Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto...
Well I apologise to everyone for the rape scene last chapter, I know a lot of you thought it was over the top and found it horrid. I too dislike rapists and will personally castrate any I see, however the scene is there for a reason. As you would notice there is no AU nor OOC warning for my story, this is because I'm trying to alter the canon storyline by placing one major event.
So I had to find a way to make innocent, caring Naruto disappear, I needed a way to have him accept Kyuubi's offer of power. And remember that this is Naruto, the loudmouth idiot who forgives everyone including the emo that stuck a Chidori into his chest. So torture and beatings would not affect him much, the rape scene is there as the final straw. Hence the title of chapter 1~
Now saying this, I would like to point out that I detailed the warning for the rape scene quite clearly. If you didn't like it then you could have skipped to the next bold text that informed you that it was over, it wasn't a requirement to read it... Also I did state that this was a truly dark Naruto story, everything won't be rainbows and sunshine. Shit happens in the real world, children regardless of gender do get raped in our world. I am merely injecting a dose of reality into my story, so I'm sorry if it offended any of you.
Now on to the pairings, it is definitely going to be a harem.
Women confirmed to be in the harem
Terumi Mei
Tayuya
Sabaku no Gaia (Female Gaara)
Women you can vote for
Nii Yugito
Fū
Mitarashi Anko
Uzuki Yuugao
Kurama Yakumo
Konan
Your suggestions (No Sakura, Hinata, Ino, Tenten, Shizune or Tsunade)
Since Naruto is now a demon lord, his harem will be pretty large. Definitely not more than 10 though... somewhere between 6 and 8 would be ideal.
Now on with the story~
Chapter 2: Shifting sands
Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, the proclaimed 'Professor' and 'Kami no Shinobi (God of Shinobi) was no simple pushover. He had ruled over the village as an exceptional leader from his initiation as a young shinobi up till his passing of the mantle of to Namikaze Minato, before once again claiming the seat after his successor had died defending the village against the mighty Kyuubi no Yoko.
That said, it would take a lot to faze a tough old war veteran like him but the report he had received from the Torture & Interrogation Department stunned him. The lone survivor had awoken during the middle of the night screaming and kicking about 'demons' and 'glowing red eyes', the man had been sedated and brought to the T&I building where Yamanaka Inoichi was called in. The clan head of the mind-walking clan performed the jutsu and entered the victim's mind, scouring his memories of that night.
Thus Morino Ibiki and his partner Mitarashi Anko were shocked when the clan head had returned to his body and immediately heaved up his breakfast onto the steel floor. They were both worried and curious about what could have affected the veteran mind-walker so badly, they gave the man some space as he re-composed himself.
Ibiki was disgusted and enraged by what Inoichi had discovered, his hand had accidently crushed the clipboard in his grasp as he heard the report. The usually sadistic and cheerful Anko had broken down into tears when she heard about how much the boy had suffered, not even her childhood had been as bad as that. They were truly stunned to silence at the next part of the report, the sweet and caring child had turned into the new Kyuubi?
"Contemplating just how broken he was after they were done with him, I would have accepted the damned fox's power and killed them all as well!" Anko growled as she slammed a kunai into the table, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her tan trench-coat.
"I agree with Anko's assessment... it's not too surprising once you consider how broken he must have been from the assault. Definitely broken enough to accept whatever the Kyuubi had propositioned to him, which is the most logical explanation at the moment." Ibiki concluded as Inoichi nodded in agreement. "Are you able to acquire us an image of the new Naruto, we need to be able to identify him if we are to track him down."
"I will be able to project the image from his mind for you to take a picture of, is that alright?" Inoichi asked.
"That would suffice, thanks in advance Inoichi." Ibiki replied as he watched the pony-tailed blond run through several handseals and touch a finger to the man's temple.
"Yamanaka Hijutsu: Kioku no Tōei (Yamanaka Secret Technique: Memory Projection)."
After saying this, a fuzzy image of a person started appearing in front of the trio of interrogators. They waited for a moment as the memory image started to focus until Naruto in his new form stood before them, his glowing crimson eyes unnerving Ibiki a little. Anko's reaction was a little... different.
"Holy Kami! That little shrimp turned into this... this feral-looking sex Adonis?" Anko gaped at the image with a noticeable blush on her face.
"Umm... Anko could you close your mouth... and you appear to be drooling as well." Inoichi pointed out getting a deadpanned stare from the sadistic purple-haired kunoichi.
"He looks freaking hot, those whisker marks gives him that feral-looking appeal, he was responsible for that gruesome slaughter fest of those bastards in the alleyway... why wouldn't I be drooling? He's the perfect man!" Anko jabbed a finger at the image, getting sweat-drops from the other two conscious people in the room.
Somewhere else, Naruto sneezed.
"Anko's preferences aside. I'll pass the image onto Hokage-sama as well as the ANBU and Hunter-nin divisions, that way we would increase our chances of finding him. Onto another matter, have we any leads onto the identities of the Uchiha massacre?" Ibiki asked as he picked up a pile of reports.
Anko twirled the kunai as she replied, "Yeah we do, apparently the ANBU managed to find one of the Uchiha barely clinging on to his life at the scene. The man claimed that it was Uchiha Itachi who did it, he also said that he had sensed another strong presence within the clan grounds so it would be wise to assume that Itachi had a partner."
"Further proof show that Itachi did not report in for his ANBU duties this morning and could not be found anywhere within Konoha's walls, which leads us to believe that he and his partner have fled the village and most likely the country as well." Inoichi added his input.
