Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... (Though I wish I did)

Note: Ah! Another update! This is amazing! Well, I haven't been that busy lately, so I decided to keep on writing. Hehe, so you wanted me to update soon, well, here's the next chapter!

Normal - conversation/narration

Italics - thought/voice in one's head

Italics and Bold - jutsus

PersonaJXT: Yeah, you'll be getting answers, but of course I can't reveal everything in a single go... Oh, and the only reason Koujiro can beat thewhole group was because he had the first strike and he had the cover of the forest. If he fights them ALL head on, he probably wouldn't survive(no matter how poweful you are, against a whole group it's like saying you're committing suicide ). That's the reason he didn't fight when he was surrounded (apart from other reasons). Oh, and the only reason he seemed more powerful than Lee and Gai was because of he was better in ninjutsu than them both, and his taijutsuis almost at Gai's level.
Ero-SENIN: Hehe, I'm sure you can write a lot better than me, as long as you write from the heart!
Sirius183: Sorry if it's a bit confusing, I hope this new chapter helps shed some light on what you're confused in.
Chocobaby: Hehe, thanks for eaiting (lol), here's the new chapter!
Donut-Nin: Yeah, too bad for Koujiro, I feel for him! Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

Here we go!

-

"Hn? What happened? Why does my body feels so comfortable and refreshed… it's like I'm lying on a really soft bed. Ahhh, I really don't want to wake up anymore… so comfortable… so nice to sleep…"

"Hey, dumb-ass, how are you doing?" came a rough voice.

Naruto opens his eyes, only to see that he was once again in the room of the Kyuubi.

"ARGHHH! Why, oh why, do you always torture me by pulling me away whenever I feel comfortable? Can't you wait till I have a nightmare, and THEN pull me out of it?"

The demon snickers. "Hehehe, I just love torture, you do know who and what I am."

"Kuso… ok, why do want to speak to me this time?" Naruto asks rudely.

A large claw suddenly juts out from the bars, and large jaws suddenly spring out from the darkness and bites the bars. Naruto jumps back and prepares himself, but the demon fox just laughs.

"Foolish, foolish boy… do you really think you're any match for me in power? One swing of my tail can carve mountains, one step can create quakes, my breath can burn forests…"

Naruto didn't look intimidated. "That must be one hell of a bad breath you got, damn fox."

"Hmph, you stupid, idiotic, boy…" Kyuubi smiled.

A few seconds pass in silence, and Naruto and the Kyuubi looked at each other, not one creating a sound.

"Uh, you idiot, didn't you notice anything?"

"Notice what?" Naruto looked genuinely puzzled.

"The seal, you stupid dropout, the SEAL! I was capable of holding the bars, and not only that, I was able to crack it a little."

"What!" screams Naruto, and runs close to the bars, examining them closely.

Naruto looks at the bars very carefully, and gasps. The bars bore marks, scratches, and cracks, which were not there back then.

"Do you know what this means, stupid boy?"

Naruto's face darkens. "This means the seal is weakening…"

"Yes, foolish boy…"

"And you can now finally be released into the world… just like what the Akatsuki wants…"

The Kyuubi looks at Naruto. "Dobe, let me tell you something, something that was never told to you by anyone."

Naruto looks up with a serious face and cold eyes.

"The Akatsuki are fools… do they really think that I will be released just because the seal is broken?"

Naruto's eyes widen in wonder. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"Once the seal breaks, my soul will be released from it's prison; however, because I lack a body to go out into the world, my true demon form can never be released. And that's where you come in.

"You are my container. You are my body, thus, once I am released, my full power will be at your disposal. In other words, you and I will become one."

"But aren't we one right now?"

"No, we are not. I am a separate entity, and you are a separate entity. I am the demon, and you are the container. When I mean one, I mean our consciousness and our souls will merge and become one. You will become me."

Naruto's eyes narrow. "And, so what? So what if you and I become one? That would make me a perfect weapon, because with your full demonic power, I will be unstoppable."

The demon fox sighs. "You have gained my respect, foolish boy, but that statement makes me think twice about it. Is that really how much you hate the Hidden Leaf? Let me just tell you something. Once we become one, my vices will become a part of you, meaning we will become an uncontrollable puppet of destruction. You won't be able to control yourself any longer, and you will become a monster. A Kyuubi incarnate, so to speak."

