A/N: Hey, everyone. Here's another chapter. I still need to update my other two, but for now, I consider an accomplishment that I'm able to upload this. I've been busy recently, but at least I was able to find the time to get this done. Thanks to all who reviewed and added this to their alert list. Read, review, enjoy.

Tanukineiri no jutsu – Spell of Fake Sleep – Places user or target under a self induced sleep.

Confrontation

Yamato awoke with a start. Being an ANBU operative, Yamato had spent many nights sleeping lightly, training himself to wake up at the slightest disruption. The quietest sound, the softest movement, anything. Ninjas were often required to sleep in the open, sometimes on a roadside, or deep into the forest. In any situation, a shinobi must be prepared. And to fulfill that requirement, it was mandatory that one be able to sense things in one's sleep. By doing this, one must heighten every one of the five senses, six counting the ability to sense one's chakra signature. Any one of these senses could be the thing that saves someone's life in hostile territory. But for Yamato, a man who had been asleep in his own handmade house, it was disturbing that he be waken by a foreign chakra in the air. The only ones in the house were he and Naruto. But even including the Kyuubi, the chakra didn't match any one of them. It was strong, yet soft. Frightening, yet not demanding. In a way, it was one of the most intimidating and calming forces Yamato had ever felt. All he knew was that it was powerful, and that in itself was suspicious.

Slowly, he crept out of bed. He made sure to grab an additional kunai to add to his free hand, the other holding one from under his pillow. He stepped out of his bedroom, walking silently down the hallway. He surveyed the downstairs. The air was heavy. It was filled with the odd chakra. Naruto's door frame glowed in the darkness, the only other light coming from the barred windows. The floor carried a pale white light, also bouncing a ghostly light onto the walls and ceiling.

Yamato stepped closer to Naruto's room. He peered into the pallid area, casting a glance at both sides before resting his eyes upon the blonde's sleeping form. He gripped his kunai tighter, his knuckles becoming white like the interior of his charge's room. Naruto inhaled deeply. His chest glowed more, as his torso rose and fell to match his breathing. The white light reflected from Yamato's eyes as he stared on in awe. Around Naruto, chakra gathered. His body was surrounded by a surreal aura of light.

Naruto suddenly rose his head, his eyes still closed. He began shouting muted screams into the darkness. His body convulsed slightly on the bed. The grip on the pair of kunai became stronger. Yamato's breath caught in his throat at the sight. Naruto slammed his head back on his pillow and fell back into a restful sleep after thirty full seconds of the strange action. The glow stopped abruptly and the odd chakra began to dissipate. Yamato released a breath he hadn't realized he had been keeping. His hands loosened their hold on his weapons as he stepped into Naruto's room.

"What the fuck was that?" he muttered to himself. He looked over the boy. His mostly white shirt was brown a little over his heart, as if exposed to extreme heat. His eyes were twitching. Again, Yamato couldn't guess if he was having a weird dream or if he was in pain. His breath was even, his heartbeat stable, and his chakra signature normal, for the most part. It felt like it had been before, relatively strong and dense for a boy his age, but nothing too abnormal. There was a faint hint of Kyuubi's chakra mixed in with it, but Yamato had sensed that from the beginning. But now, it felt more...raw. It was as if it was strengthened or something. Yamato had no real way of explaining it, but he knew he would have to.

Yamato sat down in one of the chairs and stared at the boy peacefully sleeping. "Naruto, you are one hell of a child."

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"You idiot! After all that! Look at it! You can sense it too, right? Don't tell me you can't. I should claw out your eyes this instance. His body is rejecting your damn 'gift' as you kept calling it. Lookie! HE'S GOING TO DIE, YOU FUCKING MUTT! I'M GOING TO DIE! I know this doesn't mean much to you, because you're only a piece of your entire soul, but I...THIS IS MY ENTIRE FUCKING SOUL. I MIGHT DIE HERE, NOW FIX IT BEFORE I FLOOD HIS BODY WITH CHAKRA AND KILL US ALL."

