You hate me, and for good reason. I attacked without warning or mercy, seemingly without provocation, killing your friends, brothers, sisters, parents, lovers, comrades…seemingly on a whim. When the Yondaime defeated me by sealing me in his newborn son, his only son, you understandably transferred that hatred to him. Despite the favor the boy did you by containing me, you treated him as if he were me. Shunning him. Beating him for little or no reason. Showing him none of the love he needed as a child.
Uzumaki Naruto, last of the Uzumaki and Namikaze Kekkei-Genkai clan, the Uzumakis themselves the last survivors of the Land of Whirlpools, is not, nor has he ever been, me. Despite this, you refused to believe it and abused him in my stead. Instead of seeing him as the hero, the martyr, he is, you thought he was my ningen form. His appearance is close to my mortal form, incidentally. My hair goes from blonde to red at the tips like flames, though.
Despite these grave injustices, I did nothing.
For the Yondaime made a final request of me, as well.
To watch over his only son as my own.
To comfort his tears when he was alone, in the dark, shunned or beaten bloody or locked out of sight spitefully.
I made my own vow that night.
I would protect my friend's kit. The tragedy I experienced would not happen to my friend. Ever.
Listen well, Konoha! Heed the reason I attacked that night:
Even the omniscient can be deceived.
In addition to being the Demonic God of Fire, the guardian demon of your nation, I was to my kind what the Hokage is to you: a leader, a protector. The Hokages had always known of the existence of my small…"village", for lack of a better term, of Kitsune in the forests that give your home its name, and only they knew the way there. Go, Ninja Foxes!
…
Sorry. I got a little carried away.
Both the Sandaime and Yondaime were close friends of mine.
I remember well the day Sandaime Sarutobi brought his three students to meet me. Then, as now, Jiraiya was a loveable goofball of a pervert. (Jiraiya objects) Then, as now, Tsunade was beautiful, as pristine, unsullied nature is beautiful. (Tsunade blushes) I remember Jiraiya trying to cop a feel on Tsunade…the last words we heard from him before we had to dig him out of a 15-foot deep Jiraiya-shaped hole in a marble cliff so our healers could attend to him were, if I recall correctly, "Oh shiiiiiit…!" (The Jounin instructors are trying to hold back Jiraiya so he doesn't throttle Kyuubi…and probably lose his arms; the villagers are roaring with laughter) Tsunade, did you ever break the record for how far you sent him flying before he landed in the cliff? Wasn't it 950 feet? (Naruto's other friends look at her in awe as she shakes her head, the villagers laugh harder or gape) Hn. You really let yourself go. (Tsunade's eyebrow twitches; Kyuubi Naruto's eyes flash a blood-red in response as if to say "Don't even try it or they'll be picking the pieces of you up with a Shop-Vac™")
I remember meeting Orochimaru, Sarutobi's star pupil, his rapt fascination with my people and our powers. I remember the feeling of ominous dread that filled me when his gaze surveyed my people at work or play or training, or he asked a seemingly innocent question. At the time, I chalked it up to nervousness; my life-mate was expecting our first kit, and Kitsune spirits have a fairly long gestation period-my kit was born the night I attacked.
I was returning from a meeting of the Council of Biju; I knew my mate would deliver that night, but as King of Biju I was obligated to attend.
I noticed something wrong when I saw the hidden entrance to our home reduced to rubble-yes; I can be just as dense as the boy, so stop snickering! The sight that greeted me beyond that…will haunt me for the rest of my days.
My entire people, slain. The ones I had sworn to protect killed when I was not there to defend them. And all around, an overpowering stench…of snake.
I rushed to my lair, fearing for the lives of the two I loved more than any others.
I arrived just as Orochimaru was preparing the killing blow. My mate and my only kit were slaughtered before my eyes.
It was then that Tobi-Madara Uchiha in the reconstructed body of Obito Uchiha (Kakashi is aghast) trapped me in a Sharingan mind-control jutsu. As I left for Konoha in a rage, Orochimaru's laughter echoed in my ears.
Sadistic bastard snake. Anko-san, I truly pity you for having him as a sensei. He truly cared for you, but he was still a sadistic, sociopathic pedophile.
The rest, as they say, is history. It was not until Arashi created a link between our minds that I realized that I'd been tricked into attacking my allies, but by then it was too late to stop the events to come. The Yondaime's final words to me were an apology-AN APOLOGY!-for Orochimaru's actions! He was dying, and all he could think of was easing my pain. It only grew and turned into the pain of intense sorrow and regret. The best friend I'd ever had was dead by my hands. Paws. Whatever.
The Yondaime wasn't an idiot. He knew how you would treat the boy. He knew the life his son would have the burden he would carry, both as his heir…and mine.
Though I burned with a desire to defend the boy, though every fiber of my being told me to make them, make you, stop, make them understand, I did nothing. The boy had to prove himself strong enough to weather it himself.
