Okay, Chapter 3 is up! I had to finish my report on the study abroad to London, which is why it took so long to get this out.

This is the bit that I'm really not sure will go over. It never made sense to me that 1) Kyuubi would appear out of nowhere, something I mentioned in 'If Only' and 2) that no reason has been given. Kyuubi is obviously intelligent, he doesn't move without reason. So, like so many others, I have come up with an explanation. It is most assuredly not right, but it is part of a larger thing, again relating to part 3. I've got this whole plot planned for ages and ages.

Spoiler. About Jiraiya. cries a little bit I would do a one-shot to honor him, but I have no ideas and there are going to be so many of those next, another one will just clog things up. A moment of silence for the great Gama-Sannin. He will be missed. End.

The next one probably won't be up until after Christmas, so Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanza, Ramadan, anything I missed, enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Sadly. Maybe I'll get it for Christmas . . .

Chapter 3

Kyuubi sighed heavily as he watched Naruto struggle to understand the situation. He was getting seriously worried that his little blond head might explode. Out of nowhere, Naruto lowered his hand, which had been scratching his head. Slowly, his raised his eyes and locked them with Samuru.

The demon snickered. I knew the kit would do this.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Naruto shouted suddenly. "Messing with my life like that? Who gave you the right—"

"We are the gods, human," Minowa interrupted him. "No one gave us the right. It is ours by nature."

Silence reigned in the chamber.

"So what!" Naruto screamed.

The gods seemed taken aback. No one had dared to speak to them since, well, forever.

"What kind of freaks are you?" Naruto shouted. "You kill my dad, then bring him back to life for this test, then I have to kill him, only so that I can bring him back to life again?! What the hell?"

The only sound in the room was Naruto gasping for breath after his mini-tirade. "Are you done?" Samuru asked.

"I should just ask to go back to my world, just to spite you all!" Naruto threatened.

Minowa rolled his eyes. "Go ahead, we don't care."

The other gods made noise of assent. Naruto glared at the gods, who just looked back, indifferent. He sat down and folded his arms, staring resolutely to the left of Samuru's legs. Kyuubi scratched his nose in boredom. "Can we move on?"

Everyone looked to Naruto, who continued to ignore them all. Finally, Kagami slid up to him and whispered in his ear. "Listen, idiot, we're gods, which means that time has no meaning for us," she hissed. "But the longer your father spends in my stomach, the less chance you have of truly saving him at all."

Naruto fumed for a couple seconds more. Damn. Damn, damn, damn—followed by a number of other unsavory words. Eventually, he stood back up.

"I'll do it," Naruto snapped grudgingly. "So . . . what do I have to do to save my dad?"

Kagami rolled her eyes. "You haven't figured it out yet?"

Naruto resisted the urge to snarl at her; that would only get him started on another rant. "What, are we gonna travel back in time or something?"

The gods all laughed and Naruto thought his eardrums would explode. The meeting chamber seemed to amplify things tremendously. He clenched his hands and bellowed, "Quit laughing at me!"

"No, we won't send you back in time," Samuru answered, once the gods had calmed down. "Then you wouldn't be a Jinchuuriki and you wouldn't have passed the tests and all of this would be in vain."

Naruto scrunched up his face in confusion. "Then what?"

"We will send you into the stomach of the Shinigami," Samuru replied. "There will be one meeting place, where if you get there, with your father, and say the appropriate phrase, you will come back out, with Namikaze Minato."

Kagami laughed at the boy's predicament and slid up next to him. "Yes, if you agree, I get to swallow you."

The demon fox rolled his eyes and Naruto frowned. He got the feeling that the goddess had meant something more than letting him save his father, but he wasn't sure what. Naruto put it out of his mind and faced Samuru. "I'll do whatever it takes to save my dad."

A murmur ran through the deities standing around. Apparently, some had been expecting him to refuse. Naruto scowled at them and folded his arms. As if!

"You do understand that it will be hard," Samuru warned. "The realm inside the Shinigami's stomach is not welcoming. It will try to destroy you."

"I don't care," Naruto replied. "I just said, I'll do whatever I have to do save my dad!"

