Inuzuka Kiba ran beside his friend and mission companion, Naruto Uzumaki. They were in hot pursuit of a powerful ninja named Ketsuniku Enmu, who had decided to run for it after their last encounter. Tsunade-sama had not known that their target was so powerful, and thus had not sent a very big squad after the offender. But luckily, Kiba was able to have Akamaru rush back with a note to the Hokage, and now backup was on its way.
"Do you need to stop, Kiba?" asked Naruto, looking at his teammate. Since he had the Kyuubi sealed inside him, his chakra had not been so badly drained in the last battle, and the majority of his injuries were healing quickly. However, the shinobi at his side did not have the reserves of chakra he did, and most of the dog-nin's attacks depended upon Akamaru for help.
"No, Naruto. I'll be fine," said the brown-haired boy. His dark eyes were tired, but glittered with determination. "That man and his cohorts destroyed four villages prior to the last one–we can't let him get away."
Naruto nodded, and looked ahead. They were reaching the end of the forest now, and they could see their target, who also seemed to be wearing down.
"Found you!" called the blonde nin, tossing a shuriken towards his foe. Ketsuniku was panting, but moved out of the way quick enough. He glanced over his shoulder, and Kiba could see the anger in his cold eyes. The man skidded to a halt, jumping down into a nearby field and turning to face his enemies.
Both chuunin landed on the ground gracefully, staring at the man. He was tall and bulky, with strong muscles and a toned body. His black hair was swept back in a ponytail, making his Mist headband stand out, and there was a big scar running down the left side of his face. He held a large katana in his hand, and the weapon glittered in the dying sunlight. This was the first that the two Konoha nins had seen the sword, since he had let his comrades do all the fighting in the last battle. Now all of his protection was dead, and he was alone.
"You should just give up now. More of us will be arriving soon, and we'll outnumber you even more than we do now, old man." said Naruto, folding his arms across his chest with a smug grin. He wanted to attack, but also wanted to prevent battle as much as he could so that Kiba could take a minute to regain his strength.
Ketsuniku laughed, swinging his blade up in a fierce arc.
"Do you think I fear two brats like you? That I'll put my tail between my legs and come quietly?" he said menacingly, and the blade in his hand began to glow with chakra.
"So that's how he was able to slice those buildings in half," murmured Kiba, studying the chakra blade. "That kind of weapon requires immense chakra control and strength. The fact that he can wield it after all he's gone through today is baffling."
Naruto looked at his friend, then back to the Mist ninja. He was more worried now.
'Hurry, Kakashi-sensei,' he prayed, waiting for his opponent to strike.
With a loud war cry, Ketsuniku rushed forward, lashing out with his sword. Naruto and Kiba leapt out of the way, drawing their weapons.
"Naruto-kun, try to avoid getting near that sword. It's chakra extends beyond the blade, and can cut you deeper and easier than a scalpelཀ" called Kiba, before beginning to scramble up a tree. He was gripping a kunai in his mouth, and drew out some explosive seals the minute he reached a relatively high branch. He began to map out the area, looking for places to set the seals so that they could be activated accurately. It was Naruto's job to distract the enemy while Kiba made his plans, then lead the target into the traps. The blonde was secretly glad that his partner would be able to rest, then made his hand-seals.
"Kage-bunshin no jutsu!" he cried, and a clone appeared beside him, making swirling motions with its hands to form a powerful ball of chakra in the chuunin's palm. All advise he had been given was gone from him now, as he charged forward, the clone helping him.
"Great Ball Rasengan!" he cried, aiming for the mist ninja's body. While Ketsuniku tried to jump out of the way, the force of the strong jutsu still had its affect, slicing through part of the man's clothing to burn his arm.
Since he missed his target, Naruto cut off the swirling mass of chakra and fell forward. With a small poof, the clone beside him vanished. He got up, panting as more scratches were added to his face and body. He glanced up, and saw Kiba attaching seals to kunai, preparing to throw them at the areas he had plotted out. He needed a little more time, and Naruto would give it to him.
