Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, Sakura would already be having his babies.
October 10th is a day with many meanings to the village of Konoha and it's occupants.
Possibly the most wide-spread meaning is that October 10th is a day of celebration. Why do they celebrate? October 10th was the day that the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha defeated the legendary nine-tailed fox, the Kyuubi. To those that were present at the time of the attack know that Kyuubi was defeated by sealing away the demon in the body of a newborn baby, the Yondaime sacrificing his life to do so. To the newer generations the story goes that the Yondaime valiantly fought and slayed the demon, becoming mortally wounded in the process.
One of Konoha's largest festivals is held on this day. This festival is held in honor of the Yondaime's sacrifice, and to celebrate the defeat of the Kyuubi. As such, decorations such as pictures and banners depicting either the Yondaime or a dead Kyuubi, are strewn throughout the village. A grand stage is set up in the middle of Konoha's largest park, where dramatic reenactments of the battle will be shown. At the festivals closing, bright fireworks can be seen lighting the night sky with all different colors while the current Hokage of Konoha will give an annual speech to his citizens.
Another, perhaps less popular, meaning of October 10th is that it is a day to mourn. Many people lost loved ones during that attack. While awaiting the Yondaime Hokage, many Shinobi sacrificed themselves in order to hold back the beast from making it's way to the village where their loved ones were located. These Shinobi were Mothers and Fathers, Sons and Daughters, all protecting what they cared about most: Their village and it's occupants. And as such they became heroes, their deeds never to be forgotten.
To one blond haired, blue eyed boy, October 10th held the most meaning. That day, 12 years ago, was the day he first entered this world, born during the Kyuubi's attack. Even though it was his date of his birth, he did not celebrate. Why wouldn't a 12 year old celebrate his own birthday? That would be because of the other meanings October 10th had to him.
His birth was not the only thing to happen to him that day. On that day he lost both his mother and his father, of whom he has never known. He does not even know their names, as the records of his birth were lost during the attack. This has left him alone in the world, having no family left to help take care of him, comfort him, or just plain be with him.
But perhaps the biggest reason for Uzumaki Naruto to not celebrate this day, was that on this day he was plagued with a curse. The Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, in order to successfully seal away the Kyuubi, needed a newborn baby in which to seal the demon into. Uzumaki Naruto, being one of the few babies born on that day, was chosen to be the living container of the Kyuubi.
The Yondaime knew of the burden he was cursing the child with, but that did not stop him, as that was the only way to put an end to the demon's rampage. Though the Yondaime was cursing him, he wanted the boy to be able to live a normal life. So as his final wish, he asked for the boy to be treated as the hero he was.
Unfortunately his wish was not honored by the majority of the populace. Many people did not see the innocent boy he was when they encountered him. Instead, in his place, they saw the Kyuubi who was responsible for the death of their loved ones. This quick judgment from most of the villagers would lead to Naruto being ostracized from society, doomed to live a very lonely existence. In order to help the boy, the recently reinstated Sandaime Hokage of Konoha passed a law stating that any knowledge of the sealing shall not be spread to those who do not know about it, nor shall any harm come to Naruto because of his tenant. This law was backed up with a very harsh punishment that no villager wanted upon them.
Not all villagers hated the boy, though. There were some that respected the Yondaime's wish and saw Naruto as the hero he was. The majority of the people with this line of thinking were Shinobi of which were completely loyal to the Yondaime. These Shinobi did everything in their power to help Naruto out, be it giving him gifts for his birthday, or treating him to his favorite food, Ramen. Naruto had also been able to make a couple of friends his age. When he joined the academy, he met many children his age, however only one truly became a friend. The others were more acquaintances than anything.
October 10th, though, was a day that Naruto learned to fear. While normally the villagers only glared at him spitefully, things were different on that cursed day. With the loss of their loved ones as the focus on their minds, some villagers would become filled with grief. Eventually their grief would give away to hate and rage, where they would do anything to gain vengeance. Even though rare, the attacks still came. For this reason, Naruto usually stayed in hiding, far away from the events going on at the festival.
When the Sandaime Hokage, the first person to ever care about Naruto, found out about these attacks, he quickly put a stop to them, threatening a death sentence to any who dare harm the boy. The Hokage was a wise man, though, and he knew there may still be some that would pay the price of death even if only for a chance to gain their revenge on the 'demon boy'. For this reason, he made it a habit to spend the day of October 10th with the blond haired boy, whom he treated as his own grandson. None would dare attack him while he was with the Hokage, who was the most powerful Shinobi in the village.
