Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Death Adder

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Chapter One

Hissing in pain as he clutched his bleeding leg with one hand, he continued to drag himself down the lightless hall. A handful of kunai jutted out from his left thigh, their sharp tips grinding against the bone. He was no stranger to pain, however. This wasn't the first time he had experienced something such as this. In fact, it was the twelve time in the past month.

He was being hunted...

"Gah! It hurts!"

"Quit your bitching, you fucking pussy."

Naruto froze from within his hiding spot as soon as he heard their voices. The first voice belonged to the jounin who he had slashed his claws across his chest, slicing through the man's body armor and flesh. The other belonged to his partner in crime. They were both dressed in full ANBU attire, the first having a jackal mask and the other having a wolf mask. Both were from the Inuzuka clan, but hadn't brought their canine companions; they wouldn't go near the demon brat, let alone attack it.

'They're going to pay...I'm going to MAKE them pay.' Naruto hissed as he felt an odd sensation wash over him, but he ignored it even as his pain began to disappear. Just as the two ANBU grew closer, the sensation grew stronger and Naruto couldn't ignore it anymore. Looking down, Naruto was forced to hold back a gasp of surprise upon seeing that his legs had become a ten foot long serpentine tail covered in pitch black scales with a glossy crimson sheen to them in certain angles of light. The same kind of scales began to form on the back of his hands and forearms, jagged spikes on his knuckles made of the same scales, and his originally inch long claws turned pitch black as they grew an inch longer and sharper than before.

Knowledge that he previously knew nothing of infiltrated his mind, over writing the natural motor skills he originally had. Catching his reflection in a nearby mirror, Naruto watched with wide eyes as his hair turned pitch black with the same glossy crimson sheen as his scales, his eyes slowly turning deep gold with black slit pupils and black sclera. His skin grew paler with every second as black tribal markings decorated his torso, arms, neck, and face.

Hissing dangerously as he bared his needle-like fangs, Naruto became consumed with rage as he tore off his ruined orange jumpsuit, revealing the dark colored scales lining his spine and ringing his neck. Spinning around and crashing through the glass door of the bathroom, Naruto grabbed both of the ANBU by their throats and smashed through the wall on the other side of the hall.

"You'll pay for what you have done to me! You'll pay with your lives!" Naruto hissed out as his eyes flashed crimson and locked with those of the two ANBU, their own eyes flashing red for a split second. "You'll pay with your SOULS!"

In the next instant, the two shinobi were outlined in scarlet energy before Naruto pulled his hands away from their necks, dragging crimson spectres of the pair with them. Both of their spirits swiftly became orbs of red energy in his hands as he held them close to his chest where the black tattoos spiraled to form a ring around a circle of red scales. As they drew closer to the scales, they were quickly sucked into the circle and absorbed by Naruto. Once again, knowledge that wasn't his own filled his mind.

Clutching his head in pain, he let out a deep hiss of confusion and agony. He caught a glimpse of their lives, learning what they knew. He learned dozens of new ninjutsu and genjutsu techniques, different taijutsu and kenjutsu styles, how to communicate with canines, and various other things. When the pain passed, Naruto gasped for breath and glared down at the two lifeless corpses lying beneath him. Backing up from them, Naruto summoned twin balls of fire in his hands before tossing them at the bodies, catching them on fire.

"So you've finally awoken your true self." Sarutobi spoke up from directly behind Naruto, startling the twelve year old boy. The Sandaime was dressed in his usually white and red robes, pipe in hand, but his face was of pure seriousness. Placing a hand on the boy's shoulder as he led him away from the burning bodies, Sarutobi continued. "What you just did to those two was called Soul Theft, an ability only your kind could perform. By your kind, I mean the Reptilos. Any reptilian creature in any myths, legends, folk tales, ancient history, or word of mouth are Reptilos. You, specifically, are a Serpent Reptilos like the Gorgans of an ancient civilization called Greece or the more familiar term, a Naga."

"So..." Naruto began in an oddly calm voice as he paused and glanced behind him, watching as the apartment building caught fire and started burning at a rapid pace. "I'm really not human, am I?"

