Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto.
Author Notes: Hello everyone, I hope you have enjoyed my story thus far. Thanks to all of you who reviewed. Twelve people is actually quite a few. I know the last chapter was kinda cheesy and a cliché at the end, but it was necessary. Anyone liking my new Sasuke so far? Anyway, onto the story.
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Konoha Hospital: Kushina was asleep, whimpering on about how she had failed her son. She pictured him waking up, only to completely reject her and hate her. It was heart-breaking. "Naruto," she whispered, "I'm so sorry." Naruto was unmoving, indifferent to her words and the actions of those around him.
He was at war with Kyuubi in his mind, even though the ordeal had passed. It was a contest of wits and wills that held Naruto's full attention.
"Stop this, damn you stupid fox," he roared. "This is my body, my mind, you have no rights to possess them."
"I cannot allow a host as thick-headed and stubborn as you to hold my life in his hands. We came much closer to dieing than I ever wish to again," the demon countered. "You either need to let me take over, or you need to learn to defend yourself, stupid kid."
"You know as well as I do that those tags only hurt me because you exist within me; I'd be fine if you weren't in me but that can't be changed now, can it? You owe your pain and suffering to yourself, fox." The Kyuubi was stunned. The nerve this child has… fine, if he wants to fight with nerves, I'll give him something to chew on.
"You seem to forget why I am here," the Kyuubi began, "the Fourth Hokage put me in this cage. There is nothing I can do but take over unless you grow up and learn how to see through deception." Naruto shrank back, but his focus did not wane. "If only you were an Uchiha, at least they have the Sharingan I gave them. The only thing is, Madara betrayed me in the end; What a waste of a bloodline trait."
Konoha hospital: "Kushina-San, are you awake?" chimed Tsunade. There was no response. "Oh well, I'll just have to check on Naruto now and reminisce later. She pulled back the curtain to Naruto's cot and looked down to see Naruto had grown several inches, and his skin had turned red. She was terrified when she saw the seal near Naruto's navel glowing red. It was fluctuating: red, black, red, black.
Kushina had woken up silently behind Tsunade and screamed when she saw what had happened in the night. "My child, Naruto. What is happening to him Tsunade-Sama? Please tell me." Tsunade turned to her, a look of regret and confusion on her face.
"I'm unsure right now, but I'm sure his skin has changed due to prolonged exposure to the Kyuubi's chakra. As per Minato's seal, I'm sure you are thinking the same thing. It might be weakening, it may be a sign of some sort, or it may even be the Kyuubi is escaping. But there's no way to be sure right now."
Kushina shrank back. The demon was defeating her son? No, she had heard great things about him; he could weather this too. "There must be a way to pull him out of this state," she said desperately.
"Theoretically, I can with the correct preparation. It is a method which projects a person's mind into another. The shock should snap him out of it. But there is an enormous risk in this particular case; if the demon has devoured most of his mind, or if his mind collapsed from the pain, I could be lost forever myself."
"That doesn't mean you won't try, does it?" Kushina inquired. "If you won't, then at least allow me to, sensei."
Inside Naruto's mind: "Yes, we all know how the Sharingan came out, but at least the Byakugan worked out well, even if the Hyuuga family is in dark times right now," Naruto stated. "But what do the bloodline traits of old have to do with me right now?"
"Look kid, if you really won't allow me to take over your fighting from now on, then I'll have to give you the skills to survive," the Kyuubi replied. "The one problem is, a bloodline trait, as its name suggests, is transferred through blood and chakra. I have no blood except for what courses through your body right now, which has become a very limited resource."
"What are you getting at fox?" Naruto questioned. "Do you intend to give me a bloodline trait?"
"You hit the nail on the head. And they say all blonds are dumb, that isn't quite true. The only problem is, the blood sacrifice will have to come from you, Naruto, I can still supply the chakra and perform the infusion. If you choose this route…"
Inside Naruto's mind: Kushina and Tsunade: "This is certainly worth future research," Tsunade exclaimed. "Although, it is a tad too dark for my taste," splat, "and wet."
