AN: Hello and welcome to the second chapter of my story! Sorry it took a little longer than I said it would, but the Kyuubi took control and just ran with it. Sorry about that. Also, I alway try to reply in pm's to people who review my story, but I recently realized that that leaves out the guest reviewers. So I'll just reply here! :D
Mr. Hexalia: Thank you! I don't intend to :)
Chrys: Merci beacoup por votre examiner et voila! Voici c'est le prochain chapitre! =D
'Drip.'
'Drip.'
'Drip.'
The hallway was shrouded in darkness. It ended in a large, square room, which was lighted by no visible means, and was flooded by murky water, which came up to slightly above the ankle. On the opposite side of the dark hallway, the wall of the room was replaced by thick golden bars, reaching up from the ground to the impossibly high ceiling. They appeared to be held closed by a relatively small scrap of paper, on which the kanji for "seal" was inscribed in black ink.
In front of the bars, floating on his back, was a small blond child, unconscious. Which was probably a good thing, as the child most likely would have been scared out of his mind by what awoke behind the enormous bars.
Two blood red slitted eyes opened in the darkness that mirrored the hallway. Each eye was as large as an average man was tall, and both focused with unnatural intensity on the small figure floating in front of them, so close, but out of their reach because of the bars in-between them.
For now.
A dark chuckling came from the inky blackness, shaking the room as if there was a particularly violent earthquake.
"So, the jailor finally meets his prisoner.", a malevolent voice rumbled across the vast emptiness of the room.
A wide grin, filled with enormous teeth appeared underneath the glowing red eyes, each tooth glinting with sharpness, creating a truly terrifying image.
"And what a meeting it shall be.", the voice continued ominously, before it retreated back into the darkness of its prison.
The small child hadn't stirred even once.
It was a beautiful day in the ninja village of Konoha. The sun was shining brightly, basking the land in a warm glow, while a gentle breeze kept the temperature pleasantly cool. Birds were singing amongst the great trees surrounding the village, while in the underbrush, small critters flew back and forth, either for food or fun.
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't notice any of this.
The elderly Hokage's attention was focused solely on the small figure lying in the bed in front of him. Right arm swaddled in bandages, along with most of the rest of his body, Naruto Uzumaki was lying peacefully on the bed, looking as if he was merely asleep.
Hiruzen turned his tired gaze to the nurse next to him, who had just run the latest batch of tests.
"Any change in his condition?"
The nurse looked up from her clipboard on which she had been furiously scribbling, only to give her leader a small shake of her head. The Hokage sighed, before turning to look at Naruto, just like he had been doing since the child had been brought into the hospital.
"Hokage-sama..."
Hiruzen gave a small, reassuring smile, though his eyes didn't leave his surrogate grandson for even a second.
"You may take your leave now, nurse-san. I will alert the nearest medic should he wake.", he said warmly, expressing his gratitude through the tone of his voice.
Apparently satisfied that her charge would be looked after, the nurse bowed curtly, before quickly leaving Naruto's room.
As soon as the door clicked closed, a man stepped out from the shadows of one of the corners of the room. Hiruzen didn't even twitch at the sudden appearance of the ninja. He had sensed the man the moment he had stepped foot in the hospital, after all.
"Salamander.", the Hokage said, acknowledging the man's presence, but still not looking away from Naruto's unconscious form.
"Hokage-sama.", the masked ninja replied, before joining his leader at the foot end of the hospital bed.
Silence reigned between the two men, only disturbed by the rhythmic beating of the heart monitor attached to Naruto. Hiruzen gave another sigh, before turning to address his ANBU-Commander.
"What's the situation, Salamander?"
The Commander straightened, snapping to attention immediately, and gave his report in clipped tones.
"Sir. The area around Uzumaki's... accident had been cordoned off, while those who were present have all been ordered to consider what happened an S-Rank secret for now, until you have assigned it a proper ranking. In the meantime, several of ANBU's best have investigated the area of Uzumaki's accident."
Hiruzen nodded, before asking the question which answer he dreaded more than anything.
"And what was the result of the investigation? Did Naruto-kun use any of... its chakra?", the elderly Hokage asked, though his voice was calm and steady, even as his inside were squirming around.
"No, Hokage-sama. It was the first thing our best sensors tried to find out and they have universally come to the conclusion that all the chakra used by Uzumaki was his own."
