Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Clone ❯ chapter 11 ( Chapter 11 )

 

 

A/N

 

After a long hiatus the clone is back with a brand spanking new name which I feel explains the story in a deeper light as it revolves around the relationship between these three characters. My apologies to all loyal readers who were caught out on a loop by my inability to continue the story never fear, I'm back with a probably onetime only special length chapter just for your reading pleasure. Without further ado please enjoy…

 

The Demon, The Avenger and The Ice-Queen (DAIQ)

 

Darklighter

 

 

Darklighter

“Human speech”

“ Demon or summon speech”

“Human thoughts”

“Demon or summon thoughts”

Disclaimer: …………………………̷ 0;………………… whatever

 

 

 

 

Chapter 11: great conclusion! The victor is…who?

 

 

 

 

Sasuke's world slowed down as the approaching fist of Naruto's clone zoomed into view, this was it the deciding factor. Suddenly his vision shattered into a thousand fragments and for a single instant time stopped. The world reformed but slower than before, Sasuke suddenly knew the exact angle of attack for this clone and the following actions of the others. Grabbing the clone by the hand he flung it into an attacker behind him while at the same time ducking under a kick from another enemy. Tripping the clone's leg he urged up in a powerful uppercut knocking out yet another clone that he had barely glimpsed moving in.

 

Kakashi watched with renewed interest. It had seemed for a second that Naruto had the match under raps. However somehow Sasuke had managed to awaken the sharingan. This would prove to be interesting.

 

Naruto's brow furrowed in thought, somehow Sasuke was suddenly much more coordinated, he made no excessive movements and so was expending the minimum stamina while taking out the maximum amount of clones. It was almost as if he knew what they were going to do before they did it. Determined to end the fight one way or another Naruto rushed forward to engage Sasuke in one last surprise attack.

 

Both Kakashi and Hinata saw Naruto's tactical error. The appropriate action would have been to continue with his routine simply summoning clones at an increased rate to make up for Sasuke's newfound agility and coordination. Kakashi always knew that Naruto was primarily a berserker type fighter preferring to rush in and destroy an enemy than to fight from distance.

 

Naruto rushed in aiming a powerful blow at Sasuke's temple hoping to knock him out. The Uchiha prodigy reacted well leaning back and using the opportunity to glance behind him. He saw as he had expected the last clone rushing in from the back. Turning his lean into a hand stand he brought his legs around and on each side of the clone's neck. Squeezing his thighs as hard as he could he brought his legs back forward in a catapult motion sending the offending clone careening into Naruto.

 

Naruto had no time to react to Sasuke's maneuver. His clone crashed into him sending them to the ground. Even as he fell Naruto evaluated the situation, the clone was almost timed out anyway and Sasuke would be attacking regardless. Biting his thumb he decided to up the ante. Even as he slammed into the ground he faced his completed the seal sequence slamming his palm into the ground with a yell. “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!”

 

“Shit” Sasuke aborted his attack opting to land on the ground and jump backwards. Just in time too, before the summon smoke cleared a huge pink tongue shot out with the force of a sledge hammer aimed straight for his head. Sasuke could not move out of the way since he was in midair, he could however use it as a hand stand. This he did using the tongue to his advantage he grabbed onto it and used it to vault further up into a tree branch. The huge tongue careened of the tree, causing the whole organism to shake violently almost displacing Sasuke. It left a large dent in the tree trunk as it retracted back to its owner.

 

Hinata suppressed a shiver of excitement no matter who won this match in her eyes it had been beautiful. The balance of power constantly shifting as each fighter unveiled yet another trump card. Naruto was currently crouching on top of a frog taller and definitely wider than he was. It had orange skin with blue markings on its eyes mouth and general body. Funnily enough it was also dressed up in a purple jacket that was furred at the collar. It had on black gloves and a single gleaming kunai held in one hand, its most defining feature however was the golden dragon head pipe sticking out of its mouth.

