Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Bleach, or Shadow Skill, something you will get hints of here soon. In the words of Gir, 'I love that show…'

Shards

Chapter 2: Nothing is Ever Free

"To think he would take to the style so well…a style born of enslaved women, born of the sorrow of the ridiculed, tyrannized and the raped. Skills that would give someone the power to overcome those that would trample another's freedom and rob them of their dignity.

He never ceases to surprise me, this…Naruto…"

-Tia Harribel, Fumetsu no same wa Nyotei

"H-Hokage-sama…"

The elderly leader of the village could be seen standing before the large bay window that allowed him such a pristine view of the village he had served for the majority of his life, the slight slump to his shoulders the only real sign that he was feeling the weight of the late hour. "Yes?"

"My Lord, you have a visitor, he claims to be the young Uzumaki…but…"

The Hokage just waved the young man off with a sigh, "Send him in." He turned back to his desk and took his seat, taking a moment to steeple his fingers, he had to give a good impression of the impatient ruler after all. However, what walked into his office was not what he had expected. Where once would have been the orange clad youth he was accustomed to scolding these past fifteen years now stood a young man sporting an aura of such chilling indifference that he had to fight the urge to dispel a genjutsu. "N-Naruto?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"What…what happened? Where did you get those clothes? That sword?"

"A friend."

"Who?"

"You don't know her."

His voice took on a stern edge, "Naruto…"

Chilling eyes the color of the sea stared back into deep brown, the pair stood in silence for several long moments before the elderly man saw the teen's eyes twitch slightly before he gave an almost unnoticeable nod. "Her name is Tia Harribel. As I said, you don't know her."

"Where is she from?"

"Far away."

"When did she arrive?"

"Tonight."

A fist that held shocking strength for one so old slammed into the desktop as the leader rose to his feet. "Damn it Naruto! Give me a straight answer!"

If he was shocked at the outburst he didn't show it, only cocking his head slightly to the left, "I have been."

The aged man took a deep breath, desperately trying to drive his temper back down, he hated dealing with people like this, although it was usually those that were veteran ninja giving mission briefings that would use shuck clipped answers. "Naruto-kun…why don't you start from the beginning…"

He gave another nod before launching into his tale, telling of how he infiltrated the tower at the behest of Mizuki, who had claimed that he would be able to graduate should he obtain the scroll, how he looked through the aged parchment for something to learn that may be able to cement his position as genin, the finding of the masks and the mishaps that then lead to the defeat of the traitor.

Sarutobi leaned back into his chair looking more than a bit dumbstruck, the boy had unleashed something that could be horribly dangerous and was treating the whole affair like a Nara would, indifferent and bored. "Naruto…this mask, what did it do when you fell on it."

A single blond eyebrow arched slightly as he considered his answer, a minuet passing before he seemed to have gathered his thoughts fully. "We bonded."

"Bonded?"

"Yes. While it is not typical, it seems that whatever Senju-sama did when he sealed the masks sealed the souls of those who possessed them into the remaining shards. Harribel-sama and her followers had been biding their time, attempting to gather what power they could in hopes of one day releasing themselves from the seals. However, their powers are not like our own, they cannot use chakra, so they were forced to wait. One component of their seals seemed to be blood, as when I fell I broke my nose upon impact with her mask. The blood and the chakra it contained allowed the blending to take place."

Sarutobi felt a cold sweat break out across his body, a slight trickle of it going down the back of his neck to be absorbed by the long veils of his hat, "Naruto…you said you are…bonded, yes?" He nodded, "What will happen now?"

Again his head cocked for a moment, part of the man wondered if he were thinking or actually speaking with this 'Harribel' "She has given me an…ultimatum..."

"And that would be?"

"I must find those that would be compatible for her comrades, and find a way to free her. Should I refuse, she will take over, something that could be damaging to both of us, but she wants her followers back, and will settle for nothing else."

"And you agreed!?"

"I will be equally rewarded should I succeed Hokage-sama"

Again the man rose to his feet, rounding the desk to take the boy by his shoulders, however, even as his hands came to rest they widened in shock, his shoulders were rock hard! "Naruto, what happened to you?" He squeezed a few more times, testing to see how far the strange armor seemed to go.

"Her mask spread over me not unlike how it was on her. Though I will admit, it is a shame that it covered her as much as it did…"

"Why?"

"She has a wonderful smile."

