The Ties of Life

by chronos136

It wasn't supposed to be like this. Naruto wasn't supposed to look too far into the Scroll of Seals. Some things were sealed in it for a reason. And when Naruto opens those seals, everything changes. What ties Naruto to his life, is ripped away, can he hold on? Or will it, and his humanity, slip from his grasp?

2. Chapter 2

Hey. So uhh...I usually don't respond to reviews and pms'...but I've gotta do this.

To AddyBrained. First, to respond to your comment, I actually agree! Not the deleting thing, obviously, but the council thing. Honestly it was the worst part to write, pretty obvious how it would go down because of every single naruto fanfic out there, but! I tried my best, you don't like it? Well the skedaddle off then. Second. Thank you. I almost peed laughing so hard. "Ree ree ree"? What does that even mean? Like all im imagining is some person at the library running around screaming like a siren because they didn't like a book lol. Ahhh thank you for this laugh! Have a great day!

Anyways! Now that that's out of the way! Onto the next chapter!

A boisterous laughter filled the bar, disturbing many of the male patrons, who looked over in avid jealousy. A large grey haired man with blushed cheeks was surrounded by several gorgeous women, no doubt enjoying their company.

"Oh oh ohhh ladies," The man exclaimed, as one of them draped themselves over him and the rest yelled out in response, "Relax! There is plenty of me to go around!" He giggled lecherously as another slid in a bit closer.

"But Jiraiya-sama!" One cried out.

By now the rest of the bar was once more attempting to tune out the loud, flirtatious group, a cloud of depression still hung over some. However one member didn't even flinch. A rather plain looking man stared at the group. His dull brown hair and eyes giving him a face that faded into the background. Yet when a signal that went unnoticed by almost everyone in the bar occurred, the gentleman stood up. He didn't flinch when the large shinobi surrounded by the beautiful distractions immediately looked him dead in the eye. The unassuming man simply walked through the small crowd, sliding past patrons with an easy that suggested skill. A lot of skill. An odd hush filled the bar as this unknown man made his way over and stood in front of the Sannin and his female entourage. Jiraiya looked up at him, his smile never leaving his face.

"I was wondering when you were going to come join me. You've been watching for over an hour now waiting for something. Is your partner not going to join us as well?" The large man said as he poured sake into a small dish.

If the man was surprised at Jiraiya's knowledge, it didn't show on his face, "Jiraiya-sama, I must ask that you accompany me. There are things that must be discussed in private."

Jiraiya leaned back into his couch, ignoring the ladies that sighed as his attention was taken away, "And what makes you think I want to go with you?" He asked dangerously, narrowing his eyes at the obviously shinobi standing in front of him.

The man tilted his head, before straightening as if in realization, "Oh. I apologize. I made it seem like you had a choice. Jonin Jiraiya, you are ordered to accompany me immediately."

The sake dish in Jiraiya's hand exploded. The girls surrounding the man screamed then shuffled away as the large shinobi stood slowly. Jiraiya could remember the last time someone had tried to order him to do something. The nukenin party had thought they stood a chance. And they tried to order him to surrender. They did not survive. Patrons realized the imminent battle seemingly about to take place and vacated as quickly as they could, some running from the bar like their lives depended on it. Jiraiya stood at his full height and looked down at the relaxed man in front of him, an anger slowly building in his chest as he released some of his killer intent.

"...And who are you?" He asked menacingly, "To think that you can order a Sannin around."

The man did not reply, simply smiled unassuming and tilted his head. A ripple went across the man's face, too quick for most shinobi to even notice. But to Jiraiya, it was almost in slow motion. The face was a genjutsu. And underneath, a white mask with an animal print. Immediately Jiraiya's killing intent vanished as he realized who he was talking to, much to the relief of the staff hiding behind the bar.

Anbu. "What do you want, Kuma?"

The man, once again smiling kindly, "I have orders to give you Jiraiya-sama."

