Monsters

Naruto was falling into an endless chasm after Pervy Sage tossed him off a cliff. As he screamed into the crevice, falling faster to an inevitable death, one part of him swore at the old man, and the other begged for help. From who? Anyone really. He opened his eyes, feeling the air pressure around him suddenly still. He blinked in confusion at his new surrounding. An underground tunnel system? It couldn't be the sewers because there was no disgusting odour of faeces. The air was musty and thick with dust.

The ceiling was an intricate system of leaking pipes. The sound of the water dropped, joining the shallow puddles sporadically formed on the ground. There was no light source, yet the place had an ominous green glow. Naruto looked around, her face a mixture of astonishment and curiosity. There were several paths in the corridor and as he reached the end, the corridor split into several more tunnels. The dust was less in these tunnels, but the water was starting to rise to his ankles. Naruto was sure he was running around in circles as he turned into another seemingly identical corridor.

A deep groaning noise echoed as Naruto continued walking aimlessly, a shiver running down his spine. The groan grew clearer, and Naruto realised it was in fact something growling his name. Naruto followed the call in a trance-like state, turning a corner and walking through another dim corridor. Were it not for the menacing call, Naruto would have been lost in the maze. The growling amplified with each step, and for a moment Naruto considered running the opposite direction. But curiosity beat fear and Naruto reached the end of the tunnel.

He stood in front of a cell. Metal bars touched the high ceiling and the floor was pristine and dry. His eyes lingered on a small seal stuck in the centre of the prison. Whatever was trapped here was too dangerous to let out. Too powerful to destroy... and maybe too important to hide.

Naruto walked closer to the seal, wanting to get a better look at the seal. What did the symbol mean? He never studied fuuinjutsu, though the kanji inscribed on it felt oddly familiar. Before his fingertip touched the writing, huge claws shot through the space between the bars. With a frightened cry, Naruto jumped back and fell to the floor. A chilling pair of red eyes glowed from behind the bars, scarlet chakra forming the body of a massive creature: The Nine Tailed Beast.

Naruto had seen those eyes before many times.

"It's you!... the fox I see in my dreams."

"Why are you here, foolish boy."

Realisation dawned on Naruto as his mind clicked. The red chakra Pervy Sage was talking about was the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra. The creature stuck in a prison inside him. Naruto's chest puffed in confidence, all vestiges of terror dwindled away as he sharpened his eyes. There was no way the beast could hurt him!

"Since you're staying in my body, I'll take your chakra as rent!" he declared.

The Tailed Beast snarled. If only he could break free of this damned prison and choke the boy, kill him as he killed his father who imprisoned him here. Nothing would bring him more joy than to kill the human who yet again wanted to use his power for his own selfishness. And once more, the mighty creature could only bow its head to the new slave master.

A fog of crimson chakra swirled around Naruto. His eyes grew wide as his wrapped around his body, squeezing the air out of his lungs. It was too late to regret his choice of words.

"I will lend you my chakra, but only because if you die, I will suffer too."

Hinata peered towards the edge cliff, stumbling back as stones crumbled and dropped into the gaping crack. If only she could use her Byakugan to see through the darkness. His yells disappeared as he plunged deeper, and now the ensuing silence was horrifying.

"N-Naruto's in trouble!" Hinata cried, only to be held back by Jiraiya.

"Wait for it," he said. The silence was daunting, but a proud smile curved his thin lips as he heard the tiniest poof.

A huge creature bounced off the rocks, jumped through the crack and landed on the grass. The ground shook as though there was an earthquake, the shockwave knocking her off balance.

"He summoned Gamabunta?" Jiraiya muttered, impressed.

The Hyuga's jaw dropped as Naruto appeared on the head of a giant frog smoking a pipe. "I've let someone sit on my head after a very long time," Gamabunta looked down at Jiraiya, "what did you summon me?"

"Hey, I don't why you think I didn't, but I really summoned you!" Naruto yelled hotly at the toad.

"Sorry Gamabunta, he's right," the sannin grinned as Hinata cheered excitedly.

"In that case, I'll be going back to Mount Myoboku!"

"Hang on a second, I'm not done-" The toad disappeared in a gust of smoke.

"Well done, Naruto. Gamabunta doesn't trust easy, you have to show him your worthy of his trust. You'll have to summon him again and prove yourself."

