#Hello everybody! Just a quick note to begin. I have recently gone through and fiddled around with a few things because I didn't like them as much. So if you have started this story before, have a quick flick through to check it out a bit before you keep going because some things are slightly different (only slightly I promise). Go easy on me! This is my first attempt at this kind of thing so I'm new and ready to learn. Any feedback you can give me is great, but abusive comments are not appreciated. There is a difference between constructive criticism and just plain hate. Obviously none of the original characters and ideas are my own, I have taken them from the wonderful minds of the creators of Harry Potter and Naruto and all credit for the awesomeness of these different worlds is due to them. :)
Enjoy. Hope you like it.
CHAPTER ONE:
Tsunade Senju, Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, was generally an incredibly patient and level-headed woman. As the leader of Konoha, one of the largest shinobi villages in the Elemental Nations, it was, quite simply, a vital part of the job description. Sure, she could drink an alcoholic under the table when in the mood, punched subordinates through walls when they showed up late to a meeting, tried every means available to run away from the mountainous paperwork that plagued her desktop, and, if she could get away with it, would gamble away any funds from the village coffers she could get her hands on. But, overall, she showed utmost respect and decorum for her position at all times…
Ummm, yeah right.
"SHIZUNE!" Tsunade roared, her dulcet tones echoing viciously along the spiralling corridors of the Hokage Tower. Office workers cringed as the wave of noise ploughed through their senses, but otherwise ignored the outburst. It was not, unfortunately, an uncommon occurrence.
One such worker, the loudly summoned Shizune, only sighed mournfully from her seat as she pushed herself to her feet for the hundredth time of the day. Seriously, she had barely just sat down from the last rudely loud call from her Hokage. Scowling to herself, she began to walk briskly towards the main office, swearing that if her shisou wanted another bottle of sake again she would happily pound her into the flooring, superior or not.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama," she said wearily as she lightly pushed open the door into the Hokage's office. An inebriated master she expected. An unfinished pile of paperwork she dreaded. Another adult sized hole in the wall she looked for. But an impossibly large, beautiful red bird was the last thing on her list of possible situations to walk into.
"Ah, shisou?" she questioned hesitantly as two, deep pools of black flickered immediately in her direction, locking her into a gaze of wisdom, intelligence and power. She shivered. "What's with the bird?"
"Phoenix," Tsunade replied absently.
"Um, what?"
"It's a phoenix," she repeated. Looking up from the letter in her hands, Tsunade fixed her intense, warm brown eyes onto the startled face of her assistant.
"Right, a phoenix," Shizune said dismissively. She as still unnerved by the intelligent gaze the bird was directing in her face. "So, why is it here? I'm assuming this is why you called me in?"
"Yes," Tsunade sighed. She let the letter in her hand drop unceremoniously to the desk as she leaned wearily back into her chair. Shizune was instantly alert. The only time her shisou ever showed signs of weakness like this was when something big was coming. And she didn't like it in the slightest. "The phoenix is not the big deal, Shizune. It was just the messenger. An impressive messenger, but a messenger none the less. What worries me is what was contained within the letter it bought me."
"And what was that, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune said calmly.
"A whole lot of shit for me to deal with," Tsunade answered. She let her gaze flicker towards the phoenix, who had stopped looking intently at her assistant in order to majestically preen its stunning, red, black and gold feathers. She turned back to Shizune, who was still standing uncertainly by the door to her office. "I need him in here immediately, Shizune. I know he is not 'officially' back in the village until next week, but you need to find him and bring him here. Now."
Shizune paled, nodding her head quickly. There was only one him that she could be talking about, and if it was, it meant more trouble was coming. Trouble that seemed to be awfully attracted to the young man she was about to go find.
"Hai, Tsunade-sama," she said quickly, before turning out the door and bolting off through the tower and into the streets of Konoha to find her charge.
Back in the office, Tsunade was once again glaring at the offending letter that was now back in her tightly clenched fists. The words written in elegant black script battered away at her already frantic mind. Beside her, perched on the corner of her desk, the phoenix let out a small, musical caw. The sound rushed over her, filled with sympathy and compassion. She smiled in gratitude before once more reading over the words that would bring either great problems or great knowledge to her village.
To the current Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato,
My most sincere greetings. You do not know of me, but I most certainly do know you, or at least, know greatly of the esteemed position you hold. My name is Professor Albus Percival Wilfred Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. No doubt you read my opening words with feelings of scepticism and disbelief, but I assure you I speak nothing but the most humble truth. I am, indeed, a wizard, and I come to you from a world beyond your own to pray for assistance in a most trying time.
