Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Foxhound ❯ Alleycat Blues ( Chapter 7 )

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: Naruto has returned! He spends several hours talking to Tsunade and explaining the various changes he's undergone. Later he has a reunion with Ichiraku and decimates their food supply. Ino encounters him at the shop and challenges him to a fight. They fight at a stalemate, with Naruto unable to land any blows and Ino unable to leave lasting damage. The fight climaxes when Ino uses the Chidori on Naruto, which he quickly recovers from.

 

Chap. 7

 

The stars were still shining overhead when Naruto opened his eyes. He yawned and stretched for a moment, before relaxing back onto the ground. After his fight with Ino last night (err, earlier tonight?) the kitsune had been unable to find an inn with vacancy to crash at. Apparently, a lot of people traveled to the Hidden Leaf in the middle of spring. It really didn't matter to the teen. He'd just wandered off and found a comfortably secluded training ground to sleep in for a few hours in. The soft, grassy earth was almost as good as a bed to him so he'd just flopped onto his back in the middle of a field and dozed off. He wasn't worried about any Leaf-nins sneaking up on him, as he hadn't sensed any nearby and seven months of assassination missions had honed his senses to a razor edge even while he slept.

 

Naruto rolled over on his side and shifted a little to get more comfortable, though he knew it was almost impossible to go back to sleep. He'd always been a stamina freak, even before the Kyuubi merged with him, but now it was to an excessive level. Four hours was the longest he could sleep for, even if he was severely injured. It was linked to his demon chakra somehow, as the kitsune had discovered exhausting the Kyuubi's energy granted him an extra hour or two of sleep, depending on how much he drained away. Seven hours was the record longest time he'd ever slept since the merging. While it was a good thing, considering he was still hyper and active like Naruto was, he found that his mind felt stretched and brittle when he went for several days of such minimal rest.

 

The Kyuubi had known a great deal about human anatomy and had an interest in published scientific and medical journals. After several weeks of feeling on edge, Naruto had dived into the demon's memories and absorbed several relevant (and non-relevant) blocks of medical information. He'd learned all about REM and the different levels of sleep and how they affected the state of the human mind. Humans needed sleep for more than just resting their bodies. Sleep was a way of allowing the brain to work through and process all the information the mind had taken in over the course of the day. Without that, the neural networks are strained and the mind eventually becomes unstable, even to the point of insanity in severe, rare cases.

 

No wonder Gaara was crazy. Damned if he did; damned if he didn't.

 

In an effort to avoid following his cold friend's path, Naruto took to the habit of relaxing for at least two hours after he woke up. He would lie back and force his mind to unfocus and wander. At first, his hyper nature got in the way, but over time it had developed into a welcome habit. He'd also made a point to meditate for several hours at least once a week. As the original Naruto, he had never really taken the time to think things through and to reflect on everything that happened in his life. It was always, `Gotta-go-gotta-go-gotta-go' for him. Then again, when he was younger the most painful times in his life were the lonely nights he'd lain awake, neither crying nor making a sound, just staring at the ceiling of his shitty apartment. Running around without thinking had been a coping mechanism. If he could just live in the now, he wouldn't have to think about the cold apartment he left every morning and would return to every night. It caused him to act foolish to the extreme, but it helped keep the pain away.

 

The Kyuubi, on the other hand, took to brooding or hibernating whenever it wasn't spying on or killing things. It would mull, ponder, and dissect every little detail about an incident until it had all angles covered and all possible outcomes reached. It was highly critical of both its victories and failures, as it was always striving to get stronger and to perfect its already monstrous power. There was a reason why it had become the strongest demon on the planet after all. The two extremes in their personalities leveled out into the new Naruto thinking before he acted and allowing his mind to wander for a couple hours every day. While it wasn't the Kyuubi's extreme level of analyzing, he still found answers coming to him and new possibilities opening up in ways he hadn't considered. For him it was enough. He wasn't a born genius and neither had the Kyuubi been one, but like the fox before him he'd found that if he combined a reasonable amount of foresight and thought with his sharp cunning and good instincts he was able to out maneuver almost any opponent, regardless of their intellect. Warriors who planned some and improvised the rest of the way tended to be the most dangerous and successful of shinobi.

 

There was a reason why Jiraiya was such an incredible fighter after all.

 

Naruto had found, both in his travels and in his memories of Konoha, that while geniuses thought faster and better, they also tended to think rather linearly in at least one way. That wasn't to say they couldn't adapt, it was just that no matter what they held something constant in their minds. That rigid way of thinking led to mistakes that were surprisingly blatant to everyone else. For instance, Sasuke was always certain of his superiority, even against an opponent far more powerful than he. It was obvious to Naruto and Shikamaru that Gaara was an enemy that the Uchiha simply could not beat, no matter how much training he had done in a month. The look on Sasuke's when he realized that fact would have been comical, if it weren't for the fact that they were fighting for their lives.

 

Neji had been certain that things always worked out a certain way, no matter what. Naruto couldn't imagine a more linear mind if he tried. The Hyuuga had been absolutely convinced that he would beat the Dead-Last and it never once crossed his mind otherwise. Neji had then been absolutely shocked when Naruto managed to recover from his attack and tip the scales in his favor during their fight. The Hyuuga boy hadn't bothered to think out an extra strategy in case the blonde boy survived his attacks and had been left wide open for Naruto's counter.

 

Really now, they were ninja! Of course an opponent will fight dirty or pull out a hidden move no one was expecting. They'd only been trained to do that since they were kids!

 

Kakashi was always certain he had a situation pegged, no matter what it was. While he was usually right, every now and then something he hadn't considered a possibility came out of `nowhere' and left him blindsided. He had been certain Sasuke could beat Haku and was shocked when the feminine boy displayed an Advanced Bloodline. The copy-nin was sure that Gai had made a mistake in all the abilities he'd taught Lee, then was stunned at the boy's amazing prowess. He was certain Sasuke had more potential then Naruto and thus invested all his training into the boy, only to be dumbfounded when his other student displayed a superior jutsu. Naruto had learned from Jiraiya that Kakashi had also been reasonably certain that his Sharingan could combat Itachi's (to some degree, at least) and was decimated by the rogue Uchiha's attack. Worst of all, the jounin had been sure that Sasuke would never betray the village or turn on his friends, regardless of all the signs that had pointed otherwise. Naruto wasn't sure what his former teacher's reaction to that news had been, but he was pretty certain that the Copy-ninja had a shocked-stupid look on his masked face.

 

Some people just never learned until it was too late.

 

And of course, the most (in)famous genius of all, Orochimaru. That guy was ridiculous. Elaborate planning, no matter how well done, was just going to result in unseen casualties and a higher rate of failure. What was that old saying the humans to the east used to say? “The best laid plans go to waste.” Humans were naturally unpredictable creatures, no matter how much they seemed otherwise and even without including them into the equation, there were still thousands of unknown variables and unforeseen obstacles. No plan of action could ever take everything into account, no matter how much material was covered. The Snake-Sannin's greatest weakness was that when one of his plans hit a snag (as they always did) he had the damnedest time working around it and often took a severe counter attack while he was re-planning his strategy. Sandaime had proven that much when he stripped his former student of the use of his arms. While Orochimaru managed to handle some things that went wrong, his overconfidence and inability to adapt to unforeseen problems was going to be the death of him someday.

 

`Preferably by my hand,' Naruto grimly thought to himself as he stared at the twinkling stars overhead. That man had killed Sandaime over a temper tantrum about who got picked to be the Fourth almost twenty years ago. A kind old man, who wanted nothing but peace for his people, was murdered by a spoiled brat on an ego trip. That was reason enough for the kitsune to kill the hermit, but Orochimaru hadn't stopped there. He'd committed the absolutely unforgivable sin as far as Naruto was concerned.

 

He'd hurt Naruto's big sister.

 

Both Jiraiya and Shizune had commented on the serious injuries Tsunade had received during the fight while shielding Naruto. Jiraiya had even gone so far as to ask about the kin-jutsu she used to heal herself, though he'd shut up immediately at the dark looks the other Sannin and her student had sent his way. Obviously there was a price to pay for using her Souzousaisei seal. The kitsune had picked up on it and pestered them all until Shizune had finally taken him aside and told him what was wrong. Tsunade had lost years of her life during that fight. They had no idea how long she had yet to live, but her lifespan had been irreversibly shortened. Naruto hadn't been able to say much to that, though from that point on his anger at the Snake-Sannin had boiled into a burning fury that only grew with time, Sasuke's betrayal, and every Leaf casualty he heard about. His thoughts on the whole matter could be simplified into one simple concept.

 

Orochimaru would pay. End of Story.

 

Out of all the geniuses Naruto had ever met, Shikamaru was the one with the greatest potential. The only line of rigid thinking that the kitsune had observed in the Nara was that he occasionally took things at face value. His panic over Ino's stunt in the preliminaries and his underestimating of several shinobi (including Naruto), were examples of that. However, unlike most of the genius crowd, Shikamaru learned from his screw-ups. He'd fuck up, nearly get killed or make an ass out of himself, and then he'd think about where he went wrong. Shikamaru didn't brood about his failures like Sasuke or the snake-freak, he learned from them. In that way, he was always getting better, victory or defeat. That was a powerful strength that easily countered his habit of overlooking some things.

 

…Err well, Naruto had to be honest and admit, the Nara also had another weakness: he's a lazy bum. He didn't train much or have much interest in learning new skills, so he was almost always fighting an uphill battle whenever he tangled with someone. Every time Shikamaru went into combat, it was like he was playing chess with a king, a knight, and a handful of pawns against someone with a full team. He could still win in theory, but the odds were heavily against him.

 

Still, it was impressive how much the Nara boy pulled off with what he had. His performance during the chuunin finals was incredible.

 

As Naruto's thoughts floated in and out while remembering the exams, they eventually drifted to Sasuke's fight against Gaara, which led him to thinking about his quiet friend. Immediately after the fusion ritual, he'd staggered and wobbled off in a random direction in a shocked daze. The kitsune personally had no memory of what happened afterwards, but Gaara had later told him that he'd found him fighting for his life against a group of Sound-nins. The possessed boy had immediately grabbed Naruto with a protective layer of sand and tried to leave. The Sound then made the mistake of trying to stop him, despite knowing who he was. Gaara had…carefully considered their request, politely denied it, and gave a counter argument that the Sound had been unable to debate.

 

Or survive.

 

Naruto hadn't been sure what he was expecting when he woke up, but it certainly wasn't a pale-skinned boy with black-rimmed eyes and a creepy stare asking him if he wanted something to eat. Of course, the kitsune hadn't been in a…listening mood then, seeing as how the ritual had only fused the souls of boy and demon, not the minds. He was half-insane with confusion and it was a good thing Gaara had the perfect ability to restrain a mad half-demon or the chronic insomniac would have been on the receiving end of razor sharp nails and teeth. The Sand boy had handled the situation remarkably well. Ironically, Gaara would make a perfect orderly at one of the old asylums that used to be run in the fallen cities.

 

Naruto chuckled at the thought and allowed himself to get lost in the memories of the event.

 

***

 

“You're awake.”

 

He slowly…It slowly… He? It? Slowly cracked his (its) eyes open and stared at the its (his) surroundings. He (It) was in a decent sized cave that had been eroded into a sandstone cliff. The erosion was uneven, making it much taller than it was wide and at the top of the cave there were holes that opened out into the night sky. The ground was covered in a thick layer of fine, pale-yellow silt and the quartz grains shined and flickered in the firelight.

 

Fire?

 

It (He) painfully turned his (its) aching head to look at the small campfire that had been made in the center of the cave. A familiar figure sat next to it, calmly eating some stew out of a bowl that looked suspiciously like the sand on the ground. Gaara of the Desert hadn't changed much in a year, at least not physically. His red hair was growing longer and his face was leaner, but that was about it. He had altered his outfit a bit and wore overlapping, scarlet colored garments that were still held together with the odd collection of leather straps and belts he'd had in the chuunin exams. His large sand gourd sat on the ground near him. The blonde boy (fox-demon) stared a bit when it (he) noticed that the container had an odd collection of stamps, stickers, and mini-posters from various countries all over it.

 

Huh, so Gaara liked to travel. Who knew?

 

“Are you hungry?” The possessed boy asked in his low, cold voice. He gestured to a large, earthen pot sitting over the fire that held a bubbling stew of some sort in it. The smell was delicious, but for some reason he (it) wasn't hungry. In fact, it (he) felt like shit and could barely move.

 

“Uzumaki-san?” Gaara asked when he (it) didn't reply.

 

“I…He...is not. I am…We aren't…I'm Naruto?” It (He) said in a halting, confused manner, ending with a questioning tone. The thoughts in his (its) head made no sense. It was like there were two demons (people) thinking inside him (it.) Its (His) head hurt.

 

“If memory serves, you are Uzumaki Naruto,” Gaara calmly replied, before taking another bite of his stew. His sharp, pale-green eyes never left him (it) though, despite his casual attitude. “If you are not Uzumaki-san, then may I ask who you are?”

 

A boiling fury the likes of which it (he) had never felt before burned through his (its) mind. How dare this little insect claim to not know its (his) great name!

 

“Filthy ape-rat!” He (It) roared as it (he) surged off the pile of animal furs that served as a bed. An aura demonic red chakra ignited around him (it) as it (he) lunged at the foolish worm sitting by the fire. He (It) brought its (his) clawed hand up and slashed the boy's face apart, spilling blood and brain matter everywhere, while roaring in triumph.

 

It took him (it) a minute to realize that it (he) hadn't moved more than a foot across the cave floor.

 

Gaara didn't even blink at the display as he ate another bite of his stew. The blonde boy (demon) thrashed as much as it (he) could in the confines of the sand that had encased his (its) body up to the neck. The fine quartz grains were unrelenting no matter how hard it (he) struggled. His (Its) fiery aura flickered in and out as its (his) thoughts jumped back and forth from the two different personalities in his (its) head. It (He) alternated between roaring out curses in a guttural language of growls and staring about in confusion while wondering aloud what was going on.

 

Gaara had finished his bowl and eaten most of a second by the time his companion wore himself (itself) out in the Sand Coffin. He looked up at his semi-prisoner, seeing that the demon (boy) was now panting and allowing his (its) head to sag forward. Now he could finally ask some questions.

 

“If you're not Uzumaki-san, then who are you?” The possessed boy asked, repeating his question from earlier. He scraped the last of his stew out and swallowed it before allowing the bowl to dissolve into sand. He idly watched the grains run through his fingers to the floor, before glancing up at his captive. “Well?”

 

“I…Think we're Naruto. I'm Naruto. Its Nar…We…I don't know,” It (He) said helplessly. He (It) was confused as hell with all these bizarre thoughts going through its (his) head.

 

“Really? You sound as if you're someone else as well,” Gaara calmly replied. A soft block of sand rose up out of the floor behind the possessed boy as he leaned back. He reclined against it, getting comfortable as his green-eyes watched the blonde demon's (boy's) every facial expression.

 

“APE-RAT! Show proper respect towards me! I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the Eastern Lord and greatest of the youkai! Bow before us, you pitiful black-eyed bast…Who? We're Kyuubi?” He (It) suddenly stopped as it (he) got a painfully confused look on his (its) face. It (He) really had no idea what was going on and couldn't remember anything solid to get regain his (its)) mental bearings.

