Author's section

I DON'T OWN NARUTO, IT BELONGS TO MASASHI KISHIMOTO

I know it's been a very looooong time. And I'm sorry. But there are lots of new things in my life that just don't leave me time to write. You see, I started college in another city and it's been hell. I'm just not suit to study. I hate it. It's just too different from school. Although living away from your parents is cool, you gotta do the shopping, cooking and cleaning… that sucks. At least I finish my first period of college now, so I can get acquainted with my story again. So, I will write as much as I can now… until I start college again, then my pace will lower again.

Also, I think I'm going to focus on this story before continuing with the other I have: Absent. It was a bad idea to start another story while I can barely keep up with this one. So yeah, Absent is going on indefinite hiatus. I hope you can forgive me.

"Kyubi talking"

'Kyubi thinking'

"Normal speech"

'Characters thinking'

Author's note:

Sorry for any mistakes.

Now with the story

"A NINJA'S LIFE"

Chapter 25

It hurt. That was for sure. She had never felt the whole power of a kaiten striking her body before. Kaiten wasn't allowed during Hyuuga training. Due to the harm it could do, only adults could use it with young Hyuugas that hadn't yet mastered the technique for educational purposes.

Right now, Hyuuga Hinata couldn't even close her eyes due to the pain and the shock. Down there, on her upper torso, she could feel something was damaged. The girl was bent forward. The attack had struck a few seconds ago but Neji still had his hand against her chest. Knowing she'd be in shock, Neji wanted to stay long enough for Hinata to notice what had happened and how it had happened.

Her attacks weren't half bad, he had to admit. She had almost managed to hit him a few times. Hinata had a flexibility that made her body move fluidly, making her attacks twist from one point to another and hard to trace. But it didn't only help her attacks, the best advantage that gave the young female Hyuuga was that her defense almost doubled. She scurried out of his hands way when he was just inches away from hitting her, arching her back almost to an impossible extent. Neji couldn't move that way. At one point he was worried he would have to use his special technique on the disgrace of the main branch until he saw an opening. It was slight but there nonetheless.

It seemed Hinata had grew tired to notice her mistake. Not missing a second, Neji propelled forward, his palm reeled backwards, ready to hit. The girl had only time to widen her eyes when she discovered her mistake when a powerful chakra pulse hit her plain in the chest and into her heart.

A collective gasp could be heard from the few spectators. A cold chill run up Naruto's spine. His hand gripped the rail hard. Everyone knew the kaiten's devastating effects, and thus, they knew Hinata was done for.

The organ constricted due to the pressure it was suddenly submitted to, making it respond by forcing its owner to cough blood. The red substance splashed on Neji's sleeve. He didn't mind. That only served to create an indulgent smirk. 'That'll be it.' he thought with glee, deactivating his byakuugan. 'Now she won't dare to defy her destiny again.' A cry from the stands made his attention wonder.

"You can still do it, Hinata!" it was Hinata's boisterous friend. What an ignorant. Couldn't he tell that he was already the winner of this fight? He was about to retire his palm but found himself unable.

There was a small and feminine hand that was now gripping his wrist. 'How is she still conscious?' He couldn't answer that question when something else about the girl caught his pupil-less eye. She was now thrusting her free hand forward, towards his abdomen. His blood-limit returned in an instant. 'No!' He tried to block it with his right hand or divert it from its path, but he only managed to catch her wrist. It was now a few inches away from his torso. Unfortunately for the boy, a Hyuuga didn't need to be in contact with his target's flesh to get to the organs. As long as he or she could induce chakra to the attack, it will certainly make a great deal of damage.

Pain shot from his stomach through all of his body. His insides were burning. It hurt so much. Neji gritted his teeth and looked at the girl in front of him. She was looking at him, a trail of blood falling from the side of her mouth. There was a certain satisfaction on her eyes. Then something dawned on him. The distraction and opening, it had been all faked. She had actually put her chest at the open, so that he could hit her, then lower his guard and she could return the hit. This, combined with the fact that she had manage to 'land' a hit on him, make the young genius enraged. With an angry snarl, Neji twirled around, making Hinata's weakening grip around his wrist vanish, and kicked her right in the cheek. The sudden movement made his stomach send a new wave of pain to his brain. He could hear his cousin's body skipping on the concrete ground. The male Hyuuga gave a shaky step backwards and held his stomach with one hand.

