AN: I don't own Naruto.

"You know my name, you know my fame, don't be lame! Eight Tails, thats me, da rappin, Killer Bee!"

Heads turned as the eccentric Jinchūriki walked through the gates of his village. Many smiled and laughed, realizing that it was only the lovable enka performer and went back to their conversations. Merchants that had just arrived in the village stared in bewilderment at the seemingly everyday occurrence.

"A Tailed Beast resides inside my hide makin' beats and rhymes and I'm makin' 'em live! It's what a Jinchūriki needs to survive, battle and battle up here in the Bee Hive!"

A busty nineteen-year-old blonde girl stared at her teacher with a slight frown of worry, nervous sweat trickling down the side of her head.

"Win after win is the way that it's done, when I'm finished you'll wish we never met, son! Aww yeeah!"

"Drop kick!"

Everyone looked up as a figure descended from the sky and crashed into the unsuspecting host of the eight tails, creating a large cloud of dust. When it finally cleared up, everyone could see their Raikage with his foot firmly planted on his brother's face, who was now pinned down on the ground.

"You haven't learned a thing have you?!" Yelled the Raikage in fury. Bee groaned as he attempted to pull his brother's foot off of his face.

"W-What's up brother? You surprised me too much!"

Ay moved his foot away from Bee's face and grabbed onto his collar, lifting him up and shaking his limp body around. "I let you go out on a mission for the first time in years and what's the first thing that you do? You leave your team all alone and go your own way! You fool!"

Bee raised both his arms and extended his index and thumb to make his hands look like guns "The Universe works in mysterious ways bro, who knows what it's got in store, yo!"

A vein throbbed on the Raikage's forehead. "My patience is running thin Bee! Do you want me to introduce you to my Iron Claw again!?"

"Noooo brother, that Iron Claw is too much of a killer!"

"Will you please stop that annoying rapping? You suck." Muttered Gyūki in annoyance. Bee dropped his head in defeat. No one could appreciate good enka around here!

The Jinchūriki looked towards his brother and, after taking note of the increasing anger on his face and the veins bulging on his head and neck, decided to quickly continue.

"It ain't like that bro! I heard some intel at the inn we were at so I followed in tow! Some S-rank business my green-around-the-gills teammates shouldn't witness, ya fool!"

The Raikage resisted the urge to use his fabled Lariat on his own brother in favor of processing the new information. "S-rank you say? What made it your business for you to follow them you reckless moron!?

The dark skinned enka enthusiast held up his hands defensively. "Ah, brother, don't make me suffer! This feeling inside my gut was telling me they wouldn't make the cut! I had to go alone and be a good samaritan, it's my duty as the mighty Killer-Bee, wheee-gahk!"

Bee was interrupted as Ay dug his fingers around the top of his face. "You're getting on my last nerves, Bee!"

"Nooo! Samui, help meee!"

The blond girl that was watching the two from a safe distance looked on helplessly.

The third idly watched excited youths playing catch near the base of his tower, indulging in one of his pass times and puffing on his trusty wooden pipe. He liked that pipe, it was sturdy, made of mahogany and had some lovely carvings on it. A thoughtful gift from his son dearest.

Kakashi stood behind him with his ever-present lazy slouch and aloof half-lidded eyes. He quietly observed the smoke rolling in the air, making random shapes wherever the draft took it.

"So, he knows." Hiruzen rumbled quietly, his voice coarse like gravel. The ANBU hidden in the room two days ago had seen Naruto come into the office and look at the paintings a bit too intently. It wasn't dificult to link it to his sudden escape attempt. The scarecrow hummed in agreement as Hiruzen looked upon the faces of his predecessors. "What of his state of mind?"

"He's fine." Drawled out Kakashi. "Though he probably won't be calling you 'old man' for a while.

"Hmm." Hiruzen ripped his eyes away from the mountains and turned around, facing Kakashi as he took a drag from his pipe. The crafty Kage stared at the Jōnin for a moment before finally speaking again. "How little you must think of me, Kakashi."

Kakashi straightened ever-so-slightly. Nearly unnoticeable to the untrained eye but easily distinguishable to Sarutobi.

"I care for Naruto, I really do. I wish only the best for him." He sighed tiredly and slowly sat down on his chair. "But I am the Hokage first and foremost. My task is to keep this village safe, and I have done so for 40 long years through wars and attacks. And Naruto…Well, he is an important asset to this village. Him knowing the truth about his tenant and his heritage could have made him be at risk to escape the village, as you have clearly seen already."

Kakashi disagreed. "He would have been fine had someone been able to adopt him from the start. All he needed were kind words, support, encouragement. People that loved him." A frown made its way on his face. "You made him this way."

"A jinchūriki is too much military power for one non blood-related family to look after, we've been over this. Had someone adopted him, like you said, there would have been jealousy among the clan heads. Everyone wants to be able to get their hands upon such an abundant source of power."