The old man simply stared into his young charge's eyes for a moment, fighting the urge to laugh, only Naruto could say something like that in this dire a situation. "Naruto, may I see this mask?"

The teen didn't spare so much as a nod, simply raising one hand to grasp the zipper at the middle of his chest, pulling up slowly. Saurtobi's eyes steadily grew wider as more of his skin was exposed, or, rather, what should have been skin. Most of his chest up through the bridge of his nose were covered in the terrifying bone. Those sadistic looking teeth when married to his cold blue eyes caused a chill to run up his spine, this was the last face you wanted to see in a dark alley…or in a bright one for that matter. "D-does it hurt?"

"No."

"Is…Is it attached?"

"Yes."

He let out a sigh before pinching the bridge of his nose, "Naruto, don't start that again…"

"Sorry Hokage-sama…Jii-Jii…with the blending came a level of…crossover…she was largely in control when we fought the teme…In time we'll even out."

He smirked at the familiar nickname that had accompanied an eye-smile; he was sure now that some part of the blond he knew was still in there. "Naruto, is there any way for me to speak to Harribel-san?"

He gave a slight shake of his head, "No, I do not know of a way that would let her out without endangering the seal further."

"Seal?" Inside, the Hokage was praying to any god that would listen that he wouldn't say-

"The mark that keeps the fox at bay."

'DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!' "N-Naruto, what are you talking about?"

"No need to feign ignorance. Harribel-sama had a confrontation with him, given a few months he will be but a memory."

Naruto fought the urge to laugh at the wide-eyed look of horror on the old man's face, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN A MEMORY!"

Naruto felt his hair being slightly blown back as his jacket ruffled in the sudden breeze, 'Huh…so that's where Iruka-sensei learned that jutsu…' "I mean just as it sounds Hokage-sama. Harribel-sama's people feed off of energy, and the fox is pure energy. Add to the fact that he is trapped behind bars and she is allowed to feed at her leisure. She estimates it will take her several months of nonstop feeding to be rid of it in its entirety; she is able to do this in part due to the nature of the seal. It appears that Yondaime-sama had intended to have a precaution in the event of mind walkers and their like. Should an uninvited mind enter my mind the seal would either instantly force them out…painfully, or attempt to integrate them into the seal, as a way of trapping them, to what end I can only speculate."

"And because the seal was designed to siphon off the fox's power and make it your own…"

"Indeed, she took advantage of the fact and increased the rate of power transfer to better feed. As a related benefited it seems that what she is devouring is becoming a part of me as much as her mask and personality have. However, as the seal is a part of me, so is she, hence the issue at hand of getting the two of us to separate." Naruto channeled a bit of chakra for a moment, allowing the seal to appear, however, at the heart of the spiral that made up the core of the seal there was now a small, circular crest, that of a shark's grinning, tooth filled, maw.

"Naruto…just how strong are you right now?"

"With my own power…low genin, the instructors did their job well, Hokage-sama. The only true ninja skill I possess at the moment are the Henge, the Kawaimi, and some weapons techniques."

He let out a low chuckle at that, "And yet you could still sneak into the tower, disable me, and steal the scroll."

For the first time that night the teen chuckled, the sound having a dull echo to it due to the mask, it would have been chilling at any other time. "That just goes to show you how…lacking…your security was. A civilian could have done the same."

The older man's face became stony, "Perhaps, but without that henge of yours then you wouldn't have gotten far."

"No?" He snapped five quick hand signs before he was engulfed in a white cloud, the voice that came forth was an oddly monotone, yet melodic voice, one that seemed to fit the mask somehow, "If any woman with a similar figure were to orchestrate the theft, the results would have been the same…" As the smoke slowly faded the Hokage had to fight the same effect that had taken him out once before. Where Naruto once stood now was a woman almost two feet taller than Naruto had been, her skin a dusky mocha that seemed to glow in the growing light of the dawn. She had the same blond hair of the teen that had once stood there though much longer and held in several loose ties, but her eyes seemed to be an entrapping green, the emerald orbs holding the same half lidded look of pain that Naruto had worn ever since entering the office. However it was her figure that almost caused the downfall of the Hokage.

For the second time that night…

Saying she was curvy would be an insult to the term, well rounded hips, a trim waist, and a generous bust that put the ninja centerfold technique to shame, a figure he had only seen surpassed by his former student. He now knew what Naruto was hinting at, if this woman had snuck in and had…enticed him, like with the henge, then he would be undone, ninja or not, her figure was lethal, a real killer.