Orders? From the old man? He wouldn't do that...unless…"Alright then, hand them over."

The shinobi paused as if thinking the command over, and looked around at the now empty bar. Which worked in their favor of privacy. He nodded before reaching into a pouch on his side and pulling out a single scroll. And when Jiraiya took the scroll, his concern skyrocketed. The seal on the center of the scroll, was not the Sarutobi seal that all of his sensei's letters were sealed with. Nor was it the seal of Konoha. No, the seal was the seal of the Third Hokage. Making this an official document. Not a friendly message. And then Jiraiya's eyes widened as they took in the small star at the bottom of the seal. It was an S-Class document. Jiraiya wasted no time and broke the seal and unrolled it, his eyes tore through the script at breakneck speed, his blood draining from his face the further he got. When he finished he let the scroll snap back together before dropping it, not watching as it burnt to ash before it even hit the ground because of the secrecy seals.

His mind raced as he went over the mission, and the punishment if he failed to succeed in time. Never. Not in a million years would he have expected this. Something had happened. Something bad. He turned to the disguised Anbu before him.

"Well let's go then, we have a princess to find."

Two Days Later

Tsunade Senju stopped and stared at Jiraiya in front of her. She and Shizune had been walking to the next village on her list in hopes of winning big to get the buy in for Tanuki's upcoming event. They had rounded a corner, and there he was. Standing in the center of the road, waiting. She knew that he had been keeping tabs on her with his spy network, and occasionally she would catch the hint of his chakra as he skirted around her and her apprentices' location. But it had been quite some time since he had simply walked up to her. She spread her senses out and narrowed her eyes as she realized there were two other shinobi hidden in the surrounding forest from her eyes. She didn't like this.

"What do you want, Jiraiya?" She asked roughly.

The large shinobi chuckled quietly, "What? Not even going to say hi? I missed you too Princess!"

Behind her, Tsunade could feel Shizune shuffling her feet as the two skilled shinobi faced each other, "Hi. What do you want?" Even though Jiraiya laughed, Tsunade wasn't comforted, as a matter of fact, his quiet life made her all the more nervous. He didn't do anything quietly.

Jiraiya sighed and reached up to rub the back of his head, an action that made Tsunade take a step back. Whatever it was, Jiraiya didn't want to say it. And if he didn't want to say it, she definitely didn't want to hear it.

"Wh-" But Jiraiya cut her off.

"It's time to go back."

Tsunade's hand balled into a fist at those words and she glared at him, she ignored the whimpers of Shizune as a pressure began building in the air.

"...I swore to you I'd never go back. Nothing's changed that."

Jiraiya sighed and tossed over something, and with a quick snap of her arm she caught it and looked down at a scroll, "Actually, yeah. That's going to have to change."

She glanced at the seal for a moment then looked back at him, "Sensei would never make me go back to Konoha."

Jiraiya said nothing but gestured at the scroll. Narrowing her eyes she looked back down, before gasping lightly at the small star.

S-Class?

Grabbing the edge, Tsunade pulled the document open. And felt her face pale.

Jonin Tsunade Senju, by declaration of the Third Hokage of Konohagakure, you are hereby ordered to return to Konoha immediately. If you do not present yourself by the last day of this month, you will be declared a Nukenin, at which moment you will be removed from Konoha's Shinobi Ranks and a bounty placed on your person.

By the Decree of the Third Hokage,

Sarutobi Hiruzen

I'm sorry Tsunade, but you are needed.

The scroll fell from her hands.

Nukenin.

She didn't notice the scroll burn on the ground.

Konoha.

She didn't notice as Jiraiya placed his hand on her shoulders and looked into her vacant eyes.

"I imagine it read a bit like mine then?" She didn't respond. She couldn't.

Jiraiya sighed and looked over at a confused and nervous Shizune, "Hey Shizune, sorry but we are going to have to change your plans. It's time to go back to Konoha."