Now with an internal injury, his fighting skills will drop significantly. But it wasn't nearly as bad as Hinata's. He could still move… kind of. But with a direct shot to the heart, Hinata was finished. It was a wonder how she could do such a rash motion just after she was hit. Well, it didn't matter now. 'She can't fight anymore.' He thought with a glance at Hinata's body, still laying on the ground.

"You." Neji said, controlling his pants, to Hayate. "Announce me the winner already." The adult shinobi glanced to Hinata.

"Oh, yeah." He said, still amazed by the fight that had taken place. "Er, the winner of this fight is Neji-"

"Not yet!" Yelled Naruto from the stands, yet again. Neji and Hayate turned towards him, along with the members of the crowd.

"Give it up, boy." Said Hayate with a sigh, or a cough.

"She can't even stand." Neji said with a sneer.

"I think she disagrees." The blond replied with a smirk, gesturing towards a shaky Hinata, who was on her shaky feet.

"Why you…" Neji said with a nasty face. "Haven't you had enough?" Having difficulty with her breathing, the girl shook her head. The older Hyuuga was getting mad.

"I shall make sure you don't rise again, then." He said, Byakuugan activating again. Just as he took a step towards her, the girl held up her right palm, in a 'stop' sign and closed her eyes. This disconcerted Neji, and he halted.

"What are you playing at?" He asked. Neji was taking aback when the girl opened her eyes again, this time with veins around them. He wondered what in the world she was trying. She couldn't possibly harm him if she was that far away. But the Hyuuga genius was proven wrong when a bluish chakra ray shot from Hinata's palm and went across his chest. Neji only knew what had happened only after Hinata's attack ended and a searing pain cursed through his shoulder. He screamed and held his chest, feeling the trail of burnt flesh across his torso.

"Woohoo! You go Hinata!" Neji could hear the Uzumaki's cheers. A few seconds passed. This served for Neji to calm down a notch and lower his head to revise his injury. It had only burned half an inch into his flesh.

"How?" He managed to say after he trailed his fingers carefully across his burnt shirt. As soon as he said this he decided that he didn't care. Hinata needed to be punished for hurting him even further. He ran towards his cousin with rage, palm extended to make a hit. The girl panicked and try to perform another light of chakra. She find it impossible to do it again, since Neji's earlier blow had damaged not only her heart but the chakra channels bound to it, making chakra molding an incredible feat. The only thing she could do when Neji reached her was block his right hand, but her speed had diminished a great deal and she missed his left hand, that had been directed to her poor heart.

A chakra discharge later and fear crept over all of the audience. 'That's already two blows to the heart.' Kurenai though with increasing alarm, as Hinata fell face-first into the floor. ' Taking a step forward, the Yuhi was ready to carry Hinata out of the fighting area, but a hand stop in front of her stopped her.

"Not yet." Naruto repeated his earlier words, but they had much less enthusiasm in them. Team eight's sensei looked at him with wide eyes.

"You can't expect her to continue fighting after that!" Kurenai exclaimed.

"I expect her to rise up again." Was the blond's answer. 'This boy doesn't understand!' Kurenai thought, but as he took a closer look to Naruto, she could see just as much worry as she had on his eyes. Kurenai sighed and took a step backwards, falling into the place she had been standing for the whole fight, but she didn't relaxed. The jounin was ready to spring into action if she saw that her shy student couldn't hold up any longer.

Hinata had begun to stand up again, just after another fit of coughing blood. This earned a gasp of admiration from everyone watching. Neji, who had started to walk away towards the stands, stopped short in his tracks and turned to see his cousin. He didn't want to believe it, but there she was, eyes staring right at his as if inviting him to continue to attack her.

"Stop acting tough." Said Neji, trying to return his face to his usual impassiveness. "Give up. You had tried your best and failed. But you shouldn't be upset. I had expected much less of you. Still… you remain not only a weak ninja but also a weak person. Stop trying to be something you're not. I assure you that will stop your suffering from screwing up every time you try." He expected his harsh words to break her will and finally make her to stand down, but Hinata's eyes didn't lose any of the fire they emanated.

