It's almost nightfall, Anko jumped through the trees as she searched for Orochimaru. She had been searching for at least two or three hours now and was starting to get both desperate and angry. Desperate at the thought of finally facing him and killing him, and angry that she had yet to find even a trace of the slippery snake. I'll have to find him quickly; once it gets dark I'll be at a complete disadvantage.
She landed on a branch and looked around, trying to determine where to head next.
"Ku ku ku," Anko turned at the sound of the voice and saw Orochimaru sticking into a tree, "Well hello Anko-chan, how pleasant to see you."
"Orochimaru, you sick fuck. Today's the day you die," Anko spun around and jumped back as she pulled out several kunai to toss. The Snake Sannin's tongue shot out before she could throw them, smacking them out of her hand.
Anko landed on a tree branch and looked up to see Orochimaru descending towards her. She jumped back and thrust out her hands.
"Sen'eijashu!" Several snakes shot out of her hands and latched onto Orochimaru. However, as they sunk their venomous fangs into the Sannin he turned into mud. "Shit! Tsuchi Bunshin!"
She spun around just in time to intercept her former sensei's tongue, which she noticed with some surprise looked like a part of it had been cut off. She grabbed it with both hands as a snake shot out of her sleeves and wrapped themselves around the tongue, tightening her hold.
"You're not getting away!" she yanked on the tongue, throwing the surprised looking Snake Sannin over her. He landed on the ground with a thud, and Anko used that opportunity to jump on him and ram a knee in his gut.
Once again Orochimaru turned into mud, and this time, Anko was not fast enough as several snakes wrapped around her and smashed her into a tree. Anko didn't even have time to gasp as Orochimaru appeared right in front of her and jammed a kunai into her right hand and pinned it against the trunk.
"Ack!" Anko grunted as her hand gave a spasm from the nerves being damaged.
"Tsk tsk tsk Anko-chan, you should know better. You know you have no chance against me," Orochimaru chided her, much like he had when she was his student.
Anko grunted as she yanked the kunai out, "Fuck! You!" she threw it at Orochimaru who merely caught it between his fingers, twirling it around before tossing it back at her and cutting her cheek.
Before Anko could respond Orochimaru slammed her into the tree and lifted her up by the neck. "Such anger, are you not happy to see your sensei? You know that hurts my feelings Anko-chan, to know my favorite student hates me breaks my heart."
"You…don't have…a heart!" Anko gasped as she struggled to breathe. She tried to stab him with a kunai but Orochimaru used the Kanashibiri No Jutsu (Paralysis Jutsu) to paralyze her.
"You wound me Anko-chan," Orochimaru chided, wagging a finger at her.
"Why are you…here?" Anko grit her teeth, "Are you trying to…assassinate Hokage-sama!"
"No, no I don't have enough men for that yet," Orochimaru smirked, "So I thought I'd recruit some outstanding shinobi from this village."
"Ugh…" Anko tried to scream as she felt her cursed seal flare up.
"I have to admit I've received quite the bountiful harvest today," The Snake Sannin licked his lips. "I came here for one particularly talented Genin, and I ended up getting two. Both of them have received my…gift."
"How selfish of you…they're going to die," Anko gasped.
"Hmm…the chances are 1/10, however one may survive and the other is guaranteed to survive."
If Anko could have stiffened she would have, "Wh…who have you given your curse to?"
"Feeling jealous are we?" Orochimaru chuckled. "Are you still upset that I threw you away? Even after all these years…unlike you, both of these shinobi are quite talented. One of them is the kid who carries the Uchiha blood after all…and the other." Orochimaru licked his lips. "The other is the Jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi No Kitsune."
Anko paled for a second before she snarled at him, "If you even touch him, I swear to Kami I'll fucking kill you!"
"Ku ku ku, so you two are quite close after all. You know when I spoke of you, he said the same thing." Orochimaru gave a soft chortle, "I didn't realize you were into cradle robbing Anko-chan. Though from what I've heard about your… sexual habits I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."
Anko could do nothing but listen on helplessly as her former sensei demeaned her relationship with Naruto. Truthfully she did not quite know what she felt for the younger blond, but she knew she would give her life for him. To listen to her sensei speak of their relationship, something Anko had started holding close to her heart was more then she could bear.
"Just imagine it!" Orochimaru smirked, "With that boy under my control, and Sasuke-kun's Sharingan, Konoha will most surely fall."
"Naruto would never… follow you!" If there was anything Anko was sure of it was that. Somehow despite all the pain he went through, Naruto still loved Konoha, or at the very least several of the people in it, he would never betray it or them.
"Oh I don't know about that. We all know how Jinchuuriki are treated. I will be the one to take away his pain and grant him the power to get revenge on the village that wronged him. Just think! It will be glorious to have him under my control!"
Orochimaru let go of Anko, letting her drop to the floor. "Anyway, I have three ninja of my own participating in this exam. I think I will go and enjoy the coming show." The S-ranked criminal sunk into the floor, yet his final words echoed around Anko. "Oh and be sure not to let Sarutobi-sensei ruin my fun, or I'll burn Konoha to the ground."
Anko was forced to lay there for several more minutes until she could move again. Getting up she made her way to the tower.
Sakura looked at her two teammates in worry as she changed their now hot rags with newer ones. She knew she was in trouble. Both of her teammates were unconscious and there was no telling when an enemy shinobi would show up in this place. She had managed to drag her two teammates to a large hollowed out tree, where she had set them in order to give them some kind of cover, but it would be obvious they were there to anyone who looked.
She looked down at Sasuke, who was sweating profusely and currently whimpering in some kind of pain. He had stopped screaming an hour ago, but it was obvious he was still being affected by whatever Orochimaru had done to him.
Sakura turned her attention over to her blond teammate who seemed to be having far more problems, he was sweating a lot, grunts of pain and occasional shouts escaped him, almost like he was locked in some kind of struggle. What was worse was his cursed seal, it was pulsing and a vile purple chakra was leaking out of it. Added onto that was the large stab wound he had suffered, she bandaged it up as best she could but she was no medic. She looked at the now soaking red bandages that covered his surprisingly muscular torso, had she not been so worried by the wound, which had gone all the way through his back she would have blushed at the compact yet tightly muscled body.
I'm going to need to change his bandages again.
As she watched Naruto he began to trash around, yelling and shouting in pain and fear. Sakura was forced to literally hold him down so he would not hurt himself any more then he already had. She waited for it to subside before getting off him.
What's going on with him? She wondered as she began wiping some of the blood that was trickling down his mouth due to him biting his tongue as she continued to watch him her thoughts went back to the battle he had gotten into with Orochimaru. A part of her still could not believe he would go so far to protect her and Sasuke.
"I may not get along with these two very well, but there still my teammates! The only way you're getting the teme is over my cooling corpse!" Naruto declared, shocking his teammates and amusing Orochimaru.
