Naruto 1. Chapter 1: Leaving the Leaf

A/N: Hi everyone, this is my first Naruto FanFiction ever, and I hope you guys like it. I've had this idea swirling in my ahead recently and decided to actually write it. I hope you all enjoy it, and I hope I can consistently update the story... I'll mention this now, In my opinion my conversations between characters are a bit dull and I hope you guys can give me advice to fix this! Welp, enjoy!

Also, this story will strictly be NartuoxSamui, as I don't see Naruto doing a Harem, it seems out of character to me...

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... :(

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><p>Chapter 1: Leaving the Leaf<p>

October 10th, exactly six years ago today the Kyūbi no Yōko attacked the Konohagakure no Sato, and destroyed a large portion of the village, along with slaughtering many brave Konoha Shinobi, and taking with it the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze. The Yondaime sacrificed his life for the village, using a forbidden sealing technique to seal away half the Kyūbi's chakra into himself and the rest into his newborn son Naruto. Minato left behind the village and his newborn son, the new Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Yoko. He wanted his son to be recognized as the Hero he was, taking on the burden of the Kyūbi being his prisoner to protect the village that would no doubt fear him for his unchangeable fate.

But even at the wish of Minato, Naruto Uzumaki was not seen as a hero, nor the son of the Hero of Konoha. He was given the surname of his mother and thrown into the orphanage by the newly reinstated Sandaime to attempt to give Naruto a normal life amongst children his own age. Sadly that never came to happen.

Naruto was ostracized in the orphanage, given little attention, and if he was, it was the glares from the Matron or the other workers at the place he had to call home. Once he was four he was kicked out of the orphanage but with the help of the Sandaime, -or as Naruto liked to call him his 'Jiji'- he was given an apartment within the Red Light District of Konoha, it wasn't the best place, but it also wasn't the worst. The people that lived around his apartment weren't as hostile as the rest of the populace. Mostly because it was populated with prostitute's that pitied the boys' life.

But he also had to avoid going outside at all costs during the late afternoon or nights, the drunks were more common and violent during those times. It's not like he left his house that often anyway. He only went out really to attempt to buy groceries, visit his Jiji, or go to Ichiraku Ramen, the only food stand that let him inside. The owner and his daughter were nice to him, often giving him free bowls of ramen, he loved that place religiously.

Today for Naruto Uzumaki was going to be one of the worst ones and he knew it. It was his birthday apparently, October 10th, the same day the Kyūbi no Yōko was slain by his hero the Yondaime Hokage. But he never celebrated the day of his birth, for some reason it always seemed to anger the villagers even more when he would show his face around the village. They'd always call him names like 'Demon' or 'Demon Spawn' then promptly glare at him or kick him out of a store he had entered.

He never understood why they called him those names, how was he a demon?

But he never paid too much attention to it, why should he? Every time he yelled at someone and asked them why they called him those names, all he got was a, "Hmph" and they'd walk off like nothing had ever happened. It royally pissed him off.

What was even worse was the fact that his Jiji apparently didn't know anything about why they called him those names. But the Sandaime would always ask for a description or name of the person who called him those names. After that he would never see that person again. It was weird but oddly satisfying because deep down he knew his Jiji was looking out for him more than he let on. He just didn't want to know HOW his Jiji dealt with them.

But today was like any other day, aside from the fact that class at the academy was cancelled. He may have been six but he was able to start two years earlier thanks to the help given to him by his Jiji. Now he was forgetting that one golden rule he had set for himself, 'DON'T GO OUTSIDE ON OCTOBER TENTH'.

Naruto was currently walking around one of the main streets of Konoha that housed a majority of shops. It was also quite heavily populated.

Naruto was a small child for his age standing at about three feet, no doubt due to his lack of a healthy diet. He wore an orange t-shirt with the Uzumaki clan spiral on the front of the shirt in a deep red. He had on white shorts that reached down past his knees. His sunny blonde hair, spiked, in a neat yet sloppy mess that seemed to fit the young boy, he had bright cerulean blue eyes that shone with all his childish innocence. Each of his cheeks was adorned with three whisker like marks.

Naruto had his usual megawatt smile on as he walked down the street like nothing bothered him. But in reality he was sad to see the people looking at him with such hatred. He wanted to understand their hatred and change those looks of hate, into looks of happiness and pride in him when he became a great shinobi willing to protect the village with his life.

Naruto though didn't really understand why he wanted to change their views on him. Why change something that seemed so rooted within the people of this village? In all honesty he knew he just wanted to be recognized by more than three people in his life. He craved the attention of others after being so deprived of it all his life. That is why he became the infamous prankster, even after being in the academy for only a few months, he built quite the reputation whenever his Sensei's would ignore him. It wasn't always the kind of attention he craved, but at least he and some of his classmates got a lot of good laughs out of his pranks.

But right now, he wished for the 'attention' he was receiving to just stop.

He may have gotten used to the glares, but today was an exception, they were amplified by an unimaginable number and he just wanted to crawl under a rock and wait till the day was over. Sadly that wasn't going to happen for Naruto today.

A brown haired standard looking villager walked in front of Naruto, blocking the narrow pathway down the street. Looking up Naruto could see the man scowling down at him. The brown pupiless eyes, showed nothing but malice and hate towards the young blonde standing under the gaze of the man in front of him. Before Naruto could attempt to say anything or try to move past the man, he was shoved to the ground, landing on his rear.

"Why don't you just leave you demon brat!" The man spat.

Naruto growled inwardly, "Why don't you get out of my way!" Naruto yelled back at him. He could already feel the man in front of him change. The scowl on his face turned into a sinister grin as he moved forward and picked the child up by the collar of his shirt.

"Respect your elders' brat!" Was all Naruto heard before a fist was imbedded into his stomach and all the air was knocked out of Naruto's body. He attempted to look around, but all he saw were the footsteps of people stopping to take a look at the situation then moving right along like nothing was happening. Some of the passerby's seemed to stay and if he could see any more than just their feet he would see multiple thumbs up and smiles being sent to the bold man holding Naruto. To do such a thing in broad daylight on one of the busiest streets in the city was no short feat. Naruto was hoping those mask wearing people would be there to protect him like all the other times. But no luck for him today.

Next thing Naruto knew was his world went black and he was at the mercy of the people of the village. Fuck.

Damnit, why did he go outside today?

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><p>Naruto woke up in a daze, his body hurt all over and he couldn't find the will to open his eyes. He was too afraid of what he would see if he opened his eyes. All he remembered was that guy in the street…<p>

His mind was screaming for him to get up and run. But what good would that do? What if someone was waiting for him to leave? Maybe they thought he was dead and left him in the streets to be found by the masked ninja's or his Jiji. But his Jiji would have found him by now, he could tell it was no longer day, there was no light leaking through his closed eyelids. And Naruto could tell he was outside in some capacity, there was a light breeze that rolled over his skin giving him goose-bumps, and the floor was hard and bumpy.

Naruto could hear hushed talking, just quiet enough to not be able to make out any words but just loud enough for him to be able to hear the murmurs.

A quick sound of shuffling feet towards him made Naruto flinch just barely. Too afraid of what was going to happen next, his entire body already hurt more than it should've and now it seemed like whoever was responsible for his condition was coming back. As he squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to keep the person at bay in his mind, the person who moved over to Naruto watched his movements with a frown on their face. Already aware of what happened to the child in front of them. The small flinch did not go unnoticed to the trained eye of this person as they moved forward and sat down next to the boy.

"We're not going to hurt you." A soft, yet mature female voice cooed to Naruto. Unknowingly to himself he flinched at hearing the voice causing the person's frown to deepen. "You can open your eyes." The voice came again.

Naruto knew he was caught. He thought through his options; he could believe this person next to him and talk to this person who sounded friendly enough, but he knew better than to take anything at face value. Then there was the option of bolting, but where the hell was he?

He decided to go with option one and slowly opened his eyes to the dark world. At first his vision was blurry, slowly focusing his vision the first thing he noticed was the jagged ceiling of wherever the hell he was, his eyes widened as he quickly spun his head around and came face to face with what he considered to be a beautiful blonde. She looked in her late teens or early twenties. She was fair skinned with blonde hair and from what he could see in the dark had black eyes, pretty cool to him. She was wearing what appeared to be a black and purple blouse with a small design of clouds on it. Along with that she had black pants that went down to her ankles, which were wrapped in bandages. She had black shinobi sandals, as well as black fingerless gloves. Her forearms were wrapped in bandages like her ankles, and had a string of blue beads wrapped around her left forearm. She also had a red obi wrapped around her waist. Her hair was braided down her back, wrapped in a bandage down to her waistline. But the most noticeable thing to Naruto was the thing wrapped around her forehead. It was a Hitae-ate, though Naruto didn't know it, it was the forehead protector for Kumogakure no Sato.

His eyes roamed from the Hitae-ate and studied her face. She had an air of confidence about her, and her eyes showed some concern for what appeared to be him. Which oddly confused him, why was she concerned with him? The only people who were ever concerned with him were his Jiji and the Ichiraku's. And he hasn't even met this girl before!

Noticing the young blonde's gaze, the girl gave him a small reassuring smile, "Hi there." She said with a small wave of her hand.

Naruto tilted his head to the side in confusion, who was she? He'd never seen her before and that forehead protector was a guarantee he wasn't near Konoha. "Hi." He said in a weak and quiet voice, his throat was dry and it felt like he'd been screaming or something for a long time as his throat hurt like crazy.

The girl studied him a few more seconds before reaching into a shuriken pouch that was on her belt, and pulled out what appeared to be a canteen. She handed it over to Naruto for him to take a drink, which he took with a meek "thank you" and quickly drowned the contents out.

"Mind telling me what you were doing out here?" The girl asked him, she already knew what happened, and it made her blood boil to think that people could do such a thing to a child like this. He looked so innocent, but she already knew that was because he didn't know what he was, like she knew. She felt that chakra that was pouring off his body when she and her partner were passing by. Such malice and power behind it, he had to be like her. There was no doubt.

"I-I don't know…" Naruto replied, his eyes fixed on the ground in front of him.

'_But I do…'_ The thought passed through the girls head, "Well, that's alright." She paused for a second wondering where to go with this seemingly obvious one sided conversation "I'm Yugito Nii, what's your name?"

"Naruto… Naruto Uzumaki." The name caused Yugito's eyes to widen just slightly. The only Uzumaki she knew of was Kushina Uzumaki. The Red Death of Konoha. If this kid was freely using the Uzumaki name then he was probably from Konoha and the child of one of the most feared Kunoichi to come from that village.

"Well Naruto-san, can you tell me where you're from?" She asked, wanting to confirm her suspicions on this boy.

Not sure whether to tell the truth or lie, he decided with the truth. Why lie to someone that was being so nice to him continuously? "Uh… I'm from Konoha." His voice still quiet, but she could tell he was slowly becoming comfortable around her. His body language was changing ever so slightly, he was now sitting cross legged, and facing her, his eyes fixed on hers, in something that seemed akin to admiration.

Yugito nodded slowly, "You're pretty far from there." She looked up at the ceiling in thought, after a few seconds she looked back down to Naruto, "We could always take you back the-"

She was promptly cut off by Naruto who was on his feet shaking his head, "No!" He yelled. This only made Yugito frown, were the people of Konoha so cruel that he wouldn't want to go back? She already knew the answer to that from what she'd seen. But now that she thought about it, she could always take him to Kumo. Another Jinchūriki would always help the military strength in Kumo. That and she would have someone like her that wasn't like that idiot Killer Bee who rapped all the time. Just the thought of B gave her a headache. Plus the people never went so far to do something that would physically harm them, the only thing as close to that was when the villagers egged Killer Bee when he was a kid.

"Why not Naruto-san?" Yugito asked, she wanted to understand what he thought about his home village.

"Everybody there hates me! The only people that are nice to me are Jiji and the Ichiraku's! Everybody else hates me and tries to hurt me!" He yelled in a somewhat controlled voice.

"Naruto-san, do you know why they hate you?" Yugito was now standing, -showing her full height of five foot five inches- a calming hand on Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto looked down and shook his head, "They always call me names like Demon or something…" He muttered to himself, but the keen hearing of Yugito picked it up.

Sighing, Yugito got down on her knees, looking up slightly at Naruto as he was still standing. "What if I could tell you why?" This caught Naruto by surprise. How would this girl know why they hated him? She wasn't even from the same village as he was, and his Jiji didn't know… or he was lying!

"How would you know?" Naruto asked, "Jiji always said he didn't know and he was the Hokage!"

Yugito raised an eyebrow at the nickname he gave to the leader of one of the greatest shinobi villages. The only person she could think of that would get away with that with the Raikage was B and Darui, but Darui always called him Boss, unlike B. Doing a double take of what Naruto said, she wondered why they would hide his status as a Jinchūriki from him. She was told what she was from a young age and so was B. Did Konoha really not want to train him in what he was supposed to be?

Yugito schooled her features, her entire demeanor changed from one of friendliness and comfort to one of pure maturity and business. It kind of freaked Naruto to see the quick change, her eyes hardening and her lips in a thin line. Yugito was about to shatter his world and Naruto didn't know it.

"Naruto-san, I want you to strip down to your underwear, I want to make sure my theory is correct about you."

Naruto looked at her with wide eyes. She was dead serious and he was afraid of what would happen if he didn't comply. He nodded his head shakily before pulling down his, what he now saw as red and black shorts. _'That's weird'_ He thought, _'I was sure I was wearing white shorts…'_ Next came his shirt, he noticed it was ripped in multiple places and what he now guessed was covered in blood. He held the shirt in his hands staring at it wondering just what the hell happened to him before Yugito found him.

Yugito was staring at Naruto's body. It wasn't scarred like it should've been but it didn't surprise her. What did was the physical shape of his body. He was malnourished, that much was for certain. She could basically see his ribs poking out of his skin, she turned her attention to his arms and legs, and she hadn't noticed how boney his arms had been until now. His legs seemed to have some muscle on them, they weren't terrible.

Yugito shook the thoughts of his body from her mind for the time being. Noticing Naruto was staring at the bloody shirt, she moved to take it when his body flinched. _'Damnit'_ She thought, he seemed to be getting uncomfortable and scared now that he noticed what was on his shirt. "Don't worry Naruto-san, I promise I'm not going to hurt you." Yugito had a reassuring smile on as she moved closer to Naruto. He didn't flinch and just stared at her hand as it moved towards him, her hand was in a fist except for her pinky that she was holding out to him.

Naruto looked bewildered for a second before cracking a small smile and wrapping his pinky around hers. Once both their hands were by their sides, Yugito put her hand on Naruto's chest. "This might seem strange Naruto-san, but I'm going to channel some chakra into your body, okay?"

Naruto nodded, he knew all about chakra thanks to the academy, he may have acted like the idiot but he wasn't going to hinder his shot at becoming a ninja for anything. His Jiji also explained that for some inexplicable reason his chakra pathways had always been opened and had not needed to be opened with meditation like most other shinobi.

Yugito nodded back and began to push a small amount of her chakra consistently through Naruto. She could tell his chakra pathways were already heavily developed and large. Too large for a child. She began to examine Naruto's body looking for anything that wasn't already showing up on his body. And lo and behold, on his stomach was one of the most intricate seals she had ever seen.

There was a spiral that went around his belly button, then around the top of the spiral were four separate prongs, the four prongs were also copied on the bottom side of the spiral. This one was definitely more complex then both her and B's seal. But this also confirmed her suspicions, why would this child have a complex seal array on his body?

Yugito stopped pushing chakra into his body and motioned for him to sit down as she did so. Naruto followed suit and awaited the answer, her face conveyed no emotions and it scared him, why was she so serious? Was it something bad?

Smiling at Naruto she went on to her explanation, "Well, now I know we're alike."

Naruto tilted his head in confusion, "How am I like you?" He asked.

"We're both Jinchūriki." Saying it like it was nothing. She had lived with it all her life.

"Jinchuu-di what." He asked in confusion.

Yugito laughed quietly to herself then turned deathly serious, "Naruto it may be hard for you to understand, but we are Jinchūriki or 'The Power of Human Sacrifice', we contain what are called Bijū, or tailed beasts. These tailed beasts are in simple terms, mass concentrations of immensely powerful chakra." She paused and watched for Naruto's reaction.

Naruto was quiet as he looked at the ground and held onto his gut, "But why is it that people hate me!" He asked, still staring at the ground.

Yugito sighed, "Naruto-san do you know about the Kyūbi attack six years ago?" Her response was a nod from Naruto, she continued, "My guess is, and you were the person it was sealed into."

Naruto looked at her confused, "But the Yondaime killed him!" That was what they taught at school, why would they lie to the village?

Yugito shook her head, "Bijū cannot be killed Naruto. And one as powerful as the Kyūbi, is impossible to seal into an inanimate object like the others. The chakra is probably so potent and powerful it would need to be put into a newborn child that can have its chakra coils expanded without harm." She paused, "The village didn't hate YOU Naruto." He looked at her confused, "They hate the Kyūbi, and being the ignorant people they are, they don't understand the difference between the prison, and the prisoner." She explained in simple terms.

Naruto nodded dumbly. So this is why they always hated him. Because his idol, his hero, sealed the bastard fox that nearly destroyed his village when he was born. And he just so happened to be the orphaned kid that was chosen to be the Kyūbi's container. His Jiji had to have lied to him! There was no way he didn't know about this! Naruto was fuming inside; his emotions were like a raging maelstrom, forever in a swirl of anger and confusion towards the person he trusted. Why couldn't he just tell him so he would at least be able to understand the village's hatred toward him! Instead he was lied to about his entire existence by the one person he thought he could trust… Then he remembered something Yugito had said to him,

"You said you're like me?" He questioned quietly, his mind still in a rage. Why the hell did his Jiji lie to him, and why the hell was he chosen! And who were his parents! He now knew, his Jiji had to know all of this, he had to of hid it from him!

Yugito could read the emotions rolling off of Naruto like an open book, just by watching his fists clench to his bare skin and the slight trembling of his body, "I am, I contain the Nibi."

Naruto looked up at her, she'd become a successful Kunoichi for her village, did they treat her differently? Did they accept her for what she was?

Before Naruto could ask any questions Yugito was already reading him, "My village didn't accept me at first, but, right now I'm a proud Jōnin Kunoichi of my village and would put my life on the line to protect anyone from there." She stood up and held her hand out to him, "I could also take you to my village and help train you to control the Bijū inside of you." Not only did she feel sorry for the boy, but she also knew he would be a good addition to the village. From what she had seen he was treated worse than her, and he hadn't left his village. No, he was forced out of his village by idiots.

Naruto was staring at her hand then to her, his eyes wide, was she really going to take him? Could he control the Kyūbi? But the thing that mattered the most to him was being a great shinobi and being recognized by his village. It didn't take him that long to think on the matter. There was nothing in Konoha for him. His Jiji had deliberately lied to him and kept one of the most important secrets from him. He was saddened by the fact that he wouldn't be able to see the Ichiraku's again or even tell them he was going to be leaving the village.

But that was all that held him back, he looked back up to her and took her hand, helping him stand up. He could see Yugito had a small smile on her face as he took her hand. "Alright! I'm gonna be the greatest Jinch- whatever it's called and shinobi EVER!" Naruto yelled with a fist pump, getting a laugh from Yugito.

"Sorry Yugito-san, but we should get going soon. Boss is expecting us." Another voice was heard, it sounded lazy and tired to Naruto, now that he was actually paying attention he looked around his surroundings. He was in what looked like a dark cave with a bluish tint from the outside light, and towards the entrance stood another figure covered in darkness, looking back at both Naruto and Yugito.

The figure moved forward towards the two, giving Naruto the chance to study the new arrival that was apparently with Yugito.

The man was fairly tall, dark-skinned, and had shaggy white hair that covered his left eye, leaving only his right, eye with a black pupil. He had a grey sleeveless shirt on, as well as gray loose fitting pants. He also had what looked like a white flak jacket with a single strap over his left shoulder. On his left arm he had a grayish blue looking tattoo with the kanji for lighting. On his right was a tattoo with the kanji for water the same color as his tattoo on his left shoulder. On his back looked to be a cleaver-like-sword with a white hilt, with a red diamond pattern splitting it down the middle.

Yugito nodded back, "Hai Darui-Senpai, let's start heading back."

Naruto looked up at Yugito, "Where are we going?" He asked

"We're going to our village Naruto-san. Its name is Kumogakure no Sato." She said with a proud smile on her face.

Darui had moved closer and stood in front of Naruto, looking down at him lazily, but studying the boy, he was surprised the blonde child was so energetic after learning so much about himself that was kept secret from him, "So he's coming along?" He asked, turning his attention to Yugito.

She nodded, "Yep, although I have a bad feeling of sending him to B-Sama so young…" Yugito muttered, getting a small smile out of Darui.

"Wait, what's so wrong with this B guy? And who the hell is he anyway?!" Naruto asked in confusion.

Darui and Yugito had looks of sympathy as they looked down at Naruto. "Hey! What's with those looks! Why can't you train me instead then Yugito-chan? If this B guy is so bad!" He asked frantically, completely ignoring the affectionate suffix he had just given the kunoichi. Darui raised an eyebrow at the suffix while Yugito just smiled down at the boy.

"I wish I could train you Naruto-kun," She held in a laugh at watching Naruto's face turn a slight shade of red, "but I still haven't finished my training like B-Sama." Yugito said sympathetically. She was already afraid of what would happen when B started to train Naruto. He was still young and easily corruptible. The images of a Naruto with B rapping together, made her cringe and promptly burn the ideas from her mind. "It'll be fine Naruto-kun, he's just a…" She paused and added, "Interesting character."

Naruto tilted his head in confusion at the statement. But settled on nodding before asking his question, "So where is your village?"

"It's in Kaminari no Kuni, it's about a day few days away if we carry you." Yugito said.

"It's a pretty dull journey." Added in Darui as he turned around and got down on his knees to allow Naruto to climb onto his back, "I'll carry you so we can make faster time."

Naruto smiled at the thought of being able to ride on a shinobi's back. He'd always seen them jumping from house to house in Konoha and he always wondered what it was like. He enthusiastically jumped onto Darui's back getting an, "Oof" from the Jōnin and a smirk from Yugito.

"Sorry ahead of time Naruto." Darui said as he stood at his full height, Naruto had his arms wrapped around Darui's neck and his legs being held by the dark skinned man's arms. Naruto looked at him confused, before a small smirk appeared on his face. Pumping chakra into his legs he pushed off the hard surface of the cave and flew out into the forest around them.

Naruto's grip tightened at the sudden increase of speed and pressure. He knew if he let go he would be as good as dead from the high speeds and altitude the Jōnin was going at. He turned his head and saw Yugito keeping next to Darui as they jumped from tree to tree at high speeds.

Naruto's thoughts shifted from the high speeds of the Jōnin to the thought of living in a different village. He was wondering what –he hoped he could now call home- had in store for him. His mind drifted to him becoming a shinobi. He would finally be treated fairly, or so he hoped. If there was proof that he would eventually be respected, it came in proof in the form of Yugito. A Jinchūriki just like him and she was a Jōnin. One of the highest ranks within the shinobi world. He promised to himself that he would become a great shinobi just like Yugito. He would make the people of Kumogakure look at him with a sense of pride when they learn that they trained one of the greatest shinobi all times. And he would control his Bijū to the fullest extent he was able to. The thoughts ran through his mind as a small content smile appeared on his face. He laid his head down on Darui's shoulder and slipped into unconsciousness, the day's crazy amount of events lulling him to sleep.

When Darui noticed Naruto fall asleep he turned his attention to Yugito, "What do you plan on telling him about how we found him?" He asked.

Yugito looked crestfallen, "I don't think any of it. If he asks I'll tell him the truth, but I won't bring it up except with Raikage-Sama."

Darui nodded, "I have a feeling things in the village aren't going to be as dull with Naruto around." He could tell something was special about the boy on his back. The child seemed to be able to bounce back and had high aspirations for himself, something that made Darui smile at the boy.

He was meant to take a Genin team soon and wondered if he could off just enough for Naruto to graduate. It would be an interesting team he could already tell if Naruto was on it, and if B was going to start training him so soon, he knew this kid would be Chūnin material by the time most of his peers would be Genin. Darui already knew Yugito would be there alongside B to help train Naruto. He could see the look in Yugito's eyes when she looked at Naruto, they may have just met but he could see she cared for him deeply. Naruto was like her, but treated worse by the people he was protecting. It seemed her maternal instincts were kicking in when she was around the boy. Especially if what she had done to the people who were with Naruto was any indication.

Yugito looked at Darui then to Naruto, "Yeah, I think so too." She said with a smile.