The Hatake wanted to argue. A civilian family would have worked as well. But he knew what Hiruzen's view on that was. He thought that a civilian family would deter Naruto from pursuing a ninja career, and Konoha needed a powerful Jinchūriki to protect it. Giving him to a ninja family would have been too great of a shift in balance. So, the Hokage had planned to leave him at the orphanage until he was old enough to take care of himself. Unfortunately, that hadn't really gone as planned.

Sarutobi heaved a small sigh as he picked up the paperwork on his desk and placed it in front of him, his eyes skimming over their content. "How is his training coming along? If I recall, I allowed him to forego the academy in favor of having him focus on the training that you are giving him."

"It's going fine." Said Kakashi, gaze moving to the window and setting on the evening sun. "He should be done with it in about 10 months."

Hiruzen paused abruptly in his writing and looked up at the copy-nin. Setting his pen down, he steepled his fingers together and leaned back slowly in his chair. "You're planning to have him take the genin test near the end of the year." It wasn't a question but a statement. Hiruzen was smart, it wasn't hard for him to make the connection. Kakashi shrugged in affirmation, making the old Sarutobi frown slightly in doubt. "Do you really think that he is ready?"

"Right now, I'd put him at high-genin level," supplied the cyclops. "By the end of the year, he should be ready to take on most low to mid chūnins." He nodded slightly to himself at his pupil's assessment. "Besides, it's not that uncommon. I became Genin at 5 and Itachi became one at 7."

"We were at a time of war back then, Kakashi and Itachi was a prodigy like none I've seen before. Those were different circumstances." Hiruzen grumbled quietly to himself and closed his eyes. "Nevertheless, if you deem him ready, then I shall trust your judgement. I truly hope that you know what you're doing. Naruto has no friends of his own age, the only people he interacts with are you, me and the ramen chef. Not putting him in the academy to make friends puts him at risk to run away. He's tried it once; he will probably try it again."

Kakashi frowned, but inclined his head in acceptance.

"One extra-large miso for the young man!" Teuchi exclaimed jovially and placed the giant bowl of ramen in front of the drooling blond. Naruto quickly wiped his mouth with his sleeve and eagerly broke his chopsticks apart.

"Thank you for the food!"

The ramen chef chuckled as he began to wash the dishes at the back. Meanwhile, Ayame smiled at the blond as she leaned over the counter and watched him devour his food. "So, Whiskers. You been keeping up with your training?"

Naruto nodded vigorously. "Umh! Ish gwoingjj wehlh!"

Ayame reached over and bonked the top of his head with a ladle, making him yelp in pain. "Naruto! Don't talk with your mouth full!"

He quickly swallowed his food and rubbed the sore spot on his forehead. "Then don't ask me questions when I'm eating!"

Teuchi smiled fondly at the two bickering kids. He was glad Naruto came by quite often, it was nice for Ayame to be around someone close to her age.

Hearing a sudden scream, he dropped the pot that he was carrying. "Ayame!?" He called out.

"Dad!" The urgency in her voice made him grab the nearest kitchen knife and rush to the front. Though he stopped in his tracks at the scene being played out in front of him. A man with grey hair and a mask, carrying his favorite customer over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. And he was knocked out. And the masked man was rubbing a red spot on his forehead sheepishly. And Ayame was holding her ladle threateningly.

The ramen chef sighed. "Kakashi." He greeted as he tossed the knife onto the counter. Kakashi turned towards him and inclined his head in a greeting.

"Teuchi, it's nice to see you."

"Woah woah woah wait, you know this guy dad? He just knocked out Naruto!"

"It's fine Ayame," reassured the older man. "Kakashi is a friend." He turned back towards the Jōnin. "Though knocking him unconscious might have been a bit much, don't you think?" He reprimanded.

Kakashi shrugged. "Had to be done." He turned around and sent a lazy wave over his shoulder. "Later."

Ayame blinked as the weird man suddenly disappeared from her line of sight. "Where is he taking him!?"

Teuchi just sighed.

"Ungh-" The hard impact of his back meeting the ground woke him up from unconsciousness. Opening his eyes, he winced as the sun blinded him momentarily. 'Where the hell am I?'

"Wakey wakey." Came a voice he recognized as Kakashi. Quickly scrambling to his feet, the eight-year-old glared up at the masked man.

"What the hell was that for asshole, I was enjoying my ramen!"

Kakashi gave him an eye-smile. "This year's training starts now." He turned around and gestured to the area around him. "This here is training ground 44, also known as 'The Forest of Death', home to many giant and ferocious creatures, carnivorous plants and man-eating super-sized insects. Even Chūnins would think twice before venturing in here."

Naruto gulped nervously as the distant roar of something could be heard, almost as if to emphasize his point. "And you want me to…?"

Kakashi's smile seemed to grow bigger. "Why survive of course! I'll come get you once I think you've been in there long enough. Oh, and don't leave the forest, or I'll make you start over from zero. Good luck!" The Jōnin gave him a two fingered salute and disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving a stupefied blond behind.

