/|~{ (- Author's Note -) }~|\

Official Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any referenced or related works in that may appear in this story. If there ever is an OC inclusion in this the resemblance of a name and/or physical appearance to anyone living or deceased is completely coincidental. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the sole property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

This an alternate version of my Leaf's Fire Gem story, if there any inconsistencies or if see anything wrong please tell me. Or if you like you could also tell me, since that is always nice to hear. So after you have you finished reading it, I would like it if you left a review with thoughts about it.

I will warn you now, this story will be AU, and it will contain a female Naruto, but no Naruko.

It may also contain a female Haku, that still up to debate.

I have yet decided on any pairing, or if I should have any at all.

Like the previous story, this will start a bit before Naruto canon. With main differences that Orochimaru has yet to abandon the village, but is still very discontent with it, he has just not been caught doing something bad enough to run yet.

If any of this displeases you, then don't read it, as I will ignore anyone complaining about those points, just so you know. That was all, now onto the story.

Update 2018-02-16: Rewrote most of the chapter.

Update 2018-02-17: Grammar & spell check.

/|~{ (- Author's Note -) }~|\

Chapter 1 - Beginnings

'Why me?' cried a young boy, as he ran in panic through the back streets of Konohagakure no Sato. He was closely followed by an angry mob of villagers. He never knew what he had done to make the villagers hate him so much. But almost everyone in the village seemed to hate him for some reason. It had been like this as far as he could remember, and he didn't know why.

Soon he runs into an ally, but unfortunately for him, it turned out to be a dead-end and desperately turns around only to come face to face with the feet and fists of the mob. After an hour of beating the boy to a bloody pulp, the mob dispersed, their energy finally spent, leaving the boy bruised and broken in a large pool of his own blood.

However, the boy was still somewhat conscious, and most of his cuts and bruises had already begun to heal. Broken bones were starting to mend, wounds were rapidly closing, and scars were disappearing. But just as the boy was about to leave, he notices a man standing above him, before blacking out before when the man knocked him out.

'Amazing regeneration powers… he could be useful in perfecting some of my techniques without having to use up so many test subjects,' the man thought. 'I could perfect the processes on him and then try it out on the others to test its effects on a normal human.'

With that, the man bent down and grabbed the boy and flung his now unconscious body over his shoulder. 'Kukuku, I can barely to see wait see what this child body can handle.'

/|~{ (-I-) }~|\

The room was dark. Only a small dimly lit by a small light hanging from the ceiling, which was reflected in the many esoteric and bizarre medical and scientific devices that filled the room. Bottles, test tubes and pipes with strange glowing liquids sat alongside racks of sharp and gruesome surgical instruments, some of them still caked with the blood and flesh of the last person they were used to cut into. The air was thick with the smell of blood, medicine, and different chemicals.

Standing next to a large test tube in the center of the room was a tall man with long black hair. He had pallid white skin, yellow snake-like eyes with thin purple tattoos around them and a pair of purple magatama-shaped earrings that rattled as he worked. Clad in black shinobi sandals, grey trousers, a purple rope-belt and a tan robe, the man would have stood out in a crowd.

Why wouldn't he? For this man was, Orochimaru, one of the Three Legendary Sannin of Konohagakure, and student of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Currently, he was studied what was inside of the test tube. It was a young boy, clad only in his birthday suit, that was marred with scars here and there. A large seal, that almost seemed to pulsate, could also be seen covering most of the child's stomach. The boy was also hooked up to multiple wires and with an oxygen mask covered the lower part of his face. His eyes were closed and his hair was discolored by the dark green liquid he was in, that looked like it had chakra in it. A heart monitor beeped constantly. Around the tube were endless sedative drugs and other sleeping drugs to keep someone or something unconscious. Even some multi-layered Genjutsu scrolls were scattered around on the tables.

Several of the computer monitors flared up. Orochimaru turned to one, trying to figure out what it meant. It's been a quite a while since he had managed to obtain this child to experiment on. He had tried to infuse the child with DNA stolen from the crypts of the First and Second Hokage, along with some from his teammate Senju Tsunade, the First Hokage's granddaughter. It had been attempt to see if had he could recreate the any the abilities that the Senju clan was famous for, using gene-splicing techniques.

