Yo, what's up? Eh, I'm sorry I'm having a bit of a lag here but I'm having a problem similar to a hen that's gone broody. I want to read more often than I want to write. It'll clear up soon but until then expect some more time between posting alright? Well here it is, the mystery is solved! Well sorta...hope you enjoy and thanks for the awesome reviews!

"Talking"

'Thought'

(Disclaimer)

Chapter 4: Torn

Tsunade was the first one that was able to regain the ability to speak but she didn't, merely looking at her brothers body made her want to crawl into a ball and cry. The silence of the room was suffocating as all present stared at the torn body of their friend. All could see the pain in Naruto's eye that Hinata attempted to calm by grabbing his natural right arm and holding tight, giving warmth and comfort to him in this vulnerable condition.

"What happened?"

All eyes turned to the source of the voice…Gaara. None had known Gaara to show feelings, the only known times he had ever were brief stints in public when he openly showed love for his wife. However now he stood next to Tsunade with a look of pain on his face, something that had never happened and both Temari and Kankuro knew it.

Naruto closed his single blue eye and let out a breath, preparing for the story he had been dreading to tell for so long…

Naruto sped so quickly the world wasn't anything near a blur; all life seemed to stand still with his speed. The sky was slowly darkening with bruised clouds, ready and willing to spill its ice cold tears. His body was covered in his tattered Hokage robes, when he fled he hadn't bothered to rid himself of his formal clothes. He was to busy with the bundle in his arms.

Hanging limply in his curled arms was one of the most precious packages he had ever held in his life. In his arms lie the corpse of his beloved wife with their young kit curled upon the dead mother's chest, his tears spent as his little body shook with sleepy sobs. Naruto had passed the borders of fire country a long time ago, his chakra laden legs and Sekkagan carrying him toward the land of the waves.

As he ran he prayed, he pleaded that the void aligned creature's words were not just lies. He needed reassurance that his plan would work, that push by a blind faith. He needed the comfort that this wasn't a hopeless attempt at something impossible….

"I ran," Naruto spoke quietly but with enough volume that everyone could hear, his tone cracking as he spoke. "I ran on a hunch that a Void Kitsune fed me. It took a day of straight running but I made it. I didn't waste time, I went straight to the source…"

The sky had opened up and released its payload onto the land but it didn't matter, he had reached his destination. Naruto grumbled angrily as he sheltered his Kit and his mates' body from the rain with his nine tails, their soft golden glow keeping them warm despite the ice cold rain.

His golden edged cerulean eyes scanned the land; it had changed greatly since he had last visited. There were more houses, all of them looking professionally built and sturdy unlike the dilapidated old shacks of the past. The town had evolved, transforming from a simple ghetto to a town that could mark the beginnings of a new shinobi village had the people the courage to make such a gamble.

Naruto cast these thoughts from his mind; he had more important business in this town. He trudged through the slick and sinking mud that had congealed along the path to the home, his saving grace. Without thinking he cast an illusion onto his form turning himself nearly invisible, it was only a matter of sliding open the door and creeping into the home without drawing attention.

His feet didn't make a sound as he crept past the kitchen, the form of a woman cooking enough to calm his fears if only for a moment. His sneaking took on more urgency as he heard footsteps heading in his direction but he breathed a silent sigh of relief as it was the one he searched for.

Approaching him was Inari, he had grown older and with the aid of the Inari influence in his soul and the memories of his 'father' he had grown into a very strong young man. Naruto unmasked himself, showing his face to the boy and it was enough to call Inari to the surface with a bit of surprise mind you.

"Naruto!" Inari whispered harshly, "what are you doing in my home!" Naruto bowed his head and said, "my apologies Inari-sama but…" He didn't say another word; he lifted the illusion placed on his deceased wife and his sleeping kit and Inari's glare softened into a look of concern.

"Oh my," Inari said reached out his hand and feeling the neck of the woman, there was no pulse to be felt but for some reason she felt surprisingly warm, "what happened?"

"I told him the story, about the Akatsuki and how Hinata died," Naruto said with a far away look in his eye, "I even told him the deal I had struck with Tokoyami, the Void Kitsune Kyuubi-sensei had locked in his realm." Many mental questions were raised but were silenced as Naruto began his story again.

Inari sat with a hard look in his eye, he had told his mother that he was feeling unwell and that he would be in his room but he never thought that he would be faced with what Naruto had told him. Inari sighed, "you took the words of Tokoyami as the truth?"