 

“Kyuubi…” Gaara said thoughtfully, while ignoring the half-insane mumblings of the trapped boy (demon.) He knew of the Nine-Tails' attack on the Leaf and its subsequent defeat, as it was common knowledge to every other Hidden Village (it was rather hard to hide the fact that a gigantic demon-fox attacked and leveled a large section of Konoha, no matter how good the Leaf's misinformation teams were.) Still, what would the fox have to do with Naruto? Unless, of course, those rumors he had heard while eavesdropping on his father late at night could be believed (there were some advantages to being the child of the Kazekage and a chronic insomniac.) The rumors had been that the Yondaime Hokage failed to kill the beast and settled for sealing it inside someone. Well, that was a disturbing possibility, though it made sense to the red-head when he considered the boy's odd statements and the conversations they'd had during the chuunin exams. Not to mention that the bizarre chakra wave he felt could only be explained by a powerful youkai.

 

Naruto was a demon-vessel too…Gaara wasn't sure what to think of that.

 

“What happened Uzumaki-san, Kyuubi-san?” The possessed boy asked, considering that perhaps addressing both entities would get them to cooperate long enough to answer his question.

 

“We….Were threatened…Left Konoha...A ritual…We became one?” It (he) replied in confusion. Damn, his (its) thoughts were still so muddled! It was hard to concentrate with two different opinions on what to think about.

 

“A fusion of some sort,” Gaara said, filling in the blanks. It wasn't well known, but some Sand-nins considered him a genius and it showed sometimes. People just tended to think otherwise as he usually preferred killing his enemies with overwhelming amounts of brutality and raw force, rather than the skilled finesse most geniuses fought with. His intelligent mind was at work now, considering all the details and problems of the situation. Or at least as many as he could. Gaara was smart enough (or insane enough) to know that he had limits and it was unwise to spend too much time planning things out. Still, it was helpful to have a general guideline. No map is perfect, but that doesn't mean they aren't useful.

 

His first priority would be getting the Kyuubi side of the fusion to calm down enough for the Naruto side to gain some control. As far as he could tell, the merging was incomplete and their minds were in conflict. He'd put his energy into making sure they were stable at first, then he could move on to the next task, which was getting them to work in harmony together. If they learned to instinctively think like each other, then they'd meet at some halfway point and act like one mind instead of two. Gaara was already thinking up some simple training exercises to help with that. And finally the third step, which was completing the fusion. Rather than acting like one mind, they'd literally be one mind. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of any real way to help with that. It was likely either something they'd have to do on their own or an inevitable fate as an effect of the ritual. He couldn't be of direct help in either case, but at least with the latter he could speed things along with the first two steps.

 

Beyond all of that, the main thing Gaara could do to help would be protecting and restraining the half-demon to keep Naruto from harm. Keep him alive and healthy, so that the blonde would hopefully survive this mess with his mind intact. The possessed boy certainly hoped his fellow demon-vessel made it through this ordeal okay. When Naruto had beaten him during the invasion, both the fact that there was somebody who could beat him was running around in the world and the words the blonde had spoken had managed to shock some of the madness from Gaara's mind. His thoughts had cleared enough that he'd found something to hold onto.

 

They saved me from the hell of being alone.

 

It truly was hell to be so isolated. Gaara had originally coped by inflicting as much suffering on everyone else as possible. Not surprisingly, this just made him lonelier, which in turn made him more enraged at the world and made him lash out at any fool stupid enough to cross his path. It was (literally) vicious cycle and one that took a serious shock to break. From the day of his defeat onwards, Gaara had made a self promise to find himself someone to protect other than himself. Fortunately, he had two people who cared (or at least worried about him constantly) near him all the time that he could focus on. It had worked, to some degree, and he was much more stable for it. His siblings were a bit unnerved by his new attitude towards them at first, but the welcome idea of finally having a real family quickly brushed those misgivings away. Kankuro relaxed around him more often and Temari's smiles were actually genuine for a change.

 

That made him happier than he'd ever dared to imagine. And Uzumaki Naruto (and the Kyuubi to some degree, he supposed) was responsible for the small, yet invaluable piece of happiness that had made its way into the Sand-nin's life.

 

Gaara would see every Village on the continent burned to the ground before he forgot that.

 

To repay a debt that couldn't truly be repaid, the possessed boy would protect and assist his lone brethren in his (its) hour of need. It wouldn't be too hard, seeing as how they were in the middle of Nowhere, Wind Country and the odds of anyone finding their isolated cave were slim to none. The odds of anyone finding them and then being stupid enough to tangle with Gaara of the Desert were virtually non-existent. With uninterrupted peace and quiet, there should be little in the way of slowing Kyuubi's (Naruto's) mental progress down.

 

“DIE APE-RAT!!” He (It) screamed as it (he) lunged forward and disemboweled the ignorant red-headed twerp.

 

Gaara let out a small, weary sigh as he stared down at the ground where the demon (boy) was rolling around in pain and clutching his face. He (It) had finally managed to dig itself (himself) out of the Desert Coffin and attacked the other boy again, only to slam headfirst into a wall of chakra-hardened sand. And here he thought that an ancient demon (boy) would be more intelligent than that.

 

“I suppose we'll start with the basics,” The possessed boy muttered as he eyed the blonde that was still writhing about in an exaggerated manner. Really, his sand wasn't that hard.

 

Naruto (Kyuubi) only growled (whimpered) in reply.

 

***

 

Naruto blinked as he came aware again. The moon was lower on the horizon now. He must've managed to doze off again for a little while. He yawned and idly scratched his stomach through the burned hole in his clothes. Oh yeah, that must be it. He used some extra demon chakra last night when he healed his wound up. Crazy blonde bitch. Sheesh, was it really necessary to impale him? As much as it irked him, the kitsune was rather impressed by how well she handled herself. It was annoyingly similar to fighting Sasuke, but it was still impressive nonetheless. He grinned a little viciously and his eyes flickered red. Not many girls had the guts to use lethal force in a sparring match. Naruto would have been revolted by the idea, but Kyuubi saw that as a sign of strength and inner determination to succeed.

 

The new Naruto wasn't really sure what he thought on the matter, except that it piqued his interest.

 

The kitsune yawned and cracked his neck, while pondering over Ino's improvements. Judging from the fighting prowess she'd displayed during the chuunin preliminaries, Naruto could tell that she'd greatly increased her chakra capacity and control (she hadn't lost her hold on the Chidori once) and drastically improved her speed and tai-jutsu. His eyes narrowed and flickered red again as he considered the parts of Lee's personal style displayed with every move the blonde girl made.

 

He was going to have words with Kakashi about that.

 

Despite the fact that the tai-jutsu was bastardized from someone else's fighting style, it still had remarkable results in Ino. The girl moved almost as fast as Lee did without his weights and that was saying something. Err, that is to say, she moved almost as fast as Lee did the last time Naruto had seen him in action. The kitsune had little doubt the weird boy had kept up his insane work ethic and was likely far stronger and skilled now with two and a half years of training under his belt. Naruto idly wondered if it was even possible for him to beat the thick eye-browed boy for a moment, before his thoughts returned to Ino. On top of her great body conditioning, the girl must have also worked on her nin-jutsu and gen-jutsu. Enhanced by a Bloodline or not, those were some serious illusions. And that one-two combo she did would be lethal to almost anyone. Trap the enemy in an illusion enhanced by semi-hypnotic psychic suggestions, then finish them off quick with the Chidori.

 

Interesting indeed. He'd be sure to think up a counter for the next time they tangled.

 

Naruto smoothly kip-upped to his feet and looked around the training ground for a decent sized tree. Finding one about thirty feet tall, he quickly moved and ran up its trunk to the highest point. Using chakra to spread out his weight, he managed to stick to the top foot of the last branch without snapping it and quietly looked out over the dark forest to the west. The utter tranquility of Konoha at night relaxed him. The night was clear, the sky pitch black except for the little pinpricks and the silvery-blue halo that encircled the moon. Not a sound disturbed the peaceful stillness, except for the occasional whispering wind through the trees. It reminded him of another land he'd visited, so far in the west that it would take over a week and a half of running to reach it.

 

Gaara proved to be a capable guardian and with his help (and sand restraints) Naruto and Kyuubi were able to finally merge their minds into one over the course of a month and a half. The possessed boy had him doing all sorts of odd tasks to bring the minds into harmony, ranging from sparring to dish washing to eating with chopsticks to even reading. Despite the fact that the minds were unified, Naruto's body had taken a terrible strain from the merging and he still needed time to recover, along with a restful place to do it in. During his travels, Gaara had once visited a tranquil Hidden Village in the west where no one could take any hostile action. Curious, Naruto had left his friend and made his way there. Along the way, he'd encountered Akatsuki several times and it took him longer than it should have to reach Star Country as he was always ducking and hiding. When he reached the border, the kitsune was surprised to find that the days were short within the country. Very short. By the time reached the Hidden Village of Night, daylight was none existent no matter what the hour.

 

And the village itself was something to behold.

 

***

 

Naruto gave one final super-jump and landed on top of the large, stone wall that surrounded the Hidden Village of Night. His jaw dropped a little at the surreal and drowsy place that lay before him.

 

The Night was a large, though compact place where the buildings were made out of old wood and…adobe? Running his hands along the wall he stood on, Naruto nodded in confirmation. They used a different mud than the lands of Coyote, but the masonry was still all lined with smooth clay. In the light of the moon, all of the building glowed a creamy purple color. The buildings were constructed haphazardly, with no real rhyme or reason to their design. They were square (usually) and were often stacked on or near each other. The entire place was built on a large outcrop of land that jutted outwards from the edge of a cliff at an upwards angle, tilting the village slightly. The effect was made more extreme by the large, towering structure the Night-nins had built at the farthest and highest edge of the village. Naruto wasn't sure if it was a cathedral, a hotel, or a government building of some sort. It looked pretty cool though, with odd sections jutting out at weird angles and with the windows glowing an inviting array of colors. Come to think of it, most of the village looked inviting with each window glowing a different, gentle color. The entire place looked like a group of fireflies had decided to make themselves at home here and were twinkling to invite more in constantly.

 

Well, far be it for Naruto to decline such a pleasant greeting.

 

The kitsune leapt down from the wall and landed in a dark, shadowy alley. A nearby house provided a yellow glow that kept the shadows from seeming oppressive. Not wanting to disturb the tranquility, Naruto remained silent as he wandered down all sorts of side alleys and streets. They were the only real way to get around and they felt narrower as all the buildings were tall and slanted in odd ways. Everything about this place said `cozy' or `quaint.' It had the feel of a place that was constantly dozing, only briefly awakening whenever something needed to be taken care of. He passed several odd little shops as he made his way to the center of the city. The town square was small, with just a large statue-fountain of a ninja in the center and a ring of open food bars surrounding it. One outdoor cafe caught Naruto's eye and he wandered over and ordered some meat buns (he didn't dare try the ramen, as the poor quality compared to Ichiraku would surely taint his view of this place.)

 

After paying and sitting down, the kitsune grimly noted that his pockets were almost empty of money. While munching on his first bun, he looked about the square. All of these shops looked pleasant, either as the owner or the customer. In fact, this whole place had a restful, peaceful feel to it that greatly appealed to him. The air held a fresh, clean smell and there was the faint sound of wind-chimes everywhere. Very peaceful. That ritual felt like it had sapped half the life out of him and a tranquil place like this was perfect to spend at least a couple months recovering. If he could get a job at one of these little shops to pay his way, then he could support himself while keeping his mind partially occupied while he rested. Yes, that seemed like a good plan. He'd probably sleep well in a place like this.

 

Watching the small number of citizens wander about the square had Naruto so relaxed that he nearly jumped out of his skin when a large hand dropped on his shoulder.

 

“Whoa, whoa! Relax, I didn't mean to startle you,” Said the tall man as the kitsune whirled about and started to go for one of the kunai Gaara had given him. “I'm sorry to disturb your meal, I just wanted to trade some info for a bit.”

 

Naruto relaxed his hand at the man's genuinely apologetic eyes. The man relaxed as well and gave a polite bow.

 

“I'm Uradoori Yashoku; jounin of the Hidden Village of Night,” The man said with a friendly smile. Naruto finally noticed the forehead protector engraved with a crescent moon that hung casually around the man's neck. He wore an odd uniform that seemed entirely made up of light-weight, dark-colored pieces of cloth held together with a dozens of buckles. It certainly didn't look very ninja or even military like. Yashoku himself was almost as tall as Kakashi and had dark brown hair that hung into his pale face. The kitsune had already noted that everyone here probably had pale faces, considering sunlight had probably never touched these walls. He also had drooping, slightly drowsy eyes like he'd just rolled out of bed. This guy was odd looking for a ninja, but he seemed genuinely friendly, so Naruto returned the bow with one of his own.

 

“I'm Kitsune. Hatake Kitsune…Missing-nin,” The self-described missing-nin replied. If a jounin had found him already, then lying wouldn't be a good idea. It was better to be honest and hope for the best.

 

“Ah, I thought so when I saw you,” Yashoku casually replied. “You move too smoothly and silently for a samurai or mercenary, yet you don't wear a forehead protector. I'm actually kind of surprised you didn't make a ton of racket when you came in here. Most missing-nin who walk down the road in plain sight usually start posturing loudly and picking fights or trying to kill someone.”

 

“…It doesn't fell right to disturb anything here,” Naruto calmly said after a moment. His hand edged near his kunai holster. This guy was acting a little too friendly, especially considering he knew the kitsune was a missing-nin before he even spoke to him. As an unspoken rule, foreign ninjas (even allies) weren't welcome in other villages and missing-nins even less so. He didn't know what the jounin was up to, but if he wanted a fight than Naruto would give him one, even if he did feel like shit.

 

“Really…Well good! Then you're welcome to stay as long as you want,” The Night-nin replied one piercing look and genuine smile later.

 

“Err, Okay...Why?” Naruto asked, looking puzzled. Just because he didn't want to make a bunch of racket and bother people, they were going to let him stay?

 

“Because we have one major rule here: don't cause conflict,” Yashoku answered. He pointed at an empty chair at the opposite side of the table. “May I sit?”

 

“It's your village,” The blonde missing-nin said, gesturing to the spot.

 

“It's still rude to bother people while they're eating. Oh, don't let me stop you from finishing your meal. Those buns don't taste good cold, I should know,” The pale jounin said, waving at the plate in front of Naruto. He waited till the blonde had resumed eating before he continued, “To explain our rule, you should know that here in the Hidden Night, there are never any conflicts or fights that last longer than a couple seconds.”

 

“…Your ANBU must be good,” Naruto said with a suitably impressed look on his face. He hadn't sensed anyone as he moved through the city. They must be pretty damn skilled if he didn't feel even a faint flicker.

 

“We don't have any. Jounin is the highest level of ninja in the village, aside from the Kage,” Yashoku replied with a small smile.

 

“Then how do you guard your village?” The missing-nin asked in confusion before taking another bite out of his bun.

 

“We don't do anything. Our shinobi aren't particularly powerful, at least not when compared to other villages. We don't even leave the village unless it's to protect the caravans that come around every now and then,” The Night-nin answered. He leaned back in his chair as he explained, “You see, there's a powerful force that's bound to this land. Our predecessors originally built this village here to contain and guard the being trapped here, but over time the village itself became a part of it and it became a part of the village. The eternal night of this city and the dark days in the countryside are a side-effect of its presence. Fortunately, the creature became benign over the years and now has little interest in anything other than dreaming. It hates to be disturbed or for anything to bother the citizens of this village though, so it immediately deals with any hostile activity.”

 

“How?” Naruto asked with a slightly wide-eyed look on his face. Eternal night. Always seeing the stars. That sounded exactly like-

 

An aura of killing intent caused the half-demon to break off his line of thought and whirl in his seat. A shinobi, a Sound-nin, had leapt down from a roof across the square and was rushing at him. Shit, this clown must have tailed him here. He had run into a squad of Sound-nins a week back and had killed them with a series of explosive tags (courtesy of Gaara) hidden under a log bridge they had crossed over. He thought he had gotten them all, but apparently not.