"What…the…fuck…"

In reality, Kakashi was still close by, he wanted to see what the blond would be doing first. He'd been debating this for a while, putting him in the forest. It was dangerous and incredibly unethical, but the boy had surprising survival skills and instincts. Living three months on the streets had done wonders, he wanted to see just what 6 months in a deadly forest would do. This place had plenty of animals and plants that he could eat, and he knew that he was ready to defend himself if need be.

He was going to be fine.

'God I hate this place, I hate this place, I hate this place.' Naruto lamented to himself. Only 10 minutes in this forest and he'd already been attacked twice. By rabid rabbits of all things! Since when did he have to be wary of rabbits!?

'When I see that damn Kakashi again, I am sooo gonna make him pay!'

He placed a hand on the hilt of his Tanto for comfort. At least he still had that. Though his pouch and scarf had been removed from him. He'd have to make-do.

He lifted up the dead rabbit by the ears and looked at its limp bloody corpse in slight guilt. He hadn't had the chance to eat that much at Ichiraku's and he was quickly getting hungry.

'Sorry buddy, but it's either you or me.'

And he definitely wasn't planning on dying in this forest.

3 weeks later.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

Birds flew away in fright as a giant white tiger, nearly the size of an elephant took down another tree with its powerful front legs, once more missing the tasty looking snack that was unnaturally fast and agile. The behemoth swiped at the pesky meat bag, growling in annoyance as it jumped above his paw making him miss once more. Throwing its massive head back, it let out an earth-shaking roar that made the blond boy lose his footing on the tree branches and drop down onto the floor.

"Goddamit!" Naruto dove to the side as a huge set of teeth came down with surprising speed. Cursing to himself, the blond took out his tanto, flipped it into a reverse grip and flashed forward using the shunshin. With a slight yell, he thrust the blade ahead, pushing onto the butt of his sword with his other hand for extra strength and buried it into the beast's left eye socket.

The tiger roared in pain and sent a vicious paw swipe at the blond, the giant appendage crashing into his side and sending him violently through the forestry. Coughing, he shakily stood back up and glared at the giant feline. He winced lightly and pressed his hand against his side making him hiss in pain. Just great, one of his ribs were either fractured or broken. He couldn't tell which, but he couldn't bring himself to care which one it was either. It hurt like a bitch regardless.

Just what the hell was he supposed to do against that!? And what was Kakashi thinking dumping him in a place like this!?

The white feline regained its bearings and set its angry slitted blue eye back onto the blond. One eye was now closed, though the fury in the other one was clearly evident. It growled and slowly stalked forward.

Naruto watched it getting closer and closer as hopelessness settled in his stomach. There was nothing he could do against that thing. He tried using his chains when he first encountered it, but it easily snapped them off like wet paper. His sword had disappeared somewhere in the bushes when the beast had lashed out, and a part of his mind was telling him that he wouldn't achieve much with hand to hand.

After everything…This was how it ended? During his training? "How Pathetic."

Naruto's eyes snapped open in surprise. He knew that voice! Only one person had such a deep tone.

"Kyuubi?" The blond muttered to himself in surprise.

He heard a faint growl inside his mind once more. "Are you really going to let such a harmless kitten snuff you out so early?"

Naruto said nothing in return. He'd already accepted his fate, there really was nothing he could do to fight it, and it probably could easily smell him if he tried to hide.

"Hmph. I was wrong about you." And with that, he felt Kyuubi's presence retreat inside his mind.

Wrong about him? Did…Did the nine tails actually think him to be more capable than he let on? That was surprising. But…Now his opinion of him must have gone down considerably.

No…He couldn't let that happen. He would prove him wrong! He would prove Kakashi wrong! He'd prove the Hokage and those narrow-minded villagers wrong! He'd show everyone!

Rage swelled up deep within his stomach, bubbling, festering, like a dark and sinister presence fighting for control. He felt that hot painful feeling he recognized from the first time he tried to unlock his chakra. And against his better judgement, he pulled on it once more.

And to his surprise, it didn't resist.

Red chakra exploded around him as his pupils turned into narrow slits and his eyes bled to red. He snarled as the whiskers on his cheeks thickened and his hair stood on end. He felt stronger, so much stronger and could feel his ribs snapping back into place. But this energy, it felt so evil…He could almost feel himself slipping away.

The giant tiger, seeing its prey's aura increase tenfolds, shot forward with a loud roar of challenge. And with a roar of his own, Naruto ran towards the unstoppable behemoth.

Two red chains burst from the ground next to him, each nearly as thick as his mid-section. The chains flew forward and wrapped around its two front legs, making it stumble and stop in its tracks. It attempted to struggle against them, but they were much, much stronger than last time. Looking up in fright, it saw the blond turned red suddenly in front of its face with his fist cocked back.

With a vicious look in his twisted eyes, Naruto threw his fist forward with all his might, the resulting punch creating a small shockwave as the tiger was blown backwards several meters away. It rolled and tumbled and toppled a tree in its path, making it slow to a stop, unmoving. Naruto landed on the ground; face still contorted in fury. He growled and walked forwards, a chain through the brain would be more than enough to end it.

