Naruto blacked out in Jiraiya's water prison. He was trapped in a dizzying, endless void, then in the darkness he saw the glowing red eyes. They were hateful eyes that conjured waves of negative emotion in Naruto: grief and longing for the family he never knew, jealousy of the abilities of his classmates and teachers, fear of the looming dangers and heartlessness of the shinobi world. Naruto wanted to curl up into a ball and submit to the otherworldly terror that towered over him. Each pulse of malevolent energy pushed Naruto deeper into his state of desolation. He thought back to his training, and he realized that he needed to control his emotions just as he controlled his chakra.
Naruto gathered himself and rose to his feet. "Where am I?"
The red eyes continued to stare down at Naruto in silence.
"Am I dreaming?" said Naruto. "Or is this a genjutsu or something?"
The dark beast behind the red eyes lunged toward Naruto, and Naruto could feel the deep hateful energy directed at him. It moved faster than Naruto could comprehend, but it snapped to a sudden halt from thick glowing chains that materialized around its neck and body. It was held at bay, gnashing at Naruto for a few seconds before sulking back to its origin.
"Yellow-haired brat," it growled. The words rolled out of the beast's mouth like dripping poison—they grated Naruto's ears. "Just like him. Come closer, little ninja."
"You t-talk?" said Naruto. "What are you?"
The beast howled, shaking Naruto to the core with primordial terror. He ran from the beast and didn't look back. He ran through the darkness for what felt like an eternity, before a soft glimmer of light began coming into focus ahead of him.
"Well, look who's finally awake," said Jiraiya.
Naruto opened his eyes—he was across from Jiraiya in a Konoha hospital room. Jiraiya sat by the window, midday sunlight shining through the open curtains.
"Pervy sage-sensei?" said Naruto.
"Oh good, your sense of humor seems to have survived," said Jiraiya. "How are you feeling? You've been unconscious for two days."
"Two days?!" said Naruto. "I'm a little sore, but not too bad." Naruto sat up in his bed and saw that Jiraiya's right arm was in a sling, and he began regaining memories of their battle on the river. "How are you doing?"
"Oh, don't worry about this, I'll be fine," said Jiraiya, gesturing to his bandaged arm. "What do you remember?"
"I lost control, and we fought," said Naruto. He remembered the massive power that had propelled him, and the horrific nightmare of the red-eyed beast. Mizuki told me that I was cursed. That there was something inside of me, and I was different from the others. "What am I, Jiraiya-sensei?"
Jiraiya didn't respond immediately. He looked out the window in thought before replying. "You're a jinchuriki—a vessel for the nine-tailed demon fox."
"Mizuki was telling the truth," said Naruto. He sat in quiet isolation. "But I think I always sort of knew, even before then… Why me?"
"Because the Fourth Hokage believed you would be capable," said Jiraiya. "He was the one that sealed the nine-tails within you. I know this is a lot to take in, but you need to know the facts. You need to understand that at your full potential your powers would dwarf even the Hokage."
"Hokage?" said Naruto. "But that's not really me… that chakra, I mean."
"Perhaps, but the chakra is irrevocably intertwined with you," said Jiraiya. "An extraction of the nine-tails would result in your death, so in that sense, it is you. Honestly, I don't think the distinction is that important anyway."
"Easy for you to say," said Naruto.
"There are those that would kill you to obtain the power of the nine-tails without a second thought," said Jiraiya. "The best thing that you can do is learn to control it, and protect it for Konoha. Like I said, the Fourth trusted you to carry this power."
"Are there others like me?" said Naruto.
"Yes, there are nine tailed-beasts scattered around the world," said Jiraiya. "The average jinchuriki life expectancy is pretty low, so it's difficult to know all their identities at any given time, but there are certainly others out there."
"So, it's my power to protect?" said Naruto.
"The way I see it, you're inescapably bound to the nine-tails," said Jiraya. "As long as the power belongs to you, you can use it to make the world a better place, and keep it safe from those that would use it to cause harm."
"So, what's next?" said Naruto "What's the next step of my training?"
Jiraiya smiled. "That's the spirit. You're going to put that massive chakra to work with the ninjutsu art that I'll be teaching you. It's one of my most versatile techniques, and it's a must-learn for any strong shinobi—Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Art of Summoning."
"Summoning? Like the toad you used to smack around Ebisu-sensei?" said Naruto.
