Chapter 4

Into the belly of the beast

Hokage's office 5 days later…

Jiraiya was frustrated. It seemed as if the papers were multiplying by the second and he was not enough manpower to get through it all. Most of the papers were pointless for him to look at; tax papers, business openings and permanent residency are just a few examples of the useless things he has to approve.

Things would change or he would never have time to write his new book. Speaking of books he recalled the lunch he had with his godson and took a contemplative face. He would never forget the wisdom his godson spoke.

As long as you and her are alive the road will always be there. You just have to be courageous enough to take the first step.

Those words stuck to him ever since. He began plotting a new story; one of a man who had everything but the one thing he wanted. An unrequited romance due to the man's manner of becoming a mess when with her. Jiraiya sighed while leaning back into his seat, writing this book was rough. Compared to his other books he was writing it at a slugs pace.

His eyes turned to the giant stack of paper and saw a letter. Picking it up he smiled. His sensei and godson had finally sent a letter. He lost his smile as he read the contents of the letter. The two were currently at the border of fire country about to enter the land of rivers; a small neighboring country between the land of wind and fire.

Jiraiya had no idea where they were headed but he prayed for their safe travels. Before he could contemplate some more his assistant came in and placed another stack on his desk.

"Here are more papers Hokage-sama" she said before walking out. Jiraiya got teary eyed.

"Come back soon Sensei!" Jiraiya cried to the heavens.

Border of Fire and River

Sadistic. Old. Man.

Three words Naruto would use to describe his grandfather. Since the day they left he had been drilling the blonde physically, spiritually and mentally. Every night the youth would drop dead into sleep but that did not mean he wasn't satisfied.

He could tell he was getting stronger each day and that was all that matter to him.

"Where are we going old man?" Naruto asked his grandfather as they made their way to the border. The trees near the border seemed withered but not from lack of nutrients. They seemed to droop and curve as if the trees could not support itself. The floor and air seemed more saturated, as if more humid.

His grandfather mumbled in return pissing the blonde off more. In they're five days of travel Naruto had been drilling the man for information but got nothing.

Five minutes later they made it to the border. The stone indication was mossy and had bugs littered all over. With a small push of windlike water from his grandfather the stone was clean from the moss and bugs. Naruto studied the man as he did so. It made his reminisce to the lessons his grandfather taught him on the journey.

Flashback 3 days ago…

Naruto laid eagle spread on the ground panting harshly as he had just finished training for the day. The old man sat next to him sipping on some tea he brewed during his training.

Throughout their journey the old man had taught him the history of Chakra. Apparently Chakra is not the energy that we manipulate but the laws in which the energy must follow. The hand signs we make to manipulate the energy are encoding to make our nodes react in certain ways.

According to the old man the ways of the war were much more destructive in the past. The amount of soldiers who could manipulate energy were much smaller but their quality made up for it. Unfortunately, Chakra was developed and the world jumped on the bandwagon. Instead of one behemoth leading a force there were thousands of mini behemoths.

Over time Chakra was adopted in every country overshadowing the teachings of the cultivation. Now, it was just a legend passed around as a myth.

The old man broke me out of thought as he set down his teacup. "Did you know that chakra is a weakness?" he asked Naruto, making him surprised. He had never thought of it as weakness but rather laziness. Waiting for a bit for Naruto to think the hokage began "Chakra is powerful but its flaws are numerous. For example, energy consumption; A chakra follower uses a huge excess of energy when casting jutsus. They put enough energy in a C rank jutsu to cast an A rank. That does not mean the jutsu will be an A rank power because that excess energy is lost. They lack precision, one of the major weaknesses of the laws of chakra" he finished taking a sip from his tea again.

Naruto looked at him curiously. He wondered what other flaws the laws contain. The older man said nothing as he closed his eyes. After a few seconds he raised his right arm straight out and opened his eyes.

"Look closely Naruto as I show you Chakras biggest flaw" he lectured making Naruto sit up a little straighter. Soon fire was coming out of his hands, the orange flames bountiful as they scorched the earth. Suddenly the constant stream of flames changed, becoming leaner and the color compact. The earth began evaporating under the denser flame.

Naruto's eyes widened as the stream of flames from his grandfather's hands began to become violent and uncontrolled. By the second they were becoming sharper. Instead of the heat from the waves of fire warming his skin the hairs on top of his head began to stand straight. The blondes jaw could not have gotten any lower as he watched the fire transmutate from flames to lightning and yet it wasn't.

The looks of the flame were unchanged but their properties were now of lightning. No longer were the flames kissing the skin of the earth but penetrating it uplifting the dirt in a sporadic manner. His grandfather cut his flames of lightning off and returned his arm to his side.

Naruto was speechless; He had so many questions! "What was that! That was so cool! I don't even think a jounin ninja can- " he stopped abruptly as he came to a realization. 'A user of chakra would not be able to do that' he thought, his face making a mark of realization. His grandfather nodded.

"Chakra is tense. It's laws restrict our potential, making a bastardized version. It is sloppy, mechanical and wasteful. Our energy comes from us and yet we try to control it through means machine-like means. We are not bolts and screws but flesh and blood. The way we deal with energy must be organic and humanistic." he finished his lecture by taking another sip from his tea.

Naruto reiterated his previous statement in his mind. 'This old man may be crazy but he is a badass… A crazy badass' he thought before passing out.

Flashback end…

As they crossed the border into the land of river Naruto's mind was running; Reiterating through all his thoughts since seeing that show of power from his grandfather. 'Lightning earth, Watery lightning, Earthly winds, liquid flames...' Naruto began to ramble off in his mind.

His grandfather however was on alert. His eyes narrowed as they continued towards their destination.

Suddenly the earth under them began the rumble, then shake and finally uplift. The hokage's battle hardened senses made him act; jumping away from the threat on instinct. Naruto however did not as he was still stuck in his rambling.

"Naruto!" the hokage yelled as he began his sprint to the unaware youth. The yell was enough to break him out of his dazed. He looked to his grandfather.

"Yea-" he got cut off as he was engulfed by teeth coming from the tethering ground. At full height the monster was as big as a mountain. The gray, hardened shell on its back was unblemished and filled with deadly spikes. Its limbs and face are the same murky gray as its shell, filled with less spikes than its back.

Its torso plump like a balloon with red lines leading from its tail to its face. One of its eyes were closed with the other depicting its insanity. The veteran could feel his hope drop from his head into his stomach when he looked at its venomous tails swaying angrily.

The three tailed demon turtle.

"KURAMA!" The beast yelled a name shaking the land and snapping surrounding trees. The hokage remained apathetic to the monster in front of him. Instead he looked up at the beast, straight in its eyes. The beast returned the look he was getting and felt fear creeping into his body.

"Who are you human" the beast demanded insecurely with the stare the human was giving him. Before he could blink he was flying, toiling through trees and rivers. He got back to his feet, shaking his head first before looking for what sent him flying.

In its place was the ma-no, demon holding a demonic bo staff taller than itself. The demon chuckled darkly "Oh me? Well" the demonic man smiled viciously. "You can just call your reaper." he stated before disappearing into nothingness.

Feeling a presence above it the beast looked up to see the bo staff enlarged to the size of a small mountain, the demon man sitting on the edge of the top. His face could be seen clearly by the beast. A crazed smile was on its face. "DIE" the demon man cackled crazily. His body is now fully engulfed in darkness. The darkness itself shaped into a mould of a man but each of his ends sharpened.

The beast could only think of one thing before the staff crushed him

Shit