Though when he got to the down animal, something inside its glacial eye made him stop suddenly. Its eye was wide open, pupil dilated as it stared at him with a weird mixture of sentient fear and grim acceptance. It knew it was going to die. This time, it'd bitten off more than it could chew. And now, there was nothing it could do but accept its fate against the more powerful enemy.

Human and animal stared at each other for the duration of several heartbeats. The red aura around Naruto began to shrink, more and more until it had finally faded away, whisker marks and eyes returning to their original look. The tiger lifted its head ever so slightly and inclined it in submission.

The blond stared at the wild animal, all traces of evil leaving his mind as if it were never there in the first place. Raising his hand, he brought it up and rested his palm softly against the beast's forehead.

"You are too soft…" Growled out the nine tails from within. A small smile appeared on the whiskered boy's face as he stroked the tiger's massive head. That was fine by him.

Something attached to its hind leg caught his attention. He couldn't quite make out what it was from here but it looked white, almost like a scroll. Pulling his hand away from its head, he circled around the tiger's massive body and approached the object.

It WAS a scroll, held in place by ninja wire wrapped around the base of its leg. And on it was the kanji for wind.

A few ways above.

'Seems like I don't need to intervene after all.' Was the thought of a certain smut enthusiast. He was currently standing near the top of the canopy, a few meters away from where the fight had taken place and was masking his scent and presence to avoid detection from either of the combatants. He'd been worried that this tiger would have been too much for Naruto to handle, and he was fully prepared to step in when it had delivered a devastating blow to the blond. However, imagine his surprise when his semi pupil drew upon the power of his tenant to defeat the creature.

Predictably, the power of the nine tails was something to be admired. Drawing upon merely a fraction of its power, the boy had managed to completely overpower the much larger animal. The inhabitants of this place were much bigger and stronger than regular ones due to the very nature of the forest. These woodlands had been created by none-other than the first Hokage himself with the use of his wood-style, and the creatures that took residence here have been within direct contact with the Shodaime's potent chakra ever since.

What surprised him even more though was when the enraged blond had beaten the tiger -with a single punch mind you.- Instead of killing it, he'd decided to tame it, the menacing aura of the kyuubi retreating back into the seal! He didn't know why the blond decided to do that, but it was definitely a smart move. This tiger was at the top of the food chain around here and would definitely be a powerful ally.

How interesting. He wondered if he'd be able to find the rest of the scrolls he had hidden away.

1 month later.

Drip…

Drip…

Drip…

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and looked at the leaky pipe in surprise. He was back in his seal? He didn't remember coming here. Last thing he remembered was finding refuge in a quiet area of the forest as Kori, the white tiger he named after the word 'ice', went back to its den. He'd quickly fallen asleep, lulled by the sounds of the forest. And now, here he was.

Feeling the familiar overbearing presence of the nine-tails, Naruto turned around and came face to face with his tenant, who was sitting upright in his cage for once, glaring down at him with barely-concealed fury.

"Hi Kyuubi." Naruto tried greeting with a small smile as he took a few steps towards the cage. The beast did not answer as its ruby eyes followed the boy.

"Um…" He shuffled awkwardly at the lack of response before he remembered something that made him look up with a smile. "By the way, thanks for your help that time, against the tiger! It really saved my butt, heheh…"

The fox continued to stare at the boy, frown still in place. A worried look crossed Naruto's features when he stayed silent.

"Is…Is something wrong?"

Kyuubi snarled as his glare seemed to increase. A bead of sweat appeared on the blond's forehead as pressure slowly began to build up within the sewers.

"He told you." The fox growled in disdain.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Who told what?"

"That pitiful ox, he told you my name. Do not play dumb with me, I saw it."

Naruto's shoulders dropped slightly at the memory. "Oh, that…Yeah. He did."

The blond's confirmation only seemed to anger the fox even more as his fur stood on end and his eyes widened in fury. "I should have strangled that pathetic octopus with his own tentacle when I had the chance. How dare he…How dare he reveal it to an unworthy human."

Naruto looked down as the growls of the beast with nine tails continued to ring out throughout the seal. "Would you really do that?" Kyuubi looked down at the blond as he looked up to meet his eyes. "Would you kill your own sibling?"

The greatest Bijū glared down at him once more and crouched back down into a lying position, head still elevated. "Do not speak as if you knew me, human. And your irritating attempts to gain my trust are getting bothersome. What is it that you're truly after?"

"I told you." Naruto frowned. "I want to help the Bijūs. I wanna set you free.

A cruel smirk appeared on the fox's face. "If you want to help me so bad, then remove the seal."

"A way that doesn't kill the Jinchūrikis would probably be better." Replied the Uzumaki blandly.

"And why should I believe you?" Kyuubi countered. "You humans are all the same, only after things that will benefit you as well, always turning everything into another way to kill others. From the very start, you have used us. Not only that, but you have turned the teachings of the sage from an instrument of peace to a weapon of war." His tone was low and held an edge to it, far different to the usual loud and growly type. "You have warped Ninshu into what you now call Ninjutsu, a gift that was given to help you wretched humans understand each other was used in yet another way to create more bloodshed." Kyuubi scoffed in derision. "You humans like to call us Bijūs evil, yet when given the power, you are no better."

