Author's Note: This is a chapter from a much larger FanFiction I'm in the process of writing, it's a tad independent of the plot, so I whipped it up for a friend of mine. Now, before you say that it's against the rules, the larger fanfiction is not going to be around anytime soon. I'll delete this version before reposting it into the main FanFic. After reviewing the copy of this FF online, I've noticed a few errors I didn't before and I've corrected them.

P.S. Non-English dialogue in English SUPPOSED TO BE contained in brackets, but for some reason FFdotnet will not comply with my formatting wishes.
P.P.S. I do not own Naruto. In addition, Naruto will speak as he speaks in the Viz manga version; without "Believe it!" at the end of every damn sentence.
P.P.P.S. Before you read any further, consider this: I should not be flamed simply because something you didn't like happened.

The Seeds

The soft crunch of heavy boots upon dry leaves was lost in the din of forest life; chattering birds, humming insects, hidden predator and prey racing in the underbrush… all ignored by the mysterious figure. He was dark, wreathed in shadow. He strode quietly, but with extensive poise and even greater purpose, seeming to know exactly where to go between the pathless, ancient trees. He walked into a beam of sunlight, and his features became easily perceptible. A blaze of long orange hair rested with inhuman finesse upon his head, almost reaching his piercing steel eyes, of which were shining with cold intent. He wore a black 'duster coat', in essence, a long coat that reached to the toes of his charcoal boots, parted into high slits on both sides of his hips, allowing a view of his dark pants, with a double row of buttons dotting the length of the fabric. His gloved hands were just barely overlapped by the sleeves of the coat. A single step on his part, and the details were again lost in the shade of the trees.

Another step, and the sound of exertion was faintly added to the chorus of nature; more steps, and the enigmatic individual neared his destination, with the noise ringing clearer and clearer through the thick foliage. He paused, and glared downward with disdain at a thin wire stretched across the ground, held tense by unseen tethers. Challenging the impudence, he stomped on it. The human sounds stopped. From the dark heights of the trees, kunai rained down. In a rapid flash of crimson, the tools of the booby-trap were no more. The figure had not moved, not even with the twitch of a finger. He strode forward and emerged into a small clearing, where a tent and various training implements had been set up. A young man with a plume of spiky blonde hair was crouching, gripping a kunai and poised for attack.

"Who are you?!" the Blonde demanded. The one garbed in black remained silent.

"Well, if you're not gonna talk…" he stood, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, from Konohagakure Village!" At this point, he jabbed at the cloth tied about his head with his free thumb. An attached metal plate engraved with a circular symbol glinted in the sunlight.

"Although it is of no true consequence, there is nothing wrong with you knowing the identity of he who is going to take your life." Naruto visibly bristled at this remark. "I am Alveus." He took a slight moment to glance over this 'Naruto'. He was sweating profusely, with the headband and even his orange and black outfit perceptibly wet. Alveus' mouth curled in disgust.

"You're not gonna kill me. I'm the future Hokage!! Don't ever underestimate m–" Alveus had suddenly appeared in a blur in front of Naruto to punch him in the stomach, propelling him across the clearing into an ages-old tree, cleaving it in half.

Alveus evenly replied, "I believe I have estimated your abilities quite accurately…"

Naruto staggered from the cloud of dust and splinters to meet a backhand slap to his face, which flung him again across the clearing into the plain grey tent. Alveus walked over to the disheveled pile of canvas to find a mere log.

"Hmm… substitution jutsu," he remarked as if observing a cheap magic trick of a child, catching all the many shuriken and kunai aimed for his head without looking away from the log. He crushed them between his hands, sprinkling the metal powder upon the ground.

"Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" echoed from the trees, and in a simple poof, hundreds of Naruto doppelgangers appeared in the clearing, completely surrounding Alveus. He turned to his right and looked directly at a single Naruto, seeming to ignore the many others running at him. This Naruto was holding a swirling blue-green sphere in his hand. Alveus charged towards this one, tossing doppelgangers aside like ragdolls.

