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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.
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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?
A/N: I really hate writing in latin. Good thing he won't be appearing anymore. This chapter focuses on Mirai Naruto reliving his past as he changes it for the future.
Talking
'thinking/flashback'
Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu
'Kyuubi Thinking'
Chapter 11
Return to Konoha
The past we must relive…
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The blinding light finally faded as the young blonde peered into darkness.
"Where are we?"
The blonde asked his nine tailed companion.
I can't really tell. But I'm feeling sleepy. Need…to take…a nap…
The young blonde's tenant replied as he began to groggily fall into slumber. Naruto felt his knees give way as he too was falling into slumber. His entire body began to grow cold as he fell deeper in the darkness. As both fell into the depths of that darkness, Kyuubi returned from his zanpakuto state into Naruto's stomach as the Shiki Fujin seal glowed in a faint red before disappearing leaving no trace. The half-asleep blonde knew then that he was entering a different realm when he noticed the red flash of light enter his stomach indicating that he was entering the physical plane.
The dimness of his surroundings did not fade as he finally hit the dark ground. Though he hit it with such a force that would normally hurt like hell, not even an ounce of pain ran through his body as he felt the spongy floor he was in. he couldn't move from his prone position as his body had fully given in to slumber. The coldness that filled the air soon became warmer as a warm breeze swept by. The young blonde could only think one thing as his eyes gave way to sleep as well.
'It's so warm…this warmth…have I gone back? This warmth…is…'
While the blonde was about to drift peacefully into sleep, a scandalous sound awoken the blonde as he opened his flaming azure eyes to the beat of the sound. His alarm clock had gone off. Naruto lazily brought his left hand as he aimed it at the source of the ringing. The liven alarm clock died instantly as a sharp blade of wind pierced through it before dispersing as it left a slight crack on the wall.
'It's good to know my elemental powers are back though normally, I would've been able to punch a hole through the wall.'
The young blonde then got up from his bed and peered through the window as the sun glared in the sky over the busy streets below. Naruto saw that he was back in Konoha. As he looked further towards the direction of the monument, he finally saw the sign that confirmed that he was in the right time period, the head of the godaime was nowhere in sight.
The young blonde lazily walked through his old apartment passed the kitchen and into the bathroom where he saw the second sign that he was in the right timeline, he was looking at a six year old boy with short but spiky blonde hair. Naruto smiled as he said,
"Thank you Kami-sama for sending me back to change the past. I'll always be thankful for you everyday."
Before Naruto could say or do anything further, another voice rang in his head.
Gaki, look at the sink.
Naruto immediately recognized the voice. It was the voice of Kyuubi. If Kyuubi wasn't his zanpakuto, he wouldn't be able to hear him this clearly. Doing as his tenant asked, Naruto looked over the sink and saw a black notebook with a card attatched to it on the front. As Naruto picked up the black notebook, he then read the card and smiled once more as it read,
Dear Naruto,
It looks like the seal was a success even though you can't remember exactly how I did it. If you were wondering about the language that I used, don't bother to ask. You have to search it yourself. Anyway, the seal on the elemental gods is weakening as we speak. The biggest risk that was involved in bringing you back was the stress it would put on the seals of the gods. It's a good thing I didn't send you back to age two. If I did, the entire seal would break by the time you turned six allowing utter chaos as the gods battled it out once again. Don't worry this time though. You still have a lot of time before it could fully break since there wasn't as much stress upon their seals. The seal that is closest to breaking at this time would be the one of Byakko of the Wind. By the time of the end of the chuunin exams, she would be freed. I don't know about you, but you'd best learn some fire jutsus by that time. Anyway, Hinata's back along with everyone else who was alive at that time. Always remember, that if you are worth loving to her, she is worth loving to you.
Kami-sama.
P.S.
The battle between Sereitei and Aizen's corps has ended with Soul Society the victor. Currently they are searching for you as we speak. So keep it minimal on the reiatsu usage at least until the end of the chuunin exams.
"Well that was enlightening. Anyway, better start practicing on getting the hang of using my body now."
Naruto then swiftly took the kitchen as he began to boil water for the instant ramen he was going to have for breakfast. Though Naruto still loved eating ramen, he learned to eat healthier food when he was living in the Namikaze compound. Naruto then made another note to himself to buy healthier food or at least hunt for some in the forests of Konoha if they made it far too expensive for him to purchase. Konoha at this time still hated the young blonde and he could not afford the luxury of real food at the moment.
When the kettle began to steam in the kitchen, Naruto removed it and poured it over the instant ramen and began dining upon his meal as he and Kyuubi debated on how to approach his training so he could get his body used to his vast wealth of techniques both shinobi and shinigami.
It's not safe to say that I can't be in zanpakuto mode at the moment. We should train in reiatsu and chakra control as of now. You never were the best in both.
'That's priority number two as of now. I need to scout out exactly what date I'm in so I can plan our next move. If we rush into training right away, we might miss some important things that could have been averted.'
Like the Kumo's kidnapping of your mate?
'There's nothing I can do about that one. Kami-sama knew the risks involved. Like he said, the seal maybe strong, but anymore divine intervention could allow it to break apart too soon. And besides, even if I did stop the Kumo nin, they would still want compensation for the death of their comrade. Either way, it would be a lost cause because a war would still break out.'
You could just subdue the bastard and ANBU could take care of the rest. But I see your point. What is one man's pain compared to a planet's?
Both parties finally agreed as Naruto cleaned up his mess and took a quick shower. He didn't bother cleaning up his room since he knew that he probably might not get enough sleep later at night when he scouted out the entire hidden leaf village.
As he stepped out of his shower and wiped himself clean, he looked through his drawer for the clothes he was going to wear to the academy.
"Kuso. I really ought to shop for better clothing. Orange is great and all, but I'm a shinobi for Kami's sake! No shinobi wears orange! It's like saying, 'Hey! I'm a target! Kill me PLEASE!!!' Note to self: CHANGE YOUR WARDROBE!"
The young blonde said to himself as he saw several orange jumpsuits that were lined up on his rack. During his past life, he loved that color. But eventually as time passed, he realized how undermining it made his stealth because of the bright color that it emanated. As he shifted through his wardrobe for better set of clothing, he then came upon a nice set of clothing that he bought before he began buying orange clothing. It wasn't the best set of clothes, but it was better than his Early Warning Device wardrobe that he wore for last twelve years of his life. When he came out of the closet to begin his day, he was now wearing, a white shirt with the red spiral of his old clothing. Underneath it was a black sleeved shirt, and gray shorts along with blue shinobi shoes.
He didn't bother to get his goggles this time since he would be getting his hitai-ate in just six more years. Hopefully, he could still make it that far before making any accidental spillage of information of the future.
Naruto needed to be cooler and calmer this time around without drawing unwanted suspicion towards him. He knew that this time, he needed to be more serious and level-headed if he wanted to keep Konoha alive especially during the chuunin exams. He realized this during his short duties during the war against Aizen and his crew. No more was the overly hyperactive blonde as he had gone through the ugliness of war and saw many of his men fall at the hands of Aizen because of his carelessness at one point or another. Mistakes would mean drastic results as every choice he makes could kill a chance in the future. For now at least, he would do it the way he used to until after the genin exam.
