Naruko found herself ankle deep in water. Her surroundings were dark and damp, and very narrow. She touched the pipes that lined the walls of the corridor. It was cold and wet and water flowed down her hands. She walked slowly forward as her feet walked against the flow of the water. Naruko looked at her surroundings carefully. Pipes were lined everywhere, covering every inch of the walls. The pipes were twisted and turned at unusual angles. Naruko observed the turns and twists properly. They almost look like blood vessels in a human's body.
"Come closer," a voice rang out. It echoed through the tunnels and corridors, making it hard for Naruko to pinpoint the location. But she walked forward nonetheless, her legs moving automatically. She turned at a corner to the right, and a suddenly a bright light invaded her line of sight. She shielded her eyes from the light.
"I see that you have made it," a rugged feral voice rang directly in front of her. She put down her hand and looked straight ahead. It was an enormous cage, seemingly held in place by a paper that had the kanji of 'Seal' on it. Big red eyes peered out from the other side of the cage, followed by giant white fangs. Footsteps rumbled from inside the cage, giving Naruko a slight idea of the creature's size.
"I know who you are," Naruko stated fearlessly. There was no point being scared, she thought to herself. The seal have held for twelve years, it wouldn't fail now.
"I can see that you do," the giant fox replied. "It's the first time meeting you. On the brink of death and finally we meet."
"What do you want?" she asked, a little annoyed with the fox.
"Want?" the fox growled. "I want my freedom! I want to put you between my jaws, and crush you like the insolent insect that you are. I want to devour the bloody man who placed me inside here for twelve years!"
Kyuubi smacked his giant paw against the cage, and the whole room shook violently. Naruko lost her balance and stumbled on the ground.
"One day, I will escape from this hellhole!" Kyuubi roared. "And you will be the first one to feel my wrath."
"I can see why people hate me now," Naruko mumbled under her breath. She looked up, eyes burning with a cold fury that would have made a normal human shiver. "YOU are the reason my life is like this!"
Naruko snarled, revealing her slightly feral canines. "I will NEVER let you escape! As long as I am alive, you will NOT have your freedom!"
Kyuubi roared.
"And when I die," Naruko continued. "I am taking you to the grave with me."
Kyuubi pounded the bars in a furious outburst, violently shaking the room.
"You think you can threaten me?" Kyuubi growled. "The strongest ninja in the world couldn't kill me. The strongest Hokage in history couldn't kill me, even after he had the aid of the Death God himself."
"True," Naruko said. Kyuubi looked smug. "But you are currently trapped. I intend to make sure you stay that way."
Kyuubi retreated back into the depths of his cage. "Leave. You ruin my mood."
Naruko turned to leave but stopped in her tracks. "I have a question."
This caught the giant red fox's attention. This was something new, he thought.
"How did you bring me here?" she asked.
"I did not," he answered. "You came because it was time for us to meet."
"Why in the world would I want to meet you?" she asked, voice teeming with acid.
Kyuubi's laugh echoed throughout the room.
"Have you not realized that I have kept you alive numerous times, when you are staring in the face of death?" he claimed.
Naruko scrowled.
"The seal," he explained. "has tied both of our fates together. That means, if you die, I die. And trust me, I have NO intention of dying anytime soon."
Naruko pondered on what he said.
"You, child," he said as he pranced around his cage. "I can feel something is wrong with you. It's like something is missing."
Her eyed widened. He knew what she felt. Something was always off. It was like she was missing something- a part of her soul was missing. That's what it felt like, what she always felt like. Kyuubi laughed.
"This encounter has been quite interesting," he concluded, pleased with himself. "You should treat that wound."
Naruko looked down. Under her tee she could see her bandaged torso. She remembered the battle. She was almost killed. Her illusion had dropped. That mean her team would have discovered her true identity. She began to panic. Kyuubi snickered.
"I have upheld your illusion after your near death condition began to stabilize," Kyuubi informed. "But I think your female teammate saw your real form."
A puzzled expression covered her face.
"Keeping you alive is vital to my survival," he explained. "The less people know about you, the better. You've made that pretty clear in the past."
"I won't be grateful," Naruko stated.
"I am merely helping myself survive," Kyuubi retorted. "As much as I like you, once I am out of this hellhole, I will crush you like an insect."
"I will kill you," Naruko proclaimed. "Once you escape, I will kill you."
"Try me, woman," the Kyuubi taunted as his feral laughter filled the room. Naruko felt the laughter fade as the surroundings began to blur.
