Naruto: The Rabbit Prince.
This Fanfiction is a crossover with The Naruto series, Darkstalkers, Summer Wars featuring: King Kazma, with elements of Watership Down.
Rated: M for violence, blood, swearing, physical combat, mentions of sexual content, murder, and death.
Fair warning, this fanfiction contains the following tags/clichés: Competent Naruto, Fūinjutsu (not master level) Naruto, Kekkei Genkai (with conditions) Naruto, Potent Chakra Naruto, Rabbit Summons Naruto, Animalistic Naruto, and Good Kaguya. Antagonistic Sasuke and Sakura within.
Pairings: None unless they are adults because the plot doesn't revolve around romance.
Summary: What if Kaguya wasn't as evil as everyone perceived her to be and the Chakra Fruit drove her mad? What if she had another son that turned out to be her official firstborn that was to be the King of the Rabbit Summons? What if her son adopted Naruto and cared for him as if he was one of their own? And what If Naruto had another Godfather? As Naruto grows into a fine shinobi, he must face the many trials that come with his growth.
Disclaimer: I do not own the following Anime, Books, and Games. Naruto is rightfully owned by Masashi Kishimoto. Darkstalkers is rightfully owned by Capcom. Summer Wars and King Kazma are rightfully owned by Madhouse. Watership Down is rightfully owned by Richard Adams.
Chapter 18: Just Another Day.
It had been a few days since Kakashi taught Team Seven, or more specifically Sasuke and Sakura, the tree-climbing exercise. Sakura managed to master and get it down in two days, resulting in her guarding the bridge with Naruto while Sasuke was still progressing in that subject.
For Naruto, his days around the construction site were boring as he refined his training and pushed himself to get stronger for the rematch against Zabuza and his accomplice. Leona, at times, volunteered so he could train without having to worry about the bridgebuilder. Sometimes, both he and the Lion Lapine volunteered to help with the bridge's construction.
Right now, it was day. Tazuna now was facing a big struggle with the men who were giving it their all in the bridge's creation.
"You're quitting now?!" the bridgebuilder shouted to his friend. "You've gotta be kidding me!"
"Gato and his men will be coming here to kill us eventually; I can't take a risk like that. Every day, I stay here and put my life on the line, Tazuna," cynically replied his colleague. "When Gato's thugs get here, they'll kill you to make sure the bridge is never built. We're fighting for a lost cause."
Tazuna's gaze turned cold. "Fat chance. Our island is suffering from that bastard's reign, and it won't see the light of day until this bridge is complete."
"Be rational about this, Tazuna," the friend begged.
"Be rational about what?" Naruto intruded on their conversation as he walked over with Leona in tow.
Tazuna answered for both of them with irritation evident in his voice. "My old companion here wants to quit while he still has his life—"
"You very well know that's not what it's about!" his colleague interrupted. "We need to quit while we still have our lives."
"You would quit when your people are suffering?" asked Leona, both in concern and disgust. "What about your family? Aren't they suffering as well?"
"Yes, but we can overcome—"
"Then if that's the case," Naruto cut the man off and turned to the bridgebuilder. "Tazuna-san, put me to work." Naruto weaved two halves of a tiger handseal.
Over 150 Shadow Clones popped into existence, ready to take orders to complete this bridge. It wasn't long until Leona followed along.
"U-Uh-Uh..." Tazuna stuttered as he was trying to find the words to say. "Kid, really?"
"Yes," Naruto confirmed. "Put us to work so this bridge can be completed. As long as I'm here, I might as well contribute to this bridge as a part of my mission."
"Couldn't have said better myself," Leona complimented.
"T-Thank you, N-Naruto," acknowledged Tazuna, as his hopes for his people would become a reality thanks to the shinobi that served him. And that was the first time the bridgebuilder had called him by his name.
"Please, call me El-ahrairah," insisted the blonde as his clones went off help with construction at hand.
Tazuna became confident and turned to the quitter. He then walked past him. "Leave if you want. And don't expect to come back at all."
Later that night in Tazuna's home...
Everyone was now at the table in the kitchen. It was beautifully designed as with wood making up the cabinets while the walls were painted beige. On one small section of the wall that was close to a cupboard hung a picture of Tazuna's family that had a chunk ripped out of it, but a man's body stood where the head was removed.