But first, a word of confirmation. I do understand the difficulty of believing my words, written to you in such an impersonal form as of a letter. And so, I will, of course, provide evidence of the fact. The Honourable Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, is a man among few I count as one of my most trusted friends and confidents. If it is you, dear Sarutobi, that reads my note, than I send my bestest wishes and know that this is merely a formality between companions. If not, I am greatly saddened by what could only be his passing, and pass on my most humble condolences. This great friendship I provide to you as proof of my truthfulness, which should be adequately mirrored in a letter left by you predecessor in the Hokage Vault among the possessions of the Third. I ask you read and consider his own words, before you continue on with my own.
It was at this point of the letter that Tsunade had frozen. Leaping from his desk, she had bounded out of the room and back along the winding corridors of the tower towards the Hokage Vault located in the deepest parts of the basement. Whirring past security and into the Sandaime's personal section, she had scoured through the possessions held in trust to finally come across that offending piece of information. It backed up the curious letter to the tee, leaving Tsunade in a considerable amount of nervous incredulousness and anxiety. With that, she once more blurred up to her office to finish off the note, her mind spiralling and clashing with newly received facts about the past of her old mentor.
You are back! I am tremendously glad of that fact. I now deem you fully agreeable – or at least curious enough to continue – of the truths I have revealed to continue on with my request.
You see, our world, a place I believe you would know as the 'World beyond the Barrier', is at war, a secret war with a most powerful foe. Many do not believe the danger we are currently in, but it is there none the less. Knowing of my connection to the Sandaime Hokage of your great village, I ask you simply for your help in protecting my school for the upcoming year beginning on September the First. I understand you would be hesitant to agree to such an odd request without first meeting the client, so I will happily travel to your location the moment you send a reply with my companion, Fawkes. He is quite speedy, you know, so only send him away when you are ready to meet with me. I will return within moments of your reply, if I am not otherwise occupied.
While this request is important, it is not, in fact, the reason of my contact. Extra protection for my school this coming year, while helpful, is not necessary, so this next query is one I prise more importantly than the former. There is one more secret that I am needing to reveal. It involves another of your esteemed predecessors, or successors if you are Sarutobi-san. What you don't know, and what I am sure you have not been told, is that Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage, and was in fact a wizard. A very powerful wizard I might add. It was not a fact he would ever willingly reveal if he could help it, something about meddling councils and bloodline laws, but it is true. He was a student of my school many years ago. Not only this, but I am also aware of his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, being another student of my school, although several grades below the former.
I know you must realise where this is going. I know all about the attack of the Kyuubi all those years ago. I am well aware that their lives were lost. And I am also aware, through my connection with dear Sarutobi-san, that they had a son. A son that WILL have inherited their remarkable magical abilities. So this will form my second and most important request. I pray that as well as a guard of soldiers to protect my school and its students, you will allow the legacy of two of our greatest wizards and witches of all time, to take up his heritage and learn the magical arts. As is his birthright. Minato and Kushina left behind and entire life in this world of mine in order to stay true to their homes in the Elemental Nations. I hope that you will allow their son the opportunity to meet and live with the second half of their great family.
I will wait your reply eagerly.
Yours Most Humbly and Sincerely,
Professor Albus Percival Wilfred Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
"Damn you, Minato," she muttered angrily as she once again threw away the letter, "Always keeping secrets. Nothing with your family is ever simple and easy."
She sat silently, waiting, watching the door to her office for the moment her adoptive brother, Naruto Uzumaki (or Namikaze as he should be called) would walk into the room.
Inwardly she was jumping excitedly in anticipation for his arrival. She may have known he was in the village somewhere, but she had not actually seen him for over three years. He had only just returned from his training trip with Jiraiya around the Elemental Nations two days ago, and upon sneaking into the village, he had sent a note requesting another week of solitude to get himself ready for his 'official' return. Tsunade had been against the idea, but a visit from an unusually serious Jiraiya told her that it was something he needed to do. So she relented. Just as she was beginning to ponder the odd request from the normally exuberant boy, the door to her office opened and two figures walked in.
The first was instantly recognisable. He was a tall man, with waist length spiky white hair tied back in a thick ponytail. Two shoulder length bangs framed his face, with two long red lines running beneath his eyes and down his cheeks. Dressed in a short green kimono and matching pants, with an overhanging red haori with two simple yellow circles on each side, he smiled cheekily at the glaring Hokage as he entered the room. This man was Jiraiya of the Sannin, former student of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, and member of the legendary Sannin of Konoha.