"Oh man, I just about summoned him here," Naruto cried angrily.

After spending all morning practising the summoning jutsu, his teacher nearly killing him, screaming his lungs out, getting a heart-atttack from the demon fox inside him, and then rejected by the toad he spent the past two week trying to summon, Naruto was drained. Mentally and physically. His breathing was ragged as he glared at the spot Gamabunta had been seconds before. Naruto wasn't sure iif he had enough chakra to summon the damn frog again. But he had no intention to give up.

"I wish I could stay longer but I've got an appointment at the hospital," Hinata spoke up.

"I'll come with you!" Naruto said eagerly, his face lighting up. Hinata had been such a good friend to him and helping out, Naruto wanted to return the favour.

"That's a good idea," Jiraiya said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "before we move on to the next part of the training, we need to make sure you don't suffer from exhaustion too."

"You'll be happy to know that your results have come back as normal. In fact, I'm surprised that your reserves are fully replenished. Considering your initial assessment, it was expected to take a minimum of one month," the medic-nin informed, somewhat astonished.

"Does this mean Hinata can use the Byakugan?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"I don't see why not. How have you been feeling, Hinata?"

"Um... fine, but it still hurts here sometimes," she said, pointing to her temples.

A confused expression filled the doctor's face as her pursed her lips dubiously, glancing back at the clipboard in her hand.

"I suppose it's a matter of ocular strain. I've treated Hyugas who have been blinded for weeks because of their overuse of the Byakugan. Don't worry, the pain should stop in the next week or so."

"That's great news, doc! Right, Hinata?" Naruto's grin faded as he glanced at Hinata's glum expression despite the positive feedback.

"As for you, Naruto," the doctor voice was stern as she looked at Naruto over the top of her glasses. "The Uzumaki are known for their vast chakra reserves, but looking at your physical examination result, you're pushing your luck. You need to take a good rest if you want to be in optimum condition for the chunin tournament."

A guilty look riddled his face as he scratched the back of his head with a sheepish laugh.

The doctor's face grew serious. "Rock Lee is still in an induced coma. The Chunin Exams are not a joke. Look after yourself and don't push yourself more than needed."

"I think we should see Lee," Hinata said, "we can buy a gift for him afterwards."

"Yeah, I've been so busy training with Pervy Sage, I completely forgot to see how Bushy-Brow is." Naruto couldn't help but feel guilty.

As the pair made their way through the oddly silent corridor, they exchanged worried glances. The bustling hospital was deathly quiet in this wing. Hinata inwardly questioned if they were going the right way, but the room numbers waved off the suspicion. They were heading in the direction the doctor told then. A strained noise echoed in the silence, and a desperate shout cracked through the air. Naruto took off and Hinata chased after him. She didn't miss the bizarre trail of sand leading into Lee's room.

She gasped audibly at the scene. Shikamaru's shadow was outstretched, trapping Gaara and the sand in his gourd frozen around the unconscious Lee's neck.

"Thank Kami someone heard me. This bastard's trying to kill Lee," he spat out, his body shaking as he tried to still his movements.

"Shukaku, shall we kill them too? Does their blood smell tasty?" Gaara mumbled, a maniacal grin splitting his face.

"Who the hell is Shukaku?" Naruto asked, gritting his teeth. This guy was officially insane!

"I don't know," Shikamaru said, sweat dripping from his forehead as he concentrated, "he's been talking to it all this time."

"Why are you doing this?" Hinata cowered as his icy pale eyes connected with her, an unhinged glint in them.

"It's my sole purpose of my existence. I was born a monster."

Naruto was stunned, momentarily forgetting how to breathe properly.

Loneliness crept in as Naruto sat on the swing, failing to ignore the stares boring holes into him for reasons that eluded him. He stopped trying to find the answers to their hatred, it was a futile goal. The old swing creaked, struggling to balance the weight of his emaciated body. The shadow of the tree couldn't hide his presence from them. Most times, he wished he was invisible so he could avoid the scathing looks.

Other times he wanted to claw their eyeballs out. Rip out their tongues so they couldn't whisper about him. A primal instinct to punch senselessly, see the blood ooze and hear their begs of mercy, of apologies. It was a guilty fantasy that made the isolation bearable. He delighted in the thought of fulfilling the rumours that flew like the wind through the village. Maybe if he did, he wouldn't feel sad. He would finally know the reason why the villagers detested him.