That he would so willingly fight an S-rank criminal he had no chance of beating just so we could escape… Sakura felt guilty for all of the times she had berated him now. He had risked his life for her, knowing the chances of victory were nil and she repaid him by yelling at him and trying to abuse him. Not that she could hit him anymore when she tried but that was not really the point.
Seeing his strength and Sasuke's afterwards made her realize that they were getting farther and farther away from her in terms of ability.
She was forced to hold Naruto down again as he began thrashing around and shouting in pain.
"Did you hear that?" asked a black-haired kunoichi as she turned to her partners after hearing the shouts of fright and pain. "Do you think it was the Uchiha?"
"No, it sounded like that blond-haired kid." Replied the bandage faced shinobi. "Sounds like he was injured, I'm looking forward to paying him back for kicking me."
"So we should attack them now?" asked the kunoichi.
The bandaged shinobi shook his head. "No let's wait until the pink-haired one falls asleep. We'll attack at dawn to make things easier."
"Aw c'mon Dosu, that chick doesn't look like she can even take on one of us," the spiky haired Genin complained. "Hell, I doubt she could even take on an academy student."
"I agree with Zaku. I mean, look at her."
"I would rather not deal with any unnecessary conflict," Dosu snapped, "I don't care how weak she is, I would rather just run in, and kill them without trouble. And even though she does look weak, I want to do this when she can't even put up a fight."
The other two members just sighed, eventually nodding their heads, Dosu had been the one put in charge for this mission, so they really had no choice but to follow him.
Naruto stared at the person who looked just like him in shock. This person looked exactly like him. There were some minor differences, those differences being that his hair was a little darker, his whiskers were thicker and more jagged, and his eyes were a blood red color. But everything else was unmistakably his features, "Who are you!"
"What a stupid question,"the Naruto look-alike chuckled, "I am you of course!"
Naruto's eyes widened, "That's… not possible!" Then he stiffened and his eyes widened even more as he realized something, "You're that voice I heard on the bridge!" What the hell was going on! He had thought the voice belonged to Kyuubi!
"I'm so pleased to know you recognize my voice, maybe you're not as stupid as I thought," Yami Naruto tilted his head, his grin still on his face. "And it's perfectly possible. I am you; I am the you that you buried deep within your heart. The darkness you carry within you. Haven't you ever wondered why even after everything you've been through you never truly felt any hatred? Why even with the village treating you, like you worth less than the dirt they walked on, you never lashed out?"
Naruto frowned, truth be told he had never thought about why he had never really felt anger, or why he was always so cheerful. He had just felt that crying over something, or getting angry over something that could not be helped simply wasn't worth it. All he had ever wanted was for people to see him, and then later on to prove he was not the Kyuubi. He never had time for what he felt were ridiculous thoughts, "Not really." The blond shrugged and decided to try and keep a nonchalant attitude for this confrontation, "I never had time to think about such stupid and ridiculous and pointless thoughts."
"Well, whether you thought about it or not, that is what I am. I am the darkness that you buried in your heart ever since you realized you were hated." The Yami Naruto grinned, showing off his elongated canines, "I have been buried here deep within your mind. But every year I would gain just a little bit more power, a little bit more freedom."
It was here that the Yami Naruto frowned, "At least until recently that is. Ever since you graduated and befriended 'those' two I have stopped growing. Ever since they came into the picture I began to get weaker!" The dark version of the blond growled, "I nearly gave up hope for ever getting out of here and giving Konoha our just revenge! The only time I was able to truly make an appearance was when that Haku chick died, and even then I could only subtly influence you. However…"
Naruto watched in a mixture of shock and fear as a vile purple chakra surrounded his dark self, a seal spread out from his neck, forming a diamond pattern before stopping when it covered half of the dark Naruto's body.
"However, after that man bit you I gained this! This incredible power! Power enough to defeat you and take over this body!"Yami Naruto let loose a hollow and chilling laugh, "With this I will get our revenge on Konoha! I will destroy that pathetic village!"
Naruto glared at his opposite, before smirking, "You must be some kind of fucking retard if you think I'm going to let you get away with something like that. I'll never let you destroy Konoha, it's still my home and there are still people I love in it."
"You won't be able to stop me!"Yami Naruto rushed towards the blond faster than he could track. Naruto gasped as he felt a powerful blow being delivered to his chest. The blond was sent sailing off the Hokage Monument and smacked into the Hokage Tower, blasting a whole right through it.
Naruto groaned as he pushed some of the larger pieces of rubble off of him, "What strength…" He stood up on shaky legs his dark-self jumped towards him.
The blond snarled as he charged at Yami Naruto, who had stopped and stared at him with an infernal smirk on his face. Naruto threw a punch at his dark half. However all he hit was an after image. He gasped in pain as a fist implanted itself in his stomach, making him fold over like a cheap lawn chair.
"Pathetic! To think you're a part of me,"Yami Naruto frowned.
Suddenly Naruto disappeared in a burst of smoke, causing Yami Naruto's eyes to widen before he was sent sailing from a kick to the face. He flipped over in midair as he flew out of the Hokage Tower and landed on the ground several dozen feet below.
Naruto jumped down after him at him, descending with an axe kick. The dark half blocked it, grabbing onto Naruto's leg and spinning him around before throwing him way. Flipping in midair Naruto's feet hit a wall, which he used as a spring board to shoot forward.
As soon as he got within reach of his dark half, the dark Naruto smashed an elbow in his face, only for Naruto to turn into a log. He reappeared behind his dark version and linked his fists together, hammering them down onto his head. However Yami Naruto blocked the other blond, crossing his arms over his head. He grabbed onto Naruto's wrists before flinging him over his back, making him hit the ground with a grunt.
Despite getting the wind knocked out of him Naruto managed to latch onto his dark half's hands, pulling him down as he planted his feet in the other blonde's stomach. With a yell Naruto pushed the dark one into the air. Yami Naruto flew several feet into the air, and as he started coming back down Naruto jumped up to meet him. The blond planted a fist into the dark ones face, using his chakra increase his strength and send the dark Naruto flying.
Naruto landed back on the ground while his dark half hit it with a loud crash. He watched as dust flew into the air, getting into a stance as he waited for his other self to come out.
The Yami Naruto did eventually, bursting through the dust and coming towards him at speeds greater than those that the blond could reach. They soon began to trade blows, smashing each other through buildings and beating and pounding away at each other. They began using the buildings and debris to their advantage, each one trying to gain the upper hand setting traps with exploding clones in the hopes of at least catching the other off guard. They used all the skills they possessed to beat the other.
Technically the two were completely even; they had the same skills, the same strengths and the same weaknesses. A battle such as this would normally have turned into a battle of attrition with two people who had the same strengths simply winning by wearing the other down. Technically the battle was dead even.
