The Trees Have Eyes

by drakas3000

Read the first chapter - just a short AN prologue, NarutoxIno, he's got Scopophobia, she's a yandere - if that intrigues you (or not) please just read the first chapter. Cheers and rock on!

2. Prelude: Queens Move Pawn

How ya doin? And welcome to my newest fic – The Trees Have Eyes. This is Drakas3000 signing on and just saying no, I don't own Naruto.

Thanks to ColonelShepherd'sGhost - i saw your review and was confused: for some reason there was no line breaks - the minuses didn't copy over, so hopefully you'll see a lot of 1's and zeroes - they're the page breaks

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The figure walked through the rain and came to a checkpoint.

"You have reached the Land Of Fire traveller; we need to see your papers before allowing you admittance." The traveller looked at either guard and in a flash separated their heads from their shoulders; his blade was cleaned and back in its scabbard before the bodies hit the ground.

The killer walked on un-phased, uttering but two words:

"Hiashi… Hyuuga."

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Naruto strode quickly through the main street as he approached the gate leading out of the Village, slowing only as he neared the guardhouse. He could feel his heart rate speeding up, his pulse was turning to lightning, his fingers began twitching and felt his feet becoming leaden.

"Naruto. Go on through." Naruto went out the gate and jumped to the side so that his back was against the wall, his hand clutching his chest. He remained like that for a few seconds longer; he stopped twitching and felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him as the adrenalin left his system.

That was too close… they nearly saw me…

Naruto took a deep breath and continued waling perpendicular to the road, for his destination lay not in a foreign city, but the one place he knew there would be no people, no eyes – the Forest Of Death.

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While meandering through the forest, Naruto thought of the clearing he was going to; for all the times he had been to the small meadow, he had never seen anyone, not an ANBU, nor the kunoichi who frequented the Forest – no one. He smiled at the thought; he wouldn't have it any other way.

As he approached the meadow he felt an odd sense of trepidation, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he froze, someone was watching him! Naruto ducked and spun back and forth, blurring his vision so that he would pick up a reflection or shine easily – like an eye. He searched for half a minute but found nothing, what was that about?

Although Naruto had no idea of it, what was about to unfold would change the course of his life beyond imagining; when Naruto came upon his riverside refuge, he saw something that shocked him to his core – a human being, here, in his most sacred place.

The man wore dark, two-tone blue and teal samurai pants, tucked into shin protectors that met with a pair of grey tabi and straw sandals. On the top he wore a dark grey vest, enamoured with a sand yellow hexagon design. The vest continued down his back so that it covered the back of his thighs. The vest was tied together with a cloth belt and partially covered a sea-green coat, going down his arms to his wrists, but only half wrapped so that Naruto could see the mesh shirt underneath.

He had a killers face, his raven hair came to a widows peak but naturally spiked up, though in the back it was pulled tight for it was held with a (ribbon, samurai band), leaving a short topknot above the rear of his head. Two thin sideburns adorned the man's face, descending down past his ears and disappearing along his jaw; the most remarkable thing about his face however, was the addition of an eyepatch, one that seemed to be made of the tsuba of a sword.

He drew his weapon – a katana. It was then that Naruto noticed he wore fingerless gloves and a pair of red ashigaru gauntlets. The sword was beautiful; its black blade seemed to glow ethereally in the sunlight, while the tsuba – a dragon eating its tail – continued seamlessly into an ivory-crafted handle.

He would have admired the beauty of the blade more, were it not the instrument of his death.

"You have seen me. I am sorry, but I cannot let you live."

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The man advanced slowly, but to Naruto he might as well have been running.

I have to get out of here!

Naruto tried running, but he couldn't even lift his feet – he was frozen in place.

"It is good you do not run, lest you alert someone else to my presence, goodbye." As the katana came down Naruto closed his eyes.

So this is it? Im gonna die here? No! I can't die here! I can't….

At the blade tasted Naruto's flesh, the would-be killer saw a red-like haze surround Naruto, who in turn heard a drip! and a tug deep inside himself. He was flung back into one of the hundreds-year-old trees but got up fine. He took one look at his attacker and – not being one to look a gift-horse in the mouth – jumped into the river.

For the first time in his life, Naruto's attacker was surprised: a target seemed to be whisked away by nature, like Kami plucked him from death in the nick of time. He was conflicted to say the least: should he go after the boy to prevent him from talking? Or should he continue on to his target?

He looked up the river and saw that the water turned white – rapids. He smiled darkly and chose the latter option; it seemed that Kami didn't favour the boy after all.

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Naruto cursed out loud only to have his mouth and lungs quickly fill with water. He swum so that he was right-way-up and ejected the water from his mouth, he looked forwards only to see large stones breaking the water; and soon himself. Naruto was only two metres away from the right bank, he reached out for the edge only to look in horror as his elbow smashed against a submerged rock and snap his arm, breaking it and pulling the shoulder from its socket. He went to scream but the severe jerk pulled him underwater again, once more packing his lungs with water. The next thing he saw was a boulder directly in front of him, the last thing he remembered was whipping his left arm in front of his face.

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The figure watched on in horror as she came just too late to save Naruto, the blade sliced into his shoulder but he was pulled back. Wait what? She couldn't believe her eyes; it was as though he was pulled back by wires or something. Her jubilance was short-lived however, as Naruto chose to make his escape into the river.

What are you doing? Can't you see the rapids?

Evidently he didn't. Naruto was whisked out of her field of vision and his assailant walked towards the Village Hidden In The Leaves, she wouldn't let his death go unavenged, though she wasn't too sure he was dead. She cooled her boiling blood and leapt from tree to tree, racing the water, wincing as she saw Naruto's arm snap at the elbow and see his head split open on a rock. She leapt down from the tree and threw a vine around Naruto, hauling him out of the water while his crimson blood mingled with the river.

She sat puffing and panting, looking at his broken but breathing form. She marvelled at the physiology of her future-husbands body. She stood up and took off her backpack, taking out several bandages, some cat-gut and a needle. She made a splint for his arm by utilising a nearby stick and bandaged his arm to his side, not before bandaging his ribs and chest together.

"Be glad you're unconscious sweetie, otherwise this would have hurt a lot." With an efficiency that bordered on brutality, the girl made nine stitches up from the ridge of Naruto's left eyebrow, sealing the grievous wound.

Naruto groaned and his eye twitched. The girl hastily finished bandaging him and went to leave, only to descend close to his face, so that theirs were only an inch apart.

Hm, I can't steal his first kiss. Instead of kissing him on the lips, the girl kissed him dearly on the cheek. Reluctant to leave him, the girl drank in his proximity – she had never been this close before, but after a few deep breaths she unwillingly got up off of him. He groaned again and she giggled.

"You'll be fine my love, I'm not going to let you die any time soon, I've got big plans for you and me."

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When Naruto next opened his eyes it was dusk, the sun was slowly fading over the horizon and shadows were creeping into the forest floor. He tried to move and subsequently found that his torso and right arm was bandaged, he went to raise an eyebrow but found that difficult as well. Naruto crawled over to the river and saw his reflection: most of his face was bruised yellow – he must have been out for a few days – and above his left eye were twelve stitches.

"What the fuck?! When did this happen?" Naruto looked around, left and right, up and down; he knew they were here, somewhere, watching and waiting.

How long have I been out? How long have they been here? Who fixed me up – was it them?

Naruto could feel his mouth going dry, his pulse was racing and he felt like he was going to be sick. He slammed his eyes shut and slowed his breathing, clutching his heart as it felt like it was going a million miles a minute.

No, it's not them… it feels different.

For an unknown reason, Naruto could always tell when it was them who did something to him, but this time it was different: he could feel no malice in the air, only calm. He shook his head at the odd feelings and stood up, looking around as he did so.

"If the river's there, I've only gone about one or two hundred metres from my spot…. What the hell happened?" Naruto shambled through the ever-darkening forest, intent on making camp in his clearing. He ripped the bandages from his ribs for they seemed to be completely mended, but his right arm was a different story: his arm was numb from the shoulder to the elbow, and his forearm felt like it was going to fall off at any time.

"Ngh! Fuck… I need to fix this." Now, Naruto was a smart kid; not book smart, but street smart. One thing he learnt over the years was that if something good came your way you didn't ask questions – like his meadow. For unknown reasons, Naruto had – until a few days ago – never encountered anyone there, and even more mysteriously, whenever he slept or rested there, he arose hale and hearty.