Kyuubi, please calm down. I need to concentrate. His body must be rejecting the Aether chakra because he lacks the Rinnegan. And that is a gift of the gods. That means that it'd be impossible to recreate. His body recognizes the power, but his other tenketsu points don't know what to do with it. It's flooding his system and unless I do something, he'll die. Now then, shut up.

"DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME WHAT TO DO. I SHOULD KILL YOU NOW AND DRAG YOUR BODY WITH ME TO HELL, DAMN YOU."

ENOUGH! I don't need this. If his tenketsu points each get enough of this, then he can die! And if that happens, then we are all fucked. Now let me work.

"What can you do? Besides make things worse."

I can locate the chakra and neutralize it. If I can do that, we may be able to repair what's already been damaged. Damn it, I don't understand! I did exactly what I saw in the vision. None of this should be happening. He should have been able to fully wield the six chakras because this. Now we'll be lucky if he's able to mold anything at all.

"Any time would be nice. His heartbeat's becoming more sporadic. I can try to repress it, but not for long. After a while, it'll become too much and my chakra will only increase the damage done."

I know, just keep his body stable. I think I figured out a solution.

"Hurry. His liver is almost ready to cease functioning and his kidneys aren't far off."

Keep at it. I just need to do this... YES! Stop giving him chakra, NOW!

"What did you do to further fuck up this weakling?"

His body cannot take Aether chakra. We know that now. But it seems as if his entire body was able to circulate it. The chakra was too powerful for it to be contained by his chakra circulatory system. So, I did my best to equalize the power. It seems his body, at first, began rejecting my chakra too, but he was able to accept. My chakra is much less sinister than yours so his body isn't as damaged by it. I'm able to more efficiently heal him. I might have screwed up his chakra circulatory system in the process, but his nervous system may be able to reverse that. In any case, we will know soon.

"I still await the day I kill you."

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Naruto lifted his eyelids. They felt heavy. His body burned with the smallest movement. Yamato coughed to let his presence be known. Naruto jumped a little at the sound. He turned his head and found the man sitting with two kunai on his lap, his arms outstretched. He looked...nervous? No, that wasn't possible. This was Yamato. He never showed much emotion, from what Naruto had seen so far. There was no way he displayed nervousness so easily, right?

"Naruto, how do you feel?"

"Ugh... my body hurts. A lot. What happened? I only did exercises yesterday after you told me about chakra. Only my head was hurting this much when I went to sleep."

"Do you feel anything different?"

"Not really...my chest hurts a lot, though."

"Where?"

Naruto struggled to pick up his hand and point to where the most pain was. His finger rested just above the heart.

Yamato stood and looked down at the boy. 'That's not good. That's just about where his main tenketsu is. That might explain that glow and the weird chakra, but what about the pain? This doesn't make sense. Dammit, I guess he needs to go visit the Hokage now.' Yamato stepped back from Naruto. "Can you get dressed?"

"I can try, but I doubt it."

"Never mind, then. Look at me," Yamato said while making a handseal. He placed both hands in front of Naruto's face and whispered, "Tanukineiri no jutsu."

Naruto was about to ask him what was going on when he fell back, asleep. "Good, I hope this eases the pain." He picked up Naruto and made a single handseal. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke with Naruto slung over his shoulder.

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"Hokage-sama, I woke up last night because there was another presence in the house I built. It filled the air. I traced it to Naruto's room, but he was unconscious. I don't know what to say about it...it felt...familiar. I think I've felt it before, just not like that. Then, this morning, he woke up in extreme pain. I assumed that Kyuubi was healing him, but whatever it was, it must have done some number on him for him to still be feeling the affects like that. What do you think, Hokage-sama? With that strange chakra and the glowing, I don't know what to think anymore." Yamato sat in front of the Hokage's desk in a comfortable armchair. Naruto was still under the genjutsu he had been placed under and was sleeping on the same couch from several days before.

"I don't understand. How long did this happen?"

