Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Seriously, I will stop placing this thing.
"I see that kid has way more stamina than I thought he had. I thought you would be here sooner."
Outside the laboratory room, the scientists were already gathered. It had been a day since they had their meeting, with the results proving very… satisfying to Kisa. Right now, they were waiting for Kabuto's arrival with the child; he was instructed to take the boy to them after the training, preferably unconscious.
Standing in front of them, Kabuto was carrying an unconscious Naruto in his arms. The boy had surprised him; his chakra control was truly grotesque, even more so than he expected. Still, the boy more than compensated for that with determination: even after numerous failures he kept trying until he was too exhausted, and then more until he passed out—and Kabuto found out that the child had much more stamina than normal, making this even more of a feat. But what really surprised Kabuto was that, the next day, the boy showed no signs of fatigue; it was as if he had rested for an eternity before resuming training.
In the end his determination proved to be quite useful, with the boy making a really good progress
Kisa was eyeing the boy. "How did it go?"
"He did well. His chakra control isn't incredible, but it's decent enough for now."
"Good. Now get out, I will be taking him from here." Kisa said, trying to get Kabuto out quickly.
The teenager understood exactly what was happening. "Didn't Orochimaru-sama say you shouldn't do other transplants while he is away? Or are you trying to waste them on purpose? Orochimaru-sama won't be happy when he discovers…"
The scientists seemed a bit fearful after hearing it. Kisa, however, just growled.
"Get out already, brat." Without arguing Kabuto left, a smirk on his face. Turning back to his companions, Kisa noticed the fear on their faces. One even suggested that they postpone the transplant to after Orochimaru's arrival.
"Shut up, you bunch of cowards! Orochimaru-sama will be pleased by this; besides, we already tested it. There is nothing to fear, damnit!"
With that, Kisa pushed the others out of his way as he entered the lab. The scientists looked between themselves, before hesitantly following their chief. Soon they were finishing the preparations for the transplants, praying to whatever god out there for this one to succeed.
Looking at the vial containing the soon-to-be transplanted material, Kisa remembered the meeting on the previous day. They had called him after finding out traces of a different DNA in one of the materials. One DNA of a man Orochimaru had researched extensively many years ago, and apparently he had conducted experiments with prior to leaving Konoha.
The DNA of Hashirama Senju, the Shodai Hokage.
Seeing again, he remembered Orochimaru commented that one Akatsuki member had a plant-like appearance. Zetsu. It made sense that he had the DNA of a Mokuton user, the question was: why he had it? It was improbable that he was a descendant; the genetic material wasn't present in the way hereditary genes would. It looked more like it was transplanted or something like that…
But it didn't matter how he had it. Just the fact he had it was good. Not for the Mokuton itself; it was an added bonus, true, but from the way the Shodai's material was merged in there the chances the Mokuton could actually pass down to Naruto was almost inexistent. He doubted even this Zetsu could use the Kekkei Genkai, at least not properly. But there was another thing the Senju was known for, which was the true motive for it to be valuable: his chakra.
Hashirama Senju had managed to fully control all of the Tailed Beasts thanks to that chakra.
The implications of that were stunning to the scientists, and they set out to test their theory. Basically if the Kyuubi was the one rejecting the transplants, the Senju chakra present in Zetsu's one will most likely stop the bijuu from rejecting it. They had no idea if it could help them on stopping the rejection of future transplants, but it was worthy enough to try.
As the preparations were made, the transplant started. The scientists were nervous, even more so when the seal on his belly flared halfway through the operation. After the boy was placed in the cooling tank, Kisa decided to wait and watch. The test they had made earlier had been positive; the material was able to repel the Kyuubi's chakra—leftovers from the many experiments they did with Naruto throughout these years. However, he feared the results could be different within Naruto's body.
But as he saw the seal fade and a few changes started to happen in Naruto's appearance, his fears soon disappeared.
These foolish humans thought they could stop him with that little amount of Senju chakra.
The Kyuubi no Kitsune didn't know whether it should be angered or amused at their idea. However, the one thing it truly felt was another, unexpected one.
It was thankful.
"Foolish humans."
Ever since its creation the Kyuubi had always been feared as a natural catastrophe, capable of crushing mountains with a swing of its tails. Simply the mention of its name was capable of making the strongest men be overcome by fear and despair. However, throughout the last decades it had been almost forgotten; considered nothing more than a legend or a story to scare little children. All thanks to those damned people who tried and 'tamed' him. Such an audacity, to tame the mighty Kyuubi no Kitsune!
