Chapter 5

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A pair of blue eyes snapped open in the middle of the night. Pulling off his adorably cute frog sleeping cap with a yawn and sitting up, the blond haired boy looked around his darkened apartment in confusion. It was still way too dark outside. Why was he up?

Naruto.

Oh, the dumb Fox. The young ninja guessed it wanted to talk. The twelve-year old was pondering how he was supposed to be able to get back into that weird place with all the corridors, water everywhere, leaky pipes, and massive demonic fox demon-spirit thing when he suddenly found himself there—just like that. This time, it only took a moment to find the strange cavern where the Fox was imprisoned.

"Yo, hey there!" Naruto shouted up at the massive chakra beast, an out-of-place grin on his face. It was as if the boy were actually glad to be there. "Er, eh, what's your name?"

"Impertinent brat. It's not your place to demand my name. Only one mortal has ever had the right to address me as an equal, while you are far too weak and pitiful to ever hope to do so," The giant Fox said as he glared at the boy, its great, white teeth flashing menacingly.

"Well, then, I guess I'll just call you 'Stupid Fox' until you decide to tell me your name, then!" Naruto said, his previous grin turning into a scowl. "So, Stupid Fox, whaddya want?"

The Kyuubi growled, but this time made no attempt to fight against the seal holding it back. The Nine Tails had learned from its previous encounter not to let itself get riled up, not when it had so much to gain. "Now is not the right time to explain. Your watchers will find your stillness suspicious and draw their attention, which is something neither of us want right now."

Naruto shrugged. He didn't really care about the shadowy figures that were always watching him. The ANBU were pretty alright, never being mean to him or anything like that, though they hadn't really gone out of their way to do him any favors, either. Well, except one or two of them. But, whatever, Naruto had been doing stuff behind their backs for years. They weren't always 100% attentive. It was just a matter of timing.

"Then how are we gonna have our talk?" Naruto asked.

"Tomorrow, go to one of the forest areas within the village. " The Nine Tails spoke in its sinister baritone, making even simple instructions sound nefarious. "Practice your ninja skills, such as they are, until you begin to feel tired. We will need to use shadow clones, but do not make too many. Make it look like you are lying down and to rest, but instead return here to speak with me. Then I will reveal the secrets of your temporal clone technique."

Seemingly unfazed by speaking with the monstrous Fox after just a short while, Naruto grinned and gave it a thumbs-up sign before disappearing from his mindscape. Maybe the big furball was starting to warm up to him.

"Pathetic human," the Fox rumbled behind the bars that held it.

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Twenty orange-wearing blonds busily chucked sharp, pointy objects at arrow marks painted on trees spaced all around the small forest clearing Naruto was using as a training field. Technically, what he was doing was illegal, as ninja were supposed to keep to the official training fields, but since Naruto had yet to be introduced to his jonin sensei, and since no civilians were around to be harmed, the watching ANBU did nothing. That wasn't his job, anyway.

After several hours of near continuous practice, alternating between throwing while stationary and throwing while charging in different directions, all the shadow clones as well as the original appeared to be getting tired, gasping for air and holding their sides. The young ninja wasn't spectacular at throwing skills, but the ANBU agent assigned to keep watch on Naruto thought the boy was a lot better than what was said about him. The whiskered boy clearly had made a lot of progress since the last time he'd been assigned this particular duty.

"Okay, time to try out another technique!" the original Naruto called out. "Okay, me's, your job is to try to hit the new clones before they can blow you up!"

This would be entertaining.

"Hey, boss, what if the new clones don't know who the real us is and accidentally blow us up? That would really suck!"

"Good thinking, me!" Naruto called out, enthusiastically. "The real me will tie some cloth around my left arm so everyone will know not to attack me!—I said the real me! You guys are clones!"

As one Naruto was tying on an armband, another Naruto with an armband on walked up to him. "I said, just the real me!" he exclaimed.

"I am the real me, you idiot!" Naruto retorted. "Now you, get that armband off!"

"Baka!" the first yelled, swinging a fist at the second Naruto's face. The punch connected and Naruto staggered back—but did not explode into spoke.

"Hey!"

"Aw man!" the first one, obviously a clone, whined as the original Naruto punched his clone in the face in return, knocking it back into chakra smoke.

