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"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Demon Speech"

'Demon Thoughts/Telepathy'

Radio/TV/Singing/Writing

"Headset/Flashback"

-Scene Shift-

Chapter 3: Don't Talk Back

Naruto was walking through the streets of the City of Aku, glaring at the black bird on his shoulder. "Honestly, how can we be lost in your own city."

-Flashback Start-

Naruto fell out of the portal Aku made and landed flat on his face. As he got up, he noticed Aku beside him before glaring at his sensei. "That hurt, ya know!"

"Compared to your training with Kurumi, Mad, and myself; did it really hurt?" Aku asked sarcastically, with a wide smile on his face. "Besides you're invulnerable to such minor pains, so don't whine about something you can't feel."

Naruto kept glaring until he saw the giant city in front of him. It was much larger than Konoha and more advanced. 'But it really lacks color.' He thought, noticing every single building was black. There were what looked like flying vehicles going in and out of the city. Naruto then noticed they were on top of a building and looked down. He was surprised to see so many different types of demons, but he expected to see a lot more soon. "So this is your city? Impressive." Naruto said after fully taking it all in.

"Yes. Magnificent, isn't it?" Aku said, feeling glad to be back home after so many years.

Naruto saw many billboards with Aku plastered on them. Advertising food, drinks, and other things with some having threats on them. 'Buy his stuff or die. Sounds like something he would enforce.'

Naruto soon saw billboards with a girl about his age on them, who advertised clothes, outfits, and swimwear. She looked the same as Aku, but she had a human form. Having fiery red hair that seems to come to her knees, with bangs and tendrils departed from the rest of her hair. On top of her head were the same kind of horns Aku has. Her pale white face stood out a lot, popping out her bright green eyes with eyes that were bright green with black, almost gear like surroundings. And like her father -who he assumed by the similarities- she had flaming eyebrows.

"That's your daughter?" Naruto asked as he pointed at one of the billboards.

Looking over, Aku saw the advertisement before forming a smile. "Yes, that's my daughter, Chi. She has led the city far in my absence." Aku acted as if he was wiping a tear. "I'm so proud of her."

Naruto smiled, knowing he was glad his sensei would be able to see his daughter again. But the smile vanished as he remembered Aku's earlier comment about Chi and him 'getting along'. "Hey, just what exactly are you planning for me and your daughter?"

Aku merely looked away with his grin still present on his face. "Oh you'll see." Aku said, causing Naruto to glare. The Master of Evil cleared his throat and put on a serious expression. "Now then, shall we proceed to my castle?"

Naruto sighed, knowing he would find out his plan the hard way sooner or later. "Sure, where is it?" Aku looked as if he was about to speak, until he got a puzzled look on his face. He began tapping his chin as his eyes roamed around his city, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow. "Do you know where your castle is?"

"Of course I do." Aku instantly replied, taking one more moment to look around he pointed in the direction of a giant statue of himself. In its left hand, it was holding a book with a picture of shackles on it and in its right it held up a lit torch "It is east of the Statue of Aku."

Naruto looks at the statue and then back at Aku. "You sure?"

"Yes."

"Positive?"

"Do you doubt your sensei?"

"Only if he hasn't been away from home for a millennium or two."

"Don't get smart with me, boy." Aku said while glaring at Naruto, only making his smirk widen. Aku then morphed into a black bird and perched on Naruto's shoulder. "I know my city. I built it and I know my way around it. Now go!" Aku demanded.

Naruto continued to smirk as he rolled his eyes and leapt off the building.

-Flashback End-

"I know my city." Naruto said mockingly to Aku, who was still perched on his shoulder. "Yep, you sure do. I'm sure we will find your castle in the middle of the street."

'SILENCE BOY!' While the shout was telepathic, Aku was releasing Killer intent, scaring off all the demons that were walking nearby. 'For your information, we are lost for a reason!' Naruto raised an eyebrow curious to what his excu-reason would be 'This is another part of your training. I know where my castle is, but you don't. So we're going to use this opportunity to test your sensory abilities. I want you to try and find my castle by sensing my daughter. It shouldn't be too hard for you since her youki is the same as yours and mine. Now concentrate, find her, and take us there.'

Naruto was impressed that his sensei came up with such a good excuse on the spot. It was true that his sensory abilities weren't all that great, but now would be a good time to test them and he might as well humor his sensei. Closing his eyes, the Uzumaki searched for the same youki that flowed in his body. It was much easier than he thought, only sensing one signal not too far from them.

Opening his eyes, he grew a pair of angular, demonic wings, took off and flew through the city until he came to building the size of a castle which overlooked the city. It looked like all the others, except it was more high tech and demonic looking; not to mention it also having a giant ruby-like glass at the top.

