Disclaimer – I don't own the Naruto franchise

Breaking down

"Naruto, do you know why all the villagers hate you?"

"Stop Mizuki, don't tell Naruto anything!"

"It's because inside you there is a demon, the spirit of the fox with nine tails, the one who killed the fourth hokage and even your dear teacher parents."

"Naruto, don't listen to him, Naruto! Mizuki damn you, how could you do such a thing to a child like Naruto?"

"Stupid Iruka, that child is in the end a demon, you will not be able to change that. Now you even have the chance to kill him yourself, if you want I can lend you a hand." Grinning Mizuki said with interest.

"What stupid things are you saying, he is my student, I will protect him with my own life."

Hearing Iruka words Mizuki knew he didn't had the chance to see Iruka killing Naruto. "Very well, I don't have anything to do with you now so I'm leaving. Naruto is already broken so I had my share of fun. Bye, the next time we see I will kill you and the entire Konoha."

"Stop, get back here." Iruka tried to run after Mizuki when Mizuki threw a few kunais. The kunais were not heading to Iruka but instead to Naruto. Sensing Mizuki intention Iruka went back and protected Naruto. But because of his actions Mizuki disappeared. Giving up on running after Mizuki, Iruka sent a message to Hokage that Mizuki stole the scroll and was running away from the village.

"Hopefully, the ANBU will be able to catch him. Now, Naruto, please listen to me.."turning around to see Naruto, Iruka felt a cold chill running down his spine. Naruto was emotionless, his eyes devoid of the light of life. Screaming his name over and over Iruka tried to make him get back to his senses. Sadly it was not possible. The child only fell in Iruka arms in a comatose like state. He didn't know what happened to Naruto after he heard what Mizuki said. For him that moment changed his life.

The voices around Naruto started to slowly fade out from the moment he heard the words Mizuki spit out. The emotionless eyes, uncommon to him, were now starring down at empty space. Suddenly, Naruto arrived in front of two high gates locked by a seal after being pulled in by a strong force.

"Hello, Naruto. Welcome." From behind the gates, from inside the deep darkness, the voice came with a hint of mockery.

"What-what are you?" Naruto looked in the darkness trying to find the source of the voice. Fear was gripping his heart so hard it was almost crushed, and his body was stuck to the place he arrived.

"How cold are you? I, who was with you longer than any parent is with his child is not recognized by his own son?" The sound of laughter was heard from inside the darkness. A cold laughter full of malice. "Child, my name is Kyuubi. The demon who killed your father and mother, the one who killed the parents of your teacher, the monster resented by all. The one that resides inside your own body."

"N-no way, why would someone like you be here? This is just a nightmare, yes, just a nightmare, I will wake up soon and go with Iruka-sensei to eat some ramen and tell him about this. He will hear what I will say and buy me another portion of ramen to make me happier." Naruto was starting to break down. Feeling this, his mind tried to convince himself that everything was in illusion. Because a smile always protected his true feelings he tried to smile and relax, but this time it wasn't possible and a mad like grin was stuck to his face. Lastly, his efforts were crushed to nothing in just one second when once again the demon started laughing.

"You foolish child, I'm not lying to you. I am here. I am with you. I am you!"

"NO NO NO, you are lying. It can't be true."

"Remember the hatred you felt when those villagers where ignoring you, when they were accusing you of simply existing. Remember how you felt the need to see them destroyed, killed, fallen in despair when their own pitiful lives were crushed under your power. Do you think that a normal child would be able to feel that? This seal can keep my chakra and mind from affecting you, but my emotions are part of you, you stupid child." Strangely the voice the demon had changed, becoming softer and gentler. It sounded like he felt empathy for Naruto.

"No, no, no, no ..." Naruto was young, but had a heart that was filled with hatred for those that despised his entire existence. Trying to ignore the hatred he created a fake love that stopped him from breaking down because of the sadness. But because of the demon fox Naruto wasn't able to ignore his true feelings. Everything around him seemed to crumble with each word the demon spoke.

"Naruto, young child, the hatred you feel is not different from mine. Because of this I don't hate you, I only despise the fact that I'm trapped because everyone sees me as a weapon only to be used in their wars. Their greed is so strong that because I defended myself I became the demon. Because of this, you are also called a demon. We both share the same fate, so I will give you three choices. But first, wake up." From behind the gate a cold gust of wind went through the barrier and hit Naruto's frail body. From the chaos of his own heart who only knew of despair and hatred, Naruto was brought back by the words of the fox.

With a weak voice the child asked "What choices?"