And he could accept that.

A monster. Naruto was often called demon too. The devil himself. A mistake. A waste of space. Worthless. Weak. A freak. Was his existence that despicable?

"I was a figure of terror in my village."

Naruto's shadow didn't match his tiny stature. It was colossal and moving, nine lines swirling under the harsh sunlight as if alive. Were his eyes playing tricks? He blinked and his shadow was a small reflection of his body. Naruto didn't think much of it, instead he picked up stones.

He aimed them at a make-shift target. It was an abandoned log that had been sliced too thin. Naruto made use of it. He made use of a lot of things people threw away as garbage. He wasn't allowed in most shops. The shop owner refused to sell a real target board to him so Naruto improvised. It quickly became a habit and soon an essential skill.

He wanted to practice his shuriken throwing. He wanted to show Iruka-sensei that he did try his best, that he wasn't purposely a troublesome child. In an isolated part of the forest, Naruto found a small clearing and hung the target board. No one would bother him here. The round stones were nothing like a sharp-edged shuriken. Naruto pretended they were and tossed them at the board. The theory was the same, right? On his third go, a pebble tapped the edge of the wood. Naruto grinned at the progress he made.

"I was completely alone. Not even my siblings wanted to be near me."

In the cold darkness of his decrepit room, Naruto contemplated, disjointed from reality. People hated him, so why not prove to them that they were right? He had no family, no friends. Old Man Hokage dropped by once a month to give him his allowance and probably check if he was dead or not. Iruka didn't realise that Naruto noticed that he gave him looks like the rest of the adults did. His only constant was the suffocating darkness he discovered at a young age. When he learned the cruel reality of the world around him. Of his life. It tempted him to embrace the sinister whispers.

After all, what could he lose?

"What was left for me in this life? I realised that my reason for living was in the killing of others."

Naruto's classmate told him to kill himself. It wasn't the first time someone said it to him, but it didn't hurt any less. The boy and his friends sniggered as Naruto gasped. He turned away from them, knowing he'd get into trouble if he fought back. He'd beat them up in the playground, not caring if he broke another bone. He'd stayed at the hospital enough times to know the names of all the nurses.

Something bubbled inside him. Naruto couldn't comprehend the desire to separate the boy's head from his body. It was an angry wonder that morphed into curious malice. What would it have felt like to hurt, to maim... to kill. It's not an innocent thought, but the concept of innocence did not exist. They were in an academy, learning and training to be the the best murderers, as swift as a gale and as silent as death.

Naruto didn't feel guilty about entertaining the idea.

As Iruka started to talk about advanced ninja weapons, his ears perked up. Naruto listened intently, red flecks in the depth of his stormy blue pools. He wouldn't mind using a paper bomb on a nameless villager he knew from the hate in their eyes. He'd gladly watch the bloody limbs explode in every direction. It was an oddly comforting scenario his mind conjured. To make them feel a fraction of the torment he endured day in and day out.

As if a sudden bucket of icy water was flung over his head, Naruto snapped his pencil into two at the shock. Was he seriously thinking that? No way, he'd never really do something like that! Naruto wouldn't take joy in mindless murder. He was a staunch believer that everyone had some goodness in them, that terrible people have the potential to change if they hear the right words. No one was truly evil.

Naruto felt the whole class staring at him and his face turning deathly white. For a terrifying moment, Naruto thought they all heard his depraved inner ramblings. Iruka sighed, ordering him to pay attention. The class murmured in agreement, a few insults about his intellect. A relieved grin broke on his face, confusing Hinata as she watched him from across the row.

I am Gaara, the demon who only loves himself."

"This freak's out of his mind!" Shikamaru glanced at Hinata, fear paralysing her. He didn't expect Naruto to mirror her reaction. He noticed Naruto's shaky form and eyes fixated in a petrified daze. "Naruto, what the hell's the matter with you? Wake up!"

Shikamaru felt his body give in, his shadow retracting. The sand gushed around the room, pointed like a spear as it spilt into three, shooting right at them. The door slammed open and Might Guy entered. At the sight of the Jonin, Gaara clutched his head in a wild shriek, remembering the display of affection the man showed for his student during the preliminary match. The three genins watched his wail and mutter to himself. Pull strand of his hair out and wrestle with his mind. He was a lunatic. A muderous, crazy lunatic. When his mumblings faded, Gaara looked up, wearing a mask of normalcy. Calm and collected as if he wasn't clawing his brains out moments before.

