Chapter 26
Rebirth

Shikamaru watches from the sidelines with his brow furled and a twitch in every joint. The crimson chakra overtaking Naruto is oppressive and torturous. Every nerve in his body is firing and saying to get far, far away from him. It barely takes shape for a few moments, but retracts from nearly forming a tail and ears to be just an aura raging around him. His eyes have gone feral and as red as his chakra. The whisker marks on his face grow wide and jagged. His nails have grown into claws. He stands well uphill from the shore, but the water still ripples away from him across the lake. Birds and insects in the enormous tree above scatter for safety.

Shikamaru knows all too well that both Naruto and the Kyuubi have been overcome by rage. Little can stop their tirade now.

His thoughts are cut off by his teammate beside him. "Shika…" Chouji speaks shakily, horror dripping from his words. "What… the hell is happening?..." Ino turns her attention to him, believing the smartest person she knows besides his dad may have answers.

Shikamaru huffs. "… Ask Naruto after we get through this. For now, keep your distance, and try to calm him down."

Kakashi shudders at the sensation of that chakra. So much... he hasn't felt it like this since the night the Kyuubi attacked. Since then, just one spark the night Naruto learned Kage Bunshin. Now, it's a torrent, barely contained. Naruto's trying not to lose himself to it, he can tell by the twitching in his student's face, but he's simply too angry to contain it.

Asuma fears for his other students for a moment. He thinks he could take Naruto in his current state, if he doesn't get up to a full tail. But if he goes beyond, it'll start getting dicey. Damn, he hates fighting jinchuuriki. That run-in with Roshi when he was with the Twelve Guardians was just painful.

Sakura and Sasuke share a glance. She speaks first. "Do you think he can control it?"

"Now?" Sasuke's eyes narrow. "No. But give him time. Steer clear, let him burn himself out and tear Kumotori down a bit. You focus on Yoko."

Sakura nods and ducks further down the hill and out of sight to circle and around and collect her. Sasuke stashes the Raijin no Ken to save on chakra as he backs off with her.

Fuu shivers at just how… malicious Naruto's chakra feels. So much anger on the airwaves she starts to feel it herself. She grips her head and takes a few deep breaths. "C-Choumei… c-can you help out?"

"You're still not ready for much, Fuu." Her voice is a cheerful, squeaky vibrato. "But I can give you as much as he has now."

Fuu nods and braces herself as crimson chakra floods her body, giving her an incomplete shroud that vibrates across her back as her wings grow. "O-Ok… let's back him up." While Kumotori is too focused on the rage Naruto is pouring out, Fuu divebombs and flips through handsigns. "HIDEN: GENWAKU RINPUN!" (Secret Art: Blinding Scale Powder) She blows out a cloud of shimmering carapace flakes, reflecting the lights filtering through the great tree and blinding him for just a moment.

This gives Naruto a perfect opening to rush in and deck the man with a cloaked haymaker. Kumotori hurdles back but flips back onto his feet. His face is more cracked, but he's still fighting. He gets his bearings just in time to see Naruto's cloak grow a full tail and ears… and the boy cackles. "I'm going to enjoy tearing you limb from limb for what you did to her!"

Kumotori huffs and starts up some handsigns. "If that vermin means so much to you, I'll send you to join her." He's about to complete his signs when Asuma rushes him and starts another round trying to box his head off. He ducks and weaces around, only to be blinded by another blast of scale powder, then blown up by Asuma's ash cloud mixed in with it- and the scale powder acted as an accelerant!

Just after the blast, he hears Kakashi rushing him with another Raikiri and ducks away, backpedaling across the water. He flashes through handsigns in the middle of his last backflip right over Naruto bolting out like a flying squirrel, completing the set as he lands and firing a pair of water dragons. Kakashi cuts right through one with Raikiri as he dives in, while Asuma barely carves up the other with Hien.