Naruto flew down into the courtyard and retracted his wings before taking in the sight of the castle. "Ok I found it. Now what?"

"Try not to die on your way in." Aku teased. Before Naruto could ask what he was talking about, his sensei disappeared.

Naruto then noticed he was surrounded by an army of shadow ninjas, some wore the same attire as the ones he fought before, but others wore black suits with sunglasses. "You are trespassing on the private property of Aku," one of the shadow ninja said. "Prepare to be destroyed."

The beetle drones held up their scythes, some brought out cannons and machine guns. The shadow ninjas pulled out swords and different varieties of ninja weapons, while the suited ones brought out guns, machine guns, and laser guns. Once all out, each and every one of them was pointed at him, ready to kill.

Naruto sweatdropped at the situation he was in. He sighed and pulled out his swords with only one thing on his mind. Only one thought as he tackled straight into hell. 'Damn you, sensei! I'll get you for this!'

-Inside the Castle-

Aku appeared inside a Japanese style room, who was now wearing a long black and red kimono. He looked around and saw a black table with cushions around it with a shogi game board with all the pieces on it. He then looked over and saw the open slide in the door leading to the outside balcony.

"It hasn't changed a bit." He said, smiling at the sight of his castle still being in order after so long.

"F-Father?" A voice said behind him. Aku turned to see Chi staring at him with wide eyes.

She was wearing an elegant pink kimono with darker pink trimmings covered in rectangular swirl designs. It was tied with red ribbon into a bow clipped on by a circular gold plating with a white fan fading out of it. She also wore pink socks with sandals and on her head is adorned with a pink water lily along with two long strings attached to two of the spikes on her head, ending in red plumps.

"You have grown so much and have become so beautiful, my child." Aku complimented while smiling. He was then met with a hug by his daughter.

"Father, I missed you so much!" Chi said while crying in his chest, Aku stroke her head and told her it was alright. After a few minutes Chi wiped her tears away and let go of him. "Father, it's been so lonely with you gone. Mother left after you did to deal with some tyrant in a faraway land. I'm worried, but I know she is fine since she keeps sending me letters. When you stopped sending letters, I grew more worried. Just what happened, father, and where have you been?"

"I'll tell you, but first let's wait for our guest to arrive."

Chi was about to ask what he was talking until the door opened and a floating black ball entered, which had glowing blue eyes and fiery matching hair.

"Lady Chi there is an…" It began to say until it saw Aku and its mouth hung open. It quickly closed it and aligned itself as if standing up straight. "L-Lord Aku! You have returned!"

"Indeed." Aku said while smiling "Now, Demongo, you were saying?"

"Yes, well we have an intruder in the courtyard!" Demongo said in a panic. "The palace guards are already confronting him, but are having some trouble."

"Don't worry," Aku said while smiling wider, "he is my guest."

Demongo was confused but let out a sigh of relief. "Very well. I will tell the guards to stop attacking."

"No." Aku said, receiving a look from both Demongo and Chi.

"But, my Lord, why not?"

"That boy is learning an important lesson."

"What lesson would that be father?" Chi asked it utmost curiosity

"Don't talk back to Aku! HAHAHAHA!" Aku laughed, causing Chi and Demongo to sweatdrop at his strange sense of humor and felt sorry for the boy. They didn't know him or know what he said, but figured he should've kept his mouth shut. Aku finished laughing and put on a serious face. "Just tell the guards to stop attacking once he gets inside."

Demongo nodded and left the room.

"Father, I know this boy -whoever he is- shouldn't have spoken out of terms to you." Chi began. "But isn't this overkill? Your army is infinite, he'll be slaughtered."

She didn't know this person and thought it was stupid of him to speak against her father. But if he was a guest, then there must be a reason. So there was no reason to kill him yet, right?

Aku smiled as he snapped his fingers, creating a screen in the air showing what was happening outside. "Just watch and you will see." He said turning towards the screen.

Chi still didn't understand, but decided to watch and see what he meant.

-Outside-

"DAMN YOU, SENSEI!" Naruto shouted, slashing another beetle drone in half. The shadow ninjas began shooting at him as he absorbed the shots with his cloak before sending them right back at them. The Uzumaki then made another pair of arms with his cloak and put Hikari and Yami in them. As they slashed at incoming ninjas, he began making hand signs "Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu! (Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!)" Exhaling fire from his mouth, Aku's ninjas watch as the flames changed into a roaring dragon and crash into them. Since he had combined it with his pyrokinesis, it was stronger than the average Katon jutsu and practically melted one third of the army.