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed in sadness. "Not all humans are like that…" He retorted feebly. "Some are good, some want to help." The fox snorted. "Then what about the Sage? He was a human too, wasn't he?" Insisted the blond.

The massive beast closed his eyes and rested his chin upon his paws. "The sage was the furthest thing to a human. He was a god in all but the name. He had control over life and death and commanded nature itself. He shaped the moon and created the nine bijūs on his deathbed. Even as I am now, I could easily wipe out your village like it was nothing. He was infinitely more powerful than any of you can imagine."

Damn. That…Was definitely impressive. If what the fox said was true, this sage created the ninja world and made the moon! He made these gigantic beasts and could revive dead people!? He couldn't even comprehend what kind of power was needed to do things like that.

But that wasn't what caught his attention the most.

"As you are now?" Questioned the blond, making the fox snap his eyes towards him. "What do you mean by that?"

Damn, the human had made him talk too much once again and now he'd revealed more than necessary. "It means nothing. Now leave."

Naruto felt that feeling he knew all too well, like an invisible force trying to push him out of his mind. The fox was trying to kick him out again, like he'd done so many times before.

No.

This was his mind dammit!

The blond gritted his teeth as sweat began to form on his forehead from the effort of resisting the fox's attempt of kicking him out. He didn't know what exactly he was fighting against, but it was kinda working, he was still there. He balled his hands into fists and shut his eyes tightly as two chains erupted from his back and dug into the ground in an effort to keep himself anchored.

"Raaagh!" With one more push, an invisible force countered the one that the nine tails had made, making the fox frown in annoyance. The only power that he had from within the seal was to impose his will upon his container to force him to leave the mindscape. But this place was his warden's mind, if he tried hard enough, he could counter it.

"So you wield those infuriating chains as well after all…" Snarled Kyuubi in irritation. Naruto, for his part was busy getting reacquainted with a thing called oxygen.

"Pant…Pant…This is…My mind! You can't just…Kick me out…Whenever you feel like it!" gasped out the whiskered boy. The nine tails huffed and closed his eyes, choosing to ignore the blond instead.

"Let me help you." Begged Naruto as he walked closer to the cage and placed his hands against the cold metal bars. "Something happened to you, right? You can tell me! I want to help you!"

Kyuubi said nothing in return, making Naruto's shoulders droop in disappointment. "Please, let me help you…"

After a few more seconds of the fox not saying anything, Naruto looked down dejectedly and turned around, slowly making his way back to the middle of the room. Just as he was about to leave however, he heard the great beast speak up.

"I was split in half when I was sealed." Said Kyuubi reluctantly. "When that Yondaime sealed me into you, he took my Yin counterpart." He was stuck here anyway. If there was even the slightest possibility that this human was being truthful, then he didn't really have anything to lose by telling him.

Naruto turned around and stared at the fox. "Your…Yin counterpart?" He questioned, making Kyuubi 'tch'. The blond stared at him, awaiting further information making him sigh tiredly.

"All living things are comprised of Yin and Yang. Yin is mental and spiritual, while Yang is the physical aspect of our biological form." He informed. "To put it simply, Yin is your energy while Yang is your body. Chakra itself is made by mixing Yin and Yang, it takes form when you combine your spiritual energy with your physical energy."

Naruto blinked at the explanation as he tried to understand everything that was being said. "So…You're saying that you only have your physical form right now, and your energy was taken from you, right?"

Kyuubi huffed at the crude explanation. "A very dumbed down explanation, but yes, I suppose it will do."

Naruto smiled widely in determination and pointed a finger at him. "I'm gonna get you your half back. And when I have, I'm gonna find all the Bijū and free them, and keep all the Jinchūrikis alive while doing so! I promise it." Declared the blond in conviction.

"Good luck with that." Said the Nine-Tails sarcastically. "My Yin half is sealed inside of the Yondaime, who now dwells within the Shinigami's stomach."

Naruto blanched at that. Oh man, the reaper? The God of Death himself? That made things a lot harder. He would have to find a way to talk to it, and hopefully convince it to release the fourth. And if he agrees, he will have to convince his…father…to release the Yin half and return it to him.

Easy…Right?

"That won't stop me. Once I make a promise, I don't go back on it. That's my way of the ninja."

The fox narrowed his eyes at the boy. "How foolish. But I suppose that right now, you are my only hope, as much as I loathe to admit it."

Naruto smirked at the fox. A promise had been made, and now, he had a reason to keep fighting.

4 months later.

Dark blue sandals landed on the forest floor of training ground 44. Sighing softly, Kakashi stretched his neck, making a few satisfying pops ring out in the deathly silent woodlands. He wasn't worried however, nothing in this place could hurt him.

