Naruto 1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello everybody. This will be my first story on this site and, while this chapter will start out quite a bit darker than the rest of the story, I ask you to bear with me. This chapter is essentially a prologue and the situations involved are to set the scene up for how I had originally planned. So keep in mind the whole series will not be anything like this. On another note, I shall be writing another story simultaneously once I hammer out the finer details. I have yet to decide 100% on a pairing for the other story so if there's something you'd like to see more of, let me know. But keep in mind that I will not be writing stories with mainstream pairings so don't go recommending any NaruHina or NaruSaku. I also apologize in advance if my updates get delayed a bit. I don't have a whole lot of time for writing and I'm a bit of a perfectionist so if something isn't up to my standards, I completely toss it. Other than that, let me know what you think. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 1

* * *

"He's over here! Get him!" a heavyset man calls back to a crowd of civilians as they chase a young blond boy down the narrow alleyway. The boy was running as fast as his legs could carry him from the swirling mass of hatred closing in on him. 'Why? Why does everyone hate me so much? I thought my birthday would be different this year. Gramps promised we could go out for ramen, but as soon as he left for that council meeting…it's not fair!' the boy thought to himself as he fought back the tears threatening to leak from the corners of his eyes. He panted for breath as he rounded a corner, then suddenly found himself face down on the wet pavement. He rubbed his sore jaw as he looked up to see what had struck him.

Standing above him, with a malicious grin on his face, was what appeared to be a rather large farmer judging from the callused hands and dark tan that stood out as a testament to long hours working in the fields. The grin remained on his face as bouts of laughter and praise came from the pursuing villagers that had caught up to them. Without so much as a word, the farmer grabbed the boys arm and started to drag him into a nearby warehouse. A few other men followed soon after while the rest gave out shouts of "teach the demon a lesson," or "give the brat a few good hits for me," before they all left the vicinity with smiles on their faces and retreated to the festivities in celebration of the anniversary of the nine-tailed demon fox's demise.

* * *

The young boy was unceremoniously tossed face-down onto a nearby table with a majority of his body broken, beat, and bloodied as four civilians surrounded him, including the farmer from before. Three of them went to hold his limbs down, while the other tied them to the individual legs of the cold, metal table. One of them pulled out a knife as the others set about tearing his clothes off or giving him heavy blows to the side of his face. The man with the knife stepped forward with a chuckle as the others backed off. He began carving the character for "demon" into center of the boys back as he cried out in pain. The smile on his face widened as he saw the marks disappear slowly and he spoke up. "It's a real shame that you heal so quickly brat. Cause now I'm gonna have to carve you up until no amount of healing will hide what you are."

And with that said, he was true to his word as he repeatedly carved the symbol into his back while the others picked up shards of glass from below a nearby broken window and began to mercilessly and continuously make random slashes across his back. By the time they had stopped, the boy was completely broken. The formerly exuberant life within his eyes was completely gone as he waited for his tormentors to either kill him or get bored with their little game. Three of them seemed satisfied with their handiwork and prepared to leave the boy to bleed out on the table, but the farmer that started it all was intent on having a bit more fun before finishing things.

He readjusted the boy so that he was halfway off the table, the rough edge of the cold metal biting into his waist. The others stared at him in confusion until their eyes widened in recognition at the sound of a zipper being undone. Their looks changed from that of confusion to one somewhere between apprehension and disgust, though they remained silent nonetheless.

The boy was clueless as to what was going on and didn't understand the significance of the sound of spitting before callused hands gripped his waist. The last thing he could recall was something poking him, before a white-hot pain shot through him from his rectum and everything went black.

* * *

The first thing he took notice of when he regained his senses was the moisture enveloping his feet. Paying no mind to the water or surrounding darkness, he marched forward with an empty look on his face. He kept walking with no signs of interest until he came upon a large cage. A pair of large eyes made their presence known as a low growl resounded throughout the area. The boy continued to approach the cage, seemingly unaffected by the menacing growl, until he was standing just beyond the bars of the creature's prison.

The creature narrowed his eyes in mild interest as the boy approached. **"What's your name, brat?" **At the sound of the menacing voice, the boy seemed to finally show some form of recognition that he wasn't alone. "Naruto Uzumaki. Who are you?" he replied monotonously as he stared into the large eyes before him. The beast chuckled at the question as the lighting seemingly improved and his form was revealed. There, beyond the bars, was the very embodiment of fear. The creature that nearly wiped out Konoha completely. The nine-tailed fox, the most powerful being to ever exist.

**"I, brat, am the Kyuubi. I was sealed inside of you the day you were born by that damned fourth hokage of yours."** Naruto's eyes widened slightly in recognition. "You…so it's YOUR fault! The last 8 years..everything..IT WAS BECAUSE OF YOU!" Naruto shouted as his fists clenched tightly and he walked into the cage without a second thought. The killing intent leaking off of him was so thick it seemed almost palpable. The Kyuubi was mildly impressed by the boys lack of fear and the aura he radiated was something no child of his age should possess. Despite his hatred for the man who sealed him and the slight resentment he felt towards the boy for being his container, he couldn't help but feel a slight kinship with the boy. It may have simply been a result of being under that seal for all these years, but something about the sorrow, hate and loneliness in his eyes, made him feel a sort of connection. Thus, an interesting thought came to mind.

**"How would you like to make a deal that would put an end to everything, brat?"** The Kyuubi asked as he lowered his head to look the boy directly in the eyes. The look of hatred in Naruto's eyes slowly turned to one of curiosity. "I'm listening," he stated plainly as he kept his eyes firmly fixated on the ones in front of him. The giant fox allowed to large grin to spread across his face at the blond's response.

**"What would you say if I offered to lend you some of my chakra so you wouldn't have to be afraid of anyone ever again?" **Naruto took in his words and thought carefully. "I'd say, what's in it for you?" The Kyuubi let out a bit of a chuckle before replying. **"You're smarter than you let on, brat. I'm offering a trade. You get chakra, and I get out of this damn cage once in a while." **Naruto crossed his arms under his chest and thought for a few moments before coming to a decision.

"You've got a deal. However, I'm changing the terms a bit." The Kyuubi gave a confused look, but motioned for him to continue. "I'll let you out, depending on the method of course, but I want ALL of your chakra. Permanently!" The Kyuubi growled and narrowed his eyes at the idea, but thought about his options. If he agreed, he would be permanently weakening himself. However, if he declined, he would be stuck in his cage until the kid dies. Which would also mean he would cease to exist as well so it really came down to which he valued more. Having power that he can't even use, or ensuring his survival. The kid had him at an impasse, but 2 can play at the haggling game.

**"To answer your question about the method, it would be a simple summoning contract. Your terms are rather steep though, brat. How about we meet halfway and I give you half of my chakra permanently? That's still more than any other human could possibly possess and about as much as the other 8 bijuu combined." **Naruto let a small smile grace his lips. "You've got a deal fox."

**"Excellent. There are a few things you need to know first before you leave. First off, you won't be able to have it all just yet so don't get your hopes up. If I gave it all to you now your body wouldn't be able to handle it and we'd both die. I'll have to gradually seep it into your chakra coils at a slow rate until you can handle it, which won't be for several years. Secondly, the summoning scroll will have to wait a few years as well. Your chakra pools may be abnormally large, but your control is terrible and summoning is just out of your league right now. And lastly, I'm really not sure what this will do to your body. This is demon chakra we're talking about and you're a human, so don't blame me if your body goes through some…changes," **the Kyuubi said as he stood up and began leaking a small amount of his chakra out of the cage.

"Thanks, fox. I'm gonna go squash some bugs," Naruto called back with a twisted grin as he walked out of his tenant's cage.

**"The name is Kurama, brat. Don't call me fox," **Kurama growled out as the blond left. Naruto gave a small wave as he disappeared.

* * *

Naruto was unsure how much time had passed since he blacked out, but the farmer was lying on top of him panting when he regained his senses. His senses seemed to heighten as he felt the overwhelming chakra spread through him. He could feel his canines elongate as sharp claws began to form on his hands. The man above him suddenly went wide-eyed and jumped back as an ominous red chakra seemed to leak out of his pores until it covered his entire body in a cloak that seemed to radiate heat, yet filled the entire room with a cold dread. The 4 men stared in horror as he ripped his arms free and turned around to come face to face with them. Their bodies froze completely as they took in the sight before them. His face took on a more feral appearance as the 3 whisker-like scars on each of his cheeks seemed to be more pronounced and his fangs were clearly visible. The claws on each of his finger seemed razor-sharp as well, but that's not what froze them in terror. It was his eyes. The usually deep cerulean pools were replaced by an angry blood red that seemed like they were actually glowing with pure unbridled rage and hate. The usual pupils having been replaced by slits.

Naruto glared at the men in front of him as if they were merely insects that needed to be squashed before they could spread their filth. Which, to him, was essentially what they were. Naruto could feel nothing, but the hatred for the men in front of him. Under normal circumstances he would want to examine himself and learn more about the power that consumed him. But the only thoughts in his head, were of which order they would die in. Having decided on a suitable order, the man nearest him fell to the floor dead without the others even seeing what happened. The answer came a moment later as they were horrified by the sight of the boy in front of them…holding a still-beating heart. As soon as the heart made its final beat, 2 of them spat up blood as one of them had a hand buried in his stomach, while the other seemed to be missing his throat. As they fell to the ground, Naruto approached the last man standing while licking blood from his claws. It was the farmer who had started it all. It started with him, and it would end with him.

A few minutes later, a group of ANBU appeared with Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third hokage, coming in shortly after them. The sight that awaited them was beyond gruesome. One of them actually left the room before the sounds of vomiting could be heard. The first 3 bodies were nothing spectacular. They'd all seen similar deaths plenty of times…but the final victim, what was left of him at least…was a sight that none of them would ever be able to clear from their mind. His torso had clearly been ripped completely open as his intestines were apparently ripped to shreds and tossed about the area. Every extremity had been ripped off and also littered the room, including a specific part of the anatomy generally belonging only to males. And the head…the face, or what was left of it, looked like someone had scraped it against a cheese grater for an extended period of time until no flesh remained before severing the head and crushing the skull.

All eyes fell on the form of an 8-year-old boy that stood in the center of the room drenched in blood and gore. His features seemed to have all returned to normal, until he opened his eyes. The ANBU members fought back their gasps while Sarutobi clenched his teeth and tried not to think about what must've happened to cause this. He could see beyond the hatred in those eyes to the broken soul beneath them. There was seemingly nothing of his pseudo-grandson left in them. He fought back tears as he ordered all the ANBU members to leave and ordered them not to speak a word of this to anyone. They each nodded before disappearing; having no intention of ever talking about the horror they had seen.

A silent tear rolled down Sarutobi's cheek as he nodded to a man who had suddenly appeared next to him. The man had long white hair that reached down to his lower back and wore a green kimono with a red vest over it. Instead of the normal leaf headband, his was thicker with the kanji for oil. The man slowly walked up to Naruto with his hands away from his body. Naruto watched him move carefully until he was standing right in front of him. Suddenly Naruto's eyes seemed to widen as the man suddenly knelt down and threw his arms around Naruto and held him tightly. His mind couldn't seem to understand what was going on until he felt a drop of something wet fall onto his neck. His eyes returned to their usual color, though still seemingly devoid of life, as he registered the sound of choked back sobs. He recognized what was happening, but he couldn't understand why it was happening. He had never experienced someone trying to comfort him with a hug like this. He didn't even realize he had started crying until he pressed his face into the man's chest. He held tightly to the man as he continued to cry into his chest until he fell asleep. The man carefully picked the sleeping boy up and carried him over to Sarutobi.

"What should we do now, Sarutobi-sensei?" He asked as they left the warehouse. "I'm not certain. I need you to keep a close eye on him from now on, Jiraiya. Just keep a low profile until he graduates and-" Jiraiya interrupted him as he had thought of something.

"I've got a better idea sensei. Let me take him with me. Judging from his file, I'd say he's not exactly learning anything in the academy anyway. I'm sure the council would be thrilled with the idea as well and you can finally get them off your back about him for a while." Sarutobi thought about it in silence until they reached Naruto's apartment. "All right, Jiraiya. The boy will be your apprentice. When do you intend to leave?" Sarutobi asked as he opened the door for them and waited as Jiraiya set Naruto on the bed gently then pulled his blanket over him. Once they were back outside with the door locked Jiraiya responded.

