I don't own Naruto or any of the characters or situations associated with it.

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Mindscape

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Naruto looked round at the tunnel he was in, then he looked up at the exit. Walking forwards, he blinked several times as he found himself in a brightly-lit hillside field of flowers surrounded by trees. A large stream flowed through the field, flowing round several boulders and falling into a small pond, beside which lounged…

"Kurama!"

"Hey, Kit." Kurama nodded and Naruto blinked.

"Kurama, you've… changed. You're not as red as you were."

Kurama shrugged and stretched. "The Hive came up with a way of turning some of my Yang Youki to Yin Youki. It has changed two of my tails for me, I'm closer to balanced now. Once I get my fourth tail turned, I can use it to return to my full strength rather than the half-strength I'm at now. It also means I'm a lot calmer than I used to be."

Naruto walked up to Kurama and reached out, resting his hand on Kurama's paw. "What does this mean for…"

"Us?" Kurama asked. "There's still someone out there who can control me, even when I'm finally returned to full power. I'm staying here, inside your mind. Once I'm fully balanced, we can discuss summoning me but I'm actually enjoying it here."

"Much to our surprise." Said another voice and Naruto spun round to see a pair of figures standing close by. For a long moment, he simply stared at the blond man and the red-haired woman, then their paralysis broke as the woman dashed forwards and caught him in a strong hug.

"Oh, my baby! You've grown so much!"

Naruto stared at the grinning man, then at the woman who had released him and was holding him at arm's length, smiling at him.

"Gomen, but who are you? And why are you here? How are you here?"

"Long story." The man said. "I am, or was, Namikaze Minato…"

"Dad! Mom!" Naruto realised and both adults nodded with proud smiles. "But… how?"

"Your Hive found us a few days ago and finished extracting us from the Seal just before you were attacked." Minato shrugged. "It's feeding us your Chakra adjusted to support us, so we won't fade. As for how, we're advanced Kage Bunshins, the original us placed a portion of our souls in the us you see now. Hmmmm, I hope that sentence actually made sense."

Naruto sat down on one of Kurama's tails as the explanation progressed.

"Minato's Bunshin was set to activate should something happen to the seal. If you had released eight tails of Youki, he would have re-sealed the Kyuubi."

"Kurama."

"Sorry, Kurama." Kushina said with a slight nod to the Bijuu. "I was sealed to help you when you decided to fight Kurama for the use of his Youki, but with what the Hive did… well, we're here for you from this point on."

"Yep, we can teach you." Minato said with a smile. "How would you like the Rasengan and the Hiraishin?"

"Your Kenjutsu needs work as well." Kushina said with a fond smile. "Once the Hive has finished repairing you, we'll direct you to where we placed our equipment."

Naruto grinned as a thought occurred. "Can Kage Bunshins create more Kage Bunshins?"

"I don't see why not…" Minato said after a moment's thought. "Why?"

Kushina's eyes widened and she laughed. "Oh, that's brilliant! With the chakra that your Hive is feeding us…"

"Once the Host is healed, the Hive will alter some of the Bunshin-sama Kikkai for Host-father and Host-mother." A new voice said and Naruto's grin widened.

"Thanks, Hive, but what about Kurama? Can we Bunshin him as well?"

"I'll wait until you learn summoning." Kurama said. "That way, I'll be able to use more of my power. Besides, I like it here, it's… relaxing."

Minato laughed, then sobered.

"Naruto, we need to talk about the day you were born, and why Kurama ended up sealed into you. You see, your mother was the second Jinchuuriki for Kurama…"

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Naruto rubbed his forehead as Minato and Kushina both watched him.

"So, if I follow you correctly, a madman you think was Uchiha Madara tried to seize control of Kurama using the Mangyeko Sharingan, forcing you both to sacrifice yourselves to seal him away and protect Konoha. "

Both adults nodded and Naruto continued.

"You hoped that the Old Man would put me somewhere safe, but he screwed up because he's so old, but having the Hive changed everything so now you both intend to teach me everything you know."