He also tried to infuse child with cells from the child's mother and First Hokage's wife, Uzumaki Mito, to see if he awaken anything that way. But the child body, like all other test subjects he had tried it on, had rejected the DNA, and after several repeated attempts he abandoned that project. He suspected the child would have died if it wasn't for the high regeneration abilities he possessed from being an Uzumaki and a jinchūriki.

Orochimaru had also implanted bone marrow from a member of the Kaguya clan, in an attempt to see if the child would obtain their kekkei genkai, the Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse), which gives its wielder the ability to manipulate their own skeletal structure. The main capabilities of Shikotsumyaku were allowing the user to manipulate the speed of their bones' growth as well as the location of calcium deposits allowing for great versatility.

Which allowed the user to create weapons of their bones that can either protrude from any part of their body or pulled out and used like handheld weapons. They could also use this to create armor of dense bone underneath their skin. Users could increase the density of the created bones, making them stronger than steel. But even that had ended in miserable failure, with the child once again only surviving because of his fast healing factor.

Orochimaru had also injected the child with blood from the Hōzuki and Yuki clans, hoping to get some of the traits that were known for. The Hōzuki clan known for their ability to liquefy their body. Through the usage of their Suika no jutsu, clan members could turn their body into water. While the Yuki clan was known for their ability to manipulate water into forms of ice. But still no noticeable change. It just been more trashing and screaming from the from the boy and nothing more.

Although, one that Orochimaru still a little miffed about that the cursed seals he had created, constantly kept being rejected. They just kept dissolving and burning away. He had no doubt the bijuu that was sealed in the child was the one responsible for this. But even after he put additional seals over the one that held Kyuubi, it still kept getting rejected, so he abandoned that for later.

"Hmm... Interesting..." Orochimaru mumbled to himself while stroking his chin as a small frown appeared on his face. "Not as planned. But still interesting... Now then..." A ping was then heard as a button was pressed. "Let's see what happens if we do this..."

The boy cried out in pain as several long needles attached to tubes drove into the child's back, and an ominous looking liquid was poured into his small body. The boy then lets out a small groan, his petite body twitching from the sudden shock of pain as the needles were pulled out of his back. Now all that was left was to wait... and didn't take long for something to happen.

The child's eyes were opened wide and his pupils dilated, he opened his mouth wide as if to utter out a loud scream. No sounds came out, and instead, he uttered out a hoary, voiceless breath, as the boy bucked and jerked, his back arching, body stiffening with hard unsteady spasms as pain ran rampant. Orochimaru's eyes then widened as a bubbling surge of red chakra coated the boy's body, shaping itself into a fox cloak. Orochimaru instantly knew who's chakra this was, it was without a doubt, unmistakably the chakra of the Kyuubi. It bubbled like boiling water, frothing and continuously moving, transforming, shifting, changing.

An oppressive atmosphere began to weigh down on them, malevolent intent focused specifically on Orochimaru. A few moments passed, the oppressive aura growing stronger second by second until it felt like a literal weight on his shoulders that almost had his legs shaking beneath him. A sharp feral scream hung in the air as the child's body tensed up over several seconds, his back arching, trembling shivers and sharp twitches running through his body. His skin flaking and getting absorbed into the dark red shroud that now covered, hiding any distinguishing features.

Then after final spasms and thrashing, it seemed to have ended, and the child slumped together, out cold once more. Orochimaru smirked as the what happened to the child now that the Kyuubi's chakra receded, it was quite amusing.

"Most unexpected..." Chuckling, he tapped a few buttons on a console and the liquid started draining from the tube. Leaving the child sagging as only the wires supported its body. It seemed that the once a little boy was now a little girl. "How intriguing... I wonder what more have changed... Quite interesting indeed... Wouldn't you also say so Sarutobi-sensei?"

"Orochimaru," the newly revealed Hokage snarled as Orochimaru turned his head slightly, and smiled at the newcomer. "It seems you have not changed one bit."

Orochimaru just laughed. "I am sorry, sensei, while would I love stay and chat, it seems that I must take my leave. Goodbye."

Then he disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving the unconscious newly boy turned girl and the old man alone. He sighed and released the long black staff he was holding. It poofed out of existence and changed into large ape with white fur and a Konoha headband around its forehead.