Naruto and Leona were sitting next to each other while Kakashi was sitting on his other side. Sasuke was sitting on the opposite side of his opponent. Sakura occupied a bench not far from the table.
Thanks to Leona, nobody went hungry tonight. She used Wood Style to grow crops in town at an exponential rate, making sure everyone had plenty to eat.
Sakura got close and began to ask about the photograph on the wall, "Excuse me, Tsunami-san, who is the person torn out of this picture?"
Tazuna's family froze after hearing her question. Inari's eyes were covered by the shade of his hat as he got out of his seat and began to walk away. His mother turned to stop him. "Inari, please."
However, the bridgebuilder answered the pink-haired girl. "That is Kaiza, Inari's stepfather, and my son-in-law. He's considered a hero here... but he's gone."
Inari had walked out of the room, closing the door behind him and making his mother call out to him, "Inari, get back here!" She turned to Tazuna. "Tou-san, why now of all times did you decide to talk about this? You know what happens when you bring him up!" Tsunami went to pursue her son.
There was a nervous tension in the room. Leona had grabbed the collar of her flak jacket to air it out as she looked sheepish. "I'm guessing you have a lot of history with that man?"
"He brought our family such joy and happiness. He's not Inari's actual father, but they were very close," Tazuna answered. Tears were now streaming down his face with his voice barely breaking. "Ever since the day Gato killed him, he took everything the people had: their dignity, their hope, their courage."
He told the tale of Kaiza, a selfless, kindhearted, strong man with a genuine heart of gold: How this man managed to stop the dam from completely flooding the town down to dying like a martyr for what he believed in as he stood against Gato.
"Ever since then, Inari has been a shadow of his former self," Tazuna lamented as he looked down. "Now, if you'll excuse me…" The bridgebuilder then got up from his chair and walked out of the room.
Later on that night... In one of the guest rooms...
The room that Naruto and his cousin resided in for the night was somewhat small, the only furniture that was there was the bed by the window, which was open. There was a closet, but it was empty since Naruto stored his belongings in a storage scroll.
At the moment, the Human Prince and his cousin were sitting on the bed, talking. "Leona, I'm fine, you can leave the rest to me."
"And what if Zabuza shows up again? Won't you need my help?" Leona protested, fearful of what could happen.
"I'll summon you if I need you, but you have to let me do things for myself. Go back home, Leona. You can watch me from the clan's All-Seeing Seal," Naruto retorted.
"Fine, but summon me when you need me, okay?" the Lion Lapine asked.
"I will, just go!" desperately implored Naruto.
Leona nodded as she took her leave in a plume of smoke that enveloped the room and made Naruto cough. As soon as it cleared out, the Lion Lapine was no longer there.
Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose. Leona was always overprotective of him, and it was getting to be annoying. He understood why, especially since this was his first official mission as a Genin.
Now, it was time to make due on the deal from last week. Naruto straightened himself out and bit his thumb to draw blood then flew through a set of hand seals. He slammed his hand on the floor.
"Summoning Jutsu: Kazma!"
Another plume of smoke enveloped the room and made Naruto hold his breath as a familiar voice called out. "Naruto?"
The smoke exited through the window as the sight of Kazma became apparent to the Human Prince. Naruto didn't waste so much as a second to bring his father in for a hug. "Da, I missed you so much."
Kazma quickly returned the hug. "We all missed you too, El-ahrairah. I haven't seen Leona in a few days. I'm guessing you have something to do with this?"
Naruto nodded in the embrace. "Yeah, I sent her back before I summoned you here." Both father and son separated from the hug; the Human Prince wanted to get back to the task at hand. "Kyūbi-san wants to talk to you, Da. He wants to see if you're really are genuine in making amends with him."
Kazma smiled as he put his hand on his son's shoulder. "Then let's go see him."
Naruto nodded as he lifted up his shirt and applied chakra to his stomach to reveal the new seals the Rabbit King had placed on him. Kazma put his hand on the seal while Naruto closed his eyes and focused on getting to his psyche.
Inside the Mindscape...
Both father and son found themselves in a dark forest amid night as the moon shined brightly in the sky, lighting it beautifully.
"I like the changes you made in here, Naru-chan," praised Kazma as he looked around.
"Thanks, Da. Now come on, let's go," urged the blonde as they went through the dark forest. Thanks to the Human Prince, they walked down the same path from last week, but this time the beast was nowhere to be found in his original spot. They then traveled further and found the Bijuu in an open prairie as he tried to sleep.