Naruto made his way into the clearing and hobbled over to a tree, sliding down it and making himself comfortable. Oddly enough, his dreams that night were accompanied by a wonderful scent and… a girl? A girl… with platinum blonde hair – too bad he couldn't make out her face.

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The ANBU would have signalled for help, had his spine not received a katana. He guided the body to the ground and advanced upon the unsuspecting compound.

"!IN-" A Hyuuga clansman was cut from hip to shoulder in half a second, the two pieces of his body fell to the ground shortly thereafter. Unfortunately for the assassin, the clansman's shout did attract unwanted attention; several Hyuuga ninja were rapidly approaching the assailant's position.

The assailant leapt up the fences and ran along the perimeter wall, seeking refuge in the shadows of the roof.

"Damn! Where are they? You two, ensure Ladies Hinata and Hanabi are alright, you three, check the dojo, the rest are to spread out – inspect every nook and cranny; we are not letting another Kumo incident happen. Go!" When the guards weren't looking, the assailant silently jumped down from the roof and slinked into the estate proper. His advancement was unimpeded as he searched for his target, moving from shadow to shadow in the dark corridors of the great house. He finally came to the room he was looking for a slid the door open, the figure inside kept an indifferent face.

"If you think you can simply creep in here and kill me… you are gravely mistaken; I will kill you before you draw your sword." Hiashi Hyuuga took up the Gentle Fist stance and activated his Byakugan, only for his face to take up a surprised face.

"How is this possible!?" The assassin had no idea what Hiashi was on about, the Hyuuga man rushed forwards, but it was too late; the assassin drew his sword, slashed Hiashi from underarm to clavicle (decapitating him in the process) whipped the blade down so as to clean the blade of blood and re-sheathe his sword – all in one fluid motion; typical Iaido style.

He was out of the study before the two sections of the head Hyuuga's body even hit the ground, running silently through the halls towards the exit. Several guards tried to stop him, but their bodies adorned the ground just as crimson ribbons adorned the walls.

He neared the exit when he entered the antechamber and stopped – it felt as though someone was watching him…

"HYAAA!" From out of a cupboard leapt a man with a sword held high. The assassin hammered his left forearm into his chest and slammed the man against a wall; there was no pity in his eyes as he thrust his katana through the Hyuuga's chest, creating a large arterial blood splatter against the wall, dragging the scarlet trail down as he slid to the ground, dead.

The assassin dismissed the prior feeling as an overabundance of adrenalin and fled out of the open door and into the night. Had he lingered for just a moment more, he just might have heard two girls and a boy burst into tears; their eyes exposed unlike the rest of their hidden bodies, submerged under a cellar entrance.

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Naruto awoke to the trampling of branches and jumped, wincing only slightly at the pain in his arm. He looked around and saw for the second time in one week his would-be killer: the one-eyed samurai.

"You, the boy from this morning; I won't make the same mistake of letting you live twice." Naruto jumped back, he cocked his head to the side when he heard the man's words.

"What do you mean 'this morning', that was a few days ago – never mind that: who are you?!" In no time at all the man was somehow right in front of Naruto; he popped the tsuba of his katana and went to slice Naruto from underarm to neck, only Naruto caught the blade.

"…Interesting. Who are you boy?" Naruto stood with a spine of iron, he didn't care how many people were watching him; he didn't care how many eyes were on him – all he cared about was killing the man who continued to terrorize him.

"Your death!" A red haze took up Naruto's body, the cut on his palm instantly sealed over and the muscles of his arms visibly bunched up, cording with the newfound strength and strain. The man struggled with all of his might but Naruto's power was like an unstoppable force, drawing him ever closer by the blade of his sword.

"What the hell are you boy?" Naruto's answer came in the form of his left fist crashing into the man's torso, fracturing a rib. He began to see spots and stumbled over, propping himself up on an elbow as he shuffled backwards with his feet.

Never in my life have I encountered such a foe…. Just what is this child?

Naruto's advance was slow but implacable, his red haze grew to such intensity that when he walked a black trail of decay appeared behind him.

"Before I kill you, tell me your name!" For a split second the man felt pure, unadulterated terror, before a serene wave of calm washed over him – he knew he was going to die. A rare smile crept across his face; if it was his fate to die here, then so be it.

"Yagyu…. Jubei Mitsuyoshi….Yagyu." The evil being before Jubei grinned.

"Very well Jubei Yagyu – it was a pleasure killing you, but I don't need this." Naruto threw the sword away, flipping end-over-end before shlicnk!-ing into the ground several metres away. He took but a single step before collapsing; his heart beat began to slow, his muscles felt heavy and his eyes fell shut.

"What…happened?" He hit the ground with a thud and was out cold. A new rush of adrenalin flew through Jubei and he slowly clambered to his feet. He limped over to his sword and – with difficulty – pulled it from the ground. Jubei shuffled over to Naruto's body and held his sword high; it would appear luck was once again on his side.

As his blade descended on the boys head, time seemed to slow for Jubei; memories of his childhood and earlier life came back to him: being born into a samurais' life; his father was master swordsman for Ieyasu and Iemitsu Tokugawa, later becoming both their sword instructors when they arose to the throne. Within 24 short years Jubei was known as the best swordsman in the Yagyu clan, he never really wanted this life, but it was the one thrust upon him by fate.

How would I have turned out had I not gone down this path?

At the last moment his right arm corded and stopped – for the first time ever, Jubei would let someone who was not supposed to see him, live.

Let's see how your life pans out: in a world dominated by ninja and their jutsu, given the choice of a samurai, what path will you take?

Jubei only remembered the pain in his ribs as agony shot out through them when he dragged Naruto haphazardly over to a tree, laying him against some fallen bark.

Jubei himself slowly walked to a tree a few metres away, propping himself up against it. He looked over to the unknown boy, sensing the fear the softly radiated off of him. Jubei huffed a smile and closed his eyes, letting unconsciousness blissfully overtake him.

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Oh crap! What do I do?

Naruto was pondering his situation: his head was held together with stitches, he had little memory of the last few hours and he was currently staring at the – hopefully – unconscious body of the guy who tried to kill him a few nights ago. Granted, his right arm now felt better, as opposed to two twigs held together with tape.

He's got incredible reflexes and he's super-fast, he seems to fight, move, walk and talk with only one eye – which looks badass!

Naruto shook his head – this guy would probably kill him, given the chance.

Okay – guess I just have to kill him first, now how the hell do I do that?

Naruto picked up a large rock and tested it by smacking the palm of his other hand with it – at least a kilo. He steeled himself and slowly crept over to the sleeping killer, taking complete and utter care not to step on any sticks.

"If you're going to kill me, I suggest you be a little quieter." Naruto froze; he was but a metre away from the man when he spoke.

"By the way – unless you brained me just right, you wouldn't have killed me."

"H-How did you kn-" It was at that point that the man opened his eye.

His eye… his EYE! Naruto's body was racked with spasms as he tried to get away from the horrific figure, he crawled on his hands and knees, vomiting on the ground and the collapsing into it as he fell onto his back.

"Stay away! NO! STAY BACK! AHH!" Naruto could feel an ice-cold hand grip his heart as fear gripped his muscles and tensed them: completely immobilising him. Tears rushed out his eyes as he hyperventilated, but still the merciless killer had neither pity nor remorse in his eyes as he advanced, sword held high.

"GET AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Naruto sobbed uncontrollably as he lost all control of his muscles, trembling with hysteria. The killer finally reached him and placed a hand of iron around his right shoulder, his blade poised at his neck.

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Jubei was trying to hold the frantic boy still; apropos of nothing, the boy began screaming erratically, vomited and trembled uncontrollably.

"Snap out of it boy!" Jubei punched Naruto harshly across the face, trying to smack him back to sanity. A few hits later and Naruto stopped his trembling.

"You! What do you want with me?!" Naruto covered his head and Jubei realised that the kid must have been back to his original self. Jubei let him to the ground and stood back up, Naruto uncovered his face, unsure what to make of the situation.

"Boy – what is the last thing you remember?" Naruto warily stood up, taking a step back from Jubei.

"I was…. You were going to kill me, then I caught your sword…. Nothing after that, well, my fit just then." Jubei raised an eyebrow.

"Why did you have a fit?" Naruto instantly became defensive – how did he know that he wasn't working for them?