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at the bundle of black threads on the bed and listened as the doctors explained their findings, as best they could.

"So far the best result we have discovered is to spread the fabric using methods that do not involve chakra. Continued exposure to chakra causes the threads to become more active, they seem to...feed, on surrounding chakra."

Sarutobi jolted at this, "Feed? Explain Iwasaki."

Iwasaki Aki had been a field doctor in the two of the past Shinobi Wars. He had treated hundreds if not thousands of patients. He had witnessed, sometimes first hand, Tsunade Senju's medical genius. However he had passed the age of jealousy, and simply nodded and tried to follow along as best he could. His only desire being the betterment of iryo-nin and their abilities. When Tsunade left, he turned to studying her journals, constantly making the effort to expand his knowledge, but at this question, all he could do was shrug.

"We aren't entirely sure either. Anbu operative Cat notified us that using Shosen Jutsu in an effort to calm the being, it drained a significant portion of her chakra. At first we assumed this due to the...lack of chakra pathways, however when we attempted other jutsu, such as Iyashinote Jutsu, to further calm him, several of our doctors and nurses felt a...drain."

Third frowned and looked down, "And this lack of chakra pathways? What is your understanding of that? Any ideas?"

The older doctor sighed and took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose in an effort to release his stress, "As far as we have been able to infer from the Second Hokage's journal entities and our own findings, somewhere in this bundle, is the Jiongu Core. The Second stated that he was unable to view it, but the notes taken from Taki describe it to be incredibly tiny, no bigger than a grain of sand. We don't understand a majority of the notes, but it seems that the Core consumes then filters the chakra into the threads. The strings in return send some form of...signals to the Core, the best explanation seems to be that it reads the vibrations in the air and can...sense the chakra in the surrounding area. Every string has chakra. There are no chakra pathways, because this entire bundle is practically made of chakra." He paused for a moment, then continued, "There is no evidence due to Taki not allowing the Core to fully integrate with a person, however, I believe that if their notes are correct. Then it should be able to...hear."

The Third looked at him surprised, and slightly angry, "He has no ears! What do you mean he can hear?'"

Iwasaki made a calming motion with his hands, and smiled for a moment when the Third did, "The strings are responsible for sending information to and from the Core. Similar to nerve endings on our fingers," Iwasaki looked at his own hands for a moment, before looking back up and resuming his explanation, "However they are much more sensitive. The notes from Taki talk of how it used chakra to sense the surrounding area, it could navigate mazes and respond to sounds and outside stimulation. They theorized that it used some form of chakra echolocation to see and hear, like a bat."

Sarutobi recoiled for a moment in shock, "That requires a lot of chakra."

Iwasaki hummed, "Yes and no. If it was expending the chakra in order to do this, then you would be right. However, it absorbs small amounts of chakra itself. I'm working off the theory that it sends out waves of chakra, the chakra bounces off something, and the threads absorb the chakra and information when it bounces back. It requires a decent amount to start, but the threads get it all back."

Hiruzen might have been called the God of Shinobi, but even this was above his head. He needed Tsunade home. He frowned as he recalled what Iwasaki said when he first came into the room, "You claimed earlier the amount of chakra has not dropped, but increased?"

Iwasaki sighed, his momentarily positive look gone again, "Yes, it is not actively feeding on the environment, and we haven't used enough jutsu to account for it, so as to where the chakra is coming from…" He trailed off and gave the Third a hard look.

The Nine Tails. Hiruzen thought, feeling every bit his age. If the chakra was from the Nine Tails, what had become of it? What had become of Naruto? He shook his head and cleared his thoughts, while bracing himself inside. The information he had received was undoubtedly important, when Tsunade and Jiraiya arrived he could instantly relay this and get them to work. However that is not why he came down today.

"You believe Naruto is...waking up?"

Iwasaki nodded, "The chakra is slowly becoming more active, as well as the strings themselves."