Today happened to be October 10th.
Currently the Hokage could be found wandering the streets of the village, Naruto by his side animatedly explaining his recent prank on one Uchiha Sasuke.
"...so you see Ojisan, I made it so whenever Sasuke opened his bento, it would explode with a loud 'boom' and a bunch of banners with 'I love my fangirls' written on them would pop out and fly all over the class. The fangirls of his went nuts when they saw the banners. They all thought Sasuke wrote it! All of the boys, though, we didn't stop laughing until Iruka-sensei finally got mad and yelled at us!"
The Sandaime chuckled, and look toward the blond haired boy, "I take it Sasuke was not happy?"
"Duh. I mean cmon, this is is Sasuke we're talking about!" the boy explained while leading the Hokage towards his favorite ramen stand, "I don't think he even knows what the word 'happy' means."
"Well, you do understand that he hasn't had a very happy life, don't you?" questioned the Sandaime, speaking in his usual manner reserved for when he is serious.
"And I have? You'll never see me acting all emo like him though! I don't think I could possibly do it, even if I tried my best."
The Sandaime chuckled sadly, "Point taken."
As they turned the corner, a very familiar stand came into view, which caused the boy to burst into action, running full speed towards his destination. The Sandaime followed slowly, a smile upon his face.
"One miso, old man!"
The Hokage arrived a moment later, "I'll also take a miso, if you would."
"Coming right up!" exclaimed the old chef, immediately going over to his kitchen to begin their orders.
A tall brunette woman came walking out from the back room and looked towards her customers and smiled. She always loved when her favorite customer was around. "Good evening, Hokage-sama, Naruto-kun."
"Heya Ayame-nee-chan! Did I tell you what I did to Sasuke yesterday during class?!" questioned Naruto, obviously proud of what he had done.
"Nope, I don't think so. Why don't you tell me now? You have a few minutes before your ramen is done." Replied Ayame as she leaned on the counter to listen to her favorite customer.
Immediately upon hearing her response, Naruto launched into a brief explanation of the prank, which caused the lady chef to laugh slightly, "You're always so mean to him, Naruto-kun!"
Before he even had a chance to respond, a large bowl of miso ramen was placed in front of him and the Hokage, which quelled any response he had. Quickly he picked up the nearest pair of chopsticks and broke them apart, digging into the ramen in front of him. The boy could be seen eating messily, with no respect for manners, which made the Sandaime sigh. He had been trying to teach Naruto better manners for a long while now, and he had thought he was getting through to the boy. Obviously it wasn't working.
The Sandaime broke apart his chopsticks and began to eat from his bowl in a dignified manner, which was expected of a man of his status. He looked over at Naruto just in time to see him finish his first bowl, and as he predicted, he immediately ordered another large bowl of ramen. 'Some things never change,' the Hokage mused to himself.
When the Hokage finished his second bowl, Naruto was just finishing his tenth. Fortunately for the Sandaime, Naruto was slowing down, a sure sign that he would be finished soon. He sat quietly and watched Naruto eat his ramen, thinking if it would be appropriate to teach Naruto another jutsu for his birthday. Last year, after learning from Narutos file that he was unable to perform the standard Bunshin, the Hokage personally looked into it, trying to find the possible reason. After determining that Naruto had too much chakra, thus lacked the control to make a simple bunshin, he taught Naruto the Kage Bunshin. Naruto took to the jutsu surprisingly well, learning it in a few short hours.
When Naruto placed down his final bowl, the Hokage decided that it would not be wise to teach Naruto too many jutsus until he became a ninja, as he would rather Naruto focus on learning what they were required to at the academy first.
"Are you all finished there, Naruto?" questioned the Sandaime, actually curious as it was hard to tell when it came to Narutos eating habits.
The boy in question nodded, "Yeah! Man was that good! Thanks Ojisan!"
The Hokage smiled warmly, "You're welcome Naruto. I still have some time before I have to make my speech, so what would you like to do now?"
They sat in silence for a few moments while Naruto pondered his options, and finally came to a decision. "Well, I've been wanting to go look at the new stuff they have at the weapons shop, but I haven't had any time lately. Can we go there now?"
The Hokage nodded while pulling out his wallet and placed enough money on the counter to cover the bill and a hefty tip for the chefs, "If thats what you want to do, we can."