"Hmm." He hummed as he looked around the forestry. He wasn't exactly hiding his presence, and he was near enough his student that he knew it would only be a matter of time before he would notice him in the area and come find him, so he opted to instead lean against a tree and pull out his favorite book in the hopes of getting some reading done.

Or at least, that was the plan. Until he felt something tugging at his feet. Looking down, he saw a small black fox of all things gnawing on his pants leg, making a few angry yipping sounds at the same time.

"What do we have here?" Mused Kakashi to himself as he crouched down to get a better view of the frisky creature. It looked up at him with its cute little amber eyes and growled, white tipped tail flicking behind him angrily. Just as he was about to reach out to pet it, a tanto came flying through the bushes, its intended target being the Jōnin's head.

The copy-nin easily leaned back, his eye never changing from its half-lidded bored look even as the blade buried itself on the trunk of the tree he was previously leaning against. Looking into the direction the blade had come from, he saw the small form of the eight-and-a-half-year-old boy that he'd taken under his wing those past few years. He looked different. Well, that wasn't exactly correct, he looked exactly the same save for him being a bit taller, his hair a bit longer and that small scar he could see behind his ear close to his neck. It was his aura that felt different. It was subtle, but it was there. More refined, cautious, in control.

"So you finally decided to show up." Remarked Naruto ironically. It had been six whole months since he'd dumped him in this place after all. He bent down when the black fox rushed over towards him and yipped at him in excitement. Smiling, he reached out and opened his hand to reveal a few red berries, which the small animal wasted no time to devour in seconds.

Kakashi watched the interaction in silence for a few moments, letting his student do his thing with the animals that he'd befriended in this place over the months.

"Are you ready to go back now?" He finally called out after waiting long enough.

"Mmh." Naruto confirmed as he waved at the fox, who yipped happily and disappeared into the bushes. Standing up, he raised himself to his full height and walked off into the direction of the gates without a word.

They made the trip back in silence.

"Got any coffee?"

Naruto sent his 'teacher' an irritated glare as he dried his wet hair with a towel. "I don't know, I haven't been here in six months." He probably did, the Hokage had brought some over a while ago, but he wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of telling him.

"Mah, no need to snap." Making his way to the kitchen, the sharingan wielder opened one of the cupboards and rummaged around in it in search of the heavenly black powder.

The whiskered boy sighed and threw the towel on a chair. A warm shower had felt nice, and his clothes were in dire need of some complete washing. For 6 months, the only way he'd been able to clean himself and his clothes were from bathing in the little river near the center of the forest.

"Found it, you can stop looking." Called out Kakashi from the kitchen. Naruto rolled his eyes as he gave his plants some much needed water. He was sure that they would have been dead by now, but it seemed like someone had stopped by every now and then to make sure they didn't dry out. He was grateful for that.

Walking back to his kitchen, he saw Kakashi finishing up his coffee as he turned the dial of the gas plates to the 'off' setting. Pouring it into a cup, he put a few spoonfuls of sugar, unscrewed the lid of the milk carton and tipped it upside down to pour it into the mug.

But nothing came out.

The carton definitely felt full though. He ignored the blond's deadpan stare as he sheepishly thought to himself. 'Right, civilian. No stasis seals.' That was fine, he didn't mind having it black.

"So…" Began Kakashi as Naruto sat in front of him on the dining table. "How was it?"

A glare was his response. "You dumped me in a forest."

"Yeah." Replied Kakashi.

"Full of giant animals."

"Uh-huh."

"Fuck you."

Kakashi feigned shock and dramatically pressed the back of his hand to his forehead. "Such language, did the animals teach you that?"

"Pfft." The whiskered boy scoffed and decided to ignore him for now.

Kakashi began to sip on his coffee, somehow managing to keep his mask on in the process. Leaning back, he sighed contentedly as the drink warmed his body. "There's something I haven't asked you yet, I wanted to give you time to come to terms with it."

Naruto turned back to look at him. "Ask me what?"

"Your parents." He said bluntly making Naruto flinch. "How do you feel about the whole thing?"

The boy looked down, tracing his finger along the wooden shapes of his dinner table. "I…I'm not sure. I'm glad I know the truth now, but…" He paused. "Now there's just a whole bunch of other questions that come up."

Kakashi nodded in understanding.

"And…" He trailed off. The masked man waited a few seconds for his student to continue.

"And…?" He prodded when he said nothing else. Naruto looked up furtively at him but bashfully re-set his focus on the table.

"Well…It sounds selfish, but…It would have been nice to have something from them, ya know?" He said dejectedly. He'd been thinking about that for a while. "It's stupid…" He muttered as he watched the steam rolling from the hot coffee.

Kakashi's eye curved up in amusement. "Ah, but they did."

The blond's eyes snapped up to him. "W-What?" He asked in apprehension.

"They did leave things for you." Repeated Kakashi. "That scarf," The jinchūriki reflexively placed a hand on his blue scarf at the mention of it. He didn't have it with him in the forest, so when he'd gotten home, he'd immediately put it back on. It was the second thing he'd done. It made him feel safe. "Your mother made it for you."

