Disclaimer: Naruto and all associated characters are property of Masashi Kishimoto

Jutsu: Original (Translation)

Bijū/Summon Speaking

Bijū/Summon Thoughts

Naruto mental reply

! - dattebayo

Edited: 4/21/16

Chapter 28

Cleansing Chakra

Next Day – Naruto's Apartment


Naruto woke up and stretched happily. For the first time since he was marked, he managed to get a good night's rest.

He headed into his bathroom to go through his morning routine before taking a long shower to enjoy the hot water running over him.

He had managed to have a little fun last night, even with Orochimaru's constant comments. Naruto bought the same bottle of sake that Kakashi had given to them for their first drink and managed to have a lovely evening of dinner and relaxation. It seemed being drunk either quieted the snake or Naruto had just become more oblivious to him because of the sake.

As the blond got dressed, he wondered why the effects of sake never lasted as long as it did for the others. Perhaps it was his stamina or the healing factor he received from Kurama. Something to find out when he was reunited with Kurama once more.

Naruto left his apartment for the Hokage Tower hoping that this person he was going to meet would be able to help him.

Hokage's Office – Hokage Tower


Jiraiya sat across from his sensei waiting for the arrival of the latest victim in Orochimaru's twisted games. Ever since he had lost his apprentice and his family on the night of the Kyūbi attack, he had put all his focus on finding his former teammate and making him pay for all his schemes.

The bastard always managed to get away while taunting him about being a dead last and a failure. There was nothing worse to Jiraiya then when that jackass would rub his skills in his face. Sure he was a bit goofy in his youth, and he was an unabashed pervert by his own admission but he worked hard, and he grew skilled.

Minato was proof that Jiraiya wasn't a failure. Minato was powerful, smart, charming and Jiraiya truly believed that Minato would have surpassed even the legends like Tobirama, Hashirama, and even Madara.

For a time, Jiraiya had been content enough in his life where he didn't feel the wanderlust that usually struck him. When Minato had succeeded his sensei as Hokage and began to start his family with Kushina, Jiraiya had almost felt complete. The vivacious pair had always made him feel like he was a part of their family and Jiraiya couldn't wait to spoil their little brat and teach him all kinds of things.

Then he got a solid lead on Orochimaru and had to leave the village right before Kushina was due to give birth, he had been reluctant to leave, but his contact had been adamant that he knew where Orochimaru was located so Jiraiya left to pursue the lead.

He ended up flushing out a base full of Orochimaru's experiments before battling his former teammate directly. Then Orochimaru ran away like a bitch, just like he always did, but not before taunting Jiraiya about Konoha burning at the hands of the Kyūbi.

Jiraiya had rushed back to the village only to see the village cleaning up from, by all appearances, a major disaster. Since it was still early in the morning, he quickly tried to find Minato at home and saw that their usual home was destroyed. Next, he tried the second house, but it was completely empty. This began to worry Jiraiya because Kushina should have been home with a baby in her arms if Tsunade was right on her due date.

Jiraiya then went to the Hokage Tower only to feel the bottom drop out of his world when he saw his sensei behind the desk with a solemn look on his face. Seeing the old Sarutobi enrobed in his old robes with the Hokage hat resting on the desk in front of him was all the confirmation he needed. He knew then that Minato was dead.

His sensei had filled him in on how the Kyūbi somehow escaped, appeared directly in the village and began rampaging through the village without warning. The civilian casualties were high, and the shinobi forces had been hit hard as well.

Minato and Kushina were able to subdue the Kyūbi but were both impaled through their chest and abdomen in a last ditch effort by the Kyūbi as he tried to escape. Minato still managed to complete the Shiki Fūjin (Reaper Death Seal) to seal the Kyūbi into an orphan child before succumbing to his wounds. The child was then hidden away from everyone for safety.

Jiraiya had become distraught and for a few weeks simply mourned after his lost surrogate family. He had then decided to amp up his spy network, even more, to find this masked man that Minato mentioned with his dying breath, and to find Orochimaru since he apparently knew about the event as well. The bastard probably was involved somehow.

That had been the beginning of his constant 3-year journeys out of the village with a few days of checking back in before he went out for another 3 years. Not even Tsunade would have been able to keep Jiraiya in the village.

Now, his old teammate had marked the jinchūriki, apparently, and was gunning for the Uchiha survivor as well. Jiraiya knew that Orochimaru had his hands deep into this upcoming invasion along with Danzō.

Hopefully, Orochimaru didn't do something foolish with the jinchūriki to cause the Kyūbi to escape again. He would have his hands full trying to stop it and either he or sensei would have to die to seal it away again.

Jiraiya was an intuitive person, he always had been, and he could tell that his sensei was hiding something from him. He just couldn't figure out what exactly. It was as if his sensei knew something really big was about to occur and was almost anticipating his reaction to it. As Jiraiya was running the possibilities through his head, the door swung open without a knock and Jiraiya couldn't breathe.

There standing in the doorway was Minato. It was like Minato had come back to life as a genin but he had whisker marks on his face and a more serious expression. The mini-Minato merely bowed to him briefly before walking up towards his sensei.

"Morning, jiji! Is he the man I was supposed to meet today?" the boy asked with a glance towards him.

"Yes, Naruto-kun, this is him. How are you doing today?" Hiruzen asked with a concerned tone.

Jiraiya was frozen when he hear the boy's name. Naruto. The boy who was to be his godson. It couldn't be possible. His sensei wouldn't have lied to him about something like this, would he?

"It's not so bad right now, jiji, but he still likes to make me relive my memories at random, so I'm sorry if I space out on you," Naruto grumbled.