With those last words said, the rest of the Journey to Kumogakure was silent. Thoughts running through the two Jōnin's minds pertaining to the boy that would be the newest addition to their village.

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><p>AN: Hope you guys enjoy and can give me your thoughts and opinions on the story! Also if anyone is willing to Beta the story it would be awesome if you could message me!


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to Kumogakure

A/N: Hello everyone, here's another chapter of Naruto: The Storm.

I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, and left good ideas and constructive criticism to my story. I hoped I fixed my grammar to make everyone happy, I may be a naturally born American and speak English but I always have had trouble writing it... Sorry :| On another note Naruto will be the same age as Karuo, Omoi, and Samui, I have an interesting idea (atleast I think it is) that I want to use for them and how I want them to interact with each-other.

I will be keeping a lot of things secret but I will be having Naruto's personality change. I will have him be a very impassive person. Not exactly cold but not exactly friendly either. Also, I hope you guys can bear with me with the little amount of action. The next few chapters will be of him training.

On that note I will have Naruto be a strong genin and I have a few cool ideas set up for him that will help build him up in the eyes of the people of Kumo as he progresses, as well as I have yet to show his Kekkai Genkai, which I'm sure everyone has guessed by now... but I still have some crazy stuff coming up!

Lastly, I will be doing some Jutsu's in English and Japanese. Japanese will mostly be ones such as the Shunshin and Rasengan. But when using elemental jutsu I might mix it like this "Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu" I don't know why but I love the way the elemental releases sound in Japanese. Tell me what you guys think I should do and I'll do my best to meet in the middle ground!

Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...

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><p>Chapter 2: Welcome to Kumogakure<p>

Two tall figures walked towards the large gates of Kumogakure no Sato. In-between the two taller figures stood a shorter one, roughly three feet tall. As the trio approached the gates their figures became clearer and clearer to the two Chūnin on guard. Darui and Yugito both approached the village, emitting auras that commanded respect and showed their power, while Naruto stared in awe at the large gates in front of him.

The two Chūnin instantly stood at attention and allowed the two Jōnin and the blonde child through the gates into the mountainous village of Kumogakure.

"Woah! _This_ is Kumo?! This is so much cooler than Konoha!" Naruto said in excitement.

"Yep, Welcome to Kumogakure no Sato, Naruto-kun." Yugito replied with a grin at the smaller blondes' reaction to seeing her village, as they continued into the village.

Kumogakure no Sato was built upon the peaks of the mountains in Kaminari no Kuni. Each peak contained in the village had what looked to be multiple platforms that people seemed to congregate on; also under the platforms were what looked to be buildings, if the windows that surrounded some parts of the mountains were any clue.

The trio walked through the village flat ground that had a few tents strewn around and multiple entrances into the different mountains from the ground level of the village. People seemed to stop what they were doing and looked at two of the most respected Jōnin among Kumogakure. The looks held high amounts of confusion and curiosity towards the blonde child in-between the two.

Naruto was looking around ecstatically, taking in the interior of the village and looks of the people that were staring at him. They were different from the ones back in Konoha. Instead of looks of unbridled rage and hate, they were looks of curiosity. He wondered if the looks would change when his condition was eventually made public to the people.

The two Jōnin and child made their way towards the middle of the village. A tall mountain that was covered in a blue cylindrical building that surrounded the mountain and got smaller as it moved down the mountain. It looked to have three stages. Each stage had a belt of windows that surrounded their respective stage –The windows were made of what looked to be gold-. At the smallest stage at the lowest part of the building there was the kanji for lighting in the middle of the windows.

They entered the large building and made their way up the mountain till they came across a lounge looking area. Inside it was a desk with a silver haired, dark skinned, and green eyed woman. She was wearing formal attire, consisting of a dark colored green long-sleeved, high-collared dress shirt and skirt, with mesh armor underneath her shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, and had two bangs that fell on either side of her face.

The general color scheme of the room was a mix of dark gold with blue, ornate patterns swirled around the room adding an interesting beauty to the room.

Also in the room were a few couches, set in a square, with a table in the middle of them. Around the room were blue pillars that were surrounded at the base with green shrubbery. On one side of the room stood two large double doors, no doubt the entrance into the Raikage's office.

The woman sitting behind the desk looked up to the new arrivals in the lounge of the Raikage tower. She addressed the two Jōnin, "Good to see you back Darui-san, Yugito-san." She then noticed a child in-between the two, "And who's the little one?" She asked as she got up from her chair behind the desk and knelt in front of Naruto

"I'm not little!" Naruto exclaimed as he crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

Yugito patted Naruto on his head, earning a cute growl from the short blonde, "This is Naruto Uzumaki." She said, "Mabui-san, is the Raikage available?"

Mabui looked between Yugito and Naruto, holding in a laugh at the antics from the smaller blonde, "He should be available in a few minutes." Mabui answered as she moved back over to the Raikage's office door, "Something appeared to happen in Konoha and he's currently working on replying to a messenger bird." She added before she opened the door to the office to relay the information that Yugito and Darui had arrived back.

Yugito and if possible Darui's looks hardened at the mention of Konoha; no doubt the messenger bird had something to do with Naruto, they had hoped something like this wouldn't have happened, but they had definitely expected this. This would cause a lot of unneeded strain between the two already painfully strained villages if they didn't play this right. Yugito's mind was racing a mile a minute, thinking of possible scenarios between the two villages and how this could affect relations even more if they ever figured out Naruto was here.

Naruto looked up at the two Jōnin surrounding him, "Is it about me?" He asked.

Yugito kneeled down to eye level with Naruto, "Everything will be okay Naruto." She reassured him, putting her hands on his shoulders to help make it sink in. He was staying in Kumo.

Just then Mabui poked her head out of the Raikage's office, "He will see you now." She said as she walked back to sit at her desk.

Yugito stood up and straightened out. Standing with her head held high and a mask that gave absolutely nothing away. Darui looked the same, lazily standing there with his hands in his pockets. Naruto did his best not to seem afraid as they walked towards the doors that would allow him to meet the Kage of his hopefully new village.

As they entered the Raikage's office, Naruto couldn't help but widen his eyes in awe of the Dark-skinned man in front of him that was sitting behind the large desk in the center of the room. Behind the Raikage sat a set of windows that stretched from wall to wall, and reached from the floor to the ceiling. In the middle of the windows was a blank golden circle, but on the other side of the circle the kanji for lighting could be seen throughout the village.

"_That's_ the Raikage?!" Naruto all but yelled, he couldn't help but gape at the large, no humongous man in front of him. He had a small blonde moustache and beard as well as a very defined face.

The man in question raised a blonde eyebrow at the child, giving the que for his subordinates to talk, his hard expression never changing as he stared down the blonde.

"Raikage-sama," Yugito bowed, completely ignoring Naruto's outburst and disrespect towards their Raikage, "The mission in Yu no Kuni was a success." She said impassively.

"And who's the kid?" The Raikage asked, his voice gruff.

Naruto couldn't hold the gulp that instinctively entered his body when the man spoke. He slowly moved himself to hide behind Yugito's leg, getting an amused look from Yugito as she looked down at him. Turning her attention back to the Raikage she answered, "This is Naruto Uzumaki, Raikage-sama."

The Raikage had an annoyed expression on his face, why wasn't she just getting to the point… "And why is he here Yugito?" He asked as he took his Raikage hat off. Revealing his blonde hair that was combed-back, "And please, get to the point." He added, already annoyed.

First Konoha accuses his shinobi of killing their shinobi and kidnapping another citizen, and now Yugito, one of his most serious and seasoned Jōnin was joking with him.

Yugito smiled, "This is the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Yōko." She said dismissively, obviously enjoying antagonizing the Raikage. She needed to do this more often.

Darui couldn't help but gape inwardly at how Yugito was playing with the Raikage, this wasn't an often occurrence, but when it happened it was a great show. She obviously had picked it up when she was around B. He could tell she was doing this for the sake of Naruto, and it was a good laugh for him too. But the expression on the Raikage's face couldn't stop the small smile that was spreading across his face.

Naruto watched the Raikage's gaping expression and twitching eyebrow as he stared him down. He wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. He held in the urge to do either, afraid he would get a royal beat down if he laughed at this man. He felt he was already on this guy's bad side from his earlier outburst, and Yugito wasn't helping his case at all.

Yugito smirked at her successful attempt to antagonize the Raikage.

Noticing the smirk on Yugito's face, the Raikage quickly schooled his features and glared at the female Jōnin and small blonde behind her. "So you're the reason why Konoha is threatening war." He accused.

Yugito's smile was gone and now held a serious expression on her face, looking down at Naruto, who was staring wide eyed at the Raikage after what he had just said, "Naruto stand outside and wait for us with Mabui-san" She said in a stern voice leaving no room for argument. She wanted to tell the Raikage about how they found Naruto, and she didn't want him to have to be there for it. But it was also time for talks about her village and Naruto's old village; he didn't need to be introduced to the world of politics just yet.

Naruto just stared at her for a few seconds wanting to stay and listen, but he knew it wasn't his place. He didn't know these people as well as he would like to and he wasn't going to push his luck, he could tell the Raikage wasn't as nice a person as the Hokage and didn't want to slim his chances down of staying in this new village. He nodded before hanging his head and walking to the door, saddened that he was a potential catalyst for war between his old village and his potentially new one. "I'm sorry." He muttered dejectedly as he walked out the door.

Yugito sighed as she watched Naruto walk out of the room, '_He thinks it's his fault…_' She thought sadly.

Turning around she faced her Raikage who was still glaring at her, "Konoha won't go to war." She stated simply, her face still an image of seriousness.

"And why is that Yugito?" The Raikage asked slightly intrigued by what she would have to say. She may have been one of his best shinobi, but she was also smart when it came to the political situations between the great nations.

"They wouldn't be able to fight us. The loss of the Yondaime six years ago, and now they don't and didn't have a trained Jinchūriki to fight, they wouldn't be able to last." She stated, "And they still haven't recovered fully from the Kyūbi attack, plus it seems the quality for shinobi has gone down since the Third Great War." Yugito added.

The Raikage raised an eyebrow at that, he crossed his hands over his chest –his wrists were covered in golden bands-, "So you're saying we risk any chance of recovering an alliance with Konoha, to keep this Jinchūriki?" He asked. He already knew the answer to the question, and if he was to be honest, he loved the idea of another Jinchūriki in his ranks. Especially the one that contained the strongest Bijū of them all, and being so young it would be easy to mold him into a great weapon.

"If anything Raikage-sama, they'd be more than willing to become allies with someone aside from Suna." She answered.

Now the Raikage's interests were peaked, he may have been Raikage and was smart as well as strong. But he knew he needed people like Yugito who could look through all the given information and make predictions. But he didn't see in any way how this could make Konoha want to have an alliance with Kumo.

Before the Raikage could ask, Yugito continued, "With the loss of their Jinchūriki they have lost a large portion of their potential military strength, they may be more willing to come to some terms for an alliance. But on the other hand, Naruto wasn't told about his status as a Jinchūriki and was treated _very_ poorly." She spat out the last part with venom. The Raikage actually frowned at Yugito's emphasis on the boys' treatment. How bad could it have been compared to his little brother B? He'd have to remember to ask later, he turned from his thoughts back to Yugito, "So it may seem that they think they don't need their Jinchūriki, or they were waiting for a later date to tell him about his status and potential." She finished.

The Raikage took a minute to ponder over the information, if this was the case, he would not only get a powerful new weapon to help strengthen Kumo, but he would also gain an alliance with one of the strongest shinobi villages. Either way he looked at it, with or without Konoha the gains were greater than the loss of a potential ally out of Konoha. But war was something he wasn't willing to have over a single person. He'd have to see how the situation played out.

"How do you suppose I tell Konoha how we found the boy?" He asked.

Yugito had a thoughtful look for a second before she decided to use the truth, "We tell them the truth." She paused, "We found the boy being _abused_ by shinobi and he willfully came along with us." She stated.

The Raikage's look hardened at that statement. Trained shinobi of a Great Village were abusing a citizen of its own village, just the thought of simple abuse made the Raikage's stomach churn with distaste. "I want the full story." He stated simply to his subordinate.

He could tell she was using the term 'abuse' loosely. From the way she talked about how he was treated earlier, made him wonder again, he wanted to know exactly how badly was this kid treated. Yugito knew how B was treated as a kid and she had similar treatment herself. For her to speak so angrily about it was disturbing to say the least.

Yugito sighed and moved over to a couch that was placed in front of the desk of the Raikage. Darui followed suit and sat on the far side from Yugito, lazily leaning back.

"Well I guess we'll start when we were on our way back from Yu no Kuni…" Yugito started.

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

* * *

><p>"<em>Do you feel that?" Yugito's voice broke the comfortable silence that had settled between both Darui and her. <em>

_They had just left a town deep into Yu no Kuni on the edge of Hi no Kuni. They had finished an assassination mission to help with the local economy and to better relations between Yu no Kuni and Kaminari no Kuni. It wasn't anything too high profile for the two Jōnin but the village hadn't been getting many mission requests as of late and a good portion of their high ranking personnel were sent on simple mission just to get them done._

_A lot of their missions were being sent to Konoha recently, with Konoha's excess show of strength after the Kyūbi attack to prove that they hadn't been weakened, it had been such a show that they had been getting a good portion of the outlying missions from various countries, leaving other ninja villages with lower ranking missions, and in turn lower income._

_But also Konoha's fairly recent batch of Genin at the Chūnin exams had been of high quality. A few years ago, a prodigy of the Uchiha clan, had shown his strength and visual prowess at the Chūnin exams in Suna, no doubt gaining a large portion of missions from the high profile attendees. _

_Sadly Kumo hadn't had any prodigies since Yugito had become a Genin, not to say they had weak Genin, but nothing on par with the Uchiha. They had a severe lack of Kekkei Genkai in the village, and the showing of the Uchiha, irked many of the higher-ups in Kumogakure._

_So much so that one of their diplomats to Konoha, during which time he was there to solidify a treaty between the two villages, had gone of his own accord to kidnap a Hy__ū__ga for the sake of the village. The man was killed in the process and Kumogakure was humiliated. They had demanded the body of the head of the Hy__ū__ga clan to try and get something from the failure of their diplomat. In turn they were tricked and given a branch family member, the head's twin to be exact. And were left with nothing. It was a blemish on Kumo's history, one on par with the attempted kidnapping of Kushina Uzumaki._

_The Fourth Raikage was so furious, if the diplomat between the two villages had survived, he would've been put on trial for treason and executed by the Raikage himself._

_And with that, Kumo was dishonored among the shinobi villages –not like being dishonorable wasn't a normal thing- and were given less notoriety among the great villages, due to failing multiple kidnappings and being made laughing stocks by Konoha._

_Elite Jōnin like Yugito and Darui were now being used for simple missions that could be done by low Jōnin level shinobi and even some Chūnin. _

_To Darui he couldn't ask for anything better for himself._

_He was lazily hopping from tree to tree with Yugito, keeping a decent pace to get back to Kumo, they still had a few days before they had to be home. Finally realizing he had been asked a question he looked over to his partner. "Feel what?" He asked, in all honesty he could feel the thickness in the air that reeked of Bijū chakra. After being around B and Yugito for so long he got used to the feeling of it. The only difference with this chakra was it was much stronger, he could feel killing intent laced into it, this chakra was powerful and it scared him if her were to be completely honest._

_Yugito gave him a deadpanned look, "You don't feel the demonic chakra that's saturating the air?" She asked, "A Genin would be able to feel this." She added in a more worried tone._

"_Oh that's what you're talking about." He replied nonchalantly, getting a massive sweat drop from Yugito, he ignored her and gave a quick look around, "Should we check it out?" He asked in a more serious tone. On one hand this could be terrible for them if they were to get caught in a fight between a Jinchūriki and other shinobi, but also good if they were able to eliminate an enemy Jinchūriki in the process._

_Yugito gave it a moment of thought, they were strong. She understood that, but what she didn't want to do was underestimate her opponents. It was something many shinobi did, and from the feel of chakra in the air. It was powerful, much more so than the Nibi's that she was so familiar with. _

_That's when an idea popped into her head, "Give me a moment." Yugito told Darui, getting a quick nod from his was all she needed. _

_Yugito then began her mental conversation with her tenant as she continued moving along with her partner._

"_Matatabi?" Yugito asked, wondering if her tenant was even awake. 'Lazy cats…' Thought Yugito more so to herself, she already knew if Matatabi was awake she would've heard that._

"_**Ungrateful woman**__." Was the reply, a sharp, deep feminine voice came through Yugito's mind._

_Yugito smirked at her tenant's reply, "I'd love to continue our banter Matatabi, but I want to know if this chakra feels familiar to you at all." She asked her feline like partner._

_Matatabi took a minute and began to extend her senses our from Yugito's body. Allowing her to feel, hear, and see what her container was doing. As she began to slowly analyze what she considered a small amount of Bijū chakra in the air, she gasped at the familiar feeling that she hadn't felt since her capture by Hashirama Senju._

_Sensing the change in feeling from her tenant Yugito was worried at first, and then confused, "Matatabi what is it?" She asked quickly._

"_**Kur-**__" Matatabi cut herself off quickly, almost exposing the name of one of her fellow Bijū, she knew Kurama was a hard-ass after all when it came to 'mere mortals' knowing his name. "__**Kyūbi.**__" Was Matatabi's firm and simple reply to her container, "__**The amount of chakra being released is miniscule, compared to what Kyūbi's Jinchūriki should be able to pull out in a one tailed state.**__" She added, wondering what could be causing this small leak of chakra to be coming from a Jinchūriki. "__**I also doubt Kyūbi would have a partner, he was never the same since father had died." **__She absently confessed,__** "This chakra is being leaked absently"**__ She added after a second of thought._

"_Why is that? What happened after your father died?" Yugito asked in interest. She already knew the whole story about the Sage of the Six Paths, and the whole relation of all the Bijū's to the 'God of Shinobi' as many so called him. When she had first heard the story from Matatabi, she was skeptical, but a touch from the Hellcat allowed her to view the memories of when she was first born into the world. _

_Matatabi sighed, __**"He was the closest to father, ever since his death he was nothing but anger and hatred manifested into a powerful concentration of chakra."**__ She paused in thought, __**"I would like to meet the person who is able to earn Kyūbi's partnership. They would be a person worthy of the Old Man's dream." **__She paused for a second,__** "To tame Kyūbi's hatred…"**__ Her voice trailed off in thought, a small smile on her feline blue fired face in Yugito's mind._

_Yugito began to speculate in her mind what it would be like to be a container of a being of pure hatred. She wondered that if she was the container, would she have been able to even tame the Kyūbi like she did the Nibi? She was put through that detestable training program to help control Nibi's power. Would it have been possible with the Kyūbi?_

_The thought shook her to the core._

_Yugito switched her thoughts to the present, she would have time later to speculate and talk to Matatabi about the Kyūbi. 'The Kyūbi…' She thought, 'That means the Jinchūriki can't be any older than eight.' She rationalized, she was sealed with the Nibi when she was two, and the Nibi was a much weaker Bijū in comparison to one such as the Kyūbi. So it had to be a very young or newborn child that had the Kyūbi sealed within it. _

_Yugito already knew that the Kyūbi couldn't have been sealed into an inanimate object like the Hachibi, it was too powerful, and it had only had one Jinchūriki that Yugito was aware of and that was Mito Uzumaki who had been dead for a long period of time now. Kumo speculated the second Jinchūriki was Kushina Uzumaki, with her special chakra they wondered if she would be able to subdue the Kyūbi, but that plan never came to fruition._

_Returning to the present situation Yugito turned to Darui and nodded, "Let's check it out. Matatabi says the chakra isn't being leaked intentionally." She said quickly and turned towards Hi no Kuni to find the source of the powerful chakra._

_As they were moving, Yugito was giving Darui a quick brief on the conversation between her and Matatabi, "She says the chakra is the Kyūbi's." She then added, "Very small amounts actually."_

_Darui raised an eyebrow at that. The amount of chakra in the air didn't feel all that small if he was being honest. "This situation is going to be dull." He muttered to himself as they moved onward through the thick forests that connected Yu no Kuni to Hi no Kuni._

_After a few minutes of quick travel through the trees, the two Jōnin were standing in a small clearing in the middle of the forest. In the clearing stood what looked to be a single floored shed like building. It had a few windows that they couldn't exactly see through with the small amount of moonlight coming down on them. They could see a small flickering light on the inside, probably a candle, they both assumed._

_As they moved closer they could hear multiple voices coming from the inside of the building. It sounded to them as drunken banter and laughs. At first thought, a normal civilian would have thought they had stumbled onto a few shinobi having fun in the forest after a tough mission._

_But Yugito and Darui weren't trained shinobi for no reason. The laughing being shared between the men inside wasn't a happy laughter after you hear a good joke from a friend. No. It was sadistic and evil._

_Yugito and Darui moved through the darkness spread around them and up to one of the two small windows on the front side of the building._

_When Yugito peered in she couldn't hold back her body's instant reaction to gag at the scene displayed under the dim candlelight in the room._

_She could make out a single table in the middle of the room, and what looked to be a small blonde child laid out on it with bloodied clothes clasped to his body. The child seemed to be unconscious or more than likely dead. All that blood she saw… it made her sick to think shinobi could do this._

_On the floor of the room, scattered all around was what looked to be… skin? Lots of it. Whatever they were doing to this boy was out of pure hate, there would be no reason a child that young would be tortured for information. No, this was for their sick twisted version fun. She turned her attention back to the body of the boy, from what she could make out she saw what looked to be multiple handles of Kunai sticking out of the boy, randomly placed in his chest, all avoiding his heart. His face, through some miracle, looked calm, like nothing had ever happened to the host's body._

_Yugito was sure the little boy was dead._

"_**Yugito! You make those cowards pay!" **__Matatabi yelled in anger, she may have been a Bijū but she had been a much more human friendly Bijū then those of her brothers and sisters. She had made a point to try her best to get along with her containers; there was no point in her trying to get out of the seals that held her._

_While trapped inside different humans she had seen both the good and bad sides of humanity. She had been through war after war and had seen death, in the form of battles between shinobi, but also in the razing of villages. _

_Matatabi hated when her containers would go through razed villages, dead scattered all around them. And children amongst them._

_Matatabi hated war as much as any human, but she also hated people like the men in front of her container. These so called ninja were hurting. No. _Torturing_ a child and from what she could feel, that boy carried her brother. Kurama. _

"_**That boy contains the Kyūbi! If anything save him for the village!"**__ Matatabi yelled once again, making Yugito cringe at the throbbing it was causing her head. She knew Yugito would save the boy, not only to gain another weapon for the village, but Matatabi could feel the swirl of emotions going through the mind of Yugito as she stared at the child. _

_Horror, disgust, hatred, and pure unadulterated rage._

_Yugito was a shinobi, bred to protect and kill for her village. She may have been a Kumo shinobi, known for their coldness and strength in battle. But there were some things even Kumo shinobi couldn't do and she couldn't even fathom torturing a child to this extent._

"_Is he even alive?" Yugito asked Matatabi in disbelief and barely concealed rage._

"_**For some reason, Kyūbi is healing that boy to keep him alive." **__She said in barely hidden awe,__** "Save him!" **__The thought of her brother trying to save someone gave her hope that maybe he had finally found a suitable partner that he would willingly work with. She wanted to meet this boy and she wanted to see her brother again. _

_Matatabi continued to examine the chakra her brother was releasing to heal the boy and couldn't help but feel that it was weaker; it wasn't the full chakra of her brother. She'd have to ask him._

_Yugito looked over to Darui, she had decided. They would save this boy, make these shinobi pay, and bring the Jinchūriki to her village._

_Darui had an expressionless face, a visage of a true shinobi who was containing his emotions as he stared into the house. Yugito moved over and crouched next to Darui. After quickly getting his attention she nodded, all the information he needed to know they would be moving in._

_Moments later both Jōnin bursted through the single entrance to the secluded building. Violently entering the dimly lit room they were met with the horrible stench of booze and blood. Lots of blood. _

_The shinobi inside were completely caught off guard by the sudden interruption in their fun. The door was effortlessly ripped off its hinges and knocked across the single room of the building. The sadistic three shinobi that were standing in the room turned their attention from the boy in the middle of the room lying unconscious on the table to the two new faces that had come through the open doorway._

_The man that stood in the middle of the trio of sadistic shinobi stared at them. He looked them up and down when his eyes then landed on their headbands. "What the hell is Kumo doing here?!" The man slurred angrily. _