Naruto noticed a drone was getting ready to fire a laser cannon from its back. He morphed Yami into a spear and hurled it into the cannon, causing the drone to explode and sent Yami into the air. Naruto jumped up and caught it, changing it back to its sword form. "Time to test my new abilities," he muttered; beginning to materialize over a hundred kunai and shuriken, and using his telekinesis to control their movements he impaled a large group of ninjas with his rain of weapons.

As he was about to land on the ground, his body turned black and morph into the form of human sized orange and black fox with four tails, with two of them holding his swords. He dashed at a group of drones with his claws ripping through one like paper. He then jumped on to one and proceeded to bite its head off. When Naruto got down, he blocked two scythe drones with his swords. With two more coming behind him, his other two tails then twisted and launched at the drones; piercing them like drills. After they fell, the changed shinobi proceeded to cut the two in front of him down. Once done, he then morphed back into his human form with his swords in hand.

The shadow ninjas gathered around him and proceeded to shoot at him. Naruto wrapped himself in his cloak's tendrils to block the barrage of bullets and lasers. He was getting annoyed, yet impressed by the fire power their weapons produce.

'If this was how I was a few days ago, I'd be dead from just one shot.' He thought as an idea formed in his head. 'Maybe I can use my own.'

Making sure his body was safe inside of his cloak barrier and putting his swords back in their sheaths, he focused on manifesting a gun in his hand. As he did, Naruto felt the same feeling as when he fought Aku earlier. His body was acting on its own and manifested in his hands two guns. Naruto saw that they were handguns as they pulsed in his hands being black and red in their primary colors with a bronze colored metal around them. The demonic feeling they gave off was the same as the serpents heads appeared before.

'What's wrong with my body?' Naruto thought in worry. 'Why is it creating these things against my will?' He felt another wave of bullets on his cloak and just made a mental note to confront Aku about this later. It was easy for him to remember how they used the guns. Unraveling his cloak tendrils, Naruto created a small gust of wind causing the ninjas to stop shooting. The changed Uzumaki smiled, pointing his new weapons at the army. "Lets Rock!"

Naruto fired two rounds that looked like balls of darkness. Each went straight through two of Aku's ninjas and he then began shooting down all the close range ninjas. A drone came and tried to slash at him, but Naruto leapt up and landed on top of it; shooting two rounds into its head and leaped off before it exploded. The whiskered blonde landed in front of the ninjas in a suit and pointed one of his guns at his head while smirking. "You know what?"

"W-what?" The ninja asked nervously.

"Guns are awesome." He responded, pulling the trigger and putting a bullet through not only the shadow ninja's skull, but the body of two other ninjas as well and the eye of a drone.

Naruto looked around and saw the last of them were blocking the castle's entrance and decided to test his new weapon with a particular idea. Channeling wind chakra into the gun, the shinobi pointed it towards the remains of the army. "Fūton: Renkūdan! (Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullet!)" He called out as he pulled the trigger, a large ball of black wind flew towards them. And when it made contact, it exploded into a giant dome of wind and darkness.

When it died down, all that was left was a large crater.

'Damn!' He thought seeing he was only a few feet from the crater. 'Any more chakra and I would've got caught in that too.' He glanced at his gun as smoke was coming out of the barrel and he blew it out in response. 'Gotta be careful how I use these things.' Naruto then materialized holsters on each leg in order to put his guns away.

Jumping over the crater, he proceeded to the entrance and went into Aku's castle.

-Back with Chi and Aku-

Chi's mouth was wide open while her father was smiling.

Chi couldn't believe the display of power she just saw. One person -a human boy at that- defeated an entire army of her father's most armed and elite ninja and drones. Without so much as a scratch on him and the power he had was that of a high class demon. To say she was rather impressed or amazed would be an understatement, but it all flared her curiosity towards the obvious question.

"Who is he?"

"That is Naruto Uzumaki, the Shinobi of Sorrow." Aku could tell his introduction made his daughter more curious, even though she was trying to hide it. The Shogun of Sorrow went and sat down at the table and materialized three cups of hot tea. "Let's enjoy some tea while we wait for him." He took a sip of his tea with his daughter nodding and sat down next to him as she drank her tea as well.

-With Naruto-

Walking down the hallway, Naruto noticed how nice the place was. The inside was like a normal Japanese style home, which reminded him of the clan compounds in Konoha; except for the lack of color, since everything was black and red.

The changed shinobi then noticed something coming towards him that made him think of a flaming cannonball. He instinctively reached for his sword until-

"Wait don't cut me!" A voice called out. Naruto stopped and realized it was the flaming orb that was talking and that it had a pair of blue eyes on it. "I mean you no harm," it said. "My name is Demongo; adviser and assistant to Lord Aku and Lady Chi."

