My, is it really time for an update already?

Not much to say before this chapter.

First, as always, thanks goes to ncpfan for his help.

Thanks also goes to everyone who sent me a 'Chire, Senbonzakura'.

I've had a few people call this trash lately and while I'm completely fine with it, I would really appreciate it if they told me why they thought that so that I can improve my work. This especially goes to guest reviews that I can't respond to. It's perfectly okay for you to have that opinion and I thank you for sharing it, but please let me discuss it with you so that I can do better next time. Thanks.

Alright then, on with the show!

Two weeks ago his training had utterly destroyed training ground thirteen.

That was nothing.

Training ground thirteen had been turned into a field of holes and gouges barren of all foliage and scattered with the occasional dead animal.

Here, in training ground nine, there was no longer any ground.

Mountains of rock and dirt stretched high into the air as the canyons they had been born from steadily filled with the shattered remnants of what had once been a forest. Trees decades old had been reduced to nothing but splinters and each and every leaf had been shredded into a fine dust.

Huge chains pounded away at everything around them, compressing the man made mountains until they were strong enough to give even the Great Toad Boss Gamabunta pause.

There was nothing left.

And yet he did not stop.

Hour after hour, day after day, he continued on, pausing only briefly for a few hours of sweet unconsciousness. He had no choice in the matter, if he were to stop, he would think, and were he to think, he would remember.

He could not bear such torture.

With a crack his chain descended from the heavens, splitting a mountain in twine with little effort.

As long as he could train, as long as he could push himself to the limit and keep himself there, he wouldn't have to deal with the world around him.

And yet, the words still echoed within his head even as the doubt wrapped itself around his heart.

'"You don't deserve me in your life, you don't deserve anyone."'

He wanted to say that she was wrong, wanted to shout it out to the world that he was worthy.

But then, maybe he wasn't.

Could he honestly say that he, the thief, the murderer, was worthy of having people within his pitiful life? What had he done to possibly earn the companionship of others?

Absolutely nothing.

Perhaps that's why everyone left him.

His mother.

His sister.

Tatsuki.

Mito.

Gone, all gone, and why? Was it really because he didn't deserve to have them? Were the divines bringing these people into his life in hopes that he might earn the right to keep them, only to be disappointed every time and take them back? What cruel gods then must they be, to let him first taste the reward he could never earn.

A chain thicker than he was tall snapped towards each side of the mountain he had split like striking serpents. They pierced through with an explosion of earth, sending rocks flying and raining dirt upon the wasteland this place had become.

These chains possessed so much strength, so much power, and yet, he could not enjoy it.

This power, what good could it do for him? He, who had lost those closest to him, he who had no family, he who had committed himself to the path of a Shinobi, to the world of shadows, what use for it did he have?

The large chains split into a thousand each, swirling around their creator in a glowing blue haze.

He did not need power.

No, power could not help him.

He needed control.

Of his chains.

Of his future.

Of himself.

The chains ground together, sliding amongst themselves in a writhing mass not unlike mating snakes. When they were done she stood before him, a statue that towered over the landscape in its brilliant blue.

Tatsuki peered down at him, smiling. Her face was so close to that of the real one, to the one he had robbed from the world. A single tear slid down his cheek as he gazed upon his creation. Giving a sad smile, he watched it crumble, specks of dissipating chakra descending like stardust.

The beautiful scene did her memory justice.

Without a word more chains materialized around him, ready to be commanded.

A sharp stabbing pain struck him, then, as if a dagger had been plunged into his navel. It quickly faded, but looking down he could find no cause.

It was back as quickly as it had left, bringing with it a million burning needles that seared deep into his flesh. Another dagger went through his chest as he collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath that did not come. Five through the chest, naval to sternum, one to the heart. He felt as two more slid into his head.

As the pain threatened to overcome him he managed to make out a curious sight. His chains, currently coiled around him as if to protect him from his pain, were losing their glow. It was slow at first, the darkening, but it accelerated exponentially, leaving him with dull blue chains that seemed more real than any he had ever created.

