Authors note:
(dog speech)
/fox speech /
If you were supprised by Naruto already, you dont know the half of what he is now.

Chapter 4: The Captured Fox Returns Home

Opening his eyes the first thing he realized was that it was night. 'Ugh what happened?' He asked him self. 'I remember Itachi, then… must have been a nightmare. Well better check to see if everything is still working.' Getting up he stretched and shifted every bone and muscle, making sure that he wasn't hurt anywhere. As each muscle and bone moved and stretched he checked it off of his mental checklist. But when he stretched his right leg, that was when he realized something was wrong, his leg felt different. Looking back he was surprised to see the hind leg of a fox.

'Crap! Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap! I've transformed! How long have I been out? I had just put on a fresh transformation charm when I passed out. That would have lasted at least a day without my conscious reinforcement.' Looking forward he realized why the ground was so cold. He was inside of a cage. Looking around he took in his situation. He was alone, locked in a cage, in the middle of a forest, with a fire burning near him. 'Not good.'

(Looks like your awake.) Someone said behind his back. Spinning around, he came face to face with Akamaru.

/What do you want/

(Nothing.)

/What are you doing/

(Standing guard.)

There was silence between them for a few minuets. Nothing but the chirp of crickets and the pop and crackle of the fire near by, it was Naruto who finally broke the silence between them.

/Let me go. / It was more of a command then a request.

(Sorry, but I can't.)

/Then I'll just have to break out. /

(Fine with me. You'll be the one on the receiving end of Hinatas' rage for not getting her sleep.)

/Hinata, no, she's to shy and gentle to hurt me. /

(You would be surprised how much her and everyone have changed since you left.)

Silence engulfed the clearing, and for a couple of hours all Naruto did was stare at the fire. Akamaru on the other hand was content to just chew on the bone that Kiba had given him earlier. But just like most people, even though he's a dog, after a while of not talking to someone who you have questions for, he wanted some answers.

(Why did you leave?) That being the biggest question on the minds of everyone who cared.

/Why? Why? You must be stupider than you look/ He howled loudly, and that was when he realized his mistake. Everyone had been awoken by his howl, so he did something he had become very good at over the years, he pretended to be unconscious. Collapsing and just barely keeping his eyes cracked, just as everyone began to stir. Akamaru didn't much care. His internal body clock told him that it was about time for him to wake everyone up any way, so he just stared. As the 4 Jounin began to awaken they all got up and stretched. Not a word was spoken between them. Hinata and Lee gathered wood and stoked the fire while Sakura and Kiba got the groups food out and prepared it. By the time the group had finished eating the sky was just beginning to lighten.

None of them spoke as they repacked what little they had to, and doused the fire. It was Kiba and Lee that took holed of the cage, lifted it, and began to carry it as the team continued with its journey. The day passed slowly and Naruto found himself drifting off into sleep more than once, but by sun down his worst fears hit him full force. By sundown they were safely within the walls of Konoha. As his cage passed through the threshold he felt the energy in it begin to dissipate, and as soon as all of the energy was completely dissipated he stretched out his consciousness. That was when he realized that he was fully trapped. He could feel the energy of a barrier surrounding the entire city.

Lee and Kiba set down his cage, and Sakura turned and kneeled to face him. Looking him straight in the eyes she asked him a question, "If we let you out, will you behave yourself?" After contemplating for a few seconds he shook his head up and down. While Sakura was busy undoing the seals on the cage, he concentrated and altered his form so he looked like a normal, if not slightly larger than normal, fox. As they walked through the village, Naruto noticed how everything had, if only slightly, changed. When he had left, everyone had looks of sorrow, grief, anger, or fear on their faces. But they didn't have those faces anymore. Their faces were that of the villagers before the war with the sound had begun.

It had been 3 days since he had arrived in Konoha, only problem was… he was sealed in a cell, and he didn't know where it was. Thanks to the room he was sealed in, which employed a barrier similar to the one he had used in his apartment years ago, he couldn't sense anything out side of it. But that didn't matter, he had left a trail so he could be found and released. "Once the others arrive, we can go after our targets." Stretching out his senses he became aware of a group coming towards his cell.

Just as he had suspected, it was Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, and Tsunade. "Well, well, well, what have we here? It's the leaf Nins come to talk to their poor imprisoned friend. And Sasuke, too, when did you come back to this little village? I thought that you had gone to Orochimaru? Then again, you would have to come back after the sound was so fully trounced by Akatsuki. Well no more living in the past, so Tsunade-baba, what's my punishment going to be?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Naruto, what you did was tantamount to treason. Therefore you have 3 options before you. The first is that you return to your previous position, but you will be watched more closely. The second is that you allow your self to be sealed, so that you can no longer summon chakra. The last is the most obvious of all." Tsunade said finishing her speech.