 

“How convenient. The perfect time for an example of our guardian's power,” Yashoku calmly said as he reached across the table and grabbed Naruto's shoulder to keep him from jumping up. “Show no hostilities and you'll be fine. This is already over.”

 

The kitsune forced himself to relax, even as the Sound-nin quickly closed the distance. The man let out a loud yell as he raised an arm covered in a strange device (probably made to generate sound waves of some sort like that one genin during the exam) and started his attack. Before his cry lasted a second, a pool of shadows opened up underneath him. Naruto got one good look at the man's confused face before he fell into the dark mass and disappeared. The rippling shadows quickly vanished like they had never been there.

 

The half-demon's jaw dropped at the sight.

 

“Pretty disturbing, yet cool, huh?” The jounin said with a chuckle. Naruto shook his head clear of the daze. No, it wasn't the nature of the attack that stunned him. It was the fact he had seen that move before, thousands of years ago. This just confirmed his original suspicions. So it had been imprisoned here…

 

“I…See what you mean. So hostile action is a bad thing. I'll keep that in mind,” Naruto said when he realized he had been silent for several moments too long. The Night-nin must have shrugged it off as shock, because he made no mention of it.

 

“Yep, but if you're peaceful then there's no better place to live. My family moved here when I was a kid and I can tell you there's nowhere else in the world that'll give you a better night's sleep,” Yashoku said with a pleasant grin, that shifted into a slightly concerned look. “You seem pretty worn out or sick or something. Is that why you've come here?”

 

“Yeah. I was involved in a nasty…accident a couple months ago and my body and mind are pretty brittle right now,” Naruto said, deciding to pay back honesty with honesty. Or at least as much honesty as he could risk.

 

“Well this is the place for you!” The jounin cheerfully said. “People heal and sleep better here…Err, that's probably why we usually sleep for sixteen hours a `night.' Anyways, this whole place is nice to rest body and soul. As long as you don't cause trouble you're welcome to stay as long as you want, Hatake-san.”

 

“Thanks,” The kitsune said as he swallowed the last bit of his final meat bun. The empty plate in front of him reminded him of his nearly empty pockets. He had maybe 200 ryo left, if he added all the change together. Hmm, he needed to get a wallet to keep all his junk in. Ero-sennin still had his froggy wallet (which was likely emptier than his plate by now) so he should pick up a replacement while he was here. Err, though he needed to get something to fill it with first. “Hey, you wouldn't happen to know of anyone hiring around here, would you?”

 

“…Hmm. You're in luck. There's a nice little antique shop in Moonshade Alley that needs an extra hand. The owner's sister used to help out but she moved to another village recently so he needs a new worker,” Yashoku said. He pulled a piece of yellowed paper out of his pocket and scribbled down a rough map. “Just follow this and hit the bell at the counter. He's the only one who lives there anymore, so he should come running when he hears it. If he doesn't hire you or if you want some extra work, drop by the Hotel.”

 

The jounin paused to point over the high rooftops at the large, haphazard building that Naruto had admired from the wall.

 

“The Hoshikage takes care of business there, though even if he would let you take missions we don't get enough to share them with outsiders. On the plus side, our repair and maintenance crew works there and they're always looking for extra help,” The Night-nin continued. “There are always buildings around here that need to be repaired, cleaned up, or torn down and rebuilt. Hang out with them and you'll pick up some handy construction jutsu and maybe even learn how to build a house! Those two are the only real sources of income, unless you plan on opening a shop.”

 

“No, I won't be here that long,” Naruto muttered distractedly as he slid the map over and looked at it. He had passed pretty close to this place when he was wandering around, so it wouldn't be too hard to find it. He glanced up and gave a polite nod. “Thanks for the warning and the info. I'll head over and check this out.”

 

“No problem. Just don't start any fights and you'll be fine. Although…” Yashoku paused for a second as he looked at the missing-nin thoughtfully. Naruto had slid his chair out and was about to leave when the jounin's tone caused him to stop.

 

“What is it?” The kitsune asked in a neutral voice.

 

“Nothing big, it's just…” Again, the Night-nin looked at him thoughtfully. “Most visitors ask about the bound creature the first time they're here. The idea of something so powerful that it causes eternal night grabs their interest. There's no rule against it. You can ask, you know.”

 

Naruto was silent for several long moments before he faced the pale man again. Yashoku was taken aback by the old, weary look in the boy's (teen's? he couldn't possibly be older than fifteen, at least) eyes. They flickered a blood red color for an instant.

 

“Believe me when I say there's nothing that you could tell me about the being imprisoned here that I haven't already known for a very long time,” The kitsune said, then turned and started to walk away. He casually called over his shoulder, “It was nice meeting you, Uradoori-san. I'd enjoy getting together here with you again sometime.”

 

Yashoku stared at the boy(?) for several minutes after he left. The jounin finally shook it off and walked away down a different alley, looking to head home. He would need an extra couple hours of sleep to forget the…ancient look in that kid's eyes. And he thought living in an eternally dark village was weird.

 

With a full stomach and the knowledge that he was safe (relatively) here, Naruto took his time wandering the back alleys and little winding paths in between the old buildings. His night-vision had improved since the merging, so it was no bother to him when he went through a particularly dark street or two. He occasionally paused to peek in though some of the warm, inviting windows of the houses and found himself smiling at the cozy scenes he saw inside. The village seemed to carry a theme of `old, worn, and comfy' that was a sharp contrast to the shoddy appearance of most Konoha buildings. Then again, with a powerful entity protecting this place, the citizens must've had the time to make it look nice, if a bit surreal. The kitsune couldn't help but smile a little more when he saw the shop the jounin had spoken of.

 

It was three stories tall, which was actually kind of short compared to most of the buildings here. It was wedged in between two larger structures (whether they were homes or shops, he couldn't tell) and had a large, glass orb hanging on a metal post at the base of the shop's stairs. It was glowing a gentle, yet powerful yellow and it took Naruto a moment to realize that it was actually a lamp made from hand blown glass. He had seen similar ones outside other buildings, but none of them were homes (at least not the first floors where he could peek.) He guessed it must be this village's shop marker. It made sense, as a lamp was easier to see than a painted sign in the dark. The light the lamp gave off lit up the little cul-de-sac the shop was based in, though it left the surrounding buildings in shadow. In the still silence, the effect was dreamlike and it was easy to pretend he was the only person in the world.

 

The shop itself was the only one in the dead-end that was lit up. There was a faint, blue light glowing from the second floor that was almost unnoticeable compared to the vibrant orange that shined through the first floor window. That color caused Naruto to smile. Fate must be trying to tell him something. The building was the same, purplish clay that all the other buildings were made out of (he assumed it was purple, though it might just be because of the darkness) and worn wood lined the windows, the door, and the roof. The kitsune had no idea what type it was, except that it was a reddish color that smelled pleasant. The door was large and thick, yet inviting at the same time.

 

Far be it for him to decline.

 

Naruto walked up and grabbed the smooth, brass knob before letting himself inside. The door was well-oiled and opened soundlessly, except for the little bell that rang as he opened it. He allowed it to close just as quietly behind him as he stepped inside. The kitsune's jaw dropped at all the strange things this shop had to offer. There was everything from beat up old books and scrolls to refurbished samurai armor to odd little mechanical toys that he'd never seen before. Little devices that whirred and clicked almost soundlessly made a pleasant hint of background noise as he moved through the shop. Most of the items for sale were set on sturdy shelves that lined the room or on the tables that had been pushed up against the walls.

 

“Cuckoo! Cuckoo!”

 

Naruto almost threw a kunai at the sudden, bizarre sound and only barely managed to restrain himself before he grabbed his holster. A tall (6 feet at least) clock stood pressed up against the wall near the counter. It was gorgeous. Even someone as unrefined as Naruto could see it was a masterpiece. The wood was perfectly carved and polished, the face was clean, the roman numerals were lined with gold leaf, and even the weird bird that kept popping in and out looked real. He had never seen anything like it before, but was still struck with a sense of familiarity. Perhaps something from the Kyuubi's memories. He got the distinct impression it was very foreign. Maybe even as foreign as that strange land `Europe' that the fox had seen once upon a time. On the shelves and tables were smaller clocks, each well made and some even containing little moving mechanical dioramas. They were strange, yet neat to look at.

 

Letting his eyes move past the clock tables, Naruto's eyes fell on an even stranger display. It was propped on a stand covered in black felt. Little pegs stuck out and supported the metal object's weight. It was about ten inches long and was a funny `L' shape. The smaller end looked like a hand-grip of some sort and a ring was built into the inside corner where the two sections met. There were a couple odd little switches and other strange pieces built into the thing, though what they did Naruto had no idea. The main shaft of it was polished to a bright sheen and the kitsune could easily see his reflection in the silver-chrome despite the low light of the shop's lamps. The was a hole of the end of the long part and the object was cut at several odd angles there. There was even a small point at the tip of it, though again he had no idea what it was for. Script that was slightly darker than the chrome it was engraved upon lined the side of the thing. Leaning over, Naruto realized it was text from one of the weird languages he had heard in the Kyuubi's memories. Slowly, he sounded the words out and came up with the translation.

 

“De…Sertu? Deeesert…Eee? Gra…Gull...Desert Eagru. Desert Eagle .50 AE.”

 

Well that made no sense. What the hell did this thing have to do with a stupid bird in the desert? Huh, maybe Gaara would know. Despite its odd name, the object was still interesting to look at so Naruto reached out to lift it off its display.

 

“I wouldn't touch that if I were you.”

 

The kitsune just about jumped out of his skin and pranced about as a skeleton. Kami-sama, what was with the people in this village and sneaking up on him? He whirled about, ready to scream at whoever was behind him.

 

Only to blink at the sight of…No one. What the hell?

 

“Rather twitchy, are we? Over here, sonny.”

 

Naruto walked up to the counter and leaned over it to peek on the other side. He promptly jumped back five feet as a mechanical creaking sound echoed in the store and a strange contraption that looked like a chair built onto folding, thin metal crossbeams rose into the air. The chair was only half of the weirdness though. Its occupant was a strange, small man who didn't look like anyone Naruto or the Kyuubi had ever seen before. He was short…Very short. He probably stood four feet even. He had thick, black hair that had streaks of gray in it and was bald on his head. It was the man's face that caught the kitsune's attention the most. First, he had a huge beard. Asuma would shave his face in protest at the sight of the foot and a half long mustache-beard combo that hung off the little man's chin. It was grizzled, wiry hair too unlike most of the people Naruto had seen in his life. It was odd, but somehow fitting on this strange guy.

 

The second big thing Naruto noticed was the man's nose. It was huge. End of story. No seriously, it looked like someone had taken a potato and carved it into the general shape of a nasal organ and glued it to this guy's face. It didn't look malformed or anything, it was just…big. Again, like the beard, though it looked strange it seemed fitting on the odd man. Naruto could vaguely see a pair of small, blue eyes peering at him from behind a set of work goggles. The goggles made him drool (him having a not-so-secret love for the things.) They were round and made from leather (leather!) that had been dyed gold and had odd designs worked into it. The lenses were quality, the kitsune could tell. Despite the worn look the goggles had, each disc had barely any scratches on them. The man had even custom fit them to his face! They were…perfection.

 

Naruto decided right then and there that this odd fellow was a kami in disguise and should be treated with the respect he deserved. In other words, he'd wait to hear what excuses the man had for scaring the shit out of him before he killed him and took the masterpiece that was on his head.

 

“Well, aren't you an odd fellow,” The man said as he looked at Naruto curiously. He ignored the kitsune's look that screamed `pot calling kettle!' “I wonder…It's been some time since I've seen someone with your hair color. And those are the most intense pair of eyes I've ever seen. Are those tattoos on your cheeks?”

 

Naruto blinked. It wasn't the questions the man had asked that threw him, it was that he'd asked at all. Even the most observant individual in Konoha had never thought to ask about his cheek scars. Likewise, no one noticed his hair or eye color, despite the fact that it was rare. Hell, only a handful a people in the entire village had either. Either this guy asked personal questions to everyone he met or he was very perceptive.

 

“Uh, I've had them since I was a baby, I think,” The kitsune answered.

 

“Hmm, are they a family trait or are people in the habit of tattooing helpless infants where you come from?” The man asked as he leaned forward to eye the blonde missing-nin curiously. His voice had a strange accent that neither boy nor demon could place.

 

“Neither. They're a…side-effect of something that happened the day I was born,” Naruto replied, shifting slightly on his feet. Despite coming to terms with the Kyuubi, he was still uncomfortable with the thought of the day he was sacrificed and the Yondaime was lost.

 

“Well, that must have been a big something. I've never seen such marks before,” The little man said. It was hard to place his tone from his accent.

 

A flashing image of fire, blood, and a blonde man with fierce eyes staring at him defiantly hit Naruto's mind briefly.

 

“You could say that.”

 

“Hmm, well what can I do for you, sonny? …Oh, my, my, where are my manners? I'm always forgetting the customs of these lands. My name is Tobias Tinkerlot and I'm the proud grand nephew of Oswald Fiddlebender, silly fellow that he was. Always crashing into things…Anyways, it's a pleasure to meet you, err…” Tobias said as he peeled a work glove off and extended a surprisingly large and tough hand across the counter. Naruto barely hesitated before he grabbed the hand and shook it firmly.

 

“Uzumaki Naruto, though I'm going by a different name while I'm here,” The kitsune replied. He wasn't exactly sure why he gave he real name, except that he had a gut feeling he could trust this odd little man. He was obviously from some other land. It wasn't a common custom to shake hands in the villages. Though it never bothered Naruto, some of the snootier types thought it was unhygienic or some other complex word. The missing-nin also noticed how rough and calloused the man's hand was, despite the fact that he was obviously no warrior.

 

“Well, a pleasure to meet you Naruto. Err, that is your given name, right? I get so mixed up around here,” The shop owner said while scratching his beard with his unoccupied hand.

 

“Yeah. I guess Tobias is yours, right Tinkerlot-san?” Naruto replied, guessing that he was from one of those other lands he remembered where the surname came second. He felt a bit proud of himself for correctly pronouncing the `L' in the man's name.

 

“Yes, yes, though please call me Tobias,” The little man said as he released his grip and leaned back in his chair. He gave a wide gesture to his shop and said, “Now then, welcome to my antiques and oddities store, young man. What can I do for you?”

 

“I was actually interested in getting a job here. I heard from one of the jounin that you were looking for work and thought I'd drop by to ask,” The kitsune answered, casually putting his hands in his pockets.

 

“Ooh! Really? Oh, yes, yes! I certainly could use the extra help now that Marion has moved to Glacier Country,” Tobias said eagerly. He practically hopped in his raised seat at the thought of having an assistant. He paused suddenly and scratched his beard as he asked, “Err, I should ask first, what experience do you have with repairing or constructing things?”

 

Naruto winced and said, “Well, not so much constructing as destructing. I've been a ninja for a few years now and I've only really needed skills to break or kill things.”

 

At Tobias' crestfallen look, the kitsune hastened to reassure the man.

 

“But I'm a fast learner and I have a couple useful tricks. Watch!” He said, then formed a hand seal. With a high pitched pop, a clone appeared next to him and waved at the shop owner. “See, four hands are better than two.”

 

“Ohhh, I see. Yes, yes, interesting,” Tobias said, switching from scratching his chin to stroking his beard. “And that's a real body? How many can you make at once?”

 

“Yep, it's real,” Naruto replied as he had the clone reach over and pick up a small figurine, then set it back down. “And a couple times I've managed to make a thousand of them at once, though that's probably way too much for this shop.”

