Yoinokuchi: Fall Of The Red Dawn Chapter 12: Gasp! Ressurection!, a naruto fanfic

BAM! I dont own Naruto! The guy who patented it does!

THIS IS TO GET YOUR ATTENTION! READ THE STUFF BELOW FIRST NOW!

Well...lookie here. People. I still have people to read this? Nice.

Well, pleasantries aside I believe I owe you all an explanation. An actual one, not the 'zomg 4-reelz i likez got likez kidnapped by E.T and his homies yo!' shit. The truth is o got over my head, and failed. Quite spectacularly might I add. You see, i have never been one to lack confidence towards people i have never met before nor will never meet. I know i can lie and lie and lie and they would never be any the wiser. The only thing I really have to worry about is keeping the lies together. So for all you know i can be a freaky little nerd with ten million pictures of various anime series taking up 99.99999 of my living space, or I could be some closet fetishist with a very sick mind. (Hint: One of the descriptions are ambiguously close to the truth. Guess which one! Its like a T/F test 50-50 chance of pass or fail) you'll never really know, and I sort of harvest confidence that I'm in full control of the situation of how much you know about me or not. Because regardless of your l33t h4x0r 5li11z or marvelously developed prodigy level intellect, (if you have either/or of course) You can never get inside whats locked up inside the warped little safe house that is my mind. Yeah I know, my ego is charming, neh?

Now that confidence is what led me to make a very, very, very stupid mistake. I thought, hey...I'm awesome, I could handle stuff if it came at me. i'm prepared, my mama and pops didn't raise me to be no fool. I'm ready, bring it on baby-cakes.

What came can only be described as what one my friends eloquently puts as an "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCCC FFFFFFFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLL!"

An what a fail it was.

Needless to say i was steamrolled by life with a howitzer and pile-drived to the world by the Hulk Hogan of reality. Yeah, it wasn't pleasant.

I ended up failing a class, lost a chance to get a job, had a relative die (By natural means not by my fail), and ended up in a funky-ass mood that was so not...moi. The pity I had for myself was astounding, but amazingly enough i was still writing.

And before you get ahead of yourself, it was not this story. I was writing other things, snippets here and there really, you could find haikus with better word count. But it kept my mind busy, and i adapted (slowly to my dismay). I had actually developed a completely a whole new story, one semi-based on a future project from another author but the name escapes me. I wont reveal anything yet, but youll see little previews soon enough, I'll go through with it regardless of response. Because I feel like i need to. Emotions and all y'know?

My recovery was surprise to myself, cause i had felt sort of numb for a while. But life doesn't stop, so I didn't either. And that was cool, I felt proud of myself for that.

ANYWAY! Backt ot the matter at hand. You'll come to realize that this is not a new chapter, Now hold on now don't pull the weapons out yet, I know you've all been wanting and waiting. (-See! Ego!) But this is important. Remember the new story and little snippets I mentioned? Well...they were like beta stuff, I've learned some new writing techniques and improved my vocab some (though not impressively so). And i brought it over to this story. It was a small project thing at first, but then it grew like a weed in my mind. I revamped the story, big-time, and the new canon (Which I'm still catching up on, Itachi good? WTF is up with that? I liked him better as an evil F-tard) mixed it up a bit. This is the first chapter revamped, not the prologue thing, the chapter after that. If you could somehow bring up the patience and compare the two I'll make the decision to make this thing one of the best damn stories on , or keep it as the mediocre 99 cent booklet it is now.

The future of this thing lies in all of your hands...as does my schedule, choose wisely.

...

Or just flip a coin, thats what I did! Half of one hundred chance! (- Ignore shameless self advertising)

Okay, this time I'm going. laters

THIS IS TO GET YOUR ATTENTION! READ THE STUFF ABOVE FIRST NOW!

THIS IS TO GET YOUR ATTENTION! READ THE STUFF BELOW FIRST NOW!

The Visitor was waiting in the spot that Rai told him to wait

You know your day is gonna suck when the first thing you notice in the morning is bird crap on your face.

That was pretty much his morning in a nutshell. After drowning himself in cheap alcohol (A favorite hobby of his which was kind of hypocritical to his personality) he had lost hold of his sake-warped consciousness in an ocean of grass with stone islands. At first he only brought half a dozen bottles to reminisce with the old coot but went ahead to buy another dozen or so when he found Old man Ichiraku hanging around the same place.

It was fun…catching up. Even it was to a rock.

Getting pooped on by the air-rats where another thing entirely. What time was it anyway? It was waaaaaay too bright for his condition.

A dong was his answer and a groan was his response. It seemed anti-hangover goodness was going to have to wait…shit. Why weren't teachers meaner like they were in his day and kept the students in class after school for no reason?! Where was the love for the ones who didn't want to deal with nail-on-chalkboard voices screaming like schoolgirls on high? Huh? Where was it?!

A longer and louder dong hit his eardrums like an Akimichi hit a buffet. That was a pretty solid answer on its own.

Crap. Might as well get up and get to it, the sooner he got this thing over with the sooner he could make himself blackout again.

In the few minutes after the second bell rang, dozens of shinobi hopefuls and Rai took the same positions they had yesterday. The stranger arrived only just after the last kid arrived and he took his spot next to Rai. The stranger noticed a few more in the crowd this time, older active shinobi were sitting in the branches of the nearby trees or in their shade. And none were paying attention to Rai.

He gave off a smile at that, and Rai took it as his cue to start the tale. The stranger could only pray it wasn't too long.

The bell rang louder again.

Okay that's just not plain fair. It hasn't been an hour yet!

A final bell rang, and this one was loud enough for him to feel it in his chest.

'Fine' He thought. 'I'll be good'

Oblivious to both the bell and to his friend's pain, Rai began his tale.

Naruto knew it was gonna be a good day today. The clear weather today let the sun rays glow upon him with a comforting warmth he hadn't experienced since he left three years ago, the smell of countless pots of noodle goodness threatened to take over his senses, and the gambling hag was too angry to assign him a mission today so he was free to do what ever he wanted. He had the entire day to enjoy noodle-ly perfection at old man Teuchi's place.

Where ramen was concerned, Naruto could find no wrong.

He let out a whoop as he ran across the rooftops of his home village, watching the world blur by and meld into one picture that he had become all-too familiar with. Naruto had run through this particular pass in the times he was being chased by punk shinobi, angry chunnin, Iruka-sensei, Anbu, the Konoha military police, his friends, teammates, and even by the hokage! Oh and the pervert-hemit too he guessed. Now that he thought about it, almost the entire village had chased him through this way at one point or another.

Heh, and they never caught him once! Well, except Iruka-sensei that is…

Thinking about everyone made him think back to the time they all caught up soon after the mission with Gaara-san and the Akatsuki. It was almost immediately right after they had the gates actually. Shikamaru's team was waiting along with Kiba and his monster dog for them to return. Hinata and Shino were there too, but he guessed Hinata was mostly there because of Neji, and he really didn't even recognize Shino until everyone told him outright who he was. But it wasn't his fault! How the hell did they expect him to recognize the guy when he wore more clothes than a shopping district had for sale?!