Naruto Uzumaki was one unpredictable, but entertaining kid! The watching ANBU was glad this was a solo assignment, or someone would have seen him bust a smile underneath his mask, which would have been unprofessional. But if an ANBU smiles beneath his mask and no other ninja was there to see—or to live if they did—did they ever really smile?

"Okay, now nobody else attack me. Got it?" After a chorus of "Yes, Boss" from the clone brigade, Naruto brought his hands into the tiger symbol before making the standard clone cross sign. "Bunshin daibakuha!"

Ten Naruto clones appeared around the original: Same blond hair. Same shining blue eyes. Same armband wrapped around their left arms. The ANBU chuckled to himself about the armband.

Naruto slapped his hand to his forehead. "Uh, guys, take those off. I'm the only one allowed an armband! Everyone else is fair game!"

To Naruto's great relief, the new clones all instantly obeyed, unlike the sassier clones he'd made earlier. But while the exploding clones were all more obedient, when they looked up, they all had a manic gleam in their eyes and eerie foxy grins as they charged after the first batch of clones. The aforementioned first batch of clones squealed, "yikes!" and darted away from the pursuing Narutos, tossing shuriken and kunai at them as they tried to get out of their blast radius.

"Okay, note to self: Gotta figure out how to make exploding clones less creepy and a lot more subtle!" Naruto said as he sat back and watched the melee take place with his arms folded. A couple of the exploding clones managed to corner several Naruto's together, successfully herding them in the same direction before calling out "BAKUHA!" and exploding with concussive force.

The original Naruto frowned at the result. Not nearly as big of a "boom" as he'd have liked. Something was definitely wrong, because considering the amount of chakra he'd expended for each clone—which, unlike regular shadow clones, did not divide his chakra up evenly among them—the explosions should have been a lot larger based. Assuming the information from the Scroll of Sealing was right.

A couple of the exploding clones were caught by well thrown shuriken, blowing up prematurely, while the rest reached their time limit and exploded as they were still reaching towards their intended regular shadow clone targets. While the explosive clones hadn't been nearly close enough to do serious damage, it was enough to pop four more of the shadow clones because of their fragility, but Naruto knew against a live opponent that would not have been a real hit.

With all that, Naruto ordered the rest of his shadow clones to dispel and "collapsed" down to the ground to "rest".

The watching ANBU was impressed by what he saw, but had he known how much chakra Naruto had not used up—all the unused chakra returning to him from the dispelled shadow clones—he'd have been shocked. Of course, then he wouldn't have been fooled into thinking the young ninja was tired rather than talking to the Nine Tailed Fox sealed inside of him. As it was, he was oblivious to what was really going on, and would remain so.

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"You've returned," the Fox noted as Naruto appeared standing just outside the Kyuubi's prison. This time, the jinchiriki had appeared directly in front of the great beast instead of having to search it out as he had previously. The boy's control over his mindscape was improving, the Nine Tails noted. Of course, considering how pathetic the brat was, that was a low bar to meet.

"I said I would. I don't go back on my word," Naruto replied.

"Hmph. As if the word of a mere human is significant," the Kyuubi growled. Before the orange haired ninja in front of him could object, the great Fox continued, "I too will fulfill my word. First, though, you must learn to control your body with your conscious mind while you are within your subconscious. Make your body sit up, but without leaving your subconscious."

At first, Naruto strained. "Come on…sit up!" The Fox impatiently waited as Naruto's conscious contorted his face and clenched his fists while straining to make his body respond.

"You don't use your face or fists to sit, you idiot!" the Kyuubi eventually snapped. The fool boy was moving the image of its mental self rather than his physical body!

"I know that!" Naruto yelled back.

"Oh, really?" the Fox snarled, snarkily, "it doesn't look like it to me."

Naruto leaned forward to point at the Nine-Tails angrily—at which time Naruto physically sat up in the real world. In his subconscious, Naruto froze before cheering for his accomplishment. The Kyuubi shook his massive head in disgust.

"Ok, Stupid Fox," Naruto said, "what do I need to do next?"

After a quick growl at Naruto's insulting nickname, the Fox spoke. "Now, try to mold some chakra—remember not in here—out there. Create a few shadow clones to start throwing shuriken again." The Kyuubi's voice now dipped even lower. "But leave one back to attempt to perform the temporal shadow clone technique."