Hiruzen managed to contain his sigh at the last second, though he couldn't help the relieved sagging of his posture. If his Commander noticed, then the man wisely didn't say anything.
The Third Hokage turned back to Naruto's sleeping form.
"Well, that's a small comfort at least.", Hiruzen muttered to himself.
The Commander cleared his throat. Through sheer willpower, Hiruzen managed to keep himself from groaning, though he turned to the ANBU with narrowed eyes. Taking that as his queue, the masked ninja continued.
"What should we tell the public, Hokage-sama? Many amongst our ninja forces have noticed the enormous amounts of chakra that young Uzumaki-san drew upon. When his teachers notice his absence in the coming days, they will ... draw conclusions, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen did groan this time.
"And because it was ANBU who handled the investigation, we can't even use the records of their findings to calm the people.", the Third said in a frustrated voice.
The Hokage walked towards one of the windows, looking out across his village, hands clasped behind his back, as his wrinkled brow wrinkled even further as the old man thought deep and hard about what action he should take.
'Kami, I wish I had my pipe right now.', he thought mournfully.
The ANBU remained standing at attention, patiently waiting for his leader to come up with whatever action they should take. He didn't have to wait very long.
Hiruzen turned away from the window with a twinkle in his eye.
"We tell them the truth."
Had the ANBU not worn his signature mask, the world would've been treated to a slack-jawed ANBU Commander, a rare sight indeed.
"Hokage-sama?", the ninja asked hesitantly.
"Not the entire truth, of course. We will simply say that young Uzumaki had been attempting to unlock his chakra, as was instructed, but made a mistake in doing so, and released far more than he had intended to summon. It was never involved as our beloved Yondaime's seal still holds strong and wouldn't allow it. Young Naruto shall be kept under observation to monitor any possible damage he has done to himself. Make sure to mention the seal in the statement Salamander."
"Yes, Hokage-sama. It shall be done. But...", the ANBU trailed off.
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.
"Yes Salamander."
"Permission to speak freely Hokage-sama?"
Hiruzen's other eyebrow joined its brother in a journey to his hairline. It was a very unusual question to be asked by an ANBU-Commander. Hiruzen could in fact recall all previous instances on one hand and three of those had been during wartime.
"Permission granted, Salamander. Speak your mind.", Hiruzen said, curious what his Commander wanted to say, unfiltered by protocol or decorum.
The ANBU nodded and relaxed his stance somewhat.
"Hokage-sama, what do we do with the... destructive capabilities of Uzumaki's experimentation? Our sensors came to the conclusion that the technique Uzumaki used was rather unfocused. With proper training and control, the results could be... impressive."
For the second time in as many minutes, Hiruzen's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.
"Indeed? That's most impressive.", the elderly Hokage mused, looking at the child in the hospital-bed.
'Such strength. Such power. At such a young age too. Minato-kun, Kushina-chan, you would be proud of your son.', the aged ninja thought fondly to himself, before frowning in thought.
'Salamander is correct though. Whatever Naruto did, we cannot let this go unsupervised. He needs training in order to avoid getting into accidents like this again. Not to mention Danzo is probably already aware of Naruto's feat and he'll be even more eager to get his claws into him. But who else...', Hiruzen thought to himself, absently stroking his beard.
Suddenly a grin stretched across the aged Hokage's face, making the ANBU-Commander suddenly very nervous.
"Salamander-san.", Hiruzen intoned gravely, a silence falling across the room as the ANBU awaited his next order in trepidation.
"Get me... Gai-kun."
Inside the large room, the small child groaned in discomfort.
"Ugh, what happened?", young Naruto moaned as he sat upright, rubbing his head.
He opened his eyes, taking in the cavernous room and the enormous golden bars in front of him.
"Better yet, where am I?", the ninja-to-be, asked himself.
An ominous rumbling shook the room, making Naruto's teeth clatter. It took a few moments before the blond child realised the grumbling sound was something chuckling. Instinctually realizing that for something to produce such a sound, it was probably far, far bigger than he was, Naruto huddled in on himself in fear.
Two glowing red orbs appeared in front of him, each one easily twice his own height. Then Naruto saw the slits in the orbs and realised that they were in fact eyes. Fully confronted with the massiveness of the being in front of him, despite not being able to see the rest of the creature's body, Naruto whimpered and quickly scrambled away from the enormous golden bars.
