The chapters will gradually get longer and then fluctuate in word length. At the outset, this may not seem like an original idea or very attention grabbing, but it all leads to something nice.

Sub Rosa

Within less than a month, the bridge connecting Wave country to Fire country was completed, largely due to the assistance of Naruto and his clones alongside the full force of Wave's citizens. Team seven had taken its leave the day after with gracious smiles and tears of joy on their backs. Now, they made camp just half a day's travel away from Konoha. Currently on watch-duty is Naruto. He sits before a fire, idly dipping a stick in and out of its flames. His eyes dart about as various different small chakra signatures fire off his senses. His short attention-span doesn't afford him a chance to let his mind rest. More than anything, this strange new skill of his has been a nuisance so far.

A growl escapes his stomach, and Naruto inadvertently places a hand on his belly. He frowns as he tosses his stick into the fire. He watches the flames destroy the piece of wood. Another growl disturbs him, and he's forced to rummage through his pack for some form of nutrition. Empty wrappers are pushed aside, crinkling ever so slightly, until he comes across the final granola bar of the several dozen he had packed into his bag before leaving for home. He rips the wrapper and quickly snaps into the little bit of food he had left. He looses a sigh as the rumbling in his stomach ceases. For now, his hunger has been abated.

Naruto's gaze lingers over to his resting teammates. For maybe the the twentieth time that night, he began to decipher their signatures. Sakura's was definitely the warmest. Within it, he could detect a sense of pride, frailty, and a bit of inadequacy. Sasuke's the most troubled. Despite his calm exterior, Sasuke's chakra would occasionally ripple with fear and loathing. He supposed the odd fluctuations could be attributed to the trauma he had experienced a few years ago. Overall, though, his aura was a cool one.

Finally, Naruto turned his attention to his sensei's prone form, erotica covering the entirety of his face. Kakashi's was a mellow one, more condensed than most others he had inspected so far. The potency and compactness of his chakra had alarmed Naruto when he had first felt it out. It had aroused his interest and excited him for some reason he had yet to understand then. As time went on, he found his eyes being drawn over to Kakashi more frequently; he found a delight in their occasional closeness, in which he'd become engrossed with the powerful aura his sensei exuded. Soon, his belly began to pain him as their interactions persisted. A longing not quite as strong as the one he had felt for Haku had been realized, and he had to distance himself from the man.

"Gah." Naruto shook his head in frustration, and he clutched his belly again. You stupid fucking fox! Why did you have to do this to me? Why couldn't you just sit there and not bother me? Needless to say, he received no response. "I won't give in. No matter what, I won't give in..." He carried on saying this.

Kakashi remained silent as his student continued his mantra. Although he did well to keep his appetite in check over the course of the past few weeks, for someone who had observed his kind before, it was evident that Naruto was beginning to near his limit. His eyes strayed to Kakashi too often for him not to take notice.

Just a little longer, Naruto. This will all be resolved soon enough.

Upon their return to Konoha, team seven spotted several cloaked figures just outside their village's gates. All three genin expressed notes of confusion, two of them asking their instructor who the strange figures were. He could only shrug as he scrutinized the statuesque Anbu.

"Stand to the side please." One of the cloaked individuals directed them to a position beside the closed village gate, what usually remained open to not deter the participation of traveling merchants in the village economy. There, said person commenced his questioning of Kakashi. As he did so, the trio behind the jonin began to talk among themselves.

"So, uh," Naruto said as he fidgeted about, "how long do you think they're going to keep us out here?"

"No idea." Sasuke responded first. "I just hope it doesn't take too long. I've had enough of the great outdoors for now." He had become slightly more talkative as a consequence of their excursion.

Sakura agreed. "I can totally go for a nice, long bath and some good food."

"Oh, yeah! I haven't had any Ichiraku in forever!"

The children were soon off on a tangent. Due to their lack of experience outside the village walls, they had not realized the unorthodox procedure taking place beside them.

"Okay." The Anbu member placed a finger on the side of his hood, and he nodded. "Our sensor has finished the analysis of your squad. You're free to go." Before he could depart, Kakashi stopped him with a lazy hand raised in the air.

"If you don't mind, may you please step aside with me and answer a few questions of my own?"

The cloaked ninja hesitated for a moment. He nodded again. "Not at all, Hatake-san."

