Interlude IX: Naruto

Naruto wiped the sweat off his brow, grimacing slightly when he accidentally swiped some of the cool ink across his heated forehead. He analyzed the fresh seal in front of him, eyes darting critically back and forth, trying to find any discrepancies. The seal he drew on Gaara was similar to his own, though there were some key differences. Shukaku didn't have anywhere near the power Kurama did, so the seal didn't have to be as airtight as the one Naruto had. It would hold Shukaku within Gaara, as well as allow him to access the ichibi's chakra should he need it. One similarity between the two, however, laid in the key. Shukaku would be locked away and contained until such a time that he could be trusted not to attack others. As of right now, the bijū was too unstable. Not completely his fault of course, not with the sorry state Gaara's seal was in, but Naruto wasn't willing to risk either Gaara or Shukaku's mental health. Shukaku would be kept contained until Gaara could talk some sense into his companion.

"Kazekage-sama? Did it work?" Yashamaru asked, breaking Naruto out of his assessment.

Naruto let out a breath, taking one last lingering look at the spiraling seal on Gaara's stomach before putting the brush down next to him. "Almost," Naruto reassured the worried man, glancing up at him briefly. "It needs to be activated."

"Activated?" Yashamaru asked, a worried frown ever-present on his face.

Instead of replying, Naruto carefully started drawing chakra. He supposed he was lucky that he wasn't trying to use any complicated jutsus because the pull on his chakra felt more than odd. Rasa had vastly different chakra pathways to Naruto. He was the Kazekage, so he had large coils, but Naruto was a unique case; no one had coils like he did. Sasuke, who was his match in almost everything, didn't even have the pathways he did. Sakura, while healing them both during the war, had explained that Sasuke had much better chakra control. Naruto was the one with too much chakra and little control, Sakura with little chakra and excellent control, and Sasuke more in the middle with large reserves and adequate control.

Rasa, if Naruto thought about it, was probably more like Sasuke. He would need the control to use his sakin . The gold dust techniques that Rasa was famous for probably took a lot more control than Naruto had at the moment. Maybe the altered pathways, more used to a smaller concentration of chakra, could help him learn? He'd have to use them at some point if he wanted to continue to go undiscovered.

When Naruto felt there was enough chakra collected in his palm, he carefully laid it on the seal and started funneling it into the black spiral. It wouldn't take all that much to activate it.

"There," Naruto said after a moment, withdrawing from Gaara and letting his shoulders relax. "The seal should hold for as long as we want it to. Gaara might be out for a bit longer; would you take him to see a medic-nin? Get him into bed?"

Yashamaru watched him for a moment, a wary curiosity in his gaze, before he bowed his head in submission. "Of course, Kazekage-sama."

Naruto let Yashamaru lift Gaara up, his gaze soft and his touch gentle as he carried the young boy out of the office. Naruto waited for the door to creak shut behind the man before he stood, stretching out his sore muscles. Keeping as steady and still as one needed to be to write an active seal was exhausting. Naruto had gotten used to it; Rasa's body was already aching from the precision necessary for the deed.

Naruto sighed, glancing around the empty office. He had been in the Kazekage's office before, but it had been during Gaara's reign. It looked similar, but there was a lack of personality in Rasa's version of the office. There weren't any pictures of his family, nor were there any pictures of his predecessors hanging on the wall. Naruto wasn't sure if it was because of Rasa's disposition, or if it had something to do with Sunagakure's culture being different from Konohagakure's.

Naruto warily took a seat behind the desk, a hole forming in his chest as his predicament really started to hit him. He was stuck in a village he knew nothing about, alone.

His pulse jumped and he finally remembered that he wasn't alone.

Kurama? Naruto thought, his eyes falling closed as he started to concentrate on the weak chakra that wasn't his own.

When he opened his eyes once more, he was greeted by the familiar sight of the dank sewer that Kurama called home. The gates that had once kept Kurama trapped were open and the giant fox was peaking at him, his eyelids looking heavy as he struggled to keep them open.

"Naruto," Kurama grumbled out, his deep voice a soft growl as he greeted him.

Naruto quickly darted forward, laying a soft hand on Kurama's forehead. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Took a lot out of me ," Kurama explained, a heavy sigh leaving his lips. " You're not where you're supposed to be."

"Tell me about it," Naruto replied, his nose scrunching up in distaste. "Don't get me wrong, it's great I get to help Gaara, but I would've preferred to do so without being Rasa of all people."