"And the witness?" Ibiki asked.
"Dead." The Yamanaka clan head replied simply.
"So we have Uchiha Itachi, an ex-ANBU captain that somehow when completely bonkers and decided that last night was a good night to randomly massacre his clan... I smell something fishy here..." Ibiki growled in frustration as the events didn't add up in his mind.
"I know what you mean. Itachi was always a loyal and upright young man; he was also an excellent captain to his ANBU squad. There is probably some hidden motive or bigger plan behind the massacre, the second perpetrator of the massacre also left no clues behind except that the Uchihas on his side were killed in more brutal ways than the others." Inoichi read aloud from a report in his hand causing a reaction out of Anko.
"More brutal? Exactly how more brutal was it?" Anko had a sadistic gleam in her eye as she relayed her question. Truth be told she had never liked the clan of thieves and their so called 'special' eyes, with only a few exceptions such as the clan head's wife Mikoto.
"Well one of the Uchiha Jounin was found in nine different pieces, another was found with multiple kunai sticking out of his head... let's just say there are many... innovative methods of death involved in this report." Inoichi shivered as he scanned through some of the more gruesome kills.
"Well not much we can do now... now both of you sit your asses down and help me fill out all this Kami damned paperwork!" Ibiki shouted as he grew a tick mark on his bandana-covered head, seeing as he was the only one filling out the sheets of paper. Anko and Inoichi both let out a sigh as they plopped down onto a chair each, grabbed a piece of paper and started feeling out the details.
Konoha General Hospital
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed as he was stared down by the only remaining Uchiha left in the village, the six year old Uchiha Sasuke. The raven-haired boy had made his way home after a late day at the academy and panicked when he saw smoke rising from the Uchiha district. Upon reaching the entrance, he was shocked and horrified to find the streets littered with the dead bodies of his fellow clan members.
Sasuke had then sprinted all the way to his house to check on his parents, only for him to scream and faint when he saw the dead bodies of his parents on the floor.
"Bullshit..."
The Sandaime blinked at the response he had received from the six year old child, "I'm sorry what did-"
"Bullshit! I don't believe that Itachi-nii would have killed everyone, he is a good person!" Sasuke stated adamantly, his onyx eyes daring the elder man to say otherwise.
"The only witness of the scene said that it was Itachi who did it; he also didn't turn up for his ANBU duties today." Hiruzen explained to the stubborn child calmly.
Sasuke's face scrunched up as he thought before opening his mouth, "You said there were two people... what if there was only one and the bad guy was able to make solid clones and transformed them to look like my nii-san!"
'That... was actually a pretty logical conclusion. Looks like Sasuke has the same genius gene in him that Itachi had...' The Sandaime thought with a hidden grin, the thought of another Itachi-like prodigy clearly making his day.
"Well young Sasuke, that still doesn't explain why Itachi didn't turn up for his duties today..."
"B-but the bad guy could have captured him or forced him to do it!" Sasuke shouted in defiance before huffing and crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't care if you don't believe me, I will become the best shinobi... better than even nii-san and I will find him and ask him myself!"
"That is a good dream... I will look forward to your progress Sasuke." The Hokage said before leaving the hospital room.
Sasuke drew his knees up to his chin and wrapped his arms around them, staring intently at the blank white hospital room wall in front of him.
'I will grow stronger... strong enough to confront Itachi-nii and to find out the real person behind my clan's death... that I swear!'
Meanwhile with Naruto
A blond perspiring figure sneezed suddenly as he trekked through the deserts of Kaze no Kuni (Land of Wind), he wiped his nose with the back of his hand and glared at the sun.
"Stupid country and its stupid desert... how do people even live in this stupid country? This is fucking bullshit, I'm a Demon Lord and yet I am forced to traverse this barren wasteland while enduring this blasted weather!" Naruto growled as rivulets of sweat glistened on his feral face and bare upper torso, having torn his hoodie off a few miles back. His straw sandals leaving a trail of footprints on the desert sands as he trudged along, the blazing morning sun shining down on him.
"I better find a worth ally in Sunagakure no Sato (Hidden Sand Village) or I might just murder everyone in the village... IF I CAN EVEN FIND THE KAMI-FORSAKEN VILLAGE!" He cried out to sky in frustration. A few moments later and the sand beneath his feet started shifting slightly as a small tremor ran through the ground; he raised an eyebrow as he saw a lot of sand being pushed away from one spot.
The sand parted as a giant worm like creature with a razor sharp teeth-filled maw rose up from the ground and kept rising and rising and rising. Naruto let out a low whistle as the creature towered over him at an impressive three stories, the remainder of its pinkish worm body still hidden under the shifting sands. Saliva dripped out of the open maw as it reared back slightly and released a shrill shriek, the sound causing the blond-haired demon to fall to his knees clutching his ears.
"Ah fuck! Stupid sensitive hearing! I swear it's both a gift and a curse at the same time!" Naruto cursed as he stood back up only to dive to the side as the giant worm came barrelling towards him, crashing its gaping maw into the spot where he just occupied. Springing to his feet quickly, he leaped backwards as the worm emerged directly under him and tried to devour him whole. Drawing on his demonic power, he placed both hands in front of him with palms facing outward and fingers splayed.
"Kitsune-Bi: Nobi (Fox-fire: Wildfire)!"
A bowling ball sized orb of blue flames flickered to life in front of his palms before exploding forward in a raging wave of blue flames, the searing Kitsune flames turning the sand to glass as it roared across the ground. The giant worm screeched as it devoured a full stomach's worth of the fire as the remainder washed over it, cooking it on both the inside and the out at the same time.
