Chapter Three
--Search Party [ 森林戦い ]
*Naruto is inside of Practice Area #44, surrounded by the mysterious shinobi, Naku, and two unknown characters, alone*
"Hey, hey! Who are you guys?!"
The shinobi with the oversized sword bent his head ever so slightly and inserted his pinky finger into his left ear, swiveling it around a bit. "Do you have to be such a loudmouth, kid?" Naruto frowned angrily. "Are you going to answer my question?! Who are you guys?" He was now standing up, fists clenched.
"We will tell you soon enough…" The child that was squatted next to a tree was now standing up and started advancing towards Naruto. "But first…" He drew the double-bladed sword from its sheath on his back. "I want to do a little experiment…"
"Eh?" Naruto observed the little boy from a distance. He concluded that the boy was no older than the Hokage's eight year old son, Konohamaru. "Hey, Isn't it past your bed time kid?"
"Ha! So the little rodent has a sense of humor." Naku said from over the little boy's shoulder.
"What?! Who are you callin' a rodent?!"
"You are the child that the nine-tailed fox demon was sealed inside of, am I correct?"
Suddenly an everlasting dumbstruck expression swept over Naruto's face. "How…how did you know that?"
"There isn't much we don't know about you Uzumaki Naruto…." Naku pushed himself from the tree and marched forward. "We've been searching for you for a long time." He patted the tiny fighter on the head. "Ever since Sumaru here was born."
"Enough talking!" Sumaru barked. Naku released his head, somewhat shocked. "We fight now."
*** Meanwhile, at the Mission Recruit Office in Konoha***
"Hmm…. So Naruto went off to that place without permission, eh?"
"Hai. Kakashi-sensei…do you think Naruto-kun will be ok?"
"I don't think so, Sakura. That is a dangerous place that Naruto ran off to. There is a possibility that he could be killed. By either the traps set around it or the people who lured him there."
"People? You mean you think there is more than one?" Sakura said. She was nervously biting her nails.
"Mm. Its definitely at least three people." He turned around to find Shikamaru seated alone. His arms were folded and his eyes closed. His eye twitched. Somehow he could feel the stares of the two ninjas. "Let me guess…." He stood up, transferring his hands to his pockets as he did so. "You want me to tag along, right?"
"It'll give you some practice." Kakashi smiled. "After all the Chuunin exam will be held there."
"How troublesome…"
***Back to Naruto***
Naruto rolled to the right as the ninja child names Sumaru plunged his double-bladed katana into the ground where his head had been the moment before. "Hey, hey! What a minute!"
He stood up quickly, almost tripping over his feet as he did so. He ducked as Sumaru attempted to decapitate him with a horizontal swipe of his blade. Naruto had been pleading with the boy for about ten minutes at least, but to little or no effect.
Finally he decided to get serious and cease his running away. Digging into his leg pouch he took out two kunai, holding one in each hand. 'If he wants a fight, then a fight he gets'. Now all he had to do was search for a blind spot, an opening for attack. Sumaru lunged his sword at Naruto. He ducked to the left, and upon seeing an opportunity to attack, flung a kunai at the child. Sumaru moved forward in an attempt to avoid it, but the blade made contact with the rear of his pants, forming a long tear along the smooth cloth.
Naruto's arms fell limply to his side, the leftover kunai falling from his grip, landing strait up out of the ground. His eyes widened considerably. "Wh-.. What are you?"
A clump of red-orange fur squeezed out of the hole the kunai created in Sumaru's pants. It emerged into a tail. And if that wasn't enough to ruin anybody's appetite; yet another tail erupted from the boy's trousers. And another. And another. Until a total of six long red-orange fur tails could be seen flailing about.
"You see… Uzumaki Naruto… I am just like you…" Sumaru turned slowly around to face Naruto. "I too have a demon inside of me. More specifically; a Six-tailed fox demon; A relative of the Kyubi inside of you, brother."