Naruto woke up with a start, sitting up on his futon in a room. Sweat poured down his face. A jolt of pain nearly caused him to scream out, but he managed to hold it in. he looked down and touched his naked torso, which was heavily bandaged. Sakura was sleeping beside him in a kneeling position, a medical kit by her side, and bloodied bandages by another side. Kakashi was in another futon beside him, out cold and unmoving. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.
Naruto gently placed her down on the futon he was sleeping on, laying a blanket over her, murmuring a soft thanks to her as he did so. He put on a shirt, and exited the room. A beautiful woman with long black hair in an apron greeted him.
"I see you have woken up," she said with a tender smile. "I'm Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter."
"Good morning to you," Naruto greeted. "Thank you for extending your hospitality."
"It's the least we could do," Tsunami said. Naruto noticed something out of the corner of his eyes. He turned to look at it, but it darted deeper into the house.
"That was my son, Inari," Tsunami cleared up. "He's been like that ever since his father died."
It was then Naruto noticed the patched up picture on one of the walls. A part of it was torn off, but was patched back in poorly with some clear tape.
"Is that him?" Naruto asked as he pointed to the man in the picture. Tsunami nodded. "How did he die?"
"Like a hero, Naruto-san," Tsunami answered sadly. "He tried to stop Gatou, but he was killed instead."
"I am sorry for your loss," Naruto said.
"Don't be," Tsunami answered. "Your teammate is with Father on the bridge."
"Naruto?" a groggy voice sounded. Tsunami and Naruto turned to see Sakura, who was rubbing some sleep out of her eyes. "Can I talk to you privately?"
Naruto nodded. "Tsunami-san, if you'll excuse us." Naruto and Sakura left the house.
The silence was deafening. Sakura was sort of nervous, Naruto could see that as her hands clasped each other. She was tensing.
"I know you know, Sakura," Naruto began. It eased the tension between both of them.
"I was the one who stopped the bleeding when Zabuza stabbed you," Sakura told him. Naruto nodded.
They stopped under a big tree in the middle of a forest. They were alone.
"Why, Naruto?" Sakura asked.
Naruto placed his hands in a seal and muttered "Genjutsu Kai."
"It's Naruko, by the way," the blonde corrected.
Sakura observed as Naruto's features changed. First spiky blonde hair gave way to long straight ones, tied in two high pigtails. Masculine angled jawline gave way to a narrow feminine chin. Her body dissolved from a toned masculine body to a slender sexy female body.
"This is the real me," Naruko said. Sakura observed her from head to toe. She was a beautiful girl. Her face was sharp at the chin, but rounded at the jaws. Her eyes were blue and large, she had a small button nose and pink lips. The whisker marks spread across her creamy cheeks lightly, giving her a cute yet seductive look. Her body was slender. Sakura could see that her curves were starting to form nicely, giving her a slim sexy waist and a nicely sized hip. Sakura looked up to see Naruko's breasts. They were coming in nicely, not big like Hinata's but definitely bigger than hers. Her legs were creamy white and long, like powdered pearl continuously applied on the skin. All in all, she was a beautiful girl, and have a killer body guys will die for in a few years. Sakura felt a tingle of jealousy but ignored it.
"It's complicated, Sakura," Naruko answered. "I cannot explain it in a few words nor it is something that I can explain without the consent of the Hokage."
"Does Kakashi know?" Sakura asked. Naruko shook her head.
"I can count the people who know with my hands," Naruko stated. "People who know why I did this are strong people, Sakura. One of them is Hokage-sama."
"Is it that bad?" Sakura asked.
"Sakura, if you knew this secret, and word got around, it would endanger your life," Naruko deathpanned. Sakura stumbled in surprise.
"Sakura, please," Naruko begged. "Tell no one about this. I was made a ninja for a reason."
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. Her heart was pounding rapidly. She wondered if it was the excitement of knowing Naruko's secrets or just seeing her in her real form.
"For reasons I cannot disclose," Naruko began as she closed the distance between her and Sakura. "I have many enemies."
Sakura was caught by surprise. She stumbled and fell but Naruko managed to catch her.
"Enemies, Sakura, that would not hesitate to kill anyone close to me to get their hands on my secret," Naruko continued.
"I won't tell-l anyone-ee I saw-w you," Sakura stammered. Naruko smiled.
"Thank you, Sakura," Naruko said gently as she hugged the pink haired girl. "Let's go back to Tazuna's house. We have to rest."
Zabuza was sitting up as Gatou was standing in front of his bed.
"You told me you were good!" Gatou yelled. "Why isn't the old man dead?"