 

“A thousand?” The little man nearly shrieked. “My, my, that's incredible. I'd be hiring a legion of workers for the price of one. Hmm, well as long as you can learn how to fix things, I don't see any problem in bringing you on. Welcome aboard, Naruto.”

 

“Cool,” The kitsune said with a small grin. He nodded back towards the odd display piece. “What's that thing over there? It looks pretty neat, though the engraving doesn't make any sense.”

 

“Ah, that's an interesting device,” Tobias said as he lowered his mechanical chair behind the counter. A few moments later he stepped around the counter to walk to the display. Naruto was right when he thought the man was short. Despite growing an inch since he left Konoha, the kitsune still wasn't a tall person by any means and this guy didn't even clear his shoulder. He also got a good look at his new boss' outfit. It looked like a set of work coveralls, though they had an unfamiliar design and make to them. Despite being worn, they looked as well cared for as the (awesome!) goggles the little man wore.

 

“This is a weapon called a firearm,” Tobias said, distracting Naruto from his observations. The shop owner lifted the shiny device off its stand and held it up for the kitsune to see. “It's based off the principal of channeling exploding gases to force a spinning metal cylinder out the hole at the end at very high speeds. It's loud and somewhat silly looking, but it does a nice job of blowing large, messy holes through things. Fascinating device. I found this one when I was doing a survey in a fallen city to the southeast about fifteen years ago. Came in its original case and everything. Considering it's at least nine hundred years old, it was in surprisingly good condition though I haven't been able to repair all the parts. I believe this particular model was rather fickle when it came to maintenance. Another few years of work and I may be able to get it into firing condition again or at least have reversed engineered it enough to create one of my own. Here.”

 

Naruto took the weapon as Tobias held it out. It was heavy…Surprisingly so, but it was almost a comfortable weight. He fitted his hand onto the grip and gently tensed his hold. It fit almost perfectly and if he were full grown then it would've been an exact match. A sudden memory hit him and caused his eyes to glaze over. After several seconds, his eyes cleared and he adjusted his grip properly and aimed the gun (which he now knew was its proper name) at his clone's head. He added his left hand in a standard firing pose and lined the sight up perfectly right between the bunshin's eyes. His finger gently grazed the trigger and he grinned.

 

“Boom.”

 

The clone crossed its eyes and disappeared with a pop, acting as though it had actually been shot. Something clicked in Naruto's mind at that sight. The bullet would have penetrated the clone's head, but if he lined up ten of them maybe it could have been stopped. The clone certainly could have stopped a kunai or a punch at the very least. Kage bunshins were more than just a distraction, like normal bunshins. A shadow clone could be used as a shield as much as a sword; he'd just never thought of them that way because of how easily they could be disrupted. Maybe he could…

 

The kitsune blinked a little. He didn't really know where he was going with this idea, but it was something to think about in the future.

 

“My, my, you certainly seemed to know how to use that,” Tobias commented in a surprised voice, which drew his companion out of his thoughts. Naruto relaxed his stance and let his armed hand hang casually at his side. “It took me quite some time of trial and error to figure out how to hold it properly and when I finally found a manual it turned out I still got it wrong. That's remarkable.”

 

“Not really. I have a cheat-sheet,” Naruto answered cryptically. He carefully handed the firearm back to the shop owner and watched as the little man replaced it back in its display. “So it doesn't work, huh?”

 

“No, several parts are ruined and I don't trust the replacement parts I've made enough to actually fire the weapon. I have the feeling the whole thing would explode in my face if I tried. I'm making headway, though it will still be some time,” Tobias replied as he turning back to face the boy.

 

“Well, good luck with it,” The kitsune said, shifting on his feet.

 

“Thank you,” The short man said with a polite nod of his head. There was a bit of a silence after that, which Tobias finally broke by saying, “You seem to have something on your mind. Feel free to ask.”

 

“Err, it's kind of rude but…” Naruto hesitantly said, then finally decided to just spit it out. “Uh, why are you so short? You don't look like anyone I've ever seen before.”

 

To his surprise, not only was Tobias not offended, he was greatly amused and chuckled quite loudly.

 

“Hohoho, finally someone has asked me that. Everyone considers such questions rude in these parts, never thinking that I wouldn't mind in the least to answer,” The odd little man laughed. He composed himself and said, “Ahem, I come from a proud and long line of Tinkerlots, all of whom were inventers, metal crafters, and general fix-`em-uppers…And all of whom were gnomes.”

 

“…Gnomes,” Naruto repeated slowly, not quite sure he had heard the foreign word right.

 

“Yes, yes, though I'm only a half-gnome, as were both my parents,” Tobias replied jovially. “My father and grandfather were brilliant inventors. When I was thirteen summers old, they completed an invention that had taken them close to sixty years to create. It was designed to make a stable gateway to another dimension, though when they powered it up it was anything but stable. My father and I were pulled into the vortex and we wound up here in this strange land with no way home. We wandered about, trying to find a safe place to live and eventually wound up here in the Hidden Night. Over the course of several years my father opened this shop and remarried, which resulted in my wonderful sister Marion. It's been probably…Oh, about sixty-five years since we moved here. My father's wife died twenty years ago and my father finally followed about seven summers past. Marion and I have lived ever since, at least until she moved recently. Does that answer your question, sonny?”

 

Naruto slowly blinked. Even for someone who was a demon's living prison, that was an unusual tale. The blonde's eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he did the math.

 

“Wait, that means you're seventy-eight years old!” He exclaimed. “You barely look like you're forty!”

 

“Gnomes tend to live about half again as long as humans, sonny. The only real downside is we outlive human spouses should we marry them. Even half-breeds are quite hardy into their early hundreds,” Tobias said with a small smile.

 

“Wow, that's really cool…Err, except for outliving your family,” The kitsune said with a bit of a sheepish look.

 

“Hmm, true, true. I wonder…” The gnome said as he peered up at the missing-nin. “Since I was forthcoming, might you tell me a bit about yourself? It's not perfect, but I do have a bit of talent in the way of extra senses and I can tell that though you are many things, you are no more human than I. Half of you is something…else. Care to enlighten the ignorant?”

 

Naruto gave the short man a long and hard look. Perceptive indeed. This guy was as sharp as a well made kunai. Well, he was honest enough to admit some personal things about his family life first, so it would be kind of rude not to indulge his curiosity. Besides, he seemed pretty honest. And there was something innately likable about the guy that caused the kitsune to trust him more than he did most people.

 

“Well, you're half-gnome; I'm half-demon,” He replied after a couple seconds.

 

Tobias blinked several times as if he hadn't heard correctly.

 

“Half-demon…A tiefling? Here in these lands?” The gnome said in a half-awed, half-puzzled tone.

 

“Tiefling? Err, dunno what that is but I had a Demon Lord sealed into me when I was a baby. I don't think that's the same thing,” Naruto replied, scratching his hair in confusion.

 

“Oh, no it isn't at all. My, my, I think a long story like this needs to be told over some tea. Would you prefer green or some of my family variety?” Tobias asked as he moved behind the counter to the open doorway that led into the back, while gesturing for Naruto to follow.

 

“Err, gnome tea?” The kitsune asked as he trailed after the shop owner.

 

Three hours later, the boy was laying on a very comfortable bed, staring at the ceiling of a cozy little room and listening to the faint sound of wind-chimes drifting in the open window. He and Tobias had talked for hours and not just about the Kyuubi and the ritual. He had little in common with the man, though there was an undying curiosity that boy, demon, and gnome constantly felt the pull of. Naruto was pleased to note that the odd man's eyes hadn't changed once during the whole story, with the exception of a fascinated gleam here and there. Even after finding out about the merging, Tobias hadn't changed his opinion one bit about the boy and had even gone so far as to offer him a guest room when he found out Naruto was still recovering from the fusion.

 

`Offer. Pfft, like Tinker-Boss would take no for an answer,' The kitsune thought in his head. Tobias had been supremely worried when he found out about the aftereffects of the ritual and the only way Naruto had been able to calm his new friend was to accept his hospitality and take one of the spare bedrooms. There was a whole series of odd rooms throughout the small building that couldn't be seen from the shop. There was a large workroom in the back on the first floor. The kitchen, living room, and study were on the second floor and the bedrooms and bathroom completed the lot on the third floor. The room the blonde missing-nin was staying in was small and comfortable with a window that overlooked the cobblestone cul-de-sac outside. It was very nice over all.

 

In six hours he'd gotten a great boss and new friend rolled into one, an interesting shop to work in and learn new skills at, and a pleasant place to live and rest his worn body. It would take some getting used to living in a place of eternal night, but on the whole this place was better than Naruto had dared to dream. Everything was as perfect as it could be.

 

Now if he could just figure out what the heck was a gnome…

 

***

 

The sky was graying over the horizon by the time Naruto was done reminiscing. He grinned at the thought of his strange friend still living in the Hidden Night. Tobias had been an able teacher and an intelligent companion. Every `night' after they closed the shop up, they'd often wander around the village with the gnome pointing out various sights and the kitsune listening with rapt attention. They would spend hours debating or discussing various old literatures (Tobias had a great collection of ancient authors) or just swapping tales. It had been a wonderful experience. When Naruto felt he was recovered enough to search for a place to train, Tobias had suggested he seek out his sister in the Hidden Ice. He'd given him several parting gifts and ordered (as much as a gentle old tinker could order) the boy to keep in contact no matter what.

 

Smiling, Naruto took out his friend's first gift and wrapped it around his head. When Tobias confirmed that the kitsune was headed towards glacier covered mountains, he'd crafted a fine pair of goggles for the boy (they'd both discovered a shared fetish for the protective eyewear.) They were semi-rectangular and angled so they perfectly molded to his head. The lenses were made out a tough plastic-glass material that was very hard to damage. The tinker had also built in a second set of lenses that were darkly tinted and could be slid down to cover the clear set just by moving a simple slid. The goggles extended back to Naruto's temples, to keep from limiting his vision range like a normal pair would. He'd completed the eyewear with a thick, leather strap that was soft and durable and had several spiraling designs marked into it. Over all, it was a cool, sensible design and they had been invaluable in Glacier Country. They kept the wind-blown ice flakes out of his eyes and the dark lenses blocked the snow-blindness that was a serious problem during the day.

 

And, of course, they looked really, really cool. Needless to say, Naruto had almost professed his undying love when the little gnome had handed the goggles to him.

 

The kitsune adjusted his goggles and raised the tinted lenses so he could see clearer. The sun was just climbing over the tree-lined horizon, so he figured it was only about six or so. He had no idea when Tsunade would be in her office, but it likely wouldn't be for at least another hour, maybe two. Until then, he'd just wander through the village and see if anything had changed in the two and half years he'd been away. Maybe he'd find a place to get something to eat. He certainly didn't hope to find Ino. Interesting though she may be, he wasn't in the mood to fight again when he'd just gotten back home.

 

With the way his life went, there'd be more than enough fighting his future already without crazy blonde chicks attacking him with assassination jutsu.

 

Naruto released his chakra hold on the tree and kicked-off backwards as he fell. He smoothly dodged the branches of the tree by twisting and turning in mid-air and landed on the ground in an almost soundless crouch. The kitsune frowned a little at the lack of an impression in the soil when he lifted his feet away. If he could fall thirty feet and leave almost no footprints on impact, then it was time to up his gravity seal. He couldn't afford to slack off, no matter how much he might want to. The kitsune had decided that he was going to shoot for unsealing the next unit of demon chakra the first of June and at the rate he was going his body wasn't going to be ready by then. He was going to have to buckle down and hard-core train the next four weeks. Unfortunately, he needed a place to live where he could sleep properly and experiment with seals and jutsu without any prying eyes watching. Until he got such a base of operations, he wasn't going to be able to do much.

 

Well, hopefully Tsunade had found the answer to that.

 

Humming a little as he started walking towards the village, Naruto dug into his side-pouch and pulled out a battered and earmarked book that he immediately opened to read as he walked. Unlike Kakashi's choice in reading material, this volume wasn't perverted at all…by today's standards anyways. Tobias was an avid book collector and he'd found records and traces of hundreds of foreign and local literary masterpieces. The gnome had spent years repairing and translating what texts he could find and as a result the tinker had a small shelve in his study that housed almost forty wonderful volumes, several of which had been the Kyuubi's personal favorites.

 

Naruto had read all of them.

 

Delighted at having a fellow bookworm living with him, Tobias had often gotten into debates with the kitsune over the best authors and the hidden meanings inside each story. They'd both had a wonderful time during their discussions, which often lasted for hours. When Naruto had left, the second parting gift he'd received was a small, carefully bound copy of his favorite story. Tobias had spent several days copying (with an odd machine that made `tik-tik-tik-tik-diiiiing' sounds and had little buttons with letters on them) the original and binding the pages into a new volume. The gnome had apologized that he wasn't able to give the kitsune the original copy as it was far too beaten and weathered to survive any trip, but Naruto just shrugged the man's concerns off. Having a copy of his favorite book had made him happy enough to start running up the walls and he'd thanked Tobias profusely for the gift. The story was written by an on European author and was light-hearted, very well written, and funny.

 

It figures Naruto's favorite book would include a bizarre love quadrangle complete with uptight fool, a sneaky prankster, and a stuck up queen who falls in love with a man with a donkey's head.

 

“Lord what fools these mortals be,” The blonde teen said as he turned a page. The demon in him seriously considered turning that into a personal motto, but decided not to when as it would make him sound like a stuck-up bastard. The kitsune rarely looked up as he left the training grounds and entered the streets of Konoha. After all, it was a good read no matter how many times he poured over it.

 

Despite the fact that he didn't even attempt to hide his whisker-marks or distinctive hair color and style, Naruto didn't draw any extra-unusual stares as he made his way through the early morning crowds. A couple jounin he passed glanced at him funny, but that was just because he moved with the unnatural grace of a powerful shinobi yet wasn't wearing a forehead protector. He took his time walking and well over an hour went by the time he finally arrived at the Hokage's Tower. As he was still technically a missing-nin as far as he knew, Naruto stayed away from the main entrance and avoided the crowd of familiar faces he saw coming and going. Ducking around the back, he found the place he was looking for.

 

Eight seconds and four well timed jumps later, the kitsune was crouching on the windowsill of Tsunade's office. He quietly slid open a window and slunk inside.

 

`Damn, where the hell is Baa-…Nee-chan?' Naruto thought as he glanced about the empty office. He shrugged, then walked over and plopped down in the Hokage's chair. It was more comfortable than it looked and the kitsune didn't think twice before leaning back and propping his feet up on the desk. He started to read his book again before hesitating. It wouldn't do for an ANBU or a jounin to come in here and find him. He closed his eyes and grimaced as his bones and muscles changed shape.

 

“That should do it…” The replica of Tsunade said as she raised her book. She almost dropped it in shock as she stared at her wrinkled hands. It only took a second for her to make the connection. “Her gen-jutsu…I see.”

 

Naruto concentrated again and this time a hiss of pain escaped her as a second layer of changes overtook the first. The shape-shifting inherited from the Kyuubi came in two levels, though both changed the body physically. Naruto could mimic anybody he saw, though it was only a thin, superficial illusion that was about the same as a henge. The first level could also shift the appearance of clothing, as long as it was fairly tight garments. Unfortunately, it was easy to detect for shinobi who were trained in such matters and it could fall apart if his concentration was disrupted. The second level took care of that.