 

“Naruto, you summoned me for a troublesome opponent.”

 

”Meh its not biggie Gamakachi we'll just squash him real quick.”

 

“You better have candy for me after this shit idiot.”

 

“Hai, Hai move your ass lets go!” Gamakachi started moving even before Naruto had issued his command leaping forward and to the right while shooting out his tongue at the tree branch Sasuke was already perched on. Even as the tongue obliterated the branch with the force of a small explosion Sasuke was leaping forward aiming to roll onto the ground and circle them from the back. Naruto anticipated him though and leapt off Gamakachi's back to intercept him.

 

Naruto dealt Sasuke a straight dropkick from above just as the prodigy came out of his roll. For once the sharingan clad prodigy was caught flatfooted as he barely got his arms into a weak guard that the powerful smashed through anyway. It was enough however, his guard had deflected enough of the kicks force to ensure it was not enough to knock him unconscious. Sasuke had one more trump card and he decided to pull it, feigning unconsciousness he lay still. Naruto turned away towards Kakashi supposing he had achieved victory, immediately Sasuke summoned the last of his strength and speed surged to his feet behind the unsuspecting Naruto and dealt him a clean blow to the back of the head.

 

Naruto's face registered shock as he lost the link holding Gamakachi and the frog was de-summoned, sliding into blackness even as he slid to his knees he registered only one thought.

 

“Two can play this game.”

As he slid to the floor Naruto grabbed Sasuke's leg. The Uchiha shrugged him off eager to register his victory with Kakashi. He didn't notice the exploding charge placed surreptitiously on his boot.

 

Luckily for his leg Kakashi did. Running forward faster than any of his genin thought possible he ripped the tag off the approaching Sasuke's leg and tossed it into the air where it exploded harmlessly.

 

Sasuke could only stare in shock from the explosion to Naruto.

“That bastard… he would go this far for victory? I'm still too weak.”

 

Kakashi on the other hand was not at all impressed with Naruto's tactic, he could have ended the career of a Konoha Shinobi. However that was for later

 

“Tazuna. I assume you have seen enough to reassure you of Konoha's ability?” The man nodded at his question evidently still awed by the display. “Hinata unfortunately these two numbskulls beat the shit out of each other, neither one of them is in shape to face you now as it would be no test of your abilities.”

 

Hinata simply nodded neutrally as she leapt down from the tree where she had watched the match. “I assumed as much Kakashi-san, may I go inside now?”

 

“yea sure help me take Naruto to his room though.”

 

Kakashi watched Sasuke as they went back inside. The boy seemed disappointed and he continually glanced at Naruto.

 

“Good job Sasuke.”

 

“Huh?” Kakashi was one of the few people that had hardly ever praised the prodigy, as a result he was one of the few people whose praise Sasuke took to heart.

 

“You awakened the Sharingan.” Kakashi continued as they descended the staircase, it means we can up your training when we get back.

 

“So that was it…” Sasuke smirked as they reached the main foyer, I'm one step closer to killing him.

 

Kakashi turned outside Naruto and Sasuke's room to address the conscious members of his team. We go for Gatou the day after tomorrow, get some rest I want you two on peak form.

 

“What about Naruto?” They both questioned simultaneously

 

“He's not coming after the debacle today.” Was Kakashi's reply as he pushed open the door with his foot.

 

 

The assassination of Gatou turned out to be a relatively simple endeavor. Kakashi had simply used a single Raikiri to pierce his vile heart while Hinata and Sasuke held off the numerous mercenaries. One member of the cell was conspicuously missing Kakashi had forbidden Naruto from taking part in the rest of the mission, giving him time to properly reflect on his misdeeds. In effect, Naruto was on time out. Aside from knowing a dozen ways to slay a man Naruto was pretty much your average thirteen year old, as a result he did what all 13 year olds do when on time out. He sulked. He still felt that his actions during his spar with Sasuke were perfectly reasonable. In the future Sasuke would have to assume that an enemy he presumed finished might still have enough strength left to kamikaze him, in placing the exploding tag on Sasuke's leg Naruto had tried to make a last ditch attempt to ensure a draw if not a victory. How was he supposed to know that the lowest setting on an exploding tag could still be lethal? How could he know that his last attack could have parted Sasuke from his leg effectively ending his brief stint as a Shinobi if Kakashi had not intervened?