Naruto eyes the demon fox suspiciously, but the Kyuubi continues on.

"You have a choice, dobe. Would you throw away the life of all those who cared for you back then, just to have your stupid revenge? Just so you could channel your hatred to all those who once hated you? I told you before, it doesn't matter if you do create a new dawn, there will always be people who will experience loneliness. You cannot save every one of them, nor can you change them all. All you can do, is not create even more loneliness for others because of your decision.

"I know it's like I'm saying that I do not want to get away from your body, but you have gained a lot more respect from me that you can ever imagine. You will be destroying your life if you choose to unseal me."

Naruto remembers all those who had helped him in the past, all those who had cared for him. But he also remembers that specific night, that night that changed everything. Naruto burst into tears.

"Tch, I… I don't know what to do… A part of me wants to destroy everything, while another part… another part knows that all that you've said is true…"

"Well then, at least do it for the Hyuuga girl… would you want to create loneliness for her?"

Naruto remembers Hinata, and smiles a little.

"And do you remember the dream… that dream wherein you kill her?"

Naruto's eyes widen in horror. He knew that nightmare. He had almost always had that nightmare, a nightmare that he could never bear, a nightmare he had always tried to forget but could not do so.

"The seal can only be undone by the container, the 4th made sure of that. He put his trust in you. Didn't you want to surpass all the Hokages? No Hokage would want to destroy just for revenge."

The Kyuubi ponders on his previous words, and once again remembers the words of the Yondaime.

I have something to protect, damn fox. All my family, all my friends, all the people who are looking up to me as someone who will be able to save them… I am the 4th Hokage, and the will of Konoha is set upon my shoulders! Even if I die, other people will inherit my will, and Konoha will continue to stand!

I will protect them… even at the cost of my own life!

"This is truly none of my business, because by you undoing the seal, I will be free. But my respect for you has grown over the time we have been together. Uzumaki Naruto, if you choose the wrong path, then death will be the fate of that girl, and everyone else."

-

"So… how's life, Kakashi-san?"

Koujiro looks at the white-haired jounin who was now sitting on a chair across him.

"Oh, life's good. We're at war, if you haven't noticed already."

Koujiro laughs a little. "Yes, I noticed." He looks at Kakashi a little more closely, and notices a little orange book.

"Ah! So you also read the 'Come Come Paradise' series?"

Kakashi's right eye widens. "Yes! Don't you? It's such an excellent book!"

Koujiro laughs again. "Yes, I've read until the third volume. My other comrades have the other books. May I borrow that book of yours when you're done?"

Kakashi laughs with him. "You haven't changed a bit, Koujiro-kun."

"Neither have you, 'big brother'."

Kakashi's face suddenly became dark and serious.

"Why did you leave, Koujiro? I really don't understand it. I know that the people of Konoha hated you, but you never listened to them when you were a child. I treated you just like a 'little brother', and still will, even now. But after the Kyuubi incident…"

Koujiro's face turns serious. "I have my reasons, Kakashi-san."

Kakashi eyes the blonde sharply. "And do one of those reasons include you killing the 4th, the only person who became just like a father to you? The Death God would have killed him by pulling out his soul, but you sped things up by slaying him yourself!"

Koujiro eyes Kakashi darkly. "You would never understand, 'big brother'. Killing him… it was hard for me too. That time…"

Koujiro closes his eyes and sees the Yondaime's face in the darkness, in exactly that scene he had been in many years ago.

"Koujiro, do it. It's the only way. And please… please take care of Naruto. I want the people of Konoha to treat him as a hero, and respect him accordingly, for sealed inside him is the youma which tried to destroy us all…

Goodbye, Koujiro."

"If I were to say that what I did was the only way to seal off the Kyuubi, would you have believed me? You would probably think just like all of these people, and say that I was just taking an opportunity to kill the Hokage."

Kakashi felt a slight pang of guilt, for those words were exactly what he had felt when he saw what Koujiro did all those years ago. He had hated him for taking away the 4th, and despite him treating Koujiro as a brother, did not even think of any other reason except that Koujiro was from another village and was sent to assassinate the 4th, not even caring if this was true or not.

"So… is this your revenge, Koujiro? Have you joined the Akatsuki to finally come to destroy us all?"

Koujiro smiles a little. "You draw conclusions a little bit too quickly, Kakashi-san. I told you… I have my own reasons."