 

Every person Naruto came into skin to skin contact with left an `imprint' that he could use to change his body into a perfect replica of theirs. He still needed to have a good idea of what they looked like, but once he pulled off the shape-shift the only thing that could end the change was him. The Kyuubi had been far better at it, but Naruto was slowly getting there. He could mimic chakra signatures and habitual movements already, though both were far from perfect. Still, it fooled most shinobi long enough for him to make his move, be it attack or escape. The second level of shape-shifting must have picked up on what Tsunade really looked like as opposed to the gen-jutsu that everyone else saw. Adding the first level of change on top of that corrected the mistake (and would make her seem more genuine, ironically,) but she was going to suffer if anyone accidentally knocked into her.

 

Either shape-shifting level made her body extra sensitive, but overlapping the two levels would lower her pain tolerance so much that a single blow could drop her.

 

With her now smooth fingers, Naruto reopened her book and began reading again. Hopefully the real Tsunade would show up soon and they could pick up where they left off the day before.

 

And hopefully the Fifth wouldn't leave the kitsune in charge while she ran off on a gambling spree.

 

Naruto was eagerly getting to the climax of the play when she heard voices approaching the office. She quickly tucked her book away and casually stood up to walk over to one of the scroll shelves that lined the office. Pretending to be poking around looking for some odd medical text, the kitsune kept her eye on the door, ready to move just in case. As it opened, the worst possible combination stepped inside.

 

“-age-sama. I know the dem-…boy is important to you, but the security of the village comes first. As the Godaime, you must agree,” Said an average sized man wearing an elaborate mask. His head was turned away from Naruto and was facing…Tsunade.

 

The real Tsunade.

 

Who stared at the fake with wide eyes for a moment before she composed herself. Unfortunately, the ANBU Commander noticed and immediately turned to face Naruto.

 

“Ah…Yamanaka-san. What brings you to the Hokage-sama's office?” He asked the blonde girl standing there. Said Hokage interrupted before the kunoichi could.

 

“I believe that's my question, Commander. Ino-san is here because I ordered her to come…Not that it's any of your concern,” Tsunade said in a sharp tone, firmly letting the ANBU know he was pushing her last nerves.

 

For the leader of the elite shinobi of Konoha, the man withered quickly under the Fifth's vicious glare.

 

“Oh…Ah, yes. My apologies,” The Commander said to cover his slip. Tsunade ignored him as she stepped around the desk and sat down.

 

“Now then, Commander. I have other business to attend to, so unless you have something new to add then please leave while I deal with other business,” The Fifth said with a raised eyebrow, plainly hinting that the conversation was over.

 

“But Hokage-sama! How can you just allow such a serious threat to walk around unchecked?” The ANBU continued, moving forward to stand in front of the desk.

 

“If I remember correctly, the main reason why he's here at all is because your ANBU didn't even notice him enter the village. Funny, they seem to have a habit of missing serious threats that make little effort to hide themselves. Tell me, Commander, how many times have Orochimaru's forces strolled about our town virtually unchecked? How often has Orochimaru himself entered this village without any effort? They walk about in broad daylight and not one ANBU notices,” Tsunade said with a voice full of barely restrained venom. As the man began to sputter indignantly, the Fifth continued, “Since you and your people are such poor judges of internal and external threats, I will remain the final opinion on who is our enemy and who isn't. Uzumaki Naruto is not our enemy and, as far as I can tell, he's managed to convince the Kyuubi to not be our enemy either. Any shinobi who takes hostile action on him without just cause will answer to me.”

 

Tsunade's eyes darkened and a powerful killing intent nudged the ANBU Commander's senses.

 

“And Commander, I will be the final judge of whether it was a justified action or not, so it had better be a damn good reason. If it isn't, not only will I strip the shinobi down to a genin, but I'll also hold you personally accountable. Now I'm sure you have something better to do, like showing the ANBU the difference between Leaf and Sound forehead protectors. Leave.”

 

Now sputtering in fear, the ANBU Commander turned to leave only to be interrupted by Naruto.

 

“I just wanted you to know that I appreciate the quality of your ANBU, even if other people don't,” The blonde girl said with an fox-grin as she reached out and grabbed the man's hand in a firm handshake. The Commander twitched as something like a static shock zapped his palm.

 

“Uh, yes…well we do our beeeeaaas!! Ah, our best,” He finished weakly. The ANBU slowly pulled his slightly swollen hand back from the girl's deceptive grip. “That's…quite a handshake you have there.”

 

“Really? I never noticed,” Naruto said with a wicked grin on her pretty features. She feigned a slightly confused look as she asked, “I'm sorry for interrupting you, Commander. Weren't you just leaving?”

 

“Uh…Yes, I was,” The ANBU Commander slowly said. After a couple moments of silence, the man uncomfortably made his way out of the office.

 

Tsunade waited a couple seconds after the door closed before she ordered, “Lock it.”

 

As Naruto did so, a smug look grew on her face, which was rapidly returning to its masculine form. He'd only had three imprints of Konoha shinobi (four if you counted that ANBU dork he beat up), as the shape-shifting ability had only gone active after the ritual and people he had touched before then didn't count. The day before, he had passed Shizune on his way in and mimicked a tourist briefly so he could imprint her by acting clumsy and bumping into the young medic. Tsunade had touched him several times yesterday and Ino…Well, skin to skin apparently counted even when it was skin to internal organs. When he saw both the Hokage and the Commander, he had altered both layers of change to quickly become the blonde girl. It hurt like hell, but it was worth it.

 

After all, who knew how valuable the ANBU Commander's form could be.

 

“I see you can mimic me perfectly,” Tsunade wryly said, dragging the kitsune out of his thoughts. She gasped in surprise when he turned around, exposing his slashed and torn outfit. “What the hell happened to you?”

 

“I tangled with an old…err, acquaintance,” Naruto replied with a dismissive shrug. He wasn't exactly sure how to refer to Ino, as he barely knew the girl. The kitsune walked back and plopped down in the chair in front of the desk and said, “Don't worry about it. I doubt I'll be doing much fighting for awhile. I have other things to take care of for now.”

 

“I suppose so,” The Fifth replied, leaning back in her chair. She allowed herself a small smile at the sight of the blonde teen in front of her desk. A great deal of tension had faded now that her little brother was back home and safe…er. She gestured to the door and said in an annoyed voice, “As you can see, the Commander and most of the Council haven't taken the news of your return very well. I had to use my full authority to keep them from engaging a nasty plan of action they've been cooking up this past year. It's going to take some time, but hopefully I'll have you reinstated and back on active duty soon. Honestly, why they're wasting their time on this when we have the Sound to deal with is beyond me.”

 

“I could give you a long and drawn out story as a metaphor for their actions, but I don't think you'd appreciate the waste of time,” Naruto said with a dry tone. “Humans are humans and among their many traits are cruelty, cowardice, and a long memory when it comes to anything that wrongs them. They'll never forgive me. Not because I killed so many Leaf-nins, but because I committed the worst crime imaginable on a village of warriors: I made them helpless. Mentally and physically, I effortlessly crippled them and they'll hate me to the day they die because of it.”

 

“Hmm, you're talking about the terror effect?” Tsunade said with an intelligent gleam in her eyes. “The records of the Kyuubi's attack spoke of an aura that decimated the willpower of all but the strongest shinobi. The rest were left laying on the ground, screaming in fear.”

 

“That too,” The quasi-missing-nin replied. “It was made worse by the fact that they couldn't scratch me, no matter how hard they tried or what jutsu they threw at me. My terror aura often broke through even tough minds when they succumbed to despair after failing to harm me. I still have the ability, though it's not as strong as the original Kyuubi's aura.”

 

“Show me,” The Godaime ordered after a second's consideration.

 

Naruto shrugged and slid his goggles upwards to rest on his head. His incandescent-blue eyes changed into a blood red color and the pupils distorted into slits. Tsunade had just a second to consider how disturbing they were before a wave of horrible fear struck her. The air in her lungs left her in a whoosh as her body instinctively reacted to the terror like it was a physical blow. It took her several moments to overcome it, but in the end she managed to force it down to manageable levels. She wasn't the Fifth for nothing after all.

 

“Alright, kill it,” Tsunade ordered. Instantly, the terror effect stopped and Naruto's eyes returned to normal. The Godaime sifted through her experience as she allowed her heart rate to settle down. The kitsune was patient and perfectly content to sit there waiting for her response. It didn't take long for the Hokage to say, “You were holding back.”

 

“Yep,” Naruto said with a nod of his head. “I can't generate the amount of rage and hatred needed to make it work at full power when I'm facing someone I care about. That limits it partially. Also, people who care about me in return seem resistant to it, though I have no idea why. I tested it while I was in Glacier Country on both the Yajin-Kage and Tsurara-chan. It didn't affect either of them as much as it did other people. Overtime, it'll get stronger as I absorb more of the Kyuubi's chakra.”

 

“I see. When're you going to absorb the next portion of the Kyuubi's power?” The Fifth asked, her eyes showing how serious she was.

 

“Uh…About a month, I think. Depends on how much training I can do between now and then,” The blonde teen said as he scrunched up his nose in thought, “I was planning on doing it the first of June, but I don't know if that's going to work out.”

 

“Regardless of when you do it, I want to be present. Jiraiya too, if I can get in contact with him before then. Consider that an order,” Tsunade said with a firm voice. Her face relaxed a little as she asked, “Is there anything I can do to help for the training? I don't suppose you'll need a jounin sensei, but if you want access to the training grounds or something we could work it out.”

 

“Maybe…” Naruto said slowly whole scratching the side of his face. “Did you get a hold of the land plots like I asked?”

 

“Yes, hang on,” The Fifth replied as she leaned over and opened a drawer. After a couple moments of riffling, she pulled out a small stack of papers and tossed them on the table in front of her. “There you go. We don't have much empty land here in the village, but there're still some unused zones here and there near the walls. On the plus side, land isn't in much demand so the prices aren't as high as they could be. They're still pretty expensive though.”

 

Naruto grabbed the papers and started to flip through them. Each held a description of a land plot that included the size, boundaries, price, and a general idea of the terrain. Some even had a couple pictures. One spot caught his eye, though he went through the stack twice to make sure there were no others that were better. He grinned a little, then pulled out the paper and tossed it to Tsunade.

 

“That one. You think you could get me the deed today?” The kitsune asked as he set the other papers to one side.

 

The Fifth glance over the description and nodded slightly to herself. It seemed like a nice place. Almost six acres, all heavily wooded and mostly surrounded by large, forested training grounds and a couple unused orchards. It ended two hundred feet from the village wall, so it would be easy for him to come and go without attracting a lot of attention. A good place for a Hunter-nin to live, though the Council would tear their own eyes out before they ever let her promote him to such a level. Still, it would be a good spot for him to train in privacy and to be away from the stares of the villagers. Hmm, it wouldn't be too hard to get the deed. As long as he had the money for it, she could put it through the proper channels without anyone being the wiser.

 

Wait, how much did it cost? Tsunade let her eye move over to the price and winced.

 

“Naruto, this is way too-”

 

“I think this'll cover it, Nee-chan,” The kitsune interrupted as he set a (very) large stack of bills on the desk. The Fifth nearly broke her desk in half with her jaw as she stared at the wad of cash. Naruto shrugged a little and said, “What? I was the Hyougakage's apprentice. You think he had me doing lame genin missions when there are missing-nins to hunt?”

 

“I…Holy shit,” Tsunade said as she reached over and slid the money towards her. In all honesty she had seen more in her gambling days, but it wasn't that often. There had to be over 800,000 ryo in that pile. To make that much from seven months of active duty was unheard of by all except the top three or four shinobi in a country. Simply stunning.

 

“And you made this much as a chuunin?” She asked incredulously.

 

“Chuunin in name only,” Naruto casually replied. “That was the highest rank the Glacier Council would allow me to have as an outsider and they only let me get that high because Yajin-Kage asked them to make an exception for me. Honestly, I see their point. It's not a good idea to have a high level shinobi in your ranks who has loyalties to other countries. Most of the Council seemed to like me though and a couple promised me a jounin promotion as soon as I agreed to live there permanently.”

 

“You gave up a jounin rank, a skilled fiance, and becoming the future Kage of Glacier Country to come back home to a place where people hate you?” Tsunade asked in an odd mix of sarcasm and wonder. She immediately regretted saying anything at the slightly hurt look on the blonde's face. “…I'm sorry Naruto. I can't imagine how hard it would be to leave a village where people respect and admire you to go to a place where people hate you for being…you.”

 

The kitsune stared at the floor for a long minute before looking up and saying, “This is my home. It may be full of assholes and weak idiots, but it's still my home. No matter how much I may wish it otherwise. My family is here. My home is here. And, honestly, if it looks like things are still totally shitty in about four or five years, I may take Yajin-Kage up on his offer. He isn't going to be retiring anytime soon, so I have a while to think about it.”

 

“I see,” The Godaime quietly said. “I really am sorry, Naru-”

 

“Forget it. How many times have I said dumb things?” Naruto said with a bit of a smile. “And you didn't answer me. Do you think you can get the deed sometime today?”

 

“Well, you have the money, so…” Tsunade muttered thoughtfully, staring at the bills. She tucked them into an envelope along with the plot description and a scrawled out order on official looking paper. The Hokage glanced up at the kitsune and said, “Shift into Ino-san again.”

 

As Naruto did so, the Fifth hit a button on her desk. A moment later, one of her guards unlocked and opened the door.

 

“Yes, Hokage-sama?”

 

“Take this,” Tsunade paused as she sealed the envelope and handed it out to the shinobi. “To the property management office and give it to the head honcho there. Tell him or her I want exact change from that and if there are any problems I'll come down to resolve it personally.”

 

The guard shuddered at the thought of the Fifth's idea of resolution and quickly took the envelope before backing out of the room.

 

“Bossy much?” Naruto asked in amusement after the man left and he had resumed his natural form.

 

“People have been getting lenient these last few years in respect to Sarutobi-sensei's rule. If they relax about that, then they'll get lazy about other things too. Possibly life and death issues. I'm just keeping them on their toes,” Tsunade replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. “It should be done after lunch and we can go to check it out for ourselves.”

 

“I already know what it looks like, Nee-chan,” The kitsune replied with a bit of a grin. “I used to hang out around there when I was a kid and the vill-…When things got too much. It's nice. It was actually the exact piece of land I was hoping for.”

 

“Well, then you can show me around. I'm not going to have you living in some mud-hole, even if you like it,” The Fifth muttered. “We can go after lunch”

 

“Speaking of lunch…” Naruto said with a pleading look in his eyes.

 

“Already? It's barely 10:30!” Tsunade nearly squawked.

 

“But Nee-chaaaaaan!” The kitsune begged, adding the innocent puppy look for good measure.

 

“…Rotten, cute little half-demon fiend…” The Hokage grumbled to herself. She sighed and said, “Where do you want to eat?”

 

Naruto's face turned from begging to demonically wicked in a split second.

 

“Oh, I have an idea…”

 

***

 

“We have any missions today, Hatake?” Ino asked as she looked up at her sensei. They were standing in the lobby of the mission center. The blonde genin had been waiting impatiently for the jounin to return as without a distraction the events of last night kept churning back and forth in her head. She swung back and forth between elation and a case of nerves so bad she thought the ground would vibrate from her shaking. Her thoughts could essentially be summed up in one sentence.

 

`I can't believe I used the Chidori on him.'

 

What had Kakashi lectured her on for hours as he taught her the move? What about all the comradery crap she'd bitched at Sakura about? What about the disgust she'd held for Sasuke after learning that he'd used it on a comrade? What about trying to impress Naruto? Was he going to hold her in the same light as the Uchiha? He said she was `interesting'… What the hell did that mean? Not `you're good' or `you suck' or even `hey, you're hot' but a `you're interesting.' How the hell was she supposed to interpret that? Why hadn't he been surprised by her not being surprised by his healing ability? Was he going to say something about it? Could he even be harmed? Was her teacher ever going to show up so she could stop eating her mind alive?