"So I ether become a hidden leaf Nin, allow my ability to summon chakra to be sealed, or die. Heh, they all sound like such great options." The sarcasm in his voice plainly obvious. "Why don't you give me some time? After all, I can't escape." The look on his face clearly showing that he was hiding something.

It was Sasuke that asked the question "What are you hiding?"

"What are you talking about, I'm not hiding anything, you weak Uchiha." Everyone knew what Naruto was doing. He was trying to enrage Sasuke. And from what they all saw Sasuke was falling right into it. "You know what, don't talk to me. Everyone else can, just not you. I don't want weaklings, cowards, or morons speaking to me."

Just as Sasuke was about to lung at him, Kakashi put his hand on his shoulder. "Why did you leave?" Sakura asked. "Because, I have more power than anyone in this village will ever have. I needed strong people to train me, not medics, copycats, or perverts. Oh, by the way Sasuke, I have a gift for you." Taking a pouch out of his vest he tossed it through the bars at Sasuke. Catching it, Sasuke looked inside, then, released it in shock. As it fell Naruto commented "What, don't like my present?" Once the pouch hit the ground two eyes rolled out. Each one was red, and had the Mangekyou Sharingan forever exposed to the world. Even without the body, they could all see the terror in the eyes, and knew whom they belonged to.

"As I said, all Uchiha are weak. Now if all of you are done, I would appreciate it if you would tell Hinata that I would like to see her." With that he lay on his bed and refused to respond to anyone. Finally after a good 20 minuets they all gave up and left.

It had been late when the messenger had arrived carrying word from Tsunade that Naruto wanted to see her. She had immediately rushed to see what he wanted. When she had arrived, she saw one of his k9 teeth missing, until he held it up, attached to strand of fox fur.

"Take it."

"Why?" Hinata questioned.

"Because it's a gift." Naruto stated

"But, …"

His next statement cut her off, "Look, I was stupid. I just wanted to apologies for not noticing how you felt about me sooner. Plus, I don't really have anything to give you besides this. Just take it, it will protect you, and as an addend bonus, give you good luck." With that he tossed it at her. She caught it, and slipped it over her head.

"You should get some sleep. Go home, I'll see you soon."

With that Hinata returned home. She missed the smirk on Naruto's face as she left. 'Perfect. Now, all I have to do is wait for my release. She wont even know what hit her until it's too late.'

It was late, and Naruto was becoming jittery. At 11:58 he began to hear a low humming. Knowing the signal, he covered his ears. Then at exactly 12:00 every one of the guards fell unconscious. Uncovering his ears, he heard the first gate open. Then he saw Kono come to his cell door and open it with the keys.

"Took you guys long enough." Naruto stated.

"Security was tighter then we expected, it was hard to avoid all of the guards and patrols."

Kono handed him a scroll and he set it on the threshold of the cell. As they walked out of the holding area Naruto used genjutsu to change his appearance, then both of them disappeared with only as small sound and parted air left to prove that they were there.

Lying on the bed that was his he looked over at the other 5 people in the room. Each one was like him. Hated, and feared just because they existed. Over the past two years he had taken them in, trained them, and now they fought for him. They were ready and willing to sacrifice anything for him. And they were strong. There was Kopi, Kim, Taishimo, Kono, and Tetsukazu. None of them had had a choice in the matter of being hated. They were born into that fate, just like him. None of them could change what they were, any more than they could change the stars. As he drifted off to sleep he began to think about what the next month and a half would bring, 'As long as I come out of this with Hinata by my side, nothing else matters.' And with that, he drifted off to sleep.

Shikamaru was not happy. It wasn't like he was extremely lazy or anything, but it was

5 AM, and he had been awoken at 4 AM and had been told to report to the hokage tower in one hour. As he walked into the meeting room he noticed that most of the villages Jounin were present. 'Must be something important if Tsunade gathered all of us this early in the morning.' He thought. As he and the final Jounin arrived the chatter among them quieted down to nothing. Once all everyone had quieted down Tsunade stood and addressed the group. "We have had an unexpected development. The recent mission led by Jounin Rock Lee has taken an unexpected turn. The missing Nin Naruto has been captured. From what I believe, he allowed himself to be captured. Unfortunately for us the chuunin examination begins in just a few hours, we don't have the time or people to deal with him at this time, and we cannot postpone it. So we are going to up security during the examination. It is the best we can do at the moment." With that, Tsunade left the conference room. Walking down the halls and corridors, she ended up at the descending staircase that lead to the holding cells below. Descending the staircase, she was met with and unexpected sight. All of the Anbu were unconscious on the floor.

That was when she saw the scroll. Picking it up, she broke the seal and began to read it.

Tsunade

Did you really think that one of your cells would hold me?

I and a demon now, and I have friends on the out side.

You must be incredibly naive or stupid to let your guard down like this.

Either way, you will not know what I am after until it is already too late.

Kitsune youkai

Kyuubi

"Naruto, I thought I could trust you."