_Yugito was studying her opponents. They were inebriated, that much was obvious, but not so much that they would be hindered to a high extent. She would have to put forth effort to killing these pigs. She noticed the headbands that was upon all three of the men's foreheads and couldn't hold in the extra added hate that built up inside of her. "Konoha." Yugito spat angrily._

"_What's it to ya!" Another one of the Konoha shinobi yelled._

_Yugito wasn't going to ask for their intentions. No she already knew what they were doing and she wasn't going to let it continue on. Standing from her crouched position she began channeling Matatabi's chakra to her fingers. In a flash her finger tips were replaced with long silver claws._

_Darui noticed Yugito's claws and pulled out his folded cleaver-like sword and held it in front of him with both of his hands._

_Before the Konoha shinobi could even question what the hell a village they were neutral with was doing, the duo of Kumo shinobi were upon them._

_Yugito had jumped at the left most shinobi, while Darui had moved onto the one of the right. _

_Yugito didn't waste a single movement as she engaged in a quick and decisive taijutsu match with her opponent. _

_In one fell swoop she had taken advantage of the Konoha shinobi's surprise, her right claw came straight down and ripped through the man's skin and flesh that covered his face. The man didn't have a chance to scream before Yugito's left claw was imbedded through the front of his Konoha flak jacket and ripped apart his chest, coming out the opposite side._

_She quickly pulled her claw out of the man's body and let the man fall lifelessly to the ground, blood gushing from his wounds._

_Yugito turned and noticed Darui had already dispatched his opponent, a single slash to the man's chest, almost splitting him diagonally._

_The third shinobi stood in horror at the mechanical dissection of his friends. They had come out of here to torture and then get rid of the demon child that plagued their streets. They would finally rid themselves of the demon that the Yondaime had turned into a child so they could easily kill him. He should have been put to death the instant the demon was changed, but for some reason their Sandaime in all his infinite wisdom had prevented it._

_Now two of them were dead and the last one was standing was barely able to brandish his kunai as his hand was shaking violently in fear of his inevitable faith._

_Yugito watched in hidden satisfaction at the cowering Konoha shinobi that was barely standing as he held his kunai shakily. In a sudden burst of speed Yugito was upon the last standing Konoha shinobi and dug her left claw into his stomach. She wiggled her hand around getting screams of pain as the man dropped his kunai and latched onto Yugito's arm in a vain attempt to pull her hand out of his body._

_Yugito stared into the brown eyes of her last victim. His face full of fear as he stared back into her cold pupils. She showed no emotion as she slowly watched the life drain from his face, his skin becoming paler and paler each passing second her hand was stuck into him. Yugito finally felt his hands loosen their grip on her arm and she ripped it from his body, earning a dry and quiet scream from the man that was doing his best to cling to his life. But it was all for naught as he finally succumbed to unconsciousness, blood leaking profusely from the gash in his stomach._

_Yugito turned her attention from the dead shinobi to the boy that was lying on the table. She made her way over and stood over to his body. She hadn't believed when Matatabi said that the boy was being healed, but she watched as the open cuts on his body slowly steamed and closed up. Yugito began to remove the kunai that were imbedded in his body and watched in amazement at the healing rate of his body. Darui had joined her as well after making sure the man was dead with a quick cut that severed the man's head from his body._

"_Darui will you wash him up?" She asked, without waiting for a response she continued, "I'll find us a place to stay till he wakes up and we can question him later." Another pause, "We'll bring him to Kumo, but I want to see if he will come willingly. He may be from Konoha, but he'll be a great asset and from the looks of it could use a real home" She said the final part sadly, wondering just how bad had he had it living in Konoha as a Jinchūriki. Yugito took one last look at the boy and disappeared in a Shunshin._

_Darui looked down to the little boy, a frown visible on his face. "Alright little guy, let's get you cleaned up."_

* * *

><p><em>End Flashback<em>

* * *

><p>Yugito finished the story of how they came across Naruto and brought him back to Kumo. This reminded her that she needed to have a chat with Matatabi about the Kyūbi.<p>

During the entire explanation the Raikage sat with a face of pure impassiveness. Not once giving away his emotions to his subordinates. Though inside was a different story, his view of Konoha had for sure dropped, allowing their shinobi to do such acts to a Jinchūriki, if this was some sort of training, it was worse than anything he had heard of, and it had worked against them.

Kumo now had in their possession three Jinchūriki and if what Matatabi had said was true, this could be the first Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi that would be able to partner with it. The power that would be held by Kumo would be immense. The idea made the Raikage jump with glee on the inside, his village would be well protected.

He knew he would be able to take in this boy, there was no threat of him turning against Kumogakure. It seemed the boy had taken an immediate liking to Yugito, probably one of the few people to treat him properly. The boy was not a liability and that was an extra bonus. But the Raikage knew he had to approach the situation carefully and make sure the boy was properly taken care of, the more loyal the shinobi the better.

If what Yugito had told him was true and the boy wanted to be a powerful shinobi and Jinchūriki, he would make sure the child would be put through the training that both Yugito and his brother B had gone through to control their respective Bijū. It would be painful and more than likely take a long few years to be able to have the strength to even go into his tailed beast cloak, even longer to master it. But the Raikage had faith in what Yugito had told him, he would have to watch the boy and make sure his progress was up to par with Yugito when she was going through the training.

The Raikage turned from his thoughts, already a plan in mind for the young Jinchūriki, he would be starting his training earlier than most kids, but he would need to start now. "Yugito." The man said to get the attention of the blonde girl. Once he got said girls attention he continued, "Are there any blaring weaknesses of the boy that should be addressed now before we start his training?" He asked.

Yugito at first looked surprised, the Raikage was going to be starting Naruto's training two years ahead of his peers? She had faith in the blonde boy, but if he was starting him this early in the academy, how early was he going to have him meet the Kyūbi? The thought ran through her mind but quickly left as she began to think of things that would be seen as weaknesses to Naruto.

"He's been underfed and malnourished it seems." She paused, noticing the Raikage's nod she sighed and continued, "I would like to work on his personality and help him control his emotions personally."

The Raikage couldn't hold back his smile at the, 'Disrespectful runt.' The man thought, "Teach him manners too." He added in. Yugito smirked at the comment; she would make sure he respected his elders. She'd just have to make sure B didn't ruin her work.

"Well if that's it, then let's continue onto his training." The Raikage said, "I will be enrolling him into the academy today. He will begin going to classes tomorrow. When he not busy with the academy, You and B will be training the boy to be strong in any way you see fit. Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, and whatever else you can think of. If he is anything like B he will have a massive amount of Chakra by the time he reaches Genin. No point in even attempting Genjutsu." He paused to think for a moment, "When he graduates we will refrain from putting him onto a team for two years."

Yugito was about to interrupt to ask why he would be holding him back, but a raised hand from her Raikage told her to refrain from doing so.

"During those two years I will be sending B and yourself to the island to train him to gain control over the Kyūbi by any means necessary." The Raikage said firmly.

"The island? Raikage-sama are you sure?" She asked.

"I am, I believe two years will be enough time at the island. While you're training him outside of the academy I want you to have him speak with the Kyūbi and also have B look at his seal, we might need to make a key for it, knowing the Yondaime Hokage the thing is probably going to be a pain to unlock. And I'd rather not force the seal open."

Yugito nodded; there was no point in questioning the Raikage's orders. He seemed set firm in his training for the boy; she hoped Naruto would be able to come out of it alive. "Hai, I will inform B-sama tomorrow." She said and then she had a question pop into her mind, "Where will Naruto be staying Raikage-sama? Surely you won't be sending him to an orphanage?" Yugito asked.

The Raikage smiled at this, "He will stay with you." He stated, getting a kick out of the wide eyes Yugito he continued, "I refuse to have him stay with my idiot brother and I would like to have someone supervise him at all times, you will also be best to keep him on a steady diet and maintain his training. And also prevent him to pick up that incessant rapping from my brother." He said the final part in exasperation. He wouldn't be able to handle another B.

Yugito didn't hate the idea of living with Naruto, she just wondered if she would be able to. With missions, however few they were and she didn't exactly see herself being able to take care of someone. She would just use her experience as a squad leader and instincts to guide the boy. Taking care of his diet and training would be easy, but what about his regular life. Would he even have time for one? Kami knew she didn't.

"Hai Raikage-sama." She said somewhat hesitantly.

"Good, now take the boy and get him settled in. Don't forget to bring him to the academy tomorrow." The Raikage reminded her, "I will have an ANBU deliver you his class information. I'll also have one go and have B come to the village to start Naruto's training." He added.

Yugito nodded and stood. She bowed to her Raikage and made her way out of the Raikage's office, before she left she turned to Darui who she had almost forgotten was there, "Darui-senpai you can finish the mission report." She said matter-of-factly with a smirk on her face.

Darui just stared back at her before sagging his shoulders in defeat in having to do paperwork. "How dull." He muttered before standing up and leaving the office to the mission room.

The Raikage couldn't help but have a hearty laugh at one of his most trusted Jōnin's expense. He had an interesting day, and now he had to address the reply to Konoha's messenger bird. He would risk it, but he was going to make it public knowledge they now contained the Kyūbi container and would not be returning him.

Any attempt on the newest citizen of Kumogakure would be returned to the perpetrator tenfold.

Yugito walked into the lounge of the Raikage tower and looked over to see Mabui sitting at her desk and a bored Naruto staring at the floor while sitting on one of the couches.

Making her way to the bored blonde she frowned at the forlorn expression on his face, "Naruto-kun." She said, getting his attention she continued, "Let's go, need to go and get you settled into our apartment." Yugito added with a smile on her face.

Naruto's face lit up in happiness at her statement. Jumping up he moved quickly to Yugito and took hold of her hand instantly. He was bubbling with newfound happiness.

Yugito couldn't help but laugh at the quick change in his emotions; she'd have to work on that for when he was in the field.

Clasping his hand tightly, Yugito led Naruto out of the Raikage tower and once again onto the flat streets of Kumogakure. Naruto was beaming with a bright smile on his face while Yugito held a smaller one. Naruto's smile she had to admit was infectious.

* * *

><p>Walking towards their apartment the blonde duo was spotted by a trio of kids that were running around in the streets. The dark-skinned boy with the group had short, spiky white hair. He was the first to notice the pair. "Hey, what's Yugito-sama doing with that boy?" He asked, and began his rant, "What if it's her kid and he was in hiding and now he's being reunited with his mom, but he's actually a double ag-" Any ranting was cut off by a dark-skinned redheaded girl who brought her fist down painfully onto the boys head.<p>

"Shut up Omoi!" She yelled.

A blonde haired, light skinned girl couldn't help but shake her head at her friend's antics.

* * *

><p>Yugito and Naruto arrived at a mountain that was fairly close to the Raikage tower. Entering through a small entrance way, they made their way up through the insides of the mountain, passing multiple doors that were scattered within the confines of the mountainous building.<p>

The duo came upon a simple looking metal door near the top of the stairs they had been climbing. Yugito with Naruto in hand walked to the door and proceeded to pull out a pair of keys. She quickly unlocked the door with one hand and opened it. She allowed Naruto to enter first, followed by herself as she closed the door, locking it behind her.

Naruto entered the apartment and was greeted by a single room that was fairly bare. A single two person couch was in the room, a small coffee table in front of it. On the far side of the room stood a long line of windows that reached from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. Entering deeper into the room he noticed a small kitchen to the right of the room, it had a short length of counter space, an oven, fridge, and tea-pot were stationed around the kitchen. Turning to the right he noticed a small corridor that led to three separate doors.

Yugito stood beside Naruto, "I know it's pretty bare, but I don't spend too much time at home." She told him. She motioned for Naruto to follow her as she made her way down the small hallway with three doorways. Two doors stood tall on the left and one at the right. "The one on the right is my room, the far one on the left is the bathroom." She paused and opened the door that was closest to her on the left, "This is your room Naruto."

Opening the door revealed, a barren white room, a small platform bed laid in the middle of the room. There was a fairly large window on the far wall that allowed a large amount of sunlight into the room. It wasn't much, but it was what he could call his home.

Naruto looked up to Yugito, "Thank you." He said with tears brimming in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her waist and held on for dear life, just hoping this wasn't some sort of twisted sick nightmare

Yugito patted Naruto's head as he clung to her. She didn't know why but she enjoyed the boys' simple company. She had just met him and had thrown her trust at him willingly. It scared her to think this little shrimp had so easily gotten to her, but it didn't matter. She enjoyed it and was somewhat proud that this boy had seemingly come out of this whole mess unharmed. She just hoped he would make it out of the training that was in store for him.

Yugito had faith in him; she could already tell he was stronger than her. He had put up with much more hate than she ever had and he was still smiling. It may have been a mask that she so easily saw through, but she could tell the difference between his fake forced smiles and the ones of genuine pure happiness.

But all that mattered to her right now was that he was genuinely happy. She would worry about his shinobi career tomorrow, when he would meet the true shinobi inside of her.

Yugito was going to train Naruto into the ground, she would make him strong.


	3. Chapter 3: Training

A/N: Here's another chapter of Naruto the Storm, bear with me for these next few chapters for there will be very minimal action coming up. There will be a few interesting character interactions in the upcoming chapters. The turtle arc will probably last around 2-3 chapters depending if I skip through a few things and decided to keep them hidden till later :P

I hope you all find this interesting so far! But On another note, Naruto won't be completely impassive, I had this thought while writing this chapter and thinking ahead with the whole character interactions between Naruto and Samui. Naruto will be different for sure, he will be a more serious person compared to canon, to be honest he probably won't be canon like except for maybe his verbal tick and some amusing funny scene's here and there. He will retain his loyalty from canon and his drive to protect his precious people... obviously... and that will come into play later!

Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Please Review, love all the constructive criticism and some suggestions people throw out there!

I'd also like to thank TheRazgrizDragon for Beta'ing for me and helping bring some of my ideas to light as well as throwing in his own two cents which were incredibly helpful!

"Normal Speak"  
><em>"Thoughts"<em>  
><strong>"Bijuu Speak"<strong>  
><em>"<span>Jutsus!<span>"_

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: Training<p>

* * *

><p>Naruto realized one thing as he was being trained into the ground by his newest Sensei.<p>

Each and every one of his Senseis' were sadistic bastards.

In the middle of an open, barren field, shattered rocks littered the wasteland, kunai and shuriken spread across the field in random patterns. If one wasn't there to see what had happened personally, they would have thought a skirmish between warring shinobi clans had occurred in the field.

In the middle of all the carnage that was littered around the field, a blonde stood, bruised and battered to all hell. His shoulders sagged down while his legs where doing their best to keep his body upright. A small breeze rolled through the field, moving the blonde's shoulder length spiky hair, revealing his piercing blue eyes as he stared down his Sensei. The blue eyes were wary and calculating.

"All right Naruto, that's enough for today" said a smooth and lazy voice that came from the side of the field that was seemingly unharmed.

Without any extra thought, Naruto fell face first into the ground; Naruto's grey, long-sleeved, high collared shirt had numerous cuts across his torso and multiple blood stains littering the once spotless cloth. Hearing footsteps approach him, Naruto forced his body to stand, ignoring the screams of protest from each limb, as he pushed his body up, and using his hands to support himself.

"Darui-sensei, you owe me a new set of clothes… Again" Naruto deadpanned.

Darui cracked a small smile, even though he knew he was going to be paying for the new set of clothing, he couldn't help but be proud of his little pupil that he had taken on when the blonde was just starting his second year of the academy. He was seven when he was given the task to train him in his elemental manipulation.

"You're able to use is a lot better; you're able to control it on the move now." He praised his pupil, earning a small exhausted smile from his young charge in return.

Gaining more of his general motor skills, Naruto began to pat down his grey pants and picking up a few stray kunai and shuriken around him, putting them back into their respective kunai holsters on either side of his legs, or shuriken pouches that were connected to the back of a black belt that held his grey pants in place.

"Yea, but I still can't even touch you…" He muttered just loud enough for Darui to hear. Naruto moved to pick up a black hitai-ate with the symbol for Kumogakure on it. He checked the cloth briefly, before tying it around his neck.

"It's alright Naruto, you're Chūnin level from what I can tell, and that's before you leave for your training trip with B-sama and Yugito-san." He reassured Naruto, "And, if the Raikage allows it, I'll be able to go with you to continue training your Kekkei Genkai."

Naruto smiled, "Thanks Darui-sensei."

"No problem, and don't be so worried about beating an Elite Jōnin so young. You're strong Naruto; you've progressed well over the past four years." Darui added in, "And I think, if I'm allowed on this training trip I might have a big surprise for you. I think you'll like it." He said cryptically, as he joined Naruto in picking up the countless kunai and shuriken spread across the field.

"Alright!" Naruto said tiredly, but happily!

Naruto couldn't help but grin as he cleaned up the training field at a sedate pace; contemplating the last four years he had spent in his new home.

He was now ten years old, graduated from the academy, and from what his senseis told him, a strong ninja for his age. Graduating two years earlier than his peers and even at the top of his class, as was expected from Kumo's new prodigy.

Ever since he had come to Kumo, Naruto was thrown into training every day, with breaks few and far between. He hated it, but at the same time he loved it. He couldn't help but love it. He was becoming a strong shinobi like his three senseis that he admired more than the world. His dream was to become a powerful shinobi that would be able to protect the ones close to him. It was a small circle that included Yugito, Darui, B, and the Raikage.

So he threw himself into the academy, but for the wrong reasons.

At first when he was attending the academy he wanted to have as many friends as possible to make up for all the friends he didn't have in Konoha. It didn't take long to realize he didn't need people like the ones in his class. Everyone in his class is what he considered stuck up asses who thought they were better than the world. He was two years younger than them and had graduated at the top of their class. He showed those assholes for underestimating him.

After the first day he forgot about wanting to have friends, instead he threw himself into becoming a shinobi, and he was a damn good one at that. Especially for his age, but he hadn't gotten anywhere without the help of his pseudo-family.

'Yugito-sensei' Naruto thought with a serene smile.

She was the toughest on him. That much he was sure of. However, he knew she was tough on him because she wanted him to be strong. He appreciated her tough love that she gave him whenever they were out destroying some training ground in Kumo; earning heated lectures from the Raikage that they never seemed to listen to.

Every day from dawn till the academy had started Naruto would start an inhuman workout regimen with his pseudo-big sister. Each day the exercises would get easier for him as his body slowly adjusted to the sadistic workouts. Laps around the village, hundreds of crunches, pushups, pull-ups, etc. Though, as soon as his body would get close to being able to complete the workout without much hassle, the numbers were increased or extra workouts were added.

Most days he was late to the academy, thankfully the excuse 'Yugito-sensei is sadistic' always seemed to get him off of being yelled at.

After classes at the academy, he would meet with Yugito again and begin to practice his Taijutsu. He had wanted to attempt to use Yugito's form of Taijutsu, with her long extended claws. But she had shut that down, saying it was for a more nimble and flexible fighter, quick and precise cuts meant to severe major arteries. Naruto understood what she meant; he wasn't the most flexible person in the world, at least not compared to Yugito. He chalked up her flexibility to being the host of the Nibi. Whom he had later found out was a female hellcat named Matatabi.

Instead Naruto was given a much more defensive Taijutsu that was used in Kumo; its focus was heavy yet quick decisive punches, with a staunch defense. It was the pride and joy of the Kumo ANBU Black-ops, as it left very few, to no openings. If they hit an enemy with even a grazing punch, it was enough to stagger, and in that second of unbalance the ANBU would take advantage and kill the enemy in the small window he was given.

It focused on the brute strength of the wielder, if one ever fought anyone bigger; they had better hope they're faster.

And Naruto was fast. He was powerful and Yugito knew he would be sent on missions against larger much stronger opponents soon, if his progress was any indication of that. So she pushed him in speed while he also wore chakra weights on his forearms and ankles, covering the ones around his arms with bracers, and his pants covering the ones around his ankles.

Yugito had taught him the Taijutsu style which was dubbed 'The Mountain Fist' and he had taken to it like a fish out of water. It almost felt natural to Naruto. Hitting hard and deflecting enemy attacks, looking for a small opening that he would take advantage of with a heavy hit and then a fatal injury.  
>It was almost a complete copy of the 'The Strong Fist', the Leafs powerful and heavy hitting Taijutsu style. Both style's focal point was the same, heavy hits. The only difference was the initial stance and 'The Mountain Fist' was much more defensive than 'The Strong Fist'. Whereas the Leafs Taijutsu style was much more offensive, meant to break bones with much more powerful attacks.<p>

It had taken him a few weeks to get the basic katas down to an advanced level, where Yugito then advanced him to the much more fluent and advanced katas. Which took him considerably more time to say he had mastered it to the fullest extent.

All he needed now was experience.

Something, sparring with the same three Sensei's over and over again wouldn't be able to give him.  
>Especially when all one of them did was piss him off with his rhyming during spars and still beat him down.<p>

Naruto let out an exasperated sigh at the thought of B. At least B would always attempt to correct the mistakes he made during the spars, but Naruto was barely able to understand B sometimes.  
>'B-sensei' He thought with an affectionate scowl.<p>

Naruto couldn't help but remember the first time he had met 'Killer Bee' as B had put it.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

* * *

><p>Today Naruto had attended his first day of the Ninja Academy in Kumogakure. It wasn't anything too special, he had noted. The people in his class had been skeptical of him joining since he was two years their junior. He had gotten a lot of crap for that, but he'd show them.<p>

_Naruto was standing in front of the Raikage's desk, beside him stood Yugito. They were currently waiting for his new Sensei that would take him from Yugito every day when they were done with Taijutsu practice. He couldn't hold back his excitement, if his broad smile was anything to go by. He was staring at the door of the Raikge's office just waiting for his new Sensei to arrive._

_He had been told this was the infamous B, the Jinchūriki who had full control over the Hachibi. That alone made Naruto giddy at the thought of learning how to control the Kyūbi._

_Finally the door to the Raikage's office opened and Naruto couldn't help but gape at the man that would more than likely be his new Sensei._

_The man was large, not as large as the Raikage, but he was still huge to Naruto. The man was wearing the Kumo flak jacket across his left shoulder, as well as the regular Kumo hand and shin guards. A white hitae-ate wrapped around the man's white hair that matched his white goatee. But what Naruto found the most interesting about the muscular dark-skinned man were the seven swords on his back._

_"Is that B-sensei?" Naruto asked ecstatically, "He looks badass!" Naruto added before earning a fist to the back of his head from Yugito._

_"Naruto…" She said with a sickly sweet smile, "What did we talk about yesterday?"_

_Naruto gulped instinctively, that smile promised sweet, sweet pain from what he had learned yesterday, a small shiver being sent up his spine. Apparently this was her way of helping him control his emotions… "No more loud outbursts or bad language." He repeated the words that rang through his head._

_Yugito kept on her smile and patted his head, "Good, and yes that is B-sama" she said answering his early question._

_"Woah, Woah! So this is Lil nine!" B said happily in an odd rhythm, his voice somewhat lighter than that of the Raikage's._

_"Hey! I'm not little!" He yelled, earning another fist to his head. "Ow…" He muttered as he rubbed the bump forming on the back of his thick skull._

"Naruto" Yugito warned dangerously.

_Naruto gulped once again and nodded furiously._

_"Lil nine!" B yelled, gaining the boys attention, "I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee! I'm the mighty, Killer Bee!" He rapped, while making awkward and random poses at the same time. _

_Naruto couldn't help but groan, this was the powerful shinobi that would train him to become powerful? Yeah he looked cool… but he acted like an idiot. Naruto thought about that for a second, well, didn't he act like an idiot as well? He had been the happy idiot who walked around with a smile at all times, never showing the pain that was built up within the confines of his mind._

_So maybe this guy was just using a mask like he did when he had lived in Konoha, but was the rap really necessary?_

_"Are you sure this guys a strong ninja?" Naruto asked, turning his attention to Yugito and the Raikage.  
>Yugito shook her head in shame, while the Raikage was glaring at B. If looks could kill, B would be a puddle staining the floor of the Raikage's office.<em>

_"B! What have I told you about your rapping?!" He said furiously as his hand smashed through his desktop. Mabui appeared miraculously at the door shaking her head muttering about angry Raikage's always breaking their desks._

_"Yo yo yo! What's up big bro! Fool, ya fool" B rapped, completely ignoring his brother's question!  
>The Raikage smashed his face into his desk, he couldn't stand this. <em>

_Naruto's mind traveling along the same train of thought. Already afraid of what would happen to his sanity if he had to train for the next four years with this man._

_Naruto's body shivered at the thought._

_"Does he always rap like that? It sucks!" Naruto added in while yelling, after a second of realizing his grave mistake he was already bashed over the head by Yugito._

_"You're both idiots…" Yugito muttered to herself._

* * *

><p><em><strong>End Flashback<strong>_

* * *

><p>B was insanely odd to Naruto, more so than he would have liked.<p>

However, that didn't mean he didn't care for the brute. B was like an older brother to him. Yeah, his incessant rapping pissed him off beyond belief when he was trying to learn the Kenjutsu katas B would teach him, but he appreciated it. It would give him a good laugh every now and again at the utter ridiculousness that was spewed from his Sensei's mouth.

