Sealing Salientia - Chapter 20: Introductions - Author: PenSmoke

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor make any profit from writing this.

Previously on Sealing Salientia:
He fought to catch his breath against the sight. The eye locked onto his form and the blonde boy had never felt so hopeless in his entire life. He felt the overwhelming urge to crawl inside of himself and just die. It took everything he had to not scramble away from his current position and go hide anywhere that wasn't here.

"My name is Kurama."

Mount Myoboku
July, Year 69

Naruto blinked. The image that currently existed within his visual field did not shift or waver. A gigantic pair of red eyes with vertical slits continued glowering down onto his form. They towered over him by as much as the tallest trees he knew of and then some. Even from a distance, the orbs were a commanding presence that merited his full attention. He found himself unable to break away from the gaze, even as his muscles begged to collapse into a pile.

"I see you are frozen in fear. That will not do. Come here."

The child remained immobile, not yet processing exactly what was happening. Naruto shook his head to try and free his body from the stupor that he found himself within. That creature's very aura had practically paralyzed him. He reached down to pinch himself as he expected this to be a dream. He had been trying to talk to the demonic fox before bed and now he must be dreaming this meeting. That would make sense. He had often had incredibly vivid dreams and this must be one of them. As his fingers pinched the skin and he felt a slight twinge of pain, he grew confused.

'That didn't hurt nearly as much as it should have.' Naruto thought to himself. Or at least, he had meant to think it to himself. However, the words in his head seemed to echo around the area as if he had yelled them from far away.

"This is no dream, young Naruto. You requested my presence, even if it was under the wrong name. You now have it. Come here and tell what it is that my jailor seeks from me?"

The male Uzumaki managed to put one foot in front of the other, putting aside the nearly debilitating fear that the creature's mere presence elicited within him. He would not fear something trapped within him.

As he approached the lumbering beast, he noted something else. Now that his eyes had had a chance to acclimate to the darkness that encompassed the colossal area, it wasn't as dark as it had initially appeared. Faint light cascaded down from the blue streams above. Flecks of red energy wandered through the air, all seeming to trace back to the beast in front of him. Wherever he was, it looked as if it had been demolished by a massive attack. Rubble lay everywhere and the path to the creature was covered in debris that rose up to several stories of building tall. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the debris field was not dwindling as he advanced towards the beast. Indeed, it was quite the opposite. The detritus within the area where he currently was seemed to be centered on the hulking demon fox and completely covered him aside from his head, what looked to be the tip of a paw and a singular tail waving behind him.

Even though Naruto had been told to come to the giant fox, he did not feel like that was the best idea. Jiraiya had explained what the being had done to Konoha and how its immense power was enough to defeat hundreds of trained shinobi in an instant. Talented the young boy may be, he was not stupid. He knew that if the Kyuubi… No, he said his name was Kurama. Best call the being capable of razing entire ninja villages by the name he desired. If Kurama were capable of it, he would be destroyed before he could even react. He came as close as he dared, which was after he scaled a relatively large chunk of iron bar that rose into the air about thirty feet higher than the rest of the rubble that surrounded him.

He took a moment to organize his thoughts. 'What should I ask him first? I don't think I can trust him anyway. I just need him to stop healing me so I can get the blood for my seal writing.' Again, the words seemed to echo around the space as if he had spoken them out loud.

"You are quite right. You have no reason to trust me. If all you need is blood for your seal writing, why not get it elsewhere?"

When Kurama had seemingly read his thoughts the first time, Naruto had attributed it to that he pinched himself in plain view. That was how people checked if they were dreaming. It made sense to think when someone pinching themselves, that they believed they were sleeping. But this time he hadn't given any outward signs. He had simply sat still and thought of what to ask, when Kurama had apparently made his thoughts be spoken out loud and able to read them.

"What is this place? How are you making my thoughts sound out like I'm yelling them?"

