us both as soon as possible.”

 

“Who are they?” Naruto asked, feeling a little nauseous at the amount of people out for his blood. Great, not two but three high powered factions trying to kill him or worse? Some days, he hated being himself.

 

“You wouldn't have any idea who they are. In fact, I'd be surprised if more than thirty humans on the planet were aware of them,” The Kyuubi replied, its tone dark and serious. “They're demons like me. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some of my subordinates are among their ranks. The seal that mauled you was a Tenma Fuu: a demon seal. They exceed human seals in every way imaginable. They possess the ability to bend or break reality and their limits are only the skill of their crafter. Only a powerful demon can create them, which means we have a powerful enemy. No human can use the seals without a contract binding them to a demonic entity or unless they have a demonic ancestor. Each seal is custom made and tailored for a set purpose. The one that hit you was designed for the single task of killing us both. If you hadn't exhausted your chakra reserves earlier that day, we would have died in a most gruesome fashion.

 

“That the cultists have the backing of a demon faction means we are in a situation more serious than I can convey. They may have originally been willing to wait three years before going after you, but with demonic support they'll be far bolder. They'll likely attack soon after they learn you've recovered. They probably even have demon seals that can track your movements and will know as soon as you leave the safety of Konoha. Had they not attacked, I would agree to train you, as you need to be strong for both of our sakes. With the Unlimiter, I could get you powerful enough to challenge the hermit in little more than a year, but we simply don't have that much time anymore.”

 

“Shit,” Naruto muttered. Dammit, why couldn't people leave him the hell alone? “So what can we do about it, fox?”

 

“I don't know,” The Kyuubi said. He raised an eyebrow at Naruto's shocked expression. “As flattering as it is for you to have so much faith in me, I still can't think of any options that'll work. We'd be attacked and killed before I could finish training you. If we ran, they'd simply find us in a few days. They've already proven that the Leaf can't protect you. Going after them is obviously out of the question, as you are too weak to challenge them and they'd know you were coming the minute you left Konoha. As I said, I have no idea what to do.”

 

“Well, what about you powering me up when I need it? You could keep us alive until I'm strong enough to face them on my own,” Naruto suggested. Duh, why didn't he think of that before? It was so obvious.

 

“Because, there's an unfortunate little problem with me supplying you with chakra,” The demon said. The dark, enraged look on his face made the genin back away a few feet. “That slimy, filthy, yellow-haired, ape-rat that imprisoned me here also left a nasty surprise inside the seal!”

 

The Kyuubi viciously waved his hand at the paper seal that covered the center of the gate that contained him.

 

“That accursed thing has an extra function beyond keeping me blocked from you. Whenever I give you chakra, it draws a portion of my essence along with the energy and destroys it inside your inner coils!” The demon snarled. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists for several moments before calming down enough to continue. “I have no problem with lending my chakra to yours, especially if it keeps us alive, but the simple fact is that every time I do so my maximum chakra lessens. With enough repeated uses, I'll eventually run out of chakra entirely and be little more than a wraith. I'll be powerless to resist the seal's pull and will be drawn into your inner coils where I'll be destroyed. That's not a fate I want. And even if I am destroyed, I doubt our enemies will be satisfied with just me dead and will simply see it as an opportunity to take you out without my interference. As you can see boy, we're being backed into a corner.”

 

Naruto's face had a pale and sickly look on it. This whole time he'd been…leeching off the demon?

 

“How long have you known the seal did this?” He asked in a queasy voice.

 

The Kyuubi sighed as it replied, “The day of the invasion, a couple years ago. You drew on my power three times that day and later I noticed that my chakra didn't recharge completely. I didn't notice any of the other incidents as they were mere slivers and spread out over time. The more power you draw from me at one time, the more the seal eats into me.”

 

“And how much of you has been…eaten?” The boy asked, looking a little green at his question

 

“Hmm, if you were to divide my maximum power into a hundred equal portions, then a little less than five units have been consumed,” The demon replied. He noted the boy's surprised look at such a relatively small amount and gave a vicious grin. “I have more power than I know what to do with boy, but even that's not endless. Eventually, I'll run out and then we're both screwed. It seems the yellow-rat had one last revenge against me before he sealed me up inside you. I suppose he didn't want to risk my ever returning to the Leaf should you fail to contain me somehow.”

 

Naruto leaned forward, with the shadows darkening his face ominously for several moments before he jerked away from the gate and began storming up and down the line of bars. The Kyuubi watched the boy with curiosity and bemusement as the kid paced back and forth. The genin seemed to be muttering and cursing viciously to himself as he moved, though the demon couldn't make much sense of the boy's rambling. After several minutes passed, it became obvious the kid wouldn't be settling down anytime soon, so the fox finally spoke up.

 

“Dammit brat, what's your problem? And stop moving around so much. You're making me dizzy,” The Kyuubi grumbled.

 

“My problem? My problem?!” Naruto said as he walked close to the demon. “Uzumaki Naruto is not a fucking parasite! That's my problem!”

 

The boy emphasized this by punching a bar next to the Kyuubi with his fist hard enough to make a loud `clang' that echoed through the room. The demon didn't even twitch an eye at the sound, but it did raise an eyebrow at Naruto as the boy sat down. Naruto leaned back against the same bar he punched and muttered, “Fuck.”

 

“Alright boy, what's the big deal? I thought you would have delighted in my destruction,” The Kyuubi asked, relaxing its arms from the crossed position they'd been in.

 

“If it was because me or the Yondaime killed you in a fair fight, then yeah that'd be fine,” Naruto quietly said, He seemed much more tired than he had when he first walked into the room. “If you were just stuck in me for the rest of my life, then that'd still be fair. Just the price you'd pay for trying to destroy Konoha. But not like this. It's not right to die like an over-milked cow just because you couldn't be killed in a straight fight. And I don't like being the one that's doing it. I may borrow power to save someone's life, like when I fought Gaara with Boss Toad, but I don't take someone's power. That's the kind of shit that snake-freak does. I'm not given power either. I earn it through my own sweat and blood. Sasuke might be fine with other people giving him jutsu or stealing it with the Sharingan or having snake-freak hand it over to him, but I'm not. That's not my nindo, dammit. I don't take things if it hurts someone else. Even a demon.”

 

The Kyuubi shrugged and said, “Honorable, I'll give you that. Foolish maybe, but honorable. I had to fight my way to the top when I was young and I had no qualms about what I did to get power, as long as the price wasn't something I was unwilling to pay. Your nindo is much the same. I suppose we're similar like that.”

 

“Heh, I guess so,” Naruto said. “Wouldn't surprise me if we're alike. Before I met you that first time when Ero-sennin threw me off that cliff, I wondered if I was you reincarnated or something. Too bad I'm not, huh? If we were the same person, we wouldn't have to worry about the seal or anything.”

 

The Kyuubi's eyes shot wide open and his body stiffened as he heard the boy's words. On the other side of the cage, Naruto did the same thing. The boy stood up and looked over at the demon.

 

“Is that…? Are you thinking what I'm thinking?” He asked, gripping one of the bars with his hand.

 

“Yes, I believe so,” The Kyuubi replied as he frowned in thought.

 

“I mean, is it possible? You said those demon seal thingies can do anything, right?” Naruto tensely asked.

 

“It is possible and they can do it, but it would be obscenely risky for both of us,” The demon replied, his powerful and ancient mind racing and considering all the factors.

 

“We can do it though, right? Become the same person? Your power and knowledge…”

 

“And your body and Bloodline,” The Kyuubi finished. “It's possible. With the Unlimiter, it might actually work. Your body and mind could certainly handle the strain as long as we carefully prepared. It certainly couldn't all be done at one time. Even with your Bloodline, you're still human and there are limits to how much you can take at once.”

 

“Yeah, but it could work, right?” Naruto quickly asked. “It'd mean we wouldn't be us anymore, but it's our best chance to survive.”

 

The demon didn't answer for several long minutes as it puzzled over all of their limited options and the possible paths they could take. He had to admit, it was the only option he could think of that gave them a life expectancy beyond six months. But did he really want to do this? It would mean becoming one of them. A human. A weak little rat-ape that runs about in all sorts of annoying ways. What other choice did he have? Facing oblivion when the seal finally destroyed him? Die alongside the boy and hope that his soul remained contained inside Naruto's as he moved on to the human afterlife? How did he know the seal wouldn't just destroy him upon the boy's death? He needed to think about this, long and hard before he made a hasty decision.

 

“Boy, wait here. I must ponder this before I make a choice. I will also need to prepare if I do decide to go through with it. I'll be back in a couple hours. I suggest you rest,” The Kyuubi said as he turned and walked into the deep shadows in the back of his cage. Naruto watched as the demon walked away, shedding the human skin and resuming its natural form as it went. In less time than it took to count to five, he was totally alone in the large room.

 

“Okay, bye!” He yelled sarcastically after the demon. “Jeez, stupid fox.”

 

Feeling exhausted from the long conversation and his earlier trials, Naruto decided to take the Kyuubi's advice. Walking over to the nearest wall to where he stood, he sat down while leaning up against it and rested his head on his knees. Rather than think too heavily the potential consequences of his proposal, he instead allowed himself to doze off.

 

After all, when did Uzumaki Naruto ever stop to think things through?

 

***

 

“Huh? What's that? Are you doing that right? You should be more careful, you know. You're so silly at times. Hey…be careful, okay?”

 

***

 

“Boy. Hey boy, get up.”

 

“…Sakura-chan, I didn't know you wore ramen underwear…”

 

“Off your ass, brat!”

 

“Ah!!” Naruto yelled as he went from sound sleep to jumping into a standing position in less than a second. He looked upwards into the Kyuubi's massive canine face that loomed over him on the other side of the gate. “Gah! That's the last thing I ever wanna see when I first wake up.”

 

The demon gave a snort that predictably threw the boy on his ass.

 

“Cute. Come over here and pay attention. We have plans to discuss,” The Kyuubi said. Naruto dragged himself to his feet, wandered over to the front of the cage, and plopped down on the floor. He scratched the side of his head tiredly and looked up at the fox.

 

“What's up?” He mumbled as he yawned.

 

“Dumb ass, you don't need to yawn inside your own mind,” The Kyuubi muttered. Louder, it continued, “Alright, pay attention. I've come up with a plan to merge the two of us together, but to pull it off successfully we need to get out of Konoha for awhile.”

 

Naruto's mind cleared instantly. He frowned and said, “Leave the Leaf? Why? Can't we just do it here?”

 

“Oh yes boy, sure we'll do it here. Then you can explain to the healer all about the little conversation you had with the giant fox-demon inside your stomach and how it convinced you that breaking the seal and merging with it was a good idea. Being a responsible leader, of course she'll let you do it. She might even help you turn a demon loose,” The Kyuubi drawled out sarcastically.

 

“Okay, I get it! We'll leave Konoha. Jeez, bite my head why don't ya? Not literally!” Naruto yelled when he saw the fox grin at his choice of words. The boy glared at the demon for a moment, before his expression turned puzzled. He asked, “Hey fox, why'd you agree all of a sudden? I thought you needed to `ponder your decision.'”

