AN: Ok, well here is an idea that i had a while back and now that thanksgiving came around i finally had a bit of spare time to actually put my thoughts into words. So just give it a shot and tell me what you think!

disclaimer: I dont own Naruto

Chapter 1

The sound of fighting could be heard throughout the Forest of Death as Genin teams fought to the death over something as small and insignificant as a scroll. Teenagers killed others in cold blood all so that they would be able to advance to the next round of this tournament of death. This is the cold hard truth of those who pursue the life of a Shinobi: they were required to kill whom they were told to kill, seduce whom they were told to seduce, and even betray their own team mates if they were ordered to.

Granted, there were those who would not take another's life just to get ahead in this cold reality. Uzumaki Naruto was one such boy.

In the emotionless world of a Shinobi he was always the one that was able to bring a smile to people's face. He was always the first to intervene if someone was being picked on, and was always looking to make new friends. Due to his abnormally happy disposition there were many who thought he would never survive in the bloodthirsty world of the Shinobi, but time and again he proved them all wrong. Through every hardship he persevered, through every encounter he became stronger, and through every fight he changed people's hearts.

The one question that no one could answer when it came to the young boy was why. Why was he always so determined? Why did he even want to be a Shinobi? Why was he so ready to sacrifice his own happiness and well-being to help a complete stranger?

The answer to all these questions could be explained by his childhood.

His whole life was ruled by fear. The fear of being hurt. The fear of being neglected. The fear of being cast out like yesterday's garbage. And most importantly, the fear of being alone.

These fears all culminated from what happened on the eve of his birth. Shortly after he was born he was torn from his mother's arms and forced to carry a burden that would make his life a living hell as long as he would live. Without any choice he was forced to harbor a malevolent being of chakra, the strongest of the nine Biju, the Kyubi. Not only would this simple event push him to the verge of suicide multiple times in his young life, but it would cause him to become the target to those who would seek to use Naruto's prisoner for their own twisted and sick plans. It is such a case where Naruto finds himself now.

Naruto's arms were burning from strain and he as exhausted. He was doing everything in his power to save his best friend and rival Sasuke from being eaten from a massive snake. At the current moment he had two kunai implanted in the snake's skull and was holding it off while Sasuke was recovering. Orochimaru disguised as a Genin was just chuckling quietly, absolutely ecstatic that his plan was finally coming to fruition.

"Come on Teme! Are you telling me that is all you have left?!"

Sasuke was on a tree branch several feet from Naruto cowering in fear. Not since the Uchiha Massacre had he felt such powerful chakra signatures. He looked up at his blonde team mate with sweat rolling down his face.

"Why are you fighting?... We are just going to die… we can't do anything… he's just toying with us…"

Naruto pushed the massive snake back with a sudden burst of strength, and he soon had to steady himself before he fell off the tree branch. He walked up to Sasuke and slugged him in his jaw as hard as he could. Sasuke was jolted off his knees and fell onto the branch. Gripping his jaw he looked up at Naruto.

Naruto's usually blue eyes were blood red with a black slit going down the middle. His strange whisker-like birthmarks were much larger and more defined than normal, and his hand was balled in a fist, shaking with rage.

"Lister here you bastard. Give up if you want, die if you want. I don't give a shit anymore. I cannot, and will not, die here."

Naruto turned around and jumped after Orochimaru, leaving Sasuke behind on the branch.

Orochimaru was watching the show in front of him with amusement.

'I didn't expect the Kyubi's chakra to make itself known just yet, but this will save me many hours of physical and mental torture… Damn… That's the best part! Oh well, I guess I better get moving before people start snooping.'

Orochimaru dodged Naruto's kick to his head easily with a movement of his neck. He caught Naruto's shoulder and reared his arm back. With all of his force he punched Naruto hard in the gut, forcing up anything he hadn't already digested.

He let Naruto go limp in his hand as he held the back of his neck. With a smirk he threw Naruto in the air and summoned a snake to swallow the blonde. When the snake unsummoned itself Orochimaru turned to Sasuke, who was still shaking on the tree branch, and smirked.

"Well Sasuke-kun, as much fun as this whole ordeal has been I have to leave. I have a lot of work to do, and I am just lightheaded with excitement…"

Orochimaru jumped towards Sasuke and lifted his head up so it was level with his.

