A.N.: This is a new story from me that's been on my mind for several months. And then, I just wrote it. I'm very sorry about "Demonic God, Godly Demon", but it seems I won't continue it until further notice. The 11th chapter of "Konoha no Tsurugi" is almost finished, I just had my friend read it and help me with it. It'll be updated pretty soon, I hope. Anyway, enjoy the story.
Chapter 1: A Fair Trade
Forest of Hi no Kuni, approximately 20 kms from Konohagakure
"Whoa!" Naruto exclaimed while looking to the deep cliff right in front of him. "Ne, Kakashi-sensei, how deep do you think this cliff is?"
The blond looked behind him and around him, but found no one. 'Weird, usually one of the guys'll be around me,' he thought, 'Maybe they forgot to bring something from the last camp site?'
Naruto turned his head back to the cliff and thought to himself, 'Well, they'll come around looking for me, ri…ght?'
Suddenly, the boy felt something pushing him forwards and sent him down to the deep abyss.
He yelled and screamed in panic, not knowing who or what pushed him down.
Xxxx
Team 7's last campsite, same time
"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura started. "Where's Naruto? It's his turn to cook lunch."
"He's not here?" Kakashi asked in confusion.
"No, I thought he was with you." Sakura replied.
"The dobe didn't say anything to us when he left." Sasuke added.
"Maybe he needed to take a crap?" Kakashi asked.
"Nobody craps this long." Sakura replied.
"Then…" 'Oh shit.' "Sasuke, Sakura. Both of you stay here. I'll look for him."
Xxxx
Top of cliff, place of Naruto's fall
The 'Kakashi' smiled as he took of his mask and wig before he looked back to the cliff behind him. His red eyes had an evil glint in them as his smile increased in size and his gray hair was covered with a bandanna. "So, how does hell look like, demon brat?" Mizuki asked before he hightailed out of there.
Xxxx
Naruto landed face up on base of the cliff, groaning as he woke up.
"Uuuuhhh, how long was I out?" the blue eyed boy moaned, trying to rub the throbbing pain on the side of his head. But, to his annoyance, his right arm just wouldn't move and felt a searing pain there instead.
The boy decided he didn't want to know what was there for the moment and tried moving his other limbs. All of the attempts were met with failure.
He sighed audibly and looked up to the place from where he fell down; there was a patch of silver hair there. The blue eyed boy's hope soared and he called out the top of his lungs, "Kakashi-sensei! Sasuke! Sakura-chan!"
Hatake Kakashi heard the call slightly, but it wasn't enough to determine the position of his lost student. The gray haired man continued trying to look for the blond, hoping that he would hear another shout.
Xxxx
Naruto looked at sky and tried to remember the memory of 'Kakashi' pushing him down with great hate. Eventhough he didn't see the face, he knew it had to be Kakashi, not many people had silver hair in Konoha. 'That silver haired hypocrite! Who is he to say 'Those who abandon your teammates are lower than trash'? Bastard. The next time I see them, I'll kill them!' he raged in his mind.
He lay down in the rocky surface for several moments before he heard a loud rumbling sound coming from above. The boy turned his sight upwards and saw dozens of falling boulders running straight at him. He panicked. At this rate, he'll be dead before he realizes his dream, no, before he could even curse Konoha.
Naruto wanted to scream, to curse as loud as his lungs allowed him to, but to no avail. Because the boulders had just reached him and he blacked out from the pain and desperation.
Xxxx
Naruto woke up after thirty minutes of dreamless sleep. The pain woke him up, not his consciousness or anything. Just that, the pain of having tons of rock crushing his limbs.
'Damn,' he thought. 'Now I won't know what gave that pain before.'
Suddenly, he laughed. It was so ironic, he thought. This whole universe just wouldn't stop fucking him over and over again. The situation he was in was also ironic; the boy who wanted to be Hokage but didn't realize the people closest to him would be the very same people who fucked him over.
Then, sadness came. Sadness because he knew no one would mourn for him in Konoha save for maybe the Hokage, Iruka-sensei, and the old man from Ichiraku and his daughter; nobody would even give a shit about looking for him because everyone would believe Kakashi and whatever lie he would spit out.
Naruto roared in unearthly rage. How dare they? How dare those ungrateful bastards do this to him? He saved that village from the Kyuubi by being its jailor and this is the thanks he got? If he got out of this godforsaken perdicament, he would destroy that village and everyone in it. But, he realized it was only an if, a thought of what would happen should he get out of there and have the power to do so.
Xxxx
It was thirty minutes after Naruto's accident and now he was having a coughing fit, caused by the lack of oxygen and surplus of dust and miniature debris. The blond realized his time wouldn't be long unless someone or something saved him.
He unconsiciously thought of the Kyuubi, whom Mizuki said was inside him. Why wasn't the fox doing anything to save both their selves?