An enormous grin, filled with impossibly sharp teeth stretched itself wide below the two eyes.
"HA! Do I frighten you so much, small one? That would make you smarter than most of your pitiful kind then. Despite previous evidence to the contrary.", the massive being sneered at Naruto, trying, and somewhat succeeding, in cowing the young child.
It had, however, forgotten one important thing. Naruto was used to being sneered at, ironically because of the creature itself.
So when confronted with the unknown and dangerous, Naruto would react as any other would have, with a healthy amount of fear.
But confronted with the familiar, no matter how scary, Naruto reacted in his usual matter.
Which was shouting.
Loudly.
Not entirely sure what the being had meant, but pretty sure he had just been insulted, Naruto sprung to his feet, a small finger pointing accusingly at the monstrous being behind the golden bars.
"Shut up meany! I am Naruto Uzumaki, dattebayo! I'm gonna be the best Hokage there ever was, so there!"
Satisfied with his fool proof argument, Naruto smirked and crossed his arms in front of his small chest.
There was a short stunned silence as the eyes focused on Naruto with incredulity. Then-
"BWAHHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAA!"
-it laughed. The room shook with the sheer sound the being's laughter, dust shaken loose from the high ceiling.
"THAT is your defence? You shall become Hokage? HA! I take back what I said, you are most definitely NOT smart in any conceivable way.", the monstrous being said disdainfully.
Naruto scowled at his tormenter. He didn't understand all of the big words, but he knew when someone was insulting him.
It came from experience.
"Oh yeah?! Well, I'm still gonna be Hokage, no matter what you say, so you just wait until I prove you wrong! Nothing can stop me dattebayo!", Naruto shouted back, storming up to the bars.
The enormous glowing eyes lowered closer to the ground, looking Naruto straight in the eye.
"Oh, but I can, little one."
Before Naruto could really interpret the beings words, he had to jump back, his reflexes saving him from being smashed to a pulp by the enormous claws that slammed down where Naruto had been standing mere moments before.
The room shook at the impact, amplified by the enormous roar the creature unleashed in frustration.
"RAAAHH! Get closer, so I may kill you, you miserable wretch! Get closer, and I shall finally be able to free myself!", the being roared, trashing about in its prison, smashing against the bars.
As it did so, it finally came into the light, giving Naruto his first glimpse of his prisoner. He didn't like what he saw.
It was a massive fox, standing taller than even the Hokage Tower, the tallest structure in Konoha. It had a surprisingly human body shape and was coloured a vibrant orange. This wasn't what drew Naruto's attention however. No, the small child was captivated by what was behind the massive fox.
Nine tails, as orange as their owner and the biggest things Naruto had ever seen in his short life, were trashing about, creating whipping winds as they swung around, and creating tremors when they struck the walls, ground, or the golden bars.
"K-K-Kyuubi.", Naruto whispered horrified to himself.
The trashing fox immediately stilled, its enormous red eyes snapping to the young ninja. Slowly the enormous grin returned, and the fox settled down, resting its head, larger than Naruto's apartment, on its human-shaped forearms.
"So, you at least know who I am. Good. Every jailor, no matter how pitiful, should know who their prisoner is.", the beast rumbled, apparently satisfied with the terrified reaction it had gotten out of Naruto, simply by showing his form.
Naruto's overwhelmed mind reacted to the first part of what the massive fox had said, not really registering the second part.
"You are the Kyuubi. You attacked Konoha!", Naruto shouted, terror making place for hate against the reason for one of the greatest tragedies to have struck his beloved village.
And possibly the reason he now had no parents.
Naruto ignored the thought and glared at the massive fox, though he made sure to keep his distance.
Which was a good thing, as Kyuubi slammed against the bars again.
"I did not do so under my own control, but rest assured, once I get free from this prison I will finish what that damned Uchiha started!", the nine-tails roared.
Naruto frowned in confusion. He didn't expect such an answer when he had accused the monster.
"What? What do you mean? You tried to destroy Konoha didn't you?", Naruto asked, his mind not really capable of keeping up after the multitude of shocks it had gone through this day.
The Kyuubi snorted.
"Yes I did, and I would do so again in a heartbeat. It deserves nothing less after what it has done to me!", the being responded with hate lacing his voice.