Naruto moved his hand away from his sword, smiled and introduced himself. "Nice to meet you, my name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"The pleasure is mine," Demongo said as he turned around. "If you would please follow me Naruto-san."

The Uzumaki nodded as he proceeded to follow him down the hallway.

Demongo noticed the whiskered boy had the sword that once belonged to Samurai Jack. The former Soul Collector of Aku's army mentally cursed his name, since he was defeated by Jack. His master punished him by stripping him of his powers and leaving him in his current disembodied form.

'What is this boy's relationship to the Samurai?' He thought, taking glances back at Naruto. 'He can't be his decedent and those powers he displayed used youki; so he can't be fully human.' His thoughts and accusations stopped once they reached their destination with a pair of guards standing at the room's entrance. "Here we are." Demongo motioned the guards to open the doors for them and had Naruto go inside first before he followed.

Upon entering the room, Naruto saw that it was a simple Japanese style living area. Looking off to the side, he lsaw Aku and Chi sitting at a table drinking tea. His sensei was the first to notice him -or more precisely- glare Naruto was giving him. "Welcome Naruto-san," Aku said while smiling. "I hope your walk inside wasn't too bad. Do forgive my guards, they tend to be a bit rough with our guests."

Naruto glared more intensely. "You are the most evil person, I have ever met."

Aku merely chuckled. "Why thank you." He gestured for Naruto to come over before waving his hand towards Chi. "Naruto this is my daughter, Chi. And Chi, this is Naruto-san."

Chi stood up, bowed and gave a proper greeting. "It is a pleasure to meet you and welcome to our home, Naruto-san."

Rising her head up, she looked him over for a small inspection. 'He looks human enough, but he wields demonic powers,' she thought. 'Must be a hanyo or he's in some sort of disguise.'

Aku's daughter saw that he had a nice personality. If he was indeed a demon, then he was a much nicer one than the few stuck ones she had met; like two demon sisters she knew. And seeing the way he acted around her father, they were well good friends; despite the angry glares Naruto kept shooting at him. Her respect for her father's guest has greatly increased because of this. Only a few people have gotten close to her father and can live to tell about it.

But the only question that bothered her about Naruto was how did such a young human get on good terms with her father, the Lord of Darkness?

After Chi stood back up, Naruto bowed. "No the pleasure is mine, Chi-chan" Naruto said, not noticing the slight blush on Chi's face from hearing him use the '–chan' in her name. Demongo raised an eyebrow at how familiar he was getting with her. The Uzumaki thought Chi was a very nice person and she was a very beautiful demon that in her kimono, she looked like a princess.

As the two sat down -with Naruto sitting beside Chi- he then turned his attention towards, wanting to get some answers. "Hey, sensei, I have questions about-"

"Sensei?" Chi and Demongo both asked, looking at the sensei/apprentice pair.

Aku nodded to them as he turned to Naruto. "Naruto, I know you have questions and they deserve answers. But don't you think my daughter and adviser deserve an explanation?" Naruto sighed and nodded deciding he would wait. Aku gestured for Demongo to come closer so he could hear the whole thing. Clearing his throat, Aku put on a serious expression. "First off, Naruto, let me start off by telling you that your world is not the only one out there." Aku could already tell Naruto was confused by his expression. "You see, there are an infinite number of worlds out there. Some different, some exactly the same, and some a little of both. And these worlds are normally separate, but during abnormal events -or due to the use of special abilities or items- these places are accessible." Naruto nodded as he processed this bit of information. "In the world I originally came from, I faced a Samurai similar to the one in your world; yet the outcome was the only difference. When I was defeated, he lived. And after many years, I was finally freed by an old friend. During that time, I grew… bored since I saw the Samurai as my only worthy foe. To relieve myself of boredom, I decided to go to another world and face the Samurai once again." Aku sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Or as my daughter constantly said: I was reliving my glory days to not feel old."

Chi giggled, remembering those comments to her father about his decision. Naruto chuckled thinking it was funny as well and looked over to her and spoke. "Heh~ Good one."

"Thank you," she replied, smiling with a small blush on her face. "It's good to meet someone who actually appreciates jokes and pranks."

Naruto's present smile seemed to grow when hearing this before puffing his chest in pride. "Well I am the number one prankster back home."

Chi cocked her head a little in curiosity. "Oh really? Was it just simple pranks?"

"Let's just say I could paint your dad's statue lighter colors and put it in a-"

"MAY I CONTINUE!?"

The two youngsters snapped their heads over to Aku, who was getting so impatient that he was taping holes into the table. They stopped their conversation and gave him their attention. "As I was saying… when I went to your world, like I said before everything was the same except the outcome. When I was defeated, his soul was sealed with me and during our imprisonment we became friends before his soul passed on." He looked over the group to see they were indeed following along with his small tale. "I'm sure you all can guess it from there: Naruto found me, freed me, and we became friends. As thanks, I turned him into a hanyou and began training him. And I must admit, he shows great potential and determination… which is the reason why I choose him."