Naruto balled his fist in the material of his pants, "I can't stand it. I can't stand her being dead. I have to try anything to return her to this plane." "And what about your kit?" Inari questioned looking to the young child curled into the sheets of his bed, "Are you willing to risk everything on this gamble?"

Naruto looked away, "that's another reason why I brought him with me. You are the deity of all Kitsune, which includes Kitsune half breeds. If this doesn't work and I pass on you can teach him everything about the Kitsune world." Inari sighed, "you haven't thought this through Naruto, you're acting rash and unreasonable again."

Naruto's fist slammed onto the floor, "I don't care! I know what's right and what's best for my family! I have no idea on how to raise this boy alone and…" Naruto's voice suddenly grew quiet as tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, "and I can't be alone. I need her back." Inari stared for a moment before hanging his head, "you're as stubborn as you ever were Naruto. Where has the Naruto of the past gone? Where has Naruto, the young Kitsune who couldmarch on through anything left to?"

Naruto winced at Inari's harsh tones, chastising him for his rash and ultimately idiotic move. "Apparently he has left and you have taken his place. However it can't be helped. I can watch over him and aid you in your…task," Inari said bringing a small wave of relief to Naruto but it wasn't enough to overcome the dark feeling in the pit of his stomach. That lagging doubt and guilt that hung with him, that dull pain that throbbed with each pitiful stare.

"I had a hard time finding the exact conditions after that," Naruto said as he looked to the side briefly, catching sight of his lovebefore turning his gaze back to Tsunade and Gaara. "You wouldn't know what goes into resurrecting something," Naruto smirked, "and at that point neither did I."

Naruto grunted as he set his nine tailed rear on the ground, a few feet before him lie Hinata, his lovely yet only recently deceased wife. He smiled as he wiped the sweat from his brow, he had set up everything just as the ancient ritual's called for it to be. He took a few deep breaths, craning his head back to look to the clear blue sky that was his realm. Such lies on a sorrowful day, maybe he should change it.

His son was on the outside luckily, Inari was keeping him company and from the prying eyes of Tsunami. It was lucky that Kyuubi had been taught Kitsune illusionary techniques early otherwise he would be caught quickly. Maybe he would play with his son after this was over, his wife calling for the boys to stop rough housing after he let Kyuubi give him a noogie.

Naruto shook his head clear of thought, for this to work he had to keep his mind blank. This required a concentration that he had yet to achieve, something monks did for months without stopping to eat. He tilted his head back into place and slowly began to stand, rising above the intricate patterns he had laid his mate in only a few moments ago.

It took a moment for him to finally take in everything he had done, his wife lie stripped of her earthly possessions in the center of the circle. Her body cold and stiff with no breaths for air or beats of a heart to give it life, her skin far more pale than it had ever been in life. Hopefully that would be fixed soon. Under her was a pattern made of dirt and powder, crushed and arranged according to the rituals complex details.

Naruto activated his Sekkagan and examined every inch of the patterns three times over, if even one bit was inscribed incorrectly there was no telling what could and ultimately would happen. Satisfied in what he had accomplished He leaned down and held out his arms, his hands gleaming with golden chakra like energy as he began a process that would most likely change his life forever.

It was only a blink of his eye, one trillionth of a second, but he now stood before what looked like a great clear stage with his mate on the floor of this platform. Naruto's eyes opened in surprise and his head jerked to the side looking to the great being that towered above him. "O-Okaa-san?" Naruto questioned in awe as he stared, dwarfing him in its shadow was a Kitsune with ten gleaming white tails.

Naruto had never seen such a being, he felt the power and royalty flow from this creatures being in such amazing waves that it made him want to cry and laugh at the same time. This Kitsune's fur was a brilliant white and its eyes were a cool blue, calming him instantly as he looked into them. This was the mother of all Kitsune, the beautiful Kitsune goddess that began the entire race. She smiled warmly and spoke, "what is it you wish my child?"

Naruto instantly bowed, his stubbornness and attitude being lost when faced with such a magnificent creature. "M-M apologies Okaa-san! I…I came for my mate," Naruto said softly as he felt her presence growing closer, making his body feel warmer and further at peace with each step. Despite her size and apparent power he did not hear a sound as her paws hit the ground.

He felt her pass him with but one step then she stopped, sitting with her ten great tails waving calmly behind her. Naruto cast a brief glace to her, watching as she bent down and took a sniff of the body lying in the intricate circles and patterns carefully crafted through hours upon hours of labor.

With one great exhale of breath the construction was decimated leaving only a bright glowing circle to outline the cold body. As the power grew within the glowing ring the great Kitsune turned to her child, his head bowed in submission. "You realize what this means my child," the great mother said with concern but Naruto nodded swiftly, he knew the repercussions of what he was about to do.

