Friendly Neighborhood Nine-Tails

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto.

Summary: Naruto Uzumaki died at the Valley of the Ends. Unfortunately for a certain Uchiha, Naruto the Kyuubi was born as a result. Now Naruto has to get used to living as a walking force of nature while Konoha learns to live with a mountainous fox in their backyard.

Regular Speak

Thoughts and Flashbacks

Demonic or Animalistic Speak

Demonic or Animalistic Thoughts

Kyuubi seethed in his cage, his fur actually singed, unable to believe what had just happened. He wanted to yell at the boy for his incompetence and weak-heart at not going for the killing blow against the Uchiha when their two enhanced attacks collided, but even the fox himself couldn't have predicted what happened. Sasuke didn't go for a killing blow either. He didn't even aim for the chest. And there was no way it was intentional, but Sasuke had hit, of all places, right into the seal on Naruto's stomach.

Normally, this wouldn't be a bad thing. Seals on living hosts were not as easily destroyed, especially when said host had regeneration. However, the mix of the Uchiha's corrupted chakra had actually done damage to the seal. If this was because he was an Uchiha or if it was the curse seal, Kurama didn't know. All he knew was that he felt the shock even in here. That wasn't the bad part. The bad part was the damage.

Seals were complicated things, like multilayered locks with extra contingencies possibly built in. The Fourth's seal was unlike other seals. It was infused with the Death God's power, making so that even he, the greatest of the Bijuu would die if this brat were to fall and never rise again. The seal had, unfortunately, lost part of its link to Naruto's life. The result of this was not Kyuubi being able to escape when the Uzumaki died, oh no. No, the result was the seal registered Naruto as dead, right now. Which he nearly was, but Kyuubi could bring him back even from being this close to death. Unfortunately, the seal didn't know that. All it registered was that Naruto was 'dead' and so was insuring that the Bijuu would soon be as well.

The Bijuu growled, sensing the Death God's pull on his soul. It was just a tug, for now, but Kyuubi just knew it would start dragging him into the afterlife if he didn't do so willingly. The great demon sighed, not being able to believe this was his end, 'I am Kurama! Greatest of the Tailed-Beasts! I, the one who dwarfed all my siblings in strength and size at my peak! I, who could level mountains and raised waves with a flick of my tail! I am to be laid low by a few humans with a knack for sealing?!' He thought in outrage as he slammed his fist into the ground, "I guess you were wrong...Father," He said softly, thinking back to the one human he ever liked, the Rikudo Sennin, "Me and the rest aren't going to be reunited in any manner of the word...," He lamented softly, feeling the pull getting harder, 'Cold...so Death's grip really is cold,' He mused to himself as he looked out of his cage, spying Naruto laying in the water, unconscious even in his mind.

He blinked; his red eyes blinked as he looked at the boy, untouched by Death's grip. Even without Kyuubi's chakra, he still clung to life like a starving man clung to food. Even as the great demon lay there dying from pure coincidence, the boy refused to die from all the strain and injuries the battle had caused him.

Kurama's eyes slowly rose to look at the seal, right where he knew the lock was. He didn't know enough about sealing to alter the seal in anyway, and even if he did, there was no way to escape the Shinigami's grip. A great hum echoed throughout the cage, ripples forming in the water as the crimson kitsune smirked. He didn't know enough about sealing, but he knew someone that did. He pulsed his chakra, staving off the Reaper's touch, just a bit. He had a little bit more time left before he left the world...with his own legacy.

Meanwhile

Sasuke panted and sighed as he looked down at Naruto's prone form, down at the side of the river, from a top the cliff-side facing the direction of the Sound Village. He actually hadn't been trying to kill Naruto in the end, deciding that he wouldn't kill Itachi just to become just like him in the end. However, the lone Uchiha was a bit unsure if Naruto would survive- in his defense, it was his first time using the curse seal's second stage, and had hit Naruto's stomach when he meant to hit the chest, opposite side of the heart, as Naruto had survived a wound there already. He shook his head, deciding to head onwards before someone showed up and finished the job for Naruto. If he got the Mangekyou Sharingan, he'd know if Naruto had died.

He stopped, just as soon as he had turned, as he felt...something. He turned, slowly, looking down to see that same red chakra spreading out from Naruto by about ten feet in all directions. It caused the river water to evaporate and turn into a cloud of steam, obscuring his view as it rose out of the valley, "What now...?" Sasuke asked in annoyance and just a touch of dread. If Naruto pulled out a final trick, Sasuke doubted he could hold his own...

He fell backwards, landing on his rear, as a pillar of blood red chakra burst through the steam, climbing high into the heavens, shaking the earth with the sheer magnitude of its power. Sasuke could only stare, eyes wide as the malevolent chakra swept over him, almost like it was trying to choke the life out of every living thing in its reach...