At least they only changed on the outside. He didn't know how to take it if they changed just as much in the inside too. He found out on the trip back that Neji was still a stuck-up bastard, only this time he was a stuck-up bastard with a nicer attitude (did that make any sense?); Tenten was still pretty cool with all of her weapons and he couldn't wait to see what it would be like if he went one to one with her; Lee was still…well, Lee; Sakura-chan was still mean and pretty (but he knew that would never change) and had even become Ino's sempai! Ino didn't seem to like that but she was starting to look really nice, really, really nice; Shikamaru was still a lazy bastard and still said troublesome a lot, but he did kick him when he said Ino was starting to look really nice (Sakura-chan upper-cutted him); and Chouji was still fat. (He was at least smart enough to not point that out at least)

Kiba's team looked like they changed the most; dog-breath actually looked like he grew up and Shino changed so much on the outside that he didn't recognize him at all! (Literally, how can anyone recognize the guy after that kind of change?!) Even Hinata-san changed! Her hair looked nice when it was long like that, he even told her so. But when he did she went red and fainted, and Sakura punched him again; but this time it was in his gut. Maybe he did deserve that, but he didn't mean to make Hinata-san faint!

Muttering about scary tempers and how bad an influence the Hokage was to his Sakura-chan, Naruto entered his favorite ramen stand to eat and slurp away his bad mood. There wasn't anything a hot bowl of ramen couldn't fix!

The sky that was once a bright blue spectacle had evolved into an array of assorted reds, yellows, purples, and orange. The village was getting ready for the night, with some heading for bed and some barely getting out. The village was a whole new place under the blanket of the night sky; even more so to one person in particular.

"Stupid nephews, ruining perfectly good ramen like that. I should go kick their asses! And they made Ayame-nee go away too…"

It had already been a few hours since his departure form Teuchi-jiisan's place. He had overcome the shock of Ayame's departure pretty quick when a hot bowl was put in front of him, but what he could stand by and let alone was Teuchi-jii's new 'help'. Those two incompetent bastards better not ruin another bowl of ramen like that again or he'll really show 'em what a shinobi could do. Hot boiling water should not be tossed around so carelessly! Especially if it was ramen!

Naruto growled in his throat, he felt stressed and needed to cool down. Training wasn't gonna help any since he was too pissed off to concentrate and there was no way he was going back to deal with the twin idiots. He doubted any of his friends were free either, and all of his teachers were too perverted to hang out with…guess it's gonna be another lonely night.

(Damn this sucks, and on my first day back too) It wasn't like he wasn't used to it, but the pervert never gave him a second of private time in entire time they were traveling and training. It was kind of comforting; in the most twisted sense of the word.

Meh, he didn't need to have someone with him all the time. Not right now at least. He could last until tomorrow, and he knew the perfect place to wait.

Naruto gave a fond smile to no one in particular before vanishing at the setting of the sun.

Naruto stared at the site below him, Konoha was shining in all of is glory in the night. This was one of his more favorite places in his home. He could see the entire village from where he was; from the really classy clan houses that gave Konoha its power, to the small no-name villagers that gave it its spirit. He used to come up here all the time when he was in the academy and just looked at the village, he didn't know why, but he always felt better here.

Maybe it was the company.

"But it's not like you guys can talk neh?"

The stone faces of the Hokage monument were silent as always, but a small stone had chipped off the forehead of the Fifth the moment he spoke. Naruto yielded to it.

"Okay ONE of you can, but sometimes I wished you didn't. You can be really annoying sometimes you know that?"

Another chip fell, along with some dust, only this time it had come out of the fifth's nose giving the illusion that the stone face was sneezing.

"Heh, don't tell me you sneezed because I was talking about you? Ha, stupid face! You're not supposed know when someone is talking about you when you sneeze! At least that's how I think it goes…"

There was no response this time, and Naruto felt kind of stupid thinking that a carved cliff face was actually talking back to him. Maybe he did need some company after all.

As Naruto mulled about his apparent loneliness, his small depression blocked all of his senses to the danger sneaking up behind him.

Tsunade sighed at her office as she went over paperwork and signed or rejected the various slips of hell. It was all that stupid brats fault! Him and that stupid grin of his! Honestly, barging into the Hokages office in the middle of the day just so he could catch up on what's been happening. And then when she gets a warm and loving he drops the ball and brings up her age! Her knuckles haven't had a good punch like that in almost three years! Tsunade smiled; maybe the brat was good for something after all.

Too bad she couldn't just puch these papers away like she did with that idiot. She would love nothing more than to do that but the paper came with the job; and she promised the brat she would do her best as the Hokage. Tsunade cracked her knuckles at the thought of the brat again. A promise was a promise.

But she was really looking forward to the party outside. She heard they brought imported sake from Rice Field country. There was no way in hell she'll let the night pass without getting some of the good stuff. Heavens above knows she needs it. She almost wished the brat and the old pervert didn't come back today, they proved to be too much of a distraction.

…

Why did they come back now of all times anyway? Jiraiya should have known better than that, and why did Naruto relent? She would have thought that he would be moody these days. But it seems as if he has just adapted so much that he just ignored it now. Maybe he forgot? No…that's not possible. How does one forget their own birthday anyway?

The lady Hokage's thoughts were cut off as she heard fireworks outside. The Plays were beginning soon, she had better hurry up and finish this crap.

It wasn't all that long until she got to the last batch (Relaxation was a powerful motivator); they were all vacation notices. Tsunade gave off another annoyed sigh, she hated it when shinobi went on vacation, especially since they had just barely recovered from the Sand-Sound attack two and half years previous, it just made all that harder who to choose for the next batch of missions. She could just ignore them…but then Shizune would make a huge fit over it, not to mention that she would have even more work to look over tomorrow.

Tsunade carelessly approved the vacation papers by stamping the Hokage seal on them; there was no real importance in reading into them. The stamp itself was simply used to insure the administrators that she had actually taken the time to glance at the papers; and to make it official that the shinobi present on the papers would not be disturbed unless it was an order from the Hokage herself.

While stamping the papers in a quick and ignorant fashion she had completely missed the fact that some of the vacationing shinobi were known of being Anti-Kyuubi extremist…and had been known for being repeatedly sent to jail in numerous circumstances.

(Snap!)

The sound triggered Naruto's reflexes as he pulled out a kunai from his left leg pouch and threw it into the woods in the direction of the sound. There was only a dull 'thunk' of metal hitting wood; at least his enemies weren't stupid enough to let themselves get hit so easily. But who in the hell would be attacking him now? Akatsuki couldn't have found out his location already right?

Naruto's thoughts were literally cut short as a volley of shuriken shot out from the forest. Using a squad of shadow clones as meat shields he threw a smoke bomb on the floor and dug underground. A gust of wind brushed over the smoke and revealed a single team of four ninja. One of the four inspected the burrow and laid a palm on the Earth; he felt vibrations distancing from their position do north, away from the village. Suddenly they stopped, and shorter light vibrations took the place of the louder longer ones; that meant the thing had resurfaced.

He signaled his comrades what he found and they all took off in a sprint. The vibrations had stopped not too far away from their position. Maybe the thing wasn't well-versed in Earth techniques, or maybe it wanted to fight them. If it was the latter then it was foolish. Challenging a fully prepared team of four elite ninja head-on was suicidal, even for a demon vessel.

The destination was barren when they arrived, it was obvious that the thing had resurfaced here but where in the hell did he go? A snapped twig from behind was an answer and the entire team sent a volley of various short blades flying to the sound. They hit their mark but missed their target. A small explosion of smoke and the revealed nothingness told the group they had struck the things favored shadow clone technique. It seems it was at least wise enough to use diversionary tactics. Maybe this wouldn't be such a boorish hunt after all?

