CHAPTER – 8

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Anime.

AN: Thank you all those who showed their appreciation, it compels me to make it better and keep on writing.

The OC that I use belongs to 'Scarease' (Yes, I'm talking about Emi). Thanks to him for the excellent OC.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

'Flashback'

Naruto woke up dizzy. The world around him was spinning furiously. He grabbed his head and clutched his eyes. He could feel intense warmth in his left shoulder. Naruto deduced it was the Kyuubi's chakra healing his broken bone. He let out a grunt. The last thing he could remember was colliding with a tree.

"He's awake" Naruto heard a calm voice from his left side, a few meters away. He turned his head to find the three familiar Jonins staring at him. Naruto grabbed a kunai from his weapon's pouch in a hush and stood up. His stance was wobbly, but it was respectable after looking at his health. What he saw next sent chills down his spine.

One of the Jonins was standing next to an unconscious Kisuke, about to throw a kunai at his chest.

"That kid is pesty. Kill him while I finish the rest of them" the one holding the kunai ordered. One of the other two nodded and began to advance towards Naruto. The Jinchuuriki looked around frantically.

Haku was lying in a bloody mess alongside his broken mirrors. Tayuya and Emi were unconscious too and were bleeding badly.

Naruto was the only standing member of Team Stampede. The whole team except him were wiped out cleanly.

Naruto once again glanced at the Jonin who was about to kill Kisuke.

His blood boiled and his chakra exploded. Naruto recognized that it was Kyuubi trying to take over. Usually, Naruto fought with all his will to stop Kyuubi and not use his power. But right now, it was Naruto who called upon him. He needed the power. He will save the life of his comrades, even if it is at the cost of his own.

He was their leader after all.

The fox's chakra was unleashed in a fury, with all the killer intent aimed towards the shinobi who was about to kill Kisuke. The Jonin stared at Naruto in horror and paled. "Kill him!" he yelled. The two shinobi nodded and dashed towards Naruto.

Naruto felt his vision distort for a moment, indicating the conversion of his pupils. He let his growing canines puncture his lips. He needed the taste of blood right now. His nails extended and Naruto let out a deep, menacing growl. He got on all fours and charged at his opponents with a wicked aura.

Naruto took on the Jonins with pure Taijutsu. Naruto was a natural at brawling, but the Taijutsu affected by Kyuubi's chakra was a whole different deal. His longer and stronger nails allowed him to slash and stab with extreme ferocity. The chakra also enhanced his prowess, giving him inhuman speed and strength.

Apparently, the opponents were seasoned duos. With some effort, they managed to avoid all of Naruto's blows and managed to land a couple themselves.

After getting hit quite a few times, Naruto decided to kick it up a notch. Today, he won't hesitate for even a second to release the Kyuubi if it was for the safety of his teammates. He allowed more and more of the chakra to surface. Naruto screamed in pain as the evil chakra burned his skin. He felt his whisker marks getting sensitive and his voice getting deeper as he howled. He didn't need to look back to tell that a tale made of chakra had sprouted from the end of his spine.

With the new surge of power, Naruto diverted his attention to the Jonin who was about to kill Kisuke. With vision-defying speed, he rushed towards the lone Jonin. The unprepared didn't manage to get his guard up when Naruto landed a solid side-kick to his stomach. At the last moment, the enemy jumped back, managing to avoid the worst.

Dissatisfied, Naruto snarled and charged at him again. Before Naruto could reach him, the three Jonins regrouped and took him on together. Two of them used Water Whip jutsu to hold Naruto in place while the third one used Severing Waves jutsu to attack him. As soon as the water hit Kyuubi's bubbling chakra, it evaporated.

The battle continued on for a few more minutes, with Naruto's opponents' using the classy 'Hit and Run' tactic. It was true that their attacks had a negligible effect on Naruto, but it was also true that Naruto was unable to land even a single hit on them. Moreover, their continued Ninjutsu usage was weakening Naruto bit by bit.

On several occasions, they tried to harm, or rather kill, the fallen members of Team Stampede, but Naruto made sure that all of their attempts were rendered useless.

It would be a huge understatement to say that Naruto was worried about his comrades' lives. He occasionally gave each one of them a brief stare to check if they were alright. He was worried about Haku, Emi and Tayuya. They were losing a lot of blood. He needed to do something quick.

Naruto was fully aware that he was not in complete control of his body. It was only his will to fight and protect that he was conscious right now. He could feel Kyuubi's chakra receding over time. There had been very few situations in the life of Naruto Uzumaki where he had felt completely powerless and helpless.

This one was the worst situation till now.

After a few more minutes of struggle with the Jonins, Kyuubi's chakra finally left Naruto to his own demise. With absolutely no energy, he fell down in a heap. The skin all over his body was burning with fresh, first-degree burns. Naruto managed to stay awake and open his eyes. One of the masked Jonin walked towards his weak body. He looked significantly winded and was taking long, deep breaths.

"I don't know what kind of fucking demonic power was that, but the brat sure gave us a run for our money" he declared, gaining affirmative nods from his fellow shinobi.

"Time to die bra-" he wasn't able to complete his sentence because of the jump he had to make to avoid a volley of shuriken. Naruto was almost unconscious at this time, but he saw what was going on. The three Jonins were being attacked.

A large figured landed in front of Naruto. The man sprayed some water on his face, yanking him awake. Naruto looked at the man's face and a tear trickled down his own face. Naruto couldn't remember being happier or relieved at seeing someone before, especially not Commander Ao.

"Can you hear me, Naruto?" Ao asked.