Meanwhile

Kakashi and Pakkun stopped dead in their tracks, their eyes going wide as they felt the demonic chakra. The wind, light as it was, suddenly changed directions as the chakra reached them, "Kakashi...that's..." Pakkun trailed off, unable to say it, almost unable to keep himself from dispelling in fear.

"Yeah, that's the nine-tails alright," Kakashi confirmed with a steely look in his eye, and sweet on his brow as he looked up as saw the pillar of red chakra, high in the distance, "Naruto...Sasuke...what did you do?" He whispered in dread, about to continue running towards what might just be two more teammates he had failed.

"Wait, Kakashi, look!" Pakkun called out, pointing back to the pillar again with his paw. Kakashi looked back up at it, wondering what Pakkun was pointing at...before looking confused as the center of the pillar started to turn a golden sun shade of yellow, steadily spreading and converting the rest of the pillar's light.

"...Come on Pakkun, we might not be too late after all," He ordered, confused but hopeful.

Konoha

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune yelled as she ran into the office, finding the Hokage staring out the window.

"I know, I felt it too," She confirmed grimly, "Send out messages to all our shinobi! Have them recalled to the village immediately!" She ordered, Shizune leaving with a nod, "ANBU!" She called, her guards appearing in an instant, "Monkey, have everyone high-Chunin and above mobilized. Tiger, instruct all mid-Chunin and below to start evacuating the civilians! Mouse, have every Clan Head and the village elders informed: The Kyuubi has returned," She instructed, all of them nodding and obeying. But even they were obviously nervous, 'Naruto...' Tsunade thought sadly, keeping up a strong front, 'Are you dead? Sarutobi's journals state that Kushina survived releasing the Kyuubi. Then again, there's little chance that your furry friend would let you live after being its prison for so long,' She mused in sorrow, 'Jiraiya...you better get back here fast, you're the best shot we got if this really is Kyuubi returning...'

Valley of the End

Sasuke, like his sensei and unlike the Hokage, saw the golden chakra forming in the red pillar, spreading through the rest like a virus almost. But Sasuke, being much closer than Kakashi, could feel another change. The hate, the anger, the unholy bloodlust were all fading...but the sheer magnitude of power sweeping over the area was just as intense. His eyes dilated for a moment as the yellow chakra completely converted all the red chakra, the ground and air shaking violently for a second...before the pillar seemed to implode on itself, sending out a shockwave for miles in every direction and slowly scattering the steam.

Sasuke slowly rose, barely able to bring himself to move, as he stared into the smoke, looking for any movement, any sign of...whatever had cause that, 'That much power...there was no way that Naruto had all of that...just what does he have? What does Itachi want from Naruto?' He wondered numbly, unwillingly in awe of what he had just witnessed.

In an instant, he saw it; on pure instinct, he activated his Sharingan, engraining the next few moments into his brain forever. A giant hand, with golden fur and enormous claws, rocketed out of the steam clouds, straight towards Sasuke. He jumped to his right, barely avoiding the great hand as it grasped onto the ledge. The Uchiha defector followed the length of the rather lanky arm, the strike having dispelled the smoke even more, and locked eyes with two giant slit blue eyes that were coming towards him, very rapidly, along with a set of equally giant fangs.

Turning around to run as fast as he could, he soon found that his now-enormous foe had leapt completely over him and landed a (relatively) short distance in front of him, making the Uchiha skid to a halt and back up. Just as he was about to attempt to hide in the trees from this beast, he went wide eyed and ran back towards the valley as the golden mountain swiped its hands across the ground in a wide arc. The attack leveled the trees to the ground that weren't flung into the air, leaving no place to hide.

With his back now against the ravine, he stared up at his adversary. The glaring blue eyes of a giant golden furred fox bore down on him, with long ears that had black markings that went down and around the eyes. It was easily as big as the toad Naruto had summoned to fight Gaara. The fact that it was a giant fox, like the beast that had nearly destroyed his now-former village over thirteen years ago, should have registered first in Sasuke's mind. But it didn't. What registered instead were those blue eyes that stared into his very soul. There was no mistaking those eyes, even if they were slit, "Naruto...?" He asked in disbelief in shock.

"Sasuke!" The fox roared, truly roared, in a deep and growling voice that boomed from him fanged jaw, his mere yelling shaking the valley as his nine tails raised high above his head to swish angrily in the air, drawing Sasuke's attention to them.

"It...can't be! There's no way! You...you're the Kyuubi?!" Sasuke yelled, unsure if he was angry or scared at that thought. Naruto, however, went wide eyed before narrowing his gaze and growling dangerously.