"Choose him for what?" Asked his daughter.

Aku smiled since this has been what he has been waiting to say since he got there. "Why to be your fiancé, of course."

This would be the moment that if any of the room's other occupants were drinking something, they'd either choke or spit in surprise. If not, one of them could've dropped their cups in absolute shock. Even your typical, sudden record scratch to halt everything else going on.

Yet only absolute silence reigned supreme until…

"TO BE MY/HER FIANCE!?" Both Chi and Naruto shouted in unison with their eyes as wide as they could go. As a result, Aku bellowed out the loudest laugh he could muster, seeing their reaction was more than he ever hoped for.

Chi was the first one to come out of shock and jumped up with a look of rage upon her face that frightened everyone, except for her father. "You can't be serious!?" Aku still kept smiling as he nodded, not saying a word as he listened to her. "I told you I wouldn't marry anyone, unless I decided to. You can't just disappear for a millennium, come back, and pull something like this and expect me to go along with it!?"

Chi respected and loved her father greatly, but she wouldn't let him decide her life and marry some guy she just met. Sure, Naruto seems like a very nice guy, but he was a total stranger to her. So how could her father expect her to get engaged to him right off the bat?

As Chi's anger rose while she spoke, everyone noticed her features became more demonic. Her fangs grew longer, spikes came out of her back, and a tail came out from under her kimono. She looked like she was about to shapeshift into something truly horrifying, all the while unconsciously doing it.

"Excuse me." Naruto said, gaining everyone's attention. "I actually agree with Chi-chan on this."

"What?/Excuse me?/Eh?"

"I agree with her." Naruto repeated before looking over at Aku who was surprisingly still smiling. "Aku-sensei, I know you're trying to do what you think is best for Chi-chan, but you can't force her to marry someone she just met. After we fought, you told me Chi-chan was the most precious person to you in your immortal life. If she really means that much to you, then consider her happiness and let her marry who she wants to."

Naruto didn't like seeing someone forced into something they didn't want to do, especially his friends. And even though he just met her, the changed shinobi could tell Chi was a nice girl and considered her his friend as he wanted her to be happy.

Chi's body turned back to normal as she calmed down, staring at Naruto. Upon hearing that he was going to marry her, she began to think he would be one of those arrogant men who only married for power and the woman's body, but she was dead wrong. Never in all of the Underworld would she ever think she would meet or hear of someone actually caring about someone else's happiness. And put in their word for them only after just meeting them to boot.

'I wonder what kind of person he truly is.' She thought as she continued to stare at Naruto. Her curiosity and interest to know him more about cause her to not notice she had her eyes glued on him.

Naruto saw she was staring with a strange expression. "Hey. Are you alright, Chi-chan?"

His question caused Chi to realize what she had been doing. She nodded and quickly turned her head in order to hide her sudden blush. And if you were to look closer, you could see the orange flames on her eyebrow growing brighter and turning a little pink.

Naruto was about to ask her again, but they both turned their heads at the sound of Aku clearing his throat. "I never said I was forcing her, nor did I say the marriage would happen soon." Aku said, shocking both Naruto and Chi. "I just wanted you two to get acquainted with each other and over time we will see if you may or may not get married. Besides, Naruto has a long way before he can fully meet my standards and expectations. So is this ok with you both?"

Naruto nodded. "I'd like that. I really want to get to know Chi-chan better anyways, but just as friends for now." He then turned towards Chi and asked. "Is that alright with you, Chi-chan?"

Blushing a bit, Chi admits that she really didn't have many friends… well ones that her dad didn't approve of or scare away, But Naruto was different. Even though her father already approved of him, she really wanted him as a friend. She didn't think of him as being her fiancé, but as a friend. That didn't seem so bad, right? Besides he was a very handsome and who knows maybe in time they could be-

'No, no. We're just friends. It's not like I'm going to fall in love with him in just a few hours right?' She thought, trying to convince herself they will only be friends. "That's fine, but don't get your hopes up." She said to him in a straight tone, still trying to convince herself in the process. "You and I will just be friends as there is no chance we will get married."

Naruto just smiled and nodded, taking it as a 'yes'. "Great! We will be friends, Chi-chan. And we will see how things go."

Seeing his smile, Chi instantly dropped her act and smiled back.