Ketsuniku charged again, and Naruto dashed to the side, drawing the ninja away from the tree where Kiba was. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a weapon fly through the air, hitting the ground a little ways away. Slowly but surely, more followed, each time only when the mist nin wasn't looking. At last, the dog-nin landed onto the grass lightly, looking refreshed. He caught Naruto's eye, and nodded.
Darting away from a well-aimed slice of Ketsuniku's sword, the blonde chuunin rushed over to his friend.
"Where are they?" he whispered, as the two continued to avoid the large katana as much as possible.
Kiba explained the general outlook of the clearing, and where he had set the seals. Now they had to start the difficult task of leading their enemy into the traps without him getting wise.
The mist ninja attacked again, going after the brunette–it was obvious that he was the weaker of the two. The boy sensed him coming, and gracefully danced away from him, dodging well-aimed blows from the katana with expert skill. \
"Rasengan!" came the cry from Naruto, catching the attacker off-guard. Ketsuniku flew back with the force of the attack, and came skidding to a halt just feet away from where one of the seals were.
"Kaihou!" yelled Kiba, forming a handsign.
The bushes near the mist ninja exploded, and Naruto smiled grimly.
"That should take care of–nani?!" he cried, watching in disbelief as the older man got to his feet. His face was bleeding, and there were bruises already starting to form on his arms and legs, but he seemed alright.
"Do you think such petty tricks can beat me?" asked the man with an evil smirk. Then he charged again, his sword once more glowing with chakra.
Naruto tried to get away, but he wasn't fast enough. Luckily, the blade didn't touch his skin, but the chakra barely grazed him. He fell to the ground in pain, his right arm bleeding profusely. It was a searing agony, much like the time Kabuto had cut the muscles in his arms and legs. Indeed, it was most likely the same thing.
"Naruto-kun!" yelled Kiba, who was ducking and twisting to dodge the strikes of the katana. He was panting, his forehead slick with sweat. Kami, where the FUCK was that backup? He needed Akamaru back, dammit! It was then that the ground fell out from underneath him as Ketsuniku swiped his legs on the ground, knocking the young chuunin off his feet. Caught by surprise, he fell hard and painfully, shards of rock scraping the skin of his palms and arms. Winded, he couldn't move fast enough as the chakra blade sliced across his chest. He screamed once as white-hot pain flooded his body, but the sound cut off abruptly into a thick gurgling sound as blood filled his lungs. He struggled to breathe, but was hit across the face with the mist ninja's fist, which sent his body flying. His head hit the trunk of the tree he had sheltered in earlier, and he knew no more.
Naruto had turned his head at Kiba's scream, and his eyes were wide as he watched his teammate fall unconscious near the old tree. He snarled, and got to his feet, ignoring the stab of pain from his arm. He needed to make sure Kiba was alright. He hurried over to him quickly, hearing the self-satisfied laughter of Ketsuniku as the ninja ran off into the trees. Naruto stopped, looking from the unconscious dog-nin to the quickly retreating back of the attacker. He had to decide whether to carry out the mission, or fail it by helping his friend. Knowing that he'd never live with himself if he did nothing, he knelt down beside the fallen chuunin.
"Kiba?" he said as he touched the brunette's shoulder, but the boy's eyes remained closed. There was a deep gash across his chest that was bleeding profusely, and there were lines of blood coming from his mouth.
"K-Kiba? Hey, c'mon Dog Breath, this isn't the time for games." he said nervously, waiting for his friend's eyes to snap open and to whoop loudly at pulling the wool over his eyes, but it didn't come. Naruto prodded the boy's shoulder, and then pulled the body into his arms. This was bad. Why hadn't he ever learned medical jutsu?
He lowered the side of his head near his friend's mouth, and blue eyes widened when he felt no warm air on his ear. He put two fingers at Kiba's neck, holding his breath. He felt no pulse, and the boy still wasn't waking up.
"N-no . . ." he whispered, pulling his friend's body against his own. Blood seeped into his clothing, leaving large stains across his jacket. Tears rolled down his face as he rocked back and forth, holding the apparently lifeless body in his arms. He had never given thought to the fact that Kiba might one day die. Just the idea of life without the loud-mouthed brunette made his heart ache. The thought of never seeing those ebony eyes alight with mischief, never being able to playfully banter back and forth with endearing insults, Oh, Kami, it hurt! The blonde was shaking badly, and suddenly threw back his head and screamed; a loud wail that filled the air with its furious anguish.