"This place is the sealspace within you. I am not doing any such thing. I believe it is likely because we are within your own inner space, that your thoughts are not private within. I have consistently heard your thoughts throughout the moons I have been inside of you. I can also see everything you see, hear all you hear and so on. Everything you experience, I am able to, as well." Kurama's low rumbling voice shook the dust from a multitude of places surrounding him, turning the air below him hazy with the particles. The giant red eyes blinked once more as they awaited a response.

"If this is the seal, why is it destroyed like this? Has it broken?" Naruto asked the question at the forefront of his thoughts. If the seal was broken, he needed to get out right now and tell someone immediately.

Kurama let out a derisive snort. "Hardly. If it had broken, I would have ripped free of this prison the moment it did. No, the man that smells of toads and oil caused this. You refer to him as Pops."

"I thought that the Fourth Hokage made the seal, not Pops?" came the slightly bewildered response.

The gigantic crimson spheres disappeared for a second behind eyelids, revealing themselves again a moment later. Shuddering could be felt underfoot, as if something large was shaking the very foundation he stood upon. The eyes returned their fixating gaze upon him, bright and unyielding. "I do not know the title that you bestow upon the man, but you are correct. Your 'Pops' did not create the seal. Nevertheless, he is the one responsible for it being in the state that it currently is."

The language was slightly confusing to Naruto. He wasn't sure how Jiraiya could be responsible for the seal being in this state, but he had nothing to the contrary for now. He decided to let that avenue of conversation drop. He had gotten farther off topic with each question, rabbit holes of answers appearing in each one that he could dive down into and get lost within. He got back on track by asking what was on his mind when he first arrived here. "I need blood to finish a seal, but you keep healing the cut before I get anything. Could you stop it for now?"

The shuddering underfoot grew in intensity, vibrating the iron pillar on which he stood. "Why would you not just take the blood from something else? Why would you weaken yourself?" Kurama replied, curiosity ringing through the demonic voice.

"Because it's not right to hurt something else for no reason!" Naruto replied indignantly.

"Are you not training to be a ninja? That is what they do. They hurt and kill other ninja for the only reason that they are told to do so. And then, when the deed is done, other ninja come to hurt and kill them in retaliation. You humans and your fighting never ceases." This was said with an air of finality about the statement, as if it was a fact that could not be changed.

"Well, I'm not like them! I'm not going to hurt others for no reason! It's not right!" Naruto replied with the innocence that only children possess. He didn't want to make something else bleed for his own benefit, not when he could do it himself.

"Well spoken, child. We shall see how long that conviction lasts. If it is what you wish, I will stop healing the wound for now so that you may acquire the blood you seek." The lips of the great face parted, revealing spiked teeth behind it. The edges of the mouth curled upwards in a predatory smile. The eyes delighted with amusement, seemingly questioning his commitment.

"You'll see! I'm going to be the greatest ninja ever and I'll never hurt anyone for no reason!" Naruto replied, the strength in his voice increasing. No further reply came from the great kitsune in front of him, just a continuous rumbling of the ground. He just now realized that the vibrations beneath him came from the fox demon itself and they were evidence of it laughing at him.

He was about to speak out regarding Kurama laughing at him, when he noticed that the luminous eyes no longer shone in front of him. In a timespan less than the blink of an eye, he found himself back inside his room at Mount Myoboku. The stars still twinkled through the viewport to the outside world and the rice paper walls still held back the cold night air.

It had felt too real to be a dream. He didn't believe that his imagination could have possibly come up with such a scenario or made it as detailed as it had been. There was only one way to test out that hypothesis though. Flipping back out of bed, Naruto located the edge of metal that he had previously used. Carefully, he dragged the skin of his finger against it, applying just enough pressure for the skin to part under the sharp edge. After the initial pain made him wince, he continued to slice across the pad of flesh until it was bleeding freely. When he pulled his hand back and the crimson liquid was still flowing, he knew that it had to be true.

He pulled the one glass inkwell that he had for writing notes and emptied it of ink, quickly disposing of the black liquid out the window. Allowing his finger to bleed into the container, he noted with satisfaction that he was able to get enough to write a decent amount from the wound before the bleeding slowed considerably.