Aside from B's odd personality, Naruto couldn't be more grateful towards B. He had taught Naruto all he could about using the Cloud-style Kenjutsu style. Wide and powerful slashes, with cleaver like swords, to behead or cut through the enemy with relative ease. Naruto of course didn't use the style like one regularly would. He mixed the Cloud-style with B's, Seven Swords Dance. It gave him the perfect mix between wide sword movements and quick agile footwork to avoid the enemy and move within striking distance.

As Naruto thought of his unique Kenjutsu style he couldn't stop his hands from moving to the sword that was strapped diagonally across his right shoulder.

Naruto was given one of B's 'Supervibrato Lighting Release Swords' that B had gifted him when he had gotten the advanced kata's for the Cloud-style down. It was an exact replica of one of B's seven swords.

Long, straight swords that were pointed at the edge –making them accurate when being thrown–, there was no hand guard between the blade and the handle which was wrapped in red cloth, and capped off at the bottom with a rectangular golden brace.

He was able to use the sword like his Sensei. He would channel his powerful lighting affinity chakra through the steel like his Sensei as well. With his wide slashes, and agile movements it allowed him to cut enemies to pieces quickly and thoroughly, and if he had to he would be able to throw the sword with great accuracy and with lighting chakra. Adding killing and penetrating power to his already deadly Kenjutsu arsenal.

It was the complete opposite to his Taijutsu style, but it worked well with it. The heavy set Taijutsu with his light and agile Kenjutsu style would allow for quick takedowns when one was punished by his powerful hits.  
>Naruto began to think past the Kenjutsu training he had received, instead his mind began to drift to his tenant; the Kyūbi.<p>

Whenever Naruto and B would have extra time after a training session, B would meditate with Naruto and have him meet with the Kyūbi inside his mindscape. The first time he had done this was a week after he had begun training in Kumo. The memory would always make Naruto laugh, he was so scared to go into the seal that when he finally saw the Kyūbi –after it's claw had nearly skewered him- he screamed like a little girl and was forcefully pulled out of his mind.

B wouldn't shut the hell up about that, and he doubted he would ever live it down.  
>Having B mock him was bad enough, but when he finally had the courage to meet the Kyūbi again –the next day, he had to redeem himself- he was baffled when the mighty Kyūbi had started making fun of him because he was a coward.<p>

'Stupid, dry humored foxes…" Naruto thought.

This had irked Naruto to no end, going on a tirade of how he would be the Kyūbi's strongest container yet, and make him respect him. Of course the Kyūbi scoffed at the loud boasting of his blonde container, but Kyūbi was looking forward to what the boy would do in his years growing up.

Naruto had noted that Kyūbi was an interesting Bijū, yes one full of hatred but wise at the same time. He would talk to the Kyūbi on his own, often at times whenever he was bored, much to the Bijū's ire. Naruto tried to befriend the Kyūbi, he wanted to be partners with the Nine Tailed Fox so he would have the strength to defend his loved ones. Something the Kyūbi had laughed at. Which-in turn irked Naruto to no end.

Why did that stupid fox think his desire to become strong was so funny? He didn't get a response when he had asked the question.

His train of thought diverted to the promise he had made the Kyūbi. Naruto knew he wasn't going to work well with a beast of pure hatred, so his idea was, 'Get rid of the beast's hate.' Then he would be able to move forward in the relationship between him and the Kyūbi, from prison and prisoner to partners.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Don't worry Kyūbi! I'll get rid of all that hatred stored up in that chakra of yours!" An eight year old Naruto yelled with his trademark foxy grin and giving a thumbs up. Naruto had entered the seal a few minutes ago, he had just finished his training with B early and had decided to meditate to speak to the Bijū. Naruto had the idea of getting rid of the Kyūbi's hatred for a few weeks now; he was finally able to speak to it today and was going to make the promise of a lifetime.<p>

_**"You may try Ningen"**__ the Kyūbi said simply. His voice, like a low deep growl, soft but powerful. Its depth amplified in the confines of the damp and dark sewer that was his containers pathetic mindscape._

_"And once I do that! You're going to have to tell me your name!" Naruto added in. This was something Naruto had always wanted to find out since he had gotten to speaking terms with the Kyūbi. That was the first thing he had asked, and Kyūbi had been surprised by the question. No doubt Naruto missed the wide-eyed look that Kyūbi gave the boy._

_Naruto watched as the Kyūbi lowered its head, he was now somewhat on eye level with Naruto, __**"If you can rid me of my hatred you pathetic Ningen, then I will consider it."**__ The Kyūbi growled out, his voice echoing throughout the dark halls of Naruto's mindscape._

_"Make it a promise Kyūbi! I'll get rid of that hatred; it's a promise of a lifetime!" He said ecstatically. Something not seen in most people who were to speak to a being such as the Kyūbi._

_**"And what makes you think, that a pathetic child such as yourself would be able to do that?"**__ The Kyūbi asked as he barred his sharp teeth at the boy, staring him down._

_"Because, I never go back on my promise! You know that." Naruto said firmly._

_That was something the Kyūbi knew thoroughly. He had lived inside Naruto since the day he was born. He had seen everything that Naruto had, he had seen the loud boisterous boy that yelled about being Hokage when he still lived in Konoha, his promises to his 'Jiji' and those Ichiraku's, those insufferable mortals feeding his container that wretched food. The Kyūbi drawled on, but ever since his container had made it to Kumo, the promises became few and far between. They were more like goals he had set, promising his Sensei's he would reach them in a matter of weeks._

_Of course the Kyūbi had laughed at the child's belief that he would be able to reach his inhuman goals in mere weeks or days. _

_And of course, the Kyūbi had been proven wrong. The drive the boy held surprised Kyūbi to no end. The giant fox would be lying if he had said he wasn't proud of his containers resilience; he may have hated the child for the use of his prison and wanted his freedom, but the child had a strong fire burning within him._

_**"Very well Ningen."**__ The Kyūbi said before retreating back into its cage, leaving Naruto standing in the wet sewer watching the retreating figure of his tenant._

* * *

><p><em><strong>End Flashback<strong>_

* * *

><p>He had not only promised the Kyūbi that he would get rid of its hate eventually, but he had also promised Matatabi that he would help her brother no matter what.<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

* * *

><p><em>Naruto had made a habit of meeting with Matatabi in Yugito's mind at the end of the day, whenever he wasn't too exhausted from his training and passed out. He had first met Matatabi a few weeks into his training when Yugito deftly brought it up during dinner. Saying the Nibi wanted to meet Naruto.<em>

_So from then on after meeting the Matatabi for the first time he could call her one of his precious… Bijū. The Nibi already had a general idea of what Naruto was like, being able to see and hear every conversation between her container and the little blonde boy. He was a very dedicated little boy who would always put his nose to the grindstone. However, this particular conversation was taking a turn towards Naruto's tenant._

_An eight year old Naruto was staring up at the giant bakeneko that was situated in the forest like mindscape of Yugito's consciousness. Yugito stood beside him, a hand on his shoulder as she smiled up at the Nibi. The Hellcat was a cat being coated in pure blue fire with black markings stretching across her form. Her heterochromia eyes -left held gold and her right held green-, staring down at the two, a small smile on the Nibi's face revealing her viciously sharp teeth._

_**"Ah, Naruto-kun, so how has Kyūbi been treating you?" **__Matatabi asked as she lowered her head down to be eye-leveled with the two much smaller shinobi._

_Naruto smiled a large megawatt smile as he gave Matatabi a thumbs up, "Everything's fine Matatabi! He may be a jerk but I'm gonna cure him of all that hatred! I promised him, and I'll promise you too! I'm gonna make sure Kyūbi is the brother you used to talk about!" He announced with pride, Yugito couldn't help herself from smiling at her pseudo-brother's declaration._

_He had a strong will and if he said he was going to do something, he would do it. She had learned that much just from the proclamation he would make._

_"I think you can do it Naruto-kun." She told him, earning a wide-eyed look from Naruto who immediately nodded, sheer determination spilling off of him._

_Matatabi stared at the young blonde boy as she as well as Yugito had known just how much Naruto's promises were worth. It was something he would rather die than break. His word was set in stone and she couldn't help but gape at Naruto's words. Would this really be the child who would be able to help Kurama through his hatred? _

_Inside she was smiling; in front of her was the child she believed would help her brother and would be a partner to the malicious beast of chakra. She would finally get her brother back and her brother would finally be happy for once since their father's death and the separation of all the Bijū so long ago._

_On the outside she held a neutral expression as she nodded to Naruto. Matatabi had more to think on about this, since maybe this would be the boy who her father had talked about. Without so much as a goodbye she turned away and headed off away from the two blondes and into the dark forest of Yugito's mindscape._

_Naruto looked crestfallen as he watched Matatabi walk away. Was his promise so farfetched that she didn't believe in him? What was with the nod? Was she just trying not to get his hopes up? He clenched his fists unconsciously and promised once again to himself, 'I'll do it Matatabi!' He yelled in his mind._

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><p><em><strong>End Flashback<strong>_

* * *

><p>Naruto's hands once again clenched unconsciously around the used kunai in his hand as he continued to pick up the stray weapons in the field. He would do it and he wouldn't back down. He would be spending more time at this island that Yugito had been talking about; working with the Kyūbi to control his power and reasoning with the Bijū. Yugito said it would take him far longer than the two years he was given; he promised her he could do it in one.<p>

All Yugito had done was pat his head and nodded to him, "I believe in you Naruto-kun." She said. Yugito knew it was pointless to stop his boasting or promises, it gave him a drive and she truly had to believe he would be able to control the Kyūbi's power within is self-set time limit.

The thought of the Island shifted Naruto's train of thought once again, he hoped Darui-sensei would be able to come with him and give him this new surprise he was talking about. Hopefully it was a new Jutsu; since he would need something to-do for the final year on the Island when he's done working with the Kyūbi.

He turned his attention from his thoughts and to the Dark-skinned man with him on the flat field helping pick up the stray weapons across the battered wasteland. He could still remember the time when he had learned his Elemental affinities and B-sensei asked Darui-sensei to help train him in taming both his affinities and Kekkei Genkai.

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><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

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><p><em>"B-Sensei what is this?" A seven year old Naruto asked as he looked at a piece of paper in his hand that B had given to him. <em>

_Naruto had just arrived at his usual training ground where B was waiting for him. Today he was told he going to find out about his nature affinity since he had finally finished all those stupid chakra control exercises that he would do non-stop after Kenjutsu training with B._

_He was now able to walk up and down trees, walk on water, balance leaves, kunai, and almost anything that was smaller than him, anywhere on his body. It had taken him a full year to do all of this to the standard that his sensei was looking for, but it was well worth it. _

_He had somehow gained control over most of his enormous and still growing chakra reservoir that somehow fit into his tiny body._

_"That is chakra paper" B said simply._

_Naruto was staring in awe, not at the paper that he had read about in school, but at the fact that his Sensei wasn't rapping. This had never happened as far as Naruto was concerned; he was doing his best to savor the moment._

_B laughed at Naruto's dumbstruck expression, "What's wrong Lil Nine, is everything fine? Fool, ya fool."  
>'Damnit, too good to be true' Naruto thought as he looked back at the paper. "So I just channel chakra into the paper?" He asked, wanting to make sure he didn't screw this up in some way.<br>B nodded and waited._

_Naruto looked at the paper, closed his eyes, wanting it to be a surprise. And began to push a small amount of chakra through his fingertips into the paper._

_The first thing Naruto felt was the paper getting damp, damn a water affinity, he was hoping for a lighting affinity because it seemed B had a strong one that he would be able to learn from, or even fire since Yugito-sensei had a powerful fire affinity. Then opening his eyes, Naruto stared wide-eyed at the damp paper in his hands. It was still standing tall –even with the paper being dampened- and around the paper were jolts of electricity extending out of the paper erratically. Naruto instantly stopped channeling chakra and watched as the paper crumbled into a small wet ball into his hand._

_"What was that B-sensei? I know I have a water affinity, but does all the electricity mean I have a lighting affinity too?" He asked in awe. Naruto knew it was possibly to have multiple affinities but Yugito would always tell him that it was rare. He never expected he would be lucky enough to have two elemental affinities without even having to train for an extra one._

_B looked thoughtful for a moment, Naruto couldn't see his eyes through his black shades, but he could see his eyes were squinted in focus and his hand was rubbing his chin thoughtfully. B 'hmm'd' for a second then decided to speak without his rhymes; wanting his student to fully understand him. "You have a Kekkei Genkai" B said before Naruto could ask any questions about how he would be able to have one, "It's the Storm Release, like Darui, Ya fool!" He rapped. Then gaining a thoughtful look, "I'll ask him if he can train your Kekkei Genkai and both affinities," Then B smiled, he had to add this in, "Ya fool."_

_Naruto face planted at the idiocy of his sensei, completely forgetting about the questions he had about his newly discovered Kekkei Genkai._

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><p><em><strong>End Flashback<strong>_

* * *

><p>And train his Kekkei Genkai and elemental affinities he did. For the first year, no matter how much Naruto complained, he was put through highly advanced chakra control exercises, running on water while using his chakra to balance multiple unbalanced and heavy objects. All of this would help him gain control over his monstrous chakra pool and make his Jutsu's even more effective when he finally learned them.<p>

After that, when he turned eight, he focused on controlling both his separate affinities, doing the basic exercises all the way through the advanced ones, to make sure he had complete control over each of the original affinities so he would have even more control over his Kekkei Genkai. It took him an entire six months to even be able to start both of his separate affinities advanced exercises. Both in which he had to subconsciously flow his lighting chakra through large boulders for its affinity, and for his water affinity he had to be able to be able to completely saturate a large rock until it eroded or exploded from the pressure within.

He had learned he had a very powerful lighting affinity that dwarfed many of the regular shinobi of Kumogakure. Even Darui was surprised by the sheer potential the boy had when it came to him practicing crumbling a leaf into a ball using only his lighting chakra for the beginning exercise. The leaves had disintegrated, and that was what Naruto had said to be 'a small amount'. It was something that surprised Darui to no end.

His water affinity wasn't as strong, but it was definitely above average. Darui surmised that due to the Kyūbi being inside of his young charge that his chakra was much more potent than any other chakra, something he should've remembered since he worked regularly with both Yugito and B.  
>Even though Naruto's affinity was much stronger than those of other regular shinobi. He was still able to gain control over both affinities in record time. Completing both the basic and advanced exercises for not only one, but two affinities in the span of a year. No small feat for any single person. Especially one as young as Naruto.<p>

After he had completed the exercises for both of his affinities, Darui began to teach him Jutsus for both of his affinities. He would give him the hand signs, how to form the chakra, what it should feel like, then would leave him to his work. It gave Naruto a lot of time to pick and choose between the Jutsus so he would be able to build his personal repertoire of his favorites and become a master at his few favorite and most versatile moves.

Though he was a master with a few, he had control over many other Jutsu for both affinities.

He was definitely a Ninjutsu specialist as his Senseis so called him.

"Naruto, you should get changed; Jiraiya-sama will pick you up soon before we leave for the Island." Darui informed Naruto from across the field.

Naruto snapped from his reminiscing mind and looked to his Sensei, he gave a quick nod, "Alright Darui-sensei, I'll head out now. Thanks for the training today!" he called back before taking off out of the field and heading to the apartment Yugito was sharing with him.

Naruto made it to the apartment quickly and switched from his battered clothing into a new set of the same outfit. He sat in the small barren living room of Yugito's apartment as he waited for one of his newest 'Sensei', but to Naruto. He never called the Toad Sage 'Sensei' he had always referred to the old man as Ero-sennin. After he had met the man initially it was obvious he was a creepy old pervert as Yugito had put it.

She had warned him, if he was ever caught peeking on women or doing anything in a slightly perverse manner, she would make him wish he was dead. A threat Naruto had taken to heart, doing his best to stay away from Jiraiya unless he was training. Which Naruto had to give it to the old man that he knew a lot for looking like such a damn weirdo?

Naruto had only known Jiraiya for the past six months; he was told the man was roaming shinobi that Kumo was paying for him to train Naruto because he was a strong ninja, something Naruto hadn't believed until he watched him go toe to toe with B-sensei.

In the six months he had been working with the old pervert he had learned two techniques, both had made Naruto giddy just at the thought of being able to learn them when he had first been told he was being taught the two. The first was the _Shunshin no Jutsu_, which allowed him to travel short to long distances in an almost untraceable speed.

The next was apparently a technique that was only known by two people, Jiraiya had never told him who the second man was, other than he was one of the strongest shinobi to walk the planet. Which made Naruto even giddier inside at just the thought of owning such a powerful Jutsu.  
>Jiraiya had called it, the <span><em>Rasengan<em>.

A high velocity, spinning ball of pure chakra that shredded through anything it had touched. Naruto had mastered the Jutsu in under a month; making Jiraiya not only mope in depression because 'this little brat' was able to master the Jutsu faster than he had been able to. Stupid next generation…

"Naruto!" Said child heard his name and a loud knocking coming from the door to the apartment, he instantly moved from his seat and to the door, opening it to reveal the old pervert himself.

Jiraiya wore a green short shirt kimono and matching pants -as well as geta sandals-, under which he wore mesh armor. Over his green kimono he wore a red haori with two yellow circles on each side, on his back he wore a large red scroll strapped horizontally around his waist. His spiky white hair was flowing down to his waist, tied back into a pony tail. Holding his hair back from covering his face, a horned hitai-ate with the kanji for 'Oil'.

"Hey Ero-sennin!" Naruto greeted the toad sage, excitedly.

"Brat! What have I told you about respecting your elders!" Jiraiya said scolding the boy.  
>Naruto shrugged, "Yugito-sensei says its fine."<p>

All of a sudden a dark raining cloud appeared over a depressed Jiraiya, sputtering words of nonsense about 'disrespectful blondes'.

"Ero-sennin, what are we doing today?" Naruto asked.

In a moment, Jiraiya was standing up straight acting as if his bout of depression had never happened. "Today gaki, is something special." he said with a grin as he began to walk away from Naruto, prompting the blonde to follow suit after locking his apartment door.

After Naruto had caught up to Jiraiya he had noticed they were walking towards the Raikage tower and away from any of the training grounds. "Ero-sennin, why are we going to the Raikage tower?" Naruto asked.

"You'll find out once we get there." Jiraiya told him as he kept his gaze focused and forward for what was going to happen ahead.

Jiraiya's mind focused solely on the blonde child walking alongside him. Soon he would be giving the key to the Kyūbi's seal to the boy. He wasn't worried about Naruto's training that would be taking place soon. He was more concerned about the boy himself. The kid who was his grandson, who he had sadly missed his entire childhood till recently when he was finally able to convince the Raikage that he wanted to be a part of the boy's life. Of course he was asked for his reasoning, but had told the Raikage that everything would be revealed in due time, when Naruto was able to protect himself effectively.

The Raikage had begrudgingly accepted the answer and allowed Jiraiya to train the Kyūbi container.  
>Jiraiya had previously contacted the Raikage multiple times since he had learned Naruto was living in Kumo, doing whatever he could to get in some form of contact with the child without starting an international incident. Even going so far as telling the Raikage that he held the key to the Kyūbi's seal, no doubt a factor in the reason why he was even allowed to walk around Kumogakure.<p>

Jiraiya had no doubt been saddened and downright furious at the fact that Naruto was living in Kumo. At first speculating he was kidnapped by Kumo like his mother had been, but after a quick talk with the Sandaime, that viewpoint was changed. However, Jiraiya was no doubt pissed at the fact that the village he protected had so easily abused and casted aside his godson, and their Yondaime's heir.

And since then Jiraiya had forgone his duties as Konoha's main information center and did everything in his power to get into Kumogakure to gain contact with his godson; eventually becoming the envoy between the two villages. Something that had taken him almost four years to do so. In which time Konoha and Kumo's relation had by far improved into a treaty between the two villages after their shaky past.

It had been a rough journey for the two villages.

The initial loss of Konoha's Jinchūriki had been a celebration held in the village, in honor of the death of the Kyūbi's reign within their village. It had lasted only a few days till the Sandaime had officially shut down all public speak of the 'Kyūbi child'; it was still a law to utter those words in public, and the Sandaime would make sure it was upheld.

However, within the inner workings of the village trouble was brewing. An emergency council meeting was held with only the shinobi sector. In there the news was told that Kumo had acquired their third, and most powerful Jinchūriki. The silence was palpable as each shinobi connected the dots as to what could happen now.

The balance of power was once again tipped. And the scale wasn't in Konoha's favor.  
>Of course, Danzo –one of the elders within the council- had pushed for war with Kumo while the Kyūbi boy was still untrained, but the idea was shut down almost as immediately as it had come up.<p>

From then on out, Konoha had done whatever they could to gain favor within the Great Five Ninja Villages, Suna had already been an ally, but like Konoha, had been weakened previously during the Third Great Shinobi War. Konoha was left with only Kumo as another potential ally. Iwa was out of the question, and Kiri was currently going through a civil war that was continuously getting worse and worse as time went by.

Jiraiya had wormed his way into the position of envoy between Kumo and Konoha, refusing to work his spy network and using his time in Kumo to speak with the Raikage personally. Somehow Naruto had always been gone when he was in the village.

When Jiraiya was finally able to see Naruto and help train him, he had been happy for Naruto; it obviously seemed that Naruto was living a good life in Kumo with people that cared for him and appreciated him. Something that was obviously few and far between in Konoha.

He couldn't wait to see Naruto when he finally started making a name for himself, so he could help rub in the fact that Konoha had lost a diamond in the rough.

Jiraiya and Naruto arrived in the Raikage's office. They were greeted with the sight of B antagonizing his brother and Yugito sitting on the couch with her head in her hands trying her best to ignore the Hachibi Jinchūriki.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here Raikage-dono" Jiraiya asked heartily as he walked in, a grin plastered on his face?

"Damnit B! Shut the hell up!" The Raikage yelled, _"Iron Claw!"_ The Raikage shot out of his chair and took hold of B's face.

"Woah! Big Bro! Nooooooo!" He yelled as he was thrown out the window of the Raikage's office.

"Let's get this over with before he comes back" The Raikage said gruffly, taking his seat again. "Why did you want to meet with us Jiraiya-dono?"

"Straight to the point I see?" Jiraiya observed as he dropped the grin from his face, "Since Naruto will be going to the Island with you and training the Kyūbi, I assume you have yet to make a key for the seal containing the Kyūbi." He turned to Yugito who was now standing and listening attentively, "I trust you will take care of him while training to gain power of the Kyūbi, I'll be giving him the key for when he feels he is ready to defeat it and take over." Jiraiya now looked down to Naruto and placed his hand on his shoulder, "You've done good kid, you probably won't be seeing me for a long time but that doesn't mean I'm not giving you stuff to train in. We touched base in seals whenever I was in the village, so while you're out there on the island," He reached into his haori and pulled out a plain looking scroll, "This scroll has a bunch of books seals into it on the sealing arts, do your best to uphold your Uzumaki blood and be a seal master kid." Jiraiya said the final part with a smile and a quick rub of Naruto's hair.

Naruto looked at the scroll as he took it from his Sensei's hand. Looking up at the white haired man he gave him a smile in return, "Thank you Jiraiya-sensei." He said sincerely, surprising everyone in the room.

Jiraiya's face spread into large smile and hugged the boy. "Good brat, I expect that more often."  
>"In your dreams Ero-sennin!" Naruto said happily, making sure to keep his voice levels controlled.<p>

Jiraiya laughed heartily before releasing the boy and turning to the Raikage, "I'll be summoning the key now." Getting a nod in response his stomach immediately began to bulge, getting surprised looks from everyone. Immediately something looked to be squiring around in his body before finally, his mouth spread to enormous lengths and allowed for a green and orange toad to come out of Jiraiya's mouth. Earning dry heaves from Naruto and awkward coughing from both the Raikage and Yugito.

The frog looked around with what seemed to be a permanent scowl on his face. "Jiraiya, what am I doing out here?" He asked.

"Gerotora," Jiraiya motioned towards Naruto, "This is Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm going to be giving him the key to the seal." He stated.

Gerotora looked surprised at first, then angry, "Jiraiya, you know what he said when handling the key! Not to give it to the boy till he was ready! He's barely older than a child!" He stated heatedly.