When he opened his eyes, they were no longer blue, but crimson red, with slits in them like a cat's. The whisker scars were growing, darkening as they did so, and his fangs elongated into sharp points. He laid down Kiba's body gently then rose to his feet, his brow furrowed and his fangs bared.
"KETSUNIKU!" he screamed, his body beginning to glow with red chakra. It surrounded his entire body, giving him the appearance of a strange, one-tailed fox. He fell to all fours, shooting off after the mist ninja with incredible speed. His senses were heightened, and he found the scent-trail of the murderer within minutes. A bloodthirsty grin spread across his features, and he continued down that path. He could soon hear the harsh pants of his prey, and he upped his pace. As he ran, a second tail of chakra began to form behind him, and his nails grew longer, sharper, and stronger.
Naruto found himself in another clearing, with the mist ninja backed against a huge rock wall. The little piece human left in him recognized Mount Takemuri, a very tall and difficult-to-climb mountain. There would be nowhere for the enemy to go.
"You murderous bastard!" he screamed, his body pulsing with the red chakra shield.
Ketsuniku raised an eyebrow with feigned indifference, but there was fear in his eyes.
"So you're the nine-tails, ne? I bet the Akatsuki would give me a reward for bringing them your corpse," he said scathingly, trying to push aside his fear with laughter.
With a roar of anger, a third tail sprouted behind the blonde ninja, and his lips pulled back in a fierce, enraged snarl. Inside his mind, the human and the demon began a battle for dominance, and stabs of agony shot through his entire body.
On the outside, the mist ninja recoiled as waves of chakra struck him, making him cry out in pain and confusion. How was it that the brat was able to hurt him without doing anything?
Still trying to maintain control, Naruto leaped at his enemy, a large rasengan in his palm. It glowed with blue and red chakra intermixed together, and he hit his target head on. He smirked with satisfaction as Ketsuniku went crashing into the base of the mountain with a loud, sickening crunch. Before the man could get up, the chuunin was on him, punching and biting every bit of skin within reach. All that he could see in his mind's eye were flashbacks of the young dog-nin that this man had killed so ruthlessly. His friend, teammate, his partner-in-crime . . . his koishii. Beloved.
With the hatred and anguish burning his throat, a fourth tail formed, and the human Naruto was lost. The demon fox was the alpha male now, and he wanted blood. The chakra shield burned brighter, and Ketsuniku's screams began to fill the air as the chakra burned and poisoned his skin. Naruto's own skin was constantly burning and renewing, and his blood mixed with the shield, making it much stronger and more potent. He no longer looked human, but like a fox, with almost no part of his human self being visible. As his old sensei Jiraiya once described, Naruto now looked like a miniature version of the demon fox.
Loud snarls and feral growls were all that came out of the chuunin's mouth now, and he ripped and tore at his prey. Spurred on by the blood-curdling shrieks of his captive, a fifth and finally a sixth tail formed, giving the fox much more power. The light from the shield was now so bright and powerful that it could be seen for miles. It's fire stripped the bark from trees, singed grass and plants on the ground, and killed any of the creatures in the surrounding area. Long after the mist ninja had died from poison, fire, and blood-loss, the powerful, angry teen continued to beat and assault the body. Blood and ashes were everywhere, coating the entire clearing with their crimson and ebony pigments.
When Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno, Shikamaru Nara, Rock Lee, Iruka Umino, Neji Hyuuga, and Maito Gai arrived, Pakkun the nin dog and Akamaru in their wake, they found the flayed and utterly destroyed corpse of Ketsuniku. He was unrecognizable from the way he was splattered across the clearing, making even Sakura have to run to the bushes to throw up at the gory sight.
The ninja team split up, searching for their comrades. They eventually found a half-dead Naruto, huddled next to his teammate. When the Konoha ninjas approached, the boy leaped onto all fours, protecting the body of Kiba beneath him. It seemed that he had gone back to protect him after destroying Ketsuniku. His lips were pulled back in a snarl, and his eyes were feral and wild. His forehead protector was gone, and he was covered in blood.