 

Kakashi had stared at his student for several seconds when he came back. The girl was acting weirder than usual and that was saying something.

 

“Yep,” The jounin said cheerfully, pushing his thoughts out of his mind for the time being. Hopefully Ino was too distracted to sense them. “I got our mission right here. There weren't any S-Rank, but I still don't think you're ready for that anyways. There's a reason for the high level after all. But you'll be pleased to know this is a high grade assassination request, directly from the Hokage's office. We're going after a group of three Sound-nins to the east that have been causing trouble with outlying villages. Two of them have displayed unusual Bloodlines, so we're going to have to spy a bit before we attack them. Don't want too many nasty surprises.”

 

Kakashi sweat-dropped when he noticed that his student was ignoring him entirely and muttering something vicious to herself. No respect.

 

Well, the copy-nin had a simple solution to that. His visible eye rolled into the back of his head as all sorts of semi-deranged and totally perverted thoughts began to go through his mind. For good measure, he changed several of the participants into curvy, blonde-haired, blue-gray eyed teenage girls that were busy molesting several other familiar and willing participants. And vocal. Yes, it wouldn't do to forget the sound effects. He had a lot of practice making up his own soundtrack considering Tsunade-sama had yet to allow Jiraiya-sama to release his Icha Icha audio books. He grinned under his mask as Ino's mutterings slowly trailed off as the genin began to realize just what those thoughts she was picking up were and who they were coming from.

 

The teen stared at her sensei for several moments as her face grew redder and her jaw dropped lower. Kami, this man was depraved.

 

“You PERVERT!”

 

“Now Ino-chan, let's not go for the knives.”

 

“That's it! They're coming off!”

 

“Quit waving that thing around. You'll put someone's eye out.”

 

“It's not the eyes I'm aiming for!”

 

`Well, at least it got her out of her funk,' Kakashi thought while laughing and restraining his violent student at the same time. Fortunately Ino's Bloodline didn't enhance physical prowess in the least, so he was able to easily keep her occupied enough to avoid any injuries. That didn't keep the girl from castrating him verbally though. Several battle hardened jounin blushed and looked the other way at the obscenities the genin was spewing out.

 

Really, what were parents teaching their kids these days?

 

In the midst of their squabbling, Kakashi almost missed Tsunade and Shizune walking by, presumably going out for an early lunch. The jounin had met with the Hokage briefly the day before, though she hadn't been very concerned about the tied up ANBU. The Fifth seemed to know more than she was letting on, but she was the Hokage and Kakashi was just a special jounin so it wasn't really his place to pry. He'd done his duty and reported the odd incident, then moved on to ask if the Godaime had heard any news from Jiraiya about the odd seals burned into his hand. The jounin was disappointed to learn that nothing new had popped up. The seals had pulsed again the night before and off and on all this whole day. He was really getting annoyed with the whole situation. They were happening with enough frequency now that it was getting dangerous during missions. One screwed up jutsu and he could get killed.

 

And he really didn't want Ino yelling at him for dying on her.

 

“Hey, what's up?” Said genin asked, slipping under the jounin's headlock when she noticed he wasn't paying attention to her.

 

“Nothing, it's just…Never mind,” Kakashi replied as he watched Tsunade and Shizune walk away. Why did it feel like something was…off? Tsunade was roaring in laughter at something her student had said. Shizune had a wicked grin on her face, obviously pleased with her own joke. Both of them looked normal, from their clothes to their features. They didn't seem out of the ordinary, but something still seemed odd. There was something familiar about the scene that tugged at the copy-nin's brilliant mind, yet he couldn't place it. Before it could come to him, the two medics had disappeared out front door to the lobby.

 

“Err, Hatake…You okay?” Ino asked after a couple moments. Her sensei blinked when she waved her hand in front of his face.

 

“Uh, yeah. I'm fine. So, you all ready to go?” Kakashi asked, his eye turning into a cheerful half-circle. The genin stared at him suspiciously for a moment before shrugging it off.

 

“Sure, whenever you are,” She replied. A good, high level mission would definitely take her mind off the events of last night. If she kept obsessing over that fight then she was likely to wind up weakening her Bloodline. It needed a great deal of concentration for even the passive abilities to work right so she couldn't afford to get lost in her thoughts. Hell, it took her awhile to even pick up on Kakashi's perverted thoughts and he was standing right next to her. At the rate she was going, she wouldn't be able to sense anyone around her.

 

Ironically, Ino was so focused on refocusing, that she missed her sensei's thoughts on the odd scene he'd witnessed.

 

Kakashi wouldn't realize it for some time, but the whole reason why he'd felt such a sense of familiarity was the odd look on Shizune's face. It was even later, when he finally connected who the facial expression reminded him of. It was understandable that the jounin would then put the whole mess aside and brush it off as stress from worrying about his seals.

 

After all, why on earth would Shizune be wearing a shit-eating fox-grin?

 

***

 

“I can't believe you ate all their ramen,” Tsunade said for the thirteenth time as she looked over at the teen walking next to her.

 

“Yeah, yeah…You were the one who bet me I couldn't do it,” Naruto replied as he laced his fingers behind his head and looked up at the sky through the trees overhead. He and the Hokage were walking along a small dirt road that cut through an old cherry tree orchard. Having decimated Ichiraku's ramen supply, they were now heading out to see his new property first hand. Well, he already knew what it looked like, having hid there often as a child when the cold stares of the villagers got too much, but Tsunade was curious and he didn't have anything else to do. Besides, it was nice spending time with her.

 

“You must've cheated somehow. Maybe the fusion skyrocketed your metabolism…Or maybe you have some space-time jutsu you used on your stomach…Or maybe you have lava in your guts…Or maybe…” Tsunade muttered to herself, occasionally shooting an accusing glare at the blonde teen. Naruto broke out laughing as her ideas got more and more ridiculous. He loved the woman dearly, but he'd be the first to admit the Fifth was a seriously sore loser.

 

“I won fair and square, Nee-chan. I used to eat myself sick there all the time. Old Man Ichiraku sometimes had to literally roll me back to my apartment,” The kitsune said while chuckling at the fond memories. Not even the Kyuubi's vast experience devouring various cuisines (and peoples) around the world could compare to the glory that was Ichiraku ramen.

 

“Hmph. Ancient-brat,” The Fifth grumbled, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at the half-demon.

 

“Baby-hag!” Naruto shot back as he stuck his tongue out at the medic. He broke off laughing and dashed ahead down the path, a swirl of sakura petals kicking up in his wake. Tsunade stopped for a second, her pretty features shifting as a strange, bitter-sweet feeling filled her. Her eyes never left the odd boy-demon as he spun around in circles with his arms out, as he ran up and down a couple trees, or when he started doing cartwheels down the road. He looked so happy here, running around like someone half his age and without a care in the world. How long would this last? How many moments of happiness would he be able to scrape together? She couldn't protect him from everything and he was already on the hit-list of almost a dozen S-Class missing-nins. What kind of a life would he have? Or would he end up just like Nawaki and Dan?

 

“Nee-chan! Come on! You're getting slow, old woman!” Naruto bellowed from fifty yards down the road. His jab effectively distracted the Fifth from her thoughts and Tsunade quickly dashed after the teen, a look of fury on her face. The kitsune `eeped' and took off in the opposite direction, doing his best to avoid the wrath of the big sister. The chase didn't last very long. Between the gravity seal and the fact that Tsunade was a Sannin, Naruto didn't get far.

 

“Take it back, runt! Say you're sorry!” The Fifth growled as she gave the blonde one hell of a noogie.

 

“I'm sorry you're an old woman!” Naruto yelled, though it was muffled by the headlock he was in.

 

“Wrong answer!”

 

It took close to five minutes before Tsunade squeezed a suitably honest apology out of Naruto and they started walking down the lane again. The kitsune pouted a bit, but soon forgot his defeat as he enjoyed the fresh air and the scent of the sakura blossoms. The Fifth watched his peaceful face for a moment, her worries of not being able to protect him coming back. What the hell could she do? Their small list of allies could do little to help and they had no interest in Naruto anyways. From the Sand, only Gaara had any ties to the kitsune and who knew if that was even a good thing or not. Who on earth could she get as an ally that was powerful, wasn't afraid of missing-nins, and had a strong investment in Naru-

 

…Oh, duh.

 

“Naruto,” Tsunade casually said, bringing the teen's attention back to her. “What do you think about us making allies with the Ice Village?”

 

Naruto immediately turned serious and frowned in thought.

 

“It'd be tricky. It's not so much that they wouldn't want to be our allies, it's just that they have a tradition of not getting involved in any shinobi conflicts. The only thing they do is hunt missing-nins, for the most part. The best you'd probably get from them is a non-hostilities agreement and maybe supply support if we get in trouble during a war,” The kitsune said, scratching at the side of his head. He gave another shrug and continued, “They're also eight days travel away from us at a dead run. It's not like they can very well send support quickly even if we did get a full alliance.”

 

“I see…” Tsunade neutrally said, forcing herself not to show her disappointment. If they were as powerful as Naruto described, they'd be a very strong asset in the war against Orochimaru and in keeping the kitsune out of the Akatsuki's hands. Perhaps they could work something out anyways, even if it wasn't a full alliance. She did owe them already for taking care of her little brother. Turning to the teen, she said, “Still, what about inviting them to the next chuunin exam? I could meet the Hyougakage in person and we could discuss things face to face.”

 

“I guess…” Naruto slowly said. He gave a bit of a puzzled look at the Hokage and asked, “How are you going to convince him to come to the exam? None of our tests are anything compare to the hell that's the Ice Village exam. I doubt he'd be interested.”

 

“Of course he will,” Tsunade said with an evil smirk. “He'll be very interested because of one of the participants.”

 

“And who would…Oh…” The kitsune said, putting the pieces together. He raised an eyebrow and said, “I thought I wasn't even a legal Leaf-nin. You already have me lined up for the chuunin exam? And what about a team? You need a three man team to take the exam.”

 

“Like you'd fail it. Besides, I already have a team in mind for you. And as for your legal status, just give me a couple weeks with the Council. They'll see reason soon enough,” The Fifth lightly replied. Her eyes darkened a second later. “If they know what's good for them.”

 

Naruto almost felt a bit of sympathy for the old farts, before remembering that he didn't give a crap what happened to them. The two shinobi continued walking down the road as it left the orchard and went into the deep woods. Even within the city walls, the forests were thick and old. The kitsune was enjoying staring off into the surrounding greenery so much that he almost missed the odd clump of trees that marked the beginning of his property.

 

“Wait, here it is,” Naruto said, holding his hand up in front of the Hokage. He quickly gestured for her to follow him as he disappeared off the side of the road through a cluster of ferns and bushes. Tsunade watched him go for a moment, then trailed after. The underbrush got thick fast, making it hard to see. Honing in on the kitsune's light rustling, the Fifth pushed her way through the bushes and came out on the other side.

 

“Nice, isn't it? I found it when I was six after a…Well, it wasn't a pleasant day. I came here off and on till I became a genin,” Naruto said when Tsunade came up to stand next to him. The Hokage raised an appreciative eyebrow as the teen gestured across the place in front of him.

 

They stood at the edge of a long hollow that ran roughly from the southeast to the northwest. It was about three hundred feet across and a thousand feet long. There were only a few large trees within the tiny valley itself, but a thick ring of them surrounded the entire glade giving it an aura of privacy. The trees grew high at the edges, so the only time the hollow was touched by direct sunlight would be about ten to two o'clock during the day. The southern edge of the glade was mostly flat, but the northern edge was lined by a rocky outcrop which formed a small, ten foot high cliff ledge that ran most of the length of the hollow. A small waterfall bubbled over the rocks into a deep looking pool that drained out in a stream that ran to the northwest along the edge of the cliff. Thick, soft grass grew over the ground and the only sound was the rustling wind through the tree tops.

 

“It's very beautiful,” Tsunade whispered, mostly to herself. And Naruto owned all of this. Or he would, when the deed came back. The land plot covered all this and about fifty feet into the forest in every direction beyond the tree line. He'd found a good spot for himself where he could…Err…Wait a sec.

 

“Naruto, what exactly are you planning on doing here?” She asked, turning to look at the teen.

 

“That's…a secret,” The kitsune replied with a sneaky grin. At the Fifth's look, he shrugged and said, “It's a surprise. I'll show you when I'm done. It shouldn't take more than four or five days. Actually, I should get started soon if I want to have time for training this month.”

 

“…Alright, I have to get back to my office anyways. But, I want to see this place the minute you're done. You can come by tonight to pick up the deed,” Tsunade said as she started to walk back through the brush.

 

“Hey, Nee-chan? You said the Ero-sennin wasn't around. You know where he is?” Naruto called after the Fifth.

 

“He's spying somewhere in Lightning Country. Why do you ask?” Tsunade replied, turning to look back at the teen.

 

“No reason. Just wanted to be sure he wasn't doing something stupid,” The kitsune shrugged dismissively. “See you later, Nee-chan.”

 

Tsunade stared at him for several long moments before a small smile crossed her face.

 

“I'll tell him you said hello. I'll you see you tonight, Naruto.”

 

The kitsune sighed a little as he heard the Hokage moving away through the brush. Was he really that transparent? Hmph, the old pervert had probably totally forgotten about him in his quest to perfect his kinky novels. Still, he was a little worried about Jiraiya. The man was a magnet for trouble that easily surpassed most of the crap that came Naruto's way. The Toad-Sannin could take care of himself, but…

 

Naruto shook his head and started walking towards the center of the hollow. Now wasn't the time to worry about a man who was stronger than 99 percent of the continent.

 

He had work to do.

 

***

 

The Sound-nin's scream was cut off in a choked gurgle as Uchiha Sasuke's Chidori enhanced hand slammed right through the man's chest. The dark-haired teen held his pose for a moment, then tore his arm free, a geyser of blood splattering over him and the ground. Sasuke barely blinked his Sharingan eyes as the nin fell over dead. For several moments, there was total silence in the courtyard. Then a light groan echoed as the Uchiha's legs wobbled.

 

Sasuke stumbled over to the nearest steps leading onto the deck that ringed the yard and collapsed. His hair and skin returned to their normal color and the wings retreated into his back. Even his eyes returned to their normal ebony. He had burned all his chakra and more, using the Level 2 Curse Seal to extract extra chakra from his body to counter the drain of the Chidori and the Sharingan.

 

A low chuckle sounded from the pale teen.

 

Yes, he'd burned all his chakra, but that didn't matter. He had power now. He was killing jounins with regularity, enough that Orochimaru had ordered him to ease up a bit to keep from cutting down their best warriors before they could be of some use. Sasuke could also summon the Level 2 Curse with ease and was well practiced in controlling it (or allowing it to control him.) He could now perform the Chidori five times a day, as long as he used the curse seal. He could almost perform it four times naturally, though he couldn't quite force himself that extra little bit. What did it matter either way though?

 

He was strong enough to kill his brother now.

 

Itachi was arguably stronger than any Sannin, as far as Sasuke knew. Certainly, Orochimaru seemed exceptionally nervous whenever the Uchiha talked about his brother. Probably why he was so eager to get a Sharingan for himself.

 

Sasuke snorted. Like he'd ever let a fool like the Snake-Sannin get his hands on his family's precious Bloodline. It was only a matter of time before he broke Orochimaru's hold on him and when he did, the body switching hermit would die by his hands. Kabuto too. The dark-haired teen was certain he could kill the medic now and that the only thing keeping him from killing their master was the Curse Seal. And when he'd cut down both of them, only Itachi would remain. He'd kill his brother, with or without the Mangekyou Sharingan. After that, no one could challenge him as he resurrected the Uchiha clan.

