Author's Note: Well, hello everyone. I have a few things to say before I start the story, the first of which is to the readers of my other story, "The Collapse of Dreams". TCD is currently on a temporary hiatus. I read back through it and was honestly horrified at how much my fiction-writing skills have decreased since my underclassman days in high school. I'm re-writing the story, fixing errors, and I'll notify everyone once I've started uploading the changed chapters. However, I got this little brain-child stuck in my head, and I decided to use it as practice. I'll try the waters with this story before I do any major work on TCD, but don't worry, TCD is my grand-baby of stories. I haven't even gotten to the meat of the story, and I'm not going to abandon my creative baby that I'm more proud of than any of the dozens of fanfiction ideas that have passed through my head.
Now, the second note, which applies to everyone. This is an eventual Naruto/Karin pairing. I didn't overly want to spoil that, but I've seen what happens when an author leaves their protagonist's pairing to be revealed or decided later. They usually get ass-loads of reviews asking for a different pairing, and as much as I love the readers (those who take the effort to review, at least. It takes less than a minute. Do it, or the bunny gets it.), I want to get the potential for non-fiction drama out of the way. Other pairings will be revealed as they come into play, and I'll gladly listen to requests for other pairings, so long as the character doesn't have a definite pairing later.
The third and last note is that this story is a definite smart-Naruto story. He won't have always been smart (he becomes smart, he wasn't hiding any intelligence in this story), and this won't be exactly a super-Naruto story. He'll have the ability to maybe scratch Itachi when he first meets him, but through ninja trickery. He won't "uber-pwn" his ass with any flashy, gigantic jutsu. Also, I've moved the academy graduation age to thirteen, so as to give a little extra time for pre-genin development without making them too much older than the canon graduation age.
Disclaimer: If I actually owned Naruto, the characters, plots, or etcetera, Uchiha Sasuke would find himself on the more unpleasant end of some good old-fashioned tentacle rape.
"desu" - speech
'tacos and burritos' – thinking/ mental communication, jutsu, and named skills
Dear so-and-so – letters/written words
"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" - demon/summon speech
Oh, yes, one last note about the title of this story, and I promise future author's notes won't be as long. The word majin has two meanings; "demon/magic man" is one, but this story refers to the other meaning, which is "demon god". It's a reference to how Sarutobi is called the god of shinobi, and Naruto, idolizing the man who is said to be the pinnacle of a ninja, wishes to become his own equivalent.
Now, let us begin.
Chapter one: Rebirth
It was a beautiful autumn night. The crisp, clean air was filled with the smell of wood smoke. The leaves danced in the breeze, orange and red like flames in the land of fire, and in the village hidden in the leaves, Konohagakure no Sato, the sounds of a celebration could be heard for kilometers around.
However, one little boy was not participating in the games and assorted revelries of the evening. He never did. One would think that a boy who was designated by the greatest hero in the history of the village as a greater hero than even him would be accepted as such. No, he was always the demon brat. Currently, he was laying broken in a damp, dirty alleyway.
He lay there, seemingly looking at the wooden wall beside him, splintered in one spot where he had dodged a swipe from a club. They didn't do this every day, just every year on his birthday, the same day as the death of the mighty Kyuubi no Yoko.
Why did they do this? He had no idea. Looking up at the beautifully starry sky, he chuckled a sad chuckle. He'd learned not to cry long ago. However, tears trickled down one side of his face.
'Why did they have to take an eye this time? What the hell did I do to deserve this?' The boy wondered as tears streamed down the left side of his face. A missing eye could be a major detriment to a ninja. Most experienced ninja found a way to compensate for it, but Naruto was not an experienced ninja. He was just ten years old, three years into his academy education, and with three years to go. He was only halfway through his beginning education.
Oh, those vengeful bastards were probably loving this. The "demon" laying bloodied in a dark, dingy alley with a missing eye. He didn't know how, but he was going to show them. Before his thoughts could continue down that path, he heard a voice echoing through his head.
'Gaki. It's time; I need to speak with you.' Not even giving him time to wonder who had said that, he felt everything go dark.
He was in a sewer. A sewer of all places. Damn it all, this proved it. Either Kami hated him, or he/she/it was an all-around asshole. Fortunately, the water didn't seem dirty. Walking down the path his mind told him, he found himself strangely calmed by this area.
As he walked down the seemingly endless path, he wished that there was some kind of dry walkway. Magically, a dry, blue-carpeted walkway rose from the water in front of him. Okay this was getting weird. Now if only those dripping noises would stop. Again, the noises stopped instantly. Screw weird, this was goddamn scary.
Finally, he came to a large chamber, so high and wide that neither the ceiling nor walls were visible. Walking forward, he came to the barred doors of a huge cage, with some kind of paper seal on them. What the hell?
"Hey, anybody home?" Responding to his shout, something came forward. Something huge, furry and red. Oh, how cute. It was a giant fox... with nine tails... oh shit.
"Gaki, Gaki. Welcome to your dingy, unpolished subconscious. I suppose you know who I am." Naruto fell flat on his butt, scrambling backwards in a reverse crab-walk. Shit, shit, shit! He was dead. So, so dead. Wait a minute, did he say "subconscious"? Wasn't that like a part of someone's mind?
"Yes, that means this is your mind, and thanks for the cute comment, though I'm honestly not into mortal children. I can hear your thoughts, by the way." Well even for someone of Naruto's intelligence level, that last comment was obvious.
"Why are you here? You're dead! Am I dead?" Naruto's fists clenched and his eyes widened even more. He couldn't die. He wasn't Hokage yet!
"No, no, brat. You aren't dead. As I said, this is your mind." Mustering up his courage, Naruto decided to ask the million ryou question.
"Then why are you here? You're dead!" At this, the kyuubi began to laugh like a maniac.
"Dead, me? Gaki, you have to learn to question the history you're taught. A great man once said that history is just a set of agree-upon lies. Bijuu cannot be killed, it's as simple as that. They can, however, be sealed inside children, the jinchuuriki. Your father sealed me inside you." Naruto froze. Kyuubi waited for about half an hour, thinking that maybe he shouldn't have dropped both of those bombshells at the same time. He could have sworn the kid had turned to stone. He was even gray and cracking slightly!