"What exactly is your purpose then, Koujiro? I honestly think that you're doing this for revenge, but there are other factors telling me that you aren't as well.

"For one, at that time at the Hidden Village of Rain, you said that you had killed most of the Stone and Rain ninjas that were there. However, when I checked one of the bodies, they were just in a state of temporary death, wherein their heart would beat in such a slow rate that it would be almost imperceptible, especially toa normal ninja who was not trained medically or by the ANBU.

"Next, we have your battle against Gai and Lee. You were almost on even terms with Gai's taijutsu, but from what I saw, you purposely didn't hit any vital points in his system, which of course you could have easily done, if you were able to put those ninjas in a temporary death state. You also did not kill off Lee, because when I looked at the crater produced by the Omote Renge, I could see that the crater was not created by Lee's fall, but by a force which was applied at high speed to make it look like it was done by the Renge; I've concluded that you purposely created that crater so as to lessen the impact for Lee.

"Next, we have your surprise attack on the group. What I don't understand is this: why didn't you finish the group off? If you had trapped them within your jutsu already, why not finish them all off? Instead, you opted to wait for Gai to attack you, thus you purposely lost control of the jutsu, freeing them. From what I can see, you were stalling us. Why then, would you be stalling us?

"Finally, we have those two so-called spies. If they were really spies, why then didn't you make sure they were dead? There was a small amount of time before the group caughtup withyou and the spies you were pursuing. You could have easily kllled them off in that span of time.

"Therefore, I'm being led to believe that there's something going on here. It looks like we will have to keep an eye on those 'spies'. They could very well be spies for the Akatsuki, or for the Sound.

"However, what I cannot understand, is why you are here. If those two were really spies of the Akatsuki, then why were you not with them; you could probably just get in here with a disguise. This has also led me to believe that those are NOT spies, then."

Koujiro looks at Kakashi and grins mysteriously. "Kakashi-san, you think too much. Just take things as they are."

Kakashi stands up, and starts to leave.

"Well, see you some other time, Kakashi-san."

Kakashi looks at Koujiro, and smiles. "It was good to see you again, 'little brother'. If circumstances were different, I would have taken you back in. And I'm happy that I was able to see that you've developed your skills to this level. The 4th has always said that you have the potential to surpass him and all the previous Hokages."

"Heh, thank you, 'big brother'. When we get to fight each other… I'll make sure I don't disappoint you."

-

Koujiro waits a few minutes after Kakashi had left, and takes a sigh of relief.

"Tch, his insight is so darn sharp. I never imagined that he would be capable of coming to those conclusions so quickly. Looks like I can't relax here one bit. Those two had better be on their guard too. It's too risky to be found out just yet."

-

Kakashi walks in the streets of Konoha, contemplating his meeting with Koujiro deeply.

"He's hiding something… I can tell that much. But what? Why is he here in the first place? If he was supposed to be a spy, then they must be thinking we're so stupid that we can't even notice a guy who's part of our personal bingo book."

"It must have something to do with those two who he was 'hunting'…" Kakashi mumbles.

-

Naruto opens his eyes to a white ceiling, and as he moved his body around, he realized that he was on an extremely comfortable bed. He was covered from below his chest to his feet with a white, soft blanket, and the cuddly pillow that his head was on made him want to go back to sleep.

"So, you're awake," came a voice from the far left of the room.

Naruto begins to panic. "Shit! There's someone here! They might see…"

Naruto sits up and immediately looks at the window and at his reflection, but realizes that the genjutsu was still on him.

And the genjutsu was done well enough, enough for him to rival Tsunade's genjutsu which she placed on herself. He had black hair, and his eyes were yellowish instead of the blue or red that anyone might notice. The whisker marks were gone, and his tan skin was replaced with a fair one.

"Wow, I never thought I would look so good in this genjutsu."

"Ahem."

Naruto turns his head to the left, and sees a familiar face looking at him. It was Kakashi.

"Well, now that you've stopped admiring yourself, I just need to ask you a few questions."

Naruto looks at Kakashi with bored eyes, and nods.

"First question: what was the information that you were supposed to give us from Sound? I'm sorry, but this is of utmost importance, and this question can't wait till you're fully recovered."

"I… I... I don't know… I don't… remember much…" Naruto begins.