"W-Well…lucky for me there are no such women about then…Eh?"

"Not quite…" The illusion faded once more to how Naruto pointing at the small shark crest in his seal once more, "That, Jii-Jii, was Harribel-sama's true form."

The Hokage had to fight the urge to curse, only Naruto could screw up and in the end be attached at the hip to one of the most beautiful women that the elderly leader had ever seen in all his days. Taking a moment to clear his thoughts he focused on the task at hand, "Naruto, you said that with your power you were a low genin, what did you mean by that?"

"While she is still adapting, she can allow me to use some of her techniques, although right now it is severely limited, and injures me in the process." Finally deciding he had had enough with stand, Naruto strode forward and took a seat in one of the large, overstuffed chairs. "It was one such technique that allowed me to defeat Mizuki. Had she not stepped in and taken over I would have been lost." He took a moment to re-zip his vest before he crossed one leg into a 'T' shape, looking at the Hokage as though he were bored. "Beyond my growing raw power, and the techniques she will lend me, maybe even teach me in time, I know little. I can't even make a clone. Harribel-sama believes it's due to the chakra levels I possess, however, she has yet to go through all my memories."

"And when she does?"

"She will judge me, and we will move on from there. Either I will be the dormant one, or she will aid in training me."

"Forgive me for being the one to point this out Naruto…but you failed the academy…"

"Yet you yourself were just touting my accomplishments, add to that that last year you graduated a student who was unable to do anything related to the ninja arts beyond throwing a kunai and…"

"And you believe you deserve it, I can't say I disagree, although I would feel more comfortable if you knew the basic three…" He moved back behind his desk for a moment before rummaging in a drawer, only barely managing to hide the little orange book that had tried to fly out of the desk, seemingly of its own volition, before he pulled out a small blank card, and tossed it to him. "Channel a bit of chakra into that, and we will see what I can help with."

The teen channeled a bit of chakra into the paper, however, even as a tenth of that energy entered the card it seemed to simply go limp, soaked through and through as though it had been left in a full sink for a week, as the remaining flow of chakra entered it he had to drop it in surprise, as it seemed to start overflowing of its own volition, steadily soaking the floor and making the Hokage pull his robes up a bit, his eyes wide in shock.

"Let me guess…water?"

Sarutobi could only nod with a blank expression, the only time he had seen something like this happen was with his former sensei! He was too focused on the pooling water and failed to notice Naruto cock his head one once more in thought.

"According to Harribel-sama it's not surprising, her powers were all rooted in water. There is a reason we share…similarities…with sharks."

"I-I see…Tell me Naruto…what else she can teach you?" While the blond seemed to delve back into his mind the elderly man rose and moved to a nearby bookshelf, riffling through it for a specific scroll.

"If I am found worthy…then she can train me in her kenjutsu style, and from the flashes she's shown me it's not to be taken lightly… She also has several advanced elemental manipulation techniques, another skill she dubbed a 'cero' that apparently it has many forms of power to it, and is rather devastating in its own right…beyond that she knows a few techniques for high speed movement and can teach me to harden my skin to a remarkable level. However, this is all simply carrots to dangle before me, as she has yet to judge me, which will probably be tonight when I can get some rest. If I had to estimate myself, is she should train me, then I would only truly need to find someone to teach me taijutsu, genjutsu, and perhaps fuinjutsu…upon reflection I would like to take up the latter as soon as possible, as it may aid in freeing Harribel-sama and her allies, although they would still need bodies..."

Finding what he was initially looking for he tossed it over his shoulder where the blond snatched it out of the air, the Hokage turning back to him to consider his request. Naruto turned the scroll over to find its title and arched an eyebrow slightly at the name, "Mizu Bushin?"

He nodded, "Given your high level of chakra I think it would be for the best, I would consider the shadow clone, but given your affinity I think this would fit the best, go through it tonight and see if you can get it down, if you can have that technique mastered, and I do mean MASTERED, by this time tomorrow, I will pass you and you will be allowed to attend the team assignments at week's end."