"Naruto-kun?" asked Iruka, his brown eyes wide and horrified as he looked at his old student.
Recognition flickered briefly in the blue eyes, but when the academy teacher took a step forward, the snarl deepened and Naruto lunged forward with a growl. Iruka stepped back in fear, and the blonde calmed a little.
"Lee, you are the fastest here. Fetch Tsunade-sama as quick as you can," said Kakashi quietly, turning to the young jounin.
"H-hai," said Lee shakily, as he sat on the ground. He removed the weights from around his calves, then shot off like a bullet. Within minutes, he was back, not even out of breath.
"Hokage-sama says to try and approach Naruto-kun, and if that does not work, then to wait for her. But, if he gets violent, we are to evacuate immediately." he said.
The ninja all looked at each other grimly, then to the boy standing over the kunoichi. Sakura came back, wiping her hand across her mouth.
"Is he dead?" she asked, pointing to the body of Kiba.
"It seems that way, but Naruto has the same attitude of an animal guarding its wounded mate, so he may still be alive," said Pakkun, licking a brown paw as he observed the scene. Akamaru was at his side, whimpering, and it was obvious that he wanted to go over and be with his owner.
Again, Iruka walked forward, saying soothing words to his old student. He went slowly and quietly, with his palms up and out in a gesture of peace. However, he only got so far before Naruto stood, arching his back up like a cornered cat, and he snapped at the air furiously in warning. With that, the brown-haired chuunin retreated, and the rescue team all sat and waited for Tsunade, keeping a close eye on the wild ninja before them. Once sure that Iruka would not try and approach anymore, Naruto laid down next to Kiba, licking the blood from his face with tenderness. There were tears in his eyes, but he said nothing. He seemed to have lost the ability to speak.
When the Fifth Hokage arrived, the ninjas rose to their feet slowly, so as not to startle and provoke a violent reaction from the Kyuubi vessel.
"What shall we do, Tsunade-sensei?" asked Sakura, with a slight bow to her master.
"The condition of Inuzuka?" asked the blonde woman, digging through the pouches around her waist.
"Unknown. We could not approach more than ten feet away from them. Although, Pakkun says that there is a slight possibility that he lives," said Iruka sadly, his brown eyes deeply concerned.
"Then we have no choice. We will have to anger Naruto-kun to draw him away from the body. We will capture and subdue him, then minister emergency treatment to the other boy until we can get him back to the ICU," said Tsunade evenly, her lips hardened in a tight line. She didn't like doing this to her gaki-chan, but she would do what she must for the well-being of others–it was her responsibility as Hokage.
"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" came the chorused reply from all the Konoha nins. Iruka's brown eyes widened in grief, but he nodded and stepped beside Kakashi.
Naruto jumped in surprise at the sudden loud sounds and jerky movements, and began to bristle and growl threateningly. It was obvious that he didn't like how the people around him were acting. He watched them warily, but gave a start as he realized that a few of them were missing. He looked around, sniffing the air and listening intently, but he was soon distracted by some of the ninjas running at him. He snarled, leaping for the closest one.
"NOW!" came the loud cry from Tsunade, while Kakashi, Gai, and Neji leaped out of the trees and sped towards the blonde. The jounin's battle cries filled the air, and the three picked up their pace.
Naruto tried to turn and defend himself, but growled in frustration as he found that he couldn't move. His body seemed paralyzed, and he was helpless to any attacks, now that he was caught in Shikamaru's Shadow Possession Jutsu. He was suddenly released, but before he could move, he cried out as he was hit by Neji, who began to sharply and accurately cut off the blonde chuunin's chakra points.
Sakura and Tsunade rushed over to Kiba, Pakkun and Akamaru at their sides. The Godaime's hands glowed with healing chakra, and the pink-haired girl at her side knelt and pressed her ear to the unconscious boy's chest, her hand going to the neck to check for a pulse. She closed her eyes, concentrating intently. After a few minutes, she spoke.
"There's a heartbeat, but it's so faint that it's hard to hear. I can't even feel it at any of his pulse points," said Sakura, sitting up and wiping blood from the side of her face. She looked up at her sensei, who nodded and joined her. The Hokage pressed her hands to Kiba's chest, with her student soon joining in as the two women began to do all they could to stabilize the boy.
