Promises
By Lochar
Chapter 4
Naruto flipped in mid-air, skidding backwards a few feet when he landed. He looked at Sasuke, who was just standing there watching him, three tomoe Sharingan eyes staring at him.
"Where's all the power you had during our fight, Naruto? The power you used to bring me back here? You said you would all help me, but you're no where near what you were there." Sasuke said. His tone was questioning, but there didn't seem to be any malice in it.
Naruto answered ruefully. "Yeah, well, it's not like I've got any training on blowing open Celestial Gates. And it wasn't what I was meaning to do, either." He laughed slightly.
"Celestial Gates?" Sasuke asked, curiosity in his voice.
Sakura watching from the side, gasped. Both boys looked at her. "That's what Lee-kun did when he fought the Sand ninja, Gaara. He opened a bunch of his gates and nearly killed him."
Sasuke nodded and then looked back to Naruto. "I understand where you got the power from then, but if that was not your original intention, what was dobe?"
"Teme, you wouldn't believe me if I told you." Naruto sat down next to Sakura. "And I'm not sure I'd believe it if I didn't already know about it."
"Huh?" Was the intelligent reply from the other two members of Team 7.
You might as well tell them about me, kit. Better they know now than seeing you change in the middle of a battle.
You sure, Kyuubi?
Yes. If they are to fight with you, they will need to know your abilities. I have no use for allies that can't keep up because they were caught off guard because you did something unexpected. And neither should you, since it could get you killed.
"Konoha to dobe, come in dobe." Sasuke said.
Naruto blinked, not realizing he'd zoned out when the Kyuubi had talked to him. "Sorry. Just listening to someone."
"Do you need your head examined, Naruto?" Sakura asked. "Listening to voices no one else hears isn't good."
"Nah, this is a real voice." Naruto grinned at her, then looked at Sasuke. "You won't believe me, but I'll tell you anyways." He motioned for the other boy to sit down.
Sasuke did so, sitting across from both Naruto and Sakura.
Naruto looked at his teammates. "You guys remember the stories about the Kyuubi no kitsune attacking Konoha?"
They both nodded. "It was right before I was born, actually." Sakura said.
"That day is my birthday." Naruto told them. "But you know what happened, right?"
"The Yondiame fought and defeated it, destroying it." Sasuke said.
"Eh," Naruto scratched the back of his head, "not exactly. The Fourth Hokage did defeat the Kyuubi, but he didn't destroy him."
"But you can't just defeat something like that and make it leave!" Sakura said. "It killed the Yondiame, so it would have just returned. The Kyuubi has to be dead."
"He couldn't kill it, apparently. So he did the next best thing." Naruto looked between the two of them. "He sealed it up, putting it's soul into a newborn baby."
The tomoes in Sasuke's eyes were whirling rapidly. "And you said your birthday was that day. Do you expect us to believe that you are the Kyuubi then?"
"No, the Kyuubi is sealed inside me. I'm the container for it, so it can't get loose." Naruto explained. "I've got my own soul, it's just that the Fourth had to have something to put the Kyuubi in. I was born that day, so I guess I got chosen."
"Not that I believe you, but let's say I do Naruto." Sakura started. "If you weren't trying to open your Celestial Gates during your fight, you were trying to do something with the Kyuubi in you?"
"Yeah, I was trying to break part of the seal. The Kyuubi said he'd give me enough power to defeat you, Sasuke, and then I could bring you back. Something messed up though, and the demon chakra blew open my gates instead."
Before Naruto could explain any further, Sakura reached over and cracked him upside the head, making him eat dirt. Pulling himself up, he glared at her. "What'd you do that for?"
Sakura glowered at him. "Let me explain this in little words. You. Were. Going. To. Break. The. Demon's. Seal. If you actually do have the Kyuubi in you, what was preventing it from trying to kill everyone?"
"He promised he can't leave my body because of the seal used. And I can't break that part of the seal." Naruto nearly yelled back at her.