Naruto watched with an air of detachment as the worm wriggled its last remaining seconds of life out on the glass-strewn sand, his crimson orbs observing the native creature. A slow clapping sound was heard from behind him, he looked over his shoulder to see a Suna Chunnin with half of his face covered by a white cloth.
"You must indeed be an excellent shinobi to have defeated a Sakyū no Wāmu (Dune Worm) so easily, even Kazekage-sama has trouble dealing with those things. Hell, I have to cover the half of my face due to those wriggling bastards as well!" The Chunnin growled angrily.
"And who the hell are you?" Naruto asked rudely.
"Oh my name is Baki and I'm a Chunnin of Sunagakure no Sato, how about you traveller? You can obviously hold your own in a fight no doubt about it, yet I see no headband on you to mark your village allegiance." Baki stated as he scratched his exposed cheek in confusion.
"I am as you said, a traveller. I had trained under a very strong teacher and father figure but he has passed on into the next world already..." Naruto trailed off as he remembered Kurama and how he had sacrificed himself so that the blond could change the world.
"I'm sorry to hear that..." The Suna shinobi expressed his condolences as he shifted nervously in front of the other man. "Well I have to report back to Kazekage-sama now so..."
"Ah so you're travelling back to Suna, excellent! Might I accompany you on your way back, you see I have been trying to locate the village but... let's say I got side-tracked a little." He shrugged as the Chunnin rubbed his chin.
"I don't see why not, though you have to check in with the entrance guards before you enter the village. I assume that you are able to keep up with my pace with your training?"
Naruto gave an affirmative nod before the two took off, leaving the charred corpse of the worm to rot in the blazing sun. Neither of them noticing the sand shifting once again as a strange venus-flytrap emerged from the ground, the jaws splitting open to reveal an equally strange face. The man's face appeared to be split in half vertically with one side white in colour and the other side black, his eyes were two yellow dots that gazed at the two disappearing set of footprints then the roasted worm.
"We must report this newest development to leader-sama immediately. I agree, let's get the fuck out of this stupid desert!" The plant-man spoke in an alternating voice before sinking back into the sand.
Back in Konoha, Hokage's office
"What the hell do you mean you lost Naruto?" A loud voice boomed throughout the village. The owner of said voice was currently glaring down at the Sandaime, who was seated at his desk.
"Jiraiya you will do well to remember who I am exactly and to address me with the proper respect that I deserve." The old Kage locked his steely gaze with that of the white-haired Sannin.
"Respect? What respect do you deserve for losing the child of the prophecy! He was Minato's son, the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko and the fabled 'Child of Prophecy'!" Jiraiya slammed his hands down on the desk.
"Jiraiya regardless of that, I am still Hokage of this village and you will address me with respect or I can and will revoke your travelling privileges and reinstate you as a normal Jounin of Konoha. And I did not lose Naruto, he suddenly vanished on the night of the storm!" Hiruzen growled back at the Toad Sennin.
"H-hokage-sama..." A voice squeaked out from the door to his office.
"WHAT!" Both men thundered out as they swerved their heads to glare at the poor secretary at the door, who nearly wet herself in fright of the two angered S-ranked shinobi.
"T-the report f-from the T&I D-division is here..." She stammered as she put the stack of paper down on the desk before vanishing from the room in a burst of speed, terrified of staying in there for a moment longer.
The Sandaime quickly read through the reports on the matter of their missing Jinchuuriki, his wrinkled face growing paler and paler with each sentence that went by. Jiraiya cocked an eyebrow in confusion when he saw how pale the old Sarutobi had gotten, he was pretty sure that he could give Orochimaru a run for his money in the paleness department at the moment.
"So what does it say?" The spymaster asked impatiently, only to have the stack of papers thrust into his hands. He scanned through the report as his face did a perfect imitation of his sensei's reaction just before him, his hand shaking slightly as he finished it.
"Naruto contacted the Kyuubi earlier than we expected... and accepted whatever promise of power that the demon had offered..." Hiruzen muttered to himself as he held his head in his hands.
"And by the abilities he displayed... I'd say he has almost full control over the Bijū sealed inside him... do you know how dangerous that makes him now? What happens if he joins an enemy village of Konoha... the results would be disastrous for us!" Jiraiya stated with a hint of panic in his voice.
"Wait we can still salvage this... if we can somehow track Naruto down and bring him back here, I'm pretty sure we can convince him to stay in the village. If not then we could always hand him over to Danzo and recondition him... yes that would work as well." Hiruzen whispered to himself but the Sannin picked up on it easily enough.
"You can't be serious, that old war-hawk's methods are over the top and this is Minato's son we're talking about!" Jiraiya exclaimed, not happy with the idea of handing off his deceased pupil's child to a power hungry man.
"Do you have a better idea? At least under Danzo, he would be able to serve the village just as his father would have wanted off him... trust me when I say if there was another method then I would change my mind. Unfortunately there isn't and this is our best bet for now... I'll call an emergency shinobi meeting later and inform everyone to be on the lookout for Naruto." The Sandaime sighed before gesturing for Jiraiya to leave.
The white-haired man scowled but did as he was told by opening the window and jumping out to the rooftop across the street, his wooden clogs sounding as he leapt across the rooftops.