Before Naruto could jump to the defence of his village and plead that they did not, in fact, deserve total annihilation, the Kyuubi continued.
"However, the attack of six years ago, I did not do it of my own will."
The great beast chuckled darkly.
"Though I guess that's not entirely true. I certainly wanted to destroy your pitiful village. However, someone else controlled me."
Naruto was floored, before closing his mouth with a snap. He pointed at the great fox with an angry glare.
"You're lying. You're just trying to blame someone else for it!"
Naruto should know. He had often tried to do the same himself, whenever he was caught during a prank. Though he never seemed to get away with it.
The monstrous fox immediately slammed into the bars again, sending Naruto staggering at the impact.
"You DARE! You dare question my word! I am the great Kyuubi no Kitsune! I am the mightiest of all Tailed Beasts, the most powerful creation of our father! My tails flatten mountains and rise tsunami's! What use do I have for falsehoods and lies?!", the being raged, fixing Naruto with a hateful stare.
"Listen closely, small one. I may trick you. I may deceive you. I am a Kitsune after all and the most powerful in existence at that. However. I. Do. NOT. LIE.", the Kyuubi bit out, lowering its head so it could look Naruto straight in the eye.
Naruto blinked, before looking at the beast in confusion, his mind too tired to continue being terrified.
"Why not? It's not like I could tell, right?", Naruto asked innocently.
Surprised, the Kyuubi looked down at the small child, who was looking back at him without fear, just curiosity.
It sighed, before laying its head on its forearms again, staring over Naruto's head into the distance, with an expression Naruto couldn't place.
"Because my father raised me better than that.", the fox said wistfully.
"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"
The windows to Naruto's room shattered as a green clad man crashed through them. He had obviously intended to land on his feet, but instead found himself pushed into a wall, with the blade of a tanto inches from his face.
"Salamander, you may release Gai-kun now."
"Apologies Hokage-sama."
"Apology accepted, Salamander, no harm done."
Gai's body disagreed and the odd man absently wondered why he wasn't getting an apology, despite becoming far more intimately familiar with the inside of a hospital wall than he had ever intended to be.
As if reading his thoughts, and since Gai was friends with numerous Yamanaka, he knew this to be a possibility, the aged voice of the Hokage spoke up.
"Perhaps, Gai-kun, the next time you enter a hospital room with a high-strung ANBU-Commander and the Hokage, you should enter though the door."
"Hai Hokage-Sama. Thank you for your youthful advice.", groaned Gai.
"You're welcome Gai-kun, you're welcome.", the Third said graciously.
Having extracted himself from the wall, Might Guy, jounin and taijustu expert, stood at attention in front of his leader.
"You called for me Hokage-sama?", the man said in a serious tone of voice, any previous levity forgotten now that he was receiving his orders.
"Indeed I did, Gai-kun. I have need of your taijustu expertise.", the Third nodded.
"I am at your command, Hokage-sama.", Gai said gravely.
The Third Hokage nodded once more, before mentioning for Salamander. The ANBU handed Guy a thick stack of papers, with 'CLASSIFIED' in bold red letters stamped on the front.
Gai quickly looked through them, before glancing at the Hokage with a confused expression.
"Medical files? I thought you requested my taijustu expertise, Hokage-sama?", the green clad jounin asked, even as he began reading the files more in-depth.
"They are related, I assure you Gai-kun. As you probably know, someone used unusually large amounts of chakra in the vicinity of the training fields of the Academy.", the Hokage answered.
Seeing Gai's affirmative nod, the aged shinobi continued.
"This individual has endured significant physical trauma as a result. I myself was present to witness the technique and its aftermath."
At this, Gai looked up from the files.
"Aftermath?"
The Hokage nodded.
"A small portion of the forest surrounding the Academy was completely flattened."
Shock was clearly visibly on Gai's face.
"Such a devastating technique… and in the vicinity of the Academy no less!"
The Hokage inclined his head in agreement.
"Indeed, luckily the Academy had already finished for the day, so nobody was hurt. Except for him."
Seeing the Hokage point to somewhere behind him, Gai turned around to look at the hospital bed. He had noticed the bed of course, he was a jounin after all, but the tackle of the ANBU had not allowed to note much more. Now he finally saw the occupant of the bed.
"Uzumaki-san?", Gai asked surprised.