Fuu dives in front behind for a dropkick. Despite her cloak forming, he grabs her by the ankle and slings him around, batting Naruto away and leaving them both sprawled out in the water. He lets go just in time to duck backwards unto the water and away from Raikiri and be replaced by a small contingency of eater clones.

Those water clones are quickly dispatched by Ino waking from her stupor and using another Conduction- which shocks and disperses them all and regrettably kills a good number of fish.

Kumotori bursts from the water beneath Ino, steaming from both the shock and pure rage as he goes for her throat-

Only for Chouji to grab her with Partial Expansion and pull her away barely in time. He holds her close while Shikamaru attempts to hold Kumotori with his shadow, but senjutsu strength, even partial, tears right through.

A massive hand of crimson chakra suddenly grabs him and pulls back. Kumotori turns around as Naruto reels him in and decks him in the face. Everyone can swear they hear his skull cracking. If not for Naruto's advanced regeneration and defense, that blow would have surely killed him. Even then, his cloak falters and he collapses on the water. Although Kumotori pulls a kunai for a killing blow, he instead has to turn and block a lightning-charged kunai in Kakashi's hand.

While Kakashi has him occupied, Fuu dives down and grabs Naruto, taking him to the shore and beside his teammates. After a few moments, he sputters and coughs up some water.

Sakura sighs in relief while she continues running her Mystical Palm on Yoko. "Naruto, you're awesome out there, but rest for a moment." She flinches at first when Naruto's red eyes fall on her, but they soften at the sight of Yoko's limp body- but she's breathing!

Naruto rolls over and kneels beside her as his wounds sizzle and heal. "She… She's ok?.."

Sakura shakes her head. "I'm barely keeping her stable. Naruto, I'm sorry, but… she doesn't have long."

"Naruto."

He bolts upright. "Yeah, Kyuubi?"

"Let me speak for a moment."

Thought hesitant, he nods and closes his eyes. His whiskers widen and his lips become thick and black before his feral eyes open. "Sakura, this is the Kyuubi speaking. I might be able to save her, but frankly, it's going to hurt for you."

Sakura's jaw falls slack, but she shakes it off. "How do we do it?"

"Your chakra system in your hands will feel like it's on fire, and your ability to heal will be cut off until you heal in a few days, but if I filter my chakra through her, we can not only heal her, but make her even better."

Sakura's eyes widen in pure shock. "What? But… b-but… what will that do to her? How are you so sure this will work?"

He hums as he decides how to explain. "To put it simply… I'll basically be making a new summon species on fast-forward. She'll be the first."

Silence falls as how advanced this is sinks in, but she slowly steels herself and nods. "Do it. With that kind of power boost, and you and Naruto working together and level-headed…"

The Kyuubi grins as he places his hands over Sakura's and starts pumping his chakra into her jutsu. "This walking bastardization of my father's teachings will be suffering in short order."

Naruto watches from inside his own mind with a wide grin and tears running down his face. The mixing of their chakras is brutal, violent, and Sakura is biting her tongue to fight the pain, but it's working. Yoko's breathing grows deeper and steadier, and she's starting to grow. "Kyuubi… you really care, don't you?"

He falls silent as those words sink in. "… Refer to me as Kyuubi when speaking with others, Naruto." He slowly grins. "You and my born-again daughter may call me… Kurama."

Yoko's eyes open and flash with chakra, and just as soon as she was awoken, she was gone. So was Naruto. Sakura couldn't follow their movement, but she could see the waves spreading from their path. She ignores the burning in her hands, the fact her skin is red and raw and her fingers are twitching. She runs her own chakra through them to soothe it and dips her hands in the lake as she watches Naruto's back.

Kumotori and Kakashi halt in their own duel for a moment as their attention is drawn to the returning student.

Naruto's cloak is a tad brighter now, more orange than red, and his cocky, domineering attitude returns as he cracks his knuckles. "So, imouto, how fucked is he now?"