"Gerotora" Jiraiya said sternly, stopping the toad's tirade, "I was given the key to decide when Naruto would be able to tame the Kyūbi. I believe he is ready, and with the help of both the Nibi and Hachibi he will be in good hands."

Gerotora crossed his arms and examined everyone in the room, his gaze landing lastly on Naruto who stared back at the toad with an impassive expression, as if not fazed by his earlier insult earlier. "Fine." He grumbled. Separating his chest from his lower body were a set of braces, his body extended revealing a scroll between the braces, the large scroll un-furrowed itself from around the body of Gerotora revealing a complex seal, hundreds of thousands of separate Kanji spread across the paper in an oddly beautiful piece of work.

The seal that was on Naruto's belly was copied onto the scroll, more Kanji spread out revealing the more complex prongs to the seal.

Next to the copied seal, a numerous amount of complex seals went down vertically forming the shape of a key that would regularly go into a door, spreading across the remainder of the scroll; a small box above this line of kanji.

"Naruto, this is the key that was made for your seal by the Yondaime before he passed away."

Naruto looked at him confused, "They said you were a wandering shinobi… why would you have the key to the Yondaime's seal?" He asked.

Jiraiya sighed, "I'm actually a Shinobi of Konoha."

Naruto stared at him wide eyed, "Why the hell is he training me if he's from the enemy village?!" Naruto asked, doing his best to control his voice, but obviously failing.

It was Yugito who spoke up, "Naruto, we're allies with Konoha now, it's nothing to concern yourself about, but Jiraiya-sama here offered his services to help train you." Her voice was soft, attempting to calm Naruto.

"But why not just tell me? What was the point of keeping it from me?"

"We didn't want him to train you at first, but he tried for the entire four years to do anything he could to just see you, after learning he had the key to your seal… We needed his help for you Naruto, if we had to force the seal open we could've killed you." She sighed, "We never told you because we knew how you felt about Konoha."

Naruto looked to Jiraiya once again; he had tried for four years to see him? Why? What was so special about him that made this man want to just meet him? Yeah he had the Kyūbi in him, a potential weapon, but not once had Jiraiya tried to even warp his vision of Kumogakure, and never did he mention Konoha. Naruto looked at the ground, his long hair covering his eyes, "Why… Why did you try so hard to just see me?" He asked quietly.

Jiraiya sighed exasperatedly, "Because I was a close friend of your parents." He said, gaining the attention of the blue eyed boy, who was once gain staring at him, but before the boy could ask he was already speaking, "I can't tell you of your heritage yet Naruto, it would only put you in danger at the moment. Believe me, when you're strong enough I'll tell you." He said.

"Then if you were such a friend of my family, where were you all my life?" He asked.

"Naruto, I was in control of Konoha's spy network, I wasn't in the village since the day of the Kyūbi attack, I would've taken you with me had it not been such a dangerous job. I wouldn't have been able to take care of an infant while traveling."

Naruto looked at Jiraiya then nodded, he understood and he wouldn't hate the man who had tried so hard to just be able to see and train him. He would save his questions for later for when he finally learned about them… when he was strong enough.

"Naruto, you have to go soon, let's move this along." The Raikage spoke up. There was no time for his emotions to get in the way at the moment; he would have time for that when they were traveling to the Island.

Naruto looked up, and moved up to Gerotora slowly, he looked over to Yugito and getting a nod and smile from her he turned to the scroll. "Just place your fingertips in the box kid and channel chakra through them." Gerotora's voice came.

Naruto complied, once his fingers touched the box with the chakra Gerotora nodded, "Contract complete, Jiraiya I will be going into storage now."

Jiraiya nodded, "Alright Naruto, open up."

Naruto stared incredulously at him, "Are you kidding me? That thing has to live in me?" He asked.

Jiraiya nodded once again, "Yep, the entrance is pretty painful, but after that it's like he was never there in the first place." He said with an overly energetic smile, as if to spite Naruto.

"This sucks…" He muttered before looking at Gerotora and nodding to him.

"Open up kid!" He said to the boy as he began to levitate in the air, Naruto complied opening his mouth to the best of his ability before Gerotora flew head first into Naruto's mouth, doing his best to cram into the child's throat. "Wider!" He yelled to the boy, his voice muffled within the confines of Naruto's body.

A quick punch from Jiraiya forced the toad down Naruto's throat. The instant it was done Naruto was on the ground dry heaving, tears streaming down his face, "Why the mouth…" He asked between breaths.  
>Jiraiya only laughed heartily as he patted Naruto on the back, Yugito was staring in concern, and the Raikage wanted to burst out in laughter at the boy's unfortunate luck.<p>

"Alright Naruto, I trust you with that key and your judgment for when you're ready to fight the Kyūbi." Jiraiya picked the boy up and gave him a quick hug, he turned his attention to Yugito, "Take care of him." Getting a nod he turned to the Raikage, "Thank you for the opportunity to work with Naruto, I will be going now, good luck Naruto." He said with a smile and a small wave before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Yugito went over to Naruto and gave him a hug, "Come on Naruto lets go meet B at the boat, I already packed most of the things you'll need." She told him.

Naruto nodded but paused and turned to the Raikage, "Raikage-sama, will Darui-sensei be coming with us?" He asked.

The Raikage gave a large grin, "He'll be coming with you Naruto and be prepared for what he's going to teach you." He said with evident pride in his voice. Happy that Darui had finally chosen a successor to his special techniques handed down to him by the Third Raikage.

Naruto smiled, "Thank you Raikage-sama" He said bowing, "Let's go Yugito-chan!" He exclaimed as he grabbed her hand and disappeared in a lighting Shunshin.

The Raikage laughed at seeing Naruto using a lighting Shunshin, from what he had heard the boy had great potential and the highest affinity for lighting that Darui had ever seen.

That boy would become a great protector for his village.

The thought made the Raikage smile; the boy had definitely come a long way since he had first come to the village. He had shown his determination just after the first day with Yugito, and even now he was going to become even stronger, and thankfully he hadn't taken after his brother B.

He was definitely afraid of sending the boy to the Island so young with the strongest Bijū inside of him but the boy was strong and the Raikage had plans for Naruto when he finally came back from the Island. He already knew there was no way Naruto would fail against the Kyūbi.

The Raikage believed in the boy.

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><p>Hope you all liked it!<p>

And I will probably be slowing down my post speed a bit more, I'm in my finals week for my second trimester of my Senior year at high school, and I'm also going to be out a lot. I have recently enlisted in the Army and am doing a lot of classes/getting in shape for my service. But I should be able to keep em coming at a steady rate!

Please R&R!


	4. Chapter 4: Dad?

A/N: Here's another chapter of Naruto The Storm, a quick one, I'm trying to rush out what I can to get to the meat of the story. I want to get to Naruto and the Genin team and off the island, Which should be in two or so more chapters!

R&R and tell me what you think about some of the things I did in this chapter! Criticism and suggestions are loved, lots of people throwing in their two cents with Konoha which are really making me rethink the whole future of this story... loving it.

I'd also like to thank TheRazgrizDragon for Beta'ing this chapter!

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><p>Chapter 4: Dad?<p>

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><p>Naruto was staring at the copy of himself that had just come out of the waterfall in front of him. He sat on a lone island in the middle of a small pool of water that spread around in a circle, continuously being fed water by the waterfall. Around the small pool, there was a surrounding dense forest, with a small path that led from the waterfall into the forest, a few stepping stones spread across the way.<p>

The sun was beginning to set leaving a dark orange hue that added a relaxing feeling to the surrounding area. However, the silence was palpable between the two blondes leaving a tense feeling in the air, though the constant splashing of the water helped to ease the silence that had settled between the two Naruto's. Allowing the original time to think on the trial ahead of him.

How would he fight himself? How would he be able to beat himself?

The blonde Jinchūriki began to study himself; the clone's most distinctive feature that set him apart from the original, were the pitch black that covered where the whites of his eyes would be, and the red dots that took place over his cerulean blue eyes.

The original Naruto stood up from his meditative stance and stared down his counterpart. The clone had a cruel smirk on its face as it looked to its original.

He wouldn't fight himself. He wouldn't be able to fight himself. He had to conquer his hatred, but not through combat, no. That would be impossible.

"So this is the Dark me?" Naruto asked mostly to himself. He had heard all about this encounter, how he had to learn to conquer his hatred to finally be able to take control of the Kyūbi's power, but his Senseis never told him how exactly to defeat himself; though it wouldn't exactly be learning if they did.

The Darkner Naruto's smirk grew, "And this is the weak me, Ne?"

"Weak?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow. If anything he was just as strong as the person in front of him.

"You don't succumb to your anger… you're weak! Anger mak-"

"Anger makes you reckless and blind." The original Naruto interrupted.

Dark Naruto growled, taking an aggressive step forward, "Anger makes you strong!" He growled back.  
>Naruto shook his head keeping his calm, he had long ago learned to keep his emotions in check. "I guess the weaker part of me would say that, huh." A smirk grew on his face, "If you were so strong you would beat me wouldn't you?" He asked. The clenching of the Dark Naruto's fists was enough for him to continue, "I gave up on anger and hatred." He stated to the wide eyed Dark Naruto.<p>

"But you can't forget it all!" The Red eyed Naruto yelled, "How all those people would look at you!" It yelled desperately, it couldn't lose now, no it needed to take control of its body.

Naruto's smirk turned into a melancholic smile, "I won't forget it." He admitted, "But I won't be mad at them, because of them I'm where I am now…" His eyes glazed over as he remembered his four and half years in Kumogakure, "Yugito-chan, B-sensei, Darui-sensei, Raikage-sama, and even Mabui-chan…" He mumbled out.

"You're only a weapon to them! Nothing more! Destroy them!" Dark Naruto yelled.

Naruto just shook his head, "I already know that, you are me aren't you?" He asked.

Dark Naruto growled, of course he remembered the memory. It wasn't anything special, it was only the moment Naruto finally realized that shinobi were nothing but tools to their respective villages. It was the cold hard truth of being a shinobi. They were to be used to their best of their ability to help protect the village by any means possible, even if it was by death. And he being another Jinchūriki to the village meant that he was going to be the greatest weapon for them.

It was a high expectation, but nothing that would keep Naruto down. He strived under the pressure. It just gave him more reason to work even harder.

Naruto was ready, that's why he was trying so hard to be strong. He didn't care if he was being used. As long as it was for the benefit of his village, he would do whatever it took. As long as he could protect the people that had taken him in and saved his pathetic life in Konoha, he would do anything.

"So just a pawn, that's all you'll ever be! A coward unable to take control of his own life!" Dark Naruto growled angrily as it glared daggers at its counterpart.

Naruto shrugged, "If I can protect those close to me then that's fine with me." He said nonchalantly, much to the Dark Naruto's chagrin.

Dark Naruto relaxed itself, standing up straight as it looked back at his original, "And if you can't? You'll fall back onto hate; all you want to do is protect those precious to you…" It growled out, "And what happens when you fail and one of them dies!" It yelled, losing its relaxed composition, "You'll lose yourself because all you've cared about is everyone but yourself!"

Naruto frowned, "There will be losses." He admitted, it was a part of the Shinobi world after all.

"And if Yugito-chan dies?" It grinned menacingly as his original narrowed his eyes at him.

"Then she will be remembered like a loyal kunoichi of the village as anyone who fell in the line of duty would be." He replied robotically, his voice void of emotion as he went into his emotional barrier that he had picked up from his teachings with Yugito.

It laughed at the sudden change in its creator, "Look at you cowering behind that mask of yours."  
>"I will control my emotions like all shinobi should." He said in a monotone voice.<p>

"A broken record." It replied, "How strong can you truly be when you can't even be yourself?"  
>"Emotions provide weaknesses and flaws to one's self." He replied.<p>

"Emotions provide strength!" Dark Naruto growled out at his lack of progress in succumbing his original self with hate.

"Emotions allow weaknesses in one's self to be acted upon by the enemy." Naruto replied, "Anger is the worst of it." He added on, he had learned all of this in the academy and with his Senseis. He wouldn't succumb to hatred, no matter how tempting it would be. He would kill all of his emotions if that was what it took to be able to protect his precious people.

"So you die an emotionless tool that has no control over his life." It asked, restraining itself.  
>"I will die for my precious people." Naruto said, a smile overtaking his blank face, "I will control my emotions to protect those closest to me and for the sake of the village. If I die emotionless than at least I can say I killed my emotions for the village."<p>

"How could you not hate them?" Dark Naruto asked quietly, "How could you not despise them for taking away your life!" It yelled angrily, rushing at Naruto to give a furious right hook.

Naruto reacted, quickly putting his left hand up to block the punch. As the punch came in for his face, his left arm grabbed the Dark Naruto by the right bicep, stopping his attack instantly. "Because, how could I hate the people I love?" He asked sincerely, "How could I hate the people that have done so much for me, when I have given so little back?" He asked quietly, "They've given me a life here; they've made me strong so I could finally protect myself, and the people I care about!" Tears began to form in his eyes as he looked at the ground, "I would do anything to make them feel safe, because inside… inside I know that if they're happy, no matter how emotionless I become… I'll be happy." He said with conviction as he turned his gaze to the Dark Naruto who was staring at him wide-eyed, his red eyes becoming misty with unshed tears.

When Naruto noticed the tears, he gave a dry laugh as he hugged the darker side of himself. As he gripped his evil self he began to notice that his darker side was slowly beginning to disappear, turning into small pieces of ash as the breeze began to slowly carry him away.

Naruto closed his eyes and smiled to himself as he felt the rest of his Darker self disappear from his grasp.

He had done it.

All of a sudden he had a feeling that eyes were on him. He turned around and opened his eyes, just noticing it was fairly dark out, he saw a pair of dark eyes staring back at him. Naruto stood up and quickly leapt over the small amount of water separating him from his pseudo-sister. As he reached the flat ground he wrapped his arms around her giving her a tight hug as he dug his face into her neck. Feeling the arms of Yugito wrap around him, the younger blonde couldn't help the smile that spread across his face.

"Are you all right Naruto-kun?" Yugito asked, worried about the sudden reaction of her little brother like figure.

"Yea…" The Kyūbi Jinchūriki replied tiredly, "I'll always do my best to protect you Yugito-chan…" He mumbled as his sleep ridden self-began to catch up with him, "No matter the cost…" He finished as his eyes shut, losing the battle to stay conscious as an entire day of training, meditation, and finally fighting his darker self had come to an end.

Yugito smiled down at the blonde that had just gone limp in her arms. Picking him up bridal style and heading towards the lodging that they were staying in while on the Island.

After a short walk Yugito entered a building that was built into a mountain, shaped into the head of the Hachibi with the doorway being the mouth of the mighty Ox head. Two connected pillars on either side of the head added extra space, small rows of windows spaced across the pillars and a single row of windows the rounded the space above the Hachibi's head.

Yugito moved down a small hallway towards the left side of the purple colored building. The hallways were lined with separate rooms and the occasional support pillar. She walked into one of the rooms on the first floor, the room was fairly Spartan. Two beds on either side of the room with a small night stand separating the two beds, a lamp was placed on the night stand, but was kept off.

Yugito placed Naruto on the bed that was to the left of the room, covering him in a thin white blanket. She untied his hitai-ate from around his throat and set it on the night stand. The Nibi Jinchūriki moved some of Naruto's unkempt blonde locks from his face, exposing his closed eyes and forehead marred in a thin layer of sweat.

"Good night Naruto-kun, sleep well." Yugito whispered to him as she leaned over and gave him a light kiss on his forehead before walking out of the room. Proud of her otouto of the major step he had taken in his training. Maybe he would be able to conquer the Kyūbi in one year like he had said. A small grin formed on her face as she knew he would do it.

Ever since they had made it to the Island four months ago Naruto had continued to improve at an alarming rate for someone of his age.

The Island -as everyone in Kumo had called it- was actually a gigantic and ancient turtle that Kumogakure had cared for since its discovery. It was considered a moving fortress that Kumo shinobi could go to and train in peace. Many large animals populated the Island alongside the Kumo shinobi. With the turtle always on the move it gave a perfect refuge for the Jinchūriki to train in peace, and with the special Bijū temple and the Waterfall of Truth held on the island, they helped guide the Jinchūrikis that would come to tame their beast.

Every day since they had arrived, Naruto would meditate and go through painful training to help control his childish emotions that Yugito had told him would hinder him in the field. It wasn't to the extreme to completely kill his emotions, but he had replaced his outwardly childish mask with a mask of impassiveness when it was needed. Something Yugito was surprised at, he had gained great control over himself in only a few months.

She smirked; her beatings had to be a great encouragement.

But not only did Naruto gain great control over himself, but his Jutsu arsenal was no doubt improving, along with his Tai and Kenjutsu.

The young prodigy had recently gained one of Kumo's most unique and powerful hidden techniques that only two had ever possessed. It was handed down from the Sandaime Raikage solely to Darui. And Darui had finally chosen a successor to his Black Lightning.

_**Flashback**_

_Naruto and Darui were standing in a small clearing on the giant Island they were currently residing on. Rocky spikes and large trees spread out periodically, reducing the sightlines around them as Darui prepared to give Naruto the ability to use his Black Lightning. Naruto was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the clearing with his shirt off while Darui was on his knees going through a small pouch that was lying about on the ground in front of him._

_"Naruto, I'm going to be teaching you something that only one person before me has known." Darui explained as he began to pull out a brush and ink from a small bag he had laid down on the ground. "I will be bestowing the gift of Black Lightning to you just as the Third Raikage had done for me."_

_"Black Lightning? Am I really ready for this Darui-sensei? I'm not even from Kumo, should I be the one getting it?" Naruto asked, he knew he was strong, but was he really worthy for something as powerful as the Black Lightning he had heard so much about._

_Darui smiled, "Naruto you may not be from the village, but I trust you enough to give you the Black Lightning, you've done nothing but work hard for the village." He replied as he dipped the brush he was carrying into the ink bottle he had set on the ground._

_Naruto nodded, "Hai, I won't disappoint you Darui-sensei." He said firmly._

_"I don't think you'd be able to Naruto." Darui told him with a pat on his head, "I will be giving you the tattoo that will allow you to use Black Lightning." He added, receiving a nod from Naruto he began his explanation and drawing of the tattoo, "This tattoo is a work of a complex seal matrix that taps into your Lightning chakra, it's too dull to explain the entirety of the thing. So I'll just explain how you'll be able to use the different Lightning affinity." He said, getting a small laugh from Naruto at his obvious laziness, "It's just like using your different affinities, instead of regular lightning you will be able to filter your lightning chakra through the seal where it will change into the denser Black Lightning chakra. The Black Lightning will be much more effective than any regular lightning Jutsu. Like I said before, the chakra is much denser and therefore holds a lot more punch."_

_"If all Black Lightning is, is denser lightning chakra, why do you need a seal array for it?" Naruto asked, perplexed._

_"Because it's dense to the point of inhuman possibility, the seal array alters the chakra so much, that if a person were to try and condense the chakra as much as this seal array does, it would kill them."_

_"But how would it not kill me?"_

_"Because it's too dull to explain in detail, but simply, the seal array helps protect your body from dying from the dense chakra." Darui explained, "Here's a comparison, the Bijūdama and Rasengan are forms of dense chakra manifested externally, if you put that inside someone, they'll more than likely die." Darui laughed a little, no they would die. "But Black Lightning is much denser than the Rasengan, and instead of it manifesting just on the outside, it will be flowing throughout your chakra network the second you begin to transform it from regular lightning into Black Lightning." He added in to help his explanation, trying to avoid having to go into the utmost detail of explaining exactly how the seal would work, "The seal will help… I guess the word is control."_

_"It controls my chakra?" Naruto asked, just what the hell could seals do?_

_"That works; it controls the instability that would normally come from dense chakra such as this." He affirmed, "And since the seal does most of the work transforming and controlling the power of the Black Lightning, it will take less concentration to use."_

_"So even when I manifest this chakra externally to use a Jutsu, it would still be controlled by the seal?" He asked._

_Darui nodded, "As long as the chakra is connected to you, and can possibly affect you in any way, the seal will negate all negative effects of the chakra to the user."_

_"I really need to start learning more Fūinjutsu…" Naruto mumbled to himself, if a seal could make a powerful weapon such as the Black Lightning, he wondered what else could come of it._

_Darui finished drawing the Black Lightning tattoo on Naruto's left shoulder._

_A black Kanji for lightning showed that Naruto was the third holder of the legendary Black Lightning._

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><p><em><strong>End Flashback<strong>_

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><p>Not only did Naruto work hard on the regular abilities of most ninja. Like he had said to himself, and as Jiraiya had told him, he began to study the Fūinjutsu books that were given to him by Jiraiya before he left for his two year training trip. With the help of his recently learned <em><span>Shadow Clone Jutsu<span>_ from Darui, -to use in partner with one of his Black Lightning Jutsus'- he was able to read and understand the books at a much faster rate than he would've been able to without the usefulness of the Shadow Clones.

Naruto made extensive use of his newly learned_ Shadow Clone Jutsu_, the memory sharing ability was a huge help to help further progress his training when it came to Fūin and Ninjutsu. He had gotten almost a year worth of training in only three months with the help of the Shadow Clones, anyone without the massive chakra levels he was gifted with for having the Kyūbi would have died attempting the training he was going through on a daily basis. There was no doubt Naruto would be a Jōnin by the time he made it back to Kumogakure.

Yugito walked into another room of the building on the Island and laid down on her bed, forgoing the usual ceremony of stripping and taking a shower; she would be able to do that all tomorrow. All that was on her mind right now was Naruto and his progression. She was proud of him, no doubt. He would be a powerful ninja. It saddened her though; the fact that another person like her was subjugated to training from a young age.

Naruto never actually had a childhood in her opinion, he was hated in Konoha and in Kumo he was turned into a Shinobi… It was to be expected for what he was, but it was sad nonetheless.  
>Yugito sighed as she turned to lie on her side, staring into the darkness of the room. She just hoped that when he was finally sent on missions he wouldn't fall victim to the darkness of the Shinobi world that he would no doubt be exposed to.<p>

You could never train enough to prepare yourself for the atrocities of the Shinobi world.

LINE BREAK

"What would be the level of skill you would place Naruto-kun at Jiraiya-kun?" The Sandaime Hokage asked Jiraiya as he stood in the middle of the council room of Konoha. Jiraiya had just returned to Konoha after re-attending his spy network, going to every one of his connections between Kumo and Konoha. It had taken him the better part of three months to do his work, and another one month for his research.

Jiraiya had wanted to get close to Naruto because he was his godson, but after Jiraiya had finally weaseled his way into the position to train Naruto, he was forced to give information away on his godson to the Shinobi Council of Konoha, to help them understand the strength of their now lost Jinchūriki.

"A high Chūnin level Shinobi." Jiraiya replied to his aging Sensei simply.

"Impossible! He's only the age of ten! You dare say he would be near the level of Itachi and Kakashi when they were his age?" Hiashi Hyūga, the head of the Hyūga clan yelled out.

"I do."

"Then he must be eliminated." Danzo, the old war hawk of Konoha added in.

"You will hold your tongue Danzo." The Sandaime Hokage threatened as he focused his attention on his old war mongering teammate.

Danzo narrowed his eyes at the Hokage before turning his head away and sat quietly, allowing the rest of the council meeting to play out. He would do what would be needed for the village from the shadows.

Whatever it took for the benefit of Konoha.

Wanting to avoid the coldness of the two old shinobi, Koharu decided to change the subject, "This training trip to this Island you speak of, what do you know of it?" Koharu one of the Third's advisors asked.

"Absolutely nothing." He replied, much to the advisors annoyance.

"You dare lie to us Jiraiya?" Homura, another one of the Third's advisors, growled at the powerful shinobi in front of him.

"I know nothing of the boys training on the Island; I was simply there to train him before he left." He replied smoothly.

"And what exactly did you teach the boy?" Homura persisted, they would get something useful out of Jiraiya.

"_The Rasengan_ and the basics of Fūinjutsu." He stated.

"You taught the enemy one of the Fourth's signature Jutsu?!" Koharu asked, astonished at the gall of the Sannin.

"Yep." Jiraiya replied lazily.

"Why?" Homura asked through gritted teeth, Jiraiya's antics were starting to get to him. Much to the satisfaction of the Toad Sage.

Jiraiya looked to the Sandaime Hokage for the answer to the question, getting a small nod, Jiraiya turned to Homura, "Because it's his birthright to know it, you should know that shouldn't you, _Homura_?" Jiraya spat out his name like it was the plague. The Third's advisors were really starting to get on his nerves. They were nothing but nuisances and a thorn in his side, throughout his time in Kumo and whenever he was in the village they were doing what they could to put a leash on him. Something he didn't appreciate in any way.