The young blonde then stepped out of his apartment as he made his way through the bustling streets of Konoha. His years of experience as a shinobi and shinigami came in like instinct as he masked his chakra and reiatsu while stealthily avoiding a possible mob of angry villagers as he darted in between alley ways and on rooftops while pacing towards the academy.
When the young blonde finally arrived, he sat perched upon a telephone pole just across the academy like an animal on all fours.
'Good, no one noticed me yet. My chakra control was better than I thought. And by the looks of it, I'm actually early this time. Guess I'll have to wait a little before I can go in.'
The young jinchuuriki looked upon the students below who began to pace towards the academy. It was just like the old days. How he missed those days of fun and games when he would play pranks and avoid Iruka and his lectures like the plague. It was cheerful times. But those days are over as he had to re live them in seriousness since he couldn't afford to waste any more time.
Though Kami did not give him the specific amount of time before the breaking of the seal, he could estimate that at least by the time he got to the point of his life when Orochimaru died, the seal would have been fully broken.
The blonde gazed his flaming azure eyes at several genin hopefuls until he recognized some of them from his past life. One by one they entered the academy with Shino being the first. Shino was always early yet no one noticed that he was there until after class despite the fact that his bugs hated sunlight. Next was Kiba as him and his loyal pup Akamaru entered. The next were three specific people that always came at this time, Choji, Shikamaru, Lee, followed by Neji and Tenten, along with Sakura and Ino who were both competing for Sasuke's affections, along with Sasuke and several other genin hopefuls.
'That reminds me. Sasuke lost his entire family because of Itachi at this age. And by the looks of it, he's still not brooding. But just in case, I better make a clone so I can head towards the Uchiha Complex.'
The young blonde thought to himself as he glanced at the determined looking raven haired boy that walked inside the academy. While he lingered some more in search of one special person, his heart then fluttered as he saw her within the crowd that followed close after Sasuke.
It was the one person who gave up her life for him. It was the one person who loved him for him despite finding out about the Kyuubi…the one person who didn't reject him despite his serious flaws. It was her…Hinata.
Despite the lavender eyed girl's shy nature, deep down inside was a fiery woman who fought long and hard for his affections. Among the crowd that walked by her inside the shinobi academy, she was the only one that he saw in color among the gray background as his eyes focused upon her every part of her as a blush formed on the young blonde's face.
'Even as a child she was already cute.'
The young blonde thought to himself as he saw the very girl who would someday grow up to become the very woman that confessed to him that day. Though his eyes saw the bluish black haired girl that was entering the academy, his mind saw the beautiful woman she was going to become. As the young blonde stared at the young girl lovingly, Naruto's fiery tenant just chuckled in his cage as he saw her through his eyes. Feeling the urge to express his emotions, Kyuubi then said,
Gaki, as your sword, I can see what you see and hear what you hear as well as feel what you feel.
'But how is that possible? Then again it was Kami's interference so I guess it could be possible. That and you are my zanpakuto. That reminds me Kyuubi, about the affinity of the soul and the merging technique…'
Naruto mentally said to his tenant as his blush grew wider with every second of staring at his dark blue haired girl.
The fox just sighed as he too remembered mentioning it during their shinigami training. Seeing that there was no escape at this point, he then explained to his eager companion,
Now that you have a body and soul to work with, we can do the merging technique. But that will be for tomorrow. If your hunch is as good as mine, we might be able to prevent the genocide of an entire clan.
The young blonde just mentally nodded as he stared off into the crowd. While Hinata was about to enter the double doors of the academy, she felt two eyes staring at her despite not using the Byakugan to see it. As she turned around to gaze at the cement built telephone pole behind her, all she could see was nothing but a swirl of leaves passing by from the gale wind.
'That's odd. For a second there, I thought I felt someone looking at me. Maybe it's Naruto-kun. But from all the way up there? No, I'm just imagining things. There's no way Naruto-kun would do that. He doesn't even notice me."
Oh, how wrong she was this time. Because the young blonde that she referred to was no longer the dense fool he once was though, he still was the active young blonde that still loved causing mischief. This time he had become more serious as he matured from his countless experiences in this life and the next.
Naruto managed to get inside the academy without notice as he slipped into his classroom just the way he used to when he was this age.
Everything went just as normal with the exception of Naruto not being as loud as before. The young blonde managed to play his role well as he pulled his old set of pranks and made his same set of ranting just like the days of old. It was hilarious, but the pranks were not to an extreme unlike during his past life.
Iruka at first was suspicious about the blonde's actions especially the change in wardrobe which everyone begun to take notice, until the pranks came rolling in along with the several rants that the young blonde would naturally make. Iruka was relieved seeing Naruto this way knowing that he was still him. But he was somehow glad knowing that Naruto was slowly mellowing down. He was slowly but surely maturing…At least to his eyes.
The young blonde however was eighteen even though he was in the body of a six year old. Naruto had a lifetime of experiences both past, present and future as well as a complete understanding of death. Both life and death resided in his hands as he was a shinobi-shinigami. Naruto was doing his best to play it the way it should so as to not draw unnecessary attention to himself. The lessons he learned in class was already boring to him because he had learned it almost twelve years ago. Instead of relearning what he already learned, he was busy thinking up his plans on how to go about his training for the next six years as well as finding his father's house and inheritance. Included in his plans as well were plans for dealing with the Genin exams, Wave Mission, chuunin exams, and if worse comes to worse, Sasuke and the Akatsuki.
But the most important plan of all was how he would deal with his friends. Eventually, everything would begin with the understanding of the Kyuubi. He knew that they would all fear him if they found out. Sakura was the only one of the rookie nine that found out and she felt fear despite having known him for almost ten years. Sasuke on the other hand was an exception since he was too power hungry to fully understand. Either way, it would all boil down to saving Konoha whether they trust him or not. It didn't matter to him if they hated him. As long as they were safe and happy, he was happy.
All this plans were zooming through his mind while presently he still had to deal with Itachi with his currently limited strength and ability. By now, Itachi has the Mangekyo Sharingan and should be able to put the young blonde in a genjutsu which at his current abilities would be unable to defend against. Although he had other techniques that he could use, it will raise an alarm upon the identity of the blonde and cause him to lose his cover. Then again, he could tap into Kyuubi's power so that it seemed that the young blonde had accidentally awakened the Kyuubi. But even then it would kill the young blonde's cover and actually worsen his current living conditions since he would be seen as an immediate threat.
He had little time left, to think as the day went by. Noon had just ended as the sun began to die down in the sky. As the young blonde ran into the tree line and masked his presence, he once again thought to himself upon how he would be able to take down the soon to be infamous Itachi Uchiha.
'Kyuubi, I need some suggestions here. How do we kill an Uchiha and the most powerful one living today?'
The nine tailed fox growled at the young blonde's question.
You're asking me how to do what I've been trying to do myself? Baka. Unless you were a ghost of some sort…wait! There is a way! You still have the substitute shinigami emblem don't you?
The young blonde's flaming azure eyes opened wider as he remembered the special item that his tenant mentioned to the young blonde. Naruto saw Ichigo having one and took note how handy it was than having to lug around a gikongai that could definitely mess up his missions when he was in Karakura town.
Naruto looked through his pockets and under his shirt. It was nowhere to be found.
'Kuso! I must have left it back in the classroom!'
The young blonde stormed out of the tree line as he made his way back into the classroom so he can search his seat. As Naruto looked through his seat in the empty classroom, he found his black notebook under his desk where it fell. That small notebook was more precious than his life as it contained an entire lifetime of information that was necessary for his mission. He sighed in content as he managed to locate his notebook.