Samuru smiled. "That's good. That's what I was hoping to hear. There are a few things that we need to explain before you go, however."

"This won't take long, will it?" Naruto demanded.

"That would depend on how cooperative Kyuubi is," Minowa answered.

Kyuubi frowned, or rather, deepened the frown that had settled on his face from the moment he'd awoken. "What are you talking about?"

"First," Samuru interrupted. "Both of you will have to go. Your souls are still bound together, so where you go, Naruto, Kyuubi goes."

Naruto nodded and Kyuubi bristled. Does he really expect me to save the man who sealed me in his brat? He would have protested, but the god threw a fairly distracting curveball at him.

"Kyuubi, do you remember Uchiha Madara?" Samuru asked.

The fox growled, lips pulled back into a ferocious snarl. "Of course I do. He's the first human with chakra more evil than mine. Your 'friend' Sasuke is the second," he said to Naruto. "What about Uchiha Madara?"

Samuru ignored Kyuubi's question and turned to Naruto. "Do you see the chains around Kyuubi?"

Naruto nodded; he'd noticed them when he'd first seen Kyuubi. Heavy, iron chains that were wrapped around the kitsune's figure. Yet, Kyuubi didn't notice them at all. He had made no mention of them, he moved without adapting for the weight.

Kyuubi snarled at the two. "What chains are you talking about?"

"You'll see in a minute," Samuru asked. "First, why did you attack Konoha?"

At this question, several things happened. First, for half a second, Kyuubi's eyes flashed with something like mad grief. Then, the chains tightened so quick they cut into the fox's flesh. Lastly, the odd look in his eyes was replaced by arrogance and indifference.

He shrugged. "I felt like it."

With a smirk, Samuru turned to Naruto. "Did you see that?"

Naruto scratched his head as the chains relaxed around Kyuubi. "Yeah. Why did they do that?"

"Look closely at the chains, Naruto," Sayu said. He had come up and was eyeing them with distaste. "You'll see something very interesting."

The blond stepped forward and bent down to look at one of the links. "Kit," Kyuubi growled above them. "What are they talking about?"

Naruto ignored him and lifted the chain to peer at it in the light. His eyes widened as he saw the repeating pattern on it and the underlying red glow. He snapped his head around to Samuru, blue eyes shocked and questioning. Wheels started to turn slowly in his head.

Samuru nodded. "You see it as well, then."

The only human in the room nodded, still dumbstruck.

Anger swept through the meeting chamber. Naruto shuddered as he felt the malice in it. Kyuubi. He's mad at being ignoredHe turned to see that Kyuubi's golden eyes were now blood red, and the whisker marks were dark and thick. The chakra he was pumping out hurt Naruto's lungs, his skin, his eyes. He wanted to run away, somewhere safe and secure. In the back of his mind, he heard sounds. The roar of a monster and the screams of the dying, the sound of the earth trembling in fear and the wind obeying to the red demon, the rending of trees and bodies, the powerful, final battle cry of—

"Look at the chains again," Samuru whispered in Naruto's ear, bringing him back to the meeting chamber.

Naruto forced the terror and pain aside and obeyed. As Kyuubi's rage and hatred increased, the chains began to glow red and the pattern he'd seen morphed into another, more dreadful one. It was as though they were feeding off Kyuubi's emotions, and at the same time amplifying them.

"You."

Kyuubi's voice shook Naruto to the bones. It made him want to curl up into a ball until the demon's attention was on someone else. It made him want to rip his ears off and scream until he couldn't hear it anymore. The power in it made him itch in places that couldn't be scratched, like right behind his spinal cord and the edges of his brain.

"Will answer my questions."

It was not the request of a visitor, nor was it the demand of a temperamental child. The sentence was the command of a powerful being, accustomed to being respected, feared and obeyed. Again, it took all of Naruto's concentration not to simply fall to his knees and babble out answers, like 'Forty-two.'

Instead, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and did what Samuru had told him before. The chains that had encircled Kyuubi were getting heavier and heavier. Naruto could see that the fox's shoulders were hunching slowly; he was being pulled down by his own malevolence and spite, where he should have been standing tall and proud, like the imperial, imperious being that he was.