Both Naruto's constitution as well as his stamina were already known amongst the shinobi forces. So to see the child lying asleep on the bed, extensively covered in bandages, was surprising.
"Indeed. He was the person who drew upon the large amounts of chakra you have felt and used it to destroy part of the forest.", the Professor said as he walked up to the bed, standing next to Gai.
"What kind of technique can a six year old use that would cause such destruction?", Gai muttered to himself, but his leader had heard him.
"It wasn't a technique."
Gai turned to the Third in surprise, seeing a smirk dance across the wizened face of the aged ninja.
"It was a punch."
Gai's notorious eyebrows reached up to touch the edge of his equally infamous bowl-cut.
"I can see why you asked for me then, Hokage-sama."
"Yes, I thought you would."
"Well, I have good and bad news for you Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen closed his eyes, trying to stave of the headache he could feel coming on.
'Naruto, I love you like one of my own, but I swear upon Kami's wrinkly nut-sack that you have caused the majority of all the headaches I have ever had in my entire life. And I'm a veteran of three World Wars!', the old leader thought grouchily to himself, before opening his eyes and motioning for Gai to continue.
"First the good news please."
"Very well Hokage-sama. The good news is that, based on your eyewitness account and the information in these medical files as well as my own investigation, I have come to the conclusion that Naruto-kun did not use the Celestial Gates in order to fuel his punch."
Hiruzen internally sighed in relief. The opening of the Gates were perilous at best even for the most skilled of shinobi. There was a reason Gai was both known and feared across the Elemental Nations. For a child to mess around with them… the damage could have been horrendous.
"What Naruto did… it is more akin to the famous strength technique used by Tsunade-sama instead of the Celestial Gates. However, instead of immense control released at the most opportune moments during strikes to gain enormous strength, Naruto-kun used immense amounts of power to flood his body, overcoming the physical limitations of his body in much the same way most shinobi do when strengthening their bodies, but to a more extreme degree."
Hiruzen turned around to face Gai, a thoughtful frown on his face.
"That sounds remarkably like the technique of the Celestial Gates to me, Gai-kun."
Gai nodded.
"A common misconception, Hokage-sama, since it certainly appears so to the observer. However, the Celestial Gates work in a different way to what Naruto-kun did. When one uses the Celestial Gates, they release the limits our own body has put upon itself in order to function at a much higher degree. However, this is still the inherent physical strength of the body, not a chakra augmentation. It merely appears so, due to the release of one of the gates, and the subsequent flood of chakra. It is why intense physical training is required in order the use the Gates effectively, Hokage-sama. A hundred times zero remains zero."
Hiruzen nodded in understanding, his opinion of the odd jounin somewhat rising after finding out the reason for the man's ridiculous physical regime.
"However, what Naruto-kun did was not removing the limits his body has put on itself, but bypassing them with chakra. The result is the same; a body without its usual limits. However this brings me to the bad news Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen closed his eyes again, as he felt icy tendrils spreading from his gut. He had a feeling he already knew what Gai was about to say.
"Because the result is similar, the consequences to Naruto's body are as well. The damage he has suffered is similar to the opening of the Second or Third Gate, Hokage-sama. This is disregarding the state of his arm.", Gai said in a mournful voice.
"The damage is truly that high? How?", Hiruzen asked himself as he rubbed a hand against his aching forehead.
Gai had heard him though and explained.
"I think it's because of two reasons, Hokage-sama. The first is, that Naruto, for however a short amount of time, operated on a level far surpassing the limits of his body… while those limits were still in effect. On top of that is his young age and the fact that his body is unaccustomed against such immense stress."
Hiruzen gave a shaky sigh, before asking Gai the final, most important question.
"Will he recover?"
Silence was his answer, as Gai was deep in thought. The jounin obviously wanted to give his leader a positive answer, without instilling any false hope. Gai quickly gave up with a sigh though, before fixing Hiruzen with a mournful look.
"Had he been older, then yes. Even had he been but a mere fresh Genin, due to his Uzumaki blood and his… tenant, he would have eventually recovered. Had he been a Chunin or Jounin, he would have even eventually come out of this all the stronger for it. But now, with such a young, underdeveloped body… I am sorry, Hokage-sama, I truly am, but I fear Naruto-kun's growth may forever be stunted."