Although the seal that bound him was stronger this time, the boy he was currently residing inside didn't have that accursed chakra. That damned chakra from those women, who could fight back against him almost like the chakra from the Senju. But now, the boy didn't have such a chakra; which meant he had a chance. This new power those mans were trying to put in the boy was the key to his freedom.
He inspected the materials before accepting or rejecting. The immortality was something that was needed. At least in theory, if its host died the Kyuubi would disappear but eventually reform; how much time it took was something it didn't know, and was probably the one motive he didn't just let his former vessels die. However, this time it was different: besides the seal that bound it to the boy there was another that bound a part of its soul within the Shinigami. In other words, if the boy died before the Kyuubi was freed then all of the Kyuubi would be trapped within the Shinigami's belly.
He couldn't risk it…
However, it didn't mean that he would let the boy get the other transplants. If he wanted to be freed he needed to either convince the boy to do so or take over the body; it wouldn't do any good for his plans letting the boy strengthen himself. But this one, the one with the Senju chakra, was different.
It was slowly creating a copy of Naruto's mind, literally giving him a split personality.
The Kyuubi had smirked when he learned it. It was the perfect chance: if he could spread his influence over that 'second mind', the bijuu could even take its place. And once in there, it would be easy to take over the boy's body. As such, the Kyuubi slowly started to spread its chakra through the boy's body, intending to take the first step to his freedom.
However, things didn't go as planned.
As he began spreading its chakra, the Kyuubi's eyes widened as what seemed like a gust of wind repelled it. It was strong enough to push back even the Kyuubi. As it slowly recomposed itself, the bijuu looked forward and locked eyes with a figure; he growled when he recognized who it was.
"You… What do you think you are doing?"
"What does it look like? I'm protecting Naruto; I won't let you try to influence him." The figure said.
The Kyuubi let out a roar and rushed to the gate of its prison, only to be blown back again by the strong wind. Being sent to the back of the cell, it could only watch in surprise as chains appeared from the walls, restraining it. How could it…
"You underestimated the power of the Senju chakra. While that little amount may not be enough to stop you by itself…" The chains tightened around the fox "…it was enough to strengthen me."
As the figure turned around and started walking away, the Kyuubi roared again, struggling against the chains. "You think you can keep me away forever? Once I'm freed, I will take over the boy's mind! There is nothing you can do about it!"
The figure slowly grinned. "Then I will make sure you can never reach Naruto."
With that the figure started glowing so brightly the Kyuubi had to close its eyes. After a while the figure disappeared in a yellow flash, leaving a still chained Kyuubi to ponder on its words.
And the Kyuubi didn't like the implications of those words.
The Kyuubi continued there for who knows how long. While it had long ago stopped caring about time, it could wonder briefly if more than a day had already passed. After what felt like an eternity, the chains finally disappeared.
Making a mad dash for the cell's bars, the Kyuubi tried to reach out with his chakra, only to find himself repelled. The 'second mind' had already been formed, and it was radiating with that damned chakra. Worst of it, it also stopped him from reaching the boy's normal mind.
The Kyuubi fell to the floor, letting out a frustrated roar.
After so much time waiting for this chance, he saw the last chances of freedom escape.
It had been a month since the last experiment had been made in Naruto.
And the boy still hadn't awakened from it.
Watching the boy in his comatose-like state, Kisa couldn't help feeling nervous. Very nervous. He had managed to cover the boy's condition from his fellow scientists in order to avoid mass hysteria, saying he was conducting some experiments by himself and they couldn't see him for now. But as each moment passed he felt as if all that panic was being concentrated on him alone. Today was the day Orochimaru returned from the Water Country, and he doubted the man would be happy when he discovered what happened.
As he heard the sound of footsteps coming to his direction, he spun with such violence he felt himself get dizzy. However, he felt a bit more calm when he saw it was just Kabuto.
"What is the matter, Kisa-sensei? Is something wrong with Naruto?" The sarcastic tone of the teenager's voice did not go unnoticed by Kisa.
Kabuto, being his assistant and sort of apprentice, was the only one who knew about what happened for obvious motives.
"Shut up, brat." His former nervousness forgotten, he glared at the boy. He didn't like Kabuto much, but had to put up with him. Especially with the current situation.