 

Horrible terror. Swamping mind, eating away at will, pushing in from all sides. Can't breathe. Get away get away get away GET AWAY!!

 

Sasuke's teeth clenched as the memory of the worst day of his life gripped him. He counted it higher than both times he'd faced his brother and suffered the Tsukuyomi. It clawed at him in a way that his parents' deaths never had. That was power on a scale he could not and never would be able to comprehend. For once, the Sharingan hadn't protected him from a damn thing. Even worse than being totally helpless was one final bitter, bitter irony.

 

Naruto.

 

That idiotic little Dead-Last was in that chakra wave somewhere. The very thought of the dobe having anything to do with power on that level made Sasuke nauseas with fury. He was better than the Dead-Last. The little, no talent fool. Naruto was always a screw-up and he was always getting in the way. Even when he made himself useful, he still acted like an idiot while rubbing it into Sasuke's face at the same time. The moron just stumbled across jutsu and power left and right without any effort. He actually came close to exceeding Sasuke, though the fight at the Valley of the End proved once and for all who was the better shinobi.

 

And now the Dead-Last had tapped some power that made even Orochimaru shudder. Sasuke couldn't allow that.

 

Panic surged in his mind. He was getting weaker. He had to get stronger. Had to. He needed power. He needed more power than anyone else. He had to be better than everyone. He could risk anyone being better than him. There was no way he could afford it. No one could be allowed to exceed him.

 

Especially not Naruto.

 

A ripple of pain radiated from his seal, causing the Uchiha to grab his neck and gasp in pain. All thoughts were driven out of his head as he stood and made his way to Orochimaru's quarters. When his thoughts cleared, his rage boiled at the ease in which the Sannin controlled him. It didn't matter. He was getting power and soon the hermit would realize his mistake.

 

He would get power.

 

***

 

“Allllright…Done,” Naruto said to himself as he finished the last marking of the demon seal. He was glad he was done. It was a pain in the ass to keep any cut open long enough to bleed enough to ink a decent sized seal, let alone the behemoth he'd just made. He stood at the edge of a section of burned ground (the kitsune had to clear the grass off to have a surface to write on) in the middle of his hollow, where he had just made a four foot wide seal that was (fortunately) simple in its design, despite its large size. The less complex it was, the less chance of him accidentally opening a portal to the center of the sun or something.

 

This seal was going to be the power plant for the home Naruto was going to build here. It would draw energy into through both the ground and the plants growing all over the place. It would refine the energy into chakra, which could then be tapped for other seals. Unused chakra would be made into a form that enhanced plant growth and would radiate back out into the surrounding flora. The flora would grow, soaking up more energy from the sun and the earth, which meant more energy for the seal to draw. A rather clever cycle, if he said so himself.

 

Gathering a ball of demon chakra into his hand, Naruto carefully stepped to the center of the seal, avoiding smearing any lines. He concentrated the energy in his hand and pressed it to the central marking.

 

The reaction wasn't as cool looking as he had hoped, which meant it wasn't as chaotic as he'd feared.

 

The blood markings glowed a fiery red, then burned straight into the ground and out of sight. Despite not being able to see it, the kitsune still knew that the seal lines were changing and concentrating into one glowing orb about fifteen feet underground. After several moments, the seal pulsed and drew in energy from the surrounding forest. As Naruto watched, the grass all over the hollow turned yellow and the leaves on the trees began to wilt. After almost of minute, the orb pulsed again and life was restored to the flora. More than that, each blade of grass and leaf looked slightly more vibrant that before. Little green tips began to sprout from the blackened ground that had held the seal even as the half-demon watched. Another minute and the seal pulsed, again drawing energy from the plant life.

 

Naruto stood up and cracked his neck. Well, that job was done. The flora of the hollow would eventually get used to the back and forth energy flows, so some time in the future the colors would stop changing. The only physical evidence of something odd here would be the unusually robust trees and undergrowth surrounding this place.

 

Assuming anyone would ever find this place after the next seal the kitsune put in.

 

Naruto sighed and altered his thumb nail so it was slightly longer and much harder. With a casual flick, he split his index finger open and knelt down to start inking out more seals.

 

This one was going to take awhile.

 

…It did take awhile. By the time the kitsune finished the last marking, the sun had long since set and the moon was high in the sky. His good night vision kept him from needing to start a fire to see the seals he was inking, but he still went slow to make sure he did it right. The seal was finally complete and was a whopping fifteen feet wide and twenty feet long. Fortunately, it vaguely resembled a cross, so it wasn't like he'd been forced to fill an enormous oval with tiny little seals. Unfortunately, that was the only time saving part of this seal. He'd constantly had to cut his finger open every five-ten seconds or so, which (if he'd been interested in doing the math) meant he'd cut his finger open over five thousand times so far. Talk about annoying. He'd also eventually using a jolt of demon chakra to kill all the plants within the area he was working on, as they kept growing back whenever he burned them away and trashing his seal marks. The seeds from the rest of the grass would eventually take root there, but for now he had a large and ugly scorch mark in the middle of his land.

 

His land.

 

That thought brought a slight smile to Naruto's face. He'd taken a break during making the second seal to go pick up the deed and enjoy a brief dinner with Tsunade. She'd kept a copy of it, just in case his got destroyed or something, and had spent the entire meal making not so subtle inquiries about what he was up to out in the woods. The kitsune had taken great delight in teasing the Hokage by dropping little hints that he might be making some sort of undead army or summoning another demon lord or even channeling the Ghost of Icha Icha Past (Tsunade had belted him through the wall for that one. Some things should not be joked about.) After dinner, Naruto had tucked his deed away and rushed back to his hollow, eager to finish his seal work so he could start his next project.

 

And now here he was. This was by far the most complicated seal work he'd ever done, with the sole exception being the fusion ritual. That thought brought him little comfort.

 

Naruto took a deep breath and gathered a large amount of demon chakra into his hand. Activating this seal would drop him down to less than half his total reserves. Hopefully he hadn't fucked anything up, either in the demon seal's design or in his inking. Well, he'd never get anything done standing around worrying about it. Carefully, he stepped up to the edge of the cross shaped seal and laid his palm on the activation mark. A hissing sound echoed through the glade as every line of his blood glowed like fire. For almost a full minute, nothing happened beyond that. The half-demon was starting to get worried that he really had screwed something up when the lines suddenly changed from red to bright blue intermixed with gold. The seal glowed brighter and hummed, its power moving outwards beyond the boundaries of the hollow. There was a momentary pause. The kitsune glanced about, hoping a portal to Hell wasn't about to open up underneath him.

 

A bending force pulled at every molecule in Naruto's body, twisting his vision and forcing vomit up from his stomach.

 

The distortion passed after a few seconds (far too long for the half-demon's liking) and by the time the teen was done retching his dinner all over the ground, nothing seemed amiss in the hollow. Naruto stood and wobbled over to the stream to rinse his mouth out, not bothering to take a look at his seal till he got rid of the nasty taste. When he got back to the burned patch of earth, the seal had cooled and faded in brightness. It was barely luminescent in the dark night even to Naruto's sensitive eyes. The kitsune glanced about and noted that nothing was out of place. He leaned down and pressed his hand to the markings and carefully extended his chakra into it.

 

After a few seconds, Naruto leaned back and muttered, “Damn…It really worked. Hell of a side-effect though.”

 

According to his senses, the seal was working perfectly. Its radius of effect had been fully extended and it had tied itself into the power seal directly underneath it. The disorientation must have been a direct side-effect from the main action of the seal. The demon seal was designed to distort space around a certain area (in this case, Naruto's hollow) and bend the fabric of reality so that the entire affected region didn't seem to exist to an outsider. Basically, Naruto had just caused a hunk of land to disappear off the face of the earth and the rest of the forest had rushed in to fill in the gap. So it would seem to an outsider, anyways. On the inside, everything remained normal and he could leave his little pocket space at any point he wanted to. He would need to create an entrance so he could get back inside though. It was designed to ignore natural things (like plants and animals, wind, and the stream) and allow them inside his little world. There were all sorts of powerful illusions interwoven into the spatial distortions, so the odds of anything sentient being able to find (let alone enter) his hollow were next to nothing.

 

Just the way Naruto liked it.

 

The kitsune stood and surveyed his hollow. It was truly his now. He had his little piece of the world where no one could find or harm him. This would be his home and from here he could concentrate on growing strong enough to face the threats that were coming. The Kyuubi had been in the habit of creating `dens' all over the planet. They were little more than safe-houses where the great youkai could rest and ponder when it got sick of the world, but the fox had valued them greatly and Naruto had inherited that tendency. Each den had been protected by a near identical seal to the one the kitsune had just used. As far as Naruto knew, they were still undetectable. He had considered trying to find a couple, but decided against it as they held nothing of value. Still, it might be useful if he ever had to hide himself or his family.

 

Naruto shook his head. Enough pondering. He had work to do.

 

The kitsune looked up at the sky as he pulled a couple soldier pills out of his side pouch. He quickly munched a couple down and felt some of his tension abate. Naruto rarely used them for the chakra restoration, as they didn't replenish demon chakra. Rather, the half-demon ate them because of the huge store of nutrients and chemical energy inside each pill. He preferred real food, of course, but they were handy in a pinch and far more portable when he was traveling. Right now, after puking his dinner up and losing close to four pints of blood while painting the ground, he was starting to feel that brittle itching that meant his body was gnawing at his fat and muscle reserves. After his experience with atrophy following the encounter with the Akatsuki a year ago, Naruto was careful to avoid such a thing happening to him again.

 

Feeling his hunger wane, the kitsune was able to focus his attention on the moon and stars. He judged the time to be roughly around midnight, though he wasn't sure exactly. One of the Ice jounin Naruto had worked with taught him how to judge the time based on the star positions, the time of year, and the moon phase. It was far from perfect, but it was handy when he had no other reference.

 

`Maybe I should have taken a pocket watch from Tinker-Boss' shop,' The teen thought to himself. Perhaps he would send some money and request one the next time he wrote to Tobias. The gnome would probably love the opportunity to handcraft a super durable one just for him. The shop keeper certainly wouldn't mind. Hmm, he'd give it some thought.

 

Naruto lowered his head from the sky and looked back to his hollow. With barely a flick of concentration, the air around him exploded and fifty kage bunshins appeared. A mental command later and the clones dashed off. The kitsune stood with his arms comfortably crossed as he watched his bunshins carefully dig out the lines for a foundation around the space seal. Though the seal was very durable, it would be a good idea to keep it covered anyways. A few feet next to the seal, another group of clones began to dig out a deep hole, which would eventually become his basement. Still more clones ran off into the forest and outside the seal's area of effect to gather lumber and stone. The woods in and around Konoha were so thick and rich that the half-demon highly doubted he'd have to buy many supplies for his house.

 

Tobias' shop had been fun, but soon enough Naruto had recovered to the point where he needed to have some extra outlet for his wild energy. He'd followed that one jounin's advice and done some side jobs with the construction and maintenance crews. While working for them, he'd quickly learned exactly how ninjas built houses. That was one thing the Kyuubi certainly hadn't known about. Naruto had first learned how to put a house together the hard way, then he'd learned all the cool jutsu that allowed for shortcuts. He had jutsu to cut wood into perfect boards, to create glass planes from sand, to mold metal into piping and nails…He picked up almost everything. For the past five or six months, he'd been working on a blueprint inside his head for the perfect house. It would be a far cry form the shit-hole he used to live in. Depending on how fast his clones gathered supplies, he'd have the entire place built in less than four days.

 

Naruto grinned a little. He didn't even have to be here for most of it.

 

With another pop, a new kage bunshin appeared next to him. Flicking his thumb across his finger yet again, the kitsune quickly drew out a familiar sigil on the clone's forehead. Pressing his palm against it, he gave the clone a massive jolt of demon chakra, effectively diminishing most of his reserves.

 

Ten seconds later, the blood clone was casually reaching into its pocket to pull out and tie its Ice forehead protector across its head. Didn't want to accidentally damage the seal and get dispelled, now did it?

 

“So everything's worked out so far?” The clone calmly asked, much in the same manner it had when Naruto had first created it in the hospital a year ago.

 

“Oh good…I got you, Naru-kun,” Naruto said with a bit of a relieved grin

 

“Worried about accidentally getting Kyu-sama, right?” The clone replied with a small smile.

 

“Kami, I hope not,” The kitsune said with a bit of a shudder at the thought of his other blood clone. Kyu-Sama was the craziest being he'd ever met. That was saying something coming from someone who hung out with Coyote after the spirit had devoured five pounds of psychedelic cacti.

 

Coyote just got giggly and weird. Kyu-sama, on the other hand, was a total psychopath that even exceeded Gaara on a bad day.

 

“We're based of parts of your personality, remember?” Naru-kun said with an light-hearted grin. It was fun to tease his creator. “You have only yourself to blame for the way he turned out.”

 

“Don't remind me…” Naruto grumbled. There was yet another mental issue to add to his collection. A psychologist would give both legs for the opportunity to analyze the kitsune's head. Said psychologist would probably die a very rich man too. He shook it off and said to the clone, “Never mind about that. Hopefully the next ones I create will turn out better, but we'll worry about that later. For now, I need you to keep up the construction of the house while I start training. I gave you a quarter of my total demon chakra, so you'll have plenty to keep up the work. You have my memories back to when I last created you, right?”

 

Naru-kun focused on his thoughts for a moment. An extra set of memories rose up from the normal mess that he got from Naruto whenever he was summoned. He briefly skimmed through them, though he paused at both the meal at Ichiraku and the fight with Ino.

 

“Yep. I got them all, Master,” The blood clone replied with a confident nod. He greatly enjoyed perusing new sets of Naruto's memories whenever he was created. It was like virtual reality. This would keep him occupied while the shadow clones ran about building the house.

 

Naruto winced at the title and said, “I really wish you wouldn't call me that…”

 

“As you wish! Hail the Eastern Lord, Kyuubi no Kitsune! Greatest of the youkai! Strongest of the demons! Scourge of humanity! Hail Uzumaki Naruto-sama! Loudest ninja of Konoha! Right hand to the Hyougakage! Greatest of Tobias-sama's assistants! Artist who created Sexy no jutsu and Harem no-”

 

“Alright, alright!” Naruto yelled while waving his hands at the clone. He totally ignored the smug grin on Naru-kun's face. Beaten by his own blasted clone. Pathetic. “Some days you're weirder than Kyu-sama.”

 

“You only have-” The clone began.

 

“Myself to blame,” The kitsune finished with a sigh.

 

“Ready to transfer them over?” Naru-kun said, taking pity on his master. He made a simple one-handed seal and held it up.

 

“Alright,” Naruto replied, making an identical seal and holding his hand in front of the blood clone's. A moment passed, then the complex chakra web unbound itself from the kitsune and moved into the bunshin, where it reattached itself to the clone's chakra core. Naruto's chakra returned to him as Naru-kun's chakra divided itself by fifty. It wasn't even a full jutsu, but one day when they had been experimenting with different skills, both Naruto and his blood clone had discovered that they could transfer the kage bunshin link between the two of them. That way, none of the clones were dispelled. It was handy, especially if the kitsune needed to leave quickly and leave a blood clone wielding a shadow clone army in his place.

 

In this case, they could keep building his house while he got some much needed training done.

 

“I'm heading out. I won't be back for awhile,” Naruto said as he turned and walked towards the edge of the hollow, where he and Tsunade had first come in.

 

“Yes, Master. I'll take care of things here,” Naru-kun calmly replied, turning away from his creator and surveying the working kage bunshins.

