Tobirama Senju.

Former Nidaime Hokage of the Hidden Leaf. One of the most famous members of the Senju clan, he helped his older brother, Hashirama Senju, found the first shinobi village, the Hidden Leaf. With mastery over all five elements, Tobirama Senju's mastery over Water Release was potent enough to create vast quantities of the substance without a present water source, allowing him to use high-level Water Release at any given time.

My mind was miraculously clear as I quite literally sent Taki flying into the playground with a jutsu I'd never learned before.

It was an interesting sensation, having such power and elegance coursing through my body. Power that didn't belong to me.

My vision became clearer. Everything was so clear, was it the adrenaline? Or the fact that I feel invincible right now?

My actions at this moment are half mine, while the other half, I'm moving completely on instinct.

I'm thinking so quickly that time seems to slow down, every part of nature connecting with my soul as I entered a fighting stance that seemed nostalgic and familiar yet foreign at the same time.

"Shit! What just happened?!"

"I-I dunno, it happened so quickly!"

"Since when was Naruto able to use Ninjutsu?! We've barely gone over them in class!"

My eyes are covered by my hair right now, slightly damp due to the water bullet I just summoned. They probably can't tell that I'm staring death right into them right now.

"W-whatever! If we hit him at the same time, he can't do anything! Let's get him!"

The boys moved forward, limbs flailing around wildly as they approached me with their pathetic pre-pubescent war cries.

I moved. Quickly. For them, it was probably inconceivable. I pounced, moving from one piece of shit to the next.

Muscles moving on their own, my hand drew seals with chakra on their bodies.

They were all on their asses, fear in their eyes. They looked up at me as I waited for them to get up again.

"Get up, bitches," I said quietly.

They stood up, legs shaking.

"H-how did you do that?!"

"What just happened?"

I stared at them with a deadpanned expression as they tried to figure out how I'd just pushed them all to the ground before they could even process what I'd done.

"F-fuck! Just charge him all at once! Come on!"

Oh really?

As they stood up, I formed a half-seal with my left hand.

"Flying Thunder God."

Instantly, I felt the world warp out of existence and my body was transported to the space between the goons.

Fuck!

I felt some vomit come up my stomach as a sick feeling overtook my body. My mind might be used to Tobirama's techniques right now, but everywhere else surely isn't.

I've had a lot of practice controlling my stomach contents from years of dumpster diving, so I didn't fully throw up. However, it was enough of a hesitation for them to notice that I had materialised in the middle of their group.

"How the fuck is he doing that?!"

Their limbs were extended from their bodies, making it easy to grab each of them and fling them into the air in a 720 degree turn, my hands catching their wrists as I teleported between them. Without stopping, I quickly went through a series of hand signs faster than my own eyes could comprehend.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu."

My skin dried ever so slightly as the air changed around me. My hands started shaking, and my legs felt like jelly. I felt the sound of a wave crashing onto the beach as a surge of water appeared next to me. Forming into the shape of a dragon, its fangs glared towards its victims.

"S-shit!"

"N-Naruto! Calm down man!"

I ignored their grovelling as the dragon descended upon them, the force of water sweeping them off their feet into the bushes behind them.

The swings also took some of the damage, and the metal was bent from the force of my Water dragon Jutsu. I looked past the swings, and I saw the boys stuck in the bushes, some of them coughing blood, while others were unconscious. I didn't know exactly why, but I knew they weren't dead.

I turned my attention back to Taki, who looked quickly between me and his boys. Picking up his other stick, he shakingly gripped it while pointing it towards me.

"S-stay back!"

He swung it a few times, which I assume was supposed to be menacing. To me, it was nothing short of pathetic. I picked up the red bloody stick that he had thrown to me moments prior, and pointed it at him with a Kenjutsu stance that I assume was the Nidaime's. Taking a few steps towards him, Taki instinctively backed off.

My heart rate was beginning to slow down at this point, but I had no intention to stop. I'm a pretty patient person normally, which makes it all the more serious when I actually end up being pissed.

He backed himself into a corner as I approached him.

"Draw," I said, pointing the stick towards him.

"H-hey man, I'll tell my Father, you know he's part of the counci-"

I cut him off with a powerful sideways strike to the face, one that would've killed him if it were a real sword. His face started bleeding from a cut, and he started crying.

"S-shit! MY FACE!"

I waited for him to stand up again. This time, he stared at me with rage in his eyes mixed with tears, and made the first move.

The swing was slow and uncoordinated. I probably wouldn't even need to have Tobirama's soul in me right now to dodge it. In any case, I reflexively blocked it easily, and spun his stick out of his hand with perfect technique.

With nothing to stop me now, I started barraging him with a volley of attacks, each aiming for a different part of his body.

Left knee, Arm, Wrist, Groin, Foot, Ribs, and Left knee again.