Amarante laughed softly to herself. "Yes, Little Fox, we will."

With that, the woman stepped forward and grabbed hold of one of the chains.

Kyuubi glared full force at the woman, who was holding something invisible in front of him. She didn't seem affected. Naruto, though, he thought with a grin, turning his piercing gaze back to the boy. The blond was sweating, shaking in his sandals. He grinned fiercely, fangs protruding from his mouth. I wonder if he's messed himself yet?

Well, serves the brat right for ignoring me.

No one ignores Kyuubi no Yoko.

His attention was drawn back to the blue lady as she began to tug on something. Perhaps the chains that the brat was looking at. Pain shot through him as she pulled harder on that something. What the hell?

Naruto focused on the chains, with the Mangekyo Sharingan symbol whirling madly on them. They started to change again, as Amarante pulled harder on them. Naruto winced as the chains started to again dig into Kyuubi. The demon, for his part, growled and hissed.

Kyuubi tried not to show it, but his body was hurting like hell when Amarante was pulling on the invisible something. It felt like something was trying to rip him to shreds. He felt his wrath building exponentially with each tug she made. Some small part of him knew, as his bloodlust increased, that he shouldn't be this angry over a little pain. He shouldn't be feeling like he wanted to rip Amarante and every other person in the room to pieces and bathe in their blood.

But he did.

Don't run. Don't run. Don't run. Naruto was keeping up that chant in his head as he felt the fury in the air swell to the point of suffocation. Don't run.

Some of the other gods ran forward as Kyuubi's fangs and nails lengthened. There were cries of holding him down, keeping him back. Amarante spared a glance at Kyuubi, then gave one great, final tug.

The chains shattered into a million pieces, red glowing and covered in the tomoe of the Mangekyo Sharingan. Naruto staggered back. If those hit me, if they hurt me—

Kyuubi howled and Naruto forgot all about the sharp bits of chain hurling at him.

Kyuubi convulsed where he stood. Dimly, he heard someone screaming in the background. He was being ripped to shreds; painful, agonizing fire was ripping through every part of him, each individual flame tearing him apart and moving towards one central place. He could feel them, racing up his body, starting to build in intensity and heat. Finally, they formed one giant conflagration and shot up his spine into his head. He felt walls and gates in his mind burning to ashes, doors that had been locked for years, crumbling in the fire.

Then he was—

—looking into concerned, angry blue eyes—

—facing the wise, intense eyes of the old man—

—giggling as the two of them looked into the bathhouse—

—watching in amazement as the fiery redhead's hands glowed with chakra—

—fighting fiercely against the men who moved through the earth—

—comforting his friend in his loss—

—purring happily as her six and his nine wound together—

—getting drunk as they both celebrated impending fatherhood—

—listening to her cries of pain and joy as she brought them—

—feeling his heart swell with love and pride as they walked—

—falling into spinning red and laughing gold eyes—

—angry, Angry, Angry ANGRY ANGRY ANGRY ANGRY ANGRY—

Naruto slapped his hands over his ears as Kyuubi continued to howl. This wasn't like before when Kyuubi hurt his ears and his brain. This time, the sound of Kyuubi made his heart wrench in his chest. He would do anything to make it stop. No one could be in that much pain and live, except that Kyuubi was and he was sending his anguish out to everyone else.

The monitors went into overload as Naruto started to shake on the bed.

Nurses rushed in, calling for someone to get Tsunade and hurry, for the gods' sakes.

Sakura tried to get in, but was pushed back. She was too close to him and not experienced enough. The pink-haired girl fell into a chair as she listened to the mad beeping of the heart monitor and the quick orders of the nurses.

Oh, god, no, please, no.

"Oh, god, no, please, no."

Samuru sighed and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, calming him instantly. He stopped his thrashing and wailing and started to breathe normally.

Tsunade came into the room just as whatever had its hand on the blond let him go. He slumped back into the bed, still unconscious.

"What the hell just happened?"