 

Naruto paused at the edge of the tree and brush line. It would be a good idea to make his entrance seal now. Slicing his finger open yet again, the kitsune kneeled and quickly drew out the preplanned demon seal. It was small, so it took him less than three minutes to make. A bit of demon chakra and moments later a thin path opened up between the trees. Actually, it was more like the trees and brush bent and moved out of the way creating a green tunnel that led out to the dirt road. The kitsune stood and was about to leave when he had to jump out of the way as twenty kage bunshins came running back into the hollow, each carrying fallen logs or small boulders. Apparently they'd been waiting to get back in for awhile.

 

As the last clone passed him, Naruto again turned to leave when a sharp whistle caught his attention. He glanced back and saw Naru-kun still standing near the foundation. The blood clone tapped his upper right arm. It took the kitsune a moment to get what the clone was trying to tell him.

 

“Can't believe I forgot about that,” Naruto muttered as he pulled the bandage away from his bicep to expose his Flesh Burn seal. He'd had to deactivate it temporarily so his blood wouldn't deteriorate while he made his seals. Leaving it off would be a bad idea though, just in case some Akatsuki spy had tailed him to the village. Rubbing a streak of blood across the seal, Naruto pressed his fingers to it and concentrated. A moment later, the seal briefly glowed red as it reactivated.

 

The half-demon nodded in satisfaction and gave a brief wave of thanks to the blood clone before he disappeared through the path.

 

Naru-kun watched his master go for a moment, before glancing back at the kage bunshins. He sweat-dropped when he noticed that the twenty clones that had returned with supplies were now standing around and staring at him.

 

“Alright you ape-rats, get back to work!!” The blood clone roared at the top of his lungs. Every clone jumped three feet in the air and took off, hectically trying to find a task to do. Naru-kun grinned in satisfaction at the response.

 

He'd always wanted to say that.

 

***

 

As dawn broke over the Hidden Village of Leaf, some of the slowly awakening inhabitants were witness to a rather strange sight.

 

And sound.

 

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Crunch! Curses!

 

Naruto was responsible mostly for the last part as he tried to pull his leg out of the pavement. Several villagers blushed and covered their ears at the obscenities the teen was growling. With a hard yank, the kitsune's leg tore free from the ground. Unfortunately, he was totally off balance at this point and couldn't stop himself from toppling over on his back. The pavement gave way in a near perfect outline of his body with a massive boom echoing through the street. Every passerby paused to stare at the odd teen, who was trying in vain to dig himself out of his hole.

 

You could always tell when Naruto was in town.

 

The kitsune finally gave up and six kage bunshins appeared around him. They quickly hauled him up and out of the depression, then pulled/dragged him into a nearby alley. Naruto willed them to lean him up against the side of a building before he dispelled the lot. For several moments, he simply panted and caught his breath, while feeling the painful itching throughout his body that meant his dozen or so broken bones were mending back together.

 

Shit, maybe 5Gs was a bit too much.

 

During his training in the Ice Village, Naruto had set his gravity seal to 2Gs and left it. After a month, he didn't even notice he had it on anymore. A normal human would suffer from neural deterioration from the constant extra force on the brain, but the kitsune's regeneration handily negated that little problem. Combined with the Spirit Bind seal and the huge amount of bizarre training he'd done, Naruto's body was far stronger than it had ever been. The gravity seal was nice in that it affected every cell of his body, so every part of him got stronger from the constant strain. It also didn't require bulky and uncomfortable metal weights that needed to be added or removed. It was an incredible training tool.

 

A squeal of metal echoed in the alley as the drain grate he was standing on gave out from his magnified weight. Naruto's feet tore through until the ground was even with his lower shins. Yeaaahhh. 5Gs was way too much.

 

The kitsune quickly added up some figures in his head. He weighed 145 lbs normally, so with 2Gs he weighed 290 lbs. At 5Gs, he weighed 725 lbs. According to one of the science texts the Kyuubi had read, gravity was constantly accelerating. If that's the case, then whenever he took a step…Well, the numbers were beyond him but it was no wonder he was breaking the ground open everywhere he went. He could burn chakra to buffer the impact, but there was only so much it could handle. Not to mention, he was getting pretty dizzy with this thing on so high. It had been fine for the most part when he was doing pushups and sit-ups in the woods during the early morning hours, but after awhile even his healing factor was having a hard time keeping up.

 

Decision made, Naruto pulled up his shirt and moved away the bandages covering his chest while cutting his finger open. Touching it to the evil wagon wheel seal, he removed several spokes off the marking. Instantly, his head cleared and a huge load lifted off his shoulders. The kitsune sighed in relief. 3Gs was much better, though still rough enough that it would make training hard. 435 lbs would do for now.

 

Naruto yanked his feet out of the ground and started walking down the alley. His boot-sandals still made loud clunking noises, but he wasn't breaking through the ground anymore. He quickly decided to do his jogging through the back ways and side streets, to avoid anymore attention being drawn to him. He didn't want people whispering about `the demon' so soon after he got back home. The half-demon took a deep breath and started jogging again, moving at a considerably slower pace than he was used to. He made decent time though as he moved through his route of alleys and back streets throughout Konoha.

 

Naruto's training idea was pretty simple. He did simple exercises, such as pushups, sit-ups, and jogging. The gravity seal made it harder to move, added more resistance to every movement, and constantly deteriorated his muscles at a higher speed. Since muscles get stronger as they heal from damage, Naruto's regeneration allowed him to constantly enhance the tissue even as the seal worked to beat them down. He also found that his bones were getting harder and denser over time, though at a much slower rate and only if he kept a great deal of calcium in his diet. Overall, his body was constantly growing tougher, though he was surprised at the slow change in his physical appearance. His muscles grew stronger, but not much larger. Well, he didn't think too much of it. It was probably just some weird side-effect of the Unlimiter.

 

To keep himself from going through the ground or damaging public property too much, Naruto used chakra to cushion his heavy body from the surrounding environment. It was similar to water or snow walking, though don't-break-the-ground walking didn't have as much of a ring to it. The Spirit Bind seal constantly restricted and rippled his chakra, forcing him to burn more and adapt to the random changes within his inner coils, making the simple task of chakra buffering much harder. It was great for enhancing both his chakra reserves and control, but it also caused him to screw up a bunch. There was only so much cushioning he could do between the two restraining seals.

 

With both tough seals on, Naruto didn't have to do any extremely advanced training exercises or obstacle courses to get the results he wanted. That suited him fine, as it was quicker doing simple workouts. He needed to get several units of the fox's power under his belt as fast as possible. Without any real idea when Akatsuki would next strike, the kitsune didn't have time to mess around with fancy training techniques. He'd work on advanced fighting styles after he'd absorbed a large hunk of the demon chakra reservoir. He wouldn't feel safe until he had.

 

Over the course of several hours, the blonde teen managed fours circuits of the route he'd picked that meandered throughout the village. It was getting close to ten in the morning when he tripped in an alley near a park and hit the ground with a resounding boom. He grimaced as several of his ribs broke from the impact. After a moment, he stirred and spit out some bits of pavement along with a tooth. He eyed the busted crown for moment before shrugging.

 

It would grow back eventually.

 

Rolling over onto his back used up far more energy than should be legal. Naruto stared at the blue sky for awhile as he panted and regained his strength. Somehow, the wind and sunshine relaxed him enough that he almost dozed off right where he lay. A smattering of whispers and hushed voices caught his attention before he totally fell asleep though. Turning his head, he realized that he was actually pretty close to the playground where he used to sit by himself every day. The voices were coming from a small group of shy looking kids (they couldn't be more than five or six years old) who were watching him with unveiled curiosity and wide eyes. They `eeped' when they noticed him looking back at them and tried to turn away, though they didn't seem to be doing a good job of it.

 

Naruto couldn't help but smile at the sight. His smile was hesitantly returned by the kids, who took it as permission to stare at him with open awe.

 

Twenty minutes later…

 

“Whooo!!”

 

Naruto grunted as his foot hit the ground with enough force to shatter the pavement (and part of his heel.) The kid sitting on top his sandal laughed in delight at the destruction the kitsune was wrecking on the concrete surrounding the playground. After chatting with the kids for awhile, he'd offered a piggyback ride to one of them. Naturally, the others refused to stand for this and demanded rides for themselves. To divert the impending argument about who would go first, Naruto had made the mistake of offering to give them all rides at the same time. He now had a kid sitting on each foot while wrapped around the accompanying shin, a kid sitting on his shoulders, one hanging off each arm, and about three or four fractures in his legs from the greatly magnified weight.

 

“Haha! Break the path over there, Naruto-nii-chan!” The one on his shoulders yelled in delight.

 

`Pfft, kids,' Naruto thought, though he grinned at the children's excitement.

 

“You got it, runt,” The kitsune said as he plodded over towards the concrete path that led up to the swing set. He'd managed to bust his way through about twenty more feet of cement when his right ankle gave out with a sickening crack. Naruto's eyes widened as he toppled forward against his will.

 

“Ack! Everybody-off-everybody-off!!”

 

His yelling and the follow up boom totally drowned out five popping noises. As the dust settled, Naruto was revealed lying in a large hole in the pavement that jaggedly outlined his body. Five kage bunshins stood around him, each holding a squirming child in their arms.

 

The kitsune managed to lift his head up long enough to say, “I think that's enough for today guys,” before he went mostly limp.

 

“That was soooo cool, Aniki-san!” One of them yelled as the clones set them down. Naruto smiled at her and dug his hand out of the concrete long enough to wave goodbye as the group moved off, chattering excitedly about what a cool dude he was. When they were busy playing again, the half-demon sent a mental command to his clones to lift him up and out of the crater he'd made. He'd reached his limit for the day. All he wanted to do was go back to the hollow and sleep for as long as he could.

 

Kage bunshins were such handy things, Naruto thought later as one of his clones gave him a piggyback ride down the road that led to his hollow. He grinned at the thought and relaxed a little, enjoying the opportunity to look about the beautiful land that surrounded his home. His home.

 

It was good to be back.

 

***

 

Author's Notes:

 

General:

 

Just as a note to people who want to download this as a text file on their PCs: You might want to wait a few days before you do that or come back in a week or so and replace your file again. The reason is there are often errors that I miss the first time through and that reviewers point out to me. I usually do a couple touch ups and replace the chapter after a couple days. It's nothing big at all, but just something to consider.

 

So, as a note I'll continue to give a general Japanese translation for jutsu and seal names the first time I show them (just as homage to Japan), then I'll stick with the English names from then on. If I screw it up, by all means let me know, though I ask you to do it politely. Thanks in advance!

 

As a note, I'm just going to make up my own calendar for Foxhound. The year is 1012 P.C. (Post-Cataclysm) and the year system was started immediately after a World War (Three or Four) decimated major civilization around the globe. The war broke out roughly between 2050-2150 AD, so the Naruto world is a ways into the future. Just FYI.

 

Oh yeah, Naruto will NOT be using a Desert Eagle in this fic. I thought it would be a fun cameo and useful to reinforce the future feel of the world.

 

Ah, the gnome question. To stave of reviews from D and D freaks yelling at me that I got it all wrong, I'll say up front that I used artistic license on it. I know the facts are probably off. Don't worry about it. I pulled various ideas and stuff from all over the place when I came up with Tobias and Marion. Thought it'd be kind of cool. Oh, and brownie points to anyone who knows where the character Oswald Fiddlebender is from (no cheating Telosphilos, haha :)) To those who figured it out, yeah I'm a nerd. Bite me.

 

I'll explain what the creature imprisoned in the Hidden Night is in a later chapter. It's not form any other fandom, it's just something I made up.

 

To anyone who wants to ask me a question and get it answered sooner than the next story, just go to my lj. The link is on my profile. If you leave an anonymous message there, please give me your profile or penname so I know who I'm talking to.

 

Jutsu: Not too many this time. That'll change, chapter 8. I decided to include an overall description of demon seals, as I recently realized I never fully explained them.

 

Tenma Fuu (Demon Seal) (S Rank; due to a law passed by Tsunade) Reality warping seals created and fueled by demonic power.

 

Demon seals are a method to rewrite and alter parts of reality using chaos. They're powerful, but double-edged.

Good side: Because of the chaos factor, they can do virtually anything. The user can get almost anything they want done as long as their seals are detailed enough and enough chakra is pumped into them.

Bad side: Because of the chaos factor, they can do virtually anything. They're unstable in their creation and the slightest mistake can cause a totally different result from the one intended. Ex: It'll open a portal to Hell or Heaven; it'll summon a demon lord; it'll suddenly create an ever growing tree; it'll make an entire town spring up around you; it'll turn you into a three-headed chicken; etc. (Note: I'm not joking about the chicken part.)

Every time a demon seal is first created, there's always the chance that it'll go haywire. This is because of the chaos factor and it can't be helped. On the plus side, once they're made they're stable, so Naruto doesn't have to worry about pigeons coming out of the seals on his body or something silly like that. If most of the extra variables are worked out, then there's usually about a one to five percent chance of a chaos misfire.

As a rule of thumb, it's not a good idea to make demon seals for combat or to build a seal specifically as a weapon of some sort. Combat and weapon type situations contain a complex amount of variables and equations that a chaotic seal will totally screw up. In other words, rather than a one to five percent chance of a misfire, there will be a thirty to forty percent chance. That's NOT good. The risks far outweigh the potential benefits of a demon based superweapon. Best to let the seals create something else that can be used as a weapon, like the blood clones. Altering only a few variables is far safer than screwing around with dozens.

Demon seals are created through a complex set of formulas known only to demon lords (great and lesser lords, though only the great lords have the perfect formulas.) The user starts with a concept and slowly works through it, eliminating as many undesired variables as possible to minimize a chance of it going wrong. Because of this, each seal is highly customized to a single situation. Every demon seal serves one purpose and one purpose only (ie. The seals that cloaked the Kyuubi's dens are similar, but not identical to each other or to the seal cloaking Naruto's hollow.) The seals must be inked in blood and only a demon, someone with demonic lineage, or someone who signed a contract with a demon can use them. Demon chakra is the only energy that can activate them, though they can support themselves from other sources after they're created.

 

Space Seal: A seal that distorts time-space around a given area, making the area of effect disappear from the perspectives of anyone outside it. An individual can leave at any place from the inside, though only an entrance seal can allow someone to enter and only at a single point. From outsider's view, the land is totally gone and everything else rushes in to fill in the void. In the middle of a city, this would be hugely noticeable, but in the forest only an Indian tracker could tell the difference. Complex illusions cover the evidence of the space distortion, creating an almost impenetrable `hidey-hole.' This seal requires a large and constant source of chakra to stay active. The gravity distortion when it first goes active will almost certainly make you puke your guts out if you're inside the blasted thing.

 

Power-Plant Seal: A seal that draws in energy from the surrounding environment, converts it to chakra (which can be drawn on by other seals at that point), and then altered into a different form of energy that encourages cellular growth and radiated back outwards. The primary power source is plant life, though it can be modified to draw on solar and geothermal energy, if such a source is available. The seal draws life force away from the plants, then sends the excess back at them in a from that enhances there growth. Because of this, the plants eventually get used to the back and forth pull and grow more robust and faster than before. In a heavily forested area, this seal generates a LOT of power and can be used to run several other demon seals as well as electricity and heat for a house (within reason, like lights and a stove.)

 

Entrance Seal: A seal that distorts space-time and stabilizes it into a small tunnel, allowing passage between two different space zones. Basically, it's a door that can only be opened with the blood of the person who made. There's a small spot on the outside of the field that Naruto (or one of his blood clones) streaks with a drop of blood. It activates and opens the tunnel. It can be altered to accept blood of other people to allow entrance, though only the creator (Naruto) can do this. A simple, but handy seal.