With Naruto
The fox demon nearly sighed in relief when he passed through the shaded corridor that doubled as the entrance to Sunagakure, glad to be finally out of the scorching heat. A few seconds later and he was cursing under his breath as he found that the corridor only lasted for so long before he was in the village of sand, which was completely exposed to the sun.
"Kami-damned sun! How the hell does your village survive such absurd weather conditions Baki...? I swear that a few more hours in this heat and I just might drop dead from heat stroke... perhaps dehydration as well..." Naruto asked the native shinobi who let out a hearty laugh at the traveller's question.
"That just means that the people living in this village are tougher than the average bunch, wouldn't you say Naruto-san?" Baki winked at him, having acquired his name during their trip back to the village.
"After feeling this ridiculous heat, I whole-heartedly agree with you..." Naruto deadpanned as he followed the Chunnin until they reached the Kazekage building.
"Well Naruto-san, I have to report to Kazekage-sama now. You could either wait for me and I would be glad to give you a tour around this village or you could just go explore by yourself." Baki told him.
"I think I'll go ahead by myself then, don't want to impose on you any more than I already have." Naruto replied before waving the man off and walking down the street. The citizens of the village hidden in the sand were all tanned to a certain degree due to being under the sun almost their entire lives, their clothing were either the bare minimal or made of thin material. Not that he was complaining or anything; he most certainly enjoyed the free look as he eyed the two scantily-clad women that walked past him.
His rather perverse grin dropped when he stumbled across the sight of a playground in front of him, it wasn't the location that bothered him but rather the events that were taking place. He had just seen a cute redheaded little girl of his former body's age try to return the ball to another child but the children took one look at her and just ran off. Their whispers and mutterings of demon and devil child reaching Naruto's ears, a low growl escaped his throat before he managed to reign his anger in.
Reaching out with his demonic senses, he could feel a secondary source of energy within the girl. Upon closer inspection, he realised that the young girl was the container of the relatively insane Shukaku otherwise known as the Ichibi no Tanuki (One-tailed Racoon-dog). Flashes of his own life invaded his mind as he saw tears gleam on the edges of her eyes; he sighed and slowly made his way over to her.
"I don't know what those brats' problems were but I'll play with you if you want..." Naruto offered to the small child in front of him causing her to look at him in shock and surprise.
"You'll play with me?" She asked in disbelief.
"Of course, how could anyone not want to play with such a beautiful young girl... my name is Naruto. How about you?" He asked as he squatted down, putting him at eye-level with the child.
"Konnichiwa Naruto-san, my name is Sabaku no Gaia. My father is the Yondaime Kazekage of this village... but he doesn't spend much time with me." Gaia whispered the last part sadly.
Naruto's eyes widened at that detail, this girl was the daughter of the leader of this village. Taking a closer look, he went over her appearance once more. Dressed in a simple sand-coloured tunic and black pants, her green eyes ringed by the trademark tanuki-like black eye rings and shoulder-length red hair.
"Well Gaia-chan, what about your mother or siblings or friends?" He questioned the young Jinchuuriki, already half-expecting the answers.
"My mom... she died during my birth. Temari-nee tries to spend time with me but her training with Ebizō-sama keeps her busy most of the time, same with Kankuro-nii as he is busy learning about puppets from Chiyo-sama. As for friends... you already saw how everyone runs away from me..." Gaia sniffled slightly as she thought about how alone she was in the village.
"So nobody cares for you at all inside the village?" Naruto withheld the rising anger from his voice, she was just like him.
"Well there is uncle Yashamaru... he takes care of me and spends his free time with me. He said that he was my mom's brother, so he should look after me." She replied.
"I see... then how about I become your first friend then Gaia-chan? Would you like that?"
Gaia's eyes widened in surprise, "You would really be my friend? Even though they call me a demon?"
"Of course, why would anyone call you a demon?" Naruto asked, feigning confusion.
"Dad told me that the Ichibi no Tanuki is sealed inside me, the demon will take control of me if I fall asleep so I have not slept since I was born... also it allows me to do this." Gaia raised a small hand and a pillar of sand followed her movement.
"I think that's really awesome Gaia-chan, so what'd ya say we go play on the swings?" Naruto couldn't help but let out a genuine smile when the little girl beamed in happiness as she ran to the swings.
So the duo spent the remainder of the day playing on the playground before Naruto took her to get some shaved ice from a vendor nearby, to Gaia it was the most fun she has ever had. However all good things will eventually come to an end, soon the light begin to fade as the sun started to set on the western horizon.
"Arigatou Naruto, I enjoyed myself today but it is getting late and I have to head home already..." Gaia trailed off sadly until Naruto ruffled her hair playfully, earning a small grumble from her.
"Don't worry; I'll be here for a while. We can always meet back here tomorrow, so head on home because I'm sure that your uncle is worried about you." He gave her a foxy grin, allowing the remaining light to gleam off his fangs. Gaia smiled and nodded enthusiastically before running off, probably in the direction of her family's mansion that Baki had shown him earlier in the day.
His crimson eyes narrowed when he noticed the hate-filled glares and mutterings of the villagers around him, he clamped down on his killer urges as he knew that it would not help him at all. He just let out a low growl before striding in the same direction, having already booked a room in an Inn that his temporary Chunnin tour guide had recommended to him in passing. After a quick shower and a change of clothes that he had bought, since his old outfit had been shredded in the desert.
His new look consisted of a black muscle undershirt, a pair of durable black pants taped to his ankles, a pair of fingerless black gloves instead of the original black bandages and a crimson trench-coat with a hood to finish the look. Also in a last minute decision, he had gotten a plain black face mask that covered the lower half of his face. All of them were made from tough but durable silk that could only be found in Suna, allowing free movement while remaining tough to wear down.