"TEME!" Naruto roared, almost unintelligibly, slamming his two of his tails on the cliff on either side of Sasuke, causing it to collapse. The Sharingan user gritted his teeth, nowhere to jump to and too injured and low on chakra to try any significant wall running, as the ground fell out from underneath him. He gasped and silently screamed in agony as he suddenly found himself in the grip of a giant fox with opposable thumbs. He struggled to stay conscious as he looked up and saw Naruto was holding him right in front of his giant mouth, lithered with teeth that could rip through metal. Sasuke wasn't sure if it was the fear or the pain, but his world went black after that, his nightmares filled with the haunting images of a golden Kyuubi.

With Sasuke unconscious, Naruto sat the runaway down on the ground as gently as he could. The blonde kitsune scowled as he sat on his rear and looked down at his human-like paws, opening and closing the furred fists as reality seemed to dawn on him. He had become the Kyuubi. He was now a giant fox with nine new limbs to worry about. Out of all the things he could have done, he settled for sighing and running a paw through his head, trying to remember what happened...

'I may die...But the power of the Nine-tails...will not be so easily erased...This is my gift...and punishment for you, Brat...You 'will' replace me as...the Kyuubi...the strongest of the Bijuu...And if you fail me...if you disgrace my title...I will hound you in the next life we meet to no end...Go now, Naruto, my legacy...So say I, Kurama, Greatest of the Nine!'

That was what Naruto had heard, weakly, in his head as he began to transform in that pillar of chakra. The voice of the fox, tired yet triumphant, calling out to declare his power even as his soul was taken by Death, to show that he refused to go without leaving something behind, something to prove that he had existed, that his might was not just a myth.

"Rough day?" Kakashi asked, making Naruto blink himself back to the present to see his cyclops of a sensei was crouching on the end of his snout, giving him an eye smile.

"Sensei?" Naruto asked in surprise, barely even feeling the weight on his nose, before blinking and glaring, "You couldn't have gotten here a little earlier!?" He yelled, making Kakashi cringe and cover his ears while sending a lot of chakra into his feet to keep from being launched off.

"DON'T YELL! YOU'LL MAKE ME GO DEAF!" Kakashi yelled, his ears ringing a bit, "Well, at least I know that's you, Naruto," He said, sticking a finger in his ear to hopefully clear it out.

"You know anyone else with blonde hair and blue eyes that is related to the words 'Kyuubi no Kitsune'?" Naruto asked dryly.

"Right, right," Kakashi said sheepishly, "There...any chance you can make yourself smaller? Preferably in human form, but a fox would be fine," He asked hopefully. Naruto stared at the silver haired Jonin for a long, long, LONG time, making him very uneasy, "...What?" He asked with a sweat-drop.

"First off, get off my nose. My nose is starting to itch and my eyes are starting to hurt from trying to look at you there," Naruto requested evenly, getting a noise of understanding from Kakashi, who jumped down to stand on the head of Uchiha Madara, the statue closest to Naruto at the moment.

"Can you hear me up there, with those big ears?" Kakashi asked curiously as he watched Naruto scratch his new nose.

"Yes, I can hear you just fine," Naruto answered with a sigh, "And I just got this body. What makes you think I know a thing about making it smaller, let alone changing it into something else?" He asked plainly.

"It was more wishful thinking than anything," Kakashi admitted, scratching the back of his head idly.

"You're not at all curious about what happened?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"In regards to the battle itself? Another time. As for what happened to you? I'm going to assume that Sasuke chidori'ed you in the seal?" Kakashi guessed, Naruto's ears perking up a bit in surprise of that accurate guess, before dismissing it with a massive shrug.

"...Shouldn't we get him back to Konoha?" Naruto asked, jamming a thumb, and two tails, in Sasuke's direction- only to blink and realize another Kakashi was already over there at the boy's side.

"I sent a clone to check on his vitals. He's exhausted and got a lot of stuff broken, but nothing seems fatal," Kakashi answered, looking sidelong up at Naruto, looking very unsure, "I'm just...trying to figure out how we should handle...," He paused to wave at Naruto's massive size, "This."

Naruto sighed, a bit tiredly, at that reminder, "Yeah, I don't think they'll be too happy to see a Nine-Tailed Fox walking up to the village," Naruto admitted, his ears drooping.

"...Naruto, you okay?" Kakashi asked in concern.

The golden kitsune gave him a tired, dry glare, "No, Sensei, I'm not. My best friend just tried to kill me, I'm tired, I've turned into a giant walking natural disaster, and I...I just want to go home and slee,." Naruto admitted.

"...Sounds like a plan to me," Kakashi said with an eye smile, getting Naruto to perk up, looking at him oddly.

