Crimson Fracture

Bold – Kyuubi talking

Bold and Underline – Kyuubi thinking

Italics – Thoughts

Bold and Italics – Jutsu or Shinobi Techniques

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. The respective owner is Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 10 – My Elements Part 1

Land of Fire – 1 Year Later

"I may have created a blonde version of me…" Itachi thought to himself as he observed Naruto dispelling an A rank genjutsu without any trouble at all. "He somehow picks up everything I teach him almost instantly, give or take a day and then can use it perfectly. I knew he learns fast but this is getting unreal. I should ask him how he has been learning so fast. He acts so much like me when he is training in a fight he will be terrifying. The knucklehead acts the same when talking or joking around but as soon as training begins his face becomes unreadable. His taijutsu style isn't even perfected yet and it is almost as devastating as the Juken. I should call him over and start his ninjutsu training."

"Naruto-kun that is enough for genjutsu, today we will be starting your ninjutsu training."

Turning around Naruto had a huge grin on his face. Between training with Itachi and Kurama he had been learning quite a bit. He knew by what Itachi had been saying that by academy standards he was about mid chunin level in his strength but lacked experience in battle. He hoped that over the next year they would at least run into another Konoha ninja so he could have a spar. Deciding it would be better to start right away Naruto wasted no time in asking his sensei the necessary questions.

"What will we be doing first sensei?"

"If you remember a year ago I got the elemental chakra papers. We will be using those now to determine your natural affinities and maximize our time training. Now come over here and apply some of your chakra to a piece."

Naruto walked up to his sensei and took a piece of the white paper. Holding it firmly he applied a small amount of chakra and watched in amazement as the paper immediately lit on fire. Naruto was about to let go but then the paper turned to dust and crumbled away. Naruto was confused as to why the paper did two actions. Before he could ask Itachi answered the unspoken question.

"It seems you have two natural affinities Naruto-kun. They are; fire and earth. That means when you awaken your Uzumaki bloodline you will also have control over water and lightning. This is actually very convenient for our training. I myself have a natural affinity for fire and that will allow me to go more in depth with your training. Before I explain the details, we will have to talk about the basis of elemental chakra and why it is so important to be a balanced Shinobi. Do you have any questions about you affinities before we start?"

Naruto didn't but it seemed Kurama had something to say.

"Kit you truly are the best."

"Why do you say that?"

"You have the fire release, your mother did not. Fire just so happens to be my natural affinity as well. This will allow me to teach you some lost arts that were created before the sharingan. That being said they will not be able to copy them without actually watching and practicing the original hand seals. Although that won't be a problem anymore since you can just cast a genjutsu over your hands to confuse Shinobi without bloodlines."

Exiting his inner conversation it seemed that Itachi had been waiting.

"No I do not have any questions. I studied them a bit during my training a few years ago so I have some rough ideas of what I will have to do."

"That's good Naruto-kun but I will still explain ninjutsu in its entirety. You have already gained a very high level in what we call shape manipulation. That is when you mold your chakra in order to change its shape and form allowing you to use it for genjutsu or your chakra control exercises. But now we will be starting ninjutsu and so there is another component. You will have to learn and eventually master nature manipulation for each of your elements. This is when you actually change the properties and characteristics of chakra and mold it into an element. Allow me to show you a quick example." Turning to the left where there was a small clearing Itachi began the 7 hand seals required to perform this technique. Ending on a tiger hand seal Itachi called the name of the attack.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu."

The ensuing flames amazed Naruto. He knew from the volume of the flame that this wasn't a very hard technique but it was still very amazing. The flames were very hot and the stream was held at a constant for almost 10 seconds before Itachi dropped it. When Naruto looked where the jutsu had been raging just before the ground was burnt up and blackened. Seeing the flames Naruto couldn't help but voice his opinion.

"Wow sensei will I be able to do that."

