Greetings! Thank you for your reviews everyone, they were really helpful and pleasant to read!

And on that note, I present to you the brand new chapter!

Disclaimer — I don't own Naruto and it's original characters.

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The Kidnapping

It was twenty-seventh of December, and Konohagakure no Sato was celebrating. The reason behind villager's mood for such activities was the signing of a treaty between Konoha and Kumogakure no Sato, which ended the ongoing conflict between the two villages.

Most shops were open all night to attract more customers and a lot of villagers were getting drunk. A great deal of ANBU, as well as several dozen shinobi from Military Police Force had to be dispatched as to prevent street fights and unnecessary conflicts. Despite their best efforts, they weren't able to control a good portion of adult population of Konoha, so a drunken fight or a brawl wasn't an uncommon sight during that night. The fact that many of those who were drunk had at least basic shinobi training didn't help the matters either.

It was a perfect distraction.

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This fact was well known to one Kumo ambassador. After his last meeting with the council of Konoha, as well as signing of the treaty, he quickly retired into his hotel room to make necessary preparations for his secondary mission, namely, the kidnapping of one female Hyuga from the main house. The abduction of an adult was out of the question, and only one child fit Raikage's requirements: Hinata Hyuga. The fact that she was the heiress greatly complicated Head Ninja's task, and he was forced to try and complete the mission with severe lack of information.

One of the reasons he was chosen for this task was his sensory abilities, which were among the best in Kumo. Immediately after he felt last Konoha-nin leave vicinity of his hotel, he quickly placed a complicated seal on his bed which emitted his chakra signature and had enough charge to last several hours. Such seals were specifically designed to fool enemy sensors, and only the best were able to distinguish a trap from the actual person. As soon as Kumo-nin made his last preparation he jumped out of the window, silently landed on one of the rooftops, and started running in the direction of the Hyuga compound.

Several minutes later he stopped on one of the buildings near the compound and immediately suppressed his chakra as much as he could. Kumo's Head Ninja didn't have to worry about being detected by sensors earlier since they would simply mistake him for another Konoha-nin, but Hyugas was another matter entirely. As soon as he confirmed that there were no guards between him and his target, he quickly dashed to the wall separating the compound and the rest of the village, before jumping over it and landing in a crouch on the other side. He didn't have to worry about being discovered via byakugan inside the compound since Hyugas had a very strict policies concerning it's usage inside the village, but there was still a risk of being detected during his search for the heiress.

A few minutes later, after maneuvering through a pair of hallways and evading several large chakra signatures, Kumo-nin stood at the entrance to Hinata's room. After mentally preparing for a quick escape in case that the heiress wasn't asleep, he silently opened the door.

Her room was quite spacious, but didn't have a lot of expensive furniture. In the far corner, beside the window, stood a small makeup table. Along the same wall, in the near corner, was a medium sized wardrobe. At the opposite side of the room stood bookcase, which connected to a small nightstand near a single bed where Hinata slept peacefully.

Just after he quietly performed a simple sleeping jutsu that ensured her unawareness, door behind Kumo-nin opened and one of the maids from the branch house assigned to the heiress saw him. Before he could silence her, however, she already called for guards.

Thinking quickly, and mentally cursing himself for his mistake, Head Ninja slung Hinata over his shoulder and jumped out of the window.

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In another part of the village, closer to its outskirts, was another chase. Unlike Kumo-nin, though, the one who was chased did nothing to provoke such reaction from the villagers. It was none other than Naruto Uzumaki, the outcast of the village. 'Tonight's walk probably wasn't one of my brightest ideas,' pondered the blond silently while dodging several rocks thrown by the mob. One managed to hit him in the shoulder and make him stumble, but Naruto quickly regained his footing and continued running.

While any onlooker would say that the blond wasn't happy about his predicament, Naruto himself was starting to enjoy his occasional races with the drunken villagers. Ever since he started his physical training the blond began to treat his misfortune like any other challenge. Every time he was chased, Naruto would count how much distance he covered before losing his pursuers as soon as he showed any signs of fatigue. It was a great workout. Even shinobi hardly presented some sort of challenge after several months of training, but only because they barely used any chakra to augment their speed and more often than not were highly intoxicated.

