This is it! It has officially been one year since I began posting this story on here! I think it's something worth celebrating! So, I would like to give a shout out to all my followers! Crystal-Rose-Lover, Drocoknight545, DragonGodSlayerMasterHokage, FallenAngelEmzi, Kabero, LadyZee, Neo Amon, Shadow Ravon, SkyLion27, TheRoseOfHearts, Tomoki14467, Willowtoy, XxIAmRinxX, .uchiha-chan, dragonfox123, , rakat14, truesparks, lunalovegood67, wolfmoon30, yukkuri-chan, Crazy APL Kunoichi, CruxisRemnants, DatTurtleNecker, Marce5500, Tyber Zahn, chandelle-snow, crkossi, , pe26, soldado456, and yaoigirl2000, thank you so much for following my story! I really appreciate it! To those of you who I did not mention, thank you for reading my story and for sticking with me this past year! Please don't be afraid to leave a review! I love hearing what you think of my writing (just please be nice if it's something bad!) I'd also like to give a special shout out to Willowtoy and lunalovegood67. They've been standing next to me supporting me since the very beginning. Thanks so much, you guys!

Now! Enough of my rambling! I hope you enjoy Chapter 52!


Chapter 52: Bijuu no Fuuinjutsu Phase Two

Naruto ran through darkness, splashing the shallow water with each step he took. Before he knew it, he stood in front of the Kyuubi's gate, but from a distance. The Kyuubi was leaning as close to the gate as it possibly could, looking at a small figure with an evil glare. Naruto squinted his eyes to get a better look at the figure. They suddenly widened at the familiar blood red seal of pain. Natarii. She was hunched over, slowly forming hand signs. It was obvious she was in pain.

"NATARII!" Naruto yelled across the area. He ran toward her. "NATARII! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Natarii didn't seem to hear him. She continued making hand signs. Ram, Bird, Dog, Snake, Tiger, Monkey...

"NATARII!"

"Quiet, brat!" The Kyuubi growled. "You're too late! She's going to undo my seal!"

"She what!?" Naruto couldn't believe what the Kyuubi said. "You're lying! Natarii'd never do something that stupid!" He ran up to her and looked her in the eyes. The light was completely gone. Her pupils were the size of a needle point, and one could almost only see the whites of her eyes. Her teeth were clenched, proving she was in inexpiable pain. A trail of blood dripped down her chin. Her limbs were trembling.

"Natarii! Listen to me!" Naruto shouted. He reached for her shoulders, wanting to shake her in attempt to get her to come back to reality. But her left shoulder was still severely injured, and the Keimusho Seal made matters worse. It was best to not touch her.

"It's no use," the Kyuubi continued. "She's going to release my seal. She's a smart kid. I had to tell her how to do it only once."

"Bijuu no Fuuinjutsu..." Natarii began. "Phase..." She raised her shaking hands to form the last seal: Boar. Before she could put her hands together, her legs gave out. She fell to the ground, causing a splash in the shallow water, and yelped with pain.

"No!" The demon exclaimed with frustration. "Get up!"

"Natarii!" Naruto knelt on the ground next to her, gently lifting her face out of the water and onto his knee. "Natarii, snap out of it!"

"It...it hurts..." The words sluggishly came out of Natarii's mouth. Her breathing was heavy. She was sweating and drenched. The Keimusho Seal was dark red, but it never reached its maroon or black state.

"Damn it all!" The Kyuubi raged behind the gate. "Damn you! Damn both of you!"

Naruto ignored it. "Just hold on! It's not as bad as it was last time!"

"I can't...do this...anymore," Natarii said between deep breaths. "I'm sorry I...almost...hurt...you..."

Naruto didn't seem to notice her words. He narrowed his eyes at the Kyuubi. "Tsk. Who do you think you are, bringing Natarii into this?!"

"Silence!" The Kyuubi roared.

Naruto quickly stood up, fuming with anger. "Damn you-"

"Naruto." Natarii cut him off, tugging slightly on his pant leg, motioning for him to sit back down. The seal appeared to be fading.

Naruto did as she wanted. He shot a harsh glance at the Kyuubi, then looked back down at Natarii. "What is it?" He asked, ready to help her with anything.

Natarii slowly sat up, Naruto assisting her. She took her backpack off, her arms shaking a bit, for they were still weak. After unzipping it, Natarii began digging through its contents. She pulled out the Keimusho Seal scroll. Slowly, Natarii held it out to Naruto. "Take it off."