'Oy, Kyuubi, you in there somewhere in my brain?' the boy thought to himself, not really expecting an answer.
'What do you want accursed mortal?'the beast replied.
'A payment for the rent,' Naruto replied.
'Rent? A funny human aren't you? Go away; I'm not in the mood for your foolish jokes and snide comments,' Kyuubi told him.
'Really? I think what I want is pretty reasonable, after all you made my life pathetic and you messed up my control. It's only fair if you give me something back in return.'
'Ungrateful wretch. What do you think is keeping you alive at this moment? Or any other sticky situations you landed yourself into?'
'I know it's you, but as landlord, I set the rent and I demand your healing chakra right now. Or we both die.'
'Too late for that.'
'What do you mean?'
'If you… if we aren't in this perdicament, I can restore your limbs as easily as breathing.
'But now that we're stuck under a ton of rock and dirt, there's no chance of the limb restoring now. Oh, one last notice, the oxygen supply is only enough for ten more minutes. Better use that time for something useful.'
'So, shortly, we're fucked.'
'Maybe, maybe not.'
'What the hell do you mean?'
xxxx
Outside Naruto's rocky prison
"Is this the place, Itachi-san?" a blue skinned man asked to his slightly shorter, black haired partner.
"Yes, according to our leader, this is where he is," he answered.
"Hmm, no water source, guess I'll have to make one," the blue skinned man said as he took out a scroll and unsealed it. Immediately water seeped through the rocks and the shark man prepared one of his signature jutsu. "Suikodan no jutsu!"
Xxxx
Inside Naruto's mind
'Why do I feel weaker? Unless… KYUUBI!!!'
'What?'
'What have you done to me?'
'Oooh, nothing. Just used your almost drained chakra to summon an associate.'
'What?'
'Isn't it a grand scheme, though? To deprive you of anything when you're at death's doorstep, waiting for the uncomfortable darkness and loneliness to claim you. This will be my greatest joy yet.'
'You FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!'
'That I am. My mother is a bitch; after all, she is a female fox. Hahahaha!'
Xxxx
Somewhere
Naruto shook his head to try to clear the headache he got and the blurry vision. But, once he did, he was very surprised when he realized that he was in a withered forest. All the trees inside of it were shriveled; the stench of death and decay filled the air. Overhead, a red sky burned, a million crows called to each other. The sun or moon was invisible from the place where the blond was, but smoke covered it like a curtain would.
With great effort, he flipped himself upright. Dreading what would greet him, he closed his eyes and set his hand three inches across from his face and in an instant opened his eyes.
What the jinchuuriki saw was something more terrifying than anything he had ever seen. His arms had no flesh whatsoever. The only thing that remained arms were only the first half of his biceps which was gushing out blood at a fast pace.
Dreading what had become of his legs, Naruto didn't bother to inspect them, but know instinctively that they were also in the same condition, more or less.
A somewhat familiar voice called out to him from his right and the boy followed the direction of the sound, only seeing the great Kyuubi no Youko in his bestial glory with a slightly smaller forms beside him.
It had red skin with muscular body, his arms had five fingers, all of them were larger and stronger than any human's with sharp claws for nails. His feet looked like a normal human's, only with longer nails. On top of the demon's forehead, a pair of curved horns sprouted. His white hair was long and thick with hints of black every here and there. The demon had golden eyes with slit pupils, pointed ears and three piercings on each of them.
The demon, Naruto had to admit looked like a god from a temple he had visited several years ago. It reminded him of the Nioh (Benevolent Kings), especially with the dark green skirt it wore over a white one. In the demon's clutches was a gauntlet reaching up to the shoulders; the armor shaped like a turtle's carapace.
The demon turned to Kyuubi after he looked at Naruto intently and said with a booming voice, "Is this him?"
"Hey, Kyuubi, what's going on here?" Naruto yelled.
"Silence, wretch. And listen for once in a while. It's healthier than yelling on the top of your lungs like a fool.
"Now listen. This,"the massive beast started "Is a Rasetsu (a soul torturing demon). His name is Gou. And he is here to… help you, more or less."
"More or less? What d'ya mean 'more or less'."
"What my comrade means by 'more or less' is I might or might not want to help you."
"And why's that?" the only human there asked.
"Isn't that simple?" the red demon asked. "Because I'm not that kind."
"Tch, should'a known," Naruto muttered.
"That you should. But rejoice, human. For I am feeling generous today and so, I shall help you. Now, come here."
"Umm, a little help here? 'Coz you know, I GOT NO LIMBS!" the blond yelled out in rage.
"Stop being childish and come here. Crawl if you must," Gou said irritatedly.
Naruto grumbled in annoyance, but managed to flip himself over and began crawling like a worm. The two demons weren't very far away from him, but without his legs to push him or arms to drag him; it felt very far.
Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Naruto stopped right in front of Gou and rolled on his back.