A second snap of a twig raised their alarms once more and they group turned to see a hail of shuriken and kunais flying at them. One of the group, an Earth-technique specialist; slammed a fist on the floor and summoned a wall of stone to rise from the ground. The weapons hit the wall and the team relaxed, the attack was a failure. The thing may be clever, but it was incredibly clumsy to signal his attack beforehand.

Another attack from behind told the team that they were being attacked again, but this time was forewarned by a whistling sound that specially-made throwing knives made as they streaked towards them. They of course, dodged them easily. But why was the cursed thing making these rookie mistakes? Even low level ninja knew better than to make noise when attacking…

An explosion from behind blew them from their standing point and peppered them with stone shrapnel. The wall had fallen, but when did the damn beast have a chance to plant explosives? Where the whistling knives wrapped with explosion notes? No…there were too few and most were deflected by their own hands. Did the fist volley have them? But why didn't they hear the notes burning? Were the whistling knives just used to distract their ears? If everything was done for just this moment then where the hell is the demon?

The floor erupted with dozens of bodies as the demon and its clones pounced on the disoriented ninja and held them in submissive holds. The demon didn't bother using blades; probably used them all up in his attack; instead he held a spiraling orb of chakra close to their faces. It was oddly beautiful one of the fallen ninja mused, but he was more than cautious of the glowing ball. He had heard stories of this thing. One was that it was a technique that could kill a sannin in one blow.

The enemy struggled if only for a bit. The kid wasn't strong, but there were enough of his clones that it held them down pretty good. Even if they were able to overpower the kid they still had to worry about the clones with the ball in their hands. Shit! How in the hell could it have come to this? At least they had back-up…

Naruto started to find him self getting really pissed off. It wasn't the fact that he was attacked, life a shinobi and all that, but it was more of the fact that these four idiots didn't take him seriously. Sure he was still 16, but he didn't earn this forehead protector for nothing! They didn't even flinch when he shoved the damn ransengan in their faces! What the hell was all that training for if he couldn't scare off a bunch idiots like these?! Was he really not that intimidating? Well, he'll show them! Damn idiots won't know what hit them!

A punch broke Naruto's inner rant as he flew across the forest floor. His body skidded the floor a couple times before making a rough landing in some tree. How did the bastard know he was the real one? Maybe it was just a lucky shot…No way, that was a one in a million chance. A 'good' shinobi don't take those kinds of gambles. Only the insane ones do.

Naruto shook his head to clear his vision and saw the eight ninja standing before him; wait a sec-eight?! How the hell was he supposed to defend against that?! He wasn't sure if he could handle just four! Damn, best to fall back and try to figure this out…

The eight ninja prepared themselves as Naruto reached him left leg pouch for a weapon, and weren't completely caught off-guard when it turned out to be smoke bombs to cover his escape. The Earth specialist confirmed there were no vibrations on or under the surface. That meant he went up on the branches. Is it possible the demon was attuned to wind techniques? It would explain why the demon chose to run up the trees. More air meant more power. Then again, the chances of finding wind-adept ninja in the country of fire were nearly non-existent. He probably went up to cover the most amount of ground in the time he had; most likely trying to find some help.

As if any right-minded soul would rescue a demon.

One of the eight members slammed a palm on the floor and summoned a bird of prey; a falcon, for speed. The bird soared and circled the air for about a minute before swooping back down and whispering into his beckoner's ear. The man nodded and falcon took its leave in the small explosion of smoke that all summons do. The man pointed in a general direction towards the village. They had little time. If their attack was compromised they would have to face the wrath of the thing's coddlers. They doubted they would be able to kill him then.

It took at least five minutes to get to the village from where they stood, and he had a 1.5 minute start. They had little time indeed, if they were alone.

Good thing they thought ahead.

The leader of the eight used his earpiece to tell the rest of the force of the intentions of the demon. They had about a minute to get there and get ready.

They were all set thirty seconds later.

Getting the green signal from the second group, the eight attackers kicked up their speed to chase their quarry into the trap. Naturally ,they succeeded.

Little by little the beast was getting careless. More broken twigs littered the think branches of the trees, footprints were becoming all the easier to see, and the demon's breathes were getting just a touch louder. It was getting sloppy, and when something gets sloppy, it gets stupid.

Stupidity is such a helpful trait.

It wasn't long before the trap was sprung. The demon was fast, they'll give it that. But no amount of speed in the world would save it from their justice.

The final squad of four had set up a net, simple yet effective. He even voiced it out so. The other four claimed it was the only way to cover such a large area with so little preparation. They had no time to create something more elaborate. He nodded to that, knowing it was true. But he could not help but feel it was all too merciful. He only wished there more life threatening elements in the trap.

Bah! The beast was caught, it would suffer now.

The leader of the attack was the first to walk up to the beast. It had stopped struggling when it finally realized it was perfectly snared into the net, but it still dared to spitefully glare at its superiors. Such insolence would not go unpunished.

Their commander, who was the leader of his four-man group, dragged the demon up to his feet by his hair. He gave it a firm punch to the stomach to get it to stop struggling. He felt such joy to see the beast in such pain. It had almost brought tears to his eyes.

The bloody hack it let out would most likely disgust most, but this is a certain occasion where the audience was pleasured by it. Morale soared as they witnessed the demons suffering. Let it bleed! Bleed like the wounds it made on their dead! Bleed like the holes in their hearts! Bleed like the tears wept over the years!

They were slowly losing what little scraps of sanity they had left. The euphoria of victory has left them careless and unguarded, and thus vulnerable. They did not notice the fact that no matter how many time they struck a blow their target did not cry, nor did they notice the grass wilting under his coat as small red bubbles began to form out of nothing around the vessel. Maybe they did notice, but did not care. It was simply the demons blood to them, so twisted and evil that the Earth itself hated it.

Naruto, however, did notice. And the realization made him freeze in fear.

His body shook violently, erratic spasms shaking off thee stunned attackers as they witnessed the demon convulse and groan.

Naruto wanted to yell at them, warn them, anything! These guys may be bastards, but even they didn't deserve the fox. He yelled as hard as he could, but his normally strong voice was cut as the red chakra poured into his mouth; choking him slowly.

His surroundings were turning red. That was the sign that it was too late. (Damn…it…) Thought Naruto.

(Damn it to HELL!)

Somewhere far away, a mysterious figure started to smile. He liked it when plans went without problems. If things kept running smoothly, he should have the fox out of his den in mere hours.

The drop was becoming familiar to him now. And it sickened him. How many times had he to turn to the fox? Just because he was too weak?

(One too many) He thought as he landed. The mental liquid of the sewer maze bathed him in a foul stink, and shook as if afraid when it decided to make an appearance.

KUKUKU…WHAT'S THIS? AH, SO THE PRODIGAL WEAKLING HAS RETURNED! YOU FLATTER ME HUMAN, I DID NOT THINK YOU CARED. BUT ALL THESE VISITS YOU MAKE TEMPT ME TO WONDER OTHERWISE.