"Rasengan!" and the real Naruto thrust the sphere forward. Alveus met it with his gloved hand, his emotionless expression flashing a second of intensity. Crimson ribbons erupted from beneath his boots and spiraled up around his body. Plasmatic in nature, the ribbons suddenly churned violently and began to stab doppelgangers in the chest, whip-like. Soon, smoke from the clones disappearing began to fill the clearing, shrouding the ethereal light from the Rasengan as Naruto pushed against it with all his strength. Alveus held it still, expending no effort. He then wrapped his fingers around it and squeezed. The shell of chakra gave no resistance, and the spinning chakra within burst forth, exploding.

As the dust cleared, a crater had replaced the green clearing. At the nadir of the deep pit, Alveus stood, immaculate (somehow having no grime on him), while Naruto, plenty dirty and injured, struggled to stand. The plasma ribbons swirled beautifully around Alveus, and one wrapped around Naruto's leg, lifting him upward. With a gentle-looking flick, the limp body flew skyward, and Alveus jumped to follow, appearing above to swing a heel into Naruto's chest, kicking him back down towards the ground. The impact shook the surrounding forest.

"Wha… How?" escaped in a frail gasp from Naruto's mouth as Alveus re-arranged his headband to where the knot was securely tied underneath Naruto's chin, binding his throat tightly. He then gripped the metal plate in his left hand and swung the weakened ninja into the crater wall. Naruto feebly grabbed at the cloth with his fingers, being swung and slammed again into the nadir.

Suddenly, Naruto surged with energy; his pupils contracted cat-like, his nails elongated into claws, fangs protruded from under his lips, and chakra spilled forth in an healing orange-red blaze around him. He sliced the headband, slipping from Alveus' grip.

"Calling upon the Demon's strength to supplement your own?" Alveus rhetorically queried. "The continued demonstration of your weakness sickens me."

"RAAARGH!!" Naruto cried as he lunged at Alveus, teeth bared and chakra shaping around him to form something akin to a fox. He thrust a clawed hand forward, the chakra around it reaching forward to strike at his target. The ribbons entwined to form a barrier between the two, blocking the animalistic assault. Naruto's hand became tangled, and as he tried to wrench it loose with all his weight, he ended up entangling his entire body. Alveus charged forward and began a rapid series of punches to Naruto's torso, the ribbons securely binding him and preventing him from being propelled by the sheer force of the assault. Droplets of blood were expelled from his mouth, only to be caught by free ribbons and flicked back onto his face, some into his eyes. The ribbons untangled themselves with the exception of a rope binding Naruto's hand. This one began flinging him around, sending him into the ground, or into a tree, again and again and again. It finally deposited him on his knees back down in the crater.

The chakra had long since receded, leaving Naruto swaying, beaten, bloody, bruised, and on the edge of consciousness. Alveus slowly walked up to him, and circled around behind. The ribbons, swishing gently as if caught in a light zephyr, shrunk and retreated back beneath his boots. He drove his hand into Naruto's back, eliciting a harsh scream, and slowly adjusted his grip around the jerking spine. He swung his legs up, planted his feet on both sides of his hand, and kicked.

The spine dislodged easily like a bone from well-cooked meat. Naruto's continued scream was interrupted by his vocal cords becoming separated from his trachea as his head remained attached to his free spinal column. His head lolled to the side, his lifeless eyes remained open, and his gaping mouth dripped with blood. Alveus noted, as he was tossing aside the vertebra, that a bit of flesh and fabric between his hand and the spine had effectively left him free of any besmirching fluid. He flourished his hand, and a spinning white disk ringed with black, purple and brown opened just to his side. As he was about to walk through, he turned to gaze upon the carcass remaining behind.

"And the seeds have been sown…" he said in a pleased tone, disappearing into the portal with a blinding white flash.