 

“I made my choice boy and I'll neither go back on it nor will I explain it to you. Besides, you'll find out anyways when we merge,” The fox replied. “As I was saying, I've devised a ritual composed of demon seals that will most likely fuse us together into one being…Or kill us. I'm not really sure. I've never heard of anyone doing something like this, even amongst other demons, so I don't know if it can be done.”

 

“Err, what're our odds?” Naruto asked, a little nervous at the prospect of getting himself killed in some kooky ritual the demon living in his stomach cooked up.

 

“Let's just say, if it's possible it'll work. If it isn't possible, we're dead. That much I know for sure,” The Kyuubi answered. “I'm a master at demon seal creation, so in theory I can get them to do anything. If it's simply impossible for us to merge, then we won't get any second chances.”

 

“Wonderful,” Naruto muttered. “Well, it beats sitting around waiting for someone else to kill us.”

 

“Exactly. This gamble may have crappy odds, but at least there are odds,” The demon said. “Anyways, when we escape from Konoha we'll head due north about a day's travel, then turn northwest towards the foothills of Cavern Country. There are many large, open spaces within the valleys there that will suit our needs. I'll instruct you on how to create the seals when we're there. We'll need to hurry, as the cultists will be trailing us soon after we leave the Leaf Village.”

 

“Uh, what's Cavern Country and don't I need to sign a contract to use demon seals?” Naruto asked with a blank look on his face.

 

“Cavern Country is a small country north-west of Fire Country and south-east of Earth Country. It holds the Hidden Waterfall Village and is a fairly mountainous region. They're pretty non-aggressive towards other countries, so they shouldn't bother us much as long as we don't go around attacking their ninja,” The Kyuubi patiently explained. “As for the demon contract, you don't need one. By housing me in your body you're considered part demon and can use any demon seals you want. It's part of an ancient binding rule about hospitality and some such stuff. Think of it as a bonus on the rent for keeping me as a tenant.”

 

“Err, okay. So if we live, how long are we going to stay away?” Naruto asked. He really didn't want to be away from his home and friends longer than he had to.

 

“A year, I'd say,” The demon replied. “The new being will need time to adapt to its new mind and body. We might be unstable for quite awhile afterwards, so it'd be best to avoid humans for the first couple months. We'll return in exactly one year, if everything is well. You were planning on staying away that long with the hermit anyways had your training not been interrupted. Besides, it'll be good to get out of Fire country for awhile. This land is too green for my tastes.”

 

Naruto snorted at the comment and said, “Yeah, I bet you're not happy unless it's a barren wasteland. How are we supposed to sneak out of Konoha anyways?”

 

“With a couple new jutsu, of course,” The Kyuubi said. The boy immediately perked up at that. “Now come closer to the bars and I'll show you what you need to learn. There are three skills you need to be at least proficient in if we are to leave undetected. Two are jutsu from other countries and one is a demon seal that I've created. Now watch.”

 

Naruto stood a couple feet in front of the cage and peered through the bars. As he watched, a cluster of fog appeared in front of him just on the other side of the gate. It shifted around for a few seconds before it formed itself into a large, thin square that was about two and half feet long on each side. The fog's white-gray color turned clearer and a moving picture appeared on it. It was like looking through a wavy window. A pair of hands appeared in the fog-window and began to move in a string of seven seals. They moved about half the normal speed Naruto usually performed his seals, making it easy for him to see each one. At the end of the string, the hands would pause briefly and start over again, allowing him to see the beginning of the order with ease. He waited till the string paused again, then jumped in and started making hand seals in time with the mirror.

 

“Good, practice the hand movements till they're totally memorized. I'll explain what this jutsu does while you do that,” The Kyuubi said, before going into lecture-fox mode. “Alright, this skill is the weakest of the three you have to learn. Heh, heh, I stole the original skill from the Mist Village about two hundred years ago and did a little modification to it. I call it Hi-Kenshutsu Ryouiki or Non-Detection Field, just because that's what it does. It screws up chakra emissions within a certain range, making it impossible for anyone outside the field to sense chakra being used inside it. Meaning you can perform a jutsu inside the field and no one will pick it up with ESP or anything. They can still hear or see the effects of the jutsu though. That Rasengan move of yours couldn't be sensed while inside the field, but people could still hear the wind rushing and see the light coming off of it. When you wake up for real, do this move first so you can cloak any other jutsu you use afterwards and avoid alerting any guards stationed nearby. If you perform it right, the move will cloak itself as you're using it, but screw it up and it'll make your chakra even more detectable. There's not much else to it beyond the cloaking function, though I believe it may screw up ocular Blood Limits as far as chakra goes.”

 

Naruto didn't look up from the seals he kept performing as he asked, “Which Limits? Like the Sharingan? It can screw that up?”

 

“I think so, but only the chakra detecting part of it,” The demon replied. “As long as you are in the field, chakra emission is blocked so the Sharingan wouldn't be able to copy your jutsu or anticipate your movement. It would still be able to copy your tai-jutsu and any hand seals you make though. Likewise, a Byakugan user wouldn't be able to see your inner coils or opening points, but they could still see your organs. The field only blocks chakra and not anything physical, but it would still greatly limit the effectiveness of those Bloodlines.”

 

“Hey, better than nothing if it can protect my jutsu and my coils,” Naruto said tensely as he strained to keep up with the seals. They had been gradually picking up speed and were now moving twice as fast as he normally performed them. Despite his distraction, he still made a careful note of the properties of the field and how it affected both Limits. Anything that could give him an advantage over either Bloodline was welcome to him. Though it wasn't total, maybe they could make a specific jutsu sometime in the future that could completely block the effects of the Sharingan and the Byakugan. He was less worried about encountering Sasuke than he was his older brother, Itachi. The renegade Uchiha was supposedly stronger than any of the Sannin and Naruto would desperately need any advantage he could get if the man came after him again.

 

“Stop boy. That's enough,” The Kyuubi said, as it noticed that Naruto had gotten the seal order down. “Now watch carefully.”

 

The image in the fog-window changed to a human figure standing in an empty dojo. As Naruto watched, the figure performed the seals and made a strange, grayish mist move out from his hands and bond with the walls.

 

“Now you can't perform this perfectly in here, but if you will it powerfully enough you can mimic having chakra here inside your mind. Just try to use your willpower to force our environment to be as similar to real life as possible,” The demon informed as it watched Naruto concentrate on replicating the jutsu. “When you've practiced this long enough, we'll move on to the other two skills. Now get working.”

 

“Alright, alright…Slave driver,” Naruto muttered as he carefully began to perform the jutsu. This was going to be awhile.

 

***

 

“The humans, they is not listening to us anymore.”

 

“I know. The seal was unsuccessful and now they've grown suspicious. It's unfortunate, but we'll just have to work around it.”

 

“How's we doing that?”

 

“Hmm, I haven't decided yet. It doesn't really matter right now. Even if Kyuubi-san survived, it still won't be going anywhere for some time. It may even be crippled, though I won't assume that till I've seen it with my own eyes.”

 

“What is we doing then?”

 

“Watch. Listen. Observe. We'll keep tabs on both Kyuubi-san and the cultists. Corrupt one of the cultists if you can and see of you can gain us an ally in their ranks. The higher up the better, but any position will do seeing as there are only eight of them, now that Deidara has fallen. As for Kyuubi-san, though I want it dead very much, it would be best to be patient. After all, it's still trapped in a human child. And mortals are so delicate...”

 

“We waits, yes. When it's vulnerable, we attacks it and kills it!”

 

“Exactly. Oh and don't try to possess the Unbeatable. Despite the madness induced by his eyes, his mind is still far too formidable to succumb to our coercion. In our current timetable, anyways. Try one of the others. Now go. I have other plans to see too.”

 

“Yes! I go! Kyuubi dies! It dies and we grow! I go to peel a mortal's mind!”

 

“Yes, you do that…Little psychopath.”

 

***

 

It was to the quiet sound of electronic beeping that a set of bleary, bloodshot blue eyes cracked open. They closed immediately as Naruto felt a wave of dizzying tiredness sweep through him. A cold surge in his back let him know that the fox was spiking his adrenaline production. The cold feeling helped him force his eyes open again. For several long moments, all he could do was lay there and stare at the dull, white ceiling. A not so gentle surge in his adrenaline made him aware that his tenant was growing impatient. Slowly and painfully, Naruto worked his body up until he was sitting upright. His entire body felt like shit. Sluggish, congealed shit. He could barely move at all, even with the fox boosting his body's endorphin levels. His limbs barely responded and his entire body hurt like hell, even though the fox had said his muscles were totally rebuilt by now. His flesh had completely healed and while that was a good thing, it also meant the several hundred stitches in his body itched so bad that he swore it felt like a swarm of fire ants and mosquitoes were attacking him all over. On top of that, his mouth was dry and he had to take a leak like nobody's business.

 

`What a wonderful day to be alive,' Naruto thought darkly. When he got his hands on that overgrown, cloaked fucker that put him in here he was going to introduce the bastard to the 1000 Years of Pain Technique.

 

…Pineapple Version.

 

Uhg, he'd better get started if they wanted to get out the village before dawn. Which was only a couple hours away, he noted as he glanced at the clock. Naruto shook his head a bit to clear the cobwebs out and forced his hands to come together and make seals. Fortunately, his inner coils seemed fine as the fox had worked on those first. He wasn't going to push them if he could avoid it, but he could feel his chakra and use it as he needed to. Slowly and carefully, he finished the seals and gathered chakra into his hands, making sure it was cloaking itself as he formed the jutsu.

 

“Hi-Kenshutsu Ryouiki (Non-Detection Field),” Naruto muttered under his breath. Gray fog appeared in his hands and slowly spread outwards and coated the walls. It paused for a moment, before it turned into a thin, opaque white mist that molded over every detail of the walls' surfaces before it faded into invisibility. He waited several long moments to see if his chakra had been detected. When it appeared he hadn't alerted anyone, he made a far more familiar seal and said, “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.”

 

A muffled pop followed and an instant later a second Naruto stood next to the hospital bed. The original took a moment to eye the clone to see just how bad he really looked. He was covered head to toe in bandages, so much so that no one had bothered to put one of those lame hospital gowns on him. Well, it's not like he'd get cold while he was bound up like a damn mummy. His face was almost totally covered as well and he couldn't see anything except for a pair of bloodshot blue eyes. Hmm, he'd take a closer look at himself when he cut some of the bandages off. Oh well, first things first. The clone reached down and helped Naruto move so he was sitting on the side of the bed. Then it wandered over to the counters at one side of the room and scrounged up a scalpel, before coming back. Carefully, it cut the bandages on the back of Naruto's hand and pulled enough of them off to expose the boy's fingers. It carefully made a small slice on the end of the genin's index finger.

 

“Alright, here we go,” Naruto muttered as he pulled back the bandages covering the clone's forehead. Carefully, he drew out a pattern with his blood over the clone's skin. He knew this symbol by heart, as the Kyuubi had made him draw it over three hundred times when they were in his head to make sure he got it right. The fox had said that if he screwed up on the demon seal, Anything with a capital `A' could happen and it almost certainly wouldn't be good. It could triple his power or switch his souls into the clone's body or accidentally summon a demon lord from Hell or any number of other unpleasant possibilities. Naruto pulled his hand away and narrowed his eyes at the seal he'd made. It looked perfect, but he wouldn't know for sure until he activated it. The boy closed his eyes and sent a mental message to the Kyuubi.