"We'll leave in 2 weeks. That'll give me time to get a few things worked out. The boy can continue to go to the academy until then."

* * *

The next day, Naruto went to the academy just as he always did. Except, he no longer wore the mask of the happy-go-lucky knucklehead that everyone knew him as. Most in his class were either happy or just didn't care, but some took notice of this and wondered what was going on. They had assumed it was just a temporary thing, but after a few days, his eyes were still just as cold and lifeless as that first day. The fangirls were too busy fawning over the last Uchiha to notice, but the Uchiha had noticed. He didn't know why they did it, but he had noticed the intense glares the blond received from everyone around town. The blond had always held some interest to him because, unlike the rest of their class, he could understand his loneliness. The mask the blond wore never fooled the Uchiha. He knew he was more intelligent than he let on and the curiosity drove him to act. Growing sick of pondering the cause of Naruto's change in behavior, Sasuke approached him and went for the direct approach.

"What's up with you lately, moron?" Sasuke asked as he stood across the table from Naruto with his arms crossed. Naruto lifted his head to glance at the last Uchiha for a moment then went back to staring at nothing. He felt something strike the back of his head before his ears were assaulted by the shrieks of a banshee. "Sasuke-kun asked you a question idiot! How dare you ignore him?!" Sakura yelled. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he tried to regain his hearing in his left ear. The room suddenly went cold as Naruto turned his head to glare at Sakura. The look in his eyes made her heart miss a bit as she froze on the spot. The rest of the class couldn't understand why the air felt so cold and heavy, but 2 people did. Sasuke couldn't bring himself to move as he stared into those cold lifeless eyes until their Chuunin instructor, Iruka, entered the fray and told Naruto to stop. Sasuke remembered those eyes from the night that haunted his dreams. The eyes of a killer. It almost immediately became easier to breathe as Naruto turned his head to stare off into space once again. Sasuke once again brought Naruto's attention to himself.

"Fight me," he demanded. Naruto was getting irritated and finally decided to speak. "I have no desire to fight you, nor do I wish to associate myself with anybody here in any way." Naruto stood up and headed for the door.

"So, what? You're just gonna sit there for the next 4 years doing nothing? Just admit you're afraid," Sasuke replied with a smirk. Naruto just stared at him like he had grown a second head for a moment before opening the door and walking out. Sasuke was about to go after him when Iruka grabbed his arm and shook his head slowly. "You're wrong about something, Sasuke. He'll only be sitting there for about another week before he leaves the village." Iruka said with a slight frown on his face as he stared at where his student had been standing a moment ago. Sasuke's eyes widened for a moment before he shook free of his teacher's grasp and walked away.

After that, the days went by uneventfully. A few people still kept an eye on Naruto, but fewer seemed to care as the days went by. Finally, the day he was leaving came. Sarutobi and a few ANBU members were at the gate to see him off. Jiraiya was there waiting for him as he walked up with his backpack slung over his shoulders.

"Ready to go, kid? This is your last chance to back out. This won't be like some academy field trip." Jiraiya walked up to him with an expectant look. Naruto nodded once and replied "I'm sure," before walking past him towards the gate. Jiraiya said his goodbyes and followed after Naruto. Sarutobi let out a sigh as they disappeared from sight.

"Take care of him, Jiraiya."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: It occurred to me that I failed to mention something in the first chapter. In this series, Kurama had all of his chakra sealed into Naruto and not just half of it. So Naruto absorbing half of it wouldn't be any different than him absorbing everything that Kurama has in canon, while still leaving Kurama the same amount as well. I thank all of you for your support and appreciate all of the follows and favorites this story has received in such a short time. Also, I still haven't decided on the pairing for the next series and would really appreciate more suggestions.

sabery- To answer your questions, Naruto will most likely remain dark, except for when he is around a select few characters. I have some more twists to add further down the road to really bring out some more heavily dark moments for you guys to look forward to. And to answer your other question, yes the pairing will be NaruXShizune, Also, I do intend to do a story with Kurenai at some point. Whether it will be the next series or not, I haven't decided yet.

One last thing and then I'll leave you to the story. I shall be using minimal Japanese in this story. I will use honorifics and other minor phrases that are commonplace. It's not that I don't understand Japanese; it's actually quite the contrary. I understand it quite well, which is **why **I'm doing this. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people who obviously don't understand a language use it unnecessarily and improperly in their stories that are in English. Since I have decided to write this in English and not Japanese, that's what I intend to do. Sorry if this offends anybody, but it's the truth. Oh, and I will probably throw in some original jutsus here and there.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 2

* * *

It has been 6 months since Naruto left with Jiraiya. The old man had his quirks, but after a while, Naruto grew quite attached to him. The first few weeks had left him feeling skeptical as all the man had done was go to the various hot springs throughout the area for his so-called "research". The lifelessness in his eyes had slowly faded as a look of constant annoyance took its place. Finally, he had had enough.

One day, as the old pervert had been peeking through a hole in the dividing wall at the hot springs in the town they were currently staying in, Naruto decided to have some fun of his own. As Jiraiya stood there giggling as he wrote in his little notepad, Naruto yelled out "Pervert!" in as feminine of a voice as he could muster. The response was instantaneous. Jiraiya jumped back and looked around frantically as the sounds of women screaming and rushing about could be heard over the divider. Naruto walked out of the men's bath and stood by the door as a horde of women ran into the men's bath and the sounds of righteous fury rang through the area. When Jiraiya finally limped his way out, Naruto couldn't help but laugh. Jiraiya was mad at first, but hearing the blond laugh for the first time brought a smile to his face. After that, Jiraiya dedicated his time to his apprentice.

* * *

In those 6 months, excluding those first few weeks, Naruto had improved substantially and seemed to brighten up some when he was around the old pervert. He may not have been a prodigy like the village's precious Uchiha, but his effort more than made up the difference. His taijutsu was now at a sufficient level to at least pass for a genin which, that may not seem like anything special, but it was impressive for someone with no prior training. He was absolutely hopeless when it came to genjutsu, but he seemed to show an inherent proficiency in both ninjutsu and kenjutsu. He could perform the academy transformation and replacement techniques as well as, to Jiraiya's surprise, the shadow clone jutsu. When Jiraiya asked, the boy told him that the fox had taught him when he was having trouble performing the standard academy level clone technique. Jiraiya wasn't sure if he should be more surprised by an 8-year-old learning a forbidden jutsu, or the fact that he had learned it from his tenant. As far as kenjutsu went, the boy was a natural. Jiraiya's knowledge on the subject was limited, but what he did know, Naruto picked up on almost instantly. After teaching everything he could on the subject, Jiraiya bought his apprentice several books on advanced kenjutsu. Naruto used all the spare time between training to read his books and advance his kenjutsu.

"So when can I learn a new jutsu, Jiraiya?" The sannin was mildly disappointed by the way he was addressed, but he knew not to expect anything more than that. The only time his apprentice would call him "Jiraiya-sensei" was when he was teaching him something new. They had a rather close relationship though and he was happy enough knowing that the boy he saw like a son could open up to him.

"I told you before, I'll teach you once you master those chakra control exercises I taught you," he said with a small sigh as the duo walked through a small town in water country.

"C'mon Jiraiya, I already mastered tree-climbing and I almost have the water-walking down, too. Just 1 jutsu and I'll let you do research for a week!" Naruto bargained with a smug grin knowing the pervert couldn't turn down the opportunity. His grin grew wider as he saw the look on his master's face as he giggled. Jiraiya cleared his throat as he took on a more serious expression.

"Okay, kid. Follow me and we'll get this over with," Jiraiya said as he walked towards the outskirts of the town. Once they were out of sight, Jiraiya handed Naruto a small sheet of paper. "What's that for?" Naruto asked as he took the offered paper and looked it over. "That is going to tell us what your chakra affinity is. Go ahead and channel some chakra into the paper and see what happens." Naruto gave a small nod then did as instructed and channeled chakra into the paper. The paper immediately crumpled up bringing a smile to Jiraiya's face. 'He's his father's son alright'.

"It seems you have a pretty strong lightning affinity. I won't be able to teach you much, but I know a few lightning jutsus. Before that though, you're gonna have to practice your nature manipulation." Naruto was somewhat disappointed, but didn't show it. He knew this was a necessary exercise for him to complete. "What do I need to do, Jiraiya-sensei?" Jiraiya smirked as he prepared to instruct his apprentice on his next task.

* * *

True to his word, Naruto left Jiraiya alone for a week to do his "research". The sight that greeted Jiraiya when he returned made him smile. H arrived just in time to see Naruto dispel a group of shadow clones as he collapsed onto his hands and knees. He remained in that position for a few moments panting before he sat up and looked towards the setting sun. Jiraiya could see the chakra burns covering the boy's hands as he approached.

"Not bad, kid. I'm honestly amazed you've come this far already. One more push and you should have it down." Jiraiya said with a proud smile as he helped the boy stand up and lead him towards the town where their hotel was. Naruto gave a soft smile as he continued to walk wanting nothing more than to sleep at that moment. As they approached their room, Jiraiya spoke up again. "Get some sleep, kid. We head out again first thing in the morning." Naruto gave a simple nod before heading into the room and falling asleep shortly after his head hit the pillow.

Several days later, Naruto and Jiraiya were traveling across a large island outside of Kirigakure. Naruto had figured out his lightning manipulation, but was still working on getting better control. The 2 of them were passing through a large canyon heading towards the nearest village, which was still several hours away by foot, but they didn't want to run the risk of drawing the attention of any Kiri nins that may be in the area. Jiraiya was discussing the latest volume of his literary masterpiece, the Make-out Paradise series, when Naruto noticed a strange formation of rocks in front of the canyon wall. Something about it seemed to draw on his curiosity as he approached it. He gave a quick glance to Jiraiya before he began to move the rocks out of the way. Jiraiya let out a sigh as he decided to help the blond clear the rocks.

Once enough of the rocks were moved, an opening in the canyon wall could be seen. Naruto paid no attention to the requests for him to wait from his teacher as he entered the cavern and followed the path into the darkness. After several minutes, he found himself in a larger that felt strange to him. He could swear there was some sort of electrical charge in the air as he looked around. He had somewhat noticed it before, but Kurama was right about him gradually noticing changes in his body. The cavern was pitch-black, yet he could see everything clearly. This is how he noticed the large stone altar with a body lying atop it. There was a name carved into the stone above the altar that read "Raiga Kurosuki", but Naruto didn't seem to notice. His eyes were glued on the pair of swords at the body's side. each with slim and straight double-edged blades. Both blades also have an upward-curved bladed prong near the tip of one side of blade and another one near the base of the blade's other side. Each blade had slim, straight double-edged blades. Both blades also had an upward-curved bladed prong near the tip of one side of the blade and another one near the base of the blade's other side.

Naruto picked the twin blades up and immediately knew why he felt the current in the air. The second he picked them up, he felt a rush of lightning course through his body. At first he thought he was being electrocuted, but it didn't hurt. It actually felt…good. Really good. He examined the blades more carefully as he walked towards the exit of the cave and noticed that the bases of the hilts seemed to fit together. He couldn't keep the grin off his face as he strapped the twin blades to his back in a crossing pattern with the hilts coming past his shoulders. He exited the cave to see a wide-eyed Jiraiya.

"Naruto...where in the hell did you get those?" Jiraiya asked as he examined the blades on the young blond's back. Naruto just pointed over his shoulder at the cave. "Naruto, that is kiba, one of the seven swords of the mist...and you're telling me you found it in some random cave?" Naruto shrugged his shoulders as he spoke. "I guess so. They were sitting next to some dead guy and I seriously doubt he needs them, so I figured I'd put em to use. Ne, it's amazing Jiraiya, these things actually generate their own lightning somehow!" Naruto replied with a smile at the end at his discovery of the special trait of the twin blades. Jiraiya facepalmed as he motioned for Naruto to start walking again and he explained the secrets of the swords known as kiba, as well as the details of the legendary seven swordsmen of the mist.