Happy that Naruto took a liking to the families preferred jutsu Itachi continued on with the lecture. "Naruto-kun I have no doubt that you will be able to do that. That is actually the first one you will be learning. It is a C rank and I can see you mastering it in about a few weeks. Before I give you the scroll though we have to finish the explanations. To perform fire techniques you have to take a deep breath in as you are finishing up the hand signs. From there you are required to change the nature of the chakra in your lungs to fire. After that you expel the air as you are calling the name of the attack. The flames will mix with the air around you differently depending on the hand seals, which will also alter the power and form. Do you understand?"

"I think so…"

"One last thing before I give you the scroll; I want to stress to you the necessity of having balance. I have been training you in increments in order to give you a background in everything. This will allow you to adapt to situations that Shinobi who specialise in one area like Rock Lee cannot. For example the next time you have a spar against him the second you use a genjutsu it is game over for him. The reason I am telling you this now is because of how much variation can be put into ninjutsu. You will be learning low level techniques now but when you grasp the concept enough I will have you try and create your own. Also remember that the element bends to your will, with some creativity an offensive style could become a defensive one. Now take this scroll and start training. I will check on you at the end of the day to see how much progress you have made."

With that Itachi tossed Naruto the scroll and Shunshined away. Naruto for his part absentmindedly caught the scroll. He was currently having a conversation with Kurama.

"I have never tried to do elemental manipulation before… do you have any extra advice for me."

"Not really your sensei is very good at explaining things. There is not really that much more that can be said. The only advice I have is to read the scroll over a few times by yourself, then make about 10 clones to go through hand seals until you can perform the seven in only a few seconds. After that dispel the clones and try to perform the jutsu. It will take you maybe a week before you can perform the jutsu well and another before you master it. Your flames will not be as hot as your sensei's but that is only because he has mastered many A rank techniques and has almost perfect control over the element. This may seem like a long time for 1 technique to you but remember two things; the more styles you learn in one element the faster you will start to learn the others, and when we get to more complicated techniques you will be able to practice the theory/concept behind them in your mind during our training. Now get going, this is going to be a long couple of weeks."

"Ok, Ok… I have to impress Itachi-nii by the end of the day anyway."

Several Hours Later

Itachi was currently walking back to where he left Naruto earlier in the day. He had some pocky with himself and he was going to share it with the blonde. The reason for the treat was because Itachi had forgotten to tell Naruto some of the finer details regarding his training. While it was true that he would be taught the elements first hand, Itachi only had one natural affinity. That meant that Naruto would have to find his own way to master his other elements. Also they would spend half a year on each element. That would allow him to get background in both and see how their respective controls were different. First thing first, though they were going to eat the pocky. Stepping out from the trees Itachi could hear Naruto in the distance.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu.-" BOOM

Worried that his younger brother might be seriously hurt Itachi sprinted over to where he thought he heard the noise originate.

"Naruto! Are you all ri-…?"

There in the middle of a charred circle of grass sat Naruto. He was still conscious and if anything looked pissed off. His shirt was completely burnt off and his pants had some pretty big singe marks on them. Noticing this Itachi tried not to laugh but he really couldn't help it. Naruto's hair was sticking straight up and was black from soot. He had two rings of soot around his eyes that made him look like a raccoon and to top it off Itachi was pretty sure the young kid's eyebrows were burnt right off.

"Ha! I mean ummm… Naruto-kun are you alright?"

Turning so he could look Itachi in the eyes Naruto almost yelled back. He had been working all day on this stupid jutsu and when he finally got the grasp of it he tried to increase its power. Kurama had warned him that he wasn't ready yet but Naruto decided that he had no time to waste. Over the course of the day he figured out that he would only have half a year on each element and then when his bloodline unlocked he would have to work the rest out on his own. To say Naruto was stressed was a huge understatement if his response was any indicator.

"Sensei if you laugh one more time I will show you how far I have come with this jutsu up close. That way you can feel the experience firsthand. Now I see you have pocky and if you wouldn't mind I would like some. Today has been pretty stressful."

"It's also been pretty hot; wouldn't you say it was scorching?"

Seeing Naruto level him with a death glare Itachi decided that they should just eat the food. Sitting next to the blonde they started eating. A few minutes later Itachi figured that Naruto had cooled off enough to talk again. (Bad pun intended)

"From the looks of the destruction you caused is it safe to assume that you can perform the jutsu safely at low power about half of the time and when you add too much power you end up like you are now."

