Yo. I'm back. Ain't that good?

DB99's not back. Damn. Blood-Pastel says she's busy with her school work, but it'll all end in April. So The Show will go on. Sorry for being this long (Why am I apologizing? It's not like I have much people to apologize to…), but there were some matters I had to attend to.

I'm creating a new Naruto Fic. But it's only something for me to express myself and a friend's deepest desires, so it will only be updated when I choose to. Watch out for it later this week.

BaE's original storyline was to be something that was a little like Beauty and the Kyuubi. But I'm changing it. The insane parallel will still be there, but not so much of elements that are influenced by Batman.

And sorry, but the songfic one shots are a no-go. Mainly because no one wants them.

I'm still writing for the joy of it, but without much response, it's getting harder.

Without further ado, chapter 5.

Chapter 5: Meetings

In the Sandaime's office…

"So, Tenzo, what do you think of this?"

Tenzo gazed at the writhing monste-no, boy, as some red chakra leaked from him. The red chakra tried to remove the seal but was absorbed by it. His hair, dyed red by the blood from his wounds, shook and vibrated as the boy kept attempting to burst himself free of that wire prison. The boy was now starting to whine and howl, causing quite a racket.

Fascinated, Tenzo held out his hand and focused some chakra into his hand. This was an ancient technique once used by the Shodaime to determine the number of tails any Jinchuriki currently had, even if the chakra of the host was suppressed totally. The chakra swirling in his palm soon faded into his hand, and something started to solidify in his palm. It looked like a word. As it became clearer, the resulting kanji gave him quite the shock.

"N…Nine?"

The Sandaime's eyes widened. He almost leapt up from his desk. His hands were shivering.

"What? Nine? But shouldn't he have released the Kyuubi by now?"

Tenzo shook his head, still staring at his palm. He glanced at the boy, who was now cringing at the touch of the wooden pillars around him.

"The Kyuubi… isn't released."

Unconsciously, the men in the office breathed a sigh of relief and stopped shaking.

"This… is a special case. I have never seen anything like this, but it seems that he is able to have access to the full store of youki inside him. But it is tainted with someone else's chakra. Someone… pure enough that the Kyuubi's chakra seems to be repelled by that chakra. It was not done by Kami's hand, but by a man."

The Sandaime straightened his back and leaned forward.

"And… who might that be?"

Tenzo's eyes sparkled for a moment before turning back to the boy. He lifted up the hair that was covering his forehead and placed his hand on the boy's forehead. Making a few signs with his other hand, the hand that was touching the boy's head glowed white. The boy seemingly calmed down before falling into what seemed like a deep, peaceful sleep.

"With the powers of the Shodaime, I can delve into him and attempt to find out who sealed him. But I cannot do this for too long, as I will not be able to stand the strain."

The Sandaime and the ANBU Ookami watched him silently.

"Hokage-Shiki: Deepest Travel."

"Mom, who are we visiting now?"

Kushina turned to face Naruto, who was staring up at her with his blue eyes.

"We're going to visit a good friend of mine, Tsume Inuzuka. She's the current clan head of the Inuzuka clan."

"Is she strong?" Naruto asked innocently.

"Yes, Naruto, she's quite strong. Why, once she defeated a trio of Jounin-class ninja with only two kunai and her hound, Kuromaru!"

"Does every one in the Inuzuka clan have a pup?"

Kushina smiled at Naruto, and a small laugh escaped from her mouth.

"Yes, Naruto. Everyone in the Inuzuka clan is bonded with a puppy at the age of 5, as soon as they can mold chakra. They are their life-long partners, and if one of them were to die, the other would not be far behind."

Naruto opened his mouth to ask another question, only to be stopped by Kushina's hand, which hovered over his mouth.

"Enough! We're going to the Inuzuka residence, and you can ask your questions there. It's almost 11 in the morning now, and we still have one or two more to visit after this."

Walking through the grass fields that led to the Inuzuka clan residence, Kushina closed her eyes and breathed in deeply.

"Ah… What a wonderful smell… No wonder they like to live here…"

Meanwhile, Naruto was being his usual energetic self. He darted to and fro, jumping up and down and rolled on the grass. He sniffed a few flowers before drinking from the small stream, savouring the cold, clear water.

"I love this place! Can we come here next time to have a picnic?"

Kushina eye smiled as she watched Naruto's antics. It seemed so good to be young and carefree… She picked up a few flowers and sniffed them deeply, her senses tingling at that wonderful smell. The dew dripped into her mouth, and she tasted them. It tasted of flowers, of mountains, of magical kingdoms…

The fields were one of the greatest projects done jointly by the Yamanaka and Inuzuka clans. The Inuzukas provided the land and manpower, diverting the streams from the mountains far away, while the Yamanakas displayed their prowess in botany as they beautified the place until it was beyond description. A display of the simple life one wishes to lead, but one never to be accomplished by ninjas.

Often, ninjas seeking repose would gather at this beloved spot and for once, for an hour, a day, they would become normal. They could shrug off all their cares and woes and everything that they were worried about, and become serene and peaceful. They could play, they could laugh, they could love, they could sing...

