Naruto 1. Prologue

"Naruto" Normal Speech

'Sasuki' People's thoughts

**"Thanatos"** Summons/Gods/Monsters/Other beings speech

'**Kurama' **Summons/Gods/Monsters/Other beings thoughts

_**"Rasengan"**_ Techniques/Spells/Jutsu/Terms

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other franchise in any way, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto and their respective owners**

**Prologue**

**Death Awaits**

_Konohagakure no Sato_

It was a peaceful night, just like many others. There wasn't anything special about this day in particular, in fact some people from Konoha would say it was just another day.

For many of the peole living here it was a relief to have one of these 'normal days', after all the destruction that the strongest Bijuu, the Kyubi, caused was still remembered by many. Considering what happened that fateful night it was no surprise that people here craved for normal days and normal lifes

Lifes in wich death was not around the corner

Sadly it was not only death and destruction the only things that the Kyubi left after his attack. No, he left something much more personal and dangerous

He left fear.

Humans are not perfect. They make mistake, and they let their feelings get the best of them most of the time. It was because of this that such a simple feeling like fear can turn into something much, much powerful

Hate

Fear turns into hate, and that hate will make people do insane things. It is their hate that blind them, and that make's them comite such crimes that it would make any sane person to feel ashamed of even beign the same species as them

And such type of ordeal was happening right now

A young boy, definitly no older than five years of age was running, running like his life depended on it, and it may as well be

What made this situation so unique was three little facts

The first one beign the fear evident in the boys face. His spyky golden hair beign even more wild than normal, his blue eyes that normally were filled with optimist were now full of nothing but dread and dispair, and his clothes, wich were just a wite shirt and blue pants, were teared and ragged at different places

The second one was the boy's location. It was a forest, but not any forest. It was the feared training ground 44 of Konoha, also known as the Forest of Death. Of course such a place was definitly not for children, but sadly the young blonde didn't have a choice in the matter

The third fact was that the boy wasn't alone. No, he was beign hunted like an animal. While he was running through the woods there were people watching him, their faces showing sick pleasure at seeing the boy they consider a monster beign so scared of them

To understand this situation completely you need to kow of a few facts. The young child, who's name was Naruto, was definitly not loved by the people of his village. He was infact despised, for something he had no control, or even knowledge of.

Today it looked like any other day too for the young blonde. He had done everything he normally did, like eating at Ichiraku's ramen, wich was one of the few places that treated him like a normal child, and lazing around in the Hokage's Monument.

Sadly that sense of normality dissapeared once the moon stood high on the sky. Naruto was definitly shocked when he had woken up in some sort of forest he didn't know. The last thing he remembered was walking to his home, so how had he woken up in a place like this

The answer came when four guys, all obviously Shinobi of Konoha, appeared in front of the boy, wearing expresion that the young blonde recognized inmediatly as ones that promised pain for him, so he did the only thing that he could think off at that moment

He ran

Wich brought us to our current situation, wich was of a young innocent kid running for his life while four Shinobi, who's job was supposed to be to protect people like Naruto, chased him, their objective to inflictas much pain as possible in the young Jinchuriki

Naruto runned like a kid possesed, his natural stamina allowing him to run far more than any other kid his age would. Sadly he was still a five year old child, wich meant that he would not be able to run for ever

His escaping was cut short when Naruto, while looking back to see if someone was still chasing him, triped and felt to the ground face-first, his face, clothes and hair becoming dirty thanks to the natural soil of the forest

"Well well, look what we got here" said one the men while Naruto tried ti stand up. This of course brought once again the same sense of dread to the young blonde's heart, and when he turned he was met with the sight of the four Shinobi, all in front of him and wearing sadistic smirks that innmediatly brought more fear to the poor child

"Didn't people tell you to not wander around at night?" said another one in a mocking tone, making Naruto walk bakwards untilhe felt once again, his eyes showing nothing but terror

"P-p-please don't h-hurt me. I d-din't d-do anything" begged the young blonde, truly fearing for his life at this point. He had some rough encounters with people like these in the past, but Naruto knew that this time it was different

Oh how right he was

"You didn't do anything?! That's rich you little demon!" snarled the third man, his face making one of the ugliest expresion Naruto had ever seen in his short life, and the young blonde had to control himself to keep the tears that were threatenning to escape his eyes

"Let's just get this over with. No reason to allow this demon to keep breathing" continued the fourth Shinobi while taking out a kunai, putting more dispair into Naruto's heart

The young blonde was now openly crying, knowing that what would come will probably be the worst thing he would ever feel, and probably the last one too. Naruto closed his eyes after seeing the four Shinobi aproaching him. He just sat there, waiting for the inevitable, tears escaping his eyes and in his mind begging for someone to help him

Lucky for him he was not alone.

He never was alone

The air of the place suddenly went cold unlike anything the Shinobi's or Naruto ever felt. Naruto still sat there, waiting for a blow of pain to hit him, but it never came.

Ever so slowly Naruto opened his eyes, and he was shocked when he saw the horror stricken expresion of the four Shinobi's while looking at him. No, they weren't looking at him, they were looking _behind_ him.