Hiruzen turned away from his jounin in order to gaze at Naruto's sleeping form. He felt his heart break for the small child. The stunted growth, along with the terrible damage to the boy's right arm, would make becoming a shinobi, let alone Hokage, nothing more than a dream for the energetic blonde.
"Thank you, Gai. You may le-"
Hiruzen was cut off when a dark, vile chakra began to cloud to room. And it originated from Naruto.
A few minutes previously
Naruto's face was scrunched up in thought as his bright blue eyes stared ahead of him.
Two blood red eyes stared balefully back.
Finally the silence became too much and the Kyuubi snapped.
"WELL?! OUT WITH IT THEN, MORTAL! YOUR INCECCANT STARING IS GETTING ON MY NERVES.", the mighty fox snapped irritably.
Naruto blinked a few times in surprise, having lost most of his fear for the giant demon after getting bored out of his mind exploring the extremely impressive, yet ultimately very boring, room the two were stuck in.
"Where are we?"
Two giant eyes were fixed incredulously on the small ninja in training.
"We have been here for many hours, yet you only think to ask that question now?"
The fox snorted disdainfully. Not to be outdone, Naruto snorted as well, though not as impressively as the Kyuubi, since his snort didn't create a gale of wind.
"You aren't the most friendly looking fox around, ya know?", the blonde defended himself.
The Kyuubi rolled his eyes, before answering the small child's question, hoping it would keep Naruto from staring at it unblinkingly.
Seriously. It was starting to get creepy.
"We are inside the seal that keeps me contained within you."
"Ahhhh", Naruto nodded seriously, stroking his chin in a wide manner.
The Kyuubi sighed in relief, hopefully the child would now-
"THAT DOESN'T TELL ME ANYTHING, DATTEBAYO! WHAT THE HELL IS A SEAL? AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'INSIDE ME' HUH? Wait-", Naruto cut himself off, frantically patting down his own body.
"HOW DOES THAT EVEN FIT?!"
"SILENCE YOU FOOL!"
Naruto's mouth snapped shut with an audible 'click'. Giving a relieved sigh, the Kyuubi continued.
"Perhaps I misspoke. We are not inside you. Not in the literal sense anyway. How to put this in a way even you understand?", the great beast mused, ignoring Naruto's spluttering, who once again had the feeling he was being insulted, yet not really understanding how.
"Ah. Well, when I was… defeated, I was locked away in a special prison. The prison itself does not exist in your world, little one. Think of your world as a room with doors. We are currently not in the room but behind one of the doors. The seal which I mentioned is what allows you to come here." 'And what allows my chakra into you, but you don't need to know that.'
Naruto's face scrunched up in thought, before giving a tentative nod. Satisfied, the Kyuubi continued.
"Now when I said that I was contained within you, I meant that the door is in your hands. You are the one that closes and opens it. 'And one day, you will open it completely… and I will be FREE!'
Naruto was silent for a few moments, for which the fox was thankful, before giving a decisive nod.
"Weird, but I get it. But why are we here?", the young Uzumaki asked.
The Kyuubi growled in displeasure.
"I am here because of the arrogance of you pitiful humans! Because of those damned Uchiha and their thrice damned cursed eyes! For close to a century, I have been sealed away, to never see the light of day, to never feel the wind or rain on my face again. Why am I here?", the fox spat.
The Kyuubi leaned forward, his nose almost pressing against the golden bars keeping him from devouring Naruto.
"I can tell you that it is not by own will at least. And that I have deserved none of the years spent in here.", the beast growled, malice dripping from every word.
Naruto gulped, before marshalling his courage and frowned.
"You've been locked up for a century? That's pretty bad. And it's even worse because you don't deserve it."
Naruto thought, not seeing the Kyuubi smirk malevolently. Before the creature could open his mouth in order to use Naruto's empathy in order to trick the child into releasing him, Naruto spoke again.
"You just wait Foxy-san! When I get out of here I'll tell what you told me to the Old Man, he'll be able to help you! He's the Hokage, he can do anything, dattebayo!", young Naruto said, giving the fox a thumbs-up and a massive grin.
The Kyuubi was stunned. This was NOT what he had expected.
Naruto didn't notice though, as he looked confusedly around the room he had spent a few hours exploring.
"Ehh, about that. How do I get out of here? Why am I here in the first place?"