They both got up and thanked the old chef and his daughter before leaving the stand, making their way towards the weapons shop across town. After turning the corner, the Hokage noticed that his blond follower was not next to him and looked back where they came from and saw Naruto just standing there.
"Are you coming, Naruto?" he questioned. Upon receiving no response, not even a hint that the boy heard him, he walked back towards Naruto and noticed he had a far away look on his face. "Naruto, are you ok?" he asked while waving his hand in front of Naruto's face, hoping to catch his attention. When nothing worked, he began to get worried.
A few minutes passed, with both of them standing there in silence. Naruto not even moving an inch, while the Sandaime watched him carefully, trying his best to figure out what was going on with Naruto. The only theory he could come up with is that Naruto was currently speaking with the fox, as when that happened, Naruto usually gained that same look on his face.
All of a sudden Naruto dropped to his knees, clutching his stomach. He gasped out in what seemed like pain, his facial features scrunched up as if trying his hardest not to scream.
"Are you okay Naruto?"
The boy shook his head, "S-somethings wrong Ojisan. I-It hurts!"
"Can you tell me what hurts?" questioned a now very worried Sandaime, already beginning to guess what's wrong, and hoping it wasn't true.
"My s-stomach. It feels like the skin is burn-ing!" he screamed out the last part, as a very sharp pain raced across his stomach in the shape of the seal, adding to the already excruciating burning pain.
Before the Hokage was able to ask anything else, the boy spoke up again, "T-the s-seal! S-somethings wrong!"
The near panicking Hokage immediately ordered him to lay back and release his stomach so he could take a look at the seal. He was praying with all he had that the seal was not breaking, as the possible destruction the fox could cause in the center of the village where they were currently located was horrifying.
He unzipped the jumpsuit jacket quickly and pulled up Narutos black shirt exposing the seal, glowing brightly. The Sandaime stared at it, studying it in detail. The normally black seal was now glowing two different colors. The outer part of the seal was glowing a bright blue, while the inner swirl was glowing a bright red. He watched for a few moments as the colors slowly began to intertwine with each other, coloring the spots where they mixed a purple-pink color. Thinking back to everything he knew about the seal, he could only come to one conclusion and sighed in relief.
'Thank kami the seal is not breaking. I wasn't expecting this for another few years however...' He broke out of his thoughts at hearing Naruto scream in agony again, and decided he needed to do something for him and quick. He rose up and let out a loud whistle, which he knew would summon his nearby personal ANBU guard.
Within a few short moments four black robed ANBU jumped in front of the Hokage. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"
"Bear, I need you to summon Hyuuga Hiashi for me. Tell him it's very important and to meet me at the hospital. Go now." he commanded, and watched as the bear masked ANBU nodded and jumped off to the nearest building heading towards the Hyuuga district.
"One of you pick up Naruto," he said pointing to the whimpering boy laying on the ground, "and get him to the hospital. Tell the doctors to give him something for the pain, but do nothing else until I arrive. I need to confirm something first. Do not let him out of your sight. The other two will follow me." he ordered, and watched as the cat masked ANBU picked Naruto up gently and bounded towards the hospital at full speed.
He looked at his other two ANBU and nodded before they too jumped to the roofs heading towards the Hokage's tower situated on the other side of town. He needed to have a look at the forbidden scroll.
Nearly an hour later the Sandaime arrived at the hospital entrance with his two ANBU guards in tow. Walking through the doors he spotted Hyuuga Hiashi waiting patiently for his arrival, "Good to see you, Hiashi. Thank you for coming."
The Hyuuga looked over towards the familiar voice, "Ahh, Hokage-sama, good to see you as well. Did you need me for something?"
The Hokage nodded but did not explain anything, instead he walked towards the nurse's desk, "Which room is Uzumaki Naruto in?" The nurse looked at the list for a moment before responding, "He's in room 213, Hokage-sama. The doctor should still be with him as well."
The Hokage nodded his thanks before signaling Hiashi and his ANBU guards to follow. "We have a potential problem concerning Naruto, Hiashi."
"Does it have anything to do with the seal?" When the Hokage nodded his reply, he moved on to his next question, "Is it in danger of breaking?"
"Thankfully, no. Quite the opposite actually. After witnessing what was happening to the seal I went back to the tower and reread the seal details on the forbidden scroll. According to everything known about the seal, it is completing what it was designed to do."
"So soon? I was not expecting that for a few more years at least."
As they ascended the stairs the Hokage continued, "I thought that as well. I don't know whats causing it to merge early, but I am not concerned. This is what the seal was designed for, and once it's complete, the Kyuubi will be gone forever. I am worried about the health of the boy, however."
