A/N: I apologize for the wait; thinking up these next few chapters in advance is taxing. I hope everyone likes it and is still with me.
Stories are told
Kakashi, Sakura, Itachi and Kisame were chasing after Naruto's general direction. Waves of tension could be felt from both parties as they called a truce until they caught up with the runaway blond. On the way they saw the destroyed terrain in Naruto's wake: small trees had been ripped free from the ground, boulders crushed to pebbles and dust. Damn! I knew the Kyuubi's power was strong, but this is… Sakura thought. "I don't understand. I've seen Naruto use the demon fox's power. This doesn't seem like his kind of rampage; he's usually more all over the place than one point." Kakashi said. He looked to Itachi for an explanation. "Exactly what did you do to Naruto? Why are you doing this in the first place? Who hired you to get him and for what purpose? I know you said you would explain but I'm a little impatient."
Itachi stopped, causing everyone to stop. He said nothing as he thought about something. "It might make more sense with a tale of old. The story goes that a long time ago a great swordsman went to a blacksmith, an old man to have him make a sword unlike any other. When he got there the old man refused to make him the sword for he didn't have the materials needed to make it. The old man told the swordsman that in order to make the blade he needed metal not seen on this planet.
"The swordsman recalled that a star had fallen not two nights ago near the old man's home, so he decided to get it and have the old man make the sword with that. He went for a day and came back with a small meteorite, the same star that fell some time ago.
"The old man finally agreed to give the sword to the swordsman but told him to wait three days and nights, then come back to claim his prize.
"Three days and nights passed and the swordsman came to collect. The sword wasn't of traditional make; it was a broadsword with a shining silver blade and a golden handle that seemed to have strange markings.
"The old man told him what the marks were: special seals that when active, can seal and unseal any type of jutsu; to cut it would break the jutsu, and to stab it would repair it. And once the sword repairs any seal the user of the sword can use the same seal any time, without wasting chakra or the need of hand signs. Simply think of the seal you wish and use the sword."
"But what happened to the swordsman?" Sakura asked now curious. "The swordsman used it many times in many battles, but one day a thief came and took the sword, killing the swordsman in his sleep for good measure. It's been going all over the world since then. One day a wealthy man up in the Light Country named Goturo bought it off of a merchant who didn't know what he had. He however had heard of the stories and tried to use it to see if there was any truth to it. The sword had worked to an extent, but there seemed to be some sort of problem. What it is, he hasn't said. But apparently, when he heard of Naruto and his amazing feats, he hired us to find him and bring him." Kisame finished.
"I can follow with the bounty hunter business, but how does Naruto going demonic all over the place and then suddenly running fit in?" Sakura asked.
"We needed a reason to take him with us in case the idea of him coming with us willingly didn't swing. So I was forced to use the Way of the Cursed Seal technique, a rather old and strange technique that has a different effect on whatever seal it's used on. We had used the knowledge of said justu to use as a trump card. When this justu is used on a seal that is restricting something like the nine-tailed demon fox the seal will slowly but surely break and any disturbances surrounding the seal will only speed up the process. Eventually it will be gone and the beast will have been set free."
"Damn! Well, it worked as we can see. The question now is how long will it take for us to get to Naruto and then fix this." Kakashi said. "I'm going to bet that since you two had placed the justu on Naruto, the only reason that you would have is because this Goturo is able to fix it, am I right?"
"You are. Right now the only good thing out of this is that inexplicably, Naruto seems to be headed for the Light Country." Kisame said. The group looked to him as he stared into the trees and nothing else. He turned to the others and smiled. "The reason why is because the way to the Light Country is part land, and mostly water; we can catch him on the way."
Sakura was ballistic. "And you're telling us this JUST NOW!? Have you been thinking about that the whole time?" She said and started taking swings at him. While Kisame and Sakura were going at it Itachi and Kakashi were contemplating on the newly given information. "That's right, even at his current speed I doubt Naruto can beat us all the way there. But we have to hurry; we can't waste any more time standing here." Kakashi said. Itachi nodded in agreement.
Kakashi looked over at the two fighting. "Hey, if both of you are going to fight, then fight on the way. We have to move double time to catch up to Naruto before he reaches the water." Sakura and Kisame stopped on the spot, Sakura holding half a tree and Kisame about to take a swing with Samehada. Sakura leered at Kisame. "We'll finish this later, chum-for-brains." Kisame smiled evilly showing off his pearly whites. "I'm looking forward to it." And with that they rushed after Naruto at full speed, Itachi leading and Kakashi backing them. I hope we can get to him in time. If they're right when we get to Goturo we had better be careful. A weapon like that can make anyone a powerful ally…or a very dangerous enemy. He thought and ran faster.
(With Naruto)
Naruto was plowing through any and everything in his path. Trees were split in half, rocks were crushed like a boy stepping on an ant, and everything living either ran from him or was blown away by the speed he currently possessed. In the mindscape Naruto kept steadily building chakra ever so slowly, so as not to disturb the seal and end it for the both of them. He looked back at the Kyuubi with irritation on his face. "Hey, how long are we going to keep running like this? The speed boost is fucking amazing but it's really tiring me out just keeping this level of power focused on going in one direction. Are we even going the right way?" He complained.
The great beast chuckled, "Easy there, young one. It will take some time to reach our first destination. We must first travel for two days until we reach water. At this rate it will still take some time to get halfway. You should be thankful you even have my power right now. It normally takes a week by your standards to get to the water."
"What water? I thought we just had to keep going north." He said. Kyuubi nodded its head. "True, however there is only so far that we can go on foot. In order to get to the Light Country and then to this Goturo we, above all else, must cross a large part of the ocean that separates most of the other countries of the world and with the Light Country being one of the farthest up north to reach even with the fastest known ways of travel by human means, we have quite a journey ahead of us." The demon smiled strangely and an odd gleam shone in the redness of its eyes. "That being said, we may as well enjoy each others' company, seeing as until nightfall you'll be stuck in here with me."