"Sarutobi, this is the second time you have released him," Enma, the white ape commented.

"I know old friend, I just could not do it," the Third replied. He sighed sadly and began releasing all cables, wires, and tubes, that child tiny frame hanging, before he proceeded to carry the little girl out of the dim room.

"Let's go, Enma," he said, hands covered around the small child protectively. "Let's find out what other things Orochimaru had done to this child."

The ape sighed an nodded, before poofing out of existence, as the Hokage made his way to the hospital as quick as could.

/|~{ (-I-) }~|\

A little over two weeks later, a large man could be seen approaching the gates of Konoha rapidly. He was tall and imposing, with waist-length, spiky white hair usually tied back into a ponytail, with two shoulder-length bangs that framed both sides of his face. He also had red lines that ran down from his eyes and a noticeable wart on the left side of his nose.

He was dressed in a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, under which he wore mesh armor that showed out of the sleeves and legs of his outfit. His outfit was completed with hand guards, a simple black belt, traditional geta, a red haori with two simple yellow circles on each side, and a scroll on his back. He wore a horned forehead protector with the kanji for "oil", denoting his affiliation with the toads of Mount Myōboku. To most, the man was another Sannin known as Jiraiya the Toad Sage, spy and seal master of Konohagakure, another student of the Third Hokage.

With him were two women, one was of average height with brown eyes and waist-length blonde hair with shoulder-length bangs framing both sides of her face. She wore a grass-green haori with the kanji for "gamble" written in black on the back, inside a red circle. Underneath she was wearing a grey, kimono-style blouse with no sleeves held closed by a broad, dark bluish-grey obi that matched her pants. Her blouse was closed quite low, revealing her sizeable cleavage. Her feet were adorned with open-toed, strappy black sandals with high heels and red polish on both her fingernails and toenails. She also wore a soft pink lipstick. She was none other than Senju Tsunade, a.k.a. Slug Princess and the last student of the Third Hokage, and final member of the Legendary Sannin. And it was quite clear she was not the least happy be in the village.

The other was an also fair-skinned woman of average height, but a more slender build with black eyes and shoulder-length hair with bangs that covered her ears and framed her face. She donned a long bluish-black kimono with white trimmings, held closed by a white obi, and open-toed sandals with low heels. Cradled to her chest was Tonton, Tsunade's pet pig. This woman was Kato Shizune, Tsunade's apprentice.

Many years ago, as the Third Shinobi World war had ended, Tsunade had left the Hidden Leaf village. The death of her younger brother Nawaki and lover Dan had become too much to bear for her. Shizune was Dan's niece and with no other living relatives, she took it upon herself to look after the young girl. Over the course of a few years, Tsunade had trained Shizune in the Shinobi Arts and medical Ninjutsu, molding her into a fine kunoichi. In return, Shizune acted as the Sannin's overseer. During their time away from the village, Shizune often worried about Tsunade's constant gambling, losing money and only to then borrow more.

Tsunade was notorious for her reputation as a terrible luck as a gambler, thus earning her the title "The Legendary Sucker". The woman had incurred such a debt that she had yet to repay that most would've found themselves thrown behind bars long ago. It was only because of Shizune's wit and voice of reason that kept her mentor out of jail. That and the woman's colossal strength.

When Jiraiya had gotten the message of what Orochimaru did to his godson, along with orders to hurry back and to bring Tsunade back with him, kicking and screaming if needed too, but only use force if it was necessary. Until then they keep his godson under heavy sedation as were still quite unsure of the full extent of what Orochimaru had done to the poor child. And it was decided that it was best to keep him sedated while they were finding that out.

It had taken Jiraiya over a week to track Tsunade down, and she had really not happy to see him. She had been even less happy find out why he had searched for her. It had taken few days of explaining, asking, orders, threats, fighting, promises and guilt-tripping to make her return to Konoha with him. As soon as they arrived in Konoha they headed straight to Hokage tower to see what the hell was up. It had not been a fun time for anyone.

/|~{ (-I-) }~|\

A couple of days later as Tsunade was reading through the latest report of her new patient, she couldn't help be amazed at what the child had lived through. From what her former teammate had left behind when he fled the village, along with what had discovered herself, she could conclude that Orochimaru himself seemed have only seemed to have a bare understanding of what he just had created. They yet have woken the child as at moment wake him... or maybe it should her, Tsunade wasn't sure but went with him for now, as they had no way of handling him just now.