Naruto seemed to stare at the scroll for a time before nodding and rising tiredly to his feet. "Hai, Hokage-sama…regardless, someone will be here tomorrow…Farewell, Jii-Jii"

The Hokage shuddered at that, in his shock at seeing the level of water affinity that the blond had he had forgotten that it was a possibility that the blond wouldn't really be coming back at all tomorrow night… "H-Hai…Naruto-kun." As the blond reached the door the old man called out once more, "Naruto?" He looked over his shoulder, not fully turning to the man, one crystal blue eye seeming to gleam in the growing light, "Be honest with her…I don't think she'll be one to judge you like many in the village. Harribel, if you're listening right now, be kind to him…his life has been hard enough as it is."

The blond didn't spare him a second glance, simply giving the same, nearly invisible nod before leaving, the door shutting quietly behind him.

The journey back to his apartment was an uneventful one, as it was still quite early and the market district was yet to open, the only people he passed were the odd late night worker for several of the warehouses and restaurants that were headed home from their evening shifts, all of which were to tired to spare the oddly dressed teen so much as a second glance. The boy in question paid little attention himself, too engrossed in his scroll to take in more than the basic paths back to his rundown apartment.

However, that was not the case for his new tenet.

It had taken the better part of the boy's discussion with the old man to block out the roars from the chakra construct known as the Kyuubi, but now that it had died down things were much better for her.

Well, as good a being trapped in a maintenance tunnel could be that is…

The blond, not for the first time, ran a hand down her cheek, the only time she had the luxury of feeling the skin of her own face was when she was in her released state, and that meant she had her life on the line.

Not really the time to consider one's looks.

She wasn't vain, she knew that much, but she did take pride in her appearance, making sure that everything was as impeccable as it could be, to be as professional as possible, and respected by her Lord.

She idly chided herself for that, even after all these years, even after his betrayal and his attempt to strike her down, she still had to stop herself from calling him that. He may have made her, given her this power…but some things could never be forgiven.

Thinking back, it was still a shock for her to suddenly feel many of the seals that held her at bay release, she didn't understand half of it yet, but she knew well enough that these humans were…unique. They all seemed to hold a power so different from her own, and yet there were parallels to the two. Both seemed to come from the soul, but where her's stopped there these being seemed to be able to combine it with the physical.

It was vexing to her.

How could she get her body back, a body that was largely formed of pure energy, when that power, fundamentally, didn't exist here?

Ignoring the fact that she was bound to some odd seal that the boy had, the one that kept that beast at bay, she would have to first find a body that she could take over, preferably one that didn't already have something in it, let alone two some-things like this child had. Then she had to find a way to break free and 'jump' from one body to another.

No easy task.

So thrusting that aside for now, she focused on the task at hand.

The boy's test.

It was a bit disorienting for her to look into the blackness of the odd halls, massive pipes lining the walls and ceiling that seemed to pulse slightly, first blue, then red. She understood, on a fundamental level, that is was the representation of this chakra that these humans used, but seeing as she couldn't use it yet she moved on. As she fully pulled herself from the seal on the cage she was startled to feel something like a choker form on her throat, the soft, silken material matching the texture of her skin well, but she could feel the odd metal symbol slightly off center that probably had the same kanji as the paper seal she had initially encountered when they joined.

Slowly she moved through the halls, tunnels seeming to hook and curve at odd intervals, sometimes climbing, other times falling. Part of her knew that it was a maze, a way to defend the mind from intrusion, but it didn't make it any more fun for her. The dank, humid air and the fetid water were doing little for her dispossession, turning another corner she found herself back at the cage and let out a frustrated sigh.

She hated puzzles…they were so…frivolous…

Deciding to backtrack she turned back and was surprised to come face to face with a door, the weathered, rusting steel seemed a bit to convenient to be a coincidence, it seemed that, subconsciously, he wanted her to know something.

Seeing no handle she moved a hand to give an experimental push…

…and almost instantly regretted it.

The dimly lit tunnels of the boy's mind vanished to show a street lit in the pale glow of the moon. Her mind was thrown off suddenly as her perspective shifted to one much shorter as something she hadn't felt in many long years made itself known to her with a sharp thrill running up her spine.

Fear.

She felt herself glance back only to feel her eyes widen, there was one person that seemed to be stalking after her, the glint of steel flashing now and again as she was chased.

Rounding a corner and jagging behind a dumpster she felt her hands come up to cover her mouth in a desperate bid to stifle the sounds of her breathing, her eyes dancing around the alleyway for a way out. Thankfully she recognized this place somehow and spotted the loose bricks that would lead to her safety. Taking the chance she sprinted full bore and slid feet first into the wall, the bricks caving inward and letting her be swallowed up in the darkness of the abandoned building.