"I really need to be more careful with my stuff. Note to self: Never ever leave this notebook behind."
The young blonde said to himself. However, though he didn't notice the sudden presence, he felt something odd in the room. Because he was so engrossed in his search for his precious item, he wasn't able to notice the lavender eyes that gazed upon him lovingly as a blush formed on the face of the shy Hyuga that peered from the doorframe at the young blonde.
Naruto quickly hid the notebook under his shirt as it rested in his shorts close to his stomach. When the young blonde finally stopped and felt the change in atmosphere, he managed to locate that specific chakra signature that has been staring at him all day.
"Hi there! Hinata-chan."
The young blonde said as he turned around and stared into her lavender eyes lovingly. He was drowning in those orbs of kindness and purity as the young girl quickly left her gaze, and flustered a bright crimson while she stood behind a wall.
Naruto made a small smile at the young girl's antics as he remembered that the woman he loved at this time was still a shy young girl at this age. As much as he'd like to stay and reminisce, he needed to accomplish his task. He quickly made a shadow clone and his real self leaped out the window while the shadow clone was free to walk around doing the normal things he did at this age.
Meanwhile…In the office of the sotaicho, Ichigo, Ishida, Chad, Inoue, and Rukia stood before the aging old man as his hardened gaze fell upon them from his paper stacked desk.
Although the battle was won, the ninth division captain was nowhere to be found. In fact, no one knew where he had gone as he just left like a whisper only to leave no trace.
The five people who stood before the aging old man knew that whatever he had in store for them, was a heavy burden to bear indicated by Ichigo swallowing hard as he stepped up to the cross scarred, bald old man before him.
"Jiji, What's so important that you had to call us here?"
The old warrior's face stood unflinched by the pet name he was given as a more serious matter was at hand. He looked at them hard and replied,
"I have a mission for you five. It seems that Naruto, the ninth division captain, has gone missing. What are even stranger are that many souls who had come from the world he was from coincidentally disappeared as well."
The squad of five got the picture as they put two and two together. Ishida, who being the sharpest, stepped up as well and said,
"So we have to find him. If my hunch is right, he might have gone back to his homeland along with the spirits of his world. But then again he might have gotten lost in Karakura town after that battle."
Seeing the logic in Ishida's statement, Chad stepped up next and said,
"We'll have to split into two teams to find him."
The rest agreed with Chad as they exited the office and began their search of the whereabouts of the young blonde. As they exited the first division headquarters, Ichigo then spoke up.
"So if we're going to find Naruto, we need to get to his homeland. Urahara-san might know how to get there so I'll head over to his place. How about you guys?"
Rukia expected her orange haired friend to act that way. She then said to him,
"What about his parents? I heard that they're still here in Soul Society. We could find out from them too where he could have gone."
Any form of lead would help at this point. It didn't matter where or when, but they needed everything they could possible get their hands on to save their friend from whatever fate had fallen upon him.
Inoue, who felt left out of the conversation, spoke up towards them in a voice of confidence never heard of from her.
"I'll accompany Rukia-san. Sado-kun and Ishida-kun can search back at home while Kurosaki-san can search his homeland. It shouldn't take long from his parents so we can join Kurosaki-san later on if just in case he is there."
The four of them looked at the orange haired girl in utter amazement at the display of confidence she showed. She was brave no doubt, but confident like this was a different story. Naruto had impacted her life the way he had impacted all of them. It was strange how he could, but it was definitely certain that he has made a positive role in all of their lives.
And without further delay, they began their search as they went their separate ways. Ichigo knew that he wouldn't disappear from the battlefield just like that. After all, he had fought with the 'Golden Flash of Soul Society' during the advanced guard against Aizen's forces. It might be a bleak search mission, but for a friend like him, it would matter.
The young blonde leapt from the window as he made his way towards the Uchiha Compound. Though it was only the afternoon, he feared the worst was happening as he spoke.
While the original was down to business as he moved as fast as his six year old body could take him, the clone left behind in the room was casually making his way out of the classroom to play his part. The shy Hinata was still backed against the wall unsure of what to do. She had no idea how to approach this situation as her thoughts raced in her mind.
'This is my chance. Naruto-kun and I are alone together. It doesn't matter how he knew where I was, I can finally talk to him…Wait! You can't do that! What if he rejects me or ignores me like last time? After all I'm just a nobody to him. But he knows me! He said my name! Then again were in the same class so…but still…I…I…'
"Anything wrong Hinata-chan?"
The young blonde said as he broke her from her thoughts while he stood by the doorway. Naruto knew very well how shy she still was so he kept his distance that way he could catch her if she fainted, but not too far away so that he can ravish in her beauty as he gazed upon her lovingly.
Though she still did not know it, but the young blonde was falling deeper and deeper in love with her as he glanced at her. Every batting of her eyelash was driving him wild with passion as his flaming azure eyes met her lavender ones. When the young Hyuga heiress caught herself gazing at him, she averted her gaze as she twiddled her fingers and stared into the floor as she began to bloom like a flower.
"N-nothing's w-wrong Naruto-kun."
The young girl stuttered. Naruto's clone just scratched his head and grinned. Now was not the time to jump the gun and make her his at this time. He still wasn't sure if she would accept him the same way back in the future when she died. So playing it cool, Naruto then said,
"That's good to hear. I don't think we've been properly introduced. My name's Naruto Uzumaki. But you already know that."
The shy girl then replied,
"I-I'm Hinata…H-Hinata Hyuga…I-it's nice to get r-reacquainted Naruto-kun."
Her blush grew wider as she said those few words.
"So Hinata-chan, what were you doing awhile ago?"
The young blonde questioned her as he tried to act oblivious of her stalking nature. The young girl just shook her head as she said,
"N-n-nothing Naruto-kun. I-I was just e-entering the classroom t-to see if I-I misplaced anything."
Though she tried to lie, her blush said the opposite. Naruto just smiled as he bought the obvious lie. He knew it would be hard for her to talk to him straight and he understood completely. The young blonde then said as he chuckled,
"Ok. For a second there I thought it would be something else like you stalking me or something like that."
Hinata made a weak smile as she blushed a shade of crimson. She felt the sudden uneasiness from what he just said since obviously that's what she was doing.
"Say Hinata-chan, you still hungry? Cause class won't start again at for at least another hour. I still have some of my sandwiches with me. You want to share?"
This snapped the girl in attention as she stared at him and zoned out as her thoughts raced once more.
'Naruto-kun wants to eat with me…I'm feeling faint…'
Naruto quickly noticed her static expression of surprise and mentally cursed himself. He knew how shy she was and still his stupidity got the best of him. It was a good thing he was in range to catch her if she fainted. But if the girl fainted now it would be bad.
"S-sure N-n-Naruto-kun."
The young blonde was surprised that she didn't faint this time. Naruto then grinned as he took her by the hand, which caused her to blush again, and ran up to the rooftop of the academy.
The lavender eyed Hinata was still shocked in her mind at what was happening. Here was the love of her life, taking her by the hand towards their destination and further more, sharing his lunch with her.