As they reached the top of the stairs, Hiashi opened the door for the Hokage and asked another question that was on his mind, "If it has to do with the seal, why did you summon me? You know I have no knowledge of seals or their workings."
"I know. You're here to improve our chances of keeping Naruto alive." he finished as he neared the room. As they entered they were greeted by a now peacefully sleeping Naruto, the cat and bear masked ANBU, and a concerned looking doctor. While most doctors did not care much for Naruto's health, there were a few that did, and they usually took it upon themselves to take care of the boy during his hospital visits.
When the doctor noticed the arrival of the group he stood up and gave a polite bow towards the Hokage, "Hokage-sama. Do you know what is wrong with the boy? You had requested that we not do anything but treat him for the pain."
The Hokage looked at the doctor for a moment before responding, "Yes, I do. Do not worry, he will be fine if we keep a close eye on him, I believe. How long will the pain reliever you gave him last?"
The doctor thought for a moment, "With the dose I gave him, and with his body weight, I would expect 3 to 4 hours."
The Hokage nodded at the doctor, "Thank you for the information. I may have some more questions for you, will you be available for the night?"
"I'm on duty until 2 A.M. tonight, Hokage-sama. If you need me, just ask the nurse at the desk on this floor and she will get a hold of me."
"Very well, thank you. If I need you I will call for you." The Hokage responded, silently hinting to the doctor that he was not needed right now.
The doctor took the hint and excused himself from the room leaving Hiashi and 4 ANBU with the Hokage. The Sandaime made his way towards Naruto and pulled up his shirt to observe the seal. After studying it for a moment, he noticed that there was quite a bit more purple covering the seal than there was when he last saw it. Taking that as a sign that the merge is going well, he walked over to the seat nearest the window. He opened up the window fully and sat down in the chair beside it and pulled out his pipe and bag of tobacco. Quickly packing the bowl full, he used a small katon jutsu to light it and took a puff to calm his nerves.
On the outside it would seem the Sandaime is very calm about the situation, but on the inside he is worrying. He is worrying for the safety and health of Naruto. Worrying about the village's reaction if they were to find out, and worrying about Naruto's future, as he does not know what effects may happen to Naruto due to this merge. He could only pray that it was nothing severe or bad.
Inhaling another puff of smoke from his pipe, he motioned for Hiashi to take a seat beside him. When Hiashi sat down, he looked toward the Hokage, as if expecting an explanation. He didn't quite understand what was going on, and if he was to be of any help, then he would need to know everything.
The Hokage thought for a brief moment before speaking up, "I will explain things briefly to you, as I can tell that you still do not understand what is going on." He watched as Hiashi paid close attention to him before continuing, "Right now, the seal is merging. What that means, is that Kyuubi's chakra is now merging with Naruto, and will become Naruto's permanently. When it is completed, Naruto will have what I will describe as inhuman chakra reserves. When it completes, the Kyuubi will cease to exist, never to bother us again. That is what the Yondaime intended to do with the seal from the beginning."
He took another puff from his pipe, giving Hiashi a moment to ask any questions. When he heard nothing but silence, he continued, "What effects this will have on Naruto I am not sure. I pray to the Kami that it is nothing harmful, or that if there are any physical changes, they are not severe." The Hokage chuckled sadly, "I would hope he does not grow a tail, or fox ears, as that could be most problematic for him."
"The only effect I am sure of is, as I said earlier, Naruto will be given a gift. This gift will be in the form of chakra. I assume, due to the sheer size and power that made up the Kyuubi, that he has an enormous amount of chakra. I could not possibly fathom how much Naruto will posses after this is over. I am sure you have guessed by now why I requested you to come."
Hiashi nodded and spoke his thoughts, "You need me to observe his chakra coils. The Kyuubi was indeed massive, enormous beyond belief. That much chakra in this small a boy, it quite possibly could harm, even kill him."
The Hokage nodded his answer and continued for him, "I need you to alert me of any signs of stress in the coils. Even the slightest amount. I know you are fully aware of how the chakra coils work, but I will explain my belief anyways. The chakra coils are known to adapt. Studies from many generations report that chakra coils adapt faster than anything else on this world. My belief, and hope, is that if we can relieve the stress and give the coils time to adapt and strengthen to hold this massive amount of chakra, that we can save his life."
Haishi looked thoughtful for a moment, "What do you have planned if there indeed is stressing?"