"Is he okay, jiji? He hasn't moved or said anything." Naruto said as he looked over towards Jiraiya with his head tilted to the side and a curious expression on his face.

Hiruzen merely chuckled. "Naruto-kun, I want you to meet Jiraiya of the Sannin. He was your father's shishō (master) and like the others, he was not aware of your survival."

Naruto merely hummed for a minute as he studied the shell-shocked Toad Sannin.

He was sitting in a chair, but Naruto could tell that he was a very tall and large framed man who was probably pretty bulky in general. He had long white hair in a shaggy ponytail and large shoulder-length bangs that framed his face. There were red marks that ran from beneath his eyes to his jawline, reminding Naruto of a much narrower version of Kiba's own clan marks. The Sannin wore a flat green gi top over a kusari (chain mail) shirt and kusari forearm guards with matching gi pants and kusari shin guards. He wore a red sleeveless haori over everything and red geta sandals. He also had an enormous scroll propped up next to him.

Naruto gave him a few moments to recover before he approached. "Hello, Jiraiya-sama. I am Naruto Uzumaki and yes I am the Yondaime's son, but I didn't know that myself for some time." Naruto said.

Naruto cast a sly glance over at Hiruzen "Jiji, seems to like his secrets." he said in a conspiratorial whisper that was far too loud to be considered discreet.

Hiruzen merely sighed while he waited for Jiraiya to recover from his shock.

Jiraiya looked over at Hiruzen with a hurt look on his face "Is it really true sensei? Is he really Minato's son?" he said in almost a whisper.

"Yes, Jiraiya. It is true. I had to keep him a secret from everyone after the Kyūbi attack. Iwa was actively probing our defenses, Danzō was practically drooling over him, and the clan heads were all angling for him for various different reasons. It would have only been worse if they realized he was Minato's son." Hiruzen said with a sad shake of his head.

"Minato wished for me to keep him safe no matter what so I felt it would be best if he were hidden away as someone that wouldn't be seen as a high-value target or weapon. I had hoped to give him a normal childhood, but that was all ruined by Danzō." Hiruzen said wistfully.

"Why didn't you tell me sensei. You know better than anyone I can keep a secret." Jiraiya said as he shot out of his chair.

"Because you and I both know you would have taken a more active role in his life, and it would have been too obvious, Jiraiya. I regret that I didn't tell you sooner, and it was a mistake that I already apologized to Naruto-kun for as well. Even now this is a risk, but I couldn't ignore the greater threat to Naruto-kun, and that is Orochimaru's Curse Seal of Earth on him and how it may affect the seal on the Kyūbi." Hiruzen said.

"Fine! But this isn't over sensei. You are right, though, the seal is the greater danger at the moment." Jiraiya said as he looked down at Naruto.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. It was just such a shock to see you when I thought I had lost you so long ago." Jiraiya said with a look somewhere between longing and guilt. "You look so much like your father I thought you were him for a moment. I am very glad to meet you now, though, and I'm happy that you, at least, got to take your mother's name." Jiraiya said as he knelt before Naruto and placed his hands on his shoulders to study him closely.

"You should have seen the look on jiji's face when I chose it from the registrar. It was the Kyūbi's idea to mess with him by choosing that name." Naruto said with a snicker.

Hiruzen merely harrumphed at that comment. He should have known that it was too much of a coincidence.

"Is that so? So you are already in communication with the Kyūbi eh? How is that going for you?" Jiraiya asked nonchalantly but inwardly he was unsettled by the implications.

"I was in communication with him until that snake bastard put the mark on me," Naruto said with a growl. "The real Kyūbi is grumpy and hates almost everyone but isn't mean to me and helps me with fūinjutsu and chakra control. Kyūbi always says I amuse him with my choices and that he rather be entertained than to break free only to have to reform or be sealed again." Naruto said.

"So you can't hear the Kyūbi now because of the mark?" Jiraiya asked as he processed the other information. If the Kyūbi wasn't hostile, then he could probably teach Naruto to harness its power like Killer B.

"Yea. Orochimaru tried to act like Kyūbi, but he was acting suspicious and deceitful which I never sensed from Kyūbi, so I knew it was something else. It wasn't until Sasuke and Hinata told me what happened after the fight that I learned what actually happened. It was like a chunk of my memories were just gone until Kakashi-sensei used that suppression seal on me. After he had applied that seal, I started to get all my memories back slowly." Naruto explained.

"Alright let me get a look at the mark first then we will examine your seal to make sure nothing bad has happened to it," Jiraiya said.

Naruto nodded and pulled down his turtleneck to show Jiraiya the mark itself.

"Hmm, so it is definitely an improved version of his Curse Seal of Earth. Unfortunately, there is nothing that I know of that can remove the mark itself. I can put a stronger sealing method on it than what is currently here so Orochimaru can't run amok inside your head anymore but it won't block his voice out." Jiraiya said.

Naruto just nodded morosely. He had hoped Jiraiya could remove it, but a stronger seal was better than nothing he supposed.

Orochimaru was laughing and running through a list of insults about Jiraiya. Listing off all his failures during their time as a team under the Hokage, and how Tsunade consistently shut him down because he was a loser.

"Now, let's look at your Hakke no Fūin Shiki and make sure that is still intact," Jiraiya said.

Naruto nodded and lifted up his shirt before channeling chakra to his stomach.

"Well, that is... interesting. Do you remember being struck in your stomach at all Naruto?" Jiraiya asked.

"No. I don't really remember anything from the fight with Orochimaru and before that I wasn't really struck there directly by anyone." Naruto responded.

"Have you been having problems channeling your chakra or using it efficiently?" Jiraiya asked.