"...My prank senses are tingling," Naruto said curiously as Kakashi chuckled and headed over to Sasuke, picking him in his arms. Naruto blinked as he looked over his shoulder with what looked like a glare, but was actually a squint. He hummed before shaking his head and walking onward with Kakashi...

A man with a face that was half pitch-black and half pasty-white, and appeared to be part Venus fly trap, came out of the bark of a tree, sweating bullets as he stared at the behemoth of a fox, "This could...be trouble," The two voices said, each equally worried, as he disappeared into the tree again to report to the Akatsuki. This was not good, at all. A Kyuubi, however inexperienced, was not a foe to take likely...

Meanwhile

Kabuto flinched as he perceived the scowl beneath Orochimaru's now bandaged face. The snake Sannin had been forced to use a different body to switch with or risk dying, meaning he'd have to wait three years to switch again. What's worse, he found out that Sasuke's flight from Konoha had been foiled, meaning the Sound Four and Kimimaro were probably all dead by now. Honestly, Kabuto couldn't think of a way this could end without his master being furious at the loss of the Uchiha. The fact that the Kyuubi seemed to be released, right at the boarder to Rice Country no less, was just the horrible desert to this meal of failures and disappointment.

And yet...

"Kukuku...," Orochimaru laughed with a small smirk, "How very interesting," he commented with dark amusement.

"L-Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto asked, stunned at the reaction.

"You felt it, Kabuto? The hatred, the bloodlust? The malevolence crushing over the lands like a plague?" Orochimaru asked toyingly.

"I-I did, Lord Orochimaru, but...but it feels as though it's faded away," Kabuto answered, a bit unsure.

"Exactly," Orochimaru affirmed smoothly, "And yet, the oppressively massive chakra remains. One can feel it miles away, but it lacks the malice the Kyuubi has always possessed."

"W-what could that mean, Milord?" Kabuto asked, confused and a bit worried.

"Hmm, if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say our dear young Naruto has just stumbled his way into a new state of existence," He said musingly.

"A new state...Milord, surely...Surely you're not saying that...?" Kabuto asked in alarm, unable to understand this very simple idea.

"That the young container has become what he contained: The Kyuubi." Orochimaru confirmed with another chuckle, "Perhaps I was a bit too hasty. After all, depending on how Konoha reacts, I might have just found something new to study. After all, being immortal is one thing. But being a Bijuu? Why, that's just short of godhood to us frail humans," Orochimaru mused.

"Milord...what about Sasuke?" Kabuto asked curiously, still trying to swallow the idea that talentless Naruto could now be the strongest of the Bijuu.

"Leave him," Orochimaru said dismissively, "As tempting as the Sharingan is, it is not worth bringing down the personal wrath of something of that magnitude. Only a fool would so readily make such a being perceive you as an enemy," He reasoned thoughtfully.

"Than...what do we do, Sir?" Kabuto asked with a gulp.

Orochimaru turned to the medic ninja with a smirk, "Calm yourself, Kabuto, it doesn't suit one of your skill to be so easily alarmed and unsettled. For now, we shall wait and see who the real fools in this game are," He answered, turning his senses outward, "Hmm, the wind of the Kyuubi...it might be enough to break the windmill itself."

End of Chapter

And this is the first chapter of a reimagined version of the classic idea of Naruto becoming the Kyuubi. Only, in this case, Naruto is not getting to turn into a human, hanyo, or even little(r) fox form. He is, for the foreseeable future, stuck as a giant fox.

Now, this obviously isn't going to have Naruto getting Kurama's memories or anything like that from the fusion fics. However, Naruto will get some new personality traits that were partially caused by residule from Kurama's spirit, and partialyl jsut him dealing with his new life.

Still, yeah, few other details: Tsuande is gearing up for war as they might not have noticed the change in chakra very well from so far away. Zetsu, as in the anime, saw the whole fight and is bit worried about the issues this could cause. And Kakashi is...coping well with what's hapened with his student. In my head, I imagine that he sat on the sidelines, staring for a while and than trying to motivate himsef into jumping on Naruto's nose like that.

Meanwhile, Orocihmaru is not enraged about not getting Sasuke. The reason for this is that I feel fans portray him in an odd light, and I'm not even talking abotu the pedo-jokes. I'm talking about the fact that he's more obsessed and angry in fics. In the anime, with some exceptions, he seems more amused and curious about most obstacles to his plans. And since he had to switch bodies before Sasuke got there, he porbably doesn't mind since he'll have to wait three years anyway- three years that he can spend subtle studying the anomally that is Naruto.

Well, next chapter, we get to see how Konoha reacts to Naruto's new form and power.