"Why were you trying to kill me?" A grin played across Jubei's face for a moment.

"I'm going to give you a choice; do you want me to leave and never see me again? Or do you want to train under me?" Naruto was taken aback:

He tried to kill me a few hours ago, now he wants to train me?

"Take note; regardless of your decision, I will not kill you, however…" Jubei popped the hilt on his katana.

"…Regardless of your decision, should you breathe a word about me, I will hunt you down and kill you. Understood?" Naruto's mouth went dry, and for once it wasn't because people were watching him.

"Y-Yeah… I understand." Jubei took his thumb off of the hilt and let the katana slide back into its sheath.

"Superb. What is your choice?"

"You mean I have to choose now?" Jubei looked impassively at Naruto.

"It's not that difficult – become a swordsman, or don't." Naruto looked within himself for the answer – was it really that simple?

"Well… I guess when you put it that way…. Yes?" Jubei nodded once and turned to the river.

"I believe you made the right choice, but only time will tell." He turned back to Naruto and held out his hand.

"Jubei, Yagyu." Naruto hesitantly took it and shook.

"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki. When do we start?" Jubei took off his katana and placed it on the ground, Naruto reached out for it but Jubei kicked his hand away.

"Rule number one: never touch my katana unless I say so." Naruto nursed his sore hand and nodded warily.

"That seems…. Reasonable. Any other rules?"

"Just one: Once training starts it doesn't stop until I say so." Naruto nodded.

"Alright, when does training start?" Jubei's foot lashed out and stopped an inch away from Naruto's face.

"Right now."

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"Phew! That was tough; you ready to go back Ino?"

"Yes dad; thanks again for letting me train with you." Inoichi smiled as he put an arm around his daughter and hugged her.

"Haha! It's fine Ino; good thinking on your behalf as well: training seriously before going to the academy next year." Ino smiled to herself as she thought about the past few weeks:

After bandaging Naruto back together she watched him for the rest of the day before her curfew was nearing and went back to her house. She came back to find the village in uproar: the Hyuuga clan had been attacked, Hiashi Hyuuga had been assassinated. Ino didn't really care, Naruto was okay and that was all that mattered. Of course, she showed up at the funeral for the deceased, comforting the family where possible. A few days after the funeral she asked her father if he could train her; for both added protection should her family come under attack, and as a leg up for when she entered the academy.

For a whole week she didn't see Naruto and became more and more worried (her father didn't want her going outside the village until the Hyuuga situation calmed down) for she hadn't seen him inside the village either. After much pleading with her father he finally let her roam out the village. She came upon a great surprise when she found Naruto being trained by the man who tried to kill him – she really must have missed something in the time she was gone. After watching him train for a week she realised that her ninja skills weren't all that crash hot – sure, she was only a ten year old girl (eleven soon), but she came from a famous ninja clan and came to the decision that if Naruto was getting stronger, then she would get stronger too.

So far, she had only trained in taijutsu, but Inoichi said that in a few weeks' time –depending on how she was going (that always means 'yes') – he would teach her the first of the clans' jutsu: the Mind Transfer Jutsu.

"…ody home in there?"

"Hm? Sorry what daddy?" Her father smiled as she realised she was daydreaming.

"Nevermind sweetheart; so what were you dreaming about – boys?" Ino stamped a foot childishly.

"Daaaad!" Inoichi laughed, he brought her up to embody the violet flower: a symbol of blunt, candid love. But hey, that didn't mean that he couldn't tease her about it!

"Hahahaha…. Anyway, how about we swing by Sakura's place and you two hang out?" Ino looked at her father with a 'seriously?' look in her eyes.

"But daddy." She whispered,

"She's always talking about Sasuke and how he's oh-so great, she even seems to think that I like him! Besides, she's becoming a ninja because of Sasuke."

Inoichi sighed; he was slightly worried that Ino was becoming a bit of a tomboy: she was always in the forest or hanging around with Shikamaru and Choji, and now she was training with him, becoming a little on the muscly side in such a short space of time. But then again… she always cleaned up after herself, she helped her mother cook, she did her nails every now and then, and if they ever went out she would always dress up nice. He smiled.

What am I worrying about? She's grown up fine, and she'll grow up to be an excellent kunoichi, I've got nothing to worry about.

"You're right Ino, forget I said anything. Besides." He pulled her in close and whispered, as though they were part of a grand conspiracy.

"You're not the only one who thinks the Uchiha is more-than-a-bit of a dick – but let's keep that between us, shall we?"

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"Again!" Naruto charged once more at Jubei, this time going high, launching himself off the ground and sent a left foot straight for Jubei's head. He anticipated the beginner move and held a hand in front of his face to block the kick, but at the last second, Naruto pulled his left leg back and shot out his right, crashing into Jubei's chest.

Jubei took a half-step back, absorbing the rest of the force throughout his body.

"Congratulations, it only took you three weeks, but you finally landed a hit on me." Naruto dropped to a knee and panted – he'd been at this for the past eight hours.

"Yeah *pant* well, practice *pant* *pant* makes *pant* perfect." Jubei let out a single sarcastic laugh, more a 'harrumph' than a laugh.

"If you call that perfect then I might as well leave now. I am a man of my word, however; where shall we progress next in your training?" Naruto thought about it; not only was Jubei teaching Naruto how to fight, he was also teaching him life skills along the way: he knew how to act were he in the presence of royalty, he knew – basic – literacy, he could hunt, gut and clean fish, but most importantly, Jubei taught Naruto how to cook. So his answer could be pretty much anything.

"Hmm, how about some of those cool jutsu!" Jubei shook his head.

"I am not a ninja, not the kind you know of, at least. I cannot teach you jutsu." Naruto sulked; he always wanted to learn those cool magic fighting tricks. He raised his head and let his eyes linger on Jubei's katana.

"What about kenjutsu: sword fighting and that?" Jubei looked at his katana, then up and down at Naruto.

"A weapon should be an extension of your body, a sword even moreso. Could you really say that your fighting skills are up to the challenge?" Naruto resisted fuming, letting out a sigh instead.

"Well we're going to continue taijutsu anyway… what about writing – calligraphy?" Naruto didn't really feel like he had much of a choice, sure, he was good at writing already – he enjoyed it too – but how does writing compare to being a samurai or a ninja?

"You made an excellent choice; though you don't realise it now, this will be a great weapon in the future. Come with me." As Naruto reluctantly followed behind Jubei he had one thought:

How is calligraphy going to help me fight? What am I going to do: write on a piece of paper saying 'stop'? How about 'go away', ha(!)

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The last three months of the year went by quickly for Ino; she turned eleven in late September but her training did not relent, if anything, it became more intense, now that she was a year older and another day closer to joining the ninja academy.

As promised, her father showed her the Mind Transfer Jutsu, and on more than one occasion she would be found late at night in her bed; not sleeping, but unconscious: inhabiting the body of a bird and snuggling up next to Naruto at night in the forest.

As for her birthday wish (being with Naruto for real), Ino had little idea that it would come true, least of all on October tenth.

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As Naruto ran through his usual morning exercise, Jubei noticed that he was slightly off, a fumble here, a misstep there. He decided to pull Naruto up on it.

"Naruto. You seem to be out of sorts today – what is the matter?" Naruto stopped and turned.

"Well… it's my birthday today…I don't suppose we could have a day off, could we?" Jubei considered it for a moment, that, and that Naruto said 'we', not 'I'.

"Well it's not unreasonable. I shall allow it. Do you intend to visit the Village?" Naruto rubbed his chin and thought.

"Yes… I'll need to speak with Sarutobi; I also wouldn't mind swinging by the library while we're at it: to find some jutsu books."

"If these jutsu are oh-so powerful, do you really think they would be in a public library?" A grin spread across Naruto's face.

"No they wouldn't – but I know where they would. Come on, let's go." As they made their way towards the Village, a sparrow high above on a tree fell over before standing back up, seemingly lost.

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"Hm? Naruto, are you coming?" They were at the edge of the forest, but an invisible force stopped Naruto. He clutched his chest and shook on the spot.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Naruto slowly shook his head.

"I can't go out there Jubei, they're out there. I know it!" Jubei was aware that this might happen when they left the forest; when he was training Naruto had little time nor energy to be wary of imagined people watching him, but now that he was going back to civilization…

"Is it you scopophobia?"

"M-my w-w-what?"