Eventually Naruto managed to pull himself out of his near-comatose state. Twitching slightly, as his stress levels were currently at unheard-of levels, he took ten deep breaths and then said the most eloquent thing he was capable of at the moment.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY?!" You're sealed inside me?! My dad sealed you in me?! The person who defeated you was the fourth, not my dad, whoever he was!" The kyuubi smacked his head against the floor repeatedly in exasperation. How thick could this kid get?
"Alright, I'll say it slowly. The fourth sealed me in you, since bijuu are immortal. The Yondaime WAS your father. That makes you the son of... Gaki? Oh, Kami damn it. Not again." Uzumaki Naruto, the usually imperturbable young kid, was once again turned to stone. Luckily, he snapped out of it in fifteen minutes this time.
Naruto looked up at the kyuubi, tears in his eye. The expressive blue orb showed a mixture of wonder, grief, anger, and confusion. Why had his father done this to him. How could he be the Yondaime's son? Wouldn't that keep him from being treated like he had been? And why did the lord of demons know about this?
Kyuubi sighed. He had a reputation for being a monster, but once again, history was often mistaken.
Before Naruto's eyes, the huge form began to shrink. Fur turned to skin, bone structures changed, and, before long, a tall man with long red hair and a goatee stood before him. The kyuubi-man stepped between the bars of the gate and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, and began to speak in a voice that was, while deep, very human.
"Kid, I know how you must feel right now. All I can say is, I'm sorry. Minato didn't want to do it, but he didn't have a choice. You have to understand how he felt. Do you really think your own dad wanted you to live a life of hatred, of being ostracized, despite what he told the village to see you as? He hoped you'd be strong enough to rise above it all, to show those bastards wrong." Knowing what the look in the boy's eye meant, he sighed, before placing both of his hands on Naruto's shoulders, looking into that lone cerulean orb.
"Your father loved you, Naruto. I can tell you that he wished to see you grow up, to learn, to live, and to eventually give him grandkids. The last thing he ever wanted to do was to seal his best friend, a demon of the highest order, inside his child." Staring back at kyuubi, the implications of those final words hit Naruto.
The kyuubi and the Yondaime had been friends?
Naruto wasn't completely sure he trusted the demon yet, but he needed a friend, someone to accept him. Grabbing the demon in front of him, he pulled him into a hug that spoke more than words ever could. After just staying like that for a few minutes, he pulled away and looked at the kyuubi. Any doubts he might have had were shattered at the look in the demon's eyes. Kyuubi gave him a questioning look, and Naruto somehow knew what he was asking.
"If you're really my father's friend, I figure that something caused you to attack. I bet... dad... knew what that was, and I bet you do, too." Kyuubi's face split into a wide grin at that. For a block headed little kid, Naruto had some common sense in that skull of his. Then again, that room down the hall with the big tank labeled "Common Sense – Do not open" should have told him that.
"Bingo, kid. Actually, your father was hoping you'd play a part in kicking Madara's ass for this." At that, Naruto jumped. THE Uchiha Madara, legendary shinobi that helped to found Konoha? That was the guy responsible? But he was dead- oh, right. History blah blah blah, lies blah blah blah. Before he could think further on exactly how much his life had and was about to change, the kyuubi backed up, took one look down at himself, and promptly covered himself with his hands. The blond just as promptly busted out laughing. Great, a nude kyuubi-man. What a way to ruin the mood.
"Hey, brat. Get me some damn clothing here!" At Naruto's raised eyebrow, the demon simply knocked on the side of his head and pointed at the floor. Getting it, Naruto made a simple thought before a large armoire popped up beside them. Pulling the doors open, Kyuubi began to rummage through it, picking out clothes.
After about five minutes, the kyuubi was dressed, and Naruto had to admit that he was a striking figure. Waist-length red hair, with a thin goatee that came out to a point two inches from his chin (for those familiar, think of the Postal dude's goatee), red, slitted eyes, a black leather knee-length trench coat with no shirt underneath, and dark gray cargo pants tucked into steel-toed black leather boots. Naruto snorted; was this a demon or a rebellious teenager (A/N: no offense to rebellious teenagers. I'm a fan of the clothing myself, or I wouldn't put Kyuubi in it)? The kyuubi even had two silver earrings.
"Ah, now that that's over, I'll give you some time to think about all this. Take all the time you need; time flows differently in your mindscape. Then we've got to get planning for the future." Taking the demon's advice, Naruto summoned a couch. As they both sat down and the kyuubi almost immediately started snoring, he tried to process all the information in his head.
His father was the Yondaime Hokage. He could hardly believe it was true. Was it possible? What he'd recently learned of the kyuubi gave him the impression that the demon wasn't a liar. A trickster maybe, but not someone to spin a web of lies. Given that the Sandaime had commented on their similar looks and traits, he decided that it wasn't that far-fetched. Medical records could easily have been hidden or destroyed, and given the number of enemies that Yondaime had, it could have been done for Naruto's (and his mother's) safety. He decided to accept it, especially given the Sandaime's words.
Now for Kyuubi. If there was one thing Naruto was familiar with, it was feelings. He'd spent his entire life studying the interactions of others, hoping to have bonds such as them eventually. The look in his eyes was similar to what he'd seen parents give their children, a sort of familial love. He'd also seen pain in those eyes, which he saw whenever he wasn't being upbeat and looked at himself in the mirror. He'd accept him, and hoped deep in his heart that they could be a sort of family. As such, he had to accept the truth of Madara. There were instances of shinobi who tried to lengthen their lives through forbidden methods, and Madara was supposed to be a genius, a shinobi of the highest caliber.
Now he had to think of the last thing he wanted to think about. His eye. Few pre-shinobi or genin managed to lose an eye and keep their career. Without the experience to make up for it, he was in trouble. Hopefully, though, the kyuubi would have a way to make up for it. Maybe he'd even help with Naruto's training.
After sitting for a couple hours and mulling over these major subjects, along with thousands of other small things, he looked up at the kyuubi. Nodding his head, he couldn't help but grin at the look on Kyuubi's face.