"Tell that old fool of a Hokage that his time of reckoning will soon be upon him, and I'll use Naruto to do it!"

In a swirl of leaves Orochimaru left the two downed Genin, mentally preparing himself for the arduous task set before him.

Naruto blinked his tired eyes several times as he slowly regained consciousness.

'My head… why do I feel so woozy?'

Naruto tried to rub his head but he couldn't move his arms.

"Wah?"

He tried to stand up in panic but he couldn't move his legs either.

"What the hell?"

When he lifted his head up he looked down and saw he was strapped to a metal table, but no matter how hard he struggled against his restraints they stayed. The more he tried to flow chakra through his limbs to break the bindings the tighter they got, and he started to feel lightheaded after a few seconds.

"Tsk Tsk Naru-kun… Don't use up too much of your chakra just yet… You're going to need it, trust me."

Naruto whipped his head towards the familiar voice and saw a man that resembled the Genin he fought in the forest.

"Wh-Who are you? Where am I? What do you want with me!?"

The man just smirked. "In the order you asked, I am Orochimaru, one of the Sannin. As to where you are, well I would estimate you are about five hundred meters underground about five miles outside of Konoha. Your last question though, well, that one is a surprise."

Naruto started struggling harder against his restraints, screaming for help and demanding to be let go. All his screams did was amuse the pale man and strain his voice. After a few minutes a man with silver hair and a pair of glasses walked in and whispered something in Orochimaru's ears that made Orochimaru's grin stretch from ear to ear.

Orochimaru walked up to the table Naruto was strapped down to. "Well my dear Naru-kun, my assistant just informed me that your little team managed to alert the Hokage about your abduction, so we are a little short on time. Fortunately, all the preparations are ready! Now the fun can finally begin!"

With a wave of his hand he directed Naruto's attention to the far side of the wall.

As Naruto looked across the room he saw the wall begin to lower itself, and a strange array of large glass holding tubes came into view. The tube on the far right held what looked like sand that seemed to swirl as if it had a mind of its own. The next tube held a large quantity of blue flames that stayed ignited without a source of fuel. The next tube held what looked like small chips of a shell of some sort that was suspended in water. The next tube had a large tuft of deep crimson colored hair. The next tube had what looked like part of a very large hoof like one would see on a bull or a cow. The next tube held a pool of clear fluid-like residue like what was produced by a snail or a slug. The next tube had a chunk of brittle shell-like material resembling the exoskeleton that a bug would shed. The final tube had what looked like a large slab of squid.

Naruto looked back and forth between Orochimaru and the strange tubes. Orochimaru just chuckled evilly and picked up a scalpel. Naruto's eyes widened in fear as images flashed through his mind at what the bizarre man was going to do to him.

"Now Naru-kun, try not to scream too loud! I don't want you rip your vocal cords, I would prefer to be able to speak when I take over your body."

For the next several hours blood-curdling screams could be heard all throughout the underground lab.

The alarms in Konoha were going wild as soon as Sasuke informed the Hokage of the strange encounter with the snake Genin. It wasn't until Sarutobi heard Orochimaru's parting words that he called every available Shinobi in Konoha to search.

Even those who still harbored ill intentions towards the boy gave their all in locating his position. It would seem that even they understood the dangers of letting a madman experiment on a Jinchuriki, especially if said madman declared his intentions of burning Konoha to the ground.

By direct order the Chunnin Exams were postponed, and all the contestants, dead or alive, were gathered to be guarded from the clutches of Orochimaru. This was simply a cover so that more Jounin could be used to search for Naruto, and everyone knew it, but there were still appearances that needed to be kept.

Teams of five were sent out, each put together by Nara Shikaku himself with a Byakugan user on each team. There was simply no time to waste, and each minute that went by was another minute that Orochimaru had to tamper with Kyubi's seal and risk setting it free once again. Little did anyone know that what Orochimaru was really doing was far more nefarious.

By some perverse twist of fate the person to discover Naruto's location was the person who had the most to lose if he died. By that same twist of fate, she was one of the only people who would have been able to find him, since her Byakugan, was one of the only Byakugan strong enough to see that far underground to locate Naruto.

Hinata was placed on a retrieval team with Hatake Kakashi, the Cat ANBU member, the Tokubetsu Jounin Mitarashi Anko, and, as a strategist, Nara Shikamaru.