Damn, fox. It just can't stop from stroking its own ego can it? "Shut up damn shit head, in case you haven't noticed I don't have time to deal with you today"

OH YOU WOUND ME SO LITTLE CHILD! BUT, IF MEMORY SERVES RIGHT, THERE WERE OTHER TIMES WHERE MY ASSISSTANCE HAS 'RELIEVED' YOU OF CURRENT SITUATIONS…

Damn that bastard fox; sitting there with its stupid smug grin of its. "Shut up, just send me back demon" He hoped the fucking thing would listen, he really didn't have time to mess around

WE REALLY SHOULD WORK ON YOUR CONVERSATION SKILLS CHILD. SOME BETTER MANNERRSIMS COULDN'T HURT EITHER.

Mannerisms? If that wasn't hypocrisy then he didn't what the word meant. "If I ever need a rundown on how to behave at the table you'll be the first maniacal demonic entity I'll ask for advice, I promise" He clicked his tongue after that, he almost tasted his own sarcasm there.

YOUR IMPUDENCE WILL BE YOUR UNDOING HUMAN, MARK MY WORDS

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, think them marked" Hmm, those ANBU guys sure are taking their sweet time killing him.

DO NOT WORRY WHELP. THE WEAKLINGS WILL HAVE TROUBLE BREAKING THE DEFENSES I HAVE MADE AROUND US. WE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO TALK

Naruto's annoyed face made it self scarce, and one that could only be described as 'Say what?' took its place.

DO NOT LOOK SO SURPRISED CHILD. YOU AND I ARE FOREVER TETHERED TO ONE ANOTHER WITH THIS ACCURSSED SEAL. IF YOU DIE, I WILL DIE. IT IS A CERTAIN FACET OF TRUTH THAT I HAVE COME TO GREATLY LOATHE, BUT ACCEPT NONETHELESS.

Was it him or did the great nine-tailed demon fox that had destroyed more lives than there are stars in the sky just sound, defeated? And how the hell did it know what he was thinking!?

HOW CAN I NOT KNOW WHAT YOU THINK CHILD? I AM SEALED WITHIN YOU. I AM INSIDE YOUR MIND, BONDED TO YOUR VERY SOUL. I SEE ALL YOU SEE, FEEL ALL YOU FEEL, AND KNOW ALL THAT YOU THINK. YOU CAN SAY THAT WE ARE LIKE FAMILY. I KNOW YOU OH SO WELL.

Oooh no, he just not did say that. "Shut the hell up!" Naruto stood aggressively towards the fox, taking a step forward and shaking his fist infused with the hatred he felt. Occasionally a small muscle spasm would overtake a small part of him, a shoulder or brow, as if Naruto's own body was afraid of itself. "You are nothing like my family! You'll never be like family! And there is no way in fucking hell I'll ever accept you as family! So just shove up your ass you bastard fox!"

The fox, who would normally be furiously attacking his cage, could only chuckle at the outburst.

MY, MY, SUCH ANGER! I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH STRONG EMOTION IN A HUMAN. BUT THEN AGAIN, YOU AREN'T COMPLETELY HUMAN NOW ARE YOU?

Naruto's scowl did not go away, but lessened just a bit from the confusion he felt when he heard that. What was the fox talking about?

COME NOW CHILD. THINK ABOUT IT! YOUR REGENERATION CAPABILITIES, YOUR CHAKRA CAPACITY, YOUR CLAWS AND FANGS, EVEN YOUR DISTASTE FOR VEGATBLES FOR YOUR PREFERANCE OF MEAT. YOU DID NOT REALLY THINK THAT YOU ARE JUST SOME 'SPECIAL' HUMAN DID YOU?

Naruto's confused stare was the only confirmation the demon needed.

OH HOW BLISSFUL IGNORANCE IS! I LOVE TO BURST YOUR LITTLE SECURITY BUBBLE CHILD SO I WILL TELL YOU THIS: THE TRUTH IS…

The Demon lowered his head to meet the humans gaze and leaned forward so his nose touched the bars

WE SHARE A LOT MORE THAN JUST THIS ACCURSED SEAL. IN FACT, YOU CAN SAY WE ARE BLOOD RELATED…

Naruto stilled, his voice became cold and unfeeling. "I'm not laughing fox"

AS YOU SHOULD NOT BE. I AM NOT JOKING HUMAN. I RARELY JOKE.

The tone was serious, deathly so, emphasis on death. Kyuubi knew something about him that he didn't like, and while usually that was a good thing; his gut said something else. He knew from experience that his instincts were never wrong; never.

"So what does it mean, I start calling you nii-chan and ask you to help me with my homework? Or do we just sit here and let my body get obliterated? Oh wait! Here's and idea! You let me go so I can make sure we survive!"

The demon roared at the blonde's insolence, what a fool this child was! To think that he had any right to lecture the mighty Kyuubi! Another roar followed the first, and the once proudly arrogant human child was now humbled by the might of the nine-tail's voice.

LISTEN TO ME NOW AND LISTEN WELL HUMAN. THERE IS VERY LITTLE I COULD DO TO STOP THE PROCESS BUT IT IS INEVITABLE. JUST SO YOU CAN SHUT UP I'LL TELL YOU WHATS HAPPENING INSIDE YOU.

Naruto stood weakly on his wobbly legs and listened. The very force of Kyuubi's voice had knocked him down flat on his ass. The second one was strong enough so the rumbling in his chest traveled throughout his body. The sense of vertigo was almost choking.

THE SEAL IS WEAKENING, SOMETHING BOTH YOU AND I ARE WELL AWARE OF. IT WOULD BE SUCH A WONDERFUL THING; IF THE OTHER ACTIONS IT TAKES WERE NOT AS…TASTEFUL.

The Kyuubi sat straight up and looked down at Naruto with hatred and contempt. The fact that the beast saw the boy as something smaller than what most humans consider mice was a testament to the height his frame achieved.

THE SEAL IS MOVING BOY, BRINGING OUR TWO BEINGS TOGETHER; OUR TWO DIFFERENT IDENTITIES TOGETHER. IT IS BLENDING US TO A SINGLE BEING. IN A SENSE, WE WILL CEASE TO EXIST. NEITHER YOU NOR I WILL SURVIVE IT. INSTEAD A VERY MUCH NEW PERSON WILL TAKE BOTH OUR PLACES, THE SUM OF US TWO IF YOU WILL. PERSONALLY, I DO NOT LIKE THE IDEA OF NOT EXISTING, AND I COMPLETELY ABHOR THE THOUGHT OF BECOMING ANYTHING WITH SEMBLANCE TO HUMANITY. SO I ASK YOU THIS. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF IT?

Naruto thought about it. Becoming one with a near omnipotent demonic entity did not really sound good, especially if you were sacrificed in the processes. How can this be happening anyway!? The f-ing seal should be absolutely unbreakable! It had to be!

But it wasn't. That was the reality he had to face with the perverted old man, and facing again now. But what could he do about it? He didn't know jack shit about seals.

EASILY REMEDIED CHILD, MY EXPANSIVE KNOWLEDGE COVERS ALL CORNERS OF THE WORLD. THERE IS LITTLE OF YOUR HUMAN WORLD I DO NOT KNOW.

Annoyed that the fox had read his mind again, Naruto growled at the demon. "And you really think I'll let you mess with the seal any way that you like?" The look on Naruto's face made him define 'disbelieving'. "Give me some credit stupid fox, I'm not that dense."