However Yami Naruto had the power of the cursed seal fueling him, his darkness feeding the seal and in turn the seal feeding his strength. For every one hit Naruto got in, Yami Naruto got in three to four more, pounding away at the blond, beating him to a bleeding mass of flesh.
Not that Naruto was about to give up.
Realizing his situation Naruto jumped back and went through several hand seals. "Fuuton: Renkuudan!" Naruto's cheeks bulged as he gathered air into his mouth; he hit himself on the stomach, launching a compressed ball of wind.
"Fool,"Yami Naruto sneered as he went through his own hand seals. "You can't beat me like that! Fuuton: Renkuudan!"He shot out his own ball of wind, intercepting the one Naruto shot. The two clashed in an explosion of wind.
Naruto grit his teeth as he jumped on a building, speeding through more hand seals. "Fuuton: Kaze Senbon!" Several dozen senbon made of wind appeared in front of him, before all of them shot towards the dark Naruto. As soon as they hit, holes appeared on him, only for Naruto to disappear in a burst of smoke.
The roof broke apart and Yami Naruto flew out of the new whole, smashing a fist under Naruto's chin and sending him flying. Naruto hit the edge of the roof before bouncing off before he hit the ground below. Yami Naruto jumped off the roof, forcing Naruto to roll out of the way as he attempted to stomp on the blond.
Continuing his roll Naruto pushed himself up and released a wind blade as he pushed himself into a corkscrew. Yami Naruto dodged and Naruto used that time to close the distance, punching his other half in the face. However he was sent sailing back when his dark counterpart exploded.
Naruto gasped in pain as he smashed through a wall, landing on his back and feeling several of the sharper pieces of debris stab into his back. He yelped in pain, rolling on his stomach in an effort to keep the debris from going any deeper.
"Hehehe, I told that you couldn't beat me," Yami Naruto smirked as he appeared before Naruto, stepping on one of the pieces of debris and pushing it into Naruto's back.
"AAAAHHHH!" Naruto yelled out, his back contorting as pain shot through his nerves. When his counterpart released him Naruto gasped for breath, trying to control the spasms that ran through his back.
"Hah…"Yami Naruto sighed, "Looks like I'm finally gonna get my freedom."He kneeled down next to Naruto, "Don't worry I won't kill you, that would be like killing myself after all. However, now you're gonna know what it feels like to be locked away, and you're not getting out."
Damn it! Why is he so strong! Naruto grit his teeth as he tasted blood in his mouth. He tried to get up only to realize his body wasn't responding; on top of that his vision was starting to get heavy. He's too strong… I can't beat him…
'Don't give up,'Naruto blinked as he heard a feminine voice enter his mind.
'W-who?'
'You can't give up.'
'But he's too strong.'
'If you give up he will destroy Konoha, and the precious people you have inside.'
'Precious people?'
"When a person has something important to protect, that's when they become truly strong."
'Haku… I can't give up now. What would Haku-chan think of me if I just let him win! All of my friends would die! Ojisan, Teuchi-Ojisan, Ayame-nee-chan, Anko-nee-chan and Ten-chan. I can't give up!'
'Then you must get back up and fight.'
'W-who are you?'
The voice giggled, 'You will know in time. For now let me help you.'
Naruto suddenly felt power coursing through him as a foreign chakra invaded him. It felt odd, familiar, Naruto felt as if he should recognize the signature somehow. He stood up as the energy began pushing the debris out of his back, catching the attention of Yami Naruto.
"If you think I'll ever let you go free you've got another thing coming," Naruto said with his hair shadowing his eyes, the smirk on his face being the only thing Yami Naruto saw, "Now I'm gonna beat your ass black and blue!"
Naruto shot forward faster than his dark counterpart could react, jumping in the air and smashing a knee into Yami Naruto's face. As the dark one stumbled back, Naruto came in grabbed his head and smashed Yami Naruto's face into his knee, over and over as blood began to splatter on the floor.
Yami Naruto managed to free himself by jabbing his counterpart in the stomach, however it did little more then give him a second to breathe before Naruto was on him again. Like the last fight, this one was completely one sided; only this time it was Yami Naruto who was on the losing side.
Naruto came in with a left right, fist elbow combination. Yami Naruto was able to block the combo, but did not even see the knee that came in due to his focus on the other attacks. The Dark blond gasped as he felt his intestines crumple under the hit, causing him to fold over the knee like a cheap lawn chair. Less than a second later Naruto spun around on his heel and smashed a foot directly in his dark counterparts face, listening in satisfaction as bone and cartilage broke under his assault.
The force of the kick sent Yami Naruto flying, landing on the ground several feet back skidding along the ground for several more feet before stopping.
Panting heavily Naruto walked over to where the figure of his dark half lie. He looked at the face of himself as the cursed seal receded and smirked.
"Looks like you lost."
His dark half scowled, "Do not think this means I am beaten! I will come back, when the time is right I will return and," A cruel smile graced his lips, "I will destroy Konoha and everything you hold dear."
Naruto watched as Yami Naruto disintegrated, leaving nothing behind, "You can come back as many times as you want." Naruto replied to his other self's parting words, even though he was no longer there to hear them, "I'll beat your ass each and every time."
With the battle over the odd energy that had been empowering him left, causing him to fall to the floor, unconscious before he even hit the ground.
Sakura continued trying to keep an active vigil over her two teammates, however there was a look of exhaustion clearly written on her face. She had been awake for close to eighteen hours, forgoing even short naps since she did not know if or when an enemy would attack. Her head began to nod as she felt herself getting tired.
It snapped back up when she heard the sound of a twig snapping, and turned to see a squirrel running towards her. She gave a sigh of relief when she realized it was not an enemy, however her eyes widened and she threw a kunai towards it. Luckily for the squirrel it hit the ground right in front of it, causing the creature to squeak and run off.
She let out a deep breath as she watched it scurry away and turned back to watch her teammates. Soon enough her head began to nod and her eyes began to close. That was when she heard a chuckle coming from in front of her.
Looking up it was to see the three Oto genin who Naruto had stopped from attacking Kabuto. All of them had a cocky looking smirk on their faces, well, the two whose faces could be seen, she could not tell if the one with his head wrapped in bandages did or not.
"Looks like you've been up all night," came the smug voice from Dosu.
"Now if you don't mind, why don't you wake up the Uchiha. We're here to fight him." Zaku gave the girl a bloodthirsty leer.
"What did Orochimaru do to Sasuke-kun and Naruto!" asked Sakura, causing the trio to widen their eyes in recognition of the name. "You guys work for him don't you! Tell me what that mark he put on them is!"
The group of Oto ninja paused as they absorbed the new information given. The cursed mark was something only the failed experiments or the elite members of Orochimaru's forces had. Something seemed off about their orders now. Why give the Uchiha a curse mark, only to have him assassinated a short while later. And this girl was saying the blond had one as well, which was even more out of character for their leader.
