Chapter: 4 (Survival means everything!)
Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto franchise.
As the Amaterasu washed over Naruto Itachi knew that no one could have survived that attack. Therefore when the attack died down, it was a great surprise to him that a large metal dragon had blocked the attack with it's wings, which were now burning with the black flame.
"What do you think of my newest puppet Itachi." Naruto said with a smirk. "I call it Tetsuryuu!" With a flick of his wrist Naruto had the wings drop off before the ebony flames could reach the main body. "I've been working on this puppet the better part of a year. I admit it doesn't look as impressive without the wings. Now since you've revealed a powerful fire attack, I'll reveal one in turn. Tetsuryuu Special: Burning Dragon Vortex!" Tetsuryuu opened it's mouth, and to Itachi's great surprise fired a combined blast of fire, and a large spinning gust of wind. Itachi tried to dodge to the side, but the whirlwind caught him, tore his sword out of his hand, into the fire where it promptly melted, and blew him almost a hundred feet before crashing into a side of a small house.
Naruto broke control of Tetsuryuu, and pulled out a kunai. He walked over to Itachi's body to finish him off. When he next to the body however, Itachi quickly grabbed him, spun him against the wall, and locked eyes with him. "Tsukuyomi." Itachi coldly said as Naruto's world around him disappeared.
(Inside the world of the Tsukuyomi.)
Naruto found himself tied to a cross, in front of him were three Itachis
"For the next seventy-two hours I will do nothing but stab you." The center Itachi said as all three of them pulled out out kunais. "And for every time you beg me not to, she will be stabbed in your place." He said pointing a another cross which had Mikoto on it, and three Itachis standing before her.
"No! Leave her alone!" Naruto yelled in anger.
Itachi said nothing he just simply began stabbing, not bothering to acknowledge the screams.
(Back in the real world)
Itachi let Naruto go, the boy fell to the ground with no resistance or movement. Itachi pulled out a kunai, and raised it to deliver the finishing blow, when suddenly he heard a voice in his mind. "Itachi that is enough return to me imediatly."
"Very well Madara-sensei. I shall do as you command."Itachi thought back. He then turned to Fugaku, and Mikoto. "You were fortunate to survive today, but rest assured someday we will finish what we started." With that he Shunshin'd away.
Mikoto was confused as to what was happening, but she was even more confused when she saw Fugaku pull out a kunai, and walk towards Naruto. "What are you doing?" She asked.
"What does it look like?" Fugaku countered. "I'm going to kill the boy."
"What!" He yelled. "Why would you do such a thing?"
"Because he's a demon child, this is the perfect time to get rid of him."
"But he saved our lives!" She tried to reason.
"All the more reason to do it. We can't have people know that this monster saved the great Uchiha clan."
"You're the monster here!" Mikoto yelled in anger. "Minato, and Kushina were our friends, and this is how you repay their friendship? By murdering their only child, the one who just risked his life to save us, and several others in cold blood?!"
Fugaku reared back, and slapped her so hard he drew blood. "DO NOT question me you soft hearted woman!" He shouted with rage in his eyes. He then turned and knelt next to Naruto to slit his throat.
Mikoto looked down, and saw a discarded kunai laying at her feet. She instantly knew what she had to do to save this precious boy. Picking it up, she lunged at Fugaku, and with all her strength stabbed him in the back of the neck where the spine was. Fugaku froze for a moment, then promptly dropped on top of Naruto dead.
Mikoto stared in shock at what she had done. She looked at her shaking hands, but could not feel them. She began to hyperventilate. Without thinking, she pulled Fugaku's lifeless body off of Naruto. She then held the unconscious boy close to her chest and began to sob in utter hysterics.
The woman's tears fell on Naruto's face as he began to lightly stir. "Miko... Mikoto-hime?" Naruto weakly asked.
Mikoto took a second to compose herself. "Yes Naruto, I'm here." She said.
"Are you... Safe?" He asked.
"Yes I'm okay don't worry just rest. I'll protect you now." Mikoto said as she held him closer.
"Thank... you." Naruto said as he went back to sleep.