* * *

"Wow. They were mentioned a few times in some of those kenjutsu books, but I thought they were exaggerating." They were approaching their destination as Jiraiya finished his tale. "Each one is without question a master of kenjutsu, and if they saw you with those swords, they would immediately challenge you to a duel. Some of them are nothing more than thugs for hire now, but one thing they will never abandon, is their pride as swordsmen." Naruto nodded as he made a mental note to devote more attention to mastering his kenjutsu.

"So when are you gonna teach me that jutsu you owe me?" Naruto asked as they sat at the local bar. Jiraiya set his sake down as he turned to his pupil. "You're so impatient. For now, keep working on what you've been doing. After I get some information here, we're heading for lightning country."

"I've been meaning to ask you this for a while, but what are you looking for? Ever since we left Konoha, you've been gathering information about something. What is it?"

"You're asking the wrong question my boy. It's not "what" I'm looking for, but who," Jiraiya replied plainly as he motioned for the waitress to bring him another bottle of sake. Naruto looked confused. Who could this person be that his master had spent so long searching for? In every town the stopped in, Jiraiya would go from place to place, usually bars, asking people about something. That was one of the reasons they were in water country in the first place. He had received a tip that whatever, or rather, "whoever" he was looking for, had been heading in this direction. Naruto wasn't too thrilled about the idea of meeting these people. He was fine around Jiraiya, sure, but anyone else was a totally different story. There was a particularly bad incident a couple months ago that proved Jiraiya's fears about leaving Naruto alone for too long were justified.

* * *

2 months ago

Naruto and Jiraiya were in a rundown bar full of rather questionable people, when Jiraiya told Naruto to wait while he went to get something he forgot in their hotel room. When he came back, he swore he would keep Naruto in sight at all times until he felt sure that he was more…stable.

Shortly after Jiraiya left, a rather loud, obviously drunk man approached Naruto as he sat on a bar stool in the corner. He asked him "what's a snot-nosed little brat like you doing here? This is a bar for mercenaries kid, not some local hangout for runaways." Naruto did his best to simply ignore the drunkard as he felt his anger rising. He figured if he just ignored him he would get bored and leave, but things seldom go so easily. After rambling mindless insults for a few minutes, the man said something that finally pushed the boy over the edge.

"What's the matter? Mommy didn't love you enough? Did she run off with some rich asshole and leave you with your deadbeat daddy? Or maybe…your daddy replaced that stick up your ass with one of his own!" The man laughed loudly as he looked over towards his group of companions who obviously found it just as hilarious as he did.

Their laughs immediately stopped and were replaced by looks of terror at what they saw. A dense, visible chakra seemed to ooze out of the boy and fill the bar with its ominous aura. It completely covered the boy in a cloak of red that seemed to radiate pure hatred. The drunken man from before saw the looks on his companions' faces and slowly turned around. The last thing he saw was a single tail sprout from the cloak before a clawed hand separated his head from his body. Everyone else in the room seemed to break out of their trance when his head hit the floor.

There were screams of "Monster!" and "Demon!" as everyone drew their weapons. Before anybody had seen him move, 2 men fell to the ground with holes in their chests. Everyone shivered at the sight of the child before them licking the blood from his hands with a smile on his face. This was no human.

"Sorry it took so long, Naruto. I forget I left my wallet on the-" Jiraiya stopped midsentence as he entered the bar. The memories of that night months ago replaying in his mind as he gazed at the carnage before him. The room was once again littered with flesh and blood as every single patron from before he had left had been seemingly ripped to shreds. Naruto looked up with a smile on his face to see Jiraiya standing there as he licked the last of the blood from his claws.

"Damn Jiraiya, what took you so long? You missed out on all the fun." Naruto said as if he had done something perfectly normal. The aura surrounding him receded into him as he approached Jiraiya.

"So…where to next?"

End Flashback

* * *

"Okay, so "who" is it that we're searching for?" Naruto asked as he helped lead an intoxicated Jiraiya back to their inn. "My former teammate. Hehe, I can't wait to see HER again." Jiraiya said with a perverted grin on his face. Naruto let out a sigh as he could only imagine what would happen when they found their target.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey everybody. Sorry this chapter is a bit more delayed than the last. Anyway, many thanks to those of you who have been following me on this. I really appreciate it. I'd like to know, would everybody prefer shorter chapters with quick updates, or wait a while for a longer chapter?

Crowclaw- If everyone decides they prefer short, fast chapters then I'll try to update every few days until I start the other story. If you guys decide you want longer chapters...somewhere between a week or 2. It depends on how I like it and when I find a good place to end the chapter. The shorter chapters are easier, but I don't mind writing longer ones if that's what everyone prefers.

This chapter will be focusing mostly on character development so my apologies to those of you who were hoping for some action. Enough of my rambling for now. Please enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 3

* * *

"Dammit Tsunade, that hurt!" Naruto yelled as he rubbed the bump forming on his head where the woman struck him. "It was supposed to! How many times do I have to tell you, don't call me old?!" The blonde woman responded with a huff as she turned back to face the road they were traveling on.

"So it's been 2 years already, huh," Naruto looked towards the sky as he became lost in thought over how he had met the violent woman in front of him.

* * *

It had been a month since our travelers had entered Lightning country. Jiraiya taught Naruto a jutsu, as promised, but the majority of the time was spent on having Naruto learn more about the twin blades known as Kiba. He was far from mastering them, but he was certainly making good progress. They were entering a casino in a rather prosperous town when Naruto spoke up.

"What are we doing here, Jiraiya? We're supposed to be looking for that teammate of yours, not gambling," Naruto cast a slight glare at his companion as he looked around the rather nice establishment.

"Ah, but the 2 are one in the same my boy. Tsunade is notorious for gambling addiction. If she's in this town, this is where we'll find her. Just keep your eyes peeled for a woman with long blond hair and huge…assets." Jiraiya ordered a drink as he searched the tables for his target. "If you say so perv." Jiraiya turned around to yell at the boy, but he was already walking toward the back of the room. "I told you not to call me that…" Jiraiya mumbled to himself as he collected his drink and set off on his own search.

* * *

"That's bullshit! The kid has to be cheating somehow, nobody is that damn lucky!" A man stood up from the table and glared at the small boy across from him who was just looking at him with an expressionless face and cold, empty eyes. "Sir, I assure you, it is quite impossible for him to be cheating."

"Don't give me that! The brat hasn't lost a single hand since he sat down!" The man continued to shout and draw the attention of everyone in the area.

"Ever heard the expression, 'know when to hold em, know when to fold em'? You lost, so just shut up and **get** lost." Naruto stated flatly as he narrowed his eyes at the man and sent a chill up his spine. The man walked away grumbling as security came to escort him from the premises. "Well this looks interesting." Naruto's eyes widened ever so slightly as a woman took the man's place at the table and he looked her over. Most of her blonde hair cascaded down her back in a long ponytail while some of it framed her face and flowed just past her shoulders. Her amber eyes seemed to be watching him intently, as if sizing him up just as much as he was her. Her kimono was a light gray, almost white color, and she wore a deep green robe over it. However, what drew his attention was the necklace that hung down to her, excessively large chest. She misunderstood his glance and chuckled softly.

"You're a bit too young for **that,** brat." Naruto raised an eyebrow then realized what she meant. "Don't flatter yourself old lady. I was checking out the necklace, not those watermelons you call breasts," Naruto replied monotonously as he looked at his cards. The woman's eye twitched as she clenched her fist.

"What did you just call me?" Naruto calmly handed his cards back to the dealer as he stared at the woman. "I called you an old lady. What's wrong with calling something what it is? Or would you prefer something more personalized like grandma? Eh, Tsunade?" The boy said with a hint of a smirk at the end before it disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. Tsunade looked like she was ready to punch him until she heard her name. She narrowed her eyes as she tried to read the boy in front of her, but it was like trying to read a rock. The boy was a total blank. No expression on his face and absolutely nothing in his eyes. It completely unnerved her to see such a thing in someone so young.

"Who are you?" Naruto rubbed his chin as if he had to think about it before replying. "Let's just say, I'm a friend of a certain pervert." As soon as the word left his mouth, a fist came out of nowhere and connected with the top of his head. "What did I tell you about calling me that?" Tsunade's eyes widened when she saw her former teammate strike the blond boy.

"Jiraiya…what are you doing here?" Tsunade asked as she stared at the man like it was impossible for him to actually be there. Jiraiya just smiled and collected his appentice's winnings motioning for them to follow. He led them towards the hotel when they were stopped by a young girl.

"There you are, Tsunade-sama. Please tell me you weren't gambling again," the young girl said with a sigh at the end. Naruto took the chance to look the girl over. She looked like she was in her mid to late teens with short black hair and black eyes. She had a slender frame covered by a black kimono. There was a hint of a mesh shirt showing near the top and Naruto could just barely make out the shape of something on her right wrist through her sleeve. He couldn't determine what it was, but he assumed it was some sort of weapon. There wasn't anything that particularly stood out about her visually that Naruto noticed, but she seemed to suit his tastes quite well. He had no active interest in anything such as romance, but that didn't mean he didn't have certain traits he found attractive. It was nothing more than a passing interest though and as his eyes left the girl, so too did his interest.

"Calm down, Shizune, I wasn't gambling," Tsunade replied. Naruto scoffed as he interjected. "Only because you ran into us and didn't get a chance to." Tsunade chuckled nervously and scratched the back of her head. Shizune shook her head as they continued on their way to the hotel. They went to Naruto and Jiraiya's room and sat down to talk while Shizune made tea.

* * *

"So, what are you doing here Jiraiya? And who's the brat?" Naruto glared at her as Jiraiya ignored it. "He's my apprentice. As for why I'm here, I've been looking for you." Tsunade raised an eyebrow as she looked at Naruto again. She couldn't quite place why the blond looked so familiar to her. Nor could she understand why Jiraiya had taken him on as an apprentice. Jiraiya swore he would never take another one after-

Tsunade's eyes opened wide as she looked at the boy again. The resemblance was so unmistakable she couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it sooner. He looked like a clone of his father with whisker-like markings on his cheeks, which only reaffirmed her assumptions of who he was. Jiraiya watched her face carefully observing the different facial expressions as she looked at Naruto. He gave a single nod when she looked to him which, in turn, caused her to have the same expression as he had when he learned the boy was alive; a strange mixture of happiness, sorrow, and regret. Happiness from knowing he was alive, sorrow for what his life must've been like, and regret that she wasn't there for him.

So you're Naruto, huh?" Naruto kept the surprise from showing on his face that the woman knew his name without having been told and merely nodded his head. He had been paying close attention and noticed her different facial expressions just as well as Jiraiya had, but he couldn't understand the reason for them. Jiraiya cleared his throat.

"While we're on the subject of our young traveling companions, who's the kid?" Tsunade was about to respond when Shizune appeared with the tea. "I'm **not** a kid, I'm 15 years old, and I'm Tsunade-sama's apprentice." She stated as she placed the 4 cups of tea on the table for everybody. Tsunade nodded to verify her claim. Naruto stood up and headed for the door.

Where ya goin, kid?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto didn't stop and just gave his response in a firm tone as he opened the door. "It's still early. I'm gonna go train for a while." And with that, he left without another word. "What's up his ass?" Jiraiya flinched at Tsunade's question remembering the circumstances of his first actual time meeting the boy. He let out a sigh as he turned to the women in the room.

"It's a long story."

* * *

After that, Jiraiya filled them in on everything from Naruto's childhood, to the incident on his 8th birthday, which they both visibly paled at, to everything that had happened since they left Konoha. Now, 2 years later, things seemed very different. The blond had lost most of his childish features, but he was still relatively short. His lean frame showed the toned muscles of someone who trained rigorously. They weren't the bulky muscles of some macho strongman, but the lean muscles of someone who could use an adequate amount of power, without sacrificing any of his mobility. Overall, it was impressive for an 11 year old. He had long since abandoned his flashy orange jumpsuit in favor of more practical clothing. He now wore a traditional black kimono with a strange swirl-like symbol on the back in a deep blue color and an obi of the same color. It seemed like a perfect match to the icy blue of his eyes and the magnificent outfit was made deadly by the twin blades of Kiba resting on his hips.

The boy's kenjutsu skills were on a level that, quite frankly, nobody that young should possess. He had also mastered Kiba to a certain degree. He wasn't quite on the level of some of Kiri's swordsmen, but he could certainly handle himself against any normal kenjutsu user. He had also managed to learn a few lightning jutsu during their stay in lightning country. They avoided getting too close to Kumo, but you don't have to be in a ninja village to find ninja. Jiraiya thought his taijutsu needed some serious work, but Naruto had been keeping more than a few secrets from the others.