Yoko tilts her head and hums as twin tails sway behind her. "I believe tou-san would say… unequivocally." She suddenly splits into a dozen copies of herself that dance across the water in a circle around Kakashi and Kumotori. Naruto chuckles and ducks into the water, followed by a red flash through the lake. Suddenly, countless other copies of Yoko start leaping from the water to join them and randomly rush in to strike. Kakashi pulls back and away from the circle as the clones approach. One turns back into Naruto and throws a vicious punch that's swept away and met with a kick through the gut. Others starts surrounding him in tighter and tighter circles, some leaping overhead, as the Naruto clones scattered within rush for randomized attacks. One after another is dispatched until several charge at once and suddenly explode with Bunshin Bakuha!

As the smoke is still clearing, he lurches and peeks down as Kakashi's chirping hand thrusts through his chest from behind. He growls deeply and coughs up water and blood. Kakashi's smug for a moment, but Kumotori roars out and backhands Kakashi away. He tumbles to a stop and grabs his shattered ribs, knowing he's down after a hit like that. His sharingan spins as he memorizes the horrifying sight of Kumotori ripping his vest off to reveal a massive scar over the other side of his chest that produces a second heartbeat. "To think… the final remaining secrets of the Jiongu (Earth Grudge Fear) in Takigakure end with me… so soon after it's worst practitioner laid us low." He twitches as he reaches his best-functioning right arm up to the hole in the left side of his chest. He wheezes and spits more blood. "My seconds heart is barely keeping me alive. You got my lungs good..." He huffs as his eyes go bloodshot and red-tinged water floods from the hole. "But I'll be taking you and that pathetic chief with me!" He starts tearing through handsigns, but flinches as a kunai hits his shoulder.

Stone chips off his shapeshifting body and he peeks to the source as the smoke clears to see Naruto standing outside the rings the foxes had been dancing in. A lot of Naruto. All of them are facing him at an angle, and the foxes are gone. All but the one standing beside the real Naruto have been replaced with small hovering balls of flame with a red tinge. Yoko giggles. "Katon: Kitsunebi." (Fire style: Fox Fire)

Noting the dragon handsign Naruto and all his clones are holding, Kumotori comes to one obvious conclusion. "… Oh fff-"

"Fuuton!" Naruto yells, and his whole clone army responds. "DAITOPPA!" The blasts of wind are fired at an angle, catching the Kitsunebi and becoming a towering funnel of biju-charged flames! "Hiden: Natsu no Odoru!" (Secret Art: Dance of Summer)

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-" Kumotori's screams can barely be heard through the flames, and soon enough, die out. When the tornado breaks and scatters, all that can be seen is a baked clay statue of the man's warped and screaming form sinking into the lake.

Naruto's clones pop one by one until Naruto drops onto his back on the lake and pants. Fuu calls out from above. "That was FUCKING AWESOME!" Naruto responds by raising his thumb as he starts to sink, only for Yoko to bite his collar and start walking back to shore with him in tow.

Sasuke grumbles. "Great, now he can do elemental collaboration jutsu without me."

Sakura huffs as she pulls her hands from the water and finds them healing faster than expected. She attributes it to the Mokuton influence on the lake. "Yeah, but your fire is still stronger. It would have been way better if it was you."

"What, back to fangirling?"

"God, no."

Kakashi sighs and lays back as he nurses his broken ribs. "Well… that was something."

Asuma takes a seat beside him. "How do you think my dad's gonna take it when he finds out we fought a sage to the death and Naruto killed him?"

Kakashi huffs. "I killed him, Naruto just stopped his kamikaze. What I'm worried about is this Jiongu he mentioned…"

Asuma grumbles and lays back. "Another hint about this mastermind that stole the Hero Water. And how horrifying his jutsu is, if an amateur with it gave himself a second functioning heart."

"Sensei." Asuma turns to see Shikamaru approaching. "Ino and Chouji are gonna need explanations about what all just happened with Naruto and Fuu. Furthermore, if this village has already been infiltrated once, and now is severely short on chuunin and above shinobi…"

Asuma nods and hums. "Taki is in a very dangerous position."