 

`Hey fox, we're ready on this end.'

 

`Good, boy. Here's the chakra and for Akuma's sake, be careful with that body of yours!'

 

`I know, I know! You've yelled at me about it for an hour already. I'll talk to you again when we're outside of Konoha.'

 

Naruto broke the mental connection and held his hand out. As expected, a faint glow of red engulfed it as demonic energy pooled into his palm. Reaching out he pressed his first two fingers into the center of the seal on the clone.

 

“Tenma Fuu: Ketsueki Bunshin (Demon Seal: Blood Clone)” Naruto said as he allowed the demon chakra to flow into the marking. The clone jolted and tensed like it was being electrocuted. As Naruto watched, the blood seemed to change into glowing, liquid fire. The lines of the seal branched out and moved under the bandages of the bunshin. Though he couldn't see it, Naruto knew the seal was covering the entire clone's body and modifying it. After several moments, the fiery-red lines turned black like normal ink and retreated back into the original shape of the seal. The dark marking slowly faded away into normal skin, much like the seal on Naruto's stomach did.

 

“Whoa, that was a shocker,” The clone muttered as it shook its head, before covering it back up with the bandages. It reached down and grabbed Naruto's arm and hauled him to his feet. The clone had to steady the real boy, as Naruto's body was still sore and sluggish. “Here, let me help you with those.”

 

With the clone's help, Naruto removed the two IVs in his left arm and let them rest on the bed. The clone pealed back the bandages on its chest, while Naruto pulled the sticky heart monitor pads off his own torso. Quickly, they placed the leads onto the clone, making sure they rested on the same spots as they had on Naruto's body. Both boy and clone nervously looked over at the heart monitor, praying it wouldn't make one of those flat-line alarms like they did in the movies. The machine did a couple weird reboot functions, but after a couple moments the clone's heartbeat was picked up perfectly by it. Both blondes sighed, relaxing their tension.

 

“That's a relief,” Naruto muttered.

 

“No kidding,” The clone replied calmly. Seeing that its creator could stand without its help, the blood bunshin walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. It handed the scalpel to the boy and said, “Don't forget some medical supplies and a pair of tweezers. You're going to need to pull those stitches out somehow.”

 

Naruto nodded, taking the sharp tool and wobbling over towards the bathroom. He laid the scalpel on the sink before he went about relieving himself. While Naruto was occupied, the clone did its best to figure out how the hell the IVs worked. Finally, it shrugged. It had real flesh, but pain didn't bother it much, so it just jammed the needles in as best as it could. It looked over its worked critically and nodded. Hopefully it would pass inspection.

 

Naruto, meanwhile, had flushed the toilet, washed his unbandaged hand, and was gulping down about a liter of water straight from the faucet. Wiping his mouth, he stood up straight in front of the sink, looking down at himself. Through his partially foggy mind, he slowly began to realize an important set of facts. One, underneath these bandages he was naked. Two, since he obviously didn't undress himself, someone else must have done it. Three, the only people Jiraiya would have trusted to work on him were either Ba-chan or Shizune-chan. He crunched the facts and came to the logical conclusion.

 

Two people…Two girls had seen him naked!

 

The clone looked up in curiosity as it heard a mortified scream echo from the bathroom. It shrugged after a moment.

 

`Weirdo…'

 

Luckily for the two of them, the ANBU guarding the door had finally succumbed to nature's call and rushed off not two minutes prior. Considering the man had been standing in near mortal terror for the past six or seven hours, he'd probably be awhile.

 

Naruto smacked his padded cheeks, trying to shake off the embarrassment. When he thought about it logically, he seriously doubted they'd paid much attention to his scrawy butt considering they were busy trying to save his life at the time. Urg, but he just knew Ba-chan would tease the hell out of him when he got back. If he got back. The boy looked up into the mirror and stared idly for a few moments at his bandaged form. Wait… Where was…?

 

In a panic, Naruto reached up to feel his neckline. Dammit, it had to be there! If it had fallen off or if someone had stolen it…

 

His fingers felt a thin strip of leather just underneath the upper layer of gauze. Tracing it, he found the place where someone had tucked the stone underneath the bandages near his clavicle. Pulling it out, Naruto gave a deep sigh of relief as he stared at the glimmering, green stone hanging at the end of his necklace. It was perfectly fine. There wasn't even a speck of blood on it. In fact, looking closer Naruto noticed that it seemed to be even cleaner than usual. Hmm, it was probably Shizune-chan. The young medic seemed to notice things like that. She or Tsunade must have tucked it under his bandages to make sure nobody would take it. It is a very valuable stone after all.

 

Naruto allowed his necklace to hang out as he took the scalpel and began the lengthy task of cutting off his bandages. The fox had advised him to leave some of them on, especially near his joints, but he still wanted at least half the cottony junk off of him. Not only was it harder to move with the gauze on, but he'd never be able to pull his clothes on with the crap all over him.

 

Fifteen minutes later and Naruto was looking at his mostly uncovered body in shock. An annoying side-effect of his healing factor was that his tan faded quickly when he wasn't in the sun, so his skin had grown pale over the last couple weeks. Fresh, thick pink scars crisscrossed his chest, arms, and legs. Every scar had a line of black stitches tracing it. He knew from experience that the scars would fade completely in a few days, but it was still disturbing to see so much evidence of the damage inflicted on him. He moved to poke at a stitch and winced when his arm protested the movement. The Kyuubi had told him that though his muscles were completely restored, they were still `soft,' for lack of a better word, and would need some time to adapt to the strain he normally put on them. On the plus side, once he got all the stitches out and spent a week or so exercising in the sun, he'd be good as new.

 

He still swore to perform some horrible revenge on that Tsurugi guy the next time he ran into him.

 

Naruto gathered all the bandage scraps and shoved them into an air duct in the ceiling. He didn't want any questions raised and there most certainly would be some if he left five pounds of used gauze strips lying about. He grabbed the scalpel and wandered out into the hospital room. A flash of color in the corner of his eye made him glance up at the side table.

 

…And the medical tool fell from his hands and clattered on the floor as Naruto took in the most gorgeous sight he could ever imagine (barring Sakura wearing a ramen string bikini.)

 

Orange. Glorious, wonderful, bright orange. The color. The shapes. It was the prettiest…No, the most beautiful…No, the most kick ass bunch of flowers he had ever seen. He had absolutely no idea what types of flowers they were, just that they were orange. Wickedly cool, drool-worthy oooraaaange. Oh and there was a pretty yellow flower at the top too. He didn't really know what that one was either. But the whole thing looked really, really, cool.

 

“That's the most awesome thing I've ever seen,” Naruto said, his jaw still hanging open a little in delighted shock.

 

“No shit,” The clone said as it too stared in amazement at the bouquet.

 

“It's a…”

 

“…Masterpiece.”

 

They stared at the collection of flowers for several moments longer before the clone finally looked up at Naruto.

 

“Hey, you need to get dressed and get going. It's almost four,” It said.

 

Naruto shook himself out of it and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. Sure enough, it read 3:52. He did need to leave soon if he was going to make it out of Konoha without leaving a trail. He walked over and began searching through the lower cabinets, letting out an, `Aha!' when he found a change of his normal outfit. He started pulling on his clothes and turned to talk to the clone as he dressed.

 

“You're right. I'll get going soon, but who do you think brought us flowers?” He asked as he hiked up his pants. The clone looked up from where it was reading through the `Get Well' cards.

 

“It wasn't Sakura. Her daffodil is right next to the big bunch,” It said, as it finished the card and looked at the signatures. “The old man and Ayame-chan say `hi,' by the way.”

 

“Damn,” Naruto cursed viciously. “I'm giving up Ichiraku ramen for a year! Blasted fox had better appreciate this.”

 

“You don't really appreciate this,” the clone responded casually as it picked up another card. “You haven't thought this through at all and you haven't questioned your decision either. You don't even know why you agreed. Not thinking things through again…You're probably going to get busted up somehow. Oh and Kiba and Shino say `hey.'”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Look, it's this or we die,” Naruto replied, as he pulled his shirt on. He winced as several stitches snapped from the movement. “I don't have to think about it. If I don't do this, I won't have the power to survive and I won't be able to protect our friends. And Kiba brought a card?”

 

“Actually, Shino did, but I smell Kiba on it. He and Akamaru need to wash more often,” The clone said, wrinkling its noise a little at the card as he set it back on the table. It picked up another and began to read through it as it said, “Logical choice, but you do realize you won't be you anymore, right?”

 

Naruto paused shrugging on his jacket. His blue eyes got a dark, faraway look as he quietly said, “Yeah, I know. Needed sacrifices and all that. I'll do anything to protect the people I love. Anything. Even not being me anymore.”

 

The clone glanced up as Naruto finished zipping up his jacket. It thoughtfully watched him for a couple moments before nodding and saying, “I see. Hinata-chan and Neji send their greetings.”

 

“Hinata-chan? Maybe she was the one who brought the flowers?” The boy said as he leaned down and fumbled through the cabinets for several moments before letting out a curse. “Dammit, I can't find my sandals. Why'd they bring a fresh change of clothes and forget my shoes?”

 

“Probably because we only own one pair and they were likely ruined from all the blood,” The clone replied calmly. “And I don't think Hinata-chan would buy something that bright. Do you?”

 

Naruto winced at the thought of the poor, shy girl carrying something so attention grabbing.

 

“I guess not. She'd probably have a heart attack from all the looks she'd get,” He said. He let out a resigned sigh and stood up from the cabinets. “Looks like I'm going barefoot. Hope the fox is feeling generous when it comes to healing.”

 

“You'll be fine. We used to run around barefoot in the woods all the time when we were kids, remember?” The clone said, waving off Naruto's complaint.

 

“I guess so,” The boy said. He turned and started rummaging through the upper cabinets, gathering up odds and ends for his trip. “Think it was Tenten or that Temari chick?”

 

“Nah, I got Tenten, Lee, and Gai's card right here. I don't think any of them are the flower type,” The clone said. It and Naruto suddenly looked at each other with identical queasy expressions. “I hope they're not from Lee…Or Gai.”

 

“Which one is worse?” Naruto muttered, before he turned and gathered all the medical supplies up. He dumped them all into his side pouch and belted it on. It was his spare pouch that whoever had gotten his clothes must've thought to bring along. His usual one must've been trashed or blood stained from the fight. “Temari? She might be grateful that Gaara's doing better.”

 

“She doesn't seem like the flower type either,” The clone said. It gave a weary sigh as it finished reading the card from Gai's team. “Lee says `hi.'”

 

“Really?” Naruto said suspiciously as he grabbed the scalpel off the floor and tucked it into his pouch. The same person who forgot his shoes must've forgotten his kunai too. He'd need every sharp tool he could find. His thoughts drifted back to what the clone had said about Lee. “What does it really say?”