Naruto gave a wobbly nod. Ao let out a sigh. "Good. Now listen to me carefully"

"Kiri already knew that we were coming to rob their treasury. It is still not known how the information leaked out. The guys you faced were some of the best Kiri has." Ao put a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Team Stampede did a splendid job. We have a medic nin with us. My men will take you guys to the nearest outpost for first-aid." Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but Ao cut him off "We will talk later Naruto. Right now, I have a job to do. I'm going to help Yui and her team." Ao gave him a confident nod and left. Another rebel came to his help and started to pick him up.

Naruto looked around in a comatose state to find each one of his teammate being helped by a rebel. He gave himself a small smile and closed his eyes, finally succumbing to unconsciousness.

:::::

Naruto woke up in a comparatively healthy state. Deducing that he was in his own tent in the camp, he started to get up, but someone pushed him down. Naruto looked at the kunoichi next to him. It was a new face. She looked rather young.

'Must be the medic' Naruto thought when he saw a bunch of herbs next to her.

"Mei-sama asked me to make sure that all of you get proper rest. Stay down." She clarified her action. Naruto glanced at his body. There were a few patches of bandages here and there on his shirtless body. Naruto really felt that he didn't need them. He looked around the large tent to see all of his teammates lying in their respective beds, covered in bandages.

"I think you should check them first. I heal really quick" he said to the medic. "I already did" she replied while mixing a few herbs with a mortar and pestle. "I was informed that you needed least medical assistance, so I treated them first." she said.

Naruto noticed the sunlight creeping in the tent. "How long was I out?" he asked "Three days" she replied without batting an eye. Naruto raised an eyebrow. It sure didn't felt like he was not connected to the world for three whole days.

"I have to meet Terumi" Naruto declared. The medic stopped her work and glared at him, obviously shocked at his way of addressing the Rebel Leader. After seeing his serious expression, she placed her mortar bowl on the floor and got up from her stool. "I will inform her. Do not attempt to sit up" she said and left the tent.

Naruto sat up. He always had problems with authority anyway.

He walked to his comrades. All of them were sleeping like a log. He smiled a bit. All of them were fine it seemed. He walked back to his bed and laid down. He decided not to face the wrath of the medic.

The kunoichi arrived back a few minutes later. "Mei-sama will call upon you when you are healthy," she said. "Well, I'm healthy now," he said as he jumped up from the bed and dashed out of the tent, leaving a protesting kunoichi behind. He ran to the main tent, returning several greetings on the way. All of them were genuinely worried of Team Stampede's well-being.

Naruto passed through the guards and flipped open the flap. Mei looked up from the scroll she was reading. "Naruto…come inside" she said as she closed the scroll. Naruto gave a nod and walked to her desk.

"Listen Naruto…" she said, rubbing the pinch of her nose "I don't know how it happened. The traitor was caught and executed…I'm really s-" "No need to apologize Terumi" Naruto cut her off.

"I know you care for them as much as I do. We all survived and the traitor is dead. That's all that matters" he said grinning. Terumi smiled at his nature. The boy really was one of a kind. "Anything else?" Naruto asked. "Well, your mission is pretty much the hot topic among the rebels. They are all literally awestruck at how a bunch of kids faced three of the best Jonins of Kiri and managed to survive" she said. Naruto grinned once again "We are that awesome!" he said. Terumi chuckled.

"Naruto," Mei said in a serious tone "Does your team know about…the burden you carry?"

"Yeah, they do." He said.

Mei nodded "And shouldn't you have told me about it?" she asked. Naruto dropped his head.

"I wanted to…but it's just…" he mumbled. Mei sighed "I expect better from you. We are all shinobi. Let me tell you that the rebels know about the fox, and each and every one of them accepts it. We know the difference between a prisoner and a jailer. We are not some stupid civilians Naruto" she said with warmth.

Naruto smiled once again. He was accepted yet again. He felt really good. "Thanks, Terumi" he said. Terumi smiled at him. "You're dismissed. You can go" Naruto nodded and walked out of the tent, with his happiness on cloud nine and with his body full of the will to get stronger.

:::::

"He's finally up!" Emi yelled. "Don't shout. It hurts" Haku grunted while holding his head.

"You have been out for six days" she informed him. Haku was too nauseous to digest anything she said, so he just replied with a grunt.

After he regained his stability, Emi and Kisuke explained to him what exactly happened. He listened to and understood every bit of information, just as other members of Team Stampede.

Emi and Kisuke regained their consciousness a day after Naruto did and Tayuya took one more day after that.

:::::

The team continued their training with more intensity than ever.

Kisuke found out that Ninjato suited him best as a weapon and he began training with.

Emi developed an interest in Two Sword Style and set up her training regime according to it.

Tayuya expanded her Genjutsu arsenal and also began using a slightly larger, iron flute. She began using her flute as a club in close-combat.

Haku improved his techniques with senbon and worked on improving his Kekkei Genkai.

Naruto began working on The Hiraishin and continued his study with seals.

All of them did extensive amount of missions for the next couple of years. The experience they gained from missions and the power they gained from training moulded each and every one of them into a unique, exceptional shinobi.

Also, Naruto received his first message from Tsunade and Jiraiya via his summons. He kept in touch with them throughout the years.

AN: This is a little short, but it had to end there. The next chapter will be the time-skip (two years later)

It might feel that I rushed it, but this is how it is. In the next chapter, you guys will see their development through the years as a team, and as individuals.

Do your job as a reader and tell me what I did wrong/right, and what you guys liked/disliked. Honest opinions are always welcome.

If you find any mistakes or plot holes, feel free to correct me.

Smell ya later.