Having decided that he was satisfied with his choice of clothing, Naruto sat cross-legged on his bed as he begin to meditate and spread his senses across the village. He had acquired the ability to sense emotions through the previous Kyuubi, though he could only sense high levels now since he is new to it. He was knocked out of his thoughts when he felt a sharp spike of fear and sadness coming from the direction of the Sabaku mansion.
In a flash he was already out the window and bounding across the rooftops, his animal instinct telling him that he should hurry or something unfavourable might happen. Naruto could make out two figures on the rooftop of the mansion, one of them appeared to be Gaia and the other a male shinobi lying on the ground in a puddle of blood. Increasing his vision with his youki, he saw that the man fit the description of Yashamaru and he had just revealed an entire chest pinned with primed exploding tags. With a sudden burst of youki, Naruto burst towards the stationary Gaia at a blinding speed.
With Sabaku no Gaia
Gaia was confused and afraid at how quick things were happening around her, she distinctively remembered her loving uncle telling her to meet him on the roof in fifteen minutes. She had followed his instructions to the letter without suspicion, arriving on the rooftop with just the starry night sky to accompany her. A faint sound of air being sliced was heard before her automatic sand defence had come to her rescue, blocking a barrage of kunai that had been thrown at her seemingly unprotected back.
The redhead had turned around to see a masked ninja standing behind her with kunai floating around him, she immediately noticed the Suna Chunnin uniform on the man and knew that it was another assassin from her father. Her attitude immediately slipping into that of cold indifference, the mode that she usually went into when dealing with her father's assassins. It was something that was taught to her by her uncle during one of their training sessions.
"Another assassin... you will fail just like the others." Gaia raised her hand causing the sand on the rooftop to flow towards her. The masked shinobi leapt into action, hoping to stop her from gathering the sand before it was too late. Several kunai shot towards the immobile Jinchuuriki, their progress were halted as a solid block of sand materialised in front of them.
The assassin wasn't idle as he had already started moving after he had launched his kunai, his path directly ahead as he used the sand wall to cover his movements. Gaia lowered the sand wall to find the assassin closer than before; his hands shimmered with a blue glow that signified the use of chakra scalpels. Gaia quickly rolled to the side as the shinobi dived at her causing him to overshoot, her small arm shot out in a straight line as if punching the guy.
The masked assassin couldn't manoeuvre in mid-dive so he closed his eyes as a sand tendril followed the young redheaded girl's instructions and pierced through his protective vest and out his back. His body slammed into the ground and tumbled a little before coming to a stop, blood already leaking from the wound in his abdomen.
Gaia's sand swirled around her as if poised to strike the final blow, her world came crashing down when the assassin pulled off his mask to reveal Yashamaru. The sand collapsed at her small feet as she fell onto her knees, tears falling from her eyes at being betrayed by her beloved uncle.
"Why... why... WHY YOU TOO?" She screamed in anger, frustration and sadness as she clutched her head. In doing so missed the apologetic smile that he had as he pulled open his Chunnin vest, exposing a primed set of explosive notes that had begun to sizzle.
Gaia looked up at the sound and her eyes widened at the amount of exploding tags on the man's chest, her thoughts in too much disarray to summon the sand into a shield.
"I've always hated you Gaia... you took my sister away from me... sayonara..." Yashamaru sighed as he slumped onto the ground dead; the explosive tags just a fraction away from detonation. Gaia shut her eyes tightly and prayed for someone... anyone to save her.
She heard the deafening roar of a dozen or more exploding tags going off but strangely did not feel the excruciating pain that she had expected, thus prompting her to crack open her eyes slightly. The first thing she saw was crimson, the colour of the coat that the man standing in front of her was wearing. The tail end of it fluttering from the wind generated from the force of the explosion, she looked up and could make out that one of his hands was outstretched.
She peered around his form slightly to see a solid wall of crimson energy in front of him, further out she saw the charred and destroyed section of the mansion's roof.
"Are you alright Gaia-chan?" The voice although deeper and more feral sounding, she couldn't mistake it for any other. The little redhead was proven right when the figure drew back his hood and looked down at her, his crimson orbs filled with rage, sadness and worry.
"Naruto..." Gaia murmured as she took a step towards him, her emotional walls broke as he squatted down to her level and opened his arms. "NARUTO!"
Naruto grunted slightly as the air was knocked out of him by the young Jinchuuriki's tackle, he embraced her as she sobbed into his chest.
"It's alright Gaia-chan... just let it out." He whispered softly as he soothingly stroked her hair and back, until she managed to calm down and wiped away her tears.
"Naruto-san... why did your voice sound different when you first spoke? And what was that energy thing you used, I was taught that chakra was blue in colour..." Gaia asked as she led her saviour into her bedroom. (No dirty thinking you pervs!)
Naruto sat down beside her on the bed as he ran a hand through his hair, "Alright you might want to get comfortable, this is going to be a rather long story."
So the demon lord proceeded to regurgitate his sorrowful tale to the attentive child, not once did he miss out on a detail and never sweetening it for her. Gaia had burrowed her head into his arm as she cried at how hard his life had been, she had growled in satisfaction when she heard of how he had disposed of his torturers.
"I don't care that you are a demon Naruto-sama, you are my first friend and you saved me..." Gaia had said after he was done with his tale, getting a laugh from said demon and a ruffling off her head.
