A/N: So yeah...this chapter got some editing so that I could do a few more things smoothly with it. Hope you guys enjoy it
Chapter 1: Crimson
"So…you think I can control it?" asked very confused Uzumaki Kushina, trying to make sense of the words the man across from her had said previously.
"No, not control, per se, but I have a theory that you can work in harmony with him and become a much more effective kunoichi, Uzumaki-san," said the much younger, and slightly flabbergasted young man.
He had jet black hair down to his shoulders, with piercing green eyes behind a pair of reading glasses. He wore a long white lab coat over a teal shirt and khaki pants, his hitai-ite tied around his right arm. The two shinobi sat at a small restaurant in the middle of the village, although neither had ordered food.
"And how do I know that your 'theory' is founded upon sound logic, Jin? I mean, why has one else even tried something like this if you're so sure about it? Even Orochimaru-san isn't entirely sure about this idea of yours, and he's usually your biggest supporter on this end," responded Kushina.
"Ahh, the Director is still trying valiantly for that Hokage position that Sarutobi-sama has been rumored to have offered, he doesn't want any unwanted attention being drawn to the Research and Development Department, with the war looming and all," said the younger man.
"Hmph, Minato-kun tells me that Orochimaru basically has the position in the bag, and it would take a tragedy, then a miracle for anyone to surpass his standing in the village."
"Well, he doesn't want it to come from us, so he isn't giving full backing on this project. However, if I get your consent, as well as keep this under wraps, we may be able to find out more about the Bijuu," said Jin, while staring intently at his notes laid out in front of him.
"You seem awfully sure about this, Jin-san….can we really do this? And how does this 'idea' of yours even work?" asked the Hot-Blooded Habanero.
"It's….it's a long story how, but I've studied the Bijuu for a very long time, and it fascinated me how they are all completely sentient masses of chakra. But even more intriguing is their ability to reform their bodies using only their chakra. We can already manipulate solid objects with chakra, but if we can somehow create solid objects using only chakra the possibilities can be limitless! But...I'm not 100% sure myself, nothing is truly certain….but I do believe that it will work. But this will only happen if you trust me, Kushina-san," replied Jin. "So, what's your answer?"
Kushina paused for a moment. After all these years of being tasked to containing the demon within her, she had never made any serious attempts at utilizing it's powers. Her current skillset was already exceptional, but a lingering feeling made itself known that she had been holding herself back by not getting something useful from the fox with all the time it spent sealed within her.
She sharpened her gaze before saying, "I trust you. Let's do this! Dattebane!"
Jin flashed a ghost of a grin, his current goal having been achieved. 'Everything seems to be in place. I just hope that nothing catastrophic happens soon.'
OoOoO
Seated in his office, going over certain paperwork before signing it or vetoing the notion, Sarutobi Hiruzen was a very tired man. The day's events, including the possibility that a genin with extraordinary chakra reserves learned more than a harmless, to him anyway, forbidden jutsu. That, and he had to do all of the paperwork of overriding Naruto's failure of his graduation exam. It just wasn't a very good day for an old man.
Sighing as he handed the last of the forms to his secretary, the aged leader of Fire Country relaxed for a brief moment, contemplating the state of affairs. Sadly, his peaceful moment was interrupted by a surge of chakra coming from right behind his desk.
"You know, I still wonder how no one has figured out I'm right here most of the time. It was fun before but now it's just…."
As the chakra flared wildly, seals appeared from the ceiling to the floor in the silhouette of the average grown man. Similarly, the shadows behind the desk slowly moved backwards, revealing an older and matured Jin.
"...just plain boring."
"Tetsu Jin….so what brings the Director of Research & Development into my office on a day such as this?" asked Hiruzen, rubbing the bridge of his nose in distaste at the situation.
"A great many things, but at the present moment an increase in funding would be the most prudent," he replied.
"Not unless you have something of worth from your little science experiments, Jin."
"All of my experiments have something of worth in them, but nothing that would satiate your tastes, Hokage-sama," replied the science director in distaste.
"You would do well to remember your station," said the Hokage with an edge to his voice.
Jin sighed, calming his body from the sudden rush of emotion from the jab at his life's work, and seated himself before speaking again.
"Well, since you won't provide funding, maybe I could argue about the removal of a few sanctions on my department? At the very least we could continue some projects that showed immense promise before you nearly shut us down some time ago," Jin said as he sat down in a chair opposite the Hokage, preparing for a possible negotiation session that would last for hours, if his calculations were correct.