"I am glad you asked," replied the Hokage, taking the final puff of smoke from his pipe. "I believe we would only need for him to spend all of the chakra he has, exhausting himself. That will buy the coils time. He will rest to regenerate the chakra again, and we will pay close attention to the coils. If there are more signs, we repeat the process until his coils are strong enough to hold all of the chakra."
Hiashi tore his gaze from the Hokage and studied the boy for a moment before asking a question, "He is just an academy student, though. The jutsus taught from the academy will never even begin to touch his reserves if they will be as large as we believe they will be. How would he be able to drain the chakra fast enough to relieve the stress?"
"This makes me glad I taught him a jutsu last year for his birthday present. I taught him Kage Bunshin, and as you know well, Kage Bunshin takes an enormous amount of chakra to use. I am confident that it will work. Naruto is quite proficient with that jutsu, so he will be able to keep using it fast enough to drain his chakra before it has a chance to regenerate." the Hokage answered before getting up and moving to the boy to study the seal once more. Upon noticing that about 1/4 of the seal is a light purple color, he sat back down and explained his observations to Hiashi regarding the seal.
As he finished explaining the seal findings and how the coloring works, the ANBU guard wearing a boar mask spoke up, "Hokage-sama, I apologize for interrupting, but it is almost time for your speech." he said while pointing to the clock hanging on the wall.
The Hokage looked at the clock before silently grumbling to himself, "Indeed it is, I would have forgotten about it due to this situation. Thank you for reminding me."
The boar masked ANBU nodded and sat back down while the Hokage explained one last order to Hiashi, "I need you to stay here with the boy and watch his chakra coils closely. I will be leaving you one guard. If anything happens, send him to retrieve the doctor. Have the doctor wake Naruto up and order him to create enough Kage Bunshins to fill this room and then immediately dismiss them. Knowing Naruto he will have a ton of questions. Tell him that I will explain it to him when I come back. Any questions for me before I leave?"
"None, Hokage-sama, I understand what I need to do. I promise that if there is anything I can do, I will do it to keep him healthy."
The Hokage nodded before walking to the door. Three of his guards stood up as he opened the door, but he paused for a moment. "Hiashi, do not hesitate to summon me if anything happens that you are not able to deal with or understand. Even if I am in the middle of my speech, I will come. Naruto's health is more important than a few words."
"I understand, Hokage-sama."
As he said that, the Hokage and three guards left the room, making their way towards the grand stage where the Hokage will make a speech honoring the deceased Yondaime and give his annual report of the villages status.
As soon as the Hokage left the room, Hiashi activated his Byakugan and watched Naruto's chakra coils closely, observing every detail.
The Hokage could be seen standing in the center of a very large stage, animatedly giving off a very well thought out speech to the citizens of Konoha. It was well thought out, yet repetitive and boring, some would admit. This is mainly because major changes do not seem to happen often, so the Hokage had only minor, yet boring details to explain to the crowd. Even though he knew he was boring the majority of them, he continued on, as it was his duty as Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, to keep his citizens up to date on the village workings.
"...and as you can see, Konoha is-"
"Hokage-sama!" interrupted a breathless ANBU, who used all of his strength to get there fast. The Sandaime recognized him as the same one he left with Hiashi and Naruto in the hospital. Before the Hokage could say anything, the ANBU did a quick shunshin to right beside him and spoke in a voice only the Hokage could hear, as he thought this should be kept secret.
"Hokage-sama, something is happening to the seal. Hiashi informed me that the seal was over 3/4 of the way to being colored completely purple, but something happened. The seal started to flash between red, blue and purple, and was continuing to do so as I left the ro-"
He didn't get a chance to finish, as a powerful shock wave forced everyone, even the Hokage, to their knees. The Sandaime began to panic, he knew this feeling. This was the chakra of the Kyuubi, but it was different. It didn't seem as malicious as the Kyuubi's did 12 years ago. He looked toward the hospital and noticed that the building wasn't damaged, so he immediately assumed the shock wave was caused due an incredible burst of chakra. He knew the source, and needed to get there fast, but he also needed to stop any panic from starting.
He quickly stood up and looked towards the crowd of people who were making their way back to their feet. It became easier once the feeling of the chakra went away. Just as the Hokage had feared, as soon as they were standing again they began yelling about the demon and fearing for their safety. He was about to try to calm their panic down, but another shock wave hit them. This shock wave was considerably weaker, though, and the chakra felt almost...pure, is the only way he could describe it.