 

“That's right kit, you were within your rights.”

 

“Kyuubi… why is it that it seems we talk more recently.”

 

“Hmm well your life up till this point has been relatively bloodless… these are your formative years, if I guide you we can become the strongest container to ever exist.”

 

“It's funny how you assume I actually want your help.”

 

“Don't lie to yourself, we are a symbiotic organism. When you draw on my chakra I know you feel it, the rage, the bloodlust. The sheer thrill of it.”

 

“I'm not you Kyuubi, I'll never be what you are”

 

“Ha, ha you are young, and idealistic. We Bijuu are the only creatures that are truly free. We destroy what we want, we create when we feel the whim and do everything according to our own power and pleasure. Yes you will never be like me, because you will always be a slave to your petty morals and obligations.”

 

“They say the devil could sell a ninja his own chakra. I expect no less from you, why did you contact me?”

 

“So curt container? I was getting into the conversation.”

 

“Seriously cut to the chase, I'm in a bad mood now, so this is the wrong time to try and befriend me.”

 

“very well I'll be as blunt as possible, currently you are weak.”

 

“yea fuck you too”

 

“listen worm… somehow the fourth Hokage did what no human had dared do before, he sealed me greatest of the tailed beasts. Now while I am in no way content with my situation I still have my pride at least, if I am to be an unwilling party to this… relationship then it will be the best damned one of its kind.”

 

“So what are you saying exactly?”

 

“I am saying that currently you are weak, against any other ninja above chunnin level even with the meager amounts of my power you can call on you will most likely be annihilated, a state of being I am not eager to reach any time soon.”

 

“Aww afraid to face trial for your crimes?”

 

“Say it how you want, that Sasuke boy mopped the floor with you, how do you think that reflects on me?”

 

“Why would I CARE how it reflects on you? You are the source of all my problems.”

 

“What problems? In another dimension you could have been reviled, instead only a select few know of your condition. You had the privilege because of me to travel with the trainer of the man who sealed me and yet still you are weak.”

 

“And what about my parents? I haven't exactly had a healthy child hood with that man. How do I know I would have wanted to be ninja? Now I'm forced into this job because Konoha must use the power I have received unwillingly, my father could have been a baker. A nice peaceful job but me I'm a murderer.”

 

“you're pathetic”

 

“SERIOUSLY FUCK YOU, YOU THINK I WANT TO HAVE YOU SEALED IN ME??? YOU THINK YOU”RE SOME KIND OF BENEFIT? NOW YOU COME TELLING ME ABOUT POWER, IS THAT ALL THAT MATTERS? PHYSICAL MIGHT? WHY THE FUCK DID IT HAVE TO BE KONOHA, IF YOU NEEDED A VIOLENCE FIX WHY IN THE CITY WHERE I WAS BORN. WHY THE DAY I WAS BORN, WAS I THE ONLY CON-FUCKING-VENIENT NEW BORN AROUND?” from the start of his rant Naruto had been screaming both mentally and verbally letting out the pent up pain from years of suffering. The Hokage expected great things from him, Jiraiya expected great things of him, Kakashi was shaping him to be a team leader. None of these individuals at any point considered his own view point.

 

“…So quit then.” Kyuubi's voice usually harsh with barely restrained violence was suddenly calm, mellow.

 

Naruto looked around the clearing briefly they were still alone.

“what do you mean?”

”You heard me, quit you're even weaker than I thought.”

 

“I can't quit, I have a commitment to Konoha.”

 

“Is that the only reason?”