He fell on his back, his arms spread-eagled on the floor. My stick was now more red from his blood than the blood of my cat.

His face was mangled from pain, and a horrible noise came from his mouth.

I threw my stick to the side, and I noticed that I was breathing way too quickly.

I forced myself to take a few deep breaths to calm down.

Looking around, I noticed that there was a small crowd gathering, mostly little kids who came to the playground.

Uwaah… I'm gonna get chewed out for this…

"Oi you," I said, ushering to a boy.

"M-me?!"

"Ya, could you do me a favor and, uh… get your parents? And take them home. Please?"

"Y-yeah! Sure," He said.

I gave him a quick smile, which only seemed to make him more afraid of me. Probably because I'm covered in blood.

I heard some groans coming from the side, from where my Water dragon jutsu had hit them.

Wimps. I barely used 1% of Tobirama's strength!

If I hadn't, they'd have been torn to shreds. I was going to teach them a lesson, not murder them.

That being said, I had one last trick up my sleeve to fuck them over.

Err, Tobirama's sleeve, I suppose.

"Genjutsu: Infinite Darkness."

If I recall correctly, not even Jiji could dispel this technique, even during his prime. It should last a few hours before they regain their sight.

I took the remains of my friend in my arms and quietly left the scene.


I felt a sweat roll down my brow as I finished digging a hole.

It was a quiet part of town, not too far from the Uchiha district. At least, what's left of it. Considering that there's much less traffic around here, my friend should be able to rest pretty easily.

It's evening now, and the moon's out. I should probably head home soon before some drunk asshole decides to take his anger out on me.

I quietly put the cat into a box and sealed it shut. I tried my best to sew back her organs into her body, but it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. The fact that my hands were shaking didn't help either.

Not sure from rage, grief, sorrow, regret, adrenaline, or a mixture of all of the above.

Sighing, I quietly put the dirt back into the hole, and stuck a particularly long rock so I don't forget where it is. I also pulled out some flowers from my bag that I picked earlier on the way here.

I quietly gave the grave a small prayer and a bow.

Of course, I brought her daughter with me. She deserves to give her mom a proper send off.

I picked her up, and placed her on top of her grave. She meowed a few times, dug the ground a bit, and turned back to me with sad eyes.

"Nya…"

Me too, sis.

I should probably take her home now… She's basically a newborn, and she won't have the skills to survive in the wild yet, since cats are pretty altricial.

Shit. I didn't take them in before because of my finances.

I suppose this is somewhat my fault, so I'll take the responsibilities that come along with it.

Remembering something important quickly, I spoke to the tenant in my belly.

You've been pretty quiet all evening.

"I've been quiet most of your life, y'know. I just thought you would rather have some silence while you're trying to process all of this," Kyuubi said.

Appreciate it, Kyuubi-chan.

"No problem! Do we get to keep the cat now?"

I sighed in real life. I suppose it does.

Yap.

"Cool, what's her name then? We can't just keep calling her 'The Cat'."

I noticed that she kept on leaning into my left hand for cuddles. I know this is a really stupid reason to decide on a pet's name, but I think it's cute.

How about… Lefty?

"Lefty…? Cute name! I approve. Lefty's a part of the family now, I suppose!"

Despite the events of today, I couldn't help but smile slightly at the mention of 'Family'.

I guess you're right.

Vin Diesel would be proud.

"Oh yeah, someone's coming, by the way."

What?

I turned around, and noticed that there indeed were footsteps coming from the road behind me. Before I could get away to avoid confrontation, the person spoke directly at me.

"Naruto Uzumaki?"

It's the soft, familiar voice of a girl that I instantly recognized. I focused on the owner of the voice, Sasuke Uchiha.

She was wearing her normal outfit, dark blue turtleneck and light gray shorts with some bandages wrapped around the latter half of all four of her limbs. Her blue-ish hair, like always, was tied in a ponytail with curtain bangs curled to perfection framing her face. From the looks of it, she's coming home from grocery shopping, considering the fact that in her left hand was a bag full of groceries. Mostly tomatoes, from the looks of it. Actually, a concerningly large amount of tomatoes. What's up with that? She took out a small lollipop from her mouth to speak to me.

Huh, interesting. She always wears a black surgical mask, so this is the first time I've ever seen her actual face.

She's surprisingly pretty. I can tell, even in the dark. Well, I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise; her mom was super pretty from what I saw back when she was still around.

Or maybe it's the moonlight. Who knows.

"Suhh," I replied, nonchalantly.

"... Why are you covered in blood, loser?" She asked. I couldn't tell if that was concern or amusement in her voice.

"Blood's not mine, emo-boi," I replied, picking up my backpack, Lefty, and getting ready to leave.

As I was, however, a huge grumble came from my stomach. Uwaah… this is embarrassing… Makes sense though, I haven't eaten a damn thing all day! Please say I haven't ran out of ramen back home…

"Didn't know you had a cat," Sasuke said, this time for sure with fondness in her voice. Did she like cats? Huh. I may have just one-upped her fan club.