He needed to find out what was going on, he did not have time to calm a crowd of rowdy and panicking civilians. He looked around for a moment before spotting his 2 personal advisors, he quickly waved them over and they came quickly. He spoke up in a soft voice for only them to hear.
"I know what is causing this. It's Uzumaki Naruto. Earlier I submitted him to the hospital after witnessing the seal begin it's merging. I do not know what happened, I can only pray that he's still safe and the merging is complete. I need you to try to calm the villagers down while I investigate this. I will send word immediately of any findings, can you do this for me?"
"I hope nothing bad has happened. Hurry back with any information, we'll do our best to calm them." replied Homura.
The Hokage nodded before taking off towards the hospital with his ANBU team in tow. He could vaguely hear Homura and Koharu speaking to the crowd to try to calm them. He could only hope for the best at this point.
As the Sandaime arrived at the hospital, he burst through the front doors and witnessed a panicked hospital staff running around the hospital to calm and take care of their patients. Not sparing the situation a second glance, he dashed off towards the room where he left Naruto.
As he finished climbing the stairs and entered the hallway containing the room, he was greeted by a sight he did not expect to see. Covering almost the entire hallway, he estimated about 400, was Naruto's Kage Bunshins. He watched as they disappeared and a fog consisting of smoke filled the area. He felt his way through the smoke and made it to Narutos room and immediately demanded a report of the situation.
"I assume you felt it too, Hokage-sama?" questioned a slightly concerned Hiashi.
"Yes, I did. It was powerful, knocking everyone in the crowd to their knees. I can only hope that Homura and Koharu will be able to calm the villagers down, if not than I fear we will have a problem on our hands."
As the smoke cleared, he looked at Naruto who seemed healthy as can be, and watched as he grinned and continued creating Kage Bunshins, except for this time he did not create any inside of the room so they could speak and see at the same time.
"Naruto, let me have a look at the seal." commanded the Sandaime, authority clearly present in his voice.
Naruto dismissed his last set of kage bunshins and pulled up his shirt so the Sandaime could have a look. What he found surprised him. There was no seal. Figuring it must have faded away, he put his palm on his stomach and concentrated chakra to his hand to force the seal to appear. When nothing happened after a few moments he grew concerned.
"What happened to the seal, why is it not there?"
It was Naruto who answered, "I don't know. One minute I'm passed out talking with the bastard fox, and the next minute I'm awake being ordered by Hiashi-san to create Kage Bunshins until I run out of chakra."
"You were talking to the fox? What did it have to say?"
"That's what was weird. He kept saying goodbye. What was even weirder, though, was that he said that he respected me, even if a little bit, and that I should be honored. I don't get it." responded Naruto, who was scratching the back of his head as he was speaking.
The Hokage visibly relaxed and removed his hand from Narutos stomach. "I need you to tell me everything the fox said."
"Excuse me, Hokage-sama," Haishi interrupted and turned towards the blue eyed boy, "Naruto, you need to keep creating clones, you still have above 75 percent of your chakra reserves to get rid of. If you don't get rid of it, it could damage your chakra coils and we don't want that." Hiashi commanded, and Naruto immediately complied creating 500 Kage Bunshins at a time, but kept them outside of the room.
"How much chakra does he have, Hiashi? When I first walked up the stairs I saw at least 400 Kage Bunshins covering almost every inch of the hallway. And how long has he been creating them?" questioned the Sandaime, a bit of awe apparent in the tone of his voice.
The Hokage noticed that Naruto stopped creating shadow clones and ordered him to continue and not stop until he ran very low on chakra. Naruto reluctantly nodded. He was getting bored, and knew this was going to take awhile, as he could feel how much chakra he had and he still wasn't able to completely believe it.
"He has been creating Kage Bunshins since the second shock wave, Hokage-sama. It was after that, when I assume the merge completed, that his coils started stressing and I had the doctor wake him quickly. He's been creating them for quite some time now, I'd estimate 7 minutes, give or take." Hiashi explained.
The Sandaime took a seat, and rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment, "How many clones have you been creating at one time, Naruto?"
"A lot. I think I've been doing 500 at a time, I'm not sure about how many I was doing earlier, as I was still sleepy and not counting, but that's how many I'm doing now."
"And how much chakra do you have left now, can you tell?"
Naruto stopped creating clones for a moment and focused on his reserves, "Um, I'd say a little over half left. It's hard to tell, I'm not used to this much chakra." explained Naruto, oddly serious for once.