One of which, being that he was working with Kurama on developing his own original taijutsu style. He had also learned that he had developed a second affinity for water. He wasn't entirely certain that was possible until he spoke to Jiraiya about affinities in more detail. He had originally asked how people use jutsu they don't have an affinity for, which led to Jiraiya explaining there are some people who develop another affinity and sometimes, in the case of jounin level and above ninjas, they even develop a 3rd affinity. Naruto kept the fact that he had developed a new affinity to himself. It wasn't that he didn't trust the others, but it was always good to have a few tricks up your sleeves.

He still wasn't that overly-happy boy he once pretended to be, but with these people, he felt like he could be himself. He had warmed up to the blonde woman and her apprentice just as he had with Jiraiya, and he saw them all as a sort of pseudo-family. Which is why he let his guard down more than he realized and one of his secrets was revealed. He had no idea what had happened, until he saw Jiraiya frozen with a strange look on his face after looking at the boy. Naruto raised an eyebrow until he realized something didn't feel right. 'Shit! My transformation must've dropped when Tsunade hit me,' he thought as he turned away and reapplied the changes to his appearance, but it was too late. They were all looking at him with a myriad of emotions on their face. The silence was interrupted by Jiraiya's loud voice. "What the hell was that brat?!" Naruto sighed as he turned to the man. "That depends, how much did you see?" They all just stared at him like he had grown a second head. They had been half expecting, and half hoping, that they had been seeing things. His response completely destroyed those options.

"Your eyes…and…the whiskers," Tsunade answered and the others nodded. Naruto sighed again as he scratched the back of his head and closed his eyes tightly. "Let's go somewhere a little more private," Naruto said as he leapt off into the trees with the others following him soon after. After about 20 minutes, they came to a stop in a large clearing. It would be nearly impossible for anybody to eavesdrop on them without being noticed here. Once they were all there, Naruto began his explanation. He told them about the deal with Kurama, the summoning contract he had yet to sign, and of course, the potential side effects like what they had seen.

"So basically, when Tsunade hit me, I must've lost concentration enough to drop my transformation. Oh, there are a couple things you guys didn't notice before I put it back up…" Naruto trailed off as he let his transformation fall. He figured they'd already seen him, so why try to hide any of it. They once again took notice of his face first. His eyes were still that icy blue they always were, but the slit pupils are what shocked them in the first place. They also took notice again of the fact that the whiskers on his cheeks were no longer marks, but actual whiskers. The first change they hadn't noticed was his hair. Their eyes widened when they looked at it. It was still blond, but with highlights of a deep orange. It actually somewhat suited the boy. However, the biggest change they had failed to notice was the mass of soft fur protruding from his backside.

"Is that a fucking tail?!" Tsunade voiced her amazement and sure enough, the fur was a flowing tail of orange with blond streaks flowing through it to its blond tip. They all stared at it as it moved around as if it had a mind of its own. Shizune couldn't help herself, and reached out for it. She ran her fingers through the soft fur sending a shiver up Naruto's spine. Tsunade and Jiraiya stared on with wide eyes as a soft rumbling sound came from Naruto's throat. He noticed this and his eyes immediately flew open. 'Was he just…murring?!' Tsunade and Jiraiya both thought to themselves before Naruto spoke up.

"Umm…Shizu-nee? Could you stop that?" Shizune opened her eyes and stood up quickly when she realized she was rubbing her cheek against his tail. "Sorry Naru-chan. It was so soft, I guess I got kinda carried away," Shizune laughed nervously with a slight blush. Naruto cleared his throat and turned to address the others. Jiraiya closed his eyes and took a deep breath before giving his response.

"Are you out of your damn mind?! You can't summon the kyuubi Naruto, he'll kill us all!" Naruto waited for the screaming to stop and narrowed his eyes. "Oh really? And why should summoning him be any different than when you summon Gamabunta? Because he's a demon? Take a good look Jiraiya!" Naruto turned and gave a swish of his tail before turning back around and hardening his gaze on his master.

"I'm a demon too, so why is it so different for me than it is for him? You people all assume is completely incapable and uninterested in anything apart from destruction. I know Kurama a hell of a lot better than you people think you know him and let me tell you what, I trust him just as much, if not more than anybody else. Yeah, he made me a demon. But I asked him to! I was so sick of being beaten nearly to death by the humans who call him a monster, then turn around and do **worse** to a defenseless child who doesn't even know anything!" Naruto took a deep breath to calm himself before continuing. **"Hahaha, I'll be damned, the kid trusts me."**

"All he did was help me defend myself. Sure it was beneficial to him as well, but so what? When do humans ever do anything without getting in return? You can count the selfless people from Konoha on one hand, or better yet, on one monument! Besides, it's a summon, not removing the seal. If anything were to happen, I could just dispel him." Everyone stared on in shock at Naruto's speech. Not only was that the most they've ever heard him say at any one time, but it was rather upsetting how true it was. Jiraiya sighed and apologized to his student. Naruto didn't say anything and just proceeded to walk back towards the road as he reapplied his transformation.

**"Damn kid, that was a hell of a speech. And I gotta say, I'm impressed." **Kurama commented with a grin, not that Naruto could see it, as they made their way back to the road. They walked in silence until it was late enough to set up camp for the night.

* * *

The next morning, Naruto woke up to find Jiraiya sitting next to him with a serious face. He sat up and waited for the man to speak. "Naruto, I'm sorry. I said some things I shouldn't have. I know you have enough sense to know what you're doing; it was just too much for me to take in at once. And just so you know, I don't care about the changes. If anything, I think it just makes me seem more amazing. The great Jiraiya, master of the next kyuubi!" He said with a smile as he made a pose at the end. Naruto couldn't stop the laugh that escaped him. The old man might be a weird old pervert, but he was the closest thing to a father he would ever have.

"Thanks Jiraiya," Naruto said with a genuine smile that widened the man's own smile. Jiraiya ruffled the blond's hair as they stood up and headed towards the smell of food cooking. They looked up to see Shizune stirring a pot over the fire.

"Morning Shizu-nee," Naruto greeted as they approached. Shizune smiled and gave a "good morning" of her own. Naruto felt something odd when he looked at her smile. He wasn't sure what it was, but it made him think about when she had run her fingers through his tail. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't enjoyed the sensation, he only hoped nobody had heard the noise he started to make. The matter at hand was more disconcerting though. He couldn't tell if he liked the feeling or not, but knew that it was something that he didn't think he wanted to deal with constantly. Jiraiya probably wouldn't be the best person to ask, but Tsunade was a renowned medic. If anybody knew the answer, it was her.

* * *

Okay, that's it for this one. Everybody please review and let me know about whether you want short or long chapters. Also, I've narrowed my decision for the next story's heroine down. If you guys could leave a review and tell me which one of the following girls you wanna see that'd be great. Til next time~

Kurenai

Anko

FemHaku

Tayuya

Konan


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hey everybody. I know the last chapter was rather mellow and might've been disappointing, but I felt it was necessary to get some of the character development done that way. This chapter will focus more on plot development and take another dark turn. There won't be any violence, but there will be some revelations and interesting developments. Next chapter is when things will start getting a bit more…entertaining.

Vvalentine666- Just so we're clear, you do realize you're complaining about **fiction** being inaccurate correct? This isn't fannonfiction. If I want to make Tsunade a 5-year old boy with 3 arms from Neptune, it's my choice. If you have an issue with me making Shizune a different age, then just don't read it.

Anyway, on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 4

**"Wake up, kid. It's time." **Naruto sat up as his eyes snapped open to reveal slit eyes of an angry red color. He looked around to see the others were asleep before silently making his way out the door. He crept through the shadows until he was a fair distance away from any sign of life.

"So the 3rd tail finally formed, huh." Naruto checked behind him to verify that it had indeed formed. He looked up to the moon as an evil grin slowly spread across his features. He chuckled darkly as he went over their plans in his head. "It's almost time, Kurama. Let's move onto the next step. Get the summoning contract ready," Naruto sat down and began meditating in order to pay his tenant a visit. When he opened his eyes, there was fire everywhere and he was sat before none other than Kurama himself. Naruto stood up and smiled as he addressed his partner. "Gotta say, I really like what you've done with the place."

**"Haha, yeah, it's much cozier than that damn sewer from before. Now then, down to business." **Kurama laid out a blank scroll before Naruto. Naruto grinned as he sliced his thumb with his fang and signed the scroll in blood. **"Excellent, now onto more pleasant matters. What have you got planned for those imbeciles?" **Naruto laughed as he licked the blood from his thumb to reveal it had already healed.

"Simple. They wanted a demon; we'll give them a demon. Or rather, we'll give them 2. I know you're just itching to have some fun. We'll show them a fear that they couldn't imagine in their most vivid nightmares. It's just a matter of time." Kurama showed a grin so feral that anybody else would've fainted at the very sight of it, but to Naruto, it was a thing of beauty. Especially when he thought of the intentions behind it.

"For now, we'll keep a low profile once we get there. We'll have some fun every now and then for sure, but we'll keep it low-key. Don't want anybody catching on too soon, right?" Kurama just chuckled as they said their farewells and Naruto opened his eyes again. He stood up and stretched as his tails danced about behind him. He laughed to himself saying "happy birthday to me" as he thought of his upcoming return to Konoha. It had been 4 years ago today that his world changed. And with the information he discovered several months ago, he intended to make sure that it changed for everyone else in Konoha as well.

* * *

Several months ago

After resolving to talk to Tsunade about the strange feeling he had, he crawled into her tent where she was still fast asleep. He sighed as he shook her awake, and regretted it shortly after. "God damn it, Tsunade! Do you always have to hit so hard?" Naruto rubbed the sore spot on his head while Tsunade yawned.

"What do you want, brat? I hate being woken up." Naruto glared at her for a moment before explaining the situation. To her credit, Tsunade waited until he finished talking before she started laughing uncontrollably. What's so damn funny?!" Naruto was very uncomfortable with this situation. He was getting far more worked up than usual and he didn't like it. He was about to leave when Tsunade put up a hand to stop him and apologized.

"Sorry kid, I just wasn't expecting that in the slightest." Naruto raised an eyebrow as he questioned her. "Why, what's wrong with me?" Naruto wore a serious expression as he waited for a response. He had no idea what could possibly be going on and Tsunade's reaction had him even more confused than when he came in.

"To put it simply, you've got a thing for Shizune," Tsunade grinned as she watched the thoughtful expression on the other blond's face. He wasn't sure what she meant by that. He was just about to ask when he suddenly realized what she meant and his eyes widened. "That's not possible!" He growled out as he clenched his teeth. "Hey, you asked for my opinion. I'm just telling you what it sounds like." Naruto left without saying another word and walked off into the trees.

* * *

"Why'd you storm off all of the sudden like that, kid?" Jiraiya called out as he approached Naruto and raised an eyebrow as he took in his surroundings. Naruto was sitting on a fallen tree panting with blood dripping from his hands as his claws dug into them from how he was clenching his fists. All of the surrounding trees were either completely chopped down, or had 4 identical marks carved deep into them that could only have been caused by the claws of the boy in front of him. Jiraiya took a minute to try and figure out what could've caused the boy to react this way, but whatever it was, it completely eluded him. "What's wrong, Naruto?" The boy made no indication that he noticed his master's presence, and he hadn't. He was in the middle of another conversation.

"It's not possible dammit!" Naruto yelled as he punched the ground and clenched his teeth. **"Relax, kid. Why are you making such a big deal out of this? So you want the young vixen. Why does that bother you so much?" **"Because it is! There's no way I can have those feelings, especially not for Shizu-nee. She's like my big sister and that's all she'll ever be." Kurama sighed and shook his head. He knew those villagers had fucked with the kids head, but for him to vehemently refuse to accept any possibility of a relationship like this, it really pissed Kurama off. Even **he** had the occasional lover before he got sealed.

