The crimson prince.
A 6-year old Uzumaki Naruto was currently sitting on the roof of one of the largest buildings in Konoha while observing the busy streets below. Unlike other kids, the whiskered blonde didn't have a smile on his face. It was the total opposite.
Instead of the usual child-like happiness that kids his age should have, a frown was visible that reflected an indifferent persona that no child should have.
Naruto observed the crowd below as he leaned forward on the rails. He raised his right hand and saw the healed slash mark on his wrist. This had been the result of one of the few attempts he had of ending his life. A life that he no longer wanted to partake since it was marred with suffering and hatred.
The villagers were blatant in their views of him as he strolled down the busy streets of Konoha. First, he didn't know why he was hated, ridiculed; and sometimes, attacked – beaten to an inch of his life. But no matter how much the mob left him bruised and wounded, it would just heal up the next day with no one the wiser.
In terms of history, Naruto didn't have much compared to other children who enjoyed the shelter and love that their parents showered them. As long as he could remember, he lived in one of the orphanages in the village. He stayed there for four years. Four years of loneliness and sadness. His caretakers didn't like him; they were obvious with their dislike by feeding him moldy food and gave him the smallest room with the barest of necessities – a broken bed, a tattered blanket, and a bug-infested pillow. His clothes could be considered as rags which the matron and the rest of the caretakers foisted on him. Considering that he was still a naïve boy then, he didn't care and treated it as kindness.
He endured it until he was thrown out by the matron to the unforgiving streets of Konohagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaf. Of course, the news of his leaving the orphanage reached the ears of his surrogate grandfather, the Sandaime Hokage, so he was given his very own apartment in one of the run-down apartments located in the village slums.
When Naruto looked back to that particular memory, he couldn't deny the fact that his current housing was loads better compared to his threadbare room in the orphanage.
The indifferent façade that he had now wasn't present a year ago. In fact, he had a bubbly personality that showed true smiles even to people who hated him. However, an attack that happened a year ago forced him to change. It forever took the naïve smiles and laughter to be replaced by an indifferent persona with no love for life.
The warm smiles were replaced by a cold frown that would chill anyone who saw it.
The warm blue eyes that reflected the happiness of life was no longer present to be replaced by a cold icy blue that would send shivers down anyone's spine.
It was a year ago that everything changed. The attacks got worse after he was thrown out of the orphanage. He would be chased by a rampaging mob which eventually grew in intensity when the people realized that the shinobis who were keeping guard of the village wasn't doing anything to stop it.
It was a year ago that he discovered the source of his misfortune.
It was a year ago that he discovered one of the village's most dark secrets.
It was a year ago that he was beaten to an inch of his life and finally found the source of his new outlook.
Fortunately, or unfortunately for him, a powerful blow from a shinobi knocked him unconscious. It was then that he met the beast that lay in wait inside of him.
The beast that would make hardened veteran shinobis wet their pants in fear.
The nine-tailed demon fox.
The Kyuubi no Yoko.
(Flashback)
Naruto opened his eyes. He didn't see the alley which was the scene of the current brutal attack to his person. No, he saw that he was in a sewer of some sort. He was currently lying down on a very wet floor. The walls were dirty with pipes all going to who knows where. It must have been a trick of the light but the pipes were glowing blue and red.
Despite popular belief, Naruto wasn't stupid. He was intelligent but he hid it since he didn't know how the villagers would take it if the most hated child in the Village Hidden in the Leaf had a brain between his ears. No, he hid it and kept on smiling like an idiot. Despite the beatings he got and the obvious hatred leveled at him, he held a child-like innocence hoping against hope that everything would turn out alright.
This current attack, however, was enough for him. No longer could he hold on to his innocence. This attack was more brutal than the rest and he couldn't deny the fact that the villagers this time was extra vindictive considering the type of weapons they were carrying and using at him.
Fortunately, or unfortunately in this case, one of the villagers who was beating the hell out of him with a rusty knife was able to voice out the reason of why he was being treated that way as each blow was dealt. It must have been the rage and anger that the villager was feeling that eventually gave way to the revelation.
He was the Kyuubi.
The demon.
The nine-tailed fox.
His intelligence, however, denied this as blows upon blows were rained down on him. He couldn't be the Kyuubi since he was his own person.