I haven't been the ideal parent, I admit. I am the reason he went thru these things. When he spoke with me, deep in the recesses of his mind, I was rude, sarcastic, insulting. It broke my heart to do so, but I had to appear the very essence of a cruel, uncaring "demon" in order to strengthen his resolve, to forge him into a man who could surpass his father, both biological and "adoptive". I treated him badly so that he would choose to treat others with kindness; particularly those whose experiences or position were similar to his own. I made horrific threats against those he cares for so that he would become determined not to become the monster you regarded him to be. I had to be both the cruel foster father and the evil foster mother so that he would become pure of heart…not that I had to do much pushing there. That kid's soul is so pure you could bottle it as "natural spring water" and make a fortune!
…
It's a joke. Get those yen signs out of your eyes, Tsunade. Don't even think about it. Don't make me put you in traction, Blondie.
The fact that being trapped in a cell so small I couldn't shift position, one that reeked of ramen, that I had nothing to do besides stare at blank walls, sleep, or bug-slash-annoy-slash-tick the boy off, and that his subconscious is a frigging sewer, for the luvva Kami-sama, might have made me rather cranky might have helped a bit. I mean, is it too much to ask to take control once in a while just so I could stretch my legs?
Never mind. Ranting out loud.
Anywho…
I nearly failed.
None of you will ever know how close he came to becoming the Leaf version of Sabaku no Gaara, the vessel for my youngest sibling Shukaku.
Umino Iruka, your actions made the difference. Though I killed your parents, though you above all had reason to hate the kit, hate me, you refused to do so. Instead, you showed him the affection he needed, for you went through much of the same pain and loneliness. You were the first one besides Sandaime to see him as a ningen, instead of a ticking time-bomb demonwaiting to explode. Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi…you also made the most impact on his…on our lives. Sasuke provided the drive to better himself that prevented a spiral into self-pity which would have ultimately spelled the village's doom. Sakura gave him someone to love, to fight for above all others, to defend with his dying breath. Kakashi gave guidance above and beyond what Iruka could give, and some much-needed humor from character traits I can tell all too well were inherited from Jiraiya and Arashi. He would be proud of who his last surviving pupil has become. I think. ('I hope…')
I rejoiced when the boy managed to defeat Inuzuka, despite being unable to access my power following an…encounter…with the hebi during the Chuunin Exam's 2nd stage. I rejoiced as any proud parent would, for my kit was becoming a man. I was filled with pride when the kit, and I through him, was able to start Hyuuga Neji on the path to reconciliation with his clan, and to prove to Gaara that true strength comes from the desire to protect others, no matter the personal cost.
I rejoiced when he was finally able to convince Sasuke, the closest thing to a brother he ever had, to come home, for it marked that the kit was finally ready for his legacy.
I drove the kit to go on his five-year journey in order to unlock his full potential. I faked an escape attempt with another plan in mind…and it worked! He was trapped in a fox's body, and I in a ningen's. His years of accessing my chakra gave him an intuitive ability to use Kitsune powers, while having never actually wielded the boy's chakra myself, I was rendered virtually powerless, except for my roughly fifty thousand years experience in ningen Taijutsu. And so the student became the teacher, and the teacher the student. I taught him everything I knew and he did likewise for me. Then I knew he was ready. Using knowledge of his parentage as bait, I enticed him into an all-out, no-holds-barred, live-or-die match…and returned us to the way we were meant to be.
That day I made the boy the same vows I now make you.
If the boy is fatally injured he will release the seal enough that I can take control.
If this happens or the seal somehow erodes to the point where enough of my power leaks out to destroy his essence, I will protect those precious to him with everything I've got, like he does. I will defend the village with all my might, as he would!
I give you my word on this. By the inviolate law of Kitsune, I am unable to go back on my word, both physically and mentally.
I promise you, Village Hidden in the Leaves, neither you nor any other allied village need fear my wrath. You are safe from my fury…unless one condition is violated.
If anyone intends the boy or his precious people harm, I will show them no mercy. Attempt to kill him or those he loves and you will die. Become a threat to their well-being and you will know the true meanings of terror, pain, and righteous wrath, the fury of the gods we Biju are.
Yet only those involved will feel my fury. If a man tries to kill him and his family has no knowledge of this, they will be spared and only the man will die. If a conspiracy forms against his friend, I will know. I will know exactly who forms it and exactly what their goals are. Their families will not feel the holocaust that follows.
I'm all-seeing, people! It's easier to hide something from a Hyuuga than from me.
I bear you no hatred, Konoha. No ill will. I did not attack out of spite, or for sport, or because you invaded my territory. I gave the First permission to build here and helped to build in a ningen's form.
I attacked for a reason any parent can understand. If the situation were reversed, who will be able to look me in the eye and honestly say they would not do the same?
I will not ask for forgiveness; my actions were unforgivable. I will not ask for mercy; I deserve none.
All I ask is that the boy be treated as the hero he is. That he be given the same respect and admiration accorded to his father. That you accept him, not as a tamed monster or potential weapon, but for who he is. Accept him as a person.