Slowly Naruto felt it. It started as a small itch at the base of his spine, like a spider had crawled its way into his nine tails, but shortly after the itch increased into something soul shattering. The sensation transformed from an itch to pain which increased as Naruto's tail was slowly ripped from his body, pulling it off then converting it to pure energy which the great mother absorbed. Naruto howled in pain and agony, the feeling of his tails being ripped from him almost killing him with the pain.

With each tail that was torn from him he felt weaker and weaker, his power being lost as his tails were taken from him. The gigantic ten tailed Kitsune watched as one of her sons went through the hellish torture, watching his form forcibly shift from human to Kitsune as he lost his fifth tail made her wince.

Naruto cast a wary look over his shoulder, wondering in the midst of his pain how many tails he had left. Behind him lay one tail, lying limp and useless with pain, barely enough to give him the chakra to stand on his own. With one painful tearing sensation that too was gone, he fell with a cry of pain that sent a chill into those alive or dead. From there he didn't move, his body gave into the exhaustion.

The gargantuan pallid Kitsune turned away from the sight and to the young woman within the circle. She had the sacrifices; it was only a matter of applying them now. The great mother closed her eyes and channeled the power attained from the sacrificed tails to the young woman within the once complex array.

Kitsune energy began to fill the deceased Hinata's chakra pathways with its warm aura, eliminating the remnants of her human chakra and replacing it with life giving Kitsune energy. Her previously dark violet locks became over run with lightened streaks, swiftly becoming a blinding white leaving her hair with lavender and colorless clumps spread evenly upon her head.

Her ears slowly grew longer and more pointed, becoming fox like and covered with the same violet and white hair that her head had become engulfed in. The Kitsune warmth began to overrun her, flooding her body with a pure white gleam as the final step of the transformation took place. Her body lurched forward and rolled to the side revealing the five white and lavender tails that erupted from the base of her spine in a bloody spray. With one great breath she was once again alive.

"I didn't wake up for a while," Naruto said casting a glance around the room, "when I did I was a no tailed Kitsune, the lowest thing to ever crawl from the great mothers' womb. I was a mockery to her power but Hinata; she was a beautiful five tailed white Kitsune." Naruto smiled and looked to his wife at his side, "It took four tails to resurrect her and the rest went to her own tails. I can say when I woke up I thought she was a beautiful angel come to take me to the other side."

Aw's floated about the room along with a slight blush from Hinata, a shy smile on her face as she leaned up and kissed her husband. For that moment everyone forgot what had happened, how Naruto stood there with scars lining his body, how he and Konoha suffered with their separation, every horrifying detail vanished.

However things like this were not meant to last and they broke apart, a brief smile to one another the last attempts to capture some semblance of a sweet moment here and now. Naruto turned back to Tsunade and spoke more in that cold somber tone, "since I had sacrificed my tails I couldn't gain any more naturally. It was a side effect of the ritual, permanently sacrificing power for another. I was going to be weak forever but…"

Naruto sat before Inari, his head bowed as any lower subordinate should before addressing one far higher than you on the scale. "Raise your head Naruto," Inari spoke with the same calm he had when Naruto had first come to him, "you are no different now than you were as a Kyuubi."

"But I am," Naruto spoke curtly in short fox yips, "I am a disgrace, even my son can overpower me. He is strong for a half blood but…" Naruto bite his tongue and calmed himself, he was thankful that his son and mate were attaining supplies in the village under the guise of a Kitsune henge. Otherwise they would see him beginning to crack, something he wouldn't allow no matter how many times he had to die to prevent it.

Inari sighed and set his tea to the side, "strength isn't the only thing in the world Naruto. You have a wonderful family, a darling wife and an incredible son. Isn't that enough?" "No," Naruto replied curtly, "what good am I to my family if I can't protect them? I am a liability now more than anything."

"Stop!" Inari shouted freezing Naruto in mid-speech, "I've had enough of this talk. You're starting to sound like some defeatist! Nothing like the Naruto I know! Even in your desperate attempts to bring your love back to life you still held some of your old honor but now look at you." Naruto sighed, "I'm a no tail Inari, at this point I am defeated. I don't think I can find the silver lining here."

Inari closed his eyes and spoke softly, "I've heard of something, when I was still whole, it was about a brotherhood." Inari opened his eyes to see Naruto paying close attention, "this band of Kitsune were all types, red, yellow, blue, silver, black, white, every fur imaginable even the celestial and void.