"I won't give up no matter what you do or say." The girl said.

"And I don't suffer from my failings anymore." She retorted in between pants. "I have learned to welcome them as a chance to become better."

"It's funny…." She continued after a pause to regain her breath. "Because you can achieve anything far more easier than anyone, but suffer more than me at doing that."

"What?" Hissed Neji dangerously.

"You can improve everything you want, but that doesn't change the fact that you remain a branch member and that troubles you deeply." Neji was now glaring at her, his Kekke genkai returning.

"You've learn to take out that suffering into blaming others, when we hadn't have any doing on it." She had struck a nerve at saying the truth in his face, and she knew it. It was really a shame the way it had all turned out, and she really sympathized with him. The long haired boy rushed at his cousin with a yell of fury. Byakuugan flaring. Palm ready to give the final attack. Hinata couldn't move from her place, so she just stood still, waiting for Neji to come and ready to receive the attack.

Naruto felt a pang of fear on the back of his head.

"What is he doing?" Exclaimed an horrified Ino by his side. Neji was already halfway there. He needed to act. But she was so far away, what if he wasn't quick enough? The blond turned to his sensei. Kakashi could teleport and that was better than anything he could do. Sure enough, the copy-cat nin was already performing the jutsu along with the other two senseis, Guy and Kurenai.

They all appeared simultaneously, along with Hayate, just in time to restrain Neji whose charka surrounded palm was within half a meter from Hinata.

"Kid, I won't permit you to attack her when she can't defend herself anymore." The sick-looking shinobi said. He was serious enough to stop coughing.

"This is most unyouthful of you, Neji." Said his sensei gravely, his forearm around Neji's neck. The genius snarled as he dropped his blood-limit. Kurenai was glaring at the boy spitefully. She was still gripping his arm rather painfully. But a strangled gasp and a cough, following by blood splattering on the floor caught her attention.

"Hinata!" She said as she left the satisfied Neji behind and approached her falling female student. The other jounins stepped away from Neji to watch the girl. But someone else got there before she could. Naruto grabbed her before she reached the ground.

"You all right?" he asked as he lay her gently on the ground. The blond ignored Hayate proclaiming Neji the winner of the fight. Hinata was looking at him through half-lidded eyes.

"Naruto-kun." She said as loud as she could manage, but only a whisper could be heard.

"Yeah?" The blond inquired in a low voice. He bit his lower lip worriedly when the girl moved her lips to respond but no sound came from them.

"She's going to faint." predicted Sakura, who had arrived after him with Ino and Lee. Naruto wondered whether that was good or bad, whether he should try to keep her conscious, but Hinata's eyes rapidly closed. Naruto had seen Hinata faint so many times before that it was an usual thing to happen, but this time he didn't think that shaking her a little was going to wake her up again. He stood up slowly, his eyes never leaving her frame. Kurenai occupied his previous spot besides her. She looked so battered. Hinata isn't supposed to look like that, she doesn't deserve to look like that. She's always been so kind. A strong feeling of wrath slowly took over his worried mind. His blue eyes immediately switched to the person responsible for his friend ended up like this.

"You." Naruto said, his voice shaking with anger. "You tried to kill her you piece of shit!" Neji was no longer standing. The other Hyuuga had collapsed to his knees and was taking shallow breaths, a bandaged hand over his burnt chest. But the pain he was feeling didn't stop him from looking up at Naruto arrogantly and smirking.

"She asked for it." he replied coolly. Naruto's rage took control of him. Neji thought he saw a flash of red passing through Naruto's eyes. He immediately shook that away, attributing the sight to his weariness, and stood up slowly preparing to take on the enraged boy a few feet away from him. Naruto charged at the bastard ahead of him, but a strong arm gripped his hand, holding him from tearing Neji into pieces.

"Naruto-kun, I understand how you feel." Said Lee. His muscles were straining to contain the growling blond into place. "But the rules say that you shall fight him on a proper match."

"Fuck the rules!" Snapped the blond, shaking Lee's hand brusquely off him and charging again.