A lengthy pause, then Hiruzen asked the question neither wanted to hear, "...is Naruto still in there?"

A sigh responded, "...The chakra is...similar to Naruto's…but also vastly different. At this point...I have no clue. The Core is supposed to be able to contain a consciousness. But as to who is in control…"

Is it Naruto? Is it the Kyuubi? Is it the Core?

The Third Hokage and Iwasaki Aki sat back in their chairs, avidly watching. They had been sitting in silence for over an hour. Waiting. And now it seemed the fruits of their patience was about to pay off. The bundle was moving. It tightened on itself and pulled, single strands would reach out followed by large coils. It was eerie to watch. The Third stood slowly, his eyes not leaving the threads.

"Naruto? Naruto, can you hear me?"

'...-uto-...-ca-...ar-'

The pain. Everything hurt.

'...-ke u-...-uto-'

The dark. Everything was dark.

He tried to put his head in his hands. To block everything out. To hide. But it only brought more pain. More dark. He tried to cry. He tried to scream. He tried to run. More pain. More dark.

'-ax-...-Na-...-lp h-...'

Help me.

Then.

Cool. Calming. Blue. Warm. The relief flowed through like a gentle stream after a storm. Naruto focused on the blue. Blue was safe from the dark. Naruto moved closer to the blue.

'Wha-...-ppen-...-s-...-kay-'

'...-re-...-ust-...moving. Naruto, can you hear me?'

The words came to Naruto. They bounced into his head, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. He tried to open his mouth. But instead he shivered. His body wasn't responding.

'He can't talk!' A different voice called loudly. Suddenly he felt something squeeze. Naruto didn't understand, it felt like someone grabbed his arm and his chest and pulled his hair all at once. His mind grew woozy at the sensation, the dark began to crowd the edges of his mind, as if seeping in.

'Not there!' The voice called in a panic, 'It doesn't like that!'

Then the pressure was gone. The dark retreated. The blue pulsed, sending waves of warmth.

'I have an idea,' the first voice said softly, 'Naruto? Can you lift up your hand for me?'

Inside Naruto's mind he frowned, his arm? He could do that. Or he thought he could. His hand. His arm. Always there right? With just a bit of will, he lifted his arm.

The dark swirled.

Naruto tried to groan as everything moved. It moved and swirled. It wasn't that his arm wasn't there. It was everywhere! Naruto felt the darkness creep as his arm moved where his feet were supposed to be. And in his head. Everything moved. Everything moved. Moved!

"He's panicking!" One of the doctors called out!

Hiruzen watched in horror as the bundle went from smooth motions to a pulsing mess. Chunks contracting and others expanding at a rapid rate. His head snapped to the doctor that had been feeding him healing chakra before this mess went down.

"Calm him down! Immediately!" He commanded.

The doctor snapped to attention before nodding and lifting his hands to begin, but a voice interrupted.

"Wait! Do nothing!" Another voice called out.

Hiruzen's head snapped to Iwasaki, "What are you do-"

"Naruto! Listen to me!" The pulsing motion, and Sarutobi watched as several parts of Naruto's new body moved, as if his head was turning to look at Iwasaki. A churning sensation formed in his stomach but he held it down, he would not betray Naruto by letting himself feel disgust at his new form.

"That's it Naruto, listen to my voice." The threads slowly settled down, they gradually returned to their slow easy motions, "See! That's much better isn't it Naruto."

A strange bouncing motion occurred on one side of his form, and Hiruzen recognized the childish action that Naruto would often employ.

"That was a nod, right Naruto?" And apparently so did Iwasaki, "If it was then I want you to do it again for me."

The same action happened again. The Third Hokage sighed in relief, it was still Naruto in there. But...now what? A soft hum caught his attention and looking down, Sarutobi watched as Iwasaki focussed intently at Naruto's...body. A calm thinking face as he was clearly running scenarios through his head. He removed his hand from his chin and hovered it over Naruto, releasing a tiny amount of Shosen.

