prologue: the damnation of an innocent

Running for his life, why every year no matter where he goes's, where he hides, they find him.

This year was no different the young boy ran for his life. Once again chased for a reason he did not know. Cries of there he is and Kill the Demon were heard from behind him as he ran into the slums if we was lucky he could get to the gates before they caught him. 4'4 the boy was short for his age his body showed shines of malnutrition were evident if you ever looked, not that you would ever be able to tell at a glance his orange clothing hid his tiny frame from view. This was the boys 6th birthday and the anniversary of the kyuubi no kitsunes defeat by the 4th hokage. Turning the corner at a dead sprint the boy couldn't avoid being struck in the chest by a lady brandishing a broom.

Grunting as the stick struck him in the chest he fell forward into the street. His usual sun blond hair now covered in dirt and attire muddied he attempted to rise to his feet to run again. But it was too late the mob that had been chasing him had caught up as he straitened his back to stand the lady that had knocked him down brought the broom back down upon him striking him in the back. With a cry of pain he collapsed to the ground only to be kicked and punched mercilessly by the mob.

"Please stop," the boy cried "I haven't done anything," raising his hand to shield his face.

"You're a murder and a demon!" a man yelled bringing a bottle down over the boys arms shattering it and cutting the boy in one motion.

"Scum!" Hissed another villager, as he kicked the poor boy in the ribs.

"Why won't you just die!" Spat a man brandishing a knife cutting into the boy's cheek placing a parallel gash across the boy's whisker shaped birth marks

With that an anbu dropped into the group and grabbed the boy putting him over his shoulders without looking back he said "you have a minute before the escort team gets here you had best move on."

With a shunshin he was gone in a swirl of leaves.

Coming to the small boy opened his eyes he had passed out after the beatings started. Trying to get a bearing on his location the boy looked around the room was dark a single torch burned in the far corner of the room over what seemed to be a forge. The air was stagnant and the air smelled of waste and refuse. Starting to panic the boy started to try and move it's when it hit him he couldn't move it was if the power of the earth's gravity had been turned up to 11 against his back he could barley move his fingers let alone him arms or legs. Realizing there was no escape from this position he was in the young boy closed his sapphire blue eyes and began thinking about what he could do and how he could get out of this.

"Alright naruto what can we do to get out; Jiji will be looking for me." Thought naruto, "how can we get out of this mess. "

"Maybe I can help" said a voice in his mind.

"Who's there?" said naruto nothing in the room moved and no one replied.

His vision went dark. And the world faded from view.

Drip... Drip... Drip...

Naruto was standing in a foot of emerald green water in want seemed to be a sewer pipe. The odd thing was it was the water that illuminated the pipe from where he was he could see dozens of maintenance doors all rusted or off the hinges this was truly a depressing place to be.

"Down here young one follow the sound of my voice and then we might be able to get out of this situation." Said a distant voice

This puzzled naruto wasn't he already out of the dark room where gravity didn't seem to work properly?

As he walked he noticed the tunnel getting brighter the mouth of the pipe was in front of him, what he saw when he reached it he couldn't even fathom a cage the size of a small mountain was in front of him inside lay a gigantic red fox with nine tails.

"Who are you? Where are we?" Asked naruto, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"We are in your mind." Said the fox, looking at the young boy in front of its cage.

"As for who I am the name your people gave me was the kyuubi no kitsune but I prefer kyu."Replied the kyuubi.

Naruto collapsed in shock of what he had just heard. "That can't be true the forth killed you" murmured the boy, clinging to the faintest of hope this was a lie, a trick, just one of the villagers torturing his mind, anything but the truth.

With a low chuckle the fox opened an eye to look at him, "I am very much alive young one but my question is how do you intend to get out of the gravity well were in?"

Thinking naruto contemplated his problem he was six really the only thing he could do was wait for his Jiji to find him and be a quiet and still as possible.

"I'm not sure what I can do other then wait?"Replied a worried naruto.

"Well where are we?" asked kyu "I only know were trapped by the force keeping me pinned to the floor what have we been doing before you came here?" Curious for an answer a single claw raked the cage testing its strength.

Holding firm the gate never wavered from its position between the boy and its gigantic body. "Well boy speak up I have no sight or hearing of my own to gage the world from here. Tell me of the world I have been away from for so long." Demanded the ancient creature

"But you have eyes and ears why can't you see or hear?" asked naruto confused by this.

"I can only experience what you allow me to experience and what the seal allows me to glean form my surroundings. I know what happens to your body but am in no position to change or adjust it in any way with the seal in its current state." A slightly irritated kitsune explained.