"It's what your fear is called; afraid of people seeing you, looking at you, their eyes. Is it… to do with your scars?" Tears silently rolled down Naruto's face while Jubei's became grave.

"I see." He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and dragged him back to their campsite.

"W-where are you taking me?" Jubei knew that it had something to do with Naruto's past, something that he knew better than to dig up.

"To make a temporary solution." Naruto seemed to calm down when they returned to the meadow and Jubei dug through his rucksack (which seemed to never end).

"Put these on." He threw Naruto a pile of clothing, Naruto looked up at Jubei quizzically but all he did was turn around.

"If you're finished dressing, look in the river at your reflection." Naruto did as he was told and moved to the river, finding an image that was…. Normal. The reflection was wearing a plain blue shirt, white pants, a pair of straw sandals (which Naruto had become comfortably used to) and tabi socks.

"I look normal, like a usual person… where did you get these?" Jubei ignored his question and was staring at his head.

"The whiskers are a bit of a giveaway, hair too….. where did I put that… there's that…. Here it is. Put these on." He handed Naruto a red cap, ninja mask (AN: think Kakashi) and a pair of sunglasses.

"The cap will hide your hair, the mask your whiskers, and the sunnies your eyes; I think part of the problem is that they can see your eyes – these are tinted black."

When they approached the forest edge again, Naruto only felt the slightest bit of trepidation, a bit he could control. Jubei had likewise changed his appearance: he wore a black robe that covered the most of his body, his katana was held to his side by a white sash and he took off his eye patch. When he saw Naruto open his mouth he answered his question.

"It's a fake, just ignore it and they will too." Naruto shrugged his shoulders, despite Jubei's reassurance, he could have sworn that both eyes moved in sync.

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As they walked through the gates, Jubei noticed that there were many more people on the streets than what he usually encountered on his few trips in to the Village.

"Is there some kind of festival on?" Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"You could say that." He spat venomously,

"The annual 'Demon Hunt'." Jubei was going to inquire as to who the Demon was, but realised that his answer was in Naruto's.

"I see… if it's fine with you, I believe that we should split up, you go to the Hokage's tower and I'll go to the library." Naruto nodded and they went their separate ways.

Jubei was walking for a few minutes when a strange but wonderful smell caught his nose; he walked down an alley and stooped to the ground, picking up a flower. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, he opened his eyes when the scent suddenly disappeared and found that he was holding an old pipe.

"This is what my people call a genjutsu." Said a female voice, one that held a blade to his throat; Jubei went to open his mouth but the grip tightened.

"Ah-ah-ah: I'll do the talking, for you and I, need to have a little chat."

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Naruto ascended the Hokage's tower with little hindrance, as most of the villagers were milling in the streets, organizing themselves into mobs to hunt the Little Demon down. Naruto sneered at their impudence; their actions directly led to his easy infiltration.

He decided to be polite and knock on the Hokage's door.

"Hm?, oh, enter!" Naruto went through the door and saw Sarutobi reading a heavy medical tome.

"Sarutobi." He turned and looked at Naruto, squinted and then recognition grew into his face.

"Naruto? I haven't seen you in… months? How have you been?" A vein of annoyance went through Naruto as his disguise was so easily penetrated so quickly.

"Alive. I haven't come to make unnecessary chit-chat." The Hokage understood and went to a filing cabinet.

"Ah yes – your monthly allowance, I know it's around here somewhere…."

"No you old… I am going to join the ninja academy next year; will you fund my enrolment?" The old man smiled.

"But of course! Why wouldn't I?" Naruto clenched his fists as the anger slowly built in him; the Hokage saw this and sighed.

"You know why we had to do it – how has it been, your… fear?" Naruto looked at the old man with great hostility in his eyes.

"I haven't forgiven you for what you did." He replied coldly. The aging Hokage sighed once more,

"It was a necessary sacrifice; you understand that, don't you?" Naruto spun and made for the door, before exiting, he stopped and turned his head.

"No, I really don't."

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Naruto exited the tower and shoved his hands in his pockets, walking towards the library, intent on getting Jubei and departing this hell-hole.

A few minutes later he ran into Jubei who had a stack of books bundled together with string.

"How did it go with the Hokage?" Naruto simply nodded his head.

"Were you successful?" Jubei hefted the bundles and grinned.

"I… guess you could say that. Are we returning to the forest?" Naruto shook his head.

"You go back; I just need to do one last thing." Jubei raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?" Naruto grinned darkly,

"I'm going to crash a festival. I'll see you back at the meadow."

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Naruto levered the stuck door of his apartment open, stepping through the mouldy doorway to lay his eyes on his decrepit and dilapidated home. He was glad that he was wearing a mask, for the airborne mould-spores couldn't have been healthy.

Naruto braced himself against the wall and pushed against his bed, shifting it to the other side of the room. He knelt down and rapped on the floorboards with the back of his knuckles, looking for his stash. Naruto prised the hollow board up and looked at his meagre hoardings: fifty-three ryo, a picture of him on the shoulder of Sarutobi's shoulder wearing the Hokage hat, a rusty tanto and a memento from a lifetime ago: a decaying shogi piece, a pawn.

He tore the picture up, pocketed the money, held onto the tanto and delicately put the shogi piece into the band on his hat.

Fireworks erupted in the sky; Naruto could feel the rumbling of feet as thousands of bloodthirsty villagers approached his home.

"I'm going to have the last laugh this year." He went through the bench under the sink and got out all of his cleaning products; from bleach to floor cleaner, and poured them onto his bed, throwing all of the fabric and clothes he had on top of the volatile mixture. As the rumbling came closer he quickly ducked downstairs into another apartment that used to house a joiner. He found a small oil can and ran back upstairs, dousing the material and turning it into a homemade ANFO bomb.

The rumble of people seemed to be right on top of him as he opened a packet of matches, lit one and placed it on an old shirt. Once he made sure that it caught, Naruto escaped the apartment and climbed up a building a block away, waiting for the real fireworks to start. A small trail of smoke could be seen slinking out of a window, but it was too late; hundreds of villagers were descending on his old home just as it exploded in a fireball, hitting the gas main next door and creating a second explosion.

Naruto couldn't help but take sadistic glee in watching the villagers collapse from the shrapnel of the explosions, his lifetime of beatings were slowly being repaid in blood. Naruto chuckled to himself,

It's going to be one loooong revenge.

He pulled the cap down over his eyes and begun taking the long way out of the village. He got no more than a few metres when he heard voices, and what they were saying chilled him to his core.

"W-what are you doing?"

"Well since everyone is looking for that little demon fuck, we thought we might sample the local goods, if you know what I mean! Hahaha! Hold her down boys; I'm going to take my time with this one…" Naruto's blood began to boil – already his life had been saved too many times by women, and even though he wanted to see the villagers tear each other apart, this is one thing that he would not let slide.

He turned the corner and one of the men looked up as he went to hold the girl down.

"Hey boss look, some little twerp is over there." The hulking man known as 'boss' turned and sneered.

"Well what are you standing there for kid? Do you want to join in? Hahahaha!" Naruto felt his anger overcoming him as he drew the old tanto.

"Oh would you look at that, are you going to be her knight in shining armour?" His sneer disappeared when a red haze outlined Naruto's body.

"What the- there's no way! Boss, you don't think he's the demon!?" Naruto wouldn't let those pigs live any longer; he was standing in front of them one moment, the next he had the tanto buried in the throat of the 'boss'. He ripped the tanto sideways, taking his jugular with it. Naruto next appeared holding onto the first criminal's chest, the tanto buried in his heart. The third would-be rapist dropped the girl and ran for it, Naruto left the tanto in the seconds' chest and leapt onto the thirds' back, his red haze quickly fading. The momentum hurled the man to the ground; Naruto lined a knuckle up and punched him in the spine at the base of the neck, killing him instantly.

The red haze was gone and he was feeling incredibly tired, but he had to tend to the girl. He knelt down beside her and stroked her cheek.

"Are you alright? It's okay – they're dead." The girl nodded her head.

"T-They didn't… touch me… are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Listen, we need to get you to a doctor or something." The girl shook her head.

"No I'm… I'm fine. How can I ever repay you for helping me?" Naruto shook his hands, no.

"It's okay, no thanks is necessary, however…" Looking back, Naruto didn't know why he did what he did: he took off his hat and held out the shogi piece, remembering how he got it:

"Are you okay?" The girl inquired to the small boy, he wouldn't have been more than five years old; he wore only a raggy pair of pants and looked extremely malnourished.