Moving to the side of the wall and quickly replacing the bricks she heard the person that had been chasing her just beyond the wall and froze; somehow she knew that it wouldn't be the first time that she thought she was safe only to be proven wrong. After several long moments she felt it was safe to move once more and drifted deeper into the abandoned structure before sitting on a half-collapsed crate.

With a shaking hand she pulled up her shirt to show a small book hidden in her waistband and pulled it free, her hands ghosting over the weathered surface almost reverently as he looked at the cover, staring at the faded letters for a time in frustration as she opened the book. On the first page was simply a picture of a piece of fruit with lettering underneath it.

She herself knew what it said, but at the same time, she didn't… In a soft voice not her own she stared at the image, "Apple…A is for Apple…"

Harribel fell back onto her rear as her consciousness was suddenly thrust out of the memory, a hand coming up to clutch at her heart as she tried to calm her breathing, the emotions still running rampant through her psyche from being so deep in another's memory. 'He…he was hunted…for wanting to learn to read.' Taking several more steadying breaths she forced herself to calm so she could better sort the memories. Shaken emerald eyes cast about the hall she now found herself in, shuddering slightly at the waves that came from some of the now apparent doors she was regretting her test more and more as every second passed.

'What monsters does this place hold…'

With a steadiness that didn't carry through to her core she rose and moved past the door to another hall that had seemed to appear on its own, she had a bad feeling that this would simply be the tip of the iceberg.

An iceberg that may just destroy her normally rock solid resolve.

Morning turned to noon as the teen sat in his little apartment on the bed, his sword pulled from his back and propped against the doorframe where he could grab it easily should he need it. While it was rare for someone to go so far as breaking into his apartment while he was here it wasn't without precedent.

Though that was usually on his birthday.

At the moment he was sitting , still pouring over the scroll in an attempt to learn its subtleties, clones were never something he was good at, however in this instance it seemed to be right up his alley. All they needed was a single hand sign, a ready source of water, and chakra.

What could be easier for him?

The problem came in carefully molding the outer shell and reinforcing it with enough chakra that it wouldn't collapse under its own weight, yet making sure he didn't put so much into it that it overloaded the technique and made the clone simply explode like a water balloon.

He had the shaping part down, it was just adjusting the chakra levels that were giving him the issues, and the frustrating thing was, he knew he could have pulled this off easily yesterday. However, thanks to his new potential sensei, his chakra levels had gone haywire; the once solid feel for his chakra reserves was now pigeonholed. One moment he could barely pull enough chakra to henge his hair a different color, the next he had enough to almost blow the roof off his apartment.

Letting out a frustrated sigh he put the scroll aside and instead went up to one of the many potted plants he had, taking a moment to pull a few of the dead leaves from some of the compost and grumbled, "Back to the basics…"

Midnight came and went as Naruto knelt on the floor of his livingroom, his body covered in leaves as he held a ram symbol with one hand and a tiger in the other. While many considered it to be far beyond their skills to use one handed signes, it was one of the few things he had actually excelled in.

However, it was not by choice.

Normally, especially when Mizuki was the one to take over, he was forced out of the class and had to learn what he could from the windows, or later on when he spied on other students practicing. More often than not he would only get to see a seal from one side, rather than straight on, and for the longest time he didn't even know there was a second half to the seal.

Most seemed torn on their thoughts of one handed seals. Everyone thought they were useful, that was a given. The ability to hold a weapon while still utilizing your jutsu was a gift from Kami herself. However, you either needed remarkable levels of chakra to override the need of a completed seal, or enough control so that your visualization of the completed form was enough to actually force the chakra into the proper shape.

The principle was the same with those that practice their techniques enough that they no longer need the signs; they had used the jutsu enough that it was second nature to the user and subconsciously could form the chakra into the needed effect.

However, in Naruto's case, it presented a unique training situation, he could generate a constant buildup of chakra with one hand, and with a bit of guidance could channel it thought the second sign and create the effect that he desired.

Right now he was forcing the chakra to gather in order to cement the bits of plant to his body, the tiger sign was what he was using to shape and expel the flares of chakra. The clone technique he was learning only used the tiger, but seeing as it was the excess that was causing his issues it seemed obvious to try and use the excess chakra from the leaf exercise to try and form it at a slower rate.