His current pursuit continued for more than half an hour, and the blond began to tire. The mob behind him consisted mostly of shinobi, since untrained civilians didn't have as much stamina as an average genin. Deciding to cut his unplanned training session short, Naruto started to lead his pursuers towards one specific training ground that guaranteed his escape — The Forest of Death.

Contrary to popular belief that forty-fourth training ground is dangerous enough only to be used by jonin or ANBU, standard shinobi training and skill equivalent to a chunin is more than enough to deal with it's flora and fauna. It's actually the main reason behind its frequent use for survival part of the chunin exams. Naruto didn't have that kind of training yet, but it never stopped the blond from trying. Several days spent in hospital after a failed attempt at creating an explosive seal without necessary level of chakra control is a testament to that.

After several more minutes of running, one of the gates leading to the Forest of Death appeared in his field of vision. Naruto immediately increased his speed as much he could, kicked off from one of the stumps, and jumped over the fence lined with barbed wire. As soon as he landed on the other side, he instantly dashed behind the trees. Thankfully, his pursuers had enough sense to stop following him. Deciding to exit the forest closer to the edge of the village, Naruto started running along the fence. He kept quite close to the border as to keep away from dangerous predators that inhabited the forest, but far enough to avoid the guards.

After he ran past several gates, he suddenly sensed something that made him stop in his tracks: a strong smell of blood. 'Considering a surprisingly large amount of shinobi that chased me today, it's entirely possible that someone was drunk enough to wander into the forest,' contemplated the blond. 'However, there is a high chance to stumble upon some predator...' Curiosity got better of Naruto, and he started silently and cautiously tracking the source of the scent.

Less than five minutes later he came upon a small clearing surrounded by bushes and a few very large trees. At first, when the blond just approached the meadow, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Upon circling it, however, his suspicions were confirmed: a man was bandaging his bleeding shin, while trees provided him cover. 'He probably grazed the barbed wire,' noted the blond, hidden behind the bushes. 'Though, he doesn't appear to be drunk...' As soon as the man finished and stood up, however, the sight behind him made Naruto stiffen: a small figure was lying on the ground, bound and motionless. Even though it was dark and the blond couldn't identify the figure, this two facts were enough for him to come to the conclusion that the man was a criminal.

There was a moment when Naruto was tempted to leave the victim in the hands of the kidnapper, but the blond immediately mentally slapped himself for even considering it. After determining that he was no match for a trained shinobi, Naruto decided to use the element of surprise and his speed to reach the guards stationed outside the Forest of Death and alert them.

As soon as he started to back up, however, he stepped on a branch. Both Naruto and the criminal froze, and not a second later the kidnapper threw a dozen kunai and shuriken in the general direction of the sound. Most projectiles missed, but some of them still managed to cut the blond, forcing a gasp out of him. Naruto knelt to inspect the damage to his ankle, and noted with regret that running was out of the question. When he looked up, the blond saw that the man was already in front of him, kunai in hand.

"I don't know what you're doing here, but I can't let you warn anyone." Said Kumo-nin before plunging his unarmed palm in Naruto's abdomen.

Last thing the blond saw before blacking out was the appearance of orange chakra which started to leak out of the glowing sealing matrix under his shirt.

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A moment later Naruto awoke with a head-splitting headache. After shaking his head a few times he slowly sat up and opened his eyes. First thing the blond noticed was the fact that he was no longer in the forest, but in some kind of room. On his sides and behind his back were walls that stretched so high that it seemed that there was no ceiling. There were no walls in front of him, but the darkness created by lack of illumination prevented him from seeing anything beyond several dozen meters. When he glanced down, he saw that the floor was submerged in water, but only up to his ankles, and, strangely enough, it didn't feel wet.

Upon closer inspection Naruto was startled to see that his wounds completely disappeared. He knew that he had accelerated healing, and cuts received from kunai or shuriken would disappear only after several hours, but that would mean that he was either kidnapped as well, or under some kind of genjutsu. Deciding to investigate his surroundings before making any conclusions, the blond got up and started walking forward.