What they currently knew was for going through Orochimaru's records, as well as tests they had done themselves, was that it really was Uzumaki Naruto, son Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze, and the former jinchūriki Uzumaki Kushina. And from what they could tell, Naruto was still the jinchūriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, although they somewhat unsure about the seal itself.

That, along with what seemed to be a new, as of yet unconfirmed, kekkei genkai of undetermined power. From what she had read it sounded quite dangerous to Tsunade, especially in the hands of a frightened and traumatized child. Which she was sure the child would be when he woke up, as it would surprise her if the child didn't get some kind of trauma from being Orochimaru's lab rat for so long.

Which was just a catastrophe waiting to happen, so that would have to be handled carefully. But it was the child's mental state that worried Tsunade the most, she would like to have a Yamanaka check the child mind and mental state but, mind-walking wasn't really recommended when dealing with a jinchūriki, because of their bijuu, but it really didn't seem like they would a have a choice.

Otherwise, physically speaking, there was not much Tsunade could find be wrong with the child. He was shorter than average for someone of his age. That along with his weighing way too little and being malnourished, and as a result of the modifications to his body, Tsunade assessed that physical, his body would develop more slowly than most. Although Tsunade doubted that physically his body would develop wouldn't much in the way of secondary sexual characteristics, but that was a worry for the future.

/|~{ (-I-) }~|\

Elsewhere in Konoha Jiraiya had the similar feelings as he poured over the notes left behind by Orochimaru once again. Searching for anything that could be used in helping his godson, focusing especially on anything that had to do with child's seal, he had read about Orochimaru's latest experiment. As he was studying his former teammate's notes, his mind couldn't help wandering over all times in his life, where he felt had failed or he could have done more.

Like preventing Orochimaru for treading the dark path he now wandered or tried harder to stop him once he realized what his former friend had become. Then there was the death of Minato and Kushina, along with his failure as godfather, and he could hope Minato, Kushina, and especially Naruto could forgive him for that, even if he probably didn't deserve it.

What he had discovered so far was that the Kyuubi's seal was in disarray, while the core parts of the seal didn't seem like they had been touched. Other parts had either been changed, scattered, or removed. While some others parts had been added or were falling apart. He would need to make a new seal or reconstruct the old seal somehow.

The first option would be quiet hard without releasing the Kyuubi and killing his godson in the process, but he doubted that current one could be either repaired or restored, at least from what he had seen. But maybe he was wrong, and it looked worse than it actually was.

/|~{ (-I-) }~|\

A few days later, Jiraiya, along with the Hokage, entered the Naruto's mind with help the Yamanaka clan, what meet them was a wast and devastated wasteland. It was hot and fiery. And red. And smelled like Sulphur. The entire sky above had fire lining the clouds, and flames covered the ground. Which felt like it was as hot as lava, and the air felt almost completely dry with extremely little moisture in it. The few trees that could be seen seemed to be made of hardened lava that grew out of the ground, which littered with cracks here and there. Otherwise, it was quite a desolate and lonely place, filled with fire and brimstone.

After having walked for quite a while, they came an upon the remains of what looked to have once been a humongous cage, but now just was a huge heap of old rusty of metal scraps.

'If this is what I think it is, then this is bad, really bad,' the Hokage thought as he studied was what left of the cage. 'I wonder what Orochimaru have done to cause this kind of damage.'

As they ventured a bit further they got quite the surprise, where they expected there to be a huge demon fox with nine tails swishing menacingly behind it, while at the time same time glaring down at them, with eyes filled with hate and malice. There was instead a little girl, that looked quite frail, weak, and sickly, not mention exhausted, as she hanged listlessly from a pair chain that was attached to a pair of stone pillars, that stood on either side of her.

The girl looked very young, with a well-built predatory lithe figure, that had no baby fat on it. She had thin legs that were long for someone of her short height, with pale olive skin that had a slight exotic tint to it. Long crimson nails that looked like claws, decorated her hands and feet. She had a narrow angular face, with short and thick eyebrows, large sharp almond eyes, with a feral look to them, which were deep red, with vertical slits as pupils. A pair of large rabbit-like ears resided on the top her head, which twitched slightly now and then.