He had to be certain since this seal was directly over the Kyūbi's seal but it appeared to be a Gogyō Fūin (Five Elements Seal) or a really sloppy Shidaigenso Fūin (Four Elements Seal). The Gogyō Fūin would serve to block chakra flow while the Shidaigenso Fūin would attempt to contain the chakra flow within the seal which wouldn't be very effective but was a possible counter to the Kyūbi's influence. Jiraiya suspected it was the Gogyō Fūin since overlapping an even prong seal with an odd one would be the easiest way to block the Kyūbi, and Orochimaru was not very good at fūinjutsu.

"Yea. Ever since the Forest of Death phase of the exams my chakra control has been shot and very inconsistent. Almost like it is fluctuating instead of flowing. I had to redo a lot of my chakra control exercises just to use a jutsu that would be effective." Naruto said

"I think I know what caused that," Jiraiya said with a frown. "If I'm correct in my assumption it is what has cut you off from the Kyūbi as well. I can fix it, but it looks like the Kyūbi has also been working on it." Jiraiya said.

Both Orochimaru and Kurama heard what Jiraiya said and began to prepare themselves for an internal battle.

Orochimaru knew that as soon as Jiraiya removed that seal, the Kyūbi was going to come after him with a vengeance to try and contain him and torture him until the seal could be eliminated. He also knew that a lot of the areas he was blocked from by the Kyūbi would also be removed by the Gogyō Kaiin (Five Elements Unseal) since all the seals the Kyūbi had put in place were below five point arrays.

He had to dig into Naruto's psyche deeply as soon as that seal was removed. He figured he could hide away in Naruto's subconscious mind where the Kyūbi was blocked from by the Hakke no Fūin Shiki. Then he could continue to torment and break Naruto down freely.

Kurama was well aware that when the seal was removed, most of his defenses against snake bastard's influence would be removed as well. He would have to do something he never wanted to do and seize control of Naruto so he could lock his mind away behind the Hakke no Fūin Shiki where the filthy snake bastard couldn't reach him.

Kurama almost licked his chops in anticipation. If the snake did try to pursue Naruto beyond that seal, he would be at his mercy. He really hoped the stupid snake would try it.

"Sensei, you're going to need a good security seal to contain the chakra cause I have no doubt the Kyūbi's chakra will burst forth. It looks like it has been putting a lot of effort into breaking the block over the seal." Jiraiya said.

"Naruto-kun, why don't you put one of your special seals for now," Hiruzen said.

"Okay. Jiji!" Naruto said before he pulled out a seal tag from his hip pouch and placed it on the ground before activating it.

Jiraiya was impressed with the brief look he managed to take. That seal array looked pretty complicated, and there were a few elements that looked almost foreign to him, which was a surprise. He looked forward to seeing what the kid was capable of.

"Alright, Naruto. This is going to hurt badly just so you know." Jiraiya said as he began channeling the seals to his fingertips.

Naruto just nodded and pulled his shirt back up before bracing himself.

Jiraiya slammed his fingertips over the seal and called out "Gogyō Kaiin!"

Naruto felt a searing pain flash through his body and for a moment felt his bond with Kurama again with Kurama yelling at him to hand him control quickly. Before he could say anything, he felt a searing pain shoot through his head.

Naruto cried out in pain while clutching his head and collapsing to his knees before he reached for that bond he felt with Kurama and let himself fall into it like he was entering his mindscape.

To Jiraiya and Hiruzen, Naruto just appeared to cry out and collapse before passing out for a moment. Then a massive surge of the Kyūbi's chakra erupted from Naruto's prone form before retracting just as quickly.

Jiraiya and Hiruzen ran over to Naruto and rolled him onto his back to check on him. Naruto slowly opened his eyes, but Jiraiya and Hiruzen stumbled back as they saw his eyes were red with slit pupils.

"Naruto" shook his head slightly before sitting up and looking around. When he spotted Hiruzen and Jiraiya leaning over his face, he narrowed his eyes and snarled to make them back off.

"Kyūbi! What have you done? Release Naruto-kun now." Hiruzen said sternly.

"Listen to me you worthless mortals and listen well. If you wish to spare the kit the torment from that filthy snake, then you will need to find the key to the Hakke no Fūin Shiki. Once the key is found you must take the kit to Myōbokuzan (Mount Myōboku) and inscribe the key on the kit so that I can then gain access to the pure natural chakra there to remove this filthy curse mark." Kyūbi-Naruto said.

"Why should I trust you with the key? Why would we need to go to Myōbokuzan?" Jiraiya replied.

"The curse mark uses tainted natural chakra, too tainted to be cleansed with a normal amount of chakra. I need access to the pure chakra of the summoning realms. I need the key so that I can release enough of the seal to make sure that I control the process of absorbing the natural chakra while keeping the kit safe." Kyūbi-Naruto said before glaring at Jiraiya. "You are a sage and a so-called seal master. How could you not figure this out, fool? I am certain you are aware of the dangers of what you refer to as sage mode on a young kit's body." Kyūbi-Naruto snapped.

"How do we know that you won't just free yourself once we give him the key?" Hiruzen said.

"Silence! I have no desire to placate your foolish fears any longer. Shall I just release control and let the snake take full control of the kit? I will have no qualms about forcing my way out and laying waste to this village if that happens." Kyūbi-Naruto snarled out before bearing his teeth at them.

"Wait! Don't do that! Let's not be hasty now." Jiraiya interjected while Hiruzen scowled at him.

"You just want the mark removed right? How about I keep the key and open what you need then reseal it up after everything is successful. Surely that is reasonable right?" Jiraiya said in a coercive tone.

Kyūbi-Naruto snorted. "That is acceptable, but do not dispute me on how much the seal must be opened. Also, you must agree not to completely cut me off from the kit once you close the seal back up, or the consequences to the kit will be dire."