"No!" Lee rapidly caught up with the younger boy and placed both arms under Naruto's armpits, managing to stop him again.

"Stop interfering!" Yelled a frustrated Naruto, as he struggled with Lee's vice-like grip.

"He's just been injured! Neji's not fit to fight!" Continued Lee, trying to calm him down, since his grip on him was weakening.

"So what? Hinata wasn't fit to fight either and still the fucking bastard went for a fucking killing blow!" with newfound energies, the blond struggled harder. Forcing Lee's arm off him, he succeed on slipping off his hold. As the older boy fell backwards due to the force of Naruto's actions, the blond now had the road free to get to the now preoccupied Hyuuga. Just as he was getting within a feet from Neji, Kakashi appeared suddenly in front of him, making Naruto halt in place.

"You are not doing this here." Said Kakashi in an even voice, filled with authority. The Uzumaki's anger was escalating. The copy-cat nin's eyes narrowed as he saw red on Naruto's pupil for a split of second. Emitting a low, animal-like growl, Naruto took a dangerous step forward. He was going to get to Neji that was the only thing he was sure of, and no one, not even his own sensei was going to stop hi-

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled just as Naruto had given another step forward. "Naruto calm down! Hinata wouldn't want you to be disqualified." The twelve year-old boy stood stoned in place. This apparently reached the blond. He seemed to be having an internal struggle on whether he should continue or not. He didn't get to choose what he was doing next because his attention turned to Kurenai's alarmed voice.

"Hinata!" Team eight's sensei called. The girl had cough blood once again but on a major quantity. Sakura quickly opened Hinata's bulky jacket and placed one hand on top of her chest. The pink-haired girl concentrated on her heart beat.

"Oh no!" Sakura said with alarm in her voice. "She's having ventricular fibrillation." Naruto had no idea what that was, but by judging Sakura's and Kurenai's panic expressions he concluded that it was definitively not a good thing.

"Can you do something about it, Sakura?" Asked Naruto while giving a few steps towards the pale girl. Sakura shook her head, eyes downcast. Naruto's heart sank.

"Why isn't the medical team here yet?" Yelled an angry Kurenai. Five adults from the medical team appeared at the scene. Three of them went to Hinata and the other two towards Neji. Naruto could only watch and listen to the medical crew as they lay Hinata on a stretcher. They were talking rapidly among themselves.

"She won't last ten minutes at this rate, we need to take her to the emergency treatment room immediately." Said one of them. An affirmative noise was heard from the other two adults as they rushed to the exit. 'She won't last...' That part reverberated through Naruto's head continuously. He started shaking his head. His fists clenching. Naruto wouldn't allow her to die.

Suddenly, the blond turned to the east part of the room, where the two oldest persons in the room where standing.

"Where is Tsunade?" Demanded the blond, looking up, as he stepped towards them. Once he was close enough, he jumped and landed perfectly on the rail, right in front of the Third. "She must help her!"

"Probably roaming somewhere around the building." Said Sarutobi. He turned to look at his former student. The white haired man nodded.

"I'll look for her kid, you go with your friend." As soon as he said that, Jiraiya disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Naruto and Sarutobi. The blond suddenly felt great appreciation for what the old man was doing, but not quite enough to forget about his distress for the Hyuuga. He turned towards Hinata was supposed to be, but the medics had already moved her to the emergency room, along with Neji.

"Don't worry, Naruto." Said the Hokage gently. "Those two will be alright." Naruto didn't nod. He simply jumped back down the arena, and directed to where the Hyuugas had been taken.

Tsunade stared at the sickly Hyuuga lying on the bed. It had been really close but she had finally managed to stabilize her. The medic-nin ignored the admiring doctors around her. She was just glad the kid was alive, but still very fragile. It was incredible how two twelve-years-old had been in the brink of death in such a small period of time. But they were ninja and that was really not surprising at all in their work. She needed to give the news to the girl's sensei. She must want to know about her Hyuuga student.

Yuhii Kurenai, as Tsunade learned was the name from her most recent patient, was sitting on the small waiting room from the tower. Also, lingering against the wall, was Naruto.

