Chapter 8

Demons of Past, Present, and Future

Naruto wakes in an eerily familiar and dimly lit sewer. Unlike what you'd expect of a sewer, there's no notable smell, besides maybe the smell of fox and hints of ramen broth. It takes a few moments of peeking around and realizing he's already standing to recall where this is. "Oh… ok, guess Kyuubi wants to talk again." He steps along through his mindscape with his hands behind his head, peeking at the walls and trying to assess the structure. "Someday, I'm gonna have to come in here and explore more. Ugh. I'm gonna have to get a lot better at meditating." Reaching the seal chamber, he steps across the titanic room and towards the bars. The distance closes at a surprising rate, his mindscape adjusting to ease the process, yet when he peeks back, the room is once again so long he can't see the entrance again. Returning his gaze to the bars, he almost jumps at the sight of the fox's apartment sized-eyes staring him down.

"Took you long enough, brat." The fox lowers himself to rest his head on crossed paws. "So, you wanted to interrogate me. How about you provide something I want first?"

".. That would depend..." Naruto crosses his arms lock eyes on the fox, nearly starting a staring contest. "on what it is you want."

"Something better than this damned sewer." He growls and sits upright. "There's nothing here, and all I can do is lay in this cramped, wet cage forever!"

Naruto cringes and nods. "Yeah... good point. Ok, um…" He starts to turn and look over the room. After a few moments of focus, the sides of the chamber and several spots in the floor become grated, and the water starts to drain away. With a bit more focus, he manages to completely dry it. Water continues to flow, but through the space beneath the grates on the sides. With another few waves of his arms, a titanic slab covered in one of Naruto's recent theorized seals floats down. This seal happens to be a modified gravity seal that causes the effected object to hover instead. The side of the slab facing the cage then lights up and displays what Naruto's seeing. Currently, the fox can only see himself and the room still. As a final touch, for now, a soft red mass begins to grow from between the tiles of the cage's floor, rapidly inflating and merging together like dough, until the titanic demon is slightly elevated atop a very plush pillow that takes up almost the entire floor of his cage.

The fox peeks about for a moment as his tails sway gently. "… Not bad. It would take much more mental discipline than you have to make any more of a difference than this. For a first try, this is satisfactory." Closing his eyes and shifting a bit to get more comfortable, he sighs in relief and smiles. "Very well. Ask away."

Naruto sighs in relief and collapses onto his back for a moment, trying to think of wat to ask. He's wanted to grill this demon for information for so long, but now that he can, nothing's coming to mind. Eventually, a thought resurfaces. "… Why did you attack Konoha?"

"… You aren't ready to hear that, and don't deserve it yet. Ask something simpler."

The blonde huffs and falls silent for a few more moments. "…. Ok. Do you know of any other jinchuuriki out there? Ones that'd still be around, probably?"

"Hmm… actually, I can think of four. First would be the Sanbi's jailor. Yagura, the Mizukage. I wouldn't consider him a jinchuukri to look up to. He's certainly good at using my sibling's power, but that twisted fool started the Bloodline Purges. Honestly, I'm all for finding a good reason to exterminate a portion of the human populace, but targeting bloodline wielders out of fear and ignorance is quite possibly the worst reason I've ever heard. I'd take 'because I felt like it' over that."

Naruto can only manage to stare blankly at that. It confirmed a lot of things. Firstly, a jinchuuriki has become a kage before. Second, they set a terrible precedent that'll give him some trouble. Third, the biju consider each other siblings. Lastly, the fox apparently has a moral compass, but a strong disposition towards causing general chaos. "Um… o-ok. Go on."

"Alright. Next jinchuuriki would be the Yonbi. His container I believe is an old man in Iwa named Roshi. He was a big player in the last two wars. His Yoton jutsu are truly something to fear. Even I wouldn't take them lightly. Next is his comrade Han, the Gobi's container. I know for certain that your damnable Yondaime went against him and the next on my list during the last war. Han's steam jutsu are almost as bad as the old monkey's Yoton, but more versatile."

Naruto scratches his head as he takes in these jutsu elements. "Heh… two Iwa jinchuuriki with fire in their elements. That must annoy them a bit."

"Probably." The fox chuckles and closes his eyes. "And the last… Killer Bee of Kumo. I have no idea what the Hachibi sees in him, but the union of their power is perfect. He can use my sibling's power flawlessly, and is most certainly one of the most powerful and dangerous men on this planet at this moment. He could take on any of the standing kage and fight them to a standstill at the very least, and probably kill most of them."

Silence falls as Naruto lets that sink in. If there's already jinchuuriki that powerful out there in foreign nations, he needs to step his game up. "… How do I learn to use your power?"