"I think I know why it is so dark Tsunade-Sama," Kushina began, "there is nowhere to hide when there is light; Naruto has been afraid and angry at the world for many years; it is to be expected. I think the water…" (Faint dialogue) "can you hear that? It is coming from down this way." Tsunade followed Kushina down a series of similar-looking tunnels. She could now hear two distinct voices in the distance. One was Naruto for sure, but she could not place the other.
"Shh, Kushina," Tsunade whispered, "I think that other voice is the Kyuubi's. Get to the nearest corner and stay out of sight for now, we don't know what is going on yet." Kushina nodded and stepped lightly to the next turn. There was still no sign of Naruto, but the voices were becoming louder and clearer.
"I'm coming," Kushina whispered to herself. At the next turn, she saw the massive iron gate that was the Kyuubi's cage, and there was the enormous fox himself behind it. She could tell just by looking at the boy in front of the cage that he was Naruto. Thank Kami your safe.
Perspective change to Naruto: Ok, the point of view is gonna change several times here before this chapter is over, but just take it slow and you'll pick up on who's who.
"The only thing I have to do is give up some blood?" Naruto inquired. "That's easy, just take it." Tsunade, who was now next to Kushina, was frightened at what she had just heard.
"It isn't that easy kid," the Kyuubi began, "we also need to gather a bunch of ingredients so that my chakra fuses with the blood instead of simply disappearing into thin air. You will either have to break into the medical storages around Konoha yourself, or you can let me do it in your place." Naruto frowned at this statement. "That isn't the end of it either, we also need a wide, open area to write the jutsu in, as well as some jutsu ink, a chalice, a fire, and a pot to hold the blood."
"Woah, slow down," Naruto exclaimed. "Just how much blood are we talking about here? I'm also not very keen to the idea of storming the medical stores, possessed or not."
Both Kushina and Tsunade released a held breath at this. "At least we know he isn't a vegetable or fully possessed," Tsunade said reassuringly. Kushina still looked very concerned, and she ushered Tsunade to quiet down so she could listen.
"The amount of blood required depends on how strong a bloodline trait you want. The one I've developed for you needs enough blood for three chalices-full. As per the chalice, any large cup will work; the blood needs to be quickly consumed, otherwise the chakra will escape from it and you'll end up with a half-baked bloodline trait not worth passing down to future generations. There is no second chance with this."
"Fine, I'll do it, but you're the one raiding the stores, I would probably screw that up immensely. One rule though: absolutely no killing anyone." Tsunade and Kushina were petrified. Naruto had made a very steep deal.
"Come on Kushina, Naruto will be waking up soon now that he isn't forcing the kyuubi back with all his willpower," They made it out of Naruto's mind before it completely shut them in, but they could not immediately wake up, an aftereffect of the jutsu Tsunade developed.
Naruto's body stirred, and his eyes, still the Kyuubi's, opened up. "You had better thank me for this kid, I would rather just control your body forever, but a deal's a deal. No one will die," The Kyuubi said to himself. He walked himself haphazardly to the door on the other side of the room. "How do you humans move on only two legs and balance without a tail?" Kyuubi exclaimed.
When the villagers spotted Naruto, they ran for cover, seeking shelter from his well-deserved wrath. "Too bad they didn't fear you like this before, you wouldn't have ended up in that bind," Kyuubi said into Naruto's mind. Naruto watched what Kyuubi was projecting to him in the cage area with a mixture of anger and sorrow.
"Just hurry up please. I don't trust you all that much with controlling my body." Naruto truly did fear the possibility of the Kyuubi taking over him permanently, but there was no other way.
"Alright, alright, but let me get used to walking first. Where is the best place to find medicine here? It is very different from when I… well, you know."
"The Nara complex is where Granny gets most of her deer antlers and such. Try there first."
"Ah, how could I forget the Nara family, they possess one of the most powerful bloodline traits I ever gave out." With that, Kyuubi went on all fours and made an instinctive dash towards his goal. He slipped inside the lab with the help of several genjutsu. "Now this is a stockpile; they have everything I need in here, even a good drinking chalice, firewood, ah and a very good container to put the blood mixture into."