"I will kill you all... just you wait," the red-head promised as he left the room under Guy's order.

"Hey, Naruto, you alright?" Shikamaru asked, his eyebrow raised at Naruto's unchanged expression.

"I'm fine."

He was not fine. Hinata saw his hand trembling. His body was rigid and azure eyes pulled wide in fright. And when his eyes flicked to hers for a minuscule moment, she saw something in them she had never seen before.

Fear.

Pure, unadulterated fear.

Naruto must have noticed her surprise because he sprinted out the room before she could utter a single word. Her hand reached for her chest, calming the thundering beat of her heart. Naruto didn't run away from anything. Not from a group of bullies twice the size of him, not from a deadly ninja with an infamous reputation. Not from a rogue Sannin who controlled a monstrous snake. Yet, something had scared him enough to flee, something that had sucked away the unyielding courage he possessed.

Hinata must hate him! She must have read his thoughts! Wait, could the Byakugan read thoughts too? Naruto vaguely remembered a quote about the eyes being windows to the soul or something. The shock in her eyes... did she see the ugly part of him he was trying hard to suppress? His racked his brain for a believable excuse. He could tell her that he hadn't thought about snapping someone's neck in a while?

His heart dropped to his stomach at the possibility of losing Hinata. His closest friend. Since joining Team 7, the malevolent insinuations had abated. He had friends, people who cared about him. Iruka-sensei stood up for him, shielded him from harm's way when Mizuki attacked. Sasuke almost sacrificed his life to save him from Haku. Hinata protected him in the Forest of Death even though she was outnumbered. Kakashi-sensei took him out for ramen to cheer him up. Pervy Sage must have seen something in him that made him worthy enough to teach. Heck, even his old classmates didn't hate him any more. They reminded Naruto of the goodness in others, of the goodness in himself. The burning resentment was a thing of the past, buried deep in his mind, lost and forgotten.

But Gaara showed him that wasn't true.

Naruto picked up a rock and threw it angrily it angrily at the sunset before plopping back on the rock.

'Hinata knows about the Tailed Beast and she didn't run away,' he remembered.

That didn't ease him at all. Those wicked thoughts of wanting to gleefully dismember the ones who hurt him wasn't the growl of the Nine-Tails. They were wholly his own. The fox didn't crave to torture the villagers, Naruto did. He wanted to gauge their eyeballs out, slash their throats and watch the blood gush. Somewhere past the prison that held the beast hostage, in the endless abyss in his mind where Naruto tried to hide those thoughts, they rose and touched the surface.

Hinata found Naruto alone on the training ground. His eyebrows were knitted together, eyes glaring at another innocent rock which he proceeded to fling into the distance. His face blanched as he spotted her watching the display of aggression.

"Is s-something bothering y-you?" she asked tentively as she sat beside him.

"No."

Naruto was as bad of a liar as she was.

"You don't have to lie to m-me. I won't r-run away."

He met her comforting gaze, the genuine care in her voice made him realise he was an idiot to think Hinata would hate him.

"I-I know exactly how Gaara feels... it was like he was talking about me. The loneliness... hatred." Naruto stared at Hinata and she saw the frantic fear and doubt swirling in his cerulean depths. "What if I-I turn into Gaara?"

"You won't! You're stronger than you know," she reassured, "besides you have me, and Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei, and Iruka-sensei. You're not alone and you never will be."

"Your right," Naruto mumbled, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. "Gaara doesn't have anyone. If he had a friend, he might be different."

"I'm not sure... it looks like he has more issues than that." Hinata shuddered, remembering his deluded blatherings.

"Right, time to practice. I'm gonna make Gamabunta listen to me!"

"Naruto, y-you need to listen to the doctor and s-sleep."

"Nuh-uh! Sasuke is probably out there still training. There's no way I'm going to lose to him. I know I can summon Gamabunta now, just gotta earn his trust."

"What you n-need to do is l-look after y-yourself."

"Fine," he pouted. "But of I sleep early, you promise to spar with me tomorrow?"

"Of course."