 

“He and Gai filled the entire thing with crap about `youth power.' Both pages,” The clone deadpanned. It flipped the card over. “And the back.”

 

Naruto winced and took on a look of slight horror.

 

“All of it?” He asked, incredulously.

 

The clone gave him a dry stare as it held up the card and said, “Tenten had to sign the front cover.”

 

“Sweet Kami, we know some weird people,” Naruto said with a bit of dazed expression.

 

“No kidding,” The clone replied, setting the card on the side table as far from the bed as possible. Really, they appreciated the thought, but there were limits. “I guess that leaves that blonde friend of Sakura's.”

 

“Ino, huh?” The other boy said thoughtfully. “I guess that makes sense. I think Sakura once said that she lives in a flower shop or something. I don't know though…She seems kind of bitchy.”

 

“I hate to say this, but Sakura isn't?” The clone replied with pointed expression.

 

“Err, you have a point,” Naruto muttered. He may like the girl, but he was honest enough to realize that she had rather sudden…mood swings. And boy did her swings hurt. “So, Ino must've left those for me, huh? She has good taste, just like us.”

 

The clone looked thoughtful, before it suggested, “Perhaps it's not so much she likes the color, but that she knew you would appreciate it. After all, few other people understand that orange is one of the Kami's most wonderful creations.”

 

“And ramen,” Naruto interjected immediately.

 

“And Sakura's rear,” The clone immediately pointed out. Then it scowled slightly. “He certainly messed up with her personality. Although, maybe she'll grow out of it.”

 

“And maybe she'll give up on Sasuke too,” Naruto said hopefully. He paused as he considered just how impossible that sounded. The faces of both bunshin and boy fell as they realized the odds of that ever happening. “Well, we can't all have a demon inside us that's smart enough to make us undergo an old jutsu that changes our priorities.”

 

“Hmm, true I suppose. Anyways, you want to take a couple flowers with you?” The clone asked, gesturing towards the side table.

 

Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded. He walked over and grabbed the daffodil and the sunflower, then stuffed them in his pouch. To the clone, he said, “I'll leave the rest of them with you. Gives this place some style.”

 

The blood bunshin grinned and reached over to orange flowers that were left in the vase. As it straightened them around to cover the hole in the top, it said, “You want to leave a message for them?”

 

“Sure,” Naruto said as he doubled checked his pouch to make sure he didn't need anything else. “Tell them, `thanks for the flowers.' Man, I can't believe Ino can make such cool bouquets.”

 

“You know, she is quite bit more…healthy than Sakura is,” The clone pointed out. “I'll bet you three ramen packs her rear is better than Sakura's.”

 

“Maybe, but her personality is even worse. And she's a Sasuke fan-girl too,” Naruto replied. His eyes closed as he started gathering chakra for his last jutsu. “That's two big strikes against her.”

 

“Hmm, who knows? Maybe she gave up on him,” The clone pointed out as it watched the boy with curiosity. Naruto was starting to make a long line of hand seals. “You certainly couldn't have been the only one smart enough to forget the asshole.”

 

“Maybe, but I ain't betting ramen on it. Cash maybe, but not ramen,” Naruto said. He made the eleventh and last seal of the jutsu and pressed two fingers into the palm of his left hand. “Kage Jutsu: Fukemen no Yabun (Shadow Skill: Night Veil.)”

 

Both of the blondes watched as a silver, metal-like liquid pooled in the palm of Naruto's hand. The boy let the liquid grow enough to coat most of his fingers, then he lifted his hand and ran them down his entire body. A silver-metal line was streaked from his hairline to past his navel. As the clone watched, the metal spread outwards, seeping across Naruto as it slowly covered his entire body. Over the course of a minute, the topmost layer of his entire body was covered in the stuff as it finally closed up at the back of his neck. He looked like a shining, poorly detailed, silver statue.

 

“Damn, t-this shit is c-cold,” Naruto said as he tried to lift his arms to see his hands. He found to his annoyance that he couldn't with his sore arms. “And heavy too.”

 

“The fox said it fades,” The clone said as it watched the boy with interest.

 

Sure enough, the metal covering gradually contracted on Naruto's body and became skin tight. It darkened too, so it now looked like there was a perfect sculpture of the boy made out of mercury standing in the room. Naruto found that the material was almost weightless now and he curiously raised his hands to look at them. It also wasn't nearly as cold as it used to be, though his skin was still noticeably chillier than normal.

 

“Cool,” He said. Then he nearly jumped as his hands faded from sight. In a few seconds, he had turned completely invisible. “Very cool.”

 

It turned out that Naruto had cloaked himself not an instant too soon, as the door suddenly swung open and an ANBU wearing a cat-mask dove inside. The blood clone switched modes from `Interested Observer' to `Half-Dead Demon Boy' in about 0.23 seconds as it slumped back and pretended to be asleep. Naruto himself jumped three feet into the air and moved backwards towards the window. He winced, thinking the ANBU would hear his movements, before he relaxed as he remembered the properties of his jutsu. The Night Veil was a near perfect camouflage that included sound muffling, scent blocking, and hiding body heat as its abilities. He was right to relax as the ANBU barely glanced in his directions as he looked around the room.

 

The man looked about carefully as he walked around the hospital room, obviously trying to figure out where the voices he had heard came from. Naruto had to take several steps to the side to avoid the guy bumping into him, but aside from that, the ANBU never noticed anything was out of place. Though, he did flinch when his masked face looked towards the flower vase. The man made a warding gesture at it and backed out of the room, while never taking his eyes off the bouquet. The door closed quietly behind him.

 

The clone opened its eyes and gave a lop-sided grin. It seemed the jutsu was a success if even an ANBU couldn't detect it. The blood bunshin nearly jumped when it felt an invisible, chilly hand press on its shoulder.

 

“Later,” Naruto's voice whispered from the air next to the clone's head.

 

“Good luck,” The clone whispered back. The hand left its shoulder and a few moments later, the hospital window slid open. A few seconds passed and the Non-Detection Field suddenly broke off the walls with a faint plume of gray fog as Naruto released the jutsu. The window slid closed again and the clone knew it was alone.

 

It sighed, feeling a little melancholy. It seemed even clones of Naruto disliked being alone. Still…The bunshin turned and looked at the bright orange flowers next to the bed. It smiled at the sight. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. It leaned back in the bed and settled in to wait. Forty-eight hours was a long time to wait when you don't need to sleep. What could it do to amuse itself?

 

A wicked grin spread across the clone's face as it thought about the ANBU stationed outside the door.

 

Oh this was going to be fun.

 

***

 

Leaping from rooftop to rooftop while still recovering from severe muscular destruction and atrophy was one of the more unpleasant things Naruto had been forced to do in his life. His body's reaction time was terrible and he felt like he had put a pair of Lee's weights on. He'd already had a couple close calls where he nearly undershot a jump and had to grab onto the side of the building to keep from falling. Thank the Kami Kakashi-sensei had taught him how to stick to things with chakra. The only reason he could keep running like this was because the fox kept his endorphin levels up. The natural pain killers were a godsend. As he landed from a particularly long jump onto a dew slicked roof, he felt his foot go out from under him. He rolled, bouncing and bumping along the sheet metal and straight off the building into the alley beyond. The genin let out a pained grunt as he hit a closed dumpster with a booming `clang' and rebounded off it to the ground. He lay there panting for a moment, before he staggered to his feet again. He didn't have time to waste. Concentrating chakra into his hands and feet, he quickly scaled a wall closest to him.

 

As he reached the roof and clambered onto it, Naruto glanced at the still black horizon to the east and took off running again. The Kyuubi had been keeping track of the days and had told him earlier that it was the first of May. That meant early spring. The sun would be rising between six and seven in the morning. He had to be several miles from Konoha by then. His jutsu had only one major weakness: sunlight. At night, he was undetectable and untraceable as long as he didn't speak out loud. The metal-skin covering him even dampened the effects of his passage, so he left no footprints and barely disturbed leaves and branches as he moved. When sunlight touched the skin though, his body became partially visible as a clear, distorted figure. The scent, sound, body heat, and the physical dampening effects were all weakened and bled through the camouflage. The jutsu still worked, but any jounin level ninja could track him, let alone the hunter-nins they'd probably send after him. All this info had been pounded into his head by the fox while he sat inside his own head listening.

 

The Night Veil technique was an advanced camouflage skill that the Kyuubi had picked up from the Hidden Steel Village several hundred years ago. The ninjas there had very powerful technology and metal based skills like magnetism and other complicated stuff that Naruto didn't bother to remember. The Village had been destroyed by one of their own weapons during a civil war and there were no lnown survivors. The fox didn't know if any skills had survived to other Villages, but it did know that it knew more of the Steel's Jutsu than any other creature alive. The Night Veil had been merely one of them, though it was the only one useful to them for the time being. Naruto was very curious to learn more, but the Kyuubi had told him that he had neither the time nor the skill to learn the others yet. Oh well, if the merging worked, then he'd probably be strong enough to learn them. Till then, he'd just have to be patient.

 

Uhg, he hated being patient.

 

Naruto perked up as he saw the village wall up ahead. A wave of relief passed through him. He was almost home free…err, home free leaving his home? Whatever. He shook the thoughts from his head as he gathered the chakra to his feet and leapt from the last rooftop onto the wall. He quickly ran straight up it and jumped to the top. He paused for a moment, to make sure he wasn't going to smack into any guards as he crossed over the barrier. With one last look at the still sleeping village, he took a running vault out into the trees beyond the wall. The leaves barely rustled in response to his passage.

 

`I'll be back. I promise.'

 

***

 

Two days after her disturbing dream, Ino found herself once again walking through the IC ward. She hadn't had the chance to run into Kakashi yet, as she'd been forced to immediately leave on another mission the morning after her nightmare and she'd only gotten back from it late last night. She wanted to check and see if Naruto was doing any better and to see if his lazy ex-teacher was about. She really wanted to get the man's opinion, but she had no idea where his regular haunts where. Perhaps Sakura would know if she was in today.

 

Sakura was, in fact, in that day. She was stooped over Naruto's bed, looking at the IVs in his left arm, when Ino walked in. She gave a small wave, then went back to her inspection. The other girl noticed the frown on the medic's face and walked over to see what she was doing.

 

“Something wrong, Forehead?” The genin asked casually. In response, Sakura lifted the arm she was examining and gestured with her free hand for her friend to come closer.

 

“Take a look. Some idiot nurse put the IVs in all wrong,” The medic said, irritation evident in her voice. Ino couldn't really tell what was wrong about the way the needles were sticking into Naruto, but she wasn't about to let her friend know that. Sakura took the genin's nod at face value and set the boy's arm back down. “The needle in his inner elbow went right through the vein and into the tissue behind it. Worse, the one in his hand missed the vein entirely! This is terrible work. I had no idea the medical staff was so incompetent on this floor. It almost looks like he tried to put them in himself!”

 

Neither girl noticed Naruto's mouth quirk a little.