"Yes, this is the plan. Amnesia. Koujiro made sure that the ninjas knew what his capability was, and his attack on me was supposed to have hit a nerve which induced memory loss. A perfect cover up. Hehe."

"I… see." Kakashi didn't show any emotion at all, and just continued staring at him.

Naruto stared back with seemingly clouded and expressionless eyes. "Hehe, one of the skills Koujiro made me learn: how to not express any emotion at all. But, damn, I never knew Kakashi's eyes were this piercing."

After a few seconds of staring between the two, Kakashi withdrew. "Okay. It seems that you may need to recover more. I'm sorry for bothering you, and I hope for your recovery."

Naruto looks on as Kakashi stands up and leaves the room. A slight pang of nervousness left Naruto's heart, and he let out a sigh.

"That was close… that stare of his made me want to look away… damn, I need more practice."

Naruto was surprised as there was a sudden knock on the door, and three people suddenly came in.

The first to come in was the girl he admired back then, the pink-haired lady known as Haruno Sakura. She had not changed much after the time he had returned and left, except that she was just a bit taller and her hair was just a little longer than before. She was followed by Shizune, and then a few seconds later, the 5th Hokage, Tsunade.

"Hmph, it's Tsunade-baba… all I need to do is put on that 'amnesia' act again and it'll be alright…"

Tsunade looks at Sakura. "So, this will be a test for you. I want to see the result and power of your healing techniques, which I'm sure are top-notch."

Naruto's eye twitched. "T-test! Do they mean to say they used me as some sort practical test? I can't believe they treat their patients this way."

Naruto just looks on as they move his body so that he was turned away from them, then they took off his hospital shirt.

"Very nice, Sakura! After just one day, you were able to heal this guy's wounds to perfection! My, my! I can't even see the marks anymore!" Tsunade praised.

Naruto's eye twitched again. "That's because I have a faster regeneration rate than any of you! I healed myself, for crying out loud, she didn't do anything!"

Naruto suddenly feels a slight tingling in his back. "Oh, I see… they're trying to see if they can fix my amnesia by sending different electrical impulses to my brain… hehe, Kakashi must have told Tsunade-baba about my amnesia."

"Koujiro did a good job here… he would have made an excellent medical ninja. There are no signs of damage in the area of the brain which contains one's memories, but there seems to be a jumbling of electrical impulses in that area, which does not allowhim to recall anything from his memory. No signals move back and forth from the primary memory area, and the only thing that will heal this… is time. It'll take time for the impulses to connect to the appropriate receptors, but by then, Orochimaru would have attacked," Tsunade explains softly.

Naruto smiles. "Hehe, Koujiro did an excellent job in hiding the truth from them. Of course I had to sacrifice the knowledge of almost all my jutsus, but forgetting some jutsus won't kill me. Besides, once the time comes, I can get Koujiro to reconnect to those receptors, so it'll be no problem at all."

Naruto faces them. "Umm, are you done now? I think I need a little more sleep. I'm so tired."

Tsunade looks at him, and nods. "Yes, you're right, Sorry for disturbing you."

Sakura looks at him and smiles. "Hmm, do you remember your name?"

Naruto acts as if struggling, and sadly shakes his head.

"We can just look it up in our records. It'll be no problem," Shizune explains.

"I already have. Black hair, yellow eyes, fair skin. This guy was once a Hunter-nin, but suddenly disappeared while on a mission. It was assumed that he was killed, because his face mask was found with spatters of blood on it, and when a Hunter-nin removes his or her mask, it usually meant that the mission had ended or he or she was dying. Anyway, his name is Kari Shuu."

"Ah, so it's Shuu-kun," Sakura says while eyeing him thoughtfully.

"Kari… Shuu." Naruto says his name slowly, and looks at them with a blank look in his eyes.

"Well, at least you know your own name. You'll be fine, you just need a little more time," Shizune states.

Naruto nods, and watches them leave before lying down on the bed again.

"Hmm, this is working out better than I thought. Meimi's information on the missing nin Kari Shuu was correct, down to the last detail. I'm impressed. Well, time for me to sleep once again."

Naruto closes his eyes, but hears Kyuubi's small voice before drifting into sleep.

"Decide…"

-

Author's Note: Ah yes, the old amnesia thing. Yes, I know it's an old excuse, but that was the best I could think of right now. Anyway, I was able to enter them into Konoha, right, and that's the important thing! Hope you people had fun reading it! Review please!