**"Listen Naruto, you need to at least think this through more clearly. You're gonna have to get a mate eventually. If you're gonna rule, then you have to have someone to continue your legacy. And it would be rather difficult for you to breed by yourself." **Kurama laughed a bit at his last statement before looking at Naruto again. He seemed to be thinking things over more carefully at least and that was good enough for now. **"You should go. The toad-man is waiting for you." **Naruto nodded before closing his eyes and leaving Kurama alone again.

Naruto opened his eyes to see Jiraiya kneeling in front of him. "You alright kid?" Naruto just nodded and stood up. Jiraiya wanted to ask what happened, but the look on Naruto's face clearly said "ask anything else and I'll rip your tongue out". Naruto took a deep breath and put his transformation back up. Jiraiya took notice that he now had 2 tails before they vanished. 'When did that happen?' he silently wondered as they walked back into the clearing to find that breakfast was ready.

* * *

They were just about to walk into a restaurant for some dinner when an ANBU member showed up. They all seemed confused as to why an ANBU member would be so far away from the village. The confusion only increased when he told Jiraiya he had a message for him and motioned for him to follow. What could be so important that the hokage would send an elite for something as simple as delivering a message…

* * *

Naruto had spent the entire meal thinking about what Jiraiya could've possibly talked about with that ANBU member. He was sure he would tell Tsunade at some point, so he prepared to put the plan he had devised into action. He made a shadow clone while he was in the bathroom and it was going to follow Jiraiya and Tsunade using any means necessary until the moment came for him to get the information he was seeking. The other part of the plan…would be a bit more difficult for him.

"Thanks, kid. Next time it's my treat." Jiraiya waved as he and Tsunade stood to leave after finishing their meal leaving Naruto with the check. So far it was going according to plan. Now came the difficult part. Being alone with Shizune until his clone dispelled after getting what he needed. He hadn't actively avoided Shizune since his revelation about his feelings, but he certainly didn't go out of his way to spend time with her. He acted the same as he always would, while discretely keeping a subtle distance between them. However, this situation made that rather impossible.

"So, how was your food Shizu-nee?" Shizune smiled and Naruto felt his body responding again. He mentally berated himself for having such a reaction as he continued to keep the conversation going. They reminisced about various things that had happened over the time since they had met.

"Yeah, it was funny watching Jiraiya get beaten like that. Remember that other time whe-" Naruto couldn't finish his sentence as the memories of his clone hit him like a brick wall. "Sorry Shizu-nee. I just remembered something I needed to do. I'll meet you back at the inn. Naruto forced a small snile as he waved and left the building. As soon as he was out the door, he moved away from the town as fast as he could. Once he was a good distance away, he couldn't hold it back any longer. His transformation dropped as the area was flooded with his killing intent. He let out an inhuman roar as he screamed out in a demonic voice.

**"I'LL KILL THEM ALL! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!" **Kurama's chakra was pouring out of him and radiating a malevolent aura. Kurama tried to calm him down before the chakra did too much harm, but he couldn't blame him. Kurama was seething as well over what the clone had heard. It just kept replaying over and over in his head.

* * *

"It turns out; the civilian members of the council, along with the elders, had planned what happened on Naruto's 8th birthday. They even called for some bullshit council meeting to keep Sarutobi-sensei from finding out until it was too late."

* * *

Naruto continues to destroy everything in the area as he roared out his fury. Then, he just suddenly…stopped. He stopped moving completely as the chakra receded into him with his head down. He stood there for a few moments in silence before he started laughing. The laughter started out as a silent chuckle, but gradually, it grew in volume until he was laughing as hard as he could like he belonged in a psych ward. And honestly, he probably did.

**You okay kid…?" **Kurama asked hesitantly. Naruto just stood there smiling as he responded. "Oh I'm better than okay Kurama. After all this time, I finally know what we're gonna do." Naruto walked back towards the town with that sadistic grin still plastered on his face.

**"And…what exactly is it that we're going to do?" **Naruto stopped and looked up to the starry sky. "We're gonna obliterate Konoha."

* * *

End Flashback

After his talk with Kurama, Naruto returned to find his companions awake. Shizune was just finishing breakfast while Tsunade and Jiraiya argued about something. Ignoring their antics, Naruto made his way toward Shizune to get some breakfast. "You got up awfully early today Naru-chan. Out training?" Naruto flinched slightly when she started talking, but if she noticed, she didn't say anything about it. "Yeah, just working on something new," he said with a small smile. He was somewhat hurt that none of them seemed to remember what day it was, but it was nothing new to him. He had long since stopped expecting to ever have a "happy birthday". To him, it was nothing more than a reminder of what he never had, as well as remind him of…unpleasant things. Naruto ate his breakfast silently as he thought things over.

They were only a few days away from Konoha. The others assumed he was excited to finally be going home, but that was far from the case. He was excited because the sooner he got there, the sooner he and Kurama could destroy it once and for all. It wouldn't be immediately obviously. He may be incredibly strong for his age, but he wasn't delusional enough to think he could take out all of Konoha's elite ninja. He could just summon Kurama and let him do it all, but that would defeat the purpose. This was **his** revenge. Kurama would be able to have his fun when the time comes, but not without Naruto.

"Until that time comes, I'll just have to play ninja with the human brats." Naruto thought to himself with a sigh. After eating, Naruto packed everything up so that they could leave as soon as the others were ready. Naruto noticed Shizune watching him and raised an eyebrow as he looked in her direction. She just gave him a smile before walking away to where Tsunade was. "I swear, I'll never be able to understand what she's thinking."

* * *

"I think this is a good spot for us to stop for the night. We should be able to reach the village in 2 days as long as nothing out of the ordinary happens." With that said, Naruto went to find water while the others took care of other various jobs. When Naruto came back, Jiraiya had already set up the tents and Tsunade had prepared a fire while Shizune started preparing dinner.

After dinner, Naruto agreed to take first watch and the others went to their respective tents. Naruto made several clones and had them spread out over the perimeter while he practiced the taijutsu style he and Kurama had developed. This went on for about an hour before he heard Shizune call out from behind him.

"Do you ever stop training Naru-chan?" She asked with a smile. Naruto just shrugged and gave a small smile of his own. They both sat down and Shizune pulled out a scroll. Naruto raised an eyebrow as he glanced at it. "I know it's almost over already, but…" Shizune unsealed the scroll and with a poof of smoke, a black kimono appeared. "Happy birthday Naru-chan!" Naruto's eyes widened as his mouth opened and closed repeatedly. He didn't know what to do. This had never happened before. He just kept looking between the clothes and Shizune, who was giving him that smile that always made his chest tighten uncomfortably.

"Thank you Shizu-nee…really." Naruto gave a sad smile as he looked the kimono over. It was identical to the one he was currently wearing, but the blue had been replaced by a reddish orange that seemed to match his tails perfectly. There was even a single hole in the back that he assumed was for him to put his tail through. He gave a small laugh as he turned to her. "This is wonderful Shizu-nee, but there aren't enough holes in the back," Naruto laughed more at the look of surprise on her face. "You have 2 tails now? When did that happen?" Naruto couldn't hold it back any longer and clutched his side as he laughed loudly. Shizune just stared at him in confusion and mild frustration. Naruto help up a hand in apology before turning around and dropping his transformation. Shizune's eyes widened as she counted them.

"One, two, three…three tails?!" Shizune was speechless. She hadn't even known about the 2nd tail, and now there were 3! Naruto was about to explain, when he felt the all-too-familiar feeling of fingers running through the soft fur; Shizune's hands to be specific. He bit his lip in concentration as he turned to her.

"Umm, Shizu-nee…" That snapped her out of her trance and she realized what she had done; again. "Hehe, Sorry Naru-chan. I guess I just can't resist." She scratched the back of her head sheepishly and stuck her tongue out. Naruto shook his head with a sigh as he sat back down and leaned against a fallen tree. "You should get some sleep Shizu-nee. We've got a lot of ground to cover tomorrow." Shizune nodded her agreement and before Naruto had realized what she was doing, she was lying beside him using his tails as a pillow.

Naruto's eyes flew open. He was about to say something, but then he saw the peaceful look on her face. Naruto sighed again and closed his eyes. "Good night, Shizu-nee."

* * *

To say Jiraiya and Tsunade were shocked by the sight they awoke to would be an understatement. Seeing Naruto asleep leaning against the fallen tree, perfectly normal. Seeing his whiskers twitch every so often as he slept, not "normal" per se, but for Naruto, not really anything out of the ordinary. However, Shizune sleeping with her head in his lap, while being wrapped up in **3 **fluffy tails, was **definitely** not normal. The adults' eyes kept shifting from looking at eachother and their young apprentices.

After the shock wore off, Jiraiya cleared his throat and watched as Naruto's eyes opened slowly. Once they were half open, he looked around to take in his surroundings. When he noticed the raven haired girl resting her head in his lap, his eyes flew open and he froze. Jiraiya thought it was hilarious at first, but he had never seen his apprentice's eyes so full of…fear? He slowly removed his tails from around the girl and as soon as her weight left his lap, he disappeared in a flash of lightning.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow as she looked to Jiraiya and he just shrugged his shoulders in response. Questions about their young blond companion just kept piling up without any answers. They turned back to Shizune to find her standing up and stretching with a yawn. "Where'd Naruto go?" The others could only shrug as they were wondering the same thing.

* * *

**"I thought you didn't want to reveal any of those techniques," **Naruto was leaning against a tree panting a bit some distance away from their camp. "It was better than the alternative. Besides, it's not like they were able to see what I actually did. I'll just write it off as Kumo's body flicker. It's similar enough that I should be able to pull it off." Naruto dropped onto his back and watched the clouds as he tried to get his breathing under control.

**"Be careful kid, I don't think your body can handle that until you have better control of it." **Naruto sighed as his breathing finally slowed down to normal. "Don't worry Kurama, I'll be fine. I just didn't have the time to think about it. I needed to get out of that situation as fast as I could. Now that you mentioned it though, any ideas on how to control it better?" **"Well, I did come up with a couple ideas…"**

* * *

After Naruto and Kurama talked for a while, he returned to the others to see everything already packed. Tsunade and Jiraiya bombarded him with questions, but he just grabbed his stuff and started walking. The others grabbed their belongings and followed.

"C'mon brat, tell us. Since when do you have 3 tails, and how did you disappear like that?" Naruto sighed at Jiraiya's persistence, but he knew it was coming. "The 3rd tail appeared when I woke up yesterday and I used Kumo's body flicker. Satisfied?" Jiraiya knew there was more to it than that, but he let it go with a nod. He knew that pressing the boy for information would only succeed in pushing him further away. But then a grin plastered his face as he remembered something else.

"So, what was up with you and Shizune this morning?" That got the response he was looking for. Naruto completely stopped moving and his wide eyes stared off into the road ahead of him. The others had heard the question as well. Tsunade was very interested while Shizune was confused. She hadn't been able to take notice of their position before Naruto vanished. Naruto had no idea what to say, so he simply decided to deny it.

"I don't know what you're talking about. You must be going senile old man." Naruto started walking again and Jiraiya just snickered. "Oh really? So you're saying that I didn't see you all snuggled up together with her head in your lap and your tails wrapped around her? Tell me, judging from the grin you had, I'd say you had an interesting dream, huh?" Naruto froze up again, but this time he wasn't alone. Shizune's eyes widened as she felt her cheeks warming in the tell-tale signs of a blush.

**"Hahahaha, oh it was indeed an interesting dream." **"Shut up Kurama, it's not funny!" Naruto mentally yelled at his partner as he continued to laugh. **"You're right, it's hilarious!" **Kurama continued to laugh as Naruto growled menacingly while thinking up ways to get back at the fox.

"My dreams are none of your business you damn pervert!" Naruto yelled as he stormed off. He couldn't deny that he had enjoyed the dream, much more than he would ever admit to anyone; including himself. The visions of him and the raven-haired girl tangled together in a mass of bare flesh and fur continued to play through his mind. It was the first of many dreams of this nature to come.

* * *

Naruto stood smiling madly at the sight before him. He had run ahead of the others to take a good look at the gates of his former home. Visions of burning buildings and people screaming drifted through his head as he chuckled darkly under his breath. He calmed down as he heard the others approaching from behind. "Excited to be back kid?" Jiraiya asked as he placed a hand on his shoulder. Naruto gave the man a genuine smile, though the meaning behind it wasn't exactly what he thought it was. "You have no idea."