Naruto had slumped to the ground, unable to move, without even thinking of calling on the Kyuubi for chakra–his mind was nothing that it used to be. All the same, he still tried to struggle as much as he could, his stress already letting the Demon within him think that his life was in imminent danger. His body slowly began to glow as power began to unblock the damage done by Neji's Eight Trigrams, as well as fight against the now renewed kagemane jutsu.
"Hurry, Tsunade-sama! It's already starting to wear off!" cried Shikamaru, who was straining to keep the shadow manipulation maintained. However, his target was stronger than he was, as well with many more reserves of chakra, which made it impossible to keep the paralysis in effect. Kakashi, Gai, Lee, and Iruka were trying to prevent the blonde from escaping, with Neji panting and getting ready to perform his techniques again.
Tsunade straightened, the body of Kiba now thrown over her shoulder. She hurried over to the group, putting her palm on Naruto's head.
"Sleep," she commanded, using the same jutsu that Kabuto had once used at the Chuunin Exams.
The blonde eyes misted over, and the boy fell into unconsciousness. Iruka picked up his old student, cradling him in his arms and fighting back tears.
Kiba awoke, his vision blurred. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head, looking around. He recognized a hospital room, which was filled with sunlight. He sat up, grimacing at the slight pain it caused him. He looked down, and saw a huge bandage across his chest. Memories flooded back, and he touched the wrappings gingerly. It didn't hurt very badly, so he gathered that he must have been out for a while for the wound to have healed this much. The door opened then, and he looked up, seeing a nurse come in. The woman's pretty face beamed with delight, and she hurried over, putting one hand to Kiba's forehead and checking his pulse with the other.
"So you've awakened, ne?" she said pleasantly. "And you sound and look good."
"How long have I been out?"
"About ten days. You're a lucky one, Inuzuka-san," said the nurse, bustling around and making little marks on a chart beside the hospital bed.
"What about Naruto-kun? And what happened to Ketsuniku?" asked Kiba, leaning back against his pillows, looking slightly put out that he'd missed the big finale. He'd really wished Naruto could've waited until he woke up to kill the bastard. He'd really wanted to give that guy a good kick up the–
His thoughts were interrupted when he caught sight of the nurse's face, which was dark with worry and fear. Not liking this, Kiba opened his mouth to demand to be told what happened, but was instantly stopped.
"He's alive, but more than that I cannot tell you. I will send for Tsunade-sama to finish healing your wound, and you can ask her. She will inform you on the situation," said the nurse, shaking her head. "Now, rest. I will be back later."
Kiba's eyes followed the nurse all the way out of the room, then he slumped down under his covers. So, Naruto was alive, but did that mean anything? From the sound of it, something was severely wrong with him. What was it? A coma? Disease? A fatal injury? He stared at the ceiling, trying not to think of the terrible "what ifs" in his head.
Oh, why did he have to be so weak? He felt so useless! If he'd only been more alert and hadn't let Ketsuniku swipe his feet from under him. If only he'd had Akamaru there! He sighed deeply, beating himself up before falling into a fitful sleep, the plight of his friend haunting his dreams.
It was dusk when a hand lightly shook his shoulder, awakening him from dreadful nightmares. He sat up, and was surprised to find that there was no pain this time. A light was on in the room, and the fifth Hokage sat in a chair beside him.
"Tsunade-samaཀ How's Naruto-kun? What's wrong with him? The nurse would tell me nothing and–" he began, but was silenced by a hand.
"A lot has happened since you've been unconscious, Kiba. You were at Death's door when we got to you, and it was difficult to tell whether you were alive or not. Because of this, we believe that Naruto thought that you were dead," said Tsunade, her amber eyes grim. "Bent on getting revenge for your 'murder', he released the Nine-Tails to kill Ketsuniku. However, we think that he went a bit too far, releasing too much of the chakra for his body to handle," here, the blond woman stopped and closed her eyes. She sighed deeply, and looked at the young chuunin directly before continuing.
". . . Because of the excess stress and possession by the Kyuubi, Naruto has gone insane."