"I'm ready, Kyuubi-aniki." Kyuubi's grin fell, and, for a second, so did Naruto's. Then the demon began to laugh happily.
"Are you really sure you want the legendary Kyuubi no Yokou to be your big brother? I'm a big, scary, all around badass guy!" Naruto nodded. To hell with it, if one of his earliest bonds was to be with a legendary demon, so be it.
"All right, then. The first order of business is a seal. Your father prepared it, actually. He hoped this day would come, you see. This seal, which we'll sneak out of the village to activate, will release me, and, thanks to his genius and my strength powering it, allow me to get out of the seal on your stomach with no ill effects to you. Hell, afterwards I'll give you a 'gift'. One similar to the first gift I ever gave your father." Naruto's eyes widened. The kyuubi could escape? Normally, he'd panic at this, but after recent events, this could be one of the biggest boons he'd ever gotten. And a gift? One that his father had also received?
"Okay. How do I get out of the village, though? The guards won't allow me of all people out of the gates on October tenth, and I'm not sneaky enough to just slip out." A slightly scary grin came across the kyuubi's face.
"Oh, if the villagers knew. They'd shit themselves. What I need you to do is relinquish control of your body temporarily. I'll give it back to you when I'm done, on my honor as a demon." Naruto chuckled.
"Don't demon promises usually have some kind of unspoken catch to them?"
"Well, normally, but for my otouto, I'll make an exception." Once again, the blond was shocked. Kyuubi had just called him his little brother. Before he could respond, he fell blackness surround him again
Naruto woke up to the smell of crisp, clean night air. Stepping out of the bloody alley, he looked down the street, where children laughed and festival booths offered games and refreshments. Normally, he'd look on and pretend he was part of it all, but he had business tonight. A leaf crunched under his foot as he stepped back into the alley.
'Alright, kit. Do it. It's simple, just focus on relinquishing control of your body.' Naruto did as told, and everything turned to a red haze, as if seeing through red-tinted sunglasses. He felt his body move of it's own accord, and it felt like he was watching his vision through a television screen. His body jumped onto the roof with more strength than Naruto normally had in his body and took off.
A red-eyed Naruto hopped across the rooftops, slowly doing the hand seals for a jutsu. He couldn't rush through them and still mask his chakra, so it took until he was right near the village walls to finish it. Just in time. The boy blinked out of existence, invisible to the naked eye and hiding his chakra signature, just as he jumped over the wall.
After rolling to a halt on the ground outside and running a few miles, Kyuubi/Naruto ran through a series of hand seals. First a modified form of the tiger seal (A/N: The Kage Bunshin hand seal), then serpent, rat, bird, serpent, horse, ox, rat, another unknown seal, for nearly a minute the kyuubi went through dozens of different seals.
Red light flashed all throughout the forest clearing. Naruto felt pain, not a small amount, but not a large amount, race through his stomach, and felt his body returned to him, as the kyuubi felt like he was expanding and growing at an exponential rate. Finally, a mass of red chakra ripped out of the seal, forming into the kyuubi's human form. Fortunately, it seemed his clothing had come with him.
Naruto smiled happily. He finally had a close friend, and that close friend was freed from his prison. Kyuubi himself smiled, and said nothing as he turned around in wonder at finally being able to feel the breeze on his face, to smell the smell of fall, to taste the sweetness of the air. He gave Naruto a look of warning before nearly tearing his own clothing off and rolling around in the grass, laughing.
Having the decency to look away, the blond laughed. Normally, that would be disgusting, but Kyuubi had been stuck in his mind for a decade now. He deserved to enjoy the physical world. After half an hour, the kyuubi dressed again, giving Naruto a teasing look.
"Did you like what you saw?" Despite his best effort, a snort escaped Naruto's nose. Laughing at the kyuubi wasn't wise, but he did it anyway.
"Sorry, aniki, but I'm not into family." At this, the kyuubi's mouth twitched upward to one side.
"You didn't point out the fact that I'm male." Naruto still laughed, but the look in his eye was serious.
"You've been in my mind, so you should know that I don't care about gender. I'll end up with who I end up with, regardless of their sex." A sigh of relief escaped the fox.
"Good, because I'm not into teaching anyone if they're homophobic." At this, the blond's eyebrow quirked.
"Got a male mate, I suppose." The blush on the demon's face told him everything.
As they began the walk back to Konoha, Naruto elbowed his ex-prisoner in the ribs jokingly.
"Never fooled around with my dad, did ya?" The kyuubi twitched slightly.
"There was this one drunken one-night stand, but that was an accident." Naruto promptly turned green and decided to stop asking questions for now. Having sex with a man didn't bother him, but he sure as hell didn't want to picture his father sleeping with anyone.
Once they got to the walls, the demon smiled sadly, before his face turned to one of fury.
"You know, the last time I saw these, I nearly destroyed them. If I ever get my hands on Uchiha Madara... If I ever see him, I'll have to thank Itachi for wiping out that fucking clan." Naruto nodded. An enemy of his aniki was an enemy of his, too.
Kyuubi wordlessly went through several hand seals, then grabbed Naruto as the two of them began to sink into the earth. It felt like moving through thick water to Naruto, and while undoubtedly convenient, it was not an experience he'd like to repeat. Rising out of the ground inside the Konoha walls, he snorted to himself.
"You know, they'll have to fix that problem. I know for a fact that Orochimaru can do that as well, and since it's a doton jutsu, many Iwagakure ninjas likely can too." They took to the rooftops, making their way towards Naruto's apartment. Naruto gathered all of his meager belongings, which Kyuubi sealed into a scroll, then stepped outside to give Naruto a moment to say goodbye to his home.
Naruto looked around for one instant in his only slightly more barren apartment. The stains he had never been able to get out, the ramen cups that littered his bedroom, the empty spaces that scrolls and other equipment had been placed in. Then he looked at the water spots on the ceiling, the cracks in the walls and floor, the broken windows his landlord refused to have fixed. Growling, he walked out the door and never looked back. He'd find another place when he got back; there was no way in hell that he was staying in this place ever again.