 

“No…” Naruto admitted to himself slowly “I promised myself that if I did this then I would be the best there has ever been.”

 

“and are you?”

 

“I'm only 13”

 

“age is a crutch for the weak, are you the strongest there has ever been?”

 

“No… no I'm not.”

 

“do you know why?”

 

“Because I haven't had enough time if I keep going at this rate..”

 

Suddenly the calm aura of Kyuubi's presence left to be replaced by its traditional malevolent vibe. “Foolish mortal, by human standards I would still be in my youth, and yet I am ranked as the 9 tails, strongest of all Bijuu. You are still weak because you have failed to embrace your own nature.”

 

“embrace my own nature?”

 

“ do you think… that you are human?”

 

“what do you mean what would I be if I am not a human.”

 

“you are a container, a Jinchukiri an ancient civilization called your kind Hanyou.”

 

“Hanyou?”

 

“Half demon, though the term is not entirely accurate it encompasses the fullness of your situation.”

 

“What the hell, you can't convince me that I am in any part a demon I'm just your container.”

 

For the first time Kyuubi unleashed the fullness of its presence on Naruto, it was like staring at a god in the face, Naruto was driven to his knees by the sheer power of Kyuubi's being. He saw the malevolent aspect of the beast, and yet at the same time he saw its incredible intellectual capacity and self awareness. How could you classify such a being as good or evil? It was above such petty distinctions, above classifications of right or wrong, male or female, mortal or immortal. He could see now why the fourth had made no attempt to kill the beast how could death by its own nature an ethereal state of being hold a creature, no a force of this magnitude?

 

“From here out shut up and let me speak, my purpose in this cosmos is not to convince a spoiled runt of his own wholesome morality.”

 

Naruto could only grit his teeth to keep from vomiting as he knelt on the ground, in the short seconds he had been exposed to the Kyuubi he had seen millennia of existence. Unspeakable acts of violence, wiping out whole cities at a whim, and yet some instances of amazing kindness and self sacrifice. Becoming the patron god of a small village on the brink of extinction, spending a night- in female form with a king whose wife had stolen his throne for her lover, saving a sole human child from consumption by wild animals. The list went on.

 

“What I said before was a lie. We Bijuu are not free because we act according to our whim. No demons in general are free because we do something our former kin, humans have forgotten how to do. We listen first and foremost to our instincts and emotions, before we consider our intellectual knowledge. Yes you are half Hanyou. I have been sealed in you since birth. The result is the same as if a human and demon had conceived, my essence has over the years augmented your body. You have incredible chakra and stamina reserves and the potential to increase them significantly. You are more durable than other humans, and you have an accelerated healing factor. In short physically you have more potential than anyone but another half demon. However my presence has had a… less physical result as well. You have an incredible rage and bloodlust quotient. Unlike other beings though you retain the ability to maintain rational thought while under the rage, a useful skill if trained. Lastly you have two chakra sources which if used properly can give you an unprecedented edge in battle.

 

“Unprecedented edge?”

 

“I don't recall saying you can talk now but yes unprecedented. Jinchukiri were created to harness the power of a demon for a human. Most Jinchukiri have kept their chakra sources separate I suggest we fuse ours.”

 

“I find it hard to believe that power can be gained so easily.”

 

“of course there are certain rules that apply. The new chakra will be 5 times harder to control than your current reserves. Also there is a law that applies to the process. The amount of chakra fused must be exactly half of the full amount of the smaller reserve.”

 

“Huh?” (Don't blame Naruto for being confused, at this point I was as well, actually I had to rephrase that 6 times and I still don't think it came out right.)

 

“What that means” Kyuubi began to explain with unprecedented patience. “Is that the process requires half of your full reserves, and some of my chakra equal to the other half, meaning that your new reserve will be the exact same size as the old one.”

 

“And what happens to your own reserve.”

 

“The technique requires horrendous amounts of chakra. Your old system and mine must be destroyed completely and replaced by a new shared system, which brings us to the next point, the technique will not work if I am still in your body.”