"Which projects exactly?" asked the Hokage, leaning back slightly to gauge his lead scientist, as if trying to guess which he would say first.
"Well, with recent events unfolding the way they have been, I feel as though the limitation on my recruitment should be lowered, if not eliminated entirely."
"And I suppose that you want a missive that gives you free reign in the village as well?" responded Hiruzen sarcastically.
"You say that as if you and your student haven't created an air of suspicion around my department," replied Jin in the same tone.
"You little…."
"I was talking about Jiraiya. Tsunade was more indifferent to our cause, only investing in possible medical uses. Dedicated one, that girl."
A brief moment of silence let the tension in the air settle a little bit, as the two locked eyes waiting for the other to budge in the slightest on their end. Jin ended the contest saying, "If I don't recruit, then who'll make the next 'soldier pill' or some sort from the next generation? Besides, it's not like I'm asking for something completely unreasonable yet."
"...Fine. I'll remove the quota imposed on your active members, but you will have to find your own matters of funding to do so. And I'll have men watching you at every junction," said Hiruzen.
"So be it, but I do have the matter of those 'unreasonable' requests," said Jin as he adjusted his glasses.
"You're treading on half-melted ice, Jin."
"That I realize. But now is the most opportune time for us to continue progress on these two specifically. You know who I mean, I'd bet."
"Project: Crimson. I should have known you'd go for that particular well, especially after tonight's events. But the other one escapes me…" said the aged shinobi, stroking his beard as he finished the sentence.
"Project: Hollow, if you remember."
"Hmmm…..in any other time I would give a sound 'no' to this. But, with our resources at nearly record lows and our shinobi corps being seen as 'weak', we may need an edge to deter any conflict. Hollow is reinstated, but my men will oversee it, " said the Hokage with an edge of finality.
"Fine, fine, if it helps you sleep better at night," replied Jin, earning a glare from the Hokage. "What about Naruto? Kushina explicitly stated she wanted him to master…"
"No dice. He's off limits."
"But what if the symbol activates? I still haven't checked to see if it was placed properly or how strong the link to his seal is. It could be dangerous if he isn't guided through the process."
"He will be guided properly. Rest assured. Go home now, this meeting is over."
Jin stared into the eyes of the man once revered as a sovereign deity on the battlefield. For what seemed like an eternity he wordlessly begged for his leader to reconsider his decision. However, his silent pleading went to no avail. The ninja scientist stood and bowed to his superior, and disappeared in a flurry of leaves.
OoOoO
In a word, it was tantalizing. The dome of mirrors reflected light like a diamond separated at its edges, with each surface absolutely flawless. Every mirror was uniform, a testament to both the balance of the technique itself and the impeccable chakra control of the hunter ninja, Haku.
Uchiha Sasuke would remember these as the first details from the re-awakening of his Sharingan for a very long time.
Even with his not-so-new ability now active, he still knew that he was no match for Haku. The boy was playing with he and his blond teammate from the get-go, and his stance and form spelled of a precision borne from relentless daily training and experience of killing many a ninja more qualified than he. His Uchiha pride, however, would allow him to sooner die at the hands of an accidental scorpion sting before dying at the hands of someone other than an elite ninja.
As he dodged the first barrage of needles since he activated his Sharingan, he couldn't help but wince as his fellow Konoha-nin clumsily attempted a dodge only to get hit by a few more needles than if he stayed still.
'Hmph, such a useless ninja. If only Sakura could have half his reserves, then I'd have a real chance at beating this guy. I must admit, his will to never give up is admirable...kid keeps getting up' thought the raven-haired boy as his teammate once again stood after being hit in multiple locations that should have put him down for the count.
Naruto's eyes met Sasuke's, causing a slightly uncomfortable silence as they both knew that their enemy was preparing another attack, but didn't have a gameplan to stop it.
Before Naruto could voice his opinion about the situation, however, Sasuke quickly said, "Naruto, I need you to rush his mirrors with your Kage Bunshin. It'll give me an opening to strik...ughh..."
Sasuke never got the chance to finish his statement as multiple needles struck him, one right in the neck. Naruto watched in horror as his teammate stared at him lifelessly, falling to the floor with a loud thump.
"I'm sorry, but allowing him to live any longer with his eyes would be troublesome. Now, retreat or I will have to strike you down as well!" said the masked ninja from inside of his mirror.