"Sadly, no." Sarutobi sighed out as he continued to lead the boy down the dark road, the full moon hanging over head. "However, back during the clan wars when the Reptilos were still alive and many, they appeared as simple humans with certain abilities derived from their ancestors like Soul Theft and other powers. It was rare for one to awaken so strongly that they would physically change in such a way that their entire physiology would be altered; like yourself for example. Those rare few were revered as immortals or celestial beings."

"..." Naruto remained quiet, not at all concerned by the fact he was slithering along on his tail and not walking on two legs. It just felt natural to him now.

"Of course, Awakened Reptilos weren't really immortal or celestial beings. They only seemed immortal because of the massive amount of souls they had consumed via Soul Theft while fighting against the other clans back then. You see, with every soul a Reptilos claims, they survive and fully recover from any form of death be it decapitation, old age, sickness, poison, etcetera." Sarutobi explained as they reached his office. No one was awake at the moment- besides ANBU- seeing as it was almost two in the morning, so he was free to talk with Naruto about his heritage. "Truly magnificent warriors, I must admit."

"Sorry to interrupt, Jiji, but how do you know so much about them?" Naruto asked suspiciously as he placed his hands on the edge of Sarutobi's desk and leaned forward, narrowing his eyes at the elderly Hokage sitting before him. "And just how did you know I was a Reptilos?"

"Because your mother was one. She died giving birth to you the night before Kyuubi attacked and your father was a jounin in Kiri, but he believes you're dead." Sarutobi answered softly. "You see, the Yondaime was originally going to use his own son to seal the Kyuubi, but the boy died due to too much stress on his heart from the massive pressure of Kyuubi's killing intent. You were the only other child born within fourty eight hours and the Yondaime was left with no other choice than to seal the beast in you."

"I see." Naruto quietly sighed out as he quit leaning on the desk and gained a solemn expression on his face. "My father...What was his name?"

"Momochi Zabuza, an A-rank missing-nin of Kiri. He had attempted to kill the Yondaime Mizukage to end the Bloodline Purge, but had failed and was forced to leave." Sarutobi responded while handing a folder over to Naruto. "He was last seen in Sea Country with the Demon Brothers, good friends of your parents, and a third accomplice, but their identity is still unknown."

"Did my mother leave me anything?" Naruto asked as he read through the file, paying close attention to Zabuza's profile and memorizing his picture. Sarutobi nodded and went over to a picture of the Yondaime on the wall, moving it aside as he bit hid thumb and swiped the blood across a hidden seal on the wall. The seal glowed blue for a moment before a small safe door opened up, revealing well over a dozen small scroll, four large scrolls, a decorative polished box, and an envelope. Once the Sandaime was finished moving everything onto his desk, Naruto grabbed the decorative box and held it in front of him.

Slowly, he flipped the two latches and opened the box, revealing a pair of metal bracers with armored glove attachments. On top of the armored gauntlets were three holes that went down the length of the bracer, a senbon set in each hole already on both of them. The gauntlets themselves were pitch black with dark red markings on them and the senbon themselves were pitch black. A small card in the corner of the box caught Naruto's attention.

"Death Seeker Gauntlets." Naruto read outloud as he set the box down and gingerly removed them from the wooden box before putting them on. They fit perfectly. Spinning around rapidly and aiming his right fist at the far wall beside the door, Naruto squeezed the trigger-like handle grasped in his hand and fired the three senbon. Gurgling as he choked on his own blood, an ANBU fell to the ground, Ne decorating his mask. The middle senbon had struck the man's throat while the other two hit his shoulders.

"Root." Sarutobi growled out with a scowl as he saw the Ne on the man's mask. Naruto ignored the Sandaime's words as he moved closer to the body and grabbed the man's throat and absorbed his soul through Soul Theft just like he had done with the two ANBU earlier that night. Images flashed through his head an moment later as he learned what the man knew.

"Danzo's planning something that involves both of us. I'm not sure what it is, but neither of us will like it." Naruto warned his surrogate grandfather as he removed his senbon from the corpse and put them back in the gauntlet. Sarutobi's eyes widened slightly in surprise as Naruto moved back over to him.

"What do you mean? How do you know about Danzo and what he's planning?" The Sandaime inquired.

"So you didn't know Reptilos gain the knowledge of those whose souls they absorb?" Naruto asked in return, curious and a little confused.

