Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Authors Note: This chapter will be the final one before the time skip I have planned and it'll progress the plot quite a bit before that time jump actually happens.
Land of Wolves
Thunder sounded in the distance, the brilliant flash of thunder preceding it. The heavens opened up a little wider, a merciless torrent of hail and droplets be falling the earth. Footsteps could be heard throughout the dense expanse of the forest, though one set was ways had of the others.
A man blitzed past the trees, jumping over shrubs and logs as he went on his way. He was panting, out of breath and ready to drop from exhaustion. The man gave himself a short reprieve as he knelt over and clutched his knees before he moved once more. He could not afford to get captured, not when he had been tasked with such a monumental task by his nation.
The Land of Wolves had fallen, reduced to nothing but a warzone. No, that was not right. It was a butchering field. Families had been lost, homes destroyed. There was no forgiving the nation of Kiri for their transgressions against the peace that had long been established by their forefathers.
Still, the fact they had sent him said much about how depleted their ranks were.
He was not a shinobi, his clothing showcasing such. He was simply an average looking civilian with the most terrible luck. He tripped over some large roots and tumbled to the ground, clutching his calf in mild discomfort. His pursuers edged closer due to his error and he tried to crawl to safety.
"This way!"
He heard the call echo through the thicket, desperation now lacing his once calm features. Anxiety built up within him as he wriggled to his feet. He was just about to run when he turned to see a blade at his neck, cold uncaring eyes staring down at him.
He froze, as if finally realising this was the end. He looked at the features of his soon to be killer. White hair and cold uncaring eyes. He was unsure if they were grey, teal or simply blue. The sword in hand was unique to him, like a-
His thought was never finished as he met his demise with one powerful swing of the cutlass, a demise he had not even been fully prepared for. His body fell over, the scroll in his jacket popping out. It threatenedto roll away before his murderer stabbed it with his sword.
"Smile, for your death was a proud one, falling at the hands of one of the seven ninja swordsmen..."
Konohagakure no Sato
Drip...
Drip...
Drip...
Drip...
Drip...
Naruto opened his blurry eyes, his mind hazy and confused. He did not know where he was but the last thing he remembered was going to bed after another exhausting day of unproductive training.
So...that meant he was dreaming. He looked around to take in the sight of wherever it is that he was right now. It was a sewer, and immediately he began to doubt his mind would conjure up such a filthy place to be his dream. He squinted his eyes a little as of noticing something new.
The walls were covered in thick ice but it was inconsistent and was in patches of varying thickness. He walked over and poked it with his finger, and he shot back in surprise when the ice began to expand. Soon the whole wall was covered in ice but it just kept spreading. Naruto wondered if it was his doing that had caused such a reaction. He was surprised however, when the ice shot out and tried to encase him as well.
Blue eyes widened in shock and fright, the child crawling away and quickly standing to make a run for the exit...if such a thing existed. The ice nipped at this heels in an attempt to catch him but Naruto never looked back, rounding a corner and running his fastest.
Naruto did not know how long he ran, or how far he had gone, simply that he had done enough to escape for now. He needed a way out. He glanced around, noting that even though the walls here were also littered in iced, it was docile and unmoving. He gulped as he reminded himself not to touch it.
He walked around a bit, the only sound in the vicinity being his feet as they sounded against the water. He walked for even longer than he had run, his legs finally ready to just stop when he turned the next corner and found himself staring at open space.
This room was large, the vast expanse seemingly empty until his eyes met the large gates that seemed to span the length of the room...which happened to seem endless in its reach.
The gates were almost completely frozen over, a seal placed at the centre. He cautiously approached the metal casing, wondering what was inside and what his mind had conjured up. He took note of how much worse this room seemed to be compared to the others. It was colder, more ice to it and there was simply an ominous feel to it.
He reached the gate, letting his hand rest on it as he pondered a few things in his young mind. Red eyes opened from the depths of the darkness, making him freeze up in fear. Razor sharp teeth made themselves known as they too emerged from the shadows. They made Naruto very aware of how close in proximity they were as hot breath wafted unto him.
The boy trembled, a shaky smile playing on his lips as he slowly withdrew. He gulped and backpaddled further as the figure became more visible to him. H was unsure if his eyes were adjusting or if some sort of light had fallen on whatever was inside.
His mouth fell agape at what he saw, eyes widening in supreme disbelief. Before him was the massive form of the fabled Kyuubi no Kitsune, a creature of destruction. It was staring at him in silence whilst the tails of the behemoth swayed slowly behind it.
"B-But b-but how...the fourth Hokage killed you," now he was certain he was dreaming, he had to be and he wanted to wake up. The fox smiled yet it was not friendly. It was in mockery and...pleasure? Pleasure at his shock and the sudden realisation that his hero had not, in fact defeated the beast.