"Hm?" The Kyuubi sits up and stares down his jailor. "That's quite a bold question. But I can see why you would ask. You may be ready soon enough, but you'll need to get better at meditating first, and a bit stronger on your own. Only then will you be ready to channel a small portion of my chakra without it becoming a threat to your health. For now, though, it's almost time for you to wake. You best ask a mush quicker, simpler question before you go."

"Ok, well… why are you helping me? You've made it pretty clear you don't like humanity much. And I'm keeping you trapped here just by living."

The Kyuubi snorts. "Right on all accounts. But, I both love and hate humanity. Your ingenuity and capability are things I respect. Your arrogance and reliance on fear as a base instinct, I hate. You personally? You fear only that which is logical to fear, you don't deny the facts, and you didn't personally put me here. You don't even have the key to this seal. I have no reason to hate you. As for helping you, well…" He grins. "I enjoy chaos. What better formula for that is there than a hyperactive young man with the power of the king of demons, the talent and creativity to trap anyone and anything, and happens to love explosions? A child after my own blackened heart."

Naruto shivers for a moment and nods. "When you put it that way, I'm almost afraid of myself. Well, it was a nice chat. I'll work more on meditation and see if I can get in here sooner next time. And I'll try and talk to some Yamanakas about mindscape management!" He turns and walks off, shoving his hands in his pockets and fading from the fox's view as he wakes.

In those first few moments of stillness and silence before he sees Naruto's bedroom through the screen the young man had set up, he sighs and lays back down. "… I still hate both your parents with a passion… and yet you've managed to keep me from hating you." He huffs and closes his eyes. "… Father… I think you would like this one."

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Hours later, all eyes on the main stretch of Konoha turn towards Team 7. Normally, this would just be due to the odd combination of the village pariah and his fox, the rookie of the year, and pink hair that stands out as much as Naruto's old jumpsuit. Today, they happen to be staring more at what the blonde is carrying. In his right hand is a wooden cage marked with seals and containing an all too familiar feline in a red bow, baked out of her mind on catnip. Tora's escapades through Konoha have become quite the legend over the years. The number of teams who've fought and struggled to capture her are too numerous to count. She's raised hell in the Inuzuka compound a few times and come out without a scratch. It makes one wonder if she were related to demon. Oddly enough, Naruto would later hear from the Kyuubi that she was indeed his grandniece, a grandchild of the Nibi.

What few of them would suspect just yet is that Naruto was the one to design the cage she's now in. Not twenty minutes ago, it was unfolded into a flat hinged structure hidden beneath the dirt. The moment Tora fell for the catnip after being chased by Yoko for about an hour, it snapped shut and locked in place, the sides drawn together by seals rapidly retracting steel wire. Now Tora could be carried to the tower amicably and at a safe distance to avoid being scratched into oblivion.

Reactions were in a wide array. Some maintained their disgust towards Naruto and lumped his entire team into it. Many thought the Uchiha prodigy must have made that trap and caught the demon cat themselves. The few shinobi who witnessed it were often a mixture of jealous and desiring to kill the furry bastard before it could escape again. The best reaction by far though, was the Hokage's jaw nearly dropping as Naruto presented the caged animal to her current owner, the Fire Daimyo's wife, Madame Shijimi. "Here you go, mam. Try not to let her out of the cage until you're back home. The catnip should keep her calm for a while, that batch is some of the strongest I could get my hands on." He peeks down to find her purring in the cage, flopped onto her side and staring at nothing. "This kitty's flyin' higher than the moon right now."

Madame Shijimi tenderly takes the cage from Naruto's care and stares into it. "Oh… dear me. I suppose I'll have to find a good source of catnip for her for back at home. I never thought she could be so docile." She kneels down to Naruto's level, her wavy brunette locks framing her plump face and gentle smile. "Thank you, dear shinobi. If she gets away again, I may have to ask for you personally."

Naruto has to force himself to keep up a clearly very fake smile. "Oh, you're too kind. Now, it's best you return to the capital quickly so you can release her from that cage. Keep her in there until you're inside the palace."

"Very well…" She sighs and uprights herself to leave, but looks to the Hokage on her way out. "It was good seeing you again, Hiruzen. Do take care of yourself, and try to find a new successor before you keel over behind that desk!"

Naruto snorts once she's out of the room. "Alright found them, I'm right here. So!" He steps up towards the desk and cracks his knuckles. "That one was a bit too easy this time. Don't ya think you should give us something more worth our time?"

"Um…" Sakura bites her lip and averts her gaze. "… Yeah, he's kinda right, Hokage-sama. We've all been getting bored with all these D ranks."

"Hn."

"Ya see?" Naruto gestures back to Sasuke with both open hands. "We barely managed to get the emo out of his shell, and now he's so bored he's reverting!"