 

“Are the nurses really that bad? I mean, they always seem a little shifty and nervous whenever they come near this room,” Ino pointed out. “Hell, even that ANBU guy outside is acting jittery. Everybody on this floor acts strange around him. Actually…Now that I think about it, haven't you noticed that almost everyone has always looked at Naruto like he's some…some demon? What if they did it to him on purpose or something?”

 

A strange noise that sounded like a choked off laugh floated up to them. Both girls looked at each other, then looked down at Naruto. The boy appeared the same as he always had for the past two weeks.

 

“Hmph, he must've farted. I always told him not to eat so much ramen. It's probably ruined his digestive tract,” Sakura said as she looked back up at Ino. “And yeah, I have thought about that. I really don't know why people hate him so much. I mean, yeah he's annoying, but they look at him like he's the devil incarnate or something. And you won't believe this…Someone was nasty enough to actually steal some of his flowers!”

 

As both girls look over to the side table, neither saw the way Naruto's jaw clenched as though trying not to laugh.

 

“They stole his flowers?!” Ino shrieked indignantly. “What kind of freaks are running around this place? That's just…tacky!”

 

“Actually, I think they have a lot of taste,” Sakura said as she moved around to the other side of the bed towards the vase. She made sure she kept some distance from the orange bouquet. “They took my daffodil and your sunflower, but left those horrid orange things behind.”

 

“What? That sunflower was the best part,” Ino grumbled as walked over to stand next to Sakura. “Yellow would go really well with him.”

 

“Pfft, come on,” Sakura snorted and waved her hand in dismissal of the statement. “Blue would look much better on him. It'd match his eyes.”

 

“Well, yellow would match his hair!” Ino snarled, sensing a challenge from her rival.

 

Sakura narrowed her eyes and replied, “Yellow would look terrible on him. Blue is a much better color!”

 

“If he was awake, he'd say `yellow!'” Ino growled.

 

“He'd say blue!” Sakura yelled as she got into her rival's face.

 

“Big-Forehead!”

 

“Dumb-Pig!”

 

“Yellow!”

 

“Blue!”

 

“Yellow!!”

 

“Blue!!”

 

“YELLOW!!”

 

“BLUE!!”

 

“Actually, orange is my favorite color.”

 

Sakura let out a choked off scream and Ino's jaw dropped as they both turned to the bed. Naruto was sitting calmly sitting up, with a relaxed expression on his bandaged face. His bright blue eyes were dancing in mischievous amusement as he watched the two girls. He looked very healthy for a guy suffering from grievous injury and atrophy.

 

“What's wrong?! What's goi- Sweet Kami!” The cat-masked ANBU let out as he burst in the door. Though it couldn't be seen, it was pretty obvious his mouth was hanging open behind his mask.

 

“Oh good, you're here,” Naruto calmly said, giving no other reaction to the man's dramatic entrance. “Could you do me a favor and get the Hokage? I have something I need to tell her that she really needs to know.”

 

The boy's request got no response form the three slack-jawed shinobi standing in the room. He sighed as he watched them.

 

Really, what was so weird about this situation?

 

***

 

“Get out of my way!”

 

“Hokage-sama! What's wro-Oof!”

 

Many of the medical staff of the Konoha Hospital noted the eerie similarity between today and the day almost two weeks ago when Naruto was first brought in. Not surprisingly, both incidents directly involved the boy and the Hokage. The cat-masked ANBU trailed behind the Godaime, watching in horror as she barreled through the halls, knocking everyone dumb enough to stay in her path out of the way.

 

Or through walls, doors, the occasional window, etc.

 

Tsunade reached Naruto's hospital room and ripped it off by its hinges in her hurry to get inside. The ANBU behind her winced, then lifted the object off the floor and set it back into the doorway to afford the Hokage some privacy. He was just grateful that all he had to do was wait outside on guard duty. A door was poor defense against the Fifth, but it was better than standing next to her.

 

As soon as she stepped into the room, Tsunade stopped in her tracks as she stared at the boy on the bed. She didn't notice the door being replaced behind nor did she notice the two kunoichi sitting on the couch. The boy sitting on the bed had stripped the bandages away from his face and she could see that he looked just like Naruto. Physically, he was identical to the genin and even his eyes sparkled like Naruto's did. He sounded like Naruto. He appeared exactly like him in every way.

 

But this was not her little brother.

 

Sakura and Ino didn't seem to notice anything was amiss as they tried to make conversation with the blonde. Either that or they just dismissed it as some side-effect of being in a coma for two weeks. But to a Sannin's well trained eyes, it was blatantly obvious. This Naruto sat up straight and spoke clearly, without any slang or improper grammar. His speech held a lilting eloquence to it, rather than the brash and hectic manner the real Naruto spoke with. More than that, this boy had a tranquil air about him, like he was completely at peace with himself and his surroundings. The real Naruto had so much pent up energy, he always seemed to be vibrating. His smile was different too. It was a relaxed, gentle smile and his eyes were wide open. The real Naruto usually wore slit-eyed, fox-grins that made him look both mischievous and cheerful at the same time. Before Tsunade could analyze him further, the boy looked up and saw her.

 

“Hello, Ba-chan. It's nice to see you,” He said, with a happy sparkle in his eyes.

 

Tsunade relaxed a minute amount. Imposter this boy may be, but he wasn't hiding any sort of malice. If he was a Sound spy, there would have been a glint of something before he covered it up with cheerfulness. This person that looked like Naruto was genuinely happy to see her, for no reason beyond enjoying her company.

 

That was the only reason why she didn't tear his head off.

 

“Who are you and where is Naruto?” Tsunade demanded as she walked a little closer to the bed. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed both Sakura and Ino jolt in surprise. Dammit, you'd think the people he graduated with would know the difference between an imposter and the real thing. She'd be sure to add a lesson about that to Sakura later.

 

“Ah, I didn't expect I could fool you for long,” Naruto said. His composure remained completely unruffled, even though he'd been found out. “Naruto is probably somewhere far out in the wilds of Fire Country by now. He's been running nonstop since he left. As for who I am…well, that's a little tricky. I am Naruto, but I'm also not him.”

 

“A clone?” Ino asked with a puzzled look on her face. Every member of the Rookie 9 plus Gai's team knew of Naruto's talent in clone creation, but to be able to leave one behind while he left the village far exceeded even his skills.

 

“Impossible,” Sakura stated firmly. “One, kage bunshin has a limited range. Two, it also has a time limit that depends on chakra control. And three, you have two IV needles sticking in your arm. No clone can be maintained for more than a couple seconds after taking damage.”

 

“Ah, but who says I'm a shadow clone?” `Naruto' said with a mischievous look on his face.

 

“There aren't any other clone types that can take long term damage,” Sakura retorted, crossing her arms in annoyance.

 

“Who say I'm any clone you've ever heard of?” The `boy' replied. For an instant, his eyes darkened and a red sigil appeared on his forehead. The next moment it was gone, leaving the two young kunoichi to wonder if they had seen it at all.

 

“No…That seal,” Tsunade whispered. It wasn't identical by any means, but the seal on the clone's forehead was definitely the same language as the one the Akatsuki had used on Naruto in the first place. “How could they have taken him with a guard on watch?”

 

The clone held up his hands and shook his head, denying her question.

 

“No, no. They don't have him. At least as far as I know,” It said to correct the Hokage's assumption. “Naruto created me and left Konoha all on his own power. The…group that attacked him has nothing to do with it. Not directly anyways. And to clear it up, I'm a modification of a kage bunshin to a much more advanced level. Naruto learned it from his…ally. I can take damage without being forced to dispel, I know each of his skills and can perform them as easily as he can, and I'm completely independent of him. No matter how far away he is, if he's asleep, or even if he's dead, I'll last until my chakra runs out. Pretty good diversion, if I say so myself.”

 

While Sakura and Ino were staring in amazement at the advanced clone, Tsunade was having a different line of thought. The way the clone said `ally' meant only one thing to her.

 

Kyuubi.

 

The Kyuubi was teaching Naruto new skills. It was also likely it was behind the boy's sudden exodus. If the demon-fox was involved, this whole situation just got a hell of a lot more complicated. The fox had already taught Naruto at least one A Rank, maybe even S Rank, jutsu so far and there was no telling what other skills it would give him. A clone like this could be used for anything. If kage bunshin was forbidden, she was tempted to outlaw this skill. Assassinations would be far, far too easy for this jutsu. It was like making a perfect replica of yourself that was totally expendable. Ridiculously useful as cannon fodder, distractions, support units, primary units in battle, the list just went on. Hopefully, because the Kyuubi was involved, Naruto was the only one who could use it. If Orochimaru ever got his hands on that jutsu…

 

“Why did he leave?” Ino asked, interrupting the Godaime's thoughts. “For that matter, how? He's been totally mangled for two weeks and all of a sudden he can go running off into the woods? He should be lying there half-dead, for Kami's sake, not going camping!”

 

The clone stared at Ino for several seconds before it busted out laughing. Ino irritation grew the longer the bunshin laughed. This was getting ridiculous. A fucking clone was mocking her.

 

“I told him you might be interesting,” The clone said as the last of its chuckles died away. Its face turned serious so quickly that the young shinobi jumped and Tsunade tensed. “Extremely interesting. You have a great deal of potential in many different ways, Ino-san. I hope you'll grow into some of it by the time Naruto gets back.”

 

“He's coming back? When?” Sakura tensely asked.

 

“Of course he's coming back, Sakura-san,” The clone said as it rolled its eyes. Sakura blinked at the lack of a `chan' suffix at the end of her name. Did the clone think differently of her than Naruto did or something? “He wouldn't abandon the Leaf. Not permanently, anyways. I have a message from him for you, Ba-chan. It may answer some of your questions.”

 

Tsunade gave the clone a careful look, before she nodded and said, “Alright, let's hear it.”

 

“Okay, here it is…Heya, Ba-Chan!” The clone's entire demeanor changed in an instant. It truly seemed like Naruto was sitting there now, complete with fox-grin and everything. It was both startling and disturbing, like they were seeing a ghost of the boy. “I know you're probably pissed at me. Sorry for all this, but I don't really have much of a choice. I ain't gonna lie and say you don't have a reason to be scared, `cause there's a big chance I won't be coming back. Not alive anyways…”

 

Tsunade's stomach twisted at that thought.

 

“I have a damn good reason for leaving though. I found out from the you-know-what that's stuck you-know-where that borrowing its chakra has some bad side effects that neither of us wants. It also warned me that there're worse things out for my blood than the cloak-freaks and the snake-weirdo. We have a plan to survive, but it might not work and I need to be far from Konoha and people for it to have a chance. I hope I'll be able to come back sometime soon, but I can't promise anything. The plan is actually so stupid it's almost suicidal, but it's still the best shot we have. If I don't return, at the very least we've kept the you-know-what away from the cloak-freaks, right? When I get back, I'll tell you everything, I promise. Oh yeah, I can't wait to tell you all about my Bloodline! The you-know-what told me all about it! It's really awesome and I hope to test it out while I'm gone! I'll tell you how it goes when I get back. Shit, I'm running out of time, so I have to cut this off. I'll be back sometime soon. Later, Ba-chan!”