"I will not lie to you now Gaia, now that you have heard of my plans. Will you join me to make this world a better place, so that people like us would not have to suffer?" Naruto asked seriously, his tone devoid of any playfulness.
"Hai Naruto-sama, I will follow you to the ends of the world if I have to!" Gaia exclaimed.
"Well Gaia-chan, as you have agreed to my proposal so I will grant you full access to the Ichibi's power. Fear not about his insanity, I will just be transferring his power over to you and not a full merger like me and my Tou-san. You would probably age a little due to the youki influx and your appearance might change a little as well, so hold still." He told her before running through several strange handseals and slammed his palm into her seal as the other hand pressed over it in a claw-like gesture.
"Inton: Akuma Seifuku (Yin Release: Demonic Subjugation)!"
The claw-like hand grasped slightly and begins to tug on something; he pulled his hand back slowly as Gaia saw a translucent spirit in his grasp. The spirit substance cursed in a strange language before Naruto simply crushed it into particles and focused his attention on the seal, which had begun to fluctuate slightly.
"Yanton: Dengen no Idō (Yang Release: Power Transference)!"
Naruto watched as the seal shattered and a bubbling golden youki surrounded Gaia in a cocoon, his hands already blazing through a set of hundred handseals.
"Onmyōton: Akuma Chōetsu no Jutsu (Yin-Yang Release: Demonic Transcendence Technique)!"
Naruto stuck both his hands into the cocoon of golden energy, his crimson youki beginning to bleed into the cocoon. Just a few wisps that targeted her DNA strands and white blood cells to absorb the youki, jump-starting the process. A shockwave of energy pulsed out and slammed him against the room's wall, he groaned as he stood back up and watched as the golden and crimson energy faded and was drawn into a figure that dropped out of the cocoon.
Gaia had aged to that of a ten-year-old, only slightly taller than most others her age. She had begun to feel out in the womanly department a little, not so much that it would be noticed but it definitely was growing. Her muscles having gained more density and mass but not enough to give her an overly bulky look but more like a professional swimmer's body. Her red hair had grown out to her mid-back, her once pale-green eyes were now golden and slitted and she had a pair of sandy-coloured fox ears and a single fox tail that swished behind her of the same colour.
"Naruto-sama... why am I a Kitsune demon? And how do I hide my extra features?" Gaia asked in a rather deep voice that still managed to contain some femininity in it.
"Just call the power back inside you and the extra appendages will revert back to normal. As for the fox part, I guess it was because of my own power that worked in the absence of Shukaku..."
Gaia nodded once and drew her power back in, watching as her ears return back to normal and her tail slither back into her spine. She looked at herself in the mirror and performed a few poses that would have sent Naruto flying with a nosebleed if she were a few more years older. With a grin she kneeled down in front of her saviour and lord, her head bowed down in respect.
"You have given me a new reason in life; I will forever be in your debt. My body and will are yours to command Kyuubi-sama..."
"While I don't mind you addressing me by my title in private, be sure to only refer to me by name when we are in public Gaia-chan." Naruto informed the new Ichibi, whom nodded in understanding before perking up slightly.
"Naruto-sama, my Suna no Kanchi (Sand Sensing) has picked up on multiple KAZE units headed in our direction. I fear my power burst has attracted the attention of dear old dad and his troops..." Gaia looked at her lord for instructions.
"We are too few and untrained to fight a Kage and a village of highly trained shinobi, I will provide a distraction while you escape to the village entrance. I will meet you there shortly." Naruto replied and his subordinate looked ready to argue but a glare was enough to silence her.
The duo made their way onto the roof to find themselves surrounded by mask wearing shinobi and right in front of them was the Yondaime Kazekage, Sabaku no Sakin. His usual Kazekage robe wrapped around his figure minus the hat, his auburn hair swayed in the night breeze as his eyes widened upon seeing Gaia.
"G-Gaia?" He stammered in shock before he swung his angry gaze onto Naruto. "You! What have you done to my daughter?"
"Daughter? Daughter you say? What kind of father are you that you send assassins after your own daughter!" Naruto shouted back and smirked as he watched the village leader flinch.
"I...I did what was the best for my village. Gaia was shown to be unable to control the Shukaku and sooner or later it would have broken out and endangered us again, I'd rather it be now when I'm in my prime and able to do something. Do you think it is easy for me to do so? She is my daughter! I die a little inside every time I send an assassin out but unfortunately the council has me under their thumbs, they control the finance and trading of the village... if they decide to pull out..." Sakin clenched his fist as he looked at the ground.
Naruto's anger had dissipated slightly at the remark, he looked at the Kazekage sombrely before letting out a drawn out sigh. Gaia was on her knees as she clutched her head in pain, she snapped her head up to reveal glowing golden eyes.
"You could have at least spent some time with me! Did you know that my suffering was because of the loneliness... because of the fact that you looked at me as one of your shinobi instead of your own daughter! Had it occurred to you that I might have turned out this way all because of your own faults! ANSWER ME FATHER!" She roared out as the sand on the streets and in the air formed a miniature cyclone around both her and Naruto, who whistled in admiration.
Sakin and the other KAZE units had to channel chakra into their feet lest they risk being pulled into the sand cyclone, though his eyes held remorse and pain as he heard his daughter's words. Naruto turned to look at him with glowing crimson orbs, his heart was filled with terror at the sight of those eyes.