'Is that… IT IS… IT'S HIM!'

"K-KAKASHI-SENSEI! I FOUND HIM!"

The entire party came to an abrupt halt as the cycloptic Jounin rushed to the Byakugan user.

"Hinata, where is he!"

She flinched and was tempted to stutter her response, but something told her now wasn't the time to be tongue-tied by some idiotic childhood habit.

"He is 1400 meters northeast about 600 meters underground. The entrance is hidden via Genjutsu and is disguised as a felled oak tree. From what I saw there are no other chakra signatures in the compound."

Kakashi nodded as he, Cat, and Anko dashed off to where the entrance was. As they ran off Kakashi sent a massive Gokakyu (Grand Fireball) into the sky to alert others to their position. Hinata meanwhile had to steady herself on a nearby tree as she began panting heavily. Luckily the other Genin came to her rescue.

"Hinata-san, breath. Inhale through your nose and exhale out of your mouth. We need to get going, Naruto needs our help."

The mention of his name seemed to calm her enough so she was able to get moving to help the one person who never called her weak or a failure.

Kakashi was sitting by the recently revealed entrance waiting for the two Genin to rejoin the group. As much as he didn't want them to have to possibly put themselves in harm's way, the truth was that he needed them, more specifically Hinata.

Kakashi pulled up his hitai-ate to reveal his Sharingan. "Hinata, I need you to keep your Byakugan active. Take us on the shortest route to Naruto."

The girl nodded and the group dashed into the complex. She directed them down the halls and through a series of passageways meant to confuse anyone who wasn't familiar with the layout and trap them in the labyrinth, but for a Byakugan user it was not much a challenge.

As they got closer and closer Hinata began to notice something. "K-Kakashi-Sensei?"

The group came to a halt. "What is it Hinata?"

She took a breath to steady her nerves. "T-There is s-something wrong with N-N-Naruto-kun's chakra. I-It's… p-pitch black."

Kakashi's eyes betrayed the concern he tried to hide on his face. "Take us to him."

The girl nodded and they once again began their trek through the darkness.

The group was paused outside a large metal door, and everyone turned to the only one who could see past the door for the sign that the room was clear.

"F-From what I can s-see I-It's just N-Naruto-kun in there…"

Everyone nodded and burst through the door, but none of them were prepared for what awaited them.

After one look Shikamaru turned around and vomited.

Hinata fell to her knees and began sobbing uncontrollably.

Cat and Anko turned their heads from the grotesque scene before them.

Kakashi was the only one who was able to get past the sight before him and approach his student, but tears were rolling down his face as he came face to face with his worst nightmare.

In the middle of the room, on a table covered in crimson blood, was a very pale Naruto, with an incision running from just above his ribcage all the way down to his pant line. His skin was peeled back like a banana, and extending down from the ceiling were a plethora of small tubes and needles that ran past his ribs and seemed to be connected to his various internal organs.

Kakashi followed the tubes with his eyes, and traced them back to the far side of the room where there were eight very large container tubes that seemed to have only recently been drained.

Kakashi brought a hand up to his face as he began shuddering uncontrollably. 'Oh Kami… I've failed him… Why… WHY!? FIRST OBITO AND RIN, THEN SENSEI, NOW HIM!?'

Kakashi approached his student, and very shakily put his fingers on Naruto's neck to confirm him dead, after all, there was way too much blood for him to be alive.

Dub-Dub

'Wah?'

Dub-Dub

Dub-Dub

"Impossible…"

Everyone looked up with glazed eyes.

Kakashi tried to return the flaps of skin to their original position while he looked around for something to sew them together. "HES ALIVE!"

Everyone jumped to their feet and rushed to the blonde's side in a chorus of shouts and screams. No one except Hinata noticed his eyes creep open, and the now dulled cerulean eyes settled on her pale eyes. Everyone immediately stopped talking when they heard him whisper something.

"…Hinata-chan… Please…"

Everyone quieted to hear what he had to say.

Hinata took his hand in hers, forgetting the shyness that previously plagued her life. "W-What is it N-Naruto-kun?"

He mumbled some response.

Hinata brought her ear closer to his mouth. "G-Gomen N-Naruto-kun, I c-couldn't hear y-you."