He was Uzumaki Naruto.
The village pariah.
He wasn't the Kyuubi and deep down, he knew this to be true.
He looked around and observed the place he was in. He knew that he wasn't in the sewers of Konoha. He knew the sewers like the back of his hand since the underground catacombs of the village was his safe haven and escape route when the mobs would start chasing him. He would look for the nearest manhole and jump in, making his way along the maze-like cavern until he reached the manhole that was near the Hokage Tower where he would immediately go to his surrogate grandfather, the Sandaime Hokage, for safety or his apartment where he would hide without a peep until the crowd grew tired of looking for him.
No, this wasn't the Konoha sewers that he grew to love. This was something else.
Not knowing anything else to do, he pushed himself off the wet floor and started walking. He didn't know where to go but he decided to just follow the pipes since they would eventually lead to somewhere. While he walked, he checked his body and was surprised to discover that the wounds and bruises that were supposed to be there were none to be found. He couldn't even feel any pain. He knew that he healed fast, but he knew that the healing wasn't that fast to get rid of the aftermath of the attack, especially one of this caliber. This was further made true when he discovered his clothes were still intact. His white t-shirt with the red whirlpool symbol in the middle was still in one piece and as clean as ever. His blue shorts were still there, protecting his modesty if he ever had one to begin with considering his status in the village. Modesty was for the privileged, after all.
He shrugged it off as one of life's many mysteries as he continued to follow the cavern to who knows where.
He didn't know how long he walked but he eventually reached the end of the metaphorical maze he was traversing. Naruto found himself in a large, spacious room. At the opposite side of the entrance was a very large cage with bars as thick as his malnourished body. In the middle of the cage where a lock was supposed to be had a square paper with the kanji of 'Seal' written in black ink.
Naruto's mind was whirling as to what the cage could be holding considering how fortified it was. In fact, the question of where he was currently at was pulled up again. But before he could do anything else, a powerful voice emanated from the darkness behind the bars.
"My container finally graced me with his presence." The voice growled from somewhere in the darkness and reverberated across the room, amplifying its intensity. "I was thinking that it would take a few years more before you would discover my presence but it seemed that the idiotic villagers have put you on the brink of life and death, forcing your consciousness to retreat deep within your mind."
Naruto didn't say anything but instead peered into the darkness to try to determine who owned the voice that spoke to him. It didn't take long for him to see a pair of gigantic eyes looking at him - a pair of red eyes that spoke of power and cunning that could never belong to a human.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked calmly. He was scared, sure, but he was tired of showing his fear. The current attack from the villagers hardened him to the point that his emotions were starting to become an echo, a memory that was better ignored or forgotten.
"Oh? Not scared are you?" said the voice, though this time; there was an amused quality to it as if it found his lack of fear laughable.
"I am scared but I'm tired of wearing my emotions on my sleeves." replied Naruto as he approached the cage though he stopped a few scant meters away from it before peering into the cage while willing the darkness to disappear so he could see who he was talking to.
"It seemed that the current idiocy of the villagers hardened my container." The voice mused though Naruto could feel a tinge of anger and rage behind it which confused him. Why was the voice angry that he was attacked?
"Container?" Naruto asked the voice.
"You already know who I am, boy." The voice growled at him. "I know that you have an intelligent mind, a prodigy you might say, that you chose to hide behind that stupid smile of yours. I know everything about you considering that I am inside you."
Naruto thought about what the voice said. The voice of the villager who mentioned that he was the Kyuubi echoed in his head. If the villager was correct then…
"Kyuubi?" Naruto asked while dread rose from deep inside his hardening heart. But despite the admission, which he instinctively knew was correct; he continued to hold his gaze at the menacing red eyes staring back at him.
Instead of an answer, the blonde could hear movement from deep within the cage. It didn't take long for the owner of the voice to show itself and Naruto couldn't help but stare at the powerful figure in front of him.
The owner of the menacing eyes was gigantic and the physical structure was something that he only read in books. The creature was covered in red-orange fur. The facial structure was that of a fox though the rest of body was of a human-like structure. Nine large tails were waving behind the creature as if it had a life of its own.
"You are correct, my container. I am the Kyuubi no Yoko. The nine-tailed demon fox." Said Kyuubi as it revealed itself to its container and looking down at Naruto with a shrewd grin on its face.