Despite the agreement, neither stood up to leave. Red streaks had melted into the blackness of dusk. The two sat in a soothing silence under the silver moonlight. Rustles of sleepy leaves echoed around them, a slow breeze brushing past Hinata's hair and ruffling Naruto's blond spikes.

"Do you think about Sasuke?" Naruto asked quietly.

The question made Hinata scrunch her face in sudden confusion. A light blush tinted her cheeks at the uncomfortable thought that popped in her mind. Was Naruto possibly alluding to the time Sasuke accidentally held her hand? Truthfully, Sasuke didn't cross her mind. Frequent hospital visits, her random ocular pain, and helping Naruto with his training occupied much of her time and thoughts.

"Not m-much."

"I haven't seen him once since Kakashi-sensei took him from private training." Naruto's petulant tone showed that he still was unhappy that his own sensei chose Sasuke over him. Talk about favouritism! "All I know is that I have to get stronger than him!"

Hinata never understood why Naruto and Sasuke were such dedicated rivals.

"Hey, Hinata..." Naruto flicked her head sideways, a lop-sided grin on his expression. "If me and Sasuke fight, you'll cheer for me, right?"

Hinata smiled. She had always cheered for him, from the very start even if he never heard it. The night's darkness hid the bright blush on her face as she gave Naruto a small nod, making the grin shine triumphantly.

"But p-please don't tell him that. I don't w-want Sasuke to feel bad."

"It'll be our secret!" A solemn expression flitted under the moonlit night as Naruto gaze dropped, "everyone's always cheering for Sasuke. I guess it's nice to know there'll be one person saying my name."

"When e-everyone sees how strong you've become, I k-know for s-sure they're be lots of p-people saying your name!"

"Gee, thanks Hinata!" he exclaimed, pulling the Hyuga into an overly enthusiastic hug.

Naruto felt a sudden weight on his shoulder and pulled apart. His hand held her shoulders and Hinata's head lolled forwards, her eyes closed. He shook her shoulders in an attempt to wake her up, but he had no luck. Hinata's head bobbed along with the movement and Naruto frowned.

"Aw geez, Hinata must be really sleepy," the clueless blonde muttered under his breath.

A/N: Evil Naruto anyone? I think wrestling with his own trauma makes him a more realistic character than a happy-go-lucky never-giving-up, forgiving person.

I was considering of skipping this chapter, since it slows the pace of the story. This this part of the story is a retelling, I think it's important to explore the relationships between characters.

There's couple of changes you need to know:

1. There's no such thing as the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. There is only the Mangekyo Sharingan and its weaknesses include high chakra usage and overtime leads to eventual blindness. A double-edged sword. The user only gains genjutsu-based attacks. More will be explained later on. I don't know if it's just me, but I think Kishimoto was obsessed with the Uchiha, making them really OP compared to other clans. Oh, and a non-Uchiha can only use the power of a Sharingan if they transplant it into their eye socket only.

2. It's going to be as grounded and un-DBZ-like (although I love DBZ) as possible. This means there no plot-armor self-healing Hashirama cells and god-tier forms.

3. Wood-Release is the Kekke Genkai of the Senju Clan, not unique to Hashirama Senju as in the manga/anime. It only manifests in pure-blooded Senju and since Tsunade is part Uzumaki, she doesn't possess it. It's an extinct bloodline trait. She is also the last Senju. Her history will be also explained later on.

4. Naruto will not be as forgiving and compassionate as the manga/anime. The shinobi world is 'kill or be killed' and there's a lot of terrible shit that goes on. I think forgiveness can sometimes be the opposite as moral justice. People who have committed crimes, regardless of how misunderstood they be, still chose to make atrocious decisions. It would be wrong for those people not to suffer the consequences of their actions and be welcomed back with open arms just because they have a sad backstory. Naruto will be more ruthless, but this is will make sense in terms of the direction I'm taking this story post-time skip.

5. Naruto is Naruto, not Ashura's reincarnation. Sasuke is Sasuke, not Indra's reincarnation. A big gripe I had with the series is how Kaguya appeared out of no where. This fic will include Otsusuki myths, ancient shinobi legends, the origin of chakra, clan folklore etc because I'm a big history nerd.

And don't forget to leave a review! Thank you all who left one previously: HimiBR, EquinoxVicious, Guest (1), Arienna Natalitha, Guest (2), yessirbaka, Seankurt, and Guest (3). Lots of love to those of you who followed/favourited too!