Demongo was looking at the two with curiosity and confusion. 'Is she really falling for him?' He thought as he saw the happy look Chi currently had and then look back at Naruto. 'I see nothing special about him, except that he is powerful. So why? Lady Chi has never liked anyone like this before and now she is willing to make friends with this boy and is falling for him. It's not like he has saved her life or anything like that.' The flaming ball demon then looked over towards his master and saw the smile he had since the beginning of the situation hadn't left his face at all. 'He planned this. He knew how they would react to the situation and used it to his advantage. It seems his use of trickery hasn't lessened over the years.' Demongo instinctively looked up at the clock and saw the time. Widening his eyes, he turned his attention over to Chi. "My Lady, your concert is scheduled to start in two hours. You better leave now."

Chi's head snapped towards the nearby clock and widened her eyes in the process. "OH MY LORD! I'm going to be late!" She shouted as she jumped up before glaring and grabbed Demongo ballish form. "Why didn't you tell me earlier, you stupid blue beach ball!?" Demongo would have answered if he wasn't being stretched like a rubber band and then thrown into the wall. She then ran towards the door, but stopped and looked back -with a smile- at her 'betrothed'. "I'll see you later, Naruto-kun. I hope you enjoy your stay," she said in a sweet tone.

Naruto had a few sweat drops on his face and just nodded, not knowing wanting to say anything. Chi then rushed out of the room screaming 'I'm late, I'm late!' or 'Beach ball baka!'. And one of the guards outside of the door coughed as he said 'stress ball' and the other snickered.

Naruto thought she reminded him of Sakura when her temper flared. Even though his female teammate seemed to have changed a bit, he couldn't say she was any nicer. Yet Chi was nice to him from the start, which made her much better than Sakura in his book. Besides, he thought she was an amazing person and very pretty as well; but it a little too soon to be thinking like that as getting to know her comes first.

Naruto cleared his mind and turned towards Aku. He waited long enough and now was the time for answers. "Alright sensei, I need to know," he said, drawing a serious expression before pulling out his guns and placing them on the table. "These guns and the serpents from our fight, I didn't make them; my body made them as if it has made them before as they formed I felt something within me: something rather dark." Naruto's tone was much darker as he could feel whatever it was inside him reacting, but he forced it back. "I know you put it inside when you changed me. So sensei, what is it?"

Aku's expression was just as serious as Naruto's. He felt his student push the power back inside him and was glad he was getting some control over it. But this was happening faster than he expected. "Alright Naruto, but to tell its story I must tell it all from the beginning." Aku then sighed while Naruto nodded and listened carefully. "Long ago, there was only Darkness, it was everywhere and everything in existence. That is until one day the Gods separated the Light from the Darkness. In doing so, a part of it fell to their newly created planet Earth. But as it fell, an even smaller piece fell to a different part of the planet."

Aku then jabbed a thumb towards himself. "The larger one was me while the smaller part came to be known as the Darkness. Being a smaller fragment of darkness, the Darkness formed before I did and wreaked havoc and chaos on both Earth and against the heavens. It later began taking human hosts over the generations, allowing them to access its powers. So to me, it just seemed like a mindless parasite bent on destruction. So I paid no mind to it, but that was a mistake.

As the years passed by, I sensed something was wrong… someone was trying to extract it from its host. I felt it was too dangerous to leave in the hands of mortals and decided to take it back. After some searching, I found it and its then present host, Jackie Estacado, came in contact with the Angelus and were cast down into Hell. At that moment, I took back the Darkness and tried to merge with it, but it had become more powerful than I had originally though; it had gained a state of sentience. So I was unable to merge with it nor control it, which is why I gave it to you." The Shogun of Sorrow saw his student's slowly shocked expression as he internally questioned 'why'. "I believe you may be able to do what I couldn't: control and fully assimilate the Darkness into your being. Someone like you who can balance their light and darkness without losing themselves, who I put my total faith in."

Naruto took a moment to digest everything he heard that such a powerful force was now living inside him. Granted he already has a powerful fox demon inside him from the beginning, but he could get along with Kurumi. The Darkness -however- was totally different. From what Aku said, it was a force of pure evil and loves nothing but destruction. Controlling it would be no easy task, if even the Master of Darkness couldn't do it. Naruto then remembered things within what Aku spoke about.

"You said the previous host name was Jackie Estacado, right?" Naruto asks, gaining a nod in response. "How did he deal with the Darkness and what happened to him?"

Aku shrugged. "All I know from what little I could extract from the Darkness is that he didn't use it for a long time and that's how he got by." He then drank the rest of his tea and sat the cup down. "And as to what happened to him, he asked me if I could return him to the realm of the living. I told him no, but I brought him to this part of Hell and told him there were many ways to return and he just had to find it. What happened to him afterwards, that I do not know."

