Road to Konoha, Present Day:
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Jiraiya! I thought you said he was immune to poison!"
"Yeah he is, Hime, but it wasn't poison, it was a potent acid."
"Why didn't the try that earlier?" As a poisons user Shizune had already concluded that something highly corrosive would work better than normal poison.
"Because a lunch box melting isn't suspicious at all?" Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "After all, they were trying to be subtle at that point. A senbon launcher needs to be awfully close to penetrate deep enough to kill, and there would be witnesses"
"How strong was the acid?" Tsunade wanted to know what the boy's tolerances were, especially if she was going to treat him.
"You or me, we'd have been dead in seconds after being hit with that dart. On the Kid it barely beat his regeneration."
"How did she get the senbon launcher past the guards, Jiraiya-sama?"
"She didn't, I personally think it was one of Danzo's men that gave it to her."
Konoha: Four Months, Twenty-Two Days Ago:
Naruto woke slowly, his chest felt like it was on fire, every breath felt like someone was stabbing him in the heart, the room swam in and out of focus and his ears buzzed with a strange ringing noise. "I'm in the hospital again aren't I?" he mumbled out loud.
"N-Naruto-kun is awake!" A voice, Hinata probably, said from his bedside. "Th-They said you wouldn't b-b-be asleep for l-long!"
As the room swam into focus Naruto saw six people surrounding his bed, Shikamaru and Choji from Team Ten, Shino and Kiba from team Eight, and his own teammates Hinata and Sasuke. "I don't see any torches and pitchforks. Is it safe to assume you don't want to kill me?"
"No, but we do want to talk to you about what Sakura's mom said before she shot you." Sasuke said from Naruto's left.
"B-B-But, if you r-really d-don't want to t-talk about it y-y-you don't h-have t-to. We can w-wait until you're r-ready to t-tell us." Hinata, who, Naruto noticed, look rather pale, stuttered from his right.
Naruto was silent for a long time, lost deep in thought. Eventually he decided that since they already knew about the fox he might as well talk to them about it. "Alright ask away."
"Are you really the Kyuubi no Kitsune?" Kiba asked.
"No, The Kyuubi wasn't killed like they taught us in school, you can't kill a Bijuu anyways; all the do is disperse for a time before they come back. The Yondaime Hokage sealed the Kyuubi into a newborn infant barely an hour old, me."
"We tried to talk to the adults about it but they refused to talk to us about it." Shikamaru said, "Why?"
"It's an S-rank secret, punishable by death. After all if your parents were allowed to tell you would any of you have taken the time to get to know me?"
"What's it like having a giant fox sealed in you?" Choji asked between mouthfuls of chips.
"Kurama isn't so bad himself, but te villagers treat me like dirt."
The assembled Genin shared a worried look; Hinata was the first to speak, "K-K-Kurama?"
"Yeah you didn't think 'Kyuubi' was Kurama's name did you?"
"You're on a first name basis with the Kyuubi?" Shino sounded worried.
"I doubt you'll believe me but the Kyuubi was being controlled when he attacked Konoha."
"What! Who has that kind of power?" Kiba had jumped out of his chair terrified at the idea of someone capable of forcing something like the Kyuubi to bend to his will.
"I-If you p-paid attention in c-class, K-Kiba," Hinata reprimanded the boy, "You'd have known that Uchiha Madara was capable of controlling the Kyuubi, He used it in his fight against the Shodai Hokage who defeated it."
"One of my ancestors was capable of that?" Sasuke asked.
"Yeah, and Kurama thinks I should kill you in your sleep to and I quote 'Remove the blighted Uchiha once and for all!' I don't think you two would get along very well. Mostly because the second person to force the Kyuubi to do his bidding was a masked Uchiha with one eye."
Sasuke was lost in thought for a moment, "Tell me, why it is that Konoha is crazy about the Uchiha again? I want revenge for my family, but the more I learn the more it sounds like Itachi had the right idea, maybe I should send him a fruit basket before I kill him?" He mused aloud.