Naruto called out to the beast like last time, "Kyūbi-san!"
The beast opened his eyes with irritation and got up to see the Rabbit King and his son walking towards him. "Hmm, so it looks like you did hold up to what you said last week." Kurama was quite pleased as he looked directly at his uncle. "Now, is it really true that you are going to confine me once more when the brat dies and I get my chance for revenge on those pitiful humans? And I know you didn't tell him my name, so refer to me as Kyūbi until the brat knows of my true identity."
Until the brat knows of my true identity, Kazma repeated in thought with hope as Kurama was now giving them a chance. "Yes, Kyūbi. In spite of whether or not they despise you, the humans fear what they don't understand. If you choose not to go after the ones that wronged you, you will be free. But if you do, we will seal you away for rehabilitation."
"And where will that be?" Kurama questioned, tension filling the room.
"You will be sealed in a box that possesses a pocket dimension made from seals that can alter space and time within it to store you. You'll be checked on constantly and undergo sessions of therapy. There, you will be rehabilitated and be given the help you need to heal," Kazma answered honestly.
"And if I help the brat and rehabilitate myself? What about closure?"
Kazma approached, with a bit of sweat dripping down his face. "For closure, I want you to unleash all the pain you've suffered for the past two millennia. I want to make amends with you. And as for your self-rehabilitation, that's up to you, Kurama."
"Hmm," Kurama hummed in approval as he looked towards Naruto. "You, get out of here and don't come back until your father has left the psyche. And don't worry, I very well know he could defeat me if he wanted to."
Naruto nodded as he left the Mindscape, fading away as he exited that state of consciousness. Kurama and Kazma were now the only ones in the prairie. The artificial land's wind made a soft breeze and for a few moments, nothing was said. The beast looked down at his uncle, ready to tear into him.
"The brat said that closure would bring me healing, so I'm going to give both of you a chance to prove yourselves," the fox stated as he was restraining the urge to kill the Rabbit King where he stood. "Do you know how much pain you brought?" he scorned, making Kazma flinch. "When you told me I had an uncle other than Hamura, it broke me. While you lived a happy life for the past two millennia, we were hunted, hated, and feared by the very humans the old man taught us to protect. I want you to know this, rabbit: I hate you so much that it hurts."
It really felt like Kazma's face cringed in guilt; it was as if he was being stabbed by one of his nephew's claws. "Kurama, I'm so sorry for all that happened to you, to my other nephews and nieces. If I can make it up to you, just tell me what I can do."
"No," responded Kurama nonchalantly. "You're pitiful. I won't give you a chance, but this brat might be your only option. If this brat proves to me that he won't turn on me and abuse my power, I'll consider giving you another chance to start over. Now tell the brat to connect me to his senses."
"Thank you, Kurama. I promise Naruto is every bit of the young man I raised him to be. He's not like any of the corrupt humans you've encountered; he won't do wrong by you." Kazma was grateful. If there was any chance of making things up with his nephew, this was a start.
"Whatever, now leave."
Kazma faded away as if he didn't exist and returned to the real world.
Outside the Mindscape...
The Human Prince watched his father with his hand still on the seal, his facial gestures turning into that of hesitation, sadness, and regret. Then, it turned into one of relief and gratitude.
Soon, Kazma opened his eyes, removed his hand from the seal, and looked to Naruto with pride in his eyes. He got up and put his hands on his human son's shoulders. "You are going to do so much in this world," the Rabbit King said. "Kyūbi has agreed to give us a chance. Now, I need you to connect him towards your senses."
The young Jinchūriki nodded as he followed orders. He closed his eyes and returned to the Mindscape, only to make the connections for his cousin. Then, he opened his blue eyes. "It's done."
"Good boy." His nephew was now getting a chance to see the outside world again after so long. Now, he had a question for the Human Prince. "Now, have you used the Shadow Clone Jutsu to increase your training?"
"No, Da," Naruto answered honestly. His father told him the secret to the Shadow Clones years ago but wouldn't allow him to cheat his way through his training. The only times the Rabbit King would ever allow it was if he was learning a new jutsu and trying to master it. And it would be a rare occasion to use that jutsu to learn anything else other than new ninjutsu.
Kazma nodded with a grunt. "Good. Do you need anything else, Naru-chan?"