It took a few seconds for the blond to begin to properly exercise his conscious control over his physical self while still within the subconscious realm. With that accomplished, Naruto complied with the Fox's instructions, and a half dozen shadow clones appeared, five of which ran off to immediately begin practicing their shuriken and kunai throwing—all for show. The sixth clone immediately made the Yin sign and then the cross sign.

Then it simply puffed into chakra smoke. Good. One less complication for the Kyuubi to worry about.

"Hey, it didn't work!" Naruto complained.

"Of course it did not," the massive Fox said, making its voice sound amused with a dark chuckle. "Shadow clones only have a connection to you, and only link to me through your chakra. They cannot directly access my chakra through the seal as you do, and so cannot create a temporal clone. You could never create a clone that moves through time without my power."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're super great," Naruto said, waving at the Nine Tails dismissively. "Now what is this big secret you're supposed to tell me about my time shadow clones?"

"Hmph. Ungrateful, brat," the gigantic Fox said with a curl of its upper lip. Of all the impertinence. "First, of all, despite the description on the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing, your temporal clones are not shadow clones. A shadow clone is made from Yin chakra, which is why its form cannot be maintained if disrupted—it is form without substance, a mere shadow of reality. The temporal clones you are creating are a combination of Yin and Yang chakra, creating a Yin-Yang release, which makes it a perfect replica of you, including all the chakra within you."

Naruto scratched his head. "Uh, yeah. So, because of the Ying-Yan chakra, it's like super shadow clones!"

"Rargh! No!" The Fox growled in irritation at Naruto's lack of understanding. Of all the foolish humans in the world, this idiot had stumbled upon the Sage of the Sixth Paths' technique for the creation of all things. "The Yin-Yang power creates a whole you, instead of a shadow version, but moving forward in time. However, like the shadow clone, once the temporal chakra that powers the clone is gone, the Yin and Yang chakra separate and return to you, with all of the memories of what the clone experienced."

"Oh, yeah, right, I got it now," Naruto said nodding.

"I doubt it, but that explanation will have to suffice for now. The important thing is that while your shadow clones cannot use the temporal clone technique, a temporal clone can, since *I* am also sent forward with your clone." Of course, the Seal being made of chakra as well, it was also transported through time, as well as all the degradations it had gone through. But no need to tell the boy that.

"Oh, that's cool! So, I can make a bunch of time clones, each one making another and—"

"NO!" the Fox roared, its corrosive red youki pouring off it. This time its anger was uncontrolled as it pounded against the bars of its prison in its fury. "YOU MUST NOT!"

Naruto had quickly pulled away from the raging chakra monster. "Alright, alright!"

The Kyuubi let its anger subside. This was not the time for the uncontrolled rage within to be let out. The opportunity needed calmness. Reason. Persuasion. "It takes time for me to recover the chakra you use. I have still not recovered all that you took from me," the Fox eyed Naruto angrily, but then turned its massive head to the side. "But…enough has returned that I grant you the privilege to test the technique once more."

"Alright!" Naruto shouted, preparing to use the technique. "Let's do this!"

"WAIT!" the Fox ordered, in a near panicked rage. There was no telling how many clones the boy would create if allowed to use the technique uninhibited! Seeing Naruto comply with his demand to halt, the Fox calmed and continued. "First, start with a low amount of chakra and then slowly increase until you can activate the technique."

Naruto formed the Yin sign, slowly building the chakra to send through the seal. From inside his subconscious, it was a very different experience from before where he had barely noticed anything at all happen to the world around him. Here, though, the bars on the Kyuubi's cage suddenly flooeded with chakra and light flared from behind the paper with the Kanji for "Seal" written on it. As Naruto added more and more chakra, the luminescence of the sealing arrays holding the Kyuubi inside of him brightened and expanded, revealing the intricate seal formula that held the Bijuu at bay.

Finally, Naruto felt the chakra push past some kind of barrier, and with just a slight push more—

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Naruto found himself outside of his mindscape looking at his shadow clones throw—

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This time, the momentary blackness and whiteness hit just for an instant, and Naruto watched his shadow clones repeat the exact same throw as before. It was a disconcerting feeling for the young jinchiriki.

"Whoa, déjà vu!"

Not, déjà vu, brat. That was time displacement, but only of a second.

