Sorry about the delay guys. So first work has been horrid and getting in the way, being promoted to Management SUCKS. I also ended up having to get a new computer. My hard drive had to be reformatted in order to transfer anything over of mine into the new tower. Long story short, my Story Notes had to be rewritten from scratch, and I put it off until now because I hadn't felt a strong enough urge to write in a while. Until now. I miss my original notes...

On with the next Chapter of Fox of the Thousand Seals.

Chapter Eleven: The Shifting Tide

Akane groaned softly as she sat up in the hospital, looking around with mild confusion. I... I'm alive? She thought, with some disbelief as she looked down under her gown to see the heavy bandaging keeping her wound from being infected.

"Ah, you're awake Red."

Akane's head quickly snapped towards the voice, her back stiffening before she started to relax slightly. "Sensei... You startled me." I didn't even... Oh, right. I guess he was here long enough that my sensing wouldn't warn me.

"Mmm..." Kakashi moved from his position leaning against the wall near the door to the hospital room, sliding into a chair near the bed as his hand slipped out of one of his Flak Jacket's many pockets. "How are you feeling?"

Akane frowned slightly, tilting her head as she thought. "I'm... Confused."

"Yeah, I'd be too if I woke up after thinking I sacrificed myself for a teammate." Kakashi's lip twitched upwards when he noticed Akane regard him a bit more with that. "I'm here to give you an update on your condition, now that you're aware enough to understand again."

"I'm listening Sensei."

"You're to be placed on light duty until you're fully healed once you are released from the hospital. You're still able to participate in D-Rank Missions, so long as you keep the work light."

Akane looked down at her lap, rubbing her elbow lightly. "I understand." She looked back over at her mentor. "What about Naruto? Is he..."

Kakashi let out a soft chuckle. "I was told you asked about him before when you first woke up... But you just had surgery." He smiled behind his mask. "He'll be fine. In fact, he should be awake by the end of the day. We weren't expecting you to wake up before he did though."

"Can I see him?"

"Of course." Standing from his seat, Kakashi grabbed the neatly folded clothes set on another chair and gave them to Akane. "I'll wait outside for you to get dressed. Then take you to the room Naruto is in."

"Thank you Sensei."

The sound of snoring could be heard as Kakashi assisted Akane into another hospital room, where Naruto was completely oblivious to the world in a bed by the window. Ryouken sat near, leaning back as he held a scroll open and constantly read a specific piece of its contents.

Akane let out a heavy sigh of relief as soon as she was in the room and Kakashi had her sit near Ryouken by Naruto's bedside. "I'm so glad he's okay..."

"After what had happened, we all are glad." Kakashi said, sitting in the last chair. He paused for another time, and almost flinched when Akane glanced at him sharply.

"What are you hiding with that?" She almost snapped.

Kakashi was about to open his mouth when Ryouken reached out to place a hand on Akane's wrist.

"We cannot say at this time." Ryouken said quietly, letting his scroll wind shut. "It is... Only Naruto's place to say." He almost flinched as well when Akane looked his way, but he relaxed when she nodded her acceptance.

[Within Naruto's Mindscape]

Naruto slowly groaned as he looked around, finding himself in the cage of the Kyūbi. "Huh?" He blinked steadily. Why am I here specifically? And more importantly... Why haven't I been torn to shreds?

"It seems you are awake now. Took your sweet time brat."

"I'm kind of wondering why I'm awake... Umm... What the heck happened?"

The Kyūbi plucked Naruto with two claws, holding him up by his clothes as it set him down away from it and facing the large nine-tailed Bijū. "A rather long story. I can inform you now, or you can be informed by your teammates who were still conscious. Your call."

"... What can you tell me then?" Naruto asked quietly.