"That is about right sensei. I also have the hand seals down to about 6 seconds, my fingers currently jam when I try to go faster."

"That is still pretty good though Naruto-kun. Just a bit faster than one seal a second. Now earlier you mentioned that today was stressful. I know for a fact that you love training so you must have figured out the rest of your training details on your own."

"Ya… about half way through the day it dawned on me that we had only a year and I have two elements. That led me to the conclusion that we only have half a year for both. But then I thought about it more and realised that when I awaken my bloodline I will have two more affinities that I will have to train on my own. I figured that meant I would have to rush through each element. You told me at the beginning of the training that I would be able to match your own personal growth sensei. That led me to double my efforts and try harder. So far I have been able to keep up but I am slowly getting behind. You were promoted to jonin last year. That means that I have three years to get to low jonin level in order to beat you and currently I am only low-mid chunin. But even if I get there I realised I wouldn't be happy if I didn't have at least a similar amount of control in ninjutsu. All of that led to a mini breakdown that I had and ended with me adding too much power during training and pretty much exploding."

Itachi was amazed that the kid had analysed it this much. He had thought out all of the variables except for one.

"Naruto while all of what you said is true, do you have so little faith in yourself and all the others who believe in you, that you forget what you have already accomplished. Before we even started training seriously you managed to beat my meditating record that I set when I was 2 years older than yourself. You have also managed to master Kage Bunshin a jutsu that some jonin can't even perform let alone make hundreds of solid, functioning clones. Also we have several years left, during that time when you have some to yourself train what you feel needed. You will continue to grow even if you don't have long periods of time left out to train."

"Thanks for the compliments but I still feel like I could do better…"

"Naruto you have been learning at a very fast rate recently. I do not know what you have been doing but you should thank whoever gave you the abilities to learn so fast. Right now you are mid chunin but remember so was I. I too had to work hard and look where it got me. Also do not think that I relied on my sharingan. I mastered my bloodline at eight but I only really use it extensively for genjutsu. Now as for today applying the jutsu you were given only hours before is extraordinary. I move my earlier prediction to you mastering it in one week tops. Now I don't want to hear any more self doubt from you today"

Finishing their talk both brothers slipped in to a comfortable silence. Looking up at the sky Naruto realised that it had actually gotten quite late. He could see several constellations lighting up the sky. Looking slightly to the west Naruto felt his eyes glaze over as he looked at a formation of stars that made up a fox. Over the past few weeks when Naruto wanted to talk with Kurama or vise versa they could keep Naruto at about 50% alertness. His reactions would become slower and his vision would be blurred but it allowed him to mentally and physically be two places at once. Feeling the tugging at his mind Naruto figured out that Kurama just wanted to talk.

"What would you like to talk about Kurama?"

"Kit I just want to tell you something. I want you to know that you will always be able to turn to me when you feel troubled. Today when you got anxious about living up to your brother your judgement became clouded. I am not disappointed that you did not listen to me… this time around, but in the future if you disregard me on something big I will stop helping you. You learn extremely fast and have an incredibly powerful background. Never fall into despair or I will never allow you to access my powers. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes."

"Good, now go to sleep completely so we can start your mind training. We have to complete this jutsu in a week."

One Week Later

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

1..2..3..4..5..6..7

Seven seconds was the current best. Dropping the jutsu Naruto looked around. The land was charred and burnt to the ground. He knew if he really wanted to increase the power he could but thinking back to some of Kurama's training he didn't. The current power output was enough to do its job, show Itachi that he had mastered it. As for the time Naruto could also hold it longer but seven seconds just seemed right to him. Turning around when he heard clapping Naruto could see that Itachi was quite pleased with his progress. He also saw slight confusion cross his features and sighed to himself. Itachi was going to need an explanation for how he had been learning so quickly. Thankfully everyday when he practiced Itachi left that meant he could lie and say he had clones going over theory and actions almost 24/7. This wasn't really a lie he just trained inside his head every night.

"Before you ask sensei I have clones almost always going over theory and that allows me to pick things up quicker."