Her hair was orange and barely reached her shoulder, with a pair long bang going down her front passing her shoulders, and a shorter bang that stopped before it reaches her eyes, hanged bang between her horns. From the end of her spine she there was large fluffy fox tail could be seen, along with the stump of another one. Her top, if you could call it that, was a simple cloth wrapped around a pair of small perky breasts, and the same was with a loincloth covering her lower parts.

A thick metal collar could be seen adorning her neck, with a large padlock hanging from it, along with a chain that connects the collar to the floor beneath her. The padlock had old and frayed paper charm on it, with the kanji for 'seal' on it. Around her wrists ankles were sturdy and thick seamless manacles of metal, with heavy-duty chains connecting then to pillars beside her. Her hands were stretched up high as they were attached to the top of the pillar, her feet attached to the bottom.

'Is this what I think it is?' Jiraiya thought bemused as he studied the little girl.

"Hmm? Good someone is finally here," A high-pitched, clearly childish, yet booming voice said tiredly, as the trio of ninjas realized what they were seeing.

"K-Kyuubi," the Yamanaka gasped at what he was seeing. Although he was quite confused about the fox appearance.

"I know what you're wondering, 'why do look like a little girl?' and 'what has happened to my tails?', right?" Kyuubi asked bitterly, to which the trio just dumbly nodded.

"I don't remember exactly what it was, nor how long I have been like this," the fox girl as gathered what left of strength to stand up straight. "But know that is the result of the many experiments the snake bastard performed on Naruto."

"Not only did he keep altering and destroying the brat's body, with DNA he stolen, or some poison or serum he had created," the little fox-girl in front of him grumbled, making the ninjas stumble slightly over his high, light and girlish voice, the kind that put you in mind of innocence and kittens and pink and puppies, and not some kind of ancient congregation of malicious chakra, that had somehow gained consciousness. "But also he tried to infuse it with different kinds of chakra, along with trying to merge it with mine... With this as the final result... " the Kyuubi huffed pointing at its body.

"Why are you being so civil with us?" Hokage asked cautiously.

The Kyuubi snorted and said, "Because right now, you're the only one who can help me and my jailer. And we need help, quick too, for as you maybe saw the seal has been fractured and altered, it actually on the verge of breaking, and neither of us wants that just now. I don't think you realize, how lucky it was that you arrived when you did. I don't if could keep the brat's body going for much longer. For you see I don't even enough chakra to form more than one tail at the moment. And with how the seal now is formed, if Naruto dies so do I. If you release this seal, I promise you, you will get all help you would need to make a new one."

Instead of answering, and after a long and hard internal debate, Jiraya simply looked down at the seal tag covering on the padlock that hanged down from the collar around the fox-girl's neck and pulled up his right sleeve before weaving several hand signs. To others amazement and awe, a complex sealing array appeared on Jiraiya's arm which ran from his palm to his biceps.

Once the seal array finished forming, Jiraya focused his chakra into his fingertips to channel Senjutsu chakra into them, forming the Five Elements Seal and all five of his fingers glowed with the five elements. This was the Yondaime Hokage's masterstroke; the key to the most powerful sealing array in the world: the Hakke no Fūin Shiki. He promptly ripped it off in one go before slamming his hands onto the spirally shaped lock.

"Hakke no Fūin Shiki: Kai!" he yelled, turning his hand in an unlocking motion before stepping back. They watched as the lock slowly unraveled before falling to the floor, releasing the great bijuu from its restraints. The Kyuubi fell its knees exhausted, now that nothing was longer supporting it.

But before anything else happened, all the people in the room; three humans and one chakra being, noticed a pair of new presences, and they all turned to look at the newcomers. One was a man, that had been an exact carbon copy of an older Naruto, but this man was wearing a standard long-sleeved blue Jōnin garb and flak jacket, and he was also sporting a white haori with flame patterns licking at the bottom over the attire, and a forehead protector tied on his forehead.

The man's azure blue eyes were now solely focused on them as a frown formed on his handsome features.