Kurama snorted at the derision in Naruto's voice at the mention of Gaara's father, but he otherwise left that topic of conversation alone. Instead, his giant body shifted slightly, his head bumping up against Naruto's hand with grumbled affection. "You not being you will cause problems."

"I know," Naruto admitted, frowning. "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to find the others. If I'm Rasa, then they could be anybody. I'll need to try and get some intel on the situation in Konoha; see if anyone has been acting out of the ordinary."

"It's not just that ," Kurama interrupted his thoughts, his eyes meeting Naruto's with a heavy gaze. " There's now two of me running around."

Naruto paused, a growing sense of concern coming upon him. It was one thing to have Kurama's chakra separated into two halves; what would happen if two halves of the same Kurama were to meet? What if they reacted poorly with each other? Would something awful happen to Kurama? To Naruto ?

"You have to stay away from your younger self until I have more strength. I won't be able to check our connection until I have more of my chakra."

"Wait, seriously?" Naruto asked with disbelief, a groan falling from his lips. "But I have to find the others!"

"Naruto ," Kurama growled back, the fox visibly fighting to keep his eyes open. " You have to trust that the others will be fine. If we go near your younger self before I examine the connection, it could end in disaster. You must stay away!"

"Father!" a shout interrupted his thoughts, causing him to twitch in surprise. Naruto was abruptly brought out of their shared mindscape, his legs shaking as he hastily stood and made his way to stand in front of the large desk.

Two small figures fumbled their way into Rasa's office, their young faces new, yet recognizable. Temari wore her light hair in her unique style, her teal eyes looking up at him with childlike worry. The other child had shaggy brown hair, the dark eyes carrying similar worries. Naruto can barely recognize Kankurō without his face makeup, the bare face making him pause for a second.

"We heard it got loose! Are you okay?" Temari asked again, her small arms coming to wrap tightly around Naruto's legs. Kankurō drew closer as well, though he chose to grasp tightly at the Kazekage robes that graced his figure, rather than give him a full-on hug.

"I'm fine," Naruto replied, doing his best to soften Rasa's rough voice. He laid his hands on each of their heads, guilt building up within him.

Naruto, in his single-minded focus on Gaara and Shukaku, had forgotten the fact that Rasa had two other children. Naruto didn't have to just watch out for Gaara, but for Temari and Kankurō as well. The three siblings were at odds during this time, especially with the way Rasa treated Gaara. They were scared of Gaara right now, not the supportive siblings they would be in the future.

"Gaara is sleeping in the medical wing," Naruto said, guessing. He was sure Yashamaru had taken Gaara to be looked over, but he still didn't know the layout of the village. He'd been in Sunagakure only briefly and he'd been rather occupied at the time. "There won't be any other incidents from now on."

"Are you sure?" Temari asked, the little girl biting her lip in worry.

"Gaara needed help," Naruto stated, picking his words carefully. They were still young; they didn't need to know the dirty details, not now that Naruto was there to deal with the situation. "I found something that would help him. He should be okay now."

"Does that mean we can play with him now?" Kankurō blurted out, paling slightly when Naruto's gaze shifted to him.

Naruto felt a pang in his chest at the clear uncertainty the two displayed towards him. Rasa had been a cold man and a distant father. He was closer to Temari and Kankurō, as evidenced by Temari's tight grasp and Kankurō's clinginess, but they were clearly afraid of Rasa's reaction.

"Of course," Naruto nodded, giving Kankurō a brief smile. He couldn't go around grinning at people, not as Rasa, but he would do his best to reassure Gaara's siblings while still staying somewhat in character. "He needs to rest and you need to go slow, but I'm sure he would love to play with you. Now, why don't you go see if he's up yet?"

Naruto ushered them out, feeling slightly bad as he pried their hands off of him, gently escorting them to the door. They both lingered for a moment, wide eyes looking up at him, before they were off down the hall, most likely heading towards where they knew Gaara was resting.

Before Naruto could close the door and lock it, damn it , the familiar figure of Baki made his way down the opposite hall, his face grim as he met Naruto's eyes. Naruto held back a groan, already growing frustrated at his lack of privacy. He needed a moment, just a second, to start thinking through his situation. He needed to make his way back into his seal to talk with Kurama to better figure out what the hell they're supposed to be doing if Naruto can't go and find his team. He needed a moment to re-establish himself as Naruto .

"Kazekage-sama," Baki greeted with a bow. "The council wishes to be briefed on the situation."

"Right," Naruto breathed out, groaning inwardly. Naruto was not, in any way, prepared to speak before the Sunagakure council. "Lead the way."