"Whatever Naruto-kun you are as impressive as always. Before I give you the rest of the materials for your training promise me you will take the rest of today off."

"Ok… I promise, but I don't really see why."

"It's for your own good trust me. Now with me I have a scroll that was custom made for you. Before you ask the person asked to be kept secret so I will not tell you his name. I will give you a clue though he has the longest hair a hermit ever had. Now back to the scroll. It was made to house several levels of different techniques. After the current weaker jutsu are mastered you will be given the hand seal required to open the next tier. This goes from C-B-A, the reason it stops at A is because when you reach the end you have the choice to be taught one S rank from me or have time to create your own jutsu. The S class jutsu will be a hidden Uchiha style that requires mastery over fire. Which you will have by the time you are done. Now if you don't have any questions could you leave me for a little bit. I have some activities to tend to."

Kind of weirded out by what he thought by activities Naruto just looked at his brother like he was a freak and left.

"Not those kinds of things you dummy!" Itachi shouted after Naruto but he already left. Looking up to the sky he saw the Konoha messenger hawk waiting for him to write his report. Sitting down Itachi pulled out a scroll and some ink and wrote down his message. This is what it said:

Hokage-sama Naruto's training has been going exceptionally well. He has just started his ninjutsu training and I can already tell he will be a master just like his father. I know I said we would only be outside the village for two years but the kid is so wrapped up in training I think he forgot. I would like to request an extra year outside of Konoha. This will allow him to fully concentrate and not be sidetracked. He has not had any more problems with the Kyuubi. That alone should show you his will power. I have one request for you though. If you find any more evidence surrounding the massacre of my clan I would like to hear of it right away."

Rolling up the scroll when he finished Itachi tied the message to the hawks leg and let it fly away. Turning towards their camp Itachi couldn't help to sigh. He hoped that they would get some closure to why Fugaku killed the clan and hopefully it didn't have to do with Naruto.

Later That Night – Mindscape

Naruto had just gone to sleep and when he opened his eyes he found himself in front of Kurama. But today he frowned to himself. Over the past few weeks he realised that when he was dreaming he could create any scenery he wanted but when he visited Kurama she was always stuck in a dim, dark, room surrounded by an ungodly looking cage. He was curious as to why that always happened so he finally decided to ask.

"Kurama before we start training today I have a question. Why is it that when I dream I can create anything but when we visit you are stuck in that cage."

"Well kit I think it has to do with your subconscious thought of our relationship. When you were first introduced to jinchuuriki you thought that you were my jailor. That in turn created the cell I am in. As for what you can make of the scenery it can almost be anything within the guidelines of the seal that keeps me inside of yourself. Since your father was a seal master the only guideline has to be that the seal on the front of the cage has to be on me or keeping me within an object. That would make sure I cannot hurt you in any permanent way. A good example of this is the one tail. The seal that has been used on him over the centuries has downgraded. He is constantly chained by all fours to the ground and if he moves too much he gets stabbed from every angle. This over the years has made him go insane. He has become so crazed that when thrashing about the blood from the wounds only drives him mad. That in turn keeps the holder awake for hours because he is always trying to escape. The one tail has fallen so far down that he only tries to kill. You are free to change your mindscape however you see fit."

"Well here goes nothing."

Closing his eyes Naruto imagined what he was currently standing in to better the new one he was going to create. Surprisingly when he closed his eyes the exact image came to mind. Wanting to make his mind the best home he could Naruto started imagining. He started with the cage and the one guideline he had to meet. Erasing the cage completely he made the seal mold down into a simple necklace. It had a gold chain that ended in a gold and silver yin and yang symbol. The symbol was placed on the back as a message. Next he decided to get rid of the sewer setting. Expanding the room outward he opened the roof up and gave it an artificial sun and moon. They would rotate at the same intervals just like in the real world. Next he added some gentle rolling hills on one side and a valley on the other. The rolling hills were similar to one of his training grounds. He had a huge open expanse with a small forest for shade. At the edge of this, near the valley he created a small wooden cottage. It would have two rooms, a kitchen, and washroom. It was simple but elegant. Just outback there was a flower patch. Here he placed some red roses because he felt that Kurama would appreciate some flowers that were her favourite colour. Next the valley had a waterfall at the one end. This would provide a calming area to relax and meditate. Wanting a pool to relax in he had a small river from the waterfall flow off to the side. The pool was surrounded by trees and had a beautiful rock cropping just outside. As a final touch Naruto added in some smaller animals like rabbits and birds and some insects to keep the place vibrant and alive. Feeling that he was done Naruto opened his eyes. Seeing Kurama sitting down with her eyes closed Naruto decided to surprise her. Walking as quietly as he could Naruto got behind her and covered her eyes with his hands. When he placed his hands on her he could feel her physically jump.