Beside him was a much more mysterious figure. Tsunade could see nothing of his features as they were hidden behind a large, thick black overcoat with a deep hood. All she could tell as that he was quite a bit shorter than the former man, only a height of about 5'7".
"Yo! Tsunade-hime, what's doing?" Jiraiya grinned pervertedly as he strode cockily into the room. Tsunade's brow twitched dangerously as he approached. "So, have you missed me while I was away? Are you ready to admit that those beautifully large melons on your chest have been calling for my attention?"
SMACK!
Tsunade sat down smugly in her seat, looking happily at the Jiraiya shaped hole that was now decorating her left wall. The white-haired sannin climbed out grumpily, rubbing at the large knot forming on the top of his head.
"Yep, definitely missed me," he said happily, before quickly scampering to hide behind the hooded figure still standing by the now closed door.
"Jiraiya," Tsunade said slowly from between clenched teeth, "Where is Naruto? When I sent Shizune out I was sure she knew who I was talking about." Jiraiya sobered instantly.
"You're looking at him, Tsunade," he said instantly, and Tsunade blanched. Her attention instantly slipped to the hooded figure, who chuckled softly at her look of bewilderment. Tsunade noted the small musical quality to his voice, which was a soft, smooth tenor, before filing it away for later.
"Heya, Baa-chan," the boy said softly, still chuckling. "You missed me?"
In an instant the blonde-haired Hokage was leaping over the desk and pulling the boy into her arms. She felt him stiffen slightly at the contact, before relaxing into the hug and allowing her arms to wrap tightly around his thin body. Wait, thin? Tsunade frowned. Naruto had always been short, but his figure had always been stocky, not helped by that awful orange jumpsuit that hid away his actual body figure. The body she could feel beneath the cloak was thin and lean, with none of his childhood stockiness that should have carried over into adulthood. Tsunade could feel the hard tensing of toned muscles. She pulled way.
"What's with the hood, gaki?" she asked instantly. Her senses were pinging off the charts by the uncharacteristic behaviour of her little brother. She heard him sigh deeply.
"It's a long story, baa-chan, a really long story," Naruto relied ominously. Taking the hint, Tsunade let go of the boy and strode back around to sit at her desk. Hokage face in place, she gestured for him to continue explaining. He sighed, before in a slowly, careful movement, pulling off his cloak with a flourish. The Hokage Tower shuddered from the force of Tsunade's jaw hitting the ground in shock.
To say Naruto had change would be like saying Jiraiya was only a pervert. The boy had transformed over the three years of his departure. Gone was the short, stocky boy with the cocky grin and orange jumpsuit. Now standing before her was a young man, still short, with the looks of his father and mother combined into a cocktail of stunning perfection. He was a little Minato, with his beautiful, golden blonde hair that had lost its sunshine edge and now shone in the soft afternoon light. Stunning, cerulean blue eyes sparkled beneath amused eyebrows which had jerked upwards towards his hairline. He had not, however retained his father's spiky mess. Instead it had softened over time, growing in length so that it rivalled Jiraiya's own ponytail, and falling in soft golden sheets down his back. Just like his mother's. He retained some of his father's former hairstyle by allowing soft bangs to frame his face, with two long sections trailing down his chin.
That was not all. Naruto's entire body had lost its stocky build. Now, as she had surmised, it was thin and lean, not overly muscled and masculine looking like many of the taijutsu specialists of the village, but more subtle, like a swimmer or dancer. No one would outwardly call him on his strength, but if they tried it themselves, they would be in for a shock. He was clothed in a tight fitting mesh under armour, with sleeves that came to just below his elbows. Over the top was a tight fitting muscle shirt, black in colour, with baggy black Anbu pants over his legs. His feet were covered in heavy, steel tipped combat boots. And, if only to fully prove his relationship to Minato, over the top was a white, flame tipped haori with the words Demon trailing down the back in solid black writing. All in all, he was an incredibly attractive, small looking teenager, with an edge that showed strength hidden beneath the exterior beauty.
But of course, Naruto couldn't leave it like that. Oh no. To worry her even further, he was showing some shocking extra features that had her heart pounding in her chest.