"P-pl…ease…. He…..l…p…me….." He wasn't bleeding, so he must have been talking about food. The girl handed him an egg roll she had in her pocket. He tried lifting the food to his mouth but found he lacked the strength for even that; she slowly fed him the small roll and energy seemed to flow back into him as he tried to get up.

"Hey you should stay down, I've got some more-" The boy held out a hand,

"It…s…fine….i don….t….really….eat…much…keep…it." He pushed himself back against a wall and took one of her hands in both of his own.

"How…ca..n…i…ever….pay….you…..back?" She fished around in her pockets for a few moments before holding out a small piece of wood.

"Here. It's a shogi piece, a pawn. At the start they can only move forwards, but eventually – if you play your cards right – they become really strong." Naruto took the piece, but his face still showed confusion.

"Wha..t….do…I…do…wi…th…it?" She giggled at him and enclosed his hand around the piece.

"Keep moving forwards, until you become really strong, and then save my life. Keep this, so you don't forget, alright?" The boy croaked out a laugh at the quaint idea – he'd probably be dead within a week.

"Alr..ig…ht…..i'll….sa..ve….your…life…one…da..y" The boy promptly passed out after that.

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Naruto smiled sadly at the piece in his hand.

"I forgot why I had this, I only remembered why just then – take it. I promised the person who saved me that I might save her life one day…. Now I hope I can. You hold onto that, so that one day you might have a bond like that; only I hope you know who you need to save." Naruto heard people approaching and enclosed the piece in one of her hands.

"Someone will come and help you, goodbye." Naruto rushed out of the alley, knowing that the girl was in safe hands.

After he was gone, Ino dropped her head and let a tear roll down her face.

"You remembered Naruto… but don't you get it? You already have."

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When Naruto finally stumbled to the campsite, Jubei strode over and helped him down.

"Easy there, what happened?" Naruto blinked a few times and regained his senses.

"I… there was this red haze… and I…. " Naruto looked up at Jubei.

"I remember, that night a few months ago – I caught your blade." Naruto shakily got back to his feet and held out a hand.

"Can I borrow a knife? A kunai or something like that?" Jubei was hesitant, for he now deduced that whenever Naruto held a weapon, this 'red haze' seemed to overcome him. Nevertheless, Jubei dug in his rucksack and produced a straight, single-sided long sword.

"This is called a chokuto; it lacks the structure and strength of a katana, and is mainly used for ceremonial purposes. However, if your enemy lacks a sword, this will cut them up like any other blade. Here." Jubei lifted the sword out to Naruto by the blade and grip. The moment Naruto laid his hands on the sheath a light red aura seemed to be dancing around his frame. Naruto drew the sword and the haze intensified to a miasma, he drew a breath and took the chokuto fully out of its sheath.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Naruto nodded his head – he felt divine.

"Yeah, it's unlike anything I've ever felt before." Naruto took a few steps towards a tree and, almost unconsciously, swung the chokuto out at it, slashing several times within the blink of an eye.

Jubei watched in muted awe as Naruto leapt forty metres into the air and sliced the ten-metre diameter, one-hundred metre high tree into kindling.

How is this possible….jumping that high… even the chokuto, it should have broken from the first swing….

Naruto landed on his feet and turned to Jubei.

"That was amazing; I have never seen such a feat." Naruto nodded his head and looked at the chokuto in his hand – not a scratch on it.

"Jubei – you said that you uh, meditate with you katana; what's the deal with that?" Jubei took in a short breath before answering.

"Before I answer that question, I must ask a personal one: do you… know, why you are called a 'demon'?" A twinge of anger flickered in Naruto's eyes.

"Yes… It would be a little hard not to; the Hokage went into detail about it with me once… why do you ask?" Jubei considered his words before answering;

"… I was, approached, by a third party who is unknown to the both of us, and they told me a great deal about you – including the Nine-Tails in your stomach. They were the one who gave me the books, and I have an idea about how this is happening." Jubei unsheathed his katana, sat cross-legged on the ground and placed it across his knees, motioning for Naruto to do the same.

"I want to try something, let go of your blade." Naruto did so and instantly a wave of fatigue washed over him, bringing him to the precipice of unconsciousness, Jubei quickly grabbed his hand and placed it back on the grip.

"I thought as much. What you have on your stomach is a… what did she call it; a double tetragram seal, but the seals don't meet up, so tiny bit of the Kyuubi's chakra – a mere trickle – can mingle with yours and for some reason…. When you wield a weapon, this trickle is forced into a stream, increasing your power dramatically." Naruto nodded slowly, trying to wrap his head around the situation.

"Okay… so what's the plan?"

"I've taught you Zen meditation, focusing only on your breath; get to that stage and then only think about the blade on your lap, feel the energy coursing through it, then picture the Kyuubi." Naruto's mouth opened and closed several times before replying.

"So… you want me… to talk to the Nine-Tails. That's the end game?" Jubei shook his head.

"No, you get answers. That's the endgame." Naruto couldn't believe what he was doing, but ten minutes later he found himself in a dank sewer.

"Really? This is the inside of my blade?"

"No." A deep voice boomed, Naruto ducked and looked around, early fears of people watching him resurfaced and he covered his head. He cowered on the ground for a few moments before a red wave of calmness washed over him.

"Follow my voice." The voice was at once seductive and horrific, but a strange force pulled Naruto in the direction of the voice regardless.

Naruto didn't know whether days, minutes, hours or mere seconds had passed, but after an indeterminable amount of time he arrived in what appeared to be the central junction of the sewer system. He spun around looking for the voice, but heard none.

"Over here." Naruto's gaze suddenly lay upon a giant, red, blazing eye.

"You. You're the… Kyuubi."

"That is… correct. Come here Naruto." Naruto wanted to turn and run, but his feet dragged themselves over to the gargantuan outsplayed paw. He tried struggling but his body didn't respond, their fingers touched for no more than an instant, but as soon as they did a brilliant white light filled the dank, dark sewer.

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Naruto opened his eyes to a serene plain, with ankle high grass and clear blue skies. He rubbed his head for he had one massive headache. Naruto stood up and surveyed his surroundings:

"Okay, we've got grass, grass…. Some more grass. Okay. I have no Idea where I am."

"Hey Naruto! Over here!" Naruto turned to find a girl running and waving in his direction.

As she came closer, he took in her appearance: she had scarlet red hair with two ponytails hanging down her shoulders; she had a black ornamental hairpiece at the front of her hair, and what appeared to be a sheathed wakizashi at the wore a wound cloth choker and a large red sweater, at the bottom of which Naruto noticed that she didn't seem to be wearing pants. Averting his gaze by looking further down, Naruto saw two cloth ties wrapped around her thighs that holstered a pair of katana (one of which appeared to be much larger than the other). No… one was a long katana, the other was a long wakizashi – she was a samurai? He saw that she wore a pair of tight scarlet leg warmers, cloth socks, and a pair of Japanese lifts.

"Uh… hello?" Try as he might, Naruto couldn't help but… appreciate… the size of the red-headed girls' breasts.

"What are staring at?" Naruto shook his head and took a step back.

"Uh no! You ah…. You seem to know me, is all – have we met before?" She grinned ferally and stepped closer.

"But of course we have …" As she stepped closer, it was then that Naruto noticed her eyes – blood red iris with a vertical slit.

"… We've known each other for the past eleven years." Naruto couldn't breathe, so instead he let out a short sentence:

"Oh shit…"

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"What's wrong honey, seen a ghost?" She cupped his shaking face in one hand.

"Y-You're the… Kyuubi…" She rolled her eyes and moaned.

"That's just a title, Kyuubi means 'Nine-Tails', I need a name, hmm..." She looked at him again and had an erotic idea.

"I know – why don't you call me… Kushina?" Naruto was still stupefied.

"Uh, yeah…sure… why are you giving me that look?" She looked sad for a moment before stroking his face lovingly.

"That's right – you don't know: Kushina Uzumaki was your mother's name." Naruto was taken aback:

"You knew my mother?" 'Kushina' took another step towards him.

"That's not all; I didn't just know her, she was my previous container." 'Kushina' couldn't help herself: she stepped forwards and kissed her man passionately on the lips. Being Naruto's first kiss, he couldn't help but moan:

"Kushina." Back, before pushing her away, realising the ramifications of what she was saying.