The old and grizzled ninjas would soften as they walked into this area. They would crack jokes with their generation and sit down on one of the benches and enjoy the sun and the breeze that told of mountains, of snow, of fields far away, of the trees that were once golden. The genins would simply roll around in the grass (So soft! So beautiful!), swim in the pool a stream made by accident and have a picnic with their friends. For a day, they could be normal people.

Sometimes, the ANBU would organize trips to a field higher up, which not many people knew of. The field, near the cenotaph, was especially dedicated to the ANBU, and as such contained simple bits of nature, like a few trees, maybe a bench or two, and a herd of rabbits that lived in that field. Frolicking in that field and playing with the rabbits, the ANBU lived a life away from their harsh duties.

That was one of the places never marred by war or battles. The Konoha-nin guarded it as valiantly as the Hokages' Monument, preferring to die, rather than see that wonderful place fall to the enemy. As such, no enemy would willingly go there as the Will of Fire was strong there.

Kushina sighed as she recalled all the memories she had of that place. Especially with Minato… These were the best of times.

A flash of red…

A flash of black…

And the world was saved by one man.

A man with the eyes of circles.

Tenzo's eyes burst open, and his breath came out in short gasps. Shaking, he removed his trembling hand from the forehead of the sleeping boy, his eyes filled with wonder and a fear that the Sandaime and Ookami could not comprehend, nor understand.

"Who is it, Tenzo? Who is it?"

Tenzo slowly turned and faced Sarutobi.

"The Sage of Six Paths…"

"Kushina? You, here?"

Abruptly interrupted in her flashbacks, she turned and faced a smiling and waving Tsume. She smiled back and ran towards Tsume.

"Tsume? Why are you here?"

Tsume smiled wider and said, "These lands belong to us, so is there even a need for a reason to be here?"

Kushina darkened a little. "Oh… yeah, I forgot."

Tsume gestured to Kiba, who was now looking at Naruto, as if deciding whether to join him or not.

"I've brought little Kiba-kun here for some fun. After all, he's just completed his training."

Kiba perked up at that. "Yeah! Akamaru and I are the best of friends now! We totally kick ass!"

Kushina smiled as she saw Tsume mess up his hair in an affectionate manner.

"Well, why don't you go play with Naruto? He's my friend Kushina's son, and is about your age, so you should go and have some fun with him."

Kiba ran, carrying Akamaru with him, towards Naruto. Naruto, when he saw Kiba, smiled even wider and put an arm around him, before... pushing him into the pool.

"Hey! What was that for?"

Kiba dragged Naruto into the stream with him, Akamaru barking excitedly as he jumped on both of them.

"Hey! What the- Akamaru! Stop it! It tickles!"

"HAHAHA! GOTCHA! Now I'm the winne-"

SPLASH!

Kushina and Tsume were quietly sharing a few laughs after seeing Akamaru accidently jump onto Naruto's head, knocking him into the stream. Kiba fared no better, however, for Naruto fell on him.

"Ah… to be a kid again… These two have it lucky…" Tsume sighed.

Kuromaru strolled up to the two and sat down beside Tsume, laying his head on the ground.

"So, how was Kiba's training?" Kushina asked.

"Well, it seemed a little bad when he started it. You know, the induction ceremony includes a lot of punishment to beat the loyalty into him. He was crying by the end of it, but he managed to pull himself through, with the help of Akamaru."

"He passed the second and third trials so quickly he set a record for it. Moreover, Kiba was able to work together with Akamaru faster than most teams. The elders say that he could be a prodigy of our clan."

Both of them fell silent as the charm of the fields fell upon them. A breeze blew, and its soft touch enchanted all. The leaves rustled; and the water stirred for but a moment.

"Ah! I almost forgot! We still have to introduce Naruto to Mikoto's son! You know, Sasuke. Sorry, but we have to go now. I didn't know it would take this long to introduce Kiba to Naruto."

"No problems, Kushina." Tsume grinned, her canines showing. "Just let the little brat come to our house someday to play with Kiba. They seem to like each other a lot."

Sarutobi regained his composure. Ookami, however, was still shaking at the thought of that person.

The Sage of Six Paths?

Isn't he dead?

What the hell happened?

"What did you see, Tenzo?" Sarutobi said with an urgent tone.

"I saw… those eyes… his necklace of fangs… his… chakra…"

"The Sage of Six Paths… The originator of all jutsu. The one that brought peace to the world and spread the use of Chakra. He left behind two sons, who were said to be the ancestors of the Senju and the Uchiha. How could he have done this?"

Tenzo shook his head slowly. "I do not know, Hokage-sama. But this is what I've seen."

The Third Hokage buried his head in his hands.

This is too troublesome.

Then, rising from his seat, he spoke the words that would determine the boy's fate.

"It seems we have no choice then… We will need Kuroseijin."

The shock evident on all their faces told everything.

Well, how was that? It's okay, I hope. Not long enough for me, but it's all you'll get for BaE for this week. My new fic is coming soon, and it'll be interesting for me to write. Let's see… Okay, BJ out!

Bonny Jinchuriki