"I wonder what that man is up to…" Dosu wondered out loud; however he pushed aside such thoughts for now.
"Hmph, since you now possess this information I'm afraid we can't let you live. Or the other two for that matter," Zaku prepared to charge the girl.
"Wait Zaku!" Dosu ordered, getting his teammate to stop. The man walked forwards until he stopped at the spot where Sakura threw the kunai. Kneeling down on the grass he ran his hand over the area. "This soil looks like it's been disturbed and the grass isn't growing here. It looks like you tried to set a trap for us, poorly I might add."
Sakura paled, causing the three Oto ninja to smirk before they leapt over the ground. Before they reached the apex of their jump Sakura smirked, using the kunai in her hand to cut a strand of ninja wire attached to the kunai embedded in the ground next to her.
As the second wire was cut, a large log came flying towards the three Oto genin. While the three were slightly surprised by the second trap, they got over it quickly. Dosu placed the hand with the odd metal gauntlet on the log and channeled some chakra into it. The results shocked Sakura as the log was split in two, leaving the trio's progress to her unimpeded.
Her eyes widened as the three descended towards them. As her mind registered that she was going to die a loud shout of "Konoha Senpuu!" distracted her from the defeatist thought, and a green blur appeared in front of the three Oto genin, knocking each of them away with a kick.
As the green blur stopped moving, Sakura managed to recognize the familiar figure.
Lee! She thought, confused but thankful for his help.
"Who the hell are you!" Zaku shouted as he stood up and rubbed his sore cheek.
"I am Konoha's beautiful green beast, Rock Lee," Proclaimed the bowl cut, spandex wearing Genin.
"Lee, what are you doing here?" asked a bewildered Sakura.
The boy looked back at her and grin, "I will always appear whenever you are in danger, Sakura-san." He reached over towards his shoulder and gently grabbed the squirrel sitting on it, before setting the woodland creature on the ground, "It's all thank to you, little guy."
Sakura gave the boy a smile, "Thank you, Lee."
Lee gave her a thumbs up before turning to the Oto genin, "I said it once before, I'll protect you 'til the day I die."
Sakura just smiled as she pulled out a kunai and prepared in case Lee needed help.
Dosu eyed the green clad Genin wearily. He knew better then to judge the boy because of his terrible fashion sense, that speed he had shown proved he was good.
No matter how good he is, he's no match for the three of us, Dosu thought as he began to advance towards Lee.
Darting forward Dosu uncovered the odd gauntlet he was wearing, rearing his fist back to strike at the Genin. Much to his shock said boy waited until he was halfway there before slamming his hands into the ground and pulling out a large chunk of rock and dirt. Dosu's arm hit the rocks, causing it to explode.
"While I have not seen you fight, I remember you bringing that strange gauntlet to bear against Kabuto-san," Lee stated calmly. "Because I don't know what it does, logic dictates that I shouldn't let you hit me with it."
Dosu narrowed his one good eye as he landed on the ground before rushing back towards the Konoha Genin. Lee waited for his opponent to calm calmly, and when Dosu was in range struck out with a right, left combination. The right fist was blocked but the left happened to fast for Dosu to see it until it was too late. Dosu stumbled back and was then kicked in the ribs and went flying back a ways. Grunting he got back up and was forced to jump out of the way when Lee sent a punch at him that was strong enough to make a crater when it hit the ground.
Lee stood back up and faced Dosu who came back at him. Dosu swung at Lee with the arm that did not have the gauntlet attached to it. Lee blocked the arm, grabbed onto his as he threw his opponent into a tree, leaving a small impression.
Dosu narrowed his visible eye as he pushed himself out of the impression he was in before charging at Lee again. Realizing that straightforward tactics wouldn't work, he decided a little deception was in order.
Coming in Dosu made a feint with a high punch, when Lee moved to block him; he switched attacks and came in with a kick that caught lee unawares.
By the time Lee had recovered Dosu was nowhere to be seen. A kick to the back of his head sent Lee stumbling forward before he felt a hand grip his leg and toss him into the air, then slam him into the ground.
Lee got back to his feet and searched for Dosu. As he did he felt a presence behind and saw Dosu coming in with his gauntlet covered fist reared back.
I am sorry Gai-sensei, but I must use 'that' jutsu! Thought Lee as he unwound his bandages.
As Dosu got within striking range, Lee disappeared from view before appearing below him and kicking the Oto Genin in the chin, hard. As Dosu soared into the air Lee appeared behind him, wrapping the mummified Genin in his bandages. Then Lee started to spin, slowly at first but it gradually picked up more and more speed until the pair looked like a drill plummeting to the earth.
"Take this! Omote Renge (Hidden Lotsu)!" yelled Lee as he released his hold on Dosu.
Just as he was about to hit the ground Zaku slammed a hands into the ground and sent a wave of air towards the spot Dosu was about to hit. A few seconds later Dosu hit the ground head first, implanting himself into it with a little over half his body sticking up.
With a few wiggles and grunts Dosu got himself out of the ground and stood back up no worse for wear.
"That actually would have killed me had Zaku not softened the ground for my fall," Dosu said as he looked at his now tired out opponent.
"I-impossible," Lee muttered as he fell to the ground, his muscles having torn from using his jutsu.
"It seems that attack you used has some serious backlash," Dosu mused as he saw Lee kneeling on the ground, panting.
"It matters not; I have tired you out as well. I can still win," Lee said, giving Dosu a confident smile.
"Not in that condition you can't," Dosu chuckled, "And in case you haven't noticed I'm not the only one you need to deal with. But enough of that, I'm getting tired of your interference, so I'm going to finish you off now."
Dosu charged forward once again as he reared his arm back for another attack. Lee tried to dodge only to receive a jolt of pain for his troubles as the after effects of the jutsu kicked in. he looked up just as Dosu swung at him. Lee was lucky enough to dodge the attack, albeit barely, but before he could even think of retaliating his vision began to get blurry and a sharp pain filled his head as his ears bleed.
Lee tried to stand, but as soon as he moved he was forced onto his hands and knees as he began to throw up.
"You like?" asked Dosu, "I call this my Melody Arm. With it I can amplify sound waves and use the vibrations they cause to break through your eardrum and damage the inner membrane making you lose your semblance of balance. You won't be able to function properly for a while now."
Deciding he did not want to be left out Zaku lifted up his hands and pulled his palms up to reveal the whole he had in each hand. "My specialty is the ability to control supersonic airwaves and air pressure, slicing up or blasting my opponents. To us, your jutsu are laughable."
"As you can see, you have no hope against us. You put up a good fight, but it's time to say good bye kid," Dosu reared his melody arm back, ready to strike.
He didn't get the chance to swing as a powerful punch connected with his jaw, launching him back several feet. Dosu looked up in surprise at seeing a fiercely determined Sakura standing beside Lee, her fist held out in a punch.
"So it looks like she's not completely useless after all," Zaku commented with a sneer.