"You- oh that's gross! My mother's name?! What's going on here? Why did you just kiss me?" Kushina's face darkened and her hand fell to his shoulder.

"If you're telling me, that I have to compete with that blonde whore…" Her grip tightened on Naruto's arm and he let out a shout.

"Then I will get very angry." Naruto tried to prise her hand off but her grip was like iron.

"What are you talking about?! What blonde whore?" She let her hands drop and spat venomously at him.

"You know the one: keep moving forwards and save my life. The same one who bandaged you." Naruto was mystified, for one he didn't know why Kushina was so hostile, and two:

"They're the same person? Well what are the odds? I guess I owe her twice now." Kushina looked at him with hatred in her eyes.

"You owe her nothing, she's the same girl from the alley-" Naruto looked at her again.

"Really? The odds of that are astronomical… I still owe her once then." Kushina interrupted his soliloquy;

"Honestly! If I knew she was the same girl then I would have let her be raped." She crossed her arms and ginned victoriously – yeah, that's what she would have done.

A cold fury burnt inside of Naruto, when he looked at Kushina again it was with nothing but hatred in his eyes. He clenched a fist and punched her right across the face and sent her reeling.

"She saved me that day, she pulled me from the river and she bandaged me back up! While you did nothing to help me! I was all alone, and from out of nowhere she came along and saved my life – twice! You speak as though you've known me since I was born; if you knew anything about me… you would know that… don't ever speak that way, about anyone, ever again! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!" Kushina cried on the floor as she held her face, Naruto felt no remorse for her due to what she said. After a minute however, Naruto sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm… not sorry for what I did. You know you can't say that about people. Come on, stop crying." He wiped the tears from out of her eyes and let a smile come though, trying to reassure her. She rubbed her eyes and gratefully smiled back. He sighed again, sat down and placed an arm around her shoulders.

"Let's talk about you… eh, us, later… for now, could we talk about something else?" She sniffed once before answering:

"Yeah? Like what?" Naruto rubbed his chin,

"Well, how come whenever I wield a weapon the seal on my stomach weakens?" She smiled at him,

"It's simple; sure, I'm a pure chakra being, but I am a warrior – and killer – first and foremost. Think of it like this: you're sitting in front of a fireplace and you're warm (that's you normally), but when you open the door it's like an inferno (when you wield a weapon). It also strengthens the bond between us, not weakening but…loosening the seal the longer you wield a weapon – isn't it great?"

"Yeah… So the red haze, that's your chakra?" She nodded her head,

"Because it's such a large quantity of pure chakra, it radiates from your tenketsu in a miasma-like shroud. The reason you nearly pass out after using a weapon is because – although I've been mingling our chakra for the past eleven years – you have never directly encountered my chakra. Even now you are becoming more used to it: the first time you did so you were pretty much not there: your voice went demonic and I took over; with the tanto you stumbled blindly for a good twenty minutes before vomiting and righting yourself, and you have now not only made direct contact with the pure chakra, but you have also remembered doing so." Naruto finally understood what was going on, and as such, he kind of drifted from the point:

"Sweet… so since I would be using pure chakra, would that make the jutsu I use be mega-powerful?" Kushina sighed and drew circles on Naruto's thigh.

"About that… because of the amount of chakra you possess, you will – with time – have literally the best chakra control in the world: you'd just be manipulating the chakra to do as you please, but…" A vein of worry grew in Naruto's voice.

"But?"

"Because of the amount of chakra you have, it would ne nigh-on impossible to do any jutsu, even if you did a thousand hand seals to redirect your chakra it… what I'm saying… Naruto, there is little-to-no chance of you ever being able to do any jutsu."

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Meanwhile, Jubei was inside of his own katana, communicating with the spirit of his blade:

"Zashen, what do you think is going on in there?" Jubei posed the question to his blade spirit, Zashen.

"Your guess is as good as mine – so what happened with the girl?" Unlike Kushina and Naruto's bond, Zashen only knew what Jubei told her – the norm for any swords(wo)man and spirit.

"That is a tale within itself:"

"This is what my people calla genjutsu." Said a female voice, one that held a blade to his throat; Jubei went to open his mouth but the grip tightened.

"Ah-ah-ah: I'll do the talking, for you and I, need to have a little chat."

"Your efforts to interrogate me will prove unfruitful; I shall not talk." The girl let out a gay little laugh.

"Oh you have nothing to worry about: you're going to listen, not talk." She kicked two crates over and pushed him to sit in one of them then sat down herself, making sure to keep the blade at his jugular at all times.

"Actually, that's a bit of a lie – I do need you talk, just a little. I see that you have been teaching Naruto, reading and writing, hunting and cooking, but most interestingly, how to fight." Jubei's eyebrows inadvertently raised – how long had she been watching them, and how had he never detected her?

"Have you been trying to teach him jutsu?" Jubei sighed with relief on the inside – that she had asked that question means her surveillance isn't constant.

"Okay, we can do it the hard way." Jubei felt a prick in his back and the girl ran a hand over his eyelids, he was powerless to stop her. He felt the blade move away from his throat and heard the girl move in front of him.

"There we go, now you can't see me and I don't have to stand there threatening you – isn't that better? Now, feel that prick in your leg? It contains the poisonous liquid extract from the belladonna flower; if I were to depress the plunger on the syringe you would experience a very, very painful death, and I for one don't want that – you're teaching Naruto important skills after all." If he could, Jubei would have raised an eyebrow – did she care about the boy?

"Now, let me ask again: have you been trying to teach him jutsu?" She pressed a finger to his throat and ran chakra through it, enabling him speech.

"I don't know what your connection to Naruto is… but you don't seem to endanger him… no. I haven't been training him in jutsu." Jubei opened his mouth again to add 'because I don't know how', but kept it shut: even if she was Naruto's best friend in the whole world, he wouldn't give up any unnecessary information.

"Well, that's good, because he can't." Jubei was confused,

"But… can't everyone do jutsu? With training, that is." Unbeknownst to Jubei, the girl tapped her bottom lip – just how much could she tell him?

"Jubei – that is you name isn't it?... does Naruto trust you?" Jubei was intrigued with how she said that question: not why it was asked, but how, it seemed like equal parts curiosity, and jealousy.

"Yes, it is my name. that is a difficult question to answer… one of the first things I taught him was about trust; I told him to never trust anyone unless you trust them with your life, that a friend would weep at your funeral, but a comrade would seek revenge for your death. I believe… that Naruto trusts me – though I've told him not to."

"I see… well then, you recently found out that he is called a 'demon', that's because when he was just a day old he had the Nine-Tails sealed into him. Because… well, I don't know why – but he can't do any jutsu; his chakra and the demons won't mix – something like that." He heard her rummaging around before something was dumped in front of him.

"I heard you two talking, here are all the books you will need to train him into a ninja, from the history of them to their assassinations techniques." Jubei could feel his toes again and his body began to heat up – the drug was wearing off!

"Well that's pretty much it for my rant – but one last question: what are your intentions towards Naruto?" The question was one that Jubei caught himself often thinking.

"That, is a good question; I am going to train him into a samurai… I have no reason to harm him, if that's what you're asking." The girl seemed satisfied with his answer and let it drop.

"If that is the case, then there should be no reason for any hostility between us. Your body should be coming back to you, so I have one last thing to give you." Jubei could feel something cylindrical being placed into his lap – what was it? She then reached down, speaking adjacent to his ear.

"Please, keep him safe, for when I can't."

"The next thing I heard was a whoosh of leaves, oddly enough, and she was gone." Zashen couldn't help but smile.

"It's kind of romantic, don't you think?" Jubei raised an eyelid,

"You think it's romantic that she nearly killed me? I will admit that I was apprehensive when I opened my eyes and the syringe was still in my thigh." Zashen let out a laugh.

"No you idiot – what she's doing for Naruto: I think it's cute, even if you don't." Jubei shrugged his shoulders and stood up, brushing himself off as he did so. He reached out to Zashen and she took it, falling into his arms and stealing a kiss as she did so. Jubei reluctantly kissed back before gently easing her off him.

"Really?" She huffed angrily.

"No, Zash, it's just-"

"-Pathetic, it's been ten years and you still can't commit."

"Wait, Zashen!" She pushed away from him and forcibly exited him from his katana, releasing him back into the real world.