"You just earned yourself a surprise sparring match. With my Mahiken active."

"Shit."

Hiruzen coughs and taps the ash out of his pipe. Dear Kami, these three are already reminding me of my students as genin brats. He sighs and sets the pipe down. "Very well. Kakashi, are you in agreement?"

Kakashi slumps and nods. "To be quite frank, Hokage-sama… these three have been complaining about D ranks since day one and working well above expectations. At first, I thought watching them suffer through D ranks like I had would be fun. For a little while, it was." He tries his best to ignore the death glares he gets from his students. He almost flinches when Sasuke's hand sparks. "It stopped being fun about two months ago. They're more than ready for a C rank."

Hiruzen closes his eyes and smirks. "I was waiting to hear that. Well, I have just the client in mind." He reaches over to a seal on his desk to signal his secretary. She steps in a moment later. "Please fetch Tazuna for us and bring him here." She nods and steps back out in silence. As she leaves, his eyes dart to Kakashi and meet his for just a moment, alerting him to pay close attention.

Kakashi's eyes barely narrow. Really, Hokage-sama? Throwing them into the fire with a mission you suspect is falsely labeled? But why?

As they wait, Naruto is rambling endlessly about who this Tazuna could be, what kind of profile he'll have, and the potential extravagance of this mission. "Oh, what prepared seals should I bring? Which tools should I have on hand? How many exploding tags?!" Kakashi pales at the thought of how many a boy like Naruto would consider 'enough'.

He's cut off as the smell of alcohol hits him and he stalls, staring at the door as a drunken man in a brown tunic and straw hat wanders in, skin tanned and weathered to leather, decorated with a very unkempt and grayed beard and wide nose. He finishes another swig of sake and stares down to the trio of genin. "Are you serious? These brats are guarding me? They probably couldn't even fight a raccoon, let alone a bandit."

Naruto stares blankly, then peeks to his teammates, whose distaste for their charge's disrespect is clear as day. "I think we should give him our credentials." They both nod and grin almost sadistically. Naruto replaces himself with the lamp behind Tazuna and places a finger to Tazuna's spine. Sasuke leaps up and lands on the ceiling, reaching a hand out and holding two sparking fingers towards him. Sakura then draws a few senbon and thrown them at his feet, landing harmlessly between his toes and into the leather of his sandals.

".. Point taken." Tazuna gulps and slowly lowers his bottle, looking up to Sasuke as his hair starts to rise in response to the static charge by his head. "Can you stop that please? My hair is bad enough as it is."

Sasuke nods and leaps back to exactly where he'd been, while Naruto replaces himself with the lamp again to return, and Sakura… actually fades from view and reappears where she'd been. The senbon are gone too. Kakashi can't help but muse at the brilliance of that. Actually throwing those at the client, even their feet, would have been too dangerous, especially for a genin. She's not that good yet, but a genjutsu can be used to very convincingly fake it.

Hiruzen sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. "Team 7, this is Tazuna, an architect from Nami no Kuni. He needs an escort back to his home there so he may continue construction on a bridge leading to the mainland."

Naruto nods and pinches his chin as he thinks, a gesture Kakashi quickly realizes he's picked up from his adoptive father. Little does he know, Minato often did the same. "Simple enough." Naruto nods and peeks up to Tazuna. "When would you like to leave?"

"Oh, um…" Tazuna stares at the young man for a moment. Something in his blue eyes speaks of mischief and pain on levels he could barely fathom. "T-Tomorrow morning, around nine, preferably."

Naruto nods and looks to his teammates. "I'll have some seals to pawn off on you guys tomorrow when we leave. Dad's not gonna like how much coffee my clones go through tonight, but the results will be worth it."

Hiruzen grins and waves them off. "Go and prepare then, children. Tazuna, I assure you, you're in good hands. Go prepare and rest for the night." All three genin take that as their cue to leave, as does Tazuna. Kakashi and the old Kage remain. Hiruzen looks to Kakashi as his grin fades and softens into something subtler, but genuine. "Jiraiya will be there. I may send a clone as well. Naruto's learning fast, Kakashi, and the biggest thing he's learned is the importance and value of a secret. He'll understand, and he'll know to keep silent. More so… I think finding out now, and finding out he's already naturally on something so similar to his father's path, will inspire and motivate him further. This is a perfect opportunity to test his resolve. Just as well, it'll test Sasuke's willingness to work with Naruto instead of focusing on any gap there may be between them, and expose Sakura to some of the most difficult aspects of shinobi life. That girl may be good with illusions, but she seems to have one of her own regarding shinobi life still. We need to break that spell and be certain she has the strength to progress."