"Well how do I change that?" asked a very confused naruto looked around the room the only other thing in the room was a small piece of paper covering the gap between the gates of the cage saying seal on it.

"You would have to will it to change, the seal it's self is permanent thanks to the shinigami himself sealing me into you but it would forever respond to your will." Growled the kyuubi

In a moment the cage disappeared and a field appeared under their feet a small park and playground appeared in the distance and flowers and trees could be seen all around them to the south a small lake started to take shape from the ground. The last thing to appear was a small house on the far side of the lake. The seal moved from its place on the cage bars to form a small caller and silently locked itself around the fox's neck while it no longer looked like a prison the seal would forever reminded the fox that it was not free.

"Well this is certainly better then my previous homes I must ask why you change the environment young one?" mused the fox now able to freely reach the boy should it wish to.

"No one deserves to be locked in a cage just bigger than they are." A single tear passed Narutos eye he whispered "especially when they didn't do anything."

Dropping to his knees naruto clutched his head the pain he was feeling was excruciating his mind on fire he burst out of his mindscape to find that he was no longer in the gravity well , it made little difference his situation was all the more dire.

He was strapped to a stone table his wrists and feet bound to the slab with ninja wire his torso was now bare as the two men working above him. The man both wore cloaks and masks similar to the anbu but both of them had foxes on their face plates. They had cut the shirt he was wearing off his body exposing the shiki fujin on his lower torso his pants were cut just below the groin and he could feel a third pair of eyes watching from the far wall.

Trying to pull free of the wire on holding his right wrist to the table the man above him smiled an evil smile. "You won't be able to get away this time child we will extract our lord from you this day." the cloaked man said laughing slightly as he continues his work.

"Let me go!" cried naruto thrashing in his restraints.

At this the third person in the room stepped forward from the slight curve to their figure you could tell they were female, slapping him in the face a forcing a wad of cloth into his mouth, when the women spoke so cold were her words naruto froze and stared at her. "You will be silent and still while we work child and you will be free of the burden you carry, strain again and you will feel more pain in one day then the villagers have caused you in your life time this is a promise."

"We mustn't let them continue child." Whispered a voice in the boys mind

The desire to have someone present if not to help but to be there with him had opened a connection to the kyuubi inside of him

".ub..I" a muffled naruto chocked

"Think what you want to say child we will find a way out we must if we are to survive." Instructed the kyuubi.

The man on his left turned to look at the boy, dread in his eyes. Signalling his partners they grabbed the boys left arm and forced it to the table while the women pulled a spike from the forge white hot and pointed she razed it above his hand and said "I warned you to be still and quiet boy!"

With that she drove the nail through his palm screaming in pain naruto clenched his burning hand in an attempt to pull free he never felt the nail pass through his right hand as he blacked out from the pain.

Else ware in the village hidden amongst the leaves

A silver haired jounin was running at full speed to the hokages office in the center of the village. Hatake kakashi was running as fast as he could towards the kagas office if he didn't know he needed to, having arrived to collect his sensei's son from the Uchia compound to find that he never arrived was concerning enough but to find narutos apartment burned to the ground was completely another. Jumping from the street kakashi ran up the wall of the tower holding Sarutobi office the elderly hokage needed to know the son of the forth was missing and his home destroyed. Opening the office window and jumping in he appeared before the elderly kaga in an instant flooding the room with so much KI the three clients in the room fled in panic.

"What's the meaning of this kakashi" the old kaga demanded damned if this type of disrespect would be tolerated?

"Naruto missing..." was all kakashi could say before anbu appeared flanking him.

"Consider your old post reactivated captain find him and bring him back." demanded the elderly kaga fixing kakashi with a level stare he said "you four start your search immediately kakashi I need to know everything you know as quickly as possible" he sighed knowing this could get worse before it got better.

Relaying all the information that the Uchias had given him, kakashi made to go look for his sensei's son when another ninja joined him at the window to the credit of kakashi he wasn't shocked to see one of the sannin barring his way. "Where is my god son sensei?" asked the sannin fixing the Sarutobi will a look that could stop hearts.

"Were departing to look for him now jiraiya, any information you could provide would be useful otherwise put your skills to work and help us find him." While Sarutobi didn't look it he was just about ready to start panicking the child he was charged with protecting was missing, the laws he passed were going ignored, and both the other people in the village that were as close to blood relatives the boy had left were asking why he was missing.