The next stop was a ninja tool shop where kyuubi stole a large amount of supplies, including travel rations (kyuubi explained that they'd catch most of their food, but this was for barren environments), assorted tools and weapons, and some basic clothing for Naruto to wear until he found a good clothing shop in another place. He had no problem with what the owner's would think, as the couple had been in the angry mob that cost him his eye, and even beforehand they'd once taken his money and then refused to give him the merchandise he had purchased.
Kyuubi gave him a pair of black pants, new ninja sandals, a sleeveless black shirt, a voluminous gray cloak with a hood, an eye-patch, and a blank face mask. After slipping into an alley to change, their next destination was Ichiraku Ramen, so Naruto could have a last meal before leaving.
Walking into the cheerful, quite full ramen stand, he whispered his identity to Ayame and she took him back into a covered area behind the stand that had been made specifically for these worst of days for Naruto. After calling her father, she turned around and greeted him.
"Hi, Naruto! Ramen's on the house tonight, since today's your birthday." Naruto shook his head, then seeing her confusion decided to explain.
"I'm taking a secret training trip, because of the way the villagers treat me, and I'll be gone for a while. I want to pay, since I won't be able to spend anything here for the next few years." Ayame's mouth dropped open, and so did Teuchi's, since he'd walked in just as Naruto gave his explanation. Needless to say, both had something to say, and Teuchi was the first to voice his concerns.
"Naruto! You know you can't do that! Does the Hokage know?" Naruto shook his head.
"I'm leaving a letter. He'll understand, and have me listed as being on a training trip. I can't stay in this village right now, and I'll learn more by travelling. I'll be back in three years, in time to join a genin team." The father and daughter could tell that something was seriously wrong. Ayame asked what had happened.
Naruto responded by removing his hood, then slowly pulling off his mask. Teuchi gasped and Ayame sobbed, both horrified by what had been done to the boy they both loved as family.
"I found out about my resident." The silence after that statement, broken only by Ayame's crying, could have been cut with a knife. Sitting there in silence for a few minutes, Teuchi finally walked into the kitchen and came back with two bowls of Ramen.
"I understand, Naruto. Neither of us will say anything about this even to the Hokage, since Hokage-sama would surely bring you back if he found out. I'll let you pay for the rest of the ramen if you really want to, but these bowls are on the house." Naruto smiled in thanks, and made a hand signal. Kyuubi jumped down from an adjacent rooftop, covering his looks with a matching gray cloak for safety reasons. At the looks on Teuchi's and Ayame's faces, Naruto once again explained.
"My sensei. As it turns out, he knew my parents and wants to help me." Teuchi was the only one to jump this time, since he knew who Naruto's parents were. Kushina had demanded to eat at this shop nearly every day, especially when she was pregnant. Naruto gave him a knowing look.
"Ordered by jiji not to tell, right? I understand. For my safety. As I said, sensei here knows all about Yon... dad." The slip wasn't unintentional. Naruto wanted to make sure Teuchi knew that Naruto knew without telling Ayame, who would be told when the law was repealed. The time as Naruto and Kyuubi ate their multiple bowls passed as cheerfully as possible, and after a drawn-out, tearful good-bye, Naruto hugged the two and left. Kyuubi was about to leave, but Teuchi shook his hand and made him promise to take good care of Naruto.
After the pair left, Ayame turned to Teuchi.
"Dad, who's Naruto's father. Was he named Yon?" Teuchi chuckled and explained to her that he'd tell her later. Looking in the direction the two had headed in, he hoped the best for Naruto and this sensei of his.
Naruto now stood in the hokage tower, writing a letter to the man he considered a grandfather. Kyuubi was off gathering the supplies that the ninja shop didn't carry, along with any other thing he could think of. Satisfied, he set the letter down on the table and read it one more time.
Dear Jiji,
Naruto here. I'm going to be gone for a few years, training under a friend of my father's who rescued me from a mob tonight. He has proof, so it's not just someone trying to trick me. I know who my father is, and I know of my... tenant. I'll be back in Konoha in time for the team selection exams. I know that'll get me registered as the 'dead last' in the class, but I can learn more out there. Also, I... need some time away from Konoha. I'll be back jiji, and I'll take that stupid hat from you, so don't worry. Please get me registered as on vacation, leave or whatever, ojiisan, and send Konohamaru my goodbyes. I've left an original jutsu for him in 'that' spot. He'll understand. I'd talk more, but I need to be long gone by the time you get back from the stuffy official event you're undoubtedly being forced to attend. Bye, Ojiisan. Love, Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto.
At the bottom of the letter was a stick figure of Naruto with fox ears and the Uzumaki spiral. Imagining the look on the Hokage's face when he read the signature, he laughed, then jumped out the window, immediately being joined by Kyuubi.
Standing on top of the tower, Naruto took one look at the village. He didn't know if he could forgive them just yet, but he'd show them all. He'd make them respect him (a part of his mind instead said "fear" but he quashed that) and become the greatest Hokage ever.
The sight in front of him was beautiful. A darkened village, lit by the moon and stars above, resulting in a light night where everything was tinted blue, with orange, red, white, and other colors of light blinked from windows and festival lights. Laughing was in the air, and the scent of wood smoke and a faint smell of alcohol filled the skies.
He turned around and grabbed Kyuubi's arm, and the demon finished the space-time Jutsu he'd been working on. One moment they were there, and the next, they were miles away.
One month had passed, and Naruto was already much stronger. Chakra weights that the kyuubi had applied had increased the effects of the physical training the boy was undergoing, and the kyuubi had made a chakra training exercise reverse-engineered from medical jutsu to train his control.
"Why am I doing this again?" The Kyuubi looked up from the lunch he was preparing, fish and rice, and grunted.
"How many times do I have to tell you, kit? You have the chakra capacity of more than five standard jounin. That makes chakra control incredibly difficult, especially considering that you've always had this chakra level, you didn't have time to adjust to it as it grew. Medical ninjutsu requires the highest degree of chakra control, so an exercise based on it is the most effective training. Now make that piece of muscle move with your chakra!" Naruto went back to the task at hand. He had ten shadow clones with him, assisting in his efforts; The Kyuubi had been sure to teach him that technique, and had even explained the memory-retaining side-effect. In fact, he had several Narutos reading at all times, reading history, science and biology, military strategy, math, literature both analytical and fictional, and just about every kind of book they found.