Before he could ponder the occurrence, they shattered.

His last sight before his consciousness faded was the mask and long purple hair of a familiar ANBU.

Well, at least it wasn't someone new.

Meeting people hadn't been ending well for him lately.

"Good afternoon, my name is Yakushi Kabuto."

Ah, someone new then. That was good, new was good, especially here. He had never known how much he hated hospitals until two years ago. This was the first time since then that he had found himself trapped within one.

He didn't like it.

The white, the brightness, the harsh chemicals used to disinfect everything within this hellish domain, even the nurses who did their best to be pleasant and make his stay as comfortable as possible drove him mad. This was not proper, this was not right. He should not be here, confined to a bed, relying upon others for basic needs.

It was weakness, vulnerability.

If there was one thing he could not stand it was being vulnerable.

But, if nothing else, it kept him on edge and keeping him on edge kept him awake. He might be vulnerable at the moment, but he'd be damned if he had his throat cut in his sleep. Were anyone to come he'd do his best to fight back. He'd fail, oh, he'd fail miserably, but when his assailant finally got the better of him he'd look straight into their eyes as death took him. He was not one to surrender.

This new person though, they seemed awfully young to be here.

"What brings you here, Kabuto?" His tone was short and clipped. He wanted to get straight to the point. Pleasantries were to be saved until they were necessary. Here, lying in bed almost completely immobile, he didn't need pleasantries, he needed to heal.

Preferably in his own damn apartment.

"Ah, yes, my apologies, I forgot that despite your current status as a civilian you fall more into the Shinobi-like category, I'll do my best not to waste your time beating around the bush."

Naruto gave a small nod of thanks.

"Well, before we begin, do you remember the last time we met?" had they met before? Now that he mentioned it, the young man before him was rather familiar, but why?

"I'm afraid not, though you are, admittedly, very familiar."

"Not surprising, I really wasn't someone you would have bothered remembering at the time, you had no reason to. As it so happens, I was the one who gave you a checkup two years ago when your mother brought you in. I'm not normally one to do such, but we had been short staffed that day and the hospital didn't want to keep your mother waiting."

"Understandable." His mother- Kushina- had never been a patient woman and tended to be rather destructive when bored. That was not the kind of person you wanted waiting unattended within the hospital. The trouble she could get into and the damages she might cause would be astronomical.

"Yes, quite." Kabuto paused to push his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose, taking a quick look at the files in his hands. "Now, as I was saying, because I was the one to last examine you they thought it best that I take a look before we come to any definite conclusion regarding your condition."

As he set the files down on a chair and his hands came alive with green chakra he lightly gestured towards Naruto. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Even if I did, I couldn't stop you. Do as you must." Kabuto acknowledged the words with a quick nod and got straight to work running a diagnostic Jutsu over the entirety of the young Uzumaki's body.

It was at eight points during the examination that the medic frowned, the exact same points that had started hurting during his training. Certainly made sense.

After a few more minutes of running his hands over Naruto's chest, Kabuto deactivated the technique with a sigh and shook his head.

"So," He began. "The good news is that I know what caused this, the bad news is that I was more right than I had suspected two years ago."

Naruto shot him an inquisitive gaze, prompting him to elaborate.

"Two years ago, I brought up a concern I had regarding you and your developing chakra coils. You and your sister are the first children to be born to a Jinchuriki. Your sister, however, is now a Jinchuriki. My worry was that because you had been conceived in the presence of the Kyuubi's chakra your coils might be affected."

Once again, Kabuto fixed his glasses.

"When I told your mother this she was, understandably, concerned. I prompted her to seek the opinion of a proper medic as at the time I was still training, but I am unsure if she ever did so. Judging by what I';ve seen, however, I would have to assume she did not. They probably would have been able to tell at that point even if I couldn't detect any problems with your chakra network."

Naruto chose that moment to interrupt.

"So you're saying I have problems with my network?" He asked.