"Well then I suggest we start by checking out the fox dens first." a irritated sannin said "I told you months ago this would happen on the night of the festival and instead of letting me take him from here you forbid him from leaving the village if he isn't perfectly health sensei..." jiraiya never finished he just departed in a swirl of leaves. That's when the other two felt it a wave of despair they hadn't felt in 6 years the chakra of the kyuubi no kitsune.

Four hours later

Naruto woke to find himself locked in his mindscape his body still nailed to the stone table nails pierced his hands, wrists, and ankles. His chest looked as if someone had used him as a sheath for a knife several deep channel wounds were scattered over the right side of his upper torso in it the kunai still stuck from his chest where his heart should be. His legs and arms weren't much better metal burned into his skin from where hot iron had be pressed had anyone else gone through such torture they would have died except for the foxes chakra healing his wounds as fast as the assailants had been able to cause them he would have died of trauma his assailants lay dead on the floor around the stone table all that was left of them were pools of their own blood and a few specks of bone the rest had simply become ash in the wave of demonic chakra that poured from the dyeing boys body.

Unable to leave his mindscape he searched for the kyuubi to find out why he could not leave to his astonishment the paradise he had created from his tenant out of the kindness of his heart had nearly entirely been destroyed the field was over turned the forest stood burnt and the lake was dry in the largest crater in the center of the badly scared earth lye the kyuubi blood and tears had pooled at the base of its head its clawed paws were raw from rage and the caller was cutting into its throat.

In a panic naruto jumped into the crater and pulled at the caller with all his might while the caller loosened it did not release its victim

"Why..?" Was all naruto heard as the fox simply lay there.

"Why do you defend me form the pain inflicted upon you? Why do you carry it yourself" it said in a low rumble

To the kyuubi astonishment naruto simply walked to the first of his great paws and producing bandages from his will alone and started to wrap the wounds.

With a small wave of chakra the gigantic form of the fox flowed away from naruto to his astonishment a girl wearing a small read robe clung to his chest sobbing. All he could do was hug her.

"Shhhh it will be alright you'll see" said naruto soothingly

Clutching him tightly she just cried harder, she had failed to protect her kits, she had failed to protect her mate and today she had failed to keep this kit safe as well. She couldn't bare the pain any longer she couldn't stand the regret of all the loss.

"It won't be alright!" a teary eyed kyu cried "I can't keep healing your body ill run out of chakra within the hour whatever your body is on is sealing my powers away from you when I run out of chakra the wounds on your body will open and you will die of either trauma or blood loss within minutes if I let you leave this place you will die from the pain iv failed you just like a failed Kushina." dropping to her knees she just looked at him with eyes full of sorrow and regret, kneeling down in front of her naruto hugged her and whispered into her ear. "Thank you for caring iv never met anyone who has ever shed a single tear for me." as that was said his world went black kyu was gone and the world was still.

A explosion rocked the room as the door barring the way of jiraiya was blown off its hinges the still partially formed rasengan in his hand jiraiya took in the room in an instant the air was thick with smoke the floor covered in blood and a small figure lay on a table made of stone arms stretched above his head with a kunai sticking out of his chest.

Dashing forward jiraiya did the only thing he knew how to do; he quickly drew a seal in his own blood around the boy and said "shisho fuin." a crystalline container almost transparent blue formed around naruto. As the crystal formed so did something else a small red fox pulled itself from the seal in front of him it walked down narutos body constantly working at removing the foreign objects from his body.

As kakashi turned the corner and entered the room all he could do was freeze and stair as jiraiya stared at the small red fox in the crystal do its best to clean the wounds of its vessel. is that what I think it is dead paned kakashi jiraiya simply stared when Sarutobi finally caught up with the other two ninja he almost died at what he saw between the fox in the crystal and the boy looking as if he was dead he walked up to the crystal placed his hand upon it and whispered, "I'm sorry naruto I truly failed you." a single tear passing from his eyes. "Is he stable to transport?" he asked looking at jiraiya? "I would say that until our friend in there stops moving and has removed all the nails from his body it will be impossible to move him." replied jiraiya clenching a fist and hitting the floor at the fact he couldn't do anything to help his god son.

Kakashi simply stood there, moments later whether it be to strain of finding him or just form the realization that he would never be able to look his sensei in the eyes upon reaching the next life he simply froze.

Pulling the final spike from narutos wrist the small fox climbed onto his chest once more, pulled the kunai form his heart and lied down both signalling it was finished its task and preparing the young boy to return to the land of the living.

Upon lying down kyu walked through the mind of naruto into the house on the far side of the lake and hugged the form of the boy she had taken as an adopted son. Releasing him from the forced comma he stirred in his mind kyu "where am I?" he asked, "Why do you look so sad."