Slowly, as he hoped, the levels seemed to normalize, he could feel the leaves pull tighter to his skin, the water he had collected into small bowls slowly being pulled into the air and taking a roughly humanoid shape, not that he dared to open his eyes and look. He knew from experience that if you minimized distractions that you could better draw on inner power, such as it was with many ninja, taking a moment to gather their chakra or strength in order to center themselves and better fight.

It was something he, in his old life, hated to practice.

Now, it seems more like second nature to him, his mind calming at a startling rate. He could only think that Harribel had a hand in it, although that was something central to her being, being calm, cool and controlled.

Naruto felt the body finish forming before he began to add details to it, its structure taking shape to match his mental image of what he desired it to be.

Tia Harribel.

While his control was finally returning to him Harribel was currently stumbling up to the last of the doors, this one, unlike the others she had been forced to endure, seemed to be brighter than the others, warmer. A deep mahogany wood rather than the rusting and warped steel she had been dealing with. It looked as though it had been lovingly lacquered and maintained, though was still weathered in a way that showed the door to be heavily used in it's time. She noticed that this was the only door thus far that actually had a knob to it, all the others were either simple to push open or had been chained.

Those were ones she couldn't forget, some of his darkest moments or repressed memories that he would never dare look back on.

But this one, this was the first, even those that had to deal with his 'Jii-Jii' were still metal, as at some level he had always felt the man had been keeping things from him. Things he now knew, she felt. The doors that held the memories of the little ramen stand were no different, as he was forced to go there by the hatred of the village as much as he went there for the company of the father daughter duo that ran the stand.

As the door opened she was shocked to see him looking down at her own mask.

She saw their merger and how she had been forthcoming and honest to him, something that so few had ever been, even his beloved teacher Iruka was not held in such regard, as he had once been no different than the others, seeking to keep him held back and alone until he had helped introduce the chunin to his 'nee-chan' Ayame.

In that one meeting, she had ingrained herself to him, telling him the reason why he was hated, offering to train him if he helped her, giving him someone he could be with at all times, so he was never alone again.

That's how he felt.

Now she felt a bit bad for her insistence on their deal, she may have wanted her freedom badly, but until she began this trial she never knew he was so desperate to be rid of his loneliness.

She saw his rise and, with her hand in the act, stopping and striking down his former teacher and how he, for the first time, felt truly strong, felt as though he could finally protect himself, but also felt the joy in the fight that she knew all too well.

He felt free. And that shook her to her core.

In a way, he was chained.

In a way, they were the same.

And he was willing to sacrifice all that he was in order to be rid of that feeling, once and for all, though not just for him, for any that may feel that same pain.

Even her.

A/N: I was originally intending to have this go a bit further and show him finishing the clone, but I think it's a bit better to leave it at that.

Sorry it took me a bit to get this one out, a dear friend of mine is going through a rough patch with her marriage, and I'm not the type of guy just to sit on the side and not help.

Now for a bit of info here, seeing as they show Hollows in Bleach retaining the memories of their former life I'm going to come up with something that will fit for Harribel and her comrades. I'm thinking of taking a page from one of my very favorite anime, Shadow Skill, for that. While the series is a fun one to watch, they skim over the fights to much, but the movie/OAV disk they come out with a long time ago is gold. Well, for me it is ^_^ As they go into things that I myself feel in life, the reason I fight and the desires that grow from it.

Also, at the suggestion of Whitedragon, I'm thinking that I will allow his extreme Water affinity to act not unlike Katara from Avatar in that she could use it to heal in the end. That said, I think when I finally give Harribel her own body that I will change her powers to be more in line with Crystal Release, I love the idea of Harribel using crystals for some reason, maybe it's because of the fight with Toshiro. *shrug*

LoPe also suggested more from Avatar in that maybe he could eventually manipulate blood, I'm considering it, but it would be WAY down the line, however, the idea of using mists and fogs which he also suggested are fun as well ^_^ So I may run with that.

Naruto's final skills (subject to change .) – Kinjutsu, Taijutsu (shadow skills), water manipulation, skin hardening (Like Arrancar can do in Bleach) advanced speed, higher intelligence, healing skills (Not on par with, say, Sakura or anything, but he's no slouch) Still thinking if I will use summons at all. If you all have any suggestions let me know ya?

Fumetsu no same wa nyotei – According to google…Immortal Shark Empress