"Exactly!" said Jiraiya. "There are two main elements to casting Kuchiyose no Jutsu: (1) Chakra. The more you pump into the technique, and the better control that you have, the more capable you will be at summoning powerful creatures. (2) Blood contract. A summoner must use his blood to sign the summoning contract of his desired faction. That bond allows the space-time ninjutsu to operate."
"Let's do it!" said Naruto.
"Not here," said Jiraiya. "As of now, your training is on hold. Take the next two days to recover, then we'll resume at dawn on the third day at the village entrance."
"Why do I have to wait?" said Naruto. "There's not much time before my match."
"Your body needs time to heal," said Jiraiya. "Thankfully, one common jinchuriki trait is an accelerated level of innate healing, so you should be good soon enough. Try not to do anything too stupid on your time off."
Jiraiya left as Okuda, the medical-nin attending to Naruto, arrived. Okuda was shocked that Naruto had recovered so quickly, having seen Naruto's burned and bloodied state upon hospital admittance. She insisted that Naruto stay under observation for a few hours and answer questions about his physical and mental condition.
Long after Jiraiya's departure, Naruto was still arguing with Okuda in an attempt to escape the hospital early. Sakura Haruno appeared in the doorway. "Naruto! When did you wake up?"
"Oh hey, Sakura!" said Naruto. "Just a little while ago. Are you here to visit me?"
"Not exactly," said Sakura. "I heard your voice from the hallway, and I know you were admitted to the emergency wing of the hospital two days ago. I'm actually on my way to my medical ninjutsu training. What happened to you?"
"My new training has been really intense," said Naruto. "My last session was a real knockout!"
Sakura held back the urge to roll her eyes. "With teammates like you and Sasuke, I know that learning more medical ninjutsu will come in handy."
"Yeah, you're probably right," said Naruto. "I haven't seen Sasuke since the preliminaries, have you heard from him at all?"
Sakura shook her head. "I haven't seen him either. But Kakashi told me not to worry about him, I think they're training together."
Naruto felt a slight pang of envy, and a desire to resume his training immediately. He hated the idea of Sasuke outworking him. "Sakura, if you see Sasuke tell him that I'm going to be a lot stronger by the time we meet up again, and that he better win his first match so we can face each other in the exam."
"You two are ridiculous," said Sakura. She glanced at the clock on the wall. "I'm going to be late to my training session, I have to go. Take care of yourself, Naruto!"
Naruto stayed with Okuda for another hour before Okuda agreed to release him from the hospital. Naruto dressed himself in an old shirt and shorts that Jiraiya had gathered from Naruto's apartment, and he stepped out onto the street. It was early evening in Konoha.
"Hey, Naruto!" Kiba yelled from across the street. Naruto looked over and saw him standing by Shikamaru and Choji next to a yakitori stand. "I want a rematch!"
"C'mon, Kiba," said Shikamaru. "He just got out of the hospital."
Naruto stretched his right shoulder, most of the pain and tightness was gone, and he had been hoping for an excuse to get some exercise. He was excited to test the fruits of his training. "Sure, let's go right now!"
Naruto walked over to Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji at the yakitori stand. Shikamaru sat back and sipped his boba tea as Choji reached for another chicken-skewer. Kiba knelt down to pet Akamaru as he spoke. "I'm not going easy on you just because you're fresh out of the hospital, you know."
"Good," said Naruto. "I'm not holding back either."
"Why were you in there anyway, Naruto?" said Choji.
"It was from my new training," said Naruto. He clapped a hand onto his bicep.
"I think you're doing it wrong then," said Choji. "Training is supposed to keep you out of the hospital."
"Can't we just have a nice meal instead of beating each other up?" said Shikamaru. "Or, apparently in Naruto's case, beating yourself up?"
"We're taking that yakitori to-go," said Kiba. "The old training yard near the academy is down the street."
"Make that one more order for me, I'm starving," said Naruto. He patted his empty pockets. "Oh, can someone spot me?"
"I think it's only fair that Kiba picks up the tab," said Shikamaru. "Seeing as he's the one requesting the fight."
"Yeah, I agree," said Choji through a mouthful of chicken.
"I'll buy you all the food you want if you beat me, how about that?" said Kiba.
"Sounds good to me, so we'll have to make this quick," said Naruto.