Kyuubi was too focused on collecting supplies to even realize someone had gotten past his defense.
"What the hell are you doing Naruto?" Shikamaru asked darkly. Kyuubi was at a loss as to what he should do. Run? Attack? Knock the kid out? "This is my family's property; you know that. Now put down those items you are trying to steal and turn around."
Kyuubi didn't comply with the first part, but he was more than happy to show his face to the brat who dared to get in his way.
"No, I don't think I will return these, they're very important for what I'm working on," Kyuubi began, speaking in Naruto's voice perfectly. "As per turning around…" Shikamaru rarely showed emotion, but he lost his nerve staring into the demonic-looking face of Naruto.
"No don't hurt him!" Naruto yelled from within his mind. "Or I'll take back over and kill us both." Naruto was worried; this would prove whether or not he could trust the Kyuubi at all.
"Ya ya, I won't hurt the nosy brat," Kyuubi said aloud. Shikamaru twitched when he heard that. "Oops. Look, this doesn't have to get ugly kid; you'll understand why all of this is happening when we're done." With that, Shikamaru prepared a Shadow Possession. Zip. "What are you aiming at kid?" Shikamaru froze. How the hell did he move so fast?
Bonk. Kyuubi used a standard k.o. technique that did no damage to a person's body. "Now that I've dealt with him peacefully, time to seal these up in a scroll and take it with us," Kyuubi said, a tad annoyed that he had had no fun with such an easy opponent. He grabbed a scroll, a ton of ink, and a brush, then he wrote several dozen symbols and sealed all the supplies into it. "I'm glad you humans invented stuff like this; it's much better than me being a beast of burden."
Naruto sighed with relief when Kyuubi didn't tear Shikamaru apart, which he easily could have. Now he was watching as Kyuubi made his escape and he released the various genjutsus he set up. All of the researches woke up alarmed, and Kyuubi whisked himself away before they even knew he was there.
"Do you know any open fields that few people ever go by that's near here kid?" Kyuubi inquired. Naruto had to think for a bit before it came to him.
"Ya, my old training grounds, they're about seven miles from here. The best landmark is a wooden post in the center of it."
Kyuubi had made another light-speed dash and was at the opening in about a minute.
"Your body can actually move that fast now, kid," Kyuubi stated bluntly. "All that time during our little battle for dominance, I was doing my best to heal you by forcing my chakra into your body. Of course the tags stopped that course of action, but my chakra has increased your muscular strength and your overall ability. You can thank me after we're done with your bloodline creation."
Naruto was stunned at this new information; if he could really move like that, wouldn't he be able to defend himself against Akatsuki now? "No, they have trained specially to deal with these kinds of speeds, even if they don't go searching for their targets at such a rate. I'll admit that they could probably beat me right now if they attacked, but I would be able to sense them from quite a distance."
In about a minute, Kyuubi had the jutsu written on the ground and double-checked it. He then began to build a fire from various fallen branches and the flame he sealed up from the lab. Elsewhere, Tsunade, Kushina, and Shikamaru were beginning to come out of their sleep.
Konoha Hospital: "Ungh," Kushina winced as she sat up. "Tsunade-Sama, get up." Kushina shook her until Tsunade awoke with a start.
"We have to find Naruto, I think I know where he went." Kushina followed her at a brisk pace northward into the forest.
Nara Complex: Shikamaru stirred as two medics came into the room.
"Someone has robbed the supply room," one yelled, "and master Shikamaru has been hurt." Shikamaru got up and dusted himself off.
"I'm fine, and I know who made off with our supplies," Shikamaru said darkly. Just what the hell are you doing Naruto? "The supplies stolen include several apparatuses for holding liquid, a compound known to help blood clot around a wound, poison octopus suckers which are known to invigorate the body when combined with the Tarrow Root, also stolen, and a nutritional sweetener we had developed recently. I'm going to find the Lady Hokage and report this. Don't mention a word of this to my father." And with that, Shikamaru began working his way back toward the village.