"Why are you here? Didn't the Yondaime kill you five years ago? Better yet, where are we?" asked Naruto as he coldly stared at the legendary creature in front of him. He knew that he should be scared considering the tales he heard concerning the beast trapped in the cage in front of him; but he wasn't. In fact, he was more curious than scared and it showed with a slight tilt of his head that made him look like a fox.
Of course, Kyuubi saw the gesture and couldn't help but give a fang-filled grin at the fox-like attitude its container was showing.
"To answer your question in order, I am here because I exist. The Yondaime didn't kill me but sealed me inside you since killing me was above his skills at that time nor it would ever reach such stage to deal me intense harm to purge my existence. And finally, we are inside your mind; or in this case, your soul." Answered Kyuubi as he sat down on his haunches, tails wrapped around him. The posture was intimidating, to say the least.
"My soul…" Naruto trailed off as he digested the information. "If that is the case then you're sealed inside me. Meaning, the villagers were correct in saying that I am you."
Kyuubi shook its head and released a growl of anger which was followed by a wave of red energy that pushed past Naruto though the boy stood his ground and refused to give in to the menacing power that threatened to engulf him.
"Don't insult me. You could never be me. Would a kunai placed in a storage scroll replace the name of the scroll? No human. You are not me. I am merely sealed inside you. You are my jailor, my container." Kyuubi explained with a growl.
Naruto simply nodded at the explanation, his mind already processing the possibility of having the most powerful bijuu sealed inside him. There were questions plaguing his mind and he knew that the fox wouldn't be forthcoming with the information despite it knowing what he needed to know.
"I see. So this is the reason why the villagers kept attacking me and showing me nothing but hatred." Naruto said coldly with narrowed eyes, his mind running through the memories of the experience he faced from the residents of Konoha.
Kyuubi looked at those cold eyes and couldn't help but shiver at the intensity behind them. The bijuu could see that the current attack, a step up from the previous attempt to destroy its container, hardened the child in front of him.
No, its container could never be considered a child. Despite the age, the child in front of him was clearly a man.
A man that grew up in hatred and suffering that no human should ever be forced to endure.
"You're correct, my container. However, that is neither here nor there. I'm sure you have questions in that prodigious mind of yours and you know that only I can grant you the answers you seek."
"Correct, Kyuubi. But I don't see you being forthcoming with the information unless you get something out of it. If you're really a fox then it would only stand to reason that you have the same mannerism as your animal kin." Naruto drawled, recalling the book on the various animals given to him by his surrogate grandfather when he was taught how to read while he was still in the orphanage. Of course, he picked it up rather quickly and his photographic mind processing all the information it contained and embedding it into his thoughts in crystal clarity.
Kyuubi was amazed. Gone was the child in front of him to be replaced by a cold calculating human who was forced to endure the harshness of life. This was going to an enjoyable relationship. The bijuu shuddered in pleasure at the potential the boy, no man, held in him; a potential that can only be rivaled by a tailed beast. Kyuubi couldn't wait to tell its container of his proposition and it knew that it would be well received.
"It seems that you know me well, my container. But despite what you think, my offer to answer your questions requires no payment. The 'seal' that keeps me inside you demands nothing less. You control everything and the only thing that was allowed of me by the Shinigami who supervised the sealing was access to your thoughts. The law of non-interference is in place and only you could lift it if you so desire." The Kyuubi explained to its contained with a fanged grin.
"I see. So you would answer all my questions despite your unwillingness to do so. Interesting." Naruto mused out loud while looking around the room he was in. He noted the dreary atmosphere surrounding him. If this was his mind the he needed to do something about it. "You said that this is my soul and my mind?"
"Yes." Kyuubi said with a nod, curious as to what its container was thinking.
The bijuu saw its container close his eyes followed by a deep concentration on his face. It was speechless when the cavern morphed into pure darkness. Gone was the sewer-like cavern. Gone was the cage that held him in place. It was like as if the two of them were standing in darkness with no solid footing whatsoever.
Slowly, the darkness receded to reveal a large forest. Great trees with heights that reached the heavens above surrounded the large clearing they were in. The wet floor was replaced by a grassy field with flowers dotting here and there to add to its overall beauty. The final change was a sudden heat that seemed to surround its neck. It didn't take long for a collar to materialize around it with a name tag with the kanji of 'Seal' on its face.