"Guess who."

"It's obviously you kit."

"Well your no fun… I hope you have a better reaction to your new home. Go on and open up your eyes." As Naruto said this he removed his eyes so Kurama could see. Slowly opening her eyes Kurama was immediately surprised because she had to squint in order to see. Figuring that he had to of made a more outdoor setting Kurama let her eyes adjust. When they finally did she had to blink a couple of times. She wasn't really sure if she could trust herself.

"You did all of this for me… Naruto?"

"Yeah well I figured that you would want to be as comfortable as possible. I hope you like the necklace. I couldn't really picture a better way to give you the seal. I have never given woman jewelry before and I figured that it should represent something. We are both opposites but together we are inseparable. Your power completes me and I live the embodiment of your legacy."

"He did all this for me… as a friend. He also referred to me as a woman… not a demon."

Before she realised what her body was doing Kurama had body tackled Naruto into the ground. She then went on to giving Naruto the second kiss of his life. Old feeling of lust started to surface but Kurama finally got a hold of her emotions and bottled them down. These feeling were fleeting and if the kid got the idea wrong he would never get over what was going to happen in the future. She decided to right her wrong and somewhat explain to Naruto her feelings.

"Kit I am so sorry. I hope you understand my feelings. No one has shown me that amount of consideration in thousands of years. Your mother was great but she never went to such lengths to make me feel at home. Let's get one thing straight is that we can never be together in that way. I will explain a little more in detail later. Although this lifetime won't allow it I can assure you there will be later chances. Plus you have plenty of great friends and who knows, maybe one of them will become your significant other."

"It's all right Kurama. But after that kiss there is one thing that needs to be done."

Fearing that Naruto might resent her a little Kurama was almost afraid to ask.

"What is it kit?"

"From now on we have to call each other by friendlier names. I am tired of being referred to as kit and I would like to give you a nickname because you are one of my precious people. If you do not want to call me Ruto like Tayuya you can just call me by my name. I would very much appreciate that, Ku-chan."

Smirking to herself after catching her nickname at the end Kurama decided to respond to the blonde before letting him off for the night for all that he did.

"Sounds good Naruto. Now I feel you have earned a rest from training for one night. Please take it easy… Actually if you wouldn't mind could we go back to the cottage and could you customize all the furnishing to my tastes."

"Sure thing Ku-chan."

With that Naruto and Kurama walked back to the small cottage and set about furnishing the home that Naruto would get used to meeting Kurama every night before training.

Jutsu:

Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

Kage Bunshin: Shadow Clone

Shunshin: Body Flicker Techniqe

A/N: I would like to start with an apology to those who have been waiting for an update. I'm not going to give you some drawn out excuse so here it is. Wicked writers block and a new semester at school. It seems that when I get stuck at writing it gets put behind everything and I forget about it. Anyway… in my story Itachi was promoted to jonin not ANBU. His strength will be canon but he obviously chose a different life in this story. A comment I received a while back was interesting, it said that Naruto could go out with a few girls before he makes his ultimate choice. That got me thinking and I realised it was great. I plan to write out a few cute little dates… Maybe a mini arc? What do you think? If this gets enough of a response than the girls on the pairing poll will be given a shot at Naruto in the order from least to most votes. Those with zero won't be given a shot so if you want to see a date with a specific character vote now! If you don't see your favourite character on the pole then leave a comment and I may consider it. As always don't flame this story if ya hate my guts or this story, ja ne.

Ambrax Demise