Kabuto gave a nod. "Yes, it would seem that your conception paired with the amount of time you spent in the presence of your mother and sister throughout your early years has led to your body developing a dependency upon the Kyuubi's chakra to properly function. Though, I am unsure as to why it took so long for it to show, I hope you'll excuse me for this, but did your mother and sister not leave two years ago? The symptoms should have been obvious soon after, for you to have such a delayed reaction is absolutely baffling."

"They were gone, the Kyuubi's chakra wasn't."

"Oh?" Kabuto raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"There's a seal on my arm. I don't know the function, but when I attempted to enter the Uzumaki compound I was attacked by stored chakra of the nine tails. Some of it lingered within the seal."

"And it's not there anymore?"

"No, the chakra's gone now."

Frowning, Kabuto looked over his papers one last time before scribbling a quick note and giving a nod.

"Alright then, I'll let the doctors know so we can begin treatment for Chakra Withdrawal. You should be up and about within the next few weeks, though I don't expect you to be ready to train for at least a month. Then again, you're an Uzumaki, maybe you'll surprise us."

"How much is this treatment going to cost me?"

Kabuto actually began laughing.

"Look at it this way," Said the young medic with a smirk. "You're damn lucky we can take directly from your clan's accounts."

He was back on his feet, more or less, within the week. It was painful and he had been advised against it, but he could not stand being bedridden. While he had not been fully released from the hospital, he had been granted permission to leave the grounds to visit a nearby park. So here he was, taking one hobbled step at a time over well-worn paths under the shade of a verdant canopy.

The park was beautiful, of that there was no denying, and it represented the connection Konohagakure no Sato had to the surrounding forests. Blankets of thick grass covered the ground, scattered with flowers of every color, and the birds sung happily within the trees. The warmth of the sun and the buzzing of insects brought with them a sleepy calmness that invited you to take a midmorning nap.

Unfortunately, he was quite tired of napping, he had come out here for something to do.

Continuing on the path, he came upon a curious sight. Sitting at an old stone table, a single man sat proudly. He was quite old, easily the same age as the Sandaime, and covered heavily in bandages. The sight of a cane propped up against the table caused Naruto to take a quick look down to his own. Doing so, however, reminded him of his own bandages, wrapped tightly around his right arm to hide his seal.

How similar, he couldn't help but wonder, must they look at the moment? Curious as to the man's identity, he approached with slow steps. The nearer he got to the table, however, the more he could make out. Resting on the table was a game board, and on that board a multitude of pieces. More alarming though were the two white masks that peered from behind nearby trees, no doubt to warn him of their presence. This old man was certainly someone then. Be they ANBU or private security, it was not the average person who obtained their protection.

Unperturbed, he carried on, aware as the man's eyes opened slowly and took in his every movement like a hawk. Standing next to the table, Naruto asked of the man;

"Are you waiting on someone?"

After a moment or two of thought, the man replied.

"An opponent." He indicated the game set before him.

"I see, and whom might be your opponent?"

"Whomever is seated across from me."

Pondering that for a moment, Naruto decided that he hadn't anything to loose. Taking the seat across from the man, he set his own cane against the table. Though it was hard to tell, the man seemed almost amused.

"It is not wise to make enemies so easily, child." He advised.

"At least I know this enemy site before me. Better that then pretending I have none."

"And you have enemies?"

"Every man has enemies, whether he knows it or not. Conflict is human nature; there will always come an opponent." The man nodded to that.

"Well spoken. For someone so young, you seem to have a rather solid grasp upon the nature of the world."

"I am learning, slowly, from my mistakes. With every one I make my eyes open just a bit more to the reality of this world I live in." Admitted Naruto.

"They have not yet killed you then, that is fortunate. The world is not often so forgiving."

"Sometimes death is preferable, I am fortunate only that it has not yet tempted me."

The man stared at him in silence for some time before next he spoke.

"You are an interesting one. I wonder then, how you would react should I do this." Reaching over, he plucked one of Naruto's pieces from the board and tossed it away. "Your piece was assassinated." He explained. "What do you do now?"