"I only woke up when the concentration of chakra in the air was enough to be noticeable, but there is a good chance his body was suppressing it long beforehand. After I walked in on it, he began shaking violently. He seemed to be in a lot of pain, although he didn't make a sound. Shortly afterwards, though, the light receded back into him and his clothes looks slightly burned. I imagine it had to do with the large amount of chakra being pushed out of him."

"Whatever happened...it can't be good. And you say this didn't feel like Kyuubi's chakra?"

"There was a small amount in his chakra output, but no more that normal. I'm pretty sure it flared up after he began convulsing. But that was it."

"So, somehow, Naruto now has a third chakra? How is this even possible?"

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"Hello? Where am I? What's going on here? Hello?" Naruto called out more in the blackness. All around him, he felt a source of power. It was scary. It pushed against him and made him feel small and insecure. He had felt killer intent and normal chakra before, but this...it was surreal. "Hello?" Naruto apprehensively took a step towards the dark power. He was sure the back of this place glowed, but only a little.

Each time he took a step, water sloshed around him. The smallest sound echoed in this room, creating thunderous responses from the smallest disturbance. As he got closer, his lungs got heavier. It hurt to breathe. The boy was beginning to get exhausted from simply taking a dozen steps. It wasn't natural. The only relief he felt was that his body no longer ached like it had been.

"Hello?" he called again. He could detect a presence in his surroundings. He knew there was something there, but what?

Suddenly, a voice replied. It wasn't scary like the feeling in the air. Instead, it filled it with a slight bit of comfort. Naruto's breaths were less ragged after this. Come here, child. This way.

The path Naruto had been on lit up some, allowing him to see down what looked like a passageway. He moved towards the voice. But also towards the source of the bad feeling. More steps, more torrential echoes. At the end of the corridor, it opened up. Inside was a great room. On one side was what looked like the front of a mammoth cage. It was darkened on the inside, but Naruto could make out the seal on the paper. That couldn't be the thing holding it closed, could it? It had to be though, there was nothing else to do so.

"Hello?"

Here, child.

The room grew lighter and the bad feeling was further repressed. In the corner, beside the great cage sat a figure. Naruto could only see what look like the face of a dog in the still mostly dark room. "Where is this?"

There was no reply. Only the deafening sound of Naruto moving through the shin deep water. He was maybe twenty paces in front of the canine-like figure when he stopped.

Child, what is your name?

"Na-Naruto..."

Do you know where you are at?

"No..."

We are in your mind. Or, at least a level of your mind.

"Wha...?"

Allow me to explain. I am Houkou, the Gobi. And this, he said while motioning with his tails, is your mind.

Instantly, the room lit up fully, showing the large bars of the cage that Houkou stood in front of. Naruto's eyes went wide at the sight of Houkou. He was...huge. At least two-thirds as tall as the back wall. His five tails waved peacefully behind him and his face seemed to beam at the form of Naruto. His long brown fur hung loosely over his body, masking the skin and general shape of his body underneath.

As I said, I am Houkou. I bet you have a million and one questions for me, do you not?

Naruto stood silent, in shock at the giant talking dog before him. There was no way this was happening. "A-am I dreaming?"

In a way, yes. But, technically, you are under the influence of false sleep. Which, because of your reaction to my chakra last night, has allowed us to meet. So, you are really awake, just on the inside. This is your head, your mind.

"What are you doing here? Why is there a big-ass dog in my head? And why do you have five tails? That's not right! None of this is right"

One question at a time, Naruto. Long ago, there was trouble for my kind. We are great beasts of power. We were created by the gods, just like you. We were each given different powers. I was made the Lord of Illusion. Others were made Lords of the elements, such as fire or water. In total, there are nine of us. But, like I said, we were in trouble. I did something to prevent the end of this world. I gave two people power. I offered the two of them a gift and they accepted. One of them was corrupted and eventually used his powers for evil. The other was a great man. I gave the second man the power of life. He was able to make life with his own hands. It was this power that also saved his life. Because of him, you are here today. He created a village with the help of my gift. He could make trees grow and flourish and give his own body's energy to the earth to make it stronger. He was truly a good man.