HEH, IT SEEMS YOU DO NOT NEED MY HELP TO INSULT YOU HUMAN. BUT NO, I DID NOT BELIEVE YOU WOULD. NOR IS IT POSSIBLE. REMEMBER FOOL, THE SEAL WORKS BOTH WAYS AT ANY GIVEN TIME. WHETHER YOU BELIEVE ME OR NOT I HAVE TO USE YOU TO FIND AN END TO THIS.

Naruto crossed his arms and rose and eyebrow. He was listening.

The fox smiled.

"Hokage-sama, are you alright? You look pale."

Tsunade of the legendary three spared a glance to her second pupil. Truthfully, she had felt a cold touch fall down her spine, but she will not tell her student of this. Today was supposed to be a celebration for the village.

"I am fine Sakura. It's just the lack of sake in me. It has been too long since I had some of the good stuff"

Sakura rolled her eyes at the comment. Leave it to the Hokage to say something like that. "Right, I see Ino and the others. Are you sure you're gonna be alright?"

Tsunade couldn't help it, she laughed. "Sakura, I'm in the middle of the village surrounded by elite ninja and ANBU black ops watching for any danger that might be near. I'm the freakin Hokage for heavens sake. I'm sure I'll be alright."

Sakura gave the woman a look but left anyway. Both Ino's and her squeals can be heard as they caught up with each other, it really had been too long.

Tsunade smiled as she saw the two friends hug and gossip. It reminded her of better days, and it helped her keep what little faith she had for the village.

"She seems to be enjoying herself"

Tsunade didn't need to turn to know who spoke. "I remember when you were like that, when I first took you as an apprentice. But instead it was all 'Yes Sensei!' 'How fast sensei?' Or 'Can I come too sensei?'" Tsunade smiled fondly at those memories. They were pleasant now. Compared to others she had. Shizune really had been too clingy when she was younger. "Just like a little leech. You never did learn when to let go."

Shizune blushed at the leech comment, but felt no regret for her past actions. "Can you blame me?"

Tsunade didn't really need to think about it. "No…I really can't"

Shizune smiled, but let the topic go. "Neh, lady Hokage, look at what they have over there! A sake drinking contest! Want to give it a try?" She had overheard what Sakura talking to sensei, and hoped to put her at ease. Besides, she always spilled what was wrong after a dozen bottles or so.

The child-like glint of delight that Tsunade gave off was also reward in its own right. "You're too good to me Shizune"

Shizune gave a true smile. "I try"

But even as Shizune led the lady Hokage to the wonderful act of binge drinking for glory, Tsunade could not shake the coldness running down her spine. Something was going to happen, and it's going to be bad.

"So, let's hear it bastard. What do you got in mind?"

Had it been any other topic he would have raised an uproar from such insolence. But he had learned to weather this buffoon as best as he could, and this situation called for a calm mind. He would not allow this child get the better of him.

THE SOLUTION, WHILE SIMPLE, IS FAR TOO COMPLEX FOR YOUR WEAK FLESHY LITTLE ORGAN TO UNDERSTAND SO I WILL TRY TO KEEP IT TO YOUR PITIFUL HUMAN STANDARDS.

Naruto rolled his eyes at the insult. "I'm amazed, you actually felt sorry there. Should I feel comforted?"

Kyuubi glared and rumbled a growl that shook the mental sewers around them, but did nor said nothing else.

THINK OF OUR SITUATION AS AN HOURGLASS, ONLY INSTEAD OF ONE SIDE FILLING THE OTHER, BOTH ENDS ARE FLOWING TO AN UNSEEN CENTER. THIS MIDDLE JAR IN BETWEEN THE TWO ENDS IS WHAT CHURNS ARE TWO DIFFERENT ESSENCES TO A COMPLETELY NEW ONE.

Naruto kept silent, paying as much attention as he could to the fox's description. And so far he kept up with what it was saying.

AT FIRST I HAD PLANNED TO SIMPLY BLOCK THE PASSAGE THAT CONNECTS MY CHAMBER TO THE MIDDLE. BUT I HAVE COME TO REALIZE THAT THEN THE MIDDLE CHAMBER WOULD THEN ONLY TAKE YOUR CHAKRA. WITHOUT MY CHAKRA SLOWING THE PROCESS DOWN IT WOULD MEAN THAT YOUR END WOULD COMPLETELY EMPTY, LEAVING YOUR BODY DEVOID OF CHAKRA, AND THUS LEAD TO YOUR DEATH.

Naruto nodded his head to show he was still listening, and that he could understand the logic. Being a vegetable did not sound good. He already hated eating the damn things. There was no way in hell he was gonna be one. But there was one thing he didn't understand. "What do you mean its grabbing our chakras at different speeds? If it's the same seal it should be working the same way for both of us right?"

WHAT I MEAN HUMAN IS THAT WHILE YOUR MEAGER LITTLE STORES OF CHAKRA ARE IMPRESSIVE BY HUMAN STANDARDS, IT IS INSIGNIFICANT TO A BEING LIKE ME. THE MIDDLE MEASURES OUR TWO CHAKRAS AND MIXES THEM AT DIFFERENT PACES. IT ABSORBS MINE AS FAST AS IT COULD BECAUSE IT IS ENDLESS, BUT IT CHIPS AWAY AT YOURS LITTLE BY LITTLE.

It really can't get enough of insulting humans can it? "I didn't ask how stupid fox, I asked why."

The fox stared let out a huff of breath that rivaled hurricane winds to send the meager insect flat on his back. It stayed silent, but its mind was full of murderous thoughts. Good, he could use that.

WHY? BECAUSE IF IT MIXED YOURS AT THE SAME PACE IT DID MINE THEN YOU WOULD BE DRAINED TO A HUSK IN MERE MOMENTS AND DIE, THEN I WOULD DIE AND THE SEAL WILL FAIL. CONSEQUENTLY, IF IT MIXED MINE THE SAME WAY IT DID YOURS IT WOULD FOREVER BE WORKING, NEVER ENDING. REMEMBER THIS BRAT. ALTHOUGH SEALS ARE JUST DRAWING MADE OF INK AND BLOOD, THEY STILL HOLD CHAKRA. THE SEAL KNOWS THAT IT WOULD FAIL ITS PURPOSE IN LIFE IF IT TOOK SHORTCUTS. AND NOTHING ALIVE CARES TO FAIL.

Hold up there a sec. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Did you just say that seals are alive? Are you trying to tell me this fucker can think?" How in the hell was this even possible? Is it possible? Did the old pervert know anything about this? If he did he was gonna beat the crap out of him for not saying anything sooner!

I ADMIT I WAS VAGUE. BUT NO, THE SEAL IS NOT QUITE ALIVE. BUT IT IS IN A SENSE AWARE OF ITSELF. I BELIEVE IT TO BE SIMILAR TO VIRUSES, A NON-LIVING ENTITY, SOMETHING THAT IS ONLY ALIVE WITH HALF THE RULES APPLYING.

Well that makes it's a little easier to believe at least. "O. K. seals are alive but not alive at the same time, got that. But how? You said something about chakra earlier"

Somewhat surprised that he did not need to repeat what he had said, Kyuubi continued his lecture.