"Indeed…" Finally, Shibuki limps his way over to them. Clearly, he'd been too outclassed at the start of this fight to keep up. Thankfully, knowing that also kept him safe. "And as such, I'm prepared to make a generous offer to Konoha."

Kakashi raises an eyebrow, looking away for just a moment as Yoko finally drags Naruto onto the shore and he speaks up in a groan. "And what would that be, Shibuki-sama?"

He sighs and takes a seat. "I'll need more Jonin here, and I have a lot of resources and intelligence to spare without high-ranking shinobi to share them with. So, I'll offer that and a dual-citizenship exchange program with ambassadorship. We will share in citizenship of the Nanabi jinchuuriki, and we will receive temporarily stationed chuunin and jonin shinobi until our forces are properly bolstered. It will unite our people, and our borders will be opened to Konoha alone."

Naruto and Fuu slowly peek up to him in confusion, but Fuu's face spreads into a wide, toothy grin. "I get to go to Konoha with them?"

Shibuki nods and smiles somberly. "I'm sure you'll be happier there. And safer from threats like Kakashi-san has warned me of."

Silence falls for a moment, but Fuu nearly bowls Shibuki over with a flying hug. "THANK YOU!"

Shikamaru sighs and stumbles off. "Great, another one."

Naruto rolls onto his back, spread-eagle as he stares up through the canopy with a smile. "Yeah… it's awesome."

"Um…" Chouji and Ino step up, with Ino almost hiding behind him as he speaks. "Speaking of…. 'another one'... what exactly a-are you two? What was that?"

Yoko huffs. "Simple. They're jinchuuriki." She lays on Naruto's chest and crosses her paws. "They each carry one of the nine Biju in a seal. Naruto-nii carries my father, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, while Fuu carries the Nanabi, Choumei."

Naruto glares down to her and grumbles. "Did you have to just blurt it out like that? I was gonna tell them, but… seriously, I thought you had more tact than that." Yoko just shrugs and closes her eyes to nap. Naruto pushes her off and she just flops onto the grass and lays there.

Ino sputters silently as she struggles to make sense of it, until her brow furls as the pieces come together. "The glares... the names… your birthday… It all makes sense. You really are containing that beast."

Naruto nods and nervously peeks up to them both as he sits up. "… you're... not scared?"

"Naruto, I'll be honest…" Chouji huffs. "I'm terrified, but not of you. For you. Are you sure you're ok, carrying that thing?"

Naruto raises an eyebrow, then closes his eyes. When they open, they're red again, and his whiskers are thicker. "I'm not a thing, brat. I'm one of the most ancient and noble beings on this earth. You'd best address me as such. As for your fears, set them aside. As much as I would have loved to raze Konohagakure no Sato, and largely still do want to, I know it's unwise. That night, I was under a genjutsu that didn't end until shortly before I was sealed into this boy."

Chouji slowly steps back. "O-O-ooooookay, I'll try to keep that in mind! Um… K-Kyuubi, sir."

Ino nods shakily in agreement. "O-Of course! It's an honor to speak with you, s-sir! But, um.. w-who else knows?"

Kurama hums. "Everyone present, most adults in your village, the Hokage of course, and the Hyuga heiress all know I'm in Naruto. Only those present and listening as well as the Hokage, your father, Shikaku, Iruka, Hinata, and Jiraiya of the Sannin know I was under a genjutsu."

Chouji hums and hangs his head. "Yeah, guess that makes sense. I-I mean…. If I wasn't so exhausted, I might panic about knowing there's someone out there with a strong enough genjutsu to control you."

Sasuke cuts in from the root he's lounging on. "Blame my family for it. Bunch of assholes."

Kakashi lowers his book. "Your uncle Obito wasn't."

"One exception, maybe two if we count Shisui. My mother's a given, she married in."

Kurama snorts. "Obviously."