"Well, I did warn you that Orochimaru-sama wouldn't like it. So, will I tell him or do you prefer doing it yourself?" As Kisa's glare intensified, Kabuto grinned. "I'm serious, Kisa-sensei. Orochimaru-sama is already here and wants to see you and the boy."
The emotion on Kisa's face slowly reverted back from anger and irritation to the fear and nervousness as he let that information sink. Only a miracle could save him now; as a man of science he didn't really believe on a god but he was willing to change his views if it happened. Deciding that it would be worse if he made Orochimaru wait, he set off towards the 'throne room'—which could very well be his execution site in a few moments—though making no effort to walk fast.
When he arrived, he bowed down in front of Orochimaru. He noticed that Kabuto did the same; why the hell did the brat come here for? Kisa resisted the urge to snap at him; he probably wanted to watch his death first-hand.
"Didn't I tell you to bring Naruto too?" Asked Orochimaru calmly. Kisa shuddered; he felt there was something wrong.
"W-Well, you see sir… He… He is sleeping! Yes, he is sleeping… He got too tired from yesterday's training that he is sleeping till now." Well, technically only half of it was a lie.
Orochimaru only smirked a bit, seemingly ignoring the obvious lie. "It doesn't matter. The fact he is tired will only help me." As he said that, Kisa felt a presence in the room. Looking behind, he saw a boy standing there.
The boy was probably Naruto's age, maybe 1-2 years older. He had a slightly long white hair, tied on a ponytail at the end; the front of his hair was separated on a zigzag like pattern. Another uncommon feature was the two dots above his eyebrows.
Kisa couldn't help but wonder why all the kids he had seen these last days had white hair.
"Kimimaro, go wake up Naruto for me." Orochimaru commanded and almost immediately the boy nodded and left the room. "That, Kisa, was the Kaguya survivor I told you about. He is probably the only one in many generations of his clan to awaken their Kekkei Genkai."
Kisa looked at where the boy left, surprised at this revelation. If the boy had that Kekkei Genkai, maybe they could also use it in Naruto…
"Now, Kisa…" Looking back at his master, Kisa almost jumped after seeing he was standing up close to him; a glare on his face. "I heard you disobeyed my orders and performed an experiment on Naruto; Zetsu's, wasn't it?"
Kisa could almost hear the smirk on Kabuto's face, showing who the culprit was. He could only hope this was the only thing the bastard had said… "Yes, Orochimaru-sama. B-But hear me first! It actually worked! I swear!"
Surprise appeared briefly on Orochimaru's face, replacing his glare. "Explain now."
As Kisa started explaining, talking about the discovery he and the other scientists—but mostly him—made about Zetsu, the tests, and the experiment itself, the look on Orochimaru's face got even more surprised and then turned into satisfaction. The scientist slowly started to regain his confidence; even forgetting about Naruto's current condition.
Thus avoiding unnecessary worries…
Meanwhile, while Kisa and Kabuto went to face Orochimaru…
"Uugh… My head."
The boy groaned, slowly sitting up on his bed. Naruto felt his body heavy, as if he hadn't moved in a long time, and his head felt like it would explode at any moment. He briefly wondered how long he had slept.
Rising a hand to his face, he slowly rubbed his eyes to get fully awake. However, as he removed his hand from his face he noticed there was something strange with it; raising his other hand he compared the two and understood the difference. One of his hands seemed to have gotten paler, not as much as Orochimaru—he shuddered at this thought—but still noticeable. As he looked a bit down, he noticed the changes also happened to his arm; taking of the shirt he wore, he noticed his entire torso seemed to have been affected. It was as if there was an invisible line cutting him in two: one half was normal while the other was paler.
He ran a hand through his hair in exasperation; he had seen worse from some people, who he guessed were also experimented on, but it still felt too strange seeing it on himself. Maybe he was still sleeping, and this was just a strange dream? Moving his hand down he once again rubbed his eyes…
…and then a thought occurred to him.
Jumping out of bed he ran to the bathroom and looked at a mirror. He just stood there, mouth agape, as his suspicions were confirmed.
The changes extended to his face too.
Again, one half of his face was a normal tone, while the other was a bit paler. Some of his teeth also seemed became sharper, though he couldn't understand what it had to do with anything. The main change, though, was the fact his whisker marks had disappeared. Putting a hand to his face, he traced his fingers to the place they used to be in; it was too strange. This had to be another of those experiments. But this time, he truly felt desperate.