"She is right Sabaku no Sakin... it is by your own hand that this happened. For now you have lost the chance to know your daughter, I shall spare your pathetic village this time... but I shall let you know now... that should your village fall, it would be by your daughter's hand... Ja ne!" Naruto waved as he knocked Gaia out with a chop to the neck before hefting her onto his shoulder, a blue flame materialising in his palm.
"Kitsune-Bi: Furasshu (Fox-fire: Flash)!"
The blue flame glowed brighter as it started spiralling around him; it released a bright blue flash that blinded the shinobi that were staring at it. By the time they recovered their sight, the two demons had vanished already. Sakin stared dumbstruck for a moment before steeling his voice and snapping out orders for the KAZE units to spread out across the village, with the majority heading towards the entrance.
With Naruto and Gaia
Gaia groaned as she awoke from the jarring sensations in her sleep, the first thing she noticed was that the landscape was passing by her at a fast pace. The second thing she noticed was that she was currently laying on something soft; she looked down and saw that she was on the back of a tiger-sized fox.
"I see that you're finally awake..." The fox growled out in Naruto's demonic voice.
"... Naruto-sama?" Gaia voiced uncertainly.
"Yeah it's me... I'll answer your questions later... talking and running isn't very fun..." Naruto replied in between pants as he ran across the barren sandy wastelands of Kaze no Kuni. Gaia shrugged as she buried herself back in her lord's soft fur, her eyes drifted close and she was asleep again before she knew it.
An hour later Gaia stirred from her short nap, her hands moved up to her face to rub the remaining sleep from her eyes. Blinking a few times, she made out the figure of Naruto sitting on a log in front of a small bonfire. The blue-white flames flickering in the wind causing the shadows to dance along the sand, she walked over and sat down beside him.
"How are you feeling?" Naruto asked as he turned to look at her, his crimson eyes conveying his slight worry.
"I'm fine... thanks for stopping me when you did... I don't know what happened... I just heard him talking and I suddenly lost it..." Gaia placed her face in her hands as she told him.
"That was your newfound demonic power, if you don't learn to control it than it will control you. Even I have yet to earn full control over all nine of my tails; I like you am still quite new to my abilities. The control I have now is thanks to Kurama, he was the previous Kyuubi, passing down his knowledge to me thus granting me access to three tails of my power. The remainder can only be done through hard work and practice, which is why I'm going to be training you in your abilities from now on." Naruto smirked as a look of excitement flashed across the girl's face that was quickly replaced by her normal poker face.
"I'll do my best Kyuubi-sama!" Gaia bowed her head in respect, which was quickly lifted up by the demon lord.
"No need to bow to me, we are now kin after all... besides I can't have a beautiful face like that staring at the ground, that would be a crime..." Naruto chuckled when he saw a huge blush erupt across her face and she turned away with a pout.
Though in her mind there was a chibi Gaia squealing, 'Naruto-sama thinks I'm beautiful!'
"So I guess you would like to know about my transformation just now right?" Naruto asked as he handed her a stick of what appeared to be barbequed meat. She gratefully accepted it and nodded in response to his question, tearing ravenously into the meat as she had gotten quite an appetite to go with her transcendence.
"Let's me think... well that was one of my abilities and it should be one of yours as well. Basically that was just me shape-shifting back into my true form but since I can only access up to three tails of power, that's the limit I can go in that form as well. My other current powers include the ability to manipulate my youki in the same way that you are able to manipulate sand, the blue flames of the fox goddess Inari known as the Kitsune-Bi and ability to use jutsu from all elements. Though my current jutsu arsenal is only that of what Kurama had seen and learnt by himself over the years, anything else I have to learn by hand myself." Naruto explained as he swallowed his entire skewer of meat in one bite.
Gaia gazed at him in admiration as she finished her portion as well, "Naruto-sama is so powerful! I bet you can crush all the humans with your power!"
"No I can't Gaia-chan... at least not yet. While humans are selfish and fickle creatures, you yourself must have studied up on the different types of humans. The normal civilians and villagers won't pose any threat, the Genins and Chunnins are pretty much easy to deal with. However the Jounins are an entirely different class from Chunnins, as are the ANBU from Jounins and the Kages from everyone else."
"Does that mean that my dad... I mean the Yondaime Kazekage is that strong as well?" Gaia asked with a little venom in her voice.
"Yes that is true; he has the ability to manipulate gold dust using his Jiton (Magnet Release) Kekkei Genkai. The Sandaime Hokage in my ex-village is said to have mastered every jutsu in Konoha's arsenal, thus earning him the nickname of 'The Professor'. The greatest enemy one can have on the battlefield is yourself, if you're unsure of yourself then you will fall and if you're overconfident then you will still fall. Never underestimate your opponent or overestimate yourself. That was something Kurama learnt after facing down my bastard of a biological father."
"I understand Naruto-sama; you are indeed as humble as you are strong!" Gaia nodded sagely earning a soft sigh from her lord.
'Why do I get the feeling that she's going to be just as bad as a fangirl...?' Naruto thought glumly before several growls emanated from the dunes around them. They both leapt up into battle positions with their backs against each other, watching as a dozen dark-brown rat-like creatures crawled out from under the sand.
"These are Shitaishōhi (Corpse Consumer)... they travel underground by burrowing and usually move in packs of dozen or more. They earn their name due to their favourite food being corpses but they are not above eating fresh meat as well. Thanks to their diet, their claws and teeth are highly infectious as is their bodily fluids should they get into any open wounds." Gaia informed him as the giant rats circled the duo, as if judging their capabilities.