Without saying anything, the Rasetsu picked the boy up with his left hand after setting the gauntlet down. Then, he began reading what sounded like a spell and touched one of the bleeding stumps with his hand. The spell reading continued for several moments before it stopped and Gou crushed the remains of the blond's left arm.
With that, the blond roared in pain before he felt a new arm regrowing.
Xxxx
Real World
The effect of Kisame's jutsu was incredible. With that one move, most of the heavier rocks were either out of the way or reduced to smaller rocks. But it still didn't free Naruto completely. Itachi then used the excess water created by Kisame to create several water bullets that shot outwards, breaking most of the rocks and left only rubble and sand there.
Xxxx
The regeneration process was almost done as Naruto began seeing the silhouette of fingers of his new arm, which looked like Gou's. Then, in a flash of red, the left arm was completely regenerated.
Naruto looked in awe at the new left arm and with a pained voice, he spoke, "Nice."
The red demon ignored him and picked up one of the gauntlets on the ground. Then, he read another spell and stuck the gauntlet on Naruto's remaining right arm. A golden light appeared from inside the gauntlet, starting from his biceps, going steadily forwards.
The golden light finally filled the gauntlet, signifying the completion of the blond's right arm's regeneration.
Xxxx
"We are done," Itachi said, looking down to Naruto's unconscious body.
"Hey, you hear something?" Kisame asked as he heard a slight buzzing.
"I do. Get ready, it might be a threat."
"I know. How long do you think I've been a shinobi?" Kisame growled out. But it wasn't a threat that came. Instead, it was a bright red flash coming from Naruto's direction.
"What the hell?" the blue skinned man muttered.
"Regardless of what it was, we'd better get away from here. No doubt someone had noticed that light and we don't want any curious bystanders. The leader told us to be discreet," the Uchiha stated.
The former Kiri-nin nodded and they leapt away from their previous position, to the higher grounds.
Xxxx
Later that night
"Aaayyyee, what the hell happened to me?" Naruto groaned in pain, while holding his head with his newly formed left hand.
"Don't know," Sasuke answered. "We'd also like to know about that."
"Sasuke?" Naruto said. "Wait a minute. If you're here, that means he's here too."
"He? What're you talking about?" the Uchiha asked.
Yet, before any answers came to him, the blond was already upon him and grabbed the boy by his collar. "Don't fuck with me, teme. You know where he is, now tell me!"
Sasuke cooly slapped the hands away and said. "Look, if you want to know where somebody is, wouldn't it be easier if I know who you're talking about?"
"Kakashi. Tell me where Kakashi is!"
"He's right behind you. What's the big deal anyway?"
True to his words, Hatake Kakashi was behind the jinchuuriki. "What's the matter, Naruto?"
"You," the blond hissed with hate. "You're the one who gave me this pain."
"What the? Hold on." The silver haired jounin said, trying to calm the boy down.
"Shut up!" the jinchuuriki yelled as he charged towards Kakashi. "Don't try to reason with me you 2 faced asshole!"
"Naruto, calm down." Sakura yelled from the side. "This is a misunderstanding."
"Stay out of this!" Naruto yelled. "This… bastard's the one who pushed me down the cliff and almost killed me."
"What? But that's impossible, he's been with us the whole day." Sakura told him. "Oh, no. Don't tell me you've been drinking again."
"I'm completely sober, Sakura!" he yelled out.
"Look, dobe." Sasuke began. "He's been here the whole day, looking for you. If you don't believe him, Sakura and I can testify to that. So calm down."
The blue eyed boy growled in anger and turned his back towards them. "Fine."
"See, that wasn't so hard was it?" Sakura asked happily. "Get some rest, we have to go back tomorrow."
In his sleeping bag, Naruto kept himself up, not trusting every one of them safe for maybe Sakura. But he still couldn't bring himself to sleep, somehow this paranoia took his ability to sleep. Maybe it had something to do with his new limbs.
It took the boy nearly a full hour before sleep finally claimed him. But even then, the sleep was filled with nightmares.
Xxxx
Naruto's dream
Naruto was once again inside the withered forest where he met, or introduced to a being who became his saviour. It still looked the same, the absence of life and the presence of death was strong. So was the darkness and the despair that oozed from somewhere in this plane of existence.
Nervously, the boy looked around him, hoping there would be no sudden appearances. But, to his annoyance, it did. Two people were speaking, he heard them conversing with each other. But it wasn't really coherent.
With an effort, the blond wandered in the dark place aimlessly, hoping that somehow he would get closer to the source of the sound. But, by the time he could see the outline of both figures, something tugged at him, pulling at him away from the speakers. And before he realized it, he woke up.
A.N.:
There will be many creatures from Japanese mythologies and Buddhism. If you want to learn more, visit: do you think? Good? Bad? No opinion yet? Review please, for each and every one is appreciated.
By the way, this contains a surprise pairing. If you guess right, I'll give you a prize. The prize? It's a surprise.