Reaching into his purse, Naruto withdrew a coin and placed it down.

"Simple." He answered. "I replace it."

"And why use a coin? Surely a pebble would have been sufficient."

"You cannot buy a man's life with a pebble."

The man across from him grinned.

A fortnight later he was back to the training field.

Chains that had once come effortlessly now struggled to maintain their solid form for more than a few minutes at a time, their brilliant blue glow having been replaced by an oily black. Pain shot through his body with the creation of every link, his chakra system as weak as an untrained child's.

But he wasn't untrained.

He knew what he needed to do, he knew how to do it, and yet his chakra could not comply. It was frustrating to no end, but at the same time, it was also a welcome change. It was something he could work on, this time with far more knowledge than he had during his initial learning.

So let it hurt him to make them, let them dissipate into nothingness soon after their creation. Soon enough he would be able to use them better than he ever had. It would just take time, and Uzumaki Naruto had plenty of it.

Four chains materialized under each arm in a coalescence of wispy black chakra, twisting together until they roughly resembled limbs. There was no hand and no fingers on either of his new appendages, but they were close enough for now. His flesh extended his left arm and the chains that made up his new limbs obeyed- all of them. Frowning, he shook his head. It was bad enough that he had to move his body to properly direct them, but to be unable to control two sets of four separately? That was terrible. And it wasn't even controlling two sets, it was controlling one while the other did nothing.

Naruto had a lot of time, but this might end up taking more than he could provide.

"It would probably be better for you to start with chakra exercises rather than jumping head first into controlling those chains of yours." Said chains dissipated as he spun to face the person who had spoken. He had never seen that face, but he did know that hair.

"Ah, Cat, I did not know you were there. I never got a chance to thank you for taking me to the hospital, you have my gratitude."

She waved him off. "Don't worry about it, we ANBU have taking a liking to you and word of a civilian destroying training ground nine had brought you a small audience. If I hadn't done it one of the others would have." Almost as an afterthought she added. "And, please, call me Yugao; I'm off duty."

"Regardless, you have my thanks Yugao-San."

"If you want to thank me you can stop trying to get yourself sent to the hospital again. This is not how you should be training after suffering chakra withdrawal."

"And what would you recommend?"

"Like I said, chakra exercises. You know them, don't you?"

He shook his head in the negative. "I'm afraid I've never heard of such things."

That gave her momentary pause. Had he really managed to achieve what he had using those chakra chains without ever learning chakra exercises? This kid could become a chakra monster in the future. Then again, he didn't seem all that inclined to frontline combat. That was a pity; his chains could probably make entire armies hesitate if he used them as he did in training ground nine. It was no real wonder they were wiped out, the potential for each and every child was terrifying.

"Well, then, you might as well start calling me Yugao-Sensei, because I'm going to teach you."

As much as he'd rather train alone, being taught something by an ANBU was not an opportunity passed up lightly.

"Alright Yugao-Sensei, where do we start?"

He wondered if this was going to become a reoccurring thing. Another mystery item, just like the last lay wrapped in brown paper atop his table. Of course, this one had a rather defined shape, being long and thin opposed to the almost box shaped parcel he had last received. Taking just as much care opening this one as he had the last, he was rewarded with the sight of a black handle emerging from a sheath of black leather.

What was most peculiar upon first inspection had to be the seal of Oni no Kuni proudly engraved into the sheath. As far as he was aware from Iruka's lectures, Oni no Kuni was not known for its weapons and had all of theirs made in Tetsu no Kuni. Why then, was he receiving a blade that originated from that land?

Unsheathing his new blade showed the same black metal as the handle. In fact, it was all made of one piece. The blade was single sided and just over a foot long. While the unsharpened side remained the same from the tip down to the grip, the blade itself moved out slightly as it continued up and curved back near the tip. Save for the tiny edge that gleamed silver, no other part of the weapon reflected any light.

Sheathing it, he found a note within the paper it had been wrapped in.