Zabuza didn't respond, instead he just ignored the question. Gatou was livid. He stormed over to Zabuza's side, and was about to raise his hand to smack him when a strong grip on his arm caused him to scream in pain.
"You are not worthy of touching him!" the voice, which was feminine, hissed. Gatou's guards, who were quiet until that point, sprang into action. They moved to apprehend the person holding their boss, but were stopped dead when she held a senbon to Gatou's head.
"Now, now, Haku," Zabuza said teasingly. "We don't want to kill our employer before he pays us."
The person, who was now identified as Haku, released him.
"Go before I hack off your arm," Haku spat. Gatou cuddled his arm and ran out with his guards following suit.
"Zabuza-sama," Haku turned to face the assassin. "Your injuries will take a week to fully heal if you drink my medicine every day."
Zabuza nodded. "I want a re-match with Kakashi."
Kakashi had awoken when Naruto and Sakura returned. He was sitting up in his futon.
"We have bad news," Sasuke announced when he saw his teammates enter. Naruto and Sakura frowned. Kakashi motioned for them to sit, which they did.
"Remember our good friend Zabuza?" Kakashi started. Naruto and Sakura nodded. "Well, he's not dead."
"Sensei, when you say not dead, do you mean comatose not dead or he's coming back to kill us not dead?" Naruto asked.
"Oh he's very much alive alright," Kakashi answered. "I suspect that he will be up and moving fine in about a week or so."
"Ah crap," Naruto swore. "I don't want to get stabbed in the chest again."
"Naruto's injury won't heal in time for the confrontation," Kakashi stated. He turned to his two other students. "You two will have to take point."
Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other for a second, before nodding.
"Sasuke, you have a nice arsenal of fire techniques," Kakashi said. "Sakura however, is not so well versed in that area."
"Sensei," Naruto interrupted. Kakashi turned to his blonde teammate. "I know some simple offensive techniques. I could teach her."
Kakashi nodded. "However, I have an exercise that will benefit all of you," he said as he smiled under his mask. "Follow me."
Kakashi led his three students outside to a forest nearby. He stopped in front of a huge tree.
"The exercise," Kakashi began. "Is to climb trees."
Naruto smirked while Sakura and Sasuke looked puzzled. Sasuke tried to hide it to no avail.
"You are going to do it with only your feet," Kakashi announced with a nice smile under his mask. Sasuke and Sakura looked lost at this point.
"Not possible," Sakura argued.
Kakashi's smile widened. "If I can do it, you have to do it topless."
Sakura blushed and her hands instinctively went to cover her chest.
"PERVERT!" Sakura yelled.
Naruto was basically rolling on the ground, laughing.
"Naruto, since you're laughing," Kakashi teased. "You try doing it."
Naruto stopped laughing.
"If I am able to do it, sensei," Naruto stated with a smirk on his face. "You are treating us all lunch in a location of our choosing."
Kakashi sweated on this. Naruto was a legendary eater. He could eat ramen for hours and not get full. Kakashi wondered if it applied to other foods as well. No way Naruto can do this at this stage in his ninja career, he thought.
"And if you fail?" Kakashi asked.
"If I fail, sensei," Naruto stated. "I will steal the Hokage's peeping crystal ball for you."
Kakashi's eyes widened. The legendary crystal ball was an all seeing object that the Hokage used to monitor Konoha. It could look everywhere, including bathhouses and private clubs where people usually are drunk and loose, especially the girls. It was no secret among the ANBU that he always peeped.
"You're on, blondie!" Kakashi exclaimed, excited about the fact that he would be able to own the all-seeing crystal ball.
Both his teammates gasped.
"You're giving our pervert of a sensei the access to all the naked girls in Konoha?" Sakura howled.
"I could be getting us a free lunch at the most expensive restaurant in Konoha," Naruto countered.
Sakura shut up at that point. The most expensive restaurant in Konoha was The Golden Leaf. One bowl of ramen there would be equal to one hundred instant ramen bowls. Only the crème de la crème ate there.
"Ready to kiss your money goodbye, sensei?" Naruto taunted. Kakashi only smirked.
"You have to be able to do it first," Kakashi countered. Naruto walked towards a tree. He placed one foot on the trunk, and pushed chakra into it. He then lifted his other foot off the ground and placed it on the tree. Kakashi's eyes widened. Naruto took another step up the tree. Kakashi was already saying goodbye to his money as Naruto continued up the tree until he reached the top. Sakura was floored at this point while Sasuke was a bit jealous.