"As if a human could kill a being of my stature," the fox sounded annoyed, almost pissed off honestly. Naruto regained some of his bearings, yet the eight year olds feet still trembled slightly. "You insolent brat,"
Naruto did not want to believe it but the fox was right there. He pinched himself hoping he would feel nothing. He felt it. He felt the pain and boy did it hurt. He had to accept reality.
"This is no dream child. Currently, we exist in a place known as your mindscape, my prison and you are my jailer,"
Naruto shook his head. That could not be true and yet it explained the eyes, the hateful comments and the horrible treatment he often received and many other things.
"Why...?" his voice cracked with emotion. Had the Hokage been lying to him. this whole time. Who else had known about his burden. The nine tails looked like he wanted to take more pleasure in the boys expression but there were more pressing matters to attend to at that moment.
"Enough!" the fox bellowed from within thecage. "The reason I summoned you was not so I could see you wail before me. Something rather unfortunate has befallen this body,"
This body? Oh, his body. The statement made Naruto look up in concern. What else could be wrong.
"What's going on?"
"Recently, an unknown catalyst as caused a change in the functions of your body..." It was a lie. The fox knew exactly what had been the cause. "this power in your possession developed and in so doing, it became a part of you or rather...you are becoming part of it and unfortunately, so am l,"
Naruto was confused, but the point seemed to get cross to him the moment the ice in the room expanded to reach the water. The fox seemed rather worried and Naruto was confused. It just made everything worse.
"This kekkei genkai mixed with my chakra and the consequences were unforeseen. The ice became...sapient, a creature with no rational thought as of yet, only the desire to consume everything. It acts like it has a mind of its own with no outlet of its own in the outside world...except you. Day in day out it siphones my chakra and my sealing has weakened me. It allows my chakra to leave but it cannot be returned the same way, not without trying on my part. The ice serves as an extension of me, one that I can not control," it was bitter to say, but the fox knew it had to be done. Kurama waited as Naruto processed that information while repeating some of the bigger words.
"Sipho...sihp...oni...ng, man I wish Himika could just explain it for me," he muttered to himself. The fox's ears twitched at the mention of the young girl's name but he made no comment. "Still, how'z it my problem, it's your chakra that that's being siph...sipho...siphoned, yeah that sounds about right," The fox narrowed his slotted eyes at the Uzumaki.
"Eventually, it will feed off of your essence inorder to obtain a physical body. We will both die. It's something I would like to avoid and should you refuse, I'll always be back one day when I reform. You on the other hand...only live once," the fox smirked as Naruto gulped.
Naruto did not like the options he was given. He would rather see the fox dead than alive but this form inhabiting his body was a bigger threat at the moment, one that fed off of chakra. The situation was unfortunate.
"I..." he did not finish as the ice from earlier on burst into the room, a sudden chill entering the room. The nine tails narrowed its eyes. If this thing got a hold of the boy eight now it was over. He was vulnerable to it here. Naruto was too slow this time, his lower body suddenly immersed in ice. There was no escape, no happy ending. This had to a nightmare. His body felt cold.
"I..." He was going numb now, his hand reaching for the fox. Kurama held out a tail and grasped him. "...agree," he barely raspwd out as the boy glowed red, the ice breaking before shooting off.
The fox had just proved something. Though the ice could feed off the chakra internally, it could not absorb anything that took on a physical form. At least it explained why it had never tried to eat him or the darn seal. He hated his prison. Had it not existed, he would have had no such problems, easily crushing the ice but now he was forced to rely on this boy. He watched Naruto vanish silently.
Yugao tensed as she sensed a sudden spike in chakra. She watched as shards of hoar burst forth from Naruto's room, encasing the apartment inside out. She frowned as she wondered what had happened. He had been fast asleep and made no movements.
Now she wished she had not convinced Kakashi to let her keep the job. How was she supposed to explain this to the Hokage. She groaned into the wind as she decided to go in. Yugao could hear people starting to wake up. Some due to the wrenching noise the ice had induced as it ripped through the walls and some because it was their walls that had been torn apart as well. Such were the woes of a shared apartment.
She walked found a spot big enough to enter through and wedged herself inbetween. She looked on at the destruction caused on the interior of the house and she could just imagine the backlash this would have on the poor boy. The purple haired woman finally spotted him on the ground. He was kneeling, his breathing unsteady and panicked. There were tiny shards around him and she approached cautiously.
"Naruto?"
He looked up, his features alarmed as she took a step towards him. Yugao raised her hands while taking her mask off so as not to alarm. In his foggy state of mind, he might not have recognised her mask. He relaxed a but before his eyes drooped and he tumbled forward from exhaustion. She caught him, immediately deciding he needed to be taken to the hospital.
Only moments after the initial shockwave produced by the eruption of Naruto's powers, the remnants of the chakra had spread throughout the whole village. Within the walls of the orphanage, Himika woke as she landed on the floor with a dull thud.