"However there was one thing that they all had in common, something that they all had together," Inari said watching Naruto's interest being to fade, "they shared tails." Naruto's eyes looked as if they would fall from their sockets, "shared tails?" Inari nodded and took a sip of his tea before setting it down again, "they shared tails, giving their brethren one or more tails to share."

Inari watched the hope in Naruto's eyes grow before he said, "the brotherhood has long been dead." The hope vanished from Naruto's eyes but Inari was not finished, "but I do not think the ability to share tails was the brotherhoods alone."

Inari saw the transformation instantly, Naruto stood with his head low as he bowed before him, "thank you Inari-sama." Inari was about to correct him but Naruto looked up with a stare so intense it made Inari shiver, "I will find a way to gather these tails. I'm making a promise on my Kitsune blood; I will become stronger than I was before."

Naruto stood there; tall and proud with an air about him so convincing that Inari could almost see nine tails waving behind him once again. In a flash Naruto was gone, off to find his wife and kit and report to them what he had learned. Inari simply sat there and smile, taking a sip of his tea as he thought, 'this will be very interesting to watch.'

Silence…

"That can't be all," Tsunade said but Naruto shrugged, "could be couldn't be, don't have time to explain." Naruto felt a wave of killer intent focus on him and he grinned, "just kidding, you'd think with me gone you'd all turned into a bunch of stiffs."

Naruto turned back to Tsunade after casting his grin out to everyone present, calming them down in that mysterious way, "it was hard getting Kitsune to release their tails obviously. As much as they try to deny it they do work on a similar level as a human, they want to see others do it before they do..."

Naruto held up his gloved arm, "and they want proof beyond tails."

Everyone was silent, awaiting his explanation but he remained without a word to speak. "Would you please continue Naruto?" Tsunade asked, her gaze questioning. Naruto crouched down, without a word, and gathered up his cloak. "I have nothing more to tell," when Tsunade began to interrupt he met her eye to eye and a look so intense she was frozen stiff, "nothing more to tell to those who don't already know."

Tsunade nodded shakily, "if you don't mind how many tails were you able to gain?" Naruto smirked as he tossed the cloak about his shoulders, "I made a promise, I swore I'd become even stronger than I was before." Naruto clipped the cloak with Hinata's aid, "I keep my promises."

Tsunade cleared her throat, "in that case you will be reinstated to Jounin status as soon as you pass the evaluation headed by one of our current Jounin." "What about our kits?" Hinata questioned earning a slight surprise from the Hokage, up until that point she had pretty much been silent. "Your oldest two will be evaluated for Genin and Chuunin status and your youngest two will enter the academy. Is that alright?" Tsunade asked mockingly, poking fun at Naruto's lack of title.

"Oh very much so Hokage-sama," Naruto said with an extravagant bow, everyone could sense trouble brewing. Naruto stood with a smile, his gloved hand in front of his face with his thumb and forefinger pressed together, "my going away present for now."

Naruto snapped his fingers, quite loudly in fact, and in an instant a small blue puff of fire appeared on Tsunade's shoulder, right on her Hokage robes and shirt. Tsunade blinked then turned her head, coming face to face with a bright blue flame that made her jump and begin to frantically pat it out.

"Oh don't worry Hokage-sama, it won't burn your skin," Naruto smirked, "but it just might burn every piece of clothing you're wearing. Goodbye!" Like that Hinata and himself were gone in a whirlwind of leaves, leaving several confused and amused Jounin and one incredibly pissed off Hokage.

End Chapter

Well that is that. If anyone says this is rushed and the like I realize that but there is a point to that. Overall this is a...vague explanation to what truely happened.

Q: Is Naruto still a Kitsune?

A: Yes but the details are...different.

Q: All of his abilities?

A: You'll see.

Q: No tails equals stronger?

A: Not to the best of my knowledge.

Q: To TheWraith1

A: ...I could kiss you and I swear I am not stretching the truth. You, whom ever you are, have just given me something that made me jump around the house for an hour laughing. In reguards to your comments and subplot idea. The idea sounds interesting and I'll think about it and as for the Hitomi tail number issue, I goofed. I will not sugercoat it and blow smoke up your ass, I screwed up. I'll fix it when I get the time, hopefully.Their children'sblood is as thus...

Kyuubi: 1/2 human, 1/2 Kitsune

Hitomi, Arashi, Tsunade: 100 Kitsune

Q: Ayame was Teuchi's daughter.

A: Yes, I am very aware of the fact.

Well that's it! Thank you all for reading and remember to review! Later!