"Alright, then. We have a deal, but I will need Naruto to be aware of signing the contract and performing his first successful summon before the toads will allow him to go to Myōbokuzan." Jiraiya warned.

Kyūbi-Naruto seemed to ponder this for a moment. "The kit is aware of what needs to be done, but I will only be able to provide a small window without that snake causing debilitating pain to try and stop it. We will need to proceed to an area sufficient for one of these toads to inhabit unless you wish to cause collateral damage to this place."

Jiraiya looked over at Hiruzen.

"If there won't be any flaring of your chakra you can use a regular training ground. If you do have to use your chakra, then we should proceed to the special training ground instead." Hiruzen said warily.

"The special training ground would be best. I will need to shelter the kit in my chakra to keep him safe from the snake during that time before I return him to the seal for protection." Kyūbi-Naruto announced.

"Grab onto me and I will Shunshin us directly to the entrance to avoid any unwanted eyes," Hiruzen said.

Kyūbi-Naruto and Jiraiya put their hands on his shoulders before Hiruzen transferred them all to the tunnel entrance inside the Sarutobi compound.

Chakra Cave Training Ground – Outskirts of Konoha


Kyūbi-Naruto stood in front of Jiraiya and listened as Jiraiya showed him the hand seals for summoning the toads. Jiraiya then summoned Gama and had him extend the scroll to be signed.

"The kit is ready. I will return control to him briefly and have him sign the scroll quickly. If the toads confirm him as a summoner at that point, I will return him to the seal and retain control until the mark is removed." Kyūbi-Naruto explained.

"I hope he doesn't summon Bunta. He can be a real pain in the ass if he wants." Jiraiya mumbled.

There was a brief flash of Kyūbi's chakra before Naruto suddenly jolted forwards and bit his thumb. Naruto signed the contract quickly and then quickly ran through the signs calling out Kuchiyose no Jutsu as he slammed his hand down on the ground.

Because Naruto had not actively channeled his chakra since the Gogyō Fūin had been removed he naturally overcompensated resulting in overpowering the summoning technique and calling forth Gamabunta, much to Jiraiya's chagrin.

"Oi! Jiraiya! Why the hell are you summoning me inside this cave! Are you trying to crush me or something?" Gamabunta roared out.

Gamabunta was as flush as possible with the ground leaving only a small amount of clearance with the ceiling. Luckily for Naruto and Gamabunta, most of the stalactites in the designated area had already been knocked loose by previous jutsu training. Now, only a dozen much larger stalactites remained that were pressing in on Gamabunta's massive girth adding to his annoyance.

"It wasn't me that summoned you Gamabunta. Your new summoner in on your head there." Jiraiya said with his hands held up. The last thing he wanted was to blow even more ryō gaining Bunta's forgiveness.

Gamabunta rolled his eyes up to Naruto, who was prone on Gamabunta's head to avoid being squashed.

Naruto crawled down onto his nose so Gamabunta could see him easier before replying.

"I apologize for summoning you in this cave Gamabunta-sama, but it was my first attempt, and I was uncertain of how much chakra I should put in," Naruto said with a bow.

"Hmmm, you look familiar to me, squirt. Who are you anyways." Gamabunta said.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki son of Minato Namikaze," Naruto said while still bowing. He could feel Kurama stirring and knew his time was growing short.

"Hmph. Well, at least, your more respectful then that brat Jiraiya. I will accept you as a summoner, for now, but you better prove yourself worthy before you dare sit on my head again boy." Gamabunta said in warning.

"I understand, Gamabunta-sama," Naruto said before jumping onto a stalactite and sliding down towards the ground. Gamabunta returned to Myōbokuzan grumbling about being summoned in the most stupid places.

By the time Naruto touched the ground, Kurama was in control again.

"Damn. He didn't give you any trouble at all, lucky brat. I know I would have caught a lot more trouble from him for summoning him here." Jiraiya said.

"Tch. That's because the kit knows how to show the proper respect to those that are beyond him." Kyūbi-Naruto replied.

"Yes, well. I suppose we should get this show on the road then." Jiraiya said with an awkward chuckle. "Just hop onto Gama here and we will be in Myōbokuzan shortly. However, I will have to talk with Ma and Pa about this process since they are the keepers of Myōbokuzan and will likely want to meet with Naruto."

Kyūbi-Naruto growled. "I care not for such pleasantries, but the kit can not remain in this state for long as the snake is finding ways to attack him without traversing the seal. We have limited time, mortal. Keep that in mind."

That was an outright lie, but Kurama didn't want to reveal the intricacies of chakra to these mortals, and he was eager to remove all the filth from his kit so that he could make sure his pure soul was still intact. Already he had sensed some lingering darkness inside of the kit's mind and hoped it wasn't permanent. He knew it was a risk, but he would purge the kit's whole chakra system once the individual taint was cleared and then try to regulate any strange effects to his growth or maturation process.

"Right. Gama, take us back to Ma and Pa if you please." Jiraiya said.

Soon Naruto, Jiraiya, and Gama disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Hiruzen returned to his office feeling helpless and concerned. All his hopes lie with the Kyūbi, and that fact was what disturbed him the most.

Myōbokuzan – Unknown Land


Kyūbi-Naruto and Jiraiya arrived in a cloud of smoke to see two small toads standing in front of them.

Kyūbi-Naruto narrowed his eyes at them as he reached out with his senses. He didn't sense any hostility, so far, but he knew that most bijū weren't on good terms with the summoning creatures.