**"And so it begins. These fools have no idea what's in store for them," **and with that said, they made their way to the gates of Konoha as Kurama grinned maliciously.

* * *

So what'd you guys think? Like the new turn Naruto made? The next chapter will start off in the wave arc. It will be vastly different from the usual so look forward to it. Aside from that, please review and I'm still hoping to get a few more votes before making a decision on the next series.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry this one was a bit more delayed. I won't bother you with the Kakashi-esque excuses of why, but better late than never right? Just a heads up, Haku won't be in this story. The way I want it to play out works better if it's just Zabuza. Anyway, here's the next chapter after Naruto's return.

A quick note, somebody had mentioned something about affinities and not having to have an affinity to use a jutsu. I'm aware of this and never actually said Naruto couldn't use a jutsu outside of his affinities. If you thought that's what I meant when Jiraiya had said he couldn't teach him much, I only meant in the way of lightning jutsu. Sorry if that caused any confusion. Now that that's taken care of, on with the story~

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 5

* * *

Naruto noticed various expressions as he walked the streets to the hokage's tower. The majority, of course, were looks of hatred and fear. However, what surprised him were the looks he was getting from a lot of the higher-ranked shinobi in the area. The younger generation didn't know any better, but the others most certainly recognized the twin blades resting at his sides. The looks of amazement he was expecting, but there was another that he barely recognized; respect. Several shinobi were actually giving approving nods or bowing slightly in recognition. Even outside of Kiri, those who wielded the legendary swords were respected. This was certainly being proven now as the village pariah was being shown respect by those who outranked him considerably.

Naruto was still getting over the shock of it as they entered the tower and immediately moved toward the hokage's office. Without so much as a knock, Naruto walked in. Hiruzen was going over the contents of a scroll with several ANBU members when Naruto walked in and he immediately smiled at his pseudo-grandson.

"Long time no see, Gramps," Naruto spoke with a small smile. The ANBU were about to reprimand him for disrespecting their hokage in such a way, but were stopped by a raised hand from their leader. Hiruzen walked around his desk and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's great to see you, Naruto. We'll have to catch up on your trip later. There's some business that needs my attention." The smile was replaced by a serious expression as Hiruzen finished speaking. The old man turned to his former student and finally noticed the 2 women of their group. He gave a smile and a nod in their direction before returning to Jiraiya.

"Your timing is perfect actually. I need you to provide backup for someone, Jiraiya. A client withheld information and an A-rank mission was misclassified as a C-rank and given to a team of genin. They have encountered several missing-nin, one of which being the demon of the mist," Hiruzen was stopped there as Naruto cut in at the mention of the name. "As in, Zabuza Momochi of the 7 swordsmen?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at the boy's excitement. "Correct. Why such interest in Kiri's swordsmen all of the sudden, Naruto?"

"You have to tell me where they are, Gramps. If you're sending backup it HAS to be me." Hiruzen once again looked at Naruto in confusion at why he was so determined to do this himself. Hiruzen looked to Jiraiya who showed no sign that he was opposed to the idea. "Tell me, why is it so important that it be you that goes, Naruto?" "I have an obligation to fight him." Hiruzen was about to question him when he finally took notice of the blades the boy possessed. He was fully aware of the responsibilities of one who carried the legendary blades, so he gave a small nod as a sigh escaped him.

"I understand. I'm not exactly comfortable with the idea, but if Jiraiya sees no cause for worry, then I trust you to handle the situation. You and Jiraiya are to leave immediately for the land of waves." The two gave a short bow before immediately leaving through the window. Hiruzen let out another sigh before turning to his other guests with a smile. "It's good to see you again, Tsunade. How have you been?"

* * *

"I'm serious, Jiraiya. No matter what, you stay out of the fight and make damn certain everyone else does as well. Those genin may not know the importance of this, but you do. If they interfere I can't guarantee they'll survive to learn from the mistake." The sun was setting as master and apprentice approached the land of waves at high speeds. "I know, Naruto. Just promise me you'll try to keep the collateral damage to a minimum; I'd really prefer not to pay for a bunch of repairs." Naruto let out a laugh as they slowed to a stop in front of a small house and knocked on the door. "I can't make any promises." Naruto gave him a sadistic smile and Jiraiya let out a sigh. One thought ran through his head as the door opened, 'well there goes my drinking money'.

Standing in the open doorway was a startled young woman. Just as she was about to speak, someone else came to the door and interrupted her train of thought. "It is good to see you again, Jiraiya-sama. I never would've expected them to send you as our reinforcements," the man said with a bow as he addressed the toad sage. Naruto took the opportunity to size the man up carefully. He looked to be in his late twenties, maybe early thirties, with a body befitting of an experienced shinobi. He had wild silver hair and a cloth mask covering the majority of his face. The fact that his headband covered his left eye left very little of his face visible. Naruto's estimate of the man having extensive experience was proven correct by the man's vest showing him to be one of the elite.

Jiraiya laughed as he shook the hand the masked jounin had outstretched. "It's good to see you, too, Kakashi. I'm actually not your backup, he is. I'm just here to make sure everybody else stays safe and out of the way." Everybody in the room was floored by that statement. Not only was the backup a kid, but they were expected to leave him to handle things alone? The room was completely silent for a few moments before Kakashi finally got over his shock.

"Forgive me, Jiraiya-sama, but are you insane? You want us to stay away so a child can fight an A-ranked missing-nin alone?" Kakashi turned to look at the aforementioned "child", only to find he was gone. The familiar sound of lightning crackling behind him told him where the boy was. He slowly turned his head to find the twin blades of the legendary Kiba crossed inches from his neck, ready to separate head from body. "That's exactly what we want, Cyclops. You and everybody else will stay the hell away while I fight Zabuza." Naruto lowered his blades and leaned in to whisper in the jounin's ear so that only he could hear. "And by the way, between the two of us, Jiraiya isn't the insane one." Kakashi shivered slightly at the tone in the boy's voice as he stood up.

The 3 genin watched the whole thing with disbelieving looks on their face. They hadn't even seen the boy move until he was already behind their jounin instructor with a pair of deadly-looking swords threatening to end his life. They were filled with a range of emotions such as confusion, amazement…and fear. One of them shook his head clear as he spoke up. "Get real idiot. As if you could take out someone stronger than Kakashi-sensei when there's no way you could even beat me." Jiraiya let out a sigh as the instant the last word left the boy's mouth, he doubled-over spitting up blood. Before he had a chance to figure out what happened, he was spinning through the air into a wall with his jaw in pain.

Naruto let out a yawn as he looked at the crumpled form of what he now recognized to be the last Uchiha. "I'm sorry, you were saying something? I guess I couldn't hear you over the sound of bones breaking," Naruto said casually as he looked around the room paying no attention to the others with their jaws on the floor. Naruto suddenly covered his ears when he took notice of a certain pink-haired banshee of a fangirl in the room. "SASUKE-KUN!" Jiraiya and Kakashi sincerely regretted not following the boys lead as they approached while trying to get their ears to stop ringing.

"Okay, that's enough. Sasuke, Sakura, Sai, and I will stay here to guard Tazuna and his family." The 2 conscious genin looked at him like he had just grown another head. "WHAT?! But why, Kakashi-sensei? He's the same age as us so why does he get to fight when we don't? If anybody should be allowed to fight it's Sasuke-kun, he's the strongest." Kakashi let out a sigh as he once again tried to get his hearing back.

"First of all, have you been paying attention to anything that just happened? It may be hard to believe, but he is unquestionably stronger than Sasuke. As for why he will be fighting alone, that's a bit more difficult to explain. Let's just say he has his reasons and leave it at that." Sakura looked like she was about to say something else before a look from Kakashi told her it wasn't up for debate. The other member of the team, Sai, just gave his sensei a nod without a word.

"Now that that's out of the way, you really should do something about the Uchiha kid. Naruto wasn't joking about the bones breaking thing." Taking Jiraiya's advice, team 7 bandaged Sasuke up as best they could and took him upstairs to a bed.

* * *

2 days later, Naruto is sitting at the edge of the bridge meditating as he waits for Zabuza to show up. He slowly stands up and tells Jiraiya to get everybody out of the area as a light mist fills the area. Not enough to completely impair vision, but enough to reduce visibility slightly. "I was beginning to think you weren't gonna show," Naruto said as he turned to see Zabuza approaching. Zaubaza immediately took notice of the swords at Naruto's sides and a smile came to his face.

"I'm impressed you waited alone. You may be a brat, but you seem to understand what it means to wield those blades. Let's have some fun shall we?" Naruto smiled and drew his twin blades as he watched Zabuza draw his own. "Yes, let's." And with that said, they met in a clash of blades.

* * *

Jiraiya and team 7 watched the battle between swordsmen from a distance. They couldn't help but be entranced by the raw power Zabuza used or the swift grace Naruto moved with in this deadly dance. Zabuza moved to decapitate his opponent which lead to Naruto using the sides of Kiba to glance the blow and move in for a strike of his own. Naruto brought the sword in his left hand back with lightning surging around it to strike after deflecting the much larger sword. Zabuza took a quick step back and dropped the side of his sword back to block while lashing out with his right leg trying to score a solid hit on the boy's ribs.

Naruto saw the kick coming and brought a knee up to block before following through and kicking forward causing Zabuza to stumble back a bit. Not wasting a second, Naruto crossed his swords in front of him and unleashed his attack. "Lightning release: Lightning Fang!" Bolts of lightning shot forward from the point the swords crossed and raced toward Zabuza. Zabuza rolled to the side dodging the majority of the attack while using his sword to block the rest. He then jumped back and shoved his sword into the ground as he went through several hand signs. "Water release: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Naruto followed his lead impaling both blades into the ground before going through hand signs of his own. "Water release: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Zabuza's eyes widened as another dragon intertwined with his own. What really surprised him was the fact that it was almost as large as his own. The 2 dragons collided sending water everywhere. Zabuza picked his sword back up, but Naruto just smiled with his swords still in the ground as he went through more hand seals. "Lightning release: Thunder Gate!" Lightning surged into the sky. A moment later, lightning came crashing down and decimated the area leaving deep scorch marks in the earth.

* * *

Zabuza hadn't been the only one surprised by Naruto's use of water jutsu. Jiraiya had no idea his apprentice knew anything other than what he taught him. 'That was way too powerful for any without an affinity to water to make. When the hell did Naruto develop another affinity?' Jiraiya thought to himself. The others were completely speechless as well. Most were completely amazed by the display, but Sasuke was seething. 'How the hell is he so much stronger than I am?!' When Naruto used the thunder gate, Sakura looked confused. "What was the point of that attack? All it did was send lightning into the sky." Jiraiya just pointed back towards the bridge in time for her to see the ensuing destruction. The others were awestruck, while Jiraiya was on the verge of tears. 'Dammit! I tell him to keep the collateral damage to a minimum and he tears up half the damn bridge!'

* * *

Zabuza was breathing heavily as he dodged the last of the lightning raining down on him. "What the hell is with this kid? He's better with those damn things than Ringo was! Oh shi-" Zabuza moved just in time to avoid being split in half as Naruto came down from the sky with enough force to shatter the ground upon impact. Not ceasing in his movements, Naruto pushed off the ground with his hands aiming a kick towards Zabuza's face only to have it blocked by the side of his sword. Zabuza grabbed the outstretched leg and slammed the boy into the ground. His smile disappeared when the body disappeared in a puff of smoke. "A shadow clone?" "Correct," a voice came from behind him. He turned his head to find himself in the same position as when Kakashi met Naruto. He let out a sigh as he stabbed his sword into the ground and put his hands up. He turned around slowly and started laughing.

"I can't believe I lost to a kid. Still, that was the most fun I've had in ages. What's your name kid?" Naruto smiled as he lowered his blades and held out a hand. "Naruto Uzumaki." Zabuza shook the offered hand. "Well then, Naruto. We'll have to do this again sometime." Naruto opened his mouth to agree when several arrows suddenly struck the man in the chest. Naruto's eyes widened as he turned to see a large group of bandits standing there with a short, fat man wearing sunglasses. Zabuza collapsed onto his knees and glared at them as his strength left him.

"You're pathetic, Zabuza. Getting beat by some little brat? Some "demon of the mist". Though I guess I should thank the brat. Now it won't matter that I wasn't going to pay you haha," the short man said. Naruto turned to give a glance to Jiraiya before turning back to the group of people in front of him.