"So…guys…do you hate me? Are you afraid of me? Do you think I'm actually the Kyuubi in disguise?" Naruto asked nervously.
"I'm terrified." Shino said flatly, before anyone could interrupt him he raised a hand and continued, "I actually understand how normal people see my clan now. But I understand the feeling of being ostracized for something you have sealed inside you. So yes I'm afraid of you, but that doesn't mean I'm not your friend. Even if you actually are the fox."
Kiba spoke next, "As far as I'm concerned, foxes are just sneaky dogs. Sneaky is good, dogs are cool, so I have no problem with you." The others, even Naruto, facepalmed at Kiba's simplicity."
"I-I-I'm sc-c-cared," Hinata stuttered looking down, for a reason he couldn't explain it felt like his world had just come crashing down. "W-W-What if more p-p-people try to k-k-kill you? N-N-Now that I know w-w-why they want to k-kill you I c-can't see them ever stopping, what if they w-w-win? Wh-wh-what i-if you d-d-d-die?" Hinata was crying by the end of her speech. And the little light in Naruto's head clicked on, she wasn't scared of him she was scared for him.
Placing his hand on her shoulder Naruto said, "Don't worry Hinata, they can try everything, but I won't die! I promise!"
Smiling weakly at his bravado Hinata dried her eyes and tried to give him a watery smile. "I'm h-h-holding y-y-you t-to that Naruto-kun."
Choji didn't feel the need to say much he just offered Naruto his bag of chips and asked "Chip?"
Shikamaru was the second to last to speak, "Naruto I honestly can't tell you if I believe you're the fox or not. And if it's had any influence on you it's all been positive anyways."
"What do you mean Shikamaru?"
"Your cunning, like a fox, devious and clever, those are all good traits for a ninja to have. But it doesn't matter. I've known you since I was six, and I can safely say that no matter what you are, I'm proud to call you my friend."
Sasuke had been silent during the discussion. After thinking for a few more minutes he finally spoke, "I'm actually quite happy with this." Ignoring the confused stares everyone gave him he continued, "It doesn't even matter if you're the fox or not, the only ninja my age that can rival me is or holds one of the most powerful things in existence in his stomach!" he began to laugh for no really apparent reason.
"Soooo… what happened after I passed out?" Naruto asked, deciding that it was best to ignore Sasuke who was laughter was quite disturbing.
"Well," Shikamaru said, "It wasn't pretty."
Six Hours Earlier:
"MEDIC!"
There was a moment of chaos some people ran for it, others ducked under their tables some charged Naruto, either intending to help him or make sure he stayed down. A wall of ninja formed around him keeping everyone but the medics away from him, although his friends managed to slip into the inner circle to be with him. Meanwhile a group of Anbu dog-piled Umeko, disarming her and pinning her to the ground.
One medic immediately tried to pull the senbon out of Naruto's heart. "AHRG my fingers!"
"Careful, it's acid! Get me the forceps!" another shouted, as soon as they forceps were in his hand he pulled senbon out of Naruto's chest, by the time they hit the ground the forceps had already started to corrode. "Damn that's strong! The senbon missed his heart but the acid's going to get there soon! Flush the wound!"
"What I missed! NO! NO! No! No! No…no…no…"Umeko began to sob. "WHY! Why can't I take him with me! Is justice to much to ask for?" She began to struggle. "I'll let you kill me just please let me take him with me! He took everything from me! And it wasn't enough for him, no; he tried to take my daughter too! I won't let him hurt her too! LET ME KILL HIM!"
Meanwhile the medics had managed to flush the acid out of Naruto's chest, but it already seemed too late. Naruto's heart had shuddered to a crawl, his heartbeat irregular and jerky. The head medic immediately started CPR, "Who's skilled in the defrib jutsu? C'mon, kid don't give up!" The medic said as Naruto's regeneration slowed down, leaving the wound half open. Hinata was sobbing, she wanted to be with Naruto, but the medics wouldn't let her get any closer. Sasuke, whose skin had gone ashen, tried his best to comfort her; worry etched onto his face.