"I thought you weren't allowed to be here." Said Tsunade.

"Does that really matters?" snapped the blond, glaring at the doctor sitting on his desk. The one that had opposed from letting him stayed. "Is she alright?"

"In a way..." responded the blond sannin.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" growled Naruto.

"She's alive and breathing but her heart almost didn't make it. Right now even the smallest noise could send her to cardiac arrest." Silence filled the room as Naruto and Kurenai digested the information. The Yuhii was the fastest to recover.

"Will she be able to continue with her ninja duties?" Tsunade took some time to answer, which made Naruto and Kurenai even more nervous.

"I'm positive she can regain her ninja life…" Kurenai closed her eyes, thanking Kami. "But it'll be a fair amount of time before she can do that."

"How much?" inquired the blond.

"A month, probably more." Naruto sighed in relief. Hinata was alive and will continue being a ninja. That was all that mattered.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama."

"Yeah, thanks. Really." Were Naruto short words, but Tsunade sensed all the gratitude behind them.

"Don't mention it." She replied with a smile. "It is my job as a Konoha medic after all." The tension in the room seemed to have disappeared.

"So, when would be the right time for a visit?" asked the blond.

"Not soon, I can tell you that." Responded the sannin sharply. "But I will tell you when you can, alright?" The answer didn't seem to please the blond, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"Now go, you need to see the fights so you can get all the information possible from your potential opponents on the third round." Tsunade said, looking at the blond. Naruto rolled his eyes, but complied. He pulled himself from the wall and walked to the exit. He was about to open the door, but someone else opened for him. It was a white-clad doctor, followed by another one. They both were holding the opposite sides of a stretcher. 'What the hell?'

"What happened to him?" asked the blond as he saw Lee, lying unconscious on the stretcher.

"Sand nin?" questioned the blond, remembering the red-haired, green-eyed boy. "You don't mean Gaara?

"That was his name, yes. It was an awesome fight. Lee gave his all and almost beat him." Said Guy, eyes resting on his student's form. "But there's something abnormal with the other boy. Not just physically but also mentally… He crushed Lee's arm and leg." Naruto, ran his eyes towards Lee's extremities. His left leg and arm were completely covered in blood, preventing the blond to see clearly the extent of the damage. One thing was sure, Lee's hand and foot no longer looked like such.

"Please, Tsunade-sama." Pleaded Guy, approaching the sannin. "Heal my student."

"I'll do my best." The woman replied, analyzing his hand.

"Thank you very much…" The jounin said, while his eyes rested on his favorite student. 'Fuzzy-Brow's very strong but still Gaara almost kill him… I must be careful.' Naruto told to himself.

"All finalists get to the fighting area."

"Get going, Naruto." Ordered Kurenai. Naruto obeyed and left, but not before wishing good luck to Hinata and Lee inwardly.

'So the final matches are gonna be held in a moth, in front of a big-ass audience with important people from other villages, very much like a tournament. The only thing is that no matter who wins, anyone or no one can get to become chuunin, depending on the skills shown.' Those were Naruto's conclusions of the whole situation, explained by the Sandaime Hokage. He looked up as the old man stepped aside, so Anko would show everyone a board with the match ups for the tournament. Naruto smirked as he gazed at the first match.

Uzumaki Naruto Vs Hyuuga Neji

Things like that made him wonder if there was really something like destiny or fate. Who cared, anyway? The only thing that mattered was that he was going to kill Hinata's cousin. The blond forced himself to stop thinking of ways to kill Neji, to see the other matches.

Uchiha Sasuke Vs Gaara

Kankurou Vs Aburame Shino

Temari Vs Nara Shikamaru

'Sasuke's got Gaara…' The blond narrowed his eyes. 'The guy is very unstable, I can tell just by looking into his eyes and sensing his thirst for blood. He could even take out some of the power of his bijuu and Sasuke'd be dead for sure.' There was nothing he could do about that. Sasuke would have to become far lot stronger than he was, and faster, even more than Lee, to escape anything the Jinchuriki would throw at him. 'That'd be the only way for Sasuke to stay alive while fighting Gaara. But knowing him, he'll want to win the match no matter what it takes him. If he tries to do that he will surely be seriously wounded at some point, if not dead.' Naruto knitted his eyebrows together. He didn't want Gaara to hurt his teammate. The only way to keep Sasuke alive and well was to prevent him from fighting him. Perhaps if he convinced the Uchiha to forfeit… Naruto put that idea aside immediately. The young Sharingan wielder would refuse without a second thought.

