章 96: Chapter 096

Sarutobi nearly gagged as he got a mental image of Naruto simply squeezing the man with such force that his head literally blew up. Now being a man who had lived through all three wars, he had seen acts that were far worse then what his surrogate grandson had described. He had seen countless acts of brutality, and had even lain witness to the power of a Jinchurikki while using their Bijuu as well as having fought two of them in his life. However the fact that the person who had killed a man in such a violent way was the young boy before him was enough that his normal desensitization to the violent life style they lead to be over ridden.

Naruto looked down at his now shaking hands. "But that's not even the worst of it Jiji…" The young blond took a shuddering breath, "What was is that I had loved every minute of it."

Sarutobi looked at Naruto sharply but his eyes softened when the he saw the tears in the blonde's eyes, "It was horrible, like another person had taken over, my mind knew what my body was doing and rebelled, but my body loved it. The feel of blood on my hands as I killed them, the feeling of squishing Gato's head…I…I feel like I've become a monster…"

As the blond began shaking even more, Sarutobi realized what had happened. Naruto got so angry that the fox was able to make a connection to him and influence the boy. For something like that to happen he must have felt intense emotions. That the Kyuubi could actually talk to the boy is disturbing. I'm going to have to call Jiraiya here.

Looking down at the shaking Genin Sarutobi felt his heart breaking, But not now, right now I need to help Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, look at me," Sarutobi said softly. Naruto looked up at him and the old Sandaime placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, "I want you to listen to me. You are not a monster or a demon. You are a hero. Do you know why the Yondaime chose you to bear this responsibility?" Naruto shook his head and the old Hokage gave him a smile, "He chose you because he knew you would be capable of controlling the fox's chakra, and using that power to protect everything you cherish."

It was a small stretch of the imagination. Minato had not had much of a choice in vessel. Sarutobi was still not all that sure what had happened that night when he found Naruto crying besides the corpse of his mother and dying father. But he knew that Naruto had really been the only choice. However it was also well known that Minato had been able to come up with plans several years into the future, and so Sarutobi knew that he had sealed the fox in his son for a reason aside from the obvious ones, when he could have just sealed it back into Kushina who had been the fox's previous Jinchuuriki.

"Really?" Naruto asked with a small sniff as he wiped his eyes with his cloak. "But…how can I possibly control such a monster. Kyuubi is supposed to be the strongest of the Bijuu…and that bloodlust…" Naruto shuttered as he remembered the feeling he had gotten when he had used the foxes chakra.

"Truthfully I do not know how Yondaime-sama planned on having you control the Kyuubi," Sarutobi frowned. "Perhaps he thought you would make some kind of deal with it, or perhaps he thought you would be able to subdue it. But I do know that he felt you would be able to use its chakra to protect the people you love."

Naruto was silent for a moment as he stared at Sarutobi. Every time the man talked about the Yondaime's faith in him it felt like there was some kind of hidden meaning, though he could not fathom what that would be. "Do you think I can do it?" Naruto asked in a quiet voice.

Sarutobi gave him a smile, "I know you can do it. If anyone can, it would be you Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled a genuine smile as he gave his grandfather figure a hug, "Thanks Ji-chan."

Sarutobi chuckled as he hugged the boy back, "You are most welcome Naruto-kun. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask."

"Do you think Haku-chan would be dissappointed in me?" asked Naruto after a few seconds.

Sarutobi sighed, "truthfully I don't know... I do not know anything about this Haku girl except what you have told me. However it sounds as if she loved you just as much as you love her, I do not think she would be mad or dissappointed in you. I believe that so long as you keep in your heart and continue to grow and protect the people who are precious to you, her soul will be able to rest in peace."

Naruto nodded as he stood up, he still felt a little scared, still felt the pain of losing Haku. But at least it felt a bit more bearable now. Standing up he plastered a smile on his face, deciding that his old look was needed for the moment.

"I'll see you later Ojisan,"Naruto called out as he left.

It seems I'll need Jiraiya to come sooner than I thought, Sarutobi frowned. If the seal is weakened enough that the fox can influence the boy…for now I will have faith in Naruto's will, I believe he is strong enough to resist the fox.

Sighing a bit as he walked up the stairs to his apartment Naruto reached out a hand and was just about to channel some chakra into the security seals when he heard a noise that made him freeze. Eyes widened he channeled chakra into the seal and as soon as the door unlocked burst in, only to see a sight that made him pale.

"WH-WH-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING!"

Lying on the couch was Kian in nothing but a pair of boxers, and Akira wearing only a pink thong that the blond knew for a fact his clone had not been wearing when he left. Kian had one hand on Akira's left breast and his mouth had been latched onto her neck, at least, until Naruto had barged in and was now hanging open wide enough to fit one of the faces on the Hokage Monument in. Likewise Akira, who had been moaning previously was staring at him in shock and embarrassment.

"Uhh…" Kian tried to speak.

However Naruto stomped into the room angrily as he glared at his two specially created clones. "I asked you a question! What the hell are you two doing!" Naruto ground out, his face completely red, though whether from embarrassment or anger not even he knew.