"No, Da, I'm fine," replied the Jinchūriki. "You can head back home. Tell Damu and everyone that I miss them."
"I will, El-ahrairah. I love you." Kazma pulled his son into another hug.
"I love you too." Naruto pulled away from the embrace as both father and son looked each other in the eyes and purred in unison on instinct.
The bond Lapine parents shared with their children was deep. Their instincts demanded many things that dealt with affection and care for one another; it was pleasing for the Lapine, to say the least. Naruto had done most of his emotional and mental healing from giving in to his instincts, the ones that demanded he'd be loved so he could grow. It was so easy to slip into that basic state of mind that it was crazy to think all that trauma could heal so fast.
Kazma left in a plume of smoke as Naruto went to bed, at peace that Kurama would be by his side, watching him.
One day later...
Once more, it was night, and everyone was at the dinner table. Sasuke had finished the tree-walking exercise, and there was another day with no conflict from Gato. The bridgebuilder was safe alongside the men that worked with him; everything was going smoothly. However, Tazuna was quite skeptical about the shinobi that protected him.
"I've been meaning to ask you all something since the bridge is close to its completion," Tazuna said as he got Team Seven's attention. "Why did you all stay and protect me? I lied to you all."
Kakashi was happy to answer for his team, "In Konoha, we take a much more moral route than other shinobi. We all believe that those who do not have a sense of justice will hold no courage. This is something the Shodaime Hokage taught all of his disciples who spread the word of his wisdom."
"Sounds very powerful," Tsunami happily acknowledged. She had almost everyone's plate in hand while Naruto took them off her and brought them to the sink.
Hey, Kyūbi, did you like the food? Naruto asked the fox in their mental link as he began washing dishes.
"It's good, brat. Now leave me alone," responded Kurama, easily annoyed. The beast fell silent.
Inari got up from his chair and slammed his hands on the table, angered at the shinobi. "Why do you all train in the first place?! Gato has an army; he's going to kill you all!"
"It's in the job, you know? And for the right price, we'll take on any risk, even if it means costing us our lives," Naruto cynically replied as he scrubbed one of the plates clean. "We have a mission, and we plan to see it through."
"Argh, just looking at you makes me sick!" exclaimed the boy in aggravation as tears began to flow down his face. "You don't even know what it's like to suffer and be treated like crap!"
There was a pause in the air, the only sound heard was the running water in the sink. Naruto put down the plate and turned off the water. Everyone looked at the Jinchūriki, wondering what he'll do.
The Human Prince walked around the table to get to the boy, only to bend down to his level. His eyes were dead and he spoke as cold as ice, "There are many children in this world that would kill to be you. You don't even know how lucky you have it." Inari's eyes widened in shock. "Are you going through dumpsters for food? Are you having to eat so little just to survive? Do you not have a mother and a grandfather willing to dote on you? Because, here's the thing, many children don't have things like that. You're here crying because some asshole killed your stepfather. Start growing up and seeing the bigger picture. If anything, you're a coward who barks at others for helping them."
Sakura got up in a blind rage. "Naruto-baka, you—"
"Shut up!" the blonde threateningly cut her off as he glared at the pink-haired girl. "I don't want to hear it from you."
Naruto got up and began to leave to go outdoors, but not before turning to apologize to Tazuna and Tsunami. "I'm sorry for what I've said, but I can't be here at the moment."
Naruto left the house and closed the door behind him. Meanwhile, Inari took all of what he said in and began to cry and run out of the room.
"... So... I guess your Genin has gone through something, Hatake-san?" inquired Tazuna.
"Let's just say for six years ever since he was born, he had been an orphan until he was adopted by those Lapine," answered Kakashi. "They had given him a life many others wished for, and he was lucky due to his mother's blood and heritage. From that point onward, it seems like he always counted that blessing more than once."
It left deep thought for the adults in the room to think about what Naruto had gone through. Now, all they could do was hope for the Human Prince to return.
Again, nothing much to be said with canon. I notice that in many fanfictions that when Naruto lashes out at Inari for "Knowing anything about suffering," many people use it as an excuse to put Naruto's problems forward, even when the world is much bigger than expected. This makes him feel so egocentric that it screams that the world is supposed to revolve around him. Turning it into a lecture about other people from all over that go through crap seems much more effective since it's not one person, it's millions to billions of people.
I'd like to thank my Beta, Conejo-sama, I could not have done this without her help, guidance, and oversight.