Naruto's mental ability was increasing at a rapid rate, but he wasn't quite there yet. One of the clones managed to make the fish sinew twitch, and canceled himself with a "poof", giving the information to all the rest, while Naruto made another clone to replace him. Ah, he got it now. He had to move the chakra in a pulse like an electrical current, and then bend and stretch it to bend and stretch the muscle, keeping the current at a fluctuating rate according to the electrical needs of the muscle. Now to just refine his control to that point...
It had now been four months since Naruto had left the village. He and Kyuubi were now browsing through a black market. According to Kyuubi, such places were beehives of rumors, along with rare and illegal artifacts, items, and jutsu. He examined the rack of weapons in front of him, as Kyuubi had explained that he should have at least two unique weapons that he should be proficient in. Kyuubi was already giving him sword training, explaining that, even if he rarely wielded them, knowledge about them would help him protect himself against them. He could also pick up the blade of a fallen shinobi or samurai and use it in a pinch.
After examining a kusarigama he was quite interested in, he decided to veto the weapon and moved on. A tinbe-rochin combo was next. Interesting, but no. The turtle shell shield would be a hindrance, and the short spear was designed to go with the shield. A kyoketsu shoge? No, he wanted more offensive power if the weapon wasn't going to be a standard kunai or shuriken.
Maybe an easily hidden suntetsu? Wait, that was it. An Ono, a nice, small hatchet. That would provide nice close range damage, and it wasn't over-sized either. The second weapon he was picking was right next to it. A war scythe, the scythe blade extending spear-like from the pole, with wicked ridges that would rip the wound, and a sharp metal point on the other end. These were to be his short and long melee weapons.
Buying the weapons with the money Kyuubi had given him (the fox had made a fair deal of money through assassination missions), he moved on to a jutsu stand. Browsing, he found several scrolls from the wind element, which his aniki had identified to be his primary element, as well as 'Doton: Doryuuheki'.
Finished shopping, he headed over to the information trading booths, where Kyuubi was waiting for him.
Six months since Naruto had left Konoha, and it was time for his first 'gift'. The Kyuubi stood in front of him, a serious look covering his face. They were currently on top of a mountain, snow covering everything in sight and leaving a white haze that made seeing more than ten meters in any direction impossible.
"Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, you have been judged worthy by me, the greatest of the bijuu, as a candidate for receiving the gifts of a demon. You must take a pledge of honor to continue this ceremony, to make yourself something more than human, like your father was before you. Do you accept this oath, to be an ally of demon-kind forevermore? To help other demons in peril, to commune with the immortal beings of the world?" Naruto had no idea what the part about his father meant, but he'd roll with it.
"I, Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, last of both of my parental clans, and ex-jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yokou, greatest of all demons, do so swear my solemn oath." Kyuubi nodded.
"Good, then as the last of the ceremonial rites, I bestow upon you your first of gifts." Holding out one of his hands, the demon's fingers turned into claws. However, they were different from his normal claws. Each finger was black and came to a needle-like point. Drawing back his hand first, he drove his fingertips into Naruto's chest.
The pain was excruciating. It felt like his body was on fire, like each nerve ending was being twisted and ripped. He could hear himself screaming. Then he passed out.
Waking up, Naruto noticed several differences. He didn't feel as cold up here anymore, for one. His sight seemed much clearer as well, and he could hear the heartbeat of Kyuubi, sitting ten feet away. Getting up, he gave the kyuubi a questioning look.
"I gave you demon-blood. You're about one-tenth demon. I'll eventually give you more demon blood, though that won't be fore a while now. Your father got to about one-third, the fourth of five levels of demon-blood infusion. It goes, in order, one-tenth, one-fifth, one-fourth, one-third, and lastly one-half. Any higher than that and you would be turned into a full demon, which can't be done to living mortals. That status can possibly be bestowed upon you in the event of your death, so long as you die at a reasonable age, and not too young."
"I'll cover your responsibilities first, and then I'll move on to your boons. You are now a blooded human, first stage, and your responsibilities include helping any other demon or part-demon you find in trouble. That means demons that are being sealed against their will, captured demons, part-demons being experimented on, anyone with demon blood in danger of violation of rights, or in danger of death. Also, if you find an abomination of nature made by unwilling demon co-operation, which you will be able to sense, you must destroy it. You must, from now on, meet at demon communes every few years. Rarely do the bijuu preside over these, but it occasionally happens. Mostly you'll be meeting with lesser demons and blooded humans in social gatherings, but occasionally it will be political meetings or war councils, if a threat to the demons must be discussed."
"Now on to the good part. Your chakra levels have increased vastly, along with your control being boosted to compensate for the larger reserve. Your senses are boosted, though they have automatic dampers on them to prevent sensory overload if a loud noise, bright light, or strong smell is in danger of causing said overload. Your depth perception is now, even with a missing eye, equivalent to that provided by two eyes. You also have photographic memory, which I do not believe I have to explain the long list of uses of. Lastly, your healing factor has been increased, which will compensate for the healing factor you lost. You will, of course, be able to sense demonic chakra as well, though this is not so much a boon as an affinity due to your new blood. Extra benefits will open up to you as you gain more demon blood, which shall be bestowed by me as you earn it." Naruto soaked up this information easily, partly due to his accelerated education, and partly due to his new, perfect memory. He nodded, and Kyuubi grinned, hugged him in congratulations, and gestured for them to continue on their way.
A year had passed since Naruto's training had begun, and he was training in Fuinjutsu. Currently, he was doing the very basic task of sealing items into scrolls. Kyuubi had promised to teach him expansion seals afterwards, so he could increase the interior size of bags, pockets, and other containers beyond their outer physical size. He was looking forward to that skill. As he began to channel chakra into his storage seal, a bird landed on the kunai. Before he could stop it, it was sealed into the paper as well.
He had a good idea for a prank. Bringing the scroll over to Kyuubi, who was in the process of cooking, he set it down in front of him.
"Hey, Kyuubi-aniki, open this scroll." The demon began to channel chakra into the paper, which flashed, before releasing it's contents. Naruto was not aware that living things require special storage seals.