As Kakashi allowed himself to be lead away from his team, he called back to them, telling them to remain in their current position until he returned for them. He and the Anbu stopped someways off from them, just out of earshot.

"So, why are the Anbu Black-Ops stationed outside the village walls conducting searches on their own colleagues in broad daylight?"

"Short and sweet as always, aren't you," the cloaked ninja mumbled to himself. He looked off to the side. "Just a few hours ago, an attack occurred in the neighboring village of Takigakure. Several were killed and even more were injured. The number of assailants in the attack is unknown. Given the close proximity of our villages, precautions were taken to prevent a possible attack here as well."

Kakashi's gaze fell to the ground as he took a loose grip of his chin. "That's some news."

"Tell me about it. Our village wasn't even involved, yet those advisers are giving the Hokage shit about our security. Then there's Shimura..." The Anbu shook his head. "Hokage-sama really can't get a break today." Luckily, the Anbu didn't catch Kakashi's wincing.

"Yeah. Seems to be that way."

As they regrouped, Kakashi was bombarded by a series of questions from his loudmouth student. He waved him off and told them all not to worry. He stopped them all again shortly after their passing the gates.

"Hey, what's up with all this stopping and going, Kakashi-sensei? If you keep this up, you're going to owe me a few bowls of ramen!"

"Well, I was going to dismiss you all here, but if you'd really like to accompany me for this long debriefing of mine..." He was cutoff by loud declarations of "No!" and the anguished sound of Naruto wincing as he was bonked on the head. He smiled. "That's what I thought. You all run along now while I take care of this."

Naruto sped off as quickly as he could, barely uttering a departing note as he raced toward his favorite ramen shop. His belly had hit a pitch close to what he had felt on the bridge as soon as he felt the strong signatures of the Anbu agents. He had fought to maintain his composure during their brief closeness, and he had succeeded by beginning a conversation with his teammates then. He planned to fill himself with as much ramen as he could manage-with extra pork, beef, and whatever meats the cook Teuchi provided him.

He rounded a corner and nearly collided into some individual due to his high pace. Instead, he fell to the side, on his face like the dunce he was. The giggles and guffaws of random bystanders pricked his ears and he was thrown into a tantrum before he even lifted himself from the ground. "What the do you think you're doing, dumbass! Watch where you're... Huh?"

"Watch where I'm going?" Kakashi said. "Naruto, you really ought to take your own advice sometimes."

Naruto squinted. "Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?"

"We're going to see the Hokage, Naruto. I didn't want to alarm Sakura or Sasuke by taking you alone, so I had to separate you three first. You made this a lot easier on me by running off on your own."

Uneasiness crept through his body. Naruto snapped his mouth shut as saliva began to coat his gums. He swallowed. "Can it wait? I'm really hungry... So I planned on having some ramen."

"You'll get your chance to eat soon. For now, we have to be on our way." Kakashi crouched and sat his hand on Naruto's shoulder. He felt the boy go rigid. Naruto looked away, silently acquiescing to Kakashi's demand."Let's go." As always, the civilians in the area were amazed by the sudden swirling of leaves and disappearance of a ninja.

Naruto waited outside the Hokage's office quietly, but he was nervous all the same. His eyes flitted back and forth from the office's door to the wall across the hall. Kakashi had disappeared into the office some fifteen minutes ago, and as time continued to march by, so did Naruto's composure erode. His attention transferred to the chuunin secretary stationed behind a desk just outside the office. She was a plain woman with an average signature. Even she seemed appetizing now.

The secretary froze in mid movement and peered up at Naruto. She sneered at him, and he quickly whipped his head around. He twiddled his fingers as sweat drenched his brows. "Keep it together. Stop acting weird," he whispered. He inhaled; he exhaled. Momentarily, Naruto regained his composure.

I wonder what's going in there. I don't hear anything, so maybe the old man isn't too upset about what happened? And rather quickly, he lost it. There's no way the old man's going to let this one slide. Naruto gulped. Maybe he thinks the fox has taken control? A piteous whine escaped him.

The door to the Hokage's office opened just as the secretary contemplated strolling over to Naruto and threatening him into silence. Kakashi stood in the doorway with the same lame look he usually wore on his face, affording the teary eyed blond no hint to what his fate may be. "Come in, Naruto." The Hokage's unmistakable voice beckoned to him and furthered the unease building within Naruto's gut. Regardless of his current state of mind, the boy still rose from his seat and entered the office. All throughout his trek to the center of the room the boy kept his head angled downward. The door closed, Kakashi disappeared behind it, and trepidation filled him totally.

