I do not own 'Naruto'

Power of legacy

It had been several days since the conversation Naruto and Kyuubi had. They had come to an agreement. The Kyuubi would act as Naruto's partner for the duration of the human's life, in exchange, the demon would be freed upon his death.

Now the blond was making his way towards Kumo. There he could meet the Kyuubi and 'earn' his power as the fox says.

"Halt, who are you?" A voice demanded.

Naruto looked forward to see two guards at the gate. He had arrived at Kumo.

"I'm just a guy traveling, I don't want any trouble." Naruto answered.

The guards looked the boy over in suspicion.

"What's your business in Kumo?"

"I'm just here to rest and restock before I continue on." Naruto answered.

"And where are you going?"

"Nowhere and everywhere." Naruto answered. "I'm a humble nomad."

The guards gave him another once-over before stepping aside.

"Just don't cause any trouble."

Naruto nodded as he made his way into the village.

I can't believe they just let me in. Naruto thought.

"You came in through the front and behaved." Kyuubi stated. "No one's going to treat you suspiciously if you don't act that way."

...This place is different than Konaha. Naruto thought as he looked around. Where to now fox?

"You must head towards the East, there you will find what you're looking for." Kyuubi answered. "Be warned, I sense some of my of my kin and no doubt they sense us."

That's interesting. Naruto thought. What do we do?

"...Nothing." The fox answered. "Continue on, they'll come to you."

With nothing else to say, Naruto continued on.

Naruto began walking in a single direction towards his destination. He kept at a civilian jogging pace so he wouldn't draw any suspicion. It still took him most of the day to get out of the village with all the wrong turns he took.

A waterfall.

"What now?" Naruto asked out loud.

"Sit on the rock and meditate." The fox answered.

You brought me here so I could meditate? Naruto asked.

"Shut it!" The fox roared. "You are here for something far more important."

Like what?

"I'll only give you one hint." The fox answered. "Yang."

Naruto sat on the rock as he contemplated the words.

As he did the meditation and contemplation, he felt the world melt away. All that was left was the gentleness of nature. It was because of this that he noticed the sudden appearance of a stranger behind the waterfall.

Standing as the stranger came forward, he was greeted with...himself. The other Naruto was the same as him in nearly every way, but their was a few differences. His eyes were

"What the hell is going on?" Naruto asked aloud. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm the part of you that Kyuubi actually likes." The other answered. "I'm the reason that he even acknowledged you."

Naruto considered the statement. Kyuubi had stated that hatred was a part of his nature so...

"You're my negative side." Naruto stated.

The other nodded his answer. "I'm the hatred formed from years of living in that hell called a village."

Naruto and the darker half lunged at each other with their fist cocked. They met each other with a powerful blow, fist colliding before jumping back. Both began rubbing their hands to ease the pain, you ever punch something that met you with equal force? It hurts.

"We always start a fight with a left punch." The other stated.

Shadow clone Jutsu

Both of them created a dozen clones that charged their opposite the moment they formed. Each one dispelling one another, but none gaining the advantage.

As the clones fought, neither of the summoners moved. Naruto took this time to try and understand the task he was supposed to be doing.

Yang. He thought. This guy is my negative side, my yang.

"Yang...Ying...it can't be that simple, can it?" Naruto muttered.

"Why can't it?" Kyuubi asked, his voice echoing in the air.

"If you aren't going to make a move, then I will!" The darker half shouted as he charged forward.

He's being hotheaded and charging blindly in, I must be calm and... Naruto thought as he prepared himself.

Once the darker Naruto was in arms reach, the original blond took a step back as he avoided a punch. The darker of the two fell into his light counter parts embrace.

"I must accept myself." The blond stated.

Naruto closed his eyes as he accepted his negative emotions.

Light can not exist without dark. He thought. Hatred can not exist without love.

When Naruto opened his eyes he was back in the sewers of his mind facing the Kyuubi.

"Are you ready Naruto?" Kyuubi asked calmly.

"As I'll ever be.' Naruto answered.

"Then tear the seal."

Naruto reached for the seal, but gave a moment's hesitation. He would basically be freeing the fox and letting it loose to do anything! At least when they switched places, they were in the seal. Now there would be no boundaries. He hesitation lasted just that, a moment.

He didn't betray me then, he won't now.

He reached for the seal.

A hand grabbed his, stopping him.

"Whoa there Naruto." A kind voice stated.

"Fourth!" The Kyuubi shouted as it slammed against the cage.

There before him in all his glory was the Fourth Hokage.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked in shock.

"I should be asking you that Naruto." He retorted as he eyed the fox.

"What are you doing here Fourth?" Naruto asked. "Why are you in the seal?"

"I placed the seal on you with a bit of my chakra, to alert me when the Kyuubi's seal was about to be broken." The former leader answered. "I had hoped it would never come to that." He sent a small glare towards the demon. "I never wanted to see you again, but since I get to see my son, I'll call it even."

"Fourth!" The Kyuubi shouted. "Come here so I can tear you to shreds!"

"Well you keep that up and I won't want to come near you." The Fourth stated. "Let's go somewhere else and chat."

Naruto took a step away from the Fourth towards the fox.