Blood and organs sprayed outwards from the seal, onto the kyuubi. Naruto promptly vomited, while the kyuubi simply sat there laughing, not bothered by the gore. Despite not being all that bad, he, as a demon, had a very cruel sense of humor.
Naruto didn't get much sleep that night. He'd felt inside him a sadistic streak beginning to form.
After a year and a half, Naruto was on his first C-rank mission. It was to hunt down bandit patrols whilst a mercenary army prepared to attack the main camp. The pay was fifty thousand ryou (by Kishimoto's monetary value of ryou, one ryou to ten yen, that would be five hundred thousand yen or approximately five thousand dollars, mid-level C-rank pay). Kyuubi had come with him, though he wouldn't step in unless Naruto was in any serious danger, which was unlikely against trained bandits.
Sneaking up behind a patrol of ten, he ran forward without a sound, at least one detectable by lowly-trained bandits. Impaling the apparent second-in-command with his war scythe, he twirled it around, stabbing a second man with the back of the weapon and ripping the first off of his scythe. Doing a backwards somersault, he threw the blade, which went spinning like a buzz saw and dispatched two more bandits rather gruesomely.
Unsealing his ono from a seal placed directly on his palm, the hatchet instantly appeared in his hand. Swift, short chops killed a fifth man with a blow to the head, and a sixth with a cleaving into his stomach. Dodging ill-kept katanas and daggers, he used shunshin to seemingly teleport behind a seventh, and his axe got stuck in the woman's skull. Leaving it for now, he turned, quickly running through hand seals, and released a 'Fuuton: daitoppa' that blasted two of the remaining enemies through a tree, very crushed and very, very dead.
He let a smirk cross his face, then barely dodged a slash from a mace that could have crushed the back of his skull. Angered both at his attacker for attacking and at himself for dropping his guard, he adopted a taijutsu stance and let the final target make a backswing, and then another swing, so that the back of their hand was exposed.
"Kitsune gunshuku!" half-curling his knuckles, he channeled chakra into his hand and hit the final bandit, the patrol leader, in the back of the hand. The bones shattered, causing the bandit to lose control of his fingers, dropping the mace. Not giving his opponent a chance to recover, he jumped up in the air, preparing for a side kick.
"Kitsune heki!" a side kick to the stomach caused his opponent to vomit blood and sent him crashing backwards into a tree, where he fell to the ground in a wheezing lump. Naruto walked up to the disabled bandit, pulled out a kunai, and grinned sadistically.
"Now you are going to tell me every little detail about the bandits and their patrol routes. Maybe some loot storage locations?" The only two sounds to be heard after this were laughing and screaming.
The rest of the mission went without a hitch, save for a small gash on Naruto's side from a genin that had been hired to monitor patrols.
After two years, Naruto was studying silent killing in Kirigakure no Sato. He wasn't likely to learn the eponymous jutsu of the village, Kirigakure no Jutsu anytime soon, so he was simply learning the basics from retired nin in return for news and artifacts from other countries, both of which were valuable commodities in the isolationist nation. He'd soon be back to Kyuubi, who was currently working on two seals.
The first of those was to solve the demon's problem with the sharingan. A proper explanation for that phenomenon traveled back all the way to the Byakugan, which was formed when a ninja clan willingly had a lesser demon sealed inside them, giving them the gift of the all-seeing eye. Later, an offshoot of the clan captured another demon by force, a fire demon specifically, and one that the Kyuubi had created with the help of the Nibi no Bakeneko, with whom he had an alliance spanning back near to the beginning of the world.
The nine bijuu had two factions, split by ideas of interference with the world. One group was conservative and didn't want to venture back into the spiritual realm from which they all came. Headed by the nanabi, it consisted of the seven (the nanabi), six, five, four, and three tailed beasts. They believed that, having been sent to the physical world, they were supposed to stay there. The second group was progressive, and wished to carve out territories from the largely empty, infinite space of the spirit realm. They believed that Greater Demons should have homes in their homeland, places for their favored mortals and servants to stay and enjoy.
This group was headed by the kyuubi, along with his mate, the ichibi, his best friend, the nibi, and her mate, the hachibi. Comprised of the two greatest and two lowest of the bijuu, this group was still greater than the other in power, due to the kyuubi's power. However, he refused to allow hostilities to open up, not wishing for the destruction of the physical realm. Due to his power, and his unusual history and family, his words were respected by both sides. Even the war-mongering rokubi would not defy the kyuubi, and risk his own wrath and that of his sibling.
Eventually, the council would fall apart, due to jinchuuriki sealing, but that is a story for another time. Kyuubi, once again due to his heritage, wished to see if he could create new life. Banding together with the nibi, he used her abilities over the dead to gather a number of souls that had become tainted and evil. Adding the souls to rock and magma from deep in the earth, a fire demon was born. These souls were given a chance to be cleansed of their taint, and collectively as the fire demon entered the service of Kyuubi, as he'd poured in an amount of his essence to give the magma and the souls new life.
However, before the being could finish its rites of purification, it was abducted by the rogue Hyuuga clan. A forced sealing brought about a more powerful clan. However, it was twisted. Warped. The members were usually power-hungry, selfish, and, all too frequently, insane. The souls, angry at having their chance for absolution taken from them, spread ever more darkness in the Uchiha, and the essence of the kyuubi was twisted into a mockery that, when introduced to its progenitor disrupted him and left him vulnerable to control from the madness of the sharingan eyes. The clan was an abomination that attempted to corrupt a divine demon and had to be eliminated. To achieve that end, Kyuubi was developing a defense against the corruption of the sharingan.
The second seal was much simpler. It was a modification of the special additions to Naruto's seal, to make it usable on other bijuu. That one was progressing much better, but it was, objectively, the lesser in importance. Naruto sighed and walked into an equipment shop, where for a sack of tobacco from fire country bought him the most effective ways to keep a target from screaming upon the fatal blow.
Upon returning to the mainland two weeks later, he found the kyuubi smoking an old-fashioned long pipe. It reminded him of exactly how old his "aniki" was.
Two and a half years into his training, Naruto was once again playing "softener" for enemy forces. This was an A-rank mission. The mission was not his specific objective, but the slaughter of the local paranoid, power-hungry warlord. Kyuubi would be moving in in two days and wiping out the elite and the warlord himself. Naruto was just here to take out some genin troops and low-class samurai.