The summoning creatures were descendants of real animals that had been exposed to a raw burst of concentrated natural chakra during the early formation of the bijū, and these creatures had developed the ability to evolve at a rapid pace. Within three or four generations these creatures obtained pseudo-immortality and, eventually, intelligence that comes to all beings with unnaturally long lives and accelerated healing.

The various races made contact with different tribes of nomadic humans and either formed a symbiotic partnership with humanity or were worshiped as spirits of nature by other humans. However, all of the summoning races had small populations during those years and not long after they had established themselves within the world, the formation of human villages and widespread war began.

The summoning creatures feared their fledgling races would die out, so they left the humans behind and bringing some of their unevolved kin with them, found untouched lands with high amounts of natural chakra to bolster their numbers and guarantee the survival of their race.

The summoning creatures dispersed along species and claimed these various areas, but would maintain different ways of interacting with the humans that had been essential in their survival by forming contracts that were actual space-time jutsu in disguise.

The humans could call on them when they needed aid, but the home of the summoning creatures would remain safely hidden from everyone who wasn't an ally or loyal to those races. The blood used to summon was, in essence, a key to unlock the jutsu that the summoning creatures made, and any of the creatures could choose to answer that call if they desired.

Due to this, they were highly attuned to natural chakra itself and had wrongly believed that bijū were unnatural manifestations of chakra that were upsetting the balance of the world. Since it took multiple generations of summoned creatures to gain intelligence, they weren't aware that their creation was merely a side effect of bijū manifestation.

He wouldn't tell them that because nobody took the news that their existence was merely a result of an accident too well.

"Hey Ma, Pa I'd like to introduce you to Naruto here, but we have a situation that needs to be explained first," Jiraiya said.

"Well, Jiraiya-chan, what kind of situation are we talking about here?" Fukasaku (Pa) asked.

"Orochimaru marked Naruto here with a cursed seal. We have a way to remove the seal. However, it requires pure natural chakra to balance out the tainted natural chakra that is put into the curse seal." Jiraiya explained.

"Jiraiya-chan, are you suggesting that Naruto-chan learns sage mode already?" Pa asked.

"Not exactly, Pa, you see the Kyūbi offered to do it for Naruto since he is aware of the dangers of sage mode on a young boy's body," Jiraiya said sheepishly.

"Are you saying Naruto-chan is the jinchūriki of the Kyūbi?" Shima (Ma) asked in a scandalized tone.

"That's right, Ma. Naruto here was Minato's son and has the Kyūbi sealed within him." Jiraiya replied.

"So that explains why he is emanating two different and very foul auras right now, the poor boy," Shima said.

"Well, Jiraiya-chan, he seems a little too young for sage mode which would be needed to be established first, before you can direct that chakra into the tainted chakra. The Kyūbi won't be able to direct the chakra in a manner while there is any seal present," Fukasaku said with a frown.

"I know, Pa. That's why I'm going to take the key from Gerotora and loosen the seal so that the Kyūbi can create the balance himself without affecting Naruto's body." Jiraiya said.

Fukasaku and Shima looked at Kyūbi-Naruto for a moment while they discussed the situation among themselves quietly.

"Normally we wouldn't agree to this, Jiraiya-chan, but the boy is truly in a dangerous position. All we would require is to siphon some of the tainted chakra as evidence to use against Orochimaru. The Snakes may not be the most honorable of races, but they also do not approve of corrupting natural chakra. If we obtain this, we may convince the snakes to abandon Orochimaru as a summoner." Fukasaku said.

"That would be great, Pa. How do we go about doing that? Will it cause any problems for Naruto?" Jiraiya said with a devious grin.

If Orochimaru lost the ability to summon the snakes, then he would lose a great deal of his current jutsu arsenal. Plus, Jiraiya would really love to rub it in Orochimaru's face. He loved it when he first revealed sage mode to Orochimaru and watched how pissed off that bastard got that he had surpassed him.

Before Fukasaku could reply Kyūbi-Naruto interjected "It will not be an issue. When I begin the process, I will be able to isolate the tainted chakra before purging it from the kit. You can collect the sample from the seal directly on his neck since I will be isolating all of that filth there."

Fukasaku and Shima looked a bit shaken at his deep and gravelly voice.

"Sorry. Ma, Pa, I should have warned you, but the Kyūbi is keeping Naruto behind the seal at the moment because Orochimaru had begun to attack his mind viciously or we risked losing him otherwise." Jiraiya said abashedly.

"It's alright, Jiraiya-chan. Why don't you two head over to the toad oil pool while I prepare us some snacks." Shima said.

Jiraiya looked a little ill "Ah, You don't have to go through all that trouble on our account, Ma."

He knew what toads liked to eat and tried to avoid it at all costs.

"Nonsense. I'm sure Naruto-chan here will be hungry after all this." Shima said over her shoulder.

Kyūbi-Naruto merely shrugged and followed Fukasaku as he walked in a different direction.

Jiraiya felt sorry for Naruto as he followed after them. He wondered what it would be like to see yourself eating something like that and not being able to stop it.

As they walked to the pool, Fukasaku became curious. "How exactly is this supposed to work on removing the seal?"

"To truly understand, you will have to know that the filthy snake used tainted natural chakra infused with small portion of his own spiritual essence for his curse mark. The tainted chakra is stored in the seal, and the body absorbs it and converts it into contaminated Yin and Yang chakra which travels through the chakra pathways and tenketsu spreading throughout the body and further corrupting more chakra. This allows the seal to keep a reserve of the tainted natural chakra to power itself. The snake managed to infuse this reserve of tainted chakra with his spiritual essence so he can attack the kit physically and mentally since the portion of his spirit can now travel through pathways that are tainted. Finally, there is a link mark within the curse seal that allows him to be connected with the target's spirit so he can influence and control them." Kyūbi-Naruto explained.