Homura clenched his fists at the attitude of the Sannin. Throughout the entire council room, it was silent. The only people who had the knowledge of Naruto's heritage were the Third himself, his two advisors, Danzo, Kakashi, and Jiraiya.

As the councilors began to put together what it meant that Naruto, -the ex-Jinchūriki of their village- was taught the Rasengan because it was his birthright. Jiraiya couldn't help but laugh at the facial expressions of most of the councilors; wide-eyes with mouths gaping. How had they not put it together in the first place? He might as well of been a carbon copy of the Fourth!

"Who was his mother?" Tsume Inuzuka, the head of the Inuzuka clan asked in a more reserved manner than she normally would have.

"Kushina Uzumaki." It was the Third who answered the question.

Tsume clenched her fists and grit her teeth at the revelation. She already knew that Minato and Kushina were seeing each other; that much was obvious, but she hadn't known that Kushina was pregnant.

Tsume was pissed that she had not known that one of her closest friend's son had been within the village and she had been unable to do anything to help him.

"Why weren't we told of this?" Tsume asked through clenched teeth.

"Naruto Uzumaki's heritage was kept a secret because his heritage would've put his life in danger." The Third replied smoothly.

"I could've adopted him into the clan and trained him as well as protected him!" She barked back furiously.

"Giving the Jinchūriki of our village to one clan would upset the balance of power we have inside the village, it was best to let him live his life as an orphan." The Sandaime said, his voice was bland and impassive as he spoke. However, in all reality it hurt to realize the mistakes he made in keeping Naruto's heritage a secret, even if he wasn't able to be adopted into a clan, the boy would've been looked out for much better than he had been.

Tsume reluctantly accepted the answer; in turn Hiashi Hyūga spoke up, "We should crush them, first they attempt to kidnap my daughter, and now they've taken the Fourth's son." He spoke cleanly.

Jiraiya barked in laughter at Hiashi, earning a sharp glare from the clan head, "They haven't taken Naruto." He told him flatly after he finished his small fit of laughter, "Naruto chose to go, and Hiashi, you should know that your clan held the worst amount of animosity towards Naruto while he was in the village."

Hiashi held his tongue at the jab towards his clan.

Silence filled the council room as everyone contemplated the situation. Finally it was Shikaku Nara who spoke up, "Hokage-sama, what do you suggest we do?" The Nara clan head asked lazily.

"We will do nothing." The Hokage stated, getting short shouts of outrage that were cut short by the small amount of killer intent that the Hokage released, "We will simply keep building out thin alliance with Kumo as much as possible. With two fully trained Jinchūriki and a third in the making, we must do best to avoid war with them. If the chance provides itself, and anyone is to come across Naruto-kun, do your best to tempt him back to the village, but do not attempt to do anything that could trigger an open war between our two villages." The Hokage explained in a business like tone that held all the power he was renowned for.

Hiruzen sighed; he had already failed to keep Naruto in the village, the boy he had seen as his own grandson. He was happy for the boy, from the more in depth reports he got from Jiraiya, the boy was taken care of and had a good life back in Kumo, something a village known for its kindness had failed to give to an orphan and hero of their village. The Third Hokage would do whatever he could to keep Naruto out of harm's way from his own shinobi.

The job of being Hokage was beginning to catch up to him and his age wouldn't be able to keep pace with the job soon. Dismissing the council Hiruzen made his way to his office and took a seat behind his desk. Taking his pipe that was laid across his desk and packing it with tobacco, he lit it with a small amount of fire manipulation and smoked the pipe.

"May Kami-sama have mercy on our souls for the sins we have committed towards your son Minato-kun, Kushina-chan." Hiruzen said to himself as he looked out across the rooftops of his village.

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><p>Three months had passed since Naruto had conquered his darker self on his first try. Much to both B's and Darui's surprise. After the initial surprise, Naruto was put into more training; he had to prepare to fight the Kyūbi within his seal. Something that had been in the back of Naruto's mind since he had learned of how he would gain the Kyūbi's chakra.<p>

Every day Naruto would make a large amount of clones and have them focus on his Ninjutsu training. It was all he really would be able to use against the Kyūbi, Taijutsu and Kenjutsu were a no go against the giant fox chakra manifestation.

Naruto had decided that his high speeds and Jutsu arsenal would be enough to hold the Kyūbi down enough while he fought it with the help of both Yugito and B. Today, he would enter his seal and fight the Kyūbi for his chakra.

Naruto stood in what looked like a floorless room that was brightly colored in a rainbow like fashion; colors mixed together forming a bright and colorful room that had no true depth to it. This was what B called a 'Chakra Isolation Chamber' where he would be able to fight the Kyūbi with no fear of it being released into the world if he were to fail and set it free.

Naruto sat cross-legged; he was wearing his usual attire since he became a Kumo shinobi. A high collared grey sleeved shirt, with grey pants that were tied to his ankles with bandages. Black shinobi sandals and his Supervibrato Lightning Release Sword strapped diagonally across his right shoulder.  
>Also in the room were Yugito and B, sitting around in front of Naruto to form a triangle between the three shinobi.<p>

"You ready Naruto-kun?" Yugito asked.

Naruto smiled and nodded, "I'm ready, let's do this." He said firmly as he closed his eyes and held his hands out. B and Yugito each took one of his hands and closed their eyes.

Naruto opened his eyes to the familiar surroundings of the dark and damp sewer that represented his mindscape. Naruto turned his attention to the giant cage that stood in front of him where a menacing pair of red-slit eyes stared back at him.

"Kyūbi." Naruto stated as he walked towards the gate.

"**Ningen.**" It replied back as it watched its container move closer to the gate, already aware of the intention from Naruto.

Naruto reached the front of the gate when both B and Yugito appeared within his mindscape, standing behind him. B had a stupid grin on his face as he looked at the Kyūbi, spewing stupid rhymes, much to the annoyance of everyone within the seal. Yugito instead stood there looking at the back of Naruto, an impassive look on her face, while her eyes conveyed deep concern for the boy.

All of a sudden Naruto began to be carried by the water on the floor of the sewer, carrying him up the enormous height of the cage till he was floating in front of a piece of paper that held the kanji for seal upon it.

With a deep breath Naruto placed his hand to remove the seal. As he was beginning to pull off the thin piece of paper, a hand shot out of nowhere to grab his arm from continuing its path. Before Naruto could ask who or what had stopped him, he was confronted by the image of his most revered hero, a person, that even though he sealed the demon fox within him, he couldn't help but admire.

The Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

Before anyone could even react to the sudden presence of one of the strongest shinobi to live, the Kyūbi roared, "**Yondaime!**" The yell itself shaking the mindscape, vibrating the water that laid across the floor.

"Well he's loud isn't he?" The Fourth joked with a smile, "Let's change scenery huh?" Without waiting for an answer, the sewer around them changed, instead of a sewer the surrounding was replaced with what looked to be a carbon copy of the Chakra Isolation Chamber they were in outside of Naruto's mindscape.

Yugito moved forward to stand in front of Naruto, her arm outstretched to keep Naruto behind her as she narrowed her eyes at the Hokage in front of her, "What the hell are you doing in here?" She growled, her fingernails were now replaced with her long claws.

Minato put his hands up in a placating gesture, "I mean no harm, and I'm here due to you attempting to remove the seal holding the Kyūbi back." The Yondaime told them, "But I'm also glad to see Naruto here grown up." He said with a smile.

"How do you know my name?" Naruto asked warily.

"I was the one that named you of course." The simple sentence surprising everyone in the room.

Naruto was staring wide-eyed at the Yondaime, if he had named him- "Then that means…" His voice trailed off.

Minato nodded, "Hai." He stated, already knowing his son's train of thought.

Yugito was dumbstruck; Naruto was the son of the Fourth Hokage? She really shouldn't have been surprised as she looked between both Naruto and Minato, 'Take away the whiskers and they're carbon copies…' She thought, before lowering her arm and taking a step behind Naruto, she would give both Naruto and his father space, but she wouldn't be leaving him to deal with this alone, reunions generally meant an overflow of emotions. She put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, letting him know she was there for him.

"T-Tou-san?" Naruto asked quietly, still in shock about the fact that his father was standing in front of him. It didn't matter to him that his father was the Yondaime Hokage, what mattered to him was that he knew who his father was.

Minato nodded, "Hai, it's good to see you've grown, but Kumo?" He asked jokingly.

Yugito's grip tightened, she wouldn't let the Fourth bad mouth her village, and taint Naruto's viewing of her village because of his biased views. Naruto ignored the tight grip on his shoulder and began to speak the first thing that came to his mind.

"So that's why you sealed the Kyūbi inside of me…" He muttered, he then looked at Minato, "But you're supposed to be dead, how are you here?" He asked, if his knowledge server right, dead people stayed dead and they generally didn't come popping up out of the woodworks in someone else's mindscape.

Minato sighed, "Yes, that's why I sealed the Kyūbi inside of you; I couldn't come to ask another family for their child. And hey, you're my son… I knew you would be able to restrain the Kyūbi." He said with a smile, "But the reason I'm here… When I was sealing the Kyūbi inside of you, I put both your Kaa-san's and my chakra into the seal. Mine was to be used in case the seal was ever to be opened or if you reached an eight tails state." He explained.

Naruto had tears forming in his eyes as the realization finally sunk in. His dad was here with him. The parents he had hoped so much for were finally in front of him. Naruto surged forward, breaking from Yugito's grip and wrapped his arms around Minato, digging his head into the chest of his father. A smile on his face. "Tou-san…" He whispered, as all the pent up emotions he had stored in hope of meeting his parents finally began spilling outwards. He never actually believed he would ever meet his parents, the thought of his mystery parents always brought up a surge of sadness that he would force down, but now. He could finally let it all out.

Yugito couldn't help the soft smile that had spread across her face as she looked at the reunion between father and son. It was truly beautiful in her opinion to see even just a part of a family be reunited, no matter how strange the way.

B himself had held his tongue at the reunion, understanding this wasn't a time for his antics.

Minato was smiling down at his little boy. He wrapped his arms around his son, holding him tightly to his chest. It took all his strength to keep his own tears down. "Well, since I'm not here to fix the seal, I have some time to talk with you…" He said, Naruto looked up at him, his eyes reddened from his crying.  
>Naruto nodded with a smile, as he stepped back from his father and wiped his face with his arm, doing his best to get rid of the moisture that saturated his face.<p>

"So Kumo huh?" He asked, and receiving a nod from Naruto he continued, "How'd you come to live in Kumo?" He asked, wondering if he was kidnapped by Kumogakure, just like they had attempted on Kushina.

"I left Konoha…" Naruto whispered, loud enough for Minato to hear. Naruto's smile was gone as he gained a sudden interest in his sandals, staring intently at them.

"Huh, I guess that means that they didn't treat you the way I wanted them to." It was more of a statement than a question. Seeing the questioning gaze from Naruto, Minato continued, "I hoped for you to be seen as a hero for the village, containing the threat that was there to destroy the village." He said sadly, "But I'm glad you've found happiness in Kumo." He added.

Naruto looked up happily at his father, even on his death bed his father had done his best to look out for him… if only the people had listened to him. "You said that Kaa-san's chakra was in here… can… can I see her?" He asked hesitantly.

Minato shook his head, "Sorry Naruto, but you'll meet her when you finally open the cage to defeat the Kyūbi." He told him.

Naruto just nodded; at least he would be able to see his mom at some point. "What's her Name?" He asked.

"Kushina, Kushina Uzumaki." Minato said, confirming one of Yugito's long held suspicions of Naruto's biological parents.

So that's where he had gotten his Uzumaki name from. The thought passed through his head quickly.  
>"So Naruto, can I assume that since you were trying to open the cage you have the key to the seal?" Minato asked.<p>

Naruto nodded, "Hai, Jiraiya-sensei said he knew my parents and was a friend of yours…" He told him.

"So even in Kumo he found a way to see you?" Minato asked with a laugh. "Jiraiya actually taught me, he was my Sensei as well." Minato recalled, "Did he teach you anything useful?" Knowing full well that Jiraiya may be one of the legendary Sannin, but he was a terrible teacher at times, always preferring to peep on the hot springs instead of do something of use.

Naruto nodded once again, "Hai, he taught me a Jutsu called the Rasengan."

"So you can do the Rasengan? I guess that means that you can continue to do what I couldn't." Minato told him.

"Huh?"

"I was the one who created the Rasengan Naruto." Minato said with a laugh, "But it's not actually completed, I was attempting to add my wind chakra to increase its power but was never able to complete it." The fourth informed Naruto.

"You made the Rasengan?" Naruto asked, receiving a nod he stared wide-eyed, "Well then, of course I'll complete the Rasengan! I am your son after all!" Naruto exclaimed with a cheeky grin while he jabbed his thumb into his chest.

Minato laughed loudly at that exclamation, he definitely took after Kushina when it came to personality, "So what are your affinities anyways Naruto?"

"I actually have Water and Lightning; I also have the Storm release." Naruto said informing his father, "How do I have the Storm release? Did Kaa-san have it?" He asked, it was something that always perplexed him, he always thought himself related to Darui-sensei in some way, if they had the same Kekkei Genkai they had to be.

Minato looked surprised, "A Kekkei Genkai huh? Yep, you're my son." He grinned, before going into his explanation, "Your Kaa-san didn't have the Storm Release, but it was believed that the Uzumaki clan had a few people who had married with some others outside of the clan that held that specific Kekkei Genkai, it's possible the genetics skipped your Kaa-san and went straight into you."

However, before Naruto could get too excited at the revelation, Minato stepped forward and place a hand on Naruto's head, "Naruto," The Hokage said getting the attention of his son he continued, "My chakra's running low, and I want to give you something before I go." He told him, even though the conversation was short, it was enough, and he needed the majority of his remaining chakra to give Naruto one of the things he had always wanted to pass down to his child.

Naruto nodded in silence, his eyes holding unshed tears. He didn't want his dad to leave, they had just met! But he already knew there was nothing he would be able to do to stop his father's fading chakra. He would let his father do what he needed without giving him a problem, there was no point in begging for him to stay when there was nothing that could keep him there.

Naruto was doing his best to hold in his tears. He didn't dare speak, as he knew the torrent of tears would come out at any given moment. He would wait for his dad to do his work.

All of a sudden a rush of information bombarded Naruto's head, it was all foreign information as he did his best to sort through it to calm the ensuing headache that came at the burst of knowledge, it felt as if he had just release hundreds of clones all at once. Looking up to his father he could see him grinning down at him as his figure began to slowly fade and loose solidity within his mindscape.

"I gave you all the information I had on my _Hiraishin no Jutsu_, you should be able to recreate the seal array if you work on it hard enough Naruto. I put my faith in you that you will be able to do it." He gave a one handed wave, "I love you Naruto, and tell your Kaa-san I love her too." He added, hoping Naruto told Kushina, because if not, there would be hell to pay, even if his actual soul was stuck inside the Shinigami.

"Bye, Tou-san! I love you!" He yelled, a couple of tears falling down his face as he watched his father disappear from the brightly colored room.

Naruto stood there looking at the position his father was just standing in with teary filled eyes, ignoring the pain in his head he dropped to his knees and let the dam fall that was holding back his sadness. In a moment he had finally been able to see his father. He had not only been able to find out who he was, but he was able to physically touch him and talk to him. Naruto didn't care if his father had sealed the  
>Kyūbi inside of him, in all honesty, the Kyūbi had led him to where he was now and he loved it. Though he was wondering what it would've been like to live with his actually parents. Now though his father was gone; he had gotten a taste of just what his father was like and now it was gone. He had family in Kumogakure but Naruto just couldn't shake the emotions that ran through him at the disappearance of his real father. It was the dream of almost every orphan to be able to see their real parents again. He had been given that dream, only to have it taken away like some sadistic nightmare.<p>

In an instant Naruto was pulled out of his mindscape. He opened his now wet eyes to the colorful room that was within the Bijū temple. His body was wrapped in the arms of Yugito as she held his head into the crook of her neck; she began rubbing his back soothingly as she tried to calm the tears that flowed freely from Naruto.

B had already left the room to leave the two Blonde's to comfort each other, he was never good with these kind of things and he already knew the relation between both Blonde's was far stronger than the one he held with Naruto. It was best to leave the two pseudo-family members together.

Yugito didn't say anything as she continued to comfort Naruto. He may have gained control over some of his emotions, but sometimes it was impossible to break yourself from a torrent of powerful emotions like the ones that had just come to Naruto in the short time they had spent in his mind. It was inevitable for a break, especially for an orphan who had finally met his real parents.

An hour or so passed with Naruto still being held firmly within Yugito's grasp before he was fully able to control his emotions again. "I'm sorry Yugito-chan." He said quietly.

Yugito raised an eyebrow, "What for Naruto-kun?" She asked, her chin was rested on top of Naruto's head as she played with his blonde locks.

"I couldn't control myself…" Naruto said, referring to his breakdown.

Yugito laughed lightly before pulling herself away, allowing herself to see Naruto's tear stained face, "You baka… Sometimes it's okay to just let loose Naruto…" She reassured him, "It's just a matter of where and when you do it." Yugito gave him a reassuring smile, doing what she could to help make him feel at ease.

Naruto nodded, he would need to remember that, bottling all those emotions up in one bottle definitely wasn't a good thing to do, "Can we go outside Yugito-chan?" He asked, the bright colors were really starting to hurt his eyes.

"Yea, let's go Naruto-kun, we'll come back some other day." The Nibi container said as she stood up, helping Naruto to stand up with her.

The Blonde duo made their way out the ornate Bijū temple that was held on the Island, and walked out from behind the waterfall of truth that it was so conveniently hidden behind. The sun had gone down once again and the island was coated in an almost palpable darkness that drowned the forest in black, making it almost impossible to see more than a few steps in front of you.

Naruto began to lead Yugito through the forest towards the edge of the island; he began using chakra to help enhance his limited vision in the night. He wanted to watch the calming waves of the ocean splash against the rocky surface of the Turtle-Island. It always helped to clear his head whenever he had too much on his mind. It was relaxing.

The two blonde's made their way to the edge of the Island, multiple of the rocky spikes stuck out from the island and jutted out, hanging over the ocean. "What are we doing here Naruto-kun?" She asked as the two made their way onto one of the spikes. One misstep and they would be taking a dip or land another spike.

"I don't know really, I just like the view and the ocean." Naruto admitted. He took a seat, dangling his legs off the edge of the spike as he stared off into the endless ocean that was painted black and sparkling with the reflections of the numerous stars that shined down onto the endless ocean. The calming sounds of the waves crashing onto the side of the Island added to the relaxing ambiance.

A pleasant silence filled the air between the two blondes. Yugito was standing next to Naruto, enjoying the scenery that the night time of the Island provided her. "How often do you come out here Naruto-kun?" She asked, her voice low, wanting to keep the sereneness of the scene intact.

Yugito could barely make out Naruto shrugging, "Every now and then, mostly when I've got a lot on my mind." He told her, stuff like this had been his release from all the work he would normally do. Looking out onto the beautiful scenery that the Island would grant him gave him a sense of peace and allowed him to really appreciate the world around him instead of just passing it by like he normally would in his day to day life when he was training.

A comfortable silence fell once again. The silence gave Naruto reverie to gather his thoughts.  
>"Yugito?" Naruto's voice came from the darkness.<p>

Yugito couldn't ignore the fact that Naruto had removed the suffix from her name, was something wrong? If so, did it still have to do with his father? "Yea?"

"Do you think he's proud of me?" Naruto asked his voice sounded far off as if he was in deep thought, "My father." He clarified.

Yugito smiled at the question; of course any child would want to know if their parents were proud of them. "What kind of stupid question is that Naruto?" She asked, earning a confused look from Naruto that she could barely make out, his cerulean blue eyes being the only real discernible feature in the darkness.

"What do you mean?" The Kyūbi Jinchūriki asked, was his question really stupid? If so, why was it stupid?

Yugito gave a light bop over his head, "Naruto, of course he would be proud of you." She stated softly, "Naruto, you work hard for everything you've got so far, you were treated like dirt as a child and instead of giving up you got stronger. You've worked hard for the village, and one day you're going to be a great protector for it, just like your father was for his village. He could see that in you." Instead of bopping him on the head she have him a one arm hug, pulling him in close, his head leaning onto her thigh, "He may not have been able to see how strong you are, but there's no doubt in my mind, with the way that he looked at you, that he was proud of you." She said convincingly, her hand that was resting on his shoulder now playing with his blonde locks. "I know I am." The Jōnin added in.

Yugito felt one of Naruto's hands take hold of hers and gave it a light squeeze in gratitude, "Thank you Yugito Nee-chan…"

Yugito gave a soft smile, "No problem, Otouto." Naruto gave her a wide grin, he could already feel another set of tears wanting to break through; he was just glad that Yugito thought enough of him to think of him as a little brother. To be referred to as something like little brother or son set something off in him, a little part of them that always wanted to be a part of a real family. "Naruto, let's head back." She said, pulling him up to a standing position.

"Yugito Nee-chan, do you think we could wait a little bit on fighting the Kyūbi?" Naruto asked as the two began to walk away from the edge of the Island and made their way inwards, doing their best to navigate the pitch black forest.

"Why do you want to wait Naruto?" She asked, genuinely surprised that he would postpone the fight with the Kyūbi, it was never like him to want to step down from a challenge.

"I just want to take a bit to write down the Hiraishin notes and learn a little more on seals."

"Naruto you don't have to ask, of course we can wait." She told him, "We still have more than a year left, take your time with this whole thing, I don't want you to overwhelm yourself." Yugito chided her pseudo-brother.

Naruto smiled and scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I know Yugito-nee but I promised you that I would do it in under a year." He said, reminding her of one of his many ridiculous promises that he was always somehow able to keep.

Yugito just shook her head as she continued to lead them back to their lodging on the Island. Her little brother was too stubborn for his own good.


	5. Chapter 5: Gaining Power

A/N: Sorry about the terrible wait when it came to this chapter. I had a terrible time writing it, I don't know what it was but it was just painful to write the scene between Kushina and Naruto as well at the fight, and everything that came after. This chapter didn't come to me that well and I feel it comes through when you read it, especially towards the end. It's pretty short aswell, I hope you guys can stand it till I get to the genin teams, the part that I actually want to write when it comes to this story. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, no matter how bleh it really is... Sorry!

Also this chapter hasn't been beta'd I literally JUST finished it and wanted to post it ASAP, the next chapter will hopefully be better...

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><p>Chapter 5: Gaining Power<p>

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><p>"<strong>Naruto!<strong>" The Kyūbi roared as it smashed through the unlocked gates of its cage. The demons voice echoed through the dark damp sewer of Naruto's mindscape, water rippled from the sheer force emitted from the Kyūbi as its cage flew open, slamming against the walls. The sudden force from the Kyūbi's guttural roar made Naruto take a step back to brace himself.

Ignoring the giant fox that stood looming over him, nine fiery orange tails swinging behind him, "You know, that's the first time you called me by my name." He announced nonchalantly, much to the Kyūbi's ire.

"**You dare mock me mortal?!**" It growled out at its soon to be ex-container.

"Why are you going back to mean names now?" Naruto pouted, having too much fun aggravating the giant chakra manifestation that could kill him with ease if he didn't keep his guard up. He may have built a mask that he would use in combat, but goading what he considered his long time friend, was something he couldn't pass up. He knew the consequences of potentially angering his opponent; he just hoped he was ready for what the Kyūbi could dish out.

"**You insolent human!**" The Kyūbi bellowed, shaking the foundations of Naruto's mindscape like it was a child's doll house that he had just pushed over.

"Geez, you get riled up easily don't ya?" Naruto asked, amused.

Without anymore stalling, the Kyūbi's tails lunged forward towards Naruto at inhuman speeds. But Naruto wasn't a trained shinobi for nothing. As if seeing the attack in slow motion, Naruto began the delicate dance of flowing between each tail that came towards him. A single touch of the orange tails would be enough to wound him. The corrosiveness of the chakra that coated the Kyūbi was nothing to scoff at.

Naruto moved with practiced grace between the large tails. Easily avoiding them with flowing movements of his body, ducking and diving between tails as they came at him with all the rage the Kyūbi had. Each tail embedded into the ground after an attack, not much to Naruto's surprise, but it gave him even more reason not to take the blow head on.

Staying crouched after landing from dodging the Kyūbi's last tail, Naruto surveyed the area. The Kyūbi stood stationary, its tails embedded into the metal sewer floor of Naruto's mindscape.