First, he examined the fortifications. He was sitting on a tree with a branch reaching over the feudal-style wall. Sloppy, letting vegetation provide an entrance. Cobblestone walkways littered the outer grounds that were covered with grass, a second, smaller wall separated the inner and outer grounds, and a large, old-style manor took up the inner grounds.
He checked for chakra and found the walkways nearly covered with different traps. Those were probably only activated at night, when assassins usually visited. Dropping quietly onto the grass, he melded into the shadows, picking off first lone patrols, then groups, usually five samurai and a genin. He'd disposed of four such groups flawlessly, but the fifth managed to activate a noise trap, leading the two remaining patrols right to Naruto.
Dodging, ducking, and blocking for his life, the blond suffered a cut to the cheek, but remained otherwise unharmed. He was tiring out rather quickly, though. These genin were actually competent ones, not just genin in name only, like most older ones or genin who repeatedly failed chuunin exams. These samurai were able to use teamwork and decent swordsmanship skills to hold him off, even while suffering casualties, and the two genin took the offensive. One samurai ran for help.
Knowing he was busted either way, he dropped nearly a dozen exploding tags and shunshined out of the way. All of the samurai and one of the genin were completely obliterated. The last genin was missing an arm and a leg. Now he just had to make his escape.
Before he could begin to move, a giant armored figure came into his site. Oh, shit. This wasn't just a samurai, this was a samurai from the land of iron. His specific objective had just hit A-rank, maybe S-rank difficulty.
Naruto summoned and threw his scythe at the figure, hoping to slow it down. Almost faster than Naruto's demon-enhanced eye could see, a katana was drawn and slashed his precious scythe in half, then just as quickly was sheathed. Hopefully, the sacrifice had been worth it. The ono flew forward, no longer hidden behind the scythe, and flew past the samurai's guard.
It shattered against the heavy armor of the samurai. This was bad. He couldn't run; the samurai would catch him. His only option was to fight and delay until Kyuubi, who would something had gone wrong by now, came to investigate. Picking up the best katana he could see, he adopted a jigen-ryu stance, channeled chakra to his feet, and charged.
"Ei!" Arching down diagonally from above his shoulder, his blade drew close to the samurai's neck. Time almost froze as the samurai shouted an attack.
"Bukepou: juujikazou hissatsu!" Twin katana were drawn, cleaving through Naruto's scavenged sword like butter, and as two slashes arched across him, thousands of small cuts opened up across his body. Those, however, were nothing compared to the trails of the twin blades. Naruto stood there for a second, with a broken katana and bleeding in many places, before the front of his chest seemed to explode in an X-cross mark. The cuts sprayed blood violently; the blades had cut straight through the bone and into the organs.
Falling to the ground, the last thing he saw before the world went dark was an enraged man, surrounded by red chakra, ripping the samurai in half at the waist.
"What have you done to my little brother?!" Though Naruto did not see it, the compound was leveled in minutes.
Naruto woke up sore. He tried to sit up, only to have pain lance through his body. He gasped in pain, and Kyuubi was at his side in an instant, looking worried yet relieved. Weakly, he asked the demon who saved him a question.
"How long have I been out?" The look on the Kyuubi's face was grave.
"You've been in a coma for two months. It'll take a while for you to fully recover." In shock, Naruto passed out again, though this time he was up sooner.
At the two years and ten months marker, Naruto was currently at his first demon meet. It would last two weeks, and it was largely hedonistic revelry. He sat sipping sake with a lesser demon named Nekomata, who was in the service of the nibi, along with several older blooded humans in the service of the hachibi. As a traditional long pipe was passed to him, he declined. This would normally be considered rude, but he was allowed leeway due to his injuries.
He was currently walking with a cane. Specifically, a cane-sword. Kyuubi had given it to him as a temporary weapon (and one of his birthday presents; he'd been in the coma during his thirteenth birthday) while he had the war scythe and ono reforged. He'd be back with the repaired weapons in a day or two, and until then Naruto was on his own. Fortunately, he got along well with a fair number of the attendees, and laughing could be heard all around. He was up late into the night drinking with his compatriots.
The next morning, he woke up naked with a killer hangover, a strange tattoo on his back, newly hurting injuries, and a kyuubi laughing in his face. If this was how demon-meets usually went, he was going to have to visit as little as possible.
Slightly over three years after Naruto had left, Mizuki was running through the forest of Konoha, carrying the forbidden scroll. He had henged himself into the kyuubi brat, who was supposed to be back soon. Everyone thought Naruto had stolen the forbidden scroll, it was brilliant! He'd soon have this scroll to Orochimaru, and he'd be made a feudal lord! Then he'd be closer to his goal! Before he could begin full-blown maniacal laughing, a kunai thudded into the ground ahead of his foot. Iruka...
"Stop, Naruto... or should I say, Mizuki?" Damn him, Iruka was always good at seeing through disguises. After Iruka shot up a signal flare, dozens of shinobi gathered. Damn, his plan was ruined, and all by that weak teacher! Maybe if he acted well enough.
"What are you talking about Iruka-sensei? I just wanted to learn a cool jutsu." Before Iruka could respond, a voice cut through the air.
"You know, if you're going to impersonate someone, you should make sure that it isn't an outdated description. It's kind of rude." A gray-cloaked figure walked into the clearing. Mizuki's eyes shot to the mysterious person, if his implications were true... Mizuki returned to his original form.
"Damned little brat. You had to ruin my plans, didn't you? Or, you could help me. Have you ever wondered why the villagers hate you? It's because you're the..." The crowd had gone utterly silent. Iruka decided to interrupt.
"Mizuki, no!" However, the figure in gray once again decided to interrupt.
"You mean that I am a jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi no Yokou, the greatest of the bijuu? Well, congratulations on once again not having up to date knowledge of the person you were imitating." The crowd was silent, and Iruka stared at Naruto in shock. How did he know?
"Well, then Naruto. You must want to get some nice revenge on the-"
"No. I will gain respect where I can, and I will become hokage."