"So he can control the essence to attack any part of the victims spirit to mess with emotions or physical body such as the mind itself," Jiraiya added.

"Correct. If I weren't holding the kit behind the Hakke no Fūin Shiki right now, he would be experiencing assaults on both his mental and spiritual being. The tainted chakra simply adds to the effect tempting the boy to give into negative emotions." Kyūbi-Naruto added.

"With that understanding, you can see that the basis for the mark's existence relies on the tainted chakra to continue cycling through the body. The snake tempts them to use this chakra which will then draw in ambient natural chakra and taint it as well so the seal constantly remains powered even if the victim continuously draws on that reserve. Plus, it gives a fake sage mode strength and speed boost to the host when they succumb to the foul snake's will." Kyūbi-Naruto continued.

"That's why we have never been able to remove the curse marks, because most seal arrays are incapable of discerning a particular type of chakra, and the users succumb because of Orochimaru's will and the lure of the false sage mode," Jiraiya said in realization.

"How will we be able to balance out the natural chakra within Naruto-chan's body without the harmful effects of Sage mode occurring?" Fukasaku asked.

"Simple. My chakra and the kit's chakra are intertwined, and I am a chakra being. I will run the balance of chakra through my own yang base, using the kit's yin base. I will draw the natural chakra into the seal's space and create the balance needed within the mindscape so the kit's physical body is not affected. Once the balance has been achieved, I will draw it through my own body and inject it into the seal continuously. The kit will still be exposed to the natural chakra when I pull it in briefly, and when I use it to flush the seal on his neck. I will regulate this so that the harmful effects are negated but there will still be some impact on his development and may manifest some changes in any kits he has." Kyūbi-Naruto explained.

"Will Naruto-chan have enough Yin chakra to complete the balance?" Fukasaku asked.

"He probably has more than enough because of the Uzumaki bloodline. That's why Minato chose to seal the Yang portion inside of him instead of the Yin so that it could fuse with his naturally higher Yin chakra and balance out." Jiraiya said in awe.

"The kit has very high Yin reserves, but it will depend on the balance of Yin vs. Yang present in the tainted chakra's makeup to be certain. Nothing that snake created will overcome my reserves, but I will be able to convert the necessary chakra needed if there is any discrepancy." Kyūbi-Naruto said.

"I will call Gerotora here to give the key to the seal," Jiraiya said hurriedly.

'Hopefully, if this is some ploy of the Kyūbi, I can use the chakra restraining seal I have and close the seal up tight before he pulls whatever he wants.' Jiraiya thought.

Soon a black and orange toad arrived and gave the key scroll to Jiraiya after a small argument. Gerotora was highly suspicious of the Kyūbi because the Kyūbi had killed some of the summoning toads in the past and Geratora half expected him to start rampaging their homeland. After some reassurance from Fukasaku, Geratora finally conceded.

Kyūbi-Naruto then outlined the full plan once the mark was ready to break.

He would establish the balance, and once the tainted chakra within Naruto's system had been cleansed, the suppression seal would need to be removed.

Fukasaku would then siphon the tainted chakra from the mark itself to use as evidence against Orochimaru.

Next, he would flush out the remaining tainted chakra from the seal causing it to weaken.

Finally, Jiraiya would use the Gogyō Kaiin to remove the rest of the curse mark removing Orochimaru's link to Naruto.

Kurama didn't explain the full process to Fukasaku or Jiraiya because he didn't trust them completely to give them intricate knowledge over the benefits of perfectly balanced chakra. While it was true that pure natural chakra could be detrimental to immature bodies, perfectly balanced chakra was not. If the balance were harmful, then humans would die from using sage mode.

If anyone learned the truth about the benefits of using perfectly balanced chakra in the way that the bijū were capable of, humans would begin introducing it into their young to increase their strength and chakra capacity. The summoning clans would use more natural chakra to create this balance and evolve more of their undeveloped kin to increase their population. Right now, the fear of the dangers and possible mutations, however mythical they maybe, that come from introducing natural chakra to an underdeveloped body serve as an effective deterrent. The bijū always continued to perpetuate that myth to all intelligent creatures whenever possible, to ensure the secret remained safe.

His part in this was more complicated, but he would also gain more from this task by being able to cleanse the kit's system with highly dense perfectly balanced chakra. Not only will this process increase the kit's power down the line, but their bond would also become stronger than the seal would typically allow. This would only help them grow strong enough to complete the plan successfully.

First, Kurama would draw Naruto's Yin chakra reserves into his own Yang chakra reserves and determine the discrepancy between the two, before drawing and converting natural chakra to make up the difference, once that balance had been established he would pull out the quarantined chakra and balance the chakra levels again.

Next, he would draw in an equal balance of natural chakra and adjust the ratio between the three as the natural chakra begins to establish equilibrium with the yin and yang components.

Slowly, Kurama would start converting some of the natural chakra into Yin or Yang, depending on which aspect contained more tainted chakra, to begin diluting the tainted chakra.

At this stage, the natural chakra will automatically seek to re-establish equilibrium by converting the excess chakra back into natural chakra which would result in the diluted chakra becoming purified or destroyed by the natural chakra's own process of maintaining balance.

Once the mark and all the tainted had been removed, he would recreate pure, perfectly balanced chakra. This chakra was a denser form of sage chakra that only the bijū can create. Next, he would cycle this unique chakra through the kit's pathways, muscles, and organs before flaring it through his body just for good measure. This would not have been possible if he had not fooled that stupid toad sage into opening the seal as much as he wanted.

It was a good thing that that toads were also ignorant of the true strength behind perfectly balance chakra combined with bijū chakra. They would likely try to kill the kit if they knew just what kind of power the kit could gain when he flooded his system with this chakra.