"Naruto! Take Mighty Nine's Chakra! Fool, ya fool! " B's voice came from out of nowhere within Naruto's mindscape, much to Naruto's chagrin. He forgot that his Senseis would be helping him fight the Kyūbi. As if on cue, to the left of Naruto, the wall of the sewer burst open as a giant octopus tentacle came rushing through the wall to grab the Kyūbi. "Yo, yo, yo! What's up Mighty Nine! The Hachibi Jinchūriki, Killer B is here to beat you down! Weeeeee!" B yelled, the head of the mighty Hachibi came through the hole in the wall a second later.

The Ox-head focused on the Kyūbi as more of its octopus tails raced through the wall to get a grip onto the Kyūbi's stationary body. Naruto, not wasting a second took advantage of the Kyūbi's predicament and formed a hand seal, his index and middle fingers on both hands formed a cross.

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_"

Naruto made no noise to give away his Jutsu that he would be using, not that it would help against the ancient chakra construct that had no doubt seen the Jutsu before. But he had learned to not yell out his Jutsus' it was always a rookie mistake to allow the enemy even a second to understand what you were doing.

In an instant eight Narutos' were formed around the original. Without issuing an order the new Naruto's rushed at the Kyūbi, each taking hold of a different tail.

"Be careful when taking the Kyūbi's chakra, use your strong will to contain the hatred of the Kyūbi!" B informed the young Jinchūriki.

Naruto took the information in and began his assault on taking the Kyūbi's chakra. His chakra manifested externally, revealing an ethereal Naruto connected to the body of the original. The original Naruto moved to the only tail without a clone of his and allowed his chakra manifestation to take hold of the tail. But before his chakra could latch onto the Kyūbi's, all the tails were abruptly ripped from the floor of the sewer, throwing all the Narutos' around the room and ripping apart the octopus tentacle that was holding down the Kyūbi's body.

All eight Shadow Clones disappeared in separate poofs of smoke as they impacted the hard surface of the room.

The original Naruto stood back up, catching his breath that was knocked out of him when he was thrown against the wall.

'_No small Jutsus' will do anything to the Kyūbi.' _Naruto thought, beginning his theorizing of how to take down the Kyūbi, '_I'll have to stick with large area of effect or powerful focused Jutsus' and hope to stagger the Kyūbi. Time to make use of these Shadow Clones.' _Naruto mused.

It was time to put his large arsenal of Jutsus' to use.

"Let's go B-sensei!" Naruto yelled as he made the familiar hand-sign for his Shadow Clones.

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_"

A single clone popped into existence next to the original. After a nod between the two, both Naruto's held the rat sign.

"_Lightning Style: Double Black Panther!_"

Both Naruto's channeled their Lightning chakra through the seals inscribed onto their shoulder, in an instant Black Lightning began to materialize around the two blondes. Each Naruto moved their arms outward, as if grabbing the lightning, then began to shape it. The lightning started to take the shape of a Panther, yellow eyes glaring towards the Kyūbi, Black Lightning rippling throughout the form of the beast.

It one swift motion the Naruto's moved their right hand in front of them, palm facing towards the Kyūbi and without hesitation the Black Panthers were flying through the air towards their target. Their paws were held outwards ready to latch onto the chakra fox to deliver the full power of the technique, teeth bared in aggression as they soared to their target releasing threatening growls.

Kyūbi moved two of its tails to intercept the attack, attempting to swipe them away as if it were a mere nuisance. But the second the panthers made contact with the Kyūbi's tail, they released all the lightning that was stored within their body and allowed it to flow freely into the Kyūbi's system. Throughout the body of the Kyūbi ripples of black lightning could be seen coursing through the chakra monster, causing the Kyūbi to roar in rage and pain.

Much to the Kyūbi's surprise the attack was much worse than he had expected to come from the child that stood in front of him.

The Jutsu had taken less than three seconds to use and stun the Kyūbi.

Naruto left no time for the Kyūbi to think, '_Always press the advantage._' The words flew through his mind, a lesson he had learned painfully from all of his Senseis. His Shadow Clone disappeared in a flicker of smoke and Naruto went through a string of hand-seals that felt like second nature to him after using the Jutsu so many times.

"_Storm Style: Laser Circus!_"

His hands stopped on the dragon hand-sign.

He aimed his hands towards the Kyūbi. A white ball of energy surrounded by a white halo formed in front of his combined hands, the halo began to expand exponentially with the extra influx of power being thrust into the Jutsu. Naruto was mixing his water and lightning chakra together effortlessly, all allowed by the bloodline that ran through him. In an impressive explosion of power the ball of energy exploded outwards forming a cone of blinding light as it shot forward to the Kyūbi, the cone of energy seemed to engulf the entire form of the Kyūbi that was using its tails in an attempt to shield itself.

Hundreds of separate lasers of mixed lightning and water were moving within the cone, all being controlled by Naruto, he began to manipulate as many of the lasers he could at once to move around the wall the Kyūbi had made with its tails, aiming for the exposed flanks of the Kyūbi.

As each individual laser hit their mark somewhere along the body of the Kyūbi, the combined force exploded outwards once again shaking Naruto's mindscape.

The blonde stood panting, "Damn, I put too much chakra in that one…" He muttered to himself as he checked his hands, the outside of his fingers were charred from the overexertion of his last Jutsu. Naruto turned his attention from his injured hands and looked to where the Kyūbi was standing before his Jutsu. The smoke surrounding the Kyūbi's large figure began to dissipate and Naruto couldn't help but pale at the sight before him.

"**Feel the power of a Bijūdama!**" The Kyūbi roared, its head reared back, tails converged over its head, and a gathering of massive amounts of chakra in front of the Kyūbi's muzzle. The chakra in front of Kyūbi began to merge, red and blue made purple as it multiplied in size, almost matching the Kyūbi in size.

After a few seconds passed the purple ball of power was shrunk to the size of a marble and the Kyūbi took the ball into its mouth, the influx of chakra causing the tailed beasts mouth to puff out.

Naruto instinctually ran through hand seals for his only defensive Jutsu he knew, but before he could even get to the second hand sign the Kyūbi had aimed its muzzle at Naruto and let loose the Bijūdama. A blinding red cone of power was sent careening out of the Kyūbi's mouth towards Naruto, leaving no time to dodge or cast a Jutsu. The ground and ceiling between Naruto and the Bijūdama began to rip apart under the sheer force that the attack was unleashing.

Before the cone of death could make contact with Naruto, the hand of the Hachibi materialized out of the ground and caught the attack like it was a mere nuisance, causing the attack to dissipate in an instant, only smoke and the debris revealing that the attack ever existed.

"Naruto, that is all the co-operation you're going to get with this operation from me, I'm out of chakra in here!" B informed Naruto, the hand of the Hachibi was wrapped up by more octopus like appendages, turning the hand into a smaller head of the great Octo-Ox. The hand suddenly blew up from the inside, containing the final killing power behind the Bijūdama.

"Right, thanks B-sensei." Naruto replied, mostly to himself as he stared down the visage of the angered Kyūbi. Annoyed by the fact that its most powerful attack was swatted away like a fly, Kyūbi knew if he had his Yin half then that attack would've easily blown through the Hachibi and killed his container.

But the Kyūbi also knew it was holding back its full power that its Yang half contained. It wanted to see what the boy could do, even if it was at the loss of its own chakra. The Kyūbi had somehow become attached to the Ningen it was contained in. He wouldn't be dissapointed to see his chakra taken by Naruto; it was a power that would help the boy along the way to help protect his loved ones that he thought so highly of. But the Kyūbi was more interested in the progression of his container, and how Naruto would cure him of his hate. Of course the Kyūbi believed it an impossible goal, but those words alone reminded him of his father.

Kyūbi believed Naruto was the child that his father had talked about all those years ago before he had died. The Kyūbi was brought out of its brief thoughts by the popping sound of a clone coming into existence around him.

Kyūbi watched in interest as over fifty clones of Naruto appeared and began moving quickly to surround the giant fox.

Naruto was risking a large amount of his chakra reserves to do this attack that he had seen Darui-sensei use. He had used it himself and it was effective, especially if he needed to destroy a small area in front of him. But with his clones, he could now multiply the Jutsus' size easily at the cost of a large portion of his reserves.

Every Naruto ran through a quick string of hand seals and ended on the tiger hand sign.

"_Water Style: Water Wall!_"

The originally defensive Jutsu shot out of each Naruto's mouth. But instead of acting as a barrier, the Naruto's controlled the water and pushed them outwards, creating a large tidal wave that surrounded the Kyūbi from all sides. Each Naruto began to go through another string of hand seal while holding the high velocity water attack.

Naruto ended on the rat sign.

"_Lightning Style: Wave of Inspiration!_"

The waves of water were suddenly electrified; powerful bolts of lightning running through the large tidal wave that surrounded the Kyūbi, bolts of lightning were jumping off sporadically adding to the intimidation factor of the attack, not that it had actually scared the Kyūbi. Each wave was being charged by lightning by all fifty of the clones channeling the lightning jutsu through their separate waves.

The water wall Naruto had learned was an effective defensive tool, but after training with Darui-sensei for so long he had learned to turn the defensive Jutsu into a seemingly powerful attack that would leave the enemies surprised by the offensive use of the originally defensive torrent of water heading their way. With the added electricity from the seemingly simple offensive lightning Jutsu it would either kill or stun enemies.

Naruto had noted that even the simplest of Jutsus' could always cause trouble, and it wasn't always about the rank of the Jutsu, just how it was utilized.

But none of that mattered to him right now, all the mattered was the fact that the Kyūbi was being overwhelmed by the large torrent of water being sent its way. The added effect of the lightning Jutsu caused the chakra fox to yell in anguish at the sheer amount of power being pumped through the simple Jutsu.

'Now!' Was the only thought that went through Naruto's mind as he dispelled his clones and charged forward, avoiding the torrent of water that was riding off of the Kyūbi, spreading out into his mindscape, causing the already ankle-high water to grow, causing it to come up to his knees. Ignoring the frequent flicker of pain from the leftover lightning chakra that was flowing through the water Naruto continued forward, intent on ending the fight.

Naruto reached the Kyūbi who was on its back, using its front paws to keep its body up as it watched the boy intently. The blonde taking no more time, allowed his chakra to manifest outside of his body once again and attach itself to the Kyūbi, dragging out its chakra.

Stepping back, Naruto began the arduous task of pulling the immensely powerful chakra that was flowing within the Kyūbi. With each step backing away from the Kyūbi the chakra seemed to free itself, making it easier to add distance between himself and the fox.

"**Naruto! If you can tame my hatred you may have my chakra!**" The fox challenged, its belief in the boys power was proven, all he needed to see was if Naruto could truly be the foretold boy that his father had once spoken of. Kyūbi's blue chakra that was pulled out of its body and into Naruto, began to turn a blood red and pitch black, completely engulfing the lighter chakra, it moved onto Naruto's chakra manifestation, turning the translucent form into a pure black and red visage.

Naruto watched in horror as the chakra began to engulf his body, a burning feeling creeping up from within his mind.

"Stay away from him sweetie."

"Be careful honey, you don't want to be near that boy."

"How could Hokage-sama allow _that_ boy into the academy?"

"Do you have any idea what would happen if _he_ were to be a ninja?"

"Why don't you just leave demon!"

The whispers of multiple voices began to enter Naruto's mind. The repressed and forgotten memories of his time in Konoha coming into his mind, being fed power through the hatred being contained within the malicious chakra that was being leaked by the Kyūbi. Naruto closed his eyes, trying to forget the memories that seemed to be coming out as if a dam within his mind was broken.

"No! Go away!" Naruto yelled, his eyes clenched as if it would ward off the painful whispers of the people he used to live with.

But it was for naught, his eyes shot wide open revealing his cerulean blues, fearing the painful whispers, the chakra slowly gaining ground over his body. His left eye changing color, the pupil turning a blood red while the whites of his eyes turned to a pitch black.

"Sorry, Kyūbi…" Naruto managed to get out, his voice hoarse, the chakra of the Kyūbi burning his covered body.

The blonde readied himself for his failure; sorry for being unable to continue his quest to cure the Kyūbi of its hatred, and protect the ones he had worked so hard for. It didn't many anymore; he was too weak willed to be able to tame the Kyūbi's chakra. He may have been able to conquer his own hate, but the Kyūbi's was much stronger and potent. Something he wasn't ready for.

The Kyūbi watched with an impassive gaze as it watched its Jinchūriki become consumed by its hatred. To Kyūbi it was no surprise, the fox was practically made out of hatred and chakra, this was apparently not the child of prophecy his father had talked about.

"Love Naruto-kun."

Naruto's mindscape shifted; changing from the dark and damp sewer, to the once again colorful surrounding that he was familiar with… this was where his father had taken him.

Naruto's heterochromia eyes widened, staring at the person in front of him, one thought flowing through his mind that made any sense to him.

'_Kaa-san…_'

A soft melodious voice came from the woman standing in front of Naruto, a small loving smile gracing the lips of the beautiful red-haired woman. "So you know who I am?" She asked, already understanding that Naruto was in some form of shock as he stared at her. Violet eyes met a single cerulean blue and in the next second the blonde had leaped forward and had wrapped his arms around the body of Kushina Uzumaki.

Kushina stood stunned for a second, the affection that was rolling off of her son was palpable and she couldn't help but smile, wrapping her arms around Naruto.

Kushina could feel the small shudders coming from the body of her son, hearing the soft sobs finding their way out of his throat; she placed a hand on the back of his head, holding his head in place that was buried in her neck. Complacent with the position she was with her son, she allowed him to cry his heart out. Kushina couldn't help but be happy holding her son in her arms, even if she was just a chakra manifestation.

"You sure got your personality from your father… what a softie." Kushina joked, trying to make her son happy in any way that she could.

The red head was able to feel the change in her son; a small laugh escaped his lips as he pulled away from her. Kushina noted that her son's eyes now matched, both cerulean blue eyes staring back at her, the influence of the Kyūbi's chakra being pushed back by the sheer amount of positive emotion that Naruto was letting through.

"I guess that's not the only thing I got from him huh?" Naruto asked lightheartedly as he ran his arm across his face, trying to clean off the watery residue that had gathered around his face.

Kushina nodded happily, allowing her eyes to roam over his body and face, taking in how much her son had grown since the day he was born and the last time she had seen him. He had definitely taken after his father in his looks. His face had a small amount of baby fat left on it but the red head could easily see the more angular look that was coming through. Her son looked older than he actually was, muscles were visible along his sleeveless arm, they showed his strength yet they weren't bulging, more so they were lean, giving him maneuverability and speed.

The elder Uzumaki's violet eyes landed on the head band wrapped around her sons neck. Her eyes widened in surprise when she noticed the symbol of Kumogakure on the metal plating. The village that had tried to kidnap her when she was just a child because of her powerful chakra that could suppress a Bijū. Kushina was frowning as she looked at the piece of metal, her mind already wandering to how her son had come to end up in Kumo. Had they tried to kidnap him? Apparently they had succeeded.

Noticing the look on his mothers face, Naruto took hold of his hitai-ate and pulled it off. He held it in his hand, running his thumb across the symbol with a small serene smile spread across his features. "Yugito Nee-chan told me what happened between you and Kumo…" He told her, remembering the conversation he had with Yugito after learning that his mom truly was Kushina Uzumaki, "They told me everything the Sandaime Raikage tried to do to you." Naruto looked up and looked into his mothers eyes with a burning passion, "But that was a mistake of the past Kaa-san and I was saved by the people of Kumogakure and it is my home. I trust everyone who has helped me get where I am and I would gladly give my life for the protection of this village." He paused to gauge the reaction of his mother, seeing her just staring at him he continued, "I understand they wronged you but the Yondaime Raikage is different!" He said with such conviction that even startled himself.

Kushina smiled warmly, moving forward she engulfed her son in a hug, "I understand Naruto-kun, I believe you." She told him, "You turned out to be such a fine young man at such a young age. I guess I have Kumo to thank for that."

Naruto smiled, nodding into the crook of his mother's neck as she held him, "Thank you."

Kushina pulled back and looked at her son, "It's time we talked about some stuff Naruto-kun." Her tone of voice completely changing the atmosphere between the two.

Naruto nodded, instantly taking notice of his mother change in attitude and posture as she stood up straight and gave him a gaze of utter seriousness. "Like what Kaa-san?" He asked, wanting to get started, completely forgetting his fight between him and the Kyūbi.

Kushina sighed, her face getting a far off look as she stared into the endless colorful space that was the mindscape that Naruto and her now inhabited, "What really happened on October 10th." She answered sadly.

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><p>Naruto stood in the colorful endless space that was a part of his mindscape, he was staring at his hands that were covered in yellow-orange coat of chakra. The cloak looked alive, flames spread randomly off of the body of the teenager as he took in his new appearance.<p>

Six black magatama surrounded Naruto's neck, as well as multiple markings spread across the entirety of his new cloak, the seal to the Kyūbi was now constantly visible and outlines by the thick black lines that spread through the cloak. The shroud of power caused Naruto's hair to rise, giving him a more powerful look as his hair stood up, almost like him having horns on his head. His cerulean blue eyes were now a dark orange, the last sign of his full ascension with the chakra of the Kyūbi.

The blonde could feel the power flowing through his body, the chakra radiate pure power, but also had a calming wave of serenity that passed over when he had first activated the cloak of chakra. He turned his head and looked towards his mother, a wide smile on his face, "Thank you Kaa-san."

Kushina smiled, "Your welcome Naruto-kun." She walked over and place a hand on the chest of her son, she looked into his eyes, "You're strong Naruto-kun, but be careful, that man was strong enough to go toe to toe with Minato-kun." Her body began to slowly fade from existence.

"Hai, Kaa-san, I will be careful." Naruto urged his body to hold in the tears that threatened to spill out as he watched his mother disappear from his life for good. A small smile stayed on his face against the sad emotions. He was happy, he was able to see his mother, and had learned the truth of October 10th and the masked man who attacked his parents for the Kyūbi. But not only was he able to learn the truth but he was able to defeat the Kyūbi and take its chakra with the help of his mother's chakra chains and advice.

Love overcomes hate.

Naruto closed his eyes and after a second he opened them. Once again greeted by various golden colors that made up both his mindscape when he had spoken to his parents and the Chakra Isolation chamber. He was greeted by two of the people he had come to trust the most within Kumogakure, B and Yugito. He was now standing, his body cloaked in the calming power that was the Kyūbi's chakra as he looked at the other two Jinchūriki in the room.

Yugito was the first to speak up, anything to keep B from rapping, "Good job Naruto-kun." She gave him a heartwarming smile and put a hand on his shoulder, "How are you adjusting to the chakra?" She asked.

Naruto paused, taking in everything the chakra was doing to his body. In all honesty, it felt great. He could feel everything the chakra was doing. The enhancements to every muscle in his body and the upgrades to all of his sense, it felt a bit overwhelming at first when he laid eyes on the colorful rooms that he was in but it took no time to get over the small pain it caused his retinas. A small tingling was spread throughout his body, not understanding what it was he ignored it, it didn't seem to cause him pain, he put it off thinking it to be a side effect of the raw power spreading throughout his chakra network.

"I feel great, outstanding really… like nothing can touch me." Naruto grinned as he once again turned his eyes onto his hands observing the flowing chakra that would give off periodic flickers of what looked like fire.

"Don't let it get to your head alright?" Though it sounded like a question her tone of voice made it sound more of a command that Naruto immediately nodded at.

"Ha-" Naruto stopped mid sentence as an unbelievable pain overcame his bottom. Without another word he fell to his knees, eyes clenched and hands curled up into fists, trying to stave off the growing pain that had spread out throughout his body.

"-ruto!" Was all he heard as the pain caused his heart beat to increase. All he could now hear was the thunderous pound of his heart that caused his head the shudder in pain. All of a sudden the fire that once gave him power just a few moments ago seemed to begin to burn his body. Not from the outside in, but from the inside out.

Naruto could feel his chakra coils expand exponentially than what they once were. A massive influx of chakra spread throughout his body causing his coils to expand in inhumane ways. The pain caused him to scream silently as he did whatever he could to somehow null the pain before sweat unconsciousness finally took his mind.

Before Naruto's full body could land on the ground he was caught by the lithe arms of his surrogate sister. She looked at him in worry, watching even in unconsciousness as his body squirmed uncomfortably from the pain within himself. "What's wrong Naruto?" She whispered to herself as she watched helplessly, unable to do anything to help.

* * *

><p>Naruto could feel the change of setting the second he came to. The soft bed under him was the first thing he noticed, a complete contrast from the hard floor in the Chakra Isolation room he was training in. And now the painfully bright light that was trying to pry through the lids of his closed eyes. He let out a groan of disappointment as his eyes finally opened, revealing the painfully bright white room he was now situated in.<p>

"Awake are we?" A voice came through Naruto's ears, alerting him that he wasn't alone in the room.

Naruto turned his head towards the voice, his eyes still adjusting to the light, only able to make out the outline of a woman standing there in what looked to be an all white uniform.

Noticing the attention on her the woman smiled, "Well you probably have a lot of questions." She said as she moved towards the bed Naruto was on. She took the clipboard that was hanging off the foot of the bed and began to examine the information placed on the board, "It appears you came in with extremely forced expansion of your chakra coils…" She seemed in awe at that statement, "Expansion of chakra pool by almost fifty percent… and somehow you're not dead." She said humorously as she dry chuckled at that, "You're really something."

"Thanks." Naruto replied, his voice dry, it felt like he hadn't drank anything in weeks. He attempted a smile at the woman's humor towards his condition, "I guess I am." He paused to take another look around the room, his vision now clear. He was definitely in a hospital if the white and bare room was anything to go by.

He then turned his eyes to the woman looking him over; he surmised she had to be a nurse, wearing the usual white uniform with her blonde hair in a bun. She seemed to be in her late forties, small wrinkles making their way over her aging face that was still full of life. A smile on her face and a small glint to her eyes that radiated kindness. Naruto decided to break the silence that befell the room as the woman checked him over, "Where am I? I didn't know the island had a hospital."

"The island huh?" The nurse said absently, finally finished up looking at the clipboard she turned her attention to the blonde laying on the bed, "According to your information here, you returned to Kumogakure two weeks ago." She informed him, causing the Uzumaki's eyes to widen marginally.

Another voice came into Naruto's ears "You've been in a medically induced coma to keep your body stable while your chakra coils adjusted."

Naruto turned his eyes to the door to take in the appearance of what was a man in his late fourties like the woman in front of him. He was dressed in doctor scrubs, a surgical mask around his throat, his hair was completely gray and his eyes were a dark blue that seemed to survey the room with a calculating gaze. Naruto surmised this must have been a medical ninja who worked in the field for quite some time.

"What happened?" Naruto asked as he looked at the new addition in the room that seemed to have more information on his condition than the woman.

The old man looked at the nurse, noticing this; the woman nodded and put the clipboard she was holding back at the foot of the bed before leaving the room.

"You're young." The man stated simply, "Your body wasn't fully developed, especially along the lines of your chakra coils, they're huge, more-so for someone your age, but nonetheless they were still underdeveloped for you." He paused, taking in a breath of air, "When the Kyūbi's chakra flowed through your system freely, it forcefully grew your chakra coils to accommodate the flow of extra chakra, and with that your body was almost ripped apart by the sheer force that almost quite literally exploded into your system."

"So what does that mean?" Naruto asked, wanting more understanding of exactly what happened to him after taking the Kyūbi's chakra.

"It means your already expansive reserves have grown exponentially, the extra flow of chakra you gained from your tenant is separate from your regular chakra. When the Kyūbi's chakra exposed itself into your chakra network is expanded them, causing your body to generate more chakra, faster to accommodate the expansion when the Kyūbi's chakra finally separate itself." The man informed him.

Naruto nodded, so all in all it was good for him, the pain would've been nice to go without but overall he gained more chakra in his body, and it still had time to grow.

"But," The man said, pulling Naruto from his thoughts, "You will be unable to access the Kyūbi's chakra without consequence, your chakra coils didn't stay expanded when using the Kyūbi's chakra, they expanded, but at the same time shrunk. There was a significant amount of growth in your chakra coils, but they still aren't as big as they should be when the Kyūbi's chakra expanded them. So when you use his chakra, you will be pushing your coils to the limit and could possibly kill yourself if they were to experience that strain again." He informed Naruto sadly.

Naruto mulled over the information, mostly disheartened by the fact he wouldn't be able to use the Kyūbi's chakra, making him a useless Jinchūriki when it came down to it, "Will I ever be able to use the Kyūbi's chakra?" He asked the man.