"You can't be serious... You little brat! Time to die!" Mizuki rushed forward, spinning a large shuriken. Slicing through the gray figure, he smirked... until the figure "poofed" into a cloud of smoke. A shadow clone? How the hell did the boy know that? Another gray-cloaked figure shunshined behind him and grabbed him, holding his arms still, and two more came flying out of the trees.
"Kitsune tsuin heki!" twin side kicks shattered a good number of the bones in his chest, and before the two other figures landed, a fourth ran forward, doing hand seals.
"Fuuton: daitoppa!" He was blasted backwards, the clone still attached. As he sailed backwards, the clone dispersed. He wondered why, until...
With a horrible squelching noise, Mizuki was impaled on the pointed back end of a wicked-looking war scythe. Everyone, Iruka included, stared on in horror at the apparent death of the man.
"Don't worry, he's not dead. I just paralyzed him from the waist down. If I was going to kill him, I'd use this." Naruto pointed to the serrated scythe blade, and everyone calmed down, but shivered at the same time at the brutality of the weapon carried by one not even genin. Carefully removing Mizuki from the weapon with the help of his clones, Naruto called for a medic to stabilize him, and then take him away.
Looking down at Mizuki, he noticed the man fighting down tears. That wouldn't be happening if his plan was for personal greed... This man had ulterior motives. Not mentioning his suspicions to anyone else, Naruto vowed to investigate into Mizuki's strange behavior. He'd always been a nice man, and his recent actions didn't match up with his apparent goal, greed for money and power. What the hell was going on?
Iruka waited until all of the other shinobi had left with Mizuki, making sure to send a messenger to the Hokage telling him that he'd be along with Naruto shortly. Walking up to the boy, he wasn't sure whether he wanted to laugh or cry.
"Naruto..." The boy stared at him for a second, an unasked question strong in the air.
"No, Naruto, I don't think badly of you for housing the kyuubi." He then enveloped the boy he'd come to think of as a younger brother in a hug. The boy had a private chuckle at how Iruka would react to his other older brother.
"So, Naruto? How have you been? It was kind of shocking when you just up and disappeared like that. Why did you run away, anyway?" The new silence in the air told Iruka that he'd just asked a question that Naruto didn't want to think about. The chirp of the higurashi (A/N: a variant of cicada with a cry that is considered melancholy) was the only sound in the forest clearing, and other than the slight damage from Naruto's wind attack, and the blood on the ground, it was serene, almost ghostly.
Moonlight cast a blue glow on Naruto's hair as he pulled off the hood, and his blank, bone white mask was, for now, a cerulean similar to what Iruka remembered of his eyes. Then he slowly pulled off the mask, and let it drop to the ground.
"Naruto..." Iruka noticed the various cuts and scars on Naruto's face, but those looked recent. It was the eye patch that Naruto now wore comfortably that drew his attention. The villagers had taken his eye?! No wonder the boy had fled. Iruka's fists clenched, getting angrier by the second. Naruto could tell what he was thinking.
"Stop, Iruka-sensei. You're one of my older brothers, and I don't want you getting in trouble trying to get revenge for me." Iruka nodded, but he had definitely noticed Naruto mention another brother.
"I'm one of your older brothers? Could I possibly meet this other person that you're willing to call a brother?" Naruto smiled and shook his head sadly, before turning in the direction of the Hokage tower.
"Not yet, Iruka-sensei. You're not ready right now. Before you meet him, you have to learn one, very important detail. History is but a set of lies agreed upon." With those cryptic words, Naruto walked softly out of the forest.
Before he got too far, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he was nearly blinded by the grin on Iruka's face.
"Where do you think you're going? We're getting ramen before we see that old fart." Laughing incredulously at Iruka calling the Hokage an old fart, Naruto nodded and the two tree-hopped back to Konoha.
Things were peaceful once more. Well, maybe for about two days. Well, okay, not really even that.
Jutsu/Skill/weapon list:
War scythe: a scythe modified so that the curved blade that is usually mounted sideways at the end is pointed out like a spear. Many believe these to be a precursor to the halberd, though they were used even after the development of that weapon. Naruto's has a serrated blade and a spike on the other end.
Ono: a small hatchet typically used by warrior monks. It could be used both for combat and civilian purposes, without giving it any major disadvantages like many weapons adapted for the other use were.
Doton: Doryuuheki: The mud-wall jutsu that the third hokage used against Orochimaru.
Fuuton: Daitoppa: A wind jutsu that creates a blast of wind that, at full power, can level trees. Naruto used it at lower than full power both times he used it.
Shunshin: the body flicker, I don't think I have to explain this one.
Kitsune gunshuku: Fox disarm: an attack from the taijutsu style that Kyuubi is teaching Naruto. Channeling chakra into their hand, the attacker hits an armed person on the back of their hand, shattering the bones that stabilize their fingers, which causes the enemy to drop their weapon.
Kitsune heki: Fox pierce: a flying side kick where the ninja attacking channels chakra to their legs in the same way used for shunshin before jumping, giving them a greater velocity and causing their attack to break either the opponent's guard or their bones.
Kitsune tsuin heki: Fox twin pierce: A version of the Kitsune heki used with twin shadow clones.
Jigen-ryu: one of the older sword styles of Japan, this style goes by the motto that a second strike is never to be considered. It focuses on killing in a single hit, and the kiai is a loud "Ei!"
Bukepou: Juujikazou Hissatsu: Samurai art: crucifix certain kill: a twin katana attack that creates a vacuum, leaving hundreds of smaller cuts on the opponent. Where the actual swords hit, the vacuum causes a delayed effect and multiplied effect, leaving an X or crucifix shaped slash. As the technique denotes, this is almost always an instant kill, and it was only due to Naruto's demon blood and the kyuubi's best efforts that Naruto survived.
Pairings list (to eliminate any confusion, and any good idea from a reviewer that I put in, I'll put here):
Eventual Naruto/Karin
Kyuubi/Shukaku
Whew, I finally finished the first chapter. Please leave feedback, constructive criticism and credit card numbers. Seriously though, please leave a review, I'm trying to improve my writing and it makes me feel appreciated. Also, it takes less than a minute. Review rant over, before I go on a tangent.