* * *

Jiraiya was just getting ready to jump in and help when Naruto looked at him. Jiraiya shuddered slightly as he saw a familiar pair of red eyes staring at him with slit pupils accompanied by a sadistic smile that promised the bearer was going to take great pleasure in what was to come. We're getting out of here, now!" Kakashi looked at him confused until he caught a glimpse of Naruto's eyes. Jiraiya could see he was afraid the fox took control and gave him a reassuring look as he ordered the genin to get a move on. Jiraiya was so focused on getting the others away, that he didn't realize Kakashi wasn't behind him.

Kakashi watched the others leave debating on whether to follow or help the boy. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a bloodcurdling scream from behind him. A look of horror crossed his face when he turned around.

* * *

Naruto started laughing as he slowly walked toward the large group of bandits. "How many?" he asked. The looks of confusion told him he needed to elaborate. "How many of you are there for me to kill?" They all started laughing as the man wearing sunglasses stepped forward. "You're joking right? You really think you can kill 100 men by yourself?" Naruto's smile widened and he licked his lips. "That depends, are you counting yourself in that 100?" They all started laughing again.

"You mentioned Zabuza's nickname, so that means you want to see a demon, right? **I'll show you a demon!" **The laughter came to an abrupt halt when Naruto dropped his transformation. His 3 tails thrashed around excitedly behind him as he slowly approached. Some of the less experienced fighters were completely frozen by the KI pouring off of him in waves while others just stood there terrified. One man decided he could handle things alone as he drew his sword and charged. Naruto didn't give him the chance to regret it.

Naruto smiled as he waited for his first victim to get close. When he did, his screams came out as nothing but a gargling noise as his blood flowed over Naruto's hand that was embedded into his throat. And with that, everybody charged at once. **"Oh I'm so glad none of you tried to run,"** Naruto said with a huge smile as he rushed forward. Screams filled the air as Naruto tore through the mass of bandits. He avoided fatal blows intentionally trying to prolong his fun. The scent of blood was thick in the air as Naruto ripped a man's leg off and proceeded to beat him with it as he laughed hysterically. Growing bored of that, he ripped the man's spine out and proceeded to lash out at the nearest victim. It severed his arm as well as tearing a large chunk of his upper torso out with it.

After that, Naruto began disemboweling everybody close enough for him to sink his claws into. The short man in sunglasses was frozen in terror as he watched his men being slaughtered. The truly terrifying part of it though, was the look of pure joy on the boy's blood-drenched face. Naruto was in pure bliss. The sound of screams combined with the heavy scent of blood in the air and the rich taste of it in his mouth as he tore a man's throat out with his fangs was borderline orgasmic. Once Naruto finished completely removing the organs of the man beneath him, the man in sunglasses was the only one left.

**"So I guess you'll make it 101,"** Naruto said darkly as he came up to the small man. The man started panting as liquid began pooling at his feet. Naruto's nose twitched as he snarled and picked the man up by the throat. **"You bastard, how dare you taint the scent of blood in the air with your filth! For that, I'm going to make you watch your death over and over until you beg me to kill you." **And that's exactly what he did. As he stared into Naruto's hate-filled eyes, he saw images of his death over and over as he screamed for it to stop. The seconds drew into minutes as the man was forced to watch himself die in so many different ways. "MAKE IT STOP! KILL ME! TORTURE ME! ANYTHING, JUST MAKE IT STOP!" The man screamed as he cried and begged for his life to end. Naruto laughed as he raised his hand and shoved into the man's chest. The man coughed up a large amount of blood as Naruto brought up his other hand to join the first and ripped the man's rib cage open.

He was forced to watch as Naruto sank his claws into his lungs and tore them to shreds. He could feel his life slipping away as his heart slowed down. Before it could stop beating, Naruto grabbed it and flooded it with lightning chakra. The man was unable to scream, but apparently his brain wasn't dead just yet from the evident pain showing on his face. Naruto continued to pump lightning chakra into the heart until it couldn't take it anymore and exploded violently. Naruto licked his claws clean and let out a sigh of contentment as he reapplied his transformation and walked over to where Zabuza was laying.

Surprisingly, Zabuza was still alive. Just barely, but he was alive. "You look like shit," Naruto said with a sad smile. Zabuza winced as he laughed softly. "Listen kid, I want you to do me a favor. I want you to take Kubikiribocho, and I want you to kill that shark bastard Kisame with it." Naruto smiled as he nodded his head. "I promise, Zabuza. No matter what, Kubikiribocho will taste Kisame's blood." Zabuza smiled as his eyes drifted closed and his breathing stopped.

* * *

Nobody said anything as Naruto walked into the house covered from head to toe in blood with Kubikiribocho strapped to his back. He just walked by with his usual blank expression on his face as he went to take a shower. Shortly after the sound of running water could be heard, a pale Kakashi stumbled into the room.

"Sensei! You look terrible, what happened out there?" Sakura ran to him as soon as he came in. The others were curious, but the look on his face said they really didn't want to know and he had no intention of telling them. Jiraiya gave him a knowing look as he was reminded of the things he had seen the boy do. "I don't wanna talk about it, Sakura…ever," Kakashi replied in a tired voice as he dropped onto the couch face-down. The genin all looked at eachother and shrugged then headed upstairs to go to bed.

"What the hell was that, Jiraiya-sama?" Satisfied that everyone was out of hearing range, Jiraiya and Kakashi talked about what Kakashi had seen. Jiraiya let out a sigh before speaking.

"I figured as much. Listen, Kakashi, you can't talk to anybody besides the old man about this. He's aware of things to a certain extent already, but I'd avoid going into too much detail if you do decide to talk to him about this. As far as Naruto's mental condition…to be honest he's been completely unstable since the incident on his 8th birthday. However, as unstable as he is, he would never harm someone he sees as an ally. Though, sadly, that list is extremely short right now. As far as I know, he'll only drop his guard around Shizune, Tsunade, the old man and me." Kakashi raised an eyebrow at that last part. "You found Tsunade-sama?"

Jiraiya explained some of their travels together from when they found Tsunade. Kakashi couldn't help but laugh at some things, but what really interested him was what he was told about Naruto and Shizune. "Do you think they have some kind of thing going on?" Jiraiya rubbed his chin as he thought for a moment. "Well, I'm pretty sure the kid has feelings for her, but I really don't know what she thinks."

"What do you think would happen if we got them together? Think that would help Naruto out? A grin slowly spread across Jiraiya's face as he giggled perversely. "Maybe I could even get some material for my next book," he said as he began coming up with plans to get them together. Kakashi started giggling along with him as they plotted their first move.

* * *

That's it for now, what did you guys think? I will be deciding who the girl for the next series is sometime in the next few days so if you haven't voted yet, please do. The result will be posted in the A/N of the next chapter. Thanks for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Good news, the first chapter of the new series is up. And the winner was…Kurenai! This will make updates a bit slower, but I won't just up and abandon one of them. I have every intention of bringing both to a full conclusion. I will try to update both of them at least once a week so please bear with me. Also, someone had asked if I planned to have Naruto gather all of the 7 swords of the mist. I hadn't really planned on him gathering any beyond Kiba and Kubikiribocho, but who knows. It's a possibility.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 6

* * *

Once the bridge was finally complete, Naruto was eager to leave. Their job was finished and he had no interest in staying to celebrate with the others. He stood by the edge of the bridge waiting while Jiraiya and Kakashi talked.

"I'll get things started. You can stay here and let the kiddies celebrate with everyone else. By the time you get back, phase 1 should be ready to go," Jiraiya and Kakashi smirked as they wrapped up their conversation and walked toward Naruto. "Have a safe trip back, Jiraiya-sama. You too, Naruto-kun." Naruto gave the silver-haired Cyclops a sideways glance before rushing off. Jiraiya shook his head with a sigh before waving goodbye and following after his student. The trip back to Konoha was spent mostly in silence.

* * *

After Jiraiya and Naruto left, Hiruzen figured it was as good a time as any to talk to his other loyal student. "So, tell me about your travels, Tsunade. And perhaps you can introduce the young lady beside you properly." Tsunade had been reminiscing about her time in the village when her former teacher brought her back to reality.

"Of course. Sarutobi-sensei, this is my apprentice, Shizune. We met several years ago when an unfortunate incident left her an orphan. She showed great potential so I took her as my apprentice and she's been with me ever since." Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe as he listened to her.

"I see, well it's nice to meet you, Shizune. Now then, I believe I had also asked about your travels?" Tsunade gave a nod and started talking about everything of importance that had happened since her departure. Shizune noticed she left out the parts about her causing them trouble with her gambling and drinking issues and felt it was necessary to bring them up as well. Hiruzen wasn't sure whether to laugh or sigh at the mention of such things. He threw in a few questions here and there, but for the most part, he just listened quietly to her story.

"And that's when the kid showed up with Jiraiya. He'll be able to explain everything else better than I could so I'll let him fill in the rest when he gives his report. On a more serious note, what's going on with the council? Jiraiya filled me in on the truth about what happened to the kid." The old kage let out a heavy sigh at the question. That was not something he wanted to think about right now. Shizune's confusion was evident on her face and Tsunade waved it off saying she didn't need to know.

"I'll fill you in when Jiraiya gets back. I'd really prefer not to have to talk about it twice," Tsunade nodded. She wasn't thrilled about the topic either, but it was something she needed to know. With that said, they decided to leave it at that for now and Tsunade and Shizune left the Hokage's tower. With nothing better to do for the moment, master and apprentice wandered the streets of Konoha. Tsunade was amazed at how little had changed over the years while Shizune took in the sights for the first time. They stopped and had lunch at a local Akimichi restaurant after a while. Once they were seated and she was sure nobody could hear them, Shizune took the chance to ask the question that had been on the tip of her tongue since they left.

"What were you talking about back there with the Hokage, Tsunade-sama?" Tsunade sighed. She had been hoping her student would just accept it was something she didn't need to know. "Listen, Shizune, it's something that I wish even I didn't know so believe me when I say you really don't want to know. I just pray Naruto never finds out…" She mumbled the last part as it wasn't really directed at Shizune, but she heard it nonetheless. She would respect her master's wishes and not bring it up again, but the confusion and curiosity were still there.

* * *

Naruto already knew about it of course, and was thinking about it as he and Jiraiya got closer to the village. Another thing he had on his mind was his contract with Kurama. He still had not had a chance to keep up his end of the bargain and summon his partner. Kurama was keeping quiet about it, but Naruto was sure the fox was growing restless waiting for his chance. It was then that Jiraiya decided to start setting his plan in motion. He just hoped Tsunade would go along with this or it would be far more difficult.

"Oi, Naruto. How would you feel about relaxing at a hot spring for a bit when we get back? I don't know about you, but I could use a break." Naruto raised an eyebrow as he was drawn from his thoughts. "You mean you could use a break to get more of your damn research done. Damn pervert," Jiraiya laughed and waved him off. "Relax, kid. Even I'm capable of going to a hot spring without peeping every once in a while. Tell you what, how about we get a room with a private open-air bath?" Jiraiya smiled when he saw his student thinking about it seriously. 'If I suggested that from the beginning he would no doubt think I was up to something, but like this, he shouldn't suspect anything.'

Naruto was indeed considering the idea, but not for the reasons his perverted master thought. 'If we had a private suite then I could let Kurama out for a while without having to worry about anybody seeing. Getting rid of the pervert would be a simple matter. Hmmm, what do you think, Kurama?'

**"I think he's up to something, but we may not get another chance like this for quite a while. I'm all for it," **Naruto nodded his head and turned to address the old toad sage. "Sounds good, Jiraiya, but it better be completely private or I'll burn your manuscript right in front of you." Jiraiya nodded swiftly and cringed at the thought of seeing his latest masterpiece destroyed before his very eyes. Besides, if things worked out, he could get material for his next book. The price of a suite was a small one indeed by comparison.