Namely, two, golden blond, white tipped fox ears to replace his own human ones, as well as nine long golden blonde, white tipped tails. Large, sharp canines protruded from his soft lips, and as she gazed closer she took note of the slitted pupil in those bright, blue eyes. Accompanied with the significantly more defined whisker marks, and she was suitably freaked out.
"Wha… How… When did… Why… WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" she finally howled. Naruto flinched violently, those fluffy, blonde ears falling back down closely to his hair.
"Not so loud, Baa-chan," he whined in that odd, musical voice that still retained some of what was once her Naruto. She found the familiar complaint soother her. Slightly. "My ears are a hell of a lot more sensitive these days you old bat! Stop shouting."
"Who are you calling old, gaki?" Tsunade hissed in outrage. She took one look at that familiar foxy grin (which was a lot more foxy these days) and sighed deeply. "Alright. Spill it. What did you do?"
"You mean what Ero-sennin did," Naruto grumbled loudly, "This is all his fault after all."
"Really," Tsunade said sweetly, her eyes glaring dangerously in the sannin's direction. Jiraiya gulped loudly before scooting further behind his apprentice.
"Don't rat me out, kid," the pervert hissed in outrage, smacking the small blonde between the ears. Naruto flinched violently, before glaring up at his sensei. "It would have happened eventually anyway. I just, sort of sped it up a little bit."
"Hey, slow down!" Tsunade snapped, bringing their attention back to her. She pointed violently at the two chairs in front of her desk and glared dangerously until they sat in silence. When Naruto's new hairs deflated sadly, she fought back the urge to glomp him and rub at the cute, furry appendages. "Now, you," she pointed at Jiraiya. "Start explaining before I add a matching hole to my office wall." Jiraiya gulped while Naruto snickered.
"Okay, do you remember the name of the seal the Yondaime used to seal away the Kyuubi within Naruto here?" he asked after a moment of collecting his thoughts. Tsunade nodded her head in agreement. The Shiki Fujin, or Dead Demon Consuming Seal, was famous within Konoha. "Well, it turns out we should have paid more attention to the name than we previously did. You see, it kind of had a side effect that even Minato didn't know about I'd say. It didn't just seal away the Kyuubi until Naruto's death."
"Nope, it absorbed him," Naruto finished.
"What do you mean by absorbed him?" Tsunade asked in confusion.
"Well, you see," Jiraiya continued, "As it turns out, the Kyuubi was not just locked away within Naruto's body as we originally thought. It was actually slowly consuming the Kyuubi's chakra and soul, and merging it with Naruto's own. Very slowly. Like, it would be centuries before it ever had a significant effect on him."
"Before which I would have died and taken the demon with me to the afterlife to never bother anyone ever again," Naruto said. "That was what it was supposed to do. By slowly absorbing the Kyuubi, it allowed me easier access to his chakra as time passed and also limited the possibility of him escaping from the seal back into the world. We would never have known about the extra feature at all until Ero-sennin here decided to play with it."
"Play with it?" Tsunade demanded.
"Yeah, play with it," Naruto nodded. Jiraiya scowled.
"I didn't play with it you brat, I was just observing it to make sure it was safe for you to use the Kyuubi's chakra," he sniffed huffily. Naruto snorted.
"Yeah, because activating and trying to fiddle with it is just observing," he said sarcastically while Tsunade growled from her chair at the sweating sannin.
"Now, now, Tsunade-him, let's not be hasty here," he sweated faintly.
SMACK.
The matching hole in the wall was instantly viewable. Naruto laughed.
"Good job, Obaa-chan," he said cheerily.
"Do you want to be next?" Naruto gulped.
"Anyway," he continued hurriedly, eyeing of the cracking fist of the Hokage with a grim determination, "Ero-sannin played with it, and it kind of did something unexpected. Basically, all that absorbing that should have happened over centuries got sped up. And it happened within a week instead. This means two things for me." He held up two fingers whilst grinning cheekily. "One, Kurama, Kyuubi no Kitsune, is dead. Very, very dead."
Tsunade's jaw dropped once more. Downstairs in the office room, the many workers wondered briefly what in the world was happening up in the office. It was impossible. The mightiest demon in existence was dead?
"How?" she asked breathily, her honey, brown eyes widened. She watched as Naruto's smile softened, becoming almost sad.
"Simple," he said softly, "I absorbed the Kyuubi's power and soul. It is now a part of me. So, can you guess wha the price was of finally killing the former Kyuubi no Kitsune?" Tsunade's face fell. There was only one way.
"You took his place," she whispered. Naruto nodded.