'N-Naruto-kun i-is holding my h-hand. I can't believe this…He wants to eat lunch with me…I-I'm even stuttering in my mind. This feels like a dream…But it's not…He even says the word chan at the end of my name…I feel happy…'
When the two had finally reached the top, Naruto sat by the balcony and pat the ground next to him, urging her to sit beside him. Hinata slowly complied as she warily sat beside him not knowing what to do until Naruto brought out his sandwiches and gave her one with a smile. Hinata blushed at the display of cute kindness the young blonde portrayed as she smiled back and took the sandwiches. They began to talk about mostly the day and what had happened this morning. Both enjoyed each other's conversation as they ate their sandwiches. Eventually, the conversation drifted towards the Hinata's family as Naruto said.
"So Hinata-chan, you're from the Hyuga clan right? I heard it's one of the most powerful clans in Konoha."
The shy girl nodded.
"H-hait. It's the clan I was born into."
"That's so cool! I wish I was born into a cool clan like that. I bet you're treated like a princess there!"
The young blonde replied. Hinata however didn't feel as elated as she remembered how they really treated her in the clan. Naruto saw her sad expression and did what any six- year old would do.
"Are you alright Hinata-chan?"
The young girl just shook her head and made a weak smile. Naruto couldn't understand what sort of pain she went through in her life, but he could clearly see that it began here at this age. He knew that the Hyuga clan had problems. This time, he wanted her to find courage despite this. He wanted her to become the strong woman she was in the future and it would start here.
"I don't know what kind of problems you have Hinata-chan, but you can talk to me about it if ever you need someone to talk to."
The young blonde said to her in a more serious tone as compassion filled his eyes. Hinata smiled at him with thankfulness in her heart as she said,
"Arigato Naruto-kun."
"We better get back. Iruka sensei might get mad at me for dragging you out here."
The young blonde replied as he stood up and stretched his hand out to the young Hyuga heiress. For a moment she blushed at the young blonde as she took his hand and was pulled to her feet. But she smiled knowing he was just being the friendly person that she adored as they both entered the classroom without any suspicion.
'It's good to know that we're starting out right. Even better that she lost her stutter for a moment. Although it's cute to look at, I love the woman she will become even more. If you're feeling this right now original, know that our mission with our mate is a success.'
Aside from the several heated remarks that Iruka made towards the young blonde for not giving his complete attention to the brown haired chuunin's lessons, the day went fine for the clone. However the original's was a whole other story.
Naruto had just launched himself from the window and gracefully landed into a back alley a little way from the academy. He ran for an hour until he found a nice clearing where he can run without fearing being spotted. Before he ran any further towards the Uchiha complex, he said to himself,
"I know we need to lie low with reiatsu usage, but we need to gauge the extent of my abilities with my physical body. So here goes nothing."
Naruto then crouched down as he prepared to use shunpo with his physical body. He began to pour reiatsu to his feet until he could feel the flow of spiritual power empower his ankles as he dashed towards the Uchiha complex. He was glad that he wasn't completely hampered by his corporeal form as he made it there in three minutes flat.
"Not bad for a start. Looks like no one noticed me. But that was really tiring. No wonder I need six years to get used to it. Now that I'm here, I can start—"
Before he could continue speaking as he dusted off the ends of his pants, His tenant could smell something ominously familiar.
Gaki! That smell is our cue!
Naruto began to sniff the air in accordance to what his tenant had proclaimed. The faint metallic odor began to reek from the Uchiha complex. He grit his teeth as he leaped into a nearby tree and quickly flashed through the pages until he found the exact passage in his book where he had stored the emblem that he had made from the twelfth division taicho for him. He then placed his fingers upon the ancient text and poured his reiatsu upon the passage. The text then began to shift and disappear as it materialized into the emblem.
Hurry up gaki! The body count has already risen!
Without delay, he placed the book back under his shirt as he used the emblem to release his spirit from his body. The young blonde's eyes became a fiery cyan as he left his body to rest on that tree branch while he dashed at warp speed towards the source of the metallic scent that painted the streets of the Uchiha compound with its crimson color.
Death was all that the blonde could see as the afternoon was slowly growing into darkness. He could not find the Uchiha prodigy that was causing such destruction until he realized where his final destination would be.
"Kuso. I'm too late. By the looks of things, he's already massacred everyone else. But at the very least, I can probably save the two most precious people of Sasuke."
The young blonde then removed the black cloth tying his long locks of hair in the back and began to wrap it around his face so it covered his whisker marked cheeks and mouth as well as half of his nose. When he finished, he shunpo'd his way into the main Uchiha house and began searching every room for the last remaining Uchihas aside from Itachi and Sasuke.
"Kuso! Where are they!"
The young blonde cursed. His tenant was getting more and more agitated as he said,
Gaki! Calm down and remember your training! If you want to save their lives, your absolute focus is needed in order to save them. Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment or else you'll never find them.
Naruto then took his zanpakuto's word to heart as he closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. He began to concentrate as reiatsu strings began to emerge around him. He searched for an entire second until he found two red strings and grabbed them with all his might. He then opened his eyes and headed for the shed just behind the house.
He leaped over the house and onto the rooftops where he saw the young Itachi fighting his father with absolute intention to kill. The aging man had a deep wound from his right side despite how well he fought against his son. Itachi however, saw his efforts as nothing more than child's play as he dodged a kunai thrown to his head by tilting it to the side. He opened his eyes to reveal his fully matured sharingan as he swiftly made another sword strike and wounded his father's right arm. Taking advantage of his staggering form, Itachi made a sharp side kick to the open wound of the man, breaking his ribs and causing him to fall over his wounded wife. The aging man screamed in pain while his wife pushed the double doors open and dragged the both of them to the center of the room where the could no longer move.
Itachi followed the trail of blood starting from the door all the way towards the center where the wounded couple lay breathing heavily and coughing out blood as they were to meet their end. Itachi stood there behind them with sword drawn and ready to cleave the kneeling two.
"Any last words before you journey to the next life?"
Neither of the two responded to their son's words as they bowed their heads in defeat. They felt it in their hearts the pain that they would feel now would be almost none existent when he sends them on their way to the next life. They knew that it could come down to this with the way Itachi was acting for the past couple of days. But never could they imagine it happening this way.
The raven haired teen with his crimson sharingan eyes ablaze, stared at them coldly as he brought down his sword to cleave their flesh in one mighty blow.
The sound of steel was heard instead of the ripping of flesh. The two who awaited death looked up from their defeated state and saw Itachi's sword stopped in midair. The sword arm of the cold killer shook as it tried to press deeper to cleave the two only to be resisted by an invisible force. The dying couple was confused as they saw nothing but an invisible silhouette stopping the steel of the red eyed killer. To the eyes of this cold hearted killer however, he saw through his sharingan eyes the person standing under his blade with a high defense guard with his custom made katana.
He was a teen just about his height in a sleeveless black hakama and sleeveless white haori with a black lined rhombus and the kanji for nine in the middle of it on the back. The same color of the haoir was on the sash tying his hakama together along with several kunai holsters strapped to his legs and black tabi boots wrapped with black cloth that wrapped around the ends of his pants to prevent unnecessary hindrances in movement. The lower part of his face was wrapped in black cloth and he wore a black hitai-ate with the Konoha symbol engraved on it that held his long locks of hair up but did not completely prevent it from covering parts of his face.
The blonde haired youth stared his flaming azure eyes upon the red sharingan eyes of the teen. Itachi was surprised by the sudden entry of the blonde. He didn't even notice the youth enter and somehow he stepped in under his radar without difficulty. Itachi then questioned this bold blonde of his identity.