"Didn't know you had a thing for cats," I replied, as she quietly picked up Lefty from my arms and started scratching her ears. By the looks of it, Lefty was enjoying herself.

"Hn," She grunted. "She's pretty young, did you adopt her recently?"

"Not telling you, goth girl," I replied.

She gave me an annoyed expression, giving Lefty back to me. "Naruto, you're annoying."

"As you can see, I'm a man of mystery," I said, sarcastically, waving my free hand dramatically.

"More like of hunger, by the looks of it," Sasuke said, elegantly tossing me an Onigiri. I caught it pretty easily, and the pale girl started walking away.

"Uhh, thanks!" I replied. She was a pretentious bastard, but it looks like she wasn't entirely heartless. Gotta give thanks to where it's due!

I snuggled Lefty into my left chest and made my way home.


I quickly fed Lefty and finished my meal. There were two cup ramens left, so I ate that with the onigiri that Sasuke gave me. Thanks, bastard. Lefty seems pretty content staying near the vent or snuggling next to me.

"Do you feel better now?"

What do you mean?

"Now that you've beaten the shit outta those boys, of course!"

I took a few moments to think about it. I'll be honest, not really. Why would it? It doesn't change the fact that Lefty's mom is gone, and I'll be in shit tomorrow. Probably.

No, it doesn't.

"Thought not, it doesn't suit you to feel anger towards someone," Kyuubi said.

L + Bozo + Ratioed.

"So," Kyuubi continued, "Should we ascertain the finer details of the deal?"

What do you mean?

I felt Kyuubi roll her eyes as she pulled me into the mindscape.

Back to the sewers I go!

My consciousness transported itself to my inner mind, where I felt the annoying feeling of wetness up to my ankles once more. Kyuubi was sitting on one of the couches I made her yesterday, looking far more relaxed than she was the day prior.

"For example, how many years of your life are you sacrificing? You've already given up one to use Tobirama Senju, so you're locked into the deal. If you want, you could just use only one, but I have a feeling that you're willing to give up a few more years for your goals now that you've gotten a taste of what's possible," Kyuubi said.

I won't lie, Tobirama's soul felt absolutely incredible. For the few minutes I was in combat, I've never felt as powerful as I did then. It just felt so… intoxicating. It was as if decades of experience, knowledge, wisdom, and awareness had been compacted inside my body and mind. It's hard to explain in words, but everything just felt… right.

I thought about it for a few moments, and considered my options. I said I was going to be Hokage one day to Jiji, and I wasn't going to let him down.

Did I have any more goals in life besides that? Not really. Like I mentioned before, dying and living are both neutral outcomes for me.

Ez dubs. I can do it in… let's think.

I got it. I know how many years I'm willing to sacrifice.

"You know this is a one-time offer, right? Even if you beg and lick my toes, you won't be getting any more souls," Kyuubi said.

"Yup!"

A slow, sinister smile crept up upon her beautiful features as she snapped her fingers. A small piece of paper materialized in front of me, its edges extruding a black aura. The page itself was ancient, its coloration faded into an untasteful yellow from what could only be the passage of time. The ink, however, was a vantablack that looked as fresh as ever. I could almost swear that a cynical voice was whispering in the background as I picked up the quill and signed my years off.

She took a look at the paper, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Smart choice, Uzumaki. Very well calculated."

Call me an idiot, call me a fool. As a chronic procrastinator, I know for a fact that giving myself a due date will only propel me forward on this path.

As I finished writing, I looked up at Kyuubi with a curious expression on my face.

"Hold up, how am I going to die? Will I slowly get weaker during my final days, or just suddenly keel over and collapse?" I asked her. "If I do make it to my new age of death," I also added as an afterthought.

"Hmm… that's for me to decide, and for you to find out," Kyuubi said. "Well then, Naruto Uzumaki, pleasure to do business with you!"

I shook her hand, and turned around to leave.

"Oh, do decorate this place a little more before you leave, the couches are nice, but you can do better~" Kyuubi said, her red hair dancing, and fox tails curling.

I gave her an annoyed look and got to work.

There's a lot of work to be done.

…and I'm not just referring to my mindscape.


AN: This chapter was massive, so I split it up into two. I didn't expect to write as much as i did o_o woopz

the other half will come out soon, I just need to write more first drafts before I'm comfortable releasing it :D

Reviews, like always, are greatly appreciated. They inject copium directly into my brain if copium were the cure to writer's block.

Thanks for reading! ^^

BusGrunts: Thanks for the review~! Yes, to some degree. The finer logistics of the "soul borrowing" system will be explained in more detail in later chapters, but he will be able to use their abilities afterwards. Naruto doesn't know that yet though xD.

I promise I'll not take a million years to update I actually have time to write now pls