As he stood before the Hokage, Naruto's eyes fixed on his feet and ceased to blink. The overwhelming aura of the man wafted over him and numbed his senses. His jaw tightened and he began to perspire.

The third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen appraised the small boy before him with a less than stern face. He shut his eyes and nodded to himself. He waved his hand and immediately one of his Anbu took his leave. His eyebrow perked up at the quick inclination of Naruto's head at the sudden disappearance. Well, that confirms it.

"Naruto, your sensei has brought a very serious matter concerning you to my attention. As a result, I will have to ask you a few questions to discern just how serious this affliction of yours is. I expect you to answer all questions honestly and to the best of your ability." Hiruzen reclined in his seat and steepled his fingers. "Do you understand?"

Naruto nodded. He answered faintly, "Yes."

"Good."

Naruto's posture prevented him from observing Hiruzen's facial expressions, allowing him to only gauge the man's mood by the tone of his voice, totally unwavering and belying his emotions. "Was the incident on the bridge the first instance of you feeling this odd hunger?" The boy's head bobbed vigorously. "Yes," he said.

"And this ability to sense chakra, you also became acquainted with this at the same time?" Another positive confirmation. "The enemy ninja on the bridge... What possessed you to begin consuming him?" No response. Hiruzen hummed. "Are you hungry now, Naruto?" It was almost humorous how the boy's entire body seized as if he had been caught red-handed while in the midst of committing one of his silly pranks. His fingers dug into his pantlegs as he began to hiccup. His appetite overwhelmed by his sorrow, Naruto revealed his wet face to the Hokage.

"I..." He choked. "I don't want to eat again! I don't want to do that again, but... It won't stop." Naruto sobbed, sank to his knees. Slobber coated his jaw as tears streamed uncontrollably from his reddened eyes. Regardless of the grief which had taken hold of his heart then, his desire to feast on the old shinobi before him would not die. This inner conflict only furthered his dread. He bowed his head in shame. "I'm sorry."

Hiruzen wasted no time in comforting the child so sincerely displaying the contents of his heart. He embraced the boy quickly and roughly there on his knees; he caressed his cheek and hushed him. His grip loosened ever so slightly to establish eye contact. "Naruto, there is nothing for you to apologize. Of the two of us, it is I who should ask your forgiveness." He closed his eyes in consternation, opened them. "I should have told you about this symptom of yours. I can only imagine how frightened you must have been."

"Why," Naruto cried. "Why does the fox make me want this?"

Hiruzen's eyes closed once again. A serious deliberation of actions took place within his head-space, of what Naruto could not yet understand. Finally, he relented. Hiruzen stood up, in turn lifting the boy with him. "The fox makes you eat in order for you to increase your abundance of chakra. For the average ninja, Naruto, his or her chakra stores are limited in that they will eventually hit a wall that will be impossible to overcome. It is variable, as some ninja may wield an enormous amount of chakra while some may have very little, but for them all, they can only hold so much at any one time. However, you are different, Naruto." He totally detached himself from the boy and spun himself around to face his window, hands clutched behind his back. "For you, there is no limit to how much chakra you can accrue. As long as you eat, your chakra stores will steadily expand. If your maximum amount of chakra remains stable for too long, you will seek out beings with suitable chakra levels to feast on and to further your growth. It is because of this that you have developed such a keen predatory sense-your ability to sense the presence of others through their chakra alone."

Naruto stood flabbergasted at the sudden influx of knowledge. Only silence emitted from his person as he continued to compute the information just bestowed upon him.

A knock resounded from the door before either occupant of the room could go on speaking.

"Enter."

Within the open doorway stood the lone Anbu who had been stationed to the Hokage's side having returned from whatever duty he had been assigned. "Your request has been fulfilled, Hokage-sama. Morino Ibiki is waiting for your arrival at the designated location."

"Very good. You are dismissed." The masked man nodded and closed the door.

Hiruzen heaved a hefty sigh. He made an about face and returned his attention to an even more confused Naruto. "I cannot tell you why the Kyuubi so wishes to torment you in this way, Naruto, but I will do whatever I can to help you." He strode over to the boy and recaptured him in his arms. "Come with me. I won't allow your suffering to be prolonged a moment longer."