Naruto's emotion were waging war from within him, but the only sign of any were the tears running down his face. His face was blank otherwise, the vibrant quality in his eyes dimmed considerably, and his mouth was slightly opened as if he wanted to speak but had all form of language ripped from his very memories. He closed his eyes, causing the tears to fall a lot faster, and he clenched his hands into fists.
"You killed Sasuke..." he said in a distant voice.
"I do not feel proud of my actions, but I will kill my heart and do what Zabuza-sama commands. Now retreat before I have to kill you as well," said Haku in a hesitant voice.
Naruto slammed his fists into the ground, doing nothing but hurting himself in the process. As he was now on all fours before Sasuke's prone form, a warm feeling from his stomach was the only warning for what happened next.
Foul, red colored chakra erupted from Naruto's body. But with it, a strange array of symbols began to glow along Naruto's back, arms and legs. When the symbols on his back began to glow brilliantly, compared to the rest of his body, Naruto suddenly felt himself drift into a strange mix between consciousness and unconsciousness.
Haku stared at Naruto intently, his own body frozen in fear from the vile feeling of the chakra Naruto was producing. He quickly noted that Naruto's wounds healed almost instantly, and that his whisker marks had darkened. The seals, as Haku deduced, on Naruto's back and limbs could be seen glowing from the opening in his sleeves, except the back seals which were bright enough to be seen through the cloth.
Haku steeled himself before drawing a set of senbon, intent on stopping Naruto before he became a threat to himself and quite possibly everyone in the immediate vicinity…
OoOoO
Taking a brief moment of their blind man's ninja battle, Kakashi and Zabuza both tried to interpret the origins of the vast and undeniably evil chakra that saturated the air. While Zabuza was completely baffled, Kakashi knew exactly what this event signified. Quickly deciding to take control of the battle, Kakashi pulled out a scroll and wiped his blood from his wound across before allowing it to snap back to its original rolled up state.
"It would seem I'm on a tighter schedule than I anticipated. How about we end this in one move, Zabuza?" asked Kakashi as he quickly went through a set of handseals.
Zabuza scoffed, replying, "Your Sharingan is useless, and without it, you can't defeat me! Go ahead and try!"
Kakashi merely sighed in exasperation before shouting, "Summoning: Earth Release: Tracking Fang Technique!"
Slamming his scroll into the ground, the telltale symbols that signify a summoning had occurred buried themselves into the ground, silently tracking and hunting their intended target…
OoOoO
As the newly found power coursed through his coils, Naruto's mind was caught trapped in a series of memories that weren't his. Images were blurred, the scene was darkened, and all the sounds were muffled to the point that he could barely tell that anything was happening around him. The only definite feeling he could pinpoint was the powerful aura the being who's memories he was reliving emanated.
Haku, not wanting to know what that new chakra made his opponent capable of, threw three needles at Naruto, only for them to get pushed out of his body the moment they entered. His growing frustration with the boy increased tenfold, but as did his fear.
"He is able to heal more quickly than anyone I have ever faced...his chakra is even greater than Zabuza-sama's...he must be killed quickly," he quietly to himself as he readied another barrage of needles.
Naruto tried to make sense of the memories, but then a bright light flashed for a moment and he heard a menacing chuckle, then everything went dark.
On the outside, Naruto's head snapped up, eyes the color of blood and an unnatural look on his face. He stared at his hands for a moment before snickering at the appendages.
"So, she really did include the symbol on him for Spirit Fusion. My respect for Uzumaki-san just jumped a bit. Even if she didn't trust me with enough chakra to do any real damage," said Naruto, or rather, whatever was controlling him.
"Who…..who are you?" asked Haku as he tried to both ready himself for an attack and try to rationalize whatever was going on.
Naruto looked at the boy, then at the fallen Uchiha, and shrugged a little before saying, "So, we've got a nearly dead Uchiha, judging by his chakra levels, and an ice user that probably put him there. Kid must have held him in high opinion to get mad enough to weaken the seal and activate the symbol."
Naruto then held his hand towards his face, and red chakra began to leak and coalesce around the limb extension. The same event also began to unfold on the opposite hand, ending with a flashing light and ethereal five fingered crimson claws around Naruto's hand, extending all the way up to his elbow.
"Ahhh….at least I have enough to use my own hands for this. O.S. Bijuu Gauntlets."