Of course Naruto turned around, curious even in a situation like this, and what he saw almost made him yell in fear and shock

There, just _floating_ behind him was what could only be described as a _monster_. Slender and inhuman white legs with a golden end. Long arms that ended in claws, covered in white long gloves. It's whole body covered with a black coat with red details and a belt with a golden skull. It's face, if it could even be called that, was a white helmet that was separated in two parts: The face part, wich had two completely empty wholes that worked like eyes, and the jaw part, wich was point and long. What looked like a cape made of nothing but cuffins was behing this entity, attached to It by silver chains. They were eight coffins, each one with the same painture of a completely white woman holding a sword. The monster also had what looked like a sword, it was longer, perfec to fit It's body, and completely black too.

To say that Naruto was scared now would be an understatement. He now didn't know what was worse, if the appearance of this monster or what was just about to happen to him a few minutes before

Naruto tried to move but his whole bodie, just like the bodies of the four man, was completely frozen thanks to nothing but fear.

The monster didn't make any sound, but Naruto, beign closer than anyone else to It, could hear some sort of low growl that the beast was causing. It made him shiver even more in fear, after all that growl sounded so inhumane that Naruto didn't know _anything _could make such a sound

Then without any kind of warning the monster dissapeared, surprising Naruto a lot. For a moment he thought that the beast had left, but he was proved wrong when he heard the same monstrous grown on his front, only that this time it was louder

When he turned he saw something out of a horror film. The beast had moved to the back of the group of four Shinobi, and without making a sound It's claw went directly through one of the man's chest, or to be more specific the area where his heart was.

The monster's white claw was now painted in crimson red, and the man wich It had just killed would now foreved held a look of horror on his face.

This brought the other Shinobi's out of their fear induced shock, and now even more scared of the monster they jumped out of where they were, spliting themselves. One of them, the most stubborn one, started doing hand-seal, his objective obviously to attack the monster that had just killed his friend

Sadly it was not meant to be

_Slash_

As soon as he got to the last hand-seal, wich was the horse, both his hands were chopped of by one single cut of the monster's black blade

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" the man yelled in anguish, falling to his knees with the lumps that used to be his hands closeto his chest, his two formed hands failling to the ground, blood filling the ground in wich the man kneeled.

Said man would have continued to yell in pain, but he was no more once that the monster's sword pierced his skull, killing him in an instant. The monster got It's sword out of the man's body, making it fell limp while the sword was now too crimson in color beside it's black tune

The monster's cape was also working. As soon as the beast attacked one of the man one of it's coffins opened, and from there multiple black chains jumped out, their objective another one of the group that tried to attack Naruto.

The man was able to do nothing as his whole body was tied by the chains, he couldn't even scream in pain. The chains's links had razor multiple razor blade's attached to it, so now the man was truly feeling how beign stabbed my hundreds of knifes truly was

Then the chains pulled the man's bledding body to the coffins from wich they came from just before closing in once again. The yells of the man could be heard for a few seconds before no more sound escaped the coffin

Then the beast's attention went to the last of the four Shinobi's alive, who was once again paralized in fear at seeing his friend's gruesome death.

Then, a completely black circle filled with some marks that Naruto had never seen before appeared just under the last guy. The man was able to look down just before his whole body was covered by black energy that he circle created

And then came the scream

Naruto didn't knew someone could yell so much. He didn't know what was happening to this man, the only thing he knew was that the circle was causing him pain, and that the monster created that cirlce.

The man's hand went to his head, his body failling to his knees, his mouth open and a screamof pain and horror escaping his lips. The man could feel it, his souls beign crushed, destroyed, oblitirated, killed until there was no more.

The man's body went completely limp this time, his whole face pale, his eyes rolled to thr back of his head and his mouth wide open, showing that his last moments were nothing but a scream of terror

This whole chain of events happened in nothing but a few minutes, but for Naruto it felt like hours. It was nothing short of a miracle that Naruto stayed consious during all this, after all it was not everyday that a five year old boy watched how a monster killed four man in a row like that

The monster's 'eyes' focused on Naruto, making the poor boy pale and once again fear for his life. He had after all just seeen how easy It was for It to kill those man, so what chance did he have?

None

The beast floated towards Naruto, scaring the child even more for each 'step' It gave. The monster stopped once he was just at arms level to the boy, and Naruto couldn't help but to look up in horror at the beast's metalic face, wich opened slightly, showing that the metalic mask _was_ It's complete face

Naruto couldn't keep it together anymore, so he fainted right there, the last thing he heard were the ominous voice of the monster, wich seemed to resonated in every part of his head

**"_Thou art I, and I am thou..._"**

**TFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFFTFTFTFT**

_Meanwhile_

In a dark place, a rather old man was on his knees, sweat pouring out of his head, his hair disleveled just as his white beard, and his grey eyes had nothing but horror in them

"No, it can't be... This can't be happening... It's imposibble" mumbled the old man repetedly, while passing his hand through his face