'Mōryō's Tooth-,' It read. 'Supposedly made in Tetsu no Kuni using the blood of the demon Mōryō, it was named and blessed by seven priestesses of Oni no Kuni who bathed it within a pool of Eiyu no Mizu they had been gifted upon Takigakure's creation. It was to be housed within a shrine within Oni no Kuni to be used should Mōryō ever return but was stolen and used to slaughter the seven priestesses who had decided to escort it themselves. It took me quite a while to obtain it, almost as long as it did Kusanagi, in fact, but my godson deserves a proper weapon.

Wield it well.'

Suddenly, the blade he had held only a minute before seemed far more sinister. Who could have imagined such a history behind such a simple piece of metal? Then again, considering its origins, it really wasn't all that simple. More than that, however, he finally had a name.

Not of his blade, but of their blade, the one who called himself his godfather.

'Kusanagi, huh? I wonder who the last know wielder was.

At least now he had a starting place.

There was a little girl under his tree. Now, this in itself wasn't too strange, as plenty of students had eaten their lunch under his tree. Usually he was gone by then but even if he wasn't he really didn't care. They didn't even know he was up there. For future Shinobi and Kunoichi, that was pretty sad considering he made no attempt to hide himself. That aside, what made this case different was that she wasn't eating her lunch or resting in the shade but crying.

Crying

And under his tree.

He was at a loss as to what to do. Did he leave her so she could cry in private? Did he ignore her? Did he tell her to find somewhere else to cry? How did one deal with crying girls? Naruko would have been his only experience with crying girls, but she never cried. He had, however, delt with a crying woman. Would something like that work here?

And, more importantly, was it even worth trying? Why should he care? Why should he involve himself? Perhaps it was better to stay out of it.

'Then again," Whispered another part of him. 'She's a clan heiress.'

Indeed, for it was Hyuuga Hinata herself who was crying beneath his tree. It may cause trouble later, but it also smelled of opportunity. Earning favor with the Hyuuga clan was certainly nothing to scoff at. Currently, they were the largest clan within Konoha. If you excluded the Uzumaki, who only had three members, they were also the wealthiest. They could make a great ally.

Peering down, he raised his voice just loud enough for her to hear him.

"Are you alright?"

Startled, she jumped, looking wildly about until her eyes met his. He peered down lazily from his branch in a manner that probably would have made Dog proud.

"Well, um, uh-"The poor girl began stuttering nervously, telling him absolutely nothing.

"Come on them, out with it. Are you okay?" Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, as she fell onto her butt and began crying again, hugging her legs tightly.

Naruto gave a deep sigh. He really wasn't a people person.

Jumping down, he crouched next to her. She flinched when he placed his hand on her back but relaxed quickly as it began rubbing the same soothing circles it had with Mikoto. It was not much longer before she was clutching onto him as she sobbed.

'Yeah,' He thought, shaking his head. 'It's exactly like dealing with Mikoto.'

"Shhh, hush now." He continued to comfort her for another five minutes before her sobbing ceased.

"Alright, feeling better?" Timidly she nodded into his shirt, too embarrassed to look him in the face.

"Good. Now, tell me, what's wrong?"

It took a minute for her to choke it out.

"T-they branded me."

Branded? Like cattle? Who did? Her family? Was that some sort of punishment within the Hyuuga clan?

"You're going to have to explain that to me, I don't know what you mean."

Slowly she reached for the white cloth that had been tied across her head, removing it to show him a large green cross. Hooked lines came from either side to meet it in the middle. It really wasn't something that looked good across the forehead. Maybe over the sternum, or across the back, but not on someone's face.

One thing was obvious, however, and that was the fact that this 'brand' was a seal of some sort.

"It marks us as branch members, my father named Hanabi heiress." Well shit, so much for gaining favor with the Hyuuga. At the same time, it made his blood boil to see family treat each other in such a way. Branch and main? Fine, he was okay with that. But to brand the members of the branch members like cattle? That was going too far. What was worse was that he didn't even know the function of the seal. Hopefully it was nothing harmful, otherwise he'd probably end up swearing the Hyuuga clan as his enemies.