Barely half a minute later he started to make out some kind of structure in the darkness ahead. When he was no more then a dozen meters from it, he could clearly discern gigantic prison bars. In the center, high enough that Naruto couldn't reach it, was a tag with a kanji for 'seal' written on it. 'It's clearly some kind of genjutsu then,' concluded the blond with a frown. 'And I don't even have anything sharp to stab myself with.' However, before he could make another step, a deep growl emanating from behind the bars made Naruto freeze in place.

Slowly, an enormous head of a fox with red fur and abnormally large ears emerged out of darkness of the cage. And although its size was enough to intimidate the blond, red eyes with black slits, not to mention significant fangs protruding from its mouth, were outright terrifying.

"Finally." The fox began in a booming voice. "I was starting to wonder when we will finally have this long overdue conversation." Despite its seemingly casual 'greeting', Naruto could clearly discern hints of malice and hatred in fox's speech. "And no, it's not a genjutsu if you are wondering." It continued in a slightly annoyed tone.

Coming out of his stupor, the blond quickly gathered as much courage as he could before answering. "T-then what the hell are you?"

"Why..." The fox started while shifting its weight to the side. One by one, nine red tails appeared from behind it and started to sway idly from side to side. "I am the Kyubi." The fox finished with a grin that made his already impressive fangs protrude even more.

"How can I make sure that you aren't a genjutsu?" Naruto asked after a moment of hesitation. The blond was aware that in case the fox proved to be a mere illusion, there was nothing for him to fear physically, but even knowing this Naruto couldn't help but feel nervous. The fact that he was more than likely lying unconscious in the forest full of overgrown predators only helped to intensify his fears.

"You can't." Replied Kyubi with a sneer. "Although, I am pretty sure you saw reddish orange chakra appear from a glowing seal on your stomach."

"How can you possibly know this?" Interrupted the blond. "Besides, our current surroundings aren't exactly helping your case." He continued skeptically.

"It's because we are in your mind." The fox stated rolling his slitted eyes. "Or at least in the representation of it, which is based on something your subconsciousness came up with as soon as you blacked out."

"My mind?" Naruto frowned. "Why would I meet you inside my mind upon falling unconscious?" Despite his confusion, however, the blond already began to formulate several theories, one worse than the other.

"I think you already have several ideas as to why I am here." Kyubi said with a knowing grin. "You are my Jinchuriki." He spat out last word as if it was venom.

While the name itself didn't provide Naruto any explanation, numerous memories and facts gave him enough evidence to start piecing the proverbial puzzle together. Every insult, every time he was healed faster than others, every winter without a single cold suddenly made sense. The only thing that prevented the blond from panicking was his experience in fuinjutsu, but it didn't stop the anger he felt towards his offenders from showing on his face.

"Do you want to get back at them?" Asked the fox as soon as he saw Naruto's face change. Kyubi's smirk only widened when the blond looked at him curiously. "The only thing you have to do is tear off this piece of paper and let me worry about the rest." He indicated the tag on the prison bars.

Naruto's look hardened and he lowered his head. Several silent minutes passed during which he recalled how he was treated and what would Kyubi's release mean for him and the village. The thought of inflicting pain on everyone who treated him as if he was the fox himself brought him a strange feeling of satisfaction. The smirk that appeared on his face didn't go unnoticed by Kyubi. When he thought of every innocent who would undoubtedly be caught in the crossfire, though, his smirk quickly vanished. Memories of the Third, Hinata, and several other innocent kids who didn't try to offend him before their parents drove them off only solidified his decision.

"No." Said Naruto confidently after looking up at the fox.

The only warning he got was a growl before Kyubi slammed one of his enormous paws into the cage. The blond gulped and took a step back when the barrier between the two rattled, but didn't back down from his answer. "Why?!" The fox roared. "Wasn't all the suffering you have endured over the years been enough for you to seek revenge?!"

"It was." Replied Naruto after taking a few seconds to collect himself. "But you are hardly as clever as you thought you were, if you didn't expect me to think through all the consequences." Kyubi merely huffed in response before sitting down. "Besides, I don't really hate all of them."

This earned a raised eyebrow from the fox. "And why not? They all loathe you the same."