Kyuubi growled in anger at being treated like a dog, a pet. A memory surfaced from its mind. A memory of red eyes with three black tomoes before darkness claimed him before he was sealed into the child. It's moment of anger was dispelled when its container spoke.
"Interesting. You were right when you said that I control everything in this place, my mindscape, so to speak." said Naruto as he looked around before his eyes settled on the collar that the bijuu was wearing. "Now that is an interesting development. I didn't 'imagine' the piece of accessory on your neck. It seemed that there is more to the Shinigami's seal. No matter how much I change the looks of my mindscape, the seal keeping you in place would still manifest itself in one form or another."
Kyuubi relaxed after hearing that explanation from the blonde. Its container didn't purposely place the demeaning accessory around its neck. It would let this go since its container had nothing to do with it.
"You're correct, in a way." said Kyuubi as it lay down on the soft grass, inwardly relishing the feel of nature underneath him. It was so long ago that he felt such sensation from nature and welcomed it with child-like glee. The bijuu made itself comfortable and crossed its front paws in front of him as he regarded its container who was already seated on the piece of rock that materialized behind him. It couldn't deny the fact that Naruto was a prodigy if he could command such change within his mind in just a short span of time. Intelligent men couldn't even begin to grasp the control that the brat had. "So, boy. Tell me your questions and I will answer them to the best of my abilities."
Naruto stared at the fox for a few seconds before the first question of many escaped his lips.
"What's your name?"
Kyuubi was surprised at the question. The bijuu was expecting more serious questions but the boy asked its name first. Interesting.
"It seemed that you realized, how I don't know, that Kyuubi was a title and not my real name. I will humor you, human. My name is Kurama. A name given to me by my father."
"Father?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Yes, my father. The man that I owed my life to; the man that created me and the rest of my siblings; the man that is a legend of your kind; The Sage of the Six Paths, the Rikkudo Sennin."
Now this piece of information surprised the blonde. He read that the Sage of the Six Paths was the founder of Ninjutsu but he didn't know the real history behind the man and the tailed beasts.
"I think this would be an interesting story to tell." said Naruto, not voicing his intent on learning the truth of the tailed beast though he knew that the fox would eventually tell him.
"Indeed. If you're interested then listen well, human…"
"Naruto. If we are going to hold a decent conversation then you might as well address me by my name, Kurama."
Kyuubi nodded to the request.
"Naruto then. The story started with a great beast that ravaged the land when the Elemental Nations was still in its infancy. A beast that was even more powerful than I. The Juubi, the ten-tailed beast."
"Ten tails? Now that is one part of history that I haven't heard about."
"Of course you wouldn't since it happened a long time ago and was forgotten except for a few who loved to learn the true history of the world. But I digress, the Rikkudo Sennin, the man I considered as father, sealed the Juubi into his body, thus, making him the first jinchuuriki."
"Jinchuuriki? Is that the name of those who had a demon sealed inside their body?" asked Naruto while unconsciously placing a hand on his stomach, not knowing that it was there that the seal of the Kyuubi was located.
"Correct. But before I start, I commend you on having such knowledge. A five-year old such as yourself shouldn't know of such terms, more so understand them with ease." Kyuubi complimented its container.
"I grew up faster than most, Kurama. It is both a blessing and a curse to be born with a well-developed mind. It was wrong of me to hide it but I had no choice in the matter if I wanted to live. However, I don't think I have the drive to live anymore unless I find something that would push me to continue in this dreadful existence that people call life." Naruto said bitter, his face grew colder if it was possible.
"I have a proposition for you that you might find interesting but let me finish the story first since you expressed the desire to learn." said Kyuubi. Naruto nodded in agreement. "As I was saying, the Rikkudo Sennin, my father, was the first jinchuuriki which could be literally translated to 'Power of Human Sacrifice'." However, my father realized that the seal keeping the Juubi in place would shatter upon his death and release the demon again into the world of the living. So in order to avoid such powers from decimating the human race, my father used one of the techniques granted to him by the Rinnegan to separate the Juubi's chakra into nine entities. This gave birth to the tailed beasts that exist today."
"The Rinnegan?" Naruto asked curiously, unfamiliar with the word.