"You lost yourself to the malice of my Youki. When your teammate... The red haired one I think. She was near fatally wounded, allowing your emotional state at the time drew upon my power. Normally, you'd only have acquired a single tail's worth of it before the Seal cut the flow off. However tt seems your eager attempt at pleasing me with viewing the outside world might have caused more damage than either of us could have expected." The Kyūbi flexed its claws, before running them across the ground with a scraping motion. "Of course, that is merely my guess as to why it happened. I do not know what happened that caused your rampage to cease, because all my memories from that point until about a few hours ago were cut off by a Seal."

"That... Doesn't explain why I woke up here though. Well, here in the cage."

The Kyūbi snorted, lifting it's left paw to rest it's cheek against its open palm. "The answer is simple. The moment I felt the Seal begin to crumble, I pulled you in here."

Naruto frowned. "But... Why?"

The Kyūbi paused for several moments, before laying its paw down and looking down at Naruto. "I do believe you're... Not like the other monkeys now. The predominant reaction your emotions gave me was originally to defend your friends. However... You really need to learn about controlling my power from this point onward. The Tatsujin boy will be a worthy person to learn from."

Naruto blinked slowly, before nodding. "Alright."

"Good. Now that this is out of the way... Your team is waiting on you to wake up. Begone..." With a tap of a large claw to Naruto's forehead, the Kyūbi watched as the blond vanished from the mindscape.

[With the Others]

Naruto groaned, sitting up slowly.

"Naruto!" Akane exclaimed and almost pounced the blond in order to hug him, but Kakashi's hand rested on her shoulder keeping her on her chair. "You're awake!"

"Hey." Naruto said with a smile. "How long was I out?"

"For about two days." Ryouken stated.

Naruto frowned at that. "I slept for two days? Man, no wonder I feel like I have a ton of energy." He started to get up, his blankets moving and showing off his shirtless state. He stopped moving, holding the blankets in place when he noticed and remained on the bed.

Kakashi chuckled. "Well, until I say so you're not training. Ryouken is clear for full duty as he was uninjured. But until the Hokage clears you both, you and Red will be on light duty for the mean time."

"Aww man." Naruto whined a bit.

Akane giggled. "Well, at least I won't feel alone for now." She said, smiling as the others laughed too. Then she suddenly looked towards the door, quieting the others as it opened.

"Ah, that sound tells me a whole lot about the state of my shinobi." Sarutobi said with a pleased grin while entering the room. "Laughter always warms this old man's heart. So I am pleased everyone is doing fine despite what happened on your last mission. I believe Kakashi has informed you all about the temporary leave from duty?"

"Yes Hokage-sama." Ryouken said with a respectful half-bow from his sitting position.

"Good, good. Clear the room please... I need to speak with Naruto privately." Sarutobi took a seat as he ignored the looks of surprise from everyone else.

Naruto frowned in contemplation. "You want to speak to me about something important Jiji?" He asked curiously, and nodded when the Old Kage inclined his head.

"Alright. C'mon Red, Ryouken." Kakashi said as he stood up, helping Akane to her feet easily and leaving the room quickly with his Team.

"Will Naruto be okay Sensei?" Akane questioned as she was helped down the hall away from Naruto's room.

"I believe so. The Hokage must have something important to want us out of the room." Kakashi assured. He might be telling him about the Kyūbi. He then glanced towards Ryouken who was walking ahead with his hands in his pockets, seemingly unfazed. He's pretty nonchalant about this.

"He'll be fine." Ryouken said over his shoulder. "He's with the Hokage, and before you know it he'll be back with us doing missions."

Akane sighed softly before she nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right Ryou-kun. Although I won't be doing good missions for a while..."

"Don't sweat it Red." Kakashi assured with an eye smile. "I will be sure to get some Chakra Control exercises planned for you all, that you can even do despite your injuries."

Akane grimaced a bit.

"What, don't like that idea?"

"Stop calling me Red!" Akane shouted angrily.

Ryouken sighed to himself and looked towards the ceiling of the hall when he reached the elevator to go down to the ground level. Kami's grant me patience...

Sarutobi waited almost a full minute after the rest of Team Seven left before he pulled out his pipe and packed some tobacco.