"What happened here? Is that the Kyuubi? Why does it look like a little girl? And why is it free? How did it even get free in the first place?" the man asked seriously, more of a demand than a request as his mere presence and aura exuded authority and sheer power that practically demanded respect from everyone around him.

The other one was a woman, that looked an older version of Naruto, the way he looked now, just fair skin instead. She had a slender, but feminine build, fair skin, violet eyes, and red hair. It reached her waist with should-length strands that framed both sides of her face and a black clip that parts her hair to the left. She wore a high-collared, sleeveless blouse under a long, loose-fitting dress with a wristband on her left wrist and standard shinobi sandals.

"Why are you here? Where is Naruto? What is going on here?" the woman asked worriedly, as she looked around, searching for the blond, but only saw Jiraya, the Sandaime Hokage, and a Yamanaka that she didn't recognize. "Is that the Kyuubi?" she then asked shocked, as her eyes fell on the little girl chained in front of her.

Everyone, except for the Kyuubi, stared at two newcomers jaws open in shock. The Hokage was the one to first recover. "You two should be dead, so how come you're in here?"

"The seal possesses pieces of Minato and Kushina, echoes, and memories with a bit of their chakra, scraps of their soul, watching, observing, waiting," Minato answered while scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "We wanted to meet and help Naruto somehow, and these chakra imprints within the seal were the best we could do in the hurried circumstances."

"Brilliant Minato," Jiraya exclaimed amazed. "You truly are a genius."

"So now that, that is off out the way. Can someone please explain what is going on?"

/|~{ (-I-) }~|\

The next day with the help of his parents and the Kyuubi, Naruto now had a new seal, which now was much larger out of necessity, covering most of the body. The new seal was now integrated deep into Naruto's chakra system. It was now more stable and sturdy than before, with better security and more fail-safes then ever. This thanks not only what little chakra Minato and Kushina had left, but also contributions from Third Hokage and Jiraiya, even the Yamanaka had helped a little. Then surprising everyone the Kyuubi had added its own twist to the whole increasing the seal integrity even more. It the strongest and most complex seal Jiraiya had ever seen, as not even, he didn't even fully understand parts of it. It would show itself as a red glowing pattern all over Naruto's body whenever the Kyuubi's chakra would enter his chakra system.

They had taken what had been left of the old seal and used that as and base. Minato and Kushina, with help of the Yamanaka, had done what they could secure and reinforce force the seal form the inside. With the Yamanaka adding some traps and defenses against mental tampering. While Jiraiya and the Hokage had reinforced and secured the seal on the outside. The Kyuubi had then added some of its own chakras to interweave both parts, and to make them a more resistant tampering. Jiraiya also used some nature chakra to make it harder to breach, along with hiding and disguising any traces of the Kyuubi's chakra as good as he could.

It was late in the morning when Naruto began to stir, signaling to the nurse on duty, that he was about wake up. A few moments later Naruto then lets out a soft groan and tentative, he slowly, bleary opened his eyes and stared upwards. As Naruto slowly blinked awake the first thing he took in was the pale sterilized light of a hospital room. With some effort, Naruto turned his head to the left and saw Hokage-jiji, along with people he didn't recognize. Revealing to everyone present, a pair of large round golden irises, with small slitted pupils in the middle. While he fought to keep his eyes from watering two feelings overcame him at the same time, the first being a steady ache all throughout his body, while the second being the rough scratchiness of his own throat.

He tried to speak, but all that came out was a weak croak. The nurse moved forward and took a glass of water to Naruto's mouth and tipped the glass of refreshing liquid so that he was able to drink it. Naruto greedily drank the water and let out a soft sigh and turned to face Hokage and squinted his eyes.

"J-Jiji?" Naruto managed to whisper in a hoarse throat.

"Hello Naruto, how are you feeling?" the Hokage asked.

"Tired, really tired," the boy answered in mumbling.

"Naruto," the Hokage began, "could tell us what's the last thing you remember?"

Naruto nodded, closing his eyes in thought, his brows frowning in concentration. He then shudders at the memory and curls up into a ball and does the only thing a kid can do when they are overwhelmed he cries, it didn't take a Nara to figure out what happened next. Naruto then began to look around frantically with a panicked look in his eyes, as Naruto's hair began to lash out wildly, making it dangerous for anyone to come near him.