Damn… why caring for Sasuke's well being is such a pain in the ass? He would have to talk to Kakashi on the matter. Maybe he can do something.

"That would be all you have to know." Said Sarutobi. "Train hard. We will see you again in thirty days. Good luck."

Kakashi looked down at the street from the broken window he was standing in. The person he had been fighting against was no longer in sight, he had disappeared in a puff of smoke pretty much like every other ninja. He turned to the only living person that remained on the room. Uchiha Sasuke was breathing into his oxygen mask, still recovering from the sealing technique Kakashi had put him through. The gray haired ninja looked now to the scattered bodies of several ANBU that had been there to protect the Uchiha. 'All killed in less than ten minutes… That boy is someone to take care of.'

He had been there on time to stop Kabuto from doing Kami-knows-what on Sasuke.

'Geez Sasuke, I don't want to think what might happen if Orochimaru gets to you again.'

The jounin waited a few minutes for the medical team to arrive, along with Ibiki and his crew. They both shared a curt nod and the copy cat nin climbed down the hospital stairs. An urge to reach down for his dirty little book struck him but there were more important matters to take care of.

'Naruto is up next.' He told himself as he get to the hospital counter. 'Where do I start looking firs-'

"Watcha doing here, sensei?" the blond's voice reached him from behind. The jounin smiled to himself. "Checking on Sasuke?"

"You got it right, Naruto." Responded the teacher, turning to his student. He hadn't seen him since the prelims of the chuunin exams, almost two days ago. Two very visible dark rings were adorning his eyes. Kakashi had a fair idea of what the reason was.

"How's the bastard doing?" The blond asked as he look at his fingernails with no apparent interest, but Kakashi knew that Naruto did care for his teammate.

"He'll come around in no time. As soon as he is in shape I'll start training him for the finals." Naruto nodded.

"You know who his rival is, don't you?" the blond questioned. Kakashi nodded his head.

"But, do you know what he is?" The Hatake's face became serious.

"Yes." A moment of silence passed between them.

"Do you think that Sasuke can get out of that fight alive?"

"I'll make sure he does, don't worry Naruto." Naruto looked at his sensei gratefully. Then he spoke.

"Who says I'm worried? That's his damn problem. I couldn't care less about him." Kakashi smiled.

"Anyways, the Third needs to see you in his office as soon as possible." The blond cocked an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"For your incident on the forest, Naruto." Kakashi said seriously. The blond looked to the ground.

"You mean the fox." Naruto said that quietly. It was a statement, not a question. "How did he know? How did you know?"

"He's a powerful ninja. And I'm your sensei. He supposed I needed to know." The blond didn't say anything.

"Let's get going." Suggested the grey haired jounin.

"Fine." Sighed the boy. "But I need to do something else first."

"The Hyuuga girl can wait. The fox not."

"But-"

"There'll be plenty of time for you to visit her. Now let's go." Naruto glared, Kakashi smiled as he padded the blond on the back.

The Hokage sighed sadly as he looked at the paper on his hand. The report from the hospital incident not long ago had just arrived. Seven Konoha black-ops had just lost their lives to what he once thought was a loyal Konoha genin. Seven families were going to get bad news today. The veteran raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed yet again. His eyes darted to another document lying on his cramped desk. It had the name of the assassin on top of it. He opened it, finding the face of Yakushi Kabuto staring back at him with absolutely no expression at all.

Sarutobi opened a drawer and took out a big rubber stamp and inked it. Gently but firmly, the old man pressed the stamp on top of the document. The document now had big, red letters all over it. It said: MISSING NIN.

'Now you're the same as your master.' He said to himself, putting away all the documents. He raised his eyes. His guard was knocking on the door.

"Hokage-sama, Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto are here." Said the jounin at the other side.