Had the Kyuubi been a lesser being, he would have face-palmed, dignity be damned. As it was, the great Kitsune simply sighed before answering.
"The reason why you are here is the same as why you cannot leave this place. Not yet at least."
"Huh, why not?"
"Look at your arm, small one."
Naruto looked at his unblemished arm, not understanding what the Kyuubi was getting at.
"Looks fine to me."
"I should hope so. This is the representation of your mind. Should it be damaged, well, then I'd be worried if I were you. Now look in your reflection."
Looking down at his feet which were submerged within the water flooding the room, Naruto checked out his reflection.
"I don't see anyth- WHOA!", Naruto shouted suddenly.
His reflection looked back at him, covered in small burns and cuts, and his right arm…
He hurriedly felt his arm and was reassured when he felt smooth, slightly damp skin. Still, the reflection bothered him.
"What-"
"Your little… experiment, had some negative consequences. What you see in the reflection is the current state of your body. You will eventually heal, though the damage done to your body will preventing you from ever becoming a proper ninja.", the Kyuubi intoned, each word heavy as the fall of a hammer.
Naruto sank to his knees, looking horrified at his mangled reflection.
"No…", he whispered fearfully to himself.
"Unless…"
Naruto's head whipped back up with such speed, it made his golden hair shake back and forth.
"Unless?", the blonde asked hopefully.
"Unless you draw upon my chakra in order to heal yourself. My chakra is far more potent than yours, and while poisonous to regular humans, because you are my jailor, you will only benefit of it."
Naruto jumped to his feet, ready to accept the demon's offer then and there, before a small whisper in the back of his mind held him back.
"Wait, why would you help me? What do you get out of this?", Naruto asked wearily.
"Why the sudden suspiciousness, little one?", the Kyuubi asked lazily.
"Well, you did say you were gonna deceive me. Right?"
A dark chuckle was his answer.
"My, my, it learns."
Naruto didn't relax his guarded stance, not rising to the taunt. The Kyuubi rolled his eyes before answering.
"Because I want to go to sleep, and you are giving me a headache."
"Bullshit.", Naruto said harshly, surprising the fox with his crude language. Then again, an orphan living on the streets was bound to pick up on a few more… unsavoury things here and there.
"I do not lie, remember?", the Kyuubi grinned, enjoying the way Naruto's face became an interesting shade of red.
Heading of the tirade that was sure to come, the demon continued.
"There is also the issue of you dying."
That shut Naruto up immediately.
"Me? Dying!?"
The Kyuubi hummed in a bored manner.
"This seal is different from the others that have held me prisoner. In this case, should your soul depart the plane of the living, then it would drag mine along with it. No reformation or rebirth for me, but true death, just like your pitiful race is doomed to. It's distasteful.", the Kyuubi said with an irritated snarl.
"That doesn't really explain why you're helping me, Foxy-san.", Naruto said hesitantly.
Ignoring the ridiculous nickname, for now, the Kyuubi explained.
"The stronger a ninja you are, the greater the chances of your survival and thus my own as well." 'There's also the fact that you need to have a body that won't die when I try to free myself or I'll die as well. You can't have the strength I require of you if you remain a mere civilian.'
Naruto frowned before nodding.
"Right. Then I'll accept your help, Foxy-san. What do I need to do?"
"Well. First, you need to…."
The Kyuubi trailed off as one of his nine, massive tails wormed itself with great difficulty through the bars, the tip ending not far from Naruto's chest. The small blonde was getting nervous, but did his utmost in order to not let it show.
"…. LEAVE!"
The tip of the tail slammed into Naruto with enormous force, launching the screaming blonde into the darkness of the hallway.
AN: Don't worry, the Kyuubi doesn't suddenly turn good after the first meeting with a six year old Naruto! It'll still plot and scheme and try to break free, but the foundation for non-hostility are being laid. Also, Naruto will not simply shrug off the revelation that he is the jailor of the Kyuubi. Right now, he's simply too young and tired to fully comprehend it. Kyuubi's intenionally innocent explanation of the situation doesn't help matters.
Fun Fact: Naruto wasn't supposed to be a ninja. Kishimoto initially intended for Naruto to use a form of magic instead of ninjutsu. But he eventually thought that this would be too confusing and simply made Naruto a ninja. Talk about laziness paying off, huh?