Naruto closed his eyes to stop the tears as Kyuubi continued to howl. Eventually, the howls turned to sobs and the kitsune fell to his knees, curling into a ball, hands and jaw clenched. Tears flowed unchecked and hit the ground. Gradually, Kyuubi's breathing changed. It became more controlled, deeper and yet somehow more ragged, if possible. He lifted his head and looked into the middle distance, seeing something in his mind's eye. His lips drew back into a feral snarl.

"Madara."

The meeting chamber shook at Kyuubi's hatred. This was different from before. Naruto was reminded of one time Kakashi had tried to teach him about the power of wind.

The force of something is determined by its speed and surface area. If take a gale force wind and compress it, but keep the speed the same, the smaller it becomes, the more devastating it is.

Naruto shuddered as he thought of the incredible power of Kyuubi's wrath concentrated on one thing, or worse, one person. He scrambled back again, and drew Kyuubi's attention to him.

Kyuubi saw the blond hair, the blue eyes. "Minato?"

"Huh?" Blue eyes blinked in confusion as Kyuubi's rage dissipated slightly. "No, I'm Naruto. The brat you've been sealed in for sixteen years, remember?"

Kyuubi slowly sat up, staring intently at Naruto. Sealed? Yes, I remember being sealed. By . . . Minato.

"This is for you and him. Forgive me."

Minato . . .

Shit.

Kyuubi clenched his hands on his thighs, his claws digging into his palms.He breathed deep, to control his rage. Minato was dead, had died to protect him, the Village, and his son. But now he had a chance to get him back, to atone for what he'd done.

To make those bastards pay.

He pushed himself to his feet and faced Samuru, grinning. "So, how are we gonna do this?"

Naruto looked between the grinning Kyuubi and the smug-looking Samuru. "Okay, what just happened?"

"I'll explain later, kit," Kyuubi responded. "Get up. We can't keep wasting time. Every second in there hurts Minato even more."

Scrambling to his feet, Naruto stepped up to Kyuubi's side. "I'm ready."

"You'd better be, Naruto," Kyuubi growled, his eyes golden once more and serious.

"One thing," Samuru said. "You will have access to all of your jutsus, and you will have to fight some things to get to your father. Once you come out of the Shinigami's belly, you cannot go back in. If you find it too hard, and leave to save yourself, you will not be allowed another chance."

Samuru stopped talking for a second, looking Naruto straight in the eye. "This is a one-time deal, Naruto."

The weight of his situation rested upon Naruto, but he straightened his spine and thrust his chin out. "Got it."

"Good," Samuru nodded. "Whenever you're ready, Kagami."

Kagami laughed to herself. Slowly, her odd hair began to go white and her skin took on a purplish hue. Her dress of black turned to baggy white robes. She held a knife in her mouth and prayer beads in her hands.

"This is what your dad saw when he sealed me," Kyuubi told Naruto. "Needless to say, he was uncommonly brave. For a human. Alright, Shinigami. Eat me!""

Dad . . . sealed. In Naruto's mind's eye, two Namikaze Minatos appeared. One was his father, the man who'd protected him in the other world, who'd taught him how to repair logs and pulled him out of the fissure. The other was the Fourth Hokage, who'd sealed a demon in him and then abandoned him for Death. Before Naruto could think on this, the Shinigami grabbed hold of him.

Ice shot through Naruto at her touch. The world took on a darker cast, as though he was looking at it through sunglasses. Sounds became muffled as she lifted him and Kyuubi to her gaping mouth. Naruto closed his eyes.

Sakura frowned in concern as Naruto's hand grew colder. She had come in to hold it after his unexplainable seizure and it suddenly got colder.

She pressed a hand to his forehead and discovered that indeed, his body temperature was down.

The medic-in-training stood up and ran to the nurses' station. "Please, get Tsunade-sama. Something is going on with Naruto."

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Spoiler. Yes, that's it. There really wasn't much of a chance to mention how Jiraiya's death affected everyone, that will come in next chapter. End

I know that the reason for Kyuubi's attack has been over done, but give me a chance. Thank you!

And I can't believe it! I love you guys! Less than a week and "Belly of the Beast" has over 100 reviews! Wow! Hugs for everyone! (Keep it up:P)