"Let them in." he ordered. The guard didn't speak again. Immediately, the door opened, revealing Kakashi and his blond student.

"Kakashi. Naruto." He acknowledged warmly. The jounin replied with a respectful "Hokage-sama" while Naruto just Hn-ed, pretty much like his Uchiha friend. Obviously he didn't want to be there. The Hatake shot him a glare, which Naruto pretended not to see.

"Please, take a seat." Once the two were seated, Sarutobi spoke.

"I suppose you already know what you're here for, Naruto." The old man's eyes rested on the blond. Naruto mumbled a "yeah".

"How long have you been aware of your… prisoner's presence?" Sarutobi started, trying to be as gentle as possible.

"Dunno… maybe four months." Shrugged the blond. Sarutobi nodded.

"And in those six months, how was your interaction with the beast?" Naruto looked away. Telling the story of how he was cheated by the demon would make him look stupid for sure.

"We had a deal at first." Begun the blond. "He would train me, make me stronger, and I would give him freedom at times."

"At the forest, was the first time I let his chakra out." Continued Naruto. "I don't know if you know this already or not. But it was against Orochimaru…" Kakashi and the Hokage looked at each other sharply.

"Carry on." Said the Third.

"Well, I got three chakra tails out, and it was all good. But the fox keep pushing more chakra, until it finally overwhelmed me. I just couldn't… it was like I was losing myself." He tried to remember how it felt. How hot chakra ran through his veins. How it felt almost like it burned.

"There was a point where I thought the fox was going to control me… or my body, I can't tell for sure." Naruto's eyes were glued to the floor. "He was acting like crazy. That's when I realized he just wanted to get out. To get out and kill everyone."

"One more tail, he said. One more tail and I'll take over." It was then that he realized he had started to sweat. Sarutobi as well as Kakashi remained quiet. They were trying to digest what had almost happen. That night, the Kyuubi no Kitsune might have returned.

"Naruto, you must know that what you have inside is both a curse and a blessing." Said Sarutobi. "But more importantly, when the Yondaime placed this among you, he meant it for you to be considered a savior of this village and possibly the whole ninja world." At this the blond snorted.

"People sure treat me like a savior." He said sarcastically. Sarutobi's eyes couldn't look sadder.

"The pain the Kyuubi caused is still fresh among the villagers. They hate the Kyuubi. Not you. And hate is something that prevents them from seeing the true nature of things."

"Just give them time." Naruto didn't say anything. He knew that. Maybe not everyone was going to stop hating him. No one is loved by everyone. The problem was… well… no one loved him. He shook his thoughts off that. Shit, why was he getting sentimental now? Damn fox with his damn nightmares that messed up with his mind.

"So, old man. Can I go now? I told you everything about the fox." Said Naruto.

"Not so fast." Replied the Hokage. "There are other matters that have to be dealt with." The Hokage turned to the window.

"You can come in now, Jiraiya."

"Ah! Finally." Exclaimed the white haired man as he entered the office.

"How long have you been out there?" demanded the genin.

"Long enough, brat." Replied the sannin with a grin.

"What do you thing, Jiraiya?" questioned the Third.

"He's got a strong will to repel the Kyuubi's chakra." Said Jiraiya going over a wall and leaning on it. "But that's not gonna work again if he goes mad because of the lack of sleep." Naruto arched both eyebrows.

"How did you know?"

"I'm the toad hermit. My power is immense. No one and nothing can fool me." He said. "Besides, those dark rings give you away." Naruto huffed childishly and crossed his arms.

"You shall make sure Naruto never falls again under the Kyuubi's spell. And, preferably, help Naruto control the kitsune's power." Said Sarutobi firmly. He turned to Kakashi. "I hope, Kakashi, that you're okay on letting Jiraiya-sama teach your student for an undefined period of time."

"Perfectly fine with it, Hokage-sama. I can't wait to get rid of him." Noticing the death glare Naruto was sending his direction, the jounin ruffled his hair playfully.

"Don't worry Naruto. Jiraiya-sensei is a great teacher. Better than me. You're in good hands."

"Yeah, right." mumbled the blond. 'Well, at least he's not a pervert like Kakashi.'

Author's section

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C'ya later

- Patty