Kakashi nods and averts his gaze, staring out the window as he watches his students wandering down the street and splitting up. "… It's not like you to take a gamble like this. You usually play things much safer. Why gamble now?"

Silence falls as Hiruzen internally debates on how to answer. "… those three… I know you see everything I do in them. But I also see more. You see your own team. I see my students. There's so much potential. But potential like that came at odd costs. You know how they all ended up. Jiraiya lost hope. Orochimaru let his craving for power turn him into a monster. Tsunade's bright future was cut short by losses she wasn't prepared for. And your team…"

"… Right… we need to make sure they don't turn out like we did. That I don't become another you. That they don't become another of my team, or yours. We can't let history repeat itself. That requires a few gambles to pull off…" He turns and walks to the door, hands deep in his pockets. "… I'll follow your lead on this, then."

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"Nami, huh?" Iruka passes Naruto a plate of the pork cutlets he'd prepared for dinner, along with some risotto and, much to Naruto's chagrin, some asparagus. "I was there once, when I was younger. Decent place from what I recall. Be sure to pick up a few souvenirs if ya can, with some of your hunting money."

Naruto nods and digs in, trying to get the asparagus out of the way quickly. "I'll try, depends on how long Kakashi wants us to stick around there, really." He takes a moment when he thinks Iruka isn't looking to drop a piece of asparagus down to Yoko. She digs into it eagerly, as it's buttered and salted perfectly. "Oh, and um… I'll be buying some extra coffee for ya to replace what my clones are going through tonight."

Iruka pauses and peeks up to Naruto from his plate. "Your clones are pulling another all-nighter preparing seals for tomorrow, aren't they?"

"Yeah, already working on it in my room. I'll get more of em on it soon."

Iruka sighs and hangs his head. "Of course. Well, at least you're planning ahead. Any seals in particular?"

"Well, there is one." He grins. "I figured, what rules say an object sealed in the scroll has to be unsealed from the same place? So I'm using an entire scroll, putting objects in on one end, having it contained in the middle, and the moment it's detected arriving from one end, it's unsealed on the opposite end."

Iruka pauses as he considers the possibilities of that. "Huh… that's quite the trick. An because it only has to conform to the shape of the scroll, which…" He pauses and slowly turns to stare at his adopted son. "… which can be folded around corners and walls. Dear god, that's brilliant."

Naruto's evil laughter echoes through the house in various stages and volumes throughout the night. At one point, his clones began a maniacal chorus at around 3am, up until Iruka dispelled them all. Naruto's dreams were then graced with evil laughter from the Kyuubi as he got to witness the incoming memories.

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Deep in the woods of Nami no Kuni, a man in a bandage mask up to just beneath his eyes pulls the bandages down just enough to expose his lips and tilt back a swig of sake. "This arrogant midget's pissing me off more and more every day." He nearly tosses the bottle, but pauses as the room's temperature drops a bit. He peeks to his subordinate seated across the room, meditative, but slowly freezing the space around them.

"Zabuza-sama. What has he done this time?"

Zabuza grunts and sets the bottle down. "Bastard thought I wouldn't find out he was undercutting me and hiring someone else who'd do the job cheaper if he can manage to do it faster. Apparently, he got word from one of his company's executives in Hi no Kuni that Tazuna was spotted on his way to Konoha. He'll have an escort. I doubt I'd have trouble killing whoever's sent, but Gato apparently thought it necessary to double dip on mercenaries and hire some no-name brat who abandoned the tree-huggers years ago. A little shit who thinks he's great just because he's got a special sword. Jackass doesn't even know how the hell to use it!"

Haku sighs. There's three things in particular that always piss her master off. First, is anything involving Yagura. The failed coup and trying to raise funds to try again has left everything he does connected to that horrid past somehow and keeps him in an almost perpetually foul mood. Second would be customers who don't get what they're buying and try to play financial games with shinobi out of arrogance. Lastly would be people who don't take the skill he built his entire profession on seriously. All three of those together has him in a foul enough mood for Haku to detect his killing intent simmering beneath the surface at all times now.

It's interesting, though. Haku had met Aoi once before. His arrogance was truly something to behold, nearly as much so as that blade he stole…

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A.N.: Yes, I'm already including a filler character. This is a filler character I actually happen to like and I believe the general Naruto fandom tends to agree that he's a good filler villain. Now let's see what happens when he butts heads with everyone's favorite part 1 villain! As for what else is to come, I'm sure you can all see some significant changes to skill sets on the way, but I've been spending a LOT of time planning traps and seals for Naruto. The evil laughter he and his clones fell into was my own. Just so you know what kind of absurdity to expect. So, get ready for a not-so-boring and repetitive Wave mission full of new twists, new characters, and new solutions. We'll plow through Wave and into the Chuunin Exams by the end of this summer!