Then another person entered the rather dark room, but unlike the old man, she was rather young. A young woman with long blond silverly hair that reached the middle of her back and grey eyes. The young girl, who was probably around fifeteen and sixteen years old had an etereal beauty. Her pale skin practicly glowed and her whole body had no blemish. She had a percect hour-glass figure, with c-cup breast and a face that would have any man becoming a munbling idiot, with deseable pink lips and a small nose

The young beauty kneeled beside's the old man, her beautiful face showing an expresion of concern and worry

"Ojii-sama, what happened?! Are you alright?!" asked the young woman, her voice melodic and just as perfect as her appearance. The old man's attention went to the young girl, his eyes still showing so much horror and fear that the young beauty couldn't help but release a gasp

"It's has started... _he_ has appeared... _he_ has choosen someone..._Death_ is now walking between us" continued the old man, getting a panicked expresion from the young blonde beauty, who now understood what was happening

"B-but how?! _he_ couldn't have found someone! Who would have accepted the contract with _him_?! asked the girl, not wanting to believe that such a thing had happened. Sadly for her the old man just shoke his head, looking now at the young girl with sadness in his eye

"It is true, my dear. I don't know who did it, but I _felt _it... It has already started" said the man just before standing up with the help of his young companion. Said girl put a hand on her mouth while her eyes showed the sheer fear she was feeling just by the thoughts ot what she had just heard

"T-then what will we do? How can we stop _him_?" asked the young girl, wanting to find some sort of hope on the know dark future that the whole world would face, but sadly for her the old man had no answers. He just released a defeated sigh, his gaze to the ground and his hands on his beard

"We can't... The only one that could do anything is the contractor himself... but I fear that someone who would accept the contract is someone who's path can not be changed" said the old man, knowing that the next years for the Elemental Nations would be dark ones

He knew that, whoever the contractor was, would be the person that would forever change the Elemental Nations, there were no ifs or buts.

It was a fact

After all now that _Death_ had managed to find a contractor, It meant that the end would begin. He always wondered if he would live long enough to see the end of the world he loved, but now that it was starting he didn't know what to fell

"In the end _Death_ awaits us all" mumbled the old man, remembering the words that his father had told him a long time ago

And now, it was that. The beggining of the end.

**TFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFFTFTFTFT**

**Another idea that popped in my head one day and didn't dissapear. Oh well, at least it will allow me to write a darknes fic than my other two, and also my chance to write something with no Fairy Tail in it**

**In case you're wondering how the **_**monster**_** looks like, just check the cover image for this fic (cookies to those that knows from wich saga I got him!)**

**Next Chapter: The Academy years with a different Naruto!**


	2. Perfect Mask

"Naruto" Normal Speech

'Sasuki' People's thoughts

**"Thanatos"** Summons/Gods/Monsters/Other beings speech

'**Kurama' **Summons/Gods/Monsters/Other beings thoughts

_**"Rasengan"**_ Techniques/Spells/Jutsu/Terms

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other franchise in any way; they belong to Masashi Kishimoto and their respective owners**

**Chapter**** 1**

**Perfect Mask**

_Konohagakure no Sato, Hokage's office_

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the current Hokage of Konoha, released a tired sigh once again, his hands holding the paperwork he was forced to do because of his job as the leader of the village

The powerful Shinobi had thought more than once about retiring from his job, but sadly there wasn't anyone right now who he thought was truly worth it of the title of Hokage.

Sure, the village had many strong Shinobis and Kunoichis, like Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy and many others, but the Sandaime just felt that none of them were truly worth it of the title and the responsibilities that came with it

In fact the only individual that had actually won the Sandaime's blessing was none other than the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato

Thinking about his young predecessor just made the Hiruzen frown in sadness. Minato was someone that could have brought a new golden age to the village, but sadly the surprise attack from the Kyubi eleven years ago had brought the death of the young war hero and his beautiful wife, Uzumaki Kushina

At least with their sacrifice they were able to stop the powerful Bijuu from destroying the village completely. They had been able to seal the beast into the body of their child, Naruto, thus defeating the Kyubi and turning Naruto into what was known as a Jinchuriki

Hiruzen's wife had died that day and it still brought sadness to the old man's heart every day

Hiruzen didn't know all the details of the seal Minato had used nor was he even able to observe Minato since he was too focused and ordering the defenses against the Kyubi itself.

It was after the sealing that two things turned the whole situation even worse. For starters they weren't even able to find the bodies of Minato and Kushina, something that truly worried the Sandaime. The other thing was that somehow the information of Naruto being a Jinchuriki was leaked; which of course brought a whole new set of troubles not only for him but also for the young Naruto

"This job is going to kill you one of this day, old man" Hiruzen was taken out of his thoughts by a voice coming from the window of his office, and when he saw who was there he was greeted by the presence of one of his two remaining loyal students, Jiraiya the _**Gama Sennin (Toad Sage)**_

"Then you should take the job and let your old sensei to rest, Jiraiya-kun" muttered the Sandaime, getting some chuckles from his student, as if the sole idea of him as a Hokage was funny