"No, I only know what your mother told me over the years I knew her before she died. Only a Reptilos can open the scrolls and as far as I can tell, you're the last living Reptilos." Sarutobi responded a bit sheepishly, the mood oddly light despite the heavy situation. "So what do you plan to do now, Naruto?"

"No. I'm no longer Naturo. Uzumaki Naruto died at 1:12 this morning. Reptilos Naruto now stands in his place." Naruto hissed out as his eyes flashed red again, but not from Soul Theft. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes in deep thought. After a minute or two, he answered the Sandaime's question. "As much as I want to find my father, I can't afford to do that just yet. Killing the two ANBU earlier and the Root ANBU were flukes. I caught them off guard and they had no true knowledge of my capabilities, allowing me to kill them swiftly. I need proper training and finances before I can seek him out."

"You still want to attend the Academy? Even though you know you'll be ostracized even more now that you don't even look human?" Sarutobi asked incredulously as he walked around the desk and stood in front of Naruto, who was now at eye level with him because of his serpentine body.

"I don't care what they think of me anymore. I've hidden myself for too long and its about time I start showing who I really am." Naruto hissed out as he turned away from Sarutobi, eyes narrowed in anger as he stared at his armored fists. Yet again, the Sandaime was shocked by the boy's words.

"'Who you really are?' What do you mean, Naruto?" Naruto looked over his shoulder at the man.

"Have you not noticed how easily I've killed three men already? I've killed dozens of others already in the past four months from defending myself and almost two hundred in the past three years." Naruto hissed out as he grabbed a blank scroll on the Sandaime's desk and took a caligraphy brush before writing down several storage seals and sealing everything left to him by his mother in the scroll. "From now on, if anyone- shinobi or civilian- messes with me, I will kill them without hesitation. Even if its out in the middle of a busy street, I'll kill them. I have no issues with doing so."

"Naruto..." Sarutobi whispered softly as he reached out to touch the boy's shoulder, but he was too slow. Naruto had already started moving toward the door and had already opened it.

"I'll see you in a couple days before I return to the Academy. Good night, Sandaime-sama." Naruto parted as he closed the door behind him and left the building. Map and keys in hand, Naruto followed the map to the home his mother had left him. When he reached his destination an hour later, Naruto was surprised by what he found. He had originally expected to find a normal house or something of the like, but what he got was a cave with a pair of stone doors blocking the entrance. Looking down at the unusual key in his hand, Naruto understood what it was really meant for. On the two doors was an image of multiple snake-like creatures and in the center was a small indent meant for the key, which was a snake skull made of dark grey metal.

Placing the skull in the hole and taking it back out, the two moss-covered stone slabs began to slowly slide apart, stone grinding against stone as the ancient stone mechanisms worked their magic. When they were fully opened, Naruto was surprised yet again by what he saw. The floors, walls, and ceiling were covered in pure black and grey marble with white marble pillars supporting the ceiling. Metal bowls hung from the ceiling by chains, cradling oil-fueled flames that lit the corridors. Every so often, statues of various Awakened Reptilos stood in different poses.

Walking down the hall, Naruto eventually came across what could be called a throne room. On the other side of the large chamber sat a throne made of white marble that contrasted quite heavily against the back drop of smokey grey-black marble and dark red carpet leading up to the throne. Whistling quietly in awe, Naruto continued over to the throne and sat down in it, coiling his tail under him as he relaxed in the stone chair. Unfurling the scroll in his hand, Naruto began to unseal the contents and started reading them one by one...

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Three Years Later

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Wearing a black hooded cloak over his body, Naruto entered the class room and went to his seat in the very back row in the darkest corner. A week after his transformation, Naruto had returned to his classes and continued his daily activities. He had learned much from his mother's scrolls and mastered almost every technique that was in them along with all of the taijutsu and kenjutsu styles. Grazing the tips of his claws along the desk before clenching his hand into a fist, Naruto gazed down at the Death Seeker gauntlet on his left arm, the matching one still on his right. He had mastered them as well and even added onto them. Before, they needed to be reloaded after every use, but Naruto applied seals to the inside that instantly reloaded them with the special black poison coated senbon needles.