First came her obvious confusion and surprise, a certain shock as she tried to assess what was happening. Then it hit her. A searing pain coursed through her, her hand clutching her throbbing forehead. She stumbled to her feet as she struggled to keep her eyes open. Her head hurt, like an external pressure had barreled into her head with amazing force. She rested against the wall, her mind suddenly assaulted by the vision of a large chakra source.
Whatever it was, it took form, one she was not familiar with as it stared her down. She grit her teeth and forced her eyes open, allowing for whatever it was she had seen to vanish but not before it howled at her, pushing her back. Her pain subsided, her breath still struggling to become even once more. She hated it.
Himika forced herself to her feet, ignoring the sweat at the crease of her brows. She staggered all the way to the window and looked towards the general direction of Naruto's house, or what was left of it. The place was desecrated, pikes of ice protruding from the most unorthodox of places, the manner in which they were arranged was even more haphazard. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at the apartment, resting against the window ledge. What the hell had happened? Her eyes felt heavy, once more trying to lull her back to sleep, or was it the after effects of whatever she had previously experienced?
She did not try to resist knowing her efforts would be futile either way. Himika slumped against the wall as her mind drifted once more, her thoughts once more assaulted by whatever it was she had envisioned.
He was back again, something he had not expected so soon after what had happened. It all made sense though. Where else would he go once he was out cold.
Naruto looked at his feet to find there was ice all around him in broken pieces. He drew his eyes forward to see the giant seal before. This time he had been taken directly to the nine tails. It felt safer than actually being anywhere else in his mind.
"Good, you're here," the fox appeared once more, his eyes staring down the boy. Naruto felt small and wanted to shrink further under the fox's gaze.
"Y-Yeah," Naruto did his best to seem confident. It was an utter disaster really.
"Now then...this problem only worsens in your presence as this is the only time that the ice can attempt to absorb you. You are made of chakra in here in as well as flesh. Unlike me, you have blood, something it requires,"
"So if it gets me..."
"It will not," the fox reassured but it was not warm or loving. It was said with a conviction and belief but not in him, only itself. "We work by night. I will handle your progress in regards to the ice and your mastery over it. That and only that. In exchange I want something..." the fox trailed off and it made Naruto gulp. He nodded though.
"I want..." the image of Himika flashed in his head and his mind dragged further back through his memory, something surfacing. It made him grimace. "something you cannot provide just yet. I'll cash in one day,"
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed as he looked over the stack of papers on his desk, each of them pertaining to the issue of Naruto's hospital bill. Yugao was standing next to him having been the one to report to him on the events that had transpired.
The ANBU had been tasked with getting rid of the ice around the building and making sure that all of his villagers were safe. He was currently wondering how this could have happened and whether or not he should move the boy away from people. The situation reminded him of the one eight years ago, only then he had been able to control Himika's case a bit better.
Himika. He was certain she was linked to it somehow. He did not wish to ignore the parallels but he did not want to make connections that were not there.
"What are we supposed to do?" Yugao asked from a bit behind him now. He was forgetting she was here. Normally she never questioned him, her curiosity easily squashed by her sense of duty...this predicament was different.
"For now I'll have to relocate Naruto and pay for the damages. When he wakes up I'll question him about all of this. For now you should go get some rest," he told her.
Yugao allowed herself to glance upwards towards one of the clocks in the Hokage's office. 23:48...it was late, her shift having ended moments after this dilemma. She nodded, her lips pursed as she vanished from his sight.
Mizu no Kuni, Kirigakure no Sato
Home was the safest place she could ever be, its pleasures and defenses something she had sorely missed. She rarely ever missed anything. Home gave her a sense of security and she felt a certain pride as she looked all around, enjoying it. It was a pride in herself more than anything.
Nonetheless, she had not come home on a personal trip. Business had called her back from her acquisitions in the East. Business she was wary of.
Kimiko sat at the Kage's desk, her frown clearly visible as she folded her arms across her chest. Her Kage robes hung from her chair, her hat sitting atop her head. It was a posture showcasing clear disrespect yet her visitor did not mind. It was his fault she was in a bad mood anyway.
Kimiko set her eyes on the man in front of her. That was the only way to describe him, no matter how much she wanted to question it. He was relaxed, unaffected by her. She did not like it and she most certainly did not like him. Her guards sensed her agitation, everyone did yet no one made to move. Her eyes narrowed as she rested her elbows on her desk and slowly rested her chin.
"To what do I owe this visit..." she paused, as if assessing how to truly address her guest. "...Orochimaru," the name was bit out with such distaste and venom that it was nearly palpable. She loathed his very existence and he had the gull to come to her village.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquiantaince...Lady Mizukage," the man smirked at her. "You and I have some business to discuss,"