Naruto frowned, realizing his chances of finding him and asking were slim if he was somewhere in Hell or somehow found his way out. But from the look Aku had when he talked, it was not likely Jackie did. And Naruto couldn't just ignore the Darkness, he would not ignore such a big problem. After that, he asked the next question that was on his mind. "What about the Angelus. What is that?"

"The Angelus is the enemy and opposite of the Darkness. It is a being of Light, the same light of creation that banished the Darkness." Aku said trying to recall all he knew about it, since there is little information on it offered to demons. "As the Darkness took male hosts, the Angelus took female ones and it's last host was Jackie's lover, Jenny Romano. He saved her soul from the Darkness and that merely released the Angelus within her. She left them in Hell and that is all I know of it. My guess is that the host, Jenny, was sent to Heaven after the Angelus had done its initial job. Since the Darkness was supposedly gone, the Angelus has probably laid dormant as it took host after host. And as to who the current host is -which again- I do not know."

'Well that was another dead end.' Naruto sighed, figuring he would have to deal with this himself. Looking back up at Aku, Naruto smiled. "Thanks, Aku-sensei, for telling me all this. I promise I'll master this Darkness thing and I gain complete control." Aku nodded and smiled back, glad to see that his student hadn't lost his burning determination. Naruto then realized that he had nothing to do now that he had gotten his answers. "Say Aku-sensei, what exactly am I supposed to do while I'm here?"

"Why continue your training, of course." Aku said as his smile seemed to grow wider. "Naruto, do you remember the last room to your right on your way here?" Naruto raised an eyebrow before nodding. "I want you to head down to that room. I will catch up in a minute." Naruto nodded, got up and headed out of the room. As the Uzumaki left, Aku looked over at Demongo, who was still in that dent in the wall. He then stretched his arm, pulled the little fireball out and over to him. "Demongo, I want you to send word to the other Lords of Hell and tell them to come as soon as possible. But instead of Walker, send for Clockwork."

Demongo nodded "Yes, my Lord. But may I ask why?"

"You will know in due time." Aku vaguely said, letting him go and proceed out the room leaving Demongo to wonder what he was up to.

-Down the hall-

Naruto had come to the room Aku spoke of and upon opening the door, he saw it was the biggest library he had ever seen. The shelves went up to at least three stories with the rows going so far back and across the room he couldn't see where it began or where it ended. Naruto began to walk down one of the rows, looking at all the books on the shelves. Coming to a stop, pulled one out at random and saw the title was in a language he couldn't read. Opening it up to a random page, the shinobi saw the book suddenly glow.

"What the hell!?" Dropping the book on the ground, he saw a ball of light come out of the book and turned black as it began to take a form. It turned into the shape of a small boy with his body being completely black and his eyes all white, making it hard to make out anything about him. And in his hands he looks like some kind of staff. "Who are you?" Naruto asked, hoping for a good response. 'The boy came out of a book belonging to the Master of Darkness. A good response isn't likely,' he thought as he reached for his swords.

The boy then raised his staff at Naruto. "Halharl Infigar." He spoke in a lifeless tone and a unknown language with a large fireball appearing in front of his staff. Naruto didn't want any of Aku's books to get burnt, since he didn't know what would come out of them if they were. So when the darkened boy fired it, Naruto stretched out his hand and absorbed the flame with his pyrokinesis. But before he could react, the boy was already in front of him with his staff held high. "Hadika Had-"

But before he could finish, he vanished without a trace.

Naruto looked around for the boy, only seeing Aku glaring at him as he held the book, picked it up and closed it. "Best not to touch anything without my permission, lest you find yourself facing a real threat and I'm not talking about these books boy." Aku said in an angry tone leaking a little killer intent, Naruto nodded as he watched him put the book away in its proper place. "You're lucky that was his child form. If it was his adult form, you would not have been able to face him so easily."

'That was easy?' Naruto thought as he figured whatever power that shadow kid was using was on a different level, since it was unlike anything he had ever seen before and spoken in some unknown language. "Who was that and what was that power he was using?"

"Another story for another time." Aku soon gestured for Naruto to follow before coming up to another row of books. "I want you to make at least two hundred clones and have them read this row down to the next sixty. And don't worry, these books are just about the history and technology of Hell and other worlds. They are not dangerous, unless my minions messed up the annual shelving again." Aku smirked at that last part and Naruto felt sorry for his clones and glad it wasn't him.

Naruto made familiar hand signs and called out "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!)" and made two hundred clones and spoke to them. "Alright you all know what to do. Grab a book and start reading and when you're done with all the rows or you feel your chakra begin to run out, dispel yourselves, but please do it one at a time."

Naruto didn't want to suffer from memory overload if his clones dispelled in large numbers. They had done that once before during his training and needed Kurumi to help heal his throbbing brain. The clones began reading and were finishing one book at a time at a good pace.