Naruto swallowed a lump and tears began streaming down his face. "…Please… help… me…"

It had taken another 17 minutes for another Shinobi team to get to the entrance where Naruto was being held, and another hour after that before he was finally in a hospital room. By direct order of the Hokage no one other than trusted medical staff were allowed inside his room, but the situation changed that night.

Sarutobi was sitting in his office chair thinking back on the day's events. Sure, he managed to recover Naruto who seemed to be ok, but that is where the good news stopped. He still had no idea where Orochimaru or any of his subordinates were, and he still didn't know what Orochimaru did to Naruto. Those who investigated the lab Naruto was found in told him that Orochimaru had done something to alter Naruto's chakra pathways, but they had no idea how or why. Little did he know things were just about to get much worse.

Naruto slowly came to and realized that he was in a soft warm bed, and a sense of relief washed over his entire being over not being in that hellhole anymore.

'I never what to go through anything like that ever again…'

Naruto sat up and looked around his empty room. There was a chair next to his bed and on the table next to him there was a single card with a vase of lavenders. He tried to reach the card to read it but it was just out of his reach, and he the table next to him was just out of reach. With a sigh he looked down at his bed and noticed that there seemed to be an indentation at the foot of his bed where someone had laid their head for a while and had fallen asleep.

'Someone must have spent a lot of time here, and it looks like I just missed them. My hand is still warm from whoever was holding it, but who could it have been? Ji Ji? Maybe Iruka-sensei, but I don't think he would have been able to spend so much time here… I know for a fact it wasn't Sasuke or Sakura… but then who was it?'

As he tried to think about who could have possibly cared enough about him to stay by his side for that long he unconsciously thought back to the lab he was in and the tortures he experienced.

Naruto brought his knees to his chest in a fetal position and hugged his legs as tears began streaming down his face.

'I just want to be like everyone else… Why do all these terrible things have to always happen to me? I just want someone to care about me…'

'Dear Kami, I think I just might vomit. Enough with this pity party. You're a damn Shinobi, so you better start acting like one.'

Naruto jumped to his feet, but he stumbled to the ground when his legs gave out.

He picked himself off the ground and leaned against his bed as he looked around the room. "W-Who's there!?"

There was an awkward silence for a few moments. 'You don't know who I am? I can't say that I'm too surprised though, this IS our first time speaking to one another.'

Naruto racked his brain for a possible answer to his self-imposed riddle. "…Kyubi?"

There was a dark chuckle. 'Pity, you were oh so close. Less than a day ago and you would have been right, but alas, time makes fools of us all. To answer you, no. I am not the Kyubi, he has been dead for about a day now. Furthermore, you needn't speak aloud, you need only to speak with your thoughts and we will be able to converse. We wouldn't want eavesdroppers would we?'

Naruto took a moment to process what this mysterious voice just told him. 'Well, if you aren't the Kyubi then who are you?'

Naruto could feel the pure mirth dipping off the response he was given. 'I have been given many names throughout history; Yggdrasil, Tree of Life, or even Shinju. My name matters not, however, for conveniences sake you may refer to me as Jubi. That name itself should hold more enough meaning to you.'

Naruto's eyes widened. 'T-Ten? But that's… How? I mean… from what I've been able to read there were only nine…'

There was a deep laughter in Naruto's mind. 'Pray, tell me; just how much knowledge do you truly believe mortals such as yourself would be able to gather on deities such as the Biju? Are you simply naïve or are you just that idiotic?

Naruto hung his head in silence.

Do not think I will hold your proverbial hand and baby you. I will not. You are my new vessel, and as such you will carry yourself with the dignity and pride the position commands.'

Naruto shakily worked his way back into his bed. 'Wait, what position?'

There was another moment of silence. 'What are you talking about? Are you not the Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo's successor?'

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. 'Who's that?'

There was a string of verbal curses after a short silence. 'Do not tell me that the deeds of the Rikudo Sennin have been forgotten? I will not stand for this affront to myself or my image!'

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. 'Sorry Jubi-sama, but not much is known about the Rikudo Sennin other than that he was a monk who travelled around the world many centuries ago and taught people about chakra and jutsu.'

There was a heavy sigh in Naruto's mind. 'I forget that you mortals succumb to the processes of time, so it is only natural that certain events may be forgotten. But to forget his entire life's work is borderline insulting. Before I begin fixing this mistake tell me your name, mortal.'