Sakura panted as she glared at the trio. There was no way she could win against one of them, let alone all three at the same time. Maybe Sasuke could, maybe Naruto could, but Sakura held no delusions that she could.
It didn't mean she was going to let them kill Lee when he had come to save her.
"S-Sakura-san?" asked a wide eyed and surprised Lee.
"Don't worry Lee, I can at least hold them off for a bit while you recover," Sakura said, smiling at him.
"Heh, I don't even know if she's worth the effort," Zaku commented.
"Well then, why don't I take care of this?" Kin asked rhetorically.
Sakura looked at Kin before dashing towards her; she flung several shuriken before going through a set of hand seals. Kin blocked or dodged all the shuriken and looked at the pinkette only to see…three of her?
"You don't honestly think a pathetic jutsu like that is going to work do you?" snorted Kin as she threw several senbon at Sakura. All three Sakura's burst into smoke with the one in the middle also being replaced with a log.
Sensing a presence behind her Kin turned to see three more Sakura's, all of them doing hand seals. Kin gave a grunt of annoyance as she tossed more senbon, once again, the two on either end disappeared in a puff of smoke while the middle one was replaced with a log.
Kin spun around just as Sakura appeared behind her, blocking the punch the pinkette sent her before lashing out with her own fist. Sakura stumbled back, giving Kin the opportunity to knee the girl in the gut before kicking the back of her legs, forcing Sakura onto her knees. Then she grabbed Sakura by the hair, pulling on it as hard as she could, forcing Sakura to yelp in pain.
"Well get a feel of this, it seems her hair is softer than mine," Kin's smirk turned into a disgusted sneer. "If you have time to take such good care of your hair, you could have spent it better training. You're not even a real kunoichi are you, probably just a pathetic fan girl for the Uchiha boy over there. Hey Zaku! Why don't we kill that Sasuke guy in front of this little bitch!"
"Heh, it would be my pleasure," Zaku said as he made his way over to the shelter.
Tears began to pour from Sakura's eyes as she realized just how useless she was. I'm so weak. I've always berated Naruto for being a pathetic idiot, but the truth is I always had to rely on him and Sasuke-kun to bail me out of trouble. Now these guys are going to kill them because I couldn't do anything…
She thought about all the times Naruto and Sasuke had protected her. When Sasuke jumped in front of that Kiri Chunin during the beginning of the Nami mission; he and Naruto had done all the fighting during that mission, she had done nothing. And then in the Forest of Death Naruto had put his life on the line for them, knowing he could not defeat Orochimaru. And even though he had been severely outclassed, he had done far better than any Genin had the right to, Sasuke as well after Naruto fell.
I don't want to be the one to fall behind,Sakura thought. I can't be the one to fall into their shadow, I want to stand besides my teammates.
A yank on her hair brought her head back up. "C'mon, pay attention. My teammate is going to kill your boyfriend, I wouldn't want you to miss it."
Sakura's eyes widened, I can't let them kill Sasuke-kun or Naruto!Sakura brought her kunai up, causing Kin to take notice.
"You don't seriously think you can get me like this do you?" Kin asked with a superior smirk. "Don't be stupid, you're too weak to get me."
"Who said this was for you?"
"Wha-"
Sakura slashed the kunai up behind her, cutting off her hair and surprising Kin. Standing up the pink-haired girl reared her head back and smashed it into Kin's face, causing the girl to stumble back.
Sakura then raced towards Zaku, who had taken notice, and began several hand seals. Zaku sent a blast of airwaves at her, but Sakura replaced herself with a log, reappearing on his left doing more hand seals.
"Gah! You're so annoying!" Zaku shouted as he released more airwaves. However Sakura once again replaced herself with a log, this time appearing above him. "That stupid technique will only work so many times!" He flung a kunai at her and then began searching around for where she would appear next.
After a while when she did not reappear he blinked, then became surprised when he felt blood splatter onto his face, he looked up to see Sakura with a kunai in her forearm still descending on him. She jabbed her own kunai in his left forearm while biting onto his right hand. The two tumbled to the ground with Sakura on top and keeping Zaku from using his airwave attack.
"GAH! You bitch! Get! Off!" He began to smash a fist onto her head attempting to get her off of him. "You god damn crazy bitch! Get off!"
A little distance away Chouji, Ino and Shikamaru who had stumbled on the scene watched in horror as one of the people they knew from the academy was getting her face beaten in.
"What do you want to do Ino?" asked Shikamaru, for once his voice not sounding lazy.
Ino bit her lip as she remained silent. She didn't know what to do, a part of her wanted to help her former friend. But another part still remembered when Sakura had given her back the ribbon she had given the pink-haired girl as a sign of friendship.
"Ino?" Shikamaru said. "She's your friend isn't she? Didn't you two know each other really well in the academy?"
Ino looked at Shikamaru before looking back at Sakura who was still taking a beating. A determined expression came onto Ino's face as she stood up. "Let's get out of here."
After bashing Sakura in the face several dozen more times, Zaku finally managed to get her off. He was just about to blow her to oblivion when team ten appeared, though Chouji looked like he was about to run away at any second.
"Great, some more of you." Zaku snorted. "No matter how many turn up the outcome is going to be the same." He and the other two Oto genin were getting annoyed with all these people constantly coming and interfering.
"They just keep swarming in, there like bugs." Dosu mumbled.
"What the hell are you two thinking?" Chouji hissed. "These guys are too dangerous!"
Chouji knew that out of all the teams theirs was likely the weakest. They had the laziest Jonin in Konoha, who preferred playing Shogi to teaching. Shikamaru never trained, preferring to either watch the clouds or play Shogi with Asuma and recently Naruto when he would show up. He himself was always eating while watching the clouds or watching Shikamaru play Shogi. And Ino either only complained, fawned over Sasuke, or talked about beating Sakura.
It was made worse because each of them only knew one of their clan techniques. Shikamaru was too lazy to learn any more. Ino was too busy being a fan girl. And Chouji was always too busy eating to learn. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Shikamaru spoke up.
"It's troublesome, but we have to do this. Now that Ino's shown herself we men can't just run away."
"Sorry I got you two involved," Ino apologized. "But we are a three man team, we do everything together."
"Meh, whatever happens, happens," Shikamaru shrugged, "we'll find a way to deal with this."
"B-but I don't wanna die yet!" whined Chouji as he turned around and attempted to make a run for it. However Shikamaru had latched onto Chouji's scarf to keep him from leaving. "C'mon Shikamaru! Let go of my scarf!"
"Hehe, you can leave if you want, fatty," Zaku said, grinning darkly.
Chouji stopped moving completely, all thoughts of leaving disappeared when Zaku said those words. "What did he just say? I couldn't hear him too well."
"I said you can go back into the forest and fuck yourself. Fat ass!" Zaku exclaimed.