"C'mon, Old man, you should now already that this job is not my thing. Besides I already have enough responsibilities with my spy network, and you and I know that we can risk that one" replied Jiraiya, getting a nod of acceptance from his former sensei

"Anyway, has anything interesting happened here while I was gone?" asked the white-haired man

"Nothing out of the usual, just the same bickering with the counsel and Danzo trying to get his claws onto Naruto-kun for 'training'" answered Hiruzen, getting a frown from Jiraiya

"I see… and how is the gaki anyway?" asked back the Sannin, trying to act like it was nothing, but the Sandaime was easily able to detect the flick of emotions that appeared in Jiraiya's eyes at the mention of his Godson

"You would know it of you presented yourself to the boy" said the Hokage

"And you know that I can't do that, Old man! No one knows about my connection to the kid, so don't you think people are going to start asking if I get close to him!" shot back the Sannin, although his answer just got his sensei to get angry

"And we both know that what you just said is nothing but a silly excuse, Jiraiya-kun!" said an angry Hiruzen, who had never liked how his student had ignored his duty as a godfather to Naruto "You _could_ have spent some time with Naruto-kun, but in your pain you decided to be as far away from his as possible! Minato and Kushina would be ashamed of seeing how you and Tsunade ignored their child!"

Jiraiya could do nothing but to look down in shame, after all he knew that his sensei's words were correct. Both him and Tsunade had been deeply hurt by the deaths of both Minato and Kushina to the point that they practically abandoned not only the village, but also their godson, Naruto. Sure, Jiraiya came back every now and then because of his duty as a spy master, but even then he never went out of his way to even see how Naruto was doing. The only thing he actually did was asking his sensei about it

Meanwhile Tsunade had just abandoned the village completely, not even bothering to visit once in a while for her godson or anything like that

In all honesty Hiruzen had never felt so ashamed of those two

"Just answer the question sensei… please" said Jiraiya, almost pleading, which made his sensei to release a sigh before answering

"He's doing fine, Jiraiya-kun. As you already know he's becoming a fine young man. He acts like his father but he has Kushina's kindness. He even has a rather big group of friend, and he doesn't let the village's treatment to get to him" explained Hiruzen who couldn't help but to smile

"Then, nothing like what happened _that_ day had repeated, right?" asked Jiraiya, and Hiruzen knew instantly of what day he was talking about

While both he and Jiraiya knew that the village was not treating Naruto as the hero he was, they had never expected _anyone_ to act that way towards the boy. They knew that most villagers hated the boy, but they had never acted on their hate. The only thing they do was to glare at Naruto every time they could, or of they owned a store they didn't let Naruto to buy there.

The Sandaime had of course done his best to stop that kind of treatment against the boy, but he couldn't change the feelings of a whole village with a flick of his fingers

The day they were mentioning was the day that Naruto had been kidnapped by four Shinobis and brought to the place known as the Forest of Death. Hiruzen of course had some ANBU guarding the boy, but they couldn't spend all day looking over him, and his kidnappers had taken advantage of that

When Hiruzen had been told that someone had kidnapped young Naruto he refused to believe that it was someone from the village. He didn't want to believe that their hate had made someone from the village he loves to hurt an innocent child.

Of course he had sent search groups everywhere, including the Forest of Death. It was one Anko Mitarashi the one that had found Naruto passed out in a clearing in the forest, surrounded by four dead bodies who belonged to none other than four Konoha's Shinobi

Hiruzen had understood a part of the situation as soon as he was informed about it. He could easily guess that those four Shinobi had kidnapped Naruto with the intention of harming the boy, or maybe even kill him, but what the Sandaime couldn't understand was how had Naruto gotten out of there without a scratch, and who had killed those four

Hiruzen had wanted to get some answers from Naruto once he finally woke up in the hospital, but sadly the boy had not been able to tell him much, just that he had passed out just before the 'bad men' as he put it could get to him.

Hiruzen had at least been glad that Naruto didn't look so affected by the whole event. In fact he even looked a little bit more peaceful and happy. Hiruzen couldn't understand that but he was at least glad that the whole event hadn't affected Naruto negatively

Or so he thought

"No, Jiraiya-kun, nothing like that has ever repeated itself. I made sure of that" answered the Hokage, getting a relieved sigh from his student

"Is now your turn, Jiraiya-kun. I'm guessing that if you came back it was to inform me of something" continued Hiruzen, getting a nod from the Sannin, who then started to report all the information that he had gotten from his spy network

Unknown to them there was a third figure right there with them. This figure was definitely not human, and he wasn't even hiding. He was just there, floating just at the middle of the office, his attention completely focused on the conversation between teacher and student

Many people had even passed through him in the day, but they didn't know it since no one but his partner could even see it, let alone feel his presence. It was not new for him to do this since it was his job. His partner had asked him and to do this

And he would never fail his partner

**TFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFFTFTFTFT**

_Meanwhile_

In one of the multiple training grounds that covered Konoha, this one being Training Ground number 7, there were three individuals, two girls and one boy, all of them not looking older than ten year old