The balanced chakra would remain in his container's system strengthening his entire body and allowing that deeper connection to remain even if Jiraiya closed the seal at tight as possible. This would help make the kit strong enough to complete the plan and survive what was to come in the future. As his container matured, the body would take advantage of the latent chakra in his system to enhance his growth, and Kurama would have an influence on the kit's development. When the time came for them to create a full bond, their connection to each other would be stronger than anyone thought possible and an essential part of the plan would be completed.

Jiraiya had successfully prepared the key for the seal and had it activated. "Okay, Kyūbi, are you ready?"

"Hmph. Just open the seal, slowly. I'll tell you when to stop." Kyūbi-Naruto said.

Jiraiya applied chakra to the key and placed it over Naruto's shirtless stomach before slowly turning it to the right. Kyūbi signaled him to stop once he had rotated his hand from facing up till it was facing sideways.

Naruto's Mindscape


Kurama had to contain himself as he felt his bonds loosen almost entirely. That tantalizing hint of possible freedom was always highly tempting, but his kit was relying on him, and he would rely on his kit to see the plan through.

Kurama slowly trickled out his chakra to merge even more with Naruto.

Naruto, who was sitting in the mindscape next to Kurama in the cage, saw the pipelines begin to grow larger, the red and blue pipes began to sink into each other to the point where the pipes looked like a figure eight shape. He looked up and saw Kurama with a look of concentration on his face so he didn't say anything.

Wind that he didn't manifest began to swirl around them, and Naruto looked around in confusion. He turned his gaze outside of the cage to look at Orochimaru, who was standing in the hallway, with a vast distance between him and the cage, with a scowl on his face. It looked like he tried to say something but Naruto couldn't hear and didn't care. He was tired of hearing that bastard for a week straight.

"Kit, I need you jump up here and sit in the middle of my forehead like you are going to meditate," Kurama said.

Naruto nodded and using chakra and a few jumps he managed to climb up Kurama's massive frame and situate himself on the center of Kurama's head between his brows.

"Now, I want you to relax completely. You will feel a drain on your energy, and you will start to feel tired, but you must not fall asleep. No matter what happens, do not get distracted when you feel the connection start until I tell you to stop. Do you understand?" Kurama said.

"I understand, Kurama. I'm ready." Naruto said.

Naruto began to feel that warm, comfortable feeling he always felt around Kurama grow stronger. His body relaxed further, and he began to feel himself want to slip away, but he kept himself awake.

As the feeling began to grow stronger, it began to change, and it felt like something was pulling at his consciousness. Naruto resisted it at first because it felt like following that pull would make him fall asleep. The pull became even stronger, and something inside him told him to accept the pull so Naruto tentatively relaxed his guard and allowed it to pull him along.

Naruto began to feel as if he was sinking into a hot spring. It didn't take long until felt completely submerged like he was underwater, and his first instinct was to thrash to the surface for air, but he squashed it down and just embraced the feeling as he floated in that heat, completely relaxed.

That wonderful feeling was so overwhelming he felt all external senses began to drift away, but he mentally shook himself and reached back out reconnecting with them. He felt that he was safe as long as he kept that connection to his senses active.

For a moment, Naruto just absorbed what he was feeling and felt safe and secure, but then he felt like his connection wasn't strong enough. He hadn't let it slip at all but instead it felt like it had expanded in some way. For a moment, Naruto was uncertain about what he should do but prodding his connection to his senses led him to expand them as far as possible, and he would be glad that he did.

Once his connection was strained to the max, he felt the calm and peace around become more prevalent, and that warm, comfortable feeling grew even stronger. Suddenly, instead of floating in hot spring water, Naruto felt he was in the center of a typhoon with currents of warm air and chakra swirling around him. Directly in the center, where he was hovering, everything was completely silent and still.

Naruto became aware of two consistent pulses of energy within him and, at first, they had their own separate rhythms but eventually they became one synchronized pulse before a third beat joined and synchronized with the first two causing an explosion of that calm feeling to wash over him. Naruto dozed off momentarily before he reached out again and reconnected with the external senses once more.

For a moment, it felt like the typhoon of energy and those pulses of power were going to falter when he came to, but they continued on and grew stronger moving more violently. The calm within the center, where he floated, remained completely silent and still, like the world itself had stopped completely in awe of the sophisticated dance of energy and tranquility.

He wanted to open his eyes to see what this vortex of power looked like but the feeling was too strong, and he didn't want that tranquility he was experiencing to be disrupted, so he just left his eyes closed.

It felt as if he hovered for an eternity in that quiet state with raging but oddly quiet chakra and warm air swirling around him violently. Suddenly, he sensed the calm he was floating in begin to expand and the swirling began to slow.

Naruto reached out for his senses thinking he was drifting out again, but he still felt the connection was at its limit, so he relaxed again before he felt himself suddenly floating in the warm spring again. This time, his instinct didn't even respond like it did the first time he just accepted the serene feeling of submersion as if it were second nature.

Then he felt himself rising out of that serene water and he almost wanted to fight against it, but he recalled Kurama's words and kept himself stilled. He felt like he was laying on something solid and the warm feeling began to fade. Naruto was about to panic, but Kurama's voice cut through his mind.

"Rest now, kit. You have done well."

Naruto quietly sighed in contentment and let himself slip away.

Myōbokuzan


Jiraiya and Fukasaku were starting to get worried that the Kyūbi would not be successful, but a few hours later, Kyūbi-Naruto opened his eyes and nodded to Jiraiya, which was the signal to proceed with the next step.