Haku also noted the new additions to Naruto's form, and quickly decided to get rid of the blond before he had a chance to get used to his new weapons. Crisscrossing between mirrors, Haku sent needle after needle towards Naruto, only to see Naruto block more than a few, and those that landed get pushed out his body. Naruto then went on the counteroffensive, thrusting his right hand, as the left one had been used to block the needles that had been thrown at him just before, at the general direction he thought Haku was in. His efforts were repaid by the sound of flesh being torn into...
OoOoO
Zabuza was now caught by a horde of nin-dogs, their teeth holding him in place. He struggled a little bit, but figured it was moot because it only deepened the creatures' teeth in his flesh. He also noticed that his right arm had been separated at the elbow, a problem he would have to address when he was free once again.
Across from him, Kakashi was taking a small break, calculating his remaining chakra reserves as well as assessing his wound extensively. He then stood to his feet, and began to form handseals.
"Now that we're done playing, it's time to end this little game. Your time has come to an end, Zabuza," he said he went through his set of seals in perfect harmony.
Zabuza responded, "You think you can finish me off so easily? I'm the Demon of the Hidden Mist, not some rank genin you can just toy with!"
"I don't just think, I know that I can finish you right here. Besides, I have a village secret to protect, so I'll make this quick! Raikiri!" exclaimed Kakashi as he finished his seals, and lightning chakra concentrated itself around his right hand.
'That chakra...it's so strong that it's visible!' thought Zabuza as Kakashi's technique caused streaks of electricity to discharge and crack the concrete on the bridge.
Kakashi then reared back his hand, closed his right eye, and charged at full speed, which was augmented by the Raikiri itself. He could almost feel the fear coming off of Zabuza as he got closer and closer, his technique ready to pierce the man's midsection and kill him almost instantly…
OoOoO
Blood dripped from Naruto's hand, inside the demon-like appendage that covered it. On the ground before him lay Haku, covered in his own life fluid, but very much still alive. Naruto raised his hand in the air, preparing to deliver the coup de grace, when a disturbance in his mind caused him to be distracted for the tiniest moment.
'Damn, seems like the boy is waking up from the trauma. I shouldn't have put all my power into these claws in one go….in any case, I have to get rid of this brat before the kid awakens.' thought the entity controlling Naruto.
Haku slowly lowered his head, content to accept his fate at the hands of the much more promising shinobi. But just before Naruto could land the killing blow, Haku noticed the spike in Kakashi's chakra and noticed it was moving fast toward his master. His head snapped back into it's previous position, hands going through seals as fast as possible, stopping just before Naruto struck, taking advantage of the moment of pause he had just taken.
"Sorry, I couldn't die by your hand, but my master needs me." were the last words Naruto heard Haku speak before the hunter vanished into a blur of a Body Flicker.
The red chakra began to fade, and Naruto cursed under his breath once before full unconsciousness claimed him…
OoOoO
The first sensation the blond ninja felt as he gained both his consciousness and control of his body was pain. Not overwhelming, but definitely noticeable aches in each and every joint on his body. The second sensation he felt was the smell of burnt flesh coming from a few meters away. Everything else after those could be chalked up to semantics as the rush of all the other stimuli aggravated the mild headache that was beginning to fade.
As the function of his eyes returned to normal, a different scene greeted the hyperactive shinobi, as both Haku and Zabuza lay dead next to each other, while the other bodies were cut or burned into something unidentifiable.
In his confusion, it took him about thirty seconds to realize that Sakura had not only been the one that woke him, but had been trying to get his attention the entire time with no luck.
"NARUTO! You've really gone deaf haven't you? Did you catch a needle to the ear or something?"
"No….sorry it's just…..everything got blurry after Sasuke," said Naruto as he stopped himself mid sentence, not wanted to pour lemon juice on a fresh wound.
"What about Sasuke-kun? He's been awake for a few minutes now. That masked guy's needle wasn't fatal," responded Sakura in a somber, almost grateful tone.
Naruto turned his head to see Kakashi walking over, a fully conscious but weakened Sasuke draped over his shoulder.
"So then...what happened?" asked Naruto as Team 7 reunited after the lengthy battle.
"We will explain later. As for now, we recoup at Tazuna's house while they finish the bridge. I'd imagine with Gato having been killed by his own thugs a little earlier, there shouldn't be any major form of resistance at this point. Let's move out," said Kakashi while motioning his genin to follow him.
Silently following the order, Team 7 solemnly marched their way back to the bridge builder's home, having survived their first real taste of battle…