Turning towards Aku -who was watching them work- Naruto asked him a question. "So what am I supposed to do now?"

"How about you go to Chi's concert." Aku said smiling. "You haven't lived or died until you heard my daughter sing."

Naruto thought that was a great idea. He would love to hear Chi sing and it would be a good way to learn what kind of fun things you can do and see in Hell. Naruto was about to say 'yes' until he saw Demongo come their way. "My Lord," he began, "Lord Him is here to see you."

"Very well, I'll meet him at the door." Demongo nodded and floated off. "Come, Naruto-san, I will introduce you to Him before you leave." They both made their way out of the library and down the hall.

"So is Him really his name? Sounds odd if you ask me." Naruto asked, wondering what kind of name that was. But the look on Aku's face told him that it wasn't a laughing matter.

"He goes by many names, but he is mostly recognized as Him." Aku explained. "But do not take him lightly. Like all of us, he has earned his title as a Lord of Hell. He is also a longtime friend of mine and the friend who freed me from my first imprisonment. So show some respect, at least for now."

"Why just for now?"

"Because I know once you get to know Him, you will hate everything about him."

Naruto didn't know what he meant by that but nodded, since it would be troublesome to be on the bad side of one of the Lords of Hell as soon as he got here. "Who are the other Lords and how many are there anyways?" He asked, wondering what they were like so he doesn't get on any of their bad side.

"There are at least five -including Him and myself- excluding the Lords we assigned territory in our realms of hell. And as for who they are, you will find out very soon."

Naruto got the feeling he wasn't going to enjoy it, but let it go when they came to the front gate. There he saw Demongo floating next to a demon with red skin, wearing a red suit with a white furry collar and a black tie. A pair of black sunglasses covered his eyes as his short black hair was slicked back just like his long, curled beard. And replacing normal looking hands were a pair of lobster-like claws.

'This must be the guy. This is Him, right?' Naruto thought as he examined Him.

He didn't understand why, but as he stared at Him he could feel anger welling up inside him, a burning rage he had never felt before. It made him just want to attack-no destroy Him. He was so consumed with anger he didn't notice he was unconsciously releasing Killer Intent and his eyes had turned crimson and slit. He would have already charged at Him if Aku hadn't nudged him and gave him a look that said 'Don't be foolish'. Naruto calmed down and his eyes changed back, even though he was still angry. He was able to control himself before looking back at Him, who was apparently smiling at him.

"That some boy you got there, Aku-san." He said.

Just his voice alone made Naruto angrier, but tried to stay under control.

"Yes, he is special." Aku looked down at Naruto and was worried, thinking his student wouldn't be able to control himself much longer. 'So you hate him already,' he thought before giving out proper introductions. "This is Naruto, my apprentice. Naruto-san, this is my friend and fellow Lord of Hell, Him."

Naruto reluctantly bowed. "It's nice to meet you, Him-san." He lied as he stood back up.

"Likewise, Naruto-san." Even though he sounded calm, his voice sounded sinister to Naruto. And for some reason the word 'corrupt' came to mind.

Shaking his head, Naruto towards Aku. "Sensei, I am heading to the concert now." Aku nodded and Naruto headed towards the gate, but stopped when Him called him out.

"If you're going to the concert, you are sure to meet up with my daughter, Mimi, and her nanny." As he turned his head, Him's sunglasses came down a bit giving Naruto a good look at his red eyes with green sclera. "Trust me, you will know them when you see them."

Naruto nodded and proceeded outside. The moment he heard the gate closed, his chakra began to flare wildly as he clenched his fists and slammed them down on the ground making giant cracks in the ground. The guards that were posed there saw this and ran from the large amount of killer intent he was leaking out from him. Naruto raised up and looked back at the door.

'I don't know what it is about that Him guy that's got me like this.' He thought as he began panting. The anger was leaving his body, but a part of it still remained. Wanting to leave at a quicker pace, the changed shinobi then grew a pair of wings. "I really don't like Him one bit." He began to flap his wings and flew towards the sky in order to find the concert.

In the depths of Naruto's mind, there was nothing but darkness… until a pair of green glaring eyes opened up. "YEs…" A sinister distorted voice whispered in the darkness. "emBrACe tHe DarKNESS…"

-End Chapter-

AN:

So there's not really much as to what I can really say as I did a whole lot in the previous AN in the past two chapters.

But I do need to say that the updates for this story will take a whole long while as a reminder… this story is merely a reupload per say on top of it being cleaned up. So I do not know when this story will get new chapters or whatever.

Anyways, be sure to review this story guys! Would like the criticisms. Please and thank you!

R&R