"Ah damn, I really need to sort this out… I wonder how he's faring." Jubei looked across at Naruto; slight twitches of the face were the only indications that he was alive at all,

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"W-what do you mean 'little-to-no-chance'? Kushina how am I supposed to hold my own against ninja if I can't do jutsu?" Kushina placed a hand on his shoulder and he calmed instantly.

"It's okay Naruto; I can show you so much more – the things I can teach you about sword fighting will make you so much stronger than any puny ninja… just trust me, okay?" Naruto took her hand off of him.

"How am I supposed to trust you when you just affected my mind? Besides, I just met you." She opened her mouth to reply but he held up his hand to stop her.

"Save it: as I said before, we'll talk about… you later. Now how do I get out of here, I need to talk to Jubei." She smiled at him.

"No need, I'll grab him."

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Jubei was shocked when Naruto opened his eyes and they were red, the pupil being a vertical slit. He was even more surprised when Naruto's hand soot out and grabbed him by the arm.

Jubei's world exploded into white, before catapulting him into somewhere, landing feet first facing Naruto and a redheaded girl.

"Jubei? Well that was quick. Right, introductions: Jubei Mitsuyoshi Yagyu, Kushina, Kushina, Jubei Yagyu." Kushina sneered and the fighter's instinct that had been drilled into Jubei since his childhood went off like an alarm. He drew his katana and parried the blow that would have otherwise beheaded him – or he would have had another blade not intercepted the blow.

"Kushina!"

"Zashen?!" The men looked to their respective women then back at each other. Naruto stood between the trio and held up his hands.

"Why don't we all just calm down and put the swords away, eh?" Jubei looked to Zashen and nodded, they both sheathed their katana's. Naruto shot a look at Kushina, she too withdrew her weapons.

"Kushina – you mind explaining yourself?" She grinned at Naruto and nodded to Jubei,

"I just wanted to see if he's the great warrior everyone speaks of." When Naruto threw her a puzzled glance when adopted a false-shocked face.

"Oh that's right(!) You haven't told Naruto." Jubei shifted a foot back and adopted a defensive stance, despite the fact that their blades were sheathed.

"Told Naruto what?"

"Oh, come on: you're not from around these parts now are you?" Jubei narrowed his eyes,

"That is an unrelated topic." Naruto however was fed up with the pseudo-secrets.

"What are we talking about!? For Kami's sake I don't care if he came from the sea!" Kushina smirked at Jubei.

"With pleasure, you see Jubei here isn't from any of the five great nations – he isn't even from this world."

"…Are you sure?" Kushina sighed and her hand flared red, she pressed Naruto's hand and he jumped back.

"That was a chakra burn – albeit a small one – now Jubei's turn." Jubei grew slightly apprehensive when the small flame flared into a blaze and Kushina placed a hand on his chest.

"Ah!... wait, I don't feel anything." Kushina let the fire die out and turned to Naruto.

"See? He has no chakra, and while it could be considered a weakness, it is an incredibly potent weapon in our world. And the reason I slashed him, is because he is probably in the top five swordsmen in his world." Naruto ground his teeth and looked to wither party.

"Okay… you and I have a lot to discuss – later. For now, Jubei, who's the lady?" Naruto was, of course, referring to the woman who was standing next to Jubei: she wore the same grey tabi and straw sandals as Jubei, as well as the tucked-in style of pants, but her upper body was clothed in a semi-rigid bodysuit, it flexed and bent like any shirt, but seemed to take on a sense of rigor when she was still. Attached to her left hip was a katana sheathe, on her right was a wakizashi. She wore her raven hair in a ponytail, leaving her striking face on display, as well as two grey, milky eyes.

"Naruto, this is Zashen – my blade spirit, Zashen, Naruto." She shook his hand firmly and nodded to him, Naruto mirrored her actions. Kushina slowly waved a hand in front of Zashen's eyes.

"Whoa! She's a blind as a bat." Naruto tugged her back and shot her a look.

"Sorry about that Zashen. Jubei, Zashen: Kushina, my blade spirit, and the uh… Nine-Tails."

"It's fine Naruto." Kushina shrugged in reply, though it's not like Zashen would have seen it.

"Hmm, I had my suspicions, but most of me believed that you would have a separate blade spirit. Well, introductions and… revelations, aside. What did you bring us here for?" Naruto nodded.

"Right, well, to sum it all up: I can't do jutsu, I hold the Nine-Tails in me (though judging by your reaction you already knew), she is the reason why when I wield a weapon I get the red haze, Kushina may help with my sword training. And I think that's it."

Oh yeah, and it was getting a little creepy with just me and this oddly possessive chakra-being.

Though Naruto neglected to mention the last part.

"I see… the only reason I haven't trained you in swordplay is because of the red haze – now that that's been sorted, I don't see why we can't start." The air seemed tense to Naruto, he swore that for a moment he saw Kushina glare at him, at there seemed to be some friction between Zashen and Jubei.

"Okay then… before you go, is there anything you want to ask?" Zashen shook her head but Jubei thought for a moment.

"Actually, yes: Kushina, Naruto seems to rejuvenate incredibly quickly when we are at his 'spot', more than anywhere else – any reason why?" She nodded her head.

"Yes, when my predecessor attacked the Leaf village, he was wounded and bled here for a moment; now, obviously he didn't bleed blood, but chakra, so this area is shrouded in the stuff. Naruto feels safe here because of the large quantity of pure chakra here, and it's seemingly undetectable to other ninja because over the years it has sunk into the environment." Jubei was satisfied with her answer, and when Kushina saw that they didn't have anything else to say, she booted them out of Naruto's blade.

When Naruto turned to Kushina again she had a mixture of scorn and sadness in her eyes.

"You don't need to be creeped out by an 'oddly-possessive chakra-being'. You know that I'm not going to hurt you." Naruto took a step back,

"You can read my thoughts?!" She nodded her head.

"Apart from the fact that I reside within you, you are in my world at the moment." She turned away from him,

"Besides, I don't always want to hear you dream about a platinum-blonde girl." Naruto could feel the venom coming out of her voice, but, was that also a tinge of jealousy.

"I don't get it Kushina – why do you hate this girl who keeps helping me?" She clenched her hands and spun around to face him, there were tears in her eyes.

"Because I love you Naruto! And one day you'll love me back! Until that day I'm not going to let anyone get between us – that's why Naruto!" Tears fell from her eyes and she couldn't help but bury her head in his chest.

"Ah, thank-"Kushina held a hand to his mouth.

"No, don't say anything – don't say anything at all unless it's 'I love you too'." Naruto opened his mouth to answer but found himself staring at a blinding white light.

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Naruto opened his eyes to see Jubei watching him.

"So, how did it go?" Naruto slowly shook his head.

"I don't want to talk about it. It's been a long day, let's get some shuteye and… start again tomorrow." Jubei knew better than to ask, so he merely nodded his head and went to his sleeping area. Naruto sheathed his sword and, due to his time (no matter how short) with Kushina felt only slightly pained in the head. He sighed and walked over to Jubei, intent on giving the chokuto back. Jubei opened one eye before closing it.

"Keep it." Naruto looked perplexed.

"Huh?"

"You were about to return it – after what you did to that tree, do you really want to give it back?" Naruto looked at Jubei and chuckled twice.

"You got it."

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"Tsk tsk tsk, if you're going to be a samurai you need to be alert at all times." Naruto awoke to a blade on his throat.

Really? Too cruel Jubei.

Naruto let his fingers edge back to the chokuto behind him: if he could just touch the blade then he would be empowered by Kushina's chakra; assuming she was still talking to him that is. He looked over to where Jubei was sleeping and- wait a sec, if Jubei is there…

"Looking for something?" He reached behind him just as he looked up.

"No way…" His fingers grasped nothing as he found Kushina's slitted eyes looking down on him.

"Here, I found this in his bag. Well don't just stand there – pick it up and let's spar." Naruto was mystified as he picked up the chokuto Kushina threw him.

"But, how are you-" Kushina stopped his words by throwing a simple horizontal slash in his direction; he hastily whipped up his blade in an instinct he didn't know he had.

"I see you're already making progress." Naruto was still bamboozled as to how Kushina was here in the flesh, as opposed to being sealed inside his stomach.

"Ah! Okay – how do you figure that?" She grinned at him that promised future torment.

"Well you didn't drop your sword, it's kind of sad when they drop their weapon."

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Ino awoke feeling both blissful and shaken up; shaken up that she had come moments to being raped, and blissful that it was Naruto who had saved her.