One of the girls had black hair that was pulled into a ponytail, with two bangs framing her face. Her eyes were black and she had fair skin. She was wearing a blue high collared shirt that had her clan's symbol on the back of it, white shorts and blue ninja sandals

The other girl had fair skin, dark blue hair hime-style hair with chin-length strands framing her face, and white eyes that were normal for her clan. She worse a cream-coloured hooded-jacket with a fire symbol on the upper right and left sleeves and a fur around the cuffs and hem, with navy blue pants dark brown sandals

The boy on the other hand had spiky blond hair that reached his shoulders with two bangs framing his face, sky-blue eyes and sun-kissed skin, with three whisker marks on each one of his cheeks. He was taller for a boy of his age so people could easily mistake him for a twelve year old boy. His attire consisted on a long-sleeved black shirt, black fingerless gloves, black ANBU pants and dark blue sandals

This three individuals were none other than Uchiha Sasuki, Hyuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto.

Right now both girls were on their knees and panting, obviously exhausted, while on the other hand Naruto was standing away from them, his body leaning on a tree while his face had a smile

"C'mon Sasuki-chan, Hinata-chan, I'm sure you girls can do better than this" said Naruto in an encouraging tone while observing the two girls, who were now standing up. Both girls' eyes had a fierce determination on them that would have made certain green wearing Taijutsu master proud, and before Naruto could say anything else both girls dashed at him, making the boy's smile to become a little bigger

Naruto pushed himself out of the three just before Sasuki reached him. She threw a punch directly to his face, which Naruto dodged easily, but the punch was followed by a kick aimed to his face once again, but Naruto intercepted it by catching Sasuki's foot just before it hit him

Hinata took advantage of Naruto's focus on Sasuki and threw a palm strike directly at Naruto's chest, but the blonde had already saw that coming so he twisted his body in a way that made the palm strike fail, and at the same time he made Sasuki lost her balance by throwing her by her leg

The blonde quickly grabbed Hinata's wrist and then he used his legs to make the girl lose his balance too before throwing her around just like Sasuki. Both girls slammed in the ground by their backs with a thud while Naruto just stood there, his pleasant smile still on his face before he approached Sasuki

"You two are definitely stronger than the guys, but you still have a lot to learn" said Naruto while helping both girls to stand up. Both girls looked completely exhausted, but Naruto could also detect the glint of disappointment in their eyes at being defeated so easily

"Don't worry, you two. You had definitely become stronger and I'm more than sure that you will get to my level in no time, and I will help you and every way I can" said Naruto to the girls with a smile, making both girls to blush a little bit, although Hinata's was definitely more obvious

"Still, is not fair that you're so strong! We're the same age, we should be at the same level!" complained Sasuki

"I'ts j-just that Naruto-kun trains v-very hard, Sasuki-san" muttered softly the shy Hyuga, getting a sharp look from Sasuki, which actually made the girl to squeak for a moment before actually hiding behind Naruto, after all it wouldn't be the first time that Sasuki had actually bullied her out of nowhere

For her part Sasuki would have preferred if she was able to train with Naruto all by herself, but the blonde had insisted in letting the soft-spoken Hyuga to train with them, and since Sasuki didn't want to upset Naruto, after all she knew that him and Hinata were friends, she had accepted it

It didn't meant she liked it though

In her opinion Hinata was just too soft for a Kunoichi, and for her Naruto was wasting his time by helping her when she could spend that lost time doing something more important

Like spending time with her for example

It was the same with that Sakura and Ino girls. Sasuki didn't like them, but since they were Naruto's friends she had to put up with them

It didn't meant she didn't want to harm them more than once, especially when they got too close to Naruto for her liking

Sasuki was, after all, kind of possessive over her blonde friend

"Ne, please don't fight, we are friends after all, aren't we?" Naruto tried to calm the situation, and his words got a sharp nod from Sasuki and slow one from Hinata, who was still hiding behind Naruto

Hinata would have also liked to spend time with Naruto alone, after all every time she was with Sasuki the girl would glare at her, and Ino or Sakura would just hog Naruto all for themselves. The boys weren't that much of a problem with the exception of Inuzuka Kiba, who really liked to challenge Naruto to a fight every time he could

Hinata didn't know if she was really friends with Sasuki, but she wasn't going to let the attitude of the Uchiha to get in her way to spend time with Naruto

"Now I think is getting late. C'mon, I'll walk you to your homes" and with that the trio of 'friends' left the Training Ground 7 in order to go back to their houses. It became a problem though once that the girls started discussing about which house to go first. They wanted to go to the other girl's house first in order to leave her and then be alone with Naruto for a while

It was after finally leaving the two girls, who looked like they wanted to say or do something to Naruto just before leaving but weren't able to, that Naruto finally walked to the small apartment that was his house

During the whole walk he received the normal glares from the civilians of the village, but Naruto just responded with his normal smile. People normally didn't glare at him while he was with any of his friends, but now that he was alone they had no problem with that

Naruto entered his small apartment, which didn't have many things, just a kitchen with a table on the middle of it, a bathroom and one bedroom, and turned on the lights of the place, allowing the blonde to look at the seemingly empty apartment