 

The clone's face relaxed into its usual placid expression and it watched the gathered kunoichi for their reactions. Sakura and Ino stood with dumbfounded and confused faces as it had expected. Tsunade, however, looked both serious and very worried, though she tried to hide it. The clone felt a wave of regret at worrying the woman so much, even though there was nothing it could do about it.

 

“I'm sorry, Ba-chan. He really did have no other choice,” The bunshin said, sounding both apologetic and reassuring. “The group has gained disturbing new allies and they'd make another move on him long before he was ready to face them. This is his only chance to survive. Besides, he's in good hands. His ally is very knowledgeable and he's watching Naruto's back. It's in both their interests that he stays alive, so you don't have to worry much about that.”

 

“I see,” Tsunade replied, taking all the information in to process later. “And when does he plan to return if their plan works?”

 

“He left two days ago on the first of May,” The clone said. “He plans to return to Konoha on the same date next year. Assuming he lives, of course.”

 

Ino spoke up then and said, “Is there anything else you can tell us?”

 

“Yes, actually,” The bunshin began. It suddenly made a deep, booming voice that sounded suspiciously like Gai's as it said, “You are magnificent! Truly a noble creature like you is a gift from the very Gods! Only a splendid, celestial being could have crafted the wondrous masterpiece you chose to grace our humble, lowly selves with! We bow to your awesome glory! You have shown us the Light and it is Orange!”

 

The three kunoichi stared at the clone, utterly shocked and with massive sweat-drops on the backs of their heads. The clone's Gai impersonation was…disturbing in its accuracy. Thank the Kami Naruto had been Kakashi's student.

 

“He…actually said that?” Ino hesitantly asked. Kami, oh-please-oh-please-oh-please-oh-please don't let the boy who'd caught her interest be another clone of that thick eye-browed lunatic. That would be worse than anything thing she ever went through with Sakura. Much worse.

 

“No, I made it up.”

 

Three loud thumps sounded as each shinobi face-vaulted.

 

“What did he say, then?” Ino asked as she stood back up and dusted herself off.

 

“He said `thanks for the flowers,'” The clone replied with beaming smile. The blonde girl relaxed. It seemed Naruto liked them as much a she thought he would. The bunshin continued, “In fact, he took a couple of them with him, though he couldn't take the orange ones. I think he was kind of disappointed.”

 

“He stole his own flowers?” Sakura dryly asked as she raised an eyebrow.

 

The bunshin shrugged and said, “I suggested he take something along from the `Get Well' pile. He preferred the flowers to Gai and Lee's card.”

 

Ino shuddered as she looked over at thing and said, “Well, that's unders-”

 

A loud gasp from the clone cut her off. The kunoichi all stared in shock as the seal on the bunshin's forehead reappeared, jet-black this time. The fake boy shuddered as the seal began to fragment and fade away bit by bit.

 

“I'm out of chakra,” It said through clenched teeth. “Ba-chan, is there anything else you want to know?”

 

“Nothing I can think of,” Tsunade replied as she stared at the bunshin. She had a strange, uncomfortable feeling at the clone's impending dispel. She didn't know why it felt so weird, but it might've been because the bunshin seemed so…human compared to a normal clone. Hesitantly, she said, “…Thank you...for telling me all this.”

 

The clone managed one last smile at her and said, “You're welcome, Ba-chan.”

 

The last of the seal broke up and disappeared. As the three shinobi watched, the clone's body turned into a glowing red, liquid-like energy. It didn't burst or puff like a normal bunshin and instead just slowly faded from sight until it was gone completely. The sheet fluttered to the bed, while the IVs and wires clattered onto the floor with nothing to support them. Tsunade stared at the bed for several long moments, before she turned to the girls.

 

“You two, not a word of this to anyone. Consider that a law,” The Godaime ordered. When she saw the two kunoichi still staring at the bed in shock, she sighed and said, “Sakura-chan, take Ino to your office and stay there until I send Shizune to get you. Get something to drink from the vending machines if you need to, but keep the door closed and don't talk about this to anyone. Am I clear?”

 

Sakura finally snapped out of her stupor at her sensei's words and nodded her head.

 

“Yes, Hokage-sama. We'll stay there,” The medic replied formally. She hesitated and asked, “Um, Tsunade-sama, will Naruto be…?”

 

“I'm going to get Kakashi and a couple other trackers to follow him immediately,” Tsunade replied tensely. “I have no idea what his `plan' is, but considering he left Konoha without telling anyone it's probably borderline insane and so suicidal that only an idiot would try it. He won't think twice about doing it. I want him stopped and dragged back here as soon as possible. Don't worry. Kakashi's an excellent tracker and I'll get somebody with a good Bloodline Lim-”

 

Tsunade stopped of in her speech as she remembered the clone's message. A Bloodline. According to the Kyuubi, Naruto had a Bloodline. But he hadn't said Limit. Could that mean…? No…he's part of that family? But surely Jiraiya or Sarutobi would have noticed. Naruto would have been given far more advanced and rigorous training if he did have such a powerful ability. Did the Third and her old teammate simply not know? Impossible. If Naruto was a part of that family, then they of all people would have known and done something about it. Unless they didn't want to draw attention to it. That was an unsettling thought. Granted that family had many powerful enemies, but to squander such a potent Bloodline was near heresy to the Leaf.

 

Then again, as much as Tsunade loved her old sensei, she still disagreed with many of the decisions Sarutobi had made in his lifetime. Allowing the chuunin exam to continue two years ago because Orochimaru threatened invasion and conceding to the Cloud's demands during that incident with the Hyuugas were just a couple examples. She wouldn't be surprised if he had allowed the boy to be trained like a normal ninja. Naruto certainly hadn't received any training to control the Kyuubi until Jiraiya had stumbled across him. Although… Maybe the fox was at the heart of the matter and the reason behind Sarutobi placing Naruto amongst the other ninja children. The boy is the Kyuubi-vessel and the people of Konoha would certainly have looked unfavorably at him being trained at heightened levels. But Sandaime still should have tapped that boy's ability. Or perhaps that was what he'd been hoping for when he assigned Kakashi to Team 7. Well, then he should have known not to add an Uchiha to the group, as Kakashi would have certainly favored him over the others. Which he had and at Naruto's expense, leaving the Bloodline unused. But maybe Sarutobi was hoping the rivalry would have strengthened both boys and given the Leaf two powerful Bloodlines.

 

Tsunade groaned and pressed her fingers to her forehead. Ugh, this was just like her old sensei. He would make plans that looked excellent on paper, but had a hell of a time working out in real use. Of course Team 7 would fail. Naruto had a foolish ego, Sasuke was obsessed with his past, Sakura was a love struck fool at the time, and Kakashi had favored the only person with a Sharingan he'd seen in years. Oh well, live and learn. She'd just have to learn from Sarutobi's mistakes. When Naruto got back, she'd make sure he'd get advanced training from Jiraiya and several other high level jounin. She might even teach him a few things herself. If Naruto had the Unlimiter, then not only would he be able to handle the pressure, but he'd probably be a match for the Yondaime in a few years and the Leaf desperately needed someone with that kind of power.

 

Yondaime.

 

Tsunade had to resist the urge to hit her head repeatedly into the nearest wall (which would have done little except add to the maintenance costs of the hospital.) Of course. There was no longer any doubt in her mind that Naruto had the Unlimiter. The Yondaime had been a smart man and even when he was desperate to find a way to seal the Kyuubi, he wouldn't have made any mistakes in its imprisonment. He would not have trusted the task to any child except one that bore the Bloodline Unlimiter. Any other child would have died immediately or have slowly gone insane from demonic corruption over the years. A child with the Unlimiter, on the other hand, would not only keep the Kyuubi contained, but would even flourish with the demon's presence. Yes, when he got back Naruto would get more training than even he wanted.

 

After she punched him through a wall for worrying her, of course.

 

“-kage-sama? Hokage-sama?” Sakura's voice shook Tsunade from her thoughts and made her realize that she'd been standing still for almost five minutes.

 

“Yes, sorry. You have your orders. I'll try to give you an update later tonight,” The Godaime said as she turned and put her hand on the door knob. There was a groan and the door fell forward into the hall. The ANBU guard jumped aside just in time to avoid being flattened as it crashed onto the floor. Tsunade stepped over the door and calmly ignored the stares she received from the medical staff.

 

“Alright, get going,” She said to Sakura and Ino as they filed out and kept a careful distance between them and the potentially crazy woman. As they left, the Hokage suddenly noticed the cat-masked ANBU as he stood up and brushed his clothes off

 

“And you,” Tsunade growled as she stalked towards her prey, “What part of `or else' didn't you understand? Damn, and I just had my sandals cleaned this morning.”

 

The ANBU whimpered as his doom drew near.

 

***

 

“So…What do you think is going to happen? Is he going to be a missing-nin?” Sakura asked as she leaned back in her chair. She and Ino had been waited for almost an hour in her office for Shizune to come by. The majority of that time they'd simply waited in silence, each girl processing what they'd learned. The silence had been broken once by Ino when she'd gone to the restroom. Though she loathed to admit it, Sakura wanted both reassurance and input from her friend so she'd finally spoken up. “I mean, he said he'd be back, but he's so unpredictable…Who knows what he's going to do.”

 

“What do you mean? Defect to another nation like Sasuke did?” Ino asked as she leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. She shook her head. “No, I doubt that. I don't know him well, but Naruto seems loyal to the point of idiocy. He's stubborn too. He'd never abandon Konoha unless we were actively kicking him out. He's no traitor.”

 

“But Tsunade said a weird seal hurt Naruto. If Orochimaru was the one who attacked him, then it might be the same thing as Sasuke-kun,” Sakura pointed out. “Even an Uchiha couldn't fight off his seals, so what chance would Naruto have against them?”

 

Ino narrowed her eyes and snorted. Her voice took its typical sharp tone as she said, “One, Sasuke left of his own free will, curse seal or not. I did some research on them after the Forest of Death and while curse seals can influence someone's actions, that person has to willingly give in to them for them to work. Sasuke may have chosen to use his, but Naruto's way too stubborn to fall for some psycho's trap. Two, a group attacked Naruto and nobody has said anything about Sound-nins at all. And three, I saw what Sasuke looked like with the curse seal on him. Naruto's body was damaged in a totally different way. If a seal was used on him, then it wasn't anything like Orochimaru's work. This has nothing to do with the Sound.”

 

“I guess your right,” Sakura said, looking somewhat relieved. Then she looked up and gave Ino a sly grin. “No `-kun,' huh? Don't tell me you've given up on Sasuke-kun, Ino-Pig.”

 

The blonde girl's stunned look caught the medic off guard as Ino said, “Uh, yeah. Of course I have.”

 

Sakura blinked and asked, “You're joking, right? Why would give up on him? I thought you liked him almost as much as I do.”

 

“Yeeeeah,” Ino said slowly, as if talking to a child. Maybe she was. “That was before he turned traitor and nearly got five of our friends killed. Six if you include Lee running off after them.”

 

“But that wasn't his fault!” Sakura protested. “It was that damn curse seal Orochimaru put on him!”