"Sooo…." Fuu hovers upside-down above Naruto. "Aaaare we gonna get moving soon? I still smell that clay man you just baked and I really wanna get to Konoha."

Kakashi rolls his eyes. "Indeed. Five more minutes to rest, then we move out and back home. Got a hell of a mission report to turn in." He smirks as he recalls what's soon coming. "You kids are definitely ready."

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A deeply-wrinkled man nary four feet tall sits behind his mahogany desk as he sorts through the written reports of last week's incident. His eyes rise from them to the genin squad led by his son. "Are you certain of this?"

Akatsuchi nods and lights a cigarette with his thumb and some fire chakra. "Kakashi, Asuma, Zabuza, and a ton of clan heirs all together, topped with that blonde imp? Couldn't be clearer. Hiruzen's not playing around. Either get on board or back off." He huffs. "But something tells me there's more to gain from boarding. He's holding onto something big. Something critical. We both know he wouldn't play with all his cards on the table. Somethin tells me the ace of spades is still up his sleeve."

Onoki growls and taps his fingers across his desk. "… Very well. You're cleared for the exams. Keep me informed through the first and second round, and depending on your intel, I'll decide if I'm coming to the third myself." His eyes fall to the witness sketch on his desk of a grinning blonde brat with a pet fox. "I need to figure out this Uzumaki brat."

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In a dimly lit stone office, a gorgeous redhead in a blue dress hums as her eyes dart across three of her genin. "You've all done spectacularly. Your team brand new, but all of you prove incredibly talented, strong, and resourceful. The newly restored Kirigakure must prove it's strength and loyalty our new alliance, and I believe you can do so for us. Take the next two weeks to train and build your team dynamic before you leave. I wish you all the best of luck in Konoha."

"O-Of course, Mizukage-sama! I promise, I won't let you down!"

"Lighten up already, man. We got this."

"Indeed. Although I would not say victory is assured, knowing who three of our opponents are. I wonder if they'll be surprised I'm returning so soon?"

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A towering man of dark skin and raw muscle hefts weights as he sits behind his own cracked and battered desk. "A 3-way alliance? Damn you, Hiruzen. As shrewd as ever. Lend a hand to two struggling regimes and keep both in your pocket while you build them both up and keep your opposition split across the map. Even if I did work with that bastard Onoki, pincering them means nothing when they have an ally on each flank." He huffs and drops the weight, shaking the room. "We'll need our own display of power and a close eye on negotiations sure to proceed during the third round. Prepare my brother's students, Darui. They'll be going with you."

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"You know what you must do, Baki." The Kazekage hunches over his desk. "This is of the utmost importance. My son's status must go unnoticed. Keep him in line, blood-free save for the exam. When the time comes, unleash him. Prepare a sleeping genjutsu to ensure he can be put under when the time comes if doesn't agree."

Baki nods as the cloth draped over half his face sways. The best part of such face coverings is surely that it's so much harder for others to notice nervous ticks that might give away how much this mission disturbs him. But it's his duty. Konoha will fall.

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Deep beneath the earth, a pale serpent snickers to himself as he feels the winds of fate change. Even in the depths of his tunnels and laboratories, an errant breeze nearly blows out a candle to his left. "Hoh? Interesting… Thank you for the update, Kabuto. Return to your post, before anyone notices you're missing." Without looking, he knows his servant has left, and his lab is empty once more. "Oh dear Sarutobi sensei… what brilliance have you cooked up now, you old fool? To think, you're setting the stage for a much more ambitious debut to my rule."

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A.N.: So, how's that for a payoff to that last big cliffhanger? And a nice little preview of the absolute clusterfuck I have on the way for the exam arc! But don'\t expect things to be identical. This exam will be very different, with familiar settings, but new tasks and new competitors! I'm sure you'll be familiar with them. I'm gonna have a LOT of fun with this...

For now, check me out on youtube under the same username- I just started a Katana Zero playthrough- and check out my discord through the links in the description of every video! Now, I'mma go watch Black Widow.