Naruto stared at her cluelessly.

Natarii gently took his hand and placed the scroll in it. "Naruto, please. Take it off."

Naruto stared at the scroll. "The seal? You want me to take the seal off?"

"Yes."

"Right here?"

"Yes."

"Right now?"

"Yes."

Naruto's eyes widened. "But...I can't..."

"Why can't you?" Natarii asked.

"Because..." His voice trailed off.

A small smile appeared on Natarii's face. "It's unlike you to say those things," she said. "I trust you. You can do it." She gently pushed his hand away, signifying she wanted him to keep hold of the scroll. "Please," she urged. "You're the only person I would ever ask."

Naruto glanced at the scroll in his hands. Slowly, he opened it, hoping he would be able to make some sort of sense out of it. He was able to master Kagebushin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) by using a forbidden scroll after all. Maybe the Keimusho Seal release would be similar. But, he was wrong. The details on the scroll were, by far, more complex. "Is your entire family as smart as you are?" He asked nervously.

Natarii stared at her arms, watching the seal as it faded back to her original, pale skin color. "I surpassed the high intelligence of my relatives in junior high school," Natarii replied plainly. Her voice was soft. She ran her fingers through her damp hair. "Though they are fairly intelligent, I suppose."

"Why are you talking like that?"

Natarii tilted her head to the side, trying to keep a relatively normal facial expression to hide her inner despair. "Talking like what? I do not believe I understand."

"You're talking weird," Naruto said.

"I am not. I am simply-"

Naruto corrected himself. "You're talking like a fancy person."

Natarii glanced at the Kyuubi, who remained standing with narrowed eyes. She switched back to Naruto. "My actions are not of importance at this moment. Please, just remove the seal."

"Have you looked at this thing?!" Naruto raised his voice. "It makes no sense!"

Natarii looked directly into Naruto's eyes. They were fearless, yet concerned. Something was missing in them. Confidence maybe? But that didn't seem right. Naruto had plenty of confidence in himself, didn't he?

"I'm not smart..."

There it was. Naruto had confidence in himself when it came to almost everything except intelligence. At least he was aware of his frequent stupidity.
Natarii somehow pulled off a reassuring smile. She put a hand on top of Naruto's head. "You can do anything if you put your mind to it," she said. "I believe in you."

"I believe in you." The words rang through Naruto's mind. He stared blankly at Natarii with a small blush. Suddenly, he was filled with confidence - like he could accomplish anything.

"Can I count on you?" Natarii asked, her breathing steadily coming to a normal pace.

Naruto stood up, holding his hand out to help Natarii stand. She took a firm grip on his hand, and he helped her up with ease. "You can count on me," he said with a determined smile. "I'll take care of it."


Naruto looked at his hand. He was holding the scroll. When did it get there? He switched his glance to Natarii. She was swimming toward him, trying to escape Itachi. Her face was red, either flushed from tears or sweat or...her breath. Her stamina still wasn't up to par! She must've had trouble holding her breath! But she already lasted as long as she had...maybe she would last a little longer.

Natarii rotated her hand in a small circle. "Open the scroll!" she exclaimed. Her voice sounded bubbly from the water.

Naruto did as she said. His eyes widened. There were notes along the side, clarifying the difficulties of the seal release. It was Natarii's handwriting. "When did you write all this?" He asked her, surprised.

"No time to explain," Natarii answered. "We have to get out of the water. There's no way we will be able to defeat him in this state!"

"Not even-"

"I've taken analysis of the situation! It's practically impossible! But I have a plan!"

Now, this is the Natarii I know! Naruto thought to himself as Natarii explained her plan. "You're crazy!" He exclaimed when she finished. "You really expect me to allow you to do that?!"

"Just trust me!"

Naruto saw the mixed emotions in Natarii's eyes. She was serious. He hesitated for another moment, then spoke. "All right. Good luck."

Natarii nodded. It was time to put her plan into action.


That's it for this week's chapter! The next chapter will be posted on Saturday, August 31!

Next is: "Chapter 53: Natarii's Plan!" What is Natarii planning? Will her wits work in her favor the way they did against Deidara? Read next week to find out!

Thanks again for reading! I look forward to another year!

'Til next time!

- ChibiNinja45