Taking his brush and dipping it into the canister of red, staining the bristles with his own lifeforce, he copied the seal that he had been writing before meeting Kurama. It took several minutes of writing and another few of double checking. Jiraiya had always been adamant about making sure seals were perfect before using them, as you never knew what could happen with even tiny errors.

After inspecting it for the fifth time without finding any discrepancies, he attempted to activate the advanced storage seal. He had placed a shirt on top of the scroll, one that had been soaked and beaten thoroughly and was practically in tatters. It wouldn't matter if the seal malfunctioned and ripped it to shreds, which was why he chose it. Pushing his chakra through his hands while making the handseals listed within the book, he completed the technique. The shirt disappeared with a small poof and a new symbol was present on the scroll.

With a smile adorning his face, he then molded his chakra for the second time. Completing the opposing set of handseals, he tried to activate the scroll again. The shirt jumped back into existence, exactly as it had been moments prior. Giggling to himself with excitement, he kept pushing the shirt back and forth into the scroll, enjoying the feeling of success.

"Seals are awesome!" Naruto spoke quietly, though he wanted to yell in excitement. It was the first time he had successfully performed a sealing technique. Watching the shirt materialize and vanish over and over was mesmerizing.

After a couple of minutes with the shirt, he tried adding more things inside the scroll. He put a pair of pants alongside the shirt next, then proceeded to activate the matrix. It seemed slightly more difficult, but he pushed through it. When both items appeared next to him upon emptying the contents of the seal, he went with a whole outfit next. He gradually worked his way up to storing dozens of things throughout the night. He drifted off to sleep hours later than he normally did, a smile plastered on his face even when unconscious.

As his muscles relaxed in the embrace of slumber, the book that he was cradling feel to the floor. The pages fluttered with the sudden movement. As the book landed on its spine, the pages came to a rest. As the boy had creased the book at the sealing scroll that he was attempting, the book attempted to open to the bend in the page but ended up one page after. In large words at the top of the page 'Important: Capable of sealing one item at a time. Do not attempt multiple items simultaneously.' could be seen.

Kurama was pleased by his initial encounter with the boy. He had been unsure on how to approach the child that he would be reliant upon for escape.

Anger and hostility could work, coercing the boy into submission through fear. He was certain that he could have scared the boy if he had wished but was less certain of its effectiveness. The boy had never shown much motivation from fear in the life he had been witnessing.

What seemed to work much better was to present a challenge that attacked the boy in some emotional way. Humans were always troubled by their 'feelings' as he had known since the incident with Asura and Indra. It was their greatest weakness in some ways and their greatest strength in others. If you could push their buttons right to where they thought they were acting from their own standpoint against what you thought, they could work ever harder to disprove you.

Plus, in the moons since he had been trapped within this vessel, the boy had worked incredibly hard for a human. While the man who smelled of toads and oil had screwed up the seal, he did seem to have some pure ideologies about him. He had taught of virtue and honor. Of trust and valor. Of doing the right thing, even when it was hard. And his container had taken those words to heart. A spark of Asura seemed to be alive in this boy and Kurama would not destroy it with fear and cowardice.

The only option that he saw working well in the long-term was a much more subtle maneuver than he would have liked. Yes, he was known by the entire world as an unstoppable force of chaos but that didn't mean he couldn't think strategically. He had been part of this child's life for more than 40 moons and had witnessed everything that the human had. That meant that he knew exactly how the vessel would think or react, especially as his thoughts had been laid bare since a connection had been established between the two psyches.

When he presented the child with a perceived challenge that he would not be able to keep up not hurting others, that was the best way to motivate the boy down the right path. Just because a part of Asura may be present within the child, did not mean that giving it a push in the right direction was a bad idea.

Besides, the boy knowing seals would only progress his own goals. With some knowledge now, more advanced knowledge would come sooner or later. When the boy finally understood his own seal, that could be the key to unlocking it. And researching new seals may come up with a whole different method of escape.