Oh no…now he's done it,Shikamaru muttered a quick curse of troublesome under his breath. That word is taboo for Chouji.
Chouji did complete one hundred and eighty turn around as steam began to pour out of his ears, "I'm not fat you stupid piece of shit! I'm big boned! And now I'm gonna squash you!"
Chouji began going through several hand seals and with a cry of, "Baika No Jutsu (Double Weight Jutsu)!" expanded to nearly three times his size. His limbs and head were pulled into his clothing with chakra coming out of the wholes, turning him into a giant ball.
"Pudgies RULE!" He cried out, somehow still perfectly clear despite being inside his close, before he began rolling towards Zaku faster than the Oto genin expected.
"What's this weird jutsu?" Zaku held out his hands and sneered. "It's just a rolling ball of fat ass! Zankuuuha (Slicing airwaves)!" A last of airwaves was sent towards the rolling ball that was Chouji, slowing the Genin down some. However Chouji jumped up into the air and descended towards him.
"What the-? My airwaves were useless!" Zaku shouted. And I can't touch that thing or it will rip my arms off, then I'll be crushed.
Seeing the predicament his teammate was in, Dosu began to run towards Zaku. Before he could get even five feet he found himself frozen. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed his shadow was attached to Shikamaru who was holding up a hand seal.
"Kage Mane No Jutsu (Shadow Possession Jutsu)success." The shadow using Genin muttered.
"My body…I can't…move…" Dosu found that even talking was requiring some effort.
Chouji slammed into the ground, forcing Zaku to jump away lest he be crushed.
Shikamaru put his hands on his head with the fingertips touching his head, forming an M and forcing Dosu to do the same.
"Dosu! What are you doing!" Kin shouted as she saw Dosu moving into weird poses.
"Ino! Now it's just the girl we need to take care of!" Shikamaru shouted as he used his hands to make a pair of ears on his head, forcing Dosu to do the same.
"Got it Shikamaru!" Ino made a triangle hand seal. "Take care of my body! Ninpou: Shintenshin No Jutsu (Ninja Art: Body Possession Jutsu)!" Ino's body swayed a bit before Shikamaru caught her.
A little ways away Chouji's jutsu had worn off and said Genin had swirls in his eyes. "Oooh wow. Everything's spinning."
"It's over now!" The now possessed Kin shouted as she pulled out a kunai. "If you guys move an inch I will kill this girl! When I can't sense your chakra anymore I'll let her go! If you don't want it to end here I suggest you leave your scroll and get out of here!"
Both Dosu and Zaku just looked at her, confusing the Konoha ninja. Much to their shock Zaku held up a hand towards her and blasted Kin/Ino with an airwave, sending the girl flying back. The possessed girl hit the tree behind her, making her yelp in pain and cough up blood. Because of the effects of the jutsu blood also started coming out of Ino's mouth.
"Ino!" Shikamaru yelled in worry.
"These…guys…they don't even care if they hurt their comrade…" Ino said from Kin's body as she lay on the ground.
"Heh, I think you guys are confused about us," Zaku said darkly.
"Our goals are not the stupid scrolls nor to safely complete this exam." Dosu said, "We're simply here to kill Sasuke!"
The genin who had not known that felt their eyes widen in surprise.
Damn it! This jutsu's gonna end soon! Shikamaru grit his teeth in frustration at the troublesome situation he found himself in.
"It looks like that girl's jutsu allows her spirit to enter the body of another." Dosu smirked under his bandages, "However if her bleeding is any indication she receives any damage done to the body she enters. That means that killing Kin will also kill that girl." Just as Dosu prepared to kill Kin another voice spoke up from above the rest of the genin.
"Bah, I can't take this anymore."
Everyone looked up to see Neji and Tenten on a branch several meters above them. Neji scowled as he crossed his arms, "Some minor Oto ninja fighting against these second rate ninja and declaring it a victory?" He scoffed, "How pathetic."
"They keep coming out like cockroaches," Dosu mumbled.
"Lee…" Tenten muttered as she saw her teammate. She turned her gaze too look out across the battlefield and her eyes widened when she saw Naruto unconscious, "Naruto!"
Neji looked at her before look back at the battle, more specifically three Oto genin, "The kid with the bowl cut is our teammate; it looks like you went a little overboard with him."
"So what if we did? What are you going to do about it?" Zaku gave the Hyuuga a defiant glare.
Neji opened his mouth for a moment before he smirked and deactivated his Byakugan, "I don't have to do anything."
Everyone wondered what he meant with that statement, but it soon became clear when a vile and evil chakra descended onto the clearing. Turning everyone saw Sasuke who was getting to his feet with purple chakra whipping around him violently. Standing up he looked himself over as he activated his Sharingan.
"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura mumbled in shock, shivering at the violating feel the purple chakra gave off.
Sasuke turned to look at her and frowned, "Sakura, who did this to you?"
With everyone's attention on Sasuke, no one took notice of Naruto as the seal on his neck hissed and steamed before dissolving as if it had never existed.
Naruto stifled a small groan as he woke up. Cracking his eyes open the whiskered blond found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. He looked to his left, then his right and took note of the room he was in.
The room was fairly lavish as far as he could see, with deep red walls and intricate patterns that Naruto could recognize as seals lining them. On his left hand side Naruto saw a door that also had seals running along it and on the right was a night stand and amour made from some kind of rich wood, with beautiful inlayed golden patterns running along it.
As he continued looking around a voice spoke up from the foot of the bed, "You know, I was wondering when you would wake up."
Naruto shot upright from the bed and found himself staring at what he could only describe as a goddess. She had caramel colored skin several shades lighter than some of the citizens found in Kumo. High cheek bones gave her a regal look, yet at the same time they were softer than the more rigid and cold look most nobility seemed to possess. A small button nose fit her face perfectly, along with her thin yet full red lips and a startling pair of ruby red eyes. Her hair was a dark red that trailed down to her lower back, with two bangs framing her face.
Her body likewise spoke of absolute perfection. She was wearing a dark crimson kimono that hugged her frame to reveal a perfect hourglass figure and had slits running along the side of her legs up to mid-thigh that revealed perfectly smooth looking skin. The front of her kimono also had a V cut to it, revealing a generous amount of her cleavage, which seemed to fit her slender frame perfectly.
Naruto could not help the small blush that spread across his cheeks as he stared at the enchanting woman, something said woman noticed. She gave the young man a smirk, "You know, you're very lucky that I have not castrated you yet. I very rarely allow people to view me in this form."
Her soft alto voice was like honey being poured into Naruto's ears and made him blush even more, it was than she realized what she had said.
"In this form?" questioned Naruto as he tilted his head to the side. What did she mean by this form? Did she have a different form? Who was she? These questions ran through his mind before his eyes caught sight of something that his previously enamored self had missed.
Those being the nine swishing red fox tails behind her and the two red fox ears that were situated on top of her head.