"Naruto, can you feel this?" He asked softly.

After a moment of seeming consideration, the figure made another nod.

"Good, now I want you to imagine this is a ball okay? I want you to hold it. So I want you to hold out your left hand, and cup it together and grab this ball okay? Nice and slow alright?"

Naruto nodded again, and then a chunk of the threads slowly lifted up towards the medics hand. However a multitude of them came from all sorts of areas around his form, and Hiruzen watched and realized that Naruto could feel this as his body slowly began to start to convulse again.

"Naruto!" Iwasaki shouted, causing him to freeze, "remember, cup your hand. I want to imagine, bringing your fingers together. Picture your hand. How each finger is next to each other, how they spread and move. What the back of your hand looks like. Then I want you to reach out and grab the ball. Okay." Once again calmed down, Naruto's figure seemed to pause, as if thinking the order over.

How his hand looks?

That's easy! Naruto thought. He always made a fist or put his hands up in the victory sign right? So it shouldn't be too hard. Naruto focused like the voice told him. Focused on how he would squeeze a fist or how he would wave at Iruka, or rub his head when he was in trouble. He reached his hand back up-

The darkness sw-

NO! He shouted mentally, he could do this. He was going to be a ninja! He fought with his fists and his hands and there was no way that….whatever this was would beat him! Naruto focused on his hand. He focused on his fist. He squeezed his hand. He could feel the wrongness in other parts of his body. Which was weird. Really weird. But he brought his hand up. The other parts of him that moved he frowned and focused on, how could he-

Fingers! They're like fingers right? So just keep squeezing into a fist! That has to work right?

Outside of Naruto's mind, the doctors and Hokage watched as threads began to move. However as the seconds dragged on, they could easily tell that out of the blob of threads, a hand was forming. It lacked definition, and the fingers were oddly shaped, and there were definitely too many, but it was a hand nonetheless.

"Good job Naruto! Now, I want you to reach up and grab the ball okay?" The figure nodded at Iwasaki's command, and then several of the parts that nodded contracted in an odd way. And it was only years of being a grandfather to the boy that Sarutobi could easily tell what face Naruto would have been making at the time, a look of intense concentration that never failed to bring a smile to his face. And it didn't fail now as he smiled with a sense of pride as Naruto lifted his "arm" up to Iwasaki's, and only a few spots of his new body moved as well. The misshapen hand grasped the hand covered in green chakra, and it was easy to notice as the Shosen flowed through his body as it quickly calmed down.

"That was very impressive, Naruto!" Iwasaki and Hiruzen watched as Naruto's form shivered in what seemed to be glee or excitement, and then what the group had decreed to be the "head" moved as if facing the other side, then another bulge began to rapidly rise out of the body.

Startled at the sudden action, Iwasaki called out, "Naruto hold o-"

But it was too late. The bulge that came up looked nothing like the other hand he had formed, and as tons of threads from all over began moving in that direction, it was clear it wasn't as focused as the first. And it showed. The form began to convulse rapidly. The hand that had been so painstakingly produced was pulled back into the ball and the twisting and pulling quickly erased all of the effort Naruto had put into making it.

"Flush him with Shosen again!" Iwasaki shouted at the group, once again pulling them to attention as they quickly lunged forward and the glow of medical chakra was forced into Naruto's body. After a brief pause, it was clear the treatment helped as the pulsing once more calmed down. Iwasaki and Hiruzen sighed in relief as the easy motions returned again.

"Let's stick with one hand for now, eh Naruto?" Iwasaki asked gently.

And it was a great relief to the surrounding group, as Naruto nodded gently in response.

Hello my crazy peeples! So yeah another chapter! Sorry it has to end here :(((( I know where I want this to go so I'm going to finish this note and start on another chapter! Sorry this one took so long! But I hope y'all enjoyed it! LOVE YOU!