CHAKRA IS THE UNIFICATION OF MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL ENERGY. ALL WRITTEN SEALS ARE GIVEN LIMITED ABILITY OF THOUGHT FROM THE MENTAL FACTOR OF CHAKRA AND ARE GIVEN LIFE BY THE SEAL MAKER'S OWN SPIRIT. SEAL MASTERS UNKNKOWINGLY CREATE LIVING ORGANISMS AT THE VERY BAREST SENSE OF THE WORD. IT IS MOSTLY THE REASON WHY ANY LIVING BEING USING SEALS IS INFINTELY MORE EFFECTIVE AT MANIPULATING ENERGIES THAN A DEMON ALONE, BECAUSE THERE ARE TWO BEINGS WORKING INSTEAD OF ONE.

"H-uh" Naruto let the info cook in his mind for a few moments. This could be something huge later on. "So the seal is a virus-like thing that's mixing us together like a blender and both of us would disappear completely since its our souls that are being mixed and just our bodies."

The fox, now as stoic as he was evil, merely nodded.

Heavy stuff, but heavy is something familiar. "So what do we do about it?" Naruto hoped the fox did have a plan. Not-existing ever does not sound like worth going through.

WE HELP IT.

…

"No fucking way, is THAT what you came up with? I knew you were a heartless evil fuck but I didn't know you were also damn INSANE!"

Kyuubi stood on all fours at the insult and whipped his tails maniacally behind him for effect. Such insolence! Ignorance! Idiocy! This he will not stand for! This human child will PAY!

Naruto felt pain shoot up his astral body as Kyuubi sent demonic energy straight into his brain. He was reduced little more that a human rag doll as Kyuubi's energy warped his mind neuron by neuron. But as suddenly as it came it left. Kyuubi's anger was reigned in as he remembered the grand scale of the conversation. The child will suffer, just like all the rest, but his day will come at another date.

And his pain will be infinite. He would see to that.

PATIENCE BRAT, AND LISTEN. THE SEAL IS ONLY HALF ALIVE, AND AS SUCH HAS NO HIGHER THINKING. THUS IT IS SUSPECT TO DECEPTION.

Naruto could not say anything, or even show that he heard what the demon said. Kyuubi's little energy boost gave him one hell of a brain freeze.

To what little that amounts to the demon's credit, he was actually patient enough for the blonde to get his bearings straight. It was only after that the child's pupils starting to stop swirling around in his eye sockets that he deemed it fit to continue.

THE SEAL WEAKENS AS THE PROCESS GOES ON. IF WE USE THIS TRUTH THEN THE SEAL WOULD BE AT ITS WEAKEST POINT THE MOMENT BEFORE WE COMPLETELY MERGE. WHEN THAT MOMENT COMES, AND IT WILL, WE WILL SEPARATE FROM THE CENTER. THE SEAL WOULD BE TOO WEAK TO PROTEST, AND THE FORCE FROM OUR SEPARATION WILL TEAR THE SEAL IN HALF, THUS THE SITUATION WILL COME TO AN END.

Naruto was still off-balance when the fox stopped talking, but he got the gist of it. So they were to trick the seal to a false sense of security and then stab it from behind. A good tactic; very ninja-esque. But even in his daze he could see one very large oversized red light, and it's the only reason that he said…

"Go to hell you bastard fox"

Shocked, angered, and every synonym in between, the fox roared with a furious howl and crashed against the giant gate that was his jail.

IGNORANT FOOL! DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THE CONSEQUENCES THAT WE WILL FACE IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT?!

Holding his ears from the octaves from the fox-bastards whining, Naruto could not help but smirk. "Oh yeah, I understand. I see the logic. I see how the plan could work. I see how the seal would be destroyed and I would be stuck with my human body and you'll be stuck with yours. I also see that after we get our bodies that there will be no more seal, and you'll be on your very merry way to destroy everything I care about, including me. Give me some credit stupid fox." The ringing in his ears had stopped, and now Naruto's arms and hands were cushioning the back of his head.

"I don't have to be genius to spy this trick"

The Kyuubi did not bother to deny the accusation, but did mockingly gasp in surprise at the genius remark. Still, the fox had to admit that somehow the brat had kept hold of his mind. Most humans were much less than that.

Naruto was now making splashes with the mental sewage water within his mind. He was getting kind of bored. "So I'm not gonna give you what you want. Or do what you say. I'd rather not exist that kill the stuff I care for. You can read my mind, you know what I mean." Now Naruto crossed his arms and gave the most solid stare he had ever given to the fox.

FEH, EVER THE MARTYR NEH, HUMAN?

A nod. "Damn straight"

There was a small staring contest between the two, but the Kyuubi quickly grew bored of it. With two wills such as their own, the end will never come.

SO I MUST FIND A SECOND SOLUTION TO OUR DILLEMA. NO MATTER. IT WILL NOT TAKE LONG TO FIND ONE. IN THE MEANTIME I WILL ENJOY THE SHOW YOU ARE ABOUT TO GIVE ME

Somewhat disappointed that the contest ended to abruptly, Naruto was caught flat-footed at the demon's off-hand comment.

"What the hell are you talking about stupid fox?"

Kyuubi, now jittery from what was about to come, could only give a true demon's smile.

I FEEL A LITTLE BORED FROM OUR CONVERSATION, AND WOULD LIKE SOME ENTERTAINMENT. BE HAPPY CHILD, THIS IS MY GIFT TO YOU.

Naruto realized all too late just what was going to happen.

"Oh Fu-"

Yes, oh fuck indeed.

During the entire confrontation between the boy and the fox, the fanatic extremists were busy trying to destroy the strange spinning cocoon of chakra that had formed around it in the middle of the fight. It looked not unlike the famed Hyuuga Kaiten, but it was self-sustaining and spun at a much more rapid rate. They were able to destroy the first layer by slowing it down with chakra strings and blowing it apart with their most powerful jutsu, but it seemed all for naught as another more quickly spinning sphere was churning below it. Already tired from breaking the first defense, the collected ninja sprayed out a rainbow of colorful language at the demon within. But they persisted, with even more ferocity than before, their hatred fueling them with the energy they desperately needed. It had been awhile since the demon first sealed itself within, and they feared it would come out with even greater force than before if they did not win soon.

Their fears were confirmed when they saw a hideous creature emerge from the strange spinning cocoon-like shield.

The creature had an elongated face of fox, and two rabbit-like ears, its claws were bigger than its hands or feet, and its red fur spiked around its frame like an angry porcupine, all nine demonic fox tails look like living whips made of barbed wire. But the most horrific feature was its eyes; they were solid black, as if the pupil had grown over the entire sphere.

One unfortunate fool made the decision of staring straight into those bottomless eyes; the result was falling into a genjutsu so bad that he took his own life to escape it.

The rest of the ninja were a bit apprehensive after that incident, but their morale was quickly restored when their leader took charge.

Their morale was quickly re-destroyed when they saw the fox-beast grab their leader and toss him to the center of the town.

"Who's next?" Asked the beast.

The screams that followed would haunt the survivors to the grave.

Yamato was having a grand time.

He had just sold a huge amount of his stock for a great price, and bough the same quantity for dirt cheap across the very same village! In fact, it was most likely the same stock he had in the first place!

Yamato gave a huge prayer of thanks to the gods of commerce, if they hadn't not given any merchant skills to these ninja, he wouldn't have made such a huge profit!

This was the only reason he walked calmly down the street with a huge smile on his face when the rest of the populace was running around in mass confusion.