"Umm... Jiji. Aren't you not supposed to smoke here?" Naruto asked warily.

"Normally they'd ask me Naruto-kun, but this time I think it'll be needed for a moment." Sarutobi snapped his fingers, a spark of fire bursting into the pipe to light it as he started to puff on the carved stick. "You see... There are a couple of things I would like to inform you of and I believe it should be kept quiet. Would you mind if I put up a silencing seal?"

"If it's that important sure thing Jiji." Naruto said with a small smirk as he sat up and scooted back on his bed to lean back against the headboard.

Sarutobi chuckled. "You're never going to stop are you Naruto-kun?" He then stood up and walked to the door, closing it firmly and then planting a strip of paper similar to an Ofuda upon the surface. With a pulse of chakra, the kanji and script written began to glow.

And then he turned around to walk back towards Naruto and sat down in his chair. "Now, I have a few things. I'd like to ask you keep them private. But... If you want to tell your team, you may, if you think they deserve to know."

"Umm... What's going on Jiji?" Naruto inquired with mild trepidation.

"First... I should inform you of what you are to the Village. You..." Sarutobi paused, sighing deeply as he leaned back. "I really didn't want to tell you this until you were older... But you're the container, the Jinchuuriki if you will." He nodded when he saw a small light of recognition appear on Naruto's face. "Yeah, one of those. That's why I wanted to tell you in private."

So he's finally telling you what you are. How quaint. The Kyūbi growled in Naruto's mind. How very convenient after what happened.

Shut up for a moment. I wanna hear what he says about it. Naruto hummed softly. "So I contain a Bijū then?" He asked quietly. When Sarutobi nodded he continued. "Well why tell me now?"

"How observant. I'm telling you because you deserve to know the truth of why you are here in the Hospital." Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, taking a drag from his pipe and then several puffs. "Now what I have to say is very important in the fact that you are not just an orphan. You're one of the Uzumaki Clan."

"The Uzumaki... Clan?" Naruto asked in surprise. "You mean, I'm actually from a Clan and not just an orphan?"

"Yes... The Clan is mostly gone, and you're one of the surviving members that I know of. The Uzumaki were the ruling body of Uzushiogakure no Sato. The village was destroyed by a combined assault from Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Kusagakure because of the Uzumaki's proficiency in the Art of Fūinjutsu."

Naruto frowned. "But what does this have to do with me being a Jinchūriki?"

"Ah, I'm getting there Naruto-kun. The Uzumaki Clan were allied with the Senju, who as you know helped to found our thriving village." Sarutobi smiled when he saw Naruto's recognition. "And our revered First Hokage happened to be married to an Uzumaki, her name was Mito." Sarutobi then paused to repack his pipe with more tobacco, and rekindled the flame to continue smoking. "You see... The Uzumaki were all known for having an incredibly robust lifespan, and could survive wounds that would kill a normal man. Mito, and your mother, both had what was believed to be a Kekkai Genkai which even made it easier for them to control the Kyūbi within them."

Sarutobi held up his hand when Naruto was about to speak. "I'm not done... Look, I really want to tell you who your parents were." He said softly as Naruto's mouth snapped shut.

He knows who my parents were? Naruto thought with surprise. Why hasn't he...?

"I understand you're shocked and perhaps feel betrayed I haven't told you yet who they were. However if everyone else knew who you were the child of... I fear you'd be the target of assassinations or political schemes." With a heavy sigh Sarutobi puffed on his pipe more, his shoulders slumping some and revealing the full breadth of his advanced years to Naruto. "You do deserve to know... However not yet. But I can tell you, your father left behind a scroll that I am to give you explaining everything. I am to give it to you upon your fifteenth birthday or your ascension to Jonin, whichever comes first."

Naruto frowned more and nodded slowly. "I... Guess I understand Jiji. But I also don't..."

Sarutobi laughed, a mirthless chuckle. "I know the struggle of being young... But the Hokage has to keep any promise they make don't they?"

"Yeah... You always do." Naruto agreed.