Naruto closed his eyes and released a sigh before passing a hand through his hair and his face. Then the blonde opened his eyes, and his former happy and kind expression changed completely

He was still smiling, but it wasn't the same kind smile of before. No, it was a cold and fake one that didn't even reached his eyes, which looked cold and deadly, definitely a weird expression for a ten year old boy. Anyone but one being would believe that Naruto wasn't able to do such an expression, but that was just because they didn't know him

They had no idea of his mask

"Thanatos" said the blonde, apparently talking to himself, but a few seconds later that was proven wrong once the ghostly form of the beast that had saved him years ago appeared in front of him

The monster, whose name was Thanatos, was a little different now though. Unlike five years ago when he had saved Naruto, now his form looked hazy, almost transparent to the point that he looked like a ghost. His rather large body was also going through some stuff that were in the apartment, making him look even more like a ghost

Not like anyone would ever notice, after all Naruto was the only one that could see him

"Got anything interesting from the Old man's office?" asked Naruto, getting a weird nod from the monster. The blonde then closed his eyes and hummed while all the information Thanatos had gotten went directly to his brain

It was one of the things that their connection allowed them to do. Naruto could easily receive every single one of Thanato's memories, and since he was completely invisible to the everyone but him Thanatos had become Naruto's perfect spy

"Hmm, so Jiraiya still refuses to accept his responsibilities as my _godfather_… Can't really say I'm surprised about it" muttered Naruto, still with that wrong smile on his face

"**And yet you do not let me end his pitiful existence…"** Thanatos spoke, his voice being deep and as inhumanly possible. It's also worth mention that his 'mouth', if you could call it that, didn't move at all

The blonde in response just chuckled, already used to his partner's attitude, and looked up at the form of the being that had changed his life. While most people would shiver in fear by Thanato's appearance and presence itself, Naruto felt nothing but calmness while being in his presence, which was almost constantly

By looking up at his partner Naruto couldn't help but think a little bit about the past, or to be more precise about the day and the meeting that had changed his life forever

It had been after Thanatos had saved him years ago that he had woken up in a strange dark room, thinking that all that had happened had been a dream, however he had been proved wrong of that thought as soon as his eyes had landed on the two figures that shared this room with him

One of them had been a beautiful woman with long dark hair, pale skin and black eyes that had looked at him with curiosity and amusement on her face, while the other one had been Thanatos himself, who unlike now had stricken fear on the young boy's heart

"There's no need to worry, child. You're safe here" those had been the words that the woman had told him, and surprising himself he had actually calmed down after hearing her words in such a soothing voice, even though he was in the presence of someone as intimidating as Thanatos

He had wanted to ask so many things to the woman, but he wasn't able to talk at all. It was like something was stopping him from even doing that and in the end the woman had continued to talk, apparently ignorant of his predicament

She had told him how it was truly curious that it had been her son the one to answer his call, and how for that that he had become truly an interesting child. Then out of nowhere the woman had taken out a contract, asking him if he would like to have the kind of power that people could only dream about

Of course the offer had sounded too good for it to be true, so he had been suspicious of the whole deal, but the woman had a way with words that in the end had gotten him truly interested in the power she had been offering him

Not only that but the woman, unlike almost every other adult he had met at that point, was actually treating him like a person and not like a freak or a bother. Of course the blonde had been naïve at that point of his life, and it had been his blind trust on the woman that he had ended up signing the contract, which only established that he had to take responsibility for his own actions

And then the pain came

The blonde had never felt so many pain at that moment of his life. What was the cause of that pain? Memories. Memories that weren't his had been suddenly rammed into his mind, years and years of the life of a black swordsman whose name had become synonymous of death

Some of the memories were foggy, while some others were as clear as water, and for a few agonizing minutes he had done nothing but to scream in pain, of course being overwhelmed by the influx of estrange memories that were not his

When the pain had finally stopped he had found himself alone in a black abyss, the woman long gone and the monster still by his side, watching him. He had found himself unable to even move, and the only thing that he was actually able to do was sort the memories that were now going rampage on his mind

The memories of a black swordsman of times so old that chakra was inexistent. The memories of a man that had became something more than a human. The memories of someone that by all means and terms had become death itself

He truly thought that he had been sorting those memories for years in the black void, his only companion being the black monster that had started this all, and ever so slowly he had felt himself changing.