Some elite ninja suddenly fell out of the sky, not that badly hurt, but had a visible limp on one of his legs. A few minutes later, an intimidating fox-beast demon-thing fell out of the sky too and landed right on top of the elite ninja.

Yamato picked up his money sack and headed to the nearest exit, he didn't want to be involved in ninja matters, he had a family to return to…and feed for several months with this huge haul of his.

So he bid farewell to the village that made him a wealthy, and safe, man.

It was reveling in the surrounding chaos. Feeling emotions he had long forgotten. He particularly missed the satisfaction of seeing his prey squirm when he had subdued them at the Hokage memorial with a potentially fatal genjutsu. Maybe they would survive? They were jounin. Theoretically, they should be able to handle it.

Hah! Yeah right.

It was now dealing with the ANBU member now; it had just landed upon him, and had given him a brutal beating while he was on the floor. Deciding to give the man some pity, he decided to end it with a ransengan to the face.

The blood that exploded from the body covered everyone unlucky enough to be nearby.

One man was actually stupid enough to stare with his mouth agape and had actually puked his guts out when he tasted a metal-like flavor rolling around his tongue. Bah! Weakling!

The carnage was glorious, and he made a show of holding the now decapitated body by giving a triumphant bellowing roar. With his pride restored and his duty done, the avatar of the fox tossed the mutilated dead ninja aside and receded into its host, a clearly satisfied smile on his lupine face.

Orange and black cloth soon replaced the chaotic redness of the body, and a face with blue eyes and blonde hair with undeniable birthmarks was revealed under the demon's skin.

Shivering, Naruto wobbly stood on weakened legs and dead arms. His skin was unblemished but steam could be seen rising from under his clothes. His eyes were closed from the pain he felt, but opened ever so slowly as it ebbed away.

When he did, he wished he didn't.

Everyone was staring at him, and when he meant everyone, he meant everyone. Naruto could pick up faces from the entire village that he knew, and some that were really high up in the chain of power. Tsunade herself was looking at Naruto in fear. But not fear of him, fear for him.

The same could not be said for everyone else.

When Naruto walked away from the body in any direction, the crowd he was facing took a few steps back. Complete and utter terror was evident in their eyes.

Naruto turned around to see three small children looking at him with eyes that held fear that he never saw before while they were centered on him. The Konohamaru Corps, their eyes that were usually filled with admiration, envy, and pride were now they were filled with fear, confusion, and question. Just like everyone else. Just like before.

Naruto knew that this was it. There would be no more chances. He knew that everything, everything he ever wanted is now gone and he could never get it back. There was no reason in staying now.

So he left.

The action was instant, and although shaken, the reaction was even quicker.

The village had a fox to hunt.

Miles away the same figure from before widened his smile. He had accomplished what he wanted to do in this place. It was now time for the second phase of the first part of his grand master plan.

Naruto ran; he ran as fast as he could, to be using the Fox's chakra to run away from his own village is humiliating, but the reason behind it is even more so...He was so foolish, he really was a total idiot. Hokage? Him? Naruto laughed and cried at the same time. Like they would really want him as Hokage! Especially now more than ever, he really was a fool, he really was an idiot...

Suddenly, a branch snapped. Naruto cursed, he was slowing down too much. He better pick it up, there was no way in hell he was going to die here. Not until he keeps his promises. All of them.

Naruto summoned three clones and spread out in different directions, leaving an explosion note to destroy the spot where he stood still. The less they know about his position the better.

Not two minutes after the explosion rocked the land he heard the rustling of leaves behind him. He couldn't tell the exact number, but it was a lot. And that's all he needed to know.

He grabbed his few remaining shuriken and smoke bombs and stuck them together. He threw them blindly behind him, hoping to catch his opponents off-guard.

It worked, somewhat. The bombs exploded midair, letting the unseen shuriken graze their targets, but not landing dead-on. Nonetheless his pursuers fell back, now more wary of Naruto.

(Good, but now what?)

Distance, he needed distance. And a crap load of it. But where? The only place he could think of is the desert. Gaara should be able to give him enough help to at least get him a day's head start. Sandstorm season is in too. It's his best chance.

Naruto Summoned one final clone and handed it an ink case and brush. His intention was already known so it sprinted off in another direction as son as it was handed the objects.

Now it was time to buy his clone some time. He just hoped these bastards weren't ANBU. Out of everything he could think of, the ANBU were Naruto's most feared enemy inside Konoha. They are the best of the best, and the ones who hold the longest of grudges, as it was proved by the nameless ANBU he had killed not too long ago. They have the closest bonds with their squad mates, mostly because they have been in the same team since they were gennin. When Kyuubi came and killed off their friends and family, well let's just say that the Hokage's orders were never followed to the letter.

He didn't need to hold them off for long, just long enough. A max 5 minutes. Lets see how tough the black ops can be.

Naruto summoned a dozen clones armed kunai and about faced straight into his hunters. Oddly enough they didn't toss any kind of knife at him. Maybe they weren't equipped with any? Could they have just chased him just to pave the way for a more suitable attack force? Maybe. But unlikely, they're probably just biding time. Good, they're helping.

A phantom pain exploded on the side of his head and the memories of one of his clones filled his mind. A foot had axed it out of consciousness, a melee fighter then. Not good. He still needed work on that particular school. As second clone's memories revealed that there were two melee specialists. The first one was hit by a pretty big foot. This one was kicked by a leg that was too thin to be attached to the said foot.

His third clone caught a glimpse of dark colored hair before a blunt metal object clash on the side of his head. It was the hilt of a heavy weapon, a BIG heavy weapon. Only weapon specialist use those things, fuck, he needed work on that too.

He better take care of the situation before it gets out of his hands.

Going through a set of seals that he had developed over the years Naruto surprised his unseen enemies by simply clapping in their direction…

…And thus creating a shockwave that uprooted several large trees and his pursuers along with them.

Not giving them any quarter Naruto went though a second set of seals and gagged a bit as a fountain of clear gooey stuff sprayed out of his mouth. Damn that shit tasted nasty!

He heard muffled orders and shuffling as his glue fountain soared though the air. The troupe that was closing in on him separated into different directions, but Naruto could see two stay in the same place. Intentionally waiting for the attack to hit them, it was their turn to counterattack.

The two waited for the goop to be as close as possible to them before spinning in place, soon their bodies glowed as the exported chakra from every pore from their bodies. Their bodies became balls of spinning light that caught and tossed his liquid like a child's plaything. And there was only one kind of ninja that Naruto could think that could do that.

"Hyuuga…" main family no less, damn he was in trouble. He really didn't want to deal with their plugging system.

But all the tension in the air faced a grim sudden death when Naruto heard a familiar male scoff. "You disappoint me Naruto, a sonic boom and entrapping syrup? So predictable…"

Naruto froze. There was only one Hyuuga guy that he knew that bothered to learn his name. "N-Neji?" He shakily said, truly hoping it was not some ass hole under the transformation technique. If it was, then he was screwed. He just left a huge opening for a possible attack.

Neji appeared just in front of Naruto. It was when he just brought his head back up when they both heard a chorus of other voices screaming the same phrase. "Don't forget us Naruto!"

One by one Naruto's friends appeared. The rookie nine plus team Gai had appeared from the surrounding forest. Each having a different look etched upon their faces.