For him, his blonde hair, his blue eyes and his whisker marks were what truly characterized him. They made him stand out, made him special, made him feel that he wasn't just one of Orochimaru's experiments.
They were his trademarks.
His identity.
Now, looking at the mirror, he could barely recognize himself.
He barely felt like himself anymore.
He remembered those children he would train with, and the men that would train them. They sometimes would change their appearances, become more feral and even demonic like. Though he didn't particularly like them much—he never formed bonds with anyone—he didn't judge them just because of these changes. It would be the most hypocritical thing he could do. But he remembered others referred to them as 'monsters' or 'demons'. Looking at himself in the mirror, he couldn't help thinking that he was becoming more and more similar to them.
Was this it? Was him a monster, a demon? He didn't know anymore. He didn't know himself.
You are no demon...
Turning around violently, Naruto saw no one. That… was strange. He could swear he heard a voice; a calm, soft voice talking with him.
"You are no demon…" He whispered the words he heard. The words themselves felt sort of dull; he couldn't understand why, but hearing that voice say it made him feel better.
"There you are."
This time it was another voice and, as he returned to the room, Naruto saw a boy standing on the door.
"Come. Orochimaru-sama asked me to wake you up; he wants to see you."
"Wait… Orochimaru is back already?" Naruto asked in surprise. Just how long had he slept?
Kimimaro frowned a bit, noticing the lack of respect when he said Orochimaru's name. "Yes, he is. Now let's go."
Naruto didn't really want to go, but maybe he could get some answers. Putting his shirt back, he left the room and walked back to Orochimaru's throne room, Kimimaro following close behind. Naruto could feel he was watching him intently, like a hound watching over a prisoner. It made him feel a bit nervous.
"So… What is your name?" Naruto decided to try and alleviate the tension, starting a conversation. He walked slower so he was side-by-side with the boy.
After a short pause in which the boy seemed to ponder on whether to answer or not, he finally opened his mouth. "Kimimaro"
"Okay, this didn't help much…" "Well, I never saw you around here, Kimimaro. Are you new or something?"
"Yes."
This was starting to annoy Naruto. "Can you answer something with more than a single word?"
Kimimaro stopped, Naruto stopping too. "We are already here."
Naruto was confused at first, before looking to the side and noticing they had arrived. He didn't really know what was worst: the rather awkward dialogue with Kimimaro or having to see Orochimaru… Okay, that was an exaggeration. Nothing was worse than that bastard snake.
"Look at who has arrived."
As Naruto entered the room with Kimimaro, he could see the look of surprise in Kabuto's and Kisa's face—this last one with something akin to relief following. Looking over at the Snake Sannin, he frowned as Orochimaru was observing him with a critical eye, looking over the changes in appearance.
"Thanks, Kimimaro." Orochimaru said. Naruto observed as the boy smiled happily at the slight praise; he could understand now why the boy was so quiet. Orochimaru moved over to them, looking at Naruto. "At least he didn't suffer any major changes. Tell me, Kisa, did he show any signs of the Mokuton?"
"No, sir. At least not yet."
Orochimaru seemed a bit disappointed at that. "No matter; I can just transplant it one day. But now, I think it's time to take out that little inconvenience that is the Kyuubi." Orochimaru placed his hand on the handle of his sword, preparing to unsheathe it. Naruto looked on, preparing to counter—or at least try to—his attack; he may not die, but he didn't fancy getting sliced or impaled like that time.
However, the attack didn't come from Orochimaru as he expected.
Naruto choked, feeling the blood run through his throat. Looking at the side, he saw the attack came from Kimimaro; the boy stood there, an impassive look in his face, holding what looked like… Wait, what? It looked like a spear but it was protruding from his wrist! Moreover, it wasn't made of metal or even wood; it reminded Naruto of a bone. Either way, the weapon had been rammed through his neck.
Even though he knew the attack couldn't kill him, it was enough to divert his attention away from Orochimaru. He felt something hit him hard on his head.
The only thing he could think before his vision blackened out completely was that he needed to pay more attention.
"Good thinking, Kimimaro." Congratulated Orochimaru as the boy removed his bone from Naruto's neck.