* * *

Once again, everyone's eyes were on Naruto as they walked through the gates of Konoha. Or rather, they were on the large sword strapped to his back. The stares continued as he approached the Hokage's tower. He let out a soft chuckle when he heard someone say "first he shows up with Kiba and now Kubikiribocho? What the hell is with this kid?" The attention was starting to annoy him, but the fear he could feel coming off of the civilians made it completely worth it. He barely contained his laughter when the Hokage's assistant looked like he was about to piss himself when he walked through the door. To his defense, seeing somebody walk through the door with a sword bigger than they were on their back and a smile on their face that screamed "I get off from killing people" is rather intimidating. He had no intention of stopping the boy as he walked up the stairs on his way to the Hokage's office.

Since he was in such a rare, good mood, he decided to make a flashy entrance. When he approached the door, he pulled his foot up, and kicked it forward forcefully knocking the door from its hinges. "The demon has returned!" he announced as the ANBU jumped in front of him with their weapons drawn. Hiruzen sweatdropped at the entrance and title, but waved his bodyguards off. Naruto stepped over the broken door and walked towards the elderly kage with that smile still on his face.

"Mission accomplished old man!" Hiruzen sighed and shook his head. "I gathered that from the fact that you have Kubikiribocho with you. I'm glad you're happy Naruto, but could you refrain from trying to destroy my office? I'd really prefer not to have to replace something every time you're in a good mood." Naruto laughed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Hehe, I'll try to keep that in mind, but I make no promises. Well, I'm gonna go terrorize the village while you and the pervert talk business. Later, Gramps," Naruto said as he turned around and walked through where the door used to be. Taking that as his cue, Jiraiya climbed through the window.

"Sorry about the door Sarutobi-sensei. It's not too often the kid gets into such a good mood so try not to hold it against him." Hiruzen just shook his head and waved it off while the ANBU tried to put the door back in place. "It's fine, Jiraiya. I'm just glad to see him happy for once. Now then, fill me in on what happened in Wave and we can discuss the rest when Tsunade gets here." That being said, he ordered one of his ANBU to go get Tsunade while they talked.

* * *

Once Tsunade got there, they discussed the majority of what had happened since Jiraiya left with Naruto. Hiruzen listened carefully while Tsunade just nodded every so often having heard most of it already or been there herself. Once the Hokage was up to speed, they started talking about more serious business.

"I suspect Danzo was the mastermind behind the incident, but I haven't been able to collect any evidence against those of the council that were involved. We were able to implicate several civilians outside of the council were involved, but they were executed after it was discovered we wouldn't be able to get any information out of them," Hiruzen brought his pipe to his lips once more as the information soaked in. "So I assume Danzo probably used some of his techniques from ROOT to keep any information from being leaked by the civilians?" Tsunade asked to which Hiruzen nodded. "Most likely, but as I said, I haven't been able to gather sufficient evidence. Danzo is very thorough about his underhanded operations and it is doubtful he left any loose ends. I will continue the investigation regardless. More importantly, Naruto must never learn of this. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not so sure he would be able to handle it."

"Of course, Sarutobi-sensei. While we're on the subject, I have a bit of a plan to help him out and it would go much smoother if you two went along with it," Tsunade and Hiruzen turned to Jiraiya and waited for him to continue. "Tsunade, how would you feel about setting the kid up with Shizune?"

* * *

Naruto was beginning to grow bored with his walk through the village. The sense of fear he was causing was nice, but the initial rush he felt from it was long gone. 'Fear from insects just isn't enough to do it, eh Kurama,' **"I agree. This has lost its sense of amusement. Maybe nobody would notice if we just killed 1 or 2 of them…"**

'C'mon Kurama, you know we can't afford to risk blowing things this early. If they caught onto us we'd have the whole village up our asses in minutes. Don't worry, we can find something to occupy us in the meantime. If nothing else, I could always get some more training in while we wait for the pervert to finish.' **"Yeah, you're right. No sense risking losing out on a massacre just to take out a little trash," **Kurama replied with a chuckle. Naruto laughed along with him drawing a few stares from those nearby.

"Naru-chan?" Naruto turned around to see Shizune staring at him. "Hey, Shizu-nee, what's up?" Naruto asked as he walked toward her. "I was thinking about getting something to eat to kill time until Tsunade-sama is finished with her meeting. When did you get back?" "Just a couple hours ago. Mind if I join you? The pervert is with the old man too and I'm a bit hungry myself." Shizune smiled and nodded as they started walking toward a nearby restaurant. "So I take the fact that you have that sword on your back as a sign that your mission was a success?" Naruto nodded as they entered a dango bar and moved to an open table.

"Yeah, it didn't go exactly as planned, but in the end it worked out I guess." The waitress took their orders and Naruto told Shizune about what happened in Wave. He left out a few details here and there, like how he brutally slaughtered over 100 men with a smile on his face, but he told her the important bits. She was aware of his past exploits, but he felt it was better to spare her from the finer details of his…eccentric behavior. Whether he would admit it or not, he did care about her opinion of him. Once they had finished their meal, Naruto paid for their food and they left to find their masters. Conveniently, they didn't have to look far because shortly after they turned onto the street, they saw Jiraiya get launched out of a nearby bar in an all too familiar fashion.

"Guess the pervert let his hands wander a bit too much again," Naruto said with a sigh while Shizune shook her head. "You're damn right he did!" Tsunade yelled as she exited the aforementioned bar; in a far less painful manner of course. Seeing her apprentice, Tsunade stormed off in a righteous fury while motioning for her to follow. "C'mon, Shizune, let's go before that pervert tries anything with you, too." Shizune sighed before smiling and waving to Naruto. "Thanks for dinner Naruto, it was fun." With that said, she ran to catch up to Tsunade.

"Oh? And what was that all about?" Jiraiya asked with a smirk on his face as he pulled himself out of the remains of the wall he had collided with. "Never mind that, what the hell did you do this time you old pervert? Drink too much and rub the old hag's ass again?" "Of course not!...it was her breasts this time." Naruto facepalmed and shook his head. "Why must my master be someone like this guy," Naruto asked nobody in particular. "That hurts brat. And to think I went out of my way to get us a private suite at a hot springs resort for 4 days and 3 nights. I guess I could always just go by myself…" Jiraiya said the last part with an evil smirk.

'4 days and 3 nights, huh? A bit longer than I had intended to be idle, but it looks like you'll get to stretch your legs even more than we planned, Kurama.' Kurama was pleased with the idea so Naruto broke from his thoughts and gave the pervert his attention again. "You better think again if you seriously believe you're going without me, Jiraiya. When are we going?" Jiraiya laughed and gave his apprentice a pat on the back. "Tomorrow. It's here in Konoha so no need to worry about travel time. I'll meet you there around noon." Having said what he needed to, Jiraiya went his separate way as Naruto turned to head back to his apartment.

* * *

"So, what did you and the brat do tonight, Shizune?" Tsunade asked after pouring herself some sake back at the Senju compound. "We ran into eachother in the street earlier and decided to have dinner while you and Jiraiya-sama were at your meeting." "I see. Did you enjoy yourselves?" Tsunade prodded for information while Shizune seemed to think nothing of it. "Of course, I always have fun with Naru-chan." Tsunade raised an eyebrow at that thinking Jiraiya might have been onto something.

'What harm could it do? It's not like the brat would pounce on her like Jiraiya would.' "Hey Shizune, how would you feel about taking a break and heading to the local hot springs for a few days?"

* * *

The next morning, Kakashi and his team had just returned from the land of waves. The genin went home while Kakashi went to give the Hokage his report.

"I see, so Naruto has 3 tails now. To be honest, I wish you would've done as Jiraiya suggested and left out some of the more specific details, but you did the right thing. Tell me; what is your opinion of the situation, Kakashi?" Kakashi took a moment to think before answering.

"As far as power goes, Naruto definitely could match the strength of an average jounin. However, I would not advise putting him to work in a team. I believe what Jiraiya-sama said about him was perfectly accurate. As unstable as he may seem, he would not harm an ally. But by that I mean someone he personally views as an ally, not the village's definition of an ally. I would advise keeping him with Jiraiya-sama for the time being." Hiruzen smoked his pipe as he thought it over for a moment.

"Do you think he poses a threat to the village?" Kakashi hesitated as he looked away. "…I'm sorry Hokage-sama…I really have no idea…" Hiruzen let out a sigh. "I'll leave him with Jiraiya as you suggested, but Kakashi, make sure nobody else learns of any of this. If this got back to the council they would no doubt order he be detained and try to use him as a weapon. This is now officially an S-rank secret and is to remain among those involved." Kakashi nodded his head in agreement before standing to leave.

"If there's ever anything I can do for him Hokage-sama, please call me immediately." With a nod from Hiruzen, the silver-haired jounin disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Hiruzen sighed as he looked out his window. "I hope everything turns out okay."

* * *

"Here is your room, Uzumaki-sama. The bath is just out back and there are towels in the closet. What time would you like your dinner brought to you?" Naruto was slightly uncomfortable with the hospitality he had been receiving since he arrived at the resort. "Ummm, at about 8 I guess?" If the hostess had said anything else, Naruto hadn't noticed. All he could hear was the laughter of a certain fox.

'What's so damn funny, Kurama?' **"Being showered with blood gets you off, but you're uncomfortable with something as simple as a traditional hot spring, hahahaha," **Kurama continued to laugh as Naruto mumbled something about stupid foxes. 'Keep it up and you can stay in that cage while I relax.' That had the desired effect as Kurama was the one mumbling now while Naruto wore a victorious smile.

Naruto had just taken his shirt off when there was a knock at the door. Dropping his shirt, he opened the door to find the hostess kneeling on the floor. "My apologies Uzumaki-sama, but there is a message from Jiraiya-sama. He said to tell you that something urgent came up and he will be away for the next week so he won't be joining you. Is there anything I can do for you while I'm here?" Naruto smiled at the news. "Thank you, but I'll be fine," She gave a short bow before closing the door and leaving him alone again.

"Well this makes things easier. Ready for some fresh air, Kurama?" **"Yes! Get me the hell out of this damn cage!" **Naruto chuckled at his partner's sudden impatience. Naruto bit his thumb to draw blood and flashed through several handsigns.

"Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto called out as a large puff of smoke filled the room. When the smoke cleared, standing there in all his glory, was none other than Kurama the nine-tailed fox. Severely reduced in size of course, but it was him all the same. He stood at about 5 feet tall with 9 red tails thrashing around behind him. The only indication that he was still bound by the seal, was the black collar around his neck.

**"I can't say I'm thrilled about this thing on my neck, but it's better than that cage," **Kurama said as he looked around the room through his own eyes for a change and lazily scratched at the collar on his neck with one of his paws. "I gotta say, it's nice to see you outside for a change. How does it feel?" **"It feels great kid, thanks for this." **Kurama stretched out as he got used to being free again.

"Wow, did the great Kurama really just thank me? Shit it's the apocalypse isn't! I should've known letting you out would destroy the world," Naruto joked with a look of mock terror on his face. **"Yeah yeah, very funny. Don't get used to it. The next time you hear me say it really MIGHT be the apocalypse. It will be for this village at least," **They both laughed at the thought.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna go ahead and check out the hot spring," Naruto said as he took the remainder of his clothes off and grabbed a couple towels. **"Not a bad idea. By the way, why do you still have your transformation up?" **Naruto looked behind him and noticed the lack of fur. "Huh, guess I didn't think about it. Having to keep it up constantly is starting to make me forget about it altogether," Naruto dropped his transformation and Kurama smiled. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of expression.

**"Congrats kid, the 4****th**** tail has formed." **Sure enough, he now had 4 orange tails with yellow tips swaying behind him. With a huge smile on his face, Naruto ran for the door leading to the open-air bath. Kurama's nose twitched when another scent hit him.

**"Naruto, wait!"** He called after the boy, but it was too late. He swung the door open and looked out to the bath. Only, it wasn't vacant. Sitting in the water with wide eyes and red cheeks…was Shizune. "N-Naru-chan? W-what are you doing her-" she stopped midsentence when she saw a large red fox approaching Naruto from behind. As if that wasn't enough reason to freak out, it had 9 tails! Before Naruto could say anything, she fainted falling face-first into the water. Naruto let out a deep sigh as he moved to get her out of the water before she could drown.

"Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag now." **"Don't you mean fox?" **Kurama snickered while Naruto rolled his eyes. "Just toss me a damn towel will ya?"

* * *

That's it for now. I may be putting more time into my new NaruKure story to try and catch it up a bit, but I will still keep to my word and try to at least update once a week. As always, thanks for reading.


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