Naruto noted how much easier it was to hear the Kyuubi's voice despite being outside of his subconscious. Previously the Fox's voice had been like a haunted whisper unless he had gone inside of his mind to converse with the tailed beast. Now, though, it was like there was a link between them. Almost like a bond between friends.

'Cool! So, can you like, hear what I'm thinking?' Naruto responded in his mind.

Hmph. Yes. But you are barely audible. Focus your thoughts towards me instead of towards your inner self.

'Alright! Thanks, Stupid Fox! You're not so bad.' And he meant it. The Nine-Tails may look like an evil beast, and sound like a demon, but it had a different side to it, he was beginning to feel.

And you are less pathetic than I had thought, idiot brat. The Fox replied. Now, double the amount of chakra from your last attempt and let's see how far that takes us.

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One hour of displacement and three further clone attempts later:

"Thanks, Teuchi-Jiji!" Naruto exclaimed with a huge grin on his face as he slurped down his fourteenth bowl of ramen. "Keep it coming!" he said, slapping down more ryo from his beloved frog-shaped wallet, Gama-chan, which was starting to look a little thin.

"Are you sure?" Teuchi asked. "I mean, I don't want you to spend all your money on just one meal! The Hokage Deluxe is the most expensive dish on the menu. Maybe you should save something for later…"

Naruto grinned, giving his favorite restaurant proprietor a thumbs up. "Nah! I've got plenty! When this is gone, I'll have a whole 'nother one just like it!"

At Teuchi's shrug, taking the blond at his word, Naruto grinned and went back to his delicious ramen.

What was the point in this? I can't believe you wasted your entire time eating. As you should know by now, when we return to your temporal origin you will be hungry again.

'Yeah, but I'll get to remember enjoying the meal! And then I can just order the regular miso pork with extra noodles, and it will be like I had a feast but without having to pay for it!'

Idiot.

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The Kyuubi remembered all its thoughts, totaling nearly five days' worth of experience, though the last hour was what was freshest in its mind. Ramen? Idiot!

'Hey, that was for just one hour! I spent the rest of the time practicing my shuriken skills!' Naruto retorted to the 'demon' fox trapped within him.

Hmph.

'You're just jealous because you can't eat whatever it is you stupid chakra spirit foxes eat while you're sealed inside of me, ain't ya!'

You mean, impertinent brats? I'll have my fill once I escape this prison.

'Yeah, right! Fat chance! Not as long as I'm around!'

Yes. The Fox chuckled evilly. Exactly.

'Oy! No way I'm dying soon, Stupid Fox! I'm going to be Hokage some day, believe it!'

Enough of this pointless prattle. The Kyuubi's amused tone returned to its normal gruffness. The blond was just a foolish child who took nothing seriously. It was beneath it to carry on an argument with Naruto.

I will tell you about the temporal clones, so listen up, Naruto. The Kyuubi growled out. There is a fixed cost to creating temporal clones equal to about one tenth of what I can recover in a day.

'So, you mean I can use,' Naruto counted on his fingers, 'ten temporal clones each day?'

HOLD ON. I'm not finished. The Fox growled from within the impatient blond. If you go forward a few seconds or a few hours, it requires little more chakra than that required to use the technique at all. But any further than half a day and the chakra cost starts to increase.

'Okay, so, like how far is it okay to go?' Naruto asked.

If you go forward one week, I will need a full day's rest. If you go forward two weeks, I will need to rest four days. And if you go forward a full month, it will take a month to recover all the chakra I have lost. Just thinking of so much chakra being taken made the Kyuubi bristle. That much of a loss would be too much to countenance.

'Woah. You'd have to be really tired to sleep for a month! So, like, if I did two months you'd need to sleep for a year? I guess a week isn't too bad.'

Ah, but there is a way to go further without too much chakra cost. The Nine Tails waited for the foolish brat to take the bait.

Naruto was all too eager to find out. 'How?'

It's simple. Every day use my chakra to go forwards two days. The Nine Tails replied. I can recover chakra, and I will get a portion of my chakra back whenever the temporal clone dispels, so that I can always provide you with my chakra. This will create a chain further into the future.

'Amazing!' Naruto cried, pumping in fists.

Inwardly, the Nine-Tailed Fox was smirking. The more the brat used this technique, the more the Seal holding the bijuu back would decay.

It was only a matter of time.