"No, not the same." Naruto shook his head. "Civilians, even the ones who live in shinobi village, simply doesn't know what fuinjutsu is, much less how it works. They hate and fear me because they don't understand what the seal does." Clenching his fists, the blond continued. "Shinobi, on the other hand, are well aware of my situation, but still prefer to treat me like their scapegoat." He took a deep breath and relaxed his hands. "While I couldn't care less what happens to ninja population of Konoha, I don't want to butcher civilians for being ignorant. I would rather prove them wrong and make them stop seeing me as something to be afraid of." Naruto's small smile that appeared at the prospect of recognition turned malicious. "Besides, what's the fun if they couldn't fight back?"

Kyubi's eyes slightly narrowed during the blond's explanation. 'He is definitely smarter and kinder than I thought he would be.' Inching slightly closer to Naruto, the fox was actually impressed to see the blond appear completely calm. "And how far are you willing to go to achieve your goal?"

Naruto furrowed his brows before answering. "The only kind of power that is worth its value is a power that can be controlled. Moreover, I am against unnecessary sacrifices." He looked at the fox silently for several seconds before continuing. "Are you proposing something?" A hint of curiosity in his voice.

"Things are going to change drastically from now on." Kyubi began explaining. "As you probably already know, any sealing matrix placed atop another one without necessary preparations and techniques almost always results in both seals malfunctioning. The seal that knocked you out was no exception, especially considering that Dead Demon Consuming Seal is one of the most complex seals in existence." The fox paused when Naruto blanched. "Fortunately for both of us, however, the only thing that has changed is the amount of my unfiltered chakra that the seal leaks."

"Wait, why is it fortunate for you as well?" The blond asked suspiciously. "Weren't you just trying to trick me into releasing you?"

"The seal was slightly redesigned when your Hokage made it, and my Yin half was trapped together with him in Shinigami." Kyubi scowled. "Should the seal break without your permission, I won't simply reappear somewhere else after several years, but head straight to my other half into Shinigami's stomach." Naruto, for his part, only lifted one of his eyebrows in interest. "Nevertheless, given that we are most likely stuck together for the foreseeable future, I propose you my help with your training so we could avoid any unnecessary risks." The fox finished, surprising the blond.

While mulling over Kyubi's offer and how it could benefit both of them, Naruto recalled something that had troubled him since the fox started his explanation. "Earlier, you said that the seal began to leak more of your unrefined chakra into my system than it was initially planned." Looking up at Kyubi, he saw that the fox already knew what he was going to ask. "What exactly does that mean for me?"

"Nothing too evident." Kyubi began with a disturbing smile. "Right now, the only thing that clearly indicates that you are my Jinchuriki is your whiskers. From now on, however, your fangs are most likely to also start growing." He snorted when Naruto's eyes widened in alarm. "Relax, the probability of any visible changes is, at best, slim due to numerous differences in our physiologies. Your senses, on the other hand, is another matter entirely. Your sense of smell, hearing and, perhaps, the sense of taste will start to grow rapidly. Your vision will become sharper and more detailed. I am not really sure about your sense of equilibrium, but the possibility is there." Before the blond could ask anything, the fox continued. "Even if your emotions turn out to be affected as well, you could learn how to control them as long as the amount of chakra amplifying them is small."

Naruto exhaled quietly in relief before bringing his attention back to Kyubi and his proposal. "What could you possibly get from our agreement?"

"Revenge." When the blond gave him a quizzical look, he elaborated. "I didn't attack your village out of my own free will, but was summoned by the only human in history who could actually control me — Uchiha Madara." The accompanying growl clearly showed Naruto the hatred that the fox felt for this man.

This admission made Naruto think through Kyubi's offer with renewed interest. A few minutes later he addressed the fox, already knowing what his decision would be. "How would I be able to contact you?"

"Meditation." Kyubi answered with a grin full of teeth before pushing the blond out of the prison.

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Naruto's second awakening wasn't too pleasant either. He immediately knelt and tried to take a deep breath, but began to cough violently when his lungs started to burn. He squeezed his eyes shut when the heat spread to the rest of his body. After several seconds of panting and sweating, the burning slowly began to fade, and the blond opened his eyes to try to regain his bearings.