Sarutobi nodded as he drew another puff of his pipe, contemplating. "Well that's all I have to say at this moment." He said as he stood from his seat. "A nurse will arrive soon to check on you, and I think you'll be free to go."

Hmph... Naruto frowned a bit but nodded as Sarutobi left. What's your problem?

He's not telling you the full truth, why aren't you demanding to learn more? Naruto closed his eyes and sat in a meditative stance for several minutes. Because... I know I will learn more. If the information is that dangerous... I don't think I am ready to learn why.

The Kyuubi blinked in surprise from within its prison, before making a shrugging motion.

(The Next Morning)

Itachi raised an eyebrow as he opened the door to his home, and stared up at the visitor before him. "Jiraiya-Sama, it's a surprise."

"Hello Itachi-san." Jiraiya said with a pleasant smile. "Could I possibly talk to Naruto?"

The Uchiha stared at Jiraiya for several moments, his face impassive as the Toad Sage began to sweat slightly. "Hmm... Very well. I was wondering when you'd show up to be honest." He then stepped aside and gestured to have Jiraiya follow him.

"Thank you Itachi-san." Jiraiya said with a small breath of relief. According to Sarutobi-sensei, he is very protective of Naruto. I'm kind of glad he could take care of the gaki.

"Before I go wake him..." Itachi said, leading Jiraiya into the kitchen and taking a seat, raising a still steaming mug of coffee to his lips to take a sip. "If you wish to see Naruto, you have a decision to make Jiraiya-sama."

Jiraiya hesitated. "What... Kind of decision?"

"You have to tell him your status of being his godfather. But that isn't the decision."

Jiraiya just stared in confusion at the Uchiha who took another sip of his coffee.

Itachi smirked behind the lip of his mug before he lowered it again. "Your decision is what he is to you. Will you just be around out of duty... Or will you take your title seriously? Will you be involved in his training from now on?"

Jiraiya grimaced. "Look here you little upstart. I wanted to be here for him, but the Elder Council kept blocking all of my attempts to meet the kid!" He almost snapped. "Of course I am here to be serious. However you know as well as most other in your Unit that I have a Network to maintain. So I will keep doing that... And I'll start making more time to come back to Konoha and do my visits and get to know the gaki."

Itachi hummed. "Good. Just keep in mind that my roommate will probably tear you a new one if you fail to deliver on your promise."

"Your roommate?"

"He's talking about me." Shisui said from where he happened to be leaning against a wall, smirking at Jiraiya who jumped with a start. "After I started training him when Itachi asked my help, I've come to think of the kid as a younger brother." He looked directly into Jiraiya's eyes. "Sannin or not, if you give me a reason to come after you I will Jiraiya-sama."

"... I see your point then." Jiraiya said, paling slightly. He didn't even activate his Sharingan at all, but yet I felt a chill go down my spine. "So... Can I see him now?"

Itachi chuckled. "Of course, but after he wakes up we're going to visit my brother and his Team. Naruto and Sasuke have a bit of a... Rivalry going, so they're going to spar to keep their hostilities they might develop in check."

"Is that... Wise?"

Shisui shrugged as he reached over to grab a mug and fill it with coffee. "It's working right now, and after every spar they get along pretty well. I think you should see how it goes though... Naruto might surprise you for a Genin."

"So you're saying I cannot actually talk to him until after this matchup?"

"Yep!" Shisui and Itachi said in unison, grinning with their eyes closed at the perturbed Sannin.

What have I gotten myself into? Jiraiya groused mentally, but nodded his assent.

"Sup dobe." Sasuke said with a glare, his arms crossed as he stared at Naruto across from the training ground Teams Seven and Eleven gathered to watch the upcoming matchup. Shisui, Itachi, and Jiraiya stood off to the side with Kakashi and Aoba.

"Yo teme." Naruto said back, matching Sasuke with a glare of his own before he lowered his arms and took his Taijutsu stance. He gave a feral grin as Sasuke also took his stance.