"Did you ever stop to think, that it's a demon. I can very easily see it lying." Sasuke added.
"Ghaa!" Naruto just fell onto his back. "Whatever. Baa-chan said I was OK, and ero-sennin didn't see anything wrong with the seal either, minus what I did break. They both said that nothing could break the part of the seal that could let the Kyuubi out of my body, that wouldn't kill me and the Kyuubi."
"Tsunade-sama knows about this?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah." Naruto nodded.
Sakura stood up, brushing herself off. "I think I'll go confirm this then. And if you're lying, you're dying Naruto." That said, she jumped into a tree and left the training ground.
Turning back to Sasuke, Naruto asked him a question. "You believe me?"
"I don't disbelieve you, but I have seen nothing to prove you are telling the truth." Sasuke looked at him. A slow grin came over his face. "You said you did break part of the seal though?"
Not sure where he was going with this, Naruto nodded. "Yeah."
"Then you should be able to call on some of the Kyuubi's power. That is what you broke it for in the first place, correct?" Sasuke stood, tomoe spinning in his eyes again.
Remembering what the Kyuubi had told him, Naruto shrugged. "Something like that."
"Then let's go again. And this time, use everything you've got against me. I want to see exactly how I stack up against this demon of yours." Sasuke stood up, settling back into his fighting stance.
Naruto stood as well. "No Chidori or my Rasengan though. Those things kill, and I'd really rather we not try to do that again."
A dark chuckle from Sasuke and a nod was all he got.
Kyuubi? Is it different to get your chakra now?
No, but I'd rather you not. I think this would be a good time to show your teammate your own ability, not mine.
Two handseals flashed in front of Naruto, dazing him for a moment.
Mold as much chakra as you can and do those seals. Those eyes of his cannot copy them, as the first one requires demonic chakra to use. This is the only seal you will be able to use, with the amount of demonic chakra your body has.
OK, but what does it do?
It will gather all of the human chakra in your body and release it for your use. Something akin to opening your gates, but not as powerful. It will channel it through your Initial Gate which is much larger since it is now demonic. You will be able to use all your human chakra at once if you so choose, but afterwards you will be left with only demonic chakra until you rest. And you cannot use that chakra for any of your Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. It will only increase your own body's strength and speed.
Right. What do I call it?
Why must you call it anything? I have never understood the human need to call out attacks. It just alerts the enemy to your position and the coming attack. If you must call it something, call it Chakra Release. But please, don't shout it kit.
Alright, alright.
Putting his hands together in the seal he'd seen flash before him, he held it there long enough for Sasuke to get a good look at it. He then switched to the second, more familiar seal before whispering "Chakra Release!"
To Sasuke, the slight glow that he saw of Naruto's chakra seem to become a brilliant light blue light, nearly blinding him before his eyes adjusted. Now Naruto seemed to be brimming with chakra, more than he'd ever seen someone use at once. I wonder what this attack does. It must be insanely powerful. Perfect for use against Itachi. The partial cursed seal on his shoulder twinged. And protecting those that are still here.
Naruto brought his hands up into one more seal, this one was one that Sasuke had seen his teammate use many times before.
But the expected shout didn't come. Instead, he barely saw Naruto mouth something.
"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto harshly whispered, feeding all the chakra that the Chakra Release had given him to his favorite technique.
Immediately, the whole training ground seemed to shimmer. Sasuke's eyes widened. This was even more shadow clones than he'd used against Gaara. There had to be several thousand clones all around him, and each seemed to have the power that Naruto had before he'd used his new technique.
Grinning, Sasuke looked around. "That's more like it, dobe. Let's play." Looking back to where Naruto had stood, he was surprised to see he knew which one it was. The original Naruto's chakra aura had changed. The blue of his chakra had deepened in color, almost to a blue-black color.