He narrowed his eyes, "You're the Kyuubi?" it sounded like a question, however they both knew it was more of a statement than anything.
Kyuubi smirked, "I'm impressed, you got it right in one; that was quite the observation." She said in a small mocking tone, "Of course, the added appendages should have made it obvious."
Naruto stared at the woman for a long time as he tried to get a reign over his emotions. Right now there were many he was currently feeling, anger at being near the creature who had destroyed his life and confusion about why he was here and at seeing Kyuubi as a female rather than a giant fox being to name a few.
As the moment ended Naruto shunted his anger to the side for a moment, it would not do for him to say something that he would regret. "You know I never would have imagined that the great Kyuubi No Kitsune was a female," Well just because he was trying not to say something he would regret did not mean his mouth would always agree with him.
"I hope you plan on explaining what you mean by that comment," Kyuubi narrowed her eyes at him, "I don't often take very well to insults."
To add more impact to her threat she unleashed a small portion of her youki, along with the blood lust and killing intent that came with it.
Naruto paled as he felt the power she was radiating and realized that what he had said might not have been his smartest statement. He immediately made too elaborate, "Wh-what I meant was that I had not realized the Bijuu had genders. I thought you were all just a mass of chakra."
He cursed to himself as he heard the slight stutter in his voice; it was made even worse when a small smirk came to Kyuubi's lips telling him she had noticed it too.
Kyuubi reigned in her power a moment later as she regarded the blond before speaking, "I suppose I cannot blame you for that common misconception. None of the Bijuu were born with genders, even I myself did not have one to start off with."
The vixen gestured to her body as she continued, "This body, what you see before you is a creation of my own making. I made this sometime near the beginning of my life so I would not have to deal with all of the troublesome humans that would try to attack me when I traveled." She paused for a moment before smirking, "It was also a good way to live a more luxurious life, one that was more befitting for a being like me."
Naruto narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean?"
Kyuubi looked at Naruto with a smirk before shrugging her shoulders, "I suppose I could tell you. You should be suitably honored as you will be the first and most likely only person to ever know this. When I originally created this form it was simply so I could move without the hassle of having to deal with some stupid humans that may try to gain my power as I stated earlier. However I soon learned of another benefit that came with this form. Men tended to lust after me."
When Naruto raised an eyebrow Kyuubi decided to elaborate, "I noticed it during the first time I visited a human settlement. Men would tend to stare at me as I passed; even those who seemed to have a significant other with them could not help but drool over me. I soon learned that I could use this to my advantage…"
Naruto's mind ran through that statement several times before he realized what she meant, "You're telling me you seduced them?"
"Well not exactly seduce," Kyuubi smirked, "that would imply that I actually touched them, I would never sully my hands by letting them touch some pathetic human in that way, nor would I let a human touch me, beyond what was absolutely necessary. No…I simply let my natural charms do the work and they would wait on me hand and foot, it really was quite amusing to watch."
"So you ruined people's relationships for you own selfish reasons? You used people for your entertainment?" Naruto hissed out through gritted teeth, "I suppose I should expect nothing less from a selfish creature like you."
Kyuubi narrowed her eyes at the blond, "Do not presume to know me. I am ageless, I have lived hundreds if not thousands of years, humans are nothing to me. They're like ants, such creatures should be honored that I found a use for them, rather than simply stepping on them like the other Bijuu were prone to do."
Naruto snorted, "Right, cuz the Konoha ninja you killed when you attempted to destroy Konoha were ants that you decided to find a use for right?"
Almost as soon as he said that Naruto was blasted with a high dose of Kyuubi's killing intent, he paled and sweat began to form on his brow as his breathing got heavy from the pressure of the red heads power. Before he knew what was going on Kyuubi was right in his face with a glare that put every other glare he had seen on a female to shame.
"You are so lucky I cannot kill you right now child!" Kyuubi sneered at the blond, twisting her pretty visage into something truly frightening. "Were it not for the seal that binds our souls together I would have destroyed you for making such a presumptuous and arrogant claim! You know nothing of me, of whom I am, what I am! You only know of the things you have heard from this damnable village and the fools who live in it, words spoken by foolish humans who understand nothing and cannot even see past their own self-importance! You know absolutely nothing of that night. Do you honestly think I would let myself stoop to such a level that I would bother with killing off a small human village such as yours?"
Kyuubi scoffed, "Do not be full of yourself, as I said, humans are contemptuous creatures and I would never tarnish myself by giving into baser emotions I may have to destroy one pathetic human village like lesser beings might."
Naruto gulped as he tried to keep his fear out of his voice, "Then why did you attack?"
The demoness reigned in her blood lust and power as she backed off and gave the blond a pointed look, "That is not something I would share with another lightly. You have not earned my respect, nor do I feel you deserve that information."
Kyuubi paused for a moment as if in thought, "Perhaps in time, if you prove worthy I will tell you, but as of right now you have not earned the right."
Naruto frowned as Kyuubi spoke, a part of him wanted to demand her to tell him what had happened on that night. After all, she was sealed inside of him because of her nearly leveling all of Konoha to the ground. If anyone had the right to know what had happened that night than it was him.
However he was also not stupid enough to push his luck. In the end he decided it was best not to speak, lest his tongue say something he would regret.
Thankfully the vixen had some other things to say to break the silence, "Now that you know your place, perhaps we can discuss the real reason I brought you here."
Naruto looked at Kyuubi with a prominent frown, "The real reason?"
"Yes." Deciding to get comfortable Kyuubi sat down on the bed, letting her tails lay on her lap. "The reason I called you hear is due to what that…man did to you." Naruto noticed the distaste the fox woman's voice held when she said man, making it obvious she did not like him.
"You mean when he bit me?" asked Naruto as his hand went to the spot he was bitten.
Kyuubi nodded, "When he bit you he injected several powerful enzymes along with a portion of his soul and several powerful seals that, if they had taken a hold of you, would have enslaved you to his will."
It was here that Kyuubi gave a small pause and her eyes gained a thoughtful look, "You are lucky it was me who was sealed inside of you. Had it been any of the other Bijuu they would not have been able to contain the power of the seal like I had."
Naruto frowned, "But you didn't contain it, I had to face an evil version of myself with the power from that damned seal!"
"And yet it did not extend beyond that did it?" Kyuubi said, making the spiky headed blond concede the point. "I was able to use my youki to contain it, which in turn aloud you to drive it out by combating your other half."
"I see…" Naruto looked at his lap in thought for a second. Bringing his head up again he looked at Kyuubi, "I suppose you want some kind of thank you."
Kyuubi gave him a mocking smile, "Well a thank you would certainly be warranted in this instance, but I did not do it just for you."
The red head frowned, "Had I not used my power, you would be enslaved to the power of the cursed seal. I will not have my vessel being used by some foolish man with delusions of grandeur."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at the statement and the possessiveness her voice held when she said my. It was obvious to him that she did not particularly care for him, if she even did at all. Yet she had protected him from Orochimaru's seal, a part of him wondered why she had done such a thing.