"Your friends found you just as I was running out of chakra you're in a stasis field until they get you medical attention I think you will have to stay inside of it." said an exhausted kyu.

Looking over kyu he realized the seal binding her to him was damaged her caller was not the same single band of black leather it once was it was frayed and looked as if it was starting to split at the ends.

Sitting up and touching it the seal removed its self from her neck and the large array opened to show one of the eight strands of the hake no fuin shiki were missing. Moments later a woman who he had only seen for a moment in his life walked in she was tall had crimson hair and spoke as though she was an angel. "Well it looks like they damaged the seal again" turning in shock to look at the new person kyu could have sworn she was seeing things "Kushina..?" she gasped... grabbing her old friend and vessel.. "You can't be here your dead he killed you and took my kits from me you can't be here." Kyu sobbed.

Patting kyu on the shoulder as she passed Kushina hugged her son she tried to put a lot of unsaid things into the hug naruto seemed to understand and hugged her back. Looking at her son Kushina knew he had had a horrible life... but before she could open her mouth to speak a man in gray appeared at his side, "for six years you have carried our name with honour, pride, and dignity. For six years you have been looked upon like vermin and had your life treated with no respect. For six years you have endured pain, torture, and suffering. I the first head of the uzumaki clan hear by entrust the legacy to you uzumaki naruto as the last surviving uzumaki" looking up at Kushina he spoke once more "I'm sorry Kushina Mito has died preventing the theft of our phylactery and has sent it to the foxes to be protected." With those words Mito formed into existence inside Narutos mindscape "I'm sorry first I failed to keep the legacy continuing I have failed my father and his father before him." "Does not worry it seems Kushina had a son before her death he is the last of us and we will assist him in any way we can." the first said.

Turning his head to naruto the first said "we entrust to you all our knowledge of fuinjutsu as you age the legacy seal will release additional knowledge into your mind by the time you reach 16 you will know our art better than any human living... do you understand your responsibility to our family naruto" finished the first.

Naruto looked at him 'I have to rebuild our home." he murmured

"As well as guaranty the continuation of the uzumaki line we do not end like other clans our bloodline has saved our collective knowledge for centuries we will not allow it to extinguish under any circumstances" said the first with pride.

"As your knowledge increases so will your ability to unlock the 100 levels of the legacy seal at each level you will see more of your family's seals and techniques remember your duties to the family and to uzushiogakure we will rise again and inside you lays the key to our revival." Spoke the elderly man

With that Kushina Mito and the first faded from view leaving kyu and naruto alone once again a seal lay on the house floor and the number 1 sat in the middle the uzumaki legacy lay before him all he had to do was solve the problems it would give him in time walking to the seal naruto touched it with his right hand, thinking to himself "ill have to ask Jiji about how to interact with it later." Turning his attention to kyu who was still in shock he lightly caressed her cheek before lying back down to sleep.

Back in the real world things were going slowly kakashi and jiraiya had slowly moved naruto in his crystal prison towards the surface it would be a long trip to the Sarutobi estates as much as they would like to go to the hospital they had proven that the majority of the villagers could not be trusted and it would be a disaster if someone killed him in a hospital bed or burned the hospital down.

It took them the better part of the night to slowly move naruto to the estates. They moved quietly and carefully with the burst of kyuubi chakra every ninja and civilian was on edge. Sarutobi was on point moving the group as fast as they dared, upon reaching the estates kakashi and jiraiya carried naruto down the stairs into a hidden room in the cellar the room was small sparsely furnished the walls were painted white there was a bed in the far corner of the room a night stand lamp and a dresser. Placing naruto on the bed the three conversed.

"Who do we trust to work on him?" jiraiya asked?

"I'll see if I can find Rin." suggested kakashi.

"That would be a start." Sarutobi agreed "but will she have the skills to get him stable quick enough?" looking at the still sizable holes in the boys hands and ankles

"We will need at least two medics." pointed out jiraiya "three ideally."

Sarutobi grimaced at this he could see where jiraiya was going and he didn't want to have to recall the last loyal sannin as she was not going to take this well, another innocent person the village claimed.

"Tsunade would be the best choice but I don't think we will have an easy time of getting her to come back to us." Jiraiya said "Shizune should be with her as well that would get us our ideal medic count."

Sarutobi closed his eyes "alright jiraiya go get her, do what you must" he sighed definitely when she got here there would be hell to pay not telling her a family member was alive might have been a bad choice but at the time he had felt justified, having second thoughts wasn't in his nature but when you start pushing 70 years of age you start looking back and thinking about things you should have done differently. This just happening to be on the short list the aged kaga wished he had.