"You remember the rules right?" Kakashi said as he chose that moment to appear between the two combatants, holding his orange book and keeping one eye on the pages.

"Yes sensei!" Both of the fighters stated eagerly.

"Well I'm going to repeat them anyway. Anything goes, killing is forbidden, and do not hurt any of the bystanders. Begin!" Just as the swirl of leaves took Kakashi away from the center, Naruto and Sasuke moved into action.

Flashing through a series of handseals, Sasuke gathered fire chakra in his lungs before he began to exhale a stream of flames. Katon: Karyūdan! He thought.

Naruto moved just as quickly though, taking into the air and using a quick Shadow Clone to throw himself out of the range of the attack where he landed on a tree branch and throwing several kunai at Sasuke.

Sasuke let out a quiet curse as he drew two kunai, rapidly deflecting the seven Naruto threw, and quickly ducked under the extended kick Naruto executed shortly after his throws.

Naruto's foot created a small crater, but he withdrew it quickly and did a backflip to avoid the sweep Sasuke did, but while he was in the air he cursed as Sasuke rapidly went through the hand seals for the Karyūdan once again. He quickly signed the Dog and Snake seals before he was replaced with a very unfortunate log that became roasted. it fell to the ground in a charred mess.

Sasuke turned around and jumped as Naruto closed the distance again, grimacing. He's fast... But he has no real Jutsu to use or he'd have done it before. Perhaps I should just stick with Taijutsu.

Naruto jumped towards Sasuke, moving forth with a chakra burst for his speed where he grabbed the Uchiha's shirt and spun him around with a flourish. With a kick, he sent Sasuke careening for the ground where a heavy thud could be heard as dust filled the air. "Heh... Replacement." He gave a feral grin when he landed, turning to block several rapid strikes from Sasuke as they began a close quarters engagement of rapid (for high level Genin) Taijutsu.

(With the Onlookers)

"Holy kuso..." Jiraiya muttered as he stared in surprise. "What have you been feeding your Genin? Is it just these two who are this strong?" He directed his question towards Aoba and Kakashi.

Kakashi shrugged, turning the page of his book and ignoring the glare Akane sent him from her seat at the bottom of the stands they all were on. "I don't know for sure."

Aoba sighed in resignation as he turned to face Jiraiya and the smirking Uchiha duo. "Well you see, after realizing that they'd be outmatched by these two knuckleheads, the rest of my team have kicked their own training up several notches. Sakura has improved the most of my Genin, and Kaida isn't quite as lazy as she used to be."

"Yeah! I can keep up with Sasuke now!" Sakura exclaimed with a slight blush.

"Only after you quit your stupid diet." Kaida quipped around a sucker she was working on, staring intently at the furious exchange of fists that Naruto and Sasuke were in the midst of.

"How annoying..." Ryouken groused but continued to sit where he was since Akane was leaning back against his legs.

"Still not as bad as it used to be in the Academy." Akane quipped as she turned her attention back to the spar, finished glaring at her Sensei.

Itachi chuckled and nodded to Aoba. "Indeed... Team Eleven has improved their strength due to this. And I believe I've noticed the other Rookie Teams working harder as well."

"Hmm... Didn't they all watch the spar last week?" Shisui inquired.

"You're right, they did." Aoba confirmed as Jiraiya's mouth hung open somewhat. "And I know their own training has gone into overdrive. None of the Rookies want to be left behind as those two power through every challenge they get."

Kakashi nodded, looking up from his page. "Oh, it's getting good now. Their warm up is over."

"WARM UP?!" Jiraiya exclaimed.

(With Sasuke and Naruto)

Naruto danced and backflipped to avoid the savage crushing blow Sasuke would've accomplished with a dual punch. And then he flexed his body and relaxed. "Ah, that was a good warm up."

"Agreed." Sasuke smiled somewhat, less agitated and calmer as he retook his own stance after flexing and doing a light stretch. "Wanna kick it up a few notches now Naruto?"