"That's..." the Sandaime was at a loss for words. Hes never heard of a human containing so much chakra, "...incredible. Just from a quick estimation from what each of you told me, I'd guess so far you've created somewhere in the range of 30,000 clones, and you still say you have more than half of your chakra. It's just..." the Sandaime trailed off, not able to find a word to speak his level of amazement.
Naruto kept creating clones, as he has not heard them tell him to stop yet, "Hey Ojisan, how many clones can you make total?"
"That's what's incredible Naruto. In my prime fully rested I was only able to make around 10,000 total." answered the Hokage seriously.
"I guess that just means that I will be Hokage someday, seeing as how I beat you in something!" joked Naruto, although he was completely serious at the part about becoming Hokage.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds that could be heard was the sounds of clones popping in and out of existence and Naruto mumbling 'Kage Bunshin no jutsu' every time he performed the jutsu. The Sandaime was busy thinking about the immediate future concerning Naruto and the village. No doubt to him that there is going to be a lot of headaches and problems for Naruto after that wave of chakra. He could only hope that Homura and Koharu had any success at calming the villagers.
Then it hit him. He had promised to send word to them. He looked over to one of the well rested ANBU in the room, "Cat, I need you to find Homura and Koharu, they are most likely still located at the stage in the park. Inform them that there is nothing to worry about, and that I will explain the details with them later." He watched as cat stood up, nodded, and disappeared in a poof of smoke.
The Sandaime looked over towards Hiashi and noticed that he was sitting still as can be, the only thing moving were his eyes, which were focused entirely on Naruto. "How are his coils faring, Hiashi?"
Hiashi took another once over of the coils before responding, "They are in perfect condition. I can see them visibly strengthening. They are also stretching and becoming longer, no doubt to help hold the chakra. I would not be surprised if Naruto were to experience some physical changes to hold it as well."
"What do you mean physical changes? Am I going to look different because of this?!" questioned Naruto, his voice nearly loud enough to burst the ear drums of the room occupants. They both took a moment to recover before Hiashi answered.
"I don't think anything bad will happen, Naruto. I believe if anything were to happen that you could count as a negative change, it would have happened already. From what I can see from your chakra coils, I believe I could expect you to at the very least grow taller. How tall, I do not know."
"Taller? Cool! I hate being smaller than everyone in my class. They always pick on me about it!"
Both men chuckled for a moment before the Sandaime realized something, "Naruto, I asked you earlier to explain to me everything you talked about with the fox but we were interrupted. Can you tell me now?"
"Yeah, one sec. I'm starting to get low on chakra, so let me finish these Kage Bunshins." replied Naruto, before he continued creating kage bunshins. He kept at it for a couple more minutes before he sat down on the bed, completely exhausted.
"Okay, I think that's all of my chakra. I'm tired as hell now."
"Indeed it is, Naruto. Your chakra is almost gone, but I believe even now you still have enough to do another set of Kage Bunshins, but that would risk chakra exhaustion, and we do not want that. Its a good thing you already can tell when to stop." Hiashi replied in all seriousness, examining Narutos chakra coils a moment longer before giving his Byakugan a break.
"Okay Ojisan, I'll give you a summary. When I first was knocked out from what the doctor gave me, I was pulled into my mind where the fox was. When I approached he said he needed to speak with me for a moment. He started rambling on about how his time is at an end and how he doesn't regret being sealed. Then he told me something weird, which I didn't expect. He told me he respected me a little bit."
He noticed both men listening intently so he took a breath and continued, "He said that even for a human I deserved a bit of respect from him. He then told me what was happening, that his chakra is leaking through the seal and being absorbed by me and will become mine permanently. He said that when it was done, he would cease to exist, which I was happy about. I always did hate the bastard fox."
"But what was even weirder than him saying he respected me, was that he gave me a gift!"
"A gift? What did he give you?" questioned a very curious, yet skeptical, Sandaime.
"He taught me a jutsu! Can you believe it?!" exclaimed an excited Naruto, obviously happy that he learned a new jutsu, even if it was from a vicious demon.
"Did he explain anything about the jutsu, like what it does?"
Naruto nodded and continued, "He told me it's a summoning jutsu. At first I didn't trust him, thinking he was having me summon him, but he kept insisting that it wouldn't, as he'd be dead. After a while I believed him so he taught it to me. I did it successfully in my mind, and when I did it, a scroll appeared in a puff of smoke. I don't know whats written on the scroll though, as I couldn't open it. He told me it had a blood seal on it, do you know what that is?"