Before he could even process the Hokage's odd statement, he found himself being transported in the same fashion Kakashi had done. He nearly tumbled over from the odd whiplash-like feeling of him leaving such high-speed movement so abruptly, but the old man's firm grip held him in place. A door shut and he finally began to take in his environment.

They now occupied a windowless insipid grey room. Fluorescent lights hung overhead and buzzed loudly; they barely provided any substantial coverage of the room. Naruto wiped his face on the sleeves of his jacket. "Where are we?" The nondescript setting carried the same eeriness of an interrogation room, and this feeling quickly got to Naruto.

The Hokage quashed whatever notions had been building inside Naruto's head. "I said I would do whatever I can to help you, Naruto. Please trust that I have your best interest at heart. That being said..." He motioned to the area before him, behind Naruto.

One flickering light illuminated the pair situated at the far side of the room. There stood a tall scarred man dressed head to toe in black. His expression was hard and cheerless. Beside him sat what Naruto presumed to be a man, but there was no definite way of telling considering the person's head was covered by a black sack. This person wore the standard uniform seen on prisoners of the village's correctional facility. Wrists and ankles bound to the chair, breathing haggard, this person was utterly helpless.

"There is only one way to successfully control your hunger." Hiruzen exhaled a shaky breath. He kept his eyes fixed on the back of the boy arm's length away from him. "I, personally, have seen what happens to your kind when they ignore their needs. You will lose the ability to distinguish friend from foe. A loved one, no matter how dear they are to you, may very well be victim to you when your hunger advances so far. To avoid such an outcome, you must establish a suitable eating routine and stick to it."

Naruto stood fixed to the floor. His passionate eyes had widened in disbelief before slowly settling to an empty gaze. "No," he said. His lips tugged in disgust at the proposition the old man currently offered him. He shook his head. "I'm not doing it again."

"Naruto-"

"I won't!" Naruto exclaimed. He wrenched himself around, away from the Hokage's touch as he attempted to lay his hand on his shoulder. Tears budded from his eyes. "That's another person, old man, and you're telling me to eat him." The prisoner's breath hitched at those words, and he soon began to mumble, his words soon devolving into cries. Naruto remained silent a few moments to let the humanity of the restrained person sink in. A staring match had ensued. "I'm not a monster. I can control myself."

It was Hiruzen who broke eye contact then. He sighed exasperatedly. "Naruto... You are not a monster. Even after you do what is to come next-and you will-you won't be a monster." He nodded Ibiki's way. "And that is because what you are about to do is detrimental to your survival." The crying of the prisoner stopped.

No further refutation left Naruto's mouth. He had every intention to argue the old man's claims, but quite simply, he couldn't manage to do so. A sweet scent had entered his nostrils. He sniffed delightfully, he wet his lips, he turned around. The inmate sat with his head fully propped backward, a ghastly wound on his neck exposed. The last gargles of his life went rapidly as blood cascaded down his throat and down his chest beneath his shirt. Ibiki wiped his kunai on the pant of the now deceased prisoner. Ibiki made a note of surprise and distanced himself from the corpse immediately as the blonde boy paced toward the chair.

Naruto extended his hand toward the dead man but caught it by the wrist, halting his entire progression forward. This worked for all but a second. He attempted to speak through the excess saliva coating his mouth. "I... I'm not... I can't..."

Hiruzen remain stationary, calm as ever in spite of the internal struggle happening not far ahead of him. "You are Uzumaki Naruto. You are not a monster. You have been burdened with a curse no human should ever be given twice now, and this is in no way your fault. Do not hate yourself for doing the unavoidable, what is essential for you to continue living." Ibiki now stood beside him. "Accept yourself for what you are. Eat, Naruto."

All Naruto could do then before he leaped forward was curse himself for being weak. More tears emerged from his eyes as he latched onto the throat of the seated man, his tongue lapping at the blood still pouring from the open wound. He tore back, chewing, savoring the flesh of the prisoner. He could hardly wait for another bite. He knew he had really fallen upon his next thought.

This beats a bowl of ramen by far.

Read. Review. Share your thoughts on the current happenings in the manga/anime. Well, it's over now, so share you opinion on the closing of the main story.