By the end of it he truly didn't know who he had been anymore. Was he Uzumaki Naruto? Or was he this black swords man whose memories were now in his head? In the end he had just decided that it didn't matter. He was still him, and that was everything he needed

Then he had been finally able to look at the monster directly at his eyes without feeling even a bit of fear. In fact he had felt that the both of them now understood each other better than anybody else. He had felt connected to this being on such a level that the thought of not trusting him, or being scare of him now felt ridiculous

And then he had woken up in a hospital with the Hokage by his side, and for a moment he had thought that it all had been a really weird dream, but two things had easily crushed that notion out of his head

First he still had those memories in his head

And second Thanatos was still by his side, invisible to everyone but him

He knew it that day, the moment that he had woken up. Uzumaki Naruto was long gone now, and the only one remaining was him

"If I let you go around killing everyone you like then the village would certainly die too" said the blonde, amusement obvious on his eyes "Not that I really care anyway, but it might give us future problems if I let you go by your instincts, Thanatos" the being didn't say anything else, simply following Naruto to his room, in which the blonde had sit down on the floor

"**You are doing it today then?" **Thanatos asked

"You already know the answer, but yes, and I'm counting on you too, after all who knows what might happen" at Naruto's words Thanatos just nodded, making the blonde boy to close his eyes, ready for a meeting that had been long since prolonged

His mind in calm Naruto sat in what many would say is a stance for meditating, and only a few minutes later Thanatos disappeared completely from where he was watching the blonde, of course intending to follow his partner

**TFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT**

_With Naruto_

The blonde opened his eyes, taking his first look at a completely new place that, to put it simple, looked like a sewer, with pipes and water everywhere in the floor

"This place could definitely use some changes…" commented the blonde, the sound of his steps resounding everywhere

There was only one reason that the blonde decided to come here, and it was to pay a visit to certain being that has been residing on his stomach for ten years already

The Kyubi no Yoko

Of course it was no surprise that Naruto already knew that he was the Jinchuriki of the strongest Bijuu. It wasn't even something that Thanatos had learned from spying the old man Sarutobi. The blonde had simply learned it from Thanatos himself a few years back, and to say that everything had been made even more clear for him would have been an understatement

The blonde kept walking, a smile still on his face and his eyes analyzing everything that he saw. His reason for postponing this meeting was quite simple. He knew almost nothing about the Kyubi or how the seal worked, which meant that he really had no idea how meeting with the infamous kitsune would end, and if there was something that the blonde hated was doing things blindly

Doing that was a thing that the old Naruto would do, but not him

Of course he knew that he would have Thanatos backing him up, and he certainly had confidence in his partner's abilities, but that didn't change the fact that this was still a meeting with a unknown foe, which could easily end badly

He kept walking until he finally reached a different room, one that had nothing but a big cell right at the end of it, which easily towered over him. The only other thing noteworthy of the cage itself besides that it was huge was the piece of paper that was glued at the middle of it, with the kanji of seal written on it

The blonde continued to walk until he stood just in front of the cage, his blue eyes looking at it with curiosity. Of course he knew what the cage was, but his curiosity was in what was inside the cage

"Kyubi-san, are you there?" asked the blonde, not getting any type of response, but instead of getting frustrated he just smiled even more before walking closer to the cage, his fingers brushing the metal bars of the cage

Then not a second later a gigantic human-like palm was smashed against the cage right in front of the blonde, sending a wave of wind everywhere. Naruto was not affected by this though, and he simply looked up at the being that had attacked this village ten years ago

Calm blue eyes met angry red, and for a few seconds the only sound in the place where the growls coming from the Kyubi until Naruto finally decided to talk

"I was wondering when you were finally going to show up, Kyubi-san" the blonde's voice was as calm as ever, and he still had that same smile on his lips that actually angered the Kyubi even more, after all shouldn't this little human be scared by her presence?!

"**You have guts by showing yourself in front of me, human… or maybe you just have a death wish!"** the Bijuu growled out, earning a chuckle from Naruto

"And please do tell me how you were going to harm me? Because from the way I see it you're trapped, Kyubi-san"

In response the Kyubi just growled even more at him, making the boy raise an eye-brow at the kitsune, who just kept glaring at him

Deciding that it was simply best to get control of the conversation the blonde spoke first, shocking the Bijuu with his words "Very well then, Kyubi-san could you transform into your human form so that we can have a pleasant conversation?"

The Kyubi's eyes widened in shock at hearing his words. No human should know about that ability, not even her jailers! How the hell had this boy discovered that of all things?!

"**How did you…?"** the Kyubi wondered, an edge on her voice that, combined with just her presence, would have made any lesser being to shiver in fear

But Naruto was far from that

"You would be surprised about the kind of things that I'm aware of, Kyubi-san" was the blonde's answer, and he was saying the true, however his knowledge that the Bijuu's had some sort of human form had came from none other than Thanatos, who itself was a fountain of knowledge

Of course there was also the fact that Naruto had year's worth of memories in his head, and he had got to the theory that this memories were probably from Thanatos himself, however even today a lot of those memories were still hazy, and were hard to picture clearly, which made Naruto just even more grateful of Thanato's information

He didn't know how Thanatos had gotten that information, and he honestly didn't care that much neither, but he had no doubt that it was true, and judging by the Kyubi's reaction it was in fact true

Meanwhile the Kyubi was thinking hard about what to do now. She didn't know how this human had found out about her secret, although she did have a suspicion about the how. Now she was thinking about how to turn this situation in a way that would be good for her, and in her mind she thought that it would be easy, after all her opponent was but a little kid, information or not nothing would change that

The fox gave one step back before being covered in a crimson light that blinded Naruto for a few seconds. Then when the light disappeared Naruto opened his eyes and was greeted with a definitely interesting view