"Why?" Naruto asked sadly. "Why seal him into me? Do you know the hell I went through because of you? I grew up alone and in pain because of you!"

"It must have been hard for you." His father stated sympathetically.

"Just tell me why." The boy demanded.

"I did what I had to do for the sake of the village as Hokage." The Fourth stated. "So I chose you, my son, to bare the burden because mine and your mother's blood flows in you. I knew you could contain the fox's hatred." His father smiled. "I did it because I believed in you Naruto."

"...Yes, just like you believed in the village."

Minato smiled at his son's words. "Good, I'll just reapply the seal and-"

He was silenced when Naruto delivered a devastating punch to his gut.

"You think a few nice words will cover years of pain and loneliness!" Naruto screamed rather than asked. "Your belief in that hell of a village is what put me on this path. I'm now a Rogue of The Village Hidden in the Leaves because of your choice!"

Naruto turned and made his way towards the fox. He ignored his father's please, they meant nothing to him. Nothing but a reminder of what and why he was doing what he was doing.

Kyuubi smirked as the blond child made his way over.

"What did I tell you Naruto." The fox spoke. "You only have me."

"Yeah, you were right."

Naruto glanced back and took one last look at his father and tore the seal off in a quick snatch.

The fox burst from the cage with a mighty roar and flare of chakra. The fox wasted no time in gathering it's chakra in his mouth and releasing it straight into the Fourth. It tore through the former leader, leaving nothing behind.

"Damn that felt good." The fox mumbled before turning his attention to Naruto. "You ready?"

"What do I have to do?"

"I think it's pretty obvious." The fox answered as he crouched.

"...Yeah." Naruto mumbled. "It is."

Kyuubi swatted a claw forward, basically a flick of his wrist, knocking Naruto back several yards. The boy was able to right-en himself mid-air and land on his feet.

"Use your chakra to latch onto mine." Kyuubi ordered. "Like tug-a-war. Just don't think it'll be as simple."

Naruto ran forward as the Kyuubi pounced. He summoned a clone to help him form a Rasengan before launching towards the giant creature. The fox growled in pain as the ball of chakra collided with him. Though the attack was small, even the Nine-Tailed fox admitted it's power.

"Come on Kyuubi, is that all you got?" Naruto taunted.

"Don't get cocky runt." The fox growled. "And don't think I don't notice your clone."

With a swipe of his tail, he crushed the clone that had attempted latch onto the fox.

Well there goes that plan. Naruto thought.

"Fuck it." Naruto spoke. "I never liked planning!"

He charged the fox head on.

Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu

A proverbial army of Naruto's formed before the fox. They began swarming him like ants on a a pile of sugar.

"Enough!" The fox bellowed, blowing all of the clones away. "You think a frontal assault like that would work on me!?" He raised his claw and brought it down over Naruto, just short of crushing him. "I think it's time I humbled you human!"

Whatever the fox had planned was stopped when golden chains erupted from everywhere. The bound the Tailed-Beast and pulled the fox off of Naruto.

"Kushina." The fox muttered.

"Hello Naruto-Kun." A Kind voice spoke. "Do you know who I am?"

Naruto stared at the woman before him, a complete stranger. She was attractive, but the only thing that stood out was her hair. It was a red he'd never seen before...right?

"Kyuubi?" Naruto spoke as he eyed the woman. "So this your human form."

The lady in front of him just burst out laughing. "I'm not Kyuubi ya know!" She declared before rightening herself. "Sorry about my verbal tick. I hope you didn't inherit that from me."

"...What's your name?" He asked wistfully.

"I'm Kushina." She answered. "But you can call me mother."

Kushina had expected her son to embrace her in a hug or to make some kind of exclamation. She would have understood a breakdown. What Naruto did shocked her, he took a step back. He was weary of her!

"I have one question for you." He stated coldly.

"Anything." She stated hesitantly.

"Why did you want the fox sealed into me?" Naruto asked.

"I...didn't." She stated honestly. "I wanted to seal the fox back into me while I was dying, to take it with me. It would be years before it reformed, but by then I'd hoped you'd have grown into a nice young man." She sighed as she thought back to that particular memory. "I wanted you to have a regular life, not like mine. An outcast."

He looked at the woman before him, his mother. Unlike the Fourth, who he refused to call father, she wanted what was best for him before the village.

"Mom, I've got something to tell you."

He told her everything, leaving nothing out. How he was treated by the village from as far back as he could remember. How his greatest efforts were shot down and he with it. How he was cast from a place he called home. All because of something he had no control over. As she had feared.

"Damn you Minato." She whispered.

"It's not all bad." Naruto stated. "I have Kyuubi."

The statement didn't do much to make his mother feel better. A demon was her only son's solace, who could find comfort in that!?

"Naruto, I wish you could have grown up in Uzugakure." She stated sadly as tears flowed from her eyes. "The people there, our people, the would have understood and accepted you."

"I wish the world was different." Naruto spoke quietly. "That this was all just a bad Genjutsu someone put on me and I'm really kid with loving parents."

"A better world." Kushina agreed. "Naruto, I want you to do everything to make a better world for yourself." Kushina spoke. "I'll support the decisions you make, you've earned it."