The first thing he noticed was scorched grass and fallen leaves that made him realize that he was still in the forest. Before he could sigh in relief, however, he saw that his right hand was practically drenched in blood, which, judging by the absence of his own wounds, belonged to someone else. When the blond looked around, his eyes bulged when they landed on the slumped form of the same ninja that attacked him. The motionless man seemed to be sitting under a tree in a rapidly growing puddle of his own blood. Naruto saw that the man's chest had collapsed, and the blood flowing from the back of his head showed that his skull most likely cracked when he hit the tree.

All the evidence left no doubt in the blond's mind that he was the one to kill the kidnapper.

Naruto almost panicked and prepared to run before anyone could find him, but froze when he caught sight of the victim, who was lying under another tree. Knowing that all this blood will undoubtedly attract predators, he quickly, but no less cautiously, approached the unconscious figure in hopes to somehow get them both out of the forest. When he or she didn't budge, the blond carefully stepped around and tried to identify the victim. He couldn't, however, hold back a sharp intake of breath when he saw Hinata's slightly pale face.

Naruto felt a brief spark of anger when he thought about what could have happened to her if he didn't stumble upon her kidnapper, but forced himself to calm down when he felt the heat rising again. 'First I need to get us both out of here, then I can deal with everything else,' the blond reminded himself before he gently lifted Hinata and placed her on his back. After focusing a small amount of chakra in his legs and arms to ease the strain on his muscles, he ran in the direction he came from.

A few minutes later, when he spotted the fence at the edge of the forest, he increased the amount of chakra, as well as his speed, in order to get a good run-up. Having jumped over the fence and landed as softly as possible on the other side, he stopped for several seconds to catch his breath. 'I need to strengthen my training,' Naruto decided before looking around. After making sure that they weren't noticed, he started moving in the direction of the nearest part of the village wall. He thought about where he would take her while he was running through the forest, and decided that the best choice would be to leave her where guards would surely find her. 'And each sensor on the wall will undoubtedly be warned as soon as someone notices her absence, if they haven't already,' thought the blond.

Knowledge of sensory abilities and their countermeasures is one of the foundations of stealth in the world of shinobi, and Naruto spent a lot of time memorizing and practicing them. Despite his age, the blond already had considerable experience in this area due to his numerous chases. As soon as there were about two kilometers to the wall, he stopped in one of the unlit alleyways to rest. A minute later, he ceased easing the strain on his limbs and suppressed his chakra signature to avoid early detection, before he rushed towards the wall as fast as he could.

Having run about two hundred meters, he immediately stopped masking his chakra, jumped onto one of the rooftops and hurriedly lowered Hinata. A few seconds later, he pulsed his chakra to gain the attention of every sensor nearby. Naruto, however, knew that he couldn't stay and make sure that the guards found her. He gave the princess one last worrying look, again disguised his chakra signature and, with all his remaining strength, dashed as quickly as possible towards the center of the village.

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"Finally..." Muttered Naruto tiredly after he locked the door to his apartment and leaned against it. He ran, walked and jumped for at least another few kilometers, as well as risked starting another chase while he was close to one of the most populated areas, but finally went home when he was sure that he wasn't being followed. 'I would have already been questioned if they knew that I was there,' he pondered with a frown. 'And the corpse is likely to become unrecognizable by the time someone finds it.' This thought made Naruto take a look at his right hand, which was still partially bloody.

When the blond decided to become a shinobi, he knew that he would have to kill. Nevertheless, he always thought that his first kill would be on a mission, and not when he was only five years old. After he entered the bathroom and began to wash away the blood, he couldn't help but remember what Kyubi told him about his emotions being influenced by excessive demonic chakra. 'Perhaps it has already clouded my mind and suppressed my emotions,' thought Naruto, looking at himself in the mirror. 'In any case, he also said that I could learn to control it, didn't he?' He shook his head after thinking about the possible consequences and went to change his clothes. Several minutes later he was already lying in his bed. 'I will begin to deal with new problems tomorrow,' thought the blond groggily, before slowly drifting off to sleep.

He woke up screaming just a few hours later.

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And this ends the second chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Please review and comment on my mistakes so I could make next chapter even better.

P.S. For some unknown reason Fanfiction ate quite a few 'spaces' during upload. Please tell me in your comments if I missed any.

Until next time, my dear readers!

ImaginaryStranger