1) The Coma

"Tsunade-sama!" called Shizune. "The ritual was a success. Hyuuga Neji will fully recover. Akamichi Chouji will also recover, but it will take him around 3 months before he can go on any mission higher than D rank. Inuzuka Kiba will recover in a week. Nara Shikamaru is physically completely healed but psychologically, he needs some time to cope with the stress of his first mission as the leader. Rock Lee still needs to rest from his surgery and his fight with the sound nin opened up some of the wounds in his arm. Aside from that, he will recover within the month." reported the attendant. "The Sand shinobi who aided in the mission are pretty much unharmed and have been given permission to stay in Konoha. Suna wants to keep the peace between the our two villages."

"What about Naruto?" asked an anxious Tsunade.

"He… is in a coma. We don't know how long it will last and there is one more thing… his umm… tenant has disappeared…" answered Shizune.

In her mind, Tsunade remembered her other two precious people. 'Please wake up, Naruto.'


'What happened…?' thought Naruto. Sitting up in his mindscape, he found himself in the dank corridors he often traveled when the kitsune called or he needed the kitsune. However, something was wrong. He could feel the wrongness of the area. 'I don't feel its power...'

Traveling further into the humid passageway, he turned into the chamber the hosts his tenant. Shocked, he found only an empty cage. Inside the cage, he saw a crate and a vial of a fiery red substance. Naruto carefully approached the sealed off area. "Oi! Baka-kitsune!"

However, all that he heard was the echo of his own voice. As the ruckus died down, Naruto used his signature jutsu and sent a handful of clones through from between the bars to investigate the contents of the cage. However, at the report that there's nothing except for the two objects, he ventured in himself. Squeezing in himself, he approached the two things. He looked from one to the other and decided that it would probably be safer opening the crate, as unknown substances tend to have a volatile and, on the whole, unpleasant tendency.

He walked up to the crate and tried to open it with his hands, but it just didn't work too well. Frustrated with his unsuccessful attempts, Naruto ultimately resorted to the rasengan. Slowly, he applied his destructive ball along the edges of one side of the crate until the side fell off. To his surprise, a rush of chakra came out and covered the entire area.

When the whirlwind of energy subsided, the area looked like a library. Shelves of books and scrolls stacked in hundreds of shelves. In front of him, where the crate used to be, was a chair and table with the red vial and a letter on it. Naruto sat in the chair and read:

To Gaki:

Undoubtedly you are confused as to what has happened. Your idiotic compassion for your enemy left you dying as he walked off. However, you'll be glad to know that he's acknowledged you and that I have saved you at the expense of my life. Glad to be rid of me huh? Well, too bad. I'm not through with you yet!

Using an ancient ritual, you are now honor bound to do one request for me. And that, is to become my legacy! This library is all the knowledge that I've accumulated in my life. As a puny mortal, I know you will never be able to learn all that I've gathered over the millennia, nor will you ever be as powerful as I. However, you will leave your mark in the world and I will be noted in history. In your short lifetime, I've exhausted all possibilities of escape and this is the next best thing.

Undoubtedly, you've noticed by now that the letter is burning itself away. By the time you finish these last few words, the letter will fully incinerate and my existence shall truly end. My memories and experience will be stored in your mind, but only the most important aspects of my life will be known to your consciousness. Even so, you will be in a coma for a year. Choose your style of combat and become legendary in my name! Idaten no Kitune!

Reading those last words, the letter completely combusted, leaving nothing but ashes. Immediately, another surge of power is felt and the vial of red fluid burst, showering Naruto with broken glass. Through his new cuts, the red fluid went into his body, and Naruto's conscious mind, shut down.


At Naruto's bedside, Hyuuga Hinata was awakened from her sleep beside the person she admired most. "Hinata-niichan. Otou-sama demands your presence." said a younger girl with the same blank eyes.

"Hai…" Hinata answered. As the two girls got up and left the room, a pulse of chakra blew the room apart. Chunks of the wall knocked out both females and left them unconscious in the hall. This spike of chakra also alerted the entire hospital. In seconds, a crowd was gathered at the scene with Shizune and Tsunade at the front of the group.

The curious and more than a little fearful crowd ran into the demolished room to see the blonde kid lying in an untouched bed. As one of the more adventurous of the group attempted to get close, another wave of chakra blasted him clear out of the room. Immediately, Tsunade turned to the closes shinobi besides Shizune and yelled, "I want Jiraiya here, now!" Turning to Shizune, she said, "I want you to keep surveillance of Naruto's room and monitor any changes."

The Godaime Hokage then turned to the two unconscious Hyuuga on the floor. She gathered chakra into her palms and used a revival jutsu on the two. Upon waking up, Hinata recalled the explosion from Naruto's room and yelled, "Naruto-kun!" and dashed for the room before Tsunade could stop her. To her surprise, the normally shy girl was not blown back by the chakra. Instead, she stood beside Naruto's bed with her Byakugan active, scanning Naruto in hopes of finding out what happened. "Tsunade-sama! Naruto-kun's chakra is strange… his chakra pathways are filled half by his own chakra and half by a foreign chakra… but it seems to be in harmony. What's happening to him?" asked Hinata, fearfully.

Seeing that Hinata was allowed through the barrier, Tsunade ventured closer. She got to the blonde's bedside and tried to analyze what's happening with a diagnosis jutsu but Naruto's chakra barrier wouldn't let her chakra through. She asked Hinata, "what happened here?"

"Ano… Godaime-sama, I was just leaving Naruto's room when it exploded and I was knocked unconscious by a large piece of plaster. I-is Na-Naruto-kun going to be ok?" answered Hinata, worry evident on her face.

"I don't know. There seems to be a chakra barrier around Naruto that the two of us can walk through but it won't let me use any medical jutsus on him. I don't know what's wrong but I promise I'll do all I can to save him." answered Tsunade. "After all, he's my ototo." she finished in a silent whisper.