"Very true," he said sadly. "Kurama was defeated by my soul and the seal, but by absorbing his soul into my own and also his chakra, my body had no choice by to adjust into that of a demon in order to survive the process. That was point umber two by the way. Old Kyuubi gone. New one born. I'm not a human anymore, Baa-chan. I'm the new Kyuubi no Kitsune."
Naruto dropped his gaze, fighting back the tears that were working their way to the surface. He was ashamed; ashamed and terrified. He was now the monster that everyone had always called him when he was a child. No longer could he deny their claims. He was the demon. Sure, he didn't kill all those villagers almost fifteen years ago. But he had taken in the soul of the one who did. And he remembered everything that had happened that night from the old Kyuubi's perspective. He didn't want to be hated, but he knew, now, that they had every right to do it. So, when he felt warm, loving arms wrap around his body, he was startled. He looked up into glistening brown eyes, over welling with love, compassion and pride.
"You are more human than any other person I know, Naruto," Tsunade said kindly, her hand stroking his whiskered cheek, "You may be a demon now, but that doesn't change who you are. You are Naruto Uzumaki, loyal shinobi of Konohagakure, and the one I see as my own little brother. That will never change, no matter what you are."
Naruto smiled, the first true smile he had ever smiled since the day he had changed forever. From the corner of the room, Jiraiya couldn't stop the small tear that trailed down his cheek.
"Thanks Baa-chan," he whispered softly, leaning into the hug greedily. He may be a demon now, but he swore he would never give into hatred and rage like the old one had. He would not let that happen, ever!
"Well, that's the main part of the story really," Jiraiya finally said after minutes had passed in silence. "The change happened after our first year together. He learnt a lot in the first year under me, but after the change he held all the knowledge of the Kyuubi along with his own. Basically, Naruto is a ten thousand year old library now. Probably smarter than the Nara's. I didn't have much more to teach him other than learning to control his now godly amounts of chakra and exploring the Elemental Nations to adjust to his new nature. He is largely the same, just with a little more bloodlust, a hell of a lot more brains, and more jutsu and fighting knowledge than all the Kage combined. Kurama was also a master of all five elements, fire being his favourite. So Naruto is now a master of all the elements as well. Although he tends to lean towards wind the most, being his elemental nature as a human."
"Amazing," Tsunade admitted. Naruto grinned sheepishly.
"Aw, not really," he said, laughing, while Tsunade shook her head and returned to her seat. She was about to continue quizzing the young boy – now demon – when a musical cry from her desk companion startled her. Naruto and Jiraiya looked towards the sound, curious.
"Damn it, I almost forgot why I called you here early," she swore, retrieving the letter from her desk and thrusting it towards Naruto. "Read it."
Now exceedingly curious, Naruto took one more look at the bird before lowering his eyes to the letter. As he got further and further into it, his eyes widened into bright blue orbs of shock. Silently, he handed the letter to Jiraiya, before sinking into his seat, mouth gaping like a fish. Jiraiya's reaction was unexpected.
"About bloody time!" he said nonchantly, ignoring the stunned expressions of both Naruto and Tsunade. "They're a bit late to get in contact with us though. His education should have started at eleven, not almost fifteen."
"You knew?" Tsunade said faintly.
"Of course, I was Minato's sensei after all," he said dismissively, "I was the one who covered for him here in the village while he went away to learn. It was a huge pain in the ass, but worth it. You should have seen some of the stuff he could do when he got back. It was scary." Jiraiya was blissfully unaware of Tsunade's growing rage.
"YOU KNEW!" she roared, launching herself forward.
SMACK.
Okay, three holes in the wall was getting to be a little too much. Writing a small note to remind Shizune to bill Jiraiya for the repair, Tsunade turned back to Naruto, who was still gaping silently. She thought he was about to go into shock, when a large smile returned and leapt into the air excitedly.
"Cool, I am so awesome," he crowed, laughing happily. "Not only am I an immortal demon fox now, but I'm a wizard. This is great!"
Shaking her head in exasperation, Tsunade turned to the Phoenix. "Do I need to write a note to this Professor or can you just tell him he is free to come now if he wishes it?" The Phoenix gave a large squawk before vanishing in a swirl of golden flames. Tsunade who had seen it arrive, sighed deeply before sinking back into her chair. Naruto had started crowing excitedly again at the impossible disappearance. It was then that Jiraiya climbed grumpily back into the room, rubbing at the third building egg on his head.