Forest of Konoha: "Shikamaru, have you seen Naruto?" Tsunade growled.
"I've more than seen him," Shikamaru began. "He's stolen various supplies from our research center, and also…" Shikamaru looked down, unsure of whether or not he should say what he had found.
"What is it Shikamaru, we don't have much time for this," Kushina interjected.
"Naruto wasn't himself; his eyes showed nothing but malice, but he was acting so weird. He said 'ya ya, I won't hurt the nosy brat,' and then his expression changed and he said 'oops.' He knocked me out from behind. I've never seen anyone move so fast. When I woke up, he was gone, and I didn't have a mark on me, he could have torn me to shreds if he wanted to."
"So, Naruto is gonna go through with it, it seems," Tsunade said. Shikamaru had a curious look on and Kushina looked about ready to fall over and cry. "We overheard Naruto making a deal with the Kyuubi inside his mind that involved blood sacrifice. I think I know what he is up to, but the Kyuubi is a very smart demon, he may betray Naruto for the sake of his own life. I also think I know where to find them: the #7 training grounds. Follow me; we don't have a ton of time before they start."
Training Ground Seven: Kyuubi had already begun fanning the flames into a sizeable fire. The preparations were almost complete.
"Now comes the part where we switch roles kid," Kyuubi said. "You will have to slice open an artery and drain it into the pot while I prepare to infuse all of my chakra into it. The other ingredients have been prepared and added. Once you add the blood up to the mark, put it on the fire."
Naruto regained control with a jolt. His hair was much longer, his hands and feet had grown claws, he had become a bit ripped in the muscle department, and he seemed to have gotten taller. He prepared himself to slice his radial artery and drain it into the pot. The claws on his fingers were more than sharp enough to cut through the tissue surrounding the vein. Naruto was highly surprised it didn't hurt much at all, but he was still afraid of the amount of blood that spilled forth.
"How do I stop the bleeding when it is time?" he asked hesitantly. Kyuubi giggled from behind the bars on his cage.
"A bit squeamish are we?" he teased. "I'm kidding; it is actually a lot of blood to lose. Don't worry, if you will it to, your own chakra can seal it up in a matter of seconds. Watch it here kid, you're almost to the mark."
As the blood reached the mark, Naruto began to feel light-headed and immediately willed for his wound to close. Just as the Kyuubi had promised, it closed up quickly. Naruto then lifted the pot carefully to the fire and set it down. Kyuubi then took back over.
"This part takes a lot of practice to get right, of which you have none," he stated to a miffed Naruto. Kyuubi went into extreme focus mode. "I'm setting up a barrier so that no one can interfere. You know what will happen if we get stopped halfway, and then you won't have a choice in whether or not I possess your body." His incantation for the barrier was one-hundred-twenty signs long which seemed like an eternity to Naruto. This is why I never learned jutsus that used hand seals except for the summoning.
"Get over it kid. Your part's coming up. I'm infusing my chakra now." Kushina, Tsunade, and Shikamaru had just arrived at the edge of the barrier when Kyuubi began his chakra infusion. Due to the density and overall amount of chakra the Kyuubi was projecting forth, it appeared to be a reddish black because little light could pass through it.
"It's ghastly," Shikamaru gasped. "Why the hell is Naruto doing all of this? You said there was a deal involved Tsunade-Sama, with the Kyuubi." Tsunade punched the wall of the barrier with her best chakra focus. The barrier shook and rippled, but it did not break.
"I have never witnessed one myself but, I think this is a bloodline trait giving ritual. But then again, I think the Kyuubi is controlling him right now and may be doing this to make his reign permanent," Tsunade said as she pulled her arm back. "Not even a dent… why such a heavy defense? Unless the Kyuubi didn't want this interrupted for whatever reason. In which case, we need to get inside that barrier and stop this." Kushina was crying, believing that her son was slipping away in front of her eyes.
"Naruto!!!" she screamed. "Please resist him Naruto. Naruto!" Kyuubi had heard her pleas and turned to view the source of the distress. It can't be… Minato's wife, Uzumaki Kushina? I thought she was dead after her not raising Naruto for these past sixteen years. That she stands there now of all times calling out to her son, how heart-wrenching.