Naruto startled and almost broke his concentration on the demon's chakra. "WHAT!? What do you mean I'll be stuck with you until we get there!?" He yelled. Being near someone he didn't like for a while was something, but being stuck with someone who knows almost everything in your life and HELPING them was something he hadn't expected. The Kyuubi shifted its arms and laid its massive head on them, eyes still on Naruto. "In order to keep this power contained properly there has to be something to channel it through your body safely and effectively, and since I'm in here," It said motioning the cage with its eyes. "I can't do anything to help. The thing of it is that you have a base of raw power and if there is nothing to control it…in any case, you must remain here until we arrive. When the sun sets on this day I will take back control and hold back the seal's power for a bit while you rest, to slow its effects."
Naruto went back to "channeling" the demon's power. "I know that, I just wish I could help the others more. That I could do something other than lead them to some random place and hope they can follow. I never wanted anyone of my friends to be hurt or in danger after all that they have done for me and now, now nearly the whole freaking world is in trouble. I wish… " He said with a troubled look.The Kyuubi noticed the pain on Naruto's faceand stared at it for a while. All of this emotion is something I never understood. It was never necessary for me, a tailed beast of power to learn or understand the ways of the human world, save for how to blend in. The Kyuubi thought. The fox started to slowly creep up to Naruto. Naruto was paying too much attention to notice until he turned when he thought it was too quiet.
He was about to break away from channeling the energy when it stopped just before the cage bars. "Listen and listen well child, I will only say this once: while I do not know or understand your care for your companions, I do acknowledge it. You wish not to bring them harm, for them to be safe and sound? That is not a possibility. You can never keep someone from danger forever. However, what you can do for them is lessen the blow by dealing with this problem laid out before you and the world. I am not accustomed to doing this, but come sundown and only if you want to, I shall aid you and bestow onto you an ancient technique long since used in this time and age."
Naruto was speechless before the demon's statement. A gigantic monster stands before me and its willing to help…the odds on this one happening, ah it hurts my head trying to wrap around it. He thought. The Kyuubi growled and turned away. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm only doing this to increase the chance of my survival. The stronger you are, the better our chances are of getting to this man and his sword. I may have to live in this cage for the rest of your life but I will be alive. That is all that matters."
Naruto pondered this for a moment considering the boost in strength and power he had now obtained was helpful so far, it made things interesting to see what else the Kyuubi knew. "Alright, I'll do it! Any kind of help you're willing to give, I'll take." The Kyuubi closed its eyes and smiled. "I thought you would say that. I'm going to rest for a bit, wake me when dusk approaches." Naruto started something about when that was and how he was going to be able to tell when that happened, but the Kyuubi was drifting of too quickly to pay attention to him. You have grown much and surpassed many who wished to stand in your way, no matter what it was or who it is you have always done your best and never backed down from the thought of pain or death if it was to save someone who was precious to you…hmm, I guess this is the emotion humans call pride. The Kyuubi thought. Then the beast smirked. Of course, half of the troubles this boy had gotten out of were thanks to my power. So it shouldn't be surprising to say that he has gotten stronger. The question is, is he strong enough to learn from the likes of me?
(Five hours and twenty minutes later)
Near the point of sunset Naruto continued running through various dips and rises of the landscape until a full blown canyon surrounded his sights. Giant figures of rock and stone were jutting out from the ground in all sorts of forms. By this time he had been released by the demon's hold to save what energy he had left. But Naruto wasn't paying attention to the area, or that he had been freed; after hours of almost nonstop running the only thing he was focused on was his stomach.
"Ah, so hungry…and so far there hasn't been anything around that I can eat." He said bent over holding his growling belly. The Kyuubi growled. "Quit your whining! It's almost sundown.You should find a place to rest safely until morning".
A few minutes of searching lead Naruto to the discovery of a large cave with some small brushwork near the entrance. He went inside to inspect it and found nothing out of the ordinary. "This place should fine for now." He said to himself. "Alright, now what do I do?" He thought. "Sit in meditation. I will summon you to me." The Kyuubi replied.
Naruto did as he was told, going over to one side of the cave and sat cross-legged and placing his palms on his knees. "Now close your eyes and concentrate on my voice…" He closed his eyes and listened carefully. Within moments he was back in the mindscape with the demon fox again. The beast smiled mischievously. "Welcome back, young one." It said. Naruto frowned, "You know very well why I'm here. So let's get started." The smile grew wider.
"Very well, mind you that this will take up much time and focus on your part. It will tax you of your strength and take you to the edge of your abilities. You will undergo many changes on this trip using the knowledge from me, and once we are done with your training one thing will be clear to both of us: if you are able to fully contain and use the power with me, and the power within yourself. You will learn how to feel the movements of many things around you, see what cannot be seen, act and react to any kind of threat and stop it cold. Among all these things, if you can handle them, you will be able to learn the teachings of the demon world. All of our studies, powers, and uses will be at your disposal. You are lucky to have someone like me around in this troubling time, so be grateful that I am doing any of this at all. Are you prepared?" Naruto simply nodded and readied himself for whatever was coming.
(In another cave somewhere)
A bedridden figure was pouring over an open scroll by candlelight when something in the shadows, approaching the person. The man came close and whispered something in the other's ear. The person holding the scroll put it down and smiled. "So, it's finally reappeared again, has it? I believe it's time to get moving, don't you, Sasake?" Another person came to the bedside, a man with a sword to his back and eerie eyes; red eyes with three commas rotating. He bowed in respect. "Yes, Master."