A knot formed in his throat as he lifted up an end of the scarf. "She did…?"

"Sure did." He said jovially. "And that toy you love so much," Naruto blushed slightly at the mention of it. It was embarrassing, but it was the first thing he'd gone to see upon arriving home. "Your father bought it for you before you were even born. He was sure that you would have had loads of fun with that little drum."

The knot in his throat seemed to manifest in his belly as well and moisture began to gather in the corner of his eyes. He couldn't believe it, this whole time…His two most prized possessions had come from his parents. Kakashi had told him that they were excited to have him, but there was always that little doubt in his mind. But now…Now he was sure.

They did love him.

Kakashi smiled slightly as he stood up from his chair, coffee in hand. 'Guess I'll take this one to go.' He thought to himself. He should let the kid have the rest of the week off, he deserved it. Making his way to the door, he opened it and stepped out, leaving the shaking blond with his thoughts.

"Everything is in order?" Questioned a calm and commanding voice. Ringed purples eyes flickered to his subordinate, a man half black and half white with a venus fly trap surrounding his head.

"Yes, leader-sama. All traces of his trip from the leaf to here has been erased." While the black half had a deep and raspy voice, the white part had a more jovial and normal tone. "The ring is also ready." He said as he handed a red ring to his leader.

The leader nodded and fixed his gaze onto the Uchiha prodigy. "Now, Itachi. You know what you must do."

Itachi nodded as he was handed the ring and slipped it onto his right ring finger. It was kind of tight, but he could manage. Pulling his leaf headband out of his new Akatsuki cloak, he stared at it for a few moments, almost with a longing look before he placed it on the tree post in front of him and dragged a kunai across Konoha's motif. Looking at his work, he picked up the headband and tied it back onto his head.

"Then it's settled. Itachi Uchiha, you are now a member of the Akatsuki. Welcome." He said in the same monotonous tone he had become accustomed to. "My name is Pein, but you will refer to me as Leader-sama. You shall wear the red ring 'crimson' and take on the missions you will be assigned to."

Kneeling in front of his new leader, Itachi nodded. "Yes, Leader-sama."

"Good." Said Pein as he turned around and walked off. "Juzo Biwa will be your partner. I trust you two will work well together."

Itachi turned around and laid his eyes on Juzo, who inclined his head in greeting. All around him, the other members of the Akatsuki who were overseeing the arrival of the new recruit dispersed in their own direction.

Jūzō was a tall slender shinobi about the same height as the sword he wielded. He had no eyebrows, creases under his eyes and a cross shaped scar on his right cheek. His hair and eyes were dark gray in color and his hair was short and spiky. He had light tan skin and had red grid-shaped paint covering his jaw. He didn't seem too bad, looking laidback enough to not be totally psychotic like most S-ranks had a tendency to be, so he supposed he got lucky this time.

But damn, he missed Konoha.

He missed his little brother.

It was nice to be on the streets of Konoha again. The constant green of the forest was cool and all, but after a while it just became repetitive. He'd missed Konoha's architecture and the carved faces of the Hokages on the stone mountain. Even though he had lots of bad memories from this place, he had to admit; Konoha truly was a beautiful place.

Though, he could do without the glares and the whispers. He couldn't really make it all out from here, but he managed to catch a few words that gave him an inkling. They'd thought that he'd disappeared over the months, and they were disappointed that he was back.

Lovely.

Still, he wouldn't let that deter him. He was glad to be out of the forest, even though he had made good friends with the wild life in there, but it had one problem.

It didn't have ramen.

Kakashi had offered to treat him to a few bowls, and he was only too happy to accept. Hey, free ramen. Who could say no to that? Said Jōnin was currently walking next to him, nose buried in his book as usual, but that was fine. Naruto was content with taking in the familiar sights.

"What the-" He started when he felt Kakashi grab onto the back of his collar and jump to the side, carrying the blond with him. Barely a second later, loud shouts from the ANBU could be heard as a body dropped right where the pair had previously been in. Screams of frightened civilians could be heard as most of them ran far away from the street, though a few curious ones stayed nearby to watch the proceedings.

Naruto looked at the dead body in shock as Kakashi stood protectively in front of him. Two ANBU dropped down next to the corpse, Boar and Bird. Bird immediately kneeled in front of Kakashi out of reflex. "Captain." He called out.

"I'm not your superior anymore Bird, don't bow to me." Said Kakashi briskly. "What's the situation?" Bird quickly stood back up as Boar went to inspect the body.

"We found this Iwa nin snooping around near the eastern perimeter." Ah, Iwa. He knew he recognized that symbol somewhere, this man was from the land of earth. If he recalled his weekend studies correctly, Iwa was on very bad terms with Konoha after the three wars. But still…This man was put down like an animal, no questioning or jury. Was this really right? "When he was found out, he immediately attempted to escape, but Boar managed to incapacitate him." Continued Bird.

"How the hell did he get past the barrier?" Questioned Kakashi in surprise.