Well this could have ended worse. "How did you guys find me?" He knew he set up enough false detours to mislead any one of them. If he really want to get away from them, and he did! They should not have been able of find him. Somberly, Naruto wished the ANBU found him instead. He didn't want them to find him.

It was Shikamaru who answered this time instead of Neji. "Che, between me, Sakura, Shino's bugs, Kiba's and Akamaru's noses, and two pairs of the Byakuugan, do you really think you could escape from our watch? Stop this troublesome running and follow us home, the lady Hokage wants to talk to you."

"No"

The reaction was immediate, everybody froze at the word. Naruto's loyalty to Konoha was second to none, none.

"What are you talking about Naruto you idiot! Of course you're coming with us! Stop being an annoying brat and come on!" This was of course from Sakura. Who else but her to yell at Naruto like that?

Then Naruto said something that undermined all that they knew from the usually happy boy. In a tone so cold that it shook them all to the core.

"Shut up Sakura."

Naruto wondered how much time he had left when he noticed the shocked faces of his friends, too much as far as he was concerned. He needed to drag this out, and at the same time he needed to sever any ties that he has with them. They were his friends, and he didn't want to drag them any deeper into this shit than necessary. So he might as well pull his trump card, he should tell them everything…the fourth's true fate, Akatsuki, Kyuubi, everything.

Naruto relaxed just the tiniest bit to show that he didn't want to fight. The rest mirrored him, but no one fell completely out of stance. Neji turned his eyes to Kiba who only nodded his head. This really was Naruto, but why was he acting like this? Using his finger tips Neji signaled Shikamaru, who accepted the task in his mind but made no outside confirmation. Everyone else did the same.

Sensing everyone was ready Neji fell completely out of stance and focused solely on Naruto. "So Naruto, are you going to tell us what happened out there?"

The blonde did not fall out of stance, he kept focus, but even he could not help but let his eyes fade as he relived his memories. This was gonna suck, but it had to be done.

"Have you ever felt the pain of being completely alone?" He got no answer, but he didn't really expect one. "I have, but you guys already know about that don't you?" Most of the rookie nine nodded to show they knew, Team Gai, still relatively new to Naruto simply stared.

"I had nothing for twelve years. No father, no mother, no brothers or sisters. Not even uncles, aunts, or cousins." He stopped momentarily to regain his own composure before continuing.

"It sucked, a lot. I didn't really know why, but I wanted to have one...a family I mean." Naruto used a hand to comb it through his hair. He was actually feeling a little bit lighter, talking. "I wondered...why not me? Did I do something wrong? Something bad? Make I could have fixed it, or undo what I did. But no, no one told me. No one was allowed to tell me. Old man Hokage saw to that." He smiled as he thought about the old geezer, the law he passed might be the only reason why he was still alive today. He really owed him too much.

"But I still wondered why everyone hated me. What did I do? When did I do it? Could I fix it? Could I get away? I never did learn…that is, not until graduation." Naruto had fallen completely out of stance, lost in his remembrance. "It was all The Fourth's fault too. All my pain came from a guy who was already dead. Can you believe that? My own freakin idol was the reason I hurt so much"

Naruto chuckled a bit from the irony. "I swear, there isn't a person on the planet I hate more than the fourth. But at the same time, he's still my number one hero. How pathetic is that?"

Before Naruto could go on a stream of memories rushed into his head, his clones were disappearing. Fast. That means reinforcements would come here soon. He had to wrap this up now.

Neji and the rest of the group were trying to process all the info their friend had given them. Why did Naruto hate the fourth so much? What in the world could he have done to make Naruto hate him so much? But as soon as the questions popped up they quickly left, Naruto was already speaking the answer. "Did you know the nine-tailed fox demon attacked our home the day I was born? That's today huh? Convenient that." Naruto gave a small snicker to that bit of irony too, he couldn't help it. Of all days, this shit had to happen today! "You guys read the text books. The fox was a powerful demon, so powerful that he almost sent us to extinction." Naruto brushed his hair back at what was going to come next. How would they react? "it was very powerful…too powerful…it was impossible to kill, even for shinobi hands...even the fourth." There was a flash in his head as his last clone gave the okay. It was done. Good. "The fourth knew this you know. He knew he couldn't kill the fox so he did the next best thing. He sealed it. The fourth sealed the most powerful demon in existence into a little child using the combination of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, Eight Trigrams Sealing Style and the Four Symbols Seal..."

It took a few seconds for the stuff to sink in, but then Neji, Shikamaru, Sakura, and Hinata visibly showed their shock, Naruto knew they would be the first to understand. They were the sharpest of the group after all. Shino must know too but his choice of clothing hid his reaction.

"That baby was me, I am a jinchuuriki. I hold the Kyuubi's power within me. That is why I was hated, that is why I must leave." Naruto suddenly drew a dagger and stabbed his own hand, the blood dripped over the blade and on to the seal that was wrapped around the handle. Neji now using the Byakugan finally noticed what the seal was and ordered the group to jump the blonde, hoping to keep him still to hear their words before it's too late.

But in a flash Naruto was gone. No one present knew just what the hell happened. But if they just saw what they think they just saw, then for all they knew, Naruto was probably in Earth Country by now.

Naruto appeared only a mile away from where he was but disappeared just as quickly. It was only a make-shift relay point, the clone should take care of it if the pervert would try to use it. He would have to leave a clone for every point he used. If he did then not even Jiraiya would be able to find him. As big of a useless pervert he was Jiraiya he was their best bet in finding him. And that meant he was his biggest threat.

(Sorry Ero-sennin, I'll make it up to you one day…if I ever go back) Go back. Naruto wondered if that was even possible. After all the shit that happened tonight, was there really a way to go back to Konoha and act like it never happened? Will the people be willing to accept him? Will they welcome him with open arms?

Or will they be waiting to slit his throat?

He remembered when that was all he could think about. He remembered the pain he went through as a child, alone and terrified, hated by everyone around him for reasons he couldn't fathom, he remembered his past sensei's and mentors...Iruka, Tsunade, Kakashi, and Ero-sennin too. He'll miss them all, and their freaky habits. He remembered the lonely nights in his apartment, the painful coldness of loneliness and the yearning of the warmth that only a loving family could bring. Naruto remembered the good times he had with the rookie nine, team Gai, and even Gaara and his siblings.

He remembered Sasuke too

Now it isn't remembering, now it's everything. He had to stay alive, stay ahead. He had to keep his head in the game, or loose it in the process. Right now he needed a plan, a good plan. But can he think of one?

Naruto steeled his resolve what the hell was he thinking about? He was Uzumaki Naruto! He'll find a way to get back, and defeat Akatsuki too! He'll even keep his promise to everyone back home! He will become Hokage. This new strange new road he was forced upon would most likely be very dangerous. But then again, his entire existence has been dangerous. What's a little more danger going to add up to?

Nothing, cause he was Uzumaki Naruto.

"Believe it"

Meanwhile in a small village just south of Sunagakure, a red headed boy appeared out of the sand planning to meet one similar to him, a brother of sorts. But not now, right now he needed to rest, he would go tomorrow, Naruto was probably not home yet anyway...

Rai finished dramatically with the Rock family patented nice guy pose. The children awed as their families or guardian picked them up for another night of sleep.

The visitor followed Rai to the lodge, intent in getting some sleep for the night; after all he had to face another chapter tomorrow.