 

“So this has been a waste of time then.”

 

“No fool, you must transfer the seal. With me in it to another preferably inanimate object.”

 

“Seems like this depends a lot on me having unconditional trust in you not wanting to escape.” Naruto commented dryly

 

“Hahaha yes it does mortal, but let me show you my intention.”

 

Suddenly Naruto found himself drawn into his mindscape, he saw the sewer and the huge jail cell held down by a flimsy slip of paper on which was written seal. On his last visit Kyuubi had appeared in its natural form, this time however it was a young woman. An extraordinarily beautiful young woman. Who happened to be naked.

 

“Kyuubi what the hell?” Naruto blushed furiously while covering his eyes half heartedly.

 

It had long crimson hair that reached past the knees, to sum her up in a sentence she was beautiful, with a hint of danger.

 

“Stop acting like a virgin, come closer let me show you my intent.”

 

Naruto moved forward cautiously until he was right in front of the cage, last time he had been this close Kyuubi had lashed out at him with its claws.

 

“Look me in my eyes.”

 

Her eyes were milky orbs, like an oracle, she had no pupils or if she did they were too closely matched to be distinguishable from the rest of her eyes. After gazing for an interminable amount of time Naruto felt as he was falling, until all he could see was the white of her eyes. This focused he could see her pupils, they were a dull gray and it looked almost as if there were clouds of white flowing through them. Naruto sensed more than saw Kyuubi's emotions first as a minor annoying buzz but it built up, until they were as clear to him as his own. First and foremost she was still irritated at herself for being caught in the fourth's technique thirteen years ago. At the same time she had… hope? That her she would have more fun if Naruto agreed to her deal, Naruto could detect that she was also excited at what could be called a fresh start. She had been the best Bijuu and after a while that had gotten boring, now she would see if she could be one of a part in the best Jinchukiri. When Kyuubi sensed he had seen enough she withdrew suddenly, Naruto was left staggering with a faint sense of… loss? At the cutting of the close connection. “That was… intense.”

 

“get used to it, if we go through with this we should experience a lesser version of that connection constantly.”

 

“Connected like that?”

 

“yes, though I am sure it will be possible to dull the connection I imagine it would be almost harmful to us to do so, we will truly become symbiotic. What you feel I feel, what you see I see. It should be… interesting.”

 

“A few questions before I agree to anything.”

 

“pssht go ahead.”

 

“What do you suggest for an alternate container?”

 

“Preferably a weapon, The 10 years of the time I have been in you has been spent formulating this plan. It was only recently when you used that mace that I discovered where your talents lie in those arts.”

 

“Ok, I can buy that secondly you have been talking as if this information has been common knowledge, to the Bijuu at least how come it hasn't been done before?”

 

“Simply because it is a lengthy painful process that does not yield immediate results. For a while you will be limited due to the lack of control, most Jinchukiri rely on the crude method of drawing power directly from the beast.”

 

“two last questions, you say the new reserve will be directly equal to my current reserves so how do I get any stronger in terms of chakra capacity? Also is this going to be a painful process?”

 

“How stupid are you? You can increase the new reserves by training as always. This is giving you a whole new system of chakra, half demon half human. With the best of both worlds, much more potent than human chakra and yet at the same time much easier to control than demon chakra. As for whether this will hurt I do not know but I imagine it will, a lot.”

 

“great so it has to hurt too.” Naruto sat down in the dank sewer that was Kyuubi's lair and just thought for a while, weighing up the risks, the possibilities and the consequences. Kyuubi was content simply to watch him in her long experience this was the point at which further pressure was detrimental. Either he would accept the power, or he would reject it.

 

Finally Naruto rose, steel determination in his gaze, “I'll do it.”

 

Kyuubi suppressed a sigh of relief, in her eyes at least he had made the correct decision.

 

“Lets get started right away then.”