Naruto grinned. 'The name's Uzumaki Naruto! And one day I'll be Hokage!'

There was a chuckle. 'An Uzumaki huh? I remember your kind from Hagoromo's travels. A lively bunch they were, and to think they split from those Senju. No matter. Listen and listen well young Naruto, for I will only say this once.'

For the next half hour Jubi explained the beginnings of the world and the wars that soon spread across the globe until one Ōtsutsuki Kaguya ate a forbidden fruit and obtained what was now known as chakra. She ended the wars with her god-like powers and bore a son whom also possessed chakra. It was at this time that the Jubi emerged and sought to reclaim its stolen power, but was then sealed by Kaguya's son who became the Shodaime Jinchuriki of the Jubi.

With his new status he travelled the world and taught people the fundamentals of chakra and jutsu to deter war and improve the quality of life for humans. Naruto was happy to learn the jutsu was originally created with the intention to help people, and it was only later that such power was turned into techniques of death.

On Hagoromo's deathbed he took it upon himself to split Jubi into nine separate entities to prevent its rebirth into the world, but he gave the prediction that the day would come where they would all be united again and made whole.

Apparently his prediction has been fulfilled and now Naruto was to finish his work and usher in a new era of peace.

After the Jubi was finished Naruto was silent for a long time. 'Young Naruto, are you ok? You have been most quiet for quite some time now.'

Naruto snorted. 'What do you want me to say? You just told me that I have a god sealed inside of me, and on top of that I am the next Rikudo Sennin with a mission to save the world! What the hell does someone say to that!? I just wanted to be a normal boy, live a good life, maybe have a family if someone was willing to have me… sure I said I wanted to be Hokage, but I don't think I'm ready to be the Rikudo Sennin. I don't think I'm worthy of such a title…'

Naruto heard what sounded like a clapping sound in his mind. 'Congratulations mortal. You have successfully passed your initial test.'

Naruto blinked. 'Test?'

'Yes, test. You were not the first person to be in this unique position, in fact, there have been at least a dozen others whom have had all Biju united in their being before. Each one of them were tasked with the same mission, but each one were seduced by the power and their mind was immediately filled with images of lording over others. As such, they failed the initial test, and I tore them asunder.'

Naruto gulped.

'But you were the first to show the quality needed to be my vessel: humility. Hagoromo was the first to have this quality, and therefore I did not fight him for control. Earlier I said that you would have to work to gain my respect, and by admitting you weren't worthy, you gained some of my respect. It is quite easy to boast about one's strengths, but it is curiously difficult to admit one's weakness.'

Naruto allowed himself a small smile. 'Thank you, Jubi-sama.'

There was a quiet chuckle. 'I do not seek to flatter aimlessly, I simply state the truth. I know you have many questions, but for now rest. I have much work to do before you are ready for your mission.'

Naruto raised an eyebrow. 'Work? Anything I can help with?'

Naruto could feel the Jubi smirk. 'While I appreciate your offer I must decline. First, I must harden your body and strengthen your inner coils to handle my power. Second, I will change your eyes so you can use my techniques. Lastly, I will give you my knowledge. I will make you ready to bear the mantle of the Rikudo Sennin physically and mentally, but it will be up to you after that. Just remember, to wield the power of a god is a responsibility like no other, and it tends to corrupt lesser minds. If at any time I deem you unworthy of my power, I will destroy you and find another who is.

Naruto grinned. 'Don't worry Jubi-sama! I won't let you down, that's a promise, and I never go back on my promises! But before you go, will I be able to talk to you anymore? I would really like to talk with you some more after you're finished…'

There was an amused laugh. 'See that you don't, you have no idea how long I have been waiting for a worth vessel. For your next question, do not fret. We will still be in contact, and you are more than welcome to ask for my advice at any time. After all, I am still a part of you, but after I finish I will go into a dormant state and will not waken unless you purposefully call for me. Now sleep, I want to get started soon.'

Naruto shut his eyes and for the first time in a long time, he felt happy. 'Hai, Jubi-sama.'

END

AN: Well, what did everyone think? If you liked it please leave a review and tell me what you think. If you have any concerns or questions send me a PM and ill get back to you. I am trying to make my stories the best they can be, and that is only possible with everyone's help!

Also, check out my other stories! And I will update as much as I can!

Thanks!