"Who are you? And how did you get here?"
The blonde didn't respond as his gaze became sharper.
"Silence will earn you death. Especially since you witnessed what happened here."
The cold killer responded as his eyes transformed into the Mangekyo Sharingan. Naruto saw this and shunpo'd out of the way. Itachi was surprised once more at the speed of this young blonde that he could not keep up with his eyes alone. But thanks to his experience in combat, Itachi leaped back and took only a slight horizontal slash to his back. It was deep, but not deep enough to severely damage the spine. Itachi then turned around only to get another pair of slashes. The first was directed to his head which he barely escaped from as a horizontal scratch mark appeared across the metal plate of his hitai-ate. The second slash however made its mark as the swing from right going left, cut through his armor and had lacerated his belly. At the same instant in one flow, Naruto used the momentum of his swing and made a spinning back left kick towards the open wound in Itachi's solar plexus. The cold killer flew past the doors as he fell on the wooden walkway with his own blood causing him to slip as he fell prone on the floor. The wound that Itachi exacted upon his father was exacted upon him as he felt the wound worsen from the kick. If the battle dragged on any longer, he wouldn't be able to live to fight another day.
The dying couple was astounded at what invisible force could've caused such damage upon their murderer of a son. Fugaku Uchiha, the father of the murdering son, activated his Kekkei Genkai as well and saw the back of the blonde youth standing in front of him.
'How could I have not seen him? Is it a genjutsu? How could someone of such an age be on par…no better than Itachi?'
While the confused father and his wife tried to rationalize the situation, Naruto outstretched his left hand indicating them not to move lest they be unable to cheat death this time. Itachi leaped from prone position and threw several shuriken at them and shouted,
"Kage Shuriken no jutsu!"
The shuriken multiplied into two dozen as they flew at the three people to end their lives. Naruto then swung his steel and deflected the several kunai save for two which managed to evade his defense. The young blonde quickly dropped his zanpakuto and shunpo'd and caught the two shurikens in midair just before they hit the dying couple. The unfaltering young blonde dropped the blades of death and stormed out of the room while picking up his zanpakuto on the way just in time for Itachi to leap into the air. The young blonde threw his steel like a javelin at the raven haired youth with a low loose ponytail. It hit dead on as the sound of steel piercing flesh was heard to the ears of the three people in that area.
However, the body of the wounded teen did not fall into the ground below. Instead, it flew into different directions as each part became ravens that flew into the air before transforming in to kunai that homed in on the young blonde. Naruto saw this turn of events and spoke for the first time throughout the battle.
"Kai!"
The several homing blurs of black blades, disappeared as the genjutsu faded. Naruto then raised his right hand and in an instant, his zanpakuto materialized in it as he sheathed it once more. He then turned around and approached the dying couple. Thankful for saving their fleeting lives, Mikoto Uchiha, the mother of her murdering son, then said in relief,
"Arigato for saving us from—"
"Don't speak."
The young blonde said interrupting her from thanking him as he kneeled down in front of them. He then raised his left hand and concentrated a pulsating green chakra coat to flow over it as he began mending their wounds.
"I'm not very skilled in medical ninjutsu, but I do know how to do basic treatment with it. This should slow your wounds down so that you can at least make it to the hospital for better treatment so try to conserve your energy."
After his brief reply, the young blonde then took out some bandages and wrapped their wounds. It wasn't much, but it should be enough to keep them alive long enough to get more professional help.
Before they could ask the identity of the blonde, he had already blurred out of existence.
Naruto made his way towards his lifeless body and re-entered it. The unfaltering young blonde ran out of the tree he was perched in and towards the main Uchiha house. The wounded couple huddled together as they waited in vain for help to arrive. It was a time of despair as the thought that their own son would come after their lives. As they cried tears of sadness a small voice could be heard as little footsteps ran back and forth through the entire house.
"HELLO! IS ANYBODY THERE! IS ANYONE STILL ALIVE! PLEASE ANSWER ME!"
It wasn't the sound of their youngest son since it was too early for him to arrive from school. They wondered who could that be wandering off into the compound and seeing a carnage in the entire Uchiha complex? Their questions were answered as they saw a young blonde boy staring at them in shock. The blonde boy then hollered at them,
"Are you alright?"
Fugaku sighed in relief before he answered,
"Yes we are. Please get help here right away!"
The young blonde nodded as he quickly ran out of the Uchiha complex and back into the streets of Konoha as he searched for help.
Nice acting gaki. Too bad we couldn't get Itachi without saving them both. It's not easy killing two birds with one stone. At least he's not going to be able to do anything thanks to his wounds.
The triumphant fox growled in the young blonde's mind as Naruto kept screaming for help. Just when all hope was lost and he needed to take drastic measures, he noticed a familiar jounin with his nose in an infamous orange book. Naruto's face brightened up as he recognized his old team leader and jounin-sensei Kakashi. Despite how much he wanted to talk to the familiar friend, lives were at stake and this was the only way that he could save them.
'Thank Kami-sama that it's Kakashi-sensei who was around here at this time.'
The young blonde thought to himself before he began shouting at the one-eyed jounin.
"Help me mister! Please help!"
Naruto innocently screamed while tears formed on his eyes. Kakashi left his book reading as he saw the young blonde approach him.
'That's the vessel of the Kyuubi. He probably got chased by the angry mob of villagers again.'
The one-eyed jounin mentally said as he kneeled down to the eye level of Naruto and asked,
"What's wrong? Did you get hurt?"
The crying blonde then said while still sobbing,
"I accidentally got lost into a strange place with a fan emblem everywhere and saw blood all over the streets and dead people. When I looked further to see if there was anyone still alive, I saw two people bleeding but still alive."
It didn't take very long for Kakashi and the young blonde to locate the wounded couple and take them to the hospital for treatment. After hours of waiting by the emergency room, the double doors opened up revealing Kakashi who stepped out and approached the young blonde.
"Don't worry about them. They're fine now. They're very lucky that you came to search for them. If you hadn't found them, they would have died of their wounds. That was pretty brave of you."
Naruto grinned knowing that somehow, his mission was a success. Though he wasn't able to save all of them, he did save Sasuke's precious people at the very least. And speaking of the raven haired boy, he managed to push his way through the several doctors and nurses until he got close to the emergency room and began shouting,
"Okaa-san! Otou-san!"
Both Kakashi and Naruto looked at him as they stood in front of the young Uchiha. Kakashi then put his hands upon the raven haired boy's shoulders and comforted him.
"Don't worry. Your parents are fine. You should thank this boy over here. He found them before they could pass on. Come to think of it, I didn't quite get your name."
Kakashi said as he looked over at the young blonde. Naruto then scratched his head and grinned as he said,
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you. You must be Sasuke. Everyone talks about you back at the academy."
Kakashi then said to the blonde,
"So you're enrolled in the academy. With your display of heroics today, you'll make a great shinobi someday Naruto."
Naruto blushed at the praise he got from his future jounin sensei. Sasuke looked at the young blonde who saved his parents' life and smiled at him. The moment the raven haired boy smiled, Naruto's eyes widened.
It was the first time he ever saw Sasuke give a genuine smile. Usually the smiles that Sasuke showed were cynical ones and wicked ones. Never has the raven haired boy ever shone a smile as genuine and happy as the young boy right here. As Naruto snapped out of his stupor, he was able to hear something uttered from the lips of the raven haired boy that was even more genuine than his smile.