A young medic with ash grey hair and large circular glasses pushed his way through the group, "I am sir!" he made the hand-seals for the jutsu, faint sparks of electricity began to move up and down his fingers.
"Kabuto you're here! Thank Kami!" Relived to see the talented young medic here the head medic let Kabuto work.
"Clear!" Kabuto shocked Naruto, causing his body to jerk suddenly. Crying out, Hinata tried to push her way to Naruto but Sasuke wouldn't let her interfere. "Clear!" Kabuto shouted again, this time there was a gasp along with the jerk, "Clear!" this time, after the spasm, Naruto's heart rate returned to normal, and he started breathing again. Kabuto sat back with a sigh of relief, the defibrillation jutsu required such a high level of control that it was beyond most medics to perform. Kabuto stared at Naruto's chest as blood red chakra began to flow from the wound. In its wake Naruto's regeneration seemed to accelerate, going from gaping whole to star shaped scar in seconds. "He's a tough kid," Kabuto said turning to look at Naruto's assembled friends, "He shouldn't be out for more than eight hours." Getting up, rather shakily, Kabuto started to walk away, waving over his shoulder, "Make sure he takes care of himself, I won't always be there to save him."
The now thoroughly secured Haruno Umeko was crying again. "Why haven't you killed me yet?" she sobbed. "I want to die kill me, please. I miss my family so much…"
Sighing, the Hokage decided to pas his judgment, "After what you did today I should have you executed. But you're clearly emotionally unstable, and obviously have been since before your daughter was born." Running his hand through his grey hair the Hokage continued, "In light of recent events I deem you clinically insane, you are to remain in an asylum until a team of psychiatrists deem you fit to rejoin society. After your stay at the asylum, you will be under house arrest. Men take her away." A group of Anbu dragged the sobbing woman away. Sighing the Hokage headed over to Naruto's group in time to see Kabuto stand. Stopping the young man before he could get far the Hokage said, "I want to see you do well in the Chunin exams this year, have a little faith in yourself, don't give up this time."
"Yeas, Hokage-sama." Kabuto gave his Kage a salute, "Now if you'll excuse me I have a date with some seafood. I'm starving." Kabuto said with a faint smirk on his face.
Konoha General Hospital
When Shikamaru finished his story Naruto turned to his teammates, "I'm sorry I made you worry."
"Do it again and I'll kill you myself, Fishcake." Sasuke grumbled, clearly embarrassed at being caught worrying about his rival.
Hinata didn't say anything at first; she just latched onto him, in a rather tight hug. She let go right before she felt her blush overwhelm her, "N-N-Naruto-kun," she sniffled, "Never do that to me again."
"I promise that I'll do my best not to make you worry like that ever again, Hinata-chan." He turned to Shikamaru and asked, "What was that medics name? I'd like to send him a thank you card, and maybe a fruit basket or something."
"Yakushi Kabuto, he's technically still a Genin if what I overheard was correct, but he's supposed to be the best medic Konoha has produced since Tsunade."
"Wow, he sounds cool! I hope I get to meet him and say thanks!"
Naruto was less than enthused to find out that he was confined to the hospital for another three days, he had hoped to start taking missions as soon as the trial was over. But he could wait the extra week, to make sure he was in top condition for what ever mission the Hokage gave him.
Unknown Location
"The plans are coming together master." A voice said in the dark.
"Good, good." A second voice chuckled sinisterly from the shadows, "Soon my plan shall come to fruition and I shall have my vengeance on the ones who wronged me."
A/N Thanks to Brown Phantom for pointing out that my poll wasn't displaying, I apologize to those ofy you who went to my profile to vote and found nothing. It's there now (I checked! I swear!) so cast your vote! I hope you liked this chapter it was much easier to write then yesterdays.