He completed the task I asked of him, but when he died, a bad man came along and experimented with him. He took my gift from him and gave it to someone else. It was a despicable act. The person he gave my gift to was your friend, Tenzou. But you know him as Yamato, isn't that right?

"Wait, what does Yamato have to do with this?"

My gift, the abilities I gave those two men, involved me giving them a piece of my soul. When I did that, they were able to grow stronger. But, because someone stole the gift, they stole a piece of my soul. It was trapped inside of that man, Yamato. My soul was weakened over time and stayed latent inside of his mind. But recently, he found you. He used his chakra, enhanced with my gift, on you. When he did that, part of my sealed soul was transferred to you in the form of raw chakra. I was able to reform and help you because of someone. Naruto, I hate to do this, but you need to meet him.

Houkou moved his head in the direction of the cage's front. Naruto's eyes followed the motion, resting on the piece of paper in the exact center.

The room flashed red for a brief second and rumbled once or twice. Naruto's eyes went wide again. There, behind the bars of the cage, stood a fox. His coat danced in the light, reflecting crimson onto the water on the ground. He shook his body but settled down a moment later. His face sank to the ground, hovering just above the water. His eyes, wild with red, glared at Naruto, forcing fear into him. Naruto shook at the sight. The fox did not blink. He didn't move. He just sat there, crouched low, and staring at the young boy. Finally, after several agonizingly long moments of silence, he picked himself up and looked towards the slightly shorter five-tailed dog. Behind the massive fox, nine equally red tails moved in unison.

"I told you this vessel is weak. He can't even stop shaking in my presence."

Silence, Kyuubi. He is but a child.

"That is no excuse. When kits are this young, they are braver than this."

Houkou turned his gaze from Kyuubi and looked back down at the cowering form of Naruto. Do not fear him, Naruto. He cannot hurt you, unless you let him. He is imprisoned here because he was foolish, and now he must pay for his bad deeds. But, he is also the reason I am here as well. When I was transferred into your body, he used his power to resurrect my soul.

Naruto stayed silent, fear evident on his features.

Kyuubi, introduce yourself.

"What did I tell you?"

Do it.

"I hate you. But you," he said while looking at Naruto, "are weak. I don't know why you were chosen to be my vessel, but you were. I hate you even more for that fact. I am Kyuubi. I attacked your village six years ago. I made a mistake and this man, your father, sealed me inside of you with the Shinigami's help. I have been here since then, in your mind."

Naruto still stayed quiet, but the fear disappeared from his face. The very mention of his father was enough for him to rid his body of that feeling. He was chosen to be strong and protect everyone. "I...was born on that day. The day that you attacked. My father chose me to protect the village and it's people. I am stronger than you, and no matter what you say, that is how it is."

Kyuubi snarled behind his prison. He hated those who thought themselves above him. "Watch your tongue, boy. I can put that to the test."

Kyuubi! Not now. Now then, Naruto. He is wrong. You are strong. You are able to hold back his influence and that is why your father would be proud. There aren't many men who can hold their sanity very long after being exposed to a demon's powers, but you seem to be one of the select few who can. That is a rare trait in your kind. I have a theory as to how this happened, but that is not important. What is important is what I've done. I am responsible for what happened to you last night. I tried to make your chakra circulatory system adapt to another chakra, but it failed. I'm not sure the damage done since I'm not too familiar with your kind's chakra system. We demons use another system entirely. Speaking of which, Naruto, do you know how to channel chakra?

"No. I was going to ask Yamato how to do it later, but he just keeps making me do endurance... yeah, I think that's the word... endurance training. I think he wants to see how much stamina I have."

"About that. I have not altered your body in any way. I have merely supplied your system with additional nutrients to help you grow. That is it. Anything such as strength or the amount of your chakra capacity is all you."

I see. Naruto, it seems that you were born to be a protector. You were born to be strong. You were born to be great. It seems that fate has an odd way of doing things, but you are the one who shall protect us.