"I'd take them up on it, Kit. Oh, not the toad contract, but then again since we have him here, we don't need it if we decide to change the seal. Besides, imagine combining Rasengan with your clones… it's quite a technique. When he used it, it slowed even me down."

"Kurama-san's right." Minato said with a slight bow towards the now-amused Bijuu. "As my son, you were to inherit all my Jutsu."

"And as mine, my techniques are yours too." Kushina said. "It's just a pity that your chakra isn't quite right for the Uzumaki Chakra Weapons techniques."

"The Host's chakra can be changed."

"What? How?" Minato asked in shock while Naruto looked quizzically as the golden sparkles that denoted the Hive.

"Because of the poison used, the Hive is having to reconstruct over two-thirds of the Host's body in order to remove the effects. As such, the Hive can modify the Host's body like the Hive did when the Hive first Bonded with the Host."

"Interesting…." Kushina mused. "Mi-kun, start teaching our son about Fuuinjitsu, I need to talk with Kurama and the Hive about what can be done."

"Yes dear." Minato said, grabbing Naruto's shoulder and hustling him to the edge of the field. "When your mother gets that look in her eye, it'll be more than your life's worth to try and stop her."

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"Any change?"

Anko shook her head as Gai sat down beside her, her gaze never shifting from the large silk cocoon that lay on the bed and the tubes carrying nutrients and liquids to it.

"He's still in there. The Hive says he's recovering as it thought he would."

"I can have Neji look again, if you wish." Gai said after a long moment and Anko shook her head, then frowned.

"Speaking of Neji, how is he doing?"

"He is trying to fit in." Gai said with a slight shrug, "And doing quite well at it. I must admit, it did help that at the team formation meeting, he offered to resign from the team once Naruto-kun recovered."

Anko shook her head. "I don't think the gaki'd like that. Neji earned his position, what happened to Naruto isn't his fault and he did try to stop it."

Gai nodded, then he frowned and extended his hand. A Kikkai landed on his finger and he raised it close to his face, then his eyes widened in shock.

"Anko… the eyes…"

Anko leaned in and squinted slightly as she focused on the Death Bite Beetle perched on Gai's finger. Her gaze tracked along its streamlined outer shell and to the head, with its… red…

"What the hell?" Anko gasped. "Is that a… a Sharingan?"

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"What?" Naruto gasped in shock and the golden mist of the Hive seemed to flicker slightly.

"The genetic advantage of the one who attacked the Host has been incorporated into the scouts of the newest generation of the Hive." It repeated.

"By Kami." Minato breathed in shock. "The Hive has the Sharingan?"

As if in answer, a giant version of a Death Bite Beetle appeared, turning so that Naruto and Minato could examine its eye. Most of the facets of the eye were red, although the central facet and two others were black, the outer two being slightly mis-shapen in a way that resembled tomoe.

"Itachi's has three tomoe." Naruto noted.

"The genetic advantage acquired only had two tomoe."

"That probably means that the Hive can see chakra and copy both hand-seals and full techniques with it, but lacks the genjutsu and predictive capabilities of a full Sharingan." Minato noted and Naruto sighed.

"Well, I guess that means that I need to start using the Sharingan Protocols."

At Minato's quizzical glance, Naruto sighed. "It means no using it inside Konoha without permission, no using it on allies in the field and pay for any… jutsu… oh hell. Dad, is there a lot of money with your equipment?"

"Quite a bit, why?"

"I've just realised." Naruto said, looking embarrassed. "I owe the Aburame clan a lot of money since my Hive has been spying on them. Argh! Why didn't this occur to me before?"

"Could the Hive give you the Sharingan?" Minato asked, not quite paying attention to what his son was saying.

"Unknown. Such an attempt would be likely to be detrimental to the Host's health. The Hive advises against making the attempt."

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"That is a Sharingan." Itachi mused, examining a Kikkai through a magnifying glass. "A two-tomoe one at that."

"How the hell did my son's Hive get a Sharingan?" Anko exclaimed, throwing her hands up into the air in frustration. Itachi glanced at the cocoon, then back at the bug, which obediently shifted slightly to give him a better look.