 

“what right now?” Naruto's face registered shock, he probably thought they would put off the process.”

 

“Yes right now, we cannot afford to be interrupted, the process is long even if the actual duration of the change is amazingly short. We must commit to this before your teammates return.”

 

Kyuubi released Naruto from his mindscape and pretty soon he was staring once again at the clearing. “where then?” was his only question.

 

“It's too dangerous inside so right here is fine, first we must summon the new container of my consciousness.”

 

Naruto closed his eyes for a second before responding, preparing mentally for his task. “Ok so how do we do that.”

 

“First draw on my chakra.”Kyuubi almost smiled as she felt the immediate puny tug on her vast reserves, the kit was eager to get it over with then, good.

 

“Now use the seals exactly as I tell you.”Kyuubi began to list of seals and Naruto followed, she started out slow but she gradually picked up the speed, eventually Naruto was unable to follow the seal order of the technique as one seal blazed into his consciousness to be performed immediately followed by another.

 

Finally he reached the last seal and Kyuubi commanded “Quickly! Bite your thumb and slam your palm on the ground!”

 

Naruto complied tasting the tangy iron of his own blood for a split second before performing the command.

 

Nothing happened at first. Then slowly a fissure began to open in the air directly above the ground where he had slammed down his palm. It was inky black, the color of midnight.

 

“You must pass through to recover the item.”

 

“what? Pass through that? It looks dangerous.”

 

“Now! Before the jutsu times out.”Kyuubi's patience was wearing thin as her container started to balk at this vital juncture. “The portal is a direct link to my lair, more specifically to a room where I keep memoranda of all my toughest fights, a trophy room if you will.”

 

Naruto swallowed once, finding he had to steel himself to pass through, closing his eyes he let the inky blackness cling to him as he stepped through. A moment of vertigo later he found himself in a dimly lit room that resembled a dungeon, except it was several times larger than any dungeon he had ever seen, not that he had seen any. Hanging from the ceiling was the intact skeleton of a creature he had never seen before. It had a vaguely reptilian look but it seemed to be built for flying with a wingspan well over 80 meters.

 

“The Dragon lord Kralask, I killed him in my first millennia.”

 

“Whats a dragon?”

 

“Giant flying lizard, really annoying they cheat too, that one spat chakra enhanced flames hotter than hellfire.”

 

“And I suppose you have direct experience with hellfire.”

 

“As a matter of fact I do.”But Naruto wasn't listening he was busy examining a human size statue sporting the gear of some long dead warrior.

 

“No time for site seeing now, the… special weapons are all the way down that aisle and we only have about 3 minutes forty seconds left.”

 

“Special weapons? I like the sound of that.”

 

“I know you do kit.” Naruto quickly traversed the space trying not to get absorbed in the countless items that caught his attention. Finally he reached the weapons, and weapons there were, Bo staffs, swords, and daggers the list went on.

 

“Hmm I forget now where I put it.”

 

“Jeez don't tell me I'm going to have to shift through all this.”

 

“Don't even think about it fool, half the weapons here are cursed.”

 

Naruto involuntarily shifted away from a dagger he had been about to pick up, now that he looked at it, it seemed to have a slightly malevolent gleam.

 

“God!! Tell a person these things before he wanders around curious about everything in sight!”

 

“It's not my fault you're a lout who can't put two and two together. This is the horde of a demon of course cursed shit is in here!”

 

“Gah I can't believe I was starting to like you.”

 

“Well I do tend to grow on people, ahh yes that's where it is! Check that box.”

 

“You mean the heavily ornate one with all the gold and diamond lining?”

 

“No you greedy bastard the other one.”

 

“ahh you mean the even more heavily ornate one by its side.” Naruto said with something of a gleam in his eyes.

 

“The one on the other side, the other side.”

 

“The plain wooden one?”

 

“Yes”

 

“That looks like its about to fall apart and the padlock is rusted.”

 

“That one exactly.”