Naruto held up a hand to show nails that had grown to be over an inch long and looked deadly sharp. The blond haired ninja's blue eyes had become vertically slitted, and the chakra seemed to be creating wisps of energy from behind him, lashing back and forth almost as if he had a tail made of pure chakra.
"Now, Sasuke, my brother, let's spar."
With that, several dozen of the clones from all around the training grounds jumped at him, along with the original Naruto.
As Naruto fought with his clones, a roaring laughter filled his mind.
I give you a rule, and you don't just bend it to suit your needs, you break it in the way that benefits you the most! You make a fine kitsune, my kit. Trickster to the end, following no rules but your own. You hand over all the human chakra to your clones and fight with your demonic part, allowing them to do the Jutsu for you.
And Sasuke got that as a surprise, as one of the clones turned one of his own techniques against him. Making several hand seals, the clone breathed in, and then shot out a giant ball of fire. The clone disappeared, all of it's chakra used up but the ball of fire kept moving towards Sasuke.
Jumping over it, Sasuke warily looked over the huge group he was against.
"Interesting, dobe. I didn't know they could use Jutsu. They're about as strong as you were earlier, so beating them isn't hard-"
He was interrupted by a hit into his back, catapulting his off the tree branch and into the waiting crowd below. Sasuke quickly dispatched enough of the to give himself so room before looking up, seeing the darker aura of the real Naruto standing where he'd been.
"Yeah, but you still have to keep an eye open for me, Sasuke." Naruto jumped down to attack as well.
Naruto grinned as his clones were easily destroyed, some of them sacrificing themselves to do a Jutsu, others dispatched with a direct hit against them by Sasuke.
The next surprise he gave Sasuke was appearing in front of him, throwing a punch directly at his gut. Sasuke saw this and grabbed his wrist, intent on throwing him. Surging his demonic chakra, Naruto ignored the tugs against his wrist and connected with Sasuke, sending him flying across the training grounds to fall against more clones that cushioned his fall before they disappeared.
Sasuke jumped up, grabbing one of the clones and swinging it around, using it as a weapon against the other clones before it disappeared itself.
The next time Naruto tried the same trick, Sasuke grabbed hold of his wrist and flipped himself over Naruto, kicking him in the back of the head, sending him flying into a tree.
Naruto groggily stood up, shaking the stars out from his eyes as he turned, grinning.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?" a familiar voice shouted, and Naruto turned to see who it was.
And watched as his clones were thrown left and right, Tsunade wading through them looking for the real him.
The clones still far enough away from Tsunade looked at each other, nodded, and then turned to the original Naruto. Blowing him a raspberry, they vanished filling the grounds with smoke that quickly dissipated.
Naruto paled as she walked up to him. "What did you do to yourself, Naruto?" Tsunade shook her head. "Never mind, just undo it. You've managed to draw the attention of several ANBU squads and the rest of your year's rookies. I would rather they not find out the hard way about your companion."
Naruto looked and was surprised to see Teams 8 and 9 standing there, along with a number of masked ANBU. Several of the ANBU looked ready to attack. Naruto wasn't sure if they wanted to attack him or Sasuke, but they looked to mean business.
"Sorry, baa-chan, but I can't. I burned too much chakra and I've gotta wait to regain it before I can."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "How long?"
Two days, at a maximum.
Naruto's voice got quiet. "He says a couple of days at the worst."
Tsunade's voice got louder. "You've got two days to figure out what you did to yourself before I send you to the hospital to have them attempt to undo it. I don't want you using experimental Jutsu during a sparring match, if you must use them, it should be for a more important reason."
"Two days, got it Baa-chan. I'll have it all back to normal by then." Naruto gave a foxy grin to the Godaime, before turning to leave.
Before he could take a step, he felt to fingers touch the back of his head. Naruto stopped, confused. Then he felt a third finger flick his head. And as he sailed towards the tree again, he heard Tsunade's voice call out. "And don't call me that, Naruto."