"We'll let this be your first lesson then... that even weak creatures can become deadly if they are fought in a group. That was one of Konoha's strengths, their value on Teamwork and combination attacks. Do you think that you will be able to handle half of them?" Naruto asked his student.
"I will try my best master..."
"Do or do not. There is no try. Have more faith in yourself my student; you are a demon lord as well." He grasped her shoulder in a calming notion before both of them started drawing on their demonic power. Crimson and golden auras swirling about their respective owners, both sets of eyes glowing with hidden power.
The Shitaishōhi chose that moment to attack, half a dozen to each of them. Their snouts filled with disgusting rotten teeth snapping away as they charged straight in, the two demons leapt away to give each other more fighting space.
With Naruto
Naruto danced and weaved his way through the relentless assault of jaws and claws, using his youki manipulation to create hands that punched and smacked the offensive party away. A particularly giant Shitaishōhi leapt at him only to find itself skewered on dozens of youki spikes that had been shot from Naruto's fingers, it fell dead onto the sand as blood leaked out from its wounds.
The remaining five proved to have some form of intelligence as they stuck together and attacked in formation, hoping to get a lucky hit in on their powerful prey. Too bad for them that they didn't realise that their target wasn't the prey but he was the predator, the poor rodents didn't last long. Youki-enhanced claws tore their way through flesh and bone, the increased corrosive nature of the youki allowing him to negate the toxic effect of their blood.
Soon only one of them remained as a rather blood-free Naruto stood in front of it, glowing crimson eyes locked onto small beady little black eyes. It tried to scamper away but he would have none of it, a youki hand yanked it back by its long sinewy tail and threw it squealing into the air. A blade of pure crimson youki split the body in half as it descended, sending a spray of blood across the area.
"Time to go check on that cute little student of mine..." Naruto whistled as he reined his power back in and walked over to the redheaded girl's fight.
With Gaia
Gaia took a deep breath as she settled into a loose defensive stance that she had been taught, her hands moving slightly as the sand around her followed in tandem. All of the Shitaishōhi decided to dive at her together, something that she had already anticipated seeing they outnumbered her.
Taking half a step back, she stomped the ground causing a shockwave of sand to ripple of from her position and knocking the attacking rodents into the air. She concentrated on one of the giant rats and sent a wave of sand spikes towards it, impaling the body in several different directions and killing it effectively.
Gaia turned around and manipulated the sand into two giant fists, which she then used to crush another two of the attackers. She brought up a wall of sand to her right, allowing the diving Shitaishōhi to slam brutally into it. Twisting her body suddenly, she barely dodged another diving attempt at her. This caused the second rat to crash into the first, allowing Gaia to test out one of the techniques that she had remembered.
"Sabaku Kyū (Sand Binding Coffin)!"
Gaia trapped the two giant rodents within a coffin of condensed sand that had wrapped around them; she then formed a grasping-like motion with her hand and turned her hand counter-clockwise while closing it into a fist.
"Sabaku Sōsō (Sand Waterfall Funeral)!"
Gaia growled out as the sand surrounding the two rodents imploded and crushed them, blood leaked out from the sandy confines of the prison. She slowly relinquished control over the sand, allowing two crushed and mangled bodies to fall onto the ground. A screech sounded to her left and she turned around too late to find a claw descending towards her face.
Luckily for her, Naruto had interfered and punched the Shitaishōhi in the face before impaling it with a spear of youki.
"Your first lesson in a multiple opponent fight: Never take your eyes off any of them. Doing so would allow that one person to sneak up on you and finish you off when you are preoccupied with fighting the others." Naruto lectured causing her to drop her head in sadness.
"I'm sorry Naruto-sama; I'll do better next time I promise!" Gaia apologised getting a chuckle from him.
"Don't worry Gaia-chan, we all make mistakes. However it is what we learn from our mistakes that make the difference, thus now you know your mistake so you can work on it." He told her, getting the redhead to perk up slightly. "Though I am curious about that last attack you pulled, the one where you compressed the sand so fast that it seemed like it imploded."
"Ah that was the Sabaku Sōsō which is the follow up attack from the Sabaku Kyū, both are jutsus that the previous Jinchuuriki of the Shukaku had used and were taught to me." Gaia explained to her master.
"Interesting... well it is late and we should be getting some sleep. Tomorrow we shall resume our journey... a feeling in my gut is telling me to head to Nami no Kuni (Land of Waves)..." Naruto whispered to himself before snuffing out the fire by having his student bury it under a pile of sand. He transformed into his one-tailed fox form, allowing Gaia to snuggle into him as he wrapped his tail around her.
Soon the pair felt their eyelids growing heavier and allowed sleep to wash over them like a black tide, both of them knowing that their journey had only just begun.
Alright! Another chapter written and done with... I'm really on a roll with this story!
Sorry for those who liked a male Gaara but inspiration had suddenly struck me and I wanted him as a female in this so he could travel with Naruto. Since I liked the idea of male Gaara being the Kazekage but that can't happen here so I had him gender-bended into a female... hope I didn't ruin this story for any of you...
So remember to vote for the pairings, so here they are once again!
Women confirmed to be in the harem
Terumi Mei
Tayuya
Sabaku no Gaia (Female Gaara)
Women you can vote for
Nii Yugito
Fū
Mitarashi Anko
Uzuki Yuugao
Kurama Yakumo
Konan
Your suggestions (No Sakura, Hinata, Ino, Tenten, Shizune or Tsunade)
So how did you like this chapter? Tell me in a review below because I love reading them~ they give me input on how I can improve the story and what you liked and disliked so far!
Ja ne!