"Yeah. I wanna see how much stronger you got!" Naruto said excitedly, his chakra flaring as cracks lined the ground around his feet.

Sasuke smirked, and flared his chakra as well which created a similar effect upon the ground. "The resistance seals you helped me get have helped. Alright... Let's go!"

Naruto rushed towards Sasuke, and they became blurs to the eyes of civilians while the Shinobi present could still follow the higher speed spar.

Sasuke ducked and slid his foot forward, side stepping the punch Naruto was about to hit him with and then sliding his right forearm along the underside of Naruto's. Where he grabbed his armpit and hefted, throwing Naruto into the ground with a heavy slam where he raised his foot to slam it down upon the blond's belly.

However Naruto rolled away and wrapped his left leg around behind Sasuke's knee, and with a twisting motion threw Sasuke to the ground. He moved back onto his feet and attempted his own downwards slam, however he missed as the Uchiha prodigy rolled away as well and flipped back onto his feet.

Sasuke then rushed, kunai drawn as he began to slash and weave with high speeds in an attempt to injure Naruto enough for the match to be called.

But Naruto danced in tune, his movements an equal match as he weaved in time to deflect or outright block using his own kunai. Their eyes remained locked on each other the whole time, blue with dark brown.

(Back with the Onlookers)

"I'll be damned..." Jiraiya muttered. "That's... Mirrored work in action right there..."

Itachi nodded, a proud grin on his face. "Indeed. The two of them know each other so well at this point, that they slip into that when they spar."

"And it shows how skilled they are. I doubt many Genin can keep up with them at all if they truly went all out." Shisui stated while watching with his Sharingan active. "Their execution is nearly flawless."

"But... Isn't it a risk to constantly have them fight each other? What if they expect the same from another opponent?" Jiraiya quietly asked.

"It could be." Kakashi said with a shrug. "But they don't just spar with each other. I've had Naruto help Sakura and Kaida with Taijutsu. And Sasuke spars with Akane and Ryouken. It's a pretty lucrative training exchange, having less work to do."

"Of course that's all this is." Aoba muttered under his breath in understanding.

A swirl of leaves bloomed, revealing a female ANBU member with purple hair and a cat mask. She inclined her head to the others before turning to Aoba. "Yamashiro-san, the Hokage has a mission for you and your Team. It is stated to be a C-Rank."

"The Escort to Wave then?" Aoba asked as he stood up. When the ANBU agent nodded, he sighed. "Alright, Sasuke, Naruto!" He shouted. "Wrap it up!"

Sasuke and Naruto turned to look at Aoba, having locked their hands and were in the midst of a power struggle to throw one or the other aside.

"Alright sensei!" Sasuke said before Naruto gained a devilish grin and with a movement, threw him towards the stands.

"SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura shouted as the Uchiha landed next to her.

"Oh fuck you Naruto!"

And here it is. A new Chapter, and one I was stuck on for too damn long in my opinion. I had more written than this, but I actually clipped and cut some bits out that didn't actually do anything besides being fluff to pad my word amount.

And this starts the beginning of what is to be the revamped Wave Arc. I'll be around, so please R&R peeps. Oh yeah, gonna have so much fun with that Arc. I'm feeling evil. Anyways, I am commited to what I started originally. I don't think I'll be redoing any Chapters after this point, would interrupt the flow if I did that. If you don't like the Chapter, please remember that I accept your opinion and if you feel like making arguments I'm happy to debate in PMs. Please keep my Reviews page clean, civil, and concise with criticism that could help me if you have pointers or tips.

Justu this chapter

"Katon: Karyūdan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet)" It is a technique that first debuted in the Anime/Manga as a Technique that Sarutobi Hiruzen (3rd Hokage) used in conjunction with the Mud Dragon Jutsu against Orochimaru before the EdoSenjuBros. However it is also known to Aoba and Ebisu, so I can argue that Aoba was the one who taught Sasuke the Technique. It is a flame breathing jutsu, like an alternation of the Great Fireball shown in the Anime.