"Naruto!" Jiraya cried as he dodged a lock of hair that flew at him.

"Naruto!" the Hokage cried as he rushed to the panicking little former boy, wrapping him up in a tight hug as he began to sob into the old man's embrace.

"It's OK Naruto, you're, and we're here for you." The Hokage says calmingly, as he gently stroke Naruto's head as the child started to cry. "That's alright Naruto let it all out."

"Jiji, a-are these mean p-p-people?" Naruto asked sniffling as he nervously looked around, after having finally calmed down.

"Shhh, these are GOOD people," the Hokage said in a soothing tone as possible. "These are actually old friends and students of mine. They're here to help you, and so don't worry, they won't hurt you."

After Naruto calmed down but soon started to panic again when the doctors tried to do some medical checks on him. He calmed down again when the Hokage assured him that he was not in any type of danger, they had also been able to confirm him as the holder new kekkei genkai and were able to classify what abilities it had, and some of the hospital staff had become unable move, in few cases even unable to breathe, as Naruto's hair had been wrapped around his throat. While the other time he had hardened his own skin to be as hard as stone when he saw someone approach him with a needle.

/|~{ (-I-) }~|\

A month had passed since Naruto woke up, and he had begun with his rehabilitation from his long time in bed, along with seeing a therapist, who specialized in trauma involving children, each day for counseling for his experiences under Orochimaru. He had been confirmed as by the carrier of a new kekkei genkai, which had been named the Ryūtai Gunbi (流体軍備), meaning quite literally fluid armaments. This ability allows him to freely turn almost any part of his body into almost any inanimate objects or reshape the size and figure of his body.

In theory, he would able to change his bodies size and measurements to look more mature and adult-like, even be able to change parts of his body into animal-like features that give him extra capabilities. Like growing a pair of wings from his back similar to a bird or a bat, to enable his flight. Or turn his legs into a fishtail similar to a mermaid with gills that lets him breathe and swim better underwater. Although Tsunade had been forbidden him to test any of this out, as not only would this require a huge amount of chakra, but would also put too much strain on his boy, especially since he was still growing.

Various tests had shown that Naruto's body now had enhanced durability, and a great amount of strength, for some of his age, despite his delicate child-like appearance. Along with enhanced agility and reflexes. Naruto's metabolism had also increased drastically, along with his apatite. He now needed to eat almost as much as an Akamichi, just to stay healthy, because how quickly his new body burned it off. They had also Naruto also had found out that he had immense chakra reserves, but that was probably just because he was an Uzumaki, along with being the jinchūriki of Kyuubi, instead of anything Orochimaru had done.

During this time the Hokage and his students discussed with Naruto, of what would when he left the hospital. It had been decided that from how the villages had treated him so far, it would be better for Uzumaki Naruto to die. Their plan was to have a Naruto clone which then has accident making people think that Uzumaki Naruto had perished. The clone would have a small amount of the Kyuubi's chakra sealed in it, just to add a sense of realism to it, and just in case if anyone would try to check for it. The amount would be really tiny, not enough to cause any major havoc or destruction, but enough to fool anyone checking for it. Meanwhile, the real Naruto would be given a new identity and would live as a girl, under the name of Tekiō Satsuki (適応殺姫), which would be an orphan, that had been rescued during a raid on one of Orochimaru's many hidden labs.

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"We did it!" a man yelled out in a crowd of villagers. They all cheered. In the center of the crowd, all of whom were facing it, a small child lay beaten and broken. The moon cascading down on his bloodied blond hair, he was no longer breathing, the holes through the blond boy's chest ensured of that. "Hooray! The demons finally are gone, we're finally safe again!"

But after few moments of celebrating and reveling in the young boy's death, the moon suddenly disappeared behind a swirling mass of clouds. Weight. That was all they could think of when everyone collapsed to the ground. A weight like none other. It wasn't terrifying, for their mind went numb the moment they could no longer stand. And the weight seemed only to increase.

They could only stare on in fear. Fear for their life. Fear for their home.