 

“Why don't I ever get the good stuff?”

 

“shut up and pick it up.”

 

The rest of the journey was passed in silence as Naruto lugged the heavy case back through the portal, shortly after he passed the portal coalesced into a single black spot and then disappeared completely.

 

“Open the case.”

 

Naruto obeyed expecting a dank smell to waft out, instead he was surprised to see the inside was lined with purple velvet. Inside were two indescribably beautiful items.

 

“The mace is called wounded silence, its holster is unnamed. Legend has it that it that they appeared in the cold furnace of the smith-god Vulcan after he forged Mjolinir, the hammer of Thor. All that have wielded it to date have been driven to madness.”

 

“I don't understand half of what you are saying but…its beautiful.”

 

The whole mace was made out of one single piece of translucent black obsidian. The handle was the length of Naruto's forearm, and was grooved to facilitate a sure grip, there was a single leather thong extending in a loop from the base to be slipped around the wrist and further increase grip. There was no telling where the handle shaft ended and the head began, it was one seamless weave. The head was the same midnight black as the shaft, it was uniformly round and smooth like an egg and made in the same shape. At its widest point the oval harbinger of death was about as wide as Naruto's head minus shock of yellow hair.

 

The bandolier harness on the other hand was not black. It was a dark crimson red the color of dried blood. It was made almost entirely of loops and Naruto immediately understood it was meant to be worn permanently over his clothing. It was rigged to be tied at two points, the waist and either over the left shoulder or the right shoulder according to user preference.

 

Putting it on Naruto secured the belt at the waist and brought the strap over his left shoulder securing it to the belt. The holster was perfectly designed to support the mace securely while it was in carrying position and at the same time provide minimal resistance to a user drawing the weapon.

 

The simplicity and yet complexity in design of the two weapons awed Naruto as he extended his hand to pick up the mace from the box.

 

“NO! do not touch it.”

 

“Huh? Why not?”

 

“The weapon binds to its user, a binding that is permanent till the death of its user. I guess that's the simplest way to explain to you as you know nothing of DNA. Suffice to say if you bind it to you know… when you under go the change your… personal code will no longer match that of the weapon and so you will be rejected… painfully. It's a security measure that ensures it cannot be used against its user.”

 

“ahh…” Naruto was suddenly sheepish “why didn't you say so earlier?”

 

“Tch fool.” Kyuubi's words were harsh but her tone was light. “Lets continue shall we?”

 

“Yea, I channel your chakra again right?”

 

“Good you're picking up, okay so I will go through the seals. It's important at the end for you to remember to say the following words at the end. het wot gemer, het sesproc neod, het Jinchukiri temelpoc. Did you get that?

 

“Bitch what do I look like? Say that shit again.”

 

“meh you have the brain capacity of a tadpole.”

 

After another dozen repetitions Kyuubi was satisfied that Naruto had done the proper inflection and had memorized the phrase.

 

“From here on out its 20 minutes of seals, you can not under any circumstances stop or get even one wrong. If you do it means both our lives understand?”

 

“Yea I got ya, give me the damn seals already before Kakashi gets back.”

 

So for the second time that day Naruto began a series of complex hand seals, as he and Kyuubi had been retrieving the mace Kakashi had been piercing Gatou's vile heart with a half powered chidori. The rest of the man's thugs had fled after his demise and so his team was currently making its way back to the hideout to get ready for departure on the morrow.

 

Sasuke as usual was scowling while Hinata's face was impassive. They had both had to kill several thugs, Hinata accounting for many more than Sasuke simply because of the lethality of her single strikes, Kakashi scanned his young wards for any signs of mental instability, not that they were not instable as it was. There were no visible signs that dealing death had, had unnecessary effects on their psyche. Still it wouldn't hurt to sign them all up for psychoanalysis tests when they got back. A dozen kills apiece wasn't easy potatoes. Especially on a first mission. Bringing out his Icha Icha as he strolled down the road he was suddenly struck with a sense of foreboding looking up slightly he calculated the time it would take them to get back to the clearing from here about 7 minutes.