"Golden Leaf, here we come!" Naruto exclaimed from the top of the tree.
"How did you…" Kakashi started but was interrupted when Naruto landed beside him.
"I had to know this, sensei," Naruto said. "It was vital."
Kakashi understood what he meant.
"The purpose of this exercise," Naruto explained to his teammates. "Is to improve your chakra control."
"I don't see how climbing trees can help us with the fight against Zabuza," Sakura said.
"Well," Kakashi butted-in. "More control over chakra allows your techniques to be stronger."
Sakura and Sasuke seemed to understand some of it, but not completely.
"Tree climbing trains you to release a fixed amount of chakra," Naruto explained further. "Most offensive techniques ninjas use require a fixed amount of chakra. The better a ninja can control his chakra, the more powerful the technique is when used. For example…"
Kakashi flashed his hands through a series of seals, ending in the tiger seal.
"Katon! Gokakyuu!"
A giant fireball the size of a house blew from his mouth towards the sky. It flew upwards for a bit before it ran out of fuel and vanished.
"Sasuke, can your Gokakyuu match mine?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke shook his head.
"That's the difference," Kakashi explained further. "Since my control is superior to his, my techniques come out more powerful."
They both nodded.
"Now," Kakashi instructed to the two students of his. "Remember this- if you use too much chakra, the tree trunk will collapse and you will be flung in the opposite direction, but too little and you slide off."
Both Sasuke and Sakura nodded.
"Practice until your chakra runs out," Kakashi instructed. "Naruto will supervise you for this exercise, since he can't do anything at this point."
Naruto nodded and took a seat opposite of Sasuke and Sakura's training site.
"How do you already know this?" Sasuke questioned as his first attempt to climb failed.
"You learn fast when your life is in danger," Naruto replied. He gave Sasuke a look that made him think twice about pursuing the matter.
Sasuke let the matter drop and continued practicing. This was how the morning passed. They would both practice until they were tired, rested for a while before continuing. Sakura had the concept down fast, being the bookworm she was, and reached the top way before Sasuke reached halfway up the tree. She rested beside Naruto for the rest of the day.
Later in the afternoon, Sasuke was getting frustrated that he couldn't get it down. He went to Naruto and sat down beside him and Sakura.
"I need some help," he said as he declined to look directly at them. It was a small blow to his pride, being the rookie of the year.
Naruto smiled. He knew it was hard for Sasuke to come to him for help with this.
"Alright Sasuke," Naruto said. "What is wrong?"
"I can't seem to get the concept down," Sasuke said, annoyed.
"Well, you have the rough idea already, since you were able to climb up the tree some ways," Naruto stated. "It's like holding your breath, Sasuke. You cannot release your hold on the chakra."
Sasuke nodded and rose to try again.
"Why was it that I was able to complete this exercise faster than Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked curiously. "I wasn't really the top person in class that could fight."
"Well Sakura," Naruto answered. "Honestly it was because of your small reserves. A smaller reserve of chakra is easier to control than a larger one. It's like water. A small amount can be controlled easily by a drain, while a large body of water needs something more powerful to control it."
Sakura nodded as the information sank in.
"It's not that Sasuke is weak," Naruto stated. "It's just that he has a lot of chakra."
Sakura nodded some more.
"Well, Sakura," Naruto started. "I think it's time for us to start on your training."
Sakura meeped but nodded.
Alright, considering the roles in our team," Naruto started explaining. "It would seem that Sasuke and I are the main powerhouses, and you would be the long range support or medic or something similar."
Sakura nodded. It had stung to be compared like that. She wasn't strong and she knew it.
"Given the fact that our fight will be occurring in a week or so, we don't really have enough time to teach you a very strong technique," Naruto stated.
Sakura nodded again.
"I won't be able to do much in the next fight, being as injured as I am," Naruto informed. "So you will have to take my place upfront. For that you will need to be able to fight."
Sakura tensed.
Naruto held out his hand.
"Domu no justu."
Naruto's hand turned brownish black. Naruto walked towards a huge rock nearly. He pulled his hand back and punched the rock with all his might. On impact, his hand penetrated the rock and left an arm sized hole in it.
Sakura's jaw dropped.
"This will be one of the two techniques I will be teaching you," Naruto said with a smile. "The second one will depend on if you are able to master this one quick enough."
Sakura nodded and listened as Naruto gave her instructions on the technique. Kakashi smiled as he looked upon his team from the branches which he was resting. This team is good, he thought. Maybe they would survive this encounter after all.
Jutsu Translation
Domu - Earth Spear
