Naruto Fanfic
Sea Forest
By: Lighted Candle
Prologue: The Bloody Dawn
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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Naruto series, characters or merchandise
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Clouds of grit and ghosts drifted away from the underground. The light in the cavern dimmed as the roasting mounds of flesh disintegrated into dust. A young man heaved for gasps of air, choking on the lingering taste of death. Outlined in demonic chakra, the other survivor of the brutal ambush wasted no time in supporting his precious person.
"Sensei..." Tears dripped, mixing with the gushing wounds. The teacher hissed as the acidic energy aggravated his injuries. Ashamed, Naruto let out a streaming hiccup of apologizes. Regretful repetitions of stressed confessions were interrupted by trembling fingers gently stroking his cheeks.
"Nar...uto. You are...safe?" Iruka's expressive eyes revealing how fast he was fading.
"Hai." The smeared blood and soot would have made Naruto look all the more feral, but the additional snot and tears only emphasised the jinchuriki's youth.
"Please don't go!" He whimpered
Iruka smiled warmly, placing the trembling palm of his hand over Naruto's heart, "Be... here."
"I'm- I can't... You're mine." The teenager growled.
"Love you too... little brother." Iruka began humming, offering the small comfort of a familiar lullaby even as his arm began to grow limp. A firm hand trapped the sensei's shaking fingers to Naruto's heart even as the teen awkwardly bent to cradle Iruka's head with his other arm.
There was nothing he could do.
Without warning, Naruto was sucked into his mindscape. Stumbling, he looked up ready to shout and leave. But. The Kyuubi was calmer than he had ever seen the demon be behind the intangible bars. "What's the big idea!"
"A CHANCE."
"To save Nii-san?! How- no. Why?!"
"BECAUSE HE IS...OURS." The Kyuubi's whipping tails exposed his agitation, "ENTIRELY MORE YOURS THAN MINE, AS YOU WANT HIM TO REMAIN ALIVE." Well, the chakra monster wanted Umino Iruka to live, if only because Naruto's misery would cause it to rain in his mindscape. He hated getting wet.
"So what do I need to do?"
"YOU WOULD KILL HIM WITH YOUR INEXPERIENCE."
Naruto was quiet. Time was running out. "You better not hurt him."
Kuruma scoffed, "IT'S GOING TO HURT. HE MIGHT SCREAM," and I'll enjoy it, the demon left unmentioned- "BUT YOUR SENSEI WILL BE ALIVE AND UNABLE TO BE USED AGAINST YOU AS ONE OF THOSE UNDEAD PUPPETS."
"Swear by the Sage- no by your Father and Creator that you will do your best to save him. And that you will leave Konoha alone... for now."
Since this was closest to freedom the Kyuubi had been in 17 years, the fox wasted no time, "AGREED."
"The exact words." The demon scowled at the hiss, but grudgingly obliged the hissed threat. It wasn't as if there weren't loopholes he could exploit. The agreement was really only to the kitsune's benefit; anything else would be refused on principle. Kuruma finished the vow.
"Do it"
…
The dimming energy around Naruto abruptly flared into a thick red-orange wall of glowing smog.
Sharpened incisors formed a triumphant smirk. The Kyuubi flexed Naruto's fingers, expelling enough chakra to turn them into claws. One paw, tore through Iruka's upper armor. Then the Nine Tailed Demon plunged a claw into the sensei's stomach ignoring how Iruka's sluggish body recoiled. The demon kitsune began carving out a seal out of the human's flesh and blood.
Over the years, Kyuubi had gained a large knowledge of fuinjutsu from various Uzumaki (and other, lesser masters of the art). Admittedly the most familiar ones were the jinchuriki seals, but those prisons were made from plentiful amount of research and experimentation. One of those seals was similar to a jinchuriki seal, but would allow the demon subvert and eventually control the human vessel. Unfortunately... that wasn't an option. Even if Umino's could withstand becoming jinchuriki (unlikely), that particular fuinjutsu technique might permanently reform his chakra into said human form. Which was not an option.
So, second best option was fulfilling his demon-given promise to Naruto. This seal just had a few... quirks. Originally intended to prevent lesser demons and vengeful ghosts from regaining possession of a human, it was quickly discovered that while the seal acted as intended, it worked a little too well.
The spiritual essence of the human soul would transfer to a near-identical if not identical match. Meaning that the human's spirit would either find their so called 'soul-mate' within the same dimension or plane of existence and then be stuck without a corporal body (the multiple personalities soon having detrimental repercussions on their counterpart's side) or the spirit would seek out a dimensional match. [The second option was decided to be the most favorable outcome by Uzumaki Mito, who figured out the ever so slight difference when she was bored at a council meeting.]. Meanwhile, the physical element would remain.
The Nine Tails hadn't lied. Iruka would live- but not on this plane of existence.