 

“Come on guys I want to get back to the safe house as soon as possible.”

 

Leaping into the trees he made sure his two dutiful apprentices followed. “Naruto, what trouble have you gotten into now.”

 

Naruto suppressed a sneeze as he continued the seal combination, another 8 or 9 minutes and he would be done. The seals were coming fast now and Naruto once again thanked Jiraiya for his training on the pain dealer. Letting his conscious thought wander while his subconscious took care of the hand sealing, again a technique he had learnt on Jiraiya's pain dealer, Naruto contemplated the repercussions of his actions. Certain members of the council could easily view this in the wrong way. Then again if everything ended up well he would only have to deal with Kakashi, Jiraiya and of course the Hokage.

 

Just as Kyuubi told him the last seal Naruto sensed movement in the clearing, seeing Kakashi he nearly hesitated before screaming out the mystical words as loudly as possible.

 

Kakashi saw Naruto perform the last seal and then scream out some kind of incantation. Nothing happened for a second, then suddenly he felt the full force of the Kyuubi's presence. It was just as terrible as the battle at Konoha all those years ago. The Kyuubi was oppressive in its power and bloodlust. The deadly red chakra surrounded Naruto and then shot up in a huge pillar a malevolent fire into the sky. Kakashi could see Naruto's clothes burn off followed by his hair. His skin was peeling off and blood was squirting out crazily. At the same time new skin was forming, and hair was growing at an accelerated rate on his head. Finally thankfully Kyuubi's chakra was gone, as quickly and as suddenly as it had come. As the smoke cleared Kakashi could make out Naruto's prone, nude form on the ground. Suddenly Naruto, mouth set in a permanent grimace of pain and eyes barely open reached one limp hand for a box on the ground next to his prone form.

 

Naruto had never experienced pain to this degree in his short life. The worst part is that the Justu kept his mind active even as it wanted to shut down from the intense pain, he felt like his body was being torn apart and rebuilt at the same time. He wanted to scream but found he couldn't his mouth was fixed into a caricature of a grimace. Just as he thought it would never end the Jutsu timed out. The column of foxfire around him died out just as quickly as it began leaving no evidence of its ever being in existence.

 

“Quickly before you black out grasp the mace!”

 

Wordlessly Naruto obeyed raising one limp hand and lunging for , grasping and grabbing the mace. Once his hand settled around the shaft he felt a stabbing sensation as something pierced his hand and drew in a quantity of his blood. Suddenly he felt a tug on his seal, he watched as a half sized representation of his exact seal was etched in blue fire on the head of the mace, as this was happening he could inexplicably feel the seal on his belly burning away. When it was done the new seal on the mace pulsed blue before glowing to a bright crimson, and then repeated the cycle in sync with his heart beat.

 

He didn't hear Kyuubi's congratulations as he faded into unconsciousness, he did see however through his almost closed eyes Hinata running towards him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A/N

 

My longest chapter ever, period. over 5000 words approaching 6000 maybe even over that, next chapter we get back to Konoha its an interlude chapter before the chunnin exams which will commence from chapter 13. I know I took an age old theme Naruto and Kyuubi merging but I hope I successfully made it original. Kudos to my new beta garthjax. Be sure to acknowledge him in any reviews as I am sure he made the reading process much easier taking the time I never have to correct those little punctuation and linguistic errors. A few side notes, the gibberish spell Kyuubi gives Naruto means “The two merge, the process done, the Jinchukiri complete.” I basically rearranged the letters in all those words but Jinchukiri. Also I'm sure many of the manga readers among you have seen the poster of Naruto with a supposedly grown up Gamakachi, well in this story let us assume that Gamakachi is three years older than he is in the manga. That is to say he is not a small baby frog when Naruto summons him but his supposed new self. Till next time,

 

Darklighter.