"The Rinnegan is the most powerful of the Three Great Eye Techniques that dwarfed the power of the Sharingan and Byakugan. According to my father, the Rinnegan allowed the user to have the power of Kami - the power of life and death, of creation and destruction. The Rikkudo Sennin used the creation powers of the Rinnegan to create nine living bodies to house the power of the Juubi, thus me and my brothers and sisters were born."
"Interesting. I never knew that there were other eye techniques aside from the Byakugan and Sharingan." said Naruto as he rubbed his chin, an action that Kyuubi found weird considering that said person doing it was a boy. More like a man trapped in a boy's body.
"There are other eye techniques aside from those three, minor ones with minor abilities that merited no distinction from the Great Three."
"I see. Thanks for answering my question, Kurama. Please continue."
"Anyway, the human race is prideful at best and couldn't stand the thought of having entities more powerful than them so thus began their goal to capture our powers and seal them into humans that they could control. However, we were too powerful for them and only father's descendants had the power to truly control us if the need arises."
"Descendants? The Rikkudo Sennin had children?" Naruto asked in excitement. This was a piece of history that no longer existed and he craved to learn more.
"Yes. It was hidden from the human race that the Rikkudo Sennin fathered three children who became legends in their own right. These three children were blessed by father with his own powers which manifested differently in all three of them. The firstborn was the father of the Senju Clan who inherited father's calming presence. This was the reason why Senju Hashirama had the power to subdue and calm us even when under the fit of rage. His Mokuton bloodline was the manifestation of father's power in him."
"The second born was the father of the Uchiha Clan and was gifted with father's eye, though it mutated to become the Sharingan as it is known today. The eye held its own unique abilities depending on the owner's power and mindset but its ultimate power towards the tailed beast was to put us in an illusion to trigger the rage we inherited from the Juubi. However, such power was sealed until the Sharingan's ultimate level is unlocked."
"Finally, the youngest son was the father of the Uzumaki Clan and gifted by father's god-like body. This was one of the reasons why the Uzumaki Clan was the fit holder of the tailed beast since they inherited the Sage's tolerance towards the bijuu's potent chakra. A side-effect to this is their healing factor and potent chakra reserves which you display in abundance, as well as their longer life span."
"So you mean that my ability to heal rapidly from the various wounds I sustained from the attacks was because of the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline?" Naruto asked, mind already processing the information Kurama imparted to him.
"Yes and no. You have the healing factor that is unique to your clan alone but it was further amplified by my presence inside you. It is known for a jinchuuriki to display the traits of the tailed beasts inside of them, like Shukaku's jinchuuriki who had complete dominion over sand and wind."
"So what did I get from you if each jinchuuriki displayed unique traits according to the bijuu sealed inside them?"
"Aside from the boost on your healing abilities that would be an invaluable asset in the battlefield, you have the ability to properly to reach a certain level of master over your régénération that you would become a pseudo immortal."
"Hmmm… that is interresting, but that is not all you are offering me is it?"
"Correct. I also offer to teach you how to use chakra at its fullest, I am one of the oldest beings alive in the world and I was sealed inside two other Uzumakis so I should be able to impart some of their knowledge on you, but we must keep this a secret for now at least."
"I agree with you there. There are only a few I trust in this village - the Hokage which I treat like a grandfather, the Ichiraku Family, and some of the shinobis in the village who protected me from the attacks." said Naruto as he mentally listed the few people who he considered precious to him.
"I know. As I told you, Naruto, I have access to your memories so everything that you experienced is known to me."
"Hmmm." Was Naruto's reponse before nodding. "So, Kurama, when would this lessons begin?" asked Naruto with a little bit of excitement in his voice.
"As soon as you're ready, Naruto. But I suggest that we hold that thought for now since I sensed something else being with us here." and both of them at the source of a beautiful laughter, Naruto was completely overtaken by surprise because in front of him was a goddess given flesh, she was a pale-skinned young woman with icy blue eyes. She has long, crimson hair, which is partially tied up in the back in a long bun and falls behind her shoulders while a strand falls between her eyes, and is parted on the left side of her head by a blue, star-shaped hair clip. She wears a red kimono with large sleeves and a long hem, and has a pale yellow-green obi wrapped around her waist which is attached to a large, pale purple bow on her back.
