Naruto stood up, still covered in bandages, before limping to his friend's room to visit him. With assistance from his pink-haired teammate, he made his way to Sasuke's room, to find him still unconscious from the surgery. Tsunade was already inside, checking his vitals. Hearing the door open behind her, the Godaime turned and her sight was greeted by the blonde Jinchuriki she's come to adore.

"Ah Naruto. I'm sure Sakura told you?" The Slug Princess would ask, tilting her head. Naruto nodded his head in reply...

"It...worked?" He repeated groggily, leaning against the door frame, to which the other blonde in the room nodded at him.

"We were able to successfully transplant your Chakra Coils into his. And, because of your... resident. Your chakra coils should be replenished in no time." Tsunade would state, however a frown came to her previously neutral face.

"Speaking of the Resident... I know this was voluntary on your part Naruto, but I'm worried. I'm worried that his chakra might have also made it in the surgery..." She'd voice her concern, looking at Naruto as she said so. Naruto understood this risk... The Kyuubi seemed to be more receptive to conversation earlier when he fell asleep. Perhaps he can talk to him again about this...

"Yes... I see. But despite what happens... He's my friend. My brother... And whatever consequence this will yield, I will face without fear." Naruto says, managing to still sound determined even though the anesthesia weakened his body. The Godaime nodded, before turning to Sakura.

"Sakura, stay with Sasuke. I need to talk to Naruto, alone..." She says, to which the pink-haired kunoichi sat down by the Uchiha's side. Tsunade held onto Naruto, supporting him as they made their way back to his room. She locked the door and put up silencing seals in the room, to which Naruto took this opportunity to sit down on a chair next to his bed and let out a tired breath.

"This surgery was a very delicate process... the manuscript you brought before me had to be handled with modern care or else it wouldn't have worked. With this in mind, Naruto, you both still need to recover for a couple of weeks. Especially you." She says, poking Naruto on the forehead, which made him smile a bit.

"Because of the nature of the surgery, you, or Sasuke, won't be able to utilize extra chakra in the coming weeks. At all. Meaning you'll have enough chakra running through your veins to move, speak, breathe and eat, and of course sleep. But you won't be able to perform any jutsus, or climb trees- Essentially you'll be like Genin Rock Lee for a while, except for the impressive physicality." She'd break down their situation, Naruto nodding in confirmation at this, before giving her a smile and a chuckle.

"I just need to stay in this room right? I'll be fine." He says, wearing a bright smile, showing off his shining white teeth. The upturn of his lips displacing the whisker marks on his cheeks as he gave a heart warming grin to his "baa-chan." She gave a worried look, but a small smile at his, and helped him climb back into the bed.

"Get some rest." She'd say, to which he gave her a thumbs up. When the door closed, and he was alone, his smile shifted to a frown. His gaze shifted from the door to the ceiling, letting out a long, drawn-out breath, closing his eyes. The young blonde knew that he couldn't sleep right now, he just woke up, despite his body suffering from the grogginess of the anesthesia. But he knew that he would fall unconscious, because he needed to talk to his prisoner.

Now.


In the Past

The human had gone missing. It's only been a couple days, but in those couple days, the Fox biju hadn't seen this human at all. The Kyuubi found himself wondering why he was getting worried for this human. He knew that the human had power, so why would it be his business? Perhaps... it was because he was the only human who's ever taken the time to socialize and understand him? Perhaps. The biju couldn't wrap his head around it... And then he felt it.

A burst of dark Chakra... Could it be?

The Kyuubi turned, his giant form knocking over some trees before heading towards that location. As he got closer, he heard the familiar sound of a flute being played. But, unlike before, this playing... it was chaotic, and erratic. For an inexperienced person, this song could be interpreted as just bad playing, but in the ears of the Kyuubi, and with the swirling black chakra which floated around in the same erratic way, it was more. It even made the Kyuubi feel anxious just listening to it, and the dark chakra within his body began to push and pull within his own being... he didn't like it.

He reached the area. An old battleground, the ground covered in bones and rotting corpses that have been there for years... and in each body, black chakra emanating from their bones like smoke from a fire. And in the center of the battlefield, the YiLing Patriarch. His eyes were glowing red, his body seemingly, and simultaneously, sucking up and pushing out dark chakra from his body... and a scowl on his face. Normally this amount of Dark Chakra, unless manipulated by a biju, would kill a man, or at least lead them into madness. But here, this human, taking in all of this Dark Chakra, without even breaking a sweat.

How?

The human turned, his expression softening at the sight of the Biju. And with the wave of a hand, the black energy quickly sucked into his body, seemingly seeping in through his skin. He approached the fox, his long hair swaying as he walked along.

"Kyuubi?" He asked, looking up at the red eyes of the fox with his, now, grey eyes. The Nine-tailed fox looked down at him, his gigantic form dwarfing the human's... but the display of power seemed to make their presence equal. The fox turned and began to walk away from the battlefield... and away from the human. The YiLing Patriarch's expression softened, becoming sad as he looked away... before he heard the fox's voice.

"Are you coming?" He heard the biju asked. The human looked up from the ground, a surprised expression on his face to see the eyes of the fox looking back at him, perhaps in an expectant manner. The human looked at him, before a soft smile made it's way onto his lips. And he nodded, running over to catch up with the giant fox... and so the duo were reunited and their travels continued.


Hey you guys! Thank you so much for the support you've guys given me through this time. I've got some big news, I was recently sworn into the Navy! Yep! My shipping date is down in December, so you may experience a lack of activity during that time. But I will return to this series once I have some free time, or have access to the internet, maybe when I'm done with my service for a few years.

Thank you all so much for reading the story.

Now, onto the pairings:

- Kurotsuchi: 0

- Shizuka: 1

- Ino: 3

- Fu: 1

Again, you can suggest anybody you'd like. But I'm trying to avoid the conventional NaruSaku and NaruHina story, avoiding pairings from MDZS, like Naru...idk NaruYanli (Naruto x Yanli), or NaruQing (Naruto x Wen Qing), and obviously we're going to avoid yaoi pairings. And, it's more of a personal preference, I'd like for your suggestions to be in the same age-range. I know that the NaruAnko pairing is quite popular, and those stories are good, but the pairing doesn't sit right with me. You can if you'd like, but I'd prefer it to be in the same age-range.

Thanks for all of your support,

Nitro :3