Kyuubi was finishing his infusion and gave his instructions to Naruto. "Use the chalice to scoop up the blood. Your body is heat-resistant, so you shouldn't have a problem with getting burned. This won't be like drinking nectar; it'll be awful, but you have to swallow all of it and then rest so that you can gain the full strength of this bloodline trait. Ready?" Naruto nodded to the fox, even though he was frightened. "Here's the switch."
Kushina had remembered a jutsu made for bringing down highly defensive barriers such as this. She was working as fast as she could, passion raging in her being. I will save you… Naruto.
"Be ready for anything, there could be traps, he could attack, there may be genjutsu, anything," Tsunade warned. "The top priority is to get Naruto away from there before something irreversible happens."
Naruto quickly picked up the stone chalice that Kyuubi took from the Nara complex. His nose wrinkled at the smell of the blood.
"Hurry up kid," the fox yelled from within his mind. Naruto took heed and dunked the chalice in. It was hot, but his hardened body wasn't as affected as it would have been several days ago. He took a deep drink from the chalice. It was vile-tasting, like liquified iron and sulfur. He gasped and nearly choked. He felt like he was going to throw-up. "Just two more, and hurry, that chakra doesn't stay there forever." Naruto reached in a second time.
Kushina had finished the hand seals as the three saw Naruto take a deep swig of his own blood. Shikamaru did throw-up.
"That's so vile," he lurched. "How is he doing that so easily?"
"He isn't," Tsunade commented. "His body is lurching; no one's body likes to digest its own flesh. The same goes for the blood. Naruto is probably feeling very sick right now.
Kushina put her hands to the barrier. "Release: seven spines of the white snake." Naruto had just reached in for a second drink as Kushina began pulling down the barrier.
Slurp. "Ugh, I don't feel so good," Naruto whined. "This had better be worth it you damned fox." He reached in for the third and final cup-full.
The barrier cracked and fell under Kushina's will. Tsunade and Shikamaru rushed in. Tsunade used the shadow clone technique, and Shikamaru was preparing the Shadow Possession Jutsu. The cup met Naruto's lips.
"Now. Take this ninetails!" Shikamaru roared. Slurp. Naruto tensed and dropped the chalice into the now empty pot. Crack. It lay in several sizable pieces at the bottom; the ritual only had one more part left, rest.
Naruto began to fall backward when the shadow caught him and Tsunade stood next to him. He was glowing a reddish tint, and his seal was glowing brighter than it was earlier. Naruto lay unconscious, suspended in midair.
"The pot is empty," Tsunade commented. "Were we too late?" she asked, tears running down her cheeks. Shikamaru had a horrified look and seemed like he was asking himself, "Did I fail?"
"I don't know what all of that just now was, but we'll see when he starts moving again," Tsunade guessed.
Kushina ran over to the scene, wondering why the two had stopped. Naruto's eyes were half-lidded, so everyone could see what was happening to him. The thing everyone was staring at however, was the trail of blood leaving Naruto's mouth, that and the glowing seal near his navel.
"Naruto, don't tell me I failed you in the end, please don't let this be the end," Kushina sobbed as she hugged her precious son in her arms.
"You've done well kid," said the Kyuubi calmly from behind his cage. "Now I can rest easy knowing you'll survive without me having to watch you all day." Naruto simply laughed, both in his mind and in the outside world. It was hardly a giggle, but it reassured Kushina that her son was alright.
"Rest my boy; you can meet your mommy tomorrow." The three carried Naruto to the room he had reserved in the hospital. Then they all fell asleep, exhausted from the day's events.
Author Notes: The poll has been closed, I thank all of you for your time. I revised and edited this chapter. I think it is awesome for my first fic. Chapter six will have Naruto's eye technique. If you are wondering how you could have known, read over the last 1/5 of the story. There is one really good line. Also, read the Kyuubi conversation overheard by Kushina and Tsunade.