"Three, even if normally I would only give one, I will give you three. First one is simple, give me your body and I shall bring despair upon those that hurt you. By doing this you will lose yourself and disappear. This is the choice that I would normally give. A choice full of compassion as I'm not bound to you by rules that dictates me to respect your wishes. But this choice would also make you disappear. The second choice, free me, it's not hard to undo the seal if you injure the seal itself, by stabbing the seal on the surface of your skin enough for it to fade I would be able to gain my freedom. Like this, you would be freed from the demon everyone despises, but at the same time you will lose a high power. Now Naruto, I'm giving you a third choice, I will help you gain power, a power stronger than myself or any other ninja. Like this if you still wish to kill all the villagers from Konoha, I will help you attain this wish, but it's hardly possible for you to still wish something like this after you attain my power."

Naruto who listened to the words of the demon now was curious "Why not?"

"It's simple, foolish child, the way you are now, it will take years to gain power and you would still have to rely on luck to win your battles. Your mind tried to ignore the pain and because of this created a new personality. One that always tries to make fun of his own pain, that believes blindly in friendship and values trust more than anything. The truth is Naruto" the voice now was full of sadness and regret "I know that deep inside this you resent all of your actions, even your feelings of wishing to become the Hokage, the one who will protect the ones that hurt you. So I will give a part of my wisdom of having lived for thousands of years that will awake your true feelings from their deep slumber. This choice is also the riskiest for you. Before I leave this cursed prison to help you, you will have to enter inside my cage and accept my chakra inside your heart and mind." Slowly walking to the front of the gate Naruo now saw for the first time the demon fox. The red eyes with their strange luster created an aura of blood thirst around the gate that also affected Naruto.

"I .." intimidated by the presence of the demon fox that was tens of times higher than him in size and a lot more stronger, Naruto found it hard to even say his opinion.

"I ... want you to teach me." The child was scared, he felt like any of the choices was dangerous, and the last one, as the demon fox said was truly the most dangerous. But he gave up already. So even if he was cheated he was prepared to lose his life.

"Alright, then wake up, remember this place, I brought you here now because your mind almost broke down, but its not possible when you are fully conscious. You need to search me with your mind and I will guide you. Wait until morning to decide." With a gentle voice that seemed impossible for the demon fox to use, Naruto was guided outside the place where his mind felt like it was trapped.

In the next moment Naruto's conscience went back to its stable position. When he opened his eyes he was on the back of his sensei.

"Iruka-sensei." With a weak voice Naruto ascertained the identity of the one carrying him.

"Naruto, you finally woke up." putting Naruto down next to a fence Iruka turned to see him."Are you alright? Does it hurt anywhere?"

Naruto who saw the worried Iruka smiled knowing that at least a person was always by his side. "Thank you Iruka-sensei. Thank you for taking care of me."

The strange smile, more mature than the usual grinning that apparently was fixed on Naruto's face, made Iruka feel like something changed but couldn't understand what exactly..

"Don't worry Naruto, here I have a gift for you" saying this he undid the headband that was on his own head and slowly put it around the Naruto's head. "Fromo now on, you are a proud ninja of Konoha." Grinning Iruka said.

"W-why? I didn't pass the exam. And because of me Mizuki stole the scroll from the Hokage." A surprised voice came from Naruto. Rows of tears were falling on his white cheeks.

"Don't worry, while I was carrying you an ANBU member told me that Mizuki has been captured a few moments after he left. The scroll is back to our Hokage. It seems the Hokage has been following us and told the ANBU to wait and see how will you react. After Mizuki left he told the AMBU to catch him and now everything is the way it should have been. And the test doesn't matter now, you are a ninja, I can say this to anyone without feeling shame." The smile on the face of Iruka only broadened.

Crying Naruto spoke "Thank you Iruka-sensei."

"Don't worry, you are my student. If you want I will bring you the hospital, I was heading there before you woke up. Do you want to go there?" A concerned Iruka asked.

Shaking his head Naruto spoke "No, I want to go home and rest."

"Alright, I will bring you there now."

The rest of the journey went in silence. After they arrived at Naruto's place Iruka checked the him once again to see if he is alright and after that seeing that nothing is wrong, left. A few minutes after Iruka left Naruto went to a drawer and took a clean knife and slowly while biting his lip to stop himself from screaming, started erasing the seal on his abdomen. After two minutes the sweat and tears made him look like a tortured prisoner. A loud growl was heard in his own mind but then it suddenly stopped. Following Kyuubi's instructions Naruto arrived at he place where the demon fox was sealed. There he saw two people facing he gate, one a male with short yellow hair resembling his, and a woman with long red hair.

...

Leave reviews and tell me your opinion, I will not change the course of my story but I will try to see if the mistakes I make hinder the progress of my story.

Bold will be Kurama.

Italics will be for when Naruto is thinking. "" What is between these two represents the inner voice. Without them it will only be observational information.

The simple format will represent the normal conversation.