"Arigato gozaimashta Naruto-kun."
Naruto could not believe what he heard from this young Uchiha who was an avenger in his future. It was odd hearing this. But the moment he heard this sentence of thankfulness with a tear that went with it, Naruto knew that his first mission was a success.
'I may not have been able to save everyone, but at least I was able to save the most precious people to me. I won't give up so that I can see more smiles like those appear on people's faces. I don't know if I completely changed Sasuke, but it's a start!'
Thought the young blonde as he smiled back and said,
"No problem Sasuke. I'm sorry that many of your family died, but at least your parents are still alive."
The still sobbing Sasuke then nodded. Kakashi then cleared his throat to grab their attention as he said,
"I'm going to report this incident to the Hokage so I'll need you two to come with me and explain much of what went on here."
The two boys nodded and followed the one eyed jounin out of the hospital. Though Naruto received many death glares at him, he never paid attention or flinched. However, Sasuke and Kakashi did notice the many glares that followed the young blonde around. To Sasuke, it was puzzling at why they all looked at the person who saved his parents' lives with such hate and disgust. To Kakashi however, it was a painful reminder of the many hearts who could not accept the death of their loved ones at the paws, claws and teeth that tore those precious people away from them never to return among the living. The stalwart jounin gave his own set of death glares to those who gazed at Naruto wrongly in protection of the young blonde.
Eventually, the trio made their way to the Hokage tower. The two guards that stood in front of the Hokage's office made way as Kakashi told them 'it was important business concering the Uchiha massacre that occurred'. As they entered the double doors of the Hokage's office, Naruto then said to the old man behind the paper stacked desk,
"How's it going oji-san!"
Kakashi just sweatdropped at the way Naruto just insulted the Hokage. No one had the right to insult him and get away with that. But the kind, old warrior just smiled as he said,
"Hello Naruto. And what brings you to my office this late?"
Naruto was ecstatic that he could see the old man again. Hopefully, he'll be here to save him this time from a third death. As nostalgia fed the young blonde's mind, Kakashi then made his account to the sandaime as they began to talk about the Uchiha massacre. Though not completely stopped, four remaining Uchihas, including the killer, had survived the tragedy. Sasuke desperately tried to hold back his tears as sadness surged through his body. Naruto knew that he would still be devastated, and it would still be hard to keep Sasuke on the right path, but at least he has a crying shoulder this time to lean on.
When the account was made as Naruto and Sasuke gave their testimonies, Sarutobi begun to feel sympathy for the poor boy that had to witness death at such an age. Then again, it was a massacre making it worse. Even though he was enrolled in the ninja academy where he would be trained to eventually face missions with scenarios like this, He was still a pure and innocent child. Unknowingly to them however, Naruto had experienced worse than this. He had first hand experience of war and killing and the many deaths of his comrades. It was an awful thing, but he went through it. The sandaime then ordered his guards that waited outside.
"Hait Hokage-sama!"
The guard asked the old warrior who then replied,
"Send a squad of ANBU to protect the parents of the young Sasuke here who are in the hospital. We don't want the killer to finish what he started. And I want Ibiki Morino and Anko Mitarashi to question them in the morning. We need to find that killer."
"Hait!"
The guards replied as they shunsined out of the room. Sarutobi then sighed in relief as he said,
"Well now that that's been taken cared of, Kakashi, can you make sure the boys get home safely? I fear that our attacker might come looking for them."
Kakashi just nodded in acknowledgement. Naruto protested saying that he wouldn't want to be a burden to them and can go home himself. Sasuke on the other hand was worried as to where he would stay for the night since his parents are still in the hospital.
"Don't worry about a thing Sasuke. You can stay in my place for the night."
Kakashi said to the raven haired boy. Sasuke accepted his proposal but wondered about Naruto and where was he going home to.
"Don't worry about me either Sasuke. I have my own place to live in. I'll be headed off now, Ja ne!"
The young blonde said as he left the office. Sarutobi then smiled at the happy-go-lucky nature of the blonde despite the events of that night.
'Naruto…despite the pain and suffering that this village has put you through, you've still retained that purity and blamelessness in your heart. And this afternoon's events have proven that. I hope that you continue to do so in the future.'
The old Hokage thought as he saw the young blonde exit the office ahead of Kakashi and Sasuke.
While the young blonde made his way towards his apartment, his stomach grumbled in distress. He was hungry. Luckily for him, he was just a stone's throw away from Ichiraku Ramen. The young blonde routinely marched in the ramen stand and greeted the old man and his daughter.
"Yo! Oji-san, twelve bowls of miso ramen and keep em' coming!"
The excited blonde exclaimed as his tummy grumbled even further. This put a slight blush on the blonde's face as Ayame chuckled and said,
"We're pretty hungry tonight now aren't we?"
Naruto just nodded as he replied,
"Yup! Training can be really tiring!"
After Naruto ate his fill, he thanked the two and paid the bill and went his way. It was an exciting day as the young blonde's clone finally dispersed and he received all the information that happened that day.
A blush appeared on the young blonde's face as he remembered what the clone had done with Hinata. He was glad that his clone didn't make any unnecessary moves to the girl he loved. He wanted to do things the right way by first building the friendship he never had with her in his past life and future. He wanted to make sure that his friendship with her stayed steady and strong so that when the time was right, it wouldn't be any problem at all. However, there was still the problem about him being a jinchuuriki so that in it would make things shaky. But there was still much time before that could happen.
As the young blonde walked through the familiar street to his apartment, he quickly hid behind one of the wooden walls by the corner. It was a good thing that Naruto's senses have heightened or he would've been beaten to death once again by the angry mob that raided his apartment.
'Why now? And by the looks on their faces, they're not here to just use me as a punching bag.'
The young blonde mentally said as he glimpsed at the several weapon wielding villagers that begun to destroy and vandalize his apartment as several furniture were thrown out and torn to shreds by the hungry lions that fed on it below as the mob begun to rejoice and shout words like, 'this is for the Uchiha that you killed' or his all time favorite, 'die demon bastard'.
The young blonde's tenant then told the blonde,
Somehow the rumors went out that you entered the Uchiha complex and they're exacting 'revenge for every Uchiha that you killed'. Quite a pity how low they would go to exact pain for their pain. You'd best high tail out of here unless you want to be used as a human pin cushion.
Naruto had no choice but to temporarily leave the village in order to escape their wrath. Hopefully, it would be only for tonight. Otherwise, he would be living off the land like so many shinobi on patrol in the forest. The young blonde darted in and out the same way he normally did that morning as he masked his presence once more. He stealthily evaded every single villager that was out looking for him as they hunted him down. Naruto managed to evade capture as he leaped over the walls of Konoha and into the forest below. It was all done without breaking a sweat or getting winded in the tiniest bit.
When the young blonde finally fully evaded his captors, he then sat down by a large tree as the sounds of the forest echoed in harmony. The music of the forest floor and silence of the night sky filled the air with serenity that you would not find in the city. Peacefulness without worry was the only way to describe the feeling.
As the peace and serenity of the night caressed the young blonde's tired state, Naruto delved into his mindscape as he stood face to face with his tenant who sat in its cage.
"Hey Kyuubi! Do you think you can teach me now how to merge with my soul's affinity?"