"I do not need this boy's protection. I am infinitely stronger than he is."

Not when they are ready. Then, your power, your raw chakra, your abilities, everything you hold will be worthless. It is the curse of our kind. It seems that Naruto here will be our only hope.

"What're you two talking about? I'm only a little kid. Sure, I'm gonna be strong and badass and Hokage, but that won't be for a while. Why do you need me?"

All in due time, Naruto.

"I'll be damned if he is able to surpass me in terms of power."

Kyuubi, this petty attitude of yours is getting annoying. Naruto, I need you to do something when you wake up, okay?

"Sure, I'll try."

I need you to try to channel chakra. I want you to concentrate really hard on making energy within you move. If you feel any pain, try to work through it. Your body may not be ready for chakra yet, but I'd like for you to try. If you still have any wounds, Kyuubi and I will heal them. Does that sound all right?

"I think so... But wait! What do I do when I need to talk to you again?"

This meeting is because of a genjutsu that your body reacted badly towards. But I think next time, you may be able to contact both of us by meditation.

"Huh?"

It's when you relax your mind and allow yourself to be at peace. It is really helpful when you're stressed or confused. I think that by making the connection to the unconscious and subconscious mind, you may be able to talk to us again.

"Okay... How do I leave?"

This is your mind. You control everything in here, along with Kyuubi and me. We are all connected. We each feel each other's pain and happiness. When you feel an emotion, we feel it, too. So, when you want to leave, I suppose that either we or you can force yourself out of here.

"All right then... Just focus on leaving..." Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated on waking up. He opened his eyes and saw the large sewer-like room fade from his vision. To both Houkou and Kyuubi, the boy appeared to just blend with the darkness. They two demons sat silent for a moment.

He is the one who will help us. He is strong enough to help change the world.

"As much as I am loath to admit it, I agree. His soul is strong. He will be interesting to watch grow up. But I'm still stronger than he will ever be."

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Naruto rose up suddenly. He was in a different room from before. He knew the surroundings. They were familiar. Then he noticed both Yamato and Sarutobi look over at him. Sarutobi stood abruptly and traipsed over to the boy.

"Naruto, how do you feel. Yamato has been telling me all about last night."

"I feel fine...I think. The pain...it's gone. He didn't lie."

"Who didn't lie?"

"Houkou. He said he'd make the pain go away if I promised to do something for him. I still need to do it..."

Yamato joined the two in the conversation. "Who's Houkou?"

"He said...he was the Gobi. He is a big dog with five tails. But he's nice. He told me he tried to make me stronger. I like him."

"Naruto, does this have anything to do with Kyuubi?"

"Yeah! He was there too! He's mean, though. He called me weak. I don't like him much."

Sarutobi looked at the blonde as if he was in the process of growing a second head. 'This kid...is talking about meeting...two bijuu...and he likes one of them. Just what in Kami's name is going on here?'

Yamato had similar thoughts. "Naruto, what are you talking about?"

"Inside my head...there's these two demons. One's good, the other's mean. Houkou, the good one, told me that he tried to help me last night, but he failed. So, he told me he wanted to channel chakra to test something. Kyuubi...he felt evil. He made me feel bad. But somehow, Houkou was able to make that feeling go away. I don't know how to explain it. I just...felt different. I feel different now. Before, I felt like there was something flowing inside me. But now, that same thing flows, but it feels like it gets stronger."

"It's possible he's speaking of chakra. Although, I don't believe there are any recordings of someone unconsciously molding chakra."

"Hokage-sama. Do you sense that?" Yamato asked suddenly.

"Yes. Is this the chakra you felt last night?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. This is the one that seemed familiar."

"I see what you mean." Sarutobi went silent for a long time, his eyes focused on nothing in particular. "No," he spoke out loud, "it can't be. This chakra. It's weak...but I'd know it anywhere. Th-this chakra...it feels like..Shodai-sama."

"You mean...?"