Now instead of the massive nine-tailed fox there was now a beautiful woman that looked to be in her mid twenties, with fair skin, crimson red hair that reached her lower back, red eyes and a body that would make any man to drool. Her body was covered by a crimson kimono with a fox design, and of course just behind her there were nine tails moving slowly. She had her arms crossed over her impressive chest and her eyes were set in a powerful glare directed at Naruto

"Hmm… interesting" were the only words that the blonde said at seeing the Kyubi's human form, surprising her for a moment since she had believed that this would at least surprise him, something that Naruto caught on quickly

"What kind of reaction were you expecting, Kyubi-san?" asked the blonde, just getting another glare from the crimson beauty, which actually earned a chuckle from him. Then Naruto did something that shocked the Kyubi even more: He actually went pass the bars that separated the inside of the cage with the exterior, entering in what could be considered the Kyubi's zone

However as surprised as she was she was definitely not going to lose this chance of taking over the blonde's body, and she quickly dashed at him at a speed that left the Jonin of Konoha to shame

However Naruto didn't move at all, and true to his confidence just before the Kyubi reached him she was stopped by a blade being held at her throat, courtesy of none other than Thanatos

This time he was a little different though. While on the outside his form was transparent this time his form looked just like when he had first met Naruto, making him even more intimidating

The Kyubi was now glaring at the newcomer with hate, but not surprise, after all she had known for years that _something_ had happened to his jailer, and that _someone_ else had made itself present in the boy's body

"**I was wondering when you were going to show up**" said the Kyubi after moving backwards, making space between her and both Naruto and Thanatos, who was now floating just behind the blue eyed boy

"Huh? It seems then that you're already aware of my friend here… let me then introduce you to him. Kyubi-san meet Thanatos" said Naruto while pointing to Thanatos who was just behind him, acting as if the situation was completely normal

The Kyubi eyes both Naruto and Thanatos with obvious suspicious on her eyes. For starters it was now more than obvious for her than her jailer was definitely not normal, after all the confidence and calm he was showing was too much for someone that should definitely either fear her and despise her, then there is the fact that she had no idea what this _Thanatos_ was. He was definitely not human, but she had never met such a creature before, and it was plainly obvious that said creature was loyal to the blonde human

"**What is he? Your slave or something?**" asked the Kyubi, trying to get some sort of information about the being that she actually considered important, which was of course Thanatos, after all she could easily feel that this thing was something that should not be played with, and even if she had her pride she would always follow her instincts first

Naruto just chuckled at her choice of words, and the true meaning behind her question definitely didn't went unnoticed, however he guessed that he could amuse her with an answer anyway

"I prefer the term friend or partner, but you can call us whatever you want, Kyubi-san" answered the blonde with his permanent smile, something that was truly starting to annoy the vixen a lot

"**You still haven't answered my question. Why have you come here, human?**" once again asked the Kyubi, thinking of more than a few reason for the blonde boy to have appeared in front of her. Did he want some of her power? Did he come just to make fun of her for being trapped? Or he had just decided to vent his rage at her? After all the she was no stranger to the kind of life that Naruto had lived because of her. It had only been a few years ago that she had been unable to follow her jailer's life, or to be more precise the day he had met Thanatos

"I just wanted to meet the other being living on my body, after all wouldn't you say that I should get to know everyone that has my body as their house?" answered Naruto while looking straight at her eyes for a few seconds before turning around and leaving the cage, Thanatos following him closely

"Don't worry, Kyubi-san" said the blonde while walking, not even bothering to turn around and face the Kyubi "Today I just wanted to introduce ourselves, but I assure you that we will meet again, after all I have big plans for the three of us"

That last comment caught the Kyubi's attention, who was quick to ask her own question "**Plans? What, are you going to try and get revenge on Konoha? While that definitely sounds tempting, don't think that I will help you in any way, human**" the last part was followed by a crimson flash, getting Naruto to turn around again in order to see that the Kyubi had gone back to her original form

"Revenge?" the blonde's smile became a little wider, but that smile definitely didn't reach his eyes "Why would I want revenge? No, that would be too simple, besides letting something like emotions to dictate my future objectives… I'm not that weak, you know?"

"**Then what is it that you want, human?!**" the Kyubi growled, her feminine voice once again turned to a deep voice that sounded everywhere

Naruto's hand passed through his hair, his eyes becoming so cold that even the Kyubi was surprised, especially since he still smiled at her

"Death" that was the only words that escaped Naruto's lips, and not a second later he was gone, Thanatos following his lead quickly, leaving the Kyubi completely alone in her prison once again

For now at least

**TFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT**

**Well not much going around for this chapter. I know this chapter might leave some questions, but don't worry, those will be answered in the future… sooner or later**

**This chapter was mostly to set some stuff for the future, and the next one will treat more with Naruto's mentality, abilities (his own, not Thanatos) and other things**

**And just to make sure, in this fic the age to enter the academy in 12 just like with my other fic**

**Truly thank you all for reading this fic. I was not expecting such an answer for the prologue**

**Next Chapter: The Uchiha Massacre**


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