The crimson eyed fox glared into the flaming azure eyes of his master after the sudden request that he made.
I told you tomorrow. Things like that should not be rushed. Get some shut eye. Besides, you might not be able to return to your human form if you do.
The annoyed fox said to the determined blonde. But the look on the blonde's face said that he wasn't going to budge until he was taught. The kyuubi knew his intentions and said,
Look, your soul's affinity is nothing like your elemental nature which I might add is starting to slowly return to your complete control. The affinity of the soul is the power of change. If you're physical elemental nature is wind because it reflects your personality, your spiritual affinity might be something completely different like earth because it is the nature you can become. Am I making myself clear gaki?
The young blonde nodded at his statement. But he still didn't wish to let go and said,
"Even if that's true, I need it to be able to hide out in Konoha. I can't live in the forests all my life. If I can merge with my spiritual affinity, then I can become stronger and hide out at the same time!"
The Kyuubi smacked his head on the large bars of the cage that held him and said,
Gaki, you're missing the point here. This is only temporary. They'll go away after. You don't have to take such drastic measures.
The young blonde however did not accept that because he knows how much he is hated in the village that he wishes to protect. His tenant however had no interest with the village of Konoha. But if his master was hell bent on the protection of the village, he had no choice but to follow. The kyuubi resigned to his fate and said,
Fine gaki. You want to know it so badly?! Then get your ass out of here and I'll instruct you.
Naruto returned back towards the real world as he gazed upon the quite plain of the forest while the towering trees watched over the young blonde and the creatures of the night.
The young blonde then stood up from his seat in the soft blanket of grass and listen intently to his tenant's every word.
In order to merge with your soul's affinity, you must master chakra and reiatsu control. Your soul has done both and because you have a body now, your in harmony to do it. Make sure you get this right. You must first enter your mindscape the way you did with your bankai and find the perfect balance between your soul and body. Unlike your bankai, the harmony must be your own and not ours. Find it deep within your heart and find the one thing that changes you. Find it and become it. That is the key to your soul's affinity.
Naruto then did as he was instructed and delved deep into his mindscape. From the same universal background where the folded scales stood, he walked past them and moved along further into the never ending galaxy. After hours of travel, he had come upon a dark door. It reeked of suffering as you could feel the pain that emanated from it. It was filled with swirls of emotions dictating to the young blonde that it was his heart. He took a deep breath, and opened the door as he entered it.
The moment he entered the door, he was thrown into a mountaintop with maelstroms of wind and gusts as tornadoes flowed all over. The young blonde was about to be torn apart by the heavy zephyrs that sliced his body. For every cut he received from the streaming winds, he felt the pain he received in his heart from the memory it came with it. The stream of painful memories ran through his mind and struck his heart as he remembered all those times he was beaten, laughed at, ignored, cursed, spit at, used, abused, cheated on, and many more as it came back and brought tears to his eyes. The young blonde felt like he was losing sight of his goal as his resolve died down further in the wind.
'I don't get this at all! Kuso! What the hell did my stupidity get me into this time!'
The young blonde mentally screamed. Good thing for him, his thoughts were heard by his tenant who screamed back at him.
Bakero! This is why I told you to wait! If you allow your environment to consume you, you will end up like me! If these terrible winds are what hinder you then rise above it! Now GO! PROVE TO YOURSELF THAT YOU ARE THE STRONGER THAN THIS!
Naruto took his fiery tenant's words to heart and began climbing past the terrible winds. As the maelstrom grew harsher and harsher, Naruto's body grew weaker and weaker. He was reaching his limits.
"This is my limit. I guess this is why it's so hard to change and become something else. Your environment here in this place is the inner reflection of your personality and its flaws. But I mustn't. I need…to…rise above…this…or…else….everything I worked hard for…."
He said as he began to climb while his reasons for fighting and his resolve slowly began to return.
"Everyone I want to protect….everyone that's counting on me and put their faith in me…everyone who has sacrificed for me…No! I will not give up! For them! For me! FOR HINATA! Because if I am worth it for them…"
The young blonde then reached the top and stood firm as the winds began to concentrate and form an enormous twister that engulfed the mountaintop where stood.
"THEN THEY ARE WORTH IT FOR ME!"
Naruto then jumped as high as he could through the eye of the storm. As he rised higher and higher, his body slowly shined brighter and brighter. Soon crackling sounds began to form around the blonde. As the crackling sounds became louder, it began to materialize as the blonde's body began to rematerialize into electricity as his flaming azure eyes burned into a bright cyan. The blonde's eyes where all that were left as the rest of his body became a bolt of lightning until he saw the azure sky past the storm and woke up back in the forest floor.
As he looked around, he noticed that he wasn't on eye level with the trees. In fact, everything seemed to have gotten bigger. Kyuubi then spoke to the blonde in amusement.
Gaki, there's a river that runs through the wall. Look at yourself there.
Naruto then did so. Unusually to him, he was moving as if he was on all fours. What has become of him? The young blonde then hurried to the river and was astonished at what he saw. He had become a white fox with azure eyes and three swishing tails.
"WHAT THE HELL!!! THIS IS MY SOUL'S AFFINITY?!"
The young blonde screamed. Amazingly, he could still speak normally. This was unexpected in every sense. Kyuubi just laughed as he rolled around in his cage.
'WHAT'S SO FUNNY YOU STUPID FOX?!!!'
Which one gaki? You or me?
The sly kitsune said as he corrected his now foxy master. Naruto began to mentally curse his tenant until the Kyuubi calmed down and explained.
To be honest, I was expecting something like a lion or tiger. But a fox…and a white one to boot! This is really unexpected.
The young white kitsune then thought,
'So being an animal like this…I get it now. Well, at least I have a lot of reasons to love our kind now.'
The kyuubi then nodded and replied.
Being one with your soul's affinity means you take on the personality change and it materializes in your physical body. Mine was incomplete since I couldn't rise above my own flaws and forever remained stuck in the form everyone 'loves'.
The white mane kitsune understood and asked of his tenant.
'So being in this form is my own success from my flaws. What does this all mean? It should symbolize something right?'
The sly fox then replied as his white mane kitsune listened.
It does. Though it is complete, you won't be able to use this form's true power since you haven't mastered chakra and reiatsu control in your physical body. But I can tell you that it holds many symbols. The Kitsune symbolizes intelligence and cunning. It is normally a fire born creature which is another reason its mane is usually red or orange. This also means most kitsunes are temperamental and emotional creatures. A kitsune's tail represents his attained level of wisdom. After at least one thousand years of living, it can grow another and then the tails after that come with experience. The limit for fox tails is nine. Your transformation however, says differently. True you're a fox which means you are intelligent and cunning, but your blue eyes show that you are noble and compassionate. Your white fur means that you are forever pure at heart and detached from earthly things. If your eyes were green instead of blue, your soul's element would be wind like your nature. But your eyes are blue meaning it's the other detached element known as lightning. And your three tails means you have wisdom beyond your years. It's all quite contrary to your current personality.
Naruto drank in to all of this as he tried hard to realize that this was him. Kyuubi was right that his soul's affinity was a complete contrast to his current personality. Sure he still remained pure at heart, but everything else didn't add up to the blonde. But still, he had to accept that this is what he can become. So he then said to himself for him to remember,
"I guess I have to accept that I can become this even in my human form right? This transformation is merely a mirror so I can see what I can become."