"wh...who are you?" stuttered Naruto with a blush on his face, the woman was breathtakingly beautiful.
"hello Naruto kun, my name is Benehime and you can say That I am a part of you."
"a part of him, what do you mean?" asked kyubi
"well you see kyubi san, Tge mixture of Naruto kun's chakra alongside with yours created me a,dans gave me sentinence, I am a part of Naruto, the embodiment of his fighting spirit and hisndesire to protect others." and both the bijuu and the five years old child accepted her explanation since they could feel their chakra inside her.
"as much as would like to continue this delighteful conversation we will have to try another time since it's time for Naruto kun to wake up."
Naruto agreed with that. He could sense his consciousness inside his mindscape wavering, meaning that he was waking up in the real world. He gave Kurama a smile which was his true smile.
"Thank you for being forthcoming with me, Kurama. I will see you soon." said Naruto before disappearing from the midscape. He opened his eyes in the real world and found himself in a familiar room with white-washed walls. He turned his head to see the Hokage looking at him with a worried look on his face.
(Flashback end)
Naruto could clearly remember that day more than a year ago when he met Kurama for the first time. He didn't know it at that time but he gained two friends, two friends that helped him hold on to life despite the fact that he wanted to release himself from the mortal coil and join his parents in the afterlife.
"I didn't know that you held us in such high regard, Naruto."said Kurama in the bowels of his mind.
"me neither Naruto kun." said the sentinent sword.
"Of course I do, Kurama." Naruto mentally replied as his eyes strayed to the scar on his wrist. "I cursed myself for having such a potent bloodline from my ancestors since my actions of ending my life didn't work as well as I had hoped. If you weren't there then I would have thrown myself in a volcano just to end my pitiful existence. To be honest, you gave me a reason to live so that is why I'm still alive right now."
"And that reason would be?" Kurama asked though the bijuu already knew the answer to that but this constant reminder would help his container cling to life and cease the pitiful attempts of cutting it short.
"To be strong. Stronger than anyone in the Elemental Nation. To protect myself and those I deem worthy and those that are precious to me." Naruto replied with determination.
"If that is the case then I suggest that we mosey along to your hidden training ground so we can get started with today's lesson." said Kurama with a little excitement in the bijuu's voice.
"Lesson?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Since you already had complete control over your chakra then me and the princess will be teaching you to use in the various shinobi arts."
Naruto didn't say anything but if one looked closer, they would see an excited gleam in his cold blue eyes. Giving the fox a mental nod, he pushed himself away from the rail and turned. He took a single step before disappearing from the roof towards his secret place to train with Kurama.
Time skip 1year
It had been one year since Naruto started his training under both Kurama and Benehime, and they saw that Naruto was a gentle of talent, his chakra control was nearly flawless, enough for Naruto to be med nin level, Kurama thought him bit about that, one was not sealed within the wife of one of the best médias nins to ever live and did not learn a thing or two about medicine. But to both Benehime's and Kurama's glee, Naruto's talents were in the fuinjutsu Kekkai jutsu and kenjutsu departements. That was not to say that he ducked in the other fields being a shinobi, just that he had a speciality. Speaking of Benehime she turned out to be a sword, Usually when sealed, Benihime is a beige-colored shikomizue (a blade hidden inside a cane) with a curved handle and silver base. As the blade resides in a cane, the cane's handle is still the hilt and the shaft is the sheath, the command to unseal his Benehime is Awaken (okiro)
Benehime takes the form of a sleek, medium-sized sword. The hilt's grip, which has a gentle black-decorative wrapping, bends forward at the end, with a pommel shaped overlap three times, and a crimson tassel dangling from its base. Instead of a tsuba, there is a U-shape guard covering three inches of blade, with a flower petal design. At the base of the guard is a red string wrapped thrice around the hilt, with a three-loop bow on the back side and a folded paper decoration on the front side. The blades hamon is straight, colored black with a silver edge. It remains straight and slim with a somewhat short size, with the tip ending in a slanted razor-like edge instead of tapering to a point.
As for training, he spent most of it learning kenjutsu under Benehime how to wield her at her fullest potentiel, thanks to the kyubi his muscles and body were better than most seven year olds. Now Naruto was going towards his jiji to enjoy his company.