His tenant noticed his questioning look and decided that further explanations were needed, "As you are my vessel that means you represent me in a way. I have no way of escaping here so I have to rely on you to make sure my name does not get sullied. Being used by a madman who desires the untouchable would ruin not only my reputation, but also make it harder for me to have any influence over your decisions."
"So you wish to control me?" asked Naruto with narrowed eyes.
Kyuubi scoffed, "Of course I wish to control you, though you do not need to worry, with this," the red-head pointed to the choker on her neck, "I cannot control you in anyway."
Naruto took a closer look at the choker she was wearing and noticed it had the same seal that he had noticed running along the walls. It took him a moment to realize they were the exact same seal as the one on his stomach, "I see; this seal is what keeps you here."
"Yes," Kyuubi answered stiffly.
The whisker marked blond was silent for a moment, "I get the feeling you did not bring me here just to tell me about what that man did to me?"
"Very good," Kyuubi said with a smirk, "you are right. I called you here to tell you of the consequences that this event has had on you."
She frowned as she went into her explanation, "When he placed that seal on you, I was forced to divert a lot of my youki to keep you alive and the seal from spreading. More than half to be honest, the enzymes were much stronger than I would have expected. However due to the enzymes that had entered your body and my youki being used to keep them at bay, your body has been…changed would be the best way to put it."
Naruto stiffened as he looked at Kyuubi, "What do you mean…changed?"
"I mean you are no longer human," she said in a blunt tone, "the complete overdose of my youki, along with the enzymes invading your body has turned you into something other than human. I believe the closest term I can call you is Hanyou, your body while still at least half human has been changed to match that of a demon."
Kyuubi noticed the pale look on Naruto's face and smirked a little, "You are now half demon, half human, a hybrid between the two if you will."
Naruto felt his whole world sink with that knowledge. He was now exactly what the villagers always said he was, a demon. It did not matter if he was only half demon, the fact that he had somehow changed into even part of a demon was enough to send his whole world spiraling out of control.
"So the villagers were right…" Naruto mumbled as tears stung his eyes, "I am a demon."
Kyuubi watched the various emotions play upon the young man's face, and when tears started forming in his eyes she could not help but scoff.
"Do not be such a baby," When Naruto turned a glare on her she just glared right back. "And do not think I will stand for you glaring at me either, you are not even my equal much less my better, so you have no right to glare at me."
"No right? NO RIGHT!" Naruto shouted, "This is all your fault! I'm not even human anymore because of you! How can I ever hope to gain acceptance? Everyone I know will hate me now!"
"You should be thanking me," Kyuubi said in a calm voice, surprisingly not mad at his outburst. He may not be fully human anymore, but she knew enough about psychology that he would get angry at learning something like this. And while a part of her just wanted to taunt him and send him even further into despair, she could not afford to do that. Her survival now depended on his survival and she needed him to be strong.
"While it was not the most ideal solution, it was the only thing that would have worked to keep you from becoming enslaved to that man," Kyuubi explained calmly. "If I had another option I would have used it, but I didn't, nor did I know of this outcome. And trust me, if I had known you would become a hanyou I would have never done this."
Naruto took several deeps breaths as he tried to bring his emotions back under control, it was rather difficult with this new knowledge but he had long since mastered the art of hiding his emotions.
When he felt sufficiently calm he turned a gaze on Kyuubi, "How could you not have known I would not turn into this? And why would you have found another solution if you had known what would happen?"
"I am not all knowing," Kyuubi said, sighing a bit as she admitted to having faults. She did not like informing someone of this, but it was necessary to build some form of trust between them, which had now become imperative. "As powerful as I am, as intelligent as I am, even I do not know everything. This was just one of those things that I could not have foreseen."
There was a prominent pause as Kyuubi gathered her thoughts, "As for why I would have selected a different option to save you had there been one…" she paused again before grimacing, "now that you are a hanyou there are several problems that have arisen that…"
Kyuubi paused again as her eyes glazed over. Naruto saw this and was about to ask why she had stopped when the fox woman beat him to it, "We will have to continue this discussion some other time, it seems your friends are in danger."
Naruto's eyes widened as he jumped out of bed, "In danger! Damn it! I have to get out of here!" he looked at Kyuubi as he realized something, "How do I get out of here?"
Kyuubi sighed as she answered, "Just close your eyes and think yourself out, same for coming back only in reverse."
The blond looked at Kyuubi for a second before nodding. He closed his eyes and Kyuubi watched as Naruto faded out.
She stared at the spot he had left for a few moments before, "You know I'm surprised you did not reveal yourself. Are you afraid of what he will think when he finds you?" She spoke to what seemed like thin air, "Or is it that you are afraid of facing me?"
For a moment there was no sound. After a few second a feminine voice spoke up, "Do not think I fear you Kyuubi. You know as well as I that there is nothing you can do to me."
Kyuubi's lips thinned but she could not think of a suitable comeback. Instead she said, "Whatever, you should just consider yourself lucky that I have agreed to protect that child. My survival now depends on it."
"We both know that if it became necessary I could have forced you to protect him…"
Kyuubi snarled, "You may be safe for now, but do not think I won't find a way to make you suffer for your insolence."
Rather than get frightened the voice merely laughed, "We both know there is nothing you can do."
With that the voice left, leaving an angry and irritated Kyuubi.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Author's Note_____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________
So this chapter didn't really go the way I originally thought it did. My original plan was to have Naruto meet Minato, Kushina or both and somehow I came up with... this. I'll be one-hundred percent honest and say I thought of changing it several times because let's face it, half demon Naruto is a cliché and female Kyuubi is getting to be a cliché. However there are a number of reasons I decided to leave it as is.
Reasons is being:
1) The idea of having an immortal half demon Naruto running around the world, causing mass amounts of property damage is hilarious.
2) Following up on reason one, I plan on having crossover sequels to this story where Naruto travels throughout time, I'm thinking of doing Fairy Tail, Inuyasha, an anime set in a more modern day (Not sure which one yet, but if anyone has eventual suggestions let me know) and I'm thinking of taking Naruto into the Star Wars galaxy after that, or at least some other space manga like outlaw star.
3) From what I understand of Japanese folk lore, a kitsune is always a female and a being who seduces men. In keeping with that tradition I decided that Kyuubi will have a female form…for those who are concerned about this I do have a plan that should spin and twist this clichéd idea into something more original and will go into Kyuubi's psyche and past much more than other stories.
4) Naruto is going to be immortal, therefore I felt a constant companion who can stay with him throughout time would be nice, and let's face it, would you rather have a mass of violence and hatred or a smokin' hot vixen as your companion? I know what I would want.
Any whos, give me some feedback to let me know what you all think.