Mikoto then began to cry while holding him tight, and that's the way she was found when the ANBU arrived, and the remaining Uchiha's came out of hiding.
(Inside Naruto's mind)
Naruto awoke to find himself in some kind of dark, damp sewer. He found himself in front of a large cage.
"I told you not to look in his eyes Gaki!" A voice boomed out.
Naruto groaned. "I thought he was dea- Wait a minute who are you?" Naruto took a look at the cage, and saw a thirty-story-tall fox with nine tails laying inside. "The Kyuubi! What is going on here?!"
Naruto could have sworn he heard a sigh from the fox. "All these years, and you still havent figured it out."
"Figured what out?" Naruto asked not sure he was going to like wherever this was going.
"Take a second look at the seal on your stomach, and see if you can not put two and two together." The fox suggested.
Naruto didn't need to look. It all made sense now. "KAMI! You're inside me!"
The Kyuubi laughed. "At last you know, and now that you do we can discuss how we came to this point, but first allow me to speak to you eye to eye." With those words, the fox began to shrink, and change form at a rapid pace until withing seconds it had taken the form of a beautiful woman. "She" had shoulder-length red hair, and red eyes. She was wearing a formal-looking, blood-red, shin-length kimono, with no footwear. She had three features that made her stand out as non-human. One was the fact that she had claw-like nails on her fingers, and toes. Second were the two fox ears on her head. Last (but not least by a long shot) were the nine red fox tails that protruded out of her lower back.
As Naruto looked at her he had one thought on his mind. "Beautiful."
"Now." the Kyuubi said in a normal human voice. "Lets talk. I assume you heard that masked man talk about finishing what he started eight years ago."
"Let me guess. He was talking about you." Naruto said.
"You catch on fast gaki." Kyuubi complimented. "That man is Uchiha Madara one of the founders of Konoha, and the man who summoned me to destroy it."
"Wait! Why would a founder of Konoha want to destroy it? That makes no sense." Naruto stated.
"His reasons for doing so are not in my knowledge I'm afraid." Kyuubi answered. "I never wanted to attack Konoha, I don't like hurting people if they've done me no harm, but he clouded my mind, made me think things that, and I- I..." She placed her head against the bars, and began to cry slightly. "And to see you have to suffer all those things that were done to you, and to know that it's all my fault." She then began to sob.
Naruto couldn't take it anymore. Demon or not, if she really was sad then he had to comfort her. He reached through the bars and gave her a hug. She was surprised,but after a few seconds she began to hug back. "I'm so sorry for all I put you through." She said.
"It's okay. I don't blame you." He said soothingly as they embraced each other for a long time.
(The next morning: Konoha Hospital)
Naruto awoke to find himself in a hospital bed with Mikoto in the bed on the right, and the girl he helped after Itachi knocked her out before the massacre in the bed to his left. Sarutobi was standing before him.
"Good morning Naruto." The Sandaime said. "I think we need to have a little talk. Can you tell me what happened last night?"
"Yeah Hokage-ji. Sit down it's a long story." Naruto said as he began to tell the sordid tale of what happened the previous night.
And that's where I'm gonna end this chapter. For those of you who think this chapter was not as good as the previous chapters, well I sadly would have to agree with you there. I feel this was not the best work I've put out. The next chapter will most likely deal with the aftermath, and repercussions of the Uchiha massacre, then we'll time-skip to the gennin exam. I know it doesn't sound good, but I'll do my best to make it at least mildly entertaining, and in the end isn't that all a writer can do? Anyway enough with the self pity. Here's another puppet profile.
Name:Tetsuryuu (Iron Dragon)
Description: A sixteen-foot-tall, humanoid dragon puppet with wings, and a large tail. (If you've seen the Marvel Comics super villan Dragon Man, it basically looks exactly like that, except with metal plating instead of a leathery hide.) Note: At Naruto's present skill level at this point in the story it requires both hands to operate.
Weapons: Katon/Futon thrower, mounted in mouth, fueled by a sealing scroll; 2x quadruple kunai launcher, mounted in wrists, can be poisoned; wings can be used for flight, or as shields.