"What else does it do?" He asked.

"When we die, it seals away our bloodline so it can't be stolen." She answered. He gave a small sigh of relief. Sure, it looked stupid, but that was a perfectly good function for the seal to have. Others may have questioned why the main family didn't wear it, but if Hinata was kicked out of the main family because her sister was named heiress that meant that the main family was a direct line of the clan heads. Not the kind of person that takes a lot of dangerous missions. They have a clan to run, after all.

"It- it's also used by the main family to control branch members."

What?!

He had never studied the art, but as an Uzumaki he knew that was an absolute abomination. Through clenched jaw he managed to growl out "How?".

Frightened by his anger, she quickly continued.

"Members of the main family can use a special handseal to cause pain to anyone bearing the mark."

"So that would be your father and sister then, yes?"

"And the elders."

Wait, what? How could there possibly be elders? Was there a technical third part of the family that allowed them to be free like the head family even though they should be marked? Something was wrong in this clan, really wrong, but there was nothing he could do. Nothing he would do, not for them. But, for the young girl who had just cried into his shirt, he wished there was some way to free her from such a clan. He was actually surprised a clan like that was allowed to exist, though he knew he shouldn't be. This was the Shinobi world, shrouded in darkness, devoured by shadows. But this girl should at least have the chance to see the light.

Lifting her chin up with his left hand, he gently ran the fingers of his right hand over the seal.

"If only there was a way for me to set you free." He mumbled. Much to his surprise, as his fingers touched the seal it rippled like water. As soon as he removed them it returned to normal. Trying again with his left hand resulted in nothing. Was that, then, the result of his seal? Placing his index finger to the center of her seal it trembled like a reflection in a turbulent pond.

He didn't want it trembling, he wanted it gone.

And so it melted away.

Was this why Mito had refused to tell him what his seal really was? Had she hoped that he might accidently remove the seal that kept her locked within his sister?

His surprise must have shown on his face as Hinata asked "Is everything okay?".

He gave her a strained smile.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I removed the seal." She didn't believe him until he let her view her reflection in one of his kunai.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She gave him a crushing hug, which he weakly returned. When she finally pulled away and made to leave he managed to stop her.

"Wait, you can't let them know." He reminded her. "I'm sure they'll be displeased should they learn."

Tying her white cloth around her head again she gave him a cheerful wave and a beaming smile before she ran off.

Shaking his head, Naruto was left to ponder how his seal truly worked.

Displeased was an understatement. She found him in training ground three two days later, her eyes red and tears streaming down her cheeks. After calming her in the same manner he had last time he was able to find out what happened.

"One of the elders was teaching Hanabi to use the seal." She sobbed. "When he had her try it on me and nothing happened they called for my father who removed the cloth." Her hands moved to the white band around her head, revealing a new seal. "I was rebranded and then they had Hanabi practice activating the seal for the rest of the afternoon."

Words could not describe the rage that consumed him. Never before had he been so furious at anyone or anything. To do something like this to your own family was unacceptable. And as much as he felt anger, so too did he feel guilt. It was his fault she had suffered, he needed to set this right.

He had spent quite some time thinking about the function of his seal. At first, it would simply remove other seals, but how would that work? The only real way was to remove the chakra it was formed with, but that wouldn't cause seals to ripple would it? No, it had to be something else, something far more complex than he could possibly imagine.

And now he had a way to figure it out.

Removing his glove and unwrapping his hand to the wrist, he placed his middle and index finger upon the seal. Like last time, the seal trembled under his touch. Unlike last time, he didn't want it to disappear. No, this time he just didn't want it to work. The seal on his arm glowed a faint red and was soon copied by the seal upon her forehead.

As both seals stopped, he knew that it had to have worked. It was a gut feeling, purely instinctual, but Uzumaki Naruto-

He trusted his instincts.

Eleven down, a lot more to go. See you all next week for the performance of act XII.