The Sandaime nodded, "Yes, I do. I will tell you later. Did he say anything else?"
"Yeah, so he kept talking about what's inside the scroll or somethin', I wasn't paying much attention to him at the time, the only thing I caught was that it was very valuable, and that he used it when he was shape shifted into a human form."
"Wait, he could shape shift into a human?" questioned Hiashi, who was slightly disbelieving.
"I guess, it's not like he showed me or anything. Anyways, he told me to take care of the item, and that I should pass it down. He said inside the scroll it explains how to use the item as well as everything I'll need to know about it. I still don't know whats apparently inside of the scroll, though. Think I can summon it now and we can find out?"
The Sandaime shook his head, "In the future we will, I promise you that. Do not perform that jutsu without my permission, alright?"
Naruto hesitated for a moment before nodding, then he continued his story, "That's pretty much everything, except for he kept saying goodbye, almost as if he was leaving someone he cared about behind, it was kinda disturbing to tell the truth. I didn't know the bastard cared about me. Anyways, right before I woke up, I noticed the cage was shrinking and what was left of the fox looked like it was disappearing into thin air. I woke up before I could see anything finish, so I don't know what happened."
The Sandaime nodded and thought for a moment, "I am going to need to have the doctors run a bunch of tests on you, as I want to make sure you are healthy. I am especially concerned with your chakra coils. I am afraid if we do not keep a close watch on them, we might miss a sign of stressing and you could die."
"I will keep watch for tonight, Hokage-sama. I have no problem with it, and I am not tired in the least. I will then get someone to replace me if needed in the morning if you would like."
"Are you sure, Hiashi?" he watched as he got a nod for a response, "Very well then, you will stay in here with Naruto and keep a close eye on his coils. As before, any signs of stressing wake him up to create Kage Bunshins until he's out of chakra again. Hopefully his coils will adapt quickly and without problems."
"Naruto, one more thing before I leave for the night to allow you to rest. I will be sending a Yamanaka to do a mind walk through your mind. I am going to have him check it thoroughly, so do not be afraid. I just need to make sure that Kyuubi is indeed gone."
"Sure thing, Ojisan." he replied right before a loud yawn took over.
"Get some sleep, Naruto. I will check back in the morning to see how you are doing. Before I leave, I need to speak with you for a moment outside, Hiashi."
With that he left Naruto in the room to get comfortable and get some sleep, while he and Hiashi went outside the room and closed the door as to not disturb Naruto with their talk.
"Hiashi, you were very well aware of that shock wave from earlier. It has got the villagers in a panic, and I fear some may come after Naruto and attempt to harm him, as they may believe the Kyuubi is escaping. I need you to keep alert for any intruders while watching his coils, can you do that?"
"Yes, I can do that no problem. How do you plan on handling the panic and explaining that the Kyuubi is no longer in this world, if one of the Yamanakas confirm it?"
"I am not sure yet, Hiashi. I will probably need your support to do so. I might even need to gather all of the clan heads. It definitely will not be easy to calm the villagers, but I am sure I will be able to do it before it gets too bad. As a precaution I will be sending a squad of my more trusted ANBU to help you protect the boy from any harm. They will replace my squad that is currently in the room."
"That will definitely help, thank you Hokage-sama."
"Not a problem, his safety is one of my main concerns. Anyways, I am tired and I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a very long day, so I must get some rest. I shall see you in the morning, Hiashi."
"Goodnight, Hokage-sama."
And with that, both men parted ways, one heading towards his home to get some sleep, the other making himself comfortable in the hospital room, keeping a very strict watch on the details of the blond boy's chakra coils.
AN: This is my first attempt at ever writing a story. I'm hoping that it is enjoyable to all of you that read it.
Since it's my first story, I'd love it if you could take a moment to give me a review. I don't wish for things to say "It was awesome, write more!" I wish for reviews that help me. I'll take any constructive criticism, harsh or not. I can't get better if I don't know what I'm doing wrong. The grammar is my main concern, as I have been told that I'm not that great at it.
There will be many inconstancies with the canon storyline, as you may have been already able to tell. That list will only grow, I'm sure of it.
While this story will follow through the normal canon storyline arcs, I plan on doing it quite differently. There is too many stories out there already that follow them, some even daring to only change a word or two from canon. I can assure you now, that I will change plenty more than that, if I even have them follow the arc at all.
Also, please no complaints on the pairing.