Kneeling before the dead boy's body, they witnessed the sight of how suddenly angry red chakra began to crackle around dead boy's body and starts to shoot out like lightning bolts. The attackers watch as the chakra swirls and then shoots up to the sky, coalescing into a massive swirling whirlpool right above them. A cone of red chakra slowly formed over the boy, and then a pillar of dark red and malevolent chakra blasted off into the sky, hitting the middle of the swirling clouds. As a feeling of sheer terror consumed them, they watched, wide-eyed as it all unfolded.

It lasted for a minute, that moment in time. It felt like the whole world had stopped breathing. The moment between heartbeats. The chakra thickens as it gathers together, creating a cyclone. The cyclone morphs and thins, shaping itself, twisting. Like the chakra was relaxing yet pushing itself into this form.

Into the form of a gigantic fox's head.

A crimson gigantic fox's head with glowing golden eyes glaring at them.

Some of the attackers held a great fear, that they had been wrong.

"This couldn't be happening. This shouldn't be happening.", someone shouted panicked in shock and fear, wanting to run away, but were unable to. As they and anyone else nearby was, mesmerized by the sight, along with frozen stiff by immense feelings of anger and hate, they could feel rolling of the fox head in large waves. No of them could comprehend what was happening, or why it was happening. The Kyuubi is dead, most of them thought. They had just killed it, so it should be dead. They gasped for breath, trying to calm themselves, but the dark presence aimed at them made it difficult.

They all felt despair. They all felt helpless.

The fox head then opens its mouth and fearsome roar comes straight out of its mouth.

Nothing could've prepared them for the shock-wave that erupted from the roar. Most landed on their back several feet away, ears ringed like as if had been too close an explosion. The fox head lets out another large roar, this one was filled with chakra. Air laced with malevolent red energy rushed throughout the village, spreading terror and fear amongst all.

"I have you to thank, tiny humans, for finishing off the last true heir of the Uzumaki Clan. And for making your beloved Yondaime Hokage last moments in life in vain. Let not forget killing Naruto Uzumaki, the son of The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero Kushina Uzumaki and Konoha's Yellow Flash Minato Namikaze, and thereby releasing me from my prison."

Their eyes widened at the revelation.

"Ah, free at last. After almost 100 years of imprisonment by those annoying Uzumaki, and being controlled by those damned Uchiha. It feels kind of.. nice, I suppose I should say thank you. I could have done without all your help. As a reward, I will give you all a painless death." The fox chuckled, lips twisting in a snarl, as the head descends upon them. The area lights up as the fox head rips into the ground, trees tearing up from the ground due to the force of the chakra it was made up of expelling, only for it to dissipate moments later, leaving only a large crater and dead bodies behind.

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At the Hokage's office the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat behind his desk, viewing the whole advent through an old crystal ball. He sighed in sadness and disappointment at the villager's actions. But at the same time, he was somewhat relieved. Now all that was left, was to see how long this gamble would work, as he had no delusions that this would work indefinitely. It would come out sooner or later, hopefully, later, much later. Giving Nar... No, it was Satsuki now wasn't it, the time needs to get strong enough matters himself, or herself, as it should be now, the Hokage corrected him himself.

To help this any and all information regarding the Kyuubi or Uzumaki Naruto had been classified as a top S-rank secret, under the punishment of death. He had also managed to get any most records about Tekiō Satsuki, classified as S-rank documents too, under the guise of protecting a newly discovered bloodline limit. Although they were only low S-rank, meaning that you get life in the Blood Prison, without any chance of parole.

Hiruzen was saddened by the loss of life, but the only reason the Kyuubi had agreed with help was that it would be allowed to kill anyone that participated in the killing of Naruto's clone. Which the Hokage had been vehemently against, but soon had most reluctantly agreed to. Naruto only input in this debate was that it would show villagers what could have happened, if had they really killed him for real.

Which Hiruzen had to agree on, if they only saw as Naruto who he was, instead of what he carried this would not have been needed at all. So in hope that maybe it wouldn't come to that point, the Hokage had agreed, with the stipulation it could only happen after that clone had died. Then Kyuubi chakra would act as a programme, before killing everyone near the clone. But apparently, his faith in villagers had been misplaced, much to his disappointment. Although the amount of Kyuubi chakra that been put in clone was without any will and quite minuscule, compared the wast reserves that the Kyuubi possessed. Hiruzen shuddered at thought of what would have happened if this had been the real Naruto, instead of just a clone.

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TBC

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