 

“Really?” Ino scathingly replied. Her friend was still carrying a torch for the bastard? “And how did he change after the curse seal was put on him?”

 

“He…He kept starting fights for no reason and was really cold to people,” Sakura said. She ignored the fact that she had to think hard to come up with a difference in Sasuke's attitude. “He even started challenging Naruto and he always ignored him before."

 

“And how is that different than what he used to be like?” Her friend asked in a coldly logical voice. “As far as I remember he was always fighting with people or treating them like shit. The only reason why he started picking fights with Naruto is because he got strong enough to challenge him. Sasuke's always been like that. Either you're stronger than him and he wants to fight you or you're weaker than him and he thinks you're dirt. Kami, that was the worst crush of my entire life. I can't believe I fell for someone that messed up.”

 

Sakura's jaw dropped at Ino's statement. The thought of her rival not chasing Sasuke just didn't compute in her head. Finally, she managed to get out, “Well, you don't know him like I do! There really was a big change after the curse seal was put on him. It did something horrible to him. Sasuke-kun is strong though. He'll fight it off and come back to the Leaf before you know it. And even if he doesn't, Naruto and I promised we'd rescue him from Orochimaru when we get strong enough.”

 

There was long silence following her words in which Ino kept her face angled towards the ground. Sakura shifted uncomfortably and was about to speak up again when her friend quietly said, “Sakura, one day you're going to realize that Sasuke isn't who you believe him to be and he never has been. Your dream is just that: a dream. I hope it's not too painful for you when it happens. More than that, I hope you're strong enough to walk away from him when it does.”

 

“What're you talking about?” Sakura asked. Ino didn't answer as she walked to the door. “Hey! Where're you going? Hokage-sama said to stay here!”

 

“For a walk. I doubt there'll be any news for awhile,” Ino replied as she pulled the door open. As she started to step out, she grumbled, “I need to get away from the estrogen waves for awhile.”

 

Sakura had jumped up and simultaneously yanked Ino back inside while slamming the door closed before she was consciously aware of her movements. She spun her friend around and started to yell, “I'm not done, dammit! Where do you get off telling me oh sweet Kami you're bleeding!”

 

For a panicked instant, the medic thought that she had hurt her friend somehow when she'd grabbed her. Then Sakura noticed that the blood was coming from Ino's right nostril and eye, forming a gentle trickle down her face. Fear shot through her when she realized that the blonde girl's eyes were rolled up into her head and her face was twitching rapidly. Was she having a seizure? Some kind of fit? Sakura grabbed her friend to steady her as Ino made a strange whining sound of pain and grabbed the sides of her head. The medic's concern grew worse when she noticed blood running out of the girl's left ear. Something was happening inside her friend's head and she had no idea what, despite her medical training.

 

Sakura was just about to force Ino to lie on the floor and summon a medical team when the girl's fit just stopped.

 

The medic felt a brief surge of relief when her friend's gray-blue eyes opened. The next moment the floor seemed to fall out from underneath her as the most terrifying and monstrous chakra she had ever felt in her life slammed into her senses. Sakura was barely aware of Ino's detached concern as she collapsed forward and grabbed onto her blonde friend. Someone was screaming so loudly it hurt her ears. She felt a brief moment of surprise when she realized she was making the sound, before another pulse of that evil and horrifying chakra ripped across her mind.

 

Ino wobbled slightly as Sakura collapsed to her knees and wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist. She felt…odd. Detached. Like everything was happening to her, but not really affecting her. She felt the alien chakra. She felt the terror it inflicted on the animal part of her brain. But it merely passed through her mind, like water through a sieve. Her head felt weird. Like something had broken or ruptured. It hurt, but not in a totally bad way. She felt like she was waking up and fainting at the same time. Ino tried to focus, but all she could really do was hold Sakura's head and try to calm her down as she sobbed into her shirt. As she ran her hands through her friend's bubblegum-pink hair, the blonde girl tried to remember what she had seen moments before the terror struck her.

 

Wind and light. Fire and darkness. Two figures were facing each other across a great, featureless white plain. A glowing, blue-white human figure stood tall and determined. A massive, red-black canine form, ancient and proud, watched the other. Despite being featureless, there was more definition and depth to their forms than any physical form could convey. They were souls in pure form. They were what someone looked like when every bit of the body and mind had been stripped away. There was nothing between either of them except the distance they stood apart from each other. Above, in a sky that was as pitch-black as the ground was pure-white, a massive sphere of energy grew over each figure. One was blue-white and swirled and shined with unrepressed energy as it grew larger. Its light grew too bright for human eyes to look at after only a few moments.

 

The other sphere was an old, deep crimson color and it boiled and burned with a dark fire. It was at least a hundred times larger than the other mass of energy. A blistering heat that would sear any human's flesh in seconds came off the orb in waves. The crimson ball of energy looked almost identical to a red-giant star, though its power was growing, not dying,. The blue-white sphere resembled a shining moon orbiting its burning star as the two grew larger in size and stronger in intensity. Ino remembered thinking that she was either going to be burned to death by the heat or irradiated into dust by the light at any moment. Just when she'd been absolutely sure she was going to die, the spheres reached their limits and rushed at each other. The figures moved parallel to the orbs of energy and all four impacted at the same time. The backlash of pure power on a level she couldn't understand had hurled Ino back into herself. She'd seen Sakura's concerned face for an instant before the crippling wave of terror had swept over them.

 

And now she could barely understand what was going on. There was an annoying humming her head that wouldn't go away and Sakura refused to let go of her or calm down. Ino's hands kept stroking her friend's hair, worried about her but not able to do much about it. A red blotch on the girl's pale skin caught her attention. Another one appeared even as she watched. Ino wiped the drops away, annoyed at the crimson color marring her friend's smooth forehead. A second, more powerful surge in the chakra wave made her knees feel watery and she had to lean on Sakura's shoulders for a moment to catch her balance. Surprisingly, the girl seemed to be calming down with the second wave. Ino watched in idle curiosity as the medic slowly got control of herself. After several long moments, Sakura finally forced herself to her feet, though she still had to hang onto the blonde girl for support. She glanced at Ino and said something. The genin blinked. She heard the words, but her brain refused to make sense of them. Sakura was still fighting the wave's terror, so she didn't immediately notice her friend's lack of response. When she fought the fear off for a moment, the medic was able to get a good look at Ino's face.

 

The fact that the blonde girl didn't even flinch at Sakura's horrified shriek only worried the medic more.

 

Ino was vaguely aware of being dragged out of the office and down winding halls and open doorways. Everywhere they went, the same sight greeted them. People lying on the ground, screaming or crying in terror from the chakra wave. The blond girl noted that the chakra had only intensified in the few minutes since it began. The walls and lights twisted and warped as she was rushed along, making her wonder if she had woken from her dream or if she was still trapped in one. It was disorienting in a very bad way and it was made worse with the speed they were moving. Apparently Sakura took her attempts at slowing them down as a sign of imminent collapse on Ino's part, because the next thing the blonde knew the hall was moving away from her. She blinked, then realized she wasn't running anymore. She looked down and saw pink hair. Huh. Sakura hadn't joked when she said she learned some of Tsunade's strength abilities. The medic was carrying her like she weighed no more than an infant. A powerful surge in the chakra made Ino's head feel like it was being split in two and Sakura stumbled in her run, only barely managing to keep them both from sprawling across the floor. The power was so intense it felt like her head would crumple inwards, piece by piece. Ino closed her eyes and gritted her teeth against the pain as it seemed to crush her skull. She was dead, she was going to die, this was it, she couldn't take the pressure anym-

 

The chakra suddenly relaxed and began to ebb away.

 

Ino opened eyes and stared at the white circle in front of her. It took her almost a minute to realize she was looking at Sakura's back and her body was as limp as a rag-doll in the other girl's arms. She couldn't even hold her head up. The bright fluorescent lights made her want to close her eyes to sleep and at the same time they kept her awake. Ino sighed in relief when they moved into a much dimmer room that was faintly illuminated by glowing medical machines. She felt Sakura carefully laying her down on a long and narrow bed that wasn't very comfortable. The blonde girl allowed her eyes to close as the last of the chakra wave faded.

 

She blinked her right eye in irritation at the blood began clotting and gumming the eyelid up. A low murmur of a couple different voices discussing something relaxed her, even though they sounded rather tense. She was able to make out a few words, though most of the conversation was a babble to her. She understood `trauma,' `Hokage,' and `MRI,' whatever that was, but she couldn't concentrate hard to enough to focus on the rest. A cool object touching her face made her open her eyes to meet a pair of concerned green orbs looking down at her.

 

Sakura's voice spoke reassuringly to her as she cleaned the blood off Ino's face with a damp cloth, though she may as well have been speaking gibberish. The only word the blonde girl was able to understand was `sleep,' so that's what she decided to do. Her vision darkened to Sakura calling out her name and grabbing her shoulder. She managed one final coherent thought that would have started a loud cat fight if the medic had actually heard it.

 

`You shouldn't worry so much Sakura. Don't want that big forehead to get wrinkles.'

 

***

 

Tsunade had been waiting impatiently for almost an hour for Kakashi to show up when she felt the chakra wave hit. Its raw power had sucked the air from her lungs and felt like a physical blow. Of course, she wasn't a Sannin for nothing and she only lost her composure for a minute before she was back on her feet. Judging from the loud thumps outside her door, her guards weren't so lucky. The Hokage stormed over to her newly replaced window and flung it open to look out over the Leaf.

 

It was like a scene from Hell.

 

Civilians, shinobi, even animals, were running about or collapsed on the ground screaming in mortal fear. Though it was still mid-afternoon, the sky had blackened without her noticing and the only light was an eerie red glow that came from the horizon off to the northwest. Tsunade narrowed her eyes. She had never personally felt its chakra, but there was only one creature with this much raw power on the continent.

 

Kyuubi.

 

Something was happening with the Kyuubi. She'd heard the stories and read the old reports. The demon fox's aura played on humans' animal instincts and made them feel like they were prey for the beast. Only shinobi of phenomenal caliber were able to resist its effects. As if the fox hadn't been strong enough to begin with that day fourteen years ago, its mere presence had been enough to cripple almost three-quarters of Konoha's forces. Only the strongest of the jounin and ANBU had been able to effectively fight with the Yondaime. The rest had been sitting ducks. No wonder most of them held a grudge against Naruto. Shinobi instinctively dislike and hate two major things: being helpless and anything stronger than them. The boy was a living reminder of both. Even when he d-

 

A second, stronger wave of chakra ripped across her senses as a halo of light of blue-white moved across the sky from the north-west.

 

Tsunade's eyes widened in shock. She knew that chakra. Naruto. What the hell was he doing with the Kyuubi? This was their plan? All they're doing so far is giving everyone in the Leaf panic attacks. Although with the addition of the boy's chakra to the Kyuubi's, anyone who was familiar with him was able to fight off the effects of the wave. Only a couple minutes later the door banged open and Kakashi rushed inside.

 

“Nice of you to join me,” Tsunade growled in a manner that made the jounin almost as nervous as the chakra wave.

 

“That's Kyuubi! What's going on? I thought Naruto was in the hospital!” Kakashi demanded, his eye visibly worried.