He chuckled to himself again. The boy did not even seem to realize that the fascination that was felt towards seals wasn't even entirely his own. He had been sending chakra bursts out to help make the vessel feel positive emotions when thinking about seals or seeing them. And retracting his energy when distracted from sealwork to make the boy feel tired and lethargic when not on the topic.

Subtlety was the name of the game here. Kurama knew that much for certain. He hoped that the strategy would pay off sooner rather than later. He had a red-eyed man to hunt down and kill and then freedom to enjoy.

Naruto awoke the next morning, excited and raring to go through the day even though he had only slept a short time. The work with the seals had kept him up until the wee hours of the morning and his brain was bursting with ideas of what he might be able to do next.

If a scroll could hold physical items, what else could it hold? Could he catch multiple breakfasts worth of food and store it in a scroll? Could he catch fish and keep them alive inside a scroll? What if he just put a sealing scroll in a river and activated it, would it grab the water too? And how would it store all of it? What about if he placed it on a campfire? Or a house? What about if he used a ninja skill and tried to seal it? What were the extremes? Could he seal away an entire mountain? And if the seal he learned last night couldn't, could he change it so that it would?

His thoughts had moved into a brand new direction and he realized that of course it must be possible. The greatest of the Bijuu was sealed inside of him. If a chakra beast without equal could be sealed into a person, anything could be sealed. It just was a matter of figuring out how.

He was so focused on the thoughts running through his head that he didn't even register the multiple hours of meditation in the swamp. Ma had even remarked that his control and focus was much improved. He had found the secret to ignoring everything was to just sit in his own brain and dream up the possibilities that lay before him.

For the first time since he arrived, he asked for an afternoon off of training with Pa. When asked about why he would want that, he ran to his room and showed them the scroll he had worked on last night. As they looked it over, he continued explaining how he wanted to test the possibilities.

His discovery had been met with a mixed reaction. They showed pride in him for being able to do what he showed them he was capable of. On the other hand, they showed great concern that he was trying seals without proper supervision. Ma and Pa told him that they promised Jiraiya that they would watch any sealing attempts and that they wanted to watch over whatever Naruto did in the future.

The blonde jinchuriki agreed in word but not in heart. The entire reason he was trying sealing was to try and pull one over on Ma. So he told the first lie that he had ever told anyone. Inside of himself, he felt a sigh of disappointment. He reasoned that he wasn't hurting anyone though, he just wanted to learn more. The feeling lingered inside of him though, even when he tried to think out how it was fine.

The internal struggle was quickly forgotten as they went over seals and how to use them properly. Considering their interaction with the summoning seals, the elder toads knew quite a bit about interdimensional portals and sealing functionality. They told tales and stories of what could be done that blew his mind. They had a method to bring just the digestive tract of a gigantic mountain toad into another realm. They were able to move the huge stone statues with ease by use of seals. They could hide away in corners, undetectable to the naked eye. They could teleport to and from the great elder toad. They even had a special reverse summoning seal set-up to bring any toad or toad summoner back to the summoning realm if needed.

Naruto had a blast learning that afternoon, taking in everything about sealing that he could. And that night, after all was quiet, he stayed up late, experimenting with what his newfound knowledge could lead to.

AN: 100K words! Published this story a month ago today! Goal accomplished. Woohoo! I will likely be slowing down the pace of chapters coming up as I doubt I can keep 100K a month going for long. However, I still expect to be able to write a few thousand a week.

31 Reviews, 58 Followers, 81 Favorites. Thank you guys!

This chapter is a bit shorter than average, but I didn't know how to tie to next bit without jumping time or perspectives too much. Hope you enjoy still!

Lastly! I haven't yet decided who I want to be on the primary team after graduation. The team system will be different and people will be rotated in and out as needed, as part of Hiruzen's changes. But, there will still be a primary team that ninja typically serve with. I have ideas as to who I would like to be teamed with Naruto, but nothing is concrete yet. Suggestions encouraged, give me some ideas as to why they should be paired as well. I'd love an unusual team that could have interesting dynamics.

Constructive criticism welcome!