"At a guess, when it killed Setsuna." He said after a few minutes. "I believe that this comes under the Spoils of Combat regulations, the Sharingan was Setsuna's possesion, it was on him at the time of his defeat… I wonder what other kekkei genkai the Kikkai can absorb. It might be interesting to find out."

"Somehow I don't think you'll get many shinobi volunteering to be eaten by the Hive as part of an experiment." Anko noted with morbid humour. Itachi blinked several times, then looked embarrassed.

"Not what I was thinking. I was thinking maybe blood donation or hair or something like that."

Anko shrugged as she returned her attention to the cocoon in which her son-in-all-but-blood slept.

"I still need to make amends for the actions of my clansman." Itachi said slowly, then he paused as a buzzing noise attracted his attention.

"Kikkai, clan, pay, part, jutsu, take. Anko?"

"Naruto mentioned years ago that his Hive has been spying on the Aburame!" Anko said thoughtfully, then she slapped herself on her forehead. "I think he's just realised that his Hive was stealing jutsu from them and he needs to repay them. Why didn't I realise that?"

Itachi nodded slowly. "It was probably his Hive gaining the Sharingan that let him make the mental leap. Alright, as a way of showing our regret for the actions of Uchiha Setsuna, the Uchiha Clan will help in paying restitution to the Aburame Clan for techniques taken by Uzumaki-san's Hive. And I will personally explain the intricacies of the Sharingan Protocols to Uzumaki-san. With his Hive having my clan's Dojutsu, the Uchiha now have just as much claim on him as the Aburame."

Anko raised her eyebrows as she thought it through. "Interesting."

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"…alright. You have the seals down, adjusted for your chakra, so it just needs to be practiced in the real world." Minato said with a smile. "Although I still have many Kunai, the seals will need to be re-done to tune them so that you can use them. Explains why Sensei couldn't use the Hiraishin, though."

"Why do I need Kunai?" Naruto said with a sudden grin. "Hive, the seal array, can it be integrated into some really fast Kikkai?"

"The array can be grown on the inside of the wing-cases if requested." Came the reply even as Minato's eyes widened in amazed realisation.

"You… you're planning on using the Hive as self-guided targeting seals? That… that's brilliant!" Minato gasped, staring at his son in awe. Naruto nodded, then his grin widened.

"I'll use your old Kunai with fake seal arrays and a hole in the handle for some of my Hiraishin-Kikkai to rest in. That way, I can throw one Kunai, and get multiple Hiraishin target points. And since everyone knows that the Kunai are the key to the technique…"

Minato stared at his son, awed and unable to speak. Instead, he grabbed Naruto and embraced him firmly before putting him down and ruffling his hair.

"Hey, is it my turn to teach him yet?" Kushina said as she strolled up to them, her katana resting across her shoulders.

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"Hiashi-sama, Neji-san, Hinata-chan." Anko said to the three Hyuugas at the door. "Please, come in. I assume you're here to talk to Naruto?"

Hiashi nodded and Anko motioned for them to enter. Neji led the way to the room in which Naruto's cocoon resided.

"Good evening, Naruto-sama." Neji said with a bow to the cocoon. "I wish to once again thank you for the use of the Hive Relay, it was invaluable in the mission that our team just completed."

Neji pulled up his sleeve and looked at the armlet, then frowned as nothing happened. Without warning, the cocoon suddenly cracked loudly, causing all four of them to jump in shock and the three Hyuga to briefly activate their Byakugan reflexively.

A section of the cocoon broke away as a fist punched through, then a swarm of Kikkai erupted out of the new hole and flowed outwards, enlarging the hole as Naruto stood up.

Hinata's already-intense blush seemed to go almost fluorescent as Naruto stretched, then her eyes rolled up and Neji only just managed to catch her as she fell, a small trail of blood leaking from one nostril.

Hiashi coughed.

"While it is indeed heartening to see that you are finally fully healed, Uzumaki-san, may I suggest that once you finish your current stretches, you procure some clothing? I am quite fond of my daughter and do not wish to see her expire from blood loss."

Naruto's blush was almost as intense as Hinata's.