 

“If you had shown up when I told you to, you would know that not only did Naruto escape two days ago, but he and the Kyuubi are planning some damn fool stunt out in the backwoods of Fire Country. Which they just managed to do,” The Hokage said with a strong note of reprimand. Noticing the man didn't respond to her implied criticism, she grumbled a curse and said, “Your orders are to take the Nara boy and Gai's Hyuuga kid to go and investigate. If Gai doesn't have a mission, take him too as back-up. I want Naruto found, I want to know what the hell he just did, and I want to know as fast as you and your little doggies can run. Now get moving!”

 

Kakashi nodded and turned to run back out the door. The Hokage's voice calling his name stopped him just as he made it to the doorway.

 

“And Hatake-san, if you ever ignore me again when I send for you, I'll have you stripped to chuunin and made Umino-san's assistant,” Tsunade said in an icy monotone that showed she was deadly serious. “I don't care how guilty you feel about your dead friend, it's not to interfere with your work. You're a jounin of the Leaf and you will obey your commander's orders immediately and not whenever you feel like it. If you want to stare at the memorial for hours, do it on your time off. Is that clear?”

 

Kakashi wasn't as much surprised that she knew about Obito as he was that she had said anything about it. The Third had simply ignored his tardy habit or laughed at Kakashi's lame excuses. Then again, many people made the mistake of thinking Tsunade was anything like Sarutobi and everyone who did wished they hadn't after the Fifth got through with them. It not like he enjoyed it or anything. He just couldn't help but think about his friend and stare at the marker for hours.

 

On the other hand, if he kept it up he was going to wind up Iruka's assistant.

 

The mere thought of such a thing made a quiver of fear race up his spine and it had nothing to do with the terror wave. He had no idea what was scarier: this woman angry at him or that man as his boss. Ugh, he was getting shivers thinking about either of them.

 

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” The jounin said, before making a hasty exit.

 

Kakashi would rather face that damn fox than those two any day.

 

***

 

Konoha wasn't the only place that felt the terror wave (as survivors of the Kyuubi's original assault quickly came to call it.) The Hidden Sound and Waterfall were hit by its intensity hard, as they were closest in proximity to it. In fact, the residents of the Sound finally discovered something that terrified them even more than their master. Sasuke woke up after a post-training nap to blindly thrash about his room for several minutes before winding up on the floor. The feel of the second chakra in the wave both horrified and enraged him. Just the thought of Naruto having anything to do with that kind of power set his teeth on edge. He was still cursing the boy's name when Kabuto came to get him ten minutes later.

 

Elsewhere, Umino Iruka had been traveling home from the mission in Wind Country he'd left for weeks ago. He was eager to get back to Konoha to check on Naruto and to get back to his classes. One moment he was hurrying along and the next he was on the ground, feeling the same nightmarish presence that had haunted him for fourteen years. Memories of the sight of the demon and the death of his parents had crippled him until he felt the second chakra wave. Recognizing Naruto's energy, the chuunin had collected himself, then started running as fast as he could to Konoha with the other members of his team lagging behind.

 

Further away, but way too far inside Fire Country's borders for anyone's comfort, a pair of blood-red eyes watched the glow with interest. The figure was one of two beings that didn't even flinch at the power of the chakra. In fact, this individual seemed almost pleased at the strength of the wave. If one had looked closely, one might've noticed the briefest ghost of a twitch at the corner of the man's mouth. But since the expression, and the man, was gone the next moment, one couldn't tell for certain if it was there at all.

 

And finally, far to the south, one other person stood and watched the strange light show over the forests of Fire Country. A pair of frost-green eyes didn't even blink at the intensity of the chakra, though they did watch with curiosity. When the second wave pulsed, the figure stood up straighter and grabbed the large gourd sitting next to him. He calmly leaped off the sand-blasted ruins he'd been perched on towards the dusty ground. As he landed on the desert floor, a wave of sand rose up and caught him, then moved off to the north at very high speeds with the figure riding it like a cross between a chariot racer and a surfer. Something was happening to the one who'd pulled him from the darkness and he didn't appreciate it. He intended to be the first one there to assist the Uzumaki boy if he needed help.

 

After all, it would be fitting for Gaara to return the favor.

 

***

 

General: I know this one had a lot of dialogue in it, but hopefully it wasn't boring. The last three scenes were meant to go onto the next chapter, but I added them onto this one to give the story a little action. Hopefully it helped and didn't just confuse. Anyways, to stave off unnecessary questions, the next chapter will explain what Naruto and Kyuubi did as well as explain what happened to Ino. We'll also see Neji and Shikamaru (as well as GAI [dramatic music].) Err, yeah. And as for the bit with Kakashi and Tsunade at the end, a lot of fics have her rolling her eyes at his lateness but not really doing anything about that, so I threw it in there. I think Kakashi would be better off if he moved on from Obito. I mean, remember and honor your friend and all, but don't stand for three hours every day staring at his grave marker. But I have something later in the story revolving around that and it has to do with the Sharingan (bonus points for anyone that guesses it. Uh, okay, not really.) And the Sharingan madness makes senses to me. Every one with it seems obsessed with something (Itachi and power or evil or whatever, Sasuke and Itachi, Kakashi and Obito's memory and Icha Icha and wearing a mask all the time, etc.) That's not to say the Sharingan is weak, but it'll be a double edged sword in this story.

As for the representation of Kyuubi…Eh, I thought the demon would be cooler this way. I've pictured it as a cunning, knowledgeable (almost intellectual) evil fiend, so I wrote him like that. As for why it's so helpful to Naruto, I figure the fox is old enough and smart enough to assist the boy that keeps it alive. Naruto's problems are the Kyuubi's and vice versa. And since there seems to be no set gender on the fox, I refer to it as `it' instead of `he' or `she,' unless it's in a human shape. I may have missed a few pronouns during proofreading. Just letting readers know to avoid confusion..

I know I keep promising more action, but it looks like the pace will pick up next chapter. Or the one after. Ah hell, whatever.

 

Jutsu: Ah, for everyone going “Crucible, wtf?” your explanation awaits.

 

Rutsubo (Crucible) (Unranked) - A powerful, but outdated jutsu that was used in rituals rather than combat.

 

The Crucible forces the mind to face its self truths and perceived weaknesses in different forms. It is set for one to eight tests (depending on how many Gates the user wishes to open) and they grow in intensity and strength as the subject progresses through them. The subject must accept the truth to pass a challenge (failure results in insanity or death.) Each challenge changes the personality or priorities of the subject permanently (though they can revert over time.) It's should be noted that the personality changes aren't necessarily good, but rather what the subconscious thinks needs be changed. With each challenge passed, a Celestial Gate opens (starting from the Initial Gate up.) The chakra let loose is more concentrated and less self-destructive than the current means of opening the Gates. This makes the jutsu useless in combat but perfect for rituals. The Crucible also opens the pathways to the Celestial Gates, giving the subject the ability to open the Gates (though they still have to learn how to open them manually.) Ex. Naruto passed three challenges, so he now has the ability to use his first three Celestial Gates. He still has to train if he wants to actually use them though. Technically, he can open the first Demonic Gate, but only if he has the Kyuubi's assistance in controlling the demon chakra (and it still needs the three normal Gates to be opened before it can be activated.)

 

Kyuubi used this jutsu to force open the first `Demonic' Gate so it could direct its chakra through Naruto and heal him. It's unknown how the demon learned this skill.

 

Kyuubi's concentration of the Gates' energy - The method the Kyuubi used to `constrict' the Gates to intensify the chakra flow will be explained in a later chapter.

Bloodline Unlimiter - Naruto's Advanced Bloodline.

The body is rewired on a genetic level to remove the maximum limits on body strength, mental knowledge, and chakra levels. In other words, there's no limit to how far someone with the Unlimiter can go. Where other shinobis' growth begins to slow down as they get older, someone with the Unlimiter will keep growing (power/knowledge wise; not height wise) as fast as a kid would. They can learn anything or get as strong as they want, assuming they put the effort into it. This ability does not speed up growth. It simply keeps it from ever slowing down. The bearer of the Unlimiter still has to train or study just as hard as a normal person (much to Naruto's ire.)

The Yondaime chose Naruto to bear the Kyuubi because of his Bloodline. His body was able to easily adapt to the demon's presence and even take advantage of it (ie. his healing factor, his knowing the fox's language, his heightened stamina, etc.) Though it's thought the Sandaime knew about Naruto's blood, the Third probably kept it a secret as most of Konoha would panic at the thought of the kid bearing both a youkai and the Bloodline Unlimiter.

Hi-Kenshutsu no Ryouiki (Non-Detection Field) (C Rank) - Non-elemental chakra emission blocking field. Nin-jutsu. Seven seals long.

 

Like the name implies, the field makes any chakra use undetectable by a ninja's chakra ESP. It blocks chakra emissions inside the field, but nothing else. I.E. A Chidori performed in the field couldn't be sensed, but its chi-chi-chi sound could still be heard and the glow from the chakra could still be seen. There is the possibility that this jutsu screws up ocular based Blood Limits that see chakra (but only their chakra based detection.)

 

Kyuubi pilfered this jutsu from the Mist several centuries ago and modified it. The jutsu was lost soon afterwards. The Mist would probably pay handsomely for its return if they ever found out it still exists.

 

Tenma Fuu: Ketsueki Bunshin (Demon Seal: Blood Clone) (A or S Rank) - Non-elemental (perhaps) modifications of a kage bunshin into a full flesh and blood replica of the user.

 

The clone can take damage, use any of the original's skills (though their lifespan shortens if they do), and is completely independent of the user (though still loyal.) The clone lasts as long as its demon chakra holds out. It can sacrifice its demon chakra to make regular chakra (about a 1:3 ratio) so it can perform jutsu. It can also repair its body by using demon chakra. It can only be dispelled by being totally destroyed, running out of chakra, or by destroying the seal on its forehead.

 

The full effects of this seal aren't known, but there is a noticeable deviation in the personalities between the user and the clone, despite the identical memories. Unknown whether Tsunade will outlaw its use or not.

 

Kage Jutsu: Fukemen Yabun (Shadow Skill: Night Veil) (B Rank) - Shadow elemental camouflage technique. Gen-jutsu (though it acts like nin-jutsu.) Eleven seals long.

 

A thin, metal-like skin covers all visible parts of the body. The skin turns the user invisible, blocks their scent and body heat, muffles their sound (except speech), and dampens their physical effects (like footprints and stuff.) It would be A Rank, except it has a massive weakness: sunlight. During the day all effects of the jutsu are weakened. The body appears as a distorted, clear shape that is mostly invisible when still, but makes a noticeable glimmer when moving. Any jounin worth their salt can track or detect the user during the day, limiting effective its use to night.

 

The Kyuubi copied this move verbatim from the techno-ninjas of the now extinct Hidden Village of Steel, as well as several others. The fox has no idea whether or not any other Hidden Steel jutsu survived to other countries.

 

Aaaaand that's it. Damn, that was a lot of jutsu. I may or may not have more in Chap. 5, but Chap. 6 will definitely have a ton.