At that, the man smiled, "Yes, in due time though, once your chakra system finishes maturing you will be able to use the chakra."

Naruto sighed in relief, at least he wouldn't be completely useless, he would just have to wait for the power to come to him. That gave him time to refine his other skills instead of solely relying on the chakra of his tenant.

"Well, now that I've informed you about all that, you have a visitor." The man said before giving Naruto one last smile and leaving out the door.

It only took another thirty seconds before Naruto was greeted by the stern looking face of his pseudo-sister.

"It wasn't my fault!" Naruto instantly said, not wanting to add fuel to the fire that was Yugito.

Yugito couldn't keep the stern look on her face, her lips quivering as she burst into a light laugh at the expense of Naruto's confusion.

"Why are you laughing?" Naruto asked.

Yugito just smirked, "I know it wasn't your fault." She said as she moved towards his bed, putting a hand on his head and ruffling his hair, "I'm just glad your okay." Giving him a heartwarming smile.

Naruto pulled Yugito into a hug at that, almost hauling her onto the bed with him.

Yugito almost laughed, she hadn't seen Naruto express himself this physically since he had first arrived in Kumogakure when he had first thought it was a dream.

"Well Naruto, lets get your home, we have some things to get you ready for." She said, disconnecting herself from the embrace of Naruto.

"Like what?" Naruto asked, a little sad at the missing comfort from Yugito.

"We're gonna train you into the dirt since we had to leave the island, and in a week we get to introduce you to your new Genin team." Yugito gave a smirk at the pale face of Naruto when she mentioned training him into the ground.

Naruto sighed once again, he would be training, that was no surprise and he was even excited although still scared by the fact that his Senseis' would probably try to kill him. But being able to meet his Genin team didn't actually excite him all that much, the last group of students he had been with were cocky and obnoxious. People he would never get along with. He just hoped these people weren't going to hold him back from being a better shinobi for the village; maybe even he would be able to help them get better if they weren't like his old class that he was in.


	6. Chapter 6: Meeting the Team

A/N: Sorry about the hella long wait for this chapter... it's not my best one and it's actually fairly short. Sorry about that :| I hope to get things moving along much better next chapter.

I actually planned to post this update last week but I was actually out of town with the family and my beta **TheRazgrizDragon** was having some trouble with the website! So sorry about that delay. But thanks to **TheRazgrizDragon** for helping me with the story and letting me bounce ideas off of you!

But I hope you enjoy the chapter and please review, they help!

Disclaimer: Don't Own Naruto.

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><p>Chapter 6: Meeting the Team<p>

* * *

><p>"Where the hell is B-sensei?" A loud, rather annoyed voice sounded off through the small flat barren lands that three young teens were seen lounging around. A single tree provided a fair amount of shade that all three teens seemed to gather around, the only male in the group was leaning his back against the tree. The two females stood in front of them, forming a misshaped triangle between the three.<p>

"Oh man… what if B-sensei got-" The only male attempted to speak but before he could finish his sentence he was clobbered over the head by the red-head of the group.

"Don't you dare start Omoi!" She yelled, her fist held above her head ready to strike again.

Before the boy named Omoi could reply, they were both cut off by the buxom blonde who was currently turned away from the group, scanning the area around them while she spoke, "Would you both cut it out." Her voice was even, and almost monotone, with a hint of amusement as she listened to her two teammates express their obvious quirks.

"Karui started it…" Omoi muttered out dejectedly before getting another hit over the top of his head that had him clutching it painfully.

"What was that?" She growled out quietly, so as to not disturb their more alert teammate.

"Nothing!" He replied quickly, holding his hands up in a placating matter, hoping not to feel the wrath of his red-headed teammate once again.

As Samui's eyes swept the grounds once more to look for any difference in the scenery she noticed two blurs moving towards them at quick speeds but before she had any time to attack, the two shadows made their way from the edge of her field of vision to standing right in front of her. The only thing that went through her mind was 'Fast'.

Karui and Omoi quickly turned their attention to the new arrivals in the clearing; they quickly recognized the first and tallest member of the two, "Darui-san?" Samui questioned as she looked from the tall dark-skinned man to the smaller light-skinned teen next to him. She quickly took in his appearance, gauging him just like her Shinobi training had taught her.

Samui first took note of the sword on his back, she could already tell it wasn't a katana or tanto; it looked like a copy of the ones her sensei used. Next she paid attention to his clothing, he was wearing the usual gray outfit of most Kumo shinobi, except instead of just a high-collared shirt like Darui was wearing, he had on a dark red scarf that was wrapped around his lower face and covered a small portion of his upper chest. She wasn't able to get a read on how strong he was, the long sleeved shirt didn't give too much away and his pants hid any extra muscle she may have been looking for.

Samui turned to look at the blonde's eyes; they were a deep cerulean blue that she noticed were doing just as she was, analyzing each person there as if they were getting ready for a fight.

Naruto locked eyes for a second with the only other blonde within the now group of five. He noted she was the only one that was taking the time to try and analyze him, proving she was a somewhat proficient and aware shinobi. They may have been in friendly territory, but it was never a good trait to simply let your guard down.

He allowed his eyes to examine her, the most notable thing was her sizable bust for some as young as they were, her low cut gray shinobi uniform didn't exactly help to hide them, exposing a large amount of her bust that was covered by a mesh shirt underneath, he couldn't help the small blushed that worked its way up his face, thankfully his scarf helped hide that. Ignoring his hot face he continued to examine the girl. Her lower uniform was a skirt that only covered up to the middle of her thighs. She also had a red haori wrapped around her mid-section, and the usual shinobi sandals.

The red head of the group, which Naruto noted reminded him very much of his mother. She wore something a long gray shinobi dress with short sleeves, around her chest was a make-shift flak jacket; Naruto noted it was probably going to be replaced by the Chūnin flak jacket if she were to be promoted.

The only other male of the group, which Naruto was thankful that it wasn't a completely female team. The male wore a long sleeved jacket with a hood, he also had long pants that were tied off around his ankles and like his two other teammates, he had standard shinobi sandals on.

They all wore their forehead protectors around their forehead, showing off their new status as Genin.

"Ah, just who I was looking for," Darui said lazily as he took a step forward and into the shade, the blonde beside him following suit.

"Darui-san, where's B-sensei?" Omoi asked, as he took a quick look at the blonde next to Darui but thought nothing of him.

Karui nodded, "Yeah, where the hell is he?" She questioned, irritated beyond belief that their already psychopathic, or so she thought, sensei was late.

"Ah well, B-sama is no longer going to be your guy's sensei." Darui answered with a dismissive shrug.

"Why is that Darui-san?" Samui asked quickly before her teammates would do something loud, like they normally would.

"Naruto here," Darui said, motioning to the blonde next to him, he continued, "Is going to be an additional member on team ten, and because of that this team will be skipping the D-Rank mission phase completely." This got a relieved sigh from both Omoi and Karui, they had just dodged the bullet when it came to the D-Rank missions they had heard so much about. "You will be moving onto C-Rank missions, and most C-Ranks will have you outside of the village or outside of the Land of Lightning, and Raikage-sama felt it was safer to keep B-sama close to the village."

Samui nodded, it made sense, and B was heard to be one of the strongest ninja in Kumo, even on par with the Raikage himself, "But what about you Darui-san? Aren't you one of Raikage-sama's personal guards?" She asked, why would the Raikage want to keep a strong ninja from leaving the Land of Lightning and then send another one?

"Yea, I am. But I have personally trained Naruto since he began training as a shinobi, and Raikage-sama wanted me to continue some special training I have with him while he's on this team." Darui answered. If Naruto was put on any other regular Genin team everyone that had trained Naruto felt he would've been held back immensely, so allowing Darui to continue his training in his ninjutsu would be beneficial, and also putting him on a team with a few of the best academy ninja in his rotation wouldn't be a bad thing either.

Also because Naruto was unable to use his full Bijū cloak there was no need to send B out of the village with Naruto under his guidance, with this, it now allowed Naruto to gain experience in the field and the required missions for promotion to Chūnin and then straight to ANBU or Jōnin. Either way the Raikage preferred that he send one Jinchūriki out of the village instead of two, and with the small complication regarding Naruto's Bijū cloak, he was given perfect reasoning, instead of just his paranoia of potentially losing two powerful Jinchūriki.

"Why are we going to have four members though? Aren't Genin teams supposed to be three Genin and a Jōnin sensei?" This time it was Omoi to asked, already having a bad feeling of this extra member on their team.

"Yes that's right, but there were no open teams to put Naruto onto during this rotation, so we instead decided to place him on your team due to your high scores in the academy." He informed them, it would be no use to put a strong ninja with weak ninja, instead Kumo focused on power, putting the strong with the strong to have them benefit each other. Now, with this four man team of a highly-skilled Genin and three Genin who graduated at the top of their class, they would be a force to be reckoned with in the field.

The three new Genin accepted the praise with open arms, aside from Samui who just nodded her head in acceptance, it was something she knew, but she also knew that the academy rarely meant anything when it came to actually working within the ranks of actual ninja. All they had learned was the basic taijutsu style that was rarely ever used in actual combat, a lot of history, and a few basic ninjutsu and their elemental affinities in their last year at the academy.

It wasn't anything to write home about that was for sure, but every ninja had to start somewhere.

There was a noticeable silence after Darui's last statement. Karui and Omoi took the opportunity to look at Naruto and size him up. He definitely held a mysterious allure to his persons with the scarf that hid his face, his hitae-ate wasn't visual, which confused the two dark-skinned teens, most ninja loved to parade around the allegiance to their village, especially new Genin.

"So… who exactly are you Naruto? We didn't see you at the academy." Omoi decided to break the awkward silence that befell the group. Omoi wanted to know more about his new teammate, more so than his female allies would've cared, he was just glad there was another guy on his team.

Naruto looked at Omoi for a second then turned to Darui as if asking for advice, he hadn't exactly interacted with kids his age and it wasn't something he practiced beforehand.

Darui just gave a small smile and nodded his head towards the three genin, "Don't be so dull Naruto." He joked, edging his student to open up.

Naruto sighed before turning to the three, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I graduated two years earlier in the academy and have been training for the two years between my graduation and now." He answered; his voice was even, not giving away his nervousness towards the situation.

Omoi nodded, now that he thought about it the name Naruto Uzumaki sounded familiar, he had probably heard it around the village if Naruto had actually graduated two years ahead of the normal time table.

"You're the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi." Samui stated, she had known the name sounded familiar, she just couldn't pinpoint it till she had heard his last name. The Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi wasn't exactly a secret, especially in Kumo, he was considered a powerful weapon for the village, instead of someone that was hated, and as such he was discussed publicly.

Samui had heard he was undergoing special training from some local folk when walking the streets of Kumo, she had also heard he was young, but she didn't expect him to be as young as she was, she could only imagine what it felt like to try and work together with the beast that was held within them. Samui respected Yugito and B equally after hearing about their many exploits within the Shinobi world and the hard ship they had went through living as Jinchūriki.

It was something that raised her respect for the person in front of her even more.

"Hai, I am." Naruto replied evenly, not giving away his nervousness at the situation. This was the first time he had talked to someone outside his close group of trainers that he considered family. He hoped that his team would accept him being what he was, the only real experience he had with people that weren't his Sensei's were the citizens of Konoha, and they didn't leave a good impression of humanity.

There was tense silence as Naruto and Samui stared down each other, both faces impassive as they wondered what the other would do, for Naruto he just hoped they wouldn't outright hate his guts, and for Samui, she was wondering exactly how powerful Naruto was, if he was placed on her fresh Genin team and they were to already be sent off to do C-Rank missions, it meant he was someone to be respected and feared, but also as young as he was, it would only grow.

"Wait so you're the kid who graduated two years earlier than us that everyone was talking about?" This time it was Karui's loud and brash voice that broke the tense silence. She did it more out of curiosity and to break the awkwardness that had fallen between the group.

Naruto rubbed the back of his sheepishly, one of his bad habits he had yet to break, "Hai, but I didn't know everyone was talking about me." Naruto said, somewhat surprised that people had been speaking about him, and if what he understood, they were talking about him in a positive light. Something he wasn't exactly used to.

"Didn't know? Where were you, in a cave?!" Karui questioned, how the hell could he have not known, it was downright annoying when your sensei was bragging about his student who had graduated two years earlier.

"An island actually." Naruto replied evenly.

"An island?" Omoi asked, intrigued by their newest teammates remote location, receiving a nod from his other male teammate he continued, "Why an island?"

"I learned to speak and work together with the Kyūbi. Although I am too young to utilize the chakra to its full effectiveness I am still able to benefit from earlier forms of the Kyūbi's chakra which can no doubt help us in a dire situation." Naruto told them, still somewhat bummed that he was unable to use the Kyūbi's chakra, though it did give him time to build up his own strength instead of relying on the Kyūbi's.

"Always good to have an ace." Darui added, "I want us to get going so I'll give you the bare bones explanation." His voice as bored as ever, "Naruto is here only temporarily, once he gains the acquired amount of missions for a field promotion he will be promoted to Chūnin and removed from this squad. I will continue to be your guy's sensei until you're all either Chūnin or one of you reaches Jōnin, any questions?" He finished off, eyeing his students closely.

Seeing no-one raising their hand he turned around and made a motion for his students to follow, "Raikage-sama has a special mission for us, it will last about a month. We hopefully won't be in combat at all during the missions but it will give us time to work on teamwork and our individual skills. Pack up and meet me at the gate in an hour." As they neared the edge of the training ground he turned to face his students once again, "We'll be on an island the entire time with a lot of time on our hands. I don't care if you bring some form of swim wear, just make sure you're comfortable and have things to do over the month."

"Sensei, what exactly is our mission?" Omoi asked, was it really a mission? Because it felt like they would be lounging around more often than not.

"We will be traveling to Uzu no Kuni and visiting the ruins of Uzushiogakure." Darui told his students, his eye trained on Naruto's face, watching for any change of expression, "This is where Naruto's ancestors are from and were for the most part, wiped out. The Raikage wants Naruto to visit the place and search it for any secrets that would help in his seal training and also bring them back to help improve the sealing corps within Kumo." No reaction from the Jinchūriki, "For the most part we will be helping Naruto uncover anything he can while also training our skills." He finished, getting a raised hand from Omoi he nodded his head towards him, signaling for him to speak.

"If Uzushiogakure was destroyed wouldn't other villages have gone through to learn their secrets?" He asked, what exactly was the point of going to a village that possibly held nothing of use to them?

"We can't be sure, after the combined attack to destroy Uzu, their village was razed and everything that could've been used in the war was destroyed, we're going to either make sure there is truly nothing left or if we're lucky, Naruto here can learn some family secrets." Darui said, seeing all of his students nodding he gave a lazy smile, "Meet me at the main gate in an hour" He reiterated, "Dismissed."

In an instant Naruto disappeared in a lightning body flicker while the others looked on in surprise, noting that they needed to learn that jutsu at some point before running off towards their respective houses to prepare for their first mission as Genin.

Darui watched the spot where Naruto once stood and wondered exactly how his charge was taking visiting the home of his fallen ancestors. Knowing Naruto he would take it in silence like everything else he did, not willing to express his emotions because he was taught not to. Darui made a note to talk to Naruto about his habit to hold in his emotions.

While it would be useful in combat, to do so in everyday life and not having an outlet as of yet, there would no doubt be some point down the road where he would snap. It wasn't something Darui looked forward to, with the power that Naruto held; he would have to help put down what he had helped to forge into a weapon.

Naruto was deep rooted into the destroying of emotions, both on and off the battlefield with only rare glimpses of his soft side. Darui knew Naruto would listen to him; the question was whether or not he would take the advice to heart. Darui would have to talk to Yugito and have her help Naruto in some way. Far as Darui knew Naruto only lived to get stronger for the village.

The boy needed to live for himself once in a while.

Line Break

Arriving at the large gates that stood open, marking the only public entrance into Kumogakure no Sato, Naruto took position leaning against one of pillars that made up the sides of the tremendous gate, pulling out a small notebook from a rucksack that hung off his shoulders, he opened it, noting he still had over twenty minutes left till his team had to meet him here. The body flicker one of the major reasons he was able to move so quickly throughout the village and arrive at the gate early.

Glancing down at the notebook that was open in his hand, he took out a pen from one the three weapon pouches he had hooked to his belt, and let his mind wander in the majestic art of fuinjutsu. The first thing coming to mind was the Hiraishin seal that was embedded into his mind. He began to copy every little detail that was showing in his head, down onto the blank notebook paper. The seal itself fit onto a single page, it was fairly small and simple, but to Naruto or any decently versed user of fuinjutsu, it was to put it simple, complicated. Each of the four larger kanji that made up the seal could be broken down into hundreds upon hundreds of smaller seals that made up the larger portion of the seemingly simple formula.

In his notebook Naruto began the breaking down of the first kanji that made the seal, starting on a new page he began to expand on each individual part, writing off separate notes of what he did and didn't understand. It was frustrating to him, he felt like he had held a firm grasp over the wild art that was fūinjutsu, but as he looked at his notebook and the hundreds of pieces that he was able to separate from the larger picture through his memories, he realized he had years of work ahead of him.

Naruto's father had given him the seal and all the components that made up the seal. But what Minato had failed to give his son, was his own understanding of the seal that made up the Hiraishin. Naruto would be unable to just copy the seal and use it, he had to change the seal that made the marker for the jutsu, and he couldn't do that without completely breaking down the seal and understanding what needed to be changed for him to be able to work with the seal.

Looking over his scribbles that littered the notebook he gave a tired sigh, it would be a long process before he would be able to fully understand and utilize the Hiraishin, but it would be well worth it and it would take his mind off of the many things that would no doubt plague his mind over the coming years. Naruto closed the notebook, feeling the presence of his sensei closing in on the gate he pushed off the pillar he was leaning against and slid his notebook back into his rucksack.

Darui appeared in front of Naruto, coming out of a quickly executed body flicker, "You're early Naruto." He said blandly, not all the surprised that the blonde had beat him to the gate.

Naruto gave a curt nod in acknowledgement towards his sensei's words before turning his attention to three figures running towards the gate, "Seems like they will be as well." He pointed towards the three that looked like they were making a visible effort to make it to the gate early; at least it showed something positive about their work ethic.

Naruto's new teammates stopped their run at the gate, all their hands on their knees as they bent over, breathing heavily.

Darui rose an eyebrow, that was… interesting, very enthusiastic from his perspective, "Well, seeing as we're all here let's get going." He motioned for his Genin to follow as he began walking out of the village perimeters.

For the three fresh Genin this would be their first time leaving the village, it was something that excited all of them to some extent. Darui had said that they weren't expecting combat but it would still be nice to see other parts of the world, plus it seemed like a pretty simple mission, they would basically just be training outside of the village and helping Naruto explore the ruins of a lost clan.

Naruto however wasn't the most excited about leaving the village to visit the ruins of his lost clan. It would be nice to learn about the people he could call ancestors but the idea of seeing what his village had personally helped destroy, brought a painful feeling to his chest that made him stop and breathe for a few seconds to calm a weird pit sensation that engulfed his body. He couldn't be angry at these people, it wasn't their fault, and it wasn't them who had destroyed Uzu, just their ancestors who feared the great mystical shinobi art that was fūinjutsu, but no matter how much he told himself that, the pit that threatened to swallow him would never disappear.

LINE BREAK.

"I hate… boats… so much." Karui's groaning voice came from the front of the ship, her head was resting against the rails of the small white transport vessel that the five shinobi from Kumo had boarded after reaching a port town within lightning country. The group had left port two days ago and since then the dark skinned female of their team seemed to form a new hatred for the sea, her teammates having adapted much quicker to the unsteadiness of the boat.

"It can't be that bad Karui." Omoi stated rather offhandedly as he sucked on a lollipop, taking in the view of the vast ocean that moved in a hypnotic rhythm around them.

"How the hell would you know you idiot?! You don't have seasickness!" Karui raged, before her face turned an unnatural shade of green and she was once again puking her guts out over the edge of the boat.

"Maybe if you weren't so angry all the time you would be able to cool off more and enjoy the soothing motions of the ocean." Omoi said rather happily as he couldn't help but laugh at his teammates expense.

"I'm not angry, you're just an idiot!" She yelled back hopelessly, moving in an attempt to clock her teammate over the head she moved from her support that was the railing of the boat, but wasn't able to take two more steps before she had fallen to her knees, unable to keep standing to the rocking of the boat. Karui kept her head down, staring at the wooden panels that made up the flooring of the ship to try and calm her body; maybe if she focused on the singular piece of wood it wouldn't feel like she was rocking as much.

Soon though after falling, a shadow covered her position, and thinking it was Omoi coming to make fun of her, she instantly lashed out with a fist towards the center mass of her target. Much to her chagrin and surprise, her fist was caught effortlessly; as she looked up she noted it was her newest teammate, Naruto, looking at her with a raised eyebrow and his hand holding her fist.

Karui blushed in embarrassment before looking away from her new teammate muttering a weak apology, "It's alright Karui-san, I can see you're clearly agitated, but I brought another seal if you'd like to rest." His voice was his regular calm with an undertone of amusement towards his red headed teammate, she kind of reminded him of his hot-headed mother.

Karui's face lit up at the mention of another one of his miracle seals that Naruto had managed to whip up during the first day of their trip after he had realized she was having trouble coping with the sea. It had taken him most of the day but the wait was well worth it. The seal itself when applied to her forehead would essentially put her into a forced, dreamless sleep. It was a godsend.

"Please and thank you Naruto." Karui didn't exactly like using the seals; it made her feel week that she had to use something to forcefully put her to sleep due to some stupid water! But she wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, and Naruto wasn't exactly rubbing it into her face that she was weak but he instead said, 'I'd rather not see a comrade hurting Karui-san.', it was such a simple sentence but it showed her and everyone else on the boat that he was a team player, and one who would willingly do anything to protect a comrade.

With one swift motion, Naruto helped Karui up onto her feet and handed her a small strip of paper the size of an explosive tag with a large kanji for 'Sleep' and hundreds of smaller kanji forming the array around their larger counterpart.

With a grateful smile Karui wobbled her way away from her teammate and down below the deck of the boat to get some needed rest.

Seeing Karui go below deck where their sleeping quarters were located, Naruto moved himself towards the bow of the ship; he looked outwards towards the vast ocean, enjoying the motions of the ocean as it gently rocked the boat. The sound of the waves relaxed him; it was somewhat of a hobby of his to relax by the ocean, something he had developed on the turtle island.

Naruto stood at the bow of the ship till the sun had completely settled, hidden beyond the horizon the boat was covered in darkness, their only reprieve of light being a single lamp that was lit hanging off of the main mast of the boat.

"By sunrise we'll be within water walking distance of Uzu." Naruto heard the voice of his sensei come from behind him.

Turning around he looked to his sensei who was looking past him and out into the water, "Does everyone else know how to?" He questioned, not sure if the academy had changed at all, the only chakra control exercises they had done was up to tree-walking.

"No but they'll learn, there's no official port in Uzu anymore so we'll be walking to shore, they'll learn or be carried to shore, something I doubt any of them would want." Darui said, the lazy grin that was on his face grew slightly at the prospect of watching his Genin flop around in the ocean.

Naruto shook his head, sometimes his senseis' were really sadistic people.

* * *

><p>AN: This is kinda just Naruto meeting the team blah, next chapter should be what most people have been waiting for in the story. A little action/teamwork and hopefully some good character development with what I have planned. Don't expect the chapter to be coming out too soon though. I am hoping to get atleast one more chapter out before August which is the day that I ship out for Army Basic Training.

Also, if you're interested I posted a new story called, Willing To Give It All, and would love for you guys to check it out and leave a review!

Ja ne!


	7. Hiatus

Hello to everybody who is taking the time to read this status update and my story. In a couple days I will be flying out to Ft. Benning, GA to go through Army Basic Combat Training (BCT) and will be unable to update this story for the next 8 weeks, very possibly more because as soon as I finish BCT I will be going through Advanced Individual Training (AIT) and am not currently sure if I will have access to a computer or internet to post updates. I'm pretty sure my AIT will be me mostly being in the field as my job in the Army is a Cavalry Scout (MOS 19D). You guys probably don't really care about all that junk, but yea...

Well that's all the stuff out of the way. But hopefully when I finish all my training and get settled wherever they station me I'll be able to write and post for you all once again. I'm sorry I wasn't able to get another chapter up in the past month or so, I've been really busy preparing for everything that's coming up.

Hope you're all doing good, see ya'll in a few months hopefully!

-Kyle McDonald (KMackyD)

PS. I will probably be removing this status update when I finish training and replace it with a good ole' chapter.


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Naruto, Adventure, Romance