Putting the boy on the floor and removing his shirt, Orochimaru pulled out a scroll. During his trip to Water Country he had also discussed about Naruto's situation with other high-ranking subordinates of his. Between scouting for possible bloodline survivors and helping train Kimimaro and Haku, he studied the layout of Naruto's seal and eventually managed to find a way to stop the Kyuubi from acting on the transplants.
He found out that, besides the main seal that bound the Kyuubi to the boy, there was a second seal that basically served as an opening to the first one; it was hidden so well that even Orochimaru, after studying the seal so many times, had never discerned it from the main one. That seal allowed for the Kyuubi's chakra to slowly seep into Naruto, slowly enough for the boy's body not to suffer ill-effects, and also acted as a filter which would slowly convert the fox's chakra into normal chakra—thus increasing Naruto's own chakra pool. However, if the boy forcefully invoked the fox's chakra it would pass with such strength that the seal wouldn't have time to filter; thus causing the transformations a jinchuriki was known for.
However, through that small opening the Kyuubi could also work its influence over the boy's body. Through that opening, the Kyuubi could reject the transplants.
Orochimaru just had to close that opening.
Of course, he couldn't just remove that seal. It was too closely tied to the main one; he suspected that removing it could affect the other one too, and he didn't want to risk messing with such a complex seal.
He also couldn't extract the Kyuubi yet. Yes, he will eventually do that: with the Kyuubi in there chances were that it could affect the body-transfer technique, and removing it would possibly weaken or even destroy completely the boy's soul—making his conquest of his body all the easier. But he couldn't risk doing it yet; he had no idea how the body would respond to the transplants if the soul was damaged—chakra was partially spiritual energy, after all—and he himself couldn't take him over for a few more years.
The answer was clear after all that, though putting it into practice was another thing.
After much study, they eventually came up with a seal that would basically negate the effects of that second seal. Not negate per se, but do the opposite: that seal would close up any 'hole', stopping the Kyuubi's chakra as well as its influence from entering Naruto's body. Of course, this meant the boy's chakra pool would not receive more of it's supplementary increases, nor the Kyuubi's regeneration; however, thanks to the many experiments they did in the past Naruto's reserves were already enough to compete with a jonin. Besides, any shortage of chakra would soon become irrelevant once he did experiments with the Samehada's materials, and the regeneration would be easily substituted with the combined materials of Hidan and Kakuzu.
After opening the scroll, Orochimaru looked over the seal's design in it.
It was time to get to work.
Looking at what he could consider his masterpiece, Orochimaru smiled in pride.
"You are truly a genius, Orochimaru-sama. To create such a perfect seal…"
Orochimaru turned his head a bit, looking at Kisa as he entered the room. The scientist stood at his side, looking at the cooling tank that contained the Kyuubi jinchuriki. The boy looked normal, not really much different from how he was before the experiment. The only differences were what seemed like stitches running down his shoulders to his armpits, as well as circling his elbows.
The transplant had been surprising to the other scientists, who did not know about the new seal. And was also quite nerve-wrecking once the Kyuubi's seal started flaring. However, for their surprise, another symbol flared alongside it; not the orange/red-ish color of the normal seal, but a sort of purple. It slowly seemed to consume the other seal, until it simply disappeared. After that the transplant continued normally. And was a success.
"I will rest for now. Let the boy there for the night, Kisa; he won't awake for a while because of the seal."
Kisa didn't even get to answer as Orochimaru left. Still, he continued there looking at the boy. He was shaping up to be extremely powerful, 'perfect' like Orochimaru wanted.
He almost envied the child.
Looking at the side, he found a few of the materials for the experiments. They had been labeled according to their 'donor'. Looking at 'Hidan', 'Kakuzu', 'Zetsu', and remembering their powers, he could only imagine what these others contained. It… It could possibly be the key to overthrowing Orochimaru.
He was so absorbed in his thoughts; he didn't notice the shadowy figure at the door, observing him.
Nor the smirk on its face.
Here is the third chapter of this story. I thank everyone who follows the story. And again I ask: is it too dark?
Well, you just met Kimimaro, the Kyuubi problem is solved(or maybe not?), Naruto gets 2 new transplants. Truthfully, I didn't like this chapter that much; I might try revising it later. Don't have much to comment, and I don't think many people actually read all I write here.
Next chapter highlights: Naruto meets Haku, gets some new transplants, and possibly a timeskip. Till then, enjoy and comment if you wish.