Jiraiya moved forward and removed the sealing method Kakashi had applied before stepping back and allowing Fukasaku to collect his sample.

Fukasaku used a chakra crystal to siphon a sample of the tainted chakra for analysis, and once the small crystal was filled, he gave Jiraiya the thumbs up.

Jiraiya patted Kyūbi-Naruto on the back giving Kurama the signal to proceed with the next step.

With Jiraiya's signal, Kurama had rounded up the perfectly balanced and cleansed chakra and flushed the tainted chakra out of the mark on Naruto's neck using a small concentrated stream directly towards the well of tainted chakra in the mark.

The mark began to weaken and shatter so Jiraiya hit it with Gogyō Kaiin. The seal began to glow purple before the eerie light began to fade from a dark purple to a lighter purple then eventually changed to a brilliant golden color before fading away completely.

Jiraiya ran a few tests and even applied a detection seal on the same spot before he gave Kyūbi-Naruto a pat on the back to signal that the mark had been removed.

A visible sinister grin appeared on Kyūbi-Naruto's face before a flare of golden chakra erupted from Naruto as Kurama flushed Naruto's body with the perfect chakra to cleanse it and to drive that cursed snake out.

The golden chakra continued to light up the area for a few moments before it faded away and Naruto's body collapsed.

Fukasaku and Jiraiya rushed over to check on him real quick and saw that he was breathing normally and seemed to have a content look on his face.

Jiraiya tightened the seal back up before picking Naruto up and carrying him to Fukasaku's house.

That golden chakra was unlike anything Jiraiya, or Fukasaku had seen before. It was like sage mode but stronger in some way and they had no idea where it came from. Both had remained silent as they carried Naruto into the guest room and set him down on the sleeping mat Shima had rolled out for him.

Jiraiya and Fukasaku left the room and settled down in the living room both lost in their thoughts about that golden chakra they had seen.

"What do you make of that chakra there, Pa? Have you ever seen anything like that before?" Jiraiya asked.

Fukasaku shook his head in the negative while he pondered the situation further. While he had some inclination what had happened, he did not know how the chakra had changed so dramatically. His theory was that the Kyūbi had used its own chakra as a fourth potential balancing agent instead of actually using it's Yang component as it claimed.

The bijū had always been a mystery, and their chakra had always had different properties from normal, natural chakra in the world. Fukasaku couldn't help but wonder if they had evolved into a different form completely, and what kind of effects that chakra would have on young Naruto.

Fukasaku would not reveal this theory to Jiraiya, however, no matter how much he cared for his summoner. This knowledge would be too dangerous in the hands of humanity. The summoning clans would never allow too many people to gain access to the true knowledge of natural chakra that they had amassed over the years to protect the natural chakra in the world.

If he had not sensed that golden chakra had safely converted back to pure natural chakra and return to the environment, he would be more concerned about it. Since it was no threat to the natural chakra and required a bijū to create the chakra. With Naruto as their summoner, they would be able to learn the effects on him over time.

"I suspect that it was part of the Kyūbi's chakra mixed in with the cleansed tainted chakra, that is all. It is rare to find tainted chakra in that manner and perhaps this was a simple temporary side effect of cleansing the chakra. I sensed nothing wrong coming from it, and it safely dispersed into the environment as pure natural chakra so I am not concerned about it." Fukasaku finally said.

"That's all well and good, Pa, but what about Naruto?" Jiraiya asked with concern.

"The boy has been exposed to natural chakra more than I would like, but it was not for any significant length of time, and I could see the chakra enter the seal and disappear from his body somehow. Most of the natural chakra that did enter his body came from the Kyūbi dispersing that golden chakra out of his body. He will experience some changes in his development, but I doubt it will be anything dramatic. Maybe a shift in his affinities, a larger growth spurt in musculature and height, possibly awakening a dormant bloodline but that wouldn't be likely given the boy's pedigree." Fukasaku explained.

"Besides Kushina's chakra chains, I don't think the Uzumaki had anything other than substantial chakra reserves and longevity. Kushina had said that the chains had always been expressed in females only while males had much larger and more potent chakra reserves. The Namikaze just had quicker than average reflexes and dual affinity for wind and water. That would match exactly with what Naruto's capabilities have been described." Jiraiya replied with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"I was just mentioning the possibilities, Jiraiya. With natural chakra anything is possible. You have seen the changes that come from sage mode once mastered, it can be anything like that." Fukasaku said calmly.

"Well. I better report back to sensei so he doesn't have to worry as much. Is it okay if Naruto remains here just in case something goes wrong?" Jiraiya asked.

"I had actually planned on telling you to leave Naruto-chan here so I can watch over him with the natural chakra stick if he begins showing signs of imbalance. I may leave it tied to his arm or body just to disperse any traces of natural chakra from his body but for now, Shima and I will just keep checking on the boy." Fukasaku replied.

"Thanks, Pa. I'll be back tomorrow to check in." Jiraiya said before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Shima entered the living room and sat down next to Fukasaku.

"Naruto-chan seems to simply be resting comfortably, and I didn't detect any signs of natural chakra poisoning, but his chakra is strange," Shima said.

"Yes. I detect a foreign element that has resided in his chakra that does not match his chakra or the Kyūbi's chakra. I am unsure what it is, but it is not foul like that tainted chakra was, and it seems too integrated into his system to remove." Fukasaku said.

"If he is Minato-chan's son like Jiraiya-chan said, then hopefully we can trust Naruto-chan as well, even with the Kyūbi involved," Shima said with a glance towards Naruto's room.

"I hope you are right Shima. Naruto-chan will become quite powerful. We will have to wait and see what Gamamaru-sama sees about him now that Naruto-chan is officially a summoner." Fukasaku sighed.