As Bird was busy briefing Kakashi about the event, Naruto slowly approached the downed body of the stone ninja. He had short black hair and a strong jaw with the tanned complexity that came with the harsh sun of the land of earth. He was wearing the regular Iwa shinobi garbs, red and brown colors to blend in with the environment.

His face though, that was what drew his attention the most. It was twisted in pain, forever stuck in this expression of horror thanks to rigor mortis. Something white caught his eye, something poking out of his pocket. Bending down, he reached inside a pulled out a small slip of paper.

Only…It wasn't paper, but a photograph. That same man, grinning broadly as a small girl looking to be a about 5 or 6 hung off his strong arm like a little monkey. They both looked so happy…

This man was a father. What would this girl think when her father wouldn't be coming home?

Naruto's face contorted into sadness as his gaze went back to the visage of the stone ninja. Reaching forward, he placed his two forefingers on both eyelids and closed them, making the ninja look at least a little bit more peaceful.

Three kunais to the spine had killed him. He remembered once reading that the kunai was originally used as a gardening tool, but ninjas have begun to use them as a weapon over time.

You humans are all the same, always turning everything into another way to kill others.

The words of the nine tails were beginning to make a little more sense…

A hand placed onto his shoulder made him look back. He saw Kakashi standing behind him sadly, an expression he hadn't seen before in his eyes. Standing up, Naruto reluctantly turned to face him and handed the photograph to his teacher.

"This guy…He has a daughter." Kakashi took the picture and stared at it forlornly.

"Looks like it." He replied softly. Bending down, the copy-nin placed the picture back into the dead man's pocket and turned back to Bird and Boar. "Your superior will be here shortly. Await his instructions." Standing back up and ignoring the replies of 'yes sir', he put his hand on Naruto's shoulder again and nudged him in a different direction. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Naruto nodded sadly and followed after the Jōnin, casting one last look at the dead body.

"What are we doing out here?" Naruto looked around the unfamiliar fields of training ground 4. It was a lot lusher than training ground 7 and lacking wooden dummies, but their usual training grounds were currently being used by a genin team.

"We are doing the second part of this year's training." Supplied Kakashi as he landed next to the jinchūriki. The plan was to go get some Ichiraku's but after the events from earlier, he wanted to do something that would keep the blond's mind occupied. "Over the last few years, I've taught you the basics. You've picked up a few jutsus here and there, from me or from outside sources. Those past 6 months, you were left in this forest to bring out your survival instincts and your fighting spirits." Naruto turned to face him as he kept going. "The next 5 months will be wrapping up your training with a nice little bow. We'll be refining everything you've learned so far. Every day, you will be fighting me. Over, and over, and over again until I think you are ready.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. "And what happens after those 5 months?"

The copy-nin offered him an eye smile. "You either take the Genin test, or you go to the academy. It all depends on your progress."

He shivered at that. There wasn't anything wrong with the academy, it was a good program. But, it sounded boring, and most of the things taught there wouldn't help him on the battlefield. He needed to become stronger.

Besides…He was not really good at social interaction.

"So unless I impress you, you're sending me to the academy?" He summarized making Kakashi nod absent-mindedly as he kept reading his book, much to his consternation.

"When do we begin?" Questioned the blond. The sharingan wielder looked up at the sky with a bored expression.

"Right now." Kakashi disappeared from the boy's line of sight. Naruto cursed under his breath and dove backwards on instinct, narrowly avoiding the Jōnin's jab.

"Good." Praised the scarecrow. "Take up your stance." He ordered, making Naruto quickly get into his position, right leg bent slightly and left leg standing straight, right hand near his face with his left hand closer to his mid-section.

"Sloppy." Remarked the teacher. "Lock those elbows." Naruto quickly did so as his teacher slowly circled him, watching his stance with a critical eye.

"Strike." He commanded. Naruto lauched forward and threw a punch at Kakashi, which was easily blocked and countered making the blond stumble back.

"You're not in a circus." He admonished. "Don't waste energy in big movements, strike fast and strike true." Naruto righted himself and nodded, sweat rolling down his forehead. Naruto engaged him once more, but was easily taken down again by a leg sweep. "Wrong, footwork."

The blond shot back to his feet and planted his feet down firmly, taking up his fighting stance once more. "Better, strike!" And he did as instructed, better and stronger this time, but still no match to the might of the sharingan wielder. He was launched back within seconds but managed to remain on his feet. Wind style: air bullets! He called out in his mind. Making the bird hand sign, Naruto took in a deep breath and spat out several highly condensed balls of wind that flew towards the Jōnin at great speed. To his surprise though, Kakashi spat out a few balls of fire the same size as his air bullets that completely nullified them and continued in its course, now being larger by the added fuel from the oxygen.

Naruto crossed his arms in front of him as the balls of fire impacted into him. Quickly patting his clothes to put tem out, he got back into his stance and glared at Kakashi. "Wind is weak to fire, remember that."

The two kept on sparring until the sun had set.

AN: Next chapter will be Naruto's genin test and more info about the promise. Stay tuned, and don't forget to review! They make me want to keep writing.