Kyuubi had finally broken free of the chains when Naruto awakened from his trance. He'd wonder later how someone could go into a trance while already inside their own mind.

"Let's go!" Naruto shouted. "This time I'll-"

He was silence by a familiar pain. One he had felt twice and had hoped wouldn't be a third time. He looked down to see that his pain was real. He had been impaled. Kyuubi had impaled him in the chest with his tail.

"That's enough kit, now give in." Kyuubi spoke calmly. "You fought hard, giving it your all and never backing down. You've proven yourself worthy."

Naruto felt his chakra burn in every part of his body. Though it was being blocked out by his rising anger, his rising hatred. He hadn't felt like this since the side-affects of using his One-Tailed state, even that was starting to pale.

The blond didn't fight against it, he embraced it. He embraced the dark emotions that started to flood him, everything that he pushed down was now coming up. And he was enjoying it.

Naruto opened his eyes.

No longer was he the hyperactive knuckle-head ninja everyone knew. Now, he was the boy touched by the hate of Kyuubi. And embraced it.

"Stand up kit." Kyuubi spoke.

Naruto did. He began looking over his hands,

"How do you feel?" The fox asked.

"Like I could take on an army." He answered.

"And you could." Kyuubi stated. "You have access to my power." The fox looked up, as if he saw something that the human couldn't. "An army wouldn't be much, you're about to get a real challenge."

Naruto awoke from his meditation and realized he wasn't alone. There were two powerful people attempting to conceal themselves from him. They failed.

"Do you feel that Bee-Sama?" Ask a blond Kunoichi.

Her name was Yugito Nii, the host of the Two-Tailed cat.

"Yeah, this man must be great to be worthy of my time." He said. "Hopefully he'll help me come up with a great rhyme."

This man was Killer Bee, the host of the Eight-Tailed Monster Ox.

Eight and Two makes Ten. Naruto thought as he prepared himself. But Nine crushes-

"No." Kyuubi warned.

But you said-

"I know." The fox stated. "Still, you wouldn't be able to handle them at your current level, you have power but no real control or skill. Don't antagonize them and start needlessly something you aren't prepared for."

Naruto knew the fox was right.

He began walking calmly towards the nearest Kumo exit gate. He hadn't broken any laws, so there was no reason for them to stop him. And by time they found out about him and his purpose, he'd be long gone before they got to him. No doubt to use him like a weapon.

"Should we follow him?" Yugito asked as she prepared to follow Naruto.

"Aw, is the little cat in a rush?" Bee asked teasingly. "He must be a man for you to have a crush."

"I-It's not like that Bee-Sensei!"

Naruto looked at the small shrine before him. It was old. Falling apart from years of being unattended and abused by the elements. It was still one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. It was a shrine made by the Uzumakis, his clan!

"Don't take too long." The fox warned.

"I know." He spoke.

Even if it was an Uzumaki shrine, it was still technically on Konaha property. That means he was as well.

He entered the shrine and was greeted by an array of mask, each one a variant of the Shinigami. Each had a small difference, be it a change in the horn or in the mouth. Only someone who has gazed at the Shinigami would know which was the proper face.

"Grab the one I told you about." Kyuubi ordered. "Near the top."

"Got it."

Naruto jumped towards the one Kyuubi told him about, it was the face of the Shinigami. It would come in handy later.

As the blond turned to leave, he felt a tug at his stomach. There was something there that was driving Kyuubi wild.

"Fox?" He questioned.

"There, to the far right!" The fox spoke with a since of urgency.

"It's another mask." He stated.

This mask was different from the others. While the others were of the Shinigami, in some way or another, this one was not. It was actually the shape of a fox, similar to an ANBU mask.

"Of course it'd be here." Kyuubi chuckled.

"What's so special about this thing?" Naruto asked.

"It was forged to be used by your mother by my first host." Kyuubi answered. "But, like many others, she hated me. She refused to use my power, so she had it placed away in a secret location."

The blond looked at the mask. From what Kyuubi said, it would be useful.

Naruto had the masks and smiled.

Step one was completed.

"Hey fox, I want to leave a little message for the village." Naruto spoke. "Plus, I don't want them messing up my heritage more than they already have."

"Good idea." The fox spoke.

Placing several explosive tags on the shrine, he took several steps backwards. They all went of in sequence, destroying everything.

Though he felt bad about destroying his heritage, he felt a sense of joy. Joy in knowing that his heritage would no longer be in the hands of Konoha.

"Status report!" Tsunade ordered. "Did we ever find the cause of the fire, or what was burned in the shrine?"

"No ma'am." One of the ANBU answered. "All we could fine was this."

Tsunade looked at the items and felt a wave of unease pass through her.

The last of the Uzumaki's have left Konoha, so too will the legacies.

Menma.

"Who the hell is Menma?"

Review-Be honest.

1) Naruto was only able to stand to the fox because of Sage mode, and was still losing. I think we all know that he would have lost without help from mom and Killer Bee/Hachibi.

2) Anything specific anyone want to see happen? Tell me now before the next chapter comes out!

3) Taking challenges.