With that the young kitsune accepted his fate. Although it felt different from having a human body, he decided to test it out. At first he couldn't climb up the wall let alone use chakra or reiatsu. Frustration began to form in the kitsune's mind until like a light bulb, he had an idea. He began to twist his three tails together in a fashion that they would continually turn. The idea worked and he was a miniature helicopter like the ones he saw once in Tokyo. He used this idea well and landed on a house not too far away. It still wasn't safe to go back to his apartment, so he decided to go somewhere else. He then bolted his way through the streets of Konoha and elusively went through every nook and cranny like the cats did back in his genin days when he would rescue the daimyo's cat. Eventually, he stopped and walked around in what seemed to be a backyard of some sort of an old Japanese traditional house.
'I must have accidentally gotten here when I wasn't paying much attention. But I feel like I've seen this place before.'
The young white mane kitsune mentally said as he snuck into the large traditional house through a small opening in the window. Before he stepped into the floor of the room he was in, he hooked his three tails to the window frame as he surveyed the room.
It was a large kitchen with complete set off cooking appliances and a half open refrigerator indicating that someone is here. It was a good thing that he didn't leap in right away since it would be a long run to the exit. As the white mane kitsune gracefully yet silently dropped to the floor, he noticed two feet at the edge of the fridge noting that the person still raiding that man sized ice block was only a child. He then curiously but cautiously approached the refrigerator.
When the person stepped out of the refrigerator, he was shocked to see who it was.
"Oh! How did you get in here? Are you hungry?"
The lavender eyed girl asked. It was Hinata. As Naruto quickly put two and two together, he realized that he was in Hinata's home. The startled kitsune began to back up in fear as Naruto mentally blushed. The lavender eyed Hyuga however was happy to see a friend in the midst of her cold shouldered family. She wore a pure white yukata and no undergarments which made our azure eyed hero mentally fluster as she paced towards his kitsune form.
"Don't worry, I won't bite."
The now not so shy Hinata said as she kneeled over and began to pet him. Naruto never understood why animals like being pet. But now he fully understood as he enjoyed her warm and soft hands brush his ivory colored fur and caressed behind his ears. It was a strange feeling, yet he felt great whenever she did that. The white mane kitsune began to sway his three tails in elation as he purred indicating his ecstatic state. He ravished her hand as he began to caress his body around her soft palms before curling into a ball.
Hinata chuckled softly so as not to wake her sleeping family as she picked him up and said,
"Well Mr. Fox, as much as I want you to live here with me, I can't. The Hyuga doesn't allow pets in the compound. But you can stay for the night. Come, I'll take you to my room."
Naruto mentally screamed to himself,
'WHAT?! WAIT! HINATA'S ROOM?!'
When the lavender eyed girl brought him into her quarters, he mentally flustered crimson as he saw that he was in the very room of the girl he loved. She had a dresser by the corner with a mirror on the wall. Alongside the other corner was her wide opened drawer where her clothing was slightly ruffled and several drops of water on the floor beside it implying that she had just taken a bath. And in the middle of her room lay a man sized futon.
As the white mane kitsune leaped off her arms were he cradled, he could smell the scent of the room. It was the scent of the Konoha Fire Lily. The same irresistible scent that kept him cradled in her arms as the kind Hinata sat down on her bed and spoke to her foxy friend.
"You know Mr. Fox, you're pretty strange. I've never seen how you got in here or that there where any white kitsunes in Konoha with three tails."
The thinking Hinata said as she looked at the white mane kitsune with a curious but puzzled face.
'Shit! I've been found out! This is bad, wait. Calm down, you're a kitsune. So start acting like one.'
The white mane kitsune then purred as he ran up to Hinata's right shoulder and began to tickle her face with his three tails. Naruto hasn't been this close to her face since the incident in the phoenix seal. She was a beautiful woman that he would gladly give his life for. But for now, she was still a child. The white mane kitsune mentally blushed once more as he drank in her fragrance and ravished in her beauty. Hinata began to laugh lightly as she protested and cradled the young fox in her arms.
"But then again, I haven't been outside Konoha so I don't know much about its wildlife."
Naruto sat there as he listened to her converse to him while he lay in her arms.
"I had a great day today Mr. Fox. I got to talk with Naruto-kun today. He ate his sandwiches with me and we got properly introduced to each other. Naruto-kun is a real gentleman. Then again, he always was. He also said that he was willing to talk to me if ever I need a friend to talk to."
The young girl said as a blush began to form on her face. Naruto just drowned in her words as he saw her beauty emanate through the moonlight from the window at her left side. How could he have missed this elegant beauty all those years? His density during his younger years had blinded him from the love of this beautiful girl all those years. As he quietly listened, his mental blush grew wider and wider as he soaked himself in her loveliness.
"Naruto-kun has never shared his food with anyone. Maybe he has a crush on me."
A smile crossed her face at that thought until she continued.
"No, that can't be right. He loves Sakura-san. But I can understand why he does. She's so brave and open and strong willed and He's so confident and strong despite what everyone says about him. He pursues his dreams and never gives up and he's so kind and gentle. They're everything I'm not. There's no way it can be true. There's no way that I can be like Sakura-san."
She said as a downcast look dawned on her face. How he longed to comfort her. But not like this. He was in his kitsune form so he could only be there and listen to her as she opened up to him.
"I really wish I was as confident as Sakura-san so that I can talk to him more and be with him more and become more open to him. I really love him but I'm not sure if he loves me too…What am I saying? I'm giving up too easily. I shouldn't give up. Naruto doesn't give up on his dreams so why should I give up too? But what if he still goes after Sakura-san? It's no good Mr. Fox, whenever I think about this, I feel like I'll never be better than her and gain his attention."
Her thoughts were jumbled up but one thing was clear, she was struggling hard with herself. She wanted him but felt like she didn't deserve him. Naruto felt that way as well all throughout his stay in Sereitei so he understood. The kitsune couldn't take it anymore as he leaped of her lap and took a sheet of paper and a pen from on top of her drawer and used his tail to write on it. Hinata was surprised at the dexterity the kitsune showed as his tail grasped the pen and gracefully wrote on the paper. When the kitsune finished, she was shocked even further at the intelligence of the fox when she saw what the fox wrote.
Stop being better than her and be better than yourself.
The kitsune then looked at her shocked state and nodded. Hinata smiled as she pet him and said,
"We learned that kitsunes are smart animals in the shinobi academy. But they never told us that they were this smart. But you're right Mr. Fox. Thank you for listening. I'll just do that."
Naruto curled once again into a ball as they both fell into slumber.
'The mission was a success. I averted the complete massacre of the Uchihas somehow, and avoided suspicion from school, and boosted her confidence at least a little bit. But I still have my work cut out for me. I need to train harder so I can protect Konoha more…so I can protect her more…at least it I didn't mess up completely this time in my return to Konoha.'
And like that, the first day ended in silence as the kitsune slumbered beside the love of his life.
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Everything feels so jumbled up. But at least it's done. Konoha Arc begins here. I intended not to add too much NaruHina scenes here because it's the first day of his return. The next one will have a lot I can guarantee that. Technically, he did save the Uchiha clan since he did manage to spare Sasuke's mother and father while at the same time befriending Sasuke. This is a very long chapter for me. But I like pushing the limit. I just hope it doesn't kill a lot of important parts. Till next time, Ja ne!