Just the other day, Naruto had 'requested' of the Sandaime for a specific jounin sensei and team, which he was given without much of a fuss. Today, the teams would be assigned and Naruto was glad for it. He had put up with the Uchiha brat's arrogance and 'lone avenger' attitude long enough and was at the point of snapping every bone in the boy's body. His twin sister, on the hand, was welcome company and a true beauty in Naruto's eyes.

'Ah, she's here...' Naruto mused as he smiled softly, watching as Kira walked into the room. She was about 5'6" and slim with a lithe, athletic build and perfect hour glass figure. Through personal experience, Naruto knew that Kira's breasts were a hefty E-cup for a 16 year old young woman. Her black hair cascaded down to her broad hips and her coal black eyes glowed with warmth. Kira was currently wearing a pair of skin-tight black pants, black stilleto-style shinobi heels, a black hitai-ate tied around her neck, a black elbow-length fingerless glove on her right arm, and a black long-sleeve top that left her entire right shoulder and arm bare along with her stomach.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun." Kira greeted with a warm smile as she sat next to Naruto. She was the only person Naruto allowed to sit next to him, but then again, the others didn't want anything to do with him after he brutally mauled Haruno Sakura three years ago when she hit him for some reason that he had forgotten. The girl never returned to the Academy after that.

"Good morning, Kira." Naruto greeted in response, returning her smile faintly. He didn't smile much any more, mostly just around Kira. The two had been seeing each other for the past year and had slept together for the first time four days ago. He had been hesitant to reveal his true appearance to Kira, thinking she would come to fear him like many others would, but she had surprised him when she simply smiled and caressed his face before kissing him. After that, they had grown closer than ever.

"Did you enjoy yourself last night?" Naruto whispered as he leaned closer to Kira, who blushed a deep scarlet and lowered her head in embarrasment. They had gone almost a full twelve hours yesterday and Naruto had completely worn Kira out; luckily, she was training to become a med-nin and knew a few medical techniques that healed her sore body rather swiftly.

"Mm-hm." Kira answered back softly, smiling shyly as she leaned against Naruto and rested her head on his shoulder. They spent the rest of the time in peaceful silence until Iruka started calling out the teams.

"...Team 7 will be Uchiha Sasuke, Sai, and Ami under Hatake Kakashi. Team 8 will be Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba. Team 9 is still in circulation. Team 10 will be Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino. Team 11 will be Uchiha Kira, Reptilos Naruto, and Ivana Dostya under Mitarashi Anko. Team 12..." Naruto tuned Iruka out as he glanced at Dostya. She was originally from a small village past Suna's western border and she was smart enough to give Shikamaru a run for his money in strategy; she was also the only person in their class to beat Shikamaru in shogi three out of four times with Naruto trailing close behind at two out of three times.

Standing at about 5'7" with long black hair and bright red eyes, Dostya was a unique young woman. She wore baggy black pants tucked into black armored knee-high combat boots, a black sleeveless turtleneck sweater over a long-sleeve fishnet top that pushed up her D-cup breasts, a black trench coat that went down to her ankles, and carried around two ninjato swords crossed on her back with the handles at her hips and the tips at her shoulders. She was the strongest kunoichi in their class and brutal; she never pulled her punches when it came to the taijutsu spars the class had regularly.

"Team 11, come with me." Anko called out in a rather calm tone of voice as she appeared via Shunshin. Team 11 stood up and followed their sensei to her favorite spot in Konoha; Training Ground 44, the Forest of Death. "Alright, normally, we're supposed to introduce ourselves to each other, but I think it's just stupid and boring, so we're doing something different."

"Oh? And that would be what, exactly?" Naruto inquired as he sat under the shade of a tree along the fence as they stopped at a small hut just outside of TG 44's fence next to a gate.

"I believe one doesn't truly know one another outside of combat. By fighting one another, you'll learn each other's strengths and weaknesses and know exactly where you'll be in the team." Anko pointed out as she pulled out a senbon and started spinning it between her fingers, passing it from one finger to the next with every turn before repeating the cycle. Naruto couldn't stop the grin from forming on his lips as he rose back up, cracking his neck in anticipation.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get started." Anko would later regret chosing to fight her students, especially the cloaked enigma that was Reptilos Naruto...