When she arrived home later that night she found it empty – no doubt her father was leading the annual Demon Hunt. Ino grinned at that – no one would be killing her man, but if anything did kill him, it would be the irony that the person who hates him most, 's daughter was in love with him.

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and got out of bed, intent on getting dressed, having breakfast and then see what Naruto was doing.

Actually, breakfast can wait – I should probably see how he's doing after last night.

She put on a violet crop top and a pair of violet bike shorts – even if she wasn't going there in person didn't mean that she had to look bad in spirit.

Ino lay back on her bed and searched the sky through her skylight for a bird, and after a few minutes searching she found a kestrel hovering overhead.

"Yamanaka Clan Secret Technique: Mind Transfer Jutsu!" The kestrel looked down just as Ino finished her jutsu. She took over the Kestrel's body with practiced ease and flew straight to Training Grounds 44.

She was flying happily and landed on a perch halfway up a tree, searching for Naruto from her excellent vantage point. She looked down and saw Jubei polishing his katana,

But wait – if he's there, then what is that sound?

She could hear the clang-on-clang of two blades clashing and flew lower, trying to identify the origin of the harsh metallic clanging.

She was shocked when she saw it was a female Naruto was fighting.

And it's not even serious – they're just sparring; I'll kill you you little whore, I'll make sure you suffer for trying to come between me and my man. Well it's what you get for trying to interfere with my plans.

Ino released her hold of the bird and let her mind return back to her own body. She sat up in bed and blankness took hold of her eyes.

"I guess she has to go, but I can't let my sweetie know about me yet. I'll have to wait until she's left him before I kill her." Ino stood up and went for the door, picking up a kunai as she went out.

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Naruto blocked one last blow before he could fight no more; he collapsed onto the forest floor and let the blade fall from his hands, groaning once more as the slight burr of power left him.

"Hmph, Jubei, how do you think he went?" Jubei completed the kata he was doing before venturing over.

"Fighting for three hours without rest, food or drink? I believe he did well." Jubei looked from Kushina to Naruto and back, he opened his mouth but before he could speak Kushina turned her head and smiled.

"How am I outside of his body? That's a good question Jubei. You listening Naruto 'cause I ain't gonna repeat this." A groan signalled that, yes, he was listening.

"Well as soon as Naruto arrived in the blade I realised that I could use it as a portal between the seal in his body and the real world. Pretty trippy huh?" Jubei didn't fully understand her words but he nodded nonetheless, once more did Naruto groan. Kushina knelt down and tapped him in the ribs.

"Hey, you alr-" Naruto snaked a hand around his chokuto and brought the blade up against Kushina's neck.

"I think I win." Naruto grinned victoriously and let the blade fall. Kushina's eye twitched and she smacked Naruto over the head.

"You dumbass! You could have killed me!" Naruto stood back up and nodded.

"Yes, I could have killed you – I chose not to. Now, what's for breakfast?" Kushina fumed at how she was bested by such a cheap tactic, Jubei and Naruto meanwhile were starting a small fire and preparing some meat.

A few minutes later several cuts of meat were being roasted above the fire, Naruto took the time to unravel the books that were given to him by Jubei, who in turn were given to him by some mysterious third-party.

"They really decked you out huh?" Though his words were directed at Jubei, Naruto was speaking to himself: there were books that covered the history of the ninja world, how Konoha was founded, many chakra control books, several ninja handbooks and a myriad of other tomes.

Jubei stood up and went over to Naruto; he picked up a book and flipped through the pages. When Kushina announced that she would be back in a bit, Jubei produced something from the folds of his vest.

"Here. There was one last thing that the girl gave me, take it." He dropped a cylinder into Naruto's lap. He opened it to find a scroll and a letter.

Hope these will prepare you for the Exams, good luck Naruto and remember: I'm always here for you.

Naruto was slightly mystified when he read the words – who was there for him? He shook his head of the thought as a purple flower petal fell from the letter.

"Foxglove." He picked up the petal and rubbed it slowly between his fingers, releasing the chemicals that made his heart beat a little faster.

Where have I smelt this before? It was somewhere… damn it! Where have I smelt this before?!

Somewhere inside him was the thought that if he knew the answer to this then something big would be revealed to him.

"Aw damn it!" He cursed in frustration after a few minutes of thinking. Kushina returned and heard his outburst; she came over and sat close to him, nuzzling up to his shoulder.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Naruto sat up and pocketed the letter; throwing the scroll to Jubei he ran a hand through his hair, releasing more of the foxglove scent by accident.

"It's ah nevermind – I'll be back soon." As he left a breeze picked up and the smell of flowers filled Kushina's nostrils; her eyes narrowed.

That smell… the little whore!

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Ino was walking silently through the forest when she heard voices:

"Don't follow me – I'll be back in a bit."

I know that voice, it's the redhead's.

Ino crept closer and sneered when she heard a trickling of water:

Ha, time to die slut, with your pants down too.

Ino drew the kunai from her waistband and advanced, going from tree-to-tree, careful not to make a sound.

Kushina pulled up her underwear and short shorts, as she did so, she smelt a brilliant fragrance and grew wary.

That wasn't there before…

She drew her two swords and looked around, searching for an enemy.

How did she detect me? I was sure not to make a noise.

Ino reached down and slowly, ever so slowly, picked up a rock. She drew it back and flung it at a faraway tree.

"Found you!" As Kushina made for the sound, Ino made her escape, she would bide her time until she could kill her without hassle. She was furious that the redheaded skank would be allowed to live any longer, and in the presence of her man.

Don't worry, I'll kill you soon enough.

Kushina found that it was a distraction and spun in the opposite direction, though she was sure that it was just a trick of the light, she could have sworn that she saw a flicker of platinum-blonde in the distance.

Kami, I must be imagining things.

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But as she just made the connection, she realised that no, she wasn't: that blonde haired bitch was not only close by, but she also wanted to kill her.

Well then, I see how the land lies, I'll be ready anytime.

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Naruto walked through the forest and punched the ground, this was really pissing him off for some reason.

"ARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH!" He screamed at the top of his lungs – he finally found… Wait, what was he looking for?

Naruto felt conflicted and his anger surged once more, his fingernails enlarged, his pupils split and his whiskers grew.

Through his enhanced senses he smelt… foxglove? Naruto sniffed the air and ran through the forest, intent on running down that wondrous smell!

Naruto leapt through the forest on all fours, and was disheartened when he found the destination: out of the forest… and in the Village. Naruto huffed distortedly, the demonic chakra changing even his breathing.

"Damn it! I must find the origin of that scent!" He ran back to the campsite in less than thirty seconds.

"Ah! Where are they! I'll be back soon." Jubei and Kushina looked to each other as a red blur spun through the campsite and spoke to them before dashing back out.

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Now that he caught the scent, Naruto didn't need to stay in his demonic state (which he didn't really know had happened). He stood in front of the gates to the Village and took a deep breath, trying to resist the urge to turn his head left and right, looking for his watchers.

Naruto supressed his scopophobia and walked through the gates, searching for that mysterious scent.

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Kushina's body was wreathed in a fire of red chakra; it took her a few minutes but she figured what would send Naruto into his demon state.

That little whore! She's entranced him with that scent – it must be poisoned or something, she has to die!

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Who doesn't love crappy story finishes? I know I do! Ha-ha-ha… oh I'm so depressed.

So there we go, got a little jerky near the end and I didn't really know how to finish it. But never fear! I will… pull it together in the back nine….

Aw fuck it! You like it or you don't, I'd like it if you review or PM me, flame even BUT GIVE A REASON – and 'it's shit', isn't a reason.

So anyway, it's kind of late where I am, just did a spell check but I'll properly read over it tomorrow morning for any little bits it missed. But yeah, this chapter was just kind of drawn out – the others will be roughly the same length (possibly a bit longer) but they will flow better: I just wanted to develop the Naruto world, the characters and go into their relationships a bit, but don't worry, in the next one he go into the academy, pass, get into a team, possibly another team ( he'll come to our world and join the SAS, yeah!) and their relationships will blossom and wither, depending on the pair.

So until next time, the plot thickens!

Just a PS, i copied and pasted this (use microsoft word) with 14,091 words, and it's coming up as 14,537, well, a little more (plus this PS), so if there are any points where it REALLY doesnt make sense, please inform me, for i've only double words twice (one, you you) and... yeah. Toodle-oo!