Naruto stared at the flabbergasted Hokage. This was the first time that Naruto had ever seen the man shocked like this. Sure, there had been the occasional time he had been able to get him with a prank, but out all those times, he never looked like this. It was unsettling to see such a kind face hold that mixture of confusion and disbelief like that.

"Yamato. I know that because of your past, you carried this small trace of Shodai-sama'a energy in your soul. That must be why you said it felt familiar. I grew up with that man. He taught me so much. And in the course of time, I worked with him on so many occasions. I became so accustomed to that chakra signature. I felt it in you when I rescued you from that lab. I knew that you carried something similar to him. I just never understood what it was. But now...Naruto also has this same essence that Shodai-sama had. What's more, is that his feels stronger. I don't know what to say..."

"Do you mean I have the same chakra as the Shodai? Is that what Houkou did? He said he gave "someone who would create a village" a gift. Is that what he meant? He gave Shodai-sama part of himself or, least a part of his soul?" Naruto asked.

Sarutobi took his seat behind his desk. This was simply too much for an old man. His age was catching up to him. He was just worried about getting past the mountain of paperwork this morning and then this comes up. What do you say when a child starts saying he met up with two of the most powerful beings on he face of the earth? What do you say when that same child begins giving off the same energy that your old sensei did? Just what was expected of him at the moment? He didn't know. He was having enough trouble processing the rest of the conversation.

Naruto was in the midst of giving Yamato an explanation, "And then, he said to just concentrate and I would be able to talk to them."

"Anything else?" Yamato asked after absorbing the information. He seemed to be handling this much better than the aging Kage.

"Um...Houkou said he'd take care of my wounds and stuff. So I guess that my healing ability thingy will be getting stronger if both him and Kyuubi do it. And then...Kyuubi said that he had been monitoring my body and stuff. But he also said that he didn't do anything to my body. He just mentioned something about giving me nutrients. Other than that...I think that's it."

"Interesting... So Houkou, the Gobi, did this to you?"

"I told you already. Houkou said that he was put into me because of you. He said that you held the Shodai's gift, I think. But that gift...it's complicated, but he said it involved sealing his soul in him. So, when someone experimented with his body, they took a part of his soul away and put it into you. So, I think that's how you got your wicked awesome wood ability. Anyways...he said that he was inside you for a long time, then you used a jutsu on me and somehow was able to force himself into me. When he did that, Kyuubi apparently helped him recover and he's been there since. I think that's it." Naruto stared at Yamato. He was growing impatient with this game of twenty questions. Especially when they started asking the same things over and over.

'So that explains why I was given the ability of Shodai-sama. But what's all this now? How is Naruto able to use Houkou's chakra if he doesn't have a seal. The only reason he has faint traces of Kyuubi's is because of Minato-sama's seal. So, wouldn't that mean that the chakra is just running wild in his system? If that's the case, Houkou must be restraining it. But what if he loses control? Then what? Could I control it, should it break lose? Aw damn it! This is all too confusing!'

Sarutobi began to straighten out his thoughts. They were perplexing, to say the least. "Naruto, come here."

The young blonde stood and walked over to Sarutobi's desk. He stayed there patiently, waiting for the older man to speak again.

"Naruto, you... How should I put this? Chosen? I suppose that works the best... Naruto, you have been chosen. I'm not sure how or why fully, but I do know that this will most likely bring on more difficult changes. I know that this is only adding to the burden that has been placed upon you, but know this: Yamato and I will always be here to help you. And, if what Houkou has said is true, then he and Kyuubi will also stand by your side. Naruto, I'm truly sorry for the pain you have suffered from and the hardship that you have yet to face, but now, remember this, you are not alone anymore." A single tear fell down Sarutobi's cheek as he said this.

Naruto smiled. His face lit up with a light that could rid any darkness and destroy the feeling of hopelessness. It was a smile that could inspire courage in the weakest and ripple warmth through even the coldest winter night. And from this smile, Sarutobi felt just a little better. He knew he had made several big mistakes in the past concerning this boy. But he knew, that no matter what, to the ones Naruto loved, there was always forgiveness waiting for them.